Ruth(playworkeatrepeat), Author at PLAYWORKEATREPEAT

kindness counts t-shirt for why it's important to be kind post

Why Kindness Is Important- 10 Ways To Be Kinder

I recently lost my mum and I am so sad. Some days I can’t shake off my sadness and other days I can thankfully make it through the day. In the weeks leading up to her passing when she was first diagnosed as terminal and then in the many weeks after she passed. I have been shown so much kindness and it has left me feeling really humbled. It has also made me stop and think about why kindness is important. This period in my life is really making me re-evaluate and question myself and my actions towards others. How kind am I? What can I do to show kindness to others? How can I ever express how truly grateful I am to my many friends and family who have showered me with kindness. How?? I guess the only answer I can come up with is…..”Do unto others” “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets” Matthew 7:12 There Are Many Benefits To Being Kind Indeed there are many benefits to being kind. Some of these are You will develop more friendships Being kind may have many important health benefits such as lowering inflammation, boosting your immune system, and may reduce blood pressure. Showing kindness can be good for your mental health as acts of kindness can reduce anxiety. Being kind may even mean you live longer It’s great that showing kindness towards others can have many important benefits. BUT I think that real kindness needs to come from a selfless attitude. I think we all need to be kind just because it’s important to be kind. Full stop. Kindness should come naturally and it should be our first instinct. It’s so easy to be kind to the sweet but not so easy to be kind to the sours of this world. You know the ones I mean. The people who cut you off when you’re driving. The ones who push in front of you at the supermarket. The grumpy, rude, mean-spirited people we come across in our everyday life. Yep, it’s not easy to be kind to them, sigh! Why Are People So Unkind? I have a really sweet friend who has an amazing ability to see things from the point of view of others. I have learnt a lot from her. She has this gift of understanding why people behave the way they do. On many occasions, I have expressed my irritation to her about certain people’s behaviour and she has gently explained that maybe they are going through a rough time. Sometimes people are unkind because… They Are Afraid Of Change Sometimes people who are afraid of change can feel threatened and not in control. And this can cause them to behave in a mean way. They Have Poor Self Esteem When people are brought up to believe that they are not good enough, they can often behave rudely as a way of trying to prove to others that they deserve to be seen and respected. They Feel Vulnerable If people have been abused in their lives. They may feel the need to act tough and aggressive in order to squash any feelings of vulnerability. They May Have Personal Problems Sometimes people may have personal problems that are causing them to feel incredibly anxious and overwhelmed. Anxiety can make people lash out in anger or cause them to behave rudely or in a controlling manner. How Can We Be Kinder There are many ways we can all be kinder. All it takes is a conscious decision and a change of mindset. We can CHOOSE to be kind no matter what. Here are some suggestions for ways we can be kinder. Kinder to others, kinder to ourselves, and even kinder to our world. 1. Smile! This is an easy starting point on your journey to be kinder. Just give someone a friendly smile next time you are at the shops, going for a walk, or running an errand. Years ago I was at the supermarket and I had just been to the doctor who had given me some very welcomed news. I was pregnant! And I was so happy that I couldn’t stop smiling. I smiled at an elderly gentleman in the Dairy aisle and he said to me words I will never forget. He said,” Thank you so much for smiling at me, you have no idea how much that meant to me”. I was taken aback, firstly I was glad that he appreciated my smile but then I felt almost felt guilty because my smile came from my own good news. Would I have smiled at him if I hadn’t received this news? I hope so. 2. Surprise someone with a visit or phone call Don’t assume that people are too busy, go ahead and visit or make that phone call. Just to be sure you’re not interrupting or catching someone at a bad time you could always send them a quick text beforehand. Then they will be able to let you know if it’s a good time or not. They will also be happy to know that you are thinking of them and you might even be able to reschedule for another time. 3. Use a kind voice Always try and use a kind voice, even if sometimes you might have to fake it because that person is irritating you. At least you know that you tried and I have found that on many occasions a kind word can turn away anger. 4. Drop off a care package During COVID lockdown I had some friends drop me off care packages. I thanked them profusely but I don’t know if they will ever fully know how much I appreciated this and how truly grateful I am for their kind gesture. 5. Drop off a meal When my mum was dying in hospital, the last thing I felt like doing was cooking

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My Go-To Summer Lunches

5 Comments / Recipes

Hi everyone, I am super excited to link up with Shay and Erika for today’s “Let’s Look” Post where the topic for this month is My go-to Summer lunches. It’s Winter here in Sydney at the moment but I still have a whole lot of yummy go-to Summer lunches that I really wanted to share with you even though I am freezing cold as I type this Brrrrr!! Salads Of Course! During the Summer months, whether I’m at work or at home I eat salad for lunch almost every day. Most of the time I jazz up my salads with a can of tuna, boiled egg, or chicken. My favourite type of salad is a good old Greek salad full of crunchy cucumbers, lettuce, tomato, and generous handfuls of olives and feta cheese. Yum!! But of course, any salad with crunch makes me happy. I have recently started buying shredded carrots and washed lettuce. So easy to throw together a quick salad with these. Quiche During Summer I like to make an easy quiche that usually lasts a couple of days for lunches. I can take a slice to work and my son can take a nice big slice to school in his lunchbox. So easy, delicious and healthy!! Spinach Pie This spinach pie is just delicious and is always a favourite in my house. You can eat it hot or cold and it will still taste great either way. Spinach pie is great to pack for a fun Summer picnic or it makes a great lunch when you are spending a day by the pool. Everyone is always hungry after a big swim and this pie hits the spot! Turkey Burgers My family prefers a turkey burger over a beef burger. If you use turkey mince instead of beef, your burgers are just so much juicer. I like to make a batch of turkey patties for burgers and they are definitely on the list of my go-to Summer lunches. Tuna Patties These tuna patties are perfect with any salad but my family especially likes to eat them with potato salad. They are neither too heavy nor too light. If you make a big batch they are just delicious for an easy summer lunch that you can eat over a couple of days or even freeze for another time. We sometimes like to eat them in a sandwich as an alternative to other lunch meats. They are also a fantastic healthy snack as your kids can just grab them out of the fridge whenever they are hungry. These taste great warm or cold. Hummus If you’re looking for a lighter Summer lunch option then I really recommend this delicious and easy hummus recipe. Long hot Summer days sometimes mean that you might not really feel like a heavy lunch. On days like this, I like to cut up some fresh crisp veggies like carrots, cucumber, and capsicum to dip into my hummus. So easy, and sometimes I will also add some multigrain rice crackers too. Good Old Bread Rolls We have a great bakery not too far from where we live and they sell amazing bread rolls. During the Summer holidays, I will sometimes go and grab a few for lunch. When I get home I will fill them with all sorts of different fillings. It will usually depend on what I have in the fridge. On most days I just fill these crispy bread rolls with ham, cheese, pickles, salad, a nice dollop of mayonnaise, and serve it with a side of corn chips. Yum! Keeping Things Simple Summer days mean that the last thing that I want to do is spend a long time in the kitchen. So I will usually make something that will last for a couple of days. I have a teenage son who is always hungry so I like to make sure that there is something substantial available for lunch in the fridge. Things like spinach pie, tuna patties, and quiche are so easy and best of all they keep everyone fed and happy. Happy Summer friends, all the way from wintry Sydney!

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candles for fun things to do when you are at home alone

Staying Warm And Cozy

13 Comments / Home

Hi friends, I know a lot of you are enjoying Summer at the moment and I’m feeling a bit jealous looking at all your sunny pics haha! As for me here in Sydney, it’s been freezing cold so this weekend has been all about staying warm and cozy! Hope you all had a great weekend. Here’s a snapshot of mine for today’s post, thank you so much for stopping by to have a read. I always appreciate it so much!! Friday Night We had our first Friday of the month dinner with my family at our place on Friday night and we had a blast. I love my family so much and every time we get together we have the best time. Not everyone could make it this time around and we missed a couple of family members. One had to work and the other had another commitment. But that’s ok, we’ll blink and before we know it, it will be our July get-together! Time flies by so crazy fast! I tried to keep the menu simple. With Steve working Saturday evening it meant that I didn’t have my right-hand man to help me. Because he’s in hospitality he knows exactly how to time things just right so that the food miraculously appears all hot and ready on the table. But I think I did ok and everything turned out great. We started with a cheeseboard. I made Mediterranean chicken served with a big salad, rice, crunchy baked potatoes, and garlic bread. Because you can never have enough carbs! For dessert, my aunty brought a big chocolate cake and I completely forgot to take a photo. But everybody loved it. Saturday I went to the bakery to pick up some bread rolls and on the way back to the car. I was struck by how blue the sky was. It was bright blue and sunny but super cold and windy. I spent most of the day doing some chores that I didn’t get to during the week. I went to change my son’s bed sheets. He normally strips his own bed but routine flew out the window this week. He was sick again with an upper respiratory tract infection plus he had a bunch of assignments due. Anyway, when I went to get the sheets off his bed I heard an unimpressed miaow. My little cat was staying warm and cozy all wrapped up in the sheets. Ha! she wasn’t too happy about having to move! I watered the plants with this cute watering can I picked up from Ikea a while ago. Initially, I didn’t like it because the water spilled if I tipped it too fast. But I have learned to tip slowly and it works great. A couple of months ago my Monstera plant had lots of new leaves that sadly turned brown and then black. When I googled it. Google said that it was because I wasn’t watering it enough. So now I am making sure that I water every Saturday. The same goes for my Peace Lily. So far so good. No more droopy plants or brown/black leaves. Fingers crossed these lovely plants survive my brown thumb. I washed my rangehood filters. I’ve heard you can put them in the dishwasher?? I didn’t this time but I should try it next time. A Surprise Dinner Invitation I was all set to spend the evening home alone watching a movie under a cozy blanket after dinner. Like every Saturday Steve was at work and Sam was out with his lovely girlfriend. But my friend rang me at around 6.00 pm and invited me over to her house for dinner. We only live a few streets away so I said YES! Got changed and was there in a flash. Impromptu dinner plans are so much fun and we had a great time. She made cottage pie and I found out why hers always tastes so good. She mixes parmesan cheese into the mashed potato before she spreads it over the mince. I will be doing this from now on for sure! Sunday We all slept in and skipped breakfast. Before we knew it, it was lunchtime. We had leftovers from Friday night (yes, I always seem to over cater). Steve went to work and I caught up on some blogging. It was another cold day and it just got colder as the sun went down. The sky was a very pretty pink though. As the sun started to set I went around the house lighting some candles. I’ve got these great battery-operated candles that I bought from Pottery Barn. I love them because you can set them with a timer and they turn on automatically at around 4.30 pm every day. Such a cool feature! I really love lighting candles in the evening, especially during winter. The warm soft glow of the candles makes me happy and It’s one of the things I like to do to make my home feel snug. A while ago I did a post on “How To Make A Home Feel Cozy”. If you would like to read about five simple ways to do this, you can find them here. We just spent the rest of Sunday at home relaxing which was really nice. See my little cat, she’s all curled up on her soft pillow under the coffee table. That just about wraps up my weekend. It was a fun one that as usual went by way too fast. I really do hope you all have a wonderful week. Happy Monday! Linking up with Holly and Sarah Sharing on

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Friday Already

2 Comments / Friday Favourites

Can you believe it’s Friday already? Friends this week has gone by so fast! I am super excited for the weekend as I am sure you all are too. This past week has been soooo cold!! I am tempted to take back what I said a few weeks ago. That I was excited about the cooler weather and looking forward to cosy winter nights at home. Indeed I am enjoying cosy nights at home but freezing cold days are not my thing at all. So this leads me to my very first favourite for this week. 1. My Jacket Oh, my warm Calvin Klein jacket I love you so much!!! I have been working at the same preschool for 25 years this October and every winter I freeze in the playground. I usually wear short jackets and I even invested in a Uniqlo feather jacket a while ago. But nothing compares to this jacket which I bought before winter hit. It is long, warm and cosy. I know that winter in Sydney Australia is pretty mild compared to some other countries. But anything under 15C is just like Arctic conditions for me. This week was one of those weeks where it got down to under 15C. It was so windy and because our preschool sits up high, the playground feels like it’s a wind tunnel. The kids are ok because they run around and get warm really fast. There are also some nice sunny spots around the playground. But in the afternoon it gets shady and even colder. So this jacket makes the top of the list for this week’s favourites!! 2. A Mecca Store I went to my local Westfield the other day and couldn’t believe my eyes! We have a new Mecca store that has just opened!! Mecca is an Australian retail store that sells all things cosmetics, skincare and perfume. The reason why I am so excited is if I ever needed to buy any really nice skincare or cosmetics. Then I would need to take a trip into the city as we don’t really have anything locally. A trip into the city isn’t really that far as it’s only about 25 minutes by train. But having a closer option is so much more convenient. Our local Westfield Shopping Centre is only about 2 minutes drive from my house. There’s nothing like the opening of a brand new store. It was buzzing with people, pretty bright lights and lots of friendly staff. 3. A New Concealer I was running out of concealer so it was a perfect opportunity to try a new one. I spoke to the lovely sales assistant and she suggested a few different concealers from different brands. In the end, based on my skin type she found this one for me. It’s made by a brand that I have never used before but I am so happy with it. I think that it suits my skin type and tone much better than my previous Chanel one. The sales assistant spent such a long time with me, very patiently finding the right one. Then as part of the new opening store promotion I also received a free gift in a lovely Mecca bag. This mecca mascara was all wrapped up in pretty tissue paper. I felt like it was my birthday! 4. Favourite Preschool Moments There was lots of building happening with blocks, Duplo and of course those fun Magna tiles. A very clever little friend made a house out of the Magna tiles. She was so proud of her work! There was more fun messy box construction! Puzzles This week was Reconciliation Week where we celebrate Indigenous history and culture in Australia. So at preschool we……. Had the sensory table with some fun Australian animals, pebbles and sand. Red, black and yellow playdough We also had a visiting indigenous artist who is working with the children for the next few weeks. The theme this week was waterholes so the artist showed the children how to paint them on their own small canvases. It was a fun week at preschool. Freezing but fun! I guess that’s it for this week’s Friday favourites. Four quick favourites, I’m having all my family over for dinner tonight. That includes my lovely children, cousins and their partners as well as my aunty and I am beyond excited. We made a decision earlier this year that every first Friday of the month we would get together for dinner. We are rotating where we meet and so this month we are back at my place. Wishing you the best weekend! Happy Friday friends! Linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s post

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Refreshed And Ready

12 Comments / Hello Monday

Hi friends hope you all had an amazing weekend and are refreshed and ready for a new week ahead. As usual, I am linking up with Holly and Sarah for today’s Happy Monday post. It was a great weekend and I was able to enjoy some really fun times. But it wasn’t super busy so it was a great opportunity to do some things just for myself. I think it was a perfect balance for me this weekend. Friday Night I made some fun Friday night plans for myself and I think that I will do that from now on. Over the last couple of months, I have kind of felt a bit lost on Friday nights. I’m happy that the working week is over but then I start to feel melancholy because I usually find myself home alone. Sam is often out with his lovely girlfriend, Steve is at work and I miss my Mum. On Friday nights we would often watch something on television together because I was less busy. Anyway, this Friday my plan included a shower by candlelight! I know, I know!! I should have had a spa bath but I just can’t quite bring myself to sit still for that long yet so a shower it was and it felt great. Then I had dinner by tealight in front of the TV. It was a cold night and I really enjoyed my pork knuckle roast, mashed potato, veggies, and gravy. With a fancy can of coke of course! While I ate I watched “The Devil Wears Prada”. Such a fun movie that I have seen before but not for a while. I love Meryl Streep in every movie and this one is no exception! After dinner, it was time for a steamy cup of hot chocolate with a pink marshmallow and a cream biscuit. Oh so delicious! I finished off the evening with a face mask in bed while I did a guided meditation on Youtube. Ha! I felt like I had a date with myself on Friday night! Saturday Saturday morning I woke up and there was my little cat looking at me! She was hungry for her breakfast. At midday, I headed out to my lovely friend’s son’s birthday party. He turned four and he had his party at a play centre near my home where my own kids celebrated some of their birthdays when they were little. It was all about Spongebob and my super clever and creative friend organised THE BEST party decorations I have ever seen!! She transformed that party room into something truly spectacular!! Look at these amazing party favors!! If I was four and received one of these I would have just about lost my mind with excitement!! There was even some delicious food for the grown-ups and I seriously could NOT stop eating!! I love these two so much! Here I am with the gorgeous birthday boy and his sweet sister. It was such a fun party and I had the best time. Saturday afternoon I dropped in to visit my aunty and we had a chat over a cup of coffee and some wafer biscuits. Then I went home to make some chicken schnitzels. I pounded the chicken and was about to organise the egg, flour, and breadcrumbs. But when I went to the fridge there were no eggs. Not a single one. Sigh!! I quickly drove to the local petrol station and picked up some eggs. Isn’t it annoying when you are committed to making a dish and then you find yourself short of an ingredient!! Grrrrr !!!! Anyway, it was worth it in the end. The schnitzels were delicious but they were a lot on the chunky side. I need to pound much harder next time. Sunday Brrrrr I woke up on Sunday and it was really chilly. The sky was a beautiful radiant blue but it was so cold and windy. I went to church for the 10.30 am service but I didn’t get home until 1 pm. It was such a lovely morning and so I just stayed chatting for ages. I got home and had lunch with the family, then Steve and I watched an episode of “The Office”. We are up to season 8, It’s still funny but I miss Steve Carrell in it. Steve went to work and I tackled this mountain of folding before heading out for a pedicure. I have only had three pedicures in my life but now I am completely hooked. It’s such a treat!! I got home at around 6 pm and then my Woolworths shopping arrived. I packed it all away, had dinner, and watched the final two episodes of “Anatomy Of A Scandal” Are you guys watching this? It’s really good and it has such a cool twist that I did not see coming. If you haven’t watched it yet, you really should! I guess that just about sums up my fun yet relaxing weekend. Thank you so so much for stopping by to have a read. I really appreciate it! Hope you all have a fantastic week. Happy Monday Friends! Sharing on

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Beauty Products I Use

6 Comments / Beauty and Self Care

Hi, friends thanks so much for stopping by to have a read. I thought that it would be fun to share with you some of the beauty products I use either daily or regularly. When it comes to beauty products I like to keep things super simple. I don’t wear a lot of makeup or anything like that. I just do the basics so that I feel ok about myself. And I like to make a bit of an effort just to make sure that I don’t scare the parents or the children when they see me at the preschool where I work. 1 I like my face to be squeaky clean before I go to bed. So I have recently started using this Neutrogena cream cleanser. When I was younger I would just use soap and water, but that is a big No-No!. Now that I’m getting older I am much more careful and have switched over to gentle cleansers like this one. I just keep this tube of cleanser in the shower and wash my face with it when I have my evening shower. Easy Peasy. 2 I have been using this Sukin night cream for a few months and it works well. My skin feels hydrated and the great thing is, that Sukin is an Australian brand and their products are 100% vegan and cruelty-free. The company is also certified carbon neutral and to top it off all its packaging is made from recyclable materials and is also recyclable. 3 I really love this Garnier Micellar water (oops I dropped the bottle recently and the lid snapped off). Anyway, it is absolutely fantastic for taking off eye make-up or any make-up in general. It is so gentle and leaves your skin feeling nice and clean. I just pour some micellar water onto these cotton pads and wipe gently. 4 I’m a big fan of face masks. I’m not particularly fussy about what brand I buy. I usually go for the ones that say firming and age-defying on the package, haha we can only hope! Oh yes and I like to buy the ones that are on special too. Face masks are fantastic and I probably should use them more often than I do. They’re really great because when I put one on it means that I have to lie down for at least 15-20 minutes. So I use it as part of my self-care routine. But I have to admit that when it comes to self-care I am a bit on the inconsistent side! 5 In the mornings I splash some cool water on my face and then apply some daytime moisturiser. The one that I use is also from the Sukin range. Then I just apply some of this BB cream. I know BB cream also has a moisturiser in it but my skin needs extra. I really like BB cream for a couple of reasons. Number one it is really fast to apply, Secondly, it gives me a nice sheer cover so my face doesn’t feel heavy as it does with a regular foundation. And lastly, it gives my face a bit of even colour. I get this BB cream from Aldi and it feels great, it’s super inexpensive and it matches the colour of my skin. 6 This Thin Lizzy Professional Loose Powder is great. It suits any skin tone and you can use it as a blusher, bronzer, eye shadow, face, and lip contour. I really like using it on my lips and then adding a bit of lip gloss for that natural look. 7 I like this concealer from Chanel and I really need to get more as this one is nearly finished. I have these weird liver spots on my face (what an awful name) and I use concealer to cover them up. 8 This Clarins Instant light lip perfector is really nice as it is a lovely lip gloss with a touch of pink. 9 My favourite lipstick and the one that I wear all the time is this Chanel Rouge Allure No 34. It’s a lovely matt colour that is not too red or too pink. I hope this colour never gets discontinued because if it did I would be devastated! It has taken me years to find a colour that I am truly happy with. 10 This mascara is also from Chanel and gives me just the right amount of thickness for my lashes. It’s not clumpy and best of all it doesn’t run. 11 I also love my Chanel eyeliner. It glides on really easily, but I try not to be too heavy-handed with it otherwise it looks a bit too harsh. These are my 11 favourite beauty products! I use the cleanser, moisturisers, concealer, lipstick and BB cream every day. The rest like the mascara, eyeliner and Thin Lizzy powder I will usually only wear when I go out somewhere special. I like to keep things simple when it comes to beauty products and skincare. But these are my go-to favourites that I use the most often. A while ago I did a post on 10 Simple Things You Can Do To Improve Your Skin. Here you can find some useful everyday tips and suggestions about things we can do to keep our skin looking healthy and full of natural glow! Linking up with Andrea and Erika Sharing on Create With Joy

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May Recap

3 Comments / Family Life

Hi Everyone It’s so nice to be back for today’s What’s up Wednesday post. Hope you have all had a great month. It’s so fun to peek into what people have been eating, watching, reading, and doing. I always enjoy reading these posts. As usual, I am linking up with Sheaffer and Shay. So let’s just jump right in and start with….. What We’re Eating This Week Being at work means salads on repeat for lunch. I jazzed things up a bit and instead of my usual salad with tuna, I made a really delicious marinated chicken breast instead. I cooked it on Sunday night then I chopped it up and portioned it out so that it would last me a for a few days. It was a nice change. This week we also had some delicious burgers. I used turkey mince instead of beef mince. My whole family loves the turkey as it is super juicy and tasty. It’s been a real winner! Monday night I made Paella. It turned out very tasty and the family enjoyed it. I made a cheats version which was super easy! I also made banana bread. It’s the first time in ages since I have baked anything. The cooler weather makes baking much more inviting. What I’m Reminiscing About Well, a lot of things that make me sad. I miss my Mum. What I’m Loving This big, long, warm jacket! I think that our playground at preschool might just be the coldest place on earth. But in saying that, I have to admit that I feel the cold extremely easily. I wore it for the first time last week and I felt like I was wearing my big warm cozy quilt. What We’ve Been Up To I guess we have just been up to trying to get back to normal life. Steve is working crazy, long hours and I am back at work. Sam is super busy with school work. He is doing drama as an HSC subject and so he has been busy filming. I have a starring role in his film. I have no real clue what it’s all about, but I just say the lines in my best creepy tone. Haha….apparently I do creepy well!! What I’m Dreading Thankfully nothing really. What I’m Working On I am painting the rooms in the house!! Well, I started strong when I was off from work. But now that the busyness of everyday life has taken over, I haven’t done much. I will definitely be getting back to this project during the next Term break which is only five weeks away. What I’m Excited About Cozy warm nights with candles, hot drinks, and fluffy blankets. I love Summer, but now that I have this issue with hot flashes….cooler weather is much more appealing. What I’m Watching I watched “Inventing Anna” which was very interesting and I just love her accent! I also watched “The Thing About Pam”. It was quite intriguing, but I didn’t love it. My sister-in-law recommended “Why Women Kill” so I gave it my ten-minute test and I was completely hooked! I watched the first season in a flash! The second season was good too. What I’m Listening To A lovely friend recommended a great podcast called “Separate Bathrooms”. Cameron Daddo and his lovely wife Alison talk very candidly and honestly about marriage. Camero Daddo and Alison Brahe were the “It” couple back in the late’80’s and early’90’s here in Australia. They were both involved in show business and modeling. They moved to America to make it big in the acting world. But… things didn’t go as planned. There was infidelity, bankruptcy, and a whole lot of other issues. They survived it all and through lots of therapy, they managed to stay very happily married and have raised a beautiful family. Their podcast addresses all these issues and I find their honesty so refreshing and inspiring! Highly recommend this podcast! What I’m Doing This Weekend I have just been invited to a birthday party! My lovely friend’s little boy is turning 4 and he is having his party at a play centre. I love her little boy and I am beyond excited! It’s been years since I have been to a children’s party. My boys are all grown up and I miss those fun days. What I’m Looking Forward To Next Month Next month is The Queen’s Birthday long weekend on the 13th of June. I love three-day weekends. ******* Thanks so much for joining me today for this quick May recap. I really hope you have the best Wednesday!

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Grateful For The Weekend

4 Comments / Hello Monday

Hi everyone, as always I am grateful for the weekend, especially after such a busy working week. But this weekend went by super fast! My wish for time to slow down did not come true but that’s ok. I’m happy to be back for another Hello Monday post where I am linking up with Holly and Sarah. Friday Night Friday night I was done! So exhausted that I could hardly move. After work, I did manage to do some chores though because I know that If I don’t get onto them then they will just snowball into the weekend. It was so cold on Friday night so I made a delicious cup of hot chocolate. I was really craving something super sweet so I even added more sugar to it! (I know, I know) I wanted to watch a movie but because I felt so tired I made sure to watch something that I had seen before so it didn’t matter if I fell asleep or not. So I picked one of my very favourite movies “Footloose”. I have watched this movie so many times and I never get tired of it. I had such a huge crush on Kevin Bacon when I was a teenager! Anyway, I had just started to watch it and I was about ten minutes in and my son Sam came out and joined me. So I started the movie from the beginning, made some popcorn and we watched it together. By then I was wide awake and Sam enjoyed the movie too. Now we’ve made plans to watch “The Breakfast Club” soon. ’80s movies are the best!! Saturday Saturday morning I had a nice sleep in and then got up to make breakfast. We had scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, fried tomatoes, and toast. I like to use a non-stick pan to make the scrambled eggs otherwise it’s just a big old pain in the neck of a mess to wash up if I use another pan. I also use a spatula instead of stirring the eggs while they cook. They turn out so yummy and fluffy this way. Hmmm, enjoying a steamy cup of Tetley tea in my new favourite mug! Saturday Night Saturday night I made a quick trip to Ikea and picked up a couple of things. Just a super cheap couple of LACK tables for the new “Hang Out” room. I also picked up these cute tea light holders. I love tea lights, especially on cold evenings! Feeling super motivated I put together the LACK tables and a simple desk for Sam’s room that I bought. Lucky I found this drill tool thingy we had at home which made the whole process of putting things together much easier and quicker. Sunday I skipped church on Sunday and I had a big sleep-in because I had gone to bed super late. Sam had a bad earache late Saturday night. Why do these things flare up at night? We did have a telehealth consult with a doctor on Saturday and she gave him a script for antibiotics. I ran out to get the script at the local pharmacy which thankfully was still open until late. I didn’t get to bed till after 2.30 am. A Delicious Lunch With My Family My Aunty and Uncle invited us over for Sunday lunch. I went by myself because Steve works weekends and Sam was sick. My cousin was there too and I had the best time. Nothing beats a great conversation with family after a yummy lunch. I love my aunty, uncle, and cousin so much. They have been so supportive over the last couple of hard months. When I got home Sam was still not feeling great and he had bleeding in the ear! So we headed straight for the after-hours GP at our local private hospital. After a two-hour wait, we saw the doctor. Lucky I took my computer and did some blog work while we waited. Sam took his computer too and did some school work. The nice doctor confirmed what Dr. Google had said….he not only had an ear infection but he also had a ruptured eardrum. Sigh!! Sunday Night We headed home after the doctors but stopped at Kmart first. Sam had to buy a tripod for his school assignment. He has chosen Drama as one of his HSC subjects and he needed a tripod to film something that apparently I have to be involved in too??? He didn’t feel well but these things need to be done because it’s his final year of school and this film he is doing needs to be submitted by Wednesday. Praying for miracles!!! After we got home I marinated and baked this chicken breast on Sunday night. My plan is to chop it up and add it to my salad for my work lunches. I am a bit tired of eating canned tuna every day!! So happy with how it turned out! I will make sure to share this recipe for the marinade soon. *********** I guess that wraps up our weekend. It wasn’t great because poor Sam was so unwell but it was still sprinkled with lots of special moments. And for that I am grateful. I really hope you all had a fun one! Happy Monday friends!!

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Getting Back Into Routine

7 Comments / Friday Favourites

Hi friends, I really hope you all had a great week and are as excited to see Friday as I am! For me getting back into routine again and being back at work means that the days just seem to fly by so fast. Seriously feels like it was Monday only five minutes ago! I just hope time slows down over the weekend!! #1 I’m actually happy to be at work and back into a routine again. Having had so much time off from work during term one meant that I hadn’t met some of the children in my class yet. Others I had met briefly only for a week or so. Anyway, it’s been really nice to get to know all the kids during the last couple of weeks. #2 It’s been all about this super fun sensory activity at preschool this week. Our classroom teacher programmed slime as one of this week’s activities and I found a really easy recipe. All you need is cornflour and handsoap! Smells so good and a lot of the kids have had the best time playing with it. It’s funny, some kids stay far away and can’t stand the mess. Others love this activity and can’t get enough of it. We had one little boy get so excited while he was playing that he started shaking his hands around making big slimy swirls in the air. Well, you can imagine what happened next…yep it went everywhere. The walls, the floor, one of the teacher’s hair! EVERYWHERE!! Haha. Look at my pants and shoes!! You should have seen my colleague’s entire black outfit. She was covered in white blotches. I meant to take a photo but we were so busy I forgot. We both had a good laugh though! #3 Another huge favourite of the week is this hair care remedy. I caught up with a friend one afternoon and I commented on her beautiful glossy hair. She really has the best hair! So she put me on to this egg remedy by “too cool for school”. If you have been reading along you’ll know about my constant battle with frizzy hair ugh!! I have tried many different products for frizzy hair with varying degrees of success. Anyway, this egg hair product smells really nice (not like egg at all) so I am giving it a go. So far so good, but I have to say that we have recently had some very sunny dry days this week. So my hair has been behaving itself because it hasn’t been very humid. But this weekend we are back to rainy miserable weather again. Hopefully, this new product will work a miracle. Watch this space! #4 I have been loving my lunch box from Kikki. K!! This gorgeous lunch box was in a beautiful care package that I received from my lovely work colleagues. I have really been enjoying eating my salads every day at work in this cute bento lunchbox! #5 My thoughtful, kind cousin gifted me this lovely pink mug from one of my favourite clothing and homeware stores, Country Road. It was a Mother’s day gift for me. She knew this year’s Mother’s day was going to be tough. So she dropped in with her lovely family and surprised me with this lovely gift a couple of weeks ago. It was so great to see them and they really cheered me up. I used it for the first time on Tuesday night and enjoyed a delicious steamy Moccona cappuccino coffee. #6 I enjoyed meeting up with my Gospel team on Wednesday night and our group leader made us these bible verses. I’m going to cut them out and stick them in my planner. #7 Another big favourite is this… I finished painting my Mums room and we have now converted it into a fun spare room where Sam can hang out with his friends. It’s not a very big room, and I guess you could call it cozy. But He’s super happy and I am too. It’s so much better than having the door closed all the time. I just felt so sad every time I walked past it. Now it feels like a whole new space and that makes me feel better. #8 Seeing the sun has been absolutely glorious!! We’ve had endless days of rain over the last few weeks. This has meant that at preschool we’ve been stuck inside all day with the kids. However this week we have all been enjoying the sun in the playground. Recently the weather has turned super chilly and I can definitely feel that winter is coming. But it’s been lovely to have the sun shining brightly for at least a couple of days this week. I guess that’s it for this week’s Friday favourites. I am so tired, it’s like my body has to get used to being back at work full time again. Wishing you all the best weekend and I look forward to “seeing” you back here on Monday! Happy Friday! Linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s post

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Visiting Beautiful Sydney

11 Comments / Discovering NSW Australia

Hi friends I hope you all had a great weekend and Happy Monday to you!! I had a lovely weekend but I really didn’t get much any house painting done as I had hoped. I did spend most of it relaxing which was good and very much needed. Trying to stay busy as a coping mechanism does have its downfalls. Exhaustion is definitely one of them!! The weekend before I went back to work in late April, I spent the day visiting beautiful Sydney with my lovely friend. It really was such a fun day and we were blessed with an absolutely glorious warm and sunny Autumn day. It’s fun being a tourist in your own city. So I thought I would share this day with you. Visiting Beautiful Sydney The Queen Victoria Building or QVB This was our first stop and I have mentioned this gorgeous building in previous posts. It’s beautiful and was originally built in 1898. Thankfully the QVB as we call it was restored to its former glory back in the mid-eighties. Before this, it had been run down and was almost demolished. Now it is heritage-listed and home to restaurants, cafes, and fashion boutiques. This is the view looking down from the third floor. The building actually has five levels. Look at this spectacular stained glass window. Isn’t it beautiful!! This is a small black wrought iron staircase that looks like it leads to nowhere. But I think it actually leads to a space between the stained-glass dome and the outside copper dome. A Yummy Lunch My friend and I browsed around for a while and then we headed over to a cafe called Wholegreen Bakery. They make delicious gluten-free baked goods and It’s become one of my favourite places to go for lunch when we are in the city. I can eat gluten all day long but my sweet friend is gluten intolerant, so this place is perfect. They have really delicious salads, wraps, pies, and other yummy pastries. Oh yes, and did I mention they sell wine too. I indulged in a glass with my lunch. My friend had a vegetable quiche with salad and a side of pesto I clearly couldn’t wait to tuck in! Lucky I remembered to take a pic before I inhaled my pie. It was a scrumptious chicken and mushroom pie with salad and a tomato chutney side sauce. We shared a pretty lemon meringue tart. The Rocks The Rocks, Sydney is where the European Settlers first arrived in 1788. This is where the convicts set up homes and shops. It is full of history and really is a must-see destination if you are ever in Sydney. Fun fact-It’s called The Rocks because the old buildings were made from sandstone. The Rocks are full of historic buildings, museums, galleries, laneways, and cobbled streets. You can also do walking tours which I have never done but I am keen to do one day. On the weekend you will also be able to visit the open-air markets where they sell street food, handmade jewelry, fashions, and art. I took a photo of this crystal gem stall because when my oldest son was little he loved collecting them. If he had come across this stall twenty years ago, he would have probably lost his mind with excitement! The Ken Done Gallery We kept wandering along and we ended up at the Ken Done Gallery. Ken Done is an Australian artist and his designs were hugely popular in the eighties. He had a range of clothing and homeware designs and I had a Ken Done quilt cover on my bed when I was a teenager. It featured the Opera House and I looooved it! As my friend and I wandered around the gallery we enjoyed a trip down memory lane but to be honest we were a little surprised at some of his latest works. A few of his latest paintings were quite unusual, and extremely pricey, like in the thousands pricey!! The Beautiful Opera House The weather was so warm and beautiful Sydney turned on its brightest blue sky so we just kept walking. We walked around to the other side of The Rocks along the foreshore all the way to the Opera House. The Toaster See this building next to the Opera House… When it was built in the nineties, Sydney was horrified! Most people hated it and it received heaps of criticism for its design and the fact that it blocked historical sights. So it was dubbed “The Toaster” because that’s what the people of Sydney claimed it looked like…. a big ugly toaster! There are actually three buildings and they are made up of residential apartments named The Bennelong Apartments with restaurants along the bottom level. I personally wouldn’t mind living in one of the apartments as the views would be spectacular. The penthouse was sold for a cool $22 million back in 2015 so I really don’t think I will be moving there any time soon. A Super Long Walk My Apple watch was going bananas that day. It kept buzzing with excitement because I had walked so many steps while visiting beautiful Sydney. The last thing we did before catching the train back home was to stop for a much-needed rest and a drink. We went into a restaurant called City Extra. This restaurant has been in Sydney’s Circular Quay for about 30 years. I have never eaten there but it’s on my wish list because it’s such an iconic place. It was so funny because my lovely friend and I studied the menu intently, and then all we ordered was a pineapple juice each. In reality, all we wanted to do was sit, rest and chat. The juice was nothing spectacular but it was refreshing. And that’s how we ended our fun day visiting beautiful Sydney. There is way more to see and so much more to do. I look forward to hopefully many other weekends

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