Wednesday 7 January 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yes, rather late I know, but better late than never! Finally, I am back on line...Good thing I posted my "Merry Christmas" message on Christmas Day because that was the end of our bandwidth! I'm not sure how we got through 2Gigs in December, but we did. It usually lasts us all month but I 'spose 4 kids on the computer a lot more than usual (due to the school holidays) must have been the reason. As well as having no bandwidth, I have also had no access to a computer for a while as we went away on a short holiday to Gauteng (Johannesburg) between Christmas & New Year & since our recent return I haven't got a look in on "my" pc as 4 kids had been computer starved for over a week so have gone pc crazy!

I feel totally out of touch with you all so will have to try to catch up with all my Blog reading & commenting as soon as I can. Right now I am sacrificing watching my favourite TV programme, Hotel Babylon, just to be with you! We are in the heart of our summer here now & it is absolutely sweltering. My pc is at the end of our passage & we have no air-conditioning out here so the thought of sitting here for hours on end is not a pleasant one! Yesterday Durban rated the hottest place to be in South Africa, with a temperature of 36 degrees BEFORE humidity, which usually adds about 5-10 degrees on top of that, for the discomfort factor!

Right now I am consumed by various goings on around here. Firstly, my son is starting High School & we have spent the last 3 days driving around Durbs trying to get all parts of his school uniform together. The list is seemingly endless & each stockist lacks something, so we keep having to 'try somewhere else'. We found out today that we had been given the wrong trousers by the official school stockist so back we go tomorrow! Jack is in his element with all the attention & focus being on him though & I am treasuring the days in his precious company.

Chelsea has already been dumped by her first boyfriend, so that has been rather traumatic for us all, & the little ones continue to be oblivious to life's challenges, just enjoying their childhood, spending hours in our huge swimming pool, floating around staring up at the clear blue sky & the palm tree tops! They are good friends and, at 8 & 10, still very undemanding. In fact, writing this is making me feel quite guilty, I think I may take them off to watch a movie tomorrow evening. Despereaux is now showing, which looks cute...about a little mouse I think.

Yes, we are STILL on school holidays here. They seem interminable! It is a 6 week holiday all-in-all & they go back to school next Wednesday, January 21st. I am not looking forward to it as it means early starts, 6.30a.m-not my forte! Now that Jack is at school in 'town' as opposed to the suburbs, Shane will have to take him while I deliver the other 3 locally. I have begun a diet (shock, horror!) so I am trying to find a gym where I can go straight afterwards, to get the dreadful deed done & dusted before getting home! It is not proving as simple as I had expected, & prices are a lot more steep than I imagined. I am determined to give it a go though as I am feeling that action really must be taken before it's too late!

This was re-inforced recently whilst out shopping with Shane on Sunday morning, when we spotted a woman shopping from a motorised mini-car in the supermarket because she was too fat to walk! Her arms were like my thighs (huge!!) - it was a sad sight... Of course, dieting is never far from my mind, like most women I'm sure, but something that I found really inspirational towards the end of last year, was looking up Donna Downey's blog ( a scrap celeb for any of you who've had your heads in the sand!) She was a teacher at the 2007 Johannesburg Scrapbooking Convention & I loved her class & loved her. She was really carefree & casual & fun, & overweight like most of the rest of us. Well, I couldn't believe it when I saw her on her blog, she looks splendiferous. It got me thinking..."time to try again..." but, of course, with Christmas lurking, I thought, like most of the world I'm sure, that I would "start in January" & actually DID!

So far I have lost 4kg's, which sounds & seems impossible, so either my scale is confused or I certainly retained a lot of water that has now left me! Perhaps it is this heat & I sweated it all out...whatever the reason, I'm not complaining & my clothes definitely feel more comfortable. I am actually a diet expert (you wouldn't believe it if you saw me...) Yes, 7 years ago I went on a major diet & lost 48kgs. It took me 2 years & during that time I learnt everything there is to know about diet & exercise. I then maintained my new figure for 2 years, before "forgetting" everything & slowly but surely layering it all back on again...very disappointing:-( but, in my defence, it was a very bad time for us, still living in Zimbabwe then, & I had to devote my diet & exercise time to life & death matters, like how to extricate a family of 6 from a sinking ship!)

Watching our DVD of Mrs Doubtfire with the kids the other night also struck a chord as Robin Williams pulled on his "fat-suit" - I really don't feel like my body - in it's present state- is a good advertisement for who I am. I consider my life near-perfect. I truly treasure my husband & my children & am very happy with what I have (which isn't much "materially" BTW) & I am an extremely conscientious person in all I do (& I do a LOT). I make sure everything is as it should be in my home, on my Blog, in my scrapbooks, & in my children's lives, rooms, wardrobes, etc, but at the end of all that there just hasn't been any time left for my body, & it has suffered as a result. Although I resent the time it takes to plan, buy & prepare healthy food & to exercise, that's life & it has to be done, so I'm doing it! If I don't I may not be around much longer to enjoy this great life of mine!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow that is a great post Helen ... and happy new year to you too! soooo glad to hear that you are very happy with your life - so many people complain about the things they don't have and don't remember all the fantastic things they do.

Vicki said...

Happy New Year to you as well. Lots going on for you. We too have been doing the uniform and shoes for Aaron who is off to high school as well. Just have some things to get through the school now and we are done. Good luck with the weight loss - you have made a great start.

CathQuillScrap said...

All the best to you Helen for the new year. Hope your ups and downs get sorted and it's a good one from here on out. Enjoy each moment of every day... and good luck with the diet!