Guess who has had tonsilitis again!!!

Yep thats right. ME!!

I feel like it is one sickness after the other with me at the moment. I hope that is it! So have been on antibiotics. I didn't miss much work even though I felt dreadful for a few days and sent home early by my manager.

Feeling nearly back to normal today. Thank goodness. I totally lost my appetite and gym was a no go but back to the gym on last friday and have been every day which has been good.

It is absolutely crazy at this time of year though. I am working up till friday and then off to Chamonix on Saturday morning. I am getting excited for a week of skiing. I finished my Christmas shopping today which I am so happy about. The shops and lining up is horendous here.

I will try and post once more before the week is up but if something happens I wish you all the best for a safe and happy Christmas.

Love Amy
x

Hello......

Hey all,

Sorry for being a bit slack on the blogging department. Was in Prague and Helsinki last weekend and one of my closest girlfriends headed back to Perth today so have been spending as much time with her as possible.

Prague and Helsinki were fabulous. Prague was so festive. There were christmas markets and a large tree decorated in the main square and carolers everywhere. It was stunning. Helsinki was a really cool place to go. It even snowed while we were there and I tried the traditional dish of reindeeer. All I could think about was rudolf!! It was very nice though- very lean and very flavoursome. This is coming from a girl that very rarely eats red meat!

Diet wise has not been fabulous. I have missed meals, eating some chocolate and just being overall inconsistent. For this I have felt average and down about it. But today is a new week so we will see how it goes. Exercise wise I have been good though. I just need to combine the two.

Sorry to be brief. I am knackered tonight and starting to get yet another sore throat so it is an early night for me!

Love Amy
xxxxx

A nice lazy Sunday

It was so nice to sleep in this morning. I have worked six days this week so I was really tired. Work was really tough this week so I am glad it is over. Hopefully this week will be a better one.

Have had a lovely weekend. It started with ice skating in front of the natural history museum on Friday night. It was so pretty with fairy lights and christmas lights. It really reminded me of some movies I have seen with a white christmas. I then worked saturday morning but went to the gym straight after work. I did a 10km run and pushed 2km as fast as I could. I did them in 4mins 17sec and 4mins 14 sec so I was pretty happy with that. I have been doing quite a bit of running again and really enjoying it. Unfortunately I haven't done too much outside because it is so bitterly cold and wet but i'm happy to jog away on the treadmill with my ipod in. I really want to run the half marathon next year when I get home. My legs today are really quite sore and stiff so I am lucky I had a day off.

Diet has been really spot on this week but my tummy has been doing back flips. It has been really sore with cramps and haven't really been hungry at all but making sure I didn't skip any meals. I saw a nice drop on the scales too so that has kept me motivated.

Have a great week,

Amy
xxxx

Full update

I had such a busy week last week after coming home from Scotland. By the time we got back in on monday night I only got 5 hours sleep before rising for work on Tuesday. It was then my friends birthday on Wednesday and we went and saw the musical Wicked- so another late night. It was absolutely fbulous though. I just love musicals. I then got asked to work saturday so by saturday night I was so tired.

Food was average last week too. I was craving chocolate something cruel! I know I get like this around the time of the month but I usually have the will power to just ignore it. Not this week. I was still eating everything else well but just couldn't resist some chocolate. I have a lot of clients that bring in chocolates and lollies so this wasn't helping! Exercise on the other hand was spot on. Thankfully I did not do any damage on the scales and have gone back to eating really well this week. I will hopefully have a loss when I weigh in on friday.

I have been lucky enough to have a few days of this week so I have been enjoying being at home, watching some DVDs and calling some family and friends back home. I have now got my ticket booked to arrive back in Perth on the 21st February (my birthday!) so I am very excited. Before that though we are going to Prague and the french alps and south africa before arriving back. So some great times ahead!!

Hope you are all having a good week.

Take care

Amy

xxxxxxx

Ps. The photo is from the 80's party we went to a few weekend ago. Looking totally tragic!!

I'm still here

I have been stupidly busy with going away to Scotland last weekend and arriving home on midnight monday. I then have been working all week and gyming it in the evening. I have just been asked to work saturday which I agreed too so I will be a busy bunny for the next few days.

Food has been a little bit of because we were staying with friends but it is all back on track now.

Will write a long post on the weekend and fill in all the details.

Hope you are having a great week

Amy
xx

What a weekend!

I have had such a fabulous weekend. It first started on friday morning when I weighed in 1 kg lighter (I weighed in this morning and have lost anoth kg over the weekend). Work was hectic on Friday but headed straight to my friends house on Friday night for a pink party. It was to raise money for breast cancer. It was a lot of laughs. Everything was pink- the drinks, the food, the table cloth and napkins, the prizes for the games. It was great. We then went to a club close to home to dance the night away.

Had a great sleep in on Saturday morning before heading the gym for an awesome workout. I really wasn't in the mood for going but i'm glad I did because I really worked hard. I think it helps when two of my friends went with me and they are just as dedicated and trying to lose a few kg's too. We then had an 80's night last night. We caught public transport there and boy did we get a few looks!! Lots of 80's music so another night on the dnce floor.

Slept in again this morning, called mum and dad and went to the gym. Just about to go to dinner at my friend Rach's.

So all in all a really good week food wise and I went to the gym 6 days this week. I hope this week will be the same. I have already prepared my food for tomorrow so I am being super organised. Have a fabulous week

Love Aims
xxxx

I just got my hair done

Doesn't it feel great when you just have your hair cut and coloured. I haven't had mine done since February just before I left home. It feels so lovely now. I just trimmed the ends as I like my hair long now. It has grown so much. The colour is a bit lighter too but still looks natural. I will post some photos when my boys gets home from the gym to take some.

Have had a really good day. All my meals have been clean and I had an awesome session at the gym. I did 30 minutes of interval cardio and 10 minutes on this machine I have never seen before. It is like a stepper but the steps are on a gradient uphill and it is like two steps not one and then your arms are moving like a X trainer. It feels like I am skiing upwards. I really felt the heart rate go up and felt the burn in my butt and thighs. Also did upper body weights too. So felt good. I am going to start posting how much weight I lose or put on (hopefully off) from Friday and then weekly after that.

Found out today my boy leaves on the 12th of January to go home so he can start his new job. I will stay on to march/april but it will be hard. I haven't been separated from him since we left at the beginning of March. I suppose its only for 2-3 months. He went away to paris on the weekend and I missed him like crazy then. I know I will cope. Thank god for the telephone and internet!!

Hope you are all well.

Love Aims
xxxxxx

Where has the weekend gone?!?

I have had such a fabulous weekend. I have spent the whole weekend with two of my really close girlfriends as my boy and his mates were in Paris for the rugby world cup grandfinal.

Friday day I cleaned the house. Living with 3 boys can be very hard at time and they are just so messy. It was nice to clean and know the house would be like this for at least till monday when they came home. I had my first gym session and it felt great. I did cardio for 40 minutes and some weights. We went out on friday night to a bar close to home to meet up with some people. I didn't drink at all as I was still on antibiotics and just didn't feel like it. It was a top night.

On saturday the sun was shining in London!! Went to the gym in the morning, spoke to my mum, and then walked through the park to the shopping strip with the girls. We did some shopping and I got a few things I needed. We went to a pub to watch the rugby and then headed out for a dance. It was really a funny night and had a blast.

It was so nice to sleep in this morning and we all just chiled at mine this morning. We went to the gym in the arvo and I did cardio and weights. It feels nice to be back into it. I have eaten really quite well this weekend. I missed a few of the meals I had planned but overall it was really good. It just feels good not to be feeling ill and over my tonsilitis.

Have a good week everyone, I'm only working three days this week so that should be lovely.

Amy
xxxx

I'm tired!

Today has been a long day. I had to catch the tube, then an overland train and then walk half an hour to work and back today. It is also a 10 minute walk to the tube. I also did a walk at lunch so I did not go to the gym today. It was my first day back since I got tonsilits and it really took it out of me. I was exhausted. I still felt very average this morning but I knew I couldn't call in sick as I knew I had a full day of patients in and its too hard to re-arrange. So I battled through.

My boyfriend and some of his mates are driving to Paris tonight to watch the rugby world cup final tomorrow. He was so excited when he left. So I'm having a nice quiet weekend with my girlfriends and really looking forward to it. This is the first time that we have been apart since we left home in March!

Food wise everything was ok, not 100% clean and I really could have done better than a piece of toast for dinner but I just didn't have the energy to cook. I am going to go shopping and be organised for all my food choices next week. I have drank lots of water too today. It is so nice to swallow and it does not hurt so much!

I hope the weather was as nice as it was today. It was sunny in London- can you believe it!!hahahaa

I am going to the gym tomorrow. Can't wait to be back there. Till tomorrow.

Love aims
xxxxxxx

I'm back this time for good!

I have not blogged in such a long time but my head really hasn't been in the best place of late. I have been reading people's blogs though and I really admire all these people who have worked really hard to where they are now. I have lapsed in a way that I haven't done for a very long time and now trying to dig myself out of all these negative thoughts. I have had the best year travelling but I am still so unhappy with certain things in my life.

Number one being work. I am not enjoying it, especially over here in the UK. I think it is a combination of the travel, the monotonomous of the jobs that i have been given and the lack of the challenege. I wish the days away and I hate this. At the moment it money and when I go back home next year I am going to seriously think hard about a career change.

Number two being my body image. This has been a problem for a number of years. I have played mind games with myself for as long as I can remember and they always get me down and really upset. I have decided I really need to get in control of this issue otherwise it is really going to affect me forever. I have decided to take one day at a time and blog at least every second day with my exercise, eats and general feelings for the day. This way I hope to see any patterns to how I am feeling. I am at a gym and eating relatively well. I have been really ill the last two weeks- first with a stomach bug that wiped me out for 4 days (couldn't keep any food down and my appetite was nil) and I am now on antibiotics for a bad dose of tonsilits which has had me in bed for another 4 days. I have felt so rotten. Over this time I have hardly eaten but then again I have hardly moved! I have really missed home since I have been sick but I guess this to be expected.

So from today expect to read a lot more about me and if I stop writing it probably means I have had a downward spiral and just need to be picked up again. Hopefully this will not happen.

So today:
Exercise will be a short walk just to get moving again as I am still feeling very average but just need to stretch the legs.

Food: It is only 11am here so I have eaten protein pancakes this morning so far

Till tomorrow...

Aims
xxxx

Wow!

I apologise for being so absent of late. So much has been happening and my life has been crazy. Work wise everything has been ok. I have been working 3 or 4 days each week and loving this. I have also been working for the NHS. I have however been working really far away but just of late have got placements really close to home which is fab. The money is pretty good so I am happy working this amount for now. I still am up in arms if this is what I really want to do. I spoke to mum about it all on the weekend and she was so supportive. I was so worried about telling them because they paid my whole uni fees. They told me that they will be happy if I am happy with what I am doing. I am so lucky to have fantastic parents. My mum just totally gets me in every which way. With skype and emails I have been in close contact with them and my two best friends so that is always comforting to know they are there when i have a down day. For now though I am not really thinking about what I want to do, I just want to enjoy my travelling and time away.

Secondly my diet and fitness has been really spot on. I have lost a few kilos and everything is fitting really nicely again and I feel better when looking in a mirror. The gym I joined has all new equipment and I am really enjoying seeing my fitness and strength pick up. I haven't been able to go everyday because of work but have been training on average 5 days. Some days for work I have left at 7am and home about 8pm so it is quite a long day. I have been in control of all my food intake and have only slipped a few times but the damage was not big at all.

I am getting excited as my OH parents and sister are arriving in less than 3 weeks. We are off to the rugby cup then also so next month is going to be very exciting!!

Thanks so much for your comments Selina. It is so nice to always hear from you. I hope everything is looking up.

I will try to update more often

Love Amy
xx

Living and working in London

Wow it has been awhile hasn’t it. Well I have just joined the gym in London and I’m so excited. I am going to start Sue’s program from scratch again and looking forward to the results. I am just about to go the gym after here and then go shopping to stock up.

I have had a tough few weeks. I was really down and quite depressed about a lot of things in my life. I know you must be thinking it should be the best time in my life as I am travelling the world. That side of things were fabulous. Work was getting me down. When I first called up enquiring what I needed to start work as a pod over here they said I had all the forms necessary. It was a different story when I got here. They said I had to fill out a criminal records form for the uk even though I have one from oz. I also have to have a blood test to prove I have had all my immunizations. So this process is still happening. I need all of this to work in hospitals. However since all this I have been working in private practice which has been ok. It is money none the less. This too was stressing me out. The Australian dollar does not get very far in London!! This lead to the drama of renting. I couldn’t rent a house if my reference for work did not come through. And because at this stage I had not worked they couldn’t say I was employed. The dramas!! I was so stressed. It has all worked out now though. I also got really down about how I looked and I just felt yuck. I have also been thinking about my career. I don’t think podiatry is what I really want to do. Since I am not close to home it is so hard to talk to mum and my two best friends. My OH has been fabulous. I know he has been really worried about me as he has been there in the tough times before when I get really down. He is fabulous. I love him to bits. Anyways, I am feeling more myself now and I will look in to my new career path soon.

Back to my health kick. I plan to look fabulous in 12 weeks time. I really want to go back to Australia in March and have people go wow! I am looking forward to it. I am planning to blog every few days so I can keep on track. Today at the gym I plan to do back, shoulders and abs and interval training for cardio. Well I better be off.

Take care,

Amy
xx

I'm in Germany

This photo was taken at a restaurant in corfu. (I can't believe how tanned I look here!)

Wow, so much has happened since last post. I am currently in Germany and staying with friends and their family. There are 17 of us at one house at the moment. It has been a lot of fun and we have been doing lots. Two of the girls are national gymnasts so we have been to the gym and played on the equipment there. We have been rock climbing, go karting and have done a high ropes course. This was so scary as you have to do all these obstcles in the air between platfroms on trees. I will post pictures soon. I felt such a sense of achievement after I had completed it. I was so scared and even cried from fear. We are staying about 200m from the black forrest so I have been running everyday. Today I went for a run and one section was 2 km all on a steep uphill. I was buggered when I finished running after 45 minutes.

Since leaving chewtin Mendip we went back to london for 3 days before flying out to Germany. In this time we managed to find an awesome house that is so big, close to our friends, shops and underground. It is so exciting. I'll post pictures of that soon too. They other advantage is its close proximity to the gym! I can't wait to start my 12 week program when I get back to London.. I am 100% focused and determined to feel the best ever. I really want people to notice a difference when the travel to see me in 3 months.

I must be off to bed as I have an early start in the morning as we are going to a fun park tomorrow.

Love aims
xxx

We went Hashing last night

Ben and I waiting in line at the Eiffel Tower


Some of you may know what i'm talking about but others may say what the hell are you talking about. Hash running is a group of people that get together and go for a run. However there is a twist. You have to find your path that has been laid out with by flour. So some people end up for awhile running in the wrong direction till someone calls out to say they have found it. We ended up running through paddocks with cows and sheep, through long grass, rivers, forrest and lots of mud. All up we ran about 7km. We end up back at the pub. They have a saying they are a runners group with a drinking problem. It was lots of fun. I have never heard of this back home but when I checked the net last night there were lots of groups around. It is worldwide and the next interhash is in Perth itself.

We went running today also in the national park and gorges and there were some really tough parts. There were steep hills with a bit of rock climbing in there. The views were spectacular though. It was well worth it.

So the fitness side is definately going a lot better and the eating part is going quite well. It is so nice to be eating home cooked food and having the control of what is available. Our friends even have home weights that Ben pulled out today so I even got some weights in.

Love Amy
xx

From a small English Village

I am currently in Chewton Mendup which is a small village between Bath and Bristol in England. We are staying with my boyfriend's family friends and enjoying doing very little. We arrived in London on monday night and stayed the night with a friend in their small flat. We then caught the coach to bristol where they picked us up. The underground system is so efficient that we got everywhere so quickly.

I have been pretty sick with my asthma the last few days and been up the last few nights with huge coughing fits. Thankfully I am feelig slightly better today. It is nice to stay in doors and watch DVDs and read a good book after the hustle and bustle of the contiki tour. It really was so much fun but it did tire me out. We will be staying here till next sunday before heading back to London for a few days to look at houses before flying to Germany. We will be in Germany for 10 days and then have to come back to London and set up a house and work. This will definately not be the end of travelling tho.

Ben and I caught the bus into Wells which is a bigger town today. It is so pretty here. I just love all the old buildings and the cobble stone streets. We ate lunch at the cosiest vegetarian cafe and the food was so good. We then just wandered the streets.

The surroundings here are perfect for walks and runs. There are dirt tracks, paddocks, forrest areas and open areas that you could run for miles. I did one on the first day I arrived but not since as I cough with just sitting at the moment. The guy we are staying with is part of a running club and has different runs through the week. He has just done a half marathon but has run heaps before this and a marathon too.So as soon as I am well enough I will be out running with him.

Till next time.....

Amy
xxx

Ps. It is ment to be summer here and i'm freezing- the weather is terrible!

I'm in mykonos!!

hello everyone from greece,

Well we have just finished our 23 day contiki tour. It has been such a fabulous experience and have so many amazing places in such a short period of time. Italy was so fabulous and one of the places I would definately have to go back to. There is still so much more to see and just not possible to see it all in the amount of time we had there. Venice was so pretty and we took a gondola ride. Florence had so much history and so much to see. The uffizi gallery and the academia had waiting lines of 3 hours so unfortunately could not go in these but would have loved too. We waled up the duomo and the views of florence here were spectacular. I indulged in buying a genuine leather jacket which I love. We had dinners organised by the tour in each country and went out every night. Rome by far some of the most spectacular sights. You could be walking down some street and then all of a sudden it would open out into some ruins. The vatican and st peters was so breath-taking and the art work was so incredible. Ben and I were speechless. We saw the coloseum, the trevie fountain and pantheon as well as the roman forum. We left about 20 people in rome from the tour and then the rest of the tour headed to corfu.
We caught a ferry to corfu and spent 3 glorious days relaxing. It was a gorgeous little island. We had one day on a boat doing water sports and swimming. We were lucky enough to ctch up with bens dad in corfu and spent one full day with him. We have dined in some greek restaurants and experienced greek culture and dancing. Yesterday we came to athens and spent our last night here. We saw a few sights yesterday morning and now in mykonos.I am in absolute paradise. Our accomodatin was so cheap nd it is like we are in a resort. We have a pool, bar lounge chairs and sun beds overlooking the ocean. We hired scooters today and went around the island. This place is so amazing. So after the very full on tour I am enjoying doing very little for a few days and working on my tan. So I have now brought you up to loop on what I have been doing.

So we now have a few days in the mykonos before we come back to athens and then fly back to london. We then have to start organising work and living arrangements before we go to germany. I am looking forward to settling somewhere for awhile instead of living out of a suitcase. Ben has already been offered jobs so now I can start organising to meet with agencies. Ben and I are looking to set up just out of london but we will take it as it comes.

Hope you are all well. I hear perth is pretty cool at the moment so i'll think of you while i'm having a cocktail by the pool!!hehehehe

I am looking forward to getting back to london so I can get into routine again with my exercise and eating. I have gone a quite a few runs but these greek drivers are so crazy that i'm scared of getting hit. I weighed myself the other day and I have put any weight on and even lost a bit but I feel different. I need to tone up again. All in good time!!

love to you all
amy
xxxxxx

Hello from barcelona!!
Hope everyone is well. I am currently in Spain at the moment. We only have the one stop here barcelona. It is notorious for pick pocketing so I have been so careful and have lopcks on everything and everything on me at all times. I am petrified of things being stolen. Besides that it is a very pretty place. We spent today touring the city and seeing the sights. It is beautiful weather too.
We met up with the rest of the group in Paris. I am in love. The architecture and gardenms are unbelievable. I went to the louvre, notre dame, sacre coure, arc de triomphe, musee dórsay and moulin rouge. This was all in one and a half days. It was very full on. There is still so much to see as well. We went to a cabaret show. It was so good. Lots of dancing and acrobats and it was a good 2 hours of pure entertainment. It was fabulous. I will definately be coming back here.
From here we went to the wine area in france and stayed at a chateau. We sampled a few of the wines and went for a long hike and ended up having a picnic at the top. It was really pretty. We then drove to barcelona.
Our next stop is the french riveria, then to italy, greece and greek islands. The tour is so much fun and the people on it are a great bunch of people. We have been out everynight and getting along great.
We have made plans to go to germany when we get back to london for about a week. We got flights for 10 pence and have accomodation with jan family. So that should be could. Then I think I may need to start working!!hehehehe
I better be off but that is a quick update of my last week. Take care
Love Amyxxx

Ps. I have been doing so much walking eachday and trying to eat really well. It so hard though while you are on holidays. I feel average for not having time for exercise and I miss the gym. Once I settle in london one of the first things I do is join a gym and get back into it!
hehehehehe

I am back home and i'm starting blogging again!

hello to all bloggers. I have just read everyones blog and caught up on what everyone has been doing for the last 3 months. I have been in America and went to the cricket world cup in the Caribbean and saw the Aussies win. I have had to come back to perth for a weeks for a funeral and I have decided to start my blog again. I have missed what everyone has been doing and I want to write my blog as I travel. I fly out of Australia again on Tuesday and now that my boyfriend has bought a mac in america I have no excuses.

I have been having the best time away. Even though my boyfriend and I had all credit cards, purse, ipods, cameras,psp, mobiles and money stolen in miami and we had to fly to washington to get passports replaced everything has been fabulous. I was sailing for 34 days in the Caribbean sea and went to all of the islands. Some of the things I saw you just could not see from land. It was spectacular. I'll post photos in next post. After the caribbean we went to New York. It was the most amazing place I have been to. I loved it. I kept saying it was so 'sex in the city'! From here we flew to Minnesota where we stayed in a college with some friends who came and studied in Perth. They have $8 all you can drink nights. We had some very big nights. Unfortunately ben's pop passed away and he was very close to him that he just wanted to come home for the funeral. The funeral was very sad but he was so glad he made the decision to come home. We fly to meet up with the rest of our friends in paris. We then have a 3 week contiki before we settle in england for about 8 months.

I have learnt a lot about myself while being away. I have become less harsh on the way I look at myself. I use to be so critical about my appearance and about every piece of food that went into my mouth. I have learnt to relax and enjoy a bit more. I am still very health conscious and have been running at least 3-4 times a week. I really miss the gym. I have been doing sit-ups and push-ups but it is not the same. Eating wise I have been careful but I haven't deprived myself of anything. I weighed myself when I came home and I have not put on any wight but I lost a little. So I am so happy. I left to go on this trip at my goal weight and I am still there.

I will post some photos and I promise to keep my blog going.

Take care,

amy
xxxx

where to start....

Now I know it has been a long time and thanks selina for finally getting me into gear. So much has happened since last post with Christmas and New year. I was so totally spoiled and loved every minute of it. It is now only six weeks till I leave for my amazing trip. I have just finished paying the last installment to the 55 foot yacht I will be staying on in the Carribean. I am starting to get excited. I have already started dreaming about packing and already tears have started to flow about saying my goodbyes.

One of my best friends left on Jan 5th for south america and she gets back only a few days before I leave. I miss her so much already. My mum and dad have been in Melbourne for only a week and half and I miss them too. How am I going to cope. My boyfriend is already worried!! There is also so much to do. I have started writing a list so I don't forget to do things. Work is super busy and have been working extra long hours to get as much money as possible.

Exercise and food wise went really well. I lost 3.5kg in december and am already at my goal weight but you know when you would like to see if you could go that extra bit further. I have lost 9kg and i'm trying now to get to 11kg before I go. I have been really strict with my diet and exercising everyday (combination of weights and cardio) I have been stair climbs and hill runs as well as rpm. I am feeling really good this week. I felt really flat last week because I put on 400g but as my boyfriend said I have not put weight on for about 2 months and it is so minimal that it will be gone again in no time. I know I can do it!!

So that is a quick sum up of where I am at and I hope everyone is well. Even though I have not been writing blogs, I have been following everyone else's. I apologise again

Love always

Amy