Merry Christmas!

Wednesday:

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.

We had guests over for lunch and a swim on Christmas Eve afternoon, then had a quiet evening watching carols on TV.

On Christmas morning we had a lovely time opening presents. At the crack of dawn of course. Tim and I were a bit sleepy but the kids weren't!

Tim's side of the family, plus my brother, came over for lunch. I wish I took more photos, but I was too busy! Here is one Tim took of me with cousin Daniel and his wife Martha, my brother Darren in the background.

And the dessert buffet! Mango cheesecake, sticky date pudding, lemon tart and a fruit platter.

As usual we were stuck with everyone's recycling garbage; all the wrapping paper plus bottles, boxes etc. We drop hints and one year asked outright if anyone could take some but no apparently they had no room in their bins. THEY have no room? This is what was left after we filled our recycling bin, we will have it sitting there another week before the bin is emptied and we can fill it up again. May take another fortnight!

Oh well, at least we managed to get all the other garbage (food scraps etc) into that bin which has been collected so we aren't left with stinky bags like some other years. Recycling stuff doesn't smell.

We had 18 for lunch and 12 for dinner on Christmas Day. I was glad to collapse into bed, to the soothing slosh of the dishwasher running for the umpteenth time.

A couple of people returned for lunch on Boxing Day to eat leftovers, then many of the Christmas group gathered again to go and see the Star Wars movie, a bit of Boxing Day tradition for us (a couple of people on child-minding duties went to a later session) and dinner at a restaurant which I suggested because it almost sounded like people were expecting to come back to our place and I wasn't prepared for that!

Today I basically insisted we see no-one, I needed a day to recover, but then our sister-in-law Ping has invited us over for dinner at their place which is lovely of her so we'll go there. I'd kind of rather crash at home watching the cricket but at least I don't have to cook!

A few of the more interesting events of the past few days:

I smashed two glass items on different days. On Christmas I pushed some items down the counter top, not seeing there was a glass hiding behind a box of crackers. It got shoved off the edge onto our unforgiving tile floor and smashed into a billion pieces. In a house with little children including three crawlers! Broom, dustpan and brush, vacuum, and hope we got it all. One of the adults did find a few shards - with their bare foot - but no real damage to humankind.

Then on Boxing Day I moved a casserole dish to the counter, somehow the thick glass lid slid off as I put it down and it went over the other side, again onto the tile floor. Huge smash! Broom, dustpan and brush, vacuum, Roomba. It was Aunty Vanessa's dish, luckily I had the same dish in a different pattern but the same size lid to give her. Not that she would have asked for it, she wasn't even there, but it was my fault so I was glad I had the lid to return.

There was a funny saga about dessert. When we were still deciding who would bring what, in chat online, A said she would make a trifle, but B said no she was going to, so A gave in though slightly miffed. Then B was talking about how she made 'healthy' jelly (jello) for the trifle because there is no need for desserts to be unhealthy so C asked for the recipe. Turns out it was just supermarket jelly with 'natural colours and sweeteners'. And then B didn't even bring a trifle! She just brought 'healthy' jelly and custard for the kids (I suppose those are two elements of a trifle!) -- but then she asked if she could take home leftovers of some of the other 'unhealthy' desserts! I thought it was pretty funny.

I found it a bit less amusing that B brought only a small amount of another food that fit her special dietary needs, basically only enough for her own slice of the family, even though she also ate other things on offer and everyone else of course shared everything and would have liked to try her dish. I didn't even realise she'd brought anything, I didn't see it, but others commented to me later. Ah, family dramas. They keep life from getting boring, don't they!

I was given headphones for Christmas by my brother-in-law Nick. He knew I wanted some good ones, not little earbuds that always make my ears sore, but small enough to wear on the train or out walking, and his speciality is tech stuff especially music. I didn't get a chance to try them out until Boxing Day morning and then I literally had tears in my eyes at the sound quality. Amazing. Surrounded by music.

Most of the 'real food' leftovers are gone but there are plenty of packets of chips and lollies, and boxes of chocolates, hopefully all with be eaten during the next couple of family gatherings before midnight New Years Eve. Back on strict diet from 1st January 2018!

Three quiet days

Wednesday:

Nothing exciting. Again, too hot to go out (but cool change late afternoon). We did some colouring-in, Jasmine made cupcakes, Aiden put together a Lego Darth Vader from last Christmas that turned up when we were tidying his room yesterday, we worked some more on tidying his room (nearly done), played computer games. Nice day, really.

Thursday:

The kids and I went to see the movie 'Ferdinand'. We actually wanted to see 'Murder on the Orient Express' (it's one of my favourite Agatha Christie novels - and I have them all!) but I didn't realise that they stopped daytime screenings literally yesterday. And I can't be bothered going out in the evening. I'll wait until it comes to Netflix or TV. Aiden had already seen Ferdinand as a school excursion last week but was ok with seeing it again. I thought the shops would be super busy but it wasn't too bad at all. We popped into a couple of shops while there and didn't have to battle crowds or long queues. But my sister-in-law was there later in the afternoon and said it was terrible. We bought some plastic crates for the kids to store toys in to organise their rooms.

Friday:

In the morning we did the big Christmas grocery shopping trip. I took the kids and Jasmine pushed a second trolley. I still have to pick up the turkey tomorrow but otherwise we're ready. I've been having a few treats this week (and my daily weight is reflecting that) and last night I had a candy cane. I enjoyed eating it, but my mouth reacted badly afterwards. I get this thing where if I eat too much sugar my tongue feels scratched and swollen, really sore. I don't have a big sweet tooth but I do eat stuff sometimes, but only rarely something like a candy cane that is basically five teaspoons of sugar at once. Not worth it for me in a reaction vs enjoyment balance.

This afternoon we finished tidying and organising Aiden's bedroom. You can see the floor! That was a major task, spread over three days. I hope it lasts more than 5 mins.

Staying inside

Tuesday:

We've had a few cooler (comparatively) days, but back to blazing hot today and tomorrow. We couldn't leave the house this morning waiting for tradesmen, but I don't think I would have wanted to anyway. Even going to the movies or something indoors would probably involve leaving the car outside in the sun for a while. So hard to drive when the steering wheel is burning your hands.

We'd had a minor problem with the heat pump for the pool, one corner of the touch screen wasn't responding which was annoying. The screen part was replaced this morning. Still under warranty, obviously. We haven't been using the heater lately of course, no need to in summer.

Also I had organised a Salvation Army pickup and that was this morning. Two bicycles that the kids had grown out of and a few bits of children's furniture and other things a bit heavy/big/unwieldy for me to get to a drop off centre. Tim and I put it all in front of the garage this morning and later in the day it all disappeared. I assume it was the Salvos! If they knocked I didn't hear. But they had a list of what I wanted to donate so it was probably obvious that this cluster of items was for them.

I made an gaffe over it though. Two years ago when we moved here, Tim's cousin gave us a house-warming present that didn't suit my personal taste. On the weekend I put it next to the door to remember to put it out for the Salvos, still in the original box. And that cousin came over for dinner on Sunday night. They didn't say anything and I only realised after they had gone that it was a bit obvious I had never used it and was getting rid of it. I hope they weren't offended. I think they are too sensible to be bothered. Not everyone likes the same things. My sister-in-law has been known to give something back to be exchanged, and I didn't mind at all. I'd rather she had something she liked (or in that case was cookware that didn't fit her small oven).

We still have a lot of things to get rid of, but not worthy of passing on, and I have organised a council pickup in January. The garage is already looking much emptier.

Another cleanup project was started today, Aiden's bedroom. He has a small bedroom and a lot of stuff. He is given more and more things every birthday and Christmas, and we don't cull much of the old stuff. A lot of it is great, for instance for his birthday he got a big remote-control boat (used in the pool when no-one is swimming) and a couple of build-your-own-robot things. Lots of fun, but they are bulky items that take up a lot of shelf space. Today we cleared half the floor and the top of his chest of drawers. A good start. I need to buy some boxes for his Lego. He has accumulated a huge amount over the years and it's currently in a couple of really big plastic boxes that he can't lift or move. I think several smaller ones would be better to make them accessible. He's not as keen on Lego as he used to be though. In a few years we can pass it on to the younger kids in the family.

We swam later in the afternoon when the sun was less burny.

Here is Grumpy the blue-tongue, looking bad-tempered as usual.

 And Draco the water dragon.

 He went behind the big pot, climbed up, and is peeking at me from over the rim.

Treats at Christmas

Monday:

Weight today 75.8, a loss of 400 grams. Not sure how that happened! But I'll take it. I've been eating mostly healthy meals, but with some added festive treats.

I've been in a (polite) argument in a weight loss forum about treats at Christmas. Someone posted that they would be taking the day off their strict diet and I agreed that I would be having some non-diet-friendly foods (actually I am every day at the moment, but I didn't say that) like dessert. The forum is anti-sugar and generally low-carb promoting. Another person argued that we shouldn't see unhealthy food as a 'treat' when it's so bad for us, can derail all our efforts, sugar is poison not a treat, you can enjoy Christmas without traditional junk etc. I said that some people do better if they allow some treats to avoid feeling deprived which can cause people to give up entirely. She disagreed, believing that planning to cheat on your diet is not a good plan, and you should forgive slips but not give yourself permission to slip beforehand. I can totally see her point, but I don't really respond well to someone else telling me what to do. It makes me feel very resistant! I respond better to people setting a good example, telling their story, without saying essentially "you are wrong do it my way which is the only true path." Does that approach work with anyone? We have all been very respectful and I know she is trying to help but it still gets my back up.

Jasmine went a friend's house yesterday and got sunburned despite sunscreen (as usual). Poor girl, she can't go in the sun at all without burning. It might take a few more hard lessons before she decides to wear long sleeves and big hats all summer. Not sure what else she can do other than never going outside at all.

End of the school year

Friday:

It was the kids’ last day of school today. Jasmine played games like UNO all day and Aiden’s school had some kind of talent quest. They now have six weeks summer holiday then start Year 9 and Year 6 respectively. I didn’t do anything exciting on my last child-free day for a while, grocery shopping then a nap. I’ll enjoy having the kids home - at least for the first few weeks!

My diet (I mean that in the broader ‘way of eating’ sense as well as the more narrow ‘restrictive way of eating’ sense) has been gradually slipping for the past couple of weeks (or months). With Christmas so close, I am officially taking two weeks off worrying about my weight. I will be spending a relaxed week with the kids that may/will include treats, then Christmas festivities and another week to eat leftovers and gift chocolates. I will start focus on weight loss again on January 1st - new year, new month, even a new Monday! Don’t worry, my unrestricted eating isn’t so very terrible, I’ve never eaten a whole box of doughnuts or McDonalds three times in one day. A ‘bad’ day might be 2200 calories. I won’t be tracking. Today I made nachos for lunch followed by a Magnum ice cream, and had a little lemon tart in the afternoon. But I’ve also eaten lovely fruit and I’m having salmon and salad for dinner. I’m trying not to put too much focus on food either way, neither ‘must eat healthy’ nor ‘must eat everything before I back on a diet’. Food is a pleasurable part of life, to be enjoyed, but not the only good part!

Saturday:

I knew it would happen one day. We have a rock feature at one end of the pool -- a waterfall when we turn it on but usually we direct the water to the spa jets -- that is perfect for little boys to jump into the deep end of the pool from. The tradesmen who made it joked about how Aiden would love it, it easily supports his weight and Tim jumps from there too. But I knew that eventually someone would fall the wrong way, into the garden rather than the water, and it is quite high. I specifically planted soft non-spiky plants there, though they are not very big yet. And soft-ish mulch. And today Aiden fell off. He scraped his leg a bit on the rock on the way down so is covered in bandaids but he is fine.

Here is the back view of the waterfall, that bird bath is not as close to the wall as it looks. But I might still move it further away! I haven't yet been out to check the plants and see if they are squashed. (Photo not taken today.)

 And the fun jumping side. Note the easy steps up.

I'll just continue to make sure it's all grass and soft plants at the back for an easy fall!

Heatwave

Thursday:

Absolute scorcher today. 39C. I didn't dare go in the pool in the middle of the day, any exposed bits of me would be burned to a crisp. Better to wait until a bit later, when the kids got home and the sun wasn't directly overhead. So I watered the garden first thing, then mostly sat in front of the cricket on TV, sapped of energy despite the air con being on, drinking water and eating cherries. And doing detailed menu/shopping list planning for Christmas.

We are expecting this kind of weather for most days for the next couple of weeks.

Didn't go in the pool until 4:30, but then in and out until about 8:00pm. Definitely don't need the pool heater - the water gets over 30C without it! We do need a bit more shade out there, it will be years before the plants grow. There is a big umbrella but the wind pushes it around so it's not shading where we sit. Will have to move it once Tim's pulled back is fully better.

Good news I am feeling much better today, I think I am over whatever that was.

Tan lines

Wednesday:

Tim is very stiff and sore today. He moved around slowly watering the garden, then we went to Jasmine's assembly where she got an award for music/band and technology (she also got her report card and did very well) then Tim went to work. I came home and had lunch then a nap. Actually I had a nap in the morning too after getting the kids off to school.

I continue to feel pretty awful in the mornings. Achy body, like I’m sick or hungover, sometimes sore throat, upset tummy with some unpleasant bathroom experiences. This morning my arms and hands feel swollen and poisoned. But from a couple of hours after getting up I’m mostly ok for the rest of the day. Tired early in the evening. I suppose I have a virus.

When Aiden got home from school we had a swim, then picked up Jasmine from her after-school activity and had another swim. The pool is certainly getting a lot of use! I am so happy with it, it's beautiful. Just have to be very careful about sunburn, outside so much.

How do other people get lovely even tans? I have relatively brown arms and a circle high on my chest, exposed by T-shirts. Now I have lighter tanned areas on my shoulders and cleavage, from wearing two different swimming costumes. Like concentric circles in shades of brown. White strap lines. I'm about four different colours just on my chest.