It's All About Work

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One of the things that kicked off my mini-break from blogging was an opportunity that came up at work.

A promotion.

One that I knew I wanted, but wasn't sure that I was ready for.

Whilst I was on a five day weekend {one of the perks of being part-time} and out walking with a friend that I work with {Emma} she mentioned that she was being considered for a promotion, but that she also thought that the position was going to be advertised internally.

When I got back to work on the Tuesday I saw that the position had been advertised and that applications were due in by 5pm the next day. Like I said it was a position that I really wanted, but it had come up sooner than I had hoped. I wasn't sure that I was ready to take on extra hours and the added responsibility, and I wasn't sure that I had been back from maternity leave long enough to have proved myself.

I spoke with my supervisor about the role and she encouraged me to give it a shot. She was really positive about it, but also said that even if I didn't get the role this time I would at least have my name out there for next time. I was worried about how Emma would react considering that she had confided in me that she really wanted the job, but after finding out that our company was considering promoting two people I spoke with her and she also encouraged me to give it a go.

So I went home that night and put everything I had into writing the best possible application letter. Submitted it. And then found myself desperately hoping that they would take me seriously and give me an interview.

I week later I did have my interview. I felt confident afterwards that I had given it my best shot. Nervous, but optimistic.

It took a week before I got my answer. Which turned out to be the best possible answer. Both Emma and I were successful and we both got the promotion!

I am so excited! It isn't anything major, but it is a big step up for me and it is definitely one step closer to one of my career goals. Plus it comes with the added bonus that I am still able to work part-time. I'm very lucky to work for an amazing company that truly values work/life balance and I'm excited about what my future there holds.

New Years Resolutions 2010

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I completely bombed out with last years resolutions (here).... So I'm not really sure if I should even bother making any this year.

I think I will write down some goals instead... goals sound better than resolutions right?

Goal #1
Add to my income by working from home. My aim is to start earning at least $70 extra per week within the next six months.

Goal #2
Stick with project 365 and remember to take a photo every day. Check it out here.

Goal #3
Stay on top of my ironing. Right now I have a huge pile of laundry on my wardrobe floor waiting to be ironed. I want to get it all done each week.

Goal #4
Lose weight. I know goals are meant to be specific, but I'm not sure how much I can lose. 20 kilos would be ideal, but 10 is probably more realistic (and I would be happy with 10).

Goal #5
Have fun and make the most of life. I want to get out more, do more things and really enjoy myself this year.

What are your new years resolutions. Leave me a comment letting me know or link to your blog if you have posted about your goals for 2010.

T xx

Another End of Year Wrap-Up

I know I've already posted my end of year wrap up, but I saw this meme at Du Wax Loolu (Originally posted here at All & Sundry) I really wanted to fill it out. Besides, 2009 was such a great year, it really does deserve two posts :)

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Gave birth to my beautiful Son Max. My other firsts revolve around Max's birth... first time I've been admitted to hospital, first time I have had an operation, first time I've been pregnant.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Definitely not :( I am going to have a look at them this afternoon and make some new ones, I'll keep you posted!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Besides me :) One of my favourite friends (Nat) had a beautiful baby girl. Check out her blog if you want to see all of her gorgeous baby photos.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
The Big Man's Gran. She was a beautiful person and we were very sad to lose her.

5. What countries did you visit?
We didn't take a single holiday this year (besides weekend trips to Hervey Bay and Lismore to see our parents) and definitely didn't go overseas. We are planning a quick weekend away for February, but probably wont take a big holiday this year either.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
First up better health and secondly a finished house.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The 2nd of December 2009 was the date that I gave birth to Max. There were other memorable dates like our first wedding anniversary and the day I found out I was pregnant, but Max's birthday is the standout day.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Giving birth to Max.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Probably not being able to stay on top of my anxiety in the last couple of weeks. Not really my 'fault' I guess, but this year I would like to would like to develop some coping techniques so that I don't lose it again.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
After losing the vision in one of my eyes several times and having an MRI doctors are telling me that I may have MS. We don't know anything for sure though, once Max is 3 months old and my hormones are back to normal I am going to have all of the tests done again. The good news is that I don't have any other clinical symptoms, so we are staying very positive that it was just a pregnancy thing.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
We didn't make any big purchases this year. Max's bouncer was probably the most useful thing that we bought.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My sister Jen was the star of my year. The support she gave me through my pregnancy and especially after Max was born was amazing and I will be forever in debt to her.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My pregnancy hormones meant that a lot of what I saw on the news this year made me cry.

14. Where did most of your money go?
We paid off all or our debt (except for the mortgage) this year. It was a very good feeling :)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Being pregnant and becoming a Mum.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Single Ladies. Not because the lyrics mean much to me, it is just such a fun song. And I love, love, love the dance!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Most definitely happier, I have wanted to be a Mum for a very long time.
b) thinner or fatter? Surprisingly considering I gave birth 4 weeks ago I am thinner. This time last year I was at my heaviest weight.
c) richer or poorer? Financially we are in a better position because we have a lot less debt, although with me not working at the moment we do have to be careful with our money. Emotionally much richer too.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I had done more around the house and garden. Whilst we couldn't have finished the house last year, we could have done more than we did.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
I wish I hadn't taken so much time off work sick. With various pregnancy and health issues I took a fair bit of time off and this put additional pressure on my team at work.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
We had Christmas at our house for the first year, all the details are here.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yes, I fell in love with Max when I knew I was pregnant and I fell in love with him all over again when I first met him.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
I didn't watch a lot of TV this year, but I did enjoy The Mentalist with Simon Baker.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope

24. What was the best book you read?
I can't remember if I read it in 2009 or at the end of 2008, but I absolutely loved The Book Thief.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Big Man is always playing various songs to me that he thinks I will love. He always knows exactly what I will like.

26. What did you want and get?
A baby and a job that I love.

27. What did you want and not get?
I should say something like world peace or an effective government, but really I just wanted an iphone.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Up. I cried and laughed so much.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
We celebrated with some of my family including my Aunt from New Zealand, I turned 28.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I had a great year and not much could have made it better. If I had to pick something, it would be finishing the house.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Mainly comfortable maternity clothes and flat shoes.

32. What kept you sane?
The Big Man, it will probably be his job for the next 50 or 60 years :)

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Roger Federer. Love him!

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Lets not go there. Suffice to say I'm a conservative and disagree with most of what our government is doing.

35. Who did you miss?
My BFF Erin. At least she's back in the country and hopefully I will see her in the next couple of weeks.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I met a lot of new people this year. The standouts for me are Amanda, Shan from Finns, my whole team at work and the guys that I trained with when I started my new job (Steve, Shona, John and Will).

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
That my family (which includes the Big Man's family) will be there for us no matter what and that even when I think no-one will understand, my family always will.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Wow that's a hard question, I asked the Big Man (because he is a music buff) and he came up with nothing. This quote by Elizabeth Stone will do instead "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."

Happy New Year Everyone!

T xx

New Year's Resolutions 2009

Every year I make New Year's Resolutions and every year I am guaranteed to have broken every single one of them by Australia Day. With that in mind, here is this year's list.....

1. Lose 20kg. This is going to be my year long goal, which means I really can't break it before Australia Day, looks like I am off to a good start!!

2. Finish the house. The things that we still need to do are; build the front deck, build the back deck, fence the yard, landscape the front yard, turf the back yard, build the side garden, pave down the side of the house, tile the main living areas, install fans and have our proper lights installed. Phew..... Looks like I won't be doing too much shoe shopping this year.

3. Pay off the credit card and then significantly reduce the limit on it. My theory is, the lower the limit the less damage I can do at Myers!

4. Go to the gym at least 3 days a week...... for the whole year!!! (Except when I am away on holidays of course). I just realised that I am on danger of breaking this one already........ looks like I will be going to the gym today, tomorrow and Sunday.

5. Join a sports group.

I am going to stick with just five so that I can increase my chances of success! There are a million other things that I want to do this year, but these are the big ones.....

I hope you all have a wonderful new year and I look forward to hearing about your resolutions too.

xx Tamsyn