Chris's Ramblings: ooops...

i'm sorry...sincerely so for not posting an update on my blog sooner...but if anyone knows me well enough you'll know it's simply because i've been flat out busy lately and time had not been on my side. so this is what i've been up to since my past update...ready?!...ok

secretary, website admin, administrator, wife, newsletter put togetherer, shopper, house keeper, painter, artist, chief organiser, cook, psychologist, nurse, sorter, postie, mum, full time carer, advocate, spokes person, database admin, furniture removalist, taxi driver, liaison officer, counselor, wife, president, promoter, baker, registration officer, book keeper, bookings officer.......shall i go on?

i could add so much to this list like so many others i know...and amazingly enough if i went for paid employment with the criteria listed as such to be fulfilled, not only would i be qualified but the wage/salary a year would be rather financial. amazingly enough though i don't get paid for any of the above and certainly not on any professional level.

just imagine if i charged anywhere (depending on skill required) from $35.00 to $150 an hour...no one could afford to employ me, yet that's reality if i was in paid employment ,oh and 24/7 not just 6-8 hours a day and working a 38+ hour a week...let's take how much it pays to be a paid carer...the cost per hour from an agency/provider is around $35.06 an hour and that's without benefits (travel costs etc). now lets bring reality into this and see the difference.

shall i do the sums...yeh ok $35.06 an hour for let's say 9am to 5pm, 5 days a week = $1402.40 or 7 days = $1963.36

i am officially a carer to 4 family members and i get on the average around $200 a fortnight for being their full time carer...24/7 yep that's right 24 hours a day (on call from the hours of 1am through to 6am) and 7 days a week!!!

hummmmm something tells me that our 'reality' (the one we are living) is very different to people who simply have no idea......puts things into perspective doesn't it?!!!

anyhoo as i mentioned i've been a little busy...first up i started painting grace's room and have yet to do the trims and of course floor boards. so imagine grape sparkle for the walls, ceiling and cornices white, trims (window sill, skirting boards etc) vivid white (high gloss) and although won't be done for a while all floorboards once we've pulled up carpet, old lino and tiles will be painted black. i must say it's looking good.

all bedrooms will have the colours that the kids have chosen so for grace it's grape sparkle, isaac wants black walls, steph purple walls, our bedroom will be charcoal grey, the dining/kitchen and lounge will be deep charcoal grey, bathroom, loo and laundry all white and all rooms will have trims in vivid white, ceilings will be white and all floors will be black. kitchen however will have new doors put on the cupboards and done in high gloss black and as we have dark furnishings it's going to look awesome. everyone is happy (yay) with the colour choice and if grace's room is anything to go by already...wow!

oh i can hear you all now...take pics and let's us see and here i am saying yep i will but and yes there is a but...lol. this is going to be a project that will take time. we want to do one room at a time and it will be done as we can afford to do them but we are hopeful that by the end of this year, yes i know that seems like forever but remember that i'm a wee bit busy and we are on a very very tight budget, we will have everything done.

of course if anyone wishes to help by financing this adventure then we'll be only to happy to get things done quicker...lol ahhh wouldn't it be nice if we won a major makeover and i didn't have to do all the work...now that would be bliss!!! so as you can see we are keen, we are limited in time and budget but by doing this ourselves and when we can, the sense of accomplishment and achievement will be pretty darn awesome.

so as each room is completed over this year we will take photos and we will share our home interior decorating on a seriously tight budget with oodles of love...you'll just have to be patient (and so will i). ♥

ok sadly the photography has taken a back seat for now just because i'm busy however i have so many photo's sitting on my pc that i'm just gonna pop random ones in here and there from times past...enjoy!!!

oh and i almost forgot silly me but check out the latest layout...yep even managed a little creativity and so this is my first official digital layout for 2011, i am feeling quite a sense of accomplishment lately. ♥