Simplify

I didn't forget this blog, I've just been too busy to update it! It has been kindy holidays and for some absurd reason this seems to be the busiest time for extramural study.. this is cruel and I'm pretty sure they do it on purpose. So without the precious 'kindy' time available for study, two large assignments due, combined with a change in Josh's work hours (which then led to me changing my hours to nights- not such a great idea) I was pretty much snowed under in terms of workload.. and then of course my other job decides now is a good time to push more work on me. All the while I am trying to keep my wonderful midget entertained and stimulated with play dates, outings, beach trips etc. The last two weeks have been busy, thank god for kindy being back again!

And.. I have quit one of my jobs.. so no more working nights or mornings and hello having time to breathe..

My focus this year is on 'simplifying'.. I find it strange that every person I have told this to has laughed and sort of given me that 'yeah right' look... but I'm really determined to cut down on commitments and have a little less to juggle in my brain. I'm hoping this will improve my memory function by removing the clutter in my head.

I'm doing my masters on the consumer behavior of binge drinking teenagers and as part of this I have looked into a significant amount of articles on the effects of this behavior on the health and cognitive function of these teenagers as they age.. Pretty much boozy teenage years = crap memory when you get older. Ah, I'm doomed.

Today we had the open day for the rescue helicopter and I was on face painting.. I'm pretty sure that I accidentally painted a butterfly on a boy who asked for spiderman.. All I remember is blankly staring at the child's face trying to remember what he/she asked for ( you really couldn't tell!), so I decided to go for a butterfly, one of the most popular choices of the day. The look on the kid's face when I showed him/her the mirror was what alerted me to the fact that I had done something wrong!! The kid didn't say anything.. so I'll never know if it was either a really terrible butterfly or completely the wrong gender facepaint! Ooops, memory fail.

Incredible Eggs...

Yesterday, to celebrate eggs benedict day, we had a most delicious breakfast of (of course) eggs benedict with Tess Croall, her lovely husband Blair and cute as a button Adele (Please note I remembered all family members' names here). I had salmon eggs bene, in line with my current brain food diet. So I thought I would dedicate my blog today to eggs. Because guess what, they're good for your brain!

Eggs are high in B12, which is a cool brain boosting vitamin which prevents brain shrinkage... (gross, brain shrinkage). Also, eggs contain Choline, which, like Omega 3, is a key component in brain cell membrane structure. This accounts for a high proportion of the brains total mass and is essential for good brain health. Other foods high in Choline include:

-Beef liver

-Beef

-Cauliflower

-Tofu

-Almonds

-Peanut Butter

So I was stoked to find these easy Choline- high foods to include in my brain food diet! Yum! However, not so stoked to find out one of the side effects of having TOO MUCH choline in your diet is a 'fishy odor'.. so going to have to watch that.

Next month is egg celebration month (not kidding, it is!) so just be careful out there, you may get smarter from eating an egg a day, but you may also smell fishy.

Rats, Hippos and Mr Stressopolis

OK, so initially I thought I was reading some wonderful love story between a hippo and a rat, but it wasn't..it was actually a trial conducted by Yale University's department of psychology regarding the impact of stress on memory in rats. Basically, the study demonstrated that stress impairs memory function.

Where does the hippo fit in here? Hippocampus = the part of the temporal lobe system in the brain responsible for the formation of stable declarative memory in humans... BAM! There you have it, something must be wrong with the hippo living in my brain. For the sake of this blog (not simply because I enjoy naming everything in my life), lets call this hippo, Hubert.

So, what about this relationship between Ratty, Hubert and Mr Stressopolis? Pretty much, the study concluded that when Ratty is spending too much time with Mr Stressopolis, his lover Hubert does not feel very happy and so sorta just goes into a sulk and refuses to help old Ratty out with remembering things.

Replace Ratty with Lucy and wallah! The hippo in my brain is not so happy with my relationship with Mr Stressopolis..

You know what, I didn't even know I had a relationship with Mr Stressopolis.. but I think he is a stealthy ninja! I don't feel stressed.. well at least I don't think I do. Possibly it is some form of subconscious stress that decides to attack the hippo in my brain in more subtle ways.. But then I think about how busy I always seem to be, and always juggling 101 things and always seeming to put large amounts of pressure on myself and maybe I am spending more time flirting with Mr Stressopolis than taking care of my hippo.

I currently work two jobs, am studying towards a Masters, have a wonderfully energetic 4 year old, a husband who I see 2 days a week, a house which I act obsessive compulsively towards about keeping it tidy, I try to read a book a week, tend to involve myself in extra activities/ try to keep a social life, volunteer for work events as much as possible... My 'to do' list always seems to be several pages long and I try to squeeze as much out of every 24 hours in a day that I can. OK, so no wonder my hippo hates me.

How can I fix my relationship with my hippo? Apparently through things like Yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, baths, mastering my breathing..

So I'm going to find me a Tai Chi course, channel some zen or whatever occurs there.. I might research Tai Chi a bit first, make sure I know what I'm getting myself into.. I still have nightmares about the time I signed up for Ju Jitsu thinking it was self defence.. Lets hope Tai Chi does not result in me wrestling with a large asian man like that time.

I also had fish for dinner.

Salmon..

I have the coolest husband. He read my blog while I was at work today and prepared me a surprise dinner of fresh Salmon- brain food! What a legend. So I decided to dedicate my blog tonight to Salmon.

Apart from being absolutely delicious, salmon is super good for the brain. This is due to their high concentration of 'omega 3 fats'.. The human brain just happens to be made up of about 60% structural fat. This is because our brain cell membranes are essentially made out of these fatty acids, which just happen to be found in salmon. Basically, salmon keeps my brain cells in tip top remembering shape by allowing the cell membranes to operate efficiently - bringing in goodness and getting rid of waste product. Sounds good to me!

So there you have it! Brain food # 1- Salmon! I'm pretty excited to have a good excuse to eat more of it!

I can't say it has worked immediately, because I have just sat here for about 10 minutes trying to remember what else I was planning on writing!

Oh, thats right! I was going to say, there seems to be a great load of studies relating to the benefits of including Omega 3 in children's diets. Epidemiological studies in countries such as the U.S have demonstrated that children low in Omega 3 are more likely to be hyperactive, have learning disorders and behavioural problems. One study, conducted by Purdue university, demonstrated that a greater number of temper tantrums, sleep problems and poor concentration were reported in subjects with low Omega 3 concentrations. I am currently teaching my midget (aka 4 year old daughter) how to read and she is doing wonderfully well.. her memory rocks..and she LOVES fish. Hmm food for thought?

On a final note, here is an example of the sort of thing my darling husband and my very tolerant 4 year old have to put up with on a daily basis.

Every night, my midget and I go through the same routine- we usually play some sort of outside game before dinner time, have dinner, run a bath, PJ time and brush teeth, story time, bed time. It is generally the same thing every night, she loves routine. Last night, we played an awesome game of tag outside, had our dinner together and then as she finished off her ice cream I went into the bathroom to run her bath.... cue memory blank.. Hang on, why am I here? Hmmmm maybe I am having a shower.. So I turn on the shower and hop in..next thing my midget comes running in absolutely distraught that she's not getting a bath tonight because I'm in the shower! WHAT am I doing?! What is particularly strange is I do this routine EVERY night... so why did I forget what I was doing?

So there is a very embarrassing account of WHY I am trying to fix my brain! Haha.

On another embarrassing note.. Today at work I called a man I did not know 'darling' on the phone.. WHYYYYYY!

Come on Salmon, do your magic!

Well now...

Ok, so I'm not really up with this whole blogging business, but I'm going to give it a shot!

The reason: I am so forgetful, so absolutely forgetful. Anyone that knows me well has more than likely experienced frustration at my sieve-like brain at some point. Whether its hearing the same story a million times; helping me search for my keys, cellphone, shoes, bag, lip balm or anything else that I may have misplaced; inviting me somewhere and having to remind me a million times so that I actually turn up; telling me something which I promptly forget about 10 minutes later; me forgetting your boyfriend/ husband/ child's name only seconds after being introduced (sorry!).. Well you get the picture. I'm hopeless! And I want to see if I can somehow make my brain a more memory friendly place! I read a magazine article at work which had some information on food which assists with your brain functions and so I decided to embark on this journey!

How: I am going to research a 'brain food' diet, brain exercises and any other techniques that might help improve my memory! Then I am going to find a series of ' brain- tests' to track any improvement that might be made! I will have to do some tests to begin with so I have some point of comparison!

.. and then I will blog about it, if I can remember to keep this updated! I will have to blog about it or I may forget what I'm actually doing!

On a side note: My long term memory seems to be great. I manage to pass uni with mostly A's and next to no work... It seems I can just read something once and then 6 months later come exam time all the information is there in my brain! When I was studying at Vic, I used to sit in lectures and listen to music, yet somehow absorb the information required to pass! I'm not sure where this all fits in.. How come I can read an entire book and remember most of the contents in 6 months yet can't remember which days of the week I work (which, stay the same!) when making an appointment for something?

And so I can remember: Tomorrow: I am going to research brain food, brain exercises etc and record them in the blog.