THREE SLEEPS... WOOO HOOO!

Where has the time gone? In JUST THREE sleeps the kids go back to school... I am over the moon!

Much as I love the kids.. they can drive me nuts sometimes! If only they came with a volume switch ...

TODAY: hmmmm, so don't know! Stew has to start back at work on monday, so we must try and make the most of his last couple of days at home. If I was a TERRIFIC wifey I would let him sleep in... BUT I'M NOT... ha ha ha. I'm sure I can find him a job or two to keep him busy.

When I get a chance (like soon) I will show you all the finished table too. It should be dry by now. It's not as good as when it was covered in the tiles.... but I'm happy enough with it. And if I get bored with it, I can just paint it another colour/pattern!

LATER...

ONE TABLE.... FINISHED

UP CLOSE, showing detail.

In use, see..... it's not just to look at!

Stew is having scrambled eggs and tomatoes on toast for breakfast... But it's too early in the day for me to have anything. I'm not even hungry.... so why is my mouth watering?

On a whim we buggered off for the day to Hamilton! We've done the shops, seen our daughter Kelly and her little family... lunched in town, seen Amanda at the shop she works in... been to the park by the lake... in all having a lovely trip out. Still there ... heading home soon I suppose.

It's friggin HOT AS HELL here in Hamilton too....

OH! I found some cute wee earrings at the jewellery shop our daughter Amanda works in too... will show ya later.

Safely back from Hamilton... and here's a photo Kelly took of me earrings:

They are really cute crystals... and they match my blue top and necklace perfectly! Sorry about the dooofus face on me ! Don't know what happened there!

End of Day: really raking up the good days eh? Another one bites the dust... and hopefully tomorrow will be great too. nite nite.

I'M STILL PAINTING... OK?

Be thankful I'm only painting the table... I COULD be redecorating the whole darn house... imagine having to look at each and every room as I painted it! ha ha ha! Who loved that with me last house????

So, I'm disgusted in myself... last night I just HAD to eat something sweet... so I ate a million Tidy Teddy biscuits! They were delicious, but soooo not worth it. I'm gunna have to walk all day to equal them out. *sigh*... I am a twit.

We don't have any major plans for today... I will do some masking on the table, go buy some more paint in the contrast colour... if it's fine most likely work on the tan. Read a blog or 568... yep that's right, there's 568 as of last night to catch up on. BLOODY HELL! I might just have to 'mark as read' the whole darn lot!
There is no way I can read them all!

So that's me for now... what are you all doing today???

There is no hope for me... I am a SHOPAHOLIC. I went out to get some paint... that is all! I ended up getting paint, a new geranuim for by the letterbox AND these:

Now I just need to finish the table! And I better add some white somewhere on it so it matches the chairs. *sigh*

We have a much more bearable day here today, it's cloudy with a wee bit of showers ... so not so hot. Though it's much much hotter in Australia right now! Poor buggers are in the middle of a heat wave!

ONWARD...I have finished the table! It's drying. Maybe you get to see it tomorrow. It's not FLASH... I just wanted it DONE and out of my face!

End of Day: got lots done today! Very happy with what we got finished. nite nite.

PAINTING THAT DARN TABLE TODAY!

So, today I will paint that table... guess what colour? colours? pattern? I'm open to suggestions!

WHAT ELSE? Stew has a Doctor's appointment to check his diabetes/weight/cholesterol levels bla bla bla.

Not much else on the agenda... might go for a tiki tour somewhere new... but right now I can't think where! (TIKI TOUR just means go for a drive somewhere random)

Oh and I better plant the new vege plants!

That's it for now... so bugger off and do something with your day!

First coat of paint is on the table, Stew is at the Doctor's, and it's STINKING HOT and HUMID out there!!! But good news today, the mortgage rates are gunna drop again... so that is fantastic news for us with big mortgages! Yaaaa.

Back to it....

YEP... it's blue. What other colour would ya expect from me? Once it's 'set' I will mask it out and put 'something' on it. Seeing as there were NO suggestions from you buggers I will have to go with my idea I suppose.

WE didn't go for a ticky tour either.. just lazed around here in the sun. It's been a glorious day, not too hot, around high 20's... (degrees).

Stew is cooking corn on the cob for dinner... ever so nice and LOW in points! This is good.

End of Day: another lovely day ... no complaints from where I'm sitting! lol. nite nite.

FISH PICK UP...

We are off to Sylvia Park again today to pick up the 'tin fish' I bought yesterday.
Also hope to finally get the new vege plants.

AND I suppose I will ring the hospital and find out what they want...I tossed and turned all darn night dreaming about friggin needles coming at me!

Later on today I am going to sand down that 'mosaic' table and just paint it....

That's about 'it' for now! Pretty boring eh? lol

F**K ...bugger damn and blast!!!!

That STOOOOOOPID BLOODY NURSE didn't take enough blood yesterday! I have to go back today. I am so darn MAD.... I tried to weasle my way out of it but NO, they just have to have it! FUCK IT.

PHEW... that's done and dusted, it was better today, they only had to get 1 vial full ... I stopped in at my doctor's too and got weighed... I was SURE I would have put on but I lost 0.1kgs!!!

I don't deserve that.... I was not that good on holiday! Maybe it will catch up with me next week?

So.. we got the fish, we got vege plants.....

Stew sanded down the table for me....

I re-arranged the fitness equipment/sewing table etc in the garage, sprayed protective stuff on the new tin fish....

...and hung them on the fence. I think they look neat, but I may get one more yet.... I want it to look like a school of fish.

Teddy had been refusing his 'normal' dry food, so I tried him on tinned stuff... he got the shits real bad! I had to bath him this afternoon.... IKKKY. Back to dry food for him.

End of Day: well it's been great! Productive. Nasty blood tests all over! Roll on tomorrow! nite nite.

HOSPTIAL ..... HOPEFULLY FOR LAST TIME

Today I have to go to the hospital for a round of blood tests to try and determine WHY I hemorrhage so badly during/after surgeries.

This is very important because the last time it happened I nearly died... NO SHIT, I really did! Twice even!

So, while I totally HATE needles, I want this done so I don't have to go through anything like what happened in June ever again.

Yesterday I bought a large whiteboard to do SUDOKU puzzles on, Stew and I were stumped with one out of the Herald newspaper for 6 days...

But I am proud to say I solved it ! The black numbers were the numbers 'provided', the rest I did. It was very very hard, so I'm chuffed that I got it out.

Nola the TART showed me a sunlounger she thought would be PERFECT for me!

I think I better think twice before bitching about me boobs again! And mine are NOT that big!

Now that you are over laughing.. I suppose I better get a move on, my appointment at the hospital is at 10 am.....

Hospital appointment was AWFUL! The nurse took bloody ages to get all the blood they needed, and it HURT! I am a sook, I know. I went feeling fine, left with a horrible stress headache that has stayed with me all day.

After the hospital visit we caught a train into Sylvia Park Mall.. where I proceeded to buy some cute fish for the outside fence.... we had a late morning tea there then caught another train right into the City Centre...

We 'did' Queen Street, had lunch (at 3pm!) ... I found the MOST GORGEOUS Sapphire and diamond ring too! It's ONLY $3000 more than we can afford really! *sigh*

Home now, about to take a pill for the headache, which probably won't help though.. I got a call from the hospital this afternoon asking me to ring them... I will wait till tomorrow to do that! I don't need to hear anything right now. I will scream holy blue murder if they need more blood from me!

End of Day: one of those long, interesting days.. lots and lots of walking! So maybe won't go on the treadmill/exercycle tonight! I'M TIRED! nite nite.

VEGES! SHOPPING....

Don't get excited! The shopping will be for new vege plants! We have had to pull out all the lettuces that were left in the garden, they went to seed!
And I want to get some more spinach, parsley and other vege plants too. We have lots of room for more, and it's so much fun growing them!

Brylee and Griffin need new sandals for school.... sheesh their feet grow so fast! Brylee got new sandals only 6 weeks ago and they are already falling apart. Pffffft.

I want to get a small whiteboard to nut out SUDOKU puzzles on too... I'm hooked on the darn things! I like to wind down in the evening by getting one figured out! I go to bed a winner then! lol

Also today I am going to write some ideas down for my 'new' workout routine, and try and get the exercise equipment arranged in the garage to my satisfaction, so I am happy to go down there! If you ain't 'comfortable' in the surroundings you are not going to go there eh? It has to be just right!
ONWARD....

Today hasn't gone to plan yet.... we just got out to do the shopping and we got a phone call from Kelly (daughter No# 3) that she was arriving early so we had to go home....
WE had a lovely visit with her, baby Rena, Leigh and our son Russel's step-daughter who is visiting from Australia.... (complicated family lol).

Anyway, once they left we decided to lie in the sun for a while and play in the paddle pools:

Give this boy water and he's as happy as a sand boy! Me too come to think of it!
We are NOW finally off to do the grocery shopping.... I think the vege plant shopping will have to wait till tomorrow now.

Exercise today: 15 minutes exercycle, 10 mins treadmill... it's a start. Food: spot on!

End of Day: we finally got the grocery shopping done. I lay in the sun for 2.5 hours.... ya can't tell. Typical. Not looking forward to tomorrow.... nite nite.

HOME TODAY... AND CAN YOU CATCH ANOREXIA?

We are heading home!
I couldn't be happier.
I missed my home comforts.
I missed me bloody computer!
I missed me private backyard.
I even missed the paddle pool!

I don't like sand.
I don't like being gawked at on the beach.
I don't like being fat.

I AM OVER IT..... when we get home I am setting up an exercise routine again... lots of cardio, some weights for the non existent muscles, working on toning the flabby bits AGAIN. Weighing in at the doctors.... TUESDAY... oh hell! Bet I have gained on holiday!

And that bloody man of mine is going to do it too! He is not going to agree humbly with me and go buy lollies/ice cream/pizza... he has to 'man up' and say 'NO' to me! He has a belly on him that he is ashamed of ... so we shall work on it together. Lucky bugger has nice legs though.... *sigh*

Have you ever found yourself wishing you could "catch" Anorexia? Cos I do often! SAD SAD SAD.

Right, off to Coromandel to see my friend 'F'... then HOME.

Before I forget, here's a new blogger to go check out! It's my niece over in Australia, she recently had a Lapband put in....

http://farewell-fatness.blogspot.com/ ... be nice to her! I love her very much!

LATER....

We are home safe and sound... the trip was great.. just so easy to do the trip now ... it only takes 2.5 hours! It's an amazingly hot day.... very draining when you have to pack and tidy a house then get home and unload it all!

We left some ham in the fridge at home... BAD NEWS when I opened the fridge! Ewwwww ... had to immediately clean the fridge before we could use it.

Anyway, we are almost done unpacking, time to settle down and relax for a while.

OH and look what was waiting for us in the vege garden:

The first tomatoes I have grown in many many years! I'm wrapt.

End of Day: spent the evening watching some tv, then finished the unpacking, doing the washing... just settling back in really. Feel like we have been away for ages, yet it's only been 7 days! nite nite.

WHANGAMATA

Today in my infinite wisdom I decided we should drive an hour to Whangamata for a look around... so we did.

BUT.... before we left I went into shop here in Whitianga that had some nice china etc in and bought two of these lovely vases:

The just looked so nice I couldn't resist them.

Then we went to Whangamata... where we had a good look around the shops. I saw a couple of really neat bowls that I ALMOST bought, but decided at the last second that I really didn't need them ... so I left them there! That has to be a first!

After a lovely lunch in a park Stew and the kids went down onto the beach for a couple of hours while I stayed at the car with Teddy and read a book.... If I wasn't so bloody self conscious about my weight I would have gone on the beach too... but instead I sulked in the car!

So instead of enjoying the place/beach I was miserable... if I needed any more incentive to lose weight and start enjoying my life again this holiday has been it! To be totally honest I have only enjoyed ONE day of this holiday and that was the day I stayed at the house and sunbathed on the back lawn ... where no one could see me.

OK ...pity party over ... I know what I have to do..... working on it.

Here's a couple of nice photos of Whangamata beach:

Like most east coast beaches, it is beautiful.

And this one is of the kids at the park in Whitianga yesterday:

End of Day: GOING HOME TOMORROW! We are going home via Coromandel... so should be nice. And hopefully we will miss most of the traffic heading back to Auckland after the long weekend!

nite nite.

TEDDY UPDATE:

*******HE'S SAFE*******

Stew was in panic mode, I was here at the Internet Cafe blogging and there was Stew, frantically running up and down the street calling "TEDDY, TEDDY" at the top of his lungs. Several neighbours came out and said they had seen him running up the road... then one lady came out and said she thought he was in her backyard! So he was, the little shit!

He sure gave us a huge fright, all I could think of was that the pitt bull next door would get him! Funnily enough the guy next door came out and assured Stew that his dog loved other animals and would NOT hurt Teddy... apparently his dog just goes for PEOPLE (his words, not ours)! NICE.

Stew and I both think Teddy was trying to follow me, as he did run down the drive when I left in the car and I had to get Stew to come and get him.... he was just trying to find me I think! So sweet. He's ain't getting the chance to leave the property again though, he's on his lead now and will stay that way when we have the doors open.

So, panic over.... and TODAY? More of the same, sunbathing, beach.... kids having a whale of a time.... me? Kinda enjoying it... but still want to go home!
Tomorrow we are going to take a day trip over to Whangamata, which is about an hour's drive from here... we havn't been there in years so it's worth a ticky tour to go see. There are more SHOPS over there too ... NEAT!

WE plan on heading home on Sunday, going via Coromandel to visit my friend F.... so that should be a lovely day too!

WEIGHT/FOOD? shit, shit, shit. Not been that good at all. I sat on the beach the other day and had a cry, hating myself, hating being fat again, and thinking "Why did I let myself get fat again?" ... and then came home and stuffed my face. WTF?

LATER....

Late afternoon and we decided to take the kids down to the park by the wharfe... this is where I used to play as a kid:

Mercury Bay, with the boats coming up the estuary towards the wharfe...

In this photo (above) I'm standing on the wharfe looking out towards the bay, this is the spot where we believe my Dad fell in and drowned in August 2000... there was no barrier fence back then.

The wharfe as it is now, back in 2000 the old Game Fishing Clubrooms were still situated on the wharfe, my Dad did all his drinking there! It was an old two story building, I miss it!
Today while I was on the wharfe a small boat came in with a big catch:

THE BOAT....

THE FISH THEY CAUGHT, A BLUE FIN MARLIN!

IT WEIGHED 196.4 KILOS... caught on a 24 pound line!

It was very exciting for the kids (and me) !

End of Day: very exciting day! Loved seeing the fish... even if it was sad for the fish! Someone is going to be eating that fish for a bloody long time! nite nite.

TOTALLY GORGEOUS DAY

Today has been the nicest day here so far! We picked up our grandson Joshua from his Mum's and have had him all day. I think he's just the most darling wee boy ... and he gets on really well with our two.


WE took them all to town for lunch in a Cafe' then it was sunblock time! Stew lined them all up and slathered them all in block, then off to the beach they went for 3 hours. Bliss, I stayed at the house and sunbathed in the back yard... on me own in peace. And no sand on me either! Sand is the pitts.

I certainly got a bit of sun today, my face is a bit red eh? lol

I don't care... I like being brown, ya don't look so fat if you are nice and tanned!!! Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

After I've been here (Internet Cafe) I'm off to buy fish 'n' chips for our dinner... oh yum! At least we know the fish will be fresh ... can't help but be fresh!

Just got a call from Stew. ....he's lost Teddy! Gotta go, I feel sick.

nite nite.

DAYTRIPPIN AND PMT

DAYTRIPPIN... we went to several places today, had lunch at a lovely beach cafe in Matarangi, Stew and the kids had a long swim and play on the beach at Whangapoua (about 35 mins from Whitianga) while Teddy and I lazed on the grass under a tree.

My niece Maxine and her two children live here in Whitianga, so she has been visiting... the other day we were talking (as girls do) about what we kept in our handbags.. and I mentioned I had a flint in mine.... so silly TARTS that we are we just had to try and "make fire"... it was rather funny.

Here is Maxine trying to make fire, she DID NOT SUCCED.

I on the other hand did. I am so clever... ha ha ha!

Here we have Nikale (5 year old boy) and Brandy (7 year old girl) with our Teddy. They are the cutest kids... I probably think that cos they ain't mine!

We only make beautiful children!

Here's the beach house from the front. It has two bedrooms and a lovely open plan lounge/dining/kitchen. A huge garage and a private back yard. One day we will extend it and add a big master bedroom on the top over the garage.

This is the lounge/dining room .... it's bigger than the one at home even!

This was Griffin last night... sound asleep in the most uncomfortable position, he was knackered from playing on the beach all afternoon.

Finally today I will leave you with this gorgeous photo of Stew and the kids on Whangapoua beach.

PMT: can ya still get it even when ya don't get a 'monthly' anymore? Cos I swear I have been in the foulest mood today! I was hating everything, right down to the sand on the beach today! Stew was so kind, trying to make me feel better, but I even hated the sound of his voice!

If I was my own best friend today, I'd even hate myself .... that's how shitty I feel.

End of Day: on that note I'm gunna go buy me some Bacardi and get pissed. Stew will be happy cos he usually gets lucky when I'm pissed. lol

nite nite.

RAIN/SUN... OOOPS FORGOT THE CAMERA!

Today so far has been bit of a smorgasboard... town for a wander around, some home maintenance (Stew hanging towel holders, loo paper holders, hanging mirrors etc) and visiting a friend.

Stew is right now down at the beach with B & G in the RAIN.. pity the poor man, but the kids insisted on going for a swim, even though it was raining. GREAT, at least I am not expected to stay and watch them in the rain.

Teddy has been scratching his face for the past few days so I have to pop into the local Vet's for another thingee to put around his neck to stop him. He sure has sensitive skin... AND the little bugger went on a hunger strike too... so we went to the supermarket to find something different to try and tempt him to eat. He loves tinned food it would appear, he ate so much his belly was rather distended!

What else? Well I went and forgot to bring my camera down didn't I? So no photos today... SORRY. And the neighbour must have gotten a hint (don't know who from) but he's been tying his dog up ... so I am not quite so terrified at the moment. But we will definitely do something about fencing soon....

I really miss my internet! My ability to check out all the blogs, catch up with who's doing what! I am ISOLATED here! Sure I could spend 2-3 hours here in the Internet Cafe... but I don't think Stew would be too impressed with me! It is afterall, a FAMILY holiday.

*sigh*....

End of Day: another day at the beach... counting down till I can go home really! I am a sad git. Most people would give their eye teeth to be here... I am spoilt I guess.

But in saying that, this place is just like 'coming home' for me... it is the place our family has been coming to for our holidays for 40 years! I have hardly been anywhere else in fact, unless you count a couple of trips to Australia. So, it's not NEW AND EXCITING for me. I walk down the street and see the same people I have known for 40 years, the same shops, the same beach. I was even living here when I met Stew, he worked here too. So there ya go, my reason for NOT being that wrapt in being here.

So you buggers who envy me can just get over it...I am not an ungrateful bitch, just a 'been here, done that' for 40 years already, bitch!
nite nite.

INTERNET CAFE'S AND PITT BULLS

We are at the beach, it's the first time we have stayed in the 'little beach house' here... and WE LOVE IT!

Well ... I did until I learnt that the next door neighbours (locals) have a Pitt Bull Terrior... that is NOT FENCED, NOT ON A CHAIN... and seemingly can roam?

I am beside myself with FEAR and PANIC really! We have Teddy with us... I am scared shitless that dog will see Teddy and come over and eat him... or the kids.

I don't want to get 'offside' with the neighbours... I do not want to 'dob' them in for having a dog that is able to just come onto our property... so I'm looking at fencing options for our property today. I will not be happy there while it is so UNSAFE for my kids and Teddy (not to mention myself!).

I have a morbid fear of other people's dogs, and those sorts of dogs in particular! Dogs can sense this and I am no good at hiding it.

In every other respect, I am actually very happy to be here!
I didn't think I would be...
But I am! The house is just lovely....the kids love the beach, in fact they were in the water shortly after we arrived!

Some good news... the people here in the Internet Cafe reckon my digital camera WILL work with these computers, so maybe tomorrow I can put some PHOTOS on! yaaaa!

End of Day ... even if it's only 10.30 am.....ha ha ha.
Having a lovely time, being good with the diet today so far... but it's early! *smiles* nite nite.

OFF TO THE BEACH

Much to my consternation, we are leaving for the beach today...
Why am I not happy about this?

- I love my new home, I love being here, I don't want to go away!
- NO INTERNET... I will have to use an Internet Cafe! So, no photos on me blog till I get home!
- No chance to read blogs and keep up to date! Don't hate me!
- Shopping in Whitianga is minimal... not what I like... and it is almost always much more expensive there too.

The only good thing is it's not 9 hours away from home anymore, it's now only 2.5 hrs away! So we can pop home when we get sick of it! We plan to be home on Friday to meet Amanda and Andrew when they get back from their honeymoon, and I have a hospital appointment a few days after that too...
DRAT... more needles.

So, until I get to an internet cafe.. catch ya later!

nite nite! (early? yep, but better now than not at all!)

CAR SHOW... OH JOY

This trike was about the only thing that caught my eye.

Blogger is playing up and won't let me re-position these photos, so you get them at the top of the post, instead of later on in the day!
It's 7 pm. It's been a long, hot tiring day. All I can say about the Hotrod Show is... THANK GOD I TOOK A BOOK. It was too hot, the sun beat down on us ... Stew got sunburnt, I got crabby and retreated to the car to read me book.
Once you have looked at a hundred cars, the last thing you want to do is look at a thousand more.... Stew felt the same... but Griffin loved it. *sigh*

Idiots on bikes.. Stew took these, I was in the car.

We stopped in at Remuera to visit Stew's Step Mother, it was her birthday today, 89 and going strong. The kids played on this lovely old Pohutakawa tree in the park next door to the rest home.


*******************************************************************************

Stew promised Griffin they could go to the Kumeu Hotrod Show... so that's what we are doing today!



THIS (above) is what Griffin wants to see

And THIS (above) would tickle Brylee's fancy!

I am hoping to find a few shops there as well.... cars are NOT MY THING.... unless I'm buying one that is! lol


Stew's sister has her Art Gallery out that way too, so we shall get the pleasure of visiting her as well...

Wish me luck with the diet today as I'm sure there will be hotdogs and chips, candy floss and so on to tempt me.
LATER...

End of Day: read the top bit to find out what we did after the morning! Mucked up post! Anyway, we are all very tired and hot... and there is a lot to do tonight as we are off to the beach for a few days tomorrow.

Don't really feel like going, but it is there to be used (beach house) so better go!

nite nite.

IT IS A WOMAN'S PEROGATIVE....

To change her mind!

I went to dinner last night vowing NOT to have dessert eh?

Well.... not only did I have dessert... but I ordered:

THREE!!!

Well they were so LITTLE.... honestly! See the size of the tumbler of water? Well the desserts were smaller than that.... we got two different types of ice cream (Stew LOVES ice cream) and a Creme Brulee'.... which was DELICIOUS! EDIT: No I did not eat all three on my own! We shared them with Stew eating most of the ice cream.

On a whole the dinner was just lovely, nice little suburban restaurant... excellent service... will no doubt go again!

After dinner Stew and I went for a little drive ... and NO, we did not 'park up' anywhere! Pffffft, the car is too small. lol

TODAY: much the same as yesterday I think. Am going to take my van into the Toyota Dealership and see what sort of trade they will give me for it...

I took it to the Holden Dealership yesterday and was shocked at how much they offered me for it! A bit of a rip off there! The tyres are worth more than they offered me! Maybe if the Dealerships won't give me a decent price I will try to sell it privately.

Anyway, I'm doing the homework now so we are in the know when the time is right.

ONWARD.....

Don't be fooled... it is NOT Berry flavoured Aqua Shot,

it's DIET COKE. What else do ya think I would be sipping on all day?

WE had a very restless night, it was so hot, then Brylee woke up in the middle of the night with diarrhea... WONDERFUL. So feeling very head achy and jaded...might just have to take a NANA NAP today!

JAXX: funnily enough, NO! Though I do tend to drink it fairly fast, so it isn't left sitting in the bottle too long!

ANNE: I had a chicken fettuccine dish, Stew had a seafood spaghetti one. Mine was really tasty, Stew's so-so.

It's been a fairly quiet day so far... I went to the Toyota Dealer, but the guy I spoke to was a prick so I won't be doing business with him again! Some men just don't know how to speak to a woman eh? PRICK.

ANYWAY.. food.. spot on still for the day.. feeling good about that.

NANA NAP - done.

Need to get this butt moving now... dinner, washing in, bla bla bla.

End of Day: we have had a lovely evening just

chillin watching the telly... corn on the cob for dinner which was a) healthy and b) low in calories ... so excellent! AND I resisted having anything evil afterwards. nite nite.

ITALIAN ANYONE?

Stew and I are going out tonight... just the TWO OF US... to dinner no less.

And this is possible due to a dear girlfriend (Lynise, private blogger) offering to babysit for us! What an AWESOME Chick!

We are going to our local Italian Restaurant, which is just next door to the kid's school, we can walk there even! Incidental exercise people!

I am really looking forward to it, my diet will go out the window tonight! I will enjoy a lovely dinner, in peace, and that's all there is to it.

I thought I would share this amazing photo with you, I took it last night from my driveway.... looking North East, away from the sunset!

The sun was setting BEHIND me, and reflecting back on this amazing cloud formation. I thought is was really awesome.

TODAY?

Well same old same oh I'm afraid! Housework, kids, sunbathing, blogging, reading... just life in general.

Will try to be very careful what I eat during the day so I can still have a lovely dinner and not feel too guilty. I will not have dessert, how's that? ha ha ha.

Hmmm... so much for staying home and doing housework! HA.. as if!!!

I went shopping.... like what else do you expect from me???

I got these really cool speakers for me computer, now I can crank up the volume!!! COOL... I'm sure the neighbours WILL get used to The Dixie Chicks.

This did necessitate tidying up me computer desk... which is great, I just LOVE tidying up.

Now, all tidy and my new speakers work!

AWESOME.

FOOD: so far so good... not even feeling hungry yet and it's midday.

LATE AFTERNOON UPDATE: Oh it's been the most beautiful afternoon... lazing by the pool (let's get real... the PADDLE POOL)... soaking up the sun... doing a bit of housework ... and just chillin before the lovely Lynise arrives to babysit.

I really am looking forward to this evening!

End of Day: well a lovely dinner was had, THANK YOU so much Lynise for being such a darling! nite nite

MY DOCTOR SAID:

Yesterday my Doctor said:

"Exercise will NOT help you lose weight, only eating less will"

Ummmm... I have always thought (and been told), that exercise and eating less was conducive to loosing weight!

My new Doctor is really nice, but he is such a DORK. He is a Lecturing Professor at the University / Medical School, so is very "HIGH BROW" and intellectual. He is, I reckon, more conversant with the theoretical than the practical. So I reckon our relationship is going to be very interesting! God help him if he INSISTS I have to drink bloody water in order to lose weight!!! I think I will win on that score!

Anyway... while you ponder this... I will go and hang out the bloody washing OK?.... don't envy me now will ya? lol

I added 'something' to my blog page... who can pick it????

First thing this morning, this is what greeted me at the door:

I looked at Teddy...

And the little shit dropped his ears and tail and skuttled real fast into his kennel.

He is in the sin bin. I have rearranged the dog fencing so he can't do it again. He will learn not to be so naughty!

UPON REFECTION... I concede my Dr has a point.. and CLAIRE too.... if you rely on exercise to loose weight .. it won't work long term cos what happens if/when you CAN'T exercise? I have found out in the last 2 years (due to having a few operations and becoming severely anemic!).. you gain weight! You have to learn to eat less, eat well and exercise! Not rocket science is it??? I'm working on it....

Lessons I have learnt over the past 5 years:

- I was Super Morbidly Obese

- I learnt that cutting the calories and getting moderate exercise resulted in a loss of 61 kilos

- I learnt that if you exercised like a demon you could maintain that loss while letting the calories increase

- I learnt that if you got ill and didn't exercise, but continued to increase the calories you gained weight

A LOT OF WEIGHT....

- I learnt that it sucks to have to start again, but it is worth it, cos I have LEARNT what works and what DOES NOT.

I'm sorry today's post has been so 'weight' focused, but I am totally feeling like crap today... I HATE THE SCALES, I HATE MYSELF....

End of day: well it has been a beautiful day here, fine and hot all day... my mood has been very up and down.... typical woman eh? nite nite.

WEIGH IN.... YIKES... DOES HOLDING YOUR BREATH HELP???

( "Doodle Art" courtesy of Rick over at http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/)

Today I am going to do it... I am doing my first weigh in of the year... it will not be pretty, it will be embarrassing, I will feel like crap... BUT I will do it. I'm going to my doctor, and I will set up a regular weekly time to go in there and jump on the scales.. no more piss arse'ing around.

ACCOUNTABILITY is mine, all mine, and I will do it this year and keep it off! I will be a healthy weight, I will be fitter then ever before and I will be HAPPY.

I know you poor buggers have heard it all before, I know.... but if we didn't keep trying we might as well just give up and gorge ourselves into an early grave eh? I for one am NOT ready to do that.

I must get Stew on board too, he has to STOP buying ice-cream for the kids (I eat it), he has to stop agreeing to take-aways when I am feeling lazy... and I have to resist throttling him when he does not go and get me yummy stuff when I want it!

ONWARD... my appointment is at 11 am... need to do a few jobs first before I rock on up to those bloody scales!

It's DONE... I stood on the scales in front of my doctor... and have arranged to go in every tuesday and weigh in ... ACCOUNTABILITY.

The doctor is nice, but a dork. He gave me this huge lecture on 'good brain' vs. 'bad brain'.. .. and all that shit which I already know.. but I listened, nodded my head ....then told him he was a friggin dork! Like I didn't already KNOW ALL THAT MATE. He must be getting used to me cos he just laughed at me. pfffffft.

Anyway, I'm happy.... I have GAINED 3 kilos in the last couple of months.. no excuses really.... but the thing is I am on track now to shifting it, and HOPEFULLY learning how to keep it off forever! It is all in the BRAIN (yes Dr. I bloody know this)....

The kids and I did a few jobs in town and are now enjoying a nice quiet afternoon at home. These kids really are good ya know... sure they fight sometimes, but on a whole they are lovely kids. I can grumble about Griffin's behaviour (often) but when it suits him he's excellent. He must have decided to be BLOODY EXCELLENT today cos he was delightful while we were out! He even SAT outside a shop while I went in cos it was a china shop! lol..... he really is like a bull in a china shop sometimes! BUT NOT TODAY.

I'm feeling really happy, maybe because I faced the music (again) and am really going to give it my all?

LYNDA: No number mate, I am accoutable to myself and the Doctor... that is enough of being honest for me! If and when I am really happy/comfortable with myself and the 'number' I will divulge, but not right now. I am ashamed enough as it is.

End of Day: breathing a sigh of relief I did it! Been EXCELLENT all day too.... no slip ups whatsoever. nite nite.