In Which a Small Holiday is Had

It was Andy’s birthday last week, so we went away for the weekend, which was AWESOME!

If you’ve never been to the east coast of Australia, may I suggest a visit and if you’ve never been to Australia, then what are you waiting for?! It’s lovely! 🙂

The idea was to plan it all and present it as a fait accompli as a gift to Andy. He’s done this very thing for me a lot since we met and we both love it. I looked at hotels and cabins and camping spots and found what I thought would be great. A cabin nestled between two farms, next to a river. When I rang though, they were booked out. It turns out that the weekend just happened to be one when there was a big monthly event happening. Great for our entertainment, not so great for finding accommodation!

Fortunately for me, for us, luck was on my side, as it so often is and on my way from one site to another, I found a Glamping spot! Glamorous Camping, or Glamping, is the sort of camping experience I might have scorned once. A sort of luxury camping, in a tent, amongst trees and bush but with beds and a bathroom and a kitchen. We even had a heater and a TV….oh and a lovely verandah with a table and chairs……Glamping! 🙂

At this time of the year, winter here, it’s an inexpensive option. Cheaper than a cabin but in my opinion, far more fun and interesting. Needless to say, the kids loved it.

We spent two nights there and we could hear the rolling waves from the beach, lulling us to sleep, gentling us into the morning light…and the birds…loud, vibrant, calling to life. They created a joyous, optimistic atmosphere, dipping and gliding as I drank my morning coffee and watched.

We went to markets and ate in cafes and walked on the beach and played mini-golf. It was a great weekend. On the birthday morning, we woke Andy (he was already awake and watching the World Cup from the warmth of our giant and comfortable bed) and brought coffee and presents, then went out for breakfast. Photo time I think 🙂

 

 

 

The Weigh-in 4

Weigh-in 4, after a holiday with my family. In theme parks, eating out……Dun Dun Dah!

After all of that, this week, I am a kilo and a half lighter. Hooray.

I feel happy about that. A little surprised but glad that my choices garnered results. I do like results 🙂

Home From Holidays

I love holidays. That concentrated amount of time that somehow feels brighter, more focused, perhaps because I’m more alert to opportunities for experience, for fun. Perhaps because seeing myself and my family out of context gives me that all important shift in perception and reminds me just how miraculous and wonderful it is that we belong together.

The night before we came home, we ate at a really great steakhouse and we laughed so hard together that I couldn’t stop laughing, aware somewhere in my mind that our little boys (not so little now) are people that I don’t just love and want to help grow and protect, but people I really like. People in whose company I find joy.

Andy and I shared looks across the table, perhaps both realising at the same time, perhaps just happy to be in that moment with them and each other.

We ate well on this holiday. It felt as though we trod a satisfying line between nourishing our bodies well and indulging our wants. I made choices I’m proud of and gave myself room to have the things I wanted too. Or the things I thought I wanted. I bought two pieces of rich creamy fudge at one place, realising after a bite of each that it was just the taste I wanted, so handed them to Sam. Tall, slender, athletic Sam, who ate them in a bite, probably offering to share them with his Dad, though I didn’t see that.

At the steakhouse, there was a huge steak, covered in rich mushroom sauce, followed by coffee and a piece of dense, warm chocolate cake, sitting on a puddle of melted ganache, a tiny bowl of ice-cream nestled by it. I dug my spoon in and closed my eyes with remembered taste, enjoying every second. Half-way through it I knew I didn’t need it anymore and passed it across the table without regret.

How times have changed.

I counted 7294 steps on the first day (well I didn’t but my trusty Omron pedometer did) and 6800 steps on the last day. Beyond that all I know is that we moved a lot on our holiday, laughed a lot, hugged a lot.

and today is weigh-in day….

which I’ll document in its own post

Waterpark

Waterpark today. Stopped on the way to buy myself a picnic lunch of grapes, Greek salad, ham and water. We all ate together and I was glad to have my healthy picnic instead of the burgers my family were eating, even though the smells wafted over. Lots of swimming and slides, icecream later. It was yum and just enough.
Totally exhausted now and one more theme park to do tomorrow 🙂
Spending this time together having fun is so wonderful. I’m so proud to be the mother of these growing, beautiful boys, sharing them with the best Dad they, or I, could have imagined. This is what happy looks like 🙂