HUSH......HUSH......*Challenge*.......

I have decided to give myself a self imposed 12 week challenge (of sorts).......with the view of it being carried on in it's own way there-after, starting tomorrow!

The objectives being:
* Not to weigh myself till the 12 weeks is up, (am guessing mid-late June, will seek out date).
* To carry out lifestyle habits I'm happy with regarding training objectives/nutritious controlled eating/balance blah, blah!
* To stick to my goals regarding alcohol, (not ban it)....but have what can sound 'next to nothing!'

No more boring you with specific details.  I don't want a specific 'starting weight'....which I know will be in the early 80's again and disappointing cause I've pigged!  I don't want a specific weight 'target'.....am over that one and scale losses seem to happen slower nowdays.

Plus I don't view this as a 'weight loss challenge'....more a 'desirable habit' challenge.  Bettering fitness targets, healthy habits, self confidence blah....blah......more name of THIS game!  I *may* take some before pics, (no weigh in) plus some afters....but that's not the importance of this for me.  It's more about sticking about desirable fitesss/food habits I set out to do....with what I perceive my goals are.

So....that is that!  I'm not gonna mention it again to close mates as it can sound like rehashed garbage of a type.....or boring to those with no conception of the topic!

Will update ya in 12 weeks, 1 day or thereabouts regarding my imposed 'transformation challenge', will keep it private till then :-)

Am now AUNTY PIP!!!!! plus BLAST FROM THE PAST!

 Here is my nephew, - Nixon!  He is 4 days old here!  I am a very lucky Aunty :-)

 Here, lil sis Diana is holding her new son Nixon at less than one day old :-)

My Uncle Alvyn, Diana and myself at his home in Nelson, - 1994 or very early 1995.  Any pics of me on any type of memory stick from about then seem to be ones where I have the worst fashion sense! Some slightly shorter fitted denim shorts and a fitted tee or singlet (not tucked in) would have looked much better, - I had on cream linen shorts!  Diana would cringe if she saw this......she is really into fashion but socks and boots with a summer dress?  I am lucky I avoided the socks that day as I have seen pics of me with those tan sandals plus socks plus dress or skirt if going somewhere at similar times!  

My Uncle Alvyn, Diana and myself in early 1985.  This is the only time Diana has resembled anything bordering on remotely chubby, - that was gone by the time she was 2ish, she has always remained permanently slim since then!  That's me in the hot red cardi which Mum knitted amongst heaps else!

My Uncle Alvyn, as of 9 days ago when he and his new lady, Christine came to visit and stay!  He takes photos and videos of everyone else, so I'm glad to have snuck one of him.  This is at the beach at Riverton, - Southern Coast, South Island!

Well,, - it seemed the world and family was excited to meet Diana's and her husband Darren's first baby.  His name is Nixon, - he is mighty cute, he was 7 pound 10 oz at birth and after Diana having a speedy labour with no pain relief, - he is doing everything a newborn should be....so far and latched onto breast milk with no issues at all!  On this blog I have always referred to Diana as 'lil sis' if I have ever talked about her.  I will probably continue to do that, - however as Diana put a couple of pics of Nixon on facebook, - I thought I'd share the glory here!  Nixon is the first grandchild for mine, and Darren's parents.

Alvyn never married and doesn't have any children so he has always video-taped us nieces and nephews while growing up as well as his Aunties, Uncles etc a bit over many years!  Back in the day when we were children, he had lots of cumbersome gear, now being digital, he has updated and it's now much more compact!!

On the day of Nixon's arrival, my Uncle Alvyn and his new girlfriend from Nelson came to visit and stayed with me for 3 days!  So, after visiting Nixon, (whom I got to meet at one and a half hours old!), I enjoyed making tea later on that day and I invited some other nearby relatives over!  It was Alvyn's new lady, Christine's first time down to this end of the wilderness!, (the Southern end of the South Island).  She is from Nelson, - northern end of the South Island!

By the way, - Southland, (Invercargill and surrounding areas) at the Southern end of the South Island are thought of by North Islanders, - particularly Aucklander's (and surrounds).....as the 'butt of NZ', - where 'nothing happens', where 'time doesn't change, where it's gloomy and cold and miserable, old fashioned, lots of 'bogans'!  For this reason and image, (which Southland finds hard to shake).......townhouse prices have remained cheap compared to the rest of NZ and Aussie!  I had to laugh when Christine said.....she thought we would need fresh produce imported!  Nelson is only about 1000k up the road accounting for bends/hills/twists/turns, (700k geographically northish in a straight line) therefore not THAT much different from us!


However, - where I live is a 25 min drive from Invercargill, - Southland's biggest town/city with about 50000 people,  20 min drive to Gore, (another very community minded rural town of about 10000 with all facilities a town needs and a strong sporting culture), my town Edendale has about 600 people with a huge Fonterra dairy factory plant at   Edendale's northern entry.  There are lots of small rural towns dotted throughout Southland and on the Southern coast.  My nearest beach is about 34k away, - (for sure most of the time quite windy and cool but I have been swimming in the water a few times)!  The scenery down here is quite spectacular.  I live a 2 hour, 15 min drive from scenic Queenstown which is known as the adventure capital of the world and the most expensive place to buy a property (on average) in NZ!  All of the better known scenic/tourist areas of Central Otago are a 2, max 3 hour drive from my home.  Dunedin, - home of NZ's prestigous university is just 2 hours drive from me.  Concerts etc visit there.

As for the weather, - compared to most of the central inland areas of the South Island, - the winters are similar, infact the areas closer to the coast would be a smidgen milder than the more inland areas of the South Island where peeps live.  On average our summer days reach a cooler max than most of NZ by a couple of degrees, - however just under 2 hours drive away is Alexandra, the town in NZ, known for the hottest summer days and coldest winter days due to the lie of the land and geography etc!  I LUV the heat, even luv humidity (loved Perth summers plus the Gold and Sunshine Coast summers when I lived there) and was dreading the weather upon moving back here so I set myself up to expect the worst so I wasn't disappointed!  Yep, it's cooler than Perth or Queensland but not that bad.  It's changeable, many great days, many respectable(ish) and some slightly YUCK.  I could change my mind in 4-5 months and be TOTALLY over cold weather though, will see!

About bogans, - they are everywhere!  No different here than anywhere else I don't think ;-)

I think most people who come down this way enjoy it, find it scenic and realise we are as civilised as the rest of NZ!