Retail therapy on a lazy Sunday

Yesterday was a really enjoyable day. We went to the jewellers and picked out my wedding band. It is a thin band with small princess cut diamonds and has a matching eternity band. I wasn't going to get an eternity band because all the ones I have seen on old ladies look really crap and seem too chunky and dated or something. But I really liked the way my engagement ring looked flanked either side by even more diamonds!! Woo! hoo! diamonds. swoon!

Can you tell I'm lovin the sparkly diamonds. This is the first time that I have gotten excited about the wedding. I had butterflies in my stomach for hours afterwards thinking about the jewellery. Yes, its a lot of diamond but what the hey. I don't wear anything other than a watch so I suppose its ok to go all out for your bridal jewellery (if there is such a term). Who am I kidding. I don't care if its too over the top. I love it!

Then today was pretty good as well. Spent the morning looking at wedding dresses on the internet. Then went to Robina TC for lunch. Had burgers and beer then browsed in a bookstore and found a copy of the same book I have on loan from the library, for only $20, score.

Then, I found these comfy (and reasonably priced) ballet flats. I've only spent YEARS trying to find a pair of ballet flats that fit my odd shaped feet and don't give my blisters. I would have bought them in more colours if they had them. Lovin the detail on the toes.

Australians all let us rejoice!

What fantastic weather we had here on Australia Day. In true Aussie form, Scott and I didn't plan anything in advance so we ended up bumming around the house, watching movies until the late afternoon. Scott then decided he wanted to take some photos. And lucky me got to tag along and sit in the car while Scott took photos of a bridge.

I got bored and started taking pictures.

Exiting stuff hey? 

(I bashed my leg into the corner of the bed the night before and this is the bruise on my leg about 30 minutes after it appeared.)

Happy Australia Day!!!

The magic of bi-carb & vinegar

We have a second fridge in our garage that we have decided to sell. First up, it needed a good cleaning as it was stored with the doors closed....gulp. So out came the bi-carb soda and vinegar. I love cleaning with this stuff for a couple of reasons.

a)  It works
b)  It doesn't leave me with a headache or require gloves like bleach does, and
c) It's not poisonous.

This is what the fridge looked like before I cleaned it.

And here is what it looked like after.

The importance of being prepared when dieting

The Scouts new what they were talking about when they coined the phrase 'Be Prepared'.

I hadn't prepared anything for lunch and was just going to grab something cheap and fairly healthy from coles in my lunchbreak. But, my workmates were all ordering Big Chief for lunch and I thought, hey, what the hell, I'll just get the burger minus the chips and drink and that will save me calories and save me having to go and get my own lunch.

Well...when they brought the food back, turns out the idiots at Big Chief had given me a burger AND chips (minus a drink) and charged me for it! So I had some of the chips because I was pissed off that I had to pay extra for something I didn't order.

The burger wasn't even very nice. So, I am going to make an extra effort and make sure I have my own lunch from now on.

P.S. I'm two days into not drinking coke or diet coke and the headaches are horrible.

Ways to motivate yourself for weight loss

I've been trying to think of the different ways that I can set myself up for success in my weight loss goals.

The first thing I thought of was that I  need a mid length goal that is close enough that I can't dilly dally or put off doing the 'work' and long enough that I can expect dramatic changes in my appearances. I figure that 8 weeks is about right. With this goal, I would need an event that I could focus my energy towards and look forward to getting dressed up and looking good. An event that will happen at a specific date and that I cannot keep pushing back.

As luck would have it, my fiance's niece is having her first birthday on the 19th March and so I'm using this as my 'Event'

The second thing I thought of was that I would need to keep myself motivated with smaller, short-term rewards (of the non-food type). With this one,  I am killing two birds with one stone.

 I need to give up diet-coke because it makes me overeat and keeps my feeling tired. So the money that I would normally spend on this habit will go towards fortnightly pedicures at the local nail bar. Ahhhh!!! relaxation, pampering and it will help towards improving my appearance..... The perfect, short term
reward.

Rain drops keep falling on my head......

Yep, the rain is still falling. Its getting so bad now that half of Queensland is flooded. I have no reason to complain as we are not in danger of having to be evacuated from our homes, but, I still can't help but be well and truly fed up with humidity mixed with constant rain. Its a real downer and I am having loads of trouble getting motivated to do any exercise. I just keep stuffing my face with comfort food and telling myself I'll start next week.

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Now that I got that out of my system, I suppose I can at least give myself a pat on the back for achieving something today. I actually managed to go without any caffeine for the entire day, and here's the shocker....it didn't kill me! I did stuff lots and lots of biscuits in my mouth instead though, woops.

I am going to purchase a journal tomorrow and get back to writing a food diary. That seemed to work really well just before Christmas. Hmm, how can I get my arse out of bed in the morning to exercise. Bribery seems to work well. Let me think about that one and get back to you.

Rain, Rain, Go Away......come again another day!

I can't believe all this rain we are getting. Its crazy stupid and not very uplifting going into a new year...especially with all the flooding that is happening up north.

I just can't kick my butt into exercise gear. I wake up to the pitter patter of rain and just keep hitting the snooze button.

I suppose things could be worse, Scott and I visited his family in Bundaberg, for Christmas and left the day after Boxing Day. Turns out we left just in the nick of time. Within 2 hours of us leaving, the roads out of town were closed from flooding.

This is what Bundaberg looks like at the moment....

Its times like this I'm grateful that we live on the Gold Coast.

New Year, New Me???

Its three days into 2011 and I still haven't made any positive changes. I'm very good at 'tomorrow'.

But, in an attempt to get the ball rolling, I thought I would write down some new year resolutions and then, come Christmas, I can look over this list and see what has been crossed off and what hasn't.

New Year's Resolutions List

• Obtain and maintain a body that I'm happy to flaunt in a bikini.
• Get my manual drivers licence.
• Get a pussycat (definitely gonna get this one crossed off the list).
• Learn to do basic sewing.
• Travel to somewhere I haven't been before.
• Socialise more.
• Actually have a proper wardrobe of clothes and accessories so that when an occasion crops up I'm not running to the shops to find an outfit to wear.
• Be able to do a full bellydance routine.
• Be able to jog for 30mins or more.
• Learn to love more and hate less.

wish me luck :)