Dry July

I never thought I would say this but............

I'm off the Grog!!!

Well, for the month of July I am anyway.
I'll be raising money for cancer patients in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Oncology Ward here in S. A., to buy things for there immediate comfort like beds, wheelchairs, facilities for relaxation and comfort while undergoing treatment - things like that.
I'm really excited about the challenge and looking forward to raising money for the hospital, so if any of you would like to make a donation just go to
https://dryjuly.com/profiles/fayefarnden
You can also leave me an encouraging message!!
I hope you'll all consider helping this really good cause.
Don't forget that any donation over $2 is tax deductible.
Thanks in advance everyone!

Almost Pain Free........ Almost

I didn't realise how bad I felt till I didn't any more.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned in earlier posts about how much my life has changed in the last 18 months, I don't really want to bore you with all the "why's & wherefore's" again. Let's just agree that when I say "change" I mean "CHANGE!!!!!", like a complete 180!

I used to be really fit. I would workout regularly - Pilates, Yoga, Body-Balance, Yogalates, Walking, Cycling, Jogging, Weight-Training........... I'm sure you know someone who is like I used to be. Then came "The Turn Around".........

In the last 18 months I've done hardly any of those things and my body has siezed up. Quite literally siezed up. With the end result being incredible pain in my back, legs, feet, shoulder and neck.

I've started going to the chiropractor again, but at $42 week, it's not going to be able to be a regular, on-going thing for me. Anyway, the results haven't been that good (not as good as I was hoping for anyway).

So I decided to get a bit pro-active here (instead of re-active) and try to take back control of my body again. My weight-gain is totally out-of-control and my fitness & flexibility seem to no longer exist. If I can't seem to get motivated to do this for my health and appearance I'm at the point where I'm ready to do it for the pain relief.

I've been doing the Leslie Sansone 2 mile (all I can handle in my present state - a far cry from my previous fitness levels!) for the last couple of weeks, and yesterday I did some back strengthening Yoga. Well...........

You should've heard the sound effects!!

I had so much crackin' & clickin' & crunchin' going on in my spine - it sounded like it was cracker night!!

The relief was so amazing and instant and intense -I simply couldn't believe it!

Usually when I get home from work I can barely get up the two front steps because my hammies are so tight and my legs and feet are aching so much. I can hardly get my arms above my head to take my top off and get my jammies on. I am so completely exhausted and drained that I can hardly make a cup of tea.

But Yesterday..............

The awful pressure behind my eyes was gone, the rushing in my ears was gone, I actually got to the end of the day and still felt like I had something left in me. I got home and actually thought about baking a cake (I didn't bake it, but I did complete another little project). I made it up the front steps ok and was probably about 80% pain free ALL DAY!!!

This morning when I woke up I bounded out of bed like a regular person instead of like a crippled-up wreck. I've just done my 2-mile walk and some posture pilates and I'm about to do the back strengthening yoga workout as soon as I finish this.

I've still got a ways to go but Oh God.. I'm so optimisic that I might be able to get back to where I was fitness and flexibility wise.

Will keep you posted.

RIP Farrah and Michael.

There goes my youth

Ho-Hum

Well, another un-eventful week. Just work and not much else. Am getting really bored with this place.

I cut my hair again.

My budget isn't doing too good iether, $250 short for the month already. It's going to be hard to get 'in advance' with phone and lights while rego is looming and still manage my 10% savings, but I've got 3 more paydays for the month (2 bakery and 1 take-away) so hopefully I'll be able to catch it all up. $700/month off the bloody credit card is a big ask too, but that's what is required if I'm going to have it paid out by the end of the year.

Am having a really lazy day today, well till 4 o'clock anyway, that's when I go to work. Got plenty I should be doing but just can't get motivated. Got a brew that needs to be bottled, spare room needs sorting out and tidying up, need to do some MAJOR hair removal, bed sheets need to be changed, and yet I'm still sitting around in my jammies at 12.45 with no energy to do any of it!

Too Bad, I say. The hair removal doesn't really matter because nobody is going to be feeling my hairy legs anyway, being too slack to bottle the brew is probably going to be really good for my waistline, and I'm pretty sure spare rooms that look like mine are the reason why doors were invented. LOL

So stuff everything... I'm off to raid the fridge

Seeya

My Trip Home

Went home to Wallaroo for a 5 day break. I hate the 4 1/2 hour drive. This is me just leaving....
and this is me after a really revolting latte...........
and this is me after about 3 hours....... A bit Grumpy!

But once I get past Port August and start heading down the other side of Spencers Gulf things start looking up. My beautiful Flinders Ranges...............

And around about Mambray Creek is my favourite section of the whole drive - Spencers Gulf on the right and the Flinders Ranges on the left......... Both so close you can practically lean out the window of the car and touch them...... I love it!


I called into Port Pirie to visit an old school friend, Stacey, stayed and had a couple of beers and a bit of a catch up. I also went to the cemetary and visited my Dad. Did some shopping - got a couple really good bargains, like a FREE HAIR COLOUR!! It was the checkout chicks fault (she wasn't concentrating) and NO! I did'nt say anything - I got out of there as quick as I could. I figured KMart could absorb my $30 hair colour and not even notice. WOOHOO





Payed a visit to my former belly-dancing teacher, Nita. Can you believe she's 62 years old?!?! What a woman! She's so vibrant and interested in everything and a bit of a health nut....... Probably a few lessons to be learnt there Faye....Ya think?!







Visited my friend Karyn and her kids Kara and Damon. Poor Damon had broken his ankle the day before I got there and was in a fair bit of pain, poor bugger. Kara, Karyn & I played wii all night and Kara took this "diet before-shot" of me....I didn't realise just how fat I really was till I saw this pic. OMG

Karyn has been on Tony Ferguson and lost about 20kg, and looks bloody terrific! Am jealous



My special buddy Warren came up from Adelaide to see me. That was lovely of him





Plenty more happened too. There was a birth, Hello Chiara, Declan and Tahlia and new baby Miley, I even got to have a lovely long nurse of her!
Spending time with Aunty Pat and Uncle Graham was really special, one part of the piece she was even tucking a blanky around me as I was laying on the lounge watching tv..... definitely going back for more of that. Catching up with Andrea was great, even though she is punishingly busy with the business she still found time to have a couple drinks and a bit of a chinwag... that meant a lot to me too.

I went past the house I used to live in, the one that had all the overwhelming and powerful memories that I could no longer live with, the one that I had to leave........... I also visited a few other special places and laid an old ghost to rest. It was 9 months coming, but it was time. All I have to do now is get the guts to delete his number from my phone and stop answering his texts and calls.......... I think I'm nearly ready.

So that old saying really is true:
If something doesn't kill you, maybe it really does make you stronger.
I've made a lot of really dumb decisions and bad choices over the last 18 months or so..... but I don't think coming to the Eyre peninsula was one of them. The Yorke Peninsula was really good to me, I was there for 15 years. There's no reason why that can't happen again over here on the Eyre Peninsula - I just have to give it time.

I miss my friends but visiting is really good and who knows....... maybe they will come and visit me!! That would be BRILL!!! And there's always next year to go home again. WOOHOO!! I love Holidays!

My Bathroom Just Keeps Getting Cheaper!!

I can't believe how much money I'm saving in the bathroom. I'm going to have to work out exactly how much I am actually saving on a fortnightly basis and start actively SAVING that money by putting it into my land account.
Since I moved here to Arno Bay I have:
* used a crystal deodorant for an initial outlay of $7 and it looks hardly gone at all.......will last years I reckon
* been using cornflour as talcum powder for an initial outlay of $6 for 5kg and $2.50 for shaker..................again, will last years & years, don't reckon I will EVER have to buy it again
* using microfibre cloth as cleanser and exfoliater for an initial outlay of $1.50 for 2...........I bought spares but keep giving them away LOL
* using witchazel as a toner for an initial outlay of $4 for 250ml.........I put it into an old Dermalogica atomiser and it just keeps going on & on & on
* ditched all my exxy moisturisers and now use Cetaphyl exclusively for an initial outlay of $20 for 500 ml.........bottle is only about 2 cm down, I reckon it'll be good for at least a year
* Emjoi for hair removal for an initial outlay of $120............a smooth finish identical to waxing from the beautician (not that there are any around here anyway so also factor in the fuel to get to town for the waxing!!)
* cutting and colouring my own hair for a cost of about $30 every 2 months

This weekend I have made shower gel. I found a cake of Body Shop pink grapefruit soap. So I grated it in the food processor, then added it to just a bit less than 1 litre of water and 2 tablespoons of glycerine and melted it altogether over low heat. I also added some sorbolene cream and a tiny drop of red food colour. Then I put it into my 1 litre pumppack and VOILA!! Shower Gel!!
I looked it all up on line and the cake of soap costs $4.95 from the body shop and for 250mls of pink grapefruit showergel they want $12.95 I made 1 litre for a hair over $5
WOOHOO
I also made a body scrub. 1 cup of olive oil, 1 cup of cooking salt, 1/2 cup of lemon juice and some food colouring. Just step out from under the direct flow of the water and appy, then rinse off. Luscious! Am going to add some essential oil when I get some nice ones.
AND I made some vanilla oil .......... just added some vanilla pods to baby oil.... flick as much water off your body as possible then apply a small amount, then blot yourself dry with a towel. Skin feels so soft
A-A-AND I also added some vanilla pods to a bottle of sorbolene cream and the smell is absolutely divine.
So these are all tried and tested money savers that really do work. You can all go ahead and try any of these tips with absolute confidence. Enjoy the extra cash you will have in your pocket!
Next time I'll tell you all about my laundry
Cheers

A Decision Has Been Made!

Phew!!!
What a busy week!
Have done 72 hours. Wish I could again too because next week I'm back to a boring 30 hours for the week.
I'm really lucky to have 2 jobs that I enjoy doing and 2 bosses that I really like and respect and admire. Not many people can say that about ONE job, let alone two.

Busy Days - Quiet Nights

Nothing to blog about.
Boss is away again so am "minding the store".......... Literally! LOL
Long days.
Strangely tho, am having a lot of trouble sleeping, despite being exhausted at night. Hmmmm, don't know what's going on there.
Till next week