A bit of a catch-up

So I think that my body has caught up to the fact that I’m on holiday. I am feeling drained and so exhausted that I can barely move today. I managed to finish all my errands over these past two days though and so for the rest of the week it’s just friend dates, swimming and hanging out with Rose – I’ve been really busy these past few days and have neglected her a bit. And there is a bit of last-minute gift wrapping to be done. My DH and I are doing it tonight over a glass of wine and a few snacks. He has arranged with MIL to take our kids for 2 days so they are off tonight and we’ll see them on Saturday evening again.

Here’s a bit of a catch-up:

We attended our first Carol Service this weekend. In fact, let me rephrase that – we attended our first successful carol service in the history of my parenting journey this weekend. Both kids were fine and had a fantastic time (I think it’s because it was an outdoor event with a picnic) and for the first time ever we didn’t have to leave early due to meltdowns. I think I feel safe to put this on our calendar for next year and THIS makes me soooooo happy! Normal is happening in stages but it’s happening! Slowly but surely.

I had final meetings with both Child2’s therapists and I am thrilled. And grateful. And so very happy. My boy has come SUCH a long way in the 2^nd half of this year. I have tears in my eyes when I think about this and when I think about where he was last year this time.

My secret santa gift came last week and I LOVE it.  My clever, thoughtful elf went to one of my pinterest boards and got her inspiration from there. She printed some inspirational words for me on a canvas. I cried when I opened it because the timing of those words were sooooo apt on that particular day.  This is what it looks like. Isn’t it beautiful?

Source: myblessedlife.net via Julia on Pinterest

 

I drew some lines in the sand this past week and I decided to walk away from a relationship that was no longer serving me. My DH felt I was being a bit drastic. I told him that this is me respecting myself enough to walk away. I am at peace with this decision.

I’ve been power-walking and swimming with Child1 for the past 3 days and seriously. As much as I LOVE running, I still get my best endorphin rush from swimming. My hair is currently looking like something NOT out of a magazine and I don’t particularly care. When on holiday, do what holiday-makers do with their hair and all that i.e. do NOTHING about it.

I am LOVING some new and different Christmas music for a change. This week I was listening to Sting and Lady Antebellum and Colby Caillat. And apparently Coldplay also has Christmas songs. Must see if I can find them! Am too excited. Any recommendations for different Christmas music? Michael Buble, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey don’t count. OK?

PMS was just unbearable this past month. I have an appointment with the Gynae at the end of  January and I’m going to ask her to do something to get rid of this pesky period. It cramps my style too much.

Most of my Christmas cards have gone out. Actually all of them have gone out. Some people will get theirs a little bit after Christmas though. Sorry!

I had a cool friend date yesterday. A power-walk in the morning followed by lunch followed by a beach walk followed by ice cream. My love tank is soooo full at this moment. And my body is aching but I am ignoring that bit.

How are you doing though? Surviving the craziness? How are your kids?

Am off to go and swim with Child1 now (have to force myself even though my body is aching) before we go and fetch Child2.

Later.

xx

 

Running, concerts and Child2

So, how are you?

I’m kind of exhausted. But that’s because I’ve been going to bed so late! I blame Rose. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Rose? I’m even reading a Thriller now. A genre that I haven’t read in YEARS. And I am LOVING it.

Anyway, I thought I’d post an update on running, concerts and Child 2 – in that order:

On Running:

I am LOVING my running sooooo much! This past weekend I went for a run, followed by a long, long, long walk with Friend E and the dogs, followed by a browse around the Tokai Market. I was in agony and my body ached.  In the afternoon I went for the most EXHILARATING swim. Oh my gosh, I have missed that part of my life so much! Just thinking about it makes my skin tingle. I’ve decided that this will be my Saturday morning routine from now on.  A run followed by a swim. Child1 has invited himself along (that one is a morning person of note and wakes me up at 6am on Saturdays to go and run) and although I really enjoy the alone time, I am happy to spend the time with him too!

On Thursday (or Friday last week) – I can’t remember now, entries opened for the Two Oceans Marathon. I briefly considered signing up for the half. And then I freaked at the thought of the crowds. And then I decided that I can’t let something silly like the crowds put me off. And then I decided to sleep on it. And then on Saturday I ran 7km and I BATTLED. IT was mostly uphill and I wanted to cry! In fact, I did have a bit of a cry. And then I thought WTF is wrong with me?  Am I mad in my brain? Could I really even be thinking about doing a half while I’m barely running 10km?  And then I decided to take a week to think about it. I thought about it today. I will sign up. Because really, I can change my mind anytime. My DH did ask me if I am losing my marbles. I told him that yes, I probably was, but THAT was exactly why he fell in love with me and that I would be needing LOADS of leg massages over the next few months so best he start preparing for that.

On Concerts:

On Thursday last week my DH and I had a FANTASTIC date night. We don’t particularly like going out at night during the week because we are just old like that. Also, there are some serious logistics to work out ito our kids. We do have babysitters but we need to work out things like bringing them home at some ridiculous hour during the night and getting them up for school the next day etc. So on Thursday, I left work early, fetched them, made them take a bath and we grabbed our (already packed on Wednesday) overnight bags and I took them to MIL. She made dinner for them and managed to get them ready for school the next day. After my DH and I dropped them and grabbed a bite for dinner, we still had a good 40 minutes to kill before the event started at 7pm. We went to the 80s Rewind concert and oh my goodness but it was STUNNING! DEFINITELY money well spent. It was really well organised and the crowd was fun fun fun! I sang along to nearly EVERY song and I literally did not stop moving all night – I even woke up without my voice on Friday morning. Honestly, if you didn’t go then YOU MISSED OUT! It was soooo much fun and I haven’t let my hair down like that in FOREVER!

Our next concert is happening on NYE at Kirstenbosch – we are seeing Hugh Masakela and I am VERY excited. But, having said that concerts are our thing so you just never know what can happen between now and NYE. I don’t have Lady Gaga tickets and I don’t have Linkin Park tickets and I also don’t have Bon Jovi tickets. I am feeling done with stadium concerts as I’ve been VERY spoilt by the Grand Arena but, you never know.

On Child2:

On Saturday my DH said: “Julia, he actually says words and he goes to the toilet without telling us. Can you believe it?”. He DOES this and it is  soooo exciting. I literally can’t get enough of those WORDS! Yes, there is a fair amount of cheekiness and being all sassy and yes, we still have soooo much work ahead of us but really, he has come SUCH a long way and this makes me insanely happy! He is a VERY different Child to the one he was last year. And in fact, he reached a milestone last week! Some events transpired that didn’t suit him and he said “I don’t like you Ju-la”. Oh my goodness but I was soooo proud of him!  The words were being used correctly and there was adequate expressing of emotions. I stood my ground with him and mostly ignored him (well, I had to – can’t be showing too much emotion when he says things like that) but I was VERY proud of that. It IS a milestone.  He has come sooooo far and I’m really proud of him.

But seriously now. How was your weekend? Have you had a good Monday?

Am signing off now because Child1 and I are working through fractions! So much fun in my life this Monday evening. NOT.

Later.

x

 

This and that on a beautiful, rainy Monday

Due to various reasons, I have not being blogging much – a combination of me being a lazy bum in the heat, some issues with my computer and working through some other things.

I didn’t waste any time though. I have been helping child 1 to settle in for the new year – for some or other reason he appears to not have it together even more so than usual.

I have been knitting even though my stuff seem to have holes in them – not sure what that’s about – I blame the heat for EVERYTHING.

I have been reading and LOVING it soooo much. I have no plans to buy any new books this year and I’m only reading whatever is unread in my house.

I have been watching mindless TV on occasion, movies with my DH and I have been friend dating. So much of fun!

But, I am missing this space. So I’m back today with some randoms:

• Yesterday  Child2 ran across the road (after me). Luckily the driver of the oncoming car saw him running towards the pavement and could stop in time without swerving. I don’t even want to think what could have happened if he was driving any faster. I heard my DH shouting and turned around to see him running after our boy. I walked back into the middle of the road. Picked him up. Held him tight. I was shaking like a leaf and I cried all the time because I knew that things could have turned out sooooo differently. That child is VERY fast. Even I can’t keep up with him sometimes and I’m a lot fitter than my DH. He appears to have no  concept of danger. This freaks me out. Like A LOT.
• I went to UNISA on Friday to see if I could register. Due to reasons beyond my control, this will only be possible in the next semester. I was disappointed but I must say that I’m proud of the way I handled it. Fact is, it is what it is and it just means that I have a few months to do something EPIC before registering in June.
• I fought with some service providers last week. Seriously. It’s a new year and I won’t be tolerating poor service in 2012. I am going to Hello Peter ALL OF THEM!
• I have been doing a bit of a declutter around the house. It’s going WAY too slow for my liking. Again, I’m blaming the heat. I really can’t be productive when it’s this hot and I’m more than ready to move to a cold place.
• I am finally going to run at the club tomorrow. I had planned to start last week but I had a nasty blister on my foot that needed to heal first. I am looking soooooo forward to this.
• I’ve not read many blogs lately. Am slowly catching up with reading and commenting but I ended up marking a lot of items in GR as “read”. Those crafty ladies post A LOT!

Anyway. That’s me for the moment. How are you? How is your Monday treating you?

Exercise: a few options

I haven’t exercised for about 6 weeks now. I just REALLY couldn’t fit it in during December and in November I only went a few times. Having said that, I WISH that I had made more of an effort because with the November and December that I had, the best thing for me would have been to exercise regularly.

Unfortunately (as much as I hate it) I MUST exercise. Not for my figure but for my sanity. It does help if I set myself a goal – makes it all the more worthwhile and when I do accomplish a fitness goal then I feel VICTORIOUS and like I’m the queen of the universe.

I have decided that I am done with Bootcamp.  As EXCELLENT as the programme is, I have never ever loved it and I never got that endorphin thing that I FINALLY experienced in all its glory this past summer with swimming.

So.

I want to swim. Am thinking on a Friday after work. IT means that I wash my hair on Saturdays. This is free if I go to the beach. Or. If I go to the pools at Newlands  straight after work (I prefer beach swimming though) then I would pay a small amount of money. Something like R15.

I want to run. Am hoping to join a running club in the area. They train twice a week and do weekend runs. This costs next to nothing. Approximately R300 for the year and a nominal fee for each race. Maybe R10 or so if anything.

I also want to yoga. Once a week. Am looking at approximately R65 –R80 per session. BUT. If I groupon then I can get it a lot cheaper.

Am also thinking of finding a zumba gig somewhere. I don’t belong to a gym (have no intention of wasting my money) so will have to find a zumba class. There is nothing in the area where I live OR work which means that I will have to drive somewhere for it. This already puts me off. I don’t know what this would cost me but I can’t see it being cheaper than yoga.

There is A LOT of yoga in the area but it is all hot-room yoga. I HATE that. I can’t stand the heat and my hair is too much to handle afterwards. And ALL the groupon deals are for hot yoga ONLY.

All I want is regular Hatha or Inyengar or Ashtanga or even Power Vinyasa. At room temperature. Why are all these people following the 40degree hot room fad?

There have been some changes in my household as well so this also complicates things wrt fetching kids etc.

I was thinking today about what my exercise routine would be like if I was a SAHM.

I would start the day with 5am bootcamp (even though I hate it), actually, no. I would get a PT.  After dropping the kids at school etc I would have a yoga session. And in the evenings and  on the weekends I would run. Occasionally I will fit in a session of swimming. Or Zumba.

None of this business of trying to fit it in with the suicide hour.

Have you set any fitness goals for yourself this year? What are your fitness goals for the year?  What will your exercise routine look like this year? Are you trying anything new?

And what is your  fantasy exercise routine?

 

Back to normal. Almost.

1. So I am back at work after a fabulous break and the first day was not too bad. I do have LOADS of catching up ahead of me but, seeing that I have only 2 hands and 1 brain, I will do whatever I can, when I can.  One positive thing though was that my computer was acting up when I arrived and so I couldn’t do any work. I used the “free time” to do some private admin that was long overdue. And I have to say that, as much as I enjoyed the silence at work today, the homecoming I received from my boys on entering my home was just BEAUTIFUL. It was like the QUEEN had arrived. LOVE it!

2. I FINALLY got to experience a  proper endorphin rush and it was BEAUTIFUL and so, so EXHILARATING. Like the best drug EVER. Only so much better! I experienced that rush after swimming in the ocean  – something I haven’t really done for a few years.

I was giddy with happiness and everything around me was just glowing and shiny. I literally could not stop laughing every time I came out of the water. I am going to try to swim more often (at least once a week if I can fit it in) and I have decided that I’m done with the Bootcamp.

As excellent as the programme is, it simply does nothing for my endorphins. My fitness plans for 2012 include focusing on my running.  By the end of 2012 I would like to be doing at least 15km races though first prize would be a 21.5km race.

Am trying to decide between signing up with a running club with a good beginners programme or if I should head off to the big guns at the Sports Science Institute for their fantastic (expensive) running programme which starts in two weeks.

3. I have been walking around with big hair for most of these holidays though I did  blow dry/flat-iron it for Christmas. I was also using a leave-in conditioning treatment because of all that swimming that I was doing. Well, last night I HAD to wash my hair for work. I ended up having to give it 4 washes because of all the treatment in my hair and today it looks FABULOUS! I finally see the beauty of the Brazilian (which I thought would be non-existent after all that salt water btw.)  Here is a pic taken this afternoon just as the wind was starting up:

4. I have been using the Tranquil Body Treats range on my skin for the past few days and I have to say that there is a VERY noticeable difference. Even my DH says that I am looking “like a virgin” again…LOL. I am using the milk cleanser, toner and moisturiser and for the first time EVER (since my La Mer days) I am LOVING my skin again.

Seriously. Try the stuff.  I use the eczema cream on Child 2 for his eczema which we usually BATTLE with during summer and his skin is just BEAUTIFUL. I have not had to use any form of cortisone on his skin and there has been NOT A SINGLE FLARE UP for the past few months! Isn’t that FANTASTIC?

I do have their exfoliation cream as well but I haven’t used it yet because I can’t quite figure out when to use it. Help anybody? And I keep forgetting about the under eye cream. Will start that tonight after I do my 3 steps.

5. My cousin and his partner became parents to a little girl yesterday.  Little Isabella is just sooooo beautiful and pictures of her just leave me absolutely breathless.  I will admit that it made me long for the little girl that I will never have and I just can’t wait to go and smell her up close and stare at her little feet.  Luckily I got over it today,  – I am SOOOOO done having kids, but I will knit her some blocks in the primary colours. Maybe I could do a letter “I” block with some pink wool.  Would that be weird?

6. I am browsing campsites for our next camping trip. The BEAUTY of camping is that it is so cheap and this would mean that I can do it a lot more than once a year. I SERIOUSLY can’t wait for some downtime again.

7. I have loads of stuff to do this week:

Take down Christmas tree

Get in touch with the woman who is making me a couch.

Finalise some goals for 2012 (shall I blog about this?)

Finalise stationery (can you believe I forgot to order the pack from the school?)  and check if all school uniforms still fit.

Clean my desk

Organise craft stuff, do an inventory and plan for the monthly link-up.

Try to complete at least 2 unfinished crafts i.e. Christmas gifts which will now become Happy New Year gifts. Yes, I know I am bad like that.

READ every night for 30 minutes – have to say that this went so well during the holidays. Can’t believe how much I’ve neglected it during 2012.

I am signing off now so I can tackle at least two of the items that I’ve listed.

How was your Wednesday? And when do you go back to work?

Last hump day bullet post for 2011

1. I did not have the best of days yesterday.  Let’s just say I should have trusted my instincts on a particular matter and I didn’t.  My DH and I made a decision though: We are done socialising with kids for now because we really would love to be invited back to people’s houses. Seriously.

2. Last night I watched my favourite movie of all time – Moulin Rouge. I don’t really like movies that much, so I usually watch something once and then move right along. I can watch Moulin Rouge over and over and over and continue to fall in love with it.  IT was even trending on Twitter last night. After that, all was well in my world. What is your favourite movie of all time? Which movie can you watch over and over again without getting tired of it? Do you have one?

3. We had a lovely, lazy boxing day.  Stayed indoors, watched TV, ate too much.  My DH and I eventually decided to go and watch a movie later that afternoon because I STILL hadn’t seen Breaking Dawn. It was really beautiful, I LOVED the soundtrack,  and funnily enough, it ended EXACTLY where I thought it would end. Afterwards we went to sit in a coffee shop and we talked about 2012 and our expectations. Loved it. What did you end up doing on Boxing Day?

4. Today was another lazy-ish day. I literally got out of bed at 12:19. We took the kids to Kirstenbosch for a bit and for an early dinner. Was lovely and exactly what I needed to get rid of the meh feeling that I woke up with. I am currently busy cleaning up this house. The mess is starting to make me twitch and I am rather close to shouting. MUST avoid that at all costs.

5. Tomorrow I MUST exercise. I haven’t done any form of exercise in nearly a month and my body is feeling it and so am I. I know that I would have felt so much better and found November and December much easier to deal with if I had been doing regular exercise. I have now learnt my lesson. I MUST exercise. For my sanity if nothing else. My DH and I are going to go for an early morning walk followed by a swim in the sea, whether it rains or not. Are you exercising during the holidays? 

6. When I come home after exercise tomorrow, I am going to do some planning for 2012. I’m thinking of doing a vision board and making it a family activity. I have started doing one so many times during 2011 and have NEVER gotten around to finishing it. Well. Tomorrow is the day. It WILL be done.

7. On Friday I’m going into battle with my family. Was going to do it on Saturday but I am not going to let them ruin my NYE with Prime Circle and Elvis Blue. It may get ugly (I hope not though)  but I am ABSOLUTELY ready for them.  I have had time to calm down since Christmas day so the necessary words WILL be spoken.  Seems like 2011 is going to be ending with a bang. I wonder if that’s a good thing. Have you had much family drama  this year? Have you tackled it head-on or have you just swept it under the carpet?

8. I realised today how much I miss reading.  This is one area where I’ve failed dismally in 2011. Discovering things like knitting and other crafting have not helped this cause one bit.  I need to be more intentional about it in 2012. And I will. I am currently reading this book that I referred to in this post –  and I am finding it very enlightening to say the least. There will be a few saucy blog posts in 2012 relating to this. What are you currently reading? 

And how was your last Wednesday of 2011?

Have to share this with you. It made me laugh and laugh and laugh.

Source: a-bruised-reed.blogspot.com via Julia on Pinterest

On being a sucker/glutton for punishment

I really don’t like Boot Camp. It’s too busy and sore and hardcore.

I lose all my brainpower, I forget what is left and right and  I often feel stupid doing the exercises.

I can’t seem to co-ordinate the opposite sides of my body – must be those vestibular issues that the OT’s are forever diagnosing in the kids – so glad I saved my parents hundreds of thousands of dosh when I was at school and there was no OT.  As an adult I still cannot cross the midline. Imagine that!

It doesn’t allow me to clear my head in the way that running does. I don’t like that I can’t run as much when I’m doing boot camp.

Having said that, Boot Camp is generating results. I am WAY fitter and stronger and more toned in my upper body and in my core and truthfully, I don’t feel that running is truly working these areas. So based on this and the fact that I redid my assessment and saw the improved results, I have decided to stick it out at Boot Camp until the end of November. I manage to do two smallish runs every week (that’s all that I can fit in at the moment) and for now I’m learning to live with this.

These were some of my results from the last assessment:

At the beginning of September when I started this I could only manage 19 push ups. At the end of September I did 52 of these in one minute.

At the beginning of September when I started this I could only manage 14 sit-ups. At the end of September I did 39 of these in one minute.

I also improved my running time for 2.8km by 6 minutes! Seriously. This makes me VERY happy.

Much as I hate it, I’m getting results. And whether I want to admit this or not, it is probably the closest thing I’m going to get to a personal trainer.

I am continuing with this up to the end of November and won’t be signing up for the December cycle. I will be on leave during that period and have no intention of coming all this way to torture myself. In December I plan to run every day and I will be signing up for a yoga special. Clearing my head and mind space seems like the perfect way to end the year.

So. I am a sucker for punishment. But. Ultimately it’s for a good cause. A cause called ME.

How is your exercise routine going? Is it even going? What exactly is your exercise routine?

Exercise: a summary in bullet points

• I am not particularly enjoying boot camp and will go as far as saying that it’s really not my thing.
• I miss running.
• I can’t clear my head in boot camp while doing lunges and abdominal crunches etc. because I am too busy trying to stay alive!
• I miss running.
• I am stopping boot camp when this month is over because it is a bit of a logistical nightmare with my DH working some evenings. I have to fetch my kids and they have to watch me exercise and only once I am done do we all go home for the first time. This means that I can’t add a run to my workout.
• I miss running.
• My body is also craving yoga which is essentially in conflict with boot camp. In yoga we don’t believe in hurting our bodies. Boot camp = no pain no gain.
• I miss running.
• So far I have discovered my stomach muscles (Abdominals) and the muscle under your bum – not sure what that one is called but it is VERY sore today and I could barely sit!
• I miss running.
• My Tween boy asked if he could run with me. Of course I said yes! I am working on a plan for the two of us. I think he is going to give me a run for my money though. He is FAST!
• I miss running.
• Ugh did I mention how much I hate Boot Camp?
• I went for a short run after work and was really gentle with myself. It was AWESOME!
• I am so going to run this weekend!

 

Thursday things

1. Thank you for your beautiful comments on my previous post. I wrote that piece at the end of last week immediately after I read this one from Cat. I cried when I wrote it. I cried even more when I read your comments. Thank You.xx
2. Boot camp is happening three times a week and is killing me slowly. Next week I will add an afternoon run as well. I have finally  discovered my stomach muscles which I completely forgot I had! At the moment they are VERY SORE. I can’t cough, sneeze, laugh, stretch or yawn.
3. Looks like my DH is off this weekend. You cannot possibly believe how much this thrills me. We are taking the kids out in the morning and will hopefully have some alone time in the afternoon to talk talk talk and talk some more. And of course we will eat like pigs!
4. My Tween is going to be paying half of his holiday Judo club fee and I’ll pay the other half. He is VERY excited about it and actually so am I.
5. I need to find my MIL something to do. Any ideas? My FIL was her whole life and now that he’s not here anymore she is kind of at a loss. What do old people do for fun besides babysitting their grandchildren?

Anyway, I hope that your Thursday was fabulous. It is raining outside and the wind is howling! Hopefully Spring will arrive in Cape Town by the end of October. Am about to get into bed to read. And pin.

x

August update

I have just come from an impromptu movie outing. My friend invited me this afternoon (he won some tickets) and we saw a movie called Retribution which is a South African thriller. It’s the first local movie that I saw in this genre and I have to say that it was not bad at all.

Anyway, this is how I did in August:

Social

Movie date with L this weekend. – DONE. We watched Super 8.

M’s birthday lunch on Sunday. Complete her gift. – decide on something to knit tonight – DONE, though my knitting flopped and I ended up buying her something.

TBT opening on 14/08 - DONE

Tween B-Day on 13/08 (finalise party arrangements by Friday) - DONE

Jewish museum with Tween 20/08 – Not done. I later found out that this museum is closed on Saturdays and I’m not keen to do Sundays.

Breakfast date with N on 27/08 – Postponed. I ended up going to that Womens Breakfast.

Gosh, I was so social this past month. LOVED it!

Health and Fitness:

Go back to WL to see where we are at. – Not done. Going back at the end of September. I blogged about that here.

Run 4 times/week – I did 3 times a week because my Saturdays were just too busy.

Register for Gun Run – not done. Changed my mind about this race – am not in the mood to run with such a big crowd.

Run 2 races – Women’s Day Challenge on 09/08 and another one on 21/08. Shave off 2 minutes from previous time. – I did the Womens day race in excellent time. I didn’t do the one on 21/08 because it was cold and rainy.

Home:

Sort and then file/toss ALL paper which has piled up all around the house. - DONE

E-file. – Not done.

Banking changeover - DONE

Kids:

Work through summer clothing and see what can still be worn. – Still busy. Nearly finished with Tween’s stuff. Still need to do Toddlers stuff.

Work through all books and toy boxes. AGAIN! Eish. – NOT DONE

Go buy a potty this weekend. Some people are apparently fully potty trained at school and insist on nappies at home because there is only a toilet and not a potty. – NOT DONE. And I drove past Baby City at least 3 times this past month. Kept on forgetting to stop.

Other:

Read 2 books – I read one and I’m nearly done with the other one.

Finalise Christmas gift list. – Done.

Book for Love Languages talk in September – to be done by the end of the week. – Done.

WordPress – is it just me or is WordPress rather unfriendly to non-techie types? – Started. Got annoyed. Stopped. Will try again in Sept.

Sort out LinkedIn profile once and for all. – Not done.

Make some jewellery with SIL – evening of 20/08.- Done. We did it on 27/08 though because she was away.