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

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

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!!!

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!

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