The infamous Bec

Goodbye

2010-03-24T21:04:00.000+08:00

I haven't posted here in quite a long time, so time to fare thee well.
For anyone still around, I will still be posting at my main blog Crazy Lady Ramblings

The Bag Lady

2008-12-21T23:18:00.003+09:00

I got a little bored this evening and in light of my last post, I decided to take stock of my bags that I have.

Some of the bags in my collection - there were too many to photograph!

My favourite bag is the Celine - Mermaid by Spencer & Rutherford. This was my christmas present last year from Murray and we bought it from the S&R store in Melbourne. I was like a kid in a candy store!

The graduated blue bag with sequins is from Fiji. I love these colours and have a dress and sarong in matching colours. I last used it for my work christmas party.

The bottom right corner is my Guess collection - the bag is this years christmas present from my brother (Good job Ding!) and my two purses are from my two girlfriends Bron and Fee for Christmas/Bday presents in the last year.

The blue clutch at the top I actually bought for myself from Goia in Victoria Park. It is by Pratten and is actually made of Eel skin and feels gorgeous.

The red bag with the loveheart on the left is another S&R bag, this time it was a present for my birthday this year from Bron and Emily. My friends know me well - this has been a favourite of mine and I tend to take it along to the Wildcats games (for the red) and to restaurants (so I can keep it on the table with me).

My red and white polka dot bag was a cheapy that I picked up in Cairns on honeymoon - it matches a red polkadot/print dress that I own and is the perfect accessory when wearing my red shoes :)

Oooh and the bag second from the top and right is my current day bag - another S&R, the Estelle - Clam. I bought this for myself back in March and have used it daily ever since. It is the perfect tote bag, fits everything in while still looking fresh and not too bulky.

I am lucky enough to be getting another bag for my Christmas present from Murray (shhhhh - don't tell!) but I'm going to keep that a surprise until the day. It is very nice though (and not an S&R for once!)

My love for bags

2008-12-16T18:43:00.002+09:00

I don't know where I got my love of handbags from. My Mum has always been a shoe person, with more shoes than outfits in her wardrobe but I have size 11 feet so that didn't click with me. Being plus-sized, I have always been aware of my appearance, but have never been able to carry off the fashionable clothes that my slimmer friends could. Maybe this has manifested to the point where I know have the one-up on them in the area that really counts - bags!

While I hold an appreciation for the big names - Chanel, Gucci, Prada; I like nothing better than finding a gorgeous one-of-a-kind (or as close to it as I can get) bag that no-one else will have that makes me feel like a million bucks. I am a huge fan of Spencer & Rutherford bags, as well as Etiquette, which I have only just discovered, and happens to be designed by Mindy Mason who used to design for S&R - what a small world! The number of times I have been stopped and asked where my bag is from when carrying my S&R limited edition (Celine Mermaid) bag, well - let's just say it's a big confidence boost!

Sandra's wedding

2008-10-26T22:46:00.003+09:00

So the big day has come and gone. How was it? No comment really.

Even though the last year of our relationship wasn't the best, I was really looking forward to the day and excited for her. But I got treated like dirt. You know how at weddings there is always a guy that brings along his girlfriend, nobody knows her and you tend to ignore her? That's how I felt all day yesterday. Not going to get into. Yet anyway.

But for now, the important stuff - the fashion.

This is the dress that I really liked online

And this is what I wore on the day - My Anthea Crawford bargain.

Sandra's Hens Night

2008-09-20T22:44:00.004+08:00

I just got home from a long day out at my sister-in-law Sandra's hens day! We had a great time, the day started off with learning how to play bowls at Mosman Park Bowls Club overlooking the Swan River. We got a quick lesson from one of the guys and then off we went in our teams. I'd never played before but actually found it pretty fun and did really well! We ended up losing 4-5 but I picked up half our teams points which I was pretty proud of!

After bowls we went to the Queens Hotel in Mt Lawley and had a few drinks. Unfortunately we were sitting outside when it started to rain, so we headed across to dinner at Mykonos Cafe. We had some amazing food (and so much of it!) and I had Baklava for the first time - it tastes like carrot cake!

And now for some photos of the day :)

My outfit (very important!)

Having our bowls lesson

Enjoying the view

The grooms mother practicing her bowls skills

Enjoying a yummy dinner

The bride to be and I

Exercise junkie

2008-08-31T15:51:00.002+08:00

I am back onto my health and exercise kick, for the next three weeks at least.
I want to see how much I can change my body and improve my health over the next month. At some point (around 2-3 weeks time), I will need to stop exercising as a result of my IVF treatment.

Yesterday the (very small!) OCD part of me decided to pull every item of food out of our pantry, discard all high-fat and out of code food, and take a stocktake of everything we have to choose from. I've even created a section for snack food, that I can take anything from the shoebox (I found a use for all my empty boxes) and know that it is healthy for me to eat.

I am starting back on Calorie King which I think will help get me back into normal healthy eating habits. I have had a month where I have allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted and unfortunately I have ballooned out of control, eating copious amounts of junk food when I get stressed and putting on a heap of weight.

So from today I am back to looking after my body
I have borrowed a heart rate monitor from my work (it helps to work in the OSH area) and am going to record not only what exercise I do, but how long I work out for and what my average heart rate has been during that time.

So here goes for today...

Sunday
Exercise: 30 minutes weights - circuit, 10 minutes cross trainer.
Total exercise - 40 minutes, Average HR 139.

My dress

2008-08-03T12:44:00.002+08:00

I was too lazy last week to take a photo of 'the dress', after all that involves effort! I finally got my butt into gear today though to upload one - albeit a pretty dodgy pic, but you get the idea.

It has a chocolate brown satin slip underneath, and then a brown overlay with tan embriodery. It has a shirred section under the bust, which is where the satin tie ties up. I like the sash - it is quite thick and long, something which most dresses skimp on. The embriodery gets quite heavy at the bottom of the dress, and it finishes just below the knee. I'd never heard of Anthea Crawford, but needless to say, I am now a big fan.

The dress search is over

2008-07-29T22:51:00.002+08:00

Murray and I went late night shopping in the city on Friday and I finally found a dress to wear to Sandra's wedding. Scrap that - not a dress but 'the' dress. It's a chocolate brown Anthea Crawford design, RRP $550!!! Eek! Luckily it was on sale at Myer and I managed to pay only $210 - thank goodness for that!

To match the look I also bought some flat metallic shoes (I can't stand up in heels for long periods of time so it was easier to go for flats) and not one but two metallic handbags to choose from.

Photos on their way...

More dresses...

2008-07-02T19:35:00.005+08:00

Only 16 weeks until my sister-in-law gets married, so I need to step my dress game up! I went to the Every Woman Expo on the weekend at the convention centre, and came across Dream Dress Hire. They have some gorgeous Faviana dresses that I fell head over heels in love with, so I am definitely going to make an appointment to see what they can do for me.

Some more dresses that I like...

Boot Camp - Week Four

2008-05-23T21:53:00.002+08:00

Lucky me had a cold for most of this week, hence why I haven't updated on my boot camp session for the week. I managed to drag myself down to the Monday session but wasn't able to participate 100%. We did lots of jogging to warm up, then different weight exercises followed by more running - the same pattern as we have used in previous sessions.

We didn't have a training session on Thursday night. Instead we are going to Jacob's Ladder at Kings Park tomorrow morning bright and early, to do stair work! It's going to be a really tough workout but in a sick and twisted way, I'm actually looking forward to it!

In other news, I signed up to ongoing Personal Training sessions at my gym, on a flexi-basis in case I decide not to continue. Although I'm good at coming to the gym, I like having someone to push me hard and make sure I'm doing my weights right.

Boot Camp Session Six

2008-05-18T11:33:00.003+08:00

Hmmm, I actually can't remember what we did on Thursday night - how bad is that! It's slowly coming back to me... nope, it's gone. Maybe I blocked it out for a good reason :) The only thing I remember is LOOOOOOOOOOOTS of running!!!

But in another update, I had my weigh in yesterday morning and I am currently 100.6kg, so not too far until I get into double digits!

Boot Camp - Torture session number four and five!

2008-05-13T08:14:00.002+08:00

On Thursday I had my fourth boot camp session - we met at the greyhounds and went for a light jog to warm up. To get us started we divided into two teams and played a version of cricket, but everyone on the batting team had do to squats if you weren't batting, and the fielders had to continuously run!

Then we moved to do hill work, and oh my goodness, that's when the pain began! We split into pairs and one person had to wait at the top of the hill doing pushups while the other person sprinted down the hill, jog to a tree and then sprint back up and swapped with the other person. We did this for ten minutes but it felt like an eternity, our legs were burning! If we thought that was bad, we didn't know what we were getting ourselves in for. Then we all got into a line and were holding onto a rope. We had to do deep walking lunges up the hill, in time with everyone else. There were a few near falls and it hurt like hell, but it was also quite fun to do a bit of team work.

Yesterday was our fifth boot camp session, we are into week three - a third of the way through! Yesterday's focus was all stairs - eek! We jogged to the greyhound track, once again it was Bingo night so we had spectators! We had to run up this set of steps, go down them and then jog to a tree about 20 metres away, and then repeat for ten minutes. Then we had to do two steps a time instead of one - eek! My calves and thighs are killing me this morning!

We did a bit of jogging and partner work after that, but then we went back to the stairs for ten minutes to finish up, and then jogged back to the gym.

Already I can feel my fitness levels increasing, from never being able to jog or run, I can now jog for around ten minutes at a decent pace without stopping, and I keep up with all the body weight exercises like push ups. The weight is still coming off slowly, hopefully it keeps going!

Bad blogger

2008-05-08T17:42:00.002+08:00

Today is my fourth session of boot camp, but I still haven't updated on session three!

On Monday we arrived at the gym, ready to go and started the evening off with a jog to the greyhounds. When we got there, we discovered that Monday night at the grounds is also Bingo night! So half the oval is taken up by makeshift parking - great! We made the best of it though :-)

The group paired up and were placed at one of six stations around the oval. The idea was that one person did a sprint to the end of the oval and back, while the other person did one of six exercises- squats, walking lunges, crunches, the plank, tricep dips and push ups. When the team mate made it back to the station, you swapped over and did the opposite task. That took most of the session, and then we jogged back to the gym.

I had my gym weigh-in this morning and I am down to 101.6kg, down 800g from two weeks ago. Probably didn't help that I had pizza for lunch yesterday!!!

Am off to boot camp tonight, so will update on my latest venture shortly.

Boot Camp - Session Two

2008-05-04T21:26:00.002+08:00

I have been slack and not updated on my next boot camp session, so here goes :)

I arrived at the greyhound carpark just before the start time and most of the people were already there. We were presented with official boot camp shirts - will have to take a photo of it!

Once we changed into our new outfits, we warmed up by doing the 'beep test'. I was pretty scared of this, I'd been told how hard it was and they weren't wrong! I managed to get to level 5.3 and then gave up, I was so puffed out! One of the girls in the group managed to get to level eight which we all thought was pretty impressive!

After that we started doing running intervals. Run hard for 90 seconds, then recover for 90 seconds, and so on for about 30 minutes. Slowly the intervals went down to 60 seconds, then 30, 15 until we were finished - phew that was hard! I have borrowed a heart rate monitor from work and it was crazy to see me heart rate at 195 - pretty much the maximum heart rate for my age!

Next we jogged laps around this huge oval for 20 minutes. I didn't think I was going to be able to make it, a lot of the girls slowed to a walk for parts of it, but I managed to keep going even though I thought I was going to fall over! I was really proud of myself for being able to keep going. I was soaked in sweat at the end of it!

Lastly we warmed down with a walk around the oval and we were done, and not a moment too soon! I came home with this rush of endorphins; even though running and jogging is hard work, I get this huge sense of achievement from doing it.

Oh yeah, we also came up with a team name - the hardcore princess! I think the tiara's will be coming out in the coming weeks!

Boot Camp - Day One

2008-04-29T23:29:00.002+08:00

So I officially started Boot Camp on Monday night!

It wasn't actually that difficult, being the first day we had a lot of paperwork to fill out and did our first weigh in and body measurements. Then we did our fitness tests - we had to run for a whole kilometre on the treadmill! Considering I have never run that far before I think I did pretty well. I occasionally try and do 1 minute intervals, but this was hard! I managed to do it in 7:38 which I'm pretty happy with, it was a lot faster than some of the other girls in the group.

LOL you can hear my competitive nature coming out now, I don't mind not being the best in the group, as long as I'm not the worst!!! Then we had to count how many push-ups we could do in one minute and I managed 40. Don't ask how I did that because I have no clue. My Personal trainer will be very happy with me :)

The last task was to see how long we could hold 'the plank' for. I managed around 45 seconds, can't remember exactly, but it was around the average for the group. We ran out of time for our last test - the beep test? I've heard of it but never actually done it before, it sounds quite scary really! So we will do that to warm up at our next session.

Speaking of the next session, it is on Thursday 6:30pm at the Cannington Greyhound racetrack carpark. A little birdy told me that they have a BIIIIGGGGG staircase there, so I imagine lots of stairs and running is involved! Although I'm scared sh*tless, I'm perversely quite excited about it all.

Wish me luck!

Can you tell I'm bored?

2008-04-29T21:07:00.001+08:00

I've finished getting up to date with all my blogs in Google Reader, and stumbled across a typing test. What the heck...

82 words

Speed test

How did you go?

The weight diaries

2008-04-24T14:52:00.005+08:00

So I start boot camp on Monday and I thought that I should do some sort of before and after photo thing for my blog. You know, the sort you see on late night infomercials from those people who only do 5 minutes exercise a day yet have rock-hard abs?

This is the photo I used for my motivation last May, when I was at my heaviest. At the time of taking these photos I weighed 116.5kg. Seeing myself in these photos, along with my infertility diangosis, was the trigger for me joining the gym and starting to get my weight under control.

Some photos of me now at 102.4kg (Official weigh in from Tuesday)

Hopefully in eight weeks I will be able to show some more photos of the new and improved (and much slimmer) version of me!

Getting into shape

2008-04-16T21:25:00.002+08:00

I've been trying to get myself back into shape lately, with my first task being to head to the gym more often. I have bumped up my personal training sessions to twice a week instead of my usual single Saturday session. I have also signed up for boot camp which starts on April 28- I am packing myself! There are two sessions a week, Monday and Thursday evenings and the sessions are held outdoors in groups - scary stuff!!!

I am also doing the 'Simplicity' program through my gym (Fernwood) which makes me weigh in each week and get my measurements taken every four weeks. Since I started five weeks ago, I have lost 3.6kg which I think is pretty good, as well as 17cm off my measurements. Already my clothes are fitting me better, and I am so close to that magical 100kg mark - only a kilo or two to go! Considering I started my journey at 116.5kg in May last year, I am really happy with my progress. My ideal weight would be 80kg, but I am happy to work slowly towards that.

Bronwyn & Paul's wedding

2008-04-08T21:25:00.007+08:00

Murray and I got to go to my gorgeous friend Bronwyn's wedding on the weekend. Here are some pictures of the day. (Warning - my camera had a spac attack so some of the photos aren't the best quality)

Bronwyn & Paul in the church

The happy couple

Bron relaxing at the reception

Murray & I hamming it up for the cameras

My costume change for the reception :)

My gorgeous husband.

Designing a dress

2008-04-01T14:30:00.008+08:00

I've been feeling off colour the last couple of days so I didn't go into work today to try and rest up and hopefully feel better. There is only so much sleeping one can do though so I thought I'd continue updating my blog with some new things.

My husbands sister is getting married in October and I've decided that I'm going to get a dress made for the big day. I've been browsing through a number of websites to get a feel for what I want, but I am so conflicted. Fingers crossed I will be pregnant by the wedding, so I should also have a maternity dress option available.

I want a formal dress that is different from anything other people will wear. Not
too bridesmaid-like either. It was made quite clear that I'm not a bridesmaid! (Sorry, it's still a sore point!) I would prefer a colour rather than black, but I guess it depends what style I go for.

I love the straps on this dress, and that it turns into a bow at the back. Maybe the chiffon material could be a contrasting colour to the rest of the fabric?

Or I could go for something more like this. I think this is a pretty common style at the moment though, I probably would like something a little different.

As above, it may be too common a style. I think I'd also like something with straps, strapless can have the tendency to make me look even bigger than I already am.

I love the trumpet skirt on this and the brooch and bow at the back are just gorgeous. Wish I could see what it looks like from the front!

A maternity dress option

Stuff

2008-03-24T18:34:00.005+09:00

I realised that I have neglected this blog of late, so I thought it high time that I posted some more nonsensical stuff from my life.

The latest additions to my bag collection

Spencer & Rutherford, Cosmic Express Luggage Collection

Spencer & Rutherford Bamboo Handbag (My current day bag)

And my Christmas Present - Spencer & Rutherford Celine bag in Mermaid

My hearts desire... Spencer & Rutherford Natasha Sea Star bag. (At $578 though, I think it will remain in my head and heart and not in my closet)

A good night

2007-11-16T22:41:00.000+09:00

Had a lovely night tonight. Murray and I went out for dinner to Matilda's Cafe in Victoria Park on the spur of the moment. Oh my goodness, it was soooo good! We had a great time just relaxing and talking about the last couple of days. I had a conference in Mandurah on Wednesday & Thursday so it was good to catch up on everything that's been going on.

On the work front, the conference went well, although I am getting a little worked up over what's going on within the branch. There is a lot of movement within the branch, job descriptions being changed, people moving positions, new positions being created. I wasn't going to mention some of this in case people from work come across my blog, but to be honest, I don't really care anymore. I need to get out how I'm feeling. I had a meeting with my boss 'C' two weeks ago who started telling me about the new direction my position was going to take and that my 'lifestyle choices' (ie - IVF and trying for a baby) mean that the position wouldn't be suitable for me as a lot of time away from home is necessary. She then suggested that I take either a position outside of the branch (uhh, I work in OH&S, there is only one OH&S branch???) or take the Executive Officer position, which is effectively the branch administrator with a small project role. I am a Project Officer, no admin at all currently. I have agreed to taking the role but I'm not happy about it. I feel like I've been pressured into this. I got told that if I decided to stay in my current role, that they would 'honour my current contract (til June 2008) but wouldn't extend it past then. That's crap! Am not happy about all of this but don't feel like I have many options, I am trying for a baby, I don't want to go into private industry because it's not a family friendly option, but at the same time I don't want to move into admin work, I still want to develop my career.

Yucky hot weather

2007-11-13T18:21:00.001+09:00

I've been feeling off colour today and didn't go into work. It's been ridiculously hot for November, 40 degrees yesterday, apparently I have heat exhaustion even though I haven't been out of the house. Have had headaches and been horribly nauseus since I woke up but am feeling marginally better now.

I have a conference in Mandurah on tomorrow & Thursday so it's an early start tomorrow, just what I need after feeling so crappy.

Recent pics

2007-11-11T22:52:00.000+09:00

Thought I'd brighten up my blog with some photos from today.

Me at the beach this morning

Murray and I chilling out beachside
(As you can see, Murray is taking part in Movember!)

And a wedding photo- can't believe it has been two years already!

Wedding Anniversary

2007-11-11T16:18:00.000+09:00

It's our second wedding anniversary tomorrow, I can't believe that two years has come so quickly! We went out for breakfast in Fremantly this morning to celebrate, breakfast wasn't great but the view was just gorgeous. It was a really hot day in Perth today, in fact it's still 36 degrees, so we decided to go down the beach for a bit. After lazing in the sun and collecting a few shells, we headed to Harbour Town to do a spot of shopping. Between us we managed to buy four outfits, three pairs of shoes and some very yummy gelati! It was so nice to be able to go out and just do whatever we felt like. Happy wedding anniversary baby! xxx

My new baby!

2007-11-07T20:42:00.000+09:00

I am very excited to introduce my new baby... a 2001 Peugeot 307!!! Am yet to name her but will let you take a sneak peek anyway. Just need the finance to come through from our home loan but am very happy with the purchase!

I HATE the dentist!

2007-11-07T14:23:00.001+09:00

I had to go to the dentist this morning for two fillings and all I can say is OUCH! The anaesthetic has long worn off and I'm in sooooo much pain. I've just taken a Panadol so hopefully they will kick in soon! It serves me right for not going to the dentist more reguarly, I haven't been since high school. I went in for my free scale and clean with HBF and when my X-rays came back they said I need FIVE fillings, one for every year I haven't visited the dentist. I wont make that mistake again! So today I have had two fillings, then I have another two fillings in two weeks time, and one last filling next month sometime. AARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Work

2007-11-05T23:23:00.000+09:00

Strange things are going on at work at the moment and I may be changing positions in the near future. I don't want to say much more than that in case somebody comes across my blog, but I'm really confused and don't know what to do. None of the options are what I want but the alternative is leavinga group of people that I have a really close bond with. Just more stress that I don't need.

Hence all the baking, my stress therapy!

Tonight project

2007-11-05T23:12:00.000+09:00

Okay, I know, this is getting ridiculous.

But here is my latest project from tonight - I made TWO sponge cakes, one for Murray's Melbourne Cup lunch and one for mine.

The baking queen!

2007-11-04T23:06:00.000+09:00

I got a bit bored this evening so I started flicking through some of my old cookbooks and got inspired! I decided to steer away from my usual favourites and try my hand at a couple of recipes I haven't made before. Here are my creations for the evening...

Number 1 - Butterfly cakes!

And Number 2 - Gingerbread Men!

Murray is VERY happy with this sudden baking frenzy!

Happy Birthday Fee!

2007-11-03T11:29:00.001+09:00

It is my gorgeous friend Fiona's birthday today (Happy birthday Fee!) so we headed over to their place earlier this morning and had the yummiest breakfast ever! They did a big cookup of bacon, eggs, sausages, mushrooms, tomatos and toast - a lovely way to start the day off! I got lots of hugs from Mia who is just growing up so quickly! I keep teasing Fee that she is going to start running around any day now and going to cause her so much trouble!

On our way home, we stopped in at a cake decorating store to buy some bits and pieces for a project I'm working on, and saw a sign for cake decorating classes. I've been trying to convince Murray for a little bit for me to take classes so it was perfect timing! So my christmas present from Murray is all sorted, I'm taking beginner classes from next February - YAY! I'm also thinking of doing a general cooking class near my work to make some more gourmet, but still healthy meals.

Tomorrow is Murray's parents 30th wedding anniversary - what a long time! Murray sister Sandra, her partner, Murray's parents and us are going our for lunch at the Atrium in Burswood to celebrate which should be lovely. I get along quite well with Murray's parents, although there have definitely been some low points along the way!

That's my weekend planned, our friend Steve might be coming around for a few drinks, and the good ole 'B-Rocket' may make an appearance (don't ask!) once the cocktails start flowing! I think I'd better go and get some rest so I don't fall asleep tonight!

First post

2007-10-30T23:44:00.000+09:00

I've decided to start a new blog to try and keep my other blog strictly for my infertility journey. Obviously there is cross-over at times, actually a lot of the time, but I would hate for someone to visit my IF page and see pictures of my niece or nephew and for that to hurt. I know how much that could hurt me when I'm fragile, so this blog is going to be dedicated to the normal stuff - work, family, friends, parties, you know the so-called 'normal' part of me!

So here goes!