Foiled on the Bridge or shall I say 'soiled'!

Tuesday March 15^th

It’s time to get up. Back to the daily grind.  Looks like Nature has given me a reason for my horrible mood on Sunday. Sigh…that’s all I need. I’m tired enough as it is without that to assist me. Oh well. Work out bag in hand, I follow G out to the car.

Nothing too dramatic happened at work today. We survived the usual phone calls and dramas. I offered my friend a lift because she lives not to far from Sacred Centre. Normally, she accepts, today she left a little earlier to make it to the post office.

35 minutes later, I was tempted to send her a text message congratulating her on her excellent decision. The drive to Sacred Centre from my work takes about 15-20 minutes. Tonight, I’d been sitting in traffic for 30 and I’d only managed to get about 7 blocks from the office. Traffic was at a standstill. Horns honked all around me. Cars were stuck in intersections. Apparently a protester dumped a load of soil & gravel on the Harbour Bridge that affected 2 out of 4 north bound lanes. If I thought it would have made any difference, I would have burst into tears out of sheer frustration. I sent J a text message telling her of my predicament. I couldn’t turn around and go home even if I wanted to.

I ended up arriving 45 minutes late. J was so lovely and understanding.  She took my measurements and then we tried to get through as much of the aerobic running portion of the warm up as we could. 80% of the Centre was filled with folding chairs for the function that started at 6.30pm. We moved into the small white work out room and kept going.

J gave me the option of shoulder presses standing up or chest presses on the bench press. It was a no-brainer. I’d been eyeing off the bench press since we first started training together! Talk about excited! It was fun and it was tougher than it looked! I could really feel the muscles in my arms and chest. So, so cool!

Another awesome workout with J! I thanked her sincerely for waiting for me. She was feeling a little under the weather too, I know there were other things she could be doing. I gave her a lift part of the way home and headed off across the Bridge –hoping for a better run than I’d had on my way over. Just my luck! A multi-vehicle accident had slowed down traffic on the lanes heading south. Fortunately, it was no where near as bad as this afternoon.

I walked in the door to the smell of an amazing chicken stir-fry! Perhaps my luck was changing!! Time for the season finale of Packed to the Rafters. Awesome! I squeezed in a few minutes of Parenthood, then headed off to the bed room to fit in my meditation.

The cat followed me in. It was a bit chilly on the floor where I was laying. I could feel a breeze coming from somewhere that made it a bit harder to relax. It did help a little to have the cat curled up in the crook of my arm.

Teeth brushing and then bed.

Assignments

Monday March 14^th 

Up at the crack of dawn for another group PT work out with J and the boys. These 5.20am starts on my days off are killing me. Good thing I was able to sleep in on Friday or I might have had to give this one a miss. The past few weeks have been so hectic and busy, I’m ready for a day of complete relaxation. But, today isn’t that day! I sling my workout bag over my shoulder and head out into the early morning darkness.

J put us through our paces today. It’s exactly what I need. As much as I struggle with some of the exercises –especially the push-ups, there is something extremely satisfying about getting through the session. I like the feeling of accomplishment and the 3 minutes of bliss when it’s over!

Home for a shower and a protein power shake.  Thought briefly of hopping on the treadmill –but I need to remain focused for today’s activity. Perhaps I’ll brave it once I’m finished my homework. After breakfast, it’s time to get comfortable in the study and get to work on the self-reflection assignment that is due to be handed in on Wednesday. 13 questions. 1500 words. I forced myself to keep at it until I’d finished most of it. Procrastination is my middle name, after all.  Once I was satisfied with how much I’d written, I figured I’d let myself off the hook for a bit of retail therapy.

Back to Big W. It’s been months since I’ve shopped there, yet this will be my 3^rd visit in the past 2 weeks! Craziness! Today I’m on a mission- new head phones that hook around my ear so that when I’m running on the treadmill, they don’t jiggle out of my ears. I might even splurge and buy a new workout shirt and possibly some work out socks.

Headphones- check. New workout shirt-check.  Even picked up a couple of movies.  There used to be a time when I wouldn’t walk out of a shop like this without popping a chocolate bar or some lollies in the basket.  Who would have thought that I would ever change this much?

I couldn’t get straight back into my assignment, so instead, I watched the 2^nd part of a doco that I’d recorded last year called ‘Making Australia Happy’.  It was really interesting to watch. And, it was kind of like doing homework because it was all about Positive Psychology.

Finally, I couldn’t put it off any longer and so I headed back into the study to finish my assignment.  DONE! Printed. Even stapled my cover sheet to the finished product. Now all I have to worry about are my assessments for the 2^nd part of my “Relationship Issues’ intensive this weekend.

G isn’t home yet and I’m wondering how she’s doing.  Eventually, I get the call, and I head out to pick her up from the station. We spent a bit of time talking and then I had to head into the bedroom to meditate. At the moment, I’m using a progressive relaxation CD. I think I’m going to need to build up to ‘straight’ meditation!

Feeling calm and sleepy, it’s time to hit the hay

Quote of the Day

Sunday March 13^th

A bit of a sleep in today as college doesn’t start until 10am. The news is full of the disaster in Japan. It’s hard to even fathom the devastation. My heart goes out to all of those affected.

I left a bit later than I should have. Free parking on Sundays mean the parking spaces go like hotcakes! I circled twice and finally lucked out with a spot by my normal Wednesday night classroom. Still feeling full from breakfast, I headed straight up the stairs and by-passed the Café.

By morning tea, I had figured out what I would do for our assessment. We were instructed to give up something that we were attached or addicted to. When I first heard it mentioned, I was filled with dread! I’m only 2 days away from re-introducing gluten and dairy to my diet. How on earth am I going to give up something for another 4 weeks!! Food is my addiction, after all. Even contemplating another restriction felt like a punishment.

G jokingly suggested that I give up sleep! I don’t think she’s too keen for me to continue with the detox diet either. Her quip did give me an idea though. What about meditation? I can think of 1000 reasons not to meditate! I’m almost convinced that starting meditation will be up there with resisting junk food.

Happy with my selection, I started up the stairs with my soy dandy latte. I nearly burst with pride when the student behind me said: “Hey are you wearing someone else’s pants? Those one’s are so baggy on you!”

That is totally the best ‘quote of the day’!

Home to exercise. I thought I’d try a new program on the treadmill just to spice things up a bit! It contains speeds of 6, 8, and 12kms/hr. To date, I’ve only managed to run for 2 mins at 10kms/hr in my normal interval program. Dunno how I planned to handle 12kms/hr, but thought it was time to give it a try!

Holy Cow! That is fast! In the end, I managed to run at 12kms/hr for 1 minute twice during the program. To me, that is an achievement! I know that I’m capable of it and with practice, I’ll be able to manage all three 2 minute intervals at 12kms/hr! Something to strive for!

Time for a shower and then a good relax on the lounge. 

Another Weekend at College

Saturday March 12^th

Up at 7 for a shower, breakfast and off to college. G offered to drive me so that I wouldn’t have to worry about catching the train and getting there on time with all of the scheduled track work on the train lines. It did mean that I arrived 1.5hrs early. I figured I could bring my laptop and catch up on my blogging –which is exactly what I did.

It should be an interesting weekend. We’re studying ‘Addictions, Attachment and Change’.  I imagine the subject matter will bring up a lot of stuff for us. It’s pretty intense.

I’m feeling much more comfortable in our group though. If it brings up stuff for me, I know I’ll be ok. Fortunately, it didn’t. I thoroughly enjoyed today- except when we started discussing our assessments for the course.

We have to chose one thing to give up over the next four weeks AND we have to write a journal entry about our experiences and the process daily. I was gutted! I’ve only just finished the detox diet and I am eagerly awaiting the day when I can re-introduce dairy and gluten. I’m hanging for a pizza!

So I write about the dread that I’m feeling when we’re asked to reflect on how we feel about the assessment. It feels like a punishment. How am I gong to get through another 4 weeks of giving something up. Not a pleasant prospect.

Home for dinner. Too tired to exercise today.

Day off & Tsunami

Friday March 11^th

Thank goodness I set my alarm for 9.50am or I don’t think I would have woken up before noon! What a Glorious sleep in!! My first in several weeks and man, it’s so nice to wake up and not feel exhausted! I gave the cat a cuddle and then rolled out of bed.

First things first. Kettle on. Take down the shower curtains and gather up the bath mats to put in the washing machine. Then, attempt #4 to try to prise apart the bottom bit of the blender- to no avail! Weigh and measure the ingredients for my shake. Get out the silver milkshake cup from the freezer. Blend and pour. Grab my college stuff off the kitchen table. Set up the DVD player and kick back on the lounge to watch the recording of last week’s role play.

It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be to watch it. I offered up a silent prayer of gratitude for the skills I learned during my Platforms & Presentation Skills Intensive course through the Christopher Howard Training Companies. I shudder to think what mannerisms would have shone through without it! I didn’t fidget (that’s a miracle in itself!), but I did feel as though I was leaning a bit too far forward in my attempt to be attentive! I also felt that I spoke quietly and sometimes too quickly. On one occasion, I had to rewind the DVD and play it again to catch what I’d said.

Other than those few minor things, I think I did a pretty fabulous job!! It’s funny-when I was actually doing the role play, it didn’t seem too challenging, but watching the DVD, I had a much different perspective. My ‘client’ did a fantastic job of remaining in character all the way through and I think that I handled it in the DVD much better than I would have if I had been with that same client today!

Once through was enough for me. I filled up a water bottle and decided to duck out for a bit of retail therapy. BigW is the closest thing to Wal-Mart in Australia and I was hoping to find another workout bra. Luck was with me! I picked up a couple of Disney movies as well. I couldn’t pass up the 2 for 1 special! So, Pinocchio and The Princess & the Frog have now officially been added to our Disney collection.

Then, it was time to head back home for the 2^nd viewing! As I was watching it, I downloaded a few updates for my Mac notebook and the latest operating system update for my iPhone. Sigh. That was my first mistake! The update didn’t go smoothly and I spent a great deal of time restoring my iPhone and then re-organising all of my applications! Extremely frustrating! So much so, that I figured it was time to get rid of some the of pent up energy and hit the treadmill!

Hung the laundry on the line. Donned my workout gear, strapped on my iPod armband, set up the fan, did a couple of stretches and jumped on! 32 minutes: Program 8 Level 7. Hot and sweaty, but a satisfyingly 3.5 kms later, I switched off the treadmill and started my warm down stretches. Just in time too, cuz G walked in as I finished my last stretch. I ran a bath and left her to do her own run.

Chicken and veggies for dinner. Then we watched a couple of TV programs that we had recorded earlier in the week. I jumped online to fill out my food diary and noticed a Tsunami warning on the Google home page. We flicked over to the news, only to discover the massive earthquake in Japan.  My heart goes out to all affected.

Gluttony Day

Thursday March 10th   Gluttony Day- breaking free

Up at the crack of dawn to head over to Sacred Centre for Group PT. Just 2 of us today- me & A. Both of us managed to make it through the first circuit in 15 minutes. I was doing the triceps side. The usual 1 minute break and then it’s time to swap sides. We only have 12 minutes on this side. I think with the extra 3 minutes, I could have made it through twice. Instead, I had 2 exercises to get through: the ice-skater & the steps with weights. All in all, a pretty good effort!

Stretches. Warm down. And then, 3 minutes of bliss. Roll up the mat and it’s time to dash off to work to have a shower and eat breakfast.

As I was packing my lunch this morning, I opened the pack of gluten free wraps, thinking I could have one of those with ham and salad. A tiny piece broke off the edge. I popped it into my mouth. Hideous!! I through the wrap in the bin and decided that I would treat myself to Thai for lunch today for the 1^st time in four months.

One of the teams on my floor always has ‘Thai Thursdays’ so I waited for my friend A to arrive at work and then placed my order straight away! She told me they were picking it up at 12pm sharp and asked would that be too early for me to eat my lunch? The running joke at work is that I’m often in the kitchen eating my lunch around 3pm! I told her I was so excited about Thai for lunch I’d eat it WHENEVER! She just laughed.

When she stopped by my desk with the takeaway, she handed me my plastic container of Pad Se Ew with beef, a packet of chopsticks and a plastic fork – just in case I couldn’t eat fast enough with the chopsticks!! LOL She cracks me up!

It tasted beautiful! Conscious that I hadn’t had beef in 3 weeks, I ate very slowly and chewed my food very well. It took me 90mins to finish my lunch! It was soooo worth it!

G & I have a meeting this afternoon up at Wynyard. I dropped my bags off at the car and set up the ‘Runkeeper’ app on my iPhone. Headphones in, music pumping, I set off up George street to meet G outside the Apple store. 2.5 kms and 12 minutes later I was there! We strolled the rest of the way to Hunter street. Meeting was a great success. Then, we had to high-tail it back to Campbell St to get the car out of the lot before 6.30pm.  Thank goodness it’s mostly down hill on the way back! I was hard-pressed to keep up to G who was really motoring! But, we made it! 3kms in 18mins!! That’s impressive when you think of all of the pedestrian traffic in the city! We were ducking and weaving through the crowds. Amazing!

Finally, we’re off to Burwood for the steak dinner I’ve been fantasising about for the past 3 weeks – pretty much from the moment I started the Detox diet. I’ve had this Birthday meal planned since then: 300g rib eye steak, mashed potatoes, pepper sauce, grilled veggies and 3 prawns. Heaven.

It seemed to take G ages to decide. Every moment she delayed was a moment longer that I had to wait to taste that steak. It was agonizing! At last, we placed our order.  I admit, I was a bit envious about her milkshake but I know I need to ease into the dairy. And a milkshake on top of my already amazing meal would make me feel awful. I stuck to water and my decaf soy latte.

After much discussion, we decided to share a piece of lemon meringue pie. Unfortunately, it looked much better than it tasted. I ate about a ¼ of it and then put my fork down. Even G didn’t finish it off.

By the time we got home, I decided a digestive enzyme would assist with the very, very full feeling in my tummy. G was in the same situation. Both of us ended up sitting up for a bit to wait for the feeling to pass.

Bed.

Day NONE! It's Over!

Wednesday March 9^th  It’s OVER!

I woke up feeling relieved!! It’s OVER!! The detox is done….well mostly. I still have to wait until early next week to introduce gluten and dairy.  But, the other restrictions have been LIFTED!!  Woo hoo!

I was excited to pack my lunch today! First thing in my bag was my Jalna vanilla flavoured yogurt for breakfast; a salad with tomatoes & cucumber, Brazil nuts, 3 slices of ham to go with my salad, some sunflower seeds, and the mandatory carrot.

Had coffee by myself this morning. Got to work a bit early and then we all trudged up to the Wesley Centre to watch our Managing Director’s ‘Roadshow’. The company always provides breakfast at these functions. I helped myself to a bacon & egg roll. It was a bit tricky to eat without eating the bun, but I managed!

Back at the office, I opened up my Jalna yogurt, measured out my Carman’s muesli and scooped the yogurt into my bowl. When I licked off the spoon, all I could taste was bitter disappointment. The yogurt that I had been coveting for the past 3 weeks suddenly tasted very sweet and had a weird after-tasted. I was gutted. I sent a msg to J. Of course, true to form, she found a positive in my sad tale.

Lunch was not disappointing. Then, off to college! I arrived a bit early so decided to grab something to eat. I’m desperate for a filo pastry. A spinach & ricotta roll. A curry pie. Ratatouille. But all of them either have gluten, dairy or BOTH! I finally settled on a warm veggie and tofu salad which was surprisingly tasty.

Tonight we’re discussing how we’re going to handle our second role play. Should we keep the same pairs and treat it like a second session? Or should we be ourselves? Or should we mix things up a bit? We went with the last option! I can’t wait! I’m thoroughly enjoying these role plays! I’m learning so much.

Rushed home to prepare for Fringe…but the season is over. Not happy Jan. Oh well.  Some TV and then bed.

Happy Birthday, Goal deadline & Day 21 of Detox

Tuesday March 8th  Happy Birthday, Goal deadline & Day 21 of Detox

Well, it’s my birthday! I woke up today…and lo and behold, even though I didn’t reach my goal, the world is still turning! And better yet, Facebook is full of wonderful birthday wishes from friends and family both here in Australia and back in Canada.  I love that about Facebook. Instant communication that’s easy to access! I also hate that about Facebook, but today it’s working in my favour! And, better yet, at midnight tonight, the DETOX is officially OVER!! It’s not a moment too soon.

We went for coffee in the city as usual. Then off to face the workday. My friends and colleagues wished me a Happy Birthday and we settled in to our normal routine.

People probably think this is strange, but I’m still going for my personal training session with J tonight. Yes it my birthday –and, I’m determined to see this thing through. I want to be slender and healthy. I want to be able to shop at ‘regular’ stores. I want to be able to run around and play with S. To do those things, I have to keep on top of the exercise and manage my diet. So, quality time with J it is.

For the first few minutes, we talked about the foods that I would be re-introducing to my diet. Back in: red meat, fruit, mushrooms, sauces, etc. Things that need to wait a little longer- the big 2. J suggested that I wait until Monday to add gluten or dairy to give my body time to adjust to the other foods again. Plus, I need to stagger their introduction. I’ve been craving cheese for ages now, so I’ve decided that dairy comes first!

Then it’s time to break into a sweat! And, sweat I did! This new circuit has more cardio components than the others. I only made it twice through. And I’m exhausted at the end of it! J comments that she’s never seen me drink so much water during a workout.

20 squats

20 push ups

20 hamstring curls

10 zig zag runs thru the pylons with 5 x star jumps (jumping jacks) at each end

20 triceps dips

10 x box & shuffle

G has a bath waiting for me at home- complete with bath salts to soothe my aching muscles. It’s a lovely birthday surprise. Then, it’s “Packed to the Rafters”,  dinner and bed. 

Day 20

Monday March 7^th  Day 20

From the moment I wake up, to the second before I drop off to sleep, the countdown ticks over slowly in my head. Thank GOD I only have to get through one more day of detox after today. I am craving carbs fiercely. I think longingly of fresh white bread, crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle. And cheese-glorious cheese! I’m even missing the lite ricotta that I used to eat on my pizzas. My resolve is not what it used to be. If this detox went for much longer, I think I would simply give up.

Tonight in my session with V, we spent a lot of time discussing what worked really well from the detox and didn’t. We made a list of the things I would keep:

1.    dandelion tea-no point in going back on coffee if I’ve already survived the caffeine withdrawal.

2.    Protein shake- as much as I protested this addition, it is a nice easy way to make sure I’m getting enough protein in my diet.

3.    Rice pasta- it tastes very similar to wheat pasta and it’s lighter on my stomach

4.    Soy milk- as much as I like dairy, I quite like the soy milk in my dandelion tea. The nutty flavour makes it easy to resist sugar in my decaf soy lattes.

Then we spent some time discussing how I was feeling about not meeting the goal that I’d set. I’ve only lost 13kgs out of the 25kgs that I was aiming for. V assured me that I was doing well. She pointed out that I was attempting to make a long term, permanent change to my life style – and not just attempting quick weight loss. I understood where she was coming from. I just don’t like falling short of the mark.

She asked me if I’d done my best. I thought about it for a few minutes. Yes, I said. I have definitely given it my best shot. And, I’m still doing it. I haven’t given up-even when things got tough.

I converted the weight-loss from kg to lbs. 13kgs works out to 29.5 pounds. I liked the sound of that!! It’s definitely something to be proud of.

J had suggested that I give yoga a try, so tonight after my session with V, I changed into some appropriate yoga gear and waited for 6.30 to arrive.  The yoga instructor S, asked me to fill out a form-since it was my first session. Then she gave me a quick run down on what to expect. It sounded ok. So I sat back and relaxed while she set up the Centre. Yoga mats, candles, soft music- it all seemed very inviting.

OMG! The Downward Dog pose nearly killed me! My arms were shaking; muscles that had remained silent through all of J’s training sessions were protesting loudly. This couldn’t be good! I hesitate to think of how I would have survived this session if I hadn’t been doing all of that core muscle work with J. As it was, I was sweating like a farm animal! All of the other participants- including J who was there with me for moral support- made it look effortless.  Unbelievable!

By the time we got to the ‘5 minutes of Bliss’ part at the end of the session I was exhausted! It took me back to my very first group pt session with J. I thought I was dying that day. But, the nice thing about Yoga is that once you finish the poses and stop stretching, your muscles stop protesting. Unlike exercise with the instant aches and pains that linger on for days!

I must admit- it certainly improved the blood flow to my brain. I felt alert and aware.  I could definitely see why my friend from college would want to have this feeling every morning. Unfortunately, my schedule is such that I can’t quite fit yoga in at this point, but I will certainly try it again down the track.

Home to dinner and to spend some quality time with G. 

Day 19

Sunday March 6^th  Day 19

Now, I’ve been over-weight for most of my life, but until I started this detox diet, I don’t think I’ve ever dreamed of food quite like I did last night! I was eating Frosted Flakes by the handful straight from the box. Then, I was holding a blueberry muffin in my hand and when I went to bring it to my mouth, it crumbled like saw dust—but I still ATE it! Or, shall I say, I tried to.

I even woke up feeling guilty- how much sense does that make? Surely gluten in my dream isn’t ‘cheating’ on the diet, is it? Sigh…I know there is  no gluten until Wednesday. The fact that I’m dreaming about it tells me that these 3 wks have definitely had an impact.

I can’t seem to shake this weird feeling. I’m so over these restrictions. I’m moody; I’m hard to live with. Nothing seems fun anymore. It’s like the colour has drained out of my ‘flat screen TV of life’. I just want to eat normal food.

We’re supposed to go out shopping today for my birthday present. S isn’t interested in shopping. She’s only interested in doing things that she likes. Next thing I know, we’ve swapped roles. She’s the little adult and I’m the 5yr old who can’t get my way. It made for a really lousy day together. Even in my rational moments when I knew I should just pull myself out of this funk, I couldn’t. 

With only 3 hours to go in our day together, I managed to get it sorted. I made a snack for S and the 3 of us curled up in the lounge room to watch The Legend of the Guardians. At least we ended the day on a high note. Then I dropped her off at C’s workplace and headed home to go for a run on the treadmill.

The new running pants that I bought last week are fantastic! The slippery material totally eliminates the chaffing. They’re a bit hot though! So I’m glad I devised a way to set up the fan to cool me while I’m running.

Broke down after my run. I just want to feel better. Did a bit of binge eating. Devoured a whole packet of plain rice crackers! Man-the crunch sounded so satisfying in my head. I should feel bad but, to be honest, it feels so good. As far as binge –eating goes, a packet of rice crackers is certainly not the worst thing I could have gone for!

 I think I can now cope with the next 2 days. Bed.

Day 17 & 18

Saturday March 5th  Day 18

Up and off without a hitch! We’re even a few minutes early. S jumps in and gives it her all for the next hour. I love watching her. It looks like she’s having such a good time. I can’t get over how fit all of the kids are. Amazing!

Then, it’s home for a bit of a relax before we head out to Newtown for my birthday Yum cha lunch. At the last minute, we decided to invite our friend K. She had a clear spot on her schedule so she popped down to join us. I thoroughly enjoyed eating yum cha. I’d already cleared it with J. She simply suggested that I steer clear of the bbq buns and other items that might contain gluten or wheat.

4 doors down is a lovely gelato shop. I was totally tempted to eat a waffle or a pancake deluxe dessert, but I behaved myself and stuck to fruit sorbet.  The only downer to the day, was the parking ticket waiting for us on the windshield. 20mins passed the expiry of our ticket…and we get done. So not fair.

Home to relax and watch Barbie in A Fashion Fairytale.

All of us are exhausted.  We put S to bed and about an hour later, I followed.  Best to be well-rested for the tomorrow’s activities.

Friday March 4th Day 17

Alarm-off. Reached for the thermometer. J asked me to take my temp first thing the morning to see if we could rule out thyroid involvement. Unfortunately, the digital thermometer that I have turns itself off after recording my temp. We need one that can measure my basal metabolic temp over a period of 10mins. Sigh…oh well.  I’ll have to flick J a text to let her know.

Dressed. Showered and off to the city for another decaf soy latte with G. The only good thing about today is it’s my day off the phones at work. In theory, this is supposed to help me catch up on stuff. Theory and reality are 2 very different things!

Been thinking. Still not over the kilo that I’ve gained this week. Maybe it’s those crazy protein shakes that are making the difference. I sent J a msg to that effect--telling her that I’m still so stressed that my birthday and weight loss deadline is looming so close and I seem to be going backwards no matter how hard I try.

J was really sweet and really supportive. She re-iterated that protein builds lean muscle and lean muscle is necessary for weight loss. I could get it from other foods in my diet, but I needed to be sure that I ate protein with every meal. She also suggested that I cut down on some of my carbs-maybe have a carb-free meal at least once a day. Then she told me to chin up and think less about my original goal and more about giving myself credit for how far I’ve gotten and how well I’ve done at getting healthy. And then, she finished with, ‘I’m proud of you’.

J’s the best! I’m so thankful to have her on my ‘team’.

Off to Silverwater road to rendez-vous with C & S. I’m looking forward to seeing her tonight. Friday nights are now a special occasion instead of the norm. We won’t have much time together cuz we’ll have to get up early to make it to gymnastics. But, I still get to tuck her in and read her a story! That is fantastic and precious.

She wasn’t too chatty in the car tonight. Much more interested in playing games on my iPhone whilst I make my way through peak hour traffic. Baked beans for S and eggs for me. Then teeth-brushing, story time and good-night cuddles.

Early to bed for me and G. 6 am comes way too soon these days.