20/20

Its official... the vision in my right eye is now BETTER than 20/20!!!!  I was over the moon when I found that out.  Went back to the surgeons office on Tuesday and found out that its all healing very nicely, my vision has now stabilised and the new lens is sitting in the right place.  Here's an interesting fact: did you know that 20/20 vision is actually the 3rd line from the bottom of the eye chart???  I didn't know that.  With both eyes open I can read the bottom line, but with my left eye closed I could sort-of read the 2nd bottom line.  Interestingly, he said that if I'd had LASIK instead of the ICL, we would be waiting another week to have the same result in vision.  BIG thank you to you all for your wonderful comments over my last couple of posts - I'm sure all your positive messages have added to a speedy eye recovery!

Anzac Day yesterday, I took a few moments to think about all those who have fought for us.  I have not been to an Anzac Day March in years though, and I think its about time I went to another.  I have a problem though, I cannot hear "The Last Post" without getting all choked up, teary,and goosebump-y.  Its a very emotional tune...  

Yesterday we went to visit a friend in hospital who had her first baby on Tuesday night.  So I got to cuddle a baby not even a day old!  Very cute, he was quiet as a mouse too.  Normally they start crying when I pick them up - I always thought it was me!!  And ANOTHER boy!!  I dont know anyone who's had a girl lately.  Must be something in the water.

Hit it a little bit harder at the gym today - did 30 mintues on the cross trainer - had my heart rate up to 150bpm, and then followed with 20 minutes incline walking.  Dont know if I did too much, as my eye feels a bit funny now.  I'm sure it will be fine.  I am champing at the bit to get back into weight training - cant wait to have some DOMS again!  I feel like my muscles are going to mush with all this waiting... oh well - only a week and a half to go!

Good luck to all the girls who are competing this weekend!!!  And I cant wait to see the Queensland girls in action on Sunday!  I promise I will take lots of pics!

I can see clearly now...

Its so amazing what doctors can do.  Imagine a doctor somewhere sitting there saying "What if we put the contact lens permanently INSIDE the eye...???"  Its just amazing.

Each day my vision improves a little more. I'm now at the point of wearing a contact lens in the left eye, and NO VISION CORRECTION in my right eye, and I can see almost as well as with glasses. My night vision is still off - I get some halo's around lights, which could make driving at night a little dangerous. Focusing for reading up close still gives me eye strain, but I guess its only been a week - things will only get better from here!

I was going stir crazy at home alone this week, so I went back to work on Friday. I got picked up as I wasn't confident of focusing well enough to drive myself. 6 hours in the office was enough, the airconditioning really played havoc with drying up my eye. It was getting really uncomfortable and my eye was stinging, so I got chauffer driven home again! What a life!

I've had a week off exercise completely, and I'm over it!  Since I'm allowed to do gentle walking, I went back to the gym this morning to spend an hour on the treadmill - walking gently. I'm really just going so that I dont lose my habit of going - if that makes sense  :-)  It took me 50 minutes to burn 200 calories!!!  OMG it was boring, but better than nothing I suppose.

In the past, a week of sitting at home alone (and being totally bored) would have spelled a nutritional disaster. I would have used it as an excuse to eat the fridge and pantry empty. So I'm very happy with myself that I have eaten 100% on plan, the right food, all my water, at the right times. This change in mindset has been slowly happening over the last couple of years, always with some slip ups though. I feel like this last week has been a bit of a breakthrough - almost a light-bulb moment! I'm feeling very motivated and inspired at right now - I know I'm going to lose a little muscle during this forced rest, but it doesn't mean I have to put on weight from overeating. One night last week I considered putting cheese on my salad, because OH was having it on his. I stopped and thought "will it REALLY make it taste THAT much better???" and the answer was no, so I didn't have it, and I enjoyed my salad thoroughly. So I'm feeling strong and I like it!!!

Had a little retail therapy this weekend, I bought some knee high black boots, which I love!  I bought them with a view to buying a pair of skinny leg jeans to wear with them. Hmmmm... might have to hold that thought for a few months. I tried on multiple pairs of skinny leg jeans in my normal size, and somehow they always made me feel like my arse is huge. Also, when jeans make you feel like your ankles are fat, its time to put them back. I know my ankles arent fat, but those jeans make you feel that way!  LOL!  These might have to wait a few months until I lose some of my wobbly bits!

Anyhoo - better get back to work - have an awesome day everyone!

Good Luck girls!!!!

Good luck to Deb, Tracey and Alicia for today!!!! Kick butt up on that stage - you girls will be fantastic!

I am so sorry I cant be there today, but unfortunately my vision for driving is not yet 100%, especially at night which is when I would probably be driving home. Dont want to risk that just yet.

But I will be cheering you all on from home and cant wait to hear how you all went and see some pics!!

Surgery Story

Warning: this is a long and probably boring post! Just had to share my lovely experience with you all!

I'm ba-ack! Well after a disasterous recovery in the hospital, I'm very happy to say that my right eye is now doing very well, and my vision is getting better every day. We have now popped the lens out of my glasses (because I still need the glasses to see out of my left eye) so I'm looking a bit funny at the moment, but hey- at least I can see! I've got a delightful blood pool in my eye now, which I'm told will last about 10 days... niiiiiiice!

The surgery itself went very well - the surgery was about 2pm. The funniest thing was the anaesthetic. I've never had ANY surgery before, so it was all a bit new to me. The anaesthetist put the needle in my arm for the sedation (note: NOT a general anaesthetic) and I got wheeled into the theatre. I remember saying to her "Are you sure these drugs are working? Cos I dont feel any different..." and I dont remember if she replied!! LOL! The actual surgery, which I was awake for, is a blur. I remember the fabric coming down over my face, and then I remember all these pwetty lights... it was like a kaleidoscope! It was like "oooooh loook at all the prreeeeety colours!" - I was mesermised! The only time I realised what was happening was when the fabric came off my face, and the lights went away - I was like "oh dont take the pretty lights away.... oh... OH!... the surgery must be finished!"

In recovery, the problems started. The eye pressure is supposed to be between 15-25 - they measure it with a little device that puffs air at your eyeball. Mine was too high. So I had drops to constrict the pupil, which should allow the fluid to move freely about your eye. Every 30 minutes or so they tested it, it was still too high, so I'd have more drops. My OH came in to say hi for a few minutes, then he left and I had more drops.

The pressure kept rising... now about 36... and I had a corker of a headache starting so they called the surgeon who said to give me a tablet which should bring the pressure down. And of course more drops. 30 minutes later and the pressure is still rising and the pain in my head is increasing, so the surgeon came down to recovery. One doctor puts me in a headlock while my doc inserts a needle into my eye (Yes I could feel this happen... not nice!!!!) - so instantly I feel all this liquid run down my cheek and the headache instantly disappears! Pressure is down to 10!! Yay! Also, amazingly, I can see clearly out of my right eye for the first time!! Then, more drops, more drops, the nurses ring OH and tell him we'll be outta there in half an hour.

Within 5 minutes the headache was back... also I'm starting to feel nauseaus (this was a side effect of the tablet). Over the next half hour the pain in my forehead rises to a searing pain, the pressure is back up, and they give me 2 nurofen and more drops, more drops. By now I'm starting to really worry, and feeling sick, and with the headache... I start to cry and cry, which I was sooooo embarrassed about. The nurses ring OH who comes and sits with me for the rest of the time.

The surgeon came back, tests my pressure which is rising again, and decides that the only other thing he can try is to do more laser iridotomy holes to see if he can clear the possible blockage. By now I'm dizzy and dry-reaching, and also being told NOT to vomit because it can disrupt the new lens in my eye... also, the entire hospital is closed - it IS after 6pm, the place is dark and everyone else has gone home!!

Over the next two hours I have more laser holes in my eye, and also more drops... endless eye drops!!!! The pressure in my eye was up to 43, and the pain in my right forehead was excruciating.

The scariest point was when the surgeon was poking my eye and I felt this searing pain shoot through my head and it seemed to last for ages. I jumped back with a cry and put my head forward... and when I raised my head I was blind in that eye. I mean there was absolutely NO vision in my right eye - it was black. He shone a bright light in my eye - I couldn't see it. I F-R-E-A-K-E-D!!!! I mean - I FREAKED!!! I broke out in a cold sweat, panicked, couldn't believe it that "I'd gone blind"! LOL In reality I'd over-reacted a bit. What had happened was that the blood vessels that connect to my eye had gotten a bit stressed; therefore blood flow had momentarily cut out, causing temporary loss of vision. Within about a minute I was started to see outlines, and in a few minutes I could see again... phew!!!

Eventually he said that if the pressure didn't come down he'd have to take me up to the PA hospital, as they had some other drugs we could try to use to bring the pressure down. We had ONE LAST GO at the laser iridotomies, as by now my pupil had constricted enough to allow enough fluid to flow. The laser was done, the headache started to ease, and my pressure went down to 15. Everyone in the room (4 nurses, the surgeon, and my OH) did a little happy dance!!! We had to wait another 20 minutes to make sure that the pressure really was staying down, and it did... so we got discharged, and finally made it home by 8.30pm.

So!!! I felt like I'd been through the wringer after all of that! I went back to the surgeon yesterday for a check up, and the pressure was 9. So everything is looking good. I've got a few more days off work, but I cant do much. I cant drive or anything.

I asked the doc yesterday when I can exercise again, and I'm not allowed to do any weight training or intense cardio for 3 weeks. As of now all I'm allowed to do is gentle walking - absoluely no jogging or cycling. I asked if I could put the treadmill on an incline and I was told a very very small incline. So I'm going to go mad over the next few weeks! Anyway, I can always regain my fitness, but I've only got two eyes so I'd better look after them!

Anyway, thats all folks! Hope everyone is having a great week and I'm off to read a few blogs (with one eye open of course!)

Here we go....

Cross your fingers for me... its nearly time!

If anyone is interested, here is a little bit of info about the procedure I'm having tomorrow - Implantable Contact Lenses... tomorrow is the right eye - the left will hopefully be done a few weeks later.

What are implantable contact lenses?
Implantable contact lenses are similar to the lens implants used for cataract surgery patients, and they can correct very high degrees of myopia. These lenses are still considered investigational, and long term studies are not complete.

Who is a candidate for implantable contact lenses?
At the moment people who currently have prescriptions that fall between -23.00 and +12.00 can have their vision corrected by this treatment. Astigmatism can also be corrected, provided that the strength of the astigmatism falls between -7.00 and +7.00. It is strongly discouraged that anyone over 60 goes forth with the procedure, as the recovery process is not as quick and as straight forward.

The Procedure
Currently, doctors can only implant one lens at a time, and patients have to wait two weeks in between procedures. In a painless minor surgical procedure that extends roughly over a twenty minute period, a plastic corrective lens is carefully placed between the patient's iris and cornea. Once inserted, implantable contact lenses work like any regular lens - with the added benefit that they do not have to be continually removed, inserted and cleaned in the interim. Ideally the lens can remain inside the wearer's eye for life, but should a complication arise it can be easily removed with no adverse side effects to the patient. From here the patient can go back to wearing eyeglasses, regular spherical lenses or opt to have a new implant.

The reason this process is receiving such positive reviews is largely because of the advantages it has over LASIK. Firstly, an implantable contact lens can be used to correct the vision of any person who needs eyeglasses -whatever their level of short or near sightedness. LASIK, unfortunately, cannot be so bold in such claims. Secondly, the LASIK procedure can dry out the eye which can impose serious discomfort on those who already suffer from "dry eyes." Lastly the implantable contact lens procedure is also open to those who have thin corneas (LASIK is not suitable in such cases.)

Possible Side Effects
The procedure has been accredited with a 95% success rate. However there are a number of minor side effects linked to having the implantable contact lens. Some patients have been known to develop glaucoma, and in extreme cases there have been reports of cataract development. There is also the ever present risk of infection setting in - the risk of this is minimal, but it is none the less a possibility. Infection can cause eye inflammation that can prompt swelling of the retina, and finally lead to a loss of vision.

As soon as I can see again (LOL!) I will post to tell you all how gruesome it was!

Ups and Downs

Well my week started off great. I did a PB on leg press on Tuesday - 120kgs woohoo! Managed to push out 3 sets of 10, so could definetely have gone heavier too, although I'm still cautious of my knees. Wednesday morning I did a kick arse shoulder/bi/tri session too.

On Thursday I went for a day trip to our Maryborough office... thats a looooong way for a day trip! 4 hours there, 4 hours in the Maryborough branch, and 4 hours back - I was shattered by the time I got home - thats a lot of time in the car! On Thursday night I started cooking dinner and started to feel a bit ordinary. After dinner I started to feel indigestion coming on, and by the time I went to bed I was doubled over with stomach pains, cramps, nausea... those same symptoms that I was getting last year when I went and had all those tests.

My whole lower abdominal area was puffed up and tender to touch yesterday, and it hurt a bit to walk so I obviously didn't do any exercise. I also was hesitant to eat anything in case it set my stomach off again, so I didn't eat anything until about 11am. Today I'm much better, but still feeling a little unsettled in the stomach.

Not sure what set it off this time, everyone keeps telling me its just nervousness for the operation on Monday. I did not eat or drink anything out of the ordinary. I am so annoyed that its screwed up my whole exercise schedule, and particularly so because there wont be any exercise next week until the surgeon says its ok.

Anyway, enough whinging. There is positives in everything, and in this instance I lost 1.5kgs in a day and a half!

Little miss naughty

Here is Miss Elke... aka little miss naughty. On Thursday while we had our house-painter friends paint the outside of our house, Elke decided that she loves them soooooo much that she would "help" them paint.... with her body. Hence the paint streaks all over her right hip area!!

And here is the front entry now - instead of brown bricks and a khaki green roof, we now have an Ironstone roof, and stone coloured walls. The beginnings of our future front patio are in evidence at the front.

I have been inspired by Di this weekend, I keep thinking "if Di can do 8 cardio sessions this weekend, I can AT LEAST do 4". I've done 3 so far, going to attempt a HUGE hill walk this afternoon. I didn't do any exercise yesterday - I felt really dizzy and nauseous for some reason, and then I had a headache that just wouldn't go away. Feel better now, so dont know what that was about.

Unfortunately I did manage to eat some easter eggs this weekend, it had been sooo long since I last had chocolate that I decided to treat myself. But its left me feeling yuk, so actually not really a treat huh? Anyway for easter we bought ourselves a couple of CD's, and I got a new book too :)

One week til the eye operation, and I'm feeling incredibly excited this time - the nerves havent hit yet and I'm hoping they'll stay away. I'm just focusing on all the great things that will come out of this - bye bye glasses and contact lenses!!!

Back to work tomorrow, but at least its a short week! Have a great day everyone!

Tired & Busy

Long time no post!!!

I am so tired right now that I could fall off the chair zzzzzzzzz

My week has been very busy, starting with my training course in Melbourne. I should have checked out my hotel a bit better, because I ended up staying right on the train tracks, opposite Rod Laver Arena. I dont think the trains stop until after midnight, and they start again around 5am. So very little sleep for this little bunny for the two nights I was there. Then there was the full-on course, being tired didn't help there AT ALL!!! Of course there was role playing (why do they always have to do role playing???) and group presentations, as well as all the theory etc, so by the time I got home at 10 o'clock on Tuesday night I was shattered.

Tried to eat well whilst I was away, took some protein bars for meals 2 and 4, but some of my other choices could have been better. I managed to do a pathetic weights session on Tuesday morning, and then did a 30 min powerwalk on the treadmill at the hotel "gym" (I use the term loosely!)

Anyway, back home I skipped training on Wednesday morning in favour of an extra hour in bed. I'm still not sleeping well - finding that I'm nodding off on the lounge, then when I go to bed I'm wide awake, churning stuff over in my mind. grrrrrrrrrrr Sometimes I just cant switch it off!

This week we had the outside of our house painted, and the roof. Had a bit of a drama on Wednesday because when we got home the colour on the walls was totally horrible! So our painter friend had to come back on Thursday and re-paint in a new colour. Will post some pics on the weekend.

Today I'm going down to Broadbeach to have brunch with a friend I havent seen for ages. Then for the rest of the weekend I am going to start painting the spare bedrooms - cant wait to get stuck into it!

AND.... the good news is that my eye operation has finally been rescheduled for Monday the 16th of April! YAY!

Have a fabulous easter everyone!

Not much to report!

I'm feeling great at the moment - feeling strong, training hard, eating clean!   My goals this week were to eat clean all week, not miss a training session and to drink all my water.  I've well and truly achieved that this week, so I'm feeling good.  I did a great leg session on Monday, increased some of my weights and I was really pulling out some fantastic grunts and grimmaces, but was a bit disappointed not to get much lower body DOMS.   It was only the second time of doing that programme too :(  Weird.

Tuesday I did a different back and chest session, and BOY am I feeling it!  My chest is tender to the touch, and my lats are hammered! :))  I did Body Attack this morning and had a bit of trouble raising my arms in the air!  You feel like a bit of a gumby when you cant raise your arms over your head... especially with all those bloody jumping jacks - its like "ouch - clap - ouch - clap..."  hehehe

I went to the dentist this week for my 6 monthly checkup - and was told that I need to have my 3 remaining wisdom teeth out... boohoo!  The good news is that the roots arent embedded or anything so I can have them out in the dentist chair so at least I wont have to take out a second mortgage.  The bad news is that I HAVE TO HAVE MY WISDOM TEETH OUT.  Groan... Probably going to wait until after my eye op is done though - whenever the hell that might be.

And I'm off to Melbourne on Sunday night for a two day training course.  I dont think there will be any time for shopping unfortunately, but it will be nice to be the one who gets trained for a change, instead of ME being the one who conducts the training.   Then only two days at my office and then it will be Easter!  Woohoo!

Here's to a strong Friday and a great weekend!

Photographic Evidence...

Here is the photographic evidence that I DID wear a dress to our friends wedding on Friday! I was totally not comfortable all night, but hey - me in a dress only happens once every few years so I guess its not all bad! It was lovely to have half a day off on Friday, and the wedding was at a winery so it was even better :)

Tonight I am cooking OH's favourite meal - Beef Wellington, roast vegetables and yorkshire puddings. This will be my last free meal for a few weeks - I'm going on a self-imposed lockdown. I really need to work on some new fitness goals because at the moment I feel like I'm just marking time. If I dont have any direction then I tend to get a little sloppy, and that makes me feel yuk.

I'm still waiting patiently (yeah right!!) to find out when my eye operation is going to be, so until that happens I cant work on any big goals. So to get me through to the op, I will now turn my focus onto weekly goals. That way I've still got something to focus on, without committing myself to anything long-term.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and have a great week this week! I'm off to do my ironing... :(

New hairdo, new dress & new shoes!

It has taken me three days to type this post!!!!! Very busy at the moment...

Had myself a little shopping spree on the weekend. Got my hair chopped off on Saturday (am now about 3 inches shorter), dark brown, and re-did my orange stripe. Then I had to buy a dress - we're going to a wedding on Friday and the dress code is "Cocktail"... what the hell does that mean?! I dont get out much! I had to ask the sales chicks what "cocktail" meant!

I seriously hate wearing dresses... I've never been a dress kinda girl. Give me shorts or jeans any day - occasionally I do wear skirts, but I just hate dresses! It means I have to sit like a 'lady' for one thing - lol! Plus I just feel weird not having a waistband. Strange, aren't I? :)

Aaaanyway, after trying on every single dress in the whole shopping centre, I finally found one. Its not exactly "cocktail" because its not a satin material (its kinda like a crepe material) - halter neck, cream with a red pattern, and knee length. So I brought it home and showed OH, who promptly said "you dont have any shoes that go with that - you need to buy red shoes"!!!! Can you believe it???? He ACTUALLY TOLD me that I need to buy more shoes!!!! So of course I went back to the shopping centre and bought TWO pairs... some red strappy heels for the wedding, and a back pair with kitten heel for work.

Had to get the new (flat) work shoes because of some problems I'm having with my feet. For the last few months, every time I get out of bed I have this shooting pain through my arches and my heel, which gradually dies down to the point where I can walk without hobbling. If I sit for any length of time my feet seize up too. So it was either continue to wear my beautiful high heels and not be able to walk (!!!!!) or buy some flat (kitten heel) shoes. I chose comfort over style. I keep thinking I need to go to a podiatrist, because I think its because of my high arches collapsing. Spoke to my chiropracter on Monday who said that the bones in my feet were extremely tight - they just werent moving. He strapped my feet up for me and they instantly felt better - which he said is an indication that I need some custom made orthotics. So I've bought some "Orthaheel" arch supports that you get from the chemist, and will have to order some custom made ones at my next Chiro appointment.

Training and eats have been spot on through the week - weekends still need some attention. I took Shar's advice and did the body balance class again on Tuesday. I cannot honestly say that I enjoyed it, but I do think my body responds well to all the stretching. And I did a different leg session on Monday and now my arse cheeks are so sore!! That's good - I need to lose some more lard off my butt!

Otherwise everything is cruising along - and I have realised that this month it is one year that I have been blogging! Happy blogging birthday to me!!!!

Surgery Delayed :(

Today was meant to be the big day, but unfortunately my eye surgery has been postponed.  The lenses havent turned up yet!!!!   Disappointed :(  - and the worst thing is they cant tell me when they're going to turn up.  So I have no idea at this point if its going to be days, weeks or months.  I'm hoping it doesn't stop me from participating in Phat Camp.

Tuesday morning I did something different at the gym - Body Balance.  I've always wanted to try one of these but was a bit worried about "wasting my time" at the gym.  By that I mean: I generally feel that if I'm not lifting weights, doing some kick-arse cardio, or just generally getting my heart rate up and getting sweaty, then I'm not working hard enough.  Body Balance was different - lots of stretching, holding poses, yoga type stuff, and even had a bit of meditation/relaxation at the end where you just lie there and drift away!  I liked it, I got quite warm and had a VERY light sweat, and it was great to add something a little bit different to my week.  Not sure I'll make it a regular thing though - I still feel a bit like I wasted an hour!

This morning I did the new Body Attack... talk about cardio blast!

I have been 100% spot on with my nutrition, and I am so happy with myself.  It has been a full-on week - and some long days at work.   When I found out I was going to have my surgery postponed I was sooo disappointed, and I really wanted to have a glass of wine.  It was tough, I even went and got a bottle out of the wine rack.  Then I thought "This is ridiculous - I cant have a glass of wine every time something shitty/upsetting/disappointing happens... so I put the bottle back (unopened) and had a glass of diet soft drink instead.   Victory to me!!!!  (hope this doesn't make me sound like an alcoholic!)

On that happy note, I'm off!  Stay strong!!!!

8 years

Today is mine & my fiance's 8 year anniversary!   I have just been surprised at work by receiving a HUGE big bunch of Gerbera's from OH... my absolute favourite flower!  He is such a sweetheart!

I had a fantastic weekend - stayed strong.  It was so good to get back home on Friday night - its the best part of being away!  You should see the welcome that my little kitty gives me when I've been away for a few days... heheheh he runs for a cuddle and whinges his head off, and he being a raucous Siamese, the volume is always turned up to extreme!  After a few hours, after he has calmed down, he turns into an ankle biter.  He hides behind things and then launches himself at my legs when I walk past, then continues to bite me while I laugh and tease him.  I think its his way of saying "THATS WHAT YOU GET FOR GOING AWAY AND LEAVING ME!!!"   So at the moment I'm sporting lots of cat bite marks and scratches.  Its only because he loves me. :-)~ hehe

I got up early on both Saturday and Sunday mornings and took the pooches for a walk.  I'm continuing to take them both at the same time and it saves a lot of hassle having to come home and switch dogs halfway through!  They love it, but its been so hot and humid (even at 7am!) that I do feel sorry for them.  I had really good nutrition and water intake this weekend.  I managed to come back from Townsville weighing less than when I left - so gotta be happy with that!

On Sunday my OH came to do the groceries with me (which he hates doing - but it was his suggestion).  The grocery bill is always through the roof when he comes shopping with me, he's like a kid in a lolly shop... "oooh lets get THIS!".... "mmm lets try some of THAT"  etc - but he did show some restraint.   A few things he picked up, and then put back when he saw the price!  I think he used to wonder why the grocery bill is usually so high - well now he knows!   He did manage to sneak in a few packets of lollies into the trolley, so we now have Chickos and Strawberries & Creams in the pantry.  Thats ok though - I'm never tempted by soft lollies, if I'm going to break out, it will be on chocolate or cheese.  So he can have those all to himself!

I am so hungry today............ gotta stay strong!

*Waving*... from Townsville

Well here I am again, Townsville, Far North Queensland.   This is the place where all my body woes began, I spent a very large part of 2004 here, and put on a lot of weight due to eating and drinking too much, stress, and not exercising enough.    This is where I improved on my "muffin top" look!  This is also where I developed my "wine makes it all better" motto too... ;-)   it was bad news all round!

I'm here for work again, and this is the first time I've been back since 2004.  I was a little bit apprehensive about coming back too.  I know you cant blame a location for adding to your issues, but I guess that's what I was doing.  Anyway, here I am, and I'm doing ok.  I know I am a lot stronger, both physically and mentally since I was last here - so there can be no excuses anymore.

Yesterday I was soooo hungry!   I just wanted to eat everything in sight, but I ate only what was planned - although I was probably a little light-on for protein.  Went out for a huge jog along the Strand yesterday afternoon for 50 minutes (OMG it was so HOT - my head felt like a furnace, and even the breeze off the ocean was hot!), and then went out for dinner.  My resolve broke a little at dinner and I had some white wine, but resisted a few other things that I was tempted with.  I dont know what it is about bloody travelling that makes me weaken!!  It makes me so angry with myself!

Anyway, today WILL be much better.  I have bought myself a diet coke to have with dinner (room service) and all my meals are in the fridge at the office ready to go - so no excuses!  Home tomorrow night - and back to normality.

This time next week I will be having my first eye operation!!!!  (trying not to think about it or I will chew my nails down to the knuckle)

Hope everyone is having a great week.  Unfortunately I cant read blogs while I'm away  :(

Weekend stuff

Thank you to everyone for your lovely comments about my ring! I'm pleased to hear that the novelty doesn't wear off, I can be assured then, of it catching my eye for years to come. :)

Well my laser iridotomies went ok. I was freaking out for a week beforehand, but strangely once I was there I felt much more calm. The eye drops before the procedure were to constrict the pupil, rather than to dilate them. (How funny does that look?!!!!) Then I had to wait for half an hour before I could have the laser done. I was surprised that it was just done in a normal room, like I was half expecting to have my head strapped down or something! I placed my head on a chin rest, looked into a green light, and the doc fired the laser at me in little short bursts. It didn't actually HURT as such, but it was a sort of a sharp ache each time the laser zapped my iris. The left eye went smoothly, but the first zap on my right eye saw me jump out of my skin - and then I kept jumping each time the laser hit. As a consequence my right eye looks like a pincushion! No seriously, you cant see the holes unless you are looking for them - they just look like tiny black dots on the coloured part of your eye.

Recovery was pretty good - I had hazy vision for about 4 hours, and just a dull ache in my eyes. So far so good!

On Saturday I went to Di's house for a lunch she had organised while Sue is up in Qld. It was a sweltering day, really humid - and me, being the eager-beaver that I am, arrived WAAAAY before anyone else! Let me just say, Di certainly lives in paradise - both her house and the view is stunning!

I met some lovely ladies too - Kellie (Sue's latest Body Blitz winner), Gill, Maraina and Lorraine. It was also great to catch up with Sue, Di and Rachel (and see Rachel's gorgeous little man Zach.) Thanks so much to Di for being such a great hostess, it was a fantastic day (and lunch was delicious!)

Here's a photo we took early on before we started to melt!

So after spending a lovely Saturday lunching with the girls, I came home to find some new walls inside our house! OH was very busy while I was out enjoying myself, here is one of the walls he built - this is from the dining room looking through to the entry (eventually will have down-lights and chrome rail up the top).

Note the bits of gyprock still missing... the missing wall on the right of this photo looks into our main bathroom! You can also see the most beautiful chandellier in the lounge room (note: I am being sarcastic).

So because he'd worked so hard and I was in no mood for cooking, we headed out for dinner last night. We went to Ashmore Road Seafood and Steak on the Gold Coast. I think that is the first time in my life I have been on the Sunshine Coast AND the Gold Coast all in the space of one day. Anyway, I had calamari - it was soooo tender and juicy. The servings are so huge though that I couldn't get through much of it! This is my OH's favourite place for dinner - its certainly not 5 star dining, but the food is excellent (the steak is unbelievable), the serves are enormous, and you never have to book.

Finally here's a couple of pics of my funny little kitty, Connor. I especially like the bottom one, he looks stoned!

Hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend!

BLING!!!!!

Here is my engagement ring!!

In its box...

On my finger!

So exciting to finally pick this up last night! I've only had it about 12 hours, but I cant stop gazing at it! I was watching Heroes last night, and during each ad break I kept looking at it (my OH was having a few peeks at it too - he's quite impressed with himself!) and even when I was flossing my teeth last night I caught myself gazing lovingly at it... hehehehe :) The novelty will take a little while to wear off I think!

Yesterday I did my measurements, since it had been two weeks since my last weigh-in. I wasn't going to do it, since my frame of mind over the last few days has been less than positive. Well I did it anyway, and was quite surprised by the results. My scale weight hasn't changed since a fortnight ago, but a couple of my measurements have dropped by a centimetre, and a couple of skinfolds have reduced too. Particularly surprising as I've been less than perfect, especially in the last few days. My total bodyfat has dropped a whole percent too (whoopee!) - well, a loss is a loss...

Today I have the day off work, as I'm going in to have the laser iridotomies in my eyes. I am FREAKING out but I'm sure it will be a piece of cake (!!!!) Think of me... getting holes drilled into my eyes....

Cucumber addict

I have decided thats what I am... a cucumber addict. Last year it was American Mustard - but I think its time has come for it to be replaced. I am going through two per week, which is quite restrained I think. I could easily eat more. My other half absolutely detests them, which is fine with me cos it means I get to eat it ALL!!!!!

I had a 'nothing' weekend. You know, one of those weekends where if people ask me what I got up to on the weekend, my reply is "nothing". Well, nothing interesting, that is. I trained (half-heartedly) cleaned, washed clothes, did the groceries, I cooked for most of the day yesterday in preparation for the week ahead... boring boring boring!

I did buy a couple of CD's on Saturday - that was about the most exciting thing. One of the CD's is System of a Down; Hypnotise. I LOVE System of a Down and this album is pretty cool - I was headbanging in the kitchen on Saturday afternoon, and had it playing so loud in my car this morning!

I am a bit flat today so this is not much of a post. There is so much going on in my head at the moment that I dont really know where I'm at.

Where did my post go??

I posted this on Tuesday by email, but blogger mustn't have liked it. Oh well, here it is again....

Had a bit of a yuk day yesterday, Sunday night kept waking up with a sore stomach. It was like an ache, but not in the traditional 'stomach ache' way. Felt like a brick was lying on my upper abdomen. So I didn't train, in fact, I could barely keep my eyes open all day - sooo lethargic. Lots of people at work have been down with a virus in the last week, upset tummies and everything, so I was assuming I was coming down with it.

Anyway, still had an achey stomach last night but this morning decided to get up and train anyway... and I am so glad I did! Had a SMASHING weights session! I powered through my weights, felt strong, beat all my weight/reps from last week, and then kicked butt through an amazing interval cardio session on the cross trainer. Followed up with 10 mins on the bike, and then stretching............ felt so good!!!! See, training is good for you!

Stomach feels ok at the moment, but as a precaution I'm avoiding the sugar-free stuff, and not training abs for a few days.

Last night we went to visit friends who have just recently a baby. He was sooo tiny! I got to hear all the horror stories of the birth too - she had a bit of a rough time, poor thing. Is it just me, or is everyone having babies at the moment? I feel like everywhere I turn, everyone is either pregnant or has just had one. Em has just recently had her little boy, and we have these friends who've just recently had theirs. Then I have another 4 friends who are all at various stages of pregnancy, and two other friends who's little ones have just had a first birthday (cant believe how fast they grow!). Must just be our age-group.

But I think I might finally be getting a bit clucky..... (eeeeeek! - insert scary music here!)

Is it just me?

... or does everybody else feel like a wet rag at the end of the week?  By Thursday morning I am usually absolutely shattered, super tired and very little energy, and Friday is just a struggle to get out of bed!  A lot of it is to do with lack of sleep during the week - the last two nights I've only gotten about 5 hours sleep each night.  Unfortunately that's pretty normal.  That's why I need the weekends to catch up on rest.  How perfect would it be to work Monday to Wednesday, then have 4 days off???  For the same money???  Dream on.... :)

So our ring shopping was successful!  Not a bad Valentines present huh?  But because my fingers are so skinny we have to have it made (ring finger is a size H - yeah I have 'skeleton-fingers'!!!).  Anyway, its white gold with a princess cut diamond and little stones dotted down each side - and I have to wait 2-3 weeks!  I sooooo wanted to take it home with me right then and there!  Dont worry, as soon as its firmly on my finger I will post a photo.  Cant wait!

Yesterday morning I did Body Attack - happily my stamina is improving fairly quickly and while I still left with a beetroot face, I wasnt about to collapse on the floor either!  This morning I dragged my sorry arse out of bed and did a step class too - every little bit helps!

Freaked out a little bit this week as I found out that I have to have a little pre-eye-op laser surgery - in two weeks.  I had forgotten about this (conveniently) so it was a bit of a shock this week to realise that I'm going to have two "iridotomies" holes lasered into both iris' on the 1st of March.  These are kind of 'drainage' holes to relieve any pressure build up I might get in my eyes after the REAL operation.   I have even started to think about backing out of the surgery, but I'm sure this is a normal nervous reaction!  I just have to keep reminding myself how amazing its going to be to throw away my glasses and contact lenses after its all over!

Happy Friday everyone!

Pumped

Its that great time of the week where I'm feeling all pumped and strong.  I'm loving it!

Eats have been spot on this week, no deviations from plan and 3 litres of water each day.  On Monday afternoon I took the dogs for a walk, but with one small difference.  I took them both together.  It may not sound like a big deal, but it was.  I have always thought they would be too much to handle to take together, but they proved me wrong.  OMG I am so proud of them!!  I felt like I was walking with a pair of sled dogs - they even walked in formation!!  The only problem was that a couple of times Shavez stopped to pee on a tree, and poor Elke got tangled in the "reigns"!  I was grinning from ear to ear when I got home, and because I was walking both of them we stepped up the pace, so I had my heart rate around 150-160 the whole time! 

Had an amazing back/bicep session on Tuesday morning, I left with a jelly-upper-body - which is a strange feeling!  This morning I did legs again - I was really lacking in energy.  Probably because I didn't sleep very well last night.  So no records broken today I'm afraid.

This morning was a scheduled measurements day... In a week and a half I have lost 0.9kg and a centimetre each from my chest, waist and hips!  Also did my skinfolds and am quite pleased to have lost a few mm already - mostly from my hip and abs.  Next measurements day is in two weeks, so I'm shooting for an equally good result.

Tonight we are going ring shopping!  Hope we find something we like!

Its all good

My eyes, that is.  Had my eye appointment on Friday morning - it was quite horrible!  First I had anaesthetic drops in my eyes and the girl got this pressure tester gauge, which she then tapped on my eyeballs (like, I could SEE this thing hitting my eye repeatedly) but it didn't hurt, it was just weird.  Then she put the dilating drops in my eyes, and warned me that these drops were EXTRA strong.  She said that my pupils could stay dilated for up to 3 days afterwards (she wasn't joking)!!

So after my pupils dilated to the size of saucers, I saw the doc.  He actually started the examination by saying "This will be a bit unpleasant"... hmmmm ...  Picture this, the room is dark, the only light is the one the doctor is holding, and its searing into the back of my eye.  Because your pupils dont work anymore, he has to hold my eyelids open (the natural reaction is to close your eyes).  Then he gets this "poking stick" (thats the official name) and presses it into your eyeball, still blinding you with the light, while all the time you have to 'look left, look up and left, look up, look up and right...' etc.  By now my eyes were streaming - and all that poking around my eyes really hurt!  And just when you think its over, then you have the other eye to do!

Finally he suctions this glass lens thing onto your eyeball, and had another look at my retina.  When he removed the lens, there was this gross "sucking noise" and then it felt like about half a glass of water splashed down onto my cheeks - just a little bit of water from the eyes!  The things we have to suffer!  Anyway, looks like its all good for the eye op, in just over a months time.

So on Saturday I got up to find that my pupils were STILL dilated, which meant I couldn't really take the pooches for a walk.  Even with sunglasses, the sun was so bright that everything outside was literally brilliant white.  I still did my chest and tricep workout at home though, and took the dogs for a big walk on Sunday to make up for it. 

Had a few slip ups on the weekend food-wise, so I'm not very happy with myself.  Why oh why do I struggle on weekends?  Not enough water, and bad food choices.  I always find it easy to focus during the week, but come Saturday I lose that determination.  I think I need to throw myself into this house renovation - then I will be so busy on weekends that I wont have time to think about anything else!

This morning I did the cycle class again - and yay! found it a bit easier this week... hopefully my fitness is starting to come back!

Sore

I'm sooooo sore!! My lats are screaming, I'm having trouble straightening my arms because my biceps and forearms have locked up, and my legs... well I'm moving very slowly at the moment - I think Selina called it "tin man" legs? I reckon it feels like I've got glass in my legs, and it shatters with every step.

Obviously it was a good leg workout then! Actually, from the very first squat I knew that I was going to be in trouble for the rest of the week. I think I actually felt the muscles swearing at me. I'm now at the stage of lowering and raising myself on chairs with my arms - although with sore biceps and forearms I'm kinda moving in slow motion at the moment, with a constant grimmace on my face hehehe

Yesterday I staggered to the gym and attempted my first body attack class - oh how humbling - every time the music stopped I was gasping for breath, stumbling for my towel and water, wondering how could 6 weeks off do this to a person??? I was giving the instructor death stares as we did the last track - lunges and squats - the day after my first leg workout??!! I must have been a bad girl in my last life, and being punished for it now!

This morning I'm going into the city to have my final check up before my eye operation, I'm going to a Retina Specialist, he'll dilate my pupils to have a good look at my eyes and make sure everything is ok. He has the final say on whether this op can go ahead or not. Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Where did my strength go?

Back into full-on training this week, and it feels great!  Yesterday morning I did a cycle class.  OMG it hurt!  I kept saying that I must have got the "hard" bike (you know how some bikes seem harder than others) and my legs were burning, but soooo good to sweat so hard!  Then yesterday afternoon I got home and walked the dogs.

This morning I did weights for the first time in 6 weeks - where did my strength go????  I deliberately scaled back the weights I was using cos I knew I would have lost some strength, but I did not realise just how much strength I'd lost.  Felt like I was using baby weights!  Today was back and biceps - and I think I'm gonna be sore tomorrow!!  (cant wait actually!).  After weights I did 20 minutes interval cardio on the Cross Trainer.

Food is spot on - and I'm feeling good.  I've switched to using Calorie King instead of Fitday, and I'm finding it heaps easier because all the Aussie brands are there.  Anyway today I thought I'd give Cottage Cheese another go... I keep trying to like it, but I'm afraid its just not working.  Today I had cottage cheese mixed with a packet of Splenda, cinnamon and chopped up pieces of apple.  It was ok to start with, but the more I ate the more I wanted to gag.  YUK!   Cottage Cheese and I are never going to see eye to eye, so I think I'll just stop now.

Yesterday I took my measurements and skinfolds.  I was absolutely horrified by my bodyfat %, its gone up 5% in 6 weeks - ouch!  Never fear, it wont be there for long!  Funny thing is that I seem to have put the weight on in places that I dont normally... like my boobs.  :)~   My other half is quite chuffed!

Thought for the day:  Dont eat lunch at your desk if you are a messy eater - I speak from experience and have ended up with mustard all over my mouse "roller"...

I'm going to Phat Camp

I have finally bitten the bullet, and have pre-registered for Phat Camp on the Gold Coast. How exciting, now I really have a goal to work towards... to have regained my fitness and lost those pesky 4kgs by April 27 (and also put on a bit more muscle).

This weekend has not really gone as planned. I had planned on getting up early each day and taking the poor pooches for a much needed walk. Normally I'm awake by 6 or 7am on a weekend, plenty early enough to do this before the day gets hot. But this weekend I have not woken up until 8.30-ish - and even then I've felt sluggish and super tired. I'm still sick of course, still coughing up a lung every half hour and blowing my nose - so no "walkies" yet. Sadly the drugs dont work as well as I thought they would, I just cant seem to shift this chest infection. Looks like I might even have to fill the repeat prescription for the antibiotics the doctor gave me. Yesterday I was nearly crying with frustration at this stupid cough... you know when you cough and cough and cough, so much that you end up dry-reaching? Thats me. What a lovely image for you all.

Well anyway, tomorrow is day one of my next challenge. The next 6 weeks takes me up to my first eye operation on the 15th of March, after which there will be some enforced rest for a week or two. Stage 2 of this challenge will begin after both eyes are done.

Some more photos... ah... a trip down memory lane...

Beaumaris Castle, North Wales

Hadrians Wall, England (those bloody Romans were amazing!)

A BIG cannon at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland. Note the gorgeous hot pink beanie in these photos - it was my best friend during the trip!

Well thats me for the weekend - a big week awaits me. Better chuff off and get my meals organised for the week. Bye-eeee!

I have one tastebud back

... but only one.  Yesterday afternoon was the first time I was actually able to taste something.  That was very exciting, and if I concentrated hard, I could sort-of taste my stir-fry last night - woohoo!.   I'm coming good s-l-o-w-l-y, but its still all settled on my chest, and I'm still snotty - GERMS BE-GONE!

The great news is that we took Shavez to the vet yesterday afternoon, and his lump has turned out to be a Lipoma, which is a non-cancerous "fatty" tumour.  Apparently they are quite common in older dogs, and not anything to worry about.  There is no need to remove it either - so that is a huge relief!!

This morning my alarm went off at its "old" usual time of 4.50am - and I was like "Oh no - its not time already, is it?"  Ha!  Doesn't take long to get used to sleeping in!  Anyway, I dragged myself out of bed, got ready in record time, and off to the gym - for the first time in about 6 weeks!  The first 10 minutes were spent saying hello to everyone, and telling the ladies my engagement news.  Its amazing the changes that happen in the gym in just a few weeks - lots of new posters on the wall, and lots of new faces in the gym too!

And man-oh-man, did I feel out of shape!!!!   I got on the treadmill and set the incline on 10, and powerwalked for 30 minutes... and wow did my legs feel it!  I even jogged for 5 minutes at the end, until I had to stop to blow my nose.  Then I finished up with a good 10 minutes on a bike, followed by abs and stretching.  Ouch that stretching hurt! 

Anyway, it felt great to be finally doing something.... even though I certainly broke no records today.  And the best thing is that I am HUNGRY today for the first time in ages... I cant wait to have lunch!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Antibiotics

Well, the drugs DO work.

Yesterday I woke up feeling no better, in fact, feeling a burning sensation in my chest every time I coughed. So as promised I went to the doctor, who prescribed me some drugs. I absolutely HATE taking antibiotics... I only ever do so as a last resort. I think they do nasty things to your system. But anyway, happy to report that I woke up this morning feeling much better.

Had the day off work yesterday too - hence the new blog template. Finally figured out how to do it!

And I'm going back to gym tomorrow!!! Cant wait! Going to do some much needed cardio, and continue through the weekend. I have prepared my training diary, designed my weights programme, written up my goals - so I'm ready!

And with any luck my sense of taste and smell will come back very soon. It has been almost a week since I lost it. You dont realise how strange it is, not being able to taste things, until you cant. Its weird. I keep asking my other half - "does it taste ok?" "What does it taste like?". And when you're cooking things, you cant taste test anything to see if it needs seasoning or anything, you just have to hope for the best. Takes all the enjoyment out of eating!

This afternoon we have to take Shavez (our 10 year old Alaskan Malamute) to the vet - I found a large-ish lump just forward of his hip - if you were a human it would be on your oblique abdominal muscles. I am very worried, but trying to stay calm - it could be anything. Our animals are children... cross your fingers for us.

Just call me "snot-queen"

Yes, its gross, but that's what I am at the moment - Snot Queen. I dont know where it all comes from, but I blow my stupid nose every couple of minutes until its empty, and yet 5 minutes later, its full of snot again. My poor nose is red raw, dry and scratched from all the blowing! I'm taking a day/night cold and flu tablets, which are supposed to dry my nose up (yeah right) but I dont think they're helping much. I got up this morning to find that it has travelled down into my throat and chest, so now I've got a phlegmy cough too - ah the joys! If its not better by tomorrow, I'm going to the doctor.

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. I actually did NOTHING on my birthday. My wonderful fiance made me breakfast in bed - french toast. It was so sweet, just unfortunate that I couldn't taste it because I've lost my sense of smell and taste at the moment. Then I lazed around the house, did my ironing for the week, had some family pop in for a little while. We went out for dinner to our local Indian restaraunt - but I still couldn't taste anything!

Yesterday was the first day back at work, and boy was I dreading it! It wasn't too bad - spent a large amount of the day telling people about the holiday, showing the photos, blowing my nose and sifting through hundreds of emails. We had a birthday cake (caramel mud) too, which was lovely. I'm trying to get back into my normal routine with eating - but I feel like my system has shut down a bit though. Metabolism has definetely slowed - I had to force myself to eat all my meals, just wasnt hungry. Hopefully it wont take long to get it firing again. I want my appetite (and my tastebuds) back!

Still have not done any exercise - I'm dying to get back into it, when this cold eases up I will start back. Will hopefully be able to go back to gym later this week, and will start hitting the weights again next week. That should help in terms of getting some energy back too. My muscles have ceased to exist - I want my shoulder definition back!!!!

Well thats about it for now, with any luck my next post will see me bouncing off the walls!

I've got a cold again

Grrrr I've got another cold! All this jetting around the world really does nothing for the old immune system. I first picked up a nasty cold in England at the beginning of January, and it never really went away (well it died down to a hacking cough) - and then yesterday it resurfaced. Or else I've picked up another one. Anyway, the runny nose and sore throat are BA-ACK and I'm pretty fed-up with it. Having a cold in Summer just makes you feel worse than it usually does!

Tomorrow is my birthday (32... *shudder*) and I dont think we're doing anything. The holiday sort of counted as our combined Christmas/Birthday treats this year, but maybe we'll go out for dinner or something. If my nose doesn't unblock, I might not be able to taste anything though!

On Monday I go back to work (groan) and I'm also going to get stuck back into training and clean eating. Going to spend this weekend writing my goals which should take me up to my first eye operation, which is the 15th of March. During the eye operation period, I'm not really sure how much exercise I'm going to be allowed to do, apparently they frown on any sport or exercise for a few weeks afterwards.

Kerry tagged me with this a little while ago - I'm a few weeks behind sorry!

A-Z Of Hilary -

A - Available or single? Neither - newly engaged!
B- Best Friend? My fiance
C- Cake or Pie? Cake
D- Drink of Choice? Currently white wine
E- Essential Item? Ipod.
F- Favorite Color? Purple
G- Gummi Bears or Worms? Neither I'd rather have chocolate
H- Hometown? Brisbane, Australia
I- Indulgence? Castello Cheese, crackers and wine
J - January or February? – January, my birth month
K- Kids and names? Shavez (Alaskan Malamute), Elke (Border Collie) and Connor (Siamese Cat)
L- Life is incomplete without? My partner and my animals
M- Marriage Date? Steady on! We only just got engaged!!
N- Number of Siblings? One brother
O- Oranges or apples? Neither - I dont really like fruit
P- Phobias/Fears? Spiders, Heights
Q- Favorite Quote? Don’t have one
R- Reason to Smile? Coming home
S - Season? Autumn
T - Tag three people! I think everyone has done this by now
U- Unknown fact about Me? I used to smoke
V- Vegetable you hate? Artichoke
W- Worst habit? Snoring (occasionally!!)
X- X-rays you've had? teeth, head, spine (for Chriopracter)
Y- Your favorite food? Roast Vegetables, cheese and crackers
Z- Zodiac? Aquarius

Still jet lagged

Thank you so much to everyone for your warm wishes and congratulations - it means so much to me!! Thank you!

I am so glad that I took this extra week off to recover - I am still jet lagged! We have been home now for 6 days and I still feel like crap. By the second day I was back to normal sleeping habits, and I'm sleeping like a log each night (having some crazy dreams too) but I still feel like my feet are made of concrete, I feel like I have no strength. I go through short bursts of energy, but the rest of the time I feel so fatigued that all I can manage is to sit and read or watch the tennis.

Yesterday we went out for about 2 hours, but we had to cut it short and come home, because I could barely manage all the walking/climbing in and out of the car/climbing stairs etc.

The bad news is that I have put on about 4 kgs in 5 weeks. I read in a medical book that a diet rich in carbohydrates will help the body to combat jet lag, so I have been having carbs with every meal. I dont know if it is helping or not!!! Anyway, next week I go back to work, so I'm planning on hitting the gym from Monday too - as long as I feel up to it that is. Fingers crossed!

Here's a couple more photos from the trip - I have about 500 to choose from!

Caernarfon Castle, North Wales

Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

Inside the Colosseum, Rome

The beautiful ski fields of Schlick 2000, Innsbruck - Austria.

Happy Australia Day everyone!!!

I left with a boyfriend and came home with a fiance...

I'm ba-ack and yes you read that title correctly... we got engaged!!!!!!

It was Friday the 12th of January, we were halfway up the Austrian Alps, alone in a gondola/cable car, and my beloved boyfriend got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him!!!

Of course I said YES!!!! I was completely taken by surprise, it was the most romantic setting ever! This is the view we had from the cable car - not a bad view to get engaged to, eh?

So we are going to buy the ring in a few weeks (now that we're home) but he did make me a temporary ring... he had taken a table napkin from the hotel restaraunt, written the most beautiful message inside, and folded it up lengthways, so he could tie it around my finger - I will treasure that forever... sigh... so romantic...

So - the remainder of our holiday was great! Before we left England we travelled down to London, met my uncle, did a fabulous day tour to Stonehenge, Salisbury and Bath. Then off to Innsbruck for the skiing (and engagement!). My fiance (hee hee sounds funny) tried snowboarding, and I skiied (i had skiied twice before) and he was covered in bruises after the first hour, but we had a ball. I managed to stay on my feet for about an our before the first stack.

After Innsbruck we went to Naples, Pompeii and the Isle of Capri. Pompeii was mindblowing - I kept walking around saying "I cant believe I'm finally at Pompeii" over and over. Spectacular, and the Pompeii ruins themselves were really big - far too big to walk around in 3 hours, which is all the time we had.

This is me at Pompeii, with the volcano Mt Vesuvius in the background.This is the bay of Naples - the day was quite hazy, but fairly warm too (16 or 17 degrees C) considering it was the middle of winter.

Finally we headed back to Rome, where we had two days to see the sights. I didnt like Rome itself, dirty, crowded, noisy, and crazy drivers! But Ancient Rome was fantastic. My favourite place was the Roman Forum - ahhh it was amazing. I cant believe I got to walk around and touch ruins that were over 2000 years old.

We went to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, St Peters Basilica, St Pauls, Capitol, and finally the Coliseum, where we spent our final afternoon. We both loved it - the history of the place is incredible.

I have many more photos, so I will post more in the days to come. Right now I am exhausted, as we seemed to be coming home forever. I think I have slept about 5 hours in the last 48. Lucky I have one more week off work - I think we need it!

Thats about it for now, I will catch up with everyones blogs in the next day or two!

A few more pics

York (today) ... really cool old place

Me and BF - at Edinburgh Castle
Blackpool

This might be the last post for a while - tomorrow we head to London and I dont know when I'll have access to the internet again.

Today we went to York - really cool place, shame it rained most of the afternoon. We went to the Jorvick Centre and saw all the Viking history of the place - just amazing! My throat is not much better - I'm in danger of losing my voice.

We'll be off enjoying the rest of our holiday (Austria and Rome) until the 20th of January - may not get back here before then, so everybody train hard and see you soooooooon!!!!

PS; I miss eating healthy and going to the gym! I've been eating crap and doing no exercise for the last 10 days, and I'm in chocolate heaven over here. I'm going to have to get stuck back in when I get home!

The adventure continues...

Getting drenched at the Merlion in Singapore!

Seeing the sun rise over the Swiss Alps from the plane...

We are having a fabulous holiday! Here are a couple of photos from the first part of our trip.

Last Monday we went to Leeds to meet some more of BF's rellies, and we went to Haworth (where the Bronte's lived - unfortunately the Parsonage and Museum was shut). On Wednesday we went to Chester (really old Roman town) and to Liverpool, on Thursday we went to North Wales and visited to two really cool castles in Snowdonia. Then on Friday we got taken to Scotland. We stopped at Gretna Green (where lots of people elope - but dont worry, nothing to report from there!!) and then made our way to Edinburgh. We stayed overnight in a hotel in Edinburgh and then on Saturday morning went to Edinburgh castle (which is where they do the Military Tatoo, and we saw the Scottish crown jewels) and then got on the open-top double-decker bus around town. It was bloody freezing and then it started to rain a bit, so we got off!

On the way back from Scotland we went to see Hadrians Wall, which I loved. I cant believe I'm getting to see stuff that is 2000 years old - it just blows me away. We also saw the ruins of an old Roman Fort.

The weather has been fantastic, we have seen the sun just about every day, and rain too! It hasn't been too cold, mainly between 5 and 10 degrees, which feels quite mild. Its only when the wind picks up that you can really feel it. I have come down with a sore throat which has been annoying me since Tuesday. BF has got a bit of a runny nose too. Today I feel quite crappy - exhausted and sick, so we are staying in today and we are having a roast dinner, which we are really looking forward to (cant wait to have some vegies)!!

Tomorrow we are going to York for the day, and then on Tuesday we head south to London to visit my uncle. On Wednesday we have a day tour to Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge, and then on Thursday we are off to Innsbruck!

I think I'm going to be knackered by the time we get home!

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the nice hot weather!

Happy New Year!!

Hi All and Happy New Year!!

Well here we are in the UK - enjoying our holiday immensely! We left home bright and early on Christmas Day and spent most of the day in the plane to Singapore. Singapore was great, not as hot or humid as we were expecting though. Turned out that December is one of the cooler months (still 30 degrees) and is right in the monsoon season... it rained pretty much the entire time we were there! Typical!!

For the 2.5 days we were there, we managed to cram in as much sightseeing as was humanly possible... we did 4 tours all up. A night tour of the city (included a visit to Raffles and a brief tour on the river), a day tour (visited Little India, Chinatown, Orchid Gardens), a day tour of Sentosa Island, and the absolute best thing was the Night Safari... OMG it was amazing to see Lions, African Elephants, Hyenas, Giraffes, Zebras, Rhinos, Hippos etc etc up soooo close! It was just an awesome experience!

On our flight over from Singapore, we had a breif stop in Zurich, and when the plane took off again we got to see the most amazing sight of seeing the sun rise over the Swiss Alps... absolutely breathtaking... took a photo of that!

So now we are in England! We've been to Blackpool, which was just so cool - totally different to anything in Australia, but absolutely FREEZING walking along the promenade! Then it started to rain and we got to experience a bit of good old English sleet.

We are going to Leeds tomorrow, and to North Wales on Thursday to see some old castles, and then Scotland next weekend - cant wait!

We've been eating and drinking far too much (its difficult to try to keep up with the locals!) and not a lot of exercise, but hey, I'm having a ball! I have managed to do some tricep dips and some push ups, but that's about it.

Tonight is New Years Eve, and there will be a party here at BF's cousins house, so that should be good. Funny here - you can buy fireworks from the local supermarket (and alcohol too)

Anyway, thats about it from me for now - hope everyone has had a fabulous New Years, and I will post more when I can!!

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!