iDiet

[a weight loss story]

*kathrynoh at nemesis dot com dot au*

::30.8.06::

Life

I went for my run last night. It was too dark to go along my tried and true routes - the Merri Creek trail doesn't look too appeal when it starts getting dark and I'm scared of those roving gangs of bogans who beat you up for sport.

Instead I went running around the streets. I've never done that before and it was a pretty amazing experience. I did a huge blockie - through North Fitzroy, past all the people getting home from work or on their way and all the restuarants with their delicious dinner smells, then around and through Clifton Hill. Two guys were sitting outside one of the pubs having beers. I tripped over that beer hole (I'm sure it has a proper name - the hole where they load the beer into the basement of the pub) and they cracked up at me. I got all offended until I realised I'd have done the same thing.

A bit further on, there's a car with a For Sale sign - a groovy old Holden. Anita and I always try to see the price on it but you can't see it clearly from the tram so I turned my head to read it from close up and ran - bam - into a pole. To make it worse, a guy was walking beside me and he told me that's why he didn't jog. It's not the jogging that's dangerous though, it's the looking.

So anyway, life... there are things you'd think I'd learn. Like every time I start a new contract I'm all like I'm going to save heaps of money then suddenly my contract gets to it's end and I've saved nothing. Buggered if I know where the money goes - dresses, shoes and car repairs, I guess.

My contract is coming to an end soon and I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm so not wanting to look for another job. I'm sick of working for the Man. The Man sucks. But I need to pay rent and eat and all that kind of thing, so I'm trying to think of ways to make money that aren't so time consuming. A few ideas are kicking around.

My needs are simple (except for my need for dresses and shoes but I have enough of those, enough I tells ya) and my living expenses are cheap. I've worked out I can get by if I'm frugal on $200 - $250 a week.

I've been doing a lot of soul searching about this. I think I'd rather live simply and have my time for own pursuits than rake in the cash but be at the Man's beck and call. So much of the stuff I spend my money on is unnecessary - I think working puts you on this consumerist treadmill. You work, then you feel like you should reward yourself for working so you buy pretty trinkets and sparkly things then you have to work more ... until you die.

I've spent so long working for financial type companies where I don't really give a damn about the company or them making money for their shareholders or their profits and bottom lines. I spend my life doing things that I don't really give a rat's arse about. It's not like I feel any of these companies are ethically wrong, but they aren't really in line with my personal ethics either. (I've been thinking a lot about ethics lately, and will prolly post more on this soon).

Every time I take on a new job, I think I can fit my writing in around it, or that I'll save money and take time off to write but that's not working. It's like saying I'm going to eat all this chocolate cake now, then my belly will be full of chocolate cake and I won't have to eat cake in the future. We all know how that works!

None of this really relates to weight loss at a basic level but, on a broader level, I think it does. I believe that how we spend money and how we relate to food are closely related; how we work and live effects who we are and the value we place upon ourselves as people.

Life is about making leaps of faith - that leap you make when say you're getting off the couch to go for a walk, the leap you make when you suddenly stop seeing yourself as the fat one, the one that can't lose weight. I think I need to make that leap away from the corporate teat. I need to put ME first and put a value on myself that's beyond any pay packet.

you definitely are a brave woman indeed! i really admire that!

watch out for those potholes & poles!

By Blogger Kt, at 6:34 pm  

Go for it - what's the worst thing that can happen? If it doesn't work out, you go back to the Man. You're a clever woman and I know u can do it.

Lucky the beer hole was closed!

By Blogger Cinders, at 6:54 pm  

This may sound completely way out...

I once looked into house sitting when I thought I was moving to Adelaide. A friend of mine did it and looked after an incredible 3 story property on a canal in Sydney for 18 mths.

I thought of it just then for some reason, so maybe I was meant to tell you.

By Blogger The Candid Bandit, at 9:12 pm  

Completely agree keep away from those holes and posts. I totally agree with your post and sometimes it does just as good to focus on the non weight goals, as the results or head in the same direction.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:55 am  

Sorry but I just pissed myself laughing when I read about you running into the pole. I remember doing that once, I was in 6th class and I was waving to a teacher, BANG! Straight into a netball hoop pole - no wonder I have an aversion to netball now!
Seriously now, about the work thing, do what you want deep down in your heart - you can always come back to temp work, it will always be there - other things might not be. You have to follow your dream.
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 12:08 pm  

LMAO at visions of you running along - all cool like ' miss running chick' - then BANG, the pole! Sorry, shouldn't laugh, hope it didn't hurt (your pride) too much.

Having always worked in good jobs since leaving school, the best thing for me was when I moved to Qld to try and find work and ended up unemployed for almost 6mths. It was a big reality check, but taught me that money is definately not everything - living a happy life is. A value I hope to pass onto my kids.

Thx 4 the laugh, Hayley

By Blogger Chunky, at 3:17 pm  

Today's calendar says "Don't let this day pass without doing something to make your dreams come true".
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 11:38 am  

LOL yep, I'd be the one laughing too so it's good to remember that. I have a habit of tripping and banging into things too :-)

I hear you about working for the man! I know I'm happier when I work less hours and yes, I don't have the money then to spend on stuff I don't really need either. Living simply means a whole lot less stuff to worry about too. I hope you work something out that gives you time to write more.

By Blogger Mary, at 7:05 pm  

 

::29.8.06::

Lunch

I ended up meeting my long lost NZ friend for lunch - woohoo! Fifteen years of goss to catch up on. (For a nice little story that sums up our friendship, check out my other blog, the one I never update - warning, it does contain personal info!)

We went to the little cafe at the side of the state library since my friend had been doing some geneology research there. I walk past this cafe nearly every day on my way to the gym but never been inside. It's absolutely brilliant - great food and you get to sit outside in the sun. An hour easily stretched out to an hour and a half... and lunch stretched out to an extra coffee and a lemon tart! But man, it was the best lemon tart ever.

So lunch ended up being many, many calories and I feel stuffed. This is what I'm thinking of doing - skipping my TAFE class tonight (making it 4 missed classes in a row... oops), walking home from work then going for a quick run.

My sister and I are thinking of going to cheap movie night tonight - we want to see Snakes On A Plane again. Yeah, enough of the comments saying it's crap. I think it's one of those movies where you either get it or you don't. If the title alone doesn't have you rolling around the floor in laughter then you prolly should give it a miss. I mean some people don't find the Texas Chainsaw Massacre funny either. No choc tops (or lollie snakes) after today's lunch though.

How great that you finally caught up with your friend :) And thanks for telling us about Mr Tulk's, it sounds fantastic and I'm definitely going to check it out next time I'm in Melbs. I haven't been to the state library in years!

By Blogger Ails, at 12:55 pm  

 

::28.8.06::

What Rocks?

Well, me. And Gmaps Pedometer! I discovered this handy andy site today and have been playing around.

In the past I've been all wah-wah like a little sooky baby because I can never manage my 4 km morning run (well occasional morning run, very occasional when the weather is over 10 degrees, so prolly once a month morning run) in under 30 minutes.

I've put this down to factors like - me being a crap runner, not warming up first so having to start slow, hilly terrain, me being a really crap runner.

Well thanks to Gmaps, I've learnt that my 4 km run is actually 5 km. Woohoo. See, I rock! I've been running an extra km without realising because I'm all legendary and stuff. Oh yeah and because the signposting on the Merri Creek trail is rubbish.

I also discovered my even-less-occasional 7 km run is actually 8 km, and my 3 km walk to work is 4.5 km (I actually worked that out on whereis.com.au a few weeks ago since it's via real streets so you can measure it).

I remember when I used to over-estimate distances. Like I'd walk 1 km and think I'd done 10. It's pretty cool to find out I've been doing the opposite now. Even my walk from work to the gym is 1 km and burns around 70 calories - woohoo!

I will not use this as an excuse to eat more. No siree. Calories are for burning, not for eating. I might get that printed on a tee-shirt!

As for my NZ friend, she didn't call last night. She called today and left a msg on my phone mumbling her number so I couldn't understand it. Her number didn't come up on my call register either. Grrrr - bloody New Zealanders :)

WOW that is so cool. The walks Cath and I go on (like tonight) are just over 8kms and it takes us just under 1 hr. Thanks for the link. Lots of fun :-) Bwahaha and your run is 5km not 4km so you've been working even harder than you thought!

By Blogger Mary, at 4:22 pm  

Very cool. I thought about getting a pedometer when I lived in New York, but now that I drive everywhere it seems like the read-out would just be depressing. Good for you doing all that cool walking stuff!

By Blogger TrixieBelden, at 5:02 pm  

Go you!! Don't you just love things like that!

By Blogger philippa_moore, at 5:52 pm  

Awesome site, thanks for sharing! Great work with the unnoticed extra kms too!

By Blogger Unknown, at 6:12 pm  

Yes, we Kiwis realy are the most obtuse race! Try www.whitepages.co.nz
Woodlehoo on the distances.

By Blogger Sue, at 8:37 am  

Don't want to be the one that let's the (aussie) team down, but how the hell do you get that pedometer to work? Are I dum or wot?

It's a great idea, and i've found my town, and the golf course I walk around, but can't get it to do anything after I click 'start recording'.

Help!

Humiliated Hayley

By Blogger Chunky, at 9:52 am  

PS - were you serious about Snakes on a Plane? It would have to be VERY tongue in cheek to work for me...

LOL at your mammary problems, i'm down to two wearable stretched old bras since birth of babies and need to do some serious bra shopping - if I ran, the chafing would be somewhere around my bellybutton (yes, even WITH the bras)! LOL

Note to self: successful weight loss = boob job

Hayley

By Blogger Chunky, at 10:03 am  

What a great site!! Thanks for sharing!
What a buzz that you have been doing more km's!!

By Blogger Leighanne, at 10:44 am  

That's terrific that you have been running way more km's than you thought! Great site.

By Blogger Suzy, at 10:48 am  

Well done on all the extra kms and thanks for the site link.

By Blogger Cinders, at 10:51 am  

Oh well done on the 5km! Gmap had the opposite effect for me - every route was shorter than I thought :( I run along the darebin ck path which has no signs so I was only guessing anyway.

By Blogger LBTEPA, at 1:38 pm  

I don't think my walk is even on the bloody map - so i'm saying it's 10k's!!!!!
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 12:00 pm  

Thanks for telling us about gmaps - I've just been playing around on it and it's fab!!!! Just mapped out my usual walking route and its a whole half a km longer than I thought! Bonus!

By Blogger Ails, at 12:45 pm  

 

::27.8.06::

So Tired...

I want to go to bed but my long lost friend from NZ (who I haven't seen in 15 years) said she'd ring tonight to organise meeting up. Her email was kind of vague so I don't know if she wants to meet up tonight or if she's just calling to organise it. Either way, if she doesn't ring soon I'll be sound asleep.

I've had a very quiet weekend - I think I'm getting sick yet again! Still I went for a 10 km run today. I think my fitness and my running aren't improving though. Maybe even going backwards. It's so frustrating being so unhealthy. Every time I start getting into it, I get sick and have to rest or cut back on my running time.

When I had my massage before the City 2 Surf, the woman told me her friend lost a lot of weight and had colds and flus for months afterwards so I'm wondering if that's the same thing that's happening to me. After all it's a lot of insulation to lose.

I had another bra issue today - got out for my run and realised I'd not put my running bra on. I was wearing a teeshirt bra so had to keep stopping to readjust things. Every time I ran, I itched! And I ended up with a bit of chafing under the boobs. I think my new mottos for the fridge will be LOOK AFTER THE GIRLS!

After my bingefest the other day, I noticed something. Yesterday I ate a lot but it was mostly protein and carbs. I got to a point where I felt I'd had enough to eat and was happy to stop. That proves to me that sugar is evil!

That's about it in my life at the moment. Oh the other night I walked home from work and called into one of the outlet shops and got two very short, slutty skirts. They were only $7.50 each which sounds cheap but they don't have a hell of a lot of fabric in them. I wore one out over jeans cos I figured if I wore it on it's own, I might get arrested!

As my Dad likes to say 'If that skirt was any shorter it would be a belt'

By Blogger Sue, at 5:31 am  

I wonder what's going on!? You've been going to the doctor too. Could it be that you are picking it up from your sister?

By Blogger Mary, at 6:29 am  

Could you be overtraining??
I feel as though I am getting another sore throat but I can't blame overtraining, that's for sure :)!

By Blogger Unknown, at 10:56 am  

Short and slutty has its place in Society you know!! haha
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 11:51 am  

 

::26.8.06::

Fishy Business

Our fish was fantastic except for one little problem - it had bones in it. They lied to us through fish sign!

The whole reason we don't like fish, I'm pretty sure, is because when we were kids Mum would give us fish and tell us it had no bones in it then we'd start choking on a bone and she'd be like - shut up, there's no bones in this fish - and we'd be writhing around the ground, blue in the face and she'd tell us we were putting it on so we'd cough up a bone and show it her and she'd be like - oh maybe I missed one.

That is not a background conducive to enjoying fish.

So we'll try again next week but this time we'll get something that is safe like flake.

The bad, bad thing is that apart from the fish, my eating has been terrible. Binge City is where I'm living. I don't know why I'm doing this. You'd think I had all the head stuff figured out by now but that's not the case.

One thing I know is that lately if I start eating sugar, I find it hard to stop. It's not so much emotional eating as the sugar hitting me like crack cocaine. Once I get some in my veins, I'm jonesing for my next hit.

The other issue is that rather than eating to fill emotional needs, as I once did, I'm now eating to fill physical needs other than hunger. Mostly this need is tiredness. Once upon a time, I binged for many reasons but tiredness was never amongst them. If I felt tired, I'd have a nap. The Queen of Napping they called me. Now I feel guilty about napping - I should be at the gym or running or doing something, not goofing off. So I get tired then I deny my tiredness so I eat.

The third factor in this problem is that I had to skip breakfast to have my blood tests. You know all that stuff they say about not skipping meals because you binge later - it's all true. I've never been a meal skipper. I've never even been a snack skipper. The closest I ever came to a starvation diet was reading about them in Cleo. So missing a meal has put me out of sync and I'm overcompensating. And yes, it was only 2 hours without food and surely I could survive that but wah!

My motto for the rest of the week is to only eat when I'm hungry. No more random snacking. No more going to the shop for mint slice cornettos (man, those things are heaven - why did I never know about them before).

The thing is after my gain last week, I haven't got back down to my goal weight. And that sucks. The other thing is that when I got to goal, I hit it exactly - 70.0 kgs. I want to see a number starting with 6! And not 600 either.

My new goal is 65 kgs but I want to do it slowly. I want to tone and add muscle at the same time so it's got to be a slow process. I don't care if it takes until the end of the year, but I do want to get there.

I'm cracking up about your fish background over here, lol! Too funny ;) I love fish, but only if it is freshly caught by someone I love. I don't trust anyone else for some reason.

By Blogger The Relentless Reader, at 12:59 pm  

Your fish story brought back those exact memories for me. I'm horrified that we both hate fish for the same reason. But at least now I remember why I don't like it.
Mint Slice Cornettos? Jesus, what next? Thankfully I don't like Mint Slices so i'm cool with that, otherwise I probably would have been running out (nah, actually driving out) to get one! haha
Hope you're having a binge free weekend!
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 1:00 pm  

Thanks for that post- makes me feel better cos I did the same thing yesterday. I eat sugar.. which resulted in more sugar eating, which led to yet MORE!!

I had bought some cheap, chewy sweets- that tasted disgusting, yet somehow managed to eat all 3 packets of them :S This was classic avoidance tactic, kept stuffing them in my gob to try to remove anxiety about some work I have to do.

My "diet" involves eating whatever I want.. but I do think I'll lay off the sugar from now on.


It is easy to sometimes go into the mindless eating trap, but I've just accepted that its going to happen occasionally- also identifying that it isn't hunger is half of the battle. At least I do it very rarely now, as opposed to very frequently ( before this health plan.)

I do the tired = must eat thing too- any ideas to stop it?

I'm trying to drink lots of water instead. Or just force myself to go to bed with a good book until I get out of the pattern. Mostly it is working.

By Blogger Anonymous GP, at 2:51 am  

I so agree with yo uabout the fish. Hard to know what to buy. And I am the same with sugar acting on me like an addiction. Just one little bit and off I go. Good luck getting off the habit again.

By Blogger michelle, at 11:02 am  

Tiredness is pretty much my excuse this week, too. Need to get myself settled in travel routines...

By Blogger Sue, at 12:17 pm  

Toning is definitely the next step and stick with it. You won't notice change straight away but then your clothes will start slipping off even though your weight stays the same and THEN you'll see it working it's magic.

Sugar as crack cocaine? Hell yeah!

By Blogger Mary, at 6:04 pm  

I'm completely bone-phobic and like you, that's why I've never been a fish person. Bad childhood memories :S

I think the same as you about the napping. I'm mind ticks away that i should be doing something more constructive but succumbing to an hour's kip does so much for me, mentally and physically.

By Blogger Ails, at 9:08 pm  

 

::25.8.06::

Oops!

Sometimes I'm so stupid, I wonder how I remember to breathe!

This morning before work, I went to the market to do my food shopping. I got home and ran around getting ready so I wasn't too late to work. Fine and rather dandy until lunch time today.

I walked down the street, checking out my reflection in the shop windows, thinking that my bra did me no favours at all. Then I thought I'd check which bra I was wearing because it probably needed throwing out.

Oops. In my rush, I'd forgotten to put one on. How does that happen?

When I got back from lunch, I checked my gym gear. I didn't even pack a sports bra. I don't think I'll be going braless so I'm going to have to go home after work then back to the gym.

I think I'm losing weight from my brain.

***

Last night I went to the movies again - twice in one week is a major record for me, mostly I'm lucky if I go twice in a year - but sometimes a special movie comes along that you have to see. A movie that can't wait even a day after release. A movie that changes your life.

Snakes on a Plane.

Possibly the best movie ever. I want to go see it again tonight.

***
I'm having fish for dinner tonight. I never eat fish. For years, I declared myself allergic to it (it's always so much easy to say you are allergic to things than that you don't like them). My sister and I were complete n00bs at the fish section of the market but, luckily, one of the stalls had handy posters describing the various fish varieties - their boniness and taste, etc. However the fish on their stall looked awfully dodgy so we went to a better stall but had to keep running back to check the posters.
We ended up with John Dory. I have no idea what that is like, but we are using the Lemon and Coriander Chicken recipe I posted a while back (except, obviously, with fish instead of chicken). Hopefully it rocks because fish is mighty low in calories.

I've been listening to the soundtrack of Snakes. Haven't they refused to let reviewer's review it or something crazy like that? There has been so much hype about this movie over the last 6 months and then it comes out and I don't even hear about it... Thanks - will have to check it out.

LOL at your braless adventures, I would've come home with 2 black eyes....

By Blogger Cinders, at 2:13 pm  

first of all, I'm still laughing at your 'snakes on a plane' joke...!

Is was a joke.... right?

That movie looks incredibly ridiculous.

Hahahahahaha oh man.

Secondly - I wish I could forget to wear a bra!!!!! I can't imagin what it feels like to not know if you have a bra on or not... *sigh* oh, to have small boobs..

By Blogger Jac, at 6:41 pm  

I have seen the ads for snakes on a plane - and that is enough to give me the shivers!

Lol at going out without a bra - I wish I could!!

Not much of a fish eater either - but with the right recipe I could be swayed, hope yours turned out yummy!

By Blogger Leighanne, at 8:15 pm  

motherf*cking bras on a motherf*cking plane!

good luck with the fish, comrade! lemon and coriander sounds bloody beautiful.

just to empathise -- i have forgotten to wear bras too. one unfortunate time was in year 8 of high school when you are super-selfconscious about your wee boobies. to make it worse it was sports day and i had also forgotten those black sports undies too. (does anyone remember these? some of my friends called them Scungees) so i had to play tennis with no bra and no sports knickers wearing one of those horrible wraparound pleated netball skirts. the horror, the horror!!!!

By Blogger Shauna, at 8:28 pm  

Snakes on a plane??

That looks like the worst movie of the last decade.. and I'm including "Pete's Meteor" in that category.. possibly the worst film ever.

How on earth did they pitch that.. Hey Morgan.. lets get some snakes.. and put them on a plane.. and see what results.. GREAT!

YOu were joking.. please?? Or else I might have to take it all back :S

Ros

By Blogger Anonymous GP, at 10:24 pm  

hehe, i dunno how u could forget a bra! hehe
fish is great and healthy as, so i hope u enjoy it :)
have a great wknd

By Blogger Kt, at 10:15 am  

I could NEVER go without a bra, i'm jealous that you can forget to put one on!!
and I don't like fish either, blah - just the smell of it.
Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 10:59 am  

Snakes on a Plane is good??? OK see I've seen the ads and decided it was the stupidest thing I have ever heard of! Who would even name a movie snakes on a plane?? This suprises me alot.

Braless adventures huh. Mmmm not without surgery.

By Blogger Jadey, at 2:29 pm  

LOL yeah, I reckon you're losing your brain! :-P I hope the fish went down well.

By Blogger Mary, at 5:58 pm  

Oh, to be in a position to actually forget to wear a bra! I doubt my expansive mammaries will ever let me! Maybe in my next life :)

By Blogger Ails, at 9:14 pm  

 

::24.8.06::

Jeans and Things

I took the day off work today. I had a few medical things to attend to - nothing ominous - so figured I'd make a day of it. Headed over to Vic Gardens to do a lunch time spin class but was in mid-jeans try on when the class started - oops. I did manage to get some (non-shopping) cardio in though.

Sometimes I love shop assistants - the good ones, that make you try on styles you'd never consider yourself then tell you that you need a smaller size. Who'd have thunk that flares are the best style for me? Not me until today.

And black jeans - I've never owned black jeans before. Never. They look damn fine.

But wet weather and long jeans are not a winning combination.

As to the medical issues - I had a blood test this morning to see if I can ditch my diabetes medication. I hate blood tests - it's not the needle, it's the fasting beforehand. I can't wait until after 9.00 to eat!

Then this arvo I had a myotherapy appointment. She cured pains I didn't even realise existed. Woohoo! But she said I'd feel bruised and sore tomorrow so that's not good.

What, you have never owned a pair of black jeans in your life?? I thought every chickadee owned a pair as they are "slimming", lol!
Good luck with the blood test, I truly hope you can ditch the diabete's meds.

By Blogger Unknown, at 8:14 pm  

Good luck with the Diabetes result. I'm a bit of a black jeans fan and bought a pair last month also. They are nice for a change.

By Blogger Cinders, at 9:38 am  

C'mon girl, give us the jeans pix!

By Blogger Sue, at 1:37 pm  

Oh yeah I love those shop assistants. Unfortunately they are few and far between. I always get the gum chewing oblivious ones who don't even look at me but just point to the change room!
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 10:53 am  

I bet you look damn fine in a pair of black jeans! I can't live without mine.

By Blogger Mary, at 5:57 pm  

Good luck with the diabetic tests. When do you get the results?

By Blogger Ails, at 9:16 pm  

 

::23.8.06::

Shrinking Eyes

Last night, I cut my writing class to go to yoga, then cut yoga and headed to the movies. I've been feeling so grumpy and out of sorts lately that some quality Johnny time was in order so we went to see Pirates (again).

And, of course, we hit the snack bar. I've done the healthy treats for the movies thing, and I've done the 'it's only 2 hours, I don't need to eat' thing. But let's get real here, what's a movie without a choc top? So I got me a choc top and then went to the help yourself lollie land. I used to hit those things with avengance. Cos, let's face it, they are designed to make you over eat - and at $3 for 100 grams of lollies, they are laughing all the way to the bank at your gluttony. But last night I got a few things - one fantail, a small scoop of M&Ms and some raspberries and cream. Enough to feel like a treat but I didn't come out of the film feeling like my insides were going to burst.

My eyes are shrinking - they're no longer bigger than my belly!

Woohoo! I also had a couple of small handfuls of my sister's popcorn. I don't really like movie popcorn - it's too salty and it makes my tongue hurt. If I want popcorn at the movies, I do make and take my own but I can live without it.

And the best bit of all - I don't feel guilty. Not for skipping the gym, not for eating over my calories. I went for a run this morning (on top of doing gym tonight) to burn off the calories and I feel like a zillion dollars today.

Everyone needs a break at times and I feel like I've had my weight loss break and now I'm refreshed and ready for action.

I've just been stood up for my boxing class. There are no movie theatres near here, so I guess I have to hit the hotel gym!

By Blogger Sue, at 3:44 pm  

holy moly, incredible restraint at the lollie land thing, good on ya! i guess this is what this maintenance palaver is all about.

hope you're feeling okay after the johnny therapy! mrrrowr!

By Blogger Shauna, at 5:23 pm  

wow, u are awesome with that attitude of yours! restraint is pretty hard to practice, u rock!

By Blogger Kt, at 6:01 pm  

Oh dear, not another K!

I am jealous, because I haven't got to Pirates once yet. Dunno what a choc top is, but I can understand the temptation to overload at the pick'n'mix sweetie counter only too well...

By Blogger K, at 6:58 pm  

You are so in control it is wonderful. And BTW I love choc tops at the movies.

By Blogger michelle, at 8:47 pm  

what an awesome attitude! One night? pfft.. My weight loss break would last at least a week.

and I guess that's the reason you're at goal and I just gained 10kgs back! haha

Those serve yourself lollie stands are evil - there's an entire lollie shop full of those near my cinema and I can't walk out of there for uner $6. Best to avoid the whole shop, methinks!

By Blogger Jac, at 10:23 pm  

I'm glad Johnny got u thru a rough night. My dairy free gf told me that movie popcorn is made with oil and not butter so there is another reason not to eat it.

By Blogger Cinders, at 10:28 pm  

I think that's really what maintenance is all about - being 'normal' - within limits! - which means having small treats and days off every now and then. When I get to goal I will test this :)
cheers

By Blogger LBTEPA, at 3:19 pm  

We're only human, sometimes we need a choc top. Well done on not picking too many lollies at the all you can eat lollie bar. I usually end up with $10 worth. At least I used to when I did get out to go to the movies. I don't even get weekend leave now!! hahaha
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 10:50 am  

Having a choc top is almost mandatory at the movies. Though, nine times out of ten I end up dropping some of the choc on me during the movie. Grrr, but at least I'm consistent :S

By Blogger Ails, at 9:20 pm  

 

::21.8.06::

I need some damn support!

I dragged myself into the gym tonight and started my warm up on the cross trainer when I felt a boing... damn convertible bra! The clip that holds the right bra strap came adrift. I thought I could slip it back (while still cross training cos I didn't want my heart rate going down) but the catch thing had totally snapped.

Must remember - always take a sports bra to the gym. Is it just me or do other people have continous problems with convertible bras? I'm always having the straps coming unlatched and having to fix them. Like I'll put the bra on and go to do it up and then strap will come lose so I fix that and another one comes lose! It takes an extra five minutes to get dressed in the morning. I'll never buy another one ever. They are too high maintenance.

Luckily I didn't need that much support for my workout. I don't think running in a strapless bra would do me any favours!

I had weight loss rage today. I stomped down to the gym thinking - why do I have to do this? Every night it's the same thing... gym, gym, gym. Why can't I go home and laze on the couch with a family block of cadburys watching Idol like most everyone else in Australia? Even reminding myself that most everyone else in Australia is now obese didn't help.

I'd like to say that a weights session and a spin class later, my attitude changed to sweetness and light but I'd be lying through my teeth.

I'm damn sick of Fitness First - they've spent thousands of dollars on plasma tvs for the gym so we can be bombarded with advertisements yet the sound system in the spin class is so crap you can't hear the instructor over the music.

Although to be honest, you don't want to hear him when he says: 'Are you ready to rock cos I've got Acca Dacca coming up!' then plays the gayest ever dance mix of Thunderstruck. This was after the dance mix of Smoke on the Water. Where do they get this music? Please tell me so I can pay them a visit with my lighter and kerosense. I mean dance music has it's place. But don't, please... I beg of you.. ever mix it with rock.

Some princess had her gear spread out all over the bench near my locker after my shower so I got my bag out and plonked it on top her stuff then laughed maliciously to myself because she wore an A cup sports bra.

I waited hours for the tram then, when it came into sight, I remembered I'd wanted to go to JB to get new headphones for my ipod. And why the hell don't they make waterproof ipods? I try to keep my ipod on at all times at the gym except classes (I'd do it then if I could) but you can't wear an ipod in the shower (or while getting changed cos there's nowhere to clip it). I had to suffer some hideous bland commercial chick band then Franz Ferdinand -- arrrgghh, like hearing them play while waiting for Iggy at the BDO wasn't suffering enough.

Then I had the tram trip home -- the other day a woman on the radio complained because everyone on public transport wears ipods instead of socialising with each other. That's stupid because 1) no one ever "socialised" on trams and 2) who wants to? If i could, I'd build a bubble around me and keep everyone out for the whole trip. She should try catching the #68 tram and then we'd see how social she wanted to be!

There was one dude on the tram - he looked all corporate and suited up and he wasn't actually talking to his friend (the one that no one else could see) but his body language and face gestures suggested that the friend was talking to him heaps! He kept nodding and laughing and looking serious - and no matter where I turned my head, I could see him.

After he left, we had a young guy wanting chocolate. He asked everyone on the tram until he got some. Then he sat back down and asked me if I wanted to look at his bag of pot. At least it was his pot and not his penis. Worst of all, he told me I looked like a "nice lady".

There was a point to this post apart from me bitching about my day - oh yeah - I think I have weight loss fatigue. I thought when I got to goal, I'd be able to ease off a little - do a bit less cardio, maybe take a night off - but I don't feel like I can. I have this fear that if I stop, all the weight will come flooding back. Like it did last week!

I'm sure I just need a good night's sleep but today I'm damn grumpy.

LOL at your tram ride tale. I once got on a tram outside of St Vincent's Hospital and a lady patted the seat next to her for me to sit there - weirdo - so I sat on the only other available seat. As soon as the doors closed the guy next to me started in a loud voice at me: "Did YOU vote Lib-er-ral?!! Well, DID YOU!!?!" The lady looked at me with a combination of pity and can't-say-I-didn't-try across her face. "Fucking toffy c**ts!". I didn't disagree with the sentiments, but would have gladly made use of a bubble that day, one that made me invisible.

Just remembered anotherie. My bf saw a guy bolting after the tram so pulled the rope for the driver to stop. The guy jumped on and gratefully acknowledged the boy's good deed before asking "And what's with the rest of you bastards that you couldn't get off your fat arses and help a (white) brother out?" He, completely off his face, continued to chat to the very shy boy - it was embarrassing, but hilarious because it was not me. I nearly lost it completely when he said "Yeah, and you know? People think I'm an addict, but I'm not, I'm on Methadone!". Once we got off the tram the boy swore that this sort of things always happens when he helps people and that he's going think very carefully before ever helping a stranger again.

You're a writer, you could fill a book!

By Blogger CaramelKitKat, at 11:45 pm  

WOW...

I identify with that post completely.. you sound like me in a blind rage...

They said that ipods stopped ppl talking on the tube in London.. but its the same as with your trams. Nobody talks on the tube ANYWAY>. unless they are weird drunk high or a beggar.. ok, or acquaintances.

What do these ppl think the adverts on the tube are for? Why they are successful?
They serve a job,. prevent the need for eye contact with weirdos on the tube.

Babes.. u have diet fatigue and ur at goal. I have diet and exercise fatigue.. and I'm still fat!

Take a day off and do something fun yet aerobic. Go dancing in a club or something/ salsa dancing.. shake ur booty and have some fun.

I read through some of your archives today.. u have such an interesting blog, you write very well..

But it slightly scary how much exercise and healthy eating is required to become thin.. I didn't realise how much work it took to reach a goal.

By Blogger Anonymous GP, at 7:23 am  

I've never had a problem with the convertible bras - chest size has never been a big issue for me, unfortunately :( C cup was the biggest I ever got!

The trams I catch don't seem to have a lot of freaks on them, but I suspect that is the exception rather than the rule, from yours and CKK's stories!! People do often start talking to me though - I don't know what it is, maybe my friendly face?! (my mother has the same problem too!)

I found that when I reached goal I did kind of have to allow myself to relax just a little - still exercised, still watched what I ate, but didn't worry too much about what I did or when. It takes time to get used to this new phase of your journey, but believe me, it's so bloody wonderful once you realise that you're there, and you can relax, and still maintain (or keep losing in my case!)and you know that you're still in control. All these new healthy habits of yours will serve you well. Enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

And definitely get yourself some new underwear! I need to do the same!

Have a great day :)

By Blogger philippa_moore, at 9:28 am  

I love a good tram story so thanks for that. I seem to be the 'go to' person whenever I'm on a tram - I just don't get it.

By Blogger Cinders, at 9:32 am  

If you weren't stressed before you got on the tram you sure would have been after!
Hope you had a nice restful sleep and you are feeling better today. Try to ease the pressure off yourself a little bit now you are at goal. I know it is hard, but as long as you are sensible with your eating you will be fine.
You have worked SO hard and achieved SO much and you deserve to be happy.

By Blogger Suzy, at 10:50 am  

You definitely need a nice cup of tea and a sit down babe! It does get easier and the first few weeks of maintenance are a little tricky but you'll find your balance again. It is a whole new way of thinking :-)

By Blogger Mary, at 11:05 am  

I just love a good tram story and had such a good laugh. Thanks for that. I so understand with those convertible bras, I got one by mistake and never again.
People tell me that maintenance is hard and scary the first few weeks. I'm sure you get the hang of it in no time and then wonder what all the fuse was about.
Hope your week improves.

By Blogger Mel., at 1:41 pm  

OMG that is SUCH a funny story, if you weren't there I guess! I'm sorry you're feeling like this. I've been a cranky arse this week too but I think it's because i'm eating crap, crap and more crap. Thanks for the motivational cheer. I think I need a margueria more than I need pom poms though! LOL. Email me if you want to bitch about anything, there's one thing that I would want to bitch about in particular! hahaha
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 1:53 pm  

Mornings! Mornings are the time to work out. Plus you burn 300% more calories if you workpout first thing. And you dont need to put up with half the sh*t you get with the night crowd.

I'm with you though on the tram thing. Hello public trasnport is sweaty smelly crowded and just generally unpleasant. I too rather turn my iPod up so I can drown out some noise and maybe grab a mag so I don't have to look at anyone either. Gimme a bubble! Dad was talkoing about compartmentised trains that were still runnning when he was working on the rail. Bring em back! Bring em back! Then at least I don't have to put up with the freaks and weirdos that think they are cool but all they're doing is annoying other public transport users.

Ok rant over. (for now I think LoL)

By Blogger Jadey, at 3:05 pm  

lol, read your blog just before I went to do a spin class this morning. OMG, I see what you mean, song after song being crucified!!

By Blogger Unknown, at 3:31 pm  

LOL. I go to Fitness First too. Only in a gym somewhere on the other side of the world (Belgium). And dammit, they play that awful music here too!
8-)

By Blogger Moody, at 5:47 pm  

If you ever find a cure for the hatred I feel for people who can eat chocolate and watch Idol while Im at the gym PLEASE tell me because I'm feeling it every day lately :( I also don't know at what stage you can 'slac off'. My biggest fear is that when I stop going to the gym every day it will just magically appear again when I wake up in the morning... I don't know we can get over that other than just time I guess.

By Blogger Kenz, at 10:20 pm  

Having read your "I forgot to wear my bra" post first and now reading this, I have to say you aren't having much luck in the mammary support department this week. There's definitely a theme running ;)

By Blogger Ails, at 9:23 pm  

 

Miscellaneous

If I read one more magazine that cites actresses like Liv Tyler and Kate Winslet as being "bigger", I'm going to scream. I think what they really mean is "not corpse-like in their thinness". I mean they are hardly porkers, are they? I'd be pretty damn happy to be as fat as Kate Winslet.

The other day I wore a pair of knickers to work and they felt a bit baggy. I checked the size tag (when I went to the loo, of course. I don't wander around the office checking my knicker tags). They were a size 20-22. Luckily they had good, boingy elastic or they'd have been around my knees. Time to clean out the undie drawer, I think.

This was so cute: the other day I walked to work and a little boy came out his front door with his mum. He started walking beside me, swinging his arms with all his might and I realised he was racing me. So I picked up my pace and he picked up his. We were neck and neck until we got to the corner when I sent him back to his mum. But really I could have whipped his ass, cos he was only three!

I tried on some cute sun dresses yesterday and they were all too small - *sob*. What's with that? I felt like such a lump. Well a couple fitted but they had high waists with gathering and that just makes me look preggers. The others barely fit over my boobs which was weird because normally my problemest area is my belly. My sister reassuringly told me it was the cut of the dresses, not me but I still pouted quite a bit.

Since rejoining Calorie King, I've been worried that I don't eat enough protein. I should be having around 100 grams a day and barely get 50 grams. I hate the idea of supplements so am thinking of ways to get more in my diet. It surprises me how some foods you think of being high in protein aren't - like chocolate, damn it. And yoghurt - a tub of yoghurt (well the Jalna one I have in the fridge at work) has 10 grams of protein. For the same calories, I'm having steak for dinner with 30 grams of protein. For half the calories, I'm having a coffee with the same amount of protein. Maybe I need to drink more flat whites!

I just bought tickets to see The Grates. Is anyone else into them? Great gym music. But bloody Ticketek -- $8 handling fee. What a gyp!

I went to my old gym on the weekend. In one way, it's stupid to pay to go there when I am already paying for my gym membership at Fitness First, but it saves going into the city on the weekend. I did a Pump class for the first time in months. Ouch! I thought it would be okay because I've been doing weights but not so. Still it didn't seem to be as intense as I remember.

Yes it certainly sounds like it is time to toss out your old undies! Great excuse for more shopping too!

Don't worry about the sun dresses. I am sure some of them are made for very unrealistic, non-womanly figures.

By Blogger Suzy, at 11:31 am  

There's something quite cathartic about cleaning out your old big underwear drawer, you should do it stat!

I totally agree with what you say about the magazines - we all should be so lucky to have a bod like Kate and Liv! I certainly wouldn't be complaining!!

Awww, your 'race' with the 3yo was adorable! You would have totally whipped his arse!

By Blogger Ails, at 12:22 pm  

How hilarious that you are walking around in size 20-22 knickers. My sis does that also. (She is a size 14 but for some reason also loves her nana knickers).

I'm with u on the Grates. I love the girl out front and it's good to see they are getting some success.

By Blogger Cinders, at 12:28 pm  

That elastic must have been VERY boingy if they were size 20-22 undies and they stayed on your skinny butt!! Don't worry about the dresses, you know they don't make dresses to fit normal women - just those skinny arsed actresses like Kate Winslet! haha
Hope you're having a great week!
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 6:25 pm  

"not corpse-like in their thinness"... that is a genius line *g*

you should go on an Undie Spree and get some foxy new ones! or wait til target or k-mart has 20% off all undies if you're a tightwad like me ... do they still do those 20% off weeks? those were the days, my friend!!

oh! good sneaky source of protein is to check some bread labels, i found this really grainy linseedy one that has like 10g protein, I coulda whooped for joy. i dunno if they sell bags of frozen edamame in oz, they are also a good protein boost, not to mention addictive like crack.

hope you have a good week over there!

By Blogger Shauna, at 6:45 pm  

Yes it is time to clean out your nicker draw. You in a size 20-22 now that is funny.
I agree don't worry about the dresses you tried on, the cut of them is really weird this year.
Have a great week.

By Blogger Mel., at 9:14 pm  

Do you have H&M in Oz? I've found their dresses to be well-cut and flattering, with a good range of different styles - though their sizing varies an awful lot. I haven't found this to be too bad with dresses but I have other clothes from there in a whole range of sizes.

By Blogger K, at 1:44 am  

Liv Tyler and Kate Winslet are amongst the most beautiful of them all. I am so sick of seeing Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton everywhere. If I wanted a body like that, I'd be a teenager again and I much prefer being a woman.

Sometimes it sucks going shopping and I don't think it matters what size you are. I definitely have my frumpy days and I now know to stay home on those days or leave early.

Ahh, I'll be signing up to Calorie King soon. I like playing with new things :-)

By Blogger Mary, at 10:59 am  

Liv Tyler and Kate Winslet are amongst the most beautiful of them all. I am so sick of seeing Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton everywhere. If I wanted a body like that, I'd be a teenager again and I much prefer being a woman.

Sometimes it sucks going shopping and I don't think it matters what size you are. I definitely have my frumpy days and I now know to stay home on those days or leave early.

Ahh, I'll be signing up to Calorie King soon. I like playing with new things :-)

By Blogger Mary, at 11:00 am  

 

::19.8.06::

Weigh In - blerk!

I had a bit of a gain this week, damn it. I think a combination of being away so eating out a lot plus having a whole 'I've got to goal and I've run the City to Surf so I can relax now' attitude. I did the worst thing on Monday - I wanted a cupcake from the local bakery but when I got home they were closed so I went to the milk bar instead and got a big bag of lollies. I didn't even want them, I wanted a cupcake. Still I ate them.

I'm planning on losing this week. I bought a whole heap of food at the market yesterday and cooked up stuff for this week. I really need to have soups and salads to take for lunch because it's nigh on impossible to eat well around Lygon Street. I get amazed sometimes seeing people tucking into pizzas and huge bowls of pasta for lunch. I could do it for dinner but definitely not for lunch.

I also cooked up some lentils and a few portions of chili chicken. The freezer is nicely full but I also want to make chicken meatballs tomorrow.

I had a nice victory today - I've finally convinced Andrew to go running with me. All it took was the promise of new shoes and six months of nagging, plus he wants to get fit enough to play footy next year. I'll whip him into shape!

Definitely must have been that dinner we ate (actually I only ate half of mine). I'm sure you'll get rid of it this week now that you're super organised. I need to do the same, just can't be arsed today!!
Have a great week.
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 10:59 am  

Good luck with the losing this week - it's all in the planning :)

By Blogger Ails, at 2:08 pm  

Don't worry about your gain. I'm sure you'll lose it this week and be more on track. Have a great week.

By Blogger Mel., at 3:06 pm  

Yeah, it's crazy what some people have for lunch. They have full roast dinners here! My oven got fixed today so I'll be working on cooking more too this week. Great to hear Andrew is going running with you!! Have a great week :-)

By Blogger Mary, at 11:50 am  

 

::16.8.06::

Shoes and Moral Dilemmas

I think I took every last smidgeon of bounce out of my runners during the C2S. I swear for the last km or so, I felt every stone on that road. So last night I called into Rebel Sport on my way to the gym. Just for a look.

The salesman asked me first up for my colour preferences - that's so not a good sign. I mean, I'm a serious athlete - I don't care about colour. I care about cushioning and performance. So I told him colour didn't matter - I wanted a neutral running shoe suitable for ...blah, blah,blah... stuff my podiatrist said.

He showed me a pair of bright orange runners. Okay, I was pwnd. I don't care about colour so long as it doesn't glow in the dark!

I ruled out all the expensive shoes because really who pays over $200 for a pair of shoes, especially shoes that aren't going to get you free drinks. Then I ruled out all the cheap ones. Then he ruled out all the not cheap but reduced to a reasonable price but not available in my size shoes.

That left the Asics and the Nikes. I've sworn I would never wear Nikes. Nike represent all that is evil in the world - their shoes are made from the skins of sweat shop children. They spend more on one advertising campaign than they do on their entire wages in the third world. They are the symbol of the capalist, elitist paradigm and all that.

But the Nikes were far more comfortable!

So, huge moral dilemma as they are closing the doors of Rebel Sports for the night. Arrgghhh!

And are Nike that much worse than other shoe manufacturers or are they just targetted because they are the biggest? I'll have to find out.

(I just checked and I think Asic are just as bad - are there any brands of running shoes that don't infringe human rights? Running is built on a foundation of evil! You either ruin your body in crap shoes or you become part of the problem!)

So I decided on the Nikes. Yeah I'm evil and rotten to the core. I'm going to burn in hell but at least my knees won't give out.

I got to the gym, raring to go in my new shoes, them out of the box and realised they looked a bit strange. The guy in the shop had given me the wrong pair. I had the Asics.

Tonight I took them back to change them so now I have the right shoes (I'd post a pic but the Nike site is full of flash animation and runs as slow as a dog - a dog with no legs - on my computer) and they gave me a free pair of sox for my inconvenience. I also got a 10% discount with my gym membership.

I'd actually planned to do NO running this week to give my legs a rest but hey, new shoes. So I went for a 40 minute run on the treadmill. They were fine. My legs are all better now and the shoes had much boiinginess but not too much. They rubbed a bit but my feet are blistered to hell from wearing my sister's shoes in Sydney (plus I think the residual evil burnt a little).

Btw I didn't make it to the cupcake shops in Sydney... and I haven't got my Buffy box set reward either. I lookedin JB Hifi tonight but it was about $50 more expensive than Ezydvd but Ezydvd are out of stock atm. I'd better buy it soon or stop eating else I'll not be getting it all. I've not been good since I got back from Sydney - well I was yesterday but not today - and now I'm getting serious again.

Here is a pic of my shoes: pic, although I swear mine look a bit different (I can't tell for sure cos mine are on the other side of the room and I'd have to walk over to check and I really can't be bothered). Why do they need to make so many different versions of shoes anyway? It's not like feet change from year to year. Why don't they just make them right the first time?

Actually this pic looks more like them. My sister thought the squares on the side should light up when you run and I was like, der, I'm a serious athlete, you know.

seriously. did u think you'd be posting pictures of runners a year ago?

well done - very cool new wheels.

By Blogger Cinders, at 9:21 am  

Nice wheels. Given the state of your old shoes, I bet you will notice a heap of difference. Oh, and by the way, you are pure evil.

By Blogger Ruune, at 9:58 am  

Love the "residual evil" remark - LOL :oD

Loving the new runners, and if Nike are comfy then I guess that's the main thing And free socks, woohoo!

By Blogger beakus, at 10:24 am  

haha Nikes are no worse than any other runner on the planet. Enjoy your new wheels. Loosk like you got the run yourself ugly shoes. Love that ad.

By Blogger Jadey, at 2:25 pm  

New Balance are fairly ethical I think, but then again I just got a new pair of asics so can't really judge...

By Blogger YP, at 4:00 pm  

Your new shoes are gorgeous! Happy running in them.

By Blogger Suzy, at 7:59 pm  

The shoes look great, I myself need to purchase a decent pair just haven't gotten around to it yet :( hope you have a great weekend!

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:07 am  

They are damn cool shoes, i think the evil just makes them cooler!
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 10:56 am  

LOL I really enjoy the way you write. Of course you're a serious god damn athlete but flashing lights could be fun ;-) Everything can be a morale dilemma but hey, do what is right for you and I think getting a good pair of shoes is a priority for a runner. If we knew half of what most companies do, I don't think we would buy anything and possibly not eat or even leave the house ever again!

By Blogger Mary, at 11:47 am  

Nice blog!!!I love the pic!!!Nike shoes are the only solution......

By Blogger Unknown, at 9:53 pm  

 

Five Weird Things About Me...

Superstar tagged me for this last week and I've finally gotten my head together to post it. Just five things? That's only scratching the surface of my weirdness.


  1. This one's kind of heavy but it's something that I've been thinking about a bit lately. When I was pregnant with Andrew, I intended giving him up for adoption. I, obviously, didn't go through with that decision. The other day I read a blog where the writer talked about meeting the (now adult) child she'd given up for adoption for the first time. It was like an emotional punch in the guts - that could have been me. I could be meeting Andrew for the first time in 19 years.

    Initially, my thought were about how it would have affected his life - what sort of person would he be now having been raised in a different family? Would he have been better off? That's a question noone can ever answer but I did realise something important. I don't think Andrew would ever have coped in a rigid, disciplinary environment. I talked about this with my sister and she agreed, he'd have gone right off the rails. You tackle Andrew head-on and you meet the strongest wall of resistance you'll ever find. On the other hand, if he gets too indulged, he gets soft and lazy (trust me, I've seen this every time he's been around my mum).


    I didn't know much about raising kids when Andrew was young, but I tended to give him a lot of space to do his own thing within the limitations I imposed. I let him work things out for himself. For example, if he wanted to sit up all night playing a game or watching TV, I never demanded he be in bed by a certain time, that would have lead to a painful amount of arguments, but I did insist he be at school on time. If he spent the day tired and crabby, he realised that he needed to get to bed earlier.

    I'm not saying that's the right or proper way to bring up kids, just that it worked with Drew.

    I've also been thinking about whether I did the right thing for me. Without a child to raise on my own, I could have travelled, I definitely would have been better off financially. Who knows what my life could have been?

    I'll be honest, there have been times when I've thought I'd have been better off if he had been adopted. I think any mother has those moments. After a day of unreasonable bosses and bitchy workmates, late trains, a zillion demands, you get home to a house like a bomb site and demands for dinner - motherhood doesn't look so hot.

    But, beneath it all, I think Andrew has been my rock of sanity. At times when the whole world felt like it was crumbling around me, he'd say a few words and we'd both collapse with laughter.

    It hit me this morning, more than any sense of parental responsiblity, more than any of the rights and wrongs, more than anything else, I'd have missed him if he hadn't been around. I like hanging out with him. He's a cool guy - funny and wacky and caring in his own weird way. I just can't imagine me without him.

  2. I can't walk down stairs without holding onto a handrail on my left side. It freaks me out and I get all unbalanced. That was a bit lighter, wasn't it.
  3. One of the things I'd have done differently with my weight loss, now I think about it, is taken a more balanced approach to exercise. It's easy to focus on cardio since that's what gives the instantly measurable results - you see the effects on the scales every week - but weights/toning and flexibility/yoga type exercise is so important.

    A lot of the aches and niggly pains I've been getting lately, I swear, are caused because some of my muscles have developed out of balance with others - my legs are all muscley but I don't have the strength in my glute muscles or the core strength to go with it. And my flexibility is abysmal.

  4. I have had a crush on John Jarrad ever since he was on Better Homes and Gardens (should have put him on my list below). I don't think this is weird, but other people do especially when I say he was hot in Wolf Creek.
  5. My sister and I have talked about moving to Brisbane for almost 10 years now but we've never even been there for a holiday. I think if we moved there now, it would never live up to our expectations - in our heads, it's become this mythical place of sunshine and cheap rent and happiness.

I think everyone has already been tagged for this one so no tagging by me.

Btw, big happy sunshine smiles to Briony for searching the paper for my results. You rock!


I love what you wrote about Andrew - awwww :)

So what happens if there isn't a handle rail on the left but one on the right, do you walk down backwards? Ummm, stupid question!

By Blogger Ails, at 11:30 am  

I love the sound of your relationship with Drew and I think he is lucky to have u as a mum.

I could so NOT imagine you living in BrisVegas.

By Blogger Cinders, at 11:40 am  

Firstly big congrats on the C2S results!! You are brave using the portaloos too :) That's a time we females are disadvanatged - did you see all the guys just going on the side of the road? SOme were even going in the Kings X tunnel - eww!!

Really interesting thoughts re adoption, I'd say that has to be one of life's most difficult choices and is something the mother and child have to deal with the rest of their lives. My bf was adopted, and while he has no interest in finding out about his biological family he does wonder about simple stuff like what his background nationalities are. Anyway this is beocming a mini-essay now, so I'll stop clogging up your comments page!

By Blogger yublocka, at 2:16 pm  

I went to a job interview in Brisbane a few years back. Apart from the fact that they offered me $10k less than I was already earning, the town was boring as batshit. I was there on a Saturday afternoon and the whole town was closed. Obviously I didn't take the job. I suggest you stay in Melbourne where there are karaoke bars and margueritas aplenty! LOL.
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 10:55 am  

 

C2S Results

I just checked the site and the results are up:


Well done Kathryn on completing The 2006 Sun-Herald City2Surf, you were
25746th over the line with a time of 111:36.

When I decided to run the C2S, I wanted to it under 100 minutes. Then I had all those lingering illnesses, then leg problems. Considering I could hardly make it from the couch to the loo on Saturday arvo, I'm pretty happy that time - although I wish I'd not taken a toilet break now!

I don't think I mentioned my toilet break - I ran into one of the portaloos and was doing my thing when I realised the catch on the door was dodgy and liable to fly open any minute. That would have been real pleasant - treating my fellow runners to the sight of me sitting on the loo! Knowing my luck, it would have made the evening news!

Thank goodness I came and read your post cos now I can stop reading the damn results. They don't go by race number, just time and I couldn't find you anywhere - the type is so small!! hahaha
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 10:20 am  

Wow - how nice of Briony to go through every individual name in the paper to find you!!!!!!

Fantastic time Kathryn - illnesses/leg problems or no illnesses/leg problems. I'm impressed :)

LOL your toilet break !

By Blogger Ails, at 10:40 am  

great time Kathryn. And by the way you looked fantastic on Sat night and it was a pleasure to meet you.

By Blogger michelle, at 8:56 pm  

 

::15.8.06::

Help!

Does anyone have the Sydney paper with the City 2 Surf times in it? I can't get hold of a copy here and I want to check my time. My race no was 19500 if that helps.

I have it at work, I bought it to post down for Michelle. I can check for you tomorrow.
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 6:13 pm  

good on ya briony. how helpful are Internet People? bless... :D

kathryn! i gotta ask, did you get any cupcakes in Sydney? you know that shop, i can't remember the name, but they have a cupcake with chopped up Jaffas on the top... OH baby.

hope you're recovering well from your run :)

By Blogger Shauna, at 6:57 pm  

 

::14.8.06::

Sydney and Other Stuff

I've got a lot to say at the moment... I can't believe over three days without internet access. I got online today and was completely blown away by all the congratulations comments on my last post. Aw shucks, guys. Thanks heaps.

Friday

I basically uploaded my last post then ran out the door to the airport Friday morning. Got there nice and early and had a relaxed flight up to Sydney. Got a cab to my sister's place then headed out to Newtown for some shopping. Woohoo - got to love bargains. I went to Tree of Life (which has a branch in Melbs but in Ringwood - I told the woman it was easier for me to go to Sydney than Ringwood). Got two scrummy pencil skirts to try on - one in pinstripe and one in black - both marked down. I thought I'd try them both on then decide but, the shopwoman walked past the change rooms and said there was 50% off anything already marked down. Yay! I got both. Plus another dress. While I waited to be served, I saw a lovely flowery summer dress. Perfect for when my sister and I play ladies on the back deck. Then I thought again - 2 skirts and dress were enough shopping.

I looked through heaps of shops, at heaps of funky clothes, then went back and got my flowery dress. There were so many things I wanted to buy and one gorgeous, gorgeous jacket I regret not buying - can't remember the shop but it was a red, felty jacket with pom poms.

Friday night I went out with my sister and her boyfriend for some scrummy Thai food. Heaven.

Saturday

Saturday morning I got out of bed and could hardly walk. The pain in my leg kept moving from my butt to my knee and down the quad. We headed down to my sister's favourite local cafe for a long leisurely brunch with her old bosses and I over-caffineated myself on the huge mugs of coffee, as well as stuffing myself on a massive bowl of porridge.

Because my sister was still getting over the flu, she sent me off on my own to the Paddington market. And boy, am I the stupidest person in the world or what? I'd not packed any flat shoes except my runners so, because my leg was sore, I'd worn my sister's slip-on shoes to brunch. Without thinking, I headed off for an arvo of shopping still wearing her shoes. An hour or so later, I'd become a very sad and sore-footed Kathryn. Talk about crotchety - I wanted to kill everyone at the market, I wanted to go home, I wanted band-aids for my extremely blistered feet.

I caught the bus back to my sister's place and it stopped, as though ordained by the hand of a higher being, outside the Skecher shop. I've wanted a pair of Skecher shoes forever... well at least a year, but either haven't had the money or the time to shop for them or whatever. I walked in tired and sad and unable to go on; I walked out the happiest (and spiffiest shoed) girl in the world. Those shoes turned my frown upside down!

When I got back to my sister's place, I hurled her slip-ons at her and told her never to let me wear her shoes again (she is a size smaller in the the foot than me which doesn't help) then I curled up for a nap wearing my ipod because they were watching football.

Ha, get this: about 6 months or more ago, my other sister, Anita, gave my sister, Lynne, her ipod mini because she got a Nano. On Saturday, I had to show Lynne how to charge it. She'd not used it at all in the six months because she couldn't work that out. I mocked her mercilessly!

So, Saturday night. Party Time. I had to meet all the girly-girls at Circular Quay. I showered and made up and dressed then headed to the big street for a cab. Getting the cab was too easy. Then the cab driver told me he didn't know how to get to Circular Quay. I'm like - dude, big place, middle of the city, lots of ferries???? He tried to call someone for directions (the real cab driver I reckon, who was having a night off and got his just-off-the-boat friend to take over). Then I rang my sister who tried to give directions but the cabbie couldn't follow them. Her boyfriend was in the background, yelling 'get out of the cab and get another one'. I finally made it and got to meet the Sydney (and surrounding districts) bloggers.

Oh my god. What can I say? What a gorgeous, stunning and absolutely lovely bunch of girls. I wished they all lived in Melbourne! And I wish I'd had more time to chat to everyone. The night seemed to pass in a rush. I took no photos but there are many floating around (and I'll link them up when I unlazy myself - just ignore my belly rolls).

Sunday

I got up Sunday morning and my leg felt fine. Woohoo! I'd not admitted it to myself, but I'd had a bit of a cloud over my holiday because of my leg - there'd been the possibility in the back of my head that it would back enough that I wouldn't be able to start the race let alone finish! Saturday afternoon, I'd been limping just getting from the couch to the toilet... so 14 km looked doubtful.

I'd planned out my route to the race with my sister, a mere 6 blocks down the street. It couldnt' be easier. Ha! We didn't realise that once I got the start there'd be a zillion people lined up already and I'd have NO chance of getting through them. Hyde Park had been blocked off and I had to the back of the start line to dump my bag. I wandered around like a lost kitten, trying to work out what to do, asking the volunteers and getting different answers. Then the announcement came over saying to get your gear onto the trucks because they were about to depart!

Yikes. I panicked and got upset. I morphed from a lost kitten into a headless chook! Then someone told me I could go through the park. I ran around and got to the trucks but realised I needed a special plastic bag so followed everyone else into the basement of a building. Got my bag and some pins for my race number then had to work out how to tie my gear into the bag without dropping the pins - I had no pockets and didn't want to sit anything down because people swarmed around like mad bees around me.

I ran and knotted up my bag at the same time then got my stuff onto a truck just before it closed up (there was another truck that didn't leave until later but I didn't realise that at the time).

Once I was pinned and de-geared, I could relax and warm up a little. Well as much as you can with 2 inches of personal space. Once I'd spent about 2.3 seconds relaxing, I decided every other person of the 63,000 + crowd was there with friends and I was the only loser on my own. I searched the crowd for other loners but every time I spotted one, their friends would join them. I switched on my ipod and decided I didn't care. I'm tough and strong and I don't need anyone else. And yes, I know heaps of people were there alone but I like to sook sometimes.

Finally we started and I shuffled slowly down the street. Very slowly. When the crowd cleared a bit, I broke into a slow jog. I figured better to jog slowly than to stuff my leg. When we got out of the tunnel, I looked for my sister watching from the overpass. I waved but she didn't see me so I yelled her name and she looked down and yelled and waved. Ha - I'd told her to take her camera so she could have got a photo and she reckoned she'd never see me in the crowd. I was right and she was wrong... ha ha.

The race passed in a bit of a blur. I remember:

  • passing a band playing Paradise City (that cracked me up)
  • some little girls selling cupcakes on the side of the street (I was so tempted)
  • finally hitting the first drink station, hitting a hill when I thought we were only 3 km into the run
  • thinking, shit if that hill hasn't even been mentioned, then Heartbreak Hill is going to KILL me (luckily it was Heartbreak Hill and we were closer to the 7 km mark but I'd missed all the km markers along the way)
  • thinking I'd reached the top of Heartbreak Hill only to turn a bend and see it kept going... more than once
  • the stunning views over Sydney and the sun gleaming off the water
  • the first sight of Bondi
  • the sad moment when I realised I had no hope of finishing the run in the time I wanted
  • the little boy selling lemonade
  • getting sore legs and a dodgy belly around the 11 km mark but knowing I'd finish no matter what - I just kept telling myself that I walk 4.5 km to work without thinking anything of it so I could do 3 km to finish
  • getting to the 1 km and running
  • seeing the finish line and sprinting

Afterwards, I just wanted to get out of Bondi and away from people. I got my bag and other stuff and, after a few bum steers, found the buses out there. I was back at my sister's by 12.30 then got showered and changed and went out shopping. I have no idea of my race time -- I got my time card at the finish line but was too befuddled to work it out.

My sister took me to her massage place in the afternoon. I'm not sure if it was a good thing. I'd felt tired but okay after the race. The woman pushed on a spot on my lower back and I got the most incredible pain in my leg that didn't go away for hours. I don't know if it would have been better to leave it alone or if she just bought out some soreness that would have surfaced later. My legs are okay today so who knows?

So anyway, now for stupid thing #989 of my trip. Sunday night, after dinner, I headed out to the airport. I couldn't wait to get home and sleep in my own bed. Sydney was great and I'd had a fantastic, if mostly laid back, time but my sister and her boyfriend both had hacking coughs and nowhere is ever as good to sleep as home. I went to the electronic checkin at Virgin and keyed my reference number. The machine told me to go see a real person. I wandered to the service desk without thinking too much about it. The woman entered my details and told me I was indeed booked on the 8.15 pm flight BUT THE NEXT NIGHT!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

I have no idea how that happened. I screwed up, I guess. I hadn't printed out my confirmation email, just wrote it in my diary and hadn't thought about it again. So I had to pay extra to change my flight and thought I had an extra hour or so wait. Then she called me back. She'd stuffed up - I couldn't rebook. Every single flight out of Sydney was full. I nearly cried.

I went to the Jetstar counter to see if they had a flight but their last flight to Melbourne had left already. So I schlepped my bags over to Qantas. They had a seat but it would cost $280 + taxes. I took a cab back to my sister's place.

So I flew out at 9.15 this morning instead. I love home. Home is where my bed is. But I'm glad I went. I'm glad I ran. I feel like I should be hitting the gym today because it seems like the run was so long ago now. I'm especially glad I met all the wonderful bloggers (and thanks Mary for organising dinner). I think I'll have an early night tonight then back into it -- with no running this week -- tomorrow.

OH NO re your flight!!!! But I am glad you made it home safely, eventually :S

Well done completing the run - to was great that your leg held up.

I love it when you go shopping, you always seem to pick up fantastic stuff. Any chance of photos of your loot?

Have a great week Maintenance Girl, and enjoy sleeping in your own bed tonight!

By Blogger Ails, at 5:55 pm  

Wow! Shopping, dinner's, running, mixed up flights etc, I'm exhausted just reading this but glad it all worked out well. Did u make it to the cupcake place?? Congrats on doing the C2S.

By Blogger Cinders, at 6:12 pm  

OMG what a nightmare about your flight.
Congratulations on doing the race. I'm going to do it next year for sure.
It certainly was fantastic to meet you and i'll be coming down to Melbourne soon for those marguertias and some bad karaoke!! haha
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 6:37 pm  

Congratulations making goal.
Enjoyed reading your City 2 Surf adventrue must remember some of those tips, I am hoping to travel from NZ to Sydeny next Aug to compete and complete the walking of it. My son drives taxi in Syd would be funny if he was your driver...Sunday is normally his day off and there are hundred of taxi's in Syd changes are very small.

By Blogger Felicity, at 7:43 pm  

Aaarrrrggggghhhhh for your flight. The rest of the weekend sounds great (especially the shopping).

By Blogger Sue, at 7:44 pm  

Ha..I was wondering how you'd cope with net access ;-) The Newtown shopping trip sounds like a success so yep, photos please...again.
You looked so fabulous and I am so glad to have met you in person but next time we must talk more. Melbourne isn't too far away so please let us know when you guys do the Melbourne meets and I reckon a few of us could try come down. Michelle and Linda seem to have no trouble jetsetting around.

I love the way you describe your day and all the little things that happen along the way. I can't help laughing and smiling and oohing an aahhing but all in all, it sounds like you had a good time.

Bloody hell, wrong flight!? I thought that shit only happenned to me LOL. Glad you're home now. There's no place like home and I can imagine you in a pair of groovy ruby slippers too.

By Blogger Mary, at 8:52 pm  

Yikes! That's a bit full on regarding your flight. Glad you made it home this morning though (as opposed to tonight).
The City 2 Surf adventure sounds good except for the crowds, congrats on completing it! I think the starting line would just frustrate me, I don't like crowds very much. I walked up to New South Head Road yesterday around 11am and saw a few stragglers at the tail end ... as well as people giving up on the race at Edgecliff Station around the 3km mark.

One thing I meant to ask you, did you end up getting your Buffy box set as your goal reward?

By Blogger Sarah, at 9:07 pm  

Wow what a weekend you had, lots of shopping and exercise. It was so great to meet you had glad you had a great night. Good to see you eventually got home.
Have a great week.

By Blogger Mel., at 9:14 pm  

Kathryn

I'm so crap. I'm only now getting round to telling you WELL BLOODY DONE!

I am so impressed with you! You are a bone fide wonderwoman. Really - I'm in awe. The boys three older sister all live in oz (brisbane, gold coast and sydney) so if I ever make it over, I'll be tracking you down (sound like a threat!).

And just like Sue, I'm borrowing Stop Dicking Around for a wee while.

By Blogger Lainey, at 11:29 pm  

Hi Kathryn, massive congrats on finsihing the C2S - and with a sore leg!! Makes me feel like a wuss for whinging about my blisters. I wish I had a chance to meet you the other night. I've been reading through your blod and am so impressed by your achievements - very inspiring. Look forward to reading more!

One q though, do you have RSS feeds for your posts? My browser can't seem to find any so it makes me hard for me to stalk you! Has anyone else ever said that or is it just me?

By Blogger yublocka, at 12:02 am  

Sounds as though all in all minus the few little hiccups, it was a fantabulous week-end!!

Congrats on completing your run, you must be feeling pretty darn proud of yourself, awesome achievement :)!!

By Blogger Unknown, at 10:38 am  

Wow what a trip! Sounds like you had a good time. Shame about the leg. I want Scetchers too! I found some PINK ones in BigW! Just need $$$ (always the way)
What you did with your flight sounds like something I would do. At least you didn't turn up the day after! Then you would have lost all your money. My last stuff up was booking myself a flight from sydney to melbourne then melbourne to sydney. I was in Melbourne at the time. (farkk)I only booked them cause they were happy hour flights. Ended up costing me more than a standard fare in the end.

By Blogger Jadey, at 5:17 pm  

Congrats on achieving GOAL! I didn't get the opportunity on Saturday night to come up and say HI, better late than never as they say. And another Congrats on the C2S it sounds amazing and definately thinking about entering next year.

Was so sorry to hear about the troubles with your flight home but glad you arrived safe and sound.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:09 pm  

 

::11.8.06::

Weigh In

GOAL
Yep, I did it. Woohoo! Go me! I'm in awe of my awesome weight lossing powers. It's been back to basics this week - a buttload of exercise plus sticking rigidly to my 1500 calorie limit. I'd planned to have chicken sausages for dinner the other night then realised it would put me right over my calories so cooked a couple of eggs instead. I've said no to the chocolate mini muffins with my morning coffee. I've stuck to salads and soups with a decent portion of protein for lunch. And has it been hard - hell no.
My motto for the week was STOP DICKING AROUND and it worked. So many of those extras you don't even miss and they make a huge difference at the end of the week.
Now my goal for this week is to STAY at goal. No pigging out this weekend in Sydney - I know my sis has a big brunch planned for tomorrow and she loves eating out - but I don't want to start thinking I'm going to burn it off in the City 2 Surf and go overboard.
The bad news is that my body is falling apart atm. I've got sniffles and have busted my legs. I think the run I did on Monday did some damage - I didn't think until later that I should have avoided the concrete bike paths!
I had a massage last night which helped heaps and she told me not to run until Sunday but walking and swimming will help. At least there is no inflammation, which is a good sign. I plan to rest up and lather on the decorub, hit the echinachea and cold tablets and get my exercise in the form of shopping!
This will prolly be my last post until I get home from Sydney so expect a big one. I think I've remembered to pack everything. The lovely Superstar has tagged me so I'll post that when I get home.
Now I have to go cook breakfast. My sister is dragging her chronically fatigued body out of bed to drive me to the airport so I offered to make this for our special breakkie treat. Plus I want to get to the airport early - with all the scary news about terrorists being caught in England (thank god they were caught is all I can say), I reckon the airport security will be insane today.

YAY for you Kathryn, congrats on reaching goal :)!!
Good luck for your run in Sydney and make sure you have a blast of a time!!

By Blogger Unknown, at 8:56 am  

WHOO HOO!! Well done beautiful girl :-) I am so damn happy for you and I love that you made a point of the fact that you had to "stop dicking around". Maintenance is the easy part now, enjoy. You have worked damn hard!

By Blogger Mary, at 10:40 am  

Well done Kathryn - I'm really rapt for you. have a great weekend away.

By Blogger Cinders, at 10:55 am  

Congratulations and well done. That's so exciting. Keep up the great work.

By Blogger Mel., at 10:55 am  

Congratulations!!!!!

Hope you have a great time in Sydney:)

By Blogger Leighanne, at 11:24 am  

Sen-bloody-sational!! You rock!

What a long way you have come. It seriously is amazing what people can do when they "stop dicking around", I am going to take this on as my motto.

I had lots of reasons to not walk today, but now you've given me the foot up the bum to get out there. And you've also given me an excellent breakkie idea - I actually have all the ingredients already!

Have a great day.

By Blogger CaramelKitKat, at 11:46 am  

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!! Well done Kathryn!!!
CONGRATULATIONS! Your hard work has paid off.

By Blogger Suzy, at 2:01 pm  

Well done, Kathryn. Good luck for Sunday.

By Blogger Ruune, at 2:16 pm  

Good on you Kathryn, yay!!! What a great achievement for you!
Look forward to meeting you tomorrow night.

:) Sarah

By Blogger Sarah, at 2:18 pm  

CONGRATULATIONS
Wohooooooot!

You did it girl, I'm so happy for you. Well done!

By Blogger Moody, at 5:15 pm  

How MUCH do you rock? That is just so very cool! Well done, congratulations, enormous hug in your direction.

By Blogger Sue, at 6:18 pm  

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Im really happy for you, you worked hard and really deserve the results!

By Blogger Unknown, at 6:39 pm  

YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

How totally fantastic!!! I am so so so happy for you!!!!!!

Congratulations Darl and I hope this weekend continues to bring more excitement and celebration in Sydney!

By Blogger Ails, at 6:54 pm  

You so DO rock guuuurlfriend!! Well done and congratulations! I think a celebration cocktail will be in order on Saturday night, surely you can work off ONE cocktail!! See you soon.
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 9:24 pm  

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH wow!!!! good on ya kathryn! this news has made my freakin day. CONRGATS! all that hard word has paid off. you are truly the bee's knees. have a brilliant time in sydney!!!

By Blogger Shauna, at 9:34 pm  

now i have that Sparks song stuck in my head, it's called Dick Around, have you heard it? It is HILarious, and since you have exquisite taste in music you might loike it.

By Blogger Shauna, at 9:42 pm  

YAY!!!!! congrat Kathryn, thats truly awesome, you've worked so hard for this & you really deserve it :) have a great wknd!

By Blogger Kt, at 11:01 pm  

That is SO fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!

For some reason I was not expecting to come along and read that you had reached goal this week, it is such an awesome awesome surprise!!

Have a wonderful time away!!

By Blogger Ang, at 5:45 am  

Congratulations Kathryn, what a fantastic effort.

Hope you have a great time in Sydney.

By Blogger Jaykay, at 10:48 am  

WOOHOOO I am so proud of you Kathryn you have battled long and hard but you have made it!
Enjoy Sydney and enjoy the C2S Good luck for the run and I hope you have no aches or niggles. Enjoy the cupcakes!

ENJOY LIFE!!!

By Blogger Jadey, at 6:50 pm  

Thats WONDERFUL!!!

Congratulations!

I think I just saw you on City to Surf (yes, I watched from the comfort of my lounge) . No, only kidding - how many people were there??woah!

By Blogger The Candid Bandit, at 11:27 am  

Congratulations!!

By Blogger Unknown, at 2:43 pm  

WOW! This is the first time I've been to your blog -- but being on the weight loss wagon myself I am SUPER IMPRESSED with anyone who makes GOAL! Good on you!!! CONGRATULATIONS! That is just wonderful!

By Blogger Melli, at 2:50 am  

Congratulations Kath!!! I am absolutely stoked for you - you've worked so darn hard for it. Enjoy this moment for as long as you can!! And it will only get better from here, believe me.

Hope you had a great time in Sydney, looking forward to hearing all about it.

By Blogger philippa_moore, at 8:42 am  

Woo-hoo, congratulations!! I live for the days where I get to read these kind of posts, yippee!!!!

Thanks for posting your Exempt List too, thats the kind of tag that we like to see!!!

By Blogger Emily Campbell - Independent Stampin' Up!® Demonstrator, at 4:14 pm  

CONGRATULATIONS!! You have done so well and I am very excited for you.

By Blogger Kathryn, at 5:43 pm  

 

::9.8.06::

Exempt List

I guess since I'm single, this technically isn't an exempt list, but I saw Emily do it on her site and loved the idea.

#1 Justin Hawkins


Juzzy



I don't care what anyone says - Juzzy is hot. If I had school books, I'd most definitely cover them with his pic. He's totally rock and he's man enough to wear lycra bodysuits. He is more rock than a totally big rock. Like Ayres Rock. And he's a lyrical genius. In fact, he's a musical genius of all flavours. Lead singer of The Darkness who produce rock based music of exceptional quality. *Sigh*

#2 Carlito


Carlito



My fave wrestler in the WWE. Not just cute, but funny and cool too. He spits in the face of people who don't want to be cool. He really does.

#3 Julian Casablancas


Julius



Yum. Yum. Yum. I heart Julius. He is spunkalicious. I can't believe both Julian and Carlito were in town last weekend and all my stalking proved fruitless. Well actually I can since my stalking efforts were pathetic. Why can't they stalk me? That would rock.

I figure I have a real shot here, cos as my old boss used to say - it doesn't matter if there's a queue, so long as it's moving!

#4 Jack White


jackus



Not as spunky as he used to be. As he gets older and more styled, he just doesn't look as hot. And his music is sucking now too. In fact, I think Jack had better get his act together or he'll be knocked out of the list by something younger and prettier.

But he does have fab arms.

#5 Johnny Depp


Johnny



Need I say more? Who doesn't love Johnny? Freaks, that's who!

Hmmm... I think I have a thing for guys who's name starts with the letter "J". What's with that?

yes, FREAKS, that's who indeed.

i agree re jack white, he just looks a little doughy lately. not that i can talk!

By Blogger Shauna, at 7:53 pm  

mmm Johnny Depp!
I am so impressed that somebody else knows of carlito carribbean cool, tho i was not impressed when he spat apple in HBK's face hehe

By Blogger Kt, at 8:13 pm  

I was front row for the Darkness at the BDO a few years ago. He defaintely has oodles of sex appeal!

Jack White - I loved their music but then I saw him in Cold Mountain. Yum.

Johnny Depp, hmm Im a little over him.

By Blogger The Candid Bandit, at 8:16 pm  

Oh God, your list is so the opposite of my boring old-farts list (not that i've written it down yet, but it's in my head). I'm certainly not sharing it with you - you cool chick you - then you'll really think (know) i'm such a big bloody dag!!
At least I know who 2 of yours are though! hehe
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 9:04 pm  

I agree with K I am impressed that somebody else knows of carlito carribbean cool too! I think he is Hot!

I love Johnny Depp too!

By Blogger superstar, at 6:27 am  

*sigh* I think I need to go back thirty - forty years for my exempt list to be relevant. It's all good for Tom though, at least he doesn't have to worry about me remotely meeting any man on my exempt list ... half of them are dead and the other half I would never contemplate in their old age!
I like how you've got Johnny Depp and Jack White on your list though, not bad! See you Saturday

By Blogger Sarah, at 8:35 am  

I'm loving Justin in their latest film clip where he does the whole 80's thing down to the leg warmers and head band - very funny.

By Blogger Cinders, at 8:53 am  

Have you seen the photo of Johnny Depp in this week's Famous magazine...OMG he is just soooo delicious!!

By Blogger Jaykay, at 7:32 pm  

 

Sydney

I'm not sure what's going on with my trip to Sydney at the moment. I'm still going and still running but I was supposed to be staying with my sister and now both she and her boyfriend have come down with a bad flu. She told my mum that she'd pay for me to stay in a hotel if they are still bad on the weekend but I haven't spoken to her myself.

I've got a sneaky feeling that, since her boyfriend has only very recently moved in, they don't me there cramping their style! And that suits me fine - I don't really want to be caught up in their icky love stuff!

There are a few places on my to-do list for the weekend. Cupcakes on Pitt is definite. I'd also like to check out My Little Cupcake in Neutral Bay (where is Neutral Bay?) - anyone see a theme here. My Little Cupcake has some heavenly cupcake stands on their site and I'm in the market for one of those. I'd also like to go to Newtown shopping. I think Mary suggest that a while back and then I remembered my friends used to live there and there are some great shops and cafes.

I hope things work out for you re Sydney accommodation. It's a little stressful for you considering the weekend is only three days away :S

Definitely sensing a theme to your to-do list;) Hopefully you will be able to take some photos to tempt us!

By Blogger Ails, at 11:54 am  

I think NB is about 7km's away from Sydney. On the other side of the Harbour from memory.
I'm loving your cupcake obsession.

By Blogger Cinders, at 12:11 pm  

What is it with the damn cupcake thing? I think you need to break this obsession to get to goal - LOL - how many calories did you say were in one cupcake?
Oh and about the karaoke thing - we'll have to plan another trip so we can do just that. I love getting drunk and doing karaoke - maybe I should come to Melbourne - might help my anonimity!!
See you on Saturday!!!!!
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 12:33 pm  

Geez I could also do with some spelling lessons! Sorry....
anonymity!!

hehe

Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 12:36 pm  

Cupcakes on Pitt is DIVINE. I picked up a mint chocolate cupcake the other day and walked the entire length of Pitt Street to deliver it as a treat to DH. He said it was fantastic. When my girlfriend at work had a birthday we bought 8 cupcakes and shared them rather than one big cake. Passionfruit, Jaffa, White Strawberry Chocolate *droool*.

And Neutral Bay is reachable via Ferry from Circular Quay then it is a bit of a walk up to Military Road then either a stroll or Bus to the Cupcake store. You will love it. Mary, Cath and I walked around there the other weekend.

Bugger about the accommodation. If I did not already have a house full you could have stayed here - not that that is much help to you now.

Glad you are still coming though. I have just refreshed the weather outlook and it still looks like Sunny and 22 degrees :D

By Blogger Margaret, at 2:22 pm  

I think Bri and I will have to find this cupcake store just to see what you are talking about of course. Good luck with sorting out the accomodation. See you sat night.

By Blogger michelle, at 2:22 pm  

You have been tagged! see my blog for further information!

By Blogger superstar, at 6:38 am  

 

::7.8.06::

Sunshine and Sore Legs

Wow it was amazingly sunny today. I love this unseasonable weather but feel kind of wrong about it too since I suspect it's something to do with global warming. Sort like when you admit the pretty rainbow on the surface of water then realise it's created by an oil slick. I strongly suspect we're headed for a very hot summer, like they are experiencing in that other hemisphere at the moment.

Since I did the fun run yesterday, I missed out on my long run so I ditched work early to run today instead. I'd planned that before the temperature hit a balmy 17 degrees but the sun made it all the sweeter. I headed out in just a tee shirt and running tights (btw the K-Mart tights are highly recommended) not sure of how far I'd run. I had a few options but thought running along the Merri Creek sounded great. Instead of my normal creek trail run, I head in the other direction - it's about 4km to the Collingwood Children's Farm from here (8km round trip) so that sounded good.

I had the best run. I felt like my legs were floating above the ground. I got to the CCF and kept going for another k then turned around. On the way back, I realised there was a 2.2 km detour to the Studley Park boathouse and since I felt so fine, I headed down that track. Then my fuzzy brain did the maths - 2.2 kms = 4.4 km round trip! Yikes. It wasn't so much the distance that worried but the light. I don't like running along these bushy trails in the dark esp on my own. I did 1.2 km then turned around, figuring I can go the full distance another time.

It got dark so quick - not to mention cold! I got to Heidelberg Rd and decided I didn't want to run the rest of the way on the trail. There are some dodgy spots along there - really pretty during the day and wonderfully shady in the heat, but dead scary after dark I imagine. Maybe I should have kept going. With my over-active imagination, I'd have made it home in record time!

Instead I detoured down Heidelberg Rd, problem was - I didn't really know where I was going. I've driven that way before but not done it on foot and when I got nearer to home, realised I was literally on the wrong side of the tracks. I had to zoom down to Clifton Hill station then back around. By then, I'd dropped back to a walk and my arms had lost all feeling in the cold. I had to go through the station underpass and all the commuters getting off the train were like - look at the crazy chick in the tee-shirt!

I figured I ended up doing about 13 km all up with no walking breaks until the end. That gives me confidence for Sunday. And hey, I checked the long range weather for Sydney - 21 degrees for Sunday. Gotta love that. Hey, does that mean it will be 21 mostly all day - not just bursts of 21 in amongst the other weather? I'm not used to consistency in weather.

Oh yeah, a funny thing happened on my run. A guy (who looked like a red-headed Jack Black) ran past me with a labrador. I was checking out his dog then looked up and realised he was checking out my puppies!!!! Although they aren't labradors, that's for sure. More like sausage dogs. I didn't think until later - I should have called out "you should see them when I'm not wearing a sports bra."

Great job on the run! I haven't quite gotten up to running yet - and it's funny you mentioned global warming, several of my friends have mentioned the weather just gets more and more "off" because of global warming. It makes me worried about what it'll be like for my grandchildren!

By Blogger Michelle, at 2:27 am  

wow, you are clocking up the k's! roll on sunday!

i am cacking myself at that last line.. classic :)

By Blogger Shauna, at 4:37 am  

Wow, what an amazing run. You should have no trouble at all on Sunday - unless it's too hot!

By Blogger Sue, at 6:16 am  

Ha ha ha ha ha - you have cracked me up this morning. You are hilarious. Well done on your run, you're still a machine!!! Can't wait for next weekend. I had a little scare yesterday and thought I might not be able to make it, but it's all good now, phew!!
See you next weekend!! Have a great week.
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 7:53 am  

I am glad you had a great run.

By Blogger Askazombiehousewife, at 9:12 am  

awesome work on the run Hun!!! I know what you mean with the sunny days here in Canberra it's like that too - really nice and BAM cold by afternoon, summer is going to be interesting.

I laughed so much @ the sauage dogs haha looks like the k-mart bargins are more then good running appreal ;D

By Blogger Dee, at 10:30 am  

LOL at the sausage dogs. You are hilarious :D

Looks like a good day on Sunday. I have been keeping a close eye on it and am happy to report still showing that it will be sunny. That means it will be about 12-15 degrees when we start (9.30am) and then quickly up to 21. Perfect for walking /running.

And I bet the commuters were actually thinking "damn wish I could already be out running instead of having to be stuck in this train!" :D

Keep it going Kathryn, you are going so well :D

By Blogger Margaret, at 2:42 pm  

 

::6.8.06::

Queen of the Lake

I ran in the Queen of the Lake fun run this morning, heading over there with Deege. To be honest, it was the last thing I felt like doing - I went to the wrestling last night then had coffee and sat up chatting with my friend Dave until after 1.00 am. Wrestling is tops - it was a fine night of sports entertainment. As we walked in, Dave goes hey there's Geoffry Rush being refreshments. I thought he was joking but nope, it was him. I didn't think until later - that dude knows Johnny Depp! OMG *girlie squeal*.

So anyway, the fun run - I did the 5 km in around 30.40 minutes which is faster than I expected to go. I did the Christmas fun run at Albert Park last year and my time was 40.43 so I knocked 10 minutes off it. Woohoo!

The first km felt like hell and a squillion people passed me. I had a fair bit of tightness in my glutes and lower back. Then I got into the rhythm of it and by the 3.5 km mark a lot of those people who passed me had run out of steam so I kicked their butts. I got to the last 500 metres or so and could see the finish line and sprinted for it. I crossed feeling like my lungs were going to explode.

Deege crossed the finish line not long after me. Considering she's only got back into running recently, she's a powerhouse. Soon she'll be kicking my butt.

After the run, I got my showbag (I'd picked up my very spunky and very free Lorna Jane tee before I ran and I'm wearing it now. I normally don't like tees with sports logos but this one is rather cute) then I queued for a massage. The massage girl wanted me to take off my running tights before she rubbed but, considering how public the massage area was, I made the extreme sacrifice and saved the world from a view of me in my knickers.

I think I could have handled doing the 10 km instead of 5 today but it's probably best I save something up for next Sunday. Next on the fun run calendar is the Spring Into Shape series. I have my times from last year and I'm going to kick my own butt!

In my goodie bag after the race, I scored a fitball pregnancy workout video - if anyone wants it, leave me a msg and it's yours!

Crikey, 30.40minutes isn't bad for someone who didn't feel like running!!
I was just behind you Kathryn but lost you in my last walk break, then I couldn't find you at all to say hello :(.
You sure you don't need that pregnancy video:). I scored a fitball video and I know I will never use that either!!

By Blogger Unknown, at 3:25 pm  

Well done Kathryn. That is a fantastic time.
Have a great week.

By Blogger Cinders, at 6:26 pm  

Congratulations!! I am so envious of you... I was going to enter City to Surf this year and jog/walk/run my way through it... but what a shame, I'll be in Thailand. :D

By Blogger Kenz, at 7:04 pm  

What were the tights like for running in?
Oh, and good time!

By Blogger Sue, at 10:32 am  

Congrats on the great time for the run!

By Blogger Suzy, at 2:17 pm  

Hi there!!

Congrats on the fun run, your time was excellent!!

Sounds like an amazing acheivement!!

By Blogger Unknown, at 2:20 pm  

I looked for you at the run. Obviously you were too fast for me. Seee you Sat.

By Blogger michelle, at 4:41 pm  

Kathryn, I think I have a long way to go before I kick anyone's butt (including my own). You did great though. You are well on track to a great day on Sunday.

By Blogger Ruune, at 8:33 pm  

 

::5.8.06::

Weigh In - 71.8 kg

No change this week which is bad, bad, bad... but I did eat a few salty foods last night - fetta and ham - so there could be some fluid retention. Or it could just be that I shouldn't snack on foods like fetta and ham at night.

I've been thinking this week - trying to work out just what my problem is. I've gone from losing weight at a nice steady rate to yo-yoing around the same kilograms for weeks (months) and I've realised these are my issues:

Mental spazziness - I need to get my head around the fact that I can get to goal. I'm 1.8 kgs off it yet in my stupid head, it's as far away as it was when I had 40 kgs to lose. I can do it and I will do. I just have to kick my butt into line.

Food issues - where do I start? I used to be good with food and now I'm not. It doesn't help having a partner in crime, not that I'm blaming my sister, but it's so much easier to decide to go out for dinner rather than cook when there are two of you. I never used to fuss too much about what I ate when I went out before but then I only ate out once a week at the most. This week it's been a big eggy brunch one day, a bowl of La Porchetta gnoochi the next... even when you order the best choice on the menu, you don't know what those tricksy chefs are doing out in the kitchen. Just because something is healthy when I make it at home, doesn't mean they haven't decided adding some taste enhancing fat is a great idea. Also eating out costs money. No more eating out. Well maybe once a week but no more.

I've been trying to cut out treats. The mini muffin with the morning coffee, the cupcakes, the teensy-weensy lil snack size chocolates. They all add up especially if you indulge more than once a day. At the moment, I take some fruit to work then end up getting a treat as well. I think I need to take more snacks from home so I don't feel like I need to buy other crap to supplement my apple and mandarin.

I haven't tracked in forever either. I keep a running tally in my head - scarily enough I can work out my calories most days without referring to outside sources - but head tallies can conveniently forget the things we don't want to remember. I've rejoined the Calorie King site so I can track on that from home or work (and it's less cumbersome than my old sticky note in the diary system).

Exercise - mostly this is okay but I can't use it as an excuse to eat more. Also, I want to add in more incidental exercise. I've gotten slack about walking to work and don't do much at night when I get home.

On the plus side, I bought a huge amount of vegies at the market yesterday. Luckily I had my Andrew-shaped pack horse to carry them for me. I cooked him a steak and some vegies for dinner afterwards so I know he got some nutrion into him this week. He was also telling me he's been cooking vegies - sure they are tinned peas and carrots but it's a start. I've been trying to lure him into running with me with the promise of a pair of new runners but that isn't working yet.

I think I'll make carrot soup today and I have a heap of pears to stew up. I'm having a day off exercise today but might go to the pool for a swim later. Also I have some stuff to do in Fitzroy St and figure it will be easier to walk than to try and park the car.

Tonight I'm off to the wresting. Woohoo! That is going to rock.

You might want to reward yourself for each month for traking. I am getting a yearly journal gift not sure what I should get.
I should joing caloerie King. I am at goal but could use more info on chinese food.

By Blogger Askazombiehousewife, at 12:24 pm  

Kathryn, I was exactly the same when I needed to lose my last couple of kilo's. I kept yo-yoing up and down, it just wouldn't budge.
In the end I finally lost it through using Calorie King :)
You will do it!!

By Blogger Unknown, at 12:29 pm  

I was thinking of joining Calorie King too for all the info. I use an excel sheet to track but I think I want something a bit more "fun" to play with now. I use exercise as an excuse to eat more treats too. Bad, stop it. I've been yo-yoing a bit too but I think it's seriously okay. 1.8kg from goal hey, you're already there!

By Blogger Mary, at 9:32 pm  

 

::3.8.06::

Happy Things

Sometimes the shops just call your name. They say, Kathryn come to us. We have things you need...

It started when I grabbed the Big W catalogue out of the letter box to read on the way to work. They had some spunky red and white striped sandals that would go perfectly with my red and white polka dot dress. And cheap tracky pants. And a spiffy red cardi. So I left work early to go have a look.

The shoes rocked and were only $16. They had some cheap canvas ballet flats too but only had navy ones left. I hate navy.

I got some black trackies with a red stripe (to make me go faster) and some running tights - only gosh, darn it, I got a 14 and they are NOT tights, they are baggies. I have to take them back and get a smaller size. Man, I *hate* that! I also got a t-shirt, because I'd been planning to come home then go to the gym but, since my gym is upstairs from Big W, thought I may as well go straight there. Plus I got a pair of pjs for $10 that come with both shorts and long bottoms. And some $5 knickers. How's all that for under $100?

Since I skipped out of work early to go shopping, I ended up being half an hour early for the cycle class so I decided not to wait. Instead I did a killer circuit - my weights program is divided into 4 sets of 2 exercises (eg. lat pulldown, leg press, lat pulldown, leg press) so I did a burst of high intensity cardio between each set. I started with 5 mins of rowing - I never used to use the rowing machine until my trainer set me a challenge: 1000 metres in 5 minutes. I haven't made it yet but I'm getting there - then my first set o' exercises. Handy hint: don't follow rowing with lat pulldowns if you value your arms. I did 10 minutes of cross trainer, 15 minutes running and 10 minutes of bike so lots of cardio plus all my weights too. Woohoo!

I think it's hella important to have gym clothes that fit properly instead of daggy stuff - I could a glimpse of myself in the mirror and thought - that's one spunky chick - then realised it was me. I also found out that when the girl in the shop promised my hair dye wouldn't run when I sweat, she lied (oh yeah, I dyed my hair red last night).

On the way home, I read the K-Mart catalogue and they had proper running tights on sale. Proper running tights are the ones that are made from fancy, technologically-smart fabric that keep the sweat away from your skin and keep you warm in winter but cool in summer and have a pocket for your housekey so you don't have to tie it to your shoe lace. They are like the smartest pants ever. And all for $20 (as opposed to $9999 at nike or somewhere like that).

I got home and did a fashion parade for my sister then we headed to K-Mart.

Tomorrow I will test the running tights.

***

Just as a side note: a few people asked if I could share the spare room/s with my sister. That's kind of hard at the moment. Since moving to Melbourne, she worked for about a month then got sick - glandular fever and other stuff - and now the doctor thinks it's developed into chronic fatigue. She's been given the all clear to return to work part time but her work won't let her know if she can (she's been ringing them every day for over a week). Since she's only been there for a short time and it's only a casual job, she thinks they don't want her back. She's getting sickness benefits but is having a real struggle with money and, if I do anything, I'd rather arrange it on my own than have money issues develop later.

I want to do experiments on her to cure it. So far it hasn't worked but I'm sure eventually I'll find the answer.

***

Sunday I'm running in the Queen of the Lake. Because I entered early, I scored a Lorna Jane t-shirt which I get on the day. Woohoo! I'm also doing the Spring into Shape series.

***

I'm getting very excited about Sydney. Just over a week and I'll be there. I can't wait to see my (other) sister so I can beat her mercilessly - a while back she phoned me to see if I wanted to go to Bali for a holiday. I got all excited then didn't hear any more about it. Well now her boyfriend has moved in with her and they are going to Bali together. She is so dead over that. Sisters before misters!

The blogger's dinner should be a hoot and the race, well I'm sure I'll survive it. I hope the weather is nice in Sydney so I can wear my new sandals otherwise I'll have to wait months or risk frostbitten toes!

well how chirpy are you today? you sound so cheery :) and i loved hearing about your shopping triumphs! hehe...

By Blogger Shauna, at 7:22 am  

We don't have Big W here yet. There is one in Hobart. There is talk of it coming, but I don't know when. Sounds like they have some bargains though.
You did well with your purchases. I think the KMart and Target sports wear is great. I don't need name brands either!

Good luck in the Queen of the Lake.

(P.S. It would be great to say Hello if you do manage to come to Burnie)

By Blogger Suzy, at 10:25 am  

Fashion Bug always gets me by sending out great coupons like "40% off one regularly priced item" or Lane Bryant just sent me a "$5 off a $5 purchase or more." How can I turn that down? It's free money. So I know I'll be going there this weekend since I need new jeans.

By Blogger Jennette Fulda, at 12:43 am  

You sound really up in this post, good to hear. I hope the Sydney weather is good too, cos I just bought a SIZE 12 skirt I want to wear!! Yihar!!
Bri

By Blogger Briony, at 11:19 am  

Haha...I think I have that shopping affliction too LOL. I reckon red makes you go faster too. You are such a tease...photos madame!! It'll be great to meet you finally Kathryn.

By Blogger Mary, at 9:28 pm  

 

::2.8.06::

Stuff In My Head

Firstly, I went for a 7 km run this morning. It was meant to be my easy, peasy, lemon squeezy 4k run from home to Ceres but I kept going. I suspect my unconscious motivation wasn't to get more exercise but to procrastinate on getting to work!

I'm starting to think that I push myself more when I run on the treadmill at the gym than when I run outside. It's hard to know though because at the gym you definitely sweat more, no chill cold wind to keep you cool! Also too, when I get on the treadmill and enter in a program, I feel committed to it and keep going whereas running outside I can slow down or turn around or lacken off. I think I need to crack the whip on myself when I'm running outside or at least set some challenging goals so I push myself.

Or maybe not. Maybe, because I'm pushing myself hard at the gym, I should just relax and enjoy my outdoor runs. Mmmm... novel thought.

I'm still pondering about my (ex-) housemate's rooms. One thing I didn't mention in my previous post, which is the big argument against it is this - I'm not sure when my contract at work will end. I can afford the extra rent now, but if I'm not working then it will be a huge struggle.

For the past few years, I've had contracts that end near Christmas time. It's incredibly hard to get another contract at that time of year - basically it takes until Feb for things to pick up - so I've got by on savings plus admin temping and the dole.

What really scares me is that a few years ago I got into a massive financial mess because of just such a situation. I had to pay a huge amount of rent - it was a struggle even when I was working - and I couldn't even get temp work. I kept putting off applying for the dole cos I was convinced something would turn up. But a week with no income is a long time and, when it stretches into two or three weeks, things get very dicey.

I ended up going into Centrelink a few days before Christmas to register for the dole. By this stage I was way behind on my rent and other bills. The girl at Centrelink referred me to an organisation that helped with housing. So I sat in their offices half the day and finally talked to someone. They told me they wouldn't help me because my rent was too high. The only way they'd assist me would be if I moved house to somewhere cheaper.

In a way, that made sense but (see above), it was a few days before Christmas. Hello! How do you rent somewhere new when everything is closing down?

I stayed in my house and got further behind in the rent. The dole paid enough so I could either eat or pay rent - if I paid rent, I had about $10 a week to live on. And I wasn't living in a palace either. This was a crappy little weatherboard house in the Western suburbs.

So anyway, I've mentioned on here before, I ended up getting evicted. It was the most horrific time of my life and it makes me wary of having financial commitments I might not be able to meet in future.

I also don't want to feel like I *have* to work over the summer. I'd like to have enough money saved by then to take some time off and just chill. If I get my living expenses down to a bare minimum, then I can do that.

One last thing - in answer to M's question - I will definitely be going to Sydney for the City to Surf.. and I will definitely be running in the City to Surf, even if I have to walk it. Even if I have to crawl it.

It's a tough decision to make when you aren't sure about work. Could your sis pay half of the 2nd rooms rent assuming she is going to continue to live there?
I think running outdoors is much tougher and probably a better indication with road surface changes, conditions etc. I'm just in awe of your early morning running sessions. Well Done!

By Blogger Cinders, at 1:00 pm  

And you are definitely coming to that dinner! :-)

I definitely understand your financial situation because I am always in the same boat too. Save and just see what happens. How much extra is the room? Could you cut another luxury out?

By Blogger Mary, at 11:43 am  

Good luck with all your stress your under with money.

Wow the running you did seems so cool.

By Blogger Askazombiehousewife, at 6:35 pm  

 

::1.8.06::

Another Decision

It really is decision time for me lately and this one is a bit of a doozy.

I guess firstly I should explain how my house works cos it's kinda weird. Instead of renting out the house and it being all communal, the owner rents the rooms out. That's good in the way that I'm not at liable for anyone else's bill paying (plus all utilities are included in the rent) but bad in the way that we have no say over who they rent to. When I first moved in, I only intended staying short term so I didn't bother too much but now I've been there over a year and I *hate* moving.

So anyway, one of my housemates moved out on the weekend - in no way influenced by our recent note writing spree, I'm sure - and her room is vacant. It's actually 2 rooms at the back of the house since she had what was formerly the home bar (with sink) plus a small bedroom. There is an door (currently locked and blocked) between the former bar and my room.

Okay, got that. Well my dilemma is thus - do I offer to rent her old room? I'd be able to set the former bar up as a small kitchen with my toaster oven plus microwave and a hotplate and have a lounge room in her old bedroom. The only room I'd have to share is the bathroom. The other plus side is that we'd not get a new housemate. I have a real fear that, because there is another (small, dodgy) bedroom empty, the owners will advertise both rooms if they have to advertise at all and five people is too many in our house!

The down side is the cost. I reckon I'll be able to talk them down on the rent, after all my utilities are already included in my rent, but if I'm not working it will be a real stretch for me. I'd also save $$$ because I have stuff in a storage unit. I'd been planning to reduce that expensive anyway because I've taken a lot of it out.

Another down side is the rooms are an absolute pigsty! The former housemate (or rather, her bf who did the moving) took a few things but left a heap of junk, food, clothes, uni assignments, you name it laying around!

I reckon I've got some time to consider it because I think she's basically done a runner and the owners don't know. The rent girl (ie. the owner's daughter who comes over to get our rent money in cash*) comes over on Sunday so I figure I have until then to decide.



* yep, this as dodgy as all hell and I figure there is tax/Centrelink dodginess involved.

Ohhh, interesting decision!

I guess if you think you might be there for a little while longer, it might be nice to have a bit more space to yourself. Guess it all depends on what the $ will be, but it's something to definitely think about. Good luck with your decision :)

By Blogger Ails, at 8:10 pm  

I think it sounds like a great idea - just to have some space of your own and being able to spread out a little more. As for the crap they left behind - I suggest a bon fire!

By Blogger Kenz, at 10:01 pm  

Dear Owners,

i would like to rent the extra room out in the back of your house.

I'd love to cut you a deal. Let me have it for half price and I won't tell Centrelink that you are earning cash in hand for our rent!

Thanks in advance,
Kathryn

By Blogger The Candid Bandit, at 10:08 pm  

what a great idea, I'm sure that they'd rather make a deal with you than take a chance on an unknown, new renter. Good luck!!

By Blogger Shrinking Girl, at 2:24 am  

I'd say: go for it!

By Blogger Moody, at 3:42 am  

Sounds like a great idea to me - so long as they clear out all the junk!

By Blogger Sue, at 6:39 am  

Since you are already paying for storage, if you can get the extra rooms for close to that price I think it would be worth it. It's a balance between the $ and the ability to have a place you don't have to share so much.

I love Beckies letter :D

By Blogger Margaret, at 8:22 am  

 

stats:

current weight:
76.6 kg

start weight:
110.1 kg

total loss:
33.5 kg

goal weight:
70 kgs

 

measurements:

boobs: 100 cm

waist: 81 cm

hips: 109 cm

thighs: 50 cm

 

Weekly Goal Lifestyle Changing Challenge-A-Rama

Week 1 - Drink more water

Week 2 - Cut out sugary treats

*

my writing blog

previous:

Moving

Decided

Dilemma

Shitty Run

I heart my laptop!

Fun run

Runs and Gatherings

Cold

Tagged

Sunday

archives

July 2003

August 2003

September 2003

November 2003

May 2004

January 2005

February 2005

March 2005

May 2005

June 2005

July 2005

August 2005

September 2005

October 2005

November 2005

December 2005

January 2006

February 2006

March 2006

April 2006

May 2006

June 2006

July 2006

August 2006

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007 Current Posts

 

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?