Amy good to her from you. I'm sorry you've been going through so much - I'd find it frustrating with a child who had so many allergies, you must have to be really vigilant all the time.

I got my flu jab today, and the Dr has sent me off for a bunch of blood tests. It seems that my blood pressure is still too high - and he wants to just give me a thorough checking over. Maybe I'll have to go on medication for my BP - and that doesn't make me happy. I was really hoping that losing weight would help, but it hasn't so far.

Mind you, I've been really stressed over the last month; moving house, closing my business, dealing with a psychotic ex-landlord. I had another episode with the landlord yesterday. My final electricity bill is due tomorrow - she came here on Tuesday to ask when I was going to pay it and was as sweet as pie. Yesterday she got her girlfriend to ring me and she was screaming obscenities at me in the background. It was really slanderous.

So I paid the bill (two days early) and then waited until today and wrote them an email in which I absolutely tore her to pieces. I didn't swear or rant (as tempting as that was), but I did suggest that they were harassing me, slandering me - and that they had illegally obtained my silent number. I let them know that any future communication would be through my lawyer. Stuff them - I don't care if my new landlord is her sister … I will not tolerate being harrassed and bullied by someone who quite clearly needs professional help!

No wonder my blood pressure is up.

Once I get my first pay I'm going to start buying Lotto every week. It would be really nice to get out of this rental cycle, and be able to tell landlords where to shove it. I don't think it helps my weight loss at all when I have all these hideous things going on in the background.

My housemate is avoiding me so that he won't have to give me his share of the electricity, and in the meantime I have stuff-all money again.

Three more weeks and this will be a thing of the past. I'll have my first pay from Bunnings and will be in a position to catch up on my bills and start saving for things for myself.

I've also just scored a freelance writing job or two. One (which doesn't pay a lot) is writing a monthly gardening column - and it'll be $50/month for 500 words. The other is a little more lucrative. I've been asked to write a story for a book - 10,000 words/$2,000. The only problem is I have to have it researched and written in a month .

But that money will buy me a much-needed fridge and a wardrobe of Size 14 clothes .

Hey Gen are you about? Snowed in? Are you on track with your weight-loss or sampling all those American super-size me temptations ? Be good now!


Ani

OK I have had a quick second to skim over everyones posts and about a half a second to reply.

Ani yep I get flu needle cause of my nursing and I don't get it. I do get a slight cold occassionally if my sinus's are playing up. (I suffer bad from the damn things).

Have you tried magnesium for your blood pressure? My Dr suggested it (He'd rather try anything before drugs which is rare for a doctor lol) before having to put me on medication and its the best it has ever been. I just buy the Natures Own brand in the green bottle from the chemist. 1 in the morning and 1 at night.

Julia congrats on the new addition to yr family. LMAO about the other kids.

Amy, it sounds like it is a bugger with yr little one so sensitive to things, however have you tried exposure over time? Sometimes it builds up their antibodies against what they r allergic to... you know the saying - if yr allergic to cats get a cat (lol). Honest, thats why so many people have so many allergies and get sick so often.... we are getting to sterile an environment even in our own homes. Thats how those vaccines work... most of them either have the antibodies and it gets put into you or it contains live virus and yr body builds the antibodies - voila - resistence to the infection. Same goes for allergies. Granted some are life threateneing with the throat and face swelling - but these reactions are not as common as the media have you think, they sensationalise everything. Never fear the daycare. They all have a policy of no sharing food and as far as I know most ban peanut butter or products of because that is the highest allergy food. I'm no Doc, just a mum and experience tells me that rather than a true allergy most people who have symptoms suffer from intolerance - and it can be overcome.

Better fly sry about the rant. Just one mum to another lol. My kids have been in daycare since little. The youngest goes 3 days a week and she is nearly 2. Been going since a year old. The one above her attended full time fom age 2. They have thrived. The other 2 only went occassionally. PS - My kids rarely get 'sick' as such.

Leah has built up the allergy over time from repeated exposure, i do test the water from time to time to see if her reactions are lessening but so far they are not .. We went to playgroup today it is 35 over cast and windy so i thought since the are having water play she would be ok but 10 minutes outside.. (she didnt fall over on the grass or bark chip just walked over them ) and she developed a rash on the tops of her arms and legs , her arms and face began to swell and her nose and eyes were running . i took her in and gave her antihistamines.. and as far as the food side goes.. everythime she has sulphar dioxide her reaction becomes more severe. each time it is faster fatter and harder to breathe.. she does have a true allergy with sulphar and it is becuase of frepeated exposure it has developed.. immunisations.. antibiotics, dryed fruit, grapes vegemite sausages, ect ect ect.. and now it makes her very very sick .. it is here worst thing .. they other things i would say are food intoletrences but the sulphar isnt.. and like her mum she gets hayfever , but her body over reacts to even hayfever.. however she has improved since i cleaned up her diet , if she has had something questionable you can almost garantee she will get sick hen she goes outside.. other times when she has had nothing to make her sick, she can go outside as long as she doesnt roll on ther grass play in the sandpit or barkchip.. .. so on one side i agree she has intolerences but on the other i know she has true allergys, sulphar dioxide, annatto, she reacts to other additives but not as severely, (but when you look into the additives alot of them are not reccomended for children, cause behaviour learning and sleep problems cause cnacer or other nasty problems so since she reacts to additive i avoid them for the health of my whole family in the long run )cats, grass seed, and bark ( it think the bark becuase of what it treated in , ) leah has chemical allergy she has problems with soap powders ansd shampoos too the allergist said she is chemical airborn(pollens) and metal allergic( she had her ears pierced nonce and ended up have a bruised rash accross her face down her neck and 2 very swollen ears .. lol a metal splinter in her hand made her blow up too, get a rash and start sweating lol) My duaghter is fun eh???

as far as the carpet though i believe her skin will get used to it her reaction is next to nothing if she hasn't eaten anything questionable

I get fluvax since work provides it free. I also agree about Mg - I take it for smooth muscle relaxation of my joints, but it also works on artery walls.

I have been rather slack, far too cold to exercise! I am busing to work and walking up the hill (mountain!) to work, as well as LOTS of stairs at work. One of the nurses makes me walk from 1st floor to 9th floor (2 flights per floor!) - she is clearly nuts, and I am dying at the top of the stairs!!

I have signed up for a 12 week weight loss challenge through our health plan at work. I have roped about 5 people in to form a team so we can be eligible for the prizes.

I'm off on a roadtrip to a show for the weekend, then picking up a foster kitty with a respiratory infection at the shelter on Monday for a 2-week fostering.

TUESDAY I will go to the community center and get my free 3-day trial pass for their gym!! Daylight savings just started, so it's a bit more bearable to leave work in the light!

Thanks for the Magnesium tip girls. I went to a health food store and got some, and they gave me some great reading material about alternative ways to manage blood pressure.

Gen how on earth can you get so busy, and so involved in a new community in five minutes? I think it's awesome - and all that incidental exercise will help you with that 12-week challenge. You fly your Aussie Chick flag with pride now…

As soon as I get my first pay from Bunnings I'm going to sign up for some yoga, pilates or tai chi - or something like that. I want to get into something like that and learn better ways to relax.

Amy I don't know how you cope. I'd find that so frustrating.

Ouch thats a yukky one. It's in most everything as you say. I know its also whats used to fast track the ripening of fruits and veg.
And I agree with Ani - how do you cope. Its hard enough with the occassional thing causing probs and keeping an eye on it.

But if u dont laugh u cry and I can imagine it can sometimes become depressing.

Ani hope yr blood presssure can get under control.

How is everyone going with their daily goals this week? I've been pretty good but could do with more water. AND I ate brekky hehehe. I got a trial pack of special K advantage and it is so yum. Funny cause I hate special K and also bran but I thought I'd have a go and try to get over my distaste.

Wow Gen a 12 week challenge Good on u. And lucky to have a trial at the gym. At least u get to try out their stuff and feel the atmosphere before you have to commit.

dont worry i do plenty of both laughing and crying.. nad even more worrying lol .. but food wise i find it very easy believe it or not.. i have now been dealing with it for 6 months and you just know what you can and cant buy .. i make everything myself and have a few macines that help me for instance i make the kids pizza in the sandwich press with safe flat bread ( always read ingredients as i can never remember which one to buy lol) she has to aviod 282 in bread lol .. anyway i get the lebanese bread without 282, or vinager(contain sulphar) . put it in the sandwich press with plain tomato paste coon shredded cheese, red capsicum,sliced mushrooms and sliced tomatos . i usually cook a bit more meat then we need at dinner time so we have some for sandwiches etc next day , so whatever it is will go on there pizza.. the press cooks both sides in minutes and the kids love it..

But i have found alternatives for a lot of thing .. plain chips shortbread biscuits , i have a popcorn machine.. and health grill to cook my meat. We dont get cordial or softdrinks at all , no lollies at all , no cakes or desserts, saralee chocolate cake is ok for say someones birthday but is not perfect so we dont buy it unless there is a birthday . Saralee icecream is fine for leah.. it was hard to begin with . I am a a sucker for the shapes ham and cheese biscuits... i have always liked them but we cant have . i buy plain jatz and coles own sundried tomato dip instead . so its kinda really good for the diet lol.. The main problem is we can still have fish and chips .. homemade burgers and pizzas and homemade tacos etc ( there is one brand os shells that are ok) so like everything you find a way..

When leah gets sick. i just want to cry .. but if i did she would feel worse.. i lost it last year in september /october when all this started after she had her 6 month immunisation and chickpox immunisation.Her immunisations all made her sick so we held them back . but now i know what i know it all finally makes sense.. the serum sickness , immunisation reactions everything .. was all sulphar.. i cant afford for her to keep getting exposed and have worse reactions as the epinepheran (epipens) they use for children that get really bad has sulphar dioxide in it .. lol. so i take every step i cn for her to avoid getting sick.. and i tell you every step.. Leah picked up a sultana at fruit time.. at playgroup put it in her mouth only to have me fly accross the table of 2-3year olds to pull it out her mouth.. lol.. I upset all the kids yelling NOOOOOOO ..... and knocking there plates over... The other mums know leah has the allergy and are pretty good to not let her get it . but leah was handed it by another child .. lol.

But anyway this hot weather will settle down soon which means leahs hives will too.. even Cameron has a heat rash tonight , and i know of 6 children who have had daily nose bleeds becuase of the heat .. the school lunch time has been cut to 10 minutes at recess and 10 at lunch with a 25minute video in the activity room to make up for lost play time. The school is good but i think i should make a appointment to speak to the kindy teacher so i can stop worrying .. See what she suggests . and make sure the other parents dont bring in any shared foods. Without the foods i think leah will easily out grow the other little things that make her itchy ,hot and swollen ( she gets pop eye arms ). (i got post natal with both my kids and i still get some depression sometimes which is how i got so marshmellow shaped lol)

so anyway . i spose i shoul tell you guys what i plan on doing for me .. ill get back to that in a little while.. hubby has just come online for a chat

Well, don't forget that I worked here for a year once before, so I already know some of my workmates and just reactivated my foster mommy-ness at the shelter. (In fact, I called them to get a new volunteer ID badge, and they said I can only pick it up if I take another foster cat haha.. so I am).

I have already gained 5 lbs since I got here, so I have to join the gym soon!!

OK a plan of action for me ..

1700-1800 calories a day

go to bed ever night before 11 PM

no eating after dinner so i can go to bed lol

lots of water 8 glass minimum

exercise 5 days a week and clean the other two so really exercising every
day lol ( i have a big house and always clean it in two halves , its just easier that way.).

I'm also going to try to eat the dreaded breakfast... lol but I'm not promising that .. i will try however it would be eaasier if i didnt feel sick in the morning though lol.maybe ill jus start eating a piece of fruit when i get up.. that might not be as bad as stodgy old breakfast cereals.

Oh and i just wanted to add after last night post . im not depressed at all at the moment lol its when the kids get really bed i get depressed. With Cameron he had colic for 8 month and would scream from 12pm till 9pm everyday (i found out why later.. Cameron is allergic to rubber, silicon , latex..... baby bottle teats but he was 3 before i found out he had a rubber allergy he is also allergic to kiwi and passion fruit all he gets are little sores on his mouth if a baloon hits him on the face and if he eats kiwi he gets sores on his mouth and bottom .. lol nothing magor just annoying and a little painful). anyway he was about 18 months before i got over it i was young also and not ready for kids lol i was 19 when i had him and i was a young 19 lol.. anyway with Leah i was fine until she got her first immunisation and was sick for weeks then ended up in hospital for a week getting all sorts of tests done .. they thought she had rsv, then her head was a funny shape from always sleeping on the same side and they thought she might have a tumour becuase her forehead stuck out and inch more on the right. then her blood tsts were not good and they thought she had leukemia, or something else and they did a scan of her internal organs and other nasty tests, they said her blood red cells were funny , her platlets were very high and her body was attacking its own blood .. lol .. She had rsv double ear infection and was anemic as well as the reaction her body was still doing becuase of ther immunisation . yet they refused to believe at that stage the jabs were the cause of all the weird things happening inside her little 12 week old body .. i had depression for months after that episode leah had a 20 minute sleep cycle after that and coughed all night long ever since .. she then had another immunisation reaction . she was sick for 3 months. the doctor were starting to listen but still tyred to shrug off the immunisation was the cause . =more depression for me . so i decided then and there she will wait for the rest of the needles.. she would wait till 2 so she could have a good antihistamine to make the affects less on her body. Leah kept getting worse and worse with her coughing at night and we hadnt slept since she was 12 weeks old.. at i think she was somewhere between 15-18 months she had a bad asthma attack we ran her down to the hospital in the middle of the night and her oxygen was very low.. the put hr on a preventor and ventolin and she was on it for about 6 months . all upbecuase i gave away our cat . and after that she was fine Leah had a milk allergy when she was little and was put on soy, but after the cat was gone and she was about 2 she could drink milk . we were plain saling for a few months then just before she turned 2 she got an ear infectin she had the full course of antibiotics and the day after it finished she was paralysed, covered in a purple rash and screaming in pain. She had serum sickness and spent a few days in hospital, her liver spleen and kidneys were all affected her belly looked lkike she was 9 months pregnant and the rest of her body was so swollen she was as hard as a brick to touch. 6 months after that leah slipped and hurt herself cutting her labia when she climbed into a toy box that had the bath toys in it when she had wet feet and had climbed out the bath.. we had police questioning.. that was fun too .. and then another 6 month a month before she was 3 i decided it was time for her 6 months needles... hahaha big joke ... after that the rest of the crap in the posts above happened.. so yes when she is sick i get very depressed, anxious and unstable .. but then im her mum .. i think alot would . especially since im always fighting with the f ing doctors to tell them she has reacted to her immunisations and cant have sulphar.. im her mum i know you b&**ards.. lol ..

So now you'll know hwy im so nuts lol ... or so fat... lmao..... it is definatly the reason im fat .. when im depressed i dont function and food is the only thing i enjoy.. as well as layin on the couch feling sorry for myself.. hahahaha tragic isnt it .. lol but anyway im here and imi ready to go . im not a sullen person really im actually a bubbly happy person and i have a lot of fun as long as my kids are safe and well ..

one day ill actually figure out how to.... write a short post... LMAO ..

Amy it sounds like you and your needs get a little lost with everything that's going on with your kids. Do you work to a plan to lose weight, or does it go off track every time something goes wrong?

I'm really impressed with how well you manage everything - and I completely agree with you that doctors don't know everything at all.

Vonni I'm on track this week with my goals. I'm really determined to get back under 80kg and continue losing the next 5kg. I feel stronger and more confident than I have for the last month - and now having the challenge of managing my blood pressure… well that has made me feel even more determined.

Yesterday I walked 10km and today I'm going to take myself off to Perth Zoo - just because I can - and my plan is to walk around it as many times as I can cope with . I'm in a "local tourist" frame of mind - on the spur of the moment yesterday, while I was at Fremantle markets buying fruit and vegetables, I decided to go on a tour of the old Fremantle prison.

Gen I am very happy that you have a foster kitty! And what's this about gaining 5lb? What's going on?

Anyway, must go and do a few domestics so I can take myself off to the Zoo.


Ani

i do go off track that is my biggest problem . but im here to loose weight .. and so far i think im doing fine considering i started in december and have gone from 288.8 down to 270.. im currently 275 i think but i do have aunty soo i think it her fualt i have gone up.. lol .. i am cmmitted to losing weight . what good is a mum who is sick . When i eat crap i feel like crap and not becuase im guilty but becuase it makes me sick .. but you just get stuck in the whole robot mode sometimes.. look after eveyone but me automatic pilot.. .. bath kids feed kids .. keep the clen and healthy but mum didnt eat breakfast or lunch becuase the kids wanted something and was so hungry and tired at tea time she cooks something really crappy or eats snack foods in the day instead of real food .. you know . robot mum not thinking about herslef just getting by eating the kids left overs and collapsing on the couch at the end of the day.. that is what im like if they are sick.. lol not caring at all about myslef and not giving a **** either.. lost..

But i am aware i do that and im here to get me into sahpe so i can deal with bad times in a btter way . fortunatly my hopuse is crap free becuase of leahs allergies.. aprt from chocolate anyway , and i have discovered i have willpower with that so its not a problem.. the only problem i really have now is motivation.. ive had a couple of sgood nights sleep and am feeling pretty good this morning .. i confess it is 10.30 am and im still in my pj's but.. i am planning to keep them on as they need washing anyway , and after typing this im going to get on my bike...

I actually had breakfast this morning too . i had a bowl of all bran . so a start to a good day .. Since im so unmotivated atm i plan on coming and having a daily confession of how bad i have been .. and i really want you guys to kick butt if i slip up.. i think i need it atm.. i need to refocus and restart my good habits that have been lacking the last couple of weeks..

Has anyone tried that ceral I mentioned yet? The kellogs special k advantage? Its now the only thing I will eat in the morning hehe

its quiet in here

I'm here Vonni - and to answer your question I haven't tried that cereal. I eat Uncle Toby's Healthwise for Women.

Where is everyone?

It's weigh-in for me in the morning, and I am hoping to lose something . Been pretty good today, ate 1450 calories, did an hour of domestics, and drank 1.8L of water. Yesterday I went to the zoo and walked for 10km, so surely that has to count for something!

Does anyone weigh themselves daily? I think I read somewhere back there that you do Ani (was it you?). I have been lately morning noon and night just to get a feel for the fluctuations cause I didnt believe that you could vary as much as a kilo each day. Its pretty accurate from what I've been reading. I vary 4-800gm in a day. And depends on how much water I've drank and food I've eaten. But I only officially use my weight on the Monday mornings. But at least when I look at a night one and then the next morn not much less or not less at all I know and ask ok, what did I do yesterday that has hindered me....and I don't do it again lol.

I think tomorrows weigh in will be a few hundred gms less than previous. Here's hoping I didnt sabotage that today by only eating a bit of toast for brekky and a half a pork chop and a spoon of peas and a scoop of spud at dinner. Metabolism slows down when u dont eat enough I know, but I just wasnt hungry.

I'm bored. have been all day - hence the zillion visits in here and on better health channel site. At least I learnt a few things for an assignment while I was link-clicking away lol.

Cheers
Vonni

PS, now I gotta retrace my clicks for references grrrr.

Vonni