Cooking myself in the name of beauty

Went for my first visit to the solarium today.

I know, I know....their not the safest thing in the world but my birthday is only 2 weeks away and I am waaaay too white to use fake tan without getting patchiness.

Anyhow, that's how I found myself standing half naked in an upright coffin with a towel covering my face (BHA cream makes my facial skin sensitive to UV light).

The lady suggested that 6 minutes would be the right amount of time for someone as pale as me. Yep that's how she put it.....great.

So, there I'm standing, towel over my face, knickers pulled up my ass (g-string probably would have been a good idea) and a 'youthful' beat playing very loudly through the speakers. I felt like a bloody idiot. After what felt like forever the music stopped and the fans started up, signalling the end of the session.

A well timed 'ding!' probably would have been more appropriate.

A well deserved break

Thanks guys for your support. I still feel like crap so I've taken the day off work.

I'm honestly starting to freak out about getting into shape for the wedding considering its only a little over 6 weeks away. ahhhh!!!!!! so not being able to exercise is frustrating.

The dress is in the process of being made and I'm crossing fingers and toes that it turns out ok (and turns up in time).

Once I can breath properly again, I'm going to be working out and dieting like a celebrity getting ready to hit the red carpet. I'll keep you updated with posts and pics so stay tuned.

Tired & Sick with the flu...poor me!

I feel terrible, I have gone through the first couple of stages of having the flu (the ones where you think you got away with just a cold) but now I'm looking for a knife to cut my head off. I HATE being sick with flu.

Cue the violins.

Change of Address

We've moved.

Can't get a cat because of body corporate rules.

It sucks.

Nuff said.

DIY Fabric Bridal Bouquet

I  had already decided that I didn't want to spend much money on flowers for the wedding. Without a wedding party it seems silly to get a bouquet from a professional and waste money unnecessarily. So I was just going to get some flowers from the market and wrap some ribbon around them myself the day before the wedding. That was until I saw this gorgeous fabric button bouquet on Etsy...

And it got me thinking...maybe I could make my own. So, I grabbed on old camisole, needle and thread and this is how my 'test' flower turned out...

I just got on old cami I was going to chuck out and simply cut circles out of the cami and used some of the lace trim and beads from it as well to get an idea of how it might look. 

I would just need to buy some fabric (perhaps in pastels), lace and buttons/beads, florist wire and ribbon and I could make my own bouquet as well as the button holes and corsage for Scott and our parents.

What do you think? Charming, personal touch for the wedding day or just cheap and tacky?

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 :)

Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells!

Its christmas eve and I'm not exactly full of christmas cheer.

Instead of christmas trees......

I'm thinking of money trees...

Or the lack thereof.

The problem is that without money, I cannot put a roof over my head, food in my mouth, clothes on my back (its embarrassing when people comment on how you are always wearing the same clothes) petrol in my car, pay for my car!

add to the mix the joy of christmas (and the cost) and it becomes a very miserable time of year.

I am trying to focus on the fact that it is a celebration of Jesus and his birth, but that sick feeling in my gut wont go away, and neither will the bills.

Oh well, Merry Christmas everyone. Here's hoping that next christmas has a little more joy.

Wedding dress design dilema

I have been looking at lots of different style of wedding dresses and trying on some different ones here and there and to be honest....the fun is starting to be chocked out of the whole thing.

I can't wait to get the dress because then I can stop thinking about stuff like necklines, fabrics, silhouettes etc.

I've narrowed it down (for now) to a dress with both lace AND satin so that I get the elegance and sexiness of the satin as well as the romance and vintage look of lace.

Here is the dress that gave me the idea....

The alterations would be changing it from strapless to halterneck....

And lowering the back to dip like in this photo...

The only problem is, I want to get it made to fit my measurements when I'm a size 6/8 not 10/12, so I'm going to have to wait until the new year before I can get it made. Cutting it fine I know but there you have it.

Wedding Day Hairstyles

I've been looking at different hairstyles for the wedding and now I am torn between:

A)  Half-up with volume on the top and with the hair pinned somehow so that it falls over one shoulder.

B)  Pulled back into a bun.

These are some of the images I've saved to show the hairdresser -

Trip to Bundaberg

Scott and I went to Bundaberg recently for a friends birthday party.

I have to say, I spent many years longing to get out of that town, so going back is never much fun. It's just a dull, boring and bland town.

Early in the morning, just before we left the Gold Coast

A quick stop for some caffeine.

Scott just had to stop for a thickshake from a place called "SEXIE COFFIE"

We finally made it to Bundaberg in time for breakfast. Then that afternoon, we went to the party. It was themed 'Octoberfest' and there were some interesting costumes. I didn't dress up this year because a. don't have the money for a costume and b. don't have the body for a short, short dress.

Thank goodness were didn't stay in Bundaberg for long.

View of the locals on the road out of Bundaberg.

Fuelling up before we leave.

Scott was happy to have TWO coconut rough chocolates.

And I was just happy to be going home.

The Celebrant is booked!

Scott and I met with the celebrant today.

We were both really pleased with the celebrants personality and the ideas he had for different ways to conduct the ceremony to make the guests feel included without any of the 'ick' factor.

Now we just need to look at the different vow options and choose what we want to say. ahhh the lovey dovey part :)

My struggles with diet and exercise

I did it! I actually got up at 5am and did the 'shred' workout. Then managed to avoid junk food all day. Even though the girls ordered Oporto for lunch .....and I love Oporto burgers!!!!!

At the end of the day, I still had plenty of energy so I went for a brisk walk at 6.30pm after dinner. God it felt good to get moving and listen to up-beat music.

But........later on, Scott wanted some dinner and since we normally have takeaway, I hadn't planned ahead and cooked anything. So, I cooked him some salmon and sweet potato scallops (I sliced the sweet potato and par-boiled it then dipped it in a batter of flour and water and deep fried it. Unfortunately, I was a wee bit hungry and couldn't help 'tasting' some of the scallops.

So, lesson learned. Make sure I have a decent enough dinner so I'm not tempted to eat crap.

New Goals, New Start

I haven't been posting because I have been eating myself silly. All the naughty foods (and drinks) that make me look the way I do.

Because of this 'binge' eating, I put off posting because I didn't want to admit that I was being a pig.

I have really struggled today to not eat crap and so far, have succeeded. But, because I drank beer last night, I woke up with a headache and haven't done any exercise today. Instead of 'starting' tomorrow, I'm continuing on as planned.

Anyway, enough weight loss talk. Besides craving junk food, I've been cleaning out the kitchen cupboards and sorting through what I can pack now,  toss or keep in the kitchen until we move. I figure that if I sort through and pack up all the crap that we don't need for now, it won't be such a big mission when we move into the townhouse next year. Also, it makes me focus on the good stuff that's happening soon ie. moving into our own townhouse!