Me on May Bank Holiday Monday

How's this for multi-tasking - I'm linking up with Sian and Cate .  Sharing what I'm up to every Monday AND Blogging every day in May.
Me on Monday? Catching up on blogs and realising it is far easier to type up blog posts on a proper keyboard rather than an ipad.

I love long weekends, (what's not to like?)even though I only work a half day on a Monday there's something nice about not working at all!
So far this weekend has been a load of balls.  Seriously.  Balls.  Everywhere.  From the tennis ball that Coco buried in the garden after misunderstanding the rules of 'fetch', to the sound of leather on willow as the local cricket club started the new season - thereby redirecting us from our normal walkies route across the cricket pitch to get to the local park.  You can, of course, still walk that way but you run a serious risk of head injury if you suddenly hear a thwack of a ball on bat and the sound of one of the fielders (is that the correct term?) running towards you.  We do like to live on the edge round here but when it's the junior team batting you do have to do your own risk assessment.  Where was I?  Ah yes, balls.  Snooker balls.  The husband is obsessed keenly interested in the snooker championships this year.  Every time I go in the lounge he is watching snooker.  'What frame is this' '6' 'is it nearly over then?' 'no' 'how many does it go up to?' '35'
So Monday finds me desperately trying to tidy/de-clutter/hide things I store in our study.  We're having new carpet fitted on Wednesday and the room has to be empty.  Well, let's just say that was a bit of a challenge.  I don't mind de-cluttering but it has to be done on my own terms, in my own time.  I have to wait until I'm in the right frame of mind.  So whilst the husband was watching frames of snooker, I've been framed into de-cluttering.  I must be honest and say I've surprised myself because there was a lot of clutter to go through. 
While escaping from the snooker I also used a bit of computer time to order some make up I had been promising myself.  I had a make up lesson at the Bobbi Brown counter just before my birthday and bought a few bits, but couldn't justify buying everything I liked in one go.  I love the fact that John Lewis deliver for free to our local Waitrose and also the fact that they had an offer on where you get a £5 voucher for orders made in May.  I take this as an omen that the time was right to get the rest of the makeup!  Especially after reading an article on how often you should replace your makeup.  Those use by symbols are there for a reason - who knew that much bacteria could get in a mascara wand?
So this is me on Monday - let's give up a wave to Sian and see who waves back!

Just a quote

Trust that everything happens for a reason,

even when you're not wise enough to see it.

 

Like most families, we've had ups and downs.  When you're hit by a 'down' sometimes the only thing that gets you through is the belief that there are better things around the corner and that there is a reason why the path you thought you were following has suddenly taken an unexpected route.  Only when things are better can you look back, reflect and see that if that 'blip' had not happened you would not be in the better place that you are now.  You have to trust.  Trust that there is a reason these things have happened and trust that better things are round the corner.  Because they are there waiting!

 

What's your favourite quote? 

 

 

What's that you're reading?

Todays prompt is to share what I am reading this week.  Am I allowed to include blog reading in this list?  Because to be truthful that does make up a lot of my reading material some days!  Facebook?  Is that considered reading?
I'm reading a book on my Kindle but - to be honest - I'm not really enjoying it.  I only downloaded it because it was 'Deal of the Day' and it's ok for the 79p or whatever I paid for it.  It's called 'The State We're In' by Adele Parks. I'm 67% in so on the homeward straight now. 

It kind of has a predictable story line but maybe it will surprise me in the last chapter!  I think the problem is that I really enjoyed the last few books I read, they were more psychological thrillers - the last one was The Good Girl by Mary Kubica - that really had a twist in the tail!  I've got 'Six Years' by Harlan Coben lined up to read next which comes recommended by my daughter. I do like a good mystery!
As for magazines, there's Slimming World which I buy when I go to weigh in. 

I'm at target weight now so only have to go once a month.  Which means I eat what I want for 3 weeks then scour the pages for new recipes to undo any damage for the 7 days before me and the scales meet again. So far this strategy is working but I do have a weakness for jelly babies which happen to be on special offer at the supermarket at the moment.  It's just so easy to have a pack open on the breakfast bar and dip into it every time I walk past.  I need to stop buying them!

Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine is on subscription and I could easily spend hours getting inspiration or finding new fabric websites to browse.
I can't say that I'm reading many newspapers as we are in the midst of election manifestos at the moment and I know I should maintain an interest but it's been going on for so long now!  So the weekend papers are my choice at the moment, and then truthfully the supplements are being read more than the actual news.

Linking up with Cate - 2 days out of 31 done.  Is it too early to say that I'll still be going strong at the end of the month?  Yes, I thought so too.

My family right now

I'm a regular visitor to Cate's blog and she has started a month long challenge to Blog Every Day in May.  As someone who has been known to neglect her blog from time to time - I thought I would try and join in.  So here we are.  First day of the month will all good intentions firmly in place!  My family right now is todays project so here we are:

Paul - when he was made redundant four years ago it was a bit of a shell shock. But you know that expression that everything happens for a reason, you just can't always see it at the time? Well that was so true. The commute into London was becoming more and more tiring and frustrating, the new owners of his company were more and more demanding and unreasonable and the stress was starting to show on his health. But now he is 'semi-retired, working a couple of days a week doing property inspections of rental properties for a local estate agency.

 

Rachel - has moved out; having bought a house just down the road with her boyfriend. She works as a PA for a director at a firm of Surveyors in London. Right by the shops of Oxford Street, very handy for lunchtime shopping! 

 

Jon - he too has moved out and is renting a flat in London with his girlfriend. Trying hard to break into the world of publishing and realising it's a tough environment in which to get a job. But after working first as an intern and then on a temporary contract, he has recently been given a six month contract at a large publishers in the city. Also trying his hand at writing and hoping to get some of his short stories published and recently heard that one  has accepted by a magazine.

 

Me - still working part time as a school secretary. Channelling my crafting into sewing nowadays instead of scrapbooking and loving it! Currently planning a new kitchen, which started off exciting, then stressful, trying to get everything that we would like sorted, and realising that sticking to a new kitchen budget is not as easy as I thought!

 

Which leaves us with the final member of the family

Coco - Currently getting used to having two homes. We are sharing custody of her with R so she is here during the week and spending the weekends at her other home! I suspect that she is becoming accustomed to being spoilt rotten whichever home she is in.

Me on the last Monday in April

How did that happen? 4 months of the year gone already, crazy.

Did you have a good weekend? Did it fly by in the blink of an eye? Saturday was a day of finally getting round to those jobs we'd been putting off. For my husband, that final coat of paint on the walls of the study, for me, altering those new lounge curtains.  You see, for a procrastinator like me, the worst thing I could have done was to hang those curtains and pin them up to the right length. So they looked the right length, they looked like they hang nicely and only on closer inspection could you see that there were pins where stitching should be. Would anyone ever really get up that close to inspect them? It was such an effort to take them off the curtain pole, unpick the lining, alter the lining, stitch up the hem and re hang them. But it would have been more of an effort to get the paint roller out and help in the study, so I got the stepladder out and got to work. 

Out to dinner with friends in the evening, and despite a late night, I was still awake at daybreak on Sunday. Thank goodness (for many reasons) I wasn't running in the London Marathon! 

So today, Monday finds me visiting a poorly friend, and taking her some cute mini cupcakes to cheer her up .

Before I go, I'll be giving a wave to Sian and pop over to see what she's up to today. Fancy joining me? Come on, maybe we could pick up a few more cupcakes on the way!

Me on the first Monday back at work after the Easter holidays

... Otherwise known as Moaning Monday.  Oh but I dislike CPD days.  Sitting in a hall on uncomfortable plastic school chairs listening to facts and figures, predicted grades, percentage increases, blah di blah di blah.  The only respite being a trip to the office to see what emails have arrived in the two weeks off.

But I'm home now and it was a case of relaxing in the conservatory, reclining on the sofa and recharging before tackling dinner preparation.

The weekend was full and varied.  My husband and daughter went off on a bike ride on Saturday {we only have two bikes which is, of course, the only reason I didn't go too ;-)} Husband goes freewheeling down a hill, turns a corner too fast, bike skids on the baked stony track, he swerves to avoid a post and you can guess the rest.  My daughter who was a way behind him, saw him go out of sight, heard him scream and rounded the corner to find him flat on his back, with a broken cycle helmet and blood appearing to come from his mouth.  I think it's fair to say that the helmet saved him from some serious damage, and the blood actually came from a hefty graze under his lip rather than internal bleeding but it really shook her up.  Unlike him who got up, dusted himself down, checked his bike for damage and climbed back on!  I think it's fair to say it shook her up far more than it did him.  I suspect that as a boy, he has more than his fair share of bike 'incidents'.

I completed the finishing details to the top I was making

I am pleased with it, it's the first thing I've made to wear for years.  It was surprising how quickly I remembered the finer points of dressmaking, even making my own bias binding for the neck and armholes.  Then because I have the dressmaking bug, I made a little origami bag because ... well, just because really!  I've seen them on the internet and thought they looked cute.

Sunday we spent visiting my son in his flat in London.  He had moved to an area that I had no knowledge of, but had visions of Eastenders so it was a lovely surprise to see where he is and he's so happy living there.  It certainly is a very different area to where we live but it is obviously one of those areas that are becoming quite trendy.  Had a lovely Sunday lunch (Mum and Dad's treat, naturally) and a wander around, visited a local flea market and generally browsed around.

Then, back to reality and back to work.  Me on Monday - sulking! 

 

Giving up a wave to Sian, and giving a big wave to everyone else that is joining in to Me on Monday this week.

Me on the second Monday of the Easter holidays

You often hear football commentators refer to a match as a 'game of two halves'.  One half being played very differently to the other.  That kind of sums up my weekend.  A weekend of two halves.  One half crazily busy and the other half so laid back and relaxed I actually fell asleep for an hour in the afternoon!

We had friends over for dinner on Saturday night. So naturally the thing to do the day before was to start to repaint the lounge.  (It seemed a good idea at the time.) We only wanted to do one wall.  It had been wallpapered in contrast to the three painted walls but it's time had come to be a painted contrast wall.  We stripped off the wallpaper and got one coat of paint on by the end of Friday so that Saturday just needed the last coat followed by a lot of standing back and admiring.  My husband - who was of the opinion that he 'didn't see what was wrong with the paper, it's only been up a few years' had to admit that it looks much better now.  The new curtains which I had ordered and weren't due to arrive before the beginning of May suddenly became available so by the time our friends arrived the room looked quite different.

Of course in addition to the decorating there was the food shopping, chocolate roulade making, vegetable prepping, food cooking things that have to happen if everyone is going to eat once they get here.  Naturally I also had to totally blitz the dining room and conservatory because during the course of decorating things had migrated into other rooms and we ended up with one clean, tidy and redecorated room and two messy, dusty 'we can't let anyone come round this evening with the place in this state' rooms.

So no one will be surprised to hear that after a late night of entertaining, eating and drinking a little bit too much, Sunday was very low key.  The house was spotlessly clean, neither of us fancied much to eat or drink, football was on the TV and I just relaxed on the sofa and next thing I knew, the game was over and the dog was looking longingly for someone to take her for a walk. 

Onto Me on Monday - well anyone who lives in the UK will know that we have a General Election coming up.  Today the voting slips arrived.  

The weather forecast for today was good so I got the washing on early so that it could be dried outside for a change. I am still getting used to there just being two people's washing, my machine is certainly noticing a difference.  It no longer needs to go on every day - which naturally means less ironing so that's a bonus too!

Half way through the Easter holidays now; this time next week I will be doing CPD on PowerPoint and Excel. I feel another sleepy afternoon approaching.  Let's not dwell on that.  Let's think about that dressmaking pattern I have cut out and ready to go, not to mention the fabric that I bought to make my top. Let's think about those temperatures they are predicting for Wednesday.  Let's think about what hairstyle I can choose for my hair appointment this week.  Let's consider how scrumptious Coco is going to look after going to the groomers.  (Who will have the most dramatic make-over I wonder?)

While we're thinking of all those things, let's give up a wave to Sian who may be slowly sinking among a sea of granny squares and socks!