Merry Christmas

Sorry I haven't been around, but here is a little photo update:

I kick butt on the Wii!


We finally went camping:


East Beach Kiama (New South Wales South Coast):


Little Man turns 5:


Little Man & I Graduates from playgroup:


Little Man Graduates from Pre-school:


Little Man can dive!:




I see now it's seems to be all about Little Man, but it sort of has been his month!

Sorry Carlton

Camping

For the entire month of November I have been planning a camping trip, it is to be our first camping holiday as I think this is the sort of holiday I know I would love and that the kids will too, but the forces that be have made in pour down with rain each and every weekend.

Anyway each weekend I go over our camp supplies to make sure that we have everything we need (just in case the sun decides to shine for us one day soon), so today I was reading a few camping sites and downloaded a checklist from a renowned Australian camping store.

I love being Australian, only we would think it appropriate to have alcohol on a "Weekend camping checklist For camping holidays of one to three days"

Blog Gender Analyzer

I thought it would be interesting to follow a link on Scooters blog to find out if my blog shows my gender, well it doesn't... err I am more male then I ever imagined (67%)! Do I really blog like a man? maybe it's the black?



Give it a go yourself: Genderanalyzer.com

Baking again

It seriously not helping my waist line but I just love doing it!


This mini Pavlova I made for myself 4 day's after my birthday. I waited and waited for my family to buy or bake me a cake but it never happened, so I made my favorite dessert, popped a candle in and sang the birthday song to myself (thus the reason I'm not in the photo!)... The Man owes me big time next year!


Some light strawberry tartlets.



And super sweet mini Banoffee pie's.

I like baking mini's as they look so cute and there isn't as much mental guilt... so I tell myself!

Into the next bracket

You know how on surveys and forms they ask you what age group our in? Well I have climbed into the 35-40yr, yep today I'm 35!

It's a good gift year this year, I'm rather impressed!


Adorable summer dress


Colorado Olive Green Handbag


And the Wii Fit board

I'm all alone tonight, The Man is working, the kids are screaming and I feel rather old and looking it too, but hey... Happy Birthday to me!

Snot Faced watching Alvin

Today I dragged my good playgroup friend (which I shall call "snot face") to the local club to watch the free kids movie (kids included) and she, being her true new Zealand self suggested we get snot faced (thus her name) and we did!

I still don't really know what the movie is about but the bottle of wine - excellent!

I like snot face!

Pilgrim Flu attacks

During World Youth Day here in Sydney some pilgrims brought with them some horrid flu, we the general public were told it wasn't a threat - well my arse it wasn't a threat! My entire family has been struck down with it, coughing up little bits of lung, throwing up, aches, pains in places the flu shouldn't effect and a lethargy that is close to being classified as a zombie.

This horrid flu last for weeks and everyone I know who has got it has been struck down completely for a minimum of a week, then about 3 weeks of recovery, which is hardly recovery but a desperate grip to feel like a person again. Once again all my health plans went out the window and I think weight wise I am completely back to where I started before - huge muffin!

Good news though (other then I'm back blogging)

Supernatural has started again - I'm a very happy women!

Health Focus : Week 4 - SICK

OMG I am so sick, I have been hit with the plague! I swear this is not the flue but some horrible plague, I can't move, I can't concentrate, I can't sleep or breath properly... I feel like sludge!

The Man said he would make me some chicken soup (why do people think that this is some miracle cure for illness?) and by 7.30pm last night, seeing him sitting at his PC, I knew my soup was far from being ready... had to make the stupid stuff myself and I didn't even want soup!

The boy's are hit with the plague too, not as bad as mine as they are still thoroughly annoying.

So much for my health kick, just when I start getting back into it all...

Health Focus: Week 3

Hmm, thanks to Father's Day yesterday and numerous baking endeavors I completely blew all the good work that I had done in the prior week. I also feel that the early morning walks (Week 1) were working for me and as I didn't do any last week, I didn't get as good a workout.

Well, I shall continue with week 2 challenges, removing the hand weights whilst walking as I think that didn't do anything physically but make my arms feel long. I am going to low carb/low GI this week in an effort to reverse the carb overload of my weekend.

I was really hoping to shift some weight before the school friends get together, even just round off the muffin a bit, but oh well, it's either kick butt for the next 2 weeks or just accept the muffin for a little longer.

Happy "The Man" Day

Well we are flat broke at the moment, the last 2 days of torrential rain has penetrated our roof (again - but that is another story) and we have to repair it completely. At this point we both think that the best idea is to go for a full overhaul, get rid of all the tiles and replace it with colorbond, then we can be like those people in the ad's and get busted by our neighbors admiring our roof:


So, no cash mean's I bake. My dad will get a call and when he comes back to visit in October I shall bake him something delicious. Pop is going to get a tray of Sticky Date puddings and The Man gets his favorite Lemon Meringue pie.

And to all the dad's out there - Happy Fathers day too!

Blocks of weight and Plasma

Although a short week, I have decided to make Friday's my check-in/Weigh-in day, this way I can relax on the weekends and attempt to work off any damage throughout the rest of the week.

Now, I can gloat and admit I did lose 25 kilo's in the past but I have put on a few too many then I would have liked this year. It started at 2 extra at Christmas, then 2 more whilst on our very wet summer holidays, then another 2 to date (blaming winter, laziness and my faulty knee). So rather then talk about the kilo's I require to shift, I'm calling them blocks, such as that of the block of butter in my blog image. Now I was thinking about it last night and I'm calculating the blocks in this way based on my starting weight from Sept 1:


6.5 Blocks = Muffin
4.0 Blocks = Loose
2.0 Blocks = Good Looking
0.0 Blocks = Sexy
-3. Blocks = Too Hot

I'm excel stupid, but I'm sure I can work it out later and put a line chart with that chart to show where I am, but as of today I'm at the 4.5 block and still a "Muffin"

Damn it's hard work and why did I forget that it was hard work and get to this stage in the first place!

Okay enough on Blocks and onto Plasma. Today I donated plasma for the first time, since my first blood donation I have always donated whole blood but I wanted to give back to the community a little more and thought that plasma donations would be a nice way as I can now donate every 2 weeks (as they only take one part and not the whole blood, this is transfused back into me and thus the body does not require to make it again). I really enjoy donating, it's not all bells and whistles fun but something that makes me feel like a better human, because as they say, my blood could help save another.

Little Man gets a kiss

Heavy hand weights

Who would of guessed that 1.5kg hands weights would feel like a tonne after 5km! I don't think I will be doing that again or will drop down to my tiny .5 kg weights - how shocking am I and after all of that I don't think it physically did anything, should it?

Next Blog>>

Yep that time again, lovely quiet and wet Sunday afternoon. The Man is sleeping as he has to work tonight and nothing better to do.

Today's Next Blog>> X-gamers Very interesting blog showing the latest movies releases and a short description. I liked it as it shows movies from other countries or not the typical box office genre of movies. May have to add it to my RSS blog feed as I do love a good flick.

Hmm, looking at it more, it seem it is a Blog of Links to DVD rips and games, but all the same, good reviews of movies that a currently out.

The Boys behind the lens of handbag camera

I'm rather impressed with the quality of photo's The boys took, they are clear and the main feature is centered, maybe there is a future in photography for them, I was always interested but never pursued, these day's I'm like a Japanese tourist and snap anything and everything!

Sonic and Knuckle's by Big Little Man Don't you just love how Sonic holds the flowers?

SDeaf Dog & Flowers by Little Man

These photo's are of The Boys competing in "Sonic and Mario Olympics'". Big Little Man won the 200m (2 laps of the front yard=50m) and Little Man took off in the 10000m marathon (144m equivalent). See, I told you, I never needed paid sport to get my kids to have fun and exercise!

They did take photo's of me, but I was relaxing and could not compete in the Olypmics due to over working my thigh and ab muscles - truly!

Book Review: “Escape” By Carolyn Jessop

I saw this book on the shelf of a bookstore around mother's day, I like to scan the books that the store recommends "your mum will love this" and jot them down to grab and read later.

The book is an autobiography of a woman who was raised in the FLDS, married at 18, bared 8 children, shared her husband with 6 other woman and then escaped. I don't read too many autobiography's but the initial story interested me as she was the same age as I am when she had her 8th child, I can't handle 2 so I was interested.

The book made me realise how free my life was and how liberated a woman I am, that I have so many choices and am able to voice my opinion without persecution (although when I do open my mouth I am often told it would have been better to keep it shut).

Growing up here in Australia you rarely hear of polygamy, only over the last few years are the Muslim communities who practice it publicise it. The LDS here have always seemed (to me) like everyone else but with very strong values to their faith. My mother would allow them into our home for tea when they came knocking to sell their "watchtower magazines", gosh even the The Man has let them in on occasion but I guess they never returned as they knew there was no way to convert or save that soul!

So the book is a good read to understand how other people live, how they are brainwashed into beliefs that make them live in fear but that there are some people with the inner strength to know what is right and escape it.

I've researched a little more on the faith and I know the only way I could accept a religion like this would to be born into it and to not know anything else, so when I found this site Christian Polygamy it freaked me out. Do women of this generation want to share there lives with one man and lot's of other woman? Quote "You might be surprised to find out that your best friend would share a husband with you. Good friends are hard to find. Why leave yours behind." I don't believe it is religious at all it is just power hungry men who like to control and have it when they want it! The worst bit of that site that really annoys me, is that when you scroll over the little icon of the woman on her knees, she bows!

In summary, when I read Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography I thought Scientologist were arrogant, self centered freaks and after reading Escape I think Polygamy is sick and berates woman lower then animals.

New Tales of the Otori!

In 2007 my then 15 year old nephew recommended a book that he was reading that he thought I would like, and I did! They were initially consisted of a trilogy: Across the Nightingale Floor (2002), Grass for His Pillow (2003), and Brilliance of the Moon (2004). A fourth book was written The Harsh Cry of the Heron, and today I found out that a 5th title, a prequel was released, Heaven's Net is Wide all by Lian Hearn


I have reserved it from the library and can't wait to read it, I really enjoyed all 4 books and they are still very clear in my mind. I'm not sure how having a prequel will work after 4 title's but I guess it sort of worked for the Star wars movies, but then again the books were there first.

I have just finished reading "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop and shall review it tomorrow - amazing autobiography of a woman who escape a life as a Fundamentalist Latter Day Saint and it's polygamy relationships.

Health "Focus"- Wk2 challenges

Have decided to call this new diet/health thing I'm doing "Focus" because what my intentions are is to focus on my health and exercise to get me back to my healthy weight and where I'm happiest.

Well one of my diet buddies has advised that our renewed interest in wanting to get healthy has helped her achieve a 2.5kg weight loss! (Yeah for her) but as I never really weighed myself on my first week, I'm not sure if I lost at all. I will start weighing in from Monday.

I do feel better for doing more exercise and I'm having wonderful nights sleep too, I still head to bed way to late but that is me and nothing to do with laziness, I just forget the time reading or playing my NDS.

So over the last 5 days I have:
Mon: 5km walk
Tue: 5km walk
Wed: 5km walk
Thu:4km walk
Fri: Jillian Michael's "Shape up Front" workout

I will also try to do 30min on the elliptical some time today (just reading speed ie: I read whilst I exercise so no real heart pumping but better then sitting on my behind.)

I have been very good with my wine and coffee week 1 challenges so I'm going to up the ante with them, so
Next weeks challenges I have set for myself are:

No more then 2 regular (home/instant) coffee's or 1 store bought coffee per day. (I find the Gloria Jean coffee's I love have heaps heaps more calories then a coffee I make at home - why is that when I ask for skim anyway?)
No more then 4/7 small glasses of wine in a week (so 3 dry alcohol free day's)

adding an exercise component:
Will carry my hand weights on a minimum of 2 walks
To use my Gymstick at least 2 times in the week (got is a birthday gift but never hardly use it)

and I also intend to use my CK diary daily to keep track of my intake as now I have exercise up and running on a daily basis I know it is the food that is letting me down.

Will have a rest day on Sunday.

Mum's sport

Soccer season is over & we have also quit Kung Fu so it's time for mum to take over!

It's not a top notch bike, but more of  starter - I just hope he wants to ride as much as I do!

This is why I need my mum to go back to QLD...

Parathas
Curry Chicken
Chutney/Pickel

How can I lose weight whilst she cooks me dinner like this!  There is no such thing as portion control, thankfully but at the same time sadly there are off back home tomorrow.

And yes, it does taste as good as it looks!

(Almost a) New Season, time for new me

So I have changed the name of my old health blog, as it was a dismal failure trying to achieve 10 things, shocking I know! And well it's time for an health attitude adjustment.  I know I've talked about it and did a few thing sporadically but now is the time to get really into action, here's why:

1. The warmer season is about to start, time to shed the winter woolies and bare skin - arrrrr currently winter has produced far to man woddly & saggy bits to allow any skin to show.

2. My mother has challenge me to a 5 week "strip the fat" so that we can get a head start and get back into some loved clothing. I sadly had to go get a larger pair of jean as my previous "goal"pair were too wear, I could squeeze into them but trust me I could do much else in them!

3. The Man is constantly on my back about how I am throwing away all the hard work I did 2 years ago, he is right but I still want to hear it and it would be nice for him to stop reminding me of my laziness

4. My school is having a 20 year reunion next year but I am also catching up with my group friends in 6 weeks for a pre-reunion and it would be great to be at my best, as I feel when you feel good about yourself, it reflects in who you are - generally I'm more cheery.

5. I will be 35 this year and being healthy and fit makes me feel 25!

I have set myself some simple challenges I hope to increase week after week and am doing this with my diet buddy too. This week is: no more then 1 glass of wine per night and OMG it's going to hurt me, no more then 2 cups of coffee a day. Not to hard but enough to be considered a challenge.

My diet buddy is aiming to only have 2 caffeinated drinks per day - this I would fail as I love my tea and Coke zero and doesn't Hot Chocolate have some caffeine in it too?

Now I started on great high's, woke up at 5.50am and headed for a 5km walk, ate a wonderfully healthy breakfast and lunch. But then dinner arrived and my parents are about to leave for home (they have been on holidays for the last month) and so we al headed out for dinner to the local leagues club. I assumed that the roast dinner would be the best option (over Creamy mornay fish, crumbed chicken with sour cream and some orange looking  sauce, fish and chips etc.) but instead went for the nightly special of "Surf & Turf" and so I found myself eating a monster Rump steak drizzled (more like drowned) in garlic butter with veg and hot chips.

Oh well that was yesterday, no looking back. I got up again at 5.50am and headed for my 5km walk, no eating out tonight so I hope to do better food wise today. Have not checked in weight wise as it is TTOM today and my scales are never correct and flutuate so much in the days before and after, so WI will be Monday next week.

This is what my CK diary looked like:

I'll be trying to update this blog to keep me motivated and on track via emails, so sadly if anyone does read this your going to hear more of my ever boring sweaty SAHM talk now too!

Testing the email-to-blog

This is my third go, where are my blog post's going?

Also I am updating and re-starting my exercise blog, but I'm not sure if I should have 2 blogs, but who wants to read about my everyday boring life with m everyday sweaty life? To join the boring to boring or not?

Update via blogger (not email) - it seem to only half work, only the first line appeared, strange and also to this account only, so I have decide to merge my health blog with this my main blog.

Handbag photo's

Last week I decided to buy a cheap little camera that I intend to keep in my handbag. I was considering a better mobile with a good camera feature in it (as there are some nice camera phones out there at the moment) but in the end I opted for a 2nd camera.

So without anymore chit chat, here is what I take when I have a camera in my handbag...

Testing the quality of Handbag camera - Piment and Little Man


On the "National Maritime Museum" Grade 1 excursion

Gorgeous sailing boat on Sydney Harbour

A view from beneath our city's famous bridge


Playgroup parachute fun


The latest fad for Big Little Man "Bakugan" (taken by Little Man)


Where do bat's sleep in Australia? In gum trees!



Playgroup fun after school.

Oh I have grand news! Soccer season ends this saturday - about bloody time!

Disheartened

Everything is getting me down lately.
* I'm having trouble losing weight I once already lost, thus meaning I gained weight when I should have known better.
* I start to get back into things and go and twist my knee and it's is driving me nuts not being able to do all the things I want.
* I have a cold that seems to never leave me 100% and come's back to haunt me on a weekly basis.
* The boys have coughs that have been around for the last 3 weeks.
* The boys don't take anything serious and I'm getting tired of going this sporting event to the next to watch my kids just do nothing, Little Man got told to stop eating his toe nails and Big Little Man had to do 20 push-ups for talking in Kung Fu yesterday, oh I just hang my head in shame, where did I go wrong to become such a hopeless parent?

The sport thing is driving me up the wall the most, we spend so much time and money on them and they just don't put any real effort. I told The Man yesterday that we could be on a holiday in Fiji right now, soaking up the sun if we saved the money we forked out on kids extra curricular activities. Do kids really need to do them? Isn't school enough?

Seriously, I feel like I could take them bike riding for and 1 hour every other day and see them having more exercise then a soccer match. I can do pilates and yoga (stretching) and teach them like the do at Kung Fu. So far after a month of class they have not learnt any self defense or discipline. I can kick a soccer ball around a field with them and miss the parent politics and the boys would actually get to have a "go" (praise the lord!)

I quit!

Pokemon Invasion

Yesterday was big Little Man's 7th Birthday and as he is currently obsessed with all things Pokemon and 99% of his gift's revolved around this theme.

I'm happy he LOVES them but I'm being tortured reading the Pokedex and using the net to find ways to catch better ones... someone save me!

Happy Birthday Big Little man!!

Photo Post: Winter blooms

Some pretty flowers from my shocking unkept garden







And Deaf Dog after having a bath