I would like to to be able to tell you that I have been as productive the past week as I have been the past few weeks. But I haven’t. So I can’t.
I have had a few lapses this week. A couple of nights sleep deprivation with an unwell little one doesn’t leave much motivation for home lovin’ activities.
The eBay parcels have all left the house, netting close to $200. I bought myself something I’ve been wanting for awhile, though that’s another story. I’m now browsing our belongings to see what other eBay fodder we may have.
I am starting the day with the laundry baskets emptied, the folding, ironing and putting away achieved.
The Tupperware/plastic container drawer has gone from overflowing to half empty because there are lots of leftovers in the freezer through a 10 minute reorganisation. It won’t last long though it looks good while it lasts!
The front entry is cobweb and leaf free, and I have managed to maintain the house in a state of tidiness which means I am comfortable to invite you in for coffee if you dropped around.
However, if you bring your children, I would be mortified at the thought that they may want to play in the playroom. I did spend half an hour in there on the weekend trying to locate a distant memory of what the floor covering looks like? My efforts were thwarted by the recovering sick child on Tuesday.
Guess who was banned from accessing the room until after school today? I’m such a horrid mummy sometimes!
My plans for today include an appointment, and an online lecture. Mowing the lawns was on the list but the weather Gods are disagreeing and tossing out a 38 degree day!
What are your plans?
… Or is the movie screening business doing so well that customer service isn’t required?
Judging by the number of people at the cinema today, I think they’ve decided good customer service is no longer required. They’re making profits, people are still coming, why invest in customer service.
I took Boo to see Alice in Wonderland today. We both enjoyed the movie immensely (despite my earlier concerns at taking a 4 year old – it was fine). What neither of us really enjoyed was our cinematic experience.
My grievance might not have gone any further than the usher, and a quick Tweet but this is the third time in a week, I have been miffed by the lack of customer service at my local Event Cinema.
Last week I phoned the cinema regarding a promotion. The person on the other end of the phone denied all knowledge of this promotion (though there are promotional posters on every single wall in the complex). Off he went to enquire, and eventually came back and rudely told me that the promotion is still on, you can’t buy tickets online before ending the call with an audible sigh!
I popped into the cinema on Thursday to buy the tickets, and avoid the inevitable line. The bored and uninterested girl at the box office wasn’t very friendly, or particularly helpful. I think I interrupted her gossip session with her buddy.
And did you know they make you pay for 3D glasses, whether you want them or not (we already had some)? So kindy dress up box will have another couple of pairs of glasses, because you are kidding me if you think I am going to stick them in the recycling box for the cinema to sell them to the next person!
So we had our reserved seats, and arrived with plenty of time to spare. There were two middle aged women in our seats. They refused to budge despite admitting that they weren’t in the correct seats.
The trailers were ending. The cinema was full. There were a few single seats dotted around but I could not see two seats together in the semi darkness. These ‘cougars’ (because that’s what they looked like) were still in our seats and because my 4 year old was about to lose the plot, I stepped away.
I planted Boo on the top step as the movie was beginning, in search of some assistance. I had to walk the 50 odd metres back to the entrance and the poor girl collecting tickets was frantically collecting tickets but she more or less straight away radioed for someone to assist.
By the time the usher arrived we were about 5 minutes into the movie. He wasn’t keen to move people from in the middle of the row, in the middle of the cinema. I sort of don’t blame him. So he moved some people along in the next row to make two seats together for us.
At the end of the movie, I went to speak to the manager to whinge offer my suggestions. I wanted to know why the cinema sold reserved seating tickets if they don’t regulate it, and why when a movie is practically sold out and seating issues are a possibility isn’t an usher available to help prior to commencement of the movie?
The manager, Cody was about 18 and looked as though I’d interrupted him from doing something important, like styling his hair? If he’d run his hand through his highlighted, long, blonde fringe one more time, I may have had to slap him!
Cody, gave me a half-hearted, insincere apology (running his fingers through his fringe), and looked completely disinterested and blamed the poor usher for not doing his job, rather than address the issues/suggestions I had made. I saw it was fruitless whining, and left so poor Cody could get back to his mirror.
And because Cody, didn’t satisfactorily placate me, I came home and wrote a formal complaint to the cinema. Tweeted @eVent_cinemas that their customer service sucks, and blogged my whining, and maybe, just maybe, they will do something to improve the customer’s experience.
Event Cinemas probably should count themselves lucky I wasn’t premenstrual, and that I diverted my child’s tantrum about people sitting in her seat!
I buy lots of things online. In fact I do as much as I can over the internet, but until this week I was an online grocery virgin.
As the mother of a baby, and then a toddler and then a preschooler, I have for some reason avoided online grocery shopping.
Why?
Mostly because until recently (post toddler status in this household) it was not readily available as a viable option on this sometimes backward side of the country! Following that, grocery shopping with a preschooler was not so bad (though I can recall a hideous tantrum in Woolworths in the past few weeks).
Being that I now have more things to juggle in my life, I thought I’d take the plunge this week and give it a try.
The first thing I learnt is that the specials change on Thursdays. If you start your list on Wednesday night and start putting things from the specials list in your virtual trolley (especially when you are only choosing said things because they are on special NOT because you actually need them), by Thursday morning they are at there normal price and you have to delete them all, and check the new specials.
I never planned to buy fresh produce and deli goods online. I like to choose my own fruit and veges. I’m very picky and like the freshness, the fruit and veg shop down the road offers. The online deli goods don’t provide me with the selection I’m accustomed too.
Having said that… there was a mixed fruit and veg box on special that I couldn’t resist. Only because I wanted to know what the quality was like, and I badly wanted to know what it would contain? I was pleasantly surprised with the selection, and the quality was not too bad but I will probably be down the road next time supporting local farmers and local business.
My shop (even with delivery fee) worked out $20-30 cheaper than my normal fortnightly shop. This would probably be a combination of factors: a) I shopped from a list (with a loose meal plan in mind); b) there was no impulse buying which I’m prone to; and c) there was no preschooler in tow begging for things and/or putting extra things in the trolley.
I did receive an apology email prior to delivery, informing me chicken mince and fillets were out of stock. I was surprised though when I found half a kilo of both of them when I was unpacking, and my receipt shows they were out of stock and I wasn’t charged for them. Sssshhhh! Don’t tell anyone I got a little bonus 
The delivery man was friendly and witty, and knew that this was my first time. He was so much nicer than the robot checkout chicks and guys down the road.
The verdict.
I loved online grocery shopping and will definitely be doing my groceries this way again.
Oh yeah, and they bring wine
Despite a busy and HOT week, I have mostly stayed on top of things again this week and am enjoying my uncluttered living areas. The in-tray on my desk is overflowing again, the bathroom needs cleaning and I still haven’t ventured near the play room!
What I did achieve though was a chore I have been putting off for a long, long time. Lets just say there was a fair few size 000 clothes involved and the previous wearer is now a size 5!
I have floor to ceiling, wall to wall built in robes, about a quarter of the space was overflowing with outgrown toys and clothes that needed sorting. Being hidden behind the end door, and not impacting on my storage space, I have easily been able to ignore the clutter excepting of course when I added to it!
Four bulging garbage bags went to charity. As I filled the bags they went straight into the car, and when I collected Boo from school they went straight into the charity bin at the church. About half that amount went in the bin, and an equal half made it onto eBay. Last time I looked the eBay batch was looking at earning me $100 with several hours of auction time remaining 
Once the eBay stuff has been dispatched, a quarter of the robes will be completely empty, leaving the other three quarters in need of a good sorting. Oh did I mention, there is an unpacked box lurking in there from when we moved 2 years ago!
Boo and I also managed to do a big clean up in the front flower beds, and get the car washed. Our excuse for some water play in the heat.
Today such a huge task won’t be attempted. There’s the general vacuum, mop and dust stuff to do, and lawn mowing. My in-tray will get sorted. I need to spend at least a couple of hours on study, and I might just go roller-blading since it’s not so HOT.
Share your bit of home lovin’ by adding your link
Today is a public holiday for most people here.
University doesn’t recognise this as a public holiday. Today is my first day.
I am a bit scared and anxious this morning. I feel like I am starting at a new school, and a much bigger new school. The thought of studying and assignments, and achieving this is causing much self-doubting.
I’ve studied a fair bit in the past, always while working. I did my nursing diploma in a hospital where I would spend four to six weeks with 8am to 5pm lectures, with exams and assignments needing to be completed whilst working full time shift work.
I completed a Bachelor of Science whilst working in a gym and private training, with the odd nursing shift thrown in. I completed my midwifery in a hospital while working full time shift work, as I did my lactation certificate.
The thought of fitting in study whilst working doesn’t phase me too much. I’ve pulled all-nighters to complete assignments. I’ve spent complete weekends cramming for exams.
What is daunting is fitting all this in and being a sole parent. I will be evil, grumpy mummy if I have to pull an all-nighter. There is no possibly of using whole weekends to study.
Procrastination won’t be an option this time round.
Super organisation will be required.
We’re about to step on to the rollercoaster, with some luck Boo and I will step off unscathed at the end of semester.
When you’re 4, have had a big day at the fair, helping wash the car and being stung by a bee on a 37 degree day (because I guaranteed you yesterday it would be over 35 degrees). What better way to cool down and get bathed?
PS She got n-a-k-e-d after the photos to make it like a real bath!
PPS Because I thought this effect looked pretty cool, I thought I’d share it
I really wanted to blog today.
Several ideas bounced around in my head.
If I had a laptop I may have blogged something.
However I have a desk top in the hot spot of the house where air conditioning doesn’t go, and being the nights have also been warm, the room has just maintained it’s warmth hot-house status.
Seems we are in for another warm week.
When they forecast 35 degrees, you can almost guarantee it will be above that. It’s that same guarantee, that when they forecast rain and/or thunderstorms, it ain’t going to happen!
Bring on Wednesday. Anything under 35 degrees I can deal with
Thursday seems to have rolled around very quickly this week. I can deal with that because lots of jobs have been achieved in the Me & Boo house this week.
I have to say, I have surprised myself with how well I’m going at keeping up the momentum, and I am truly enjoying my tidy home (as long as the play room door is closed)! I would not be hiding out the back embarrassed if someone dropped over unannounced, I would now open the door and invite them in for a coffee.
Boo is managing her chores beautifully and has adopted them very well into her daily routine, and although they are teeny-tiny tasks they are one or two less things that I need to do.
My major achievement for the week – my desk and the pantry.
With uni starting next week, and the fact that I’m doing one unit online, my desk really needed some home lovin’ if it is to be used for serious studying as opposed to serious social networking. The in-tray was almost a metre high and overflowing with things that needed to go in the bin to be filed. The in-tray is where I put all the stuff I need to deal with but never get around to. There was a vast amount of Boo’s bits and pieces, and art work littering my workspaces. All is now gone to it’s proper homes, and a lot went in the bin. Leaving a sort out of the filing cabinet on the to-do list.
The pantry has been on my hit list for awhile. I have some before and after photos.
There is the same amount of stuff in there in both photos, nothing was thrown away, but I can now see everything that’s in there and look at all the extra space.
I’ve also cleaned out the bottom junk draw in the kitchen to cleanse it off unnecessary junk. The cook book cupboard above the fridge, which had been a hiding spot for anything and everything, most of which ended up in the bin, leaving behind only the cook books.
Plans for today. Ebay all the stuff that might make some money, and is currently cluttering up one side of my wardrobe. Luckily I don’t have a partner otherwise this clutter (or his clothes) wouldn’t have a place to live! The rest is all going to a new home at St Vinnies or the Red Cross.
What are your Home Lovin’ plans for today? Link in or leave me a comment
It’s slowly sinking in.
I’m a student again.
3 weeks ago, the thought of studying in the near future wasn’t anywhere on my radar.
Then an email arrived in my inbox, and my boss was in my ear, advertising a scholarship.
Last Thursday I was completing application forms for enrolment.
Today, was my orientation day at university.
It’s big. It’s scary. There was a lot of people milling about.
Boo came with me for moral support (and lack of babysitting options at short notice for 3pm on a Tuesday). It’s amazing how GOOD, even good preschoolers can be when bribed with a packet of chips and a fizzy drink.
I have my first proper class on Monday. My other class I will take from the comfort of my own home, on the internet.
Eeeekkkk!!! I’m a student again. I must be M-A-D!
Over the past 20 months, Mrs Rooty Canalus (my upper right molar) and the dentist have established a long running affair. An affair which on several occasions saved her life, not to mention, her place in my mouth.
In June 2008, Mrs Rooty Canalus began to feel a bit poorly. She had some decay tracking away under, what was an already very large filling. She was treated to some antibiotic and sedative treatment under a temporary filling and the term root canal was bandied about. Rooty seemed to recover and was treated to a permanent filling 4 weeks later. Two weeks later, Rooty relapsed and required some more antibiotics and sedatives. Permanent filling removed and replaced with a temporary.
Unfortunately, the pain Rooty was in caused me to jaw clench more than usual, and Rooty’s friend, Mr Fissure Pulpitis (see here if you want to know about that), my lower right molar got fractured! The pain from poor Mr Pulpitis can only be described as though the bones were trying to explode my teeth right out of the gums.
Mr Pulpitis recovered fairly quickly. Mrs Canalus did not. In fact Mrs Canalus was visiting the dentist every 2-4 weeks until February 2009. More antibiotic/sedative-temp filling in-temp filling out -permanent filling in-permanent filling out –more antibiotic/sedative… you get the drift.
Three days before my 2009 birthday party, my face swelled up and I was in agony. Mrs Rooty Canalus died, or rather her roots died! After a couple of days on antibiotics she had her roots removed so that a) the pain went away, and more importantly b) that I was off antibiotics and could swill champagne at my party!
Mrs Rooty Canalus has more or less been pain-free for the past 12 months since her innards were ripped out. Though her and the dentist continued their monthly dates (sometimes even twice a month). She kept losing her filling, exposing her bare roots to germs, over and over again. Leaving me begging the dentist to please just pull her out!
He wouldn’t *sigh*
By about October, he decided I had a dodgy bite. This along with my tired/stressed teeth clenching habit was causing the fillings to break. So after some work on my bite, thankfully without splints. Rooty began to improve.
Rooty has now had her innards filled and is sporting a semi-permanent filling. Since I cannot be trusted not to teeth clench, I cannot be trusted with a permanent filling at this point! A crown is now being discussed as the best option for Rooty!
So I’m back to the dentist in a couple of weeks, for a clean and scale, and another filling… then I’m hoping I don’t have to go back for a very long time. Well at least 6 months anyways.
