Rich woman/Poor woman :)

For a fleeting moment we were rich!! lol ... Our house has all gone through and the surplus $35,000 went into our bank account. But tonight I have transfered it all over to another account to pay off our debts, leaving us with just over $1000. On one hand it's sad that we only have a $1000 left over but on the other hand we have cleared all our debt and paid our builders their first $17,000 deposit (still have the remainder $17,000 to save). It's all good and we are progressing :) After next week we will have just under $3,000 saved!! wahoo!! $14,000 to go!

Bill turned up unexpectedly last night for a suprise visit! :)) He had in hand a cake with "happy sale" and a picture of a house on it! What a sweetie!! He arrived just before midnight and had to leave at 6.30am to get back to work in time but was definately worth the visit! I miss him heaps!!

Today was pretty uneventful. Took the day off work and just potted around the house and caught up on some sleep. Eating wise ... did okay .. not great. Ended up having 3 pieces of cake throughout the day but left the rest at mum's for them to finish it off. Had a roast dinner tonight with mum and dad. Mum cooked the meat (very high fat) and I did the veges. Of course they were done low fat and dad complained about them but oh well I don't care, at least I kept it low in points for me ... hehe!

Busy day tomorrow. Off to Auckland to do a business consultation. My sister is looking after the kids so gives me a good chance to get out of the house and kid free for a few hours. Then Monday is another busy day with erands to do in town.

Not much else to say.
Update on Monday.
Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 83.9kg
GW 65kg

Big congrats to Lynda ... she's almost at goal!! wahoo!! That is so exciting for me because she started at the beginning of the year at what I am now ... so I just have to do what she has done and I too will nearly be at goal! :) Goooo Lynda!!

Leigh is also doing really well! With another loss this week! Great going girl!

damn viruses >:(

I'm still here :) The last few days have been alot better. I haven't been able to update my journal or read my fav's because my brand new computer got stung with the 'msblast' virus. I've spent the last two days (with the help of my cousin) trying to rid myself of it. It's a nasty one. Apparently it doesn't come through emails or websites just comes through with an internet connection. It apparently randomly chooses ISP addresses and fires off attacks every 20 seconds and when it finds an active ISP address it installs itself and starts sending out random attacks from that computer. It's apparently the biggest virus attack ever!! I hadn't been able to load my Norton's onto my new computer because of technical difficulties and while I wasn't protected I got stung. Murphy's law huh? :) Lucky thing is it is removable and doesn't really do any long term damage ... just annoying.

With my computer being out of action for the last couple of days has put me way behind in work, but things could be worse. At least that keeps my brain busy and stops me getting bored.

I didn't manage to get to ww last night (the first meeting I have missed since I started in January). We were doing all the formalities for our house sale (solicitor and real estate agent stuff)

My eating has been pretty good (sticking to around 18-19pts per day) although I haven't physically tracked (just mentally calculated it up) But my exercise has been virtually nil since we got here. Could be worse. I'll be back to my ww meeting next wednesday. My wedding rings still feel pretty lose so can't have done too badly.

Thanks for everyone's support!! It's fantastic to have such a strong support structure on here. You guys are awesome! I'm not going anywhere... I will have bad days .. but ultimately it won't stop me reaching my goal!

I got through my tax refund today of $905!! wahoo!! That will go to paying off my business overdraft and give me a couple of extra hundred to go into the house fund. Big load off my shoulders!

Loving my new computer!! I have gone with Windows XP this time and it's fantastic! No way near as bad as everyone warned me it would be. I haven't had to update any programmes. Just my norton's has given me a few hassles but still fixable. Very much worth it!

Well early night for me I think. Kids are all sick at the moment still so that has warn me out. So far (touch wood) I'm still healthy :)

Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 83.9kg
GW 65kg

It's not good

I'm really not coping well at all. I'm on the verge of tears all the time. Sorry to be such a drain on you guys, but I feel this is my only lifeline at the moment. Missing Bill sooo bad and he's only been gone not even one whole day.

Everyone was great who helped us shift, but now they have all gone home and I am here by myself. Jesurun was up all night last night with a bad cough that at one stage turned into an asthma attack so not having any sleep doesn't help with the emotions either.

Mum offered to come and look after the younger two while I took Lauren and Malachi down to their new school. Trouble was the principal there took absolutely ages explain everything so by the time I got back home again it was 9.45am. Mum was really annoyed (and understandably too) but I just couldn't do anything about it. Normally I would cope with this and flog it off as 'just her' but today I couldn't take it. I didn't react at all infront of her, just apologised. But as soon as she left I burst into tears. Don't know why I'm so crazy at the moment. PMS is here as well (great timing I know) I really don't like being like this and I'm beginning to wonder if we have done the right thing. I just want Bill back here. I can't even ring him. Apparently he left work unexpectedly this morning (I'm guessing for a sleep at the old house) and there is no phone on there. Besides I don't want to worry him because he knows how being apart from him down here is going to effect me emotionally and right now he needs to concentrate on work to get his 70hrs in a week (otherwise we won't get our deposit saved in time). The last thing he needs is to travel down here because I'm not coping.

My eating has gone out the window as expected. That's one thing I just cannot deal with. Or more like one thing I can take off my plate to not have to deal with. I'm not binging or comfort eating or anything like that but there is no way I can deal with counting points or tracking.

Sometimes I just wish I could press a button and all my emotions would go away. Thought I had worked myself up to being able to get through this. Admittedly it's only day one, I just feel really alone and in very unfamilier surroundings. Craving for a cigerette but would never live it down if mum and dad caught me so for now I'll just have to hold off and cope!!

Sorry it wasn't better news for everyone to read. Really didn't want to write such negative things here today but I think I need to be honest with you guys and myself.

I'M HOMMMMMESICKKKKKK :( Hope tomorrow is better.

Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 83.9kg
GW 65kg

Fell back into some bad habits :(

The tagboard below is still down :( Sorry if anyone was wanting to leave any messages. Very frustrating! But feel free to put any comments in my guestbook or send me an email (I LOOOOOVE getting emails :)

Only 2 days to go before the big move. Up until yesterday I thought I was coping rather well with everything. Yesterday I got overstressed (probably something to do with TOM arriving soon) There's just so much going on and I wasn't coping with the fact that soon I wouldn't have Bill around much. Sadly I reverted back to comfort eating. Sitting home by myself infront of the telly last night (Bill worked late) I just couldn't stop myself. I devoured the remainder of the cooked chicken and the rest of the icecream in the tub. Lucky I stopped myself after that. And lucky there actually wasn't much chicken left nor icecream for that matter either... but the point is that I still did it. I haven't comfort ate in a very long time. Thought I was over that ... hmmm ... maybe not. Not going to let it get to me too much cuz I know all the stress there is around here at the moment. It's just a momentary lapse and I'm back on track today.

Having a few hiccups with my new computer (I'm back on the old one today) Outlook Express isn't working properly. Everytime I go to reply to an email it tells me there isn't enough memory. Which I know isn't true (I have 40GB of hardrive and 1GB of RAM) I'm just going to leave it now till I get to Hamilton and get my cousin to look at it (he's a computer programmer who'll be living next door... handy huh?)

Off to the bank today to open our new accounts. We've changed banks with this new house mortgage. That's exciting in itself :)

Not much else to report ... it's the kids last day of school today and they seem quite excited. Glad to see they're not too sad.

Probably won't get to update again till Monday at our new place. Till then ... WISH ME ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD I CERTAINLY NEED IT!! lol

Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 83.9kg
GW 65kg

wahooo another loss :o)

***UPDATE*** I AM CURRENTLY TYPING THIS FROM MY BRAND NEW FLASHAS COMPUTER!!! YAY!!! I HAVE IT GOING WAHOOOOO!!***UPDATE***

Yay ... a 200g loss!! Very happy result! I'm not expecting huge losses in this part of my journey, but as long as I can maintain the losses I have been getting and keep this weight off then I'm a happy camper.

Considering I did very little exercise this last week and the KFC and chips on the weekend I'm very happy. I've noticed my attitude changing in regards to takeaway food. I used to get as much in as possible because I knew it would be gone and growing up in a family of 6 people you always dug in first to get the most or you missed out. (well not really, but felt like that as a kid lol) ... now I'm finding I subconsously ask myself ... "do I really need this?" "how many points is this going to cost me?" HUGE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!!

My computer arrived yesterday, but I'm finding it frustrating already. I thought both computers (the old one and the new one) had network cards, meaning I could just put a cord between them to transfer data from the old to the new. But from what I can see the old one doesn't. Grrrr ... this makes it alot trickier. The old one doesnt have a CD writer either ... just a ZIP disk ... the new one has a CD writer but doesnt have a zip disk. My brother in law has a thingee he can plug in the back and transfer files over but it means I'll have to wait till I get to Hamilton before I can use my new puter :( I even tried to get an internet connection on it and apparently it doesnt have a modem!! Grrrrr ... I presumed modems in computers were standard ... aparently not!! So I have organised for a modem to be brought out but it's all delays.

So guess I'll put it all back in boxes and wait till I get to Hamilton.

Not much else to chat about today ... hope the weather clears up before the weekend. Better get back to it I guess :)

Lyn :o)
SW 107.4kg
CW 83.9kg
GW 65kg

Bad dreams

Woke up with a horrible dream early this morning. Dreamt I had been robbed by the mongrel mob... they had taken everything we owned. The weird thing was there were males and females and even kids, there were all in on it together. They took me hostage and made me go in with them to an armed robbery. It was a horrible feeling of knowing I might be part of a murder and couldn't do anything about it. There was a real sence of terror in the dream.

I believe that dreams mean things. Not that I am saying they will come true but that they speak of how the subconcious mind is thinking. This is probably true for me. Although I am excited about this move there is a sence of being swept away with the current, being out of control, being forced to do things I don't feel comfortable with ... like giving up smoking for a start (this is a good thing but something I am scared about). Then there's the nervousness about living next door to mum and dad, knowing I'm going to miss Bill (he was nowhere in the dream) and finally the stress of needing to save $17,000 in 5mths. I am ultimately excited about what we are doing but nervous and scared all the same (does this make sense?)

Eating for yesterday ...

BREAKFAST - cereal bar 1.5pts
LUNCH - soup 1pt, bread 4pts
SNACK - 50g Rix chips 3pts
DINNER - potato 0.5pt, chicken 2pts, pasta 2.5pts, cheese 2pts, milk 0.5pts, sachet 0.5pt, veges 0pts
SNACK - sushi 2.5pts, surimi seafood 2pts
DRINKS - wine 1pt
LATE SNACK - nesquik with trim milk 1pt

Total ... 22pts/22pts
Saved ... none
Total saved ... -2pts
Water ... 2 glasses

My eating for yesterday was really good up until after dinner. Although I didn't go over points but ate quite late at night. Bill brought home sushi and surimi so meant I didn't save my required 2pts to be OP for the week. Think I should still be okay for a loss tonight ... I hope :)

Went for a cheeky peek on the scales this morning (becoming a Wednesday morning habit) ... but bugger ... I had packed the scales lol. Will teach me for being so organised :) So will just have to wait for tonight to find out how I have done this week.

Started to organise the changeover of power, phone, insurance etc yesterday. It took me from 2.30pm to 5pm!! to organise just the power and phone!!! I was on the phone for 2 and a half hours!!! The power has been a real headache. We are moving to a rural address and they normally work out what house you are by the ICP number but because we are not there yet we don't have the ICP number. And mum didn't know what it was. Our address is just the Road name, RD# and City ... there's no street numbers, so no way of telling exactly what house to connect the power to. Crazy setup!! I ended up sorting it out but after alot of phone calls to different people going back and forth. I don't know how others do it that don't have family living next door. Anyway it's all done and organised now. That's 3 things crossed off the list ... just 12 to go!!! lol

Have got mostly everything packed now. Just 1 more box in the kitchen which I will do on Saturday and all the clothes and furniture.

Was supposed to be going on a class trip with Malachi (5) today. But after ringing the school this morning they told me they have a full bus and no room for Jordan (3) and Jese (1). He is going to be so disappointed I don't turn up. It's pouring with rain and I have my computer turning up today (well so they say, believe it when I see it) but I still feel bad for him.

There is a guy at Bill's work who is working to save money to bring his family over from Pakastan. He's been here a year already to save enough and his family has just arrived in NZ. We helped him out a little with giving him some things we didn't need anymore, like kids toys, clothing and a spare dining table and mattress we had (not much) and Bill came home with a whole bag of gifts from them last night. Included was an amazing dressing gown, hand made by his wife!! It has embroidery down the front panels, around the sleeves, on the pockets, down the back and on the ties. It's just beautiful!! And made out of a wool based fabric, so warm and cosy!! I was blown away! And also there's a sheet set with pillow cases (also embroidered!!), a woollen jersey for Bill and a pair of gold earings. That's just too much ... wow!! We didn't do anything amazing to deserve such generousity ... just gave some things we didn't need to a good cause. Warm fuzzies all round :)

Last ww meeting tonight, it's going to be a bit sad. I've come to know alot of people there really well and I'll miss them all greatly... but I'll be back ... and hopefully when I come back I'll be at my ww goal :) (71kg)

That's about it here... I'll update tonight (or first thing tomorrow with weighin results)

Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 84.1kg
GW 65kg

Another day tracked :)

Pretty uneventful day here. Still didn't get into any more packing yesterday. Everytime I think my business work is all finished something else comes up. Think I'm just gonna have to ignore the business and get onto the house for a bit. I really don't know where to start. I need someone to be here to organise me lol.

My eating went very well yesterday. I even managed to ward off a craving for something sweet after dinner last night. I felt like I was coming down with the flu ... all achy and sinuses blocking up, but this morning it seems to have gone again, just as well.

Eating for yesterday ...

BREAKFAST - cereal 1.5pts, milk 0.5pt
LUNCH - soup 1pt, bread 5pts, coleslaw 2.5pts
SNACK - snakatas 1pt
DINNER - steak 3pts, potatoes 1.5pts, caulibake 1pt, coleslaw 1.5pts, mixed veges 0pts
SNACK - hot nesquik 0.5pt

Total ... 19pts/22pts
Saved ... 3pts
Total saved -2pts
Water ... 2 glasses

Good luck on getting the finance Leigh ... I know EXACTLY how you feel ... everything seems to take soooo long in the house selling/buying process. Got everything crossed for you! :)

My computer didn't turn up yesterday as predicted. I've told them if I don't have it by Friday they will be delivering it to Hamilton! That should get them moving :)

Weigh in tomorrow night and I really don't know what to expect this week. My body feels like it's in for a small loss ... nothing major. Just have to wait and see I guess.

Well 5 days before we move out of here so better get on with some packing.

Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 84.1kg
GW 65kg

Feeling a little nervous

I'm over the whole mongrel mob thing (see previous entry). Figure if I can't change it then why worry about it. Just feeling relieved that we are moving out.

One week to go before move out day. I have got so much to do. Not too worried about all the packing, that's all pretty straight forward stuff ... but it's the organising of everything ... like phone, power, insurance, change of address, redirection of mail and the list goes on. Just hope I don't forget anything.

Mum's birthday surprise was a real hit. We all had a good time. Think I went a little overboard in points but not going to worry about it too much as I watched what I ate, and didn't have very big portions. The lunch was actually very healthy, but it was the birthday cake (which I shared with Jese), the hot choccy, and then KFC for dinner (ohh and hot chips as well) I only had one piece of chicken and took the skin off but I just couldnt stop myself with the chips, they smelt sooo good lol. All up I have calculated 33pts for the day ... could have been worse. I had 4pts saved and 2 bonus points saved so that leaves an extra of 5pts ... I can work that back over the next two days no probs ... so I guess it was a success ... yay!

Glad to hear Lynda had a great weekend away!! It's been so long since I went on a plane ... might be time to get those wings dusted off ... hehehe :) First things first tho ... get into our new home then think about something like that.

Talking about the big move next weekend, I'm feeling rather nervous at the moment. I have been fine with it all up until yesterday. Had a look through our new house (the one in Hamilton) yesterday and given that we have lived there before (about 8yrs ago) it's pretty bizarre. Still exactly the same (even some of the hooks we put up are still there) ... I guess I'm just sad that I will be there alone with the kids this time, without Bill. I'm going to miss him so badly!! Enough talk about that ... you're getting me all emotional now lol.

Just have to take it one day at a time and focus on the reward in the end (our newly built house). I am so relieved that Bill is living with an elderly aunt. I think she will take very good care of him for me ... much more than a flatmate would :)

The business work is all out of the way now ... finally I can concentrate on the house and packing. For today I have washing, washing and more washing on the agenda. I've got really behind lately. Catchup day ... then I can concentrate on packing Tues-Friday ... then clean on Saturday ... well that's the big plan.

My computer is 'supposed' to turn up today. Not getting my hopes up.

Well got tonnes to get on with ... catch ya later!
Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 84.1kg
GW 65kg

Mongrel Mob scare

Went for an hours walk this morning and ate well yesterday. Still feeling inspired and motivated.

Eating for yesterday ...

BREAKFAST - cereal 1.5pts, banana 1pt, milk 0.5pt
SNACK - cereal bar 1.5pts
LUNCH - soup 1pt, bread 3pts
SNACK - 50g snakatas 3pts, Apple 0.5pts
DINNER - smoked chicken 2.5pts, pasta 2.5pts, milk 0.5pt, creamed corn 1pt, veges 0pts
SNACK - lite icecream 2pts, banana 1pt

Total ... 21.5pts/22pts
Saved ... 0.5pts
Total saved ... 3pts
Water ... 1 glass
Exercise ... none

On my way out for my walk this morning a car stopped with a big tattooed maori in it. He asked me who bought our house. And told him a lady from the city but that I didn't know her name. He said "you know the 'dogs' are moving in down here ay?" "The who?" I asked "The Mongrel Mob. They've just bought a house down here and one around the corner too". The lady that bought our house also bought one around the corner ... saying they were rentals. When she turned up I was surpised at the 'bommy' car she had considering she was so well off to buy investment properties, and when she looked through the property she didn't seem to really care about it, only taking a few minutes to have a quick look around. We were originally really surprised when she made an offer because of her lack of interest in it. But we shrugged it off. Now looking back on it things are starting to fit in place. The mongrel mob wouldn't come and look at a place to buy themselves they would send someone else in, because sellers wouldn't sell to someone if they knew they were tied in with a gang. Who better than a single white female? And a week after the offer was accepted a car load of maoris came and were looking very closely at the property. Originally I just thought they were potential tenants, but looking back on it now they were probably the buyers. Bill thinks I am crazy and that the guy was just probably trying to scare me. But as I said to him ... why would anyone do that? It doesn't scare me ... it makes me glad that we are moving out (even if they haven't bought our house but another in the street) But I'll be sad if our house has been sold to a gang... this was our first home and one we saved very hard for to get. I also feel sad for our neighbours over the back. This is a half site of theirs and they are a sweet elderly couple who are very nervous as to who their new neighbours are going to be. Parts of me wants to tell them so they have a chance to put their house on the market and sell to get out before the gang moves into the area and pulls the value of the houses down. But Bill reckons it will just give them a horrible scare and after all it may not be true. I don't really know what to do here... any suggestions??

The other thought I had was maybe they haven't infact bought but are renting here and have moved into this house as a tenant. Bill said that from what he has noticed of Mongrel Mob houses they don't usually buy but rent so they can trash it and move out again. Which makes sence too ... although still doesn't change the problem.

The other scary thing is that maybe they are moving into the area to 'spy' the suberb out for burglaries. Our new house is only 15mins walk down the road. Maybe I'm just getting paranoid for nothing. Not that there's alot we can do about it anyway... what do you think? Why would someone say that unless it was true?

Interesting ...

Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 84.1kg
GW 65kg

Bring it on!!

I was a very good girl all day yesterday! :) I feel in control again. A friend at ww was saying how bizarre it is ... when we have a loss we get inspired to have a bigger loss the next week but when we have a gain it takes away all motivation to keep going... well for me anyhow.

I even managed to save a few points to spend this weekend.

Here it is ...

BREAKFAST - cereal 1.5pts, milk 0.5pt, large banana 1.5pts
SNACK - Apple 0.5pt
LUNCH - soup 1pt, bread 4pts
SNACK - rice cakes 2pts
DINNER - pasta noodles 5pts, stirfry sauce 2.5pts, meat 1pt, veges 0pts

Total 19.5pts/22pts
Saved ... 2.5pts
Total saved ... 2.5pts
Water ... 2 glasses
Exercise ... none


I have my last set of stationery due out today before we move. Then I should have the whole week next week to pack. I finally feel like I'm catching up on everything. Huge sence of relief!

Remember how I said it was mum's birthday yesterday? And you guys know I remembered right? I even remembered during the day and tried ringing mum but no one was home. Then I remembered again at 9.45pm last night but knew it was too late to ring then (they go to bed early). So first thing this morning I rang her to wish her happy birthday. She made such a big deal about the fact that I was the only one in the family that FORGOT!! I didn't forget!! I tried to tell her this but the more I tried to explain the more she made me feel like shit for 'forgetting' ... even tho I know I didn't forget!! Damn I hate the way she makes me feel at times!!! Oh well .... seems I just can't win with her and doomed to be the 'useless' one of the family.

But I'm not letting her get to me today!! I am in such an inspired mood and no mother is going to take that away from me.

I'm in for another good day of tracking and eating well!!
Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 84.1kg
GW 65kg

yeah, yeah I know!! lol

OK I'M A DICK!!! I know lol ... All that worry and stress for nothing :)

I had a 100g loss!! at weighin last night. Over the moon :) Big thankyou to Kate for your wise and kind comment below. Her along with the people from SFL forum all made me put my stresses in perspective and helped me get back on track motivation wise. I don't know why I get like that at times ... after everything I have achieved. I have to focus less on what the scales say each week and focus more on the huge achievements I have made already.

Here's the pointers I'm going to use this week to help me stay focused and motivated ...

1. Get out my tracker!!! And track, track, track!
2. Get out the camera and TAKE THOSE PHOTOS!!
3. Reward myself (the last two mini goals I never actual got for myself)
4. Take up a new sport/exercise (after the half marathon finishing I just felt at a loss with a 'now what' feeling.
5. Not punish myself so much with not drinking my water. Take my goal down from 6 glasses to 3 glasses per day during winter. Then at least I am drinking something instead of nothing.

Hopefully with these few things I can get my motivation back. I feel it already starting to build today.

Congrats to Leigh!!!! Wonderful loss girl!! I'm so proud of you and you have been a big help this week in getting me back on track too ... THANKYOU!! :)

I have my last week at my current ww meeting next week. So nice to know I'm really going to be missed. My leader said that when I come back in February I will have a job waiting for me ... YAY!! (I'm a weigher there) I just have to hope I can get something similar in Hamilton to help pay for the meetings there. I have a mini goal I have set for myself that I want to be at my ww goal weight of 71kg by the time I return to Auckland in February. That's 12.9kg to go in 24wks ... very do-able but a challenge all the same :)

There is a lady and her daughter I have got to know at my ww meeting. The daughter is a little younger than me (early 20's) And they are both doing really well!! The mother asked me last night if I was moving to Wattle Cove as they are also moving there at the end of September. Where abouts? I asked ... Ummm ... Ashkirk Place ... OMG!! That's where we are building too!! Turns out they are 2 doors down on the same side of the road as us!!! How cool is that??? Means I already know someone in the same street as us!! And out of all the possible people moving next to us I couldn't have chosen anyone nicer!! Yay!!

As I told you yesterday it was Bill's 30th birthday yesterday. I had put a roast in the oven (healthy one) before I left for ww. And told him it would be ready to eat at 5pm. When I got home from ww at 7.45pm the kids were in bed, the house was immaculate, and there our dinner was on the table set for two including candles and a bottle of wine!! Awww he is just so precious!! He had cleaned the house, got the kids in bed and set the table for us by the time I got home ... AND IT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY NOT MINE LOL. So we sat down to eat our dinner in wonderful surroundings, then he pulled out some sushi and lunchpack seafood after dinner (my alltime favourite!) What a darling!! So we sat and watched Australian Idol eating sushi and sipping on wine :)

I then told him about his birthday present ... an all expenses paid weekend deepsea fishing off Great Barrier Island. He was over the moon!! I did the right thing ... yay!! I told him that it wasn't until March next year and that we would pay for it after we had saved this extra $17,000. He was very happy with that as it meant there was no extra pressure financially and it was exactly what he wanted. I'm actually going to try and pay for it with the business funds ...hopefully :)

Mum's 60th birthday today. We have a party to go to for her on Sunday at a Karapiro Boat Shed Cafe. Sounds really nice and a surprise for her (as she also didn't want anything done for it). Think I might save up a few points each day for this.

All us 4 kids have gone together and shouted her and dad to a weekend away to Hotel du Vin in Hunua just south of Auckland. It's an elite hotel with a golf course, vineyards, restaurant and parklike settings. Their voucher includes Breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as their room. Hope she likes it :)

My computer didn't turn up on Monday, Tuesday or yesterday ... grrrrrrr :( ... will get back onto them today!! They are so slack!!

Start of a new day today and feeling very good about it!!

Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 84.1kg
GW 65kg

Warning: Bad vibes below

Not much to update with today... not feeling the best. I know my weigh in results tonight are not going to be good. I haven't had any blowouts this week, but have been a few points over everyday. I've totally lost it!! Can't figure out why or what I need to do to get back into it again. It's just not happening, as much as I want it to.

Figure it's something to do with stresses round here at the moment with packing and trying to organise everything for the shift. Not coping very well :(

It's Bill's birthday today ... he's the big 30! And he doesn't want me to do anything for it, doesnt even want a birthday present. I feel guilty if I get one for him as we can't afford it, and guilty if I don't ... who doesn't celebrate their 30th without even a pressie???

Not going to bore you with the rest of my worries... sorry to be so depressive.

I'll update later tonight with the bad weighin news.

Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 84.2kg (enjoy it while it lasts)
GW 65kg

Where has the time gone??

Had a wonderful weekend with Bill home all weekend!! Made a nice change :) Went grocery shopping yesterday morning to finally stock up my empty pantry. Made the mistake of shopping on an empty stomach and probably bought a little too much! lol

Treated ourselves to smoked chicken and apricot pizzas for lunch ...YUMM!! Although probably pretty high in points. But the problem was it was too rich for my tummy so paid for it for the rest of the afternoon/evening. Once upon a time I used to be able to eat anything, now things that are too fatty or rich my stomach just can't handle.

We are shifting in just under 2wks!!! Packing has not really happened yet. I've done all the ornaments and things we don't use, the kitchen bowls/appliances I don't use often and all the crockery bar 5 or 6 of each. I'm still trying to get all my work out of the way so I can get into packing a little more furotiously, but the work still piles in, there just doesn't seem to be an end in sight yet.

Next weekend is taken up with Mum's 60th birthday surprise party in Hamilton, then we shift the next weekend after that. Where has all the time gone? Time's fast running out!!

Went out to Waiuku to Bill's aunty's yesterday afternoon. She's the lady that's offered board for Bill during the week. It's 30mins travel from her place to Bill's work, so not too bad. She seems really nice and I think it will workout well.

I didn't track yesterday, just got too busy and then after I had eaten the pizza (only 2 pieces) didn't want to know what the points were lol.

Can't remember if I told you before this or not, but the carpet we have chosen, we got a sample of it the other day and it's not the same colour we remembered choosing. It's really grey, not dark blue like we thought. I'm feeling a little uneasy about it. I have nothing against grey, but our walls are fawn and burgandy brown with creme trim. Blue would have matched much better. I think we can still change it but I don't remember anything that was closer in colour. The only other blue they had was a real bright blue and we don't want that. We wanted a real dark midnight blue. I'm going to go down to the builder's office and take a look again. I was saying to Bill yesterday that if a client of mine was as picky as me I would be pulling my hair out by now. I must be a terrible client for them lol. I guess with working with colours/design all day makes me picky. I want to get it exactly right. My perfectionism coming out I guess. Frustrating for them I know, but I need to be sure.

Not much else happening (not that I need anything else to happen lol)

Lyn :)

Boring day ... oh so nice!! :)

I spent yesterday afternoon and evening doing not much and it was soooo nice :) After the few stressful days before.

Not much happening today either. Might have my cousin and his wife stop in for a coffee sometime today, but that's about it. Bill is working till late tonight. Spent the morning catching up on some housework that has been ignored the last week.

Eating for yesterday ...

BREAKFAST - Cereal 2pts, milk 0.5pt
SNACK - Apple 0.5pt, lollies 0.5pt
LUNCH - Apple 0.5pt
DINNER - Pasta 5pts, cheese 6pts, milk 2pts, flour 0.5pt, oil 0.5pt, veges 0pts
DRINKS - wine 5.5pts

Total ... 23.5pts/22pts
Saved ... -1.5pts
Total saved ... 3pts
Water ... none
Exercise ... none

Not doing very well in the water and exercise department at the moment. Just so hard when it's wet, cold and being so busy with work. If it was just me I would go out no matter what the weather but with having kids I just can't.

Gonna get into some more packing today so maybe that might earn me some bonus points.

Great to hear Jo has sold her house already. Her settlement date is exactly the same as ours ... 29th August ... how bizarre is that?? Although we actually move out a few days before on the 24th August, because that is the only day we can get the truck.

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful encouragements with my half marathon and weight loss this week! It really helps keep the spirits up and motivate me to keep plodding on. *Hugs all round!!*

Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 84.2kg
GW 65kg

New Computer :))

I finally got that set of stationery finished today ... wow what a big job!! It's a triange set that folds from a circle ... hard to explain on here, but a real stunner when it's finished. And an original shape that I came up with myself. The only problem being there is a lot of hand cutting (all the circles) to be done. And this one was 70 invites, envelopes, rsvp cards, and rsvp envelopes. Just glad it's all finished and on the courier to the client!

Still got another 2 sets to have out before we shift on the 24th August. Taking a breather this afternoon before I get onto the next set tommorow.

Eating for yesterday ...

BREAKFAST - cereal 3pts, milk 0.5pt
SNACK - Cereal bar 2pts
LUNCH - Apple 0.5pt
SNACK - lollies (whoops) 2pts
DINNER - pasta 2.5pts, sachet 1pt, chicken 4pts, veges 0pts

Total ... 15.5pts/22pts
Saved ... 4pts
Total saved ... 4.5pts
Water ... 3 glasses
Exercise ... none (too busy)
Total bonus points ... none

I get my new computer on Monday ... yay!! The current one I use has 128MB RAM and 4GB Hard drive. And my new one has 1024MB RAM and 40GB Hard drive!! Wahooo!! I won't know myself! Can't wait. As it is now I keep running out of hard drive space so I can only run one program at a time and even then it keeps crashing on me. I also get a new Epson A3 2880dpi printer!! Wahooo!! and a new Epson scanner. Like all my christmas's at once :)

I'm going with Windows 2000 instead of Windows XP on the new machine. I have heard so many bad stories about the XP version. And I've been told all my graphic programs won't work on it unless I upgrade them all (which would cost around $2000!) So hoping Windows 2000 will be better ... fingers crossed.

I'm refusing to pay the $112 per hour they charge to install it all for me so with the help of my sister (who works with computers) we are going to try doing it ourselves (scrooge huh? lol) So there may be a few hiccups along the way, hense I may not be here on Monday.

Off to read everyone's journals now...
Take care everyone!
Lyn :)

SW 107.4kg
CW 84.2kg
GW 65kg

Very happy with myself :)

Yay 1.1kg loss ... I was secretly hoping for 1kg but didn't want to jinx myself by writing it here yesterday. 1.1kg is fantastic :))

Got a lot of work done yesterday so feeling heaps better today. Still got the set of stationery to get out but all the little things got done.

Eating for yesterday ...

BREAKFAST - cereal bar 2.5pts
SNACK - cereal bar 2.5pts
LUNCH - cereal bar 2.5pts (I know, I know lol)
SNACK - Apple 0.5pt
DINNER - chicken 3pts, 2min noodles 7pts, veges 0pts
SNACK - milk 2pts, nesquik 1.5pts

Total ... 21.5pts/22pts

Clean slate again today :)
Just gotta get this job out and I'll be stressfree (well nearly)

Congrats Jo on losing 50kg!! What an achievement!! Impressive Girl!!

Last night I worked out I have under 20kg to go now ... only 19.2kg to get to my personal goal ... and only 13.2kg to get to my ww goal. That sounds so close to me. I've set up a mini goal to get to my ww goal by the time we move into our new house in February. Its about 25wks away so should definately be achieveable. My original goal date was 1 July 2004, but this is getting beyond a joke lol. I think I may need to reassess my goal dates and make them a little harder to achieve. These goal dates were set on losing 500g per week but I'm losing on average nearer 700g per week. But on the other hand I know it gets harder to lose the nearer I get to goal so I don't want to set myself up for failure. Something to think about I guess.

I really need to get out to do the shopping again (that's the reason I had 3 cereal bars yesterday ... the only thing left in the cupboards lol) But shopping is not going to happen today ... just too busy... maybe tomorrow.

Till then,
Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 84.2kg
GW 65kg

Hoping for a good loss tonight

Can't believe I just wrote a whole entry (and a long one too) and lost it all!! Grrrr ... Can't complain tho ... this is a first since using this diary program.

Firstly ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYNDA!!! Sorry I missed it on the actual day ... hope you had lots of fun!

Eating for yesterday went pretty good I think...

BREAKFAST - cereal 1.5pts, milk 0.5pt
SNACK - ww muffin 2.5pts
LUNCH - 2x ww muffins 5pts
SNACK - cheese 1pt, 3 lollies 1.5pts
DINNER - pasta 2.5pts, veges 0pts, roasted capsicums 1pt, butter 0.5pt
SNACK - lite icecream 2pts, cream 1.5pts, waffles 1.5pts, flake 0.5pt

Total ... 21.5pts/22pts
Saved 0.5pt
Total saved ... 6.5pts
Exercise ... none
Total bonus points 20pts

Feeling a little stressed today ... due to a couple of things ...

1. A stationery set due out yesterday didn't get finished
2. A sample due out yesterday didn't get finished
3. A house load of packing hasn't started yet
4. Bill is endeavoring to give up drinking at the moment so he is really grumpy!!
5. When we move to Hamilton he will be boarding in Waiuku during the week so he will be alone while trying to give up drinking ... not a good way to do it! And we can't afford the extra money for beer while trying to save $17,000

They laid our concrete slab yesterday so the countdown begins ... 24wks till our house is finished and 24wks till we need $17,000 more!! lol ... Excited and nervous at the same time.

Expecting good results from weigh in tonight due to my bowel empty out at the start of the week (sorry to bring up the gory details again lol) and with the 14 extra bonus points I earnt on the weekend. Really looking forward to it!!

I think that's about it for today.
Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 85.3kg
GW 65kg

Half Marathon .. 21,100 meters!!

I finally realise how far a half marathon actually is!! :)

We got to Taupo on Saturday around lunchtime and made our way to the house a group of us had rented for the night. Was a really great idea to rent a private home. For the seven of us that stayed there it worked out to $15 a night for each of us for a whole 3 bedroom house to ourselves. We spent the afternoon relaxing, chatting and then went out to the warehouse to pick up a few things. I was on strict orders from Bill to get me some new pants as my once tight size 18 pants were started to sag on me :) My friend Hayley came with me and was picking out some pants for me to try. I told her to only get size 16 ones. I didnt want to get too depressed trying on anything smaller to find them too tight. One pair looked really good on... a pair of pinstriped black butt hugging ones :) Hayley asked what size they were. I told her size 16, I presumed, given that the hanger said that. She smuggly smiled and said "No, I tricked you. I put a pair of 14s on a 16 hanger so you would try them on!" What a wonderful surpise! How cool is that?? lol. They fitted perfetly!! So of course I had to buy them!! Wahoo size 14!!! When I started WW in January I was a size 22-24. That started the weekend off to a great start!!

That night we had chinese and I filled my plate with lots of steamed rice... lower in points and giving me lots of carbos for the big walk the next day.

Woke up nice and early, rearing to go. My diareah had stopped on Friday and I was feeling 100% well again. On registration I won a spot prize... $10 gift voucher from Paper Plus!! Wahoo :)

The gun went off and the runners took off ... Bill included! He was running it with a pushchair (and Jese inside) ... crazy man but proud of him all the same!

Then it was our turn to get to the start mark. There were 3 of us walking together ... me, Hailey and my cousin Sandra. The starter went and we were off. I was a bit nervous about the speed at which the other two were going to be walking. We wanted to keep together but hadn't trained with either of them so didnt know whether we would be able to stick together. Unfortunately Hailey got seperated at the start from us among the other 3400 people. Sandra and I stuck together like glue and it really helped!! At times when I would have naturally slowed she kept me going faster. And vice versa.

I was really enjoying the scenery until the 15km mark... then it started to hit me!! Wow, what was I doing?? lol ... this was really getting hard, I was tired, my feet were starting to get blisters and my hips were giving out. Having Sandra there gave me someone to vent out my struggles and keep me focused. And hopefully I did the same for her :) We kept eachother going... one foot infront of the other. 17km mark came up and it felt like we had been far more than just another 2kms!! Then we rounded the corner of what I thought was the end and saw a series of bays reaching into the distance ... and a train of people as far as I could see!! We were far from the end!!! A gut renching sight!! I must have looked like I was in pain as people started asking me if my feet were ok. I was in pain but I was determined to make it to the end!! I started imagining my legs were pendulums swinging with ease. This really helped! One foot infront of the other ... one step at a time we would make it to the end. It was far more of a mental challenge than I had expected. I had to tell myself "I will do this ... we will make it to the end, just keep going". Both Sandra and I had a fear of coming in last so we were continually checking behind us to see how many there were. But we were fine ... there was a huge sea of people behind as well :)

Sandra saw a kids feeder on the ground and jokingly asked if it was Jese's ... I laughed and we carried on ... then 20mtrs on or so I realised it could actually be his. "Was it striped?" I asked her ... "yep" So I turned around and ran back dodging the crowds. Sure enough it was his ... that was inspiration in itself ... to know that Bill and Jese had been before me and were waiting for me at the finish. I hung onto that feeder so tight!!

Then I got to the '1km to go' sign ... wow we were nearly there!! But 1km is such a long way!! lol ... I focused on counting my steps. A quick calculation working out I had around 1400 steps to go... sounded alot but gave me something to concentrate on. After rounding the final corner I immediately lost count when I saw what was infront of us... A HUGE HILL!!! How could they do that to us?? lol There was a sign at the bottom "What a bitch of a hill" lol And ohhh so true!! Half way up the hill I became quite lightheaded but determination took over ... nothing was going to stop me getting to that finish line!! Sandra and I looked at eachother and no words were said but we both knew what eachother was thinking. As we neared the end crowds of people were standing behind the barriers clapping for everyone coming in. And among the noise I heard "Gooo Lynette!!" It was my wonderful Bill!! Water filled my eyes ... A very proud moment in my life!!! As we looked up to the finish mark we saw 3hrs 29mins 54 secs ... A sudden burst of energy to get me there before 3.5hrs. We did it!!!! We made the the 21.1kms!! And I was still alive!! Sandra and I looked at eachother when we crossed that line both with welled up tears in our eyes and gave eachother a big hi-5!! Each person got presented with a medal as they crossed the finishline. And I wore that medal for the rest of the day with such pride!!

Collapsing onto the grass I peeled off my shoes and socks to reveal my wounds lol. 2 big blisters on one foot but better than expected. The other funny thing ... during the walk my hands had swelled up so much my rings were cutting off my circulation in my fingers. Lucky Sandra had a pocket to put them in. I would have never thought to take them off beforehand.

Bill did extremelly well also at 2hrs30mins ... with a pushchair! And of course my skinny fit brother did it in 1hr15mins!!! Way to go Richard!!

This achievement is right up there with giving birth to 4 kids. Almost as hard (not quite :) ... one that I can live to tell my grandkids about!!

We then headed home to mum's for a nice hot bath!!

Yesterday Bill and I spent the day just relaxing at home. Both very stiff and sore but a good feeling knowing why. We even headed out for a walk in the afternoon... nothing too strenuous lol.

Today I'm feeling pretty good. My blisters have gone down and my thighs are only mildly stiff. Should be all gone by tomorrow.

A very proud moment!!! I'll have pics up in the next day or so and I'll scan in my medal for you all to see :)

Lyn :) :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 85.3kg
GW 65kg

I DID IT!!

I think I did really well with my eating and TRACKING yesterday!! Yay me! I even managed to get in 3 glasses of water :)

Only problem was I spent half the night up with stomach cramps for some strange reason and been running to the loo all morning (sorry for the gory details). I've obviously eaten something that didn't agree with me. The scary part about that is I have absolutely no energy today and I have a half marathon to do on Sunday!!! I've paid $100 bux to do this and done a lot of training over the last 6mths, not to mention the accommodation already booked and friends who are relying on me being there. Don't want to pike out now! I just hope this thing goes away today and I feel a whole lot better tommorow. Real bad timing!!

Here's my eating for yesterday ... (wahoo I did it!!)

BREAKFAST - cereal 1.5pts, milk 0.5pt
SNACK - cereal bar 1.5pts
LUNCH - bread 4pts, veges 0pts, beetroot 1pt
SNACK - fruit topper 1.5pts
DINNER - steamed fish 2pts, veges 0pts, potato/kumera 2pts, oil 1pt, white sauce 1pt
SNACK - hot chocolate 0.5pt, lite cream 1pt, 25g lite icecream 0.5pt

Total ... 18pts/22pts
Saved ... 4pts
Total saved ... 4pts
Water ... 3 glasses
Exercise ... none

Lyn :)
SW 107.4kg
CW 85.3kg
GW 65kg