My Journal... (Jan 2009 - March 2009)
Email: slimming4health@dodo.com.au
Curent Weight Loss Progress
Weight Watcher's Starting Weight : 119.2kg
Lowest Weight Achieved: 89.5kg (Lost 29.7kg)
Immediate Pre-Pregnant Weight: 94kg
Pregnancy Gain: Up 27kg to 121kg
Restart Weight: 111.4kg (2wks post birth)
Weight Watcher's Goal Weight: 76kg
Personal Goal Weight: Pending
Click here to access a page titled "What's on this site"
This page provides links to all the other pages of my website/s
Me & my boys :)
Next Goals!!!
- Back to 100.x on the scales
- Return to 3 exercise sessions a week minimum.
Full list of goals here
Santa 2008
New page >>>> Here!
Wednesday 25th March 2009...
Well another loss this week. Only a small one of 0.2kg mind you but beggars cant' be choosers so I'm happy enough with that :)
Given that I am giving up my evil social ciggy addiction at the moment I'm happy to lose anything. On a normal day at home I'd only have a few after dinner at night when the boys are in bed but when I don't do that I want to eat everything in the house instead!! tee-he. Thankfully the Champix medication Simon and I are taking to quit is working a treat and SO FAR it's not been too hard to resist the cigs. Having said that I've not had a drink of alcohol in the 9 days since I last had a cigarette - THAT will be my red flag situation for sure. Mmmm maybe I'll just have to give up vodka too? Not bloody likely!!!!! :)
As many of you may have read I updated Caleb's page last week and I'm working on an update for Talyn's but his is not quite finished yet. I'm also having a hell of a time trying to upload new photo's for both the boys pages. I had 1000 pic's on my memory card but it somehow got corrupted after pic 241 and I thought I'd lost the lot :( Thankfully I was able to print out those first 240 yesterday and get them saved onto disc. Then I remembered I'd done a camera dump onto the computer last month so I have all the others on there anyway...yey!!! So today I'm copying them to disc then getting them down to the camera shop to be printed also. So by the end of the week I'll be able to get all the pic's I want uploaded. Keep you posted on that :)
I'm having a bit of a low day today so not much in the mood for chat so I think I'll leave it here for now. I'm going to have an hours walk on the beach by myself later today and hopefully I'll be feeling better after that? Have a great hump day everyone :)
TFTD: "It's better to sleep on what you intend doing then to stay awake over what you have done!!"
Cheers P
Monday 23rd March 2009...
Phew what a week it's been since I was last able to update!!!
Since my last entry I worked an evening shift Thursday, a day shift Friday and an evening shift Sunday....and I still have another evening shift to do tonight. It's hard to adjust to working so much more all of a sudden and all my home routines are going haywire but since Simon's work has totally dried up for now I have no choice. We are just lucky that we have my reliable job as a backup or I'd hate to think what we'd do??? Can't wait to payday on Wednesday to see just how much I've earned this last fortnight with 6 shifts instead of my usual 4 (esp a good $$ Sunday shift)...yahoo!!
I haven't even had the chance to get online here and tell you how last week's weigh-in went. Yes I went and for the first time in many moons I stayed for the meeting too just as I'd planned to. I lost 1.0kg last week so I'm stoked with that. I'm hoping for another loss this week at this stage. I can't wait to get back under the 100kg mark again!
We celebrated Caleb's 6th birthday on Saturday with a McDonald's party with all his friends in the morning followed by a family dinner at a Chinese Restaurant that evening. It was a great day and he had an absolute blast!! You can read all about it on his new page here.
Last Wednesday Simon and I took Talyn down to the Esplanade in his jogging pram and we went for a 50min walk/jog + I did 30 dips along the way. OH MY! It took my legs days to recover!!! They were so sore *tee-he* I guess they'd forgotten what it was like to run that much ;) I'm hoping to do another such session this week. Simon has taken Talyn down now for a run but since I'm already worn out from the last week and have to work until midnight tonight I'm going to give this run a miss. Perhaps tomorrow we'll go again.
Tomorrow is another big day for us also. Talyn's first even day at daycare...Eeeek! We also finally got him in to see the speech therapist last week (told you it was a busy week!). You can read all his latest news here.
Well enough for today. I'll be back next to tell you the results of this week's weigh-in. Also I wasn't able to post our holiday snaps as promised as our camera's memory card with over 1000 photo's is giving our computer a meltdown. So I'm taking them all to be developed this week and have them put on a CD for us so I'll be able to upload them easier then. Will let you know when they are posted.
Have a great Monday everyone :)
TFTD: "You don't ever have to be the same again after today, except by choice!!"
Cheers P
Tuesday 17th March 2009...
Well I'm happy to say I had a lovely lovely weekend away with Simon and the boys :) We went here to a gorgeous self contained cabin and it was worth every cent. It was recently refurbished so was all very modern and clean. It had two separate bedrooms, an ensuite, a lounge with a big plasma screen TV and DVD player and a really well equipped kitchen and probably the best bit was a big verandah that Simon and I spent each night on playing board games etc after the boys went to bed. Our best mate Julie also visited us from her home nearby so we got to enjoy a great catch up with her too.
We spent our days going from one activity to the next. We swam in the pool, the boys loved the water slide and the spa bath there too. We didn't manage to catch a movie in their cinema but the boys loved checking it out all the same. We played mini golf. We played tennis. We made lots of use of the awesome playground they had there too - it was better than half the playgrounds in our own town! We drove to the nearby Maroochy Shire Botanical Gardens one morning and took the walking trail around their sculpture garden there which was just stunning. A little piece of paradise carved out of the rainforest! We enjoyed lot's of good food there and the boys loved it all.
And the thing we all enjoyed the most there...was the jumping pillow!!!! This thing was AWESOME! It's a big inflatable pillow on the ground....kind of like a jumping castle with no walls or roof...and it was for any age, any size and weight. Boy was that fun!!!! It's been years since I've been able to have a really good jumping play and we had such a blast on it. And it had to be good for me because the next morning I had all the aches and sore muscles to prove it. The next morning was even worse after playing tennis but it's just as well as I ate quite a lot of crap while I was away (as usual *blush* - I'm terrible on holidays!) so I had to do something to combat all those extra calories :)
Since we got back Sunday I've been busy unpacking, cleaning up around the house and then yesterday I worked. Simon has no work pretty much at all at the moment which is pretty stressful so I've told work I'm available for extra shifts. God I hate my job and I so don't want to do any more shifts but we've got to eat somehow.
On the bright side our loans and consolidation etc is set to be finalised on Thursday so here's hoping by Monday at the latest we'll be in a much better financial situation to face this new crisis with at least only one debt. A big one but one all the same :)
I'm going to upload some photo's of our weekend here so have a look if you like :) You can see me jumping around like a tool on the jumping pillow - if that's not reason enough to look I don't know what is *wink*
Addit: Stoopid camera giving me grief uploading pic's. Have been trying all day so I'll work on it tomorrow and post them then. I'll let you know in next update when they are ready to view.
TFTD: "Worry is like a rocking chair - it will give you something to do but get you nowhere!!"
Cheers P
Wednesday 11th March 2009...
Oooh look at me, updating two days in a row *wink* tee-he
Like I said I am committed to doing a much better job around here than I have been of late. As you know life took a downward spiral for me for a while but I'm clawing my way back up and trying to get back to "normal" - whatever that is ;)
Actually just yesterday I went to my site stats tracker to see if anyone was even still reading my dribble anymore. Turns out about 25-35 unique visitors still come everyday. If that's you...THANK YOU!!!!!! When no-one comments it gets easy to think, 'oh no-one's reading anyway' ... but I know now you are so I'm going to write more often :)
But I'm not writing too much for today. Want to know why?
Because for the first time in as long as I can remember, I think since before Talyn was born, I have the house all to myself all morning!!! Caleb is at school and Simon has no work at the moment (don't get me started on that!) so he's taken Talyn out for the morning. Unfortunately it's crappy rainy weather here thanks to Cyclone Hamish so they can't even go to the beach or a park or anything. Instead they are going to Bunnings and their playground, the Hungry Jack's playground and some other shopping tasks, banking and errands. All just to give me some time out to do whatever I choose. **BLISS**
So I thought I'd get all my computer work up to date first. I've already done the housework, vacuuming and washing before they left. So I figure my first port of call we be lying down on my bed surfing the Austar channels and reading a magazine. Ahh the life *wink*
Well as promised I faced that big 3wk gain at WW yesterday. I was expecting about 2kg up and I wasn't far off. 1.9kg gain for me. But I'm glad it's on record, and now I can move on with getting this part of my life back on track also. Given the stress we've been under of late I'm surprised it wasn't a lot more!!
I'm so looking forward to the weekend - IF the weather dries up - as we are going on our weekend away to here. Will be so much fun!! I can't wait :) Bring it on!!!!
TFTD: "You can't build a reputation on things you are GOING to do!!"
Cheers P
Tuesday 10th March 2009...
I'm so tired today.
Ok you say, nothing unusual for after a work night for me right?
Wrong!
Instead of getting into bed at my usual midnight I didn't manage to crawl into bed until 1.30am this morning. Thanks to my car, my baby boy and my bloody stupidity.
Let me explain ...
I finished my shift at 11pm and headed out to the car to tackle the 30min drive home (hairier than usual thanks to cyclone Hamish bearing down on us - but more on that soon). Anyhoo when I went to start the car I was greeted with that awful 'click-click-click' noise that signifies battery problems....Noooo!!!!!! It was late at night, wet, blowing a gale and I had a 40km drive ahead of me with no idea how I was going to do it.
So I called my breakdown service and proceeded to wait almost 40min's until they arrived. When they did they quickly assessed that it was a flat battery and hooked up the jumper leads to the cars. Then he says "Go start it for me". I walk around to the driver's door when...OH NO!!!! It's locked!!!!!
I had no idea how this happened as I'd unlocked the central locking when I returned to the car and put my keys in the ignition. The central locking never locks itself with the keys in the ignition! But apparently I've now learnt - it can do so when the battery goes dead flat. Excellent!!!
So then begins an hour struggle to try to break into the car. On one note I am fairly confident that my Kia Carnival is pretty thief proof at least. Over the years I've had the breakdown service remove many a set of keys from a locked car but never have I seen a car beat them. They just couldn't do it. After an hour of trying to hold my whipping umbrella, a torch for the guy working the lock and ignoring the rain lashing at my legs....we gave up and rang Simon.
He then had to wake the boys up in the middle of the night, go and get petrol then start the 30min drive to my work. All this time me and the mechanic wait in the rain making small talk!
Thankfully when he finally arrived we unlocked the doors, the car jump started right away and we were at last on our way home at 1am. On the way home I noticed that the interior light in the very back of my car was on. That's weird? It's never on unless the doors are open? Then I remembered, Talyn had been in the back of the car earlier that day and we quickly figured he must have flicked the switch from 'door' to 'on'. So without knowing it, and not being able to see it in daylight, I'd left that interior light on about 12hrs....hence my flat battery!!
Aaaargh!!!
But all's well that ends well. Hopefully since it was the light I won't need a new battery. The boys thankfully went straight back to bed when we all finally got home and we did manage to sleep in until 7.30am before beginning the school rush. Oh the joys!!! :)
And today is meant to bring Cyclone Hamish to us. It was a category 5 and there was talk of evacuating our city - What the!!!?? Anyhoo now it's downgraded a little to a category 4 and looks like it's path of expected destruction just may miss us now. It will come within about 100km from us by the looks of it. Hopefully we'll miss the worst of it. Keep you posted.
I'm off to WW this morning to face my expected large gain. I've not weighed in for 3 wk's and those have been the 3wk's from hell. I'm expected somewhere around a 2kg gain! Having said that though I'm also expected TTOM next week so I know I'm retaining a bit of fluid. In any case I'm ready to face it and get on with my new plan of attack to beat it. From next Wednesday night onwards I'll be staying for the whole meeting. Simon and I are going to begin some exercise sessions together and I'll get back to doing more solo sessions again too. Sooner I begin to undo the damage the sooner it's done. Now that life is finally returning to normal for me I'm hoping this will be my last backwards move until I finally crack back into those 90's again.
Well, assuming I don't' get blown away first *wink* I'll be back tomorrow to let you know the damage :)
TFTD: "If I worry about yesterdays failures then today's successes will be few!!"
Cheers P
Saturday 7th March 2009...
Ok, ok....I know I said I'd be back on Thursday but I've been SO busy. I worked full days, regular hours Thursday and Friday doing training at work. It was my yearly refresher of ABM which is Agrresive Behaviour Management so it was lot's of physical self defence, take downs, escorts etc. I'm covered in bruises and scratches but it was a fun two days!
I had a few moments spare now so I thought I prise myself away from Facebook (yep I'm TOTALLY addicted to it!)...and come here instead for a quick entry.
Things have been slowly improving in my life.
Simon, I and the boys are doing well. We are spending more time together than we have in years...Ok...ALL our time together but it's been lovely. We've been having dinner together as a family every night again instead of the habit we'd got into of feeding the boys early. Both boys have loved sitting at the table all together with us. We've been going to parks, the boat harbour, out for ice0cream, tea in the park, lots of swimming and things like that as a family and today they all came grocery shopping with me even which NEVER happens. Life is good in that regard :)
Then there is our finances. As you know we were in some MAJOR financial mess and the stress was astronomical. So you can imagine how thrilled we were to find out on Friday that we had been approved for a consolidation loan. And when I mean consolidate I mean EVERYTHING!!! We now have all our credit cards/loans etc gone, our business bills all down to zero balance and our long, long overdue tax bill is no more. We've moved all that into our mortgage and moved to a new bank for the first time in about 10yrs and the best part....the repayments are the same as JUST our mortgage was before. So we are saving about $2000 a month alone. This means we can still put at least $1000 extra into the mortgage every month now on top of the minimum repayment and still find ourselves with much more money to spare. It's a truly AWESOME feeling. Even though we just have one mortgage now it feels like we won the lotto and are debt free....that's seriously what a HUGE relief it's been for us.
To celebrate we are taking a little of the left over funds and taking a weekend holiday next week. We are going to Forest Glenn Big 4 Tourist Park and staying in a really nice cabin there for two nights. There are heaps of tourist attractions all nearby but the park itself has more than enough free entertainment for us all. There are huge swimming pools with water slides for the kids and they even screen movies in the pool area too. There are games rooms, playgrounds, tennis courts, mini golf, go-kart's, kid's club, bird feeding and so much more. It will be a wonderful family break for us all and the boys will have an absolute blast. Then once we've exhausted them during the day and they go to bed we have a DVD player in the cabin to watch movies on as well as our own verandah and courtyard to kick back and have a few drinks together :)
I have not had a drink in over two weeks now and I feel much better for it. No more Friday night pub trips for me - just think of the calories I'll save there alone! Simon's practically stopped drinking too but for the odd light beer once or twice a week so we are automatically saving money there too.
As you know we've both been battling the evil cig's for a while now and today we went to see our GP and got a prescription for Champax...the new quit smoking prescription tablet. We start it tomorrow and then have to stop the actual cig's in about a week. We have very high hopes that we can do it this time. We're certainly committed to giving it our very best shot!!
Another decision we've made is to start Talyn in daycare every Friday from next week onwards. Caleb used to go one day a week from when he was 1yr old but he gave me such a hard time at drop off time each day that I've really dreaded going through it all again with Talyn. But he's over 2yrs old now and I'm hoping he'll go well. Since we have absolutely no babysitter AT ALL, EVER, I am really looking forward to one day a week where I can get some time to myself, to do errands, housework, exercise or just veg in the spa with a good book if I chose too. Since we have the boys 24/7 it would be wonderful just to have that little break to look forward to each week. We are even excited by the fact some weeks Simon and I could meet at a pub for lunch and a drink or two if we chose to. Just some nice alone adult time as the only option we have of that now is when the boys are in bed and even then we can't leave the house.
Weight wise things could be better. I think over the last couple weeks as our whole lives seemed to fall down around our ears I've barely looked at the scales. I've not been to WW and I know I've comfort eaten more than I should have. But I'm ready to take back control. I feel like I am tidying up so many area's of my life that have been neglected for far too long and this is one area that cannot be forgotten. So on Wednesday night I'll go and face the gain, whatever it is...and for the first time in a long time I'm going to stay for the meeting. And I've decided I'm going to do that every week from now on. Not work there, or weigh in and go....just commit to staying each week and giving it the time and focus it needs. Making my goals a priority in my life. It will be an hour of time out for me from the home and I am really hoping it will get me back on track.
So yeah....like I said....life is going good at the moment and I have the highest hopes that things are only going to get much, much better in the future :) Have a great weekend everyone.
TFTD: "It's not what happens to you that matters, it's what you do about what happens that matters!!"
Cheers P
Wednesday 4th March 2009...
Ok....I'm back....and this time for good!!
I know I've been absent more then here of late and for that I apologise.
I've been going through a very difficult time personally....one that I really can't go into due to the fact some people that I don't want to know may read this journal...but let's just say I've turned a corner.
Simon and I both have been under immense financial pressure and work stress. We've had very little family support and if I'm honest with myself I know I have been depressed, clinically depressed. It's been a rough couple of months of late but now things have changed DRAMATICALLY and we are back on track and stronger than ever.
In fact I'd say that Simon and I have had the biggest wake up call of our 17yr relationship and now we are SO close and SO strong NOTHING can divide us! They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and he and I are now stronger than ever!
We are both making some dramatic changes in our life, our lifestyle and our family. We no longer have any employee's and Simon only needs to focus on getting enough work for himself. We've seen a financial counselor and things in that area are hopefully sorted. We are focusing on spending quality time together with our kids, building happy memories for them that they will cherish for life. I am no longer going to the pub every weekend as I always have done. Simon is getting back into exercise (for toning - he certainly doesn't need to lose any weight!) and we hope to do a lot more active things as a family in general. We are being more truthful, honest, supportive and open with each other than we've ever been.
We've sort of retreated into a bit of a cocoon over the last week. Focusing totally on ourselves and our family and it's been very healing. But now it's time to emerge from that shell and get back into life.
For me an important aspect of that is getting back on track with my weight loss and this site.
I know that I kind of vanished mid challenge but I have everyone's stats still in my emails and I'll be updating those and finalising the challenge by the end of today.
Tomorrow I'll be back with my new plan of attack....stay tuned!!!!!
TFTD: "Life is like a box of chocolates....you never know what you'll get!!"
Cheers P
Thursday 19th February 2009...
Still alive and kicking *wink*
Starting the mammoth task of catching up around here. Just finished updating all the stats for the Challenge - wow you are doing fantastic!!!!
This weekend I want to come on and do a BIG entry to catch you all up on the latest and update the boys pages too.
For now I must dash to doctors....but I'll be back (Famous last words eh?)
TFTD: "I must learn that what I cannot change I should not stress about!!"
Cheers P
Monday 9th February 2009...
Sorry for my absence....I've been pretty busy of late. Feels like I'm never home at night these days?? I know I only work two nights a week in Mental Health...and one night out at WW....and one night out at the pub most weeks.....but still :( I miss my boys when I'm not with them.
I've just caught up on all the challenge stats...Wow !!! Some of the girls are really showing me how it can be done :)
Last week was not a good result for me with a 1kg gain and I'm not certain I won't gain a bit more this week yet too :( I SO have to stop drinking *wink* I ended up at an impromptu Sunday pub session yesterday too...the second for the week. Any wonder I gain :)
Must do better this week!!!
Off to work again tonight. We had to lay off our best mate this week too :( I can see more work for me in my future - but I HATE my job :( Come on lotto win!!!!
TFTD: "Our rewards in life are in exact proportion to our contributions!!"
Cheers P
Wednesday 4th February 2009...
I tried another slow cooker dish last night that I wanted to share with you all.....The lovely Nat emailed it to me (thanks Nat!!!) and it was DELISH!!! :)
Slow Cooker BBQ, Honey & Plum Pork
-Your choice of pork pieces....you could use a roasting piece, a scotch fillet or in my case I used 6 small pieces of extra lean pork fillets
-If using a large roasting piece etc brown it in pan first, otherwise I just added mine direct to the slow cooker.
-The marinade sauce is 1:1 ratio of BBQ sauce & SPC plum sauce (comes in a jar) and then a big squirt of honey. Just make as much as you need. I ended up using 1/3 cup each for the BBQ sauce and plum sauce and 2 tbs honey.
-The marinade can be lathered over the meat after the 1 cup of water has already been added to the pan....or in my case I just mixed it all together with the water and poured it in for the meat to cook in.
-I cooked it on low for 5-6hrs but adjust time depending on size of meat cut used.
-When cooked I simply thickened my sauce with a small amount of cornflour and water added to the slow cooker. Alternatively it could be drained and simmered in a saucepan with some gravox type power. Whatever you prefer. Personally I find adding cornflour to the slow cooker easier all round.
I served mine with fresh carrot, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower and mashed potato with the sauce drizzled over the top. I was a hit with the whole family and even the boys scoffed it down.
As for points it would depend on the type and amount of pork you used but for the marinade alone it comes to 6pt.s. Simply divide this by the number of serves (I had more than enough to serve 4 people from this amount of sauce) and add your pork points.
I'm still loving The Biggest Loser by the way! I'm now all caught up with the episodes screened so far. Cath as you said...big sook fest during the first weigh-in but I look forward to them all having something to really cry about once the trainers really let loose on them. Go the brothers I say!!! And I bet the sisters may be the first to go as their commitment seems way below everyone else's?? What do you all think?
TFTD: "Never let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do!!"
Cheers P
Tuesday 3rd February 2009...
Yawn....another tired day after working till almost midnight last night. I did manage to sleep in until 7.30am though when I'd had my alarm set so I wouldn't sleep too late to get Caleb to school. Just as well too because both the boys slept until I woke them at 8am!! Then it was a mad rush to get them up, dressed, fed, teeth brushed, housework done, lunches packed etc to get out the door by 8.30am. But we made it :)
Yesterday before I went to work I watched the first episode of The Biggest Loser from Sunday night. This arvo I'll watch last nights and then we'll be all caught up ready for tonight's episode. Go the brothers I say!!!
I managed to set a new pedometer record for myself yesterday. 11,698 steps, 8.42km and four bonus points! Not too bad considering I had no 'organised' exercise for the day. Being the one to do medications at work helps though as it's LOTS of walking involved going back and forth from the medication room to each patient etc.
It's a rainy day here today. Kind of matches my mood. I've stayed home most days lately and I know I need to get back out there but....I just don't. Ho-hum. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day :)
TFTD: "Look at things not just as they are but how they can be!!"
Cheers P
Monday 2nd February 2009...
Is anyone else watching the new season of The Biggest Loser!!??
Last night was the first episode but I had to tape it so I've not had a chance to see it yet. As I'm working tonight I'll also have to tape that too but hopefully I'll get all caught up on Tuesday night :)
I love that show....so motivating!!!
TFTD: "The biggest journey begins with the smallest of steps!!"
Cheers P
Thursday 29th January 2009...
Another work day for me today until midnight. Ho-Hum!!!
I REALLY REALLY don't feel like it but alas I have to go.
I'm still battling with a low appetite at the moment due to some personal stressors so this weight loss gig is pretty easy for the time being. However because I'm barely eating I have no energy for exercise either.
For now I'm just taking it one day at a time. I'm sure things will get better. They have to.
TFTD: "One day, one hour, one minute at a time if need be!!!"
Cheers P
Tuesday 27th January 2009...
A good loss for me today. 1.3kg down for the week. That's 2kg in two weeks of the challenge
And another goal achieved also :)
My big boy Caleb started year 1 today. All went well. Can't wait to pick him up and hear all about how his first day went :)
I'm also waiting to pick up Simon who had a colonoscopy today. I hope that too only brings good news??
TFTD: "You are successful the moment you start moving towards a worthwhile goal!!!"
Cheers P
Saturday 24th January 2009...
I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight! Well only the boys ate it because Simon is on a very restricted diet in preparation for a Colonoscopy on Tuesday, and I've not got much of an appetite at the moment so only the boys ate it but they ate it all so that's got to be a good sign :) I had a spoonful to taste it and it was YUMMY!
Not only is it a new slow cooker recipe but it's actually a WW crockpot recipe - yet another thing I've discovered I love about the WW Unlimited Online e-tools!!!
Weight Watchers Slow-cooker Sweet and Sour Braised Steak
Ingredients:
-2 clove garlic, crushed
-2 medium onion, finely chopped
-500 g mushroom, sliced
-500 g tomato-based pasta sauce, (with chilli)
-2 whole stock cube, (beef), dissolved in 500ml hot water
-1 standard glass red wine, (185ml)
-1 tsp ground paprika
-1 tbs balsamic vinegar
-1 tbs brown sugar
-1500 g fat trimmed rump steak, cut into 6 equal parts
Instructions:
Combine the garlic, onion, mushroom, pasta sauce, stock, wine, paprika, vinegar and sugar in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Place the steak in a 6 litre capacity slow cooker. Pour the sauce over the meat making sure the meat isn't exposed.
Cover the slow cooker and cook on high heat for 4 hours. Remove the steak from the slow cooker and allow to sit for 2 minutes. Slice steak on the diagonal, against the grain. Arrange the steak on a platter and spoon over the sauce.
Info:
POINTS® Value: 5
Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 180 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Slow-cooked rump steak is an easy way to entertain. Any leftovers make delicious sandwiches too! For something more substantial, try serving this with over brown rice, or pasta with a green vegetable like broccoli.
I served mine to the boys with carrots, peas and some mashed potato and like I said...they loved it :)
I've found a few other slow cooker one's on there to try, along with some others I got emailed to me by the lovely Nat (thanks babe I've not forgotten and I will be trying them!) ...as I try each one I'll share it here with you all.
Oh and by the way.....I've fixed my email probs. So anyone who has been waiting to email me some challenge stats - please do so! If you have already sent them and they are not reflected on the challenge page then please resend as I did not receive.
TFTD: "Only YOU have the power to change!!!"
Cheers P
Wednesday 21st January 2009...
Still having troubel with emails but making progress. Have found one program to retrieve my mail in the meantime....and although I can't reply on this program I can then go back to my original Windows mail to reply. Pain in the ass but is better than nothing until I can get this fixed.
At least I can keep on top of the challenge stats now.
Having some personal issues right now...may not update much for a while so please don't take offence. Will do best I can.
TFTD: "Hindsight is 20:20 vision!!!"
Cheers P
Tuesday 20th January 2009...
Still no email's coming in to me at all!!!!!!! Have to fix it but not sure how? If you are trying to send in your challenge stats please stay patient with me :)
Weigh in this morning for me.... 0.7kg down..., down to 102.9. A goal achieved at last!
Some things in my life are going right at least.
TFTD: "Hindsight is 20:20 vision!!!"
Cheers P
**Email Problems** - I don't seem to be able to get ANY emails at all since last Friday or earlier?? If you have sent stats to me for the challenge or any other matter....hold tight. I'll let you know here when it's sorted. If I don't' get back old messages I'll let you know that here too and ask you to re-send. Bloody computers!!!!!!!!
Monday 19th January 2009...
Getting close to week one weigh-in now. Tomorrow is the day.
I've continued to use my online tracker every day. At this stage I am 7pt's over for the week but I also have earned 8 bonus points from exercise so technically I guess I am one point under.
I'm under a LOT of stress at the moment so my appetite has pretty much gone entirely.
I think tomorrow's result will be good.
TFTD: "You can't build a reputation on the things you are 'going' to do!!!"
Cheers P
Saturday 17th January 2009...
There is definitely something to be said for the recommendation that when tracking one's food intake for weight loss purposes....you should ALWAYS check the value and track it BEFORE you eat it. I've drank skim milk for years, in fact I don't even really drink that as such but I use it in cooking etc. I've never been a big milk drinker. Anyhoo....last night I went to make something that had one cup of milk in it. Since I did not have any skim milk I went first to my online tracker to check the points of full milk....HOLY COW!!!! 4.5pt's a cup instead of the 1pt I am used to for skim milk!!! Yikes!!! Needless to say I gave the milk a miss :)
TFTD: "As you think, so shall you become!!!"
Cheers P
Friday 16th January 2009...
A recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that keeping a "food diary" may double your weight loss efforts. Researchers discovered the more participants recorded what they ate, the more weight they lost in the end. Participants who did not keep a food diary lost about 9 pounds over the course of the study, while those who recorded their food intake six or more days per week lost 18 pounds—twice as much as those who didn't track any food!
Hmm certainly provides some...err...food...for thought *wink*
I am loving the new online tracker on the Weight Watchers Unlimited E-tools site. I wish I'd joined Unlimited and got access to this long ago!!!! Yesterday was my first full day for the new week and I finished on 20 out of 25 food points so I was able to save the maximum 4pt's for the day. I also earned 3 bonus points from exercise (more on that below). So from day one I already have 7 points technically saved but then I almost never use exercise points so really I'm looking at it as 4 pt's up my sleeve :)
Yesterday, as I mentioned was also my first full day with my new WW pedometer. It was a work night for me and I was on medications for the ward so that meant lot's of walking. I finished the night on 10,191 steps which it tells me earned me 3 bonus points. Today being a non work day it's much less. So far it's nearly 8PM and I'm sitting on 5783 steps.
Tomorrow Simon and I have planned to take the boys down to the Esplanade and I'll push Talyn in his trike while Simon works on teaching Caleb to ride his bike without his training wheels - god only knows how that will go HaHa but at least it will be some good bonus steps for me :)
Hope everyone who is participating is enjoying their first week of the
'Oh-So-Slim in '09 Challenge'. Not too late to join for those fence sitters out there.....just go to the challenge page using the link above for all the details.
I'm hoping to post a loss of ANY AMOUNT this week and I'll be happy. After gaining over Xmas any loss would be lovely!! :)
TFTD: "Day by day, in every way, I'm getting better!!!"
Cheers P
Thursday 15th January 2009...
Another Thursday, another work day rolls around....Ho-Hum!!!!!!
I am excited about one thing today though.....last night at WW I purchased a brand new pedometer!!! Very exciting :)
I really wanted it in time to wear to work today as I barely sit down most shifts and I'm really curious to see just how many steps I do on an average shift. Especially if I am on medications for the night my legs ache by the end of the shift from all the walking so I can't wait to see the results at the end of tonight.
I seem to be really slack/or just too plain busy of late for much organised exercise so while I get my ass back in to gear in that regard I can now at least keep an eye on my incidental exercise and try to improve that each day.
Will let you know tomorrow how day one goes :)
Don't forget.....the 'Oh-So-Slim in '09 Challenge' begins this week and it's not too late for you to join!!!!! Check out the challenge page for all the details :)
TFTD: "It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan!!!"
Cheers P
Tuesday 13th January 2009...
Roll up! Roll up!
The new challenge has begun!!!
The 'Oh-So-Slim in '09 Challenge' begins this week and it's not too late for you to join!!!!! :)
This is the 'start weight week'. Meaning that whatever day is your usual weigh-in day, you just use that result as your start weight. Then on the same day each week you weigh in and send in your results. It's six weeks long and it's that easy to be a part of it. Simply head to the challenge page here for all the details on how to get involved. It's free, anonymous, fun and motivating. What have you got to lose :)
I personally have plenty to lose . . . weight that is!!!! :)
I gained AGAIN this week. Only 0.4kg and I know it is directly related to the number of chocolate crackles and honey joys I ate at Talyn's 2nd birthday party on Sunday....snicker. But you get that! I had the most fantastic day and had a total blast so if a small gain is my price to pay for that so be it ;)
Besides which...this Xmas weight loss holiday has gone on far too long. I'm so over feeling like crap about it. I've barely exercised for weeks on end and it's time I got back into the swing of things. Tomorrow I'll begin my first full week of tracking using the WW Ultimate online E-tools which I love love love!! I'm also going to get back into exercise this week. I really really want to be back into the 90s by the end of this 6wk challenge. And I know from experience that if I REALLY want something....nothing can stop me. 90's here I come!!!!!!!!
TFTD: "You are today what you have consented to be!!!"
Cheers P
Monday 12th January 2009...
On this day, 2yrs ago....I welcomed my second son into the world.
HAPPY HAPPY 2ND B IRTHDAY TALYN!!!!!!!!
And a happy 21st birthday also to my niece Zara :)
To everyone else....I'll be back tomorrow with more. I have had the BIGGEST weekend, with Talyn's birthday party and everything else. Today I'm spending time with the birthday boy before I have to go to work from 1.30pm - 12 midnight. Boo-hoo :(
Add to that the fact that my brother in law is staying with us and does not get his lazy ass out of bed (and out of my study where the computer is) until some time in the afternoon.....let's just say my computer time since he arrived last Wednesday has been minimal to say the least.
This week is the start week for the new Challenge and thanks to everyone who has already sent me emails to join. I'll have everything up and running by tomorrow :)
Talk more then.
Cheers P
Wednesday 7th January 2009...
Wow!
From the very brief time I've been able to spend on it so far - I gotta say - I love the e-tools on the WW Unlimited site. So far as I know only 'Unlimited' or 'At home/Online' members have access to it but....Wow!
My favorite part so far from my brief sticky beaking would have to be the online tracker. Now when I'd heard this before I thought....an online tracker - big deal! Let me tell you it is a big deal and I'll tell you why.
First and foremost tracking is SO important!!!! When I'm off track or only making a half assed effort I never track, or I may start but never keep it up for a full day let alone a full week. For someone like me who has the computer online all day and just pops in and out this is perfect for me.
The BEST part about it is how it finds the points values for you. No more searching all through the points books trying to find what category something is listed under etc. With e-tools I put in a boiled egg and it told me the value. Then I'd had 90g of baked beans with my egg. I put in baked beans, scrolled down to chose the brand then entered the exact weight of what I'd eaten and Voila - it told me 1.5pt's. So easy!!!!
I'm really looking forward to seeing the weight loss charts and other features develop further as I go along in time but for now I'm impressed enough just with the tracker.
I think with this tool tracking will suddenly get a whole lot easier for me. And who hasn't rounded down the odd tracking value or decided not to give something quite so many points in some twisted way to trick ourselves into having what we want. With this there is no cheating. Granted you still have to input it and in the correct amount but the rest is done for you so there is no mind games and fuzzy figures....it's great!
Now I can't wait to get some more time to check out what else lurks in e-tools :)
We've had our first participants for the Oh-So-Slim in '09 Challenge coming in. So come on ... what are YOU waiting for??? :)
TFTD: "Don't just get through the day - get from the day!!!"
Cheers P
Tuesday 6th January 2009...
Yawn!!!!!!!
I'm so tired! Last night was my first night of beginning to work two nights a week. What I am NOT looking forward to is feeling like this two mornings a week. Into bed about 12.30am and up at 6.00am with the boys. Oh well....lucky they pay me a sinful amount for it ;)
Before I forget......I wanted to remind you again that we are now taking participants for the Oh-So-Slim in '09 Challenge. Full instructions on how to join can be found on the challenge page. Next week is the week to take your start weight then the following week the wk1 results will be due. After all the Christmas excesses I'm SO ready for this new challenge!!!! :)
Speaking of festive excesses....it was time to face mine today. I went for my first WW weigh-in since Dec 2nd. Yikes had it been that long!!!?? Not surprisingly I gained..... 2.2kg in fact. But given that it's been 5 wk's plus Xmas/NY in between....I feel actually ok about that. I can tell you it was higher back closer to Xmas. Also...I'm just really glad to be back to having weighed in and on with a brand new week, new year, new me :)
I also joined WW unlimited today for the first time. It brings my meeting costs down to about $13 a week instead of $18 and I also get free use of the online E-tools at the WW site so I look forward to exploring that more in the days to come. Will let you know what I find there :)
How's the quitting smoking going you ask?? Well not too bad. I had a brief relapse on Sunday night when I was drinking vodka (yeah I know silly move to drink!!) and I had about 5 cigs. That's the only one's I've had since Dec 31st so I'm getting there. Back to day 2 again today but I feel good that I got through my whole shift at work last night without giving in to temptation - yey!!
Monday night was just a little hiccup but I won't let it stop me.
A few people commented on the fact that they were surprised I was a smoker. I must admit I sure didn't advertise the fact as I HATE that I am. I smoked for about 10yrs then quit prior to falling pregnant with Caleb. I was off the cigs for the best part of 5yrs while I was pregnant and breastfeeding the boys. Then....slowly....the old habit crept back. I am a TOTAL social smoker and never smoke alone, so on a typical day I may have 2 or 3 cigs in the evening after dinner and that's it. I've never smoked inside my house and I have never smoked in my car since I've had kids (not even when they are not in the car - I don't want my car or house to smell nor do I want to expose them to it).
So yes....a normal day may be 2 or 3 cigs....but put me in a social situation with other smokers and I'll smoke much more. Put an alcoholic drink in my hand and I'm suddenly Mrs Smokey Smokerson *wink* On an average pub night I'd have 15-20 if not more. So you see.... my social life totally governs my smoking life :( But neither of us smoke in front of the Caleb nor around either of them nearby. But still.....it's a filthy habit that is shortening my life, ruining my health and setting a terrible example for them in the future. Hence why I am quitting. :)
One day at a time :)
For those of you who may have missed it.....I updated all the boys photo pages last week. All our Xmas photo's can be seen at Caleb or Talyn's photo pages for anyone who's interested :)
TFTD: "Why not go out on a limb?? Isn't that where the fruit is??!!!"
Cheers P
Sunday 4th January 2009...
I've FINALLY uploaded Xmas photo's and other happy snaps to Caleb's photo page and Talyn's photo page. Drop by and have a look :)
Day 4 with no cigs. I'm a complete emotional wreck. But so far I'm wimning this battle!!
However it's really messing with my head and my moods. Hence why I'll leave it here for today :(
TFTD: "Never, never, never quit!!!"
Cheers P
Saturday 3rd January 2009...
Tee-he. Just noticed I had still put 2008 in the last entry title - am surprised no-one called me on that *wink*
Am feeling VERY irritable and stressed out today.
Simon and I are once again trying to kick our smoking habit. Even though I am only a social smoker it is still hard. I went to a friends 5yr old party yesterday (Caleb's best mate) and I spent the entire party walking around with a party blower between my fingers to avoid the urge. The only reason I wanted one was because I was in a social situation with other smokers there. Once I was home I was fine - until after dinner which is usually the time I'll have my first cig for the day if I've been alone.
This was made MUCH worse by the fact that, even though we both only quit on January 1st Simon had already broke and had one yesterday lunch time when he went to the pub. Aaargh!!! This led to a massive argument and then I wanted one more then ever.
So I went out and I bought a packet. I held it. I looked at it...but after much soul searching I did not open it. Of course I nearly caved again when I came home only to find Simon having ANOTHER cigarette....but still I did not give in.
So I have made it to day 3 but now I have a lot of tension between Simon and I and I ate shit food last night to drown my emotions.
I don't know how I'm going to eat well and quit smoking at the same time.
It just might kill me :(
*snicker*
Instead I've just kept insanely busy today. I was up early, showered, did morning chores, dressed and fed Talyn (Caleb went to work with Simon today out of town all day), I put away 3 massive baskets of washing, washed another load then put that away too, did dusting, vac'd the floors, put tea in the slow cooker for tonight and prepared all the veggies ready too, went to shops to get my magazine fix, vac'd my car, fed Talyn lunch, made Simons work lunch for tomorrow, played with Talyn in the trampoline, the cubby house and at his chalk board wall in the cubby, watched Wiggles and Teletubbies and played around inside with cars, crayons and books....the list goes on....and still I'm only half way through the day.
Time now to tuck the boy into bed and read him stories before I make myself some lunch and relax with a mag. If I still can't take my mind off it I'll nap too.
Give me strength!!!!!
TFTD: "Never underestimate the power of influence!!!"
Cheers P
Thursday 1st January 2009...
Well baby.....I'm back!
Not only am I back but I am back with ... AT LAST.....a BRAND NEW....FULLY functioning ..... NEW COMPUTER!!!! Hoorah! And now at long last my site builder opens first time every time! Even getting on to this page to update used to take me 4 or 5 restarts minimum. Now just 4 clicks and I'm on - AWESOME!!!! So hang onto your seats ladies and gents as I'm going to be updating a LOT LOT more :)
Phew what a crazy Silly-Season it's been!!!! Christmas was awesome (see Caleb or Talyn's page for all the goss on our Christmas). New Year's Eve was a great night for us all. And now...the new year is upon us.
What are we going to do with it?
What are YOU going to do with it?
There is nothing....NOTHING more motivating than January 1st of a brand new year don't you think?
A full year stretches ahead of us! The excesses of the festive season have drawn to a close and many of us feel a little snugger in our clothes, a little lacking in exercise and most of us swearing we'll do better this year.
Well it's time.
This is it.
2009.
A brand new year.
I for one am going to make the most of it :)
New Challenge sign up - *CLICK HERE*
TFTD: "No matter what my past has been, I can always begin anew!!!"
Cheers P
