Adventure: We booked a camping trip! We've had a bit of a non-holiday spring so far - beside going away in January and March we've canceled every summer trip so far. I haven't missed trips (or the associated costs) but I really want to take the kids camping this summer. We booked a campsite for a weekend in June and are crossing fingers the sun stays out. It will be the kids first camping trip and they are going to be so happy - plus friends (with a campervan!) are joining us which should make the whole thing much easier too.
Work: Work has been really busy lately, which was fun but stressful. It's now CPD season in work with goal setting etc. I've been reflecting a lot on leaving my last job and how it was the right decision for SO MANY REASONS. One thing I took for granted at old job was that sometimes work days would make me feel unsure of myself and my position in the company that I would actually feel sick to my stomach. Certain meetings would leave me feeling 100% fight or flight. It turns out, that's not normal/needed. I never feel that feeling in this job. When I asked about career development I got both support and an action plan. I finally got an area for improvement from my bosses boss. Normally during performance reviews I'm told that I'm amazing... which is nice to hear but doesn't really leave room for any development or improvement. I'm so pleased to have gotten an actual improvement objective to work towards.
Kitchen: On the list of things that can never happen - we got a call back from the plasterer and the next step of kitchen project is happening MONDAY, Which means I may be able to start painting next week. I am not very good at painting but I think I can manage mist coating and then white painting a freshly plastered wall. The last time we had plastering work done was the loft in November 2021 and it took 5 days to dry but I am hoping a small corner of the kitchen in warm dry summer will dry a bit faster.
Reading: I'm currently reading (on Kindle, my new love!) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and enjoying it so far. I forgot how much I like the TJR world when it includes repeating characters. I still think my favourite TJR book was Malibu Rising, which was also my first TJR book, but now I especially enjoy books that include those characters.
Sleep: I shouldn't say this(for fear of jinxing), but our kids are sleeping pretty well right now. They're in the same room and falling asleep between 7 and 7:30. Isaac gets up by 6am and Lilah by 7am. I think everyone is getting the right amount of sleep. I am sure this phase wont last but I definitely appreciate it while it does.
I didn't miss the cost of travel back in 2020-2022...and I'm also using that as permission to spend money on travel now;-) Congrats on booking the trip!
ReplyDeleteLeaving a bad job is literally like leaving prison. Life is so much better on the outside, and it does take time to recover.
All I'm going to say about Evelyn Hugo is that I read it a long time ago and I still remember the last line of the book. I'm excited for you! I've never read anything else by TRJ because I'm afraid that it would be a letdown after Evelyn. I know that doesn't make any sense, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I still LOVE your posts on job hunting! I do feel like I escaped a cult in my last job... and I loved it there till the day I left. Which is probably pretty cult-y!
DeleteI finished EH and I loved it. But I think I loved Malibu Rising more... but that might be because Malibu Rising was my first TJR. I'm definitely spacing out my TJR because I think I would love them less if I read a bunch back-to-back. EH was very good though....
Thank you fr the update! I also love Kindle since I read with lights off and fall asleep shortly after. I am in a similar boat growth-wise. been teaching for a long time, and had time and space to perfect my craft so during my summative process the feedback is usually "keep doing what you are doing." But we do have a new assistant superintendent and he is very good with feedback so this year I actually got something very concrete and helpful. And he happens to be a former French teacher!
ReplyDeleteOh yay! It's a bit sad we all default to positive feedback, when good feedback is so much better and more helpful (especially if it's room for improvement)
DeleteI love having a camping trip (or three!) on the schedule as it gives me something to look forward to all year! I really enjoy getting outside, swimming in the river, hiking and spending time with friends and family in the summer time (aka lots of card games) and camping is such an excellent venue to do all of that! I recently went camping with my family and we really had fun. The only thing that was a tiny bit of a bummer were the mosquitoes but I have found late in life a good product for keeping them away AND my parents brought their trailer so we had somewhere mosquito free where we could play cards in the evening, so it was perfect.
ReplyDeleteOh I am so curious what you use for mosquitos! I am hoping this camping trip is a success and we can plan a few more in - the only thing that makes camping tricky here is the VERY unpredictable summer weather.
DeleteThis is the best https://a.co/d/e7XIi9C; it is a lotion and it does not smell and it lasts all day! The bugs will fly near you and sometimes even touch you but they will not bite you! It is like magic!
DeleteAmazing! Thank you!
DeleteI love a good TJR book. I don't understand how her writing is so much more vivid and memorable than a lot of other writers out there today. I mean, technically, how it is better? I can remember characters and plots and particular scenes and I've read like every book from Katherine Center and can't tell you anything about those books. It's really a mystery to me how come TJR is so much better.
ReplyDeleteThis one was great! I think about Malibu Rising scenes often and they are so vivid. It's not even the best writing - it's just... good!
Delete"Normally during performance reviews I'm told that I'm amazing... which is nice to hear but doesn't really leave room for any development or improvement. "
ReplyDeleteOh, more food for thought. I am usually getting good performance reviews too, but usually leave with the feeling of "and now what?"... promotion potential in my job is limited (or so it seems to me) and it's like it's never brought up unless you specifically ASK/PESTER... and then of course there are always other colleagues who move up the ranks swiftly and quietly.
I wondered this all the time at my last job - I was always told I was great... and then other people were progressing. Why? What was I missing? I have decided to be far more pester-y in this new role about promotion, so I'm crossing my fingers that gets me somewhere...
Delete