Just when I thought I'd seen everything...

While rushing through Westfield Shopping Centre Chatswood with my eldest son yesterday morning I came across this...

Havaianas vending machine

It isn't the best photo, so in case you can't quite see...  it is a vending machine filled with Havaianas (for the uninitiated, Havaianas are footwear most commonly worn by Aussies on a Summer weekend. Otherwise known as thongs). Available in four sizes,  in various colours, for only $20 a pair.

I'm still not sure which was stranger - the contents of the vending machine or the fact that my son didn't mind that I wanted to stop to take a picture.  I was expecting him to pretend he didn't know me and keep walking! But he just said, "It's ok mum, all the tourists take photos of it." (He works nearby so he's in the know.)

Is this evidence of a time-poor society? One can buy a pair of 'shoes' without having to A) try them on B) talk to a sales person and C) go to the checkout.

Once upon a time only snack foods and cigarettes were available in vending machines.  Then came cold drinks, hot drinks (remember the old café bar?) & DVD hire. Let's not forget condoms, tampons and lip gloss, available in mini vending machines attached to the bathroom wall at a pub near you!

We can buy just about anything 'on the run' these days, which is lucky because we barely have time to stop.

Jumping on the back to school bandwagon

I remember the days when Summer school holidays loomed long, and hot. Throughout my kid's lives I always worked part-time or full-time, and I wasn't able to take the entire six weeks off, so my boys spent some time at Vacation Care. They loved it. They enjoyed craft, ball games, cooking, outings and playing with other kids all day.

I was never one to volunteer craft or cooking, and outings with my kids were not high on my list of favourite things, I'd prefer to hang on to my sanity! So Vacation Care took a lot of pressure off me. On my days off we I could just lob around at home, and the boys could ride their bikes and play with their neighbourhood friends. We didn't take too many holidays as the budget didn't stretch that far, however we did manage a few trips to visit family, here and there. Free accommodation was always the best kind.

These days, school holidays have little impact on me, with the exception of no 40km school zones and less traffic. School holidays simply mean I can drive to work instead of catch the train. But now that school is back, it is obvious that people are home from their Summer holidays. There are noticeably more cars on the road, any day. Don't you think? I'll be back on the train by the end of the week.

In the past week or two I've enjoyed reading many 'back to school' posts, or posts about preparing for the very first day at school.  It brings back memories, although I don't remember it being so complicated... back in my day. Perhaps I've just blocked it all out, but there does seem to be so many more choices these days about shoes, bags, lunches and lunch boxes, stationery and ancillary stuff...  I think the biggest 'back to school' issue I ever had was all those bloody books to cover! I don't miss that.

Given that the internet was in it's infancy when my boys started school, and blogs hadn't yet been popularised (is that a word?), I figured I'd 'jump on the bandwagon' and share my ' first day of school' photos.




Josh on his first day of school in 1995





Ben on his first day of school in 1996

Butter wouldn't melt...

Grateful for people who care

Do you sometimes find that challenging circumstances also present opportunities for gratefulness?  I do.

I've been participating in Maxabella's Grateful Saturday link up (now 52 Weeks of Grateful) on and off for a little over 12 months, and many of the posts I link up convey my gratefulness despite, or through, one difficult circumstance or another.  I guess that is life, at least as I know it. I always thought I was a 'cup half-empty' kind of person (I call it realist!), but maybe I actually do see the 'cup half-full' after all.

Anyway, I'm doing it again.

This week my older brother Adam was admitted to hospital.  He suffers from some serious mental health issues and has had a difficult time of it in recent weeks. Christmas is always hard for him. If you'd like to, you can read about him here.

I am so grateful to Adam's mate, who late on Tuesday night recognised that he was in bad shape and sat with him all night. All. Night. In the morning his mate phoned our dad, who was able to persuade Adam to go to see his doctor. He didn't really want to, I think he knew where it would lead. But thankfully he did as dad told him.  I'm grateful for that too!

I am grateful that Adam has friends and neighbours who care about and look out for him, and that he has access to a public health system that provides treatment, and protection. Knowing that someone you love is hospitalised under psychiatric care is hard, but knowing that he is safe and receiving the care that he needs makes it that little bit easier.

If you or someone you know needs support for mental health phone Lifeline (Australia) 13 11 14



One of the few photos I have of us as adults (C.1998)

It is his birthday tomorrow. I have a cake to bake. What are you grateful for this week?  Link up with Maxabella and Kidspot for 52 Weeks of Grateful


Write on Wednesday - Cash or Card?

This is week two of the Write on Wednesday Linky for 2012 and the theme is Agent Chin-Wag.
Basically, the idea is to pay attention to the conversations around you, looking for one line, one tiny sentence of dialogue. Write down this line and use it to inspire your Write on Wednesday post. Then link up with other participants over at Ink Paper Pen and share the results!

I picked up my line at the supermarket...

Image Source

 "Is that cash or card?"
Suzie hesitated for a moment, as she calculated the number of days until payday and mentally took stock of the balance of her bank account. It is amazing how many thoughts can run through a person's head in the space of a few seconds.

There was once a time when Suzie needn't be concerned about such issues. Paying cash was never a problem because she always has a fistful of colourful notes in her genuine Prada purse. Charging to one of her many gold credit cards was never an issue either, as the bills were always taken care of. Back then, Suzie didn't ever have to think about financial matters.  Dave always took care of that.

Those days are gone forever now, dissipated into a cloud of shock, fear and disbelief in the weeks following Dave's debilitating illness. For years Suzie had been completely dependent on him, but she has coped surprisingly well, given the  current circumstances.

It is amazing how many thoughts can run through a person's head in the space of a few seconds.

"Cash", she answered.

Unprotected computing



Image from Office ClipArt


Grrr!  I had one of THOSE afternoons.

It actually started yesterday when I was browsing the net (work-related of course) and something strange happened on my computer.  A dialogue box popped up and asked me if I wanted to allow changes on my 'whatever' drive...  I am always a bit wary of this stuff, and being a work computer, application installs and updates can only be performed by the 'administrator'.  So I click No. No. No. NO. NO...  The message was persistant, a bit like a kid on a long drive, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"... No. No. No. NO

Anyway, my computer shut itself down and it restarted with half my icons missing and no access to my drives. Umm... SH*T.  I managed to do a system restore, taking it back to a restore point from a couple of days ago.  Phew!  That looked to be a close call, all sorted now. 

Or so I thought...

Today my work day was chugging along nicely, until early afternoon when I needed to access a program that wouldn't open. Umm...  something was wrong. I remembered the incident from yesterday, realised there must be a connection and went to seek help.

To cut a long story short, it was discovered that virus protection software had not been installed on my computer when it was set up for me.  Oops! Unknowingly, I'd been participating in unprotected computing for about nine months!  Once the issue was rectified and the virus scan run, nine infections were detected and either removed or files quarantined.

With the number of various computer viruses and hackers and all those nasties out there in the cyber world today, and considering I am on that computer at least 8 hrs a day five days a week, I find it quite surprising that it took so long for a noticeable attack.  Although I would be certain that at least some of those nasties have been on my computer for some time.

So now I am busy changing passwords for every website login that I have, just to be safe.  And there's a lot! Perhaps I am being overly cautious, but after having my PayPal account hacked three weeks ago, there's a good chance I am not.

Have you had virus issues on your computer?

Wordless Wednesday: The TRUTH

No other words are necessary!

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday

Weekend Worker Bee

I almost never look forward to Monday, especially when I have worked at home most of the weekend and I'm heading back to work as tired as I was on Friday!

Although, I am a do-er and I thrive on getting jobs done. I get stressed when my 'to-do' list continues to grow so I often need a weekend at home to cross some stuff off, just to stay sane.

I rose early on Saturday morning so I could get the grass mowed before the forecasted rain arrived. I hadn't mowed for weeks and my house was beginning to look like no-one lives here.  That happens a lot. I finished just as the heavens opened and unleashed the buckets, and buckets, and buckets of water. Close call.

My freshly mowed front lawn

The rain forced me inside, where I was then on a mission to complete the paint job I had started over Christmas. I've still got a bit of tidying up to do but for the most part, IT IS FINISHED!

Dulux - Hog Bristle on the walls and
Whisper White on the trim

Sunday was weeding and pruning day. Just for the record, the person who invented weeds deserves to be shot!  With a little bit of effort, the garden in my backyard went from this...

to this...

The Bird of Paradise in my front yard (I have two) were desperately in need of some attention.  I cannot remember the last time I gave them a haircut. They both looked like this...

Embarrasment!

After removing the dead flowers and dying leaves, there wasn't much left... but they look a whole lot nicer today!

Pretty!

And then, I had wine. The End.

What did you accomplish over the weekend? Or did you enjoy a weekend of leisure?

Sunday Session: Music to work to

I've spent most of this weekend working in my yard; mowing, pruning and weeding, and finishing a painting job in my family room (while it was raining). I've accomplished a lot so far, with still a couple of hours and a few jobs to go.

I always listen to music when I'm working, either my MP3 plugged into speakers or headphones in my ears. Whatever works best with where I am and what I am doing.

There's probably 100 things I'd rather be doing than working around the house all weekend, but crossing items off my 'to do' list and kicking back to enjoy the end result makes me happy... and so does belting out a tune!

Linking up with Thea at Do I really wanna blog? for Sunday Session

Grateful for 'old' friends

This week I was fortunate enough to catch up with four of my precious friends from high school.  It's been 12 months since I saw three of them, and quite a few years since I've caught up (in person) with the fourth.

We headed out for an early dinner (at least early for me), dessert and time hanging out in the carpark. Just like the 'good old days'. We talked about boys, food, school, boys, food, chocolate. Just like the 'good old days', except the boys we talked about are children and husbands/partners, not prospective boyfriends!

Unlike the 'good old days', we now have 12 (I hope I counted correctly) children between us, ranging from twenty two, down to three and a half (guess who is happily the parent of the oldest kids!).

Over the years we've mainly kept in contact through facebook and email. I hate to think how far apart our lives would be without those means of communication. Although now two members of our group actually live next door to each other, quite by chance!  For all the negative publicity Facebook and social media is occasionally subject to, it really is the most significant 'disruptive technology' of this century. At least so far. Even this catch-up evening was organised via a small number of messages on Facebook!

We had a great time eating, chatting, laughing. I really appreciate these special friends with who, regardless of the length of time between visits, I can simply pick up where I left off.

A post of significance, at least to me

This is my 100th (published) post.  Go me! When I started this blog I had no idea what I was doing, little idea of what I would write about and zero expectation of anyone actually reading my posts.

I now have half an idea of what I am doing, 100 posts, a list of more faff to write, over 3000 page views and an "I can SO do this" attitude. Thank you so much for reading and commenting on my posts. You're ace!

Anyway, I was trying to think of something entertaining, moving, or attention-grabbing to be the subject of my 100th post.  You know, a topic worthy of that milestone.  Then I realised that today is my mum's 65th birthday!  There's nothing more significant to me than dedicating this, my 100th blog post, to my mum.

So, about my mum...

• On her visits to my home, mum always puts herself to work. Whether that's helping with the gardening, the washing or cleaning the floors.
• Mum never comes to visit empty-handed. If it's not plants for my garden it's something for the house, or maybe it's just lunch. She's always generous like that.
• Mum never sends me home empty-handed. I've been known to leave her house with an open jar of peanut butter because she bought it, ate some and decided she shouldn't eat any more.
• Mum has helped me move house 13 times, always taking charge of the cleaning, kitchen-unpacking and bed-making. She deserves a medal.
• Mum will purchase an article of clothing because she thinks it will suit me. She's always right.
• Once when my cat spent a large sum of money at the vet, mum sent me a cheque to cover the bill. She loves that cat.
• Mum sends me random text messages, sometimes before they are finished. She makes me laugh. She laughs at herself.
• When mum makes up her mind about something, she follows through. Late last year she drove from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast, and back. All. By. Herself. The woman has guts.
• Mum's always on a diet, and she hides sweet treats from herself. (Yes mum, we know you do!)
• Mum gives me advice, but also accepts that in the end it is my decision. She is supportive like that.
• Upon becoming a grandmother at 42, she insisted on being called Nan rather than grandma. So people would think her name was Nancy.
• Mum is compassionate and kind, she will often be the one to check on or visit with an elderly or incapacitated neighbour.
• Through joys and hardships mum continues to 'roll with the punches', taking each day and every new challenge as it comes.  She has a strength that still sometimes amazes me.
• Mum always believes in me, even when I don't believe in myself. I will always appreciate that.
• One day, mum will buy a winning lottery ticket. It's a numbers game and so after 40 years she's getting close to the winning one.

Happy birthday mum!  Thank you for everything you are, and everything you do. I love that you are always encouraging and inspiring me. (And I'm sorry I just told the world that you are 65!)

I love you mum.  xx

Just another tattoo

Source

My eldest son was 18 when he got his first tattoo. I'll always remember when he arrived home to proudly show it off to me. I cried.

I think my reaction stemmed from a combination of knowing that he was still so young, he'd tarnished his unblemished light-olive skin, a tattoo doesn't wash off, and the fact that it is on the inside of his wrist! Difficult to cover up, and what happens if, as he matures, he decides he doesn't like it?

Oh, and knowing that I was old enough to have a child who was old enough to get tattooed was enough to make me sob hysterically!

Over four years later the whole 'tattoo issue' is wearing pretty thin. Josh now has tattoos on every limb, behind his ear, on his chest and lower stomach. He constantly talks about getting his head tattooed.  All I can say to that one is "OUCH, that's gotta hurt!"

So on Monday night, when he proudly showed me his latest 'trophy' I had little to say.  He now has a 3D glasses-wearing bird (I can't remember what kind!), with a TV set spiralling out of control on the inside of his forearm. From wrist to elbow. It covers up his first tattoo (that he had previously tried to remove - answer to the question in the second paragraph of this post) and almost meets up with the woman's portrait and the word 'mum' that is on the inside of his upper arm. I guess he's well on his way to having a 'full sleeve'.  I prefer the fabric kind.

Josh has been talking about his dream to be covered in tattoos since he was about 15 years old. At 15 it was just talk.  At 22 it seems his dream is slowly, and I expect painfully, becoming a reality. It's good to have dreams, and even better to go after them, and to achieve them. Right?

Broadly, I don't have a total aversion to tattoos. I'm just not a fan of them, at least not on myself or, as it would seem, on my offspring. Josh knows that. Although he does tend to ask me what I think of his new ink, every time. I'm running out of creative ways to give him my opinion, without lying or... telling the real truth and deflating him. The most difficult was when he eagerly showed me his 'mum' tattoo. A lovely gesture to show his affection for me, but I'd be happier if he'd just take out the garbage once in a while! He's always excited about a new tattoo, this latest one is a custom design by one of his many tattoo-artist friends and he loves it.  It's obvious that he's looking to share the excitement. I just don't feel it.

Josh is an adult. What he does with his money, and to his body, is his own decision. I know that. So I don't react respond like I used to. He's heard all my objections. Many times. They are futile after the fact anyway. It's too late.

Tattoos make Josh happy in the today. Like most Gen Ys, he doesn't worry about the future.To him his tattoos are art. To me they are... umm... well, permanent. I don't understand the appeal. I know I don't have to like that my boy is slowly covering himself in colourful tattoos, but I just have to accept it.  They ain't gonna be washing off any time soon.

Do you, your partner or your kids have tattoos? Do you have one but wish you didn't? Or do you want a tattoo but haven't yet had it done?

Things I know about shopping and holidays

I'm joining in with Kellie at The Good, The Bad & The Unnecessary for this week's episode of Things I know.



Image source

About shopping...  I hate it.  Now I know that hate is a strong word, as a child I was taught not to use it. Obviously I didn't listen.  There is nothing about shopping that I like. The carpark, the crowds, queues, change rooms (especially those mirrors. I swear they all come from coney island!), decisions... Sometimes I find it ridiculously difficult to make up my mind over something that doesn't really matter all that much. Like, "The red one, or the purple one?" For heaven's sake I'm not Neo and the decision doesn't determine my destiny!.. Most of all I hate handing over my hard-earned cash, or adding to my growing credit card bill. I work hard for the money, and I don't like to part with it.

Anyway, post-Christmas I ended up with nearly $300 in gift cards. I know, how lucky am I? I get to choose my own presents. At the risk of sounding ungrateful (really, I'm not), I find gift cards difficult. I have to go to the shops, deal with the car park, and the crowds. What do I buy? What do I need? Decisions need to be made, and this almost paralyzes me. I know it is ridiculous, but I can't seem to help it. I've been known to rush into a store to buy the first thing I see, the day before my gift card expires. Then I end up with stuff I don't need, or like that much. Makes no sense really.

This year I might try to use my gift cards online, before the expiry date.

About holidays...  I need one. You might think that is a funny thing to say in the middle of January, when Christmas is still in the foreground of our memories.  Yes, my workplace was closed between Christmas and the New Year, but that was a very busy period socially, and with work around home.  Between visiting family and friends, and working on some home renovations, I barely stopped. I went back to work as exhausted as I was before the 'holidays'. In fact I can't understand why people call it Christmas holidays. It's the busiest time of the year!

This past week was the first full working week of 2012, and I barely made it through till Friday. I started my current job one year ago last week, and the Christmas 'claytons break' was the only one I've had in all that time. I really needed more rest. On top of that I started back at uni this week too... grad schools don't muck about. Thankfully I'm nearly done with that. One more course to go, after this one.

I think what makes my yearning for holidays so strong is I know I have one coming up. Three entire, fabulous weeks in April. And you can bet the days will drag until then, just like watching the kettle boil! My long-awaited holiday will involve some days kicking about at home, doing nothing much, but also a road trip through south-east Australia with the {other} man in my life and his teenage son. I. can't. wait!

Grateful for Friday nights at home

After the end of a busy week, the first full working week for 2012, I was looking forward to chilling out at home on my lounge watching a movie.

Because I had a list of chores for the weekend, I decided to 'knock one over'  before buckling down for a relaxing evening.  I also had planned to make a home-made pizza, one of my favourite Friday night easy dinners.

The last time I used my oven, the house smelt like it was on fire. The oven was in desperate need of a clean. This was on my list of chores, so I finally did it, before making the pizza.  I think oven cleaning is a job everyone hates, and probably not a great choice for 7pm on a Friday night but... How nice is a clean oven?

My boys are often out on Friday nights. I do love Friday nights home alone. (That is the ultimate bliss!) But last night Josh, my eldest, stayed in. He has work today so was taking it easy on himself and having an early night. As I settled in my comfy lounge, with my pizza and glass (and a half) of merlot, Josh wandered in to join me.  Together we sat and watched Conviction.  If you haven't seen the movie, you should. It is based on the true story of Betty Waters, a single mum who puts herself through law school in an effort to find a way to help her brother who was wrongly convicted and faces life in prison. Josh and I both thoroughly enjoyed it, which is odd because we have such vastly different tastes in movies!

It is very rare for him to sit through a movie I am watching, even rarer for him to be as entralled as I was. He even high-fived me at one point!  He was into it. Towards the end there was a scene that hit very close to home for me (I won't tell you what that is, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the movie or doesn't know the story).  I was balling my eyes out. He asked, "Are you ok mum?... "Mum, are you ok?"  He is so caring (sometimes)...  He went to the kitchen and brought me back a box of tissues. He's so sweet.

And when the movie ended we had a chat about that scene and what it means to me, to us. We talked about the essence of the movie, a sister who effectively dedicated her life to help her brother, and what he would do for his own brother. I'm so grateful for this son of mine. The one with the kindest of hearts, beneath his tough exterior.

Linking up for 52 weeks of grateful, with Maxabella Loves, and with Kidspot.

A community service announcement

If you're in Sydney this weekend, don't plan to go from one side of the big bridge to the other, unless you are travelling on foot.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge will be closed from 10pm tonight until 5am Monday for road re-surfacing works.  Apparently this is the first time in forever that the bridge has been closed for an extended period like that. It turns 80 this year so one can assume it is getting glammed up and ready for it's birthday celebrations.

If you've ever driven, walked or taken the train over the bridge you would know how busy it is. Thousands of cars, every day. People are being advised not to travel to 'the other side', to take the train, or to go around.  Event clearways have been put in place on alternate major routes for the duration of the bridge closure, assuming to help minimise the delays for travellers who choose to (or have no choice but to) go around. You can find info about alternate routes here.

The City of Sydney, NSW or Fed Government (or whomever) has apparently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising (if you call it that) to help make residents aware of the road closure. Because it it huge. HUGE. So if you live in Sydney, chances are you know about it. But if you are planning to visit Sydney this weekend, don't plan to go from the city to the northern suburbs, or reverse, unless you want to walk (or swim, take a ferry, or a motorbike - apparently).

Knowing that it's Sydney Festival time, coupled with peak holiday season we're sure to have a lot of visitors to our busy metropolis over all weekends this month, and one of the highlights of a visit to Sydney is a trip over the bridge (so I am told). Oh, and great news!  The bridge will be closed again next weekend too. Hopefully to finish the job, so it won't need to be closed for the proposed third weekend.  Good luck! 

I have no connection with anyone involved in these major works, nor is this a sponsored post.  I just loathe traffic and go to any lengths to avoid it. I expect some of my readers do to so I just wanted to share.

The lonely fitness track



The Fitness Track

 Some days I head out of my office at lunchtime, down to a local park to eat my sandwich. The fresh air and sunshine (on those rare days when the sun is actually shining) revitalises me, ready to face the afternoon. The break away from my computer is freshing, regardless how brief, and as it is near the water, the park is quite serene (except when the trains go past, then... not so much).

This park has a built-in fitness track, complete with various torture exercise apparatus just waiting for someone, anyone... anyone?... anyone?... to come along and partake of it's strenuous delights. A bit like a metro version of Venice (Muscle) Beach. A little bit. But more orange.

Anyway, in the 12 months I have been visiting this park, today was the first time I had actually seen someone using the fitness track. The park is surrounded (on one side) by unit blocks, and a growing business district is a short trip (by car) up the street. So I'm guessing that the fitness bits have been provided for the benefit of 'the locals'. It's a lovely idea. An exercise park just down the lift from the apartment, or just down the street from the office, encourages people to get outside and get 'physical'.  I just look at it, and I am guessing that many other people do too.

I heard on the radio the other day that many council areas are trying to push their rates up to cover increasing costs. The same increasing costs that their ratepayers are facing. One wouldn't want to think the council has wasted their ratepayer's money on useless pieces of equipment that no-one uses. Of course I realise that I'm only in the park for a short time, and not every day, so chances are people do use the fitness track, just not when I am there to witness it. Which is kind of a good thing because thinking no-one uses it encourages me to stick with the crowd!

Do you have council provided exercise equipment in your area?

Let's talk about the weather



Image Source

When one doesn't have anything else to talk about...  there's always the weather!

That's not exactly the case where this post is concerned. I have plenty to talk about, but right now my topic of choice is in fact... the weather. Not the weather as in whether is it hot or cold, sunny or cloudy, but weather information.

While eating my breakfast museli this morning I flipped nonchalantly through Sunday's newspaper. It usually takes me a week or more to get through the weekend papers! I came across a brief article about weather websites and information, and I was kind of amused by the content. It goes something like this...

"Weather websites and apps are attracting record numbers of Australians, with hundreds of thousands logging on to check forecasts".

I was amused because.... well, derr!  Are not apps and online everything attracting record numbers of users? Seriously, mobile apps don't have a long history and unless you are living under a rock you would know that ever-increasing numbers of people are using the internet, whether that be via a desktop or laptop computer or a 'smart' phone. And this is news??

I have an android phone (Samsung Galaxy SII... and I LOVE it!) and one of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning is check the 'weather app'.  I need to know if I can throw a load of washing in the machine and hang it out to dry before I head off to work or if I should plan to drive or take the train.  The biggie of course is planning what to wear that day, based on what the weather is doing. And because we can't rely on the season at the moment (apparently it's such a free for all that even the trees are confused*) our only hope is to access an accurate up-to-date weather forecast. It is so quick and easy to do that from a 'smart' phone!  (Do you remember when you could 'dial the weather'?)

I've been accessing the weather online for years. First the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and in more recent years The Weather Channel (because it is 'prettier'). I even have weather widgets on the desktop of my office and home computers, and as already mentioned, a weather app on my phone. I think I might even add a weather button to my blog. Weather information is everywhere...  and much of it is more accurate than the forecast available on the 6 o'clock news. 

Do you get your weather info from websites and apps?

*Information gleaned from an undisclosed Sydney breakfast radio show



Finding my 'grateful'...

I'm sitting in my kitchen this morning, struggling to find my 'grateful' self, my weekend hasn't been off to such a great start. Late last night a huge black cloud rolled in unexpectedly, and is hovering menacingly over my head.

Via an email from Paypal, notifiying me of a successful payment transaction, I discovered that someone has stolen money out of my bank account. A lot of money. Unfortunately, I'm such a good customer that my bank honoured this payment even though it considerably overdrew my transaction account. I suppose I should be grateful that my bank would take this action, in circumstances where a payment was legit.  And I understand that at the time they couldn't have known that is wasn't. But I'm still peeved.

To make things worse, I'd just got paid on Tuesday and hadn't taken any cash out yet. I have $20 in my wallet. Not happy. I suppose I should be grateful that I do have access to other funds. I realise that many families survive only from pay packet to pay packet, but I am annoyed that I now have the hassle of arranging access to this. An inconvenience and a cost.

So to the person who hacked my Paypal account... 

YOU ARE LOW-LIFE SCUM...

To Paypal... I'm grateful that you actually sent me an email to prompt me to check my account... however I wish you had not authorised this dodgy transaction in the first place. I'm grateful (in advance) that you WILL return my money to me.

To 'David'* at the CBA...  I'm grateful that you calmly took my frantic call late last night, patiently listening to my rambling, refunding the overdrawn fee and explaining my options. I'm grateful that a local branch of my bank is open on Saturday mornings.

I'm grateful that I can 'off-load' right here on my blog.  It's an awful feeling, knowing that someone has stolen my money, online. It's as much a violation as if they'd walked into my house and opened my wallet (if only...  they would have got a whole lot less!)  Venting here helps. A little.

I'm also grateful that my blog contains reminders of things I've been thankful, or grateful, for in the past week.  Today I needed to look back at some of those things, to help me find my grateful self.  I may have lost a bunch of money (temporarily!!) but I do have other, more  important things to be grateful for this week.

Like my dad, who tirelessly works to help me improve my home. I wrote about him here. And my employer, who surprised me with a lovely bunch of flowers. You can see them here.

So, through the cloud, I'm finding my 'grateful'... and now I'm off to the bank to sort out this mess!

Linking up with Maxabella's Grateful Saturday Linkythingo.



*Not his real name...

Flower deliveries are always lovely, especially when they are for me!

A courier enters a place of business to deliver a floral arrangement. Every female member of staff in sight sits upright, listening, holding her breath, secretly hoping the colourful, sweet smelling delivery is headed her way. All the while she's mentally running through the list of possible senders...

A wistful look, a sigh of disappointment when the bouquet makes its way past, and continues on to rest with someone else...

That's the way it happens, doesn't it?

Earlier today, our young receptionist saunters into my office and exclaims, "Have you got a secret admirer?" I turn to answer her and come face-to-face (or face-to-petal) with a lovely bunch of flowers. With my name on them. MINE!

"Um, no. I don't think so", I replied (although if I knew about a secret admirer it wouldn't be a secret, huh? So my grinning colleague stood gleefully behind me, with a prime view over my shoulder, as I opened the envelope.

The gorgeous bouquet was a gift from my employer, to acknowledge the first anniversary of my employment with them. What a lovely gesture, how lucky am I?

One of the benefits of working with a small, family-owned and operated team is that the 'little' things, like birthdays and anniversaries, don't go unnoticed. I'm not just a number, or a asset (or expense) to measure. I'm a person.

Today's anniversary wasn't so little for me. One year ago today, I started a new job. In doing that I left my 'safe' place  of nearly 12 years. A work environment filled with people I respect, admire and love. People who had watched my boys grow into men, people who walked with me through the break up of my marriage, who always encouraged me and who enthusiastically helped me celebrate successes. They weren't just work colleagues, they were (and still are) like family. And I still miss them daily, just like they still miss me.

But it is reassuring to know that my presence and contribution is appreciated. Where I am. And I appreciate that. Very much.

Wordless Wednesday? Err... not quite.

A picture of words kind of defeats the purpose but I discovered this on a highlighter pen in my desk drawer.  Hope this odd little instruction gives you a laugh, as it did me.



Playing along with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday, for the very first time.

Feels like sand, in my eyes

That feeling like you've got sand in your eyes. Yeah, that.

I've not been anywhere near the beach, in fact I went to work today. I know it isn't sand. My eyes are tired. So tired. Not so much because of being back at work (even after 11 days of busy Christmas hols), but more from lack of sleep.

My son doesn't sleep. He's 22. (If you are a parent of a small child who does not sleep, you might want to stop reading right about now. I don't wish destroy any hope you might have of that ellusive full night of sleep). This child of mine has never been a sleeper, not since the day he was born.

He was the one we used to put into his car seat in the middle of the night and drive him around the neighbourhood,  in the hope that he'd drop off to sleep. I spent many evenings sitting on the floor beside his cot, in a semi-conscious state, with my arm through the rails, patting his little back and willing him to go to sleep. I tried 'controlled crying'...  that didn't work. He just got hysterical, and then some. Or he'd climb out of his cot, beat his little fists on the back of his bedroom door, and sometimes... fall in an exhausted heap behind the door.  He doesn't like to sleep. Never did.

Now I realise that having a 22 year old who doesn't sleep is quite different to having a 22 month old who doesn't sleep.  I totally get that an older child (adult, even) can supervise and entertain himself in the wee hours, and a young child requires more attention from his exhausted parents. I get it. But this post is about me, and my own sleep deprivation. I've earned it... over 22 fricken years! Feel free to talk about your own lack of sleep in the comments below. In fact I welcome you to comment...

Ok, so back to me... Last night my insomniac son didn't sleep at all.  Not a wink. Not even half.  He spent all night watching TV in his room (next to mine), 'surfing the net' on his Mac Book, making toast and driving himself around the neighbourhood (to 7eleven for a slurpee, twice between the hours of 10:30pm and 4:00am).  He parks his car in front of the house, right outside my bedroom. Every time he went out, I woke up. Door slam, engine roar (more like a rattle), music blaring, lights glaring...  I'm awake. For the next 30 minutes. Each time he got back from his car trip, I woke up again. For another 30 minutes.

His 75kg man-body thunders along the bare floorboards in the hallway, and he apparently doesn't know how to close a door quietly.  He's all noise. He was even playing his guitar at 6:00am, after his marathon night... acoustic, no amp but still loud enough to wake his exhausted mother... who had to wake up early anyway, to go to work today!

So, after a sleepless night followed by a day at the office, I am knackered with a capital 'N'.  Hopefully he is too, and with a bit of luck we'll all get some sleep tonight... although I can hear the sounds of the guitar wafting through from the other end of the house...  it's not looking good so far.

I scrubbed my front door with a toothbrush



If you can see any dirt pls don't tell me!

 I had quite a 'to do list' for my Christmas break from work (i.e. place of paid employment) and study.  I blogged about some of it here, and here. I am pleased to report that I made some progress, although I didn't quite get through my list, I never do.

Today I painted the walls in my family room. This job had been on 'the list' for a long time.  Too long. Between coats I cleaned my front porch. This job hadn't been done for at least a year. Maybe more.

The outside front entrance to my house was embarrassingly dirty. We don't use the front door often. For reasons which I cannot remember, we usually enter the house via the back. Habit, I guess. Regular visitors to our home know to come around the back, so the only people who use the front door are parcel delivery people, 'unknown' visitors and door to door salespeople.  Not really worth cleaning up for, but still...

So once I got started on the porch I noticed how REALLY dirty the front screen door was. Embarrassment!  This was the kind of dirt that when you attempt to wipe it clean the end result is worse. "You know?"

My screen door has security mesh, the type that from the inside you can see out but outside cannot see in (unless the light is on!)  I had these put on my three external doors about 3 years ago. They are triple-locking and secure enough to leave the heavy door open and let the air flow through the house overnight, at the end of a hot day. And they collect dirt. Lots of it.

An old toothbrush has a great many uses, such as cleaning around the base of the bathroom taps... and as I discovered today, cleaning my screen doors. It was tedious work, I broke two fingernails, but it almost came up as good as new. Almost.

Today, the walls of my family room got painted (pics to come when the room is finished - a before & after post, just like on TV!), my front porch got a belated Spring-clean, and I was able to sit an enjoy my space... for a few moments.. while inspecting the seven blisters on my hands.

Tomorrow I am going back to work (i.e. place of paid employment) for a rest. 



Do you have to head back to work tomorrow? Or are you fortunate enough to be on holiday? (a real holiday) Or do you work at home, everyday?