Farewell to Blair

We had some really sad news on Monday. My girlfriend Jo Monique phoned to tell me that her ex-boyfriend, who she has remained close with, were still friends and in contact with, had died.
At just 37 years of age, he was found dead in his shower after suffering from a heart attack on Monday morning.
She is obviously devastated and trying to come to terms with this tragic news.
His family flew over from New Zealand on Tuesday to make the funeral arrangements and say their final farewell to their precious son and brother, which was held at Mary Immaculate church, Ashmore, at 11:30 today.

He sadly leaves behind a beautiful little 1 year old boy, who I'm sure will be surrounded by his extended family's love, laughter and stories about his Dad as he grows.

A poem from Jo

If tears could build a stairway,
And memories a lane,
We'd walk right up to heaven,
And bring you home again.

Loving memories always!
Jo, Broc, Aaron & Madison

.
In memory of Blair McCormack
29/6/1971 - 3/11/2008
R.I.P

Rockhampton visit

The week we had with Mum and Dad went way too quickly. It was so nice to have them here and for them to see our new 'digs' and our new lifestyle.
We managed a day trip to Rockhampton. We were able to get around to the two houses we lived in, the school we went to, the church we attended. Even though I had been back a couple of times, it was fascinating to hear their stories of that time in our lives, stories that I had forgotten or was too young to remember

.

We lived there when I was between the ages of 4 and 6 and it's truly amazing the depth of the memories that I can summon up from that period, considering I was so young. I think it's because I would consider it for some reason, the happiest time of my childhood.
The second house we lived in was actually the first home my mother and father owned. It cost them $6,000 in 1967.
It was a cosy little three bedroom, weather board home with a back yard that backed onto property that stabled horses. We had a chicken coop right down the back that we collected eggs from and to get to it we had an old wooden turn style gate.
The lady that lived next door kept turkeys and us kids were terrified of them, they used to wander over to our side of the yard and I remember one day they had my sister and I bailed up, so we climbed on top of the old gate and with hysterical tears, screamed for Mum to come and save us.
We had an gorgeous old mango tree right at the back door and in the summer Mum would put us in a cool bath and we'd spend an hour cooling off and eating juicy mangoes.

We also had a baby lamb that my sister and brothers would feed with a bottle - sweet, beautiful memories.

The plans of my brother James and his wife Kelli coming up to spend the weekend then take Mum and Dad back to the coast with them were changed with the decision to make a doctors appointment for myself on the Gold Coast, as it turned out I was able to get one for 2pm Friday - nothing to worry about, just having my hormone levels checked to see if I need any supplements. Being a girl is so much fun!
In light of the changed plans, meant we could bring Mum and Dad back with us. So Joe decided to make an event of it, booked into Jupiters again where we stayed the previous week, then caught the monorail across to Broadbeach and had dinner at our favourite restaurant- Koi. Never a disappointing dining experience - 'Delious'

On Saturday, we did a bit of shopping at Pacific Fair (fun)!!, then did a few other jobs that required some running around. (not so much fun)!
Saturday was also James' birthday, so at around 12 o'clock we picked up Jayden from where he's living in Sorrento and headed out to Chambers Flat for a BBQ at his house - and of course I took advantage of the photo op!!

Our weekend away was very romantic and relaxing and it's something that we're going to make a habit of doing more often!!

PS. Thank you to Julie and Diane for the comments you posted about my last blog - I phoned Tracey yesterday and asked if she could send me the photos of Guy Sebastian and unfortunately I got her at a really bad time - one of her staff had just had a fall and she was in the middle of attending to her and the arrival of the ambulance - I will try her again tomorrow though.

to be continued....

It feels like forever since I've been able to find the time to post on my blog...our week on the Gold Coast has come and gone and it definitely feels like a distant memory.
After traveling for 6 hours, we arrived home at around 6:00 Friday night with our very special cargo, Mum, Dad and their toy poodle Maddi and then the routine of work and being back here rapidly started all over again.
I was up and back into it Saturday bright and early and was doing my best to get myself in the right mindset that would settle me into the reality that the break was over - it took all of about 10 minutes of going downstairs for me to realise that yes, I was in fact back!!
My world which had been insulated from stress for the past 5 days was suddenly ended after having words with and sorting out one of the staff after we were told of some things being said by her about Joe and I, which was personal and have nothing to do with any part of her job or any of her business, the fact that she was doing it normally wouldn't have worried me too much if it was just the typical in house bitching amongst themselves that we've had to get used to in our short time here, but no, because it was about Joe and I, believe me, I saw red, pink and blue!!
I don't think she'll be doing it again in a hurry, or looking me straight in the eye any time soon.
I honestly didn't know I had it in me to confront and stand up for myself the way I did, so I surprised myself and I know I surprised her too, she absolutely did not see it coming and it was obviously something I hadn't anticipated doing when I woke that day.
I was really sad and disappointed all day after that, I didn't cry or even feel like crying, but I felt a heaviness of the weight of the responsibility that we have taken on and the intrusion it's had on our personal life which I hadn't contemplated when taking on this position.
It's definitely a unique position to be in and I truly believe it's enabled us to show our strengths and weaknesses, we absolutely have to keep a sense of humour and maybe not take things too seriously, sometimes harder to do than say.
I originally told Joe that I would give the service station game a go for 3 months and if after that time if I either wasn't enjoying it or felt that we were having too much 'together' time that I would look for a job in town and leave him to it - well, I was thinking at that moment that that time had come.
Anyway, we really did enjoy our break away from Calliope and the service stations staff and dramas.
We got to catch up with Joe's old bosses and friends from Freedom fuels, they were all really happy to see him, which was nice.
On Tuesday night there was a welcome to the event, buffet dinner, which had been set up outside around one the the pools at the casino. It was very impressive, that was until the heavens opened up and the most massive raindrops started to fall and the thunder and lightening came with such a crashing noise that quickly prompted 300 people to all at once converge to the nearest under cover we could find and after having spent $300 dollars on getting my hair done the day before, the only thought I had was to keep it dry!
The next day was the convention part of the schedule, with a panel of company experts sharing their knowledge of the products that were to be on offer throughout the day and an interesting line up of guest speakers, which included General Peter Cosgrove and a very inspiring man named John Coutis, born with a severe disability that rendered his legs useless, then later having them amputated, leaving him with only his torso and upper limbs. His story is a very powerful and inspiring one. His happy attitude and his positive outlook on life are truly amazing, told with hilarious humour which left me with an amazing admiration for this mans ability to live such an authentic life despite his many challenges.
To end the day and the convention we attended the Gala dinner with a Gangster theme, although we didn't dress up, surprisingly many did go to an awful lot of effort to look the part. We had a gorgeous three course meal and while we ate we were entertained by the casino's theatrical team who put on a stage musical of love, loss and of course a happy ending coming on in increments throughout dinner with a gangster style emcee explaining the storyline before each act.
Then there was the hypnotist, John St James. I've never been terribly impressed with this style of entertainment, but I must admit it was very amusing to watch.
A couple of the volunteers were hilarious to watch, even though I was still very skeptical I have to admit it was very entertaining.

But the highlight of the few days away for me was the final performer we were treated to - Guy Sebastian!! OMG, totally awesome.
The whole room was so impressed with his amazing personality and genuine generosity of his time and talent. Joe and I danced for every single song and after about 3 encores it was disappointingly all over. I do have photos of me with Guy, (well of me dancing, after positioning myself very inconspicuously in front of the stage he was up on), but Tracey, the Sarina site manager took them on her camera, so I have to get her to send them to me. I will definitely post them once I have them.

It has taken me so long to get this post finished that we have been gone and are now back from the Gold Coast again, just getting back this morning - but that is a whole other story which I will hopefully get the time to post about tomorrow.....to be continued!

Celebrating another year....

We celebrated Joe's birthday yesterday. It's the first birthday away from our kids, extended family and friends, so we weren't sure how to commemorate the occasion.
I really wanted to do something that made it special and marked the unique environment we are trying to adjust to. I have been racking my brain for days, trying to come up with an appropriate gift, unfortunately he is very hard to buy for, he doesn't often express his want of anything in particular and if there's something he needs for himself, he usually just buys it.
The only thing I could think of was after remembering he had mentioned just in passing that he would like a new wedding ring - after being married for 25 years, his was quite dated and worn, so he was thinking something a little more modern and stylish.
The only problem with purchasing a gift for him is that, he is always with me, we go into town at least two times a week to do the banking and any other incidental tasks that need attending to. So this morning, I just told him I was going into town to pick up a few things and without question, he simply said, 'ok'.

After agonising over a couple of really gorgeous wedding bands, I finally decided to go with the more expensive one, only because I fell in love with it, but also because I felt he deserved to be spoiled, firstly because he is such a hard worker and never asks for anything for himself, worrying only about everyone else's needs and desires and secondly because he very lovingly and patiently puts up with me, my insecurities, my pms and my constant whinging!
I got them to gift wrap it, bought a special birthday card and stopped at the bakery and bought 2 slices a mudcake (so very naughty)!
When I got home I wrote in the card, put some sparklers in his piece of mudcake then called him upstairs to give him his gift.
He was so surprised and told me he wouldn't have guessed in a million years that that was what I was up to, which made it even more perfect.
He really, really loves it and an extra special added bonus was that it was the perfect size.
The only thing I had to go on was a pretty mangled old ring of his that, firstly I had to find and after the recent move, was not an easy task, the poor old thing even has a split in the band which made it even more difficult for them to estimate the size.
So all in all a very successful exercise with an equally satisfying outcome.
It is so cute, a couple of times I've caught him looking down at his hand to check out the new bling. I think he really likes it.
We made reservations for the Rusty Anchor in Gladstone, a restaurant that was recommended to us by one of our reps. It was ok, really nothing to rave about, but at the same time not an awful experience. We stopped in at the bottle shop on the way home for a little bottle of red, then we just relaxed for the rest of the evening.
A day well spent and Joe expressed many times how grateful he was for the effort and how special it made him feel but also he made it very clear how unnecessary all the fuss was!

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Earlier in the week, I got a phone call from Jo Monique asking if I would be interested in designing a DL flyer to advertise the new plus size womens store in Southport which she is managing, her and her boss were really happy with what I came up with. They are opening a new store in Beenleigh early next year and will be wanting a catalogue advertising their range - I'm very excited about the prospect of doing that for them.

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On the Mum and Dad front, I was so glad to hear that my Mum and Dad had finally gotten into Brissy to see some of Dads family. It's taken a few weeks for Mum to feel well enough to make the trip. She has started on accupuncture treatment, which seems to have had miraculous results, everyone is rapt with the difference it has made to her and with that the ripple effect it's having on Dad, it's like a weight has been lifted and he is so grateful to James and Kelli for being so welcoming and supportive, we all are.
We are looking forward to a visit from Mum and Dad at the end of the month. Joe and I have a UCB conference (for work) on the Gold Coast on the 20th-24th staying at Jupiters Casino - very exciting!! So we'll bring them back up here with us then and James and Kelli will come up a week or two after that to take them back home again.
We got a call from them last night to wish Joe a happy birthday and when I was talking to Mum, it was like I was speaking to a completely different person.
They had been out to Pauly's place (friend of James) and had a bit of a karaoke session, Dad who has a brilliant singing voice made himself at home with the mic and my mother was one of the back up dancers!!!
She sounded so happy relaying the night back to me, I just wish I could have been there to see it for myself. James told me he has it on video and Dad made a date for a duo between himself and I for when we are there next week.
We'll get Mum and Joe up to do the shoop-shoop for us as well! I'll try and get it on video and post it next time I update the blog - Yeah, I know, now you're either really scared now or just very amused!

Our first official visitor.

Aaron, our godson, arrived from the Gold Coast on Thursday 18th, Joe and I drove to Rockhampton to pick him up from the airport, an hour from Calliope - not a very exciting trip made even less spectacular with annoying hold ups for road works, but we arrived with just enough time to park the car, go to the toilet and buy a drink from the ever exorbitant kiosk all airports are renown for: $10 for 2 bottles of pump water!!!

Aaron was the first off the plane and we could see him making his way very confidently off the tarmac and into the terminal where his eyes darted from person to person in search of us, then with a tinge of relief which I'm sure we we're not meant to see when he spotted us. He surprised us totally by opening his arms and wrapping them around us both at the same time. It was a good start to our time together.

One his arrival at the servo, we were totally blown away with the way he got straight in and helped in the shop. He was excited and enthusiastic and honestly put our 16 year old juniors to shame with his thought process of what he could see that needed to be done and the way he looked for and found jobs to do without having to be told or asking, from pulling the stock forward in the fridge to filling up the cigarette displays, he was just always busy and productive, amazing for a child of 13. By the end of his time with us, he was serving customers, filling up the hotbox, using the tills and eftpos machines. He helped Uncle Joe in the warehouse sorting stock and driving the fork lift. His favourite job was mowing the lawns with the ride on mower.

As it turned out the twelve day stint was a little long and five or six would have been a much better time frame, he was missing his family and friends by the end and had lost all interest in everything, spending the last 5 days sleeping until late in the morning, then watching dvd's in bed for the rest of the day - we were all counting the sleeps at the end just waiting for Tuesday to arrive. We drove him back to Rockhampton to catch his flight home yesterday.

So now everything here is back to normal. Peace and quiet is good! Aaron phoned us when he landed last night and told us he loved us, so we've all survived unscathed and open to the thought of maybe doing it again sometime, just not for as long I think.

I want to be on the other side of tomorrow...

When I get there, I want to be scar free, fancy free and care free.
I want to dance in the wind, draw on the footpath and laugh so hard that my sides hurt.
I want to live in a spotless house, give into my cravings and never have to blow dry my hair.
I want my children to still need me, furniture that doesn't attract dust and a brand new wallet.

I want to be on the other side of tomorrow.

I want to close my eyes, go to sleep and wake in the morning in a downy bed of cloudy white.
I want to say everything well, smile everything better and smooth everything over.

I want to be on the other side of tomorrow.

I want to be size 10, eat size 24 and exercise size 36.
I want to sing in a choir without attending rehearsals.
I want to paint like Van Gogh and keep both of my ears.

I want to be on the other side of tomorrow and get there without moving a muscle.

But life demands that I stand up, walk out of my door, open my mind and think.

Life will not allow me to escape the truth which is this:

Sometimes, it's necessary to force myself through tough walls of prickly people and difficult decisions and sometimes it takes every sole thing I own to keep working harder, keep praying firmer and to keep hanging onto the faith I believe is more durable than the barrier that is holding me back in today.

Effort is required if I am ever going to arrive on the other side of tomorrow.
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Melt down!

It finally happened, after two and a half months of learning, listening and labouring, it all of a sudden hit me.

I was feeling a lot homesick!

All it took was one of our staff to come into work in a bad mood and all those weeks of non stop on the go madness had brought me to my knees.
She single handedly managed to change the whole atmosphere of the place and I could feel myself getting more and more aggravated about it.

It was really bothering me, a lot more than it should have and all I kept thinking was -
'How dare she'!!! How dare she come in here with a dark cloud hanging above her head!
What the hell has she got to be angry about - she gets to leave once her shift is finished, she gets to go home to her children and hug them and kiss them and talk with them, she gets to have a social life that includes her leaving the four walls of her home and then she gets to sleep in in the morning, she gets to have familiar faces around her, ones that light up with love when they see her arrive.

I get to do none of that - bitter, I hear you say?
Do I sound bitter? I suppose just at that moment I was a little bitter, but I'm good now, I'm over it and have been able to put things into perspective. Even though we're enjoying the change and the challenge, it's inevitable that every now and again we, me, are going to feel the pressure and loneliness of being away from all that is familiar to us.

Another one of our staff rang me the next day to ask how I was, I told her I was fine and that I was having a much better day, she asked if I was busy, I told her I wasn't, she asked if I was in the office and I told her I was. She then said good, I'd really like to come and see you, I'll be there in about fifteen minutes.
I was really worried, I didn't know why she was coming or what it is she wanted to say to me, of course I thought the worst, so I just kept myself busy until she arrived, but then when she got here, she carried in a box and said this is for you, I've been thinking about you all morning and wanted to do something to cheer you up - she had potted me half a dozen plants, that she obviously grows and in one of them she had written a note and attached it on a stick, it said:
Here's a little bit of colour to brighten up your day!

How nice was that? It was a really lovely thing for her to do. I'm going to buy some new pots for them and put them on my little verandah, that will give me something to care for, since I'm feeling a little obsolete in that area without the kids close by.

We had some really exciting news this week. The company have asked me to do some design and printing work for the whole chain. They need tickets for some new products and also some advertising material. They've bought me a new Canon printer and an A3 laminator and delivered them here yesterday, but with my experience in printing, I've asked if it would be possible to get some prices on a professional colour printer, which they've allowed me to do.
I phoned Andrew who I used to work with at Konica Minolta and he's going to see what they have available in our price range down there and if all goes well, will organise to have it delivered up here - I'm very excited about it all.

They've also asked Joe and I to set out a new menu for the chain. They have been taking notice of the interest we've taken in our current menu and the steps we've taken to make some changes to us and with that the success and the feedback we've had.

Here are some samples of what we've been doing:

So all at Calliope, Central Queensland is well at present.

We have another trip home to see the kids next weekend, which is giving us both something to look forward to. We haven’t had a day off since we got back from the last trip away.
I spoke to Jo last night and since we have missed some family celebrations in the past few weeks, we’re going to go and do something special together to make up for them – which includes Aaron’s 13th birthday (Godson) – he’s now an official teenager and yes, we should all be worried!!

Happy birthday for the 1st of September, we love you Az!