WAS CHALLENGE

Well today kickstarted the WAS Challenge for me. I am so happy to be a part of a forum of such awesome people. You should really get along to We Are Slimming if you have a weightloss goal or maybe you are maintaining.

It's a 6 week basic challenge so I did my waist measurement and weighed in this morning. I set some goals for myself to achieve in the next few weeks and I'm happy cruising along.

It's not too late to get started if you'd like to join in and it's completely free!

My Goals for The Challenge

* To lose 5 kg

* Eat not more than 3 small meals a day

* Swim once a week

* Blog at least weekly

Starting Stats

Weigh In Date:~ Wed 2nd September

Height:~ 168 cms

Current Weight:~ 109.6 kgs

Current Waist Measurement:~ 115 cms

Hi ALL!

I know I have been a very bad blogger haven't I! My sincerest (is that a word) apologies.

Not that much has been going on in my life so I haven't felt the urge to be writing about boringness, knowing that no one would want to read about boringness. But on the other hand I would love to increase my readership. Any of you popular bloggers got some tips and tricks on how I do that? I'll admit to loving the attention :P

Now are you ready for a catch up? Grab a cuppa and go to the loo cause this could be a long one.

So as you all know I made a return to work and quickly went out and bought myself the car of my dreams. You girls are all too damn funny with your name suggestions!

Cara - I can't call it Jadey that's my name and all too confusing! I did like Diamond though.
Sharon - Montgomery seriously?? Future Hubby read that and was like yup it's settled Montgomery it is. Nooooo.
Sharon, Beck and Wanna - BAZZA????? Honestly girls who's on drugs here and how did you all come up with such a bogan name for my purdy Pajero. hahahahaha I'm thinking Pumpy - Future Hubby (FH from here on in) is in total denial about the whole thing and refuses to accept it but I think it's funky! He thinks it me

Chris - Maybe I gotta offer up a prize to get a cool name like Roxy :p


I think I am going to make FH happy for now and name him Montgomery.

Monty and I have become very close friends. I absolutely adore him. I am very happy to say that he doesn't use more fuel than my old car and he is so much easier to drive. So much easier to park! It's smaller and a can see the corners AND it has the reversing sensors. Oh dreamboat.

My return to work on the other hand seems to have been fairly short lived. I was back in the club but not having all that much luck. I wasn't really doing my own job so I felt like I wasn't doing all that I could to be effective in my position. In fact I felt really useless.

I got sent off to a summit where we were supplied with some extra training and responsibility which was awesome. I learnt so much in my time there! Plus I got to spend the night in a hotel at Bondi Beach and woke up to a short walk down to the beach to spend the morning sitting on the boardwalk there soaking up the sunshine and people watching. It was amazing! Great way to start the day. My poor colleagues were being dragged through bootcamp on the beach but I am sure they are all the better for it (even if it was after a night of hard drinking and no sleep)

We learnt about something called Insights. Which is kind of like personality typing I suppose. You learn about what drives you (and those around you) and why people are like they are. I came up a strong Yellow with Strong Green and Red behind me also.

Yellow is bubbly and loving. They are people that love attention. They want to be included in everything and HATE to be left out. It's like a personal insult. (even when it's not) It is quite energetic. Yellow needs to be loved. Hence the need for more readers or commenter's or both. And the Look at me! Personality I sometimes display.

Green is very caring and compassionate. This is the side that has me worried about people in the middle of the night. I'm sure this is the side of me that makes me cry when people I don't even know die (not celebrities just anyone!) This is the part of me that wants to do whatever I can to help. That takes time out for people even when it's to my own detriment.

And Red is the total opposite! I'm generally red when I'm mad or determined. Red is the fire in me. It's me when I have a short fuse. It's the determination, driven, get in my way and get run over girl. It can be nasty. It doesn't come out much in the bad way thank goodness because Yellow and Green dominate.

Isn't it interesting. If I had my book here or could even seem to successfully google the information I am looking for it I could give you so much better and more thorough explanations of what I just said. I want to do the official test and find out exactly where I fit but it costs. one day one day.

After the summit I raised some concerns about me actually implementing what I had learnt with my regional manager. He completely understood which is great. He's a nice bloke and we get along well. Surprisingly though when I returned to work on Monday I was able to do my job without a hassle.

There was a couple of things that are still a sticking point so on Tuesday morning my Regional manager Hr and myself met to chat and I have moved workplace for a little while to head office. It's tripled my fuel bill and the tolls suck but it's going to give me an opportunity to a) be useful b) stay off my feet and c) become an absolute admin whizz. So it'll be very useful when I do return to my normal duties.

OK off of boring day to day work and onto TUPPERWARE!

I am having so much fun with Tupperware and to be honest it is so rewarding even in these early early days. I have earnt so much stuff for free and I am feeling really good about my decision to become a Tupperware lady. I am not doing as many parties as I would like to yet (Book me now before I get too busy) But I am sure it's coming. My Fan Page on Facebook seems to be pretty popular but I'd love it if you could join (My Tupperware Lady) and if you are already there invite your friends. The wider the audience the better!

We released the Spring / Summer catalogue a couple of weeks ago and as of today it became public! I love it! There are so many awesome products. Some great new stuff. A return of some of the older stuff and new colours in other ranges. It's gorgeous and fun. And really reminds you of the warmer weather. If you want a copy feel free to send an email to me at tupperwarejadey@hotmail.com and give me your postal address and I'll get one in the mail to you.

It's such a great business opportunity with so many rewards as well as cash. But also it's fun! I get to sit with people and have a chat and enjoy a scone or cake or both (oops) and a cuppa with them. And I don't even have to sell! It does that by itself. Not many haven't heard of Tupperware and everyone needs it.

If you are in Sydney and want to come play in a Sales Meeting with me one night and see behind the scenes make sure you let me know won't you. Cause I would love to bring you along as my guest :) No pressure to join or anything.

Oh MAN I sound like I'm part of AMWAY! Nooooo not me. Sorry this is definitely NOT Amway.
Now despite all the cookies and scones and cake I am still managing to lose weight. Although I have remained at the same weight for the last 6 days! HOW FRUSTRATING, I think staying the exact same weight every morning is even more frustrating than going up a bit going down a bit etc. Actually no! I'll take staying the same instead of going up. It gives me hope that it's fluid or something.

So where am I at?

Well I started at 126.9 kgs (shock fucking horror how the hell did I get there?)
And as of this morning (and for the last 6 days running) I have weighed in at 111.8 kgs

That's a loss of 15.1 kgs or Biggest Loser style 11.9% of my total Body Weight

How cool is that? I really can't complain. For those that forget or those of you just joining the program. I have a goal of 64kgs in time for my wedding which will be March 2011 if I get my act together and plan it between now and then. So I have 47.8 kgs to go to goal.

The other day I found a very rare Cadbury Cream Egg supplier and I took a bite and threw half of it in the bin! Like What The????

You see I have also set myself mini goals along the way and I have achieved 2 of these now and I am eager to achieve the 3rd. Now it would also be good if I had actually treated myself to the 2 goals I have achieved but I am sure it's coming (One is movies gold class for which I have the tickets already and one is a full body massage which I also have a voucher for) The Next goal to achieve is for a deluxe pedi. But I am thinking of switching that with something else since I can hardly touch my foot thanks to the surgery and so therefor there would be nothing deluxe about a foot massage at this stage and no pedi is deluxe without one. The next goal marks me getting under 110kgs so 109.9 kgs. I can smell it!

I think I really need to be getting on the bike and swimming a bit more though. Well that's the fakest thing ever cause I'm not getting on the bike or swimming at all. So I actually need to do it! It will help rehab my ankle and help me burn some extra calories.

We Are Slimming is having another challenge starting Monday! It's a 6 week Keep it Simple Challenge so feel free to join in with us. People are setting goals for the challenge already I gotta admit I am still working on mine. WAS is an awesome and supportive forum. The girls are all so close and really care about how you are going and that kind of thing.

Ah well - it's past time for this lil chook to get some zzz's I hope you are all doing well. I promise to catch up on some bloggy reading in the next few days if you promise to feed my yellow and comment a bit more (haha)

I'll try and comment on your blogs too!

END OF CHALLENGE

Hey guys!

Sorry for the delay but I successfully completed the We Are Slimming 12 Week Winter Challenge! Yay!

ORIGINAL WEIGHT:~ 126.9 kg

CHALLENGE STARTING WEIGHT:~ 124.9 kg
THIS WEEKS WEIGHT:~ 113.7 kg
THIS WEEKS LOSS:~ 1.2 kg
TOTAL CHALLENGE LOSS:~ 11.2 kg / 9%

TOTAL LOSS:~ 13.2 kg / 10%

STARTING WAIST MEASUREMENT:~ 131cm
END WAIST MEASUREMENT:~ 120cm
TOTAL CMS LOST:~ 11cm
% CM LOST:~ 8.4%

♥ Have done all necessary physiotherapy inc the exercises set - Nope
♥ Have regularly updated my blog (1 x a week min) - Yup
♥ Regularly updated WAS - Success
♥ Followed all doctors orders - Yup
♥ Have lost at least 10kg - Yup
♥ Be down at least 2 dress sizes - Not entirely sure. I've definitely dropped one. And my pants are loose. Maybe!
♥ Exercised at least 5 x a week for a minimum half hour as a habit - No
♥ Limit my junk food habits - Getting much better
♥ Establish a sensible sleeping pattern - Nope
♥ Become more aware of my eating - Success
♥ Eat at the table not in front of the TV or at my desk - Nope Still gotta work on this one
♥ Have my engagement party planned and organized - No still so much to work on!
♥ Wear a dress to my engagement party - I will! I wore a dress last night to a cocktail party. And it was too big for me :P

Plus this means I have ticked off number 93 on my 101 list which was to complete a 12 week we are slimming challenge!

Good Food and Wine 61/84

First up I have to thank you all so much for your blog comments below. It means so much to have you all with me on this journey and I have been so lucky to have so many internet buddies in my life. In fact the people I am closest to including my fiance, maid of honour, bridesmaids the lot were all met online. And that is why you are so important to me.

Today Loz and I headed off to the Good Food and Wine Show. I stumbled across this last year and was mightily impressed with what was on offer. So much so I decided it simply HAD to be an annual pilgramage. Me and my Nanna trolley. (Totally stolen picture) which is an absolute essential. Along with leaving your handbag at home, bringing a big back pack and the essentials only haha.

I should have known what kind of day it was going to turn out to be when the first stand we decided to visit was the Absinthe one. 3 shots down, feeling a little tipsy (no breakfast) And we moved onto the Finlandia vodka stand. 5 or 6 shots of that and the party had definitely started. It was only 9:30am. (oops)

It was rough going getting around the expo. I'm no where near recovered and I think I bit off wayyy more than I can chew. But it was still an awesome day. I even found 2 wines I like! I have never liked any wines. Both Brown Brothers - Sienna and Zibbo. YUMMY

There was even a huge Tupperware stall that my team happened to be manning as we went past so I got to say hi to them. I am looking forward to being able to join them on one of these days. They looked to be having fun :)

Heaps of cheeses and yummy bits and pieces. I came home with chocolates, cheese twists, chai tea and I should have purchased more cheeses. But I came home with a massive haul of alcoholic products. Especially for someone who doesn't generally drink. Oops. See below. ALL bought at the expo and there are some bottles behind others etc.

When we had finished making our way through the expo I called Jase to come and pick us up. I am so glad he was driving because constructing a sentence was hard. No way could I drive. Neither could Loz although she was holding on better than me.

While we waited Loz and I jumped on the Ferris Wheel which has been set up in Darling Harbour, I have been looking at this thing from the road when I pick Jason up from work wondering exactly where it was etc and wanting a ride for a month.

Unfortunately the sun was in the wrong position for photos of the harbour. But I did capture this one of the chinese gardens. An awesome place to visit if ever you are in Sydney.

And this one of Lozza and I. It always makes for a great outing! I highly recommend getting along if you aren't doing anything tomorrow. And pay the $25 for a trolley when you walk in the door. Trust me!

All in all it was an awesome day. I don't think the scales will be happy with me in the morning but my tastebuds sure have been. Hopefully any damage doesn't show up on Monday's weigh in cause I am tracking well at this stage.

Now haven't we had GORGEOUS weather in Sydney this week! Today was cool in the wind and the wind was a bit strong yesterday but the sun has been gorgeous. Not too hot nor too cold.

I was teasing my Mum yesterday. As I was sitting in the car waiting to pick Jason up from work I took a photo of the outside temperature display which was reading 23°C and emailed it to her. I don't think she was happy. Melbourne has had miserable weather.

Oh and you may have noticed I boosted the 101 list as I have ticked off a whole pile of stuff in the last month or so. So I thought I should set myself monthly targets to acheive certain 101 goals or it woud never happen. Last month I finally tried a Custard Apple. I'm not sure this one wasn't starting to turn (see the darker areas) But I ate some of the good bits and it was beautiful! It really tastes like custard.

So this month I am going to try and tick off

36. Buy a Short Wheel Based Pajero - in progress hopefully I'll pick it up early next week.

82. Have a Full Body Massage - I have a voucher the guys at work gave me for my birthday yeah in December (Oops) And I really really need one now.

89. Consolidate my super - Its all over the place and my main one isn't an industry fund so it's charging huge fees. Time to move on.

90. Get Income Protection Insurance - My operation has showed me how important this is. It can be a part of my super so that's how I am going to try and structure it

93. Complete a 12 week WAS Challenge - I have been doing well this challenge and as you can see above there are 23 days to go in this one :)

96. Get my Tupperware business off the ground - I would consider paying off my kit, being confident with my parties, introducing some others to the business and getting some prizes at sessions off the ground.

100. Organize the catch ups with friends I have been meaning to for ages - I have caught up with many people I have meant to but I am finally catching up with B and a couple of other people. When that happens I'll consider this successful.

Does anyone have ideas for 101's that become redundant? Like I have tinting my windows on the list but now I am buying this other car it already has tinted windows. Do I replace it with something else or ignore it?

Have You ever Taken up a Challenge??

Have you ever taken up a challenge??

I have a few times and at times I have been successful and at other times I have failed miserably. Accepting failure and getting up to accept the challenge again shows character. So that's what I'm going to do now.

We Are Slimming is about to start another challenge. The 12 Week Winter Warm Up Challenge begins tomorrow. I have won this challenge once before. I worked out everyday and I stuck to my eating plan strictly and I lost a hell of a lot of weight. Being accountable and having somewhere to report can be a great help.

The last couple of times I have taken this on I have to admit I have let life get in the way and I stopped being accountable after the first week. Not good. I'm hoping the fact that I am home bored for at least another month means that I am going to get into the habit of posting and updating etc so that when I go back to work I keep it up!

Please come join us if you have a goal you are reaching for. This challenge is completely free and you have nothing to lose except kilograms :) You can start any day this week. It doesn't have to be tomorrow.

I took my starting photos, measurments etc tonight. Oh Boy. I have never been so big before and it's enough to make anyone want to cry. The challenge only requires I take a waist measurement but habit says I take multipoint measurements. I think it also helps show where I am losing from etc.

I hate these photos so hopefully being ballsy enough to post them on my blog helps me stick to the right path. I can tell that when I do get to my goal weight though I'll be upset for wearing shorts so you can't really see the full hideousness of my legs. Cause there's nothing like a comparison photo haha. Unfortunately I didn't bring any bathers or anything to Melbourne with me. :(




BEFORE PHOTOS

STATS


Height:~ 168cm
Weight:~ 125.2kg


Neck:~ 38cm
Shoulders:~ 108cm
Chest:~ 123cm
Left Arm:~ 42cm
Right Arm:~ 39cm
Small of Waist:~ 110.5kg
Naval:~ 131cm
Muffin Top:~ 149cm
Hips:~ 146cm
Left Thigh:~ 72cm
Right Thigh:~ 73cm
Left Calf:~ 50cm
Right Calf:~ 48cm





OVERALL CHALLENGE GOALS


By July 27th I'm going to
♥ Have done all necessary physiotherapy inc the exercises set
♥ Have regularly updated my blog (1 x a week min)
♥ Regularly updated WAS
♥ Followed all doctors orders
♥ Have lost at least 10kg
♥ Be down at least 2 dress sizes
♥ Exercised at least 5 x a week for a minimum half hour as a habit
♥ Limit my junk food habits
♥ Establish a sensible sleeping pattern
♥ Become more aware of my eating
♥ Eat at the table not in front of the TV or at my desk
♥ Have my engagement party planned and organized
♥ Wear a dress to my engagement party





GOALS TO ACHIEVE THIS WEEK


♥ I am going to stick to my shakes
♥ I am going to move a little more everyday
♥ I am going to cook up a big pot of Vegetable soup
♥ I am going to set my alarm to start getting up earlier
♥ I am going to be under 122kg (thinking I'm holding onto a lot of water weight)

BTW - for those following along, Yes I know this weight is up on last week. But I have had every treat imaginable this week knowing I'm getting 100% serious now. I expect it's mostly water but there has to be some damage in there as well. It'll come off.

He finally did it!

My boy proposed!


It was sooo romantic! Let me tell you a little story.


Saturday night February 28th was Jason's 40th Birthday party. We had about 40 - 45 of our friends here to help him celebrate this milestone with a spit and salad and desserts.


I thought we'd cut the cake before dessert so we could serve it all up together and bought it out for him. He's a boob man so I made him a booby cake.

Well after blowing out his candles and cutting the cake he was saying his thank you's because we had alot of help to pull the whole party off. I had never organised anything like it before so the help was truly appreciated by all. Then he said who else have I forgot oh Jadey.

He said I have no idea how to thank her for everything she's done and in mostly putting up with me for the last 2808 days. I was like what have you been counting???

Tiny yelled out "You could ask her to marry you!"

Jase said no no. Tiny said "Dude I did it, it's not that bad"

Jase said "I'm broke dude I can't afford it. Look I've got $30 in my pocket that's all" Then he turned to our friend Simon who's a jeweller and said "Simon what can you do for $30?"

Simon thought he could look after us, took the $30 and left and I was like err I think that's our last $30 and I thought it was supposed to go to Nick to pay him back for ice. So Jase was saying how he wishes he could afford the ring I wanted and how he thinks he's lost the $30 when a box came back.

And in that box was another box. And I was gobsmacked. And in that box was the ring. He said "Will you go round with me" and I started blubbering. He slid it on my finger as I kissed him and hugged him and cried and kissed him and hugged him sore more. And people were like did she say yes?

He says to me, "well you haven't said yes yet" So I finally managed to squeak it out.

Isn't he romantic ???

Big photo Post Ahead!

So it's been a long time AGAIN! I just have to admit to not being good at frequent updates. I always think I have nothing to write about until I start looking at recent photos and thinking about what really has been happening and what I can write.

Ah well I'm here now with a massive photo post so I hope you guys are all on some form of broadband internet :p

Since we last caught up I played dress ups for an Open Day at work which we called "Armageddon To The Gym" It was the last day for one of our more popular deals tha we wont have back this year so we played it up a bit.

Don't ya just LOVE my hair - you might recognise the style from my last post which is where I got the idea. No product, no effort whatsoever just wash, sleep and go to work. Almost the same goes for my eyes. I just layered on thick thick eyeliner and went to bed and woke up like this.

The first photo is James and I. James is one of the Membership Consultants that works for me. He's a great kid, 18 years old. And does the voice of the Joker from the latest Batman movie perfectly. Yes the Heath Ledger Joker! It's truly freaky so we had to give him Joker make up.

This next photo is Laura and I. Laura is my immediate superior. The Club General Manager. She's a Mayven Raven in this photo. A PVC dress with feather trims. We're not the most compatible team and that's all I'm saying about that right now.

A nice close up selfy of me. A bi freaky huh!

After all that fun and merriment a friend of mine has come up to visit me from Melbourne. His name is Jack and he was one of the Membership Consultants I worked with at Bayside until February this year. He's moved on to Tarocash now and really doing well. It also doesn't interfere with what he really wants in life which is to grow his Network 21 / Amway business. He's very pasionate about it and doing well.

He was up here for a conference and stayed the rest of the week to visit with me. I put him up in our spare room and spent most of my time at work so he came to visit often for workouts.

In this photo it was about 10:30pm and I'd been here at work since 7:45am but one of our receptionists got sick and I couldn't get anyone else in to look after the club. So Jack and Jason came down to the club with some dinner for me.

I did take the Thursday off work though so I took Jack for a quicky tour of the area. We started off with Brekky at Dunes in Palm Beach.

Palm beach is where Home and Away is filmed. We were hoping to catch them on a shooting day but I still haven't managed it despite my million and one visits there.

From there we set off back down the peninsula. A need to use the ladies and a bit of a thirst saw us stopping at the Mona Vale Hotel for a drink in their beer garden. I have some photos somewhere but God knows where! It's an amazing pub.

We moved on from the Mona Vale and into Manly wher we cruised the Corso for a bit then jumped on a Ferry into the city.

The original plan was to head over to Darling Harbour and jump on a water taxi for a tour of Sydney Harbour. But then we saw the jet boats and a simple tour just wasn't going to cut it anymore.

At first we jumped into a different companies jet boat tour than this one but unfortunately their boat broke down on us twice. So I got on the phone to Jase and asked him to find us another jet boat company. So he did and eventually we went with this mob.

The guy with the camera got us both into these water proof ponchos. Ready for the ride ahead. Let me tell you these things are a steam room on a hot day! It's all ok when the boat starts moving though.

Then before the boat pulled away they took a bit of a group shot. Check out the driver he looks like Iceman!

The next half hour was filled with screams and laughter. I had an absolute ball and so did Jack. We were so wet but the people in front of us had actually decided to forgo the poncho and were alot more uncomfortable.

This is definitely something I would LOVE to do again and again. See the after photo below. Jadey with curly hair. If only it would stay nice like this.

Being Jack's last night we thought it best we should pop down to Manly and drop into one of the trendy little bars for a couple of cocktails. This one I'm holding sounded so good and turned out to be a fancily naked Caprioska. Luckily enough I lile caprioskas.

I was so sad to see Jack leave. We always have so much fun and so many laughs.

Friday night James (as seen in photos above) and I went to see Billy Elliot at the Capitol theatre. It's a musical that has now closed. Until recently apart from one show (42nd Street) I saw in year 7, I hadn't been to see any live shows. Then I got the free tickets to Priscilla from the boss and now Billy Elliot.

I loved Priscilla for it's comedy and laughs. But Billy Elliot was fantastic for the stage and emotion. And the acrobatics was brilliant. The kid we saw play Billy (There's a few of them) was really talented in this area.

Anyway James was really happy in the end which was great. He's seen it 8 or so times!

Things at work have been travelling along OK. I lost my newest Membership Consultant and my Oldest Membership Consultant in the past couple of weeks. So I have gone from 4 staff members and looking for a fifth to 2!

Eek! Do you know anyone looking for a sales job in such a great industry? Give them this link! http://www.bfound.net/detail.aspx?jobId=69155&CoId=208&rq=1

Apply for Willoughby :-)

And finally in other news I have taken a massive plunge. After reading about it on Skwiggs blog and signing up to the email newsletter thingys awhile back I was prompted to buy the Precision Nutrition Series and Gourmet Nutrtion vol 2. Afew months ago. Of course I was so excited when my package arrived and I pulled it out of the box and I freaked out and put it in another box ready to move to Sydney without reading a single page.

Then I started thinking about how badly I needed help with my nutrition. I mean exercise has been and will continue to be a challenge for me so what else can I do? And everyone keeps saying that the most important part of any weight loss program is the nutrition.

"Jadey it's 80% nutrition you know!"

Then got an email asking if I wanted to go on the waiting list for the Lean Eating Coaching For Women group which was due to open soon and I thought. Hell why not!

Then I got the email saying that they were taking people on and now was my chance thanks to the fact that I was on the waiting list. Well I thought about it for a bit because it's not cheap. Especially thanks to the fact that the Australian Dollar is almost worth wiping your butt on at the moment due to it's value. But after thinking about it. If I was to hire myself a nurtritionist for the same monthly price I would probably only get to spend an hour a month with them and this is DAILY coaching so I'm very excited!

It all starts on November 24th and goes for 6 months. To be honest it can't start soon enough for me. I am booked in with Jarrod ( www.bodycomposition.com ) for a Dexa scan on the 24th so I have a really accurate starting point. I'm not looking forward to that part. I have jumped on the scales and it's a very depressing view point. So are my before photos.

The before photos posted 2 years ago when I first started trying to lose this weight (when initially I had so much success!) Were taken after losing quite a bit of weight at about 110kgs and I am SIGNIFICANTLY bigger than that right now. Enough to make me cry.

But onwards and upwards to better things hey!

Fingers crossed for me!

SUNDAY 20th???

Ok I have Sunday 20th off work!

EDIT

Ok for anyone who read this already I apologise. I don't! But I finish fairly early Saturday and Sunday that weekend if you wanted to do dinner ??

Can I Construct a Decent Blog Entry?

Or maybe the question should be can I continue to construct decent blog entries?

OK so I am going through a bad point in my life at the moment and this is a lot of the reason I don't blog. I like being seen as the bubbly happy Jadey. This depressed state I'm in really sucks. Add to this a lack of time and the fact that things seem to be the same all the time and I don't feel I have much to blog about.

But on the weekend I was so priveledged to catch up with some of the bloggers for lunch and a chat. I almost didn't go becauseI woke up feeling really crook with a hacking type cough and I didn't want to make Beckie sick this far into her pregnancy. But she assured me her immunity was pretty high at the moment and everyone around her was sick so I should come anyway.

I am so glad she did because after I started moving the cough went away and hasn't returned since.

I had an awesome time with the girls just chatting away. They all looked brilliant and are such happy alive and vibrant people.

I wish I had pulled out the camera when I first arrived because not long after I got there Nicky and R had to go. (We should catch up more than once every two years girl!) Then Linda and Josh were off after not too long as well.

I met new bloggers (Hi Cat!) Lurkers (G'day Suzie) and Old Bloggers (Beck, Ash, Kate, Linda, Chris H, Nannette, Jac, CKK and geez I hope I haven't forgotten anyone here)

The cupcakes I picked up at the market topped off my day brilliantly especially because when I went in search of Koko Black later I discovered they are closed for renovations. So the cupcakes hit the sweettooth. I squished them a bit in the car before I got them home though otherwise I would have taken some photos cause they were so cute!

I ended up in Bed by 10pm Sunday night.

I had a migraine Monday which kept me away from work and today was my RDO so it allowed me some recovery time.

Work is still the same even though the old boss is gone. I believe I am being held back from a promotion because of my size. I have applied for some positions in NSW also so fingers crossed I will get one of those so I can move on with my life. I was fast tracking when I first arrived in this company and now everything has stalled and everyone else has overtaken me because I have been held back.

Everytime a promotion comes up a new excuse does too.

Today I got a form letter back from a position I applied for in Melbourne saying unfortunately at this time blah de blah blah.

I'd understand if I wasn't good at what I do but I happen to be one of the best in the country. There's no real reasons.

Add to this my parents have both been sick and therefor not working, I am missing my boy like CRAZY and I seem to be failing in every area of my life I am so depressed.

I feel all the responsibility for my family has landed squarely on my shoulders and at the moment it has and it is crippling me. My uncle has been a support this month but all that's done is allow me to pay off the over draw on my creidt card.

I am seeing all these people around me have successes in their lives and I can't help a bit of greeneye. Finding love, success at work, getting married, having babies, buying houses and new cars, travelling, pay rises.

I am stuck in such a rutt.

My ankles are killing me (probably to do with the cold) I'm stacking on weight (bigger than I've ever been seen by any of you before) and, and, and......

Jason and I clocked up 6 years together last weekend. I've been in Melbourne for 3.5 years of that. I was only supposed to be here 6 months. This is adding to the tension and the pressure.

Why can't life be easy?

Dave Hughes is Cranky!

Yesterday I rested up all day in preparation for something I had been waiting to do for a year! Go and see Dave Hughes Live!

Last year a few bloggers all got together to see X Rated Muppets which was awesome but Hughsey had sold out. Remembering the risks of that happening again as soon as tickets went onsale I sent out a text message and booked us all in.

Unfortunately I wasn't 100% on the night but I had a good time anyway. It was so great to catch up with Ails, Linda, Beck and Scott. All looked fabulous! And Hughsey was great! I wasn't disappointed in a single aspect of his show. It was only 70 minutes (so ok I was disappointed it wasn't longer) but after the show he came out and had photos with us and everything which was awesome of him.

After the show everyone seemed to have differing agendas. I was hoping we'd all grab some dinner but some had dinner already others weren't hungry some were heading out to other plans. Maybe next time I should be more organised. But it was briliiant all the same to catch up.

I ended up ducking around the corner to the Steamed Bun place and had some buns on the way home in the car. Then I was all tucked up in bed before it was too late. I couldn't sleep though because my room got painted yesterday. I was sleeping in the spare room but it was way too close to the paint.

I'd love to see some more of the comedy shows. If only time allowed.

You know I noticed something about me last night. When we were getting photos with Hughsey I was determined not to stand in front of the camera. So I stood behind them when really I could have stood beside Beckie and been normal. Not me though. I don't want to look fat. I mean shit I am fat. If I don't want to look fat in photos perhaps I should Lose Weight! What a novel concept. I'll work on how to do that right after this chocolate bar.

Idiot.

Oh well. Maybe one day I'll get motivated to do something and make up my mind what. I'm thinking lite n easy. Maybe. I'm making no promises and no plans at this stage. Slack? Yes. Honest? Yes.

I'm back at work on Monday but then I also have to see a surgeon Monday afternoon so I don't know how I'm going to juggle it all. Having a few problems there at the moment with unreasonable expectations. I'm guessing one will no doubt be that I should be at work on Monday and cancel my surgeons appointment. (Not going to happen) Wish me Luck!

Home Sick

I've been slowly trawlling through all of your blogs over the last few days with some of the extra time on my hands. I have a throat infection which means I can't talk so the computer has been brilliant for some communication.

I haven't commented on everyone's blogs but rest assured I have been there. (Or I will have been by the end of tonight)

I've either been on my lappy, been watching tv or sleeping since Friday. I just have absolutely no energy.

I love my laptop! Best present I've had in ages.

I miss catching up with you all like we used to. I can not wait until next week when a few of us are getting together to go see Hughsey at the comedy festival. It's so exciting. I haven't had a proper social night in donkeys! I hope I'm back to 100% by then so I can fully enjoy the evening.

I have an appointment with a new surgeon next week too so I am hoping that I get some good news or at least get myself put onto the waiting list. At the moment my progress is terrible. My private health insurance will kick in before I get to see outpatients and get onto the waiting list. Anyone up for a fundraiser so I can go private? LMAO

In the last couple of weeks I've seen Jase a couple of times. He arrived along with another mate of ours Nick on Good Friday for the Easternats. It's an annual event for us (suprise suprise at easter?) It is one of the first places we have shown our new business name. Previously known as Drift King Photos we have rebranded now to Motor Sport Fotos. (Photo below is from last year)

It was a bit of a different event this year too as normally it's run over 3 days and this time it was just Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately by Monday Jase & Nick were on their way back home and I was back at work (yes on Easter Monday). We are all hoping it goes back to the 3 day format next year. After all possibilities are that we will all be travelling from Sydney for it (Mum and Dad included).

But on Friday we were both on a plane (seperate planes) to meet up in Perth for Simmo and Rob's Wedding. He arrived earlier than me and was waiting for me in the airport lounge with a huge hug and kiss.

The toilets at the bagage collection area had been closed and I had to go back into the security area to use the loo. Why is it only when you are in a hurry that they want to pull you aside for testing? I got pulled across for the explosives test while I danced and crossed my legs. So embarressing.

We were down in Mandurah and stayed at the Lovely Ocean Marina Chalets. The owner was so lovely and always keen for a chat. We basically rested up on Friday and prepared for the wedding. Jason was doing the video for the wedding and we had lost the tripod mount so we went in search of one of those. And I was doing some supplementary photographs.

It is such a beautiful place! Perth and Mandurah both. It's so green as everyone seems to have access to bore water. Only issue with that being that they are frequently not drilling down far enough and the water is staining everything a rust colour. Everything! And it does make it look horrible. Other than that I was so impressed that it was so clean. The roads are excellent. The water is the most amazingly bright spectrum of blues and greens. Like something out of paradise. And the people so polite and friendly and so Okker Australian! It's unbelieveable but definitely the perfect place to take someone from overseas to experience Oz.

I will definitely try and make an effort to visit more often.

The wedding on Saturday was out at Fairbridge Village which is a historical village in Pinjarra. It was so hot I was dying in the church so I really felt so much for Simmo and Rob and the boys as I had my own pool running down my back. Luckily the bridesmaids were in a sleeveless knee length dress so they would have been more comfortable.

After the wedding we headed out to the river in Pinjarra and I hung around for a bit to talk to the boys about their cars before deciding to follow the party down to the river for photos. As I was putting my camera together I was unlucky enough to watch what seemed to be a rather sizeable drug deal happen within 5 metres of me. I kept my head down and kept walking until I heard the car drive off, then I freaked out and did a u turn because I couldn't see the group anymore and went back to the boys and their cars to ask if they'd seen that. So dodgy I was quite scared and pretty glad that a) They left b) I didn't live locally and c) I was using a hire car.

The reception followed at Redcliffe Barn. (At least I think that's what it was called) It was a stunning location. Half undercover half outdoors with a bar and a really cute barman....... Oops I mean a temporary dancefloor and DJ.

The weather was perfect, it didn't get too cold at night and the food was also great.

We finished off with some photos down at the marina and got home at like 1:30am (3:30am East Coast Time) so as you can imagine we both fell into bed.

Sunday we had brekky at one of the local cafes near the boardwalk and then caught up with the Bride and Groom. We all headed out to Simmo's folks place for a bbq before Jase and I left to head into Perth for a catch up with some of my Family. My Uncle, Aunty and Cousin. I see my uncle maybe once a year but have only met my cousin and aunty 3 times in my life so it was so lovely to be out having dinner with them. They are such lovely people and they got to meet Jase as well which was awesome.

We followed up with something I remember from my last visit to perth when I was 14. Gelare ice cream. OMG as yummy as I remember. Their Choc Chip Cookie Dough is like no other.

Monday I was sad to pack up and head home. It did help that the weather had turned stormy though. Although from the Bride and Grooms apartment by the beach watching the storm over the water was so cool. I was happily thinking it was all cool until I realised I had to fly in it!

I'm not a fan of flying in rain let alone stormy conditions and I had every right to be fearful this time.

On take off we struck the worst turbulence I have ever experienced and it went on for the whole ascent. 25 minutes worth of what felt like the plan falling out of the air bucking from side to side and doing all sorts of weird things. I was looking for the chuck bag but my seat didn't have one which put me in more panic.

People were screaming and crying and everything. It was horrible.

But thankfully we arrived safe and sound in Melbourne none the worse for wear.

Back at work this week and I'm off again sick this time. Back to the Doctor tomorrow cause it's not getting much better.

I hope everyone is well!