Cameron is leaving

We have discovered that KT's swimming teacher will be taking his last class next week and then will head off to Vietnam to counsel kids there.

Apparently he was working on his psychology degree and is now fully qualified.

No wonder he was so terrific with the kids!!!

We are all pretty sad about it ... he and KT really clicked from the first minute in each other's company.

We are going to make him a card and give it to him next week.

The new teacher is not yet qualified and will have to have another instructor in the pool with her for the first few lessons (weeks, months ... who knows).


Will have to see how that goes ....

Eye test

Today I went for my two yearly eye check.

I am really happy and relieved to report that my prescription does not need to change!!

Last time my eyes were tested I complained to Geoff that my previous glasses (organized by Geoff robertson ... the other geoff) had not only broken and not lasted the full 2 years, but that I felt uncomfortable in them wanting to constantly either push everything far away from me or "throw the glasses off" (to quote my very spot on Mum).  He tested my eyes and then gave me a somewhat weaker prescription than I needed.  This really did the trick and it seems my eyes have stabilized now.

I placed an order for some prescription goggles with my optometrist and I should have them any day now.

Swimming last night was terrific although I got cold early and needed to go to the toilet, so I hopped out a bit early (only 5 minutes ... I was the first one in the pool at the start of the session).

My freestyle is really improving ... in fact Jennie said "that was good" and made no further comment about it.  She did ask me how I was going with butterfly and was keen to get me doing that.  I wonder if butterfly is her favourite stroke or something ....

Uni is getting his car serviced and his tax done today ... money in and money immediately out!!!

He is spending more and more time on the computer as his holidays progress, so naturally I am spending less and less time ...

LOL!!!!

This week has been a bit topsy turvy for me ... I have not done any painting, the housework is lagging and I have a busy weekend and Monday ahead of me.

I think in the next few days it will sink in that there is only one week until school holidays and I will go into a wild frenzy of activity ... or perhaps I will just get KT to help me paint the fence.

50m freestyle

Today I had the pool to myself for the first 25 of my 30 minutes swimming!

I also swam for the first time ever a full 50m of freestyle (with flippers on), without stopping, having problems with my breathing, or swallowing any water.

When I stopped I didn't feel like I was out of air, but of course it did take me a while to catch my breath and my heart was racing like you would not believe!  I know the breathing statement sounds like a contradiction but it is like if you are running to catch a bus, you are breathing while you run and you are in no danger of running out of air, but when you stop your heart is racing and you need to catch your breath.

I painted another fence panel today ... unfortunately I got quite sunburnt doing it.   I am up to the inclined part of the fence now and I have to climb a chair, or the water tanks, or the fence to reach the very top parts I have to paint.

I have settled into a rhythym of painting from the top of one paling, right down including crossbeams as I come to them, then moving to the next paling and starting at the bottom of it and working up all the way to the top, then from the top down on the next paling and then the bottom up on the next paling etc.

This means I don't "lose my place" and don't end up painting the same paling twice.  It also means I am constantly changing my position so I don't get stuck crouched down or stretching up for long periods at a time.

This afternoon I will comb the lice eggs out of KT's hair and probably again in 2 days etc etc.

We did our 3rd lice treatment last night after KT had lots of bloody spots all over her scalp.  As I speak Uni is washing the treatment out of his hair too.

Why oh why have they gotten rid of the spellchecker function???

Or has it moved somewhere that I have not discovered yet?

very tired

I came here to write tonight but I am very tired .....

Uni is on holiday and I have had a big day.  He woke up bright and early this morning and took the dog for a beach walk!

I painted the fence ... I'm flying through it now ... the end is in sight ... aiming to be done before the heat of summer ... I think I might be repeating myself ... but no time to go back and read what I have written before ....

I also watered the garden.  It has not rained in any serious amounts for nearly 2 months.  I stopped using KT's bath water on the garden, opting to wait for rain, but now there is not much bright colourful life in my garden (although everything is bravely hanging on), so I am back to carting buckets of water through the house and down the stairs and into the garden until it does finally rain properly again!

I am building up some muscles!

A few nights ago Uni said that my belly felt tight and that my arms feel muscly.  Am surprised at how much pleasure I got out of those statements!  I have been swimming for 7 weeks now ... I guess that is enough time for some muscles to develop. It is definitely much more of a workout than bellydancing although if I had taken bellydance practice as seriously as swimming practice perhaps it would have been too.

I did some ironing while we watched a movie together at lunchtime, then made KT's sandwiches for school for the rest of the week, and made tonight's dinner.

I went to swimming class tonight and there were a full 8 students ... roughly one lane each.

There was another newby to the swimming class ... Leslie who apparently has been learning with Jennie in the 18 metre pool and made her debut into the big pool tonight.  She was swimming with a kick board and is very much a beginner also, so I will keep an eye on her progress with interest.

I spent a lot of time on butterfly tonight ... concentrating more on the arms and even tried to incorporate a breath.  It is funny how skills or ability come in a flash, then disappear, then come back in a flash again.  The movements for butterfly are becoming familiar, and I have now seen Jennie demonstrate them enough that I have a "movie" of how they should go running in my head.

I can also see the similarities between the strokes and how certain principles apply to all even though they are different.

Today I also stumbled on the fact that at night when the lights are on I can look down and see the shadow of my arm movements on the bottom of the pool.  This means I can "watch" what my arms are doing (in freestyle) as well as "feeling" what they are doing, while my head remains looking right down (correct head position).

My shadow's movement looks smooth and graceful!!!!  I have noticed my bellydancing shadow looks the same way!!!! This creates a positive feedback loop because I watch what I am doing, I do it better because I can see I am doing a good job and concentrate more on doing it right.

I wonder what I will do in the day time ......

I haven't had the swirly eye thing happen for over a week so I think my body has adjusted to whatever it needed to adjust too.

I am very sleepy though and I think I need an early night.

Goodnight to all

... And my final note is that I have enjoyed reading more frequent blog entries this past week!

Getting organized for spring

Well have combed through KT's hair and removed several little things ... don't know for sure if they are eggs or baby lice or what, but I didn't find anything too enormous.

I am in the process of washing sheets, pillowcases, towels, blankets etc.

Today was a rainy day in the morning ... have really missed the rain and hope there will be plenty more to come, but I was able to get a load of washing out and dried.

We got our electricity meter installed by a fast talking, impossible to understand scotsman. He arrived on our street at 9am and waited in his car until 9.45am to arrive early for a 10 o'clock appointment.

Meanwhile I kept running backwards and forwards from the window to see what he was doing and was he coming in yet and why was someone else  pulled up near him and stopping for a loud chat.  It turns out the lady with him was his supervisor because as soon as he left my house she rang (I recognized the voice) to find out if he had done all that he was supposed to do.

Our hot water is at the right temperature, he gave us 15 CFL light bulbs ... we should be ok for lightbulbs now for the next 5 years or so if you include our long life ones we already have in place and the ones he gave us.

I have used most of our appliances today and done circuits of the monitor to see just how much power each appliance uses!

I guess we knew most of this anyway but it is a great visual reminder of how much electricity is being used.  The main offenders are of course the oven, dishwasher, kettle, iron, airconditioners particularly heating and the washing machine when it is spinning.  I will also have to try the dryer too.  I also discovered that having the rangehood light on at night is not such a great idea as it uses almost as much power as the two CFL kitchen lights combined!  I liked it because it cast a very dim light in the kitchen but I might just have to buy a few more night lights instead!

It was also absolutely freezing today!!

I was pleased that it would mean I should have the pool pretty much to myself.  When I arrived there were only two other people in there and after the initial dip the water was pretty warm.  Getting out was a struggle and the hot showers were heaven!!!

I am still struggling with the butterfly stroke, I have to remember to do head and arms first like going through a hoop on the surface of the water, then follow with my bottom and then my feet, and then do the pushing with the arms under the water.  I watched a "how to" butterfly video on the internet and I could see the head, bottom, feet pattern but I really need to watch the evening squad swimmers again to see it happen for a few lengths of the pool, because in the instruction videos they chop and change camera angles etc and there is an annoying voice over.

I have also tried to adjust my freestyle stroke as Jennie told me so that my elbows don't come up out of the water and instead my arms are doing more of a circular  or elliptical motion-starting out in front, going down through the water, past my hips and then coming up and out as more of an extended arm rotating at the shoulder (rather than a bent elbow) and then coming down (elbow bent in the water a bit in front of me) and then extending forwards and meeting the other hand  way out in front of me.

I am probably repeating myself but every time I get into the water I swim differently.  Better? hopefully but I am not always sure about that!!!

Just published this post and realized I hadn't really said anything remotely related to the title!!! 

I am winding down some of my facebook activities, games,  I think a few of them have run their course and I will only use them sporadically.  I am turning my attention to the house once more and trying to get rid of things I don't need, and taking care of jobs that I have put off.

Uni is on holidays for one month from tomorrow and he will probably like to spend some time on the computer too, so I will use this month to break my time wasting computer habits.

I will of course continue to email and blog and read other blogs etc but I have a lot I want to accomplish over the next month and hopefully I can create a new routine that will continue once Uni is back at work.

I also used our photocopy function for the first time yesterday .... brilliant!!!

Swimming with KT

Tonight KT came with me to swimming lessons and met Jennie.

She was really cute and really funny, so very interested in everything.  She asked a million questions while we were there ... why is there a smaller pool, why are there numbers at the end of each lane, do the lane ropes go all the way down to the bottom, which one is the teacher, are these the people in my class, what are there names, is the water cold, where will I sit, will I be able to see you, will you be able to see me, can I help you put on your flippers ....

Then when she listened to Jennie's instructions she said to me "I know what she wanted you to do, I think I could do it perfectly".   I think it is so much easier to listen and take in instructions when you are not the one in the water ... because I think the same thing when I hear her coach telling her things in the pool LOL!!!

I planned tonight's itinerary with military precision and it went without a hitch.  We took pooch for a walk at the usual time, came in and I had a shower and changed into my swimsuit, then KT had a shower after me (instead of a bath), I had promised her a hungry jack's dinner so after we were dry and dressed we drove through the drive through and bought chicken nuggets and chips for her.  While she ate them at home, I finished my preparations ... putting in contact lenses, putting my hair up etc.  We arrived at the pool right on time.

There were only 3 of us there ... last week there were 5, the week before there were 6, the week before that 7 and the week before that 5.  Hopefully people come back next week because if there are not enough consistent numbers the class may get cancelled. Apparently they need at least 4 or 5 to make it worth them keeping the lights on etc.

I got plenty of attention tonight and Jennie really focused on butterfly.  She said so much stuff and I really wasn't doing anything right ... i need time to digest the information ... but I think if I can remember everything she said and think about it and practice it I may be ok.  Lots to practice.  I really wish I had a video of her demonstrating the stroke to me ... she does all the actions for you on land (out of the water).

From what I can remember I have to lead with my head and arms, head, bottom, feet.  The head and arms lead and the bottom follows and then the feet have to follow (relax and undulate along with the rest of the body) and they actually have to come up out of the water.  She got me on the right track when she indicated I should try to lead with my head and arms as if I was trying to go into a hoop that was lying on top of the water, then the bottom follows and so should the feet  BUT you have to keep your arms straight in front and once you have undulated you have to come up to the surface of the water again ....I was going down further and further.  If your arms and hands point down, that is where you go ... so they have to come back up to the surface of the water again.

She said I had a good dolphin kick when I do 3 dolphin kicks then one breaststroke arms, but when I tried to incorporate butterfly arms things went awry.  She also does not want me to try breathing ... just try to do 2 or 3 strokes with head down to get a feel for the motion and then stand up for a breath when I need one.

I  am also not supposed to start moving my arms downward to push the water until after my whole body has completed one dolphin undulate ... ie. Head~Bottom~Feet, then push the water with arms, pushing with thumbs down, right back until past my hips and then arms over keeping thumbs in same position and rotating shoulders.

I can also try doing just one butterfly arm at a time - and when I do it I have to bring it down into the water in front of me and then extend (stretch) forward (I guess this is where the next head, bottom, feet comes in ... Then alternate to give both arms a go .... not sure if this will be easier or not ... will have to practise.

I didn't even get a chance to do backstroke tonight ... and when I did freestyle Jennie commented that my elbows come back too far and out of the water.  I need to do a full stroke back past my hip (ending with my arms straight) and then rotate my arm forward (kind of like in butterfly how your arm does a bit of a circle).

Hmmmpfff I think I'm doing great at the beginning of the lesson and by the end I am confused, kerfuzzled, tired ... but very eager to come back and get things straightened out in my mind on Friday.

I am working with the computer on my photos at the moment and working on a how to diary so that I know what the best way to work with my photos is ... which is the best program for burning CD's and DVD's etc


Ahhhh where is the spell check function on this new improved posting thing ..... help! what do I need a strikethrough function for goodness sakes WHAT ABOUT SPELLCHECK!

how did I get here

In order to be ready to learn to swim I needed ...

1. good visibility (contacts and goggles) and good gear (flippers).
2. individual tuition and the opportunity to learn
3. a strong desire and motivation to learn (and a bit of a push from a swimming enthusiast).
4. 4 years of learning and enjoying another physical activity and wanting to try something new once those classes finished.
5. 5 years of watching someone else get swimming lessons LOL!!!

• to pick up a few tips that I could try myself
• to help them learn by doing extra swimming at the lagoon and making it a fun warm weather activity
• to realize not to take directive or coaching comments personally (much easier to do when they are not directed at you)
• to realize that there are lots of things that need correcting and you can be doing well while still being corrected.
• to realize how precise and beautiful and graceful correct swimming movements are.

What I am learning from swimming.

OK so I have only done it twice so far (swimming) ... but already I have been introduced to the concept of achieving something and then trying to at least the same again or aim for better each time. You always hear swimmers talking about PB's (personal bests) and although this is not a new concept it is not one that I have previously applied to my life.

I have always been competitive, always wanted to get the best or highest score at school, win the game etc BUT I have always seen other people as the competition and have never really thought to myself I will try to do better than my own performance ... instead I try to do better than others. This is fine if the others are better or faster or whatever but it makes sense to do better than yourself if you want to truly progress forward. There are also too many variables involved in competing with others ... some will be easy to beat, some will be impossible to beat ... but improving yourself and using yourself as the benchmark is a good, more consistent way to record and recognize progress.

Hmmmm light bulb moment!!! :-D

I guess if you try to constantly better your own performance in something you enjoy, there is no end .... which is what I have observed with other motivated individuals ... Pat and Jeff with their guitar, Mum with her swimming and knitting, my sister with karate, education, fitness.

I on the other hand try something for a while, reach a point and think OK I have done that now I will try something else. For example learning to play the flute in high school ... doing great then it needs to go in for repairs and I stop. Similar with belly dance ... although I do believe that some things run their course.... and I would have to say that 4 years is the longest I have persevered with anything... so there is a PB for me! :-P

Perhaps a change in attitude and the approach to the activity that I choose, will change the outcome.

I also have realized that everything you do requires time ... (and money). If you don't practise or go over what you have learnt regularly you lose the forward momentum you have gained... not all skills that you learn remains with you for life (with the exception of riding a bike apparently!!!) To practise takes time. If I try to start and do to many things e.g. piano, guitar, dancing all at the same time, I cannot devote myself fully to each.

I was going to say more but I will leave it for another day.

Terrific day

I have had a really great day today.

Everything flowed well and went smoothly. You know one of those days where the birds are singing and it feels like you have a fairy godmother watching over you.

Okay Okay so I just recently went to see Disney on ice with my husband and lovely daughter so perhaps I have fairy godmothers on my mind!

I was very tired this morning and found it really difficult to wake up and was not expecting to have a good day so I was really pleasantly surprised by how everything turned out.

It started when I took KT to school this morning and we sat down together to read a book (as we always do). A little crowd of interested kids came and sat down with us to listen to the story.... right to the end.

Then I said goodbye to KT and asked her to wish me luck for my first swimming lesson and she said .... "I don't think you are going to have a very good time" .....

bear with me here ....

I asked her why she didn't think I would have a good time and she said when she starts new things she doesn't really enjoy them the first time, but finds them much more fun the next time and the next time and the next time.

"So you are saying I shouldn't worry If I don't like this swimming lesson but that if I keep going and trying it will be better each time?"

"Yes" she beamed and gave me a big hug.

I headed home and headed into the backyard with our bin and was met by our puppy who greeted me with sooooo much joy and affection and then rushed around the yard playing happily with me! She is growing up now and although she usually wants to play she isn't always very responsive and sometimes doesn't feel up to it (possibly pregnancy related ... or phantom pregnancy related????).

Then I got changed into my painting clothes and did 45 minutes of fence painting. I discovered that I couldn't reach the top part of the fence and will attempt to paint those parts tomorrow using a ladder ... stay tuned for further adventures!!!

I headed upstairs to do banking and check my emails .... and inevitably play farm town.

They have made some great new changes to the game that took effect this morning and it is much faster and more fun to play now. They seem to know when I have just about had enough of it and then they add a new element and I am hooked again ... actually now that I come to think of it that may not have been such a good thing ... but today it made me feel great!

Some very positive interaction with Uni (tee hee) won't go into more detail as I got ready for swimming.

The class itself was full on and intense ... Jenni is lovely and I learned more in 30 minutes with her probably than I learned swimming at school.

I can only seem to take in a very small amount of information at a time ... so in the last ten minutes I was feeling tired and a bit frazzled and overwhelmed. Luckily I recorded (mentally) everything she said and have been playing it back to myself all afternoon. Wish I could have videotaped the whole thing so I could see what I did, what she said and what effect it had.

Things I have to remember and practise ...

1. put head down and look at the bottom of the pool instead of up or forwards ... this makes your bottom go up (I have heard this told to KT a million times in the pool so should be easy to remember).
2. Do deliberate slow arm strokes e.g. with kick board hold with both hands, lift right arm for breath, then left arm for bubbles. My arms were going all over the place too fast and not in the right sequence ... Jenni got me to try to move one arm all the way around and then only move the other arm once both were at the front.
3. kicking as if trying to kick off a sock ... not mad fast kicking that would be unsustainable in the long term.
4. Breathe every second arm ... get into a rhythm of breathing some air out and some air in with each arm stroke without trying to get all the air in or all the air out each time. (i am not sure if I breathed out using my nose in the water or just my mouth ... will have to see what i do next time)
5. when lying on my back floating my head is too far back (put chin down more ... as if lying flat on a bed) have head, neck, back, hips and knees in a line .. move feet rather than legs when kicking
6. Knees below the surface of the water but chest above the water (back floating)
7. Roll shoulders for arm movements but torso and rest of body stays straight.
8. Don't swim desperately ... try to be controlled and focused
9. If you are tired or struggling .. don't try to swim faster and harder, try to pace yourself, slow down etc.

I found it really difficult to be aware of what I was actually doing, hear and process what was being said and then remember it and put it into practise!!!

Oh well it was only my first lesson.

I plan to try her evening class next week ... which is 1 hour but has several people in it, some beginners some more experienced. That should allow me to have a bit of tuition time, but also to swim and practice on my own as well ... and perhaps observe and listen while others are being taught. I wonder how cold it will be in the evening ....

She also suggested practising during the week, purchasing goggles (I wonder if I could wear contact lenses with goggles and eliminate the panic associated with not being able to see properly)... and also short flippers rather than long ones.

Overall I feel pretty good about how I went and although I would panic as I started to swim, I found I was able to focus and really try with the breathing and could go further than I expected. I remembered someones recent wise words about not stopping and trying to get into a pattern of breathing ... thanks mum!

I left the pool feeling really happy, really tired and somewhat sore and throughout the afternoon I felt like I was breathing more air in and standing up straighter!!!

Feeling very enthusiastic at the moment.

Was completely ravenous and ate a tasty lunch with Uni and then very soon after went to pick up KT.

We had a good afternoon together, plenty of hugs and kisses and I managed to get dinner made and served on time AND KT asked for seconds!!!

There is a free dress and Crazy hat or crazy hair day for school tomorrow so we made a newspaper hat just before bed.

I have cleaned up the kitchen and am thoroughly exhausted now ... still have school lunches to make for tomorrow and Friday but after that I will collapse in a chair ... and head off to bed early.