Family Life

Hi friends, and welcome to a recap of our sunny spring weekend. I’m so glad you’ve stopped by! Saturday It was Father’s Day last Sunday, but we weren’t able to celebrate together then. So this weekend we had a belated Father’s Day get-together. Our eldest son Luke came over, and it was lovely to have lunch and catch up. We don’t see him as much as we would like, with work for us, study for Sam, our youngest, and the 40 to 50-minute trip it takes to come over. Anyway, it was so good to see him and hear all about what is happening in the world. I have mentioned before that I avoid the news at all costs. Of course, things eventually trickle down to me, and I find out what is going on. But mostly, I am more than happy not to know too much because it gives me so much anxiety. Luke is our facts guy, and I don’t mind hearing what he has to share. He has a way of explaining things so clearly, and now all my fears are perfectly justified. Yikes! We spent the afternoon talking and eating. For lunch, Steve made a slow-roast lamb. Yep, now he’s even cooking for his own celebrations! 😂 For dessert, we had Princess Cakes that we had in the freezer from one of our trips to Ikea. I’m so glad they have brought these cakes back again after being MIA for three or four years. Sunday Sunday was like the perfect spring day. With all the rain we’ve had over the past few weeks, the soil in our front garden was nice and loose, so Steve was able to pull out the old lavender bush. It was lovely when it flowered once a year, but most of the time it was woody and weedy. So I made a trip to Bunnings to pick up some colourful flowers to plant in its place, and when I got there, it was so busy, full of spring-inspired gardeners. I also bought some seed-raising mix and cress seeds because I have an idea for this week’s preschool craft. We are going to make grass heads! I put together this picture on Canva so the kids will know what I’m talking about when I explain it to them. This should be a fun activity that ties in perfectly with learning about spring and the life cycle of plants. Let’s hope Miss Ruth, the non-gardener, can pull it off. Fingers crossed! Back to my afternoon of planting. This time, before I went off buying random plants, I did a bit of research and picked up Petunias, Violas and Alyssum. According to Google, I even found out how to plant them, how far apart to space them, and what should go in the back, middle and front. Now I just have to look after them. Good practice before we do the grass heads with the preschool kids. And because I was sad to see our lavender bush go, I ended up buying a lavender plant. This time I’ll keep it contained in a pot. I also bought a jasmine plant. Wonder how long I have to wait for the sweet-smelling flowers to grow? And that was my warm and sunny spring weekend. I know the best is yet to come, with plenty more sunny days ahead. I’m so excited for summer. That is, until I come across the first giant cockroach of the season and start thinking maybe winter’s not so bad after all. No gross bugs around in winter! Happy Monday! Linking up with Holly and Sarah

Hi friends, and welcome to the September edition of Share Our Lives. Today, I’m sharing 5 things I like to do in each season, from winter to summer, spring to autumn. Let’s go! Winter I love lighting candles. Plain IKEA tapers, tea lights, scented, unscented, any warm glowing flame makes me feel a bit cheerier about my least favourite season. Yeah, I don’t like being cold, so I’ll do whatever it takes to trick myself into believing I’m not. For me, that often means having a virtual fireplace video with crackling fire sounds on my TV screen. Eat casseroles! Yum to chicken or beef casseroles on a cold night. Drink Swiss Miss hot chocolate, with or without marshmallows. I’m not fussy about the marshmallows, but the hot chocolate has to be Swiss Miss. It’s the best I’ve tasted, and I’ve tried all the ones our supermarkets sell: Jarrah, Cadbury, Lindt, Nestlé. None of them comes close! I wear chunky bed socks because if my feet are cold, the rest of me is cold too, no matter how many blankets I’ve got on me. Phew! I had to dig deep to find five things I like to do in winter. Now it’s time to move on to my favourite seasons, spring and summer. Spring I am in no way a gardener, but there’s something about the excitement of seeing sunshine and flowers start to bloom that makes me want to grow something, anything. I usually make a trip to Bunnings to buy some potted flowers for the front garden. Then I just try to remember to water them and pray for their survival. I love sitting on my front step and smelling my neighbour’s jasmine in the villa opposite ours. The scent is so strong it wafts right over, and what’s even better is that if I leave the front door open with just the fly screen, you can even faintly smell it inside the house. It’s spring over here, and I’m planning to go to Bunnings this weekend. Maybe I should buy a Jasmine plant. Open the windows and shout hooray, it’s spring! Only kidding, I just open the windows—there’s no shouting. Go to a spring fair or Oktoberfest. My sweet, kind friend and I usually find a spring fair somewhere. Last year we went to Cronulla… or was it the year before? Time goes so fast! Every year I say, “We should go on a picnic.” Spring is picnic weather, don’t you agree? I need to organise one pronto! Summer When I host Cousin Connect in the summer, I like to eat in our courtyard with the long fold-out tables, fairy lights on, music on and pretend we are in Italy. Drink Aperol Spritz Count down the days until the summer school holidays and get ready for Christmas. Find a rooftop bar, listen to live music, and enjoy the evening lights. I enjoy going along to my husband’s swim club on Sunday mornings when they have socials, like BBQs. They do amazing BBQs. We missed last year’s season because he gave himself a year off after his knee replacement, but this year he’ll be back. Notice I haven’t mentioned swimming or any water activities on my summer list. I’m more of an eater than a swimmer, and sand is definitely not my friend… unless I’m in Hawaii. Autumn I don’t love autumn at all. To get out of my funk about summer being over, I like to watch YouTube videos of cozy autumn living in Nordic countries. Cooler weather always looks better on the other side of the world. Eat apple pie and ice cream. I could eat it any time of the year, but somehow it cheers me up in autumn. Watch Hallmark movies that are “fall” related. Autumn looks like so much fun in the Northern Hemisphere. There’s pumpkin spice everything (not that I like the flavour very much, I want to love it, but I don’t), apples, crunchy leaves, scarves, boots, and of course, Halloween. All the cozy vibes I wish we had here. Celebrate Easter! Count the months until spring. Humbug. So there you have it, 5 things I like to do in each season. If you’re reading from the Northern Hemisphere, you’ll notice we do things differently over here in Australia because our seasons are the opposite. And here’s a fun fact: there are actually more countries up north than down here, which is why autumn leaves, pumpkin spice, and all those cozy vibes are happening while we’re still enjoying summer. And yes, that also means Christmas happens in the heat. Here, you can even find Christmas postcards that show Santa riding a surfboard instead of a sleigh. Funny, hey? Linking up with Adrienne, Dara, Jen, Joanne, and Sarah  

Hi friends! It’s time to link up with Adrienne, Dara, Jen, Joanne, and Sarah. This month’s topic is ‘A Day in the Life’—a peek into what an average day looks like. The nosey Parker in me loves these kinds of posts, so I’m excited to read about everyone else’s day. Here’s mine from last Thursday. I always set my alarm for 6.25 instead of 6.30, so I feel like I’m winning. I’m not a morning person AT ALL, so I figure if I play mind games like this, I might just have a shot at getting up on time at 6.30! 6.27—I was 3 minutes ahead of myself! Yay! First things first—I took my thyroid meds and made sure to leave the empty glass on top of the chopping board in the kitchen. That’s my little sign and a way of knowing for sure that I’ve taken them. When you take regular medication, it’s easy to get confused and wonder, “Did I take them, or was that yesterday?” That used to happen to me a lot, but now my glass trick has helped so much. Next, I went down to the laundry to feed the cats and take care of their kitty litter—bleh. Then, I charged my watch and phone to get them ready for the day. Up until a week ago, I used to leave my watch charging overnight, but then I heard it could cause overheating or damage the battery. Oops! Next, I folded some washing—because there’s always washing! I had to turn the light on because it was cloudy. But even when it’s not, I’ve noticed the sun is coming up later. Autumn is getting started. Then, it was time to sort out my lunch and get ready for work. Sunscreen first—always! I keep my makeup pretty simple: concealer, BB cream, blush, and lipstick. Just enough so I don’t look like I’ve been haunting houses. It was time to head out and walk fast! So cloudy, but this colourful tree was a treat on such a gloomy day. Every day, I dread these lights—they take forever to change! I like that our pedestrian lights have little men: red for wait and green for walk. But when I was in California, I think the pedestrian signals showed a white walking person for “WALK” and an orange raised hand for “DON’T WALK.” I kept waiting for the green man, but he never showed up. A bit sweaty from the walk, but I made it to work on time! Then, it was the usual running around we all do at preschool—getting everything ready, helping the children with their activities, and making sure everyone was settled and happy, using friendly hands and kind words. It’s a work in progress. Look, Miss Ruth, I painted a plum! Always bending down to pick up some kind of mess or spill. According to Dan Buettner, the guy who wrote about the Blue Zones, that’s supposed to be good for longevity, right? Excellent! Maybe I’ll live to 150. During my lunch break, I did some blogging. The day went by pretty fast at work, and I finished at 3:46. Yep, that’s my actual finishing time—pretty precise, huh? In the afternoon, the sun came out, and the skies turned bright blue. I always love walking home after a noisy, busy day. By the time I get home, I feel so zen. The only ones to greet me when I walked in the door were the cats. Steve was at work, and Sam was at uni. Dinner time for the girls. I grabbed my cleaning caddy and did a quick clean. I used to do it all in the morning, but now I do it in the afternoon when no one’s home. Then, it was time to cook dinner. On Thursdays, we usually eat together because everyone’s home in the evening. After everything had been cleaned up, we caught an episode of Matlock and had a cup of tea. I love Kathy Bates! Around 11 (probably later than I should), I got ready for bed. Brushed my teeth. All showered-pyjamas on, and then it was lights out. Nighty night!

Hi friends, I’m linking up with Jenn for the February edition of Currently. Towards the end of last year, I was crazy over the top busy with work, study and trip planning, so I missed quite a few link-ups. This year, my studies are over, and my trip has come and gone (waaahhhhh!!). I’m also on long service leave and won’t be back to work until the 19th of February. So it’s great to be here today, taking a breath and excited to share what I’m currently loving, anticipating, remembering, sharing and wish-listing. Let’s go! Loving Hmmm, there are so many things that I have been loving lately. I loved loved loved my trip away with my family, but then I also loved coming home last Tuesday. I love having free time without feeling that I have a deadline to meet. After the whirlwind of last year, I’m really appreciating having an extra long summer break! Also on the list of things I am loving is cooking meals with heaps of vegetables. I missed eating my veggies during our trip (it turns out I’m not the fast food queen I thought I would be!) Anticipating I am anticipating that this year will not be nearly as busy as last year was. So, I am looking forward to going back to regular date nights with my husband, and I’m also excited to have the spare time on the weekends to spend time with friends! I have an exciting catch-up this Saturday with my lovely friend, who I haven’t seen in what feels like forever, and I can’t wait! Remembering I am remembering all the fun times I had over the three weeks we were away. Gosh, it was such a special time with my family, and I’m so grateful for it all. Even though I was happy to arrive home safely last Tuesday and jump back into regular old stuff, now I’ve got the post-holiday blues really bad! Haha, my husband (he knows me so well) kept looking at me funny all of last week and checking in on me. He kept asking, “Are you ok?” because he fully expected me to be on a real downer after the trip. And no, I was still on such a high! Until this Monday when I came off the high with a great big thud–sigh. Sharing Speaking of sharing, I will be sharing all about our trip soon and doing many recaps. Once I wipe away all of my tears–haha, no, I’m not that bad, but it might take me a little time to gather my thoughts! Wish Listing I think one of the only things on my wish list right now is a new fly screen for our laundry. Last year, we had our door frame replaced because it was weather-damaged. The new door frame looks fantastic, but since it’s a different size, the old cream-coloured fly screen no longer fits. So it sat outside in the courtyard propped up against the wall, gathering dust and cobwebs until I finally sold it on Facebook Marketplace in December. I love Facebook Marketplace—it’s amazing what you can sell!   This year, I’d love a simple fly-screen door with a white frame, something like this one. So now that I’ve got some time and I’m home during the day, I really should get on top of ringing around for quotes. The big fat flies that sneak in the second I leave the laundry door open are definitely motivating me to get moving on this. Summer flies are so gross!!! And that wraps up the February edition of Currently. Thanks so much for being here today, and I hope you have an amazing Wednesday!  

With just hours left in 2024, I wanted to take a moment to say hi and wish everyone all the best for 2025! I’m also taking a minute to look back on everything it brought, and I can happily say that 2024 was a pretty good year. And for that, I am extremely grateful. Highlights of the Year January Steve and I had such a wonderful night celebrating our anniversary at The Opera Bar. Enjoying a delicious seafood platter while enjoying the view of Sydney Harbour was definitely a January highlight! February Cheers to my birthday month! My positive vibes-only work buddy encouraged me to treat myself all month long, and I did just that. I highly recommend it! March I love playing tourist in my own city with my fun friend. In March, we walked over the Harbour Bridge and explored The Rocks. Then, I started working towards my diploma but had to redo my Certificate III first—ugh! Many of our fun outings got put on hold, but we’re planning to make up for it in 2025! Another March highlight was Easter and getting together with some of my cousin crew. Hunting for eggs before they melted in the heat was a fun challenge! April We visited Canberra! May Sam had a wonderful time with his friends when they went to Japan. They all came home sick with colds and spent the next week recovering. It was a huge deal for us to have our youngest go overseas. He’s an adventurous lad, so I’m sure this will be the first of many trips. (yikes) May was a huge month- Steve had a knee replacement at the end of May, and his recovery has been such an achievement. Watching him regain mobility and confidence after years of limping is the highlight of 2024! June We bought our flights for our Cousin Connect adventure, and the planning began! July Christmas in July! August What can I say about August? It was cold, we got sick and couldn’t wait for spring! But we did have an August highlight, and that was a surprise birthday dinner at Mr Wong’s to celebrate Steve’s birthday. September Hooray for spring and visits to the Ramsgate Farmers Markets! October My big boys turned 31 and 20-they have a huge age gap but share the same birthday month. Good planning, Mum and Dad 😉 November November was not my favourite! I pretty much chained myself to the computer and knocked off assignment after assignment. There were tears and lots of frustrating moments. (Sorry, Miss D, and thank you for putting up with me. I couldn’t have done it without you, and I will be forever grateful xx). Having a fantastic cheer squad at work and home got me through November! December It was a scramble to get ready for Christmas, but we got there in the end. Lessons Learned in 2024 I can be brave: We’re heading overseas, and I’m getting on that plane! I can be determined: I finally hit submit on all my diploma assignments. I can’t watch the news: It gives me too much anxiety. Sadly, bad news always seems to find its way to me (and everyone else). I accidentally saw some footage, and now I can’t unsee it (sigh). I’ve learned it’s better for me to turn away and protect my peace. I can give myself permission: To rest and do nothing. To let go of worrying about things I can’t control. And to embrace being a big kid and having fun—because age really is just a number! Looking Ahead I’m excited to welcome 2025 with our upcoming trip and a nice long break from work. I’m also looking forward to continuing to share a peek into my world here. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you all stopping by to read—thank you so much!! So, that’s a wrap for 2024! I’ll be back in the first week of February. If you’d like to follow along on our Cousin Connect Adventure, feel free to join me on Instagram: @playworkeatrepeat. I’ll follow back! Have a wonderful New Year and I’ll see you in 2025! Big hugs    

Hi friends! It’s time to link up with Jennifer from Overflowing With Thankfulness for the October edition of Currently. Can you believe it’s October already? Where has the time gone? Thanks so much for stopping by as I share what I’m currently loving, looking forward to, wearing, reading, and cooking. LOVING I’ve been enjoying these delicious and refreshing cans of sugar-free soft drinks. I typically love sugary soft drinks because I don’t enjoy the aftertaste of artificial sweetness, but I can’t tell the difference with these! LOOKING FORWARD TO I’m really looking forward to getting back to my usual routine! At my preschool job, I normally work 7.6-hour days, but for my placement at a daycare centre as part of my studies, I’m doing eight hours plus an extra hour to make up for losing a day due to the October long weekend—so that’s 9-hour days! I have always felt very grateful to be working where I am, and I never took the shorter hours and school holiday breaks for granted. But now, after experiencing these longer days, I appreciate my usual routine even more and can’t wait to get back to it! WEARING I’m back to wearing winter clothes again, and I’m not a fan. The weather tricked us, as it does every year, making us believe spring had finally arrived. Why do I fall for it every year?! READING I’ve been trying to catch up on reading blogs, but with these long work hours, it’s been tough to find the time. I didn’t even get a chance to post on Monday! COOKING Quick meals that don’t require too many steps have been the go lately. On Monday night, I made a chicken and spinach casserole that tasted great and was healthy and satisfying. I’ve been more exhausted than usual, so I’ve finally taken my husband up on his offer to cook. His work week has changed since he returned after his operation, and now he has Wednesdays and Thursdays off. He’s always been more than happy to cook, but I guess I’m just used to doing things in the kitchen myself. But after coming home to a roast dinner and dessert tonight, I’m definitely happy to let him cook more often! That’s a wrap for now. I just want to say I’ve been scrambling to stay afloat with everything lately. I absolutely love blogging and being part of this lovely blog community, but I just haven’t been able to find the time to blog or comment as much as I’d like. I guess there’s a season for everything, and I’m trying not to get discouraged. Right now, I’m in a busy season, but hopefully, it won’t last forever—because blogging is my favourite! Happy Wednesday, friends!

Hi friends! It’s time to link up with Jennifer from Overflowing With Thankfulness and chat about what we’re currently loving, looking forward to, smelling, watching, and admiring. I hope you’re having an amazing day—thanks so much for stopping by! LOVING It’s no secret that I am not a morning person. I struggle so much to get out of my warm, cozy bed every morning when the alarm goes off, ugh! I play whack-a-mole with that snooze button like a champ! However, my youngest son Sam is doing his practical nursing placement in a city hospital. He has been assigned the early shift and needs to get up early to make it to the station on time for the early train. Did I say early? It means I hear his alarm go off first, so I get up to see him off. I don’t have to, but I like to, and once I’m up, it’s okay! This getting up early isn’t so bad after all. Ha! I’ve had so much more time to do extra things in the morning, and I enjoy the quietness and stillness of the early hours. I can definitely say I’m loving this extra time—a lot! It is certainly easier to get up early in the spring when the sun is shining. I’m not sure I would love it as much if we were in the middle of winter. But who knows, I might become a morning person after all……nah! LOOKING FORWARD TO It’s time for Cousin Connect this Saturday, and I’m excited to see my family! I’m so happy we’ve kept up this monthly tradition for the past two years. Sure, not everyone can always make it, and sometimes we have to change the date. But I’m incredibly grateful that we’ve kept this special connection going strong! SMELLING It has been warm here but incredibly windy and so dry! I wash my hands constantly at work because, you know, kids and germs are usually best friends. All this hand washing and dry weather is making my hands feel rough. So, I keep a tube of hand cream in the classroom and have been enjoying its scent each time I use it—which is multiple times a day at the moment. It has a deliciously sweet scent that makes me hungry, and it leaves my hands feeling soft without any residue. I can’t cope with a hand cream that leaves a residue… shudder! My lovely friend brought it back for me when she visited her family in San Francisco. The yummy smell really brings home what Autumn must be like over there. It’s no wonder Autumn is so popular over in the Northern Hemisphere if it smells like my hand cream! WATCHING I have been watching the days get longer and the sun linger a little later each evening. Perfect! ADMIRING I’ve been admiring the spring flowers blooming everywhere. The beautiful vibrant colours are such a treat after winter! That wraps up a few things I’ve been up to lately. Can you believe it’s September? The year is sure flying by, wow! Happy Wednesday 😀