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Hi friends, it’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika for Friday favourites. It’s been a bit of a celebration week over here with Lunar New Year activities at preschool and my birthday on Wednesday, so this week I’m sharing a few celebration favourites. Thanks so much for being here😊 Birthday Drinks On Monday, I met a friend for a birthday drink, and it was margaritas all round on a very hot day. Leaving Work Early Wednesday was my birthday, and I was able to leave work early because I had some time owing. I only worked three hours, and Steve picked me up from the preschool gate at midday. As I jumped into the car, I said, “Drive, Steve, drive!” Haha, it felt like I was making a great escape. Lunch Treats We went to a little Vietnamese bakery and picked up bánh mì for lunch and an iced matcha. So yum! Afternoon and Dinner In the afternoon, I gave myself a pedicure and watched a bit of TV before getting ready for dinner. My oldest son and his lovely partner joined us, so there were five of us in total. I chose an Italian restaurant near our house that I’d heard good things about, and we had pizzas and pasta until we could barely move. Then we came home for cake, and this year I picked a mix of éclairs and tarts to share. I thought it would be fun to do something a bit different from the usual birthday cake. Surprise Visit Around 9.30, we wrapped things up, and after saying bye to my son and his partner, I put my PJs on. Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. It was my cousin and her boyfriend. What a lovely surprise, and lucky I was wearing decent PJs! They came by to say happy birthday and brought me two sweet treats that looked like mushrooms. They didn’t taste anything like mushrooms and had a delicious hazelnut chocolate filling in the middle. Netflix Laughs We sat around chatting when my cousin started telling us about a comedian she’d discovered, Marcello Hernandez, and how funny he was. We ended up watching some of his Netflix show American Boy, and she was right. What made it even funnier was how relatable it was for both of us, since we were raised in Latino households. Yikes! Lunar New Year at Preschool Our preschool runs in sessions, with different children attending at the beginning and end of the week. So we ended up celebrating Lunar New Year twice, on Tuesday and Friday. Friday turned out to be the bigger event, with a parent coming in dressed in a special cultural outfit. She read a story and shared some of her family’s traditions. Then it was our turn, and some of the educators presented a story about Nian, the legendary monster. Nian is said to appear every Lunar New Year, and families use red decorations and loud noises to keep it away. Our Little Performance My very fun coworker and fantastic friend organised the whole thing. She was the narrator and puppet handler and got help from another educator who did the voice of Nian. I was in charge of sound effects, backdrop, prop handling, and a few character voices. With only one quick run-through 10 minutes beforehand, we kind of winged it and just laughed through the parts where we messed up. I don’t think the kids noticed the bloopers, and now we are joking about taking this show on the road….maybe not just yet. Birthday at Preschool Another coworker and I have our birthdays a day apart, so today, the staff and children sang happy birthday to us. Nobody ever turns older than five at preschool, and that is exactly the way I like it. I got five firecracker claps after they sang happy birthday. Clap and whoosh! It was very cute and a perfect way to end a wonderful week. Happy Friday!

I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately, thinking about some of my favourite things I miss from my teen years. I think this wave of nostalgia is because of a couple of reasons. First, I just finished watching Stranger Things, which is set in the 80s. The music, fashion, and general vibe transported me straight back to those years. And the other reason is that my birthday is next week. So once again, here I am, wondering how time flew so fast. It feels like I blinked and fast-forwarded to now—yikes! Anyway, I thought I’d go all in on the nostalgia and take you along as I share some of my favourite things I loved from back in the day. Thanks so much for being here! Favourite Things From My Teen Years Levi’s 501s Oh my goodness, I don’t know if it was the jeans I wanted or the guy in the Levi’s TV ad—probably both. My first paycheck (yes, I literally got paid by cheque) went straight towards a pair of faded 501s, and I wore them until they got a hole in the knee… and then I felt even cooler. 😂 Impulse Spray In high school, most of us kept a can of Impulse spray in our lockers to freshen up between classes. I think my favourite scent was called Dancing Queen. I remember it had a pink lid. They still sell Impulse, and a few years ago, probably around my birthday, when nostalgia hits, I bought a can, but I couldn’t stand the smell. Not even as a bathroom spray. Dolly Magazine Ah, Dolly magazine. Every Aussie teen girl had to have it in the 80s. I loved going through each new issue, checking out the fashion, taking quizzes like Answer These Top 10 Questions to Know if He Thinks about You, catching up on celebrity gossip, and collecting some of the posters of my favourite boy bands, pop stars, and TV heartthrobs. Rob Lowe was my teen crush. Even though it featured stars from overseas, Dolly was Australian, printed and sold right here. Sadly, it stopped publishing in 2016. Swatch Watches I had to wait for my 15th birthday to get one of these and I chose a grey one with faint colourful lines on the dial. Haha, always the minimalist when it came to bright colours, even back then. I really wish I’d kept it, but I didn’t. That is the downside of decluttering, you throw away good stuff sometimes. But then again, what would you do if you kept everything? I feel like I’m going around in circles here. Coke in a Glass Bottle I think that Coke in a glass bottle just tastes so much nicer, even today. They aren’t as common as they used to be, but I occasionally treat myself to a glass one. I just remembered I forgot to order it with my grocery delivery that arrived today. Boo! Ray Ban Wayfarers After years of wanting a pair, I think I finally bought prescription ones in either 1987 or 1988, and I’ve still got them and still wear them sometimes. Yay! Off-The-Shoulder Tops Remember Flashdance, when Jennifer Beale wore that off-the-shoulder sloppy joe (we call them sloppy joes here)? I wanted one so badly! The same year the movie came out, we had a Textile and Design assignment at school to make a sloppy joe. Not Flashdance style, but the proper ones. I was painfully slow during class, and since we didn’t own a sewing machine at home (my mum hated sewing with a passion), I never finished mine and didn’t get to sew on the ribbing around the neck or sleeve cuffs. So, I accidentally ended up with one that actually looked like the one on Flashdance. I failed the class, but I loved my top! Big Hair Accessories Scrunchies were all the rage, but I didn’t really wear my hair in a ponytail. Instead, I liked the Madonna-style hairband with a big bow. As long as I didn’t tease my hair too much, because my mum said only the naughty girls wore their hair like that, I was allowed to wear the headband. Well, I guess that’s a wrap on some of my favourite 80s teen memories. I’m sure I’ll remember a dozen more as soon as I hit publish, but for now, I’m off to see about treating myself to a Swatch and some faded 501s. I never really know what to ask for my birthday, but I’m thinking this year, a few classics are the way to go.

Hi friends, and thanks for stopping by for Friday favourites. I’m so glad you’re here! 1 I can hardly believe it’s already Friday, and this week has gone by so fast for me. I’ve really enjoyed my second week back at preschool so far. We’ve met most of the children, with just a couple more to start, and for the first time in a long time, I have a feeling it’s going to be a good year, even though I’m trying not to say it out loud just in case. I’m not entirely sure what happened over the past few years, but things definitely changed after COVID. I’m no expert, but as an early childhood educator, I really felt the gradual impact it had on children and their families, and I wasn’t the only one. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just me who thought this, so I’d regularly check in with coworkers and people I knew in other schools and early childhood settings. Everyone I spoke to said the same thing. Children’s behaviour was noticeably different, and not in a good way. Last year was the hardest in all of my 35 years working with children and very nearly brought me undone. I usually try to soften things on the blog, but sometimes you just have to say it. It’s been rough! Now I feel like we’re finally on the other side of that, and things are settling back to what I guess life was like pre-COVID. I’m so relieved that many of the reasons I loved working with children are starting to come back. For a long minute, I even wondered if I could keep going. I couldn’t remember who that person was—the one who wrote Six Favourite Things About Working in Early Childhood Education. Anyway, I’m happy and very relieved to say she’s slowly coming back, and that is a big favourite. 2 A while ago, I shared that I had this amazing system for remembering to take my thyroid tablet in the mornings. I’d leave a glass out on the kitchen bench as a signal that I’d taken it. I also loved that it killed two birds with one stone. I took my tablet with a full glass of water, so I started the day medicated and hydrated. What a winner! The system usually worked. But sometimes it didn’t. There were days when I remembered drinking the water but not taking the tablet. And last year, for all the reasons I’ve already shared, I was often not sure whether I was coming or going. And I forgot to take my tablet three days in a row more than once. When you don’t have a thyroid, that medication really matters. Missing a dose here and there doesn’t cause instant drama, but over time, especially when you’re already exhausted and stressed, it can start to catch up with you. Without enough thyroxine in your system, you start to fade and flop like a ragdoll. So I took the advice of a lovely reader who had commented on the post where I shared my not-so-great system and bought a pill organiser. Revolutionary stuff! Do you know why I never bought one for myself before, or even considered it? Because I always thought it was for older people. Ha! How ridiculous is that? Anyway, I love my pill organiser, and this Gen Xer better start facing the truth. Feeling 29 doesn’t make it so 😅 3 I’ll finish off my week’s favourites with this refreshing glass of Aperol Spritz I had on Thursday night at Humphreys Hotel. Cheers to more happy weeks at work, and cheers to the weekend! Happy Friday Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Hi friends, happy Friday! So glad you’re here. Oh my goodness, it is so hot and humid over here. I just got home from work and had to jump straight into the shower before I could even sit down to write about a few of my favourite things from the week. Now that I’m feeling squeaky clean, I can think a little better. Ok, so let’s get into it. Today I have five quick favourite moments from my first week back at work. 1 First up, I’m so happy to share that this week has been a positive start at work. After feeling more than a bit unsure, it has been really nice to ease into the week and feel that things are heading in the right direction. I don’t want to say too much and jinx anything, but I’m tiptoeing my way into feeling optimistic about this preschool year. Phew! 2 Hello, shiny new coffee machine! Normally, it’s instant coffee for us at work, so this feels like a major upgrade. I’m enjoying figuring out which strength and blend I prefer, and yes, this machine stores your own coffee profile. I had no idea this was even a thing. This is my first real experience in the world of coffee machines, as I only have a plunger at home. I’ve had more coffee than usual the past couple of days and had to cut myself off before heading down the road to heart palpitations—yikes! 3 On Monday, I shared that one of the positives of going back to work was that I eat a lot healthier. While I often look at my salads and wish that I had the power to turn them into a Big Mac, I know that this is better for me. 4 Thursday afternoon, Sam texted that he had arrived safely in Bali. Maybe one day I’ll get used to it, because I have a feeling he’s going to be someone who loves to travel. But I don’t love it when my boy is way up high on a plane. Even though I know flying is the safest mode of transport, I can’t help feeling anxious. I’m also not sure if it’s helpful to track him on Flight Radar, but I did anyway. 5 Steve and I went out for happy hour at Humphrey’s. Cheers to Sam and his friends landing safely! That’s week one, term one, done and dusted. This work week went way better than I expected, and I couldn’t ask for more. Well… yes, I can—I want more weeks like this one, please! Now it’s time to enjoy the weekend, which looks like a very quiet one at home. I don’t have any plans, and I think I’m ready to watch the last season of Stranger Things. I’ve been holding off because I didn’t want it to end, but the longer I leave it, the more chance there is of getting spoilers, right? Hope you all have a lovely weekend! Linking up with Andrea and Erika