The Biggest Loser Husband Wife Weight Loss Off - Week 3

Another week down and it's an "oops" week.  Yeah, I've put on 0.5kgs and the wife is keeping hush hush on her weight loss.

Christmas parties! Worst ideas when trying to lose weight.  Good times though, great times!

I do have good news for you though.  It's giveaway time!!

The folks at The Biggest Loser Club are kindly offering all you lovely readers out there the chance to win a 3 month membership to the Biggest Loser Club.

I have got two of them to give away!  Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

But let's talk about more on the weight loss scene.  I knew it was coming, the weight gain.  There was less exercise done this week.  Seems it's usually a pattern for me after a two week consecutive weight loss result.

I get a bit cocky perhaps, showing how it easy it is and just do a bit less exercise. I sweated it out Saturday though, running after the wee lad, kicking footy with mates.

I sweated more than Kevin Pietersen, facing his home media after losing the first Ashes Test.

(that's a lot of sweating!)

If I didn't put a big effort in on Saturday, it probably would have been worse.

My wife on the other hand has been eating better then me, but just feeling a bit crook over the week. Poor thing! Kind of doesn't help exercise wise.

Excuses excuses though.  I shouldn't have excuses!

The Biggest Loser Club is all set up to avoid this sort of weight gain, albeit very small.  They give you weekly recipes and on top of that, a shopping list of all the ingredients required.  Makes it really easy if you're able to abide by their suggested meals.

Inserting a big kick up the arse this week.  I promise to lose a bunch of kgs.  Tweet me and Facebook me to make sure I don't slip up! (and good luck if you are entering the giveaway)

How's your weight looking after your Christmas parties?  Do you have issues denying a plate of lamb on the spit like I did? Or is there another Christmas goody that has you beat?

Love to hear about it!

- tork

Grab yourself $5 from the Cheesecake Shop Naughty or Nice survey

Giveaway time!

So an opportunity arose for me to talk about the lovely people at The Cheesecake Shop.

Licking your screen doesn't help, just fyi

That place has the better of me. I can still remember one night in my younger days, 2am and hungry. Driving around the Adelaide streets, head out the window yelling “Cheesecake shop!! Cheesecake shop!!”. Cravings make you just a little bit stupid sometimes..

I still don’t think they are open in the wee hours of the morning though. It’s probably for the best.

But when this opportunity arose to talk about them, there was no way I was going to let my current diet get in the way.

One day having cake isn’t the end of the world! If there is one thing in this life that is great, it is cake. When the world yells at you, remember, there will always be cake!

Cake is fantastic (ohh man I love cake).

But enough about cake, oh wait, that’s what I’m meant to be talking about isn’t it?

The Cheesecake Shop is spreading the word this Christmas about their Naughty or Nice survey. It’s a fun, few minutes for everyone and at the end you will receive a $5 voucher.

Each participant simply needs to log on at www.facebook.com/thecheesecakeshop and answer a series of questions via the Naughty or Nice Barometer.

Have a go! I’m certain that voucher will be handy, I know it will be in my house, WHOOP WHOOP!

Delish!

Totally stealing that idea :)

Have you been Naughty or Nice in the lead up to Christmas? Tell me your stories!  Let me know what score you get too (I'm 35% naughty tsk tsk tsk).

- tork

Marriage, Motherhood and College - How a Mum Juggled All Three and Made it Out On Top

A guest post from Patricia Garza..


These days, there's no denying just how busy we've all become. We've got places to go, people to see and seemingly not enough time to stay on top of all of it. My own personal world seems to be a whirlwind of meetings, soccer practice, anniversaries and everything else that comes with living a full life, which is why I half thought I was crazy and out of my mind when I started toying with the idea of going back to school to get another degree a few years back. But something in me just said to go for it.

An idea I had had in my mind for quite some time, going back for an environmental science degree kind of got put on the back burner with the birth of my children. I wanted to be able to give them my undivided attention as a mother during their most formative years and knew that I couldn't put that stress on my husband and me, so I let it lie. My husband and I discussed it at length. His main concern was that he didn't want me to feel unfulfilled and possibly even resentful by not going through with it. After much thought and many conversations (and LOTS of reassurance for him), I told him I'd wait 5 years or so and then revisit the notion. By then our youngest would be kindergarten bound and I would hopefully have this whole "motherhood" thing down—haha, little did I realize just how ongoing THAT process is, but that's a whole other story.

Anyway, the five-year mark came and sure enough, the itch was still there. So my husband and I reassessed every aspect of our lives—personal, financial, professional—to see how this would fit into the big picture. Aside from the fact that it might be a hectic of a schedule it seemed definitely doable, so I went for it. And, I can honestly say, the things listed below made it a much easier endeavour  So, if you're finding yourself in a similar situation to mine, read on, you never know what you might learn!

Searched for Scholarships

First and foremost before starting anything I searched for scholarships relevant to my situation. I remember from my days as an undergrad that they really have financial aid and support for people from all sorts of backgrounds and walks of life.

There's assistance specific to part-time students with full-time jobs, scholarships for the kid that's an avid volunteer in his community, even returning students had their own niche. And, luckily for me, I even found a couple for mothers.

So, while I wasn't qualified for all of them, I did my homework to find some that did. They might not have all given a fortune, but every little bit helps—especially when you are trying to raise a family at the same time. I will never turn down partially or completely free education.

 

Made a Schedule and Stuck to It

Once I took the plunge and enrolled, I knew I needed to be smart about how I spent my time. I didn't have the luxury I did years ago to procrastinate my days away and put off assignments. I had children I needed to raise, a husband I needed to see when I could and a multitude of other things that come with grown up responsibility. Sure, things would come up and I had to make changes and be flexible, but you making up my school work was always first priority to ensure I stayed on track and didn't have to resort to missing out on that all-too-important family time we never seem to get enough of.

 

I Relied on My Support System

As you can guess, it got sort of stressful trying to keep up with everything. To keep myself sane and focused on the task at hand I learned to rely heavily on my support system. I listened when my mother offered to watch the children so my husband and I could have a night alone. I vented to my husband about my assignments and how stupid of a decision I thought I had made, and he was always there to reassure me it would get better.

So, if you're considering going back to school, be warned that you will struggle. You will get overwhelmed. It's important that you first accept this, and then put aside your pride and realize it's OK to be weak and rely on those around you. After all, that's what loved ones are for, right? So grab a ladder and get over it, they just want to help.

These are my main suggestions for surviving an endeavour such as this. However, one final thought? Try to remember that things could always be worse. For instance, during my studies, I met students who had way more things on their plate—some were single mothers who had to work on top of everything. Being a freelancer with an employed husband, I had greater control and flexibility in my schedule which I am eternally grateful for. But, their situations were inspiring. Because, if they could do it, so could I. I had ZERO excuses compared to them.

Finally, just remember that this is something you WANT and with all things we desire we should fight for them. So push yourself and make it happen—I promise you'll survive it and you won't regret it one bit.

Patricia Garza is freelance writer and blogger for many sites, including Oedb.org. She contributes research and expertise on online college accreditation to Oedb.org, and she is passionate about helping students discover the right educational program for them. She also writes about trends in education and personal finance. Please leave comments for Patricia below.

I reckon you should visit Two Point Five Kids

I know I really should be flogging dad bloggers like myself, as we all know how much better the dads are than mums ;-)

But over at Two Point Five Kids you'll find a groovy little blog to go visit.  A mum blogger that's always been sharing and caring for me here at Tork's blog.

I'm always so happy when I get a Facebook comment or like, and it's usually from this rad mum blogger.  I really appreciate it! I really do.

Check out how she proposed to her man friend in front of thousands and thousands of people.  You'll be amazed.

I'm going to draw little willies on things to amuse myself while you check out Two Point Five Kids.  Make sure you don't forget to come back here afterwards.

Don't stay forever! There's only so much doodling I can take!

(See what I did there?)

;-)

- tork

Snip The Tip - An Emergency at Home of sorts

The trouble with going to work and leaving baby at home with mum is that you aren't around if anything bad happens.  As dad, you think every now and then about how far away you are from home in an emergency.


"Ring-Ring" goes my phone.

"Yep, what's wrong" I say to my wife, a usual answer I give other than hello, especially when I'm busy and stressed with work.

"Argh!  I cut off his thumb" cries my wife.

"What the crap?!  What happened"

"Well," starts my wife "I was cutting his finger nails and there's blood.."

"Good God! Is he ok?  Do we need to go to hospital?  Is it his thumb you've actually cut off?"

"No, not his thumb" she sobs "It's just the skin off the top.  He's just crying and there's blood"

"Phew!" I say with relief "I thought his whole thumb was hurt"

"I'm a bad mum, I hurt my boy" cries my wife.

"No, don't be silly.  Every mum has probably done it by now.  I'm surprised you've lasted this long!"


This is what I dealt with, being away from home and thinking for about 5 seconds he was hurt badly. Wish I could always be around, but money has to be made. This is what dad's have to go through.

I thought it was gone!  Thought he'd never be able to do any gaming against his old man!  (Yes this was actually one of my thoughts)

It's all good though, no damage done.

But remember mums, when there is the teeniest tiniest bit of blood that appears on the top of any of the phalanges (aka. fingers), settle down, remember you aren't a bad mum, then call your husband and laugh about what has happened.

:-)

She makes me laugh that wife of mine sometimes hehehehe

- tork

Winner of the 2nd Torkona Award is..

After reading numerous parent bloggers, the winner of the 2nd ever Torkona Award has been chosen.

This time, the award is to highlight blogger's first born birth stories.

Having recently become a parent myself, I found it a very appropriate theme.

You can read my own first born birth story: Finally, I am a dad. Leave me a comment if you think I should have won my own award :-)

The requirements of this blogger award to summarise were:

Your first born birth story with a total score of out 31 based on four different criteria.

• a possible ten points for creativity
• a possible ten points for how hilarious you are
• a possible ten points for a heart warming story
• one brownie point (for posting award image link)

And the winner is..


*insert drum roll here*

mum in search

~**Congratulations!!**~

She has fit every category of creativity, humour and heart warming story with her post Torkona wants to read my first born birth story. And yes, I did.


Visit her post and perhaps follow her blog.  She's quite funny and a great blogger as well.  Top marks go for having priorities of watching such quality TV programming like 'So You Think You Can Dance' instead of worrying too much about labour pains. Too bad you missed the end of the show!  Great creativity with the photo collage, which was unique of all the entries.

Good idea going for the brownie point also, it got you over the line!  Something I would recommend for future torky awards!

So well done mum in search. Here's is the other part of your prize, my second ever trophy.

Ten runners up are as follows, each with links to their birth stories for everyone to read.

A field of dreams	My if journey
Tara	Birth story bandwagon
Taryn	First born story
lifeasmummymax	Our 1st born Elaina
Tracy	Arrival of Cassidy
Crap Mamma	From birth plans to toilet plungers
Reservoir Dad	Enter the Torkona Award
parentwin	First story of my first borns
Kellie	Sienna Jade
Madmother	God of Obstetrics

Thank you to all that entered.  I enjoyed finding a few new blogs as well as reading all your birth stories.

Don't forget to follow/subscribe for the next installment of The Torkona Award.  It is getting bigger and bigger, so who knows what can be next!

- tork

The Torkona Award II - Your First Born Birth Story

THIS AWARD IS NOW CLOSED. CLICK THIS BLOGGERS AWARD LINK TO FIND THE LATEST INFO FOR THE NEXT AWARD.

I've got some exciting news.

The Torkona Award, is back!

The inaugural Torkona award went to Romina. Her gratitude was shown via her Martyr-hood blog.

When I bestoyed this honour on her as the first ever recipient, her followers numbered about 50 people.

As of this post, a month later, she now holds 528 followers.

Goes to show how awesome for your followship my little award can be (of course, her fantastic blogging has something to do with it).

But it's the first stepping stone towards great exposure! So I would love as many people as possible to have a go this time around again.

Here's how the 2nd Torkona award is going to work.


1. Tell us your story about your first born child

Anyone is eligible from any part of the globe.  So long as you are:

• a mum
• a dad
• an expecting mum
• an expecting dad

Even though you may have not given birth just yet, it would still be lovely to read your story so far.

I want to hear things such as how the pregnancy is or was, your fears, your excitement, your struggles, your joy.  Basically anything in the time frame of the pregnancy.

I can't wait to read them.


2. What is the prize?

The person I judge to have the best story receives a post on my blog dedicated to your story/blog.  Refer to my last Torkona Award to see an example.

As mentioned above, this can give you great exposure for your blog.  Ooh, you'll get a groovy .gif image trophy too!

Ten runners up will receive a link back to their blog as a thank you for having a crack at it.


3. How you are scored

This time, for each story, I give a total score of out 31 based on four different criteria.

• a possible ten points for creativity
• a possible ten points for how hilarious you are
• a possible ten points for a heart warming story
• one brownie point

"Ok, one brownie point huh? What's that? What's the catch?" I hear you say

No catch, you don't have to do it if you dont want to.

But, if you do want that extra point, what you need to do is copy and paste the code in the text box below into the HTML section of your post:



That's why :-)
6. What happened to point 4?

Aren't I just hilarious *sigh*

7. Final Requirement and Deadline

I will need to know that you have completed your post so I can judge it.

So, when you have finished, please leave a comment against this post of the URL to your story.

Alternatively, you can contact me of your link (and any questions) via tork.southaust@gmail.com

All entries must be in on or prior to the 1st of May, 2011

All that is left to say is, I encourage as many people as possible to give this a go.

I will love to hear everyone's stories, as well as I am certain your followers will as well.  Not only for them to reminisce, but for yourself as well.

Good luck.  And even if you don't win, I hope that it will at least bring back some happy memories! :-)

- tork

<a href="http://torkona.blogspot.com/2011/03/torkona-award-ii-your-first-born-birth.html"><img src="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee492/torkona/tork0411.gif" /></a>

An image will appear on your post just like this below as a link back to this award.






Pretty cool huh?  It's all about exposure and I'd like to get as many stories as possible, so if you want that extra point and you aren't scared about some competition, you can consider it.

5. Why am I doing this?

If you already follow my blog, you may already know that my wife and I are expecting our first child any day now.  I can't wait to tell everyone our story.

So, I was thinking, 'wouldn't it be great to hear about others first born stories as well?' 

Winner of the Inaugural Torkona Award is..

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After sifting through 18 entries of best Aussie Mummy bloggers for January 2011

Scoring each blog out of 30

• 10 possible points for writing ability
• 10 possible points for heart warming stories
• 10 possible points for a fair dinkum laugh

The winner of the Inaugural Torkona Award is

*insert drum roll here*

Romina @ Martyr-hood!!

Congratulations Romina.  Here's why she is my deserved winner for January 2011.

I am bit surprised I've actually enjoyed her blog.  I tend to find myself put a-back by writings full of swear words, but the posts for January were so well written and displayed the emotions she has been feeling very well. It was a very interesting read.  I don't think I could imagine it without all the swearing!

I especially enjoyed I think you're all fucked in the head. The title is definitely a stand out. I didn't know what to think after reading just the title. But, it is witty, well structured, heart warming and hilarious. It covers all my criteria exceptionally. It also is likely to be defining for most Aussie mums out there, but I'll let the mums be the judge of that!

The other posts are also very good for January, but that one stood out the most. So to Romina at Martyr-hood, Congratulations! Please accept this trophy as your prize.

Thank you to all that entered. Better luck next time.  Make sure you follow me via RSS subscriber, Twitter or Facebook to find out when my next award is up for grabs.

The following are 10 runners-up that only just missed out on the choccies.

Mumstrosity	http://www.mumstrosity.com/
Madmother	http://meanderingmadmother.blogspot.com/
Clairey	Claireyhewitt.blogspot.com
Veronica	http://somedaywewillsleep.com/
Taryn	http://www.tarynrucci.blogspot.com/
Parental Parody	http://parentalparody.blogspot.com/
Tat	http://muminsearch.com/
Toushka	http://www.toushkalee.com/
Glowless	http://www.wheresmyglow.com/
Farmer's Wifey	http://www.farmerswifey.com/
Dear Baby G	http://www.dearbabyg.com/

- tork

Tork's Aussie Mummy Blogger Award - January 2011

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I am a bit excited to introduce to you, the first award in a long series of awards for bloggers: The Torkona Award

Run and judged by myself, a series of awards by me, a (soon to be) Dad Blogger, Gamer Blogger, Humor Blogger, etc etc.

Awarded randomly throughout the year, this award will hopefully bring great prestige to those that win, especially for the person winning this one, being the very first Tork award ever.

The award will go to the best Australian Mummy Blogger in January 2011.

What are the prizes?

• one mummy will win an entire post dedicated to their blog, posted here, with reasons why it is awesome and the winner
• with my blog reaching over 5000 views a month, the person will receive a great amount of awareness and traffic for their blog and the opportunity of plenty more followers
• a really cool 'trophy' to add to their blog
• 10 runners-up will receive a link from my blog to theirs

How is it being judged?

• I am judging each blog received prior to 21st February 2011. Winner will be announced shortly after this date
• blogs are judged based on posts in January 2011 only
• high praise is given for well written blogs
• extra marks for the heart warming stories
• brownie points given for a good, fair dinkum laugh
• sorry, you have to be an Australian Mum for the inaugural award

 Why am I doing this?

• Because Aussie mums are awesome
• I want to reward talent where talent is due
• I want to reward mummy bloggers for spending part of their days blogging and not spending hours upon hours on Farmville :-)
• Why not?

So if you would like to nominate a blog, or vote for your own blog for the inaugural Torkona Award, please leave the link as a comment below.  Please don't just leave a comment to nominate your blog or someone elses without adding the link as well, otherwise how can I check it out? Any more questions or discussions, please also leave below.

If you want to spread the word of this award, share it with the social media links at top of this post, or add this following code somewhere on your blog:

<a href="http://torkona.blogspot.com/2011/01/torks-aussie-mummy-blogger-award.html"><img border="0" src="http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee492/torkona/tork0211.gif" /></a>

Good luck, and may the blogs be with you!


- tork