Goodbye 2007...

One year ago today, we were in Warrington, England, getting ready for a HUGE NYE party... I cant believe how fast time flies these days!

So I thought should do a little review of my year, since its almost over.

Some highlights of 2007:

• We spent January having the holiday of my dreams, traveling around the UK, Austria and Italy. Got to go to Rome and see all the ancient stuff, which has been at the top of my "to-do" list forever.
  
• Got engaged to my wonderful man in the Austrian Alps
  
• Had implantable contact lenses in April and May to correct my short-sightedness, giving me better than 20/20 vision - bye bye glasses!
  
• Did some big renovations to our house (this is still an ongoing project though)
  
• Survived a nasty car accident with everything but my nerves (and the car) in tact.
  
• Got offered a fantastic new job, and quit my old one!

There havent been any enormous fitness achievements this year, but I have at least maintained my fitness levels.

2008 is going to be a big one. I start my new job in just over a week, and while I'm really looking forward to it, I'm really nervous as well.

We also will probably organise a wedding at some point (but after 8 years, really, whats the hurry?!!) and also get the renovations finished.

Fitness wise my goal is to gain more muscle, and lose 5kgs of fat. I still havent got Maggie's body yet - so watch this space!!

I hope everyone has a fabulous New Years tonight! We are going to a friends house for a party, but the weather in Brissie right now is not really conducive to a great New Years, its been cool and rainy with gale-force winds for the last few days. They're even talking about cancelling the fireworks in the city.

Anyway, I hope that whatever you get up to that its a great night. See you all in 2008!

So thats it for another year...

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas!

Early yesterday morning we exchanged a few little gifts, and most importantly gave the dogs and cat their pressies. Shavez was sooo funny, his stocking had a sqeaky ball in it - he just LOVES this ball - he takes it with him everywhere and will not let it out of his sight! He's like a little kid with his dolly. It looks so funny to have this great big dog carrying a little ball everywhere. Even when he's sleeping he has to have the ball resting beside his face LOL...

We then went for breakfast with OH's family, where we did had a lovely BBQ breakfast out on the deck. Then the kids hit the pool, and OH chased them around and squirted them with water pistols - he is just like a big kid himself really.

We then headed home at lunchtime and my parents came around. I enjoyed a glass or two of bubbles, and then all of OH's family arrived for a dinner time BBQ.

Santa was good to me this year - OH got me a Polar F11 heart rate monitor...

I got the blue one, and I cant wait to start using it! I've been playing with it this morning, and I'm amazed with all the features its got. Its much puuurtier than my old black Polar, which has copped an absolute hiding over the years. I think I will be doing well to use even half of the features on this new one though - but its just so lovely!

OH's family also lashed out and got me some diamond cluster earrings... real diamonds too so I was most impressed! Musta been a good girl in my past life!

I'm having a week off weight training this week, so it will be good to get back into it. It will be good when the gym is back to normal hours too! So the dogs will be getting lots of walkies this week, and I may go for a few jogs too. Only two more weeks of being a lady of leisure - I cant believe how quickly 5 weeks has gone already! Actually I'm really looking forward to starting my new job, it will be good to have something to sink my teeth into.

Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying some relax time at the moment, I'm off to read some blogs!

Happy Birthday S ! .....

Its OH's birthday today - happy birthday baby! For one month of the year we are the same age, and doesn't he just LOVE to rub it in that I'm 11 months older!

I'm in a great mood today - I did an awesome step class this morning, I really dont know where I got all my energy from! I always leave a little in reserve for the last track (the one before the legs and stretching) - I love the last track! Left the gym with a bright red face, came home and walked the dogs. I wasnt going to walk them though - they've been naughty and I was going to skip it. Went outside this morning and found a dead possum on the deck again... poor possum. We never know which dog actually committed the crime, so they always both get in trouble.

Anyway, took them for a shorter walk than normal, but they really were a handful this morning and hard to control. Then they both decided to take a poop at the same time - try picking up two lots of doggie doo in a plastic bag when they're both being difficult, circling your legs and whining to get going again - not happy!!!

Then I came home, showered and took my measurements and skinfolds - and they have gone down!! Woohoo! So happy with that!

So I'd best avoid the scales tomorrow anyway, after Beef Wellingtons and Caramel Mud Cake tonight for OH's birthday :-)

You may find this hard to believe but...

... I'm getting bored at home!

Yep, being a lady of leisure ain't all its cracked up to be!!! It is very strange having no proper routine. The only thing I do with any regularity is go to gym every morning. Then if I'm in the mood I walk the dogs, shower, sit down in front of the computer and play on the internet until about 9am. I have this rule that I dont start doing any physical "work" until after 9am.

My other rule is that I dont switch on the TV until its time to watch 'Antiques Roadshow' (5pm) - I've become addicted to that show... sad arent I??

I've done most of my Christmas shopping, I've weeded the garden, I've painted all I can until the plasterer finishes doing his stuff, I've cleaned (actually I could prolly do with cleaning a whole lot more, but that just isn't fun) and I've visited friends, cuddled babies etc... I'm now resorting to doing crosswords to try and keep my mind active!!

Its funny somedays, I soooo look forward to OH coming home from work so that I get a bit of human conversation!! I mean, I talk to the dogs and cat a lot, but they dont tend to talk back LOL.

Anyway, I went out for a Christmas get-together last night and I was very good - only had one glass of wine very early on. I didnt even eat very much (mostly because it was horrible) so I dont think I did too much damage last night. I was very tired getting up for gym this morning, and it showed in my lack of strength. I didn't make the same reps today that I did last week, and left gym with jelly triceps!

Its OH's 32nd birthday on Friday (he's finally catching up with me!) so I've got to go get myself organised to cook Beef Wellingtons for 7 people - I'm not sure if my oven is big enough! Wish me luck!

Its a Wonderful Life

Its a Wonderful Life is my favourite Christmas Movie of all time. I'm not really sure why - maybe its because I love Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, maybe its the stilted 1940's acting, maybe its the fact that it makes me cry every time I watch it... but what a lovely lovely movie. It really does make you stop and think about how good your own life is, and what impact you have on other people's lives. I watched this movie on Monday after I had my wisdom teeth out, and I've been thinking about it ever since.

I am a bit of a wreck at the moment after my efforts on Wednesday! Not only am I black and blue from bruises, but my upper body is sooo sore too. From pull-starting the mower a million times (from when it kept stalling) I have the sorest shoulders. Chest is still sore too from weights this week. I'm finding it difficult to do things like pulling t-shirts on and off, and doing a bra up is a bit of a challenge!

Yesterday I did my usual step class, and I was knackered!! Another girl and I were agreeing that this latest release of Body Step seems to be a LOT harder than previous releases...

This morning I took the dogs for a walk, and then today I'm going to clean windows... gee I get all the fun jobs dont I???

Have a great weekend everyone.

Bull in a china shop

One thing mum always used to shout at me (apart from “Clean your room” and “For God’s sake, stop tap-dancing down the supermarket aisles!!”) was

“Christ Hilary you’re like a bull in a china shop!!!!”

I was always crashing through the world at top-speed, always in a hurry, slamming doors, bumping into things, breaking stuff. We used to live in a two storey house on stilts, looked like a little Swiss chalet, and she used to reckon me running down the stairs made the whole house shake…

I got better as I got older. But yesterday I had a bit of a day like those old days. For some reason I was in a hurry to do everything. I had a list of things to do yesterday, and there was no stopping me!

So my to-do list went something like this:

Go to gym
Do groceries
Post Christmas Cards
Paint upstairs hallway ceiling
Paint downstairs bedroom ceiling
Mow all lawns

It started to go wrong when I went to post the Christmas cards, I got stuck halfway across an intersection when I got stuck at a red light. Couldn’t go forward or back. A pedestrian abused me for being halfway across the pedestrian crossing – now that just put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

So I came home and painted. Forgot that when you roll on ceilings that the paint doesn’t just splatter straight down onto the drop sheet – it flies out in all directions. Consequently got paint everywhere and had to keep stopping to clean it up.

Cooked stir fry for lunch, dropped food on floor from rushing…

Cut my toe on a floor tile, just from walking past it.

Got a huge glob of paint in my left eye. I mean it dropped straight into my eyeball, and OMG that sucker stung!! Spent the next ten minutes rinsing my eye in water and searching for eye drops, which we don’t seem to have anymore since I had my eye operations!

Noticed it looked like it was going to rain, so ditched the painting halfway through to go mow… it took me about 2 hours because the mower kept stalling because the grass was too thick. I bumped my leg on the mower and have ended up with a massive bruise on my thigh.

And finally when I went to close a sliding screen door last night I managed to bang myself in the forehead with it – hard. I have a big egg over my left eyebrow now.

So I think that qualifies as a bull in a china shop kinda day! Mum would be shaking her head right now!!

Double Ouch

I had my other two wisdom teeth out this morning, so now the entire right side of my face is a bit screwed up. Because both upper and lower were removed this time, we had twice the number of needles didn't we? So I think my face is twice as numb as last time. This time my chin is now frozen in one spot - all the way to the top of my ear - yeah, double ouch is right.

On the aftercare information sheet they give you (just before you pay them the arm and a leg that you now owe) it says "Absolutely no smoking for at least 48 hours - and no alcohol for 2 weeks" !!! I had to read it twice! And then I spluttered!! "Wha....??" I'm now reduced to grunting and pointing because my lips, chin and tongue are frozen in the one spot...

"Wha???? No alcohol for two weeks??" This is barely deciperable from me, but the dentist figures out what I'm saying. "Oh people always freak out about THAT!!" he laughs. "Dont worry about that - but no alcohol for at least 48 hours though - ok?"

Phew - I can relax knowing that my Friday night glass of wine is still on the cards.

Still, it was a much better experience this time, no stitches for one. AND it was cheaper than the quote. Gotta be happy with that.

*****************************

We did some tiling in the entry/lounge area on Saturday, and its looking pretty good. Its amazing how doing one area can make you feel like you are so much closer to the end. It still needs to be grouted of course.

This morning I did my regular Monday morning cycle class, followed by walking the dogs. I'm now going to put my feet up for the rest of the day (dentists orders - honest!), wait for the feeling to return to my face, and eat soft and squishy food.

Look what I'm getting...

Last week I used some credit card reward points to order a Navman S30, which is an entry level GPS. Dont you just love shiny new gadgets? When I start my new job I'm going to be driving around a fair bit, so this will be a fairly important tool for me, so I dont get lost. I'm hoping to have it before Christmas, I cant wait!

I also ordered a couple of singlets from Lean Ladies so I'll be on the lookout for the postman in the next few weeks! I have recently discovered that a new Lorna Jane has opened up at my local shopping centre. So far I have managed to stay away, but its calling me.

I've been training hard and eating clean this week, but I'm still feeling bloated and I cant seem to shake it. Maybe I will cut out my morning coffee and see if that helps.

I have done nothing but paint this week, and I'm over it. This week was the first time I had ever painted a ceiling, and I can tell you - it aint fun. Its all very well having a drop sheet on the floor, but it doesn't stop the paint from splattering on your face, in your eyes, on your hair. It certainly doesn't pay to roll on ceiling paint with your mouth open either.

Its been stinking hot here this week, which hasn't helped. I have ended up with a bit of a crook neck from craning my head back all day, and man did my shoulders get a good build up of lactic acid this week! The worst of it is that I have only done two ceilings - many more to go! At lunchtime yesterday I gave up and went back to painting walls instead.

Today I'm having a bludge day. Well actually I just refuse to paint today. Maybe I'll do some more weeding, or I might just go check out Lorna Jane!!

Mind over matter

... otherwise known as "I think I can, I think I can..."

This morning I was up as usual at 5am - ok so actually it was more like quarter past, I almost slept through the alarm. Anyway, got to gym and did an awesome shoulder/bi/tri workout (shoulder is feeling good after the acupuncture by the way), then hopped on the cross trainer for 20 minutes. Felt good - but quite fatigued by the end.

Came home and took the dogs for a brief walk, dropped them off and headed off on my 4km route. Last time I ran/walked this (Saturday) I managed to jog as far as the local school , which is about a third of the way, before I had to slow to a walk. Since I'm no runner, this I thought was a pretty good. Usually after I catch my breath, I pick it up for more jogging.

This morning, the minute I stepped it up into a jog, I though "oh-oh, I'm never going to make this, my legs are sooooo tired!". But I kept saying to myself "Just make it to the end of the main street". Making it to the end of that street involves two small hills, nearly killed me!! Finally made it to the end and thought "Hey its a downhill slope now - keep going - just make it to that power pole". Then when I got close to that power pole, I thought - you can make it to the school!

So I kept going, and kept jogging to the school. Then I passed the school and just kept on going. I kept setting myself markers, and each time I reached the marker I picked another one 50 metres ahead. In the end I got about half way before I had to slow to a walk and gasp for breath!!!! But man it felt good. Last time I jogged to the school I had fresh legs too - so just goes to show how mind over matter can get you further than you thought. By the time I got home my legs were cactus though!

To me, this is the best thing about fitness. To achieve something, even something minor as jogging further than you thought you could, or saying no to a glass of wine when you REALLY feel like one - knowing that you're progressing, improving, eating clean, gaining control and just feeling really good about yourself - what an awesome, powerful feeling.

So I'm feeling really happy and positive right now. I'm just going to have a little rest here before I start painting some ceilings today. Have a great day!

A Human Pincushion

Yesterday I experienced my first session of acupuncture. Very interesting. I've been wanting to try it for a while now, and since I've got a lot of spare time at the moment, I thought "why not". A friend recommended his acupuncturist, so I thought I'd give his guy a go. Unfortunately he's on the northside of Brissie, so naturally I got hopelessly lost trying to get there! I dont get over to the northside very often, but I think I got to see a fair chunk of it yesterday with all the extra driving I did!




So anyway, he asked me all sorts of questions, previous injuries, digestive issues, sleep patterns, looked at my tongue (!!!) and then I laid down and got stuck with needles! It seems that all my injuries/niggles/weaknesses are all down my right hand side. First priority was my right shoulder, which is extremely tight and doesn't move like it should. I had needles all the way from my neck down to my foot. The only one that hurt was the one in my hand. They place it in the webbing between the thumb and the first finger - and OMG it HURT!!



He then waved some burning herbs over some of the needles, and then stuck electrodes to the ones in my shoulder. The electrodes made my shoulder pulse and vibrate - very strange!



After this I rolled onto my stomach and had these glass cups attached to my back. It felt like there was a crab suctioned on, I didn't like it much. They didn't stay on very long, but look at my back now:

I look like a freak!!!! Apparently the bruising will go away in a couple of days.

So all in all, it was an interesting experience. I do have a bit more movement in my shoulder now, but it could just be from the massage and stretching he did on it. The jury is out on whether I will go again. I might try to find someone more local.

Training and eats have been spot on this week, so I'm feeling great. On Tuesday after gym I spent the entire day in the garden. Pruning, weeding, chopping, carting tree branches and weeds to the trailer - it was hard work. I was nodding off on the lounge at 7.30 that night. But let me tell you - it certainly beats being at work right now!

Today I'm off to have lunch with a friend - what a life!!

Painting

Would you believe that my face is still sore from having that bloody wisdom tooth out?? I didn't realise that it would make my whole left side of my jaw ache. I dread to think what it will be like when I have TWO removed on the right side.

Yesterday I finally got off my arse and did some painting. The previous owners of this house had some amazing taste in colours (NOT!). The spare bedroom that I painted yesterday had 3 walls in purple, and one wall in bright yellow/orange. They also had blue venetian blinds on both windows. Before....

It took me all freaking day!! It needed 3 coats of paint to cover the purple. Here's the results:

So training is going really well. Now that I've got lots of spare time I'm making sure I fit some more training in. I've still been going to gym every morning at 5.30am, Friday morning did a really good step class, and Saturday afternoon went for a jog. Sunday's exercise was painting, which I figure is a good shoulder workout anyway. This morning I did a cycle class, which for some reason really fatigued me in the legs (it doesn't normally) and then jumped on the treadmill on incline for 10 minutes afterwards.

I am determined to lose bodyfat during this break. Danger time for me is being home alone and bored, that's when I tend to swing off the fridge and pantry door a lot. Its bizarre going from being so busy, to suddenly having no routine, so the goal is to make sure I keep busy.

Last week my nutrition wasnt too bad, I've got a whiteboard in the kitchen so I'm keeping a visible weekly record - beside each day of the week I get a big tick (or a cross!!) for having trained, eaten clean, zero alcohol, and a tally of how many litres of water consumed. I like having it visible like that, especially if I know that my OH can see it.

Anyway, last week was ok - but lots of room for improvement! Watch this space!!

I know how we all love before and after photos, so here's some of Miss Elke - before being shaved...

and after... ! Much cooler for her.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Tagged

So my leisurely lifestyle continues... although I havent got as much done as I thought I would! Yesterday I bought myself some new gym shoes, so hopefully they will eliminate the shin splints issue.

Yesterday I finally did the Abs Butt and Thighs class at gym - holy sh!t! Thought I was gonna collapse towards the end. Lots of squats, walking lunges, running laps of the aerobics room, step ups etc, and then the ab work just about killed me. Felt good though so I think I'll give it another go next week.

This morning did Step, followed by walking the dogs for 40 minutes. Shins hurt a bit.

Anyway, got tagged last week - so here goes...

Four dishes I like to cook:
1. Beef Wellington (with Roast Vegetables and Yorkshire Puddings) This is OH's favourite meal of all time. He has it every birthday. His mum took great pains to teach me how to make it "her" way. We make individual Beef Wellingtons because everyone's favourite part is the puff pastry!

2. Chicken & Leek pie.

3. Homemade pizza (I buy the bases though). Good for a lazy Saturday night. I dont particularly go for "gourmet" pizza toppings - normally I add onion, capsicum, mushroom, pineapple, tomato, olives, ham, ground beef, salami and cabanossi and cheese. (!!!!). Usually they are so big that you can barely open your mouth wide enough for a bite LOL. A good tip is to pour some whisked egg over the top of the pizza just before you put it in the oven.

4. Lasagne. OH goes nuts for my lasagne. I'm not as keen, but I make it for him to keep him happy! I always add about a tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce to the meat sauce - this is also good for spag bol. Sounds strange I know, but give it a try sometime.

Four qualities I love in people
1. Committment
2. Honesty
3 Sense of Humour
4. Loyalty

Four places I have been
1. Rome. It had to be on the top of the list! We were in Rome in January this year. I am obsessed with all things Ancient Rome. Yes I'm a nerd. Enough said.
2. Innsbruck, Austria.
3. UK.
4. Singapore

Four things in my bedroom
1. A TV that we never use. I'm just not a 'watch-TV-in-bed' kinda person.
2. Boxes of tiles yet to be laid in our house (any spare space is fair game in our place!)
3. Framed prints by the artist M.C. Escher
4. Bedside tables that do not match the bed.

Four dirty words that I like to use
Apart from the obvious ones???... I try not to swear too much, but the occasional “For F**ks sake!” escapes me sometimes. My favourtie word for someone I don’t like is “slut-features”. I don’t use it often.

Four random facts about me:
1. I love animals. I love them more than people sometimes. If there’s a story on the news about a person who died, or a horse stuck in the mud, I will cry over the horse every time. People stories do not affect me the same way. For this reason I cannot watch RSPCA Animal Rescue – I would sob for the entire show. I am also not actually a cat-lover – I am definitely a dog person. I only got my Siamese Cat because I was told that they are the most dog-like cat you can get. But I love him to bits now.

2. I like alternative music. My favourite is still System of a Down. I have always been the one who likes the weird/kooky type of music. I had a mega obsession with The Cure when I was a teenager.

3. I do my own acrylic nails. My future sis-in-law used to do them for me (she’s qualified), but after about a year of watching her do it, I thought “this cant be too hard!!!” and got her to buy me the gear and now I do them myself. It actually was quite difficult, but I’ve been doing them for about 5 years now and have no problem. My natural nails are paper thin, they are so thin that it sickens me to touch them.

4. I cant eat steak. If I chop it up and stir-fry it I love it, but to sit down to a big piece of fillet or rump makes me feel ill.

I tag Selina, Kerry, Doris and Michelle

Hil, meet Garden. Garden, meet Hil.

Putting the term “Garden Leave” (see previous post) to good use, I spent Sunday in the garden. My lovely parents volunteered to drive an hour to our house to help clean out our overgrown mess of a garden, so no need for further exercise on Sunday. Ouch my hammies are so sore from bending over reefing out weeds all day. My hands and nails are sore too (acrylic nails and weeding don’t make a good match – sore fingernail beds!!). We were slathered in bug repellant, and rained on twice, but had a good day. I kept expecting creepy crawlies to leap out at me, but they must have all scattered when they saw us coming.

So, despite being “between jobs” at the moment, the last two mornings I have still got up and gone to gym at 5.30am. I’m quite impressed with myself! Yesterday I came home from gym and took the dogs for a walk – but have ended up with shin splints for my trouble. My gym shoes are over a year old now, and I think its time to replace them… I always get shin splints when I have old shoes. Anyway, I spent some more time in the garden yesterday, fighting off the midgies in the process. Also got a little sunburned.

Then this morning I had to go to the Toothist! I am now minus one wisdom tooth. Currently the left side of my face is numb and swollen from the anesthetic. How bizarre is it!! Even my left ear is numb! OH rang me a little while ago, and he was laughing at me cos I sounded so stupid! My tongue feels like a rock in my mouth and wont move properly. My lips are frozen in the one spot.

Just after the dentist injected about 4 needles into my gum, he asked me what I was going to do with my time off.

I replied “Oh I’ve got loths oth wenovating to do at home, loths of painting. And of courth with Christhmath not far away, loths oth sthopping to do too.”

I had to stop talking cos I feel like a dickhead. I can feel myself starting to drool because I have no idea what my lips are doing – cant feel them.

Then when the dentist went to pull the tooth out, the assistant put me in a head lock. It was the weirdest/worst sensation having the tooth pulled – kinda like he stuck a fork in it and then wound the handle around and around, until *crack* out it came. I was glad it came out when it did, if it went on much longer I was going to have to slap him. And how crazy am I… I’m going back for more on the 10th of December!!

I Quit!!!!!

I quit my job on Thursday!!!!!!!

mmmmm that feels weird to type.

After 7 and a half years, it was time to move on. I had been half-heartedly job-searching for 6 months or so, and I was really starting to get down about it. I was miserable going to work, and it was really starting to affect other parts of my life. Lots of trouble sleeping because I was thinking about stressful work stuff. Then lack of sleep affects my training. Then tiredness makes me cranky etc.

So out of the blue a few weeks ago I get a phone call from a previous manager (who's now the Managing Director of my new company), go for an interview, and on Thursday morning I'm offered a fantastic job!

I wasted no time and went straight to my office and handed in my resignation letter. This was probably the hardest part. I felt sooo guilty. To me, the worst feeling in the world is feeling like I've let someone down, and thats how I felt on Thursday. The person I report to started crying, which made me feel even worse. I do feel for her - its going to be tough for her now.

Because I'm going to work for a competitor/customer, I got sent home straight away (conflict of interest). I had to go back in on Friday morning to discuss "what we're going to do with you". (ie terminate me immediately, put me on "garden" leave, or make me work my notice)

So yesterday I went back and was told that I'm now on "garden" leave. This means that I'm still an employee for my notice period (one month) but am not allowed on site. Basically means I get a months paid holiday! So I said my goodbyes to everyone, and my fabulous ex-boss and I went out for a long lunch and glass of wine to celebrate. I will miss her the most.

So I am now a lady of leisure!! I have 7 weeks before I start my new job (how good is THAT!!) so I'm writing a list of things I need to do during that time. Obviously there is lots of painting to be done in the house, and the there is 1/2 an acre of garden that needs some desperate attention, so I dont think I will get bored. I'm also looking forward to some sleep-ins, going to gym a little later in the morning, taking the dogs for lots of walks, catching up with girlfriends with babies that I dont see much of anymore... Christmas shopping, checking out the new DFO with mum, reading some books, trying out some new recipes for dinners, relaxing.... are you jealous yet??!!!!! LOL!

Words of wisdom (teeth)

Hmmm so my trip to the dentist is going to turn out to be an expensive one...

I really dont like the dentist (who does?).  I go every 6 months to have my mouth poked and prodded, which costs a stupid amount of money, and what do I get for my trouble?  I get booked in for more dental work, more poking and prodding, which unfortunately includes needles and teeth pulling.   Yep, I caved in and booked in to get my 3 wisdom teeth out.  Luckily (if you can call it that) I can have it done in the chair.  I'm having one removed first, then a month or so later I'll get the other two done.  So 20th of November is D-Day for wisdom tooth one.

I also was told that I need to have a crown...... boohoo.  I have a tooth with a crack, which could get worse.  So they want to shave a layer off and cover it with a cap "thingy".  Yes its as expensive as it sounds.  It sounds painful too.  Oh joy I love the dentist.  I'm gonna save this little beauty for next year I think!

The one thing I do like is that they give me a party-bag when I leave.  I get a *free* toothbrush and toothpaste, plus some pamphlets to read.   I have a large collection of *free* toothbrushes at home, which I add to my collection of *free* toiletries that I steal from hotels, which I never use.  (I have this compulsion to take all the toiletries from hotels, I cant seem to stop myself!!  Does anyone else do this????)

Training and nutrition are going great this week, I'm feeling pumped.  I did legs this morning and got a little niggle in my right knee cap again... bugger.  Feeling some great DOMS already this week.  I'm tossing up whether to do a new class tomorrow morning - Abs, Butt and Thighs... sounds scary (especially after leg day!) but good to try something different.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Lazy weekend

I did a cycle class this morning, came away absolutely drenched, but feeling great.  I have been sleeping much better lately too, I actually got 9 hours sleep on Friday night, which was heaven!  Its amazing how much better and mentally stronger you feel after a good nights sleep.  All those little things just seem insignificant.

I had such a relaxing weekend.  Got my hair cut again on Saturday afternoon - this time got a much shorter disconnected bob.  I also had some time to myself on Saturday, so it was nice to just chill on my own, collect my thoughts and relax with a good book! 

We had a DVD marathon weekend!  On Friday night we watched part of Epic Movie (turned it off after about half an hour though - it was crap!!) and then The Hitcher - Sean Bean makes such a good villain.  Then on Saturday night we had a BBQ at home and watched Tenacious D The Pick of Destiny (some funny parts but not highly recommended) and then The Pianist, which was a fantastic movie.  OH was extremely reluctant to watch it, since drama's arent really his thing (typical guy - he loves action/thrillers) but it ended up being a really good movie, even he admitted it.  It was also quite distressing at times - the things those poor people went through during the war, it really opens your eyes.  I like it when a movie turns out MUCH better than you expected... 'I am Sam' was a bit like that.  My favourite movie of all time is Platoon.

Tomorrow morning after gym I'm going to the dentist for a check up.  I'm a bit reluctant, last time I went (6 months ago) I was told that I need my 3 remaining wisdom teeth out.  I chose to ignore it!  So I'm prolly about to get in trouble from my dentist!  Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!

Update

I've been a little absent from blogging lately.  I've still been reading everyone elses, but just not feeling like contributing much to mine.  There's some stuff going on for me right now, but its not something I can really blog about just yet.  I'm trying to get my priorities in order - so some changes are afoot.

Because my mind has been otherwise occupied, training has taken a bit of a backseat.  Actually I had the whole of last week off training, mostly because I needed one less thing to think about.  Also, I needed to catch up on some sleep - as some of you know, I'm a bit of a worry-wart and when I get stressed, the first thing that falls apart for me is sleep.

So back into training this week.  And then this morning I must have turned the alarm off in my sleep cos when I woke up and looked at the clock it was 6.20am!!  Arrrggghhh!  Bugger.  Despite my lack of training, the scales havent changed much, which is a relief.  I feel so bad when I dont train, but I think sometimes your body needs a rest, both physically and mentally.

On the renovation front, we now have a fully functioning ensuite!  The shower heads are installed (its a double shower - two heads, very fancy!), all the tiling and grouting is done.  Now we just need a shower screen, buy some mirrors, finish painting (my job) and it will be complete.  I dont know which room will be next, but its OH's goal to have the whole of the inside of the house finished before Christmas... I think we're going to be busy... still got to tile the rumpus, entry and kitchen/dining rooms, completely renovate/re-do the kitchen, build the bar in the rumpus, paint 3 bedrooms plus ceilings and stairs etc... such fun!

Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it -- but sail we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor.  Oliver Wendell Holmes

The difference between women and men

6 months today

6 months ago today I was having my first eye operation to have implantable contact lenses, which corrected my short-sightedness.

It is still so amazing to me to now have "normal" vision.  I had been wearing glasses (and later, contact lenses) since I was 12 - so 20 years of being blind.  I was painfully self-conscious of my glasses, particularly because my script was so high.  I always felt like my glasses were thick like bottles, and I always thought when I met people that all they were thinking was "man - she's got thick glasses"  Even though logically I'm sure people didnt think that - you cant help but be sensitive about them.  When I looked in the mirror with my glasses on, all I could see was glasses - stupid, isn't it?  Especially when I think that there's so many people in the world with REAL problems.

But now that my vision has been surgically corrected, I keep catching myself doing things that you would normally do if you wore glasses.  Pushing them back up your nose is one... there's nothing there anymore!!  A few mornings I've gone to step into the shower and my hand goes up to my face to take my glasses off.  The other night when I was particularly tired, I got into bed and reached up to my face to remove them, LOL I had to laugh at myself.   Its like quitting smoking (I quit 8 years ago) - for a couple of years afterwards you find yourself at times of stress reaching in your bag for a packet of cigarettes, just goes to show how strong habit is, and why it takes a while to break it!

I'm feeling pretty good this week, yesterday morning I did a cycle class + 10 min jog, and after work I took the dogs for a powerwalk followed by 10 mins of sprints up and down my street.  Last night I only had 4 hours sleep so didn't make it to gym today.  Tonight we are going to visit OH's nephew for his birthday, where I'll be watching everyone else eat cake.  I might take some strawberries to eat instead.

Tomorrow is my little cat Connor's 10th birthday.  He'll be getting lots of cuddles and spoilt rotten for sure.

Sad

Well after two days of running around after my niece and nephew, playing hide and seek, playing fetch with the dogs with them and going for big walks, I was very sad this morning to say goodbye to them - they're off to America soon for 2 years.

Jamie enjoying a piece of cake, ice cream, red jelly, meringue and chocolate topping!

Being cheeky in the car

On the other hand, it was nice to have a few days of not working on the house! When they left this morning I couldn't believe how quiet the house was - too quiet. It really felt quite empty :(

Anyhoo - today I've got a list of things I've gotta get done, so I should really make a move. After two days of relaxed eating and no "official" training (does jumping around with a 3 year old constitute exercise??), I'm back into it today. Unfortunately I didn't make it to the INBA's on Saturday - far too much work to do on the house to get it ready for visitors. Next time I'll be there for sure.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Blog template

Hmmmm something very strange happened to my blog page - the template got screwed up somehow. This one will have to do for now until I can find a different one!

Ramblings...

And so another weekend flashes by... I caught up with a friend for breakfast on Saturday morning, then I did my groceries, then came home to paint in the hot humid house.  (What is with the weather lately - hot and humid 30 degree days already, and its only Spring!)  We are trying to get the place in some sort of shape before my brother arrives next Monday.  My poor fiance is working himself into the ground - he works all day building other peoples houses, then comes home in the afternoon and lays tiles in our house.  That will teach us renovating 3 bathrooms in one go.  So we've got to get the plumber to come back again this week, carpet in the spare bedroom is being laid on Saturday morning, and the sparky has to come back too this week.  I'm so looking forward to three days off next week!

OH deserves a break too - he's told me he's NOT working on Sunday, because he MUST watch Bathurst (its his annual ritual).  lol - I think I'll let him off!

I'm still hoping to go watch the INBA's on Saturday, renovations permitting of course.  Will be good to catch up with everyone again.  I'm going on my own so if you see me standing around looking totally friendless please rescue me!!!!

I'm trying to do more cardio this week, I dont think I've been doing enough.  I'm cutting out alcohol too - I've been slipping in the odd glass of wine through the week, and its too easy to get back into that habit, so no more.  This morning I felt really strong doing shoulders, even though I upped the weights.  I love training shoulders - its my favourite! 

Have a great week everyone!

Kisses...

This is Elke just about to give mummy a little kiss on the cheek. I love this photo, despite the fact that it gives everyone a good look up my nostril, Elke is so cute!

I cant believe its Wednesday already - where are the days going? Its almost October!

Our weekend was spent renovating... My very clever and talented OH ripped tiles off walls, and did some tiling and grouting in our soon-to-be ensuite and main bathroom, he also assembled our 3 new bathroom vanities (lucky he's a chippie, hey). I painted! I undercoated the walls in our new 4th bedroom, over the plaster in the dining/lounge room, and I also painted ONE linen cupboard, which took forever! Just think how many shelves, corners and edging there are in your average linen cupboard. I had globs of paint in my hair, and paint all up my arms. There was also speckles of paint on my face from using the roller. I'm such a messy painter. Do you realise that painting is a good shoulder workout?? My forearms have DOMS from the up and down motion of the paintbrush!

On Saturday morning I did an Amy Bento Aerobics DVD in my lounge room (thanks Liz!) - although my lounge room is not really big enough for all the running and travelling moves she does. I either run into the TV, or the lounge chairs. There's plyometrics in between the cardio sequences... so its a pretty good cardio session. I ended up starting to get blisters on my feet though - so I stopped before the finish and took the dogs for a walk instead. No exercise on Sunday, I think I did enough with all the painting.

This week has been going great, except for this morning I was too tired (lazy) to get up to go to gym. I stayed up last night to watch All Saints, which I've unfortunately grown a bit partial to. I say 'unfortunately' because now I have to stay up late to watch it. Our VCR isn't hooked up properly (we are both VCR-challenged when it comes to setting those things up) so I cant even tape it. Oh well, I'll just have today as my rest day I guess.

Enjoy hump day!

Positive attitude

This week I'm having a much better week, and I think a lot of its to do with consciously having a better attitude.  I wake up in the morning and decide I'm going to have a good day.  I'm sleeping better, so I've got the energy to go to gym.  And training always makes me feel good.  A positive attitude always makes everything seem so much better!

On Tuesday when I got home from gym at 7am, our little one Elke (Border Collie X Keeshond) was missing.  God I almost had heart failure!  I did 3 full circuits of the yard, checking behind things, calling her name continuously, trying not to panic.   Shavez was super excited, so I knew somthing was up.  Luckily the neighbour heard me and let me know she was over in their yard.  Obviously, after a year of living next door, she'd decided she wanted to meet the neighbours dog face to face!!!  So she dug a hole under the fence in order to meet him (he's a border collie too)  So now we have to lay bricks all along the fence to stop her digging her way out again.  Little monkey.  She'd be in big trouble if I didn't love her so much.

Not much else to report - I'm plodding along.  I have surprisingly lost weight this last week, despite last week's disaster.   I have stopped consuming artificial sweetener, and I'm loving the flat stomach that goes with this!!  No more bloating - no more grumbly stomach.  I also feel a lot 'cleaner', and I'm hoping this will sort out all my stomach issues.  I only have one cup of tea per day, so I have one teaspoon of real sugar with that.  The rest of the day I'll drink green tea if I feel the need for a hot drink.  I've stopped drinking coffee too and I dont really miss it. 

Thats about it from me - a bit of a post about nothing in particular!

Time for an update

Time for an update I guess. I've struggled this last week. The car accident really played on my mind a lot. I've been jittery ever since. I had to continue to drive all that way for another two days afterwards, which really did nothing for my nerves. It has really opened my eyes to how often people take stupid risks on the road - its like every 10 minutes you see someone drive like a dickhead, and it has really rattled my nerves.

I'm very jumpy - the other night OH came to the top of the stairs to tell me something and I nearly leapt out of my skin. I had my mobile phone earplug in the other day and almost had heart failure when I looked down and saw the clip (I thought it was a spider!!) I know it will pass, but it will take a little time.

There's also a lot of crap going on at work, and its very stressful, and I'm very unhappy. So when I get stressed I dont sleep. So I havent really slept much this week. Even when my eyes have been hanging out of my head, cant keep them open - I go to bed and am wide awake. I have tried meditation this week, after which I felt very refreshed and calm. Then I went to bed at 9pm and was still awake at midnight.

I haven't had any energy. I only trained once because I just didn't have anything in the tank. Stupidly I kept setting the alarm for 5am, cos I kept thinking "oh I'll sleep tonight and will be fine for gym in the morning" but when that alarm goes off - there is no way I could get up to train.

I didn't even eat off plan all week - until Friday that is. I suddenly realised I had PMT too! Then I ate sugar!

Anyway, I'm feeling better now. Two full nights of sleep have really helped. Putting this all behind me now and focusing on having a much better week this week.

irony or fate?

I dont know whether its irony or fate, but yesterday my mum was saying that she was glad I wasn't going to be driving all that way to work every day now, because she worries about me on that highway...

So what happens? I was in a car accident last night. Driving down the Pacific Highway (4 lanes each way on this stretch between the Gold Coast and Brisbane) minding my own business but still doing the speed limit (110klm) when the car on my left swerved out and straight into my car. This caused me to veer out of control into the two lanes to my right, I steered wildly, back to the left into the middle of the highway, then veered crazily back to the right (I just could NOT control the steering wheel), where I ploughed into the bushes that they plant in the middle between the north and south facing lanes. This slowed me down enough so that I could stop.

Nobody was hurt - we were all badly shaken, but not hurt. My fingertips are sore though from gripping the steering wheel so hard. The girl who hit me in the first place was trying to avoid a truck that swerved into HER. The truck didn't stop. Somebody got his number plate. Two separate good samaratins pulled over immediately and came to my aid, for which I am soooo thankful for - I was so freaked out I didn't know what to do. One girl stayed with me for over an hour.

The car isn't too bad, lots of dents and scratches, and I've lost a side mirror. I drove it home ok. I'm just glad no one was hurt. It could have been so much worse, I'm so lucky that nobody was in the two lanes to my right when I got hit - I could quite easily have collected somebody. The girl who hit me said she thought she had killed me.

So I ate off plan last night, and had a glass of wine. I was freaked out for most of the night, kept replaying it all over and over in my head. So didn't sleep well, so I didn't go to gym this morning. Thank goodness I only have today and tomorrow for driving back down there.

Sleeeeepy

I'm feeling really good and less bloated this week, I've definetely got my mojo back (thank goodness, its been gone for so long!) 

I'm very tired though and I just cant seem to catch up on sleep this week.  One of our neighbours has this dog, its a labrador I think, and it howls whenever it hears a police or ambulance siren.  But it doesn't just howl for a minute - oh no - it howls for 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after.  I know some dogs have sensitive ears, and I sympathise, but its getting very hard to be sympathetic at 2.30 in the freakin morning - and the owners dont seem to care!  So this happened on Sunday night (it happens at least once a week - always in the middle of the night) and then we heard a couple of loud "booms" - who knows what THAT was, so OH leapt up in bed to peer out the window - not realising that he'd put his knee on my pillow... while my head was on it... - yeah not a lot of sleep that night.

Last night I just couldn't sleep because my mind was a whirr - sometimes its just random thoughts spinning around and around - can be hard to stop it!.  So I thought I'd put it to good use and visualise my workout for this morning - shoulders, bi's and tri's.  So I mentally practised what I was going to do - I guess its no bloody wonder I was so tired this morning when I physically did it - I'd already done it once!! LOL

So I vaguely entertained the idea of staying in bed this morning, but seriously, once that alarm goes off I'm awake anyway.  So not much point staying in bed.  And as always, it feels so GREAT to have done a fantastic workout, then you're all pumped and ready for the day. Its only when I'm driving home in the afternoon that I feel realllllly tired.

Only two more days of travelling to NSW to work.  Yay I'm back at my regular office on Monday, which is only 20 minutes away from home - heaven!!  No more getting ready for work at the gym and dropping breakfast all over myself in the car!  Although from what I hear there are still lots of germs rampaging around that office - lots of people off sick this week, so maybe I'm better off down here in the cane fields and fresh country air!

Miss organised

Well Monday was such an challenge... I took the plunge and got ready for work at gym.  Phew what an event!  I never knew you had to be so organised to achieve this - now I have a great appreciation for everyone who gets ready at gym every day!

So I thought I was super organised but I still managed to forget something.  I dont know why that is... you know how often I have to travel for work, well you'd think I'd be used to packing everything by now - but no... Hil has to forget something doesn't she?  On Monday I forgot to take a COMB for goodness sake.  Luckily I had one in my handbag, which was in my car.  So I left the gym totally blowdried and totally dishevelled, but I was able to rectify that once I reached the car.

So I'm going to do this 3 days per week, just while I'm commuting down to northern NSW every day.  Gives me a little more time for cardio after weights, and not rushing so much.  The other two days I will still come home and get ready.  I just cant be that organised for 5 days in a row!!!!  This morning was a much better experience - I didnt forget anything for once!!  I have to say that I do not like using public/gym showers though. *shudder*

I baked up a big batch of homemade protein bars on the weekend - just used a Tom Venuto recipe that I got from somewhere.  They turned out pretty nice, so I'm able to eat one while driving to work.  Its basically just oats, banana, egg white and chocolate protein powder.  Tastes good though :-)

Have had a great week of training so far.  PB's on deadlifts, and today I worked my biceps so hard that I could barely make 6 reps on the last few sets.  Just need to keep the energy up for the rest of the week.  I have to make sure I get to bed early each night otherwise I'm going to be cactus by Friday!

Ups and Downs

Its been a bit of a funny week.  Definetely not as good as last week, but at least that gives me something to work on.  I still have sore triceps from Tuesday, but I haven't trained as much as I wanted to.

No training yesterday cos I had my endoscopy (upper Gastroscopy), and it all went well.  I wasnt nervous at all, although I was rushed through everything so quickly that I began to feel a bit like I was being herded like cattle.  For some reason I thought I would have to get changed into a gown, and wear a hair net, take all my jewellery off and all that.  Well I didn't even have to take my jumper off!  The only thing I had to remove was my shoes.  So I laid down on the bed, and one minute I was having the cannula put in my hand and told to lie on my side, the mouth guard went in, and the next minute I woke up in the recovery area!  I checked my watch and only about 20 minutes had passed.  Anyway, I felt good, a bit groggy though.  The only side effect I had was that I developed the hiccups, which lasted for about 30 minutes.  Then about 3 hours later I got the hiccups again.  Weird.

I have to wait a week for the pathology results, then I can go to the doctor and find out the story.  The gastroenterologist said everything was fine.

This morning I got up to go to gym, and because its been raining so much in Brisbane lately I managed to bog my car in the gravel driveway... I was SOOOO angry!  I drove it forward, then reversed back only to bury the car deeper in gravel.  OH managed to get it out for me (although he only did the same as me - why did it work for him and not me???).  By then it was too late to go to gym, and I couldn't do a DVD at home because the little man arrived to do the wet-seal in our bathrooms at 6am.  So I was seething...

Anyway, put it behind me - if it keeps raining I will do a cardio sculpt DVD tomorrow morning, and if it stops raining I will take the dogs for a big powerwalk too.  There are still two more days left in this week - all is not lost!

Week 1 done

Off to a great start last week.

I've started working down at the Murwillumbah branch, so I've had to become super organised to get everything done.  From the time I get home from gym at about 6.45am, I've got about 30 minutes to get showered, dressed, hair done, make up and breakfast and be on the road.  Its taking me an hour and 15 minutes to get to work, and that's pretty much driving at 110 km/h the whole way.  In the afternoon it takes me about an hour and a half to get home. 

I had a fantastic week of training last week - I was pushing out some really good weights, had a seriously sore back and lats after Wednesday's session too.  My eats were on track, and I was feeling great, pretty tired though from not being able to sleep properly.  Then I hit a wall on the weekend.  On Saturday afternoon I was hit by this wave of exhaustion, wow it was bizarre.  I felt drunk!   I couldn't string sentences together properly (cos I couldn't think straight), I was dizzy and clumsy.  Within a few hours I had whacked my head into a vertical wall (so hard that my skull bounced!), slammed my finger in a sliding door, and almost poked my eye out.  We went out for dinner and I couldn't walk straight in my heels.  I must have looked like I was smashed.

Anyway, I think I might have been coming down with something, but I think I've managed to fight it off.  Yesterday I just lazed about, it was all I had the energy for.  OH thought I was getting the flu, but I didn't have any other symptoms other than extreme fatigue.   I managed to keep my food under control, and only added some extra carbs yesterday to help me out.  It was certainly weird, whatever it was.

I'm finally having my endoscopy on Thursday, fingers crossed! 

So again this week I'm aiming for progress.  All the little things add up to big things - so make em count!!

Ready, set...

GO!

Since my last challenge fizzled due to illness and lack of motivation, I've decided to bite the bullet and go for it again. I feel very soft and "frumpy" at the moment, and I dont like it. While in reality I have gained about 2kgs this winter, my muscle has definetely disappeared and I feel wobbly!

So on Saturday I bought myself a new goal/inspiration book, and spent hours on the internet printing off pictures of inspirational bodies. My favourtie is Maggie Diubaldo - how freaking inspiring is she???
So my new catch cry is "I will have a body like Maggie". I was showing OH her pictures on her website. I think he was highly amused that I was looking at pictures of half-naked women on the internet! Anyway, he highly approves of my choice. I'm pretty stoked with that cos he normally thinks all the fitness girls I admire are too big in the arms. Well, I want my arm-dents back. I want shoulders. I will be lean.

So on Saturday night after eating dinner,OH reached for his container of lollies (which unfortunately resides on the coffee table). I took a couple too, and had one halfway to my mouth when he said...

"Bet Maggie doesn't eat lollies..."

Mmmmm. Touche.

Sunday I was working out my training for the week when I suddenly realised with horror that on Monday the gym wouldn't open til 8am, since it was a local public holiday today (I still had to work though). So I dug out some fitness DVD's which I've had for months but never even looked at. And guess what - I did one then and there. It was sort of like a Pump class, with sections of cardio built in throughout. I used the lightest of handweights... and woke up SORE this morning! eeeek! Told you my muscles had disappeared!

So I got up at 5.30 this morning and did a kickboxing DVD in the loungeroom. OH was getting ready for work, I was horrified at having to do this when he was at home. I had visions of him sitting in the kitchen giggling at me behind my back. But I did it anyway, and I didn't hear him laugh once - not out loud anyway. Doing roundhouse kicks, jabbing, uppercutting and punching kinda make me self conscious - especially since OH used to do Muay Thai training.

So now my legs are sore from all the kicking and lunge-ing (sp?) - and tomorrow is scheduled to be back at the gym to train legs. I can feel the pain already.

Anyway, I'm feeling great and ready for a fantastic week. I'm focusing on achieving small daily goals, and focusing on progress, not perfection.

Time to just do it.

How's the serenity...

Montville is a breathtaking spot. We got back this afternoon after a relaxing couple of nights away.

This was the view from the balcony of our cottage - you can see over the ranges to the ocean on the sunshine coast.

So a bit of R&R was just what the doctor ordered for both of us. My poor man has not had a day off in months, when he finishes building other people's houses through the week, he comes home and renovates/extends ours on the weekend. So it was lovely to have some time away and not think about work.

I'm still coughing up a lung and I've got an awful "rattle" in my chest when I breathe deep, but I feel so much better. I've been taking this horrible stuff called Olive Leaf Extract, which is meant to boost your immune system - so far so good. Combine this with the disgusting cough syrup I'm taking, and I'm pulling faces on a regular basis from such horrible tastes! My last cough syrup was quite nice, but OH says that if it tastes nice then it cant be doing anything. Apparently if it tastes horrible then it must work. That's his theory anyway!

This got me wondering about the things we grew up thinking would make us feel better. I used to suffer from tonsillitis constantly when I was little, and the one thing mum used to give me to soothe my throat was Lucozade (along with traditional meds of course). So I grew up thinking that Lucozade made me feel better, because mum said so. So now whenever I get a sore throat, I feel like/crave having Lucozade.

Anyway, I'm rambling...

Here's a funny little pic of my cat Connor. He loves his bed, and in winter spends most of his time in it. I lay a blanket over the top and he's perfected the art of crawling in and out without disrupting the blanket on top - so he always stays nice and warm. Who says cats are silly???

And when he gets a bit hot in bed he kicks one leg out... just like his mum does! When he does this I just wanna tickle his toes!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Spoke too soon...

Well I spoke too bloody soon in my last post didn't I! Hmmmph after saying that I was finally getting over my cold, on Wednesday night it hit me again, but instead of a headcold it has now travelled down my throat into my chest, and so now I get this wonderful burning in my chest every time I cough.

My appetite has dried up, and so has my energy, and motivation.

I have been to the chemist twice this week, the first one told me the only thing I could take was an Expectorant cough syrup, which I bought. The second chemist also suggested something to dry up my nose. The only problem being that I work at a manufacturing site which is subject to random drug tests... and apparently some cold and flu medication can test positive as an opiate. I bought some pseudoephedrine-free stuff - and I'll cross my fingers that the drug testers dont arrive this week!!!

I trained hard last week, but I still feel like my muscles are mush. And I've been eating so many Fishermans Friends that I've got a couple of mouth ulcers too - woe is me!! Shoot me now!

Only two days of work this week, then 3 days off!!!! I think I need it.

Busy!

I dont seem to have much time to blog lately, but I'm happy to say that I've been back into training hard and eating clean, and feeling so much better. On Monday I did my first leg session for a couple of weeks, and I was expecting to be crippled for the rest of the week - didn't happen. I changed exercises, lifted as heavy as I did before - and nothing!!!! The only casualty from leg day is my calf muscles - now they ARE screaming.

I have just about got the snot-monster (my nose) under control and dried up, so that's good. It seems to take a long time to get over a little cold these days!

On the work front, I have just been appointed the "interim" branch manager of our Murwillumbah branch, so from mid-August I will doing the big 1.5 hour drive to work and back every day - hmmmm - 3 hours in the car every day, I think I'd better buy some new CDs!!! This morning I'm off to our Sunshine Coast branch for the day, tough life huh!! Its such a nice drive up there too, and good to get out of my office.

And the most exciting thing in my life right now is that next week we are having a few days off work and going to the Sunshine Coast Hinterland for a mid-week getaway! While we are there we'll hopefully look at a few wedding venues too, need to get a wedding planned eventually and we just love Montville/Maleny. Anyway it will be lovely to have a few days away to relax and unwind.

So its all happening!

Have a great week, and be good everyone!

M.I.A.

I've been M.I.A. lately - well I was in Sydney early last week for a course (freezing my butt off too!) so with the change in weather, sitting on a plane next to people coughing and sniffling, and then people at my own office dropping like flies with colds and flu's, I got sick! Yes, once again I am snot queen!

So since I've been sick I haven't been training. And since I havent been training I havent had much to blog about.

Now I'm a big believer in thinking positively, and positive self talk and all that... so I've been using this approach over the last week. I could be spotted at work or at home muttering to myself "C'MON - FIGHT THIS COLD!!!!" or "YOU CAN BEAT THESE GERMS!!" and just generally giving myself pep talks, telling myself I'm not gonna get sick etc. I've even been thinking about the nasty little germs in my body, and imagining the good bacteria as little army men with machine guns, and them shooting down the bad germs.

After using this approach I woke up this morning with swollen glands in my throat, and sore inner ears. I guess I'll go back to the salt-water gargles instead!!

So... not much else to report! I took a sickie today and have just finished watching "Miss Potter" on DVD, what a lovely/weepie movie. We are hoping to go see Transformers this weekend, everybody seems to be raving about it at the moment.

Well thats about it, have a wonderful week everyone!

A few pics...

Lounge room before carpet

Lounge room after carpet... (with one posing puddy-cat)

Our bedroom during construction - this was the gyprocking/insulating stage...

Our bedroom, after!! We need a new bed as it does not match the carpet! The Walk in Robe and ensuite aren't done yet.

My new hairdo. The non-stripey side.

Feeling good

I had a fantastic weekend this weekend.  So proud of myself for staying 100% on plan, and didn't really have a free meal.  Actually my "free" meal was a stir fry with rice (dont normally have carbs at dinner) so I did well.  I was feeling so great on the weekend - after a week of niggling stomach pain and reflux it was sooooo good to have no pain!

I woke up on Saturday morning with a plan of attack.  I have decided to try a low-gluten lifestyle and see how this makes me feel.  I did say LOW gluten, not gluten-free.  I bought some gluten free stuff on Saturday, and I'm feeling pretty good so far!  I dont eat a lot of bread/pasta anyway, but I have noticed that when I do have one of these stomach attacks, I've usually eaten wheat.  Anyway, it cant hurt, so we'll see how it goes.

I have also cut out all coffee, tea, chocolate, spicy food, citrus fruit and tomatoes - as these all increase stomach acid.  Yeah I'm going to be a misery to be around!!  LOL!

So the rest of the weekend was great - we got a great deal on an inverter air-conditioner for the new bedroom.  We got our feature (brick) wall in the lounge lacquered so its GLEAMING.  On Sunday we went to visit my parents and scored some of their 3 year old carpet (mum's decided she wants timber floors - so we got free carpet!), and tomorrow we are getting some brand new carpet laid in our bedroom and lounge room, and they will lay the freebie carpet in our new 4th bedroom.  Once the carpet is laid we are moving back in to our main bedroom... I cant wait... the bedroom is HUGE!! (6m x 6m!)  Will post pics as soon as I can.

Other than that, nothing new to report.  I have to go to Sydney next Sunday for a two day training course - which is a shame cos otherwise I would have been going down to Melbourne to watch the comp.  But... you cant knock back training opportunities I guess.  Maybe I'll get to go again next year - last year was such a blast!

Anyway, have a great week everyone, stay strong!

My hair

Since I got my hair cut a few weeks ago, I've had some interesting comments. I didn't think it was that different - its just a bob which is longer at the front than it is at the back, with an orange stripe down the right side. I have just been told that its a "Pob" aka Posh Spice's Bob.

One older woman at work thought she ought to tell me that the hairdresser had forgotten to put an orange stripe down the OTHER side. I thought she was joking... she was serious.

Another woman came up to me and asked "I HAVE to ask you, is your hair a little bit... well... um... it looks like it might be a little bit longer at the front than at the back...". I assured her that it was cut that way deliberately. She then said "OH that's good - I was a bit worried that you might not know!!" Ummmm ... seriously?

OH doesn't like it that much - he liked it long. After I got it cut he smirked sarcasticly when I asked him what he thought, and then said... "it looks... nice" *smirk* One night at dinner he was staring at me, and said "I've just remembered what your hair cut reminds me of." I replied "Dont tell me if its going to upset me". He said "Its a 'Pulp Fiction' hair cut. Like Uma Thurmans hair in that movie". I didn't know how to take this comment, and I still dont!!!!

I've been thinking about some of my wilder hair-do's that I've had in the past. I havent done anything outlandish for a few years. I always had a blue or red stripe, or coloured my whole head purple. I think the only colour I haven't had is green. I'd grow it long then cut it all off. Or I'd get it bleached white blonde, and then 2 months later decide that I wanted it black. People used to ask me if I'd got it done that way "as a dare?" LOL!!! I changed it constantly for years! OH used to say that he loved it because he felt like he was getting a new girlfriend every 3 months! Although I did have some shockers. I remember one time I wanted to have hair like Halle Berry in Swordfish. It was really REALLY short - it really suited her - but unfortunately it did nothing for me. In fact, it was awful. I think I cried.

But anyway, it grows, thats the main thing. I think I'm getting old though - suddenly I care what people think of my hair and I seem to be losing my adventurous streak. Although I do love my orange stripe...

I'm having a fantastic week this week - this morning I did back and chest. Last week I struggled to do all the sets and reps, this week I reached goal reps on almost all exercises! We're going up in weights next week! Woo! Have a wonderful day!

Week 7 already

Wow my challenge is now in week 7 already!!  How fast is this year going?!!

Despite a few stumbles in the last few weeks, and that week of not training due to my stomach problems, I'm still ploughing along.  My weekend was VERY controlled food-wise, and my only issue was not drinking enough water.  Only 1.5 litres each day - terrible, terrible.  Still, this no-alcohol thing really helps me stay on track.  I find it hard though - I LOVE a glass of wine on Saturday night!    I did my measurements this morning and the damage isn't too bad.  No earth shattering results, but at least I havent gained centimetres.  Weight is about the same.

It was 6 degrees outside when I got up for gym this morning, and it was 13 degrees in my kitchen (a house under renovation is not a warm house).  I have taken to wearing a scarf to the gym but I draw the line at gloves.  It takes a full 5 minutes of driving for my car's heater to warm up, and by then I'm only another minute or two away from the gym - just enough time to defrost!!  I did legs and shoulders this morning - I did another PB on leg press - 130kgs, 3 sets of 10.  I was so impressed with myself, but I think I strained something in my hammie as a result - well something went "twaaaang" in my leg.  I was really grunting though this too, but I felt strong.   I'm surprised at how much I've increased in weights in leg press lately - a couple of weeks ago I would have told you that I couldn't lift more than 100kgs.  Its funny how we are actually a lot stronger than we think - its just a matter of pushing yourself further than you think you can.  I wish I had a training partner, a spotter would really help.

Anyway, looking forward to have a great week - my goal is to do 3 weights and 6 cardio sessions this week!  Happy Monday everyone!

Eye tests

I had a very low day yesterday.

I had to go into the city yesterday to see my eye doctor.  Because I had those pressure problems in my eye during my operations, I had to have a test to check how good my field of vision is, and also had to have some photos taken of the back of my eye and optic nerves.  The good news is that my field of vision is normal.  The bad news is that my right optic nerve is smaller than normal, and as a result I have some stretching (cupping) around the optic nerve site on the back of my retina.  What this means is that its highly likely that I'm going to develop Glaucoma, probably in the distant future. 

I had to ask the doctor what glaucoma actually was.  I mean, I've heard of it, but didn't really know what it was all about.  I thought it was just pressure in the eye.  Not so.  You can have glaucoma and have no pressure problems at all - which is what they think I will have.  Glaucoma gradually takes your peripheral vision.  It creeps in quietly and painlessly.  They call it the "sneak sight-thief".  Half the people who have it dont even know it.  If glaucoma is left untreated it leads to tunnel vision, and eventual blindness.  Actually its one of the biggest cause of blindness in the world.

So this deflated me a lot yesterday.  I got very down about it.  The good thing is we caught it WAY early, and I will have to have the field test done every couple of years to see if anything is changing.  The scary thing is that glaucoma is incurable - but they can slow the deterioration down with drops, medication and laser.

Today I'm feeling better about it.  Its hopefully a looooong way off, and even then, it might not develop.  Still, its a bit weird knowing that it might be coming.

So that's whats happening with me!  I had a diet blowout yesterday due to being down in the dumps, but I'm back on track today.  No sense stressing about something I cant control, so its onwards and upwards from here - just try to stop me!!!

Update

Thanks so much to everyone for all your comments on my stomach issues, your support really means a lot to me.  It took until Thursday for me to feel back to 100%, and even then I was lacking in energy and motivation.  I was a bit loathe to train because I was worried that it would set my stomach off again, also it's been really cold in Brissie lately and I was enjoying being able to sleep in!!  Last week was all about eating soft, unspiced and easily digestible foods, and I also ate more carbs than I normally do (mashed potato, rice etc) and a bit less protein.  I dont think its too much of an issue - I'd rather it take a little longer to reach my goals than to risk it and have those stomach pains again.  I'm now back to my normal nutrition plan, but just being careful.  

So anyway, it seems that having a week off training has done wonders for me - I even did a PB on leg press this morning!  I powered through my leg workout and then got on the cross trainer with the wobbliest legs - I think I'm gonna be sore tomorrow! 

My weekend was busy, had my hair cut on Saturday morning - got a "disconnected/asymmetric bob" (longer at the front than it is at the back).  How good is this:  my hairdresser has just won a hairdressing award at a Sydney hair expo (so, she's good!!), and she does my hair at her house and charges $20 for a cut.  I'm STOKED!!  I am never paying a fortune for my hair ever again!!

Our bedroom is now fully painted, and we have a carpet man coming tonight to give us a quote - once the carpet is down we can move back in!  I'm sooooo excited!  Now we just need to find a plumber so we can get our ensuite done!

Thats it from me, train hard everyone!

Bah humbug

Bah humbug I've been sick. I had a slight upset stomach all last week, and on Saturday night (after my free meal) it decided to attack. Literally. Some of you may remember that I had a few stomach issues last year, and all sorts of tests to try and figure out what it was. Well on Saturday I had the stomach cramps again, and reflux and vomiting and diarrhoea. The pain was so bad that OH wanted to take me to the hospital, but I didn't want to go - honestly I didn't think I could sit in the car that long without a toilet nearby!

So about 4am Sunday morning the pain finally subsided, and I got a little rest. I went to the doctors on Sunday and he gave me a referral to have an Endoscopy to see if we can find out what's going on in there. I got given some drugs to take to see if they help, but I still had to have yesterday off work because my abdomen is still tender and sore, and the acid keeps coming up. The drugs are slowly working I think, but I'm having to sleep propped up on 3 pillows to keep the acid in my stomach and not in my chest.

So I had a weekend of basically no food - whatever I ate on Saturday came back out, and I couldn't eat at all on Sunday. Today I woke up hungry so I figure thats a good sign, even though my stomach is still tender. I have to be careful because silly things like a cup of tea seem to set it off again. I rang to book the Endoscopy yesterday and the soonest I can get in is the 23rd of August! That is ridiculous!!!

Anyway I have finally come to the realisation that free meals are no good for me - every single time I have one of these "attacks" is after a free meal and a glass or two of wine. Looks like I know what I've got to do - bye bye free meal & alcohol - at least for a while!

So no exercise for me for a few days until I get this under control - these things were sent to try us!

Measurements Day

Yesterday was measurements day, and while I'm a little disappointed that my results aren't as great as the previous fortnight, I'm still happy. I have lost another 2.5cms in total, although the scale weight really isn't changing much at all. Oh well, luckily I have realised that its not ALL about the scales!

Although I'm in week 4 of my challenge, I'm only into week 2 of weights. Friday morning is my favourite session - shoulders/bi's/tri's. I save that one for Friday because by Friday I am usually exhausted and dont wanna get out of bed to train - so by saving my favourite body parts for Friday I increase my chances of making it to the gym! (See? Up here's for thinking...)

I went up in my weights this week and am feeling a bit stronger too, despite being tired. I am always so tired on Friday, of course it has nothing to do with staying up late watching Heroes and Lost! LOL! Speaking of which, why oh why did they have to put the only two TV shows I ever watch on one-after-another on one night??? Dont these people KNOW that I need to get to bed early to get my beauty sleep?????

A few posts ago I said I'd post some pictures of some of my drawings... so here they are...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cool hand Luke...

My wonderful OH bought me a "present" off ebay last week. All week he teased me about and wouldn't tell me what it was. And although as much as my curiosity was sparked, I wasnt about to spoil the surprise by logging onto MyEbay and see what he'd bought! He's bought me lots of stuff from ebay in the past, usually something lacey, if you catch my drift. So this time I was expecting more of the same, laughing to myself because lingerie is really more a present for HIM, not me!!!!

So last Friday I got home dead tired from a crappy day (and week) at work, and my beloved had finished work early, come home and not only worked on the house renovations, but also had done all the washing (AND hung it out on the line) and tidied up the house. He also had the fire lit, and welcomed me home with a big cuddle.

AND - my present had arrived! He'd bought me a copy of the DVD "Cool Hand Luke", because a few weeks ago I'd been saying what a great old movie it was... isn't he sweet!? Romance to me isn't flowers and expensive dinners, its as simple as doing something nice for the other person (like the washing that I was going to spend ALL Saturday doing) and remembering little things and surprising me with them. I'm so lucky to have him, he spoils me so much!

So then we watched Cool Hand Luke that night and I kept thinking "OMG was Paul Newman hot stuff or WHAT??!!!!" Good movie too. :) I was quoting lines off it all weekend (such a nerd, arent I??? LOL!)

Aaaanyway, after my "rest" (read: laziness) last weekend, I'm back training hard. I did back and chest this morning, which I have to be honest, its my least favourite day. Actually, its just back that I dislike. Followed it with 30 minutes cardio. Did a 20 minute jog on the treadmill last night, which saw me red faced and feeling like puking for the rest of the night - not good when you have to start preparing dinner shortly after! Tomorrow morning the plan is a Body Attack class. I have had to strap my foot tonight in preparation for Attack tomorrow morning - my bloody arches are playing up again...

And for all you State of Origin watchers out there... GO QUEENSLAAAAAAAAND!!!!! Have a great night!

I love long weekends

Gotta love long weekends, 3 days of sleeping in... *bliss*!!!

Yesterday I felt like I was coming down with something - I did nothing but blow my nose, sneeze and feel like crap. And cos I was swallowing so much snot all day, my stomach was upset too. (too much info????!!) Today I'm feeling much better, though still a bit low in energy. I thought I'd be a lazy bum today and see if some extra rest makes me feel better. I'm beginning to think its just a bit of hayfever or an allergy due to the change in weather.

Made myself laugh on Saturday... I was in BIG W and they were doing one of those demonstrations... you know where they do a promo for some dinki-di knife set, but everyone that comes to watch gets a FREE paring knife... just for watching! BUT WAIT! If you buy one of these knifes, which never needs sharpening, and which normally retails for $30, we'll throw in ANOTHER knife for a measly $3!! Thats $60 value for just $33! PLUS we'll give you a THIRD knife absolutely free, and we'll also throw in TWO paring knives, a filleting knife, and TWO citrus-squeezy-thinga-ma-jigs - ALL FOR $33!!!!.

I stood there the whole time, smiling smugly to myself and thinking "I'm just here for the free paring knife... I'm not buying anything... I'm just here for the free knife..."
You can guess what happened. When he finished his demonstration he held the knife sets out I saw my hand reaching out for one, yep... I got suckered in. So I am now the proud owner of a set of "Forever Sharp" knives... I laughed at myself for the rest of the day!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend!