I gave the scales away!

Well, sort of, Samyson's friend wanted to borrow them, I did explain to her that they were lying bastards and could be very cruel at times :-). I will get them back hopefully this weekend so I can delude myself for a few more days.

Considering we had 2 short weeks in a row, not much to report, it has been so hot I can't be arsed doing anything much. I planned to do some more decluttering, sorting paperwork & cleaning cupboards but it is just too damn hot to do anything except sweat.

Gary was in Palmy last weekend so the kids & I went to Mexicali then to Myann(?), it is a dessert place, VERY expensive & very decadent but nice. Then on Monday I picked Gary up from the airport and we ended up at Wagamama in Sylvia Park, very tasty, and huge meals, next time we will just share a ramen and some endamame beans.

Siobhan has been back & school & despite having to change the subjects she wanted to do (although she is still doing photography), she is enjoying it all heaps - well as much as a teenager likes school.

Tuesday night was Siobhan's birthday, she didn't know where she wanted to go for dinner so we ended up at the local pub, the Postman's Leg. It is really nice (not cheap but not stupid). Gary & Samyson got rather drunk & we ended up with stupid amounts of food, they gave us a complimentary wedges then because the boys had ordered 2 jugs of beer, it came with a free garlic bread! I ate my main meal, one piece of garlic bread and 2 wedges so quite proud of that restraint.

Mum is doing OK, her radiation/chemo has finished and she has the surgeon appointment early March and then she will get her date for surgery & a bit more info about what to expect etc. Her & Dad are in good spirits as far as I can tell, but then that is usual for them, they won't dwell on it with us or worry us. She has been really tired which is one of the side effects, she also has to be careful as to what she eats - very little fibre allowed :-)

Nothing to See Here Folks

Soooo, the whole losing weight thing, not going so well, pretty much no change, one day I am down over a kilo then the next day, to be fair, it is my own fault plus PMS so not too down on myself (much).

We had a really good weekend last week, spent some real family time together which was nice. Saturday we all went to Murder Burger in Ponsonby for lunch - excellent burgers. Samyson wanted to go to Ben & Jerry's for ice cream, we wandered down there and it was packed, also, it was $ 5.90 for ONE scoop!!! On the way back to the car we realised we had been right next door to Dessert Dojo so we got ice cream and photos from the photo booth for $ 3.90 per scoop - which is still expensive but better than the other. It was actually the first time we have ever had photos as a family in a photo booth.

Sunday, Samyson was meeting a friend at Silo Park for lunch and so Gary Siobhan & I dropped him off, wandered around the market and then went to Lawdy Miss Clawdy's for lunch - great cajun food.

Monday, after work we all went to the beach at Browns Bay for a swim, the water was so so warm. It was so much fun, and we literally laughed the whole time. Then fish & chips for dinner.

With the kids getting older and with Samyson in particular being out so much we don't get to do as much as we used to. I do like the fact that the kids never went through that "Oh My God I can't be seen with my parents" phase.

It is a long weekend in Auckland this weekend and the weather is so hot (they keep telling us it is going to rain and there will be thunder & lightning - still waiting. Siobhan & I did the grocery shopping yesterday, it is our Saturday tradition and she insists on coming because she says it is our "bonding time", plus we get a treat to share at Farro which I suspect is part of her motivation.

Not sure what today holds, Samyson is out & Gary & Siobhan are still in bed.

Hmmm, burgers, ice cream, cajun food, fish & chips & "treats" from Farro - gee wonder why I can't lose weight haha.

100g - really???

So weigh in day - a paltry 100g. Not overly amused, I wasn't expecting a huge drop but that was pathetic. Having said that, I have cheated & weighed myself the last few days and it is looking much better.

Started our walking around the block again last night, after 2 1/2 weeks off it wasn't as bad as I expected.

 Yesterday was my friend's Mum's funeral, not a happy occasion, her Dad died just before Christmas and so it was a huge shock that her Mum passed less than 3 weeks later. They were such a close couple, she had a heart attack, broken heart syndrome.

Also back to work yesterday, busy but glad to be back :-).

So Far So Good

Food has been pretty good the last few days, I must admit, I was really hungry yesterday but didn't raid the chocolate or biscuit stashes. I have been drinking heaps of water, I have a goal of at least 1.5l per day, it has been easier than I thought, hopefully I will keep it up when I get back to work next week.

I have been making omelette for lunch. I do need to up the exercise, my up I mean actually do some :-).

I have done the grocery shopping for this week (I like being on holiday) so lots of salad stuff & veges in the house.

Have not reweighed myself yet, will do it on Saturday as that will be a week from last weigh in.

Spoke to Mum last night, so far so good, no side effects from he treatments and according to her latest bloods all is going fine.

Samyson still away camping with friends, from the photos the girls have been posting on FB & his SnapChat stories they are having a great time.

Sio is going swimming shortly with her friend so that will be nice for her to get out of the damn house. I want her to get as much use as possible out of her insanely expensive togs :-)

Hahaha, Siobhan just came out in her new togs (which look AWESOME) and reminded me we are supposed to go to the "fat chick shop" to look for togs for me. She tried to make me feel better by pointing out that "mother of devil spawn child who made us end up in court" is fatter than me, I said that at the moment I have put on so much weight that she is probably either the same or skinnier than me - her response "well lose some weight then she will be fatter than you again". I had to laugh at her logic :-).

Another New Year of the unknown hanging over us!!

The last 2 years we have had the court case hanging over our heads through Christmas New Year, I was looking forward to a stress free time this year, until I had a call from my parents in Christchurch - Mum has been diagnosed with bowel cancer!!! From what they have said, the prognosis is good, she has just started 5 1/2 weeks of radiation combined with chemotherapy (in a pill, didn't even know that was a thing). Once that is over she has a few weeks to get her strength & immune system a break then has an operation to remove what ever is left.

I am trying not to dwell on it and keep positive but it scares me, a lot. I have said I will go down to Christchurch to help out when she has the operation and either me or one of the kids an go down if she gets too ill from the treatments to help out with the cooking & cleaning etc as Dad is working and also, not his strong point, never having to actually do it himself.

In other news, I finally bought new batteries for my bathroom scales, that was a wake up call - time to stop deluding myself - I AM FAT!!! At 5'2" my weight should not start with a 9 (or an 8 or really even a 7). I have started cutting down portion sizes, halved my wine intake and conceded that maybe, just maybe devouring 2 large bars of chocolate a week is not going to help me lose or even maintain my weight - no shit Sherlock.

I have very few clothes that fit me and for a really good wake up call, I went shopping for togs with Siobhan last week. She found a lovely pair, looked good and so her decision made. Me on the other hand, if I could actually squeeze myself into a pair,  there was no way they were going to fit. The ones that actually did get on me, they were all way too small in the boob area, I ended up leaving with  nothing, I had to get out of there as I was so close to tears it wasn't funny. We got to the check out & I assumed Siobhan's togs were a similar price to most of the others, around $ 80 but because they were the "Nancy Gantz" ones, they were .... $ 179!!! I was mortified, but I was also so close to losing the plot & bursting into tears I just paid it & got the hell out of there - got in the car & cried all the way home.   

Needless to say, things need to change. I know there is no point doing anything drastic, from experience, I last maybe 2-3 days before I revert to type. I need to make small changes & stick at it. Before Christmas Gary & I had started going for walks around the block, he is back at work today so we will start doing that again. I know WHAT I have to do, I just need to bloody well do it. There is no point blubbering about it and not changing my habits because that won't help me lose weight, not eating & drinking too much - THAT will help me lose weight, getting off my fat arse more will also move things along.

My goals for January:
- lose 2 kilos
- drink at least 1.5l water each day
- walk around the block at lest 3 times a week
- tidy out the hall cupboard
- sort out and file the insane piles of paper (credit card statements etc) lying around
- pay extra off my credit card & the GEM visa card this month (my aim is to have both of those cleared completely by the end of the year).

I will try & blog on a regular basis to keep myself accountable.

Starting weight on 1 January - 91.7kg. I will do my measurements today also so it will help measure progress. If I can work out how, I will do an online graph showing (hopefully) my progress. I know I will have the kids & Gary's support, I just need to ask for it, and to tell them what I want to achieve. 

It's finally over!!

Friday 13 December 2013 started the worst, most stressful 16 months of our lives. It involved CYFS, Police (not til some 6 weeks of not knowing WTF was going on later), criminal lawyers, Youth Court, remortgaging the house, inordinate amounts of stress & the loss off the friendship of best friends. 

Somewhat ridiculously because of legal reasons, I am not actually allowed to give any details but basically, one messed up kid make an accusation against a member of our family, it was not true and there was never any way it was ever going to be so.

Despite the facts not adding up, to the point of it being actually impossible and there was no actual evidence - physical or otherwise, it ended up in court. 16 months of stress, $ 30,000+ to a lawyer, several court hearings, it ended up in a 3 day trial in court only for the charges to all be dismissed in a very categoric decision by the judge.

This almost tore our family apart and the emotional toll is huge. Gary basically had a breakdown, I tried to stay strong but there were days on end where I would be in tears on the trip to and from work, and any other time I was by myself. I lived on a steady diet of wine & chocolate, anything else made me sick. This was a factor in Samyson leaving school a year early, luckily he was accepted into uni early and is doing really well. Siobhan is stuck at the school with the F'd up kid which has thrown up a whole lot of challenges. 

I don't know what the other family involved were advised but we were advised not to discuss the matter with anyone, including each other. Way to add stress!! Those that I did tell were a huge strength and without them I am not sure I could have coped, the support and belief in his innocence got me through some pretty bad days. 

We were lucky inasmuch we found a fantastic lawyer (he & his staff were amazing, I would leave his office and actually feel better, despite any setbacks), we had enough money saved to pay for the initial fees (in the hope that the Crown would see there was no merit to their case) and enough equity in the house and reasonable incomes enough increase the mortgage for the $ 30,000 we needed to prove innocence - oh and BTW, we don't get anything back despite the whole case being a sham and even the original Police Officer involved after the verdict was delivered, gave us his condolences and said he was sorry we had to go through all that. 

Gary's family know and have been a support, during one of Gary's major meltdowns, I ended up on the phone with his family and they were amazing and I don't know that they realise how much I needed that conversation, Paul especially. He also phoned Samyson that same night and that support was the boost we all needed at the time.

Our friend Sue was one of the few people I told and she was unwavering in her support, to the point of taking time off work to come to court, which for the most part meant spending 3 days sitting outside the courtroom because we were not allowed in for the complainants evidence. Not only that but her friends and family had us in their prayers, these are people who know us only briefly but knowing that we had that support was a huge comfort.

We thought that as soon as the case was over, that would be the end of it but in actual fact, after living with this hanging over our heads for 16 months, it is kind of weird, there is a calmness and a relaxed atmosphere but almost like there is something wrong or missing. Even though we tried not to let it affect us or even permeate our thoughts unless we had to, it was always there, sometimes moreso than others. The anger and desire for revenge is gone, just a relief it is over for us, unfortunately not so much I suspect for the other family, I think their problems are only going to get worse - still - I can recommend a great criminal lawyer. 

 

  

More to worry about!!!

Samyson found a lump on his leg a couple of weeks ago and asked me to make a Doctors appointment to get it checked out. So off we went today, she took one look at it and said it is irregular shaped and she thinks it should be removed and tested ASAP.

We now have to wait a month for the surgeons appointment to have it removed (they will call us if it anything comes up sooner).

As if the kid doesn't have enough on his plate at the moment, I am not sure how he is going to cope with this, so far he is OK today but he was pretty down last night.

I will break the news Gary tonight.

EDIT: Lump removed, surgeon 99.9% sure it is nothing serious that the cells have killed themselves off and it is likely to have been a burst vessel. He is sending away for analysis just in case.

He was pretty sore that night, he had a show, I didn't realise they were doing Wednesdays. He has to move a lot of set and lift one of the other actors, he looked pretty miserable by the time I picked him up. Painkillers can only go so far. Luckily he didn't split his stitches or get blood on any of his costumes.

NCEA Results

Samyson got his NCEA results today, overall Level 2 with Excellence endorsement. He has done really really well this year, especially considering other stuff that has been going on for him. I am really proud of him.

He is of to Uni next year to do a business degree - a year early as he isn't doing year 13 at school.

Back to Work :-(

Back to work tomorrow, shame really as I have enjoyed this break. During the holidays we have:
- been to the movies
- played mini golf
- walked around the Botanic Gardens
- ice cream at Pokeno
- 5 course degustation meal (with wine matches at Number 5)
- shopping
- cleaned the house (not that you would notice, still shedloads to do)
- lighthouse at Manukau Heads
- walk around Hobson Basin
- brunch and lunches out
- pizza night at the local
- brunches & lunches and dinners at home - new recipes tried and tested
- walk around Silo Park, Wynyard Quarter and the Viaduct
- tram ride
- visited MOTAT
- read 3 books and started on the 4th
- watched a whole TV series
- watched too much Biggest Loser, Real Housewives and Big Brother
- beach

I am sure I have missed some things off, we tried to strike a balance of getting out and doing stuff with just relaxing at home and I think we did pretty well.

All of the above done as a family, there has been heaps of laughs, no real arguments and I don't want it to be over. Having said that, I am looking forward to getting back to work, I have 3 days then I & G are away and Ash is away so I will have the place to myself.

New Years Eve/Day

A quiet night. No Smith Loser Party this year for the adults although Jess & Rachel had friends over, Samyson is there with Carla.  I got to play taxi driver and due to miscommunication/pain in the arsedness, I didn't get back home til 9.

Quiet night with wine, chips & dip with Siobhan and now I am watching TV by myself - woo hoo.

Have an issue to sort out with a certain entitled teenager tomorrow - cue temper tanty.

Heaps of fireworks in our area. One advantage of living in an area with lots of Asians, they have the best fireworks :-).

Hopefully this year will be better than last although the big issue will not be resolved until mid April but at least we have a date. Have given up hope common sense will prevail before that, although I do check my email daily in the vain hope.

Not sure what is on the agenda tomorrow, original plan was a walk and a picnic lunch but the weather is turning and after I pick up Samyson, I suspect things may not be pretty so we will play it by ear - may be another lazy quiet day.

Happy 2015!!!!!!!

Christmas Day 2014

Today was possibly one of the best I can remember. After last years awful time (something had come up a few days before and threw us all for a loop, especially Gary who lost the plot).

This year everyone was happy, looking forward to the day and we were all super organised.We had been invited to the lovely Diet Coke Rocks for lunch but Gary & the kids wanted to have a quiet one with the 4 of us.

Usually kids are the first ones up, this year Gary came up at 7.30 and woke the kids up. Presents were opened and then it was a champagne breakfast with ham & cheese croissants.

Lunch was spit roasted lamb & pork, both from Pokeno, new potatoes, baby carrots and peas, endamame beans with feta & pinenuts and a lemon dressing - YUMM. Dessert (about 3 hours later), brownie, orange curd tarts, cream and salted caramel. Dinner was picking at the leftovers from lunch and last nights Malaysian takeout.

The kids found Gary's old slot car set so that got some air time, then a kite which Samyson attempted to fly up the middle of the road whilst dressed as an elf. Second slot car set didn't work so got disposed of. Family used my cleavage for target practice!!! We played "Battle of the Sexes" which is a really bad, completely unPC sexist board game, it was bloody hilarious. We laughed so much we had tears. A couple of movies, Quartet and I'll Be Home For Christmas ended a fantastic day.

After lunch we has a surprise visit from my friend Janet, she was working (district nurse) and dropped in some Christmas bunting she had made, all because I had mentioned that I really liked it when one of the committee Mums had put pictures of it on Facebook. It was such a surprise and lovely to see her too.

As it is now 12.30, I guess technically the day is over but I want to savour it for just a bit longer.

Not Much To Report

Only about half a day of work before I am on holiday.

Siobhan came to deliver one of the insurance company gifts this morning then I dropped her at the mall and she finished off our grocery shopping and walked home (it was only some peas, pine nuts and a couple of other things, not a whole trolley full). She decided she wants to make orange curd tarts for Christmas lunch dessert so she will do that tomorrow.

Fridays charity concert was fun, we had a laugh and Samyson's dancing in one of the songs was hilariously, there were 7 males and they were singing Jingle Bell Rock but totally camped it up. I think Gary just about wet himself.

Janet was telling us about Jesus Christ Superstar which was playing at the same venue, she had seen it and said it was good but it was too rocky for her, Gary said that sounds like it is just up his alley. He also said he had seen the advertising and thought it looked good (first I knew) - so $ 144 later we had tickets for the next night,  Saturday - which was closing night. OH MY God - what a show. we both LOVED it. It was fast, rocky and the energy was amazing. The only bit I didn't like was Madeline Sami as King Herod, it was Borat meets any one of her male characters and seemed to be more about her than the show, still, it was only 1 scene.

Gary finished work today and was going to finish his shopping this afternoon. Hopefully I can convince him and the kids to catch up on the washing & tidy the house tomorrow so I don't have to do anything when I get home.

We were generously invited to Chris H's house for Christmas lunch, I talked to Gary & the kids and they said that they were looking forward to a quiet Christmas day with just the 4 of us. Besides we had already bought most of the food. It was such a lovely offer and we were incredibly thankful.

I will hopefully post from home if I can work out how to do so on my laptop. I think I had logged in under the wrong name.

It's Nearly Christmas

I have almost all my shopping done, literally 4 things left to get.
We went to Pokeno last weekend and got the pork and lamb.
Siobhan put the tree up Saturday.
Samyson did the rest of the decorations during the week.
I have a list of the last few bits to get food wise and will do a big wine shop at Pak n Save this weekend.
Need to send Val's Christmas card and a card to my parents and Pat with their Miller Rd candles.

The while family is in a good place at the moment and looking forward to Christmas.

School is finished for Samyson, he is now a uni student, he got accepted for discretionary entry to AUT to do a Bachelor of Business so he doesn't have to sit year 13. Solves one problem we though we would have next year and he is looking forward to it.

He got a small role in Bare and chorus for Sweeney Todd, I think he is a bit disappointed after being a lead in Next to Normal. Still, he is only young and to be honest, I don't think he put as much effort into his Sweeney Audition as he could have.

He is also in a charity fundraiser tonight, he was originally told he would have a solo and maybe a duet but it would seem everyone was made the same promise and are disappointed to find that it is not so.

Siobhan did really well this year, she came home with a number of certificates acknowledging her efforts in class which was a great boost for her confidence. After declaring that the Little Mermaid was to be her last NYTC show, she got invited to a couple of NYTC cast parties and as most of them are doing Seussical next year - she has decided she wants to do that one now too.

She has been great these holidays and done quote a bit of tidying and cleaning at home for me. She also came into work on Tuesday and did the Christmas cards and helped Ashley with the gift bags or baskets.

Both kids are at Takapuna Beach for an NYTC get together arranged by Chloe I think. Siobhan is loving getting invites to things and not just because Samyson is going. In fact one of the parties she went to, he wasn't even invited as he had not done the last couple of shows.

Work is busy, although to be fair, I don't have a lot to do at the moment, I am on top of everything so that it is clear for when I am away, 24th is my last day and back on 12 or 13 January. I am looking forward to the break and we plan on doing a few family orientated things, Gary wants to go to Rangitoto and we have a 5 course degustation at Number 5 on the 30th.

Well I am a crap Blogger

Forgive me Blog, it has been many months since my last post.

Quite a lot has happened as you can imagine.

Samyson:
Mamma Mia was a great success, Samyson loved every minute of it and made a heap of great friends.
He went to Disneyland and performed there with Funky Feet Dance school.
He auditioned and got a role in Next to Normal which has just finished its season. Only 6 in the cast.
He has been asked to audition for Sweeney Todd.
Applied for Discretionary entry to AUT and was accepted so he is off to Uni next year, instead of doing year 13, to do a Bachelor of Business and Arts.

Siobhan:
Was selected to participate in Project K. Was told a few days before they go off on a 3 week camp where they tramped, kayaked and biked. Was the best thing to happen for her, she came back happier, heaps of confidence.
As per of Project K she has a mentor for 12 months, her Mentor Natasha is lovely and has been helping with her maths, comes to see her in shows.
She decided to do NYTC's Little Mermaid, show week in 2 weeks - the same time as her bloody exams!
She is doing better at school, she works so hard to achieve. She got second in Food Tech for her Orange Curd tart.

Gary finally did something positive about his sky high blood pressure, we changed his diet and he goes out walking most nights and has cut down on his drinking - not enough but working on that one still. He is much better to live with - the kids refer to him as "New Dad". He is less angry, more fun to be around.

An issue that arose just before last Christmas is still ongoing. I keep hoping common sense and truth will prevail bit instead it looks like a court hearing will be involved, probably not until February.           $ 40,000 for a lawyer just because of someone else's lies.

I should post more often so I can look back and see what has been going on.

Off to a Seafood Cooking class tonight with Doris - looking forward to that.

Whole family is going to Avenue Q tomorrow and then to Ruthless next week. Busy times :-)

My My Here We Go Again

Well, after Samyson doing 3 shows back to back in the first half of the year, which was all good in theory until closer to the show times and everyone wanted extra rehearsals, plus he was working in the school theatre as a technician, he decided that the second half of the year he would not do any major shows.

Time to relax, hang out with his friends etc etc. Maybe take a couple of short classes in different subjects.

He has been wanting a change from childrens theatre and now that he is 16, this is the minimum age for most "grown up" shows so, when the audition call came for Mamma Mia, he figured he would audition, a good way to get experience in doing auditions and getting his name and face out there etc.

The ensemble cast called for males & females in their 20's who could sing and dance - of course.

So, he emailed them for an audition time, attended the dance workshop, turned up to the dance audition on Saturday, made it through to the last group. Saturday afternoon back for vocal audition - they gave him an instant call back!!!

Sunday he goes to call backs, I am watching the other auditions/candidates whatever they are called file in, compared to most of them, Samyson looks pretty young as they are all in their 20's and next to them he does look his age. Also - he doesn't exactly resemble the tanned greek god :-)

On Monday I get a text asking me to call him - he was still at school so I wondered what trouble he had caused.

He had just had a call from the director - he was in!!!

He is now an ensemble cast member of Auckland Music Theatres show Mamma Mia.

It is not until March but the rehearsals start in the next few weeks, according to the audition information, rehearsals are Monday to Thursday 7-10pm and Sunday 11am to 5pm. So much for a quite half of the year.

I am extremely proud of him but am a bit worried about the workload, he has NCEA this year, plus he is doing Green Door Theatre until the end of the year and also agreed to help out with the Funky Feet show in October. Oh and his Trinity musical Theatre exams.

Are you serious!?!?

If I told you 2 days ago we were having fish cakes for dinner tonight, then teminded you again this morning, then stood in the kitchen & made them - when they are dished up is NOT the time to inform me that you "don't feel like fish tonight". I hope you choke on your bloody sausages.

Oh and by the way, asking me how my day was then when I tell you not great, telling me about how yours was does not make me feel great - again - hope you choke on your bloody sausages.

Stupid scales

So I am almost at the end of week 4, almost a month of regular diet & exercise, for me that is a record.

I have no idea how much weight I have lost because I had to buy new scales, I knew the old ones were dodgy but they were so inconsistant that you could weigh numerous times and get a completely different reading each time. Briscoes were having a sale - I know, what a surprise - so I bought a new set of scales, unfortunately they weigh heavier than the old ones so on paper, in a month I have lost ... 200g.

Luckily I had to do my measurements and this week was the week to update, those results were very pleasing, 8.5cm from my waist (well where it should be was I not so pudgy) and 4cm of my bust, 1cm off each thigh and I haven't done my arms yet since I need Siobhan to help with that one.

The brother in law & his girlfriend arrived yesterday, umm - I don't think I like her. I am sure I will get used to her. Not sure if it was the huge belch after taking a glug of her coke or the cleaning between her teeth with a piece of cardboard whilst sitting in the lounge - classy NOT. I know most of us have some less than delightful habits but most of us tend to at least wait until we know someone before breaking them out.

Anyway they are only here for 4 (looong) nights.

I have heaps to do tomorrow, the usual shopping, Samyson has to be at the hairdresser at 11 then up to Orewa for 12.30 and then I have to go to a meeting for Alice In Wonderland at 2 so sadly I won't be home much.

Sunday I am doing Round The Bays which will kill most of the morning, Samyson has rehearsal so I think I will resurrect wine with Lisa to keep me out of the house. Middle of the day I will help Siobhan with her homework.

Really not in the mood to work today BUT, it must be done I suppose.

Week 3!!

It is the beginning of week 3. I have never stuck to a diet/exercise regime for this long in maybe 10 years. The getting up early to do the workouts is hard but I have made myself do it.

Foodwise, I had a few small spoonfuls of Siobhans ice cream on Sunday & I had a glass of wine on Saturday night. I am really enjoying the food on the programme, it is tasty, varied, easy & quick to prepare and most importantly no difficult specialty ingrediants - although this week does call for kangaroo mince which I haven't been able to find so it looks like I will have to substitute that one which is a shame.

I have just found out my brother in law & his girlfriend are coming to stay next weekend - for 5 nights!!!! They are "simple" eaters, meat & 3 veg, nothing "fancy" or "weird". I think I will just cook for them & cook mine seperately. They will hopefully sleep late enough that I can get up & do my workouts without them seeing or hearing, it is embarrassing enough when Gary or the kids witness it.

It is all about facing challenges  so I shall just suck it up!

Temptation!!

During the last 2 weeks I have managed to avoid chocolate completely, today Gary & I went to the new cheap grocery place in Archers Rd & they had Cadbury chocolate mousse bars for $1.49!!!!

It was soooo hard not to get one. Luckily Gary kept me on track.

Friday at last

Yay, it's Friday. I was up earlyish to do this mornings workout, I actually did the Thursday one because I slept in yesterday and did not get home until 11.45 pm last night.

Siobhan & I went to the movies and ended up at St Lukes for dinner - yikes NOT in the original plan. I bypassed the chinese buffet, the KFC and the noodles & settled for okonimiyaki - what a disappointment! It used to be full of cabbage & carrot held together with egg & topped with a bit of teriyaki chicken, now it is a big pile of scrambled egg with a hint of veges. I didn't finish it.

The one thing I was worried about on the 12wbt is that I would be hungry all the time and that I would be craving wine, chocolate, and pretty much everything else but I haven't. The food is great, different & tasty, easy to swap recipes on different nights and the longer I am on it the more recipes I get to swap around. Apparantly there are also Michelle Bridges cookbooks, I haven't looked for them yet. Because we are in NZ we don't get the discounts available on her website as they do not deliver to us - didn't find THAT out until after I signed up. The Healthy Food Guide magazine has the calorie count on it's meals so I can always incorporate some of them.

Last night before the movie Siobhan & I were in the supermarket getting her some lollies, I stood looking at the chocolate thinking I would have a small treat, I realised, I didn't want to - THAT for me is amazing, I just didn't feel like anything and so chose to go without AND it felt like an easy decision.

Gary & Samyson went to Linkin Park last night so by the time our movie finished, we picked them up, stoppped at McDonalds (for them not me) it was 11.45 when we got home, made getting up this morning hard but I knew I would regret it if I didn't, I felt bad enough missing yesterdays - I can't believe this is only the second week!!! Long may it last :-)

Tomorrow is the SSS (I forget what that stands for), a killer workout I have to somehow fit in between all the usual running around I do. This week I have to have Samyson in Orewa by 9.30ish for the auditions of a new show/theatre group so I guess it will be another early start. Must go & have a look at what I actually have to do.

Ciao & have an awesome weekend.