In response to Coco's comment:

What is a typical day exercising for you? I am so inspired by that. It's just awesome. You look SO toned and fit in that pic.

Firstly I have not been exercising at all lately, and I thought that if I put up my before and after shot that it will remind me how good I can look when I do work out. The first before shot was taken in Jan 06 and the after shot was taken in Oct 06 as part of the body blitz challenge. I reached goal in late June 06 but if I were to put up my photo it will show a slimmer but very untoned me and skin seemed to drupe more.

To never exercised that much at all, I believe I lost most of my weight using my elliptical for 30min 6 days a week. I then began with light weights 1.5kg (which I still use) and followed a simple program by Joyce Vedral. Someone mentioned her on CK and I found her book at the local library; THE 12 MINUTE TOTAL-BODY WORKOUT, which sounded perfect for me as I hate exercising for long periods of time. I worked upper body one day, lower body every other day and because I felt I needed it, ab's 6 days a week.

Jillian Micheals workouts are great as she uses weights in them.

These days (when I am exercising) I try and run on the treadmill - 30min @ 8km/h or the tried and true 30min on the elliptical. I like to do a lot of incidental exercise, walk the dog, ride my bike, use a manual mower and edger. I try and do sit-ups, pushups and squats/lunges. I try and do 10 of each between ad's on TV, I think this is what has helped me maintain. The man thinks this is very distracting so the days he is home I just do them all in one set.

How does you hubby deal with your new bod? I so often read that men don't like it once their partners get buff. How'd did yours react? Is it for better? or worse?

As for The Man, well at first he thought it was just another diet, but then I actually lost more then I had ever in the past. He wasn't impressed with my loss of bust but he had no choice unless he wants to get me fake ones and has gotton used to what they are.

He is a very paranoid man in general and so the lost of my weight did not help at all. I don't notice anything, but when we go to the shops he claims that every man's eyes are on me. I asked him last night and he say's that makes him feel good that he is the one with the "hot chick" and they are not.

As I got to goal in winter, I don't think that he really noticed it all that much as the clothes I wear were jeans and baggy old jumpers. But come summer, I went out and bought all new clothes, tight fitting and clingy...his low self esteem went off then, he thought I was trying to attract other men, I heard on a daily basis that "your going to leave me for something better." He then went on his own diet and fitness routine, hitting the work gym and buying a treadmill.

It has settled now, it's almost 12 months (wow) but he still say's things hat annoy me, I can not compliment another man looks as he thinks I want "do them" but it gets to me that obviously I could attract someone now then in the past, surely I wasn't that horrid?

I have told him countless time I did this for me, not him, not the kids and certainly not for anyone else. I like the feeling of fitness and will hopefully try and stay as buff as I can manage for the rest of my days, he has to just learn to live with it, tough titties!

So I guess his reaction's to my loss of weight was worse then I imagined, but with every bad is a good...and he has worked out this: I'm fitter, have more energy, am more flexible and there has not be one complaint in the bedroom!

Whilst Blogger is working for me...

here are a few rings that I have made:

Still about

Well let's see how things go today. Just a simple post, no pictures as that is such a no goer at the moment.

Have been emailing blogger and it does seem to be some thing to do with my computer and even possibly my browser, so I'm using a new one called 'Camio' and see what it behaves like.

Not much goes on in my life, but I have beaded 2 more bracelets (When and if I can post pictures, I will) and purchased the latest publication of 'creative beader' and it has re-inforced my love that I can happily live in my bi-cone crystal world for a little longer. There is the most divine bracelet in it that I will make, just need to get a few more beads and I'm all set.

Edit Here is the bracelet I have been inspired to do from the magazine:


Decided that I have to start exercising again as everything is unwinding on me, I'm getting tired in the afternoons and wide awake late at night, can not fall alseep and when I finally do it's a fitful sleep and I awaken tired. So as soon as mum and dad head back home, I will start exercising again in the hopes to reverse all these negatives. Weight wise I have gained 2 kilo's, I accept this so am not angry about it, but the flat tummy is bulging out and needs work.

Thanks for all the comments guys, I shouldn't complain to much about Blogger as it allows me free speech and I have played with it a bit so that I can see the comments without having to go to a new page. All my links are messed up but will fix that soon.

Edit: Yeah ha! posted first go!

Another bracelet

I like this one, it's pretty. I have called it the "Gweniviere Bracelet"

My 2nd Bracelet

This is a eye pin to eye pin bracelet. It's very simple but can be jazzed up in the future which I intent to do but need my eye pins as I have run out.

Stop it!

Give me a break blogger, I have been battling with you for over 1 hour and nothing but crappy results.

Have you forgotten this is a secret blog, so that means I have limitation's on when I can post, yes they are my limitations, the ones I choose to make when I started this, knowing I could only post when the Man was not around, but seriously I do have better ways to spend my time.

Start working or I will blog else where, you have been warned.

Now some me time......

It's war blogger!

I'm so angry as I have tried to post several times here and nothing, either numerous lost blogs or stupid error messages! Hmm I notice that a little pop up tells me that it is going to save my drafts - about bleeding time!

So what have you missed?

I beaded my first bracelet!



Check out who is spying at me whilst I was taking a snapshot of my bracelet! Only noticed it when cropping the photo.

My parents are down visiting!

I have the appetite of an elephant and am happily feeding that appetite and slowly gaining weight, it's a quick path to self sabotage I must STOP or maybe I am just laying down my winter fat like animals do.

It's freezing and I can't feel my toes.

And happy birthday to my buddy Rainbow!

I feel Like an Arse

I truly do!

Here I am going on and on about me having to wait for my camera, when The Man bought his still as soon as he wanted, how it wasn't fair etc... I spent the day on the net researching all the camera's I was interested in, checking prices and quality and then The Man said, "I've had enough you, damn well can't give you a surprise at all," and handed me the camera that I've been wanting.

Oh I feel so bad, he must have got it during the week when he was working, he used his own cash, not his Old Man's money and that is the reason he said I wasn't to use the money as he already got it. I guess I really should have stopped nagging so that I could of had a surprise on Mother's Day, but I was surprised and now I can use it tomorrow!

Here is a photo of Little Man and one of Deaf Dog taken with my brand spanking new camera!

errr

I wrote a huge post and lost it completely.

Pissed off and couldn't bothered writing it all again, so here it was in point form:

* Spent Old Man cash on Vet costs as they were heaps more then I expected

* The Man said I could keep the rest of the money but it is not enough to cover the camera I want so I'm happy to wait.


* Bought new mobile phones that have a camera, Mp3 player and fully compatible with my mac (Whoo Hoo), these phones are on contract so no upfront cost and replace our old phones.

* Deaf Dog's surgery went well.

Money Sux

Money is truly the root of all evil. I wonder if rich people say that?

Today I was clearing the finances and although we have plenty for all the day to day things, we are broke when it comes to frivolous things such as the need for a new camera. But this afternoon The Man called from work and said that his Old Man had the cash he owed us from way back when, Whoo Hoo I thought and just assumed that The Man would spend it on me for Mother's Day and get me my new camera, but oh no I was smack down with the bat of harsh reality's and reminded that the electricity bill was more important.

Hmmm don't get me wrong, I agree that the bills are important, but this cash was lent months ago, we sort of gave up that we would ever see it's return and we living financially on that basis, so to me, this cash was a bonus and the electricity bill would have been paid in the same old ways as normal. When I shed this obviously very dim light on The Man, he said "don't start, you really shit me when you go on like this..."errrr

But why was it okay that he just up and went and bought a Still? Because he works and earns the cash? He says it's because it will be something with a by-product that we will use - arrr derrr - what is the by-product of the camera? Memories!

humf, just venting, I know I won't succeed but damn it, I would be letting every woman of the world down if I don't try and twist myself around his little finger, it is how we rule the world you know. Let men think they make all the decision when it's really us women who manipulate them in doing what we want.

So because there are no "major" event's happening in the near future, I have wait till before Big Man turn's 6 before I will have a new camera...so be it, I will have to bore you all with my old photo's.


This is me as a toddler, see, captured memories.

And thanks to you all for your comments, I love them, you make me feel like those nice quiet moments when life seems just right.

I need a star chart

I have had to resort to methods that I use on the kids to motivate me to exercise more. Since the school holidays began I just found that having 2 boys in the house meant that it was to much effort to find time for myself to exercise, and since the holidays have been over and we have returned from QLD this pattern of procrastination has continued.

So in a lame effort to move me, I have created a star/reward chart, just like the one I use for the kids when they were toilet trained and what I aim is to get a star for each time I do exercise. It has to be real exercise of a minimum 30min or 150 calorie burn. Yes 150 calorie burn doesn't seem a lot but these days it takes me 35 minutes of running at 8km/h on the treadmill to achieve that sort of burn. Oh I remember the good old days when I would burn 300cals in 20 minutes on the exercise bike, bring back those days with out the excess fat of course!

My eating is also heading out of control, but I know if I can start to exercise again it will come back into line as I'm never as hungry or do the bored eating thing as I'm busy and full of lovely exercise endorphins.

Hey Rainbow, thanks for the comment but I'm sure you have been where I have been one time in your life. With only one of working and it seems he is also the one doing the spending, we really shouldn't complain and just bite the bullet and sort it out, which we will, hopefully by tax time.

Deaf Dog is of to the vet's tomorrow to get desexed...lucky girl!

Boo Hoo

On Friday Big Little Man had to take in a family photo for "show and tell" and searching through over 1000 photo's for this year alone and I couldn't find one! The last family photo with all 4 of us was on Big Little Man's 3rd Birthday in 2004, Little Man was 6 months old with dummy in mouth and I was 30 kilo's overweight, The Man was unchanged...figures. But I was quite shocked that we didn't have a photo of all of us, we have lovely ones with just the boys and 1 parent, the boys alone, with friends but just us, NUP.

So last night we were heading to my nephews birthday and I had The Man, Big Little Man and Little Man dress up so we could take some nice family photo's and as my fate always plays my digital camera decides to break. I'm jinxed or what does this say about my family? Maybe we aren't meant to have family photo's....oooowwww

Slightly pissed off as we are broker then broke after coming back from our holiday and The Man went and bought a still - yet another hobby to his numerous list. Mothers Day is in a week but I doubt we will even be able to find the cash to buy a new camera, have to dig around the house for the 35mm.

Will report on my holiday soon, thankfully I downloaded all my photo's before the camera died.

Damn it I loved that stupid thing!