Just finished season 2 of HBO’s GIRLS. What a great show!

Returning to Australia three weeks ago was quite something.

The first thing that stroke me as I stepped outside was the smell. The magnificent, warm, flowery smell out there. I travelled back in time 11 years and a flow of wonderful memories (evening walks, conversations, sensations) joyfully came back to me. I was walking around with the biggest, stupidest smile on my face. Doppy french girl!

On the day I left Sydney, 11 years ago, I was devastated. My poor friend Rob who drove me to the airport had to helplessly witness me cry my eyes out for the whole journey. Not only had I fallen head over heels in love but it was breaking my heart to leave this unexpected haven where life was sweet, safe and fun. Maybe it’s the fact that this country is almost as big as the US but with a population of only 20 million people but I felt a sense of possibilities that I had never felt before. And almost a feeling of eternity that’s very hard to describe. Australia is so far from the world that it seems out of time. The absence of history (well, not as such because the history of Australia is fascinating, but the absence of oldness, in a much more obvious way than the US) makes you feel brand new and free. Living near the Ocean also had an incredible soothing quality and I knew that lifestyle had changed me and made me a happier person. It was really ridiculously hard to go.

But you know me, right?

I made a solemn promise to myself that I would be back. I didn’t know where or when, but I swore I wasn’t done with the dream and that I would get to smell frangipanny trees again.

So it’s hard to explain the overwhelming joy I felt as I set foot here again. I was strangely amazed that it was still there. Nothing much had changed and the haven had always been there for me to come back to.

Oh and there is something very special about keeping one’s promises to oneself.

My amazing and inspiring friend Sam shared this:

“If you do not choose to lead, you will forever be led by others. Find what scares you, and do it. And you can make a difference, if you choose to do so”– J. Michael Straczynski

When I met Sam I was struck by his sense of humor, his kindness and his courage. How many lives does this man have? Truly humbling.

While being in Malibu I had a session with nutritionist Jessica Hummel who helpt me design a meal routine that wouldn’t be – yet again – another diet but something I can sustain my whole life. Think lifestyle change – not diet. This is what it looks like.

Breakfast:  (to be had an hour within waking up) 

1) sweet

• 3/4 to 1 cup of greek yogurt
•  1 cup of berries
•  1 cup of cereal (quinoa flakes or Bob Red Mill gluten free oats and grains available on amazon)

2) savory

• 2 eggs (or 1 egg + 1 egg white)
• any non starchy vegs (peppers, onions, mushrooms)
• 1-2 slices of gluten free toast (Food for Life)
• 1/4 small avocado

Lunch:  (4-5 hours after breakfast)

• Soup (veggie and 1/2 cup of beans)
• Salad (or wrap or sandwich) with: greens, one protein (fish, meat or egg), oil and vinegar (1-2 tsp), 1/4 to 1/2 cup of quinoa or 1 serving of whole grain crackers (gluten free) or brown rice/corn/buckwheat tortilla or brown rice.

Snack:  (4pm or if I have dinner early, after dinner – but no later than 8pm)

• Pair one protein with one fruit: banana/apple & egg, or Artisana nut butter with pear or 1/2 cup of greek yogurt with 1/2 cup of berries, or 1-2 tbsp of hummus and cucumber slices/any non starchy veg, or smoothie with 1 cup of frozen berries, 1 cup of almond milk and chia seeds, or endive leaves with shrimp and fresh pico de gallo filling or watermelon, mozarella and mint skewers or 1/2 banana with 1 serving of almonds (around 13), or roasted seaweed rolls with string cheese and shredded carrot filling etc…….)

Dinner:  (either early at 5pm or 7:30pm)

If early, just repeat the plate diagram (1/2 green, 1/4 protein, 1/4 starchy foods) if later no starch just protein and veg.

Bedtime:  no later than 11pm

NB: 3 liters of water should be drunk everyday – mainly away from meals because water dilutes the digestion enzymes…

Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa published in 2010 a controversial study into intelligence which, among other claims, suggested that IQ scores in men correlated positively with attitudinal preferences for sexual exclusivity, while no correlation between the two variables was present in women. However, as has been noted by Kanazawa himself, attitudinal preferences do not necessarily parallel behavioral preferrences, and there is even some data saying that IQ scores correlate negatively with marital sexual fidelity, especially in women.

Girls who had been younger than ~5 years of age during their parents’ divorce, had more sex partners and experienced puberty earlier than their older sisters, who had experienced the divorce at a more advanced age.

Church-attending women score lower on promiscuity than other women, while men appear to lack this correlation.

The Russians say that men love with their eyes and women with their ears.

I’m still none the wiser.

When I wake up I’ll be in Australia.

It’s accepted that New Year’s wishes can be sent during the whole month of january    so in the same way I would like to add a couple more resolutions to my list for 2013.

1) Stop thinking my mission in life is to make other people happy.

2) Run a half-marathon in 2014. A half-marathon is 13 miles. I don’t know yet which one I will run. I might not actually be able to run it but I will walk-run it if needs be. I currently can hike for about 6 miles – which is not running, but which is a lot harder than walking. Gotta find which one I want to sign up for. Who’s in? 😉

I love you Jacques.

Happy New Year friends!

Just thought I’d drop a word here to say thank you for such an amazing year. I feel so blessed to be healthy, to have had all these incredible experiences and met some wonderful people – while also reconnecting with old friends who mean a lot to me.

Also I wanted to share a few of my new year’s resolutions. It’s a tradition of mine to set myself goals every year and I enjoy the challenge and the direction it brings to my existence.

1) Look after my body: this year I want to keep losing weight, get fitter, feel stronger and freeer. Also want to start doing things I’ve never  done before like skiing, surfing, diving – activities that bring pleasure and aliveness. This is my number one priority: keep challenging myself physically. Discover my limits and push them.

2) Stop buying new things:  for a while I’ve been feeling like I already own way too many things. I have so much stuff I never use, and I have way too many clothes, bags, shoes. I don’t need any new things (with one exception: books, that I always try to buy second hand). So I will pay extra attention to how I spend money. The idea is also to use all the things I have (cameras, craft things, kitchen stuff) in a way that’s more creative. This means finishing things I start and recycle into a new life things I don’t seem to use at all. Sell all the rest on ebay. Appreciate how much abundance there is already in my life.

3) Read more:  in 2012 I have managed to make a giant leap in terms of learning as I started reading again after what seemed like a very long reading fast (ie: running a business) but I would like to take it further and make it an essential daily habit. Reading while having breakfast is something I’m trying out at the moment and seems like I could implement it. That way I would read in the morning AND in the evening. Reading before bed is something I want to do every day as well, as I tend to take the computer to bed with me and it’s such a bad habit. It fucks with my brain and overstimulate it which delays the time I eventually switch off to sleep. In the long run it damages my rythm and energy levels.

I have a few others on my list which are more private but these 3 are the most important of this year’s objectives.

Today was a good start as we went for an hour run with my dad and brother. Let’s do this, folks!

Hope you have a creative and fun year!

Here is my favourite view of 2012: sunrise in Monument Valley’s Totem Pole