Wardrobe refashion

Eeek! I have have taken the pledge to commit to wardrobe refashioning for the next 2months!!

From over here. The pledge goes like this:

" I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself for the term of the contract. I pledge that I shall create and craft items of clothing for myself with my own hands in fabric yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. "

I do need to make one caveat though - at some time in the next couple of months I am going to need to go out and buy some plain white singlet tops and t-shirts. Being pregnant all last summer has left me with very little in the way of top half coverings and as I practically live in singlets and t-shirts when it is warmer - I can't get by without buying just a few.

I figured that I was pretty much doing this at the moment anyway - so why not take the challenge. That and I need to live simply and be thrifty for the next few months. I enjoy the concept and idea of it - but have been too lazy to do anything about it up till now.

Last week I made 4 skirts and I have plans for another 4. Yesterday I cut off a pair of old cargo pants into shorts and found a really nice pair of black shorts at Vinnies.

I'm ready to see just how creative I can be - AND - I really like the environmental aspects of a challenge like this. I absolutely hate the throwaway nature of our society and clothes sold in the shops now are so expensive considering they are made in China by people who may be living below the poverty line.

When I do come to buying those singlets I need, I'm going to do some research into a brand that is made in Australia I think.

I'll post a pic of my thrifting and sewing later on.

Blog Fatigue

I think I have blog fatigue....I'm sure it's a diagnosable condition by now.

Symptoms as follows:

- Lack of desire to blog
- Lack of desire to read other blogs
- Blogging leaves you feeling drained


I'm sure it will pass.

Until then..,... I'm having a Break.


(ahhhhaahah...it DOES exist see link)

Ahhh Spring....

A bit downhill

After my big gung ho start to the week, Harris decided that this week he was going to turn into a crying all night baby again - so the early part of this week really suffered.

Sleep deprivation certainly does make like more difficult. Looking at the baby in the picture above - you wouldn't know it. He looks like an angel!

It is his 6 month "half-birthday" today! Can you believe he is six months old already?

So last night was the first night this week that was back to normal (Normal is to only get woken up twice in the night -as compared to 5 times).

I missed my walk on Tuesday - mainly because I was tired I suppose - both from lack of sleep and from the gym session I did on Monday.

But I walked to mothers group yesterday and then went for an 8km walk today with a couple of the girls who also have heavy duty walking prams.

This week when it has been tough, I have had to remind myself that I didn't set out on this challenge to completely regain my fitness to the point where I was running half marathons again by the end - but simply to refocus my mind towards living an active lifestyle again and choosing the active approach rather than being a lazy bones.

It is important to remind yourself on a weekly (or even more frequently) basis about the WHY - What is your original purpose?
What made you set on this path in the first place?
Review of our goals is an important part of staying committed - so too is measuring how you are travelling along your path and ensuring that you are aligned with your original purpose.
Drifting too far in either direction (Where you are either not meeting your original goal pathway OR you are exceeding what you set out to do and in turn pushing yourself too hard and risking burnout) - is a surefire way to the beginnings of self doubt and possible failure!

A rainy day

I have been pretty focussed on exercise and fitness lately and it is eating into the crafting somewhat. However, I went to the Craft and Quilt fair here in canberra on the weekend and it was awesome to say the least.

I am taliking specifically about the quilt show because it was spectacular!

So - of couse - this has me on the verge of another crafting spree and I am really looking forward to recieving all the packages I have recently purchase from the US of fabric and crafting books and particularly a lovely pattern! (For wihich the fabric in the first picture is promised!)

I am also in the process of redesigning this blog - it is slow because it takes time - but it will get there - so stay tuned!

Monday Monday

I have started off the week on a good foot with a really nice session at the gym this morning.

I was only going to warm up on the treadmill and then go and do some back strength work, but there was some good music on the ipod so I pumped up the incline on the treadmill and walked for 30 mins and then I did 10 mins on the elliptical.

Then I did some back strength work.

I have decided that I really love feeling the pump from a good workout. The past few weeks have been really good for me in terms of the way I approach exercise mentally.

I used to be quite all or nothing - if I wasn't going to give it 100% with nutrition and 100% with the gym then I wasn't interested in going at all. I had it in my head that it wasn't worth making the effort at all if I wasn't going to give it my all.

Doing this 100 day challenge - and probably more so - setting myself the challenge of completing 500km over the course of the next 80 something days - has been great for helping me to break this thinking pattern. I realised that I was exercising for the purpose of regaining my fitness and feeling generally good - rather than for the purpose of losing weight. Any weight lost is a bonus!

This was the way I approached the half marathon training last year as well and it worked for me that time as well. I think that this is probably the best way for me to approach something like this because I don't value weight loss enough for it to be my primary goal. I think I valuethe challenge of something that is within reach but has an element of difficulty attached to it - so that I feel like I am accomplishing something of value in the process.

I think the trick to achieving a goal (and having the motivation to keep hacking away at it) is to find something that is important to you and that YOU value - rather than what you think you value. Sure I like being smaller than I am right now - but it is not something that I can conrol or that is tangible to me - so it's not very motivating.

It's simple really - find what works for you and make it something that will continue motivating you through the times when you feel like it's not worth it and 'what's the point anyway'.

There is my wisdom for the day!

Once Harris wakes up - I have adog to walk so I can make up my missing 2.5km for this week.

Phew! What a weekend!

It just seems to have flown by at warp speed!

Just got back from a 4km walk with harris in the pram and this morning I took my niece to an ice skating birthday party and had a bit of a skate myself.

For those who don't know, I did figure skating when I was younger and it is nice to have a skate every now and again to prove to yourself that you haven't forgotten how.


All I could think was that I must have had very strong legs when I was younger because it is hard work!

So I think that counts for at least 1km!

I am really looking forward to getting to the gym in the morning and doing a bit of a weights session! I think that this week I am going to try and do weights before cardio just to change things around a bit.

As for the 100 day challenge - I am still 100% on board and so far I have managed to not relinquish any of my bones. I do need to keep reminding myself of my original goal though of simply being active each day - and not trying to push myself too hard. I need to be able to be active and do something each day without getting too overly tired and grumpy.

Having said that - I am going to try and focus on the diet a bit this week - mainly because we have had a weekend of indulgence and I feel the need to have that nice feeling you get from having a few days of clean eating.

The scales are still annoying me because they are refusing to budge - but on a positive note I am looking to other guides - like what I see in the mirror and how my clothes are fitting me. That and the BF% on my scales is moving downwards - so that makes me happy enough.

I'm looking forward to a week of feeling pumped about weights!

The value of a training partner

This morning I was meant to go to RPM with Amanda - but we got there and the Canberra powerlifting titles were on at Elite Physique and the groups fitness classes were cancelled. So we did a weights session instead.

Having never really had a training partner as such, it was really nice to be able to have a chat as you were working out and I can really see how it could be very motivating to have someone to train with on a regular basis.

As tehre was no cardio involved - a dog walk is on the cards this afternoon in order to get in the 5km. I will count the weight session towards the couple of Km I need to make up for this week.

Busy Bee

I've got so much on today that this is just going to be a quick post.

Walk - done! I walked my running route with the GPS tracker to see how far it was - 5.4 km.

The whole drinking 3 Lt of water thing is quite difficult - I didn't manage it yesterday.

Right best be off - we have a craft fair to go to, then some house tidying to do, then cousins coming over, then friends coming over for dinner.

Phew!

Recipe Twist

A few nights ago I gave Kek's Warm Pumpkin and Green bean salad a go - and I must say - it was pretty nice! (All picture credits to Kek!)


I had some leftover in the fridge and when I went to make my lunch today - it was the easiest quickest thing that stood out to me. I was steaming some zucchini for baby food purposes so I thought I would add that in as well.
Now for some protein and a can of tuna seemed to magically jump into my hand.

I have to say it was a mighty tasty lunch!

So:

1 Serve of Warm Pumpkin and Green Bean salad
1 small tin of tuna in springwater (or some honey soy marinated chicken...)
As much Zucchini as you like (Broccoli would also work well I think)
a dash of Tobasco sauce

Mix all together and serve warm!

There you have one figure friendly lunch!

Now I'm sure you don't want to hear about the blended peaches and rice cereal I made for Harris - but that was tasty too.

Now I must go and attend to drinking 3 lt of water.....

Awake so early

The little one woke us up quite early today and now he has gone back to bed so I have scoffed down some Oats and sultanas for breakfast and now am doing a blog post so I can get on with getting this house clean later in the day.

Planning a walk today - 5km Bridge to Bridge around Lake Burleigh Griffin. I also want to go to have a look at the National Portrait Gallery for a bit of a look see. ( I didn't manage the walk - it was too cold near the lake and i didn't pack warm enough clothes for Harris)

Later this afternoon I am going to take the dog for a run because I have to get a run in on a Thursday. (Tick!)

I can't go to the gym today because the little one is a bit snuffly and I don't want him to pass it on to any of the other kids at the gym childcare.

I got the new Oxygen magazine yesterday and while I do love Oxygen and think it is probably the best fitness magazine on the market - I also have problems with the fact that the editorial team make absolutely no effort to de-americanize the articles (sorry for any american readers).

I realize that some of the articles used in the Australian version of Oxygen are from the US magazine and understand the rationale behind this - but would it be so difficult to correct the references from Pounds into Kilos - I can convert pound to kilos in my head - but not everyone can do this and I just feel like it marginalises the Australian audience to some degree and comes across as a little lazy.

Just my thoughts...

Have a great day!

Well today has just been a tough slog mentally from beginning to end. Harris had a rough night and Wednesday is Mothers group day so I can't go to the gym.

Whether I have a good, motivated day or not really seems to be dependant on whether or not I can get some exercise in fairly early on in the day or not.

I had planned on walking to mothers group but it was freezing and after almost getting frostbite in my fingers yesterday, I didn't feel like doing that again today.

I made the fatal error of going to the shops and giving in to a craving for a bought breakfast.

I am glad that my goals for this 100 day challenge aren't about food - but perhaps they should be!

So a good start to the day in the way of food as well as exercise is the key to me having a good day on a whole. I also didn't have much water today. I can really feel the difference. Good thing the Phase 2 mini challenge starts tomorrow!

Exercise for today was an hour on the spin bike - but it was quite interrupted - I was off the bike for probably 2 minutes out of every 10 - so I am only giving myself 3.5km today.

John Brack Tickets Giveaway

24 April – 9 August 2009
Open daily 10am–5pm and until 9pm every Thursday
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
Galleries 17 – 20, Level 3
Admission fees apply

I have 2 tickets to the John Brack exhibition at the Ian Potter Centre - National Gallery of Victoria to giveaway, so if you are in Melbourne this weekend and looking for something to do this might be for you!


The exhibition closes on Sunday (This coming Sunday!) soI need to finalise this before tomorrow so I can get them in the post - so I will choose a winner at random if you leave a comment on this post by midnight tonight.


Good Luck!

Good Morning!

Well Good Morning!

I just feel like today is going to be one of those lovely days. Harris gave me 6 hours uninterupted sleep last night and it is amazing the difference that it makes to how you feel.

I tried to do a 'weigh in' today but it is difficult because my scales are really erratic - they can range over 2kg when you stand on the three times in a row so I don't take them too seriously. But this mornings number was looking promising - so I will take it more seriously if I get a repeated number over the course of the week.

As today is the second last day of Phase 1 I was thinking yesterday about my measly water intake. I have been trying to carry a water bottle with me at all times but I'm stll not extremely good at remembering to drink the water.
So for Phase 2 I am going to set myself a mini goal of drinking 3 litres of water a day. Not for the entire 100 days - just for the 10 days of phase two. Hopefully that will geet me in enough of a habit to remember to drink at least 2 lt after that.

The plan for today is to go to the gym for 40 mins cardio and some chest and biceps strength work. That should cover my 5km for today.

OK - I have to go and rescue the baby from the floor play mat because he keeps tippit over on top of himself.

ifitness for iphone

I went searching the itues application store the other day for something I could use to track the weights etc that I do in the gym that might be an alternative to carrying around a notebook and pen. Happily - I found just the thing in the ifitness.

This is a neat little application that not only allows you to easily enter the amount of weight and reps for each exercise, BUT it allows you to create a customisable daily workout schedule, giving you a demonstration of the intended exercise as well as a comprehensive database of exercises to choose to add to your personal workout regimen.

There is also a nifty little countdown feature so you can countdown 60seconds until your next set is due.

It also has the ability to track statistics on a week to week basis.

I think the ifitness application for iphone is great and it was so much easier than toting around a pen and paper - it was all right there as part of the device I use to listen to music at the gym anyway.

92...

So after me saying that it was way too cold outside today to go walking - it has turned into a stunning day here in Canberra and I WANT to go walking!

Though I have been to the gym today - did 30 mins on the treadmill. Mixed it up with some intervals, some hill walking and some steady state running - did about 3.5km all up and followed it up with some legs.

I think that I have managed to overcome my guilt of leaving Harris in the childcare at the gym. He really likes it there so I needen't be worried.

I think that I will go for a walk with mark and the dog this afternoon to get my weekly total up to 35km.

Right now I have to tear myself away from the blog and go and do some housework while the baby is asleep! *Trudges off to do housework...*

Testing the new Signature.

No...I haven't fallen off the face of the earth

But I guess when you are online so often and then you aren't for a few days it can certainly seem like that.

We went away to our house at the south coast for the weekend and I thought I would have coverage on my mobile - but apparently Vodafone's 3G network isn't all that great.

Never fear - I stuck to the 100 day challenge brief and we went for a big walk on both days.

On saturday we walked around the coast and along the rocks. At one point we passed an older lady who stopped and said to us:
" Do you guys know anything about seals?"

Of course we sad no.

Then she says: " Well there is a seal just around that corner up ahead"

We were like - Okay...didn't really think that seals ventured into Bateman's Bay too frequently.

So we walked around that corner, and the next one, and the next one....there was no seal. I think she might have found some nice mushrooms or something...but no seals.

On Sunday we ventured out for a bush walk - because Mark's mum told us that she had found a Sea eagle's next at one point and that she wanted her ashes scattered there near the nest. Problem was that none of us actually knew where the sea eagles next was. So we ventured out to find it. Happly - we did find what we think is a Sea Eagle nest - so that is one job done. Now we just have to make a time to go down and do the ashes thing.

On the goals front - I really don't understand my body at the moment and I think that it has everything to do with breastfeeding. I haven't lost any weight at all - even though I have gone from doing no activity whatsoever to exercise of some description daily. I think that perhaps I will have to ignore that fact and just keep on doing what I'm doing and hope for the best.

The plan for today is to go to the gym for some Cardio and legs. It's way too cold outside today for walking.