But I Smile Anyway…

It was never going to stan a smooth run, was it?

Are you ready for your catch up with a drink?

• If we were having chai I’d begin by telling you that school was not as smooth saioing as the week before! Another staff member down, this time, in the EYFS team, aka mine! So, I had a whole day in Nursery, covering, which I really enjoyed, then two days of juggling other staff, and hoping for a supply that was decent. on top of that, one of the other staff members needs to isolate, so planning for the week after was a joy! Still, we managed to get through, just!

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that on Monday I had a lovely Zoom call with some like-minded ladies, who I was introduced to via Diana Frajman, and her blog. We all contributed to a post on her blog at the start of the year (feels like so long ago, but it was only two weeks!) and decided to have a catch up, or really a first informal introduction. What a fun way to spend an hour!

• If we were having chai I’d say that I have been trying hard to develop that daily writing habit, b using Linda’s JusJoJan challenge, and it has been working! Soon enough this daily blog post habit should morph into writing words for the WIP every day, instead!

• If we were having chai I’d excitedly tell you that Spellbound have officially announced the re-release date of Marriage Unarranged. 6th June! And pre-orders will be up at the end of this month! It really is happening!

• If we were having chai I’d mention that I was so touched that my dear friend and fellow author, Matthew Goodall, made a video on his TikTok, all about my book, too!

• If we were having chai I’d groan and complain that I had to go and do more sport based shuttling around on Saturday! Lil Man planned an indoor football session with some friends. But I used the time practially, getting the car washed, and spending a little time at the In-Laws, along with bringing my photo albums back to our new house from their temporary home in some boxes, sat in their garage since the summer of 2020! I am so happy to have my photos back!
• If we were having chai I’d be quite proud of myself as I tell you that on Sunday, after an early awakening from my brother and my Finndian nephews, at 7.30am, so they could chat to their aunty, I knuckled down to some work! It started as housework, and laundry (three loads of washing as I changed all the bedsheets the night before), then I completed the mamouth task of rereading all the words I have already written on book two, since 2019… ready for the addition of more, so I can get this first darft complete! It’s amazing what you forget when it comes to your past words, and I read scenes I had totally forgotten that I had written! Still, at least it is all fresh in my mind, now, ready for more!

This week, I shall keep my fingers crossed that school is as steady as can be, with no more Covid-related hiccups. As always I will be blogging daily. I also want to create a housework timetable, so I spread tasks ot over the week, and assign some to others, meaning it won’t all need doing on the weekend in a big massive whirlwind of cleaning. I rather like the idea of a daily thing to do, so everything is bite-sized!

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

What a first full week of the year, eh!

Did you get a drink?

• If we were having chai I’d begin by telling you that I tried my hardest to enjoy my last day of the break on Monday, since it was a bank holiday. I did precisely nothing, other than read to be honest. I definitely needed it, as Sunday night, I barely slept. So at least on Monday night I was in bed early and I woke bright-eyed and bushy tailed, ready for the first day of term!

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that the start of school went relatively smoothly. Well, actually the whole week did, to be honest. Deep down, I had this dread that something was going to happen, and we’d be flung into the disarray of remote learing, but thankfully that didn’t happen, so we had a pretty normal week, all things considered. It was, honestly, lovely to be back with the children, and my team. There was a renewed sense of positivity, which I hope, lasts for a long time!

• If we were having chai I’d slip in a little something here, that a lot of you probably have already read about, but that publishing thing I’ve been hinting about these last few weeks? It’s all official, now! I have signed a contract with Spellbound Books. A three-book deal, which includes a rerelease of Marriage Unarranged, so the whole series will be under them. That’s right, it is a series! Officially called the Rishtay Series. Rishtay means relationships, and can encompass all types, from romantic to family to friends, and I explore a lot of different relationships through my writing. I officially signed on the Wednesday evening, and floated through Thursday and Friday!

• If we were having chai I’d say that on Friday evening, I arrived home to these lovely flowers, balloons, and cards from Hubby Dearest, one of my lovely work colleuages, and my favourite author, ever, Amanda Prowse! I was so touched, and I just keep going back to them, and smelling the gorgeous blooms!

• If we were having chai I’d mention that I have written a little bit, too, since I now have DEADLINES! Well, that’s a way to get things written, I suppose! But it has been fun. I have organised myself a bit, so fingers crossed I can do this!
• If we were having chai I’d share that we are now a fully vaccinated household, with Lil Princess receiving her second vaccination on Saturday. Obviously, she is milking the side effects as much as possible, but, at least we are all done. If the powers that be say they need boosters, we will arrange, but at least for now, we are all as protected as we can be.
• If we were having chai I’d tell you that I even managed to do some from scratch cooking, which I have done very little of, recently, relying on easy cook things that just need reheating… I know. Bad mummy! But I was rather proud of my chicken biriyani style dish. Lil Man was very happy with it, too, so it can’t have been all bad!

• If we were having chai I’d whisper ‘Guess who’s back at cricket, from this week?’ And the answer would be ‘Not Me!’ Lol! So, Lil Man had an opportunity to join some winter indoor nets, and obviously he was going to jump at the chance, but it is slap bang in the middle of Sunday afternoon, so Hubby Dearest took, him instead leaving me time to do whatever I wanted! YAY!
• If we were having chai I’d ask if any of you are on TikTok? I’m trying ot out, you know #BookTok and #authortok and all that… follow me if you are there. I am trying to make videos that entertain, a little, too! https://www.tiktok.com/@ritubhathalauthor Thank you in advance!

This week, I am hoping to continue my streak of writing on the blog in January, as well as a little more every few days added to the WIP. I don’t have anything major planned with school, or at home, so hopefully it will be a relatively smooth week!

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

And bring on the new year! 2022, we are waiting for you!

Grab your first drink of the year with me and let’s see how the end of one year passed into another!

• If we were having chai I’d begin by saying that as soon as I scheduled that post, last week, we made a plan for me to get to Birmingham to see Pops and Mum. The next update regarding restrictions was going to be on Monday evening, so I thought, rather than waiting, and then possibly being told I can’t go, I would grab the bull by the horns, along with Lil Princess, and we would take the three hour road trip to see them. Just for a night, but I’ll not look a gifthorse in the mouth! We left plenty early, so we could maximise our time there and arrived at 11am. It was just bliss to be able to be with them. Pops is looking so much better, after the operation, and is itching to te out and walk, or exercise, but he knows it’s too soon, yet. Mum, well, she was hobbling around with her knee injury, but she was mobile and happy to have us there. We sat and chatted and just made up for lost time. I left on Tuesday morning, sat to be going already, but so, so happy that I had been with them.

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that once we got back, I have just been trying to laze a bit, getting ready for that back to school start, this week, and rest, too. I read plenty, as always. In fact, I finished the year with my Goodreads total being 145 books! I think there may have been more, with some arcs and such like, but still, that’s a lot of books!

• If we were having chai I’d mention that I still had a whole other Christmas dinner in the freezer, so we had our own mini Christmas, take two, on Thursday, at home. It was lovely, just the four of us, snuggled up around the coffee table, and we played games together too!

• If we were having chai I’d say that once it hit that last day, we popped over thto the in-laws for a couple of hours, but wanted to see the new year in, in our new home. We chlled together, watched TV, and then waited for the countdown on BBC One before ushering that new year in. It was a peaceful start to the new year. Here’s hoping it is a better one than last year!

• If we were having chai I’d mention that since the start of the year, I have already ordered a special journal to help organise my writing journey over the next couple of years. I have blogged every day, using the JusJoJan prompt, and read three books! It’s not groundbreaking, but I have also jumped on my mini trampoline for a very short while, but that’s longer than I have done for a long time, so, yay to that!

This week, I am dreading the start of school again. We already know of staffing issues that will be occurring due to people being unwell or isolating. Who knows what will happen once we are all back together… My aim – to get through the week, but also, to add in bits for me, so to exercise a couple of times, and get some writing done at least twice a week… Here’s hoping I can do it!

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

Oh, my, can you believe this will be the last weekly update of 2021?! This year has truly flown by, I have to say…

So it’s a Christmas recap, now. Are you ready?

• If we were having chai I’d begin by saying our family member who has been in hospital, was discharged on Monday, so we were all relieved. It is not a great place to be, at the best of times, but right now hospitals are the last place you’d want to be, so to have a vulnerable elder there was worrying for us all. Thank goodness. That was a good start to Christmas week!
• If we were having chai I’d tell you that I enjoyed may hot dtrnks, all thanks to that Tassimo machine we got Hubby Dearest. I have been indulging in a Chai Latte daily. I know, it’s a little decadent. but while I can. I should, isn’t that right?

• If we were having chai I’d say that we did brave Bluewater, one evening, because the male contingency were desperate to watch Spiderman, while Lil Princess and I spent a couple of hours wandering around, and trying to locate some last minute crackers. Old BoZo had announced that we were to be allowed to mix for Christmas, and we weren’t planning a party, however we would go to my In-laws, and my sis-in-law went to get the food, but forgot crackers. You’d think, in a place as large as Bluewater, that we would find some, but what a mission! We walked the whole way round the shopping centre, twice, upstairs and downstairs, and only found ones with whistles in, so you could play tunes (LP said ‘No way!’) some with skittle in so you could play a game (again LP ruled them out, along with the ones that played a Piggy Race game!) and there were shed loads of ones that were Fill-Your-Own style, but I didn’t have the time or energy to then find gifts for them. Eventually, at the last place we looked, I found some with little chocolates in them, and Charades prompts. She said yes. (I didn’t mention the Charades game, but she actually enjoyed playing it at the table, even though she had no clue how to! I think the hight from the presents and money she had received meant she was less sulky teen, and more giggle girl for the day!)
• If we were having chai I’d mention that where my reading has been very, very slow, I managed to read approximately a book a day, (actually, Maybe more…) including my first full reading of Charlotte’s Web! (I have had it forever, but never read it as a child, and Jennie is always talking about it, so I had to read!)

• If we were having chai I’d say that Christmas Day came round and we had a blast. I was awake early, but the rest surfaced a lot later. We got ready, and opened presents, before heading off to the In-Laws. Dinner was already on the go, and I stationed myself in the kitchen with my dear Sis-in-law, where we made the final preparations to the meal. Everything was delicious, and we had fun. It was lovely to be together after such a quiet one, last year. I have eaten so naughtily for the last few months, and this last week has been uber full of convenience foods, as well as rich, festive food and puddings. I mush be a healthier eater, soon!

• If we were having chai I’d tell you I feel blessed. The children were happy, Hubby Dearest was happy, and so was I. Did I mention that I got a fantastic present? Hubby Dearest bought me a new Kindle Oasis! I was toying with investing in one, to be honest, as I have never been one to get into audio books, however, this means I can now dabble! Plus it feels so great to hold. So light yet it feels decadent. My first finished book on there was The Art Of Spirit Capture by our own Geoff Le Pard. And it was a fantastic read! I thenk followed int with Mary Smith’s Donkey Boy and other Stories. I am determined to plough though my vast array of TBR books already on the Kindle, before buying more. I know this will be tough, becaue I can’t not by books, but I realise some I have are from years ago, and I have been putting all the ARCs ahead of them. So, I finished my last NetGalley ARC (Ithere will be more next year, but I shall be more discerning about what I request…) and started upon the TBRs. I do love a chance to just immerse myself in books!

• If we were having chai I’d mention that I am now waiting on a contract from said publishers… it could be a very different year for me, next year!
• If we were having chai I’d leave you with the cute pic of Sonu Singh, from his younger years, when he allowed me to dress him up! I have to admit it’s one of my favourite pics!

This week we have a couple of bank holidays, and I am hoping beyond hope that I am able to fit in my visit to Pops and Mum, even if it is only for a night. We then have the New Year to bring in, in our new home, which we are so excited about, too! And, it’ll be 2022 the next time we reconvene to chat about all things that happened the week before… and I’ll still be off school on that Monday, at least!

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

Aaaand… at ease, every educator out there! (Well, most of you, anyway. I know some schools are still going for a couple more days!) It’s the Holidays!!!!!!!

Are you ready with your drink?

• If we were having chai I’d have to start by telling you all about the nativity! So, we practiced every day, after our lunch hour, as the hall was always free then, and each day, I saw the children’s confidence, and performances getting better and better! Thursday arrived and I had a nervous tummy, I kid you not! It was also my directorial debut, so there were added nerves. New show, new songs… EEK! But, those children did us proud. There were one or two absences, but we managed to cover them. One of my SEN children was out, and the mothers of the other two sat with their children, to help them out with such a big change. One sat on his mum’s lap the whole way through. The other sat for a while, then did try and storm the stage a couple of times, but only to join in with the singing, and to check up on baby Jesus in the manger! The parents were happy, the children were wired, the staff were relieved! We did it!
• If we were having chai I’d tell you that the rest of the week was not quite a right-off, learning wise. We still had our activities, but the children were definitely in a heightened state of Christmas excitement. Maybe it was the consumption of chocolate with breakfast, as they cracked open their advent calendars each day. Or just that feeling of manic energy you get when you are all so tired. Or was that just us staff? Whatever it was the week went smoothly, even though we were all wondering if the Government would suddenly decide to put everyone on remote learning for the last week, seeing as the Omicron cases slowly rose. Part of me wanted this, as it could be the circuit breaker we may need, in order for everyone to have a decent Christmas. But, another part of me desperately didn’t want it to happen. Remote learning is a bummer for little children, and another end of term with no Christmas festivities for the children would have been awful. So thankfully, we got to the end of term. Crawling, I have to admit, but we got there!
• If we were having chai I’d say that I felt extremely spoilt and appreciated, again, with all the love showered on me by parents and colleagues. The whole team were, actually. I cant thank everyone, enough!

• If we were having chai I’d mention that even the Secret Santa gifts were gigglesome!

• If we were having chai I’d have to put this out there, though, especially… One of the little lads in my class, I have great affection for, because, even though we have some tussles with some of his choices, and behaviours, he really does try hard, and wants the approval and praise from the adults around him. After school finished, he came back with his mum with a beautiful box of biscuits from Fortnum and Mason’s along with this lovely message, that I want to frame and keep forever! The biscuit tin is also musical, so it’s another lovely keepsake!

• If we were having chai I’d let slip that I had a preliminary meeting with the publisher, on Friday, too… watch this space, is all I can say, right now!
• If we were having chai I’d let you know that the weekend was very, very quiet. We did hardly anything, but to be honest, I don’t think I could cope with much more than that, given the tiredness! The weekend involved, aong with a little laundry, grocery shopping, and housework (necessities!) plently of reading and drinking warm drinks! A perfect weekend!

• If we were having chai I’d share tghat even Sonu Singh decided to give me a lie in on Saturday, with no 5/6 am racket, demanding food. In fact, when I had fed him, and came back to lie down, for a little longer, he joined me!

This week will hopefully be finned with the joys of the festive season. We have a family member who hasn’t been well, and should be back in the family fold by the beginning of the week, and everyone is tentatively waiting for any last-minute announcements from the Government, regarding Christmas and mixing households… I am sure that I shall have at least two more trips to a supermarket, since the teens have turned into gannets, and even the shopping I did on Saturday seems to have already disappeared! Fingers crossed all the presents arrive as well, so I can get them wrapped. The next time we meet for a drink, will be the last Chai of 2021… where did this year go?

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!