November was abit different. Not heavy or light, not good or bad. Just took abit of effort. An effort to do stuff. Effort to stop the thoughts in my mind from being so loud. My job is currently being advertised so I am busy applying for that. Part of my thinks its mine, while the other part creeps in saying there is someone else for the job. Got to love self-doubt. My birthday was very low-key. No birthday cake or anyone singing happy birthday. I did have a night away with my best friend, a night away with my boyfriend, a movie with my sister, a day off work to do all the things I love and dinner with the parentals. So my 40th year is done. Age and time is so bizarre. So surreal to think I am 41. It sounds old, sounds like you should have shit together, and sounds like half my life is over. I think I do have abit of the turning old and getting cranky thing going on though.

Listened to - 

* Real, Raw, Relatable Podcast with Kat John

* The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes

* The CEO Teacher with Kayse Morris

 Read - 

* The Whispering by Veronica Lando

* Thursdays at Orange Blossom House by Sophie Green

* The Bellbird Country River Choir by Sophie Green

* Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby

* Retribution by Sarah Barrie

Splurged on - 

* getting my hair permed

Watching - 

* Love On The Spectrum

Went to - 

* TEDx Women talk at Blacktown on cultivating more joy in your life - the secret she said was to meditate. I already knew that so felt like I wasted two and a half hours of my life that night

* Chalkface play with a good friend. Busy week so no time to research dinner options. I quickly decided on Thai as we were running out of options. It was terrible, and I learnt my lesson to plan first. Then I got lucky enough to sit next to a girl who laughed at everything in the play including things that were not funny. The highlight of the night was our parking spot. Helps to go with someone who knows the secret spots

* The Gables had a Food Van Festival so our Bush Fire Brigade went along. I helped the kids knock the ball off the cones with the hose. It was good fun.

* Sydney Open - was a big flop. Bought two tickets. My bf woke up so sick and he never gets sick. He said he’d be right so we drive in to Sydney and after two hours he was done. We shouldn’t have gone in. So with access to 25 heritage buildings open I think we saw five. For someone who likes to get their money’s worth, and tickets were not cheap at $50 each, I was annoyed. In hindsight, I should have stayed in bed and gifted the tickets to someone else.

* Fiddler for dinner. Can’t go wrong with the salt and pepper squid. So good

* did the Bay Run with Luc, then breakfast with our friend’s parents before they move to Perth. I have always loved doing the Bay Run but this time we went later than usual and it was busy. People were walking side by side and not budging. I got really sherby and started to barge people’s shoulders that were in my way. It wasn’t a great start to the morning

* stayed at Radisson Blu with my best friend. Drinks at Botswana Butchery then dinner at The Grounds. We didn’t end up going out after dinner, instead enjoyed the hotel room and I read a book in bed. Bliss!

* stayed at Ovolo Woolloomooloo in The Loft. It rained on my birthday eve at night so we could hear the rain on the roof. Such a nice experience. Had two espresso martinis that night. My favourite! Then drove to Potts Point the next day and sat on the beach. The plan was to hire a kayak but the day was so windy we opted out. I love the wind though so that made my birthday.

* High Tea at Biviano’s Restaurant for Christmas party/farewell for a good teacher friend from Riverbank. Was nice to catch up with the latest goss and hear what everyone is up to. I was nervous though. Haven’t sweated nerves for awhile. Still not sure why?

Booked - 

* the last three days of the term off. I finish up on Thursday 15 December. Count down is on!

Cooked - 

* chocolate cake, chocolate brownies, Jamaican chicken tacos, chicken curry, spaghetti bolognese, potato pie.

What's new - 

* Home improvements - you know I love my council cleanups so I had another one booked in; it was good timing that my boyfriend’s boys were over so they helped carry all the furniture out. Finally got rid of some big pieces that were outdated and not being used. House is gradually becoming sparser. Organised for cornice to go up next week in the upstairs areas and picked out flooring and carpet. Ladies came out to measure up, and it was so surreal. So friggen exciting though. Abit of work to do first but hoping that the flooring is installed in February next year

* won tickets to NBL game and BBL cricket game thanks to Daily Telegraph

* pressure cleaned the outside of my bfs mum’s house and washed the window. Made such a difference and she was chuffed.

* published a few blog posts during November after not posting much at all this year. Time to get back into it.

Looking for - 

* a nice dress for Christmas

Sold -

* Forever New dress, Forever New top, herbs and spices cabinet

Started - 

* listing more things to sell

* spending time watering the garden

Attempting to -

* get curls in my hair. After getting my hair permed, my hair is wavier more so than curly, so I have found some girls on Instagram to follow, and I have been watching hair tutorials. Who am I?

How did you manage yourself this month? Hopefully better than me, Not sure why I was so sensitive but holidays are in sight. I can taste the freedom. Hoping you have holidays to look forward to, too. Please feel welcome to join the conversation and leave a comment below.

For other months in hindsight click here