I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas, has all their goals in place for 2008 and is ready for a great year. January is well on the way already! We've been enjoying a quiet time and catching up on a few little projects ready for a busy and exciting 2008. We've actually made our travel bookings so it's off to the UK for us mid year - very exciting!

(Just by the way - if anyone happens to know someone in the UK who is looking for a house/pet sitter after June, we'd be more than happy to oblige.)

Housesitting is becoming very popular worldwide. By exchanging home care and security for free accommodation, housesitters save on rent expenses and homeowners can leave their homes and pets knowing they'll be well cared for.

We hope to find a few 'housesits' in the UK so that we can spend more time and actually live in some of the places we want to visit rather than just be a tourist.

Click on the image to check it out before you leave on your next trip.

Your success - whether it be personal, business, career-based, financial, spiritual or health related - depends on one thing: that YOU take control and make it happen.

We all have that wonderful gift called 'free will' and we are all free to make 2008 the very best, healthiest, and most successful year yet. Let's do it!

While no one can guarantee your long-term health, I can encourage you to quit those factors in your life that are damaging your health and make you aware of the good things you can do to keep your body at its best.

One of the good things that you should be doing is considering carefully just what you eat. Before you eat anything, ask yourself.... is this food supporting my health or destroying my health? Then decide if you really want to eat it.

"The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the lowest form of poison."

So says Dr Ann Wigmore (A health tip from www.healthcoaching.com)

Good 'medicine' food to eat now while they are plentiful are cherries.

We know that the foods we eat affect the way we feel - we all have experienced that feeling of well-being that a good meal provides. We also know that it is not enough to rely just on the foods we eat to ensure we are feeding our bodies what they need.

Our bodies need all the help they can get to keep us in top condition, so adding good quality natural food supplements is essential.

But ... how do we know, really, if the supplements we are taking are actually benefiting us....

Of course, it's not just what you eat, but what you digest, absorb and assimilate that counts. One of the main problems is that so many of the over-the counter supplements that are available are synthetic extractions. Often the body is unable to recognize and/or assimilate these, and they may actually put an additional load on the organs of elimination.

Sometimes, response to dietary changes is obvious and almost immediate but our long term good health depends on our body being built with healthy cells. So the question becomes, "How long will it take before my dietary changes are actually building new, and hopefully, healthier cells?"...and "Will I notice the difference?"

Our bodies are composed of about 200 different cell types, each cell being programmed for rebirth at different times. There are a few cell types that are never replaced (auditory hair cells, heart muscle cells and nerve cells), though heart muscle cells and nerve cells do replace the bulk of their protein about every two weeks, and heart muscle cells can grow bigger if the load on the heart is increased.

All cells are affected by our diet and activities but, while some cells (granulocytes, stomach cells, colon cells) are being replaced very rapidly, many other cells survive for months or even years, so it may take months before there is any profound effect on our cells or before we are able to notice any change.

So, I guess what I am trying to say is... "Don't be discouraged if you make changes to your diet and if you add in supplements, and you don't notice any particular change for sometime ... you can be sure that your cells will be noticing the difference, and given time, you will too.

I welcome your questions, comments or requests so please contact me if you have anything you'd like to ask or say.

Until then keep well and remember 'healthy cells = healthy bodies', so feed those cells well in 2008.