Aurealis Awards

Sunday:

I didn't write yesterday because we went out last night, a pretty rare occurrence these days. It was the Aurealis Awards, Australian book awards for speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction and horror - spec fiction is basically anything with elements that aren't in the real world). I was one of the judges, as I have been four out of the past five years. It is quite a lot of work, being a judge, reading a lot of books (my record was 63 when I was doing the fantasy novel category) over about a eight month period and critiquing them and arguing with the other judges about which is the best.

The kids had sleep-overs with friends and we went out to dinner and to the Awards which was fun. I don't actually do anything at the ceremony, just watch from the audience, but I get to talk to authors and publishers at the drinks before it starts. Except I'm generally too shy to approach people, and also I don't know what they look like so I don't know who to approach anyway! So we only chatted to a few people. The ceremony is moving to Perth next year, way over of the opposite coast, so it's the last one I'll be going to for a while although I may still judge, I haven't yet decided. It is a big eater-of-time and I come to resent reading what I have to instead of what I want to!

I didn't exercise yesterday because I hurt my foot somehow. I kept hoping it would get better but it didn't - in fact is still hurts today. I wasn't even exercising when I hurt it, I just got up from a chair. It's nothing serious, but I don't want to make it worse by doing much with it. My body insists on reminding me how middle-aged and unfit I am. Today I did an hour of Fantasia, which didn't involve moving my feet much and was fine.

My water consumption was absolutely shocking yesterday - two glasses of water and one of cup of tea all day. I've been pretty slack with this for a while now. So, with my commitment to my CPAP going really well, I'm adding step two. My new focus is my water consumption. I know it really does help me lose weight and keep healthy. I will keep that damn Plant Nanny seedling (my current plant is a cabbage, as they grow up they get put in the "garden" and you chose a new baby) alive and unwilted! I can do this, it just takes focus. I am trying to take one step at a time and not expect myself to be perfect in all areas all at once. I've got the sleep under control, now I am tackling water.

Speaking of the CPAP, that is finally going much better. Two more nights of keeping it on for much longer stretches and sleeping peacefully most of the night. I think it really took that mental shift where I no longer just assume and expect it will be an annoyance. I'm still often feeling quite tired during the day but after all I have years of poor sleep to catch up on so I'm hoping that will gradually improve.

In less-happy news, my weight was way up this morning, nearly a kilogram overnight. Damn restaurant food! And I thought I made a good choice avoiding the pasta, and only had half a glass of cider, and one nibble at the cocktail party and no wine there. But it was probably very salty and with the minimal fluid all day I wasn't able to flush the salt out. Still, even knowing that it is a bit discouraging. I'd lost about half a kilogram during the week, a small amount but a good start, and then put it all back on and more overnight. Oh well, I know I can lose it again.

We signed up for Foxtel today because it is the only way to see Game of Thrones in Australia. Other than piracy, of course, and they are really cracking down on that. We've got the previous seasons on DVD, and I've read all the books of course. We've never had pay TV before, we get plenty of free channels and I watch too much TV anyway. But after my husband set it up up the kids watched the movie "Turbo" and then I watched two episodes of America's Next Top Model and an episode of Junior Master Chef from the UK, and Tim looked at me and said "we're keeping Foxtel after Game of Thrones is over, aren't we" and I said "yup"! Because of time zone differences GoT will be on Monday 11:00am, so I'll have to lock the kids in their rooms for an hour! Not suitable for children! And Tim goes out Monday nights, there is no way I am waiting until Tuesday night after the kids are in bed to watch it with him.

I did really well with food today and didn't eat any of the cupcakes Tim and Jasmine made!

Report card (for Sunday):
Diet: Great.
Exercise: Good. I'm happy I worked around the sore foot.
Water: Amazing! 💦 I'm on glass 12 now.
Sleep: Great.
Mental health: Good.

Teacher's note: We think Natalie is ready. We are moving her up to the next grade. 😃