Colour Love 1 :: Shades of Green.

I have three rolls of film waiting to be developed. But they’ll have to wait because my money has all sorts of other things written on it for the time being. Wedding and hen planning are in full swing. My sister Aoife and her fiance Gary are getting married in July and so we will be showering her with love and embarrassment come the end of the month. She should be excited and wary. As all good hens are. 

In other news my mothers garden is looking well, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life (ha!) while lusting majorly after this green Ace & Jig dress. We’ll be sporting some kind wild bouquets like this and it feels like I’ve got pineapples and pattern permanently on the brain. 

What has been inspiring you lately? I have been enjoying making decorations, working with my hands without worrying much about context, supporting material, legibility and typography has been refreshingly therapeutic! 

Finishing college: what it really feels like.

**a photo from Jilly’s beautiful home that didn’t make the final journal cut.


Last Tuesday I had my final assessment ever in NCAD. We each had a thirty minute hot date with the four main tutors from our department (all men, all pretty nice/encouraging bar one uninterested party) where we had to talk them through the research and implementation phases of the project…basically, you know, a whole year of work.

I was so nervous.

But here’s the thing with going to college and having a job and talking on the phone even though you totally hate it, there’s no choice. It has to be done. And so despite my racing heart and sweaty palms and the ridiculous “what if” scenarios playing out in my mind I knew that I had to walk into the room, stand next to my table and talk for thirty minutes. The sound of your own voice starts to feel foreign after about five minutes. You begin to wonder if your sentences are actually making any sense. You fumble and make bad jokes that no one laughs at.

And then it’s over. Just like that. The past year has gone by quicker than I could have imagined. Those thirty minutes felt more like thirty seconds.

I breathed and smiled and said ‘fuck it, it’s over.’ Because it is.

I’ve spent the last three days sleeping and socialising and drinking and moping and feeling all the feelings that go along with endings. An anti climax and all that.

My friend Gwen asked me how it felt to be ‘free’ and I responded with ‘totally exhausted and feeling kind of bummed.’ To my surprise she agreed and said she was in ‘the worst mood ever.’ That made me laugh. It’s funny how you can work so hard on something and feel so, so ready for it all to be over…but then once it ends you can barely muster up any excitement.

Do you ever get like that? I know once I get into the swing of summer I’ll feel peachy, but right now I just want to curl up and take a long nap. Which is exactly what I’m going to do tonight, once I’ve finished work!


PS: What it felt like to finish college last year. 

The year of the baby.

Way back in January I wrote ‘2014 The Year of The Baby’ on a blackboard hanging in the kitchen of my brother’s house. His girlfriend was pregnant at the time and it felt pretty apt. We were all really excited to meet their baby and it was to be the first grandchild and niece or nephew for both families.

Lola was born at the beginning of may and we are all smitten. Being an aunt is pretty cute so far.

On Friday my second first-cousin-once-removed was born. That label is ridiculous, all that matters is she’s family and we love her. Her name is Sophie and she looks just like her dad.

This year has been so  goddamn full. It’s hard to believe that we’re not even halfway through yet. Somedays I feel like I’ve felt my quota of feelings for the year. Somedays I just want it be done. This year has been truly terrible. This year has been truly wonderful. I’ve been my saddest and my happiest too. It’s strange how that is. Everything is here and everything is gone.

I believe that tragedy has the ability to pull us apart or glue us together. I remember saying to my mum that I’d never felt such a strong sense of community as I had in the weeks after Cian died. Without knowing what to say or do or feel we all instinctively glued ourselves together. We stepped on toes and said the wrong things and cried in kitchens and ate a hell of a lot of cake. We hugged and fought and made up. One of my aunts said ‘we’re loving each other and killing each other’—but if that isn’t a pretty apt definition of family I don’t know what is.

I posted on instagram that it felt like my lot in life to be surrounded by babies. I really think it is. I have always been a baby person. Always happy to hang out with little cousins or friends babies. My mum once got me out of bed to hold a four month old for forty minutes while his mum was in a lesson. He was cute and I was happy to oblige. A friend in college told me that my face changes when I’m holding a baby, I look different and happy. I took that as a pretty huge compliment. Though I can’t comprehend how anyone’s face wouldn’t change when holding a teeny tiny squishy human. I will never understand how people don’t like babies. Holding a newborn is enough to make you stop and breathe and let go of whatever bullshit is going on.

Even if it is just for a moment. 

Some thoughts.

Sooo I made a facebook page for my blog. I don’t really know what to actually do with it. Or if it will actually work in directing more people to this little hovel of the internet I call my own. Or anything will come of it at all. Sure we’ll see.

In the meantime it would mean a lot if you were to pop over and give it an ole ‘like’ it would make me exceedingly happy!

In greater news I just hit send on an email to the printers with my four degree show books attached. Phew. I exhaled. And now feel about twenty tonnes lighter. I’m going to bake these biscuits and make some granola and maybe hem a dress I’ve been meaning to, walk the dawg and take the rest of the day and evening off.

Final year is stressful but I am not really stressed. At the end of the day I feel like I have done my best, worked as hard as I could through one of the most difficult periods of my life and have managed to produce some work I am incredibly proud of.  But it’s not the end of the world if I don’t do well, or if people don’t like it or if the printer fucks it up. These things matter, but they are not the most important. Knowing all of that is keeping me calm and ensuring that instead of stressing out I’m trying to look after myself. It’s simple really.

These photos are somewhat irrelevant, but also fun.
Me on Sandymount Beach.
Rich always manages to catch Lily’s grossest faces.
Waiting for the luas sitting on a chair I got at the flea market. Rich had to carry it the whole time and spent the journey telling me how awful it was, that it was full of woodworm and needed a leg and the back replaced. What a delight. I mean, he’s probably right, but I like it.
And lastly, my little pumpkin pie, I love her so much.

Broken Into.

Last Wednesday in the early hours of the morning, as I slept soundly next to Rich, my house was broken into. My mum came into my room at a quarter to seven and woke us up. Lily was barking a couple of gardens away. The back door was wide open and the table was littered with debris from our wallets and coat pockets. Cards were strewn, receipts lay dormant and the cash was, obviously, gone. My laptop was taken, in it’s case in my school bag. In the bag was a roll of undeveloped film of my newborn niece. And my house keys. I kicked a basket. Eoin punched a wall. We all paced around in frustration, anger and disbelief. We could not understand why this was happening again. Just under a month ago we were also broken into. Twice within four weeks? Crazy. The first time an iPad and a new digital camera were stolen. We weren't home and it didn't feel as much of a big deal. The sense of invasion of privacy wasn't as strong.

The locks have been changed, the windows and doors have new bolts and an alarm is going in this evening. We are safe and our replacement possessions will be safe now too.

I usually back up my work regularly. When I was writing my thesis I emailed chapters to myself, uploaded them to google drive and backed them up on an external hard drive. The night before we were broken into I contemplated leaving my laptop in college. Leaving valuables overnight in NCAD is not advised but I knew that I was not going to do any work once I got home and I would just be carrying it home to carry it in again. I thought better of it and packed my computer up in my bag to go home. I also ignored a little icon that popped up in the corner of my screen prior to shutting down that told me my last back up 21 days ago. That night I popped a roll of film from the hospital into my bag so I wouldn't forget to bring it to be developed the following day. Unfortunately whoever broke into our house, rifled through my things and took my bag, favourite film camera and computer complete with three precious weeks of work also took that little roll of film with them. It's probably in a bin somewhere now. I a month behind with my degree show project now. I hadn't realised just how much work is done in a month. It's all just so frustrating.

Thankfully having a newborn around at times like these really puts things into perspective. We are so lucky that no one woke up and heard these people in the house. I shudder to think what could have happened had we disturbed them. I am thankful that we are all ok, that most of what was taken can at some stage, in some way, be replaced. We don't have those photographs but we have the memories. A photo of newborn Lola is nothing compared to holding her, kissing her little face and smelling her beautiful freshness. Being an aunt for the first time makes up for pretty much anything.

Detach, In Process

 I like to look at other peoples’ processes, probably because I am nosy but also because everyone does everything so differently, it is fascinating. Here is a peek at a book/journal/quarterly/fancy ‘magazine’ I am designing for my degree project.

It is called Detach and focuses on the the transitional time between being an adolescent and an adult. You know that horribly frustrating, not-earning-enough-money but for all intents and purposes independent period of time? Yeah, that. It’s really fascinating and satisfies my nosiness because spending large chunks of time talking to people and taking their photographs is my favourite thing to do.

 I had intended on it being a book originally—and it still might—but I am experimenting with a quarterly format with each issue subtly encouraging conversation and reflection upon a different topic.
It feels like much more of a challenge this way because I need to come up with added material around the stories of the individuals I interview…and I need for this content to not seem too contrived or commercial or ‘filler’. I’m playing it by ear…it might just be a 200 page book at the end of the day if that’s what works better!

 Annnnnd now one with grids on, cause grids make me look like I have an iota of a clue what I’m doing.

How do you like to work? InDesign is my favourite…I do not understand those Illustrator heads, it drives me nuts! I prefer my illustrations to take place on paper with pens ;)

  

Not Buying.

I am trying not to buy things. Or I am trying to buy less things. The other night I was lamenting to Richard that I needed to buy a good water bottle because buying water from the shop every day was giving me hives (of the metaphorical variety). It’s like I could feel all those plastic water bottles piling up, gathering on shelves, in the bottom of my bag, around the sink and, ultimately in the (recycling) bin. It made me feel claustrophobic when I thought about it. He laughed at me but agreed it was probably a good idea to get something reusable. He’s a great appeaser, that one. I am now the proud and delighted owner of a reusable, dishwasher-able, filter water bottle from Stock, and it feels good.

The main way I am implementing this not buying things decision is by not buying clothes. I have decided not to buy new clothes this year. If I want to wear something new it must be second hand, hand made or vintage. So far I’ve bought two jumpers this year. One was new but I had a voucher that needed to be spent that I didn’t get around to using up after Christmas. The second is vintage. I know I’m only six or so weeks into the year and I probably wouldn’t have bought much anyway but being able to look around the shops, see things I like and then let them go is so liberating. Knowing that I don’t actually need things, that I can walk away and forget all about them leaves me calm. I am not restricting the buying of anything else but I am trying to shop with intention and mindfulness. I mean, do I really need a new nail varnish that I won’t like next week? No, is usually the answer. Stuff is stressful. And nobody needs more stress.

As I work in a tiny little shop—a shop that is independent and reliant on loyal customers, word of mouth and people coming out to see us despite the wind and rain—I have come to appreciate the value of shopping local. When I do need to buy things now, like for instance a shiny pink water bottle, I want to spend that money somewhere independent, somewhere where the owner actually works behind the till…even if that does mean it costs me a little bit more.

I am intrigued as to if it will all get boring or too difficult halfway through the year, or if I’ll be dreaming of new t-shirts from Gap or sandals and bikinis from Penneys come July…I hope I don’t. I hope this experience teaches me more than I expect about wanting and needing and wearing and value.

What do you think, could you ever give up clothes shopping for a year? What would you miss most? 



PS Obvioussssly underwear/tights/socks not included…cause, well, gross. 

2014

This is going to be a big year. This is going to be a full year. A year of babies, and weddings and endings and beginnings. I am standing on the very edge of it all about to dive in but am thankful for a few days in which I can revel in this in-between space.
I like resolutions just like I like the first page of a new notebook and a freshly sharpened case of pencils. At first they are beautiful but quickly become intimidating and once the courage is finally plucked to begin they lose all of their shimmer and become quotidien.

I don’t want to make a huge list of things that I will, inevitably, fail at. I have enough of my current plate with a thesis, a typography project that literally makes me want to never go back to college because I cannot wrap my tiny head around it’s giant mass and a degree project that never gets enough of my attention. I am not complaining I am just apprehensive and excited and holding off diving in for as long as I can because it’s comfortable on my couch and Gossip Girl is on Netflix. And there’s brownies.

This year I am making a vow of conviction. I will have conviction in my work, with my tutors, in what I want to do and where I want to go. I hope it works.

Love. And other necessities.

Sometimes I feel like my heart is so swollen inside my chest that it could explode at any moment. Sometimes happiness hits me smack in the face like I had never seen or heard of it before. It needs no explanation, no introduction…it simply just is. It consumes me and overwhelms me and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Canon Eos 3, my first roll.

I bought myself a new camera a few weeks ago…but it wasn’t until Richard gave me a lens for my birthday that I could use it. It is very fancy, looks digital but isn’t and has a crazy autofocus that’s super sensitive (which is why my jumper and not my face are in focus more than once below!) that I’m still getting used to.Here’s some photographs from the very first roll (of Portra 400, of course ;) if you’d like to have a look:Richard passed his exam and can officially call himself a biotechnologist—woo!—so we ate cream cakes (which are equally gross and delicious), courtesy of his sweet granny.

Shortly after coming home from Canada I cut my hair. It need to be done and I love the change (it’s so light! And short! And easy to wash!).

It is officially Autumn, and officially cold. Cardigans, shirts, tights and boots are becoming necessities.

I go back to college next week and am trying to get into the swing of working by finishing up some projects for Moss Cottage…it’s so hard to comprehend that this time next week I’ll be back in the studio, I wish summer would last all year!

On friendship.

I read an article last year (which I cannot find online) about the importance of stand alone friendships. That is to mean friendships that exist outside of groups of girlfriends or guy-and-girl-friends. I count myself lucky to have a friend like this. It is so easy to be honest and objective with this friend, with Joanna. Conversation is simple because we know that anything we discuss cannot go further than each other…our boyfriends. And we love them, so that’s ok, right?!

Joking aside, this relationship is one that I value so very highly. A lot of that probably comes down to the fact that we have only ever known each other in isolation. It’s not that we don’t like each others’ friends or we avoid ever hanging out in group situations, it’s just that we became friends outside of school and college and the one mutual connection we did have is no longer a part of either of our lives. It just happens to be that we usually hang out just us two. It also just happens to be that we don’t see each other very often but when we do we pick right up and continue the conversation as if it never really ended. It never really does in good friendships.

Honesty can be a difficult thing for me in relationships, it’s sometimes hard to get past the superficial without getting ridiculously serious but I find that it’s something that comes effortlessly with Joanna. I feel that I can tell her anything and that she will never judge. Her example has made me strive to be a better friend, not just to her but to others. I want my friends to know that my response to anything, anything, with never be one of judgement. It can be hard at times. It makes me recoil to admit that, but it’s true. But I am learning and I am growing.


**I have no photos of Joanna and me, or just Joanna for that matter. I’ll have to rectify that soon. Buuut until then, enjoy this irrelevant picture of some greenery near my house that I took with my new Eos3. 

Back to reality.

Since coming home from the holycrap-BEST-holiday ever I have mainly been working and working. Actually I have only been working and working…with a teeny bit of socialising and internet purchasing/window shopping/wishlisting on the side of course.

If you follow me on instagram then you have seen almost ALL of these photos already so by all means end your voyage here.

Also, they are in no way conclusive or inclusive or emm anything cohesive to do with this post/the actual holiday. So maybe just go with it?

 The dungaree/jumpsuit thing on the left was AMAZING but too small. It killed me to put it back on the rack. The dress in the middle was cute but a little big and the fabric wasn’t amazing. The playsuit on the right is so cute I bought it and wore it home on the plane (as comfy as pyjamas!)

And here is a token raccoon having lunch out of the bin.

In other news I am editing a crappy little video of our Vancouver/Seattle/Portland/Vancouver trip so keep yo eyes peeled if you’re into that kind of thing. I may or may not post it. Depends on the cringe factor obvz.

And in better news our film photographs are ready and waiting for us to pick them up tomorrow! Woot woot! Excitement doesn’t even cover it!

Mothers.

Ever since I did that little job for The Women’s Museum of Ireland I have been thinking about women and education.

In my class in college there are more girls than there are boys. More women than there are men. Yet when I look into my field, actual designers, in actual studios and at actual conferences all I see are men. Last year at Offset there were only two female speakers out of a total of twenty-four. It was embarrassingly disproportionate. Thankfully this year was a little better. There were seven. Is that better? Do I also need to mention that Offset was founded and is run by a team of men? *
Obviously there can’t be equality for equality’s sake. Obviously it’s about talent. It’s about reflecting what’s out there in the field. Yet still, looking around at my class, I am left thinking where will all these women go? I can’t help but wonder if any of us will ever end up on that stage speaking about our successful careers. I hope.

I often feel like a whole mess of contradictions…believing that women should go to college, have jobs, be leaders, breastfeed their babies, stay home with their toddlers, walk their kids to school, be creative and fulfil their own needs and desires and and and… have it all.

I know that this isn’t possible. I know that there is no right way to do this thing called life. There is not one single way to be a good mother or to be a good person.

I have been thinking a lot about the mothers in my life. The women who, along with my flesh and blood mama, have raised me, taught me, hugged me and guided me to where I stand now. Katherine who minded me while my own mother was away studying, taught me that the middle of the apple is the sweetest part and helped me learn to spell the word ‘syrup’. My aunt Nóirín taught me not to worry about jobs because the one I might end up could probably doesn’t even exist yet. Rachel, my godchild, taught me to be a pretend mama long before the thought of being a real one had crossed my mind. Mary and Trisha my mother’s sisters taught me that it’s never too late to go back to school, you’re never too old to learn.

For my final (college) project this year I am photographing as many of these women, these mothers, as I can and compiling them into a zine. I am also asking them to tell me what the most important thing they ever learned was. So far the responses have been fascinating. I am doing this for many reasons, and they keep changing as I research and tell people about it, but mainly I think I am doing it to remind myself that there is not a single path that one has to take and that success has many, many, different definitions.



PS That’s my mother on the right and my aunt Trisha on the left holding my cousin Ailbhe. Monica is holding Cillian and Aoife is the kid in yellow. 80s clothes are hairstyles are the bees knees. Also seriously accidental colour coordination going on.



*Sidenote: I don’t hate men, they are great! I love them! My boyfriend is the coolest! But women are great too. That’s all. 

Today.

Photo of Lily by Richard.


Sometimes beginning the day anxious about the number of things on your to-do list means ending the day with lots of them crossed off. Sometimes waking to a messy kitchen and piles of dishes means that all the washing in the house gets done. Sometimes minding a clinging sad baby means that you get to go for a longer-than-expected walk in the freezing cold with your favourite person. Sometimes not getting to eat lunch until four means that dinner turns out to be a delicious scavenger hunt of the fridge/freezer.  Sometimes the days where you start out feeling more than a little snowed under end with calm and relaxation.

Sometimes the days where things are most unorganised end with things most organised.

Today was like that. And I am thankful for my clean and tidy house, my clean clothes, my beautiful boyfriend and those 700 words I managed to bang out on the keyboard for my essay this evening. Today was definitely a shit day turned good. I am thankful, and happy.

PS This week’s /52 be a little late :)

PPS If you’d like to see my latest Illustration Friday posts have a looksie over here!

Spring Cleaning

Maybe it’s a craving for Spring (the weather is unaware yet but I am holding out for the sun to rear it’s beautiful head someday soon) but I am feeling the need to change things up and clear things out. Spring cleaning, if you will.

Moving home after housesitting for my brother and his girlfriend left my room in tatters. Clothes covered almost every surface and a layer of dust had settled in my absence. On Saturday as my sister and her boyfriend were packing up to move out I started tackling the almost unsurmountable mountains of clothes—half of which I never wear by the way. Before long my bedroom looked like like a bomb had exploded.

Having a messy room makes my head fuzzy. There is nothing more calming than waking up somewhere clean and tidy. I often spend an extra hour cleaning my bedroom the night before my birthday (Richard thinks this is particularly bizarre) just so that I can wake up extra refreshed and rested on my birthday morning.

I only wish that this realisation made me keep my room immaculate at all times but it doesn’t. It really just means that I’m unsettled and frustrated at the state of my shelves, desk, armchair, chest of drawers and bedroom floor more often than not. I still haven’t finished Saturday’s job but I have completed a huge clear out of clothes, a bag for the charity shop and a modest pile for ebay if you’d like to have a peek…most of these clothes are barely worn and some are hard to part with but letting go is good.



PS I just re-arranged the furniture and am now lying in bed next to the draftiest window in the house…a cool breeze is literally blowing in. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we woke up to snow tomorrow, it’s freeezing out there! 

Alone

There was a moment on Tuesday night, as I looked out into the dark evening from an unfamiliar bus driving down familiar streets that I realised no one knew where I was. The friend I had just left could have speculated as to my whereabouts, be it waiting for the bus or somewhere along its route through town but she could not have known for sure. Neither could my boyfriend who was at work or my family who were —I suspect—at home. An overwhelming sense of freedom and independence washed over me as I came to this strange realisation. I smiled.

I have always wanted to be further, better, older, ahead of the game, and have written about it before. I have always craved the independence and nonchalance of doing my own thing. The frivolous fact that no one knew where I was made me a little bit excited…like I could go anywhere or do anything and no one would ever know. Truth be told I went home (to my brother’s, where I am house-sitting with Richard) and hung up the washing and watched TV and went to bed. Is that boring? Maybe. But it makes me feel like a real person. A person who cooks and cleans and looks after herself and is content with or without company.

At the moment I feel as if I am only pretending to be a real person. This make-believe life I am living is only a mere glimpse of things to come. Of course without bills or mortgages or taxes to pay this playing-house is more than a little bit rose-tinted. Yet still, I cannot let go of the romantic notion of creating a life as opposed to living in someone else’s. 

*double exposure of me by Richard.

Friday. Finally.

*These photos are from Kirstyn’s going away dinner a couple of weeks ago. 

As much as I love hanging out with my friends eating and drinking and chatting I am so excited to hang out on my own this evening. The last few weeks have felt like a whirlwind and, despite being sick and forced to do nothing on the sofa for a couple of days, I am craving a few hours of relaxation. As much as I love spending time with my friends and socialising I really need time on my own as well. I go stir crazy without a little alone-time every day. When I was in school I craved the short walk home alone to unwind. Now that I am in college the walk home is longer but the workload is greater, a simple twist of fate that allows time for day dreaming and project planning.

Tonight I think I will chill on the sofa, drink liquorice tea, watch some crappy tv and maybe get a start on my web design project for next week. Maybe that can wait a night though ;)

What are you plans? 

2013

The end of 2012 left me uninspired and often bored. I think I was exhausted and burnt out from a busy first semester and was feeling restless and dissatisfied as a result. In 2013 I am going to focus my attention more creatively. Which means spending more money on film then I do on clothes or stuff. Drawing and reading more instead of browsing the internet. Using the library in college. Pushing myself harder. Not letting fear be a factor in my work (fear of doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing, getting in the way or making mistakes). 2013 is going to be fun and adventurful.

Have you got any resolutions or plans yet?




Image from Seasons by French illustator Blexbolex, one of my favourite Christmas presents.
Photos from Christmas & NYE coming soon. 

Ending

Summer is well and truly drawing to a close. With just three days left (excluding today!) until I start college I am beginning to feel somewhat nostalgic for the passing season. Richard finished his job in the lab a couple of weeks ago and took holidays from Penney’s to coincide so we could get away for a few days. But…we didn’t. Everywhere we looked was just too expensive. While I have been working here and there all summer long the expense of a new laptop has eaten into my savings. I was given more money than I expected for my birthday and I am so grateful but it was too late to go anywhere as Richard’s back to work now and there are always extra expenses once term starts again. I am not ungrateful for the time we did have ‘holidaying’ at home but I couldn’t help be irritable and grumpy at times. It felt as if I would have no stories to tell, no adventures to regale…or at least none that would hold up against backpacking in Thailand, or fishing in Connecticut or interning in New York.
That is not the point of summer though, is it? Adventures are for enjoying, they are not for having and then making sure you tell all your friends about them so you seem better/cooler/hotter/funnier than them. It’s hard, sometimes, not to get caught up in who-did-what or who-went-where, but by doing so it is so easy to lead myself down the path of inadequacy.
I enjoyed my summer. I really enjoyed the baby-minding. I am proud of myself for being able to afford a new laptop without borrowing any money. I also enjoyed having coffee with my boyfriend, going shopping with my girl friends, finding new places to walk the dog, making plans for next year (big, big plans), partying, learning to drive properly, going to my first festival and so many other everyday adventures. It was summer. It was nothing special, but special all the same.

PS Photo of Richard from Bibi’s cafe. So delicious. The perfect place to cosy in from the lashing rain outside. 

weekend

I hope you have a nice weekend friends, what are you plans? Tomorrow (as well as yesterday and today) I am bag packing to raise money for next year’s Habitat trip, and, let me tell you, it is exhaaaausting standing for hours on end asking people can you pack their bags for them. And, you also wouldn’t think it but all those little bits of change that people chuck in your bucket as thanks? They ADD up. A lot. There’s a whole bucket of cashola waiting to be counted in my kitchen—unless you are a thief, then of course there is no such thing at all.
I am looking forward to Sunday however, because on Sunday I shall relax. My dude doesn’t get home until Tuesday (he’s in Whales on Scout camp) so I will miss him…Sunday dates are some of my favourites. But it will be nice to chill out and not do any baby-minding or bag packing or money counting or anything like that. Sounds nice, huh? I even hear rumours of good weather, though I am wise enough not to get myself too invested in that! x


PS I’m not to sure of that picture up there? That chin makes me think yiiikes! But in the spirit of being kind to myself (and you know, accepting that actually I do look like that and not like this) I’m going to leave it up there…for now.