October 2025 - PLAYWORKEATREPEAT

October Favourites

Hi friends! I hope you’ve all had an amazing week. I’m excited to be back to share some of my favourites from October. It’s an October Favourites edition! Which feels just right, since (can you believe it?) it’s the last day of the month. Oh, and by the way, Happy Halloween! I’m pretty sure I say this all the time, but whoa, didn’t the month go by so fast! We said cheers to the first day of October with a yummy snack of salami, crackers and halloumi. Spring School Holidays In October, I had a relaxing school holiday break and enjoyed the gorgeous spring weather. First on the holiday agenda was a fun catch-up with friends for lunch. The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney I also did a day trip to the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney, where my funny friend and I admitted we do not have a great sense of direction. To be fair, the garden is huge! We ended up using my phone to guide us to where we wanted to go. My iPhone has this feature where you hold it up and giant blue arrows appear to show you which way to walk. They reminded me of the arrows in a Mario Kart game, hehe. Here are a few pics of the beautiful gardens. Pamela Allen Exhibition After the Botanic Gardens, we went to see The Pamela Allen Exhibition. Pamela Allen is a children’s author from New Zealand who made her name in Australia. She wrote Who Sank the Boat? and Alexander’s Outing. We read her books to the children at preschool all the time. Such classics! After a big day out, you really can’t go wrong with a chicken and leek pie. It was so nice to sit down, eat, and chat. Cousin Connect In October, my aunt hosted Cousin Connect. Most of us managed to get together before some of our travelling cousins went overseas. October is Birthday Month Our younger son turned 21! We got lucky, and all five of us, the three of us plus my older son and his fiancée, had time off work during the day. At the birthday boy’s request, we went to see a movie and then had burgers and chips for dinner at a place called Mister Gee. We saw the Leonardo DiCaprio movie One Battle After Another, and it was so good I didn’t fall asleep once! In October, my eldest son turned 32. He came over our way with his fiancée, and we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, Lilong. Then it was back to our house for cake. Let me tell you about the funny cake incident. Since Luke moved out, he’s always come over for his birthday dinner — but this year, we were all less than amazing at communicating. I didn’t want to assume he was coming in case he had other plans, and he figured I’d automatically know he was coming over. So when he rang me while I was at work and said, “Hey Mum, I’ll be coming over at 7,” I was of course super excited… but we hadn’t actually planned dinner or a cake. I rang my husband and he came up with a plan: we’d go out for dinner, and he would ice and decorate a banana bread he’d baked and pass it off as a birthday cake. No one would ever know. Well… everyone figured it out immediately. At the very first bite: “Hey, isn’t this Dad’s usual banana bread? He’s just put lollies and choc chips on top!” Hahahahaha!!! “He thought we wouldn’t notice!!” It was very funny, and now we’ve made it official, Luke will be coming over for his birthday dinner every year, and next time he’s getting a spectacular birthday cake! A Day of Action In October, some of my work colleagues and I went to a day of action in the city. We’re standing up for fair pay for preschool staff and against the Premier of NSW, Chris Minns’s proposal to turn community preschools like the one I work in into long‑day care centres. If it goes ahead, I know I’d seriously be looking at my options. Community preschools are different to long day care centres. They mostly run during school hours and only during term time, focusing on the year or two before school. They offer more structured play-based learning, are not-for-profit, usually run by a parent committee, and have smaller groups with long-standing staff. One of the reasons we have less staff turnover is because we get term breaks. There’s no way I could work in such a demanding environment without those precious term breaks. I really don’t understand why the Premier wants to mess with something that works so well. Some of the signs I saw at the rally were very clever! Mochi Ran Away Last weekend, Mochi, our indoor cat, ran away! She got out into the courtyard and hid behind some pot plants. We didn’t notice and accidentally left her out there, which gave her the perfect opportunity to jump onto the neighbour’s garage and disappear into the neighbourhood. We walked up and down our street, knocking on doors, but she was gone, and we were so sad. I Googled “how to get your runaway cat back”, and it suggested going out late at night or early in the morning when everything is quiet and calling her name. So at 2 am, I went outside and did exactly that, and she appeared. I waited until she came to me and then gently picked her up. Well, I may have gently-ish grabbed her because my heart was pounding! Phew, what a relief to have her back home again. And that was a glimpse at a few of the things from our October. Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

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Celebrating a 21st Birthday Party at Home

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Hey friends! It’s great to be back linking up with Holly and Sarah to share a little about our weekend. Sam, our youngest, celebrated his birthday (which was actually two weeks ago) with a party. Not going to lie, I’m so glad it’s over because party planning is way outside my comfort zone. But the good news is that Sam and his friends had a great time, and my house survived the event! Woohoo! A couple of months ago, Sam asked if he could have his 21st birthday party at our house. That’s a reasonable request, except our house, although very comfortable and one I truly love, is more of a cozy, compact space than an entertainer’s home. We tossed around the idea of having it at a pub or a restaurant. But he was keen to celebrate at home with his friends. When we rattled off a list of things we’d have to do to get it all organised, he said, “Mum, don’t worry, it’ll be fine. We’ll just order pizzas and have some music.” Bless his positive, easy-breezy attitude. You and I both know that was never going to be all we needed to pull off a 21st! We were all busy with work, study, and everything in between, and Sam’s relaxed approach was a bit contagious. That is, until last Monday, when I started to panic! I thought, “Oh my gosh, we have only a few days until the Friday night event!” We all kicked things into high gear, ordering things off Amazon, shopping for snacks and drinks, preordering the pizzas for delivery, and organising the decorations. We hired a few bar tables and stools, and got an LED party light that pulses with the music. The boombox we wanted was unavailable. But luckily, my boss was able to lend us hers–phew! Then it was just a bit of furniture reshuffling, and I thought back to my post on entertaining in small spaces. I stopped panicking, pushed through, and it all came together. I stayed away that night to give them some space to enjoy themselves and celebrate. My husband was at work until 3 am, but our oldest son came over and helped keep things running smoothly. When I got home, I was super impressed with how all the rubbish was bundled up into garbage bags. And apart from the sticky floors, Sam and his friends had done such a great job cleaning up. It was clear they’d had fun, and I couldn’t believe how well they’d looked after everything. To be honest, I was expecting a total frat-house kind of mess like the ones I’ve seen in movies, so this was a very pleasant surprise. I’ve met most of Sam’s friends and always thought they were good eggs, and their party clean-up effort confirmed it big time! I was also happy to find that the only thing they ended up using from the “just in case” kit I left was the mozzie repellent. On top of the party being a big success, Sam got completely spoiled with presents, which none of us were expecting. He got money, Chanel cologne, and nine of his friends even chipped in for a ticket to Bali. So now he’s off to Bali with them for a week at the end of January 2026, gulp. I’m sure they’ll have a wonderful time, but I’m already looking forward to their safe return. Happy Monday, friends, and thanks so much for stopping by!

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Seinfeld Trivia Night: What I Learned About Myself

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During a recent Seinfeld trivia night, I discovered a side of myself I never knew existed. When I’m really into something, I go all in, completely all in, and suddenly I’m the person who wants to win. I become competitive! Yikes. This revelation made my head spin because I didn’t even know that person existed. Who am I? Why I love Seinfeld I think Seinfeld is one of the funniest sitcoms ever! The humour is so clever, and I love it because the punchlines are unpredictable. Well, after watching and rewatching it, I can predict what’s coming next. But the humour itself isn’t like so many other shows. I also love all the memorable quotes. I don’t think a week goes by without me sneaking in a Seinfeld reference. And yes, I can do the Elaine dance pretty well. Just ask some of my work colleagues! More Than Just Laughs Seinfeld isn’t just a sitcom for me. It’s more than laughing or cringing at the ridiculous things the characters get up to. It’s a fascinating look at human behaviour, social quirks, and the absurd moments of everyday life. And yes, most of the stuff they do is completely over the top. But I don’t think I’ve found another sitcom that makes me laugh out loud the way Seinfeld does. I actually think it’s a show about everything, not a show about nothing, which, by the way, was only one episode and not the original pitch. Seinfeld Trivia Night When my friend invited me to a Seinfeld trivia night, I was excited to go. I’ve been watching Seinfeld since it first started airing in Australia in the mid-90s. I would put my baby to bed and plonk myself in front of our old tube TV for my weekly comedy fix. So you could say I was pretty confident my general knowledge of Seinfeld was solid. But I wanted to be sure, and I probably studied for this trivia night more than I did for my HSC. I wanted our team to win. My friends, including my husband, were my teammates, and while they are all fans too, I’m pretty sure they didn’t obsess over it like I did. And then we lost, and it stung. I was surprised at how bothered I was because, before the trivia night, I would have easily said I am one of the least competitive people ever. I don’t even have a favourite football or soccer team. But then again, put Australia at the Olympics, and suddenly I’m a die-hard fan of whatever sport is on. I can totally relate to Puddy and his face painting (if you know, you know). So what does this mean? Am I actually competitive or not? Was the Seinfeld trivia night just a one-off competitive moment I experienced? And are there maybe a couple of things that trigger me into competitive mode? Come along with me as I explore this aspect of my personality. Because it’s never too late to discover new things about yourself. Giddy up! Intrinsic Motivation Is My Driver I’m putting on my pseudopsychologist hat and saying that the Seinfeld trivia night turned me into a competitive person (for a short while) because it tapped into something I enjoy. I didn’t really care about the prize. In fact, I didn’t even know what it was until after the night was over. Sure, the $100 pub voucher would have been amazing, but that wasn’t the point. It wasn’t just about beating others, although I still don’t know how the other teams knew what they knew! Google cheats? Nope. I’d better not say that because I don’t want to be a sore loser. For me, it was all about knowing the tiny details that got me motivated, like Jerry lived in apartment 5A (though it was 3A in the early episodes), Elaine got banned from ordering at Hop Sing, you have to say please and step aside when ordering soup from the Soup Nazi, and George’s ATM password was Bosco. Remembering all of that lit up my brain. And all of that trivia only mattered to me because I love the show so much, and that’s what motivated me. It wasn’t for anyone else. It came from within. Intrinsic! I Got A Dopamine Hit! Humans are wired to feel pleasure from mastering things that challenge them. For me, the Seinfeld trivia night was a test of how well I could remember all those small details. Apparently not as well as I had hoped. That buzzy feeling of knowing you’re good at something you actually care about is a dopamine hit. That’s why I got so absorbed, so “all in.” It’s not a feeling I notice too often, and I liked it. Selective Engagement The fact is, I’m not competitive about everything, hardly anything if the truth be told. Which is probably why my mother-in-law couldn’t relate to me, but that’s another story. Something has to really and truly resonate with me to bring out that competitive spark. So far, I’ve discovered two things: Seinfeld trivia and cheering for Australia at the Olympics. No Ego I wasn’t out to prove anything to anyone. It was all about me, my love for Seinfeld, and my own enjoyment. Me, me, and more me. Am I Competitive After All? So I guess in short, I’m not competitive all the time. But I can be competitive, super focused and maybe a little absorbed in the things that I love. Who knew a trivia night could teach me so much about myself? Get out!!

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Snack Time! My Favourite Go-To Snacks

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It’s great to be here today with the lovely ladies from the Share Our Lives link-up. This time, we’re chatting all about our go-to snacks. Thanks so much for stopping by 😊 Now, let’s see… what are some of my go-to snacks? Well, to be honest, I don’t really snack a whole lot during the week. I’m not sure if anyone else is like this, but I actually love feeling properly hungry before my main meals. It makes them feel like a real event! I look forward to lunch and dinner (not breakfast—I’m never hungry first thing in the morning). And I love that when I finally sit down to eat, it feels like a major occasion. I even try really hard not to moan after every bite, because that would just sound too weird, right? Snack Time Although I don’t usually snack during the week, that all changes when Friday night rolls around. Because that’s when snack time is on like Donkey Kong! Here are some of my go-to savoury snacks: Nuts – I love all nuts, but these Kri Kri peanuts from our local fruit shop are just so delicious. Chips – Salt and vinegar or plain are my favourites. Cheese – with or without crackers. Corn Thins – When I feel like I need to pretend that they are a healthier option. Are they? No, don’t tell me. Seaweed – So deliciously salty and crunchy. Until two years ago, I avoided seaweed because it’s high in iodine and I had thyroid issues. Now that I don’t have a thyroid, I’m making up for all the times I had to say no to seaweed. My go-to sweet snacks: Cadbury Hazelnut chocolate – this one is dangerous because I buy the block and it’s so hard to stop at just a few squares. Snake lollies – The green ones are my favourite, but I also love the orange ones because they remind me of the lollies I used to get as a super special, once-every-few-months treat when I was little. Peanut M&Ms – Nuts all the way! Cadbury Flake – crumbly and yummy Picnic bars – I clearly just can’t get enough nuts. Now, I know I said I don’t snack much during the week, but when my work buddy is rostered on for a casual day, she usually brings me some kind of delicious treat. She’s introduced me to some of the best snacks ever, and every time she’s called in to work, I just know it’s going to be a fun day. And no, it’s not just because she’s my snack supplier… haha! My healthy snacks: Plain yoghurt with honey and berries Fruit – Usually grapes when they are in season. At the moment, I’m enjoying the small mandarins I buy from Woolworths. They remind me of the ones I saw on our trip to the U.S, called Cuties. So there you have it, my go-to snacks. I sure do look forward to Friday nights and the weekend when it’s open season on snacks. What about you? Are you more of a weekday grazer or a weekend snacker? Linking up with Adrienne, Dara, Joanne, Jen and Sarah.

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