Saturday 28 May 2016

Weigh to Go

Right then, three weeks ago, HR and I commenced a weight loss program. (see my blog Middle Age Spread).
I had most of one week off due to interstate commitments (see Ticket to Ride Planes and Cars) and so now it is time to weigh in!

HR is finding it a bit tough on the shakes and seriously looks forward to the evening meal which free style. Once a week we go a bit nuts for one meal and a lot of planning goes into it!!
You may recall we had Southern Fried Chicken the first week and last week we went Dumplings.

We went to a lovely little place called Dumpling House and took a table for two. The waitress brought tea and HR and I sipped refreshing Jasmine tea whilst we made our choices.
The Dumpling House has traditional Chinese dishes as well as Dumplings, Buns and Pancakes.
We decided to try 'Combination: Chicken, Beef and Vegetable (15)' and team them with 'Steamed BBQ Pork Bun (2 or 4)'

The three different types of dumpling were very tasty! The vegetable dumping needed just a touch of chili sauce, the beef was delicious and the chicken more so. But the Best of all were the BBQ Pork Buns.... The bun was sweet and fluffy and light. There was sufficient BBQ Pork was sufficient (some people skimp) and perfectly cooked. I was in seventh heaven!!  There is nothing quite like a decent BBQ Pork Bun, nothing!! There was enough food and tea to make quite a good meal (remember we have smaller tummies now we are dieting) though HR wants to try the Dim Sims next time.

Turns out next time will be tomorrow as HR failed in his tasking to decide what we should have this week. I will be choosing next weeks.
So how are we going in this quest to win the battle of the bulge?
To date HR has lost 4.5kg and 2 inches off his bulky waist.
I have lost 2.9 kg but the waist measurement remains the same the gut seems to be slowly shifting though.

HR and I really need to get some regular exercise going to help us shift the flab. I have my little work out room that I have used. I do low impact aerobics and I have a dvd coming from  Denise Austin 
called Shrink Your Female Fat Zones. I have used this dvd before (for many years actually) but it seems the copy I have is region  and all my dvd players are Region 4, go figure.
I have used Denise Austin's exercise regimes on and off for over twenty years and I find them very, very good for helping to shape the body in the privacy of my own home.

Anyway onwards and upwards, or is that downwards........more next week!!

Thursday 26 May 2016

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

This is bound to be one of the questions I get asked at tomorrow's interview for the job I am doing
I am receiving higher duties allowance until the recruitment activity for the job I am doing is completed. I figured I may as well have a bash as I might have a chance, you know, seeing as how I am doing the job....
Only problem is there are unknowns in the competition.
Someone may actually know what they are doing which puts me RIGHT behind the 8 ball.

I do know that two of my colleagues are also interviewing for the positions (there are two of them yes).

The pro's are:
I have been working in the position
I have been working with the consultant in the domain
I have helped lay the groundwork for the tasking in the role
I am beginning to understand the complexities around the tasking
I am beginning to build the networks required to facilitate the role
I am conversant with the major reporting tool
I can see the synergies between the two roles and can see opportunities for leveraging off interdependencies (sounds good eh?)

Cons:
I have no experience in the domain
I have no training in the domain
I have only been in the agency for two months
two of my rivals have been with the agency for years
I am bad at interviews
I am the first to be interviewed

I spoke with the domain experts for both positions. I have identified appropriate training. I am not looking forward to this interview. It will most likely take forever for them to advise the successful applicants too. Oh well there'll be other jobs to apply for I suppose.

In five years time I will most likely still be working. I'd like to think I could improve my ranking in the agency. Then again some days I just wonder what the hell I am dong and why.

Wish me luck boys and girls, wish me luck.....


Monday 23 May 2016

Ticket to Ride (planes and cars)

Wednesday 18 May 2016 the date for the Brisbane Lions Player Sponsor Function. Given what transpired the Saturday (Port Adelaide massacred us) before it was always going to be a strained atmosphere.
I flew into Brisbane, collected my hire car (nifty little Toyota Corolla, nice but not my Kia ) and drove to my hotel (Gabba Central Apartments) without getting lost!!!

The delightful Normal Autistic Kid dropped by and we crossed the road to the Gabba.
It's always a good evening when the champagne is flowing and the canapés are plentiful. Apart from meeting up with my sponsored player (Josh Clayton) who was a perfect gentleman, it is always fun to catch up with other friends and sponsors. Tommy and Drew are just the most delightful couple and it was lovely to catch up with them after a year,sadly we didn't get to go to the pub for a glass or seven of Chardy but we will catch up again next year.
Then there was Frances and Stella, two sisters we met when we went to Wellington to watch the Lions beat StKilda in 2014. It was great to catch up with the ever lovely Kim, but we missed Sheryn and Roger and one of my cosponsors Margaret.
The cheeky Sammy Mayes took us on a tour of the facilities and he roped several of the other players, including Josh, into his patter.
Whilst we were hob nobbing the Boy Child contacted me, he needed to get his resume off my laptop and get it updated but alas, he has no computer of his own! He drove into Brisbane and waited for me to finish socialising (hence the no Chardy). It was good to see him (he is now a full time employee of ADBRI Masonry).

Thursday 19 May 2016 I drove the two hours to Toowoomba and had lunch with my bestie, Borah, at Club Glenvale.
We both had the Chicken and Asparagus Crepe. Tasty. We spent a pleasant few hours catching up before I made my way to Tuscany on Tor to stay the night. The best part of this place is the spa bath!!!!

 The Mini Brat came over later in the evening and we had a catch up chat!! It was so cool catching up with the kids, I did miss out on seeing my Grandsons and their Mum, sigh.(My supervisor was a pain about me taking the three days off, even though I gave him four weeks notice, oh well let's see how he copes in August when we go on the cruise!!).

Friday 20 May 2016 I drove to beautiful down town Oakey and spent the day with Mum.  We went shopping and then she cooked me a really yummy dinner. Mum is about the only thing I miss about Oakey.

Saturday 21 May 2016 a two and a half hour drive back to Brisbane and fly home..........
HR picked me up from the airport and it was good to get home!!!!





Sunday 15 May 2016

Tea for Me

Yes yes I know I have written about tea before but I just HAVE to rave about this new tea by Madame Flavour!!

There I was, shopping for my usual Delicate Green Tea with Jasmine and Pear when to my horror I saw that the shelf at my local supermarket was BARE!!!! OMG this is a disaster of EPIC proportions!!
How on earth am I to cope without my tea? I cast around the other shelves, poking packs aside to see if my tea was hidden perhaps and it as then I discovered the loose leaf version of my favourite tea. SAVED!!!!!I swept my eyes across the shelves one more time and it was then I saw an interesting orange looking box,' I must investigate' I thought.
I reached up to the top shelf and plucked a package and delved into my handbag for my reading glasses. Hmm another Madame Flavour tea. Tea Treats this particular selection is named, there are several others apparently.
The box that had caught my eye contains Tea Treats, orange choc ceylon Tea Treats. I thought that sounded quite exotically decadent, I simply MUST try, and so into the shopping cart with the little box of Tea Treats!!

The box remained unopened for a few days and then HR was making a cuppa and I thought hmm I should try the new tea.
Well...
Let me tell you, that tea is like drinking dessert!!!!! The subtle aromas are delightful,orange and chocolate, like those little thin wafers you have after dinner (no not the mint ones, keep up here) or the chocolate oranges you get from Terry's. The smell alone was delicious.
The taste is DIVINE!! It's like actually drinking a Terry's chocolate orange. The ceylon tea does not overpower the taste of chocolate and orange. It is a beautifully balanced infusion that actually makes me feel like I am having dessert!

Given that HR and I are on a weight loss journey this tea is the PERFECT way for me to have an indulgence without the calories!!
Thank you Madame Flavour!!


Saturday 14 May 2016

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Hubby

Previously on my blog (Middle Age Spread)...HR and I have embarked on a weight loss venture, time for some updates!!

HR may have lost more weight than me but percentage wise we are even...go figure.

HR says the shakes are getting a bit hard to take, it's almost winter and the shakes are made with ice cold water, I shudder watching him. There is absolutely NO WAY I would do those shakes, uh uh not me.
My food is really quite tasty and there's heaps of it. Sometimes I don't get through all of the snackage pieces but I do make a determined effort to eat the lunches at a regular time. I wonder though if there is a little too much bread product. I have noticed that after a few days I no longer seem to hit a wall at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
HR and I generally have a tasty evening meal (mostly to make up for his cold blandness during the day) but we have gone down the whole portion control thing.
We have also decided that we can have one 'mad' meal a week where we break the shackles and have something really yummy and not for everyday consumption.

This week we chose Saturday evening for the mad meal. Earlier in the week a friend came to visit and she mentioned a Southern Fried Chicken outlet in a neighbouring suburb, so HR, in his infinite wisdom, decided that was to be the mad meal for this week.

Kingsley's Chicken  serves excellent fried chicken with acceptable chips and a very nice gravy at a  reasonable price!!!! We got five pieces of chicken with a small chips and gravy. Very tasty!!! the chicken was moist and tender under a crisp mildly spicy skin , the chips appropriately salted and the gravy slightly peppery.
Next week we are going Chinese!!!!

Because my beloved Brisbane Lions were getting seven kinds of crap kicked out of them later that evening we shared a small block of Cadbury Snack chocolate.

HR is in for a bit of a treat this week, I am off to Brisbane to attend the Player sponsor function ( I sponsor Josh Clayton) and won't be taking my meals with me so he gets to enjoy the tasty breakfasts and lunches so they don't go to waste. I think he is really looking forward to it.

I have started doing some low impact aerobics this week so hopefully my weight drop will be a bit better than last week. Of course there will be the interruption of being away, and all that champagne I will drink at the function, but I will try to keep food choices healthy and junk to a minimum.

Anyway, more updates to come wish us luck!

Saturday 7 May 2016

Middle Age Spread

Right then, it seems HR and I might be a bit overweight; a bit pudgy,soft around the middle, showing signs of too much good living. Time to get our lard arses of the couch and out of the pig pen.

HR has chosen ' The Man Shake' for reasons best known to him. He will replace two meals a day with the shakes and have a portion controlled bad carb free dinner. Lots of water, healthy snacks and dammit 30 minutes of exercise a day!!!

I have chosen the 'Lite and Easy' breakfast and lunch option, again a portion controlled evening meal, bad carb free etc etc etc (thank you Yul Brynner "The King and I"). The Normal Autistic Brat has been using Lite and Easy for 5 months now and along with a few other shifts in eating habits (read she finally dropped the junk) she has successfully dropped 10 kilograms.Of course I need to get myself off the couch more than HR does.

HR has helped me make a start on putting together my own little workout/meditation room. I think the dual purpose is appropriate. I have real issues going to a gym/working out in public, I have no idea why. I am sure some psychology type could tell me but whatever.
HR can use the gym at work and the walking track as well as the walks we can do round our home suburb.

HR's shakes arrived in a large box complete with shaker and instructions and meal plans and this will last him three months. He has a choice of shake flavours.We have been shopping for healthy snacks for HR. The instructions suggested yoghurt or nuts so we got a selection of both for him to chose from.
My food arrived in a Styrofoam cooler, has  fridge and a freezer components and will last me a week. I get to make choices about what food I eat each day for a week but have to order every week ( there is an auto order option I may look into further down the track). I will share some of HR's snacks in the evenings if I feel the need.

We started today 7 May 16 on our journey to healthy weight, fitness and better living.
We weighed in (classified info thank you very much) and took a few vital measurements (I SAID classified ok?) We will update these every week.

HR made his first shake, chocolate, and first thing he noticed was that the consistency was that of a thick shake whereas other shakes he had experienced were more like milk shakes. He reckons that the shakes must have fiber in them as well. he had vanilla for lunch and yoghurt for his afternoon snack.

My first breakfast was a two egg omelette with ham, tomato and cheese. Mid morning snack was grapes. Lunch was a chicken wrap and mid afternoon snack was kiwi fruit and mixed nuts. So much food that was healthy and tasty and prepared in perfect portion sizes t help me achieve my weight loss goals. I like the idea of the meals being sorted for me, it's really going to be convenient just grabbing a bag of food for lunches at The Crypt.

This is going to be an interesting journey for us hope you lot come along for the ride.

Thursday 5 May 2016

It's Closing Time (on the house sale)

Those of you (you precious few) that read my blog (bless all six of you whoever you are) will recall that HR and I are in the process of selling a house.

You might recall my blog 'Patience is a Virtue' where I mentioned casually that the buyers of aforementioned house had been quite insistent that we produce signed contracts on such a date at such a time or they would rescind their not so generous offer. You might also recall I was having difficulty pressing send on the email containing the required contracts (HR pushed the button so to speak).

Subsequent blogs have mentioned that the buyers (God bless them) wanted to bring the settlement date forward and HR and I were happy with that.

Today is the day they SHOULD have settled. Well guess what? Those lovely impatient people weren't ready and asked for an extension!!!! You can imagine our response. We were NOT happy one little bit. You might say I was a bit cross actually. I may have used profanity quite liberally and creatively. However, as HR and I are REALLY bloody nice people ( and original settlement day was next Monday anyway) we acquiesced to their request.

Meanwhile the real estate agents are sending me 'rate your agent' emails. Cool I will rate my agent when the transaction is completed. Well no they think I should rate when they want me to so they send reminder emails. SERIOUSLY  you might want to wait until the damned house settles before I tell you what I really think of your agent, because believe you me if the buyers default (and that will be a whole other story) I will NOT be continuing to use you or her as an agent, let me be VERY clear on that. The agent has made it abundantly clear that they are only interested in the dollars at the end of the transaction and that they do not care about being honest in getting those dollars, nor are they about the seller in any way shape or form.

So tomorrow at 2:00 pm they will once again attempt to complete the settlement of the house.
I am not holding my breath.