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Chai And A Chat #36 #ChaiAndAChat

10 Jun 2019 36 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, Chai and a Chat

Hey there Peeps! Time for our weekly catch up, get that drink ready!

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you the week wasn’t quite as warm as I was expecting… why do I ever look at the weather? Are they ever right? There was rain, wind, sun, more rain. But we still had a good week!
If we were sipping chai together I forgot to mention last week that alongside starting the editing, I managed to pull together author branding… and set up a whole new blog and facebook page which is devoted to my author persona. Seriously, that is quite a feat! Now I just need to get more people following there too! (Hint Hint!) If you want to, pop over to www.ritubhathal.com
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that the rest of the week was lovely. After dropping Lil Man to school on Monday, Lil Princess and I headed out to Bluewater shopping centre for a little retail therapy. She had a giftcard she wanted to make a dent in, and she did! It’s such fun going out with her now, as a young lady. She makes the funniest comments and we can talk about opinions in rather a mature fashion! My Lil Princess is growing up…
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that on Tuesday it was time for some pampering. My roots have been calling out to me but I wanted to leave them for as long as possible so we ventured out for a hair morning: mine to be dyed, hers for a trim! Got there in the end!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BySCmDyFM23/

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that in the afternoon, I shut the world out of my room and got ready to be interviewed for my first ever podcast! It has been done and when it is available to listen to, I’ll be sure to post the link! How much fun to talk to someone from the other side of the world!
If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that the pampering didn’t end there. We also had our nails done too! And yes, that is a bit of henna on my hand. Lil Princess decided she wanted Henna so we went and got that and had a go and decorating our hands!

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If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that I was the good wife on Wednesday, and after dropping the kids to school or their grandparents’ place, I chauffeured Hoppalong Hubby Dearest to his work. He’s not been in for nearly 8 weeks so it was a big deal. It’s quite a journey so the plan was that I drop him, then sit in the cafe area, reading, writing, editing, whatever I want. And it was so peaceful! I found a sofa and settled myself, and consumed cups of tea and cake, had a sandwich, and a little more, whilst reading and composing a poem about hair, before he came to rescue me and transferred me to his office where I managed to edit another chapter.

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If we were sipping chai together I’d show you what I had made, that arrived last week… a locket with the front cover of my poetry book! It is so lovely, and the hope is that I can add a new locket each time I release a book!

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If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you the rest of the week was pretty average. I got a few chapters edited, I wrote lots more comments on the reports for school but that is a never-ending, thankless task… I read, I cleaned, I laundered (clothes, not money) and I rested.

If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that, as you read this, I will be back at school for the final term of the school year. It will fly by, but it will drag too. There is so much to do, from assessment to preparations for next year, as well as trying to squeeze in as much fun as possible for the kids… The first day is staff training, then the children are back… wish me luck!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention, just a little excitedly, that the Annual Bloggers Bash is this coming weekend! EEEEK!! I am debating what baking will be occurring this year… His Geoffleship, are you ready? And I am really looking forward to meeting everyone again! Such fun!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’m hoping to get into more of a routine so I can get this edit done sooner, rather than later… Fingers crossed!

Have a wonderful week, Peeps! Let me know how your week went!

Spidey’s Serene Sunday – Part 224 – Dreams

09 Jun 2019 38 Comments

by Ritu in Spidey's Serene Sundays Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Dreams, Quotes, Serene, Spiderman, Spidey, Spidey's Serene Sunday

Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.
Debby Boone

Thank you Spidey, and hello Peeps! It’s good to be back with you all again after my feeling unwell last week.

I really love the quote Spidey found for me to ponder upon this week.

Dreams.

We all have them.

I don’t mean the things that float around in your head when you are asleep, but your aspirations.

Your hopes.

Your dreams.

Those goals you wish to achieve in your life.

We all need something to live for, to work towards, to reach.

Without dreams, what are we doing? Living each day, just to get through it, to the next.

That’s not life.

That’s existance.

Whereas if you have that dream to strive to make a reality, you have a focus.

Some may dream of a happy life at home, with a perfect family.

Some want that new car, or a specific job role.

You may dream to meet someone special, or important to you.

My dream is to see my novel finally in print, out there, for others to read and share.

And now, because I have focussed on it, that dream is a few more steps closer to reality. The editor has read it, so the editing is happening. A cover is being looked at. And I have author branding! Eeeks! With a website, and Facebook page to match!

My dream is to have my own class – truly my own class.

As the last few years I have been team teaching with certain colleagues, and though my time is just that, my time in class, it’s not the same as having full responsibility for your own classroom, and your children. Maybe the next academic year will bring that to fruition.

My dream is to have my forever home.

I love where we live, but the children are fast outgrowing the space we have. It’s crunch time. We are looking at whether it is better to go big and extend, or to spruce up, sell up and buy the perfect place… It’s a work in motion.

There are a few of my dreams, and I am slowly working on each of them. I don’t want to get to the end of my days, feeling like I never gave them my best shot.

So… tell me, what are you doing to make your dreams come true?

#SoCS June 8/19 – Life Balance

08 Jun 2019 29 Comments

by Ritu in #SoCS, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #SoCS, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Linda G Hill, Stream Of Consciousness Saturday, Work Life Balance

Linda’s #SoCS prompt this week is a repeat, but looks, likely to become a repeat offender, in a good way!

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “open book, point, write.” Pick up the closest book to you when you sit down to write your post. Close your eyes, open the book, and place your finger on the page. Whatever word or phrase your finger lands on, write about it. Enjoy!

I am currently reading a coupleof books, which is a bit of a shocker, as I am not am multi-book reader usually, but I have a novel my Karen McQuestion – From A Distant Start – on the go, and a positive thinking book, Unlearn, by Humble The Poet that I am dipping in and out of.

It was Humble’s book that came into my hand first…

… and the words my fingers came to rest upon were ‘balance in life’.

Kinda freaky, as I have been talking to my Hoppalong Hubby Dearest about balance recently. More accurately, work/life balance.

That’s a big thing, nowadays, isn’t it?

The pressure to do better, perform better, get things done perfectly, do it all better… it’s upon us all in some way.

And increasingly, you might see couples not really leading a couples life, but fleetingly meeting in the mornings, and hardly talking in the evenings, busy with work related things, and too tired to interact in more than the most basic of greetings and goodnights.

You hear of families who, even though they are traditional two parent families, find one parent, often the mother, feeling like a single parent, because, despite working herself, the other half is laden down with work pressures, and is barely able to make an evening parents evening, let alone help with the school run once in a while.

There are those professionals who haven’t even got either of the above to balance out, as their work takes up so much time, that a social life, or time for themselves is so limited.

Work/Life balance.

Afre we working to live or living to work?

I love my job. I truly do.
I love my family. More than my job.
I love my writing with a passion.
I love my friends.

Why should one have to give?

So, here’s what I do… I compartmentalise. And I find shortcuts!

The first hour of my day is devoted to getting things ready for everyone, then relaxing with a cuppa, watching the news and catching up with notifications and emails.

Yes, I am in work early, very early, by 7.45am. Yes, I can be still there at 5.45pm… but only on three days. The other two, I’m out by 4pm

During the day, I will take a break, but I will also make sure I am doing all that needs to be done to prepare for the rest of the week, to make my life easier.

I make sure that, apart from report writing, and the odd time I need to make resources, I bring no work home with me at all.

At home then, I am wife and mum. I’dd do cooking and housework. I’ll help with homework. I’ll nag (because all good wives do) and I’ll have fun with my family.

Then, once everyone is all set, my evening time is mine to choose what I do with it. Read, write, watch tv, iron (I do love a bit of steam pressing) whatever takes my fancy!

I will arrange nights out with friends. I will go and see family. I will not let work tip me over the edge, even though it is easy to do.

We were discussing it as an opportunity may arise for Hoppalong, where he could go for a role which is more prestigious than his current one, but will involve more stress and pressure, and possibly more time. He compares himself to his MD who is literally on work mode 24/7.

You know, if it works for his MD then fine, but there is no need to be like that. There are always ways to balance things out.

Sure, when you start hight pressure jobs, the need is there to be a little more work, a little less life… but once you are settled, there is the chance to bring that balance back.

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS June 8/19

June 4: Flash Fiction Challenge

07 Jun 2019 28 Comments

by Ritu in #CarrotRanch Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Carrot Ranch, Fiction Prompt, Splash

The Carrot Ranch prompt this week, from Charli:

June 3, 2019, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that makes a big splash. It can be fluid, or you can play with the idiom (to make a big splash is to do or say something that becomes unforgettable). Go where the prompt leads!

One Way To Create a Splash!
“Can I see it? Please!” Julie ran over to Jack, straining to grab the phone.
Jack stretched his arm high up, out of her reach.
Grabbing his sleeve, she tried to bring his arm down. “I need to see the photo!”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not having you sharing awful pictures of me!” She pulled at his arm, her grasp nearing the phone.
Both hands on the handset – it was like a tug-of-war.
“There! Got it!”
One final wrench and it was hers… except it flew out of her hand and landed in the pool with a big splash.
“Oops.”

https://carrotranch.com/2019/06/07/june-4-flash-fiction-challenge-2/

Small #writephoto

06 Jun 2019 41 Comments

by Ritu in #WritePhoto Tags: #WritePhoto, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Small, Sue Vincent

Sue has a slightly different prompt for the next two weeks, with a choice of two words, and four pictures.

I chose Small, and accompany it with this photo.

a solitary figure on a beach against a wide ocean.

 Small 
 Glimmers
 Hopefulness
 Pinpricks of light
 Things will get better
 Just focus on that spark
 And allow it to ignite
 The flames of positivity
 Need us to fan them with our thinking
 And to share all the heat with our actions 

Ritu 2019