Uber,uber,uber quick update!

I finally am starting to feel (after nearly 3 weeks!) that this chest infection is going away and I'll be able to hit the gym soon.About time too,as I've managed to gain 2 lb's in these 3 weeks.

On Monday I'll hopefully also be hearing some good news work wise,so keep your fingers,toes crossed and send me some good vibes :D

That's all for now,as I am off to enjoy a decadent Sunday with my gorgeous man.

xox

I'm still here!

Still coughing my lungs up,and still missing the gym.

It's been an eventful weekend.My German grandmother passed away peacefully in her sleep at the fantastic age of 91.We knew it was coming and she was tired of life and just wanted to join her beloved again.I can't even imagine the things she would've seen in her life and to have gone 25 years without her love by her side.

It wasn't so much of a shock as Om Ondos and to be honest,I wasn't as close to her as I would like to have been.She was so typically German and when we visited her or she visited us,she always kept us at arms length as she was afraid of getting too close and therefore making it harder to say goodbye and be so far apart.I never understood it and it's such polar opposites to my Indonesian grandmother.You would think being so far apart would make you more determined to forge a closer bond and make the most of the time spent together.I'm just happy we got to see her one last time,last summer and she got to meet the man who has made her oldest grand daughter so deliriously happy.

Speaking of which,it was his 36th birthday yesterday.Lucky B*d looks not a day over 25 and still gets ID'd.We had a wonderful night celebrating with a BBQ with his twin sister and her partner, and his niece.

A good time was had by all but I am totally paying for it now.Didn't even have the energy or will to go and weigh myself.Hopefully this illness is on it's way out and I'll be back to operation pin up girl-gym bunniness again!

Uber Quick update

I lost a pound this week! Would have been happy with just a STS due to no gym and not particularly good but not completely crap eating so uber pleased.

Then I came home to a cheeky note from one of my flatmates about housework.She's been unemployed since January and basically needs to GET A LIFE!!!!! Or even better still,a F*%KING JOB!!!!!!!!! Just what you want to read after a 60 hour week and when you're still feeling like crap.I will always put my hands up and admit that I am not the tidiest,most organised person,but when it comes to communal areas,I do my share and stick to the cleaning rota.This note was basically talking crap!

It's hard enough sharing with 2 others,even though we do get along 99% of the time.I just miss having the flat to myself at times especially when one is unemployed.She's just always there.My heart sinks a little when I climb up all my stairs and open the door and see her keys on the hall table.It's really been getting on my tits lately.I'm lucky enough that I have the biggest room with a telly,DVD,laptop etc. to keep me sane and entertained.

I'm so freaking over flat sharing.I wish I had the money to afford my own place or for the Scotsman and I to finally move overseas,but alas,that's the situation till at least next July,so frustrating.

I'm sure these bitchy feelings will all pass,but in the meantime,how do you cope with flatmates?

I'm off to peruse my new Nigella cookbook 'Kitchen,recipes from the heart of the home',just arrived today.Nigella always cheers me up :D

Bleuch.Sickness!

Ugh! How can I feel so ill when I've been so healthy!

I feel horrible and as such haven't been to the gym since last Tuesday...........OK,that's more to the fact that I've been either working sleepover shifts or getting horrendously drunk.This head cold is not at all alcomohol related,I swear.I've been feeling like shite since Tuesday hence me being MIA.

Normal blogging will commence shortly.

In the meantime,I've been sticking to my September challenge and whipped up some super easy soups........

Carrot and ginger - Chop carrots and some fresh ginger,I left the skin on my carrots for extra goodness.Boil in stock and blend.Simples.

Sweetcorn - Boil some corn (I used frozen as I had that on hand) in your chosen stock and blend.

To sum up August

* I have (shock - horror - the sky is falling) joined a gym...........for a year.
* Even more shocking I am loving it and the feeling of pushing myself that wee bit further.In fact I haven't been since Tuesday and I miss it.
* My asthma is improving already and i no longer need a tank of oxygen after I climb the stairs to our 3rd floor flat.
* 4 colleagues have noticed I've lost weight.
* I've lost 1 stone 1lb/7kg/15 lb's.
* I've been asked out by a very handsome and polite gent (his approach was to hold the door of a shop open for me and offer to carry my basket,even though he wasn't going in) total boost for the ego and self esteem.
* Walking an hour to walk at the sickeningly early hour of 7 am is becoming habit.
* Eating cleanly and 5 portions of fruit and veg is now habit (with the odd croissant and Vodka thrown in for good measure).
* Mentally I feel more like my happier,laid back Aussie self.

Generally,I just I feel damn GOOD!

Without wanting to sound like a cheesy Nike ad........

Image courtesy of Things We Forget

Blog awards continued

4. MY GORGEOUS WEE SISTER,NATEY - There's 7 years difference between us and like the Scotsman we are total opposites.The Scotsman and I joke that he's with the wrong sister,she's much more suitable for him :P Joking aside,she' moved over here a year ago and it's made living over here so much easier.I LOVE our sister time spent together,watching cheesy films,cocktail nights or window shopping at posh stores - Louboutins for me and Chloe bags for her.Having a sister is so awesome.

Yeah,she's like Zoolander.She can only do the one pose,in the one direction

5. TATTOOS - I got my first when I was 21 and since have collected 7 from around the world.They each have a special meaning to me and signify different stages in my life.

6. COOKING AND BAKING - I'm a total foodie,hence my current predicament.Dad is a chef and is your typical German-strong-like-an-Ox build.Food is a huge part of Indonesian culture,so this combination has led to total epicurean tendencies.

Excuse the horrendous appearance - that was my annual Christmas baking box and spring rolls production


7.GOOD OLD ROCK N ROLL - When I was a teenager I harboured dreams of becoming a female rocker as good as Slash.Unfortunately I am completely tone deaf and not at all musically inclined so those fantasies have to be lived out in my head whilst rocking out on the Elleptical to various rock and metal on my Ipod

8.THE 40's AND 50's - James Dean was my dad's hero and mum loved all the classic films,so maybe that's where this fancy started.I can't remember,but I've always loved the classic films and styles of the 40's and 50's.The hair,make up,dresses,peep toe heels and total ladylike elegance of the ladies who could still cut a man down with a sharp one liner.I remember on the weekends back home there would always be a classic film on the telly in the afternoon.Ms Monroe,Marlene Dietrich,Bette Davis and Ava Gardner would be the favourites if I had to choose.

9. FLOWERS - It runs in the family.All the women...........and some of the men,mostly on my Indo side,love wearing bright coloured,flower print batik and flowers in their hair,on their wrists,around their necks etc..The brighter and more colourful,the better.I'm a little obsessed with Frangipani's.In fact I just got a parcel of more frangi bracelets delivered today.I can't leave the house without a flower in my hair or in my ears - even when working.As I can't wear any jewellery to work,and make up is no point as with the amount of physical work we do it would just sweat off or get ruined anyways,it's my one concession to glamour.I guess it's also my way of brightening up my Glasgow days a little.

Mum looking beautiful in traditional batik dress
She's missing a flower though.

10. TIGERS - Just my favourite animal.I could spend hours at Edinburgh zoo watching them.

Phew,so there you have it.Now there are so many blogs that I regularly read and love,like Emma, Rapunzel, Roo,Tully and Joy as well as the 3 afore mentioned ladies.So I'm going to give this to some new ladies who's blogs you should absolutely check out...........

* Claire - She's a fab and witty Irish lady living in Spain.Love it!

* Roxie - Awesome blog of another lady getting healthy and fabulous

* Ina and Ulrika are both Finnish and both write beautiful blogs about their lives and vintage - Rockabillyness.Wonderful photos

* Neen - is Scottish and has lost an inspiring 3 stone so far.Really fun blog.I like the way she writes.

* Florrie - has lost a whole heap of weight already and writes a really funky,colourful,fun blog

I know that's not 10,but I really need to clean up my reading list - way to long to sift through,lot's of blogs that unfortunately have fallen by the wayside.

Thanks again for everyone that's reads my ramblings.xox