I let myself be sabotaged - hubby bought home an apple pie last night and I had some of his fries. I didn't beat myself up over it. I had told him that I wanted to lose weight the day before, well today I get home and my son tells me that there is a custard tart for me in the fridge. That's where it's staying until someone else eats it.

This weekend we are going to see a musical that one of our friend's daughter is in, it's Dirty Rotten Scoundrals. I was thinking about going out to buy something to wear, then this morning checked my wardrobe trying on a couple of dresses. A favourite dress from last year was was a little tight is no longer a little tight! Another dress that I wore because it covered my bulges until the day I caught sight of my reflection and realised it made me look like a tent. I do like the dress and when trying it on today realised a belt was all it needed. So after buying 3 belts tonight, el cheapo from Kmart, a plain tan, a plaited tan and a black one. Tried all with the dress and decided the plaited one looks best. So my garment for Saturday night is sorted.

Tonight I got into my wardrobe and started trying on tops, was doing a happy dance in front of the mirror when all the much too tight were only a little tight.

Thanks Robyn for your comment, it's nice to know someone does read this. Carbs are my problem child, I have had success before with low carb eating - until the addiction raised it's ugly head again. Rice is going to be the hardest, I love Sushi.

Have been having fresh fruit smoothies for breakfast, around midday I have a bit of fruit to quell the hunger until my alloted lunch time at work. Today had chicken and Caeser Salad at a cafe but tomorrow it's homemade vegie soup. I keep a one litre water bottle at work, the water filter at work spits out chilled water, I like room temperature, my goal is to empty that bottle by the end of the day. I have hot water with my midday snack, lunch and afternoon tea, extra to the one litre. I am a tea drinker but like to keep my intake down, I haven't bothered replacing my tea stores at work. Right now I have a cup or two a day. Have just finished my cup for today, a delicious tea with Eyebright and Goji.

8 Weeks

In 8 weeks we have a wedding to go to, I really want to lose some weight for it.

Today I saw a gorgeous dress in a local dress shop, I tried on an 18, it was tight across the bust, the under bust seam not quite sitting under bust. I was tempted to buy it to diet into but I don't want to be wearing an 18.

Actually I shouldn't be worried about it, it's only a number because these days there don't seem to be any standardisation in dress sizing. Depending on which shop and often different items in the same shop. the size of clothes I wear varies. One shop made me cry when I saw the size of the items that fitted me, then I realised their sizing seemed be 2 sizes different from everywhere else.

I have been losing weight and recently bought some items in 16 and even a 14 that fit me.

I have been listening to the Gabriel Method CD at night, using visualisations to see myself slimmer, that was hard to do. I'd look at pictures to find the body I want, in magazines, on the net and then couldn't imagine my head on that body. I'd never look like that in million years. I've always been fat, yadda, yadda. I found a picture of myself at my sister's wedding,aged about 19 years, I realised that in fact I wasn't fat. I weighed about 58 kilos back then..... a weight considered fat by my family because I was and had been bigger than my older sister for a long time - a quote from those days "Cheryl only has to look at what Sue eats and she gains weight". Sue my older sister at the time of her wedding still bought her clothes in the childrens dept and at another wedding later that year a stranger pointed her out, asking me if "that little girl over there was pregnant". For years I told myself I was meant to be fat.

Well listening to the CD is changing that, I am using my own picture to visualise my perfect body, able to see myself without the double chin, which in fact is diminishing. Whether I get down to 58 kilos is not important, but being able to see myself as that size is definitely helping. I got dressed today and looked the mirror actually wowing what I saw, there is a change in how I see myself.

I am exercising more, today I got out the 3 mile Walk Away The Pounds, put it on the mini DVD player and watched a Grow Your Own Drugs DVD on the TV while doing the exercises. It was great because I wasn't watching all those great bodies and feeling despondant about my own. I did only do 2 miles, the DVD player ran out of power, it must have felt sorry for me.

First time with an Artichoke.

Saw Artichokes when I was at the greengrocers today, couldn't help myself I had to buy one.

At home a quick search on the internet I found the recipe I was looking for, I think it's Julia's, at Serious Eats.

2 globe artichokes
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and chilled
Juice of two lemons to make 1/4 cup
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch of white pepper (optional)


The only other thing I had to buy was the butter, another internet search to find how much a stick of butter weighed in grams - around 113g, a little less than half a pack.

It was my first time cooking and eating an Artichoke, I think I may have bought one before but had no idea what to do with it and ended up throwing it out.

I did find the lemon a bit overpowering, I ended up eating it with very little sauce and ground salt.

Very easy to make, time consuming to eat and not that filling, not for a one course lunch anyway. A couple of mini muffins and Tim Tams with a cup of tea helped with that.

Julie & Julia

A new movie has been added to my list of favourites, Julie & Julia.



My husband bought the DVD and I had no idea what it was about, I only put it on because Meryl Streep was in it and I had watched Mamma Mia yesterday so was in a Meryl state of mind. Random thought Meryl rhymes with Cheryl :).

Opening scenes when Meryl/Julia starts talking I found the accent baffling, then a few minutes in I realise it's Julia Child she is playing. As an Australian I didn't have a lot of Julia Child exposure, I know I saw her on cable years ago and my husband bought a cooking CD Rom for me years ago that I don't think I ever used.

So now I am in love with Julia Child, gave me the cooking bug, I didn't even complain when I had to pause the movie half way through to cook dinner. Not up to Julia standards of course. Right after the movie I got on the computer and watched the boeuf bourguignon episode on You Tube. I so have to make this, will have to have an actual dinner party. I haven't had one of those in almost forever - my grand totals of dinner parties stand at a resounding one - my husband's birthday not long after we moved here. Of course I'll have to make 2 versions - one with a wine substitute or without, have made something similar before. My husband refuses to eat food made with any alcohol, he doesn't touch the stuff and won't believe it cooks out. Oh and leave out the mushrooms too, he doesn't like those, I may get away with the onions if I leave them off his plate. My fault for marrying a fussy eater.

Now I might just put in the Julia Child Home Cooking with Master Chefs CDR, just tried and it's so old I can't get it to play, only have audio that seems to start partway through lessons.

Favourite things.

While I was reading after breakfast this morning I thought about how neglected and unloved a lot of my house looked. Decided to make a start with the dresser in my dining room, first I looked over it to see if there was anything I didn't love on it and decided that most of the items were definitely loved.





My Old Country Roses Tea Cup set, a gift from my Mum for either my 18th or 21st Birthday, my Grandmother's lolly Jar. After Nanna passed away I was lucky enough (or was it fast enough?) to get a few coveted items, this jar I noticed a few weeks later sitting in Mum's kitchen after she washed it. I asked if I could have it, was told no that she liked it. I replied that she already had one, was told no she didn't, this went back and forth a couple of times. Until Mum in esparation said that she and Dad had bought it for my Grandmother not long after they married and in fact she had bought 3, one for her mother, one for Dad's mother and one for....... that's when she exclaimed "Where's mine?!!" remembering she always kept it on display but it was no longer there. I found it in a cupboard where she had put it away for safe keeping away after a close call with a toddling Grandchild.



The jug, tray and lace edged cloth also came from my Grandmother. The Windmill plate was a housewarming gift from Nanna when I invited her over for morning tea not long after I moved in here. She made me promise to look after it. Just after her death conversation got around to the fact that Nanna had noticed that items of hers were disappearing, she thought they had been broken or taken by others. Mum mentioned the Windmill Plate was one of those items, I told her I had it and had recieved it as a gift. We realised that Nanna's memory had been pretty shot and she didn't remember giving the items away, we now know where several of the items are. The lace cloth is handmade, either by Nanna's Grandmother or Aunt.



These glasses are so special to me, they are the first things I ever won. I was maybe 4 years old and won these at a school fete, they came in a basket shaped like a 3 leaf clover (long gone). Orginally 6 glasses one got broken long ago. When Dad used to make Rhubarb Wine we were allowed to have little in these little glasses on special occasions.
Turned wooden items made by my husband, photos of the most special people in my life, my 2 children - now 19 and 16.


Pretty teacup, vintage scale which I am not sure where it came from. May have bought it. The sweet little teddy who's name is Byron was originally made by me from a free internet pattern. I was so pleased with him and he has buttons holding his arms and legs on. The buttons came from a worn out favourite jacket. I remember the day I finished him I went over to my parent's place and was visiting with my Grandmother who was telling me about a day trip she had been on with a friend that day. She started telling me about the cutest little bear she had seen that was sitting in a teacup and how she wanted to buy one but wasn't able to afford it. I stopped our conversation saying I'd be right back and ran home (I live behind my parents, so not a long run) and grabbed Byron for her. She was so delighted with him and displayed him in a teacup. I only found him today after wondering where he was, I had thought he'd been put in with my Christmas bears and packed away but hadn't found him last Christmas. I found him stuffed into the bowl above which had been put in a cupboard. So happy to have him back.




Unfortunately the website, www.teddybearshug.com no longer exists but I was able to search for it with the Wayback Machine, heading back to 2006 where I was able to access the pattern.