still here

I put on 400g this week. Mostly a cycle thing I’m thinking but, if I’m to be totally clear with myself, also just not trying hard enough.

I haven’t written anything for the last week or so because I seem to have fallen out of the habit and I’m finding it difficult to fall back into it again. Which is dangerous for my diet and exercise, because when I’m not here, being accountable, I sometimes just drift along. Which evidently isn’t working so very well….

Winter’s coming and things have cooled down. It might actually ‘be’ winter but here it’s still very warm during the day and then, of we’re lucky, it’s cold in the night. I’m glad we live somewhere so temperate. I’m looking forward to cool days though. 🙂

Day 2 at the Gym

…was great!

I went straight after work, did the couple of circuits and stretches and left feeling strong and good.

The best thing about that is that exercise really gets me in the right frame of mind for eating well and doing more exercise. Added to which, it has knock on effects for the way I feel about myself in general, the way I feel in my clothes. My breathing feels better, I shopped for gorgeous fresh foods, I just feel better and more positive.

Just two days of proper exercise has made the world of difference. Pretty amazing really.

So last week I put on a little weight, this week I took off 600g. Overall, I’m still down from where I left off in the last round and really, until now in this round, they’re just numbers. This is where it properly begins and hooray for that. 🙂

After work, my workout and some shopping, I took my lunch down to the beach and ate, watching the waves come in. It was sunshiny and lovely. When I’d finished eating, I took out the art kit my mother gave me last night. It’s a pink pencil case with a tiny set of watercolour paints, a fine point black felt-tip pen, a water brush and a small hardcover book with blank art pages inside. It’s ridiculously cute and as it turns out, very fun to play with.

This isn’t mine, it’s from http://www.lifeneedsart.com but I haven’t taken a pic of mine yet and this is about the right size 🙂

 

I’d already done two drawings in the book, one last night just after Mum gave me the kit and one this morning, while I was waiting to begin work. I got myself comfy and sketched what I was looking at out of my window, then coloured it with water colours. It wasn’t spectacular, or even very good but it was relaxing. 🙂

 

Curves

The gym rather than the shape 🙂

I went on Thursday to have a look and then today I went for my induction and first workout. I like it. It has a positive, inclusive atmosphere. It’s a women-only gym. I’m not sure how much, if anything, that’ll add to my experience but the idea I think, is for women to feel less self-conscious, or maybe I’m missing the mark with that. Please feel free to correct me, or give your opinion. I’m open to learning.

There are strength/resistance training machines in a circuit, interspersed with walking/running/free exercise boards and every thirty seconds there’s a voiceover, across the music which says “Please move to the next machine” or something like that. I’m sure I’ll know it by heart after a session or two.

Members come in, scan their card and put their things into a locker, then do two rounds of the circuit, which takes about 30 minutes. After that, there’s stretching and voila, that’s it. At first glance, it looks pretty easy and I wondered if it’s possible to just keep going after the two circuits are completed but after doing my first workout, I get it. As long as you’re really working at the machines and keeping your heart rate up when you get to the boards in between, you should be pretty ready to stop at the end of it.

They encourage extra cardio, walking etc as well and I’ll do both. I’m glad to have joined. I was falling a bit by the wayside with exercise, after the few weeks off. This feels like a good kickstart.

So, Today Is Mother’s Day

“No it isn’t”

Yes. Yes it is. Tomorrow Andy and Sam will be far from home, playing more sport and they decided collectively that instead of missing out or panicking to rush home for the last hours of the day, that we’d have Mother’s Day a day early.

In fact, for me, Mother’s Day began even earlier than that.

Friday afternoon there were no computers, video games or ipads in evidence. We sat together while they practised guitar, we talked, hugged, created games to play over dinner and were generally present with each other. At dinner, we ate and played a game which probably already has a name but which I’m going to call Persuasion, since it was designed  after doing persuasive text stuff with Zac.

We wrote statements on pieces of paper, folded them, put them in a bowl and then while we ate, chose them one at a time, randomly. Zac and I were one team, Sam and Andy the other and the idea was for one side to be ‘for’ and the other ‘against’ the statement, whatever it might be.

They included ‘The Moon Actually Is Made Of Cheese’, ‘Dinosaurs Aren’t Real’, ‘The World Is Actually Flat’, and ‘Football Was Invented By Hedgehogs’.

It was all fun and games until Zac accidentally put tabasco sauce in his eye and the debate came to an abrupt end….

He was fine after a thorough eye rinse and hand wash and the rest of the evening was gentle and nice.

Then this morning, I was woken by both my boys and led, eyes closed, to the table. When I opened my eyes, it was to see the three of them smiling and a table laden with beautiful fruit, steaming mugs of coffee, fresh juice and various pastries. I knew Andy must have got up early and gone shopping.

The little bowls in front of each place were the beautiful blue and orange ones I’d seen and loved a few days ago.

 

The date’s wrong, obviously…

Zac brought out the presents he’d bought at the mother’s day stall at school, a pretty bookmark and some bath balls and after breakfast, they ran me a bath and left me to relax and sing until I felt like getting out.

In a few minutes, we’ll take a drive to a restaurant by the water and have lunch.

Today I am the luckiest woman on earth. Thank you family. I love you.