100 Days of Awesome: Day 95 - All Work and No Play makes Jack a Dull Boy

... except that's kind of what was awesome about Day 95. I got SO MUCH DONE at work, and it felt GREAT! No dullness to see here, folks.

 

I'm also not a boy named Jack.

 

I can't really explain it, but I've had a bit of a shift in motivation during the last few months at work. I don't know whether it's because I'm happier in my personal life, or I've found something that I can sink my teeth into, but something has changed in me and motivated me and it has flow-on effects in my professional life (my supervisors will be pleased to hear that, no doubt!).

 

For one thing, I'm ironing my shirts instead of just ironing the sleeves and putting a vest on and letting the rest take care of itself ;-)

 

(Don't worry, that's just a trick I mostly reserve for time on site, when a shirt that is clean often stands out enough without needing to iron it!)

 

The hour or so of sunshine we got at work was pretty awesome, too, as was the fact that I more or less stuck to my resolution to eat super-healthfully. The part that was "or less" was when our Accounts lady brought in some sultana tea loaf for afternoon tea, and I had a piece. Weirdly, it made me feel yuck and I didn't enjoy it all that much. I don't know whether it's because it had a bit of margerine on it, and margerine is the devil, or that I've just become quite unaccustomed to eating refined sugar (hah, except in Killer Python form). But that was interesting.

 

So I think I might have to do some baking this weekend, to test out my theory. You know, all in the name of science! And the guys at work have been complaining about the lack of cake lately, so I really only have to eat one slice and then feed the boys the rest, and then feel all virtuous about that.

 

Anyway, that's it from me. Some pretty basic awesomeness, but awesome nonetheless. To me!

 

What was awesome about your day?

100 Days of Awesome: Days 73 -94 - Uh, oops.

So the main thing that happened that stopped me from documenting the everyday awesomeness of my life is that 1) I have been participating in VEDA, that is, Vlogging Every Day of August (you can check out my YouTube channel here), which has taken up all my spare time; and 2) life has been pretty flipping awesome every day and I have been too busy living it and enjoying it to spend much time here.

 

On top of that, work has been really busy, which is pretty motivating for me. I hate it when working days drag by, but if I'm honest it's those days that drag that I have time to blog at lunchtime. For the last three weeks I haven't really had a lunchtime, thus no blogging. But when things are fast-paced, I get a lot done and I feel valuable and capable and all of those other good things.

 

Plus, The Kiwi insists on hanging around... which works out pretty well for me, because I really like having him around :) Various adventures from the last few weeks include a little hike in the You Yangs, dinner with friends, and a weekend away in Tasmania. That was a pretty awesome weekend away, actually. I saw lots of friends, went to my friend Katie's engagement party and hit the town afterwards for one of my standard 4am Tassie Saturday nights, did a hike to Liffey Falls, showed The Kiwi my old job site, and just generally had an awesome weekend.

 

So anyway, if today is Day 94 then there's only 6 days to go here, and thank heavens for that. And when the 100 Days of Awesome is over, I'm trying to get back to my food focus of old. Which is a little contradictory for my current weight loss goals, but hey, you win some you lose some.

 

My macro lens is also off for repair, so I'll finally be able to take half-decent photos of my baking creations again!

 

Lastly, exciting news - my BFF Ness and I are off to India in 19 days for an adventure. We haven't travelled together since 2005/6 and I'm really looking forward to it.

 

Better leave it here - it's past my bed time.

 

Night all!

100 Days of Awesome: Days 68 - 72 - VEDA Made Me Do It!

Up to my old tricks with having trouble cataloguing the awesomeness, largely because I've been doing so much. Part of what I've been doing is VEDA, which stands for Vlogging Every Day in August. If you're interested in seeing me make a tool of myself on the interwebs, I'm #71 on the participants list that can be found on the VEDA site - weblogwevlog.com. And when I'm back using Wifi that has no restrictions on it, I will directly post a couple of YouTube links (or you could just search for my channel - vanessalillian82).

 

Anyway, back to the awesome. In reverse order, because it's easier that way.

 

Day 72:

- Gorgeous day to be outdoors at work - cold, but sunny.

 

- Got a really good cuddle from my Housebaby.

- Yoga. Stretched my crunchy back out. Lovely.

- My lunch. A yummy salad The Kiwi had made for me.

- My dinner. Ready and waiting for me when I got to The Kiwi's place.

- VEDA. I don't think the quality of my videos is improving, but I'm starting to relax a bit and have fun. I'm nowhere near as creative as other participants, but it's great seeing what everyone comes up with.

 

Day 71:

- Woke up with my back feeling totally amazing for the first time in forever, thanks to the bed I was sleeping in at my friend's house. I had slept in it previously and uttered the phrase "it's like sleeping on a cloud", and my memory of it was spot on!

- Eggs and bacon for brekkie, cooked by someone else.

- Free lemons and oranges from my friend's extensive fruit tree collection.

- Beautiful day.

- Stopped by the rail viaduct in Malmsbury on the way back from Bendigo to show The Kiwi the awesome architecture in daylight. It's tucked a little out of the way, and I only knew it existed because I used to have to test water quality in the river beneath it when I was working on a project nearby.

- Climbed Hanging Rock, had a picnic up there, and did not, in fact, go missing (Aussies will probably know the story about the schoolgirls who went missing up there during a picnic in 1900; there was a book written and a movie made about it).

 

 See? It really was a picnic. For realsies.

 

 

Day 70:

- Slept in a little and had a generally relaxing morning.

- Got a cuddle from my Housebaby.

- Went to visit my dad in hospital. The fact he needs to be there isn't awesome. The facility he is in is definitely not awesome, in fact, it is kind of depressing. And he's still pretty nutty and having a lot of weird ideas. But it's good that he's getting help, and he does seem to be more settled in himself. Plus we had a bit of a moment where I was tabbing some chords out for him for the guitar (he has not, until recent times, had a musical bone in his body but is keen to learn, and hey, if I'm busy teaching him music then he can't be busy telling me about conspiracy theories, so it's a win-win!), and we sang a The Tennessee Waltz together, which is a song that he used to play the LP of a lot when I was growing up. I did have a "bad daughter" moment when we finished and he said that he'd always dreamed of singing a song with his daughter, and that he'd finally done that. It only took 32 years. Oops. But I'm glad that he was happy.

- Went and stayed with some friends who I met through work, and introduced The Kiwi to them. I'm pretty sure they approved, because he was given a company hat and jumper before the night was through. And that's pretty awesome, because these people are kind of like the parents I wish I had, so it matters to me what they think, especially because dad is sick and hasn't met him yet.

- Had an amaaaaazing roast lamb for dinner, and drank some very nice wine, before moving on to the tokay and then the scotch, all the while chatting away with my friends. Probably drank more Johnny Blue than was strictly necessary, partly because we were at it until 2am, but it certainly is a nice drop!

 

Day 69:

- Friday! Well I mean, come on, how can you go wrong with a Friday!!! Although it was a pretty horrible day, weather-wise... but I was safely inside for most of the day. Until...

- I went to see Les Miserables with one of my housemates in the city, and didn't just get rained on. Nope, I got sleeted on. An icy-cold slurry, falling from the sky, soaking my jeans and my jacket. Not impressed.

 

(I've also just realised how much I look like my dad, or at least how similar our "not impressed" faces are, which I wouldn't have known if he hadn't recently shaved his beard off for the first time in my life!) So I was pretty much cold and wet through the entire performance, but the show was incredible and I may even have cried a little at the end, so it was totally worth it.

 - We had Chinese for dinner beforehand, which I always love.

- We went for a drink at the Y&J afterwards, and the Kiwi met us there.

- Did a late-night Maccas run for cheeseburgers on the way home. Yum.

 

Day 68:

- Had my BFF Ness over for dinner, and I have to say that the spaghetti bolognese I made was pretty amazing. Plus I made apple crumble for dessert. It was a great night, all in all.

 

So how is everyone else's awesomeness coming along?