I am still here

Oh Dear Blog, how I have neglected you...  Please accept my apologies.

I was planning on doing a big post today but I am buggered so it will be a quick summary of my week.

 - Enrolled to go back to Uni
 - Had a binge that lasted several days
 - My Achilles keeps swelling up to mammoth proportions even though it doesn't actually hurt
 - Joined Weight Watchers online
 - Had a hell week at work
 - Spent a day with my Mum, Sister and Niece playing Boggle
 - Am in the middle of making about 15 "softies" to be sent to Qld kids who have lost everything

I think that covers it. If you want me to expand on anything just leave a comment, otherwise I'll start fresh tomorrow. :)

xox

Fundraising

My Worlds Greatest Shave Fundraising seems to have hit a wall. It hasn't moved in weeks. I am guess because of the Qld Floods everyone is directing their money there, which I completely understand....

I really want to get to my goal. If anyone can help the link to donate is directly tot he right of where you are reading.

xox

I Smashed It!

Guess who rode 51.19kms today....

I did not go for my ride last weekend where I was due to ride 42kms. Today was meant to be 45kms. I have not been on the bike for over a week and something in me told me to just go for the 50.

So I did!

We got on the bikes and headed for Outer Harbour. 26kms later we were there. Stopped for brunch and a rest then headed back - straight into a head wind. My butt was amazingly sore plus I had some underwear elastic/hair/giney issues.  Made the ride home incredibly slow going.  But I did it. I skipped all the lead up and went straight for the home run!

And I SMASHED it!!!!

On to other news - camp was great but completely exhausting. I spent yesterday in bed. Food was average. But very overly processed. The chef had no idea about feeding vegos (or coeliacs for that matter) so those of us with special dietary requirements pretty much got the same crap at every meal. I feel fatter so no doubt I have gained weight, but am getting serious again this week.

I haven't caught up on any blogs anywhere so I am sorry for that. But I hope everyone is doing great and I will catch up during the week.

xox

Camp Days 2 & 3

Good Morning

Just a quick one today. Sorry for the lack of updates but we aren't allowed to use phones when the kids are around and by the time they're gone I'm exhausted.

Tuesday was spent movie making. And not just crappy kids running around with handhelds, we had full on film crews. We spent the day shooting 6 short films which the crews are going to edit and we will get to watch tonight.

Yesterday we spent the day doing outdoor activities. High ropes, rock wall, flying fox & leap of faith. The kids loved it. Last night we went to the movies to see Little Fockers. It was ok.

This morni we have laser skirmish and tonight we go to the Oscars for the viewing and Award Presentation. Then the Disco.

Leaving tomorrow. Regular updates will resume shortly...

Sent from my Nokia phone

Camp Day 1

Well the first day of camp went well. We started out roller skating. I debated about the whole Achilles injury on skates thing & eventually decided that even though I really wanted to give it a go, it just wasn't worth the risk. :o(

All the kids had a great time though, and that is what matters.

The afternoon was cooking. Not ur boring everyday cooking class for teenagers, but Bradd Johns who is the Executive Chef for one of the fancy schmancy restaurants in town. It was awesome. All the kids took part and the resulting dinner was delish!

Today we are making movies. Should be good.

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 63
Yesterday I was grateful for well behaved teenage boys... :o)

Sent from my Nokia phone

Busy busy busy

Every day I know I have things to blog about, but then tine gets away from me and I haven't blogged for days... And of course, I can not remember what I was going to blog about... LOL

This week I am off to Camp Quality. I am looking forward to it, but I am also a bit nervous, I was meant to be a rover (general helper) but they are desperately short on companions so this week I got roped into being a companion again. To 3 x 13 year old boys... What do 13 year old boys do? Oh well, I am sure I will work it out.

Yesterday morning I went to a new photography group. We wandered around the city for a few hours, ducking in and out of alleys and laneways. I was really nervous about meeting a group of new people, but it was great.

100 Days of Gratitude


Day 61
Yesterday I was grateful I was brave enough to meet up with the photography group.


Day 62
Today I am grateful for the sunshine so that all my clothes dried in time to pack my suitcase. :)

xox

100 Days of Gratitude

Day 60

Today I am grateful for friendly and helpful co-workers.

xox

Floods

Wow, what a few days it has been here in Australia. Flooding on one end of the country and bushfires on the other. I have spent the last 48 hours madly trying to make contact with all my friends in Qld. I loved there for 7 years so I know so many of the places that are lost and ruined. I was so happy this morning to hear from the last person I have been trying to contact. All are safe and well. Some property damage, but no injuries or lives lost and that is the main thing. When I got that last contact this morning I broke down.  The relief was overwhelming.

I am doing what I can to help, but like so many of us who are far away we feel helpless.  The lovely Lucky over at Stitch Selection is doing a Huggles Drive – Huggles are soft toys for kids.  As soon as I get home from Camp next week I am going to get sewing. It may not be much but it is something.

I would love to hear how others are helping out.

Question Day

1) What is your best childhood memory?
2) If you had 1 hour to evacuate, what would you pack up to take?

3) What foods do you dislike?

4) What exercise have you done this week?

5) What do you put in your coffee/tea?

100 Days of Gratitude – Day 59

Today I am SO grateful that all my loved ones are safe.

xox

Achilles Update

So I went to the Physio last night expecting to get the all clear to go back to everything except running as I really have not had much pain of late.

It turns out I have a lump on the back of my Achilles. The Physio is not sure at this point if it is still part of the injury or if a lump of scar tissue has formed. As soon as he touched it I was in tears just about. So...

I CAN

 - keep riding

 - walk on flat ground

 - go hiking as long as it is in a flat area (unsure where I will find a spot like that but I will look)

 - try body balance

 - try Yoga

 - try Pilates

 - swim

I CAN NOT

 - walk or hike up any hills

 - go for more than 2 walks in any week

 - run

 - try Zumba

 - do any high impact activity

Poop Bum Wee... Actually, the words I used were more colourful than that, but you know what I mean. :) Now I concerned about next week. I am meant to be going to Camp Quality but the place we are staying is in the hills and I am pretty sure it is on a slope. I am waiting to hear back from the staff to find out the lay of the land - if it is hilly I will have to pull out, and they are already quite short staffed. But I have to take care of me first. Although if I can't go I will feel guilty forever....  I should know by the end of the day.

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 58
Today I am grateful that I have got in touch with all my friends in Qld and they are all safe from the floods.

xox

Raffle Launched Today!

With only 2 months to go until my Worlds Greatest Shave, it is time to ramp up the fundraising!  It seems to have stalled somewhat.

So today I am launching my raffle.

Some of the prizes are for SA residents only, so if you are not in SA I completely understand if this looks a bit sucky. LOL But if anyone wants to buy a ticket just send me an email here and I will let you know how you can do it.

Don't forget you can also make a donation to the cause by clicking on the link at the top of the column on the right hand side of the page.

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 57
Today I am grateful for good friends and good conversation.

xox

Weigh In

Weigh in today and I lost 1 kilo. Before you get too excited, it is a bullshit number. I SHOULD have lost more. But for some reason my head went haywire and I used Saturdays ride as an excuse to eat anything and everything.  So while I acknowledge the loss, it is a bullshit loss as I could have done so much better.


Anyway, moving on....


I have joined a 7 day challenge on CK. Basically you set some goals and resolve to stick to them for one week. It is only 7 days, so it shouldn't be too hard.  These are my goals:


1) Stick to my calories
2) Drink 2 L of water a day
3) Stick to my cycling training plan
4) Go for a couple of walks.


Speaking of my training plan, I have revised it. It seemed sill to aim for 33 kms this weekend when I have already done 40.  So I have reduced it by a week and increased my weekend rides to get me there quicker.

I am sure this is completely manageable and I am looking forward to doing it.


100 Days of Gratitude


Day 55
Yesterday I was grateful for very little if I am honest with myself. My whole body was fatigued from the ride and I are myself silly. If I had to be grateful for anything it would be that there was very little crap food in the house, as I could have done a LOT more damage than I did...


Day 56
Today I am grateful for Emma, who this morning gave me the pep talk I needed to get myself back on track.


xox

My Ride

My bike ride this morning was awesome.  According to my training plan I was aiming for 30kms.  I met Megan in the city I got there early so I could have a bit of a rest before she got there. I took my time and just enjoyed the ride.  I rode 11 kms to get there, but it didn’t take as long as I expected. So I laid my bike down and sat myself on the grass to wait.

When Megan got there we had a chat so she could have a rest then got on the bikes and headed off for a nice comfortable ride. We did a loop through the parklands around the city. It was a gorgeous morning and just took our time, gasbagging the whole way around. Imagine our surprise when we got back to the start point to stop for a coffee and we had done over 15kms! We were aiming for 10. :)

We stopped for a drink and food (at least I got food) and gasbagged some more – we are good at that – before heading off in different directions home. I went home via the library so by the time I got home I had done…. 40.61kms!!!!!!

YAY ME!

50kms is not that far off. I will revise my training plan and knock at least a week off of it now I think, but it is at work so I will do it Monday.

100 Days of Gratitude – Day 54

Today I am grateful for the kindness of strangers. While I was waiting for Megan this morning a cyclist that rode past me while I was sitting on the grass actually turned around and doubled back to ask me if I was okay and needed any help with my bike. Very sweet I thought. :)

xox

What a Place to Wait...

I am sitting here by the Torrens waiting for Megan for our planned ride. I rode 11.37kms to get here. We are going to do about 10kms together then I have to get home from wherever we end up. I had a beautiful ride here, mostly on bike paths, but also some roads. The roads are pretty empty between 7 & 7.30 on a Saturday morning though.

Looking forward to a great day!

xox

This & That

Like I said in my last post yesterday - I was planning on smashing it on the bike on the way home last night. The aim was 15kms. Well, I wouldn't say I smashed it, but I pushed it pretty damn hard. I had a headwind nearly the whole way home, and I pedaled hard. My legs were fatigued and I was puffing and panting (which I don't usually do as I normally just cruise along). By the time I got home I was absolutely dripping with sweat and I was completely buggered, but geez I felt good! I did 16.47kms. I have no idea how long it took me or what my HR was, and I don't care. I know I worked hard and that is all I care about at this point. :)

After dinner (vegetable fritatta - YUM!) I went out to check my tyres, which I do every few days.  This is what I found...

Of course, I am out of spare inner tubes, aren't I...  Grumble, grumble...

So Ross is off to the bike shop today to get a couple of spares and to fix it for me (I really must learn to do that myself one of these days). And I had to catch a tram to work. The good news is, the 1.8km walk from the tram to work, all up a very slight slope, did not hurt my Achilles in the slightest. YAY!  I am back to the Physio next Tuesday and I really really hope he gives me the go ahead to start hiking again.

I did pretty good with my food yesterday too. Had some ice cream last night but it fit into my calories since I did such a hard ride. I was actually hungry too, not just mindlessly eating, so I figured it was okay. :) Am still feeling motivated and feeling good about it all.  Hopefully it lasts.

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 53
Today I am grateful that I am no longer living in Qld where all that awful rain and flooding is. My thoughts and love goes out to everyone affected by it.

xox

Motivation Found

I have been drifting along with my weight loss. Last year I paid it nearly no attention at all. And it shows. Two days ago I made the declaration that I was back into it, but I have been drifting. I do really well until dinnertime then I lose it. And for some reason I have not had the *whatever the hell it is* to motivate myself. Even the trip I am planning that I NEED to be thinner for (details to follow in the next couple of months) doesn’t seem to spark me.

Today I found it.

I was having a Skype chat to a friend of mine who lives out bush.  She has been the same as me as far as weight loss goes. Went really well for a year or so then let things slide. Now wants to do something but struggling to find the *whatever the hell it is* to actually do it.

We have decided to do it together. We will be each others *whatever the hell it is*. We will text each other the day before weigh in to remind each other and we have to report our weights in. The idea is to motivate and encourage. And the deal is that this is a tough love thing. No babying each other and saying “oh, that’s okay” when the other has eaten a block of chocolate and a tub of ice cream. It is NOT okay and this enabling bullshit is what got us where we are in the first place!

We both have goals and we will use them to encourage each other. We CAN do it, we have both done it before. Now is the time to become accountable. Knowing that E is going to be checking to see what I have eaten after dinner will stop me reaching for that bag of chips or that bowl of ice cream coz she is going to SLAM me for eating it!

I actually WANT to eat well so that I can tell her I have been good. I WANT to slam my ride tonight so I can message her and tell her. And I REALLY want to lose the weight with her so we can go on a shopping spree together when we are both skinny!  LOL

xox

Question Day

I have borrowed my Questions directly from SpunkySuzi because they are pretty much the questions I was thinking of asking anyway. :)


1. What have been some of your healthy choices so far this week?

2. Is there anything healthy you haven't been doing or have been inconsistent?? Are you working on it?

3. What are you planning for dinner tonight?

4. How many meals do you make sure your having vegetables with?

5. Do you love to cook? Or would you rather eat someone else's cooking or eat out??


100 Days of Gratitude - Day 52
Today I am grateful for the beautiful weather we have been having this week which has made getting back into my cycling much much easier.


xox

Cycling

I am trying again - time to hit that 50km mark! I have done it before and i can do it again. Let me know what you think. :)

xox

Summer To-Do List Update

Time to revisit the goals I set for myself for the Summer.

1)  Start hiking again

Still waiting for the Physio to give the go-ahead

2)  Finish Couch quilts

Haven't done anything else on them, but hoping to have sewing time this weekend.

3)  Lose 12 kilos

4)  Ride 50kms in one day

Up to 27 - aiming to increase that this weekend.

5)  Ride a total of 1000kms

Up to 155 - not a lot, but getting there.

6)  Start Yoga

7)  Start cat stitcheries

8)  Send another childrens book to a publisher

9)  Take more photos for my cards

Got a couple more that may be good cards

10)  Push my World’s Greatest Shave Fundraising and get as much as I can towards my goal of $5000

Up to $1566

I am slowly making progress. Hopefully I will get a few more knocked off in the coming weeks. :)

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 51

Today I am grateful that I am a pretty good cyclist - saved me from getting squished by an idiot truck driver who looked me square in the eye before pulling out in front of me. Pity his number plate was covered or I would have been straight to the Police Station!

xox

Oh Dear...

I got on the scales today to get my yearly starting weight.  Oh my. Xmas has NOT been kind to me. Well, in actual fact, I have not been kind to myself over Xmas and it is very strongly reflected in that horrible number.

sigh...

But I have had an amazing week off and I am choosing not to regret it. I had a great time, ate some absolutely amazing food, and now I will work my butt off to shift that weight. I have a pretty big goal to work towards (not sharing what it is until it is confirmed) and I am hoping that having that in mind will help to keep me focussed.

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 50
Today I am grateful that I have the knowledge I need to get myself back into a healthy lifestyle.

xox

100 Days of Gratitude


Day 48
Yesterday I was grateful for the beautiful sunshine. I had so much fun wandering around the gardens in the sun with my Mum.


Day 49
Today I am grateful for generous friends who let me take lots of photos of them. Thanks Em. :)


xox

2011 Goals

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, here we are, at the beginning of 2011. That came up so quickly. :) Where on earth did 2010 go?

So I have come up with my list of goals for 2011.

1)  Lose 30 kilos

2)  Ride 5000km

3)  Complete Photo 365 Day Project

4)  Complete my craft UFO Challenge

5)  Hike first 60kms of Heyson

6)  Finish 2 more childrens stories and send them to publishers

7)  Get my finances completely in order

8)  Find a nice home for Ross & I to live in

9)  Expand and nurture the veggie patch so we can eat lots of fresh veggies

10)  Try one new physical activity/sport every month

11)  Make meditation part of my weekly routine so I get to the point where I am meditating 3-4 times a week.

100 Days of Gratitude

Day 46

Yesterday I was grateful for good restaurant recommendations. :)

Day 47

Today I am grateful for the new year. A new chance to start everything fresh. :)

xox