Hi Ho, Hi Ho, its up the Hill I go!

So this morning, I climbed Mt Lofty for the very first time...yes I was a lofty virgin but I popped that cherry this morning, on the last day of 2012, heavy breathing and all....(clearly)

I nearly didnt get there however, thanks to the wonderful GPS...Or maybe its the idiot trying to use the GPS...we wont go there. I ended up in Crafers and travelled around there for about 15 minutes, yelling at the GPS as it says, "Do a U-turn"...Thanks Mr GPS, do a U-turn as I try and enter back onto the freeway....not likely...idiot like I said.

Anyways, after having a fit, a bit of cry and about three phone calls to a few unfortunate souls willing to answer their mobiles (I appreciate you answering more than I can say in words), I worked out I was in completely the wrong place. Yes, one would think if your climbing MOUNT LOFTY, you have to go to MOUNT LOFTY but alas this is incorrect. Who would have thought to climb it you have to go to the bottom at Waterfall Gully. So into the trusty (well not so trusty at this stage) GPS, I enter in the cafe which is apparently at the bottom of the hill (Im a landmarks person, not a roads name person) I made my way UP over the hill and back down, nearly getting cleared out by some moron who though it was appropriate to drive down the hill on the wrong side of the road!!

I finally arrived and thanked Lorna that some very patient ninjas were still waiting for me! I was soooo happy to see them!! I managed to snag an awesome carpark and we were off up the hill.

Oh my dear Lorna...this is not just any hills. I hate hills, whos bloody idea was it to trek up this monster...right that would be me. For anyone who has not done Lofty before, you have to do it, you have to have it on your goals list but bejezzes, I warn you, its not for the faint hearted. A number of times I had to ask Crouching Twig Ninja to let me take a breather so I could bring my heart rate down coz it was a constant at 177bpm. I thank you Crouching Twig for your patience. Im not normally a whinger but Music Pants Ninja, if she was there may of yelled at me for saying "YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME?" or "I THINK IM DYING" the times I did when I got the real steep bits. 

Towards the end, I got to see the gorgeous Ricotta Ninja and Cloud Ninja. Was sooo good to see their faces, miss you girls! Must catch up for Lunchies as a group soon I reckon!

After seeing some awesome faces it was onwards and upwards. Getting to the top is the best feeling. I seriously reckon I felt like Rocky when I got to the top, music playing in my head and all! Demon Ninja and PT Ninja were waiting (they went ahead and chatted the whole way, weirdos, whos got time to mutter MORNING to people!!).

HRM Check at the top:

Heres our happy faces:

Than we trekked our way back down. I like coming down much better. 

Total HRM after round trip - not to shabby!

I have since chugged a boat load of water, my legs are like jelly but man it was good to do it. I can now say I have conquered it and I now have a time to beat....in 2013 at least anyways...and no not tomorrow :P

So tell me, whats your best time up the monster?

PS - Happy New Year everyone!!!

So why ninja?.....well why not?!

So when a newbie starts 12wbt and joins the S.A. crew, they see sometimes we fling around the word Ninja, or something ninja related. Some ask, why ninja? Well this goes back to the beginning of round 2, 2012....

*Queue harp dream music*

We hadn't really started round 2 at this stage, we were still in the pre-season stage (or as my DH would say "you sound like your gonna go play football!", well darling, its a challenge after all haha). A new round 2 facebook page for SA was created and as with any group of women together, you could say there was a little bit of 'drama'. Said 'drama' was due to someone only trying to be proactive and helpful. This little smart cookie thought to start an excel spreadsheet, which everyone could plug their weight into. Awesome idea in theory, but not overly thought about what would happen when a heap of people tried to enter their info...info went missing, data seemed to not get entered etc. 

Enter big catty fight on the page. 

A heap of us (well most of us) rolled our ours and stood back whilst a few individuals got personal on the matter. It was like standing in a school yard really, watching the two bitches go at it and we all had a giggle (and placed bets) on who would come out unscathed (I went to a public high school, we were classy like that!). 

Enter "Sensai Ninja" to the rescue (at this stage, they were unaware Im a ninja because of course, we ninjas are stealthy). **prewarning, Im about to gloat!**

With all my super awesome brain knowledge on computers, I worked out were were able to have an online spreadsheet which regardless of how many were in there, the data was still maintained. I was able to pretty this up and it became our little spreadsheet for round 2 weigh ins on Wednesdays. When I posted the said spreadsheet document link, I wrote the following:

"Okay ladies, here it is! :)

Below is the link to the online spreadsheet which can be used to log your weight weekly. Please note that this is NOT an excel doco although does replicate one and is actually online, so you do not need to download to enter. If you have issues, let me know, Ill see what I can do to fix, but i think this will hopefully fix the woes and also look pretty :) If you name is NOT on the spreadsheet, please let me know and I will update accordingly for you.

Instructions:

1. Copy and paste this link into your browser page: (if you can click, than click!)

2. Find your name

3. Enter your weight under the date

4. It wll automatically save so you dont need to worry about saving it

5. Exit - close browser window!

Now if any of you get your knickers in a twist, I will hit you with a noodle. You have been warned :)

ENJOY! :)"

From this, many funny stories came to play about noodles and being ninjas. One particular time a team member of 12wbt SA Crew put a facebook photo up of her with the pool noodles and saying she stole em from me! Rather funny! From this the 12wbt SA Ninja was born and has been something that has stuck around. Its been used many times, particularly at our squat challenge in Perth, where I kept screaming "NINJA" to keep everyone motivated (or made them push through so they wanted to ninja my arse when we were done haha). 

Our little round 2 ninjas are still around, still bantering and making the SA Crew what it is today. Our little ninja mission is to get a finale in Adelaide and we will get it. We are ninjas, we are fighters and we dont stop at nothing... :)

The first post is always the deepest...I mean hardest...*breaks out in song*

Wow Im a bad singer... :P

The first post...what to write! You dont want to be boring and you sure dont want to come off a real idiot (although I must admit I can be this frequently!). Im starting a blog. The reason....well there are many I guess:

1. To document my journey, mainly because of 12wbt but also because instead of keeping a journal, I may as well try and entertain others with my ramblings.
2. I have random thoughts...lots of them. These should be shared even if others think Im an idiot 
3. To be accountable in my journey. After recently moving, I dont have a gym, on the look for a personal trainer minus the gym, so maybe by documenting and reporting in daily on what Ive been doing, this may stop me using excuses (not many I promise, Ive really cut back and taken on the JDFI mentality but I am human after all!)
4. I have a passion for sharing. Barney, after all, did say that "Sharing is Caring!". Ahh the good old purple dinosaur, full of wisdom.
5. Next year will prove to be a busy one. I will be taking on Uni part time (Bachelor in Health Promotion!), renovation of a house (well this could be a 20 year program really but hey, it will be interesting!), working full time, going to Thailand in April and hopefully by than being able to wear a bikini with pride (this is the ultimate goal!)

As posts go on, I do hope to impart my wisdom (I do have a brain, I have a letter that says Im a smartarse now!), my love for Lorna Jane (there is a god, her name is Lorna),  share my weight loss story so far (that is for another post!), post recipes I have come up with, share what Ive done that day (exercise and food), provide motivation pics or stories Ive heard that have inspired me, share my triumphs and even the crappy days but above all, ensure to be me! 

So without further ado, Welcome to my journey!