Back to work tomorrow.  Apart from the ulcer thing, it’s been great.  I’ve really enjoyed just having a week of leisure.  Not that I haven’t done stuff, we both have, but it’s been at our own pace.  Bliss.

At least work will be interesting to go back to.  I got a phone call earlier this week, asking if I’d be okay to fly to a regional area on Monday to sort an issue out.  Of course that was fine.  I’m being flown there and back in the one day, so it’s not an overnight stay.  This is reasonable, as I’m being flown up for the sole purpose of one meeting.  The manager didn’t feel he could handle the situation, so he’s paying for me to go there.  Intrastate flights in WA are incredibly expensive, so for the purpose of attending a single meeting, the manager will be shelling out around $1500 to get me there and back.  I’ve been briefed on the situation, and at this stage I’m wondering why the manager can’t deal with it and is prepared to fly me there.  There must be something that hasn’t been passed on to me.  I guess I’ll find out tomorrow morning when I’m picked up at the airport.  I better go practice my impassive face.

In other news, my friend M (L’s sister) had a baby girl, Z, on Friday morning (the 18th).  Awwww   Emergency caeserian, but both are well now.  I haven’t been in to see them as I thought I’d give M a bit of time to get used to motherhood.  I suspect she’ll need more than a few days, but hey, I shouldn’t assume.  I certainly can’t talk, my mothering instincts probably are limited to eating my young if I’m malnourished after the birth.

As you may have guessed from the title, I visited L and her little baby boy A this morning.  Firstly – he is adorable.  Absolutely adorable.  L, on the other hand, isn’t doing so well.  I actually got the full story as to what happened with her labour and subsequent to the birth for the first time today.

She laboured for 15 hours and didn’t dilate beyond 3cms, plus A’s heartrate was dropping, which was a concern.  Then L developed a temperature, so she ended up having an emergency caesarian.  When they pulled A out, he wasn’t breathing, so they rushed him off to intensive care.  This is fine, but L didn’t see him, and nobody told her or her husband what was going on….. for six hours.  For that whole time, they didn’t know if A was alive, dead, or somewhere in between.  So yes, the whole process was pretty traumatic for L, poor little thing.

Since then, she’s had major problems breastfeeding, and just found out she’s got nipple thrush.  Who even knew such a thing existed?!  I certainly hadn’t ever heard of it, and I’m pretty medically literate.  So this is making it easy for poor little A to get nappy rash.  As well, his belly button hasn’t healed up, and a bit of intestine is poking through, so he has to have an operation to fix that.

L is exhausted.  Her place is a mess, as you’d expect, but she wanted me to sit and chat with her rather than do stuff, so I did.  I don’t think she’s depressed at this point, just worn out by everything.  Poor little love, I hope it gets easier.  I did tell her that I’m off all of this week so if she needs anything, or just some company, to let me know and I could come around.

While I was there her sister M dropped in.  M is due to be induced herself tomorrow, so the two bubs are going to be incredibly close in age, which is cute.  M’s looking well, she’s put on a bit of weight, but as I said to her she will probably drop it when she starts breastfeeding.  She did lots of holding and changing of A while I was there, getting in some practice I think for her little bub (who is a girl).

All very exciting times for my friends.  I hope they both go okay.  Just from what I saw today, motherhood is clearly both exhausting and stressful.

Lots has been going on.  Most importantly, my friend L and her husband had a baby boy last Monday!  I didn’t find out until Thursday morning, when L’s sister M sent me an email with some pictures.  L had an emergency caesarian, but apparently it went okay.  The baby is adorable, at least according to the pictures.  I wanted to go and visit, but L’s having problems with breastfeeding, so I said I’d wait until things have settled down a bit.

I managed to have a minor prang on the weekend.  Long story short, I backed into SO’s dad’s trailer.  Yay me.  I spent the rest of the afternoon alternately crying and sleeping.  Hey, crying is tiring.  Fortunately SO assures me he still loves me.  There isn’t any damage to the trailer, and the car is still relatively okay (and definitely fine to drive) which is good.  It definitely put a blight on the weekend though.

In work news, I had somebody come to see me today to complain about a senior manager taking credit for their work.  They have the sent email and everything, which had their own work attached to it.  The doc that went up to the head of the organisation had someone else’s name on it, and that’s the version on file.  This person is really upset, needless to say.  What I can do about it, I don’t know.

It’s been a good week. I haven’t needed anti-anxiety drugs since Wednesday, even though I delivered training yesterday to a group of employees.  And of course, Wednesday was our anniversary   I got SO a leather wallet by Hugo Boss, and he got me a rose bush.  Not just any rose bush – it’s called Petrona.  How’s that for smooth?!  Plus I got a beautiful card and a gorgeous flower arrangement at work, which everyone admired.  I’m a very lucky girl.

It’ll be a relatively busy weekend.  I’m looking after Mum’s dog, as she and J are away at the moment.  I’ll be dropping the dog off to Mum’s friend tomorrow, so it’s a temporary arrangement only.  Other than that, I need to get some descaling stuff to our tenants with the washing machine problem, and I’m meeting up with my friend S on Sunday for croissants and coffee.  Yum.

Yes, I’ve been MIA again. There was a good reason – SO and I were in Victoria.  We spent three days in Ballarat, and three in Melbourne. 

We were in Ballarat to catch up with my lovely friend M, the single mum of three kids under five.  (Just pause and think about that for a moment.)  She recently turned 30 and had a bash to celebrate.  We normally wouldn’t travel for something like that, but with the divorce over the last year or so, she’s had a hell of a time and we wanted to see her.  Anyhow, it was wonderful catching up with her and the offspring, all of whom are completely adorable.  She was so happy that we came over, too.  She told me that after she dropped us off at the train station to go to Melbourne, she had what she called ‘a sook’.  Poor darling, it would be so good if she were closer to us, but Ballarat is where her family is, and they help her out with the kids more than we would.

So yes, after Ballarat we went on to Melbourne.  While we were knackered after running around with M and the kids for three solid days, we rallied and managed to see a few things.  We did a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), one of the most historical sporting grounds in Australia, which was interesting.  We also managed to get in to the National Gallery of Victoria to see the Salvador Dali exhibition, Liquid Desire.  That was fascinating - we spent over two hours in it.  SO was very sweet and bought me the book that was produced for the exhibition, which is absolutely gorgeous.  We had lunch in the NGV cafe afterwards, exhausted but with our minds full of what we’d just seen.

We managed to get around Melbourne okay, considering neither of us had never been there before.  It took probably about a day and a half, then the whole tram system seemed to click in my brain.  After that we were fine.  We managed to get out to Bridge Road, the factory outlet section of town, and did a bit of shopping, primarily for SO.  I did pick up some gorgeous eclectic stuff for myself, though, which was great.  We also had a wander along Chapel St, the couture part of Melbourne, when we caught up with my friend K for dinner one night.  All I can say is SO is very lucky there wasn’t late night trading that night.

Apart from a delayed flight (only for two hours) the trip home was uneventful.  We got in around 10pm, which for us was around midnight, as we’d acclimatised to Victorian time by that stage.  I got a phone call the next day very early, asking about one of our units which was advertised - was it still available?  Why yes, it was.  The lease ended while we were away, so I got myself organised and went down there to turn it over ready to rent out again.

Well, what a mess.  It took me about eight hours to get the whole place clean again.  Marks on every wall, spills on carpets, dirty dishes, filthy oven, fridge and microwave…. and don’t even ask about the bathroom.  I’ve never scrubbed dried spew off a toilet bowl that wasn’t mine before.  Still, the good news is it came up fine, and it’ll be rented from tomorrow, so that’s great news for us.  My back, knees and shoulders are all sore, but it was a worthwhile effort.  And after all, that’s what the bond is for.

It’s Thursday night already!  Where has the week gone?!

As per usual, it’s been a busy one.  Monday night we had an annual general meeting for one of our groups of units.  It was a good meeting, we got a quorum, and we decided on some capital works projects for the coming financial year.  We have a good group of owners in this block, which is good to see – all very concerned with maintaining the building appropriately.  That went from 6pm to 7:30pm, so it was basically straight after work.

After the meeting, I went to our just-vacated unit and did a clean.  SO refers to these cleans as ‘details’ because that’s really what happens.  I didn’t vacuum or mop the floors, for example – but I did scrub around tap fittings with an old toothbrush, to get rid of built-up scum.  I also made sure that the shower and toilet were spotless, dusted all the surfaces, cleaned marks off walls, wiped the fridge out, those kinds of things.  Poor SO turned up just after 9pm, as he’d been trying to call my mobile and I hadn’t been answering, so he’d panicked.  (I’d left it in the car.  Whoops.)  He then helped out by doing a few things like changing blown light globes, cleaning windows, cleaning dead bugs out of the light fittings, checked the inventory list against what was actually there, etc.  By the time we’d finished up and got home, it was after 10:30am, and we were both knackered.

Tuesday I actually got a phone call from some prospective tenants, so (thanking my lucky stars I’d cleaned the unit!) we met them straight after work.  A travelling Irish couple with a friend, they loved it and wanted to move in immediately, so we agreed to meet at lunchtime the next day and do the paperwork, and they could take the keys and move in after that.  I knew though that there were a few things that still needed to be organised – the unit needed a new mop, and also some new teatowels.  I also wanted to do a welcome basket for them.  All of this required an early-morning dash to the shops on Wednesday, to get everything, then to the unit to put it all in there.  Got to work at 9:15am, organised the paperwork for the new tenants, and met them at noon and signed up the lease documentation.

Wednesday night I had dinner with the girls.  My friend E who recently got married had some news for us – she’s pregnant!!  She and J are over the moon.  It was a honeymoon baby, which they’d hoped for, so that’s lovely.  It was quite funny, out of the five of us at dinner last night, three of us were pregnant – myself and my friend S.  After E told us, I turned to S and asked, ‘So…. got anything you’d like to share with us?!’  She didn’t.

Dinner consisted primarily of discussing baby-related stuff, from home births (which E is going to try) through to the smacking/non smacking debate.  It was interesting, but I’m not sure how long my interest will be sustained…. after all, I’m not really clucky about (or even interested in) kids.  Still, I’m so happy for my friends.  I hope it goes well for all of them, especially after M and L’s experiences last year.  And I know I’ll be a great aunty.

So yes, a very busy week.  I woke up today and really felt bone tired.  As a result, I only worked a short day – I left work at 12:30pm, went home and slept.  Still tired now, but better, and I’ll be even better tomorrow, I hope, after a good night’s sleep.  SO said again that he thinks my tiredness is a result of depression and anxiety, which could well be the case.  I was hoping my recent blood tests would throw up something that a tablet could easily fix, like a thyroid problem, but alas they all came back fine.  So it’s back to the psychosomatic theory.

The weekend looks like being another busy one.  We’re up to painting (yay!!!) and the bathroom cabinet will be installed tomorrow (double yay!!!!!) so it’s finally tangibly progressing.  Saturday night Mum and J have asked us over to dinner, so that should be fun, playing with the dogs.  I love animals and it’s the one sadness of my life, that we can’t have any as SO is so allergic.  But I do get my pet fix when I see Mum.

Sunday looks like more reno stuff, namely painting.  So exciting, it’s finally moving along!  I can’t wait ’til it’s finished.  I’ll make sure to post some before and after photos, to show the scope of works.

I have to say, I feel absolutely fantastic today.  I was sitting here trying to work out why, and I think I can pin it down to the 15 hours’ sleep I’ve had in the last 24 hours.  Oh well, it was obviously much needed!  SO and I had our flu injections on Thursday night, and since then I’ve been feeling a bit ordinary – heavy eyed, runny nose, sore throat.  The doc did say that we may feel a bit crap for a few days, even though the injection is inactive, and I guess he’s right.

I forgot to mention that last Sunday, when we had our friends’ wedding, was also our fifth anniversary of our first date.  It just doesn’t seem like five years.  Where on earth has the time gone?!  As with most anniversaries of significant occasions, it got me thinking.  We are so very happy, I can’t think of anything that I’d change.  (Apart from SO cooking, that would be great, but that’s relatively minor in the scheme of things.)  I can’t imagine life without him, and I know he feels the same about me.  We are so very lucky to have found each other.

Anyhow, as it’s not our wedding anniversary, I didn’t do anything, but when SO did the food shopping on Saturday, he bought me flowers:

Awwwww. 

Yes, so things are going well for me at the moment.  Life is good. 

I have the house to myself at the moment.  SO has gone out with a couple of his mates to go bike riding.  He’s getting a bit concerned about his weight lately, so when he found out a couple of guys from work do this every Saturday, he was keen to join in.  As a result, I’ve had some ‘me time’ today.  ‘Me time’ has resulted in both toilets and bathrooms being cleaned, the bedsheets changed and washed, dishes done, and most of the laundry washed and hung out.  On reflection, it sounds more like ‘house time’ than me time, but hey, it’s stuff I like to have done so I can then forget about it.  But yes, it’s half past ten in the morning, and most of my weekend stuff is sorted.  This means I’ll be able to fit in a nap this afternoon – my favourite pastime.  Woohoo!

Wow, Wednesday night already! 

The weekend was good.  We had a wedding on Sunday, which resulted in us taking public transport home, and much stumbling on my part.  I blame that tenth champagne.  Monday (which was a public holiday) was spent in bed, feeling like I’d been kicked in the stomach by a donkey.  Otherwise, no harm done.

Some fantastic news – my friend M confessed that she’s eight weeks pregnant.  She actually told me at the reception, when I picked she wasn’t drinking.  After what happened last year, I’m just over the moon.  And as M said, she and her sister L will be having their babies at the same time, which will be a great support for both of them.  So that was an extra reason to celebrate.

This week has been beyond busy.  I’m doing my Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment, which will enable me to formally deliver registered training packages.  It’s dry, fairly boring, and a lot of work.  Bad combination.  We have to do a 15 minute talk on Friday.  Basically we have to teach the group something.  I wouldn’t say I’m dreading it, but certainly I’m not looking forward to it.  Plus, I haven’t started actually preparing it yet.  I suspect I’m going to be doing a rush job tomorrow night.

Here it is, Sunday afternoon already.   Where on earth did the weekend go?!  We did sleep in today, admittedly; but then we made up for it.  The kitchen and both bathrooms are clean, the bedsheets changed and washed, and about six loads of laundry have been done.  Oh, and dinner is already slowly simmering away in the oven.  Meat and veg casserole – cheap, tastes good, easy to make, reheats beautifully.  It’s just about the perfect dish, especially for somebody with my limited interest in food.

Yesterday was a busy day.  We had different stuff to do, all in the morning, which resulted in a huge rush from 9am until midday.  We needed to lodge some mortgage documents for the latest purchase, then SO and I needed to go to different units – SO to hang some mirrors and check a sticky door, me to give some new tenants their keys, show them the meterbox, etc.  After that I came home via the shops, where I bought some much needed necessities like milk and bread.  (Yes, that’s how bad things had got.  So shoot me.)  After that, I did some paperwork, and washed my hair, then fell into bed for an afternoon nap.

I needed the nap because I had a hen’s night on last night.  My friend E is getting married next weekend, so we were celebrating in the traditional way, by eating indian food and then going out to sing karaoke.  The dinner was great fun, and I enjoyed myself.  My other close friends were all there too, so we essentially used dinner as a way of catching up on what has been happening with each of us.  Some great news – my friend L, who lost her baby last year in very sad circumstances, is 11 weeks’ pregnant.  I’m so happy for her and her husband.  I hope this time has a happy ending for them both. 

And there was also some sad news – my friend S’s dad was made redundant.  I’ve always been extremely fond of S’s dad, as he and my father were in the same line of work, and both had very similar temperaments.  So when S told me, I was really saddened.  Apparently he’s coming to terms with it though, and as I said to S, at least this way he and S’s mum will be almost forced to enjoy some time together, which is something my parents missed out on – Dad left work only because he was sick, then he got worse very quickly and died.  S agreed with me, especially as her dad (like my dad) is a workaholic, so they really almost need something like a redundancy to concentrate on other parts of their lives.

Yeah, so the dinner was good.  Then we went to the karaoke bar…. and I felt old.  I mean, not old; but too old to be at a karaoke bar, or indeed any bar, probably.  It was incredibly disconcerting.  Up until about five years ago, my friends and I were still going out clubbing/pubbing fairly regularly, but there’s no way we’d do something like that now.  We’re not prepared to be mutton dressed up as lamb, essentially.  So yes, we all got a drink (except L) and stood awkwardly around in a circle, wincing at the overly loud music and trying to hold conversations with each other.  S and I found we could amuse ourselves by laughing at how bad people were, or alternatively, how serious they were.  (I had no idea that karaoke is such an important thing to some people.)  We stuck it out for about an hour and a half, then we made our apologies and left.  As we walked out, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief that we could hear ourselves think again.  Yep, I’m waaaaay past it.

Ugh, I’ve been neglecting this blog again.  My bad.  We’ve been fairly busy, with one thing and another.  One of the units we put an offer on fell through, and there have been a few dramas with finance for the other.  We should know by next Friday if it’s all okay to go ahead.  Fingers crossed!

My fantastic boss leaves in a few weeks, so that’s been really sad.  I’ve so enjoyed working with her, she’s a great person as well as a great boss.  She’s actually suggested I come to work at her organisation.  I’m considering it.  I wouldn’t be reporting to her, but the work itself would be great, really interesting and varied, and the people I’d be working with are apparently good too, which of course makes a huge difference.  So yes, that’s one option to get away from my ‘proper’ boss, who will be returning shortly.

Speaking of work, SO is away in the country for a few days.  It’s good and it’s bad.  I do like having the place to myself at night, so I can just veg out and do nothing, and not feel guilty about not making dinner (or making it just in time for the 10pm news).  But I don’t sleep so well without him around, and I worry about him.  He’s had to fly in a light plane, as well, which he hates.  The good news is, he got there okay, now he just needs to get home again.  I’m sure he will, but I hate to think of him alone in his hotel room and stressing about the flight home.  Poor love.

That said, I’ve already cleaned up heaps, so the place is nice and organised, and I even have dinner sorted out - leftover spaghetti bolognese.  Yum!  All I have to do is zap it.  Even I can manage that.  Plus, what does a girl without a man in her 30s do? Catches up with her gay friends, of course!  I’m meeting K tomorrow for a coffee.  We actually work together but in different areas, so we don’t get a chance to really talk properly.  We normally have a coffee about once or twice a fortnight.  He’s recently fallen in love and so there’s lots to catch up on at the moment.

Things have generally been good.  We’ve got new tenants for one of our units, so that’s great.  The old ones move out this Saturday, and the new ones move in on Sunday, so we’ll be flat out cleaning everything in between.  Luckily we like a challenge.   Other tenancies are ongoing so that’s no hassle to us.

Yawn…. I think it’s time to get my dinner in the microwave.  Hungry.