Git 'er Done : January 30/31

Anyone who has ever seen a comedy performance by Larry the Cable Guy, will be familiar with the redneck saying ‘Git er Done’. The meaning of this phrase, according to the urban dictionary is:

“a [redneck] phrase meaning to go ahead and complete a task, showing support, encouragement, or respect”

So, in that vein, I have decided to use it as my own personal motto, to tick things off my large to-do list, each and every weekend. I’ll list my goals for the weekend, and then on Sunday night, edit the post to give a report on how I did.

I do have some lofty goals for this weekend:

1. Clean the car (inside definitely, outside maybe) [the inside was finished, and let the heavy rain finish the job on the outside]

2. Bath the dogs [due to the rain, we couldn't do this]

3. Complete the first gift album on my list to finish for 2010 (this is a must do for January) [didn't get to this either, because not doing No. 5 on the list prevented it]

4. Meal preparation for the next week (Chilli Con Carne, and Chicken Biryani) [completed, and the Chilli was gooood!]

5. Tidy up my scrap room/office (enough to be able to do no. 3 on this list) [not done, and I have no excuses]

With the standard amount of housework to do on top of this list, and a 3hr fitness seminar to attend on Saturday, I will be moving all weekend to “git er done”. [the housework was done, but on Sunday I pretty much hung out on the couch, trying to avoid any kind of hardwork]

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book review :: Stephen Fry in America

I decided to mix up my reading a bit, and inject a bit of non-fiction into the mix. This book, especially, given that it is all about America. Somewhere we are planning to visit in 2011. Visiting all 50 states, as Stephen Fry does in this book, is only a pipe dream for us though.

In the beginning of this book, I was a little disappointed to discover that Fry didn't do a lot of the more famous touristy stuff while in each of the different states. In fact, quite a few of his adventures are things that the normal tourist would not even have access to (ie running a border control shift of the Canadian border, or flying one of the restored WW2 bombers). As I read on though, I enjoyed his writing, and did find a few obscure things that I would like to include in our road trip. One of these is visiting Kroll's Diner in Bismark. I kid you not. This is what the place is called. It's a german themed restaurant, and you can check it out at www.sitdownandeat.com. Very kitschy, but appealing to us nonetheless.

I do recommend this book if you are intending on visiting the United States at some point in the future. I also recommend this book if you are at all interested in American culture, as Fry delivers the story of his travels in a very humorous way (even if you can sense the british accent/attitude).

Star Rating :: 3 out of 5 stars

Check out further details at Fishpond here.
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Weigh-In Wednesday :: End of Week 3

I have nothing but bad news to report this week. For those keeping score, yes, the above number does represent a 700g gain. I have plenty of excuses, including a very very big night on Saturday night at Di's 40th, but I would rather forget about this last week altogether. Instead I'm going to focus on what I will be doing in the next week to make up for it.

On the training front, I start Boot Camp on Monday. In fact, I had my initial measurements, and even more disturbingly, photos taken last Monday. Boot Camp will be on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and run for 8 weeks (ie the whole of February and March). Wish me luck. If you don't hear from me next week, it could well mean I've dissolved into a pile of sweat and tears.

On the food front (and this is what I need to work harder on), I've made myself a few rules for the next 8 weeks. From there, I will reassess how things are going. Firstly, there are a couple of off-limit food/drink items:
  • alcohol
  • softdrink (including diet varieties)
  • icecream (excluding frosty fruits/icy poles - c'mon I need something)
  • chocolate

So the basis of my meal plan will follow this structure:

  • before Boot Camp : banana/apple
  • Breakfast : low-fat greek yoghurt with toasted muesli
  • Snack 1 : piece of fruit
  • Lunch : main meal of the day (pre-made meals such as spaghetti bolognaise)
  • Snack 2 : piece of fruit, or fruit smoothie
  • Dinner : garden salad with chicken/salmon, a small amount of cheese, avocado/nuts, and a tiny bit of dressing
  • Dessert : frosty fruit / icy pole (if I feel like it)
I feel like this is realistic, and quite do-able. I'll let you know next week.

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week in focus :: Sun 17th Jan to Sat 23rd Jan
After the part clean up of the garage last week, I was able to move the china cabinet that Dad made into the garage. While it is a beautiful china cabinet, it's made of silky oak, and doesn't go with the rest of our more-modern decor. Jason's old football trophies all came out of a dusty, manky box, and were put in the china cabinet also. The garage isn't the prime location for such treasures, but we don't have much choice. The removal of the cabinet from the old dining area, allowed us to move the new desk into the back corner. Now we have to think about what to do with all the space in this area.
I had another play date with Charlie on Sunday afternoon, and took the opportunity for Jason to drop me off so I could walk/run home. Charlie was extremely upset that I wasn't waiting for Jason to pick me up. It was a little heart-wrenching.

The run on the way home (the first in a week), felt alright while I was doing it, but I ended up with a bit of heat stroke (I think), which lead to severe headache, and a resurgence of my throat issue. I'm getting fed up with this thing, and I think my next step will have to be a doctor (but I'm trying to avoid that).

Monday night was the first Creative Shots Photography Club meeting for the year. Sticking with one of my goals for 2010, I entered at least one photo into each of the categories. My entries were seriously out-classed, but congratulations to Caitie on her success. Her winning photo in the 'Pure Talent' category was really cool. Hopefully she'll post her entries on her blog. Hint, hint. My entries were:

The rest of the week was quite uneventful, leading into the four-day weekend for Australia Day. Di's 40th birthday was on Saturday night, and what a night it was. No photos (fortunately). Let's just say, that after about 6 cosmopolitans, and 10 dirty cowboy shots, I was in no fit state to be taking photos of anything. With everyone else in the same boat, there wasn't anything pretty to take photos of. Jason, Mick, Di, and BJ stayed up past 8am (which is when I got up). I wish I did have the camera to take one of Di at that point. Mick had given her a very expensive pearl necklace the night before. At 8.30 the next morning, she was still wearing them, with a very pretty dress, but was leaning back in an old green plastic chair, letting it rain on herself, and trying (unsuccessfully) not to throw up. What a pretty picture that would have made....


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Weigh-In Wednesday :: End of Week 2
At the end of week two, the news isn't bad, but it's not that good either. I can only report a 0.1kg loss. This brings me to a total of 1kg, which is in line with my goal of 0.5kg each week (on average), but I am a little disappointed. Other than one meal, I have eaten properly. My only concern is the inability to exercise as much as I would like. I've finally succumbed to going to the doctors to get that sorted out. Hopefully next week will be a different story, in terms of exercise, and weight-loss.

My ideal goal for next week is to be in the 76's, but I would be happy with a 0.5kg loss. There are a couple of challenges I have to face to achieve this. One, is a friend's 40th birthday on Saturday night, where there will be drinking, but I will be limiting myself to low-carb options, and not too many of those. Secondly, we will be off work for 4 days (long weekend), so I need to make sure I maintain my water intake. And, lastly, Australia Day is on Tuesday, and we are celebrating with a bbq at some friends' place. I will be able to handle this fairly well, as it is byo meat, and I'll have a small steak with salad. I've also tasked myself to bring dessert, so I'll have a look through my old WW cookbooks, for a healthy alternative.

Congratulations to my sister and my friend, who both lost big (and I mean big) numbers this week.
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inspired :: It's Been a While
It's been a while since I've done an 'inspired' post. So while cleaning out my bookmarked Google Reader posts, here's a few things that have caught my eye in the last couple of months:

This quirky gift idea isn't so much inspiring, but it is a novel gift idea for the list maker:


If I was at all brave, oh and designed type faces for a living, this would be pretty cool:


This amazing paper cutting using toilet rolls:


This beautiful travel/laptop bag (could be good for a certain someone who just bought a Macbook Air, but maybe a little too big...):


This HDR photo:


This cool valentines gift idea (although probably a little too much work for my valentine to appreciate):


This post comparing women to stoves. No it's not a bad thing. It backs up my own 'all or nothing' approach to different things.

The new lines from Cosmo Cricket, especially 'Material Girl' and 'Joy Ride':


and lastly, this cute baby card:


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week in focus :: Sun 10th Jan to Sat 16th Jan
Sunday morning started out a lot later than usual, due to the Mexican fiesta the night before. The other couples stayed over, so Jason served up his specialty of bacon and eggs. I added hashbrowns this time. Ally was so hungover, and I don't think I've actually seen anyone turn green quite like she did, when attempting to eat her bacon and eggs.

On Sunday afternoon I went around to the Gordon's place, for my promised play date with Charlie. She is so adorable, and although she was asleep when I got there, within 5 minutes of waking up, it was "let's go shopping Ony". So we did some pretend shopping (ie chasing each other around with shopping carts and prams), some throwing practice using velcro mits and a tiny tennis ball, and some somersaults (her, not me). I promised her that Jason will come next time, so he can do forward rolls on the tramp with her. Something I am definitely not up to.

Following on from the head cold last week, I now have a really bad sore throat and have started to lose my voice. So much for the increased vitamin C I've been taking, and the better diet. What it has meant, is that the start of my running training has been affected. While I did do my first session (1.5km on Sunday), I wasn't able to do much else.

After the debarcle a couple of weeks ago, we finally managed to take all our extra furniture to the Tender Centre. And by 'we' I mean 'Jason and Andrew'. Fingers crossed we can sell it all. The extra room in the garage is phase one of my January goal to clean out the garage.

The remainder of the week has been quite uneventful. Jason was depressed about finally having to go back to work. I think his plan was to win Powerball before he had to go back, but alas that didn't happen. I had my hair cut and coloured, again. Due to the appearance of a number of grey hairs, this is now a regular thing every 6 weeks.

Saturday I started on the garage. Fully planned on this being a staged process, and it definitely will be. In four hours, I managed to clean away only one side. The majority of the time was taken up trying to mount a bike rack, which was a decided failure, not due to the installation, but to the rack itself. We decided it is unable to take the weight that it indicates on the packet, well safely anyway.

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book review :: The Good Guy

The back cover of this book, by Dean Koontz, has a review by the New York Times, which claims it's a 'read-in-one-go novel'. Well, I did just that. Other than the first two chapters, I read the remainder of the book in one day. That goes a long way in telling you how gripping the story line is. Unlike other Koontz books I've read, this one does not have any supernatural undertones, and is a real action adventure. So much so, that I'm sure Jason (lover of Andy McNab's work) will like it. The background of the two main characters is gradually unveiled as the story progresses, and the main character, Tim, is very likeable.

Star Rating :: 4 out of 5 stars

Details from Fishpond:
A stunning new thriller in the vein of 'Velocity' and 'The Husband' from one of the world's bestselling authors. After a day's work hefting brick and stone, Tim Carrier slakes his thirst at The Lamplighter Tavern. Nothing heavy happens there. It's a friendly workingman's bar run by his good friend Rooney, who enjoys gathering eccentric customers. Working his deadpan humour on strangers is, for Tim, all part of the entertainment. But how could Tim have imagined that the stranger who sits down next to him one evening is about to unmake his world and enmesh him in a web of murder and deceit? The man has come there to meet someone and he thinks it's Tim. Tim's wayward sense of humour lets the misconception stand for a moment and that's all it takes: the stranger hands Tim a fat manila envelope, saying, 'Half of it's there; the rest when she's gone,' and then he's out the door. In the envelope Tim finds the photograph of a woman, her name and address written on the back; and several thick packets of hundred-dollar bills. When an intense-looking man sits down where the first stranger sat and glances at the manila envelope, Tim knows he's the one who was supposed to get it. Shaken, thinking fast, Tim says he's had a change of heart. He removes the picture of the woman and then hands the envelope to the stranger. 'Half what we agreed,' he says. 'For doing nothing. Call it a no-kill fee.' Tim is left holding a photo of a pretty woman, but his sense of fun has led him into a very dangerous world from which there is no way back. The company of strangers has cost him his peace of mind, and possibly his life.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
ISBN:0007226594
EAN:9780007226597
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Wednesday Weigh-In :: End of Week 1

It's now the end of week 1 and I am pretty pleased with my 0.9kg loss this week. This proves to me that the small changes I have made to my eating are working. Because I have been fighting a head cold and laringitis, I haven't been able to train like I planned. So this loss came about purely from eating properly. Well most of the time anyway. It also included a night of margaritas and churros.... but let's not focus on that.

For this coming week, my focus is on increasing my amount of exercise. Just a walk a day would be good, but I'm not feeling 100% yet, so I will have to take it slowly.
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week in focus :: Sun 3rd Jan to Sat 9th Jan
Still suffering from my head cold, and feeling even more down since I only had one day left of my holidays before returning to work.

Met the Dodd's, Roberts' and Gordon's down at the water park on Sunday morning. I was feeling that sick that I didn't even take the camera. With the exception of Emma, Angus and myself, everyone had a great time frolicking in the water and on the slides. I definitely want to go back, perhaps when I feel less like a whale, and don't have a head cold. It was great to spend this relaxing time with some of my favourite people. After spending the whole time in the shade, and wearing sunscreen, I still managed to get a 2-degree sunburn across my back. The rest of the afternoon was spent sleeping and reading, and trying to come to terms with starting back at work the next day.

I must say that any novelty there was of Jason being at home, while I had to work, wore off very quickly. This was only intensified when I recieved SMS updates of his movie-watching adventures. Jason's word-for-word review of Avatar 3d was "That movie was un-f*@king believable! Freaking awesome!". So there you go.

During the week I managed to formalise my goals for 2010, which I will reveal in a separate post. I started with a long list, and whittled it down to what I feel is the most important to me at the moment. The resultant list is a concentration of doing things that are going to make my life better, rather than busier. One particular goal I had on my original list was to start an on-line invitation business. This is a goal I've had for a couple of years, but have never really pursued. It is for this reason that I have let it go (for now).
Tamie is currently reading "Eat Pray Love", and rang me out of the blue to tell me that her and I are going to Italy (by ourselves) one day. Still to work out who will be paying for that....

Saturday night, we hosted a Mexican Fiesta-themed dinner party at house, for Leah and Justin, and Josh and Ally. I made a big pot of chilli con carne, and some chicken enchilladas, served up with tortillas, corn chips, tacos, guacamole (home made), sour cream and salsa (not home made). It was a huge feast, topped off with margaritas. For dessert I tried my hand at making churros. It was a lot easier than I had first imagined, but the clean up the next day took about 10 times longer. The mexican chocolate sauce I made to accompany them was probably my favourite. All in all a great night with great friends, enjoying great food (if I do say so myself). We also played Cranium, but the boys weren't that into it, and ended up rolling over and letting the girls win. Party poopers....

and the aftermath.....

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book review :: The Law of Nines

I read this book while we were in Toowoomba for Christmas. Jason picked it out during a visit to Target and really liked it, so I gave it a go. I also, really enjoyed it. There is something of a supernatural theme amongst the books I like, and this is no exception. It has a wonderful mix of mystery and action, along with an underlying romance.

Star Rating :: 3 out of 5

Details from Fishpond :: Goodkind was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, where he also attended art school, one of his many interests on the way to becoming a writer. Besides a career in wildlife art, he has been a cabinet maker, violin maker, and he has done restoration work on rare and exotic artifacts from around the world. In 1983 Goodkind moved to the forested mountains he loves. There, in the woods near the ocean, he built the house where he and his wife, Jeri, live, and came at last to tell his own stories.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
ISBN:0007303661
EAN:9780007303663


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Wednesday Weigh-In :: And So It Begins
Sick of feeling tired and unenthused, my sister and I have developed some-what of a pact. To share a photo of our weigh-in each week, no matter how good or bad the result may be. I've decided to take it one step further, and share it here on-line also. Crazy, you say? Well, I might very well be, but then I consider the fact that my readers can be counted using the fingers of one hand, and I figure 'oh well, give it a go'. So here it is, the result of months upon months of inaction and eating whatever the damn well I please:

So, how do I plan to make this number go down? It rests in one of the goals I have set myself for 2010. To complete the "Run the Great Whitsunday Walk" within the 6 hour cutoff. If you don't want to go to the link for last year's event, I'll give you the short of it. It's a 28km cross country race through the hills of Airlie Beach. Most people who attempt it (I'm guessing) are seasoned runners. So my goal is to be a some-what seasoned runner by then, only 36 weeks away.

Each week I'll post my challenges and accomplishments, along with what will hopefully be an image of a number below that of the one shown above. Wish me luck.
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week in focus :: Sun 27th Dec to Sat 2nd Jan
Still recovering from the Christmas festivities, and taking time out.

Cuddling with Fletcher, laughing it up with Tamie and Daniel, and practicing some photography.

Watching Daniel finish his first techni-lego creation.

Trying to fit everything back into our bags for the flight home.

Surviving a flight with Qantas, where I found the propellers on the plane very unnerving but was distracted (temporarily) by the free Frosty Fruit.

Came home to two very excited dogs, and two very tired humans (that was from their earlier fishing trip, not the dogs).

Briefly caught up with Mel and Sam before they flew out of Mackay (at McCafe of all places). Emma and Andrew came too, and I grabbed a couple of shots of Angus with his bright red hair!

Relaxed, in the comfort of home, for a couple of days.

Enjoyed a cozy New Year's Eve with Bryde, Matt, Jess, Gemma, and the Gordons. After a dinner of Spaghetti Bolognaise and Apple Pie, we played Trivial Pursuit. I did not realise that game can go on for hours (literally it took 4 hours to play, and we were cheating by the end). The game finished 10 minutes before the start of 2010, and we were in bed by 10 minutes after.

New Years Day we hosted breakfast for Bryde and Matt and the girls, before heading out to Marian to check out Linda and Lee's new place. It is a lovely house, and the layout suits their needs perfectly. Having come down with a head cold (not the way to start the new year), we headed home rather early.

Bryde's grandad died on Christmas Day. It wasn't a huge shock for the family, but they were still understandably upset. On the second day of the year, I went over to Wendy's place to help put together the funeral booklets. The tension and sadness was allieviated by teaching Jess to play poker. As Wendy said, her dad would have loved that.

Sadly, not that many photos this week. I will try to be better next week.



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