Time To Be Challenged!

So - remember my conceptual goal for 2013? To focus on being better, but knowing I won't be perfect? Well, part of that for me was definitely a want to be a better mum and a better wife. Its not that I felt I'm 'bad' at either of those things but rather that I felt I could do more if I felt better physically. I've been quite tired the last few months - and yes, I know I have a 5.5 month old baby who still wakes for a night feed, but its more than that. Its a lethargy that I just can't seem to shake, that hits me around lunchtime and I just feel blah. I thought I might be iron deficient but after blood tests it turns out I'm not. So... I thought on it, and decided a small change in diet and an exercise shake up were in order. And, not two days later, an awesome opportunity fell in my lap...

Two opportunities actually. Firstly, one of the beautiful mums from my Facebook mothers group is a personal trainer, running fitness groups and boot camps in Melbourne. She posted a message on our board saying she was wanting to trial offering an online personal training program, similar in scope to the Michelle Bridges 12WBT , and was hoping some of us other mummies would be her guinea pigs. Cue me raising my hand and jumping on board! So tomorrow I officially start my 12 week program ( which I can't link to because its a closed Facebook group ) and though I am cacking my dacks I'm also a bit excited!

Then, the same week, Bettina over at Little Old Souls had decided she was going to set herself a yoga challenge, based on a book she had been reading, and wondered if anyone would like to join her? Cue my second hand raise! I loved my yoga before my children were born ( so much so I had started saving money so I could pay to train as a yoga instructor ) but my practice fell by the wayside as I headed into the 3rd trimester with Flynn, and I'd never picked it back up. I thought not only would this yoga challenge be a great way to ease myself back into yoga, but it would also be a great compliment to the 12 week fitness challenge aswell. My aim is to do a 20 minute routine 5 days a week, and to build on that as I get better ( or if I have the time up my sleeve ).

So - have I bitten off more than I can chew? Am I being too ambitious? Only the next 12 weeks will tell but I think as long as I focus on doing the best I can and not on being 'perfect' at it, I think I'll do OK!

I Think I Can.... ?

Guess what's coming on Monday?

A New Chapter

A month or two, amidst all posts about my upcoming wedding, i wrote that Mick and I were hoping for a few positive outcomes in regards to some future plans we were laying. We needed a big " yes ".... and i'm happy to say that we got it. That is, we got a big "yes " to a business loan and, from January, we will be the proud new owners of a small business.


We've been amazingly lucky with out opportunity - Mick's current employers had been looking to sell for a while and were having no luck. After a bit of thinking - and knowing that we are a young family looking for a break - they generously proposed that they loan us two-thirds of the cost of buying a part of their business, as long as we could get the rest of the money from the bank. That is, they would lend us their OWN money ( which we will pay back at a reduced rate of compund interest ) because, as they put it, they love Michael like one of their own family, they believe in him, and they wanted to give us an opportunity to provide a better life for our family.

I was gobsmacked at their generosity, and we hoped against hope that we would be able to secure some finance from the bank..... and we did! We are still working out a bit of the logistics but basically, as of January, we will own our own courier business: Mick will be doing pick ups and deliveries to a town about 2 hrs drive away, 5 days a week, and i will do the book keeping and general paperwork of an evening, after i finish at my own job.

We're not stupid - we KNOW it will be a hard slog for the first 6-12 months. My responsibiliities to our business will be on top of my other job, and as Mick will be our only driver he wont be able to take any sick leave or holidays. There are the small ins and outs of a business that we will have to learn, and ways of doing things that work for us. But, in the long run, we know that owning our business is going to afford our family some amazing opportunities, and a more comfortable lifestyle than we can provide now.

It is still a month away, but there is so much we have to organise and begin learning before then. However, i know we are both looking forward to the challenges that will be thrown at us in the next few months - wish us luck!

30 Days of Music - Days 27 + 28

Well, well.... we're getting towards the end of the ( extraordinarily stretched out ) 30 Days of Music challenge. Only four days or, in my case, two posts to go!
Day 27 - What song would you like played at your wedding/union?
So unless you are really new around these parts, you would be aware that i am getting married very soon ( 5 months tomorrow in fact! ) so i'm currently in the process of choosing the songs for the wedding: one to walk down the aisle to, one to play when the ceremony is over, and one for the first dance. In lieu of giving away the songs that i may or not have settled on and may or may not want to keep secret, here's a song that i'm considering but i dont think will end up making the cut:

The song is called " Just Because " by Nikka Costa - she's an Australian born jazz/neo soul/funk kind of singer and this is one of my all-time favourite romantic songs ( try to listen to the lyrics and ignore the Gary Oldman tribute. Apparently the song doesnt have a dedicated film clip... ). I'd love to walk down the aisle to it, or have it for a our first dance, but i think its important that those songs resonate with both myself AND Mick, and not just me. Seeing as he doesnt really know this song, and has only ever heard the one time i made him listen to it, i dont think " Just Because " is the right fit for both of us so its gonna have to miss out. Otherwise it would be a beautiful wedding song!

Day 28 - What song would you like played at your funeral?
There are two songs which i'd like played at my funeral ( and yes, even at a tender 27 years of age i've thought about it ) but of those two i think this one is more " me ":

" It Wont Rain All The Time " by Jane Siberry, from the soundtrack to " The Crow " ( which may just be my favourite movie of all time ). If there is anything such as a "perfect " funeral song, this is it for me. Poignant, yet uplifting. Hopefully, though, it wont need to be used in tha capacity for many, many years to come...

30 Days of Music - Days 25 + 26

Seeing as i've been getting majorly annoyed and frusturated the last two days ( long story for another time.. ) i thought it was about time for another music post...
Day 25 - A song that reminds you of a happy moment in your life?
I could narrow it down to just one single moment, so i've gone with a happy time in my life...

One of my girlfriends and i were pub buddies - we'd go out almost every single weekend for a while there, in our early 20's, and this is one of the songs we'd pump in the car as we drove around before hitting the pub/clubs. Why? Because we were G.L.A.M...O.R...O.U.S yea....

Day 26 - A song that reminds you of a bad moment in your life?

" Dyin' Ain't Much Of A Livin' " by Jon Bon Jovi, off the " Blaze of Glory " soundtrack. This song was played at my uncles funeral while his casket was being carried out ( incidentally, i think of one of you readers may  have known my uncle, or at least know OF him... ). Bad moment in my then 11 yr old life? Yep. Nuff said then...

30 Days of Music - Days 22 + 23

Wow - i'm slowly getting to the end of this thing! The pointy end as some people would call it, and the prompts are getting more personal and harder to pick so its proving to be a bit tricky. Anyhoo -
Day 22 - A song that reminds you of a person
Not many songs remind me of one specific person ( lots that remind me of people in a specific place, or people at a specific time though) so i decided to go with this one, which reminds me of my dad:

I dont think many of you will know it as its a country song ( and most of you dont come across as lovers of country music - i could be wrong ) but this song, about how having a job and working hard for your family is more important than being rich, or famous, or " successful ", really evoked my father even from the first time i heard it. My dad has only ever put his family first, always taking every opportunity he could to better provide for us, even when it was costing him personally. To me, thats admirable, even if he doesnt have a uni degree or earn squillions. So he and this song kind of go hand in hand...

Day 23 - A song that reminds you of a place
See, for this one i couldnt think of a song that reminded me only of a place, without having a person in there to give it some context. So lets consider this a song that calls of memories of a person, in a place, which leads you to thinking just of the place and then of other people there. Ok?

This song reminds me of my friend Keitumetse, whom i knew in the US when we were both au pairs there in 2004-2005. Now, its not because Tumi IS a gold digger, but rather because when this song came out she loved it, and everytime we went somewhere in her big van she'd turn it on, turn it up and sing the shit of the Jamie Foxx part. It also kind of makes me a bit sad sometimes too, because after we left the US i never heard from Tumi again. Its like she went back to South Africa and got eaten by a lion, or just fell off the face of the planet or something. Its a shame, 'cause she was a great person, very fun and bubbly and from a culture so different ours that i felt enriched just chatting with her... where are you Tumi?!

30 Days of Music - Days 21 + 22

Alrighty - so now that Blogger is back online i can get back to my 30 Days of Music challenge ( which admittedly, is being stretched across, like, 2 months ). So todays prompts were  a bit of a challenge - let me explain :
Day 21 - A song that, for you, is a guilty pleasure.
Alright, so to me " guilty pleasure " would mean that its a song that maybe no-one else likes and you should be just a little bit embarrassed about liking. Well, when i think shame and embarrassment, i think Ke$ha....

However, i quite like this song. I think its because its catchy and the film clip is hilarious ( hey, James Van Der "Douche "! ) but if anyone asked me i'd say " Kesha? Hell no - what a talentless, skanky-looking hack ! ". So just let me bop around to this song and dont give away my secret, ok?

Day 22 - The song that gets stuck in your head the most.
The song that gets stuck in my head the most? There is no such thing. Lots of song get stuck in my head once i hear them, but there is no specific song that just worms itself into my brain and stays there constantly. So, let me just post the song that is stuck in my head at the moment, thanks to Mick who was singing it while he washed the dishes this morning...

" Be With You " by Mr Big... i was a little kid when this came out yet i think i know every word ( except what the rest of them are singing in harmony during the curious. Indecipherable! ). And i dont know where Mick heard this to just randomly start singing it this morning but there you go.... have a listen and let it get stuck in your head too!

30 Days of Music - Days 19 + 20

Well... thank the good freakin' Lord that Blogger is working again! I tried last night and this morning to make a post and it just wasnt happening - much longer and i may have suffered withdrawals. But fear not, because Blogger is back online and so is the 30 Days of Music challenge. Where are we at ?
Day 19 - A song that makes you want to dance
So there are heaps of songs that make me wana dance - old school stuff like " Jailhouse Rock " or " Love Shack ", cheesy 80's pop songs, stuff from my childhood in the 90's. But when i really thought about it i had to go back to the days when i was a pub-rat and spent 4 hrs of a Saturday night on the dancefloor and i settled on this one -

Even though the video clip is typical Euro-trash crap, " Put Your Hands Up For Detroit " was one of my favourite pub/club dancing songs because everyone would get way into it - its a real party song. " Put your hands... put your hands up for Detroit... i love this city! "

Day 20 - A song that makes you wana rock out!
My answer for this prompt had to be a real rock song, not some light-rock crap they try to pass off as rock on the radio sometimes these days ( do i sound older than my 27 years ? ) So whats the best song for rocking with a party full/ car load of your friends?

Oh yea - you know, i know it, anyone who's ever heard it knows it - this song rocks! How can you not rock out to the chorus? Go on, try it... you cant not!

30 Days of Music - Day 17 + 18

Woo hoo - well and truly past the half way now! I have traditionally not been very good at sticking with these types of continuous memes and even though these posts arent generating the comments i hoped they would, i'm still going strong. So, anyhoo....
Day 17 - A song you want to share with the world

Its called " Falling Slowly " and its from a little indie film called " Once ". The reason i want to share it is because its such a sweet, beautiful song and whenever i mention it and the film it came from everyone goes " Huh? Never heard of it ". So even though it won an Academy Award for Best Song and should therefore be better known ( one would think... ) i feel like so many people are missing out. So, as Molly Meldrum would say - do yourself a favour and have a listen to this one...

Day 18 - A song that makes you want to sing out loud?
Seriously, over the years there have been literally hundreds of osngs that have made me want to sing out loud, and i quite often have ( just so's you know, the best place for singing out loud is alone in your car. Apologies to all the other drivers on the road out there that have been witness to one of my impromptu concerts ). Funnily enough though the first one that came to mind when i read this prompt was " I Like It Loud " by Cassie Davis...

Its a good pop song - as opposed to all the crappy generic stuff i dont like at all - and i really appreciate a good pop song. Plus its all girl-power and party-hard and a really great song for putting on when your getting ready for a night out. Love a bit of shouty girl pop!

30 Days of Music - Days 15 + 16

Good morning and welcome again to the veritable jukebox of hits that is my version of the 30 Days of Music challenge ( as found on Facebook. Search it ). I think, now that i'm halfway through, i'm pretty much set on doing a post every second day, and combining the two prompts. Anyhoodle:
Day 15 - The song you hate the most
Gawd there are a lot of songs i really do not like. And they change too - sometimes a song comes out that i hate and then it grows on me, sometimes i love a song the first time i hear it and then they play it 10 million times until it grates on my nerves. Oh, and some artists are like that too - some stuff i like, some i cant stand. One such artist is Britney Spears. I'd say 98% of the time her music falls into the " stuff i think is shite " category ( though her new one is pretty damn catchy ) and its been that way since the "Hit Me Baby ( One More Time )" days. So - one specific song of hers that i just really hate?

Yuck. The whole earnest sentiment she's going for here just made me nauseous. Yuck, yuck, fake, yucky yuck.

Day 16 - Post a song from your favourite band/artist.
Easy - even though most people only know them for a handful of songs that made the chart my favourite band of all-time is The Goo Goo Dolls. Their album " Dizzy Up The Girl " was like a drug for me during high school - i played 3 or 4 times a week at least, everytime i felt sad or depressed, and i just wanted to share it with everybody. It was just so profoundly "me " back then ( even though some of the subject matter - you know, like heroin addiction and abortion - had no personal meaning to me at all ). So, lets go with my favourite track off that album -

Even though " Iris " spoke much better FOR me, " Name " was everything i wanted for someone to say TO me, and Johnny Rzezniks voice just felt so raw and honest. I know this all sounds really "music snob" and like i'm trying really hard to be a Rollingstone reviewer but thats just how this song was for the over-thinking, sensitive, depressed teenage girl i was. Listen to it, hear it and then try not to love it....

30 Days of Music - Day 13+14

So...my 30 Days of Music Challenge may just turn into a more prolonged theme. Yes, i've skipped a few days, partly because i was busy doing other things and partly because the lack of comments on my music posts were giving me the poo's. Anyhoo, i thought maybe if i stretched things out a bit it wouldnt be so "music, music, music! ". So, after a weekend break, i present to you the prompts for days 13 and 14 of the challenge....
Day 13 - For you, what song defines the '00's?
Seeing as we've only just finished living through this decade you would think i would have hundreds of songs running through my head but the only one i kept hearing was this:

The late Noughties was where i finally found my confidence - i stopped wallowing in the blackhole of depression and started loving myself. Which, in turn, made me believe ( sometimes ) in my own sexiness, and being able to ( sometimes ) convince cute boys of the same thing! So what song would be better to choose than " SexyBack " by Justin Timberlake?

Day 14 - What song was your first record/cassette/CD/MP3 purchase?
Hold on to your hats ladies and gentleman, this one is going to get embarrassing!

Oh yea baby - East 17! Please bear in mind that i was 8 years old when i bought the " Walthamstow " album - it was 1992 and i saved up my pocket money for a few weeks in order to buy my very first cd. Boy band pop was awesomely cool and East 17 were waaaaaaaaaaay better than Take That ( at least they seemed that way at the time ). Believe or not, i still have this album in my cd cabinet but i havent listened to it in over a decade. Perhaps today would be a good day for a repeat listen?

30 Days of Music - Days 11 + 12

These music posts dont seem to be getting too many comments so i feel like i'm doing them mainly for myself but anyhoo, i'll carry on... if only to prove that i can keep a theme challenge going for the required amount of time! So day 11...
Day 11 - For you, what song defines the 80's ?

Do i even have to explain this one? Title song from the biggest selling album of all time, geniusly talented ( if somewhat personally dubious ) artist....yada, yada, yada.

Day 12 - For you, what song defines the 90's ?
Because the 90's the decade i grew up, the one where i really started to love and appreciate music, where i started out a 6 yr old listening to teeny bopper pop and finished up a cranky 16 yr old girl rocking out to the Foo Fighters, Live and Silverchair.... i've had a tough time answering this one. However, i thought really hard and came up with this -

I think " All The Small Things " by Blink 182 sums the decade up for me because its kind of a middle ground between the boy band pop that i started with and the grunge/metal/rock boys i ended up with. Plus its a funny song and one that everyone at my school loved when we were in Yr 10. It might have been released in 1999 so it only just makes the 90's, but its the song that defines the decade for me...

30 Days of Music - Day 10

Ok - todays prompt for the 30 Days of Music challenge is kind of hard.
Day 10 - For you, what song defines the 70's ?
Well, for someone who wasnt born until 1984 its kind of difficult to judge what defines an era i didnt live through. I really only have my parents album collection and the soundtrack of movies set in that decade to go off ( and, you know, what i know of history and what not ). So, with all that in mind, i'm going with this song...

Oh yea - " Rock and Roll All Nite " by Kiss!  There were so many genres of music prominent in the 70's so i went with Kiss because they were a little bit glam, a great big chunk of rock and had those amazing costumes that incorporated 70's fashion. I also think this song defines the decade where the focus moved away ( a little ) from the protesting of the late 60's/early 70's and onto more of a crumbling of those stifling societal expectations. You know, less of the traditions of the 50's and 60's and more of the " me, me, me! " attitude that would filter on into the 80's...
Ok, yep, kind of deep for a music post, but there you go. Thats my song. Play the video, turn your speakers up all the way, and rock on people!

30 Days of Music - Days 8 + 9

Another combination post, because yesterday being Easter Sunday i was a bit busy doing other stuff, and i just couldnt bothered trawling through YouTube when i finally did get a chance to sit down. But i digress - where am i up to? Oh yea, days 8 and 9 of the 30 Days of Music challenge. So wheres the music?
Day 8 - Whats the last song you listened to?

Thanks to Mick, the last song i listened to was " Need You Now " by Lady Antebellum. He was playing it on his phone while i ate my breakfast. If it weren't for him i would have had to have found a video for Josh Groban's version of " Crying " ( originally by Roy Orbison ) because thats the last thing i heard on the radio. I dont mind Josh Groban but i didnt like his interpretation, so i'm glad i got to go with Lady Antebellum instead!

Day 9 - Whats the earliest song you can remember from your childhood?
When i try and think back to music in my early childhood i remember roadtrips to the beach at Nelson Bay, around 4 and half hrs drive away - which means we needed a lot of music to get us through the trip. It was the late 80's but my mum and dad were teenagers in the 70's so we got a bit of AC/DC, a dose of Dr Hook...and a lot of The Eagles. And the one Eagles song that sticks out in my mind?

Oh yea, " Hotel California " - how many times i did hear this song on family holidays? Luckily its a fantastic song that i really enjoy, even to this day. If it comes on the radio while i'm in the car, i'll turn it up and sing along to the words i know. The Eagles rock!

30 Days of Music - Day 7

Wow - cant believe i've made it a whole week! fair enough, i've combined two days prompts a time or two but the point is i've stuck with the whole challenge thing for a week. Yay for me and my consistency! Anyhoo...
Day 7 - What song do you listen to when chilling out?

Umm, chilling out - whats that? No, seriously, when i do get a chance to chill out its usually with Mick and Flynn in the house aswell, and its usually with the tv on and a book/magazine/laptop. So i really didnt have any idea what to do for this one. And then i remember that time before i was partenered up and when i didnt have a small, demanding toddler running my house and i recalled that i quite often liked to put 5 discs in my cd player and let them spin. Sometimes i even did a theme day - like " The All Goo Goo Dolls Day " or " All Country Music, All The Way " or " All Movie Soundtracks, All The Time ". So, bearing that in mind, i decided to go with a song off a Broadway musical soundtrack, one that makes me happy and uplifted and that i like to play every New Years Eve -

" Seasons Of Love ", from the musical " Rent ", which i saw on Broadway in December of 2004 and have loved ever since. The video is actually the opening credits of the film version of the musical, so its a slightly different version to the one of my cd, but i love it just the same....

30 Days of Music - Days 5 + 6

So...because yesterday was Polly Dolly day and by the time i finished putting together my set i was completely blogged out... i didnt do yesterdays " 30 Days of Music " prompt. So excuse me while i mash two days together and catch up a little, ok?
Day 5 - What song do you listen to when your sad?

The first song that came to mind for this one was Johnny Cash's version of " Hurt " ( originally by Nine Inch Nails ). And if i'm not sad enough before i even start to listent to this son, i end up in tears anyway because the combining of the pounding piano and the emotion in Johnnys voice just bring me undone. A brilliant cover by an absolutely brilliant and legendary artist....

Day 6 - What song do you listen to when your angry?

When i'm angry ( or upset/angry...whatever ) i like to either lock myself away in my room or go out for a drive and pump something loud, rockin' and vaguely metal-ish - which, since high school, has quite often been something by Linkin Park. " Hybrid Theory " was one of my favourite albums in Year 12 and i've enjoyed their stuff ever since ( even though some of the new stuff is a bit more tame than the older songs ). So i could have picked maybe 90% of the Linkin Park back catalogue to fit this category but i decided to go with " No More Sorrow " off their " Minutes To Midnight " album. Please enjoy.

30 Days of Music - Day 4

Good morning and welcome to Day 4 in my participation in the 30 Days of Music challenge. On Day 4, i need to tell you:
What song do you play when your feeling happy?

As soon as i read this prompt, one song popped straight into my head - " All I Wana Do " by Sugarland. I get the feeling that some of you may never have heard of Sugarland ( who are great country music duo ) and this would be the part where i get to prattle on about eclectic my tastes are. That, however, shall remain to be seen with my future video choices. What i will say is this a sweet country/pop song thats fun and sexy and great for singing along ...all the things i want to do when i'm happy. Hell, i've even started playing this song when i want to GET happy - you know, like on Monday mornings on the way to work. And this song will definately be making the playlist for my wedding reception, simply because its so joyful and makes me want to get funky with my fella  ( as influenced by lyrics such as " I dont wana get baby, lets turn off the phone ... " ). What song gets you in the happy mood?

30 Days of Music - Day 3

Todays prompt:
What song has the highest play count on your iTunes?
Now, before we get to the clip, let me just say this - i dont have an iPod. I mean i do - i have a really old iPod Shuffle, one of the tiny square ones - but i dont use it. Havent used since i stopped goingt to the gym. Consequently i dont really have any playlists on our iTunes and most of the music is Micks. So what gets the most plays?

Naughty By Nature - " Holiday ". I know this one came out when i was in high school and its a great track to dance around the house to, but its definately more of a " Mick " song than it is an " Amy " song. Still, if i had an iPod i still might have this on my playlist, just for a bit of dance-y fun!

30 Days + Music = Challenge!

Alright, so i may be a little late jumping on this bandwagon but after discovering that the very funky Tutu Ames is doing a 50 day music challenge i thought " hey, thats something i'd like to get in on! " .... except that i dont think i could quite keep it up for 50 days, so i decided to go with the 30 Day Music Challenge thats being touted on Facebook ( search it... its got its own page ). I planned on starting yesterday except that i went roadtripping for the day with my parents and Flynn to a beautiful, HUGE, manicured garden ( pics and post to come! ) so today i'll be catching up with the prompts for days one and two of the challenge.

Day One: What is your favourite song right now?
Cue " Party Rock Anthem " by LMFAO -

I am just loving this song right now - it makes me wana dance, and the film clip is a total cack up! Its not a song where you have to think about the lyrics, you just listen to the beat and go with it. Its fun, and right now, fun is what i'm into...

Day Two: Song that was #1 when you were born?
Ok, when i Googled this i got some conflicting results for the week of my birth, so i went with the song that was #1 the year i was born...1984 -

I have to admit, seeing as this was released the year i was born, i hadnt really heard the original version until i heard - and loved - the remixed version used in Baz Luhrmans " Romeo and Juliet ". But, thanks to Baz, i love this one too - Prince is definately funky, and kind of edgy and just a little bit " What the?! " ... which are all the things which make this song great...

So, lets consider my blog a jukebox of my personal favourites for the next month. There will be other posts too, of course, and maybe more than one a day sometimes. If you feel like playing along, go check out the page on Facebook and getting your playlist happening!
*Edit* A couple of people mentioned they love " Purple Rain "...but that was the wrong link! It was supposed to be a video for " When Doves Cry " which means that my " Romeo and Juliet " reference now makes sense!

Operation Slimdown - We're Getting There...

Seriously - are you people getting tired of reading about " Operation Slimdown " yet ? I know i'm only doing a diet/exercise/body post once a week but it seems like i'm forever writing about it... anyhoo, yea yea, its Tuesday again so its time for the fortnightly update on where my weight loss is at. Behold - the stats!
Bust: 91cm - down 1cm
Waist: 75.5cm - down 1.5cm
Hips: 97.5cm - down 0.5cm
Bum: 102cm - up 0.5cm
Thigh: 62cm - down 0.5cm
Weight: 68.6kg - down 1.1kg


I'm really happy with that, seeing as i've felt like i've been slacking off a bit. Maybe it only feels that way because i was sooooo strict with the my eating in the first few weeks? I'm not sure, but i'm coming to realise that its ok to have a bit of chocolate, or a small bowl of icecream, or even a yummy yummy Portuguese tart ( mmmm...Portuguese tart... ) a few times a week if i'm keeping everything else under control. Which i am - my portion sizes are much smaller than when i started my third attempt at " Operation Slimdown ", i'm eating way more vegies and i find that i'm not craving rice or pasta at all. I have a nice low-GI muesli for breakfast most mornings ( i occasionally indulge in peanut butter and toast! ) and a wholemeal sandwich or leftovers for lunch. Dinners are my favourite though - you know how i love pour over my cookbooks and magazines and i've really enjoyed some of the new, healthier, dishes i've come across. As has Mick - he hasnt exactly been on a concentrated " diet ", but through healthier eating and a very physical job he's managed to lose around 10kg in the last 3-4 months. Go us!

And now? I'm 9.2kg down in 12 weeks. Only 800g to go until i hit my 10kg goal that i set as my New Years resolution. I'm kind of amazed that i've been able to come this far in a relatively short period of time ( you know, seeing as my original goal included a November deadline.. ). Once i hit the 10kg mark, i would like to push on and reach 65kg - thats roughly how much i weighed when i met Mick, and i think i looked awesome then, so thats the next step in the dance... fingers crossed i lose the 800g by next weigh in though!