Friday Favourites

Hi friends, and happy Friday! Thank you so much for stopping by as I share some favourites. Would you believe that it’s a little after 6 pm here, and I just realised it’s Valentine’s Day? Oops! I quickly wished my husband a happy one and jumped on the computer to blog. Turns out we both forgot-haha! Lucky for us, we’re not too sentimental about it. But if you’re celebrating, I hope you’re having a wonderful day filled with love and chocolate! As for me, I made the most of my last full week off before heading back to work next week. Here are a few of my favourite moments! I’ve been missing my walks to and from work, and although I intended to go for more this week, I only managed one on Monday. But that’s okay—I’ll be pounding the pavement again after next Tuesday. I snapped a pic during my one and only walk because it felt so good to be back in my familiar streets. It looked like a miserable winter’s day, but it was actually warm and humid, with thick clouds hanging overhead. I got home, and not long after, the skies opened up, and it started pouring. Monday was an exciting day—I got an email confirming that I passed all the requirements for my Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. Woop woop! I immediately forwarded it to my super supportive director, and she emailed back saying I’d move up a step in my pay scale, effective immediately. Nice! So, that meant I could finally get this pile of assignments off my desk! I’d kept them there just in case I had to resubmit something. I thought about starting a small bonfire, but instead, I put them in the cupboard. I’m just not quite ready to let go of the evidence of all my hard work just yet. On Tuesday, we went to see Mufasa, and Steve and I were the only ones in the entire theatre. I wonder if movie theatres will become a thing of the past, just like drive-in cinemas. That would be such a shame. The reviews I read about the movie were pretty negative, but we both loved it. And of course, I cried at the end—I always cry at the end of Disney movies, even if they have happy endings! Such a sook! It was 3 pm when we walked out of the movie, and we were both starving. So, we grabbed some Vietnamese pork rolls from King’s Bakery. They make the best rolls! I had mine with an iced green tea latte, and we sat in the little plaza to eat. On Wednesday, we went to Wolli Creek to try a restaurant called Yan. Wolli Creek is only a 5-minute train ride from Hurstville. It’s a newer, redeveloped area that’s really come to life in recent years. It used to be an industrial area. But now, it’s full of modern apartments, playgrounds, cafes and restaurants. We chose the banquet for two because that meant we could try a variety of dishes. Here are a few of them. We finished off with this massive tower of coconut ice cream. Yikes, if we’d known how big it was, I’m not sure we would’ve ordered it! It was a serious commitment, but we got through it. I definitely paid for it the next day!! On Thursday, we went to Alexandria and had lunch at a cafe called Goodhood Project. We both ordered the grilled snapper. Then we walked over to The Grounds of Alexandria for a sweet treat. After checking out the cakes on display, we chose this deliciousness(I can’t remember the name, though!). I had a flat white, and Steve chose a fancy-looking Chai latte. Then we wandered around The Grounds, admiring the Claris the Mouse display. It’s been transformed into a beautiful Parisian-inspired wonderland, with all sorts of lovely details from Claris’s world. I love how it brings the character to life in such a magical way! Claris the Mouse is the creation of Megan Hess, one of my favourite illustrators. I love how she illustrates fashion, mixing in all these beautiful details that make her work so unique— as soon as you see it, you know it’s hers. After visiting The Grounds, we drove a quick 5 minutes to one of my favourite places- Mitchell Road Antiques! If we had more space and needed extra seating, I would love to add some mid-century furniture like this black chair. I spotted almost the exact same dining table and chairs we had when I was a kid (ours was round), and I couldn’t help but wish we hadn’t gotten rid of it when we moved my mum into our place. But then again, I’m not sure I ever loved the colour of the chairs—haha! I guess it’s more about nostalgic memories. I also couldn’t believe the price tag- $1800. Wowsers! Ten years ago, I tried to sell my mum’s set, but nobody bought it, so it went to the tip—ouch! It was my last full week off before I go back to work next Wednesday! Wow, those nearly nine weeks flew by! I haven’t had such a long break in a very long time, and I’ve loved every minute of it. But I’m okay with going back—though I know I’ll be eating my words by the end of next week! I’ll be back on Monday with part 3 of our fun cousin connect adventure in the USA. If you missed parts 1 and 2, you can catch up here for part 1 and here for part 2! I hope you have an amazing weekend! Linking up with Andrea and Erika    

Happy Friday friends! I’m excited to be back today to share a recap of the first week of the summer holidays. Today officially wrapped up the preschool year. But I took this week off thanks to some accumulated long service leave. The best part is that I’m also on leave for the first few weeks of term 1 and I won’t be back until the 19th of February. So that’s a total of nine weeks and two days off–no complaints here! So, how did I spend my first week off? Cleaning and organising, of course! Haha! Honestly, it felt amazing to finally have the time and energy to tackle so many things around the house. I sorted out the cabinet under the sink in the ensuite, organised the medicine cabinet, dusted the blinds, rearranged the office/garage, and even cleaned the oven. Look—one sparkly oven! (No before picture, though, because, it was really bad!) And finally, the Christmas tree is up—hallelujah! I even put on a cozy Christmas scene on the TV, complete with a crackling fireplace. It looked beautiful, but looking at that fireplace in this heat made me feel even hotter. Summer has hit with a vengeance, and we’ve been sweltering through some super high temps and crazy humidity. But I’m not complaining—I love summer!!! Steve and I bumped into my aunt at the supermarket on Wednesday, and just like that, we were invited over for dinner that evening. She quickly threw together a Christmas meal since her daughter won’t be celebrating with us this year—she’s off on a fun overseas trip. My aunt has a knack for putting together an amazing spread. This would have taken me days of planning! And when it comes to decorating, my Christmas-loving aunt is a champ. She definitely makes up for my lack of Christmas spirit this year! When all the little houses are lit up and the music is playing it looks so beautiful! Every day now our big trip is getting closer and closer! We really are on the countdown now with only days to go. I’m so excited, nervous, and a little bit terrified at times too. This is not just a total dream come true but also a trip where I will be conquering many fears (gulp). As I have mentioned so many times there’s the flying part (so many flights-yikes!!). We also have a few adventurous hikes planned when we get to Zion National Park including walking through the narrows. In Hawaii, we are also going to be doing some water-related activities. Then there are the rides in Disneyland. Sam, my youngest does not like rollercoasters, and neither do I! But if I can get on a plane I can get on a rollercoaster, right? He and I were chatting the other day about the trip and I was explaining to him how Disneyland is the happiest place on earth and how excited I am. When we got to the topic of the rides he said “Mum I don’t think it sounds like the happiest place on earth, it sounds more like the most terrifying place on earth”. Haha, no, it’s for sure the happiest place and I can’t wait for him and my husband who also has never visited to feel that magic! So for someone like me, a real homebody who loves to stay dry with both feet firmly on the ground, this trip is definitely pushing me out of my comfort zone. But still, I’m so excited that I can hardly wait!! Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Can you believe it’s only four sleeps until Christmas Eve? Linking up with Andrea and Erika  

Hi there, friends! I’m so excited to be back for Friday Favourites on this sunny, hot summer day! After being away for a few weeks, I thought I’d share a recap of my favourites from the last few weeks. Let’s go! During all of November and until last weekend, I spent almost all of my ‘spare’ time in front of the computer working on assignments. I didn’t love this time, so I was incredibly grateful for the things that kept me going and gave me something to look forward to. Whether big or small, having something to look forward to is so important. We all need those little motivators, right? I know I sure do! A small moment of happiness– coffee with oat milk never tasted so good! And while I can function fine without coffee, I just love the taste! Food! This is a pic of a healthy Saturday morning brunch. And here’s a photo of my treat jar that kept me going. I also ate more than my usual amount of salty snacks. Yikes! I’m not usually an emotional eater. In fact, I completely lose my appetite when I’m stressed. So, I’m not sure why I couldn’t stop snacking—boredom, maybe? FOMO?? I didn’t go out much, but there were a few outings that were non-negotiable, and there was no way I was going to miss them. Cousin Connect was one of them, and we had a fun as well as delicious time. Mexican food and cupcakes for dessert. The Danish Christmas markets! It was such a boiling hot day, but we had a lot of fun, and this year, our group was bigger. So many lovely Christmas crafts. I went to see my youngest cousin perform at this year’s School Spectacular. The whole evening was amazing, and I had the best time. The stars aligned, and all but one of our girl cousins had a free morning to go to the Klook Travel Fest. I’ve got the travel bug, and I haven’t even gotten on a plane yet. But my trip is coming up soon, though! Yay! We each got free personalised Disney bags at the travel fest, and we were all giddy with excitement. I swear, we all turned into 12-year-olds, haha. Leaving my computer to pick up my new glasses was a total sanity saver. When I picked them up, I realised I’d chosen the exact same style of reading glasses as last year. The only difference? The rim is black, whereas my previous ones were gold. I do like them, though, and hey, different is different—even if it’s just a tiny difference. One of my cousins turned 30, and we celebrated with pizzas and a delicious berry cheesecake. Even though it might not have felt like it. Looking back, I did have quite a few fun moments sprinkled in amongst the dreary study days. And for that, I am so thankful!! Today was my last day of work for 2024. Preschool doesn’t finish until Friday of next week, but I have taken extra leave. I knew that being tied down to study would leave me with not much time for Christmas prep as well as for getting ready for our big Cousin Connect adventure in January. While I am very excited for our trip and also to finally have time to get ready. I couldn’t help feeling sad when I said bye to my work buddies today. Those guys are like my second family, and I love them. I don’t think I could ever retire as I would miss them too much! This weekend, I need to put up our Christmas tree! Can you believe I haven’t had a chance to do that yet? This will be the latest I’ve ever decorated in my whole life! Thank you so much for stopping by today— I always appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. Have a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to being back here on Monday (hopefully with photos of my Christmas tree!) Linking up with Andrea and Erika  

Hi friends, and happy Friday! It’s so nice to be back, especially on a sunny day like this, to share some of my favourites with you. Spring has been all over the place this year, so getting a beautiful, sunny day like today felt extra special. The other night, I needed a quick dinner and just couldn’t face BBQ chicken. We’d had chicken a couple of days in a row, and I was starting to feel like I might grow feathers! So I decided to try these beef medallions, and they were delicious. My family gave them a big thumbs-up. I was even more pleased because they were discounted from $13 to $10. They cost around the same as uncooked beef and are already prepared for easy heating, what a fantastic find. I will be buying these again in the future, that’s for sure. I made a pumpkin, spinach, and feta salad, then roasted some potatoes in the air fryer—they came out so crispy. Dinner was ready in a flash. On Tuesday, my aunty from LA called just as I was about to leave work—perfect timing! We chatted while I walked home, and we’re both so excited to see each other soon. She’s organising a family reunion, and I can’t wait to see everyone. We’ll have a “Cousin Connect” with our American cousins—how cool is that? One of our work colleagues celebrated a milestone birthday, and our director brought in a cake for everyone to share. What a treat! I had a close call with a black pen.  Somehow it ended up in the wash, and if it didn’t have a lid, the ink would have gone all over my white quilt cover. Yikes, that would have been such a mess! I would’ve had to take some of my own advice from my post about laundry stain removal hacks. I submitted Cluster Three for my course, and the facilitator emailed me Cluster Four. Oh my goodness, it’s the mother of all clusters! There are four big checklists to get through—compared to just one checklist for the previous clusters. So this isn’t exactly a favourite, but I guess it means I’m making progress toward the end goal of getting my diploma I’ve been working like crazy to get through at least one of the checklists before this weekend, and I have just one question left to go. The downside of setting myself the goal of finishing by the end of the year is that I don’t have much time for anything else. I haven’t had a chance to read or comment on blogs, and I missed last Wednesday’s Currently link-up. This weekend, I’ll be doing my best to chip away at those intimidating Cluster Four tasks. It’s funny because I’m both loving and intensely disliking this course. On one hand, the cobwebs are being dusted off my brain, and I’m recalling a lot of the content I enjoyed when I did developmental psychology at uni. Then on the other hand, I feel like I’m missing out on things that bring me joy, like blogging and reading blogs! Aaaargh, I’m so conflicted! But I keep reminding myself that it’s not forever. It just feels like forever at the moment. So with that in mind, I’m going to give myself some grace. If I miss a link-up or don’t post as much as I’d like, it’s ok. I know I’ll be back to blogging and giving it my full attention once this course is over. So if I’m missing this week, you’ll know I’m up to my ears in theories on childhood development. All the fun stuff (haha—not really!!) I do have Cousin Connect tomorrow night, so that will be fun! What are you up to this weekend? I hope it’s a fun one! Thanks so much for stopping by. I always appreciate you reading and leaving your lovely comments 😊 Linking up with Andrea and Erika      

Hi friends, happy November! Can you believe it’s November already? When I was a kid, a year felt like forever—birthdays and Christmas couldn’t come soon enough. Now it’s the opposite–my birthday sneaks up too fast. And Christmas feels like it’s here before I even have a chance to get ready! So before I blink and it’s Monday again, let’s jump into some of this week’s favourites. I started the week with a cold that hit fast but, thankfully, only lasted a couple of days. I still have a bit of a lingering cough, but I was surprised at how quickly I felt well enough to get back to work. Usually, colds take me down much harder! Five-Minute Win! In what has to be a record, I was in and out of Service NSW in five minutes! I received my license renewal letter a couple of weeks ago (maybe more!), but it went straight into the ‘procrastinate’ pile. Waiting in a queue to get my license renewed isn’t my favourite. But this week, I lucked out—I walked straight in, got my ticket, sat down, and my number was called almost immediately. The guy took my photo, and fingers crossed, it’s less scary than my passport, but I won’t know until it arrives. I paid, and I was out in five minutes. Five minutes—what a win! The Perks of Health Insurance My husband’s doing amazing with his weight loss! Since he has osteoarthritis in his right knee (he had a knee replacement on the left one in May), he qualifies for Medibank’s Better Knee, Better Me program. This program focuses on exercise, weight management, and pain relief strategies to help avoid another knee surgery. He also receives food supplements like shakes, soups, and bars, all covered by Medibank Private. Plus, he has virtual sessions with a dietitian and a physiotherapist. It makes all those hefty yearly premiums worth it! At the moment, he’s only eating one main meal at home. To help him along, his caring wife (me) made him some cauliflower rice the other day, and he was thrilled! 😉 hehe. I bought a great big cauliflower and thought I’d try copying what I saw on reels—just cut it up and toss it in the blender, easy! Well, it wasn’t as simple as I thought. The cauliflower chunks kept getting caught in the blades, making the process messier than I hoped. But on the upside, I ended up with plenty of portions to freeze for later! When I first mentioned cauliflower rice to Steve, he moaned—a lot! I don’t blame him; who doesn’t love carbs? But he ended up enjoying it when I served it with pot roast for dinner. It probably helped that he was starving—everything tastes fantastic when you’re hungry! New Appliances Air fryers have been around for a while, and it seems like everyone I know has one. We finally took the plunge and bought our first one this week! Sam has been wanting one for ages because he lifts weights and is really conscious of his diet—protein, protein, protein! With Steve also focused on losing weight, it just seemed like a good time to buy one. My verdict? They’re fast and convenient, making healthier cooking a breeze. The homemade wedges turned out super crispy and got a tick, but the meatballs came out bouncy instead of juicy. They tasted good, but I could have bounced them off the wall! Maybe I just need to get the hang of the cooking times—we’ll see. I also bought a new hairdryer—the Shark Speed Style. After my haircut, the hairdresser confirmed my suspicion that my old (ahem, cheap) dryer was burning my hair. She cut off the crispy ends, and I didn’t want to keep damaging my hair. She recommended the Dyson, but at around $700, I’ll keep it on my wishlist for later. Instead, I opted for the Shark, which is light, quiet, and comes with various attachments. After a few washes, I’ve finally got the hang of it, and I truly love it! Sam also bought an Apple TV, which he connected to our lounge room TV. I think he wanted it to stream shows from his computer, but I’m not entirely sure since I thought our smart TV was enough. Anyway, he loves it, and that makes me happy. We don’t usually splurge on so many tech items in one week, but since Sam works at a cool electronics store, he gets a generous staff discount. I hope he still gets a shift or two at this store, even when he graduates and becomes a nurse. He agrees! That wraps up this week’s favourites! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend ahead. Take care, and I look forward to being back here on Monday. Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Hi friends! Is it just me, or does the year seem to be racing by? I’m excited about all the fun end-of-year activities and social events that will soon kick off. But at the same time, I’m feeling a little bit terrified. Yikes–so much to do! I haven’t even started thinking about Christmas, and is it really Halloween next week? Okay, I’d better stop hyperventilating and get down to sharing three favourites for this week. Thank you so much for stopping by. (Hopefully) Comfy Sneakers I’ve been on the hunt for a new pair of comfy sneakers for our upcoming trip. With all the walking we’ll be doing, I’m aiming for maximum comfort. I’ve spent ages googling reviews, tried on countless pairs in stores, and—like a stalker—even asked random people about how comfy their kicks are! Some articles and reviews recommended the New Balance 327, promising ultimate comfort without needing to break them in. Others completely disagreed, and wrote negative reviews like ‘NEVER buy these, they’re the worst…blah, blah, blah.’ But honestly, I liked them because they looked so nice with a bit of a retro style. I could see myself wearing them with almost anything–shorts, tights, jeans and even dresses. I was finally convinced that they would be a good pick when I saw one of our preschool parents wearing the same model in a different colour. She said they were extremely comfortable and such a great buy. Yes, I’ve been surveying preschool parents too! So, I went ahead and ordered a pair online, and here’s the best part: I got them for free! Our health insurance provider, Medibank Private, has this great perk—if you download their app, you can link your Apple Watch to track your activity. By hitting your daily step goals, you earn rewards in the form of gift vouchers that can be redeemed for things like, you guessed it, sneakers. Isn’t that great? I’m going to test them out this weekend, and hopefully, my feet will love them–fingers crossed. Half-Priced Grocery Items I don’t know if the supermarkets were feeling extra sympathetic about the cost of living this week. But I managed to get a few items that are usually not on special, like Musashi Protein powder. Sam does Olympic weightlifting (though I kind of wish he did swimming instead–I can’t look when he lifts those massive weights over his head, shudder). One of these tubs normally costs $65, but I never pay the full price. Instead, I bounce around different online stores and usually get it for around $45. But we got lucky this week, and they were half-price at Woolworths. So I bought two! Protein powder isn’t exactly essential (unless you’re Sam), but I was excited at the big savings. Other grocery items that I bought at a discount included cereal, milk jam, turkey mince, toothpaste, and a few cleaning products. In the end, my receipt said I saved $95.50–I’ll take that! Keeping Up Appearances Last night, Keeping Up Appearances came on TV, and I stopped to watch it. I love this hilarious show, and it has a special place in my heart because I used to watch it with my mum. We would both crack up at the ‘lady of the house speaking’ with all her crazy antics as she tried desperately to be posh. I miss those days with my mum, and even though I laughed while watching it, my heart hurt at the same time. That wraps up three favourites for the week. I don’t have anything planned for the weekend other than doing another module for my diploma course…hmph. No fun, but it’ll be worth it. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to being back on Monday. See ya! Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Hi friends! Friday’s back and it’s time to share some favourites from the week. It feels so good to be here again after a couple of good but ‘out of my comfort zone’ weeks with work placement. I’ve really enjoyed getting back to my regular, ordinary routine—sometimes a little shake-up is all you need to remind you how nice ‘ordinary’ really is. Let’s start with my first favourite—coming home just after four on Monday. Yay!! I love my usual work routine of finishing early enough to actually enjoy some of the afternoon. I can knock off a few chores, get dinner started, and spend a bit of time blogging. Sometimes, I even squeeze in a bit of diploma coursework. It was such a change working at the long daycare centre where I’d finish at five and a couple of times, even at six. The evenings felt so short! My fun work friend went overseas during the school holidays. She kindly brought me back some mango dipped in chocolate—two of my favourite things! I’ve deliberately held off from opening it because I wanted to save it for a Friday night treat. Tonight’s the night! This is not a favourite but I had a bumpy Wednesday afternoon, blah! Doing my diploma course online has its advantages but also some frustrating downsides. I’m going through the RPL (recognition of prior learning) path, so instead of traditional assignments, I submit evidence of my existing skills and experience. It sounds straightforward, but it can get a bit tricky. I’ve had to figure out the college portal, which took some getting used to… grrrr. The real challenge comes when I have questions. I need to email the course facilitator and then wait for a response. Unfortunately, she only works three days a week from 9 to 2. A while back, she was on leave for weeks, and a simple question ended up taking two weeks to get answered! With online study, you just don’t get that face-to-face interaction where you can ask things and get immediate answers. But then again, if I had to go to college in person, I probably wouldn’t have enrolled in this course! So there’s that. On Wednesday afternoon, I really needed to speak to her. We’d exchanged a couple of emails, but her responses felt hurried. I just needed a simple answer about my work so I could keep moving forward. When I called the college, she had already left for the day, and it seemed like I wouldn’t be able to get help until the following Monday. I hung up feeling down. That evening, Luke and his fiancée were coming over for dinner to celebrate his birthday, so I pushed aside my diploma issues and went home to prepare. We ended up having a lovely evening, eating way too much and then watching a movie. I love that Luke always comes over for his birthday. So, even though Wednesday afternoon wasn’t great, the evening was definitely a favourite! For the cake, we had Luke’s favourite–a pavlova. The next day, I finally got some help from another facilitator. She sent me some very positive feedback about my work, and now I feel a whole lot more confident. I’m so relieved to know I’m on the right track and happy that my question was resolved. Hooray! Remember the old Casio watches? My uncle gave me one when I was a teenager, and I treasured it for years. Well, it seems they’re back again as a retro trend. Luke gave his younger brother Sam one as a birthday gift since Sam just turned 20 a little over a week ago. Luke even bought one for himself, so they’re twinning now. I had to laugh because the younger generation is going retro while I’m all about technology with my Apple Watch. Haha! That about wraps up my week of mostly favourites! This weekend, I don’t have any plans other than an appointment with the optometrist. I’m considering getting some contacts for my long-distance vision. I can see distance, but not very well, and as I get older, my world is getting blurrier. Yikes! Hmmm, I’ll see how I go. After that, I want to get stuck into finishing some more course modules because I want to get it done and dusted! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Happy Friday! Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Hi friends! I’m excited to pop in and share one big favourite for the week, and that is–I finished my placement at this cute long daycare centre!! Wooohooo!! Although I had a wonderful experience and met some passionate, energetic and friendly educators. As well as some gorgeous children who stole my heart. I feel totally wiped out! There’s a good reason why we call daycare centres ‘long daycare centres’ over here: the days are definitely LONG! I’m used to preschool, where we run sessions, and the kids can only attend two or three days a week. The days are much shorter, too, as they can arrive from 8:20 and need to be out of the centre by 3:40. But at long daycare centres, the hours are from 7:30 to 6:00. Some kids are there for full days, five days a week. When I said goodbye today, I felt sad but also relieved and happy that I’ve finished this part of my course. So many mixed emotions. Walking home to start the weekend has never felt better than it did this afternoon! I know all my preschool colleagues are probably groaning because it’s the last weekend before preschool opens after the term break. But I’m excited and can’t wait to get back to my old routine and see all the familiar faces. I’m keeping it short today. I’m excited to be hosting Cousin Connect tomorrow night. So there are a few things I need to get on top of before I can veg out in front of the TV. As Julia Roberts says in Pretty Woman, I want to “be still like vegetables. Lay like broccoli.” Yep, that sounds good to me! Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Linking up with Andrea and Erika 

Hi friends, and happy Friday! I’m excited to be back today to share some unexpected favourites. Honestly, I had no high hopes for this week—working over our preschool break and doing my work placement for my studies didn’t exactly scream ‘fun!’ But this week has surprised me in the best way, and I’m so happy to share some favourites from what I thought would be a not-so-favourite week! After working at the same preschool for 27 years, I felt nervous about going to a new centre. New faces, new routines, new environment—yikes! Luckily, I didn’t have to travel far, as it’s only a ten-minute walk from my house. Even closer than my current workplace—what a bonus! When I arrived, the director was so warm and welcoming. She showed me around the centre, explained the routine, and introduced me to the staff. There was so much information to take in that my slow-processing brain couldn’t quite keep up! This week was all about working with 0-2-year-olds, and after spending so many years with 3-5-year-olds. I had forgotten how much I loved working with babies! Oh, my goodness, they are so cute! Sticky, snotty and sometimes a bit smelly but so incredibly adorable! The educators in the nursery were great, too. Once we got past the initial awkwardness of me being a stranger in their room, we had fun conversations and started to click. And by the end of today, we were laughing about a bunch of random things that happened during the day. One of the things that really struck me is how incredibly young the educators are! In fact, all of them are young enough to be my kids! And I couldn’t help feeling like a bit of a dinosaur! Haha! For instance, today, one of the oldest educators in the centre—the 28-year-old—was reminiscing about her childhood and saying how old she felt. The 21-year-old educator asked her if she had a black-and-white TV back then. I burst out laughing and said, ‘Uhm, no, that would be me!’ Then, when I told them I existed before the internet, you should have seen their eyes nearly pop out of their heads! They were like, ‘What did you do back then?’ I replied, ‘Oh, I just watched the grass grow! we all burst out laughing, but I could tell they thought I was so old that I probably had one foot in the grave! It was so funny! I loved my first week, and the sweet classroom leader said she was sad that next week, I would be moving to the other room to work with the 2 to 3-year-olds. I’m sad, too, as I’ve had such a great time getting to know the babies and the educators. I even felt extra sad thinking about next Friday when I’ll be saying goodbye to the whole centre for good. I never expected to feel this way—not in a million years! After such a surprisingly fantastic week, here’s a list of unexpected favourites Working with babies meant spending most of the day sitting on the floor. I’m so excited that I can still get up off the floor—phew! The daycare centre is beautifully decorated, and now I’m feeling inspired about how I can share some of these ideas with my colleagues I got to cuddle babies! I learned some new songs, and now I have a whole playlist looping around in my head. It was good, but not so helpful when I was trying to fall asleep! I loved seeing the energy and passion of the young educators—it was contagious in the best way! It’s inspired me to bring back my own zing, which has been a bit zapped after all these years working with kids. I got to see how a privately owned long daycare centre operates. Having only ever worked in a non-profit centre, I’ve heard some not-so-great stories about facilities that focus on profit. However, I have nothing but high praise for the quality of care from this centre. The educators truly love the children they care for, and I loved seeing them not only meet their physical needs but also genuinely shower the kids with so much affection! It was so good to get out of my comfort zone in such a big way. I’ve always appreciated my shorter working hours, three paid term breaks a year, as well as annual leave. But this week really reminded me how lucky I am, especially knowing that educators in long daycare centres don’t have these benefits. I finally took my husband up on his offer to cook—I can be such a goose, always wanting to do everything myself! When I got home Wednesday afternoon, Steve had a lovely glass of wine as well as cheese and crackers waiting for me. He also made roast pork with vegetables and gravy for dinner. To top it off, he whipped up some sweet treats! What a champ! Vanilla slice Butter cookies An extra big one just for me! I think he expected me to be feeling down about having to work over the break, and he knows that food always makes me happy! I’ve had an amazing week, but I’m feeling pretty tired, which makes me even more excited that it’s the October long weekend—yay! Working with babies and getting to know the young educators has been fantastic. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually looking forward to next week in the 2 to 3-year-olds’ room—ha! Who would have guessed? Not me, that’s for sure! Thank you so much for being here, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Oh my goodness, I sure am glad it’s Friday! Life happened, and I ran out of time earlier this week, so I missed blogging for What’s Up Wednesday. But I’m happy to be back today, linking up with Andrea and Erika for another round of favourites on this cold and wintry Friday—brrrrrr! First up, my biggest favourite for this week is that my cousin is on the road to recovery. She had major surgery on Monday, and we are all relieved it’s behind her now. Phew! I have been worried about her ever since she started struggling with her health. So it’s such a huge relief to know she’s moving forward. For a minute there, I thought we might have to postpone our January trip since we’re going with her and her family. This would have been completely fine as her health comes first. But she wouldn’t entertain the thought—not even for a second! Haha, she’s super excited (we’re all excited!!) so when she found out about the surgery. She made sure the doctor knew that our January trip was a top priority! Luckily, everything has turned out fine and we have just the right amount of time for her to be well enough to go. We visited her in the hospital on Wednesday night, and she got the all-clear to go home on Thursday. I grabbed some inspiration from a post I did back in June about meals to make for others and made some Greek chicken and rice to take over for her first night home. It was a small way to make things easier for her and her family. I got these aluminium trays with lids to transport the food. They’re great because they save the hassle of returning containers. Gotta keep it simple! Last weekend, the weather was amazing and a big favourite was walking along a local reserve and seeing pretty views like this. But for the last few days, the weather has been like this. I guess that’s spring for you! No matter—warmer days are sure to come back soon (I hope!). When it was warmer, a few days ago. I thought, great! We’ve hit smoothie weather, and I made a banana and strawberry smoothie with an extra dollop of honey because I love sweet smoothies! But it’s definitely hot chocolate weather tonight and sadly I’ve run out of Swiss Miss hot chocolate as well as marshmallows. Yikes!! I guess I’ll just have to tuck into some Cadbury hazelnut chocolate instead. As well as some chippies! It is Friday night, after all, and one of my favourite things to do is watch something on TV while munching on snacks. This time, I have normal-sized packets of chocolate and chips instead of my usual small single-serve snacks, so I’ll need to practice some self-control… hmmmm. Another favourite is that today was the last day of term three! I won’t get a term break this time, though. But that’s okay because I’ll get my practical placement out of the way. I’m taking advantage of our preschool break to fulfil my course requirement of working with babies and toddlers at a local daycare centre. It stings a little (okay, a lot!) to miss out on two weeks off from work. But I’m trying to stay upbeat and motivated (she says through clenched teeth). No, really, I am! Hehe. I’m keeping it short today because I’m wiped out and feeling a bit congested—surely I can’t be getting sick again! Nope, I refuse to get sick again. I’m going to rest and take it easy over the weekend because I’ve got babies to cuddle next week! Thanks so much for being here, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!