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#blog12daysxmas Random thoughts teaching Technology

Oh, the joys!

On New Year’s Day, hubby and I took the kids to Bribie Island for the day, with some good friends and their three children. Afterwards, we ate at their place, and Miss 3 found Wall-E, a v-tech toy that belonged to the other family’s Mr 7. He was more than happy for her to borrow it for a little while, so for the past five days we’ve been regaled with all the sounds that accompany the dozen-odd educational games he plays.

I also instituted a new house *rule* recently, as I was completely and utterly OVER the wastage of food by my own three gorgeous cuties, at meal time. Miss 6 and Miss 3 currently earn pocket money (Mr 2 will start this as well, when he becomes Mr 3 in a couple of months) and they love spending it on whatever takes their fancy. But now, to teach them the value of food, if they leave any food – for example, crusts on their plate after their morning toast – then they *pay* me whatever amount equates to the amount that is left. Sometimes it’s 5 cents, sometimes 10 cents – and boy they learned to not eat a huge morning tea the day that they both left half their lunch, and had to pay back 25 cents each! Some might be horrified at me for my ruthlessness, but boy! it’s working! There’s a LOT less food wastage since they’ve learned that food costs money!

The thing is though, I’ve started paying them pocket money in 5 cent pieces, instead of 10 cent pieces. Which is no real biggie to Miss 6, but is quite the novelty to Miss 3. And her interest in all things ‘money’ led her to pretend that Wall-E was a short, kid’s version, of an ATM.

Long story sort, my friend’s Mr 7’s expensive v-tech Wall-E now has several 5 cent pieces floating around his insides.

Whoops!!!

 

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#blog12daysxmas Work

Day “the number after that” of #blog12daysxmas

That’s abbreviated from Tigger. When he’s counting for Hide and Seek, he says “1, 2, the number after two…” And although I probably should go back and check what number #blogdays12xmas we’re up to, I honestly don’t have the energy. Please forgive me! But I’m pretty sure that we’re not up to (or past!) 12 yet, so I think I’m pretty safe. And I’ll check the number for tomorrow. I promise!

So today’s first thought was about Max, my Labrador who Hubby and I buried yesterday morning. But tweets from friends helped – and then it was straight into work before I even knew what was happening! And there, I’ve finally gotten off my rear end and set up a twitter account and facebook page for Bloxham Marketing. So now I’m feeling more “official” – and more able to look my clients in the eye when I talk about digital marketing. (I’ve been doing it for my clients, burt not for my own business! D’Oh!)

Today was also all about planning for the year ahead. The months ahead. The weeks ahead. The days this week. 

Boy, it’s good to get the ball rolling!

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#blog12daysxmas Random thoughts Work

Day Two and I’m on track…

Well after a bit of a mixed-up start, it’s still Boxing Day for a few more hours, so I’m managing to blog Day 2 of #blog12daysxmas on the second day of Christmas. Which is cool – but I doubt I’ll be writing much. I’m exhausted, (courtesy Master Two and a 4.35am start,) but trying to stay awake by watching The Glades while waiting for Harry’s Law at 9.30. But it’s tough – I keep on yawning, nodding off etc and I’ve eaten too much.

Last year’s #blog12daysxmas, I wrote about the song. This year I plan on being more reflective – something I’m learning, though slowly, to enjoy. And today was a perfect day to reflect. The kids and I went Boxing Day shopping early, and left by 10 from a very full car park, to explore the wonders of “Wet Side” at Hervey Bay. For those of you who’ve been there, you know how fantastic it is for kids. For those of you who haven’t, it’s like a fountain. On steroids. Lots and lots and lots of steroids! Unfortunately though, Master Two took a bit of a stumble, and clonked the very base of his nose (as in, where it meets his upper lip) so hard that his nose kept bleeding for some time. Poor kid. So we retreated to the safety of the adjacent beach. Which started at low tide, and kept getting lower and lower and lower. So mud flats and rock pools kept the kids busy for the rest of the day. Leaving me time to crotchet. And think.

I like being self-employed. I like being “Mistress of my own destiny”. I absolutely LOVE the fact that hubby has a brilliant, well-paying job that allows me to experiment like this. I’m enjoying the independence. The responsibility. The challenges. The learning curves. Thirty-seven-and-a-half and I feel like I’m finally “growing up”.

It’s taken a while!

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#blog12daysxmas Uncategorized University studies Work

So it’s been a while…

I knew I hadn’t blogged in awhile. I just hadn’t realized that it was three months worth of ‘while’! I guess it’s a bit of an indication of how busy I’ve been. Busy with kids, with hubby, with growth in my business (which has its own name now, rather than being just part of my own personal ABN,) busy with the 7th (of 12) course in my Masters, and other general stuff at home – cubby house movement and garden bed rearranging being the main focus of the September school holidays.
On the work front, I’ve created a campaign for the St Paul’s Christmas holidays, a campaign for the expanded St James Kindy, and compiled a 2011 yearbook that was twice the size of its 2010 counterpart. And I’ve also started (almost daily) blogging for Bloxham Marketing, which has been fun. Phew! Nuff said.
And that brings us to the Christmas holidays, and the memory of last year’s #blog12daysxmas – which was my real foray into the world of blogging in the first place.
So now I’m wondering if I’m up for the challenge this year. Or even if there IS a #blog12daysxmas challenge this year!

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Random thoughts Work

Catching up

So today I played catch up. I’ve been majorly neglecting sleeping, eating properly, and just the usual run-of-the-mill stuff that I always neglect, those of you who know me IRL. So today was catch up day. I washed clothes. I washed dishes. I shopped for food (and caught up on some sleep in the car while Hubby drove!) I cooked food. I cleaned various parts of the house. I even noticed a headache that didn’t want to shift. (It had probably been there for days, but I’ve been too busy to notice!) I started filing the never-ended mountain of paperwork that seems to be getting even bigger now I’ve scored the marketing consultancy at St James in Hervey Bay. (Absolutely BRILLIANT school, by the way!!! Really going places; it’s got an excellent team at the top – visionaries who also know how to successfully implement that vision. Which is pretty rare. And I’ve been in and around a LOT of schools! FYI, did you know that EVERY kid from Year 7 up has an iPod Touch which they use – in every curriculum area?! How cool is THAT?!!!)

And catching up on stuff today allowed me quite a bit of time for introspection. Which is cool. I’m starting to not mind the whole ‘figure out who I am’. And today’s thinking was in the context of my work life. Brought about courtesy of Craig Hewlett, President of 101.5 FM, who invited me to do a DJ-ing course at his station, yesterday. He seems to think that I’ve got a good voice for radio. (Poor guy had to listen to me for 6 hours straight at the St Paul’s Spring Fair Teen Space yesterday, and that probably addled his brains!) Anyway, he was pretty serious about the offer – it’s a paid course, and he offered to sponsor me to do it! How cool is that! Unfortunately, I had to say no (for the time being). Even though I’m always up for a challenge, even I think that adding something like that to my life would just be stupid. After all, I have 3 kids, and my eldest is 6; I run a website, a tutoring business and I’m the QLD distributor for another business; and then I’m working pretty much full-time as the Marketing consultant to two schools. Oh, and somewhere in there I’m also managing to find the time to study for my Masters in IT. (So stoked about finishing that 40%er last Thursday!!! And a HUGE thank you to Tony Wilson, QUT’s Marketing and Communication Director, for permission to use that awesome quote of his!!!) Which leads me to believe that, although working as a radio DJ would be such a cool thing to do, maybe now might not be the time to consider it. (Oh, and did I also mention I’ve been invited to join the Golden Key International Honour Society?! Pretty chuffed!)

So anyway, today I got stuff done. Not that I haven’t been getting stuff done recently, but today’s was different stuff. And that’s cool. By the way, I particularly dislike filing.

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places to visit Random thoughts University studies Work

Hanging on by my toenails

I feel like a bug. Still alive – barely – and hanging on for dear life. I’m standing on the windscreen of the vehicle that is my life, and it’s currently going full-speed, flat out, non-stop.

Hopefully that vehicle’s not a train careering along a decrepit railway line, else I’m headed for a massive train wreck!!!

(On the up-side: I’ve completed two of my three assessment pieces for AMN400 Consumer Behaviour – which I’m loving, by the way – and I’ve painted seven street signs in the last two weeks; and I’m on top of the St. Paul’s yearbook to date; and I’ve started working (successfully, too!) at St James at Hervey Bay, both in person and over email, internet, skype; and Miss Three is now completely toilet trained; and – best thing of all – Spring Fair is on today which means that sometime around 4pm I’ll be able to breathe again!!!!!!!!)

Woohoo!!! LOVING my life right now!!

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GoodOldTalk Random thoughts teaching

Tired but happy.

All things considered, I’m doin’ okay.

I’ve spent the last three days in front of a Year 2 classroom. The kids were absolutely delightful – as all classes at St Paul’s Lutheran are, come to think of it – but coming hard on the heels of a fantastic ‘do-nothing’ holiday which followed several weeks of zero relief teaching days – three consecutive days was a bit of a shock for my sometimes-working- sometimes-not voice. (Yup. Haven’t seen a doctor yet. Probably should. I know.) It was also a bit of a shock to my kids too, I think. But they coped really well.

Mum, on the other hand, lost sleep. But that was because I’d had too much of a good holiday and hadn’t looked properly at my calendar.

You see, she and I set up the website goodoldtalk.com – a social network for Seniors. And last year, I attended the Senior’s Expo and Forum organised by Peter Slipper MP, on behalf of the GOT site. So we were invited back this year, and me in my un-organised post-holiday haze didn’t realise that I’d double booked teaching over the Forum day. Whoops! So I taught Year 2, and Mum was the GOT ambassador. With two other absolutely fantastic GOT members who also agreed to (wo)man the GOT stand. Apparently they had an absolute ball – I knew they would, but they were a little hesitant about it, having always left the ‘speaking engagements’ to me. But not only did they have a fantastic time of it, they scored another FOUR speaking engagements, and a radio producer of a local community radio station was so excited by the concept, that he’s signed up to the site, blogged already, and intends to promote us on the radio waves. Woohoo!!!

Pretty cool. And I believe that makes up for missing out on the cocktail party with the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop at Peter and Inge Slipper’s do last night. Seeing as I was dead-on-my-feet anyway!

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University studies Work

Absolute bliss

I’m heading towards the end of what has been an absolutely incredible holiday in Hervey Bay, housesitting while the owner is at a conference in New Zealand. Poor hubby is still at work, so it’s me and teh kids staying in our pj’s until lunchtime, watching DVD’s and playing playstation, spending time on the beach and at the playgrounds, and (once the kids are in bed of an evening) I’ve been having oodles and oodles of ME TIME!!!!! It’s been just so incredible – a quiet house, a DVD library that rivals that of a DVD store, and hundreds of books that I’ve never read.

The first two and a half days saw me devour (ha!) the ‘Twilight’ series. I must say, I’m very impressed with Stephenie Meyer’s writing style! It’s no wonder that Twilight has the legion of fans it has. Kudos to her!

And then it was time to finish Miss 6’s blanket that I’ve been crocheting for the past 5 years. (Yup, it’s a bit embarrassing, hey. But a disclaimer – I’m not overly slow; I’ve just been busy…!) But that’s done now, and she’s very impressed with it. So was Miss 3, who immediately started nagging me to make her scarf. (I had promised her a purple scarf to match Miss 6’s pink one.) So that meant a trip to Pialba, which was worth it for the $2.97 sale on the wool I wanted. The colour range was also more than adequate, so I splurged and bought all the wool I needed to make Miss 3’s blanket as well. My plan is to start it after the scarf – maybe tomorrow? – and hopefully finish it before she gets married. (Ha! If the past is anything to go by, that may not be too unrealistic a prediction! And then Master 2 will get his scarf, and blanket, by the time he’s about 30. Hmmm… perhaps I should pick up the pace?!)

I’ve also been organising the creation of two retractable banners for St Paul’s, with the aim of their being made and delivered to the school by Wednesday of next week, our Open Day. But I’m cutting it a bit fine with that one, as the profs are still being negotiated, and there’s usually a five day turnaround on production… wish me luck that it gets finalised today!

I’ve also been busy preparing for, and pitching, Mr Shane Altmann, the principal of St James Lutheran College. It was pretty crazy, putting down on paper all the work I’ve accomplished for St Paul’s since starting there mid-February. And when I ran through it, I even impressed myself! Shane also seemed rather impressed when I pitched him my proposal yesterday; who knows but I may soon be the marketing consultant for their school as well…?!! That’d be pretty cool. Just as St Paul’s is majorly brilliant with their positive, supportive school culture, genuine care for each and every child, and very strong focus on academics, St James blows everyone out of the water with their iPod Touch program, now with one-to-one devices across the whole of Middle School. Considering that they’re only P-9 in 2011, there’s so much potential for their future! The possibility of marketing their college is an extremely exciting one. And add to that the experience of working geographically distant from the college, and making that work, I must admit a sense of real enthusiasm at the idea. Guess I’ll find out in the next week or so?!

And judging by the increase in emails from QUT, I’m guessing that Uni either returned for Sem II on Monday, or will be next Monday. Seeing as I’m now enrolled in INN440 Consumer Behaviour, roll on my first ever Marketing course!

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University studies Work

So stoked!

It’s a-happening! I’ve been given the green light! In just a few short months, I’ll know a whole heap more about consumer behaviour thanks to Professor Brett Martin and AMN400.

Woohoo!!!

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#blogjune Random thoughts Uncategorized Work

A-Z Meme

This seems an easy one to start with. And hopefully it’ll be quick because Miss 6 will be home from school soon, and Miss 3 and Master 2 are due to wake up from naptime any second… Thanks, @katreena, @flexnib et al for the idea!

A. Age: 37. And slowly getting used to it.
B. Bed size: King. Gift from in-laws.
C. Chore that you hate: Housecleaning. Were I to win lotto, employing a full-time housecleaner would be at the absolute TOP of the list.
D. Dogs: 12 month old German Shepherd and 10 year old Labrador. Don’t visit without prior notice.
E. Essential start to your day: Hugs from kids. Miss 3 especially.
F. Favourite colour: Orange.
G. Gold or Silver: Gold. No question.
H. Height: Average to tall? I’m not sure exact measurements, and I’m too comfortable to get my driver’s license and check…
I. Instruments you play: Violin. Voice. I can also pick out a tune on most instruments. Played Bass Guitar for a few years.
J. Job title: Mummy. (The best word in the English language). Plus I “look after” the marketing for St Paul’s Lutheran in Caboolture, but I haven’t given myself a title for that. Yet. Suggestions welcome!
K. Kids: Three. Plus hubby when he’s sick…
L. Live: Paradise. Better known as the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
M. Mother’s name: Rehanah.
N. Nicknames: C – but only my best friend and her husband call me that. It’s weird, cos they pronounce it as ‘see’ but my name has the initial sound ‘K’
O. Overnight hospital stays: 3 x childbirths.
P. Pet peeve: “Austraya”
Q. Quote from a movie: Not a favourite, but always cracks me up: “You have bewitched me, body and soul. I love, love, love you.” Mr Darcy to Elizabeth in the latest mangled ending of Austen’s P&P.
R. Right or left handed: Right.
S. Siblings: Two. I’m a middle child.
T. Time you wake up: 6 am would be nice. Generally at least one child will wake me around 4.30am.
U. Underwear: Yes.
V. Vegetable you hate: Capsicum
W. What makes you run late: Me. But I try to get away with blaming others…
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Umm… teeth?
Y. Yummy food that you make: Coconut Ice

Z. Zoo animal: The otters at Australia Zoo. But not when they’re asleep.