Today I Have .......

NOTHING !  It is amazing that in the space of 24hrs I have gone from feeling on top of the world to feeling like it is all too hard and I just don't give a rats !  I know that it is only ME who can change how I feel and I will work on the today and hopefully tomorrow will bounce back to my normal self.  In the meantime I am off to my pity party (I am supplying all drinks and food) and I will see you on my return !

Have a great day and an even better week !

Love, hugs and positive energy (hopefully I can send some out there even though I can't seem to find it for myself !)

TFTD : You are never more than one thought away from peace - Alan Cohen

Another Great Day !

Yesterday morning I went for the run I said I was going to do making it 6/7 - I must have cut a few corners as the normal route was only 3.25kms but I ran it at 6'50"/km which is a fair bit faster than that 7'09"/km that I ran on Friday evening so have to be happy with that.  A came with me on the bike again which was really nice.

Then it was time for the Abonne facial and make-up demo - skin care products feel really good - not so sure I like their make-up range. 

A picked me up and it was time to hit the bathroom and tile showrooms and, after lots of looking and talking and trying things out - we brought some sample tiles home and, depending on the price that someone A used to deal with can get what we need, we might be able to do the bathroom reno AND go to Canada for our 25th instead of just sitting on the floor admiring our new bathroom for our 25th !!!!!  I am very excited to have worked out that we might be able to do both.

We got home from there and spent some time in the bathroom checking tiles out and discussing how we could do things with feature tiles and new tapware etc, and then took a load of stuff to the tip before coming home and getting the bikes out and going for a cycle.  It was really good to get back on the saddle again - 12kms at 20.5kph into a fairly strong head wind for more than half the way - how come it always seems to be that we start off into a head wind and then when we turn around either the wind turns / dies down or we move into a road that is more sheltered and we get no assistance from the wind when we are cycling in the other direction ????????

We spoke about going out somewhere for dinner - like the local bowling club - but they don't have the healthiest food on offer so decided to have L&E at home and just watch some TV.

Today I HAVE to do A's quarterly BAS return, then my Dad's tax return and then my folks are coming over for dinner as it is my Mom's birthday - so a busy day ahead of me and a rest day from exercise as the cycle last night took my exercise to 7/7 - YAY - I beat my goal of 5/7 exercise sessions for the week.

Have a great Sunday !

TFTD : What benefit do you percieve in continuing a behaviour you say you do not prefer ? Bashar  (How true this is for me at the moment !!!)

Great Run !

Had a great run last night - the middle 2.2kms were run with no walks at all - WOOHOO !!!  Great news, I only walked 3 short lamp posts in the whole 3.4kms.  My time was unmonitored as I got 800m into the run when I realised that I hadn't pushed my watch twice to get it started !!!!  A was on the bike next to me (he has a dicky knee and so can't run) and he said that we were 800m from home - so all in all the run was my 3.4 route but I don't know the exact time - annoying but what can I do (apart from remember to switch my watch on properly you ask ??????)  Not sure if I will be running later this morning - A was talking about getting up early to do a tip run (no, not running to the tip, taking all the cr*p lying around the place to the tip !!!) so if he is up and moving I will get up and run.  Then home to shower and change, off for a mini facial with a client who is becoming an Arbonne distributor, then time to hit the bathroom showrooms and tile places so that we can do a costing for the bathroom and make a decision one way or the other - are we going to do the bathroom reno and maybe have to spend our 25th wedding anniversary sitting in the bathroom or do we maybe leave it for now and go to Canada instead !  Which would you rather do ?

Last night we went to see Warrior - what a great movie !  A bit cliched at times but I really enjoyed it - the one thing that I would have liked was maybe a little less fighting but that is purely for selfish reasons - I hate seeing people fight !!!!!  Other than a little too much fighting - I loved the story and the passion of the guys.  Thank you Lite and Easy for the movie tickets - so glad I waited until the last day to use them otherwise we wouldn't have seen the movie which only opened yesterday.

My food yesterday wasn't that fantastic - my boss and I went out to our factory at Yatala and got back only to find that neither of us had keys to get back into the office so we went to Subway to wait for someone to bring us keys.  I said I would just have a drink but he bought a foot long and gave me half and after protesting for about 5 mins I shut up and ate it.  Mistake Hiccup # 1 - I should have stuck to my guns and told him to take it home if he didn't want to eat it himself.

Hiccup #2 - went to Robina to get the tickets for the movie as I knew it was going to be tight getting home, going for a run and then getting down to the movies and my boss asked me to pick up something for him while I was there - not difficult to do except that I didn't know where the shop was and so by the time I had gone to information and then got to the shop - had to go past The Cookie Man and landed up getting two brandy snaps and two chocolate fairies - man I enjoyed them !!!  But then .........

Hiccup #3 - went past some bakery with snail hazelnuts and before I knew it - I had bought one and finished eating it before I realised that I had done that - mindless eating at it's best.  I get very disappointed with myself when I do this as I have tried really hard the past 4 weeks not to eat mindlessly - clearly I have to try harder with this lesson.

Hiccup # 4- sharing a packet of wine gums with A at the movies - I could have done so much better than wine gums !!!

Hiccup #5 (bet you are wondering just how many mistakes hiccups I can have in one day !!!!) - after the movie A said - would you like a milkshake - yes great idea !!!!  So McD drive through here we come - not only did I have a milkshake but I had a Chocolate Sensations with Oreos !!!  Again - gee I enjoyed it BUT I DIDN'T NEED HICCUPS 1, 2, 3, 4 OR 5 in my life.

Even if A doesn't do a tip run, after writing this all down - I need HAVE to go for a run so on that note I am out of here !!!!

Have an absolutely fantastic Saturday - anything exciting planned ?

Love, hugs and positive energy !

TFTD : Awake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving - Kahlil Gibran

Can You Help ?

On Wednesday night I went for a run.  And I enjoyed it.  I ran more than I have run recently in terms of only walking 6 short lamp posts.  One good thing is that I worked out why my Nike+ tracker wasn't uploading anymore - we hadn't downloaded the program onto the new hard drive that we had installed and it couldn't read the old hard drive that is still in there (or something like that - I have no idea what is going on with it when A is explaining - I just want to switch it on and have it work be nice to me and do what I ask of it !)

This is what my Nike+ Sportband looks like - the little red and white thingie goes into my shoes

the watch goes on my arm and the USB thingie is what I take out of the band to upload the data

onto the computer.  The low battery that I was worried about the other day, is, in fact, not an issue - leave the USB

plugged into the computer overnight and it is all charged up and ready to go again !!!!

So my question is this - is it better to run more and walk less but at a slower overall pace or run less and walk more at a quicker pace ?  These are my times from the run I did on Monday morning and Wednesday evening :
Monday 3.34kms - 22'50" at 6'50"/km and 277 cal
Wednesday 4.35kms - 30'36" at 7'01"/km and 361 cal

I felt really good running last night but have to say that I wondered what people thought when if they saw me as they drove past.  Did anyone look at the porky fat curvaceous lady shuffling jogging running down the road and think "Man, she really shouldn't be out there subjecting us to that sight" or did someone I know drive past and think "Gee - there is L - she looks like she is doing really well running head first in that gale force really strong head wind".  Should I even care about what other people think of me when I am exercising or should I just say "Hey, you know what - at least I am doing something !".  Of course you always get those dick knuckleheads who think it is soooooooooooooooo funny to drive up really close to you and then hoot - he was lucky that he was driving so fast because my ninja kick would have broken his window if he had been closer !!!

I love it when I am in the groove with exercising - I just wish I could get up in the mornings and get it done and out the way for the day.  Maybe once I get take control of my sleeping habits - that will be a goal of mine.  Wake up at 5am every week day so that I can go running.  Having said that, now that my Nike+ thingie is working, it is more motivating to get out running no matter what time of the day because I love getting home and going straight to the computer to upload my time (OK when I have had a not so good run, I am not such an eager beaver to upload the data !!!) - the funny thing with this is that I am probably the least competitive person that I know so why the eagerness to see my time ! I have no idea.

I made my 5/7 exercise days this week - YAY because I think this will be the first time I make it (for whatever reasons excuses I haven't made it before !!!)

Do you have a set exercise routine or do you just do whatever you feel like it when you feel like it ?

Love, hugs and positive energy !

TFTD : Never mistake motion for action - Ernest Hemingway

Another Loss !


This morning saw me step on the scales very gingerly - after the Oreo truffles episode, I wasn't that keen to see the outcome.  But it was all good - a loss of 0.8kgs which is more than my weekly goal of 0.5kgs and certainly more than I thought I would be showing especially given that my weight has been up the whole week (I am a scale whore of note and weigh myself every single morning - that is how I know when I am out of control because I cannot get on the scales for love nor money - well actually I might get on for money if someone would give me some to get on and show them the number !!!)

Isn't it funny - last week I had the thought that if I was up I was going to buy a date scone on the way to work and when I was down I thought that maybe I should leave the date scone for someone else and not undo the hard work that I had already put in.  This morning I never even thought about the date scone until I was already on the freeway and way past the bakery - does this mean I am starting to not relate rewarding myself with giving myself food or does it just mean that I was more off with the fairies than normal - will have to wait and see what happens in the future for the answer to that one (and yes, I am sure there are a few people out there nodding their heads saying - definitely more off with the fairies but that is OK - someone has to do it !!!!)

Have a fantastic day - love, hugs and positive energy !

TFTD : Man is the only creature that refuses to be what he is - Albert Camus

Best Friends !



I love that my husband and I are best friends.  I love that we do everything together.  I love that he would prefer to come home and spend time with me rather than go drinking at the pub with work colleagues.  I love that we go to footy games together and have similar interests in TV shows and movies.  I love that he wouldn’t have gone on a RWC cruise unless I went with him (but as I hate not having terra firma beneath my feet there was no way I was going on the cruise plus we are saving for our holiday to Canada next year for our 25^thanniversary !!!).  I love that we are both happy to drive for 1 hr to go to dinner at a restaurant that we really like rather than settle for somewhere closer just so that we don’t have the long drive.

Sometimes I wonder if the relationship we have is a healthy one because it is so different from the relationships of other people.  I know that we can’t all be the same but we often sit and say “Do you think it is strange that ……………………… ?” when in fact, people might be saying exactly the same about us !!!!  Only we don’t find it strange – we find it normal because after doing it for nearly 24 years, it has become second nature – like how our hands slip together when we hold hands, how we fit together when we spoon in bed, how we can be together for hours without saying a word and it not being uncomfortable.

There have been times when I have not liked him or myself over things that have happened but I have never stopped loving him.  Recently I have come across really interesting blogs - many of which have made me realise just how fortunate I am.  When I think back on the times in our lives when I thought that life was just too tough and I didn't know how I was going to cope, I realise that I didn't have it nearly as  bad as some people.  I have always had the support of my family and A - no matter what.  I have read blogs recently of people who had lost loved ones through accidents or suicide or stupid drunk drivers, people who have buried their husbands or children or parents, people who have been abused, people who have feared for their lives, people who have got divorced and become single parents and I realise that no matter how bad things were for me, they can never compare to what these amazing, strong, resilient people have got through.  Yes, there have been times when they wondered if they would make it and there were times when I was reading their stories when I was really pulling for them to make it and then I read a few months later that they did and I am happy for them. 

Thank you to all of you for giving me a new appreciation for all that I have - we have worked hard for what we have but I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to provide a lovely home for our family and friends to share with us.

Love, hugs and positive energy !

TFTD : Gratitude for what is provides the strongest platform for expanding into what could be - Alan Cohen

3/7 and it's only Tuesday !

I forgot to count my walk last night in my 5/7 exercise for the week !!!! So after training tonight I am 3/7 - which is good as we have movie tickets that expire on Friday and I would hate to miss out on making my 5/7 because we had to go to the movies !!!!

Have a fan-tab-ulous evening !

Darstedly Oreo Truffles

Mine were rolled in coconut not chocolate


I guess my mistake was making these in the first place but when we have people over for dinner I always feel like I need to serve dessert as well as dinner. Anyway, these weren't as bad for me as ones that I make which are similar except that instead of using philly cheese I use a tin of caramel !!!!!  But, when I get home and haven't got a dishwasher in the car, and it is late, and I sit down to relax and read my book, and then A comes in and says lets take the dogs for a walk after I am all comfortable reading, and we get home from that having walked 'the wrong way' (PMT at it's best !!!) and I just can't be bothered with dinner and there are Oreo truffles sitting in the fridge saying "Eat Me, Eat Me" - I really have to listen to them !!!  Did I have to listen to all 3 4 5 (I think it may have been 5 in the end) shouting at me ??????  Who is the responsible adult in this relationship ?????

Anyway, I did leave 2 which were absolutely bellowing at me when I opened the fridge door this morning - no doubt by now they are hoarse because I just ignored them BUT it was BLOODY hard not to pop them into my mouth and feel that smooth chocolate swirl around my mouth - awakening my taste buds for the day.  While I love having orange juice in the morning (I don't drink tea of coffee), I can't think of  a better way to start the day than chocolate !!!!!

Have the best Tuesday ever !

Love, hugs and positive energy.

TFTD : The really happy person is the one who can enjoy the scenery, even when they have to take a detour - Sir James Jeans

I Am So Happy ....

This morning I had to go to the dr and so I only had to leave home at about 8am instead of 7am to get to work as I normally do.  (Sorry - going to the dr didn't make me happy - the next bit of the story made me happy !!!).  Anyway, I set my alarm for 7am instead of the normal 6am - figured I could sleep an extra hour seeing as I was going to leave an hour later - but was awake at about 6.20 so decided to get up and go for a run (very excited because now I can actually track how far and how fast I am running IF I push the right bloody button !!!) due to the fact that we are off to look at dishwashers straight after work and then tonight I promised my Dad I would do his tax return so had been wondering when I was going to get a chance to run.

So I got out there and ran - felt better than I did last week - got home and COULDN'T BLOODY UPLOAD MY RUN !!!!  OK - I was happy to have been running but extremely unhappy at not being able to upload the information.  Unfortantely I didn't have time to fiddle around with it before I left for work so will have to have a look at it this evening when I get home.

I am so happy that I went running this morning - 1/7 down and planning on making it 5/7 by the end of Friday.

Have the best week ever !

Love, hugs and positive energy.

TFTD : Everything worthwhile, everything of any value, has its price.  Everything anyyone has ever wanted has come neatly wrapped up in its penalties - Loretta Young

LOL !

The reason my very lovely, very nice, very helpful Nike tracker thingie isn't working is because I was pushing the wrong button - no wonder it wouldn't switch on when I was going for a run !!!

Can't wait for my run tomorrow night !

Lemons and Lemonade

I recently suggested to someone that she should make lemonade when life handed her lemons and I see that is what I now have to do !!!!!

All I can is that I love my life and I am grateful for what we have.  We are all happy and healthy and we don't have a bad life.  When I hear of what other people have to endure, I am extremely grateful for my lot in life.

Then things start to go pear shaped and I realise that I have to hold onto the thought of being grateful for what I have.  It seems that lately every time I turn around there is something else that is broken / not working like it should / needs to be replaced and I wonder if our travel plans to Canada for our 25th are ever going to happen.  And then when I really think about it I realise that if we don't get to Canada for our 25th, the sun will still come up tomorrow and that I really should be happy that I am not living in the shoes of the Mom whose child was killed by a drunk driver (or any driver for that matter), or the wife of someone who has had a stroke and is reliant on me for most things, or the friend of someone who is desparately ill - it is just the material things that are falling down around me and, so long as it isn't the house, it is all good !


On that note I am off to finish cleaning up the water that leaked into my kitchen cupboard which are all disintegrating because of I guess previous water leaks over the years and to look at the dishes piling up because I can't wash them until I get the leak fixed.  Have just checked the lasagne that I was in the middle of making when I found the leak and then forgot to go back and thicken up the white sauce until it was too late so it is a little runny - oh well, if anyone doesn't like dinner tonight they are more than welcome to have some toast.  I am going to be having my L&E meal (hope they don't think I didn't care about their dinner because I was having L&E !!!!).

A just called to say he should be home between 7.30-8pm - poor bugger is then going to have to get on his hands and knees to see if he can find the problem with the leaking tap - the joys of being the Man Of The House !!!

Have the best week possible !

Fantastic Day !

Yesterday I spent quite a few hours with the extremely awesome Sass of Moozoo Designs working on my webpage (thank you Sass - I really enjoyed working with you and appreciate your patience with me who has no real idea of what I want or how to get it - your work is really fantastic !!!!) - it is soooooooooooooooooo exciting and I can't wait to see the end result.  I know that it is going to be a great marketing tool which will bring more business my way.  While I was there I met Moo too - what a sweet heart but Alfie and Rosie did want to know who I had been seeing when I got home !!!!

 

This is how much I used to like my old computer.

After that A and friends picked me up and we went to lunch at a fish and chip shop near Suttons Beach and had a great afternoon.  Only got home at about 6.30 and then a guy that works with A came around to install our new computer - WOW is all I can say about the speed now compared to what I was trying to work with up until last night !!!!  Thanks so much M for the great job you have done - what a pleasure to hop onto the computer this morning (even if I still need to find out how to access my old e-mails and where I can find all my contacts - I am sure they are in there somewhere !!!!)

Today A has to work so I am off looking for a dishwasher as he has tried but cannot fix it - bugger !!!!!!  How come expenses like this always come at the same time ??????  Then I am off to price tiles for the bathroom.  And after that I have to go grocery shopping for dinner/dessert stuff for tonight as we have people coming over to watch the rugby with us.  I see Domayne has a 4 day sale on which ends today so hopefully they have something suitable in our price range.

On that note I had better go and get ready.

Does anyone have anything exciting planned today ?  Have a great day wherever you are and whatever you are doing !

TFTD : No one has a finer command of language than the person who keeps his mouth shut - Sam Rayburn

Reasonable Run

This is the colour my face was when I

finished my run !!!

I am just back from my run for today.  Clearly my legs didn't like it as much as they did on Wednesday because they took just over 23 mins for the same route !!!!  Me thinks that the run last night together with the lunges, squats and kicking didn't make them feel quite as fresh today.

OK - I have had enough of this bloody horrible very nice Nike tracker thingie watch that isn't working so now I need to find the instructions to make sure that I am doing the right thing (of course I would be doing the right thing wouldn't I if I want it to work ?????) and while I am at it I am going to look for the g'tee which I know I put in a really safe no, easy to find, bugger it, where is it place.  Once I have checked the instructions and / or found the g'tee, I will get A to read the instructions to make sure I have understood them and am doing the right thing and if that falls into place I am going to take it back.  $50 for something that doesn't work doesn't seem right to me.

On a lighter note, K is off to meet C's parents tonight - should be an interesting evening - can't wait for her to get home to hear all about it - that is if I am still awake as they are going to a BBQ in Brisbane.

Well, off to phone my very dear friend in South Africa - have a great Friday and here's to a good game of rugby tonight.

Love, hugs and positive energy !

Training

Last night we left home for our warm up walk/run before going to training.  We started off walking and then, down the long stretch of road I said to K "Up for running?"  This probably was a stupid question to ask someone 26 yrs younger than me and a gazillion times fitter than me !!!!!  We ran about 12 lamp posts before I managed to gasp at the second to last lamp post in the road "Walking" !!!  Man she ran far too fast for me and I should have just slowed down and ran at my own pace but I didn't, I kept up with her and it nearly killed me !

We turned into the main road and one lamp post in I said "Going to run but you go ahead" - and off she went and I ran at a pace more suitable to me.  We got to training and I said "Geez Luv - you nearly killed me there" and she was all "What ?" - we all just laughed but it wasn't a great way for my legs to start training !!!!!!  I knew that my legs were going to feel it today after that run and then lunges and squats and a fair amount of kicking - the stairs this morning are not my friend.

We had someone coming to the house at 6.30 this morning to give us a price on getting our bathroom done so I set our alarm earlier so that we would be finished in the bathroom when he got there.  Then I spent a fair bit of the night checking the clock to make sure we hadn't overslept !!!!!  At about 4.20am the birds outside our window started chirping sweetly bloody screeching, then at about 5.15 they decided to go and annoy wake up some other poor unsuspecting soul and I dozed off until the alarm started beeping at me at 5.40am - man it is going to be a long day !!!!!!

I am off to meet the wonderfully talented Sass tomorrow who is designing a website for me - I am soooooooooo excited !!!!  Can't wait to see what she has done.

Tonight I am off for another run - hoping to have my tracker thingie working so that I can at least track how far and how fast I am running - I know that it isn't about the time but I love to know what time I am doing and whether or not I have improved on previous runs or not.  And then of course there is the 3rd place play off that I am not sure we deserve to be in but we are so will have to wait and see what they can pull out in the game tonight - surely they can't be any worse than the last two games they have played ?

On Sunday we will try to get around to look at bathroom things - shower doors, toilets, vanities and the like to see whether or not we can afford to do the renovation - and then work out how much of it we can do ourselves to save some money for Canada !!!!  In the evening it will be settle in time to watch RWC final - GO NEW ZEALAND !!!!!!

What are your plans for the weekend ?  Anything exciting ?

Love, hugs and positive energy !

Clarity of Sight

When you listen to your heart, you will clearly

 see how you need to live your life.

Focus on your life and how you wish to live it

as it is the only one you have.

Live it fully and lovingly.

Universal Symbols by Ken Dowling



A Run and A Loss


As my update to the post from yesterday said - I did get out running.  A landed up getting home from work at about 7.30 - long after I had run and got home and bathed and got into my jarmies !!!!

I had a great run - my tracker thingie didn't work which annoyed me no end but a rough estimate of the distance based on my Nike tracker thing that shows when I have run a similar route before said 3.4km and I did it in about 21.5 mins so I was happy with that.  I did feel good during the run and only walked about 8 short telephone poles and across two roads - and kept on pushing forward with "Just to the next empty lot" and "Just to the next intersection" plus I was using K's iPod so that was good because I tend to run a bit faster when the music speeds up.  I really should get a whole bunch of good 'running to' songs so that I don't get caught on 'shuffle' with some slow songs !!!!  Anyway, it felt good to be running again - tracker thingie or not - and tomorrow night I am going to be out there again.  Tonight I will run the short loop before going to training but I never time that run.

A loss today on the scales of 0.9kgs which I am really happy with (although I would DEARLY love it to be more !!!).  On the up side, the loss meant that I didn't stop at the bakery to get a date scone for morning tea which I had seriously considered doing if there was a gain there this morning as there didn't deserve to be a gain (fat dumb arsed idea I know).  In m yhead I I know that this does not serve the purpose of losing weight by eating extra when I gain, but that is how my mind works sometimes and that is one of the things that I am working on changing - sometimes it is slow going and a case of 1 step forward and 5 steps back.  Today I didn't have to test out my resolve - the loss was motivation enough to keep me driving straight past the bakery and on to work.  1.6kgs to go until I am a 70's girl again - I would love to do that by the end of November and then my goal will be to still be a 70's girl after Christmas and the silly festive season.

Have the best day ever !

Love, hugs and positive energy.

TFTD : You do not know the weight of this self you are carrying until you put it down - Zen

Hump Day



These are the shoes I am going to wear when I go running tonight - with my tracker thingie in so I can see just how well (or not) I did.  There is sure to be more walking than when I stopped running - but that is what happens when you get lazy stop running.  And I am OK with that (I think !!)

First I need to stop in and see my Mom who is not well and just make sure that they have everything they need - then home, get changed and get out there.  Actually, if A is home I might just go walking with him (he has a dodgy knee due to breaking his leg 2 weeks before we got married and can't run on the road) - we have spent very little time together lately due to the long hours that he has been working.  We need to stay connected otherwise everything else will turn to poo !

I have lots going on in my head at the moment but the blog I wanted to post was so 'all over the place', I doubt anyone could have followed what I was saying in it so need to find some quiet time to get it into some semblance of order / logic.

Have a wonderful Wednesday !

Love, hugs and positive energy.

TFTD : When obligations overshadow inspiration, our priorities have become inverted - Alan Cohen

Update : A just called he is on his way home from Brisbane so I will pop in and see my Mom and then go walking with him rather than running by myself - my tracker thingie can have another night off !!!!  Does this count as piking on my run ??????

Another Update : Thanks Hippygal - although in the end A got stuck behind the accident on Captain Cook bridge and so still isn't home (6.15pm).  I got home and decided to go for a run only my tracker thingie didn't bloody work did it !!!!  So annoyed as if I am going to run I LOVE to know what my time is which is the reason I have taken so long to get back into running - I have been scared of what it would be !!!!  Anyway, a rough time was 21.5mins for 3.4kms based on the distance of previous runs on the same route.  My right calf gave me a little bit of jook so am going to have a nice bath now - read for a while and then sit with my leg up on ice and hopefully get a heap of knitting out the way so I can start on my blankets again.

Have a fantastic evening everyone !

I Got Out Walking !

Yesterday I got home from work and the last thing I felt like doing was going for a walk but it was a new week and I knew that if I didn’t get changed and get out there, it would be another week before I did as the excuses would just keep coming for the rest of this week.  So, I got home, got changed and got out there.

 

I wore my walking shoes (as opposed to my running shoes with the tracker thingie in them) and I didn’t wear my Nike watch with the tracker thingie in it because I didn’t think I would run – at all – but once I was warmed up from walking I thought to myself “I can run to that lamp post” – and I did – and then I ran to the next lamp post and before I knew it I was running for half the road and walking half the road.  And it felt good.  It felt good to be doing something that I knew was good for me, that I didn’t want to do but that I got out and did anyway.  I did feel a twinge in my right calf when I was nearing home so sat with it on ice for the evening and it seems to be fine this morning.  As I was only expecting to walk, I hadn’t stretched, and I think that probably didn’t help when I started to run.

This morning my TFTD was “Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain” and that was so apt for me last night – and for previous weeks – I haven’t got out there to run because I have been scared that my times would be too bad compared to what they were like when I stopped running.  I didn’t want to feel like a failure if I got out there and found that I couldn’t run – even for one lamp post.  I didn’t want to feel like a failure if I got out there and there found that I couldn’t run - at all.  That fear was all for nothing because, after not running for 5 or 6 weeks, I could still run and I had put it off for so long because I was scared of failing.  Now I have wasted those 5-6 weeks when I could have been running because I was too scared to try BUT the good thing is that I have tried and I have conquered that fear.  So, I have diarised to go running 3 nights per week, which, together with our training 2 nights per week, means that I will be exercising 5 nights a week and if I feel like doing something on the weekend, I will have extra exercise for that week.  I do believe that if I can get into this habit, and continue to make good food choices, I will get to goal.  I need to be patient and not expect to lose 15kgs in 3 weeks – as much as I would love to lose it that quickly, I know that I won’t.  My goal is to lose 500g per week with maybe a bit more in some weeks.  If I can accomplish this, I will get to my goal of 65kg in 34 weeks – enough time for me to try to lose a few more kilos before we go on holiday.

Have the best Tuesday ever !

JOURNEY WITHIN

The answers to all your questions lie within you.

Spend some time with yourself and listen to

the wisdom of your intuition.

You are your own guide and master.

From Universal Symbols by Ken Dowling



Changed my Dates

so now my post for Sunny Sunday and Miserable Monday won't say Saturday and Sunday respectively !!  It's amazing the difference having the right time zone loaded can make.

Have a great afternoon !  Love, hugs and positive energy !

PS - I have found heaps of new blogs to follow - YAY !!!

Not So Sunny Monday ....... Actually Bloody Miserable Monday !

This is what the world looks like when I look out of my window at work - man I wish I was at home under the blanket in the lounge room !!

Yesterday I made great food choices and I was so pleased when I went to bed last night knowing that I had done the best that I could with the choices that were available.  L&E meal instead of chicken fajitas (and these would have to be one of my favourite meals but the sour cream, avo and cheese really don't make it a good choice) and fresh strawberries sans dollop cream instead of chocolate mud cake with dollop cream !  The only thing that would have made yesterday a better day was if I had done some exercise - but I didn't and yesterday is gone and I can't go back and change it !!!!!

Have a great week wherever in the world you are and whatever you are doing !

Love, hugs and positive energy.

TFTD : The future belongs to those who adapt to change - Charles Darwin

Sunny Sunday !

We have the most beautiful weather here today - totally unexpected after the weather we had yesterday.

I have a line full of washing and at least another two loads to get done so as soon as the first lot is dry I can bring it in and put the next load out.  Hopefully by the end of today the washing will all be up to date.

For lunch today I had banana on a roll - it was delicious.  It would have to be maybe a year or two since I bought bananas because I refuse to pay $7 upwards for them.  Last week I found some at a fruit and veg store near where I work for $3.99/kg together with 2 x 500g punnets of strawberries for $4.00.  We had the strawberries with cream on Friday night for dessert when we had friends over for dinner and they were fantastic.  There were a few left which I am going to have this afternoon for my snack.

K has taken her car to get the backseat and carpet shampooed.  We went out this morning but people were quoting $100 to do it and that is just ridiculous.  Then we went and got groceries for tonight and a couple of other things so the car was probably closed for about 45 mins or so - well when we got back in I was dry retching - the smell was just awful - so we quickly got going and I rode the whole way home with my head out the window - I was very pleased to get out the car when we got home and so grateful we only stay 2kms down the road from the local shopping centre !!!!

Have a fantastic Sunday and take care.

BE IN THE MOMENT

Be present in the here and now, right now.

This is the only moment you ever have, so live it.

Be in each moment to receive its learning

to find your way back to your true self.

The past and future do not exist, only the now does.

Healing Cards by Ken Dowling

The Universe is Laughing .............. at Me !

You know how you are going along sometimes thinking that things are going really well for you and your family - I have a relatively well paid job with reasonable stress levels to cope with, A has a permanent job which is good although he does land up having to work too much overtime, K is a happy and well adjusted young adult - and then I have a morning like I did today and I think that the universe is laughing at me - having a joke at my expense - just like this picture says :
(Sorry the pic is a bit big but I can't make it smaller and it says exactly what I think !!)

Last night I eventually switched my light off at about 3.45am.  At 6am I was rudely awakened with a telephone call (that A never heard) from one of his work colleagues.  Needless to say he was not a popular man - if I could have squeezed through the phone and throttled him I would have.  Well by the time I had got out of bed, run down the passage, through the diningroom and into the kitchen to get the phone, the call had gone to voicemail.  Outside it was absolutely bucketing down and I lay in bed - awake - unable to go back to sleep.  Geez I was annoyed.

I had about 5 or 6 loads of washing to do which I couldn't get done because of the weather.  So I got up to find that the dishwasher had broken and the dishes from dinner last night had not been done.  I washed all the dishes and left them to drip dry.  Then found that my husband, who is normally really good around the house, has taken to opening cupboards and leaving them open - why, I have absolutely no idea, but after closing the cupboard in the bedroom, then the door for the cups, then the door for the coffee and then closing the bin lid - I lost the plot a little with him before he went off to work.

Then I went to get onto the internet only to find that the computer wasn't working and then when I got it working, the internet connection was down.  It was at this point that I stopped what I was doing and started to laugh to myself.  Clearly there is some karma which was coming back to bite me on the butt !!!!!  But it was all good.  I called one of my best friends and made arrangements to meet up with her at Robina as I was going there to pick up a couple of things and catch up with K who was baby sitting down that side of town the whole day.

Whenever I think I am having a bad time, meeting up with this friend is enough to remind me of how much I have to be grateful for !!!  She has two daughters - 5 yrs and 18 months - and she has a husband who is as good as another child !!!  No matter when we get together we always have heaps of laughs - well normally I have more laughs than she does but we always have a great time and I leave her, more grateful for the life that I have when I compare myself to her lot in life !!!!

I bought a short sleeved top that I can wear over my sleeveless tops (I am now at the age where I don't like my arms in sleeveless tops !!) and a file to keep all our holiday preparation stuff together, a new notebook to put next to my bed for the things I wake up in the middle of the night thinking "I must remember to do xyz tomorrow" because that way I don't have to lie awake trying to make sure I remember what I need to do.

Finally I managed to find some pretty writing paper - seems like because nobody writes letters with a pen anymore, not many stores sell writing paper - all I was able to find until today has been exam pads.  Now that I have my fountain pen (I have a 'thing' for nice pens) I wanted to write real letters to my two aunts in South Africa rather than sending them e-mails but didn't want to use horrible lined white / blue paper.  On my way home I stopped off to find out about getting K's back seat and carpet shampooed - am sure the price of $60 they quoted was incorrect so she can take her car there tomorrow for them to see that it isn't really that bad as she did a great job of getting rid of the 'bits' and it is just the smell that is lingering.

After that I popped in to see my folks.  Dad was lying down but got up when he heard me arrive and we sat chatting and laughing for a while.  Then I came home and wrote my letters - jeepers, think I might have to go and practice writing again !!!!!!!  I am definitely not used to writing for that period of time so there was very little consistency in my writing.

Not too long after I got home, the black clouds came over and we had the most almighty storm - thunder, lightening, some hail and heaps of rain - bucketing down.  K called to say that she was going to wait the storm out at Robina shopping centre where she was.  A called to say that he was going to wait out the storm at Pacific Fair where he was - and I sat the storm out at home !!!!  The dogs are not afraid of the storm but their ears prick up with every clap of thunder.  Eventually it passed and then K came home and A was on his way home when he turned around and went back to try to get the call testing finished but he couldn't download the scripts so landed up coming home anyway.

C had called just as K got home to ask when the rugby was on and I said for him to come over for dinner and watch the rugby here - so he did.  We had recorded the game and so when A got home we sat and watched.  Then ordered pizza for dinner and then watched the rest of the game.  K is totally upset because Wales lost but really, they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory - all they had to do was get one of the missed kicks in and they would have won. Oh well - I hope we play better tomorrow than we did against SA otherwise we are in for a thrashing of note.  Surely we couldn't play that badly two weeks in a row ???????????

Tomorrow I have to do all the washing if the weather is good - actually I may have to do it even if the weather isn't good and just have it around the house with fans on drying it out.  K isn't working tomorrow (not sure why last night I thought she was working) so will try to get her car sorted out.

Am off to watch game 5 of the Brewers / Cardinals game even though we know who won - will be interesting to see who makes it through to the World Series.

Have a great Sunday and take care.

Love, hugs and positive energy !

I HATE Inconsiderate People !

This is what I feel like doing to someone !

My Mom always told me that hate was a very strong word and that I shouldn't use it - sorry Mom, tonight I am using it !!!!  About 6 months ago, K was the designated driver when she went out with some friends and, on the way home, despite her pulling over to the side of the road, one girl was so wasted she missed throwing up outside and threw up inside her car.  This was the car that she had bought about 6 months before she got her licence and, despite the car being older than her, she was upset over the incident.  The girl did not offer to clean the car nor did she pay towards having the car cleaned - pretty much didn't care about what she had done to someone else's property.  K got home and cleaned it up herself with only some verbal support from me because, unfortunately(or fortunately in some instances) if I get a whiff of vomit or anything with an 'off'' smell, I will throw up as well.  K said that that was the last time she was going to give a lift to someone who was wasted.

Today she went to the wedding of a work colleague.  Once again she was the designated driver and once again someone threw up in her car.  The difference is that this is a new car that she bought two weeks ago.  A 2007 Kia Rio that was in mint condition.  The girl who threw up apparently had only had 3 or 4 drinks over a 10 hr period.  She did stop at a servo and the girl did try to clean it up a bit but I am not sure whether she made it better or worse.  She did also give K $100 to get the car cleaned but as K is working the weekend, she doesn't know when she will be able to get it done.  So when the car is closed up and parked out in the sun at work - how bad is the smell going to get ? 

I wanted to go and get the girl and make her sleep in the car with the smell but that would probably make her repeat what she did earlier.  I wanted to tell K to never give a lift to someone who had been drinking but what would be the point ?   What 19 year old listens to their Mom tell them that they shouldn't give a lift to someone who has been drinking ?  I wanted her to come to that conclusion by herself. And she did !  On one of her forays into the kitchen to empty the water that she had in the bucket and get some more clean water, she stood in the doorway and said "That's it.  I am not going to give anyone a lift home from a function / going out for the night.  I will give them a lift there but they will have to find their own way home.  I don't care if they have to catch a taxi. What I am cleaning up is just disgusting and I am not going to do this again."  YAY for her coming to that realisation by herself.

Is it just generation who don't give a rats about things that don't belong to them ?  Why are they so inconsiderate ?  What gives them the right to behave like this ?  She didn't say how upset she was about this incident but when she was finished cleaning it as best she could, she went and washed her hands, took her contacts out and then came and cuddled up next to me on the couch - it has been a while since she did that and gives me a good indication of how much this upset her.  Her new car pretty much defaced.  She has gone to bed and I am off to give her a cuddle before hitting my bed - will I be able to sleep tonight - probably not because I am stewing over this.  I know that this is not my issue and that there is nothing I can do about it - but I will stew on it at least until tomorrow or Sunday and then I will be fine.  Needless to say this isn't going to do my sleeping habits any good.  For about 20 years I have slept approxiamtely 3- 5 hrs per night - not always because of a little child, not because of a sick husband, not because I was sick - but because, for 8 years we worked two jobs, the second of which we finished working between midnight and 1am 4-5 nights per week and because I cannot switch my mind off.  Most nights it is like I am on an old fashioned record and just keep going around and around - not worrying about anything, just an active mind. So even on the nights we didn't work, we never went to bed before midnight anyway.   Since quitting our second jobs, I have been trying to get to bed to sleep by 10 - 10.30pm - unless K is out, then we generally stay up until she gets home, unless I cannot keep my eyes open in which case she wakes A up when she gets home and then if I wake during the night I nudge him to find out if she is home yet (he sleeps at the drop of a hat so no trouble to him if she wakes him up - in fact he can fall asleep in the middle of talking to me - so annoying when I can't sleep !!!).  Maybe tonight I will take my eReader to bed with me - I am not supposed to read in bed because apparently my body has to learn that my bed is for sleeping and making love - not reading !!!!!!  I don't know if I can turn off my mind tonight so maybe I will read and see what happens.

A has to work the whole weekend so maybe I could take her to work and then take the car and get it cleaned.  I have a huge pile of laundry to do and I have shopping to do - what I do will depend on the weather and, more importantly, on what I feel like doing !!  Maybe I will spend some time reading because now that I don't read in bed, I hardly seem to read at all and I really miss it - I love reading and would normally read about 3-5 books per week - when you read for 2-3 hrs per night, it isn't that hard to get through so many !!!!

Have a fantastic weekend everyone.

Love, hugs and positive energy !

TGIF !

is all I can say for now !

I said ................. No Thank You .................

to Baskin and Robbins ice-cream last night - man it was difficult !  K and C went out for ice-cream last night and offered to bring some back for us and I managed to say no thank you - I was very proud of myself I have to say !  While I am not an ice-cream fan, I cannot resist B&R ice-cream - it is the best.  Worse luck for us when they opened a shop just 3kms down the road from us - and stay open until 9 or 10pm during summer.  Oh well, if I went very occasionally and only had one scoop ............ but how do I make a choice of only one flavour when they have soooooooooo many to choose from ?

For last night I said no and that is the main thing - go me !!!!

Have the best Friday ever and a fantastic weekend.  I think I might be alone this weekend again as A is sure that he is going to have to work but that is OK because I have a couple of things I need to get done plus I can do some sitting in the sun with my eReader if the weather is good - or sitting on the couch with my eReader if the weather is lousy.

TFTD : There is no education like adversity - Benjamin Disraeli

Training tonight

This is some of what we did tonight - amongst other things - before he let us go home !!!!

Now I am sitting down to watch The Big Bang Theory and then I am off for a lovely soak in the bath with my eReader - listening to the rain pouring outside.  I love the awning that we put up a couple of weeks ago outside our bedroom window - now we can leave our windows open all the time without worrying about the rain coming onto the blinds.

Have a great evening and the best Friday possible !

Happy Thursday !

I jumped on the scale this morning - not sure of what to expect given my slight indulgence (OK, maybe not so quite slight indulgence when it came to the Amarula !) over the weekend, to find that the scales had dropped 0.6kg.  While not as much as I would like - certainly better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick or even worse - a gain !!!!  So this is how I am feeling today !

Have the best Thursday possible !

TFTD : No one has a finer command of language than the person who keeps his mouth shut - Sam Rayburn

My Dear Friends Kathy, Reg and Not Forgetting Indigo

Finally I have found the photos of when A and I met Kathy, Reg and Indigo - in the flesh - down at Murwullimbah.  I had been friends with Kathy for quite a long time but we had never managed to meet up.  How lovely it was to hear that they were going be only 1.5-2 hrs drive away.  We drove down on Friday afternoon and stayed for dinner and had such a great time - I was really sad when it was time to leave to come home.  The time that we were there just flew by - Kathy is such a great story teller and I just loved listening to her talking about her family.  If you ever get a chance to catch up with Kathy, Reg and Indigo - be sure to take it because you better believe that if another opportunity presents itself for me to spend time with them, I will be grabbing it with both hands !

Take care and have a great evening !

Training

I would like to say that this a picture of me but I would be telling a big porky because I don't look anything like this.  I would love to be this toned, even if my butt was a bit big.  I would love to have a stomach like she has but the reality is that I don't - I have my bits and pieces that are not necessarily where bits and pieces should be but they are mine and I am working on getting rid of them, all be it slower than I would like.  One day .................. I will get there.

Now to get off my butt tonight and get walking until I can build up the stamina to get running again. (But only after my 6pm reflexology client !!!)

TFTD : Don't judge each day by the harvest that you reap, but by the seeds that you plant - Robert Louis Stevenson

PS - looking forward to my next weigh in tomorrow - whatever it may bring !

I Survived Another Training Session on My Own

I have to admit that there were times when I wondered if I would survive -  I did, and I feel great for having gone and put in the hard work.  I am sure to see the results in the end.  I have to be honest and say that I did feel a bit like this when I was finished !!!!

I have just bought the next Richelle Mead book in the Vampire Academy series so I am off to have a lovely soak in the bath and a good read.  My osteopath has recommended that due to my bad sleep habits, I no longer read in bed before going to sleep and it is killing me - I would read 2-3 hours a night in bed before switching the light off - now I get so little time to read because I am busy with other stuff. So I am going to really enjoy my soak in the bath with my book tonight.

Have a fantastic evening !