Gail Dickson .. my blog from Down Under

Oh my god … where has time gone?!?! I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last blogged. My only excuse is sheer exhaustion …

So what’s been going on then?

Work has been horrendous for a start! I’ve been doing two programme management roles plus managing a task force and managing a fairly sizeable project (which was having some serious issues with that three letter acronym SI that I love so much). I had told “those above” that I couldn’t manage the workload and that I needed some help however it took them alot of weeks to actually get me the help … only now am I starting to feel the pressure lessening. The project has been handed over to another project manager, web and online programme is being handed over to the new programme manager (I was always only babysitting it) and I’m left with my normal CVM (micro marketing) programme and the taskforce which is definitely manageable.

I have to say though that although web & online had the same impact on me as my previous visit (too much work … working till midnight each night … etc) I do like that area. Some of it is the technology and some of it is the team.

Talking of which … my test manager from web & online is due to fly out to the UK at the beginning of April so if anyone out there knows of any roles available for an excellent test manager then let me know and I’ll put you in touch with him. I can honestly say that Dragan is not only great at his job … but he’s a really nice guy too … and we’ll miss him down under!

So …. on top of the job … I was also doing this six week intensive gym thing. Remembering that I haven’t really done any real exercise since Reggie was born … this was extremely hard work! We were doing a kind of circuit training … weights/resistance training, core training and lots of running (or at least that’s how it seemed!). There were six of us to start with … one woman didn’t come back after the first session … which is not really surprising since we could hardly walk downstairs after the first hour! Come session number two, I was finding it difficult to walk let alone do any more exercise …. It slowly got a bit easier and we got a replacement for the woman who didn’t come back.

The hardest bit for me was actually the eating plan … I don’t do diets and eat quite healthily anyway. This plan was more about ensuring that you were eating the right things at the right time and giving up on those treats (including any alcohol and ice cream etc). I actually found that I was eating more with this plan than I normally would which I still find weird … but since the trainer checked your eating every couple of weeks, I stuck to it.

Six weeks on and how did I do? Not going to give you all the gory details .. but suffice to say, I now have muscles in places I didn’t know were there, I’ve lost 4.5% body fat and on average have lost 2.5cm from all over. May not be enough but it’s a good start and it’s really good for 6 weeks.

So how do I keep it up? I’ve signed up with the same personal trainer for two sessions a week along with one of the other women from the course. Started this morning … I have to say undiluted Shellee (that’s her name) is much harder than hiding behind five other women!   But working with her has reminded me how much I enjoy going to the gym and I’ve seen the difference it can make so not going to give up now. (although I have to admit, I did have some wine at the weekend … and some Italian bread which is not allowed)

The other stuff ……

The kids are doing great. Kyle is back at school .. new teacher that both Kyle and mum and dad prefer. He is learning guitar at school and is also taking extra swimming lessons through school. His swimming is coming on really well …. he can swim without any floats on his front and back and they are just perfecting the arms before learning how to breathe properly. Because they live on the water down here (Auckland is completely surrounded by water), they take swimming very seriously which is great.

He’s been on a major growth spurt recently aswell so is huge! Won’t be long before he’s bigger than mum! He also lost his first tooth a couple of weeks ago which was kind of sad … makes me realise that he’s getting older. Is it just me who gets all sad at that?? It’s great to see them grow up but sad that they are no longer my babies. And before anyone says it …. there will be no more! Trust me on that one …. no idea why anyone would have more than two …. how can they cope???

Reggie is also growing up really quickly … her speech is coming on leaps and bounds. It’s really cute when she sits on my knee reading me books and I can make out most of what she’s trying to tell me. Like I did with Kyle, Reggie and I have a “what did you do today at pre-school 1″ conversation between me picking her up and getting to school to pick up Kyle. It’s a real conversation where she tells me what she’s been up to … it’s nice. Kyle now has to watch himself though as she now tells on him when he’s done something to her :o)

Her hair is getting really long … am going to take her to the hairdressers on Saturday with me and see if they’ll trim it (first time!). She’s also starting to get little freckles on her nose …. so between the red curly hair, the huge brown eyes and the little freckles … she’s getting even cuter.

Reggie loves swimming too … and it takes alot of effort to keep her out of her swimmers on Sunday mornings until it’s nearly time to go. She loves diving in and going under the water to pick up toys from the bottom of the pool. Don’t think we’ll have many problems teaching her to swim either!

I never say much about Bobby as one day I think he’ll get his own blog up and running again .. but in the meantime … he’s good too. Still with “the opposition” and is getting on really well there. He’s been taking on a bit more load at home since I’ve been at the gym … so thank you Bobby! I do appreciate it …

Easter is coming up so we’ve booked a bach in Coromandel for the weekend. It’s in the valley behind Thames and we’re hoping (weather permitting) to go on some walks as there are some good walking tracks around there. Will take lots of pictures as I realise that I haven’t put up any new photos recently.

Can’t think of anything else … but will blog again soon now that I’m a bit less exhausted.