Snapshot – a window into our life right now

If you read blogs you might have come across linkys before. These are posts, where there’s a theme and bloggers can join in to add their own. I’m joining in with Snapshot, a lovely linky, taking a moment to write about where you are right now, set up by Awfully Chipper. You can read all the other bloggers who’ve added theirs at the end of her post.

Here’s what I’ve been:

Listening to:
Gloria Estefan. No, really. I put on her CD and I do my best Jennifer Lopez impression while I’m washing the floor. There’s nothing to lift the spirits as much as jazzy, latino brass. It also reminds me of when I was a kid in the 80s and my aunty whizzed me around in her red Nissan Micra blaring Ms Estefan at me in the back until I relented and said I liked it.

Watching:
Californication on Netflix. We’re on series 3. David Duchovny is amazing in it. There’s tons of sex and at this point it’s getting a bit ridiculous the amount of women throwing themselves at him, but still the script is great and I love that the story follows the life of a writer. Also, I watch Dr. Phil every day. Don’t judge me.

Playing:
Sylvanian Families with my two year old. I took down part of my own collection, the house and dog family and she’s already busted it up. I don’t know whether to take it back off her, but she is spending so many hours playing with it, that it seems a shame. It seems she has inherited my love for the cute furry figures too. You can read about my Sylvanian obsession here.

Reading:
The Judge’s Wife by Ann O’Loughlin, published by Black & White Publishing. I like her descriptions and setting and the story line. The one thing putting me off is the dialogue, it feels a bit more written than spoken. But I am super critical as a writer myself and notice things that others might not.

Looking forward to:
Our next night out. We’re aiming for the start of April and will be heading out in Drogheda for a bit of pub crawl ending up in a nightclub. (I WILL party on). So far our past two nights out have been cancelled due to the children being ill. Will we make it third time lucky?

Drinking:
Tea mostly. I’m not drinking too much due to breastfeeding.

Wearing:
Very comfy clothes. My look is baggy trousers with string tops and cardis. Not sexy, but functional. I hope to get back to some sort of glam status soon, but I’m at the inbetween stage after having a baby where I’ve lost weight but not enough to get back to my normal self. And I probably won’t either until I stop breastfeeding so we could be looking at about a year of this ‘on maternity leave’ look. Ah well.

Eating:
Oh, god, not a lot. My appetite has been terrible lately. I’m slowly getting it back and am trying to eat proper dinners and things, I cooked all this week, but outside of that I’m nibbling on biccies and tea. I reckon I’m living off all the fat stores laid down in pregnancy. SO THAT’s what it’s for!

Working on:
Two things. One: being a better Mammy. By this I mean being less stressed and trying to enjoy my children more, without worrying about minor thing. We are trying to get out lots and just have fun, I want to hear my two year old laughing (in between the tantrums). Two: Book 2. I’ve a long way to go to get get the first draft done, but I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s about a mysterious woman who responds to a job advert for a nanny in Drogheda 1880. The story is inspired by a real advert I saw in the Drogheda Argus of the time.

Permanently frustrated by:
Himself not putting dirty laundry into the laundry basket. He leaves it on top. I’ve now written about it twice, here. Do you think he’ll get the message?

Enjoying:
Both my children. Getting to spend so much time with them lets me see their little personalities develop. I am loving the newborn baby stage this time round too as it’s not half as scary and I realise how simple babies are compared to toddlers! We’ve also changed up our childcare a bit, so I’m getting to spend a bit more quality time with the newbie and it means both himself and myself have more structured hours which works better for our family routine too.

Not enjoying:
After a very few tough weeks, where I found it hard to enjoy anything I can honestly say, that I am now seeing the light, and starting to take pleasure in things again. I’m feeling very positive about the future. It’s a great place to be in.

How are things as a snapshot in your life right now? Let me know what you’re listening to, watching, reading, feeling! What a great linky.

December Girl is now available on Audio. Visit Amazon or Audible or click on the cover below to download.