A New Year coming and some new Goals.

Welcome to the last day of the year. 2008 sure has been a year of change for me, Learning how to manage my new tum, having the stricture sorted, to moving towns, house and jobs.

In the past year I have made new friends, and started new things.....Lions club, Flag 500. There are also many things that I needed to do and I didn't, or I lost my way on. I am going to try to address these in the coming year. One of these was the Gym. I joined one of the local gyms here in Feilding when I moved here last April......how many times did I go.......TWICE!!!!!!!! So I have been paying $12 per week and my fitness certainly has not improved. Maybe I wasn't ready or just maybe I was being lazy and letting the 'tool' of Weight loss surgery be the only answer to losing this flab.

Things have to change on that, and luckily for me, the old gym has basically gone out of business, and they have transferred all membership to the more modern gym in town, and I have made an effort to transfer and met the new people and check out the gear. The gear is nice, and the gym is not as pretentious as I first thought......lots of different folk all at different stages with different needs. Just like me. So, since I signed up with them on Monday, I have been twice....once on Monday and once this morning. I don't have my assessment till the 12th Jan, so until then I am just working on cardio - mainly bike and treadmill. I obviously have a history with being all gung ho about going and then fail miserably, so I have told them that, and they will call me if I haven't been for 2 weeks. I am also taking a different approach to exercise and starting small and building on it, therefore I shouldn't go to hard out, find it tough and then quit.

Well, enough about that, a little now about our Christmas and our holiday. We had a lovely meal on Christmas Eve with my eldest brother and his family at Dad's house. We then headed off to Taupo to spend time with Si's parents, which was lovely, although the accommodation's bed was not so good for Si and we came home a day early. We also discovered we like more structure to a holiday, and are not the sit around and do nothing type of people. Unfortunately this year the budget did not allow for more. So, I am starting to save for next years Christmas now!!!!

The cat and the dog were pleased to see us, Not sure that they enjoyed the stay away, especially Riddick who has been really attentive since we got home and is constantly looking for a lap to sit on. While we were on holiday we bought Porsche a new harness/lead, so now I can actually walk her without her being 100% out of control. So far I have walked her to my dads place (only a 5 min walk) twice, and she has been pretty good, I think i will start taking her for more walks....start slow of course and build up time. There is a circuit I would like to build up to which is 3km long.

Simon's parents have joined us here in Feilding for a few days while they look for a house. They have now sold their house in Auckland and are struggling to find something that ticks all the boxes in their price range, style, size, location etc etc etc. It is kinda fun driving around looking at them, knowing that I don't have to spend a cent. His Dad is here till Saturday and his Mum is staying till the 12th.

I am back to work on the 5th Jan, so a few more days relaxing before then. Tonight we are heading to the Palmerston North RSA for a meal with Dad & Val, Si's Mum and Dad and several family friends. I doubt we will stay to see the New Year in.

So I guess down to the nitty gritty - Not resolutions as such, but certainly areas that I want/need to work on over the next year to achieve my health and fitness goals.

- Increase water intake- I am really bad at this and need to drink more water.
- Do at least 20 Min's of exercise per day – walk, aqua, gym etc.(need to start small and build up to increase both fitness and strength)
- Stop drinking when I eat.
- Plan my meals so I am not tempted with 'easy'(unwise)options.
- Watch the portion sizes
- Monitor the snacking, make sure if I do need to have something it is a health snack
- TAKE MY SUPPLEMENTS

I am really not sure where I would like my weight to be - eventually. I am still a size 18/20 up top and a 20/22 (mostly) on the bottom. My current weight is 105.5 kgs, and ideally I think I would like to be a 14/16 on both top and bottom, but I also can not ever remember being that, so I have no clue as to if it is achievable or what weight that will be, but if I can do the above I am sure that it will be as I will be stronger, and fitter and most importantly healthier.

Happy New Year to you all, and I hope you find all you are looking for in 2009.

Janine (PS- Have you figured out I love Tigger yet)

Merry Christmas

I am officially on Holiday and I love it. Was so great to finish work yesterday and get ready for the holiday. We did a quick grocery shop of the final bits and pieces and we have found the pet's passports for their little holiday to tte kennels and cattery. I also had 4 - yes 4 baskets of washing to fold, which is just stupid....I hate folding washing!!!

Then we got all packed and ready to go, headed out to see hte Christmas lights....there didn't seem to be as many as last year, although one of the local resthomes did a fabulous job of decorating. Si managed to get an okay shot of the main entrance.



We are off on a few days break and should be back on Sunday. Take care all, and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. Look forward to sharing more of my journey through Weightloss Surgery and Life in general in 2009.

Love and Hugs

Janine and Sigh

Wet weekend

Well I am pleased that we managed to get rid of the colder wet weather before Christmas (fingers crossed). I was uncertain as to if my Motorcycle training would go ahead with the weather, but luckily the rain held off till afterwards. So after about 20 mins of putt putting around on this scooter thing, the instructor got me to do some tests and viola I have my basic skills handling certificate and I can now go to and sit for my learners motorcycle license.

Here is me on the little (very little) scooter.


Had a great time on Saturday afternoon catching up with Janene in Palmy and it was lovely to see Jo and Jenny there as well, all checking on on Janene's fabulous progress. Some of Janenes comments take me back to when I had just had my surgery and was learning how to use the tool. We were talking about some of the little things that come with this surgery such as not drinking when you eat. I am a bad one for doing this as I need a little lubrication otherwise I tend to retch......however I think my little lubrication has crepted up and I am going to try to knock that on the head.

Oh, the other thing I am working on, is breakfast. I am not sure that I am getting enough from my breakfast as I find that I am often wanting to snack about 1- 2 hours later. So Simon and I are trying protein shakes for breakfast. Now I have never been a shake person, and I find them boring.....but I will give it a go for at least all of January and see what happens. Actually over the last couple of days I have gone back to basics on a few things.....and am obviously the better off for it as the scales on my official Monday morning Weighin are 106.3 kgs - so I have lost 2 kgs over the last week. So that makes a total loss of 70.7 kgs since my heaviest and now a total of 6.4 kgs to lose before I am under 100 kgs.

Anywho, off to work for my last two days, I have taken Wednesday off as we want to head away not long after lunch, and lunch is a get together with my brother and family as well as Dad and Val. So we will do the semi christmas thing then and head off after dropping the animals at their holiday home(kennels and cattery). So if I don't manage to post before Christmas. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, safe driving for those who are and see you when we all return from our various celebrations.

Love

Janine

7 Sleeps till Santa……and 2 sleeps till my Motorcycle training.

I am so excited, I am like a kid at the moment, I am finally going to learn how to ride!!! Hopefully I do okay and I earn my basic skills handling….then I just need to do my theory and I will be licensed to ride, which means I will be on the hunt for a cheap 250 to learn on.

I have been kind of taking it easy over the last week and not done a lot. I had my last Avon delivery (before Christmas) this week and now I can take a little break from it till mid January. I really only do it so I can get stuff for myself cheaper, but realistically the price of the catalogues etc makes it not cost effective. Oh well – I kind of treat it like a hobby anyway.

Oh, I was going to take a pic of out house with the Christmas decorations etc – but the cat has pulled over the tree so many times and broken most of the ornaments……so the only thing I have to show you is my Christmas mantle display – which a friend made for me. It is really lovely!!



On the body image front – I am now starting to hate the loose skin, especially when it comes to trying to find a swimsuit. I am so little up-top that I have had to go with a tankini top and lycra shorts for the bottoms (hate the loose skin on my legs). Actually I hate my arms as well and I really think I would be better off with a wetsuit. But once again my bottom half is still to chunky to feel comfortable in one.

Body image is one of those weird things that I am not sure will ever come right. I was reading a post by Jaxx recently about things that you can do to feel more confident about yourself everyday……

Something we should all live by everyday....

1. When standing in front of a mirror and taking a look at what you think are "problem areas" (problem areas according to the media's beauty standards), focus on your dazzling smile, killer hair, and great cleavage instead of how you don't have great abs.
2. Take a good look at Rubens' nudes and Renoir's bathing beauties. You will find they are beautiful. If you look like that, you too are beautiful!
3. Apply make-up (but not in an amateur way; browse the 'net for information on techniques that will suit you). The high you get from seeing your face come to life is unbeatable.
4. Develop a fabulous strut. Try to walk swaying your hips a little. Don't be afraid to get in touch with your feminine side.
5. Highlight what you like about yourself by buying clothes that draw attention to these areas. Got a great cleavage? Show it off a little!
6. Believe you are beautiful. Think beautiful and live beautiful. Walk on the street and feel beautiful. Hold your head up high, toss your hair, and take a deep breath. If you don't believe you are beautiful, how will others see you as beautiful?
7. Smile, smile, smile. Nothing makes a woman seem more attractive than a friendly smile.
8. Avoid programs that show impossible beauty. Don't get caught up in the lie!
9. Don't be afraid of the mirror. Look at your body and bond with it. Feel those curves and be thankful you are healthy.
10. Understand that the most important part of beauty comes from within. Outer beauty fades through time, but inner beauty lasts throughout your whole life. Cultivate your spirit, read, soar, and don't spend so much time in front of that TV!
Now I know that I need to work on most of these things….although I am proud to admit that I have a fabulous strut!!!

I am going to work on these some more, and I am going to re-find my motivation. I would really like to lost the next 8.3 kgs and finally be under 100 kgs for the first time that I can remember. So, my next post will be about how I believe I will achieve this and the steps that I will take to make the most of the tool that my surgeon has given me.

14 sleeps to go…..14 sleeps to Santa

Yup – only 14 sleeps till presents. Now some of you asked if I really had a pressies cupboard…..and I do. At the moment most things are wrapped, although we did have to get some more wrapping paper last night, so a few more to go into it yet. I have got really good at buying gifts throughout the year and it helps that I sell Avon, so sometimes I get some really good deals.

So here are 2 shelves of our pressies cupboard. There are even presents in the pink bag!!!



Now Si is pretty sure he is not getting a present from me this year since I got him the bike, but I am trying to source him something he has been waiting for a while.
I have been asking him for a pic of the bike, but he hasn’t given me one yet, so I thought I would show you a pic from the internet. The only difference is our one has the sissy bar on the back so I don’t fall off.



Oh, as mentioned, I have been really busy with the wedding preparation, and all the invites have gone out and I am starting to get RSVP’s. It is quite exciting. I have scanned a copy of the invite for those to see, although they didn’t scan as well as what they look. The black is velvet flocking paper and the other is a shimmery paper which reflects the light really well.



Looking forward to this weekend, we are having friends over for a BBQ on Saturday evening and that is all we have to do……that and the NZ Christmas cards that I must get out soon.

I would love to hear what plans you have for Christmas….are you staying home, or heading away for a few days like me. I am off to Lake Taupo for 4 nights.

In Control

You know with all these Christmas functions I normally (pre surgery) would have pigged out at all of them and most like gained like 5kgs!

We I am really happy to advise that after 3 do’s in the weekend I remained exactly the same as that I have been over the last couple of weeks. Do I feel like I missed out at all? Not a bean, in fact I think I enjoyed myself more as I didn’t stress about what I was eating. I can have the odd scorched almond and not demolish the whole box in one sitting, and I can take or leave anything.

Last Christmas I found it much harder as everyone was watching what I was eating, because it was so recent that I had the surgery and some people were critical of how little I was eating or the choices I was making. This was before we realized that I had a stricture and that I was at times quite uncomfortable.

The work do on Sunday was brilliant, it was at Makoura Lodge. We had a blast there doing the golf driving and the pistol shooting, which I have to say is much harder than it looks. The bbq was devine and the whole team really relaxed. I hope to have some pics soon.

After the do we did our normal grocery shopping and then we had a powernap and were ready to tackle to pressie cupboard to see what we had stashed away over the year. We were pleasantly surprised with what we had in the cupboard and went off to the warehouse to fill the gaps. So all pressies are now bought and wrapped and back in the pressie cupboard ready to be handed out in a few weeks time.

Location Location Location & Festive fun

I think I have found a new calling!!! I really like Real Estate. Mind you I think the reason I like it, is that I get all the fun of looking at houses without the stress of having to pay for it!!!!

This week has been really interesting going around lots of open homes and houses for sale with Si's Mum and Dad. Some of the agents out there are utterly appaling, and don't listen to the buyers requests at all, and some bend over backwards to try and find the right property. Si's Mum and Dad told me I was made for real estate as I remebered what they were looking for and what they liked and disliked about every single house, even down to the floorplan!!! If only it provided a more stable income.

So it sure has been a busy week with looking at all those houses and we also had Si's new motorbike arriving......pics to come. It finally got here on Friday night at around 9pm after a mix up with the trucking company. Got the sissy bar installed yesterday morning and then headed of to the family christmas bbq out at my cousin Paul's place in Tangimoana. Was nice to see everyone, although I was a bit hot and my neck got a little burnt!!

Saw Si's Mum and Dad off on their way back to Auckland before racing off to the Lions Club christmas function last night. I was part of the organising committee, so I needed to be there early to do some of the decorations etc. We even had a visit from Santa and I ran a quiz about Christmas.

Today we have my work do out at Apiti, which is where I grew up on a farm. I would realy like to show Si around up there, so we might go up a little earlier so I can show him around a bit.

Now, one thing about my blog, I noticed that in the last week I had over 70 'Hits" or views, and only ONE comment left. I realise that some people don't know how to comment, or they are reading through google reader, and although I don't actually write my blog for anyone elses benefit but my own.....I feel a bit hurt sometimes that no one wants to leave a message. Which is stupid I know, as I am one of the worst offenders at popping into other poeples blogs and not commenting. So, I am changing that, and I will be commenting on other peoples more often!!!

For those of you who don't know how to comment or wish to do so privately, feel free to just drop me an email.