DIETING

I am just going to put this out there.
NO matter what you are doing in order to lose weight... 


- if it works for you
- if it is sustainable
- if it doesn't do your head in
- if it's HEALTHY and BALANCED
- if you are happy doing it
- if it's not a fad, or unhealthy
... then it's right for YOU


JUST DON'T KNOCK anyone else's way of doing it.


NO WAY is the RIGHT WAY.  No way is the PERFECT way.  No 'certain way' is going to work for everyone.
What works for you, might not work for the next person.


So don't go around advocating YOUR WAY for everyone as if it's the 'be all and end all'.
Just because it works for you, does not mean it will work for me, or anyone else for that matter.


I know I have been to Weight Watchers before... and it worked.  But I gained most of the weight back.
That does not mean the WEIGHT WATCHERS programme DID NOT WORK.
It means I slipped up.
I did it wrong... again.
I did not learn the right lessons for me to keep it off.


It was not the WEIGHT WATCHERS programme that was at fault.  
I was.


I will not advocate Weight Watchers to anyone, but I will say how I feel about it for myself. 
What you choose to do it your own business.


But I will say this.
Weight Watchers is RIGHT for me.


AND THAT IS THE END OF THIS PARTICULAR RANT... 
and it was not aimed at anyone who is a regular reader or commentor...it was aimed at some particularly 'interesting' ANONYMOUS persons who have emailed me lately with their ADVICE.


I am FAR too nice to tell them where they can put there 'advice'.... OF COURSE.   lol


TODAY:  well we are going down to the kid's school to see what classes they will be in this year, and buying Brylee's new uniform.  She is in Year 7 this year, getting to be a big girl!


After that, not too sure... but we will no doubt try and get out somewhere!  Joshua is only here for 4 days, so we will try and take him to a few different places he's not been to before.


ONWARD...


As I have already said, this is not directed at any of my readers/commentors... but if it makes you second guess what you are doing in any way... then is that a bad thing? 

QUESTION:  can I use this sort of jar/lid for jam?  It's a twist type lid, not a screw on.  I want to make plum jam TODAY.... so HELP???  Can I use them?


We went out and bought some seals for the Agee jars that I have, and some cellophane thingees with rubber bands for the other jars. 


We also picked up some driftwood for the terrerium, and it's now soaking in a bucket of water for a few days to allow the colour to leech out, before putting it into the terrerium.

 ABOVE:  I have turned the spa pool down to 26 degrees, and it's perfect for us to cool off in.
OK, it may not be a fantastic big pool for swimming in, but it's better than the friggin kids paddle pool!  lol

ABOVE:  Joshua is certainly enjoying it!  B & G are too of course.  *smiles*

ABOVE: it's so nice to finally have some really good weather.  Apparently it's not going to last, we are in for rain again soon.


I made jam!  Plum jam.  And it took ages longer than I expected.  But, I got 5 and a half good size jars made today, and I am going to make more tomorrow.
I used Agee jars and 'proper' seals.  Tomorrow I am going to use some of the other jars, and use the cellophane things with rubber bands, and not use the already used lids from the jars.


End of Day: it's been a really, really hot day... probably not the best sort of weather to be making jam... but the plums are ready now, so now is the time to do it.
ON TRACK:  this diet sure has kicked in, motivation is high and I can already feel the difference losing even 5 kgs has made to me.
nite nite.

Read more ►

EXTRA CHILD TODAY....

Today our grandson Joshua arrives to visit for a few days.... we haven't seen him for a few months so we are looking forward to his visit.


As Stew is still on holiday he can spend time with him too.  


So, today will be about waiting for Josh to arrive, then we are going out to get a few things.


Here's some photos from yesterday:

 ABOVE:  gorgeous Mt Ruapehu, with a light dusting of fresh snow that fell two nights ago.

ABOVE:  Mt Ngarahoe, almost totally devoid of snow.  It is still a pretty mountain.

ABOVE:  I have a thing for mountain streams... I love them so much.  They are always crystal clear and so pretty.

ABOVE:  at a river walk near Turangi... a swing bridge.  It was very un-nerving to walk across... but the view was worth it:

ABOVE: perfect clear, beautiful water.  I so wanted to go swimming, but it was not possible yesterday.  We were working on a deadline, we wanted to get home in time to go to Weight Watchers, and we did.


And we both lost weight.  Stew lost 1.2 kilos, and I lost 1.5 kilos.   Very happy with those results.  


ONWARD...


DEBBIE:  there are actually three mountains in a row, I have only shown two as the third one is insignificant to look at.  YES, they are volcanoes.   Ruapehu erupted about 15 years ago, and I was 'lucky' enough to be actually PASSING the mountain when it erupted.... it was only a small eruption that made the crater lake spill down the side of the mountain... but it did send a HUGE plume of dust/ash into the air.  It looked just like an atomic bomb!  Huge mushroom type cloud.  It was awesome.  Luckily no one died either.


Have I mentioned lately that I'm going insane with my sunburn itching?  Well I am.  I am going to peel all over my back, arms and chest... FOR SURE.  I can't sleep I'm that itchy.  And I'm just a little BIT crabby!  lol


Josh wasn't due till this afternoon, so we popped out and picked up a few things so we could make a start on setting up the terrerium in readiness for gettting frogs/tadpoles...

ABOVE:  now we have the gravel, rocks and the water conditioner sorted.  We also used an old water fountain we already had.... so now all we need is a piece of driftwood and a few plants.  
Once all that is done we can get the critters.


End of Day: whoops!  forgot to update.
Joshua arrived safe and sound... and very happy to be here.  The kids have been playing all afternoon/evening.  I've been doing bugger all!  Tired.  Ready to go to bed.
ON TRACK:  can't say we have been excellent today.  But we had a really lovely dinner of macaroni cheese with added bacon/onion and mushrooms.  Was yum!
nite nite.

Read more ►

HMMMM... WHAT WAS SCARY?

NOPE.... it is not a tattoo.   I am still waiting to get that...

So.... what was it?

Well.... a few days ago FROGGY suggested I do something with my hair.   AND funnily enough, I had been thinking of doing it for a few months myself.
So, while at the Plaza with my girlfriends yesterday, they suggested I go into Rodney Wayne's and see if they thought I would suit it.  They said I should just DO IT.

So I did.

This is what I got done:

ABOVE:  I got a fringe!  (bangs to some of you).... well???  What do ya think???

I last had a fringe about 13 years ago... but grew it out real fast.    Before that, I was about 15!   Sheesh... a lot of water under the bridge since then.  

Today, we go home.
Once again we will make a day trip of it.... stopping at various places along the way. 

A few more photos from yesterday:

 ABOVE:  Mike and Joyce in the park...

ABOVE: Mike listening to Griffin through the whisper post at the park. 

ABOVE:  Anne, Chris D and me yesterday.  

ONWARD...

We are safely home.  Busy unpacking, and getting ready to weigh in at Weight Watchers.  We were good!  Seriously, only one 'evil' meal, and even then I did NOT go over my daily points allocation.  So, fingers crossed.  Will come back later and report in.

THE HAIR:  thanks to everyone who likes it, or is nice enough to lie!   lol

I am a little worried I look like mutton dressed as lamb (thank you Maria).... but I LOVE my long hair, it is not a problem to me keeping it this length.  And if anyone does think I am mutton dressed as lamb, that is THEIR problem... not mine.  I am going to have long hair till the day I die... and by the time I'm 80 it might even have BLUE steaks in it too.  ha ha ha.

ONWARD... gotta face dem scales!

End of Day:  well the scales were kind.  Stew lost 1.2 kilos and I lost 1.5 kilos... so we are both very happy with out efforts, even while on holiday.

After WW we bought some groceries and came home.  Going to chill out now, we are exhausted from all the travelling.

Photos tomorrow of today's trip.

ON TRACK:  you betcha!

nite nite.

Read more ►

WET, WET DAY IN PALMERSTON NORTH

Right now you would not believe it was summer here in New Zealand!
Yesterday a cold front came up from the south and hit the country.  There was snow falling in the South Island, and we sure felt the chill factor in Wellington yesterday, and Palmerston North too.

Brrrrrr.... I am cold!  Totally did not expect to be cold in the middle of summer.

*sigh*... anyway, heres a few photos from our trip to Wellington yesterday:

ABOVE:  view heading into Wellington city... not as pretty as our Auckland... but still OK.

ABOVE: the stadium in downtown Wellington.  It's 'real' name is the Westpac Stadium, but EVERYONE calls it 'The Cake Tin'... for obvious reasons.  lol

ABOVE:  two Lifeguards on duty down at the waterfront.... but there was NOT A SOUL on the beach swimming!  It was freezing.  I felt really sorry for the two lifeguards, having to sit there all day in the freezing wind and rain!  Maybe they got to go home when it totally pissed down?

ABOVE:  the only 'excitement' of the day!  A fire truck racing by while we sat and waited for Stew to get the kids some food.

ABOVE:  'Picnic' in the car.  Mike being a doofus with his salad.  lol

ABOVE:  the wild and rugged Wellington coastline.  It was even more turbulent a few hours earlier.

TODAY:  probably go into town, check out some more shops (yaaaa) and have lunch with Mike and Joyce again.  Try to spend as much time with Mike as we can because we head home tomorrow.

ONWARD...

Sandra C and her hubby went to a car show in Wanganui yesterday... it was an overcast day, with scattered showers.....

ABOVE:  AND... she got horribly sunburnt!  Our sun here is so potent!  She is in pain!

Well, what  a differnet day we are having today!  Glorious sunshine... and not a lot of wind.
We have been out and about quite a bit, had lunch in town with the girlfriends, Mike and Joyce.

AND... I did something today that I have been thinking of doing for a while now, I just needed the prompt... and I got that the other day.
So, this afternoon I did something I hadn't done in about 10 years.... MORE on that tomorrow.

One of our other girlfriends, Anne, popped in to visit us this afternoon too, which was lovely.
I took a couple of photos of us, will post them tomorrow too.

End of Day: a really lovely day, scary in parts!
ON TRACK:  amazing eh?  lol
nite nite.

Read more ►

NO FIRM PLANS FOR THE DAY, JUST TAKE IT AS IT COMES

So... not too sure what the weather is thinking of doing today... but we will wait and see I suppose.

As we don't have any real plans, I think today will be just chilling out with friends and family...  and I want to do a drive by our old house.   See if it's changed at all?

So, until I something to yabber on about, here's a few more photos:

ABOVE:  family shots.  Mike, Joyce, Brylee and Griffin.  Mike is my 'baby'... so he's a bit special.
We miss him so much.

ABOVE: Sandra's dog, Honey.   She had already pinched and eaten one of those biscuits off the coffee table, so Sandra gave her another one.  The poor dog held that biscuit in her mouth for ages... you could see her mind ticking over :  "Hmmm... is this a trap?  Has she set me up for some reason?"  cos she does not usually get given biscuits!
Sandra had to encourage her to eat it in the end.  Very cute.

Rigthy ho... that's me till later...

ONWARD...

Well.. we ended up going to Wellington for the day.  The weather was total crap everywhere, so travelling in the car was fine.
We had a picnic in the car as it was raining when we found a grassy area to have our picnic.... so ... it was still nice to spend time with Mike!

Did I mention Mike came with us?  NO... well... he did ... lol.   His girlfriend Joyce had to stay back in Palmy for netball practice. 

After lunch we went to Dressmart, outlet stores, where Mike got some new basketball shoes for $150 LESS than the shop in Palmy.  He was rapt.

After that we headed back to Palmy, and picked up some sushi for dinner with Chris D.  We WERE going to buy some whitebait and make whitebait fritters for dinner, but whitebait was OMG... $126 a kilo!   Obviously, we did not buy any. 

Just finished dinner... which was OK.  I'm thinking sushi is not THAT lovely, but it fills a gap.

Going back to Sandra's a bit later.... where I will upload some photos from today, and post them tomorrow.

End of Day:  any day spent with Mike is a good day... he's my baby and I adore him. 
ON TRACK:  and loving it... even though sometimes I really, really crave cake!
nite nite.

Read more ►

SATURDAY IN PALMY

Right... I'm just going to go straight into photos from yesterday:

ABOVE:  us at Huka Falls, just before reaching Taupo.

ABOVE: Me and Sharon at Huka Falls.... she met us there as she wanted to show me something...

ABOVE:  this picture was what she wanted to show me.... it was her's and she wanted to give it to me!  I was like... YES THANK YOU! ... it's GORGEOUS!  We will pick it up from her on our way home on Tuesday.   What a lovely gift ... and clearly she knows me TOO WELL!   I adore that picture... kids, water and BLUE!

ABOVE: last photo... about to go over the new bridge on the new by-pass at Taupo.


TODAY:  well ... going to meet my girlfriends at The Coffee Club in Palmerston North at 10 am.  Anyone who wants to join us (Janine, Janene, Mary H)... you are welcome!

Morning Tea with the girls was just lovely, we managed to kill a couple of hours easily.
There was Chris D, Sandra C, Janine H and myself, so a nice number around the table.

 ABOVE: Janine and I...

ABOVE:  The 'original' three... Myself, Chris D and Sandra C.

ABOVE:  while out and about today, I managed to find a really good sized sun dome shelter thingee for the beach.  I struggled to figure it out (top), so Stew had to step in and erect it.  Sandra pushing a peg in above.

ABOVE: also found this nautical themed clock... slightly shop damaged ... so $20 off.  Score.

ABOVE:  look at all the goodies Janine H gave us while we were at morning tea!  Totally cool stuff... THANKS so much Janine.

We are expecting Chris D, Mike and his girlfriend Joyce for dinner, so I better go and make sure it's ready!   I bought salad stuff and cold meats ... so it's pretty much sorted already.

End of Day:  it's been a lovely day... so nice to catch up with everyone down here.  Shame I shall miss seeing Anne, Janene and Jenny though.
ON TRACK:  possibly  had too much dinner, but it was all good, healthy food, so not too bad.
nite nite.

Read more ►

ROAD TRIP TO PALMY TODAY

Well... it's going to be a very long day on the road today.
It may only be about 6 and a half hours drive time.... but we are going to stretch it out a bit by doing some stops along the way.


First stop will be in Hamilton, where we will visit Amanda to drop off a couple of things.... then...

ABOVE: Tokoroa, my town of birth. My father worked as an independant logging contractor, supplying logs to the Paper Mill, seen in the background in this picture.
Our next stop will be at the cemetery to visit my two brothers and Dad in Tokoroa.  Probably need to tidy their graves while we are there.  Not many family left who do visit there.  Just me really.  My Mum and sister are both in Australia.

ABOVE:  Huka Falls.
After that, we will stop at the Huka Falls, between Wairakei and Taupo... then maybe see Blondie (Sharon, another blogger) in Taupo itself.
We are planning on having a picnic along the lake front somewhere after that.

ABOVE:  Lake Taupo.  The biggest lake in New Zealand.  It's usually freezing, but still a gorgeous lake.


Then it will be on around the lake and through the Desert Road... pass the mountains and maybe a stop at Taihape.
There's a really LOVELY gift shop there!


Dinner:  should be at Bulls.  Kebab time!  OOO my mouth is watering thinking about that!  lol


So... the next time you hear from me, we should be in Palmerston North!  


End of Day:..... wait for it....  WE GOT HERE!  Our trip down was lovely, with a super lovely surprise in Taupo!  More about that tomorrow when I get a chance to upload some photos!
We had our Kebabs in Bulls.... and they were worth waiting for.  And the lovely kebab owners let Brylee and Griffin eat McDonalds in their shop while Stew and I had our kebabs!  How nice was that!
ON TRACK:  EVEN with the 20 point (!) kebab!  Very proud of myself... and Stew... who reminded me that NO, I did not need carrot cake after the kebab.  Nice man.  Once we had left Bulls, I was so glad I didn't succumb to the MOMENTARY desire to eat cake!  lol
nite nite.


edit: Tanya in the USA:  I have clearly had MORE than my fair share of cake already.  If I want to enjoy the rest of my life, I need to miss out on cake, or I am going to drop dead from a heart attack!

Read more ►