back to work - in a mask

this may be the one and only photo of me in a mask that there is, because they are sure as hell not flattering. i started work at the school canteen for the year today, only this year it's a little different as i will be doing one set day a week. alex will be going to nannaleah for the day. so i get a break (and get paid for it! lol) she gets some alex time, and everyone is happy.

but that mask rule. wow. i had no idea how fun breathing my own air for 6 hours was going to be. yikes. i am so, so grateful that our state is in the position for this to only be a 2 week thing. but i made it through and most of all i am grateful that i was able to do the right thing. because in a nutshell: "we believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law." (article of faith number 12) i think a lot of people would do well to remember this instead of causing a scene when asked to comply with local laws during this time.

the lovely canteen staff for 2021. i'm very lucky to work with such a great bunch of ladies! 

western power in the country

i have spies... everywhere! a friend of mine sent me these sneaky snaps today of the western power boys working out in the country town of york. unfortunately doug isn't actually in the shot, but it is so good that i wanted to share it anyway! the awesome bright colours (just looking at it makes me feel hot...) and their set up is really cool to look at. 

my husband is amazing, working hard to provide for us, rain, hail or shine!

10 years of funerals

it's a week of anniversaries! 10 years ago today i started as a funeral directors assistant with chipper funerals. 10 years ago. i can hardly believe it. married with two kids later (and on my second bout of maternity leave) i'm still at my first even full time job. i have literally learned how to do every single thing that was on offer other than embalming and driving a limousine and i am so proud that i have made it all that way. 

i am amazingly grateful to the then general manager who took a huge chance on a 21 year old and let me prove that i was worth it. i have loved every single moment over the years and can't even imagine a different path. 

i just wish i could find a picture of me with a hearse... but this is the only one i could find :(

getting my christmas bake onnn...

last year, mum was away and i stepped up as the "goodie plate maker" in her place. (see linked blog post for recipes) however, there was such raving from the boys at dougs work when he appeared with the plates, that i thought i had better make them again this year. so the baking began and has taken up some what of my time last night and tonight.

my only change this year was to add chocolate rocky road (a packet of chocolate melts, a packet of chopped pink and white pascall marshmallows, a cup of peanuts and two chopped up turkish delight bars) and mars bar slice. yum yum yum. hopefully they will be received just as happily this year. 

clearly it's worth the time it takes and i can see why mum has kept it up all these years. now she's back though... will i? haha. luckily our trays have different things. 

invocare christmas party 2014

i technically still have a job. yes, i'm on maternity leave and have been for almost 10 months, but i'm still employed and on the books until i formally resign... so we were invited to the christmas party, held tonight at the hyatt regency in perth city. and as always it was great. lots of laughs, good music (for the first time i can ever actually remember. note to the organiser, keep that dj's number...) and of course great food. our friend kindly had madeline, who rocked the night away with her two girls of a similar age and another friends daughter came to look after joseph. so easy done. i fed him and put him to sleep, then we scooted out the door! win.

and the best bit? i went shopping in a friends wardrobe for the  fabulous dress i have on, wore shoes i'd had for years... and yet another girlfriend came around to do my hair for me. cheap as... so glad to have good friends... made the day run smoothly and everything was ace.

my friend mel and i. one of the best and funniest people i know.

thank goodness for work functions. the one night a year all the stuffy (haha hardly) funeral directors can let their hair down and get the party started. it's always a great night and i know i'll be bummed when the day comes that i'm no longer on the list.

rob & holly got married ♥

yesterday doug and i (along with baby joe...) had the absolute privilege of being there to witness rob and holly getting married! it seems like such a long, long time ago, i started at purslowe funerals in north perth, in the co-ordination office... after returning from my first bout of maternity leave. i met rob in the lunch room that first day, having a laugh with another one of the english staff members. i remember asking him what he did and he replied that he was the manager to which i laughed hysterically - only to find out that it was true! it was obviously hard for me to imagine someone that funny could take anything seriously.

holly is one of the transfer staff - and seemed to be very shy at first, but came out of her shell as i got to know her better. i liked them both instantly, and was ecstatic to find out they were dating months later. they are so perfect for one another, i've never once seen a cross word (that wasn't put on!) and seeing them together makes mo so very happy! they are both beautiful people who have clearly never been happier - and today was the icing on the cake - as it was very apparent that they just could not wait to become husband and wife.

i have never seen a calmer groom, waiting patiently for his holly to arrive, laughing with the celebrant, assuring that no one could possibly get a good picture of him...

and joking with the best man (ohhhhh wedding friend!!... in joke...)

holly's mum arrived and came down to the gazebo where rob grabbed her hand and escorted her in, it was such a lovely thing to see... they clearly love not only each other, but the others family!

and there was this beautiful moment between the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom ♥

finally holly came down in that beautiful dress, escorted by her father to the front... she also didn't look even a bit nervous, just couldn't wait to get to rob!

hollys parents during the ceremony 

after some gorgeous personal vows and some paperwork being signed - it was all over and now they're stuck with each other... haha

robs parents during the ceremony

and i now pronounce you husband and wife...

there are not often photos of me (because i am always behind the camera - not in front of it!), but rob's very obliging sister-in-law catherine who just happened to have the same camera as me took this gorgeous pic of us at the ceremony. such a good one!

and joe? he was an angel, chilled all through the ceremony and didn't make a sound. and looked amazing in his little outfit. that kids got style!

margaret from work had her husband jimmy ready to whisk away the newlyweds in his maserati. fun times - and certainly good for photos!

and just one from the reception - holly's dad was having a dig about something and it made for a great picture. it was an amazing day and we were so, so pleased to be a part of it.

congratulations rob and holly! ♥

i'm outta here...!

today was my last day at work... maybe forever? i have 5 weeks today until babyk2 is due and i really don't know if i will be heading back once it arrives... that's still to be decided. i have no idea what's ahead of me, considering that i am about to go from kind of having one kid... sometimes... to two. one of them being an extremely energetic two and a half year old and then to add to the fun - a flipping newborn!

as you all know dougs amazing younger sister, who i literally could not repay in a million years, has been looking after madeline for the last 18 months while i've been back at work. i have had maddie only for a few hours a day, before work and after work before bed - as well as the weekends. it's never long enough for me as her mama, but check back with me next week, i may be over it by then! 

next week will certainly  be interesting, it's going to be incredibly hot... i'm very pregnant and i'm about to take on a two year old, to start my training for having the two of them. i know i can do it... and i am excited to be a stay at home mum again, but i may need you all to wish me luck. haha.

stay tuned for the further adventures of me, maddie and babyk2. :)

invocare christmas party 2013

last night we had our work christmas party at the hyatt hotel in perth city. thanks to my amazing sister-in-law niques for my makeup job, mate jo for my hair and asos for the incredible dress (totally worth the gamble of shopping online)... i had an awesome time! the chicks spent a good part of the afternoon hotting me up and i am eternally grateful - as being 7 months preggers at the work christmas party doesn't really make me feel that hot.

here's me and the bun... 30 weeks, 3/4 of the way through!! bigger than i was with maddie, but still good. 

and a shot of our beautiful family - maddie is so cute and was so happy to be having a family shot... she smiled away and giggled with us - for once making it easy.

we had an awesome night, good times, good music and hanging with mates from work. it was a little sad though, as there's only two weeks left before i go on maternity leave, and then susie will be moving to l.a. with her boyfriend in january, so the three of us will be split up very soon. guess it just means we'll have to take advantage of what time we have left together. :)

the co-ord chicks. love these girls to bits! ♥

staff christmas party

 

last saturday night we had our staff christmas party at the crown burswood ballroom. it was such a fun night and we had a really great time. awesome outfits too!

doug was rocking what we referred to as his "one direction" outfit (burgandy chinos and a polka dot shirt from jayjays and a bow tie from gsi...) - no wonder there were screaming girls throwing themselves at his feet all night. hilarious.

 

we like to make people think that we are enjoying ourselves also, so it is imperative that we take a lot of ridiculous selfies at the dinner table. oh my. what an attractive couple.

 

my outfit was a black target dress that has a sheer top section (coupled - of course with a wonder tee underneath) that i bought from an opp in brisbane when we were there in june and the shoes, ohhhhh the shoes - gold glitter points, also from target that i lusted after for an an entire season - and then snapped up when they went on clearance for just $6.88 yessssssss!!! freaking loved it!



my gorgeous friend lisa (who i am losing to the u.s. in just over a week :( sob!) did my hair and makeup and made me look smoking hot, which i was well pleased with... leese - you're a freaking legend! it always amazes me how quickly she does it and just what a good job she does. she totally should charge people... just not me of course!

the smoking hot girls of co-ord rocking the party... woooo

 



 

me and my boy. love him too much!

xx♥xx

susie & kevin fornever

 

susie in my office got divorced on friday and today we celebrated! and ate...

drumroll... divorce cake!

 

 

i saw the coolest idea online, putting patty pans in a large cake tin, then filling each one with enough mixture to rise and touch the tops of the others, so they make a smooth top. then ice the whole thing - and then just break off a cupcake from the bottom to eat. so freaking cool - cause to eat this cake - we had to break susie's heart! hilarious.

 

 

thankfully - she loved it - and we gobbled it up!

susie & kevin fornever & never xx

 

work shenanigans...

 

clearly we're all a bunch of whack jobs... need i say more? susie (currently rocking the afro clown wig on the right, next to el capitano mel) has a gigantic hat/ headpiece collection... and occasionally we feel the need to rock them out for the rest of the staff. :)

i love these girls - they make the day better, every day.

another day, another dollar...

so after exactly a year off - this week i started back at work. sigh.

we thought about it long and hard and decided that it was the right thing to do... doug and i really want to buy a house down the track and we'll use this time to save and save and save...

niques has come to stay with us for a year... and we'll see what happens after that - but it's so lovely having her here with us - i mean really, what could possibly be better than maddie being in her own house with family while i'm at work? that's right... nothing!

i'm in a new job - over in bookings now and the girls in the office are lovely. fingers crossed that it continues to be smooth sailing. :)

end of an era

this wonderful man was my boss for the 6 and a bit years that i worked with chippers before maddie arrived, but as of this friday just gone - he isn't anymore. it truly is the end of an era, kind of like i opened the floodgates when i packed up and left, there's only one of the original crew left. he's off to greener pastures, working as an office supplies rep. i don't think it'll ever be the same without him

r.i.p. mark. you'll be sadly missed

i'll drink to that!

big big congrats to the husband... as of february 6, he'll be starting at western power as a trainee linesworker. :)

funny that, my dad retired as of december 31st, and now doug's starting with them. we are very excited!!

as i quoted from hellcats while we waited, and waited, and waited some more to hear back, "positive outcomes only!!"

positive outcomes indeed! :)

work christmas party

saturday night we had my work christmas party at the hyatt hotel in perth. it was a great night, and my first time away from maddie for more than just a couple of hours. we left her with jlee and mark and apparently she wasn't too impressed with someone other than mumma putting her to bed. was all okay though, cause after a little while she got over it and went to sleep, thank goodness.


we had a lovely night though, food and company was great and i had a delightful hairdo thanks to jlee, to go with my gorgeous new dress :) bring on christmas i say, if this is a taste of what's to come!! it's my favourite time of the year, and i'm loving it already! :)

(not) my last day

oh bless... shez from work thought today was my last - and when i arrived this morning, this was waiting for me in the kitchen...

cupcakes, roses and a rose scented candle... just to make sure that everything smelt as good as it looked. what a love!! and now... she's set a standard - this means i'll expect it next friday, when i really do finish. :)

work send off...

l to r: jane, sandra, moi and shez

the chippers subi girls

thursday night brought my work send off (along with finding out that morning that i am allowed to stay an extra two weeks! haha) it was a lovely little party with all of the crew, some lovely gifts and an awesome gift for me with a funny story...

carmel (basically my workmum) had asked me what i actually wanted, as she'd prefer me to have something i liked and not just something that they thought i might like. so i emailed her a pic of this gorgeous pandora necklace i had been eyeing off, only to have her tell me next time i saw her - and i quote, "oh my gosh, it was hideous! i couldn't bear the thought of you wearing something that awful!" i was very taken aback, as carms and i have very similar taste, so imagine my delight when i opened it a few days later! what a gem - and judging by it's pandora-ness, what a generous bunch of people i work with! :)

i love you all way too much, and have no idea how on earth i am going to live without you!!