In a cooler state!

.Location wise I mean - I am in Tasmania. I flew most of the day yesterday with my two little boys. I am so lucky that they are such good travellers! The biggest challenge now is the time difference of 3 hrs which is making things really tricky - they are both so tired from struggling to fall asleep at normal time - 1, because it feels much earlier and 2, because it is so light - used to it been dark at bed time in WA!

Today I joined an awesome gym called Pycsam here in Launceston for the two weeks that I am here. it has a great range of hammer strength and life fitness equipment. I am going to do cardio in the mornings, and my usual weight program in the afternoon.

My brothers and I have made good progress today in packing up my mum and dads house - so much to do though. It is also a really strange feeling.

Better go - I am multitasking. I am studying through OUA and am in a chat session at the same time as writing this - need to concentrate now!

xxx

Oops forgot to Blog!!!

Hi All,

Merry Christmas and I am also going to say happy new year because I am not sure if I will get back on here in the next couple of days.
I seem to work well with dot points so here goes.......

1. Enjoyed the Christmas parties at school and day care with my two beautiful boys!

2. Loved it when school finished because it meant extra time with Tucker (my 6yr old)

3. had lots of fun wrapping all the gifts for the boys and loading their stockings!

4. Felt so proud of the way Tucker waited until 7 am for his brother to wake on Christmas morning so they could do gifts and santa sacks together!

5. Had a lovely Christmas Day - all day at home. A bit of a bitter sweet day - last Christmas was the first without my dad and this one first without mum and dad!

6. Have had every day at home (apart from training) since the 24th December - this does not happen very often for me!

7. have loved the day with my husband and boys today - our 14th Wedding anniversary!

8. Bags are packed ready for Tasmania tomorrow - its time to pack up mum and dads house :-(

9. Training and food intake (dislike the word diet) is going GREAT!

10. Better go - its time to go and train shoulders!!! Trying to build boulders!!!

xxx

Is it thursday already.....

Reality really hit when I saw at school this morning that there are only 16 days until Christmas! WOW! Its a good thing I started my Christmas shopping on Tuesday and I think I nearly finished it yesterday online!

I've decided I'm going to have a big cook up once a week now - spending WAY too much time preparing each meal when I need it! Am sure I could be doing something more worthwhile with my time each day! As i don't work I have the luxury to cook as I go however this takes a whole lot more time than if I did it in bulk!

Yesterday I was approached to see if I would be interested to become an AUST SWIM instructor! I love the water, children and exercise so i said I would love to! More details to follow!

I received an email a few days ago asking for donations for the remote communities in my area. I've had a good look around and found quite a few things that I no longer need that can go to someone much more needy than our family! Its a great feeling when you can help someone who is struggling at this time of year!

This morning I had a strange "moment". I have always carried my phone very close to me, because when mum and dad were alive I never knew when the phone might ring as neither kept that greater health! I've now realised that I no longer need to be so paranoid (which I think it had become) about having my phone close by. I walked Tucker to school today and left the phone at home! I felt naked!

Essie is sitting up next to me eating his breakfast - but he is finished and wants to get out of his high chair and get moving!

Have a happy day everyone. xxx

What a great weekend!

We had a GREAT weekend!

We enjoyed a quiet Friday night at home - always a nice way to end a busy week! Mike had had something on every night of the week last week so a night at home with him and our 2 boys was just what we needed!

On Saturday we had FOXTEL people here installing cables etc - nice to have a few more options on the TV (not that I watch too much TV).

Saturday night was the Rio Tinto children's Christmas party here in Wickham! There was tea cup rides, merry mix rides, jumping castles, super slides, ice creams, drinks, sausages etc!!!! The highlight for the children was Santa arriving by helicopter!!!!! Always very exciting to then have a sit on his knee and get a lolly! Tucker loved that aspect - Essie was not so keen on the big man in the red suit!

AS the night progressed a band played and entertained the children - Tucker had had a BIG stick of Fairy Floss so he had plenty of dancing energy!!!! He had the best time at the party this year - he was that bit older and loved been able to go and do his own thing (it was in an enclosed area) and then come back and see us before heading off again. We sat with good friends and enjoyed each others company while the boys played.

Essie loved the music and had the head rocking and the body moving to the beat! He has music in his bones I think - always jiving or dancing to music when he hears it.

After a fairly quiet sunday at home(quiet with two boys......) with a roast for lunch, Mike and I left the boys with our SUPER babysitter / nanny and we drove to our friends in Dampier and had a BBQ dinner before then heading to Karratha to see Arj Barker - quite a talented comedian from the states. Another great night!

Included amongst all of that were a few training sessions, cooking, swimming in the pool, washing, ironing etc!

A great weekend and so far a cool Monday at home - Essie has been asleep since 10am and it is now nearly 1pm!!!!! I have got quite a bit of my study done - YAY!

Tonight we have Tucker's school christmas concert - Tucker is performing a christmas song with his class. This is not something Tucker really enjoys but lets see how he goes!!!

Until my next update remember to enjoy your life - you never know when the next "BIG" hurdle may come your way. xxx

My week in review

Hi all,

well i thought I would make it back here a little sooner than this - but I have added some more things to my weekly schedule so here i am now instead! Better late then never - any way who is it that is assessing me on how often I blog - exactly - JUST ME!!!

This week saw me commence a Bachelor of Arts degree. I am studying through Open Universities because I thought it the best option for possible moves in the future. I have just started with one unit so far and might add to this in the next study period. So far so good! I am enjoying the work, nothing seems too daunting right now, and I am meeting a whole new group of people. Essie still has BIG day sleeps so I either study during the day or I study at night.

Training is SUPERB!!!! I consistently do cardio 6 mornings a week - a mix between the cross trainer and the recumbent bike. I then weight train 5 afternoons a week and one cardio session on a wednesday! The results are super - fat loss, muscle gain and a hot bod to match if I do say so myself. The clothes I wore at the time of my last comp are now too big on me!!!!! What an awesome position I am in if I decided to hit the stage again sometime!!!! Eating is super - love watching the body change as the day progresses as the muscles fill with good nutrients (I used to always feel so bloated at the end of each day - obviously a sign of too many inappropriate foods).

Tucker graduated from Pre Primary today - he is going to be a big grade 1 boy next year! Cant believe my baby boy is going into grade 1!!! :-(

At times we watch nature shows on TV and think that is so far away - did anyone see the show on the logahead turtles on ABC? well on wednesday night we drove 10 mins from our house, walked 10 minutes with a guide and we were right in the middle of a Turtle rookery! We were fortunate enough to spend time watching turtles body pitting and then heading back to the water, then we had a jackpot - one of the turtles dug her nest and then filled it with turtle eggs. We watched from a distance so as to not disturb her - it was amazing to see theses beautiful creatures in the wild!!!! I will post some photos of this soon!

Tomorrow afternoon we have the Rio Tinto children's Christmas Party here in Wickham - Santa usually arrives in a helicopter! Tucker and Essie got presents from the company today - my beautiful 6 u=year old put it under the tree because he said its not christmas yet!!!!!!

Maybe if I get in the habit of posting more frequently I wont have to type so much at once!

Maryanne xxx

Well here I am.......

Just before i started to write this post i had a look to see when I posted last - it was way back in JULY!!!! Lots has happened since then - i think I might just try and dot point as much as I can remember as a starting point for today and go from there. I am now hoping to blog more regularly!

1. In the middle of August I did what i had wanted to do for a LONG time - I had breast reconstruction surgery! I had to have a MASSIVE lift, with LOTS of skin cut away and implants put in. Due to the complexity of the operation in my case i suffered from LOTS of pain and was 2 weeks I was a zombie on many strong pain killers. I basically laid in bed for nearly 2 weeks!!!! Mike was awesome and looked after the boys for me. As an end result now 3 months later they feel awesome look awesome and I am VERY happy with the end result!

2. Essington turned one at the end of August - how could that year have passed so quickly! I know exactly how, but want to try and keep this as a post on a positive note! As he was a month early we decided for his 1st birthday to celebrate on his actual due date - this was quite fun. We had a smallish party in one of that parks near our house. Essie is a VERY busy baby and into everything. He is an amazing climber (luckily not climbing out of his cot yet) and he can crawl VERY fast - he is not walking yet but let me tell you this does not seem to make any difference in his mobility stakes.

3. On the 11th September my Dad would have turned 70 - yes he passed away and quite a young age of 69. Not only was he turning 70, but it was his first birthday without him. i decided that I wanted to do something special. Michael Tucker, Essington and I went to a beautiful beach and released 7 helium balloons. When Tucker could not see them any more he stated that Pa must have caught them. There were many tears shed but I loved what we did.

4. In the middle of september i jetted off to Sydney for the weekend with Essington and saw my two brothers, their wives, my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. I had a real blast and enjoyed that fact that we were all together as a family in a happy arrangement. The last two times I had seen my brothers was when Dad had passed away and then 7 months later when mum passed away. My cousin wrote and performed in a play that was part of the Sydney Fringe festival. While I was there I visited the Opera House, saw the winners cross the finish line in the Sydney Marathon, went to Darling Harbour, went shopping, ate at lots of nice places and overall had a good time.

5. At the end of september we moved house. Mike got the Operations Managers role at a port called Cape Lambert (Rio Tinto). Cape Lambert is soon to become the biggest port in Australia - so exciting times lay ahead for Mike in his position. He has worked in the rail industry for over 20 years now so he is loving the change and learning lots of new things. With the new job came a new house! It is located in a small town called Wickham with a population of 1800 people. You may ask in such a small town do i have a gym - well i had a choice of TWO! I go to Wickham Gym Club. It is open 24/7 and I have my own key and let myself in and out as i please. The equipment is fantastic and the most number of people there at any one time is 10!!!!!!

Tucker got a place at the school - which is at the end of our street, and Essington goes to day care 2 days a week. Everything here s very close. I ride my bike to go to the gym, we walk to school every day, I walk to take Essington to day care, and unless i have to do a big shop i walk to the supermarket. The car has never sat so still in all its life.

Karratha where we used to live is 50 km away on a highway so we can be there in half an hour! I usually only head there once a week because we have everything we need here. We have a great house with over an acre of beautiful established gardens (that are maintained by gardeners once a week), a huge pool in the backyard (very nice now the temps. are climbing up in the vicinity of 40), and a house with plenty of room and great decor.

6. and theres more......

7. My training has taken off in leaps and bounds and once again have dropped some more body fat and gained a bit of muscle! I have gone back to lower intensity cardio and nice solid weight sessions - and my body seems to be loving it. I am eating some really great clean foods and this is giving me good rewards.

I am sure there are many more things that I will cover that I have forgotten, but for now I am going to leave it there and go and get organised to do parent help for the afternoon at Tuckers school.

Hope you enjoy reading my blog! x

PS - I will try and post some pics soon.

Coming out of my hiding hole!

Hi all,

Yes VERY long time and no post! I'm still here and reading everyones blogs - I had planned to post lots in November - well november is still here so I'm going to make a start. I'm about to eat ready to go and train legs - in my new 2XU compression tights!

I'll be back later to give you a proper update. X

Long time no post........

Hi Everyone,

Yes I am still alive ........ and well!

I cant believe it has been so long since my last post! I have lots to report on so maybe head to the kitchen grab a coffee and come back!!! hehehe

As you will see from the pics I have attached I have been out and about having a wow of a time. It has been race season here in Karratha. Horse racing that is. Let me paint a picture for you.......

Red dirt and lots of it - including the race track, rocks, little shade, tiny bit of grass, BIG bar, lots and lots of people, and women dressed to the nines - including heels, flash dresses and in some cases hats - and apparently horse running down the track - not that I saw too much of that!

This is a picture of my bestie and I at the races! We had such a GREAT day! Not only did we have so much fun there we also had lots of fun getting ready - spray tans, swapping dresses, painting nails... the list goes on!

The track is a 45 minute drive from where we live (short distance really considering Perth is 16hrs in the car away!), so we went to the track on a bus! Arrived around 1pm and left again at 8pm! Drank bubbles, ate Thai, socialised lots, danced to the band at the end of the night! Brings back great memories just typing this!

Below is a picture of me earlier in the day...... need I say anymore! Not that I want you to get the wrong idea at all!
Training has been great - mixing it up with classes, running and a few weights sessions. The mix must be right combined with diet right now because the bod is telling me only good things.

I had so much fun teaching again - i felt so confident up there on the group fitness stage, more so than ever before. I think life experiences has a fair bit to play in that department. At the moment I don't have any more classes on the horizon - but I am sure there will be more opportunities.

Not a day goes by where I don't think about my beautiful mum and dad. I have had some counselling and this has really helped. I miss them so so much but at the same time sitting around and not doing anything is not going to make them come back.

Mike is busy at work, but loving it! Tucker has started his third term of pre primary and is learning to write words and read - he is doing so well and loves to find paper at home and try and write out lots of different things! Essington is going to be one in 1 months time! That is still a shock to me. He is a VERY busy baby and seems to get up to lots more mischief than Tucker ever did! For those of you who know Tucker you will find this hard to believe!!!

We are loving the weather right now and sometimes wish it was like this all year! Day time temperatures are anywhere between 24 and 31! Overnight sometimes as low as 14, at which point we are FREEZING! It is a very pleasant change from 45 during the day and 28 overnight - summer will be here again very soon!!!

You must have almost made it to the bottom of your cup by now, so I am going to leave it at that and I will be aiming to not make it so long between posts.

Maryanne x

ps ....... Mr Mischief is trying to climb out of his high chair so got to run!!!

Gracing the stage

On Wednesday night it was time for me to shine once again - no not on the competition stage (well not yet anyway!!!!) - but on the group fitness stage teaching the one and only.....

...... BODY ATTACK!

I had so much fun and worked the class REALLY hard! I realised how much I miss sharing my energy and love of fitness with others. For 55 minutes I had the opportunity to inspire, challenge and motivate 15 people! They all sucked up my enthusiasm and gave that enthusiasm back to me through their energy and determination to succeed in class! I had a combination of brand new attackers as well as the seasoned regulars.

Previously when I have taught classes i have found myself to be exceptionally nervous prior to the start of the class and even in the first couple of tracks - on wednesday this was not the case. I believed in myself and knew I knew the choreography, felt attack fit and had my coaching skills ready to roll. It was such a different feeling and one that was so much more enjoyable.

I cant wait to teach again on Monday night and might even take it to another level again - really hoping that the stitch does not kick in again like it did on track 9 the other night!

Good luck to all the girls competing at the all female classic in Melbourne this weekend. Maybe one day it will be me in Melbourne getting all ready for that big day!

Did I just say that!!!!!

:-) xxx

Life seems to be coming together

Hi Everyone,

Well tonight I feel like I am in a pretty good place! The last couple of days I have had some really good cries and I think this has helped!

Just a quick post - I have a girls night planned! A friend is coming over and we are going to share dinner, have some drinks and dance to channel V on Foxtel! Can't wait!!!!

My gym manager approached me the other day and asked if I would teach some attack classes in July - at first i was a little reserved and said I would think about it. Well I came home started listening to the music and decided I would go in and have a practice on my own! WELL..... I fell in love with the feeling of centre stage and I have decided I will recommence teaching! It has been a long time - in fact I have not taught a class since approx. April 2008!!!!!!

Better go, time to sort out the boys, have a shower and chill the wine. xxx

Taking every day as it comes

Well I have been taking each day as it comes - however i did not expect to be sleeping in an arm chair in the hospital tonight next to my beautiful 5 year old. He has been admitted to hospital with bad abdominal pain. They have ruled out all things serious - they are thinking some sort of virus. Did I really need to have any more challenges right now.

Tonight my emotional state is feeling too challenged. They say challenging things are sent to the strong people who can handle them but my strength is at it's limit now.

I have been trying hard to focus on my training - it something I really enjoy doing so am trying to focus some of my energy in that direction - as hard as it might be. I know it also assists in my mental health.

Congratulations to all those who have just competed and good luck to those who are competing this weekend.

x

My beautiful mum

Hi Everyone,

Some of you may or may not be aware but I have just returned back home to Western Australia after nearly 5 weeks in Tasmania. I was called for along with my two brothers on the 20th April because my mum was very unwell.

I arrived there on Thursday the 22nd April. She was very unwell (in hospital reliant on a cpap machine for 95% of the time to be able to breathe) and things were very grim. She improved slightly, however she was too unwell to return home. We were very fortunate to be offered a place in a very nice nursing home. We moved her there on the 3rd May. Every day was different - some days she was well (as well as she could be) and other days not too good.

On the 7th May she celebrated her 72nd birthday. A very difficult day for all - she knew and we knew it would be her last birthday. 2 days later it was Mothers day. A day with even more challenges - health wise and emotionally!

On the 10th May when I went in to visit her she was very bright, sitting in a chair, dressed (a rarity on both accounts in the past few weeks). It was so nice to see her appear so well. It did cross my mind is it the rise before the fall!

On the morning of the 11th May I visited her in the morning at around 11am. She was quite confused and seemed quite muddled, however I believe she still knew who I was (had not seen any signs of this prior to then). I stayed with her around 45 minutes. We talked about her beautiful grandsons, and then when it was time to say good bye I did what I always did - gave her a kiss and a hug and told her how much I loved her. She repeated it all back to me.

Sadly 2 hours later I received a call to say she had passed away! A HUGE shock and not expected so soon.

I miss her each and every day! I do not wish for her to be still suffering and I know that mum and dad are reunited (they were only apart for 7 months to the day) but it does not make it any easier.

Life is hard right now. Life was even harder for my mum though.

What more can I say except tell loved ones how much you love them every day. I will be back to blog some more soon. xxx

Mum and Dad, I love you all the way to the moon and back. xxx

PS ...... this picture was taken when we spent 3 weeks together in January 2009. x

A quick update.........

Here are a few photos from a lovely night we had at our next door neighbours on saturday night for dinner. I had my first glass of wine in a very very long time! We all had a great time. The boys were both great - Essie slept in the porta cot and Tuck watched TV and then fell asleep on the couch!

My eating has been awesome - it is always an area I have struggled with previously. I felt like I had no self control. Now it seems the opposite - I have lots of self control and don't feel tempted to eat wrong foods. I have now lost a total of 20kg since Essie was born just under 6 months ago, and 6 of those Kg have been just recently. Without going shopping I have a whole new wardrobe - I am fitting in all of my smaller gear.

Training is great too - my fitness levels are increasing all the time. YAY!!! Essie loves to go to creche at the gym, so this makes leaving him for an hour or so, so much easier. I think training would be even harder if I knew he was not settled.

Tucker is at school today, Essie is sound asleep in bed, cardio done and dusted, resistance training finished for the day............ unfortunately that means it is time to hit my list of things I want to get done. #1 on the list is clean out the fridge.........

I am thinking of Nicole and her husband today as they welcome their little bundle into the world. xxx

I'm on Fire!

Hi all,

sorry for the absence in posting but I have been busy......

Training

Prepping meals

Looking after Essington

Getting Tucker to and from orientation period at school

Going to the beach

etc etc

I am so proud to say that I have lost 4kg in 3 weeks! How have I done it you may ask! Well I have done a moderate amount of exercise but most importantly my nutrition has been so clean! I have had so much self control and have dropped bad habits! I have implemented the new habits now for approx 3 weeks without failure and it feels awesome! I am loving just looking after me at the gym rather than looking after everyone else and then not having anything in the tank for when it came time for my workout. I am doing exercise every day - some days more intense than others. In a couple of weeks I am going to take some measurements and photos!

Tucker is enjoying Pre Primary - it is a huge adjustment and I think there are some nerves hanging around as well. He loves to ride his scooter - so we have been walking to school every morning this week - he scooters along, I push Essie in the pram and we chat about anything and everything along the way - it makes for a very relaxing start to his day. Essie and I love it too. Once we have walked home Essie usually has a little sleep in his cot and then we head out and about. It means I actually have some more time at home too - which I love!

Essie is now 5 months old and doing pretty well - we have had a few problems with his bowel but we are hoping it will sort it self out soon - we are off to the specialist for a check at the end of the month. He loves to roll, babbles a lot to his brother and smiles at everyone he meets!

On sunday after an early lunch we loaded up the sun tent, towels, buckets, spades etc and headed out to a beautiful spot called Honeymoon Cove at Point Samson. Tucker had a ball on his wiggles boogie board, Essie floated around in his swim seat and Mike and I enjoyed the company of great friends. I will load some pics soon.

Essie is asleep, the cleaners have just left and its lunch time so I am about to cook myself some lunch before it is time for school pick up in an hour and a half.

Hope everyone is doing great.

xxx

Clean eating and a new training program

Hi everyone!

I am just 4 days into a new training program and eating plan and I am shocked at the amount of self control I am showing. I have not had the amount of self control I have right now in a long time and I am enjoying the benefits already.

I am happy to admit that when things get what my mind considers tough the first thing I turn to is sugar and diet soft drinks! I know you may well say it could be a lot worse but to me this was also not so great. After the challenges of last year my mind was seeing lots of challenges that resulted in the over consumption of sugar! I decided that it was becoming a habit and that habit HAD to stop!

After celebrating my birthday on Monday I have taken a new lease on life and decided that if I want to be here for the long run that things needed to change and change they would! I took a drastic approach and went cold turkey on the sugar and increased the amount of healthy fruit and vegetables, lean proteins and sensible carbs.

Yesterday I had a niggling headache off and on all day - I suspect this was from my body wanting the sugar! Today it is fine.

I know there will be times where I will have sugar again but for now I am going to enjoy the benefits of no sugar and a clean eating plan. I am actually really excited.

I have not made the change for weight loss but with the clean eating and a good training program my weight will reduce which is an added benefit. After only one day my weight had already dropped by half a kilo! YAY!!!!!

In conjunction with the new eating I have also started a new training program. Today was a spin class for 45 mins! I challenged myself and came out feeling exhausted!

I will keep you updated with my progress! xxx

Happy New Year!

Happy new year everyone. Yes I know it has been a long time between posts!!!!

The last time i posted something here on my blog was before Christmas.

Christmas 2009 for me was a difficult time for me - half of me was excited and thankful for everything that I am blessed with, and the other half was of very mixed emotions - sadness, anger etc in relation to the first christmas without my dad.

Not a day goes by where I do not think of him - sometimes to the point where I can not clear some of those last few hours with him from my mind! I feel so much for my dear Mum - she has lost her sole mate! I worry about her and find it hard not to take on her emotions when we talk on the phone. I love her so so much! I am so grateful to my dear husband, and thank god for my health and my two beautiful children every day.

Since 1st January 2009 I have now been at home for the longest time - last year I was travelling approx every 4 weeks! Combine this with a challenging pregnancy and the loss of dad it made for an interesting time. It has been so nice to not have to step on a plane!

I am loving the school holidays with Tucker - we have been doing painting and craft at home, going to the shops, having lunch and snacks at the coffee shops, lots of swimming and lots of reading!

Essie is growing up so much - he is still quite petite so we have nicknamed him Mr Small! he shares lots of beautiful smiles, rolls over and loves tummy time. He is also loving the fact that he can reach out and grab hold of things and give them a shake - with often a noise of some sort coming from one toy or another. He is actually a little sick at the moment - he is having tests on his bowel - we are hoping it is nothing too major!

I have returned to my training at the gym this week. The creche just reopened for the year on Monday and I have had two good workouts.

I have included a couple of photos of the boys from Christmas Eve. xxx