My Crossfit Log and some rambling.

I’ve decided to keep a livejournal crossfit log of all my workouts. I’ve tagged each workout so every time I go to do a new session, I can easily search by tags to get results from any same or similar workout. I’m doing this so I can go to the gym with old times and weights in hand and ensure I have the best chance to smash them!

Finding it very motivating to record everything on my journal. It doesn’t take long to clock up  heaps of sessions and you feel a real sense of pride and achievement scanning back over all the old workouts. It’s great to see in such a short time how much I am improving.

My training goals before Christmas 2009

• To be able to complete one full muscle up
• Increased confidence and weight on olympic lifts
• To run 5km without hating it or stopping (yes, I’m a trainer and I hate running!)
• To  perform Glute-Ham Situps as prescribed in a workout (not as easy as it looks!)

I have some specific training goals that I’ve shared here today. Purpose being, that I wanted to demonstrate the Constant and Never Ending Improvement concept from my perspective. I’ve achieved a lot of goals and do not want to lose weight or tone up anywhere. What I DO want is more strength and to be more capable with a lot of the crossfit workouts and exercises. I see a lot of people give up on training because they can’t cope with getting to a certain fitness level/weight/strength, then being told they need to take it up another notch. They regard it as failing because more is being asked of them. It is quite the opposite! It is SO important, right from the very start of your transformation that you are aware that the expectations must always rise and there is no finish point. Embrace this! It is a positive thing and it will be something you cherish as time goes by. The majority of people get addicted to the improvements and are happy to seek them out infinitely.

So, don’t lose heart if your trainer ups your push ups, or makes you run faster all the time, it just means your body has adapted to the training, and it is no longer training or improving your health if you don’t ask that little bit more. If you don’t have a trainer or coach, be that little voice inside your own head and keep looking for ways to do a harder progression, run a bit faster, lift a bit more weight. Learn to love that aspect of your exercise because it will lead you to a body that is capable of so much more. I hope with a lot of the people I have helped that they one day may feel confident enough that they can then go on and teach others.

Obesity and my fears for YOUR health!

I have a real fear that here in Australia (and also the U.S) that obesity will become the norm. I drove past the local high school last week, and I honestly could only spot 2 girls out of over 80 that were not overweight or obese. Everywhere I go I see people who I regard as obese. It really concerns me, not only because being overweight ruins your self esteem – it ruins your life. Your health risks increase dramatically (diabetes, heart disease, joint problems are just a few), you are more likely to have trouble conceiving children, and your life is shortened. It is all avoidable and it frustrates me so much to see how acceptable it is to be overweight now. I will no doubt offend some people with this post but perhaps it is time we all took a real good look at ourselves and our children and did something about it. We have become so lazy and so spoilt by technology that exercise is not a part of every day life for a lot of people anymore. I honestly don’t give a crap about what people look like, I’m not expecting everyone to look like an elite athlete – it is about what is going on inside that worries me!

If you know someone that doesn’t exercise or play sport – why not offer to go walking with them as a starting point. You can use the walks as a time to suggest meeting up for little circuit workouts or going to a class at the gym together. Get off your butt now and go save a life! You can make time no matter your circumstances. I’m yet to coach a client who I could not help with a slightly re-arranged schedule, kids, shift work or otherwise!

Chemical free living in 2 Hours & 45 Minutes

If you use common household products to wash yourself, dishes and clothes, clean benches, mop floors, deodorise rooms and polish windows, you are quite literally poisoning yourself. Heavy opening line, but this is one topic I will not beat around the bush about. I know what you are thinking. Supermarkets wouldn’t be allowed to sell us products if they weren’t safe. I only have one thing to say about that. Cigarettes.

Making the change to a less toxic household should be a priority for anyone seeking to improve their health. It only takes one day. I am going to teach you why and how you should eliminate all common cleaning and personal care products and switch to non-toxic alternatives.

Why you should go chemical free

Stop assuming all the products available to consumers are even close to safe. If you turn the bottle over and read the ingredients list, unless you are in industrial chemist you will have a hard time knowing what any of the chemicals are, or what they do to you. 10 minutes on Google researching some of the common ones turns up a disturbing list of side effects. Toxins build up in your body daily from pesticide residues in food, added chemicals (preservatives, colourings, flavours, thickeners) in food. If you add to this the exposure from breathing in or touching cleaning products it is definitely enough to show up on a blood screen as proven by researchers all over the world. I recently watched a UK documentary where the subjects had disturbingly high levels of parabens and other common chemicals in their blood from using normal shampoos and makeup. You don’t have to eat chemicals to get them into your bloodstream, tissues and organs. There is a reason why the factory workers handling the chemicals that go into these products are required to wear protective clothing and masks.

I personally made the switch when my son was born. I’d planned to do it as a bit of an experiment anyway, but when he started showing severe skin reactions to washing detergent and even synthetic fibers in blankets, I knew it was time to completely clear my house of nasty chemicals. I literally grabbed a garbage bag and threw out every bottle of shampoo, deodorant, floor cleaner, window cleaner, mould spray and dishwashing liquid I could find.

This may come as a shock to some people, but I also got rid of all the baby lotions and potions I was given because the list of ingredients on those was even more disturbing that what I could find in the laundry! I’m talking about trusted, traditional brands here as well as some newer “natural” ones – shampoo, wipes, nappy rash creams, the lot!

This is truly one area of your life and health you can immediately take control over. You have nothing to lose by going chemical free. I will explain in detail how to replace the products you are going to throw out. Not only will you significantly reduce your exposure to toxins, you are going to save a small fortune in expenses, and also save a lot of storage space by simplifying what you use. If you or your children have eczema or asthma you might notice your symptoms improve dramatically as you eliminate many triggers from your home.

Step 1: 15 minutes

The first step in this process is to grab a bag, box or basket and go around to every room in your home and collect every bottle and tube. Don’t think about doing it another day. Print this page out. Take this article with you, and get cracking, right now.

Examples:

Shampoo
Deoderant
Toothpaste
soap – liquid and bars
Dishwashing liquid
Laundry powder/detergent
Air freshener
Nail Polish
Makeup
Moisturiser
Baby creams
Baby wipes
Makeup remover wipes
Tanning lotions
Oven cleaner
Drain cleaner
Hair Dye
Hair spray

Step 2: 30 minutes

Lay them all out on a table or bed and start looking at the ingredients list on each bottle/tube. Below is a list of common chemicals and their side effects. If you have read this far and want to start making your home safer, if you see these chemicals on the back – throw that bottle into the bin. This is but a short list of common chemicals, I found some or all of these in everything in my house. Keep in mind you may only use the product every couple of days, but the chemical builds up in your body over time to toxic levels. Blood tests after single can show readable amounts!

If you are feeling particularly productive, and notice a chemical name popping up on most bottles that I don’t have listed here, do a quick internet search for it and take a moment to educate yourself on what the side effects of exposure are and whether it has been listed as carcinogenic or not.

Common Chemicals in Household/Personal Products

•Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol – Found commonly in deodorant.  PG penetrates skin and weakens protein and cellular structure. It’s strong enough to remove barnacles from boats!  The EPA considers PG so toxic that workers are required to wear protective clothing and to dispose of PG by burying it in the ground. PG penetrates the skin so quickly, the EPA warns against contact to prevent brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities, but there isn’t even a warning label on products such as stick deodorants, where the concentration is greater than in most industrial applications.
•Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) - Found in anything that foams up (soap, detergent, shampoo etc).  Animals exposed to SLS experience eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation, and even death. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS. It may damage the skin’s immune system and can be transformed into a potent class of carcinogens. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, lungs, and brain.
•1.4-dioxane (Also listed as xynol,’ ‘ceteareth’, and ‘oleth) Products with petrolum bases often contain this impurity which is a known carcinogen (cancer causing chemical).
•DEA (diethanolamine)
MEA (Monoethanolaniine)
TEA (triethanolamine) – Hormone-disrupting chemicals that can form cancer-causing nitrates.  Restricted in Europe due to carcinogenic effects, yet they are still used in the U.S. Americans may be exposed 10-20 times per day with shampoos, shaving creams and bubble baths. Dr. Samuel Epstein (Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Illinois) says that repeated applications of DEA-based detergents result in major increase in liver and kidney cancer. The PDA’s John Bailey says, "The risk is significantly increased for children."
•Sodium Hydroxide - This is caustic lye found in drain cleaners, and is now found in our toothpaste!  I even found this in an all-natural shaving cream.
•Triclosan – A synthetic "antibacterial" with a chemical structure similar to Agent Orange. It is widely used in soaps, toothpastes and deodorants, has been detected in breast milk, and one recent study found that it interferes with testosterone activity in cells.  Toxic effects measured in the parts per trillion: That is only one drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools!
•DMDM & Urea (Imidazolidinyl) - Two of many preservatives that often release formaldehyde, and found in baby bath soap, nail polish, eyelash adhesive and hair dyes.  They have a long list of adverse health effects, including immune-system toxicity, respiratory irritation and cancer in humans, and they can cause joint pain, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness, and loss of sleep.
•Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) - Carcinogenic petroleum ingredient that reduces the skin’s natural moisture. Increases the appearance of aging and leaves you vulnerable to bacteria. It’s also used in spray-on oven cleaners and cleansers to dissolve oil and grease.
•Parabens – (methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, butyl-, isobutyl-) – Parabens appear in a wide variety of toiletries.  A study found that butylparaben damaged sperm formation in the testes of mice, and a relative, sodium methylparaben, is banned in cosmetics by the E.U.  Parabens break down in the body into p-hydroxybenzoic acid, which has estrogenic activity in human breast-cancer cell cultures.
•Alcohol, Isopropyl (SD-40) – Made from a petroleum derivative, it’s found in shellac and antifreeze, as well as personal care products. A drying, irritating solvent that strips skin’s moisture and immune barrier, making you vulnerable to bacteria and viruses. Promotes brown spots and premature aging. Fatal ingested dose is one ounce or less.
•Mineral Oil - A petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic wrap, clogging the pores. It interferes with skin’s ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne and other disorders. Slows down skin function and cell development, resulting in premature aging.  Baby oil is 100% mineral oil!
•FD&C Color Pigments – Synthetic colors from coal tar are known human carcinogens used as active ingredients in dandruff shampoos and anti-itch creams. Coal-tar-based dyes such as FD&C Blue 1, are used in toothpastes, and FD&C Green 3, are used in mouthwash,
•Fragrances – The term "fragrance" may mask phthalates, which act as endocrine disruptors and may cause obesity and reproductive and developmental harm. Can contain up to four thousand ingredients (including animal urine), many toxic or carcinogenic. Causes headaches, dizziness, allergic rashes, skin discoloration, violent coughing, vomiting, and skin irritation. Fragrances also affect the nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, and other behavioral changes.
So, in our baby’s shampoo and bubble bath, that our babies and small toddlers are soaking in while they play, are fragrances, FD&C colors, parabens, sodium hydroxide, imidazolidinyl urea, among others. 

* Natural or Organic products claiming to be green and safe still need careful consideration before purchase. Be sure to read every label, it only takes 10 seconds of your time!

Step 3: 1 hour

Purchase Alternatives

I personally avoid most commercial brands found in supermarkets because even the ones claiming to be organic and natural often still list many of the chemicals in question. For my personal care items, I shop at health food stores and also seek out online, home/handmade products that utilise essential oils and natural bases such as beeswax and almond oil.

Cleaning

I only use bicarb soda (you can make a paste with water and wipe) and/or vinegar. You can sprinkle the bicarb (ie on your stove top) then spray with vinegar and wipe/scrub as it fizzes. I use these methods for any marks around the house. I use a mix of 1 part vinegar, 1 part metho and 2 parts water to clean windows, soap scum on shower glass etc, works very well! There is a lot of detailed information out there on how to clean with bicarb and vinegar – I have 2 great books that I use for my chemical free cleaning. They are by Shannon Lush – “Spotless” and “Speed Cleaning”. Probably the two most useful books I own!

Vinegar as full strength or watered down is a fantastic, effective disinfectant that I use in the toilet, kitchen etc in a spray bottle. The smell will not linger once you wipe.

Essential Oils are great for scenting rooms/toilet bowls you can wipe with a damp cloth (using a drop or two) with any scent you like. Be sure to buy good quality oils, not the $2 bottles from discount stores!

Ecostore have a range of laundry and kitchen products that have no nasty chemicals which I’ve enjoyed using for washing clothes and dishes. http://www.ecostore.co.nz/

Personal Care

Your local health food store should stock plenty of chemical free, essential oil fragranced shampoos and conditioners that are free of the nasties. Same goes for sunscreen and makeup. You can get crystal stick deodorant that stops the smell, but you will still sweat. The salts in it neutralise the bacteria that causes body odour. You do need to wet to apply ad apply a little more often than normal deodorant. I’d prefer that than putting aluminum and other nasties on my bare skin to be absorbed every day. I also feel letting your skin perform its normal function is very important!

I’ve used raw honey applied directly to wounds and nappy rash/fungal infections with success. It is also very soothing. I’ve also used it on my horse who had a large open leg wound. I filled the hole daily with honey and bandaged it. The fist sized hole sealed up in 3 weeks to a small thin line. Amazing stuff! It has anti fungal and antibacterial properties. Plain untreated honey is just as good as the expensive manuka honey I’ve found. It soaks into skin well and excess when changing dressings etc can be washed off with water easily.

I use henna hair dyes (henna is a plant powder you mix with hot water to form a paste, then apply to your hair as per normal) as I react severely to normal hair dyes.

For baby wipes I have always used bamboo re-usable baby wipe cloths that I bought from my cloth nappy supplier (http://www.babybeehinds.com.au or http://www.naturescradle.com.au)
You simply wet the cloth, wipe, then pop into the nappy bucket for your next load of nappies. If you don’t use cloth nappies yet (I will convince you that you should in a future post!) just keep a little bucket with a lid handy and every 2nd day pop them in the washing machine and hang out to dry.

Here is a short list of ideas to restock your cupboards. There are many lovely websites where people make by hand soaps, shampoos, lotions and so on using natural oil or beeswax bases. These sites also have recipes and bases to create your own products which are great for gifts too. This online store is a great example of what you can get online to make your own:

http://www.heirloombodycare.com.au

If you just want to purchase products ready made, I love these beeswax based creams, shampoos and soaps!

http://www.beeswaxnhh.com.au

There are organic, chemical free toothpastes available also, which I am trialling at the moment. Will report back on this issue later.

Shopping List

Supermarket:

Bicarb Soda (cleaning, and can be used as a washing powder)
Vinegar (disinfecting spray, cleaning)
Scrubbing brush
Plastic spray bottle
Eco Store Washing Powder (the ONLY one that my son didn’t have skin reaction to!)
Eco Store dishwashing liquid is also plant based and no nasty chemicals

Health Food Store or Online:

Honey (use raw honey on wounds, burns (even large open wounds) to heal and soothe.
Handmade natural soaps
Beeswax based beauty/moisturising products
Shea butter based lotions/creams
Essential Oils (I like lavendar for toilet bowls and kitchen!)
Crystal Stick Deodorant
Organic Shampoo/Conditioner
Makeup

Step 4: 1 hour

Cleaning the toxic air in your home

Once you have removed some of the sources of contaminants in your home the next step is to do something to improve the quality of the air in your home.

The cheapest, most effective solution to this, which is also visually appealing, is to get some houseplants!

Measurable indoor toxins include emissions from gas appliances, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), air fresheners, furniture cleaners, shampoos, paints and glues.
Even low levels of pollutants can cause problems like headaches and nausea and can lead to chronic health problems in the long term. It’s been known for many years (even NASA in 1984 did a successful study) that plants purify air.

Recently, Margaret Burchett, a plant physiologist, biochemist and toxicologist from the University of Technology Sydney tested 6 plants in a range of Sydney office environments and found that extremely high levels of pollutants were reduced to negligible amounts.
Byrchett tested six plants:

• Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum ‘Petite’ and S. ‘Sensation’)
• Dracaena marginata
• Dracaena deremensis
• Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum aureum)
• Umbrella tree (Schefflera ‘Amate’).

She said however that any plant will serve the same purpose – the micro-organisms in the potting mix do all the hard work – the plant serves to keep this system operating. So, get out to your local nursery and find some indoor plants you like the look of and give them a new home!

So there you have it. In 2 hours and 45 minutes you can give your home a detox and begin a more natural way of caring for your skin and hair. Grab a garbage bag and get to it!

How to see the glass as half full – Tools for becoming more positive

I personally battled a 2 year long bout of depression that did more than just drain me mentally. It affected my relationships, lost me many a job and even had physical ramifications that are only now finally clearing up (some 8 years later). My confidence was non existent and I had no friends. I had dug myself into a hole. I could find a negative to any positive people wanted to throw at me. I could find something wrong with everything. I actually started finding a wicked sense of pride and achievement in being negative. I don’t know if my depression was a chemical imbalance, or whether my circumstances at the time became too much for me and I just let go and let the darkness take me over. If you have never experienced true depression, the best way I can describe it is that you wake up in the morning and start crying right away because you are literally unable to face the day. Every task, conversation, meal, shopping trip, shower is too much effort and you simply can’t get out of bed. A total sense of helplessness and an overwhelming negative feeling about every single aspect of your life.

I’m in a different space all together now, it is blissful, sometimes still emotional and I do have bouts of rage that I am gradually whittling down. I feel so alive though and I have an overwhelming desire to help others now instead of wallowing in self pity. I hope what I share here may help you if you are feeling down, struggling financially, having relationship problems, or indeed suffering depression or anxiety. I’ve built up a series of steps and cues for myself which I feel I should share, in case they can even help just one of my readers.

I can’t go on any further without referring to some of the amazing people who I’ve learnt from in my journey so far. I went from living in a caravan park, and living off food vouchers in a destructive relationship, to being happily married, with a son, living in paradise, financially stable and living in a energetic, motivated space. My first wake up call came from one of Tony Robbins’ CD sets. I remember buying them out of desperation. I figured my next stop was a shrink and seeing as I couldn’t afford one, I went to the local book shop and ordered a 6 CD pack of his motivational talks.

Constant and Never Ending Improvement

The main thing I took away from what he teaches is that you must always ask yourself an empowering question to find some direction. For me, it is always “What can I do right now, this INSTANT to improve my situation? “ I used this in a very literal sense. Sometimes it meant logging on and looking for a job. Other times it might be to swallow my pride, and apologise to someone, or even go through and sell some items on ebay so I could pay a bill. Creating a habit of stopping myself in the peak moment of rage or anxiety and asking that question was one of the most powerful tools I used to change my state from helplessness to productive. Tony also talks a lot about the C.A.N.I principle – Constant And Never Ending Improvement. I’ve successfully applied this to all areas of my life and I feel just reminding myself of it keeps me very motivated. I try to think of it as 1% a day = 100% in 100 days! You can apply it to everything – for me it is very important with my training and developing my nutritional habits as I want to attain as much information as possible and use what I know to help others. I am much more relaxed about both areas now because I don’t see a particular “end point”. I’m ok with never being perfect. I still have goals but there is always an open end them. I enjoy every day seeking out a way to improve my fitness, strength, endurance, cooking skills and relationships. I don’t set out to improve on every aspect of my life every day, but I do make a mental note of something I want to achieve, no matter how small. I love the driving force thinking like this provides me, it is really empowering and gives me so much energy. Disappointment has been banished from my life, I just keep looking forward to what I can work on next. It isn’t tiring at all, you live in a sense of achievement and motivation all the time!

“Chunking it down” was a great way to cope with anxiety attacks. I’d often have an overwhelming sense of urgency about me when trying to get through normal daily tasks at home or work. I would often stress myself out so much over it, I’d throw my hands up in the air, claim “it can’t be done, there is no way I can finish this in time” then promptly burst into tears or tear shreds off the nearest person who dared to try and calm me down. If you take a moment to truly prioritise what is in front of you, you can often get a little list going and break things down into smaller tasks and then be strong and push yourself to only focus on one at a time. Looking back I’m actually embarrassed about my behavior, but to me at the time, in the moment, it felt so rational!

Perspective and Gratitude

A strong influence for me over the last decade has been someone I have never had the chance to thank in person, her name is Belita, the child I sponsor in Africa. Receiving her letters would give me a huge reality check. To hear her describe how excited she was to sit in her new classroom at school now, (because my money had helped them build one) was sobering. She told me it was much better than being under the tree because at least when it rained now they would be able to keep on with the class. After reading her letter, not being able to afford to go the movies, or having to get up and work at 4:30am, or my boyfriend leaving his clothes on the floor seemed so very trivial. No matter how poor my financial situation became, I prioritised my monthly payment to her over everything else. Someone so far away has affected my life so much and one day I hope I can meet her to tell her that in person. Writing back to her, telling her about what is going on my life made me realise I was somewhat materialistic and had no reason to be so negative. She has always been so happy about everything in her life, and so thankful for what she does have, it made me sick to the stomach as I became more aware of my attitude and general outlook. I needed to find ways to appreciate all the greatness in my life. To have a sense of gratitude for all the wonderful people and experiences that came my way.

The Law of Attraction

A good friend of mine who I met through my husbands design work, is Helen Hall. She is an amazing Health Coach who taught me a lot about real health and real nutrition, which was a far cry from what they taught me in my Personal Training course! Having meals with her and her partner at the time, Stephanie Burns, led to many enlightening conversations about how we could eat and live better. They introduced us to Udo’s oil and eating LSA (a ground up meal of linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds), got us drinking more water and snapped us out of our slack habit of eating whatever we could get on the way to training. We learnt to respect our bodies with better fuel.

I’ve learnt that the right people tend to come into your life at the right time. Helen taught me a lot about health, however the main reason I wanted to mention her is because she introduced me to a movie called “The Secret”. If you haven’t seen it, it is about the Law of Attraction. Steve Pavlina has a good article on this and there is a lot of writing about it out there so I won’t rehash what has been done before. A brief explanation is:

Your can attract into your life what you think about. If you think about negative things, that is what the universe delivers. If you think about money, or a job, it delivers that too. For example, if you are struggling financially, and you tend to think about bills and debts, that is what you will get more of. If you constantly think about how fat you are, you are ordering more fat from the universe! If you change your tune and think about money and higher income, or a healthy body, you will have opportunities come your way, and even cheques in the mail that you didn’t expect.

1. Know exactly what you want.
2. Ask the universe for it.
3. Feel, behave and know as if the object of your desire is already yours (visualise)
4. Be open to receive it and let go of (the attachment to) the outcome.

For all of the above to work, it is imperative that you think about what you are grateful for all the time. I have started a gratitude journal and try to write 5 things in it every night. I’d recommend everyone to start one whether you believe in the law of attraction or not. I write things like:

Thankyou for my health
Thankyou for my wonderful relationships with my family,
I’m grateful for the money that is helping us pay our home off
I’m grateful for how much sleep I have been getting

Doing this every day helps you to appreciate everything good in your life and makes it easier to disregard the negatives. The more thought you give to all the great things, the more you start to pay attention to opportunities and coincidences that can lead you to what you want. You know when you want to buy a certain model of car, then for a few weeks, you start seeing that model everywhere you go? Same principle – it sets you up to notice and pay attention to ways to bring the things you want into your life.

I do personally believe in the law of attraction (LOA). It has helped me with finding a career path I am passionate about, and being able to work from home. It’s helped my husband get remote work through his employer too. It has helped us start up our own businesses. We’ve gone from broke to a much better financial situation. We aren’t renting anymore. There were sums of money I asked the universe for and we got them within 12 months. I believe the way I think because I put the LOA into action helped me with getting pregnant and having a healthy baby. I believe it helped me get out of my depression and find plenty of motivation every day, with enough left over to help other people. If nothing else, it is a great tool for your emotional management as it can assist you to stay positive and maintain a sense of direction in your life.

Above all, respect and nourish your body. It is the vehicle for experiencing life and you can live on an amazing permanent high by fuelling yourself with good nutrition! Feeling physically well through exercise and food will go a long way to improving your mental experience.

I hope you can apply these tools for motivation, success and a positivity to your life. Be happy with constant and never ending improvement, celebrate all your achievements and keep looking for new ways to improve your life, 1% at a time.

If there are any areas of my posts that you would like me to expand upon, please let me know, I’m happy to oblige!