2019

A new year and a return to old loves....this blog....not past bfs.  My 'word' for the year.....CONSUMPTION.  This is my mission word. This means I will live my life this year deferring back to this word. How much am I consuming in this world and how is it affecting this world?

Inspired by Suzanne Berens, our 30+ Dutch relative who lives in Amsterdam, I have committed to NOT buy/swap/beg/borrow/steal any item of clothing/adornment for 12 months.  This means I will have to 'make do' with what I have got.

This will clearly not be difficult....as I have a vast personal adornment collection at my disposal.  I am fifteen days in and quietly confident.

That brings me to CRAFT...something I am keen to explore this year.  I have recently bought a trestle table for this specific reason and am contemplating holding a monthly meeting of fellow Crafters around this table.  If I need variety in my appearance, I could upcycle an existing item. #genius #sustainable #consumption

IKIGAI, I'm loving the capitals, aren't you? It really speaks to you. Lessons on how to live a long and happy life. One of my favourite reads this Christmas. Inspired by the villagers of Okinawa, who have an inordinate number of supercentenarians, I am going to fill my stomach to 80% full.  I am not sure, how you can tell, but I do know when I have overeaten,  as I am prone to regular bouts of gluttony.

I've also started some daily regimes....and lasted fifteen days so far. Morning Yoga with Adrienne, five minutes of stretching to begin the day. That's about as long as I can stay interested.  Loving it so far.  5-Minute standing flat belly workout sure beats laying on the floor and wrenching your back.  Gravity can be your friend in this instance. And finally, meditation; Headspace meditation app is good but I have not committed to it and need to set an alarm or something to remind me. Also, 10 press ups daily and thirty minutes of random movements, like cleaning, walking, gardening, cycling or running. #ocd

Sri Lanka is on the radar for travel. A new and uncharted territory for the nuclear family to explore.  We're thinking of booking a one way ticket, which means we can get traction and also add other travel onto it while in Asia. #awaywiththefairies #familyfuntimes #SEA

I have also committed to XERO to centre myself financially and to introduce serenity to all matters concerning money and timely bill paying.  If you Watch the cents, the dollars will take care of themselves. That's the theory anyway. I had a lesson with Sidekick accountants before Christmas and promptly forgot the lot on my return from holiday.  I stared blankly at the 120 reconciliations I had built up, with no idea what to do with them.  A quick call to Ashleigh and Emily fixed that and they had me reconciling like a pro in no time. #nailedit

NOOK tiny homes are the way of the future. A bold statement you say?  I have an ongoing fascination with tiny houses.  Does this hark back to my childhood and doll house play or is it a part of my irrevocable draw towards my mission word; CONSUMPTION.  I am passionate about not buying into the current housing market.  It is inflated, unsustainable, dangerous (mortgage rates are low now, what happens if they soar?) and downright dumb.  Why burden yourself with a 'death grip' AKA 'mortgage' on a property that is average, uninsulated, uninspired and expensive to run? Like I say, dumb!

Imagine a world full of these gorgeous, stylish, inexpensive to buy and run homes.  #affordablehousing #inspired #travelmore

That gets me onto garages....why pay big bucks to house vehicles? Why have vehicles? OMG Ebikes!
This is worthy of another photo....
MATEX e bikes.  Currently under construction via Indigogo, crowdfunding. I'm in the market for one this year.  Not sure which one yet, but I'm liking this one and it's multiuse.  Stick it in the boot of your 'gas guzzler' and bike one way and cadge a ride home. It folds up, so you can.  Go down to one car and one ebike.  #coveryourbases

#hashtags I'm still not over them. So amusing and so succinct.

PHEW.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT....

People are often intrigued by my calorific intake...phrases like "Barry the worm' are uttered in polite conversation. To dispel the myth of Barry and to shed some light on the mystery of eating, I am sharing my philosophy on food...

DO

• prepare food ahead
• eat often - 6 times a day
• eat whole foods
• pay the expensive pricetag for what goes into your body
• Treat yourself (in moderation with healthy treats- see below)
• regular exercise - even walk/run streak under 10 mins a day, 10 pressups/day,  anything to get your head in the game.
• read a book/mag for 10 mins/day to meditate/calm down
• buy quality ingredients

DON’T

• don’t starve yourself
• don’t eat processed foods (hidden sugar content makes you fat)
• don’t eat processed sauces/dressings/yoghurts/mueslis
• don’t buy low fat anything (they replace it with sugar that turns into fat)
• don’t weigh yourself

UTENSILS YOU NEED

*A large stainless steel bowl to mix your salads, a lemon juicer, a lunchbox, a smoothie cup, a mini frypan with glass lid.

INGREDIENTS TO STOCK

• Peta Mathias extra virgin olive oil (don’t buy other oils - bad for you) 
• lemons
• Delish primal breakfast (no other flavour or brand - about $17 but worth it)
• Plain yoghurt
• Delmaine Pesto - others have bad oils in them
• Henderson’s Streaky Bacon (no added baddies)
• (Organic) potatoes, pumpkin, kumara
• onions, garlic, ginger
• rice
• rice vermicelli, soba noodles (GF)
• feta cheese, wedge of parmesan
• steak (can cook in a small frypan with a lid on in 4 mins)
• salmon (can cook in a small frypan with a lid on in 4 mins)
• chicken (skinless) (can cook in a small frypan with a lid on in 4 mins)
• tray of free range eggs ( 
• butter/full cream milk
• oranges (try to buy organic), kiwifruit, bananas
• honey
• peanut butter (Pics peanut butter - only nuts, no added sugars etc)
• raw almonds, walnuts, peanuts
• kale, spinach, celery, carrots, broccoli

TREAT YOURSELF 

 When you get a craving...have a small portion.

Mary VT’s Seed Bar Recipe

¼ C sesame seeds

¾ C pumpkin seed

¾ C sunflower seeds

½ C dried fruit

1 C  peanuts

½ C coconut thread

½ C rolled oats

________________________

Cook peanuts in pan for 5 minutes.

Add seeds, coconut, sesame seeds and rolled oats and brown a little. Then dried fruit.

Cook until golden brown.

_________________________

Boil in another pan for 8 minutes:

100gm butter

¼ C honey

½ C brown sugar

Mix altogether and press into slice tray.  Cut before too solid so as not to snap.

SUGGESTED DRESSINGS

1. Mix olive oil and lemon juice and salt and pepper as your dressing

2. Add olive oil to pesto to dilute and call it a dressing

3. sesame oil, grated ginger, soy sauce, more olive oil to dilute

SUGGESTED RECIPES

Roasted vege, spinach, feta and walnut salad

• Cut your veges (beetroot, pumpkin, kumara, or potatoes) into 1 cm cubes and pan fry till golden brown and soft in frypan with olive oil and salt. (Add chopped bacon to pan you like)
• Add chopped spinach and sprinkle with feta and walnuts or (pan fried almonds in olive oil and salt)
• use dressing number 2 if you feel like it.

Salmon on soba or rice vermicelli 

• Boil noodles for 2 mins and drain (add broccoli florets to water with noodles)
• Fry salmon in covered mini frypan till cooked (about 3 mins).
• Add dressing number 3.
• combine all in large stainless bowl and mix gently. Add to lunchbox or plate. Sprinkle with chopped almonds. (Microwave almonds with a drizzle of sesame oil and salt for 1 min)

Beef or chicken fried rice/noodle salad

• Fry steak (or chicken) in butter in covered mini frypan till cooked (about 3 mins).
• Fry onion, finely chopped broccoli, chopped chilli, in pan for 2 mins. Throw in frozen peas
• Add cooked rice or cooked noodles
• combine all in large stainless bowl and mix gently. Add to lunchbox or plate. Sprinkle with chopped almonds. (Microwave almonds with a drizzle of sesame oil and salt for 1 min)
• slice beef and add on top
• also can fry 2 egg omelette and slice and add on top.

Quick Chicken &  Corn noodle Soup

• Fry some chopped onion (garlic and ginger too if you want) in a pot for 2 mins.
• Add chopped chicken slices or cooked shredded chicken 
• Add chicken stock and a handful of chopped spaghetti noodles 3 cm long bits.
• Add frozen corn
• Drizzle a beaten egg slowly from about 30 cm above the soup
• Pour into an airtight, microwavable bowl or into a soup bowl and eat.

SUGGESTED SNACKS

Kale Chips (Crunchy and delicious - like Kettles but healthy)

• use curly kale and wash and cut into 5cm bits (cut out stalk)
• dry in a teatowel
• put into large stainless bowl with sea salt and olive oil and massage together
• cook on greaseproof paper in a single layer at 175 degrees for 10 mins till golden brown
• Consume at will.

Smoothie

• Add all (in this order) to a blender and blend till smooth
• frozen berries and banana (frozen if possible) chopped kale leaves or spinach, chopped kiwifruit, dob of yoghurt, chilled water (enough to blend), drizzle of honey

Fruit Muesli

• Use Pure Delish Primal muesli
• add chopped kiwifruit and banana
• combine with natural yoghurt
• drizzle with honey if desired

Breakfast Omelette

• beat 2 eggs and 1 egg white
• fry in mini frypan in a little melted butter and flip when cooked 
• If you want more of a meal; 

add cooked potato (can cube it and cook in microwave first) 

and grated parmesan on top 

add smoked salmon crumbled on top

add cooked spinach - wilt in pan with a dash of olive oil

Day 3 - 8

Day 3 + 4

In an effort at work/play balance, I decided to ride my bike today and went to my writing group yesterday for a shared lunch.  I did leave an email message with the property managers to which they are studiously ignoring.

Two can play at that game.

Also got a call from Kate Fraser of The Christchurch Press Zest fame, who said she would be using my 450 word article on “How to get someone else to Clean your Oven”  in the near future.   So many irons  in the fire.  

Exhausting.

Day 5 + 6

It is too soon to be working weekends and goes against my aforementioned philosophy.

Day 7

 I should be able to multi task today whilst answering phones at our family business when the ‘boss’ is out of the room.  He gets a bit touchy about non-industry related conversations/emails.  I’ve got one phrase to say to him....”Big Picture!”.

Day 8

Am ready for action now.  Everyone else better be too.  Actually spoke too soon.  Only managed a phone call to letting agent and current head tenant.

But did manage to sprint around the entire perimeter of Hagley Park, bike to work for a management meeting at 11am and stop at fish shop and Chinese supermarket on way home, take the dog to the vet to buy pheromone spray, buy weekly groceries and cook from scratch muesli, stewed apple berry and rhubarb topping for aforementioned muesli,  bake ANZAC biscuits for the tins and cook baked salmon and a tofu dish for tea.

I wonder if real real estate agents are this productive.

 Meeting with tenant  booked for Day 10 at 2 pm.

Let the Brainstorning begin...

Day 2 of Project – 1 August, 2012

Today I went out for breakfast (with aforementioned friend in the industry – purely coincidence), met the accountant for our annual accounts talk (second more lucrative income),  went to the movies (Bel Ami – don’t bother) then out for dinner (Japanese). A big day.

I also, bought an E-valuation on line for the paltry sum of $47.95 that told me the property had an estimated value of $461,000 with a medium confidence level of selling.  Go figure. 

I am still unsure of how many bedrooms and bathrooms the property has but have requested an appointment with the letting agent to meet the *tenants.

The insurance broker has also got back to me with a policy that runs out in September this year, that she assures me will be transferrable as long as “the Builders Report” confirms the building is structurally sound and that the purchaser is acceptable to the insurer.  Note to self; arrange builders report.  (Wild note taking has begun on whiteboard).

*Also googled “Can you sell a house while the tenants are on a fixed contract?” and was informed that you could, but, here’s the big hairy but....the tenants were entitled to stay till the contract expires. (Bugger, 8 months from now!).

Very helpful website that I must read that explains this stuff:  www.dbh.govt.nz/

Another huge day of admin.  Must go get ready for dinner.

Product

‘For Real’ Estate

31 July 2012

Today I have decided to sell a piece of real estate. Why? Because, I never have before and I like learning new things.  Oh, and I get to keep the commission.

After having bought four properties and renting them out for my brother over the past fourteen years (while he built up his local portfolio from his international perch in Japan), the hammer has swung to selling them off. 

Where do you start? Procrastinate for a few days then cruise by the property and take a photo from *your car in the rain. Decide to write a blog to “stay true to myself” through the process and for motivation.

Then you get a whiteboard.  All good projects have them.  Print out the postage stamp photo you took on your iphone and tape it to the middle of the board in readiness for some wild brainstorming and note-taking to take place around it.

Next, you email the insurance broker and confess to having lost the policy documents and demand they attach them to a return email as well as advise on any new rules I should know about. (Copy in my brother, so he knows I’m serious – and intelligent).

Also email your friend in the industry and ask for inside information; recommended/cheap valuers and solicitors. Preferably not corrupt.

Enough work for one day.

*Calculate potential commission on your iphone to excite yourself.