Canoe, can you.

Today we went kayaking!!! So much fun. I have been pestering my husband for months to go but we always get distracted and do something else. Today when we got up, and it was another glorious day, he said" I know what we are doing today.... kayaking" I literally yelled Yippee!!! I was like a little kid...... or a dog when you say they are going for a walk. I have never kayaked before but I figured it would be fun. And it was. We went to the Royal National Park where you can hire a canoe and paddle around the lake. It was so beautiful and calm. Every where in Sydney is so packed at the moment and the thought of going to the beach sends shivers down my spine as I think of all the "beautiful tanned people". In the National park it was just families and even then it wasn't really busy at all, most of the time ours was the only canoe with cooee.

Kayaking is great exercise and I only stopped and let the husband do the hard work for about 10 minutes while I lay back and enjoyed the surroundings. After the park we went on a road trip to Woolongong as we haven't been before. It was so lovely to just get out the city for the day. I love living in a big city but the beauty of Sydney is that everything else is right on your door step. The Northern beaches, the Blue Mountains, the Hunter Valley, the National Park..... Sydney is a truly beautiful place to live. I am loving getting out and enjoying it.

I must also admit, getting out into the fresh air with nature drastically reduces the desire to smoke. I can't even imagine having lit up a cigarette today, it kind of ruins the whole picture. I am definitely making progress and breathing the fresh air also makes you want to enjoy healthy food. Speaking of which I better be off now to cook a very simple dinner of stir fired broccolini, sugar snaps and snow peas with grilled salmon.

Be good!!!
Ally

27 lighters!!!

Today is a beautiful day. The breeze is so fresh and the sky is perfectly clear. It's not hard to get out and about on a day like today and incidental exercise is quite easy. I went for a walk to my local farmers markets and bought some beautiful organic fruit and veg. As soon as I got home I set out to make myself a delicious sandwich.

Delicious Ham salad sandwich
1 tablespoon ripe Avocado
1 slice lean ham
4 slices heirloom tomatoes
1 cup mixed lettuce
1 slice Weight Watchers cheese
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
2 slices Bergen Grainy wholemeal bread.

Food like this is so appetising, it just takes a moment longer to prepare. I realised today that preparing makes the ceremony of eating that much more enjoyable. The research task for myself today should be unconscious eatting, I think this is where my problem lies. The ritual of making something delicious to eat (and even taking a photo) will surely help me on the road to recovery.

On another note I did some spring cleaning today and scrubbed my unit from top to bottom (not hard as unit is only v small one bedder) Feels so great having a clean unit and obviously we all know what they say clean home = clean mind.... or something like that anyway. When I was cleaning up I found... wait for it....27 lighters!!!!!! It may be hard to believe but it is true. So not only was I smoking and wasting money on cigarettes it seems I was also spending my money on lighters. Oops just had a thought that maybe they are all the lighters I have stolen from my friends over the years.... sorry. Well no more hoarding lighters, and no more stealing lighters either. I have kept one lighter in the top drawer near the candles and the others..... well would you like some for your candles???