Wet laundry, nanny stuff and weight

I fell into the Instagram coma this morning while having my tea and watching the rain with one eye.... so I'm taking 15 minutes at work to quickly bash this out while I wait for a client to arrive.


1. It's been pouring with rain for two days now and I'm loving it. I love, love, love rain.

What I don't love is getting my laundry dry. Today when I get home I think I'll use the tumble drier for 20 minutes.

Do you have a tumble drier? I first fell in love with these amazing appliances when I was at Rhodes. I was smitten and we had one before we even had a washing machine!

A pity electricity is so expensive otherwise I'd use it more :)


2. Our nanny's sister is very sick so she's gone home to Zim for two weeks.

We are bribing the kids with a weekend treat (movies this week and restaurant for all of us next weekend) to keep them responsible. But it's actually a lot - working, cooking, cleaning, chasing kids, etc. I was pooped last night and I just collapsed with my book.

I realise that Nanny S does way too much for them simply because it's easier for her. However, it doesn't teach them independence.

3. I need to do something about my weight.

I'm not prepared to do banting or other such stuff. I have no insulin resistance - the two dieticians I consulted about this said this is really the only group of people who should bant.

So I guess that means cutting out something.... I suppose carbs at supper is the obvious one but oh my word, carbs are my love language.....

I don't want to lose a lot - 7 kg is enough - but I also don't want to have to radically alter my life :)

Tips? Tricks?

Anyone else want to share a few things on their mind?

{Friday Five} The "I can't stop talking about" edition

I loosely decided that I need to give myself some boundaries around Instagram otherwise I'm going to end up in an Instagram coma every morning.

Some mornings I go with D to work so there's no break, other mornings I read for a bit looking out the lounge window, with a cup of tea, and other mornings I decided I should write up a quick blog, like today.

So here we go: things I can't stop talking about:


goals
Oh my soul, I love talking goals, intentions, how to get at them, how to get better at them. It's my passion :)

Goals night is my favourite night of the month!



traffic in Jhb this year
I'm boring myself but honestly, I don't remember when last the traffic was this awful. I wised up after a few days and arrive at 9:30 - 10:00 these days and leave at 3.30 to miss the traffic. Even the 3.30 didn't work the other day :o

It's good but it means I'm mixing my lives (working at home) which I'm not a fan of, because I'm a clear compartmentaliser.


podcasts
As I typed that word, I thought I should write up a full post on Organising Queen because I've realised I have podcasts for a Friday, podcasts for the shower, podcasts for editing photos, podcasts for listening with D, podcasts for driving, podcasts for cooking and also, podcast topics I simply delete once I see the topic!

Any new podcast listeners? (I'm going to keep asking) This is year 3 for me.

books
Okay, to be fair, I've always talked a lot about books but I think the book club has accelerated my bookish-ness.


Also, you know my friend Se7en builds a library every year, right? Please see if you can donate a book or three. They are gifts to these kids (and over 1000 others) so should be in gift-condition or new. For my US friends, if you shop from Readers Warehouse, Takealot or Loot, they will deliver (for low minimums, completely free shipping!) directly to the address so it's no fuss!

Read more here!



Afrikaans
The kids started learning Afrikaans last year but it was very mild compared to this year. I'm the only one who actually speaks Afrikaans so I'm the one who has to listen to Gouelokkies being read a million times a week.

And that's it for today!

I'm looking forward to a quick lunch today and then.... weekend!

What can you not stop talking about?
Will you donate a book?

PS It feels like an orange day today so I looked through my favourites for orange pics :) Which is your favourite orange pic?

Health stuff and what I want more of this year

Okay, here's what I want more of this year.

Now, onto the health stuff.

1. I finally scheduled that extraction and implant simply because it had been hanging over my head, filling me with dread. Now at least I need only think of it the day before and the day of.... (currently 8 March)

I actually had it scheduled for 1 March but a conference came up and I have to go to this one because the alternative is farrrrrrrrr away. And you all know how I "love" driving. So no.

The most important item on my to-do list for today was my mammogram. I asked the doctor lots of questions and apparently, from age 40, you're supposed to go every year. Cancers grow aggressively if they develop between ages 40 and 50, so best to catch them quickly. This was my first one 🙈 and thankfully, everything's fine! 〰 #mammogram #planneraddict #planning #lists #health #womenshealth #happier2017 #annualscreening #selfcare

A post shared by Marcia Francois (@organisingqueen) on Jan 25, 2017 at 4:09am PST

 

2. Then I had a mammogram (my first! should have been my third!) in the last week of January. I spoke to the doctor and you're supposed to go every year from 40, and start earlier if you've had issues or have a family history. The biggest medical aid in SA only pays for 1 every 2nd year, but that doesn't change the health professionals' view, just by the way.

Oh, it was all clear!

3. This morning I have my annual gynae check-up and Pap smear. I think this is the least dreaded of the 3! This one was supposed to happen in December last year... I just ran out of time.

These 3 were on my list for the year and I'm going to be thrilled when they're all done!

In very sad news, a lady I used to work with who is a close friend of a friend of mine died at the end of January from breast cancer. Like me, she has two young kids (7 and 9) so it is very tragic, and to be honest, threw me completely when I heard the news!


How are you doing with your health things?

Bookish things and a January update

This year I'm really into getting specific about things and actually writing them down.

For example, I always have had a reading goal for each year and usually I make a goal to read some books off my physical bookshelf. That's solely to get through books otherwise they'll stay there for the next 10 years.

But this year I have lots of specifics. I'll share a few of them here:

• read 72 books
• at least 12 of them on Audible
• set up book club
• categorise all my Audible books on Goodreads
• read 10 physical books from my bookshelf
• re-listen to Better than Before, Overwhelmed, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (I LOVED THIS BOOK!), Marie Kondo (I now listen every year around my birthday) and Present over Perfect
• track my splits monthly instead of having to do the Big Counteroo at the end of the year

What are some of your bookish/ reading goals this year?

I heard someone on the internet say (or maybe it was an Instagram comment?) that they want to read fewer books but more quality, like if they can see it's a terrible book, stop and rather invest further time in a really good book.

On that note, I abandoned 4 books last year. This is AWESOME for me as I used to "push through" on everything. But I could always do better.

So maybe I should aim to abandon books faster? :)

But now for my January books.

In case anyone is interested, I take a screenshot from Goodreads website (it doesn't lay out nicely like this on the app), I email the pic to my phone (Picasa compresses it), then I use an app called Blur it free to blur out the books that may overlap from the previous month, email that pic back to my computer and insert it into the post. It sounds like a lot of steps but the whole thing takes about a minute :)

No. of books read: 8, 2 of them non-fiction
Physical: Kindle: Audible - 4: 3: 1
Enjoyed the most: Better than before (2nd reading), Chestnut Street and Love in the making

I'm fascinated by the ways other people consume their books. I definitely always have one going in the car and one on my bedside table but I also have a "Gautrain" book, which is a business-y/ career book from my physical bookshelf which I read on my way to see clients. I feel like I'm being paid for that travel time so might as well improve my business-y skills :)

Tell me about your book-reading ways, the books you read last month and which you enjoyed the most.

PS book club deserves its own post but it was awesome!
PPS these are all pics taken in January. Something I'm most pleased about with the kids is that they love to read and drink tea like me :) :)

{Friendship Friday} Favourite characteristics of your friends

I follow a podcast called the Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey (from Texas so she's got a really darling accent).

She does a Happy Half Hour every two weeks where she chats to people that have been on the podcast before but the half hour is just to talk about girl stuff :)

One of the questions she asks every guest on these half hours is this:

what are the favourite characteristics of your best friends?

It's so fun to hear what the various people say.

So I want to hear yours.

But of course, I'll share first.

1. They invite vulnerability. That means they share openly from their heart and so I feel like I can do the same. (fabulous quote on this very podcast: how can you love someone you don't know? - I think it was Lysa Terkeurst but don't quote me on that!)
2. They care about me and it shows. My love languages are words of affirmation and acts of service, and of course, these two do talk "more" to me but I love when I can see care in whatever form.
3. Reciprocity of initiative and effort. I'm not a tit for tat girl and I know that I make a lot of effort but what I do need is some initiative and reciprocity. I just have healthier relationships with people who also reciprocate.

Over to you!

Tell me 3 of your friends' favourite characteristics!