So, this is it.. almost :) I just have to get through one whole day of work and then i'm FREE!!!!!!!! for two whole weeks!!!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how overdue this holiday is. *bounce*

I haven't packed yet, still waiting for my bloody washing to dry. Unfortunately it has been pretty shitty weather and I may have to resort to a tumble dryer for help.

I had a series of totally bizarre dreams last night. Its very rare for me to remember my dreams so they must have been REALLY odd ;) So now I am pretty tired today. Hopefully I will stay tired enough to sleep on the plane tomorrow :)

Not sure when my next entry will be, I will definately write when i'm in Aus, but i'm just not sure when.

So, be good, be strong and be in control!!!!!

Bon Voyage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Adios!!!!!  Ciao!!!!!!!!!! Totsiens!!!!!!!!! Shalom!!!!!!!! Cya ;) and byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee for now.

Firstly I just want to say thanks for all the great, positive comments on my last entry :) Makes me want to go back to the DMV (department of motor vehicles) and give the guy there a BIG hug... hehe I've never liked an ID photo as much as I do this latest one.

As i'm sure you can imagine, I am just about bursting with excitement about my trip. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone! I just hope that time will be kind and slow down sufficiently when i'm in Australia. I can't believe that I am finally getting to meet my nephew!! I can't wait to show you all pictures of the little angel. Its bizarre how much of a proud aunty I already am and I haven't even met the little guy. For all of you out there who have all your family with you in the same country. Please take a moment and think about how lucky you are.

Most of South African families are split up and have people living all over the world. It really is hard on all of us. I am just very grateful that technology has come so far and we have web cam's and broadband etc. But it isn't the same as being able to pop over to see your sister / brother / nephew etc. I see how hard it is on my parents, having their first grandchild and not even being able to hold him. :( Just be thankful for what you have and cherish every minute with the ones you love.

Okay, enough of the soppy stuff. This is supposed to be a happy time for me :) SMILE DAM-IT!!!!

So, I started packing last night. I've decided to take only the barest minimum in the way of clothing. I plan to do a LOT of shopping and hopefully will come home with a nice bunch of new clothes. I've already forewarned my sister that we are going to be hitting the shopping centres with a vengeance.

We've also decided to do a lot of walking (with baby in tow) and will hopefully go swimming too. At least I know that I won't be without exercise. AND my sister lives in a VERY hilly area, so if all else fails, i'll hijack her bicycle and head for the hills!!! (i'm taking my cycling shorts just encase).

This weekend was very bad food wise and exercise wise. I've been feeling the stirrings of flu since Thursday and as a result, I haven't been to gym since then either. Somehow when i'm feeling sick, I tend to eat way too much crap in the hope that it will cure me and make me happy. This never happens and has never happened and WILL NEVER happen. So why on earth do I do it??? I now feel even more crappy knowing that i've probably put on a kilo or six over the weekend and I still feel like shit!!! Oh well, today is a new day and I only brought healthy food with me to work :) I'll hopefully be able to go to gym tomorrow and all will be well in the world again.

Oh, before I go I must just mention that I have 2 MORE SLEEPS!!! Just encase you forgot. hehehe

Have a GREAT Monday and be good!

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and closer. *bounce*
I know you must be getting pretty bored by all this talk, but I really am so excited and I desperately NEED a holiday!!!!

so, for my own piece of mind.... 7 MORE SLEEPS!!!!!!!!!!!

Right, now i feel much better :)

I've been having major bad food cravings over the last two days. I have a feeling it is mostly stress related but it is bloody annoying. I came so close to buying a chocolate from the vending machine yesterday. I had a cooler bag full of fruit and "safe" snacks, and yet nothing in there appealed to me. Luckily I ended up being so busy that I forgot to think about my craving. Its bad though. I WILL NOT buy a chocolate today!!!! I really won't!!! definately not!!!!

I FINALLY had a leg wax last night :) I was really starting to resemble my brothers... it was getting bad! It was a really really really painful wax. I really need to win the lottery so that I can lazer myself smooth.

I'm off to get my drivers licence card renewed today. I HATE going to these government places. Firstly there is ALWAYS a line of people stretching as far as the eye can see. There is an unwritten rule, that as soon as you eventually do get to the front of the line, you have forgotten to do something - like take ID photos, bring the correct amount of money, get your eyes tested, cut your finger nails - i'm sure you get the point.

Whenever you go to one of these places, you have to take a number to be next in line. Why do they never seem to be in sync. You pick number 632 and they are already on 10442 ????? I just don't get it.

So, I am taking my life into my own hands and being very brave and by the end of today, I will have the tedious task complete! (i hope)
Then i'll have to do it all again in six weeks time when I go fetch the bloody thing.

oh, did I mention that I have 7 MORE SLEEPS????????? ;) hehe

                                  ********LATER********

Okay, my day has just been made!!!! *grin*

I went to the licensing department to renew my drivers license. It was a tedious task but I made it...
Anyway, I had to present my old drivers lincense (the one that is about to expire) and the guy wouldn't believe that it was me hehe I have never felt so pleased... I actually had to show him some other form of ID to prove that it was really me *grin*

Now to me, I don't think i look THAT different.. but to him I obviously did *HUGE GRIN*

So here are the two pics for you to compare..

                               
         2001                                                                TODAY

scary stuff...

Hey, I’ve been tagged by Airlie J This is quite fun actually!!!

Here we go…

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

I was studying my DPI (Desktop Publishing and Imaging) Diploma at Damelin College in Rosebank. I had just returned from my first time ever overseas, I went to Israel for five months, Germany for two weeks and London for a week J I was also waitressing at an Italian restaurant, earning my petrol and party money.

Yay!!!! I found a flat *grin* Its HUGE and bright and happy. I am only moving at the end of March, but I am still very excited.

The best part is that its on the 3^rd floor (not counting ground) so I have four flights of stairs to walk up and down every day!! I am going to be a fitness machine. (There is a lift if I do happen to feel lazy).

I can’t wait to move now. I also got home (to my current flat) to see that the For Sale sign now says SOLD. I can’t believe my land lady actually sold within two weeks AND she got her asking price. Its MAD!! But I’m very happy for her.

So, I reccon my flat was definitely meant to be. *grin*

I made the yummiest lunch today. Two slices of Low GI seed bread with an egg mayo salad on it. I finely chopped a tomato, added it to some mushed up boiled egg, threw in a dollop of mayo and a whole bunch of herbs and spices and viola! Lunch! (now I have to hold myself back till lunch time)

At least that is one stress in my life that is sorted.

9 MORE SLEEPS!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, while using this weekend to recover from my extreeeemly stressful week last week, I made a very interresting discovery about myself.

You see, this week just happened to be mad and hectic and I was under a lot of pressure at work (and having to find a new home didn’t help either). I really didn’t cope very well with the stress and it stressed me out more to know that I wasn’t able to cope. (if that makes sense). I’ve never reacted so badly to stress before and it was worrying me.

BUT in a moment of clarity, it came to me!!!

In the past, I would have gone straight to the fridge / shop / vending machine at the first sign of tension. It was my coping mechanism and it seemed to work very well. I could handle anything as long as I had junk food and LOTS of it. I think I used my fat as a shield and nothing bad could penetrate it. (yeah right).

But now, my mindset has changed so much that I don’t even want to eat when I am stressing. I don’t even think about food and running to the fridge etc. I actually tend to lose my appetite in really bad cases.

I did have an incident on one particularly bad day last week when I walked to the supermarket at lunch time and I went straight to the sweet isle, I automatically picked up a bag of sweets but as soon as I got to the pay point, I thought “what am I doing? I don’t even want these” and put them straight back. I walked out of the supermarket and went into a book store instead.

It just shows you that the old me is still lurking in there somewhere. But the new, improved me is much much stronger.

I have to find myself a new coping mechanism now. I know that I am not going to turn to food again (well not in the same way that I used to), but I can’t continue to let things effect me so badly. Gym is one way that I get to de-stress, but it isn’t enough.

Any ideas?

So you see, we can change ourselves and re-invent the wheel (so to speak).

It was quite an exciting revelation,  but at the same time very scary. I feel exposed and slightly vounerable, but VERY proud! (talk about mixed emotions eh).

I didn’t go cycling yesterday (I REALLY need a wax), so I went to gym instead and managed to do a fantastic hour of cardio! I went again this morning but did more toning then cardio etc. (gonna be sore tomorrow!!)

Eating was okay… not very good but not too bad. I am trying so hard to eat slowly. I tend to wolf down my food and that makes me think that I am still hungry and I take more. If I can change my mindset so much (with the stress thing), then I will be able to learn to chew slowly J

GO ME!!!!

Oh and 10 MORE SLEEPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, today was the BIG weigh-in day!!!! I didn't freak out as much this week as I did last, so that was a good thing. The Good news is that I didn't put on, the Bad news is that I didn't lose :) I stayed exactly the same! I'm not thrilled about that but I am not upset either hehe

I am sooooooo peeved this morning!!! I struggled to fall asleep last night and eventually did probably after 11pm. At about 3h30am I was rudely woken by a door banging shut! I immediately thought that someone was in my room. Luckily it wasn't my room, but my evil-stupid-rude new neighbours upstairs had just got home and they were making a HUGE noise. They chatted (at the top of their voices) till about 4h30 :( I had so many ideas of what I should do but like an idiot, I just lay there, covering my ears and getting angrier and angrier.

What would you do in that situation? These were my thoughts, please tick appropriate box ;)

a) Bang on the ceiling with a broom stick :)
b) Run upstair and knock on their door
c) Put my music on full blast
d) Scream at the top of my lungs out the window for them to shut the f)*£$k up!!!

The odd thing was that eventually I got so angry that I sat up and said "Oh for f£(*$k's sake!" and then suddenly they were quiet!!! it was totally bizarre.. I didn't say it loudly at all... Anyway, I am still bloody angry at the whole situation - hmpf!!!!

At least its Friday :) yay!!! Happy Friday!!! Woohooo!!!! :)

Hope you all have a super weekend.

I don’t know how many of you have read any of AJ Rochesters books, namely “Confessions of a reformed dieter”. I read it sometime in 2004, when I was just starting my weight loss journey and when things were just starting to go well for me. The book really made a big impact on me and kept me motivated and driven towards finally being “thin”. Unfortunately you can’t find the book anywhere in South Africa but when I heard that she had written another book, “The lazy girls guide to losing weight and keeping fit”, I got someone to send it to me from Australia. It wasn’t as inspiring as the first one but I really enjoed it anyway.

So, in August last year, I decided to write to AJ Rochester just to thank her for her help and to let her know how much she inspired me and motivated me to keep going etc… I didn’t get a reply (which did disapoint me, but I know that she must get ooodles of emails and letters and I didn’t really expect a reply, although it would have been nice at the time) ;)

So, imagine my surprise this morning!!! I got into work, checked my email and there, in my inbox is a reply from her!!!! (6 months later)

I won’t show you what I wrote to her coz you’d be here for hours, it is pretty much along the lines of what I wrote in my 2^nd entry (in December). But here is what she had to say in response to my mail:

“Dear Belinda

Thank you so much for writing to me – Sorry its taken so long for me to reply.  It has been an amazing journey and it truly humbles me when people share their stories with me. And I thought I was on this journey alone! Life has been absolutely mental and boy what a ride.

Healthy Body Club has just taken up so much of my head space and time and then there is my beautiful boy Kai who has had an amazing first year in school - not always good but often great. I am also the host for the Australian version of “The Biggest Loser” that will be airing in February on channel 10. 

I often pinch myself that so many people have read my book and then share their story with me. Who would have thought? It truly humbles me and makes me realise I was not as alone as I thought I was in my struggle to take my life back.

I really am so blown away by your message and thank you so much for writing to me. I wish you the very very best of everything, a brilliant new year and all the love hope and happiness for an amazing life changing 2006.

Love to you and your family Xx Aj xX

“Healthy Body Club Online” are taking in a new lot of members for January 30th, so if you are interested have a look at my website www.healthybodyclub.com.au.  “Prices” is where you will find all the updated information. Might be just what you are looking for in 2006.

Kind Regards

Aj xx”

It was really nice to FINALLY get a reply, even if it kind of resembles an advertisement. ;) hehe

So, tomorrow is the big weigh-in day!!! I am quite nervous but I’m sure it can’t be THAT bad ;)

The house hunting thing still hasn’t had any positive results.. I saw 3 places yesterday which weren’t bad, but weren’t good either J At least I have time to be picky! I know the right place is just waiting out there for me!!!

13 sleeps to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay me J went to an awesome spinning class this morning! I feel soooo good now!!! I really struggled to get up for gym this morning but I’m so glad I did! I wish I could bottle the “after gym” feeling and spray it on me every now and then J *happy sigh*

I went to see two flats last night… there is only one word to describe them EUGH!!! I don’t think I’ll find anything as nice as my current place L The one was in a VERY old building and it was so dark and depressing. It had dark brown floors in the living room and the bathroom was falling to pieces etc… The other one was in the same complex that I am living in. Its amazing that in a complex full of one bedroom units, that are all exactly the same size.. that they can be so different! I’m going to be very picky about where I live J I refuse to just grab the first thing that comes along.

I have two more apartments to see this evening, hopefully one of those will be THE one!

I hope I find something soon though. I know that I don’t really have to move till April, but I am away for most of February and this whole business is really stressing me out. Im even dreaming about house hunting!!

I had the most yummy dinner last night J I made steamed fish (in the microwave), steamed mixed veggies and oven baked wedges. So quick, easy and healthy. I’m doing my best to try and eat fish at least twice a week. It’s so easy to prepare so it shouldn’t be hard to do.

My legs are feeling very stiff today. I think its from my bike ride on Sunday. Hopefully todays spinning class will sort me out.

Right! I am now ready to face the day!!! *bounce*

Today was a big toss up as to weather I would write something or not, but I kind of feel that I HAVE to write something or the day just won't be complete :)

I am having the most hecticly busy week at work (and its only Tuesday) *sigh* We are one team member down and the work keeps piling up at an alarmingly rapid rate. The worst is is that I have been left in charge (my team leader is on holiday) so I have to be extra good. So I'm using my lunch hour to do this :) see, i'm not being totally bad now!

I didn't get to gym this morning, I had such a horrible day yesterday at work that I needed to have a bit of a sleep in this morning. I am VERY tired right now. But tomorrow its back to spinning class :) I can't wait. As tired and stressed out as I am, I find that going to gym really helps me cope. I do find myself getting a little bit more tired in the late afternoon on gym days, but all in all I am much happier.

Food wise I don't really have much to talk about. Still plodding along. Haven't had any really bad moments as yet :) Hopefully this week will end well on the weigh-in front AND hopefully on the work front too.

I have been drinking so much water today, I just can't get enough. I think its so that I have an excuse to get up fairly often a) to go to the water cooler and b) to go to the toilet :) hehe

Anyhoo, must get back to it!

I can’t believe its Monday again! Another week! BUT another week closer to my trip to Aus!!!! *grin* 16 more sleeps till I leave!!!!

I had a pretty bad weekend as far as eating goes, but I won’t harp on that. As I said, it’s a new week and I’ve woken up today in a very positive frame of mind, I’ve already drunk 1 x 750ml bottle of water and its only 7h20am!!! Okay, I was sweating like a pig at gym but still!!!

Yesterday I went for a 55km bike ride. It was really awesome. I went with my brother and another guy we sometimes cycle with. This other guy is very fit and I really push myself when he is cycling with us. Its great!!! The only problem with cycling though is that I am absolutely ravenous afterwards and I am like a human vacuum cleaner!!! So all the good I have done on the bike ride is cancelled out. Oh well J I’m sure I’ll have really nice legs soon.

I came in to work this morning and my inbox is overflowing with work so I’d better get to it… *deep breath*

HAPPY MONDAY to you all!!!!!!!!

It’s FINALLY Friday!! This has felt like one of the longest weeks ever!

So, today being Friday and all, just happens to be my weigh-in day!!! I lost

-0.8kg (800grams) which isn’t fantastic BUT it isn’t bad either.

It was very strange this morning. I woke up VERY early and had a real stress about getting weighed. I actually slept very badly because I knew that today was D-day! It has never happened to me before but I think its because I am now doing this in public and you all get to see if I’ve lost or gained and for someone who NEVER before told anyone my weight, it seems to have effected me more than I thought it would.

Also, if I’m very honest with myself I have to admit that I really didn’t try hard enough last week. I gave into emotional eating way too easily and let my stress get the better of me. I know that I could have lost a whole lot more this week if I had just stuck to my guns and made a tiny bit more effort. Giving up on desert and extra helpings is a good start but it is in no way the solution.

Being on the 12 week challenge has also made me that much more aware of how much I want to do this! I really didn’t want to have a gain on the very first week of the challenge, that really would have knocked me back a lot psychologically.

I think that has contributed to all the weigh-in stress too. But thankfully I have a loss, even if it is a small one.

I have to take control of my emotions this week. It is a very stressful time for me at the moment, with having to find a new home as well as work being madly busy!!! I am going to do a proper grocery shop tomorrow morning and I will stock up on fruit and veg and make sure that I won’t run out of anything next week.

I am going to make lots of healthy snacks and will leave my money at home so that I am not tempted to buy cashew nuts etc ;) I really am going to take action this week and be more in control. I can’t have myself stressing so much every time I have to weigh myself. Its crazy.

Anyway, enough about that. I hope you all have a very good weekend and a lucky Friday the 13^th J

Say no to stress!!!!!

So, i've been trying to find a picture of the dress that I saw at the material shop. I haven't been able to find the actual dress but I did find one that was almost similar. I did a few tweaks here and there (like adding my head, making it look very scary, changing the colours to what the dress will hopefully end up looking like, except it will be brighter orange *grin*) and this is the result:

OKAY, you can stop laughing now :) !!!!!

hehe I've never seen my face on such a thin body before... I could get used to that!!!! I think my brother nearly wet himself this morning when I emailed this to him. hehe I really don't look this scary in real life... you are supposed to be looking at the dress anyway!

*later
oops, just ate half a bag of cashew nuts :( bad me!

It’s STILL raining today!!! I went out at lunch time with a colleague and stepped out of my car just to run inside and I got soaked. I’m getting used to this now J I think in future I won’t even dry myself when I get out the shower.. I’ll just get dressed straight away and go to work soaked. Yip, could get used to that. I go cycling in the rain, therefore I can work in the rain…

Hmmmmm okay maybe not.

I’m sure the rain will let up soon. I don’t think the sun has abandoned us just yet.

I had a pretty shitty food choices night last night. My grandmother made her famous sausage pie (unfortunately she thinks we all LOVE it, but only my dad really likes it. The rest of us just pretend.) Anyway, she also brought along some of her famous granny biscuits. Now those I LOVE!!! I ended up having four *blush* I partly hold PMS to blame for this! Actually, it’s all PMS’s fault!!!! EVIL pms!

I heard a very good saying today!

“If your dog is fat, YOU aren’t getting enough exercise.”

I love it J (I’m also glad I have two very normal sized dogs)

So, anyway, that’s about all I have to say for today. Hope yours is dryer than mine!!!

It’s a rainy Monday morning and it’s back to a full week of work. I can do this!!!!

Just have to find the bugger who stole my chair!

This weekend I did really well. I stuck to my no desert, one helping rule but the only thing I didn’t get right all the time was the size of the helping… baby steps!

Yesterday I went with a big group of people on a bike ride. We did 40km in the pouring rain!!! I was soaked! It was one of the nicest bike rides I have ever done! J

I got a phone call on Friday from my land lady telling me that she wants to sell my flat L She offered  it to me to buy, but I really can’t afford it so I guess I have to start looking for something ASAP. It’s such a pity! It is literally 10 min from work, 5 min from gym and 15 min from my family… sigh.

I’ve been doing my extreme arm exercises every day so far and I’m really doing well!!! I’m determined to have sexy arms by Nov!!! I don’t know why but my arms seem to be one of the hardest parts of my body to tone. Anyone else got that problem? The first thing to go usually is my chest area which I really can’t afford to lose ;)

I finally did it! I bit the bullet and bought a scale!!! Yay me J

It’s a smart, shiny digital one. The only thing is that it gives me a different weight to the gym scale. So I figured I’d better use the weight on my scale and start from scratch so to speak. So, L my new weight… is 89.6. Which is a bit more then my previous starting weight but at least I’ll be more in control from now on.

I also joined up with a 12 week challenge that Ali told me about J I’m quite excited about it and am SO ready for the challenge.  

Now, for a more pressing matter! Does anyone out there have a solution to an ant problem? You see, I woke up this morning, got out of bed and as I looked down for my slippers I noticed a black line running across my bedroom. I reached for my glasses and on closer inspection, I saw that I had a troop of bloody ants meandering through my bedroom and going from my window to my cupboard… Heaven knows what they want to do with my clothes but it really does worry me.

I sprayed them with household cleaner (the only thing I could think to use at that time of morning) which seemed to work, but then after my shower I checked on them again and all the “dead” ants that had been on the floor before my shower had vanished! I am convinced that they are all gathering under my bed, getting new recruits and waiting to strike as soon as I am asleep tonight.

Hence my worrying! Can you blame me???

Help!

So, it’s Friday again! Fridays are usually my worst eating days. We always do the Friday night family dinner thing and there are normally 3 courses of food.

Today, however is going to be different. I am going to my brother’s future in-laws tonight. I will NOT have desert, I will have ONE small helping of food and will stay in control!!!

Right! Now I’m ready!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend J STAY IN CONTROL!!!!!

Did I ever tell you how much Marketing People (MP’s) annoy me?? (Apologies to anyone in marketing, I’m not really generalising, just blowing off some steam with our lovely “MP’s” in this office!).

Somehow our MP’s seem to think that they know more than anyone else. Never mind that some of us have been in the industry for around 9 years… but I guess that experience and knowledge don’t count, and I don’t really know how to do my job… bitch bitch moan moan yadda yadda

It’s been one hell of a week so far. You see, I am part of a design team of 3, and the two other designers are still on leave so I am left holding the fort. I have been enjoying it until this week when the whole Marketing Dept came back from holidays. I am now doing the work of 3 of us!!!!

The MP’s know that I am on my own, however EVERYTHING they need is URGENT! for today! And can’t wait!!! *weep*

So what I’ve decided to do is to work on a first come, first serve basis, and what I don’t get done can be done tomorrow and if they don’t like it…. Tough!!! J

*Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* *stamp* *sulk*

Right! Now I feel much better that I’ve got that off my chest! Thanks for listening ;) hehe

I had a bit of an offish day yesterday food wise… I think it was stress related from the shitty day I had, but its no excuse. The chocolate brownie was REALLY good though J (and no, it didn’t really lower my stress levels). It was also my brothers birthday and we went out for a yummy dinner.

At lunch time yesterday I went with my sister-in-law to be to the material shop to look at fabric for the wedding dresses. We are going to be wearing pink and orange J isn’t that kewl!!! Such bright and happy colours! Anyway, we found some really stunning fabric and I had a little bit of time left so we browsed through some dress pattern catalogues. I found the most stunning dress! (I’ll try get a photo of it to show you). The only thing is that it is sleeveless BUT I’ve decided to make that my challenge. I WILL HAVE NICE ARMS BY NOV!!!!! So I started this morning with some mega arm exercises (and sit ups). I am seriously considering consulting a personal trainer once or twice so that hopefully they can point me in the right direction to get the results that I want.

Ali, You mentioned a challenge in your last comment on my site.. I am so keen!!!! Please let me know what you have in mind and if anyone else feels like a challenge?

Lets hope today is smoother then yesterday!

TAKE NO HOSTAGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s overcast and rainy outside but inside I feel all warm and fuzzy and happy.

I had such a great New Years!

I am so chuffed with myself (chuffed = proud).

Let me first put you in the picture as to what my New Year weekend entailed:

Friday night I was invited out to my neighbour for a HUGE dinner, then on Saturday night I went to a Braai (BBQ), at my friends place for New Years Eve,

Sunday I went to lunch at my Aunt and Uncles place to see my cousin and his family who are here from Scotland.

Then on Sunday night I had a friend over for dinner.

Monday I went to ANOTHER BBQ (Braai) at a friend of mine, and finally last night I had my brothers and the almost sister in-law over for dinner!!!

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

Please note:

Being Jewish is somewhat of a problem when it comes to watching ones weight.
There is a syndrome called The Jewish Mother Syndrome, or TJMS (just made that up). What happens is the JM (Jewish Mother), even if it isn’t your own JM, will make MOUNTAINS of food and will keep telling you to eat and eat and eat some more, as if you have been starving for most of your life.

The JM tends to cater for entire populations of small countries and the food is usually DELICIOUS!!!

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

Now, you might be wondering how on earth I can be so happy with myself after this eating marathon weekend!!!!!

WELL!!! I can proudly and honestly say that I didn’t once, at any of these lunches/dinners have ANY desert AND I only had one smallish helping of food!!!

I am usually the first person at the dessert buffet and I often find myself having numerous helpings of food, even if I’m already popping. I did have a few odd snacky things but I am only human!

The only thing I’m pissed off about is that I couldn’t go cycling yesterday or to gym today. You see, I kind of overdid the playing thing on Sunday (with my 5 year old and 3 year old cousins).

I haven’t played like that since I was a kid and I really had fun! I felt 5 again! I was running and jumping and falling and kicking and throwing etc etc etc.. So now, I find myself with a VERY sore back and chest and I can’t even lift anything. Yes, I do seem to be getting old!

I’m sure if I take it easy for the next day or two, I will be as good as new and will be back into the gym thing before I know it!

Thanks to you all for the great New Year wishes and comments J