#1041 Chaddy shopping 4 days before Christmas

Am I mad? Yes. Yes, maybe I am.

I ventured out today with baby girl to Chadstone, arguably the biggest shopping centre precinct in the southern hemisphere.

At the end of a week, on a Friday.

Without Hubbie.

To shop.

4 days before Christmas.

Oh, the horror! She’s mad, mad I tell you!

But, I went in with a certain mindset.

I was in a really good mood. Sparkling, really. And I said to myself –

“Look SmikG. It might very well be hell in there. Getting in, getting around, and then getting out. And you have a child. Just expect the worse, and go with the flow.”

Along with my little pep talk, was my new little brand of awesome, being my recent Christmas-for-me purchase, my Be. Bangle.

For days when, you know, you need a little extra, you need that little bit of background encouragement, reminding you that all is good.

For days when you need to remember, simply, ‘You’ve Got This.’

And boy did I HAVE IT. If this is my track record with bangle, then damn, I am sleeping with the thing for the sweetest of dreams, because…

BEST run in.

A fairly decent car park that didn’t take long at all to find.

A subsequent 4 hours where baby girl and I shopped ’til we dropped.

And then, an easy exit.

WHAT?!?! Are you freaking kidding me?

Yep. ALL TRUE.

Christmas shopping pretty much done, and I am super grateful to say the least. 🙂

#985 Not just any Friday

It may have been just an ordinary day today for most people. But it wasn’t for us.

And sure, Fridays are a hell of a lot more fun that all of those earlier weekdays, and yet, it still had special significance beyond being that fun ‘end-of-weekdays’, day.

It was Hubbie’s birthday, and while he still had to partake in the ordinary and work, we did our damn best to make it a little special.

Baby girl and I surprised him by showing up at his work in the morning with cake.

And at the end of the night at home, we brought up yet another cake, a tiny little mini one, lit up with a blue candle and EVERYTHING, and sang to him.

Photo by Audrey Fretz on Unsplash

♥♥♥

We did our best to make him feel happy, and special… but I think the best thing he got was baby girl telling him it was his birthday, repeatedly, and jumping into his arms.

It’s worth having a birthday, just for that. 🙂

#978 Red Wine Friday

You know what is better than red wine?

Red wine on a Friday? No, BETTER than that (and it ain’t red wine on a Saturday either…)

Red wine… on a Friday… when you have abstained from it for SO LONG.

AHHH. That first sip just hits you right there. And then you wonder –

“My love… Where have you been all this time?”

(And why the hell didn’t I bring you to the party sooner?!?!)

Drinking a glass at the end of a long day, a long week, to “cheers!” the beginning of night and the happiness that the weekend brings… well it is more than necessary. It is obligatory.

I think I may need to bring my ‘friend’ to the party, tomorrow night too… 😉

#hubbielovestomatosauce #noseriouslyhedrinksit

#957 Working Friday

Well that’s a headline you thought you’d never see. Why the hell am I working on a Friday, AND grateful about it???

Insert, the black and white.

Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash

The Magpie army. Comprised of those essential game-changers behind the scenes, the passionate and vocal fans that support the club, and the all-important players on the field themselves.

I was meant to be working tomorrow… but instead I pulled in some work favours, and am working tonight, so that I can watch my team, hopefully, paint their opponents into a corner tomorrow afternoon.

Good ol’ Collingwood 😉

#894 July 27th opens windows

Today.

Friday.

It is 2:40pm.

I am on the other side of town, driving my car after having had its regular service, back to my parents house.

I have a jacket on… but it is warm. There is no heater on.

In fact, the window is open.

WHAT?!?!

I can’t remember if the mechanic left it open after finishing with it, or whether I in fact did it. But all I can tell you, in that warm car on today the last Friday of July, the open window was INVITING. I can even add, that the sun was on my face as I jumped onto the freeway, and I wondered –

“could I get sunburnt?”

Get out of town! it is July 27 folks, this is insanity!

Can you see the suns rays just BURSTING down through the open window. You can just feel the warmth.

I know I am creating a yearly theme here. But seriously, this time around I am 4 days early. So 2018 wins.

I felt it. I feel it. Spring. It is a-coming.

Shucks you under-achiever July… you may have me reformed on your Winter-y reputation, just yet…

#838 Mum’s soup

Picture this:

It’s Friday. The end of a LONG week.

It’s cold.

First day of Winter.

You’ve had an on/off scratchy throat for a good two weeks.

You arrive at your parents house, hungry.

And you find… SOUP.

Not just any soup… it’s your Mum’s soup.

Ahhh! Angels sing!

There is no soup like your Mother’s. Of course it’s the best.

How did she know?

Of course she knew… Mum’s just know.

😉

 

 

#831 Friday night friend fun

You don’t need cocktails.

You don’t need food.

You don’t need a happening hotspot.

Nor do you need lights, crowds, people and ambience to fill the scene.

All you need are your friends…

And now I’m going to eat my words (along with tonight’s not-so-mild curry) and say that I had ALL of these tonight!

But seriously, I might as well have been eating fish and chips from a dodgy booth somewhere for all I cared. Sure the surroundings were cool, and I love heading out to different and new places… but when you are in certain company, and you realise that where you are doesn’t really matter, just THEY do…

That’s a good sign. 🙂