TO SWIM... OR NOT?

Well... it's supposed to be wet for most of the day today.
And it's my Aqua Fit day.  Hmmm.  I'm not sure if I will go or not yet.
It will depend on how much it is raining I think.
Aqua is on, rain or shine though.  So, we will see.

Stew's sister is leaving for Auckland this morning, so just a quick visit from her.  It has been nice to see her though.  

She brought her dog, Max, with her.  So our girls have been confined to the other end of the house... Tallulah would EAT him.  He's not silly though, he didn't go anywhere near the gate, so she couldn't even snap at him through the gap.

 ABOVE:  Khady and Max.  He's a lovely dog.

ABOVE:  Such a cutie.

And now... I'm off to get everyone sorted and off to school/kindy.

ONWARD...

I went to Aqua!  And ... normal numbers are between 30 - 60 people.  Today?  8
8 die hards.  It WAS cold.  But once you got moving it wasn't so bad.  I gave it 100%, determined to keep warm.  I did get cold now and then, but on a whole I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Home to a nice hot shower, first HOT shower in ages I must say.  Usually it's tepid at most.

Russell has just popped in for a hot cuppa tea, he's working on the other side of Cambridge at the moment, so nice to see him.

OMG I'm so friggin crabby right now!
I had to talk to Spark (phone company) about an account problem... then I had to get into my email account for them... only I managed to lock myself out of it didn't I?

So I couldn't get into my own email account, and have had to jump through a gazillion hoops to try and reactivate my own account.
Because we moved homes, and PHONE numbers, I couldn't get their recovery codes sent to my phone number, cos it was NO LONGER MY NUMBER!  OMG what a mess.

But ... after 3 hours, I have finally got back in... after filling in copious forms and answering a million questions.  I don't know how anyone can hack your account when it's that hard to get back in yourself!

My head is pounding and I'm fit to kill.  Poor Keera has been yelled at because she was yabbering in my face while I was trying to figure it all out!  Sorry kid.  Bad Grandma.

Stew... takeaways for you guys tonight, I'm not in the mood for cooking!

Well... the family had Pizza for dinner, and I drooled.
But didn't feel too hard done by, cos I know it would have just made me sick.

Quiet evening ahead. 

I GOT THREE!

If you have a 'good' week at Weight Watchers, you usually get a little sticker.

It's just something most Leaders do to 'reward' you.

So.  At last night's weigh in, I lost .800 grams.  Not a huge loss, but one I'm happy with.

And I got a sticker for a good loss.  

THEN I was given another one because I was at my lowest weight since re-joining. (after yo-yo'ing for a while)

AND then I was given ANOTHER one because I went for my first bike ride in 28 years!

ABOVE: First time ever I've had THREE stickers!

I was pretty chuffed.  

After feeling so sick all day, it was a nice way to end the day.  Funny how tiny stickers can make you feel so good!

I went out last night and bought gallons of Trim Milk.  And also Diet Sprite.  Anything to supplement my fluid intake, cos I'm cutting back on the Diet Coke.

I wonder how long it will take for a migraine to kick in?

Luckily, the Doctor has given me migraine medication to help with that.

I will get on top of this.  Acid Reflux is going to be kicked to the curb.

ABOVE:  The new hall we get to have our Patchwork meeting in.  It's twice the size of our old one, had lovely warm carpet on the floor, a huge kitchen with microwave and so on, and it's just all round lovely.

 ABOVE:  Lacy has her uses.  Here she is plucking ear hair out of Tallula's ears!  It's an ikky job, but she's good at it.  *smiles*
It doesn't seem to hurt the dog at all, even though she did struggle to get away.  Lacy ended up sitting on her. lol

And that's me for now.  I'm going for a bike ride once the kids are at school/kindy.

Let's see how that new seat feels.

ONWARD...

STILL AIRING FEELINGS

Well... I'm happy to say the new bike seat is much more comfortable than the old one, but my butt is still sore after my ride!
I rode the same distance today, not trying to go further for a few more rides.

It is a cloudy, slightly cool day!  I got home and did this:

ABOVE:  Slippers on! Took me a little while to actually find them in my wardrobe!  Covered in dust too.  Oh well... me toes are happy again.

NEWS FLASH:  I've not had ANY DIET COKE at all today... and so far... no headache!!!

I've drunk Trim milk and some Diet Sprite.  I'm shocked the headache hasn't kicked in yet.

AND I cooked my 'main meal' at lunchtime, and could not eat even half of it?  WTF is going on?

Maybe the milk killed my appetite?

8.05 pm:  And it's been a quiet afternoon/evening.  Stew's sister Khady arrived and is staying the night, she's on her way up to Auckland.  She lives in Wanganui.
I'm sure we will spend a good deal of time yakking.

And that's all I have for the day.

TOOK A WHILE...

If you give something in good faith, believing what someone tells you, then they do the exact opposite of what they said... you have every right to take back what was given.
Remember, what you say and do can have long lasting repercussions, don't burn bridges unless you have no intention of going back over them.

For someone, that is too late though.  You burnt the bridge with that text. Years of thinly veiled dislike of me/us finally got aired, loud and clear.  I hope it was worth it 'G'.  

SO NOW ... I'M CHOOSING HAPPINESS... and enjoying what is mine again.  No regrets.  

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

I am off to patchwork this morning.  Our group has moved from the little Red Cross Hall in the middle of town to a much larger venue, which is closer to my home.  And it has way, way more parking too.  Parking was a real issue where we were.  So it will be nice to see the new hall, and how it's set up.

There will be men there to set up our tables and extension cords too!  Nice one.

And on that note, I'm out of here.

ONWARD...

Well after bitching about having acid reflux for well over two weeks, I've finally caved in and am going to see the Doctor this afternoon.
I still think there will be bugger all she can do about it except up my Losec medication, but at least I will have done something.

The only 'good' thing about this is that I simply can't eat much!  I am going to get some multi vitamins today, there's not much going in me gob that's going to cover all the bases right now!

It's just so lovely sitting here, it's blissfully quiet, and I can watch the dear wee sparrows on my lawn and in the garden.  
And the temperatures are dropping steadily , so much more comfortable.  

I've got my most favourite earrings on, and I feel like a million bucks! Weird how what you are wearing can lift you up.

1.20 pm:  And I'm home from Patchwork.  I really enjoyed it today!  I offered up my services as 'Communication Person', in charge of sending out news items, event reminders and so on, which was happily accepted by the lady doing it right now.  She wanted to resign.   I am doing everything I can to become a part of this group.

Slowly, slowly getting integrated ... remember this group has been together for over 40 years!  It's not easy to break into such a well established group I tell ya.

There are a couple of younger ladies who I spoke to today, they were so funny.  They thought I was in my 40's!  I told them I loved them.  *smiles*

5.00 pm:  Been to the Doctor's.
As expected, she upped my Losec, in fact she quadrupled it!
And we talked about other things to help relieve it.
Like wean myself off Diet Coke!

AND I LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED.

Then I agreed to TRY and get it down to one or two glasses a day... but only if she gave me something for the migraines I was going to get.

So she gave me something called RIZAMELT.  I haven't 'googled' it yet.  But I will.  *smiles*

She also told me in order not to get dehydrated, I could drink Trim Milk... it's 97% water and she said it would be good for me... cos I don't mind milk, AND it will help with the reflux too! 

So, let's see how that goes. OH the other thing I can do is add ice to my diet coke, to help water it down... I'm not averse to that either.  Anything to get this acid reflux under control.

While I was there, she checked out my tummy... and saw all the bruises I have.  She was really concerned... and asked me if I was OK at home???  *snort*  I assured her I was fine, just prone to bruising... being a  'bleeder' and all.  You should have seen her face though!  Quite funny.

I'm off to Weight Watchers in 40 minutes.  Might not lose much this week... I feel bloated.

I LOVE MY WEIGHT WATCHERS MEETING!  I'm finally one of the girls there... today's has been awesome.  I got THREE stickers!
THREE.  More on my meeting tomorrow.

For now... it's winding down time.  One eye on the TV, one eye on that BLOODY GIRAFFE!

COME ON APRIL!  SPIT OUT YA BABY FFS.

P.S.  Today started out shitty, but thanks to a phone call ... it got better.

Thanks you know who for that phone call.

FAMILY DAY

It's going to be a total family day today.

For a start, we have Kelly and Lacy (and Rena) coming for lunch.

I shall be cooking scones, with jam and cream.

Sadly, Amanda and Andrew (and kids) couldn't come, they had prior commitments.

Then later on in the day, Russell and Ange are coming for dinner.
I've not decided what we are having yet!

Better get something out of the freezer for that.

Keera is going to be very happy to see her Mum, she's not seen her in a while. 

Now... that bloody giraffe!
I've not had a chance to check on her yet... I bet that girl is still in one piece!
I spent HOURS checking on her yesterday!  I mean HOURS and HOURS.  
I kept my YouTube page open and kept checking.  NOTHING.
How can you get sucked into watching a friggin animal just standing in her pen???  It's NUTS.

Yet I keep watching.  If you want to get  hooked on watching her too, here is the link: 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClnQCgFa9lCBL-KXZMOoO9Q/live

And YES, the damn page is still open... waiting for me to go look.  I will be pissed if she spat her baby out while I was sleeping!

ONWARD...

And ... April the giraffe did not have her calf overnight.  Great.  Now I have to watch her all day today... well on and off all day!
Can't stay glued to the computer when I have stuff to be doing.

I've just been mucking around in my lounge... and shrunk the dining table and put a new cloth on it...

ABOVE: How does that look?

 ABOVE:  I think it's bright and cheerful... perfect for going into winter.  Not everyone's taste I'm sure, but I LIKE IT.  😄😉💙

AND just to be a typical ME... I saw some other fabric in me sewing room...

ABOVE:  And now I'm thinking this is better?  A bit less IN YA FACE.  lol

I just asked Griffin to go out and gather up all the tomatoes and bring them inside.
He stood at the door and said "Um... where is the TOMATOE TREE?"
What a dick.  Clearly he does not keep his eyes open when he's outside.  OH HOLD ON!  He doesn't go outside unless it's to school!

TREE?  Shit that boys needs some education.  

We have too many tomatoes now... so  I will be freezing some.  

Ha ha... had some fun with the girls taking 'selfies'... well photos with ME in them... using my remote.

 ABOVE:  Seriously?  Two twits.

 ABOVE:  I like those two photos.

ABOVE:  Such silly girls.  What's with touching my boobs?  😄😖😕

Dinner with Russell and Ange went well.. they are always lovely to have visit.  I've told them next time it's at their house! 

My day went to shit late afternoon, but we are going to rise above it.  It helps having a clear conscience.

ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA

Today we have NO PLANS what so ever!
Stew will probably end up mowing the lawns again, cos they are growing like nobody's business!

Yesterday I finally spat the dummy at our bog roll holder in the family bathroom!
The bloody thing keeps falling over, so I decided to sort out another option.

ABOVE:  Useless.  Anyone have any idea what I can use it for now?

Anyway, I bought a new bog roll holder yesterday, and put it on the side of a small unit I had in the sewing room:

 ABOVE:  It works for me, and all the kids think it's awesome.
Win win.

ABOVE:  When we moved in, there was nothing in this bathroom to hang the paper on... I reckon those two holes are where they had a roll holder, but it fell off or broke?

So, another job in the house sorted out. There really aren't many things to do with the interior of this house now, but there are a few small holes in some walls that need sanding and painting.  I could do that this weekend.

I have no plans to paint new colours though, I'm not keen on changing what's already here.  It works for me.

THOUGH... I do have dreams of knocking some walls down!  But, that is for one day way, way in the future I think.   If ever.  Cos Stew would probably have a fit if I actually did it!  

Sometimes I wish I wasn't always thinking of things to do!  I wanted a big carport out the front, but lucky for Steve, I've actually changed my mind.
Now I just want a front door 'porch', so I can unlock the door without getting wet.  
So, I spend a lot of time looking at pictures on the 'net... getting ideas.  So much time wasted doing that I can tell ya!

Sheesh... I'm rambling now.  I better get the friggin washing on, kid's uniforms won't get done by themselves.  *sigh*

ONWARD...

Well it really has been a slow day so far!
I made waffles for everyone's lunch, they were nice, but not delicious like I remembered.
Oh well... that's my meal for the day done and dusted.

I saw an article on STUFF about a live feed from a USA zoo, showing a giraffe that's about to have her calf.  So I clicked on the link, and am now hooked on watching the friggin giraffe pacing around her pen!

Such a time waster.  But now I want to see her birth her calf!  Grrrrr.  Like waiting for water to boil.. lol.

Stew is taking the kids to the Warehouse.  Don't know why.... 
... and then he took the girls to the Hamilton Gardens for a walk.  Griffin and I stayed home. I really didn't feel like a walk.

And now?  The bloody giraffe has laid down and gone to sleep.  I tell ya.  Talk about falling down on the job.  Pfffffft!

7.25 pm:  And now I smell like a dog.  Cos I bathed Tallulah.   Coco gets away with no bath, cos she doesn't stink!  She thinks she is getting a bath... cos she's keeping right away from me!  lol

I trimmed around Tallulah's eyes, and managed to cut her just under her eye... now I feel really bad.  I hate it when I cut one of them.  I haven't done it very often, and that's why I take them to the groomers!  Luckily she seems to be just fine, running around like a mad dog.

But I will worry now till it is healed.  Should only take a couple of days.  Dogs heal really fast.

Coronation Street is on tonight, so yaaaa.  Stew has 'retired' to the lounge to watch rugby, no Coro for him!  YET, he does come in sometimes and ask me questions about him or her... and I just tell him if he's that interested, he should watch it!   And pigs can fly.

Ending my day now.  Catch ya tomorrow.

CAKE AND SEAT

Keera has a full day at kindy today, which is good as I have to go into Hamilton at lunchtime.

I'm meeting with the lady who will be making my Mum's 80th Birthday Cake.

I'm excited to be getting the details nailed down, and making sure the cake is going to be EXACTLY how I want it.

I did have another lady lined up to make it, but she was really SLOW with her communication, so I backed out with her.  I don't want any muck ups come May!

If I go in early enough, I will stop at the Avanti Bike shop and suss out a bigger, more comfortable seat for my bike.  There is no way I can keep riding on the seat that's on the bike, it is just too uncomfortable.  Stew got me a 'Gel Cover' for the seat yesterday, but even with that on, my butt hurt like mad.

NOT me girly bits, me tail bone and butt!  

So, that's my day planned out till about 2 pm.

Then it will be home, pick up the kids, make dinner, yadda yadda yadda.

ONWARD...

1.55 pm:  And a successful morning.
First up, I got a new bike seat:

ABOVE:  So the new seat is a bit wider, but has quite a bit more 'padding', and it has springs too for added comfort.  So fingers crossed it is better to sit on.

After getting the bike seat, I did a little trip around a couple of op shops.  
I found these:

ABOVE: Two cute little ornaments for my sewing room windowsill.   I  had hoped to find some more clothes, but nope... no luck today.

Good news, NO ACID REFLUX today!  First day in over 2 weeks that I've not had it.
My new regime must be working.

For my 'main meal' of the day, which I had at 2 pm, I cooked myself a potato, and added some baked beans, onions, tomato and grated cheese.  AND a dollop of sour cream.  It was super YUM.

So, I did the same thing for the family at dinner time too.  It seemed to go down well.
Only they got bacon on top too.  I forgot the bacon for mine.  Derrr.

So now, I'm watching Coronation Street, and enjoying every minute of it.

TODAY IS THE DAY....

I have the bike.
I have the helmet.
I have the basket to hold me 'stuff'.

Now I am ready.  To go on my first 'proper' bike ride in over 28 years!

Last time I rode a bike was when we lived in Te Awamutu, before Mike was born!

I used to ride most mornings, until I kept getting harassed by dogs.  That stopped me riding.  Nothing worse than having dogs try to bite you when you are riding a bike eh?

So, hopefully there are NO DOGS where I'm going riding!  That would really piss me off!

Where am I going?

ABOVE: Here.  It's a cycle path that goes all the way to Lake Karapiro.
I am going to drive to Leamington (outer suburb of Cambridge) then ride from there along the path.  It's dead flat all the way, and super safe.  
Safety is important to me... no way am I ever going to ride on the road with cars!

I have no idea how long or far I will manage to go!  But, no matter how far, it will be a start.

Once I get back to my car, I will drive the distance I rode, so I know how far I went.

So, wish me luck... and fingers crossed I don't fall off and break something!  

On a different note, Kelly and Gordon had a flood in their house, and so I asked them to take before and after photos of the damage:

ABOVE:  There was damage done to the laundry, bathroom, toilet, and three bedrooms.
It took a while to get it all ripped out/up and replaced.
Yesteday the carpet finally got laid, and they could put all the furniture back in the bedrooms.

ABOVE:  Rena in the lounge before all the furniture went back!  The family had been sleeping in the lounge while the floors were being replaced.
I bet they are all thrilled to bits to finally have their home repaired!

ONWARD...

Well... I. DID. IT!

I got on that bike and I rode.  It was a foggy morning, so PERFECT for riding.  Not too hot.
Unlike now (10 am) and the fog has been burnt off and it's stinking hot again.

ABOVE:  Thanks Lynda, I did indeed use Map My Run to chart how far I went today.  I will do that every time from now on.

I was surprised just how far I did go!  I fully expected to only get about 500 meters up the road before turning around.

My butt isn't going to forgive me in a hurry though.  I could have gone so much further if it hadn't been so bloody uncomfortable.  I will have to get a BIGGER seat!  


ABOVE: Look at that!  I even managed to get a little video of me on the bike, 'proof' if you will.

Now... I'm off to get the washing out... 

OH!  I forgot to say:

I DIDN'T FALL OFF!  Yaaaaaa.  *smiles*

The rest of my day was uneventful.  My butt is still sore, so tomorrow I might investigate a new, more 'generous' seat ... as well as having the gel cover.

Time to sign off for the day.  Stinkin' hot evening here.

AQUA TODAY

So, today is Aqua fit.
Looking forward to seeing all those ladies again... it's fun if nothing else.
Seriously, I don't think I'm getting 'fit' or anything like it doing aqua fit!
I really should stay afterwards and do laps again. That gets the heart pumping for sure.

After aqua fit, I will come home and get on with my sewing.  That first little giraffe is STILL not finished.
I got side tracked with the Sue's and other stuff.

Which was nice of course.

 ABOVE:  Poor Stew was about to head off to bed last night when I asked him to put the basket on my bike.
So he did. It took a while cos he kept having trouble getting a bolt to tighten, but he got there in the end:

ABOVE:  Ready to go!  

ONWARD...

MOAN ALERT.

I'm down in the dumps.  Every single morning I wake up, have a MASSIVE hot flush and feel sick as a dog.  EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Then I feel sick for half the morning.

Lately I've been suffering from acid reflux too.  Not just after a meal.  But all day long.  It's doing my  head in.
I can't understand why?

I'm not over eating.  I'm not eating the 'wrong' shit.  

Might be time to see the Doctor again.  

I'm seriously thinking of going back on amitriptyline just so I can sleep at night too.  I had 5 hot flushes between midnight and 7 this morning, so I got bugger all sleep. 

There is nothing worse than getting up in the morning feeling like utter crap.

I REALLY don't feel like going to aqua... but I will... cos that might perk me up?

12.15 pm:  And aqua was GOOD today!  We had an instructor who I'd not had before, so the workout was better.  I even got tired.  

Once home again, I got stuck into some housework, then showered, washed the mop and so on.
And now?  It's just about time to pick up Keera from Kindy.  She only has a half day today.

No doubt she will have her lunch then a 2 hour nap.  I'm pretty lucky!

While she's napping I will get on with my sewing I think.  Or I could hem the last pair of Stew's trousers?  Hmmm... decisions, decisions.

Comment answers:

I already take Losec, 1 a day.  I will probably have to up it to 2 a day.
I have tried a few 'natural' remedies for the hot flushes, nothing worked.
I don't know if I'm gluten sensitive, how would I find out?
I too still had heartburn when I was smaller.  The acid reflux is a fairly new problem (last couple of years).
I have no idea if my hormone levels are high or low!  Another thing the Dr might check out I suppose.
Lucky TED!  It has been suggested I have an endoscope by my Dr in Auckland, but I didn't like that idea!
'Happy Hormones'... just another remedy that no doubt won't work.  The medication I'm already on is supposed to work 100%. YEAH RIGHT.
I've not heard of Nexium, I will ask my Dr about it.
Antihistamines at night, hmmm, might suggest that to the Dr too.

Thanks for all the suggestions, much appreciated. ♥

For now, I am going to stop eating ANYTHING after 4 pm, so I HOPEFULLY don't get acid reflux at night?

There is nothing worse than having to 'sleep' sitting up all night (ha ha, not that ya do sleep). I do that, to avoid this:

The horror and panic when you breathe acid into your lungs when you are asleep!  It is the MOST terrifying feeling not being able to breathe, that and the pain!

That is the thing I am trying to avoid happening ever again.  It's happened 3 times now.
I felt like I could have died from not being able to breathe and choking.

I just fed the family spaghetti bolognese for dinner, and now... bathing the kid and getting her off to bed. 

Winding down... and only have SLIGHT feeling of reflux... so hopefully tonight I will sleep better.  And I'm not even hungry.  Had my main meal at lunchtime.