Some of you may know that I'm a radiographer (I take x-rays/ ct scans)

My job is a constant stream of laughs, from the patients to the doctors and everything in between.

Today was no exception

Most of the after hours/ weekend work is reported by junior doctors, who are training to become radiologists.

Each hospital is slightly different, but ours waits until they're about 3 years into their specialist training before this can happen.

In the years leading up to it, they spend weekends shadowing those more senior to them to see what's what.

Today we had N, who I've never met before, but seemed quite nice.

The reg on call sent him off to start doing an ultrasound on a patient in intensive care... And said she'd be over in about 15mins

Off he went with the ultrasound machine (they weigh a good 80kgs, and are a pain in the arse to move)

The reg on call followed about 20 mins later..

Then we get a phone call from her, asking if he's back already.

We go look,

No junior doc.

She comes back

Still no junior doc

An hour later, he's still nowhere to be seen

90 mins later, he sheepishly comes back, dragging the ultrasound machine behind him

To ask where intensive care is cause he can't find it!!!

It makes you wonder how some people get into medicine!!!

Egg Whites

So back in the early days of ww, I got introduced to the world of egg white omelettes...

I remember initially gagging at the thought, but they quickly became the meal of choice when I was low on points, and starving!

I think egg whites were 0 points back then, throw in some point free veg, and you get a yummy meal.

Anyways

This week they've made a comeback into my land of health eating.




Not completely yolk free if you look closely (made with 2 egg whites, and 1 egg, mushrooms, shallots & tomato)

But equally filling and delicious




Don't knock them till you've tried them!

So I've been trying to update the design of my blog.

But I can't seem to get rid of the horrible greenish background complete with silly bows, that seems to have appeared.
It only disappears when I restore back to the classic templates.

Anyone smart with that kind of stuff?

The joys of shift work

As many of you know, I left Oz 6 years ago, for a working holiday...

I've pretty much spent the last 6 years working as a locum, saving up, then travelling until I've run out of money, then starting the process again.

I won't say it's all be smooth sailing, there's been many a time where I've come back with less than £10 to my name, and not a pay packet in sight...  (situations like these, lead me to jump at crazy jobs in crazy locations!!)
But I've learnt!

One of the major bonus's of working as a locum, means that you get paid well, and
get to work  9-5pm, Monday to Friday.

Which I've grown accustomed to

So imagine my shock when my current job decided to change to shift work...

Suddenly my evenings, and weekends were not my own.

With their crazy anti-social shifts of  12pm-10pm, or 10pm-8am and random weekends thrown in for good measure.

It was like being straight out of uni, and getting given all the unwanted shifts, just because they can!

Now I love the idea of working 4 days a week...
the 3 day weekend is amazing...
(if you get all three days off in a row... which seems to be an extremely rare occurrence here, unless you're the boss!!)

But there's not logic to the shift patterns here...

Take this week for example...

Working  Monday,
off Tuesday,
working Wednesday,
off Thursday,
working Friday,
off Saturday,
then working Sunday...

That is what I call dragging out the working week, one day at a time!

All I can say is that Sunday, it's paying time and two thirds.... bring it!

So way back in October 2011, I took part in the UK's first cycling challenge just for women, called Cycletta.

It was a 40km ride through the countryside, on mostly traffic free streets.

There was a good mixture, of professional riders, and beginners, and it was great fun...

I bought a bike, and went riding most weekends leading up to it in preparation.

I had a fantastic time, zipping along the streets amongst the autumn coloured leaves.

I loved it...

But then it was over, winter came again, the days grew shorter, and my bike became a drying rack for wet clothes in my one bedroom, hospital accommodation, and it became covered in dust...

Fast forward 18 months, and the poor thing hasn't be ridden since...

Partly because I lived in a town where most people aim to run over cyclists, rather than go around the, full of steep scary hills and just general crazy drivers, and partly because I'm just plain lazy.

But I moved a few months ago, to a better town, still complete with crazy steep hills (I thought the UK was flat!!!) But more out of town, with the leafy lanes...

So I've dusted off the bike, and as soon as I track down a pump, so I can get some air into the tyres, we'll be off on an adventure...

Time to go shopping...

A week ago, I decided my ''get my act together day'' was going to be Feb 4th!

So I've spent the last few days cleaning out my fridge
(read: eating all the yummy cheeses, and chocolates that have worked there way in!), 
in preparation for filling it with lots of healthy goodies...

Needless to say, there is hardly anything left in it!

Just a bottle of dragon-fruit flavoured vitamin water, some low fat mayonnaise, 1L of semi-skimmed milk, and a packed of WW sausages... (which are surprisingly good, for just 60calories each!)

Time to go shopping in the morning, so I can fill it with lots of healthy options.


Your encouragement of every sort, your stern words and actions when neccessary, your understanding for the occasional slip ups, and lots and lots of chuppa chups over the next few months are and will be very welcome!!

Starting over

I saw this today, and it sums it all up perfectly...

 

 

I am sick of starting over

 

 I just need to get on with it & stop making excuses!

Snow days...

 

One of the best things about winter in the UK, is the anticipation of snow!

 

For days leading up to it, the weathermen were calling it snowmagedon.

 

I'll be honest...

I kept looking out the window for snowflakes, like a kid waiting from Santa at Christmas. The moment it started falling, I was out there in it with my camera in hand.

 

I was lucky enough to be off work most of the days it snowed. So I was out there with all the kids in the neighbourhood having snowball fights, and making snowmen and snow-angels... it was amazing!

 

 

 

There's something about snow that automatically makes everything look pretty.

 

My personal favourite were all the snow covered branches; there was just something magical about them.

 

 

My poor daffodils, thought it was getting closer to spring, and had started to sprout....
Only to almost disappear in the snow!

 

 

 

On the Sunday, we borrowed some kids that came complete with sleds, and headed off to the local park.

 

I forgot how much fun & hard work sledding could be... (especially since there was more ice than snow by this point). It was a case of slipping and sliding all the way to the top.

But the slide down was well worth the effort.

 

 

 

Though by the Monday when it was time to get to work, and it took over 2.5hours to get there...

(it usually takes 10-15mins!)

 

I was over it!





 

But, a little rain and it was all gone...

 

just like that...

 

 

Though nothing beats standing outside, catching snowflakes on your tongue... at 3am with fellow excited Aussies!!

 



I think it's time to bring back the blog...

I think it's time to bring back the blog...

What can I say...

It's been a good 2 years since I last posted on this blog, where I had such grand plans for starting another (that really never eventuated into much)

I remember starting it after a 2 week holiday in Croatia, full of scantily clad girls in bikini's, with not an inch of fat to be seen anywhere...

Funnily enough 4 years later, and I'm still at the same weight I was then, if not a few kilograms heavier..... so much for this being a weight loss blog!
I guess I just needed a break...

Life has had many ups and downs over the last few years, a few too many down points over the last few months if I'm honest.

Weight wise, has also seen many ups and downs, but I've found that I'm great at maintaining the weight I'm at now.

But when I lose it, it seems to find me much quicker, than it takes to loose!

There are many things going on in my life at the minute, that I have no control over; but my weight isn't one of them.

I've spent the majority of my twenties overweight, I don't want to spend my thirties doing the same.

So...

 

Here's to a fresh start!