Currently... May

Reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. It’s been on my to-read list for years but I kept putting it off due to the length (it’s over 900 pages). I ended up downloading it on my kindle for my week at school camp, but didn’t get through as much of it as I thought I would. I'm about a third of the way through so far. I like it, but I’m not loving it. I find it a bit slow and overly detailed, but it has so many good reviews that I feel like I should plough on. The author broke out of a Melbourne jail and ended up in India for 10 years before being captured and extradited back to Australia. The book tells a similar tale, though is fiction, not an autobiography. Apparently a lot of it is based on the author's actual experiences while in India.

Watching 13 Reasons Why on Netflix. We finished the series last week, and as it deals with teenage suicide it was not easy watching.  A lot of students at my school have watched it so I felt I should as well, in case any of them were disturbed by it, or wanted to talk about it. I didn’t actually enjoy it at the start, it took me a good 5-6 episodes to really get into it. As a drama, it’s pretty good. However the show has faced a lot of criticism, for good reason. This article explains why it’s so dangerous: “This show not only portrays suicide as a valid, logical option, but it shows suicide as a highly effective way to get even with people who’ve hurt you”. My mom and I are also watching The OA on Netflix, which is weird. I can't decide if I like it or not, and I think my mom feels the same. But we keep watching.

Loving having my mom here. She’s been with us since we went to Bali at the start of April and it has been the biggest help ever. Not only that, but her and Ella have the best relationship. It’s so cute to see them together.

Listening to Spotify at work. I have my own office at school, which is great in some ways, but really lonely in others. Lately I’ve been putting on one of Spotify’s recommended playlists like “Office Mix” or “Morning Motivation” to give me a boost when I’m working alone. I’ve also been listening to Russell Brand’s new podcast “Under the Skin”.  I'm a big Russell Brand fan and love pretty much everything he puts out these days.

Enjoying the stage Ella is in right now. You'd never guess that the “terrible twos” are just around the corner. She is such a curious, happy little girl. She loves going to the playground so this is where we spend most of our time these days. She can also communicate so well, her vocabulary has just exploded and we can pretty much have conversations with her now. Sometimes it takes her a few tries to be understood, but when you finally repeat back to her what she has been trying to say she gives you the biggest smile. It melts my heart.

Realizing how easy it is just to spend little amounts of money every day on coffee and food. Andy and I both downloaded this Daily Budget app. You enter your net pay, and it tells you how much money you have to spend per day. Then, you enter your recurring costs plus the amount you’d like to save. What you’re left with is how much you have to spend daily on incidentals like take aways, eating out, clothes, entertainment. You enter any spending you do and then the amount you have left over at the end of each day adds on to the following day’s amount. There is a tagline somewhere in there that says something like “the less you spend today, the more you have tomorrow”. It’s been a pretty effective way to make me think twice before buying things I don’t need, but I’ve only had it for a week so we’ll see how long that lasts!

Agreeing with this article in the Guardian on “The Gender Wars of Household Chores”. It explains things so well. Just read it.

Wearing these track pants from Cotton On. I haven’t owned a pair of track pants in years. Around the house, I usually wear leggings, but I’m always so cold throughout the winter. (The houses here are NOT built for the cold.) Wearing track pants instead of leggings has changed my life. I’m so warm and toasty at home in the evenings now!

Cooking a few things that have gone down well lately. With my mom here she normally gets some dinner prep done during the day and then one of us cooks dinner while the other (plus Andy) plays with/distracts Ella until dinner is ready. It’s been really good and we are going to miss having an extra set of hands to help with the evening routine when she goes! One dish that we have all loved, including Ella, is this slow cooker lamb and pumpkin curry which I got from the free Coles magazine. These sweet potato black bean quinoa bowls were also a hit with the three adults, less so with Ella. She loved sweet potato when she was younger but now will pick it out of any meal I try. Toddlers are so weird.

Wanting a bike trailer so that Ella and I can go on some slightly further away adventures when Andy is not home (and I don’t have a car). I am not confident enough to have her riding on the back of my bike in her bike seat, but I feel like I could handle pulling her along in a trailer as long as I stuck to bike paths and the sidewalk.

Planning on making this learning tower for Ella’s 2nd birthday. Actually I’m planning on Andy making it. But whatever. We already have the IKEA stool that is the base and Andy is going to measure out some wood at school for the rest of it. I can't wait to do some mummy-Ella baking once she can stand up at the kitchen counter!

Waiting for our results from our Zika Serology test. We recently went to Bali, which is a moderate risk Zika zone. Andy got one mosquito bite, and I got a few, so we decided to have a blood test to be certain we don’t have the virus before trying for a second baby. We should get the results within the next week or so. And then... on to baby-making! TMI?!

Looking forward to a weekend away with Andy. We are going to Inverloch for two nights, just the two of us! How romantic (see above). Ella will be with my mom for some quality Nannie time.

Pic of the Month

Ella cuddling a guinea pig. Ahhhh so cute I can’t even handle it!