Alright, alright. Here's the worst of them!

After much deliberation, I've rummaged around and dragged up some of the better of the worst photos for some comparisons!
This horrendous pic was taken last year at my 30th birthday.

5.6kg later. Apologies for the darkness of the photo. Daughter took it and as I'm no fan of the camera, it was a 1 shot only thing!

I've been able to fit into some tops I've not worn for ages which is pretty exciting. My black pants are so baggy, I can fit both arms down them.

Looking forward to more skinnier photos!

Bookmark!!

Sulked my way off to weigh in tonight absolutely positive I was going to gain this week as I've been pretty much written off with my back these past few weeks.
After much moaning, I decided I needed to face the music no matter what tune it was.

To my excitement, I lost another 0.9kg this week which now takes it to an official total of 5.6kg. I staggered as quickly as I could to my leader and promptly requested a 5kg bookmark - and a 0.6 one if there was any! I'll just have to wait for the next 5kg one.

I went home and thought I'd check my measurements and I was thrilled to see that I've lost 44cm total since Dec 29th last year.

I told a good friend of mine. She said "That's not the only thing you should be losing girlie. Those jeans of yours look rediculous on you now. They look more like tracky pants than jeans with all the bagginess and you pulling them up all the time."

I love my friends.....

My Amazing Journey

Well another week has gone by and gladly, so has another 1.3kg!

I've been enjoying a new lifestyle since December and am really enjoying it. I'm loving the fact that I have to 'hoik' my pants up nowadays because they're getting too big for me (or more appealingly, I'm too small for them!). I'm loving that I'm eating so many divine foods that I never used to have. I would never have believed that I'd ever sit down and think that a huge bowl of fresh, colourful stir fried veggies was just about the most wonderful thing in the world.

I was unfortunate enough the other day to have my first bite of junk food this year. It was a fillet o fish from Maccas. For the rest of the day, I sat there and moaned that I couldn't get the taste of chemicals out of my mouth! I'm loving that because it means my already healthier body has detoxed from all that junk.

The habitual water-hater I am is now drinking at least a litre of water a day. I'm happily and confidently turning down old temptations like chocolate, sweets, icecream. The strange thing is, I don't really miss it at all.

Looking forward to posting in the future all my wonderful losses as well as photos of the new me!!

My second home

As a child, I had a best friend who visited an exotic far off place in the South Pacific called Samoa.
She and her family came home from their holiday changed people. I remember sitting for hours listening to their stories of this magical, untouched place.
Year after year, they would return to Samoa, bringing home more and more things home which ended up with their home authentically decorated like a traditional Samoan 'fale' (grass, open walled hut) with tapa cloths, wooden carvings, ava (kava) bowls and countless other things.


When I was 10, she and her family moved away. One of the last things she said to me was "Promise me you'll go to Samoa one day!" I promised I would.

18 years later at the local shopping centre, I heard my name called. I looked around and saw my old childhood friend racing toward me. 2 hours later and 1/2 a dozen coffees between us, I found out that not only was she still going back to Samoa every year but she and her brother and sister had all married Samoans! Perhaps they ran out of souvenirs..

It was that day that I made up my mind. I was going.

The following year on the 10th of September, my daughter and I flew out of Tullamarine airport on our way to fulfill my 24 year old dream.

At the airport ready to leave.

Nothing could have prepared me for the beauty of not only the island, but the people there as well stole my heart. Within days, I had made friendships that will last forever, created memories that will last a lifetime.


Our friends Alofa, Peisi, Alfata and Nive

We spent the most of our holiday in the big island of Savaii in a small village called Manase. My daughter and I would eat our breakfast of tropical fruit, eggs and hand made bread with our newfound friends and she would take off for the rest of the day - only coming back to our little hut for food and water. She spent her time with the children of the village learning the language and the culture and would come back at the end of the day with so much to tell.


I taught her to snorkel in the warm waters amongst the schools of tropical fish swimming around us. We learnt that the coconut has so many purposes there. Not just for its meat and milk, but also for crafts, weaving and many other things. I learnt that the milk of an immature coconut is actually fizzy and is the milk of the gods. Nothing like drinking a huge coconut full of sparkling milk on a balmy tropical day!

Drinking coconuts at Marketi Fou - Apia

We swam in a crystal clear freshwater lagoon fed by an absolutely breathtaking waterfall. We climbed a huge banyan tree which towered over the canopy of a rainforest and looked down on the world from the heavens.

Waterfall on the island of Upolu

We experienced the thrill of standing next to the largest blowhole in the world and threw coconuts into which shot 50 feet into the air. We went swimming with turtles and had a great time holding onto their shells and being pulled along in the water.


Blow Holes
Swimming with the turtles

I even managed to have a bit of a holiday romance while I was there! His name was Isaako (Isaac in Palagi (white man) language) and he was absolutely divine!

Isaako

Time stood still for me on this little island in the middle of the South Pacific. I'd look at the other tourists and wonder why they looked and acted like tourists in a place that I felt like home. I believe it's because Samoa's not my choice for a holiday. It's my second home.

End of the day in paradise

We returned again exactly one year later and will do so again this year and for many years to come!

So what is O.I?

Hang around and talk to me long enough and you're bound to hear me mention "O.I" or more confusingly "Osteogenesis Imperfecta".
I now hear a big, combined "What the??"
Well, sit down girls and boys because Aunty Aquarius will tell you a story....

I'd always know I had 'bad bones' all my life. My memories of childhood incorporate a lot of plaster, bandages and X-ray rooms. My mother was told to increase the amount of dairy I ate, assuming this was a calcium deficiency of sorts.

My pregnancy with my daughter was an absolute nightmare. Couldn't believe the pain my whole body was in. When I was delivering her, my pelvis broke in half, much to the horror of the midwives present!

When my daughter was 3 years old, her day carer called me at work to tell me that she had hurt her arm and for me to come and get her.
X-rays showed that she had broken her upper humerus. I was absolutely devastated that my baby had a broken bone but never suspected anything other than a childhood accident....
3 weeks later, she broke the other arm....

I made an urgent appointment with a pediatrician who sat me down after looking at her full body X-ray and told me the words that I'll never forget.... "Your daughter has a rare bone condition..."
Then the next bombshell...."I think you could have it too...."

Words were spinning around in my head.... "Osteogenesis Imperfecta.....Type 1.....Genetic testing.....Lifestyle modifications.....Orthopedic Surgeons....."

I don't remember driving home that day. I don't even remember getting to my mother's house. All I remember was her opening the door and me falling in a heap sobbing hysterically.

I spent the next few months researching everything I could find on this mysterious condition.

O.I is a genetic bone disorder which results in a poor quantity or quality of collagen in the bone and connective tissue. Collagen acts as a shock absorber for the bone and allows it to 'flex' under impact. When there is a defect in the collagen gene, the bone breaks instead.

There are 4 types of O.I. My daughter and I have type 1 which is the mildest - hence the reason why this wasn't picked up while I was a child. As I'm not totally familiar with types 2,3 and 4, you can read about it on the O.I website www.oif.org

Our life now is a lot happier. We have chosen not to suffer from O.I, We live with O.I. We both have infusions once every 3 months which are quite aggressive and make us feel like death for a week or so but the results are amazing. The bone pain is gone, the fractures have almost stopped and for the first time in 30 years, I know what life is like without pain.

I remember one member of the O.I group saying something in the first meeting I went to that I never understood until recently. She said she never knew she was in pain each and every day, until she wasn't in pain. I get that now.....

A Little About Me....

Well, I've finally done it. Put my butt into gear and given the 'blog' thing a go!
A little about me....



Sabrina


I live in a gorgeous little house
in outer Melbourne with
my 11 year old daughter Sarah
(I call her 'Floss'), my 2 lovable hounds
Mr Badge and Sabrina and
my 2 cockatiels Rastas and Tilly.
I'm on a 'backyard blitz' frenzy at the
moment and am really enjoying making
the backyard a nice, cosy place to spend
lovely summer evenings with friends,
good wine and a great BBQ!




Mr Badge

I've recently turned 31 last month and had a fantastic night of laughs and great company. I scored a heap of Bunnings gift vouchers for my birthday so have been going crazy like a kid in a toy store in Bunnings gettings some great things for the house.

I've also just started another job which is a 9 month contract at a place that I couldn't see myself working at forever so the 9 month thing works well!
Ultimately, I'd like to get into a humanities focussed job - preferably where I can make a difference in the world for people with disabilities.

Life's generally great for me at this point in time. I got well and truly 'jack' of the extra weight I was carrying so I've been on a new lifestyle of newfound health and weight loss. So far it's going well and I'm thoroughly enjoying putting on my pants that are getting too big for me!

Floss came home from her 3rd day back at school the other day saying she thinks she's in for a chance to be selected for the school ISSE (exchange student) program to Japan this year. I'm really excited at the thought of it and have made myself a promise that if she's selected, I'll head off back to Samoa by myself while she's away.
Sarah and I have been to Samoa two years in a row
and I really feel like it's my second home.

We've gone for her 10th and 11th birthdays and it
will be great for me to be able to head off there on
my own this time to do the things you just can't do
when you have a kiddie around (like find myself a
gorgeous Samoan demigod? he he).

Floss and I stay the most of our time in a little
village in Savaii called Manase with our dear
friends Grace (Leitu) and Peisi Tanu. Not a day
passes when I don't think about the next time
I go back there. Can't wait to return!