Thursday and Matthew Went Home Again

After staying in the spare room overnight, Matthew slept in this morning. Dad still took him in a cup of tea, just to be awkward. I tried to be quiet and Matthew seemed to sleep through it all. After I had left for work Mum and Matthew went through all the presents and packed them in his car, so he was Santa’s little helper this time.

My leg muscles started to be a little bit sore today, as I knew they would. It goes to show how proper stretching really does work. Not stretching is literally a pain. I texted Eli to see if I could have a day off tomorrow but he always has upper body for me the next session, so I am not in luck.

The slides for Sunday came through from Joe. It is the Filipino choir this week and he has everything ready. I won’t have time to sort the slides out until Saturday morning. He will have sent them in anyway as he prepares them for two other masses each week.

Mum says she put on a kilo over Christmas. I think I lost half a kilo from all the heat. So I lost it and she found it, I guess! A few of us at work have some work to do to get back on track with moving more and healthy eating. I will have to prepare a presentation or some kind of activity, I think.

First Wednesday back at work in 2015

Matthew came to visit today, which is quite an occasion, as we haven’t been to see him much lately either. He stayed for dinner and will be going home tomorrow. The famous Pfefferkuchen were waiting for him so he tested them. Not the same, was his verdict. Mum will be shattered.

Apart from that minor setback, today was quite busy. I was out of the house early for training and still had time to make a smoothie for lunch today. Training at the gym was intense. I forgot to stretch afterwards as I was so stunned. Sure as anything, I will have delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) by Friday. Never mind….

More Plans

Yesterday we heard about the exciting new plans for work and the second half of that meeting was today. The best part is working from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm starting from February. That means we can avoid most of the city traffic in the afternoons, and people catching public transport will be able to enjoy less crowded trains and buses.

We are being encouraged to link up with businesses, so I am keen to offer my services at the local gym where I go every week. That will count as PD and I should be able to volunteer there for two days or so and work on some kind of small project. I think that would be great fun, so I will have to as my PT tomorrow.

My Sports Trainer and Sports First Aid certificates arrived in the mail today with the marked workbook. The membership certificate for Sports Medicine arrived on Christmas Eve. It carries insurance with it, which is a big feature for people working in the field.

It is a good thing I am going in to work early tomorrow, as the traffic has been building up already. Soon I will need drive to the train station and catch the train in, particularly if we have cyclones in the next couple of months. We are all keeping up to date on the weather forecast to avoid more hail damage and being caught out in the afternoon storms.

Monday at Work 2015

My first Monday at work in 2015 went really well. I caught up with all the news. It didn’t take long. We had a big meeting at the end of the day. There are lots of exciting things happening for us this year. I sat at my desk a lot more than I thought I would as it was raining outside a lot today.

We have some deadlines and dates in place now, so it is all happening.

My trainer asked me to upload my assessment that she received over the weekend. I arranged to do the last assessment at work. It should be interesting.

Sunday before going back to work

The few times that I drove in to the city while on holidays were very relaxing because I had my vacation view of the world on. This morning I woke up realising that I had a whole day ahead of me and at the same time that it is the last day of annual leave for me. My sleep-in was only an hour, until 5:30 am, when I had a cappuccino and watched some US College football while scanning literature for my research field. There were a few notable items which I added to my reading list.

Music Ministry went well, as Joe and Marieta were there. Joe took over the flicker for the Power Point slides, which made it a lot easier for me. Len, Jean, Fred and Therese were also there. I chatted with Lynne who is back from Canada where she visited her family and went to a family funeral. It was Father Isidore’s last day with us before he goes back to Nigeria for four weeks’ holiday and then comes back to Noosa parish for his next posting. Father Bryan has already been introduced to the parishioners, but some of us have yet to meet him.

Today I did a bit of washing, researched for a while and went with Mum to Coles and Aldi’s. All through the four weeks of holidays we did not go to North Lakes shopping centre, which is very unusual for us. It is air-conditioned and large enough for walking a long way, but we stayed with our local shops for a change. It must be because of the holidays.

 

 

First Saturday in 2015 – Yeah!

I set to this morning and worked on my language, literacy and numeracy report. It was an interesting exercise and the resources I found surprised me. After saving the completed report, I let it sit for a while and went to lunch. Lunch was Sternchen Suppe from a couple of days ago. Then I checked my work again and submitted it to my trainer.

In the afternoon I worked on a word puzzle in “The Weekend Australian” newspaper which arrived dry this morning. Last weekend it was soaked through and not much use for anything except throwing in the bin. The front page news on Natural Therapies being considered unscientific was interesting. Apparently the lack of scientific credibility was linked to distortions in the market and a trend away from doctors. This draws medical insurance monies and government subsidies away from the traditional medical sectors. I wasn’t aware that the free market economy model was only based on scientifically based transactions. I guess it is a very deterministic model.

House tidying came later in the day when it was cooler. Having a tidy work desk is such a bonus and I am making the most of it while I can. I am so intrigued as to how a new year at work will start. I look forward to covering a lot of ground and new beginnings with a new system that is being rolled out as well. There is so much to look forward to this year. Last year was awesome but this year will be way better.

 

Friday of Holiday Week 4

The last week day of my holidays went well. Using my trusty home diary, I booked a mentoring session with my online trainer for my updating in language, literacy and numeracy. Sue is really helpful and professional and we used up 50 minutes in helping me to orient myself to the Australian Core Skills Framework again. It worked really well and I put together a suite of documents for my report.

I have been listening to Taylor Swift’s “1989” and some Cold Play to help me to focus on my research. It seems to help as I have made progress in a few things, like sorting my documents, files, accounts and the like. On Monday I will be back at work to find out what the New Year will bring.

Mum was in pain today due to passing a kidney stone. She made an appointment to see the doctor as soon as the surgery opened and went late in the morning. I remembered that the doctor has wanted me to visit to check my skin for dark freckles. I rang just before Mum was due to go up there and they managed to squeeze me in this afternoon. Now I have a few biopsy appointments. I also requested a script for my blood tests to check my Vitamin D and Iron levels. On the way out, I made my biopsy appointment and then went next door to Pathology.

So much for wearing shorts during the week. Next week I will be back to business attire and exercise gear.

Thursday New Year’s Day 2015

Happy New Year to my family and friends! Today was a day of perfect Summer weather and a fair breeze that kept us cool in the shade today. I love having some work space on my desk. It gives me room to plan the year ahead. I have a home diary and a work diary.

To help with my language, literacy and numeracy certification, I made a mentoring appointment with my trainer. She responded, even though it is a public holiday and we arrange to chat on Friday morning. That’s my first appointment to put in my diary.

Mum’s truly delightful trifle was a hit on New Year’s Eve for desert yesterday, so much so that we had some more today. She used the Weber bar-b-que to cook a very fragrant lamb roast which was a perfect finish to our New Year’s celebrations.

In the afternoon, I tackled my financial records, as my tax return is late. It is not a massive job normally but this last year has been crazy with my new job and managing my iron and Vitamin D deficiency. I have noticed a really positive change with my research, too, as I feel more confident about addressing the areas of my thesis that require further updates, at last.

Wednesday New Year’s Eve 2014

I love New Year’s Eve. We are wrapping the Pfefferkuchen for Peter and my nieces and nephew. Mum and Dad look forward to a huge sleep in the middle of the day. I am researching and writing and sorting out my studies and the calendar for 2015.

This weather is made for drying the washing, so I put through a few loads of my gentle-cycle clothes and they were pretty well dry in half an hour after hanging them out under the car port. Meanwhile, I continued my research into the research culture surrounding some of the methods and approaches I brought to my thesis. This helps to work out how things sit and to build up the final discussion chapter or knock it into shape with some relevant contextual observations.

I went on the vibration plate for 10 minutes in between the washing and researching. My strategy for keeping cool as the temperature climbs to 36 Celsius is to have three wet flannels near both my fans and my desk, spray myself with plain water with a couple of drops of peppermint oil in it and wash my face every now and then. It seems to work well.

As it is holiday time, I watched the Entertainment channel while having my pea and ham soup for lunch. It helps Mum and Dad to sleep at lunch time if I am at the other end of the house when they are in their bedroom resting. The it was back to work in the holiday spirit and looking forward to 2015. I just know it is going to be a great year!

Tuesday of Holiday Week 4

It was a perfect day for going shopping in the middle of the day to buy frozen vegetables, cold milk and lots of other things. When I saw the list on the fridge door, I knew without a doubt that we would be at the shops with crowds of holidaying children, their mothers and retired people.

In the morning I continued research and writing, making good progress with the systems I had set up on Monday. Although my pace is slow, I am making every effort to check as I go. The best part is having a clear desk to do what is required.

Max and Dad were out walking early, giving me time to focus on my writing. With a second cup of coffee to keep me going at mid-morning, I was thinking a fair bit but not using time in between very productively. By that I mean that my filing and tidying up is at a standstill today. I will have to take that up again tomorrow.

By midday, just before lunch time, Mum was champing at the bit to go out. We spent an hour or two driving to the butcher at Rothwell, Coles at Kippa ring and then Aldi’s up the road from there. Mum had to go to the bank as well, which was really well air conditioned.

At home she had me making a trifle and then taking the frozen pizza out for tea. I find that frozen pizzas are pretty plain and not very flavoursome if they are just cooked the way they come in the packet. We usually have chips at least every second night and pizza once a week, with a lovely big salad. I love vegetables.