The Moussaka was a raging success! Oh so tasty. And it tends to get better as the days go on which always amazes me, but it seems to happen with most saucy type things like this. Anyway - I didn't drop it, even though it was probably just as heavy as the previously dropped one. The secret is oven mitts! Not tea towels, which was my previously preferred method of removing steaming hot fare from the oven. Check out my recipe & some pics here.
Yesterday Mark & I took the babies out for a stroll in the evening sun. It was gorgeous, we took them up to the park and let them off the lead for a run. They bolted around like maniacs, and kept eying people off as if they were going to eat them (this was Arnie mainly, Jeff was happy barrelling after the ball Mark & I were throwing for him). Arnie can't seem to get used to walking properly on the lead. He pulls, veers of in random directions and just generally works his hardest to annoy the cr@p out of Mark. Jeff on the other hand, hates walking on grass. I know! He's a DOG!! It's because there seem to be a lot of bindis at the moment, and they stick into his little paws. When we get off a bindi patch, I bend down and remove them all from his paws, but the poor bugger is scarred from the pokey experience.
Not long now and Mark & I will be off and away to Vanuatu!! I can't wait. We've discussed doing the Advanced Open Water PADI course as we are both Open Water divers who never do anything with it - we figure we might as well take the chance we've got to refresh and do some diving! I'm really excited - diving still scares me so I can't wait to do it and work my way towards not being terrified!
I'm off to see the Oral surgeon at lunch time today. I've got this ridiculous looking fat lip that's been there for about a month now. It was MASSIVE at one stage and didn't appear to be getting any better, but just as my appointment rolls around, it goes down and is now not even nearly as offensive as it was for the past 4 weeks.
- B xx
Monday, October 25, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sunday 24 October 2010
What a miserable day weather-wise!! We had gorgeous sun yesterday, I got out in the yard in the morning to do some tidying up - I had mown the lawn on Friday afternoon, and wanted to finish off the edges. But a fight with the whipper snipper ensued, and I've only been able to complete about 1/4 of the job. We have 3 whipper snippers. One is battery powered, and cuts about 3 blades of grass before it's out of juice. One is electric, and once the line that cuts the grass has gone it won't come out again and you've got the take the whole thing apart, feed it through manually and then keep snipping. The third one is petrol powered, but can't be started because my Dad wrenched the rip cord out once when he was feuding with it. To be fair, the electric and petrol ones were both given to us by my parents because when they break one, they simply buy another. Mark is very handy and plans to fix the broken rip cord, and we're going out today to buy something to fix the feeding problem too. Then hopefully we can do the edges together and complete the job in half the time.
When I was doing my 3 minutes of edging, Jeff took a dislike to the whipper snipper (battery powered). He decided firstly to try and bite it. Obviously it came as quite an offensive shock to him to almost have his nose removed by this noisy apparatus. So then, much to my delight, he decided to bark at it! Jeff almost NEVER barks. He can bark, as we discovered on a puppy-play date with my brother's pooches a few weeks ago. He just chooses not to - nothing really excites him enough to warrant a woof. But he barked and barked and barked at the whipper snipper!! I like it when he woofs because I feel like he's expressing himself. I think Mark thinks I'm a bit mental for thinking this.
I've revived my garden! Check out some pics and details about it here. I'm really happy, gardening makes me feel calm and I love being amongst all the green. I'm excited about possibly growing with my own hands food that we can eat!! I grew a million tomatoes about 2 years ago, and I've got those in again and some other stuff - chilli, capsicum, lettuce etc.
Because it's such a horrid rainy day, we've let the dogs be inside since this morning. Jeff curled himself up into a little ball so I covered them with a blanket. They are such big babies, I love them!! Arnie hasn't moved since I covered them over, he's all snuggled in the blankie and lovin' it.
I'm going to retry the ill-fated Moussaka today. Wish me luck.
- B xxx
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Friday 22 October 2010
Last night when I got home I went out into the backyard to see the pooches. Arnie was waiting at the door to greet me - cute little head peering up, waiting for a pat. But Jeff was nowhere to be seen! I called out, "Black dog!" as I often call him, but he didn't come. I left the house to search for him and walked up the street calling his name for a while until I heard Mark shout my name. So I went back and Jeff was wagging his whole self waiting for me at the door! When I asked Mark where he was, he said he'd accidently locked him in the garage 2 hours earlier!!
I expected to find my motorbike (oh yes, forgot to mention...I bought a motorbike!) torn to shreds and all sorts of other chaos - but nothing. Li'l Jeff must've just curled up and had a sleep!!
I expected to find my motorbike (oh yes, forgot to mention...I bought a motorbike!) torn to shreds and all sorts of other chaos - but nothing. Li'l Jeff must've just curled up and had a sleep!!
Oh about the motorbike - it's a lime green Kawasaki Ninja. It was in pretty bad shape when I got it, and Mark did loads of work on restoring it to get it ready for rego. A few weeks ago he rode it down and got it all registered, so now it is sitting waiting in the garage for me to...ummm... ride it. I need to get my licence and I really MUST stop putting off practising!! I am thinking I might just book the two day course and force myself to learn to balance in time. Since I only learnt to ride a bicycle a few months ago, riding a motorcycle is quite a step up you see.
- B xx
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday 21 October 2010
Oh so much has happened!! Blogging is hard to keep up with, I really must be more diligent!!
Jeff turned 1 at the weekend! I got him and his little brother Arnie MASSIVE bones to celebrate. They walked around looking like furry little barrels with legs for 3 days afterwards and needed about 1/2 their normal amount of food because they were still digesting these ridiculously large bones.
Mark and I have been moving towards a Primal lifestyle. I'm starting another blog to track our progress, challenges and general lamenting of the absence of all things sweet and processed in our diets. Actually, to be fair, our transition so far has been pretty positive. Luckily it hasn't been Easter Show time and I haven't desperately wanted that big bag of fairy floss. Check out my new blog here: A Primal Life: Our Story.
On Tuesday this week I was in hospital with the worst tummy pains I've ever had. Mark was a gem, sat beside me the whole day while they poked and prodded me, wheeled me off for this or that test. Now he's contracted some weird Himalayan Nose virus (he's got a cold...) from his time keeping me company in the emergency room. I was there from 7am to 9pm, and they still don't know what was wrong with me. I'm becoming more and more suspicious of doctors and medicine in general. I've spent heaps of money on specialists and tests, missed work for this or that and they still can't work out what keep going wrong in my belly. I had been on a great run though, and then had quite a lot of KFC - so perhaps Primal living is the way to go for me.
Soon Mark and I are going to Vanuatu for a very looked-forward-to break. Mark hasn't had a proper holiday in about 5 years (apart from the 4 days we spent in the retirement village that is Forster in June...) so we are looking forward to getting some sun, relaxing and coming back refreshed. Hoping to do some diving while we are there too.
That's the shortened version of debauched for now. There is probably loads of stuff I could moan about but so much has been happening that it is all I can do to just stay above water!! Oh oh oh, one awesome thing - my Aunt wanted to get rid of some Tupperware containers she had, they were collapsible and in OK condition but didn't fold out all the way any more. I called Tupperware and asked for them to be replaced and they gave me brand newies!!
Oh also, I rescued my plant from my Bondi days from the clutches of the plant killer that is my mother. I can't believe how little water she must have been giving them!! The frangipani has NO leaves at all yet!! They are now safely on my front porch where she can't harm them any more, and where the dogs can't eat/knock over/dig/gratuitously tear to shreds/wee on them.
- B xx
Jeff turned 1 at the weekend! I got him and his little brother Arnie MASSIVE bones to celebrate. They walked around looking like furry little barrels with legs for 3 days afterwards and needed about 1/2 their normal amount of food because they were still digesting these ridiculously large bones.
Mark and I have been moving towards a Primal lifestyle. I'm starting another blog to track our progress, challenges and general lamenting of the absence of all things sweet and processed in our diets. Actually, to be fair, our transition so far has been pretty positive. Luckily it hasn't been Easter Show time and I haven't desperately wanted that big bag of fairy floss. Check out my new blog here: A Primal Life: Our Story.
On Tuesday this week I was in hospital with the worst tummy pains I've ever had. Mark was a gem, sat beside me the whole day while they poked and prodded me, wheeled me off for this or that test. Now he's contracted some weird Himalayan Nose virus (he's got a cold...) from his time keeping me company in the emergency room. I was there from 7am to 9pm, and they still don't know what was wrong with me. I'm becoming more and more suspicious of doctors and medicine in general. I've spent heaps of money on specialists and tests, missed work for this or that and they still can't work out what keep going wrong in my belly. I had been on a great run though, and then had quite a lot of KFC - so perhaps Primal living is the way to go for me.
Soon Mark and I are going to Vanuatu for a very looked-forward-to break. Mark hasn't had a proper holiday in about 5 years (apart from the 4 days we spent in the retirement village that is Forster in June...) so we are looking forward to getting some sun, relaxing and coming back refreshed. Hoping to do some diving while we are there too.
That's the shortened version of debauched for now. There is probably loads of stuff I could moan about but so much has been happening that it is all I can do to just stay above water!! Oh oh oh, one awesome thing - my Aunt wanted to get rid of some Tupperware containers she had, they were collapsible and in OK condition but didn't fold out all the way any more. I called Tupperware and asked for them to be replaced and they gave me brand newies!!
Oh also, I rescued my plant from my Bondi days from the clutches of the plant killer that is my mother. I can't believe how little water she must have been giving them!! The frangipani has NO leaves at all yet!! They are now safely on my front porch where she can't harm them any more, and where the dogs can't eat/knock over/dig/gratuitously tear to shreds/wee on them.
- B xx
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Thursday 12 August 2010
Last night I had the world's most stressful, demanding workout. I made a mental note - if it looks easy on the website, it is not and I should most certainly stay at home. Frankly, I don't know what I was thinking signing up with these crazy ex-Army dudes in the first place. Mark was really into it. The things we do for love hey?? But really, I do like this crazy gym - it's called Crossfit, they are all over Youtube doing MENTAL stuff. It makes me do things I never thought I would, push myself to the point of almost puking... They even have a wall where all the people who have puked after or during a workout have their name immortalised. It's a badge of honour to have pushed yourself that hard - a badge I hope never to achieve! Last night's pain involved 15 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 squats. It looked so easy when I read it!! But in 25 minutes I only made it to 13 rounds, even though I was given a sub of doing my pull-ups on the rings. I sobbed like a little child, mainly because I knew that after 10 minutes rest they were going to make me do another 8 rounds, or however many I could complete in 12 & 1/2 minutes. Torturous. There was a lady next to me who I was matching round for round and then she suddenly called "Time" as if she'd finished. I know she cheated!! But when I got home I discussed it with Mark and we decided she is only cheating herself, which made me feel better. =)
- B xxx
- B xxx
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sunday 6 June 2010
Firstly, I must say how bloody quickly this year is going!! I can't believe it is June already. Soon enough (2 weeks, 10 working days!) I'll be finished in my job and heading up to Forster for 5 days of sun (hopefully), fun (definitely) and relaxation (without a doubt). We had planned to go for 7 days, but we've got to come back earlier because I've got to have a final test to diagnose what I'm fairly certain is coeliac disease. I've been pretty ill the past couple of weeks, but I feel like I'm starting to turn a corner now.
The reason I think I might be turning a corner is because my wonderful boyfriend Mark has spent loads of time doing research into different diets, health regimes etc and we've started on a raw food kick. We're doing loads of awesome juices (lots of green juices but some fruit as well) and trying to eat 2 out of three meals raw each day. This is proving to be difficult but an awesome challenge. Mark discovered (and is somewhat in awe of...) a dude called Dan MacDonald and has been watching his YouTube posts with excitement. He even befriended him on Facebook, then I jumped on the band wagon and did it too!! Dan talks a lot about his diet and being "present" - experiencing everything that is going on around you and really living for right now.
Needless to say, we're slowly moving towards being shaggy-haired hippies ourselves and loving it. We're not even close to being raw food vegans, but we're certainly eating much better and feeling better for it! Today we drove out to the Eastern Suburbs and bought a second-hand wheatgrass juicer and Mark is going to sort us out a tray of fresh grass tomorrow which should be great!
To go with our new-found hippydom, we've begun discussions on how possible it might be for us to convert a bus into a motorhome. Now this might sound crazy, but check this out: The Alice Project (it's basically my dream convert-o-bus, only missing a toilet/shower). You can see the possibilities for yourself!
Winnebago-style travelling is something I've wanted to do for quite a few years - I'm really not the camping type, but I've wanted to get out of the city and live a peaceful, simple life for a while but hadn't really had the right circumstances or I guess the right person in my life to do it with before now! Mark is really handy when it comes to constructions and repairs, but also he's totally into the idea! So watch this space - bus updates to follow...
In other news, on Friday night I made a Moussaka. I started at about 6:30pm, and it wasn't finished until about 10pm as I grilled all the veggies etc before I made the sauce (yes, I could have multi-tasked but I was also managing the needs of two puppies and a boyfriend). I served some out into a container for my Dad because he likes eggplant and my Mum rarely cooks it and covered the tray to pop it back into the turned off oven to cool down. As I went to put it in the oven I must have touched one of the still warm shelves and the fright caused me to drop the entire dish onto the door of the oven, upside down. So my perfectly, excessively time-consuming moussaka was ruined - but not lost.
Handy-man Mark came to the rescue with a turner and a big spoon and scooped what could be salvaged into a container. So now although it's not in the perfectly formed layers it was originally in, it is edible and oh-so-tasty. Can I just add a warning though - if you ever make a moussaka and you happen to use 1kg of mince as I did, combined with all the other ingredients it really is too much to go into one baking dish and it will inevitably end up on the door of the oven. So you see, it was never my fault. It was bound to happen given the sheer contents and therefore the weight of the baking dish.
Mark is in a very cool band and sometimes they do open-mic nights. I missed the last one they did last Monday night but I'm going along tomorrow as I think it's going to be the last one for a while - their drummer's wife is having a baby soon so I think they wanted to get one last gig in before he's relegated to sleeplessness for 12 months. I'm not sure why they are doing two so close together, but there you go. One of the guys' in the band has a GF who I don't really get along with - she's one of these people who likes to exclude people who do not lavish her with attention I think. Anyway, I am just going to try and stay out of her way and not let her bother me. I don't like catty, bitchy-girl behaviour so none of it sits well with me.
One thing about Mark...he's 38, but acts much younger. It's weird for me - I forget how much older he is and am so impressed when he knows a lot about stuff - but he's had a lot more years than me to develop this knowledge. (I am writing this because I've been teasing him a bit recently about being an old bloke and I expect at some point he'll probably read this so I'm just using the internet to reinforce my views on his oldness). We play quite a lot of video games together - our main ones have been Super Mario Brothers on Wii and Lego Star Wars on Wii. He always accuses me of killing him, pushing him into lava etc. I'd like to use this forum to deny the allegations and state uncategorically that at no time during our play have I caused his character to die. In fact, I've carried our team to victory repeatedly. *pokes tongue out at Mark, who does not have a blog so cannot retaliate* Maybe you'll start your own blog hey babe? Ha! =)
Mark's puppy Arnie lives with me at the moment as his older dog has some behavioural issues that rub off on Arnie when they're together. Arnie and Jeff get along so well and he's learning more and more every day from Jeff. Jeff has been moving into adolescence I think and is pushing the boundaries a bit but he really is such a great dog. Still loves cuddles and just hanging out and he's SO good looking! Because we've been doing a lot of juices we've started to feed the pups a mix of raw oats, cooked brown rice, kangaroo mince and the pulp from the juices we've made. They love it!! They also get a chicken wing to chew every day but I think I need to revise that part of the plan as they seem to finish them about 3 seconds after they've been given them!
I've been putting off reviving the Ark because I can't decide on the next genre to cover. I'm dreading doing rock because it is just SO broad and will take AGES to complete - especially given how inconsistent I am with this! So can anyone suggest a good genre for me to get back into it with?? I've done Metal and Punk so far...
- B xxx
The reason I think I might be turning a corner is because my wonderful boyfriend Mark has spent loads of time doing research into different diets, health regimes etc and we've started on a raw food kick. We're doing loads of awesome juices (lots of green juices but some fruit as well) and trying to eat 2 out of three meals raw each day. This is proving to be difficult but an awesome challenge. Mark discovered (and is somewhat in awe of...) a dude called Dan MacDonald and has been watching his YouTube posts with excitement. He even befriended him on Facebook, then I jumped on the band wagon and did it too!! Dan talks a lot about his diet and being "present" - experiencing everything that is going on around you and really living for right now.
Needless to say, we're slowly moving towards being shaggy-haired hippies ourselves and loving it. We're not even close to being raw food vegans, but we're certainly eating much better and feeling better for it! Today we drove out to the Eastern Suburbs and bought a second-hand wheatgrass juicer and Mark is going to sort us out a tray of fresh grass tomorrow which should be great!
To go with our new-found hippydom, we've begun discussions on how possible it might be for us to convert a bus into a motorhome. Now this might sound crazy, but check this out: The Alice Project (it's basically my dream convert-o-bus, only missing a toilet/shower). You can see the possibilities for yourself!
Winnebago-style travelling is something I've wanted to do for quite a few years - I'm really not the camping type, but I've wanted to get out of the city and live a peaceful, simple life for a while but hadn't really had the right circumstances or I guess the right person in my life to do it with before now! Mark is really handy when it comes to constructions and repairs, but also he's totally into the idea! So watch this space - bus updates to follow...
In other news, on Friday night I made a Moussaka. I started at about 6:30pm, and it wasn't finished until about 10pm as I grilled all the veggies etc before I made the sauce (yes, I could have multi-tasked but I was also managing the needs of two puppies and a boyfriend). I served some out into a container for my Dad because he likes eggplant and my Mum rarely cooks it and covered the tray to pop it back into the turned off oven to cool down. As I went to put it in the oven I must have touched one of the still warm shelves and the fright caused me to drop the entire dish onto the door of the oven, upside down. So my perfectly, excessively time-consuming moussaka was ruined - but not lost.
Handy-man Mark came to the rescue with a turner and a big spoon and scooped what could be salvaged into a container. So now although it's not in the perfectly formed layers it was originally in, it is edible and oh-so-tasty. Can I just add a warning though - if you ever make a moussaka and you happen to use 1kg of mince as I did, combined with all the other ingredients it really is too much to go into one baking dish and it will inevitably end up on the door of the oven. So you see, it was never my fault. It was bound to happen given the sheer contents and therefore the weight of the baking dish.
Mark is in a very cool band and sometimes they do open-mic nights. I missed the last one they did last Monday night but I'm going along tomorrow as I think it's going to be the last one for a while - their drummer's wife is having a baby soon so I think they wanted to get one last gig in before he's relegated to sleeplessness for 12 months. I'm not sure why they are doing two so close together, but there you go. One of the guys' in the band has a GF who I don't really get along with - she's one of these people who likes to exclude people who do not lavish her with attention I think. Anyway, I am just going to try and stay out of her way and not let her bother me. I don't like catty, bitchy-girl behaviour so none of it sits well with me.
One thing about Mark...he's 38, but acts much younger. It's weird for me - I forget how much older he is and am so impressed when he knows a lot about stuff - but he's had a lot more years than me to develop this knowledge. (I am writing this because I've been teasing him a bit recently about being an old bloke and I expect at some point he'll probably read this so I'm just using the internet to reinforce my views on his oldness). We play quite a lot of video games together - our main ones have been Super Mario Brothers on Wii and Lego Star Wars on Wii. He always accuses me of killing him, pushing him into lava etc. I'd like to use this forum to deny the allegations and state uncategorically that at no time during our play have I caused his character to die. In fact, I've carried our team to victory repeatedly. *pokes tongue out at Mark, who does not have a blog so cannot retaliate* Maybe you'll start your own blog hey babe? Ha! =)
Mark's puppy Arnie lives with me at the moment as his older dog has some behavioural issues that rub off on Arnie when they're together. Arnie and Jeff get along so well and he's learning more and more every day from Jeff. Jeff has been moving into adolescence I think and is pushing the boundaries a bit but he really is such a great dog. Still loves cuddles and just hanging out and he's SO good looking! Because we've been doing a lot of juices we've started to feed the pups a mix of raw oats, cooked brown rice, kangaroo mince and the pulp from the juices we've made. They love it!! They also get a chicken wing to chew every day but I think I need to revise that part of the plan as they seem to finish them about 3 seconds after they've been given them!
I've been putting off reviving the Ark because I can't decide on the next genre to cover. I'm dreading doing rock because it is just SO broad and will take AGES to complete - especially given how inconsistent I am with this! So can anyone suggest a good genre for me to get back into it with?? I've done Metal and Punk so far...
- B xxx
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Friday 21 May 2010
I have quit my job!! I am sad to be leaving as I've really enjoyed working at my employer overall. However, I work with someone who can only be described as a beast and I'd rather singe my eyebrows with a cigarette lighter than put up with it anymore. So hooray!!
It's been a long time since I updated Debauched - few reasons include general miserableness with all the work drama, some health issues I'd had etc; busy-ness with my wonderful boyfriend of 4 whole months!!; my dog-related issues.
We'll start with the dog...I got a companion for Jeff. At first, it was wonderful - I'd rescued her from the pound and she was a little cutie (in a very ugly kind of way). Anyway, after about 10 minutes of doting over her, I realised she was an absolute menace. She would wiggle her butt so much in order to push Jeff out of the way when it was time for any kind of attention. She was destructive too - ripped things to bits, chewed on everything and I believe she weed in the house out of spite. Anyway, after about 8 weeks of trying in vain to train her with positive & negative reinforcement and ignoring her completely at times, I realised it was to no avail and I had to surrender her to the pound. It was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever done, she was only a baby and they told me they'd need to put her down. :(
My health issues have been suitably annoying but are getting much better now. I've had all sorts of tests and seen specialists. I saw a "General Physician" at first - they had absolutely no idea what was wrong with me, so they sent me to a glorified GP...When I got there for my first appointment, his name was right above the word "Geriatrician". I was annoyed to have been sent to an old person's doctor. And even more so when he told me I was his only patient younger than himself! Anyway, I'm now at the point where I should have the final test soon to confirm my suspected condition - coeliac disease. It's annoying but very manageable through a gluten-free diet. But since I have to keep eating gluten till I have the final test, I'm currently experiencing a free-for-all where I am eating things I would normally consider off limits, and becoming quite plump as a result.
Because of my plumpings I've been trying to run as much as possible. I set myself a goal this week of 16km, and I am 4.7km away from achieving it with a plan to run tomorrow. (My running week goes from Sunday to Saturday.) It's been good actually to get back into running - I'd had about 6 weeks off completely, and before that with all my illness I'd been only running intermittently so it's been good to have a weekly goal and get a few good runs done each week.
Me and this new man (Mark) have been on for about 4 months now! Time has flown. He is great - he's really fun, an animal lover and really quite the spunk. The other week we had a lovely "date" - we went out for dinner and saw a movie. This is something I've never really had before - I've never really been on dates. Even though we spend basically every night together, he still makes the effort to ask me out, dresses up and takes me somewhere he know I'll like. He's a real catch!!
These days, Jeff can only be described as a cube. A cube-o-lab. He's SO adorable - he just has this beautiful little face, his cubesque body and his whole back half wiggles when he wags his tail. It never ceases to please and delight me how excited he is to see me whenever we've been apart for more than about 10 minutes. He's taken to leaping in the air when I let him in the house now; he just wants to touch his little wet nose to my palm. He follows me all around, which can get annoying when he's constantly under foot, but it's really very sweet. And the drool!! Whenever I am eating, preparing dinner or he can smell food within a 2km radius he gets this huge stream of drool out the side of his mouth. Sometimes both sides. When I put him outside, I could swear someone was out the trying to murder him the way he moans. When I take him around to Mark's (he's got two dogs that Jeff likes to play with) he's just as bad, but it's even worse because Mark's oldest dog cannot stand to be outside when we are inside. He does not understand that he is a dog, I'm sure of it. He shoves Jeff out of the way for pats with me when we're there too. He thinks he deserves all the pats because he is the biggest. He's pretty cute though and it's quite funny to watch Jeff jump around him and lick his chops all the time.
Tomorrow night I am holding a Sashimi night at my house. I'm quite excited actually - my whole family, apart from my wayward younger brother, is coming and it should be fun! I need to find some Sake from somewhere though - I've googled and found a couple that people have recommended so hopefully I can get one of those! I may have over-committed myself somewhat...I'm making Peking Duck Pancakes, Rice Paper Rolls, Sashimi (obviously!) and Teriyaki Chicken...we'll see what happens.
Guess that is all for now. Must revive The Ark. Must revive The Ark. Must revive The Ark.
- B xxx
It's been a long time since I updated Debauched - few reasons include general miserableness with all the work drama, some health issues I'd had etc; busy-ness with my wonderful boyfriend of 4 whole months!!; my dog-related issues.
We'll start with the dog...I got a companion for Jeff. At first, it was wonderful - I'd rescued her from the pound and she was a little cutie (in a very ugly kind of way). Anyway, after about 10 minutes of doting over her, I realised she was an absolute menace. She would wiggle her butt so much in order to push Jeff out of the way when it was time for any kind of attention. She was destructive too - ripped things to bits, chewed on everything and I believe she weed in the house out of spite. Anyway, after about 8 weeks of trying in vain to train her with positive & negative reinforcement and ignoring her completely at times, I realised it was to no avail and I had to surrender her to the pound. It was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever done, she was only a baby and they told me they'd need to put her down. :(
My health issues have been suitably annoying but are getting much better now. I've had all sorts of tests and seen specialists. I saw a "General Physician" at first - they had absolutely no idea what was wrong with me, so they sent me to a glorified GP...When I got there for my first appointment, his name was right above the word "Geriatrician". I was annoyed to have been sent to an old person's doctor. And even more so when he told me I was his only patient younger than himself! Anyway, I'm now at the point where I should have the final test soon to confirm my suspected condition - coeliac disease. It's annoying but very manageable through a gluten-free diet. But since I have to keep eating gluten till I have the final test, I'm currently experiencing a free-for-all where I am eating things I would normally consider off limits, and becoming quite plump as a result.
Because of my plumpings I've been trying to run as much as possible. I set myself a goal this week of 16km, and I am 4.7km away from achieving it with a plan to run tomorrow. (My running week goes from Sunday to Saturday.) It's been good actually to get back into running - I'd had about 6 weeks off completely, and before that with all my illness I'd been only running intermittently so it's been good to have a weekly goal and get a few good runs done each week.
Me and this new man (Mark) have been on for about 4 months now! Time has flown. He is great - he's really fun, an animal lover and really quite the spunk. The other week we had a lovely "date" - we went out for dinner and saw a movie. This is something I've never really had before - I've never really been on dates. Even though we spend basically every night together, he still makes the effort to ask me out, dresses up and takes me somewhere he know I'll like. He's a real catch!!
These days, Jeff can only be described as a cube. A cube-o-lab. He's SO adorable - he just has this beautiful little face, his cubesque body and his whole back half wiggles when he wags his tail. It never ceases to please and delight me how excited he is to see me whenever we've been apart for more than about 10 minutes. He's taken to leaping in the air when I let him in the house now; he just wants to touch his little wet nose to my palm. He follows me all around, which can get annoying when he's constantly under foot, but it's really very sweet. And the drool!! Whenever I am eating, preparing dinner or he can smell food within a 2km radius he gets this huge stream of drool out the side of his mouth. Sometimes both sides. When I put him outside, I could swear someone was out the trying to murder him the way he moans. When I take him around to Mark's (he's got two dogs that Jeff likes to play with) he's just as bad, but it's even worse because Mark's oldest dog cannot stand to be outside when we are inside. He does not understand that he is a dog, I'm sure of it. He shoves Jeff out of the way for pats with me when we're there too. He thinks he deserves all the pats because he is the biggest. He's pretty cute though and it's quite funny to watch Jeff jump around him and lick his chops all the time.
Tomorrow night I am holding a Sashimi night at my house. I'm quite excited actually - my whole family, apart from my wayward younger brother, is coming and it should be fun! I need to find some Sake from somewhere though - I've googled and found a couple that people have recommended so hopefully I can get one of those! I may have over-committed myself somewhat...I'm making Peking Duck Pancakes, Rice Paper Rolls, Sashimi (obviously!) and Teriyaki Chicken...we'll see what happens.
Guess that is all for now. Must revive The Ark. Must revive The Ark. Must revive The Ark.
- B xxx
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Thursday 18 February 2010
A few things are winding me up currently. Well actually, a lot of things are winding me up. My flatmate is the laziest person I've ever had the misfortune to live with. Although that is a gross overstatement of the actual situation, he is pretty lazy and seems intent on doing as little to help with the cleaning of the house as possible. I even went as far as to discuss with him the possibility of getting a cleaner in - he declined, saying we should just share the workload. I stupidly took that to mean that he might do some of the cleaning - evidently this was not his intention and by "share the workload" he meant I could clean the house and he could dirty it shortly after I finish. Not only that, but he's now taken to making little snide comments to me when I leave the house of an evening (I spend a lot of time at Mark's place these days - his TV is bigger and his place stinks less than mine). The other night I said goodbye and he replied, "Yes, that's the main comment you make to me - goodbye." Now I'm sure he thought he was being funny, but what person that is not annoyed about someone leaving would say such a thing? And then that leads on to who the hell does he think he is to be annoyed about how many nights I do or do not spend at my house? I'm reaching a point now where I don't actually want to be at home which is causing me quite a lot of distress.
I forgot to write about this in my previous post - I had a run-in with the most spiteful, mean spirited man I've ever encountered. I was at the petrol station last week, and I'd gone round to the far pumps but then realised that reason no-one else was there was because they were out of order. It just so happened that there was a man finishing at one of the front pumps and there was no-one waiting to pull into the pump, so I waited till he left and then began to reverse in. Just as I started to move backwards, this evil fat man came flying in and pulled in. I motioned to him on his approach that I was moving in there to fill up, and even though we'd made eye contact, he pulled in anyway! I got out of the car and asked him if he was serious (I was so shocked you see, normally profanity would have come flying out my gob but I just could not believe it had happened!) and he simply said, "You should have indicated." to which I replied, "I did! I indicated to you when you made eye contact with me that I was pulling in there!". He was such a fat idiot, I was so annoyed. He seemed so pleased with himself too - as if he'd really just done it to spite me.
Finally the last thing winding me up - today I was walking through Chatswood Station, and I had the mischance of spying a heavily pregnant lady. I have no issue with the fact that she was heavily pregnant. However I do have an issue with her wearing what were clearly her pre-pregnancy clothes. I have absolutely no interest in seeing a massive belly (that to me looks like an alien is residing in it) hanging out the bottom of a t-shirt and a butt crack poking out the top of trousers. If she cannot afford to purchase some suitable attire, how the hell does she expect to have the funds to feed, clothe and generally raise the child? Not only that, but people who are fat are ridiculed for not dressing to their size. Surely the same logic applies to pregnant people?? Perhaps I am a miserable grump (actually, I am certain I am today, given the foulness of my mood) - but I don't force people to look a my flabby belly and I would appreciate the same level of respect to be afforded to me, pregnant women of Chatswood.
- B xx
I forgot to write about this in my previous post - I had a run-in with the most spiteful, mean spirited man I've ever encountered. I was at the petrol station last week, and I'd gone round to the far pumps but then realised that reason no-one else was there was because they were out of order. It just so happened that there was a man finishing at one of the front pumps and there was no-one waiting to pull into the pump, so I waited till he left and then began to reverse in. Just as I started to move backwards, this evil fat man came flying in and pulled in. I motioned to him on his approach that I was moving in there to fill up, and even though we'd made eye contact, he pulled in anyway! I got out of the car and asked him if he was serious (I was so shocked you see, normally profanity would have come flying out my gob but I just could not believe it had happened!) and he simply said, "You should have indicated." to which I replied, "I did! I indicated to you when you made eye contact with me that I was pulling in there!". He was such a fat idiot, I was so annoyed. He seemed so pleased with himself too - as if he'd really just done it to spite me.
Finally the last thing winding me up - today I was walking through Chatswood Station, and I had the mischance of spying a heavily pregnant lady. I have no issue with the fact that she was heavily pregnant. However I do have an issue with her wearing what were clearly her pre-pregnancy clothes. I have absolutely no interest in seeing a massive belly (that to me looks like an alien is residing in it) hanging out the bottom of a t-shirt and a butt crack poking out the top of trousers. If she cannot afford to purchase some suitable attire, how the hell does she expect to have the funds to feed, clothe and generally raise the child? Not only that, but people who are fat are ridiculed for not dressing to their size. Surely the same logic applies to pregnant people?? Perhaps I am a miserable grump (actually, I am certain I am today, given the foulness of my mood) - but I don't force people to look a my flabby belly and I would appreciate the same level of respect to be afforded to me, pregnant women of Chatswood.
- B xx
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Hmmm…. It’s been a funny time. I’m trying hard to settle back into my routine – as you would be aware by now, I get quite OCD about what I eat, exercise etc. But 2010 seems to be a year of chopping and changing, no routine to speak of and generally feeling fat and bloated. I think it kind of comes with the territory of being in a new relationship – you want to enjoy fun times with that person and fun times often lead to eating out (or in my case, a Magnum Ego at every cinema outing).
This morning I went to the supermarket and it was SO hard not to buy a million things I know I should not eat. It was the age-old “don’t shop when you’re hungry” issue – yesterday I ate very few carbs so this morning I was STARVING. I ended up buying an All-day Breakfast – which consists of baked beans with sausages and some other non-descript bits of meat and is a whopping 72g of carbs in a can!! I ate some of it for breakfast and threw about 1/3 away. I knew as soon as I poured it out to heat it that I’d never get through it all. Also, as I was eating it I just felt pang after pang of regret (yet I continued spooning it into my jaw). Talk about bloody OCD!!
Things are going well with me and Mark. Perhaps a little too well… I have this self-sabotage issue that I really must either get over or not enter into any relationships with people. At times I get all weird and assume that something bad is going to happen – we’re going to have a massive fight, he’s going to confess he is married with 3 kids etc. This affects my behaviour and since Mark appears to be so bloody in-tune with me he picks up on it and wonders why I am so strange all of a sudden. I don’t see it coming, and I don’t realise I am doing it until right in the middle or after it has all blown over. He’s very good though – he seems to just take all my nuttery in his stride. I’m starting to suspect that he really LIKES me. ;o)
I’ve got a new trainer at Vision – Mr PT could not find time for me to have PM sessions which has worked out really well in the end. The new trainer is fantastic – I’ve always loved her, but now that I am training with her I realise that she is actually a fabulous PT too!! Where Mr PT simply lifted weights on and off machines for me, she actually corrects my form, pushes me to do things I am moaning about doing etc. I didn’t realise just how little I was getting out of my previous trainer – oh how blinded I was!
The past few weekends have been flat out and this weekend will be no exception. It’s my Mum’s birthday as well as Mark’s best mates birthday party, so I’ll be at that for a while then heading to dinner (I think – she still hasn’t made up her mind on what she is doing!) for Mum. It’s fun to have lots of things to do, but I do at times feel pulled in all sorts of directions. The other thing is that uni is taking a back seat (once again) and I can’t let that continue. It is no-one’s fault but my own – I need to stop committing to so many things. Mark and I talked about the possibility of me having quarterly barbecues at my place to catch up with everyone – I love the idea, but am not sure I can wait 3 months to see my friends all the time!
I've settled in quite well I think to being 27. Not much change from 26 really. I do feel substantially more responsible though which is good, but then I go and do things like forgetting to remind Mark to go to my house and feed Jeff this morning. This resulted in the poor pup not eating till about 10:30am. I'm sure he's fine - he eats dirt and slugs anyway so generally finds himself quite nourished.
On the subject of Jeff - he is packing about 15kgs these days! He is huge but still has the face and the energy of a little puppy. I love that he bounds around and is just always so happy. Yesterday we went out for a walk and he was really really good on the lead, and loved it when we ran along so I think he is going to be a great little running buddy for me. He's learning Stay too - he's very good at it, it took him a little while as he just wants to be under my feet all the time so finds it hard not to follow me, but now he'll sit at the door until I say OK! and then he comes running in. It's really aodrable.
- B xx
This morning I went to the supermarket and it was SO hard not to buy a million things I know I should not eat. It was the age-old “don’t shop when you’re hungry” issue – yesterday I ate very few carbs so this morning I was STARVING. I ended up buying an All-day Breakfast – which consists of baked beans with sausages and some other non-descript bits of meat and is a whopping 72g of carbs in a can!! I ate some of it for breakfast and threw about 1/3 away. I knew as soon as I poured it out to heat it that I’d never get through it all. Also, as I was eating it I just felt pang after pang of regret (yet I continued spooning it into my jaw). Talk about bloody OCD!!
Things are going well with me and Mark. Perhaps a little too well… I have this self-sabotage issue that I really must either get over or not enter into any relationships with people. At times I get all weird and assume that something bad is going to happen – we’re going to have a massive fight, he’s going to confess he is married with 3 kids etc. This affects my behaviour and since Mark appears to be so bloody in-tune with me he picks up on it and wonders why I am so strange all of a sudden. I don’t see it coming, and I don’t realise I am doing it until right in the middle or after it has all blown over. He’s very good though – he seems to just take all my nuttery in his stride. I’m starting to suspect that he really LIKES me. ;o)
I’ve got a new trainer at Vision – Mr PT could not find time for me to have PM sessions which has worked out really well in the end. The new trainer is fantastic – I’ve always loved her, but now that I am training with her I realise that she is actually a fabulous PT too!! Where Mr PT simply lifted weights on and off machines for me, she actually corrects my form, pushes me to do things I am moaning about doing etc. I didn’t realise just how little I was getting out of my previous trainer – oh how blinded I was!
The past few weekends have been flat out and this weekend will be no exception. It’s my Mum’s birthday as well as Mark’s best mates birthday party, so I’ll be at that for a while then heading to dinner (I think – she still hasn’t made up her mind on what she is doing!) for Mum. It’s fun to have lots of things to do, but I do at times feel pulled in all sorts of directions. The other thing is that uni is taking a back seat (once again) and I can’t let that continue. It is no-one’s fault but my own – I need to stop committing to so many things. Mark and I talked about the possibility of me having quarterly barbecues at my place to catch up with everyone – I love the idea, but am not sure I can wait 3 months to see my friends all the time!
I've settled in quite well I think to being 27. Not much change from 26 really. I do feel substantially more responsible though which is good, but then I go and do things like forgetting to remind Mark to go to my house and feed Jeff this morning. This resulted in the poor pup not eating till about 10:30am. I'm sure he's fine - he eats dirt and slugs anyway so generally finds himself quite nourished.
On the subject of Jeff - he is packing about 15kgs these days! He is huge but still has the face and the energy of a little puppy. I love that he bounds around and is just always so happy. Yesterday we went out for a walk and he was really really good on the lead, and loved it when we ran along so I think he is going to be a great little running buddy for me. He's learning Stay too - he's very good at it, it took him a little while as he just wants to be under my feet all the time so finds it hard not to follow me, but now he'll sit at the door until I say OK! and then he comes running in. It's really aodrable.
- B xx
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Thursday 4 February 2010
It’s been ages again! I’m so sorry Mel – not only had I not updated my blog for your reading pleasure, but then I’ve also missed several of your outraged phone calls to tell me to get onto it immediately! I promise to adhere to a stricter and more regular writing schedule in future. For the record, you are fine to go ahead and blame the new dude I am seeing.
Yes, I am seeing someone! It is still early days, possibly even too soon for him to receive a mention here, but it’s too late now. His name is Mark and he’s unsure whether he should read my blog or not. The dilemma this creates for me is that if I tell him not to read it I am sure, like most humans, that the temptation will be too much and he will sneak a peek. If I don’t tell him not to read it but I write something that I don’t want him to see, it is my own fault if he does see it since it is out in the public forum. I can’t think of what I might like to shout to the world via my blog that I wouldn’t want Mark to know, but nonetheless it has made me feel quite censored.
I’ve told Mr PT that I am not coming in any more once my current sessions in credit are used up. It is really costing me a lot of money and I think I can probably do a lot of the stuff myself, but the beautiful thing is that Mark was a PT until about 18 months ago for a couple of years so if I need someone to keep me honest and absolutely smash me during a workout I can totally get it for free! I think he will secretly enjoy it just a little too much, but as long as I stay fit and healthy I can deal with him taking immense pleasure at hammering me.
My decision to leave Vision has led to me being locked in a battle of wills with the studio director. He is convinced he is going to convince me to stay, but what he doesn’t understand is how hard this decision was for me and how long it has been brewing!! I love Vision – it helped me put my life back on track when I was miserable and fat. I firmly believe I would still be with my ex, someone that I shouldn’t have ever been with really, if I’d stayed in that destructive cycle of emotional eating. Only when I gained my confidence back after having been a porker for some years did I start to force change in our relationship, which led to our break-up when it became evident that we could never be happy together. But I can’t keep relying on someone else to force me to manage my health and fitness – I need to develop the skills and the willpower necessary to do it myself. If I don’t, then I’ve learnt nothing from Vision.
Jeff is getting massive now, but his little butt isn’t growing at all – it’s because I haven’t been taking him out for walks so I must start immediately. I love him SO much though – he is such a sweet, friendly little puppy. Today I am going to buy him a lamb shank! He found this massive broom under the deck and carried it all the way around the house and up the stairs to show me. Very cute!
It was my birthday earlier this week, I turned the big 2-7 but I'm telling people I am 25. I am well and truly freaking out about being too close to 30. That coupled with the fact that I will embarked on yet another shot at uni (my fourth I think) next week which will see me as a student for the next 8 years before hopefully a career change has got me looking at all areas of my life and trying to decide what I want to do, what I can keep on with through uni and if I really do actually want to do uni, or if I just don't feel passionate about certain areas of my life right now.
The Ark is coming along nicely - I've recently purchsed the CD's for the Punk Genres (New Punk and Old Punk) and I shall write up my thoughts once I've had a moment to listen to them.
I promise to not be so long between posts from now on. As you can probably tell, I have some exciting stuff going on in my life and big decisions that need making, so I might actually have some material to use on here soon!! ;o)
- B xx
Yes, I am seeing someone! It is still early days, possibly even too soon for him to receive a mention here, but it’s too late now. His name is Mark and he’s unsure whether he should read my blog or not. The dilemma this creates for me is that if I tell him not to read it I am sure, like most humans, that the temptation will be too much and he will sneak a peek. If I don’t tell him not to read it but I write something that I don’t want him to see, it is my own fault if he does see it since it is out in the public forum. I can’t think of what I might like to shout to the world via my blog that I wouldn’t want Mark to know, but nonetheless it has made me feel quite censored.
I’ve told Mr PT that I am not coming in any more once my current sessions in credit are used up. It is really costing me a lot of money and I think I can probably do a lot of the stuff myself, but the beautiful thing is that Mark was a PT until about 18 months ago for a couple of years so if I need someone to keep me honest and absolutely smash me during a workout I can totally get it for free! I think he will secretly enjoy it just a little too much, but as long as I stay fit and healthy I can deal with him taking immense pleasure at hammering me.
My decision to leave Vision has led to me being locked in a battle of wills with the studio director. He is convinced he is going to convince me to stay, but what he doesn’t understand is how hard this decision was for me and how long it has been brewing!! I love Vision – it helped me put my life back on track when I was miserable and fat. I firmly believe I would still be with my ex, someone that I shouldn’t have ever been with really, if I’d stayed in that destructive cycle of emotional eating. Only when I gained my confidence back after having been a porker for some years did I start to force change in our relationship, which led to our break-up when it became evident that we could never be happy together. But I can’t keep relying on someone else to force me to manage my health and fitness – I need to develop the skills and the willpower necessary to do it myself. If I don’t, then I’ve learnt nothing from Vision.
Jeff is getting massive now, but his little butt isn’t growing at all – it’s because I haven’t been taking him out for walks so I must start immediately. I love him SO much though – he is such a sweet, friendly little puppy. Today I am going to buy him a lamb shank! He found this massive broom under the deck and carried it all the way around the house and up the stairs to show me. Very cute!
It was my birthday earlier this week, I turned the big 2-7 but I'm telling people I am 25. I am well and truly freaking out about being too close to 30. That coupled with the fact that I will embarked on yet another shot at uni (my fourth I think) next week which will see me as a student for the next 8 years before hopefully a career change has got me looking at all areas of my life and trying to decide what I want to do, what I can keep on with through uni and if I really do actually want to do uni, or if I just don't feel passionate about certain areas of my life right now.
The Ark is coming along nicely - I've recently purchsed the CD's for the Punk Genres (New Punk and Old Punk) and I shall write up my thoughts once I've had a moment to listen to them.
I promise to not be so long between posts from now on. As you can probably tell, I have some exciting stuff going on in my life and big decisions that need making, so I might actually have some material to use on here soon!! ;o)
- B xx
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Sunday 3 January 2010
Let's get the formalities out of the way - Happy New Year everyone!! I can't believe it's 2010. Where does time go? Before I know it I'll be (insert age here). I think that covers the key cliches for this particular festivity though do feel free to comment and add some more - Mitch & Ria, I'm fairly sure you'll think up some clever ones to amuse me!!
I worked all the working days between Christmas and New Year, and though I had dreaded it, it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. There was a bit of stuff going on - I worked on a few jobs and handled a few queries but nothing massive. One of my temps who always talks around but never actually asks for more money tried to convince me that in the new job she is doing she is acting as the HR Manager because she is placing ads on Seek. I was a little cruel and let her go on for a lot longer than I normally would have - normally I would scoff, tell her not to be so ridiculous and a monkey could do that work and the conversation would turn to other issues. But this time I really let her talk it up before I told her she was being ridiculous. Now I agree with most people that it is hard to work out what HR Managers really DO - however I am certain that it is substantially more than placing ads on employment websites.
I made an executive decision and removed my ex & all his family from my Facebook friends on 1 Jan. It's not that I don't like them - his family are lovely. But I just don't want to keep looking back - we really have no common ground now, and the few conversations I have with my ex are very superficial and somewhat strained. It's obvious he's not particularly interested in a friendship with me, and that is absolutely fine - I have lots of wonderful friends! I don't really know what I am supposed to be to his family - I'll just always be that ex-girlfriend who keeps hanging around if I keep hanging around and I am definitely not that girl. So if any of you are reading this - I'm sorry if I hurt you by doing what I've done. And if you've just found out by reading my blog, I'm even more sorry!! It's not about you - it's about me and moving on and realising that to be the best I can be I have to keep looking forward. But I will always appreciate the time I had with you all. :)
I am currently reading Lance Armstrong's book, It's Not About the Bike. The man is an inspiration. I wikipedia'd him but it turns out he is happily in a relationship with someone who has had his child. My chances to wed him appear limited. Also, I can't ride a bike. So it may be that our relationship would be short-lived because I am just a little bit retarded. At one point about 6 weeks ago, I made my Facebook status "Bec is making a public commitment to learning to ride her bike before 31 Dec 2009". That date has now passed, some days ago. And still, I am unable to ride the bike. In fact, I did not even get the bike out of the garage after I wrote that status. It's just one of those things that is perpetually on my to-do list. I must learn this year. I've declared 2010 the Year of the Bec so maybe that means I'll acheive all those things I was too lazy/spastic/unco to do last year.
I've been playing a lot of Super Mario Bros on Wii with my youngest brother, Grant. When I say a lot, I mean up till 1am on school nights territory. It is addictive and exceedingly frustrating when we can't complete a level - the game gives you unlimited lives basically, so we just keep doing it over and over, often dying in the same spot time and time again. I've noticed some changes in the way I see things when I am not playing - for example, I find myself looking for turtle shells which may come careering towards me and knock me off the footpath, or make me shrink to half my current size. I look out for coins, and pipes I may be able to proceed down into hidden worlds. This happened to me when I was addicted to Mario Kart on Wii too - it completely took over my driving, I found myself experiencing strong urges to ram other drivers or shoot shells at them.
Must away to bed. This will be the first night in the last little while that my head hits the pillow before 1am!
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