Motivation

Today I managed to get my stuff together and arrange for everyone to be somewhere so I could go out. As a sidebar, I have to say I find it really frustrating that if I want to do anything, it is my responsibility to ensure everyone else is sorted. Even if I am going out for dinner with the girls, I have to feed everyone before I go. I digress.

Today I attended the first of 5 motivational sessions and it was actually really good. It wasn't the stand up rah-rah of Stephen Covey but it was structured in a way that made me think. What am I good at and what am I not good at. Initial motivation probably isn't really my problem. I am the ultimate "Ideas Man". What I am not, very clearly, is 'Action Man'. Pun intended.

The course is structured into blocks so as to deal with different segments as we go. It was great to have the opportunity and push to look introspectively at myself. What is my motivation and what drives me. What I did find that the person that I am nastiest to, the one who really gets all my mistreatment is myself. Things I would never do to a boss, in a workplace, I don't think twice about doing to myself.

Heres a classic example. Since Mum died I have cared less about mundane jobs - like the bills. They come in and I can identify them from the envelope. I know they are bills, I simply choose not to open them and pop them in a drawer. They all go in the same drawer. Then they start to change colour and come more regularly. Some of them that is, and they still go in the drawer. I assume with some of them they are beginning to threaten disconnection of the service. Thats what the phone, electricity and gas do. Its not that I don't have the money to pay, its really that I can't be bothered and don't want to deal with it. Ridiculous now that I write it down.

The radio went off the other day as the alarm for the big squirrel at 5:30am. You can imagine I was not at all impressed. I would usually roll over and go back to sleep, but this particular morning was an add about paying your car registration by month and not forgetting to pay it. I was not rolling over this morning as it reminded me that the car rego had not been paid. They do not send reminders just police cars that find you on the road and fine you double on the spot (sadly this I know from experience). Not only that but an unregistered car on the road does not have TAC coverage and is a big problem. It was this problem that moved me to action to pay that particular bill. The consequences seem to have to be insurmountable for me to take action.

It is for this reason that my homework will be addressing this area of my life. This roadblock that I use as an excuse to not do the things that I want to do because this is not done. I need to get control back, one baby step at a time.

Return

 My eldest has returned triumphantly, albeit very tired and smelly, from Cuboree. Our family dynamic has been a bit off as he has been away from a whole week, so we are all pleased to have him back home.  I think just as pleased as he is to be here - and the thought of sleeping in his own bed!

Cuboree 8 was run by Scouts Victoria in Gembrook this year. It is a bi-annual event and this year was the biggest on record. 3000 kids aged 7-10 along with 1500 volunteers were camping for the week and along with feeding, watering and generally keeping them safe, they also had a myriad of activities to keep all these kids busy during the day. There were no electronics allowed - at all!

 They set up a Facebook page to keep us in touch with what was going on and this was filled with group photos like the one above. I scoured these searching in vain for my bespectacled boy. Yet, we get home and I learn he is wearing a fluorescent yellow hat - good to know. When we looked at the pictures from the closing ceremony, the ones I hadn't seen, here is he easily visible in about 10 shots! Typical.

It was so well run - such precision. From letting us know when the busses were arriving to managing to feed that many kids. Most of the adults were volunteers so a massive thank you for all of their hard work and helping Xandy have such an awesome week.

Success

I like giving presents. I like thinking about them and shopping around and really don't like taking hte easy option and getting a voucher. One of my jobs was to do the thank you present for the team manager for rep basketball.  She is a friend of mine so it was easier for me to do and she was on holidays so there was no real rush- until now. Now she's back and collecting some stuff, so I had to have it ready.

I ended up with lululemon sports pants and a cap. She is a golfer and also goes to the gym so both I thought would be useful. She likes pink, cropped length coming into summer - done.

She was happy to get them, and I was happy to have the job done. However I didn't realise how happy she was until I saw her tonight at a girls night in trivia. Apparently no one has ever given her pants before and not only did I get the size right (this is hard enough to get right for yourself in their store) but the style and fit are something she hadn't tried before but were awesome. Now I have to puff my chest out and strut around for a while because I'm so proud of myself.

Then on top of this, my table goes on to win the trivia night for the second year in a row. Two wins in one night! It is the trivia night I look forward too because its not intellectual questions, it is trivial trivia - the stuff I am really good at. Makes me feel like I am not wasting my time watching the Bachelor (which I missed the finale to be at the trivia night) but I am actually researching!!

Minecraft club

 While the cats away..... or more specifically with Alexander at the Cuboree it was the perfect opportunity for the boys to have a sleepover - or as they said an overnight meeting of the minecraft club. Two members joined us from about midday and had a lovely time. They did a bit of mine crafting and played outside (all are basketballers). Above they are making their club tshirts which my boys were determined to make me do. This time I had to buy some shirts, but they all did the rest by themselves and they came out great.

 The boys are obsessed with making potions, so I incorporated this into a drink of milk, with flavours and also food colouring which they loved doing in little plastic milk bottles.

 

The night finished with a movie (Lego Movie) in their sleeping bags. 

We'd moved matresses into the living room so they could all sleep together. All the boys except one were fabulous, but its inevidible that your own kids are the one that you'd have trouble with. Spence was so excited and trying to make everyone happy - that is with the exception of me, who was far from happy with him. I let it go, but then he'd worked himself up so much that he was having nightmares during the night. Ugh. Not only having to deal with him, but concious not to wake the other boys. Mission accomplished, but lack of sleep when they rise at 5:50am does not make me a highly functioning individual!!