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Category Archives: friends

Beautiful things

10 Feb

I had a wonderful night out on Thursday night, celebrating a friend’s birthday with “Margaritas and Dessert”. It helped that it was a stinker of a night – well over 30 degrees even well into the night – so frozen drinks and treats were very welcome, but as always the conversations were the best part.

One that was very close to my heart was about beauty and happiness. One woman talked about her time at art school. She still remembers a guest speaker who came and spoke about the importance of beauty, with the example that even if you are just getting out a bowl to beat an egg, that bowl can (should) still be beautiful. Another spoke about the book, The Architecture of Happiness, which considers how where we are might influence what we are (and what we become). And I spoke about Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, which I credit as a catalyst for some of the important (and positive) changes I made in my life last year. I probably need to re-read it, actually.

I try to surround myself with things that I love and find beauty in, that make me feel good, but sometimes I choose things that are functional rather than lovely. And I always regret it.

 
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Posted by on February 10, 2014 in be happy, friends

 

Things to Pack for Bordercon

23 May

In a couple of weeks, we’re going away to spend a few days with friends, playing boardgames.

It must be time to get my packing list together.

So far, it looks like this:

I feel this list needs to grow.

 
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Posted by on May 23, 2012 in be happy, friends, games

 

Guest overload

08 Jan

One side benefit of the house being cleaner (well, less cluttered – it wasn’t ever dirty) is that I don’t stress so much about having people – especially Other People’s Children – over.

Today was a case in point. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on January 8, 2009 in be happy, children, friends, house

 

Holidays?

05 Jan

I think – cautiously – that I might now officially be on holidays.

No mail from work since Friday (and that was just an FYI).

No clients with tight deadlines to be met.

No plans to be in the office until February.

This year, I’m probably not even going to take my work PC to the beach. The eee is enough, I think.

Outlook for the week:

  • Monday – housework. Sigh.
  • Tuesday – organiser coming. More housework, but Of The Good Kind.
  • Wednesday – gloriously free. 
  • Thursday – Kids have friends over, I am babysitting my niece (the kids will have fun with her). I might see whether one of my friends wants to come over too.
  • Friday – unclear. May go away early, may pack. Heh – the weather outlook for our second week at the beach has rain expected almost every day. Great for the garden and the catchments, not so great for, well, spending time at the beach.

Meanwhile, we had a wonderful picnic at St Kilda Botanical Gardens yesterday. Warm but not too warm, the kids had a wonderful time running around (and running around and running around) while we lazed on the grass and chatted. Nearby, some people had hula hoops while others played Frisbee. We took a walk to feed the ducks and saw tiny baby ducklings, tadpoles and a turtle. The children used the plastic salad bowl to try to catch tadpoles. Only two fell in – one into the shallows, the other into what was shallow but rapidly dipped away into adult thigh-height. Luckily her dad was on close watch or this could have been a tragedy – as it was, his wallet was the only victim. Pleased to say that Otto managed to NOT fall in. Didn’t leave till after 4 (I had expected to be home before 2).

Note to self: Arrange picnics with friends, this summer. Often.

 
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Posted by on January 5, 2009 in be happy, friends, going_out, work

 

Good news day

22 Sep

Dad is still in hospital – will be released tomorrow, all being well. They still don’t have an exact cause but he’s in much less pain & is looking better.

I just finished booking all my remaining tickets. OMG. One is first class because if I book out of France I pay less for first class than I was going to pay for second class in Germany (huh). And one is full fare because it was only 6 euros more than the discounted ticket that had all sorts of scary conditions attached to it.

I leave in 10 days. OMGOMG.

I have one hotel left to book and then that is that. All done. Did I mention the OMG factor?

And I am having lunch with a girlfriend.

All’s well with the world.

 
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Posted by on September 22, 2008 in friends, parents, travel

 

Comparisons

14 Jul

Every so often, I get an email from a Facebook application that tells me something like this:

Your friends have voted on your strengths and weaknesses:

STRENGTHS:

best to hang out with for a day
best listener
best shopping companion

WEAKNESSES:

person with the best hair
happiest

And it always makes me wonder what Weaknesses means. Does it mean that I have OMG the best hair and that is a weakness? Or does it mean that the world has not yet woken up to the Fabulousness That Is My Hair?

This is not actually about the hair. It was more about the happy – I think I am usually a fairly happy person (I certainly try to be). Clearly I will have to bribe some of my Facebook buddies to agree with me.

I am not really complaining though. I am happy to be voted the OMGBestShoppingCompanion.

I should perhaps confess, though, that that is really not the case. I am in fact a horrible shopping companion unless you want to keep me company while I shop. In which case I am probably delightful, if somewhat driven. But if you want something? Watch out.

Meanwhile, I made a poll in my BGG profile too.

 
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Posted by on July 14, 2008 in be happy, friends

 

The OMG Sonderpreis! Transcript

27 May

Gentle Reader, I am proud to present to you my unedited-but-somewhat-snipped, names-changed-or-abbreviated-to-protect-the-innocent chat transcript from Sunday night.

Warning: Long Post ahead. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on May 27, 2008 in friends, games

 
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