Thursday, April 28, 2011

A Royal Wedding

There is a great deal of talk about the royal wedding between Kate and William. There are people that want to watch it and those that do not.



I am going to come out and say that I will be watching it with Mark. I am currently trying to decide which television channel is going to give the best coverage. We can technically record two channels and watch another live so realistically we can choose 3!!

My reasons for watching this wedding are all around my memories of Charles and Diana’s wedding and also because I really love weddings. And no I am not a royalist.

I was 6 years old when Charles and Diana were married and I was awestruck by how beautiful Diana was. It was talked about thoroughly in my classroom and I even had a scrapbook of cuttings from all the magazines and newspapers. I kept this scrapbook for years and would go through it over and over again.

So watching this wedding will be thoroughly enjoyable and I am a bit excited about it. But this time I probably won’t make a scrapbook; as I already have a general wedding one. Yes, I am a bit obsessed with weddings and pretty things.

After reading Kez’s blog today; I have decided that Mark and I can make it a really fun evening. So we will have scones with jam and fresh cream and either some tea or a fresh pot of coffee. Might even go hard out and have a "pint".
I will probably tweet the odd thing; however I fully appreciate that a lot of other people will be doing the same. So out of respect for those that are not interested in the wedding I will not even come close to flooding your timeline; you might get a smattering of tweets. Perhaps some of you will remember that when you tweet about the Rugby World Cup later in the year.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Week 1 Results

Inspired by Leah and Jane I decided to see if my personal trainer would do a fitness, strength and flexibility test. I actually took along a print out of Leah’s ‘Week 8 Fitness Test’ as a guide.

I do not know what I was expecting but I thought that I would have done a little better especially with my flexibility (which has always been good). However, my trainer was pleasantly surprised at some of my results. She explained that we have to have a benchmark to see improvement.

Week 1 (21st April, 2011) results:
Body Weight Squats | 1 minute: 39
Crunches | 1 Minute: 45
Press Ups on Knees | 30 seconds: 15
Body Weight Tricep Dips | 30 Seconds: 18
Star Jumps | 1 Minute: 37
Plank Hold: completed 30 seconds
Flexibility Sit & Reach Test: +9cm beyond my toes
Wall Sit: completed 41 seconds

So where do I go from here?

I need to get to the gym more and when I am there I need to work harder. I also need to drastically sort out what I am eating and when. I have not been eating regularly and often skip meals huge “no-no”. Last night at the gym my trainer gave me a print out from the April 2011 Prevention Magazine showing ‘Time to Eat’. It is pretty good actually as I often forget to eat in the afternoons and then I am starving by dinner time and end up eating far too much. I searched around on the net and found an online slide show of the ‘Time to Eat’ information. Also tracking my daily food intake is a good way to see where I am going wrong.

Last night I also ran for the first time in years on the Treadmill. I was following the C25K program on my iPhone. Was it hard? Yes it was. Did my heart rate really go up? Yes it did. Did I feel great for doing it? Yes I did. I was inspired by Lauren to do this. I have realised that in order to be successful at running on a treadmill as an alternative form of Cardio that I definitely need to wear my heart rate monitor. This means I will be able to keep a close watch on my heart rate until I get stronger and fitter. Unfortunately, I had to hold onto the handles when I was running otherwise I thought that I would probably end up on the ground at the end of the treadmill. Slowly but surely I am going to train myself so that I do not need to hold those handles as “There are no handles in life”.

Last but not least I have decided that I need to do more flexibility based exercise be it Yoga or Pilates. I have Windsor Pilates at home so I might give that a whirl. I always used to be very flexible and over the years as I have gained more weight and done less exercise my flexibility has decreased.

What are your best exercise and food tips? What keeps you motivated?

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Week 16 – w/c Saturday 16th April, 2011

A bit slack with the photos this week!

Saturday (16/04/11) ~ Our new table and chairs arrived. So exciting! After one of our old chairs broke we decided that we could not screw the chairs together anymore.

Sunday (17/04/11) ~ Anne and I baked early for the next #CupQuake order. I think I am getting better at this!

Monday (18/04/11) ~ #CupQuake order collected. The rest of the day was a blur really. (No Photo)

Tuesday (19/04/11) ~ Huge amount of work still going on. Finally caught up with my sister Anna as it was her birthday. (No Photo)

Wednesday (20/04/11) ~ More work (No Photo)

Thursday (21/04/11) ~ Had my fitness/strength/flexibility assessment with my personal trainer in the morning. Will do a separate blog about that. Mark and I went to see ‘Polly Hood in Mumuland’ which was a joint production between PIPA and ATC. It was written by a girl that I went to school with and directed by my cousin. It is a bit of a take on Little Red Riding Hood. It was absolutely fabulous and Mark and I laughed and laughed. This I the second PIPA production we have seen and I love these kids; they are so talented and funny.

Friday (22/04/11) ~ Good Friday equalled a total day of laziness. I caught up on a lot of TV…I am still really behind. As you can see Ollie is like a limpet when I am watching TV in bed and he lies all over me.

Week 15 – w/c Saturday 9th April, 2011

Saturday (09/04/11) ~ Spent some time gazing at my book shelves and writing some blogs on our home computer.

 Sunday (10/04/11) ~ For the first time since September we attended a children’s birthday party. So exciting! It was a space themed party. This appeals to me as I work in ‘Space Management’. These are some monster cookies and alien brownie pops. The photos were taken by Kathryn who is Harrison’s mum! He turned 4!

 Monday (11/04/11) ~ Pretty wedding dress in the window downstairs from work. Love it! We got home to find that Whitey was not so white anymore. It would ‘appear’ that she has been rolling around on the neighbours driveway. Bad cat!

Tuesday (12/04/11) ~ Finally got to meet the stunning, divine, funky Tara. Talked to her while she had her hair cut with Terry. You can click on the link to see her photos from the day.

Wednesday (13/04/11) ~ Crazy, crazy work day. (No photos)

Thursday (14/04/11) ~ A very long day starting with the gym in the morning and then more crazy work stuff and then my dad’s birthday dinner. The birthday dinner was an amazing end to a completely horrific day. Discovered ‘Heart of Flavour’ just around the corner from work; they do the most amazing cakes and handmade chocolates.

Friday (15/04/11) ~ Date night with Mark at Sylvia Park! Dinner at The Coffee Club; I think that Mark thinks I am a nana because I love it there. Went to see Scream4 on the Xtreme screen!

Week 14 – w/c Saturday 2nd April, 2011

Saturday (02/04/11) ~ Freshly made bed and Mark’s home brew!

Sunday (03/04/11) ~ After seeing a tweet from a person about tools that people should have in their bottom draw that included clamps. I just about died when Mark came home with the exact same clamps (but bigger) for his boat building exercise.

Monday (04/04/11) ~ Nearly finished Succubus Shadows; love it (despite the cover looking a little like porn). Pretty window at a secondhand clothing shop in Newmarket. Love it!

Tuesday (05/04/11) ~ Managed to get to the gym in the morning!

Wednesday (06/04/11) ~ I was meant to help Raewyn update her Trade Me Ads…but messages got mixed up #Fail. (No photo)

Thursday (07/04/11) ~ Max asleep in the evening. So cute.


Friday (08/04/11) ~ Very early to a client appointment; so tried some “self-portraits” on iPhone. Not very successful. Had lunch with Wendy and received a beautiful bunch of flowers from Jo at Best Blooms. HAPPY!

Week 13 – w/c Saturday 26th March, 2011

Saturday (26/03/11) ~ I was meant to catch up with a friend but just ended up having a lazy day. Picked up keys from the girls. (No photo)

Sunday (27/03/11) ~ Mark and I had pancakes with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew and then headed up to the Kumeu Markets. In the afternoon I baked with Anne for #CupQuake on Monday.

Monday (28/03/11) ~ CupQuakes all delivered to “sellers” and I received some lovely feedback from people about them. A little alarmed at the big gap in the motorway above Newmarket.

Tuesday (29/03/11) ~ Went to see a client and love the flowery bushes in front of their building.

Wednesday (30/03/11) ~ Caught up with some TV and snapped Daisy asleep…surprise, surprise.

Thursday (31/03/11) ~ Busy morning with an early meeting with a client.

Friday (01/04/11) ~ Tried a fresh fig for the first time. Not that bad.

Week 12 – w/c Saturday 19th March, 2011

 
Saturday (19/03/11) ~ Went to Albany to go shopping and had an amazing lunch with Gracie and Chris.

Sunday (20/03/11) ~ Saying goodbye to my sister Anna as she flies back to Sydney. SadNess.

Monday (21/03/11) ~ Watching TV and chilling out after work. Did not make it to the gym as had a ripper of a headache in the morning.

Tuesday (22/03/11) ~ Went into Milly’s Kitchen to pick up my Trifle Bowl in preparation for Christmas…I know that it is 9 months away. Saw this Cross shaped baking tin…I guess it is for Easter. I was slightly disturbed.

Wednesday (23/03/11) ~ Started taking a women’s multivitamin. Fun times.

Thursday (24/03/11) ~ Banoffee Pie goodness at Delish.

Friday (25/03/11) ~ Training a new user all day. (No photo)

Friday, April 22, 2011

Week 11 – w/c Saturday 12th March, 2011


Saturday (12/03/11) ~ Wedding day…finally. Amazingly stunning day; bride was beautiful. Groom was over the moon.

Sunday (13/03/11) ~ Day of rest and saying goodbye to friends and family #SadPanda (No photo)

Monday (14/03/11) ~ Saying goodbye to more people as they leave. (No photo)

Tuesday (15/03/11) ~ Brother-in-law’s 30th birthday so we had cocktails and went out for dinner. The Pizza Barn in Waipu has the most incredible decorated toilets! Amazing.

Wednesday (16/03/11) ~ Back home to Auckland; very excited to see our babies. (No photo)

Thursday (17/03/11) ~ First day back at work; hard. (No photo)

Friday (18/03/11) ~ Yay it’s nearly the weekend! (No photo)

Week 10 – w/c Saturday 5th March, 2011

Saturday (05/03/11) ~ Spent the day at the Delish Cupcakes Bake Off to raise much needed funds for Christchurch via the Red Cross.

Sunday (06/03/11) ~ We packed up the car and Mark drove me to Waipu for “wedding” week with my sister and family.

Monday (07/03/11) ~ A little hungover from drinks the night before. (No photo)

Tuesday (08/03/11) ~ Went on a mission to Whangarei armed with a list of jobs I managed to “wrestle” off my sister. The first wave of American’s arrived; much fun and frivolity ensued. (No photo)

Wednesday (09/03/11) ~ Mark arrived with my other sister and nephew; nice to see him as I had not seen him since Sunday.

Thursday (10/03/11) ~ A day of fishing with 7 other people. I hate boats, but still managed to have a great time.

Friday (11/03/11) ~ Up early as a lot to do. It was wedding eve and I spent the day racing around doing things for Saturday. Needed some time out later on as people would not stop taking photos; so went downstairs to sort out the table tags. De-thorned 100 roses and the girls made up bouquets and button holes.