Merry Christmas!!!

This will be my last post for a little while, so just wanted to pop in and say a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my blogging friends! Thank you all for your wonderful friendship and support this year - I look forward to another great year in 2007 with you all!

We are off on our trip tomorrow (I just cant believe its nearly here!) and I think I'm almost all set. Just got a minor detail of packing to do today! Also have to do my nails, go to BF's family's place to celebrate Christmas (and nieces' birthday), finish chopping dog food, do more washing, go buy a bigger suitcase for BF (so we can bring lots of goodies home)... OMG I best get cracking!!

I will try to blog whilst overseas, but I'm not sure how often it will be... otherwise we'll be home on the 20th of January, so will hopefully update soon after that.

We go to Singapore until the 27th of December, then in the UK until the 11th of January. Then we're in Austria until the 14th of Jan, then Italy until the 19th of January..... oooooh I cant wait!

Hope everyone has a fantastic break! Byeeeeee!!!!!!!!

This time next week....

...we'll be on the plane!  7 days to go... I'm so excited!!

Yesterday we went out and bought ourselves some thermal tops, and also I got my very first pair of hiking boots!  I was quite excited about these, and so I wore them all afternoon around the house.... it did look quite funny (especially on me) wearing shorts, black socks and these great clod-hopping boots ;-)~ I said to BF that I looked like I should be working at Australia Zoo or in a wildlife park.  But had to break them in, dont want to get sore feet whilst tramping around England or Scotland.

Picked up the tickets on Saturday, along with itineraries, travel vouchers etc... so it REALLY feels like its not far away now!  Finished off my Christmas shopping too, so its all coming together.  This week will be a mission, trying to organise money, copies of passports, chopping up dog food (a months worth!!), packing, having Christmas a few days early with both sets of families, boyfriends' birthday on Thursday... plus working up til Friday, and still finding time to train!

We're having 'dress up theme days' this week at work - Wednesday is "Wiggles" Day - I'm dressing as the yellow one, although I had to go buy a top especially.  Why cant there be a black Wiggle... I've got lots of black!

Anyway, a short one today - lots to do...

Have a great week!

Robbie Report

Wow what a fantastic night!  I'm not hungover, but I am sooo tired!!   It was a fabulous concert, my feet are still sore from standing up and bopping all night, and my voice is a bit hoarse from singing and "woohoo-ing" all night!

So it was a great show, the support act (Sneaky Sound System) did not impress, but other than that it was a fabulous night!  We got ready at work (and this started from about 3pm yesterday afternoon) - so it was fun trying to find a spot by the mirror in the bathroom!  We left work at 4-ish and went to one of the ladies houses for a quick glass of champers, and then into a mini-bus and to the stadium.  The corporate box was open air - and we had a few plates of nibblies and finger food through the night - I even managed to eat 2 King Prawns, and I dont like prawns, so this was impressive for me!  I managed to eat more than my share of cheese and crackers though!   But OMG it was so hot and humid, I was wishing I hadn't worn jeans, and I would have killed for a hair band to tie my hair up cos the back of my neck was all sticky... yuk!  I had a couple of glasses of wine, and about 3 bottles of water, had to stay well-hydrated.

When Robbie came on it was just this amazing atmosphere, everyone screaming and jumping.  It was great - I took a few photos so I will try to post them, but they are a bit fuzzy because I had to use the digital zoom to get close enough to see him.  We were about halfway down the stadium, so we had a pretty good view, but still a little far away for photos.  It was weird because I kept finding myself watching the screens, rather than the "actual Robbie" on stage - everyone else said they kept catching themselves doing the same thing.   He had to be finished by 10.30 because of the noise restrictions around Suncorp Stadium, and he actually finished by 10.20.  So we were back on our bus by 10.30, and I was home by 11.30. But that is suuuuper late for me and I am so tired! 

Anyway, a great night and we are all walking around with big sleepy grins on our faces today!

Yesterday I jumped on the scales and found myself at 56.8kgs - woohoo!  I have been hovering just above 57kgs for so long now, it was nice to break into the next bracket down.  I was over that this morning, bit too many carbs last night took its toll, and not going to gym this morning probably didn't help.  Hey - sometimes sleep has to take priority!

Well thats about it from this tired little bunny - looking forward to a good sleep tonight.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Blah!

I had a bad week last week.  Not enough exercise, too much bad food.  I'm blaming the hormones - bloody PMT!   Cranky, moody, bloated, emotional basket-case, cravings, arguement-picking... that pretty much sums up my week last week!

Anyway, putting it behind me now.  My weight went up over the weekend, and everything feels huge at the moment... boobs, bum, belly!  Blah! 

Saturday was a big walk with the dogs, and then I tried to finish my Christmas shopping, I got close, but didn't quite finish it.  We had the electrician around all day fixing our new gates, intercom, and outdoor lights.  The dogs got bathed (Elke took much less time to bath now that she's got no hair!).  Saturday night dinner with friends.

Sunday morning we awoke to the sight of a dead possum on one of the dogs beds.  We have no idea which one of them did it, but we were most unimpressed.  BF went outside to put the poor thing in a bag, and turned to look at me in horror... there was a little baby possum lying beside it.  It was about the length of your thumb, no hair, it was so young that its eyes werent even open yet.  And then... it moved - it was alive.  Poor BF, he was so upset.  So we scooped up the poor little baby, and I rang the 24 hour emergency vet number.  It was heartbreaking - when we first picked it up it was as cold as ice, I put my finger out to touch it and it grabbed my finger with all four legs, just like a human baby does with your finger.  So we put it in a little box with cotton wool, wrapped it in a heat-bag, and we rushed it up to the Animal centre.  Poor little possum bub.  It didnt take long for him to warm up with the heat bag, and the vet nurse said they would do what they could, but it was probably just too little to survive.  So sad.

So then I went to the shops and bought bells for the dogs collars.  They sound like cats running around now, but who cares as long as it saves the wildlife.

It is two weeks today that we leave on our trip.  In fact, by this time in a fortnight, we should be in Singapore.  It feels like its coming so quick, but also like it will never get here.  The anticipation is half the fun I think.

And... 3 more sleeps til Robbie!

Some photos

"The wilderness" Our front yard - before bobcat. This is looking from the house to the front fence.

The Lawn! Our front yard - after bobcat and turf.

Our new car, parked on our lovely dirt driveway where its getting quite filthy.














"What have you done to me?!!!!"

Poor Elke, after being shaved on Sunday. She looks like a little puppy here, but she's a 3 year old border collie cross Keeshond. Its just the head that looks a little strange. I'm sure it wont take too long for the rest of it to grow back, but in the meantime she's gotta be loving the feeling of being cool.

My jeans fit !!!!!

Last Friday I tried on those couple of pairs of jeans that I have that I couldn't get into, and they now fit!!!!!! There is one pair that I probably still wouldn't wear in public at the moment, but the others are fine now... this was my major goal for the trip, so with a couple of weeks to go, everything should be fitting just perfectly! Sweet!

The weekend was busy again, as usual. Saturday: up early and took the dogs for a walk, then coffee with a friend and an optomotrist appointment. Got some more stuff for the trip (a satin eye mask, a large red handbag so I can carry more crap around with me, a new belt, and a travel journal) and actually have started putting things in the suitcase, which is exciting. Saturday night we went to a BBQ - BF had been working like a trojan all day building our new electric gates, so I let him drink. Its easier to stay on plan when you are the designated driver! I had far too many crackers and Castello cheese though - yum!

Sunday i went and got my hair done - I had a fair bit of length chopped off, and a colour, plus this gorgeous slash of colour down the right side of my head. Its bright orange, maybe an inch and a half thick - I love it. Then I filled my nails, and did a french polish - so I'm feeling all girly again. Ahhhh grooming up to date!

On Sunday afternoon we shaved Elke. Its been sooo hot for her. She had lovely shiny hair down her back, very silky and soft, but she would never let you near her rear end to brush it. Consequently the bottom section of her was all matted and knotted - her tail was pretty much dreadlocks. So she got clipped. I will have to post a photo, she is a little bit funny looking, poor thing, mostly because we left her head as it was, just trimmed it a bit. So she looks like a black lion, only little. Felt sorry for her, because it had been hot and humid all day, and as soon as we shaved her down to a one-blade, this storm came over and it rained and got quite cool. Poor little thing was curled up in a little ball in her bed! Must have felt quite strange for her, but I'm sure she'll appreciate it in the hot days to come.

I'm taking her for a walk this afternoon, I hope the other dogs dont laugh at her! :)

21 days to go! The days are going so fast, I bet the holiday will be over just as quick!

Tired

OMG I am sooo tired. I just cant catch up on my sleep, and I wake up feeling worse than I did when I went to sleep. Last night it tried to storm, and it was so windy that I kept waking up hearing stuff falling on the roof. This morning I am overcome with guilt, because I was too exhausted to get up and go to gym. I cant wait for this holiday, although it probably wont be much of a rest! 25 days to go!

Training is going well, eats are going well too - although I struggled last night to keep it clean. Sugar was calling me, but I managed to ignore it. Blah. I'm staying strong, and beginning to feel a lot leaner. I think my arms are showing much more definition, although the scales and measurements arent moving all that dramatically.

On Sunday morning when I was doing my weekly groceries, I got to the register and had one of those "hmmm" moments. The young guy at the register picks up my bag of snow peas... looks at me quizzically and asks "are these beans?"

"no, snow peas"....

He then picks up my cucumber and says "this is a cucumber, yeah?"

"yes" I said, thinking; does this boy not eat vegetables? He then picked up my leek - and all he had to do was hesitate and look at me, so I jumped right in saying "its a leek".

"A leek?... how do you spell that?"

hmmmmmmm. Maybe it was his first day? It really makes me wonder how anyone could get to the age of 17 and NOT know what all this stuff is!!! OK I'll grant him that a leek probably isn't your everyday vegetable, but the rest???

Tuesday I went to the eye specialist to find out about Implantable Contact Lenses (as i was unsuitable for Lasik) - and I'm now booked in to have it done - the 15th of March next year (the Ides of March, my dad tells me... is that a bad omen?) - my right eye gets done first, then a few weeks later the left gets done. Exciting and frightening all at the same time!!

Have a great Thursday!

My fabulous week

I'm baaa-aaack! What a busy week I've had! Tuesday morning I was up at 4am and then off to the airport to catch my flight to Rockhampton - what a long day that was. Spent my day training new staff members, then found myself a gym and joined up for a 5 visit pass. I had been to this gym before, but I'd never explored it before. Its an old building (think it might have been a bank once) and its HUGE. I've never seen such a huge gym. They have an enormous aerobic room (which had supporting columns up through the middle lol! - not good if you forget they're there) a normal weights room, then a pretty big womens weights area (and no baby-weights either, very pleased to see) and a special cardio area. What I didn't realise that this place had another level underneath, containing a 25m pool, RPM bike area, boxing gym, squash courts and a "Powerlifting" weights area!! Almost made me want to move to Rocky!

Despite all this, there is little or no airconditioning, and it gets pretty hot up there. I did a Body Step class on Wednesday afternoon and I was dying afterwards - so hot! Aaaaaaannnyway, I kicked butt while I was away! I visited the gym 5 times in 3 days, on Wednesday I burned 819 calories all up (very pleased with myself I was!) - and by Thursday afternoon I had already reached my weekly goal of 2400 cals burned, 8 hours of exercise. I was also shattered and exhausted! Probably did too much too quickly, but I felt so motivated.

Food was brilliant - I kept logging my calories to keep track, and it really helped. My only blunder was a breakfast omlette one morning... made with whole eggs, and it had bacon and cheese, and came with white bread and butter. I ate it. It happens. But all in all, I survived pretty well!

Some other exciting news... my work got a corporate box organised for the Robbie Williams concert in two weeks. They announced last week that there were 7 tickets to give away, and that they were going to draw names out of a hat.... yep you guessed it... I'M GOING TO ROBBIE WILLIAMS!!!!!! Woohoo! So exciting! And in a corporate box too!!!! Its on Thursday 14th December.

And to cap off a brilliant week, yesterday we went to have a look at an Nissan Xtrail, and ended up driving home with it! Its exciting, and I love it, but I will miss my V8. I used to love driving it because it had a lovely V8 rumble and I felt a bit tough! The Xtrail will be a lot cheaper to run though, its a 2003 model, white, automatic, tinted windows... my new baby!

Just when everything is going well...

... you get sent away for work again. I've been working so hard on establishing my new fitness routine, gym every morning and walking the dogs in the afternoon, and now I have to go to Rockhampton tomorrow for the rest of the week. grrrrrr. The bonus is that I will have a car, so at least I can go to gym up there.

Travelling for work has always been the biggest problem for me, I find it hard in terms of nutrition. Its a challenge to eat clean when you're dining on restaraunt food all the time, and sometimes the places I stay at dont understand what you mean when you say "No dressing, and I dont want the potato" - they look at you like you're from another planet or something. There is usually no option to cook for yourself either. I generally take my own food for meals 2 and 4, so thats no problem. Its breakfast and dinner that have "undone" me in the past! But I WILL be saying no to the breakfast buffet, and WILL say no to carbs at dinner... send me your positive thoughts!!!!

Well, measurements day was Saturday, and I'm quite pleased with the results. Although the scales aren't moving a whole lot, the cm's and mm's are coming off. After 10 weeks I have lost a total of 9cm all over, and 9mm in skinfolds. Technically I have only 2 weeks to go, but I have decided to continue my challenge until just before the trip. I realise that I wasted the first 6 weeks by not focussing properly, and its only been in the last 2 weeks that I have been really determined. Having this deadline of the trip dangling in front of me has been the best motivator ever!

Paid for the balance of the trip on Saturday, and then went outside and got myself a little sun. I've decided that I refuse to go to England and be whiter than the locals. So I'm dedicating half an hour each Saturday and Sunday on getting a little suntan. I dont need to look like a 'bronzed Aussie', but I dont want to be white as a ghost either!

Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Spiders

We're not in the bush, but we're in an area that is close to bushland, and bigger blocks.  And that means more "wildlife".  And that means huges spiders.  The other night I was watching TV and I saw something out of the corner of my eye..... I shrieked "HUNTSMAN HUNTSMAN HUNTSMAN!!!!"  Oooh it makes my skin crawl just thinking about it.  Huntsman are especially bad because they are big and hairy and they bloody jump at you... So poor BF had to get up and get the spray and chase thing thing around the lounge room, while I hid in the kitchen (I actually got into the pantry and shut the door... sad arent I?)

Then a few days later I was about to leave for work and I went looking for the cat (just to make sure he wasn't locked in the bathroom or anything) and he was sitting in the garage.  Just sitting - looking at the bar-fridge.  I asked him what was wrong, and he "meowed" and walked up to the fridge door (we have a strange relationship, me and the cat - he's a talkative Siamese, so we 'chat' quite a bit).  So I bumped the fridge and a mid-sized huntsman ran out from underneath.  So the cat chased it around and batted it like a ball for a bit with me yelling "GET IT CONNOR - GET IT!".  Not sure if he got it - I had to leave before the game was finished.   I hope he did, otherwise there's another spider loose in the house.

I've been using Fitday again since last Thursday, and managing to keep my calories in check.  I have realised that I was grossly undercalculating how much I was actually eating - it is so easy to consume more calories than you think you are.  Anyway, now its under control, and I feel a lot more focussed.  Actually seeing some changes on the scale, so thats a plus.  For me, using Fitday is a really good idea, it makes me rethink everything I'm about to eat...

Woke up at 3 o'clock this morning - and spent the next 2 hours dozing, then waking up - for some reason I kept thinking I'd overslept.  When I actually got up, the first thing I thought was "Oh well, at least today is Friday.... hang on.... its only Thursday - groan"  Did Body Attack again this morning, got through 400 calories.  Felt like I got through it a lot easier than last week too - yay!  I love the high-kicking track - reminds me of my jazz ballet days when we used to do the Can-Can.  Then I'm taking the dogs for another powerwalk this afternoon, and then Step tomorrow morning.   Just call me Cardio-Queen!

Its Monday again...

I had a fabulous weekend. Saturday I was up early to take the dogs for a long walk before the hydro-bath man came to bath them Then I headed up to the shops and had myself a mini shopping spree! I bought three new tops for work, a pair of trousers, a new hair clip, three gym tops, two sports bras and (this is my favourite one) a "gift pack" of mini-perfumes - Christian Dior - Jadore, Addict, Pure Poison, Miss Dior Cherie and Dolce Vita - all for me!!!! I love those little mini perfumes, they're just the perfect size for your handbag, and you get to try some that you wouldn't normally try. So now I'm all set for fragrance for the trip!

42 days to go, by the way... just in case you thought I'd forgotten my countdown.

Saturday afternoon I was meant to be going to the fitness expo with Andj, but unfortunately she fell sick so she had to ring and cancel. Hope you're feeling a bit better now Andj!

On Saturday night my boyfriend and I had a fantastic evening - first having dinner (and cocktails!) and then going to the movies. We saw Jackass Number Two, and I have to say that despite the bad reviews it got, it was absolutely hilarious. I have to admit that I had never dry-retched in a cinema before, but I have now!! Ewww it was so gross in some parts, but pretty funny - the whole cinema was in stitches the whole way through. Nothing wrong with a little (or a lot of) toilet humour to cap off an evening!

Sunday was the usual groceries, washing clothes, chopping dog food... but I am so proud of myself to say that I ate 100% to plan on the weekend. I had a free meal on Saturday night but I didn't go overboard, I stopped when I felt satisfied, no munchies in the movies, 2.5 litres of water each day, felt GREAT!!!

And... I worked out that I burned over 2400 calories last week, and did over 8.5 hours of exercise - woohoo! Now its my goal to better that this week. Next weekend is another measurements day, got to see some changes!

100 walking lunges...

I dont like the scales. They're moving in the wrong direction lately. I cant claim to have been eating totally clean, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This week I have been spot on though, and the goal is to still go to gym 5 mornings per week - but also to walk the dogs a minimum of 3 afternoons each workday. Then another longer dog walk on Saturday. So far so good!

Tuesday afternoon after the dog walk I wanted to do more - so I did 100 walking lunges (without a break) around the garage. After about 70 my legs were screaming, and on the final 20 my hamstrings were cramping like crazy. Finished that, caught my breath, and then did 60 pop squats (2 sets of 30), then I had to lay down! Got the heart rate soaring, and I felt GREAT! Think I am going to do that a couple of afternoons a week, that should get my butt into shape. My legs are sore now though.

A funny thing happened at the gym on the other morning. I was doing my usual shoulder workout, and a guy moved to the bench beside me to do some dumbell chest presses. He sort of acted all cocky and confident - I just got on with my workout. Anyway I was between sets, and this guy picks up his weights, leans back to lie on the bench, and as he did.... HE.... FARTED. OMG I was horrified! I didn't know which way to look, I bit my lip and tried not to laugh!!!! He carried on with his set, but he dropped the weights early and got out of there quick-smart!! heheheh

This morning I did an Attack class, my gym is trialling it at the 5.45am timeslot for a month. The whole class was red-faced by about halfway through - my god I forgot what an awesome workout they are! After the "running around" track I thought my ankle was going to break, it hurt so much, and made it a bit hard to finish the class. So I loved it, but jeez its a lot harder on your body than I remembered (either that or I'm getting old!)

This week I received the most lovely surprise in the post. My mentoree and new friend Alicia E sent me the most beautiful thank-you card, and a voucher. I was completely touched - what a wonderful way to start the day! Could not wipe the smile off my face! Hopefully very soon we will be able to meet for a coffee and a chat!

The week is nearly over - where did it go?!

I'll have her body, thanks

Kristia Knowles... motiviation to go for a jog! I love this bikini too.

51 Days til our trip!

A few more days to go than Shar though!

I had an eventful night on Thursday night in bed (no its not what you're thinking - get your minds out of the gutter! hehehe). Got woken up by BF sitting bolt upright and turning on his bedside lamp... "Whats wrong?" I asked. He sat there staring up at the ceiling, looking from corner to corner over our heads... saying nothing. So I asked him again. He said "oh... nothing - must have been dreaming" and turned the light off and went back to sleep.

Took me ages to get to sleep after this. Then sometime early this morning I was woken again by him trying to take my pillow from me!! So I sat up and said "Babe, thats my pillow" - and he looked at me and asked "Where's MY pillow gone?" hehehe I was starting to giggle by now. Anyway, he sort of shrugs as if to say "oh well", and lays back down on his now pillow-less side of the bed. I thought - I cant let him sleep without a pillow... so I climbed all over him to find that his pillow had been thrown onto the floor a couple of metres from the bed. Gave it back to him, and tried to get back to sleep.

Then around 3am I woke with a screaming headache, I must have been dreaming something bad because I was clenching my teeth so tight- my whole face was hurting! Then all too soon the alarm went off at 5 and I got up to go to gym.

Well i asked BF what was going on in his sleep - and apparently he'd been dreaming about a huge spider running accross the ceiling of the bedroom, which is why he turned the light on and stared at the ceiling (I'm so glad he kept that to himself at the time... **shudder**) Also he'd had a dream about being in a car accident - wonder if that's how the pillow ended up on the other side of the room?

Didn't do step on Friday because of extreme tiredness - I would be just as likely to trip over the step rather than put my foot on it. So just got on the cross trainer and treadmill for some steady state cardio. The woman on the treadmill beside me turned out to be my accross-the-road neighbour!

Got up this morning to take the dogs for a walk to find it teeming with rain! It must be Jodie bringing the rain with her! As nice as it is to have rain (we're on level 4 water restriction now) - it does put a stop to things on the weekend. If the rain stops, I will take the pooches out.

Off to go shopping soon for a digital video camera for our trip!! Have a fantastic weekend!

Wednesday - Week 7

Had a mishap in the gym today!  I got on the abdominal reverse curl bench this morning, not even looking at the setting it was on... should have though.  The pin wasn't in properly, and the thing waited until I was fully lying on my back before it popped out and had me crashing down to the level position!!!!!  It made an awful noise, and I leapt off it pretty quick!  Turned around to find the whole gym room staring at me!  How embarrassing!  Took me a few minutes for my heart rate to return to normal after that!  LOL!

Anyway, not a lot to report today. I've been very low in energy the last few days, mostly due to lack of sleep again.   I feel like my get-up-and-go got-up-and-went!

We've had the bobcat in at our place in the last few days... BYE BYE VEGIE GARDEN :(  Our front and back "wilderness" has been removed, and we're now living in a dust pit.  Hopefully we can get a driveway laid soon - our cars are filthy, my shoes are filthy - dust just gets everywhere!  We've still got heaps of big gum trees, in fact, there is still more plant life on our block than in our last place.  We're just trying to tame it a little.  The new vegie garden might have to wait a little while though.

Got this by email today and I thought it was cute:

Dear Dogs and Cats,
The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food.
Please note: Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by Formula1 and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king size bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years; canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is: Kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!

Hope everyone is having a good week!

"It has been said that our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength."

Where did the weekend go?

Weekends just go too fast.  I need a holiday!

Got up nice and early on Saturday morning, walked the pooches, cleaned the house, did the groceries etc, and then one of my girlfriends came over for lunch, along with her 9 month old son Joshua.  He's growing up so fast, and really turning into a little man now, lots of personality!  hmmmm, am I getting clucky?

Saturday night we watched a couple of DVD's, during which I had 3 glasses of bubbly and fell asleep on the lounge!  Just cant keep up the pace anymore - jeez I'm getting old.  I woke up on Sunday morning with the beginnings of my stomach pains again, but my "miracle cure" glutamine seemed to save the day - after a shot of that I seemed to improve dramatically.  I really want to take my glutamine overseas with me, but I'm a bit worried about how I will go travelling with a "suspicious white powder"!!!  Might have to switch back to tablets for the duration of the trip.  I think it is really helping with my stomach issues though.

Not much else happened on the weekend - we went and looked at a car (for me), a Nissan Xtrail.  I liked it, and the price was right too.  We'll see what happens. 

Anyway, another week beckons, I am at week 7 of my challenge now - how fast time flies!  Weight went back up a little on the weekend, bugger.  Did the bike class again this morning, I think there was something wrong with the bike I was on - the tension was stuffed or something, I kept turning up the tension and it didn't feel like I was working hard enough.  I like to think that its just me getting fitter, but in reality I think the bike was faulty... Finished the class and jumped straight onto a treadmill for a 10 minute jog - jelly legs after that. 

56 days til our trip!   eeeeeeeeek!

Eye Assessment

Well I went and had my Lasik eye assessment yesterday afternoon.  First I had to watch a video about all the potential risks and dangers associated with Lasik, then had a whole heap of tests done, only to find out that my cornea is too thin to have either Lasik or PRK.  To meet the Australian Standard, the cornea has to be a minimum of 510 microns or something, and mine is way thin, getting down to 380 microns in some parts.

He said it was nothing that I've done, its not like I've worn away the cornea by wearing contact lenses for so long, its just the way I am - like having fine hair, or thin fingernails... thin corneas cause no other problems other than if you want to get Lasik done.  But I do have an option - I'm suitable for Implantable Contact Lenses, which has not been done a lot in Australlia, but if I go with that it means that I CANT get them done before the trip.  Plus you have to get one eye done at a time, with a few weeks in between.  So this might be an option for February next year.  Got lots of research to do!

Unfortunately because I was so excited beforehand, and totally had my heart set on being able to have it done, I was so disappointed when we left that I burst into tears as soon as we got in the lift.  And I was weirded out with having dilated pupils (which means that your eyes cant adjust to the light and bright light/daylight hurts),  and I was feeling quite low yesterday afternoon.  Spoke to mum and dad about it, and they were great - dad was telling me to be philosophical about it - things happen for a reason, and this other procedure sounds like a much better alternative, its reversible, the results are instant rather than waiting for that "adjusting" period of 3-6 months that Lasik has... I just cant have it done now, thats all.

Anyway I had a glass of wine and a handful of peanuts last night, which made me feel even worse.  I felt so gross and even drunk on ONE glass of wine!   Didnt feel like going to gym this morning, but I got up on autopilot and went anyway.  I humm'd and haaah'd about doing Step because I felt really lacking in energy.  At the last minute I decided to do it anyway, but only used one block instead of two.  Felt absolutely shattered afterwards, burned 430 calories, but also felt much better.  What would I do without exercise?!!  It always makes you feel good!

And was rewarded this morning when I stepped on the scales to find that I've reached 57kgs!

This week for some reason I'm not enjoying my food.  Apart from last night I've eaten 100% clean and on plan, but I'm so bored with my food!  I need to find some good recipe alternatives for dinner.  There's only so much chicken and salad, lamb and salad, and fish and salad that a girl can bear.  I've been eating this way for a year and a half now and always enjoyed it, but for some reason this week I cant stomach it.  I eat stir fries for lunch, so I dont want to eat that for dinner as well.  Does anyone have any suggestions, or point me to a few websites?

Good luck to all who are competing this weekend in Melbourne - wish I could be there!!

Monday

My weekend wrap-up... On Saturday morning I got up early and took the pooches for a walk around the new area, then we had Foxtel come out to do our installation.  Unfortunately they were unable to do it because there are some issues with the power pole that they need to run the cable from... long story, anyway, we had Energex come out and fix the power line, then had to re-book with Foxtel - so poor BF has to wait another two weeks to get his Fox Sports back!!

We went shopping after that - for a new lounge suite!  We're so picky, the sales people must hate us!  I think we went to about 6 different places trying to find the right one. We found one that we really really liked, but it was too big for the lounge room!!  So we came away without a purchase, but its still on the agenda.  While we were in Harvey Norman we found these fabulous "massage chairs" - they had about 6 or 7 models ranging from $1000 to about $9000.  OMG these chairs are amazing!  I got on one expecting that it would just vibrate or heat up, but its acutally got little "fingers" almost!  They have a rolling motion, or kneading, or tapping, and goes all the way up your body - even massages your feet, hamstrings, butt... everything!  We sat in these chairs for about half an hour, all the time we were going "oooooh... aaaaaaah.... OH MY GOD that feels good!!!" its a wonder we werent chucked out!!  hehehe.  If you've got a furniture store near you - you HAVE to try one of these chairs!!!!  When I win the lotto, I want one! :)

I had an optomotrist appointment on Saturday afternoon, and I received the good news that my script has not changed!  That's now 2 years with a stable script, and also my eyes are in great health.  Sooooooooo.... I have booked in to have an assessment for Laser Eye Surgery... I will find out on Thursday if I'm eligible!  I have been wanting to have this done for about 10 years, but I've never had stable vision.  So now, cross your fingers, I might be able to get it done before our trip!!

My challenge is going really well, this morning I was under 58kgs which I'm quite happy with.  On Saturday I was able to squeeze into a pair of 3/4 denim pants that a few weeks ago I couldn't do up.  Well they were tight, but at least I could wear them and still breathe... an important factor dont you think?  We have a new Amart AllSports open near us, and they have a huge sale on.  So I went and bought myself a new pair of gym shoes (finally - after months of putting up with shin splints!)  They are New Balance running shoes, white, with hot pink trim!!  Very snazzy, and my feet were glowing in the bike class this morning (darkened room with fluoro lights).

Food was great on Saturday, could have been a little better on Sunday though  - had a real sweet tooth last night unfortunately.  Anyway, I didn't do too much damage.  I'm going to have a sensational week this week!  Bring it on!!!!!!!!!!!

The kitty and the toad

This story has a happy ending!  But I had a rough night!

Last night my lovely boyfriend added the final touches to Connors' "Grand Cat Palace" and added the cat flap.  Connor was very excited that he could come in and go out as he pleased!  The food and litter was promptly moved outside, and he was all set.

At about 9pm, we were just watching the end of Spicks and Specks, when I heard the cat come in and what sounded like paper being rustled.  I thought "oh he's playing with one of his paper balls - he must be happy".  Then he ran past us and up the stairs... where he sat and looked at us and shook his head.  When I looked up at him I though "oh how cute - he's still got the ball in his mouth!"... then I realised that the paper ball was actually FOAM... he was foaming at the mouth... and what I had thought was paper rustling had actually been him shaking his head and the froth hitting the floor.

Well I jumped up in an immediate panic!  The only thing I know of that turns an animal into an instant froth-maker is cane toad poison.  I whisked him up, ran to the kitchen sink, got BF to hold the cat down in a headlock, grabbed a syringey thing (no needle of course - it used to contain cat medicine in a paste) and squirted water into his mouth over and over, much to Connor's disgust.  It was actually heartbreaking to hear his cries - he was obviously in shock, and yowling, kicking, scratching, foaming, biting me.  Imagine the poor little things fright - he's obviously had a toad come into the enclosure, he's chased it, maybe tried to bite it - got rewarded with poison being squirted into his mouth, only to run inside and get pounded with mouthfuls of water for 10 minutes by his protector - me!!  We washed and washed his mouth and wiped his face, and only when we put him down did I start to freak.  Cane toad poison can kill a small dog, so imagine how scared I was for my poor little 4kg cat!  Freaked out so much I started crying.

Anyway, I rang the 24 hour animal emergency number and they said I had done the right thing, if he was going to show signs of it he would have been convulsing and fitting by now.  So I felt a bit better.  They said I should continue to wipe his mouth out with a wet cloth, getting around the gums and inside of the cheeks etc - yeah right - have you ever tried to do this with a cat?!!!  So poor Connor was tortured once again - BF had started to look like he was a cat himself - he was drenched in water and covered in white cat fur, not to mention all the scratches and bite marks from holding him down.

So we finally ended the torture, and I stayed up with him until about 11pm, which is soooo late for me.  But I had to be sure he was going to be ok.  He seemed to be back to his old self this morning - all I can say is that he was very VERY lucky.  Cane toads are nocturnal so I've decided that I'm only going to let him out into his enclosure during the day.  Most of the websites I've looked at say that cats are very smart and dont usually get struck twice - so hopefully he'll be very wary of toads in the future.

And because of that debacle last night I hardly slept!  So there was no way I could get up to go to gym today.  I've been good with food though, not really even wanted to eat junk so thats good.  Had to drive down the coast today, traffic was horrendous - all I can say is B.L.O.O.D.Y. INDY!  Grrrr

Here's to a better night and day tomorrow!!

Back into it and going strong

Alright I've really got my head in a good space at the moment - now that all the stress of the house stuff is out of the way, I'm focused and committed and ready to work.  I've figured out that I've got about 10 weeks until we leave on our trip, (eeek which also means 10 weeks til Christmas!!) so its time to put my head down and DO IT!

A major motivating factor here is that I tried on a few pairs of jeans on the weekend, and cant zip them up... aaaaaaauuuuurrrrggggh!  Now I'm going to be in the UK, Austria and Italy in WINTER, those jeans HAVE TO FIT!!  I refuse to buy a new wardrobe - these jeans are only a year old for heavens sake!  A few centimetres off the hips will do the trick... that seems to be the first place that I put on fat, and the last place I lose it from.  :(

Did a bike class yesterday - I'm really getting into these classes and loving the burn in the legs.  I'm a sicko I know.  I'm so motivated right now that after the bike class I just wanted to jump on a treadmill and run... but sadly I had to get home and get ready for work - silly day job!  This morning I did shoulders/biceps/triceps and then 20 minutes jogging following by 10mins powerwalk on the incline.  Again I wanted to stay for more but ran out of time.   Happy with myself that the last two mornings I have left the gym with a bright red face, so although I looked goofy, I worked really hard.

Anyway I promised the pups I would take them for a "walk" this afternoon (I use that term loosely, as I've said in previous posts - its more like me being dragged at top speed - but we call it a "walk" anyway) and now that I've promised the dogs, I cant let them down!!  Concentrating on having totally clean food - that bloated feeling is slowly going away (after my big carb-fest last week) - looking forward to having a flat stomach again.  Need to buy a new training diary, I've got one day left in my current one!!  Ahhh now I have a good excuse to pop into Rebel Sport and drool over the gym clothes!

It's Connor's birthday today!!  My little kitty-cat is 9 years old now, cant believe how time flies! 

Photos!

Andj, me and Deb at the QLD INBA's last weekend. Note the obvious skincolour difference! Why is it that us Queenslanders are all so pale when we have so much sun? (except for competitors of course!)

Today I had the priveledge of meeting Selina who is down for a brief visit to Brisbane. We chatted away for a couple of hours - it was lovely to meet her, she really is sweet and has the most amazing eyes! I'm so glad we got to meet as I felt like I already knew her. It was so hot today in Brisbane - 30 degrees or something.

This is my little man Connor this morning, basking in the sun of his new "Grand Palace" that my boyfriend made for him. It is at least three times the size of the one at the old place (he's an indoor cat, so his 'outside' area is important to him) and now the only thing missing is a cat door so he can let himself in and out! (a minor detail dont you think?!!) This will be rectified this week, so we should have one very happy kitty!

Update!

I really need to post more often, there is too much to say and you will all be bored with reading it before you get to the end!

Soooooo - where to start?

I guess the most important information is that our old house settled yesterday.  I have to say I feel like the biggest weight has been lifted - I was getting quite anxious about it and just wanted it to be done.  So we are now the proud owners of ONE mortgage, not two.  Phew!

Last Saturday I went to the QLD INBA's to cheer on Deb and Alicia, and it was a really good day.  Congratulations to Deb on her outstanding 2nd place, she was awesome!   And well done to Alicia, she looked fantastic on stage and has come so far in such a short time!  Almost made me want to get up there myself!

It was great to be able to hang out with Andj for the day - Andj is lovely and we had quite a few good laughs - thanks for the company!  I met Rachel too, and she was so sweet and friendly and just about ready to "pop" with the baby - I have to thank her for letting me join her "cheersquad"!  I met Liz, who competed in a very tough field - I thought she looked amazing - great physique, and great hair!  I think I said it over and over how much I loved her hair, and when I wasn't saying it, I was thinking it!!  Lovely to meet you Liz!

Unfortunately the photos I took were blurry, I just cant figure out this camera!  I did get a good one of Deb, Andj and me, which I will post this weekend. (Andj has posted it on her blog too).

On Monday I went to Gladstone for work, and was lucky enough to meet with Carolyn and Tracey!   Carolyn joined me for an early morning treadmill session and we had a great chat about pretty much everything!  It was awesome that she was able to take the time to train with me - it made the hour on the treadmill just fly by, and I hope we can catch up again soon!   Then on Tuesday afternoon Tracey and I went to the Coffee Club where I had a lovely Chai Latte and we talked away the early evening.  It was so good to meet her, especially after we didn't get to meet at the comp on Saturday.  Thank you both for taking the time while I was there - you were both as gorgeous and friendly as I thought you would be!  So I've been very spoiled in the last week to get to meet so many wonderful and inspiring women!

Hmmmm what else - well we've finally got internet back on, so my boyfriend is happily e-baying away.  I havent had much time to get on it actually, besides I have to fight him for it!

Bit disappointed with my own efforts at the gym this week - haven't had much time for weight training, and there have been a few celebrations in the last week so my food is all over the shop and my weight has gone back up.  I feel like I have gone a little backwards this week - one step forward, two steps back... nothing that a little hard work and clean food wont fix!

Stay strong everyone, have a great weekend!

All moved in

We are all moved in to our new place, living amongst a sea of unpacked boxes and holes in walls!  Saturday was a HEEEUUUWWWGE day, basically we were on the go for 12 hours before we actually sat down for a rest.  My hamstrings were absolutely killing me from all the bending over and reaching down that I was doing (probably should have used my knees more I know) - but anyway, its all done now thank goodness.

There has been so much going on with the move, the old house due to settle next week, and also planning more of the upcoming holiday, that I think I'm going a bit senile.  I'll skim-read things, then I not fully understand what I've read... like the other day I saw a sign on the road and it said "Commuter Carpark" but for some reason I read it as "Communist Carpark".  I'm forgetting so many things - people ask me to do stuff and 10 minutes later I forget what it was that I was supposed to do.   On Monday I filled my mug with hot water and a dash of milk before sitting down and realising that I forgot to put the coffee in first... and last night I was getting my glutamine out to have some before bed and I dropped the container and half of the powder all over the floor.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME???!!!!!!    :-)~  Just too much excitement I think.

Anyway my challenge is going pretty well - apart from the crap takeaway that I ate for 3 meals last weekend.  Well I had no kitchen and I had to eat something!!

So far, 3 weeks into it, I have lost 3cm off my waist, and 2cm off my (stubborn) hips.  Scale weight has only dropped less than a kilo.

I still have no internet at home, and I cant access blogs from work (sending this via email) so I havent been able to read what anyone else has been up to.  The ISP has indicated that I should be connected by next Friday.  BF is having E-bay withdrawals I think!  Plus we haven't got Foxtel hooked up yet - so he's not happy!

Good luck to all those who are competing in the coming days!  I'm sorry I cant log on and read everyone's results just yet.  I'm going to watch the Qld INBA's this weekend to cheer on Splice and Alicia N.  Good luck girls!  Will be great to catch up with everyone again.

And I have just found out that I have to go to Gladstone next Monday for 3 days.  Will just have to make sure I finish all the unpacking on the weekend... so much to do - so little time!

Perseverance is failing 9 times and succeeding the 10th.
- J. Andrews

Its Moving Weekend!

We're moving house tomorrow!!!! Cant wait to get settled into the new place, even though we're going to be staring at great big holes in the walls (due to the termite search a few weeks ago!) for a little while. Still it is so nice to be finally getting out of this place and on to our great big block of land! Finally I will be able to start tending to my vege garden!

I will be off air at the new place for about a week, so no internet :( so I wont be able to read any blogs during that time. I should still be able to post via email though (from work) - so I'm very sorry I wont be around, but I promise I'll catch up with everyone's blogs as soon as I'm able.

And THE most exciting thing that's happening for me at the moment is that we have decided to finally go overseas! Last night we went and paid for our flights... we're leaving on Christmas day and having 2 days in Singapore, then flying into Manchester in England. We'll spend New Years with BF's cousins/family over there, and we'll also be able to do day trips into Scotland and the rest of England from there too. Then we're heading to London to meet my uncle, then off for a couple of days skiing somewhere in Europe (probably Switzerland, not sure yet). Finally we'll be off to Rome to visit the city that I am obsessed about (!!) and have a short trip to Naples and Pompeii. Then fly home from Rome!

Its so exciting and not that far away, so I've certainly got lots of things to think about and plan. I have been wanting to go to Rome and Europe (and especially Pompeii) for about 15 years, so I'm super excited about finally getting to go! BF has always wanted to ski - so he's very excited about that part.

Anyway with that exciting news I'm off! Hope everyone has a great weekend... think of me... carrying boxes and lifting tables and stuff. I hate moving!

Time flies!

Wow - long time no post!! Sorry for my absence, life is pretty crazy right now.

So first of all, we have a new contract on our house!! Everybody cross your fingers, with a little bit of luck everything should settle in about 3 weeks! We found out on Tuesday - and so far everything is on track for a quick settlement. I burst into tears when I found out that the contract was finalised, felt like such a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

We spent today moving some more stuff over to the new place, and the "official" move is scheduled to happen next weekend... bye-bye old house!!

A new challenge is underway for me, I started last Monday. I bought myself a new journal for my goal/inspiration book... and I've loaded it up with my goals, a calendar for me to cross off each day as I go, some success quotes etc, and I'm feeling totally pumped and ready to shed my winter "skin"! I have about 3 or 4kgs to "release", which is usually the hardest to lose! I was getting a little dejected at sort of aimlessly hitting the gym with no goal in mind, so its nice to have something to shoot for. I've had a pretty good weekend too, and that is usually my biggest hurdle. My free meal last night was quite tame by comparison to the last few weekends.

I have given myself two "checkpoints" during my new challenge, one at 4 weeks, and another at 8 weeks. I have written in my goal book that when I have reached those checkpoints and I have performed totally to plan, I will reward myself with either a massage, facial, new item of clothing or maybe a new lipstick or something.

My pamper night last Saturday night didn't eventuate... the boys didn't end up going out, so my plans were dashed at the last minute. We ended up still having home-made pizza, and got a couple of DVD's out - Scary Movie 4 (pretty funny) and Skeleton Key (pretty good). So it was a good night anyway, just didn't get to do the mudmask or the bath. Oh well.

Last night a girlfriend came over and we finally got to watch "Pride and Prejudice"!! Well worth the wait, but I do think the book is much better (as usual). If you get used to the "old" english used, reading the book is well worth the effort - such a good story! Bridget Jones is loosely based on Pride and Prejudice - just a piece of useless information for everyone on a Sunday night...

Anyway I'm loving doing these cardio classes, I've done one cycle class so far (its not an official RPM or anything- but it sure did get the thighs and butt burning!) and I'm doing the Friday morning step class. This week I'm planning on doing 2 cycle classes and 1 step. Plus 3 days of weights and interval cardio on the regular cardio equipment. I've already started to see a change on the scale, which is great!

Feeling good and much more in control - so bring on week 2!!!!

Step class

Today was a cardio day, and as I walked up the stairs to the gym I caught myself dreading the thought of an hour of cardio with just me, my ipod (which is in serious need of some new tunes) and a treadmill and/or cross trainer...

Soooooo - I did a Body Step class!  Have not done an aerobic class for ages, like years, so it was GREAT!  It was the brand new class too, so luckily it was new to everyone and I didn't feel so un-co.  I have to say though, either this new step tape is easier, or I'm a hell of a lot fitter than I used to be... I kept glancing at my heart rate monitor and I was surprised to see that it was mostly below 160BPM.  Only a couple of times it climed above 170.

Anyway, I enjoyed it so much that the time just flew by.  I'm now planning on re-working my training schedule so that I can do some more classes!  Next on my list might be an RPM class *shudder* - nasty, but a really good workout.  Unfortunately I think I need lots more cardio in my life, so if I can make it as fun as possible then it makes it so much easier.

Got a big day planned for tomorrow... got to get up early-ish (maybe 6.30am... well that IS early for a Saturday) and take the dogs for a walk, then head off to the shops to get the groceries done nice and early.  Then we have the dog-wash man, then an open-house at 3pm.  After that the evening is MINE.... ALL MINE!!  I think my boyfriend is going to some kickboxing on Saturday night... so I'm staying home alone... so here's my plan...

Run a nice hot bubbly bath.
Apply a face-pack and relax in previously mentioned bath
Moisturise and massage aching feet - possibly paint nails
Make a home-made pizza
Enjoy home-made pizza!! (maybe a red wine too)
Get out new release DVD "Pride and Prejudice" which I have wanted to see forever but cannot watch as BF flatly refuses to sit through Jane Austen! hehehe

Relax and enjoy the "me" time - just me, my kitty-cat and the dogs!

Cant wait!  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

Leg Day with Sue!

I trained legs with Sue and I survived!! hehehe maybe I should get a T-shirt printed! LOL!
I had a fantastic day off work yesterday, I took a lovely scenic drive up to Noosa to visit Sue and Jodie. After my bragging last week about how the weather's been 28 degrees and all sun, our lovely "August" westerly winds arrived (a month late) bringing lots of miserable rain and cool weather. Oh-oh! sorry guys...! Strangely though, the sun was splitting the sky until I took the Noosa turn-off... the closer I got to the coast the more miserable the weather got. Poor Jodie got a very bad sample of what Queensland weather is like... trust me Jodie, its normally not like this!!

So we had coffee at a little cafe and chattered away, and then we all went off to find the gym. Well... I have to say that I now know that I've been slacking off when it comes to leg training!!! And its amazing how those little corrections to your form make all the difference to how you feel during the exercise. I learned a few new exercises, like doing the bottom half of the exercise in leg press (ooooh the burn!) and drop sets on the leg extension (killer), then the dreaded pop-squats (I had a feeling that they were coming, and I wasn't disappointed!) and walking lunges. By halfway through my legs were jelly, but I loved it! I have never EVER trained with anyone before, I've never even had a PT session or ever had a training partner, so it was a whole new experience for me!

So all in all it was a great workout, my legs were quivering for the rest of the day after that! It was so cool to catch up with Sue and Jodie again. Last time was a bit of a rush because it was the day of the comp and there was so much happening, so it was lovely to be able to sit and relax and have a bit of a chat.

Here's a couple of photos...

Me and Sue shivering...

There's another photo of me, Jodie and Sue that I want to post, but blogger is being difficult... will try again later... grrr

Today I'm sore (as expected) and I have a very sore butt! Quads are getting stiffer as the day goes on, so no doubt I'll need a walking frame tomorrow lol! This morning I did shoulder and triceps, and incorporated a few new moves/techniques into it, see how fast I learn? hehehe

Not much other news to report! House still not sold yet, but this week we advertise with a price so hopefully that makes a difference. Oh and termite thing at the other house - well after calming down a little we've realised that the damage isn't as bad as originally thought. We've had a friend who's a termite inspector come out and tell us that there's no current activity in the house, so that's a huge relief. AND we can fix all the damaged walls ourselves (BF is a carpenter) so the cost will be minimal... so its all GOOD!

Anyway, time to go cook dinner... better be off!

Auction results...

Well, the house went to auction last night. The result? NO SALE~!! It was actually quite amusing because there were no bidders there at all - for ANY house! Every single house got passed in! There were more agents there than spectators/vendors!!

So now we advertise with a price - hopefully that helps. Another open house tomorrow, although this one isn't advertised (except on the internet) so I dont hold out a lot of hope that anyone will come!

Wednesday was my last day of training - I actually had to cut my session short that day because my legs turned to jelly, I could barely walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes, so I packed up and went home. Tummy was still not right and I was pretty exhausted, so I thought it might be a good idea to rest until my body can handle it. Going to ease back into it this weekend by taking the dogs for a walk (read: the dogs drag me along for the ride!) and see how I go.

Eats have been 100% - I have not wavered. AND I have not had a drop of alcohol for TWO WEEKS! Quite chuffed with myself LOL! That makes me sound like an alcoholic, but I normally would have a glass or two of wine on Friday and Saturday nights... red wine is my weakness. mmmmmmm-mmmmm. So doing pretty well there. I guess it helps that I have not felt like having wine due to my stomach.

I havent posted a picture for a while so I thought I'd add one of my naughty little siamese cat "Connor" - he has got the loudest (and in BF's opinion - the most annoying) voice in the history of cats... and he's not afraid to use it! Connor is an indoor cat, so he relies heavily on me for amusement and playing (although he is 9 and doesn't play so much any more). He has a cat-door that leads out onto an enclosed deck, so he can eat grass and chase lizards and sun himself and watch the dogs. He loves sitting on my lap, regardless of where I am and what I'm doing, and when I get on the computer he loves nothing better than to stand in front of the monitor so that I cant see what I'm doing! He's my "little man" and I love him to pieces!



Have a great weekend everyone!

More challenges

I hate talking about negative things in my blog, especially now that I'm practicing the art of positive thinking!!  But I'm sorry to say that there's been a few more challenges added to my life this weekend. 

Friday night I got home to find a very dejected boyfriend.  He'd spent the afternoon around at the new house, and had started demolishing a wall in order to build a new feature wall.  Well he didn't get too far with that.  When he started pulling gyprock off - he found some pretty massive termite damage.  So he spent the rest of the time following the mud trail around the house (smashing walls as he went!!) - they have eaten out entire studs in some parts.  I guess the good news is that we cant find them.  We can find where they've been, but not where they're at NOW. (if they're still there).  Before we bought the house we had a pre-purchase pest inspection, which came up clean.  So now we have the drama of going through battle with the pest inspectors, hopefully we dont have to go through any kind of legal battle.

So on Friday night after that delightful news I started getting stomach pains again (stress-induced I'm betting) - I battled through Saturday, groceries, cleaning, preparing for the open house etc, but by Saturday night I was doubled over again with those bloody stomach cramps, nausea etc.  We were supposed to go out to dinner for a friends 30th birthday, but my wonderful boyfriend stayed home with me to look after me (even though I told him several times that he should go).  He went and got a couple of DVD's, and he even got me The Chronicles of Narnia, which I've wanted to see for a while (which was actually a really good movie - it made me cry a couple of times!!!).

Anyway by Sunday the worst was over and I began to feel normal again.

The positives are that although we've got some serious termite damage - the house is still structurally sound.  Plus we're not ready to move in yet, so we've got plenty of time to fix it.  Also, my stomach pains weren't anywhere near as savage as the last time I had it in June.  And because I was sick, I didn't indulge in a free meal (unfortunately had to skip a few meals) so my weight actually dropped!  (probably not a good way to do it though!)

Back to gym today - I didn't feel up to it yesterday.  Today was ok but I felt weak - the weights really burned, even after just one set.  I'm probably not 100% yet.

And I am still in total shock of the death of Steve Irwin.  I just cant believe it.  We saw him do a crocodile demo at Australia Zoo a few years ago, and he was fantastic.  Its affected me like how I felt when I Princess Dianna died.... I feel that same shock and disbelief - judging by the TV coverage, most Aussies feel the same.  BF is quite sad about it, all night he just kept saying "I cant believe it - the day after Fathers' Day - I cant believe it" over and over.  Very sad news, and my heart goes out to his family.

Feeling even stronger

Another 6 hours sleep in the bag!  I'm on a roll.   And the best thing is that it didn't take me as long at all to fall asleep - probably half an hour.  Its like - because I slept better on Wednesday night, I stressed less about falling asleep last night - and because I stressed less about falling asleep, I fell asleep quicker!!!  (Probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me).  Another thing I'm trialling is staying up later.  Supposedly if you stay up past when you feel like going to bed, ie wait until you are suuuuuuper tired, you will get to sleep sooner.  So I stayed up until 10.15 last night! (yeah I know - what a rebel huh?) and it seemed to work.

My afternoon trip to the gym was great.  I really enjoyed training at a different time - and I DID have more energy.  Two problems though - 1; because I'd been drinking water throughout the day I could feel it slushing around in my stomach while I was jogging, making my stomach feel a bit yuk.  I pressed on though.  And 2; I forgot that when I train in the afternoon that my eye makeup slides down my face!!  Talk about "panda eyes" when I was finished!!  Eye makeup is pretty much the only makeup I wear, apart from a little loose powder to take the shine off.  (Cant stand the feeling of foundation, makes me feel like my skin is choking).  Anyway, I forgot that I would need to take it off.  Lesson learned!

This morning was legs, caught myself a couple of times saying to myself 'I hate leg day' - I dont know why this is... some weeks I love training legs, other weeks I dont enjoy it.  Anyway, its done now for another week.

So I'm feeling great.  Went to a work morning tea today - lots of junk food lying around, but I didn't have any, and actually didn't even want it.  The more you say "no", the easier it is to keep saying "no".  I love feeling so in control!!

Feeling strong

I'm feeling all strong and positive again... AND... I had 6 hours sleep last night!!  It may not sound like a lot, but its a lot for me lately.  It still took me a while to drop off, but I managed to fall asleep in a lot less time than I have been... so I'm feeling much happier!

Today I had to start work early, so I'm making sure I leave at 3.30pm and go to the gym.  Its been a looooong time since I've been to the gym in the afternoon, I'm kinda looking forward to it!  Normally I just automatically get up at about 5.10am to hit the gym in the morning.  Today is just a cardio day, so I'm interested to see how much more (or less) energy I'll have.  At least I wont have to fight the "muscle-heads" for a spot at the free weights.  The funny thing about training at a different time of day is that you feel like a "newbie!" at the gym!!!  People that train in the morning dont seem to train in the afternoon, and vice versa.

The gym is starting to get busy again - even at 5.30 in the morning!  I guess with all this warm weather we've been having lately, people are starting to realise that bikini weather is just around the corner (although its been sooo good to see some rain this week!).  The gym has 16 treadmills, 16 bikes and 8 cross trainers in our cardio section, and the other morning they were mostly all occupied - something I never thought I'd see!  Anyway, as long as they leave me some room in the weights area, I'm happy!

The rest of my training and nutrition has been spot on, I'm so glad to be back in this positive frame of mind.  I gave my calf muscles a flogging yesterday, so I'm hobbling around quite nicely today. :) 

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Turning over a new leaf

Ok I've had enough of worrying and not sleeping, so I've decided to turn over a new leaf - starting now.  I bought a book on Sunday called "Why you cant afford the luxury of a negative thought" - I've only read a little way through it, but already I can feel a difference in my attitude.  My daily goals are back in place, so watch out - I'm going to be back to my old self in no time!!!

So I had the last of my non-sleeping nights last night, tonight I'm going to sleep like a log.  I refuse to go on like this anymore! :)  On Saturday night I thought I would try the old knock-myself-out-with-alcohol-trick.... I drank an entire bottle of champagne myself - and STILL had a restless sleep.  Surprisingly I didn't feel drunk, and I didn't have a hangover on Sunday either, just achey joints. 

I have a meditation CD that I've put onto my ipod, so I'm going to give that a go if things dont settle down soon.

We had an open house on Saturday morning, and would you believe - we had nobody turn up... grrrrrr.... never mind, the right person will come along soon.  Still we had two separate groups come through the house over the rest of the weekend, but no bites yet.

Puffy-lips has stopped - I think I know the culprit... the glutamine that I'd started taking.  As soon as I stopped taking it, the puffy lips stopped.  When things are settled down again I will give it another try though, just to make sure.  At least thats one less thing to think about!

Anyway, I'm back on track and ready to have a KICK BUTT week!  I will be back later tonight to read what everyone has been up to!

sleep deprived

Hmmmm.... sleep.... whats that?  I havent had much of that for a while, my mind is just a whirl of thoughts and i dont seem to have an "off" switch.  I think I'm lucky to get about 4 hours sleep per night, and even then its more like a doze than a sleep.  Cant remember the last time I woke up and felt refreshed.  I've got a dull ache behind my eyes, which at the moment feel like they can barely open, but the mind is always active...

think I need to learn to meditate or something.  Why oh why wont my stupid brain shut up??!!  Anyone have any suggestions? 

Well, the puffy lip thing continues.  I thought I'd figured it out on the weekend when one night I had half a glass of vodka, and the next morning my mouth was puffy again. So I havent had any more vodka, and for the last three days in a row I've gotten up with puffy lips again, which now keep splitting and bleeding on the inside.  So I think its just stress related.  I hope it goes away soon.

So I feel like we're just marking time at the moment.  We cant move on until our house sells.  I'm sure it will happen, its just going to drive me crazy until it does!!

I've started a different weight training programme this week - just 'borrowed' a 4 day training split from "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" - so far so good, I love a change in routine.  Energy has been low due to lack of sleep, but I'm still getting muscle soreness, so I'm happy enough.  Tomorrow is legs!!  i'm a bit scared!

Had a chiropractic adjustment this morning, my chiro is fantastic, he's adjusted everything this morning, even my feet, and he said that this should help my body cope a bit better under all the stress.  Bring on some sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sorry for the whinge.  I sound like a bit of a basket-case dont I !!! hehehe

Saturday

Well I havent been around much lately, there is so much happening at the moment, but I've got no news to report!!

This week I've been training pretty hard, sore muscles every day which I'm loving. I'm in a 'muscle growing' phase at the moment, so I've changed things up a little. I'm having a hard time adjusting to having a few more calories on my lifting days, actually it scares me a bit. I have always weight trained on an empty stomach (at 5.30am) and now I've started having a protein shake with skim milk before training (with glutamine), and it feels weird!!!

Speaking of weird: after our BBQ last Saturday night I woke up on Sunday and my mouth felt raw inside, the way your tongue feels after you eat something thats too hot. Anyway, my the whole inside of mouth felt 'burnt'. It got better after a few days. Then on Wednesday I woke up at my usual time, half asleep getting dressed in the bathroom, when I looked up into the mirror and my lips were really puffy! Like hello - HUGE Angelina Jolie lips! What the...! They were so puffed up that the skin was smooth and tight, top and bottom - which caused the skin to split and bleed. Hmmmmmm. I trained anyway (although I must have looked pretty funny!!), and by the time I got home from gym they had gone down a bit. For the rest of the week my lips have been stinging and burning, but thankfully no longer puffy!

I assume I've eaten/drunk something that has reacted with my lips, but who knows what!! I have not eaten anything unusual. They seem to be slowly getting better, but its been very annoying!

We had an open house this morning, so we packed the two dogs and the cat up and took them to "survey" the new house. They had a ball. It still doesn't feel like home yet! I guess it wont until we actually move in.

Anyway, thats all folks. Happy Saturday!

Treats from the vege garden

This is some of the 'bounty' from the new vege garden! I think the carrots were a bit too small, but I had no idea how big they were until I pulled them out of the ground! Mmmmm mmmm home grown salads for me!!

It isn't fun....

... selling your house.

The guy buying our house has crashed the contract because he couldn't get the finance organised.  Bugger.

So we are back at sqaure one.  Some advertising will happen this week, we're probably going to have an open house on Saturday (joy of joys) and more people traipsing through the house.  Never mind, these things happen I guess!

Well my long weekend was BUSY!  Saturday was the usual cleaning, washing, groceries, plus I drove all over town trying to find two outdoor braziers for our BBQ that night.  Man was that a mission - apparently everybody in Brisbane wants to buy a brazier at the moment, and everywhere was sold out!!  Finally got some though, and then spent the rest of the day cooking and preparing for the BBQ.  It was a great night though, and a nice way to say 'farewell' to the house (even though it looks like we wont be moving just yet!!).

Sunday I spent most of the day oiling timber battens over at our new house. (these are for timber screening for the new fence), and Monday we started moving boxes of crap.  BF cleared out the whole garage, and I cleared out most of the wardrobes in the spare bedrooms.  I cant believe how much junk we have! LOL!

And with all that went on over the weekend I forgot to drink all my water again - and that just made me feel awful - dry mouth, tired, annoyed with myself!!  Anyway, I'm back on track with my small daily goals now so its all good.

I will try to post a photo later of some veges I pulled from the vege garden on Sunday.  mmmmmm we had a salad made from home grown lettuce, silverbeet, tomato and beetroot on Sunday night!  YUMMO!  

Does anyone know what to do with beetroot to make it taste good?!! :)  I boiled it like a potato, then let it cool.  Peeled the skin off, sliced it and put it in my salad.  And I have to say it tasted pretty bland, nothing like the tinned stuff you buy.  Think I might need to put it in some vinegar or something...?

Thats about it from me!  I havent been around much lately, but I'll try to catch up with everyone's blogs soon...

Why I love training

I love training, it always makes me feel better!  After feeling so stressed earlier in the week, I had a cracker of a leg session on Wednesday morning, even incorporated some "21's" into my squats, and came home floating on cloud nine!!  I was feeling so much better that I have decided that exercise is definetely the best medicine for me.  My mood improves, I start the day with a spring in my step, and if I get it done bright and early, then theres ONE less thing to think about at the moment!! LOL!

I'd never done "21's" on legs before, I've only ever done it with barbell bicep curls - but it got my heart rate up to 165bpm!  Basically you do 21 reps - 7 reps from the start point to midway, 7 reps from the midway point to the bottom, then 7 reps of the full range of movement.  All of that equals ONE set!!  I did 3 sets of barbell squats... ooooh that middle 7 is the KILLER - can you feel the burn????  Love it!

My legs are sore today, but I'm not crippled.  More 21's tomorrow on bicep curls!  Yippeee!  I've just thrown these in this week for a change, make it a little more interesting.

Anyway, I've got my 'moving/selling house' list together so I can stop stressing... hopefully.  Actually my list is a book.  I keep thinking of stuff to do, so I'm carrying the book with me everywhere, and when I think of stuff, well, into the book it goes.  I'm slowly crossing things off the list too - got the mail redirected today, cross that one off.   Seems to be working - each night I seem to be getting one more hour's sleep than the night before.  So on Monday night I got 4 hours, Tuesday was 5 hours, last night was 6 hours - so I'm looking forward to a big 7 hours tonight!!  Woohoo!  heheheh

Weekend will be busy - we've got a surprise birthday dinner to go to on Friday night, Saturday I'm hoping to get my hair trimmed, cleaning, groceries etc then packing boxes, then we're having some friends over for a BBQ as a sort of a "house cooling" party (ie the opposite of a house warming), Sunday will probably be moving boxes - and Monday - well that's my Ekka public holiday - so I'll probably spend it packing and moving boxes!!  Yay for me.

Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday, and a wonderful weekend!

Stress-head

Well - long time, no post!!  I'm a huge ball of stress here at the moment, luckily the buying of the new house all went through without a hitch, so we are now the proud owners of two houses ( = two mortgages) until our current house is sold.

I'm stressed because we actually have a contract of sale on our house, and the finance/unconditional date for the guy was yesterday, and we dont really know whats going on, this guy is waiting to hear what is happening with the buyer of HIS house!  Anyway, so we were planning on starting to move house over the next two weeks, but now I dont know what we're doing, because we dont want to move the furniture out of our current house until its sold (a house with no furniture is quite difficult to sell!).

So I'm trying not to worry about it too much, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment!  There are also a million other things running through my mind at the moment, all those fabulous things you have to remember to do when you move house... so I'm writing a list.  Get the phone connected, put the electricity in our names, change home insurance, change car insurance, get the mail redirected, get broadband set up on the phone line, fix the fence before the dogs move in etc etc...  I have been lying awake at night with all these thoughts just churning through my mind... grrrr sometimes I just can switch my brain off!!~!!

We went to the new house on the weekend (its only the next suburb over) and I got to explore the vege garden - its HUGE!  I will have to post a pic (before it gets demolished to accommodate a new shed).  This vege garden is quite run down, but even so, there are huge cauliflowers, broccoli, carrott, tomato, capsicum, about 3 HUGE chilli trees, passionfruit, pineapple, mulberries, lemons, pawpaw, beans, spinnach, lettuce and cabbage, onion and shallots!  Because its been uncared for, a lot it has 'gone to seed' - but a lot of it is quite edible, and I'm so excited!!  BF has marked off an area where we will transplant some of the vege garden into (so that he can build his shed) - but I'm a bit concerned about moving it, because I reckon it will all die if we move it.   Also, I'm no gardener, and I have no idea how to keep vegetables alive.  It makes it even harder now that we cant use a hose to water (drought) - so I carried many bucket-loads of water to it on the weekend!  Oh well its all good exercise!

Last night the Real Estate shouted us to Gold Class movies, so we got to see Miami Vice, and were wined and dined - it was lovely!  I wouldn't really recommend the movie though - it was 2 hours long and I have to say it was pretty boring!  Even BF yawned all the way through!

Not much happening

Not a lot happening in my world at the moment!!

I have banned myself from using the treadmill at the gym, in the hope that my shin splints will ease up (and they seem to be).  I have discovered that there are a few different types of shin splints, depending on whether the pain is on the outside or the inside of the shin.  I always thought that there was only one type, which is the pain on the outside of the shin (anterior) - because thats the only side I have ever got them!

Well anterior shin splints apparently can be caused by a few things, running on the toes (guilty!), walking up hill (guilty on Sunday), walking faster than normal (guilty on Sunday - Elke was pulling me along) - also I have always had a problem with walking on the outside edges of my feet (think this is called pronate)... and of course having old running shoes doesnt help! 

So at the very least I should be able to buy myself a new pair of runners... in the interests of better health!  (hey that's a great excuse! - honey I need new shoes!!)

Eating and training are going well, sleep seems to be my biggest problem at the moment.  Its super stressful buying AND selling a house at the same time, and my sleep seems to be a bit disrupted. This morning when the alarm went off I discovered I had a dead arm (must have slept on it funny) so I rolled over and started flapping my arm all over the place, trying to find the damn alarm clock... no feeling in the hand at all... hehehee I had to chuckle, despite myself.  Finally managed to find the off switch!

One more day until the weekend!  I need a sleep in!

Shin splints...

... is what I've got.  Used to suffer from them big time about 10 years ago - havent had them much since... until yesterday.

I think I did the damage when I took the dogs for a power walk on Sunday - my legs felt like rubber - like I couldn't get any speed happening.  In fact Elke was pretty much dragging me along for the last hundred metres or so!!  Then yesterday I did a leg workout, and increased my weights in just about every exercise - felt great at the time, but NOW - while my quads and hamstrings aren't really too sore, my shins are screaming!!  While I was able to jog on the treadmill this morning, when I slowed to a walk, I had to get off, it hurt too much.

I think I'm supposed to use ice on shin splints??

My daily goals seem to be working pretty well... one of today's goal is to drink over 4 litres of water.  Normally I drink at least 3 litres, but I'm striving to do better this week!  I feel so much better when I drink more water, if I dont drink it I wake up in the morning with a terrible dry mouth.  My other daily goals have included not adding any extra food to my meals.  All those little extra's add up - and its surprising how many calories you can save by not adding extra's to your salad (except for mustard of course - lol!!), or not adding a bit of cheese or saying no to a glass of wine!!  Every day I have been able to add a great big TICK to my training diary, so I'm feeling good!

And the best news is I have lost the kilo that I had put on during my week off!!  So now I'm back to where I was a few weeks ago!

Our new kitchen

We've been busy little bees this weekend! And here is the finished product - our new kitchen!!

And finally I can report some exciting news...

1. we bought another house and it settles tomorrow!!
2. our current house is now for sale!

My poor boyfriend has worked like a trooper for the last two weeks to finish our house... so its been very busy here for a few weeks! Now its all done, its been on the market since Friday, so now we just have to wait and see what happens.

The new place settles tomorrow, so we can gradually move our stuff over and take our time. The new house is a 3 level split level, and needs renovating - which is exactly what we wanted. And its on 1600m2, so lots of room for the puppies!

Anyway, my weekend - we pretty much spent Friday night and Saturday morning sorting out the kitchen, cleaning etc, getting ready for being on the market. We had a VERY interested person come through on Saturday afternoon... fingers crossed!

Caught up with some friends for dinner on Saturday night, I had a free meal and it was horrible. Beer battered fish - I only ate half of it, and I felt like I had my oil quota for the month... gross!

This morning at 1.30am someone kept ringing BF's mobile... over and over. GRRR After the 3rd time BF got up to answer it - and it was some drunk guy with the wrong phone number. So we're feeling a little tired and emotionally drained today, what with all the stress of buying AND selling a house!

BUT I am pleased to report that I've been extra conscious of drinking water this weekend, and I've been really good with my food - see what a little awareness does!! Today the meals are a bit out of sync though - because I slept in til 8.30am, then got up and took the dogs for a walk, so I didn't get breakfast until nearly 10am! Ooops!

Hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend!

Sooo hungry!

I am sooo hungry!! Wow it only took a day for the ol' metabolism to kick into high gear again - I'm starving! I try to eat every 3 hours, but I'm finding that after about an hour and a half I'm looking at my watch... trying my best to hang on for the 3 hours - LOL! Have not changed my portion sizes at all, must just be my body responding to being treated better.

Well since Monday I've been walking like I just got off my horse , hehehee! Embarrassing when you do a little 'stagger' because your quads are too sore to respond quickly! Did a pretty good chest and back session this morning, then cardio - only managed an incline walk on the treadmill for 25mins because my legs were too sore!! My heart rate monitor watch died yesterday, needs a new battery I think. Very annoying because I'm so used to wearing it that I feel strange working out without it! I even considered putting it on this morning - just because I'm so used to wearing a watch and a chest strap, and it felt 'funny' to go without it!!

I was thinking it might be a good excuse to buy a lovely new Polar one, they are just gorgeous... mine is an old black Polar one, about 3 or 4 years old - quite ugly, but very much loved. A dead battery is probably not a good excuse to buy an expensive (but lovely) new HR monitor, is it.... is it??? LOL!

Last night we got the beginnings of our new kitchen!! Very exciting! Begone pink kitchen... (seriously, even 25 years ago, was a pink kitchen EVER cool???)

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."-Aristotle