Who used up the internet?

About ten days ago I was alerted to a huge surge in our home internet usage.  The usage graph looks something like this...

We are on a 50GB/month plan. Even thought I work from home 90% of the time and I'm always on 'the net', 50GB is usually more than enough for us. In fact some months we only use half that!

See the longest line up there?  That's 12GB. In one day! A day that happens to be Anzac Day!  I wasn't working, I wasn't even home! In fact we all went our various ways that day...  only someone had left their computer on 'download'... from the night before!!

After questioning my boys as to 'who used up the internet', and what on earth was downloaded at such an enormous size, I found that Mr21 downloaded an update for his Xbox.  Holy Crap!  Didn't he look to see how big it was?!  Apparently not!

So we've been on internet rations for almost two weeks. Our new monthly usage starts tomorrow, and I have about 120MB left before the whole thing sl o w s   d  o    w     n...

I have to make it count!

What's your home internet usage for a month?  Does a certain member of your household 'use up the internet'?  And if you have Xbox online at your house, beware of updates!

Winter ails

I realise it isn't Winter yet, but the temperature is dropping fast. At least it is where I live.

I don't cope well with the changing seasons, already I'm onto my third head cold since those fabulous last days of Summer.  Right now I have a banging head, running nose, aching bones and a fire in my throat.

Not. Happy. Jan.

I have to be well by the coming weekend, for the Mother's Day Classic, so I'm trying every cold & flu remedy known to mankind.

I've got asprin, panadol, cold & flu tablets, oranges, lemons, honey, throat lozenges, chest rub, tissues, hankies, breathe easy soy melts, immune support vitamin supplements, vitamin C, women's multi vitamin, my pillow, a blanket, my kindle, ugg boots, red wine, dark chocolate and lots of water!

What would you add to my list that might help me to ditch this cold before Mother's Day?


Linking up with Jess and the cool kids for IBOT.

Mother's Day Classic

This time next week, while many of you are suffering / enjoying / preparing breakfast in bed I'll be pounding the pavement somewhere between the Domain and Mrs Macquarie’s chair. And back. Twice.

In a moment of insanity, I signed up for the Mother’s Day Classic 8km run. The MDC is a fun run or walk that raises awareness and funds for breast cancer research, all over Australia! It is one of the country's largest charity events and takes place in all capital cities and more than 60 metropolitan and regional locations across the country.  HUGE!

I realise that an 8km run might not seem a lot to some {really fit} people, but I’ve never been a runner. In fact four months ago I couldn’t run 200m up the street. Truly. But I’ve been training, and I now I can run 8km… hopefully faster than at least one other person. I so don’t want to come last! 

...anywhere except last!

The Sydney event includes a 4km and 8km walk or run. I chose the 8km run over the 4km mostly because the longer one starts later.... oh, and because the greater distance is the greater challenge, of course!

Give me "hoy" if you are walking or running too, at any of the locations. We can congratulate each other.

If don't know anyone who is participating and you'd like to make a tax deductible donation for breast cancer research, feel free to go to my fundraising page

My Mate Victa

This is my mate Victa.

Victa has been my trusty companion for almost 20 years.

(I'm kind of hoping that the years have been kinder to me than they have to him.)

Victa and I have spent countless hours strolling across the lawn, and back again.  He has diligently helped me to keep the grass under control at several different geographical locations over the years, only mildly complaining when I push him into a rock, a wall, or over a tree stump as we stroll.  He has been reliable and faithful, almost always obediently roaring to life at the first command.

Victa is a total champ!

Lately though, poor Victa seems to be going downhill.  Fast.

First his starter rope went a bit limp, and then his throttle snapped. So I now need the assistance of a pair of pliers to get him started, and to make him stop. And more recently, his catcher fell off.  Poor Victa, it's like he's lost his bum.

Victa has a gaping hole where his back-flap used to be (tehehe)

But he still cuts the grass...  he just makes a mess all over my shoes as we go!

So now I have a conundrum. Do I try to patch Victa up to keep him going a while longer, or do I leave him out in the next kerbside clean up and replace him with a newer model?

After all these years I'd be sad to see him go.

Wordless Wednesday: A New Toy

Last weekend I bought a new (pre-loved) toy...

It will come in handy on my trip to Queenstown, NZ in August. Can't wait!


Playing along with Trish over at My Little Drummer Boys for Aussie Wordless Wednesday

Travel bug

Last August I wrote this post about my Mr21's travel plans.  Time flies.

Not one cocktail, but two!

He flew out of Sydney on 1 March, travelled across America for a month and arrived home on 2 April. He'd never been out of the country before, and never had he been so far away from me for so long.

At first I was nervous and worried, but as the days passed and we managed to keep in touch (however sporadically), I knew he was ok. So I relaxed. Somewhat. Although I didn't stop counting the days until he was home safely.

Throughout his travels, he spent a lot of time in airports, on planes, visiting tourist attractions, enjoying water activities (like snorkelling and paddle boarding), shopping, going to bars, casinos, basketball games, theme parks and generally having a ball.

Now he's been back at work for two weeks (which means waking up at 6:30am every weekday) to earn the money to pay the bills from his recent trip, save for a new car and then start saving for the next holiday.

I wonder where he'll venture to next!

I am a runner

"I am a runner."

Now there's a couple of words I thought I would never say in one sentence, in reference to myself.

Me?!

Earlier this year I wrote this post about my goal to increase my fitness and be able to run 5km. I had planned to bore regale you with updates of my progress via regular blog posts. But that didn't happen.  In fact few posts on any topic have made it to the point of getting published on my blog over the past few months.  I've been too tired from all that running. Truly!

So while I haven't been boring you with updates on my running progress (you can thank me later) I have actually met, and surpassed, my goal.  Yay, me!  By mid-March  I could run 5km non-stop and now I'm up to 7km.  Seriously, I could not run 200m when I started on this journey. It's amazing how quickly my fitness improved with consistent effort.

In November 2012 I started using Runkeeper to track my routes, distances and progress. For the first two months most of my activities were brisk walks, but this year those walks have become runs. So far I've covered 346kms! No wonder I'm tired.

I was also interested to see that I've burned over 22,000 calories, through these tracked activities alone. That doesn't include the walks I've taken sans-Runkeeper or the calories I burnt through housework or sleeping.  Given that I've not lost much weight over the past few months, I sure must eat a lot!



Linking up with Mama Grace and all the gang for FYBF. Pop on over and check out some awesome bloggers with equally awesome posts from this week.