Bugger... didn't realise it had been a whole week since my last update! Time sure does fly by...

So what's been happening - not to much really.

For those not on FB - I will report in a gain of 700gms this week! :( No one to blame but myself for the crap that I chose to eat at times!

Had a visit from Janene on Monday evening and BOY OH BOY she is looking fantastic!!! And OMG the amount of clothes that she left for me is amazing! It has doubled the size of my wardrobe!!! Wore of pair of the work pants today and despite being just a little bit long they were really comfy! Thank you so much Janene and I look forward to getting to small for them as well and being able to pass them on to someone who needs them!

We got some pixifotos done of Rachel which have in turn almost bankrupted us with what they charge! But we are really pleased that we got them done as they are gorgeous! Have tried downloading them to here but because of the format (from being scanned at work) I can't get them to download so will need to take photos of the photos and then download them from the camera to here. So watch this space...

Oh I have been a whole 8 days with no coke...no coke zero... and oh just 1 V after a restless night with Rachel waking. I did buy one today but did not enjoy much at all!

Have got Stephan's fathers birthday dinner on Saturday night so need to make a nice dessert for that. Then on Sunday, we have our friends Lynaire and Kev coming for lunch so am going to make a salmon and potato frittata for that or perhaps a self crusting quiche.

But we did get some great news on Monday - Stephan's cousin (from Timaru) and her daughter and a friend of her daughters are coming to Wellington for a long weekend in May! They managed to get $10 seats on grabaseat so we are so looking forward to seeing her! I get on better with her than my own cousins and we are going to have a good wine and gossip session when she arrives. She is staying with us while her daughter and friend stay with friends in town and party on the town! :)

On another note, a dear friend of mine from work is going through a very worrying time as her father (in his 80's) had a standard op on his knee and has reacted to the morphine and is not well at all! Is currently in ICU and not recognising my friend or her mother! Very sad so am hoping for the best for them all!

Right, time to get moving... catch ya all later :)

Edited to add.... Annie thanks for your comment on my last post, I have just seen it. The gym that I was going to was a private one in Upper Hutt and was women only. Unfortunately, Robyn moved overseas and sold the gym. It has now moved into bigger premises and become open for both men and women! Oh - are you the same Annie (from Petone) I used to email ages ago??

Hi all

Just a quickie before I head to bed...

I managed to lose 1.3 kilos this week which I am very happy with!!! I am doing a 8 week challenge on the parenting forum... first week I stayed the same, second week I gained 400gms.... so the loss this week has really made my day! Though, the chocolate I had today probably hasn't helped the scales move in the right direction.... oh well tomorrow is another day!

Went out for dinner last night with people from work (Few out of towners in town) and we went to a nice pub in Wellington and I had a yummy roast pork with veggies. It was really nice being out and about catching up with friends and fellow workmates.

Water has been a bit slack but I am trying :) Very trying as some would say! LOL Been to "scared" to try the corn thins in case I don't like them. I had a packet of them and a tin of tuna in my hand at the supermarket this evening but just couldn't bring myself to buy them! *chicken* LOL

Got my sisters wedding in Jan 2010, so should set myself a target for then... something small and reasonable like I did for my own wedding, cause once I got to the target (10 kilos) I was so pumped and just kept on going!!! Also got my nephews wedding in 4 weeks (my sisters oldest son) so nothing major gonna happen between now and then but will just keep on plodding on and would be very happy if I can lose a total of 5 kilos by then... but even 3 kilos lighter and I would be happy! We will probably go and stay at mum's for the weekend as the wedding (my nephews) is on a Friday and a BBQ is happening on the Saturday so might as well stay up the coast and relax and have a good time. Also my brother from Christchurch will be up, and my brother from Aussie will be here so it will be good chance to catch up with both of them.

Oh if any readers are on Facebook, and haven't added me as a friend yet, please do so (Karen Brownie) as I do post lots of photos on there and daily status updates as to how things are going.

Night all

Hi everyone!

Gees starting to get the hang of regular blogging again... feels quite good.

Not that there is a lot to say.... water has been down to 1.5 litres the last couple of days which I am happy with. I have also created a rule for me and that is I have to have drunken at least 1 litre of water BEFORE I am allowed my daily can of Coke Zero. And it has worked so far... but then once I have my can, my water intake drops which I guess is a bit logical but am working on keeping the water intake up in the afternoons as well.

Thanks for the few ideas re snacks... I don't eat nuts - just don't like them... keep trying the occasionally but still don't like them :( I don't eat banana's as a whole fruit (unless I HAVE to)... hate the texture - but love banana muffins, cakes, loaves, smoothies etc... Might try the yoghurt idea and perhaps the corn thins as well. I hear lots about corn thins but never been "game" enough to try them so must "grow some balls" and try them! :)

Having a few work issues this week but am trying to work through them... but am definitely on the look out for a new role somewhere... Jules, I am in Upper Hutt so have a good 40 min train ride each way, plus the walking to and from the station. I had taken into consideration the price of transport when doing my figures. Anne - thanks for the WFF suggestion; I went to their website with a bit of hope however we are still over the limit... but it was worth a shot.

Going for coffee (well Hot Choc for me) and dessert with one of my best friends tomorrow night before she has her second child (due in 2/3 weeks) so am really looking forward to a girlie night out with no children interupting etc - just to be able to talk about what we want is going to be bliss. Then on Sat morning, Rachel and I have antenatal coffee group catch up just around the corner so that should be fun. Our group is quite a slack one as most of us have gone back to work and it's been over a year since we got all of the children together! But I have kept in touch with one in particular (the one who is hosting the morning tea) and her Jack and Rachel are really good friends (most of the time) so am looking forward to catching up with them.

Anyway, time to get ready for bed etc... catch ya all later :)

Right, I thought I would make the time to do an update even though there isn't a lot to talk about really.

Well there is the job that I really wanted to apply for - only 5 mins from home (max) doing something slightly different to what I am now... but found out the salary range and it is about a $13K DROP!!! Even after taking off transport costs etc, we would still be short of about $300 in the hand per month and there is no way we can afford that! So the search goes on... and on... and on... am sure the right job is out there somewhere for me!

I did well with my water intake today - approx 2 litres! Most impressed and definitely the most water I have drunken in one day for a long time! Tried going without my Coke Zero and lasted till about 3pm when I "just had to have it" - had a thumping headache and it did go once I had my drink. I know I will have to go through the withdrawal symptoms when I do give it up but then again how bad is ONE can of Coke Zero a day??? Well apart the additives etc that are in there but that's beside the point! LOL

Gotta also come up with some ideas for afternoon tea snacks... fruit doesn't seem to do it for me nor does rice crackers. Oh the cheaper the better too... our grocery budget is very tight.

Right, feeling a bit down tonight, think I will head to bed. Catch ya all later

Thanks to those of you who left comments after my last post only 4 days ago! Wow this must be a miracle - 2 updates within a week of each other!

Jules - you have raised some bloody good points in your comment and some of them have hit home and others I am still thinking about :) But yes I have been going over my old blog and yes I was updating almost every day when I was on my way down on the scales so that is one thing I want to get back into so watch this space.... :)

Am enjoying this long weekend, yesterday we had a pixi foto session booked for Rachel which ended up being a nightmare as she would NOT do anything she was asked either by myself or the photographer!!! Only reason we did it was that I entered some competition back in December and although we didn't win, we could pay the sitting fee of $7.50 and get a portrait sitting (10" x 13") free though the conditions did state that it was the first shot that was the freebie so fingers crossed that it was ok! We certainly don't have a spare $345 laying around to buy the set of 6 poses especially considering the uncooperative mood madam was in! So two weeks to wait until we get to see the finished results! We may be pleasantly surprised but part of me is hoping they are awful so I am not tempted to spend money we certainly don't have!

Ended up doing a couple of hrs of incedental exercise earlier on when I went on a mini housework spree! And trust me those do NOT happen often in this house! LOL First it was the bathroom and toilet, then Steph took Rachel out so I cranked up the stereo big time and tackled the vacuming (and dancing to footloose), cleaned the oven door (spilt dinner down the inside of the door last night), cleaned the cupboard doors, moved the dining room furniture, mopped the floor (Kitchen, bathroom, toilet), brought in the washing, hung out more washing and was just about to fold the washing when they arrived home! Was shattered by the end of that but it felt good to get it done.

Stephan is currently fixing the gates so Rachel can not escape! She had worked out how to open the previous latches but not that you needed to pull the gate too but it would not take her long. So we have put on new latches which will take a lot more effort to work them out! Will even take a bit more muscle for me to open them!

We have a 21st to go to tonight (must wrap the present) so we have Rachel's godmother Jo coming to babysit and then once she is here, we are going to have dinner in Lower Hutt somewhere before heading to the party. It's not going to be a late night though as we are both tired and I have had a headache off and on all day.

Time I was off my butt and get my daughter's tea organised (left overs from our tea last night) and have a shower etc...

Catch ya all later

Yeah, I am still here - thanks to those of you who have emailed me or text me to ask if I am doing ok and if I am going to blog again.

6 weeks have past and in that time, we have had Christmas, New Year, my birthday, 3rd anniversary of Jude's passing and so much more.

I finished a 6 week challenge with fellow mums on the parenting forum - and ended it 800gms heavier than when I started! Oooooops *blush* but a challenge over Christmas and New Year was pretty damn hard! Started a new one last week, and with the first weigh in this morning - I stayed the same! Not such a great start but surely it can only get better.... I hope! I am only approx 11 kilos away from my first starting weight watchers back in Feb 2003! Bloody scary so I do need to get my Ass into gear but first I need motivation and confidence in myself! One would think that being so close to my heaviest weight would be enough motivation but it doesn't seem to be enough at the moment. I have a photo of me at my heaviest (and my lightest just before falling pregnant) at work, but it doesn't stop me snacking on the wrong foods.

I saw my Dr a couple of weeks ago and wanted to discuss the possibility of whether I have sleep apnea but it doesn't look likely so will just keep going and see how things go. I also discussed with her the possibility of WLS (Weight Loss Surgery) - she is behind me 110% however I just have to find the big $$$ required (as my Insurance would top up the rest of the money) in the form of lotto or a gift as there is no way we can afford to borrow it and have repayments for it on top of our current situation! I did talk to her about going on the public waiting list as I had heard that this was now an option HOWEVER the only criteria that I fit is a young overweight female... the rest I fail in - diabetes, high BP and high cholesterol - all of that is "perfect" for me - an extremely overweight woman! And they are only funding 6 per year as well.... but she does know the surgeon personally so she is going to keep her ear to the ground and if anything changes there she will be ringing me in a flash!

Work is pretty full on, in fact this role at the moment has to be one of the busiest ones I have had for quite some time! We used to have "quiet periods" but they just don't seem to exist these days at all! Am still looking for the "ideal" role in the Hutt Valley but still haven't found it. Have seen a couple of other payroll positions recently that look interesting but still located in town... in fact one of them would be train and then a bus as well so that would be extra cost as well as extra traveling time! So that is a no go for me despite the role looking interesting but the top of the salary range is only $2K more than I am currently on so not a lot of room for movement.

We had a very quiet Christmas Day itself but a very busy Boxing Day and day after with Stephan's sisters wedding on the Saturday. Rachel had a ball and enjoyed the chocolate and presents! My sister got engaged on New Years Eve to her partner of 4 years. He has 3 young teenage girls so she certainly is taking on a lot (after raising her 3 who are in their 20's)! Her eldest is getting married at the end of March so we are looking forward to that though it does feel damn strange talking about my nephew getting married (he is 27)! Makes me feel real old! LOL

Rachel is doing really well and coming along in leaps and bounds! Her language skills are amazing and talks continuously (wonder who she gets that from LOL) and is very independent and stubborn too! But then I guess those traits are pretty typical for a 2 yr old! She is now the "leader" of her room at Creche and often takes the room "shopping" - once she says she is going - everyone wants to go and follows her to the pretend shops etc! We had a one off success with her on the toilet but nothing since then - we are not pushing it at all - just letting her go when she wants to go and we do ask her each morning and night.... and if she doesn't want to go then we just let her be.

Christmas Morning


With "bum" cream on her face etc - think she was imitating daddy shaving!


On Nana D's birthday


Right, it's almost 10pm so time I was in bed... catch ya all later :)