CHIT CHAT

My weigh in showed I'd lost 3kg (about 6.6lb) in one week but I know that a lot of that loss was not so much body fat, but retained fluid. Last Monday's weigh in showed a gain of 600gram. Disappointing for me as I'd stuck closely to the diet however the wiring thingy test result showed I'd actually lost 1kg of body fat but was retaining more body fluid. I'm definitely seeing a difference in my clothing - particularly trousers and skirts are looser around the waist so I shouldn't be despondent I guess. One of the aims of this eating regime is to lose inches from the waist - the most dangerous place for women to store body fat. So I've kept strictly to what is allowed and hope that this week there'll be a loss showing on the scales.

We've just come through a 3 day heatwave - it was awful. Air conditioning in houses here has become more popular in recent years, especially being built in to new homes. Many however have none and I really feel so sorry for those who live in them in conditions such as we've just had. We do get it hot here in Sydney on occasions but not as hot, nor as early as November but this heatwave was a 'doosy'! The thermometer topped 40, 42 and 41 on the three days last weekend finally giving relief through Sunday night and dropping to a cool 20. Today was only 18C! Rather a contrast and no wonder so many people pick up colds and bugs in these conditions. DH did just that and spent an almost unheard of (for him) day at home from work today. A visit to the doctor confirmed a bacterial infection but medication should certainly bring that under control in a couple of days.

Spent today in a large room with 21 others 'learning' about customer service. I attended a seminar which was a compulsory activity for accreditation as a volunteer in our local Visitor Information Centre. In our council area we are very fortunate to have a number of historic houses and properties which have been preserved and some restored. VIC's are built on the same properties and as well as giving information about the area, tours of the houses can be conducted for groups as well as individuals. I love the history of these places and it seems to me a good idea to be able to combine these activities, with the centres manned by volunteers. The room in which the seminar was held was modern, huge and cold! We tried several times to have the manager raise the temperature somewhat as the majority of people were complaining of feeling uncomfortable however although I believe this was done, it didn't seem to make too much difference - I wonder how many of us will come down with colds as a result. At least the seminar is now 'out of the way'!

It's 3am as I write this - wasn't sleeping, so a hot herbal tea and a bit of chit chat might just be the thing to put me back to sleep again. Here's hoping !

Bless you!

SCRAPBOOK PAGES FINISHED

It's finished. The bling was easy peasy to put on. I had been warned that it was difficult and the best method to fix it in place was to pick it up off the backing with masking tape first then place it on the page. Nothing like that needed. It peeled off its backing sweet! I'm sorry the photo hasn't done it justice but at least it will give an idea of what it looks like. I'm pleased with it.

Last night went to a Thanksgiving Dinner at a friends home. We all contributed to the food - I had to make the pumpkin pies. Never attempted that before so followed the recipe to the T. All went well apart from the baking time. Recipe said 1 hour at 375 - eventually I pulled them out at 2 1/2 hours and they appeared set. (I was just hoping for the best, not knowing exactly what they should look like). Anyway they went down well with honey sweetened whipped cream, although I didn't get to eat any of the prepared dinner - I took my own salad greens and chicken meal.

I think I have worked out why the pies took so long to bake. The recipe called for cans of pumpkin (USA) However we can't buy that here but have heaps of fresh pumpkin in the shops to buy so prepared and cooked my own. I think the fresh pumpkin is much moister than the canned - therefore the mixture is much wetter as well - thus the longer time in baking. That's my theory anyway.

DH enjoyed it and other guests complimented me on the taste - said it had a kind of caramel flavour - so it must have been OK.

Appointment with the Naturopath tomorrow so will see how much weight I've lost in the week.

Blessings all!

CHIT CHAT

The bling has arrived for my scrapbook layout pages so when they are finished I'll post a photo to show you how it turned out.

Did I mention last time I'm consulting a Naturopath for weight reduction and digestive problems? I only started the new food intake regime on Monday and by Thursday I was almost ready to give it up but today I feel as though I might be able to keep it up. The first week apparently is the worst - but hopefully I'm climbing over the top of the 'carb barrier' (my words) and I can be happy I've lost 3kg. I'm sure that 3kg is mostly fluid however so it will take a little while I think to start actually losing body fat. There is a machine that measures the fat/muscle ratio of the body and I'm sure that will begin to show when it's happening!

Meantime the beans I planted a few weeks ago are going crazy. Far exceeding the 6ft height I expected and have now begun to wind their way into the olive tree nearby. It's giving me lots of beautiful beans though and I sliced and blanched another 600g this morning to freeze. Tomatoes are coming on with a couple almost ripe enough to pick. Have also been getting a few blueberries but interestingly, they don't seem to all ripen together. There are lots on the bush that are still green and each day there are perhaps half a dozen that are black enough to pick. I'm really on a learning curve with blueberries!

Enough for now.

Blessings all!

THAT SCRAPBOOK CLASS

The Scrapbook Class I went to last week was great. Only 4 people in it so plenty of attention from the teacher. I'm not posting a photo at this time because the bling which should have completed the double page layout didn't arrive in time so I'm waiting on that phone call to say its available for me to pick up.

I'm always disappointed when things like that happen. It does look good though and the photos of E17 turned out well. I was pleased with the almost finished product. As soon as the bling bits arrive and I'm able to figure out how to put them on I'll post a photo.

Have started this week on a diet after consulting a Naturopath. I am hoping to lose a few kilos which have slowly piled on my frame over the last couple of years. Not doing too much in the way of exercise these last 6 months since my back surgery hasn't helped either. Hope I can stick to it for a while at least.

Its a low carb high protein food intake and I'm missing my cup of tea badly. Up until 6 months ago I was a real coffee drinker but decided to cut back on that and had been drinking mostly tea. Oh well, I'll give it a go for a while and see what can be achieved. I've been warned I'll possibly only lose about 1/2 kg each week but feel I've already lost more than that. I was carrying a lot of fluid and I can feel that is lessening. I'll know next Monday when I get weighed.

The main thing on this regime is loss of body fat, not muscle. Will be interesting to see how it all works.

Blessings!

MAKING BOOKMARKS

While I'm in the 'crafty' kind of mood I tried my hand at some bookmarks to use as little gifts for my Bible study friends. Although a little time consuming as each stage needs time between to dry - stamping, glittering then finally laminating, its been fun and I've enjoyed trying something new.

Tomorrow night I am doing a scrapbooking class using my grand-daughter E17's 2008 Year 10 Formal pics. I've already seen a sample of the double page layout - she is such a beautiful young lady and her photos will totally be the 'wow' factor. I'll post a pic of it when its done.

Blessings!

Front view shows Bible verse from Psalm 9: 11

Back view showing black lace pattern