What an awesome weekend.

Mark and I got away from it all and went to the coast this weekend and it was awesome! I didn't take this picture but it is a pic of the beach where our house is.
On saturday it was so warm and lovely, I just couldn't get enough of the beautiful sun. It was so nice to be able to wear a skirt and short sleeve top and expose skin that hasn't seen the sun in three months.
We walked on the beach, read books and chilled out. Had beautiful fresh seafood for dinner last night and an equally beautiful breakfast of pancakes with fresh strawberries this morning.
It was my goal this weekend to drink lots of water and eat lots of fruit - and I did both.
I had a Mango, 2 pear, a punnet of strawberries and mandarin as well as natural yoghurt with passionfruit.
Bring on Summer I say because between Summer and finally having our own house again I think that I am just going to be thriving!!

Now... does anyone one else think it is slightly unethical to have a spray tan when you are 20 weeks pregnant??????

I really want to get one for the wedding I am going to in brisbane but I am fighting my ethical side.

Spring is just teasing!

Today the weather man told us that it was going to be 21 degrees in Canberra - well it might be that somewhere in Canberra but not at the place the weather pixie gets measured at!



Despite today not being the day for the blog party just yet it is still lovely outside and I will probably go out and sit in the sun for lunch.

Only Just under two weeks until our house settlement date which I am really looking forward to AND ond three weeks until I get to go to Brisbane for a visit! Yay. If anyone is keen for a catch up while I am up there please let me know. At this stage Friday is fairly free but I have to go to a wedding and do family duties on the Saturday and Sunday.

I think that I am going to swelter because I have well and truly acclimatised down here. But I know that I *should* be able to wear skirts and t-shirts in Brisbane in october withour fear of freezing should I walk into a shadow.

Mark and I are heading dow the coast to Bateman's bay this weekend just to have some chill out time to ourselves for a couple of days. We have a family house down there and all we are planning on doing is going for walks and going fishing with hand reels. If I can find my camera battery charger tonight I will attempt to take some pics but at this stage it is missing which is a bit sad.

On September 24th we are going to find out if our baby is a boy or a girl - I think I might put a poll up in the side bar so people can have a guess. That might be a bit of fun!

16 week update

I have been a bot slack over the past few weeks and not taken any pics.
Pretty much because I didn't really feel as though there had been any real changes. But now - as you can see above - there most definitely is a defined bumb hapenning.
apart from that, the first week of Spring here in Canberra has been miserable and thus I declare that spring doesn't officially start until the temperature hits 20 degrees celcius. On that day I will have a blog party!

Now that it has been almost three months since arriving in Canberra, I am starting to feel a little more organised and settled. I think that sometime it is the things that make life comfortable - such as little rituals and habit that surround the place where you live are as difficult to leave behind as the house and suburb itself.

Not moving directly into our own house has made it a little more difficult I think because we have had to get used to working in with the rituals and habits of someone else as well.
One of the things I did regularly and was very dilligent with was fortnightly menu planning. I always knew exactly what there was in the house to cook a range of different meals at any given time. I had a habit of sitting down on a Sunday once a fortnight and writing out a "menu" for the fortnight so I knew exactly what i had and what I needed to get from the shops.

Since moving here it has been difficult to keep that up - firstly because of the kitchen sharing factor and secondly because I just didn't feel like cooking for such a long time. The other thing that was difficult was not knowing where the best place to go grocery shopping was - finding a good butcher and vege shop etc

So this week I have managed it and here is what is on my list:
Chicken and Vegetable Risotto
Spaghetti bolognaise
Quiche and vegetables
Lamb and spinach curry
Vegetable Ravioli
Bought meat pie and vegetables
Taco's

I know that the list is really only for one week. But I always make too much and have leftovers which I freeze. Then next week on a few nights we will pull out the leftovers and I will come up with a few more meals for next week as well.

It feels really good to be getting back towards being organised. The small amount of running I have been doing is making me happy. It feels good to be doing it purely for fitness and not for weight loss purposes.

I know that next year I will probably have to resume the weight loss journey for a little while - but I really do know what works for me now. I have good habits and strategies there and I know exactly what I need to do - when the time comes.

Nearly halfway through the week - tomorrow is Wednesday - then I have Thursday off work - yay!

Fantastic Monday

How rare - to have a title like that on a Monday - but I just had to post to say how amazing I am feeling today - Dare I say it - I think this might be what normal feels like. It is now after lunch and I still have energy, I don’t even feel like a little nap! It really is good to be able to appreciate what feeling good feels like! Now - If only I could feel good about eating salad and healthy things again - not that I haven’t been eating healthy things - I have been eating a lot of home cooked things actually.

Tonight I am contemplating making a Quiche - I have never made a quiche before so it should be interesting! I was also feeling good yesterday - so I thought that I would make the most of it and have a bit of a cooking session so that the freezer would be fully stocked for the nights when I might not be feeling fantastic.

I made a huge batch of slow cooked spaghetti bolognaise sauce, I also made a big batch of Red Lentil and Bacon soup - which may just be the tastiest soup I have made for a long time!! Here is my MishMash recipe:

Lentil and Bacon Soup

1 Tblsp Olive oil
2 Red Onions
1 Large teaspoon of minced ginger
2 carrots, Grated
1 Parsnip - chopped into cubes
2 stalks of Celery - chopped small
1 Lt of Vegetable stock
1 Cup of red lentils
200g Bacon, chopped into small pieces
Ground black pepper

Brown Onion in oil with ginger until golden and soft. Add grated carrot, Pepper, Stock and Lentils, turnip, celery and bacon pieces. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 - 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, Let to cool for a little bit - then blend with a stick mixer until smooth. Enjoy!

I don’t actually have a good Stick mixer but I have been using Mark’s mum’s which is a bamix one. I know that Bamix are expensive - in fact I don’t even know if you can get them any more! But - a really good quality stick mixer with a food processing attactment is definitely on My list of must haves for once the Baby is ready for mushy solids. I can’t wait to be able to experiment with making my own baby food - so i will be adding that one to my list of things to buy for sure!

You Just wouldn't Know

that i ran a half marathon three months ago. I know I'm not fat but by golly does the tiny little munchkin make me feel that way. After my brilliant effort yesterday morning and feeling fabulous as a result for around 3 - 4 hours. I got very tired around lunch time yesterday. I had excellent intentions of repeating my efforts today - however - my body had other ideas. I have been quite uncomfortable all day today and I decided in the end that apart from the few errands I had to run - today would be better spent relaxing.

12 weeks and 5 days today - and after the shock of the cost involved - this week I got myself an obstitrician - Its a bit silly really because I tend to lean more towards the less medical model of thinking when it comes to these things. But wanting to have the baby in a private hospital means that in order to do that I am required to have an obstitrician.

Annoyingly expensive - let me tell you! I was forced to purchase some materinty clothes this week as my own clothes are just too tight now - and quite uncomfortable. Anyway - here are some comparision pics.

(Will add these later)

11 Weeks 12 Weeks 5 days
Doesn't look all that different really - but believe me - it feels different. This week i feel so much bigger - and my work skirt is on it's last legs.

All very exciting really.

Hello!

Thanks for visiting my neat little blog. I have been blogging for about 4 years now and I find that it is really helpful and inspirational to connect with other people who are on the same wavelength. 
 
In 2008 - after just getting to the fittest I have ever been by completing my first Half Marathon - I discovered I was pregnant with my first child. So now my fitness journey has evolved into a challenge of finding the balance between being a new mum and regaining that level of fitness again.


Having a baby has enriched my life more than Icould have ever imagined and I have rediscovered a love for crafting along the way - Down in the Shed has evolved from that love for expressing creativity. 



I have also discovered a strong affinity towards natural and gentle parenting and I hope to explore that a little through here also.

Having a baby and trying to stay fit is MUCH more difficult that I could have ever imagined. I hope that I can help just one other person feel empowered by being a new mum as well as to recognise that in order to be a great mum and look after your precious little one to your best ability - then you need to look after yourself as well - Spiritually, emotionally and Physically!


I hope that you enjoy reading along with my story.