a Beer, a Whine and The Spirit

Posted by Renae at 9:04 PM Comments

Posted by Renae at 2:03 PM Comments

Life has been weird lately. I've been getting cranky for no reason, been in crazy moods (up and down) and getting frustrated over things that shouldn't be consuming so much of my energy.

But yesterday, I had a bit of a breakthrough. 3, in fact.

1. Chanbe's toilet training has been hard work. I never thought I'd have a 2.5+ year old in nappies. Not that I thought there was anything wrong with that, I had just decided that he would be toilet trained by 2. Because that would be convenient. For me. But he just wasn't interested. And I know I know - the more I push it, the more frustrated everyone gets. So I've been really trying to just let it progress at his pace. And finally, we are having breakthroughs.

What I know to be true: Chanbe will not be wearing nappies forever.


2. My running has been going pretty well, but yesterday I pushed myself and actually ran for probably half of my 4.4km run at different intervals. It felt amazing to actually be covering some serious ground at a good pace. I felt like I was running, not just shuffling along.

What I know to be true: I will be running the Townsville fun run and Bridge to Brisbane and it will feel amazing when I push myself to run as fast as I can across that damn finish line!!


3. Lately I've been having a self-diagnosed existential crisis. Ever had one? Yes? How much does it suck?? No?? It sucks. A lot. I've been trying to work through it on my own and with Hubs, and after going on strike last week, not doing any housework (because what's the point?) I decided to get some help. I had an amazing appointment yesterday with the counsellor I've been seeing this year (she really helped me earlier in the year when we had so much adjusting to do) and I left feeling a certain clarity that I haven't felt in a long time.

What I know to be true: I've been functioning at an insanely stressful level these past few months (18 months??) and finally life is a bit more stable and predictable. And that's okay. I need to breathe, enjoy it, and slow the hell down.


Life is good. Our kids are amazing. Hubs is beautiful. Holidays are a-coming. I choose to enjoy it.

Posted by Renae at 7:25 PM Comments

There's a fair bit of road works going on a few kms from our house, and although it would be quicker to avoid it, I'd also miss out on this each morning:

(Re: the "smiley face" he's referring to: There's a temporary speed sign that says 40 and has a speed camera on it. If you're going 40km/h or under, it gives you a big smiley face.)

(The size and quality are better if you click on the "YouTube" icon on the bottom right, and view it via YouTube.)

And of course, if I'd kept filming for another 5 seconds, you would have also been treated to a big "BOBCAT!! Bobcat Mama!!!"

I love the delight the Chanbe finds in a boring old trip in the car. It's definitely a highlight of my day :-)

Posted by Renae at 12:09 PM Comments

I've gotten to a stage with my running where my cardio fitness has surpassed my physical abilities, and it's hard going. I feel like I'm doing well with the "mind over body" with positive thoughts (I can do this; just keep running; nearly there) but my legs are finding it hard keeping up with my lungs. I wish I had added some leg muscle strengthening exercise into my training, but it might be a bit late for that now.

Or is it? I'm worried that if I start doing squats and lunges, I won't be able to walk the next day, let alone run! Maybe a few days of pain now will be worth it in the end though? The fun run is only 18 days away, so I can't imagine I'll be able to achieve much in that time, but maybe it's worth a try!

And here's the big news: I'm also going to do the 5k leg of the Bridge to Brisbane this year!! I looked at the dates and it's on the 1st of September which is only a few days after we were going to leave Brisbane after our holidays. I had a chat to Hubs and he was very supportive about me staying for the extra week so I can do it (and recover) and fly home with the kids a few days later! He has to come back for work, otherwise he would have stayed to cheer me on.

I feel really excited about committing to this, as it means this isn't, for now, just a passing faze. And the other exciting news? My clothes are fitting so much better! I pulled out my jeans and 3/4 that I put away when I got too fat pregnant (both??) and couldn't fit into them. I tried them on a few months ago and they still didn't fit. I hadn't even considered that they might fit now, but 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of black pants and 4 pairs of 3/4 pants now fit me again!! So even though I haven't lost much weight, (that's all about the food) I seem to have toned up enough to have dropped a size. Woo!!

To be honest, I haven't felt this good about my health for years. I feel like things are getting back on track, and I'm really enjoying the benefits of regular exercise. Now I just have to tackle the food...

Posted by Renae at 10:55 AM Comments

It is my mission at the moment to try and get them to smile at the same time. Quinn is a bit of a blur in the first one, as Chance wasn't supporting her too well! If I could merge the 2 together, we'd have it!

Posted by Renae at 2:16 PM Comments

I'm still on a high. Yesterday I completed Week 5, day 3 of the couch 2 5k program. I know I know. I started the program 11 weeks ago, but I had a few setbacks that slowed me down a bit. So I restarted 7 weeks ago, and have been working my way through the 9 week program a little slower, so I can do it right.

And last night it paid off. The summary for last night's run was: (From RunDouble)

"Day 3 follows (the warm-up walk) with a single 3.2km run."

and then it says:

"Don't be put off, you've been preparing for this for 5 weeks, just keep a steady pace, and keep going."

Oh I was put off. I mean, the last few weeks of my training have been going so well. I've really been enjoying the runs, and haven't stopped during any of them. My pace has been anywhere between 7min 45sec to 9min per km, but that doesn't worry me. The running feels good. My feet feel good. My knees, hips, ankles are fine.

But 3.2km?? The furthest interval I'd run was 1.2km the day before. But since the running had been going so well, I decided that I could do it. Even before I put my shoes and running gear on, I knew I could do it.

And I did it. It was so awesome. I have NEVER run/jogged that far in my adult life and it just felt so amazing. I'm really proud of myself (can you tell??) and I'm 100% sure that I'll be running the 5k by the 4th of August - less than 5 weeks away.

Posted by Renae at 1:46 PM Comments

Posted by Renae at 12:59 PM Comments

This time five years ago, I wrote my first blog post. And I'm so glad I'm still here, 5 years and 778 posts later! I had planned to make a cake for this celebration, but I had made 2 cakes for 2 birthday girls this weekend, (here's one of them)

and now I'm all caked out. So instead, I'm going to take a look back at 5 years of blogging.

Flashback episode! Oh yeah!

- Not long after arriving in Melbourne, I shared a post about our first official place together.

- I introduced the blogging world to my Nanny and Grandpa.

- I gave you all a small insight into crazy Wifey

- I did my first NaBloPoMo about my job history. Scary!!

- I've climbed mountains, just to have something to blog about! (I kid I kid!)

- I shared with you one of my favourite things to do

- And what I learned in my first year of marriage.

- This is where I started to really hit my baking stride.

- And if we ever live nearby, I want you to always remember this. Always.

- I did another NaBloPoMo, this time about our road trip across America

- And a few months later, I told you about our amazing trip to South Africa here, here, here, here, here and the start of a very silly drinking game here.

- I turned 30 and celebrated big time!

- I officiated at my first wedding as a Celebrant

- I got pregnant

- And we moved to Wangaratta

- This is how I commemorated my 400th post.

- We welcomed Chanbe into the world and into our family

- These girls saved my sanity and I love them so much

- I'll always remember this smile

- We found a local cafe that we loved and who loved us back!

- I made a cake for #500

- We moved to Mt Beauty and visited the snow

- I said goodbye to Nanny

- I told you why I love my Hubs

- Chanbe turned 1 and the girls came to visit

- We said goodbye to Grandpa

- I broke my foot

- We left Mt Beauty and moved back to Wang

- Preggers with Baloo!

- Sh*t got hard

- Good bye Wang and hello Townsville!

- And hello Quinn

- I started running

- And started a challenge

I've just spent the last 2 hours compiling this list of posts. There are so many more I wanted to include, but I'll leave it up to you to find some more gems. I've loved having this space to share so much of our lives with you all. It has helped me through a few rough times, and I know there will be many more words spilled on these pages, giving you an insight into our lives.

Thanks for reading.

Posted by Renae at 12:26 PM Comments