Another day in paradise

Today I decided to make the most of the fact that I have a whole day on the ground. I actually rode down to Kingston twice - yes twice, and rode back up again... It is a bit of a battle and I still get to the bottom of the hill and question my sanity in wanting to ride back up but i think it might be getting marginally easier. My legs may well not work tomorrow so here's to an early night...

The weather on Norfolk was beautiful today - we are desperately in need of rain but taking full advantage of the sunshine - so I cycled out to Ponderosa to catch up with my friend Dom, and then back through town to drop of my payslip and Tori's letter from Savannah. As I still had an hour until my Brunch meeting I decided to head down a town for a quick swim. What a sight for sore eyes the beach was this morning, again crystal clear water and hardly any wind. As I had a busy day planned I threw myself into the water for a quick swim out to the reef and back (plus time for the pics).

The glass bottom boat was out, and I had thoughts of swimming over to it and diving under for an awesome shot but due to time constraints will have to leave that for a later post - I'm sure with the weather that we are experiencing that I will get another opportunity. Back to shore and back onto the bike.

Next I cycled back up Taylors Rd. It was my first time and I made it all the way without stopping - although I must add that there were several amused drivers passing me in the opposite direction. I had a brunch meeting at Bounty Lodge with a local lady who is interested in doing some work with us at Aurelia Lifestyle Retreat. With a wealth of experience in Tai Chi and Qui Gong, as well as Kahuna massage she will be a massive benefit to our business and add significant value to the product offering that we and Norfolk can deliver.

As you can see the food (chicken and salad wrap) was beautifully presented and I can certainly vouch for the taste - it was delicious.

Radio station next for my show - which was so much fun! I really have noticed the difference that all this exercise does to increase my energy levels and help to keep my moods on an even keel. Normally it would be harder to deal with the stress associated with my little girl being in hospital away I have found I am coping by keeping busy and active.

After the show I cycled to Hillisyde to make sure that it was presentable for the Progressive Dinner there tonight - no, I said NO, but Baunti still used it with Alanah the chief chef. Whilst I was there I took a couple of pictures of the front yard presentation - There is still lots to be done but it is looking much better... Picture this, Norfolk Island's first premier day spa and retreat venue. Stay tuned to this space for further developments.

Last cycle of the day was to get home and what better way to get there than down Queen Elizabeth Lookout, and to Kingston for a swim... who needs to hurry??? The beach was packed (about as packed as it gets) with families swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and doing all the fun things you can do at the Bay.

When I could swim and photograph no more I headed back up the Country Road and home. At the bottom of the hill I wished for some wings but my legs served me well and got me there, and this time I didnt even have to stand up - hooray for little victories ;O)

No Post tomorrow sorry - flying ALL day - but Thursday, fair weather permitting we might go on a different adventure...

Happy days ;O)

Kaz

Incidental Exercise

Hooray - I have a new toy which I bought specifically for this blog. It is a digital underwater camera which can go down to 10 feet and has enbabled me to capture some footage of the beautiful sealife that inhabit the crystal clear waters of Emily Bay on Norfolk Island.

However as my topic today is incidental exercise I guess I had better elaborate some more on this. It has been a few days since I last blogged - even sans children I have worked all weekend and by the time I get home I am reluctant to stick myself behind a computer screen, and on that note I have been making sure that I have been outdoors as much as humanly possible.

On Saturday I bought my camera in duty free and then of course had to patiently (NOT) wait for it to be fully charged so that I could try it out. Whilst waiting I rode the bike around to Hillisyde and mowed the lawns, cleared up a little and then rode home again. I had planned on riding down to the beach but by the time I was done I figured it was getting a little late so rode back to DCA and drove down instead.

For those of you who know me, you know I am a little fussy about my swimming conditions - even the slightest bit of wind or minimal chop and Im out so Saturday arvo served as a non swimming afternoon, but i did stick my toes in and tried out the new camera in the shallows with not to glorious results.. certainly nothing worth uploading, with the exception of the beautiful sunset.

On Sunday I was determined to get a better result and again cycled down to Kingston and it was PERFECT. The sky was blue, the water clear and not a breath of wind. So, in I went, camera in hand and attempted to swim the first 20 metres or so with a modified swim before I worked out that I could just attach it to my cosies and then swim freely with 2 hands - very nice and much easier. During the course of the swim I stopped a few times to catch some pictures and video of the fish, but trying to film underwater and stay underwater when you arent a fish, or attached to O2 is an interesting task so it took me a while to realise that it was actually easier if I left the camera on the sea floor and then swam down for recovery stage. (see video below)

It was certainly a rewarding experience and a real lesson to me in the value of incidental exercise, taking the time to do something you love and also that is good for you is the best way to make every day a good day!

As a treat for cycling all the way back up the hill - and I might add here that I am not a speed racer but success for me is not stopping on the way - I rewarded myself with a healthy brunch at Cafe Pacifica with Vicki and Fox - DELICIOUS prawn rice paper rolls and a massive salad.

Then of course, cycled home to get ready for work.

So, that in a nutshell was Saturday and Sunday - today is now Monday and I have flown to Newcastle and back for an Post Christmas celebration with my kids and extended family (sans Thommo and Vannah who is in hospital :O( having her arm pinned) which was nice. Now, before the sun goes down I am going to take a walk down to the beach for a bbq catch up with some friends and where I go my new trusty camera will go to so stay tuned!

:O) Kaz

Merry Christmas 09

So the question on everyones lips - How to do Christmas on a 'eating' budget??? First of all it helps to mix up the communication a little so that the big Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner that were initially planned end up not being soooooo gastronomically big! Let me explain.

Today being my first Christmas alone without the kids I managed to get a few invitations to Christmas meals but traditionally it is always breakfast with mum. Mum had invited me to go to church with her and Nan, but we decided to get together after given that I was out on my lonesome for Christmas Eve last night and wasnt sure what time I would be up...

Anyway, so at 9 O'clock I was well and truly up and around and thinking that mum would surely have finished at church by now... calling her at 9.15 she advised me that church was not until 10.00 and would finish around 11 O'clock... hence the first mix up which then meant that the 11.30 lunches that I had been also invited to were late, and I was also still full from bacon and eggs, so just had a little pavlova and watermelon.

I was actually a little tired and had a Christmas dinner invite from 4 but didnt leave the lunch sessions until around then and mum was at work and wasnt going to be there till 6, so decided to have a nanna-nap until then.

At 6.13 the phone RANG and woke me up from the deepest sleep, but then had to get into action for the next course... the trick however was that both the meal and dessert I ate from very small plates and so though they looked full, I didnt experience my usual Christmas gluttony - Yay me, and I can safely sit here at 9 O'clock at night and not berate myself for eating WAY TOO MUCH!

The down side of the ledger was that I didnt actually do any exercise today - incidental or otherwise so tomorrow will have to make sure that I get out on the bike after work. Big plans to do some more work in the yard tomorrow and then have a swim!

The weather here has been quite HOT but the beach was packed like Bondi today with everyone catching up and taking the opportunity to just relax, eat and swim - Very Nice!

Back to work tomorrow - first time since I have started the daily blog so will be interesting to see what delicious and nutritious fare we have onboard... I did put a request in for some fruit with the change-over pilots so HOPEFULLY (all fingers crossed), there might be a nice juicy mango... Now that would be a Christmas present ;O)

Hope all yorle out there got spoilt and had a great day without too much excess (except for the fun part!)

x Kaz

Dec 23 and 24 09

I have been so good, not really because I wanted to be - but because I am keeping my mind and body occupied so I dont have to think about not being in Aussie with my kids for Christmas...

That being my whinge, I will get back to the business of 'laying myself bare' and telling anyone who is interested about what I have done the last 24-36 hours.

I started my day with a cycle into town. I have made a conscious decision to ride/walk whenever I can rather than take the car. For those familiar with Norfolks terrain already, you know there will some exertion due to the number of rolling hills etc.

So, anyway, into town I rode, just me and my pushy, did my little errands and then set out to hire a truck for the day... You see I have decided that rather than do an exercise session, I will make an effort to do some incidental exercise, and include some vigorous workout into my day and get some long overdue jobs done. YAY me!

So, I hired a truck as there has been a build up of scrap and waste material left lying around the yards at Hillisyde for some time now and with nothing better to do I set about tidying up the mess... 2 Big truckloads of some decent size hunks of wood later and big thanks to a couple of local lads that helped me with the unloading part, the yard started to look a little better... Better still I managed not to get too sunburnt..

Food wise, I had a pretty healthy breakfast, and then a nice chicken salad wrap from the local health food shop and then grabbed a steak and salad sandwich at the Baunti Escapes Christmas party... didnt have time for snacks although I do know that they play a big part in weight management so will make sure that after the choas of Christmas is over that I start to manage this a little better.

Oh, yes, so I mentioned that I went to a Christmas party - hard to avoid at this time of year but restrained myself with only 2 glasses of wine, and then went out for a quick drink with some of the cabin and flight crew from work and then home to bed - before midnight... so I didnt turn into a pumpkin!

Today I had a bit of a lie in, but thought better of it, given I still had the truck and at least 1 more load that I knew of, and wasnt sure exactly when it had to be returned... Straight back into it I got a bit over excited and managed to clear quite a bit of the junk that has been hiding beneath the house for a while - quite exhertive all that lifting and bending and pulling and my arms, legs and hands have copped a hiding, but again felt quite proud of my efforts. But today i managed to get sunburnt! Very naughty!

Food wise, again some healthy cereal for breakfast - eggs benedict (not so good-oops) for early lunch and then - oh yes another Christmas party tonight.. but im thinking that tonight because it is Christmas Eve that I might drown my sorrows a bit more and try not to think of my beautiful daughter and husband in hospital cause there is NOTHING I can do...

So, I am now dressed and almost ready to head out the door - I know it is Christmas day tomorrow but will make a point of updating again and I know cause I am telling you everything that I am eating that I might restrain myself a little more than I ordinarily would - and that is the plan...

So till then Goodnight - hope Santa brings you all BIG presents, and hope more that your friends and family are all safe and well.

Merry Christmas
x Kaz

PS - sorry for the lack of images, I will have to source a camera so that I can make this a little more interesting from here on in!

CWLC - Half Way and only just beginning!

Today is the half way mark in the Aurelia Community Weight Loss Challenge... But from today it is all about me.

I'll be honest and tell you the first 6 weeks have been a little half hearted... so much going on, and so little time - but in reality I have the same amount of time as every member in this challenge and the RED team are having OUTSTANDING results every week! Obviously it is me doing something wrong - First thing to fix.. time management skills and prioritising my health!

Now that the family are away for 4 weeks, I am going to devote as much time as I can to getting it all on track - after all I am meant to be an advertisement for our product so no more lame excuses for me - its on!

I asked all members of the challenge to document their journey on our facebook group page, and to be honest I was disappointed that this hasnt happened as yet and then realised... that I hadn't done it myself so how can I expect them to ?

So from tonight - live for all the world to see will be me, stripped bare (well not literally ;O), but certainly exposed, and you can be my judges to see why I do or dont get the results I am after...

On that note, I best get up and into it.

Is there anywhere more beautiful than Norfolk to do this???..

Happy days ;O)

Kaz

My Aurelia

It is time - something that we have talked about for awhile now, it is time to launch into the blog... a link, or connection point for the social media that we have begun, and also a way in which to reach a greater audience and attempt to inspire them with what we have, what we do and why.

Aurelia Lifestyle Retreat is a business that is in the process of being established here on our beautiful home of Norfolk Island. Just a hop step and a jump away from Australia and New Zealand we believe it is the best place yet to rediscover the full potential of self.

Aurelia is a Lifestyle Retreat, a day spa destination that will offer massage therapies, infra red sauna, floatation therapies, personal training, group fitness classes, weight loss support and teeth whitening... and this is only the beginning.

8 times a year we will facilitate full Retreats for visitors and locals to become immersed in a dedicated wellness program, to re-earth and find them-selves, away from the daily mele of activity that we call life.

Imagine, walking through our native forests, paddling through our pristine waters, cycling beside historic ruins, or just lying peacefully beneath the stars and breathing in ...

Welcome to MY Aurelia - my chrysalis...

, it