So. Here we are again. It's Monday and Himself is in Sydney.
Work has been pretty good of late. I worked today and it was very pleasant. Two people have been on leave and get back on Wednesday. Or at least one of them does. And this person always has an impact on the dynamics of the place. So it will be interesting to see how things go.
Because I'm working Mon-Wed this week I will have 6 days off in a row and Himself is taking a couple of days off so we are going to Lake's Entrance for three nights. It should be a lovely break and if we like the place we are staying at I will make this a regular occurence. Himself will fly home on Thursday and we will leave first thing on Friday. It's about 3-4 hours drive to Lake's and then we can walk along the beach, drive through the bush, visit some caves!, boat on the Lakes or just sit in our apartment. There is also a Day Spa but I think I'll leave that for next time.
I played golf on Saturday. My game is improving very slowly but the company of my two partners in golf is more important. On Sunday Himself and I went for a drive down the Mornington Peninsular which is always conducive for a good chat. We are playing with the idea of buying my parents' house. This would mean an investment for us (if rentals are good in that area) and a potential retirement place although I would like to pull the place down and rebuild if that was financially possible. It would also mean that my parents wouldn't be tied down with time constraints and could stay in the house until a suitable unit became available knowing that the money was sitting there ready. A lot of homwork needs to be done and that's difficult with Himself not being here.
I'm waiting for Two and Three to come home. Three is at work and won't be home til about 10 and Two is ... somewhere and will be home when he gets here! In the mean time dinner is just about ready so I'll go and have mine and see if I can find something decent on the telly.
The weather is heating up again .... :(
Monday, 12 February 2007
Wednesday, 7 February 2007
I feel like a single mum!
I apologise for the out of focus shots of Tom but I just love his tongue poking out! He was giving himself a wash and got distracted and that's how it stayed for quite a while. Tom is not one to expend energy doing something that isn't totally necessary. And putting his tongue back in his mouth obviously falls into that category.
Anyway, as the title suggests, I am over this commuting to Sydney shit but it look like going on for a loooooooonnnnnnnng time. And I can see problems in the not too distant future. I can cope with Himself not being here (just). I can cope with having conversations by phone (almost). I actually quite enjoy having the whole bed to myself (although it's lonely when you wake in the middle of an anxiety attack and there's noone to say it's ok). I find it really difficult to juggle the day to day dramas of life. Somethings Himself needs to know about and some he doesn't. If a situation can be helped by his input or if a situation will have an impact on him then he needs to know. But if it's just one of those many hiccupy glitches that can be sorted and moved on from then he doesn't need to know. Indeed, if he does know he tries to fix it from Sydney often without knowing the whole story and without checking to see if it NEEDS fixing. Sometimes the boys just need to be able to vent and in the process find their own answers to their problems.
Three started at TAFE yesterday and is very happy. Hopefully he will find the course interesting and pertinent. Also, he's the second youngest in his course which is good as the vast majority are doing the course because they have chosen to and therefore are more likely to knuckle down. I think if Three had gone to university as a first year straight from school he would have ended up spending the whole year in the uni pub but still accruing a massive HECS debt.
Two is enjoying his new job. It doesn't carry the same responsibility as his old one and doesn't have the same temptations (although I think he is pretty well temptation proof now!). The people he works with are all young and he really enjoys their company. It is good to see him happy again. He's still not 100% what's happening with his degree year this year but will go along to the lectures tomorrow. He hasn't officially heard that he's enrolled in the course but has had verbal confirmation and seeing as I have yet to find a university that could organise a pissup in a brewery I'm not overly concerned.
One blew in briefly just before to collect the medicare card so he could be bulk billed at a skin specialist who checks for pre cancerous lesions. LGF organised the appointment and has gone herself. Considering she bakes herself in the sun til she's the colour of old leather (and will have the skin texture to match if she doesn't stop) I was impressed that she had the sense to do this. One has blonde hair with reddish highlights, pale blue eyes and very fair skin. And has been burnt too many times to count so is a very high risk for skin cancer. At least if he gets into the habit of being checked regularly he stands a good chance of having any abnormalities detected early enough. He also picked up an envelope which he thought contained the fine from being snapped by a stationary speed camera last week. The fine was right but the speed and location weren't. Turns out he's been snapped twice (that he knows of!) in the past month. Silly boy.
A good day at work. Sad, but good. And funny! People ask me how I can do this job. When you can stand with a couple of nurses and a patient and laugh til you almost wet yourself over something that one of us have done or said, even though the patient is dealing with a life limiting illness .... that make my job the best in the world. Or watching two people tentatively communicate who end up chattering so much they both don't realise their treatment has finished and they can go home. Or reading the card sent by a patient, who isn't cured but who has finished her treatment for the time being, which is so full of love and gratitude and praise for doing what we do .... that is humbling.
I have the best job. It causes me grief and angst and I find my colleagues (ok - one or two) very difficult to get along with (and have found out recently that it's not just me which makes me feel much better about things so it all might be easier this year) but at the end of the day I come home and know that I have made a difference out there in some small degree. Egotistical? Possibly. But not everyone goes to work purely and simply for a pay cheque. If that was the case, we wouldn't have poorly paid teachers, nurses, doctors (yes, the majority of doctors make very little money), police people, ambulance officers .... hhhmmmm, noticing a trend here? Essential, dedicated but not employed to purely turn a profit. Yes, I am a bit bitter at the moment. Himself tells me stories of employees at his and other companies that earn twice what a good, experienced nurse or teacher would earn for doing bugger all and doing it badly. For companies who are in business to make as much money as possible by providing as little services as possible. Don't get me wrong. A job is good. Any job is good. It's the philosophy behind a lot of companies that leaves a lot to be desired. And the fact the some people can get away with turning in a lacklustre performance day in and day out with no sense of guilt.
OK. I'll clamber off the soap box.
And if you enjoy what you do, then that is fantastic. If you don't ... ask yourself why and what you can do to change it.
And when I grizzle about my job again (which I'm sure to do!) remind me how lucky I am~
Monday, 5 February 2007
Just another day
I found the lead for my camera and now I can't upload onto Blogger. Maybe it wasn't an ugly fat filter after all!! I think some of my settings are buggered and I have no idea how to fix them. KIIIIDDDDDSSSSS!!!! Two is useless at this sort of thing, Three is at work and One won't be over til Wednesday.
Thanks for your comments both here and privately.
Maria, I love my salad spinner. It dries the lettuce really well but doesn't leave the leaves bruised. Himself will make a whole salad and spin it which I think is probably unnecessary! I bought mine on special years ago. I thought it was a bit pricey but don't regret it for a minute. And if you have joined WW, then you will need to make lovely yummy fresh salads! And have a look at Core. I far prefer that programme over Points.
Having just said that .... today has been the first one since I started this 3 weeks ago that I have felt crap, crap, crap. I know have eaten poorly over the weekend (although not as badly as I was before) and I have consumed an appalling amount of alcohol over the past week. NINE BOTTLES OF WINE IN 7 DAYS! This is very, very, very, very not good.
So I have cracked another bottle of champagne, finished off the cheese and biscuits and pate and feel bloody miserable. This is compounded by the issues facing my parents, Himself being in Sydney but trying to control the family from up there, Two in a grump, Three called into work this evening even after he made himself not available and is starting TAFE tomorrow. And it's hot. And I promised to take lunch up to my parents tomorrow and have no idea what to take. Himself decided to get stuck into the laundry over the weekend which has resulted in piles of unmatched socks, towels to be folded, kids t shirts all over the house. I won't bring stuff in off the line unless it's folded and I put it where it belongs. And I try never to mess up the lounge/dining room cos that's my centre of calm. The dining table is covered in socks. The family room table has tools on it that were taken out of the shed but not returned. My house is nothing like the centre of calm I prefer to exist in.
On a positive note... I bought some new shoes on Saturday. One pair had quite a heel and was elegant without being flimsy (big people shouldn't wear flimsy shoes, it looks as if they are going to break). I wore them today and felt pretty good about myself. So even though the weight loss isn't going as brilliantly as I would like, the whole make over thing is slowly falling into place.
OK, dinner's in the oven and The Biggest Loser is on telly. Time for some motivation and a healthy meal.
Hopefully I'll work out why I can't get photos up and you will have something to look at as a reward for wading through my interminable navel gazing.
I'll be more upbeat tomorrow, I promise.
Thanks for your comments both here and privately.
Maria, I love my salad spinner. It dries the lettuce really well but doesn't leave the leaves bruised. Himself will make a whole salad and spin it which I think is probably unnecessary! I bought mine on special years ago. I thought it was a bit pricey but don't regret it for a minute. And if you have joined WW, then you will need to make lovely yummy fresh salads! And have a look at Core. I far prefer that programme over Points.
Having just said that .... today has been the first one since I started this 3 weeks ago that I have felt crap, crap, crap. I know have eaten poorly over the weekend (although not as badly as I was before) and I have consumed an appalling amount of alcohol over the past week. NINE BOTTLES OF WINE IN 7 DAYS! This is very, very, very, very not good.
So I have cracked another bottle of champagne, finished off the cheese and biscuits and pate and feel bloody miserable. This is compounded by the issues facing my parents, Himself being in Sydney but trying to control the family from up there, Two in a grump, Three called into work this evening even after he made himself not available and is starting TAFE tomorrow. And it's hot. And I promised to take lunch up to my parents tomorrow and have no idea what to take. Himself decided to get stuck into the laundry over the weekend which has resulted in piles of unmatched socks, towels to be folded, kids t shirts all over the house. I won't bring stuff in off the line unless it's folded and I put it where it belongs. And I try never to mess up the lounge/dining room cos that's my centre of calm. The dining table is covered in socks. The family room table has tools on it that were taken out of the shed but not returned. My house is nothing like the centre of calm I prefer to exist in.
On a positive note... I bought some new shoes on Saturday. One pair had quite a heel and was elegant without being flimsy (big people shouldn't wear flimsy shoes, it looks as if they are going to break). I wore them today and felt pretty good about myself. So even though the weight loss isn't going as brilliantly as I would like, the whole make over thing is slowly falling into place.
OK, dinner's in the oven and The Biggest Loser is on telly. Time for some motivation and a healthy meal.
Hopefully I'll work out why I can't get photos up and you will have something to look at as a reward for wading through my interminable navel gazing.
I'll be more upbeat tomorrow, I promise.
Sunday, 4 February 2007
Pissed off!!
I took some great photos of Sheba with a bag of carrots and went to put them on the computer only I can't find the lead that goes from the camera to the computer.
My mother rang today. She and Dad have decided to move into a retirement village. (Which means that SHE has decided to move into a retirement village and Dad will do whatever she wants). It's probably for the better as they are becoming quite frail and Mum has macular degeneration which means she will be legally blind in anywhere from two to seven years. This was the reason she gave for wanting to move. Dr. Teacher rang after I had spoken with Mum and he had been up to see them yesterday. Apparantly the move is happening because Mum is lonely and has no friends and wants to live in a community. She volunteers at the local op shop and could join the local elderly citizens' group and similar clubs but she is dependent on Dad to get her around and he really shouldn't be driving much. Also he is walking less and less and Dr. Teacher and I think that if they are living in a flat area they both might get out and about a bit.
In typical Mum style she has looked at a couple of brochures and picked the one she wants to move into! Sight unseen! I am going up there on Tuesday and we'll look at her brochures and I have sent them a link to a site that lists lots of places in Melbourne. Dr. Teacher is going up next weekend and will take them to see a few places. Fortunately, they can't put their house on the market until they get an idea of when a place will become available so we have some time to play with and hopefully make sure that they see as many places as possible.
I can see some stressful times coming up.
Himself is back up to Sydney early tomorrow morning. The weekend has flown by. We didn't do much at all today. I blobbed in front of the computer (lordy it's a time waster) and after Himself found out that he could use his high pressure hose in a bucket he washed his car with grey water. Anything to avoid doing his expense claims! Which he finally couldn't avoid any longer and he is now going into the Melbourne office to drop them off for signature and processing tomorrow.
The house is warming up and tomorrow is going to be a doozy. I plan to go to the movies.
I am feeling a bit flat at the moment.
Probably a combination of the heat, my parents, Himself and ingesting too much crap.
My mother rang today. She and Dad have decided to move into a retirement village. (Which means that SHE has decided to move into a retirement village and Dad will do whatever she wants). It's probably for the better as they are becoming quite frail and Mum has macular degeneration which means she will be legally blind in anywhere from two to seven years. This was the reason she gave for wanting to move. Dr. Teacher rang after I had spoken with Mum and he had been up to see them yesterday. Apparantly the move is happening because Mum is lonely and has no friends and wants to live in a community. She volunteers at the local op shop and could join the local elderly citizens' group and similar clubs but she is dependent on Dad to get her around and he really shouldn't be driving much. Also he is walking less and less and Dr. Teacher and I think that if they are living in a flat area they both might get out and about a bit.
In typical Mum style she has looked at a couple of brochures and picked the one she wants to move into! Sight unseen! I am going up there on Tuesday and we'll look at her brochures and I have sent them a link to a site that lists lots of places in Melbourne. Dr. Teacher is going up next weekend and will take them to see a few places. Fortunately, they can't put their house on the market until they get an idea of when a place will become available so we have some time to play with and hopefully make sure that they see as many places as possible.
I can see some stressful times coming up.
Himself is back up to Sydney early tomorrow morning. The weekend has flown by. We didn't do much at all today. I blobbed in front of the computer (lordy it's a time waster) and after Himself found out that he could use his high pressure hose in a bucket he washed his car with grey water. Anything to avoid doing his expense claims! Which he finally couldn't avoid any longer and he is now going into the Melbourne office to drop them off for signature and processing tomorrow.
The house is warming up and tomorrow is going to be a doozy. I plan to go to the movies.
I am feeling a bit flat at the moment.
Probably a combination of the heat, my parents, Himself and ingesting too much crap.
Saturday, 3 February 2007
This site has an ugly fat filter!
I have spent the past 45 minutes trying to put up a photo of me at my most unflattering worst. And I couldn't. And then I thought "why should I show how BAD I can look?". I'll wait until I get some reasonable photos and put them up. And maybe then I'll put one up that shows me at my worst. But not til then. Thank you, ugly fat filter!!
I didn't realise I haven't updated since Monday. Whoops.
Tuesday was a good day at work. Two went and saw the specialist who noticed that Two's voice was different. After looking down his throat he said that it didn't look any different and to monitor him and take him to emergency if his breathing became noisy or laboured. I was trying to AVOID a trip to ED. We seem to be on a wait and see holding pattern but I would like something a bit more proactive when Two starts to become even slightly symptomatic. I guess it's time to seek a second ENT opinion.
Work has been really pleasant this week. Certain people haven't been there (holidays or sick leave) and it really does make a huge difference. I am now committed to staying there for the year as I am doing post-grad study and get a substantial discount by doing it through the hospital. I realise that the issues I have had over the past couple of years are directly related to particular colleagues and it is up to me to choose how I react to them in the future.
I had lunch with the Mermaid yesterday. We decided to go to the local pub cos it was bloody hot and the pub is airconditioned. A very nice meal and a good bottle of chardonnay later, we decided to go to another shopping strip for a look at the clothes shops and another coffee. I ended up trying on several items and dismissing them because they didn't work for me. Not cos I'm overweight. A huge breakthrough for me. I did buy a wrap around top which I will alter according to the principles Imogen has taught me. I showed the Mermaid the difference and she was really amazed what a difference minor changes can make to a piece of clothing.
Himself came home last evening and we had cheese and biscuits and pate and vege sticks and wine in front of a Sherlock Holmes movie. A very pleasant evening. The movie wasn't your typical rendition of SH and I really enjoyed it.
Today we went shopping again! I bought some singlets to wear under tops with deep V necks (another Imogen tip) and a couple of pairs of shoes. I wanted to get some new jeans but it was hard to find some that fit well and I wasn't prepared to compromise. I also wore a dressy T shirt with a necklace and makeup. This is so unusual for me. And I feel good about myself.
Being Saturday evening and all, I have nibbled a bit more than I would have liked but it's mainly been vege sticks and salsa although I did buy some chickpea crisps and had a few too many of them. But they have to be better than potato crisps, surely. Himself is cooking steaks at the moment and we will have them with baked spuds and salad. More wine than is recommended will be drunk!
Tomorrow is going to be uncomfortably hot! I think we might go for a drive into the country. At least the car is air conditioned and we can find somewhere nice for lunch.
Himself will be back to Sydney at sparrow's fart on Monday morning. Hopefully he will find an apartment soon which will make his weekdays more tolerable.
I am pleased with my WWOL progress. I had a very small gain last week (no surprise) and this week I have eaten well and limited the alcohol intake (until last night and tonight but two days out of seven isn't bad) and the scales have been kind. My overindulgence this evening may make Monday's weigh in slightly less than I could have hoped for but the trend is downwards, and I am feeling healthier. And, joy of joys, I've not become obsessive about counting and fiddling and manipulating. I am enjoying healthy, wholesome foods and eating until I've had enough. I haven't told Himself about this latest foray into the vast jungle of weight loss and I don't think he's twigged. This is good because when he does notice a change I know it will be because it's obvious and not because he thinks he can see a difference or is trying to be helpful.
Three starts at TAFE on Tuesday. He is getting very organised. I don't know how long it will last! Two has been accepted into the degree course so will be studying for another year. This year is totally academic (ie: no hands on stuff) and he will struggle. Big time. So in addition to doing my post grad certificate I will be helping him with his academic writing. Hmmmm ... 'graduate certificate in cancer nursing and digitial film and TV'. It has a ring to it.
Two and Three have started having issues with the spare car. It was to be expected and took longer than I thought it would. Two is also having girlfriend issues and is helping a mate with a short film so his tolerance levels are way off and he is being a tad unreasonable. I'm not overly concerned. If the shit gets too bad the car will be confiscated. It is a privilege not a right. And Three has started looking at how much a car will cost and how long it will take to save for one. This can only be a positive thing. Beer or a car? Beer or a car?
The steaks are just about ready, Himself has spun the salad dry and the spuds are soft and fluffy. The red wine is breathing and there is good telly tonight.
Life is bloody good.
I didn't realise I haven't updated since Monday. Whoops.
Tuesday was a good day at work. Two went and saw the specialist who noticed that Two's voice was different. After looking down his throat he said that it didn't look any different and to monitor him and take him to emergency if his breathing became noisy or laboured. I was trying to AVOID a trip to ED. We seem to be on a wait and see holding pattern but I would like something a bit more proactive when Two starts to become even slightly symptomatic. I guess it's time to seek a second ENT opinion.
Work has been really pleasant this week. Certain people haven't been there (holidays or sick leave) and it really does make a huge difference. I am now committed to staying there for the year as I am doing post-grad study and get a substantial discount by doing it through the hospital. I realise that the issues I have had over the past couple of years are directly related to particular colleagues and it is up to me to choose how I react to them in the future.
I had lunch with the Mermaid yesterday. We decided to go to the local pub cos it was bloody hot and the pub is airconditioned. A very nice meal and a good bottle of chardonnay later, we decided to go to another shopping strip for a look at the clothes shops and another coffee. I ended up trying on several items and dismissing them because they didn't work for me. Not cos I'm overweight. A huge breakthrough for me. I did buy a wrap around top which I will alter according to the principles Imogen has taught me. I showed the Mermaid the difference and she was really amazed what a difference minor changes can make to a piece of clothing.
Himself came home last evening and we had cheese and biscuits and pate and vege sticks and wine in front of a Sherlock Holmes movie. A very pleasant evening. The movie wasn't your typical rendition of SH and I really enjoyed it.
Today we went shopping again! I bought some singlets to wear under tops with deep V necks (another Imogen tip) and a couple of pairs of shoes. I wanted to get some new jeans but it was hard to find some that fit well and I wasn't prepared to compromise. I also wore a dressy T shirt with a necklace and makeup. This is so unusual for me. And I feel good about myself.
Being Saturday evening and all, I have nibbled a bit more than I would have liked but it's mainly been vege sticks and salsa although I did buy some chickpea crisps and had a few too many of them. But they have to be better than potato crisps, surely. Himself is cooking steaks at the moment and we will have them with baked spuds and salad. More wine than is recommended will be drunk!
Tomorrow is going to be uncomfortably hot! I think we might go for a drive into the country. At least the car is air conditioned and we can find somewhere nice for lunch.
Himself will be back to Sydney at sparrow's fart on Monday morning. Hopefully he will find an apartment soon which will make his weekdays more tolerable.
I am pleased with my WWOL progress. I had a very small gain last week (no surprise) and this week I have eaten well and limited the alcohol intake (until last night and tonight but two days out of seven isn't bad) and the scales have been kind. My overindulgence this evening may make Monday's weigh in slightly less than I could have hoped for but the trend is downwards, and I am feeling healthier. And, joy of joys, I've not become obsessive about counting and fiddling and manipulating. I am enjoying healthy, wholesome foods and eating until I've had enough. I haven't told Himself about this latest foray into the vast jungle of weight loss and I don't think he's twigged. This is good because when he does notice a change I know it will be because it's obvious and not because he thinks he can see a difference or is trying to be helpful.
Three starts at TAFE on Tuesday. He is getting very organised. I don't know how long it will last! Two has been accepted into the degree course so will be studying for another year. This year is totally academic (ie: no hands on stuff) and he will struggle. Big time. So in addition to doing my post grad certificate I will be helping him with his academic writing. Hmmmm ... 'graduate certificate in cancer nursing and digitial film and TV'. It has a ring to it.
Two and Three have started having issues with the spare car. It was to be expected and took longer than I thought it would. Two is also having girlfriend issues and is helping a mate with a short film so his tolerance levels are way off and he is being a tad unreasonable. I'm not overly concerned. If the shit gets too bad the car will be confiscated. It is a privilege not a right. And Three has started looking at how much a car will cost and how long it will take to save for one. This can only be a positive thing. Beer or a car? Beer or a car?
The steaks are just about ready, Himself has spun the salad dry and the spuds are soft and fluffy. The red wine is breathing and there is good telly tonight.
Life is bloody good.
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