31 January 2010

Pump!

So, I've been aiming to do Pump about 3 times a week, tuesdays and thursday before work and sunday mornings after Combat. Its time to start paying attention to what I use, so here is todays:


Warm up – 2.5 each side (5)
Squats – 7.5 each side (15)
Chest – 5 each side (10)
Back – 5 each side (10)
Triceps – 3.75 each side (7.5)
Biceps – 3.75 each side (7.5)
Lunges – I don’t use the bar normally- it tends to hurt my knees in a way that squats don't.
Shoulders – 3.75 each side (7.5) 2.5kg dumbbells.



I was wobbly after, and can feel the burn now so will no doubt be in pain tomorrow. It feels good though. I took the OH along a week or two ago, and I think he liked it but doesnt go in for the gym thing. Instead, we now have a "pump" set of weights and a bar in our garage, to go with the bench and dumbells. Its a bar with 20kgs of plates... maybe 2x5, 2 x 2.5 and something else to make up the rest. So maybe I should do a bit of extra training. Though might be best left til the winter as our garage is sooo hot all the time right now.

28 January 2010

My 5 things

So the task of the day is to list the 5 things that you are thankful for. Mine are:

  1. My lovely OH who just cooked me Chicken Parmigiana salad for tea, all on his own (he has no confidence in the kitchen, and up until he met me never ever even cooked pasta) while I had a bath and a glass of wine. For loving me through thick and thin and across oceans for the last 5 years.

  2. That Australia let me in, and hopefully will do on a more permanant basis. After spending 3 months here in 2006 I knew it was where I wanted to live, and here I am. Best decision I ever made, and even better that I convinced the boy over too :)

  3. My education- I was at university before I realised how lucky I was to be there. Decent primary, great Grammar School and straight into Uni without really thinking how much other people struggle to get there. Don't get me wrong, I worked hard and got good grades, but I had support from all sides all the way through and never had to fight against the system. And it opened so many doors (see 2 and 5 and 1 I guess, since thats where we met).

  4. My friends those here and afar. Despite hardly ever being around (due to emigration or work rosters) theyre always there when needed, and I hope I am too, where possible.
  5. My job. I hate it at times, but how many other people get paid to spend half the year camping out bush and having crazy adventures?! In this case getting bogged on top of a camel due to the distraction factor, and flooded creek crossings. Love it!


27 January 2010

Australia Day

What a great day!

We started off over at Cottelsoe Beach for the Havaiana Thong world record challenge. Sophie and I were there by 7:30 to ensure we could enter, and spent the day at the beach soaking up the atmosphere, and the rays, and generally chilling out :)

Then at lunchtime the real fun began. The record attempt for the longest line of inflatables on the ocean. Sydney had set the record high earlier in the day, with 1262 (up from about 900 last year), but Perth could beat that, right?

Of course!

Despite the population difference, Perth managed to put 1301 people onto the water, thrashing the previous record. And much fun was had in the process :D

Then icecream at the beach for lunch before heading back home for showers, air conditioning, shade, water, and to pick up fresh supplies for the evenings festivities. We headed to the South Perth foreshore to watch the air show. Those tumbling aerobatic planes are scary! I've never watched them before and my heart was in my mouth and I was telling Sophie that "look- that plane- its just falling. OMG sophie, the planes just falling out the sky!"
To which the response was "yes, Thats the point..."
So yeah...

Fireworks!
We chose the worst spot, with a big tree in the exact line of the fireworks, but with a bit of shuffling we got a great view. And will know better for next year. Fireworks have always meant a lot to me, and its been 3 years since I'd seen them. They brought a tear to my eye at one point (how geeky!) but were great! The OH managed to get there in time for them, just: 8 minutes to spare. His plane landed at 7, so not too bad an effort!

25 January 2010

nearly Australia Day!

Now, I know I shouldn't get excited about a celebration of the arrival of an invading nation which turned into a genocide, but y'know... Its Australia Day. Maybe they should change the day, but having a national celebration is a great thing. No one in the UK even notices St Georges Day (sometime in April? Maybe the 23rd but potentially not).
I've never been around for one before- the first year I was in Kambalda and while I seem to remember there was a bit of an Australiana quiz at the wet mess but otherwise all was quiet. I seem to remember I spent the day in the core shed learning how to pronounce 'Strayla the most ocker way possible.

Then last year was the big road trip to learn escape routes out of the southern half of our tenements (we're closer to Newman than the mine down there, so if anything were to go wrong we would be better to head there than home, but only as long as we don't get lost). We got to the southern road and set up camp, then the dust storm came through. Very cool. Then another came through, starting to wonder...

Then the heavens opened:


It put the fire out and the ground was flooding. We knew we had to bolt before it got too bad, or we could have been trapped there for a couple of days due to the rivers and poor road conditions. We got to Newman (2 hours ish drive from there, especially in those conditions) and cooked our camp food on the BBQs in the caravan park then had to head out again because there was no room in town. Anywhere. Gotta love Newman for that. So we ended up in a truckstop just as the sealed road stops, hoping that they wouldn't close the road first thing in the morning and that we'd make it back.
It was my first night in a swag. It rained all night, though not as hard as it started out. And I was terrified that a road train would pull in and somehow run us over, though we were way away from where that could happen.
We got up at first light, freezing cold from sleeping in wet leaky swags, cooked up bacon and egg sangas and wished each other a happy Australia Day.

Then the massive drive back home. We tried to stop off in a small town on the way, but nothing was open because it was holiday, so not even any ice coffee or cola to keep us alive. Definitely different, and very Australian, but not really what I had in mind.

This year, my friend and I have decided to do the Haviana Thong Challenge. Should be interesting :)
Packing a picnic and spending the day at the beach, then heading into town for the Skyworks. I have lots of dodgy Australia clothing and bits and bobs, and intend to look like the worst back packer out there. But at least if anyone from immigration happens to be watching, they'll see me showing my love for this beautiful country :)

So Excited!! 

19 January 2010

I dont get it.

So, I've been doing all this exercise, and eating pretty good (with the moment of weakness admittedly, especially at the Cider Festival) but nothing changes.

I know that I look better, and I've had some really nice comments over the last week or so about how "toned" I'm looking, so I guess thats good :) Its just annoying not to see any real shift. Another positive is that its making the OH think a bit more too. The combination of me and one of his friends loosing a fair bit of weight over the last 6 months (but he had more to loose and apparently medical intervention) seems to have spurred him on a bit more. Less beer and chocolate in front of the TV and weights as well as his cycling. He's already told me he will come to pump with me again next time he's in Perth!

Ah well. Just keep plodding along and we'll see how things go.
Plenty of time still! Not my wedding, I should point out! I'm a bridesmaid at one of my friends weddings back home in June, so its been my goal for the last year to have lovely photos to look back on in the future.

 There will only be a week or so before the wedding for me to try on the dress and get it altered if needed; it might be cutting it fine! At least it will be too big and not too small. That would be bad! One of my mums friends daughters bridesmaids (still with me?) apparently couldnt do her zip up on the day so had to walk down the aisle backless :S And trying to hide it from the bride so she didnt freak...

This is the dress -/\
And apparently we'll have these to keep us warm, but in a chocolate brown colour.
I might need more layers underneath! The wedding is English sumemrtime, but after 3 years in Aus, especially up north, I find it pretty cold below 25oC...


Bridesmaid duties are beginning now, with the beginnings of a plan for the Hen weekend. Putting the Aussie (well, kinda) in charge of the BBQ is such a stereotype! I'm looking forward to it muchly though!

First call for hens night party games too! Any suggestions?

14 January 2010

Positive Vibes work :)

Gran is out of the Hospital- they think it was just angina... she's never had it before, so hopefully treatable, or controllable anyway.

Cycled into work again this morning, 3rd day in a row and feeling the burn! My arms are shaking because I went to pump again and dragged the OH. He felt the burn too!

13 January 2010

Bad weekend all round!

Not only is my Gran ill, the OHs mum slipped on the ice walking back from the bus stop and broke her ankle.

There was no one around and noone answering the phone at home, so she pretty much crawled back home. Ouch! Then at the hospital they said they "didn't think it was broken", so she WALKED down to X ray and back because they wouldnt provide her with a wheelchair, only to be told, "oops, it is broken, here, sit in this wheelchair and dont put any weight on it".

What is the NHS coming to?!

11 January 2010

Poorly Grandma :(

Everyone send good vibes to my Gran:

I got a phone call from my parents yesterday evening to tell me that she was in hospital :( Apparently she was taken ill on friday, with unknown pain. She phoned my dads sister (who I don't remember ever meeting and didn't know existed for a very long time- long story that I'm not even sure of) who said ring the doctor who said ring an ambulance.
They thought it was a heart attack at first, but now they think its her kidneys. She is 94 ish, so she's had a good innings and you have to kind of expect these things, but you never do. I knew that when I left the UK 2.5 years ago that there was a good chance it would be the last time I saw her, but still...
My parents went to visit her yesterday afternoon their time, and said that she was looking OK, sitting up out of bed. They did a full MOT (does that translate into Aussie? full service) and were going to give her some scan thing today and hopefully they will figure out what it is and all will be good. 


The worst part is that my dads sister didn't even tell my Dad she was ill for 2 days (taken in on friday lunch time, told him sunday). If it had been something more critical and the worst were to have happened he wouldn't even have got to see her before... I know that anyone that I care about could be run over by a bus while I'm writing this, and its not something I should worry about tooooo much, but things like this just make you think. I love my life over here, but at times you remember the bad stuff.




On other notes, had a lazy weekend. Managed to go to pump on Sunday, but other than that... I walked home from work on friday night, which is about 12km at a fast pace. My hips were aching from that (from the different style to running I guess) so I excused myself out of proper exercise on saturday, but did do some Wii time. Then put my bike into the shop on sunday for a quick once over- break tightening, gear tweaking  etc etc so not much exercise today, but i have decided I am NEVER taking the Cat again (inner city run around free bus). It doesnt take much longer to walk given the route deviations and constant stopping and its a fairly good hike from the train station to where I work. Every little helps!


Picked my bike up this evening after skiving off work a little bit early and running across the city to get there before the shop closes at 6. All good so cycling everyday this week is the plan. I'm aiming for Pump again in the morning. 


Chick Pea Curry
I made yummy and fast curry for tea:
Cook up a small onion with a tablespoon of curry paste (I used rogan josh) then add a drained tin of chick peas. Cook them through a bit to soften, then add a grated carrot and some peas and a tun of crushed tomatoes and cook until the tomato looses its acidyness (if you know what I mean?!).


Makes 2 big bowls. I couldn't finish mine:


268 calories, 
12g protein
15g(!!) fibre from the chick peas and tomatoes mainly
8g fat (from the paste, if i was less lazy today it would be real paste so very little fat and 70 whole cals less ish!)


I think what I have left will do 2 lunches this week in my bento style box. 
Perfect :D

07 January 2010

Snow Days



So, the snow at home has been continuing.
It was -17 in Manchester last night, and they have started running out of grit for the roads. And food. And the schools are all closed. My parents can't get to work and my lil brother can't escape back to Uni. The maximum daytime temperature for the rest of the week is zero. 


But, of course, if there was a decent set up in Britain, then no one would even notice it was snowing. But we don't so they'll just have to put up with it :)


I'm so glad I'm in Perth!
I had goosebumps just from the air conditioning in the office today!





How the weeks been going:
Monday: Cycle to work. Swim in the evening
Tuesday: Cycle to work, run in the evening.
Wedneday: Bellydance class in the evening.
Thursday: Pump in the morning, then cycle to work.
Friday: Swim in the morning.



So not too good, but just the cycling has been bad enough. 
Or good enough, I should say- 700-800 calories a day is fine with me!

03 January 2010

Positive Body Image




JENNIFER HAWKINS BARES ALL FOR MARIE CLAIRE


Yey!
Sure, she doesn't look like she has anything to be embarrassed about, but I'm sure it still took guts to have it out there! 
Every women has something about her self that she isn't too proud to show. She may love it for what it is, but showing it to everyone is different again.

Scary statistics:
"Ms Frank said the images, which will raise funds for eating disorders support group the Butterfly Foundation, were inspired by a Marie Claire survey of 5500 readers which found 12 per cent of women were happy with their bodies."


I left heaps of Operation Beautiful notes all over Perth CBD and my suburb yesterday. Hopefully someone will appreciate them.

Next Weeks Plan

11km run this morning. Wow it was HOT! I planned my route via the water fountains but still struggled even then! Going to attempt to do the same route every Sunday for the next few weeks and see if it gets any easier!

I start in the Perth office for a couple of months tomorrow, to avoid the heat at site and work in  conjunction with the other, more specialised people. No more 12 hour days, no more 47 degree days, no treadmills and an excuse to buy new clothes :) but no six days off either.

So... that means more consistent schedule and more time to do other stuff. So the plan for this week is:

Monday: Cycle to work. Swim in the evening.
Tuesday: Cycle to work, run in the evening.
Wedneday: Bellydance class in the evening.
Thursday: Pump in the morning, then cycle to work.
Friday: Swim in the morning.

And play with the Wii in the evening instead of lying on the sofa watching Lifestyle channel and Facebook!

Off to the Lake now for lunch. :)

01 January 2010

Beached as a whale!

Food was good!


Before:


After:

Happy New Year!

Well, the new Decade is upon us!
We had a good night last night, tooo much yummy food, and more to come today, but its all good.
Easter Challenge starts tomorrow :)


I got a good haul of presents under the tree- the Wii Fit, Ice Age 3 from the OH, new bag and some perfume from the OHs family and some cool bits and bobs from friends. Favourite has to be the Balancing Kiwis from Tarata. They are so much fun!

I think the OH wants some more for his birthday in February. Who am I to deny him!

Set up the WiiFit this morning. I like it because it gave me a lower weight than I was expecting after the excesses :) I think I could grow to like it, but it needs a bit more time at present. Its a bit simple- i set up a 30 minute sequence and it told me to reconsider and take it easy. But liking the balance aspect and some of the mini games. Will give it a run out this month and maybe consider EA Active if I haven't grown to love it.
Tea tonight is roast pork and all the trimmings. Maybe without the yorkshire puds because I used up all the flour in the muffins last night (which turned out delicious). More than can be said about the bread! The yeast didnt do too well (it was 18 months out of date, so I'm surprised it did anything at all!)