Post Preggy Body Update

Princess is 6 months old. Therefore, I have had 6 months in which to get my body back in shape and I should be back to at least where I was before getting pregnant, right?

Well, no.

I love eating and my baby loves sleeping so mummy is a bit sedentary and I have every last kilo of baby weight riding on my hips and bum. I am 76.5kg and steady...

I've decided to stop stressing. When Princess stops sleeping every 2 hours and wants to be out and about then we can play chase in the park or go for long walks and even maybe take up jogging with my super-expensive jogging pram!

No, I'm not giving up! I still keep an eye on what I'm eating and I do use my cross trainer several times a week and I attend a boot camp on Mondays. We eat almost no junk food and no takeaways and very little fat. My problem lies in portion control and wine. I do track my intake in Weightwatchers and I chomp/drink a good 10 extra points most days. *sigh*

Oddly enough, I have attracted a number of unsolicited compliments from my girlfriends recently. I was out for (OMG my first since Princess was born!!! Squeeee!) a girls night last week, and was told I'm looking great. I laughed of course, thinking they were just being nice. But no, seems I carry my weight well and the exercise I am doing has shaped it into curves. "Your butt looks fantastic in those jeans!" said a friend.

I'll admit, I cracked a week or so ago (when I wrote that rant about hating my body) and went shopping for a few clothes that actually fit. Jeans that don't muffin-top. Bras that don't cut. Shorts that don't gather up in the crotch. Yes, I went up a dress size for a few items... and how nice is it to have things that don't hurt to wear?! My Mom brought me a bunch of good-quality M&S cotton t-shirts that I can wear with anything and which suit my shape, and I look... ok.

Phew.

Apart from weight, where is the post-preggy-Saffa-body?

I can sneeze on a full bladder!
I can suck in my tummy and most of it obeys.
My feet still hurt most of the time but they're getting better. Luckily they are still the same size as before.
Boobies have shrunk and perked up back to where they were before pregnancy - Milord is thrilled.
My hair is a bit odd. I shed like fury during December and January, and now I see I have a thatch of new growth coming through about 1cm long.
Princess' milk feeds don't take long at all so the terrible neck-back-ache I used to have from holding her just so for the breast or bottle for half an hour at a time has eased.

So yeah. All pretty good. I'm in a very good place right now!

Post Preggy Body Update

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! 77kg. I am again heavier than when. I. gave. birth!

Nothing fits. Dieting sucks. Exercise sucks. Hate it hate it hate it!!!

Princess Update

Happy New Year!

Our New Years Eve was very quiet. The boys played Xbox, our hostess went out to a party, the kids slept and I read my book. Milord came outside to watch the distant fireworks at midnight and had a snog with me, and then we crashed off to bed. A bit dull, and I'm sure my hostess wished she'd stayed at her friend's party instead of coming home for midnight!


We are now home in Sydney, enjoying the relative coolth and lower humidity. While it was lovely to be away in the heat for a while we were all very ready to come home. I couldn't live in the tropics - it's exhausting to be that sweaty all the time!

We are all very tired. Not only did the heat cause us to sleep badly, but our bedroom faced east and dawn was before 5am every day! Princess found the change of scene unsettling and stopped sleeping through. Plus we all caught a cold in turn - Milord brought it home and was a sore-headed-bear. Princess caught a milder version off him and was a limp grumbler. Then I got an even milder version from her and just ached and sniffed.

Since being home we were all sleeping like the dead, but I've been harbouring another cold and now Princess has caught it off me. So no sleeping through yet - she's waking every 4 hours for medicine (which she hates, poor little thing), food and a cuddle. Milord says he had forgotten what waking every 4 hours is like! I hope tonight is better...


Apart from that Princess is thriving like a weed.
Weight: 6.7kg
Length: 65cm

This puts her just above average for her age on the weight and height charts. Perfect.

She's getting very strong at holding her head up during tummy-time, and has really begun enjoying her bath - especially now that she fits properly into the seat bit of the baby bath.

Princess' evening "Toxic Time" has finally passed. While Mom was here Princess started going to sleep around 8pm from time to time, and over the last few weeks she has been falling asleep around 7pm. I am now able to begin to implement an evening routine, where between 6pm and 7pm Princess has a bath and a feed, then sits in my lap while I read a book to her. At 7pm I put her to bed. Sometimes she goes to sleep easily, and sometimes I have to go in every 10 minutes to comfort her until she drops off, but it is wonderful to have a routine at last!


Of course this interferes horribly with dinner-prep. What I am trying to do now is to prepare whatever is going to be required for dinner during the afternoon and pop it in the fridge. Then once Princess is in bed I can hurl stuff at the stove aiming for an 8pm eating time. Tonight Milord is cooking for us and I can sit at the computer and catch up on a little blogging - heaven!

The only thing missing is a glass of wine. I have gone off the grog for January. Mainly to kick-start some much-needed weight-loss, but also because after the festive season I am totally sick of wine and junk food! I've also begun sticking to my Weightwatchers points, doing the odd half-hour on the x-trainer and drinking a lot of water, so hopefully the excess fat will begin to melt off... wish me luck!

Post Preggy Body

As I said in my last post, Princess is 3 weeks old. So, my body has had 3 weeks to recover from pregnancy and birth...

...can I just say that I almost feel like a fraud when I say "recover from birth"? My experience was so relaxed and painfree it seems like there should be nothing to recover from. It is only when I go for a walk and develop an ache afterward that I think "Oh yeah, I gave birth the other day! Better take it easy".

As with most things to do with Princess I have been very lucky. When we got home from hospital I was only 4kg over my pre-conception weight, and I've lost 2 of those since. I am not dieting by any means, but I don't seem to have the uncontrollable munchies that other breastfeeding women talk about so the extra weight is gently melting off. If I was to cut out the chocolate, cheese and pate I'm sure I could drop those final kilos easily but a girl needs a reason to get out of bed, right?

I am still in maternity jeans because I can't get into my pre-preggy trousers. They say my hips will have widened to help childbirth... I hope my hips go back into place or I will have to go up a pants size! Or is this a myth and it's a new fat distribution? These trousers have fitted me in the past when I was this weight... I wonder.

My tummy is obviously a bit flabby, but with my bigger hips and boobs it sort of looks ok - it took me a while to get used to a soft tummy again after 6 months of carrying a hard drum around! My tummy muscles are very soft and stretched, but I'm doing a few gentle core and ab exercises every day (when I remember) and I think I feel a little toning happening under the flab. I also do pelvic floor exercises at random times in the day when I think of it, and sneezing is less likely to make me damp myself!



Princess and I go for a walk every few days, but I'd rather be catching up on sleep instead so if she is settled we don't go anywhere. Today I napped. Yesterday she was screaming so we walked around the neighbourhood for an hour. I passed a number of schools as they let out with Princess going "wah... wah... wah... WAH... WAH... WAH... wah... wah...". I felt like handing out birth control pamphlets to all the youngsters!

My lochia (post natal bleeding) pretty much stopped at 2 weeks. I just need panty liners now to catch the smidgen that's still coming. I'll be very happy when I don't need those anymore - pads gross me out. My uterus shrank back very fast apparently - when I was still in hospital they'd prod me and go "wow, that was quick". Excellent.

I still have an episiotomy stitch or two that I can feel when I wash - I assume they will fall out any day now. Everything in that area has healed very nicely. Even in the first couple of days weeing was not a problem, and bowel movements were just fine. Wiping afterward was a problem though! I'd end up squatting in the bath to wash instead, and just gently pat the area dry with toilet paper.

My boobs are not much bigger than when I was pregnant - I seem to be a size D now. I got really hard sore boobs when my milk came in, but since then they're not too bad. Princess doesn't go long enough between feeds for my boobs to get very engorged. I do have leakage - mostly from the boob not in use when feeding - so I'm wearing pads for that. Charming. I love having pads stuck all over my body! Luckily the breast pads have adhesive strips so I can wear them in a vest top at night as I'd hate to have to sleep in a bra.

Measurements:
Weight: 73.5kg
Boobs: 100cm (this varies a lot depending on feeding)
Ribs: 85cm (3 more than pre pregnancy)
Waist: 90cm (3 more than pre pregnancy)
Hips: 102cm (4 more than pre pregnancy)
Thigh: 58cm (same as pre pregnancy)

First Day of Work 2009

So I made it into work today. I have a squeaky version of my voice now and my cough is under control... Someone has already asked me if I partied too hard over New Year! Geez I wish.

I'm feeling a bit tired so I probably won't work a full day...

Signs that the gods want me to go home:
1. My security pass isn't working. I had to wait 20 min in the lift lobby for someone to let me in to my floor!
2. My other team members haven't arrived. I wonder if they have taken the day off. This is awkward because I'm not sure what I should be working on... nothing much seems to have changed in the code since I was here a week ago!

Hey, one piece of good news - I've lost more than a kilo (2 pounds) over the past week. When I was very ill I wasn't interested in food, and when I started getting better I only wanted things like fresh fruit and salad - I went right off bread and meat and sweets. I now have an idea of what "consumption" must have been like in times past. *shivers*

I can't recommend being sick as a weight loss technique, but it's nice to begin the year with the festive fat already gone!

I have 28 days until Mom arrives in Sydney. I'll have to work for the first week that she is here, but then I'll have two weeks off with her before I fly to Cape Town for a wedding. This time we're staying put in Sydney, and I'm looking forward to exploring nearby attractions and going hiking in the national parks. Milord is pretending to be anxious about having her here for 3 weeks, but they actually get on fine!

Weight Update

It's been a while since I did one of these, and that's because I do not have any good news...

Septsober did nothing for me, and last month spiraled out of control with weddings and holidays. Bugger.

I need to get back into exercise, as I seem to be doing less and less. Milord and I have done nothing for exercise on the weekends since before our wedding, and I couldn't run a 6min km right now if my life depended on it!

Look at this:


Revolting.

Can you see my holiday week? Oh yes.

Grump grump grump...

Milord is in the pub after watching the Melbourne Cup all afternoon. He sounds half-plastered. We are supposed to be going out to dinner together tonight but now I don't much feel like it...

Or maybe I should get over myself and go and join him and play catch up? Hmmm.

If you can't beat 'em join 'em eh! Byeeeeee blogees!

Septsober

39 days to my sailing holiday! Squeee!

Time to get serious about losing a little weight and toning up. I have challenged Milord to join me for a month off the grog and he's keen, so here we go! It's not going to be easy but at least we have no major engagements lined up this month. A detox should be good for our fertility too... the poor little drunken swimmers don't seem to be doing their job very well!

There is a charity drive in Aus for people to do a sponsored dry month in October - called Ocsober. It's not going to work for me though, as October is my holiday time and we also have 2 weddings happening then. Septsober it is instead!

Here's my monthly weight graph (just the to date one as I haven't changed much):


I've been awfully lazy lately and haven't made it to the gym for weeks. My weight has somehow stayed steady, but my middle's gone a bit flabby. No more excuses! No more lunches reading blogs instead of getting to the gym!

Running and Weight and Stuff

So how's my running going? It's going fine thanks, I'm still managing 6min/km over 5km... sadly though I ended up moving boxes and furniture instead of running the fun run I was sort of training for last weekend.

I decided that the move was more important, and more significantly Milord had given up a rare golf game opportunity to move stuff so it seemed very rude of me to disappear for most of Sunday for a run! He encouraged me to go but I had a feeling it would come back and bite me in the butt the next time he felt cranky.

You know how it goes.

The physical work on the weekend was probably harder than running 14km in the end, and I have only just stopped hurting! I lost a bit of weight last week and started this week on 69kg - woohoo! I'm up from that today but I feel bloated so I'm ignoring that reading (denial!). I feel a bit flabby around the middle and that is probably because I've been hitting the snooze button too much and missing my morning sit-ups!

In spite of that I'm giving myself a rest week from the gym and have been having lunch with Milord (we need quality time away from home) or else we dash to the house and check on the tradesmen. Yesterday we went to have a word with the tiler to try to convince him to finish the bathroom before Saturday.

I may be bathing in a bucket for a few days.

Fine, whatever. I'm over stressing about it. Bring it on!

Weight Goals

The beginning of August... I doubt anyone notices but 1 August 2007 has been the start date of my "weight to date" graph that I post every month. That means I've been graphing my weight for a year now.

On the whole it's been an encouraging sight, but I have noticed that I've stalled for the past few months. I've been maintaining at just under 70kg for ages, and the reason is simple: too much nutrition, not enough exercise! I think I've become complacent with my achievements. My ticker has been stuck on half way - and half way's pretty good right?

Time to mess with my head. I'm changing the ticker start value to 70kg, and I'll begin shifting the start date of the weight graph too - to reflect just the past year. This means my current flatlining will become more obvious and hopefully I'll be motivated to do something about it!

Also, it's sort of spring here now. Jasmine, honeysuckle and magnolias are flowering in spite of the cold. The days are getting longer, and it's just over 2 months to my sailing holiday. Incentive, much? You bet!

No real change this past month, so I'll just show the
Weight Graph to Date:

Running etc

Yay - I've done 5km in 30min! Goaaal!

It was jolly hard though. I "hit the wall" at 20min and I really didn't think I'd manage to keep my speed up. I talked myself into at least finishing 4km before slowing down. Then I saw I only had to keep it up for 6min more and pushed on. My legs were like lead at the end and it took 5 minutes of cooling off to get my heart rate down to something sensible!

I'm very pleased. Now I can try to go faster, or uphill, or both perhaps! I have to keep it interesting or else I know I'll stop going. The best part about running 5km in 30min is that I have more cooling off time before I have to get back to work - 7 minutes more than when I first ran it!

Hmm what else in the weight/fitness arena? I resorted to living on juice for a couple of days this week to detox a little and kick some weight because I broke 70kg in the wrong direction over the weekend. I cheated a lot though - purists would be horrified - and bought all my juices from the supermarket! 1 litre of fresh juice in the morning, 1 litre of V8 veggie juice in the afternoon, 1 litre of water in between and miso soup for dinner. I dropped half a kilo and I'm sure just being off wine and starch and dairy was good for me. I may have had far too much salt though - I didn't realise how much was in the V8 until too late, and miso is definitely salty.

Now, as I say at least once a week, back onto weightwatchers! I really would like to look fab at a friend's wedding in October, and that's also the start of our sailing holiday. Bikini time!

Hard to think about bikinis today... it's cold and wet and blustery. The last few World Youth Day hangers-on look tired and cold and bedraggled. Poor things. When I come out of the office to head home to my cosy house I see them loitering about in the dark with their "pilgrim passports" slung around their necks. I keep getting visions of Paddington Bear standing alone with his suitcase and a note saying "Please look after this bear. Thank you".

Bless...
Now go home!

Running...

This time last year I was a bit broken. I'd overtrained for the 14km City to Surf fun run and it turns out I was using the wrong shoes too so my right ankle gave up on me. Every time it seemed to clear up I'd run on it again because I was desperate to train, and I'd make it worse. Then I did the fun run anyway and walked it, and discovered that it was fine to walk the thing, most people do anyway, and it is so busy that I would struggle to run much regardless.

This year I'm taking my training far less seriously and I'm having rather good results. All I'm trying to do is run 5km in 30 minutes - I reckon that will get me fit enough to handle the walk-jog-walk I expect the City to Surf to be. If you're a real runner (Hi Dad!) you'll know that this is actually a very slow pace. Not for me it isn't! Today I did the 5km in 32 minutes, my best so far and 1min off last week. My average heart rate was 170bpm. (Yes way. Apparently some of us just have a nutty exertion bpm. My resting rate is normal, thanks)

Last year I remember bewailing the fact that I wasn't losing weight or size in spite of gaining fitness. Don't give me the "muscle weighs more than fat" argument, I don't buy it. The real reason I don't lose weight is because I reward myself for doing well on the treadmill! I did it a minute ago when I got back to the office: "I'll just add feta cheese to this tuna salad because I'll have run off lots of calories".

Sure tasted good though! Now I'm trying to resist the siren call of milo with hot full cream milk... aargh

Weight Update

So yah. I've was a bit uninspired last month. I suppose I'm lucky I didn't gain much, but I sure didn't lose much either!

Weight Graph June:


Weight Graph to Date:


I've started doing sit-ups and push-ups before work in the mornings after my shower, as I just don't seem to make it to the gym lately. I can now do 5 full push-ups, followed by 20 from my knees. My goal is 20 full ones. I do a variety of sit-ups: crunches, obliques, leg-lifts and back extensions. This takes about 15 minutes while Milord has a lie-in. Lazy bugger - what is it with men and sit-ups? They'll jog, cycle, do weights, but rein in the belleh? Pffft.

I walk to and from work most days, which adds up to about 8km per day several times a week I suppose. I can't wait for the evenings to get a bit lighter though, the walk home is boring in the dark!

And I'm trying to run 5km in 30 minutes on the treadmill - I do this every Thursday lunchtime. Today I did the 5km in 33min - down from 37min 4 weeks ago. If/when I get to 30min I'll work on getting my heart-rate down, and once that's reasonable I'll play with more speed and inclines and stuff. It is 5 weeks to the 14km fun-run, but if it's anything like last year there simply won't be enough space to run around the walkers so I'll be lucky to break into a jog from time to time. My 5km training will probably be enough!

Detox

Before I begin, if you have issues with weight-loss (or just fancy another perspective) go check out 15 Minute Lunch this week. It'll give you a giggle. I wonder if generations to come will look at what we do to ourselves today and go "WTF?"... I just bet they do. I now have "slap that fat!" stuck in my head.

I started this week totally bummed. All weekend I had been lethargic, just wanting to eat junk and drink booze and sleep in spite of the glorious clear crisp weather outside. Everything was too much effort, and after Milord kept me awake most of Sunday night with snoring I didn't even bother to go into work on Monday. I felt like rubbish. I was grumping my way in to town on Tuesday preparing a litany of woes to blog about when I realised I was being stupid. There is nothing wrong with my life. I earn a fortune, I am newlywed to a man who spoils me, I'm about to move into a house shaped to my specification, I am disgustingly healthy, I live in Sydney, it hasn't rained in weeks, and people around the globe care about me.

So why do I feel so rotten? Yes I have a few annoyances but they're hardly biggies. It's not my TOTM. Milord's been cranky but he always is when I am.

So what else? Perhaps it's the garbage I've been pouring into myself lately. The snacks, the wine, the carbs and savouries and sweets... hasn't my weight been creeping insidiously upward? Don't I have a spreading spare tire? Aren't I a bit of an alcoholic?

Time for a detox! Nothing radical, just cut out the bad stuff for a few days. So instead of a sandwich for lunch I have a simple salad, and I snack on lots of fruit. Replace normal tea with chamomile. Drink a litre of fresh fruit juice in addition to the usual litre of water during the day. Stop wine. I still have a slice of seed bread toast with a cup of coffee in the morning, and Milord is on cooking duty all week and has been conjuring with seafood for dinner. Salmon risotto last night and clam pasta tonight... mmm.

It seems to be working. I sleep better, I feel brighter, I've lost a little weight - and as I cheer up so does Milord... funny that! On Friday night we have a date at a steakhouse (3rd month married!) and will fall back off the wagon, but I think my body is enjoying the break for now.

Gyms

Weight today: 69.5kg
Actually I was expecting it to be worse after my weekend of excess! So I'm not too upset.

I have got to get back into my gym routine. I used to go religeously 3 times a week, but now I find myself looking for something else to do instead. Lunch with Milord, running errands, even just sitting reading blogs!

I think my problem is... I don't like my gym! It's just too busy and crowded. I like to do floor work for toning so I need a space for my mat, ball and free weights, and the available space is tiny and being fought over by other people including personal trainers and their clients. Large sweaty men invade my personal space and it's just too uncomfortable! Last week I only went once because it was my "treadmill" day - I'm running 5km once a week and trying to get my time down (36 min down from 37 min, yes I know that's pathetic, I'm working on it!).

There is another branch of my gym a few blocks away which is much bigger. I think I will go and check it out today - apparently it has a "Ladies Only Training Area". I don't mind working out with blokes but that does sound rather nice! Plus they have yoga and pilates - good for toning and I can count on a space in the class if the work out areas are full.

Weight Update

Another month, another update… eek not good. No excuses, I’m just struggling with my willpower lately! Down a smidgen, but far from convincingly…

I have just signed up for the City to Surf 14km fun run in August again. Hopefully that will be a decent incentive for me to get out and do some exercise on the weekends. We have been hibernating a bit during winter, watching far too much TV and eating and drinking too much, which undoes any good achieved during the week.

Last year I overdid my training a bit and hurt my ankle, so I’ll keep things sensible this time. I’ve also worked out that the running shoes I had last year were crap, because the moment I replaced them my ankle trouble cleared up almost immediately! That will teach me to buy cheap running shoes!

Milord has bad knees so he won’t be joining me for the fun run, but I hope I can talk him into picking up our Bay challenge again. I really used to enjoy racing him, and it was a huge boost to know he was chasing me!

Weight Graph May:



Weight Graph to Date:

Just when I thought it was safe to go back...

...to work.

I've been going on about how being back at work will be good for my weight control, right? Well, darn it, they supply unlimited free Milo! Seems it's an Aussie thing - I'd only ever seen it in South Africa before (it's a kind of malty hot chocolate powder). I lurve Milo, and so does everyone else who grew up on it I reckon.

The taste (yes, I've just succumbed and made myself a cup) takes me back to being 5 years old on a cold winter's day, snugged up indoors with the rain running down the windows, and Mom having just given me and Sis steaming cups of Milo.

Curse you evil Bank! Why do you have to spoil your employees with decent free beverages?!

The only up-side is that my favourite way of having Milo - munching it dry directly from the tin - is probably not going to happen at my desk! Unless I end up working late on my own... hmmm.

Weight Update

These are not good, but I suppose I have to blog the bad with the good...

Weight Graph April:



Weight Graph to Date:



Aargh. Up just over a kilo... and trending up. See what happens when I'm not working?!

That's just to the end of April too... today's reading is through the ceiling, but I'm hoping that's because it's my TOM. Surely I didn't gain 1.5kg since Friday! wah

New Job!

I start my new job today. I've landed a developer role at a big bank in the centre of Sydney. I'm very chuffed, especially as they're paying very good money! It will be quite a change from my last place I reckon, but I found them a bit too laid back and am looking forward to a bit of pressure... I work better with firm goals. It took me 2 weeks after getting back to find work - excellent, that's about right.

My interview last Wednesday was gruelling, and I was actually surprised to be shortlisted for the role. They let me know on Friday that I had it, and we spent the weekend celebrating!

Otherwise we are getting stuck in to the new house, as the purchase went through last week. With my new income we can afford to really make it nice before we move in. We're shifting the bathroom from an annexe at the back of house to next to the bedrooms, and knocking together 3 rooms to make a big living area with a kitchen island in the middle. Plus raising floors, replacing wiring and plumbing, and totally transforming the outside. Very exciting! We hope to move in in July.

I'll post some scarey before photos of the house soon *shudder*.

Being a big corporate bank, my new work will be restricting internet access, and I don't know if I'll have time to blog much, but I will try. I still have to tell you all about our honeymoon anyway!

PS. Weight. Um, not great, up a bit from last week. I am hoping the routine of being back at work sorts me out! I hope my gym has a branch nearby, I must investigate.

Edit: I can access blogger from work! *evil chuckle*

Weight Update

This is a just quick weight post as I know some dedicated dieters pop in from time to time and they'll be interested. I am beginning to write up my trip and I'll bore you to death with it shortly!

Weight Graph March:



I went up a smidgen, but what with a birthday and Easter...

Weight Graph to end of March:



Today's reading is 69.1kg. That means I have put on 1.1kg (2lb) on holiday - that's brilliant actually! I was trying to be good-ish, having fruit for breakfast and so on, and so I put on far less than I could have. I have done no exercise in nearly a month though and am decidedly flabby around the middle - back to the gym tomorrow I think. I'm out of the healthy BMI range again, so I'll be back on diet too... a bit difficult when I'm not working (I'm job hunting) but I have filled the fridge with fruit and celery and low-point soups so hopefully I'll be ok!

1 Week

We are now in Saldanha, South Africa, about an hour from Cape Town up the west coast, at my Dad's house.

Wow what a week. We moved out of our rented house over Easter and I spent a couple of days cleaning it after that. We finished up at 9pm on Wednesday night and flew out on Thursday (yesterday) morning.

The flights were pretty much ok although we missed our connection in Johannesburg so got into Cape Town a couple of hours late. My Dad and stepmom picked us up and brought us back to Saldanha and gave us drinks and nibbles and chat until 1:30am when I crashed out.

7 hours of sleep later we woke up, had a breakfast and a walk on the beach. It is midday now and feels like evening on the body clock (it is 9pm in Sydney)... It's a stunning day, clear and breezy, and we are off for lunch on the waterfront shortly.

I'm still a bit shattered, but expect to sleep well tonight and be normal by tomorrow... I take ages to get over jetlag, but this time seems better than our last trip - we drank less on the plane which probably helps!

1 week to our wedding! OMG!!!

Weight - I have no idea but just before I packed the scale on Monday I was still 68kg so I'll pretend I didn't gain anything in the meantime. Cleaning the old house was exhausting - I ached all over - so hopefully that countered the farewell parties!

I doubt I'll be able to blog much over the next 3 weeks. On Monday we move into a place in Cape Town without internet, and after the wedding we are travelling around South Africa for a couple of weeks.

Drop back in a few weeks for an update on the wedding and honeymoon ;-). Bye for now blogees...