Oh my gosh have I missed you guys. I have not had internet for 2 and a half months and I feel as if I have been away for 5 years! The sad state of affairs commenced when my telephone was suspended due to non-payment and though I paid up in full, I was told I had to apply for a new service which took like forever and then it took me forever to get the line upgraded to an ADSL line. Work prevented me from contacting both the telephone company and my internet service provider so I was forced to take leave from work to tie up loose ends and get my personal issues sorted out and voila - today was the day.
Sorry if you were all worried but I had no way of contacting you and letting you know - all our emails at work are monitored and it is extremely difficult to do anything of a personal nature without being "caught out" by the bosses.
I am well but drained hence me taking a few days off to get my priorities in order, rest my weary mind. Work has been extremely busy - fundraising golf day, straight into a fundraising ladies lunch, straight into planning our Gala Dinner, a Scrapbooking fundraising day, a Whiskey tasting event, a boss/secretaries day and more. All this is on top of my usual job functions AND our receptionist resigned and my old job was handed back to me. Sometimes I am unable to take lunch breaks and there are days I am so busy with clients and phone calls and interruptions that it takes all my energy to work at a pace to catch up on my admin. The bosses are much more accommodating and they are trying to be nicer. My only complaint is that the bosses can't prioritise their work and jump from task to task within minutes of delegating stuff they don't want to handle. My mind has been too tired to sit down and have a meeting with them but after this week, I am sure I will have the energy to do just that.
My stepdad is still busy with his chemo but my mum has not been well - she has virtually been housebound and bedridden for more than a month. The shock of what is happening to my stepdad eventually took its toll and some of it is fear and some of it is definitely a change in her health due to her diabetes. Hence I am doing a lot of shopping for them and when I am able to, especially when my stepdad has had chemo, I am going around to ensure that they eat properly. His bone marrow count is still very low so his last shot of chemo has had to be cancelled which has upset him and my mum. So far, the results are good.
The last time I was online I mentioned I was a volunteer at a scrapbooking convention and what a fabulous time I had. The one workshop was so awesome and we eventually learnt the correct way of using distressing inks.
My friends, that is my brief update. I have more news but could not wait to post something to let you know I am back.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Where in the World is Steve
I am missing my friend Steve.
I am MISSING him and he is MISSING. My emails keep coming back undelivered. So where in the world is Steve?
To give my regular 3 bloggers a hint, he lives in the UK. Now it is up to you to guess why he's disappeared from the radar. Do you think Steve will read this? Do you think Steve will contact me? Steve, will you read this? Steve, will you contact me? Coz, it is like this buddy, just like I was saying, you are being MISSED.
The goddess has left her blog for the moment.
I am MISSING him and he is MISSING. My emails keep coming back undelivered. So where in the world is Steve?
To give my regular 3 bloggers a hint, he lives in the UK. Now it is up to you to guess why he's disappeared from the radar. Do you think Steve will read this? Do you think Steve will contact me? Steve, will you read this? Steve, will you contact me? Coz, it is like this buddy, just like I was saying, you are being MISSED.
The goddess has left her blog for the moment.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
If You're Happy and you know it, Clap your Hands
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
That really is an exageration because it is Sunday night and it is work tomorrow. But I did have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. However, I do have April to look forward to as we have 4 public holidays and I am taking 2 days leave so I can have an extra long weekend. In total I am only working for 15 days! April has been voted ZA's "Most Productive Month" hahahahahaha. But read this and weep ... Thursday 23rd I am on the golf course the whole day with our annual golf day, Friday I am off work, Monday is a public holiday, Tuesday I am off work, I work Wednesday and Thursday and am off on Friday as 1st May is a public holiday. Is that great or what!
My stepdad has just been told he has cancer. He has had an abcess in his mouth for a long while and it was not getting better so they took a biopsy thinking that is could be TB in the bone but it turned out to be cancer in the lymph glands. He has an appointment with the oncologist next week where they will be taking bone fragments from his hip to check out how far advanced the cancer is and whether he should have radium or chemotherapy. My mum is very upset but he seems calm for the moment. I am hoping it is not in the advanced stage so they have time to adjust mentally and emotionally to what is to come. Both my brother and I were shocked with the news and naturally have agreed to support them wherever possible.
Anyhoo, I must get myself and my mind ready for work tomorrow. Will be back soon.
That really is an exageration because it is Sunday night and it is work tomorrow. But I did have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. However, I do have April to look forward to as we have 4 public holidays and I am taking 2 days leave so I can have an extra long weekend. In total I am only working for 15 days! April has been voted ZA's "Most Productive Month" hahahahahaha. But read this and weep ... Thursday 23rd I am on the golf course the whole day with our annual golf day, Friday I am off work, Monday is a public holiday, Tuesday I am off work, I work Wednesday and Thursday and am off on Friday as 1st May is a public holiday. Is that great or what!
My stepdad has just been told he has cancer. He has had an abcess in his mouth for a long while and it was not getting better so they took a biopsy thinking that is could be TB in the bone but it turned out to be cancer in the lymph glands. He has an appointment with the oncologist next week where they will be taking bone fragments from his hip to check out how far advanced the cancer is and whether he should have radium or chemotherapy. My mum is very upset but he seems calm for the moment. I am hoping it is not in the advanced stage so they have time to adjust mentally and emotionally to what is to come. Both my brother and I were shocked with the news and naturally have agreed to support them wherever possible.
Anyhoo, I must get myself and my mind ready for work tomorrow. Will be back soon.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Playing Catch Up
Please know this. I feel very guilty not keeping in touch with you guys and it is not that I don't want to, not that I don't care, not that I don't think about you but simply because I have only so much time in the evenings to do stuff and most of my time at the moment is building up products to sell and market so I can get my business off the ground.
It is Sunday morning and we have the most awesome day here. No wind and the temps are going to rise to about 30 celsius. I should be out in my garden weeding the beds and raking up the leaves but I have chosen to be here for the moment. The morning dew is still hanging around on the grass and shrubs so I will wait until everything is a little more drier. Even Baby is no where to be found - enjoying the windless morning he is.
Work: I did not get the job which is a pity as I know I would have been good at it and would have made a difference. But there is obviously something else for me and the universe is waiting for the right time to bring it my way. Work itself is okay - no drama yet but I am reluctant to say that I feel it in my bones that it will change very soon. The She-Boss is ultra lazy and I am now not only doing my job, but I am doing her job and the ex-fundraiser job as well. It is most frustrating knowing that I am earning less than half what the fundraiser used to earn and I am doing triple the workload. There is so much unfairness in this world. I would gladly accept the workload if I was paid in accordance with what I am doing - then I would have no financial worries. But as I am having to try to supplement my income, I am bitter as I am so exhausted in the evenings that I have no energy or inclination to work on my business I am trying so hard to set up again. Having said that I am still grateful I have a job and am at least earning something to keep some of the wolves away. There is huge goings on with the Dept who is holding back "our" registration to render statutory s*cial services in our area. It appears the word "illegal" has popped up on a number of occasions - especially when it comes to donations - how they are utitilised, who gets it, where is it going and so forth. The feeling amongst staff is that the whole organisation is under threat of being closed as the He-Boss and She-Boss will make sure of it unless they are able to run it their way. They mentioned the other day they would easily pack "this" in and open up more child care facilities and leave the s*cial services side of things out of the picture. Therefore all our jobs are at risk at the moment. And it will be up to the Board as to whether they now want to become active Board members and get involved in the day to day running of the organisation and to save face or to keep quiet and let the bosses continue ruining their reputation and the reputation of the organisation. The new manager has resigned after one and a half month of working as she refuses to have to take responsibility for work which is being done illegally and therefore putting her morals, ethics and dignity at risk. Heavy going and the atmosphere is once again thick with suspicion and blame.
Me: Though I have lost 17kgs I am finding it rather difficult to maintain the eating plan. Food has become so expensive and some months I have found that I need to dish out more money than usual. My car brakes packed in and the money I had saved for ME had to be used for that. My fridge has just packed in (John any technical, mechanical problems in Texas that I am not aware of?) and the passenger side window has just packed in too - or should I say the window winder. Just when I think I am making headway, Murphy rears his ugly head and whollops me with a curve ball of note. The last two weeks I have been battling with inner emotions - mainly due to the heavy workload/being paid an atrocious salary - and I find myself dragging my heels in everything I do. I feel I want to go into hibernation for a couple of days but not here at home - somewhere peaceful and tranquil. Two very good scr*pbooking designers/teachers are coming out in April to give awesome classes. Unfortunately I could not afford the price of the convention ticket. However I am volunteering as a helper and have put in for 2 days leave. As a volunteer I will still get all the class kits and the goodie bags. Whoooo hooooo. And I get to be with all my friends who are going on that day. My friend C and I will be staying over in Stellenbosch on the Friday night as we cannot travel back home so late at night AND we have to be back at the conference facilities at 6am the following morning. I am going to use this opportunity to network with these Americans as their products are very hard to come by in this country because the wholesalers don't order frequently from them nor do they order all the new products.
I have known for a long time and it has become very evident of late that I am at my most happiest when I am creating at home. Hence the urgency to get my business on track, finish all the examples and to market it as quickly as possible.
Summer: We have had a rather lousy summer - wind blowing between 80 - 100km an hour and therefore making it unpleasant to be outdoors. So summer has now arrived late but March is always a good month here with the wind dropping. The heatwave we have been experiencing has been hectic and sadly so too have the number of fires. Our beautiful winelands have been under so much strain with fires raging in the Stellenbosch area. Well known wine estates have taken heavy losses and just when the fire fighters think they have the fire under control, the south-easter picks up speed and fans the flames again. But we are still luckier than the Australians who have experienced shocking high temps this summer and devastating fires. I received a rather tear-jerking email showing Kaolas who were literally dying of thirst and allowing humans to get close to them to feed them water and to drench them with sprinklers.
Last week was our famous Two Oceans cylce race - the longest timed cycle race in the world. Matt Damon was riding in it with his brother (tandem). Matt is out here filming and he phoned his brother who hopped on a plane to do the race. Well, let me tell you, the wind was so fierce at the start that cyclists had to start by walking a distance. The wind just knocked them off their bikes. It was rather funny to watch but I assure you it was so heavy that it was no laughing matter. Two people fell off their bikes and broke their arms. Some people could not continue after half way as the wind picked up even more. My hat off to those who endured the full distance and to those who at least showed up and started.
I am sure I have more news but this is already too long and I don't wish to bore you to an extent you won't come back again.
Love you all and chat soon.
The goddess has now left her blog ....
It is Sunday morning and we have the most awesome day here. No wind and the temps are going to rise to about 30 celsius. I should be out in my garden weeding the beds and raking up the leaves but I have chosen to be here for the moment. The morning dew is still hanging around on the grass and shrubs so I will wait until everything is a little more drier. Even Baby is no where to be found - enjoying the windless morning he is.
Work: I did not get the job which is a pity as I know I would have been good at it and would have made a difference. But there is obviously something else for me and the universe is waiting for the right time to bring it my way. Work itself is okay - no drama yet but I am reluctant to say that I feel it in my bones that it will change very soon. The She-Boss is ultra lazy and I am now not only doing my job, but I am doing her job and the ex-fundraiser job as well. It is most frustrating knowing that I am earning less than half what the fundraiser used to earn and I am doing triple the workload. There is so much unfairness in this world. I would gladly accept the workload if I was paid in accordance with what I am doing - then I would have no financial worries. But as I am having to try to supplement my income, I am bitter as I am so exhausted in the evenings that I have no energy or inclination to work on my business I am trying so hard to set up again. Having said that I am still grateful I have a job and am at least earning something to keep some of the wolves away. There is huge goings on with the Dept who is holding back "our" registration to render statutory s*cial services in our area. It appears the word "illegal" has popped up on a number of occasions - especially when it comes to donations - how they are utitilised, who gets it, where is it going and so forth. The feeling amongst staff is that the whole organisation is under threat of being closed as the He-Boss and She-Boss will make sure of it unless they are able to run it their way. They mentioned the other day they would easily pack "this" in and open up more child care facilities and leave the s*cial services side of things out of the picture. Therefore all our jobs are at risk at the moment. And it will be up to the Board as to whether they now want to become active Board members and get involved in the day to day running of the organisation and to save face or to keep quiet and let the bosses continue ruining their reputation and the reputation of the organisation. The new manager has resigned after one and a half month of working as she refuses to have to take responsibility for work which is being done illegally and therefore putting her morals, ethics and dignity at risk. Heavy going and the atmosphere is once again thick with suspicion and blame.
Me: Though I have lost 17kgs I am finding it rather difficult to maintain the eating plan. Food has become so expensive and some months I have found that I need to dish out more money than usual. My car brakes packed in and the money I had saved for ME had to be used for that. My fridge has just packed in (John any technical, mechanical problems in Texas that I am not aware of?) and the passenger side window has just packed in too - or should I say the window winder. Just when I think I am making headway, Murphy rears his ugly head and whollops me with a curve ball of note. The last two weeks I have been battling with inner emotions - mainly due to the heavy workload/being paid an atrocious salary - and I find myself dragging my heels in everything I do. I feel I want to go into hibernation for a couple of days but not here at home - somewhere peaceful and tranquil. Two very good scr*pbooking designers/teachers are coming out in April to give awesome classes. Unfortunately I could not afford the price of the convention ticket. However I am volunteering as a helper and have put in for 2 days leave. As a volunteer I will still get all the class kits and the goodie bags. Whoooo hooooo. And I get to be with all my friends who are going on that day. My friend C and I will be staying over in Stellenbosch on the Friday night as we cannot travel back home so late at night AND we have to be back at the conference facilities at 6am the following morning. I am going to use this opportunity to network with these Americans as their products are very hard to come by in this country because the wholesalers don't order frequently from them nor do they order all the new products.
I have known for a long time and it has become very evident of late that I am at my most happiest when I am creating at home. Hence the urgency to get my business on track, finish all the examples and to market it as quickly as possible.
Summer: We have had a rather lousy summer - wind blowing between 80 - 100km an hour and therefore making it unpleasant to be outdoors. So summer has now arrived late but March is always a good month here with the wind dropping. The heatwave we have been experiencing has been hectic and sadly so too have the number of fires. Our beautiful winelands have been under so much strain with fires raging in the Stellenbosch area. Well known wine estates have taken heavy losses and just when the fire fighters think they have the fire under control, the south-easter picks up speed and fans the flames again. But we are still luckier than the Australians who have experienced shocking high temps this summer and devastating fires. I received a rather tear-jerking email showing Kaolas who were literally dying of thirst and allowing humans to get close to them to feed them water and to drench them with sprinklers.
Last week was our famous Two Oceans cylce race - the longest timed cycle race in the world. Matt Damon was riding in it with his brother (tandem). Matt is out here filming and he phoned his brother who hopped on a plane to do the race. Well, let me tell you, the wind was so fierce at the start that cyclists had to start by walking a distance. The wind just knocked them off their bikes. It was rather funny to watch but I assure you it was so heavy that it was no laughing matter. Two people fell off their bikes and broke their arms. Some people could not continue after half way as the wind picked up even more. My hat off to those who endured the full distance and to those who at least showed up and started.
I am sure I have more news but this is already too long and I don't wish to bore you to an extent you won't come back again.
Love you all and chat soon.
The goddess has now left her blog ....
Friday, March 13, 2009
Proof of Life
Yes I am alive. These photographs were taken of my potted garden which is growing one pot per month.
Early morning shot
Late afternoon shot
Work is hectic and I had a rather trying time this week. I know I would cope with the workload if I was earning a market related salary. The she-boss is SO lazy I could spit fire when she gives me more work.
Early morning shot
Late afternoon shot
Work is hectic and I had a rather trying time this week. I know I would cope with the workload if I was earning a market related salary. The she-boss is SO lazy I could spit fire when she gives me more work.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Nothing, Nada, Niks
I have still not heard anything about the job I applied for. Wish I had as I had an ultra frustrating day at work. I want to tear my hair out when the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing and memories are shocking and people sweat the small stuff. This organisation is totally bizarre and everyone associated with it, likewise.
I am not sure whether I should be enthusiastically optimistic or quietly resign myself to the fact that as I have not heard back from them, my application was not successful.
I went to weigh in today with a heavy heart but left smiling and skipping my way out to my car. I have lost soooooo much weight and am almost at my goal weight to go onto the maintenance programme. Once on maintenance I can go for free and have a weigh in once a month. I am then setting my own personal goal. Tonight I start the stomach exercises. I have a month before our next Diva party and I really want to look awesome then.
Today I am grateful for my ficus tree which is flourishing and thriving under the tender loving care of my hands and my beautiful green garden in which I can rest my troubled soul and rejuvenate. Today I am grateful for a small monetary surprise and that despite the temporary financial hardship, I force myself to save as much as I can each and every single day.
Today I am grateful for all the friends who love me - warts and all.
I am not sure whether I should be enthusiastically optimistic or quietly resign myself to the fact that as I have not heard back from them, my application was not successful.
I went to weigh in today with a heavy heart but left smiling and skipping my way out to my car. I have lost soooooo much weight and am almost at my goal weight to go onto the maintenance programme. Once on maintenance I can go for free and have a weigh in once a month. I am then setting my own personal goal. Tonight I start the stomach exercises. I have a month before our next Diva party and I really want to look awesome then.
Today I am grateful for my ficus tree which is flourishing and thriving under the tender loving care of my hands and my beautiful green garden in which I can rest my troubled soul and rejuvenate. Today I am grateful for a small monetary surprise and that despite the temporary financial hardship, I force myself to save as much as I can each and every single day.
Today I am grateful for all the friends who love me - warts and all.
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