This week my Word of the Week is: Patience!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is: 

Happy Saturday! I hope you are all having a good weekend so far. I am here today with my Word of the Week. I’ve got plenty I could say at the moment but I’m keeping some things to myself because the blog isn’t the place for it right now. That’s where the patience comes in already. The gist of it is that Becky my eldest, is making exciting plans and that's all I will say about that, for now. I feel like I am being so good and keeping quiet until the time is right.

We have had a good week overall. Right at the start of the week, some loose ends were finally tied up. Things were completed, emails answered, boxes ticked. All those bits that seem to take forever when they’re not in your control. It was boring financial stuff which all tied into the admin I was doing at the start of March. That is how long it has taken and it has been hanging over me. It has really tested my patience. I don’t mind doing the jobs, it’s the waiting around for other people that gets to me. Finally, someone did what they were supposed to do and came back to say everything is sorted and all is good. Phew!

For the last couple of months I have been hearing about a book that everyone is raving about: This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page. I found it on the BorrowBox app (where I get most of my audiobooks from) and I’m sure I must have missed it before because it had a different cover. I saw it was reserved until August but I still reserved it for myself anyway. I’ve been keeping an eye on and the date has been creeping closer and closer. Now it’s saying it should be available next month!! Either people are flying through it because it’s that good or they’re giving up halfway through. I’m choosing to believe it is because it’s amazing and no one can stop listening. I’ll soon find out but more patience is required until I get to hear it.

It has felt like a strange week having Ellie home from college, she is still on her Easter break. We haven't really done much apart from talk about movies, potter around the house and just taking the days as they come. We did have a bit of drama with Ellie's hair dye, not actually dyeing her hair, just getting hold of the dye in the first place. She was out with Stu and couldn’t find her usual brand anywhere, which meant going back out again during the week to the shop she normally gets it from. She said she spent a good 10 minutes in there looking for it before a shop assistant asked if she needed help. She said yes and it was found straight away. I don’t know whether to laugh or roll my eyes. I will keep saying it, I am sure that girl walks around with her eyes closed. lol.

I am sat here now being very patient, waiting for a weekend of watching wrestling. We have last nights to watch tonight, tonight's to watch tomorrow and then Becky and I are staying up until the early hours watching night two live!

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good one! I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!

What I have loved this week! Week 16. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. Ours has been a really good one. We have had lots of family time, had some loose ends were tied up which is a weight off my mind and Wrestlemania weekend is here, which I am very excited about. As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea to share the things that I have loved over the past week.

A catch-up with a friend!

One of my favourite moments this week was a proper catch up with a friend. It was her birthday so I sent her a little something for her garden. She has a beautiful garden and is always adding to it so I thought a rose bush would be perfect. She of course, rang me to say thank you. I thought it would be a quick call but somehow we ended up chatting for nearly an hour and a half, which somehow feels totally normal to us. We both totally lost track of time. We’re quite good at keeping in touch but every now and then we need a proper catch-up. We talked about everything: friends, family, random updates, bits of nonsense and it was nice.

At Home with the Furys!

I watched the second season of At Home with the Furys this week. The fly-on-the-wall documentary TV show about the boxer Tyson Fury and his family! I am not into boxing at all. I couldn’t tell you anything about it and I’ve never watched a full match in my life but this is about their family life and not boxing. Paris his wife absolutely steals the show. She is so funny without even trying to be. Very grounded and she seems to have the patience of a saint. The way she keeps everything running, manages the kids and deals with Tyson I don’t know how she does it. The kids are brilliant as well, so full of personality and always saying something unexpected.

Costa lunch!

Becky and I were at home on Tuesday and we started to talk about what to have for lunch and she mentioned ordering in and we went for something from Costa Coffee just because we wanted some nice drinks. I got a Chocolate Fudge Frappe and a Red Summer Berries cooler. Becky said one for fun and one for hydration. hehehe I got a smoked bacon bap and a lemon muffin to eat and they were so good. It was one of those simple meals that I could have eaten again straight after and I am still thinking about it now.

House Flipper!

A few weeks ago, there was a game on Steam that was being given away for free called House Flipper. It’s basically a simulation game where you take on renovation jobs. You start off doing the basic bits like cleaning, painting, fixing things and then, as you go along, you get to buy houses, do them up and sell them on. I have always loved decorating and rearranging. I used to spend hours on The Sims building houses and choosing furniture and this feels like a more grown-up version of that. I am obsessed. I keep thinking about just one more job, or I will just finish this room and before I know it another half hour has passed. Oops.

What have you loved over the past week?

What I listened to in March!

At the start of the year, I started listening to audiobooks. I always wanted to be a reader but couldn't/wouldn't make the time, so audiobooks were a way around it. I could be busy doing something while still listening to a book. Anyway, I thought I would share what I have been listening too. All of my audiobooks come from my local library through the app BorrowBox. I know lots of what I listen to might be considered old but they are all new to me!

This is what I listened to in March:

Skin by Liam Brown!

A strange virus is sweeping the globe. Humans have become allergic to one another. Simply standing next to somebody could be a death sentence. A kiss could be fatal. Angela is a woman trying to get by in this bewildering new world. Though she still lives with her husband and children, they lead separate lives. Confined to their rooms, they communicate via their computers and phones. In some ways, very little has changed. That is, until she spots a mysterious stranger walking through town without even a face mask for protection. A man, it seems, immune to this disease. A man unlike anyone else she knows. A man it might just be safe to touch...

Reading Skin by Liam Brown felt a little too close to home at times. After everything we’ve all been through in recent years, the idea of a world where you can’t touch anyone any more didn’t feel that far fetched at all. That’s what kept me hooked. I needed to know where it was going and how it was all going to make sense but when I reached the end and I was left wanting more. After all that build-up, I expected answers or at least some kind of proper conclusion. Instead, it felt quite open and unfinished. I don’t mind a book that makes me think but I do like a bit of clarity after investing my time in it. It wasn't a bad book, it was just the ending which let it down as it felt quite rushed!

What Does it Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella!

Eve is a successful novelist who wakes up one day in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. Her husband, never far from her side, explains that she has had an operation to remove the large, malignant tumour growing in her brain. As Eve learns to walk, talk and write again and as she wrestles with her diagnosis and how and when to explain it to her beloved children she begins to recall what’s most important to her: long walks with her husband’s hand clasped firmly around her own, family game nights and always buying that dress when she sees it.

I am not an expert when it comes to books but from Sophie Kineslla you expect funny, the main character getting herself into awkward situations and lots of chaos but this isn’t that. This was such a raw, beautiful, powerful story and this being Sophie Kineslla's last book, is so heart breaking! I found it so brave of Sophie Kinsella to write something so personal and to find humour in the hardest moments. I finished it in a couple of hours.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig!

When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?

I think we've all had those moments in our lives when we've wondered what if? What if we took a different job, moved somewhere else or said yes to something we turned down? I know I have had lots of those moments and this book takes that feeling and turns it into an interesting story. Some of the lives Nora tried were amazing but they weren’t always what she expected. It made me think that even in a life we imagine being perfect, there are still things which are not so perfect. The book deals with some heavy topics, like suicide but it's also quite hopeful. It's a nice reminder that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful.

The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden!

Abby wants a baby more than anything. But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that fall through, it seems like motherhood may never happen for her. Everything changes when her personal assistant, Monica, offers to be her surrogate an offer that feels like a miracle and a chance to finally have the family Abby has always dreamed of. But soon, strange things begin happening. Monica isn’t who she claims to be, and the woman carrying Abby’s child is hiding a dark secret. As the truth slowly unravels, Abby realises she may have trusted the wrong person and Monica will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

This was one of those books where I kept telling myself just one more chapter and then I'd stop and then suddenly it was an hour later. It pulls you in really quickly and before you know it you’re completely caught up in the story. I kept changing my mind about what I thought was going on and who I trusted, which is always a good thing with a thriller. Every time I thought I’d worked it out something else would happen that made me question everything again. The whole idea behind the story is tense, as trusting someone else to carry your baby is such a huge thing. I don't think I could do it and after listening to this, definitely not. The chapters are quite short, so it’s very easy to keep going. It was a twisty thriller which kept me guessing right until the end.

Swept Away by Beth O'Leary!

Lexi is looking for no-strings-attached fun. Zeke is looking for love. Neither of them were looking for a one-night stand to become their one and only lifeline. But when they wake up after an unforgettable night together, the houseboat they stayed on has been swept out to sea. There's no signal, no steering and no sign of rescue. And as the waves pick up and supplies run low, Zeke and Lexi realise there's much more on the line than their new relationship.

I started listening to this feeling pretty excited, especially because I really enjoyed The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary but I came out of it with mixed feelings. I didn't hate this book but I didn't love it either. It was easy to listen to but it just seemed to go on and on and I liked the characters but I didn’t feel connected to them. I could have easily given up on it halfway through but I am not a quitter and I carried on and I am glad I did as the ending was quite good.

What have you been reading or listening to lately?

The Wednesday Hodgepodge #51

I hope you are all having a good week. It's Wednesday, which means it's time to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce who blogs at From This Side of the Pond! Each week there are 6 questions, we answer and then link up. Simple!

1. Big week in the US of A...do you do your own taxes? What's something you've found 'taxing' lately?

Over here in England, if you’ve got a regular job, all the tax things are done automatically. The income tax and National Insurance get taken out of your wages before you’re paid, so what ends up in your bank is already dealt with. No forms, no figuring it out once a year and no stress. The only time you really have to deal with it yourself is if you’re self-employed, run a business or have extra income on the side. My dad has just been through it all with his business at the end of our tax year at the beginning of the month.

I have found general life taxing lately. Keeping on top of appointments, paying the bills, chasing up refunds, meal planning and keeping track of my girls. It's great they are independent now that they're older but it's hard to keep track of where they're going to be on any given day. lol What's made it more taxing is that Stu, my fella, had a few days off work last week, Becky is gallivanting to theatre shows, concerts and mini breaks and Ellie is off college for her Easter break, so life doesn't feel routine here at the moment. Nothing bad is happening, things just feel more chaotic than usual.

2. When it comes to travel are you a last minute packer or a lay it all out a week in advance type? Do you struggle to pack light? Share a packing tip that has worked for you.

We don’t travel all that often but when we do, I pack early. I like being organised and if I pack early I can add all the things that I forgot about. Usually things like chargers and make-up wipes. I try to pack light but that never happens. In the past, when I went away for one night, I took a little suitcase because I needed options. What if I change my mind about what I am going to wear or the weather changes? I want to be prepared for all eventualities.

A packing tip that has worked for me in the past is taking photos of what I've packed before I zip the suitcase up. It sounds odd but it stops me overthinking and wondering if I packed this or that! I just look at the photos and don't have to open the suitcase and rummage about.

3. April is National Grilled Cheese Month. Hmmm...who knew it got its own month? Do you like a grilled cheese sandwich? What ingredient do you add to take yours to the next level?

I very rarely eat cheese. From the age of about 8 until I was in my 20's I was allergic to cheese. It gave me terrible migraines. Since my early 20s, I've realised it's just cheddar or darker coloured cheese that causes them, so I can get away with ones like mozzarella, feta and my favourite Wensleydale. I haven't had a grilled cheese sandwich since I was about 8 years old. I do miss them. When my girls make them, I stand there just smelling the melted cheese! So good!

4. There's a well known quote that says- 'A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for." John A. Shedd. Is constant growth necessary or do you think it's more important to prioritize stability and peace in your life?

I don’t think there has to be constant growth all the time. That sounds nice in theory. Always improving and moving forward but in real life it can feel exhausting. Sometimes I want to just relax and not have any pressure. Life isn’t about growing loads. For me, it’s just about keeping things steady, getting through the week and actually enjoying a bit of calm. Not everything has to be a big step forward all the time. I like a bit of growth here and there but not at the expense of my sanity.

5. Let's wrap this up with a fun spring this or that -

Daffodils or Tulips - Ohh! This is a tough one. I love both. I think daffodils as they are so cheap to buy.

Lemonade or Iced tea - Lemonade! I am not a fan of iced tea.

Gardening or Hiking - Definitely gardening! I am too lazy for hiking.

Ladybugs or Butterflies - I love both but I would say butterflies because when they arrive in my garden it means that there are flowers and they are doing well.

Umbrella or Raincoat - Raincoat! I'd love the idea of just using an umbrella every time it rains but with the rain usually comes wind and that is no fun!

Floral patterns or Polka dots - Floral. I do like Polka dots but I don't have many items in my wardrobe with them on.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I am getting very excited for a weekend of wrestling. It's the biggest show of the year, Wrestlemania and it's over two nights. My eldest and I have decided we can't stay up both nights and watch it, it starts late and runs each night for 4 to 5 hours. If you take in the time difference we wouldn't be goign to bed until the early hours. Eek! We are planning to watch the pre-show and maybe the first match on Saturday night, playing catchup on Sunday and then staying up and watching it live on Sunday night. Becky's fine with staying up all night. She works night shifts, so she's used to it, me not so much!