Day 256...

SUNDAY 17.05.15 - I am thankful for... Hospital Emergency Departments

*Please note this weeks worth of blog posts are done retrospectively as I was in hospital very unwell.

*Picture from http://full1014.staging-cloud.netregistry.net/clients/awe/projects/st.-george-hospital-emergency-department.php?filter=current

I awoke in the morning a lot worse for wear than yesterday. By lunch I was violently ill and it was clear that what I had was much more than a sinus infection. I kept arguing with myself whether or not to go to the hospital but by mid afternoon I had a friend pick me up and take me to the nearest emergency room. I must have looked very unwell because I was taken straight through to the nurse, then straight into a bed. By this evening it was clear that I had made the right choice to come to the hospital, and my lovely friend stayed with me until it got late and I was falling asleep. I am so thankful we have emergency departments and that I was within driving distance to one. Working in a hospital myself I can understand how working in an emergency department is tough and demanding, it takes special people to work there. Say what you will about them, but here in Australia we are so fortunate to be able to seek medical help no matter who we are, we all get seen to eventually.

Day 255

SATURDAY 16.05.15 - I am thankful for... Freedom of religion

*Picture from www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

We are blessed here in Australia, to live in a country where we are not persecuted for what we believe. There are many different groups of people with many different beliefs and ways of life. Being a devout Christian myself I see how important and special it is to practice my faith freely. Unfortunately, others around the world are not so fortunate, being isolated, ridiculed, tortured and even killed for having a different religion to someone else. I would like to think myself as more of a person of faith than a religious person, but faith and beliefs fall under the banner of religion in this context. I chose not to take for granted my ability to speak freely about God to anyone, anywhere. To own a bible and read it at my leisure. To attend church and worship with friends every week. It is so easy for me to do those things here, things that are important to me and part of who I am that it's hard to comprehend people doing these practises in secret so others don't find out. It's sad and cruel. I am extraordinarily grateful that no matter what I believe or anyone else for that matter, we can all believe freely.

Day 254...

FRIDAY 15.05.15 - I am thankful for... Hand weights

I have been looking EVERYWHERE for a new set of hand weights! For weeks I'd say. This afternoon luckily I found a set at Target of all places. I had a pair but one of the weights has mysteriously vanished so the other is a little useless. Besides it was only a 1kg one and these are 2kg each. Moving up in the weights world! The older I get - yes I realise I'm not really that old but still - the more I realise how important weights training is. Cardio I love, I can be on the treadmill for ages or do a dance class no problems. However weights training is necessary to keep the strength in your muscles, not just the arms but for me I find it beneficial for my upper and lower back and legs, mostly to prevent injury which I happen to do to myself a lot. So I am very thankful I have finally found a new set of hand weights and hopefully get back into my training!

Day 253...

THURSDAY 14.5.15 - I am thankful for... Antibiotics

*Picture from www.articles.mercola.com

Healthy one day, sick the next. Woke up this morning with half my face swollen from full sinuses on that side. I did try going to work, but was sent away to the doctors before lunch. It is a yearly occurrence that I have sinusitis once or twice. I know the drill. Go to the doctors and get antibiotics. I'm one of those people who only takes antibiotics if it is absolutely necessary. Resistance to them is a very real, very big problem. However, due to my lack of immunity it is sometimes necessary and considering one side of my face was bigger than the other I'd say this is one of those times. Considering antibiotics, Penicillin specifically, were first discovered by accident by a Professor Alexander Fleming they are a staple in medicine today and very important in the treatment of nasty bacterial infections. Though I do believe restraint is necessary as to not overuse them, I am thankful that Mr Fleming discovered it and that I am able to take them and fingers crossed they take effect soon.

Day 252...

WEDNESDAY 13.5.15 - I am thankful for... The Aquarium

As a little girl I dreamed of becoming a Marine Biologist. An unusual occupation dream for a young person you might think, but all I knew is I loved marine animals, especially dolphins, and I wanted to work with them and look after them. However, life did not turn out that way, but I still possess a great love of the creatures of the sea. So today, on an ADO, I decided to go to the aquarium. I hadn't been to the one here in Sydney yet and thought it was about time I did. Besides having to get my photo taken, by myself, like a noob because "everyone get's a photo!", and dodging the classes of young children on excursions, I really enjoyed myself. Maybe I'm swayed by my love of the water, but I'm absolutely fascinated by the beautiful and effortless way different marine animals swim and glide through the water in so many different ways! I was also impressed by the conservation efforts of the aquarium not only in caring for injured animals within Sydney harbour but other more international efforts. I'm thankful that the aquarium exists and that I had the opportunity to visit today.

Day 251...

TUESDAY 12.5.15 - I am thankful for... That my bathroom has an inbuilt heater

Winter is coming...

Actually it has come a little earlier than expected. I am finding that I have needed to use the heater in my bathroom a few times already, today being one of them. There is only one heater in my apartment and it's built into my bathroom wall. It has been so handy, especially when I first moved to Sydney in their coldest winter in years, making me consider why the heck I moved. Coming from tropical Queensland it was definitely a shock to the system. It's not new by any standard, but it works and works well and I'm so very grateful for that.

Day 250...

MONDAY 11.5.15 - I am thankful for... My great work shoes that are flats

Unfortunately I was not blessed with feet that have beautiful arches like my mother. No, mine are almost completely flat. This makes wearing high heels a somewhat painful venture. I see business women who wear heeled shoes every day and think how can they do that? I am very thankful, having a job where I am on my feet most of the day, that my work shoes are flats. But they do have to be proper, orthopaedic flats with inbuilt cushioning, which doesn't make them cheap. I won't complain, at the moment I have a great pair of work shoes, flats with a tiny wedge and cushioning. Definitely makes work so much easier if I'm not worrying about having sore feet at the end of the day. So today, after a long day at work, I'm glad a have great pair of work shoes.

Day 249...

SUNDAY 10.5.15 - I am thankful for... Cushions

I love cushions and often find myself looking at them in all different shops. However, I am quite restrained and only have a few on the sofas and one on my bed. Cushions don't have a really significant purpose, but are more aesthetically pleasing. I guess mine are good  to use to lean on as my sofa has square edges. So maybe they do have a little purpose. The cushion covers pictured I actually bought on Etsy. I think they are French, and they match perfectly with my red sofas. It's kind of nice coming home to them in the lounge room. I guess today's topic is materialistic, but I'm sure there are some of you reading this who are as thankful for cushions as I am :)

Day 248...

SATURDAY 9.5.15 - I am thankful for... Conversation

*Picture from http://borgniet.be

As I was waiting for my Zumba class to start, a young woman just randomly came up and started talking to me. She was doing the class for the first time and wanted to know what it was like. We talked for a good 15mins before we went to class, she was originally from China and had just moved to Australia after living in Germany working for 12 years and didn't really know anybody yet. It was interesting to share stories and things about ourselves. In 15 minutes it was like we almost knew each other like friends. I feel the art of conversation has died somewhat in our society, mostly due to social media which is anything but social. People just don't talk face to face anymore, I can't understand why though. You learn so much from a person by talking to them. Not just information from what they say, but how they react, what they say without using actual words. It's so much more satisfying than receiving a text or facebook message, to me anyway. I'm thankful the random young woman came up and started talking to me. Reminded me how truly important conversation is.

Day 247...

FRIDAY 8.5.15 - I am thankful for... Being a positive influence, hopefully

*Picture from www.the-positive-manager.blogspot.com

I'm really enjoying being a youth group leader. I believe groups like youth groups are so important for teens, gives them a place to come to where they won't be judged, there's no pressure to be or act in a certain way to be "cool" and allows them to just be kids their age and have fun. The world can be a hard place for teens, there's so much they have to deal with: body image, drug and alcohol exposure, the need to fit in etc... As well as providing a safe haven, youth group or similar groups can be a place where the kids can talk to someone, leader or peer, about things that might be troubling them. Sometimes you just don't want to or can't talk to your parents about what's troubling you, as much as you might want to. I take my role as a leader very seriously, to be someone that these kids can feel like they can talk to and I won't judge them but rather just listen, help when I can or just be there when I can't. Hopefully this means I can be a friend and a positive influence to them, and I am thankful I have the opportunity as a youth group leader to do that.

Day 246...

THURSDAY 7.5.15 - I am thankful for... Oliver Browns... Yum Yum!

*Picture from www.foodspotting.com

A friend from church, now living in Orange was in Sydney for her university graduation and a few of us were able to catch up with her tonight. We went to Oliver Browns, a chocolate café. I have only been there a few times, which is good because otherwise I would be probably be obese and diabetic, all from my own doing. They have the most delicious food and chocolates there, my favourite being their mint hot chocolate with dark chocolate! Absolutely divine! This makes today's thankfulness very easy, I am thankful for Oliver Browns, but also that I don't go too often. Besides, you don't want to spoil an indulgent experience.

Day 245...

WEDNESDAY 06.05.15 - I am thankful for... Avocados

I was soooooooooo lazy this morning. I decided that I would get breakfast and coffee this morning at work. The Shed, which I have mentioned in my blog before, serves delicious food as well as great coffee so it was the obvious choice. It was quite easy to decide what I would eat - avocado toast, with tomato and feta, drizzled with olive oil. It was incredible and just what I needed! I love avocado, especially for breakfast. I love it when you cut into an avocado and it's perfectly ripe! If it wasn't for my genetic high cholesterol, I'd eat it all the time. I am very thankful for avocados and that I am able to eat them, even if it isn't as often as I'd like.

Day 244...

TUESDAY 05.05.15 - I am thankful for... Working with caring medical professionals

*Picture from www.devianart.com

Our patient clinic ran all day today. This happens once a month when one particular doctor is here to see the patients. It is usually quite busy and chaotic, and this morning was no exception. This particular clinic is for patients with implanted defibrillators. Every single patient this morning had an issue, whether it was the their device, their leads, their treatment etc... Every. Single. One. Needless to say this clinic ran overtime, but only because the doctor took his time with every patient, explained to them what was happening in terms they understood and organised what needed to be organised. We even had a patient we sent for a chest xray because we believed the patient's leads in the heart had moved, and when the patient had come back, been waiting for a number of minutes and the xray hadn't come through, the doctor walked down to the xray department, in his lunch hour, to have a look at it their so the patient didn't have to wait longer. This doctor is always incredibly busy, to the point I feel he probably does too much for his own good, but is such an excellent doctor and never once complains. I feel privileged to work with such dedicated people whose passion for the patients is so obvious.

Day 243...

MONDAY 04.05.15 - I am thankful for... The people who collect our garbage

*Picture from www.news.com.au

Monday morning is our garbage day. We have about 10 garbage bins and 8 recycle bins for our apartment complex which are emptied each week, then a few men come and wash out the bins for us. I awoke this morning to the sound of the garbage truck, panicked for a moment as I thought I hadn't taken out the last bin of rubbish but then was relieved when I remembered I had. Being a garbage truck driver or garbage collector (I'm sorry I don't know the official job titles of each) probably has this stigma of being an awful job. You have to get up really early - especially in winter - and deal with everyone's stinky rubbish. I am very thankful that we have people to do this job for us, it's really quite important to all of our neighbourhoods. If you've ever been around when your garbage collectors go on strike, you know how annoying it is to deal with mounting piles of rubbish. So I chose to be thankful for these people and definitely not take them for granted. If you are one of those people reading this, know you are truly appreciated!

Day 242...

SUNDAY 03.05.15 - I am thankful for... An excuse to wear pyjamas all day long

And I'm sick... AGAIN! Had a migraine last night now just had smaller headaches an felt ill all day. Unfortunately it meant I could go out today, not even to church. Bummer. It's it great though when you have an excuse to just laze about in your pyjamas all day long? That's exactly what I did today. So comfy and you don't have to worry about anyone else seeing you. So while I wish I wasn't feeling so unwell, I'm glad it has given me an excuse to be in my pyjamas all day.

Day 241...

SATURDAY 02.05.15 - I am thankful for... Coat hangers

Another day, another downpour of rain. All this rain is making it really difficult to get any washing done. I think my house mate had his washing in the machine for several days, hoping sun would come out but it didn't, so he had to wash his stuff all over again. Thank goodness for coat hangers! Today my apartment was turned into a laundry with clothes hung everywhere, on the indoor clothes rack, door handles and the shower curtain rail in the bathroom. Clothes everywhere! It was definitely helpful to have coat hangers to hang clothes off of to assist the process of drying them, albeit slower than usual. The best of an annoying situation really.

Day 240... It gets easier the more days you do it :)

FRIDAY 01.05.15 - I am thankful for... The ability to hold my tongue

*Picture from www.corcodilos.com

I'll start off by saying I'm very proud of my job and work very hard to do the best job possible. When we are doing EP procedures sometimes they take a little longer than we'd like, but that it is the nature of what we do. Today we had a very full on case, not that it was terribly 'difficult', but a case that required several different pieces of equipment and a significant amount of time to set up. Because of this we had extra hospital staff that worked with us that don't usually. I'm being vague on purpose as I don't want to name and shame anybody, nor disclose facts about the patient for confidentiality reasons. Besides it's not the purpose of my topic today. One particular staff member was, shall we say, a little less enthusiastic about what we were doing than the rest of us. To be fair, what we do is not everybody's cup of tea, and this person may well have just been bored by the process. Fair enough. However, what really got to me were the negative, non-constructive comments about how we perform our duties in the case they were throwing about, even thought they weren't directed at me personally. I believe "amateur hour" was one such comment. I very strongly believe you should not criticise how someone does their job, especially if your job title and duties are completely different. This person had very little idea or understanding about the intricacies of the case but felt justified enough to say such things. It made me extremely uncomfortable and I'll admit, quite angry. How dare they come into OUR workspace and judge us on how we do our job when they clearly don't do the same thing we do! I'm sure some of you reading this have probably had similar occurrences at work and felt similarly to what I did. It would have been easy to just blow up in this persons face and call them out on it, however that's extremely unprofessional and doesn't achieve anything useful. I am very thankful today I was able to just "breathe it out" and not a say a word. I was not rude to this person but because of how I was feeling did not go out of my way to converse with them in case I said something I regretted. I just focused on my job and duties. It's very sad on that person's part to to negatively comment about people. No good can come of it and I feel almost sorry for them. Almost. I am glad I was able to bite my tongue today. Hopefully I won't have to worry about doing so in the near future.

Day 239...

THURSDAY 30.04.15 - I am thankful for... Comedy

*Picture from www.brixtonbuzz.com

I woke up this morning to a message from my boyfriend asking me if I'd like to go with him to a comedy show tonight. He'd bought the tickets so long ago that he'd completely forgotten about it until Ticketmaster sent him a reminder email. Thankfully I had no concrete plans so was able to go. It has been ages since I've seen a live comedy show so was looking forward to it. I had not heard of this comedian before, Noel Fielding, but my boyfriend is a fan.I must admit though, besides Ross Noble, Carl Barron and David Strassman I really don't know a lot of comedians. But I do know Noel Fielding now and really enjoyed his show. It was light hearted and took the mickey out of himself almost all the time. The content of his 'jokes' didn't stretch the boundaries into the inappropriate or offensive at all, at least not to me. In my opinion it was a great show and I'm glad I went. Comedy can be very hit and miss for both comedian and audience. However, laughter really is the best medicine so I'm glad there are people out there providing healthy doses of it.

Day 238...

WEDNESDAY 29.4.15 - I am thankful for... World aid

*Picture from www.abc.net.au

I'm sure most of you have heard already, but in case you haven't, Nepal suffered a catastrophic earthquake on the weekend. So far the death toll is around 4000 people and still rising, with many more injured and homeless. This one incident has affected millions of people, all in one moment. The pictures of the devastation we have seen on the news and social media are horrible to say the least. When I heard of this, my heart sank because I have just started sponsoring a child in Nepal, a 12 year old, as of January this year. I still haven't heard of his well being, of course such knowledge will be hampered for some time due to the large scale of the disaster and lack of telecommunications in the country. The thing that always gives me the greatest joy in these horrible circumstances is the way the world responds. Thousands of people from several countries have already sent personnel and supplies to the worst affected areas to start search and rescue as well as providing people with necessities, with millions more donating toward the cause globally. So many non-profit organisations getting in there and doing everything they can to help out, it's so wonderful to see. It is often in the very worst of times the very best of humanity shines through. This time is no exception. I am so very thankful today for all the people who have donated time, money and supplies to help the people of Nepal. I continue to worry and pray for my sponsor child, for his saftey and well being of his family and hope to hear news soon. In the mean time I'll continue to be grateful for the world aid being provided to those people affected.

Day 237...

TUESDAY 28.4.15 - I am thankful for... Toothpaste

*Picture from www.carolinasdentist.com

Another fairly simple one today. I love the feeling of freshly cleaned teeth. From a young age my mum stressed the importance of clean and healthy teeth and gums to my sister and I. Nothing quite beats a dentist's clean, but still. Thank goodness for toothpaste, something that cleans your teeth and helps to protect them from everything we eat. It's something we probably all take for granted, but not everyone has the access to toothpaste like we do here. I chose to not take the simple things for granted, especially toothpaste.

Day 236...

MONDAY 27.4.15 - I am thankful for... Blogger

 

Fairly simple one today. Nothing remarkable happened today. Work was good, bible study was good. So whilst thinking of something to be thankful for, I thought, why not the blog website I am able to create my blog on? I can't even remember why I chose blogger to be honest, but it has been simple and easy to use and I'm really grateful for it, that it's free and available to use. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is new to the blogging world :)

  

Day 235...

SUNDAY 26.4.15 - I am thankful for... Breakfast

*Picture from www.womenshealthmag.com

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I honestly believe that is true. During high school I often found it difficult to eat so early in the morning, and still do on occasion. However if I don't eat breakfast I find I'm super hungry and tired the rest of the day, so I realise it's important. My friend and I met up for breakfast this morning for a much overdue catch up. Obviously, it was a little later in the morning so it was easier to eat something a bit more substantial. My breakfast was absolutely delicious and I ate every single last bit of it! It was such a great way to get the day going, breakfast and a great catch up. Seeing as my friend is pregnant we may or may not have spent a little too much time in Pumpkin Patch afterwards obsessing over baby clothes... Needless to say I am thankful to have gone out to breakfast this morning, was a great excuse to meet up with a good friend and to start my day off the right way.

Day 234...

SATURDAY 25.4.15 - I am thankful for... ANZAC Day

On this day, 100 years ago Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on the sands of Gallipoli to fight against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. We were allies to the British and thus followed them into battle. However, it turned out to be a massive failure and all remaining troops were evacuated by the end of 1915 after all parties suffered a great number of casualties, about 8000 Australians had died during the campaign, nearly 3000 New Zealanders with greater numbers of British and French and even the Turkish opposition losing many more soldiers. ANZAC Day was originally established to honour and remember those men who gave up their lives or were gravely wounded for 'King and Country' in World War I, but has since become a national day of remembrance for all members of our armed forces who have fought in wars since then. I saw an interview this morning in which the journalist, who was at Gallipoli for the ceremony, said that a number of Turkish people were a little confused as to why we would "celebrate a great defeat". We don't see today as a 'celebration' but rather a commemoration of Australian military personnel who often demonstrated endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour, mateship and of course larrikinism in the face of death, known as the 'ANZAC spirit'. We do this to remember them, to show how truly appreciative we are for their sacrifice that we might continue to be a free country. Who knows how things would have turned out if they hadn't. It is also the one day of the year every Australian has in common, regardless of race, religion, age, social status, whether you were born here or immigrated, we are all Australian. We all owe our way of life to the men and women who sacrificed theirs. 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,We will remember them.

Lest we forget...

Day 233...

FRIDAY 24.4.15 - I am thankful for... Inspirational stories

*Picture from www.amazon.co.uk

One of my colleagues at work lent me a book to read. It is called A Friend Like Henry by Nuala Carpenter and is a true story about a mother's journey with her autistic son in a time when Autism was relatively misunderstood and diagnosis and treatment not well established. Henry, as mentioned in the title, was the family's pet dog and was instrumental in the boy's progress during his childhood. If you haven't heard of it or read it, I highly recommend it. It is truly powerful and inspirational, about beating the odds and never giving up no matter the obstacle. Stories like this are so important to share because there are many people living and dealing with adversity on a daily basis. Those people need to know they are not alone in this world and can overcome there circumstance with the knowledge and help from other people. I also enjoy hearing about people succeed in life. It just warms your heart. Unfortunately the world is a hard place and all too often people go through great hardships, so it's always great to hear about people who rise above their circumstance. I'm really glad I read this book and many others that are true inspirational stories. Makes you grateful for all you have.

Day 232...

THURSDAY 23.4.15 - I am thankful for... Sticky notes

I have the coolest stack of sticky notes at work, in 4 different colours. I bought them from Officeworks when I did my stationary shop for my work desk a few months ago. Obviously you have to work through 1 colour to get to the next, but it looks so pretty! Besides their aesthetics, sticky notes come in handy, especially at work. I'm constantly writing down phone messages and things I have to remember to do/buy and sticking them all over my computer, desk and keyboard so I don't forget! I find if I don't write things down when I remember them then I often forget them or remember them when it's too late. Thank you to the person who invented post its/sticky notes (all I know is it wasn't Romy and Michelle, hehehe) because they are really handy, useful little pieces of paper used my millions of people who are probably equally as thankful for them!