Category Archives: Wild Woman Body

When Make-Up Becomes Meaningful

This past weekend I did something I haven’t done in years. I had a conversation with a friend about the make-up she wears, and before I knew it, I had ordered a bag of goodies for myself from the cosmetics house she recommended. According to the courier message, it’s arriving today—and I am so excited!

Now, why would this be such a big thing, you might ask? Because, dear readers, I’ve had a very unstable relationship with make-up.

From Corporate Perfection to Khaki Simplicity

I spent a decade or two working in the corporate environment. In the world of marketing and managing key accounts, looks ranked right up there alongside skills when it came to landing and keeping clients. My appearance became a full-time project. Hair, nails, make-up, outfits, and accessories weren’t just details—they became an obsession.

And while I always looked amazing on the outside, inside I never felt truly content.

Fast forward to life on the farm- at first among herds of sheep. Then came life in the bush behind a camera. Life in khaki clothing, with no make-up and no concern for appearances. That’s where I found myself again. That’s where I began to feel comfortable in my own skin.

I stopped working on my looks and started mending my heart and soul.

Strength, Balance, and a New Chapter

Six weeks ago, I began training hard at the gym. As I’ve shared before, my physical health has become a priority as I grow older. Each week I feel stronger—mentally and physically.

And this is where the excitement about make-up returns. It feels different this time. Now that I am in a healthy place mentally and emotionally, I actually want to play around with make-up again—not to meet expectations, but simply to enjoy the process of looking a little more polished.

This time, it feels balanced. I’m doing it for myself. And it feels awesome.

The Pressure Women Carry

As women, we live under the scrutiny of the world from the day we are born. By young adulthood, many of us have already lost confidence in who we truly are. No matter how intelligent or talented we may be, comments about our looks always find their way into our lives.

It has taken me time to find my way back—to know what I bring to the table and to be proud of it. Today, I feel ready to step into this older and wiser version of myself. A version that is strong, radiant, and unapologetically me.

“You are fearfully and wonderfully made.”

A Note to My Sisters

To all the ladies out there: take the time to learn to love yourself. Celebrate your strength. Embrace your beauty. And never forget—you are enough, just as you are.

When a Cold Disrupts the Flow

“Sometimes we need to slow down, not because we are weak, but because that’s where the strength of wisdom begins.”
— Unknown

Rebuilding Strength and Rhythm

I’ve really been getting into training at the gym again. For the past four weeks, I’ve been lifting heavy, eating better — especially more protein — and finding my groove. It’s amazing how quickly your body responds. I must say, I’m loving the feeling of getting stronger, of adding a little more weight each week.

My son tells me it’s muscle memory that’s making it easier to find my rhythm again. And maybe he’s right. I’ve been training on and off my entire adult life. I’m not chasing a beach body — I’m building strength for the long haul. For the version of me who still wants to hike, run, travel, and do what I love at 60 and beyond. Flexibility, strength, vitality — that’s the goal.

The Unexpected Pause

This week was supposed to be a big one. We’re heading out on a hunting safari this weekend with clients, so I planned to train hard before we go. It’s not that we aren’t active while hunting — we are — but it’s a different kind of movement.

Monday started strong with a killer glute and hamstring workout, followed by a 5km walk with my husband in the afternoon. I felt unstoppable. Then Tuesday arrived with a dry, scratchy throat. I brushed it off and still hit a chest and triceps session that afternoon. But by Tuesday night, sleep was elusive. A full-blown head cold had settled in.

Mind Over Body?

No aches or fever, just congestion and irritation. Still, it meant no training on Wednesday. Now it’s Thursday, and physically I feel better — but mentally, I’m unhinged. I want to train. I want to stay on track. I haven’t had a cold or flu in six or seven years — why now, just as I’m starting to see progress?

I find myself wondering whether I could sneak in a short dumbbell workout at home. Nothing too strenuous. I vaguely remember that exercise boosts the immune system — and if there’s no fever, it’s fine to train, right? But then again, I haven’t been eating properly the last couple of days. I’m not fueling my body like I should.

Letting the Lesson Land

And that’s the thing, isn’t it? We struggle to go with the flow when the flow dares to interrupt our plans.

Instead of surrendering to rest, I’m mentally negotiating how to push forward. Outside, it’s grey, cold and wet — a perfect match for the fog in my head. And yet, somewhere in the stillness, a deeper truth arises.

I get to do this. I get to move. To train. To be strong. So many others would give anything to do what I’m able to do. For them, physical limitation is their “normal.”

I’m not naturally a morning person — but maybe I should be. Maybe I should wake each day with gratitude simply for being able to rise, move, and live without constraint.

The Gift in the Pause

Every day offers a new lesson — even when the teacher shows up as a humble head cold. So take the pause. Let your body speak. And when the moment’s right, return to the rhythm. Stronger. Wiser. More grateful.

Go on — seize each day. Make your life extraordinary.

Raising Teens While Riding Hormonal Tides— or — What Was God Thinking?!

“What was God thinking when He decided I should be raising teenagers whilst going through perimenopause? It is the ultimate clash of hormones!”

A random internet post, or divine comedy? Either way, it hit home.

I read something funny the other day. It was a woman asking, “What was God thinking when He decided I should be raising teenagers whilst going through perimenopause? It is the ultimate clash of hormones!”

I was pondering this, as it’s very much a reality in my life. I’m pushing fifty and have three teenagers in the house. One biological son of 15, a stepson aged 14 and stepdaughter of 13. I find that mostly I just don’t seem to have the patience I had when I was in my twenties and even thirties.

Did I Miss the Timing?

Then the thought came that perhaps if I had children earlier in life, I wouldn’t be in this situation. So I started looking at history.

In biblical times, childbearing began shortly after marriage. It wasn’t uncommon for girls to have their first child between ages 13 and 16. But many continued having children up to their 30s and 40s—assuming they survived childbirth and remained fertile.

In the 1800s to early 1900s, women typically had babies in their early twenties. But that began to shift. By the late 1900s and into the 2000s, childbearing age steadily rose. Today, many women only begin having children at 28 or older. This shift is due to education, careers, contraception, autonomy, delayed marriage, and fertility technology.

Maybe There Was a Plan

Looking at this, I began to wonder: perhaps our Creator never intended for us to go through major hormonal transitions while our children were in the thick of their own. As with everything in creation, maybe there was a plan for it all to flow in harmony.

I had my biological child at 33. And while I wouldn’t trade that for anything, the truth is: teenagers are navigating a wild space between childhood and adulthood, and they need us to be patient, steady, wise. But it’s hard to show up that way when your nurturing hormone—oestrogen—is waving goodbye at a rapid pace.

If we go back to basics—without moral overlays—humans become physically capable of reproduction around 13. Which means, in the past, people would’ve been raising teenagers when they were still in their physical prime. Absurd in a modern context, yes, but biologically and emotionally? It kind of makes sense.

Did We Get Too Clever for Our Own Good?

Did we become so clever, so advanced, that we messed up nature’s rhythm?

Life has an invisible beat. And humans, for some reason, keep missing it—then land up playing a completely different tune, and we wonder why we feel confused, out of sync, and frustrated.

Life has an invisible rhythm. And humans, for some reason, keep missing a beat.

But Here I Am

Look, what’s done is done—and I’m not getting out of this raising-teens-while-riding-hormones situation. Honestly, I’m also glad I didn’t have a child at thirteen. That would’ve been its own kind of chaos.

Yet, I’m sensing more and more that the only way forward is to remember. To tune back into the ancient rhythm, the one still humming beneath the noise. To let go of my mind for a moment. And allow my life to flow again.

This way, we may just all make it through this crazy ride, mostly intact.

PS. Condolences to hubby, standing on the side, watching the proverbial shit show, with no idea what’s going down!

Renewal Season

A first note from the edge of the wild

These are notes from the edge of the wild —
words shaped by wind, silence, soul, and sky.
Welcome to the untamed corners of thought,
where the heart runs barefoot and the mind is allowed to wonder.

The body in transition

Life is a tide between hardship and wonder.
In my late forties the water feels different: slower in places, faster in others.
Perimenopause drifts in with its subtle shifts — energy that dips,
muscle tone that slips away if I’m not looking.

I read that in Japan this season is called konenki:
“years of renewal and energy.”
A threshold into deeper wisdom, not decline.
That feels like truth to me.

A mission for muscle and fire

I still wear the same jeans,
but strength isn’t a number on a tag.
I want lean muscle, clear mind, fuel for long trails ahead.

Not to impress anyone.
To inhabit this next half of life —
strong‑bodied, sharp‑eyed, wildly awake.

“The beginning of all wisdom is wonder.” — Aristotle

What you’ll find here

  • Unfiltered training logs & sunrise reflections
  • Nutrition experiments (with room for wine, but wiser pacing)
  • Notes on parenting three teens while running a business in the bush
  • Quiet confessions from the liminal hours — where courage meets fatigue

This is my renewal season, and these are my Wild Soul Notes.
Unfinished. Untamed. And finally, truly mine.