Puzzle of life

Ever looked back and thought, what the hell went wrong?

                 Wouldn't life be so much easier if there was a manual?
For some reason, today I couldn't help but reminisce the past and wonder why things changed so much.
At one point, my life was going exactly the way I wanted it to. Then out of no where, BAM, everything changed. Don't get me wrong, I like that my life is now a mystery and has so many paths it could take, but sometimes the feeling of discontent creeps in and makes me think about what could have been.

I made the mistake of looking at old photos, which could only end one way.. laughing hysterically at the good ole times with a muscle aching smile, then blubbering like a baby because they no longer exist and will only ever be a memory now.

Studies have shown that emotional pain only lasts twelve minutes. Anything after that is self inflicted by over thinking and worrying. When you don't think about something or become distracted, you tend to not feel the hurt or sorrow. It is only once we recommence going over and over the event, that our mind and body start feeling the pain again.

Why does the human race find it so difficult to accept unwanted situations or anything we can't control? Do we, secretly deep down, enjoy punishing ourselves? Find some sort of comfort in the salty liquid we secrete from our eyes? Why can't we just be hurt for twelve minutes and then never think about it again?

Which hurts more..
The pain of holding memories close to your heart,
or the pain of acceptance and moving on?

Because one way or another, it is inevitable.. we are going to think about what hurt us in the first place.
#thehumanrace

When shopping around pays off -

Have you ever really stopped and looked at the price of the items you're about to buy?

Was $4.39 now $4.00, Two for $6.00......pppfffftttt, please!

This piece is about our new age culture where we classify reliability and worthiness on a brand name, and also the human lifestyle of having multiple choices.

ALDI .VS. WOOLWORTHS

Not only did I walk around both supermarkets with my smart phone taking pictures, using a dictaphone app, but I have also created a cost comparison based on my own personal, single female, aged 20-25, grocery list to calculate the amount of money I could save if I could be bothered to make two stops every Sunday. It may not seem like much, but over a substantial length of time.. it could buy me a lot of handbags!

Here are a few examples of items I purchase in my shopping, and how they compare against each other, in regards to price. (Excluding home brand, information based on larger corporation names)

 W = Woolworths         A= Aldi

Clumping Clay Kitty Litter
W - 7kg - $12.43
A - 10kg - $5.59

Cling Wrap
W - 60m - $3.82
A - 60m - $1.39

Apple Juice
W - 2.4L $4.49
A - 2L - $1.99

Red Capsicum/Bell Pepper (Both Australian grown)
W - per 1kg - $8.98
A - per 1kg - $5.99

Tim Tams Original (Same product comparison)
W - 330g - $4.39
A - 365g - $3.99

Sustain Cereal (Same product comparison)
W - 480g - $5.22
A - 480g - $4.69

Blueberries (Both Australian grown)
W - 125g - $3.48
A - 125g - $1.99

You can clearly see, for the above products, it is definitely a benefit for me to shop at Aldi. However, there are some items that I should stick to gathering up from Woolies.

For example, I make my own baked beans because the pre-made products have added sugar to make them tasted better.
For me, I prefer a generic brand of four or five beans can, I add a diced tomato can with fresh basil and oregano. It in no way, tastes like the 'baked beans from the shelf' because mine are real. No extra additives, no sugar for taste, just good ole fresh herbs and real beans. And if I'm feeling adventurous, I chop up some fresh tomatoes and chuck them in too!

In regards to the canned tomatoes and beans, I found even though the items were cheaper in Aldi, the nutritional value in the Woolworths products is favourable. I'm not about to substitute a lower price, for higher fat and carbohydrate contents.

I guess the point to this post, is to inform people that sometimes the grass is greener on the other side, and to do your research. Read the ingredients, read the quantities and make an educated decision.

Distributors are sneaky, they mislead information and show false advertising, and it's up to you to put an end to it and stop believing them. They rely on consumers who are too busy with their life, to stop and calculate how much they're paying per gram or milliliter, and if it's cost effective to get the larger size which is on sale.. which generally, is not financially better because of the extra grams you're getting isn't needed, or you're only getting another 50grams for the extra $2.00 to which you're better buying two of the smaller size product.

Why, as a human race, are we so set on having multiple choices when it comes to food?
Wouldn't we just rather fresh vegetables and fruits from farmers markets, and one or two brands of everything else? It sure would make things a lot easier.

It's so difficult for people to choose the right nutritious food for themselves and their families with all these companies adding extra flavorings and chemicals into our food. For instance....
Emulsifiers & Xanthan Gum - to ensure the ingredients in a product remain mixed together, instead of clumping... Am I the only one that thinks foods shouldn't get cellulite?? We're adding chemicals into our foods to make sure they stay together... what the F ??

One thing is for sure, you don't find emulsifier in broccoli or carrots!

Reading between the lines.

Do you know what all of the below have in common?..

Agave Nectar, Barley Malt, Beet Sugar, Black Strap Molasses, Molasses Syrup, Brown Rice Syrup, Buttered Syrup, Cane Juice Crystals, Cane Juice, Carob Syrup, Caramel, Carob Syrup, Corn Sweetener, Corn Syrup, Crystalline Fructose, Fructose, Demerara Sugar, Dextran, Diastatic Malt, Diatase, Disaccharides , Ethyl Maltol, Galactose, Glucose, Golden Syrup, Honey, Invert Sugar, Lactose, Malt Syrup, Maltodextrin, Maltose, Mannitol, Maple Syrup, Monosaccharides, Muscovado, Oat Syrup, Panela, Panocha, Confectioner, Rice Bran Syrup, Refiners Syrup, Sorbitol, Sorghum Syrup, Sucrose, Treacle, Tapioca Syrup, Turbinado, Xylitol

They are all, in one way or another, a form of sugar. Whether it be pure extracted sugar from fruits, processed sugar from plants or derived from other sources such as flour, wheat etc.

But nevertheless, they're all alternative words that food manufacturers use for sugar.

So, do yourself a favour. When you're at the grocery store next, actually look at the ingredients of what you're about to buy.

Do you know that the term 'lite' on packaging, doesn't actually mean it's any better for you?

They could be describing the colour of the food, or even the texture. Yep.... I ain't lying.

Don't misunderstand, the slogan '50% less sugar' could actually be right.. but they're relying on you to not read the fine print.... the fat or carbohydrate content then sky rockets to make the food taste better. Which, if perhaps you're focusing on losing weight, will do the opposite affect because the ingredient 'fat' is the last factor your body uses for energy, because it's the hardest to break down.

Don't always believe the sticker or the catchy one-liner. 

Another thing you should know is how they list the ingredients.

"Ingredients must be listed in descending order (by ingoing weight). This means that when the food was manufactured, the first ingredient listed contributed the largest amount and the last ingredient listed contributed the least. For example, if sugar is listed near the start of the list, the product contains a greater portion of this ingredient".

- Ingredient lists and percentage labels.
(July 2012) Food Standards Australia New Zealand

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I'm not saying you need to spend 15 minutes studying each product in the store. But just research, find out what your giving your body to use to hold you up during the day.

Below are some links to find out more information about nutrition and labeling for food products.

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/additives/additiveoverview/Pages/default.aspx

http://mbm.net.au/health/guide.htm

The chemical reaction called LOVE.

The ever so old question about the strange, but yet fascinating word that we just can't seem to live without.. what is love?

What does it look like? 

How can you describe it to someone who has never felt such a confusing emotion? 

How do you even know if it's real?

I'll tell you what love is....
Norepinephrine + Dopamine + Oxytocin + Serotonin = Love.

I am in no way a hater of love; I love love. But I think it's important to understand why we feel this emotion and how to tell if it's the real thing. I fail to believe that when two people who have absolutely nothing in common, have extremely opposite personalities and no mutual goals or future desires; can romantically fall in 'love' and live happily ever after.

It just doesn't work that way. It's called compatibility, folks.

Norepinephrine (a.k.a Adrenaline): Important for the initial stages of 'falling for someone'. This chemical activates increased heart rate, makes you sweat and creates the feeling of so called 'butterflies in your stomach'.

Dopamine: The neurotransmitter widely known for initiating the feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, desire and infatuation. Because of these feelings, people will repeat the behaviors that cause the release of dopamine, to feel good. This hormone, as an example, is released during orgasm.

Oxytocin: Known as the 'cuddling hormone', this chemical is responsible for the connection and bonding feelings with a sexual partner, or someone that makes you feel special. Studies have shown that women produce more of this chemical, which could be why, to the general public, is seems woman establish a connection faster and become 'clingy' more than men. It is also found in women's breast milk, helping to create a bond between baby and mother.

Serotonin: People who are experiencing all of the above reactions, actually have lower serotonin levels, which in fact makes us less able to concentrate and stay focused. Therefore, giving us the feeling of 'I can't get them off my mind'.

In my life, I believe I have experienced five different types of love.

1. The love I have for my family and friends
2. The love for my cat, who I consider to be like my twelve year old child
3. The love for one ex-boyfriend who financially supported me and was (at the time) the vision of the kind of guy I thought I wanted to be with, and your typical first serious teenage relationship
4. The love for my most recent ex-boyfriend who I was once helping supporting (so completely different to the previous partner), dissimilar style and beliefs compared to the predecessor, could make me laugh uncontrollably, and was only one of two people that has ever been able to tickle me
5. The love for travel and adventure

Love cannot be described as a distinct feeling or meaning, for every love is different with it's own attributes. When it comes to crunch time, put aside all the feelings of obsession, butterflies and giddiness. The reactions I spoke about above, can happen with any person, but a real connection does not.

But hey, what do I know right? Screw science, I'm single.

Well played world;

I am not what you would call a 'lazy' person, but every now and again, I do let my car look like the zombie apocalypse hit earth three years ago.

That said, today I felt like being extra productive.... so I cleaned my car. Not only did I wash it once, but I washed it twice to ensure every spec of dirt had vanished before I started to chamois.
Holy moly, boy did it look like a fresh diamond out of a jewellery shop.

To reward myself for this feeling of pure accomplishment, I decided to go get a new piercing...
Yep, you guessed it! After twenty minutes in a shopping center, I had not only one, not two, but three separate bodily fluid stains from what I can only imagine was a bird racing home from work, but just couldn't quite make it. I mean, we've all pulled over to the side of the road at least once right?

At first I was disgusted, and then I was furious... which then led me to my next emotion.. curiosity. Is the world just testing me? Not once in the past two months had an animal left it's droppings on my car, but today, of all days, it happened. Why is that? Could it just be circumstantial? Or possibly the universe giving me the opportunity to show patience and forgiveness?

I came to the conclusion that maybe, we as humans, are not on this earth to just 'be'.
Maybe life is just a series of tests and mazes, and we are awarded points if we do well. They could even be like flybys or sky rewards points; once you have saved up enough, you can, so to speak 'cash them in' and use them to make that guy you been crushing on for months ask you out, or find a lost item you've been searching for for weeks.. but just randomly appears on your desk one day.

Am I crazy?    Quite possibly.
Am I a genius?     Probably not, but that doesn't mean I'm not on to something.

But, I guess the point to the story is that when I got home, I cleaned off the poop and now my car is shiny and clean again.

What. a. day.

I spy with my Green eye.

I have wanted to create a full blog with many aspects of my daily life, for quite some time.
And now, here it is. Please be gentle, it's still a working progress.

I seem to be the kind of person that goes through, well.. phases I guess you could call it.
I have no idea what I want to do with my life, or what I want to accomplish, so I just try it all.

About my tabs;

A Mystery Called: Me
This page will be under construction for quite some time.

The tab called JLH Unique Designs was a hobby of making unique, one off pieces of hand made jewellery. I don't put as much time into the art as I used to, but all in all, it's still there. This tab contains pictures and info on the pieces and how you can order if you'd like to obtain something.

I also have my Fitness & Nutrition page where I will continuously posting about new studies found an interesting facts that I would like to share for the world, as well as motivational tips that I found helpful and hopefully you will to.

Now for the exhilarating stuff..... my travels so far.
All Aboard is my page where I can describe my past experiences, and also make a collage of notes and pictures about where I want to travel next. This is the page where I would really appreciate and encourage feedback or if you would like to post your memories about places you have traveled to and even give your own tips on adventures that must be conquered.
After all, life is a journey.

Pay Attention is the page where every now and again, I might have an epiphany, dream or just have a fight with someone and I want to tell the world how my life has changed. If you want to comment and disagree or give me the thumbs up, then go right ahead.. I look forward to hearing from you.