Scrapbooking + Running = Immense Satisfaction

Sooooo I'm a scrapbooker, a digital scrapbooker, memory keeper, keeper of our stories in our family, chief photo taker, you name it.  I want us to make a mark on the world and so the future generations never have to wonder about us, or find a stack of photos in an old shoebox under the bed and wonder who we were, what we did, how we lived, did we love them.  Yeah yeah, it's what I do and gives me a lot of satisfaction.

So last year, well I've done it ages ago too as a Project 365, but last year I did Project Life, my way, I documented every week of the year, words and pictures.  Yep a year long project takes a lot out of you, but recently I got my beautiful BEAUTIFUL book back and I'm in love with it.  Every single page, every picture, every silly-fun-exceptional-boring-crazy-and-everything-in-between thing we did for the year.

So whilst I wanted to do another Project Life this year, it's so rewarding, I wanted to do it with a difference.  And I decided to do a Project Running Life!!  Woo hoo.  My year of running, which has now turned into OUR year of running being that Mike is well and truly on the beandwagon now.

Without further ado, because I'm always behind with these projects, I've merely done the cover of the book (which I think I will slightly rejig) and our Goals Page.   Stand by for others as the year goes on.   And this year instead of the sleek look, I'm going for a scrappy paper look.

And as always, products used for these pages come from Designer Digitals.

Back to random scrapbooking

Well this blog (or the one it morphed from) was primarily about digital scrapbooking which is a big part of my life and gives me the creative outlet and allows me to memory keep for my family.

2015 saw me doing Project Life and I got so far behind and recently did a mammoth catch up.  Whew!   So now I'm back to scrapping random photos that take my fancy that all add up to beautiful memories to cherish.  I'll still do a kind of Project Life but (surprise surprise) I'm going to document my running journey each week.  So I might actually post more scrapbook pages on my blog.

Anyway, one of the photographs I took on our New Years Eve sunrise run was so pretty I couldn't resist making a page from it.

Credits for supplies used : Designer Digitals


How lucky I am to live in a part of the world where I can run the outskirts of town and see views like this.  And how lucky are we in this day and age of iPhones so you can take a quick snap to create a memory.

No LSR for me

Firstly this happened ...

Yay I did it, 29 June this was my total.   I set out to run 100km over June, the hardest month of the year I find to run, and I did it - through rain and wind and cold mornings and cold evenings and darkness and rainbows and a little bit of winter sunshine thrown in.  

Then this happened ...

And let me tell you, when he gets sick, he REALLY gets sick.  Yes we joke about man flu but he's on antibiotics, he has no energy, he has been barking up a storm.   

And a lot of this has been happening ...

Aided of course by Nurse Lucky making sure he stays put.  He's coming out the other side now, still a bit weak but the barking has stopped.  Just in time as we are going to an American Theme Night at a local restaurant for 4 July tonight.  

However I feel like I'm on the beginnings of it.  Just a tickle in the back on my throat that I can't shake.  I'm on the Olive Leaf Extract courtesy of advice from my bestie, urrrgh it tastes horrid.   But I woke this morning thinking hmmmm I was planning my LSR (long slow run for non-runners reading this) today and I thought I would be tempting fate.    Will see how I fare tomorrow, although I want to be up super early cheering my friends on who are up at the Gold Coast this weekend for the marathon festivities.  Love that we can live track them and see how they are going too.

And with 4th July upon us, there were lots of American style goodies in the Designer Digitals store this weekend so I put them to good use.

Goodies I used from Designer Digitals

Days of December : 06 (one day late)

((interrupting our general broadcast, had this blog post written but not published ... Carry on))

Well I knew I wouldn't get yesterday's done yesterday because we had a huge day.  Headed off at 6am and didn't get back in the door here till 8pm.  We had a fine time at the Daylesford Highland Festival.  We despaired on the way as it rained all the way to Ballarat, but once past Ballarat the skies cleared, cold still (what happened to summer???).

The street march was good to see, there were so many people around.  I didn't take my big girl camera this year so these are just phone shots.  Once the street march was complete the streets cleared!  It was a mass exodus till the shops opened at 10am.  Everyone had headed down to Victoria Park to the festival.

Mike went on ahead and I stayed back to check out the shops, lucky I took two bags.  My biggest score was at a "garage sale" of a shop that was closing up.   They had beautifully matted old prints and the one I got was of old time gold detectors lining up to get their licences.  Now normally I wouldn't get something like this but couldn't resist it was down from $65 to $4  !!!  Yes you read right, you can't even get the matting for $4 from a framers.


And this is how the rest of the evening panned out when we got home.  Must admit that this is Lucky's regular evening possy on the couch.  He likes to wedge in between Mike and the arm of the couch and invariably pops his paw up on Mike's leg, it's a crack up.

Digital Scrapbooking goodies from Designer Digitals.

Days of December : 05

Still keeping up to date, this is a first !  Usually I fall behind (touch wood) and don't finish the album till about April.    Just using the KISS principle this year.

I swear Lucky knows the difference to normal days and then Friday, knowing I'll be home all weekend.  It's crazy, but true.   Thought I better get myself in this album too !

Digital Scrapbooking product from Designer Digitals.

Days of December : 04

Four for 4 !!  I'm still up to date.  And yes well the storm with the thunder and lightening happened yesterday but in the grand scheme of things who's going to worry about being a day out!  

Only just sneaked this one in, had a late hair appointment after work and not long got home.  Thank goodness I've got the format of this album nutted out, it's just the placement of the photos and a few elements I need to work out.  But even that takes me long enough.  Will I keep up the pace!!  ;-)

Scrapbooking product from Designer Digitals.

Days of December 02 and 03

I'm still on track, I actually did do 02 yesterday, just forgot to post it here on the blog.  So without further ado here they are for your viewing pleasure!!

And you can read here, life is never dull in the G House!!

The cat thought it was high time she be allowed a voice!

Digital Scrapbook products from Designer Digitals.

Days of December : 01

1 for 1.  I'm up to date! hahahaha  It's well known that I start a project with gusto and then get way behind, and finish a Days of December in say April!  

Product credits Designer Digitals.


I'm really going to enjoy putting this album together I think, so many moments throughout the month I want to capture.  Just a different slant on my December album.

First Christmas get together for the Silly Season!!

You may be mistaken in thinking I have dropped off the planet.  Not so.  Life (as it sometimes happens) has gotten in the way.  But on a lazy Sunday evening I thought I best post.  Actually I hate Sunday evenings, hate them with a passion.  Because that means it's nearly time for the work week to start.  I feel this way oh around 4pm of a Sunday, each and every week (apart from if I have a Monday off!!!)

So as my northern hemisphere friends can see, we are having some glorious weather right now.  Summer officially starts tomorrow, and I reckon it will be a hot hot summer.  But for right now I'm enjoying this lead up to the really hot weather.

Saturday was the first Christmas get together of the silly season for me.  I met up with some of the lovely friends I have in the Warrnambool & Surrounds 12wbt crew.  Leah had organised us to meet up nice and early down at the foreshore for an early morning run and then back to the Pavilion at 8.30am for breakfast, Christmas colours/theme a necessity.

So bright and early I met those that were able to make it, I tinselled up my running hat (note that it's in the correct way this time!!) and while a couple of the girls who met earlier were running the Surf T Surf course and beyond, the remainder of us ran along the foreshore.  It was so enjoyable running with the other ladies, I do have trouble talking and running but it was just an easy morning, good friends and a festive feel in the air.  Debbie had even brought her dog KT who was dressed to impress.

Now I am going to go on record and say I think tinsel is a definite must for all runners.  I got such lovely 'good mornings' and big smiles on my run.  Either they were smiling at the tinsel or they were grinning awkwardly at the crazy lady in front of them.  Eh!  Either/or !!  I was having fun.

I call the group my health & fitness sisters.  They come and go in the crew, but there's that core group that remains constant.  Saturday morning was awkward for some of the ladies, but these are the ones that made it.  And a loose decision was made that next year we need to organise a monthly run - maybe the last Sunday of the month or something that stands out.  As long as two turn up so no one plays Larry Lonely for breakfast, then any more are a bonus, right.

Is this a happy smile or is this a happy smile?  KT I think wins the best dressed of the morning.  She ran with her santa scarf on for 6 kilometres.  Way to go KT.

I looked at my calendar earlier and we have got a lot of functions and get togethers to go to over December.  That usually never happens.  Next week is a bit of a lull and then it hots up.  And I'm pretty pleased that apart from one more present I want to get Mike, and the couple I'm waiting on mail order to come in - I have all my gift buying done and wrapped!  I aimed to get that done before December hit so I could just cruise instead of the crazed lead up to Christmas I had last year.  

I'll be doing Days of December again this year, I'm doing it this year with a difference.  Both in the theme and the size of the album.  Here's the front cover to whet your appetite...

Digital Scrapbook products from Designer Digitals.

Shopping !

I went a bit nuts today and bought a new running top.  Yeah yeah so I already have many running tops every colour of the rainbow, it's been a bit of an obsession.  Well now I have one top that IS every colour of the rainbow combined in the one top!  win-win.   Isn't it beautiful !!!!   Mike would probably say it looks like a pizza with the lot on it, but I adore it!   Can't wait to wear it.

I think this might mean my running top obsession is now complete.  I mean to say, how can I beat this beauty.

So on the scrapbooking front Designer Digitals has an All About Me challenge going at the moment to scrap your anthem.   Well perhaps not my anthem as such, but do you remember the Sunscreen Song?  And I'll cry if you say it was before your time!   I remember when it came out I played it over and over and over.  The words just resonated and maybe that's attributed to my cup is half full attitude to life.  This is my page.

And if you'd like to read the words for you younguns who have no idea who or what this song is about, here are the lyrics.  It was originally an article written by journalist Mary Schmich, to which Baz Luhrmann put to lyrics.

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '99
Wear sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it
The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists
Whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering experience, I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh, never mind.
You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth
until they've faded but trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back
at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now
how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future
Or know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind,
the kind that blindsides you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts.
Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy.
Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.
The race is long and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults, if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.
The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives.
Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't.
Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't.
Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the 'Funky Chicken'
on your 75th wedding anniversary.
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much.
Or berate yourself either.
Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can.
Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it.
It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your own living room.
Read the directions even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings, they're your best link to your past
and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,
but for a precious few, who should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle
For as the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in northern California once but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths.
Prices will rise, politicians will philander, you, too, will get old.
And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young
prices were reasonable, politicians were noble
and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse
but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair
or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy but be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past
from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts
and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

Fresh veggies anyone?

Well not quite yet, but our veggie garden (our VERY FIRST veggie garden) is coming along splendidly.   And after consulting google, Professor Mike has made his own organic garlic and chilli spray to keep the bugs away and it's working!  After seemingly growing plastic bottles for an age, well it looked like that as the little seedlings came up inside cut up pepsi 2 litre bottles (kind of hot house like), everything has taken off.  Can't wait to have our first veggie from our garden.

Peas, snap peas and broad beans.  

What can I say, I wanted to take a pic of him watering the garden and he decides to ... 

well ... you can see below!

I promise it really was the garden hose.

Why on earth have we not done this years ago.  We've had this area up the back yard sitting, doing nothing.  I'm so proud of Mike doing this, considering we have no idea what we are doing.  Pinterest though has been handy.


Righto so in Scrapbooking I haven't shown a layout for a while.  I've finally started my USA album from my trip over there last November.  Okay so all good things take time right?   So I'll spatter some of the upcoming posts with those pages.  Yeah yeah, like we loooooove to see people's holiday (snore) snaps!  tee hee.

I'm going with Blurb which has been my book maker of choice, so these pages have been created with the largest landscape sized book in mind.  Plus I always leave the cover and title page to last, so my layouts have started at page 2 and 3 below.

Click on the page if you want to read the journalling.
Credits for the goodies used Designer Digitals.

Scrapbookers Blog Tour

I have been nominated by my good friend Amy Mallory, to take part in the scrappy blog tour.  You might know Amy by her scrapbooking online name of mymalloryboys.   Amy is an incredible scrapbooker and home schooler.  Her pages are about family and love and her three boys and now one little girl will never have to wonder how much they are loved and adored, it’s all there on her pages.

I was also nominated by my friend, the amazing talented digital scrapbooking designer from Designer Digitals, Lynn Grieveson.  I was lucky enough to meet Lynn when she travelled over from NZ some years back and I can report she is a dynamo.  She creates beautiful products that I’m proud to use.

Right so the scrappy blog tour asks me to answer six questions.

1.     What am I working on right now?

I will be a rebel and talk about a couple of things both scrapbooking and non-scrapbooking related.   As you will know if you read this blog an addition has happened to the family by way of a beautiful baby grandson, so my pages lately have been all about him.  I want to try to keep up as best I can.  But he’s so darn cute, I am taking hundreds of photos!  

I also started a ‘Fifty before 50’ album, with the big one coming up quicker than a steam train.  I was scrapping 50 fun and fabulous things I was doing or what was important to me in the year before I turned 50.  Hmmm, made it to page 4.  I do aim to finish as I have been collecting the photos as the year has gone on. 

And then there was the trip with Esther to the US last year to meet the Designer Digitals creative team, I have only just started on that album, thank goodness (as of yesterday!!) So many projects so little time. 

And non-scrapbooking related because these questions could relate to that too, I’m in the middle of making a chevron crochet black and white blanket as part of a crochet-a-long with my scrapbooking friends Steph, Doris, Chrissy and Mollie.  See, that’s  kind of scrapbooking related too!   (I really must take a new photo, I'm up to about the 7th colour change now, I tell you the black is hard going!!  I usually wear my husband's head lamp of an evening when I'm crocheting the black.

2.     How long does it take to create a project?

I mentioned about the Fifty before 50 project and my US photo book, enough said!   I tend to pick these grandiose projects and it seems to take forever to finish.  But finish them I will. 

3.     What are my fave things I love to create with at the moment?

I’m not one to go with the latest fad.  To be honest I am a big fan of the DIY products that Lynn Grieveson makes and you'll often find them on my pages.  Love that we can put our own spin on them by adding our own colours or papers, gives us so much more flexibility in getting a page exactly how you want it to be.  But then sometimes that’s my downfall, then comes the indecision – will I use this shade of blue or that shade of blue.  And if you know my scrapbooking you’ll know there are very few pages without a brad or two on them!

        

4.     How does my writing/creating process work?

I’m a journaller that’s for sure.   One thing I’ve found over the years that it’s nice to pick up a scrapbook I’ve done, and lovely to see the photos and reminisce, but it’s the words that truly bring the page (and the memory) to life.  I'm fortunate in that I host the Story Scrapbooking Challenge at Designer Digitals, this month's challenge is to tell a story about a birthday (hmmm I wonder why??) so if you're reading this, do join in.  I've linked up the blog challenge.  

I write like I talk too.  I might ask Mike what does he think about a page I have up on my screen, and he’ll start trying to correct the grammar.  Nooooooo!   I meant it to run into one huge humongous sentence Mike, cause I don’t talk with commas or fullstops!    

5.     How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

Oh I lose my mojo on a regular basis, and sometimes I think I have sooooo many photos I want to scrap and am almost paralysed at starting.  But something will (hopefully) just click.  It will be the colours or tones of a kit.  It will be something I want to say.  I’d like to say I use Pinterest for inspiration but I really don’t.  That’s just more for fun.  I think it’s usually I have something to say and then the page just comes.  I do get inspired by the team at DesignerDigitals, those ladies are amazing with the pages they spin out. And for my non-scrapbooking friends reading this, if you are still reading this!! all these scrapbook pages are done digitally, all on the computer, despite so many looking three dimensional, it's all done with pixels.  I also like to check out Gallery Standouts to see what the wider community are creating.    Scrapbooking is so rewarding, and digital scrapbooking for me more so because it’s all I’ve known.

6.     What is my signature style?

I look at my gallery and wonder that.  I really don’t think I have a signature style.  I truly don’t think I would be able to pick my own page in a digi line up.  That sounds weird, because I would have made the page.  But you get what I mean.  All I know is that 9 times out of 10 there’ll be a story on it, cause that’s what it’s all about for me, telling the story.

So I need to pass this blog tour onto some other scrappers.  Having said that I see this blog tour is doing the rounds of the quilting community too as my friend Sharon also tried to tag me.  So everyone I approached has already been tagged, so I'm going to say (and yes this is a cop out) that if you are reading this and if you would like to answer these questions regardless of what craft you do please feel free to consider yourself tagged.  Let me know in the comments if you are playing along so I can check out your post.  Your post will need to be popped on your blog next Friday 12th September.

A beautiful almost Spring day

Such an exquisitely beautiful almost-but-not-quite-Spring day today.  Still a few days till Spring but today it was spectacular.  I decided to go out around lunchtime and run and this time decided to run way out of town to a road that is at the base of the mount.  It is a lane full of undulating ups and downs, plus there's a nasty sausage dog in one of the houses.  The sky was the most magnificent colour blue today so even the sausage dog didn't scare me.  Okay well you would be scared too if you heard the yap it made, but I was ready for it as the only other time I'd run up this lane the darn dog chased me (by the way that pic below is not the lane, that's on the way leading up to where I turned off).  So I made sure I mustered the reserves and when that yappy thing started down it's driveway towards the lane I sped on by.  Ha!  Take that sausage dog.

So anyway the reason I wanted to run way out of town today was due to the funeral I went to yesterday.  A dear old man, a farmer who lived on the mount, always had a nice word and a twinkle in his eye and called me "darlin'".  Actually he called everyone "darlin'" but he always made it sound like you were special.   So I wanted to run up there as I knew it was a hard slog and it was where he lived so it was with Eddie in mind that I ran today.  And how absolutely fitting as I was heading past his house that Loch Lomond by the Borderers came on my running track.  Timing is everything as this man was Scottish.

Don't you just want to bottle that blue sky, it was glorious.  So I was at the very far point of my run and had hit Ararat Road, which I don't like running along because there are big trucks that lumber past, so had to get over on the grass a number of times.  So here I was ready to turn and head back into town.  Glorious day.  A nice cruisey 7km run.   Felt good.

So apparently yesterday was National Dog Day and I kept seeing pics flooding facebook of people's dogs.  So I decided it should be International Dog Day and join in.  Although laugh's on us, as every day is dog day in the G House!  Pics below taken yesterday of the terror and his old sister.  Molly was giving me her "if I must" look!

And on the scrapping front I have to share this page I recently put together.  Saxon's dad took this really funny pic and it was too good to pass up, it needed to be immortalised in a scrapbook page.

Supplies by Designer Digitals.

So end of the week tomorrow, I think a bit of shopping is in order, plus if I'm having a good hair day I might go get my driver's licence renewed and cross fingers I get a good photo this time!  Eeeek.

And PS to Chloe, the long Nikes  which I took out for a test run the other day were actually not too bad, the zipper wasn't a problem at all.  They came way way down, whereas my only other long tights are the 2XU ones and I show my ankle with those.  So maybe in the Nike world I would be considered a short stuff, who knows.  But all good, they are good cold weather tights for sure.

Four whole weeks !

Four weeks to do what I want.  Sooooo happy to be on holidays.   To wake up this morning when my body wanted to wake up, no alarm.  To just potter and do some scrapbooking and crochet.  I have a list, oh boy am I a list person, and I have a whole page of things I want to do.  Such satisfaction marking things off.  We'll see how much I get to.

One thing I know is that time waits for no one, and our gorgeous little grandson is already just over 2 months old.  I want to keep up with scrapbooking pages for his book and not get too far behind.  And I had all those wonderful photos from the night he was born, so put a double page spread together.  You can see how we were all besotted with him when he was only an hour and a half old !!   We thought when we arrived we would be in for a long wait, not so.   I get very emotional looking at these photos of my step-daughter, she looks so serene and beautiful and completely at peace.

Digital scrapbooking credits.

Can you even imagine how awesome it would be to have pics like this back from when you were a baby?  I think the youngest pic of me was a week or so old when I was brought home from hospital.  Nothing like brand new like these ones.

Forecast for fog tomorrow morning, yay!  Love to run in the fog, so an early morning run planned, we'll see how I go.  Will try out some new running tights I bought from Catch of the Day.  Some long Nike tights, I only have one pair of long tights and although we're at the tail end of winter, my legs are still getting so cold on morning runs.  These Nikes weren't exactly what I thought, I didn't see the zips down near the ankle in the photo, I'm thinking that's going to annoy me like nothing else, but shall wait to see tomorrow.  Me and my online shopping! 

Mixing it up

There's a lot to be said for mixing it up.   Yes I'm doing the Advanced 10km program this round of 12wbt, and yes it was Toning and Abs day today.  But I ended up at the gym.  I just wanted to do some other stuff!  There.  What a rebel.   And there was to be no running for me today.  I just wanted to use the machines.

• I ended up doing just over 10 mins on the treadmill walking a very steep incline.  Felt that one.
• Moved onto 10 minutes on the rowing machine.
• Then over to the evil elliptical machine for another 10 mins, I really suck on this, I'm so unco-ordinated, I usually start off going backwards before I realise whoops!
• And finished off with 10 mins on the stationary bike.

And I felt amazing, strong in the legs, it was a good bit of rebellion.  A lovely stretch then home.  

Tonight's Dead Bug Challenge had reached 52 bugs.  Oh Lordy Lord, but I did it !  This is the longest I've ever done a monthly challenge with our Runners Group before carking it.   By the way, just so you know, this is the Dead Bugs exercise.  

Came home though to a sick hubby.  I was quite undecided though if it was real sick or man sick, then I saw that he'd bought one of every cold and flu tablet, vitamin C, etc etc jar packet or sachet.   No runny nose or cough or sore throat, just feels like he's been run over by a truck.  So yep, it's real sick.  He's hoping it's a 24 hour virus.  Who knows.

On the scrapping front, I tell you it's fun having a baby in the family to scrapbook!  The Challenge at Designer Digitals was to scrapbook a story about a person in your life you think of often.  And now that I'm a nanna I have thought about my own paternal nanna quite a bit lately, she died when I was very young so I have no real physical memory of her apart from photos.  So this was the page I created, and things I'd love to know.

Product credits:  Designer Digitals.

And for Victorians, have you heard that there is an Australian Running Convention coming to Melbourne.  I have tossed up whether to go to the 12wbt Spring Festival (the day before the Melbourne Marathon which I was heading up to) or the Australian Running Convention.  And you know, I'm thinking I'm going to get so much more from the Running Convention, so ticket has been purchased.  Yay.

I am over-challenged !!

Over-challenged???  Ha!  And I say that in a nice way.  I went for a run on Saturday morning and it was quite a painful run, I had a pain down deep in my belly, and it made me think of all the challenges I'm doing at the moment.  Yep, yell out a challenge and I'm your girl!  I think I may have bitten off one too many at the moment.

So in no particular order, these are the challenges I'm currently in the midst of:

Run 1000 km in a year (current total = 524.8 km)

No Junk Food for August Challenge (blitzing it !!)

Mind Body Motion Multi-Stage Km-athon (training to take part in October)

Commenced another round of 12WBT (heading into week 2)

Dead Bugs Challenge (ha! I don't think I'll enlighten you, keep you guessing!!)

And training for three upcoming Fun Runs I've entered

And on the craft front in the middle of the Chevron Crochet-a-long (with some friends)

So whilst on my run I was hurting, it was the dead bugs I'm thinking!!   Maybe my core is starting to tighten up and work.  So tell me, do you challenge yourself (not necessarily exercise related) like this?  I think I'm goal orientated so challenges work for me.  But maybe not so many at the one time perhaps??

Some pics from my Saturday run.  I told Mike I was going to head out to run around town.  And I meant AROUND town !!  I persevered and completed 7.2 km which took me around the circumference of our town.  Some of the roads are stock routes, some of the roads are bitumen, a bit of everything.

Saturday night we headed to Geelong and met up with Mike's dad and partner and went to the Buddy Holly Tribute Concert.   The tickets (and our company!!) was a gift to his dad for his birthday.  First stop the RSL for dinner - score!  I had grilled barramundi and salad and no chips.  Followed by a skinny latte.  Did well.

Then what a rollicking great time the show was.  The singer sounded just like the tracks I had heard Buddy Holly sing.  Thoroughly entertaining.  I seat danced like there was no tomorrow.  Mike's dad had the best time.  Great choice of birthday present.

We got home after midnight after the long drive back home to find that Harry Houdini (Lucky) had escaped from the back yard and was sitting up on the porch waiting for us, like a ticked off parent no less!  He had ditched the coat I had put on him, how I'll never know, found it in the backyard.  I also found where he had gotten out of the back yard which involved moving a very large log of wood.   So I goget Molly out to bring her inside, and she came out limping.  What the heck went on while we were gone??   

We are wondering whether Molly tried to follow Lucky out the gap in the fence and got herself stuck and wrenched herself getting free?  Did she have a hand in the escape and somehow help push the log through.  All I know now is she's limping.  No cuts, no sores, I think it's muscular.  She's allowing me to stroke her leg, there may be a bit of swelling (it's her front right leg so it's not her ACL), so I've been putting Rapidgel on it today which seems to be helping.  (Rapidgel is my secret ingredient for my poor old knees when I run, don't judge me, yes it's a Vet product!!)  We will keep an eye on her the next day or so and if it doesn't get better seek further advice.  She's still happy though, it's not troubling her apart from the awkward limpy walk, I was out planting a few plants this afternoon and she came out with me rolling around for a tummy rub on her back, so that was a very good (and relieved) sign to me.

And finally a scrapbook page I finished tonight, I wanted to document the moment we held the little one for the first time.

Product Credits Designer Digitals

A weekend without rain ... what is that?

I'm not wanting to speak too soon, but it hasn't rained yet.  This would be the first weekend for a long long time!  In face I have been out in the garden and giving the couple of roses we have a bit of a prune, and digging up some weeds from the driveway and generally tidying the flowers and cutting off some ratty bits.  Feels like an accomplishment.

So I had planned to do another 5km run after work yesterday and it ended up being 6.  It was a terrific evening for running.  Still chilly so I wore my vest over my t-shirt, but the sea smelt wonderful.  I always chuckle when I go past this sign ... travel slowly!  I reckon they put it there just for me, cause I'm a plod for sure.  Couldn't resist a quick snap.  Yep it was a little bit blowy which you can see with my hair.

I'm about to start chopping butternut pumpkin for my Thai Pumpkin Soup from 12wbt which I absolutely love.  It's a soup night tonight for us, plus I bought Mike a big cheesy herby pull apart to have with his soup.  Delicious!  I feel like I'm back on the straight and narrow all thanks to my friend Chloe.  We have become each other's cheer squad with regard to our eating habits.  She's got me using My Fitness Pal again, so there's no hiding my eating now!

Before I go here's a page of darling Saxon.   I love watching him while he's sleeping, he does these amazing big stretches.  A bit like his Grumpy who never gets up without a big stretch.

Products used:  Designer Digitals.


I do believe there will be some crochet and knitting in my future, by the fire tonight  It might not be raining but it's sure chilly.

Coincidences and Epiphanies

So it's no secret but I've been struggling with my eating of late.  Yummy yummy things have just fallen into my mouth at regular intervals and the scales have started to groan.  Well I reckon if they could they would.   And I'm not sure where my resolve has gone.  Well I know it's somewhere other than with me.  

So last night I went to bed mega early, I was so tired after a big week.  Now I often have thoughts of doing early morning runs but I usually open one eye, then the other, listen for wind or rain, then roll over and go back to sleep only to go later.  But this morning after a really good nights sleep I bounded out of bed, got dressed, fed the menagerie, and then I was out of there.  Go me!

This is where the epiphany comes in.  An early morning run really does set the mood of the day.  I have eaten really well and clean today, I haven't wanted to ruin the good start I had set for myself.  Whereas it's made me think, that when I run after work (which I enjoy) it's after a hard day, I put in the kms, then I feel the need to reward myself for a job well done.  Cause it's after work that my food resolve crumbles.  My disorganization, the cooking on the fly, the extras that get bought at the supermarket because I have no idea what I'm cooking.

So I really need to rethink this early morning running gig, don't I?  And yes I'm sure everyone bar me has worked this out, and I know about getting the monkey off your back and all, but the flow on effect to my eating, or lack of bad eating, has really struck me today.  

Anyway this morning's run totalled 8km and I realised what a mess the rain had made of some of the roads I run on.  :-(.  Err no kidding ...

And it was cold when I set off but after 2km my running jacket had been tied around my waist and I was sleeveless.  Makes me laugh when I run past someone out for an early morning walk wearing coat and scarf and gloves, and I go running by in no sleeves!

However I did have a wee mishap and almost went arse over turkey when I slipped on this track you can see behind me here.  It was muddy in parts and I was switching tracks and jumping from one to the other, I mean to say I don't want my Mizunos to get dirty!  So did the funky chicken dance as I was slipping and righted myself but ouch felt that strain in my hip, like I had wrenched myself.  So whilst it slowed me down I continued on, albeit at a slow pace.  But thumbs up, I did it.  

And hey, got my Road ID bracelet in the mail so took it on it's first outing.  So if I am found unconscious on the side of the road, they can return me to sender!! ;-)

As for coincidences, or I should say outright surprises...

During the week I was over in Portland for a work functionthat was being conducted and afterwards was chatting to one of my colleagues and a woman came up to me and said something like ... "Thought I'd come over to see if I could (slight pause) Find Carol" and I do believe she winked.  My work colleague said "Well you've found her" and he wandered off.  She again said something like "So looks like I might have been successful in FINDING CAROL" and again accenting the words.  

OMG it dawned on me, this woman has read my blog and recognized me!!! What a crack up.  And of course my mind did an instant oh flip what have I written of late! Ha.  

So mystery lady (because I'm sorry I have forgotten your name) I'm glad you said hello, hope you excused my shocked expression and then manic laughing when I realised you had read along.  You just never know who you're going to meet out there.


And finally on the scrapbooking front, who doesn't love a happy dog, right?  It doesn't take much to make Lucky happy.  And here you can see one of the routes I usually run, how lucky to run in all that country goodness.

Credits for supplies: Designer Digitals.