After 4 lovely days off I was back at work on Tuesday to over 100 emails, 6 documents to review and issues on two of my projects. No chance of easing in gently to my 4 day work week.

So that evening I only got home at 7pm, exactly 12 hours after I had left home to go in to work. Norm offered to go for fish and chips and I crumpled and indulged. I was too exhausted to take charge. 

Wednesday we had a workshop planned at Meerendal vineyards. 

It is a lovely little estate. 

  

Not long after we got started with the workshop they brought a yummy tea of sandwiches, bagels, spicy chicken and salad. We had a productive workshop and then we broke for a late lunch. I had a salad of rare roast beef and Parmesan.

  
After the workshop we had a wine tasting. I wasn’t driving so I could indulge. The Chardonnay was nice enough as it was unwooded. There were lots of reds but as I’m not a fan of red wine I went for the whites. After the Chardonnay I had the Sauvignon Blanc 2014 and then the 2015. I preferred the 2014 as it was less acidic. 

The view is nice.

  

I had arranged the night before for Norm to collect me at Camps Bay football club on Wednesday afternoon as my colleague Darren offered me a lift to Meerendal if I would be ready for work at 6.45am and if I could get a lift home from Camps Bay after the workshop as he had a football match. When we left the wine farm to come home I messaged Norm to say we were leaving. I then later messaged to say we were in the CBD and then again when we arrived in Camps Bay. I waited and waited. Eventually Norm rang and asked where I was. He was at Hout Bay football club, not Camps Bay, so he was looking for me 15 minutes up the coast road.

I saw a lovely sunset at least.

  
Finally Norm arrived. He drove home slowly and deliberately rather than quickly and a bit erratically like Darren had been driving all day. I drive more like Darren.

I noticed all this while we sat in hostile silence on the way home.

I’ve never been a strategist. I’m not calm and rational enough to be great at thinking about the effect of my actions. I’m an impulse kind of girl. My driving reflects my thought processes. 

Anyway, my sulk ended when I got home and Norm quietly went to the kitchen and made dinner for us all of fillet steak, broccoli, cauliflower mash and fried mushrooms. It was perfectly cooked and I was so grateful. 

I’m such a lucky woman. Even when I’m a cow.

On Thursday I made good progress on my project that is due for delivery. It’s hard juggling multiple projects.

After work I had an appointment to see David for Body Reactivating treatment. I left feeling great. Just like I was light as air, unburdened of emotional baggage. 

I wondered how linked my weight gain was to that baggage and was this emotional clearance a sort of liposuction for the soul? I felt my weight gain was linked to my mental state, the deep sadness I felt while away from my children. I find I’m healing and finally able to let go of that angst, and with it that need to fill that hole with food.

Or is it purely hormonal and my body is simply insulin resistant, so stopping the daily sugar saturation I was subjecting my body to has resulted in returning to the metabolism of my youth where I was able to eat what I fancied? As long as I don’t fancy carbs and sugar every day.

Whatever the reason, I lost not only the kilo I gained on my indulgent weekend away, but I lost another kilo as well! That makes about 17-18 kg (40ish lbs) I’ve lost. 

And we eat so well! 

For those who have never had Body Reactivation, the practitioner receives ‘words’ somehow and he then works on clearing the emotional blockage created by these feelings. The word which used to come up was ‘grumpy’ and ‘frustrated’ but we have worked on those for months, this week the words were ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘exhausted’ and I am indeed both. Work is really stressing me and the 12 hour days, hours traveling and lack of sleep are wearing me down.

Thursday night Caitlin offered to cook and made a delicious dinner of chicken wrapped in bacon, red cabbage, mushrooms and gem squash. 

  
It was so yummy and perfectly cooked.

I felt spoiled again! 

The clock is ticking on Lily moving to Great Brak which is down the coast about a 4 hour drive. I am going to miss her so, she always hangs out with me after she gets home from work. She moves at the end of the month..

I stayed late on Friday, I usually leave once I’ve billed my 40 hours but I had some gap analysis I was well into and knew stopping and restarting would waste an hour I don’t have. So I just stayed and finished it off. 

We had thawed scallops from woollies for that night’s dinner and Norm took them out just before I arrived home. I washed them and put them in a bowl with lemon juice and pepper. The parboiled sweet potatoes just rolled out of their skins. I then sliced them into 3-4 little pieces and fried in a pan of melted butter. I steamed some broccoli liberally sprinkled with lemon. 

Once every thing else was ready I fried the scallops in butter for 3 minutes each side. 

  
It was simple but the flavours all complimented each other beautifully. 

We spent the evening chilled out with the animals. Norm did a bit of work. 

  

I had Pixie’s chiro appointment for her back problems so we were out of the house just after 8 Saturday morning. We got stuck behind a digger for ages, then a student driver so I barely made my scheduled appointment. I decided to book myself in as well on the next visit. My tilted pelvis is causing me such pain in my sacroiliac joints. 

I relaxed that afternoon until 5 when we headed off to our friend Greg’s 40th birthday party. It was on the other side of town and we took the motorway. At one point there were 3 route options, 2 got us there, the third took us back towards the city. You guessed right, we took that wrong exit. We took the next junction which looped us round and we found their house. We hadn’t seen them since their wedding a year earlier! 

I also saw colleagues from 8 years ago and met Priya’s children and both Greg and Priya’s parents. It was a lovely evening and great to see some of their other friends whom I hadn’t seen in ages. 

Towards the end of the night I got a message that a work friend Anze had died. It was just her birthday on the 9th and she had gone out with friends. That night a friend stayed over and in the morning the friend couldn’t wake Anze so she went to phone their other friend, then when she checked again my friend was dead. A tragic accident.

Anze has 2 small children and was in love. I feel so heart sore for the loved ones left behind but especially for the children. Their lives will be forever changed. It is heartbreaking.

This morning the dogs let us sleep til 8 which is a rare treat. I woke thinking of Anze and feeling grateful for my children and husband. I’m glad that at least Anze had a great life, she was such a brave woman. She had been so supportive to me after my armed invasion. She had an armed invasion herself and to save her child from the grasp of the robbers she jumped off her balcony, crushing both her feet and ankles. She was a fearless mother and a supportive friend. 

Norm spoiled me with coffee in bed this morning as I was feeling a bit dreary.

I finally got up and Lily and I made us all a Banting brunch of cheese omelette, onions and mushrooms fried in butter and grilled bacon.

  
Then my friend Retha came and we had a glass of wine on the balcony and a catch up. 

  
This afternoon every one has been napping and I’m pottering about in my pajamas. I’ve made a bit pot of spicy soup, perfect for this cold weather and I’m happy being lazy and to have my dogs and family nearby. I think Pixie senses my sadness and is very clingy.

  
Hold your loved ones close.