It all ends.

Hey, how’s this for news the day before NaBloPoMo?

I left my job today. And I’m not going back!

Eight weeks before Christmas, for those of you who aren’t counting.

That’s all I have to post at the moment, I’ll probably do a recap of my shocking October tomorrow, so I have a post for the first day of NaBloPoMo.

And hey, now that I’m unemployed (only for a short time!) and all, I can probably post a lot more often.

Quick good news!

Here’s some quick good news:

Just had a call from Mum, who heard from Dad, who booked his flight!

He will arrive back in Brisbane at 8:50am Monday morning.

YAY!

My secrets…

Quite a few people are sharing their secrets lately… I have a couple. The first one is a bit old now, I made it in January… but it’s still true to a point. I’m sick of people doubting us (even if they do it silently now instead of constantly telling me…)

And this is a new one:

Home Improvement and more…

Well, I’m back, after a week of blogging absence. You guys don’t even want to know what’s gone on… but the good news is, I am back, and considering NaBloPoMo starts in a few days, that’s good.

In short, the last week has been one massively horrible stress ball. Nan passed away on Sunday, we got the call Monday morning, I went to work Monday and fell in a heap… I took Tuesday off with bereavement leave, Wednesday I had a class in the city… and Thursday? I went back to work and discovered that the boss had “restructured” my job while I was gone - in short, he made someone go through my work computer, read my emails (some personal), check my internet history, and then confront me with his wife and two other staff members. Oh, and Thursday was the day of Nan’s funeral. So I was really in the mood… I nearly quit. Friday wasn’t much better But that’s all I’m saying on that…

I’m back. Did you miss me?

Today, I got my very first award, from the lovely Katie. It really perked me up, which is what I needed. Unfortunately, since all the blogs I love have already been given this award… I can’t really pass it on. But I got an award.. yay!

Here it is:

In other news, Mum decided that she was going to paint while Dad was away. We looked at paint in various stores, and after scoffing at the prices, we decided that maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. Until Mum was reminded that there was a LOT of leftover paint at the Salvation Army (which was painted only a few weeks ago - Mum’s a full-time volunteer).

So, on Tuesday, on my day off, we went to the centre, had a coffee and a chat, and lugged home a lot of paint. Mum has wanted to paint her bedroom for about 18 months now, but her and Dad haven’t been able to agree on a colour - so she decided to paint while he was gone. It’s not sneaky, it’s constructive!

On Wednesday, she painted her bedroom (despite my insistence that she let me take “before” pictures before she started). However, I did find one bit of wall above her wardrobe that she couldn’t reach… so I got a half and half photo:

The yucky green: before.
The nice blue: after. That shade of blue is now on three of the walls.
Here’s a better shot of the new blue:

The painting on the left there? I did that! Bow to my artistic greatness…
And here is a photo of Mum’s brand spanking new feature wall, complete with Garfield and teddy bears:

So that’s the bedroom. Swanky, huh?

This weekend she tackled the kitchen, which meant taking EVERYTHING down, moving it all to the dining room, and washing all the walls down before even looking at a paint brush. I actually managed to get a proper “before” shot of the kitchen before she started:

And after. Out with the blue, and in with the new:

I took a few other photos of the kitchen as well, including just a few cows out of Mum’s ever-expanding collection…

And that is it… lots of paint fumes, and fun-filled situations.

Really good news? Dad is looking at coming home as soon as possible. Like, next weekend. Yay!

Not good news…. this MASSIVE hailstorm just started, and when I say MASSIVE, I mean it!

Carry you home…

I know I’ve been avoiding the subject for awhile now, but you guys deserve an update so, here goes…

The past few days have been rough, Dad’s been calling every day instead of every second day (which I wasn’t complaining about), and he was updating us on Nan, and that her pain had been getting worse, and the doctors had put her on a morphine drip.

One day, he went to see her, and she didn’t stop talking the whole time - but she wasn’t talking to him, and he was the only one there. On Saturday, she was lucid, and talking, and calm.

Our phone rang at 4am this morning. It rang out before I could wake myself up enough to get up and answer it, but I knew. I put the cordless beside Mum’s bed - because last night was the first night since Dad left that she actually slept - and then she woke up and I told her the phone had rung, and I played her the voicemail message, which was just static.

Mum told me to go back to bed, which I did, begrudgingly. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep.

The phone rang again, and Mum got it on the first ring.

I got up at 7am, to hear the news that I knew was coming, but dreaded all the same.

Nan has passed… she’s not suffering anymore. My auntie was with her, and my dad was on his way, but he got there 15 minutes too late. But she wasn’t alone.

I was looking at a quotes site a few weeks ago, and found a little poem that would be perfect for… now:

God saw she were getting tired
And a cure was not meant to be
So he put his arms around her
And whispered come here with me
With tearful eyes we watched her
As we saw her pass away
Although we love her deeply
We could never make her stay
Her golden heart stopped beating
Hard working hands at rest
God broke our hearts to prove to us
He only takes the best

And of course, James Blunt. When I got the new album, I listened to all the songs, and thought one in particular, Carry You Home, was beautiful. It took a couple of listens to actually comprehend the lyrics though, and when I did, I started bawling. And this morning, the chorus was in my head:

Strong as you were, tender you go
I’m watching you breathing for the last time
A song for your heart, but when it gets quiet
I’ll know what it means, and I’ll carry you home…

Okay, I’m done now. A very heavy post, I know, but I think it’s deserving… and I’m going to wrap it up now because I’m at work, and the last thing I need is my boss to walk out and see me bawling my eyes out… and my mascara’s not waterproof.

The Secret Backstreet Boy!

This made me crack up - which is quite an achievement. I think most online videos are stupid.

This one… very cute, and HILARIOUS!

http://www.tmz.com/2007/10/18/birdbrained-backstreet-boy/

Friday’s Feast #7

Yes folks, it’s that time of the week again!

Appetizer
If you were a dog, what breed would you be, and why?
I would probably be a little dog - a pomeranian probably. I’ve had my little dog for just over 16 years now, and even though he’s tiny, his love is endless (unlike his teeth!). Besides - little dogs don’t bark, they yip, which can get annoying after awhile. Like me, in a way!

Soup
What does the color purple make you think of?
Favourite! Purple is my favourite colour, and it makes me think of royalty. Purple is the colour of royalty, although a lot of people try to tell me it’s the colour of sexual frustration. Heh. Speak for yourself.

Salad
Approximately how long does it take you to get ready each morning?
Well, I get out of bed at 7am, and I’m supposed to be at work by 8am, but by the time I get up, watch a bit of news, get dressed and get out the door, it’s about 7:50. Sometimes I don’t leave until 8, so roughly an hour.

Main Course
How many cousins do you have, and are you close to them?
I have too many cousins to count… and I don’t talk to any of them except for one. He’s quite a bit older than me, and we just saw him last weekend and found out he got married. His son is 7 now - yikes!

Dessert
Take your initials (first, middle, last) and come up with something else those letters could stand for. (Example: SFO = Sweet Funny Otter)
KMEL = Kids Make Evil Liars

Cleanin’ up the ol’ MSN list…

I am just about to have a massive clean-out of my MSN list. There’s 65 people on it, and I chat with, let me count… 4 on a regular basis, and 6 or 7 occasionally. That’s 10 or 11 people. And there’s 65 on my list. Some Most have to go!

The majority of them are people I used to talk to online, others are people I went to school with, and then there’s a few randoms that added me randomly (heh) which are all under one heading, appropriately titled “Stupid People I Don’t Know”.

I deleted more people not too long ago, because the list was up to around 100. Among the deletees were some people I used to be quite close to, but had a falling out with, and I really didn’t feel like wasting my finger-power talking to them anymore.

I need to be more brutal with my deleting this time, though. I’ve been putting it off, partly in the hope that some people I used to be close to will start talking to me again (they stopped because I started seeing Matt, and they were all single and couldn’t find anyone decent), but hey, if they haven’t spoken to me for 20 months, they’re not going to start tomorrow. So off the list they go.

It’s sad, but it’s their loss. And if I delete you, it’s your loss. You’re wasting space on my list!

Time for streamlining! I just went from 65 people to 13. Much better!

Of course, my lovelies, if you are crazy friendly enough and you wanna have a chat with me, feel free to add me: kelz_tha_nut [at] hotmail [dot] com
(don’t ask, it’s an email address from when I was 13, and I thought it was cool to call myself a nutcase!)

The Actor’s Studio Meme

I’m jumping on the bandwagon here, with a meme - Snoskred has come up with an open meme/free links post, and everyone who does the meme gets a link in her weekly wrap up. Bonus, because I’ve been wanting to do these 10 questions for ages! 

The Actors Studio 10 Questions Meme -

1. What is your favorite word? Wasted. Not with reference to alcohol, but for how adaptable it is. At school, if you shot someone down with a wicked comeback, they’d just been “wasted”. Lately, wasted is a word I use when I’m totally exhausted and about to fall asleep.
2. What is your least favorite word? The “c” word. As in the swear word. It’s just nasty. There’s no need for it! It makes me shudder.
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]? Reading an awesome piece of writing, or seeing something colourful that makes me think. Something that sparks my imagination.
4. What turns you off? Arrogance. Smugness. The general perception of one thinking that they’re better than everyone else.
5. What sound or noise do you love? Rain and laughter.
6. What sound or noise do you hate? Loud, sudden noises… in general. Something banging, or squealing etc.
7. What is your favorite curse word? Shit. You can apply the word to just about anything. People, moods, things… the list goes on. It’s not very ladylike, but hey, if you gave me a reason to say it, then you don’t deserve to be acting ladylike…
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? I would love to be a published (and successful!) author. Getting your own words out there would have to give you a massive rush.
9. What profession would you not like to do? I would hate to be a lawyer or a politician.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
“I wasn’t quite sure if you’d make it in one piece…
Hey, everyone, she’s here, let’s get the party started!”

Are you feeling Christmasy?

I’m not.

I was stunned when I rushed to the bank after work, and they had a banner up counting down the working days until Christmas.

The number? 50.

Fifty working days until Christmas. That’s 10 weeks, people.

Holy crap. I am so not feeling it this year. Not at all.

I know what my Christmas wish is though. I want my Dad home for Christmas (and my birthday the week before). That makes me feel so selfish, because for Dad to come home, Nan has to pass away, and the funeral needs to be done…

I just can’t imagine a Christmas without my Dad, though…

On another note, does anyone have any tips for getting rid of migraines? I’ve had a headache for 5 days now and it’s worsening, and I can’t take anything other than Panadol because I have to drive. Gah.