I'm on my way...

Yesterday Hubby and I went to a friend's 40th birthday party.

Hubby was having an "I don't know what to wear" moment, so I nipped down to the mall and bought him a pair of jeans in a darker wash than usual, which he wore with a black long sleeved shirt and looked rather hip...

The store was having a sale where you paid full price for the first pair of jeans but got the second pair half price...

I've been thinking of getting a new pair for a while, so I just grabbed a pair in *my size*, nothing fancy, just a classic pair of bootlegs and came home. I hate trying on clothes at the shops, something about the fitting rooms, and the crowds etc, I've always functioned this way...

Getting ready for the party, had a thought that maybe I might wear my new jeans - showered and went to put them on.....



Hmmmmm........... not happy, Jan :(


These things won't go past my (rather larger than usual) thighs...


To my credit - I did not break down and announce that I wasn't going to the party.

I just wore the skirt and top I'd originally planned to wear, enjoyed myself immensely at the party, had two glasses of wine and a Coke Zero, ate some finger food (lots of chicken skewers and similar "healthier" options) and danced the night away... it was particularly lovely to have Hubby on the dance floor with me - see, he is usually playing with his band, and I'm the band widow on the dance floor with my girlfriends, but last night, we danced up a storm...



Oh, and just for the record - I won't be returning my new jeans to the shop...they might be a little tight at present, but I'm on my way - to being fit, slim, and generally Fabulous...


* Watch this space *

After one week...

Yesterday was a bit of a whirl-wind...by about 5pm I was ready to chuck it all in, but I remained as calm as possible, told myself that it had been a productive day, and that if we were half an hour late for the cook-up, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Well, as we arrived at Ronald McDonald House, so did the lady who was bringing the sausages - now that was the key ingredient, so if we still had to cook sausages, surely my veggie bake had time to finish cooking in the oven, and my caesar salad could be assembled without much hassle.

It was a great ending to the day...catching up with friends over a glass of wine, meeting some lovely people and their gorgeous kids. Makes you look at your own life and realise how lucky we are to have our health...

NEWSFLASH :

It looks like we have a buyer for our property. Feeling great about that now, but it was a mixed bag of emotions speaking to our RE agent yesterday...this has been our family home since way back when it was just Hubby and I ... it's bound to be sad leaving. The other thing that most of us are having trouble dealing with is that the buyers have said they will be cutting down our massive, beautiful pine tree...this pine tree is part of the identity of our house. We have such fond memories...the girls have always had swings hanging from its strong branches, they have climbed it, it has housed numerous possums, and I used it for shade the Summer of '98 when I was pregnant with Cassie...Maddie and I would sit under it on a big quilt in the middle of the day and play with play dough, read books, have tea-parties and nap...the tradition continued the following Summer, with the baby (Cassie) having her naps in the shade... - I think there needs to be a whole Post with photos dedicated to this tree...


So - life is going to get busier around here for the next few weeks. Bear with me if I'm absent, although from last week's dummy spit, I've learnt that this Blog is very therapeutic for me, and will probably need to keep posting during this big change coming my way.



Oh - and it appears that I have lost some weight, without obsessing, counting or tracking. Just some common sense and moderation ...


Bye for now xo

Catch-up

A very rushed post today, so might be better to go with dot points...

- Cassie getting an academic achievement award this morning at school

- grocery shopping ... hmm what's that again...?

- client to see after lunch

- make potato bake, veggie bake, caesar salad to take to Ronald McDonald House for our quarterly cook-up tonight

- Maddie having a day off...had a couple of nose bleeds last night and has strained her back at Sport on Wednesday

- my back is good - much better than this time last week, sooo much better :)

- going to gym on weekend to renew membership and check out the Group Fitness timetables etc, then diarising which days I will train, just to keep myself accountable

Apart from that, life goes on as usual, longer post coming up on week-end


TGIF!!!!

Progress...

No amazing feats of strength or endurance to report, no PB's from this gal...however I am happy to say, that my back is IMPROVING !


It actually took a lot of self-control to do very little over the weekend. It's easy enough to say, I won't plan any exercise, I won't go on that walk that I'd like to do etc, but to actually aim to stay *still* was quite an effort...


Lots of heat packs , LOTS of Ibuprofen, very warm showers, and sitting with perfect posture for no more than 20 minutes at a time, then stand up as straight as possible and try to hold it for a few seconds...


By Saturday night I was exhausted, and felt it was wrong to be exhausted as I'd done nothing...but I slept well, and when I got out of bed Sunday morning, I noticed something different - the pain I was used to feeling as I straightened out of bed was hardly there...just a shadow remained.


This morning was even better, but I've had to hold back and be very aware of my posture as I carry on with daily routine.


I am truly looking forward to seeing my Osteopath tomorrow. I want some feedback from him and some strategies for helping my back heal as much as possible.

I've been thinking about Pilates for a while, but the only studio that teaches Pilates using all the correct equipment etc is half an hour drive down the Mountains. It may be worth enquiring if it will help my back issues in the long run.



So all in all, feeling a lot better about things - funny how pain can cast a cloud over your whole life...it really makes me feel for people who suffer from chronic pain conditions.


Hope you have a great week!

In the Beginning...

Stepped on the scales this morning...not happy.

I've gained weight again, up a couple of kilos in a few weeks.


This is not the direction I want to head in...


Time for some adjustments, time to form habits and practices that will steer me in the right direction.

Simple stuff - baby-steps, one at a time...one foot in front of the other.



I will report on weight lost on Saturdays
- some people hate the scales, but for me, right now, at the stage I find myself, I need to weigh once a week to track progress. Simple as that.




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Back Report -

I tried some codeine yesterday. Pretty brave as I have had some nasty experiences with the stuff in the past...

I believe it took the edge off the pain - or maybe it is just the logical passing of time and the inflammation is going down.

Whatever it was, I felt a slight improvement yesterday.


Soaked in a lovely warm bath and then actually slept soundly (for the first time since I hurt my back) for a couple of hours.

I also washed my hair and took some time to do stuff like style my hair, cleanse and moisturise my face and put on some mascara...it took me forever as my back aches if I hold my arms up/out etc for any length of time, but it was worth it.

It took my mind off the obvious (pain) and all of a sudden there was a glimmer of hope.


I apologise if this sounds melo-dramatic, but this incident has scared me to bits. It sounds stupid and bloody obvious, but I don't want to be a cripple. I value my movement, flexibility, agility and these past few days I have felt very frustrated.


This morning I am better than yesterday morning - that is enough for me. I would love to wake up tomorrow and leap out of bed and go for a brisk walk and not feel the slightest twinge...but it isn't going to happen. The recovery is going to be gradual, and at the moment, I'm OK with that. It is enough to feel a little better every day...



Thank you to all my friends who commented on my last post. Support and feedback is why I have a Blog, so it is much appreciated.


Hope you all have a great weekend. I'm going to have a slow one (but I hope a good one)

xoxox

I don't want to be on a "diet"...but what to do???

I am feeling low...as low as it gets low...

I don't know, I think it's largely brought on by this back injury flare-up - call it the straw that broke the camel's back, if you will - me being the camel.

I don't like what I see, I don't like how I feel, I don't like the pain I'm in.

Is it all caused by neglecting myself??? ... Neglecting our children, our pets is a punishable crime. Neglect your car long enough and you won't be able to have it registered, not to mention, it will stop "functioning'...


Here I am - I've been grossly neglected by myself and no punishment - unless you consider the pain I'm in right now and the fact that (like a car) I am not really "functioning" all that well as punishment.



I am an intelligent, mature woman. I give friends advice on how to shed some kg's...they follow my suggestions and it works!! So why can I not follow my own advice? Apply my knowledge to my own situation?

I don't know



...................................


Here's the thing - I don't want to be on a "diet"

I don't want to count points, or calories, or number of meals I eat, or cut out carbs, or fruit or have protein every time I open my mouth...



HELP!!!!!


What I'd like is to come up with some rules, bullet points, things "to do", general guidelines, if you will to get me back in the swing of weight-loss.


Can you help? I'd love suggestions...I really need some support



PS - Back is still extremely sore - no change from yesterday. Off to my Osteopath next week for some adjustment. I think there's something out of place back there...

M-I-A

It wasn't a conscious decision, but although I've been reading most of my favourite Blogs and even commenting, I have not posted for a while.

The school holidays hit at "just the right time", we had survived End of Financial Year and hubby and I had birthdays to celebrate...

The two weeks literally flew by, and to be quite honest, I'm suffering from writer's (or should that be Blogger's) block.

Nothing much to report other than -

Yesterday morning, at the breakfast table, nothing unusual...Presley (kitten) jumped onto the table and I reached to grab him and take him to another room...only I never quite reached him, all I can remember is feeling something like a tear in my lower back...next thing I know I'm on my knees moaning in agony...Maddie and hubby had to help me up...I took Nurofen and put an ice pack on my back...

In agony all day, by 3pm I couldn't bear it any longer and rang my physio, who fit me in for 6pm

I had a treatment, during which I felt great...then he said "take your time getting off the bed" and agony struck again...it took me about ten embarrassing minutes to get off the damn bed and I was back in pain.

Sleep was shallow and interrupted by pain.

I cannot find a comfortable or pain-free position. I am in pain whether I stand, sit, lie down or walk. There is a dull pain shooting down my left leg...


Sorry about the rant but geez I'm cranky to put it mildly - I hate not being able to move at my usual speed, I feel old, and fat (honestly, I feel like my butt and hips are just poking out more than usual) and I'm not a happy chappy.



Hope you're all well

xoxo

Birthday wrap-up and my very own "New Year's" resolutions

It's been a great weekend...apologies for any spelling/grammatical errors, but be warned that I am sipping on my first glass of red since last week as I type...

Yesterday afternoon we headed down to the in-laws' for a joint birthday celebration. Had a nice dinner with them and the girls had a few giggles at looking through Daddy's photo album (mind you, they look at this album every year and have the same reaction...)

This morning I was greeted by my beautiful family with some lovely presents ... (I <3 presents!!!)

- a new pair of Asics "Torana" from Hubby, they are awesome! really good for walking/running off-road, which just about sums up all the terrain around here, and the colours are really cute, too (pictures to come)

- a Pandora bead (a heart with a pink stone), a Chanel lipstick and an animal print scarf from my gorgeous girls. They both have part-time jobs now, and paid for all this out of their own money...so sweet...my heart sings with joy

- a vase and a work table from mother-in-law (the work table is actually quite useful)

We enjoyed a yummy breakfast of Hubby's pancakes with organic yoghurt, fruit and maple syrup and about a million cups of tea.



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Now, I don't go in for New Year's resolutions on the 1st of January like most people do, but since I turned 40, I have been making "personal" resolutions every year on my birthday.


This year's is seemingly simple :


*** I will take better care of Myself ***


What does that mean...? Well, these last 12 months have been hectic with our business. Hubby left his safe, 9 to 5 job to join me in our business exactly 12 months ago, and to say that I have slid down my list of priorities is an under-statement...

But it's never too late to turn it around.


Put simply, I will think about myself every day and try to just "take care" of myself.

I will report on it as I go. No strict, rigid plans, no unachievable goals, just doing what's right every day...



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Just got a last minute invitation from friends to join them for dinner - Mex lasagne is on the menu ... sounds interesting!



Bye for now.


xoxox

Happy Birthday Hubby!!! ... birthday weekend finally here

Hubby's birthday and mine are two days apart...so we've always shared the celebrating...being lovely Cancerians, it's no big deal, we don't mind.

The only thing is, we are super-sensitive, so it helps if we're both in the mood to celebrate or hybernate at the same time :)

This morning started early. The original plan had been for the girls to stay home as it is the last day of term...but they were getting their reports today, and being the sort of parent I am, there was no way I could hold on for two weeks until seeing them...

Hubby's "main" present this year was a bass guitar. He chose it himself (shhh), but let me house it under our bed for the last couple of days, and last night the girls and I put a big ribbon around its neck. We also got him a little hamper of "goodies" that he'll enjoy. A selection of chocolate bars and liquorice from Darrel Lea, two biographies, and some bath products. The girls joke that they can just picture Daddy in the bath, reading one of his books and eating chocolate...LOL

After dropping the girls off, I took him out to breakfast at a favourite cafe. He indulged in the ricotta and banana pancakes, and I had the eggs benedict with smoked salmon - to die for...


Then it was pretty much business as usual, we are now getting ready to head up to his favourite pizza joint for dinner...I'll try to get some pics up next post.


Tomorrow the celebrations continue, with afternoon tea at his parents', and then on Sunday we do it all over again...well, with some variation I hope, for my birthday!


Hope you all enjoy your weekend.
xoxox