The last couple have days have seen the exercising continue along the same path, at a decent level for now. On Wednesday i swung the kettlebell and it felt better than ever, for the first time I felt my abs snapping properly. I will be back on it tonight and hope that i can continue where i left off.
Last night I went out cycling and came across mechanical problems, my gears were playing up, then my back brake started rubbing up against the wheel. This stopped me from going in full flow, and It will need to be looked at again. But the workout was still good, and i worked up a sweat. It felt tough to start with but got better as i went on, one hill i climbed wasn't as hard as i expected, maybe that means there has been progress.
My mum gave me a scare yesterday, she had taken medication for a heat rash which made her drowsy. She then went hypo. i tried phoning her in the morning but when i got no answer just assumed she was at the shops. But she was fine, the carer found her and gave her glucose, and no damage was done. And she wont be taking more of those tablets!!!

A new me?

The last two nights have seen me continue the activities. Monday I swung the kettlebell, then cut both the front and back lawn. The sun was shining and everything was good. My mood has been lifted by my new active self. Lat night I went out on the bike for 40 minutes round Bridge of Don. The rain never let up, and i was drenched within 5 minutes of being out, but that didn't put me off, if anything I enjoyed it even more. I really am getting into this biking, though my bike continues to cause me concern. Nothing much, i just don't have too much faith in it, and have to hold back a little, maybe a good thing.
Tonight it is back onto the kettlebell, hopefully for a full session. I have just had a call that Aisha has diarrhoea so I will need to dig out my doctors uniform!!
Work continues to frustrate. I am now geared up to pushing my CV out at the Oil and Gas Exhibition in September, where hopefully the market will have picked up. At the moment there just isn't jobs out there and i have to be grateful i have a job myself!!

a good weekend

Saturday morning was very busy at work, some hard graft moving archive boxes worked up a sweat. The afternoon was spent eating popcorn and watching Alvin and the Chipmunks with Aisha. Saturday night we watched Cass, a decent movie and slightly different from the usual football hooligan films where the filmed based itself on Cass' life, not just his hooligan days and tried to give you an insight into the mans life. All these genre films miss something and this film was no different. I cant put my finger on what, maybe i just don't believe the characters that much. For me that scene was very heavily influenced by fashion but this was bypassed in the film as was the music. Nut not bad in all, 6 out of 10.
on Sunday we went in past for my mum and headed up to Turriff. It has a great park with a duck pond, so we took some bread with us to feed them. We were lucky in that the rain stayed off while we were at the park, as it was on for the rest of the day. we stopped off in Ellon for a cup of tea before heading home.
Two things stood out for me this weekend, both related to food. On Saturday we had fajitas. Usually i would eat until everything was finished. this time i stuck to having two, leaving the rest for Sunday. Also when we went to Ellon Aisha wanted Chips. She got a huge plate full. Normally I would have more than helped her finish. Today I didn't have one. I did have a hot chocolate, but the point was i changed my habit. Only a small step, but one in the right direction.
Tomorrow i have a course that doesn't start until 9am, so instead of having longer in bed i plan to get out on the bike again.

Tonight I went out on my bike in the pissing rain. Friday night and i am out on the bike. A definite change in attitude. With a hard stressful day at work behind me the usual routine would have been to come home ranting then to kick back with a few beers. Tonight i wanted to avoid that, even though its been raining hard all day and hadn't let up at night i decided to get out. I returned home wet, tired, out of breath but happy. Not with the amount of good the bike run had done me, but the fact I had crossed the line and made the effort. The effort to change my life.
I decided to go off road and follow a path down by the river don, not the best idea as it was waterlogged and the shrubbery was wild, covering my path, but i still came home with a smile on my face. Not a big smile, as the thighs were burning and my chest felt tight, maybe more an inner smile!!

a good few days

the last two nights have been good for the exercising, i went cycling again on Wednesday and had the kettlebell out last night. when out on the bike i went down to the track and timed myself. I done 400m in 1 minute flat. Yes I know, top athletes could run faster than that, but it gave me a benchmark to compare against. As the weeks follow i can test myself and get that time down. The kettlebells also coming along good, i think i have my technique for the swings right, it certainly feels good. I can feel the benefit in my thighs, and today i have no tightness.
This week so far has been by far the best for not giving in to temptation and eating junk food. I had some wine gums on Wednesday and that has been it. I even bought chocolate mousse for the girls at work and didn't have any myself. When they were eating chicken curry with chips today, i was eating a panini. when Kim scoffs chocolate at home I have a piece of fruit.
I keep reminding myself to keep the momento going...........

on yer bike

i went out on the bike last night and it felt really good, the night was calm and cool, though my thighs felt tight after the kettlebell workout the night before. I came across a running track not far from my house which i had completely forgot about. This will be good when i get into running and cycling more to measure the distances i am covering, and also with interval training, where i can sprint for a lap, then jog for a lap.
I have been running my dads car for the last week with a view to buying it. My car is costing money each month in repairs, and mum was looking to sell there car. Its a fiesta and smaller than i am used to so i thought i could try it for a while to see if it fitted. Admittedly it isn't ideal, its only three door, with limited boot space, but i think i will buy it to do us until i can afford something bigger. Kim is looking to go back to the University to work so that will help increase our income. We definitely have to watch the pennies just now!!

Positive Outlook

things are still hectic, mainly due to the school holidays. It means i can be working 11-12 hour days then trying to fit everything else in. The weekend was great, we went to see Ice Age 3 on Saturday, then Sensations in Dundee had a Wallace and Gromit exhibition on which Aisha loved. Spending time with the family really is the greatest pleasure. Our home life seems to have settled down as we have discovered that the reason Aisha has been wetting herself for the last three years is due to a problem with her bladder. Knowing this has taken a huge strain off of Kim and you can see the difference with her and Aisha, less stress, more fun. That in turn takes some strain from me so a win win situation. We're still not out of the woods, as Aisha's bladder problem is still there, but we can manage it better. Knowledge is power and all that.
Had the kettlebell out last night, and it felt real good, my thighs are tight today. I need to work at it more. in the back of my head i hear the reminder to do thirty minutes exercise per day. On Sunday i cleaned up my bike and plan to head out for a run on it tomorrow. The more variety i put into the exercises the better. Its strange but for all the months i have been at this, and all the failures along the way, this is as positive that i can change things as i have ever felt.

Ouch

Well that hurt this morning, i thought my lungs were going to collapse, my legs turned to jelly and my ratio of walking to running was closer to 90/10 than the 50/50 i hoped. Truth is i knew it would be hard, but you never remember just how tough it is going to be. But the air was cool, which helped, and my head felt clear when heading into work which was good, starting work early and refreshed while others headed in looking dazed and half asleep.
I received a call at 8.25am from my mum's carer saying she had rang the bell and phoned and she couldn't get hold of my mum and was getting concerned. I had just about grabbed the car keys to head out when she said she could see someone moving, and mum opened the door. She had slept in!! Panic over. Again. I tell you my nerves aren't up to this. Mum phoned me later apologising, she had slept in, so she is off to get a new alarm clock today. She asked me to get her one but I told her she could manage herself. The trip to Tesco will do her good.

Dont Panic

The title may be misleading, mum has been doing fine, enjoying being home. Last week she was visited by someone who offered to take her shopping. Mum had never met her before and said she was fine. She then spoke to her carer who also didn't know anything about it, so she spoke to her manager. She seemed concerned so said she would speak to the hospital and if they didn't know anything she would contact the police. That's when panic set in. A thousand thoughts when through my head. I went out to visit her that night after work, to hear the good news. When mum was released from hospital there were two care companies available to look after her. The social worker decided to use just one and didn't contact the other to cancel there services. It was them that sent someone to help mum. Panic over.
Apart from that incident everything has been good. The weather has been great which puts a spring in your step.
The diet is well and truly back on track. Nothing fancy just cutting out the crap. Drinking three litres of water a day is playing havoc on my bladder, considering i had problems with it last year, but i have been promised it gets better. I met a colleague the other day who has lost three stones, another inspiration.
Tomorrow i am going to start running, i know its going to be hard but have visualised myself running without breathing out of my arse. A long journey!!