Category Archives: 2012 Bucket List

Blame It On The Cards

Yesterday I had my second last Bootcamp session. It was a killer. Every part of my body hurts, my knees are feeling especially sorry for themselves. You know what though, I feel good. I feel really good.

9 weeks ago I wouldn’t have been able to do as much as I did yesterday, I would have been walking between sets after only a couple of sets, whereas today I ran between most of them, it was only the last few where exhaustion was starting to win out.

Over the last 9 weeks Princess Pain has mixed up our sessions, no two have been the same, there’s been cardio, strength, boxing, lots of sweat, some very red faces and at times a bit of swearing. Yesterday’s session was all about the pack of cards.

Princess Pain had a pack of cards, she shuffled it at the start and that set our plan for the session. Each card had an exercise on it, including Burpees, planks, push ups, step ups, mountain climbers, dips, and the number on the card determined how long you would do that activity or how many reps. The first one she pulled out was step ups on a 6, this meant we had to start with 60 seconds of step ups. Not a great start to the session! As we groaned our way through Princess Pain simply replied ‘it’s not me, it’s the cards!’.

And on and on it went, through 14 jump squats, 15 dips, 60secs of plank etc, etc for a full hour. It was a major workout. Each time she turned over a card and read out the set I groaned, but sucked it up and did it. At the end of the session I even asked what the session times were for next term, I’m that keen to keep going.

You see I’ve always had a thing about exercise, it’s not my favourite thing but I know I need to do it and once I’m in the groove I secretly love it, I love the endorphin hit is gives me, I love the small changes I start to see in my body and in myself, I start to have more energy, more happy moments and if I keep it up I get to go shopping for new clothes!

One added benefit over the last few sessions is the positive message that my Muddy Organiser is picking up, she’s come to the last few sessions and seen me exercising, she’s been asking questions about why I’m exercising and what it does and what each activity does. I feel great being able to set a nice positive example about exercise for my Muddy Kids, one I hope to be able to continue. I’m not sure how we’ll go through winter with the late evenings and the cold air, but I’ll give it a shot to make sure I keep going, because the benefits far outweigh my grumbles and groans!

What’s your favourite bit about exercise?
Do you exercise with your kids?

I so want to show you photos!!

But I can’t!
I’m still computerless(not sure it’s really a word!) the computer doctor says it’s able to be saved, thank goodness, but will still be away for a little while. Things happen a bit more slowly in the country.

So anyway, I digress, Saturday night Muddy Hubby and I headed out to the 2828 Dinner Under The Stars. This was the tenth year they’ve held the dinner and I don’t think they’ve had to have it indoors once. Friday night we had 61mm of rain, our road was quite literally a river, the water had nowhere to go except straight down our road. We got all frocked up, loaded up the kids for drop off at Muddy Grandma’s for a sleepover and headed out in the water to make sure we made it to the dinner, whether it was inside or not!

You know what, the sun came out, it shone happily until sunset and kept the evening balmy and lovely. They had gone with an Oscars theme this year, which meant everyone was looking amazing, blokes in suits and bow ties, ladies all frocked up, and excitement in the air.

There were some great photo opportunities, but unfortunately they passed me by! One of the highlights for me was definitely Les Schirato, the CEO of Vittoria Coffee. This is an Australian Company, that sells 1.6 million cups of coffee a day!! They are a family run business and he was utterly charming and entertaining and was happy to have a laugh at himself. You can check out a send up on their ads made by one of our MC’s on YouTube, you just type in ‘Dinner Under The Stars 2012’. Al Pacino made a series of ads for Vittoria Coffee, and they’re the only ads he’s ever done, being a serious actor and all! The YouTube send up is our country version.

What amazed me though was that Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world after Oil! This is a legal addictive substance and it is traded worldwide on a phenomenal basis.

The 2828 began as a community building and has grown into an amazing story. It helps the local community and provides traineeships for local Aboriginal students. The Cafe itself is run by community volunteers and TAFE students. The staff are all trained as Baristas by Vittoria Coffee, and it has a great range of giftware. You can read more about the story of 2828 here and if you’re ever traveling through I absolutely recommend stopping for a coffee and a bite to eat!

The Dinner Under The Stars is their major fundraiser for the year and as well as the dinner and dancing they had a number of auction items and Bon bons with prizes. I didn’t come home with anything much to Muddy Hubby’s delight, but I had a great night. I only wish I could show you photos!!!

Do you have a hidden gem like the 2828 in your area?
Is there a highlight on your social Calendar?

Time to get my Frock on!

Hooray for March! It’s here! At last it’s here. This month gives me the opportunity to frock up not once, not twice, not three times, but FOUR times! Two Weddings, One Ball and One Fabulous Tenth anniversary ‘Dinner Under the Stars’. Three of these will be child free events, this is almost unheard of in our house. Can you tell I’m just a teeny bit excited?!?! I think I’m already socially excited and the events haven’t even started.

The opportunity to talk to adults uninterrupted, to start and end a conversation without having to tend to the Muddy Kids Inbetween and come back to the conversation only to forget where you left off. The chance to admire Muddy Hubby all decked out in a suit and smelling of something other than sheep or engine oil. One morning to have the chance to sleep in. Three chances to not have my clothes pulled on or spewed on, or covered in sticky finger marks.

Don’t get me wrong I love taking my kids with me to places and sharing in exciting events with them, but I’m feeling ready for something different. Some Muddy Hubby and Me time, some adult company time, a glimpse into ‘oh yes I am still a person under all those children and piles of washing‘ time. I can safely say October was the last time I got all frocked up and I had a six week baby in tow, so not exactly a relaxing evening!

I have been feeling a little chaotic, a little unsettled, I’m hoping that some Frocking up time will help recharge my batteries and get me back on track, Help me remember I have some mojo in there that keeps me going each day!

Do you love getting dressed up and heading out for some child free time as much as I do?
What’s your favourite outing for you and Hubby?

Big Tick!

So at the start of the year I put on my bucket list that I wanted to do a Digital SLR Photography Course. I had no idea how on earth I was going to accomplish this, as the closest course was 100km away and ran for 6 consecutive weekends. There was no way I could guarantee Muddy Hubby would be around to look after the kids, let alone that I’d have the energy to commute the 200km for six weekends in a row.

One weekend after a day of fencing we stopped in at the local pub (5km down the railway line) for an ice cream with the kids. A special treat for Muddy Preschooler’s last day as a ‘preschooler’. I noticed a sign on the back of the pub door with a beautiful photo as background. They were running a Digital SLR Photography course at my local pub! A one day course that covered everything I wanted, run by the same person who runs the ones 100km away – SCORE! I signed up Muddy Hubby for Daddy duties with 2 of the tribe and organised a friend to look after the other 2 kids, and signed myself up for the course.

On Saturday morning I was so excited, I’d charged my camera batteries, made sure I had my lenses ready, packed my notepad and pen, just like starting school! As usual it was a morning rush, and I made it to the pub with just seconds before start time.

I wanted to know how to make the photos that I take better, what makes a ‘nice’ photo into a ‘great’ photo? How do I give a photos like the one below the ‘wow’ factor?

I know I expected miracles in a one day course! But that’s the kind of person I am, I expect the best and want to know it all at once. I didn’t learn absolutely everything there is to know about SLR Cameras or everything there is to know about taking photos. I did however learn what a lot of the buttons and dials on my camera do, as well as what the numbers on the display all mean (a good start really). I learnt a bit about the composition of photos, taking portraits and landscapes, the photos I would take the most of. We are trying to talk the presenter into coming back one night and presenting on night photography, and maybe doing a refresher.
The most important thing I did learn though was the best way to work out which settings work best for your camera and what makes a good shot, is to get out there and take photos, thousands of photos. When you take a photo that has that ‘wow’ factor, right down the settings you had on your camera so you can remember them and use them again (I actually think my camera saves them with the photo, so I can go back and look), rather than forget what dial you changed or button you pressed like I usually do!
To help with this I’m aiming to take more photos EVERY day and I’m going to put them up on here so you can let me know what you think, what works, what doesn’t, what you like about a photo or don’t like, what it’s missing!
How are you going with your Resolutions or Bucket Lists for 2012?
Have you ticked any off yet?
How do you take photos, do you snap away like me or sit waiting for that perfect sunset for 2 hours like our instructor?