Mayhem, Moments & Mentions

Mmm, before we get started I realise I must acknowledge that my last post was almost three weeks ago - yes I know, shocking!  Also, apologies for the length of this post - one of the pitfalls of not posting for almost three weeks!

 

Mayhem

These last few weeks have been a wee bit busy around here.  At work, I've been ridiculously busy with the planning and organising of one of THE biggest days of the year for where I work as well as for me personally (more about that later).  On the home front, His Handsomeness and I are moving house this coming weekend so have been immersed in all the tasks that that involves.  Yes I know, just over a week out from Christmas - it's all or nothing here!  Suffice to say, things are a little crazy around here at the moment, but dare I admit that I do thrive on a bit of a challenge - and yes, I know I may regret those very words!  I have a plan and am focussed firmly on next week when it will all be behind us.

 

Moments

I mentioned above that one of the biggest days personally for me at work this year happened last week.  A bit of background to get into the story.  I work for an organisation with over twenty thousand staff spread across many sites throughout the country.  Each year, suitably deserving staff can be nominated for a prestigious internal award.  The senior executive then determine if the winner(s) are worthy.

 

In my site of 700 staff, only one person was deemed worthy/suitable for this award - that person was me!  To say I was honoured is an understatement.  What made the award even more special for me was that last week, the man at the head of the the organisation where I work (he's numero uno out of 20,000 plus - we'll call him the great leader) came to my site and whilst visiting, presented me with my award in front of a large number of staff.  I have never felt so proud and honoured.  I was presented with a certificate, a trophy and a beautiful gold watch.  After the awards ceremony the great leader thanked me personally for my work and insisted on buying me a drink while we chatted.  I'm still on cloud nine about the whole affair!

 

Mentions

Also during this last week, the lovely Kirsty from My Home Truths mentioned, or rather tagged me in a blog post about five ultimate Christmas wishlist items.  Now I know I should be wishing for world peace and no hunger etc etc, but the rest of this post has all been about moi, so why change the theme now?!  Anyhoo, in the spirit of the tagging, here's my five ultimate Christmas wishlist items...

 

1:  An apartment in Melbourne as I just lurrrrve the eateries, shopping - hell, I love everything about Melbourne.  An apartment in Paris and Tuscany wouldn't go astray either!

 

2:  To be able to spend time with my very dear friend Tracy in England - we would sooo have the bestest time wreaking havoc on all and sundry!  Hey, if I had the damn apartment in Paris it would be a day trip to visit!

 

3:  A Porsche (the 4wd one).  Sleek, fast and sexy - it would have to be black too!  It would be a fast day trip from Paris to see Tracy!

 

4:  Marriage equality here in Australia.  After over 23 years together, it would be lovely if His Handsomeness and I could legally marry in our own country.  And honeymoon in our various apartments of course (and visit Tracy perhaps)!

 

5:  A full head of thick brown hair!  Don't laugh, I'm just being practical here - a follically challenged man would get a cold head in those northern hemisphere winters!

 

Now that I've shared my five ultimate Christmas wishlist items, I have to tag up to five other bloggers to share theirs - it will just be two, as the others I intended to tag have already been tagged!  Over to you...

Scarlet Words

 

Tune into Radio Carly

Do you have an ultimate Christmas wishlist?  Please share below, 'coz I'm nosey like that.

G. xx

The opener

Today is Day Seventeen of the November Photo A Day Challenge. The prompt for today is Last thing you bought (You can read here about my self imposed twist to this month's challenge).

The last thing I bought was a new can opener!  Yes I know I'm the last of the big spenders.  As I purchased just the one solitary item, today's diptych composition is essentially two halves of the one photo.  They've just been edited slightly differently - both high contrast but half colour and half black and white.  Who'd have thought I'd be taking photos of everyday kitchen implements?!

G. xx

Sweet dreams

Today is Day Thirteen of the November Photo A Day Challenge - the prompt for which is Where you slept (Read here about my self imposed twist to this month's challenge).

 

 

I have to confess that part of today's diptych composition is a re-edit of an old photo.  That part would be the photo of the bed.  I forgot to take the photo this morning and whilst I was at work the lovely Wayne stripped the bed and as yet he (ok, we) haven't remade it.  No doubt it will be a last minute thing before climbing into it tonight!  The second part of the composition is a close up of the plush puppy that sits on (guards) the bed - his name is Boo and he's actually a wheat pack.  Yes I know, it looks soooo wrong when he's going around in circles in the microwave heating up!

 

Sweet dreams.

 

G. xx

 

 

Night time

Today is Day Eleven of the November Photo A Day Challenge - the prompt for which is Night (Read here about my self imposed twist to this month's challenge).

I've waited all day to take the photos for today's diptych composition.  The planned shots were to be a distant shot of the moon and a zoomed shot - both edited to black and white.  What happened you say?  There's no blasted moon visible here at the moment!  Ok, time to improvise.  I've utilised a previous shot of the night sky and a shot of my fave tea-light holder.

 

And with that, I'm going to toddle off to bed.  Good night!

G. xx

Total Control

Here I am at Day Four of the November Photo A Day Challenge - the prompt for which is TV.  Read here about my self imposed twist to this month's challenge.

There's not really a lot I can say about today's diptych composition.  I did take an arty shot of the TV itself however the reflections in it looked very ordinary so it was duly deleted (the pic, not the TV!).  Instead, there's a photo of the remote and a screen shot from my iPhone of one of my more used apps.  It's the OzTV app.  If you haven't used it, do yourself a favour (said in my best Molly Meldrum voice) and try it out.  It has all program details for the majority of free to air television stations in Australia and can be configured however you like.  Armed with this and the remote, I truly am in total control - the TV master if you please!  Ok, well sometimes I am!

 

Are you the TV master or TV mistress in your household?  Hmmm, TV mistress sounds a bit kinky doesn't it?!  Ah well, whateva floats ya boat!

G. xx

Into the pantry

June Photo A Day - Day 28:  On the shelf

There's lots and lots of options for taking a photo for today's prompt of on the shelf.  I had a plan - I would take a creative shot of a shelf at the shops on my way home from work this afternoon.  Unfortunately I had a seniors moment and forgot completely!  What to do?  The first shelf I saw when I arrived home was in the pantry, so here's my photo - a shelf in our pantry.

Shower

June Photo A Day - Day 27:  Bathroom

Today's photo prompt was bathroom.  I decided to take a close-up in the bathroom for today's photo.  Now don't freak out, it's nothing untoward!  So here it is, my close-up photo of the shower head in my ensuite!

Boudoir

June Photo A Day - Day 21:  Where you slept
I don't really have much to say about today's prompt of where you slept so I'll just post the photo!

PS:  that's not a real dog on the bed!!

Coven

June Photo A Day - Day 13:  Art

Today's photo prompt was art.  This was an easy photo for me today as I wanted to showcase one of a number of pieces that we have that were created by a very dear friend of ours.  Without further ado, here's a photo of a painting titled Coven by Michelle (aka Leila) Callen.

Believe me, the photo really doesn't do this painting justice.

Wanna see my drawers?

Oh puhlease, do keep yourself nice.  I wasn't talking about those kind of drawers!

June Photo A Day - Day 12:  From a low angle

The photo prompt for today is from a low angle.  There's not really a lot I can say about today's photo other than to tell you dear reader that it's a photo of a chest of drawers.  The manner in which the photo was taken was all very technical if you please - I laid on the floor and pointed my iPhone towards the ceiling and clicked!  Yes I know, my photographic prowess knows no bounds!  Anyhoo, here's the photo...

The door monster

June Photo A Day - Day 11:  Door

The photo prompt for today was door.  Today I had a day of indecision when considering my subject(s) for the photo.  I had considered all manor of doors for today including a traditional door, fridge door, cupboard door and car door to name a few.  I then thought I'd be all creative and do a montage of all types of doors, well that was until I remembered that the theme was door - singular!  Anyhoo the photo - here's the bedroom door with a little door monster (aka keyring) hanging from the handle.

Pretty in Pink

Now I know dear reader that those of you that are of a certain age will know that this blog post's title is the name of a classic coming of age movie from the '80s.  Others of you may not!  Anyhoo, the photo.

June Photo A Day - Day 10:  Best bit of your weekend

Today's photo prompt was best bit of your weekend.  The best bit of my weekend so far has been this evening.  I'm tucked up on the lounge with the lovely Wayne in front of the TV on a cold winters night.  It doesn't get any better than this.  Well maybe, and it has.  To top it off we are watching a fave classic from my youth - Pretty In Pink.  I haven't seen this movie in years and I'm loving every bit of it - the music, the fashion and the hair.  LOL.

Anyhoo, enough of my reminiscing, here's my photo - the lovely Wayne and I snuggled up on the lounge under a blanket.

As an aside dear reader, what's your fave '80s movie?  Tell me in comments below.  Or not!

I'm baaaaack!

Hello dear reader – I am still in the land of the living!  I know I’ve not posted in a month, but I’m now back at the helm of this blog so normal transmissions are resuming.  Apologies for this lengthy post – but hey, it has been a month!

So, where have I been?  Well it’s been an interesting month to say the least.  On the personal front, the lovely Wayne and I have been living at my parents’ house for the last month dog-sitting whilst they were swanning around Europe.  On the professional front, I’ve been prepping for one of the biggest events in my work year – delivering a management conference for 230 staff at the organisation where I work.  Hence the reason(s) why my poor blog has been neglected.

Dog-sitting

I’m sure I’ve covered this elsewhere in this blog, but the lovely Wayne and I live in a unit with a smallish courtyard – not entirely conducive to pets shall we say.  So, as my parents were heading off O/S for holidays, their little dog needed minding so it was easier for all concerned for the lovely Wayne and I to stay at their home for the duration of their holiday.  No drama I hear you say.  Well for all intents and purposes you would be correct dear reader.  I mean to say, what trouble could a little mini-foxie cause right?!  Now this little dog (named Sari) is a gorgeous little girl, BUT, she is almost 16 (nearly 112 in doggy years) and as such is now sadly starting to show some signs of aging.  She’s a lovely little girl but is starting to get a little forgetful occasionally with regards to her toileting.  Now this isn’t normally an issue as my (retired) parents are there to ensure she has regular trips outside.  Things don’t necessarily work as well when Sari’s carers are working full time!  Suffice to say the lovely Wayne and I became quite au fait with floor cleaning and disinfectant!  That aside though, she was a model charge and was very well behaved indeed.  This brings me to something else about our stay at ‘the folks’ house.  Now I have to say this (sorry mum & dad), but their internet service is crap!  And after a few failed attempts I simply couldn’t be bothered.

Work work work

Coinciding with our sojourn at my parents’ house, I’ve been working on one of the major bodies of work for the year that I do – a management conference for 230 staff.  Despite the pressure and long hours, it was a very successful event, timed as it was to coincide with my parents’ arrival home.  The ever dependable lovely Wayne collected his in-laws and delivered them safely home (thanks babe).  This year was very different to previous year’s conferences as it was conducted completely electronically.  My national director has heaped praise on me for delivering something that has set a new benchmark for such conferences within the organisation where I work.  This of course could not have been achieved without considerable support and assistance from a number of people.  These include my boss of course who supported me and allowed me to be creative, as well as a few select others (you know who you are).  Two people that deserve a special mention are the lovely Wayne for his patience and for making sure everything at home ran smoothly considering the hours I was putting into this project, and someone who I admire and respect because she just manages to ‘do it all’ – she never says no at work despite being a mum to three children, two of whom are special needs.  So thanks Kirsty - knowing that you had aspects of the conference covered was both appreciated and comforting.

And so there you have it dear reader, a summary of the last month in the everyday life that is Being Gawee.  If you’ve made it this far with this massive post, well done!

Pink!

April Photo a Day - Day 16:  Flower

Yesterday's photo prompt for the April Photo A Day Challenge was flower.  You're probably wondering dear reader, why I didn't post it as part of my catch up last night.  Well, I was tired and went to bed - simple as that.  And now as is the life of an insomniac, I've been up and about for an hour so thought I might as well post about it now!

Anyhoo, back to the photo.  Here's a photo of a pink flower in our garden - botanic name, Pink Flower!  I actually have no idea what it is - I'll never be a florist, that's for sure!  It was here when we moved here and looks pretty so hasn't been dug out.

Stairs and rogue socks

Ok, here I go with part 2 of the April Photo A Day Challenge catch up.

April Photo a Day - Day 12:  Stairs

Last Thursday's photo prompt was stairs.  This photo is a shot of the elaborate timber stairs that lead down to the beach from the carpark.  Not much else I can say, so here it is.

April Photo a Day - Day 13:  Something you found

Friday's photo prompt was something you found.  Now I did keep an eye on the ground when walking to and from the car on my way to and from work, just in case I found some money or something.  Alas, not a cent!  So once home I began the weekend routine of doing the laundry, and that's when I found something.  As I was about to load the washing machine, I noticed something stuck to the drum - it was a solitary rogue sock!  At least now I know what is happening to all those odd socks!  Anyhoo, here's something I found - a sock!

Ice & an outdoor breakfast

Time for me to catch up the last six days of photos taken as part of the April Photo A Day Challenge.  I'll spread them over a few posts just to break them up a bit.

April Photo a Day - Day 10:  Cold

Last Tuesday's photo prompt was cold.  The coldest thing around here on the day was the freezer but that doesn't really conjure up feelings of cold now does it?  So how about something from inside the freezer like ice!  So here you have it, a tray of ice cubes.

April Photo a Day - Day 11:  Where you ate breakfast

The photo prompt for last Wednesday was where you ate breakfast.  This was an easy one.  I eat my cereal in one of two places depending on the weather.  If it's not wet or cold, the lovely Wayne and I like to eat our breakfast outside in our courtyard in the early morning sun.  If however the weather isn't favourable, it's inside.  Either way, it usually coincides with me indulging my Instagram addiction by checking the latest photos posted by the Instagramers that I follow.  Anyhoo, here's where we eat breakfast outside.

Of Lanterns & Umbrellas

Here I am ready to go with my photo for today's prompt as part of the April Photo A Day Challenge.

April Photo a Day - Day 2:  Colour

For today's prompt of colour I didn't simply want a photo of a single colour, I wanted more than one colour and they had to be bright-ish colours.  We have a set of brightly coloured lanterns under our outdoor umbrella which are both festive and pretty, especially at night when sitting outside enjoying a barbeque with a refreshing glass of wine.  Now in order to get the night time effect, I had to edit the photo just a little to darken the surrounds and make them super bright - what's a little editing between friends?!  Anyhoo, here's the result....lanterns of colour under our umbrella.

A Building, Boots, & a Cabinet

Well yet again I've had a couple of crazy days this week so haven't posted my photos for a few days for the February Photo A Day Challenge.  Now that the week is over it's time to catch up.  Oh yes, I've also themed them all black and white - I honestly hadn't planned that, the photos all just happened to look better in black and white.  A total coincidence!

#FebPhotoADay - Day 22: Where You Work

Wednesday's theme was where you work.  Now I could have concocted a delightful story about how I'm a secret agent (think 007) and that if I showed where I worked, I would indeed have to kill you, but alas, I have a far less exotic office job.  So here you have it, the office block where I work.

#FebPhotoADay - Day 23: Your Shoes

Yesterday's theme was your shoes.  Oh what to do.  Those that know me know that I have a penchant for a nice shoe (well pairs actually!) so this was difficult.  In the end I settled on one of my fave pairs of boots that I purchased at a rather nice shoe boutique in Melbourne, and that I wear to death.  They are made of black denim with leather trimming and are very comfortable too.  I'm often complemented on them also, so my taste can't be too awful can it?!  Anyhoo, here's my shoes...

#FebPhotoADay - Day 24: Inside Your Bathroom Cabinet

The theme for today was inside your bathroom cabinet.  Now this was interesting as I wasn't sure how to approach this.  I figured I had 3 options.  Option 1 was to have all manner of dreadful things on view (keep yourself nice), option 2 was to have all the nicest toiletries in the house strategically placed on show, and option 3 was to just open the darn doors and snap a pic au naturale.  On a Friday afternoon after a long week at work, option 3 won hands down - no effort required...LOL.

#FebPhotoADay - Day 19

Today's theme in the February Photo A Day Challenge is Something You Hate To Do.  Well this was an easy one - the first thing that always comes to mind is ironing - yuck!  I'd rather clean 10 toilets than do ironing.  Sorry for that, but I honestly would!  Lucky for me, the lovely Wayne does any ironing in this household, and yes, I clean the toilets....LOL.  Anyhoo, here's my photo for today's theme, my most dreaded of all household appliances - the iron!

#FebPhotoADay - Day 9: Front Door

Today's theme for the February Photo A Day Challenge is Front Door.  Now ideally I would have liked to have visited my sister and my brother-in-law for this photo because I love the front door on their house.  It is a beautiful big door and it is bright fuchsia in colour!  It's truly gorgeous.  Anyhoo, as I couldn't visit them today, I've settled on this collage of 3 photos of our front door(s)...