Okay, that's possibly a little dramatic, but it's true to a very large point. Today is our last day as self employed business owners. The shops we have owned for almost 8 years, that we have literally sweated in to make successful have been sold and hubby wears his uniform today for the last time.
Tomorrow we begin a new chapter in our lives. Both hubby and I will be classified as unemployed, which neither of us have ever been in out entire lives. Luckily for us we don't have to join the queue at Centrelink or else I would also be lining up at a psychiatrists for a bit of mental health support!
Our friends and families keep asking us what we are going to do next, and frankly, we have no intention of telling them our ideas. Hubby has been in the industry for 15 years and needs a change. Crap, he has been working in the same shop for nearly 11 years! So we will go wherever we go and no doubt hubby will be successful at whatever it is he tackles next as I have never known him to fail at anything.
I am blogging about this for mostly nostalgic reasons. Back in 1997 hubby and I packed up, sold our house and put all our belongings into storage, hooked up a caravan and decided to travel around this gorgeous country of ours. Being eastern staters we had both been up and down the east coast numerous times so we decided to head west and see what was out there. We got into Perth about a month after we left Victoria and hubby promptly found a job. That very first job he took, is the one he is finishing up today! A lot has happened though in those 11 years, least of which was our purchase of that shop.
Our interest began in it in 2000. That's when I went to work with hubby. And boy did he put me to work! We worked 13 hour days (at least) and every Saturday and Sunday for 3 years. It was the hardest job I had ever had. Ironically everyone warned us not to work together as it would ruin our marriage (!!). Then came the kids and the growth of our businesses as well. In 2004 we opened our second shop which we built from the ground up. It was an exciting time. By 2007 we had 3 shops with about 50 employees. This is when we started to tire of the business. Long days, no holidays, a business partner that we hated and no scope to do things the way we wanted, plus 90% of our employees were crack heads. It was time to make some big decisions. Firstly we sold one of the shops. This helped for a while, but the biggest bane of our business lives was our partner. He wouldn't let us grow. Stuck in the eighties, he didn't believe in spending money to make money, and being a silent (funny term that) partner he bitched and moaned constantly yet never lifted a finger to help. It was time for drastic measures.
So we got about as drastic as you could. Under a veil of secrecy we flew to Victoria and bought a house. Then we worked out the christmas and new year periods. Then we dropped the bombshell. It was over. We were selling our share.
Coming to that decision was very hard for us. To give up a very comfortable income and to move thousands of kilometres away from our home was not a decision we took lightly. As you can well imagine. But for piece of mind and for our kids well being, we made the decision to give it all up.
Today is a sad day for me. It is the end of a big part of my life. It is the end of a lot of dreams that we had but the beginning of bigger and better dreams. Hopefully this change will enable hubby to do the things he has always wanted to do. I have never been prouder of him than I am at this moment. It takes a strong man to give up a steady income to follow your dreams and to make that leap of faith in yourself.
So, here we go. It all changes tomorrow.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
During my recent stay in hospital following the birth of number 3, I had very little to do. Unfortunately for me I also had limited internet access. I took my Blackberry into hospital, but aside from phone calls, email and Twitter, I couldn’t really do anything else on it. So I had to rely on my brain, and a pen and paper (how 90’s). I did a lot of thinking about all sorts of things not least of which was thinking about my relatively recent transformation from technophobe to tech lover.
I knew I was starting to rely on the net a long time ago. I do everything online. But it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that it dawned on me that I was really EXCITED about technology. When I bought my hubby a Macbook Air and it sat in it’s box for HOURS while I waited and waited for him to open it and he was totally unfazed by it all. In the end I couldn’t stand it anymore and I had to open the box myself!! He was disappointed that I opened it but I mean c’mon, it was pure torture looking at that beautiful black box (how is it that Apple can make a piece of equipment look so sexy?) just sitting there on the bench!
But I digress. I wanted to share my thoughts on Twitter. It was in hospital that I got on to thinking about what Twitter might actually mean to different people. For me, it’s an easy one to explain. It’s an online mini journal. Somewhere I can place a thought. If someone else reads that thought and is interested by it then I am happy. If no one reads it at all I am still happy as I have recorded whatever it was I was thinking at that moment, and I can access it another time should I wish to. It was also important to me whilst I was in hospital as there were nights I was up with the newbie and bored silly, so to read what people were tweeting in the middle of the night was more often than not entertainingly funny! I also love the debates that often occur on Twitter. The whole 140 characters make for very interesting and succinct conversations. Unfortunately for me, my brain has moved from being placenta brain to baby-breast feeding brain, so I am not at all confident enough to join these debates just yet (I will though! Particularly want to get in on the religious debates that occur!)!!
So back to what I observed on Twitter. I am sure this is not news to anyone reading this, I just wanted to record my own thoughts on Twitter. If it is news to you, great!
Obviously Twitter is a social network. Easy. Someone tweeted one day that it was easier to have online friends than real life friends. I agree to a certain point, though nothing beats actual human interaction (I’m old school like that). Having said that though, I have made some pretty good friends online, although I have never actually met them.
I also get news from Twitter. I love it when people tweet links to interesting and often obscure items of news. I love it when news breaks on Twitter. I love it when people post the funny stuff. I loved it when I first saw Flight of the Conchords doing ‘Business Time’ ... that is one link I view over and over and over.
A lot of people use Twitter for work purposes, tweeting links to their sites and blogs. Self promotion is rife on Twitter, as it is in many places on the net, and why not? So long as you don’t mind potentially millions of people stalking you from all over the world!!
Since I joined Twitter, I have honestly laughed every day at one Tweet or another. One person that I follow in particular makes me laugh constantly (he was the provider of the ‘Business Time’ link) and Twitter would be a dull place without him.
I also love it when (and this happened whilst I was in hospital) late at night there will be someone somewhere who may have had a few too many to drink and feels the compulsion to tweet whilst out and about. This makes for hilarious reading (and no doubt a serious case of the d’ohs the next day for said Tweeter!)!!
A lot of people that I follow are extremely tech savvy whilst I am not. This is one of the positives of Twitter in my opinion. For me, it has given me an insight to the tech world, with links to tech blogs and discussions about various new pieces of technology. What surprises me though is the tech savvy people that follow me while I tweet about new babies, thigh high boots and my recent purchases of lingerie or clothes with the odd car or new laptop thrown in! It is this diversity that makes Twitter so appealing to me.
So there you have it. This is why I am one of the many people addicted to Twitter and tweeting various bits of often useless information every day. If you didn’t come to view this page via my tweet about this blog, then create a Twitter account and check out what all the fuss is about. Maybe it’s not for you, but then again, that’s exactly what I first thought.
I knew I was starting to rely on the net a long time ago. I do everything online. But it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that it dawned on me that I was really EXCITED about technology. When I bought my hubby a Macbook Air and it sat in it’s box for HOURS while I waited and waited for him to open it and he was totally unfazed by it all. In the end I couldn’t stand it anymore and I had to open the box myself!! He was disappointed that I opened it but I mean c’mon, it was pure torture looking at that beautiful black box (how is it that Apple can make a piece of equipment look so sexy?) just sitting there on the bench!
But I digress. I wanted to share my thoughts on Twitter. It was in hospital that I got on to thinking about what Twitter might actually mean to different people. For me, it’s an easy one to explain. It’s an online mini journal. Somewhere I can place a thought. If someone else reads that thought and is interested by it then I am happy. If no one reads it at all I am still happy as I have recorded whatever it was I was thinking at that moment, and I can access it another time should I wish to. It was also important to me whilst I was in hospital as there were nights I was up with the newbie and bored silly, so to read what people were tweeting in the middle of the night was more often than not entertainingly funny! I also love the debates that often occur on Twitter. The whole 140 characters make for very interesting and succinct conversations. Unfortunately for me, my brain has moved from being placenta brain to baby-breast feeding brain, so I am not at all confident enough to join these debates just yet (I will though! Particularly want to get in on the religious debates that occur!)!!
So back to what I observed on Twitter. I am sure this is not news to anyone reading this, I just wanted to record my own thoughts on Twitter. If it is news to you, great!
Obviously Twitter is a social network. Easy. Someone tweeted one day that it was easier to have online friends than real life friends. I agree to a certain point, though nothing beats actual human interaction (I’m old school like that). Having said that though, I have made some pretty good friends online, although I have never actually met them.
I also get news from Twitter. I love it when people tweet links to interesting and often obscure items of news. I love it when news breaks on Twitter. I love it when people post the funny stuff. I loved it when I first saw Flight of the Conchords doing ‘Business Time’ ... that is one link I view over and over and over.
A lot of people use Twitter for work purposes, tweeting links to their sites and blogs. Self promotion is rife on Twitter, as it is in many places on the net, and why not? So long as you don’t mind potentially millions of people stalking you from all over the world!!
Since I joined Twitter, I have honestly laughed every day at one Tweet or another. One person that I follow in particular makes me laugh constantly (he was the provider of the ‘Business Time’ link) and Twitter would be a dull place without him.
I also love it when (and this happened whilst I was in hospital) late at night there will be someone somewhere who may have had a few too many to drink and feels the compulsion to tweet whilst out and about. This makes for hilarious reading (and no doubt a serious case of the d’ohs the next day for said Tweeter!)!!
A lot of people that I follow are extremely tech savvy whilst I am not. This is one of the positives of Twitter in my opinion. For me, it has given me an insight to the tech world, with links to tech blogs and discussions about various new pieces of technology. What surprises me though is the tech savvy people that follow me while I tweet about new babies, thigh high boots and my recent purchases of lingerie or clothes with the odd car or new laptop thrown in! It is this diversity that makes Twitter so appealing to me.
So there you have it. This is why I am one of the many people addicted to Twitter and tweeting various bits of often useless information every day. If you didn’t come to view this page via my tweet about this blog, then create a Twitter account and check out what all the fuss is about. Maybe it’s not for you, but then again, that’s exactly what I first thought.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Me and my girl
Nine days old ... finally stopped being camera shy so I could put up a pic ... she's so adorable :D
Sunday, March 16, 2008
I haz new baby!
Well, the day finally arrived and last Tuesday the 11th March, I gave birth to a gorgeous healthy 8lb 12.5oz baby girl!
We had a relatively fuss free birth. Being an elective ceasarean, I knew the date Smirnoff would arrive, and as we were first on the schedule, we knew roughly what time she would arrive too! The worst part of a c section (in my opinion and I have had 3 now) is the epidural! That needle would make a big boofy grown man cry! It's about a foot long and has to go into a tiny tiny space in your spine. If you move whilst they are doing it, and they fuck up, you could wind up paralysed. Just what you want to know. I always end up a blibbering mess. It is truly the most scary and harrowing moment(s) I have ever experienced.
The first epidural I had was scary, but I was doing ok, until my anaesthetist (who kept telling jokes making me laugh, then saying, remember to hold still, ok) said 'oh shit'. Oh shit what?? Turns out he stabbed his own finger, which resulted in extra blood tests (to confirm my purity *chuckle*). Great start. The second involved a different anaesthetist who insisted on being rough (funnily enough he was a very funny man just not real gentle) and pushed that big fucking needle so hard into my spine I thought I had been horse kicked. My most recent doctor was extraordinary. He told me that he might have some trouble getting the epidural into my spine as I have a really small epidural site. I took many deep breaths, tears streaming down my face. I was petrified. Absolutely petrified. Hubby held my hand ... I bawled. Then my new hero touched my shoulder, walked around to stand in front of me and said 'it's all over. It's in. It was easy.' I had not felt a thing. He was a true god. From there the rest of the birth was easy. I lay there whilst they opened me up and brought my beautiful baby girl out into the world!
My biggest baby yet (almost a pound bigger than Babygirl) with a fine covering of dark hair!! I mention this as the first two are fair (as are hubby and I) so the eyebrow was raised at the dark locks until looking at her face and the obvious undeniable likeness to her brother and sister! Just one of many funny moments that have occurred during the births of my 3 kids. Also would like to point out that one of the midwives got an obvious thing for hubby early on and kept saying what a catch I had as he looked so good in his scrubs!! Kudos hubby for looking the part!!
So, now I sit here having only just now found the time to actually write something, happy and content at having had my last baby. My family is complete.
We had a relatively fuss free birth. Being an elective ceasarean, I knew the date Smirnoff would arrive, and as we were first on the schedule, we knew roughly what time she would arrive too! The worst part of a c section (in my opinion and I have had 3 now) is the epidural! That needle would make a big boofy grown man cry! It's about a foot long and has to go into a tiny tiny space in your spine. If you move whilst they are doing it, and they fuck up, you could wind up paralysed. Just what you want to know. I always end up a blibbering mess. It is truly the most scary and harrowing moment(s) I have ever experienced.
The first epidural I had was scary, but I was doing ok, until my anaesthetist (who kept telling jokes making me laugh, then saying, remember to hold still, ok) said 'oh shit'. Oh shit what?? Turns out he stabbed his own finger, which resulted in extra blood tests (to confirm my purity *chuckle*). Great start. The second involved a different anaesthetist who insisted on being rough (funnily enough he was a very funny man just not real gentle) and pushed that big fucking needle so hard into my spine I thought I had been horse kicked. My most recent doctor was extraordinary. He told me that he might have some trouble getting the epidural into my spine as I have a really small epidural site. I took many deep breaths, tears streaming down my face. I was petrified. Absolutely petrified. Hubby held my hand ... I bawled. Then my new hero touched my shoulder, walked around to stand in front of me and said 'it's all over. It's in. It was easy.' I had not felt a thing. He was a true god. From there the rest of the birth was easy. I lay there whilst they opened me up and brought my beautiful baby girl out into the world!
My biggest baby yet (almost a pound bigger than Babygirl) with a fine covering of dark hair!! I mention this as the first two are fair (as are hubby and I) so the eyebrow was raised at the dark locks until looking at her face and the obvious undeniable likeness to her brother and sister! Just one of many funny moments that have occurred during the births of my 3 kids. Also would like to point out that one of the midwives got an obvious thing for hubby early on and kept saying what a catch I had as he looked so good in his scrubs!! Kudos hubby for looking the part!!
So, now I sit here having only just now found the time to actually write something, happy and content at having had my last baby. My family is complete.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Friday morning storm
Haven't been blogging much lately, as I told myself when I started this that I would try to be humorous and entertaining and that's just not how I have been feeling of late! But I just wanted to write a quickie this morning as we are currently having a little bit of a storm here in Perth, and as the sun is just rising, the sky was the most amazing colour! In the backyard the trees were lit up like they were on fire! It was truly beautiful!!
This is exactly the kind of day weather wise I would like it to be when Smirnoff arrives, but the forecast for that day looks like it's just going to be HOT. For a change ......
Hopefully I will get a chance to write something intelligible and funny in the next few days before I go to hospital :D
This is exactly the kind of day weather wise I would like it to be when Smirnoff arrives, but the forecast for that day looks like it's just going to be HOT. For a change ......
Hopefully I will get a chance to write something intelligible and funny in the next few days before I go to hospital :D
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Any day now ...
In fact, I know which day and it isn't very far away .. but why would I want to ruin that surprise!So thought I would add this photo in case there is no other chance left to post one ... ;)
I am ready. I am looking forward to a flatter belly again. It's so hard to bend over!! And for those of you who have never felt a pregnant belly before, let me just tell you that it is ROCK HARD .. so that may give you an idea of how hard it is to bend!!
Stay tuned .. it won't be long now .....
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