Hello all!
I've been a little slack with my updates I'm sorry - been too busy doing stuff that I don't have time to blog about WHAT I've been busy doing! Since my last entry, the weekend has been and gone. And once again the weekend included lots of lovely catch ups with friends and family, as well as a few additional celebrations. My beautiful friend tied the knot with her beau of 6/7 years. And, I don't know if I may be a tad bias, but she was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. Absolutely gorgeous and the whole wedding simply oozed her effortless, rustic style. It was such a perfect night and a wonderful celebration of their new life together. I woke up adequately knackered and light headed the next day but had the perfect hangover cure already teed up - breakfast with the girls. It was to celebrate my dear friend's birthday (today actually! Happy Birthday munchkin!) and also just to get together and have a big pow wow before my teacher friends started up a new school year. Hangover lifted - smile applied.
Then David and I spent the afternoon with his family for his cousin's christening. He looked so adorable and the parish priest was really lovely - he handed out chuppa chups at the end of mass. Winning! The afternoon continued as we celebrated at Dave's aunty and uncle's house before heading off back to our Capel Crib.
Once arriving at our home sweet home, we unpacked the car and .... frikkin died. I was absolutely shattered. Such a beautiful, perfect and happy weekend but oh my goodness I was so excited for bed! I'm really looking forward to finishing work this friday and coming home to a weekend that's completely unplanned and unscheduled. Well - we only have pencilled in a fun run for Saturday morning. Dave and I will start the weekend on a positive healthy note and compete in a 5km run in Busselton. And this will be a lot easier of a run then my last one with the temps scheduled to be a minimum of 10 degrees lower than it was in Bunbury for the Aus day fun run last week! So here's to a successful week, a relaxing weekend and lots more SouthBound adventures.
Mle xx
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Thursday 26 January 2012
Happy Friday!
I had to re-evaluate the title of this a few times as it feels like it should infact be a 'Happy Monday' entry because of yesterday's public holiday and coming back to work today just feels strange and out right wrong! But I am excited because I'm Perth Bound again this evening! I have the wedding of my beautiful friend tomorrow, then the christening of David's beautiful baby cousin on Sunday plus a few catch ups scheduled here and there with friends and family. So the weekend promises to be pretty amazing! Except of course for the disgusting heatwave currently ploughing through Perth, trying (and succeeding) to melt my face off.
Yesterday was a wee bit of a struggle for David and I. Our first whole day to spend together this year, where we had the whole day to lounge around, listen to the Hottest 100 countdown, have a barbie and perhaps visit the beach for a bit in the afternoon. Plans, however, soon went awry as the mercury levels in our carpetted and nil airconditioned house soared higher and higher with every passing minute. I love the house we are in, I think it's so quaint and just has this amazingly welcoming feel about it and from the moment I stayed there - it felt like home. So all that said and done, I can also recognise that our gorgeous little house would have no troubles filling the post of "town sauna" if the usual one ever busted. (And, just quietly, I do not infact know whether the town of Capel has a sauna. I used the refererence merely for a comedic comparison). Also, it should be noted, that Emily is an absolute idiot who is ridiculously overambitious and believes she can tackle a BIG problem or task 'in a few weeks' because surely she'll be ready by then. Case in point, yesterday's fun run in Bunbury. I signed up on a whim a few weeks ago thinking it would be a great start to the day and hoping I could coerse David into running with me (all attempts at this failed miserably, and the lucky bugger got a sleep in, much to the envy of his bonehead girlfriend). I knew it was going to be tough when I heard what the weather was forecast to be but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. I was sick all morning w the infamous Emily 'nervous tummy' and felt pretty crappy at the starting line. It was my first EVER solo event and I was proud of myself for having the balls to even register but I did really want to try and complete the whole distance (10km). It was 2 laps of a 5km course around the beautiful Leschenault Inlet in Bunbury (which definitely made the run easier, I've always struggled less if I'm running alongside or near water), and competitors had the option of stopping at the 5km first lap or continuing on. I had planned to attempt the 10km (3km more than my longest, no-breaks running distance) but at about 4km the heat was getting to me and I still felt dehydrated and weak from having an upset tummy all morning so I pulled the pin at 5km. Even though I didn't do what I came to do, I was proud of my efforts and independance in competing in my first solo run. I did it in 31mins which is nowhere near my ideal or best time but, hey everyone needs to start somewhere!! I handed in my bib and grabbed a bottle of water, did a quick stretch and then headed home sufficiently sweaty. I don't know if it was the perfectionist in me or what, but the ENTIRE drive home, I was thinking about how disappointed I was in myself that I didn't complete the distance I'd planned, and sure the weather was awful but I am trying to have a 'no excuses' attitude and that just didn't cut it. So I resolved that during the day, at some point, I would complete the additional 5km that would mean that I could hold my head high and say that, yes, I DID run 10km on Australia Day. I arrived home to find David sleeping soundly and thought 'oh well, no time like the present' and immediately head back out to do another 5km run. It was hidiously hard and the heat at this time (8:30ish) was even higher than when I had done the run earlier, but I think the big man wanted me to be able to do it for myself, so for the extra half hour or so that it took to clock up my kms, there was a lovely breeze that gave a bit of relief from the burning sun and humid air.
Dave and I spent the morning listening to the earlier parts of the countdown and then decided on a trip to Yallingup to laze about on the beach. Emily, being the scardy cat that I am, couldn't go too deep into the water because it was a pretty rough day and I don't go anywhere near waves that are taller than me :\ So Dave had a bit of a surf and actually utilised the big waves rather than running and hiding like me!!
We did Australia proud and had a yummy barbie w grilled veges and salad to boot. Mmm.
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and has returned to the final day of the working week with oodles of energy and enthusiasm! Bring on the weekend! :):)
Mle xx
Yesterday was a wee bit of a struggle for David and I. Our first whole day to spend together this year, where we had the whole day to lounge around, listen to the Hottest 100 countdown, have a barbie and perhaps visit the beach for a bit in the afternoon. Plans, however, soon went awry as the mercury levels in our carpetted and nil airconditioned house soared higher and higher with every passing minute. I love the house we are in, I think it's so quaint and just has this amazingly welcoming feel about it and from the moment I stayed there - it felt like home. So all that said and done, I can also recognise that our gorgeous little house would have no troubles filling the post of "town sauna" if the usual one ever busted. (And, just quietly, I do not infact know whether the town of Capel has a sauna. I used the refererence merely for a comedic comparison). Also, it should be noted, that Emily is an absolute idiot who is ridiculously overambitious and believes she can tackle a BIG problem or task 'in a few weeks' because surely she'll be ready by then. Case in point, yesterday's fun run in Bunbury. I signed up on a whim a few weeks ago thinking it would be a great start to the day and hoping I could coerse David into running with me (all attempts at this failed miserably, and the lucky bugger got a sleep in, much to the envy of his bonehead girlfriend). I knew it was going to be tough when I heard what the weather was forecast to be but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. I was sick all morning w the infamous Emily 'nervous tummy' and felt pretty crappy at the starting line. It was my first EVER solo event and I was proud of myself for having the balls to even register but I did really want to try and complete the whole distance (10km). It was 2 laps of a 5km course around the beautiful Leschenault Inlet in Bunbury (which definitely made the run easier, I've always struggled less if I'm running alongside or near water), and competitors had the option of stopping at the 5km first lap or continuing on. I had planned to attempt the 10km (3km more than my longest, no-breaks running distance) but at about 4km the heat was getting to me and I still felt dehydrated and weak from having an upset tummy all morning so I pulled the pin at 5km. Even though I didn't do what I came to do, I was proud of my efforts and independance in competing in my first solo run. I did it in 31mins which is nowhere near my ideal or best time but, hey everyone needs to start somewhere!! I handed in my bib and grabbed a bottle of water, did a quick stretch and then headed home sufficiently sweaty. I don't know if it was the perfectionist in me or what, but the ENTIRE drive home, I was thinking about how disappointed I was in myself that I didn't complete the distance I'd planned, and sure the weather was awful but I am trying to have a 'no excuses' attitude and that just didn't cut it. So I resolved that during the day, at some point, I would complete the additional 5km that would mean that I could hold my head high and say that, yes, I DID run 10km on Australia Day. I arrived home to find David sleeping soundly and thought 'oh well, no time like the present' and immediately head back out to do another 5km run. It was hidiously hard and the heat at this time (8:30ish) was even higher than when I had done the run earlier, but I think the big man wanted me to be able to do it for myself, so for the extra half hour or so that it took to clock up my kms, there was a lovely breeze that gave a bit of relief from the burning sun and humid air.
Dave and I spent the morning listening to the earlier parts of the countdown and then decided on a trip to Yallingup to laze about on the beach. Emily, being the scardy cat that I am, couldn't go too deep into the water because it was a pretty rough day and I don't go anywhere near waves that are taller than me :\ So Dave had a bit of a surf and actually utilised the big waves rather than running and hiding like me!!
We did Australia proud and had a yummy barbie w grilled veges and salad to boot. Mmm.
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and has returned to the final day of the working week with oodles of energy and enthusiasm! Bring on the weekend! :):)
Mle xx
Sunday 22 January 2012
Perthbound.
As I type this, I sit comfortably on my lovely couch at the Capel crib with a big badass smile on my face! David and I returned this afternoon from our weekend at home with family and friends :) Another reason for smiling is my most recent exciting purchase...I'm blogging via iPad. After umming and uhing for months about whether or not I should bite the bullet and splurge on an iPad, to be used primarily as a therapy tool within my sessions, I finally did and have had fun over the past few days playing around and becoming very geek-chic. I was further persuaded to buy it after being lucky enough to win an articulation therapy app through my favorite speech therapy blog site (all my speechie friends should check it out at www.speechroomnews.blogspot.com)!! So now I'm ready to get tech-savvy on my clients and use my new purchase to make treatment sessions a whole lot more exciting! I mayyyy have also been über enticed by the app store and downloaded a copious amount of health/fitness apps and magazines... I fully admit and acknowledge that I have an addiction so please do not judge me.
I spent Friday night with my beautiful family and spent it in the best and most relaxing way possible, sitting outside having salmon/ricotta ravioli and salad on a balmy summer's night and dad's iPod cranking out the old school tunes (which in all honesty just added to the ambience, I'm sorry I give you crap daddy!). Absolutely lovely night which was made (boringly so) better by the best nights sleep ever ever ever in my own bed! Absolutely dead to the world and woke up on Saturday with the energy of a 5 yr old on a playground. I started my Saturday with a stinking hot run (how bloody muggy is Perth this week?!) and made the morning even better with breakfast and coffee with my girlfriends at the beautiful Atomic cafe (which my friends have ravvvvvvved about for months hehe) and it did live up to expectations! The company definitely made the brekkie experience all the more enjoyable. So with full bellies after a well overdue catch up, we went on our merry ways.
Dave and I spent the night with our lovely friends (but definitely missing our Bali bound pair) in Perth city to celebrate the anniversary of my dear friends birth 24 years ago. It was a wonnnnderful night with lots of laughs and cuddles and I was so grateful for the opportunity to see so many of my friends and for getting the chance to catch up on what's been happening in their lives. I only wished the night could've lasted longer but we carried our tired bums home at 2am in readiness for our early morning drive to our home on Sunday.
We drove to Capel this morning and I was so surprised to find that the trip absolutely flies by now, it felt like we were in the car for 30mins! It was a beautiful Sunday arvo as Dave's family came to visit our home and go for lunch in Busselton.
So in summary, an absolutely perfect weekend, but I do apologies that this is such a boring and uneventful entry. And the weirdest thing of all to report, is that I'm reaaly looking forward to work tomorrow! I'm looking forward to jumping straight back into in and do have a pretty hectic week of appointments and things, so it'll be great to keep myself super busy.
Sorry again for the boringness of this entry but one man's trash is another man's treasure and I definitely had a very treasured weekend.
Mle xx
I spent Friday night with my beautiful family and spent it in the best and most relaxing way possible, sitting outside having salmon/ricotta ravioli and salad on a balmy summer's night and dad's iPod cranking out the old school tunes (which in all honesty just added to the ambience, I'm sorry I give you crap daddy!). Absolutely lovely night which was made (boringly so) better by the best nights sleep ever ever ever in my own bed! Absolutely dead to the world and woke up on Saturday with the energy of a 5 yr old on a playground. I started my Saturday with a stinking hot run (how bloody muggy is Perth this week?!) and made the morning even better with breakfast and coffee with my girlfriends at the beautiful Atomic cafe (which my friends have ravvvvvvved about for months hehe) and it did live up to expectations! The company definitely made the brekkie experience all the more enjoyable. So with full bellies after a well overdue catch up, we went on our merry ways.
Dave and I spent the night with our lovely friends (but definitely missing our Bali bound pair) in Perth city to celebrate the anniversary of my dear friends birth 24 years ago. It was a wonnnnderful night with lots of laughs and cuddles and I was so grateful for the opportunity to see so many of my friends and for getting the chance to catch up on what's been happening in their lives. I only wished the night could've lasted longer but we carried our tired bums home at 2am in readiness for our early morning drive to our home on Sunday.
We drove to Capel this morning and I was so surprised to find that the trip absolutely flies by now, it felt like we were in the car for 30mins! It was a beautiful Sunday arvo as Dave's family came to visit our home and go for lunch in Busselton.
So in summary, an absolutely perfect weekend, but I do apologies that this is such a boring and uneventful entry. And the weirdest thing of all to report, is that I'm reaaly looking forward to work tomorrow! I'm looking forward to jumping straight back into in and do have a pretty hectic week of appointments and things, so it'll be great to keep myself super busy.
Sorry again for the boringness of this entry but one man's trash is another man's treasure and I definitely had a very treasured weekend.
Mle xx
Tuesday 17 January 2012
Happy Hump Day.
Ah, hump day - the middle of the week and then we're on the downwards slope to the weekend! Woo! This entry will be very short and sweet, as life has been blissfully uneventful over the past working week. The weekend was amazing and I loved every minute spending it with beautiful old friend and meeting lovely new friends and celebrating the upcoming nuptuals of my darling dear old friend! After a weekend of pool lazing and food grazing and many a vodka and cranberry, I came back home on Sunday sufficiently knackered and happy to have a lazy Sunday afternoon in preparation for returning to the working week. I also was pleasantly surprised to see the Sunday matinee movie on good ole GWN was a disney gem - Hunchback of Notre Dame. So I may or may not have watched this whilst cleaning and doing a load of washing. And I may or may not have cried when Quasimodo was lifted into the crowd and cheered on at the end - I definitely did not appreciate that film as a youngster but I urge all of you to watch it, it was amazing!
Work has continued to be wonderful. I'm excited for the new school term to commence because, as most paediatric speechies know, the clinical days are quite varied during holidays with DNAs and families on holidays and not wanting daytime appointments etc etc. So I'm excited to have consistently full and busy days in the weeks to come. I've even snagged a sub acute adult treatment client who absolutely stole my heart, the patient will need ongoing speech rehab to assist with his worsening dysarthria and they are one of those clients that seems so gungho and appreciative of any support that you know they'll go off and DO the practice (woo hooo!!).
Lazy Emily has ruled the roost this week and very minimal runs/rides have taken place. But David kicked my lazy bum last night and we did a late run together. As I ran the first km, I was hating life (and may have possibly been a grumpy wench towards David because I did NOT want to be there) but as I kept going and kept pushing - we happily discovered that we'd significantly reduced our time per km from last week and so we had a challenge to maintain that speed til the end of the run. So, I burst back onto our front lawn absolutely shattered but back to feeling myself and not so "Waaaah" and lazy! Hehe.
I'm excited to finally explore Capel library tonight (Ahhh the mediocre joys of country life). It's been closing at 5pm so I've JUST missed it by the time I have gotten home from work. So tonight is late night book night and I'm signing up and trying to squeeze in a bit more reading into my life. Partly to learn more and because I miss reading, but mostly to help me get to sleep at night! I'm still getting used to sleeping in a new place and so I'm hoping reading before bed makes me sleep like an exhausted baby and I can have a few nights of heavy, uninterupted sleep!
Hoping everyone is having a lovely week themselves. I can't wait to see some family and friends this weekend. Especially *cringe* my widdle sister, (and mama and dada of course), I miss youuuuu!! But, yay, not too long!
Mle xx
Work has continued to be wonderful. I'm excited for the new school term to commence because, as most paediatric speechies know, the clinical days are quite varied during holidays with DNAs and families on holidays and not wanting daytime appointments etc etc. So I'm excited to have consistently full and busy days in the weeks to come. I've even snagged a sub acute adult treatment client who absolutely stole my heart, the patient will need ongoing speech rehab to assist with his worsening dysarthria and they are one of those clients that seems so gungho and appreciative of any support that you know they'll go off and DO the practice (woo hooo!!).
Lazy Emily has ruled the roost this week and very minimal runs/rides have taken place. But David kicked my lazy bum last night and we did a late run together. As I ran the first km, I was hating life (and may have possibly been a grumpy wench towards David because I did NOT want to be there) but as I kept going and kept pushing - we happily discovered that we'd significantly reduced our time per km from last week and so we had a challenge to maintain that speed til the end of the run. So, I burst back onto our front lawn absolutely shattered but back to feeling myself and not so "Waaaah" and lazy! Hehe.
I'm excited to finally explore Capel library tonight (Ahhh the mediocre joys of country life). It's been closing at 5pm so I've JUST missed it by the time I have gotten home from work. So tonight is late night book night and I'm signing up and trying to squeeze in a bit more reading into my life. Partly to learn more and because I miss reading, but mostly to help me get to sleep at night! I'm still getting used to sleeping in a new place and so I'm hoping reading before bed makes me sleep like an exhausted baby and I can have a few nights of heavy, uninterupted sleep!
Hoping everyone is having a lovely week themselves. I can't wait to see some family and friends this weekend. Especially *cringe* my widdle sister, (and mama and dada of course), I miss youuuuu!! But, yay, not too long!
Mle xx
Thursday 12 January 2012
Looking forward.
Well well, the (almost) end of my first full-time work week down here! I finally feel like I'm finding my stride in establishing myself down here. Professionally I feel that I'm getting more and more confident with balancing the procedures and protocols of the Country Health Service each day and I have been fortunate enough to have already been given opportunities to assess/manage a variety of clients. Which is exactly what I wanted and had hoped for when first applying for this posting. And personally I feel like I'm developing a good routine and lifestyle down this neck of the woods :) I've been keeping fairly active and am on target with my "2012" challenge*, and have really enjoyed the independance that has come from living out of home. Although the dirty laundry pile is starting to resemble Mt Machu Picchu... And if the saying is true, and you are what you eat, I will surely be returning to Perth a salmon or tuna since that has been my go-to meal of choice since I got down here!!
I'm really looking forward to this weekend! With my beautiful friend set to marry her sweetheart in just over two weeks (eeeek! how exciting!!) we are off for a girly weekend to commemorate her final weekends of being a 'Miss'. I can't wait to just kick back, see my gorgeous friends and celebrate this very momentous occassion with one of the most genuine and incredible girl I have ever met! So make sure this weekend you spare a thought for this (soon to be) blushing bride and send lots of well wishes and good energy out into the universe for her and her partner :)
TGIF!
Mle x
*The "2012" challenge is a fitness challenge I have recently commited to in which I will complete 2012km during my training over the year. This will mostly consist of running distances but I am allowed to odd bike ride to round up numbers. Sigh. Over-ambitious, mental and stupid = mle.
I'm really looking forward to this weekend! With my beautiful friend set to marry her sweetheart in just over two weeks (eeeek! how exciting!!) we are off for a girly weekend to commemorate her final weekends of being a 'Miss'. I can't wait to just kick back, see my gorgeous friends and celebrate this very momentous occassion with one of the most genuine and incredible girl I have ever met! So make sure this weekend you spare a thought for this (soon to be) blushing bride and send lots of well wishes and good energy out into the universe for her and her partner :)
TGIF!
Mle x
*The "2012" challenge is a fitness challenge I have recently commited to in which I will complete 2012km during my training over the year. This will mostly consist of running distances but I am allowed to odd bike ride to round up numbers. Sigh. Over-ambitious, mental and stupid = mle.
Wednesday 11 January 2012
A great start.
I started this morning in the most lovely and invigorating way possible - a morning beach run and quick dip in the ocean (all before 7:30am!!). I woke up a little groggy and not keen to get up at all, but the moment I actually got out of bed and outside in the sunshine, the grogginess completely lifted! Dave and I did a little barefoot run alongside the water and it was sooo pretty! It was my first barefoot/beach run and it did feel completely different than anything I've done before. I kept sinking in the sand with every step, which means that my thighs and ample derriere were working overtime (yesss!), and even my *Arnie calves took a beating. But after we were done, we had a quick cool down in the ocean. I went to knee deep because although I've tackled a few fears (moving to a new place, sleeping with the lights off (arghhh - still terrified!!), etc) I have not yet overcome my irrational fear of stingers. So much to the delight of ole 'Murphy's Law', the local jelly monster population had migrated especially to our part of the beach to welcome me to Peppermint Grove. But, in summary, it was an absolutely perfect start to the morning!!
I then went off to begin my first day in Bunbury. I started there this morning, with a pretty relaxed first day of introductions and orientation, and so far it's fantastic. I'm really excited about the designated caseload I've received as my role involves managing the 3 year old caseload. I already have a few clients booked in over January and I'm really looking forward to experiencing the challenges and excitement of early intervention! It's always been an area that I've been keen on but haven't yet had the opportunity really to pursue. So I will keep you updated on the adventures that I have in my new job and I'm sure this blog will adopt a "kids say the darnedest things" approach as, with littlies like these 3 year olds, I'm sure there will be a few pearlers that come out of the sessions! I'm also hoping to use this blog as a way of sharing different activity ideas and educational sort of resources specific to child/adult speech and language treatment - for any of my speechie/teacher/health worker friends that may be interested! Or even anyone that might be keen to learn a bit more. But I'll see how that goes... It was one of my 2012 resolutions but that list seems to be growing by the day as I tack on new challenges and mini-milestone sort of projects, so please don't hold me to it! My over-ambitious self will get there in the end ;)
I met David after work and we did a biiiiiig shop! Our pantry and fridge are now immaculately stocked and in perfect order! We were very grateful to have a very generous gift vouchers (thank you nanny and poppy!) that helped us with the big purchase and lessened the blow on the wallet! We used our newly acquired spices and pastes and sauces and vegetables to make a bloody yummy curry for dinner and topped off the meal with a glass of vino to celebrate my first day :)
Hope everyone has had a wonderful hump day - the weekend is so close, I can smell it!
Mle x
* For those of you playing at home and are unawares; my calves resemble those of pro-bodybuilder-turned-C grade actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Handy to have for muscle man competitions, not so handy for short dresses or tight legged jeans. Ah well. Thems the breaks!
I then went off to begin my first day in Bunbury. I started there this morning, with a pretty relaxed first day of introductions and orientation, and so far it's fantastic. I'm really excited about the designated caseload I've received as my role involves managing the 3 year old caseload. I already have a few clients booked in over January and I'm really looking forward to experiencing the challenges and excitement of early intervention! It's always been an area that I've been keen on but haven't yet had the opportunity really to pursue. So I will keep you updated on the adventures that I have in my new job and I'm sure this blog will adopt a "kids say the darnedest things" approach as, with littlies like these 3 year olds, I'm sure there will be a few pearlers that come out of the sessions! I'm also hoping to use this blog as a way of sharing different activity ideas and educational sort of resources specific to child/adult speech and language treatment - for any of my speechie/teacher/health worker friends that may be interested! Or even anyone that might be keen to learn a bit more. But I'll see how that goes... It was one of my 2012 resolutions but that list seems to be growing by the day as I tack on new challenges and mini-milestone sort of projects, so please don't hold me to it! My over-ambitious self will get there in the end ;)
I met David after work and we did a biiiiiig shop! Our pantry and fridge are now immaculately stocked and in perfect order! We were very grateful to have a very generous gift vouchers (thank you nanny and poppy!) that helped us with the big purchase and lessened the blow on the wallet! We used our newly acquired spices and pastes and sauces and vegetables to make a bloody yummy curry for dinner and topped off the meal with a glass of vino to celebrate my first day :)
Hope everyone has had a wonderful hump day - the weekend is so close, I can smell it!
Mle x
* For those of you playing at home and are unawares; my calves resemble those of pro-bodybuilder-turned-C grade actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Handy to have for muscle man competitions, not so handy for short dresses or tight legged jeans. Ah well. Thems the breaks!
Monday 9 January 2012
Great summer days.
Just a quick entry. Had a great freakin day. My first Monday and rather than experiencing the typical 'Monday-itis' - I had an amazing day!! Had a really busy day at work, really challenging clients that got the old brain thinkin, AND a ward referral to keep up my adult caseload. Plus I got heaps of admin stuff done. Darling David got fabulous news and job prospects are looking very promising. He and I went for a nice run after work, we did 5km on the country terrain and felt fabulous afterwards. Then had my favourite dinner of salmon and salad. Mmmmmm. Will be resting my head on my pillow with a big smile on my face tonight!
Mle x
Mle x
Saturday 7 January 2012
This week in pictures.
I've taken a few little snapshots this week, whenever it took my fancy, so thought I'd share those with you now:
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Car packed and ready to head off!
Bye bye house! :(
On the road again...
Just can't wait to get on the road again.
Day one lunch. Mmm-frikkin-mmmmm.
New house!
First fail of independence - Realising I packed odd shoes when I went to head off for a run.
Domestic goddess task number one - Cooking baked salmon and kasundi salad (with fresh potato wedges for my David)
So that's my week in a pictorial nutshell :)
Week: 1 - Status: done and dusted.
Well here we are at the end of my first working week as a country speechie! :) I'm loving my new role so far, everyone here has been so helpful and friendly. The most challenging thing is definitely feeling like I'm 'back at square one'. After a year in my other job, I found that I was able to go about my business and fell into a good groove that ensured I got all my work done, was confident in doing and most importantly I enjoyed doing it! But here I feel like, in having to ask for help with some of the basic admin tasks involved in day to day working life, and in having to familiarise myself with a brand new set of systems and protocols that I feel like I've taken a few steps backwards. But I keep reminding myself that change, or more specifically growth, is a huge driving factor for happiness. So this challenge will ultimately give me a sense of huge satisfaction and pride when I DO eventually master these basic little skills. I've been very lucky and so far the role change has been exactly what I'd hoped for. I've been managing an equal number of adult and paediatric clients and look forward to keeping up this mixed caseload. I don't understand how more speechies aren't "mixed minded" like myself - I seem to be a very rare species. I love the naivety and innocence of the kids - that they could have the most delayed speech and language but they'll still persevere and try to tell you all about what they did on the weekend or their latest toy. I LOVE hiding therapy in games and play so that they continue to be unawares that there is a 'problem' and they just enjoy the time with the 'speech lady'. And on the flipside, I love how speechies can adopt a consultative and supportive role for adults and their families with communication difficulties. Often, but not always, you get a real sense of their utmost appreciation and respect for what we do and what we strive to do for them, and you don't get that instant job gratification with kids in the same respect. I love being able to always restore something (or at least work to restore something, I'm not THAT good - yet ;) ) that someone really treasures, like reading or talking or even something simple like being able to perform functional tasks at home like helping with the shopping list or bills or letters to families. So with that mushy little speil about why I love what I do out of the way - let's move on!!
I finished off my working week with a run. I parked my car at the jetty and told myself I wasn't stopping until I knew I had given it my all and would come back to tell David my 'number' (of kms obviously, get your minds out of the gutter) with a big smile on my face, pride in my heart and sweat, well, everywhere. I ran 6km. My furthest solo run ever. I was even more proud that I had done this with the negative thoughts of stopping, or finishing early, or my mind telling me 'Oh your knee is a bit sore - maybe that's enough for today' and not to mention an eff-off gusty headwind that pushed me right back! I silenced all the thoughts and used the time to think back and reflect on the week, I thought about my friends and family and wondered what they were doing and I thought about anything else that popped into my mind (well except "it's too hot", "it's too windy", "my legs hurt", "this is boring", "wahhhhhh!").
We spent Friday night and most of Saturday with a good group of friends at their little holiday house in Margs. It was a wonderful night filled with (too) many a drinking game which left this princess a little worse for wears in the morning. I do love a good wine with friends or at the end of a big working day, or a red with dinner, or (Poppy's) port in winter, but I think my days of drinking in ridiculous abundance are coming to a close. I don't like losing the next day to a hangover or not being able to remember things or having that moment when you lie in bed and your breathing changes to that heavy panting and your head spins without your body even moving an inch (yes this all happened on Friday night!). I think one of my resolutions this year will be to drink less but enjoy more. Because of my crazy, loud and ?overbearing personality that I was so generously and genetically blessed with (thank you daddy), I often have just as much fun being sober. I don't have inhibitions to lower so that kind of negates the need for alcohol to let my hair down!! I sound like a boring old fart but I don't mean it like that at all, I just think for my health, wallet and weekend morning sanity, I may politely say no to the seventh drink. But maybe don't take this for gospel - it could be that my hangover from yesterday still hasn't lifted entirely ;)
It's Sunday morning and I'm waiting for my darling little sister to come visit us for the day :) David and I were also planning on doing a few very grown up things, like going into Bunbury to pick out a wardrobe, and a toaster and a few other bits and pieces that we need for the house. We are now, however, proud parents to two healthy baby bins. We have named the white one "general" and the black one "recycling". They are filling out (up) so fast. But in all seriousness it's all those little bits and pieces like getting the bin sorted and buying a dustpan and doing a Saturday afternoon food shop that really cement in my mind that we actually have done it and have left the nest! It seems so basic for most people, because at 23 that's just what you do, but I am (completely admittedly) a tragic homebody who never thought I could stand on my own two feet and always relied on friends/family to get me there. But I think I'm doing ok. And will continue to grow and develop on this little journey anyway - so I'm off to a rather good start.
Mle x
I finished off my working week with a run. I parked my car at the jetty and told myself I wasn't stopping until I knew I had given it my all and would come back to tell David my 'number' (of kms obviously, get your minds out of the gutter) with a big smile on my face, pride in my heart and sweat, well, everywhere. I ran 6km. My furthest solo run ever. I was even more proud that I had done this with the negative thoughts of stopping, or finishing early, or my mind telling me 'Oh your knee is a bit sore - maybe that's enough for today' and not to mention an eff-off gusty headwind that pushed me right back! I silenced all the thoughts and used the time to think back and reflect on the week, I thought about my friends and family and wondered what they were doing and I thought about anything else that popped into my mind (well except "it's too hot", "it's too windy", "my legs hurt", "this is boring", "wahhhhhh!").
We spent Friday night and most of Saturday with a good group of friends at their little holiday house in Margs. It was a wonderful night filled with (too) many a drinking game which left this princess a little worse for wears in the morning. I do love a good wine with friends or at the end of a big working day, or a red with dinner, or (Poppy's) port in winter, but I think my days of drinking in ridiculous abundance are coming to a close. I don't like losing the next day to a hangover or not being able to remember things or having that moment when you lie in bed and your breathing changes to that heavy panting and your head spins without your body even moving an inch (yes this all happened on Friday night!). I think one of my resolutions this year will be to drink less but enjoy more. Because of my crazy, loud and ?overbearing personality that I was so generously and genetically blessed with (thank you daddy), I often have just as much fun being sober. I don't have inhibitions to lower so that kind of negates the need for alcohol to let my hair down!! I sound like a boring old fart but I don't mean it like that at all, I just think for my health, wallet and weekend morning sanity, I may politely say no to the seventh drink. But maybe don't take this for gospel - it could be that my hangover from yesterday still hasn't lifted entirely ;)
It's Sunday morning and I'm waiting for my darling little sister to come visit us for the day :) David and I were also planning on doing a few very grown up things, like going into Bunbury to pick out a wardrobe, and a toaster and a few other bits and pieces that we need for the house. We are now, however, proud parents to two healthy baby bins. We have named the white one "general" and the black one "recycling". They are filling out (up) so fast. But in all seriousness it's all those little bits and pieces like getting the bin sorted and buying a dustpan and doing a Saturday afternoon food shop that really cement in my mind that we actually have done it and have left the nest! It seems so basic for most people, because at 23 that's just what you do, but I am (completely admittedly) a tragic homebody who never thought I could stand on my own two feet and always relied on friends/family to get me there. But I think I'm doing ok. And will continue to grow and develop on this little journey anyway - so I'm off to a rather good start.
Mle x
Thursday 5 January 2012
Day 1
*Written in retrospect*
I arrived at the 'Capel Crib' mid morning and with my hairy room-mate out surfing, I had the luxury of unpacking my stuff without disruption. So I plugged in my ipod and off I went to obsessively and compulsiveley organise my new house. It took just under an hour. I looked around wondering what the frick I was supposed to do now. With no tv, internet access, people to talk to or anything really - I hit my first wall of boredom. Please note this must be a new record, as I'd been still for all of 5 minutes when the boredom became too much - it's going to be a longggggg summer ;) My darling friend gave me a dymocks voucher for chrissie and I thought the early afternoon was a perfect afternoon to head into town, do a food shop and buy myself a new book. I also thought it was a good time to start my latest insane fitness/health challenge, which I'll explain later. So I donned my 'uber attractive' (note the section written in inverted comments was written in 'sarcastica' font) workout gear and set off. It was absolutely beautiful and picturesque to run along Busselton Beach, a lot more inviting and encouraging than good old Bibra Lake! Having worked up an ample sweat and feeling very sore and asymetrical (I had managed to pack odd sneakers, one provided full arch support and make running a breeze, but little right shoe was a tad 'worn' and had less bounce than a hungover Tigger...), I headed into town. I had a quick look around and managed to use the book voucher on a new novel. I did a quick shop in Woolies, stocking up on the essentials (for Emily, that means salad supplies, fruit, tuna and yoghurt) and headed back home. The country life is slowly rubbing off on me. For example - I lazed about the house, read my book and then fell asleep and was out to the world for a good hour. David and his mates arrived home shortly after I woke and we cooked dinner and spent the night looking up hilarious youtube clips on one mate's computer. I went to bed exhausted (from what exactly, I do not know!!) and excited for my first day as a country speechie, as I was starting work the next day.
So that my friends, is my first day in my new home!! I'll try to post another entry to summarise my first working week and the things that I have been up to as soon as I can - not having internet (only mobile inet with crappy reception) definitely makes it more difficult!
Mle xx
Monday 2 January 2012
Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...
Tomorrow morning, I will be jumping in my little Getz and heading off to my new life. I'm excited, apprehensive, nervous and, true to my character, dizzyingly overambitious. So watch this space, because if 2012 goes according to plan, it will include lots of training and sporting challenges, developing my identity as a speechie, becoming a domestic goddess and amazing weekends with my friends and family. Please follow my adventures and come along with me, it looks like it's going to be a wonderful year!! :)
Mle x
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