Aaaahhhhh.....Endorphins

This week marks my comeback to the human race and I have to say, it is feeling great. The occassion has been defined by my resumption of exercise and, as the title indicates, the luxury of endorphins. I have decided that walking in the afternoon is my best bet as at that time in the day my blood sugar levels have stabilized to a point where I don't go from Code Yellow to Red in the space of 2 minutes. During my walk yesterday I realized that I am not only enjoying the fact that we are smack dab in the middle of my favourite season here but also the return of endorphins after an 8 week hiatus from them. And as I'm now deprived of all my favourite vices including caffeine in the form of coffee and a glass of red wine at night, I am REALLY enjoying these endorphins. Somehow, the scenery seems nicer, my perma-sneer disappears and the world in general is just a better place.

Tom on the other hand hasn't had such a great week. We realized over the weekend that he has double booked himself for the "Hell's Bells" 24 hour adventure race and an Outrigging regatta taking place in Mission Beach later this month. As much as Tom wants to do both just for the personal achievement, he agonized even more over the fact that regardless of his decision, he would be letting one team down. In the end, his committment to the Outriggers prevailed and finally, after a week of guilt and stress, he seems to be at one with the decision.

The Last Two Months

I did start out with the disclaimer that there were no promises on regular updates! Sorry not to be more conscientious about it. At last I'm here now to give you all an update on our last 2 months.

Bye Bye 6 Pack...Hello Hips...

I'll start with the big news first which everyone already knows about but which is my excuse for not updating the blog sooner. I found out I was pregnant on the 27th of April and have been laying low ever since. Now, it isn't as if Tom and I weren't "trying". In fact, we quite enjoyed the "trying". Morning sickness however has given me insight into the level of committment one needs in order to be fully prepared for the first trimester of pregnancy.

There is a distinct difference between "trying" and actually fully appreciating the consequences of "trying". Tom and I freely admit that he is the clucky one. As much as I like kids I have never been the one that must hold the other person's baby. And I REALLY don't get people who think it's fun to change a baby's diaper. Finally, as a sympathy spewer I have been known to run away, dry gagging, when babies throw up. Don't get me wrong, I have always held the position that I am very happy to have kids and that that they will be a welcome addition to my life, but I have never felt that I need kids in order to be a complete person. I think there are many very happy and fulfilled childless people out there.

Well....I've decided that perhaps the first trimester is easier if you have more committment than this. Again, don't get me wrong. I'm very happy to be pregnant. But I am emerging from a 2 month period where I woke up every day feeling like I had a bad bad hangover. Exercise was impossible and studying while you feel sick to your stomach is really not as fun as what it sounds. Throw in the fact that you fall asleep just bending over to tie your shoelaces AND that they recommend giving up caffeine and let's just say, it hasn't been my most productive couple of months. But alas, I am starting to feel better. Rather than being at a "Code Red" level of nauseousness, I'm down to a "Code Yellow" and getting better everyday.

Tom has been absolutely amazing. There were many mornings that he brought me lemon & ginger tea in bed along with a couple of pieces of toast, and many evening that he made dinner, did the laundry etc etc. When I told him about the pregnany he got this massive burst of energy and doesn't seem to have come down from it yet! Let's hope it lasts...

Gun Slinging Cowboys and Card Wielding Bar Wenches - Relay for Life 2008

Some of you may remember that last year we did the Relay for Life with our friends Mark and Vicky. We did it again this year, and had a great time. For those of you not familiar with this, it is an overnight event where a team of people have someone walking around an oval throughout the night. It raises money and awareness of cancer and promotes a healthy lifestyle in preventing it. We found out about the pregnancy just a couple of hours after this photo was taken! The theme this year was "Wild Wild West" and as you can see, we all dressed accordingly.

2008 Powerade Hamilton Island Cup

Our other big event in the last few months took place last weekend. It was two years ago, during this event, that Tom got down on one knee and asked for my hand in marriage (His version of the story...). We had another great long weekend over on Hamilton Island. We revisited the restaurant where we got engaged and lucky for me, my taste buds decided to reappear just in time. We had the best meal topped off by the best dessert we've had in ages (keep in mind, Airlie has all of 2 nice restaurants left and neither has food which makes you weak at the knees). But I get distracted from the main event....

Tom got his new one man! He has been borrowing one for the last few months so he was very very pleased to take possession of a brand new Pegasus canoe in which he got a 4th of the 8km event. Not bad considering it was his first time in the canoe and its a different model to the one he's use to.

He then went on to compete with a team put together of paddlers from Airlie (he was the only one from Airlie), Townsville and Mackay. This team got 3 thirds and a 4th. Again, not bad considering this is one of the biggest and most popular Outrigging events in the world! The events they got third in had Team New Zealand and Outrigging Australia placing 1st and 2nd so they were very very pleased. This is the regatta which has the 42km "change over" race. Throughout the race the guys jump in and out of the boat from a support boat that follows them around the course. Not such a big deal in normal circumstances but on this particular day, a 12 foot tiger shark was spotted at the first change over spot (where everyone was jumping into the water) dining on a poor turtle...It's true. We saw the photos. At least if it just ate a turtle it wasn't going to be too hungry for humans! If you want to see more on the event check out the website - http://www.hamiltoncup.com/

A Weekend of Adventure

Well last weekend we embarked on a few new activities. Some of which we'll do again, and others we won't. We flew down to the Sunshine Coast with friends Mark and Vicki for a long weekend (for those of you on the other side of the Pacific the sunshine coast is an area just north of Brisbane). This is something we'll definitely do again. We did a bit of shopping. Again, definitely a repeat activity. And then...the adventure begins in the Glasshouse Mountains. On Friday, just for kicks, we decided to climb shear faces cliffs and then throw ourselves back off them. Okay, perhaps that's a little melodramatic. We went rockclimbing and abseiling. Okay, perhaps that's a bit ambitious. Some of us (uh hum, that would be me) attempted abseiling. Others, as in Mark, Vicki and Tom, successfully rockclimbed and abseiled. And Mark and Vicki even flopped themselves off a 45m cliff in the end. I think the rockclimbing will be a repeat for both of us but I have to say abseiling is not my cup of tea. Perhaps in my 20's I wouldn't have thought twice about this but at the ripe old age of 36, my judgement has finally swung to the conservative side. And although Tom completed the abseiling, I'm not entirely certain he'll be running back for another one. After all, he did skip the 45m drop.

With those activities ticked of our list of "must try in your lifetime" activities, Tom moved onto Adventure Racing on Sunday. For those of you unfamiliar with this particular form of "fun", it's a race which combines running, kayaking, swimming and mountain biking. This race was part of the "Area 51" series and Mark, Vicki and Tom finished 19th out of 35 "premier mixed" teams and completed their race in about 5 1/2 hours. It took place in State Forest land near the Glasshouse Mountains. This is definitely a repeat activity for Tom with plans already in the making for the "Hell's Bells" race in July which is a 24 hour race. Just imagine doing all of this fun in the dark! Hmmmm....personally I'll stick to my own favourite repeat activity which is shopping...

A New Blog

As I've mentioned to a few people, I really didn't feel my life was interesting enough to warrant a blog on its own. Quite frankly, working & studying don't always provide many opportunities for entertaining stories. Tom however seems to get himself into some good photo ops so I figured we'll do one for both of us. No promises on quality content or regular updates, but at least it lets everyone see what we get up to. It also forces me to take more photos. For those of you who know my sister "the photographer", I am the opposite. I long ago learned that my photography talent was limited and the memories were always much better than the photos. As they say, never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Regardless, we'll give it a go and see if we can't provide a bit of amusement for everyone.