Life is a Journey not a Destination

I had mentioned to the girls that maybe we could have apple bobbing at the Halloween Party but I never got around to organising it. It’s something I remember doing as a child at the annual Scottish Assocation’s Halloween Ball. Anyway, the girls must have been thinking about it cause they decided to do it yesterday while a friend was over - lucky I had bought some extra apples earlier in the day. They had so much fun. It’s amazing that a tub of water and a couple of apples could keep 3 kids entertained for over half an hour.

Had a nice relaxing day to recover from the party. Pottered around - which was nice after such a busy week. Did some washing, ironing, reading blogs and e-mail, attended to the chooks, watered the veggie garden - which is growing rapidly after some rain last week, had a swim and enjoyed a lesiurely lunch at Mums. I’ve just tidied/cleaned up the pantry in preparation for starting my pre-op diet tomorrow. Don’t want any leftover chocolate, chips, etc tempting me. Tomorrow I need to go do a veggie shop so I can make up salads and veggie soup - which I can have in addition to Optifast shakes, soups and bars. I know nearly everyone finds the diet awful (the reason for it is to shrink the liver and make surgery and recovery easier) but I’m actually excited to get started on the weight loss journey - lets see how I feel tomorrow night. Kevin said the first 4 days were very hard and he was very tired. Lucky I’ve got a nice quiet week ahead.

Well, our second annual Halloween Party was a huge success. Most people got into the spirit and dressed up. Kevin went as a patient (pretty appropriate I thought), I was a gypsy, Amy a Flapper and Christy a doctor. Even my Mum and Dad got dressed up which I thought was pretty cool. Like last year all the kids loved their parents getting dressed up.Everyone seemed to have a good time - the kids spending much of the evening in the pool. I asked everyone to bring a plate of food, which they did, but we did run out of food - the kids seemed to be especially hungry after all the swimming (NOTE to self : have more standby food in freezer next year). At least I don’t have to worry about having a house full of leftovers - not when I start my pre-op diet tomorrow. At about 9pm my feet were killing me and I realized I hadn’t sat down since 4.30pm. Poor feet - they were rather swollen and are still sore today. But it was a small price to pay.

Annie has tagged me to share 7 random facts about myself. Hmm… lets see

1) I’m one of very few Australians who does not like Vegemite.

2) I wear a compression stocking EVERY day because of a blood clot I had 8 years ago (and will have to wear it for the rest of my life)

3) I’ve been with Kevin since I was 14, married at 21. Still happily together over 20 years later.

4) I become emotional (and sometimes cry) when I hear bagpipes (both my parents are Scottish)

5) My favourite actor is Brendan Fraser.

6) Until the last couple of years I had long, painted nails. Now I have gel nails cause they kept on breaking.

7) I am only child and very happy about it - I had a terrific childhood.

This was fun. I can see some good scrapbook page ideas here…..

 Picked up Kevin from the airport this morning. He’s doing really well now and already antsy to get back to work. I’m glad I don’t have to drive up Sydney again any time soon - well, not until my surgery in 2.5 weeks. Tomorrow I’ve got my fortnightly Scrapbook Day - will be nice - haven’t seen some of my friends for quite some time - and I haven’t done my scrappin’ either. Then I need to give the house a good clean for our Halloween Party on Sat night.

EDITED to say I did not pick Kevin up from the airport but from the hospital - though they are both right near each other. Thanks for picking that up Kev - we know it’s not been a holiday for you.

Kevin’s surgery went well on Monday but I feel I’ve been living, not at the hospital, but in my car driving to and from the hospital. It’s just over an hour each way so it’s not too bad but certainly a lot more driving than I’m used to. On Monday we left at 6am and I didn’t get home until 6.30pm. I did use the 4 hour surgery/recovery time to go and do some Christmas shopping so that was good. Yesterday my Mum & Dad came up with me to visit in the morning, then I took the girls up after school. Today I’ve been doing errands this morning, and am going to have some lunch and do a bit of scrapping before leaving at 2pm to up for another visit. I was just reading Kevin’s blog and he sounds a lot better today. Hopefully he’s be home tomorrow, but if not Friday.

Oh, when I was having lunch out with Mum & Dad I was saying how when we go to the UK in 2009 Kevin will fly back after 3 weeks (that’s all he can really have off of work at one time) and I’m going to take the girls to Scotland for a couple of week - my parents were both born in Scotland and I’ve been twice before and am in love with the place. So Mum says maybe Dad would like to go with you (Mum’s scared of flying). Dad immediately says yes and so it’s settled. He will fly over a week before we met up to catch up with all the rellies and then we’ll tour around together for a few weeks. How cool is that? I’m more excited than ever now.

Had a great day out with the girls. We caught a old 1960s diesel train down to Kiama. It was the first time the girls had been on  a proper train so they were very excited. It took about 30mins and it was great seeing the sights from the train. Once in Kiama we went to the Seaside Markets - had a wonder around, the kids went on some ride and to the petting zoo. We sat and had some rolls I’d packed for lunch then had a yummy ice-cream (while Christy had a bit of a melt down). I wonder through a few more shops then time to catch the train home. It was a pretty warm day so we all went for a swim to cool down. Just going to have some dinner and get organised for tomorrow. The girls are sleeping at Mum & Dads’ since Kevin and I have to leave for the hospital (for his weight loss surgery) at about 6am. Here are a couple more photos from our day out.

I finally made it to the gym today after a 3 week absence. And before that I was only going once or twice a week. Did a quick weight session then took Rosie for her run. I think I’ll be sore tomorrow. But it was scary how little I could lift compare to normal. And we won’t talk about my cardio fitness. I know I’ll be back to my old weights in no time but I think the cardio is going to take some more work as I haven’t really done much since early Sept. Also it’s just over 3 week till my surgery so I think I’ll just focus on building up my muscles again. Then I’ll have to have a 4 week break from weights and will work on cardio. Then it’s all systems go. I’ll be able to workout and actually lose weight - I can’t wait!!!

Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted. I have to say I did not want to come home yesterday. The girls and had a great time away. They had fun at kids club, swimming in the pool, playing at the beach and making new friends. I did LOTS of reading and lazing about. I’m feeling relaxed and refreshed. Here are some of my fav photos.

A parting thought before I leave. And yes, I have packed my canvas bags for shopping, in fact they are always in my car and I have 2 little fold up bags from Howard Storage in my handbag.