Extra Good Friday

Friday April 22^nd Good Friday

We have an extra special Good Friday brunch engagement today. I want to make sure that I fit in a workout- especially since we didn’t have group physical training yesterday morning. I figured if I got up at 8am, it would give me enough time. 

G puts the kettle on, but I turn down a morning soy dandy for Monavie and a scoop of L-Carnitine. 20 minutes later, I’m in my workout gear. Time to hit the treadmill. A quick turn of the iPod dial. Select ‘treadmill interval’ playlist. Press play. Good to go!

32 minutes later, I’m definitely warmed up enough to start on my circuits. Twice through each circuit. Skipped the core muscle exercises. Still feeling a bit sore from Tuesday’s session. Surely the circuits and the treadmill will be enough?

Then it’s time to cool down and relax. I made myself a protein shake and settled in on the lounge to watch old re-runs of The Love Boat while G has her shower. After she’s finished in the bathroom, I head in to get ready. The hot shower feels fantastic on my sore muscles.

We had an absolutely marvellous time with our friends today. The food was fantastic and the company was amazing! Time always flies when we’re all together and it was almost 8pm before we made our way out to the car. What an indulgence. It was a brilliant way to spend Good Friday.

Home to relax in front of the TV. Then bed.

Abs of Agony

Thursday April 21^st

OMG! Even my intercostal muscles (the tiny muscles that connect each rib) are aching. How is that possible? My core muscles are so unhappy with me. I can’t sit up in bed. I can’t roll over. Lying down shouldn’t be so tricky! Thank God J opted out of this mornings session cuz I don’t think I could possibly cope with a workout today. It must be that insane new warm up exercise that J introduced on Tuesday.

I made my way into the office, albeit a little painfully. Good thing. Only 2 other staff members turned up. This is getting a little old.  I just want to sit down and focus on my own cases. I’m so far behind.

The girls at the other end of the office are heading down to Big Bite for lunch. I opted in. I love the Big Bite sandwiches! They taste divine and they’re so filling that all I need for dinner is something light. I’ve learned to ask for them to ‘hold’ the olive oil. The less fat, the better.

G and I are on a mission tonight. We have to head out to Westfields Burwood to get our Easter shopping organised and to pick up a present for L’s birthday. He’s turning 5 on Anzac Day.

We’re not the only one with the same plans; the mall is packed.  It took a bit of walking around but we finally settled on our purchases and headed home. I’m absolutely exhausted. Only one more day until the weekend. Thank goodness!

Tricky Client

Wednesday April 20^th

Hooray! It’s Ground Hog day! Still only 3 people in again. Talk about short-staffed. When will it end? It’s hard enough to get to my own work when everyone is in! When we’re this short, there’s no hope. Sigh…I wish there was something I could do about it. Instead, we just have to hang in there and do the best job we can. If we can last until next week, 2 people will be back from leave and hopefully we’ll be able to get more of our own reviews done.

No time for lunch. I’m in meetings with J for most of the afternoon. He’s a really lovely guy and he’s been so supportive of me in this role. I really enjoy talking to him. He has a very interesting perspective on our workplace, and specifically on the managers that I’m working closely with. It’s really making a difference to how I’m feeling about taking over this role.

No time to dillydally. I’ve got to come up with a ‘client’ synopsis for tonight’s role play at college. It’s been a while since I’ve had to ‘be’ the client and I really want to bring up some tough stuff. I reckon it has to be easier to come up against this as a student with people around to support us, than coming up against it in private practise. The topic I’ve settled on is sexual abuse.

I printed off 7 copies of my little synopsis and dashed out to the car. Want to make sure I have enough time to eat some dinner before I have to ‘perform’.  I can’t resist the chocolate pecan torte. It is absolutely amazing!!

The session is pretty intense. I even managed to cry which made the scenario very authentic. So much so, that one of the students who was watching, jumped up and handed me some tissues.

It led to an excellent discussion at the end. My counsellor handled the scenario very well. The only thing that needed a bit more finesse was the ‘referral’ at the end of the session.

I’m exhausted. Home for tea, a relax and then bed. 

Tweaking the Warm Up

Tuesday April 19^th

Well, our staffing numbers have increased by 1! Technically we’re operating at 50%. The four of us didn’t get much of our own work done but at least the phones aren’t ringing off the hook.

Well, tonight is pay back time for all of that licorice from the Easter Show. I’ve got my workout bag packed and by 4.35pm I’m logged out and on my way to the car park. I know my diet hasn’t been the best for the past week. I’m hoping I can get back on track again with a little help from J.

We went over my food diary and discussed some goals for the week. Some of my original ‘bad habits’ are back. I’m not drinking enough water and I’ve been staying up well past 10.00pm. As for lunch- well, I’m not eating breakfast until 11am and lunch, if I’m lucky, gets squeezed in around 3.30pm. Not exactly the best way to kick start my metabolism!

Just for some variety, J adds a new dimension to one of my warm up exercises. I have to engage my core muscles and keep an ‘even’ pressure under the small of my back as I raise a Swiss ball between my knees. Then, I have to grab the ball and raise it back over my head whilst lowering my legs parallel to the floor (without touching). Then I draw my knees back up and place the ball between them and lower it almost to the floor. All of that is considered 1 exercise! J has me do 2 sets of 5!

She has also decided that I am ready to increase the plank from 3 sets of 30 seconds, to 2 sets of 45 seconds. OMG! This warm up is brutal!!

I made it through the circuit 2.5 times. I don’t know why, but this circuit seems longer than the ones that we used to do. There’s a lot more cardio (running, star jumps, box ‘n’ shuffle) and my arms are always wasted at the end due to the triceps dips, push ups and other weights.

Home to watch Winners & Losers. 

Back at Work

Monday April 18^th

No rest for the weary! It’s back to work I go. Hopefully there haven’t been too many dramas whilst I’ve been away. I’m not concerned. T is awesome and I know she’ll be able to handle anything that pops up! Morning coffee with G as usual.

Good thing it’s still school holidays! There are only 2 other staff members in today aside from me! Insanity!! Fortunately, the phones aren’t busy and the 3 of us are able to muddle through without too much trouble. So much for catching up on my own work.

Off to counselling I go. Sometimes I toy with the idea of seeing V weekly instead of fortnightly. If we could fit it in to our crazy schedules, I’d probably do it. I’m struggling with the diet again. I don’t mind the exercise. I just can’t seem to get my head around eating. That licorice hasn’t done me any favours. I feel compelled to eat it until it’s gone –even if it makes me feel unwell. My behaviours are slipping back to what they used to be. The worst bit is that the sugar and the junk food don’t make me feel as ‘good’ as they once did. Nothing seems to fill the hole. And I’m not even sure how the hole got here. Has it been here all along? Or have I managed to dig a new one somewhere along the way?