Wobbly bits, the Sydney stone and ANOTHER diet

They call it the Sydney Stone.  I call it a big sucks.  What are we talking about?  The weight people gain when moving to Sydney.  I gained it the FIRST time I moved here but then I LOST IT ALL when I went home.  But then I moved back and GUESS WHAT?  I bet you’d NEVER EVER EVER guess – btw – I’m on one today – I gained it back.

Bonnie Lad’s GF explained it well.  “Oh yeah the Sydney stone, it takes all ‘em nice firm bits, tha’ones that were so grand ‘n like, yeah it just turns em into wobbly bits.”

Wobbly bits.

I don’t want any wobbly bits.  No, no.  MY BITS – I’d much prefer to keep ‘em grand ‘n like – thank you.  So what’s the next latest and greatest obsession/fad/phase that I’m signing up for?  [shake my head in slight dismay]  I don’t know.  But she (the naturalist) said take this, this, this, this, this, this, this, AND add this, this, this, this to your diet and then also change up your workout routine.  Wow – ok so that’s a lot of stuff.

But fine.  Whatever.  I’ll do it.

BUT THEN she said, “Oh and no sugar, honey, or really any fruit for 14 days. ”

WHAT?

Look – I was willing to take this, this, this, this, this, this and ALL OF THAT OTHER STUFF and I was willing to ADD this, this, this and ALL OF THAT OTHER STUFF and I was even willing to shake up my exercise plan.  But please tell me that she did NOT just say no sugar, honey or fruit for 14 days.

But she did.

And I said, “Ok.”

But I only said ok because this is a “jump start” plan – I’ll be back to NORMAL stuff in 2 weeks (or so she says I will be.)  So what’s the magical new plan?  I’ll tell you:

All Day:  2 liters of water

Breakfast – 400 mg Hydroxycitric acid (pill A,) 500 mg Boulardii (pill B,) 8 oz. Rice Protein Drink made with Rice milk, 1 tsp Psyllium Husks and if I want I may also have gluten-free muesli.

Low Tea – 10-12 almonds

Lunch: Pill A, 1 Glucose Manager (Pill C,) 2 slices multi-grain gluten-free bread, 95 g of Tuna and some veggies if I want.   Or salad may be substituted for the bread.

High Tea – 10-12 almonds

Dinner: Pill A, Pill B, Pill C, some type of meat (making sure to have red meat 2x per week,) broccoli or zucchini, and either a sweet potato or brown rice.

Nightcap – Licorice Legs Tea

I’m just so-gee-whiz-thrilled – or something like that.   No – to be honest – it’s not really all that bad.  Is it?  It will just take a certain degree of discipline and determination (things I have.)  She thinks I should be able to lose 3-5 kilos in 2 weeks with this.  Fingers crossed!!  I’ll let you know how it goes.  :)

How to tell if you are in love according to “The Farmer Wants A Wife”

Tonight was the season finale for “The Farmer Wants a Wife.”  Remember when I fell in love with the show? I remember that too.  :) I found it refreshing to see people care more about values and substance than looks.  YAY!

Anyway – I’m DISAPPOINTED with the outcome of the show.  Dumb boys.  I guess it doesn’t matter if you’re a farmer or [insert any occupation] if you’re a boy you are dumb should read the book “The Way of The Superior Man.”

Ok so to the big news – if you’re not sure if you’re in love you should ask yourself the following 3 questions:

  1. Do you speak to each other almost every day?
  2. Do you look forward to seeing each other?
  3. Do you feel the other person helps or inspires you be a better person?

If you answered “yes” to all 3 of these questions.  Congratulations!  You’re in love!  [roll my eyes - I kinda think if you're in love you shouldn't need a 3 question test to tell you!!]

Ok – off to homework.  Have a FANTASTIC day!!

Experience Australia – The Little Things #1 – Tim Tams and The Tim Tam Slam Video

Experience Australia – The Little Things

This Week’s “Experience Australia – The Little Things” (oh btw – did I mention this is going to be a new weekend segment on my blog? :)) is probably the reason why Australia is a more obese than the U.S.  [gasp!  Daisy - you didn't just say that!!!  Oh yes I did.  :) Snap!]  ;) What am I talking about?  The Tim Tam.

tim-tams-original

Tim Tams, an Australian iconic “biscuit” (aka cookie) is a little fattening devil which is absolutely delightful.  And I believe it’s safe to say you absolutely cannot have an TRUE Australian Experience unless you learn about and TASTE a Tim TamMmmm.  They even have their own aisle in the supermarketNo seriously – they do. But they have to!  There are like a bazillion different flavors and each flavor is in high demand.  Who wouldn’t want a Tim Tam?

tim-tam-crush

My favorite flavor is the Tim Tam Crush Toffee Nut flavor.  I Heart 2 them the best. :) And as you can see in the picture above, the Tim Tam Crush biscuits are a little different.  Instead of having creamy goodness sandwiched between two chocolate biscuits, the crush only has its indulgent taste of heaven on top of ONE biscuit.  Darn my gluten intolerance!  I could have set a world record for gaining the most weight due to a Tim Tam Crush addiction.  ;)

NOW ONTO THE SLAM!!! It’s like WHAT YOU DO with Tim Tams if you’re cool.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jTqf_6u6xU]

Australians feel it is their duty to tell all foreigners about the Tim Tam Slam. From the clerk in the grocery store, to the attendant at the airport who sees you’re taking home Tim Tam souvenirs – EVERYONE stops to tell you about the Tim Tam Slam. Which is why I posted a HOW TO DO THE TIM TAM SLAM video.  :) And lol on the video – can you tell this was taken REALLY seriously?? ;) And no he wasn’t trying to sound Australian – that’s his “This is dumb and I can’t believe you’re making me do this” voice. :)

Post Overload – Sorry!!!

Ok so I know I’ve posted a bajillion times over the past week or so… sorry!  But I HAD to post again today because GUESS WHAT??  I’m headed to New Zealand next week!!! I’M SO EXCITED!!!!  I’m going for my birthday – yay! (and the “yay” is NOT for turning a year older – but for doing it in style ;))  I also get to cross visiting NZ off my 101 list.  Wahoo!

Then as a little icing on the cake, CC+4 looked into meeting me in NZ – which didn’t work out – stupid airline connections!  BUT he said he’s going to visit me in April – which actually works out better for me too.  :) Big smiles all around today.  I’ve got a couple of fun months to look forward to… and wow – I can’t believe I’m about to turn 27.  :( Ok – so those two statements weren’t EXACTLY related but time goes by so quickly (March and April are going to fly by) and here I am – about to be in my late 20s.  I’m still in SCHOOL and have no definite career plans yet – but I can’t think about that right now…

Back to happy things – CC+4′s song of the day for me was “True Affection” by The Blow.  I love it!  He says I can decide if he chose the song in reference to us.  LOL.  Gee that’s a tough one to figure out!  (roll my eyes.)

In other news – here’s a pic of Sydney from Central Station.  And in case you are ever planning on driving around Sydney – be aware that they do not have blinkers here in this great country.  They only have “indicators.” Just an FYI.

aaa

Oh one last thing – here’s my quote for the day.  I’m reading the Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.  I really enjoy this book because – well – to be honest – I see myself in the main character.  She and I have WAY too much in common – not sure if that’s good or bad …

“‘Ah,’ said Isabel with a kind of joyous sigh, ‘I like so many things!  If a thing strikes me with a certain intensity I accept it.  I don’t want to swagger, but I suppose I’m rather versatile.  I like people to be totally different from Henrietta – in the style of  Lord Warburton’s sisters for instance.  So long as I look at the Misses Molyneux [the sisters] they seem to me to answer a kind of ideal.  Then Henrietta presents herself and I’m straightway convinced by her; …”

[Henrietta] “You’ve been affected by your new surroundings.”
[Isabel] “Very likely, I’m affected by everything.”
[Henrietta replies disapprovingly] “Yes, you’ve changed; you’ve got new ideas over here.”
“I hope so,” said Isabel; “One should get as many new ideas as possible.”

Fine! I’ll admit it. I like popcorn – are you happy now?

This morning as I was eating NOT yummy gluten-free pancakes from a mix (note to self – stop being so lazy and make your OWN pancakes which ARE yummy) I was serenaded by some screaming crazies not too far away. “I HATE YOU!” blah blah blah “I WANT YOU OUT OF MY LIFE” blah blah blah. I think maybe someone hasn’t been watching enough “The Farmer Wants A Wife” because if they HAD been watching it they’d know all of their problems would be solved if they’d only move to the middle of nowhere and be farmers!  And even if it didn’t solve all of their problems at least no one else would have to hear about it.  YAY!

I have good news and bad news today.  GOOD NEWS:  The members of my group at school have stepped it up and are now officially pulling their weight.  YAY!   BAD NEWS:  The Uni of Syd did NOT get back to me about my application as promised.  BOO!

And in OTHER NEWS: I learned today that a “Sausage Sizzle” is the not-too-distant cousin of “The Barbie.”  The difference being that “The Barbie” is for steak – not sausages.  Oh and my FM’s GF informed me that kebabs are also not for “The Barbie” unless you are trying to lose masculinity points – in which case – chicken kebabs are the way to go.  Thank goodness I am clear about that now!  hmm …

Oh and I just remembered I have a confession to make.  Yep.  That’s right.  I am craving [dun dun dun] movie theater popcorn.  Say what?  Oh yes.  It’s true!  GROSS!!!  And tonight my FM, his GF and I are going to see a movie and the motivating factor for our decision wasn’t really the movie.  It is the artery clogging goodness of movie theater popcorn.  GROSS!  And this is where if I were having a conversation I would be like, “But dude – for real – it’s not that bad.  Like seriously, popcorn is like my only vice.  I don’t even eat potato chips or candy bars.  That stuff is gross.  But popcorn?  Mmmmm mmmm.”

OOH!!!   Australian trivia for you!!  AUS doesn’t do microwave popcorn.  And if you go to the popcorn section in the grocery store – wait popcorn section?  haha!  I tricked you!  There ISN’T a popcorn section.  No lie.  There’s just a little shelf, usually hidden somewhere in the middle of the chicken flavored potato chips (which is practically their only flavor) and it houses the two flavors of popcorn made in Australia.  Bland and Bland Lite.  You can forget about that yummy gourmet chocolate popcorn stuff.  Or the gourmet caramel stuff.  No no – not here.  [tear]