I realised when knowing I’d have to admit to not cycling to work this morning; that I’d failed to say I had ridden to work on Tuesday morning. I left the house late and had to cut the route short only doing 25km instead of the 30kms, but I felt good that I still did it even though the morning was frenetic!
This morning shaped up much the same way. By 8am I had the fencing guys back from yesterday (as they got rained out) to finish the fencing around the pool; the paving guys coming to do the prep work for the paving they are laying tomorrow; and the decking man who was doing the timber portion of the decks. He seemed a little annoyed at having to work around the others, but the other guys were fine with it. The laundry man was due back at 9am, so I left the house unlocked for him.
With all this activity going on early, I wasn’t really able to leave the house at 7am to ride into work, so I opted to take FD#1 for a walk as she’d not had one since Monday afternoon. If you can picture in your mind your average sized pooch and what it looks like when they get all excited because they are going for a walk; the front end moving independently of the back end and kind of bouncing around. Got that image? Well multiply that by 55kgs and you will have some idea of what FD#1 looked like for about 30 minutes and she burned up and down the trail next to the railway line. Her exuberance is so funny to watch. She builds up so much speed so quickly, and has no grace or balance to do the “turns on a dime” she attempts, and more often than not belly’s out and lands on her side as her legs and feet escape from underneath her! All the while her enormous tongue flaps out of her mouth, her ears flipping over the top of her head; and she keeps turning back to make sure someone is watching her! She is so precious, a pure soul without a mean bone in her body. Her walks have taken a back seat over the last few weeks, and that was evident this morning!
The plan tomorrow is to cycle to work tomorrow and I’ve organised a hill-side catchup with MGal for the Bibbulmun on Saturday morning. This will be great as I’ve not really seen her since the leg became injured… except for that time she dropped in with a bottle of red!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
October 20th 2010 – It’s raining men!!!
It took me ages to get out of the house this morning as it was full of men, and I was busy giving them all instructions and trying not to look guilty when they were tripping all over themselves! MGirl and I went running first thing and were out of the house before 6.30am. Quite funny as MGirl struggled a bit at the start after not enough sleep, but by the 4km mark she claimed she was feeling good again; me, I started ok and by the end was wondering how one day I can have a great run and the next day NOT! 5.6km later we were home and MGirl jumped into the shower while I iced my calf, woke up CBoy, hung up two loads of washing and put another on.
Today is a flurry of activity at home. The ceiling painters have been there since Monday and they’ve made an enormous improvement on a ceiling that was not only flaking but needed filling and sanding. It was in serious need of some TLC after the March storms we had and some quite dodgy previous repair work (prior to me buying the house 5 years ago) that had not stood the test of time. Needless to say, with the final 3 coats of ceiling white going on today, I am sure it will look awesome when I get home. They are also painting my bedroom ceiling (raked, which used to be the lounge room) as it was suffering similarly to the living/kitchen area ceiling. The only problem now they’ve discovered is the plasterboard is dropping away from the ceiling batons as the glue has disintegrated over the years. The only thing really holding the ceiling up is the main central beam and the cornices. Now I’ve got to get someone in to prop up the ceiling from the inside and refasten it with straps from the roof side! It sounds expensive; I hope it isn’t. So the painters will have to come back when that is fixed (next week) and finish the bedroom. I guess it is better to get it fixed than to be rudely woken one morning covered in a sheet of plasterboard!
The laundry is also getting ripped out today. I have quite a large laundry and am having a shower installed in there so it is now a laundry/bathroom. This creates a 2nd bathroom, adding value to the house, and gives a shower off the pool area also. CBoy is happy as it become his “ensuite” as it is next to his room. So a win for everyone as MGirl and I don’t have to share a bathroom with a boy anymore!
Also today there are men installing the pool fence out the back in readiness for the deck going in on Thursday. It’s all go, go, go! From struggling to get companies to even come and quote, the money is flying out the door this week. It is so exciting to see the end is near. I can’t wait until I can put some new paint colours on the wall and complete the picture. My deadline of the end of November is approaching, when Dad visits. I can’t wait to show him what I’ve been doing (well what I’ve been getting others to do for the most part!)
With the run underfoot this morning, and an ever-so-slight-twinge in the calf, I’m going to not run again this week until Saturday; when MGal and I shall tackle the Bibbulmun again – probably a much shortened version due to my backwards step over the last month. I can’t wait to get out there again, and try to take some photos as well. So Thursday and Friday will be cycling to work instead.
Today is a flurry of activity at home. The ceiling painters have been there since Monday and they’ve made an enormous improvement on a ceiling that was not only flaking but needed filling and sanding. It was in serious need of some TLC after the March storms we had and some quite dodgy previous repair work (prior to me buying the house 5 years ago) that had not stood the test of time. Needless to say, with the final 3 coats of ceiling white going on today, I am sure it will look awesome when I get home. They are also painting my bedroom ceiling (raked, which used to be the lounge room) as it was suffering similarly to the living/kitchen area ceiling. The only problem now they’ve discovered is the plasterboard is dropping away from the ceiling batons as the glue has disintegrated over the years. The only thing really holding the ceiling up is the main central beam and the cornices. Now I’ve got to get someone in to prop up the ceiling from the inside and refasten it with straps from the roof side! It sounds expensive; I hope it isn’t. So the painters will have to come back when that is fixed (next week) and finish the bedroom. I guess it is better to get it fixed than to be rudely woken one morning covered in a sheet of plasterboard!
The laundry is also getting ripped out today. I have quite a large laundry and am having a shower installed in there so it is now a laundry/bathroom. This creates a 2nd bathroom, adding value to the house, and gives a shower off the pool area also. CBoy is happy as it become his “ensuite” as it is next to his room. So a win for everyone as MGirl and I don’t have to share a bathroom with a boy anymore!
Also today there are men installing the pool fence out the back in readiness for the deck going in on Thursday. It’s all go, go, go! From struggling to get companies to even come and quote, the money is flying out the door this week. It is so exciting to see the end is near. I can’t wait until I can put some new paint colours on the wall and complete the picture. My deadline of the end of November is approaching, when Dad visits. I can’t wait to show him what I’ve been doing (well what I’ve been getting others to do for the most part!)
With the run underfoot this morning, and an ever-so-slight-twinge in the calf, I’m going to not run again this week until Saturday; when MGal and I shall tackle the Bibbulmun again – probably a much shortened version due to my backwards step over the last month. I can’t wait to get out there again, and try to take some photos as well. So Thursday and Friday will be cycling to work instead.
Monday, October 18, 2010
October 18th 2010 – Smiles all around…
I had a soulful weekend; one of those kind that nourish you and make it easier to head to work on Monday morning with a smile on your face! It was just what I’d needed and, despite the sleep deprivation, it has added to the positive spin my life is taking in the last couple of weeks. I flew to Sydney late Friday night and, sleep deprived, arrived at the airport at 6.20am. I phoned my long-time DGal to find out where she was waiting as she’d kindly offered to collect me and drop me at Homebush Stadium (Olympic Park) to complete my surprise arrival. Apparently she was waiting in her bed… and arrived 30 minutes later!! She and SGuy were very apologetic and we blamed it on an email I sent but one that she never received! My weekend trip was in celebration of my sister KGal’s 40th birthday, and I wanted to surprise her by turning up to the Pink Triathlon she was competing in with her basketball team (in honour of a friend of theirs) and just kind of cheer her on as she went by… Although I was late, the race hadn’t started and I walked into the aquatic centre to see 1600 bathers-clad women with hot pink swim caps on waiting for their turns to be called for the 10 swimmer-per-wave race start. I spied through the crown knowing it would be impossible to spot KGal in the sea of “pinkie’s” and wondered what I’d do if I didn’t actually find her; how would I get to her house! I hadn’t counted on this and now I was laughing at how funny it would be if I couldn’t find her. As I was chatting to another women in the spectator’s area about my predicament, the first wave of 10 women were marshaled to the side of the pool for their start. Who would be standing in the first group but KGal! I called out her name from my spot on the mezzanine above the pool deck and she turned around and looked up, spied me and burst into tears. It was magic and kind of mean of me, as now she had to compose herself for a 300m swim! I frantically ran around for the next hour taking as many photos of her as possible, which I thought was a nice bonus for her to get some action shots, especially as her husband and kids couldn’t be there.
I knew the weather was going to be slightly colder in Sydney, but I hadn’t counted on 17 degrees and a wind blowing sideways. I was frozen and spent the morning trying to jump from sun spot to sun spot, all the while getting some action shots. The lap-style course made this quite easy, and even found myself on the sideline of the run next to two lady’s who happened to be cheering my sister on! What a small world. I am so proud of my sister; I know all too well how challenging it is to even make time for yourself with two young children, a home, a husband, a university degree on the go (well not the degree part for me, I work instead) let alone make time to be physically active and compete in a race such as this. She has managed to pull off a life balance that many people aspire too, and for that I am proud of her too.
The rest of the family knew I was coming and the weekend was spent in some much needed catch-up time, with a 40th birthday party thrown in for good measure. The last time we were all together was when mum was ill, and ultimately when she died and at her wake. So this was special for us; two years on we all hugged and laughed and talked and shed a few tears (well I did). The one thing I resent about someone dying, other than the obvious, is the fact that life does go on without you. It seems that something more significant should happen when someone you love dies, the earth should stop turning; I don’t know, just something to signify how integral that person was and how missed they are. However time just charges on, one day to the next without pause or favour. I know mum would be pleased that we were all together this past weekend, something that happens too infrequently with the pace of the lives we all lead. I left for home on Sunday with a happy heart and a belly full of roast lamb; and with catch-up and visits planned in the coming months it made me feel as though my family is more present in my life. I live so far away from them all and it has it’s challenges, but I am excited to know I will see most of them once or twice more before the end of January next year.
The fact that my daughter picked me up from the airport made me feel like my life has come full circle at the moment, role reversal. So many good things coming in the future, I can’t help but smile. I tried to remember all of this gushy positive-ism this morning when the alarm went off at 6am for my run! No rest for the wicked and with the weekend off from activity I needed to get a run underfoot this morning. MGirl decided she would join me and it made the run more fun. She did however spend most of the time saying how slowly she was running, how unfit she was; all the while I was happy to pace off her and run a quick (for me) 5km in 5:21 pace! The calf held up, and the ego did marginally. I told her this was quick for me and if she wanted to run ahead she was more than welcome to go, I’d understand if she left her slow mother in her dust! Then she commented that she couldn’t, she was “done” and lowered herself to continue to run at my “blistering” pace. It was the best way to start the day, finding something to share with your soon-to-be 18yo.
The good start to the day was just what I needed to get me through another court hearing with CBoy in the ongoing saga of the VRO. Thankfully we got through quickly and I headed off to work, tired from lack of sleep but happy and grateful to have two awesome kids and supportive and loving family!
I knew the weather was going to be slightly colder in Sydney, but I hadn’t counted on 17 degrees and a wind blowing sideways. I was frozen and spent the morning trying to jump from sun spot to sun spot, all the while getting some action shots. The lap-style course made this quite easy, and even found myself on the sideline of the run next to two lady’s who happened to be cheering my sister on! What a small world. I am so proud of my sister; I know all too well how challenging it is to even make time for yourself with two young children, a home, a husband, a university degree on the go (well not the degree part for me, I work instead) let alone make time to be physically active and compete in a race such as this. She has managed to pull off a life balance that many people aspire too, and for that I am proud of her too.
The rest of the family knew I was coming and the weekend was spent in some much needed catch-up time, with a 40th birthday party thrown in for good measure. The last time we were all together was when mum was ill, and ultimately when she died and at her wake. So this was special for us; two years on we all hugged and laughed and talked and shed a few tears (well I did). The one thing I resent about someone dying, other than the obvious, is the fact that life does go on without you. It seems that something more significant should happen when someone you love dies, the earth should stop turning; I don’t know, just something to signify how integral that person was and how missed they are. However time just charges on, one day to the next without pause or favour. I know mum would be pleased that we were all together this past weekend, something that happens too infrequently with the pace of the lives we all lead. I left for home on Sunday with a happy heart and a belly full of roast lamb; and with catch-up and visits planned in the coming months it made me feel as though my family is more present in my life. I live so far away from them all and it has it’s challenges, but I am excited to know I will see most of them once or twice more before the end of January next year.
The fact that my daughter picked me up from the airport made me feel like my life has come full circle at the moment, role reversal. So many good things coming in the future, I can’t help but smile. I tried to remember all of this gushy positive-ism this morning when the alarm went off at 6am for my run! No rest for the wicked and with the weekend off from activity I needed to get a run underfoot this morning. MGirl decided she would join me and it made the run more fun. She did however spend most of the time saying how slowly she was running, how unfit she was; all the while I was happy to pace off her and run a quick (for me) 5km in 5:21 pace! The calf held up, and the ego did marginally. I told her this was quick for me and if she wanted to run ahead she was more than welcome to go, I’d understand if she left her slow mother in her dust! Then she commented that she couldn’t, she was “done” and lowered herself to continue to run at my “blistering” pace. It was the best way to start the day, finding something to share with your soon-to-be 18yo.
The good start to the day was just what I needed to get me through another court hearing with CBoy in the ongoing saga of the VRO. Thankfully we got through quickly and I headed off to work, tired from lack of sleep but happy and grateful to have two awesome kids and supportive and loving family!
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