Lucky!

On this day last year I was experiencing the weirdest day of my life. I had gone to bed pondering the warp speed at which Miss J had turned from 'baby' to five year old and awoke at 4.30am convinced that I was about to ruin her birthday by dying. For nearly a minute I was sure the house would collapse as Canterbury shook with an earthquake of 7.1 on the Richter scale. That was a very long 50 seconds.

Thus began the new post-quake normal. There was no power, barely any communications, and at that point we were clueless as to what would happen next. We were stressed to the max and quite scared. But, lucky to be alive.

I'm sure I've written enough about earthquakes for you to have an idea what we have been through in the last year. There is no point in repeating it all on this day of our Quakeiversary. To summarise: we have had, and continue to have, earthquakes. The earth is doing as it will do and we are just along for the often bumpy ride.

Source

As if to illustrate that nature is just getting on with it, Spring has sprung. 

Further to the natural rhythm of the universe, mothers and grandmothers of Christchurch are today performing the Fathers Day ritual of compulsory-attendance family lunch on the deck. Grandma made her secret recipe rice and mince dish and gooseberry pie. The sun made a cameo appearance (what's that big, shiny thing ???).

Summer fruit!

Gooseberry pie? Hello!

Cider was slurped and the boys hung out and played with heavy machinery. This is my Grandfathers lawn mower. He has a large lawn, but to be honest I'm not sure that the size of the lawn justifies the size of the mower. He'll never give it up though. Boys need toys.

Even nervy little Ginge was 'laxing in the sun. This cat turned up one day with a huge wound on his face. Basically the skin on one side of his face was gone, but it healed. We don't know where he came from or how he got injured (car accident maybe?). However, when he saw Mamasana he clearly realised that his luck had truly arrived. Now her place, is his (luxury, everything a feline could wish for, treated like an egyptian god) place.

All of this hanging with the fam makes me feel warm and full of the lucks, and I'm hoping this will carry over to next week, which needs to be a study fest.  

I hope your weekend is going as well and **Happy Fathers Day** to all the dads, grandads, surrogate dads, stepdads and any other man that delivers a bit of fatherliness in this crazy world. You all deserve a beer. *chink*

Girls rule the world ;)

I'm just not sure what's happening to me lately. I used to be all rough and tough and 'if it doesn't feel like torture then it's not exercise' but lately I'm more about enjoying the process and going with the flow. If I'd rather take to the hills on upper body day, then so be it. Today I am nursing a sore joint in my foot.. long story, but the short version is.. when I was young and angsty, I kicked someone in the arse and broke the joint in my big toe. Now and then it becomes temporarily aggravated and hurts for about a week. I think this time I've done it to myself by prancing around in high heels being especially girly and desirable, making that man see what he was missing.

Therefore, there could be no running today and out came the weights. Near the end of my workout I was feeling the burn in the bicep curl and noted that I'd neglected to remove all of my bling. How very girly. I wonder...should I try some of those training pants with lace up the sides?

In other girly news, I present to you Miss J and her friend 'Cat in the Hat' that lives in one of the toddler rides at the supermarket. Not only is she cute, but I'm beginning to think that she could also be some sort of songwriting savant. It's not like I could possibly be biased or anything.. She's not really cross-eyed either, but is just all crazy about that plastic cat. Don't ask me why. From what I've seen children these days are all working on a whole other level and adults just have to go along and not ask questions.

Here is her first song, written yesterday. I'd just been playing my guitar and she asked me to put it on her lap so she could have a go. Obviously she can't make chords so I put the guitar in open tuning and she strummed and made up a song, just like that. It was so genius that I nearly fell over myself getting a pen to write it down. I think there would have been more verses coming but she gave herself a guitarists injury by spiking her forearm on the string ends. I, and every other guitarist, have done this and it hurts like hell so naturally this caused a sudden disruption of the creative juices. Below may be an example of what 3 year olds think is cool to sing about. The things in their world. It even had a rhyming bit and was tuneful in a toddler+Bob Dylan sort of way.

Once there was a baby
a baby and a ballet class
I think so
and she had a teddy bear
that her mum buyed it
and not something else

Once there was a baby crying
on a Sunday morning
crying waah waah
but she stopped crying
and she looked at the sun
and she goed to her mum.

Sugar and Spice...

I thought little girls were supposed to be all cute and lovely and curls and pink sparkly things? I don't know what I was like at 3 years old, but I'm pretty sure I didn't use words like 'bum-hole' and 'pee-hole' or insist that I want my hair to be 'WILD today, Aunty Sara' (i.e. it shall not be brushed, or tied back or controlled in any manner). Next week I'm expecting her to come home from pre-school with a tongue piercing, on a motorbike. Thank you Sara T, for recommending the starfall alphabet learning site, it was a hit and will undoubtedly add more finesse to her Kiwi/Aussie/American/German accent which comes from home+travel +the wiggles+spongebob+blues clues+hannah montana.

(note to SaraT) Also, the Niece and I surfed your blog together and she asked all sorts of questions about Ethan, some of which I just had to invent answers for. Like, I'm sure you were at the Pumpkin farm because Ethan loves pumpkins and all other veges because in America you mostly eat veges all the time and icecream only on birthdays.

****

Today I am at home for two reasons. 1. It's show day. The factory entrance is directly opposite the entrance to the Agricultural Park and it becomes a confusing traffic jumble with horse-floats and cattle trucks and the ocassional ferris wheel squeezing their way past each other. I looked out the window yesterday about 4pm and observed that the traffic had been stationary for about 15 minutes while some large vehicle tried to perform a contortionist feat to get itself through the gate and decided that no way am I going anywhere near that in my 'no air-con' car on a stinking hot day. 2. I'm SICK. I've had a sore throat for abut two weeks and today my ears hurt too, so I'm a bit sorry for myself and moping around. I'm going to try and fight it off naturally, but if I'm not significantly improved by Monday I'll go to the doctor to be officially told that I've got the latest virus that's going around. There actually IS a nasty lurgy currently doing the rounds, but everyone else seems to have the 'spewing' version. I never get vomit-bugs. I think my stomach is made of teflon or maybe that fancy silicon stuff, but my weak area is my throat and ears and that's where it always gets me but I only get sick if I'm letting myself get stressed out. So, the next four days are about relaxing and vitamin C and veges, and tonights party if I feel up to it. It's just that 'celebrating' time of year. Weight is maintaining, which is a pleasing result considering the dangers of the festive season. My only trick is to avoid alcohol. With a few drinks in me, I lose all decorum and become unreasonably attracted to the 'gorilla balls' dessert at Henry Africas.

Not 'exercising' but TRAINING

Sometimes I really do forget the most basic things and it's nice to be reminded of them by someone more cleverer. ;) A few days ago I read this post, which references an exercise intensity study on Alwyn Cosgroves blog. Alwyn is famous for being a successful fitness coach and also for having beaten lymphatic cancer twice. Maybe it's his experiences with cancer, or maybe it's just his natural style, but he has a very 'straight to the point and no fluffing around' way of approaching fatloss that really appeals to me.

The thing with training is that you can do it in a half-arsed manner and still get some results if your nutrition is good. BUT, it's way more mentally satisfying, and far more exciting on the results front, if you focus your mind and give it some intensity. For me, intensity has always been the key to getting results from my training, but I've let it slide. Injuries, especially my back injuries, made me very cautious in the gym and my training became less effective, then I lost my groove and never really got it back. There's another reason for my groovelessness. An intense training session gives me a mental lift that seems to power me up in other ways, but I'd forgotten about that feeling until I made a decision last week to get my training back on track. I was sitting in the changing rooms having given the stepper 20 minutes of high-intensity hell (it was begging for mercy) and suddenly I felt that clearheaded sense of wellbeing that had been missing from my life. It's been a winding road toward figuring out 'how' to work that hard without injuring myself. In the past, I only knew one way to increase intensity - add more weight. It's no wonder that I was always getting injured. Now I've discovered that it's not all about how much you can 'bench' (or squat, or curl). There are many ways to change it up and make it more difficult - add reps, superset, reduce rest periods, use isometrics (plank for two minutes? arrrgh), or eccentric moves, get more of the body involved (walking lunge with DB press), you can hit stuff, throw stuff or use a sliding device on your foot. I've also discovered that there are a lot of ways to make cardio hurt that don't involve jolting the spine. It's really just a matter of research coupled with innovation and surreptitiously checking out what other people do. And as for duration, I think that if 30-40 minutes isn't enough then the intensity isn't there.

And now for some toilet humour.

Bums are a very hot topic right now at the pre-school that my niece goes to. Bums are the funniest thing ever and need to be mentioned at every opportunity. I also don't know how she figured it out but the Niece has learned that she gets a wonderfully shocked reaction if she says 'touch my bum' or 'x touched my bum' to someone, and therefore, she says it a lot. Obviously we are discouraging this and hoping that the phase will pass quickly. Apparently the whole over 3's department at pre-school (my mum works there) is in bum-mania.

Conversations over the last three days.

She is hiding in the bed covers
"Aunty Sara, can you see me?"
"No, I can't see you my sweet little angel"
"But... can you see my BUM? (hysterical laughter)"

In the car, Jase reaches over to secure her in the child seat
"Aunty Sara, uncle Jase just touched my bum"
(shocked look from Jase)
"No he didn't, I saw him and he didn't touch your bum, did he?"
"I mean, he touched my arm"
Jase: "Do you think she goes around saying 'Uncle Jase touched my bum'?

This morning in bed. She comes in for a cuddle as is usual when she stays the night.
"Aunty Sara, there's wees in my nappy"
"ok, let's change you"
"But first I want you to.... touch my bum, touch my bum, touch my bum... (hysterical laughter and bouncing on the bed)'

Lunchtime, a slight variation
"What would you like for lunch, Miss J?"
"Toast. And.... poooooos!! (hysterical laughter)"

How long does this phase last?

Party 4 of 4!

This year my birthday has stretched out over four celebrations. I feel thoroughly spoiled and quite a bit like I ate too much. The good thing is that between indulgences I've kept myself under control. Maybe I gained a few lbs but it won't be a disaster.

Tonight was my fancy dress party and what a blast! I wanted to be Cleopatra but all the costumes I found were far too big for me and so I settled on a costume that was called the 'Queen of the Nile'. The hardest part was the freaking false eyelashes. I've never worn them before and did actually manage to glue my eyelids together with eyelash glue (I'm sure that's great for the Lasik) before successfully attaching the falsies. Getting them off may also be an interesting expedition. I wonder if I'll take my real eyelashes off with them! Here are some photo's.

Jase

Jo and Caz

Jases sister

Caz (my sister) and Me

Me

The Niece (she settled on a butterfly costume)

My mum

Bruce (mums hubby)

TT day 14, 72 days to go!

Today we had our first playground incident. When I took the niece back to her mum today I felt like I should file a written 'incident report' like they do at daycare! Today it was raining. It was cold. I picked J up this morning and the first thing she said was 'can we go to the playground?'. I explained that it's wet and that the playground things would all be too wet and slippery. She went to bathroom to get a towel and told me 'uncle Jase can dry the slide for us'. Stubborn as only a two year old can be. I deferred all day. We did other stuff, we took my car for a warrant re-test (passed!), we drew pictures, we watched 'Garfield goes live' and then, finally, we went to the playground because she wore me down with sheer toddler persistence. Of course everything was wet, but being the crazy active sort of girl she is, she wanted to go down the big slide. Jase went up the stairs with her and put his camera around my neck - it's a big, professional thing, with a long lens. J came down the slide like a bullet from a gun because it was so wet and super-slippy. I lunged to catch her at the end and the camera connected with her upper lip and there was tears and some blood and a severe case of Aunty guilt. I gave her a hug and said that her mum would give her a special mum kiss to make it better later. She said (in between sobs) 'I want some icecream'. I guess emotional eating kicks in early....

Training

Yesterday, none, just lot's of mad running around the factory warehouse loading boxes onto pallets. That's got to count for something!

Today, Workout B from the Turbulence Training Bodyweight 1000, which includes 20 minutes of interval cardio. Tomorrow is my bodyweight challenge for the week and also my Salsa class. I don't think it's a good idea to put the bodyweight challenge a day after Workout B because the bodyweight challenges are killer, but that is just the way it worked out this week. Next week I'll be more organised.

Eating

Yesterday
1. Oatbran and eggwhites, berries, 5g omega 3
2. Chicken cooked with tomatoes, leeks, mushrooms and white kidney beans, salad
3. Green omlette with laughing cow cheese
4. 10% meal Roast lamb, salad, green veges, dessert (which was a little chocolate and a massive caramel/chocolate dessert), wine
5. Banana, laughing cow cheese

Today
1. Oatbran, eggwhites, berries, a little milk
2. Green omlette, 2 x laughing cow lite wedges, salsa, 5g omega 3
3. 'Zoneperfect' bar, apple
4. almonds, hazelnuts, 1/2 small orange, cottage cheese
5. Kumara topped with mince (see dinnercam above - the kumara is under the mince/beans) and mixed chilli beans cooked with tomatoes, mushrooms and onions. Broccoli with tzatziki sauce, rocket salad, glass of wine (ok.. more like 1.5 glasses, it's Saturday night)

I'm not sure whether I should be concerned that I seem to have swapped daily chocolate consumption for daily wine consumption! At the moment I am finding it a nice, relaxing thing at the end of my currently stressful days and it is certainly less damaging, calorie-wise than chocolate. I'll endeavour to keep it to one small glass a day, aim for several wine-free days a week and see how I progress. It's the results that count.

Breaking through!

Those of you paying close attention will realise that I've just started my Turbulence Training Breakthrough Challenge. With true competitive spirit I embarked on a one day fattening up campaign so that I'd be all bloated for my before shot. Then I hitched my shorts up to the fattest part so that I got a decent amount of overhang. I just saw the photo's and I do indeed look both pasty and fat, which are the two main requirements for a 'before' pic. Success!
Will I be posting those here on my blog?? Maybe, but only once I've got an 'after' pic that I'm proud of, otherwise you'll just have nightmares.

I'm on day three and so far I've not managed a single training session. Well, I did have a lot of incidental activity. On day one I did about 400 squats while I was picking up bottles from low crates and putting them on the labelling machine. I don't usually work in production, but it was an emergency order that was finished at midnight and on a plane at 7am the next day, so it was a case of all hands on deck. Now I know why none of our production staff are fat. Day two I walked up a hill carrying a 15kg weight. I was called upon for Aunty duty at short notice and the niece decided that she wanted to go for a long walk to feed the ducks because "it's winter Aunty Sara, and the ducks are cold and hungry". I guess they are learning about winter at pre-school. I did not have a jacket for her so I put her in one of my fleecy hooded tops which came down to her knees. Then I rolled up the sleeves and secured the hood on her head and the whole effect was cute overload. On the way back we had a tantrum at the bottom of the hill because her legs were tired and I, being superwoman, was expected to cart the toddler and all her finds up the hill. The findings were all sorts of things that she discovered along the path, including, but not limited to, a large toy motorbike with the back wheel missing. I'm too soft.

Today is my mums wedding anniversary AND her husbands birthday but I am determined to squeeze in the Bodyweight 1000 Workout A before I go to their celebration dinner. Last challenge I counted calories. I entered my food into a spreadsheet every single day and now, after all that effort designing my spreadsheet and weighing my chickpeas, I find I just do not care about that anymore. I'm sooooo over it, plus I know what to eat and what a regular day should look like, feel like. I'm in tune with my calories. I can sit down and in 5 minutes write down a days eating that would equal almost exactly 1700 calories, or 2000 or 1300 or whatever. I tested myself and was only 20 calories out. This challenge I am eating 'Meditteranean' style - lots of fruit and veg, low GI carbs, lean protein, good fats, yogurt, spices, some red wine and chocolate. I'll also be continuing my Eat-Stop-Eat mini-fasts once or twice a week. This new approach has made my meals more interesting already. I can throw in a few nuts, crumble a little feta cheese, drizzle some olive oil, take a few bites of something without having to use up valuable brain space trying to figure out if the piece of feta I just squeezed off the block is 10g or 20g, and is that brand of feta similar in calories and fat to the one that I usually use? I am going to weigh myself a bit more regularly though, because I know also that I do tend to get a bit lax with the cheese and red wine if I don't have some form of accountability. I'll keep you all posted with my progress.

My special one

One thing I never considered, before becoming an Aunty, was how much my behaviours would regress to childhood just by being around a child. I took her to a bookshop the other day and she found a book called 'Walter the Farting Dog' (seriously). Although it was an intriguing book, with a riveting storyline, I was doing my best to get her to swap it for something that wouldn't get me in trouble, like fairy princesses or ponies. I went to take it from her and she clasped it to her chest, put a painfully earnest expression on her small face and said, with complete sincerity 'but this is my special one.' Gah! How do you compete with that?? I'm such a pushover. The girl has learned that tantrums don't work and now she has developed superior manipulation skills. It's really quite fightening.

So, you'll understand my behaviour when Jase walked in bearing a package for me, from Kek, who knows me very well and is obviously karmically connected to my deeper soul. I bounced around a bit, grabbed the parcel, clasped it to myself, whispered 'my special ones' and hid it somewhere very private. 

What was it? Only a box of the best chocolates in the universe from Koko Black. As I've moved away from compulsive eating and toward a more relaxed and aware attitude with food, I have become a real snob with treats. If I'm going to eat a calorie bomb it had better be well worth those calories. Those carefully crafted calories had better be more than fantastic and be placed into their box by polite ladies wearing velvet gloves, like at Koko Black. 

Has anyone here seen 'Ratatouille'? I'm like the food critic... "If I don't love it, I don't.. sssswallow'. My special chocolates also came with instructions to eat one a day for he best curative effect. It's working! My vision is improving daily. I really think that it's to do with my eye muscles doing something new. Like any muscle, they ache when learning a new movement and get weak when fatigued. Today I was practicing and got really good long distance vision, which temporarily caused my short distance vision to crap out. The change of pace, from looking at close things, to mid-distance, to long distance takes a little bit of adjustment - about 15 minutes. I can actually get good vision at any distance but not quickly and when I'm tired it all goes slightly fuzzy. However, it's all quite promising and I've still got four chocolates to go. I'm saving the walnut one (my very special one) for last.