The Silly Season is definately here.....

Well firstly I must say Merry Christmas (although I am a few days late).

I cannot believe that it has been so long since I last posted and wow! so much has happened.

The fat man in the red suit with the jolly laugh definately came to visit us and as usual the children (including the big kids) were spoiled rotten. Alex hasn't stopped dancing to her cd player and Oliver is enjoying his skateboard but is taking it cautiously.

Both Noel and my families came over to celebrate lunch which was just over the top food wise. At least I can say that we don't under cater but I am so over left overs now. I am on the verge of throwing it all in the bin and munching out on a huge salad!! I don't want to see turkey for a while that is for sure!! LOL!!!

Today is my brother in law's birthday. For a change Jamie has decided to do something - we were all shocked. Normally we end up just popping in to their house to deliver the birthday wishes or they have a family bbq but this year we are going to the local pub for lunch. It should be good as the Riveria has a good meal and a play ground for the kids. Woohoo...

New Years is fast approaching also but at this stage no major plans have been set in concrete. We have been invited to Mat and Annie's caravan up at the Basin (near Shepperton)and we also have discussed having a quiet one and staying at home. It is just too hard as you get older!!

Partying isn't the same or am I just becoming a boring old hag??

My mam is here... yippee

Well once again I am spasmoticly posting to my blog. Sooo much is happening and I fear it is only going to get worse.

Last night we spent the evening at my sisters house as my mam has arrived from Brisbane. She is staying here until the 24th January. What a hoot. I love being with my mam - she makes me feel special and the kids just adore their grandma. I was so excited at work all day yesterday about her arrival that most of the drivers asked if I had won the lotto!!

As you can see by the time of this post it is really early but couldn't sleep. Plus I have something in my eye that I can't remove even with saline wash.

Must keep pottering.......

PS Claire cooked a really and I mean really yummy roast pork dinner and I must say I wasn't that good points wise but geez it was good. Need to do exercise this morning for sure.

The girls from Sydney

Well I must say that I have had a wonderful weekend.

I have just cemented my friendship with two wonderful women that I have known for months now but only on email and posts to the Weight Watchers Forums. Kerry and Stacy are two beautiful, intelligent and fun women and I have just had the pleasure of them staying in my house overnight. Yes they flew down from Sydney and stayed the night. It has been a truly fantastic 36 hours.

Kerry is a very knowledgeable lady who can carry an interesting conversation and even had Noel enthralled as he too found her to be very intriguing. Her background is a little different to that of mine and Stacy's as she is not married and has no children (not that that is a bad thing). She has a beautiful nature and was the instigator for this whole trip.

Having a beautiful nature is also a very noticeable aspect of Stacy, who has the ability to draw people towards her and had my kids eating out of the palm of her hand most of the weekend. I found her to be so calm natured - a trait that I am definately jealous of. Stacy, who is a firefighter and like myself spends her working hours surrounded by men so she understands my work woes and she too is very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. One amazing thing about Stacy is the fact she is so motivated when it comes to exercise - it blew me away. She got up this morning after a non WW menu evening that saw points blown out the window by food and copious amounts of alcohol to walk what we calculated to be 2kms.

Both women are absolutely wonderful people and I feel so privileged to meet both of them. This was such a undescribable experience and I will treasure the memories for a long time to come. Now I will have to plan my flight to Sydney for another weekend.

In the meantime we have made a pact - a pact to keep on the straight and narrow from here on in. We are going to relay our point intake, food and exercise completed to each other - Stacy has organized to follow an exercise plan and I believe that we are all going to do our best - I know that I am.

Tomorrow is my visit to the specialist regarding my gallbladder so will sign off now and chat to you all after my appointment. Crossing fingers on good news.

5kgs gone!!

Well I made myself quite happy today. I wasn't going to go to my Weight Watchers meeting tonight - in fact I wasn't going to go again until the New Year but I thought to myself I must go as if I don't I will probably go right of the rails.

I am glad that I went. Tonight I lost 0.7kgs making my total weight loss since starting at Frankston 5kgs!! Woohoo and I am excited about that achievement.

Now all I need to do is sort out my gallbladder problem and all should be sweet!!

Better fly lots and lots to do with my two friends, Kerry and Stacy, flying in on Saturday from Sydney. They are staying at our house which should be a scream as we have never met!!

Chat soon!!

Talk about rain!!

Wow where did all that rain come from? Isn't it meant to be summer?? I suppose we shouldn't complain as we actually need it.

Work was dead boring - rain also means no trucks and no trucks means nothing to do. I even had a few games of solitaire on the computer and I find that outright boring. Oh well I did manage to get a few more things done towards Christmas and the New Year.

Definately need to pull my finger out though and get out for a walk with Vicky - did you hear that girly? Read your comment and totally agree with you - WE NEED TO IT!!

Nothing much else to report tonight - just pleased that I have managed to post two nights in a row!! WOOHOO!!

Oh by the way I have been informed by Oliver that there is only 19 more sleeps until Christmas!!

The start of a new week!

Well another weekend has come and gone. As per usual I have managed to avoid getting anywhere near my blog.

Noel's parents came over for lunch yesterday and it all went well. We had the usual Sunday roast and it was enjoyed by one and all. We had a great afternoon together. Noel's mam and dad have been using the internet to book a holiday for them and the kids in the first week of the school holidays next March. We also spent a great deal of the day planning food, etc for Christmas Day.

Work today was boring - it was a union RDO so therefore there was not as many trucks coming in and out of the quarry. I managed to organise a few things for Christmas and for January. We have so many things happening in the next few weeks it seems we are already booked out until March.

Spoke to my mam today. She is really looking forward to arriving next Tuesday. I avoided the topic of my sickness and completely forgot to mention my appointment with the specialist on Monday. She has lots on her mind and I have no need to worry her at the moment. Not so sure however how her plans for spending Christmas day at our house is going to effect Claire and Jamie. Oh well I suppose only time will tell.

Health wise today I have felt okay. Not wonderful but on the other hand not yucky. I have decided to concentrate on changing my diet - you know the whole lifestyle change thing and tonight I have even managed to have an alcohol free evening. Quite an achievment for me as most nights I pour myself a glass of wine when I walk in the door for work and picking up the kids! I am actually proud of myself.

Anyways will stop waffling on now.

~*JO*~

Missing two front teeth!

Wow what a day yesterday turned out to be.

Oliver came home from school missing his other front tooth! Now both are missing and everyone is singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" to him.

Kerry rang and we chatted regarding the upcoming trip down to Melbourne to meet each other. I am getting a little excited about meeting both Stace and her so cross fingers that will all go well.

Had a really good phone conversation with my sister, Claire, regarding Christmas and Mam coming down to Melbourne. Sadly we have managed to organise her whole trip with babysitting requirements, Christmas functions, etc. But she will enjoy spending the time with the grandkids and go with the flow.

Now for the result of my "second opinion". I came out of the doctors with a better understanding of my situation and must admit feel quite relieved. But I do not have gallstones (thanks for the first diagnosis, Doc!) I actually have an inflamed gallbladder. The doctor I saw yesterday, one that I like, said that the surgeon will discuss all options with me and I would not necessarily end up in hospital by the time of the appointment. Which funny enough was one of my fears. He also said that there may be a good chance of conservative healing but this would only happen if I was prepared to diet, exercise and reduce my alcohol intake. Something I am trying to do to lose weight anyway!! So I am now prepared to go to the appointment with the surgeon - open minded - on the 12th December.

Better fly as I need to get off to work and get the kids to school.

At least I am smiling a little this morning!! :)

Getting a second opinion?

Well as you can all probably tell I have had other things on my mind and have been missing my blogs quite regularly. Sorry.

I visited the doctor the other day as posted and found out I have gallstones. Well now that this great news great news has sunk in and mentally I am learning to live with the idea that an operation may be the only way to fix it - I can't help thinking that there might be another form of treatment rather than surgery to remove my gallbladder. Both Noel and I have heard that there are other options but the doctor seemed very adament that the surgeon would remove my gallbladder!

Needless to say I am having an RDO today and I am off to get a second opinion before my appointment with the surgeon on 12th December.

Yes the 12th December - what a wonderful Christmas present!!

Will post again later and let you know the outcome!

Gallstones!

Well I have found out what is causing me pain, nausea and sadness - Gallstones!

I went off to the doctor this morning convinced that I would find out I had some sort of terminal disease and I would need to work out how to tell the kids I was dying. Noel knows how worried I have been for the last few days since having the ultrasound on my abdomen done and took the day off work also to accompany me to get my results. Needless to say I am relieved!

But what does having gallstones mean? It means a visit to the specialist to discuss my options regarding removal of the gallstones. The most common result according to my doctor is to have my gallbladder removed. Surgery!! That is something I am not jumping over the moon about but I suppose the bottom line is that I need to do whatever it takes to make me healthy and well again, right?

My appointment with the specialist is 12 December - great early Christmas present and then depending on his opinion I suppose I will be taking a trip into hospital to have an operation. I am guessing by my doctor's very strong feeling about what would happen that surgery is going to be the only option. Even Noel seemed to think that he was very sure I would be having my gallbladder removed.

At least now I know what the problem is and it is just a case of wait and see now. Unfortunately I still don't feel much better!

Emergency Department and still feeling ill....

Well all has not been well in the Murray household. The worst patient in the house is not well. Mam Murray (me) has been suffering major pains and nausea in my belly since Friday evening which I thought it may have been that time of the month related! But instead the yucky feeling have continue and led me to head straight for Frankston Hospital Emergency department after work Monday evening as my doctors was fully booked.

Thankfully I managed to get and seen to quite quickly. Was inside the walls of emergency and preped for a bed faster than usual much to my relief. The doctor gave me some fluids and some pain medication. I must admit I felt wonderful and by 9.00 o'clock was given the all clear to leave. Great I thought - but what is wrong with me?

Bloods were taken and tested and they all came back good with no abnormalties. An ECG was done and the results was good also. It was put down to Gastro and that I should be alright. I was given some pills for nausea and some for pain.

But here I am sitting at home after finishing work early today due to feeling exactly the same as I did yesterday. I have managed to have a sleep but the stomach is telling me it is still not well. I have made an appointment with my doctor for Wednesday morning and will see what he has to say. Obviously something is not right!!

Everyone else in the house is fine - noone displaying the same symptoms - thankfully. Will let you know how I go. I hate being sick and worst of all I get angry as I feel guilty being sick and asking Noel to do more than he already does. I love him to bits!!

Bye!

Another week gone.

It's funny how the week is officially Sunday through to Saturday by most peoples calendars but in the world of Weight Watchers it from scale night to scale night so in my case it's Thursday today so another week has past. Once again it has passed by rather fast, leaving me wondering where does all the time go but I have had a successful week weight loss wise with a loss of 0.8kgs. I am really happy with that and I have nearly lost all of the 1kgs that I gained after the camping trip.

Oliver lost another tooth tonight - that's two teeth this last few days. He lost one on Saturday night whilst staying at Sean and Vicky's. Tonight he pulled his tooth out just minutes before his swimming lesson. Needless to say with all the playing he did with the empty tooth hole it didn't stop bleeding and he was told to get out of the pool. So he did not finish his lesson!! Alex did really well in her lesson and as she has done the last few weeks headed straight for the deep pool as soon as she had finished with the instructor!! I think she is just about over the class she is in.

The computer age

My aunty has hit the email world... yep she now has a computer and I must say she is quite excited about it. And I think it is wonderful She is 66 and I am sure she will have no problems with email and the internet. It was actually quite weird to recieve mail from her. Now all I need is to organise a computer for my mam and all will be up to speed. I actually have a hard drive here (sitting under the desk d0ing nothing) so all I would need to organise is the screen, keyboard and mouse. Then she would be set - I have no problems in transporting it to Brisbane.

Will ponder these thoughts somemore.

Kinda trivia night

What a fun night we had last night.

Seaford Kindergarten's annual trivia and auction night saw us have quite a few laughs not to mention purchase a few good items at great prices. Mat and Anne Marie picked us up and after a quick drink with them we we on our way to the kinda. (The kid's are staying the night at Sean and Vicky's and not returning until 4pm today).

Unfortunately Claire, my sister, and her husband Jamie didn't attend last night as it was Jamie's fathers birthday dinner. They were off to Via Mare in Frankston.... geez a little bit of jealousy snuck in there as I loooovvvveeee that restaurant.

As per usual Ms Smiths table won but this year we came 4th - probably the best we have done and there were only the 6 of us compared to the 12 of them. As usual there was the Treasure Hunt or the Handbag raid which we did really well on and the other mystery round was a list of 20 song lyrics to which we had to name the artist and the title. We did okay on this and came out the winners. Some of the general knowledge questions were not so general and the sports, Australiana and Tv of the 90's questions blew some of us away. The music round was all classical and drew quite a lot of boo's from us and fellow tables!! Oh well.

I am now the proud owner of a Kenwood Steam Mop, 2 children's passes to Sovereign Hill (which I paid $1 for) and a beauty voucher to the value of $ 25.00. Not to mention I am going to get a full set of permanent french nails done (valued at $50) and I bid $15 for them. There was nothing that took Noel's interest greatly and the few things that did he was outbidded on.

Roll on the Trivia Night at Kananook next year as I have managed to round up a table full - Mat and Anne Marie and Yvette are keen. I also know that Anne Marie wants to come to the Kinda night again as she has vowed that she will keep playing trivia until she beats the Smiths!!

Mat ended up staying the night at our place - Annie went out after the trivia night with her girlfriend. Mat is the foreman at my work and I am glad that I get along with him well. He is only the second person I have ever worked with that I have allowed into our personal life and the times have been good! Noel and I get along with him and his wife, Anne Marie, really well - which is amazing considering I spend five and half days each week with Mat at work.

Better fly and organise breakkie for the boys..... fill you in on the rest of the day later.

7 Thursdays until Christmas

Right the party is over - there is only 7 Thursdays until Christmas so that is 7 more weigh in's and I have decided to make the most of them!!

My camping trip brought on a gain of 1kgs which I actually thought was fantastic considering what I have eaten not to mention what was drank!! LOL!!

So what does 7 weeks actually mean? I can feel a challenge coming on..... okay here it is. I am going to challenge myself to lose 5kgs in 7 weeks.

Doesn't sound too hard but here we go with the excuses... christmas parties and functions!! Yes unfortunately before the fat man in the red suit comes to visit we all tend to celebrate quite a bit not to mention all the celebrating we do afterwards.

But I am sure if I focus on this I will do just fine.

Now on the home front spent the day washing and still putting things away from camping. Yuk but someone has to do it I suppose. The kids stayed home also today as they both had an awful nights sleep. So it is back to normality tomorrow (what ever normality is?)

Bye for now.

PS Great work again this week Vicki - another 0.5kgs down.... Well Done!!

Home Sweet Home

We are home!! Yippee - although our camping trip was fun and enjoyed by all four of us it was great to drive into the court and see our house. Electricity, running water, fridge, etc, etc.

I will give you a little insight into our adventures over the last 5 days..... grab a cuppa this could be long!!

Friday:
On the road pretty much as planned 5.30am and off for our 2.5hour drive to Snobs Creek. Got there everyone excited and the campsite was empty which was a bonus! Set up camp, got the fire going and started bush life. Weather overcast in the evening with a little drizzle but at least it was nice while we set up camp.

Saturday:
Had our first shower. Noel has made a shower unit up that runs with his engine. It has a pump and a heater exchange and is bloody fantastic! Alex must have got something in her eye at some stage during the morning as all of a sudden she was bleeding from her eye and nose. Off we went to Alexandra hosipital to see the doctor - who I might add was very vague - but reassured us that is was just a blood vessel that had popped probably due to getting something in her eye. We were told to just keep an eye on it. (No pun intended there) Had a look around Snobs Creek and visited the Snobs Creek Discovery Centre, which was very interesting. The kids got to feed some trout and chinook salmons, we learnt a bit about the breeding process and then in the aquarium section of the centre we were all able to touch baby brown trout that were no bigger than an inch long. After that it was back to the campsite. The weather was crap - drizzle on and off making it really miserable in the camp and all of us went to bed by 8.30pm.

Sunday:
The weather has cleared - yey! Another day of adventure - a little bit of exploring some tracks in the 4wd. Some were a bit hairy especially as we had the trailer in tow as we were meant to be looking for firewood. Went to Thornton as the primary school was having a fete. Not much there - the kids got to have a pony ride and a bit of time in the petting farm. They were also having a fireworks display in the evening so we headed back to camp for dinner only to return back to the school yard for dusk. The fireworks were great and a well organised show. Noel and I were surprised and it obviously cost the school a bit of money. Just as we were leaving Oliver and Alex were mucking about and chasing each other. I was caught off guard as I was getting up of the blanket we were sitting on as the next minute I looked up and Alex was running towards me like an out of control freight train. Crash!! The top of her head and my nose colided BIG TIME. It hurt and the next minute blood everywhere.

Monday:
Woke up a little puffy but no black eyes thankfully. Spent the day driving around Eildon Lake and exploring other camping areas. None as good as the spot we have found although the area is very popular. On the way back to the camp site we stopped and had a look at Snobs Creek Falls. The walk down was okay considering the warning about the steps being uneven. The falls were magnificent. Both Noel and I agreed that the were about the nicest falls we had been too and I must admit we have been to quite a few waterfalls. A 12 year old girl, Elisha Ross, lost her life there by slipping on the rocks in 1990. A little memorial placque was there and it was quite moving.

Tuesday:
We decided to go for another snoop around the forest in the 4wd today. We headed to the start of the Big River camping area and took it from there. Another well mentioned camping area that we didn't think too much off. Very crowded and the bush was fairly thick. Most of the campsites looked dark due to the mass of bushes surrounding them. I like the bush camp idea but need plenty of room and light. Noel was feeling fairly tired today so asked me to drive. OMG - he was letting me drive his baby!! Normally I don't get near the steering wheel whilst we are trekking. So Melbourne Cup Day 2005 I did my first 4wd track. At some stages it was quite howdy doody but I enjoyed myself and Noel said I did well.

Wednesday:
Time to come home - packing up is always harder. I suppose it is because everyone is tired, aching and sore. We left the campsite at 3.30pm and headed back to the normality in which we live. Got home at 6.30pm and unpacked the trailer.

Now I face the day with a huge amount of smoky washing, two kids that are full of colds and not going to school/creche. I was meant to go back to work today but I am doing the right thing and staying home with the kids (hard decision that one).

It is strange that the kids and I were soooo looking forward to sleeping in our beds but had the worst night sleep. Oliver kept sneezing and crying, Alex kept stirring and coming into our room only to be sent back to hers and I couldn't keep asleep with the heat. Wow what great weather it has been for the last few days but I must admit that at 4am this morning it was good to hear the rumble of thunder and see the flashes of lightning.

Tonight I face the scales - my points guides went out the window on the way to the camp site and I will be totally honest and say that I haven't given them a second thought all weekend. I hopped on the scales when I got home last night and they didn't seem to bad although it is the WW ones that count.

Better fly and get started on my jobs for today. Mind you I could just curl back up in bed. Maybe the kids and I will sneek in an afternoon siesta!~!~!~!

It's nearly holiday time....wooooohooooooo!!

Well the trailer is almost packed only a few small things to go in like clothes for us adults plus the food and drinks!! Cross fingers that we will be on our way by 5am like we have planned. May need to get up at about 3 am but it will all be worth it when we get to the camp site, set up and then sit and relax that is after we collect the firewood, get the fire going and work out what is for tea!! But in all seriousness Noel and I are so looking forward to this break. We haven't had a good break since April and that seems like it was so long ago. And I know that the kids are anxious to get there also.

Lots to do in the State Forest besides staring into the fire!! Hopefully I will get to do some walking but there is also four wheel drive tracks to explore, animals to spot, I know that down the road from the campsite there is the Snob's Creek Waterfalls so that will be worth a look. With a bit of luck we will find somewhere to throw in the yabbie nets to get a good feed! Not taking the fishing rods this time but I might just have to use my powers of pleading and venture to the trout farm to catch my favourite fish!! Yummo!! But before we know it it will be time to pack up and come home.

So the next time you will hear from me will be at least next Wednesday evening when we return to civilian life and pry ourselves away from the bush. I will return from my relaxing bush retreat knackered with two feral children that are black from bushlife and who have a large case of television withdrawal symptoms and everything smelling of smoke!! Sounds great and I can't wait!!

Oh before I go - big CONGRATULATIONS to Ms Vicki - great loss this week girl. Keep up the great work. I will definately miss our walks and our chats this week. (I am going to try and be as good as I can while I am away - LOL!!)

Bye for now and I hope everyone backs a winner on the Melbourne Cup!!

Sooooo much is happening......

I know that between now and January 1st 2006 is going to fly past and if I procrastinate tooooooo much I am going to miss heaps!! To be honest I cannot believe it is nearly the end of October which means only 61 more sleeps until the fat man in the red suit blesses us all with his presence (including the wrapped variety)!! OMG that is not many sleeps at all!!

The camping trip is coming along nicely and I will be the first to put my hand up and say I was in a much better frame of mind this morning... at least we know where we are going so it is full steam ahead on that topic now. So roll on Friday I am ready to pitch tent and relax!! Like as if!!

Had a wonderful phonecall from my friend Kerry, who is in Sydney, today and it really brightened my day. Stace and her are planning a trip down in December for a girly weekend and they are staying with us (I wouldn't have it any other way). Can't wait to hear what they both plan when they get together this weekend.

The goods news was coming from all angles today. A message on my answering machine to tell me that my girlfriend Trinity's little girl Willow was home from hospital finally. Willow was born at 27 weeks (yep 13 weeks prem) and weighed 785 grams at birth. She has done really well and battled all the odds associated with being soooo early and wooohooooo she is home. I can just imagine how happy both Donovan and Trinity are. It is just a shame that they now live in Queensland and I can't be there to help out.

Logging on to the Weight Watchers forums I see that the Muskerettes are starting to be a force together once more with the exception of Rhiain who has disappeared without a trace. I will try and call her tomorrow to make sure all is okay. Julz is doing well with her pregnancy although she may be out in her dates by four weeks unless she is having a huge baby!! LOL!! Gina is not far off embarking on her journey to the east coast and I am really looking forward to catching up with her once more.

I think it has been decided within the family that Christmas will be spent at our house. I really don't mind as most of you know that I enjoy entertaining. So it looks like roast turkey with all the trimmings and christmas pudding for lunch and possibly a seafood dinner. I am glad it is at house acutally as I know what is happening and our kids don't have to go from house to house to ensure that all the family is seen. Both Noel's family and my family will get together for lunch.

Oh well better fly I still have lots to organise this week before Friday......

Finally - the right camp site

Geez after 3 weeks of driving around various state forests, national parks and basically anywhere that resembled bush and had a river/creek close by we have finally found a camp site. We have been planning to go camping for the Melbourne Cup Weekend for the last 6 months or so but until today unsure about where we were going to pitch the tent.... but today we found the right spot.

Sounds silly I know but there were severeal requisites for the "Right" spot.
1. Near water
2. Fairly isolated - didn't want to be surrounded by people especially yahoo's
3. Grassy not sandy/dirty

Call us fussy if you wish but we like to be comfortable and once we pitch tent we are there for 5 days so why shouldn't we get the right spot? All the truck drivers at my work are picking on us for being "too fussy" and saying "you should just go and camp - campings all about taking the rough with the good" but everyone has there standards. I have been laughed at by blokes that just throw out a swag once they have found their destination to a bloke that although he agreed with the others actually goes to his onsite van that is fitted with a tv and dvd player... right like that is roughing it.

But we are off to Snob's Creek next Friday and will camp there until the following Wednesday. There is the creek running right past the campsite which will provide the water for showers and dishes etc. Not sure if it is drinkable but will take water in with us. The site is not accessable by normal car only 4wd and is set quite a way from the main road. Cross fingers that we will be the only ones heading for the site this weekend. It is big enough to fit maybe two camps on there but it would be nice to be by ourselves.

Well it is now past 10 o'clock and I have been up since 5am as I had to work this morning - so the bed is definately the next thing on the agenda!!

A small loss...

Well what a last 48 hrs... my posts are becoming as eratic as my moods LOL!! Actually I am not that bad!!

Doctors yesterday brought good results all round. The GTT (Glucose Tolerance Test) came back normal and in a healthy range and my blood pressure was perfect. Needless to say I left the doctors beaming and having a new outlook on how my day was going to go.

Alex enjoyed her last session at the primary school for this year. The next time she will participate in a classroom activity is when she starts her first day next year. They had rabbits in the classroom and all enjoyed playing with them. Us lucky mam's had tea and coffee with the principal, vice principal and one of the prep teachers in the library.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house for Aunty Maggie's visit. We then went to Frankston to meet up with her but she was late - as usual! Unfortunately she has been like it forever!! My mam and dad used to tell her dinner was an hour early just so she would be there on time. Even though our dinner was late the kids did really well and the whole evening was over before it seemed to begin.

Back to work today - quite a busy one as I was preparing for my assessment training over at Bacchus Marsh tomorrow. I have another 2 hr each way drive to look forward and then two competency assessments to complete. With luck I hope to leave there before 3pm or I will catch all the city traffic and be really late home.

My first week's weigh in tonight for my fresh start and I had a small loss - was hoping for more but as Vicki said 'a loss is a loss'. I definately need to focus more over the weekends although I was proud of making myself accountable this week.

Going now as I am dead tired and need to syke myself up for the morning.

A Rostered Day Off!!

Well today I have a rostered day off but I can tell you right now there will be no relaxing for this little chick!

The washing is already on the go, the herbs and plants have been watered, the kids are still snoozing so they must have needed the extra sleep.

What else is in store for today?

I have to take Oliver to school and then I am off to the doctors. I am going to get the results of my Glucose Tolerance Test today. Not sure if I am anxious or not at the moment. But I have decided not to stress about it until I am at least sitting in the waiting room.

Alex has her final orientation session at the primary school and that is 12.30 - 1.30pm. She is soooooo excited about going - hasn't stopped nattering about it all week.

5 o'clock this afternoon I am picking my aunty up as she is coming for dinner. Aunty Maggie is down from QLD for a couple of weeks so it will be great to catch up. The kids are looking forward to it also. Roast lamb and all the trimming (low fat version of course) is on the menu.

So needless to say inbetween the doctors and school and school and Aunty Maggie coming I need to do some serious cleaning around the house - yes that mini hurricane has been through again!! LOL!!

By the way isn't the new prince of Denmark absolutely cute... and Mary well she looks radiant and calm - I am not one bit envious of the sleepless nights ahead! Mind you I am sure she has plenty of hired help.... unlike the real mother's of the world.

Got to fly now... busy busy busy.