... conference by the Society of Homeopaths this weekend. From cutting edge research to fundraising to remedies, philosophies of life and healing, a broad range of topics were covered and the energy of a large group of Homeopaths gathered together was simply fantastic. Great to see such amazing work going on and to have a taste of more to come.

And of course, thanks to the Homepathy Action Trust and Conference Aston for the brilliant 70s disco on the Saturday night. And in a random twist, our night ended with being serenaded by a barber shop quartet which was a magical end to a wonderful evening.

Have a great day!

Juicy video:

4 apples
1/2 cucumber
1/2 lime
1-2cm fresh ginger
2 handfuls spinach
2 carrots
1 beetroot

Juice. Drink. Feel amazing.

... I'm hoping I get some brought to me for my breakfast in bed tomorrow!!

It's divine! With a treacle tart like base, a mango-date sauce and topped with fresh fruit it was an absolute delight to all the senses. So once I've got my mum to spill exactly what she did to create this masterpiece - I'll be sure to share.

Seems to be a shortage of candles ths year... Improvisation was needed :)

It's my very special birthday tomorrow! And what I would really, really like is loads of wonderful, life giving presents.  I've made it really easy and they're all available from my website (couldn't get more straightforward really could it?)...

Just here in fact and you can get me anything from the chance to help de-worm 5 children to running a Maasai school for a month.  So very appreciative of your time reading this - thank you and have a beautiful day.

Em xx

PS If you'd like to get one of the gifts for someone else I'll absolutely promise not to be offended at all (and can even send you a card to pass onto them with details of how it helps).

Just a really straightforward, plant based, fast dinner. Can be adapted to suit but our basic version went like this:

To serve 2 children:
2 whole meal pitta breads
1 tin chopped tomatoes, some of the excess liquid drained off
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Sweetcorn for topping
Additional toppings of choice

Toast the pitta breads and put on the grill. Blend the tomatoes and nutritional yeast together and simmer for a few minutes to thicken sauce slightly.

Spoon the sauce onto the pitta and add toppings of choice.

Grill for 3-5 minutes or until slightly browned.

Serve with fresh salad, veg or, in our case baked beans.

Apparently we're changing our surname. Yup you've guessed it. We now will be referred to as Emma Watermelon and Isla Watermelon. This is not my idea. But the hats were and I LOVE them!

I've been thinking about sharing thoughts, videos, recipes etc on YouTube for some time. And was always put off - I need to do it properly - to have a camera, tripod, you know - the works (dressing team, make up artist, goffer boy....). But so many things make me think about how lucky I am to have the time I have right here, right now. So without putting my contact lenses in, thinking about what I'm wearing (it's OK I'm off to work so more than respectably dressed), or who was going to hold the camera - I did it.

I made my first video of my breakfast green juice.  It's an easy one to make - it's so tasty and feels great to drink and without further ado it's here to share with you:

The process of making it has been great - I've learnt a lot from that in itself so please subscribe, like and share and there'll be more coming very soon!

Once upon a time I may have thought so. Now though what I think is extreme is having to inject with drugs on a daily basis in order to keep our body on a level, to have to break open our rib cage to get to our heart so an incredibly skilled surgeon can insert stents to enable the blood to flow around our bodies still. To be on a daily cocktail in order to control our blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and any number of other aims.

Extreme is being unable to enjoy a good level of fitness and inhibited by a body that is overweight and unwieldy. To suffer unnecessary illnesses and take a long time over healing. Those, to me are just a few examples of extremes.

Eating plants? Not so crazy after all. Still, that's just my opinion, let me know what you think...

This blog is not intending to cast blame on anyone in those situations, life happens and we don't always realise where we're headed before we get there. However plenty of research suggests that the adoption of a whole food, plant based diet may assist in moving forwards, regaining greater health and living a life less dependent in medication and pharmaceutical support.

For some largely unknown reason I've been a teeny bit cranky the last couple of days. And tonight admitted I was feeling a bit irritable and inside out with myself.  A gorgeous soul gave me the biggest most beautiful hug which made an absolute world of difference.

I feel softer, gentler, more compassionate and altogether different.  The crankiness lingers a little but has largely dissipated.  It makes me think how often we rush from one thing to another without stopping to acknowledge our inner irritation/anger/annoyance or even those feelings we might rate as positive.  It's easy to do and often merely compounds the feelings instead of sitting to look at them, realise they're OK, normal and a part of our learning journey.  So tonight I'm off to do a bit of mindfulness meditation... that is, as soon as I've made this blackberry pie...

Have a hug, stop and smell the roses every now and again x

So tonight I was going to talk about calcium but it seems to have been bumped off the top spot by, well, bottoms... Just a few to be precise but very lovely homeopathic ones nonetheless.

I got the proofs today for the Homeopathy for Health in Africa calendar.  They look amazing - big thanks to John Mason Printers!

Just a couple of amends and very soon they'll be off for their print run, to be ready in time for the Society of Homeopaths conference at the end of the month.

The 2012 calendar raised funds, awareness and interest in the project (and we sent it far and wide - I think Australia, Japan and Uruguay were the furthest but shout if you were further afield and had one).  This one, I think is bigger and better with references around remedies for the homeopaths, beautiful yoga toned Finnish boys (well just one but he is beautiful), funny shots, freezing shots, French girls (OK again just the one but she's so worth it) and of course, lovely scenery all around, with images from Raasay, Hawkswood college, Scotland, Zanzibar and more.

They will of course be available from the shop on this site as soon as I've got them in my hands - just £12.95 (inc £2.95 p&p.  Helios have sponsored the printing of them very kindly so all funds raised will be off to Tanzania to help Jeremy, Camilla and their volunteer team continue and expand their amazing work.

Watch this space for more news!