CURLY AND CANDID

It’s the summer holidays folks and you know what that means? A seven week juggle! Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore having the boys at home however I still have to work and when your office is at home that can take some keen organising and some rather weird working hours. I started work for example at 4am this morning.

Thankfully the boys go to a fabulous holiday scheme three days a week which is just around the corner which means the days that they aren’t here have to be fierce working days and when they aren’t there I’m found working from silly o’clock through to them getting up and the odd evenings too.

Now I wouldn’t change this for one minute, I gave up employment in favour of running my own business 9 years ago and have never looked back. It offers me the opportunity to do what I love while being completely flexible around the boys. That doesn’t mean though that I don’t find myself burning the candle from both ends sometimes.

The way I get through the juggle is to make sure that I have proper leisure time. Me time. I don’t necessarily need to leave the house (in fact I prefer not too – PJs at 7pm works well for me!). Me time is important though as it recharges the batteries and stops me from burning out.

How do I spend my me time?

With My Head in a Book

There’s nothing quite like  curling up with a good book and chilling out as my FB status last night shows..

I’m reading Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming at the moment which is a gripping read (look it up!). I’ll read from most genres, be it a romance, a sci-fi / fantasy book (I’m a bit of a geek), chick lit, autobiographies; whatever suits my mood and captures my interest and imagination.

Hobbies

I’m not sure you can call my hobby a hobby but for the want of a better label that’s all you’re getting. I am a stationery fiend, I get a lot of joy out of paper, stickers, good pens and the like. I’m also a keen organiser and planner. I put these two parts of me together and enjoy a variety of planner related hobbies sessions, from decorating my diary (Erin Condren Life Planner) to watching bullet journal videos on YouTube (more on this another time – I’ve finally found Planner Zen!).

I have been known to curl up on the sofa with YouTube on the big screen tuned into saved stationery, bullet journal-related or similar clips while being surrounded by paper goodies. What can I say, it makes me happy!

The Big Screen

Talking of the big screen, like many the TV provides interest and relaxation. Roy and I record a number of shows on Sky+ to watch together and I’m a bit of a Netflix fan myself. Nothing got done until I reached the end of Sons of Anarchy recently. Like my reading matter I’m happy to watch a load of different types of shows.

I love period drama and similar so Anzac Girls, Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and more futuristic shows so Falling Skies and of course anything Marvel related. I also have a bit of a thing for American dramas such as West Wing, House of Cards, Madam Secretary and The Good Wife. Obviously I don’t spent THAT much time watching TV but it’s great to have so many saved ready for me to watch either on my own or with Roy.

I am something of an XFactor fan too so look forward to seeing that restart in the Autumn (without Louie?). I’ve got quite good at weeding out the divas and picking winners so might even try something like the XFactor TV betting and put my money where my mouth is. If I win a bit back I’ll treat myself to some new slipper boots or a onesie for sloughing in front of the TV in!

 

Ok, so I don’t leave the house much of an evening but I do have plenty to occupy me in a relaxing way, to help me rewind and to make sure I have something to look forward to. That works for me, particularly during the work/family juggle over the summer and over other key holidays (apart rom Christmas where I take three whole weeks off to spend with my family!). How do you spent your “me” time?