she sells seachelles

Wow 2011 already!!!

2011-01-16T03:01:00.000-08:00

Yes I know we are 16 days into the new year but I am still on holidays...well for the next few hours anyway lol.

I am thinking I will do a post a week...or as something interesting happens.

Ooh my son, Dale turns 18 on the 22nd...hmm suddenly I feel old! \

Anyway till next week...

Chelle X♥X

So, I've been tagged...arghhh!

2010-10-17T02:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks Cassie, now I have to use my brain...the only thing that isn't hurting from my gym workout yesterday lol. I have been given 8 questions to answer and then I have to tag 8 people.

So here we go:

1. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Well that's a tough one, when I was younger I wanted to be an air hostess, a nurse, a dental nurse or a police officer...I even sat the entrance exam for that...I passed too. I didn't pursue it as I had a job with Telstra. Anyway I am now a receptionist with a neuro physiotherapist so I am doing the kind of work I really wanted to do :)

2. What is your idea of a perfect day?
Being together with my wonderful family, we are a large group of 18 and it's noisy and fun and just the most amazing time.

3. Have you had your lightbulb moment yet, and if so what was it?
Yes, it was in September 2007 when I was told I had to lose weight or get diabetes. I realised I had to make changes in my dietry habits and my life or face some not so pleasant changes.

4. What do you enjoy most about blogging?
I like being able to put my thoughts out there and see what ither people have to say about it. I love reading about other people's lives and what they get up to.

5. If money was no object, how would your life be differnet?
That's a tough one...I guess I would be a whole lot less worried about a lot of things. I would probably take a few more holidays and maybe a few overseas ones and drive a newer car, other than that I have no idea.

6.Do you believe in regrets?
Not a lot of point really you can't change them, you can learn fom them though.

7.What is your favourite thing about yourself?
Hmmm, my sense of humour, my loyalty, my natural red hair (at 48years old lol), my green eyes.

8. What is your idea of happily ever after?
That would be to have lived my life to my potential. I also think to have 2 happy, healthy children who have made me proud would be awesome and one day I would also love to have love again, though I don't feel that would be the only way I can live happily ever after.

now to choose 8 people:

1.Louise lululollylegs
2.Jane Stormys Castle
3.Tina Tina Gray {dot}me
4.Dee dazey recipes
5.Megan We are slimming
6. Elaine Elaines journey
7.Tanya One day, one action
8.Sacha Arty chick & Co

Now the magic questions:

1. Is there a movie that has had an enormous affect on you, what is it and how did it change you?
2. If you could be a character in any novel you have ever read, who would it be and why?
3. What is your favourite food?
4. What is your ideal holiday?
5. If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
6. What would be your favourite rainyday activity?
7. What is your favourite empowering song?
8. Did you watch the Commonwealth Games, if so what was your favourite event?

This is hard, thanks to those who participate :)

All Fired Up!!!!!

2010-10-03T03:10:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a favourite song of mine. I love to crank it up and belt it out!!!

I believe there comes a time when everything just falls in line....I hope you enjoy it :)

Chelle x

Can you spot me?

2010-07-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

Recently Fernwood Gyms ran a Foxy Challenge, the winner was from my gym in Ferntree Gully. Well done Cathy!

They did a filming for this avertorial on a night I was at the gym....now watch the clip and see if you can spot me....

Yup that was me on the bike in the background!!!! How hilarious, I am in an advertorial ha ha!!!!

Chelle xxx

The weekend St Kilda players hit Officeworks

2010-05-02T01:06:00.002-07:00

The weekend started with going to Weight Watchers and losing 100g...not a lot, but a loss is a loss!!! Then it was off to meet up with Mel and Tan (with Heather of course) at Montagna's at Mountain Gate shopping Centre for brunch. Mel, a mad St Kilda(Aussie Rules Football Team)supporter, told us that Nick Riewoldt (Captain) was going to be at our local Officeworks...across the road. So we ate then off we went, only to find out it was another player...Jason Blake. Here is the picture Mel took of me getting up close and personal for a hug.

So, we find out that Nick is going to be at the same store the next day (today) we had no trouble whatsoever seeing Jason, but the store was crowded and the queue was very long. I managed to get some pictures of him from the side but that was as close as we got. Sorry they're a bit blurry.

He pulled in a huge crowd and a lot went away disappointed as he had a physio appointment following his terrible injury a few weeks back. Mel wanted her shirt signed and when Tan turned up in full police uniform...she was able to get it signed...nice one Tan!!!

The radio station Gold 104.3 (my fave station)roadies were also there giving away prizes...one competition was to name that tune...I won that one...and for my efforts I was given a goodie bag with lots of lollies in it...I gave them to the kids. I also scored an Officeworks cap and football.

I also found out this morning that I had won the audio book of Eclipse...woohoo Miss Erin was most impressed being a twilight tragic lol.

I have also been in a bit of pain in my right side since Friday and off my food...not too sure why but I will go to work tomorrow and try to get a doctors appointment if I still feel bad tomorrow. Not too sure what it is, but I hope it is nothing serious. I did still manage to go to the gym yesterday but took it carefully as one of the exercises actually hurt my right side. For feeling so awful, it was a full on weekend, oh and a huge Happy Birthday for yesterday (1/5) to my gorgeous sister Louise I hope you had an awesomely special day.

Chelle xx

Some stuff I've been up to.

2010-04-26T02:41:00.000-07:00

Well yes it has been a while since I posted but here I am again.

I finally finished my Certificate IV in Health Administration...very happy with that!

I also became employed by Weight Watchers as a Meeting Team Member (formerly known as weigher/recorder.) I have a regular meeting on a Friday morning. I also sub at my own meeting on a Saturday from time to time as required. Awesome really...now I get paid to lose weight!!!!

My daughter Erin turned 15 on the 3rd of April -

These were taken at her dad's place as the kids were there for the school holidays and her birthday was Easter Saturday.

My car decided to play up, I made it out of my parking spot at work and it conked out. A call to the RACV, a 70 minute wait and it's the fuel pump...a tow was ordered and home we went. This also required a tow in the morning to get the car to the mechanic. He repaired it...that was Wednesday. I drove it around Thursday, Friday and Saturday then it conked out again...another tow home then off to the mechanics on Monday....it stayed overnight and this time it was to replace the fuel pump from the week before which was faulty!!!

We also had a visit from a baby... Erin is doing Child Development at school and part of the course is to bring home a baby to look after for 24 hours. She got the boy doll and he kept her on her toes!!!! He kept her awake from 2am with his crying lol

She has decided she doesn't want a baby yet!!! (thank goodness for that!!!!)

Of course he needed a bed to sleep in.....

and how he looked under the blanket....

Poor little thing, this was the largest thing we could find to put him in. Apparently she got 100% for looking after him...she was so good and careful with him. Awesome work Erin!!!

Anyway, that's it for now, I am working on getting back to the 100 photos posts...I will try to get back on here very soon!

Stay safe and catch you round the blogosphere

Chelle x

So Chicken Little was right after all...the sky IS falling!

2010-03-09T19:13:00.001-08:00

Saturday the 6th of March started as usual for me. I did my Weight Watchers meeting (oh by the way, I am my meeting's volunteer helper now and today 10/3 I was interviewed for a position of recorder so I am about to become staff) I had a stay the same...which was ok as I had been to the doctors the day before and had a very good report!!! Then it was home for breakfast then off to the gym with Heather for an earlier than usual session of our respective programs. We went early as we had been invited to a Postie Fashion party at the house of a work colleague. All was good, we roared through our programs and had enough time for a cuppa before we left the gym.

Then it was over to Mountain Gate shopping Centre across the road to pick up Erin's phys ed text book as it had finally come in. You could sense then there was a storm or at least rain coming our way. I happened to have to stop at a set of traffic lights and looked in the rear view mirror. It looked really weird...all grey and very hazy. Anyway we arrived at Kathy's place in Tecoma and parked at the top of her driveway kind of under a tree. We were there about 10-15 minutes when all hell broke loose and the hail began. I have never seen hail the size of what was falling...at least golf ball sized rocks not just falling but looking like they had been shot from cannons. It was incredible. Suddenly we thought about the cars but it was not possible to do anything with them and there wasn't anything we could have done anyway. It went on for about 10-15 minutes then we got on with the Postie party. Heather's husband called and advised that Rowville/Lysterfield had been badly hit. I kind of had a small panic moment at that point...what condition would I find my car in...and heavens what about the house? We started looking at the clothes and Heather's husband called back suggesting we head home as her house had quite a few roof tile issues at least. We left and found, fortunately that the car windows had survived and had norrowly been missed by a small branch that had fallen off the tree. It wasn't till a few days later that I realised I had quite a few dings in the duco.

I drove home and on the way had to pass the CFA directing cars around a fallen power line. There was so much leaf litter from the stripped trees that you couldn't go fast anyway. I dropped Heather off at her house and headed back to my house with dread...what would I find? Was there going to be much damage? I pulled into my driveway to discover that one of my bedroom windows was smashed. On further inspection, one of the lounge room ones was too. Closer inspection of my room showed that infact I had 2 broken windows in my room. So 3 broken windows and the leadlight sidelight is cracked but fortunately not broken. Even with the damage I got, I fared much better than many in this area. I took a few pics.

Lounge room window

Bedroom window #1

Bedroom window #2

Cracked leadlight sidelight.

Rowville/Lysterfield's latest fashin accessory...the tarp!

Leaf litter from the trees.

The hard working people from the SES another common sight around this area!!! Over 7000 jobs logged with them. Fortunately I didn't need them but they do an amazing job!!!!

Sunday and they had predicted more bad weather, as you can see it was undecided lol...fortunately it didn't eventuate!

My weather tracker for Sunday 7/3/10

I hope this never happens again....it was so scary!!!!

Until next time :)

Chelle x

100 Small Steps Challenge Days 43 - 49

2010-01-18T02:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

No post last week as I was actually away. I took my 2 kids to Queenscliff for a week. We got a cabin at the Big4 Beacon Resort. Very nice. This post centres around that a fair bit.

Day 43 (Monday 11/1/10) We had been away since Saturday and this is a couple of ther things I took with me to relax with. I love doing the puzzles in the magazines and I also love to play Solitaire with the cards.

Day 44, Erin and I went over to the beach across the road. It was a bit gloomy so we didn't go down to the beach. When we were heading home to the cabin I decided these were a bit like a mini version of the 1000 steps. That is Erin going up them. They were hard work.

Day 45, The kids were driving me up the wall and one of the good things about them being older, I can leave them on their own for a little while...so I did just that. Erin and I had been in to Queenscliff in the morning and somehow I had lost my hat...must have fallen out of the car as I wasn't wearing it. Anyway being fair skinned and red haired, I had to go and get another one. I went into Point Lonsdale and bought another one. I was annoyed at this point so I had my book with me and I bought myself a cappuccino and yes that is a yoyo biscuit!!!! I did feel much better once I had had my little time out.

Day 46 Erin and I had another go at walking on the beach across the road. I had my hat...but it was too windy to wear it. The beach was empty which made for a very peaceful walk...especially with Erin deciding to go in for a swim. I told her it would be cold. Not one to be told she flew into the water only to come out again moments later telling me it was fffrrreeeeeezzzzing!!!!!

Yup she looks cold all right lol!!!!

Day 47 and we decided to go and play mini golf. This place has 2 fabulous courses....one all outside and the other with some indoors with slightly more gadgetry. Dale elected for the gadgetry. We were happily playing and were about to start the 8th hole when someone on the 12th hole said they had seen a brown snake...remember in mini golf the holes are close together so we had to all swap to the other course and continue where we left off. Dale was not at all pleased with that and kept his ball at the last hole and went and played the rest of the other course. He would still be there now if I had let him lol. (That is Erin on the first hole of the first course we were on)

Day 48 brought us to the end of our holiday and not wanting to attempt the M1 with all the roadworks chose to come from Queenscliff to Sorrento via the ferry service they run. This is Erin and me on the top deck of the ferry...it was very windy and billowed Erin's dress out. The hat was not on my head for very long....it went into my bag lol.

Day 49, and after taking my fluid tabs for a while, I thought I would take a pic of my "skinny" ankles. They have gone down heaps and even the doctor was very pleased with how it was going. I managed to lose 3.2kg in fluid...woohoo!!! I am still on the tablets and have another review early in February. All good :)

Ok that's it for another week. Stay safe everyone :)

100 Small Steps Challenge Days 36-42

2010-01-04T01:53:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Well I sort of missed last week but I am back with the next chapter.

Day 36 was "planning day" so armed with my exercise book and pen I began to make plans for 2010 which I added to my diary/journal. I also came up with a weight loss rewards chart. I have stickers...star ones for each time I go to the gym and heart ones to show how many cals (according to my heart rate monitor) I have burned each session. Linda and I worked kind of together and have similar plans with our own "goals" (also included...accountability) I have to say...4 days in and I feel very positive about it all.

Day 37 and I made this yummy muesli. There is rolled oats, all bran, oat bran, crushed LSA mix, psyllium husks, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Soo yummo and full of fibre!!! It makes a huge container that will last for ages at 1/3 cup at a time.

Day 38 and I had my yummy muesli for breakfast with a sliced banana and some halved strawberries and skim milk...was sooo good and filling too. (the milk was definitely normal low fat...not um so good lol)

Day 39 and it's New Years Eve. I got my bubbles...ok it was dry ginger ale...but no hangover the next day lol. I was also chatting to Linda on msn. This picture was taken a couple of minutes before midnight. I was also talking to Jules in QLD and Elaine in Scotland. So chatting in 3 different time zones at my midnight lol.

Day 40 New Years Day...and Happy New Year to all!!!!

Melbourne had some stormy weather about over New Years eve and New Years day. I took this one on the night of the 1st, there was heaps of lightning around and I just love this picture. It hadn't yet started to rain but you could feel it.

Day 41 and I was woken by my mobile going off...it was my daughter who is at her dad's at the moment. She just wanted to say good morning . That was so special :) (I know the picture isn't that clear but that was the best one I was able to get)

Day 42 and I went to the gym for the first time in 2010. I got the new Fernwood magazine too while I was there. I did my program and the aim is to go every morning this week.....will keep you posted.

So there you have another week of me :) Till the next post have a great week.

2010 and me!

2009-12-31T20:09:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone.

So, again Linda has come up with inspiration (thanks Linda) In her post she has a word...hers is...well you should read her blog to find that out.

I have decided mine will be ACHIEVE!

Apparently Linda said she thought of the lighthouse when she thought of me...this is from the Airey's Inlet drive we went on from Anglesea in October '09. Apparently the way I "powered" up the hill towards the lighthouse was achieve and me to her. So I have posted the picture for that reason.

I believe I can achieve anything I put my mind to....

Photo my own.
Image from google images.

100 Small Steps Challenge days 29-35

2009-12-21T01:24:00.000-08:00

So the end of the 5th week...amazing.

Day 29 saw me attending my work Christmas breakfast. The food was lovely as was the company. One of the traditions is the Kris Kringle (secret Santa). Here is the lovely makeup set I got from mine. (and I have no idea who it was from either) Thanks I love it. Thanks Sue and Ann for the lovely breakfast.

Day 30 and it was time to unearth the Christmas earrings. They jingle a bit but not yet enough to drive me nuts...I thought it was time to get into the festive spirit.

Day 31 and I thought I would add a picture of my gorgeous Pandora bracelet. All the charms mean something to me and the M with the shell charm beside it means Mshell...or Michelle....as was thought out by my very clever and gorgeous niece Chloe. The "pink ribbon" charm is for doing the Mother's Day classic 8km walk earlier in the year and the lovely red one on the end is for my birth stone...ruby. All the rest are special too but too numerous to mention here.

Day 32..Whilst at RYL2 the lovely Christina brought some tea with her...T2's Sencha Quince. She shared it with us and I became a fan. So of course I had to get some... I love it. I find it very refreshing. Thanks Christina!

Day 33 and I went back to the Doctors ( I went earlier in the week as I was supposed to have a routine blood test in November and I forgot to arrange it.) Anyway the upshot is my sugars have gone down again and are now 5.5 but my vitamin D was VERY low. It should be 60 at a minimum and it was only 27, so I am now on Vitamin D supplements and have been ordered to get some early morning sun on me. I am also carrying some fluid so the Dr also put me on Lasix fluid tablets. (it made my shopping trip Monday 21st rather interesting lol) They do seem to be doing the trick lol.

Day 34 and a trip to the gym to do my program workout. We were met in reception by the lovely Personal Trainer, Elizabeth (or as affectionately known to Heather and me...Atilla and yes she does know it!) She is a fabulous PT and works us hard!! (she is Heather's PT and my program reviewer) I am going to stick this picture on the fridge (and anywhere else I can think of) to remind me that on the 23rd of January I will be having a program review with her and that involves being weighed and measured......Thanks Atilla also for the impromptu mini PT session AFTER I had already done my full program...my neck, shoulders, arms, back and thighs would like to thank you too!!!!

Day 35 This is the Pandora little gold star I WILL one day add to my bracelet. I need to get to my 2nd 10% goal (nope not going to tell you what that is!) I will however post a picture of it on my bracelet as soon as I CAN put it on though.

As the next post will be after Christmas, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas. I hope Santa brings everyone what they want!!! Take care...until next post...

hugs

Chelle x

100 Small Steps Challenge days 22-28

2009-12-14T02:15:00.000-08:00

Day 22 and I went to a local shopping centre to do some Christmas shopping and managed to clock up 8450 steps and made 2.5 bonus Weight Watchers points...and managed to get a fair bit of my Christmas shopping done as well.

Day 23 and we (Kathy from work and I) decided it was time to put up the Christmas tree in the reception area at work. I love this one and it actually belongs to one of the bosses. She loans it to the practice then takes it home as needed. It is a beautiful tree. Also special on this day was my dad came home from hospital (following on from last weeks post when he had to go back after the family gathering) and my nephew Corey and his wife Sarah welcomed to their family a brother for Madeline, Joshua. Congratulations !!!!

Day 24 and I did a bit of light reading...actually some good stuff in these magazines. Some of it waaaayyyy too appropriate for me!!!!

Day 25...Disco Fever (haha) Fernwood had a disco party for their Christmas party and what a hoot!! We danced the night away. They had games...a limbo one and our lovely trainer Elizabeth (aka Atilla) won that one. There was also musical statues and musical chairs.We were having so much fun and were supposed to be finished at 9pm but we kept the music going and eventually at 9:15 they turned on the main
overhead lights (party poopers lol) I actually managed over 9000 steps that day!!!

This pic shows a couple of the Fernwood ladies with Elizabeth in the foreground with her back to the camera. She's our little pocket rocket PT.

It was a fantastic night and I would love it if they would do more of them.

Day 26 saw us have our patient bbq at work. Here is some of the dessert...yup some of it was healthy!!! The pavlova with the server sticking out of it was my contribution and I can honestly say I did not have a piece of it...due mainly to the fact that I find pavlovas way too sweet. I must say the table fitted in beautifully between the parallel bars in the gym area!!!

Day 27 started off ith a shamozzle of a Weight Watchers meeting (I am now a volunteer and slowly larning th ropes) as the centre we use is a neighbourhood house and closes for a few weeks over December and January. We have been lucky enough to be able to use the adjacent tennis club rooms but were supposed to have our meeting in the "house" on the 12th then move to the tennis centre from the 19th. We arrived to find that our stuff had already been moved and a few (vital) things were missing. Of all days as Heather and I had plans to meet up with a fellow GYST gal from the WW thread. It all worked out in the end and we met up with the lovely Deb from Tullamarine. She brought her daughter along and my daughter was also there! This picture shows Heather (centre) with Deb and me.

Day 28 was of course Sunday and I have no picture for that day. I had a rest day and didn't "do" anything specific. I did however take my son to his dad's for a few days as he was becoming a tad over the top.

Till next week,

hugs

Chelle x

100 Small Steps Challenge days 15 - 21

2009-12-07T01:43:00.000-08:00

Days 15 - 21 have come and gone so quickly and this time I have got the pictures in a collage effect (thank you Linda for tidying it up for me)

Day 15 I did a boxing class again and these are the gloves and focus pads Fernwood provide for us, including the white gloves to wear under them.

Day 16 shows my yummy dinner...chicken and garden salad....yummo. (I reckon I could live on that, it's so fresh and tasty.)

Day 17 saw me at the Studley Park Boathouse in Kew (Vic) for a Christmas "do" for one of the companies who refer patients to us. This view was amazing and so peaceful. It was a lovely night and the finger food was very tasty. It was nice to be able to put faces to the voices I hear over the phone in my role as receptionist to a neuro physio group.

Day 18 shows the 2010 day to a page diary I have bought and the "reward" stickers to go in it. I am going to use it as a journal for the year...hmmm could call it One day at a time....or not lol

Day 19 and Heather and I went to our local Rebel sport shop where for the 4th of December they were having 20% off storewide. We both wanted to get our own boxing gloves as the ones at Fernwood are only half gloves. Funnily enough we both chose pink and they are leather. Can't wait to use them. Quite a few of the others in our classes have their own...mostly pink too. I got the towel because it has a zipped section to keep my locker key in as I often don't have pockets in my workout pants.

Day 20 and as my brother and his family will be going off to England in a couple of days, we chose to have our full (18 in all) family Christmas gathering at his house on Saturday the 5th. This picture shows my gorgeous mum and dad. Poor dad has spent the better part of the last 4 months in and out of hospital and was hopefully coming home Saturday morning. Sadly, he had a bit of a relapse but was allowed to come out for the afternoon/evening. (he had to be back no later than 9pm) Also poor mum has a very sore back and movement was a tad painful for her. It was so lovely to have the whole family together. A fabulous time was had by all...love you mum and dad ♥♥♥ :)

Day 21 and I was tired. This is a picture of the couch I had a little nap in the afternoon on. Slack I know and doesn't often happen but I couldn't keep my eyes open. It was lovely and refreshing.

So there you have the 3rd week of this challenge.

Till next time,

Chelle xxx

100 Small Steps Challenge...Week 2

2009-11-30T00:48:00.000-08:00

So here is week 2 of our 100 day challenge and it looks like we have a heap more people joining in on the challenge...looking forward to seeing all the blogs and the pictures. As you will see I have a list of who is doing the challenge...if anyone would like to join in please leave a comment and we will include you as well.

Ok...on with the Chelle show...

Day 8, and it's off to the gym for a work out (later in the day it was boxing) My trusty gym bag...note the matching drink bottle!

Day 9 shows my ever present, trusty Tupperware drink bottle with the "secret" compartment in the base. Yes it is a great match for the Fernwood gym bag...though purely coincidental as I had the bottle first as Linda will attest to as I got it from her Tupperware party earlier in the year. Yes I do have my name on my drink bottle...so many people have them.

Day 10 I was carrying some fluid so my lovely mum suggested getting some B6 which helps a lot....much better now, though it seems to be a problem more in the hotter weather.

Day 11 and I enjoyed this lovely Granny Smith apple...very yummy and my fave apple these days.

Day 12 and I treated myself to my first ever manicure and eyebrow wax. Very nice! I got it done at Forbidden Secrets which is above the gym. I must say I felt very "spesh" after it.

Day 13 saw my daughter Erin and me out at lunch with the people I used to work with in my last job, we had a lovely time.

Day 14 saw me working on my certificate 4 in health admin. I am almost finished it with about 4 units still to go.

So, week 2 down...bring on week 3, catch you all then...please feel free to become a follower of my blog and ot leave a comment.

Chelle xx

How beautiful is this?

2009-11-24T01:44:00.000-08:00

Last night (23/11/09) we had the most glorious sunset. I managed to snap a couple of pictures so I thought I would share them.

the colours are so lovely...then I snapped the following picture:

my son on the roof! Yes he did jump off at that point.

Chelle xx

100 Small Steps Challenge - The First 7 Days

2009-11-23T00:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, here goes...the challenge began on the 16th of November 2009.Day 1 saw me attend the gym...Fernwood... for a program workout in the morning then at 5:30 for a boxing session. I totally love the boxing class :)

Day 2 saw me at boxing yet again...did I
mention that I love boxing classes lol.
In this picture, I had done my warm up with the gloves and was doing the focus pads for Heather. The instructor took the picture and there was a lot of laughter.

Day 3: this picture is of my trusty runners and "ever on my hip" pedometer. I post the steps on the 10000 step website and am about to clock up 3 million steps since June 2008. Gotta be happy with that!!!

Day 4: This is my new best exercise buddy...my Polar F7 Heart Rate Monitor. I took this picture after the boxing class on Thursday night....I burnt 470 cals in just over a hour. My heart rate was not 173 at the time of the picture though.

Day 5: Went to the gym (yup again) and they were having a sale and an open day. I wanted a Lorna Jane top but alas they are too small for me so I got this amazing pair of black pants and white top. They are so light and comfortable and a dream to work out in...as I found out on Saturday.

Day 6: Weight Watchers day...and I am happy to report a 2.4kg loss..yay :) Funnily enough the weekly booklet we got was titled "Gym Junkies"...rather apt don't you think lol. (yup I went to the gym again to do a program workout...that was visit 6 for the week)

Day 7: This is my new favourite tea and my fave mug. Great for relaxation. (and totally yummy!)

So week one is done and dusted. Hope you enjoyed the little snapshot of my week :) I look forward to reading any comments and also seeing anyone else's who has decided to do the challenge as well.

100 Small Steps Challenge

2009-11-22T03:24:00.000-08:00

AKA "The Neil Armstrong Challenge" (because it's 'one small step for WOman'... )

What is 100 days?

From and including: Monday, 16 November 2009
To and including: Tuesday, 23 February 2010

It is 100 days from the start date to the end date, end date included

Or 3 months, 8 days including the end date

Alternative time units

100 days can be converted to one of these units:

8,640,000 seconds
144,000 minutes
2400 hours
14 weeks (rounded down)

The Rules

1. We take a photo that represents one of the small steps we have made towards health (physical or mental) and/or fitness each day of the week.
2. We post all seven of the previous week's photos on Monday.
3. We can choose to elaborate on the photographs, or let them do the talking for themselves.
4. We don't need to post a different photo every single day of the challenge... perhaps part of our new lifestyle is to go to an exercise class once a week - there's no reason why we can't post a photo of going to that same class every week.
5. In 100 days, we're going to get together and celebrate our achievements.
6. We reserve the right to amend the rules if need be (just in case) - but if we do, we'll let you know.

Linda and her friend Cassie are in, and we'd love it if you'd join us. Let us know in the comments and be sure to post a link to your blog too, so we can follow how you're going! I can't wait to see everyone's progress and be inspired by their pictures.

Image from NASA.
To calculate your 100 days finish date, click here.

So stay tuned for the first week of photos tomorrow :)

Chelle x

A Renovating Weekend

2009-11-17T14:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have very long weeks!!!!! Yup it's been a "bit" over a week since the last post ...ho hum! So on with the post.

Over the weekend of 9,10 and 11 October I went to RYL2 (renovate your life) which was again held down at Anglesea (Vic) I wanted to share some pictures from the lovely walk Linda and I did when we arrived early. Arriving independently, I hopped into Linda's car and we drove on to Airey's Inlet. We were lucky to have a gorgeous day for our "little" walk too.

This is part of our beautiful coast line

Looking back towards the carpark.

How gorgeous is this view and the weather too?

We went back to the camp at Anglesea just in time for Mandi, Johnny and Mikey to get there. We chose a room...a lovely twin bunkbed room and unpacked. We met up with a few "old faces" from the last RYL and a few new ones as well. Then Mandi arrived so she unpacked and we all made up our beds. The fourth bed was for Hellen, who I knew was coming later. We went for dinner and then back for Craig's opening words of welcome. We later retired to our beds and then the upper/lower bunk issues began, resulting in us finding a 3 bunkbed room so 3 people could have a lower bunk bed.

We began the day at 7am on the basketball court for exercise then off to breaky and then the learning. There were tears and laughter and loads of fun :) (we did NOT have to do the hill again!!!) It was an awesome weekend :)

Some pics of the people there :)

Hellen, Craig and me.

It was a fabulous weekend.

I must add that in my last post I said I wanted to do the 1000 steps.....well on Friday the 30th of October I did just that. It was a very slow climb as I was (as advised) wearing my heart rate monitor and it kept going up to about 170 so I had to keep stopping to let it come back down...but I did the whole thing and it was amazing. Unfortunately the weather has been fairly warm so haven't attempted it again...but fully intend to. I will take the camera next time and take some pics. People train for the kokoda trail there and there is a tribute to it as well. I am also loving the gym and have an awesome program now and am still loving my boxing classes there.

Stay tuned for the next post....won't be so far away either....a little hint...100 and 7.....!!!!

hugs

Chelle xxx

Update!

2009-10-05T03:05:00.000-07:00

Hi, I am 4 days out from RYL2 and feeling great. We have just gone onto daylight saving time so I guess a little tiredness but that's to be expected.

Today I managed 2 visits to the gym...one to do my program and the other was an hour long boxing class.....wow I am tired now!! Should sleep very well. I am thoroughly enjoying the gym. I have even signed up for a 5km jog/walk around Jells Park in mid November. I have a training program to get me running and have even been offered a trainer to go through it with me. Will get through RYL2 and decide what I am going to do there. Either way I will be completing the 5kms. I am about to have a program review and am hoping to have a slightly tougher program.

Another aim is to try the 1000 steps in the Dandenongs...not far from me here. I am going to do it at least once before the year is out. That is a challenge!!!!

Ok till next time...an RYL2 post...stay well.

Chelle x

Finally another post!

2009-09-12T00:21:00.000-07:00

Hi all, well it has been a very long time since the last post here....a lot has happened in that time. I celebrated a birthday (47th), joined a gym...what was that..yup I joined Fernwood gym!!! I am so loving it...I am currently going 4 times a week. I am even doing a boxing class on a Thursday night.

This last week I managed to somehow lose a kilo and I have also managed to lose 18.5cm since joining the gym on the 1st of August.

I have 4 weeks to get myself ready for RYL2 which will again be at Anglesea. (big hill...look out!!!!)

No pictures with this post....next time I will get some organised and hopefully do it very soon.

Chelle xx

Renovate Your Life With Craig Harper 29th-31st May 2009

2009-06-02T03:49:00.000-07:00

Friday the 29th of May finally arrived, the countdown timer was nearing an end, it was THE day!!!! The inaugral Renovate Your Life Weekend seminar at Anglesea in Victoria. I left at about 11:30am and arrived to meet Linda at Torquay at 1:15pm. We had coffee then continued on to Anglesea another 20km down the Great Ocean Road.

We arrived at the Anglesea Recreation Camp at about 4:40pm so we were early. We registered got a name tag and a tshirt and Johnny told us we could probably get an ensuite room. So off we went and found a great room and on the other side of the adjoining bathroom we found Jules, Suza and Christina.

Dinner was not provided on the first night so we went to the Anglesea hotel for dinner. We had a lovely dinner and some hilarious chat about weight loss, mood rings which tell us we're full and worms! Then it was back to the camp for the first instalment from Craig. We listened, we wrote, we laughed and generally had a ball.

Off to bed with the instructions that we were to be on the basketball court at 7:15am for exercise and breakfast to follow at 8:30.

We all made it to the basketball court for a warm up then into the indoor basketball court for a fitness test. We did a 6 part test with a beep test, sit-ups, crunches, push-ups, wall squat and step-ups. I managed to score a 50 out of 100 so have loads of room to improve. Then off to breaky, which was yummo!!!

10am brought more listening, writing, laughing and general fun. Later we did a workout using the requested beach towel....wow that gives an awesome workout. Then some lovely stretches(very soothing)A few of us had a body composition test done by the lovely Rona, my PT from the session at Harper's in February and Mikey. Have a way to go there too!!!

We got 2 hours off from 4 - 6 so I went for a walk (all of 100mt after the long driveway) into Anglesea and had a look about. It was rather cold at that point. Dinner was yummy roast beef and vegies with apple crumble for dessert. Then we had a short session with Craig then he decided we needed some more stretching (thanks Craig) that was fun!!! We broke for the night at just after 9pm. A few of us girls went up to the other rec room with a bottle of port and a plate of the yummiest banana muffins and a load of inane and hilarious conversation occurred (can't tell...secret girls business lol). Wonderful night. We met Craig in the other rec room as we were returning but most of the others had gone to bed.

Sunday started with another workout at 7:15am which went well and once I was moving I was fine lol. I opted for the intermediate group and did quite well. Then off for a yummy breaky followed by the most amazing part of the weekend. Craig handed a microphone (needed for the taping) to the back of the room to be passed to all of us to say who we were, where we were from and what we had got out of the weekend. WOW!!!! It was open and from the heart, reduced us all to tears by the end (yes ALL!!!) and was incredible. Once we had finished that we were taken for a walk. We walked a short distance to a street with the biggest hill I have ever walked up. We were promised an awesome view at the top and.....we weren't disappointed. I am so proud of not only myself but of all of us for making it up the hill. I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath but was encouraged to keep going by Craig's trainers and others around me.

This is the view from the top and Mikey heading back down the hill, and the next picture is of the hill itself!!

We headed back down, had lunch then it was time to pack up. Back to the bbq area for the photo ops and farewells and hugs, before going back home to "normal" life. (with the tools to create amazing!!)

From left to right: Jules, me, Christina, Craig, Nell, Linda and Suza in the front (oh and I got a lovely head massage during the taking of this photo from Craig lol. Thanks Craig!)

It was the most amazing weekend, thanks to Craig, Johnny, Mikey, all Craig's staff and everyone who went for making it such a fabulous experience. I had such a great time and met so many wonderful people. Here is a picture of most of us.

Hugs to all

Chelle xxxx

Catch up and Mother's Day Classic

2009-05-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Well, long time no post...sorry about that...very slow computer. Now I have a nice sparkly new one. YAY!!!

In my last post I mentioned meeting Elaine's son, Andy from Scotland....here is the photo. Pictured with the GYST gals...me of course and the lovely Heather and Bev!!

I also had to have a spot removed from just above my left knee which turned out to be a basal cell carcinoma...not once but twice.

The first picture shows after the first lot and the other is after the second go. I had 4 stitches the first time and 6 the second time. (I am smothering it daily with BioOil to help with fading scar)

I was unable to do much so the lovely exercise plan from the last post took a back seat.

Mother's Day Classic 2009

Anyway the big news was that Erin and I did the Mother's Day Classic 8km walk in Melbourne on May the 10th. We did it in 1 hour and 40 minutes. So proud of us both too.

This is Erin and me on the train on the way to the walk.

It was such a lovely day in Melbourne too. There were thousands of people there and we were started off at 9:30ish am by Premier John Brumby.

Some on the way pics...me amongst the crowd and Erin going past the Shrine.

We met up with 3 lovely ladies from the Weight Watchers Message boards at Flinders Street Station and did the first lap with them...Sam, Ashlea and Jess.

It was so lovely to meet you all.

The next photo shows our time for the first 4km lap. It says 51 mins 45 seconds!!!

The next photo was a sight for sore eyes (or feet/legs/bodies lol)

As we were about to cross the finish line.....woohoo!!!

Then on the other side of the finish line...YAY we did it!!!!

After we crossed the finish line I had a message on my phone from Schelle, a lady from Craig Harper's forum. We had hoped to meet up and she still had about 2kms to walk so we decided to wait for her. So for all on Craig's forum...here we are!!!!

Here is what we got at the end....

It was a lovely day.

Stay tuned for a Renovate Your Life update after my weekend away at Anglesea in a couple of weeks. Not long to go now

luv Chelle xx

Who Dares Wins!!!

2009-02-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

On the 26th of January 2009 on Craig Harper's blog,it started out from this...P.S. Just found out that I will be hosting a four hour talk-back show on SEN (Sports Entertainment Network) here in Melbourne tonight (Monday) from 7-11 local time. The phone number is (03) 9429 1116 if you're up for an on-air chat. You can listen to the show by clicking here and following the links.

Went on to part of my comment...I got all excited cos I have no idea what day it is and thought you were going to be on SEN last night (Sunday). I read..tonight and forgot I was reading it Sunday night lol. I will tune in, though whether I call...we shall see...depends if I have anything worthwhile to share with you I guess!!

To which Craig replied...

Craig Harper said...

Hi Chelle, yeah go on; give me a call on the radio. Dare ya.

( )

7:41 AM

then...

Jules said...

I'll "double dare" you, Chelle!

[Chelle still says nope]

"Physical challenge"?

What could we make her do at RYL, Craig? ;) We have 4 months to come up with something whacky.

Anyone remember that kids game show in the 80's - 'Double Dare' I think it was called. There was an abundance of slime in that tv studio if I recall correctly!

I might ring, Craig? If you talk about Lance Armstrong, I'll call in. Is it all live-to-air though? Can you erase our conversation if I'm crap?

9:39 AM

...and it was on!!!!

Michelle said...

Dare and double dare....lol you are both funny!!!

I am going out for my walk at 7pm so will call after 8:30 is that ok Craig and Jules???? So what will I get if I call in???? Given that if I don't Jules wants to give me a challenge! ;)

OOh and to answer your question Jules...Cherry Ripe! (but these days they are strictly limited...they don't feature too highly on the WW friendly food list!)

Hugs

Chelle xxx

11:20 AM

Jules said...

Chelle, I'll give you a King size Cherry Ripe next week when I'm down in Melb for my brief 5 day visit (before making the big move in early-mid March'ish). Ha ha - sorry, I couldn't resist saying that. But if you want it, come get it. "You'll have deserved it.

On a more serious note, I'll shout you a half hour PT session at the Harperdome. Seriously, I will (you need to build some lean muscle mass to continue burning that adipose tissue - I mean that in a nice way, of course). Conditions: it can only be 'redeemed' between 2-5 Feb. No procrastinating for you then Miss Muffet! Meet me at Harper's on Mon 2nd ONLY if you call in tonight though ;) Luv ya lots but sometimes I gotta be cruel to be kind. It could hurt.

So on the 2nd of Feb I fronted up to Craig Harper's Personal Training Centre on the Nepean Hwy, Brighton to meet Jules and our trainer Rona, for a half hour training session! What a blast!!!! With the GYST Gals, I have been walking 6km almost every night (even in all the heat!) as well as pushups, crunches and squats, so it was decided to give me a program that used those things and added a little as well. Rona was delightful and very caring and gave me a perfect program. She took photos so I can remember the exercises easily. Below are some of the pics.

Then half an hour on the treadmill...

Ok then off to have a lovely lunch...

Thanks Jules for a lovely day and it was great to finally meet you after chatting on msn for so long. I had a ball and have been continuing my exercise program from Rona since.

Stay tuned for the next post where we finally get to meet Andy from Scotland!!

Chelle xxxx

Merry Christmas And Almost Happy New Year!

2008-12-29T02:15:00.000-08:00

Well another Christmas has passed and what a lovely one it was too!

I got some lovely Kris Kringle presents and pressies from some of the patients at work as well as seen in the picture.

Christmas day was lovely and was spent at my brother Duncan and his family's place. It was a wonderful afternoon. The table looked lovely as you will see from the photos. The children all got on really well and we all got some fantastic presents. I love getting together with my gorgeous family!

Here are a couple of pics of Santa's missing reindeer. Jessica, Erin and Lexie all used the stickers from the crackers very interestingly indeed.

We had some very festive food, we did have other food besides what is in the pictures! Of course we had turkey, ham, vegies and salads. We also had the fantastic flaming pudding which always delights the children. My brother Stuart made the brandy butter...definitely the best yet Stu! It was rather potent and included not just brandy but cointreau and spices as well. Very yummo!

Erin had end of year activities at school and one of the activities was to cook a biscuit hamper. It was really beautifully packaged..and quite yummy! She made the truffles.

I got some lovely pressies including the lovely drink set and tray from my bosses at work. Thanks Ann and Sue I absolutely love it!

I got 6 new charms for my "getting heavier all the time" Pandora Charm bracelet. The owl from Dale, the hanging heart from Erin, the shell and bow spacer from my Mum and Dad and the gorgeous glass bead and leaf spacer from my sister Louise, who was my Kris Kringle! I love them all and will soon be able to use it for weight training! I will only need to change wrists to get an even workout.

So I decided to buy myself a pressie as well...a new bike! Heather's husband David put it together for me (thanks David), then Heather and I went for a ride. I managed a ride around her block which was 2kms long. I am not too sure how long it took us but I am very proud of the fact that I actually made it without falling off...David was going to get the ambulances on standby just in case though! Here is a picture of me before the ride...and yes I was still smiling after it, my legs however were suddenly made of jelly! I did end up with a somewhat sore behind though!

Craig, if by some chance you read this...not quite the Tour de Boronia yet but I am working on it! I did stay upright though!

Ok hope you enjoyed my Christmas. I will post more next year...hopefully with a smaller time between posts than I have been allowing. Please leave a comment, I would love to hear from everyone.

Chelle xx

Craig Harper RYL, a pressie, GYST and retail therapy!

2008-11-10T01:21:00.000-08:00

Hi all this has been a long time coming...sorry about that!

I have been doing some great reading lately, Craig Harper's books Fattitude, So...you've decided to get in shape (again) and Food...for thought available from www.craigharper.com.au. I have also read Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom...all excellent reads.

After much planning and looking forward to, November 2nd finally rolled around. I met Linda from the Weight Watchers boards and chatted with on msn for about 6 months and we both went to Craig Harper's Renovate Your Life workshop. It was a half day course down at Craig's gym Harper's in Brighton. Linda and I met up outside and I took a cheesecake for Craig...he has cheesecake issues lol! We sat in the front row and I saw him and took the cheesecake over to him...he seemed really happy with that. I wound up out the front doing a rollercoaster example which was awesome!!! We had a fabulous time and all got an accountability partner. I also learnt a lot and feel extremely inspired. Thanks Craig!!!

I bought the diary to use for my exercise etc.

Linda gave me a really lovely pressie as seen in the picture. I used the book immediately for my notes and my lovely new pen as well. Thanks so much Linda!

The tag refers to GYST which was a challenge Craig ran called Get Your Shit Together which is something Linda and I have both decided to do and are now accountability partners and swap menus to try to help us both lose weight...seems to be working so far. Heather and Dorothy and a few others have also joined in and our Weight Watchers thread is now called GYST Gals! Go Us!!!!

We then went into DFO at Southern Cross and had some lunch and a bit of retail therapy and got some pretty good steps on my pedometer as well! Here is what I got from DFO!

I hope to not leave it so long next time!!!

Chelle x

The Big Day Arrives.....

2008-08-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

Ok a few weeks ago I entered a competition to win Craig Harper for a week of personal training and mentoring. Alas I didn't win, a lovely lady from South Australia named Jo won. Craig decided, however to run a mentoring session for those of us who entered but didn't win. Of course I put up my hand like a shot lol. The decided date was the 30th of August...yep today!

I have my weigh in on a Saturday, so I went to that and woo hoo had lost 1.2kg which now brings the total lost to 23.7kg. I then went home, had breakfast and changed ready to leave on the drive to Brighton where his training facility, Harpers is situated. (I thought I was going to be late but I got there just before him.) He came toward me and held out his hand and said "Michelle?" There were about 9 including Jo and I sat at the front. He chatted about accountability and creating changes to make your life better. Needing to be proactive rather than reactive.

There was question time then hug time (yay) I asked if I could have my photo taken with him and he said rather surprised.."you want a photo...did you bring a camera" I told him "of course." This is the picture.

Then I got my lovely hug. So lucky lol.

I also had a lovely long chat with Jo in the car park. Good luck with everything Jo.

I have had an awesome day.

Chelle

Birthday, Lunch and Telstra Dome and a loss

2008-08-04T04:59:00.000-07:00

Ok firstly I celebrated my birthday on the 29th of July, I turned 46. I had a lovely day, starting with getting a lovely pair if silver earrings from Dale (my son) and a beautiful teddybear and glass butterfly from Erin (daughter). My Mum and Dad came up to work with a beautiful arrangement of camellias and 3 charms for my Pandora bracelet. (I will post birthday pictures in the next post) The people I work with got a cake for me...yum!

I went to lunch with the lovely ladies from the Weight Watchers threads again. After much confusion as to where at Southern Cross Station we would meet up, Heather and I did find Marg and we wandered over to Docklands past Telstra Dome. When we got there we had to wait for Dorothy. All of a sudden Heather got a call on her mobile and it turned out Dorothy had walked straight past us. She was about 50m away from us and Heather started describing what Dorothy had on and as she turned there were the 3 of us waving at her. We wandered through New Quay and settled on lunch at Hot Chocolate restaurant. Heather, Dorothy and I had a lovely Caesar salad and Marg had yummy looking egg and ham on toast. In the pic it is L-R Marg and Heather (back) and Dorothy and me in the front.

After lunch Dorothy left us and we walked back to Telstra Dome where the AFL match between St Kilda and Port Adelaide had just begun. As you can see the ground at Telstra Dome from the gates we did a lap of the ground looking in each gate as we passed it.

In this picture we found a Krispy Kreme donut place and we thought it would be funny to show 2 weight watcher people being barred from it by a fence, I was actually roaring with laughter at the time of the photo.

These two photos show(if you look closely enough) the actual ground at Telstra Dome.

We had a lovely day and after leaving Telstra Dome we had a wander through DFO, said goodbye to Marg, had another cuppa and made the train with a minute to spare (well timed)I had such a lovely day. (lots of steps on the pedometer too!!!)

Oh by the way I also had another loss this week...1.5kg which is now 21.9kg all up.

till next time

Chelle

New Picture, a lovely lunch and stars!!

2008-07-21T00:10:00.000-07:00

>

The picture on the right was taken on the 14th of July with me having lost 20kg. I did actually achieve the 20kg mark a couple of weeks ago but just needed to hve my photo done. I have since lost another kg to bring the total to 21kgs lost in 26 weeks. (Gotta love that right...Woo Hoo!)

On Sunday the 20th of July I went to lunch with 2 lovely ladies from Weight Watchers; Heather who is the weigher/recorder and now money taker/counter at my own meeting and Marg who I met through the Weight Watchers boards. After much to-ing and fro-ing with the plans we decided to meet at Berwick. After a 30 minute walk we drove into Berwick and after yet more walking decided to have lunch at the first place we looked at...Moods. The food was lovely, Heather and I had a chicken souvlaki with tzatsiki on the side and Marg had a lovely looking Hawaiian omelette. What we didn't expect was the serve of chips we also each got. We did eat a couple but not all. We also avoided the "evil" cake selection. 20 Weight Watchers points just to take a look at them hehe. We took our photos to show each other and chatted a lot. Our waiter was delightful and joined in a couple of funny converstions with us and a waitress agreed to take our photo. The end result is below. Such a good day with fabulous company, thanks Heather and Marg. (Hopefully next time we can have all the ladies on our thread attend that would be great!!)

I am on the right, Heather in the middle and Marg on the left.

I have joined the 12 week star team challenge on the Weight Watchers boards, along with abaout 480 other people. So far I have completed my first week and earned myself a green star for completing the week one challenge of drinking 6 - 8 glasses of water 6 out of 7 days. I got a blue star for losing 300gms in the first week. (See left of screen) Week 2 challenge is 2 fruit and 5 vegies. Bring it on...yayayay

Michelle

A Quick Update

2008-07-07T05:21:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while and Yay me I have been going really well. I achieved my 20kg loss and I got a job. I am a Medical Receptionist for a Neuro Physio Group, and I am loving it so far. A lot to learn but I am very happy.

I had an awesome lunch with the lovely people I worked with at PFO on Saturday the 5th of July and got loads of compliments about my weight loss, which made me feel great. Everyone looks fabulous and so much happier.

books and scale surprises

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well let's see.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Reprint this list in your own blog so we can try and track down these people who've only read 6 and force books upon them ;-)

01. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen my favourite book
02. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
03. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
04. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling I've read the whole series and loved it!!
05. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
06. The Bible - the bits we were made to read at school (which was quite a bit)
07. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
08. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
09. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare -
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwel
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery – Have read the whole series of Anne books
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. The Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist- Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet- William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Till next time

Chelle

Life Is Hectic.....

2008-06-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, yes I know it has been a while between posts, but I have been busy looking for work and embarking on a Centrelink required Jobsearch course. I hope you enjoy the pictures of the beautiful spider webs on some of my trees taken the other morning.

After not many interviews, suddenly they are coming thick and fast. I actually have 2 different 2nd round interviews this coming week. (wouldn't it be funny to have a choice of jobs after all this time...lol).

Dale is off to driver training at school...a two day course. I hope it goes well, they do have dual control so I should feel ok about it, right? He is also about to do a week's work experience with his Dad. Should be exciting...would love to be a fly on the wall there!

Erin is happy as usual and enjoying school now the bullying seems to have been brought under control.

I have been losing weight, I wanted to lose 700gms this week to get to the 20kg milestone but alas i lost 200gms instead. I am happy with the loss but would have loved the extra 500g to go too. Never mind I am happy with my loss so far and the smaller clothes I have had to buy as a result...gotta love that right?

On the Weight Watchers boards we have a lot of challenges and for the months of April and May we had our own version of The Biggest Loser. I managed to come 2nd...I lost the most weight but not the most body fat. So YAY ME!!! I am doing it again and thankfully survived the 1st week of the challenge.

I have also been doing Craig Harper's Shove with Love challenge. I have been lucky enough to have a few personal replies from him which has spurred me on immensely. Had the chance to meet him today for coffee (with a big group of people) but alas I had a prior engagement and had to give it a miss...maybe next time. So I guess it is back to his daily posts and Tuesday 6:45am segments on Gold104.3FM.

I have also spent some time on MSN with a great bunch of people, Chrissy, Sue, Mia, Robyn, Elaine (in Scotland) and her son Andy, Caz and Linda. We have a ball and it is sometimes hard to keep up. Erin often gets on from her Dad's place and chats too.

So I hope this updates you all a bit on what I have been up to and I will try to post...next week when I reach 20kg!!!!(fingers crossed I may even have an update on the job front too.)

Chelle

The Story So Far....

2008-05-10T00:19:00.001-07:00

Wow, I have just completed week 16 of my Weight Watchers journey, so I decided to show some photos of my progress so far. (See if you can see the difference)

The first photo is from my mum's birthday celebrations and for now has dictated what
I will wear in the photos.(Well until they literally fall of me!)

The second photo was taken on Easter Sunday and after 9 weeks on the journey. I was pretty pleased with the 11.7 kg loss I had achieved at that point.

This next photo was taken this morning after my Weight Watchers meeting and after having a 1.7kg loss taking the total to 17kgs lost. (As you can see from the rainbow tracker above I have lost over 6% BMI as well.

I am so pleased with my progress so far and would love to have some feedback so please if you have a look at this blog click on the comments at the bottom of this post and leave a comment, would love top hear from you.

Till next time

Michelle

Woo Hoo More Losses

2008-04-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

Firstly on the 12th of April I lost 2kg and finally achieved my 10% weight loss goal. I got my beautiful little gold star as seen in the picture. I also got a big round of applause from the incredibly supportive people at my meeting. (And also the wonderful people from the Weight Watchers message boards - Thank you)

In the photo is also my 10 week achievement pin and the special goal keyring I am making. I had a loss of 300gms on the 19th April, so the total so far is 14.5kgs.The next to go on will be the 20kg loss, which is only 5.5kg away.

For a bit of fun I had a bit of a play on www.mvm.com, I entered my start and goal weight details and created a before and after shot for inspiration. Wow, what a difference, that is what I am striving for.

I have also downloaded msn messenger and have been having a lot of fun with some of the Weight Watchers board users. I was even in conversation with Erin on msn while she was at her Dad's place. We have been having such a good time.

It's been a while....

2008-04-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

We have had a birthday. Erin turned 13. She had a lovely birthday and we had a lovely cake and balloons. Nana and Granddad came for an afternoon tea party.

These two were in the packet stuck together. It was rather funny blowing the two of them up. It felt really wierd blowing up the second balloon with the first one attached.

I have lost more weight and also last week had a gain so the total as of today is a loss of 12.2kg. I am back on track and feel the problem was not enough water or exercise. I am so close to my 10% goal.Do you love my rainbow. I am chasing my own pot of gold at the end of my own rainbow!

I finally got a job interview. It was with an agency and apparently I made quite an impression and the lady interviewing me said she'd like to put me up for the job. so fingers crossed. I got my neighbour to photograph me in my interview outfit.

I will hear back from the agency about when my interview with the company is. It is for a receptionist position. I felt really good about todays interview.

Loss and Motivation

2008-03-22T04:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, this has been a really good week. I had another loss, 1.9kg that takes the total to 11.7kg. I received my 10 week achievement pin, and another star for my bookmark.

I joined Craig Harper's email list and receive his motivational newsletters. I was even lucky enough to receive a personal email in reply to my email to him.

I have been having computer problems so this is a short post. (Even this line has frozen about 5 times)

Hopefully a bigger post next time.

chelle

I had a loss...

2008-03-15T04:05:00.000-07:00

Today I weighed in at weight watchers and I have lost another 1.3kg. That takes the total now to 9.8kg. Sooo close to 10kg!!

I went to the Stitches and Craft show with my friend, Lisa and her daughter, Leah. Of course the lovely ladies of Audrey and Maude were not there. So sad I missed them. I did meet the lovely Jenny from Amitie though and we had a lovely chat, along with the lovely lady who made gorgeous button jewellery (not too sure of her name though). I sat in on a very amusing framing workshop and then a paper tole workshop. I entered heaps of competitions and joined the Stitches and Craft club. Oh and the CWA tried to recruit us. It was a lovely day.

Love chelles

2008-03-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

I spent this morning watching "Mornings with Kerri-Anne" to see my lovely sister Louise and her Audrey and Maude partner Cathy. You two looked really great. I hope you are enjoying the stitches and craft show. Your work is brilliant. Cathy thanks for the comment and I too wish you luck with your weight. You are doing really well. I don't know how much you have to lose but keep up the good work.

The above picture was taken of me by my son Dale on the 11 th of March. I have been trying to do loads of walking, but this awful heatwave has made it a little difficult . Now I know how to add pics I can add more as I take them.

I am still applying for jobs. I have applied for about 20 had 3 no thanks letters, no interviews and I am registered with about 13 sites like seek.com.au and now a couple of agencies. Hopefully things will start happening soon.

Take care everyone till next time...

This is where it all begins

2008-03-10T03:01:00.000-07:00

Well, here we go. I have created this blog with no idea of what it is about. I am currently looking for employment after being made redundant at the end of November last year. I am applying for Medical Reception positions, but so far no luck. I am also a member of Weight Watchers. I joined on January 19th this year. I have just completed week 7 and have lost the "grand" sum of 8.5kg. Go Me!!! As time goes by and with any comments I can streamline this blog. I have also been given some fabric by my lovely sister Louise who has her own totally amazing blog- http://lululollylegs.blogspot.com She started a quilt for her daughter, Lucinda and decided to go in another direction. So now it is mine. I haven't done any quilts as yet, but Louise and Mum have done heaps. I post on the Weight Watchers message boards as ellehcim62. This is all a bit jumbled as I get started.