Earth Hour

Did you or are you taking part. You still got time. :))

We did!!

http://www.earthhour.org

Week 9 : Weight Watchers - up (point) 4

Sadly, no gold stars this week!!

It went up, for the first time since I started WW. Thankfully there are no thoughts of giving up but only a determination to lose the .4 plus more quickly!!

Going to gym has resulted in me trying some new classes - water aerobics, pilates orientation and Tai Chi. All of which I have enjoyed!! The only hiccup is that cardio takes a back seat on these days but I will figure it out eventually.

This journey I am on is amazing. I love learning new things daily and discovering things about myself that I never ever thought I'd ever try or even like.

I have a crazy day ahead, ending with bookclub this evening. I haven't seen the girls in over 2 months so I'm looking forward to catching up.

Enjoy!!!

Mich

Don't wanna get on!!

If life goes according to my bathroom scale, I don't wanna get on. Tomorrow is weigh-in and I'd love not to get on the scale tomorrow. For once I strongly believe that it will go up instead of down. Bummer!!

I joined a local gym last weekend and have been going practically everyday except for yesterday. I've done cardio, various classes and had fun!! But eeeeek - that number just doesn't want to budge this week. I think I could turn my scale upside down - nothing will help.

I am definitely enjoying the gym experience. Most of the time we (the boys and me) are there in the afternoons when it is at it's quietest, which is heaven. My sister has been keen to do more group activities which means going to gym in the evenings. Tonight we tried Tai Chi and I LOVED it...., tomorrow we'll be doing water aerobics but at some stage I need to squeeeeeeze in some more cardio. The boys are a great motivator - they just want to go and naturally trying to get them to come home is a challenge but a promise to return the next day seems to work.

I am also looking into a pedometer - the one I am looking at can actually be connected to your PC and the info downloaded and I guess you track it. It connects to the same page that has all my gym info and tracking my progress online is turning out to be fun.

We have also joined another programme through our medical aid. We earn discount on healthy food options at our one retailer. When we make our purchases we hand over our card, it tracks what we purchase and once a month we receive 25% back on certain food items - thinking we can use that as a special treat and it is a motivator to buy fresh fruit and veg, fat free milk/yoghurt and many other healthy options. In this economy getting anything back is a bonus!!

Anyway, time to hit the sack. I'm going to try and build up some courage for that scale tomorrow. Wish me luck................!!

Mich

The Bird and The Cat...

It was one of those moments when I could have kicked myself for not thinking of the camera sooner. Purr-dy cat kept us all entertained with her hunting antics. At one stage there were two of the Grey Loeries staring down at Purr-dy while Purr-dy was staring up at them.

More reason NOT to purchase any products made in China!!

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2489758,00.html

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2490023,00.html

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2489791,00.html

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2489768,00.html

and this has to be the 'good laugh' of the day and 'no surprise really' news of the day.

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2489998,00.html

I find it shocking that South Africa will not grant the Dalai Lama a Visa to come to South Africa. This past weekend we celebrated 'Human Rights Day'!! Just what are we saying to China when we give in to pressure and do what they demand. They are a country who have no problems with abusing human rights. It just goes to show how money talks. I will now make more of an effort NOT to buy any products made in China and be more vigilant about what ends up in my shopping basket. If the item comes with a ridiculously cheap price - good chances are that it would have been made in China.

And the laugh for the day. No suprise that the money went missing...really....what did everyone expect!!

An absolutely FANTABULOUS Saturday......

Anthony and Pierre - long time friends......

It started when an early start. Yep, another gym session. This time I met my sister and we delivered the kidlets to their section at the gym and off we went to what we thought would be an easy session of water aerobics. Boy, were we sadly mistaken but we had FUN!!! I think my muscles are going to be telling me tomorrow morning just how much fun we had.
Before our morning exercise we chatted to a hunk of a swimming instructor. Guess who came home telling hubby that I think I need some stroke correction lessons - yeah, yeah!! I'll wait until I'm skinny - right now I'd just be a whale floundering around in the pool. But on a serious note we're thinking that Josh should learn to swim and now that we are at the gym it's easier because it's an inside pool so seasons do not matter. Now to convince Josh about what a good idea it is.

Mez and I then had a quick breakfast at the gym before dashing off shopping and putting everything together for the braai. More pics tomorrow..........

I had so much fun today...a day filled with laughter, friendship, family and good times!!!

Hope you're having a super Saturday and weekend.

Week 8 : Weight Watchers - Down 1kg and total loss to date of 7.2kg's

What a feeling!! Another 1kg down. I'm thinking that all the gym this past week has payed off. My only concern is that I might become obsessive about it, that is how much I am determined to get rid of this excess weight. I am really proud of what I have accomplished to date.

A reminder of some of the changes I have made:

* Smaller portions

* Healthier choices (more fruit and veg, and red meat is way down)

* Drinking 1.5l - 2l of water everyday.

* Gym (plenty exercise in the cardio section of the gym)

* Not depiving myself. (I still have the odd piece of chocolate, but it is the organic expensive kind, so I want it too last as long as it can {{smile}}. If at a social event I will treat myself to something special but not go overboard.

* Friday nights have been my pizza and chill night!

* Getting the family involved.

This is just a summary of the last 8 weeks equating to a 7.2 kg loss, which is 15.84 pounds. I am hoping to achieve my 10% loss by the end of the 12 weeks. I will then continue on with a new goal of another 10%. By taking it in smaller chunks, my goal is never far away and is achievable.

To my supporters and you all know who you are, a HUGE big Thank You!! I love you ladies.....

Adding to that healthy lifestyle mix....

NO...definitely not another baby!! This cutie pie is my cousin Nadine's little one and his name is Luke.

So what is the addition to the healthy living mix? The answer would be exercise. This past weekend saw me getting the boys and myself sorted out with our gym contracts etc. etc. The verdict is still out on hubby joining in but I'm sure it won't be too long and he'll see just how much fun we're having that he'll join too. I have promised him that the odd game or 2 of squash when I'm fit enough.

Even though I am losing weight, I am losing it very slowly which can be frustrating. Some days I just want it gone. After swearing that I would not put a foot in a gym - I did. Now remember, a girl is allowed to change her mind.

The equipment seems to get smarter and smarter. The treadmills now have their own lil' tv screen but my favourite new addition, well new for me, is the fan!! To have that cool air blowing on me was heaven! It was also nice to be exercising knowing that the boys were getting a dose of some exercise as well, and best part was that they were having fun. Once they had done their session they were then allowed to play with the PS2 or WII and just chill. When I went to pick them up, I got the 'do we have to goooooo.....' I foresee lotz of time being spent at the gym.

There are some amazing classes and I look forward to trying some of them out. They have water aerobics, zenpilates, pilates, yoga, aerobics, step, ab attack and a whole bunch more. I'm not saying either way on the spinning classes just yet but maybe one day.

I've got a crazy week ahead of me. Homeschooling, housecleaning, getting ready for a big braai this weekend, gym and planning our healthy meals. Thanks to Gina's WW recipes - life is made easier some days.

Hope you have a fabulous week. Keep it positive!!

Hugs............

Kitty with attitude!!

I just had to check my Hotmail!

New Private Message at Torch Bugs: A Forum for Lampwork Glass Beads and Jewelry‏
From:
Torch Bugs: A Forum for Lampwork Glass Beads and Jewelry (admin@torchbugs.com)
Sent:
12 March 2009 10:56:11 AM
To:
im2glassy4u@hotmail.com
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL!*************************** Dear 2Glassy4U,

Dear 2Glassy4U, You have received a new private message at Torch Bugs: A Forum for Lampwork Glass Beads and Jewelry from Frogsongstudio, entitled "Fair notice". To read the original version, respond to, or delete this message, you must log in here:http://www.torchbugs.com/forums/private.php This is the message that was sent:

***************I have banned both of your other ID's and I'm giving you fair notice that if I find you registering with another ID I'll ban every one of them, including this one. Multiple registrations are not allowed and anyone caught doing it will be permanently banned. This includes logging in under a friends ID which will get you both banned. I like ****** and I would like to continue doing so. Deb***************

Again, please do not reply to this email. You must go to the following page to reply to this private message:http://www.torchbugs.com/forums/private.php All the best,Torch Bugs: A Forum for Lampwork Glass Beads and Jewelry

****************************************************************

Just so we are clear I have never had to use anybody else's ID to get any information from your forum or any forum for that matter. An innocent fellow local lampworker is now being accused of conspiring with me. Your battle is with me and no one else. Got it!!

I sincerely hope that Deb contacts this lampworker and apologises for jumping to conclusions. But I doubt that is your style!!

My final words on this matter....okay!!

Watch out I've lost that self control again!!!

In all honesty I've had enough!! I am aware that some of you might not be aware of the history but there is history!!

I watched a good friend get torn to shreds by the pitbull behavior of some high ranking TB members and mods over at LE. I have seen how they treat others with little regard of how it would effect others. I am very aware of a fellow lampworker being stalked through the internet by some of these very highly regarded members!! They love to stir up trouble over at LE but keep their lil' sandpit spit polished clean!!

I am sick to death of them shouting how magnificent they are when they enjoy treating others with absolute disrespect!!

So yes, Torchbugs may appear to be a positive environment. But in the early days many things happened - it resulted in posts being deleted very quickly, threads disappearing all in the name of the forum being the 'positive' environment that they boasted of.

A recent incident over in the LE Bathroom resulted in the Campfire changes.

Unless you know the history, I beg you please don't bother to comment on what you actually do not know. OK!!

Yes, I have been able to log on with my original name - no surprise really!! Neither party can prove either way what actually was going on. Will I go back?- SERIOUSLEY!! - no I won't. I'm sure it shows when the person last logged in or something like that. I have no need to suck up to those woman, to share with them, or do anything else with them for that matter. Some of them do fabulous work, doesn't mean I like the human behind the work and I'm sure the feelings are pretty much mutual.

LE has become home with a great community of people. The vendors and major vendors are there. A lot of information is there. To be honest going to an almost replica forum holds no value to me. I got sucked in out of curiousity and it grew from there. I joined an exchange. I have been friends with this lampworker for many years and my integrity was challenged in a PM from a mod. When they found out I was there, they came with guns blazing. Admittedly my relationship with most of these woman was non-existant but no where did they state that they would be selective in who they welcomed and who they would not. The fact that another lampworker and I caught them in situations that contradicted what they stated and we voiced our opinions made us 'persona non grata'. So why should I think a hiccup/glitch was anything but that??

Just the other night/morning I watched how a bunch of them twist words to make it suite them. Accusing others of doing things that they hadn't. Why do they do this? Because they know it will be flushed.

You want to put these woman on a pedestal and say how great they are, then good for you. Your experience with them has only been positive. As for mine - quite simply I doubt we will ever see eye to eye!! Why??? It's an issue of TRUST and I for one will never trust them. To put it midly, if I were to go into battle I would never trust one of those woman to watch my back!!

In all honesty I am happy with the handful of people who come to my blog to read it for what it is, for those of you who have no time for me. Just why are you here!! Surely my opinion is of no concern to you!! So in all honesty - buzz off!!

...and seriousley if you cannot stand by what you say by leaving your name - PLEEEESE don't bother to comment. I have very little respect for those who cannot stand by what they have to say!!

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Don't you just love Katy Perry's song - Hot n Cold

My favourite bit:

"'Cause you're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in and you're out
You're up and you're down
You're wrong when it's right
It's black and it's white
We fight, we break up
We kiss, we make up"

Today on my mind is gym memberships and how FRUSTRATING they can be. Either way I don't win. No surprise there!! The bonus of going to one is the potential health benefits as well as this weight of mine shifting sooner than later. {{grin}}

The hiccup which really isn't a hiccup but it will cost us either way. The boys!! No babysitter, housekeeper to back me up. They have to go with. I'm restricted with time etc. and the potential of having to pay an extra R225.00 p/month to keep the boys occupied at the gym. Negative = Cost
Positive = They get to exercise and work out. Way cool!!!

So I'm hot and then cold, in and then out, and up and then down.....LOL Decision making should be easier - right??

Weight Watchers : Week 7 - Down 1.6kg's

That was a huge relief!! By this morning I was positive that the scale would not be in my favour at all. I have not been paying full attention to my points. My compass this past week was to make the right choices where I could. Back to watching those points, the stress is not worth it.

Other changes made during the week was that I try and eat my last meal before 6pm or just after. I carry my 1.5L bottle of water with me everywhere. These have been BIG contributors to the weight loss.

Excercise is another biggie. To shift this weight sooner rather than later it has come to my attention that the more exercise I do, the better!! My intention was not to step into a gym until I had lost a good amount of weight but thankfuly we can change our minds. We will also try and get the botanical gardens on a regular basis. The best part about that is that it is something we can do as a family!!

I am also really enjoying cooking. We eat a variety of meals and our red meat is way down on the menu plan. More vegetarian dishes, chicken and fish.

How was your week?

At the end of the day...

In a short while I will be making my blog private.

It has a been a tough day. My only reason right now for wanting to log into Torchbugs was to take part in an exchange I joined or ultimately withdraw from it.

I will defend myself no further!!

I am already ashamed with my behavior this evening - there is no excuse except for a lack of self control.

Night all

You want to see what spiteful looks like....

Go take a look in the mirror if you have issues. May I remind you of a pesky rule I would hope you would respect and that is if you don't like what I blog about then don't freaking read it.

I am a person who is real, who blogs about everything in my life. It is not just about lampworking, it is about my life and what is happening in at the time. I blog about a bunch of high school girls who have nothing better to do than play silly games and scream INNOCENT!!

Call it a glitch, call it paranoia, I really couldn't care!!

Same computer, same everything. I can log into Torchbugs under my new make believe life...NO PROBLEM!! Log in as 2Glassy4U and yes I am there for all you wonderful people to see but guess what I CAN'T!! Reminder - same computer, same ISP - so tell me why??? Must be one of those internet things. Yeah....deep paranoia!!

You want to be so squeeeeky clean that you don't have the BALLS to ban those you don't tolerate, you stoop to childish behavior and scream NOT US, NEVER US!!

Jy weet wat, julle maak my maal. Dit is nou tyd dat ek my goed vat en trek ferreira!! Jou forum is nie die moeite werd nie!! Put that through your freaking translator!!

The JCI Geological Trail

Yesterday we joined my sister for her bithday at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens for a picnic with family and friends.

After everyone had enjoyed their picnic's we decided to hit the trail. I think I was partly brave and really stupid. We headed to the waterfall to start our hike. Here was me all eager and taking off like there was no tomorrow. First mistake!! I should have taken it slow. We were barely at the top of the falls and the nausea set in - it was most certainley time to take a breather but here was Josh - demanding we carry on. LOL I caught my breath and prayed to the heavens above that I wouldn't throw up, although part me thought that losing lunch was not entirely a bad idea (probably ate more than I should have, hmmmm, definitely more than I should have). We got to the top of the falls and it was beautiful, luckily the trail flattened out a bit and I could gather myself together. Needless to say that by now I had wanted to turn back a good couple of times - thinking I couldn't do it. Ant was good - he never insisted either way but followed my lead. Off we were again. The trail continued up and up - I guess this was the Roodekrans Ridge. I found a few good rocks to sit on along that trail. When we finally got to the top it really felt good!! I had done it. Now there was the matter of getting back down. Although not back-breaking, my legs took strain and my right ankle decided to kick up a protest but I took it in my stride. Finally back on even ground my legs were clearly not talking to me but I felt good. Now all I want to do is go back and do other walks as well as this one. A good way to get fit, don't you think.

That was my Sunday!!

Steps

Cannot wait to tell you about our 3.5km hike!! Yeah!!!

It's about that 'other place'

Well, you try and be honest and what does it get you? It gets you interesting!!

I could have signed on at Torchbugs and never been honest in my profile or avatar, I could have lied, I could have been everything these woman say they don't like but what does that get you. It gets you messed with. Quite simply why the hell don't you just ban me, remove me or something. But I guess your childish games are far more FUN!!

Keep your forum. In all honesty you did your best to make yourself as similar to LE as you could. Corri is more woman than any of you will ever be!!

So guys and girls don't be fooled if you see 2Glassy4U over at Torchbugs because I may be able to sign in as long as I have no cookies on my end but once I hit log in everything goes haywire this side. I'm there, but I'm not. I cannot see diddly and get weird errors - I can't even partake in a good friends exchange that I had joined. Oh well!! I may not be able to get on but I'll still do my part and send my pieces.

What people do not realise is that I can connect via hubby's laptop and it didn't take long to figure out that it was only the 2Glassy4U that was effected. I guess banning me was just not simple enough for you!!

Grow up girls and get a back bone!!!

My Gran is at peace...

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.

I am comforted to know that my gran has finally found peace!!

Hugs...

Weight Watchers : Week 6 - Down .2kg's

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!! Definitely not what I had hoped for.

Not being properly organised for the camp trip and not drinking as much water was probably my downfall this past week and sneaking in the hot cross bun was probably not a good idea - eeeek

BUT a loss is a loss and I should be grateful that I have not gone up in the past 6 weeks but that I been moving slowly downwards towards goal weight.

Just a quick thanks to all of you who provided ideas for the next trip. Thankfully, I have about 5 weeks to experiment and plan. {{grin}}

And an update on Gran. Gran was discharged from hospital yesterday and returned to the nursing home she has been staying at. The Dr could no longer justify keeping her in hospital to the Medical Aid - got to love those Medical Aids, but sadly stated that he feels that she will be back in hospital soon as she is refusing food and water. This means her protein levels are low and will most likely end up dehydrated again.

Forgiveness

It has been 'one of those days' where everything will not go as planned and where I am at eternal war with myself over certain family issues, so this could not have arrived at a better time...

Young @ Heart by Pam Young

The Potato Report

Last week I wrote to you all about my challenge of forgiving a couple of people I've had ill feelings toward. If you read my essay you know I cut a potato in half to represent each person and carved their names in the halves to keep on my desk until I could forgive them. Here is my Potato Report.

February 24, sent Young @ Heart to Kelly February 25, Halves are still on my desk. They are very scary looking, and are starting to smell like dirty feet or dirty laundry that's been in the hamper too long.

February 26, Halves are getting soft and dark. I have an Aha Moment: It is AS ridiculous to be mad at the potato on my desk, as it is to be mad at the people it represents. There is NO difference. Is it the potato's fault that my office smells like dirty feet and there are Nats circling? No, the potato is just being what it is. If I allow the potato to stay on my desk it's my fault. Is it the people's fault (who the potato represents) that I've been upset and angry? No, they are just being who they are. If I allow the people the potato represents to pull me from my joy, it's my fault. The potato on my desk has done nothing to me that I need to forgive, any more than the people the potato represents have done anything to me that I need to forgive. There is nothing or no one to forgive, but me for having bad feelings about the potato and the people the potato represents. In fact the potato that represents the people has been taking up way more energy in my mind than the people the potato represents. That tickles me! It shows me how silly this whole thing was in the first place and is now. Every bit of this has been in my mind! Who can I blame? Me. Who can I forgive? ME! Who loves me? ME.

February 27, The potato halves are still on my desk only because it is very interesting to observe. It is still teaching me some stuff in a very humorous albeit smelly way. Right now I am actually enjoying looking at them! They are funny!

February 28, I received this email through FlyLady. Dear FlyLady and Pam, The essay on forgiveness couldn't have come at a better time. An employee of mine is having trouble forgiving the former management staff of some pretty horrible things they said and did to her. It has been over a year now and she has been feeling as though it is time to forgive and has seen how holding on to this is affecting her health. However, even with this knowledge she is having trouble letting go. Moments before the essay reached my inbox, she came to me talking about how her and her husband might be getting divorced. After reading my email, I printed the forgiveness essay for her to read. Later that night she sent a text message thanking me for sharing the article with her. She said she was beginning to see things in a different light

March 3, I had my baked potato (my reward for letting these two people free) but I have to report the potato halves are still on my desk! They have dried up! They don't stink and there are no longer any Nats flying around my office. I think they are in the process of petrifying! Maybe when we get our petty grievances out in the open (as I did with my essay and cutting open the potato) those grievances get a chance to just dry up! It's when we keep things secret and pretend we're fine that things fester and decay. One of my princesses sent me this: "Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a better past."— Anne Lamott

This has really been fun and you know my saying; If it isn't fun, it won't get done.

And a prior email (which I missed - eeeeek!!)

Young at Heart - Learning to Forgive will Lighten the Load

Young @ Heart by Pam Young

Is there anything ickier than a rotten potato? There's that saying,"one rotten apple spoils the barrel," well give me a rotten apple anyday! One rotten potato affects all the potatoes that are next to it in a sack and if left, that one potato would affect the whole bag. That usually doesn't happen because of the smell. I don't think Icould let a whole bag "go" because just the stench of one rotten potato is enough for a call to action.

I got an email from a woman who said her teacher (spiritual) asked thestudents to bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes to class. They were told to write the name of every person they had not forgiven on each potato. Some of the bags were quite heavy. They had to carry their bag with them everywhere, putting it beside their bed at night, on the car seat when driving, next to their desk at work until they could forgive the people the potatoes represented. "The hassle of lugging it around made it clear, what a weight I was carrying spiritually, and how I had to pay attention to it all the time to not forget, and keep leaving it in embarrassing places," she wrote. Naturally, the condition of the potatoes would deteriorate to a disgusting gunk if you didn't let go and forgive. This is a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our grievances.

So after reading the email I thought of myself as a potato who has some forgiving to do. There are two potatoes I can think of without any effort. Now if I don't forgive these potatoes I myself as a potato am rotting on the inside and I affect those who live in the sack with me because I'm not as totally loving as I could be. Terry's the only one in the sack with me, (ahemm) and I know he is affected by my blame of these two potatoes I haven't forgiven or seen in five years!

I decided to cut a russet in half and put it on my desk with the namesof the "unforgiven" on the halves. They are going to sit on my desk until I have completely forgiven them. The halves will show me what's happening on the inside of me. They will also illustrate what I'm doing to the potato I love and share my life with not to mention my potato friends and family who have had to listen to the tales of thesetwo "evil" potatoes who have "seemingly" wronged me. I also know I can't afford to let this metaphor rot before my eyes AND nose.

I will report back, what's happening on my desk (and in me), but I challenge you to join me in this experiment. I intend to have fun with this. I have even come up with a reward for the forgiving. A baked potato is one of my favorite foods, so I am going to bake thebiggest potato I can find and load it (butter, sour cream, bacon and chives) in celebration of the forgiving; until then, no baked potatoes. I know that forgiving is a natural attitude we were born with and getting in touch with that attitude can happen in a blink or a lifetime, it's up to us how long it takes. I have faith in myself that as the russet deteriorates and the carrot of a baked potato hangs before me it will be closer to a blink than a lifetime.

It must be a 'glitch' or 'gremlin' or heaven forbid a 'bug'

Well that will teach me for opening my BIG mouth and supporting somebody who was on the receiving end of a severe trashing. Will I ever learn?? Apparently, NO would be the answer. LOL Nor is it a lesson I want to learn!! You (and you know just exactly who you all are) trash somebody just because you can and say they're 'this' and they're 'that', but I see through your CRAP as I am sure many others do. I wonder, did your membership drive achieve what you wanted it too.

I know that a couple of hours earlier after reading that someone could not see the campfire area on a certain forum, I popped over and had a quick check - yeah, I could still read what was posted but then I opened my big mouth and then *poof* someone waved their ever so powerful mod wand and now I can't. Can you tell how heart broken I am. I just don't think I'll ever recover from this. I get this sweet little message that I need to have 10 posts. Now I won't say either way if I will ever achieve those 10 posts but for now I'm in NO particular hurry but you never know I might just change my mind. Now did I cover all the bases?? Hopefully!! Cause shit, I don't want to be caught in another one of those 'but you posted on your blog....blah, blah, blah!!!

Girls you really should learn that it is not nice to run to one sandpit and spew and then run to your own forum and cry foul. Or post things on one forum but then on another say that that is not what you are saying at all and cry foul and call someone names when you're caught??

Nor will I be renewing my membership with an organisation where I honestly believe that in spats like these, the President of the organisation should in all honesty not get involved. But then that is my opinion. And NO, I will not be renewing it any time soon after what I saw happening this morning.

Yes, I know. Stop poking a stick in the rattlers.

edited to add that it would appear that all members under 10 posts seem to have been affected by this. Geesh, I'm not special. LOL But I still guess that this mornings or rather late evenings little spat had something to do with it.

Living healthy and camping : Do they go together??

Oh boy!! Wanna see the most well intentioned plans go wrong. Try planning your eating routine around camping. It proved to be very challenging. Skipping breakfast on Saturday was probably not the best of starts, but hey, we were frantically trying to pack the car and praying I had packed everything we would need, which I had not!! Next time or rather now I should be making a list with tick boxes. {{grin}}

Lunch which I had planned was forgotten in the brink of starvation and got to the point of 'just hand me that tuna roll now'.

Uhhmmmmm, dinner. Mother nature had her plans too, it rained at the same time we thought it best to try and get dinner cooked. Only having fire as our best option - it turned out to be quite an exercise to get the chicken cooked. Now most convenience packaged foods do not make for healthy eating - so next camping trip which is 3 nights and almost 4 days is going to prove to be far more challenging and put my organisational skills to the test. LOL

I keep telling myself that April is cooler so it should be easier. Our camp site does not have electricity so we will be dependant on gas and fire for cooking. As for keeping things cold. Let's just say the little shop has ice.

But Easter weekend poses other challenges. Chocolate eggs and hot cross buns are my weakness around Easter. Do you know what a challenge it is to pass up on those hot cross buns?? I feel my self-control waning everytime I pass them in the bakery. Nor can I tell my boys that the Easter bunny won't be bringing eggs but carrots instead. Hmmmm, that will not make for a fun weekend!! I just got to stick to my guns and say NO, No, no, thank-you!! I can do this right?

Anybody got any ideas for an Eating Plan while out camping? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Some R & R at Mountain Sanctuary Park

We got home fairly late yesterday but it was, oh so worth it. Can you see the boys exploring?? While they were off exploring I was taking photos and eventually found a cool spot to sit and read.

Here is a link to quite a few of the photos. Let's just say I took a zillion or so and wittled it down to +-53. LOL

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=92394&id=741238012&l=31aba

On Saturday we did not get away as early as we had hoped, but got to the camp site just before lunch. The weather was overcast and cool. Thankfully we managed to setup camp with only bits of light drizzle which didn't cause too much mayhem. After lunch the sun peeked out for a bit and we headed to the man-made pools. There were beautiful views from the deck and Josh loved the shallow end of the pool. I sat on the edge and dipped my feet in. Bbbrrrrr, was it cold or what. LOL

A mommy warthog and her baby seem to have made the rest camp their feeding ground and came past a few times much to the delight of the kidlets and me of course.

Getting dinner ready proved to be a challenge. The skies opened at around 3ish or so and as soon as it stopped everyone rushed to get their fires going. We barely got the coals lit when down it came again. Oh well, I could see us trying to cook our meat in the teeny pot I had brought with to cook the kidlets noodles. This was going to be fun!! The rain stopped again, wet coals were removed and the fire was started once again. The chicken sosaties and sausage I had brought got cooked eventually even if it did prove to be a challenging task. Reminder next time to take the skottel bit for the gas bottle. It will save lots of time and energy!! LOL

The blow-up mattress was not as bad as I thought it would be and we got a good nights sleep. This is never a bad thing.

Sunday morning and the skies were full of hope. It definitely turned out to be a wonderful day. We had breakfast and then headed out on one of the paths to the natural sliding pools. Camera and book packed but oops we forgot a towel as we had thought the water would be way to cold to do much in. Boy, were we proved wrong on that one. The boys had fun in the water and enjoyed exploring the stream with their dad - up and down and over rocks. I ventured into the stream as the water was actually quite pleasant and refreshing and eventually found a cosy spot to sit and read while the boys went up and down the stream exploring. Lots of families arrived and hikers kept passing by. It was fun!! Brad's had fun making new friends and Josh had a hard time keeping up with his brother but Ant was there to help him keep up. Shooooo!!

With sad hearts we packed up and told ourselves that before we know it Easter would be along and we'll be off exploring once again!!