Life

It's been a week since I blogged. I've been reading others just not updating my own.

Had a pretty stressful week. It started last Thursday when my physio suggested the 's' word again. That would be 'surgery' on my shoulder. Not happy and now working even harder to gain improvements without surgery. This week has been less painful (I hope it's not just wishful thinking) so no surgery this week.

Friday I went to see my doctor to discuss some blood test results. I still had (and have) a sore throat from the flu about 5 weeks ago so I went to see my doctor. She did the usual tests and swabs and they all came back normal - for the throat!! However my liver function test was very abnormal and cause for concern. First thing to do was repeat the test and guess what I am all ok. It was an error on the test.

Today had my first mammogram, sure it will all be ok, hoping for hormonal but needed to be sure.

The mammogram was not as bad as I thought, actually the physio is more painful, for me anyway, I know some people really suffer during mammograms.

On a much lighter note, I broke free from the gym today and went for a run in the park. It was a beautiful spring day, I was running with the dragonfly's and butterfly's, I saw kids playing on the playground (not mine so no responsibility) and lots of people out walking. It was very nice for a change.

If Not Dieting Then What?

I have been reading this book "If Not Dieting Then What?" by Dr Rick Kausman.

It was recommended to me some time ago by a professional I trust a lot and more recently by a Personal Trainer of over 12 years, who also knows Dr Kausman professionally and has clients that she has referred to him. (I am learning that she has some very impressive contacts)

As I bought the book sometime ago (on Ebay I think) I thought it was time to read it.

It is very similar to I can make you thin by Paul McKenna, just a bit more in depth.

I can see myself in the book practically all the way through and I actually feel much better about myself when I understand that although, we make our own choices, there are other things going on that are so much harder to control and that it is not me being weak, or lazy, or lacking in willpower.

Now some people may not agree with this but I think it has to be worth a read for anyone who has issues with food that go beyond, lack of education. Most of us are very educated when it comes to food and diet but for some reason still are unable to make the choices on a daily basis that we want to.

The book in my opinion is very well written and seemed to answer every question that I had in the next page or 2 so I didn't put it down feeling like, "Yeah but what if ....."

I haven't finished the book yet, I am reading it very slowly, and over and over again, I'm not sure what it is doing to my weight, I am trusting it will all be ok, but I certainly feel a lot better with where I am at and who I am.

Kristy if you want to email me any specific questions I am on cherub@hotmail.com

Swimming pool

We had a company (well a guy from a company) come round yesterday to quote us for putting a swimming pool in our back garden. (This isn't my daughter, but it could be, if we had a pool!!)

And guess what - It was so depressingly expensive - not the pool - I think the pool is actually the cheapest bit, but all the other stuff, the fence, the cost to take the dirt away, the box to put the stuff in (notice how I am technical about this stuff). So today I have been trying to find a way to bring in heaps of income, to reduce our spending by about 95% and try and track down the cleaning fairy. It appears she forgot to do our place again!

I can do all of this today because my kids are in various different versions of school - I could pull the youngest 2 out of their schools and save some money but then when would I find the time to bring in heaps of income and tap away on the calculator and computer devising plans and budgets to reduce our expenditure?

Never mind, I could dig out the paddling pool again. I think my 8 year old will still fit in it if he tucks his knees under his chin.

Break away

The car journey was pretty uneventful, bit like the break really. No I'm not being really down and whingey, it's just that it rained - a lot. There is not an awful lot to do in a small hotel room with 3 children when it is raining and because when it is sunny you love this place so visit heaps and have done all the wet weather activities several times.

One afternoon was spent in Lollipops playland. Not the best place to visit when you are on a break away, there is a Lollipops here next door to my gym so we are not exactly strangers. However because our children are a little bit older now (our 2 year old is like a 9 year old) and can get lost in that place for hours, whilst I know no harm can come to them, I did see an opportunity to talk uninterrupted to my husband over a coffee for more than 30 secs. So it was good. Except when I lost my husband to the playstation. I reminded him I was sat all alone and he came back.

We did spend some time with some very good friends, who I wish we could see more often but can't, and had a fantastic home cooked dinner (not by me) those words "fantastic, home, cooked, dinner" and I do not go well together.

The rain stopped for a little while on our last day so we raced to the beach to play in the sand, not the water, still far too cold for that.

Packing

Just a quickie cos I am supposed to be packing. I hate packing, I stress the whole day about doing it.

My kids are driving me mad, well that is unfair, it is only the girls. The youngest has decided not to sleep anymore during the day and the 4 year old (nearly) has never been keen on daytime sleeps. So now they are both overtired and winding each other (and me) up. It is now at the point where I can't bear to hear their voices, not even their nice voices, how am I going to spend 3 hours in a car with them? I know - maybe I should pack them in the suitcases and just throw the clothes in the car.

Anyway, once Jon is back from his soccer finals we are heading up the coast for a few days. Please don't let him get an injury.

Suggestions & links

Deb suggested I make a suggestion to the school to split the awards into 2 assemblies.

Great idea but after suggesting to them today, after the assembly that we should not be buying our son a new homework book, just because he filled his last one, when we paid for books at the start of the year, I might lie low for a little while.

............................

Woohoo I think I just managed to link.

Not sure if I want to know if it doesn't work. - Let me think I am as clever as my kids for a day or two and then let me down gently if you need to.

Schools out - when?

I didn't realise that having children meant that I would have to spend further years at school. As far as I was concerned, I left school in 1989, but oh no - after 60 minutes of sitting in full sun, watching countless children getting awards for almost everything, I realised I was going to be here for the next 9 years and that is only primary school. I also figured that if I didn't have bright, well behaved children I wouldn't need to sit through hours of assemblies. I do know that I would then be spending hours in the Principal's office but I choose to ignore that at the moment.

The assembly lasted 110 minutes. That is a long time for any adult to sit through let alone my 2 year old daughter. But at least I saw my son get his 30 seconds of glory when he walked up to receive his award.

Don't get me wrong I am very proud of him, but I left school at 16 for a reason - it bored me! Ok so I went back to school later and studied part time for 9 years, but that is not the point.

I discussed with my friend sitting next to me and we concluded that the only way to avoid such assemblies in the future would be to get a really inflexible job. Errmm I don't think so, perhaps you should reserve me that spot on the hill.

First Date

Got this sent to me on the email rounds. Especially for all you lucky people heading to the snow (I am very jealous, but remember this story)

Jay Leno went into the audience to find the most embarrassing first date that a woman ever had.The winner described her worst first date experience. There was absolutely no question as to why her tale took the prize!

She said it was midwinter...Snowing and quite cold...and the guy had taken her skiing in the mountains outside Salt Lake City , Utah ..It was a day trip (no overnight). They were strangers, after all, and truly had never met before. The outing was fun but relatively uneventful until they were headed home late that afternoon. They were driving back down the mountain, when she gradually began to realize that she should not have had that extra latte.

They were about an hour away from anywhere with a rest room and in the middle of nowhere! Her companion suggested she try to hold it, which she did for a while. Unfortunately, because of the heavy snow and slow going, there came a point where she told him that he had better stop and let her go beside the road, or it would be the front seat of his car. They stopped and she quickly crawled out beside the car, yanked her pants down and started.

In the deep snow she didn't have good footing, so she let her butt rest against the rear fender to steady herself. Her companion stood on the side of the car watching for traffic and indeed was a real gentleman and refrained from peeking. All she could think about was the relief she felt despite the rather embarrassing nature of the situation.

Upon finishing however, she soon became aware of another sensation. As she bent to pull up her pants, the young lady discovered her buttocks were firmly glued against the car's fender. Thoughts of tongues frozen to poles immediately came to mind as she attempted to disengage her flesh from the icy metal. It was quickly apparent that she had a brand new problem due to the extreme cold.

Horrified by her plight and yet aware of the humour of the moment, she answered her date's concerns about "what is taking so long" with a reply that indeed, she was "freezing her butt off" and in need of some assistance! He came around the car as she tried to cover herself with her sweater and then, as she looked imploringly into his eyes, he burst out laughing. She too, got the giggles and when they finally managed to compose themselves, they assessed her dilemma.

Obviously, as hysterical as the situation was, they also were faced with a real problem. Both agreed it would take something hot to free her chilly cheeks from the grip of the icy metal! Thinking about what had gotten her into the predicament in the first place, both quickly realized that there was only one way to get her free. So, as she looked the other way, her first-time date proceeded to unzip his pants and pee her butt off the fender.

And you thought your first date was embarrassing. Oh, and how did the first date turn out? He became her husband and was sitting next to her on the Leno show.

White coat syndrome

I met a new client today who when I asked if she suffered from high blood pressure, she said no but that she did have White Coat Syndrome. I had never heard of this before, but it is people who, when they have their blood pressure taken, usually by a doctor (hence, white coat syndrome) it is through the roof. However when they take it on their own at home it is quite normal.

Whilst the blood pressure is high, and in this circumstance could indicate that they are stressed by the situation, they often show no outward signs of stress and they do not feel particularly stressed.

I am not a doctor, and I wear no white coat but when I took this lady's blood pressure the first time it registered and error (I use an automatic blood pressure monitor) and after repeating a little later it was 191/89. This is the most bizarre reading I have ever had. I'm glad a curve ball like that was not thrown at me during my practicals at college.

Just goes to show, you learn something new every day.

As an aside, I put my girls down for a sleep at 12.15 today and now at turned 4.30pm I have just heard one of them upstairs. Oh to sleep for that long in the afternoon.

Weedend

Saturday was a gorgeous day. The weather and life was making me feel very positive. The Gala Day was fun. The boys played well and the siblings played well together off the pitch. Four hours is a long time for littlies but they had fun, made mud with the water from their drink bottles got very dirty, but played together well.

Jon's team also did well, winning their semi final. I am very pleased this is the first year Jon has played for a few years and the team has got to the finals. I have to admit to being in two minds about him winning because now our weekend away has been put back by many hours as the final now needs to be played first. Never mind.

Sunday I was hoping for a nice family day in the garden, playing games, reading books, just pottering around. This wasn't to be. We set off to Stratco to get a feel for what is required in building our own pergola. Stratco was not open on Sundays, so we headed to the shops for a spot of lunch and a few bits. Hours later with aching feet we headed home. Still though I hadn't managed to get my son school shoes. The shop I wanted was not in that particular shopping centre. So home for a cup of tea and then out with my son to another shopping centre. Got said shoes and home for dinner. That Jon had cooked. Mighty nice too.

All in all a nice weekend.

Family night & Buckaroo

I love waking up to bright blue skies. Opening the windows and letting the fresh air into the house. It's not quite warm enough for me to eat breakfast outside, but I'm sure it's not far away.

It always surprises me how much better I feel when the weather warms up and the sky is bright.

Today we have a soccer gala day for our boys and this afternoon, Jon is playing his semi final game.

Last night was amusing from a sadistic parental point of view. Usually Friday night is our family night. That is where we all as a family, play games, watch a family movie or on a nice evening, go for a walk or bike ride. Anything really so long as the whole family can join in.

Last night we played a new game, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This was ok. Our 3 year old (actually nearly 4 now, hers in the next birthday) won. The smile was heart warming.

Then we played and old favourite Buckaroo, and this is where the evil parents get their enjoyment. The kids can play this easily, rules are not too hard to grasp, but the shock on the 2 & 3 year old faces when the donkey?? bucks is very amusing to watch. So is the nerves, worry and stress as they watch each person place an item on the saddle.

It got to the stage that they were too scared to play the game anymore. Both girls curled up on our knees and said they were tired and could they go to bed now. I will have to remember this when they are being difficult to get to bed!

Improving for some of us

We are on the mend. Starting to get back to normal. We are all still very tired and have majorly irritating coughs that keep us awake at night but other than that, thankfully we are getting better.

I promise to love, honour and ...... til death us do part or until such a time as I decide I can't bear to look at you or be with you anymore, then I will be really nasty, hurtful and cruel.

I hate it when people separate. I hate it even more when they can't do it amicably and then their problems become your problems because you feel their pain. You feel the pain of both parties and that of their children. It seems that you, the outsider, are the only one that cares about the outcome of their lives.

I know that lots of things are said out of hurt rather than spite but that doesn't make it any easier for either party and least of all the children, who both parents say are coping well. Who are they trying to kid.

Please God don't allow that to happen to my family.

Home again

We are home again. We are all still sick but not as sick as yesterday. My youngests temperature has come down and so long as it doesn't go up again she can stay home. The staff at the hospital were fantastic.

This flu has been so bad and Jon and I had flu jabs. Hate to think what it would have been like if we hadn't.