Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Friday, May 8, 2015

Week's End

At the Tuesday night monthly barbecue, I ate rice salad and potato salad ... something that I've avoided for about 5 months, meaning, I haven't had rice or potato for at least 5 months.

I woke up on Wednesday morning in extreme pain. My joints hurt .. today is Friday and my joints are still sore, but not to the same extent. I think I've learnt my lesson and will avoid both rice and potato in future.

Eating those two foods is the only thing that I did outside my normal routine, so that's why I place the blame there for my pain.

This is how my body felt every day before I changed to Paleo eating. It only took two or three weeks before the pain disappeared completely, but it only takes one meal that includes dairy, grains, sugar or carbs for the pain to return.

Most commonly, gluten intolerance or celiac disease causes the most problems .. even if you don't suffer from physical symptoms, it actually takes months for your body to recover from one small discrepancy, so if you take a risk just once every month or two, your body is constantly trying to recover and will never enjoy the benefits of being 'gluten free'.

The same goes for dairy/casein/lactose intolerance, and I guess any allergy.

Sleep is important for your body to recover from these things and I only have myself to blame for sleeping poorly this week because I haven't gone to bed until well after midnight most nights, and then had to wake up to work at 6-6.30am.

I can feel my body struggling. It's especially noticeable because I have felt so good for the last 4-5 months, sleeping well, eating well, feeling full of energy and being pain free, so it's a real shock to the system to be feeling so poorly this week.

It's a hard lesson learned and now I know to be more vigilant with my eating and sleeping habits.

Anyway, it's 9.30pm and I need an early night, so I shall sign off now and head to bed.  Looking forward to Mardi's birthday dinner tomorrow night.

Nite all.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Strike me Pink!

I just looked at the clock and it's almost midnight!!

Can't forget the blog!







Quick but informative :)

Nite all.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Less Hours

I watched Grey's Anatomy last night. It was a double episode and included the one where Derek dies.

It wasn't as heart breaking as I expected, but the next episode could be a tear jerker. I'll have my tissues handy.

So the show finished at midnight and by the time I finished my bedtime routine, it was after 1am, and then it was close to 1.30am by the time I finished reading, turned out the light and fell asleep.

Needless to say, it was very very difficult to wake up early and get out of bed for work! Thank goodness I had the added motivation of a bit of a photo shoot afterwards.

I found this little gem on the way ...


I think it's just the background bokeh that wins it for me.

I met Mardi and Kaz's Caz down on the beach for some photos, but unfortunately, 7am is just a little late for the best light and the sun was quite glaring.

One thing that was very noticeable in most of the shots, was the fact that they liked to chat! So mouths were in awkward positions and eyes were either averted or closed in a lot of shots. We can't blame them for that though .. there is always a lot to catch up on when you don't live in the same town!

Here are a couple of them ...



Luckily for them, they are gorgeous women .. the saving grace!

I am feeling decidedly tired, so I'm off for an early night.

Nite all.

Barbylicious

The Nellie news is pretty good. She's still frail and ill, but improved and well enough for Adoring Husband to return home. We know that it's just a matter of time, but right now, she has once again proven how tough she is.

Today was Tuesday morning tea with the ladies and we had a nice big group this morning. Everyone was bright and happy and talkative - we kind of matched the sunshiny weather with our bright and breezy chatter.

I spent the remainder of the morning and afternoon making a berry cheesecake for Mardi's birthday dessert, which we all shared tonight at our monthly barbecue.


... and she was lucky enough to have an extra friend visiting who was able to share today with her (yesterday was Mardi's birthday) ... I shall name her 'Kaz's Caz' ...


Kaz's Caz is a special kind of person who sees the greatness in everybody else, but doesn't recognise the greatness in herself. Just my opinion ... but Kaz's Caz is GREAT. *waves at Kaz's Caz*

Anyway, for the barbecue, I also made smoked salmon cheese wheels (I just made that name up because I made the recipe up) for pre-dinner nibbles and I made lime, honey and chilli chicken wings to take with me for dinner.

Everybody else prepared amazing and delicious salads which we all shared before lighting the sparklers that we placed in the pretend silver gift box that Lady Lynn made, (so that the sparks didn't drop stuff on the cheesecake) and we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Mardi.

We always enjoy our monthly barbecues at the park and the sunset was another stunner, even without cloud. Good friends coming together and feeling the love.


Once again, it's after midnight and I have an early start tomorrow, so ...

Nite all.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Slightly Improved

The news of Nellie has marginally changed to 'slightly improved' and she has now been returned to the nursing home. She is still very ill and very fragile and with her dementia, doesn't recognise Adoring Husband.

We still 'wait and see'.

Today, I read some introductions to my 3 new study subjects and I must say, they are looking pretty intense, and I have a lot of work ahead of me.

One of the wonderful teachers has even provided a study plan to help us work our way steadily through the semester, helping us reach our 3 assignment dates without stress. She seems to be very hands on and has organised an assistant so that she can mark our assignments in a timely manner. So far, she is my favourite.

I hope to use the word 'procrastination' a lot less this semester and I plan on honing my focussing skills. Wednesday is my start day - head down, bum up!

Share time ...





Nite all.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

A Testing Time

While Adoring Husband was celebrating the birthdays of two of his grandchildren on the Gold Coast today, he received a phone call from his Mother's nursing home in Sydney to advise that she had fallen last night and had been taken to hospital in a very bad way.

AH then spoke to the doctor in charge who advised that Nellie's condition was serious and she may not return to the nursing home. The doctor also verified the level of care required as far as the DNR was concerned.

So the celebrations ended early for AH. I became his secretary/personal assistant for the day and at short notice, booked his flight and hire car online and he drove to Brisbane, booked his car into security parking, and late this afternoon he flew to Sydney where he is now driving in a hire car to a motel in Miranda, and preparing to face whatever emotional challenge is coming his way.

Nellie turned 98 last birthday. She has been a strong woman for her whole life, and even more so in the last few years, because at this age, we expect her to be at her most fragile, but she has proven many times that she is physically healthy and strong enough to overcome the health challenges that have tested her.

I would not be surprised if her toughness pulled her through this particular challenge as well, but at the same time, we need to be prepared for the worst. I'm certain she would be aiming for that letter from the Queen for her 100th birthday!

While she is generally physically strong, her mental state is a different matter altogether and her Sundowner's Dementia makes it difficult for AH to communicate with her. It's concerning for him that he may be saying his goodbyes to a woman who doesn't even recognise him as her son.

A difficult time for him, and adding to this stress, he has spent about 7 hours on the road today already, starting at 5am. He will be in need of a good solid night's sleep tonight so that he can be strong enough to cope with whatever happens tomorrow.

From me to you AH ... make sure you keep your body nourished and hydrated ... at least physically, that will get you through the tough times.

Nite all.

Ever Dutiful

Tonight I was a dutiful wife.

A gathering of SES leaders, associates and wives for a business/social dinner at the pub. It was organised at the last minute, giving me no time whatsoever to think of an acceptable excuse to get out of it!

So I began getting ready nice and early, so that I could at least feel good while I was out and I wore my new shoes too!

If you know me well, I dislike meeting new people .. dislike it with a vengeance. I face it with dread and I suffer internally for the entire experience from beginning to end.

There were eight of us. It was a pleasant enough evening. Dinner, as is usual at the pub, was average. I had a couple of glasses of wine. We had a few laughs and we were home by about 8.30pm.

There were two highlights to my evening. The first was checking my keno ticket from Friday night and winning $81!

The second was having one of the bar attendants telling me that I looked really nice and that she could tell I had lost a lot of weight. That's nice to hear when you're feeling vulnerable and nervous.

It's now already after midnight and I need to be up bright and early to see Adoring Husband off on his trip to the Gold Coast tomorrow. I was thinking about heading down to the beach for the sunrise, but I have a funny feeling that I won't be leaving the comfort of my warm bed after less than 5 hours of sleep.

Nite all.