A very bad start!

After writing a blog about how I was going to start eating right, getting fit, and keep blogging, I have been very bad!!


Only two posts! I've barely looked at the CSIRO book! And I haven't done any exercise!


But I am having next week off work, so hopefully I can take some time, breath, and re-start my life come 1 January 2012.


So hold out until then and hopefully I will start blogging in earnest! 

Bad start!

Last night I moved my coffee table out of the way and set up my Wii Fit so it would be all ready for my 7am yoga session. Unfortunately at 7 this morning my body had ideas other than getting out of bed!! So I stayed in bed, I didn't exercise, I didn't eat breakfast and it was a generally bad start!!

I did, however, measure and weigh myself!
Waist: 29"
Under boobs (the bit I'm worried about): 28.5"
Weight: 53.7kg - that was at 8.15am

And tonight for dinner I did use fillo pastry instead of puff pastry since it's meant to be better for you. I wrapped some chicken breasts up in it (there may have been ham, olives, sun-dried tomato & jalsberg on the inside) and served them with salad. So that kind of used my green portion control thingy.

Anyways, I think the realistic thing to do at the moment, is wait until the new year to start stressing about it. I could exercise tonight because I had an appointment with a celebrant, and I can't do anything tomorrow night because I won't get back from Sydney until almost 8pm! Really my life is just way to busy to be fit & healthy.
And my damn fiancé is sitting next to me eating beef jerky!! And he isn't gaining any weight! Damn him and his youthful good looks!!

A new way of life?

Due to some unfortunate weight gain, I have decided to make a few changes in my life.
I'm going to try and eat healthier, exercise, and actually post to my blog!!
I haven't blogged since June this year, but I have a great excuse!! Firstly I'll blame my fiancé - he takes up way too much of my time!! I've also started a new job - with the same employer but a different role, and it means that I actually don't have time to blog at work. I've downloaded a Blogging app to my iPad (supplied by work) so that hopefully I will blog more often.

So, let's start with the changes: thanks to some helpful dietitian friends I'm going to use the tools pictured below to assist me in not only eating the right things, but controlling my portion size.


Every morning I will hopefully do some Yoga on the Wii, and then I'll also hopefully include some cardio during the day as well. I'm tempted to get a bicycle and ride around a bit, but I'm paranoid about being swooped by magpies! What I should do is actually go for a skate either after work or at lunch. I think doing something after work is probably a bit more realistic, but as my friends pointed out I should do it on the way home from work, because once I get home I lose the motivation to exercise.

Tomorrow morning I will take my weight and also my waist and under-bust measurements. What I really want to change is the little roll of fat that has developed under my boobs - it's really most unattractive!!

Wish me luck!!

three years in one sitting

The other day a friend of mine from work said that she wanted to read my blog. With some hesitation I gave her the address.

I was hesitant for a number of reasons:

• Had I written something bitchy on there about her?
• Would she think that I was crazy (well, more crazy than she already thinks I am!)?
• Would she turn around and say "Wow, this is really badly written"?

I wasn't too sure what to expect. But as she was reading it I hear her laughter, she read out a few bits to me, and seemed to enjoy it.

She commented afterwards that reading the posts from over three years was really enlightening. She could clearly see a change in my attitude, saying that I'm now a lot happier. Apparently the New Years Eve posts were where the clearest difference could be seen - which is probably true. I know that I hated the thought of another New Years Eve alone, and so I was sure to blog about it. Now I'm not alone, but I don't blog as much. I guess now that I'm happier I don't feel I have to rant about every little thing.
Or maybe I do my ranting to my boyfriend instead!

things that I find are rude

There are a numberbof things that I find rude in relation to my work:
* complaining about having to eat FREE duck for dinner while drinking FREE wine and participating in FREE education which is required by your profession;
* complaint about having to pay for parking while eating your FREE dinner, drinking your FREE wine and participating in FREE education which is required by your profession;
* billing people for your time, which you haven't provided, and then failing to show up to facilitate an event - which you were meant to - without any explanation (that being said, I hope that there hasn't been an accident or anything);
* registering to attend events (that cost money to put on, usually at s per head cost) and then not arriving or providing any explanation. I actually love the people who cancel on the days of an event, because at least they're cancelling!!!
* people who have no skill or knowledge being charged to run projects - they obviously fail, they frustrate the people who do know what they're doing, they end up getting praise for other people's work and it's just plain annoying!

Things that I appreciate in relation to my work:
* presenters who are so lovely that they don't make an issue of the fact that the facilitator has failed to arrive;
* members who recognize that you must be doing a lot of work, and they tell you they appreciate it;
* people who call to see if there are any places available on the day of the event, rather than those who just arrive without registering.

After having a facilitator not showing up to an event, which I really didn't want to be at either but I still went to, I just had to vent. I work with general practitioners and they seriously think that they are gods - but they're not!!!

knitting success

I have successfully knitted a jumper!! Before I finished the jumper I had knitted a beanie (that unravelled) and a beret (that is still going strong), but this is my first ever jumper.
It didn't even take me too long to knit. I probably started it about 4 weeks ago, and obviously I wasn't working on it all the time. I also had to undo huge portions that I had done wrong (knitted back to front and the like).
All in all I'm pretty happy with it. I bought some red wool today so that I can start knitting a vest, and I also got some green, blue and white wool so that I can knit a Raiders scarf (for the football).
I have to say that I really like knitting. It seems a lot simpler than sewing. Admittedly it's actually more difficult (the pattern reading alone takes some concentration), but it's a skill from another time, that is still valid today, and hasn't changed any since centuries ago when people first started knitting.
I just did a quick search and it seems that knitting started gaining popularity in the sixteenth century with a high demand of knitted stockings. There is also evidence of some kind of knitted stuff from even earlier...so it's definitely been around for a while.

weddings

This weekend I was at a wedding. It was for people that I didn't really know too well, the Groom is my boyfriend's best friend, but it was lovely and I think it shows what kind of person someone is when their friends are super nice as well!
Even though I had to sit by myself (well not with my boyfriend) I still felt really welcomed and surrounded by friends.

It was strange being there with my boyfriend, but still kind of being there alone. Because he was a groomsmen he wasn't standing with me during the ceremony, or sitting with me at dinner. So I still kind of felt like I was there alone. But once all the formalities were over it was nice to be there with a partner.

As usual at weddings I take things away that I'd like to do at a wedding, and I think of things that I definitely wouldn't do. At this wedding they had great hand painted place cards (well little canvases actually) and lolly jars for every guest. But the DJ absolutely sucked!! He was playing horrible skanky music that was not romantic at all!!
But they also had a Photo Booth there which was a lot of fun and everyone really enjoyed it. I'd like to have one at my 30th birthday as well.

All in all it was a lovely wedding!

knitting

I desire a nice knitted sweater, but I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for it, so I'm going to try and make one for myself! I went to buy a knitting pattern, but luckily I read through the pattern before I bought it. Lucky because I realised that I can't read knitting patterns and I have no idea what I'm doing!

Enter a book: Not your mamas knitting. Bought from an actual bookstore in an attempt to support the dying out chain that my sister was working for.

It is pretty handy and fairly easy to follow, and when it isn't easy to follow I simply head to YouTube and find a tutorial. For example, knitting on a round needle just wasn't working for me no matter how much I yelled at it. So I found a YouTube tutorial and now I should be able to do it (I haven't tried yet).

Things I have learnt:

• Cable stitch - very cool for jumpers and the like
• Fishermans rib - essential for the bottoms of jumpers and sleeves
• Assorted abbreviations - it's like a whole new language! Very strange!

And so I don't think I'll be letting this book out of my sight any time soon. Oh, I should contact it so that it doesn't get damaged. I will do that this Sunday. I'll spend some time contacting all of my books. It's not weird - it protects them!

roller derby

Roller Derby is my latest passion! I love the speed of it, the roughness and the complexity. I love that it's a bunch of girls playing a rough sport! I love that you don't just go out and throw a ball around, but you have costumes personalities and bruises!

The Canberra Roller Derby League (or CRDL as its known to those too lazy to say the whole thing) is the local league which features 4 teams: The BrindaBelters, The Black & Blue Belles, The Surly Griffins & The Red Bellied Black Hearts.
All of the teams are awesome, but I probably see myself as more of a Red Bellied Black Heart - they dress up as pirates when they're not playing!
I'm waiting for more information to come out about the Fresh Meat intake, but I'm all set to go. I have my skates, my helmet, pads for my knees and elbows and wrist guards. I'm planning to get out on my skates at lunch time as often as I can. I didn't today because, lets face it, I'm lazy. But hopefully I will tomorrow!
Check out http://www.canberrarollerderbyleague.com/ for more information!

fashion victims

I know that fashion has a tendancy to repeat itself, but don't you think that some things should just never come back in fashion. Like short pants and stockings for men.

 

Or men in belted sweaters.

Well I saw some shocking fashions on the weekend - always worn by young girls, who look like they think they're in a music video. And let me tell you, just because Lady Gaga wears it in a music video, it doesn't mean you should wear it in public.

One girl in particular stood out - she was wearing a white lace top, over a hot-pink bra, with a mini skirt and she had one black fingerless glove on her right hand. Her friend also had a black fingerless glove on her right hand.

They looked absolutely ridiculous. And one could say that maybe they were in fancy dress...but I really don't think they were. I think they had dressed like that on purpose and thought that they looked awesome. I'll tell you now, they didn't!

I think that I would like to start taking photos of fashion victims - I should do it with my phone and try to be subtle. Of course I would blur out the faces, but gosh it would be funny!!

Stay tuned for fashion victim photos!

five languages of love

Today one of my friends told me about the Five Languages of Love. Apparently there are only 5 ways in which people express love, and I did a quick test and my result was "Physical" - which isn't the kinky kind of physical, just touching and that. Which is quite interesting considering I don't really like people touching me. Except for my boyfriend that is.
The five languages are:

• words of affirmation
• quality time
• receiving gifts
• acts of service
• physical touch

I think I would say that my boyfriend uses the gifts language - I think he had only known me a week before he sent a single long stemmed red rose to my work! - and physical touch. When we first started dating one of my friends commented that we couldn't keep our hands off each other - we always had to be holding hands, or touching in some way. I think that has dropped off a bit, but we still do it. Even when we're sitting at home watching TV, him on the lounge and me on my chaise, we're still almost always touching. And for someone that doesn't like to be touched, that's a big thing!

But then there are the 'acts of service' - when my boyfriend carried my carry-on bag all around the airports for me. It was my choice to bring a carry on bag, and so I was prepared to carry it, but he would take it off me every time. That's love.

What is your love language - there is a link at the bottom of my blog to the 5 love languages quiz.

competition

I am in competition for my boyfriends affections. Unfortunately the competition isn't in the form of another girl (which I could solve by smacking her down), it's in the form of sport. Over summer Cricket has been taking his attention (both playing and watching), and now it is football.

My work has picked up again so that I'm working basically two nights every week - but still working full time because I'm too busy to take the time off. So that means at least two of my days each week are 12 hours or more of work. So no, I don't really feel like going to a club and watching football on TV, or even watching a live football game. And only one code of football has started back! There are three codes in total, plus soccer, so I don't know when I'll actually see my boyfriend.

At the moment I am just too tired to fight it - but I fear that soon I'll be so tired that if he suggests watching football instead of seeing me I'll end up crying. But I don't want to be the girlfriend who says "No, you can't watch the football with your mates". I guess I'd rather be the girlfriend whose boyfriend would rather spend time with her than with football.

Maybe it's just because cricket and football are overlapping at the moment. Hopefully once cricket finishes (on the 19th of March) I'll have a boyfriend on Saturdays that I can do things with...unless there is a football game on, of course!

new design

In an effort to procrastinate even more I have re-designed my blog.
I realised that I have had this blog for a while now, and maybe it needed a bit of a pick-me-up. There's nothing like a new pair of shoes to make you feel better, so here they are: blue, kind of stripey, shoes.
Will this get me more readers? I don't know - probably not. But I'm going to make an effort to write about interesting things...not just ramble on about my own very boring issues.
Wish me luck!

analytics

Looking today at my Google Analytics page I was struck by the thought: what attracts thousands of readers to one blog, but not to another? This thought also stems from watching Julie & Julia on the weekend - which is about a girl called Julie who decides to go through all of Julia Child's recipes in one year and writes a blog about it.

As you can see from this screen capture

it's not like I don't have anyone reading my blog, I just don't have the thousands that some other blogs have.

Why? Maybe it's the name of my blog "The Duchess" it's not very descriptive is it. It doesn't tell you what this blog is about. But what is this blog about? Not much - just my random musings on life, and my opinions on stuff.

The average time on the site is only 24 seconds...hmm...what can I do to get people to stay longer? Maybe I need more drama or I need something that people actually want to read about. But that is the $50,000 question, isn't it? What do you want to read about?

fight for your right to....work?

At the moment I am feeling as though I have to fight to do my job. Not in the sense that I'm being discriminated against for being a woman, but in the sense that everyone else seems to think that they can do my job better than me and so they go ahead and do it!

It's very frustrating when you go to do something that is meant to be your responsibility only to find it has already been done - and not because I took too long to do it, but because the other person just decided to do it themselves.

I also think that I'm going to need to say to a work mate "I sometimes feel that you think I'm stupid with the tone you use to talk to me. I have a university degree and fairly high intelligence level (proof of which can be found in the fact that I understand things more quickly and more concisely than you do) so I don't need things explained to me as though I'm retarded".

But then I run the risk of offending this person because she's highly strung.

And then I think that the more highly strung you are and high maintenance you are the more support you receive from management here. Which is a bit annoying, because I can't be bothered making a fuss for no reason, but without that fuss I don't get any recognition!
Ugh!

don't want to rush things

What do those 5 words actually mean?

Do they mean:

• You want things to stop?
• You want things to slow down?
• You're feeling rushed/pressured?
• Or you're just a dick?

They're probably some of the most often said words in relationships but I don't think they actually express what is going on with the person who is saying them. Especially when that person says things like "I'll always want to marry you".

So really - what does that mean!?!?!

end of business

I have decided to officially 'close' my business. In 2009 I left my job without another job to go to (due to working in the car industry with horrible people!) and I decided to start my own event management business. I have had a total of 1 paying job, and that was from a friend. I have not had any enquiries or anything. True, I haven't done a lot to promote my business. I advertised in the Canberra Wedding Guide (for about $1,000 and got no response), and I was interviewed for an article on weddings in the CBD and I thought that might generate some interest, but no.

So I have just requested that my website close at the end of this month, and I will throw out most of my 1,000 business cards that I had printed (yes, I was a little over-zealous). I think I'll keep the letter head that I bought, I can use that for scrap paper and it was only about 500 pages.

I will box up all of my business related stuff and store it just in case it's needed for tax purposes, or I decide to start it all over again.

The frustrating thing is that with events people think that anyone can organise them. And I guess that is true to some extent, if you want a crappy event and a stressed out organiser. If people hired me to plan their event, they would get a great event and be able to enjoy it!

hunting for a job

Time and time again I find myself applying for new jobs. The average length of time that I've stayed in each position is 1 year, I don't know if I get bored after about 9 months, or what the problem is.

At the moment I'm just feeling that I'm wasting my time in my current job. I'm bored, don't always like the people that I work with, and I feel un-apreciated and under-paid.

But what kind of job do I want? I had a job that I really liked, but I wanted a small pay rise and didn't get it. When I quit they offered me a huge pay rise!! I should have taken it and stayed, but I feel with the Global Financial Crisis they would have had to cut my pay eventually anyways.

Maybe I just want to be a super hero

Or a Burlesque star

Do you think any of those organisations are hiring? In Canberra!?!

2011 here we come

2011 has started and so far I am being true to my New Years resolutions: 1. take more photos - already posted on Facebook! and 2. excersise - I've already gone for a walk around the lake. Tonight I'm hoping to get out on my skates for a bit.

I'm also hoping to find a new job this year that I actually like and that pays me what I'm worth...we'll see if that actually happens.

From being a spinster last New Years Eve, this time I saw the New Year in with my boyfriend who said to me "this past year has been the best year of my life because I met you. But this new year will be even better because I'll get to spend the whole year with you". And I'm so proud that I totally stopped myself from crying when he said that!!

So this year looks like it will be a coupled up happy one - no more 'independent women' or 'i don't need a man', now I'm all 'you make me feel like a natural woman'. Sickening isn't it!?!