Cate's Diary

Hi Cate

That's good news about your vein appointment. It's always nice to know it's not going to be as bad as first thought to get treated!

You and Annie will have a blast regardless! It would be nice for some others to jump in on the action too - I would be there with bells on if I was in Vic! I hope you have a good visit with your mum in a couple of weeks! Isn’t it funny how the man of the house can never do any wrong with them. I have the same with LB. His ‘just wonderful’ as far as my mum is concerned and nothing can waver it! I try sometime out of jest but no… his like golden child! Ha ha

Anyway have a great week!

Lauren
 
I have been trying to type in here for about an hour & am really having trouble. I can't be chatty or cheerful. I'm utterly exhausted.A very old (92) friend died overnight, burnt along with his home. I have spent the day with his carer/friend who is also a very dear friend of mine up at what is left of his home (very little.) I met up with her(she rang me very early this morning) & went up to his home & have stayed with her all day & it has been a day of talking to police, forensics etc. We have found homes for his animals (those that didn't die with him) and I am going back in the morning to help his daughter & son-in-law clean up the sheds & to pile bits of the house into a heap.
I wish we didn't have anything planned for the next couple of days. I need time to take stock. My brain has gone into a bit of shock I think so will say good-night, Cate.
 
Oh Cate.... I'm so sad to hear of your loss. What a shock! I am glad that you were able to spend the day being a support to your friend and his carer. I'm sure it meant a lot to her. I hope you can find some comfort with your LH tonight and over the next few days. We will be thinking of you.

Bless you
Kath
 
Kath Thanks. I do feel a lot better today thank goodness. Our brains protect us I think by going into temporary shut-down mode.
I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep last night. Our phone rang fairly hot last night with friends calling. When we got to bed I lay awake for hours. I got up a few times & got to sleep eventually. I had decided to call my old friend's daughter to see if she minded me not going up to help as I woke up tired of course. She rang me before I had a chance to say that I need not go up to help as they had decided just to put all his things that are left in the garden shed & were going to secure it & come back another time to tidy up. I was very relieved.
Now I can get ready for going away. I can do the ironing & some computer work that I need to do before we go away & type in here etc. It's hard when you are going out 2 nights in a row & then heading off the next day. I hate taking dirty washing with me & don't have that many clothes (yet) or a clothes dryer (don't believe in them as they guzzle too much power.)
I might take my laptop I think as we aren't flying & I can leave it safely in my car on the ship. I can't wait to get away.
Our YS has not been in touch but I see that Tas have lost their 1st 3 matches & that could explain why. He & we, thought that his first game of singles was not going to be until Monday at 2pm but it is now on Sat night & we will miss it. Bugger! Hopefully he will win that one & we will get to see him play in the singles. He was seeded 3rd in the tournament! I have not told him about our old friend as I don't want to upset him while he is playing. It can wait until the 8-ball is over. We try to protect our children, even when they are not children any more. I waited until my older son had got home from a conference yesterday before I let him know. I didn't like the thought of him driving a long way sad.
My friend, V will now be able to move on with her own life. She has cared for R for about 26 years & he has not treated her very well & took her for granted. Her health has suffered because of this & also because of worrying about her alcoholic brother who has been put into care. She used to go backwards & forwards between the 2 of them. The home that he was put into originally were always ringing her up & pressuring her to come in every day as they could not handle him. He was later moved into higher care much further away in Hobart. This is too far for her to drive to & has taken away a lot of the pressure. I have offered to drive her there but does not want the worry & stress. He is also now at the stage where he is very hard to manage & often does not know who anyone is or what is going on. She is a very caring person & has had a very hard life. She is such a good person & we have become very good friends. I loved R dearly but he was such a worry. I hope V can relax a bit more & enjoy her life again. One of her sons & his wife are moving to Tassie before Christmas & will live very close to her which is great. I am so pleased because I was a little fearful that she may move away as I cherish our friendship.
We have so many friends that live interstate & although I have many friends here I do miss a lot of my old friends. This death, whilst it is very tragic brings people together. I have had some lovely calls. We did have a very strong sense of community when we were running our pub. It was the local meeting place & we looked after one another. For some it's church, for us it was the pub. We used to have a "sports club" that raised money which all went to charity (we set it up) and over the years gave regularly to various charities. If a family suffered a tragedy the club would help out. Sometimes we just shopped & delivered some groceries, gave to the local schools, bought a mobile fire unit for our local fire service, to go on the back of a ute, sponsored a child in Africa...The list goes on. It was good for everyone involved & re-inforced that sense of community spirit. Our meetings were somewhat informal(hehe) but suggestions were put to the vote & acted upon quickly. We liked to support people who made an effort to raise money by walking or cycling or similar.
I have rambled on about nothing to do with my diet or physical health but I think a lot to do with my mental health. Our mental health is so important. My sense of belonging, of feeling needed & worthy is so important to my mental health and, subsequently my physical health. Of course, they are all inter-dependant.
Now for the ironing!
Thank you to all for your continuing support. Take care of yourselves, xo Cate.
P.S. to Kath-
Thank you very much for your pm. I have just replied to it, xo Cate.
 
Susan- Thank you very much. I really love the support I get. I think we all need it. I am really looking forward to getting away for a week & really relaxing.
We got a call yesterday afternoon from one of our friends in Melbourne, checking to see when we're coming over. We are going to have lunch at their home on the Sunday before we leave, but they are also coming to watch our son play 8-ball. They are the friends we went to Melbourne Zoo with months ago when we took our grand-son over to Melb. for the day. We will have a wonderful lunch as he is Sri Lankan & is a great cook. They are lovely company & their young daughter is delightful.
I have been fussing around trying to work out what to take, which bags etc & not getting much achieved so took time out to type in here. We went out last night, again, to a Thai night at the golf club. The food was ok, the company excellent & we did not have a very late night. My LH is off playing golf again today as he says that he is having over a week without a game. Poor thing! We are off to a Neil Diamond (ugh) tribute night tonight as it is the end-of season function for his Winter 8-ball team. We are being driven tonight so I might have a few wines. I usually drive so that will be nice for a change.
I weighed myself this morning & my weight has crept up a little to 71kg. The last couple of days we have not been eating as we usually do. We have not been eating our usual stir-fries & lots of fruit. I had better be extra careful while I'm away. I am a stress eater & while I have not been eating chips or chocolate or sweet things I have eaten too much the last 3 days. I made myself a big salad before which I am about to eat & have used up all of our lettuce. It's hard when you are going away as you don't want to leave things in the fridge.
I had better take some yoghurt on the ship with me for breakfast.
Will be back tomorrow. Cheers, Cate
PS My colour won't work. Is anyone having the same trouble?
 
Hello Again Cate,
Give yourself a little bit of a brake. :hug2:
For all you have had happen in the last couple of days you must be totally stressed and overwhelmed. You will be fine in the weight/scale area. You know exactly what to do to get back on track. So many of us look up to you because of your great success, that being said, it is OK to have a bit of extra when needed. I hope you do have a few glasses of wine today, you deserve it. Best wishes.....

PS: wish I was somewhere close to meet all of you for your upcoming meet & greet.:)
 
Torigirl- Hi & thank you for the big hug! I did relax last night & enjoy myself. I had a couple of glasses of wine but had to drive home. I think I enjoy myself a little more if I don't drink much. A little is good to relax me though. I don't feel stressed but R's death did come as a shock because of the way it came about. I am relieved that my friend, V, will now be able to concentrate on looking after herself for a change(with a little bit of help from family & friends.)
This morning we got a call from the daughter of another old friend to say that she died during the night. She has had Ovarian cancer & has been having treatment to make her comfortable. She has not suffered at all & died in her sleep peacefully. When we first came to the pub she asked if we needed a cleaner. She had to retire at 65 from her job as a the local high school cleaner as she had reached retirement age. I thought I could do the cleaning myself but rang her after the second morning & she worked with us until she had a car accident & could no longer drive. I think she stayed with us until she was about 77yrs old. She was an amazing woman! It would take me hours to tell you some of the stories from our time in the pub relating to her. I will tell you some sometime. They are very funny. We will be in Melbourne for her funeral. She adored our sons & us as well I must admit. She was always buying the boys presents & treated them like they were her grand-kids.
We went out last night & I drove as my LH was late home from golf. We went to a barbecue before the show at the home of one of the 8-ball players. What a lovely place. It's very well set up for entertaining & with such a neat attractive garden. They have lots of paving & exotic plants because they live near the beach. We then went to a Neil Diamond tribute show, which I wasn't expecting to enjoy much as I never did like his music particularly. The company was great & we danced away for ages. I even danced up in front of the stage towards the end of the show with my LH & lots of women. It was great fun. The others were all going back to a shed for further drinking but we excused ourselves & came home & were in bed by 1am. We could have stayed the night there if we had wanted to but prefer to come home. Also we are off on the Spirit of Tasmania tonight & haven't packed yet! All our clothes (ha ha!) are clean but not packed. Because it's overcast today I have to take my "party clothes" with me un-washed but hey, as my husband says, Melbourne should have clothes washing facilities. Very funny! I was going to wash them & try to get them dry by some miracle. I still might.
I just rang my mum & my sister answered as she is visiting this week-end. She says it is 31o in Melbourne today, 34o where they are! I only have one summer shirt! It looks like I will be doing some shopping as soon as I get to Melb. What an excuse. We don't need many summer clothes in Tassie. I am sitting here dressed in polar fleece from head to toe & am not really warm.
Our son was playing his 8-ball singles match at 7pm last night & said he would message us the result. When we got home at 12.30 last night he still had not messaged us, so we assumed he had lost. This morning when we got up I checked my phone & he had msg'd at 12.45am that he won 5-2! Now we will get to see him play in the Australian Singles Championship after all tomorrow. He is now down to the last 16!
I feel like I need to be vigilant about my weight. I am constantly hearing about people who lose all their weight & then put it back on again & I am determined that I am not going to be one of them. I think a lot of people expect that with me as well although I don't think it is those that are closest to me. My husband is very proud of me. I am now enjoying the positive responses I am getting. Most people seem genuinely pleased for me & very, very positive towards me. I have worn the red, black & white top that is in my after photo when I have gone out & get lots of compliments about how the colour suits me. People are used to seeing me in black, black & black. One woman laughed last night & said "ah, but I notice it has black in it." Women who I used to look at & think how slim they are have been asking me how they could lose a few kilos! It seems surreal!
I have had a fairly long gas-bag today as I still feel energised form my night out. I hope to be able to post during the week. I might not take my laptop though.
I hope everyone is staying focussed, or are able to re-focus. Being slim, but not thin is wonderful. I can be comfortable with myself, less self-conscious & am feeling more confident as each day goes by. To feel like this at 54 is great. I should be able to enjoy my old age-not that I am in a hurry for old age. Life is good!
Cheers for now, Cate.
PS Please wish our son luck in the 8-ball. It all helps I'm sure!
 
Hi Cate,
You are sounding very energized! Great to hear it.... You are 54 and on top of the world right now :) . I am 41 and getting more energized as the weeks pass by. My plan for the future is to get better with age. It is now time to focus on taking better care of myself. My son is 15 now and I plan on being around a very long time.
You must be thrilled when asked from others how they can lose a few extra pounds/kg. That alone must be motivation to continue. I cant wait for that to happen.
Have a great week and good luck to your son.
 
Hi Cate

I've been absent, but now I'm back, glad to see your still around to guide and inspire us all. Sorry to hear about your friend I'm sure the family appreciate your presence during this sad and difficult time.

Sam:)
 
Hi Cate

I read your post last Thursday and have been trying to get in here to write since. I am so sorry about both of those close to you that have passed in the last week. It can be incredibly draining. I really hope it all starts to pick up for you!!!

I will PM you also once I've writtin in my diary regarding you message from the other week!

Take care, I have been thinking of you every day!

L x
 
Hi cate,

Been a while since I typed in here - been very slack and totally fallen off the wagon. You sure did motivate me to keep going so back on track as of today. It was great meeting you and your husband yesterday. You were both so lovely and you look fantastic!!!
(FYI: Anyone reading this, Cate was in Melbourne all week and I met up with her yesterday)
We chatted about everything but mainly Cohens, I think we both came to the same conclusion that sticking to it 100%, drinking lots of water is the key to success on the program.

Hope you had a nice safe trip back home and chat soon.

TTFN
Annie Lusion
 
Hi!

I'm Back!!
Well, I must say it's nice to be back- both at home & in here. It's nice to know that people care about me & think of me when I'm not about. Thank you to all who typed in my diary whilst I was away. I do love that! :) I am still surprised at the number of people who come in for a look each day.
Susan- I think life does get better with age but we do need to start taking care of ourselves, instead of putting every-one else first. I do feel much more energised these days. You should have seen me dancing for ages the other night. I did not feel at all self-conscious & had an absolute ball! A youngish, cute-ish, fellow (30'ish) said he wished he had my energy! (;))
Sam- A big hi to you, my main, original motivator! It's nice having you back. Please stay this time! I think it does really help with motivation & we all share the good & bad.
Lauren- I have replied to you by email. You are very sweet. A surprise? How nice! :hug2:
Annie- I have also replied to your email. I just loved meeting you the other day in Melbourne. I am absolutely thrilled that I could motivate you to get back on that wagon. You are such a lovely person & have such a bright & bubbly personality. I am really looking forward to seeing you get to your goal weight & for you to see yourself as others, including me, already see you! xo Cate. I have too much to tell you about my week so will attempt to be brief & extend it tomorrow-
Precis of our week-Our son got down to the last 4 in the Australian singles, which is pretty good, but he was disappointed in his game. The tournament was great. SA beat the Vics in the Open Teams final in a very exciting match. We caught up with our friends again that we went to the zoo with earlier in the year & had lunch at their home which was lovely. One of the highlights of my week was meeting Annie!! I didn't do much shopping. I bought some hiking clothes, a couple of blouses & presents for the grand-kids, shorts for my LH & not much else. I ate way too much & have no idea what I weigh really. I didn't eat junk food like chocolates, chips or soft drink but ate way too much. I had yoghurt & fruit every morning & drank lots of water & also got quite a lot of exercise. I danced & danced & danced one night & really enjoyed myself. I am so glad to be home though. I got blisters on my feet from wearing sandals in the heat & don't think I will go walking tomorrow. Also, I have a tradesman coming to fit mirrored doors to my wardrobes tomorrow & my Mum is arriving on Wednesday. Plus it is freezing cold & has poured rain for most of today & has also hailed. Brrr! I prefer it to the heat though I think. At least you can get warm & can do things easily. I could not live in Melbourne again. It is such a busy, noisy, dirty place. There were lots of fights at or outside the venue that we missed thank goodness but our son witnessed. I had sensed an air of hostility on Sat night at the 8-ball venue & we decided to leave early & walked back quickly to our hotel. Later on about 2 carloads of men arrived, raced up to those out front & started a big, bloody(literally) brawl. :boxing:
Our veggie garden has gone crazy. We won't have to buy Bok Choy for quite some time! The sun has just come out & is shining in my eyes. I was hoping that tomorrow would team with rain so that I don't miss walking too much. Oh well. Cheers, for now, Cate.
 
Cate - It's so lovely to have you back and to know you have a lovely visit to Melbourne...

I haven't read your email yet but will reply accordingly!!!

WELCOME HOME!!!

Lauren x
 
YOU'RE BACK! Awesome! I have been checking the boards regularly this week to see when you got back!

Thanks so much for your note in my diary over there! I haven't had many visitors... I don't think people have liked/handled? me moving my diary over there... Oh well... Done now. I sent you an email last week, but wasn't sure if you got it... so I just thought I would mention it.

I am so glad that you had a great time away with friends and just generally enjoying yourself by the sounds of things as well as not really "worrying" about the day to day weight.... it sounds lovely! I look forward to those days!!!

Its really good to have you back Cate!

Blessya
Kannadew
 
Weight 72kg! I am relieved that it is not more! This is my upper limit, RED ALERT weight but no more. I have allowed myself 3kg fluctuation & can't believe I'm not more. Phew!!
Kath & Lauren- Thank you again for my big welcome back. I will stay in touch through here mainly as I will probably lose track otherwise. Kath I emailed you as I may have forgotten to reply by email personally I'm sorry.
I'm in a bit of a rush as I started to type in here & a tradesman appeared to be paid for a job & I started vacuuming up after him & just remembered what I had been doing. I don't feel stressed at all. I'm just sprinting about a bit, doing 10 things at once.
We have had mirrored sliding doors put on the wardrobes in our 2 spare rooms. I now wish we had built ins in our bedroom too because it looks great! We have a walk-in wardrobe with a solid wooden door to it. I may have a re-think now as we don't have enough space for our clothing, especially jumper/shirt space, undies etc & may organise it. It wouldn't be too hard & it would be a great motivator as well having mirrors in my bedroom. No excuses then! I would just plan shallow cupboards without hanging space I think with shoe racks as well, because I would not want to take away too much of our bedroom space.
It's our 32nd wedding anniversary today & we haven't anything special planned at all. I think the main thing is that we are very happy together. We just don't celebrate & make a big deal like most people do. I keep thinking we should but we just don't get around to it. We might open one of our special, old bottles of red wine instead of that bottle of French bubbly I keep saying we are going to have! Maybe next year!
Our son, DIL & grand kids are calling up tonight to say hi. We got them some nice presents in Melb. We got our GS a Chrystal Mining set from the Australian Geographic shop at Northland & a large magnifier for them to look at their fossils etc. We bought our GD a little wooden dinosaur on wheels from a fancy little kids gift shop in Northcote or Thornbury & some organic treats for mum & dad.
It's my Mum's 83rd birthday on Saturday & we are having a small, family dinner party. My MIL drove me crazy yesterday when we visited so I don't feel like seeing her for a while but will have to take mum to see her. She shows off badly & behaves like a spoilt 2year old.
The Deloraine Craft Fair is on this week-end & I will take Mum along on Friday I think when it won't be quite as busy. It's a huge event & people come from all over Australia to exhibit & to buy. I have not been for many years & I think I will enjoy it.
I have eaten strictly Cohen's today & feel much better for it. Mum has not seen me since I finished & I hope she has something positive to say this time, instead of waiting for me to tell her I have cancer!
My friend, V is meeting me tomorrow at the airport so she can catch up with Mum as well. I only spoke to her very briefly today. She is going over to Melb to stay with her daughter for a while. She deserves a break & lots of TLC. Although our old friend was cantankerous & hard to live with she cared for him very much & it was a terrible way to die. I am glad that one of her sons is moving to Tas at Christmas because I would really miss her if she moved interstate.
I had better scoot & do some more housework. My Mum couldn't care less but I do. Cheers for now, Cate. Love to all!
 
Hi Cate

Happy Anniversary :) I hope you enjoy many more to come.

Bet LH was thrilled about not going on wacky walk :doh:

72 ain't that bad...I have been back on track for 2.5 days and already 1.5 down so it will take you no time to shift the 3.

Enjoy your night

TTFN
Annie Lusion
 
Thanks Annie! My LH was delighted not to have to go on the Wacky Walk, God love him!We are such slackies really re occasions, like birthdays, wedding anniversaries etc. Neither of us bought a present. We did drink a bottle of 1977 Penfolds St Henri Claret which was lovely. Neither son rang or wished us happy anniversary, until prompted, which is our own fault as we have always been non-fuss people. One of my SIL's rang which was nice. The main thing is we are very happy together!
It's a bit late now to say we want more fuss as I'm not really sure we do want it. Just staying happily married is good enough for me.
I think we will have an early night for a change though.
Cheers for now, Cate.
 
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY CATE!!
​

It really is great to have you back! I got your email Thanks! I hope that you have a great time with your Mum and that all your outings go just as you plan! I love Craft Fairs... my problem is I always spend WAY too much money at them! My Mum also loves them, but cant handle all the walking anymore. I hope that the visit with the MIL also goes well and that she "behaves" herself! :)

Shame about your sons not commenting on the Anniversary...but like you said if its not something that has been big in your household then it would seem that this is pretty normal...PLUS... they are blokes... and most blokes I know need their Mum's (and/or wives) to remind them of these events! I know one friend...whose Mum made him a big list for his office of all the important family events that he should remember! He still has it today and he is in his 30's! =)

Anyway.. gotta go
Blessya
Kannadew
 
Kath- Thank you! We had a nice anniversary. No fuss, just like us, but a lovely day. My boys are lovely but I must take responsibility for them being so slack about occasions. I am allergic to fuss & I am sick of reminding them of everything. My husband would forget his family's occasions if I didn't remind him. Men are so spoiled really-you're right. We spoil them!
Congratulations sweetie on losing 30kg's. You should be very proud of yourself! You have such determination & are very strong minded. It must be so much harder because of the extra time it has taken for you, without deviating & you stay so strong. I'm very impressed! I love you coming to visit me in my diary & I appreciate all of your encouragement. I will pop over for a visit tomorrow. It's hard to concentrate on anything with Mum here as she never stops talking. She's gone to bed now.
Weight this morning 71.5(.5down....)
Mum seems a bit more positive about my weight loss & so far has not said anything too negative. She has never battled with her weight so has no real appreciation or understanding of what's involved with losing weight, trying to keep it off, or indeed why anyone becomes over-weight in the first place. I'm not too concerned about this. She is my one & only Mum & I am more relaxed & tolerant in regard to her than I was with her last visit. She was obviously so sceptical that I could do it & now she can see that I have. She hasn't said anything bad about the program yet.
I don't feel as motivated to type in here at the moment. I do feel a bit stressed when Mum is here & then I feel guilt at feeling this way. Family dynamics are a bit of a mine-field!
I'll say good-night I think. Might not do too much tomorrow. I won't take Mum to visit the MIL but we might go do a little shopping at the local shopping centre & have a relaxing day. Cheers, cate
 
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