Lillianna Blake

Hi, I'm Nicole. I met Zara - she's my life coach - a few months ago when I became one of the first members of the B.I.G. Girls Club. I hadn't even realized the bad space I was in until she showed me that there was another way to be living my life now, regardless of what the numbers on the scale...

Hi, I'm Zara, warrior princess. I don't usually tell that last bit to strangers, but I say it in my head all the time. It's one of the many mantras that have helped me to get to where I am today....

That Isaac Newton guy was quite bright. He said that what goes up, must come down. This may sound right to you, but there's been far too many times I've looked at the scales and disagreed....

It's good to know your limitations. I know I'll never grace the front cover of a magazine, unless it's a "most wanted" type. Every time someone looks at my ID card, I hold my breath, waiting for their reaction. Ma Barker has nothing on me when I'm wearing my serious face. So a career in front of...

Well, Max did warn me about being a movie extra. He did say it was a bad idea to answer the advertisement in the newspaper. I think he feared I would end up in some dodgy set somewhere, hanging from a ceiling, playing the part of the dead. Or maybe even an extra in an adult movie. I can't tell...

Mentoring - I can do that. I did learn from the yoga class that we have to be mindful of the needs of others. Maybe I'm sometimes a bit too, ahem, mindful of other's needs, but that's another story. So I've volunteered to be a mentor and I know exactly what I have to do. I'll just tell the...

My best friend, Max, is a great partner in crime - whenever I can pry him away from his girlfriend long enough. And this week he better help me out - I want to crash a wedding party. I have a brand new dress and I really want to show it off, so I can kill two birds with one stone. Stone - the...

Beep. I'll have to do something. My love life is like the Sahara - dry, barren, and waiting for rain to fall so it can bloom. Beep. So my pal suggested online dating, and now I'm feeling like the most desired woman in the world. My laptop keeps announcing amorous messages all day and all night...

What's the point of a bucket list if it doesn't involve a real challenge? And let me tell you, wrapping my legs around my head is a real challenge indeed. Oh, the pain - the torture. And everyone else in the yoga class is sitting there looking so composed, so - mindful. The tranquility wrecked...

I'm the queen of best intention, but I think I'm the empress of self-delusion too. There was no one happier in the world than me when I lost 70 pounds and I decided that I was going to show the world what the new me could do. So I did, and the world laughed. A lot. Oh, well - I suppose I have...

Not a chance - no way, nada. Under no circumstances am I going skinny dipping. Some things should never be seen in public. But then that Inner Voice starts nagging about "what's the point of a bucket list if it doesn't involve risk?" Well, excuse me Inner-Voice, I'm quite aware of that, but it's...

I've decided that the creative arts are not for me. I still can't boil spaghetti and I think there's an arrest warrant out against me for public indecency. So onward now to a new challenge - running a marathon. I've decided that there will be safety in numbers. And no matter how ridiculous I...

I've decided to make my mark on life. I don't need fame, fortune, or - the way I'm going - notoriety. I just need to create one little ripple that people will appreciate for years to come. So I joined an art class and learned how to paint. I have visions of grand vistas, beautiful lilies, and...

Note to self - stop asking intense people for help. All I wanted was a blog: just a nice, simple, straightforward blog where I could express the occasional opinion and post a photo of a kitten. How hard can that be? Oh no, Little Miss Intensey-Pants next door decided that I needed a blog where I...

Oh, it's such a cliche - Italian chef seduces a pupil at his top-class cooking school, reducing her to a quivering jelly and releasing her inner sexual goddess. Just show me how to boil spaghetti, why don't ya? You would think that by the age of 32, I'd be able to do even just that in the...

Pole dancing - that's it. I can do that. I used to be a gymnast as a kid. Well, I used to run around in the garden with a long ribbon, pretending I was a gymnast during the Olympics...that's just the same, right? Well, I just need to tone up a little and lose that last, ahem, 30 pounds. I know...