2011

It is easy to look back over the last year and remember all the negative things that have happened but this is the time to reflect on all the positive things which have happened and take a moment to give thanks.
The main stream media seems intent on sending us negative news hour by hour but behind the scenes there is always positive news which never reaches the headlines.
We are lucky enough to hear from positive people everyday, those out there who are helping people to live their dreams, helping others to use their skills to help those less fortunate than ourselves, people working to protect the planet in fact the list is endless but without these people the International Lifestyle Magazine would not be as successful as it is.
This year we have seen a new cover launch, the International Real Estate Magazine and in February 2012 we launch the Austalian Lifestyle Magazine, again proof that there is plenty of positivity out there.
2012 can be a great year for everyone we just need to grab life by the hands and do something positive, we need to take control and move forward and push aside all the negativity.
Here is to positivity. xx

60 Minute Make Over In The Dinner Hall

You know it is going to be an eventful day when you arrive into the village to hear the ´new boy´screaming from inside the school. Something to do, so I understand, with a small plastic pink elephant, however, he was told that he would have to stay in the classroom as punishment until it was time to leave for the restaurant. This was going quite well until he took the decision to try and use a chair to break through the window to escape. I should point out here that this is an eight year old. Much fuss until finally he was allowed into the playground on the strict instructions that he behaved himself.

All was going well.

The village was full with people enjoying a drink in the brilliant sunshine, people carrying their shopping, stopping to chat or collect fresh water from the font, it was, quite simply wonderful.

So, off to the restaurant for the childrens lunch. I led the way into the restaurant, up the stairs and began making sure all the children had water to drink and then I heard that familiar sound. Here comes the new boy.

Obviously the salad was not up to scratch, much to the horror of all the other children this became a rather fetching decoration for the curtains. Next paella. He took one look and just as he was about to grab it and throw it, it was rescued by another dinner lady. This interception was not to his liking. He tried to run out of the restaurant, I managed to catch him and then had to get him out of my hair. He was basically hanging onto my pony tail with two hands whilst screaming in my ear. You really should get danger money for this job, and all to learn Spanish!

The owner of the restaurant rushed up and gave him a lolly, she did not seem to understand that she was basically rewarding him for being bad, however, she was soon wearing the lolly so that passed.

Finally he calmed down and sat down at the table. Spanish children do not know how lucky they are, a four course meal and a floor show, all that is missing is the opportunity for a dance.

Still back into the playground, lock the gates and let them just relax after their lunch. The village was buzzing with people eating in the sunshine, lots of chatter, laughter and the clutter of knives and forks.

I love living here, there really is never a dull moment.

Lynn
xxxx

Russell Brand Visits The Village!

As I sat in the village today enjoying a coffee in the sunshine before my run as dinner lady began, I said hello to lots of people. Mums, old men in their slippers wandering up the middle of the road, the cafe owners, a few passing dogs who clearly had somewhere important to go, I watched various groups of conversations happening throughout the street and then I saw the outline of something that had never been seen the village before.

I could see the long black hair, I could see a flash of yellow, but I could not work out exactly what it was.

As it drew closer the walk looked incredibly familiar, that sort of walk where people seem to be on a pogo stick, the hair flicking up and down. It was him I was sure of it.

He was wearing bright blue trousers, a bright blue shirt, a yellow waistcoast with a yellow tie and to top it all off, a yellow headband. I felt a moment of excitement, I mean the whole village almost came to a standstill. Conversations stopped, old ladies turned, nudging each other, tourists were reaching for their cameras. It was definately him.

As he drew closer something was wrong, he appeared to be pulling a trolly, that said it was also blue and yellow so it matched the whole outfit, and then I realised. I was looking at the substitute postman.

He strode up the middle of the road, overtaking the man in his slippers, and with his hair still bounching he faded into the horizon. A few moments passed, and then people carried on with their day.

I finished my coffee and went into the school. I wonder what will be thrown up the walls today.

Lynn
xxx

Revolt In The Dinner Hall

I work as a dinner lady here in Spain, I do it because it enables me to learn Spanish, I get to know the children of the village and of course, you get into the real hub of the place if you are in the middle of it for a couple of hours a day, however, I may have caused a slight problem.

All the children are very interested in our animals. They like to see pictures, they have all been to visit and they are all waiting for the piglets to arrive so they can come and see them, and this has caused a slight problem.

Today pizza was served. My children, who are vegetarians, had a four cheese special the others had either salami or ham and cheese. All of them, except two of the older boys, refused to eat "Hamlet". "Who is Hamlet?" asked the owner of the restaurant. I had to explain that Hamlet was one of my pigs. The children folded their arms and refused to eat him! Whilst internally I was absolutely thrilled that they were beginning to see meat as an animal, the incredibly stern stare that I received from the owner was a little scary.

It had come to her attention that more and more children were refusing to eat pork, chicken, sausages in fact just about anything. She then went on to tell me that if children do not eat meat they will not grow. This coming from a lady who can only be 4ft as she looked up at me.

Still this moment was quickly broken by the new boy who managed to aim his pizza at the wall and as it slid down all hands were on deck to clear up, whilst he then began trying to get hold of everyone elses pizza to aim around the room.

Who would of thought that you could change the views of meat eaters just by a meet and greet afternoon. I have booked another at my house on Sunday!

Lynn
xxx

The Village Life

I live in a little village in the mountain tops of Spain. I used to live in a town, very close to a big city and the difference is huge. Firstly, everyone knows everyone. Not in a nosey way but in a way that makes the village safe. New faces are noticed straight away, welcomed, but noted. It means that as I speak my children can walk their goats in the mountains and whilst I listen for their voices I know that they are safe. When I think back to how it was not even possible to let them play in the garden without constant supervision, it makes me realise how lucky we are and how life should be.

Every day is full of new surprises, new experiences, nearly all of them make me laugh.

We are having new pipes put into our village, at least I think that is what they are doing, everyone who is working on the job is someone I know, and today, great excitement, one of them was given a whistle to direct the traffic.(by traffic I mean the few cars who come into the village to drop children off at the local school which has a total pupil count of 70) and to say he is excited is an understatement. He blows his whistle with absolute pride, he is, of course, not actually directing the traffic which I realised as I came face to face with a tractor carrying my neighbours and their dog on a trip to the village, however, the point is, everything is great here.

No one is slightly interested in fashion, who is on the front pages of glossy magazines or anything remotely materialistic, all they are interested in is family, life and how the vegetables are doing. In short, it is simple and beautiful.

Everyone says hello to one another, everyone is greeted with a smile and it sets you up for the day. The Spanish are truly beautiful people.

I want to write stories for you to let you know what happens in this beautiful village so that you can get to know the characters of the village as well as I have.

The children have just returned now from their walk, the doneky is braying as he sees them and our food is ready. Simple life, beautiful life one that I wish you could all find and embrace. It feeds your soul and connects you in a way that can only be experienced by stepping into it.

Lynn
xxx

Just Do It!

The world is currently in crisis. This is nothing new really there is always something that needs dealing with but the images from Egypt have been incredibly powerful and have demonstrated just what the power of belief can achieve.

It also demonstrated that we can all achieve what we desire through the power of belief and by following that which we really believe.

There are many stories of people who have achieved so much through following their passion, they have over come the critics, pushed aside the negative remarks and simply pulled up their sleeves and kept on their path.

It can be difficult at times, of course it can, when you keep hearing that what you are doing is ridiculous or how you should think about getting a real job, but keep reminders around you about what you are going to achieve, how you are going to do it. For me personally, keep pictures and notes on a special place in your house (mine is on the kitchen wall) to keep you focused,to keep that visualisation alive but above all, never stop believing in yourself and you will succeed.


Lynn
xx

Milk!

Coming up in our next issue of International Lifestyle Magazine, we are looking at the cost of cheap milk and at the same time looking at some of the best kept cows in the world and the milk they produce.

When you buy milk try to opt for organic or maybe look at trying soy milk as an alternative because when you see milk that is low in price you can be sure that there is a factory farm somewhere exploiting a herd of cows, making them produce much more milk than they should be in order to line the fat cats pockets with money.

Any food that is super cheap comes with a cost, even when you see incredibly cheap clothes you know that someone, somewhere is working very long hours with very little pay so try to shop with a conscious.

Consider also the amount of drugs that are pumped into these poor animals to protect them from disease which they would never even have to worry about if they were allowed to graze and live correctly in the right environment, so even if you could nto care less about the cows who produce the milk, at least care about yourself and your family and what you are drinking.

Food for thought.

Lynn

Before You Do Your Weekly Shop....

www.viva.org.uk

Please check out this web site and see for yourself the horrors that go on behind the scenes in order to bring you meat.

We often see adverts from large supermarket chains offering reduced price meat and meat meals but in order to save you a few pounds animals have to go through absolute hell, so ask yourself is it worth it.

Look at the meat on the supermarket shelves, look at the boxes showing happy animals on packets of prepared meals, look in a butchers window and consider for a moment the absolute hell that these animals have been through and then consider why on earth you would want to put this into your system.

Your body needs energy, you will not find it in dead meat, there is no energy in this at all, it is what it clearly is. Dead.

Read through the site, do not find excuses look at the evidence and make the right choice.

Even the word organic can be deceptive, check out what happens to a chick before it is moved to a world of organic upbringing.

www.viva.org.co.uk

Envy The Route Of All Evil

Why are so many people in this world jealous of family. They see a family unit, happy, working together and building a life and rather than see it as an inspiration they choose to try and tear it apart.

I know from experience that there are people who feel that it is their right to condemn a family unit, to mock what they either do not understand or do not have and why?

What drives a person to believe that they can do this? What do they hope to gain from it? I can only assume that they want everyone to be as miserable and as empty as they are. Can they not see that everyone has an opportunity in life but you have to work for it and make it happen.

What possible gain can you get from spreading lies, putting a strain on a family, selling your soul to the media? What do these people believe others will think of them?

For any true family, these situations only go to make them stronger. If you are in a real family unit you are a team, and an incredibly strong one at that. For most of these people who throw dirt they simply do not have the gift of family, they have no self worth, they have, in short, nothing but darkness.

Envy is a horrible thing, it feeds on itself and produces a shell of a former person who ultimately becomes eaten up with it.

To those of you with family who have had to endure people like this, remain strong, keep your head up, and turn away from people like this. To recognise them, to pursue them just feeds on their ego, they feel that they have achieved something. To ignore them simply causes them to implode.

If you are the type of person who feels that you have the right to attack other people may I suggest you take a long hard look in the mirror, ask yourself what you want from your life, ask yourself how you are going to do it and make positive steps towards living a full and happy life. When you reach old age you want to look back with happy memories that you can share with those around you. The alternative is to be alone with your own miserable thoughts.

Lynn
xx

What Is Beauty?

Having watched a week of news reports about London Fashion week and who looked beautiful, who looked too thin, who looked too fat, blah, blah, blah you have to wonder what is beauty?

Society promotes the belief that you need to be dressed from head to toe in designer labels, spend hours at the beauty parlour and mix with the right people, be seen in the right places in order to be beautiful but in reality the real beauty lies beneath.

Beauty comes from the heart. A truly beautiful person just exudes an energy that makes them beautiful. Beauty is seen everyday on the news and within the media and yet it is never mentioned. What about people who travel the world, dressed in whatever, working with abandoned children to help them find a friend and a future? How about people that risk their lives for others every day? There are people who live in amoungst some of the darkest people on this planet to highlight to the world the cruelty that exists and yet not once are they described as beautiful people.

Look around you and witness for yourself the true beauty. Beauty lies in a Mother wiping a childs nose with care. It lies in a parent holding a childs hand for support. It lies in the person helping another with a problem. Beauty is everywhere and it does not have to have a designer label attached and nor does it need to have an endorsement contract with a cosmetic company to make it truly beautiful.

Move away from what we are pushed into believing is correct and live your life in truth. The most beautiful way to live your life ever.

Lynn
xx

Remember what is important.

Too often we waste time concerning ourselves about some pretty stupid things,which, I realise can seem important at the time, but we really need to stand still once in a while and put things into prospective.

I find myself often begging my children to tidy their bedrooms, I despair at school bags left on the floor, the ever growing array of shoes, the bathroom left like a team of rugby players have used it and yet really, is it important?

The important things to focus on are the facts that the mess is created by my family, a family I adore. In no time at all the children could be at University or travelling the world working on eco projects, either way, there will come a time when their will be no shoes on the floor, no school bags left in the most difficult places and these times now will be just memories.

My lesson to myself today is to relax about a bit of mess and enjoy the moment of having my family around and to think about how lucky I am to have them with me.

Lynn
xxx

New Video Blog

I have spent today putting together our first video blog, which you will, God willing, be able to see tomorrow and I am so excited about this because it means I can chat to you rather than just write, plus I will be able to introduce you to our animals, face to face!

Have a wonderful weekend and whatever you have planned, enjoy it!

Lynn
x

What is all the fuss about?

Yesterday a bull escaped from a Spanish bullring and injured 40 people. It lept from the ring into the crowd where people began to scream and scatter.

The crowd of people, who had paid to watch this and other poor bulls be tortured and finally killed, did at least have the option of escape routes and yet, everyone seemed upset about the bulls behaviour but, in my opinion, he should have been given his freedom.

He should have been able to cut off a few ears to show his friends on his return, he should have had his photograph taken and hung in the local bar as a hero of the area and yet, for this poor chap, he was killed after he was captured. Hardly seems fair does it?

So all those people who pay to watch this, spend their days organising these events and breed these animals who they say have a wonderful three years, shame on you. This bull managed to get away and if he hurt a few people then that is the price you pay for sitting and watching such a horrible demonstration.

Surely as civilised people we can see that this is wrong? I do not buy into the fact that people say that bulls actually love this, that they enjoy the event.

I have never seen a line of bulls outside a bullring trying to get the job but as long as we keep seeing the line of people paying to watch bullfights they will continue to put them in the ring.

If you are taking a vacation anywhere in the world where this happens, do not buy a ticket to watch. You will be supporting a very cruel industry.

Do something positive with your time.

Lynn
xx

First Day Of Blogging

So here we are, the first day of our blog and it is incredibly difficult to know where to begin, to be honest, anyone who knows me will tell you that I find it incredibly difficult to stop talking and this feels the same, so I apologise in advance if this turns into a daily epic novel!

This blog is going to bring you all kinds of information such as recipes, nutrition tips, world events and of course information from our ever growing list of friends and since we live on a farm with too many animals to mention I am sure that I will be including many stories about them, which, is a daily event in its own right. Take yesterday.

Many of our birds have been sitting on eggs and getting on with the job of hatching them and taking care of them, and one of our small green birds has done a fabulous job with four little ones until yesterday, obviously she had grown incredibly fed up with looking after the four of them so the next best thing was to obviously throw them out of their nests. My children and I found them all huddled together on the floor so it was find a cage, get them indoors and begin the process of feeding them by hand every four hours.

This may not sound difficult but when you have over 60 other animals to take care of, this is really the last thing you need. Add to that two puppies that we are now weaning off their mum, two kittens who thing they are puppies and a horse that thinks he is a dog and should be involved in everything you start to get the picture.

Would I change any of this? Not on your life! I am off now because the little dudes are calling so it is time for breakfast.

Have a wonderful fun filled day and remember, live for now and enjoy every moment.

Lynn
xx