Spring has sprung and the challenge is done!!

In case no one noticed - and I won't be offended in the least if no one did - this Woman on a Mission was decidedly quiet during August: I gave up blogging!

I decided that for the final month of my year-long challenge I wanted to see how giving things up and taking things on had actually impacted my life, and see if I could do it honestly without having followers to report to: see, you guys keep me honest :-)

Sure, over the 12 months I didn't give up everything on the 'vices' list - dessert stays safe! - and I didn't get around to researching my family tree (though incidentally, I have loaded software to do that on my computer!), but I noticed a number of other things:

1. Some days I just look better without make-up. Except mascara: mascara is gold
2. I no longer watch morning television
3. I am relatively content with my life and meditation will not help me find peace
4. The God of Oven doesn't actually have a problem with tea towels hanging on the door: he helped me make a kick-ass choc-chip sponge a couple of weeks ago! The aforementioned tea towel is a myth invented by Feng Shui extremists
5. Kim Kardashian is an embarrassment to humankind
6. I'm fitter than I give myself credit for: I may not have totally completed the personal training challenge but this winter out of the 10 weeks I had to play netball, I played two games in 6 out of those 10 weeks, plus an hour long walk each Saturday morning, two indoor games a week and incidental exercise when I found the time - booyah!
7. I would be the size of a supermodel if I did the above exercise and actually gave up dessert and chocolate
8. I will have my children christened: hubby and I may not go to Church or really believe that religion is necessary but if my kids go looking for some spiritual guidance in the future, I'd like to give them an 'in' somewhere
9. I already volunteer quite a bit throughout the year and do good deeds when the need arises: I need to be kinder on myself and accept that I am human and sometimes being a little bit selfish is ok
10. The concept of living your life like you did as a kid is good in theory, but there's only so much your now-30 year old body can take....and your dignity
11. Making the usual unusual is harder than it sound

The past year has gone so fast and there has been so many ups, downs and diagonals that I've probably overlooked something-or-other but I think this is a pretty reasonable list.

Most importantly I've learned that life has no opposite. It's also not short: it's the longest thing we will ever do so be spontaneous, live in the moment and give yourself a break: who cares if you choose travelling over buying a home, dropped out of Uni, don't have a million dollars in the bank, if you eat more chocolate than you probably should or if your fashion-style would have you on the worst-dressed list of all time...

If you're comfortable, happy and surrounded by people you love, you have it made.

Mission complete :-)

Still being bested by a fiery crab....

So it turns out that after years of driving experience behind me, acquiring additional concentration and coordination sills, you can still suck at Sonic the Hedgehog.

In my attempt to re-live all things childish over the month I spent part of Sunday morning jumping, spinning and collecting rings through the original Sonic mega drive game (now on the updated PS3 console), which I have owned for the better part of 2 years but haven't really played that much.

I'm pleased to say I can still get though the "Green Hill Zone" without losing a life -by the fourth attempt. Learning to swerve potential roadkill, dodge potholes and crazy-ACT drivers while driving a car does not help dodge fire throwing crabs, jumping pirahna, and psycho 'bosses' on your quest to free the lovely rabbit and teddy-bear looking critters of the Sonic universe.

Still, there's something comforting about the old-school graphics,tinny-sound effects and little blue hedgehog who clearly suffers from ADHD:

In addition to working the Playstation buttons, I also embraced my inner 'tween' and jumped on the Bieber and One Direction bandwagons, watching with other 'Beliebers' as JB entertained the crowds at the Australia's Got Talent grand final and I was impressed with the kids' dance moves and the fact that unlike some more 'seasoned' performers - you listening Ms Spears? - didn't lip synch. 

Hubby wasn't too impressed I made him watch, but I didn't make him watch the follow-up where I searched for early "One Direction" footage from their time on X-Factor, unfamiliar with who they were, aside from the fluffy, squeal-inducing interviews the commercial stations were showing during their last visit here.

I don't know if I'm embracing my inner child too much, but I found them highly entertaining, though admittedly my favourite clip was of them performing a song that was around before many of their fans were even born...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnj_EjE490E

The answer is: alfredo sauce

I've discovered the solution to eating too much pizza: alfredo sauce.

I've really made a conscious effort to improve my eating habits this month, which must be working as I had to convince my father I was still actually eating after he greeted me with "how much weight have you bloody lost?"

But I digress. Everyone knows theres no such thing as too much pizza, which is problematic when you're trying to a) watch your portion sizes, and b) share pizza with four over excited children.

I've recently discovered spinach and feta pizza. Not because I've been living under a rock for the past decade, but because I have coeliacs disease and the pizza franchises are only just starting to discover the wonders of gluten free catering. Sometimes I'll have it with bacon, sometimes prawns, but this weekend I thought I'd go chicken and just for something different thought I'd forgego the usual tomato base and try alfredo.

Worked a treat!

I've also been making an effort to eat more slowly during lunch and dinner which is supposed to help my stomach realise it's full. The problem is I'm also one of those people who eat when they're bored and eating slowly makes me bored so....notice the problem??

I wonder if there's a sauce that'll fix that??

Of diets and daisy chains

I turn 30 in a little over a month and instead of meeting the end of my 20's with trepidation, I'm celebrating by embracing all that it means to be young, and attempting to leave some old habits behind.

Giving-up: Bad eating habits

It's taken me a few days to figure out exactly what I wanted to give up this month, but looking at my 'Vices' list I realised I never really 'gave up' dessert and 'soft-drink' was still hanging out there unchecked so I thought I could combine the two and make this the month I finally give-up all those bad eating habits I've picked up over the years.

What habits are those you may ask?

Well, let's start with the fact I can generally finish any size meal in less that ten minutes. Yep, whether it's a small salad, a king size meal from the local cafe or even a home-cooked curry, chances are my plate will be empty in 10-15 minutes. It's something I've only started to become conscious of since I've started going to business dinners. I justified it early on by telling myself that "of course I eat faster than the other attendees because they're the ones doing all of the talking" but slowly I've realised that no, I just eat fast.

I don't eat so fast that I get indigestion, but I'm still the one twiddling their thumbs at the table while others continue devouring their delicacies.

Then, there's portion size. It's not uncommon for me to cook something at home to the specifications of a recipe designed to serve 4 people, and for hubby and I to eat it all. True, he eats more of the dish than I do, but I think the time has come for me to either learn how to adjust recipes, or learn to love leftovers.

I also eat far too much sugar, have butter or margarine on breads and will usually reach for a bikkie or chocolate instead of fruit for my 3pm sugar hit.

So for the next four weeks I'm going to:

1) Take at least 20 minutes to eat my lunch & dinner

2) Stick to recommended portion sizes

3) Limit my 'desserts' (ice-cream, cake, biscuits and chocolate) to three serves per week

4) Throw out the butter and marg

5) Eat 3 serves of fruit per day

As it is now the 4th of July, I've already used my dessert quote for the week - eek!

Taking-up: Being a kid

Remember when you were little and you'd walk through a crowded shopping centre practicing your arabesques without  care in the world? or how you'd practice your bowling technique in full view of the Friday night raffle patrons?

No? Just me and my brother then.

Kids really do have it good. Some people spend so much time wanting to grow up they don't fully appreciate the care free nature of childhood. I mean, surely I'm not the only one who gets jealous when they see kids running butt-naked under a sprinkler or wearing  Cinderella costume to do the groceries.

I am? Really?

My mission this month is to re-embrace childhood, whether that be through throwing handstands against a wall, or learning something I never got to do as a kid.

I think I'll draw the line at the sprinkler though.....

Not that I'd go back to a brick, but I could survive

This has been one of the more boring months of challenges I've undertaken, mostly because it didn't give me too many insightful things to comment and reflect on. Sure I couldn't use "Sound Hound" when I got a tune stuck in my head and I couldn't figure it out, I had to rely on the street directory to get around unfamiliar parts of town and I had to wait patiently for hubby to make his way out of work instead of flicking through the news headlines but at the end of the day going without a "smart" phone really didn't impact greatly on my life.

And as for a "Photo a Day" I really wanted to try taking a different a photo a day but life just got in the way so I relied on existing piccies I'd taken instead. It was interesting going through a list compiled by a total stranger and discovering what I had actually taken photos of over time. The final examples are below.

Day 18 - Something we don't know about you.

Even though I own them on DVD, I will watch any of the 'Lethal Weapon' or 'Die Hard' 

movies if they're on television

Day 19 - Imperfect

Marriage isn't about finding that perfect person, it's about loving an imperfect

person perfectly

Day 20 - Favourite Photo You've Ever Taken

Paris 2006, trying to work out what all the functions of my new camera did

Day 21 - Where you slept

Well I don't sleep here, but hubby has been known to take a nap on our hard, concrete

floor and I simply don't know how he does it

Day 22 - From a high angle

I've started to get into candles

Day 23 - Movement

Here comes the bride...walking down the aisle on my Daddy's arm

Day 24 - On your mind

I'm not worried about turning 30, rather how I'm going to celebrate

Day 25 - Something cute

Two of my nieces, Allyra & Chelsey

Day 26 - Where you shop

Far too convenient for my liking sometimes

Day 27 - Bathroom

The cleanest section I could find

Day 28 - On the shelf

The gluten-free pasta front and centre

Day 29 - Soft

Something appreciated after days of blowing your runny nose

Day 30 - A friend

I couldn't pick just one, so decided to show many!!

Photographic fail

So it turns out my life isn't exciting enough to warrant taking a photo day...or is it that I'm simply too busy to stop and smell the photographic roses??

I think it's 3/4 cup of column A and 1/4 cup of column B.

Still, pathetic as they are, my recent efforts are below

Day 7 - Drink

I wasn't drinking anything exciting this day so my niece's sippy cup did the trick :-)

Day 8 - Six O'Clock

So remembering to actually take a photo at 6 o'clock was problematic, so instead I took a shot of the one thing that permanently show's 6 o'clock: my damn alarm!

Day 9 - Your view today

No matter where I looked on Saturday, the view that greeted me was my beautiful niece Marli sneaking chippies :-)

Day 10 - The best bit of your weekend

 I had an issue with this day's assignment, because what if the best part of my weekend happened on the Saturday instead of the Sunday?? I didn't take a photo out of principal

Day 11 - Door

My messy bedroom door where my evening dresses - including a bridesmaid dress from my own wedding! - hang in the out of the way

Day 12 - From a low angle

As my husband, mother and best friend could tell you, I have a thing for shoes, and these are my newest acquisitions: pearl Tony Bianco's with diamante bows!

Day 13 - Art

The 'masterpiece' that hangs in our living room, procured from my cousin-in-law

Day 14 - Time

I can't go anywhere without this little baby

Day 15 - Yellow

The coconut cup that adorns my kitchen, left over from my father's surprise 50th luau

Day 16 - Out and About

Yeah, I play netball on Saturdays and it's a bit hard to take a photo of myself while I'm playing so I'll leave this up to your imagination

Day 17 - In your bag

Ummm this doesn't look great does it? A purse, make-up purse, a slither of a hair brush, ankle stockings, shopping bag and - sadly - a box of Voltaren!

5 things you can't do without a smart phone

1. Be mesmerised by the rain images on the BoM radar: while driving through the middle of a downpour
2. Enter your footy tips just before cut-off time when you're out of the house
3. Find out the ACTUAL lyrics to the J-Lo song on the radio so you can stop singing your husband's version (in case you're wondering she doesn't sing "...find a man and squeeze his balls...")
4. Find the closest loo to your current location - the F3 freeway - when you're busting for a pee and it's bucketing down with rain
5. Take your required "Photo a Day" when you forget your camera

Six snazzy snaphots

Day 1 - Morning 
From my office window

Day 2 - Empty 
Gotta love a glass of bubbly!

Day 3 - On your plate 
In the metaphoric sense: I didn't eat anything exciting!

Day 4 - Close up
Flowers seemed a bit cliche but it was the best I could do

Day 5 - Sign 
This sign sits on my desk at work - is it wrong my boss thinks it's appropriate?

Day 6 - Hat
You shouldn't be surprised that I have a fancy dress cupboard at work for just such a photo op!

Like phones and photographs, these are the next 30 days of my life

So I made it through a month of no gossip mags by using knitting to entertain myself and have discovered two things:

1) I've no idea why I cherish knowing about celebrities lives, I think I just like knowing there's someone out there far, far crazier than me
2) My mother lied...I'm not a total failure when it comes to creative pursuits.

This month I've decided to take the "smart" out of "smart phone" and go back to using it for essentially what it is: a phone to call and talk to the people I love / miss / need to yell at.

To make it a teensy bit more tricky, I've decided to take on the "Photo A Day" challenge which will rely on me remembering to have my handy camera at the ready.

Giving-up: Texting / Smart Phone applications
Yep, you heard correctly, unless it's work and/or sporting related (not that it matters since I'm the coach of a team whose game got washed out on Saturday and I had no-one's numbers to tell them it was off!) I shall avoid using text messages to communicate with my nearest and dearest.

Not only that, I've also decided to give up all those other applications that apparently make my phone "smart:" calendar, camera, news feeds, email, Facebook, music player, C25K app...the list goes on.

I spent part of yesterday preparing myself for this one, digging out my old iPod shuffle and updating the music list so that when I go for my exercise session tomorrow I take it and not my phone. This also means I'm going to have to use my own willpower to actually jog for some part of said session, instead of relying on the faithful 'beep' C25K gives me remidning me to get my butt in gear.

The only thing I'm not sure on giving up completely is the alarm function: I don't trust hubby to keep his alarm set to the time I need, and yes I could go out a buy a cheapo alarm clock but I simply don't trust them either.... perhaps I should take up "trusting" next month??

Taking-up: A Photo a Day
This is a concept that has been doing the rounds of my Facebook friends for the last 12  months or so now and there has been some pretty remarkable piccies taken it must be said, so I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and document the next 30 days of my life photographically.

Courtesy of one Emunchkin, I don't have to look for inspiration myself as I will be following this handy guide below and uploading my efforts so far each Wednesday: feel free to join in and compare!

A good 36 inches...

Four weeks down and I made it to 36 inches!! I'm so proud of that effort, and yes admittedly bits of it are a bit holey, but considering my track record with all things sewing-related I'm stoked.

I'm going to keep knitting for another week though...so I can get my Grandma to show me how to finish it :-)

Always a learner.

Who's Rachel and why do I care that she weighs 36kg??

During my month long hiatus from the world of gossip mags, I have taken to staring at magazine covers mulling over what draws me to them in the first place.

The title of today's post - taken from a larger-than-life headline last week - makes this point nicely: who the $%&@ is Rachel?? She's a sickly thin blonde woman toting a baby who hardly looks like she could feed herself let alone some offspring.

Another one worth considering was one I saw today with a sad Nicole Richie declaring "The truth about me and Joel"

Does this headline work?? Because we all know - well, should know - that everything in the article will come from a "reliable source" or a "friend-of-a-friend" and be as far from the truth as humanly possible.

How about the front cover of Who advertising it's their "Body Issue" with 5 scantily clad female celebs splashed across the front. Personally semi-naked women don't do it for me, but I know I have purchased this particular issue multiple times.

WHY??

Two days left to the end of this challenge and I am still asking myself that same question.

Oh well, 48 hours to go to find my answer

One weekend and a ball of wool later

Progress!!

Can we accept their humanity?

Am I the only one who thinks it's ok for celebrities to have boobs, love handles and cellulite?

It's a question I've been pondering myself this week after reading an article from the Sydney Morning Herald online about Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai and the apparent disgust from the general population of India that she hasn't "bothered" to shed her baby weight after the birth of her six-month old daughter. You can find the article here: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/it-is-her-duty-to-look-good-and-fit-bollywood-star-and-former-miss-world-targeted-over-failure-to-lose-postpregnancy-weight-20120517-1ysg1.html

For those who aren't familiar with Ms Rai ("Bride and Prejudice" would be one of the more westernised movies she's been in), she's India's version of Angelina Jolie: stunningly beautiful with a talent to match.

Apparently Ms Rai has a duty to the Indian people to be the epitome of her former Miss World self at all times, and the fact she's preparing to walk the red carpet at the Cannes Film festival bigger than a size zero will bring shame upon the entire country. As one quoted observer noted: "She needs to learn from people like Victoria Beckham who are back to size zero weeks after their delivery."


Excuse me, but what the F$%K?? What is happening in the world when a glowing new mother can't enjoy the first few months of her child's life without worrying about what she looks like?

Is this "our" fault? And by "our" I mean the magazine buying populous who hang on every word published on the glossy pages? Some will argue it's the journalist and paparazzi's fault because they're the ones who seek the stories, but folks if we don't buy it why would they seek it?

I think it's a another chicken/egg scenario.

Sure, when a actor has a movie coming out they need the media to publicise it and go to great lengths to get the most flattering of coverage for them, their film and in come circumstances, their co-stars. But does that mean they lose their right to privacy in their downtime? And if they are out and about getting their piccie taken while getting their morning coffee, why do we care that they look a little bloated, haven't washed their hair, or heaven forbid, have ventured outside without make-up?

And let's not forget the eleventh commandment: though shalt not gain weight

Why can we tell our best friend who's carrying a few extra kilos that they look beautiful regardless, and bitch about Jessica Simpson's double chin at the same time?

And it isn't just aesthetic issues either. Celebs having breakdowns, divorcing, having affairs and throwing temper tantrums often make the front pages of magazines and the entertainment sections and suddenly they're "unprofessional," "total divas," and "vile."

Why can't we accept - happily - that celebrities are going to have bad hair days, lose their cool and gain weight when they eat too much ice-cream?

My first 19 days without Hollywood-related news - and honestly, I'm surprised at how much of it I was reading - has had me questioning about what I find fascinating about the private lives of celebrities in the first place, and I haven't come up with an answer yet.

One thing I do know though, is the next time I see a headline extolling the virtues of the latest celebrity-diet, or asking "why has such-and-such let herself go" I'll brush right on past and not give it another thought.

Afterall, if a beauty such as Aishwarya Rai can accept post-baby fat and still rock a designer frock than bloody oath I'm going to do it one day too.

A perfect 10, then the work begins

My Grandma would be proud!

I finished my "perfect 10" rows of knitting colours and tonight began my scarf creation.

What do you think??

I now understand how women of the elder generation have arthritis in their hands: knitting is bloody hard work! 

Must Google "hand exercises" ahead of tomorrow night's session....

Lured by a bogan bride and a 80kg dress...

This week I had to work on a trade stand at a nation-wide conference for work, liaising with stakeholders, giving away copies of our publications, etc.

Initially I thought this would be a great opportunity to work on my 10 "perfect" coloured knitting lines (which Grandma said I need to do before I move to my actual scarf) but at the last minute left it out of the baggage thinking to myself "Monday is setting up the stand, and Tuesday/Wednesday is working it, so Like I'll have time.."

Wrong

My colleague and I were told to be at the venue for 7am Monday morning as the furniture for our stand would be delivered between 7am and 12pm and we HAD to be there to meet it.

Yeah, our furniture arrived at 4.30pm.

In addition to that, the organisers cut off the power to the booths so I couldn't even do some work remotely which was also a pain in the ass.

To combat some of the boredom, my colleague bypassed a newsagent on her way back from a coffee run and came back with a Woman's Day.

Now we'd been discussing various things we've given up over the years due to dietary conditions (me) or lifestyle changes (her) but I didn't really know how to explain giving up gossip mags to her so chose to ignore it.

I picked at my nail polish, wandered around the different booths, stepped out for some lunch but then saw a photo which broke my control...

The ugliest tiara and wedding dress you have EVER seen.

This idiot of a 25-yr old girl had been planning her "dream wedding" since she was 10 and it involved a 4kg tiara of love hearts, an eight tier castle wedding cake and an 80kg wedding dress.

Yep, you read correctly, her dress weighted 80kg

And judging by the amount of mascara she had on, her eyelashes weighed about 80kg too.

I'm a sucker for all wedding-related things, but especially trashy "my big fat gypsy wedding"-esque weddings so I gave in and read the article, mostly so I could find some hint of a disorder that would explain the marital mess.

So I technically went against my "giving-up" but avoided all entertainment/Hollywood related gossip....

That's not really failing right??

Knitting away the hours....

Ok so it's taken my 6 days to get into this month's challenge, but there's a very good reason for that:

I had to wait for my Grandma to come visit me.

Taking-up: Knitting
People believe that your ability to do certain things is dependent on how well your parents do something. As an example, a number of up and coming rugby league players have fathers who were also successful in the field, musician's children tend to quite excel with music, and we all know about the familial six-degrees-of-separation that happens in Hollywood.

The women in my family are quite creative and crafty. My mother and aunts can sew with the best of them, knit, mosaic, paint, do ceramics, and let's not forget, make their own home-made cheese and yoghurt. They inherited these abilities from my grandmother and their mothers (for my aunties through marriage - they're also particularly handy!)

I've also noticed that my female cousins tend to have some aptitude in some - not all - of the above skills and have employed them at some point during their lives thus far.

I think I was adopted.

I can't sew, I stick more tiles to myself than the design when mosaic-ing, my painting could be outshone by a four year old and I struggle to make consistently decent cakes so it's safe to say cheese is way, way outside my skill level.

I received a 'D' in year 7 Design & Technology when we had to make an apron: I told my parents that clearly my teacher shouldn't be teaching if she thought her work was only worth a 'D' since she did most of it herself.

To prove that I can mix it with the rest of the fam' I've decided to take up knitting this month and after a couple of glasses of wine, sat down with my grandmother - under the dubious glances of my mother, aunty, husband and father - and began to re-learn the basics.

Five hours later over both Friday & Saturday nights, and this is what it resulted in:

Not bad for a first attempt right? My ultimate goal is to knit a full scarf but I'm not allowed to start on the "good wool" until I've mastered 10 rows of the coloured stuff without a mistake....

This could take longer than a month.

Giving-up: Gossip Mags / Entertainment news
I'm slightly ashamed that on any given day I could probably tell people more about what's going on in Hollywood than in my own country. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but I am more inclined to read 'Who", "New Idea" and "Marie Claire" instead of "The Australian" "Financial Review" and "Time."

It's not because of some dream to look like the people on the cover - nothing is worth exercising four hours a day, six days a week and living on lima beans and wheatgrass for - or because I necessarily want their lifestyle (though the thought of a chauffeur does appeal slightly)

I just find the whole concept of Hollywood and life in the public eye fascinating.

How could I cope with my photo being splashed across the pages of magazines with "bulimic" next to it one day and "next-patron of Weight Watchers?" the next? Would I like to see pics of me getting the morning paper / loaf of bread / carton of milk, being the #1 trending topic on Twitter?

So in an effort get more locally-focused - and to save some cash - I'm giving up on buying, reading or looking at anything gossip mag-related.

I'm not including those apparent 'reality' mags - That's Life! and Take 5 - as since my month of entering competitions, I've become quite fond of doing all their puzzles.

Plus, hubby would have withdrawals if there were no puzzle books in the house!

Foody Fitness

Where has April gone??? I can't believe my month of baking and bootcamp is over already.

I can honestly say I'm now in a routine as far as morning exercise goes, so much so that I dri got out of bed at 5.45am today to do a morning workout even though I'm travelling for work.

I can also report that the exercise I have undertaken - both prior and during April - made my first game of netball for the year much less painful than it could've been.

Maybe the trainers from "The Biggest Loser" are on to something with their "exercise is god" mantra??

Cooking wise, I fully appreciate with added feeling how hard it would've been for my mum - and parents more widely - to cook a variety of filling, healthy home made dinners and lunches each and everyday, in a time when not everything came in a jar.

Hugs to you Mum!!

I did reasonably well I think, whipping up a motsa of dips, cakes, sauces, marinades and over two litres of pumpkin soup, but must admit I didn't push my culinary boundaries too far.

It did inspire me to do more from scratch though and may use my unwitting visitors coming this weekend as my guinea pigs, after they teach me my skill for May of course :-)

Watch this space for the details!

When your nipples could cut glass...

Hmm if only I was covered in fur and resembled a Polar Bear - maybe then this blasted cold weather wouldn't make it so incredibly difficult to stay on track with my PT sessions.

You know you agree with me: it's hard to be motivated to go out first thing in the morning and get your exercise on when it feels like the ends of your lady lumps could be used by career criminals to break into jewellery store display cases without leaving a mess.

It also doesn't help when, once the alarm goes off, hubby rolls over sticks his arm out and asks innocently: "cuddles?" Especially when he's body temperature is always at a toasty 37 degrees.

Still, I tried to persevere though admittedly last week I spent more time jogging / power walking than focusing my efforts on targeted PT bits and pieces. So this morning I thought I'd get back in to it , and after a brisk 5 minute walk around the block, wandered out into my front yard with my little purple weights, and bright green toning band ready to wave bye bye to the banana wings.

At this point I should note I have no fence around my house and as many of you know my house is actually a unit so my efforts are being broadcast to anyone else stupid enough to be out in an almost-winters morning at 6am.

I lasted about 15 minutes by the standing still pumping my arms and lunging to the ground wasn't really holding my interest (honestly, does it hold anyone's?) so finished with a jog around the block.

Still wanting to get into the PT habit,  I've decided to actually start using a PT 'game' (for want of a better word) I brought for the PS3 sometime last year. Called "My Fitness Coach Club" it promises to be "THE perfect place to create tailor-made training sessions," and I will have my own personal coach with me every step of the way.

I don't care if it is essentially make-believe, if my coach is some bobby, blonde with pert boobs, no waist and a butt to die for, I may throw the controller through the TV.

Though isn't that what I'm essentially striving for?

Catering for the Masses

Happy Easter everyone!!

In an attempt to truly live up to my "avoiding jars and packets" pledge this Easter, I wanted to make home-made Easter eggs for the seven people we have visiting us this year, and have a bit of a decorating day on Good Friday: hubby nixed that idea immediately.

Instead, I turned my sights to catering for a day-long picnic or 'grazing' session as I like to call it, whipping up some turkish-inspired dips to take along to the park with us, however it seemed sensible to buy the french sticks to cut up to go with them as opposed to trying to bake one myself!

So the Thursday before the troops arrived I had the day off work and spent the better part of four or so hours turning my kitchen into a cooking-inspired construction site as I roasted, grated, sliced, diced and pureed my way through eggplants, carrots & beetroot for the three beautiful looking dips you see below: Beetroot Dip, Baba Ganoush & Carrot Dip

I should also mention 1 actually making the Tahini paste for my Baba Ganoush from scratch too, so there were sesame seeds everywhere at one point.

Not only were the dips a hit with the adults - the kids really just preferred butter on their bits of bread - they've lasted for three days and taste just as good as they did on day one!

I think I may be on to a winner here :-)

Working out from Scratch

This month is all about getting back to basics and starting things from scratch, however neither activity actually appears on my list of vices and experiences: they both came to me during the last month and like most people, when I find out about something new, I'm impatient to try it.

Giving-Up:  Cooking from jars and packets
This is all about embracing my inner Masterchef. I'm never been particularly enamoured with cooking, but over time I've found myself pushing my boundaries and trying things a little bit more: it helps when hubby is a willing guinea pig.

In doing so though, I've always felt a little guilty that when the recipe calls for thinly sliced vegetables, julienne carrots or similar, instead of preparing the vegies myself, I always reach for the frozen already-prepared variety. True, I'm a relatively busy woman who doesn't always have time to prepare things properly, plus frozen vegies are proven to have just as much nutritional value as fresh ones, but there's still that niggling voice in the back of mind that says "you cheated."

So, this month my mission is to abandon the jars of sauces, packets of vegies and cartons of stock when cooking and make them all myself. Yes, it has been mentioned to me I could avoid this all by just having meat and three veg every night but that seems a tad boring.

I started out straight away, making a red wine jus to go with a (admittedly slightly over-cooked) rib eye fillet for Sunday night dinner, the results of which are below: not a bad first go if you ask me!

Taking-Up: Personal Training
Now, I'm not going to be going to a personal trainer, but I've seen so many Facebook posts from friends who are undertaking their own PT sessions that I felt inclined to give it a go, taking inspiration from the circuits I used to do when I DID see a trainer a few years ago.

Plus, I start netball in three weeks and I'm not feeling as fit as I'd like.

I started bright and early Monday morning with the following circuit:

• Brisk 5-minute walk around the block to warm up
• 60 jumps with a skipping rope
• 10 standing push-ups
• 10 lunges per leg
• 30 arm pumps with weights per arm
• 10 sit ups

I did four lots of each before finishing with 10 minutes of stretching.

I felt good once I'd finished, ready and willing to start the day though hubby has suggested that next time I skip I do it away from our bedroom window.

I didn't feel so good the next day though!