Puree's, Porridge and Painkillers

What is the universe trying to tell me?
Ben arrived home last Wed morning  (yay!)  and we had planned to have friends for dinner, spend the weekend with Cooper (my stepson),  and enjoy a couple of outings with the kids.  I also hoped to get my hair done (so many greys) and sneak down to Ocean Grove for a surf (my first in over a year).
Wednesday after I'd been to training Ben had noticed that our lovely Poodles the chook and Neville the rooster were missing.  Oh no!  (that was not a sarcastic oh no! but a real "can't be true, I'm still missing my dog not the chooks as well, Oh No!"  But "Oh Yes", our beloved Poodles and Neville and their shiny bright feathers and perfectly formed eggs (Poodles not Nevilles) were gone.
The next day after kinder and a run around the lake with my husband, (our first ever run together, I was so stoked).  It was my hardest run ever actually.  Usually the last 2kms is sheltered, not on Thursday, I had  a strong head on wind blowing the pusher back into me and the last kilometer took everything I had. I wanted to stop so many times and kept talking myself out of it anyway got there and later in the day after a cuppa and thinking about dinner I experienced abdominal pains similar to those in child birth! ( I was checked by the Dr and it was hopefully a one off) however it caused me to black out and hit both my head and chin while cracking my jaw.  Oooops! I tell you my darling husband misses a lot of events while working away from home but thankfully he was home for this.  I got fixed up and now apart from sleeping a lot and being limited to eating purees and soups I'm quite fine.
 However I'm wondering what have I done?  Why my dog, my chickens and my jaw!?  I'm still trying to work that one out and I know these moments of bad luck are nothing compared to what some families and/or individuals are going through but still is there a lesson in this for me??x

Sunny Days

Happy Fathers day (for yesterday)  to all of the dads out there.
 We had a beautiful sunshine filled day at home spent with my Dad, Sister and brother in law and of course my three cuties (unfortunately Mum and Ben were at work).  We enjoyed a light lunch, bush walk, lots of catching up and the kids played very excitedly with Aunty Laura and Auncle Sam, everything from Barbies and throwing rocks into the dam to an hours play on the Trampoline while dad and I tackled the lawns.  We finished of the day with scones jam and cream.  Its these moments that Ben and I cherish, it's why we bought our block of land, we can come home and chillout, no need to be entertained, you can wonder and be with your thoughts or laugh as loud and excitedly as your lungs will allow and its okay.
 Scarlett and I planted some seeds in the veggie garden earlier, Spring onions, Cos, Rocket lettuce and Carrot seeds and we noticed our Radish seeds are beginning to pop through, we're all very excited by this and are hoping to improve on last years "beginners" crop or lack of.  The chickens are also looking well, Poodles the black fluffy one should resume laying soon and Neville the rooster is looking glorious and shiny strutting his stuff around the yard, we shall  be purchasing some new chicks in the coming weeks to replace those we lost last year.
I'm hoping everyone has had a marvelous week we were luckily enough to, of course welcoming Spring with open arms was easy and glorious, we felt the need to celebrate with french toast and berries (Miss S couldn't believe we were eating "french" food, exclaiming  that we were eating what people in other countries are eating!.....adorable), and of course celebrating the arrival of a new bub...ahhh. Also this week our car has been (unexpectedly) at the mechanics the past week and although I was heavily disappointed to miss training and  meet my little niece it has been a wonderful sunny week to stay at home and hangout.  Speaking of training as well as  missing Wednesdays session I missed today's run, I have done some core training (of which I'm supposed to be doing every 3rd day at least...oooops!), It's another challenge I'm taking part in through Fitness Food and Style although  I haven't given it 100% I'm probably managing 3 work-outs a week however it's not the complete Killer Core and Cardio routine that Jackie at Crabtree fitness organised for us .  I want to take this seriously and I will hopefully get back on track by allocating specific time for this.
Two other challenges that  I'd mentioned in earlier posts were the sugar challenge and also to cut down on my spending. I managed the latter quite sucesfully  and I'm enthusiastic to keep going  although  a change in the season means a change in wardrobe!  The Sugar Challenge was a great success and I'm now reaping the following benefits:

 1.  My energy levels are balanced, I'm no longer falling in a heap at 6.30pm and no longer having "tired and         grumpy" moments
2.  I'm going to bed earlier each night.
3.  I'm falling asleep without a struggle.
4.  I've created healthier eating habits.
5. Am generally more energetic which was ultimatley my goal!!
Good night and Happy Spring to you all. x

The Sugar what?????

I've just eaten a spinach, beetroot and goats cheese salad with chickpeas and lemon yogurt dressing, whoo hoo!  Mrs Spunky is doing a two week sugar free challenge, absolutely no sugar, no honey, nothing, zip, not a trace, she's even checking the ingredients on breads etc WHOO HOO!!!
 I decided to see if I could cut out the tsp of sugar I have in my coffee twice a day, It somehow was quite easy, I don't miss it at all, very surprising.  So as The Sugar Challenge date neared I somehow decided to see how I would go.  I'm still deciding if this was a good idea or not.  The timing was as good as it could get, the new fitness routine and step up from walking to jogging has really increased my confidence and enthusiasm.  Also my diet to date is quite balanced and contains minimal processed foods.  The real challenge for me, oh golly! "the kids are in bed and I'm exhausted, if I just fold that pile of washing and tidy up I can treat myself to 1/2 a block of top deck" challenge.........
It's day four and I'm coping, a little surprised to see what they sneak sugar into these days but going well.  It's quite amazing actually by challenging yourself how you end up looking for healthier alternatives rather than simply omitting sweet.  My downfalls in the healthy eating department are not enough fruit, not enough water and too much Chocolate.  While I've not yet found a replacement for my nightly binge (Mrs Spunky told me to try fruit, an orange perhaps, well last night I wanted to throw an orange at her! )  I've replaced honey on my porridge with dried and fresh fruits and afternoon snacks are now natural yogurt and fruit and nuts rather than well no yogurt and probably not enough fruit.
So these changes are okay, the one thing I've not omitted is the soy milk of which I probably drink 500ml a day, it contains raw sugar.  Everything else is gone. Yay!  I think I'm feeling better and I seem to be sleeping better, as the weeks progress I will notice more of a differnce.  Some of the girls are doing the challenge for weight-loss others for a healthier lifestyle, the idea is to make the challenge a couple of times annually to create a healthier happier you.  Have a look at  fitness food and style a very inspirational blog where Danny keeps a daily record of her diet, including photographs of the food and also before and after shots of her pregnancies.xx