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I branched out with my bread making and made focaccia today - totally fabulous. The recipe suggested using olives, but I left them out, mainly because I wasn’t sure Miss M would approve, but did put in some finely chopped rosemary. It was perfect.

I had a very efficient day today - sent off heaps of eBay packages, and in my new, take charge business woman mode, I booked into a massage course today I’ve been wanting to do for ages but didn’t think I could fit it in with work. Then I realised I could change work around and do the course. So I did. I also sent documents to my conveyancer for a house we’re hopefully going to bid for on Saturday. See how I haven’t mentioned it until now?

It’s super windy outside, and unfortunately I have to ride back into work - but there’ll only be five more Tuesday nights when I do, so in light of that, I think I can handle it. I’ll imagine I’m on the Tour de France - only with less drugs in my system.

Today I’m loving: the gorgeous boy in my spin class - almost enough to make me rethink my decision to stop teaching it

I’ve previously documented Miss M’s Saturday routine of saying “I don’t want to go to the market”. Today, I decided to use a subtle (foolish) method of persuasion to get her there, by suggesting a trip to the beach … on the proviso it was post fruit and vegetable shopping. Since Miss M is a total beach addict, she happily helped with the shopping - even getting a 10% discount on our free range eggs because of her exceptionally polite manners.

When I’d suggested the outing, I’d been thinking about walking along the sand, maybe collecting some shells and breathing in some fine salty air, since we’re in the middle of the coldest winter in almost ten years. To my young lady, cold is merely irrelevant detail, so we set off loaded up with her boogie board, bikini, 2 jackets, and me, in about six layers of clothing.

When we got to the beach it was windy and beyond freezing. I’m from Tasmania, so I’m well acquainted with swimming in the cold - at my old high school, we were forced to swim in the sub zero Derwent River for PE while our teachers kayaked in relative comfort. Until one day when we noticed several grey nurse sharks in the water - after that, we had our lessons at a pool. The apartment where I’d worked on Blue Heelers had an unheated swimming pool, which had only ever been used by me, so I used to think I was fairly hardcore … until I met my daughter.

Today the only other people on the beach were walking their dogs - and those dogs were wearing coats. But Miss M was undeterred. First she took off her socks and boots and paddled for a while. When she came over to where I was standing, I was well and truly ready to go, but she took her pants off and ran back into the water. When she came back, I thought with some relief we were done, but this time she took her top layers off, grabbed her board, and leapt in completely. My hands and ears were totally numb , but I couldn’t help smiling as she paddled around. Every now and again she’d come out of the water and race up and down the beach, holding her board under her arm and looking like a real surfer.

Finally she’d had enough, and was happy to dry off. As we strolled back towards the tram, my extremities began thawing, and, possibly due to some kind of cold related brain malfunction, I started to entertain the idea of making the beach a regular weekend event … but next time I’m bringing earmuffs.

Today I’m loving: this photo, courtesy of my phone

I don’t often make it to the movies, much less on opening night, but tonight, Miss M and I - and a sold out cinema of other people - saw the Simpson’s movie. It wasn’t quite as hilarious as I’d hoped, but something about being surrounded by other people laughing made even slightly dodgy gags seem funnier. At the end, everyone clapped - something I’ve never experienced before.

Miss M was captivated, laughed her head off, and occasionally stage whispered “what did he say?” I can definitely recommend it, especially if you love heaps of pop culture references all crammed into one short little space. And I’m kind of taken by the idea of moving to Alaska!

So today has been a good and productive day on many levels, including one of the best pizzas I’ve ever made in my life. Anchor bread and pizza flour (excuse the shameless plug) is the best thing since … sliced bread!

Today I’m loving: facing challenges and walking away intact

There’s something strange going on when your eight year old child is mermaiding around in the bath singing a word perfect version of “Papa can you hear me”, then segueing into a Pink song moments after.

Miss M was exposed to the first song after I heard it on an episode of Will and Grace, then used it in a dinner context the next night … “come and get some salad”. When I asked her where she’d learned the whole song, she replied “The Simpsons”. Where else?

The Simpsons has caused me to laugh a lot, and also taught me many things over the years I’ve watched it: the definitions of ratify and perjorative, much about the American governmental system, all the words to the Oscar Meyer Weiner song, and who Eudora Welty was.

I haven’t seen a lot of recent episodes, partly due to work, and partly because I’m one of those people who like to hate on a show once it’s lost it’s original lustre, but by the time the weekend is over, I’ll have seen the Simpsons movie, and I’m quite excited by the idea. Look forward to an unbiased review sometime in the near future. Well, a review, anyway.

Today I’m loving: running 4k in 24 minutes. I could’ve done more, but the coffee I drank only minutes before gave me a stitch. Stupid coffee!

Say what you like about Melbourne’s weather (and I usually do), but when a perfect winter’s day comes along, you can’t ask for more. It’s sunny and warm outside, and although I was sceptical this morning about the temperature climbing to a heady sixteen degrees, I’ve been proven wrong.

Because I’m feeling lazy, here’s a list of things I’ve loved about today, in no particular order:

Walking Mr Dog in the sun, past the firemen - and we all know how great firemen are!

Not going to work until after 12pm.

Wearing non-work clothes for a large portion of the day, including a great t-shirt I bought a couple of weeks ago, well before I expected to be able to

Heaps of sprinting during spin (Glen, you might be happy you didn’t come today!)

Making bread with heaps of time to let it rise properly

Taking Miss M to school and being able to stay until after the bell rang

So now I don’t have to go back to the gym until this evening, and a relaxing afternoon stretches in front of me with a trip to the bank, and some potentially frenzied bidding on ebay later on. And maybe another dog walk past those firemen …

Miss M has a love/hate relationship with the Saturday fruit and vegetable market. Well, any kind of shopping involving food or household items really. Strange really, for someone so delighted by eating, but I learned to stop questioning strange anomalies in her behaviour some years ago.

Now we’re into hardcore budget territory, the market has assumed even more importance than just hanging out and having coffee with our neighbours and any other local people we might run into. The difference in price and quality to the supermarket is astounding, and it’s fun to buy things from people who’ll interact with you, to take back egg cartons you’ve kept from last week, and have the best bunch of baby beetroot (pardon my alliteration) picked out for you by the man who grew it.

Every Saturday, Miss M without fail says “I don’t want to go to the market”, knowing she has very little choice. Every Saturday without fail, I say “We’re going to the market”. Then I fast forward to bribery. Our neighbour Harry adores Miss M, and buys her any treat she wants from the coffee/cake stall, then takes her to the swimming pool to have a look around (he’s the plumbing contractor for the pool) and say hi to everyone there - especially Jerry, the spunky guy who works on reception. I remind her of all these things, and she still says she doesn’t want to go.

Finally we get organised, grab the trolley, masses of tissues (in case of a babycino spill), a bottle of water, and the list I’ve spent ages crafting, and go next door to Harry and Mieke’s. As soon as their front door opens, Miss M is “on”. She’s charming, hilarious and having a blast. It’s her job to unlock Harry’s car, open the huge garage door, and today, work out how to put the power windows up (it was freezing!). While we were driving down, Harry gave her an informal lesson in how to drive a manual car, and was very impressed when he realised she already knew everything he was telling her about gears, brakes and accelerators.

Once we’ve socialised and it’s time for shopping, my miniature friend is the one who chooses the produce, crosses things off on the list, and decides which of several fruit types we’ll have this week. She’s also started handing over cash, which she loves more than anything. Today she brought her own money and bought me flowers, which she chose on her own while Harry and I were waiting in the coffee line. They’re truly gorgeous, but the pride on her face was even more so.

So she loves every moment of the whole experience - even the walk home with our laden trolley, as we spot cats, say hi to her friends going to kick footballs at the park and chat about various important weekend events. But I know without a doubt, next Saturday at 8.30am the whole thing will start again. I realised this morning the complaining is just another part of the routine - and I think she likes messing with my mind.

Today I’m loving: the crazy menu at NK Cafe - I’m going back to try the apricot and jam

Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly where changes in life occur, but I can pinpoint July 12th, 4.30pm as a fairly large turning point, as I sent an email which led me to today … which, if it were a movie, would’ve been called “When Emma met her mentor”.

Our appointment was at 11am, and I wanted to ring up and cancel at about 10.30am. Sure I was teaching a class, but I was starting to feel like I needed to throw up, and it’d be easier to just run away, which is my usual style. Also my phone was running out of batteries, and I didn’t want it to cut out during our thirty minute discussion. Of course it did, moments after he told me his price - how suave that must have made me seem!

Happily, I swallowed my nerves, made the call, and discovered he wasn’t an insane Donald Trump style mentor, which I’d been nervous about. Everything he suggested, I felt I could actually do, although my heart rate escalated about 100 beats per minute at one point. September 1 marks my first big (huge) change - both exciting and terrifying at once.

So today’s been great. Lots of things to think about. Now I’m going to drink cocoa and read a book, just for fun.

Today I’m loving: the above (especially the cocoa and reading parts)

This month, Cosmo has Jessica Biel, one of my favorite actresses (make that actresses’s bodies) on the cover. One of the reasons I love her is Blade Trinity, a terrible, terrible B-grade film, with some of the most awesome DVD extras ever, including the training regime she and Ryan Reynolds went through to get their incredible bods. Oh, and it’s got Triple H in it too, but now I’m digressing …

The cover promises “How to get everything you want … a flatter tummy (no crunches, promise)” - that’s a good start. Let’s check out the inside.

Pg 50 - News Alert - the comfort foods that make you SKINNY

Another article about GI factor of some of your favorite foods, and how to change high GI’s to lower, more sustained energy just by making a few simple changes. Foods included are porridge, pasta, pizza, potato and dessert. There’s nothing on that list I don’t love, so I have to give this article a big thumbs up, and **** Great reading for a long checkout line, but also worthwhile taking home and following the advice.

Pg 154 - Get a sexy stomach (no crunches required)

Some challenging ab exercises and good dietary advice add up to a good rating for this article. As always, I have to find some kind of fault with it, and this time, it’s the lack of advice about relaxing your neck when doing a couple of these exercises. Leg walks and hip thrusts are really tough exercises, and unless you’ve done a lot of conditioning, you’re going to find your neck wants to tense up, and you’ll probably want to hold your breath - don’t! Start off doing mini versions until you’re strong enough to do something more difficult. The advice for leg walks is to add some 500g weights to your legs later - I think this is really bad for your lower back, and would just suggest slowing the exercise down and doing less repetitions. When your leg is kept straight, putting extra weight on the end of such a long lever is asking for trouble.

The photograph for the ball pike shows the model tilting her lower back in the start position, which isn’t good for your back. This is a super advanced exercise, and if you’re going to do it, try to find a mirror you can use to monitor your posture to avoid the same kind of tilt. You need to aim for a flat back, rather than the tilt and slightly rounded shoulders you’re seeing here.

With proper technique, these exercises are great. If you belong to a gym, get an instructor to show you how to do them safely and properly, and don’t go crazy trying to do the toughest version first.

Exercises **** Advice **.5

Okay, let’s not beat around the bush - today I bought a pair of leg warmers. It’s disturbing, and slightly wrong, but when you’re working in a gym where your breath is visibly noticeable, and your clients steam (honestly - that’s not a joke), you need every ounce of warmth going. And before you ask, I’m not trying to relive my Flashdance fantasies, or I’d be learning to inappropriately arc weld. The other great thing about the leg warmers is they’re from the dodgy “up to $5″ shop in Vic Gardens, thus super cheap. Brilliant!

It’s been an uneventful few days - sick clients, people rescheduling, and so on and so forth. Yesterday I wrote another article (to suck up to my potential business mentor), which you can check out here. Unlike the previous one, I deliberately tried to spin it towards needing a personal trainer … but subtly. It’s already been downloaded nine times from the free content site, and the other article I put up last week has been used twenty three times. Quite cool.

I trained with Steve today which is always “enjoyable”, and I had one of those great days where it’s clear my strength is increasing. I’ve also had a couple of insane bike riding days where I know I’m getting totally wet, and riding into out of control wind. The two are unconnected … or are they? So tomorrow at 11am I meet my business mentor (via phone), and hopefully get some great ideas. Or a big kick in the pants. Or maybe both.

Today I’m loving: the wet cat that just jumped onto my knee. Thanks Pilch!

Usually Tuesday is my day for domestic chores, but because I’m seeing clients I can’t fit in anywhere else tomorrow, I shifted it all to today, where happily I had a big gap just begging to be filled with the floury fun of baking.

Sadly, one of the things I made was a really, really bad cake. After tinkering around with the same recipe a couple of weeks ago, I decided to make the apple and chocolate cake again. I didn’t have any ground nuts to put in, so I just went with the original recipe, but neglected to add the second raising agent, so I’ve been left with a cake that’s super flat. Miss M described it as “like a pancake, but not as delicious”. I couldn’t disagree. Luckily the bread I made worked beautifully, so at least there’s an upside.

Today’s been a big day of listing things on eBay. I cleaned out cupboards yesterday and found the most surprising array of things like antique knives, heaps of vintage crockery and various other things hopefully people will want to buy.

On Thursday I’m having a phone meeting with my potential business mentor. How nerve wracking! I have to fill in a business diagnostic before the meeting - four simple questions which are … exceptionally complex.

We’re babysitting a couple of Miss M’s friends while their parents are out dancing, so I’m going to use the time to wash the millions of dishes which are the byproduct of mass baking. My idea is to be able to start the day super organised tomorrow - maybe it’ll impress the business mentor!

Today I’m loving: full house at yoga!