Category: Little Sparkles

Its the first Friday of the school holidays, so ideally we should be playing on the beach, having a little paddle in the sea and making sandcastles,  Sadly, the wet and windy weather has put a stop to these plans and after a busy morning swimming and swapping library books we are cuddled up under the duvets and watching Frozen (fortunately, its not on loop constantly here, just a film they like to watch occasionally)  Its been a funny old week, my school holidays and the children’s’ don’t match perfectly so I’ve had to work part of this week, although a shorter week than my normal part time hours.  Our plans have been shaped by the weather as its not been a great week but we can always make our own sparkles.

READ

I’ve been reading Mollie Makes Guide to Social Media.  I have been toying with the idea of an Instagram account as I love to take photos but needed a way to put them together and make it easier to access.  I have created an account but am now worried about security.  At present it is private and will remain so although I have no family pictures on it yet.  Social networking is such a conundrum for me, I want to access it but am so conscious of our family’s security.

On a lighter note, I have been reading aloud Horrid Henry’s Jumbo Joke Book to Little Man, its really good and there are some funny jokes.

HEARD

I heard some lovely, heart warming news this week.  My new boss has been a little secretive recently, lots of appointments, taking additional leave etc..  Now, 5 years ago, I was having to take similar time out of work and I had begun to wonder if he was going through the same process as us, however I also became a bit paranoid that Wednesday appointments and meetings at home don’t necessarily mean adoption.  On his return to work this week, my boss shared with me his happy news that he had been on adoption leave and shared the photos of his new baby.  There are certain conversations that only someone who has been through the process can have, empathise and appreciate.  It was just uplifting and heart warming to hear him talk about his new child so joyfully and emotionally.  It was a conversation that reminded me of the wonder of adoption and how wonderfully it can change lives.

WATCHED

Last night, Little Miss and I went to the theatre to see the ballet, Sleeping Beauty.  It was the most stunning production I have seen for a long time.  Everything was amazing, the dancing, music, scenery and costumes.  The interpretation through time was perfect and the 1920’s scenes my favourite.  It was the perfect night’s entertainment and thoroughly deserved the standing ovation from every member of the sell out audience.  It has only spiked my interest in ballet, I’m hoping to download some music later and to discover the different ballets.

MADE

 

After school on Friday, our first job was to create our Holiday Bucket (and spade) list.  The children offered some suggestions but its been nice to see it evolve this week.  We have started to tick off some of our entries,  Mr S took the children to the cinema to see the Minions, they all came back with positive reviews and Little Man has been singing a song and shouting bananas a lot which I understand is something to do with the film.  When asked his opinion of the film, Little Man simply replied Colin rules the world!

WORE

The colour is not so good in this image, there are olive green and bright blue parasols on the dress.

Apart from raincoats, the only notable outfit was for the ballet where I wore my 50s inspired parasol dress with a cropped blue cardigan.  I love the vintage feel of the dress with the sweetheart neckline and full skirt.  I also like the pattern, it evokes the seaside so is a perfect choice.

Next week we’re looking forward to the best week of the year in our town, its carnival!   I really hope the weather improves as there are so many brilliant things going on and its my birthday and wedding anniversary, definitely a week to celebrate and enjoy.

Its been an odd week, full of anticipation and expectation for the end of the school year but the miserable weather dampened a few events.  The last days of term are supposed to be long playtimes, cartwheels on the playing field and making daisy chains not wet playtimes in a stuffy classroom.  However, the end of term is finally here, I have the bags of school work, prized paintings and debris from their drawers at home and we are looking forward to our holidays.  There’s not too many sparkles this week, its been a practical week, I’ve been busy but looking back I’m not sure doing what!

READ

I chose The Complete Poetry of Maya Angelou at the library last week and have been dipping in to read and reflect on her poems.  Her poetry has a definite style, there is a warmth, political conviction and humanity in her words.   One of my favourites is Phenomenal Woman, its a poem I discovered a few years ago and is brilliant.  Here it is being read by Maya Angelou, a truly phenomenal woman.

WATCHED

A rather sparse category again.  On Monday evening I watched Little Miss ‘fly’ to Brownies, it was a little ceremony which involved crossing the rainbow and being welcomed into Brownies.  Rainbows has been wonderful for Little Miss and I hope she enjoys Brownies as much as I used to.  There’s been lots of steps recently with Little Miss moving to a new chapter in her life, she’s finished Key Stage 1 and Rainbows now on to her junior life.

HEARD

I’m stumped here this week, the radio is always on but there has been nothing memorable, TMS is on again this week but the Aussies are doing rather well which makes it a bit hard to listen to.  I’ve heard raindrops against the window panes?  I need to work on this next week.

MADE

We still have some of the gooseberries from the PYO in the freezer so I made a lovely gooseberry and orange drizzle cake on a wet Sunday afternoon.  It was delicious but the gooseberries did seem to sink, I remember reading a tip to coat them in flour to prevent this so may have to try next time.

Whilst I didn’t make the gifts, I have to highlight the beautiful gifts the children were given by the teachers, Little Man had a pirate loot bag and Little Miss a gardening set, it was the wonderful gift tag which delighted me, reading We have loved watching you grow this year.  Its definitely given me inspiration.

WORE

I wore my running kit a lot this week and managed 4 runs, the best up to an hour , yippee.  I was also wearing head gear, hairbands and caps to disguise my bad hair, I’ve been to the hairdressers now so it looks fine again.  The dampness was not helping my frizz!

We are definitely on a countdown to the holidays now. The children are enjoying the final school weeks, but there is lots going on and they are exhausted, it’s time for a break to relax and play. This week has seen lots of trips and treats for the children, whilst I have been organising plans for the holidays and starting to prepare for September. Friends have been surprised by my preparation but it means I can relax in the holidays without a long to do list. I want my holiday to be fun and carefree not fretting about school uniforms and gymnastic clubs!

READ

I finished ‘When God was a Rabbit’ and remained unimpressed. It was so contrived and the clues so planted, the tarot card reading and Twin Towers episode was just crass and it felt like a countdown of all the major events in the past generation with a tenuous link to a story.  I feel quite sad when I read a book I don’t like; I want to appreciate an author’s work.

I bought a new magazine this week, The Simple Things. It’s a coffee table type of magazine and very aspirational but I do like its simplicity and ideas. Its inspired me to add a visit to a French flea market to my bucket list and I loved the articles on nature, lavender and beach houses. There’s a lovely visual piece on shells which I’m going to photocopy and use it to help us identify the shells on the beach.  I was surprised to some acquaintances in a feature, the seaside lifestyle is quite popular at the moment,  another friend also appeared in a recent edition of Prima.

WATCHED

It was the parent’s viewing class in ballet this week, so I got to watch Little Miss dance. She has got such natural rhythm and coordination and she dances so gracefully it’s beautiful.  I was able to record her perform a solo and sent it through to Grandma who was very proud and impressed.

I also watched a spectacular storm from my bed.  It was unexpected as at 7pm in the evening when we were at the school fayre the weather was hot and sunny, yet at 11pm we were experiencing a storm with so much lightning and rain, I have never seen anything like it.  It was a mix of exciting and a little scary, the sky was so lit up and I was genuinely concerned about a strike near us.    The pictures below are a map of the lightning strikes which illustrates how intense the storm was and the flooding in town, we had half a month’s rain in just one hour.

 

LISTENED

I have been eagerly awaiting the start of the Ashes this week and was tuned in to Test Match Special for the start. I have very happy memories of the Ashes series, both in Australia and at home, cricket reminds me of happy times, good friends and sunshine and TMS is the perfect accompaniment.  We do have Sky Sports and if Mr S is home the cricket, highlights and analysis will always be on in the background but to me TMS is the spirit of cricket, I love the commentary, talk and relaxed presentation, its perfect company and keeps me entertained and makes me smile throughout the day.    It also has the best theme tune to any programme!

MADE

I made a new running plan this week as I have managed to run on three occasions this week without pain or niggles, I am so happy and looking forward to some races and achieving new goals.

I also made lots of personalised cards this week on the Funky Pigeon website, July is a very busy month, so I took an hour out to make the teachers and TAs thank you cards, and family and friends’ anniversary and birthday cards.  I have sent the cards directly to the recipients so I can relax now knowing that everyone will get a card on time.  A couple which were sent to me have arrived and I’m really pleased with them.  I do think its good value doing the cards online, I love to send beautiful, thoughtful cards and was getting a bit fed up with cards made in China, this way my cards are produced in the UK.

WORE

I have worn two pairs of new shoes this week. First are my Birkenstocks, for years I’ve fancied a pair as I have friends who swear by their comfort and design. Last time I went shopping I was very nearly tempted and then felt a bit disappointed that I hadn’t tried them on. On this trip, I was delighted that the ones I liked were in the sale and when they fitted perfectly I bought them.   They feel a little odd to begin with but I think I’m a convert.

The second pair of shoes is a new pair of trainers. After two successful runs I just happened to be driving past the running shop and as there was a space outside I parked and just popped in to see what they had!   My trainers are always my most expensive shoes and the only ones which ever wear out. These trainers feel good and were comfortable and supportive when I went for a run.

It’s been a much more relaxed and family focused time this week and with our mini heatwave it’s meant lots of time outside and playing in the sun. We’ve enjoyed some nice family times in the sunshine, on Saturday we played on the beach and on Sunday we were at a local farm picking fruit. We were back on the beach after school on Monday and to cope with the heat, the sprinkler in the garden has been used to cool us all down!

READ

After seeing a number of recommendations for her new book, I have started to read Sarah Winman’s ‘When God was a Rabbit’   I am around 100 pages into it but have to admit to not really enjoying it, there seems to be too many themes, mental health, child sexual abuse, child neglect, a talking rabbit called God! It feels like it’s a contrived list of things which might shock the reader but which don’t interweave with a real plot yet. I may persevere for a few more pages as I don’t like to give up on a book but it’s not a great recommendation to read her new book.

I have also read one of Little Miss’ books, Judy Moody. It’s not a series I’m familiar with so I read it to see what Little Miss is reading and so I can talk to her about the book. The titled character is cleverly crafted, Judy Moody is a little moody but you see chinks of the person she really wants to be and how she uses her character as a defence.  Children’s books can be real works of genius and I think Judy Moody is a character we can work with!

LISTENED

I listened to an excellent edition of Woman’s Hour on Wednesday which revealed this year’s Top Ten Influential Women in the UK. It was a good mix of women from media, politics although I didn’t agree with the whole list. I felt it lacked contributions from science and technology and education. However it was still an interesting listen and key words seemed to resonate of the nominees, strength, dignity, responsibility. The number 1 in the countdown was Nicola Sturgeon and her interview was intelligent, reasoned and witty.  I’m definitely an admirer.

WATCHED

Nothing on television, not even Wimbledon! It’s too bright and sunny to have the television on, I prefer to sit outside and enjoy the cooler evenings reading a book or jotting down a few ideas and plans. This week it’s been the children’s school Sports Day so I have seen the children run, jump and throw in a nicely organised afternoon of sport. Sadly the weather was a bit bizarre, we had drizzle to begin with, then bright, hot sunshine which led to the grass steaming, then a sea mist and finally heavy rain which led to the cancellation of the parents’ race, no sticker for me this year L

MADE

After our fruit picking trip, I made a delicious gooseberry crumble, sometimes the simplest recipes are the best. Among the other random things I have made this week are lots of sandcastles and a pirate eye patch for Little Man who has become obsessed with pirates this week after Pirate Pete made a surprise visit to his class.

WORE

A dress and heels! It was our school prom on Friday night and I got in the full spirit of the occasion by dressing up. It was an amazing experience and the Prom team had done so much to make it an absolutely stunning occasion.

I also wore my comfy, well-worn Teva sandals when I went fruit picking.  They’re a very useful, Summer sandal and I was amused to read in the Times that apparently they’re the trend of this Summer.

Years ago when I was a student, I used to have a page from Cosmopolitan magazine taped to my bedroom wall.  This page was stuck on the wall of my student digs, my first shared house and was key bits of advice for a Cosmo woman and was full of brilliant counsel.  One I have always remembered is that sometimes you need to do extra than the 9 -5 at work.  Whilst I only work part time and try to maintain a healthy work life balance there are some weeks when you just have to do that extra (as there are weeks when you get to do that little bit less) This week I’ve needed to do extra work to make my working life just a little easier.  Each evening this week I’ve been busy report writing, completing assessments and inputting data as well as preparing for a peer observation activity.  I have finally completed them and feel a great sense of relief and calm, I can enjoy the final weeks of term now.  This week’s edition of Little Sparkles is quite limited as a consequence, can reading assessment criteria and level descriptors count as my reading?

READ

I haven’t stopped reading letters home from the children’s school this week, its been a little ridiculous I think there’s been ten in total!  A 2 page newsletter, a school trip permission letter, lunch menus, Sports Day information, School fayre flyer and raffle tickets, head lice letter, PTA bulletin, leaflets from the local Sports Centre, a health pamphlet and a letter requesting recycled trays for a Science project!  The Summer term is always very busy with Sports day, trips, fayres, proms and parties so as well as remembering the above for the children I have also read numerous emails on similar topics for my school too!

HEARD

I’ve not had the time to listen to much music this week but managed to catch a few episodes of the Archers, one of my guilty pleasures.  I have been puzzling over it though as I’m sure the actress who plays Pip has changed.  I may have to do an Internet search to discover the truth. (Postscript, I was right there has been a change I do prefer the old voice!)

WATCHED

Nothing on the tv this week but I did love this video which was linked via a tweet about life without the invention of the Internet, its witty and though provoking and I love the cameos.

MADE

In writing this post, I am realising that work has definitely dominated my life this week, no new recipes, no crafts.  Instead my best suggestion for makes are the resources I made for a lesson observation.  There is something therapeutic about cutting, sticking and laminating, perhaps its the monotony and repetition which relaxes!

WORE

My final tedious category, as all my work has been computer based this week I’ve been wearing my glasses to ward off any migraines given the extended hours I’ve been looking at a screen.  Fingers crossed its worked.

There is the danger each week of writing of what a busy week it’s been, detailing the diary demands and summarising the to do list. It probably gets a little tedious to read, I’m a working Mum juggling life and family and despite the odd stresses, I wouldn’t wish my life to be much different. I’m sure in my twilight years, my days will be too quiet and I’ll finally have time to read all the books I want to and watch all the films I’ve missed.

This week has been the usual mix of work and family. Unusually we had a family shopping trip to our county town for shopping on Saturday, the girls had their shopping list and the boys went car shopping, we all had successful trips and the girls spent less than the boys!

WATCHED

I was really looking forward to the 20^th anniversary of TFI Friday and it didn’t disappoint. I loved this when I was younger, just hearing the music by Ocean Colour Scene again gave me goose bumps. It was a good mix of old and new and did illustrate what a ground breaking programme it had been in its hey day. There are rumours that it will be brought back but I think the special edition was best as a one off, one night of nostalgia is just enough and best to finish on a high.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11633873/How-TFI-Friday-changed-the-face-of-TV.html

It was also Little Man’s class assembly this week, the theme was Minibeasts. It was full of fun songs and rhymes and Little Man was a highly enthusiastic participant!

READ

I love Twitter and the hashtag devastatingly sexy has been an excellent riposte to the misogynist scientist who argued that female scientists are distracting in labs and cry too much and fall in love. Cue a witty and powerful reaction from female scientists showing them at work not crying or falling in love.   As one commentator wrote the images and descriptions they posted of their roles did more to raise the profile of women in science than any worthy government campaign.

As I’ve been to the hairdressers this week, I’ve read some of the glossy magazines they have for customers. I used to love relaxing and reading magazines but with children and Pinterest it’s rare for me to buy one now and so my monthly trip is my chance to catch up.

HEARD

TFI provided the direction of my music this week with Brit Pop featuring heavily and a little added Lenny Kravitz. Moseley Shoals and Are You Gonna Go My Way were favourite CDs in my early twenties and their quality still shines through.

MADE

Inspired by my Godmother’s legendary marble cake I attempted a chocolate and orange cake this week and was proud of my effort. I think I would perhaps use less of the chocolate mix as it seemed to overwhelm the orange mix but generally it was a lovely cake.

WORE

I do love my bags and I used (wore) my new Orla Kiely bag on our shopping trip on Saturday. It was the perfect size for our trip able to hold a few little purchases as well as the essentials.

Summer is slowly creeping up on us and our town is beginning to get busier until reaching the crescendo which is the school Summer holidays. This week has seen the inaugural Fish festival in town and the improving weather has meant more visits to the beach and playing outside.

READ

This week I am finishing off the All Day Long book I’ve been dipping in and out of for the last few weeks. A life in the day of a research scientist amused me this week, Monday to Friday is for the serious work and then Friday night is experiment night when members of the department work on their own projects. I liked the passion showed by the scientists in their work, it seemed they were a group who loved their work and had creativity and interest, characteristics which do seem to have been lacking in many of the work days described in the book. It also mentioned the importance of the afternoon tea break when the department came together to discuss their work, share ideas, offer advice etc.. I love this idea.

I have also read text messages between Little Miss and her Grandma on my phone. Little Miss is a mischief with my phone but these messages were so cute and I was impressed by the content, I think predictive text helps with the spellings and encourages her to be more adventurous in her words.

LISTENED

Alerted by Twitter, I listened to an excellent Desert Island Discs on Sunday with the indomitable (you’ll need to listen to the programme) Professor Lisa Jardine. She was bright, intelligent and witty and made some brilliant comments.  I was truly inspired and impressed by her.

“I only do things I love, and I love everything I do …”

WATCHED

Sunday evening is ironing night and strangely I love it, I like to iron and watch a guilty pleasure programme, Cake Boss, The Little Couple, Say Yes to the Dress (all TLC favourites) Friends, SATC.  This week none of my usual favourite were on and I ended up watching the film The Wedding Date from 2005.  It was all so predictable and cheesy but strangely addictive helped by a good soundtrack and some of my favourite actors popping up, Jack Davenport will always be Miles from This Life, a favourite from the 90s and still the best ever final scene to a series and Sarah Parrish was great in her role.

MADE

Inspired by the gorgeous Greek food we had on holiday I made stuffed tomatoes this week, which were delicious with a crisp, fresh salad.

WORE

In the departures lounge at the airport, I popped into Accessorize and purchased a necklace which has been a great addition to my wardrobe, its colours and style mean that it complements most of my clothes and has been worn lots.  I did used to wear a lot of funky necklaces but a lot seemed to get broken by Little Man grabbing at them when he was little and I didn’t replace them at the time.   I’m safe to wear them again now and enjoying the additional sparkle they bring to an outfit.

After the excitement and joy of a holiday, the week after is always getting back to routines and ‘real life.’ However I had been so focused on the holiday and the plans I had forgotten what a mad old week I was returning to, it’s been a real topsy turvy week with Mr S and I both having different work commitments to normal and various school events for the children happening too. Mr S and I have both had work conferences this week and they have shown the difference in the sectors we work in. Mine was a day event, bring your own lunch and sit in a school theatre on an uncomfortable bench. Mr S got to stay in a 4 star hotel, and after the seminars he enjoyed a drinks reception, river cruise and dinner and dance with a free bar!! The conferences meant I had a different working week and its completely thrown me, normally by lunch on Wednesday I’m nearly done for the week, this week it felt like I was just starting my working week. Fortunately, everything returns to normal next week, I do like my routines.

READ

 

With Mr S absence I have been on bed time reading duty this week with Little Man. This is a privilege as my boys have a very fine tuned night time routine which they have developed and its definitely boy time. Although a little sad that I don’t get to read the night time story my heart swells with pride and joy that my son has a Daddy who always reads to him. I have read so much about the importance of a positive male role model and Mr S really is wonderful. Anyway this week it was Mummy’s turn to read and Little Man and I learnt lots about tractors! Normally whilst the boys are reading, little Miss and I sit on the sofa to read and listen to her books. This week this has been done a bit later but we’ve both loved her book, she has been reading Anna Hibiscus, this is a story full of beautiful language which really evokes the atmosphere of Anna’s life in Africa. I chose this book for Little Miss as I do find some of the school reading scheme books a little dull and I try to complement her library, it’s been a brilliant choice.

Personally, I am continuing the book on jobs which I started before the holiday, there were some interesting tales this week, and the call centre certainly brought back the memories of a part time job I had in my early twenties, well paid but pretty soul destroying.

Sadly, I have also read some of the obituaries of the Liberal Democrat politician Charles Kennedy who I have always admired and respected. I thought Gordon Brown described him perfectly as

“One of the greatest debaters, orators and communicators, who brought humour to politics, he was a man who effortlessly combined rock-like conviction with an openness to argument and a readiness to listen”

LISTENED

Despite the general discomfort of the seating and limited hospitality, I did enjoy listening to the speaker at my conference. She spoke on a specific program, TEACCH which helps to organise and structure the ASD classroom and one that has shaped my practice. Whilst I did not ‘learn’ anything new it helped to refresh some of the principles and to reflect on developing the program into the digital classroom.

WATCHED

With sunny weather and Mr S away, the television has hardly been on this week. Unlike Mr S, I don’t need to watch every possible game of cricket available on tv! The only programme I have watched this week was Long Lost Family, reuniting families. A strange choice as the premise really riles me as it tends to focus on adoption. The generation being reunited now are generally young mothers from the 1960s who had little option but to give up their children and for whom I have lots of sympathy. However, the generation of children being adopted now, don’t have a simple, sympathetic history and are likely to have suffered abuse or neglect. Despite what some media portray, children are not easily put up for adoption and the thought of such televised reunions in the years to come fills me with horror and dread. Despite this, I like the current reunions and it does give me an insight into the feelings of both the adoptees and their birth families.

MADE

In the evenings, I have been pottering on my computer and I have made Little Miss some stationery this week. The theme is mermaids and I think it’s a rather cute design.

WORE

Inspiration is sadly lacking in this category this week, as I’ve worn nothing notable or different to my normal casual look. I did a sort out of my wardrobe so there’s some clothes I won’t be wearing again, but that’s more worn out leggings, old gym tops and greying underwear! Must make more of an effort next week.

This week’s edition comes from Corfu, well it was written and planned in Corfu but for me holidays are a digital detox so is being typed up at home.  Our holiday was wonderful, a stunning resort, gorgeous weather (apart from a spectacular storm on Wednesday afternoon) and really special family times.  I have drafted another post about the holiday so I’ll just do Little Sparkles here.

READ

Whilst I think my Kindle has many attributes nothing beats a new paperback to go on holiday.  This choice was an impulse buy, I had read no reviews or press and simply chose it because it was in the charts at half price and as it was written by a French author and translated into English it appealed to the Francophile in me.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough, I finished it 2 days ago and am still thinking and reflecting on it.  Its been described as a love story, mystery and crime story, though to me it could easily be a tragedy.  The characterisations are brilliant and the plot twists are intelligent, believable and all add to the story which has a highly satisfactory uncontrived ending, some characters will continue to haunt me.

As with the most loved books, it is now dog eared, splashed with water and sprayed with sun tan lotion but that just makes it even more special and I am sure I will dip into it again, there are some beautiful quotes and language in it that just encourage it to be re read.

WATCHED

Whilst I have been busy watching the children in the pools, I love people watching on holiday from behind my sunglasses on the sun lounger.  I observe the fashions, family dynamics, guess the nationalities, people are so interesting.

LISTENED

On holiday it is lovely to sit back and simply listen to people enjoying themselves, the shrieks from the pool, the encouragement of parents, the laughter and applause as a family member descends a slide, happy times.  I have also listened nightly to the childrens’ disco songs, a European mix of cheesie classics,  Agadoo, the Birdie song in French and other Euro tunes designed to satisfy all the nationalities at the resort.  The childrens’ disco is a lovely example of how children can communicate despite language differences and all enjoy dancing and playing together,

MADE

One morning at the Children’s club, Little Miss and I decorated this t-shirt, I really enjoyed our time simply painting and talking.  She chose very carefully the words for her t-shirt and added all our names.

I have also made my family laugh a lot this week.  Once by accident when I hoped a rather undignified but spectacular fall from a rubber ring into the pool would have gone un noticed until I saw the boys laughing hysterically and using hand signals to illustrate the fall.  Then, I had a go at lots of scary slides at the resort, with names such as Double Twister, Extreme and the Black Hole they only encouraged me to ham up my performance with lots of girlie screams which had my audience laughing rather than applauding my performances!

WORE

I got to wear my new Summer clothes this week!  During the day it was swimming costumes and cover ups and in the evening a simple dress or shorts with a fancy top.  My buy of the season has to be my cherry red shorts from Next, so comfortable and stylish.  I’ve also worn those Summer essentials, sun tan lotion, sunglasses and a straw hat

As I write this I am buzzing with the excitement of our holiday tomorrow, I’ve had a lovely week getting ready for the holiday, all is ready and packed and I have pretty nails, nice hair and am smooth all over!!

Read

I have started the book, All Day Long by Joanna Biggs. It was a book I picked up at the library and it contains accounts of people’s working days. I’m finding it really interesting and am reflecting on many aspects of it, the way our working lives are changing, the type of work we are doing and the way we work. It has also made me appreciate how much I love my job!

Listened

This week I have been creating the Holiday Mix Tape (see earlier post) so have been searching and listening to lots of different music. It’s amazing how one song can lead to a recommendation and a whole musical journey develops. I’m looking forward to hearing our Play list in full, there are some cracking tunes on it!

I also tuned in to Test Match Special (TMS) today as the first Test match of the Summer started. It is such a delightful broadcast, it captures the spirit of cricket and is a witty and relaxed accompaniment to the day.

Watched

More on the cricket theme as on Sunday afternoon, whilst Mr S and his Dad watched the football play offs at home, I took the children to the cricket club to watch a fun cricket  tournament featuring local clubs and companies in a short format of the game.  I was there particularly to cheer on my running friends and the ladies finished as sporting runner ups. It was a lovely atmosphere, bright sunshine, relaxed conversation and of course a legendary cricket tea.

Made

This week, a national newspaper has been giving away Lego kits. Despite it being a paper I despise, as a good Mummy I have been every day to buy it and get the Lego. Therefore this week’s make is a Lego model because whilst Mr S is the Lego King I was challenged to make a model and couldn’t resist, I made the car and am proud of my efforts!

Worn

In the week of a holiday it’s not about what you wear but what you’re not allowed to wear as everything is washed, ironed and packed away for the holiday.  Whilst my wardrobe has been rather plain and simple, I have worn sparkly nail varnish on my toes since my pedicure on Wednesday and I have also worn my hair straight since my Keratin treatment too.  For someone whose hair grows out rather than down , the treatment has been a revelation and after years of a frizzy mess I am loving smooth, longer hair.