Monday:
Yay for Spring! First day of Spring yesterday and it was a lovely warm sunny day. It was also Father's Day, so the family (Tim's side) met in the park for a picnic ... along with about a million other families! It was quite lovely to get out.
Then today, as I had the day off, I spent a couple of hours working in the garden, and I have the blisters on my hands to prove it!
My boss called about the roster this week, I'll be working in the other library (not where I was last week), and she asked if I'd like her to take my milk over since she was going there. Only a couple of us have milk in our tea/coffee so there wouldn't necessarily be any there. I was just going to buy more but I'm getting rather paranoid. Are they all watching me to make sure I don't waste milk? I'm sure they are all just trying to be nice to the new girl! Maybe I should just offer to be a designated person to keep both offices supplied with milk...
I'm trying to get started writing my new novel. I wrote one a couple of years ago but I feel I can do a lot better the second time. I've been thinking about the plot on and off for a year or so, and the past few weeks I've been taking it more seriously and working out names and backstories etc. Time to write the actual words! It is fantasy fiction (again).
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Monday, September 3, 2018
Spring
Monday:
It doesn't really feel like spring! We had a mostly very mild dry winter but the last couple of weeks have been cold and rainy and these first few days of spring have been the same. The farmers desperately need the rain, so I guess I can put up with it.
My weight was 73.1 kg this morning, up a bit more. I really suck at controlling my eating when I'm sick. I was just getting over one illness when Tim brought home another one. But I am feeling better now.
It was Father's Day yesterday, Tim and I were recovered enough to have everyone over for family dinner. So many little kids! Well, they seem to fill the house anyway! The littlest three cousins are all about to turn two years old, and the princesses are four and five. They are either best friends or fighting and crying. Either way, they are loud!
It doesn't really feel like spring! We had a mostly very mild dry winter but the last couple of weeks have been cold and rainy and these first few days of spring have been the same. The farmers desperately need the rain, so I guess I can put up with it.
My weight was 73.1 kg this morning, up a bit more. I really suck at controlling my eating when I'm sick. I was just getting over one illness when Tim brought home another one. But I am feeling better now.
It was Father's Day yesterday, Tim and I were recovered enough to have everyone over for family dinner. So many little kids! Well, they seem to fill the house anyway! The littlest three cousins are all about to turn two years old, and the princesses are four and five. They are either best friends or fighting and crying. Either way, they are loud!
Friday, September 1, 2017
Turf
Saturday:
This morning the rolls of turf arrived. We didn't know what time they would come, and it turned out to be while we were still in bed! I put on ugg boots and a jumper over my pjs and went out to direct the guy with the little forklift. He got them up the slope of our front yard, but Tim still had to carry them one by one to the backyard - and they weighed at least 10 kg each. Some a lot more, it depended how much dirt was attached to the grass.
Tim took Aiden to his tennis lesson and I measured the width of the grass rolls - the website had said 45 cm but they were 60 cm! This threw out all my levelling/smoothing calculations and I spent the next hour moving more dirt around.
When Tim got home we got stuck into the turf laying. It took about three hours. The grass is mainly a two-roll-wide strip around the pool, with an extra area in one corner for seating.
Before:
Neat rolls waiting in the shade:
And after:
Doesn't it look great! I was getting sick of looking at bare dirt. There is more than you can see in that picture as it goes around three sides of the pool, and Tim had to do a lot of cutting to fit them around the curves so it was a lot of work. Tim did all the carrying and cutting, I just helped place them, but I was still utterly exhausted by the time we finished!
The bare patches next to the fence will be filled with tropical plants, but we should probably wait until there is no danger of cold nights so they have a year to establish before they have to deal with winter. You can grow select tropical plants in Sydney ok but it does get a bit cold for them in winter so not a good time to plant.
While we were still working outside the heater guy came - luckily I had warned him that we might be out the back and if no one answered the door to come through the gate. He replaced the bits that needed replacing so we have a working heater again - although I don't know if we'll need it, it was beautiful today and is going to be 28C tomorrow! It will probably get cold again for a little while though before spring really kicks in.
I don't know if the plants are worried though, we have beautiful freesias popping up all over the place:
And our little peach tree in a pot is in flower:
Spring is a beautiful thing.
This morning the rolls of turf arrived. We didn't know what time they would come, and it turned out to be while we were still in bed! I put on ugg boots and a jumper over my pjs and went out to direct the guy with the little forklift. He got them up the slope of our front yard, but Tim still had to carry them one by one to the backyard - and they weighed at least 10 kg each. Some a lot more, it depended how much dirt was attached to the grass.
Tim took Aiden to his tennis lesson and I measured the width of the grass rolls - the website had said 45 cm but they were 60 cm! This threw out all my levelling/smoothing calculations and I spent the next hour moving more dirt around.
When Tim got home we got stuck into the turf laying. It took about three hours. The grass is mainly a two-roll-wide strip around the pool, with an extra area in one corner for seating.
Before:
Neat rolls waiting in the shade:
And after:
Doesn't it look great! I was getting sick of looking at bare dirt. There is more than you can see in that picture as it goes around three sides of the pool, and Tim had to do a lot of cutting to fit them around the curves so it was a lot of work. Tim did all the carrying and cutting, I just helped place them, but I was still utterly exhausted by the time we finished!
The bare patches next to the fence will be filled with tropical plants, but we should probably wait until there is no danger of cold nights so they have a year to establish before they have to deal with winter. You can grow select tropical plants in Sydney ok but it does get a bit cold for them in winter so not a good time to plant.
While we were still working outside the heater guy came - luckily I had warned him that we might be out the back and if no one answered the door to come through the gate. He replaced the bits that needed replacing so we have a working heater again - although I don't know if we'll need it, it was beautiful today and is going to be 28C tomorrow! It will probably get cold again for a little while though before spring really kicks in.
I don't know if the plants are worried though, we have beautiful freesias popping up all over the place:
And our little peach tree in a pot is in flower:
Spring
Friday:
First day of spring. And it was lovely outside. Still freezing inside though.
I saw my doctor this morning. She was happy with my progress and gave me a script for another month of Duromine. The first pack of 30 pills didn't last a month because I was taking 2 x 15mg a day. This time I got 30mg.
I did the grocery shopping and had lunch then waited in my frigid house for the heater repair man to arrive (any time 12-4), gazing longingly out the window at the spring sunshine. I tried doing some study, but honestly I got so cold sitting still that I couldn't concentrate. I did things that involved a bit of movement instead like folding the laundry, and washing dishes (mmm, hot water).
The guy turned up at 2pm, not as late as I feared, he investigated and found that the heater itself is fine but the control panel is broken. So it will be expensive but not hideously expensive to fix. Bad news is he needed to get the part and will come back tomorrow. At least he could come on Saturday. One more evening. Once I have a hot bath and snuggle under the covers I'm fine.
After he'd gone I was able to get outside and stuck into gardening. Tim came home really early, to attend a Fathers' Day thing at Aiden's school in the afternoon, so he was able to help. We finished getting the ground flattened and smoothed for the turf tomorrow, and Tim put together the high pressure water cleaner thing that we are going to use to deal with the mess of powdered concrete the tiler left behind, and he cleaned part of the area before he got too wet and cold, and I potted up some plants for our courtyard area.
Then I remembered that I hadn't actually taken my script to the pharmacy so I walked up to the shops and did that. Tired feet by the time I got home. I still have a runny nose from my cold but I seem to have bounced back quickly and didn't feel too bad today. I've been getting in my 10,000 steps every day as well as all the gardening. It's lovely to have some energy.
First day of spring. And it was lovely outside. Still freezing inside though.
I saw my doctor this morning. She was happy with my progress and gave me a script for another month of Duromine. The first pack of 30 pills didn't last a month because I was taking 2 x 15mg a day. This time I got 30mg.
I did the grocery shopping and had lunch then waited in my frigid house for the heater repair man to arrive (any time 12-4), gazing longingly out the window at the spring sunshine. I tried doing some study, but honestly I got so cold sitting still that I couldn't concentrate. I did things that involved a bit of movement instead like folding the laundry, and washing dishes (mmm, hot water).
The guy turned up at 2pm, not as late as I feared, he investigated and found that the heater itself is fine but the control panel is broken. So it will be expensive but not hideously expensive to fix. Bad news is he needed to get the part and will come back tomorrow. At least he could come on Saturday. One more evening. Once I have a hot bath and snuggle under the covers I'm fine.
After he'd gone I was able to get outside and stuck into gardening. Tim came home really early, to attend a Fathers' Day thing at Aiden's school in the afternoon, so he was able to help. We finished getting the ground flattened and smoothed for the turf tomorrow, and Tim put together the high pressure water cleaner thing that we are going to use to deal with the mess of powdered concrete the tiler left behind, and he cleaned part of the area before he got too wet and cold, and I potted up some plants for our courtyard area.
Then I remembered that I hadn't actually taken my script to the pharmacy so I walked up to the shops and did that. Tired feet by the time I got home. I still have a runny nose from my cold but I seem to have bounced back quickly and didn't feel too bad today. I've been getting in my 10,000 steps every day as well as all the gardening. It's lovely to have some energy.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Spring!
Thursday:
It's the first day of spring! A lovely day, too. The forecast for the coming week is all over the place: sun, rain, wind, warm, cold... but today was perfect weather. I went out for a long walk that included dropping in to my son's school and then the library which is just as far in the opposite direction. By the time I got to the library I was embarrassed for people to see me, I was a bit sweaty! Even allowing for the short stops, I was walking for over an hour and it was pretty warm outside.
It's odd how you see a lot of people in public in yoga pants and gym gear but (unless they are actually jogging) they never look sweaty. Are they doing their shopping on the way to the gym?
I did well with healthy food most of the day, but then just as dinner was cooking I suddenly became ravenous and shovelled lots of calories in my mouth. Then ate my planned dinner half an hour later. So that wasn't so great. But overall, a good day.
It's the first day of spring! A lovely day, too. The forecast for the coming week is all over the place: sun, rain, wind, warm, cold... but today was perfect weather. I went out for a long walk that included dropping in to my son's school and then the library which is just as far in the opposite direction. By the time I got to the library I was embarrassed for people to see me, I was a bit sweaty! Even allowing for the short stops, I was walking for over an hour and it was pretty warm outside.
It's odd how you see a lot of people in public in yoga pants and gym gear but (unless they are actually jogging) they never look sweaty. Are they doing their shopping on the way to the gym?
I did well with healthy food most of the day, but then just as dinner was cooking I suddenly became ravenous and shovelled lots of calories in my mouth. Then ate my planned dinner half an hour later. So that wasn't so great. But overall, a good day.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Floriade
Wednesday:
Today we went to Floriade, Canberra's annual spring flower/bulb festival. It seemed to be mainly tulips this year with pansies underneath, I don't think I saw any iris or hyacinths. Maybe those are already over as we are in the third week. It was pretty, if a little dull after the ninety-third field. Maybe I've been going too many years.
They had a huge mirror set up so that when the kids lay on the painting of a building, it looked like they were climbing up a vertical wall (here you can see both the reality and the reflection).
The baby animal petting zoo had already left this year as they are only there the first two weeks, but we went through the reptile petting zoo that replaced it and patted some lizards. One handler was holding a big lace monitor (very large lizard that likes to steal eggs from farmers, and probably the chickens too if it can catch them) and his arms were all scratched and bleeding from its claws as it climbed him like a tree.
Floriade also has an area with lots of stalls selling garden tools, mugs with pictures of tulips, floral scented soaps, lunch items, and bottles of water for $4.50. We always go around and taste test whatever food is on offer - some Indian butter chicken, chocolate fudge, herbal teas (Jasmine loves those for some reason), hot chilli sauces (Aiden's favourite), sugar-crusted almonds etc. I generally buy something each visit to justify all the free tasting, this time some mint rocky road.
We walked around slowly for about two hours.
We've been having more problems with our old car (which the kids decided to name "Nugget" because it is a gold colour and the word sounds funny when you say it, the new red car is called "Titan") and I took it back to the people that fixed it last week. I haven't driven it since then except to get it home and to move it a couple of times out of the way of Titan, but it was already making horrible noises again.
Getting home from the repair shop after dropping the car off this afternoon meant more walking (kids with their scooters) so I am feeling pretty tired. Lots of exercise today, but also too much sugar. It was a really warm sunny day, nice to get out in the spring sunshine. We put sunscreen on our faces and had long sleeves on, but I am feeling suspiciously warm around the back of the neck. I'll have to start being vigilant about that now that the weather has turned.
I've been having weird anxiety dreams, like I'd lost the new car, or when I couldn't remember if Tim and I were divorced or not! Everything with the new house is going smoothly - contracts exchanged, finance arranged etc, but we still have to sell this house. The auction is next week. If it doesn't sell straight away we'll be carrying a big debt until it does. The market has suddenly gone a bit quiet, in Sydney at least don't know about here. You'll remember we had to chose between three houses we liked, well the other two are still on the market. One is asking for offers, the other was up for auction last Saturday but didn't sell. So I hope the market is still strong here in Canberra!
I said a couple of weeks ago that Australia's version of Biggest Loser was pretty benign, well I have to take that back. They have temptation again (10 out 14 contestants ate junk), lots of drama between family members, and the show seems to be doing its best to create more conflict by making all the rewards controversial; for example instead of winning a 2 kg benefit for your team at the weigh-in you have to give a 2 kg penalty to another team. Of course this creates bad feeling. Clearly the producers think that seeing success stories of people conquering their demons and losing weight isn't enough. It is disappointing. I'm still watching it though.
Today we went to Floriade, Canberra's annual spring flower/bulb festival. It seemed to be mainly tulips this year with pansies underneath, I don't think I saw any iris or hyacinths. Maybe those are already over as we are in the third week. It was pretty, if a little dull after the ninety-third field. Maybe I've been going too many years.
They had a huge mirror set up so that when the kids lay on the painting of a building, it looked like they were climbing up a vertical wall (here you can see both the reality and the reflection).
The baby animal petting zoo had already left this year as they are only there the first two weeks, but we went through the reptile petting zoo that replaced it and patted some lizards. One handler was holding a big lace monitor (very large lizard that likes to steal eggs from farmers, and probably the chickens too if it can catch them) and his arms were all scratched and bleeding from its claws as it climbed him like a tree.
Floriade also has an area with lots of stalls selling garden tools, mugs with pictures of tulips, floral scented soaps, lunch items, and bottles of water for $4.50. We always go around and taste test whatever food is on offer - some Indian butter chicken, chocolate fudge, herbal teas (Jasmine loves those for some reason), hot chilli sauces (Aiden's favourite), sugar-crusted almonds etc. I generally buy something each visit to justify all the free tasting, this time some mint rocky road.
We walked around slowly for about two hours.
We've been having more problems with our old car (which the kids decided to name "Nugget" because it is a gold colour and the word sounds funny when you say it, the new red car is called "Titan") and I took it back to the people that fixed it last week. I haven't driven it since then except to get it home and to move it a couple of times out of the way of Titan, but it was already making horrible noises again.
Getting home from the repair shop after dropping the car off this afternoon meant more walking (kids with their scooters) so I am feeling pretty tired. Lots of exercise today, but also too much sugar. It was a really warm sunny day, nice to get out in the spring sunshine. We put sunscreen on our faces and had long sleeves on, but I am feeling suspiciously warm around the back of the neck. I'll have to start being vigilant about that now that the weather has turned.
I've been having weird anxiety dreams, like I'd lost the new car, or when I couldn't remember if Tim and I were divorced or not! Everything with the new house is going smoothly - contracts exchanged, finance arranged etc, but we still have to sell this house. The auction is next week. If it doesn't sell straight away we'll be carrying a big debt until it does. The market has suddenly gone a bit quiet, in Sydney at least don't know about here. You'll remember we had to chose between three houses we liked, well the other two are still on the market. One is asking for offers, the other was up for auction last Saturday but didn't sell. So I hope the market is still strong here in Canberra!
I said a couple of weeks ago that Australia's version of Biggest Loser was pretty benign, well I have to take that back. They have temptation again (10 out 14 contestants ate junk), lots of drama between family members, and the show seems to be doing its best to create more conflict by making all the rewards controversial; for example instead of winning a 2 kg benefit for your team at the weigh-in you have to give a 2 kg penalty to another team. Of course this creates bad feeling. Clearly the producers think that seeing success stories of people conquering their demons and losing weight isn't enough. It is disappointing. I'm still watching it though.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Sunshine and afternoon nap
Sunday:
This morning my children were taking turns wrapping themselves in a double doona and "evolving" then emerging from the cocoon. Cute.
Despite apparently snoring all night I am feeling much better today. It hasn't been a bad 24 hours. You know some illnesses make you feel miserable, either from pain/nausea etc or because somehow they depress your spirits. This one didn't affect mood at all, my husband said the same when I mentioned it. Despite a sore throat and aching body and fatigue, I just felt like myself and was able to enjoy various non-active things instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself like I often do when sick.
I weigh in tomorrow after a week of starting back at the gym. I don't expect to have lost weight, my eating has been pretty bad. A few hours of exercise can't compete with that. But my current focus is getting back into an exercise rhythm.
Quiet day today. I at least got out into the backyard and did a bit of weeding, cut back the huge rosemary shrub and watered a couple of dry plants. Lovely sunshine. The vegetable garden is looking good, most of the seedlings survived their first couple of weeks. The strawberry plants are covered in little white baby berries. The pansies are still blooming. The gardeners came a couple of days ago so the lawn was all neatly mown too. We've been here for nearly ten years and I probably spent the most time I've ever spent in our backyard this past winter, when we had the puppy. It's nice to be out there when it isn't freezing, or raining, or pitch black!
After being outside for ten minutes I came in and had a nap. Afternoon naps are awesome.
Back to the gym tomorrow, and I'll start tightening my food intake.
This morning my children were taking turns wrapping themselves in a double doona and "evolving" then emerging from the cocoon. Cute.
Despite apparently snoring all night I am feeling much better today. It hasn't been a bad 24 hours. You know some illnesses make you feel miserable, either from pain/nausea etc or because somehow they depress your spirits. This one didn't affect mood at all, my husband said the same when I mentioned it. Despite a sore throat and aching body and fatigue, I just felt like myself and was able to enjoy various non-active things instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself like I often do when sick.
I weigh in tomorrow after a week of starting back at the gym. I don't expect to have lost weight, my eating has been pretty bad. A few hours of exercise can't compete with that. But my current focus is getting back into an exercise rhythm.
Quiet day today. I at least got out into the backyard and did a bit of weeding, cut back the huge rosemary shrub and watered a couple of dry plants. Lovely sunshine. The vegetable garden is looking good, most of the seedlings survived their first couple of weeks. The strawberry plants are covered in little white baby berries. The pansies are still blooming. The gardeners came a couple of days ago so the lawn was all neatly mown too. We've been here for nearly ten years and I probably spent the most time I've ever spent in our backyard this past winter, when we had the puppy. It's nice to be out there when it isn't freezing, or raining, or pitch black!
After being outside for ten minutes I came in and had a nap. Afternoon naps are awesome.
Back to the gym tomorrow, and I'll start tightening my food intake.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Petting Zoo
Sunday:
Today we had a family trip to Floriade. We parked some distance away so with walking there and a slow ramble around and back to the car it was 3.4 km (in 2 hours). Lovely afternoon.
There was a baby animal petting zoo...
And flowers...
And Nerang Pond (an offshoot of Lake Burley Griffin).
In the morning I watched some gardening being done. I was saving my energy for Floriade (lucky I did, I'm still not 100% and it was very tiring) so I just sat in the lovely sun while Tim dug manure into our vegetable bed ready for spring planting, and the kids did some weeding. Mostly of weeds. A few herbs may have suffered. Time to buy some seedlings!
Today we had a family trip to Floriade. We parked some distance away so with walking there and a slow ramble around and back to the car it was 3.4 km (in 2 hours). Lovely afternoon.
There was a baby animal petting zoo...
And flowers...
And Nerang Pond (an offshoot of Lake Burley Griffin).
In the morning I watched some gardening being done. I was saving my energy for Floriade (lucky I did, I'm still not 100% and it was very tiring) so I just sat in the lovely sun while Tim dug manure into our vegetable bed ready for spring planting, and the kids did some weeding. Mostly of weeds. A few herbs may have suffered. Time to buy some seedlings!
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
The perfect day to start a new diet
Wednesday:
I've been fighting off the impulse to put off a big "restarting my diet" until next Monday. It is very appealing to think that there is a "perfect" day to start a diet. Monday is traditional in itself, of course, but next Monday is also the first of September so it's a whole new month of unblemished days. AND, biggest of all, it's the first day of spring. Not just a new week, a new month, but a new season - and the most new-start-y season of them all.
And this week is so hectic there's hardly any point trying, right? And I keep trying and failing which is disheartening, so better to start when I have a chance of succeeding, right?
But the thing is, even on a Monday, even on the first day of spring, I will still be me.
I. Will. Still. Be. Me.
Nothing wrong with being me. I am quite nice, overall. But on Monday, I will still struggle to drink enough water. On the first day of the month I will still be lazy about exercise. On the first day of spring I will still be tempted by unhealthy foods. I won't miraculously change just because I've turned a page on the wall calendar.
Sometimes I somehow think I will, though. Like there is magic on the first day of the month. Like somehow it will be easier on that mystical day in the future.
Maybe on Monday I will be glad of the new page, the clean slate. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on today.
I've been fighting off the impulse to put off a big "restarting my diet" until next Monday. It is very appealing to think that there is a "perfect" day to start a diet. Monday is traditional in itself, of course, but next Monday is also the first of September so it's a whole new month of unblemished days. AND, biggest of all, it's the first day of spring. Not just a new week, a new month, but a new season - and the most new-start-y season of them all.
And this week is so hectic there's hardly any point trying, right? And I keep trying and failing which is disheartening, so better to start when I have a chance of succeeding, right?
But the thing is, even on a Monday, even on the first day of spring, I will still be me.
I. Will. Still. Be. Me.
Nothing wrong with being me. I am quite nice, overall. But on Monday, I will still struggle to drink enough water. On the first day of the month I will still be lazy about exercise. On the first day of spring I will still be tempted by unhealthy foods. I won't miraculously change just because I've turned a page on the wall calendar.
Sometimes I somehow think I will, though. Like there is magic on the first day of the month. Like somehow it will be easier on that mystical day in the future.
Maybe on Monday I will be glad of the new page, the clean slate. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on today.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Sunshine and curly hair
Tuesday:
I'm into day two of take 2 of the CSIRO food plan. It's going well. Last night I was grumbling because I'd only had one serve of vegetables at lunchtime so I had to have FOUR serves with dinner! That is a lot of vegetables. But I ate it all. More careful today to distribute them more evenly.
Today I had my hair permed. I used to do that all the time but then straight hair became fashionable. Dead-straight hair pulled down beside my face is absolutely the worst look for me so I always have my hair pulled back. But finally I just decided I'd rather be pretty than fashionable (anyone who knows me would laugh at the concept of me doing anything fashionable anyway) so I had it done today. I don't look like a poodle, I just have curly hair now. Still smells a bit from the chemicals, though, which isn't nice. But I loved being pampered at the hairdresser, a mini massage and having my hair washed twice and reading a trashy magazine without guilt.
Canberra has thrown itself into spring with gay abandon, with sunny skies and soaring temperatures. I walked for 45 mins yesterday and 20 mins this morning before my hairdresser appointment, picking up the kids from school will add another 15 mins today. I downloaded a pedometer app for my iPhone but only remembered to turn it on just before my walk (missing a couple of hundred incidental steps, I estimate. I'm only up to 2346, I'll be lucky to get to 5000 today. Need to work on that. Apart from my formal exercise, I don't move around much. Both work and leisure time involve a lot of sitting.
My staring weight, yesterday morning, was 81.5 kg, the highest it has been for a couple of years. But I'm doing something about it now.
I'm into day two of take 2 of the CSIRO food plan. It's going well. Last night I was grumbling because I'd only had one serve of vegetables at lunchtime so I had to have FOUR serves with dinner! That is a lot of vegetables. But I ate it all. More careful today to distribute them more evenly.
Today I had my hair permed. I used to do that all the time but then straight hair became fashionable. Dead-straight hair pulled down beside my face is absolutely the worst look for me so I always have my hair pulled back. But finally I just decided I'd rather be pretty than fashionable (anyone who knows me would laugh at the concept of me doing anything fashionable anyway) so I had it done today. I don't look like a poodle, I just have curly hair now. Still smells a bit from the chemicals, though, which isn't nice. But I loved being pampered at the hairdresser, a mini massage and having my hair washed twice and reading a trashy magazine without guilt.
Canberra has thrown itself into spring with gay abandon, with sunny skies and soaring temperatures. I walked for 45 mins yesterday and 20 mins this morning before my hairdresser appointment, picking up the kids from school will add another 15 mins today. I downloaded a pedometer app for my iPhone but only remembered to turn it on just before my walk (missing a couple of hundred incidental steps, I estimate. I'm only up to 2346, I'll be lucky to get to 5000 today. Need to work on that. Apart from my formal exercise, I don't move around much. Both work and leisure time involve a lot of sitting.
My staring weight, yesterday morning, was 81.5 kg, the highest it has been for a couple of years. But I'm doing something about it now.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Plans for Spring
Friday:
I've been doing a lot of thinking about how to get started (again) on weight loss and I decided I want to focus on "do" not "don't" so I went looking on the internet for a chart where I could tick off boxes for doing good things like eating vegetables and exercising. I found one that was pretty much what I wanted except it was a whole page for each day, which is a lot of paper if I was going to print them out. Then I remembered that the CSIRO diet had a chart for their plan so I went looking for that. And ended up deciding to do the CSIRO diet again.
I went back through my archives and found that I started that plan almost exactly two years ago - 3 September 2011 - and started off well but faded away and officially quit on 15 October, around seven weeks later.
It's high protein, moderate carb, low fat. I've ordered the books from the library again but had a look on their website and printed out the checklist and I think I remember everything pretty well. The hope is that if I eat all those fruits and vegetables and proteins I won't have room for junk. It is not a fad diet, CSIRO is a group of Australian scientists (government, I think) and their diet follows the current guidelines for amounts of everything.
We have a busy weekend that will include a 60th party, Father's Day and eating out twice (in addition to those celebrations). I also haven't shopped with this diet plan in mind. So I will start on Monday, 2 September. And if I have any time on the Sunday, 1 September, the first day of spring, I will "spring clean" the cupboards and throw away all the junk in the house.
I had about four days of feeling well (and I made the most of it, getting out and enjoying the sunshine) and then yesterday I woke up with a bad sore throat. Felt yuck all day, went to bed early, this morning went back to bed after getting the kids to school. Sick of being sick. My son is complaining about not feeling well too. This has been a really bad autumn and winter for illness. Oh well, it will pass.
I've been doing a lot of thinking about how to get started (again) on weight loss and I decided I want to focus on "do" not "don't" so I went looking on the internet for a chart where I could tick off boxes for doing good things like eating vegetables and exercising. I found one that was pretty much what I wanted except it was a whole page for each day, which is a lot of paper if I was going to print them out. Then I remembered that the CSIRO diet had a chart for their plan so I went looking for that. And ended up deciding to do the CSIRO diet again.
I went back through my archives and found that I started that plan almost exactly two years ago - 3 September 2011 - and started off well but faded away and officially quit on 15 October, around seven weeks later.
It's high protein, moderate carb, low fat. I've ordered the books from the library again but had a look on their website and printed out the checklist and I think I remember everything pretty well. The hope is that if I eat all those fruits and vegetables and proteins I won't have room for junk. It is not a fad diet, CSIRO is a group of Australian scientists (government, I think) and their diet follows the current guidelines for amounts of everything.
We have a busy weekend that will include a 60th party, Father's Day and eating out twice (in addition to those celebrations). I also haven't shopped with this diet plan in mind. So I will start on Monday, 2 September. And if I have any time on the Sunday, 1 September, the first day of spring, I will "spring clean" the cupboards and throw away all the junk in the house.
I had about four days of feeling well (and I made the most of it, getting out and enjoying the sunshine) and then yesterday I woke up with a bad sore throat. Felt yuck all day, went to bed early, this morning went back to bed after getting the kids to school. Sick of being sick. My son is complaining about not feeling well too. This has been a really bad autumn and winter for illness. Oh well, it will pass.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Strolling
Tuesday:
It was a lovely almost-spring day today and when it came time to exercise I really didn't feel like dancing so instead I went for a walk. I didn't take my music, I just wanted to immerse myself in the day. There were beautiful smells all round from jonquils and wattle and plum blossoms. Pretty but raucous sulphur-crested cockatoos were nesting in the hollows in old trees, the wind was light and playful instead of being straight from the snow fields, it was a great day for a brisk stroll.
I mailed a letter and bought some milk and a couple of other things, and ended up carrying about 6kg of stuff in my backpack. I had thought the day still a little chilly on my way out, with no jumper, but I didn't think that on the way home, uphill and carrying a backpack! It seemed very warm indeed.
It was a lovely almost-spring day today and when it came time to exercise I really didn't feel like dancing so instead I went for a walk. I didn't take my music, I just wanted to immerse myself in the day. There were beautiful smells all round from jonquils and wattle and plum blossoms. Pretty but raucous sulphur-crested cockatoos were nesting in the hollows in old trees, the wind was light and playful instead of being straight from the snow fields, it was a great day for a brisk stroll.
I mailed a letter and bought some milk and a couple of other things, and ended up carrying about 6kg of stuff in my backpack. I had thought the day still a little chilly on my way out, with no jumper, but I didn't think that on the way home, uphill and carrying a backpack! It seemed very warm indeed.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
A positive, active day
I managed to put all my whiney feeling-sorry-for-myself behind me and just got on with it today. After walking the kids to school I bought an elastic ankle support at the chemist. I don't know if I need it or if it helps but I haven't re-injured myself today so maybe it is working. After doing some housework I went to the gym and spent an hour and a half using the weight machines. I avoided a few that seemed to put too much pressure on my ankle or my bad shoulder, but still ended up with fifteen different exercises on thirteen machines. There were a couple I only did one set of ten reps on but on the rest I did three sets of ten reps. I started with mainly the lightest possible weight, 10 kg, but was putting on a bit more by the end; and then when I had finished I went back and did another three sets of ten reps on the first five machines, but with heavier weights. So in total I did 20 exercises, 540 reps! I think I will be feeling it tomorrow.
After going home for lunch and a shower, I drove to Floriade. As usual when we go to that area I parked some distance away, a little hidden carpark further along the lake that is never full even during festivals, and then I walked briskly to Commonwealth Park and wandered among the tulips. With that and the school pick up I did a total of an hour walking today, so that is two and a half hours of exercise. Go me! And it was a really lovely sunny day, a little cool with the lake breeze but perfect once in the park.
While at Floriade I went to the exhibition stalls (pausing RunKeeper) and taste-tested everything available. I love free stuff! I tried five different flavours of fudge and then bought some of the raspberry flavour. I'm not even all that keen on fudge, I just felt obscurely guilty for trying so much. But the kids loved it and we saved some for Tim so that is ok. Also, carrying a bar of fudge around proved I was a genuine buyer not just a taster! I also had four or five kinds of exotic herbal tea -- I rather liked the Turkish green apple which tasted a lot like apple juice but it only came in a big $20 cannister -- a sour watermelon lolly which I didn't like much, some really hot chilli that left my lips burning for a while, and nuts encusted in various things like chilli/lime and toffee. Next time I am going to buy some Vienna macadamias, they were really yummy. Not sure what was on them, vanilla sugar? Despite casually wandering past the better nut stall several times (there was another one that wasn't as good), I didn't really eat that much and it was nice afternoon snack made up of a multitude of different tastes.
There were plenty of other stalls with gardening tools and handmade soaps and jewellery and silk scarves and things, sometimes I look at that stuff but not today. I really go to Floriade to look at the flowers, but I didn't look closely at those today either, I walked around briskly and got a general overview. I'll be going again, several times I hope. I haven't looked at the dresses-made-of-flowers exhibition or sat in the cafe overlooking the gardens or done the wine tasting or anything yet! And there is a petting zoo for the kids, they love that every year.
Feeling so much more positive today.
photo by sallysetsforth
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Spring goals and Fathers' Day
It's the second day of September and therefore the second day of Spring here in the southern hemisphere. We've had a really long cold winter (I think the northern hemisphere has had a very hot summer!) and even yesterday was freezing which was disappointing but today it was sunny enough to get out for a Fathers' Day picnic which was lovely.
A new month is always a good time to rethink goals, and a new season -- especially Spring! -- even better. Obviously my prediabetes is a big motivator and my goals certainly revolve around getting healthy and reversing the condition. I rarely think about anything else these days. So:
1) Lose weight. I still need to lose nearly 20 kg. I would love to lose 10 kg in the next three months.
2) Manage my blood glucose levels to avoid doing damage to various parts of my body, and to avoid accelerating a plunge into actual diabetes.
I will do this by:
a) Exercise. This helps with both losing weight and managing blood sugar levels. As well as improving insulin action, exercise uses up glucose stores in the muscles so that later glucose will be stored there first rather than going straight to fat. I have resolved to exercise for at least 30 mins every single day of Spring. These first two days I have been for a brisk walk each day, 5 km/h which is about as fast as I can go without jogging. I listen to music and also have RunKeeper on to tell me how fast and far I am going.
b) Writing down everything I eat. As I said yesterday, this really helps me stay on track. For the moment, I will continue to just count carbs. If I stop losing weight I will obviously have to take more drastic action.
When I saw the doctor the other day we discussed my often-dehydrated state and she sternly abjured me to drink more. I really am trying. And last night I only had to get up twice to pee; better than the night before. I did have a dream, though, where I really needed to urinate so went to the refridgerator in my old childhood home and peed in the vegetable crisper drawer! Four times! I woke really needing to pee. Sometimes I wonder how adults don't (usually) urinate in their sleep when they dream about it. Or fall out of bed when turning over. I guess we never sleep so soundly that we are completely out of control or unaware of our bodies.
Another thing that came up with the doctor was that when she was looking over my lab results she noticed that they had not tested my Vitamin D levels, and I had been deficient two years ago. Oh well, she said, as long as you are still taking your Vitamin D tablets you should be fine. I smiled as agreeably as I could without actually lying. Those tablets used to make me nauseated when I took them with breakfast, I even threw up once or twice, but I could never remember to take them later in the day. But I'm trying with that too -- taking one at lunchtime. I have remembered so far, and they don't seem to make me nauseated except in the morning.
It was Fathers' Day today, a lovely day with my little family. Unfortunately (my husband asks: why unfortunately?) my idea of a lovely day still revolves around food. French toast with raspberries and real maple syrup (I didn't have any of the syrup) and bacon for breakfast, lunch picnic that included fried chicken, lasagne for dinner. And dessert. I felt rather overstuffed all day, but I was careful with the carbs and portion sizes and my blood sugars have been ok. Haven't tested the dinner yet.
When I was making the lasagne I thought it would be ok for me because I was only counting the pasta, since meat* and cheese don't have carbs. But 2/3 of the way through my slice I suddenly went and checked the empty tomato pasta sauce bottle. Lots of carbs there! Probably full of sugar. And some in the bechamel sauce too, white sauce has flour in it. I pushed my plate aside and just finished my salad. It wasn't as though I hadn't had plenty of food already.
* I read today in one of my many library books about diabetes that about 50% of meat is actually converted to glucose too, but not for 4-6 hours. So it seems I can't ignore my meat portion sizes after all.
photo by Reid Kasprowicz
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