{Friendship Friday} Old friends

Hey, we haven't done one of these for a long time.

I'm in a weird space with friendship. It might be just this time of year but I don't think so.

On the one hand I feel like I'm too busy with friends. That's actually true because I updated my diaries and such two nights ago and with one week left of May, I'd already had NINE socials. And we're not even having book club in May!

Then again, on the other hand, I feel like I'm just not busy at all.

I suspect that this feeling of space in my life is a God-sized hole for ministry! :)

Anyway, as I continue to pray about it, pray with me if you're the praying sort.

Back to the friends.

I've had a couple of old friend encounters lately. Over 9 days, I had 3 "old friend" encounters which was a real blessing.

• One friend and I met up after two years. And I recommend the fish tacos at Doppio Zero if you're not too hungry - delish!
• One friend and I ran into each other at church after probably about 4 years.
• And then while another friend and I were walking to the parking area in a mall after having lunch together, I ran into my old hairdresser after 7 years.

Wow.

It was so nice.

spying on these 3 from the stairs ;)

And the interesting thing for me was that I just held all these encounters loosely. I didn't feel the need to get out the diaries and schedule time together again. I enjoyed the time together and left on a good note. Very unlike me.

We've spoken on this blog before about how, if you see someone in public, some of us will say hello and others just pretend to not see. ;)

For me, I would feel more awkward ignoring (or pretending to ignore) someone than just going to speak to that person.

What about you? Would you go up and talk to the person?
And do you feel the need to invest if you haven't seen a friend for a long time, or do you hold these experiences loosely?

On a lighter note, what do you have planned for the weekend?

PS I have a date with D, and I plan to read and finish our book club book!

Which 3 things are most contributing to your happiness right now?

 

This is the fun thing about podcasts.

There's the topic (which is the thing that's published) but most of the podcasts also have some questions they always ask their guests.

Shauna Niequist (she wrote Bittersweet - still on my Kindle! - Bread and Wine (joint favourite non-fiction of 2014 with the Nesting Place), Savor, Present over Perfect, and my favourite essay about using your stuff) just started a podcast (this Monday was episode 3!) and in addition to the usual stuff, she asks her guests fun things about food, cooking and the question above.

Since I don't have my own podcast, let's just pretend you're all my guests.



The 3 things that most contribute to my happiness right now are:

the gorgeous visuals of autumn (I can't get enough!)
I've been on two dedicated photohunts already and still, I keep driving by trees and thinking, "oh! I really should come back with my big camera to take more pics!"

(Jeanette, if you're still reading, the place where we met for lunch on Rivonia has AMAZING leaves!)

podcasts
I decluttered about 15 in April, and I found a ton more. Maybe I had to let go to find new good ones?

I've discovered a thing - I can actually fast forward when there's too much preamble I'm not interested in. I always knew this could be done but I was too much of a good girl to actually do it.

new jeans
I bought some new jeans at Pick 'n Pay clothing and they are tighter so I don't have to roll the top over. So much happiness!

This is not a "what I wore on Friday" blog so you'll just have to see them in person.

So, tell me.

Which 3 things are most contributing to your happiness right now?

New work rhythms

I've been working from home 1 day a week probably for just over a year now.

This only happens if there is a day with no meetings, so during busy periods there just are meetings every day, which kind-of sucks :)

After one of the holiday weeks, I think it might have been the week after the Easter weekend, we had meetings daily and it about killed me. I was exhausted on the Friday.

It's fascinating to me how quickly I got used to that extra day out of the office. Because whether that day is a Tues, Wed or Thurs, it does mean that I never have to go to the office for more than 3 days in a row.

Before you all think I'm extremely spoiled, let me remind you that a good day in traffic is 45 minutes one way.

Yes, it's long but it's good podcasting or audio book time.



So let's talk about my work rhythms when I'm at home.

1. I take it super slow in the morning. What I should do and only do about 20% of the time is read. Mostly I scroll Instagram.
2. I shower, dress, etc. at my leisure (while listening to a podcast) and eat breakfast while reading.
3. Then I get to work and I make sure I do all my good work until 2.25 til I have to leave to fetch the kids. One of my delights in life is doing the mom thing. 
4. I walk to fetch them and we chat while walking back. It's very sweet to see their little friends and hear them calling to me as C's mom or K's mom.
5. I then quickly make our lunch (my love language is acts of service, so I love doing this kind of thing) , take my food back to the computer and eat while I continue working.
6. I usually end a bit early - around 4. But sometimes it's like a full day and I end at 6ish. I'm task-oriented so I know what I want to get done and I work til it's done.

Today was a work from home day and I went on a quick photo hunt for autumn photos at lunch, and when I finished work, I went to the shops for (more) long-sleeved school shirts. On other days, I might run an errand or two, or meet a friend for lunch or tea. Next week, I need to go get two small things sorted on my car.

It's actually the absolute best of both worlds.

I love being at home because of all the above... and I love being in the office because... people! and stuff going on! and sorting stuff out with internal departments. And if the people there annoy me a bit, I tell myself, only a day or two til I get a break and get to work from home :)

I'm writing this mostly to remind me of how much my current role suits my skill set and my lifestyle, especially as this is the start of Busy Season.

So what do you like about your current job? Does it work with your introvert/ extrovert self?

A complete mixed bag :0

So I'm having a fabulous reading year.

I consciously starting spending fewer hours on social media each day last year, and that habit has thankfully continued so it's translated well to my reading.

And I realised I could actually read much more if I didn't listen to any podcasts or I didn't blog on Organising Queen.

But as it stands, I'm really happy with my reading life at the moment. I'm listening to enough books, and reading a more or less equal number of physical and Kindle/ Overdrive books.

How happy are you with your reading life on a scale of 1 - 10?
 

These were my April books.

I read 12 in total - 1 audible, 7 Kindle and 4 physical books.

Books that received 4 out of 5 * (I have probably given only 2 - 3 5* reviews per 100 books read)

1. Mad about you
2. Two Fridays in April
3. My husband's wife
4. Oxygen (our book club read)
5. Little Beach Street Bakery (Jenny Colgan
6. The Marriage Lie

Most disappointing read
Recipes for love and murder

Books that were really well-written (and that also made me happy - English/ Irish setting?)
Mad about you and Two Fridays in April

There were a couple of books where I'd invested too much time in and would have abandoned if not for that little fact because it's not like you can add up all the half-read books :)

Still, hopefully this month will be a great reading month too.

I already read a fantastic non-fiction which I talked about a little on Instagram if you want to see.

But back to you.

Tell me about your most disappointing read in April, and one that made you super happy.

So hey, it's May!

We've just been away for 5 days and I feel like I want to write before I forget things.

Driving there was easy-peasy. Still took us 5.5 hours because we stopped at the Dinosaur Park on the way. This was part of our bright idea to make the journey part of the holiday.

This is not my usual style - I really like to Get There and I don't like Faffing Around while travelling :)

Yesterday it took us 6.5 hours to get back. Only one stop but LOTS of roadblocks. Remind me to not travel on a public holiday again.

I'll put up a post with pictures when I finished deleting all the duds :)



April was good, wasn't it?

It feels like it was both busy and relaxing, which is super weird. Maybe it feels busy because of all the public holidays because I don't feel like I had many socials. I did get to see two friends I haven't seen the whole year so that was really, really nice.

Book club is going well. So well I'm seriously thinking of starting another book club - this time for children.

Am I mad? 

I've started a Goodreads account for Connor (I still have to do Kendra's one) and they tell me what they like and don't like. Granted, it's like pulling teeth but I want to get them used to enjoying books. I keep telling them it's the best thing in the world to have time to read :)



Other than socials and reading (which I'll of course write more about), I've been thinking a lot about friendship and such. That post is still percolating but I'll write when I'm ready.

Aside from that, I had a Brazilian Hairdo that didn't work. The lady is cross about it (I was very nice but I whatsapped her 2 videos of my non-straight hair...) so now it's awkward to go back. For the love!

So how was your April? Did you go away? How was the trip? And how's your hair looking?

PS this was the first holiday in years (maybe 6 - 7 years) where I didn't take my laptop!