Week 2 of couch to 5km

Well, next week hails week 2 of the couch to 5km program, so my week will look like this:

Mon: am - 1/2 hour (5 mins warm up/ 5 mins cool down) 20 mins: 90sec jog / 2 min walk - walk puppy after
Mon: eve: Indoor netball.. What the hell was I thinking when I said yes to this? It's been 30 damn years....omigod... say bye bye knees
Tues: TT workout am / pm: ride horse
Wed: Couch to 5km walk puppy after
Thurs: TT workout / eve: PNAU at UniBar! maybe I should grow up
Fri: day off work : oh yay oh yippee.... couch to 5km / then maybe ride pony...go have facial... aaah. bliss
Sat: TT workout / ride pony
Sun: off / ride pony / walk puppy

When only the best will do...

for your hound ;-)
Currently, Miss Jemima gets around wearing this:


However, she is of the 'hound' variety that means her head is a little smaller than her neck - and she can easily slip out of a collar...so, I found these:



which she shall have in purple & gold.

This is what happens when you don't have 'real' kids to dress ;-)

..and the wind doth howleth...

Boy... was it howling a gale down the beach this morning. AND I met my friend to re-resume our weekly beach workout sessions. Well, we trudged in the dark thinking we would go mid way and do stairs/hills & boxing / soft sand - however, as we were walking..and it was dark... we noticed that the tide had created a channel separating us from the other half of the beach..the one with the stairs... and I thought, doing wooden stairs in the dark is probably not the greatest ideas anyhow..
Geez, I'm going to make a GREAT personal trainer! LOL.

So, we dug a hole in the sanddunes for the boxing gloves & focus mitts so they wouldn't blow away - and then attempted to do some jogging /running/sprinting circuits.
We decided, in the interests of our eyes, that it might be best to head back to the kiddy playground on the grass and resume our workout there - where we did stepups, sprints, tricep dips & boxing circuits.

I am looking forward to working out in daylight next week....
but not looking forward to riding in the dark - even though we have 'lights' shining on to the arena, it still creates the worst shadows in which MONSTERS and DEMONS lurk - according to my horse anyhow.. and apparently they have big TEEEEETH!

New TT for abs home workout

Here's another one for you Kristy:

============================
New Youtube Ab Workout Video
============================


It's an ab circuit that you can do at home, and is one of the ab
workouts from Craig Ballantyne's latest program, TT for Amazing Lower Abs - which you can get if you buy TT prior to end April!.

Here's the video:
=> http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=V7CpT-PIKMw

Is this a good deal or what?

This little baby for $295:

Wk 1/Day 2 - Couch to 5km / Turbulence Training B

Well, today was Day 2 of the Couch to 5km program, just the same as the other day, and will be the same again on Friday. Thank god it's only 3 days a week. This morning just the thought of trudging around the same area in the dark just failed to excite me.. still, I did it. Pushed myself a bit harder, and thought I was almost likely to puke at the top of one of the hills :-p Yeah!



Yesterday I did Workout B - which again is followed by 20 minutes of intervals.



Kristy - With Turbulence Training there are a HEAP of workouts that you can use - there are some with equipment, and loads of just bodyweight workouts. Definitely worth a look, but I can't say I'm any type of expert on it, so here are some links & info for you:

Fat Burning Bodyweight Circuit Exercises By line:
By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MSURL: Turbulence Training for fat loss

Turbulence Training for Fat Loss
When you travel, you worry about missing your workouts and eating poorly...So you must plan ahead for both (apples and almonds for planes, trains, & automobiles)...and bodyweight circuits for "no-equipment fat burning".
And while I have bodyweight exercises that are just as hard as the bench press and barbell squat in one of my bodyweight workouts, today we'll focus on replacing intervals with bodyweight circuits.
To do a bodyweight circuit...
a) Pick 3 lower body exercises
b) Pick 3 upper body exercises
c) Alternate between a lower and upper body exercise without rest, till you are done all 6 exercises
d) Rest a minute.
e) Repeat 2-3 more times until you are done 20 minutes

For example, this is a great circuit that doesn't need any equipment
1) Prisoner Squat (12 repetitions)
2) Elevated Pushups (8 reps per side)
3) Single-Leg Deadlift (10 reps per side)
4) Close-grip Pushups (As many reps as possible)
5) Jumping Jacks (30-60 reps)
6) Cross-Body Mountain Climber (12 reps per side)

Whew. That's pretty advanced...for a beginner, we'd slow it down like this and take some breaks between exercises...
1) Wall Squat (8 reps)
2) Kneeling Elevated Pushup (5 reps per side)
3) Lying 1-leg Hip Extension (8 reps per side)
4) Plank (30 second hold)
5) Jumping Jacks (5-10 reps)
6) Side Plank (15 second hold per side)

Safe travels, and of course, always check with your doctor before beginning a fat burning bodyweight circuit exercise program.

About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

Day 1 - Couch to 5km

Well, today is the first day of my new program, which not only incorporates turbulence training, but three days a week of the couch to 5km program.
I hate jogging with a passion - well, anything that is just slow and repetitive kind of bores me - so this will be quite a challenge. My only jogging is really on the beach, and then it's only used as a warmup to get me in the right state of preparedness for my sprints!

So, I headed out at 6am in the dark to trudge around my neighbourhood - you never really truly realise the hillyness of the area until you go out walking or running in it. Anyhow, suffice to say, my 60sec on/90sec off involved a lot of hills in the 'on' stage! Still, onwards and UPWARDS! Of course, the bit getting home is the worst stretch of upwards..
then I took the baby girl for her walk/bounce - oooh, look, there's a moth.

and Jemima at 5months

and

I finally got the photos off the phone!!

Well, finally, after a few unsuccessful attempts on our Mac (running OSX) and seemingly freezing the thing at each attempt... I managed to download all my images FINALLY off of my phone..all 50MB of them... onto my work laptop (a horrible PC)

But... anyhow..

here's Diamante, our diamond python from last weekend:

Day 1 of Fitcom Xpo!

Yesterday there was an all-day event called FitcomXpo and if you don't know about it you can find out more by going here: http://www.fitcomxpo.com/index.cfm?affID=carolinewm

Anyways, the event featured the best fitness info in a long time from all walks of life in the fitness industry.I'm talking Alwyn Cosgrove, Pat Rigsby, Pete Siegel who works with pro athletes on their mindset, and that was just 3 of the 39 presentations from yesterday...The best thing is...I still have 2 more days of this to go! Don't make the mistake of being left out!FitcomXpo...http://www.fitcomxpo.com/index.cfm?affID=carolinewm

Hocus Pocus, it's time to reFOCUS!

Aaah, yes, you can see why I'm not a poet.

With work being so darned busy and not a moment's breathing space lately, it's been really hard to maintain a focus on the things that are important to me... ie, my personal goals.

Where everyone else seems to lose weight when they get stressed, I tend to get a little 'stress' belly. This little puffy pouch that sits in front. Mmmm. nice. not.

So, in the interests of my sanity and body, I am going to refocus. Get back on track and kick my butt back into gear to ensure everything that passes my lips is what I had intended for that day. No hidden extras. Workouts will step up a notch (glute allowing) and nothing will get in my way.

I am planning out my next four weeks of exercise & diet - I might incorporate the Turbulence Training workouts into my routines now. I had the whole thing printed out, but loaned to my sister...who isn't speaking to me right now because I am so selfish with my 'spare' time.. What spare time, I ask? But I digress.

Watch this space!

The crisp mornings of Autumn

Wow, the last couple of mornings have been cool and crisp... a distinct feel of autumn in the air - and those beautiful clear warm days that accompany it. Lovely :-)

This morning as I lurched out of bed at 5.45 - I noticed my left glute was incredibly sore again...so god only knows what I have done to it - probably just returning to sitting all day at work again after a nice long weekend when it almost felt right again. Damn.

Still, I figured nothing a nice warmup jog & sprint session down the beach wouldn't fix.
Wrong.
But, I headed down, the moon was nice and bright, the tide was out (lush, firm sand!), so I had moonlight to see by, and firm sand (ie no 'Caroline traps' dug into the sand) to walk, jog and sprint on. All felt well in the glute & breathing departments... until I got home.
When I got out of the car again the muscle just felt so seized up.
Warm shower, massage and two nurofen later... all feels sort of okay.

aaah, easter...

How nice was it to have an extra long weekend? still, they seem to flash by as quickly as two days!!!

I didn't overindulge over the weekend, so was pleased with myself for at least avoiding too many treats.

Managed to ride the pony and get him started back in jumping again. I even sat our 19mth old 'niece' astride him in front of me... her little face lit up! Quite amazing considering he's 16.3hh of horse...no small thing! that's about 5 foot 8 at the wither height!

We found our snake again too - she was out and about in the garden yesterday afternoon as we were entertaining family at our place - we caught sight of her at 3pm wobbling on our new fence posts (they're a bit narrow for her well fed girth), then she went up our new roof (we didn't think she was still with us after the new roof went on) then slithered into the gutter and up the ridgecapping into the roof! So at least we know the diamond python (diamante) is still with us after all these years. We first found evidence of her in 1994 in our roof.... her discarded skin.

Then, this morning, went into the bathroom for my shower and there was a big damn gecko on the floor... have I moved into a reptile habitat? It would appear so.

I .... can't......brea..th..e..........

Ha! so my fitness isn't quite what it used to be... so what do I, in my infinite wisdom decide this morning to do? Aaah, ye olde hill runs.... I won't even pretend to call them hill sprints.

Now, I do have to admit that the hill I decided on this morning is a killer it's got a really high gradient... so I jogged up that a couple of times... before downgrading my expectations!
Then around the corner (I live quite high up), is a slightly longer, lower gradient hill... I then ran that a few times too. No... I never made the sprint, but... one must start somewhere - and that second hill was a good place. I might go back there next week and try and speed things up a little.

I then came home, took my girl for her walk, fed her (this morning was sardines & her hills science diet for LARGE puppies!), then attempted to do abs.... whilst having sardiney licks, paws on the stomach..she even sat on my stomach at one point...

ooooooh the pain....

now, the beach can be a fantastic place to workout. In particular, it offers you all sorts of surface and resistance levels, so you can do a great varied workout.

However the tide is what dictates your workout...

This morning, the tide was in. So.. my only option, was soft soft dry sand to run on. Boy, I am nowhere near as fit as I was a year ago.
Add to that, doing this on the back of my leg workout yesterday made for a bit of hard work.

AND it was still dark by the time I finished my workout.

I love daylight saving, I love being able to ride at night without the aid of artificial lights.
But... at this time of year, I hate running on the beach, a lone solitary figure, in the dark... especially when some damn kids have left great big 'Caroline' traps in the sand.

Stop the bus...

I think I need to get off, have a bex and a quick lie down...

Oh dear. Life is far too busy, stressful and hectic at the moment. What happened to those carefree days of yonder? The ones where I breezed along, not a care in the world. How did I get so busy? Oh, apart from the bit where my manager went on maternity leave with no replacement...
but even my personal life just seems to be racing from one thing to another... desperate attempts at squeezing as much into my weekends and evenings as possible...

As Edina once said.... 'in with anger...out with love'.

At least I managed a kickass session on the beach this morning... thank god for exercise to restore one's sanity

Puppy love.....

I have to say... I am totally unequivocally head over heels in love with my little girl Jemima...(well, not so little given that she today weighed in at 22kg).

All I can say is, thank god I never had children because if I'm this bad about my puppy, I think I would be a total screwball with my kids!!!

glute knots...

My left glute is in absolute agony at the moment.... there I was trying to work out what on earth I could possibly have done to it...when... *PING* ..golden lightbulb moment.... aaaah, that's right, I was trying to brace against my 600kg maniac of a horse on Saturday as he suddenly realised he was no longer foot sore from his abcess and felt FANTASTIC.... Luckily I was sensible enough to be lungeing him on the long rein prior to trying to get on the lunatic. Otherwise I feel I may be in traction rather than just suffering a few knots in the bum.

I'm signing up for this!

For just US$99 you can have access to some of the greatest minds in fitness.....for three months!!
How cool is this? It's a virtual fitness expo on March 25-27, 2008. Presenters include John Berardi, Alwyn Cosgrove, Craig Ballantyne, Jason Ferruggia, Lyle McDonald, and heaps more. Aaaand it's all at your fingertips rather than having to travel anywhere!!!!! Ahem, better value than Filex...



You can download all of the presentation handouts ahead of time, submit questions, and follow along live online or over the phone and registration comes with 3 months of access to ALL of the presentations. So you can see them more than once or pick up ones you missed. There are session tracks for Weight Management, Sports Performance, Nutrition, Mind-Body, Beginners and Students, and many more.

The beach provides stress release...

It's amazing what just being able to go for a run on the beach can do for your mind.
Going to the beach always makes me giggle....which probably sounds silly, it certainly probably sounds silly to anyone who hears me giggling on the beach as I race away from the water before my running shoes get swamped! But... it's all I need to get my brain into a nice space.

So yesterday morning, was my thursday morning partner workout session on the beach. We did lots of sprints, soft sand, boxing, and abs in a bit of a circuit. Was a good 40 minute session.

This morning I was determined to get in another beach session, and I managed to get a 30 minut session in after giving the pup a training walk - had a private lesson for her last night which was fantastic just to cement things in my head about what I should be doing!
So this morning I did a quick warmup walk then jog, then did a circuit of :
hard(ish) sand sprint, walk to soft sand, then jog soft sand, walk back to start of sprint line. So it's a 40metre each length square.
Given my lack of CV fitness at the moment, this was more than enough to get my legs pumping and my heart rate up!

I am currently nursing a strained 'supinator' muscle in my arm (sits next to brachioradialis) and is responsible for supinating your forearm... (ooh, wow, really?! LOL).
So, currently there is no proper boxing for me - just light punches on that arm, but tomorrow I intend to do a nice leg session - just all compound moves - lighter weights, then do some kickboxing.

Stressed & tired...

Being stressed and tired is just no fun at all! Work is just overly hectic with quite a few new projects all piling into one big doozy project which is due for launch in June, and still no replacement for my manager..which leaves..MOI!
c'est la vie.

I've just been working out what sessions I want to attend at this year's FILEX and there appear to be quite a few. Last year at least I could stay at my friend's place which was a mere tram ride away..however, no such luck as they've moved just up the road from us! Which is great, except for when i need somewhere to stay in Sydney LOL.

This morning's workout was back to Legs again - so took pup for her quick walk - our trainer has suggested to ensure she learns to heel and not pull, you just say, okay we're going out for x minutes today. The minute they start to pull, you just stop - when they return to your side, you praise & continue the walk. Sometimes you may only get as far as two lampposts down the road before it's time to turn and go home...but with consistency, you've trained your dog to not pull and walk beside you.
Jemima's version of walking beside me also consists of a few leaps and bounds at my side also... so full of life!
Anyhow, when I got back home, I did swiss ball squats, nice, slow and deep to fire up the joints. Then onto barbell squats, DB lunges (made more difficult as I did have to keep changing directions to avoid a certain pup who just had to be between my lunging legs...!), sumo squats, leg extensions and leg curls.

People never cease to amaze me...

..and not often in a good way either!

Here is the latest doozy:

If you drink beer on its own, ie no food at all to eat with it, then there are no calories, it simply goes through your system as it has nothing to 'cling' to.


This from a fairly intelligent person too!

Can the rain please disappear?

I have to admit, I am completely over the rain. Yes, I know we need it...but, actually, here on the coast...nah, we've had more than enough to last us now until at least another 12 months.

However, they say that it's around for at least another couple of months... this rain has really been more tropical than usual though. Massive downpours - our drainage has had to be redone around the house to cope! Poor husband.

Managed to get down the beach again this morning for a run - I have planned two beach sessions a week - the first one is just a jog along the beach at this stage, then home to do abs. Thursdays of course are with friend and involve sprints and boxing etc.

The sand of course was HORRIBLE. That dreadful soft sucky sand that resembls quicksand. Boy did I feel my lack of CV fitness today. Still, gives me something to gauge just how bad it is and where I need to get back to....!

Puppy of course is gorgeous - and now 20kg.

And finally, back to the beach workout sessions!

This morning marked the return of our weekly burn it on the beach sessions... and surprisingly, we both felt pretty good in our sprint sessions. So next week, we'll lengthen those sprints out a little more....
Jemima wasn't too impressed on being walked in the dark drizzle at 5.30am though...then fed and left behind! Oh, the poor wee pup ;-)
It's getting way too dark again in the mornings... makes me feel as though we are rapidly losing summer, which of course, we are... autumn does start on 1 March after all.

aaah, the great ouch of doms

how I have missed that feeling...
Yesterday I did a really nice session of extra slow tempo squats, lunges and swiss ball curls.
Today I can feel it. Fab.

This morning, after my puppy walk, I concentrated on all core/ab work - Paul Chek stuff using a medicine ball & swiss ball.... and ... the extra resistance of the occasional puppy paw on my chest, head, stomach. I think I even had her attempting to rest her head on my lap while she was chewing on her smelly pigs ear. Nice.

The best thing is I finally completed all of my 20 hours practical training at the gym for my course. So now I just have to tick off the video evaluation & first aid....

Goals on track!

I've been on leave all week, and by tomorrow I will be finished the 20 hours practical part of my course! And..thanks to the rain the other day, I made great inroads into my website also (thanks also to Dreamweaver 8). Peasy.

What hasn't happened much this week is riding the pony...thanks to the wet, but... I've still managed to ride a couple of times so far, so not all bad - especially considering above.

The other thing that hasn't happened which was what I really wanted to get done was our new front garden...which would have involved ordering about 2T of soil and me lugging into place...hmm...thanks to the rain that didn't happen....and now doesn't look quite as high on the priority list as some more remedial work that may have to happen thanks to the rain.... (that word seems to be figuring a little too much lately). It really has been more like tropical downpours and storms than subtropical weather...

Well, off to the beach now with the pup before heading off to the pony to ride...and the gym later this afternoon!

Police & The baby grows up....

Well, what a fabulous extra long weekend I had... it started on Thursday night with a real blast from the past... we went to see Police. Now, I'm not really a great one for revisiting my past - generally what is past is past....and that includes the music I liked. HOWEVER.. I was so surprised and pleased that I went. It was fantastic.. they were fantastic. AND .. I knew all the words ;-)

..and Sting is still hot. :p

Now, on to my baby girl... over this weekend she had her first evening 'alone'. Then the next night, we stayed at friends. Then I took her up to the horse and she met a couple of new dogs (one of which I hate..he's evil...he's the only puppy I have met that his first introduction to me was him growling and launching at me... he truly has a nasty streak..but they persist with him nonetheless).

Anyhow..this is Jemima enjoying her time at the horse (in the dam)

She wasn't even really scared of the horses this time either (however, not sure that's a good thing... she needs to be a little 'respectful' of those hooves..

Then we came home and had to visit a friend's for a backyard bbq - and they insisted Jemima come too. She was on her best behaviour.

This weekend she has really 'matured', and she's maturing into one beautiful girl - her temperament is just outstanding. Even when she was sleeping at our friend's place, their little 16 month old daughter would go over and give her a kiss on the face, which woke Jemima up - and all Jemima did was simply wag her tail and lick in response. So cute.

Some more 'baby' photos:

Pool - 0 / Jemima - 1.

Someone decided it was the new tug toy. And sleeping with Snugglepuppy:

Ho hum

Well, things are back on track with everything at the moment - I got back to the gym to do some practical stuff - 15 hours left... I am taking off a week in a couple of weeks so my goal is to complete my 15 hours in that week, as well as get the front garden finished.

My new goals for this quarter so far are:
By end Feb: have completed my practical component of my course
By mid March: have completed my Senior First Aid & my video assessment
by end March: be fully qualified
by end March: have dropped 4-5 kilos of blubbery stuff that has weasled its way back on to my body via all sorts of ways, not the least of which is not being in a position to exercise as intensely as I could pre staffy & puppy - and due to my stubbornness in reducing my food intake - what can i say, I do enjoy my food (and red wine).\
by end March: have helped my sister and her partner trim themselves down by about 10-15kilos
I will then assess, and set new goals for the second quarter, which will no doubt involve getting my website up and running, and business off the ground on a small one on one basis!


Puppy update for Sue (and yes, when I get these darn photos off my phone properly I'll upload some more!)
Jemima is....
a/ the naughtiest puppy that I have EVER had in my possession
b/ the most beautiful puppy that I have EVER had in my possession
c/ the most expensive puppy that I have EVER had in my possession

...is there a link there?

actually, I can't say she's the most beautiful, although she is a stunner - but all my dogs have been beautiful in their own ways.

This puppy seems to think that she belongs on the lounge...I am sure she's being spoken to 'from above' by the ghost of hounds past...go on, enjoy the lounge, ... be at one with the lounge...you belong there.... it is your birthright.... you are ridgeback, therefore you are lounge hound... you get my drift.

Some background: When dear husband and I first moved in together, we had this lounge that he had bought with his old flatmate when they first when flatting. So, we sort of inherited it, it was a big, comfy, sort of a vortex type lounge that sucked you in and reluctantly allowed you to prise yourself from it's comfort in the end... it looked good, was still pretty new. Then we got Darby..he who was scared witless of thunderstorms, oh...and Suki...she who was just naughty (well, to start anyhow).
I remember leaving them alone, able to access the inside of the house, confined to the back room (or so I thought), but able to go in / out at their pleasure. I left them overnight after dinner and came back in the morning... to discover they'd both gotten in to the lounge, Suki had attempted to eat one of the lounge back rest cushions, and had obviously had great enjoyment in doing some indoor gardening - she felt that the house plants were in the wrong spot and would be best enjoyed more around the lounge room itself. But I digress.
Many thunderstorms later, and the poor lounge (despite much patching up) had been dug at and had all manner of ridgeback terror thrown at it. Darby's fear of storms was such that, he couldn't be left outside, or even indoor with a door open, or he would somehow escape the property and head to the bush. The only way he coped was to be left in the house. No matter how hard we tried to confine him to certain spots, he'd find /break his way into the lounge and start digging his way to China via the lounge. Anyhow, we thought, well, when the old dibster passes we'll splash out and get a new lounge. The old bugger was seriously the oldest ridgeback in history. He lived to 17 years of age. Anyhow, 2 years ago, we bought a new lounge.

Enter Jemima. Now, we are determined that there is a 'no dog on the lounge' policy. She, however, has other ideas. The other night, dear husband decided, in the rain, that he would go and wash his car (saving water) - as Jemima was safely snoozing on her mat in the lounge. I was doing the dishes in the kitchen. After a little while I heard these cute little puppy dreaming noises and popped my head out to 'coo' and 'gaaa' at her... only to find the little (well, now 14kg) puppy nicely snuggled on the lounge.
Now, I must admit, I'm not the hardest touch in the world, but... I just don't want to lose another lounge so soon.. so I had to swallow my giggle and put her sternly on to her mat. I then went out to the verandah to tell the other half about where she was. I came back in to find her BACK on the lounge (eyes firmly squeezed shut). So I removed her yet again.

Well, last night, she was being just a little naughty - usually 5-8pm is 'bewitching' time and all hell breaks loose - she is a total terror, just looking for anything she can pounce on or play with. I'd told her off for trying to get the teatowel yet again and she looked at me and woofed cheekily and raced into the lounge and leapt all over it and then just hunkered herself down as if to say "you won't get me off without a fight", anyhow, I did.... then she leapt back on there again! Just fully of cheekiness. And again, I have to hold back the laughter and be stern because aside from being just a bit naughty it is bloody hilarious - talk about attitude!

Anyhow, after dinner she was just the most divine being - curled up inside my legs with her head on my thigh just staring up at me with those beautiful eyes as I stroked her and told her how nice it was to have her being so lovely just for once...!

Then she was like it again this morning (after a small bout of biteyness)... I could really get used to her being all gorgeous and cuddly.

New Year and New Challenges

Well, it's been a relaxing break - lots of fun, lots of food, alcohol, friends and family, so now it's back into the groove...reassess, get body moving again and get food nicely back on track.
I think it's always important to give yourself a bit of a break - don't go overboard, but just chill out a little so that you can come back with renewed focus - always a good reminder too of some of the food choices that you end up making, how bad they actually make you feel!!!

My exercise intensity is nowhere near where I'd like it to be at present, but... given that I do puppy morning shifts, this is understandable..and I'm doing what I can. Things may be able to normalise and ramp up a little since she is now officially 12 weeks old and three days - and fully vaccinated. Her first walk on the streets near home will be tomorrow morning. That should be interesting to say the least. Will have to pack a couple of cheestiks for crumbly soft treats along the way..

I didn't get to do any of my practical PT stuff over the break, mainly due to the fact that nobody was going in to Fitness First for their fitness evaluations, therefore, nobody to observe. Damnations... will it ever end? so close...but yet so far!!!

I'm back riding my horse again, and I think this year... I've now ridden more times than I did for the whole of last year! Hopefully he can remain injury free... mind you, we're still officially in what's known as a 'red zone' so who knows if or when we can ever leave the property to do any competitions! Still, I'm happy to be back riding again.. feels good.

So I'll be posting some new goals soon.

Merry Christmas

Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and a wonderful, healthy, happy and prosperous new year!

And she grows

Well, we've discovered a great training trick to stop chewing.... metholated spirits. You just wipe the 'illegal' chew things with metholated spirits and just the smell is enough to deter young pup from chewing... and nice juicy meaty little bones... keeps her occupied for ages!

I managed to get to the beach for two runs in a row yesterday and this morning...which has just been divine. We have a routine at the moment, one of us sleeps on the lounge to do the night 'toilet' training - which is done by way of pup sleeping in crate (a very comfortable one) - and she lets us know when it's time to go....then we wake up, take her out , then put her back in crate. It's working a treat. Then at 5.45am the other one gets up to feed her and play with her in her morning session! So far I've been the one doing the 5.45am tag - which has had me trying to workout in amongst playing & feeding... no mean feat. But the last two nights i've had toilet duties - my husband usually goes back to bed when I get up, but... I can't do that... 5.45 is my morning workout time... and I feel so much better for going for a run as opposed to trying to sleep for another hour..

Tomorrow would have been my mum's birthday, so I will go and scatter some rose petals off the point where I scattered half of her ashes. Then I'll go for a quick run after.

Here is my rapidly growing baby.... Jemima.

HELP! my puppy has been replaced by the Jabberwock

...with jaws that snatch!....and razor wire for teeth...
ohmylordylordylooo - those little piercing teeth do hurt - especially when she manages to engulf your ankle with her jaw and chomp. Ouch!
No amount of co-ercing with the puppy Kong, the Tug toy, the teething Kong, the jingly ball could make her see that those toys were far more interesting for her to chew than my ankles!! Oh the fun of puppies!

But god, she's so gorgeous when she's sleepy...hehe. She snuggles in to you making all sorts of cute puppy noises.


Workouts....SUPER EFFICIENT!!!

catchup

My posts here are getting more sporadic as spare time becomes more of a luxury.
Life is more than a little hectic at the moment, between work, trying to fit in some hours doing the practical side of the course (which is going great so far), and now we have our beautiful beautiful little girl, Jemima - all the photos of which are her at 6 weeks. She is now 8 weeks old.
Trying to fit in a very efficient workout in between playing with the little one is interesting.... this morning my shoelaces were her preferred toy out of everything... makes squat jumps etc very difficult. Luckily her on/off switch is quite defined at the moment and she switched off back into sleep mode with 15 minutes left for my workout!!
I've also had some swollen gland, congest throat and now cold lurgy...

Practical time and harbour bridge climb!!

Well, tonight I get to start my practical component of my certificate. FINALLY... hopefully it should knock about 2 or so hours off the 20... small chunks..small chunks...

Tomorrow we're being treated by some suppliers to go on the harbour bridge climb...with the weather that is forecast it should be ..interesting.... never thought of myself as a lightning rod before.. ;-) will have to check out the gym in the hotel the next morning!

A quicky but a goody

Well, had to do a quick blitz on the bike this morning - a good half hour session as I had to drop my car in for service.... so I blitzed through my bike intervals mixed with walking lunges.
My legs are really feeling it!!!
11 more sleeps to puppytime. LOL then there will be many broken sleep nights as we house train!!

Thank god for bike trainers and great leg programs...

Well, it was pouring with rain this morning as I awoke - but I was grateful in the knowledge that I had planned on Leg Workout A this morning, which is a mix of dumbbells, bodyweight and plyometric exercises. Preceded by a 5 minute warmup on the bike, and followed by some heavier resistance cycling and sprints.
My legs were already a little fatigued after doing my beach sprints the morning before, and also kickboxing last night - now, with kickboxing, I stopped doing weight workouts on the mornings of the class as they would generally focus on a lot of muscular endurance stuff during the class. Well, last night, they focussed more on sprints in between fast boxing rounds.... geeeeez.... one day I might pick it right!! I was a tad tired last night, but hopefully it'll have the desired effect on those extra blubbery bits ;-)

Faster than you can say 'blah'it's Monday again

Well, I keep thinking the weeks are flying, but... do the weekends have to go quite so fast? No sooner have you bought the weekend papers, then it's all over and back to work.

We had to go to a car club christmas function yesterday, which of course was a buffet affair... there were also loads of other groups there, but... do people really have to put quite that much food on their plates? Do they ever stop and wonder why they look the way they do? Or should I just stop being so judgemental and think...hmm... potential client.

Now, I just got an email from our ridgeback breeder with some photos...so ... one of these is our little girl... do not ask me which one though!!!

A great Craig Harper post...

..so I had to link it here:

http://craigharper.com.au/2007/11/personal-development-back-to-basics.html

..and another Friday swings into town

These weeks just seem to be completely flying past at the moment... it seems like about 2 days pass in the week then it's Friday again...
Well, my new regime is going well, this morning was bike & bosu workout - amazing how much one can sweat..you don't generally notice it as much (convection method) when you're moving due to the evaporation, but...when you're stationary..whoa! pass me the towel.

Diet is great - about 1600-1700 cals / day.
We're off to the piccies tonight to see Death at a Funeral - so should be fun. Having been to the movies for aaaages.
Will do a full body weights workout tomorrow morning, then we're out for a xmas lunch, and some well needed gardening (and pony preening - I avoided getting his farrier out until he had passed the 2 week good immunity levels on his first vaccination, but of course now, he is way too long and feel the angles in his feet up in his shoulders - imagine running around in awkward shoes and you'll get the picture), but the farrier can't make it until 29 Nov...so no riding until after then -and then we'll probably get our 2nd vaccinations through so that will be a few more days of no riding...
Sunday will be an exercise day of rest - just gardening and painting the house.

Procrastination no more

I finally spoke with someone at Fitness First about doing my practical training with them. So, on 1 December, I shall go in and perhaps make a start!

Outdoor fun & cardio

Well, at least that's what Liz called today's workout!
I figured it was good to schedule this in today as Thursday's are my buddy workout with Ms D.
Imagine this...
two 40-something women sprinting up hills, scrambling up stairs, doing bulgarian split squats off stairs...etc. etc. etc...
My legs know about it now.... they cringed (well, if felt as though they cringed, or maybe it was me?) when faced with the work stairs this morning...

Project 4x4

Okay, have decided to do a short burst hard 4x4 project... ie..lose 4kg in 4 weeks.
That'll be the 4kg that have somehow crept on since returning from Bali, losing our gorgeous girl, going through the dramas of training the new girl - and consequently not getting enough exercise...and also...Afterburn..!
So, reassess my diet cleaned up back into Precision Nutrition with no hidden extras.
Did Liz's Bike intervals workout A this morning... how much can a girl sweat and a girl's heart pound?
All good.

Biggest Loser

Omigod. I actually watched some of this on Friday night - 2 hours? wha?
Now I used to like Kim...but geeez...has she got a complex or something with Jillian being back on the show?
It was highly annoying to see her pouting in her little midriff singlet, saying, you guys are really pissing me off in her annoying little whiny voice...while these poor overweight people are just standing there having to take it...abs n' all.
Empathy? Nah.

Leg Workout A complete....

What a killer....
I'd forgotten how hard burpees are...especially when combined with a killer set of other exercises....sheeeeesh.
Sweat..baby sweat!

Weekend & new puppy...

Well, what a whirlwind weekend.... and I did get my bike sprint intervals done first thing Saturday morning to get my body into gear! Yesterday we chose our ridgeback puppy, a little 5 week old girl, and we'll call her Jemima (means bird of peace). When you are surrounded by about 9 fully grown ridgebacks it's an amazing experience - all just coming for cuddles and love... but god they are HUGE. These ones just seem enormous!!! Will be interesting when we eventually have 2 in the house! LOL> will there be room for us?
So now we have to get ready for being woken during the night by puppy cries, toilet training, no, please don't pull the washing off the line...and they are my shoes, not your toys... aaaah, fun times ahead!!!

Just read my program from Liz - bought a legs program...looks like extreme punishment, so that will be good - just what I need leading up to Xmas.

blink...and then it's Friday..AGAIN

Okay, where are the weeks going? They just seem to be flying past even quicker... and it's not just that I'm getting older, at least I hope not.

The house is empty again of our little soul. Staffy Rescue are going to properly assess her and see what they can do to try and rehabilitate her. She seemed pretty relaxed though - greeted them like old friends as though she had just been away on a nice holiday. It's almost as though she knew - she gave me the biggest arms around neck staffy cuddles yesterday morning as though she knew she was saying goodbye. She jumped up on to the wall and then just put her arms on my shoulders and kissed my tears.

Sometimes you just have to know when things are outside of your control and capability, and we're not dog psychologists.

Back to the drawing board for us - and back to our original plans of ridgeback puppies.... so we have some to inspect who are 4 weeks old on the weekend....

To console myself I went back down the beach and jogged, then did 8x80m sprints... was very tiring!!!

Might do some bike sprints tomorrow...as well as riding the horse - who should now have a great deal of immunity to EI thanks to his injection two weeks ago.

Bittersweet

Weekend was lots of fun - was my birthday so we went out to dinner on Saturday night with friends - great food and company!
We came to the heartbreaking decision that our little dog is potentially dangerous and as such, we can't keep her. She will be happy and lovely with us both - then all of a sudden a cloud comes across her face and she launches aggressively at husband's face. I don't want to get to the stage that this either might happen to a child, or I'm driving husband to hospital to have his face stitched back on. I hope staffy rescue treat her with all the care she deserves, but I honestly feel it's not a situation anyone should be in - she's 98% perfect...just 2% really screwed up by whatever happened in her past by males. With women she's loving and adoring.

I got my bike trainer, it's noisy! I did some sprint intervals yesterday morning, and managed to get to kickboxing last night. Trained legs this morning and will go to the pony tonight to get him back into work AGAIN, after his vaccination break (and then weather..)

My challenge...

Since I am going to have to fit my workouts in around keeping the dog exercised enough and sane...as well as work and riding and..and...and...
This is how my weeks/workouts are going to be planned based on being able to get a good night's sleep:

Monday:
5.50am - get up - cut up cabanossi for bribes & grab dog for her walk or walk & run. Staffies are muscular little beasties that need a good warmup and can't be allowed to overheat either, so all care must be taken!!
6.20am - return home, start playing fetch in between workout - rest = throw kong.
Workout - Legs - Heavy day - which will consist of a combination of:
Swiss ball squats - nice and deep to get joints lubricated.
Barbell squats.
Walking lunges
Romanian deadlift
Deadlift
4 sets of around 8-10 of each exercise with 2 mins rest in between.
Monday afternoon - if I finish work on time - kickboxing

Tuesday:
Pooch walk all the same, then workout:
Chest, Shoulders & Abs
Warmup with pushups
Barbell bench press
Incline dumbbell chest press
barbell military press
barbell upright row
dumbbell lateral raise
Swiss ball crunches
Tuesday afternoon: ride horse... Yay - unless it continues to rain the way it has and it's still too darn wet - these things are always conspiring against me!!

Wednesday:
Pooch walk all the same, then workout:
Intervals - hopefully next week on bike trainer :-) my nice birthday pressie.
Evening: kickboxing - again, based on being able to leave work at 5.05pm at the latest... class starts at 5.30!

Thursday:
Up at 5.15am for pooch walk, then at 6am down beach for partner punishment. Okay, I possibly punish her a little more

These consist of jogs on hard sand (if available) soft sand - more likely, sprints on hard or soft sand as before... kickboxing with kickpad and boxing with focus mitts. Lots of ab work - crunches lifting up to two punches on the kickpad and back down. It's about 50 minutes of hard slog.
Thursday eve: ride

Friday:
Back up at 5.50am (ooh, sleep in!) for walk/jog
then home for intervals - this morning I did plyometrics. Killer. :-)

Saturday:
Back, Biceps & Abs or Kickboxing.
Walk dog, Ride

Sunday:
Rest. Dog training, ride.

I think I like being in control of my workouts. It's great to try something different, but.... I need to lift heavy I think - especially for my east german legs ;-)

So, my challenge for the next four weeks is to really get stuck into my newly designed workout and shed the fat that I have accumulated from afterburn... I already feel better after this first week!!!

My other challenge is to damn well pull my finger out and do my 20 hours practical. I will call Fernwood Woonona tomorrow... I will ... I will.....

Afterburn update

Well, after working through Afterburn - not 100% but probably around 75-80%, I have to say, I would either have to trial it 150% or just accept that it is not suitable for me.

I feel fatter, and my clothes are tighter. So.... this week I have gone back to heavy weights, 4 sets 8-12 reps and guess what? fat's dropping again.

Go figure. Horses for courses I guess. I am currently awaiting a bicycle trainer so that I can hook my bike up and make it stationary so I can do some HIIT after I've walked/jogged the dog. I think for me to make the Afterburn effective I would need to alternate 4 weeks of Afterburn with 4 weeks of heavy training.

cancer & weight link

Watch weight to cut cancer risk: study
People should aim to be as lean as possible without becoming underweight if they want to cut their risk of cancer, a major international study said.
In what it claims is the largest ever investigation into lifestyle and cancer, the World Cancer Research Fund says body fat and obesity are more closely linked to the disease than previously thought.
The study recommends avoiding adult weight gain, steering clear of sugary drinks and alcohol, not eating processed meats like bacon or ham and limiting red meat consumption to cut the risk of cancer.
Report project director Martin Wiseman said the advice was the best possible based on all the scientific research completed to date.
"This report is a real milestone in the fight against cancer because its recommendations represent the most definitive advice on preventing cancer that has ever been available anywhere in the world," Professor Wiseman said.
"These recommendations are not based on one study but are based on 7,000."
A panel analysed 7,000 cancer studies from around the world dating back to the 1960s.
Sir Michael Marmot, who chaired the panel, said people should aim to be as lean as possible within the healthy range.
"This might sound difficult, but this is what the science is telling us more clearly than ever before," he said.
"The fact is that putting on weight can increase your cancer risk, even if you are still within the healthy range.
"So the best advice for cancer prevention is to avoid weight gain, and if you are already overweight then you should aim to lose weight."
People with a Body Mass Index (BMI), a calculation which takes into account height and weight, of between 18.5 and 25, are deemed to be within a healthy weight range.
The study says their risk increases as they head towards the 25 mark, however, and recommends people try to be as close to the lower end as possible.
Two-thirds of cancer cases are not thought to be related to lifestyle.
But the report said there was "convincing" evidence that body fat played a key role in the development of cancers of the colon and breast - some of the most common forms of the disease.
The report also links the kind of food consumed to cancers, especially colorectal ones.
In particular, researchers say people should stop eating processed meats and limit the consumption of red meat to 500g a week.
They also say alcohol should be avoided to cut the risk of cancer, but accept that drinking small amounts could help protect against other diseases.
No more than two drinks a day for a man, and no more than one for a woman were suggested.
Sugary drinks should be avoided because they promote weight gain, and fruit juice consumption should also be reduced, according to the study.
The report also urges breastfeeding to protect against cancer, arguing it may reduce breast cancer in the mother and prevent obesity in the child, although this has not been proven.
Source: AAP

Hectic times

Well, life's been busy busy busy... no time for reading or writing blogs! But this came in my inbox today... and it's worth a post:

Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent...and so very appropriate.
A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints.
We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.
We've added years to life not life to years.
We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space.
We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.
We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less.
We've learned to rush, but not to wait.
We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships.
These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.
These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.
A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...
Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.
Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.
Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Thank god it's Friday

...especially since it's the last Friday I need to be at work for a whole blessed week! Yay.
Still, it means next week will be filled with horseing, playing with the dogue, painting the house, exercising and making bubbly stuff at home...more hubble bubble toil & trouble. I want to make things similar to the Lush bubble bars.... watch this space ;-)

If you hear on the news of any explosions happening in Wollongong, well, maybe it's just me and a bad experiment.

More Equine influenza ranting

Okay, to whoever out there that's listening... this has gone on for more than long enough. People are losing their income, losing their jobs, losing their horses all because the DPI completely bungled the whole handling of this outbreak from the start.

We are not the first country to suffer from EI - but it's the first time we have - so why didn't the powers that be call in overseas assistance in best practice for containment and eradication? Why did they foolishly think that a 'containment' plan by isolation would work in this country?

Did they tell all the ducks, deer, cockatoos etc that hang around picking up scraps of feed from infected snotty nosed horses that they should ensure they disinfect themselves before heading off to the neighbouring properties to do the same, or to swim in the dam where other horses may drink? Possibly not.

Only high value horses and those few that are in the miniscule 'buffer' zones are being vaccinated - well, sorry you d!ckheads but my horse is pretty valuable to me - even though in the eyes of the government he's expendable, along with all the little lives already lost, and the mares that have gone into premature labour only to lose their foals that they have been carrying for 11 months. Oh, and what about the people that have to fork out for all the bute, the decongestant and antibiotic drugs for their horses at around $200 a pop? All because the Government FAILED in its duty of care to ensure adequate procedures were being constantly carried out at the AQIS facility at Eastern Creek!!!

THIS IS CRIMINAL. WAKE UP DPI, WAKE UP GOVERNMENT, THIS WILL BE AN ELECTION ISSUE....

aaah. okay, off my soapbox for now.


Lucky I went kickboxing last night - this could have been much worse ;-)

Gotta love that sweat!

Last night's kickboxing class was really hard. Our instructor, Rosanna Lavelle is fighting on 19 October, and she's a third dan black belt... so I think she's currently in hard training mode... so, consequently are we ! I was literally dripping at the end of the class, so all in all, well worth it!

Got in another Afterburn training session this morning, again only 2 sets, but managed to fit it in after my 20 minute terror/terrier walk.

Shark or dolphin?

Well, I cannot wait until daylight saving kicks in - I wake up in a panic at 5am thinking I've slept in at the moment...only to find I could safely sleep for at least 45 minutes more...

Anyhow, we went down the beach this morning, Tamsin and I - and down the Northern end of the beach I looked out at the waves and just saw this fin cutting the surface and disappearing again. Just one, lone fin.

I am thinking more shark than dolphin. Didn't see any other fins, and ... it didn't really look dolphin fin-ish...

Glad I'm not swimming down there today :-)

Off to kickboxing tonight - it's great resuming some semblance of a normal routine again. I am such a creature of routine and habit - as sound as that sounds, but I absolutely detest having my routine mucked around and not being able to do all that I had planned in a week. Makes for one cranky Caroline!

After feeling dizzy all last week, my left gland has been swollen and that side of my throat kinda scratchy... I'm thinking must be a bit of an ear infection from the cold residue - courtesy of my deviated septum thanks to faceplanting off a horse many moons ago.

blind english referees?

Okay, here is a quick world cup rant.

Firstly...how on earth did England beat Australia in the rugby??? I have this thing against English rugby. They turn it into soccer with an oval ball. Guys, you're meant to run with the ball and score tries... not just rely on one player to boot the ball over the goal posts.

Secondly... well, I knew my beloved All Blacks would choke...just not this soon..and not to FRANCE. FRANCE of all countries...!!! Sacre bleu!
But - at least it's mainly down to the blind ENGLISH referee allowing a forward pass which then became the winning try.
Hmmm.

I hereby renounce my English citizenship.

Um. Go Fiji.

Aaaah sunshine

It never ceases to amaze me how much happier and brighter I always feel when the day dawns and it is bright sunshine & blue blue skies...
but then it hits me that I have to spend the entire day stuck in an office.
Oh well, c'est la vie! Missed a call from Fernwood at Woonona yesterday, but they didn't leave a message so I don't know who to call back.. I hate that. Hopefully they'll call back today and hopefully it will be to say yes, I can do my 20 hrs practical there. Don't want much do I?!

Went for a jog on the beach this morning with the little chunky monkey... actually managed to tire her out, so she didn't need an additional play with the ball afterwards. We just jogged both lengths , so about 1.6 km.

Tomorrow is supposed to be HOT HOT HOT and windy - mmm coupled with bored school kids on holidays tends to = bushfires.

Was going to go to Ikea to get some bits and pieces to make our spare bedroom into a big walk in wardrobe, but..think I might wait until it's not going to be so hot. The last thing I want to do is have to go out West to my horse in the early afternoon when it will be at it's hottest and windiest.

So...my plan is: get up, take the chunky one down the beach for a quick run, come home, do an Afterburn workout, shower, breakfast up to the horse to check wound and temperature & snot free zones.

Enjoy the warmth for the rest of the day.. maybe do some housepainting. Then my sister and her partner are over for barbeque dinner.

Then Sunday I actually need to make some peppermint & lavender foot cream for an order for a lady at work... best get in and do some hubble bubble toil & trouble!! Need to make more soap too in time for Christmas - it takes a month to cure, but it's better if you leave it longer to really get nice and hard, otherwise too fresh and it lasts 5 minutes.

Kickboxing & Beach

Okay, I am officially tired..
I went to kickboxing last night - and it was stifling in there given it got to 35 degrees here yesterday. Luckily we had a nice cool change come through around 8pm, but this morning when I got up at 5.15am it was pretty cool.
Did our beach workout again this morning, similar to last week's but instead of soft sand runs all the time (we only did one) we did lots of hard sand sprints in between our boxing, kickboxing & abwork.
We're out to lunch today for one of the girl's birthdays at work - so off to Vietnamese - at leat we can have a good healthy option for a lunch out!

A new bright & sunny day!!!

Well, woke up this morning literally stumbling out of bed all dizzy.... interesting head spins!
I have emailed the NSW Kennel Council or Dogs NSW whatever they're called now to complain about the unethical behaviour shown by one of their registered breeders. I have written to said breeder complaining that she broke a contract and acted in an unethical abhorrent manner after we had invested so much, personally, financially, and all of our time wasted - let's face it, I don't have a lot of spare time to waste another 12 hours of my weekends on visiting a dog that isn't going to be mine.
Blah.
Anyhow
onwards and upwards.
Rosa is now Tamsin Starburst - yes, it started out as a joke name, but it kinda suits .... and she comes to it...
We are finding out so much about this poor little chunky monkey. I found a tattoo in her ear the other day which according to my vet means that she has been through the RSPCA or another rescue organisation when she was desexed - they do it so that they don't open them up again if they return to them.
She's afraid of men - sometimes.
We went out to dinner with friends on Saturday night, and when I opened the door I heard a 'thud'. As I walked into the house she rounded the corner and saw me - straight away her tail rammed between her legs and her ears went flat back and she made this mewling sound - she had been up on the bench and thought she was going to get belted. Well. Yes. I am a sucker and you can't chastise a dog when it's after the fact, ie she wasn't caught in the act of being on the bench. Not that I would do anything other than make a loud noise. So, of course when I saw/heard the fear in her, I melted into a gooey pile of slush and gave her welcome home cuddles. The last thing I want or need is for her to feel anything other than totally safe and secure in our home. Poor little angel, I feel she must have suffered a few beltings in her time and she's not a bad dog - just a little misunderstood.
There is much work to be done with her, so not having the puppy coming home so soon is probably a godsend for us - we can really focus on training/socialisation with her until she feels totally safe.

But back to this morning - what a hot day we are going to have! 32 degrees, but WINDY. Tamsin and I went for a run down the beach and had a lovely time splashing through the water.
AND I get to go back to kickboxing tonight - which should be HARD work I am sure.

Equine Influenza

warning..rant about to happen.



It's now been 6 weeks since the first outbreak of this EI epidemic. Only now have horses started receiving vaccinations - but who's been getting them? Geez predominantly racehorses, so that racing can go on - the mighty punter will prevail to ensure the government stops losing more money out of gambling coffers...



The information from the DPI is frankly scant and inaccurate - you try and keep as updated as possible, but they don't report the real truths - the amount of horses that are dying from secondary complications, things like colic and pneumonia. Mares are aborting foals, foals are dying. And who has to foot the bill for all of the treatment? the hapless owners. As if we don't have enough vet bills to contend with on a regular basis.



Now I just sit and wait until my horse gets EI which should be..ooh, roughly in the next few weeks given the rapid spread - it's marching southwards, and gee, we just happened to sit in the shire above the buffer zone. Not that the buffer zone is much of a buffer zone - 300 horses near Mittagong - out of how many thousands.. like that's going to stop any spread further South? Doh.

stop lurking..

Unethical behaviour

I rang our ridgeback breeder on Friday to see how 'our' little boy was going and to organise pickup for next weekend. I was abruptly spoken to, and asked 'had I not received her letter?', to which I replied 'no'.. she then informed me that she had bad news, that she had decided to keep the puppy and she had returned our deposit moneys in this letter.
Now, if this is how registered breeders treat people, then they certainly give backyard breeders a better name...
I was so upset. I emailed another breeder who had said she was mating her bitch just around the time we had been offered our pup. This other breeder said she wasn't surprised as the breeder had done the same thing to her 6 years ago, so she said obviously nothing much has changed in that time!!!
I think I'll report her to the kennel council for this - it really is not on - to take a deposit and allow someone to travel 8 hours visiting the puppy in the belief they would be taking this puppy home in 8 weeks is just inexcusable.
Grrrrrrrrr.

Excellent workout this morning

Well, I met up with my weekly workout partner down the beach this morning, and, as planned, took the kickshield, focus mitts & gloves (and a towel). Neither of us are feeling particularly fit c/v wise at the moment due to several factors....and there was no hard sand to speak of, so our workout this morning consisted of:
Warmup walk in soft sand
Jog in soft sand
Punch/focus mitt work
Punch & kick work
Soft sand jog
Ab crunch with two punches, then return
Soft sand jog
Punch & kick work
Soft sand jog
more ab work
more soft sand
then just kickwork with the shield,
finishing off with a soft sand jog.
*yawn*
this was all after I'd taken Ms Rosa for her quick round the blocker
Was a great workout though.

you have to laugh.. or am I just evil?

Now, I have to preface this with... I do not buy New Idea... it just appears free each week on my desk, courtesy of our media agency.
Anyhow... even though I have complete disdain for it, I can't help but look at it... after all, it's good to check out what Guy Leech is rabbiting on about each week to see if there are any pearls of wisdom..
But I digress.
It's pretty funny when you see photos of people that are in the news today, back when they were a lot younger. Then you start to compare the facial changes [doesn't everyone, or am I just a freak?] - and I don't mean the normal ageing facial changes, I mean the under the scalpel facial changes.
Erica Baxter - well, Erica Packer - believe it or not, she once had a nose - I'm not sure you could call what she has now a nose, it's more like a michael jackson pretend stick on thing that really is just nostrils.
Kylie.... whoa...did you know Kylie's eyebrows once used to sit just above her eyes... now she's permanently surprised. I read on the back of the SMH on the weekend that people are likening her to Joan Rivers...

saw this link

on Skwigg's blog...and if you've never read skwigg's blog go and do it right now.. no. NOW.
anyhow, it was a link from her blog which is SO worth borrowing
http://againfaster.squarespace.com/articles/you-are-beautiful.html

Two workouts in a row! Could it be?

Is it that my life is resembling a little more normality? well, I won't get too excited, but it's starting to resume normality... apart from having to go to dog training tonight instead of Kickboxing...but I am going to take my gloves, focus mitts, kick shield down to the beach tomorrow for my beach workout with my friend. That should get us exhausted..!
So I actually managed another Afterburn workout this morning - again 2 sets only, not 3 - if I had gotten up at 5.15am instead I may have been able to fit the extra set in after the dog walk.

It's so nice and warm outside today, it seems such a waste of a day to be stuck in the office today, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do... hopefully the warmth might hang around for the weekend since it's a nice long weekend ahead. Then the following two weekends are long for me as well - since we are picking up baby Keith next weekend, I have taken the week off to help settle them both together, and the following Monday is our work's 'picnic' day - so three long weekends in a row for me... Yay :-)

Reasons why not to go surfing in the middle of the day...

Well, only one reason... husband emailed me yesterday after 'sneaking' out for a morning surf.
Unfortunately he took his old old ancient old mal which weighs about 40kg due to being so old and waterlogged... did I say it was old?
Anyhow... he misjudged a wave and ended up with a broken nose.
Was a little worried about being way out in the middle of a reef with blood pouring out of his nose..
Crazy kid!

Onwards and upwards

Well, last night I went back to the dog training club as the Sports Dog Club was training there and that's where my trainer goes with her dogs. I just wanted to go and have Rosa in a nice stress free environment, no hassle, get her to focus on me, and just get it all happy and nice again. Mission accomplished.

A trainer did ask me if the poodle had been 'broken' I said..No, not a mark or anything on it... she then said my dog was a good dog because her dog would surely have punctured the thing for being so rude and in her dog's face. I felt a bit better after that!

I have been doing so much reading on dog training methods, clicker training, socialisation, aggression etc... my head's spinning, but I feel better equipped now.

We went for a walk this morning and she was excellent. I then managed a full Afterburn workout (just 2 sets through though not 3)...and finished with more attempts at hula hooping.... got a few good ones in then went like a nong again...
The things you took for granted as a kid hey?!

Hula hoops

I forgot to ask... how hard is hula hooping?!?!?!

Yes, I bought a hula hoop the other day as I passed them in K Mart. It has water in it. I swear the water makes it incredibly so much harder.
Either that or I am a complete nong at hula hooping.
The dog isn't sure what to make of it yet either.

Dog training and Poodles with attitude...

Well, dog training on Saturday morning proved to be interesting...and offered more setbacks than solutions.
Rosa proved to happily play with puppies that were around her size - and not fluffy, however, did appear to be growly towards fluffy things that yapped at her. One in particular, was a toy poodle called Mia.
Mia just yapped incessantly and got in Rosa's face.
Time came when we all had to pat each other's dogs and introduce them to each other. Mia yapped in Rosa's face and Rosa snarled and lunged.
Then some wise decision was made by the instructors that now as a good time to go to the offleash area. I kept saying, Rosa is going to eat Mia. Seemed to fall on deaf ears. What would I know? They are the 'experts' after all.
Anyhow, all dogs were off leash and happily introducing themselves. Rosa made the mistake of introducing herself to an onleash dog who was being re-socialised. All was fine, then she must have pushed the boundaries of his comfort and he lunged/barked/growled towards her. Being a staffy, she won't back down from a fight - she didn't do anything, just lots of awful noise and snarly looks. We pulled her away, and then Mia got in her face. She pinned Mia down by the throat. Hmmmm. No damage. Only to Rosa - who was bleeding from the chin.
The trainer said, Oh, she's just got her in the classic trying to get her submissive pose. By this stage I was feeling very uncomfortable. Then they said, okay everyone off leash again - Mia the poodle was still in her Mum's arms. Rosa hopped up and grabbed Mia down and had her pinned again. Obviously hadn't felt that she had finished making that thing submissive. A toy poodle is no match for a staffy though.
The trainers then had the gall to say, oh , this has never happened before.
Now I have to try and determine what it is about fluffy yappy things that causes her to go nasty, and try and work through that....
I spoke to my dog trainer last night and told her, and she said that she couldn't believe the stupidity of letting first time mature dogs off leash....
doesn't help my issue now though... especially with our puppy coming in two weeks.

..and back to blonde

Well, a trip to the hairdresser last night resulted in me returning to blonde after being brunette for several months. It's perhaps a little 'too' blonde, but ... what the heck. Change is as good as a holiday - and my hair is sooooo short that it'll be gone in a couple of weeks!!
Dinner last night didn't end up being a stir fry... I had dear husband mince up the chicken breasts with the good ole' meat cleaver, and I made up the chilli chicken recipe from Survival of the Fittest - it's basically just chicken breast mince stir fried in the wok with garlic, ginger, then you add in some sweet chilli sauce and fish sauce, and I usually add in a dash of lime as well.
Serve 'san choy bau' style in lettuce leaves and you have a pretty good meal! I did have a dark chocolate lindt ball with my green tea after though, and a glass of red wine...
tssk tssk.

Went down the beach with the little girl again this morning, she's so funny. Really gets fixated on birds and wants to hunt them down. Should be interesting when I get her up to the horse property and see how she goes with all the wild ducks in the dam.... could be funny...or disastrous.

This weekend is set to be another busy one - off to dog training tomorrow morning, hopefully start horse back in work - lungeing only - until he builds up some muscle, take temps to ensure no flu symptoms. Then maybe more house painting..

Planning on getting back to kickboxing next week....I am sure I will die...

Almost a full workout this morning!

Aaah, things are looking up - went for the poochy walk this morning, then recommenced week 5 of Afterburn - got about 2/3 of the workout done in between the throwing of the ball.
Had to forego my Thursday morning beach workout session with my workout partner though - wasn't sure that my lungs would work enough to run that much - and still trying to get rid of this cough.
Thank god for Codral with pseudoephedrine..

Food today is :
1: 2 cottage cheese pancakes with sugar free maple syrup, nat peanut butter and blueberries
2: Musashi SLM bar - just discovered these whilst in Sydney on my course - and haven't made any of my Precision Nutrition 'poo' bars for a while so these had to suffice!! Will have to make some more of those tonight though.
3: Chicken breast with greek salad
4: Greek yoghurt with blueberries and handful raw nuts
5: Stir fry chicken and veges

Lots of water & 2 cups of green tea.

The Road to Recovery...

Well, I managed to sleep the majority of the night last night - woke up about midnight coughing again and started to stress out as I thought it was going to be yet another night like the last...but then the 2nd nighttime Codral kicked in and stopped me. I didn't wake up until the alarm went off just before 6am... bliss.
My lungs and abs are so sore from all the coughing though! What a workout.

Took the girl down to the beach for a walk this morning, and as we got down to the beach I spotted a loose dog walking with his owner in the distance - next thing I knew he was bolting towards us - I thought, oh well, this will be an interesting test. She just stood there watching, whilst i just said, good girl (feeble..I know)... then they happily said hello to each other - luckily he was a german shorthaired pointer - all wagging tail and not much going on up top... so it was a good experience for her, so she got a nice treat for being so good.
Onwards and upwards.
She seriously loves the beach though.
My husband calls her piglet, because she looks and sounds like one (cute). I think she looks more like Yoda...
But we are loving having a dog that sleeps through thunder and fireworks... our house still bears the scars of Suki's scratching at doors. I guess we can hopefully fix those now - unless Keith comes with phobias...hopefully not.
Off to see pony tonight - we are now in a 10km radius of EI - which isn't good. This thing has just spread like wildfire, and doesn't show any real signs of abating as yet. So far my horse's temp has remained normal, no spikes, so fingers crossed we may be okay..but I somehow doubt it.

Lurgy No. 5

Okay, I am really over all of this illness that I have so far succumbed to this 'season'. I spent all night last night attempting to cough my lungs up (or whatever's left of them now after all these flu and cold viruses).

Still, having time to contemplate life and the universe it has given me much needed time to reflect on having completely lost focus with where I was headed business wise prior to going on holiday - which then ended up in a whirlwind of emotion following the loss of Suki, horse injury no. 5, etc..
So, now that we have young Rosa (or Tamsin Starburst as I prefer to call her) getting settled in, she's going to be attempting agility training come next Monday night - that should be fun - wonder who'll have more fun? me or her?!And then in a couple of weeks we'll have the young rambunctious Ridgeback, Keith coming along - hopefully they will get on okay - it's time to be able to refocus a little back on moi. So, as soon as my lurgy has finished I need to get back into my workouts which have been too easy in the past two weeks - not enough focus on kickboxing or weights, then I can call a couple of gyms to see where / when I can complete my 20 hours practical component.
Oh...when I was up with my horse the other day, one of the other ladies who has a horse on agistment has just signed up for 10 weeks with the Commando....http://www.commandosteve.com/ - $900 . I asked if she'd watched the Biggest Loser and she said No... I just said I hope you enjoy punishment..! I shall report her progress.

Full on day!

Well, it was up at 4.45am this morning to take little pooch for walk - had to be in Sydney for an 8.15am start at a two day presentation skills workshop.
Definitely not for the fainthearted this workshop, but excellent to get tools to enable you to feel a lot more confident about presenting in front of groups.
One of the things I would like to do when building my PT business would be to give talks to groups of business women at networking functions - hence my enthusiasm to do this course... Generally I would prefer to have teeth pulled then present in front of a group. But I am not alone!
Said Pooch decided that the 800g lump of chicken breast that was defrosting on the bench was far too tempting to just leave be...
She is now sleeping off her excesses ;-)
You just have to laugh and hope that they don't eat far too much for their poor little stomachs!!! Yes, I am totally in love with this little girl.

It's almost like the before & after shots...

Someone had her first experience of the beach this morning. She bristled at the sight of a charred piece of wood as she wasn't quite sure what it was - but she figured she better get her hackles up and stay well clear just in case... until I walked over to it and patted it, then she realised it was okay.

The sand was fun - but the water was scary!

Here she is enjoying the sun - the heater's not on, just holding her up.

It's Monday and I'm exhausted....

Well, I think we packed as much as we possibly could into our weekend. First up was a night with friends on Friday night, and we stayed overnight and headed out from there to go and visit young Keith, who is now 4 weeks old and mobile, gorgeous and growing rapidly.

Then we went over to Staffy Rescue and met and picked up Rosa, our new addition to the family.

She had baptism by fire in relation to meeting her 'extended family' ie, our friends who all came over at various times of the weekend to meet her. Some of our close friends decided to bring her a gift of a squeaky Pumba toy. Unfortunately, they forgot it is their daughter's 1st birthday in a week's time... revenge is sweet. She might become 'little drummer girl' }-) - but I digress.

Rosa was described as being an outdoor dog who only came indoors if/when invited... the way she reacts to the indoors you may be forgiven they got that all round the wrong way! Because our friends stayed on the Saturday night, Rosa got to sleep in her basket next to my bed...however, she kept trying to sneak up on the bed during the night (which is a no-no for my husband!!), so we kept telling her to get in her basket.. which she did, and she remained there for a few hours, then tried again! It's hard to be stern when you're giggling because you have this cute staffy snuffling you during the night. Not to mention her snoring. At one stage i thought it was my husband and was thinking about poking him in the ribs, then I realised it was her!!!

Then come Sunday we had more visitors to see Rosa - and last night we attempted to move Rosa's basket to the laundry, so we had more nocturnal visits during the night. But... when I got up she was in her basket, and stayed there until I popped my head in and said hello. Then it was all waggy tails and snufflings.

This morning I took her out for a walk, then we played chasey in the backyard - then I tried to do some of my workout in between more chase the ball.

I have four weeks to get Rosa settled in and some obedience training and socialisation training before we introduce Keith the gorgeous ridgeback puppy to her. (Blame my husband on the Keith thing...) Hopefully it will go well and she won't attempt to eat him....

Myer in Wollongong show a complete lack of wisdom....

Ha! Well, I just went in to Wollongong at lunchtime, thought I'd pop in to the perfume counter at Myer to see if I could try some new perfume. I've been using the same perfume, Fragile by Jean Paul Gaultier for a couple of years now and thought I'd like to 'trial' some others with a view to purchasing my new perfume.
Well, if you want to do that in Myer Wollongong, it's pretty difficult unless you know exactly what perfumes you want to try. Why? They are all behind the counter, so you have to ask the assistant to try each one. How goddamn ridiculous.
Buying perfume is an experience. You have to experience the smells before you know what you want to actually put on your skin - especially when such a huge proportion of them I just don't like! Anyhow, I expressed my indignation and said I'd go elsewhere.
At least in David Jones, you can try what you like at your own leisure. So I purchased my new perfume, Chance by Chanel. Yummo!

Workouts and stuff..

This morning went down to the beach where it just happened to be howling a gale! The beach was littered with a mixture of blue bottles (North Easterly!) and cuttlefish. One that had washed up honestly looked like a hand - until you got a bit closer and realised what it was. Eeuw.

Anyway, we got through our jog and sprint sessions - just in a very wind blown way.

My legs were really fatigued throughout though - probably due to the gruelling sessions I had the previous two days - the workouts in weeks 5-8 are fairly heavy on the legs! Squat jumps with a barbell are not for the faint of heart at all. Last night I also did a kickboxing class, which was equally punishing, just in a different way.

Two more sleeps until we get our staffy. Then the house will feel like a home again. Yes, I'm excited.

What a weekend.

Well, since we are picking up our new addition to the family on Saturday, we had to work double time to get our new fencing & gates built....
I spent Saturday applying timber decking oil to the timber slats, and painting the metal posts (back breaking stuff). It will look fabulous, but is only about half way finished after all that time.

I also decided that I best give the dog kennel (it looks like a mini house complete with bullnosed verandah) a spring clean also - since it hadn't really seen any doggy activity for quite some time - the dogs had moved to sleeping indoors due to having old dog privileges.
What a dusty/cobwebby job that was!! eeeuwww. I had to keep emerging to breathe & sneeze.
Still, all better and cleaned out in readiness for the new children when they eventually want to use it. Just need to go out and buy some new large cushions to fill it with and then it will be snuffle heaven again.

The horse's leg is looking decidedly good and healing nicely... I have a feeling his retirement may not happen just yet ...but let's not speak too soon. Still no flu emerging around our properties. Although there has been an outbreak in Picton, about a 15 minute drive away, so we'll see if the wind carries it over our way or not. Fingers crossed it doesn't. Someone at work foolishly asked me what the big deal was - I said, you've seen the size of a horse's nose haven't you? Can you imagine the size of the snot globs? That stopped 'em! Hehe.

Since my c/v fitness has suffered a little I decided that a good beach workout session was in order this morning. It's lovely having the sun starting to rise at 6ish again - so much more pleasant than darkness! So, I did a light walk, then jog warmup, then just did about 12 x 60 m sprints, and did a longer fast run. Tonight I should be able to go to kickboxing for the first time in a week - can't wait!!

I will start my week 5 Afterburn workout tomorrow morning.
I think when our girl arrives next week will see me heading down the beach with her for my workouts, and I'll just have to reshuffle the Afterburn workouts in amongst those somehow.