Thursday:
I turned 50 a couple of weeks ago. Chronological age doesn't really bother me, I like to think of it as an achievement, going up levels. +2 Wisdom, -2 Dexterity. Tim and the kids took the day off and we went to a lovely "High Tea" in North Sydney with gorgeous views of the harbour. It was lunch for us, rather than afternoon tea, with plenty of food; they gave us (each) eleven different dainty foods - a tiny quiche, macaron, cheesecake, arancini ball, little sandwiches, scones with jam and cream etc. And pots of tea, of course. We chose the kids' version for Jasmine and Aiden even though they are teenagers - more sugar, less 'fancy'. None of us got through everything!
Afterwards we went for a short walk down (then back up) a very steep path, not far because the day before I had slipped on our steep mossy driveway, hurting my hip and jarring my hand and shoulder, and I was still a bit sore; also the view was heavily obscured by thick foliage and everything was a bit damp. That night I felt a sudden stinging burning pain in my neck, and investigation revealed a tick! I've never had one before. I assume it got into my hair on the walk. Tim got it out with no lasting ill effects, but I still have a small lump there two weeks later. Maybe the universe didn't want me to get past 49.
Obviously no big party, we just had some family over on Sunday for dinner and board games.
Yesterday I had my colonoscopy. I'd noticed some bleeding months ago, but Covid-19 delayed hospital stuff for non-urgent cases until now. Luckily I got the all-clear straight away, no cancer, although they want to check again in a year. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had - I was unconscious for the actual procedure but you have to fast for a couple of days beforehand; liquids only for 24 hours then nothing for about 6 hours, and you have to drink a weird liquid that prompts your body to eliminate everything in a hurry. It made me feel both nauseated and bloated so I certainly didn't feel any of the magical purity some people get with fasting. And I was headachy because I don't like tea without milk and had some caffeine withdrawal. Oh well, it was an important test to have and well worth doing.
I haven't heard from work yet about term 3. We had almost got back to normal here but are starting to have a second wave of Covid so everything is still uncertain. It is the second week of the winter school holidays now, kids back to school next week. Tim took a week off but we didn't go anywhere or do anything much. Weather is cold and mostly bleak.
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Tim’s birthday
Sunday:
I’ve been having problems with this blog for months, where I can’t respond to people’s comments. So if it looks like I don’t read them or don’t care, not true! It a bit frustrating, i really do appreciate comments.
I guess we’re a bit isolated in Australia, and also “social distancing” is pretty much the norm here - we like a lot of personal space and don’t generally stand close. So Corvid19 hasn’t really taken hold (yet). But i do see that the news from the rest of the world is worrying.
Shopping here has gone in a few weeks from it being difficult to get toilet paper/tissues/paper towels, then add rice and pasta to that list, then I went shopping yesterday and most of the shelves were empty or nearly so. Still plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables - I suppose because they are perishable none hoards them - but meat and lots of other things were gone. I was able to get food for the week, but not necessarily things I would usually buy, and not the things Tim had requested for his birthday dinner. Supermarkets have now restricted purchases to one or two of each thing, which hopefully will stop people being so selfish when stocks do come in.
We didn’t have a family get-together this weekend despite two birthdays. Tim and I are both a bit unwell, most likely not Corvid19 but we don’t want to pass any type of illness on! But the person we want most to protect, Tim’s father who is over 70 and has prostate cancer, wanted to come over and is still going out to restaurants and stuff so he’s certainly not self-isolating. We wouldn’t let anyone come over, and I probably won’t go to work tomorrow.
I gave Tim a really elaborate board game called Gloomhaven, it weighs about 10 kg was over $200. We’ve started that and it seems pretty good. Each session is supposed to take about 2 hours (we’ve taken 5 and haven’t finished, but we’re still working out all the rules) but there is a big storyline and all future sessions will link together so it could take years! Good one for if we’re all in isolation.
Hope your all staying well.
I’ve been having problems with this blog for months, where I can’t respond to people’s comments. So if it looks like I don’t read them or don’t care, not true! It a bit frustrating, i really do appreciate comments.
I guess we’re a bit isolated in Australia, and also “social distancing” is pretty much the norm here - we like a lot of personal space and don’t generally stand close. So Corvid19 hasn’t really taken hold (yet). But i do see that the news from the rest of the world is worrying.
Shopping here has gone in a few weeks from it being difficult to get toilet paper/tissues/paper towels, then add rice and pasta to that list, then I went shopping yesterday and most of the shelves were empty or nearly so. Still plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables - I suppose because they are perishable none hoards them - but meat and lots of other things were gone. I was able to get food for the week, but not necessarily things I would usually buy, and not the things Tim had requested for his birthday dinner. Supermarkets have now restricted purchases to one or two of each thing, which hopefully will stop people being so selfish when stocks do come in.
We didn’t have a family get-together this weekend despite two birthdays. Tim and I are both a bit unwell, most likely not Corvid19 but we don’t want to pass any type of illness on! But the person we want most to protect, Tim’s father who is over 70 and has prostate cancer, wanted to come over and is still going out to restaurants and stuff so he’s certainly not self-isolating. We wouldn’t let anyone come over, and I probably won’t go to work tomorrow.
I gave Tim a really elaborate board game called Gloomhaven, it weighs about 10 kg was over $200. We’ve started that and it seems pretty good. Each session is supposed to take about 2 hours (we’ve taken 5 and haven’t finished, but we’re still working out all the rules) but there is a big storyline and all future sessions will link together so it could take years! Good one for if we’re all in isolation.
Hope your all staying well.
Monday, January 27, 2020
Too young to be old
Tuesday:
I hadn't really expected to hear from my workplace until the start of school term (it's a library at a TAFE, adult learners, so they only have a few permanent staff during the quiet holiday period), but I was getting a bit worried regardless that I wouldn't get much work (I'm a casual) and I'd have to start applying for jobs again -- further away from home, new systems, less congenial. But they contacted me to offer a couple of weeks, then today updated that to 8 weeks of this 10 week term... so I can relax knowing I will still be getting plenty of work, they still like me, I still seem to be top of their list.
Jasmine returns to school tomorrow (Year 11!) and Aiden the day after (Year 8). Jasmine turns 16 on Thursday!! I can't believe I have a nearly-adult daughter. I'm too young to be this old. She claims to be taller than me too, but I always deny it. She could learn to drive now! She's not that keen though. I think she'll wait until a convenient holiday break and we'll get her professional lessons. Tim would love to teach her but I think she'd be more nervous with daddy watching.
We didn't do much these holidays. We have at least got a bit more use out of the pool with a few hot days when the air wasn't full of bushfire smoke. Today is warm enough, but the sky is a nasty brownish orange.
I hadn't really expected to hear from my workplace until the start of school term (it's a library at a TAFE, adult learners, so they only have a few permanent staff during the quiet holiday period), but I was getting a bit worried regardless that I wouldn't get much work (I'm a casual) and I'd have to start applying for jobs again -- further away from home, new systems, less congenial. But they contacted me to offer a couple of weeks, then today updated that to 8 weeks of this 10 week term... so I can relax knowing I will still be getting plenty of work, they still like me, I still seem to be top of their list.
Jasmine returns to school tomorrow (Year 11!) and Aiden the day after (Year 8). Jasmine turns 16 on Thursday!! I can't believe I have a nearly-adult daughter. I'm too young to be this old. She claims to be taller than me too, but I always deny it. She could learn to drive now! She's not that keen though. I think she'll wait until a convenient holiday break and we'll get her professional lessons. Tim would love to teach her but I think she'd be more nervous with daddy watching.
We didn't do much these holidays. We have at least got a bit more use out of the pool with a few hot days when the air wasn't full of bushfire smoke. Today is warm enough, but the sky is a nasty brownish orange.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Teenager
Sunday:
My baby turned 13 today. I can’t believe I am the parent of two teenagers! He went with his friends to Underworld Laser (one of those places you run around in the dark shooting at each other) then they came back here for a pool party. We hadn’t been in the pool yet this year (I still haven’t), we’ve had some very hot days but not on the weekend or when the water was clean and balanced. And then it gets cold again. We got the water temp up to 24C today (I prefer around 30) with the solar heater and the boys seemed quite happy to jump in.
Now they’re inside playing “Cards against humanity” in the next room and it’s hilarious but I feel a bit worried other parents wouldn’t approve. They are all only 13. You play cards with phrases on them in combinations to be as funny as possible - often offensive or very rude. “I’m going on a cleanse this week, nothing but kale juice and ....” and then you pair that with “autocannibalism” or “Lance Armstrong’s missing testicle” or whatever card from your hand you think will be funniest. So much laughter! So inappropriate! There is one boy who doesn’t know what quite a few of the words mean, I’m quite proud of Aiden for being able to explain them sensibly.
There will be a lull after they go, then I’ll start preparing for a family dinner for 18.
My baby turned 13 today. I can’t believe I am the parent of two teenagers! He went with his friends to Underworld Laser (one of those places you run around in the dark shooting at each other) then they came back here for a pool party. We hadn’t been in the pool yet this year (I still haven’t), we’ve had some very hot days but not on the weekend or when the water was clean and balanced. And then it gets cold again. We got the water temp up to 24C today (I prefer around 30) with the solar heater and the boys seemed quite happy to jump in.
Now they’re inside playing “Cards against humanity” in the next room and it’s hilarious but I feel a bit worried other parents wouldn’t approve. They are all only 13. You play cards with phrases on them in combinations to be as funny as possible - often offensive or very rude. “I’m going on a cleanse this week, nothing but kale juice and ....” and then you pair that with “autocannibalism” or “Lance Armstrong’s missing testicle” or whatever card from your hand you think will be funniest. So much laughter! So inappropriate! There is one boy who doesn’t know what quite a few of the words mean, I’m quite proud of Aiden for being able to explain them sensibly.
There will be a lull after they go, then I’ll start preparing for a family dinner for 18.
Friday, July 12, 2019
Goodbye old library
Saturday:
So I turned 49 the other day, one year until 50. This year I am determined to focus on my health. Sleep. Exercise. More fruit and vegetables. Water. I have made a start on some of these things.
I had my last day at my old workplace yesterday. We shared a lunch and everyone seemed sad to see me go. It wasn't a bad job, and I liked the other staff. I have a week off now (it's school holidays, Tim stayed home with the kids the first week) then I start at my new workplace. Same job, different location. It's an improvement in every way - closer, higher pay, less busy etc - except that it has less job security.
I've been having a hard time the last few weeks. I've been in peri-menopause for years (it seems like I've been saying "at least five years" for a long time) and my main symptom is night sweats. At the moment it's nearly every night. I wake up all sweaty - and then get very cold because it's the middle of winter and being in damp pyjamas is no joke - and then I rarely get back to sleep. So I am utterly exhausted. Dragging myself through the days, going to bed before the kids at night. I'll be seeing my gyno but I couldn't get an appointment for another six weeks. I plan to take a lot of naps while I've got this time off, and also try some vitamin/herbal medicine.
So I turned 49 the other day, one year until 50. This year I am determined to focus on my health. Sleep. Exercise. More fruit and vegetables. Water. I have made a start on some of these things.
I had my last day at my old workplace yesterday. We shared a lunch and everyone seemed sad to see me go. It wasn't a bad job, and I liked the other staff. I have a week off now (it's school holidays, Tim stayed home with the kids the first week) then I start at my new workplace. Same job, different location. It's an improvement in every way - closer, higher pay, less busy etc - except that it has less job security.
I've been having a hard time the last few weeks. I've been in peri-menopause for years (it seems like I've been saying "at least five years" for a long time) and my main symptom is night sweats. At the moment it's nearly every night. I wake up all sweaty - and then get very cold because it's the middle of winter and being in damp pyjamas is no joke - and then I rarely get back to sleep. So I am utterly exhausted. Dragging myself through the days, going to bed before the kids at night. I'll be seeing my gyno but I couldn't get an appointment for another six weeks. I plan to take a lot of naps while I've got this time off, and also try some vitamin/herbal medicine.
Friday, June 28, 2019
Sluggish
Saturday:
I took the shell off my racing snail to make him go faster - but it just made him sluggish.
It will be my birthday on Tuesday. So I haven't started my diet yet. Or lifestyle change, or whatever you want to call it. My challenge to be healthier by 50. I have a little party tomorrow and then a dinner out on the day. Then I'll start...
Two weeks left at my current workplace, then a week off (it will be school holidays) then I start at the other Library, four weeks on then four weeks off then (hopefully) another 3 months. Another good opportunity has just come up elsewhere that I'm also applying for. It is a great job with the downside of a longer commute. I'm thinking if they offer me the job I will ask if I can go part-time, five days a week but shorter days so I can get home before dinnertime to see my kids - and avoid the worst of the traffic too. We'll see.
A really bad flu has been going around. I had it and was sick for two weeks although I only took two days off work. Then Aiden had it and now Jasmine. She had this whole week off school, very unusual for her. I left her home alone most days but left work early. Today she came with me to do the grocery shopping but had to go and sit outside the supermarket while I finished and went straight to bed when we got home. She started to get sick last Sunday during an Acrogymnastics competition, her trio managed to qualify for the State Final but were definitely not at their best. Luckily it's a few more weeks to the Final, she's missed a lot of training.
The house and yard are shambles at the moment. We get no time during the week, and precious little on the weekends. Welcome to the working world.
I took the shell off my racing snail to make him go faster - but it just made him sluggish.
It will be my birthday on Tuesday. So I haven't started my diet yet. Or lifestyle change, or whatever you want to call it. My challenge to be healthier by 50. I have a little party tomorrow and then a dinner out on the day. Then I'll start...
Two weeks left at my current workplace, then a week off (it will be school holidays) then I start at the other Library, four weeks on then four weeks off then (hopefully) another 3 months. Another good opportunity has just come up elsewhere that I'm also applying for. It is a great job with the downside of a longer commute. I'm thinking if they offer me the job I will ask if I can go part-time, five days a week but shorter days so I can get home before dinnertime to see my kids - and avoid the worst of the traffic too. We'll see.
A really bad flu has been going around. I had it and was sick for two weeks although I only took two days off work. Then Aiden had it and now Jasmine. She had this whole week off school, very unusual for her. I left her home alone most days but left work early. Today she came with me to do the grocery shopping but had to go and sit outside the supermarket while I finished and went straight to bed when we got home. She started to get sick last Sunday during an Acrogymnastics competition, her trio managed to qualify for the State Final but were definitely not at their best. Luckily it's a few more weeks to the Final, she's missed a lot of training.
The house and yard are shambles at the moment. We get no time during the week, and precious little on the weekends. Welcome to the working world.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
High School
Thursday:
My baby started High School yesterday! I can't believe he is in Yr 7 already.
The rest of the school didn't go back until today (sports uniform on Thursdays).
Yesterday was Jasmine's birthday. There wasn't any movie we wanted to see so we decided to stay home. We watched some Glee (we're up to Season 4, we watched on TV when it was originally on but now we're enjoying it again) and did a craft project she gave me for Christmas, matching tote bags.
My baby started High School yesterday! I can't believe he is in Yr 7 already.
The rest of the school didn't go back until today (sports uniform on Thursdays).
Yesterday was Jasmine's birthday. There wasn't any movie we wanted to see so we decided to stay home. We watched some Glee (we're up to Season 4, we watched on TV when it was originally on but now we're enjoying it again) and did a craft project she gave me for Christmas, matching tote bags.
I avoided most treat food temptations - so many this week! - but did have one slice of French toast for breakfast and another small piece of ice cream cake in the afternoon. The Duromine is still working really well at the lowest dose to suppress appetite and cravings. I know I have had a few bits and pieces but honestly I've been surrounded by tempting unhealthy food and I've resisted most of it. I've lost all the recent extra weight and I'm back to the weight I was for my long plateau, I only got lower than this very briefly early last year. It's so good to be losing again, and I'm feeling mentally strong. It is Chinese New Year this weekend (my sister-in-law is Chinese) and I know there will be my favourite roast duck... very fatty but at least it's low carb!
I spent part of the morning yesterday filling in forms. I may be getting some casual library tech work at a TAFE (tertiary education). While I was doing my work placement at a local TAFE library I met the boss of another cluster of libraries briefly. Turns out she needs a pool of temps to draw from, my supervisor recommended me, so she sent me the employment forms. It really is who you know. This group of TAFEs are about an hour's easy drive away on the highway, not through city traffic, and since Aiden is now leaving for school an hour earlier than he was I can be there from when the library opens until early afternoon and still be home for the kids. So hopefully some work does eventuate.
Monday, January 28, 2019
Wedding
Monday:
I lost another 0.8kg this week, down to 73.3kg. I am mostly happy with smaller portions of healthier food, a couple of days I've been hungrier and I've just eaten a bit more. Some days I have breakfast, some I don't. Sometimes I have a snack in the afternoon, sometimes not. I always stop eating for the day straight after dinner (maybe with one chocolate from my Christmas stash for dessert). No evening snacks. And I've given up sugar in my tea (yet again). It's not the same. But worth it. My waist is down to 95cm.
My father-in-law's wedding was yesterday. Everyone was really concerned about the heat, the forecast was for about 37C. We got there an hour early to help set up and it was stinking hot. The plan was for the ceremony to be on the (unfinished) balcony with the rest of us on the grass but the promised strip of shade was tiny, not even enough for one row of chairs. We expecting nearly 50 people.
I just resigned myself to it and the kids and I helped inside in the air conditioning setting up the tables for dinner.
I should have made sure I got a photo of me with decent lighting! I was in my prettiest dress.
Luckily by 4.30 when everything was ready the sun had moved enough to get two rows of chairs in the shade, the rest were squeezed up on the balcony, and also it had cooled down a bit. The bride and groom decided on non-traditional attire! They looked great. Jasmine was a ring bearer along with a grandchild of Jo.
As soon as the ceremony was finished and they were signing the official forms, the looming skies opened and it began to pour rain (or 'piss down' as we say in Australia). Everyone ran for the house, leaving behind their chairs which we needed for the dinner despite me trying to get people to take them in. Me and a couple of other people went back and forth dragging them in. Someone even asked me to fetch the bag they had left behind in their rush! I don't mind the rain though, much better than heat.
The dinner was catered and quite good as these things go. Carved roast meat, a few hot dishes like lasagne, lots of salads. I ended up eating only a few hundred extra calories - but mostly in the form of sugar; dessert and a lemonade. It didn't make me feel great.
The wedding cake was unfortunately a bit of a disaster. Despite it being ordered weeks in advance and the baker contacted the day before, it wasn't ready and my sister-in-law had to wait around and stand over them while it was finished to a very poor standard. The 'cream cheese icing' was just tangy cream cheese like you'd put on a cracker not on a cake! The cake was overcooked and it didn't look professional at all. I don't think anyone ate more than a bite or two. My 2-year-old niece was so excited at the pink icing swirls until she tasted it then spat it out. Bit of a shame, but I don't think anyone cared much really. It's only cake. And we'd already had dessert.
The rain continued to pour and the flat front yard, with cars parked all over it, was a shallow lake. I raised the issue of bogging to the owner of the house and he checked outside then advised everyone to move their cars out to the shoulder of the road. By the time we left at 9.30 we had to wade to the car through ankle deep water up the long gravel driveway. I was the only one with dry feet - I was wearing boots! We had to dodge frogs on the road, but we made it home through the downpour. We heard today that the owner of a three-ton motorhome waited too long to move it and got bogged. They stayed overnight and tried again this morning only to dig it in deeper. They are going to have to winch it out.
Despite all the little disasters all these events tend to attract, it was a good day and I think they are well suited to each other.
Jasmine is about to turn 15 and she had her party today. Pool party with friends this afternoon, pizza (I made myself and Tim a healthy dinner and have stayed away from all the snacks, but I did have a slice of ridiculously expensive icecream cake) and two girls have stayed for a sleep over. They will be up watching movies half the night. Apart from providing food, I no longer need to organise anything. Her actual birthday is Wednesday which is Aiden's first day of High School but she doesn't start until the following day so we'll spend the day together.
I lost another 0.8kg this week, down to 73.3kg. I am mostly happy with smaller portions of healthier food, a couple of days I've been hungrier and I've just eaten a bit more. Some days I have breakfast, some I don't. Sometimes I have a snack in the afternoon, sometimes not. I always stop eating for the day straight after dinner (maybe with one chocolate from my Christmas stash for dessert). No evening snacks. And I've given up sugar in my tea (yet again). It's not the same. But worth it. My waist is down to 95cm.
My father-in-law's wedding was yesterday. Everyone was really concerned about the heat, the forecast was for about 37C. We got there an hour early to help set up and it was stinking hot. The plan was for the ceremony to be on the (unfinished) balcony with the rest of us on the grass but the promised strip of shade was tiny, not even enough for one row of chairs. We expecting nearly 50 people.
I just resigned myself to it and the kids and I helped inside in the air conditioning setting up the tables for dinner.
I should have made sure I got a photo of me with decent lighting! I was in my prettiest dress.
Luckily by 4.30 when everything was ready the sun had moved enough to get two rows of chairs in the shade, the rest were squeezed up on the balcony, and also it had cooled down a bit. The bride and groom decided on non-traditional attire! They looked great. Jasmine was a ring bearer along with a grandchild of Jo.
As soon as the ceremony was finished and they were signing the official forms, the looming skies opened and it began to pour rain (or 'piss down' as we say in Australia). Everyone ran for the house, leaving behind their chairs which we needed for the dinner despite me trying to get people to take them in. Me and a couple of other people went back and forth dragging them in. Someone even asked me to fetch the bag they had left behind in their rush! I don't mind the rain though, much better than heat.
The dinner was catered and quite good as these things go. Carved roast meat, a few hot dishes like lasagne, lots of salads. I ended up eating only a few hundred extra calories - but mostly in the form of sugar; dessert and a lemonade. It didn't make me feel great.
The wedding cake was unfortunately a bit of a disaster. Despite it being ordered weeks in advance and the baker contacted the day before, it wasn't ready and my sister-in-law had to wait around and stand over them while it was finished to a very poor standard. The 'cream cheese icing' was just tangy cream cheese like you'd put on a cracker not on a cake! The cake was overcooked and it didn't look professional at all. I don't think anyone ate more than a bite or two. My 2-year-old niece was so excited at the pink icing swirls until she tasted it then spat it out. Bit of a shame, but I don't think anyone cared much really. It's only cake. And we'd already had dessert.
The rain continued to pour and the flat front yard, with cars parked all over it, was a shallow lake. I raised the issue of bogging to the owner of the house and he checked outside then advised everyone to move their cars out to the shoulder of the road. By the time we left at 9.30 we had to wade to the car through ankle deep water up the long gravel driveway. I was the only one with dry feet - I was wearing boots! We had to dodge frogs on the road, but we made it home through the downpour. We heard today that the owner of a three-ton motorhome waited too long to move it and got bogged. They stayed overnight and tried again this morning only to dig it in deeper. They are going to have to winch it out.
Despite all the little disasters all these events tend to attract, it was a good day and I think they are well suited to each other.
Jasmine is about to turn 15 and she had her party today. Pool party with friends this afternoon, pizza (I made myself and Tim a healthy dinner and have stayed away from all the snacks, but I did have a slice of ridiculously expensive icecream cake) and two girls have stayed for a sleep over. They will be up watching movies half the night. Apart from providing food, I no longer need to organise anything. Her actual birthday is Wednesday which is Aiden's first day of High School but she doesn't start until the following day so we'll spend the day together.
Saturday, January 5, 2019
Poppa
Sunday:
We visited Poppa yesterday, my mother's father. He turned 100 last year, and still looks after himself in his own home. His son does live across the road but he still does most things for himself. Amazing! We didn't see him at Christmas so a few cousins and I arranged afternoon tea. It was nice to see them too. I wish I'd tried for a better shot of Poppa.
As well as Poppa and my husband, it was four women and eight children so it was a bit of a mother's group! This is some of them (mine are the older ones):
Of the other husbands, one was working and dropped in briefly, the others were at the cricket (separately) which wouldn't have been very nice as it went from scorching hot in the morning to a big storm in the afternoon.
I do wish my cousins wouldn't give all their boys almost the same name: Jake, Jaxon and Jordie. And one who wasn't there called her new baby Jack. How on earth am I supposed to remember which is whose, especially when I only see them once or twice a year!
Every time I go out there the landscape is so different. It used to be country, a few houses amongst paddocks. Poppa and his son each had a five-acre block (a normal suburban block here is usually 1/4 acre). But Sydney keeps growing and now it is a rabbit warren of houses everywhere. Poppa sold most of his block a few years ago and now so has my uncle - each has been subdivided into little lots with hardly any backyard. I wouldn't want to live there, it's really crowded.
On the way back, Tim worked out that as I am currently 48, I will turn 49 this year and therefore next year... 50. I am turning 50 next year. My goodness.
We've been spending a lot of time in the pool. Lovely. And we've finally had some passionfruit from the rampant vine over the shed, it is covered in fruit but they all stayed green for months. The cockatoos were eating them anyway and it looked like none would be left to ripen for us. But we had two each today.
We visited Poppa yesterday, my mother's father. He turned 100 last year, and still looks after himself in his own home. His son does live across the road but he still does most things for himself. Amazing! We didn't see him at Christmas so a few cousins and I arranged afternoon tea. It was nice to see them too. I wish I'd tried for a better shot of Poppa.
As well as Poppa and my husband, it was four women and eight children so it was a bit of a mother's group! This is some of them (mine are the older ones):
Of the other husbands, one was working and dropped in briefly, the others were at the cricket (separately) which wouldn't have been very nice as it went from scorching hot in the morning to a big storm in the afternoon.
I do wish my cousins wouldn't give all their boys almost the same name: Jake, Jaxon and Jordie. And one who wasn't there called her new baby Jack. How on earth am I supposed to remember which is whose, especially when I only see them once or twice a year!
Every time I go out there the landscape is so different. It used to be country, a few houses amongst paddocks. Poppa and his son each had a five-acre block (a normal suburban block here is usually 1/4 acre). But Sydney keeps growing and now it is a rabbit warren of houses everywhere. Poppa sold most of his block a few years ago and now so has my uncle - each has been subdivided into little lots with hardly any backyard. I wouldn't want to live there, it's really crowded.
On the way back, Tim worked out that as I am currently 48, I will turn 49 this year and therefore next year... 50. I am turning 50 next year. My goodness.
We've been spending a lot of time in the pool. Lovely. And we've finally had some passionfruit from the rampant vine over the shed, it is covered in fruit but they all stayed green for months. The cockatoos were eating them anyway and it looked like none would be left to ripen for us. But we had two each today.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Personal Trainer
Thursday:
I had to cancel/postpone my second session with my personal trainer today because I am sick. I took a deal of 3 sessions with a PT for $50 when I joined the gym. The first session with ridiculously tall young man was a fitness check, he got me to do various exercises to see how many I could do and also took my pulse after things. I'm not sure what future sessions will involve. I haven't been doing great getting to the gym; twice a week and that includes the PT session and a 20 min walk on the treadmill. Need to do more classes. I have made it to a couple of Zumba.
My weight peaked at 74.8 kg, I've fought it back down to 74.3 kg. Not happy with it.
Aiden turned 12 on Saturday, he had a party at Underworld Laser (running round in the dark shooting at the other team) followed by a pool party back here with friends plus family. It all went well. We were lucky with the weather being reasonably warm on the day, it was a hot winter but has been a mostly cool spring.
I can't believe he is 12 and starting High School next year! Bought his books and uniform this week. He hasn't hit his growth spurt yet so all his friends are about twice his height. The school had to order shorts for him in a smaller size than they usually carry. He certainly doesn't look like a High School student. He got did an exam and got into the extension stream at the High School (classes for brainy kids) so he is obviously academically ready - except his hand writing - but his organisation skills aren't there yet.
I've started thinking about Christmas and bought quite a few presents yesterday.
I had to cancel/postpone my second session with my personal trainer today because I am sick. I took a deal of 3 sessions with a PT for $50 when I joined the gym. The first session with ridiculously tall young man was a fitness check, he got me to do various exercises to see how many I could do and also took my pulse after things. I'm not sure what future sessions will involve. I haven't been doing great getting to the gym; twice a week and that includes the PT session and a 20 min walk on the treadmill. Need to do more classes. I have made it to a couple of Zumba.
My weight peaked at 74.8 kg, I've fought it back down to 74.3 kg. Not happy with it.
Aiden turned 12 on Saturday, he had a party at Underworld Laser (running round in the dark shooting at the other team) followed by a pool party back here with friends plus family. It all went well. We were lucky with the weather being reasonably warm on the day, it was a hot winter but has been a mostly cool spring.
I can't believe he is 12 and starting High School next year! Bought his books and uniform this week. He hasn't hit his growth spurt yet so all his friends are about twice his height. The school had to order shorts for him in a smaller size than they usually carry. He certainly doesn't look like a High School student. He got did an exam and got into the extension stream at the High School (classes for brainy kids) so he is obviously academically ready - except his hand writing - but his organisation skills aren't there yet.
I've started thinking about Christmas and bought quite a few presents yesterday.
Monday, July 2, 2018
Birthday!
Monday:
Happy birthday to me! 48 today. I like to think of it as 'going up a level', i.e. gaining experience, wisdom, skills etc, not as losing something (youth).
Seeing the doctor on Friday seems to have reignited my enthusiasm for losing weight, and despite it being my birthday weekend with restaurant dinner (with cake) on Saturday night and people over in the afternoon (with snacks) yesterday, I have lost weight this week and I am down to 70.3 kg. That is an official loss of 1.3 kg but last Monday's weight was a blip and I consider it an actual loss of 0.8 kg (still awesome) from my long plateau of 71.1 kg. The thing with the treats was, I didn't overeat. I had 2/3 or less of my restaurant meal, half my slice of cake. A few snacks yesterday. I enjoyed what I ate and stopped when I was no longer enjoying it enough to justify the overfull stomach/gaining weight. That is true progress.
I exercised hard for an hour on Saturday, including lots of big arm movements, and yesterday my upper back muscles were very sore! I felt quite proud of myself.
We went shopping for new mattresses for everyone yesterday morning. Our current ones are all pretty old, and Aiden had a few night-time accidents when he was younger... I did research online first to narrow down the choices and find End Of Financial Year sales, so we only went to one store and lay on a few beds instead of traipsing around all day. It will be a couple of weeks before they are delivered. Exciting!
Birthdays in this house always start with everyone piling into the big bed so the birthday person can open her/his presents. Because it was a work/school day, that was it for the morning, everyone had to leave. I made my own bacon and orange juice. I don't usually drink juice, or anything other than water and tea, but freshly squeezed is so good! Perfect for a special occasion. Then I faffed around on the Internet for a while instead of exercising, before going out.
I had thought of buying myself a new handbag, but the only ones I really liked were around $500! Maybe that is normal, I’m not really a handbag connoisseur (I own two, one big one small) but I couldn’t justify it to myself considering I don’t actually need a new one. When I do get one, I want something with a bit of personality. Regardless, I had a good time wandering around looking. I did buy a couple of books and some little pastries to share at home. I had a light lunch - anticipating afternoon tea with the kids and dessert tonight.
Oh, one thing I did that I got a lot of pleasure from, I went to the Lindt chocolate shop and chose myself some chocolates. They have a big display with bowls of all the different flavours of truffle balls and other individually wrapped treats. You can purchase by weight, or you can fill a gift box as full as you can get as long as the lid still closes and stays on, and the gift boxes were on special. I spent quite a long time carefully filling the littlest gift box with mathematical precision - I weighed it when I got home and I did very well! With the discount, I paid a third what I would have by weight. I haven’t eaten any yet, I just like gloating over them.
We already went out to dinner on Sat, so we’ll have one of my favourite dinners at home tonight and a quiet night in where it’s warm. It has just started raining so I think that was a good choice!
I got an email from the librarian who interviewed me a couple of weeks ago, asking me for my referee contact details. So that is a good sign, I am obviously still among the contenders. Hopefully a part time position will become available.
Happy birthday to me! 48 today. I like to think of it as 'going up a level', i.e. gaining experience, wisdom, skills etc, not as losing something (youth).
Seeing the doctor on Friday seems to have reignited my enthusiasm for losing weight, and despite it being my birthday weekend with restaurant dinner (with cake) on Saturday night and people over in the afternoon (with snacks) yesterday, I have lost weight this week and I am down to 70.3 kg. That is an official loss of 1.3 kg but last Monday's weight was a blip and I consider it an actual loss of 0.8 kg (still awesome) from my long plateau of 71.1 kg. The thing with the treats was, I didn't overeat. I had 2/3 or less of my restaurant meal, half my slice of cake. A few snacks yesterday. I enjoyed what I ate and stopped when I was no longer enjoying it enough to justify the overfull stomach/gaining weight. That is true progress.
I exercised hard for an hour on Saturday, including lots of big arm movements, and yesterday my upper back muscles were very sore! I felt quite proud of myself.
We went shopping for new mattresses for everyone yesterday morning. Our current ones are all pretty old, and Aiden had a few night-time accidents when he was younger... I did research online first to narrow down the choices and find End Of Financial Year sales, so we only went to one store and lay on a few beds instead of traipsing around all day. It will be a couple of weeks before they are delivered. Exciting!
Birthdays in this house always start with everyone piling into the big bed so the birthday person can open her/his presents. Because it was a work/school day, that was it for the morning, everyone had to leave. I made my own bacon and orange juice. I don't usually drink juice, or anything other than water and tea, but freshly squeezed is so good! Perfect for a special occasion. Then I faffed around on the Internet for a while instead of exercising, before going out.
I had thought of buying myself a new handbag, but the only ones I really liked were around $500! Maybe that is normal, I’m not really a handbag connoisseur (I own two, one big one small) but I couldn’t justify it to myself considering I don’t actually need a new one. When I do get one, I want something with a bit of personality. Regardless, I had a good time wandering around looking. I did buy a couple of books and some little pastries to share at home. I had a light lunch - anticipating afternoon tea with the kids and dessert tonight.
Oh, one thing I did that I got a lot of pleasure from, I went to the Lindt chocolate shop and chose myself some chocolates. They have a big display with bowls of all the different flavours of truffle balls and other individually wrapped treats. You can purchase by weight, or you can fill a gift box as full as you can get as long as the lid still closes and stays on, and the gift boxes were on special. I spent quite a long time carefully filling the littlest gift box with mathematical precision - I weighed it when I got home and I did very well! With the discount, I paid a third what I would have by weight. I haven’t eaten any yet, I just like gloating over them.
We already went out to dinner on Sat, so we’ll have one of my favourite dinners at home tonight and a quiet night in where it’s warm. It has just started raining so I think that was a good choice!
I got an email from the librarian who interviewed me a couple of weeks ago, asking me for my referee contact details. So that is a good sign, I am obviously still among the contenders. Hopefully a part time position will become available.
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Birthday dinner
Saturday:
I did an hour of sweaty dance exercise this morning - and was tired the rest of the day! But I’m glad I got my body moving. I planned to do half an hour, but I was trying to get five stars in a new song and I couldn’t give up until I got it. I was so close every time - six or seven attempts in a row! I kept thinking I’d get those extra points next try.
It will be my birthday on Monday, so we went out to dinner with the family tonight. The Mediterranean food was really nice, and Ping brought a lovely chocolate cake. But a gift bag with a bottle of Limoncello (lemon liquor, I don’t know why people keep giving me alcohol I hardly ever drink!) got knocked over on the tile floor. I didn’t realise it was broken until I saw the liquid gushing out all over the floor. Both slippery and sticky! The wait-staff mopped it up for me, and took away the bag of broken glass.
I wore a special-occasion winter dress that I’ve only worn two or three times since I bought it about five years ago, but I think it might need to be retired. It was a bit loose and kept slipping off my shoulders. It’s funny how the clothes I thought most flattering when I was bigger now don’t make me look so good! But it’s all relative - I still look better now in a baggy dress than I did then in a well-fitting dress. I like being thinner!
I did an hour of sweaty dance exercise this morning - and was tired the rest of the day! But I’m glad I got my body moving. I planned to do half an hour, but I was trying to get five stars in a new song and I couldn’t give up until I got it. I was so close every time - six or seven attempts in a row! I kept thinking I’d get those extra points next try.
It will be my birthday on Monday, so we went out to dinner with the family tonight. The Mediterranean food was really nice, and Ping brought a lovely chocolate cake. But a gift bag with a bottle of Limoncello (lemon liquor, I don’t know why people keep giving me alcohol I hardly ever drink!) got knocked over on the tile floor. I didn’t realise it was broken until I saw the liquid gushing out all over the floor. Both slippery and sticky! The wait-staff mopped it up for me, and took away the bag of broken glass.
I wore a special-occasion winter dress that I’ve only worn two or three times since I bought it about five years ago, but I think it might need to be retired. It was a bit loose and kept slipping off my shoulders. It’s funny how the clothes I thought most flattering when I was bigger now don’t make me look so good! But it’s all relative - I still look better now in a baggy dress than I did then in a well-fitting dress. I like being thinner!
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Halfway!
Monday:
This morning I weighed 71.4 kg, a massive loss of 1.6 kg but actually part of that belongs to the week before where I had a blip on Monday and didn’t show a loss. And my MyFitnessPal notified me that I’m halfway to my goal weight! OMG halfway! I don’t know if I ever believed I could get this far. Ive been on and off diets for years but I’m counting this attempt from 14 August 2017; so it’s taken 32 weeks, seven and a half months. Although I wasn’t “on a diet” all that time I was seriously trying for most of it. And taking Duromine most of that time. Yay Duromine!
Aiden and I continued to be unwell for the rest of last week. He still has a bit of a cough and I’m still a bit weak but we’re back to our normal routine. I haven’t exercised in so long, but I’m not about to get back into it yet. I still feel a bit fragile.
My sister-in-law Ping had her birthday party on Saturday, lunch at Yum Cha. If you haven’t tried Yum Cha, it’s where an endless stream of waitresses come past with trolleys of different Chinese food and you pick what you want and share with the table. Mainly things like spring rolls and dumplings. Pork belly. Sesame prawn toast. Lots of meat/seafood, lots of carbs, often deep fried, very little vegetable. I love it! Little portions of lots of different yummy things. But definitely special occasion only, not healthy. It’s usually pretty cheap too, but we were at a fancy expensive place. The only thing I didn’t like was that for some reason they chose a restaurant a long way away, so it was an hour each way sitting in traffic.
This morning I did my volunteer library work, which went smoothly. I wore my navy sailor dress.
I had an exciting phone call at the end of last week, the details of my work placement for next term. Three days a week for eight weeks at a local TAFE - not the one I go to which is in the city, the local one doesn’t teach library studies - so the main users of this library will be adult students like myself. I assume I’ll get experience in all different aspects of library work. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been told my main assessable task will be developing a children’s story time session (so obviously little kids use the library too). Dealing with children isn’t my dream job but I’m fine with it and I’ve taken my own children to a million library storytime sessions so I know how they work.
This morning I weighed 71.4 kg, a massive loss of 1.6 kg but actually part of that belongs to the week before where I had a blip on Monday and didn’t show a loss. And my MyFitnessPal notified me that I’m halfway to my goal weight! OMG halfway! I don’t know if I ever believed I could get this far. Ive been on and off diets for years but I’m counting this attempt from 14 August 2017; so it’s taken 32 weeks, seven and a half months. Although I wasn’t “on a diet” all that time I was seriously trying for most of it. And taking Duromine most of that time. Yay Duromine!
Aiden and I continued to be unwell for the rest of last week. He still has a bit of a cough and I’m still a bit weak but we’re back to our normal routine. I haven’t exercised in so long, but I’m not about to get back into it yet. I still feel a bit fragile.
My sister-in-law Ping had her birthday party on Saturday, lunch at Yum Cha. If you haven’t tried Yum Cha, it’s where an endless stream of waitresses come past with trolleys of different Chinese food and you pick what you want and share with the table. Mainly things like spring rolls and dumplings. Pork belly. Sesame prawn toast. Lots of meat/seafood, lots of carbs, often deep fried, very little vegetable. I love it! Little portions of lots of different yummy things. But definitely special occasion only, not healthy. It’s usually pretty cheap too, but we were at a fancy expensive place. The only thing I didn’t like was that for some reason they chose a restaurant a long way away, so it was an hour each way sitting in traffic.
This morning I did my volunteer library work, which went smoothly. I wore my navy sailor dress.
I had an exciting phone call at the end of last week, the details of my work placement for next term. Three days a week for eight weeks at a local TAFE - not the one I go to which is in the city, the local one doesn’t teach library studies - so the main users of this library will be adult students like myself. I assume I’ll get experience in all different aspects of library work. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been told my main assessable task will be developing a children’s story time session (so obviously little kids use the library too). Dealing with children isn’t my dream job but I’m fine with it and I’ve taken my own children to a million library storytime sessions so I know how they work.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Tim's birthday
Thursday:
It was my lovely husband's birthday yesterday. He arranged for the day off work, it ended up being a quiet day at home as Aiden and I were still sick. I send Aiden to school on Tuesday but it turned out he was coughing all day, so he was home yesterday and today. He's not seriously sick, but coughing and sore throat and no energy. He isn't eating much, and as he has no body fat to spare he is looking rather thin in the face now. I've been headachy and fatigued with jelly legs, so there has been a lot of sitting around reading and watching TV! I missed TAFE this week.
We did go out to a fancy restaurant for dinner for Tim's birthday, Aiden and I had entrees (starters) instead of mains and then I had half a dessert and that was plenty. Aiden barely touched his but at least he ate some garlic bread. My poor baby, drooping at the table.
My weight gain on Monday was only temporary, the next day it had dropped back to Sunday's weight and has continued to go down. I'm making inroads into virgin fat again! I'm really glad I changed those black pants for the smaller size, my new khaki pants are already feeling a bit loose.
It was my lovely husband's birthday yesterday. He arranged for the day off work, it ended up being a quiet day at home as Aiden and I were still sick. I send Aiden to school on Tuesday but it turned out he was coughing all day, so he was home yesterday and today. He's not seriously sick, but coughing and sore throat and no energy. He isn't eating much, and as he has no body fat to spare he is looking rather thin in the face now. I've been headachy and fatigued with jelly legs, so there has been a lot of sitting around reading and watching TV! I missed TAFE this week.
We did go out to a fancy restaurant for dinner for Tim's birthday, Aiden and I had entrees (starters) instead of mains and then I had half a dessert and that was plenty. Aiden barely touched his but at least he ate some garlic bread. My poor baby, drooping at the table.
My weight gain on Monday was only temporary, the next day it had dropped back to Sunday's weight and has continued to go down. I'm making inroads into virgin fat again! I'm really glad I changed those black pants for the smaller size, my new khaki pants are already feeling a bit loose.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Cough cough
Monday:
73.0 kg this morning, which means my weight is actually UP by 0.1 kg this week. I lost half a kg early in the week then stayed at that weight until I pigged out yesterday while celebrating my husband's birthday. I'm hoping that the overnight gain is temporary.
It will be Tim's actual birthday on Wednesday and we'll go out to dinner then, but we celebrated with family yesterday. Had some friends over to lunch and a swim then family all afternoon and for dinner. Pizza, chips, cake etc. I'm ok with eating some treats on the weekend, especially at a birthday, but I ate way too much. Including half a bag of Burger Rings in the evening once everyone had gone. Blurg. Not ideal. With Tim's birthday dinner this week and then two other birthday parties next weekend I really need to tighten up what is an acceptable level of treats on 'special occasions'.
Aiden had a bit of a cough and a headache yesterday and ate very little despite all the kid-tempting food. He still had a cough today so I kept him home from school even though he said "it's like a headache, but with no pain" which I think is a very good description of that lacklustre feeling that I also have today. He just seemed a bit wilted. Tim was sneezing violently this morning, pulled his back again, but went to work anyway. Didn't we all just go through this a few weeks ago?
With Aiden home I couldn't go to my library volunteering, which is disappointing. Or grocery shopping. Lots of studying done though.
73.0 kg this morning, which means my weight is actually UP by 0.1 kg this week. I lost half a kg early in the week then stayed at that weight until I pigged out yesterday while celebrating my husband's birthday. I'm hoping that the overnight gain is temporary.
It will be Tim's actual birthday on Wednesday and we'll go out to dinner then, but we celebrated with family yesterday. Had some friends over to lunch and a swim then family all afternoon and for dinner. Pizza, chips, cake etc. I'm ok with eating some treats on the weekend, especially at a birthday, but I ate way too much. Including half a bag of Burger Rings in the evening once everyone had gone. Blurg. Not ideal. With Tim's birthday dinner this week and then two other birthday parties next weekend I really need to tighten up what is an acceptable level of treats on 'special occasions'.
Aiden had a bit of a cough and a headache yesterday and ate very little despite all the kid-tempting food. He still had a cough today so I kept him home from school even though he said "it's like a headache, but with no pain" which I think is a very good description of that lacklustre feeling that I also have today. He just seemed a bit wilted. Tim was sneezing violently this morning, pulled his back again, but went to work anyway. Didn't we all just go through this a few weeks ago?
With Aiden home I couldn't go to my library volunteering, which is disappointing. Or grocery shopping. Lots of studying done though.
Monday, February 19, 2018
Shopping frenzy
Tuesday:
We had a busy weekend. On Saturday morning Aiden has his tennis lesson, Tim always takes him so I’ve never even met the coach. More on that in a moment. Then we went to lunch to celebrate a cousin’s birthday and saw the movie Black Panther, which was quite good but a bit strange. One odd thing was a peaceful and technologically advanced civilisation using single combat to determine leadership!
On Sunday morning I was out doing some gardening when our neighbour called me over the fence. (Not the one that complained about our pool heater, the other side.) I’ve barely met her in two years but she seems nice. They have three daughters but they go to a different (Catholic) school to my kids. After some general chat she brought up Aiden’s tennis coach, she must have previously learned from Tim who we went to. She said she’d pulled her kids out of lessons with him some time ago because he’d once become very aggressive with her over nothing, getting right in her face and scaring her enough that she reported it but no action was taken because he wasn’t physical. She has since met other parents who’ve had similar experiences (obviously Tim hasn't). But now she’s heard he is going to court this week because he physically attacked a woman walking her dog, and gave her facial injuries! So, that’s scary!
Sunday lunch we celebrated Chinese New Year, my sister-in-law is Chinese so she organised it, making sure there was my favourite roast duck, but it was held at cousin Daniel’s new house. They only moved in a few weeks ago and it’s the first time I’d seen it. We considered buying that block of land but decided to buy an existing house instead, and I’m glad we did because it’s taken well over two years for them to get to this point! They had to rent in the meantime. But they got to plan the house they wanted.
Then our Christmas present to Tim’s brother was theatre tickets, that was on Sunday night so we babysit our nieces Emma (5) and Ashleigh (1). Ashleigh had had a nap after lunch, and it was quite an early show so we didn’t try to get them to sleep. We had a swim in the pool, dinner, and some TV. Ashleigh gave a wail as her mother left, but I was able to distract her quickly and either Jasmine or I carried her around most of the evening. No tantrums or tears from either child.
Monday afternoon we had Emma again after school - they’ve got after school care organised elsewhere from next week - I had a headache and did find the constant ‘why?’ and ‘what?’ a bit tiresome! But we got through it with colouring in, afternoon tea, cubby house construction, and quiet time on the iPad.
Today I spent most of the day clothes shopping, again mainly for work things although I did also buy a new swimming cossie (the modest kind with a skirt). I bought lots! Three dresses, and navy pants and a blouse. With the things I bought last week, I feel fully ready for work placement and job interviews. I’ve never had so many new things in my life! I still don’t know how the work placement thing is going to work. I’ve also volunteered to help at Aiden’s school library this term.
Here is a selection of new clothes...
We had a busy weekend. On Saturday morning Aiden has his tennis lesson, Tim always takes him so I’ve never even met the coach. More on that in a moment. Then we went to lunch to celebrate a cousin’s birthday and saw the movie Black Panther, which was quite good but a bit strange. One odd thing was a peaceful and technologically advanced civilisation using single combat to determine leadership!
On Sunday morning I was out doing some gardening when our neighbour called me over the fence. (Not the one that complained about our pool heater, the other side.) I’ve barely met her in two years but she seems nice. They have three daughters but they go to a different (Catholic) school to my kids. After some general chat she brought up Aiden’s tennis coach, she must have previously learned from Tim who we went to. She said she’d pulled her kids out of lessons with him some time ago because he’d once become very aggressive with her over nothing, getting right in her face and scaring her enough that she reported it but no action was taken because he wasn’t physical. She has since met other parents who’ve had similar experiences (obviously Tim hasn't). But now she’s heard he is going to court this week because he physically attacked a woman walking her dog, and gave her facial injuries! So, that’s scary!
Sunday lunch we celebrated Chinese New Year, my sister-in-law is Chinese so she organised it, making sure there was my favourite roast duck, but it was held at cousin Daniel’s new house. They only moved in a few weeks ago and it’s the first time I’d seen it. We considered buying that block of land but decided to buy an existing house instead, and I’m glad we did because it’s taken well over two years for them to get to this point! They had to rent in the meantime. But they got to plan the house they wanted.
Then our Christmas present to Tim’s brother was theatre tickets, that was on Sunday night so we babysit our nieces Emma (5) and Ashleigh (1). Ashleigh had had a nap after lunch, and it was quite an early show so we didn’t try to get them to sleep. We had a swim in the pool, dinner, and some TV. Ashleigh gave a wail as her mother left, but I was able to distract her quickly and either Jasmine or I carried her around most of the evening. No tantrums or tears from either child.
Monday afternoon we had Emma again after school - they’ve got after school care organised elsewhere from next week - I had a headache and did find the constant ‘why?’ and ‘what?’ a bit tiresome! But we got through it with colouring in, afternoon tea, cubby house construction, and quiet time on the iPad.
Today I spent most of the day clothes shopping, again mainly for work things although I did also buy a new swimming cossie (the modest kind with a skirt). I bought lots! Three dresses, and navy pants and a blouse. With the things I bought last week, I feel fully ready for work placement and job interviews. I’ve never had so many new things in my life! I still don’t know how the work placement thing is going to work. I’ve also volunteered to help at Aiden’s school library this term.
Here is a selection of new clothes...
Monday, February 5, 2018
The dreaded lurgy continues
Monday:
This week I only lost 0.2 kg, another puzzlingly small amount considering I’m eating way less than my tracker says I’m burning. I’ve decided not to ask my doctor for another script for Duromine, no point putting up with side effects and possible dangers when I’m not even losing weight on it! If I ever try it again (don’t know if i will) it would have to be after a much longer break than the two months I waited this time. It’s disappointing, because it did work well for me last year. I had one pill left but didnt bother to take it today.
Well, I shouldn’t complain too much, I’m now 72.6 kg which is 12.1 kg less than I was around six months ago, and the lightest I’ve been for years. I’ll continue trying to lose without the help of an appetite suppressant.
I’ve had the flu continuing most of the week, mainly aching back and general fatigue. I felt mostly better by the end of the week and since we had a cooler week I was able to get a lot done in the garden, but then I started feeling really tired again yesterday and woke this morning aching all over worse than ever! And at bedtime Jasmine said she was feeling sick.
Aiden went back to school (starting year 6) on Tuesday, and Jasmine (year 9) on Wednesday. Jasmine’s actual birthday was on Tuesday so it was just the two of us. We went out to lunch and saw the movie Pitch Perfect 3 (again). Her main present from us was a set of handstand bars for gymnastics - not as impressive as that sounds, they are two low stands like little footstools that you can grip which is more comfortable than hands flat on the floor. Jasmine’s final birthday celebration was an extended-family dinner last night. I didn’t enjoy it much because I was starting to feel sick again but didn’t want people to know because I had just served food I had prepared! Hope it wasn’t germy.
On the days I was feeling well I spent hours out in the garden. I had an exciting moment when I realised I had just disturbed a wasps’ nest in a neglected corner. I ran for it, and didn’t get stung. Over the next couple of days I made several lighting attacks with a can of spray, eventually the big paper nest was empty. I rarely use poisons but make an exception for wasps and red back spiders. Everything else gets to stay - as long as it’s outside.
My niece Emma started kindergarten last week, and as both parents work some days and they are still sorting out after-school care, I’ve been booked in for a few days of babysitting spread over the next few weeks before Ping’s parents become available. I find Emma quite exhausting - she is so full of energy! And today was tricky because I was feeling pretty awful and I also had to get Jasmine to dance lessons. But of course I am happy to help, and they don’t often ask me to babysit. I picked her up from school - the same one Aiden goes to, but he usually rides his bike as it’s not that far - and we kept her entertained for a couple of hours. It must have been ok as she didn’t want to leave when her mother arrived.
Hopefully Jasmine and I both feel better tomorrow.
This week I only lost 0.2 kg, another puzzlingly small amount considering I’m eating way less than my tracker says I’m burning. I’ve decided not to ask my doctor for another script for Duromine, no point putting up with side effects and possible dangers when I’m not even losing weight on it! If I ever try it again (don’t know if i will) it would have to be after a much longer break than the two months I waited this time. It’s disappointing, because it did work well for me last year. I had one pill left but didnt bother to take it today.
Well, I shouldn’t complain too much, I’m now 72.6 kg which is 12.1 kg less than I was around six months ago, and the lightest I’ve been for years. I’ll continue trying to lose without the help of an appetite suppressant.
I’ve had the flu continuing most of the week, mainly aching back and general fatigue. I felt mostly better by the end of the week and since we had a cooler week I was able to get a lot done in the garden, but then I started feeling really tired again yesterday and woke this morning aching all over worse than ever! And at bedtime Jasmine said she was feeling sick.
Aiden went back to school (starting year 6) on Tuesday, and Jasmine (year 9) on Wednesday. Jasmine’s actual birthday was on Tuesday so it was just the two of us. We went out to lunch and saw the movie Pitch Perfect 3 (again). Her main present from us was a set of handstand bars for gymnastics - not as impressive as that sounds, they are two low stands like little footstools that you can grip which is more comfortable than hands flat on the floor. Jasmine’s final birthday celebration was an extended-family dinner last night. I didn’t enjoy it much because I was starting to feel sick again but didn’t want people to know because I had just served food I had prepared! Hope it wasn’t germy.
On the days I was feeling well I spent hours out in the garden. I had an exciting moment when I realised I had just disturbed a wasps’ nest in a neglected corner. I ran for it, and didn’t get stung. Over the next couple of days I made several lighting attacks with a can of spray, eventually the big paper nest was empty. I rarely use poisons but make an exception for wasps and red back spiders. Everything else gets to stay - as long as it’s outside.
My niece Emma started kindergarten last week, and as both parents work some days and they are still sorting out after-school care, I’ve been booked in for a few days of babysitting spread over the next few weeks before Ping’s parents become available. I find Emma quite exhausting - she is so full of energy! And today was tricky because I was feeling pretty awful and I also had to get Jasmine to dance lessons. But of course I am happy to help, and they don’t often ask me to babysit. I picked her up from school - the same one Aiden goes to, but he usually rides his bike as it’s not that far - and we kept her entertained for a couple of hours. It must have been ok as she didn’t want to leave when her mother arrived.
Hopefully Jasmine and I both feel better tomorrow.
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Pool party
Monday:
This morning I weighed 72.8 kg. A dramatic loss of.... (drumroll please) 0.1 kg for the week. I suppose it's better than the gain I'd been showing most of the week. But very unimpressive.
I'm still feeling a bit yuck with flu, achy and sore throat, and Tim was feeling off yesterday too. He went to work today though.
Jasmine had her pool party yesterday (actual birthday tomorrow) and it was a great success. I didn't take photos because it seemed a bit intrusive considering they were all in swimming costumes the whole time. But I did get a photo of the (very expensive) gelato cake.
Jasmine is badly sunburned on her face and arms, and so is the girl who stayed for a sleepover. Not sure about the ones who left after the party. I hope they are not too bad. They all had sunscreen on, but were out in the Australian sun for several hours. I guess we should have had the party later in the day, but it was such lovely weather for a pool party! I went swimming after the girls left, and the water was almost too warm to be refreshing. There is no shade out there until quite late in the afternoon, this time of year. I feel guilty, I should have planned better somehow. At least they all seemed to have a great time, constant shouting and squealing.
This morning I weighed 72.8 kg. A dramatic loss of.... (drumroll please) 0.1 kg for the week. I suppose it's better than the gain I'd been showing most of the week. But very unimpressive.
I'm still feeling a bit yuck with flu, achy and sore throat, and Tim was feeling off yesterday too. He went to work today though.
Jasmine had her pool party yesterday (actual birthday tomorrow) and it was a great success. I didn't take photos because it seemed a bit intrusive considering they were all in swimming costumes the whole time. But I did get a photo of the (very expensive) gelato cake.
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Missing the party
Saturday:
I’m trying to remember what I did this week... Tim was back at work but the kids were on their last full week of summer holidays. We shopped for new school shoes, swam in the pool, worked in the garden, and saw The Greatest Showman which is loosely based on the life of P.T. Barnam, very enjoyable with some great music. The kids completely missed the reason Zac Efron’s character was ostracised for liking the acrobat girl (he was white, she was black, didn’t occur to my kids that could be a problem) and they were also surprised a fat man appeared in a freak show - I had to explain obesity was much less common 150 years ago.
Emotionally I’ve been fine, increasing carbs seems to have done the trick. Unfortunately I’ve also increased total calories a bit and my weight drifted back up, I don’t really see how that is possible as I’m still eating well below what I use/burn each day. But these fluctuations happen. I have one more week of Duromine then I’ll have to decide if it’s worth continuing if I’m not losing weight. I definitely haven’t had as good an experience with it this time round.
I felt a bit unwell when I got up this morning; aching back, neck and legs. Tim reminded me I’d worked hard in the garden yesterday and it was probably muscle soreness from that, so I went off shopping as planned. It’s Jasmine’s birthday next week and we hadn’t got any presents yet - her main present ordered online may or may not get here on time because the company had a long shutdown over Christmas/New Year. I managed to get some nice things for her but felt increasingly unwell and I think I have the flu. I’ve stayed home this evening while Tim and the kids are out at Tim’s dad’s 70 th birthday party.
I’m sorry to miss it, it’s quite a big event, with a room hired and food catered and a string quartet, and all the family and friends there. Ten years ago I was there at his 60th, Des gave a long but entertaining speech about his life - he said usually people hear about all that stuff from someone else at the funeral but he thought it was nicer to tell us himself. He’s very much a talker, he could draw a random subject out of a hat and lecture for an hour, making stuff up if he didn’t know! I always leave the room when he gets on to politics. At his 60th he gave a 45 minute talk, with slides, between dinner and dessert. The speech was good, but I had to stare at a buffet laden with desserts that I wasn’t allowed to eat yet! Torture.
I hope I’m better by tomorrow, Jasmine’s having her birthday pool party here. I’ll have an early night.
I’m trying to remember what I did this week... Tim was back at work but the kids were on their last full week of summer holidays. We shopped for new school shoes, swam in the pool, worked in the garden, and saw The Greatest Showman which is loosely based on the life of P.T. Barnam, very enjoyable with some great music. The kids completely missed the reason Zac Efron’s character was ostracised for liking the acrobat girl (he was white, she was black, didn’t occur to my kids that could be a problem) and they were also surprised a fat man appeared in a freak show - I had to explain obesity was much less common 150 years ago.
Emotionally I’ve been fine, increasing carbs seems to have done the trick. Unfortunately I’ve also increased total calories a bit and my weight drifted back up, I don’t really see how that is possible as I’m still eating well below what I use/burn each day. But these fluctuations happen. I have one more week of Duromine then I’ll have to decide if it’s worth continuing if I’m not losing weight. I definitely haven’t had as good an experience with it this time round.
I felt a bit unwell when I got up this morning; aching back, neck and legs. Tim reminded me I’d worked hard in the garden yesterday and it was probably muscle soreness from that, so I went off shopping as planned. It’s Jasmine’s birthday next week and we hadn’t got any presents yet - her main present ordered online may or may not get here on time because the company had a long shutdown over Christmas/New Year. I managed to get some nice things for her but felt increasingly unwell and I think I have the flu. I’ve stayed home this evening while Tim and the kids are out at Tim’s dad’s 70 th birthday party.
I’m sorry to miss it, it’s quite a big event, with a room hired and food catered and a string quartet, and all the family and friends there. Ten years ago I was there at his 60th, Des gave a long but entertaining speech about his life - he said usually people hear about all that stuff from someone else at the funeral but he thought it was nicer to tell us himself. He’s very much a talker, he could draw a random subject out of a hat and lecture for an hour, making stuff up if he didn’t know! I always leave the room when he gets on to politics. At his 60th he gave a 45 minute talk, with slides, between dinner and dessert. The speech was good, but I had to stare at a buffet laden with desserts that I wasn’t allowed to eat yet! Torture.
I hope I’m better by tomorrow, Jasmine’s having her birthday pool party here. I’ll have an early night.
Monday, December 11, 2017
lots of swimming
Monday:
The kids had their Acrogym Christmas party on Friday afternoon. Started with a crowd of kids on a jumping castle and tumble mat and a few other gymnastic equipment things, then the 'development groups' (including Jasmine) did group performances and all the little kids got participation medals. Jasmine's group - level one - was pretty good, but oh my goodness the level six performance from the really experienced kids! Gasps of awe from the audience.
Saturday was Christmas shopping for extended family, and a swim in the afternoon. Sunday was BBQ lunch and party for my niece Ashleigh turning one, she's the youngest of the three born at the end of last year. Then another swim in the afternoon. Tim and Aiden went with the other boys to see Justice League in the evening, Jasmine and I weren't interested.
I'd been feeling a little achy Sunday morning but then better during the day, but by about 7:30 at night was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. I thought maybe it was just the result of a big meal after a big day and went to bed at 8:30, before the boys even got home. But this morning very achy back and also a sore throat. Dammit. I do not want to be sick again. I just got better after four weeks of flu!
Some good news today about a story I've been following (story is the wrong word, don't know what the right one is). The winner of this year's Eurovision song contest, Salvador Sobral from Portugal, has been in hospital for months waiting for a heart transplant. He was even unwell during the actual Eurovision, his sister stood in for him at all the rehearsals and he wasn't allowed to leave his doctor's care for long, he just sang in the actual competition. Some people say he got a pity vote but I thought he was wonderful. Shortly afterwards he had to retire from his music career because of his health. He was offered a new heart in October but was too sick at the time to have the operation. Anyway in the news this morning he has finally got a new heart and is recovering well from the surgery so I am grateful for that. I know it means that someone else has died, but at least they were able to save one person's life - maybe more - who would have died if they hadn't been an organ donor.
My weight this morning was 76.2 kg, still slowly creeping up. That is 1.1 kg up in four weeks since I stopped Duromine. And still two weeks to Christmas! So much temptation around. This past week it was that time of the month and I was just hungry all the time. I ate and ate. I think I'm also feeling the effects of 'nothing to do'. Of course there are always things to do, but there is nothing pressing to take my mind off food! Exams are over, kids still at school, Christmas shopping done, I'm not even into any games at the moment. It’s not that I'm not enjoying leisure time, it's just that I'm enjoying using a lot of that time to eat. Eat, watch TV and read. Nice. But not slimming.
I wrote about moving the spider, Gertrude, from too near the pool seating over to the corner. She has stayed where I put her and seems happy there, in as much as you can tell with a spider. But her identical twin sister, Beatrice, has spun her web almost directly in front of the mailbox! Very uncomfortable getting super-close to fetch the mail. I might have to move her too. And near the laundry door there was a messy web (obviously not one of those that gets eaten and remade every day) with some very large bugs stuck in it - including a whole cockroach - beside a hole that the spider hid in. I didn't know if I wanted to know what sort. Turns out I didn't. Seen Lord of the Rings, with that spider Shelob? Yeah, like that. Shudder. A red back. Venomous. Biggest one I've seen. Too dangerous to leave there with kids around. I pumped half a can of fly spray into her lair, and scooped the body into the bin so no lizards could eat it.
Another swim when the kids got home from school. We are really making the most of having a pool! There is a very hot week coming up, forecast of 38C on Thursday. My new and not so new swimming cosies were both in the wash so today I dug out a really old one. Saggy and horrible. Public pool chlorine had taken its toll. I wore it with a Tshirt over the top but put it in the bin afterwards. I need to buy another one. Something pretty. I enjoy feeling much better in a cossie than I did 8 kilograms ago.
The kids had their Acrogym Christmas party on Friday afternoon. Started with a crowd of kids on a jumping castle and tumble mat and a few other gymnastic equipment things, then the 'development groups' (including Jasmine) did group performances and all the little kids got participation medals. Jasmine's group - level one - was pretty good, but oh my goodness the level six performance from the really experienced kids! Gasps of awe from the audience.
Saturday was Christmas shopping for extended family, and a swim in the afternoon. Sunday was BBQ lunch and party for my niece Ashleigh turning one, she's the youngest of the three born at the end of last year. Then another swim in the afternoon. Tim and Aiden went with the other boys to see Justice League in the evening, Jasmine and I weren't interested.
I'd been feeling a little achy Sunday morning but then better during the day, but by about 7:30 at night was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. I thought maybe it was just the result of a big meal after a big day and went to bed at 8:30, before the boys even got home. But this morning very achy back and also a sore throat. Dammit. I do not want to be sick again. I just got better after four weeks of flu!
Some good news today about a story I've been following (story is the wrong word, don't know what the right one is). The winner of this year's Eurovision song contest, Salvador Sobral from Portugal, has been in hospital for months waiting for a heart transplant. He was even unwell during the actual Eurovision, his sister stood in for him at all the rehearsals and he wasn't allowed to leave his doctor's care for long, he just sang in the actual competition. Some people say he got a pity vote but I thought he was wonderful. Shortly afterwards he had to retire from his music career because of his health. He was offered a new heart in October but was too sick at the time to have the operation. Anyway in the news this morning he has finally got a new heart and is recovering well from the surgery so I am grateful for that. I know it means that someone else has died, but at least they were able to save one person's life - maybe more - who would have died if they hadn't been an organ donor.
My weight this morning was 76.2 kg, still slowly creeping up. That is 1.1 kg up in four weeks since I stopped Duromine. And still two weeks to Christmas! So much temptation around. This past week it was that time of the month and I was just hungry all the time. I ate and ate. I think I'm also feeling the effects of 'nothing to do'. Of course there are always things to do, but there is nothing pressing to take my mind off food! Exams are over, kids still at school, Christmas shopping done, I'm not even into any games at the moment. It’s not that I'm not enjoying leisure time, it's just that I'm enjoying using a lot of that time to eat. Eat, watch TV and read. Nice. But not slimming.
I wrote about moving the spider, Gertrude, from too near the pool seating over to the corner. She has stayed where I put her and seems happy there, in as much as you can tell with a spider. But her identical twin sister, Beatrice, has spun her web almost directly in front of the mailbox! Very uncomfortable getting super-close to fetch the mail. I might have to move her too. And near the laundry door there was a messy web (obviously not one of those that gets eaten and remade every day) with some very large bugs stuck in it - including a whole cockroach - beside a hole that the spider hid in. I didn't know if I wanted to know what sort. Turns out I didn't. Seen Lord of the Rings, with that spider Shelob? Yeah, like that. Shudder. A red back. Venomous. Biggest one I've seen. Too dangerous to leave there with kids around. I pumped half a can of fly spray into her lair, and scooped the body into the bin so no lizards could eat it.
Another swim when the kids got home from school. We are really making the most of having a pool! There is a very hot week coming up, forecast of 38C on Thursday. My new and not so new swimming cosies were both in the wash so today I dug out a really old one. Saggy and horrible. Public pool chlorine had taken its toll. I wore it with a Tshirt over the top but put it in the bin afterwards. I need to buy another one. Something pretty. I enjoy feeling much better in a cossie than I did 8 kilograms ago.
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