Side splitting news ...

Thankyou so much Linda for this award! It really made me think back to when I first started blogging in 2003! Linda was one of my blogging buddies back then. There's only a small handful of us still blogging that started back then. So much has happened to all of us yet blogging has been one thing that has remained. Even with breaks inbetween I have always gone back to it, because it's like therapy for me. Yep, you're all my psychologists!! lol

I'm passing this onto two more buddies ...

Mandy - When I first met you in real life there was something that clicked! You're one AMAZING chick!! You're someone I can hang out with and never feel like I have to be anyone else but myself!!! THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR THAT!! You've been there for me through thick and thin ... hehe, just realised the pun!

Janene - I came across you're blog quite a few years ago and something said to me "this girl has that 'X factor'. I've seen you struggle and then soar!! I'm so excited to be one of the privileged to witness you emerging into one beautiful lady!!!

There are so many other blogs that I love to read and that get me through when I'm lacking in motivation. It could be hard to finish this post if I listed everyone one of you who inspire me. So give yourselves all a big hug and tell yourself 'Thankyou!!' from me!!

Another bit of exciting news ... I've achieved another one of my little goals on the side bar. When I first wrote that list back at 122.6kgs it felt like each one of those things were in the far distant future! To far to even picture myself achieving them. And yet bit by bit without me even realising I am getting through them. The latest goal to achieve?? ...

Yesterday I had to come and get another small ambo uniform! Yay!!

I'd actually been putting it off and putting it off. My station manager had mentioned to me a little while back that my pants were looking horribly baggy with the crutch hanging down to my thighs. I think I actually got used to them being so baggy because after a while I really didn't notice it. I started to think maybe I was putting on weight because I didn't see the need for new ones anymore.

I sat down to tie up my shoe laces on my new boots (another story I'll tell ya in a minute) and RRRRRIIPPPPP!!! Right up the inside thigh! I was soooo lucky they hadn't ripped half an hour before when I was infront of the ambulance training doing a scenario in splinting!! Phew!!

So my old baggy ambo pants have been chucked! RIP baggy pants!

As I put my new sparkly ones on Bill said to me "wow those pants look great on you!! You look so slim!" And suddenly it made me realise how yucky and baggy my old pants were.

The funny thing with this was (and here's the boot story) ... my boots had given up the ghost 3 or 4 weeks back. They had ripped right down the inside seem and the heel was half hanging off. I'd ordered a flash new pair of converse paramedic boots from Aussie but they still hadn't arrived. I was hoping they'd arrive soon before my old one's truly gave out. And just in time the parcel arrived on Wednesday night. So after training I hurried home to try on my new flash boots!! Finally I would have a full good looking uniform, without scuffy horrible boots. I sat down to do up the laces and yep ... Rrrip!! went my pants!!!

So now FINALLY I have new pants AND new boots ... I feel like a little girl with a new Sunday outfit!!! Whoop wooo whoop whoop woooooo!!!

Check out these new boots!!! here

As for weighin tomorrow ... The scales have been up slightly all week but I feel slim so who knows???

Not going down without a fight!!!

A Farmers Market ... what is it??

"Food market where local growers, farmers and artisan food producers sell their wares directly to consumers" ... sound's good? Sure!! If you're a consumer! But what about if you're a produce supplier only 100m down the road!!

That's what someone had decided they were doing here in Waihi Beach. A big part of our turnover is our well priced produce. As you can tell we were not happy when the organiser asked us to put a poster up in the window advertising the regular event in a couple of weeks. We asked if we were allowed a stall and was given a definate "No!".

My normal instinct no matter how upset I am about a situation is to just let it go. But Bill wasn't having a bar of it. Initially I tried to calm him down and just let be what will be. But soon realised he wasn't going to let it slide. If I couldn't beat him I had to join him.

Bill rang the council to get an investigation into our rights. We were told they would look into the matter. According to the man we spoke to he was under the impression that each stall holder needed to hold a hawkers license.

In the meantime we spoke to some of the other retailers who agreed with us in our concerns. It just seemed so unfair that we as retailers had withstood the hard toil of winter drought and when the people arrived someone decided they'd set up a market and take the harvest. We had to pay so many overheads just to survive ... lease, rates, power, wages... the list goes on. Along with the retailers was the owner of the Four Square supermarket across the road. Up until now we had a purely professional relationship with the Four Square, nothing more. But on realising they were feeling the same about the situation we set up a meeting with them. They contacted the Foodstuffs representative after Bill told him of the Otara New World going bust when the Otara Farmers Market started up.

On top of this ... they were going to ask for funding from the Community Board!! A community board that is funded by our rates!!! This added insult to injury!! They were planning to doing a presentation to the Board at 6.30pm tonight. Bill had planned a big speal to say along with alot of other retailers, who had signed a petition we set up.

At 3pm this afternoon Bill rang the council to find out their progress in the matter. According to the investigator at the council they had every right to have the market given that it's a commercial zone, but that the organisers were in the process of cancelling the event due to opposition.

So it's finally over ... it's not going ahead. I understand their thinking about having a market but I don't think they thought through the full extent that this could have on the town. While it may have brought people in, the majority of the money would be going elsewhere and it had the huge potential of shutting down retailers like ourselves and others in the town which has to be a bad thing. The less shops, the less products offered for sale, the less money going back into the community.

And the good thing with this???? (other than the fact that we don't have a big confrontation on our hands?) I didn't comfort eat!!! I stuck to points infact saving some points in the process.

The sun was shining hot today ...

I made the yummiest dinner last night. Not sure what to call it. I got the idea from the ww website about hammering chicken breasts flat and rolling them with with filling inside. I chose to put cherry tomatoes (halved), crushed garlic, chopped fresh fennel, red onion and a little corn kernals. After rolling them and tying with string I sprayed them with cooking spray. They pointed out at only 3pts per piece ... yummo!!



Wow it was hot today!! Our staff member had to go home around lunch with nausea. I didn't mind because she doesn't take much time off so when she has to go home she must be really sick! That left Bill, myself and Lauren rolling icecreams (over 200!), thickshakes and countless drinks, produce and groceries. We were running all day!! I'm knackered!!

I'm in for a relaxing night of mindless tv, that is until the pager goes off, yep on duty again. Can't help myself! :)

Bill's nana nap

Weighin results ...

Weight last week: 107.7kg
Weight this morning: 107.2kg

So that's a 500g loss. Feeling a bit guilty about it because I was moaning all week about my weight being up on the scales and then last night I blow it and have pizza and drinks with another couple. And now record a loss.

Bill had his weighin too and ...ehem ... recorded a 500g gain... hey probably where my 500g went too! lol. So that leaves me with just 1.2kg to catch him up ... hehehe. Although I've been a bit kinda on him this morning because we all know how bummed we feel when we've gained. His normal cooked breakfast was replaced by a banana and natural unsweetened yoghurt! :)

Sorry I haven't posted todays post sooner ... I actually started this update 10am this morning, about 6hrs ago. Nona you asked how I could keep going doing everything, I'm not a superwoman but what I do do ... is absolutely crash when I stop. I have just slept for the last 3hrs!!! I was trying so hard to watch some movies on sky but couldn't keep my eyes open. Each time I woke up the credits were rolling. I did that through three movies!!!

Thankyou for all your hopes of a quiet day for me yesterday ... it seemed to work! We had just one job and was a lovely sweet gentleman who was not critically ill. And at the end of it I felt great!!! My confidence is back!!

Hey cool, I just remembered ... I'm half a kilo lighter! :)

What will today bring??

Had a really stressful day yesterday. I had an interview to do for a new ambulance volunteer in the morning till 11am, then a meeting with the station manager, myself and another lady to go over my new role as Team Leader for First Response at Waihi Beach till 2pm then raced home and worked in the shop from 2pm till 4pm. Then an internet meeting with my brother in China via msn from 4pm till 5pm. And that's when the dog doodles hit the fan, when my brother informed me he wanted a 15pg full colour catalogue designed for him by next week!!! That information in itself would have been ok but combining it with all the other bits of stress from the day I went into "I can't deal with this!!" mode.

The good thing was I didn't blow out with food and still managed to stay ontrack with points. I think the other thing that was playing on my brain was my ambulance shift today. This day last week I'd had an extremely full on shift with 4 out of 5 jobs being potentially life threatening. At the time I thought I coped with it well and didn't have too much after effect on my emotions, or so I thought. But last night I just kept thinking "I can't deal with another day like last Friday". It showed me that even tho I thought I was okay about it all I did really effect me.

It will help if today is a nice quiet shift with a couple of nice easy 'safe' jobs to get my confidence back.

Was bummed out to see my weight up on the scales this morning (official weighin tomorrow). I've been such a good girl all week, sticking to my points. But I do know I started a bit of exercise and that ALWAYS slows things down for me. My conscience is clear, I know I've done it all right so if the scales decide differently that's the scales fault ... not mine!!

Let's see what tomorrow brings!

He'll keep!!

True to the story ... Bill came down to the shop soon after I'd opened to ... umm ... skite!! Yep that's the exact words he used "I've come to skite! I'm only 102kgs this morning"

Damn it!! How can that happen?? The night before last he was scoffing crofters cheesecakes (16.5pts) and a colosal cone (6pts) just before bed. And as I walked in yesterday lunchtime he was trying to shove the remains of a pie in his mouth without me seeing.

Last night when it came for going for a walk, Malachi (9) and I went on our own, while Bill remained at home watching tv. But in saying that, I'm glad I went for the walk. As we got down to the beach we noticed some kite surfers on the beach and it reminded me of the commitment I made to myself back in February. When I get to goal I want to do that. Both Mal and I stared in awe for ages at them going back and forth, in and out of the surf, jumps, flips and bombing out, popping back up and carrying on.

Here's a clip I found on YouTube to show what I mean.



Apparently it takes alot of upper body strength, something I can strive for once I get nearer goal. Although lucky for us here we're not in a flight path with Jumbo Jets!! lol

We got home around 7pm and I cooked up my healthy meal while Bill and the kids had their Tuesday night takeaways. I went to bed with a clear conscience knowing I'd done everything right today and one step closer to my $200 reward. Oooohh! Talking about that I did a bit of googling to research the Pandora Bracelet and Italian Charm Bracelet.

I really like the thought of having something I can continue to ad to as I achieve each 5kg lost.

I'm still keeping focused on that bracelet because IT WILL BE MINE! I know Bill has by some miracle managed to achieve a 3kg loss in 2 days (however official weighday is not till Saturday) and I have heard nothing but "I'm winning, I feel so LIGHT!!" from him ... but he won't hold out ... I'm sure pretty soon he'll be needing a nana nap!

Slow and steady ...

It's official!! Bill and I are having a race to lose weight!

For the last 18mths I've been heavier than Bill ... alot heavier ... 20kgs heavier. And slowly bit by bit I've been catching him up (or down should I say). I am now only a couple kilos heavier than him. Me at 107.7kgs and Bill at 105.6kgs.

So the race is on ... first to 90kgs wins!!

Even tho I'm 2kgs behind him I know I can do this! Bill is a classic hare ... starting with a bang and he'll lose it fast, 2-3kgs a week. That is, while it lasts! He won't hold out tho, he doesn't have the stick ability like I do. He'll flake out half way there and lie down for a nana nap! I know it! hehe!!

While I, the tortoise on the other hand, will plod away slowly bit by bit and pass him 5mtrs before the finishline! Watch me baby, I'll win ... no worries!!

He wanted to give me a helping hand by making it a percentage thing like on biggest loser ... but no way ... I don't need no helping hand. That's just to make his ego feel better when he doesn't win! lol

I was all inspired to go for a walk tonight after reading Chris and Janene's blog. But dinnertime came round too quickly and I just ran out of time. But after dinner I made the suggestion to Bill that we go out as a family for a walk and he jumped at the idea so off we went to walk around the Martha Mine and Pumphouse in Waihi.

We got there at 7.20pm and as we came to the entry gates by our car at 7.45pm the gates were locked!! So we had to walk back to the other entrance. We walked quick smart hoping that gate wasn't locked too or we might be spending the night sleeping under a tree. As we got there the guy was just about to put the lock on the gate... phew! Lucky! It turned our 20 minute walk into a 45 minute one, so that's gotta be good. And my ankle held out good, well onto being fully mended.

So the next thing to do ... choose my prize. My reward for winning our race to 90kgs. We've made the prize something worth $200. It's not allowed to just be money, so I have to think of something cool worth that much ... Any ideas?? I need to seriously think about this, after all, the prize will be MINE!! :)

This woman can fish

We all went out as a family today for a stint of fishing off the rocks. It was my first expedition on rough terrain since my surgery. And I'm pleased to say my ankle did really well. Can't say much for the fish tho! We lost about $14 in snagged hooks, broken lines and lost bait with not one fish caught. After an hour we gave up and Bill raced home and got the kayak and we spent the time kayaking in the bay and playing cricket on the beach.

Came home looking a little like Santa with rosy cheeks. It was good to get out on a Sunday. Normally I sit at home and get housework done and watch a bit of telly. Problem with that is I get bored and eat too much. I still ate quite a bit today but went for cherry tomatoes and strawberries which kept my points down.

I have a couple of points left now that I've finished dinner so might end the night with some more strawberries and ww icecream.

Asleep on my feet

Weighin results this week ... 107.7kgs

1.7kg loss!

I would be jumping for joy right now but to be honest I'm finding it hard to even open my eyes. I am actually ecstatic about the weighin result. My tracking and last minute wise choices have paid off. Nice to have the scales show the effort put in.

Now why am I so tired? I have just finished a kick up the arse initiation back into ambo!! A 24hr shift with 6 jobs!! Normal for the whole station is around 3-4 jobs in 24hrs and we had 6 and I was on every one of them. And the thing that made it a brain strain was that I was senior officer with all of them so all the decisions I had to make fell back on my shoulders. Of course I always have someone I can call on for help if I feel out of my depth, but I'm very conscious of the 'cry wolf' syndrome.

I ended up calling backup for one of them ... really not sure if I should or not. And the reason was only for clinical support (someone to ask "shit am I doing the right thing here??"). When my station manager arrived (she's a Paramedic) I asked her if I did the right by calling her and she told me "totally!! I was actually considering calling a helicopter in" Phew!

At 8pm I rang Bill from the station for a chat and he suggested him and the kids come to the station for dinner. They arrived at 8.20pm, walked in the door, put the dinner on the coffee table and ... beeep, beeeep, beep, beep!!!! Couldn't believe it! Sorry guys gotta go! So I saw them for all of 30secs! lol

As I was coming back from Thames hospital at about 11pm I got a call from the area manager to ask how I was and did I want them to cover the rest of my shift. I gratefully accepted and went home to flop into bed. Putting my head on the pillow at 12.52am, I'd been awake since 2am the day before ... bar 1.5hrs I managed to sneak in naps throughout the day. Before you freak out at me I wasn't driving for all that time, I was the treating officer in the back. But I don't think I'll be doing two frontline shifts in a row again ... too much!

I'm off to bed for a nana nap! I'll be back on later to check up on blogs.

Nite nite!

How much is a loss worth??

With knowing for weeks that I had this practical exam Bill chose to go fishing yesterday!! Grrr!! Meaning I was working on my feet all day in the shop and by 2pm my ankle had blown up like a balloon. I needed to get it elevated before my exam at 7pm! He walked in at 2.20pm and I asked him how long he would be. "Won't be long, just have to fillet the fish" He said. One hour and forty minutes later I was still working!! By 4pm I was in such a foul mood and yes a few of those unspeakable words came out of my mouth (under my breath of course). So when the staff arrived I took off to the station without a word to Bill. (He did apologise later saying it took him that long to fillet the 45 fish they got ... yep 45!!!)

When I got to the station I was so hoping mad, I went straight up to the evil snack box! What's the most wicked thing I can eat??? I put my money in the box for a bag of salt and vinegar chips. By the time I came down the stairs I realised what I was doing. Light bulb moment!!! I eat when I'm angry!! Not out of comfort but a need to punish someone. Punishing myself wasn't the answer and put the chips down on the coffee table. I grabbed the keys and went down to the local subway and bought myself a 6" sub and vegetarian salad instead. I did it! I recognised the trigger and stopped it! Half an hour later I put the chips back in the snack box even tho I couldn't get my money back. My weightloss this week is worth far more than $1.50!!

Three of us sitting at the station waiting to do our practical assessment and what happens?? The pager goes off and with it goes one of our assessors and the 'actor patient' ... off to a job! So a last minute ring around and we manage to get someone else to fill in.

Half an hour after we were supposed to start we finally get our assessments underway. Meanwhile our nervousness had shot through the roof. Lucky for all of us our assessor was a really laid back guy which made things more relaxing.

We were all marked on our questioning, assessment of a patient and patient care. It's always alot harder in a 'make believe' scenario than on the road, not sure why. Maybe because we know there is someone watching us, making sure we do it right and maybe because it's hard to actually feel like it's real.

After a quick 'paper, scissors, rock' I was second in turn. My scenario ... 48yr old male with unrelieved chest pain and no cardiac history. Nervousness took over a little meaning I couldn't find the ecg dots in the pack and put them on the wrong way. I didn't want to rip them and 100 hairs off the patient to reposition them so took the opportunity as 'senior officer' to tell my junior to 'fix it' while I kept questioning the patient. Don't you love delegation? My assessor had a chuckle when he told me he noticed my mistake. The only other thing I did wrong was not getting the oxygen on quick enough. But other than that I passed!!! wahooo!!!

Then last night was my first shift back onboard ... and what did I get for my first job at 2am??? Unrelieved cardiac chest pain with no cardiac history! lol and what was one of the first things I did?? Put oxygen on of course!! heheh Won't make that mistake again! The job went without a hiccup thanks to my 'practice run' earlier in the night!!

Back into bed around 3.30am, couldn't sleep much with a little too much adrenalin pumping round my body. Takes a bit to get back into the swing of things with having 6wks off. Then the alarm went off at 5.15am, up and getting ready for my day shift at Waihi Station.

A little nervous today. I'm senior officer with a newbie onboard. I'm sure all will be fine. Last night was a good kick start back into it. And so glad to be back!!!

Weighin tomorrow morning and waiting to see what my $1.50 weightloss will be ... heheh!

Another exam over and done with

Had my exam last night. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be!! I think I did ok but don't know really for sure. I'm hoping for anything above 50%. I know I definately got some answers wrong and a couple I couldn't answer at all, had to put 'don't know'. Bugger! But there were others I wasn't sure of and got right. It wasn't so much a pass/fail exam but one that pinpointed our weaknesses to restudy before we start our National Certificate in Auckland next year.

So last night was the theory, Thursday night is the practical. Friday I go back on shift and I CAN'T WAIT!!! Roll on Friday!!!!

...

I've been tagged twice by two lovely ladies for two of those cute blogging games so here's my turn ...

Game one was from Kate ...

The rules ...

1-Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2-Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird
3-Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs
4- Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog

• Fact one ... I am child number 3 of 4 children and always suffered from 'middle child syndrome' and became the black sheep of the family.
• Fact two ... I did a 4yr degree in Design when I left school, worked 6mths in the design industry and then packed it all in, hating the job!
• Fact three ... I was a lead singer of the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band for a year in high school, in which we travelled all around the country.
• Fact four ... I have given birth four times with not one stitch needed for any of them
• Fact five ... I lost 35kgs with Jenny Craig when I was 19 and got chosen to appear in an advert for them. I'd been away from my fiance (now hubby) for 2mths in the USA. I was supposed to fly in from the States and fly out the next day to Aussie for filming ... so I turned it down. I was chosen from over 500 applicants.
  
• Fact six ... When I had my website last time after the magazine article came out I was getting over 1000 hits a day. And now regret being so public with it. Am enjoying the cosy circle of bloggers this time round.
• Fact seven ... I absolutely LOVE fresh new season asparagus. So much so that this year Bill bought me a whole CRATE of the stuff ... just for me! I think that was a bit extreme! lol But kissed him thankyou anyway!

And the people I tag for this are ...

1. Jules
2. Janene
3. Kim
4. Anne
5. Mellisa
6. Meow Meow
7. Linda

And rather than tag another set of people for the second one I choose the above ones again. This one was from the Zanny Zanna!!

The rules ...

Four dishes I like to cook

Lasagna (with handmade pasta)
Tomato/Coconut cream pasta
Fish pie
Stirfry

Four qualities I love in people

Loyalty
Honesty
Acceptance
Humour

Four places I have been

Canada
Tahiti
Mexico
Hawaii

Four things in my bedroom

My GIANT teddybear (a metre tall sitting down)
My ambulance pager ... sits by my bed when I'm not on duty
Two guitars that I haven't picked up in years other than to dust them
Full length mirror

Four dirty words I like to use

Little shit! (call my cat that when he's naughty, luv him to bits tho the rascal!)
Dirty Bugger (aren't all males?)
Cant think of any others off hand, unless I'm real hopping mad and you don't want to hear those! lol

I'm fried ... but not deepfried

I have my pre-entry exam tomorrow night for National Certificate (ambulance). So I've spent the day today at the station going over everything I've learnt so far. I think I have it all covered. Trying not to stress too much about it.

I didn't plan ahead enough tho. I took some water, an apple and a banana with me, figuring I'd go out and buy me some lunch. But I got away from home later than I'd planned and didn't want to 'waste' precious study time buy going down to shop. I'd eaten my banana and apple and by 1pm I was so ravenously hungry that I decided I needed food NOW!! I felt like I was going to faint. So unfortunately I gave in to the dreaded 'snack box' ... grrrrr!!

The good part was that I still pointed the packet of chips and licorice I ate. And I have a chance to work it back at dinner tonight.

Not much else ... my brain is fried! Does anyone know how many bonus points study earns?

Sinful temptation anyone??

I've changed my weighin day to Saturdays. I've teamed up with two email buddies to give me some accountability and we all weigh in on the same days. So that meant only a 3 day week this week between weighins.

Results today ... 1.5kg loss!! Wahoo! My tracking and inspiration kickstart has paid off. It's so nice to be back in control again. I decided to do a google search on "1.5kg" and it's fascinating what comes up ... I found this pic in my search ...



A 1.5kg 'Sinful Moist Chocolate Cake'

Very ironic ... Would I much rather eat the 1.5kg sinful moist chocolate cake? Or have 1.5kgs gone off my hips? Hmmm ... given how good it felt to see that 1.5kgs gone on the scales this morning ... I choose to lose the 1.5kgs! Besides, no matter how sinful this cake is I'm pretty sure I'd feel pretty sick after it!!

I went out to a potluck dinner last night to farewell an ambulance officer leaving. They had a huge spread put on but I stuck to just the salads and no dessert. With that and the few drinks I had I managed to stay pretty much within points (went over by 2pts) so I'm happy with that.

I went to my surgeon appointment yesterday. He couldn't believe how well I was walking. No limp, he even thought I had a bounce in my step. I asked him if I could go back to ambulance earlier (still have another 3wks on my medical certificate).
"Sure!!" He said "when do you want to go back?"
"Ummm ... today??" lol I think he was a bit taken back by that because there was an awkward silence ...
"Probably not today. You're doing so well. I'm really impressed but I think we need at least another week before going back, to insure your ankle boots don't irritate the wound"
Although as disappointed as I was I understood where he was coming from. So we compromised at a week and I'm officially discharged from his care. I can deal with that, one week's not so bad.

I've finished my shift in the shop today and tomorrow is my day off so plan on having a quiet weekend with so much going on this last week, think I need to take it easy.

Ohh nooo!! So much for taking it easy ... getting paged to the shop, they must be busy. Amazing how the people come out of hiding when the sun's out ... better go

Shmokin!!

My great aunty (aged 82yrs) sadly died on Sunday so today I travelled down with my sister and brother in law to New Plymouth for her funeral. Was good catching up on all our news. It was our first proper catchup (other than phone calls and txts) since the funeral of her boys 3mths ago. Wow, can't believe how quickly time has flown by! My bro in law couldn't believe how much two chicks could talk ... continuously for the 3hr trip there and back ... hey we had a lot to catch up on!

I am SO back on track it's fantastic ... I'm on fire again ... finally!! Been months since I was excited about losing weight. I started off the day with a light brekkie (choc up & go 1pt) to allow for those funeral 'must eats to fit in and fill in time' foods while politely sipping tea and telling all the other great aunties how well we are doing ... my favourite scenario ... NOT! Don't get me wrong I love them all but repeating the same thing over and over is not my cup of tea.

Anyway, backtracking a bit ... calling into a cafe for lunch I had everything under control seeing a 'lightly seared scallops served on a lettuce salad' choice on the menu. I reiterated to the waitress (very politely of course) that I needed the scallops cooked in as little oil as possible. She assured me that wouldn't be a problem ... ehemm ... on receiving our lunch (40mins later!!) it was DRIPPING WITH OIL!! Not just the scallops but the 'salad' (bowl of lettuce with a few slices of tomato) was dripping so much that the lettuce had gone see-through!! Yuck!! I ate the scallops and a quarter of the lettuce and left the rest! But it was marginally better than my sisters lunch ... a chicken fillet burger with the fillet still RAW in the middle!!! (she put it down as soon as she realised).

The funeral was very sweet, she lived a wonderful fulfilled life and was a dag of a lady!!! I did very well at the funeral with all the food around me to temp me considering my growling tummy!! I consumed only 3 mini club sandwiches.

Then on the way home had a vege salad (no cheese) and lamb 6inch sub ... yummo!! All fitting in my points for the day ... ohhh and I tried the new 'fling' choc bar ... boy oh boy are they good!!! And only 3.5pts for the whole thing or 2pts for 1 of the twin bars. Quite low in points ... but dangerous!!!




For those of you wondering how my foot is going ... here's a pic ...


I meet with the surgeon tomorrow to check how it's going. I'm secretly hoping he'll give me clearance to go back on the ambulance. Infact I have my hopes set so high, I'm taking my uniform in the car and if I get the go ahead will go onto duty after the 10.15am appointment ... fingers crossed!!

I need to bottle this mojo ... or even better find the recipe, and give it out to everybody!!!

have I undone all my hard work???

Been dreading this moment for quite a few weeks now. Infact totally put it out of my head because I just didn't want to face the music. I knew it would be bad!!

I haven't stepped on those scales for over 6wks!!! For the past few days I felt like I was back up to 122kgs again! Pants getting tight on me again, and that familiar FAT feeling! And last night when I didn't stop dreaming about being fat all night, I knew I had to do something about it ... it was sending my brain in circles!!

I had brief thoughts of going back on plan for a week or so, then getting on those stupid scales ... get a grip girlfriend!! I needed to get it sorted NOW not in a weeks time ... NOW!!

So first thing @ 6.15am I got up to DO IT!! Of course doing my morning toilet stop first! :)

Yep it was definately a gain ... but no I wasn't up to 122kgs again ... THANK GOODNESS!! 110.9kgs ...yep I can deal with that, considering my naughtiness I think I got off pretty lightly!!

So ... yep I'm back ontrack this morning, starting off with bacon, poached egg, baked beans (all 5.5pts) ... good girl I am ... breakfast is my biggest downfall ... don't often have it unless I'm ontrack. Have my water out, and gonna resist those lollies, chips and icecreams!!!

Reactions good and bad, but all fun!

Thankyou for your lovely comments :) I must say I've quite a range of reactions from all over the spectrum ...

... my dad didn't notice till my brother walked in the room and commented how cool it was. He said "you had that hair cut the other day" not even seeing the colour difference! lol

... my ambo area manager walked in the station the other day and all I heard was "BLOODY HELL!! Lynette go get a hair rinse!!" He then carried on about not wanting to offend me so he wouldn't tell me what it looked like. I told him the money it cost to get it done was worth it just to get that reaction from him. "So you actually PAID someone to do that to you!?" LOL!! To let you in on a secret he has the ugliest old fashioned bowl haircut, I'd much rather have my hair ANYDAY. lol! The funny thing was his wife walked in a few moments later, straight up to tell me how much she loved my hair!!!

... I've had lovely comments from all ranges, young and old and I'm quite surprised at that, given the brightness. The photos I posted don't really show up the flouresence of the red which is actually quite pink - hehe!

I officially accepted the role of Team Leader for Waihi Beach First Responce Ambulance today (voluntary). I've done alot of pros and cons thinking, talking to people. Some warning me, some encouraging ... but at the end of the day I want a paid position and if this will be a stepping stone in getting me there then that's what counts.

I go for an official handover next Tuesday (explanation of the role) and take over as of the 1st December.

Not alot else to tell ... same ol', same 'ol