A Win !!!!

Stress about public liability insurance which has been paid, expires today but I don't have a certificate of currency which means I will get dropped off the health fund lists.  Dilemma - coke zero or chocolate - coke zero or chocolate - coke zero or chocolate - YAY COKE ZERO won !!!!!!

TGIF !

Thank goodness it is Friday is all I can say.  This weekend seems to have taken a month of Sundays to arrive !!!!!!

I have had a great day foodwise (although it is only midday !).  Work has been impossible.  First it took me about two hours to get the computers up and running and on line - the computer lady doesn't work on a Friday and, almost without fail, there are issues with the computers on a Friday.  Anyway, I felt really sorry because I woke her up when I called to find out what else I could do as what I had done hadn't worked.  Eventually we managed to sort it out so that was good.

Then it was my turn to work with the director as he put the blinds up around the office.  We have recently moved into brand new offices that had nothing in them so we have had the sun beating straight in the windows and onto us - man has it been hot some days.  Anyway, he doesn't measure anything and estimates where the brackets should go and then cracks a hissy when the blind won't fit between the brackets !!!!  Those took a while but eventually we managed to get all 4 up - what a difference it has made to the temperature of the office.  At least we got them in before summer arrived !!

Off to pick up my new bras today - in the right size - and the right fit !!!!! I am very excited about having undies that fit properly and do what they are supposed to do - if only I could win the Lotto and have a reduction done, I would be the happiest woman around.

This weekend A is working on Saturday so I think that, after my waxing appointment, I am going to get stuck into painting the bedroom - prodvided we can agree on what colour to paint it.  Well it is 1/4 done - the feature wall is done - the rest of the walls and the doors need to be done.  That is my task for this weekend - to be rewarded in some way other than food should I accomplish it !

Whatever you and doing and wherever you are, I hope you have a fantastic weekend.  I will be sure to let you know how the painting went (or didn't go !!!!).

These are the photos of what we did with the car that K bought from us and the key ring that she had said that she liked.

TFTD : There is nothing noble about being superior to some other person.  The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self - Hindustani proverb

A 100% Day

I am on my way to bed and I have had a 100% day food wise.  I didn't get to walk tonight because the weather was rather miserable but I did have a client so was busy doing remedial work for an hour which sort of made up (in a way) for not walking !!  Even though I didn't walk, I feel like I have made a positive start to my journey - finally !!!

Off to have a good sleep (I hope !)

It's Only A Number !

AND IT'S A NUMBER I NEVER WANT TO SEE AGAIN on my scales - 85.0kgs !!!!!!  How did I go from 69kgs to 85kgs in the space of about 15 months ????  That is just on a kilo per month and really not acceptable.  The slow creep happens and because I didn't do something about it when I hit 75kgs, it just kept on going.  Maybe keeping my 'big' clothes wasn't a good idea because as I grew, I just changed my clothes in the wardrobe.  On the other hand, if I had of gotten rid of them, I would probably have just said that I needed to go out and buy more !!!!!!!

This week my exercise has been good.  Walking on Monday, training on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I may walk tonight depending on the weather.  If I can continue to exercise at least 5/7 days per week I will be happy.  If it is more that will be good - if not I will try to do at least 5/7.

I started back on Lite & Easy today and I have to be honest and say that I am feeling much more in control of the food that I am eating because it is all packed, weighed, measured and waiting for me.  On one level I do feel like it is the cheaters way of losing weight but on another level I feel that if this is what works for me, surely that is more important than what other people think about how I manage to lose the weight.  I find that the weekends are the biggest challenge for me but this time I want to try to stay focussed on why I want to lose the weight in the first place - SO THAT I DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AT HOLIDAY PHOTOS AND SEE ME LOOKING LIKE A HIPPO !!!!!  As long as I can keep that thought in place - and it is the thought that pops into my head BEFORE I put something in my mouth - hopefully I will get there.  When I work out how to change my template, I will put my starting weight, weekly loss and total loss on the side bar as a reminder of how far I have come (well not yet but from next week !!) and make sure that it keeps moving in the right direction - DOWN !!!!

A busy couple of days are coming up at work but that is OK because sometimes it is easier not to think about food when I am busy.  The evenings are a little harder now that we not longer pack at Coles because we do sit and watch TV and it is always nice to snack on something - well not really something - more like chocolates, jelly beans, biscuits etc.  Last night we went out to the Tavern for their second meal $5 deal and that was really nice - I didn't eat all the chips (they weren't that nice) but afterwards we did go to Basken and Robbins (fatal mistake) and have two scoops in a cup.  While I am not an ice-cream nut, I LOVE B&R ice-cream.  Needless to say I had a really uncomfortable night having eaten too much but that is OK for a last hooray until the weight starts to shift (except for next Wednesday night when we are going down to The Boat Shed for a dinner we booked about 3 weeks ago !!!) - will just have to do the best that I can when we are there and maybe try to get in an extra exercise session that week.

TFTD :  Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today - James Dean

I Did It !

Thanks to blogging that I was going to walk no matter what, I had to !!!!  Landed up having to pick up A from work and then stopped to get groceries before getting home at about 5.45.  Then had chatted to K and went to the bedroom to get changed to go walking when a neighbour popped over so landed up talking to him until about 6.30pm.  I have to be honest, I was really tempted to just go out to dinner and not walk but remembered what I had blogged and so said to Al that even if we wanted to go out to dinner, I HAD to walk first.

While he was saying goodbye to the neighbour at the gate, I got changed and he came in saying how chilly the wind was and we would need jackets if we were going to walk.  I was already changed and had my jacket so off we went - only 40 mins - and man was the wind chilly.  But, I felt so good when I got home because it would have been so much easier to just hop on the couch and not do anything.  I am hoping that if I can get my exercise happening and my food happening, the weight loss will start to happen - at least that is what I am working on !!!!!

Today I placed our Lite and Easy order for the week so that will come tomorrow and Thursday I will be really back on track with my eating and if I can keep blogging about the exercise that I want to do, it does sort of make me feel more compelled to do it !!

Have a terrific Tuesday !

TFTD : Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value - Albert Einstein

A Great Weekend !

Yesterday we had a great day.  Got up and cleaned the house doing lots of little extras along the way AND doing some decluttering / clearing out of tops and shoes.  Items I will never wear again whether I lost 10-20kgs or whether I put on 10-20kgs !!!!  For the life of me I couldn't think of why I kept them in the first place when I didn't like them or they way they fitted or didn't like how uncomfortable I felt when I wore them.  All gone into big plastic packets waiting to be dropped off at the Salvos.  Just because I don't like them doesn't mean that someone else won't love them - at least that is what I am hoping.

A and I went to the movies - at 1pm - on a Sunday.  I think that is the first time we have been to the movies during the day - for me, movies means night time and I don't recall us going to movies during the day before (we may have but obviously it didn't make a huge impression on me because I can't remember it !!!).  We saw Zookeeper (A's request) - it had some funny parts but don't dash out to watch it.

Got home and washed my car and then got the Kia ready as we have sold it to K and so backed it into the garage and 'wrapped' it with fabric to look like ribbon on a present (will post a photo once they are downloaded) with a big tulle and crystalline bow on the windscreen.  She got home from work after playing touch with her colleagues and opened the garage door and just had this huge smile on her face.  Here's wishing her happy and safe travels in her new car !!!!!

My weight this morning was up - not surprising seeing as I have been able to eat and it hasn't just been going straight through me.  Tonight I aim to go for a walk - don't want to shock my body in trying to go for a run after so many weeks of doing nothing !!!!!  Once I get home from work and doing the grocery shopping, I am going to get changed and get out there.  I will go even if I have to go by myself - I am not a fan of exercising by myself but I can no longer use that as an excuse to sit at home and not exercise !!!  So tomorrow when I post it will be tell you about the great walk that I had tonight.  (This is me making myself accountable through whatever means I can !!!!!)

Have a great day whatever you are doing and take care !

TFTD : A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.
"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."
"The Wise Woman's Stone"
Author Unknown

A Productive Day

YAY for having a productive day at home today.  Poor A - the first weekend that he isn't working and he has to work at home (well, it isn't as though he didn't know that he was going to be working at home !!!!) - we managed to get the awning finished which is GREAT !  This means that we can leave the bedroom windows open 24/7 365 days a year - I suppose sometimes in winter we might close them but at least in summer when we have all our rain, we can still have the windows open.  This is something we have wanted to do since we moved into the house 11 years ago - we just never had the money to do it before and it didn't cost us much because a guy who works with me made up the frame and helped A to fix it to the house and we just had to buy the awning stuff - so it was a really cheap way to get it done.  Why they build houses without eaves I have no idea (OK, I do have some idea - it is all to do with saving money but from a practical point of view it makes no sense at all - well I don't think anyway !!!)

Then had a look at the horrible home window tint job that was done on the same windows and decided that the tinting that was peeling off needed to be taken off completely - only to find that it split and half came off and half split and stayed on the window so called a glass place and got a quote for $70 to get the three pieces cut.  The guy said he would be home in an hour so we went around and picked it up.  Came home and fitted the two small windows.  Went to take the fixed pane out only to find that he had cut the fixed pane about 6-8mm too narrow.  Discussions between A and myself and he can't remember if he told the guy the measurement and then he adjusted it or A adjusted it and told him the adjusted measurement ANYWAY another call to him and another trip back and another $20 and we had a piece of glass that was the right size and got it in without any more trouble.

That started me on a window frame cleaning spree so I went around and gave all the window and door frames a really good clean while A went out and cut the grass.  K came home from work and was going to a party down in Burleigh and we offered to take her so have just got back from droppping her off there.

Tomorrow morning is cleaning morning.  A got a shop-a-docket for one free breakfast from Mustang Sally at Harbourtown so, if we can get the cleaning done quick smart in the morning, we will go there for breakfast.

My weight was down this morning although I suspect I still have some of the virus in me as not long after I have eaten I have this dreadful gurgling in my stomach and it all comes out again.  On the up side I feel so much better than I did last week - still a little tender in my stomach area but my kidneys were fine today.

Last night K and I ordered our new Pandora bracelets - can't wait for it to arrive so I can start to fill it up again although I think that this one is going to take a lot longer to fill than the last one did.  I am more particular about the charms that I want for this one so I will have to learn the art of being patient.

Happy Sunday for tomorrow everyone - I hope you all have a fantastic day !!!!!

I heard a great motto on the radio this afternoon when we were out collecting the glass and that is my TFTD today.

TFTD : Dream.  Believe.  Commit.  Achieve

Big Tick for Target

On the weekend I bought two pairs of pyjamas.  For many years I have slept in old T-shirts and knickers and I decided that I would spoil myself and get some pj's to wear to bed.  So I did.  In my size.  I got home and tried them on for the family only to find that there was a hole in the side of one of the tops.  K went and changed it for me the next day as she was going to the centre.

When she brought it home I had worn the other top for two nights - it had stretched slightly so I thought that I would take the second top back and change it for a smaller size.  Absolutely no trouble at all for them - which was good seeing as it still had the ticket on and I had my docket (there would have been a few fireworks if I hadn't been able to swop it.)

Then last night I was tossing and turning in bed as A took to snoring no matter how he was lying - side, back, stomach - drove me nuts enough to go and sleep in the loungeroom.  The couch is not as forgiving as my sheets are and I found that my top had stretched so much I spend more time 'popping out' the front and sleeves than I did in my top.  Lucky I was on the couch by myself - no doubt if I had been in bed someone else would have noticed me popping out and taken advantage of it - not that I would have minded !!!!!!

I got to thinking - when I buy something, am I being unreasonable expecting it not to stretch to the extent that my pj top has stretched.  So, thought I would take it back, with my docket, minus the ticket which went with the recycling, and see what they say.  (Now I sound like my Gran BUT ANYWAY), what a lovely young guy served me - absolutely no trouble at all to take it back.  He told me I had a couple of options - I could swop it for the same size, swop it for a smaller size or get my money back - no questions asked, no attitude, no funny face that I had already worn it and was now bringing it back - absolutely nothing negative in the least - just a pleasure to do business with.  So much so I am going to write to Target to tell them how happy I am shopping there EXCEPT for the fact that you have to pay 10c if you want a plastic bag when you buy anything.  Most times, if I forget to take a bag, I just carry whatever I buy. Last weekend K and I spent about $150 between us on underwear and she said "No way are we walking out of here carrying these undies without a bag.  I'll pay the 10c for the bag." - and she did and I have used it since then for my trips to and from Target !

YAY for shops that make you want to go back to them !

Have a fantastic weekend everyone and take care.

Go Broncos !

Good luck to the Broncos tonight - it will be a tough match against Sea Eagles, especially with Lockyer not playing !!

While I am not a Hawthorn fan, I am definitely not a Collingwood fan so "Go Hawthorn" tonight and of course, "Go Geelong" tomorrow.

On another note completely - it sounds like I might have my husband at home ....... the whole weekend - woooohoooooo !!!!!

Have a good one whatever you are doing !

Food Poisoning vs Unknown Virus

Tuesday night saw the three of us go to Charlie’s Pizzeria in Frank St using one of the Deals.com / Living Social / whatever vouchers – they have great food there and I had a Fettuccine Princess (fettuccine pasta with chicken an avo) – it was delicious although I did send a fair bit of it back as it was just too much for me.  Then, because we were feeling a little extravagant we had dessert – A and I shared (well, not exactly shared) a chocolate pizza (which was absolutely scrumptious and I ate ¾ of it) and a tiramisu which I didn’t like so A sort of volunteered to have all of that bar the one mouthful that I had which made me realize that I didn’t really like their tiramisu recipe !!!!  Got home and watched some TV (man I love not packing shelves anymore and being able to go out for dinner during the week and not have to dash to get home and get off to work).

Went to bed and then spent the night up and down to the toilet and clutching my stomach because of cramps and generally feeling green around the gills.  Worst part was I had to do my first aid refresher course the next day so went there feeling decidedly queasy with my bottle of water.  Managed to make it through the day but then started with a headache.  Got home and crawled into bed and stayed there until yesterday morning when I woke up with my kidneys aching.  That was when I thought that maybe what I had wasn’t food poisoning but rather a virus I had picked up somewhere.

Made it through the day yesterday and again made it home only to crawl into bed and sleep for a couple of hours.  I am still not feeling quite myself but am hoping that by the time the weekend gets here tomorrow I will be back to my normal self.  A is not working tomorrow (well not working where he will get paid) but man does he have a lot to do at home !!!!!!  I am sure that he will be working on Sunday so will have the day to myself again.

Needless to say my food and exercise have slipped for another week – not sure what the scales are doing because I had nothing to eat on Wednesday and only dry biscuits and real coke since then.  The smell of food is enough to turn my stomach still.  Al sat next to me last night eating his dinner and man it was hard not to get up and go back to the bedroom.

Here’s to a better week next week – one where I am focused on eating healthily and getting my exercise back to where it was a few weeks ago before it all turned to mush !

TFTD : Relationships were not created to foster pain.  The only purpose of relationships is to deepen in love. - Alan Cohen

Frustration !

Where do I begin ?  My head is not in the right place and, while I thought that I was getting there (or maybe I just thought I could fool myself that I was getting there), I really am not getting there at all.  I have all this time on my hands and all I want to do is read and crochet blankets for the homeless !!!!  This is not conducive to losing weight or getting fit.

To top it off, we purchased a bunch of vouchers for specials on meals and they are about to expire over the next couple of weeks and so if we don't use them we will lose them which would be a real waste of money so tonight we are going to Charlie's in Frank St - the best Italian restaurant we have been to in ages.  We bought a voucher for there and had such a good time then next time they had a special we bought another voucher !!!  We have dinner booked down at The Boatshed at Currumbin in a couple of weeks time and I have another two vouchers that I haven't even booked yet - how on earth do I get my head in the right place when I know I have all these dinners coming up ???? 

Still no news on the work trip for A to Armidale.  Apparently the company they are subbing to seems to have lost a $6m carbon fibre tower - go figure how that happens.  Anyway, a whole bunch of Americans came out to supervise the installation of the tower only to get here and find out that the tower didn't make it all the way across the sea but nobody actually knows where it is.  Good work boys !  I don't know if him going to Armidale will make it easier or harder for me to eat properly - will I eat more junk because I miss him or will I eat more healthily because I won't have to cook each night ?  I am thinking more than likely the former !!!!  BUGGER - would have been so much nicer if I could have even thought for a while that it would be the latter.  Oh well - no point in blogging if I am going to tell porkies.

On that note I am off to swop one of the pj tops that I bought on Sunday for a smaller size - not because I have lost any weight but because the other one which I have worn for two nights, has stretched so I am sure if I get the smaller size it will also stretch and be OK.

Have a great evening !

TFTD : Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out into the ocean - Christopher Reeve

Really Tired

I am feeling really tired at the moment - don't know if it is an accumulation of lack of sleep or the 3pm slump that I have.

Now the question is - do I run/walk tonight or do I go home and have a sleep ?

Have a great day !

TFTD :  There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt - Erma Bombeck

A Great Weekend

Sometimes I feel I just have to do what I have to do even when I know that it isn't helpful to my weight loss and healthy life style - this weekend was one of those times !!!

On Friday night we went to see Johnny English at the Gold Class Lounge.  We had a great evening.  Complimentary popcorn and soft drink are included in the ticket - it was easy not to eat much of the popcorn as it tasted like it had been made in the morning !!!  I ordered chicken wrap and chips - they were really good and I thoroughly enjoyed eating every one of the chips as I ate them.  Then, we had had such a great time we finished it off with an ice-cream from Baskin & Robbins !!!! 

Saturday morning saw A go off to work and K and I hit the shops to shop of undies Gok Wan style.  For those who haven't heard of Gok Wan, he does a show called How To Look Good Naked - and is just the best to watch (probably the only reality show that I think is worth watching).  We went to a specialist bra shop and got fitted - neither of us were wearing the right size bra.  Now that I have the correct fitting bra - man, how much more comfortable it is !!!!!

We had my folks over for dinner on Saturday night and watched the rugby - abysmal performance by Australia in the rugby. 

This morning we went to breakfast at Mustang Sally at Harbourtown.  K and I had banana pancakes and A had a big brekky - all really enjoyed it.  Then A went off to work and K went off to work and I went off shopping !!!!   Found a really lovely bag at Fossil but at $199 had to leave it in the store !!!  Then off to Target and got 4 tops - all marked down by 20% and then I got a further 10% staff discount because even though Coles have discontinued my discount card, Target don't appear to have been advised !!!!  I also bought two pairs of pj's given I have been sleeping in old T-shirts for I don't know how long and, as a ardent follower of GW, I am positive he would insist on pj's that were pretty and matched !!!

Tomorrow morning I plan to step on the scale and face the number.  I still have to decide what plan of attack I am going to use to get rid of these kilos but with a few things on this week, I am not planning on starting anything seriously - just going to try to make better choices more than I make poor choices.  If I can start with some small changes, maybe the bigger changes will be easier to make.

Have a fantastic week everyone !

TFTD : "No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings!" - William Blake

And I Begin Again !

I don't know how many times I have started this journey - too many to recall.  This is the first post in a blog which I hope will see me achieve a healthy weight range for my body and become fitter and more energetic as I approach my 50th birthday in a couple of years time.  (Wow that is a scary sentence to read - it seems like only a few years ago I was celebrating my 21st !!!)

I did so well with my weight loss last year managing to get down into the 60's again - sadly the weight wasn't to stay off and the 5 kgs that I always said if I put on would be the trigger to lose them and not put on more, weren't the trigger they were meant to be and so the 24.5 kgs that I lost turned into only 8kgs lost and while I have recently lost another 6kgs, those 6kgs (well I am assuming that is how much it is because I am in denial and can't face the scales) seem to have found their way back onto my butt, legs and stomach - NOT WHAT I WANTED THEM TO DO  !!!!  But, that is how it goes sometimes, isn't it ?

I would like to say that from today I am going to watch everything that I put into my mouth but that would be a big porky because tonight we are off to the Gold Class lounge to see Johnny English, tomorrow we are having people over for A's birthday which is on Sunday, and on Sunday we are going out for breakfast and then for dinner - so I reckon that if I haven't put the whole 6kgs on yet, come the end of the weekend, I probably will have.  That is OK - because I am going to tackle this no matter how much it is.  I don't want to look like a big porky pig when I look at the photos of our holiday and then think "Sh*t, I should have made the effort."

I know that with blogging I feel that I have a forum where I am accountable and it does sometimes stop me putting that chocolate, or biscuit, or packet of chips in my gob and hopefully I will reap the rewards when I look at the photos of our holiday and be proud of what I have achieved.