4 Years ago today...

...was a Friday. James and I had been dating for three and a half months.

I had a bit of a bad day. I can't remember a thing about it, other than the fact that I was feeling cranky when James came to pick me up. We were going to Jonny and Jessima's for a Korean dinner with a Korean investigator and Jimmi & Anita. I had organised it with Jonny that week.

We drove through Woodridge on the way to their place, and James pulled into Mabel Park on Paradise Road, and got out. He said he just wanted to chill out and talk to me for a few minutes, catch up on my day and calm me down before we went to Jonny and Jessima's for dinner. I was too scared (at night...in Woodridge) to go to the playground or anything, so we just talked by the car for a few minutes. James commented a few times that he was thirsty. He opened my door and as I got into the car he asked me to pass him his water bottle from the glove box.

I opened the glove box and there it was: A beautiful, sparkling diamond ring in it's open box.

I of course, didn't notice it as I grabbed it out with everything else in my diligent search for his water bottle.

I put it all back as I told James that it wasn't in there, and it was only when I'd replaced the ring that I realised what it was. My stomach and my jaw hit the ground and I turned to see James kneeling on one knee, in the Mabel Park carpark. "Abby Munro, will you marry me?" he asked. I couldn't believe it! I really wanted to say yes but didn't 100% know if it was right yet. I had prayed about it a bit, but not in earnest - I was not expecting him to propose for at least another couple of months...! So I just hugged him screaming 'Oh my goodness! You're proposing!' and trying to buy time. Finally he said 'You just have to answer! - Yes or no? Please tell me!' so I took a deep breath and said 'YES!!' ... and here we are :)

The Tuesday night before this we were making time capsules in Young Womens, and we had had to write 'My dream proposal'. I had written 'A complete surprise'. So despite the fact that James had a rather more elaborate and technically more romantic evening planned before I hit him with the news that we were going to a Korean dinner that night, he managed my dream proposal perfectly :) And now our kids can go play where we got engaged!! :)


Beth took some engagement photos of us there too :)

We have had tons of good times!








And now we're no longer just a couple - we're a little family! :) It's the funnest thing ever :)


So I'm really glad that 4 years ago today James asked me a question he hoped he knew the answer to, and I'm so glad I answered right!! :) Happy Anniversary of Our Engagement James!! ;) xo

Turn Off the TV and Get a Life!!!

That's the talk of a John Bytheway talk, and it's my favourite :) It probably helps that I listened to it in the last 2 months - and it coincided with my self-inflicted TV ban.

If you hang out with us a bit, you probably already know that we don't have our TV hooked up, so we can only watch DVD's on it. This would of course be easy to remedy, except neither of us were particularly keen on doing so - I grew up without our TV hooked up, and James thinks it's a waste of time.

I have an addictive personality. For example, I used to be addicted to chocolate, and now I'm addicted to exercise (sob...). I always like having something on in the 'background' while I'm doing my housework, and can 'down' an entire TV series in a few days. In the last couple of months before about 2 months ago I found myself borrowing or renting TV series' and constantly having them on.

The last series I borrowed I jokingly called my 'soap opera'. It was a teen drama and I knew it was pretty terrible, but I 'had' to keep watching anyway, once I'd started. I watched 4 seasons.

I think little by little, the shows I had been watching deteriorated in more than quality - they deteriorated in language and morals as well. I would never want my children to watch that last series I watched - it was terrible!

I realised that I wasn't spending near enough time playing with Maggie with my full attention - there was always a piece of me glued to that set. AND if I was watching something pretty awful, how could I expect our home to feel like a temple and be a place the spirit could dwell?

So then I swore off TV for a while.

I don't know how I ever fit it in.

Our home is definitely more our home. I have not been letting in all those characters and their homes - we do our own thing here.

I am more really there for Maggie, and Ana.

We sing and dance a lot around the house and play good music all the time. Maggie loves it :)

I've read a lot of books while feeding and treadmilling.

I've listened to a bunch of good talks on CD :)

I've cleaned a lot more.

Dinner has been on the table when James gets home most nights.

I go to bed earlier and so I can get up earlier and work out.

In the evenings James plays the guitar and I read or try to catch up on my private blog, and get the dishes done so it's all fresh for the morning. Plus we talk more.

I don't think about random characters who don't exist, and wonder what they will do next (isn't it pathetic that I ever did?!!).

In 'Turn off the TV and Get a Life' John Bytheway talks about a time in college when he used to watch TV for about 2 hours each night before bed. Then one day he decided to go to bed 2 hours early, and get up 2 hours early, and work on a book he'd always wanted to write. He said he exchanged his 2 most non-constructive hours with his two most constructive hours, and he wrote that book - his first one, and it obviously changed his life!

Anyway, I'm loving it. I'm scared to ever watch anything again, because it's so good having all my time to myself! I think it's okay with movies - it's just the TV series that suck me in.

And my mind is clear and free and ready for me to fill it with constructive things! :)

I am loving it :) My head detox :)

Fitness Challenge: Week 7

Has it been that long already?!!

I am down one more KG :) That means I've lost FIVE!!! Awesome :) And only 2 or 3 more till I qualify for my fabulous new skinny outfit! :) I seriously should've done a before and after picture, except, 'Shame!!' lol :)

I love working out.

I had a dessert night with my sisters (and dessert-night crashing brother ;)) on Saturday night and was disappointed to find that my unconquerable appetite for chocolate seems to have diminished. I only ate one profiterole, a little bit of chocolate mousse and a little bit of ice cream and I felt a bit sick! How awful! Am I going to be one of those people who can't eat a whole block of chocolate in one sitting and be keen to go back for more?! Will I need to eat real food before I feel like dessert?! Will really rich desserts be 'too much' for me?! Am I losing myself?!!! Sigh.. Eating chocolate has always been something I'm incredibly good at, and now I feel it slipping away! :S

And my exciting news: I joined a netball team :) First game tomorrow night!! I don't know if I'll be any good at all but the team already let me in, lucky! :) I LOVE playing actual sport, but lately I've been a bit too pregnant to keep up with it, so I thought I'd grab this between-pregnancy opportunity and jump on in!! Yay!!! :)

Oh and just a few ways I'm saving money:

- Chocolate. Or the absence thereof (again, sigh..)
- There are less of my legs to shave, so I'm pretty sure I'm saving on razors...I am also saving on time...
- I am eating smaller portions at dinner, so James gets more leftovers for his lunches, so I don't have to pack as much other stuff for him (the boy needs like a trolley to carry his lunch, sigh)

5 weeks to go until I can eat chocolate whenever I want to again!!.....If I do....sigh...

Fitness Challenge: Week 6

I have to admit it. I'm addicted to working out. I love it. I hate it when I miss a day. I love that feeling at the end when I'm all hot and sweaty and can almost feel myself losing weight and being fit! And it makes me feel like I'm back in high school at the end of a basketball or netball game (I guess I didn't work hard enough in volleyball..). If I had no children I'd NEVER miss a day, but if I don't get up early and do it in that little gap before they are fully awake and before James goes out so he can help me with them if they do wake up, it's all over. Sometimes I work out at night, but it's nowhere near as good doing it at night.

I dropped another kg this week...!! :D That makes me super happy :) I look at my tummy in the mirror and think 'Yeah! I totally lost a bit!' - not that I'd be so sure if the scales didn't tell me I did lol :) I think I'm nearly ready to have another look through my 'skinny' clothes and see if there are any more I can fit back into :) I am now less than I've weighed since I got pregnant with Maggie :) SUPER happy :) AND super motivating!! :)

Last week I had Freestyle for my treat - a chocolate brownie to be exact :) I felt sick the next day (I in no way attribute this to my dessert) and only ate a slice of toast the entire day. This may have attributed to my lost kilo. I'm all for it. (I wasn't trying to be anorexic on this day - I never try to do that anymore, because I have so often in the past, and it only results in me eating more than I ever would have because I can't handle being denied food!! This was legitimate sickness lol).

I love losing this weight.

I was talking to someone the other day about how you're a different person when you put on weight. I know that when I'm even just a bit overweight (Like I was just 6 short weeks ago!!! :D... And still am a tiny bit) I act differently. I'm not as confident. I don't move about as much. I avoid bending down to pick things up off the ground. (I use my toes. But we don't need to go into that now...). I watch more TV. I don't go out as much. I don't dance around the house while I do my housework. I feel like I shouldn't eat too much, ALL THE TIME (annoying!). I don't put as much effort into my hair, makeup or outfit because I just feel a bit crummy (this is a little anti-helpful. Don't do this!). I am embarrassed.

Losing weight is like waking up! (For me - this may not apply to everyone. Some girls look hot with some extra meat on them, but my meat packs itself onto my body in the most unattractive places, and I do not look hot at all.) But getting fit is probably like waking up for everybody!! :)

I dance around my house, ALL DAY - I had to make a new 'dance/housework' playlist on my computer to keep up with me. I get on the ground and pick things up and play with the girls. I get out more. I wake up earlier. It's easy to eat healthily - you don't feel like eating as much junk. I'm super happy. Looking in the mirror or at photos isn't always as shudder-worthy an activity. I want to go out. I feel young. Choosing an outfit to wear isn't traumatic - it can even be fun. This also applies to shopping. I'm more confident. I like dressing up! I feel more... worthy - self esteem I guess.

I'm the same person - it's only been 6 weeks after all, but I feel SO different. Some people might be thinking I'm a bit pathetic and over-dramatic because it's not like I was ever obese or anything, but just that little bit has made such a difference to me both in the putting it on and the taking it off!

And I don't feel like 'frump-girl' or 'frump-mum'! I feel like a young, energetic mum, which is a LOT more fun!! :)

And so even though James continues to tell me that the weight loss isn't important, I continue to reassure him that it is. But I guess it's true in that if I was ever successful at starving myself (it's always irked me that I couldn't successfully manage this, sigh), I wouldn't feel as wonderful in all the energetic, let's go out and have fun kids of ways, SO doing a 'fitness' challenge is a lot better than dieting. And these great side effects aren't JUST from losing weight - they're from being fit and healthy :)

Monologue discourse over.

Fitness Challenge: Week 5

I wrote this the Monday I'd normally have posted it on my blog - but my internet's been down and out so I couldn't post it. Here's week 5:

This week I was perfect until Friday night, when I went to Max Brenner with Tammy, Andrea and two of Tam’s roommates :) You could say my week got better at that stage, but not in any relation to the fitness challenge! :) It could have been my treat for the week, but I’d already decided to bake for Sunday night, so it was counted as junk food. Saturday I missed my workout, and Sunday night I had my treat for the week – pumpkin pie, profiteroles with chocolate cream & sauce, and pineapple upside-down cake :) They were all really good – I’m a big homemade dessert fan :)

Anyway, I’ve actually been feeling kind of fat the last few days – not feeling as good as I was, but thankfully I seem to be just under the kilo mark to where I was last Monday, so I seem to maybe have lost half a kilo – I’m sure if I’m good this week I’ll at least get under that next kilo!

It’s funny how my body seems to be addicted to working out now, and just missing one day felt so bad! I’m not going to think about how it probably has something to do with the Max Brenner I’d eaten the night before too lol :)

I feel like the weight was easy to drop at the start and now I’m starting to plateau, but it was encouraging to see the needle a little bit lower on the scale! I kind of wish I had some pound weights – it would seem like I was dropping it so quickly!! Lol :)

Anyhow, 5 weeks down, 7 to go! I have still only lost 3kg’s and have 4 or 5 to go, so maybe I need to step it up a little! I asked James what to do to lose weight faster and he suggested I cut out most carbs and meat and just eat fruit and veg…. I will save that for the last couple of weeks if I’m desperate!! :)

Have a healthy week!!! :)
(ha-ha-ha!)

Fitness Challenge: Week 4

A lot of this week was great.

On Monday we had Tim Tam slams for Family Home Evening treat, because after last week I was NOT waiting around for a measly peanut slab on Saturday afternoon! They were great. Heaps of chocolate, totally satisfying. I bought a new tin of Milo and 4 packets of Tim Tams to make sure there were enough... :)

On Tuesday I was tired and it was late when I was going to work out, so James suggested we had our 'off day' (ie. day off) on Tuesday instead of Thursday, which we did, so I worked out on Thursday instead of Tuesday.

On Friday everything was still going well, and I hung out with Andrea, who's from Utah, and we had fish & chips for lunch because I thought it was Australian, and when James came home he said I lost my junk food points for eating fish & chips. This had not occurred to me.

Friday night was our date night, so when we went out, seeing as I had already lost my junk food points, I got a hot chocolate and a slice of pecan pie and ate a cookie Mum gave me when we dropped Maggie off to be babysat. THEN when we got home, I went to bed, without working out....!!!! This is the first day I haven't worked out, EVER(inthelast4weeks), AND I didn't read my Scriptures before bed. I was quoting scripture to myself as I fell asleep to make up for it, but when I woke up Saturday morning I realised that I was basically asleep at the time and I couldn't honestly count it :(

Saturday was a busy day, and in the evening we went on our fabulous cousins dinner (and witnessed the World's Worst Date EVER as discussed in the previous post..), and dessert was at Freestyle...mmmmm....and I wasn't going to get a dessert, but then Claire had no one to share with, and being the dedicated, kind, loyal, caring and sharing cousin that I am (reminding myself here of The Lady and the Chocolate - maybe I'll type the text here one day...), I couldn't let the poor girl be left to eat an entire dessert by herself when she didn't want to, and once you've already lost your weekly bonus it's kind of easy to keep losing points, so I shared dessert with Claire! It was really good. But when I got home late again, I didn't exercise again! :S

It's like sin...or Pringles - once you start, you can't stop! Sigh..

Just to prove it, on Sunday night after I had finished dinner before 7 and everything, I was cleaning up, and some cookies Mum & Dad had been given and dropped some over were sitting on the bench and I ate one.

Can you believe it? It was 7:05 - I broke my eating before 7 rule, AND my junk for the day, for ONE COOKIE!!! A little one too! And I didn't even really want it that bad! I just felt like breaking all those rules, because I already had.

Isn't that ridiculous?! I can't report on my weights/walking progress, because I can barely even remember the last time I did it! Sigh...

But back into it today! Fortunately I weight exactly the same amount as last week and at least haven't gone up!

This week I'm not going to let myself slip in ANY area, because if you let yourself slip in one part, you (or at least I!) seem to collapse in every area!!

So watch this spot next Monday for reports of my super impressive perfect week and incredible weight loss!!

PS: I'm pretty sure James has decided to throw the junk food part of the challenge to make his calorie count. Not that I would gloat about him losing some serious points every day, but if I did, I would totally be doing that now...
PPS: So on our date on Friday night in addition to eating junk food we saw Captain America - I can't help but love all these Marvel comic movies - they're not an overload of violence or scariness - they're funny and light and comic strip action rather than horrific stuff, AND I like the whole Mr Stark being in them all and stuff - I can't wait for the one they're gearing up for when they're in it together!
PPPS: There are still some of those cookies on the bench and 2 packets of Tim Tams in my cupboard! - Aren't I just Little Miss Self Control?!?
PPPPS: Tonight's workout is going to be hell!
PPPPPS: Actually I'm sort of looking forward to it a little bit - at least he cardio bit, if not the weights (yeah...not the weights). I love feeling fit - I feel like I'm back in high school and have a strong desire to play sports again.
PPPPPPS: I also emailed the Fitness Challenge to a couple of people who were thinking of doing their own this week - any reports on those fronts?!

The World's Worst First Date EVER

This date was shared by 8 women and a baby, but that's not what made it bad. In fact, I would say we were a highlight. THE highlight, if you don't count the apparently ecstasy-inducing dessert they were eating.

On Saturday night Tammy, our Utah guest-cousin Andrea and I met up with Debbie, Sarah, Claire, Kristy, Kimberly & Kyrie & Rachael for one of our cousins dinners. We enjoyed some tame versions of exotic foods together at a long (kind of conversation killing) table in a restaurant, before heading to a nearby dessert place. Sadly Kristy & Kimberly had to leave before dessert, but the remaining 8 of us pretty much snuggled together around 3 tables in the busy dessert place. It was one of those places with couches along one side of the tables, and chairs around the others.

Down one end of the table along the couch sat Andrea, then Tammy, Sarah, Rachael, then on chairs going around, Claire, me, Kyrie & Debbie next to Andrea.

We were all enjoying our time together beautifully, when we were joined by the two participants in said world's worst date EVER. I say 'joined', because the lady came and sat on the couch at the next-door table, and the man tossed her bag on the seat and explained that he'd much prefer to sit close to her - so Lady is pushed up suddenly against Andrea, as Man snuggles up next to her. Lady got progressively more snuggly with Andrea throughout the evening as Man got progressively weirder, and snuggly with Lady. Andrea and Debbie cover open mouths and turn the other way.

Sadly, I cannot do this date justice, because Claire and I were in what turned out to be the bad seats, exactly opposite the date, while Andrea & Debbie were pretty much on the date, and Tammy and Kyrie had a pretty good placement to catch half of it. Therefore Claire and I only knew at times the severity of the date's condition through the faces of Debbie and Andrea, which were not exactly poker faces. Also, Debbie's periodic text messages with Man quotes, which revealed to some extent, the content of the date conversation...

Man is very excited to be on the date with Lady - Man is staying with his mother temporarily - Man bought a very expensive bottle for Lady, wouldn't she like more? Man pushes lady incessantly to drink, lady does not - Man has drunk entire bottle of expensive wine except what was in Lady's glass - The dessert arrives. Man warns Lady that before they begin, she needs to prepare herself to 'experience ecstasy' (the 4 cousins closest to table turned away and shook violently with hands covering open mouths at this assurance) - Lady has been looking down at the table the entire date - Lady ends up pouring the wine from her glass into Man's glass, Man likes it so much - Man has realised he has been talking the whole time. Man launches into explanations of all the things he'd like to know about Lady without stopping - Lady has not said a word the entire night - Man intensely probes lady on every previous relationship she's ever had - Man says they should go out sometime, Lady says they are out, Man says another time, lady says nothing - Man would like to go out for more drinks, Lady needs to get home - Man gives Lady his number and asks her to text Man right away so he gets her number. This means Lady cannot give fake number.

We couldn't leave the restaurant until the date was over, as Debbie and Andrea were glued to their seats with their open-mouthed faces pointed in opposite directions. Oh and I didn't mention one of the slightly more hideous things he did, because I don't want to have to put ratings on my blog posts.

We tried to interpret Lady's silences: I'm going to kill Friend for setting me up with Man...I'm never even having dessert with an internet hookup again...In fact I don't think I'm ever going to date again...Would it be too obvious if I went and sat on the other side...I'm pretty sure the entire table next door are listening to every word Man says...I am so glad I have 8 women and a baby backing me up...Um, are they really taking pictures of the two girls sitting in front of us, or are they taking a photo of the worst date I've ever been on in my life...I wonder if they'd give me a copy so I could show my friends...I am not drinking a sip of anything alcoholic on this date, nice try, Man!...Go out again?! I don't know what to say!! Say nothing...Experience ecstasy?! I'm so weirded out right now...This is an incredibly bad date...I wonder if those are real diamonds in his earring...

Actually I'm pretty sure at least Man knew the photo was of them - he remarked to Lady when we were taking it "We're about to be uploaded onto Youtube!", and seemed pretty excited about it.

Tammy felt sorry for Man, because we were all shocked and horrified and admittedly amused by the date, because she thought Man was probably nice, and probably just finding it hard to date or something. Somebody needs to make a 'How to Lose a Girl in 10 Minutes' movie to help poor Man out, in that case, because we're pretty sure that's just what he did. When Tammy said she felt sorry for Man on the way home, Andrea emphatically disagreed, and said she couldn't remember even half of the awful, not okay things he said and did on the world's worst first date ever, but she was very concerned about how he kept pressing Lady to get drunk, and all the details he wanted of previous relationships. When Man went up to pay lady sat in obvious discomfort waiting (I wonder if he'd notice me sneaking out past him...), and Sarah called 'Do you wanna come with us?!' - but to Sarah's disappointment Lady didn't hear, or at least pretended not to.

And so now we are left wondering.

Did they know 8 women and a baby were on their date with them? Did they enjoy our company as much as we enjoyed theirs? Did they enjoy their cuddles with Andrea? Will there be a World's Worst SECOND Date ever?! If so, we didn't get their numbers :(