Smiling, Sorry-ing and Sporadically-ing

Ok, not all of those are real ing words, but still!

First off the sorry-ing: an apology – in part that this blog has been rather neglected recently, but also that all of you have been too – I’m sorry I haven’t been doing my regular rounds and have been fairly incommunicado – weddings, job applications and work have taken over in a truly unbelievable fashion!

Then the sporadically-ing: Unfortunately this lack of blog time isn’t likely to remedy itself anytime soon, so in the meantime, I promise random updates, as many visits and comments as I can squeeze in and a tonne of making up come summer/finding a job, but if you don’t hear anything for a while you know why…job applications are filling my days!

Then the smiling, so my dad came to visit me a couple of weekends ago, and we had a great time wandering Madrid together.

Admittedly, my Dad was practically taking me round instead of me being the native guide, thanks to my AWFUL sense of direction, but we saw lots of sights – the stadium, the palace, the main squares, the Rastro market – we drank beer in the sun and ended up slightly redder for it, we ate the most enormous but tasty meal (dessert was delicious!) and had a generally lovely time!

Last weekend was my second wedding of the month (and year – number 3 in November!), so we flew off to the most picturesque little Italian village, up in the mountains and the whole thing was just perfect!

Highlights of the weekend (aside from how gorgeously happy the bride and groom looked and how wonderful the setting was) included…discovering that I have a theme tune on the way to the wedding (unfortunately we have yet to find it since coming back – it’s a cover of Gil Scott-Heron’s The Bottle, and involves a guy slurring “nananananana…a bottle of wine”)…tottering precariously up and down some very slippy, cobbled streets…Love Heart wedding favours, and getting to throw rice at the bride (I realised I’ve never done this – I enjoyed every minute of it!), the biggest yummiest wedding meal ever, a really fun band and free bar…free bar which included Tennents Super as the lager on offer – truly amazing to be drinking “Tramp Juice” at a wedding (and then seeing absolutely everyone falling over after it – including my own spectacular fall trying to sit down and then get back up from some steps!)

 

And my final smiley news for thias post (aside from having two days off bank hols here!) is that…

If you didn’t get that – I have an interview next week! It’s a job I really want too, so keep everything crossed for me people!

Hope you’re all doing well!

 

Sunday Smiles

A very quick roundup of smiley happy things from the past week, before a proper post about the best thing about this week – my Dad’s trip to Madrid – in a day or two (after some sleep!)

Things that made me smile this week:

We are officially in the 20s, it is hot and sunny, everything feels happier and I can start to get the spring wardrobe out. Yesss!

Quote of the week from my little ones: “Miss B loves sausage…

….really long pause…

…dogs.” Nearly died.

Finally finishind my third set of journal pages for the swap I’m in…

…and receiving some gorgeous pages from last month’s swap!

Getting an actual, real, proper holiday postcard! LOVE IT! Thanks Bev! (are the traffic lights really like that?)

Receiving this month’s Oh Comely in the post – I totally heart this magazine.

The fact that I’ve been trying to be more aware and kind and helpful…and then dropped a twenty from my pocket when I took my phone out and the guy on the desk in my building called and told me – that’s karma for you!

ok, this may be the shortest post I’ve ever written, and the most image-free, it will be improved upon soon! hope you all had a great weekend too!

Saturday Smiles in the Sunshine

The sun has finally come out here, and we are reaching the 20s at last! (This means that, despite knowing I have at least another month and a half to go, I am officially on Pool Watch – checking to see if it’s being emptied/cleaned/repaired/filled/opened!)

So, in this sunny weather, time for a double helping of smiles, since last week’s was lost in the first thing on this week’s list…

Jenny and Dave’s wedding. Last Saturday I travelled via perfectly timed bus-train-plane-car-train-taxi to England for my friend’s wedding. We have been friends now for about 18 years (scary!) That’s us leaving Year 11 on my page above! It was the most lovely day, she looked beautiful, it was so happy and the most relaxed wedding ever, I caught up with other people from school and that was fun, so much fun in fact that I missed my train home. Resulting in new tickets…only to get to the connecting station and find my connection was not til the next morning! So, some new tickets and a detour sorted, I got ANOTHER train and my wonderful mum and sister drove to pick me up. A late, expensive, stressful and long journey home, but I would do it double to have been at the wedding!

Picking up English treats! Of course, taking my first suitcase full of ‘stuff’ back to England with me when I went back meant I came back with an empty case…plenty of space for Cadburys, Easter Eggs, biscuits, MARMITE (oh marmite, I have missed you!), and some John Frieda at half the price it is here!

Beating those post-wedding, post-weekend blues by coming home on Monday to find a package waiting for me. It could not have had a more appropriate postcard in it for my life right now (someone find me a job – please?!) and Easter treats! Yay! Thanks Bev!

Reading 101 Dalmatians with my class. Luis in my class came as a dalmatian during book week and told me how much he loved that book, but only had it in Spanish. So, while I was back in England I picked up my old copy and we started reading it as our class story this week. They are so excited – even more so to see my name written in it from when I was at school!

Things my class said this week. Firstly on Monday, when I sort-of forgot we had Pe (well, ok not really but after the weekend I didn’t have the energy to get changed and faff about, so I figured we’d just go down and do some games and races that I didn’t need to be changed for!). I came into the classroom after lunch – when I’m normally changed and ready, if I’m not it means no PE! – and one of the kids asked “Are we doing PE, Miss B?”, to which Blanca replied (with the most sass a cute, babyish 6 year old can muster “Is she wearing her PE clothes?!”…And secondly, the seriousness with which my children take my attempts at running. Every day I get asked “Did you go for your run? Are you going for your run?” When I told them, no I wasn’t going on Thursday, I was informed “Ok, we’ll let you have one day, but you HAVE to go tomorrow!” to which I replied that Friday was my no-running day always, every week, but I would definitely be going on Saturday. This was met with a thoughtful pause while they considered it. “Ok, we’ll let you. But make sure you go at the weekend!”

And on that note, actually getting back to running this week. Easter, England and general tiredness and therefore laziness have seen all my healthy hard work ruined, and the weight come back. But, I have been back to healthy food this week and run Monday, Wednesday and today (so much nicer to run in the sunshine!) – bring on next week!

These cakes. Ok, they don’t exactly help with the above healthy eating (I promise to share them!) but one of the parents turned up to collect their child yesterday and handed me a paper bag “Just a little merienda for you.” I didn’t get chance to look straight away, but assumed it was a couple of cookies, as the same child had brought me in a cookie that morning…when I opened it a bit later, this is what I found – awesome!!

Dinner and drinks with friends later. Totally accommodating my poverty post-wedding, my lovely girl friends here and I are having a cheap and cheerful night in with food, wine and gossip – I can destress over my lack of job prospects, C can destress over her upcoming wedding (2 weeks away!) and K can destress after a week away with the kids at school! Perfect Saturday night!

And finally…this picture:

drawn by one of my children for me yesterday and still making me giggle.

What’s made you smile this week?

Sunday Snoring After Saturday Smiling

Saturday Smiles is not forgotten already. this weekend was one of my best friend’s weddings, which meant I spent the entire day amiling on Saturday, even without the rest of the week. Proper post to follow….later…tomorrow…when I have regained energy levels…!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaa Wednesday!

In honour of the wonderful Teacher Tuesdays over at applesandglue, which every week have me going “aaaah, I’m not alone!” I am jumping on the bandwagon with a Teacher Tuesday…on Wednesday (this illustrates perfectly the sort of organisation I employ in class).

And my Teacher Tuesday on Wednesday is such a happy one this week, because it’s all about the fact that my class are absolute and utter LEGENDS. I love them to bits, especially because they rescued me today in a truly grown up and caring way too.

So, what happened was this…

I was dismantling our Science/DT/Electricity area to make way for our upcoming job centre. I took one of the big sheets of fabric off the table and shook it ready to fold it out. A flicker. something moved. It definitely did. I am an expert at spotting these things. Trying to remain calm, I slowly spread the fabric on the floor a little and out scurried what I’m pretty sure was a cockroach, but may have been a different type of beetley thing, either way out scurried a bloody huge and fast bug.

You can imagine my reaction. Yes, there was I remaining calm, not showing my fear, proving to children that there is nothing to be scared of and it’s nothing to make a fuss over. Ha! Yeah, right. There I was screaming and generally tensing up while going “um, there’s a bug! there’s a bug!” in a rather uncontrolled high pitch!

So, over ran my entire class (naturally) in fascination, half at the bug and half at their hysterical teacher “She’s going to vomit!” I hear Diana whisper. “No, I’m not, I’m not” I reply (I might, I might), “I just reeeeeeaaaally don’t like them.” to which Hugo replies “There’s nothing to be scared of, Miss B. They won’t hurt you.” “No, I know, I am being entirely silly children, I know that and yet I just can’t help it, so who is going to help me catch this thing?!” (which is now frozen in terror as twenty-something small heads peer and shout around it.)

Luis is handed a pencil pot. “Don’t kill it!” No, I’m not going to kill it. So, I (with an army of concerned girls stroking my arms and hugging me to make me feel better) am climbing onto my chair  in case he misses and it scuttles back in my direction while talking Luis through how to trap it then slide some paper under “carefully…. CAREFULLY!!”

At which point Hugo tells me “Miss B, just imagine it’s a butterfly” – id that not just the most grown up and thoughtful thing to say ever?! He’s 6, how I loved that child at that point, because it did actually make me feel a bit better!

So, I send him and Luis to the garden with it, with strict instructions to take it all the way over tho the wall where the trees are and throw it over. Minutes pass. They don’t return. I start thinking this giant bug has overcome the pencil pot and eaten them. Hugo appears at the door, breathless and gabbling “It won’t come out. It’s hanging on!” So, I told them to turn the pot on its side and leave it on the wall and come back. As long as it wasn’t in class. (I didn’t have a duty out there today anyway!)

Then they both return, breathless and gabbling “It followed us back!” WHAAAAAAT?! Shut the door then?! It turned out it had climbed back up the wall after they eventually kicked it out of its pencil pot, but we kept the door shut for the rest of the day anyway. Just in case.

Normality sort of resumed, with lots of make-Miss B-feel-better-she-can’t-help-being-a-bit-insane hugs and talk of bugs and how we really shouldn’t be scared, but sometimes we’re scared of things and we just can’t help it, like me with bugs. To which Angel puts his hand up to tell us all a story “One day I was…actually no, it’s better I don’t tell you in case you get scared Miss B.”

I totally heart my class.

Sat-art-day Smiles Mains

Well,as well as achieving my “cook something new” goal this week, I’m also really proud of myself for nailing one of my other new year resolutions getting out and about (as much as the weather has permitted) on my own this week.

Beginning last Sunday (Monday?) with asking one of our new teachers if she wanted to go for a drink (everyone else having buggered off to blighty already!). She did, she was a great laugh and we had a good evening chatting and eyeing up the barman.

Then, a few days of rain gave me a good excuse to chill out, watch tv and generally feel no pressure to go or do anything. By mid-week though, I had some applications done, the house was pretty tidy, I felt more rested, but despite keeping up with my running, I had to admit I should have been out more. So, I decided the first mission would be to change some books at the english bookstore here.

This mission did not begin well. Too busy on my phone and not looking where I was going, instead of putting my toes ON the step, I put them straight over it, sending me tumbling ever-so-gracefully straight over onto my knees! Classy. Luckily, I was rescued by a lovely little grandma-esque old woman.Determined not to be thwarted in my mission to get myself out alone, I dusted myself down, ignored the two tiny holes in my tights (one on either knee, with some nice bruises/grazes just beneath – proper 6 year old knees again!) and continued on my way. Hurrah!

I took back 4 or 5 books that I didn’t really want to keep, hadn’t enjoyed too much, knew I wouldn’t read again and swapped them for

The Handmaid’s Tale I’ve read before, but not for years and I’d kept meaning to re-read it, and Huckleberry Finn will get me started on my 35 books before 35 list! (Still 5 or 6 short I think – any other suggestions?!)

I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and my new found confidence to go out and hunt out some exhibitions. I found one that looked interesting and headed off.

I can’t believe I’d never been to this place before.

I also found out that Matadero means slaughterhouse, so I’m guessing that’s what this place used to be. Makes sense, it’s loads of huge factory/warehouse type buildings and spaces.

So, I wandered through looking for the room that would house the Jorge Fuembuena exhibition I’d found that I liked the look of, when I turned the corner to find it staring me in the face.

I was really impressed, the way the images had been arranged and often placed next to a very contrasting one, the backs of people when you came to walk back through, the compositions of the photos themselves, I really enjoyed wandering through.

Round the corner from this, there was another exhibition ‘Arqueológica’ (Archaeology). Free and right there, I decided I had to at least have a nose inside. The space and variety of pieces felt like being downstairs in Tate Liverpool, and it was really refreshing to see some installations and sculptures as well as photos/2D work which tends to be what I see most of here (because I love photo exhibitions mostly!).

One of my favourite pieces in the exhibition was a piece by Diango Hernández, almost like a house, but with gaps so that the walls had sort of maze-like openings and passages and in the centre a display of African tribal masks, all different. It was a very evocative piece for me.

The final bonus of this bonus exhibition was the free book that came with one of the last pieces, by Pedro Barateiro ‘Negative Reader’. As well as information about his piece and process, it has images and poetry and pages that are just crying out to be journalled on/used for journalling! Win.

Awful pics but you get the idea!

I then sat outside in the sunshine with a beer in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor, with only a short sleeved jacket on – spring has sprung!

There’s a great little exhibition space near me (actually two within walking distance, I am really lucky!) so the next day I walked down there to see…yes, another photo exhibition! this time Manuel Alvárez Bravo.

Again, I loved it. Some of the photos showed great humour and life, some sadness and desperation, some were more about the form and line and light and shadow. Many reminded me of the work of later artists and had me thinking about the stories behind them – what was happening? where was it? who was it? etc. I really enjoyed it.

So, Art has made me smile this week too. Art always makes me smile. (I did try to find another exhibition yesterday too, but walked in circles for about twenty minutes before finding it…shut! Oh well!)

Have you seen any good exhibitions recently?

Saturday Smiles Starters

So, the main thing making me smile this week has been having the week off work! I’ve missed having my friends around, and would have loved to go back to England for the week and eat hot cross buns, minted lamb, cadbury eggs… but I’m not going to knock it, having a week off has been lovely!

Despite missing all my usual Easter goodies at home, I have endeavoured to treat myself with some tasty things here this week too, like…

Left over Ben and Jerries Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream from J’s visit the other week? Straight out of the tub? While watching a brilliant film (Night on Earth – if you haven’t seen it, watch it. Well, maybe watch it. I loved it, but know my bestest bud would hate it, so – check it out and decide for yourself!) um, yes please! (Luckily, J was so keen he also brought round a tub of B&J’s Cookie Dough which is as yet untouched in my freezer, and I am ‘acquiring’ some more Jim Jarmusch movies to watch as we speak – happy days!)

…and I have (sort of) made myself keep at that new year goal I set to cook ‘new’ things:

(ok these technically aren’t all brand-new things, but improved recipes and things I haven’t cooked for a while)

Ok, I have made tomato soup before, before always in a cheating sort of way, this was REAL tomato soup and it was SOOOOO GOOD (even if I do say so myself!)

As was…This badly photographed but delicious tomato and basil pasta (with chicken). I used the rest of the fresh tomatoes and it was just so tasty…so tasty that I bought more fresh tomatoes to make tomato and chilli prawn pasta tonight! haha! I’m going to turn into a tomato!

Update…the prawn/chili/tomato pasta was DELICIOUS too! I’m really enjoying cooking new(ish) stuff – you know, it’s not new, but breaking out of the repertoire at least for some long forgottens – a bit like when products have those crazy “New! Improved!” labels, that’s what these tomato dishes all needed! Seriously, this food has made me very happy this week (my diet plans/waistline/chances of fitting into a dress for the upcoming wedding next week are not so good but, who cares, I’m on holiday(ish)!)

And today, I made something that is not new, or inspired or anything to do with my goals, but it did make me smile. Today’s brunchy-breakfast was this:

One word. Yum.

I have even bought myself some lamb and mint to pretend I’m having a real Easter dinner tomorrow (ok, it’s chops and not a leg because I have no oven. ok, I have to cook it myself and not just steal tasty bits when my mum/grandma aren’t looking. ok, I have to eat it alone and not round the table con la familia. But IT’S EASTER SO I’M HAVING LAMB!)

And so much has made me smile this week (don’t worry, I’m not changing too much – I’ve been fairly down about lots of other things to balance it out!), that if I squeeze it into one post, I’m going to lose you (if I haven’t already) because the “Mains” are…well…main. So, I shall post again later or in the morning (I know it’s not technically Saturday then, but think back to those student days when Saturday and sunday just rolled into one!) with Saturday Smiles Mains and Desserts.

Hope you’re having a great week, enjoying the Easter weekend and eating lots of tasty treats too (although if any of you have actual real Cadburys Easter Eggs, DO NOT TELL ME ABOUT IT!)

35 Before 35

So, the wise and wonderful Bev came up with a great plan solving the problem of “Eek, 30 is too close for a 30 before 30 list!” and I am totally jumping on the bandwagon. You can see Bev’s 35 before 35 list here.

My list is progressing slowly. It seems I am just not all that ambitious or exciting. Here’s what I have so far:

1. Learn to cook an AWESOME curry from scratch (ideally with the help of my chuck-everything-in type cook of a Dad!)
2. Plant a window box/planter/mini herb garden of some kind.
3. Visit my aunty in South Africa. (There are other places I’d like to go to as well, like travel round USA – New York, San Fransisco and New Orleans in particular – and visit our friends in Australai, but I know that realistically this probably won’t happen before I’m 35, if I’m saving for south Africa, that will have to be this list’s big holiday. they’re on the long-term list though!)
4. Write a children’s book and publish it (even if I have to do this myself and only print one copy!)
5. Host a dinner party (this is how you can tell I’m getting old).
6. Have a wild all-night party somewhere I’ve never been before (this is to prove I’m not).
7. Run a 5k. Or maybe even a 10k.
8. Visit Paris.
9. Visit Rome (or better yet, visit Italy and travel round it).
10. Have a romantic meal at home (preferably one that’s cooked for me) with candles and wine and EVERYTHING (ok, this one is fairly dependent on me finding a man at some point. But, let’s be optimistic for once – I have NEVER done this!)
11. Go on another city break in Europe somewhere with my mum (I know I’ve done this, but this time it would be just for us with no alterior motives, and we would choose a new city, so I think it still counts!)
12. Go on a posh-hotel-spa-type girly weekend with my bestest friend Lisa.
13. Read the list of books that I have made into a separate 35 BOOKS before 35 list. They are here if you want to check them out and I still have 6 spaces left to fill – any suggestions? they are mostly classics that I feel I *should* read/have read (because I’d like to think I’ll read a load more than 35 books in the next 5 years!) and I’ve thrown some poetry in there too, because I want to get myself out of this “I don’t like poetry” mindset I have, because deepdown I think I do!
14. Buy a new sewing machine, start at the beginning and learn how to use it PROPERLY to sew a piece of clothing that I’ll actually wear. (nb – I used to have a sewing machine, until it died possibly through misuse, and did sew two dresses, but neither of them were very good and I think this is because I’m impatient and hate to work up to stuff, so this time I will start from scratch and after a sea of cushion covers, aprons and the like will hopefully own a dress that I have made AND can wear).
15. Sell one of my collages and/or have it in public view somewhere (shop, gallery, lamppost, whatever!)

And this is it people – not even half a list! So, suggestions please – what else should I absolutely, definitely do before I’m 35?!

Still Smiling…in spite of it all…

So, determined to continue with Saturday Smiles – all the things that have made me happy throughout the week, a chance to remember all the positives and not the negatives…

I am putting out of my head the amount of times I was asked this week “when do you fly home?” only to have to reply that, no I’m not going home, I can’t afford it, I’ll be spending my holiday here on my own, yes that will be fun won’t it, relaxing, sure. Please stop asking now.

And remembering that we FINALLY broke up for the Easter break this week! After “only” 11 weeks in school (exhausted doesn’t come close), I have an entire week off!

I am ignoring the fact that I have eaten like a pig all week and not run since Monday because the closer the end of term got, the harder getting to the end of the day without mountains of sugar and fat seemed to be.

And remembering that Sara in my class brought me Cadburys on Tuesday (mmm, thanks Sara!)…

…to which Diego called across the room “Oh, Miss Bell-iiisssss – you’re going to get fat!”. And that L mentioned in response to this story that “You could never get fat, unless you drank like an entire bath of chocolate.” And that today I went for a run and resisted the urge to order a big greasy pizza to celebrate the start of the holidays and cooked healthy(-ish) bacon, leek, mushroom and courgette pasta instead.

I am not seeing the fact that my laptop chose the first night of my holidays to die a final and mid-episode death as a negative.

I’m thinking of all the people without one and feeling lucky that I still have Cesar’s computer to use for work, job applications (yes, I’m still plodding through them! Still no interviews, but a few closing dates coming up this week and hopefully some more jobs being advertised too, so keep everything crossed!) and general internet-procrastination. Being the super strong lady that I am (haha!) I did some rearranging so that now I can see the big computer from the sofa (albeit at a slightly weird angle). I’m also smiling because this didn’t go disastrously wrong, as it possibly should have…not only super strong, but super lazy, I left everything (computer, phone, printer, art supplies, beer…) on the desk as I moved it. Bearing in mind it’s not actually attached to the legs, this came dangerously close to everything tumbling off. But it didn’t, so huge relieved smile

From this… To this…

I am trying not to think about all the applications I’m writing and how hard I find them and what will happen if I don’t get any of them and what I’m supposed to write and how to make myself sound amazingly awesome enough to get an interview.

And thanking the lovely Jim for letting me see his CV so I could get a clue (and also for bringing me a kinder egg from the shop).

I’m not looking at anyone’s facebook status if they live in the UK, because they all have snow to play in again. And I love snow.

Instead, I’m feeling happy to see the sunshine this week (for the most part) and hoping it stays out.

I’m not worrying about the fact that I haven’t heard from L since Tuesday.

I’m enjoying the fact that we had a fun evening, giggled lots and trying to trust in the fact that I know he’ll be round this week at some point.

I’m not feeling at all bitter towards the school that didn’t hire one of my loveliest, bestest friends (mostly because it turned out afterwards that the school didn’t sound too great anyway).

Instead I’m loving her HEAPS for messaging to check in on me today (she knows me so well) and for texting to say she’s bought me an awesome present! Yay! And feeling grateful that her interview did at least get me feeling arty and inspired to make her a card (which I’m gutted hasn’t photographed properly) which in turn has inspired some other little projects (just got to get motivated to DO them now!)

You can’t really tell, because it’s gone a bit blurry in the pic, but all the text was carefully selected for colour and what it says…I lost a foot at one point, nightmare crawling round the floor looking for that!)

I am not thinking about the fact that I felt like the worst teacher in the world for a lot of this week (mostly because my children still can’t get ‘it’s’ and ‘is’ or questions correct – I am being way harsh on myself, since they’re all Spanish, but that’s why I’m ignoring it).

I am thinking about our cinema afternoon on Friday and how massively excited they all were about it! I promised them at the start of the week I’d bring popcorn and use our leftover bottles of (unopened) milk to make chocolate milk. I made them remind me all day on Thursday so I wouldn’t forget to go and buy it, and came in on Friday morning to a chorus of “did you buy the popcorn?” “did you forget it?”…or more accurately “you buy the popcorn?” “you remember to get the popcorn?” etc. and then spent Friday afternoon with a class of children getting more and more exciting and telling some potential parents who were looking round that they were just making a sign to tell everyone no-one could come in (luckily they did then explain it as because they didn’t want anyone to disturb them during their cinema time!) and finished my Spring term off with 25 children sat on chairs on the carpet (set out “just like a real cinema!!”) drinking chocolate milk, eating popcorn and watching Willy Wonka (the original). Good times.

Other things that made me smile this week…

…the guy carrying his daughter up the road to nursery, blowing raspberries at her and pretending to eat her all up…

…the child I tutor finally bringing in the money from his mum, allowing me to survive this week before payday—

…my friend Jenny texting to ask if I’d be a witness at her wedding (and then staying on the phone forever with me while I melted down a bit about life and men and suchlike. Ahem.)…

….30 Rock (thank you Katie – I totally heart Liz Lemon) and Parenthood (thank you Heather, I am still totally addicted to this show)….

…having a medical and being told that my eyes and heart rate aare AMAZING-GOOD! Being healthy is over-looked until we’re not sometimes, I’m smiling to be fit and healthy and well.

Hope you are all fit and well and smiling too. What’s been happy-ning (god, I just thought of that – so cheesy, I think I’ve been watching a little *too much* 30 Rock…but it’s staying!) with you?

Saturday Smiles

Things that have made me smile this week…

• Running around the playground at school (in my heels), laughing in the sunshine holding hands with my girls.
• Getting myself back out running (not in my heels!) – I’ve been Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and today this week – that’s nearly 20km altogether (though most definitely not all at once!)
• Seeing a family playing all playing tag together up the street as I ran past.
• The shared “Turn over your page and draw a garden” joke my kids and I have enjoyed this week (it was at the end of their maths test – I hadn’t seen it prior to reading it out to them, consequently I burst out laughing in the middle of the test when I saw that after question ten I was supposed to tell them that…as part of a maths test…I have no idea!)
• Having a girly burgers and beers night last night with two of my favourite people here.
• Seeing two kids running to jump over the ‘stripes’ in the pavement (where there’s different coloured paving tiles).
• Waking up to sunshine in the mornings – it has made SUCH a difference!
• Receiving gorgeous journal pages in the mail today as part of a swap over at Blissfully Art Journalling – I totally heart that group a lot.
• Running over tiny, pretty pink flowers that had fallen onto the pavement from the trees above.

What’s made you smile this week?

(P.S. the illustration on the first journal page is originally taken from http://adore-vintage.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/person-to-know-anne-anderson.html who originally got it from here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/picture-perfect-designs-jewelry/ ) I have coloured it and added the heels I hope no-one minds me using it…!)