We went shopping for spring flowering bulbs this morning. Ended up in a Christmas grotto at the garden centre and bought a couple of new tree decorations. So much for 'not buying anything towards Christmas until at least November.'
But that's it for now - not one card or roll of wrapping will find itself in my shopping basket for at least a couple of days 😉
🎄🎄🎄
At the weekend our paper included this supplement
Do you listen to podcasts? My son introduced them to me a while ago when 'Serial' was top of the charts. I like a true crime story, especially one that isn't straightforward. I was hooked. Then last year I listened to 'S-Town' which certainly took some odd twists and turns. I kind of forgot to download any after that, until I had a phase of having trouble getting off to sleep at nights. I didn't want to disturb P by having a light on to read so I thought I would try listening to something through headphones instead. I discovered that some radio programmes do a podcast version and I've got hooked. It's nothing heavy - in fact a couple of them ensure that it is not a reading light that keeps P awake, but me chuckling to myself - he of course can't hear what is making me laugh as I've got headphones on and apparently it can be quite annoying to wonder what on earth I'm laughing about. But I have to say it is a great way to fall asleep (I quite often have to listen to the same podcast a couple of times as I am so relaxed I fall asleep before the end of it and have to rewind to hear the second half!) My podcast lists are a real mix of genres
Since reading the Sunday supplement I've downloaded 'Dirty John' and I think it's going to be a good one! Anyone else out there a podcast fan? I'd welcome any good suggestions!
... or how wearing your lucky knickers can put a spring in your step.
We had a training day at work yesterday. I was not looking forward to it as experience has shown that Inset Day speakers have a tendency to focus on teaching related topics which have zero interest to the secretarial staff from the office. There were two talks that were compulsory for everyone to attend. Then we were free to escape back to the office and get on with our normal work. We reluctantly took our seats. The first talk was entitled 'The Art of Being Brilliant'. And despite being very dubious about it, the talk actually was brilliant. The guy who took the course was funny, engaging and had some excellent fun ideas on positive psychology. He assured us that we would feel much more brilliant if we could walk into work like this clip from YouTube from the film 500 days of summer. Walking into work with a smile and positive attitude is contagious and if we all gave it a go, you just might all find the day went a little better.
There are 5 working days in the week, all exactly the same. Why do Mondays feel worse than Fridays? If you spend Monday feeling 'blurgh' it just makes the day seem longer and the weekend further away. And if one person in the office is feeling 'burgh' it's almost guaranteed to affect the way everyone else feels. We also spend too much time waiting for the thing that is going to make us happier. Saving things for that moment when everything falls into place and we think that life will suddenly become brilliant. Just suppose that this is your brilliant time. Suppose we can make this actual point in life a little bit more brilliant than we think it is. If we can recreate that Friday feeling on a Monday, the whole week will feel better. So, with that in mind... open your knicker drawer. We all have different kinds of knickers. Don't we? Average kind of day to day knickers, those we save for best - to wear under our favourite going out clothes, and those ones which have seen better days, nothing stylish at all just comfortable and do the job they're meant to do. Pick up those knickers. And throw them away. They don't make you feel good, and you may even be a little bit ashamed of them. When Monday comes, open your knicker drawer. Pick out a pair of your posh pants. Those ones which make you feel a bit special, they're newer than the old ones, probably a nicer colour or fabric, possibly trimmed with lace or ribbon. Now get dressed and ready for work. Do you have a little instant 'feel better' factor going on? You walk with a bit of a swagger, you know you look good underneath those ordinary work clothes. If you went to the loo and accidentally walked out the door with the hem of your skirt tucked in your knickers, you wouldn't be quite so ashamed. What's the point of keeping a pair of lucky knickers just for best, why not make today a little more special and wear them now. We're on half term holiday this week, but I just know that when we are all back in the office the following week, we're all going to be looking at each other and wondering if we've all done as he suggested!
