Friday Favourites

Hi friends, it’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika to share a few of my favourite things from the week. Let’s go!

Preschool Moments

Do you know how good it feels to go to work and actually enjoy the day? I had forgotten what that was like. But now that I have two great classes across the week, I remember! It’s week five, and I’m getting to know the new kids, and I can tell they’re feeling the same way about me.

On Tuesday, I sat on the deck with a couple of them just chatting, and soon a few more joined in. We talked about their pets, favourite colours, and how many siblings they have. I loved how comfortable they felt sitting next to me, flopping against me and sharing their stories. It’s been a long minute since that happened, and it felt so good.

Back in the classroom, I’ve been sitting on the floor helping the kids with puzzles. Some of them are such clever cookies! On Wednesday, I was amazed by a tiny three-year-old. She persevered until she mastered a complicated 24-piece layered puzzle and could do it by herself. That darn puzzle is hard!

After surviving last year, when we were all on constant patrol to keep everyone, including ourselves, safe. Now, being able to enjoy chunks of time playing and just being with the kids is the best. I’m also not spending the whole day mentally begging for the clock to go faster. Now I don’t even count the minutes till the end of the day, and time just flies!

I even have time to be creative with classroom displays. I’m in the process of cutting out what feels like a hundred thousand leaves for a family tree where we’ll display their family photos. I have a vision of adding fairy lights to sprinkle a little magic. Hopefully, it turns out as good as it looks in my head.

Quick edit:

I wrote this last night when I hadn’t spent a whole day stuck inside due to wet weather, and I was feeling all la-di-da. Today it rained, so it was a different story. Although we don’t have the behaviour issues like we did last year, by the end of the day, I was very ready to be outta there. Wet weather days are never a favourite, but luckily, the weather’s rarely bad enough to keep us indoors for long. Phew!

Favourite Things

Now, onto some other favourite things from my week…

My lovely friend gave me some mugs for my birthday, and I love them! When we renovated the kitchen a few years ago, I went into full minimal mode and made sure almost everything we bought was white.

I did keep a few special pieces—a pink mug from my cousin, a red teacup and saucer from another friend, and my blue and white Johnson Brothers dinner plates in ‘Indies’ pattern, which I love. Apart from those, everything is mostly white.

My friend, who knows me very well, made me laugh when she told me all the effort she put into tracking down white mugs from my favourite shop, Country Road.

A New Watch

I got a fun new watch! A few weeks ago, I was reminiscing about my teen years and remembered how much I loved my old Swatch. Steve, Sam, and I went into the city on Tuesday to pick up my birthday Swatch. We’re not very good at deciding what we want for birthdays or Christmas. We always fall back on the old line, “I’ll have a think and let you know,” and then end up scrambling at the last minute.

This time, I knew exactly what I wanted, but we hadn’t had a chance to go and buy it. We could have ordered it online, but I wanted to try it on first, and this week was the first chance we got.

I can’t believe I picked out a fuchsia one. Even my original Swatch back in the 80s was grey. I always go for neutrals, but not this time and nobody is more surprised than I am!

Keratin Treatment Time

Time for a keratin treatment to fight the frizz. It had been over a year since my last treatment, so I was well overdue. With the weather so humid lately, my hair was really bad. It was so nice to sit in the air-conditioned salon after work on Wednesday, and this time, the two hours it took to get the treatment flew by. I love how they treat you with a coffee, a Tim Tam and a heart-shaped chocolate.

Now I’m in that awful in-between stage, waiting for the keratin to do its thing. I have to wait three days to wash my hair (tomorrow is the third day, hallelujah) and two weeks to colour it. The keratin has made my hair a bit orange, and it’s so flat it’s practically glued to my scalp. I was tempted to wear a baseball cap to work since Wednesday, but you’re supposed to let it be and not even tie it up to avoid kinks. In the end, I had to tie it back anyway because I didn’t want to scare the children.

And just like that, it’s the weekend. How did the week go by so fast? I hope you have an amazing weekend, and I look forward to being back here on Monday.