thank you, I'm great

Each quarter (doesn't that sound strangely American and financial-speak? I don't feel comfortable with it. What's nicer, 'season'? Let's try again with that). Each season, I buy a copy of Juno, a small English parenting magazine, that could be described as 'hippy', I suppose.

Its central issues focus on nutrition, gentle birth, breastfeeding, positive, wholistic education, non-confrontational, communicative child rearing, ecology and so on.

If you would give up your life to drive an SUV, send your kids to creches and private school, and scrub your house and children with a bleach and chemical cocktail everyday, then I'll admit, this magazine may just irritate you. It is earnest. And not very noughties, it harks back to a slightly simpler age that those of us raised in the seventies might be more familiar with. For most parents though, I think it's packed with thought provoking, challenging, and helpful information. I really like it.

So this week I thought I'd share some of it with you.

This morning, a simple idea. We talked a while back on 49pounds about the difficulty most of us have accepting compliments. We have been conditioned to self denegrate, and it's got to the point where we do nothing but refuse compliments and talk trash about ourselves.

Why not try the opposite - start bragging! Tell people how great you are. Work on the positive spin. Start making positives out of the negatives - 'next time it's raining I'll remember my umbrella - doesn't the rain feel fresh on my face?' Ok, we all know about positive thinking, but I do like this bragging idea. Be up front about what you're good at, about your shapely bum, your Slavic cheekbones, your artistic vision: if you've got it, be happy about it - and tell people. The article also suggests asking for help when you need it, making eye contact, and smiling whene you say thank you.

I once told a friend I made the best egg mayonnaise I'd ever tasted, and she laughed and said 'Jo, that's so not Irish'. It's true. Why is being proud of your accomplishments and yourself not Irish? Have we nothing to be proud of?

In actual fact, I didn't have time to cool the egg mayo that day, so in fact it wasn't the best I'd ever tasted, which is a bit unfortunate for the purposes of this post, but I'm choosing to believe that was nothing to do with my bragging :)

So in the interests of positive self promotion, here's what I do:
Boil eggs so yolks are fully cooked (8 mins?), cool them! If you want to get the shells off easily, crack them asap and run cold water over them to cool.
Mush yolks well with a fork.
Add Dijon mustard, celery seeds, paprika, salt and pepper.
Add a scoop of mayonnaise and mix well.
Chop the whites up small and mix in with some finely chopped pickle (mmm, pickle).
Go could go down the chopped parsley garnish route if you so chose.
Spread on fresh brown McCambridge's type bread - and butter.

BEST EGG MAYONNAISE I'VE EVER HAD!

Here's a link to the online site in case you want to check it out. I've only ever found it in the Ecoshop in Greystones, but you can subscribe. http://www.junomagazine.com/articles.html