On A Day With Many Deadlines...

... I am even more so grateful for my Nespresso machine! 

How Can It Be Monday Again?!

This past weekend just whizzed by in a whirl of activities - as per usual. Balletclass (Nahla), Spa-appointment for maternity massage - which was utter bliss (me) and putting together a chest-of-drawer for the baby (BF). As well as the usual cleaning, cooking, washing, shopping, lunching kind of stuff that goes down on any given weekend. It never cease to amaze me just how quickly those hours between Friday afternoon and Monday morning  go by.

And now; back to Monday, work and deadlines. Again. Maternity leave countdown: 7 weeks!

(Image via Pinterest)

Racing Towards More Deadlines...

... is Ok when you LOVE what you do. And I do. I LOVE my job. I LOVE that I get to write about some many different things and topics. I LOVE that get to talk to some many different people. That I get to travel. To see things. To sometimes struggle with an intro or ending to a story for hours, only for it to fall together perfectly in the end. I LOVE that my editors correct me and ask me to re-write things 400 times, or find new pictures for something, or talk to someone else about something. I LOVE how it makes me a better journalist and I LOVE how I learn new things every day.

My maternity leave starts in less than 2 months, and much as I am looking forward to it - which I am - I also know I will miss working for those 10 months something crazy. I know, I know, being home with newborn + having a 3-year old from before is hardly going to be a holiday, but it is different kind of work. Does it make me selfish that I would never give up work to stay at home full time? I don't think so - much as I also respect the women who decide to do so. I am a better person when I also get to go out and do what I trained to do. I think it makes me a better mum too. I can fulfill both parts of me, feel like I am contributing to the family economy, give my children good work ethics, get a breather where I am not just mummy, but also professional me. I feel blessed to be able to do both, and lucky that I can. 

Now; where is my coffee?!

(Image from Pinterest)

Happy Tuesday Night

Much as my days are a hectic blur of work, school-runs, ballet-classes, play-dates and family-time, it is important to squeeze in a little me-time too - as any mama will know. So tonight, as BF is glued to the TV and the Real Madrid game, I have filled the bath, slapped on my most favorite Sisley face mask, lit some candles and dug out a book I have been reading for months, yet never can seem to finish. Here's to blissful, delightful mommy-time!

In Between Deadlines...

... I do find time to read magazines on my iPad. As one does. Today's read: An interview with the lovely Rosie Pope in Parents magazine. I LOVE how Rose confesses how the whole family chills out in their PJ's on a Sunday. Just what Sundays should be all about!

I LOVE Mondays

Maybe that makes me a little crazy, but seriously; Mondays are the best! I love sitting down with a latte and my calendar and planning the week ahead. Like how many deadlines have I got this week. When are they due. Who am I meeting for lunch (I always try and schedule in a nice girly lunch with one of my girlfriends to brighten up a hectic week - and what is better than to get to try out a new on-trend lunch spot at the same time. This week: Thursday. Aoife. Damson Diner. Cannot wait). What am I cooking for dinner. What do I have to do/pay/organize/book/reschedule. When can I fit in some work-outs. And so on and so forth.

Mondays to me are like having a little mini-January 1st every week. A chance to start something new. To start over. So what if you are a bit crap last week and never made it to yoga-class? Today is a brand new start. It is just about grabbing it.

So stop feeling miserable on Mondays just because everyone else are. Mondays are what you make them. And you should always make the FABULOUS.

That Friday Feeling...

... when you have 7 articles under your belt from the week that just wrapped up. When you have navigated crazy traffic and torrential rain and then finally get to curl up at home. When plans are made for a cosy family weekend. When BF are out for Friday drinks with workmates and me and mini can have a total girl's night in. When you have candles burning and green tea brewing. When you know your bed is made up with fresh bedlinens upstairs. When all is right with the world.

Happy Friday, guys!

Short Week

... and yet nothing beats that Friday afternoon feeling! Collecting Nahla from playschool, heating up the yummy dinner purchased in Avoca earlier and getting into my PJ-bottoms long before I really should; Hello Weekend!

TGIF

PJ-bottoms, thick socks, candles, tidy house, fresh flowers, BF making dinner, TV, fresh magazines stacked on my table, toddler out of bath and ready for bed. Life is good!

This Is SO Me...

... or it most certainly was this morning, anyway, when I had instructed myself to get up before 7 AM, as I have about a million deadlines looming before our Greek getaway next week. But then BF and I had a little movie-date last night to see Ted (so freakin' funny!), then I got stuck into an old episode of KUWTK on E! Then I just "had to" reply to some e-mails. And so on and so forth. And before I knew it, it was after 2 AM. You might think this sounds late - but I am terribly for never getting to bed - and so last night really was just like any other night. Apart from the fact that I this morning felt as if I would donate my entire wardrobe to charity if somebody would just let me sleep for 15 minutes longer! Note to self: Must. Learn. To. Go. To. Bed. 

Although, I have discovered, there is a name for my problem: FOMO. Fear Of Missing Out. (Thank you Scott Disick!). See; you learn something from those Kardashians after all!

Hello Weekend

Friday. Phew. Not only have Nahla and Mummy traveled to Norway last Sunday to enjoy a few days of family-time, sunshine, shopping and holiday, but this busy mama has also had her hands (and head) full with articles, deadlines and research - oh, the life of a freelance journalist! So my lack of blog posts of late is purely down to the fact that I have not even had time to think about blogging, let alone find the time to do so. But; better times are ahead, I assure you!

DIY Manicure...

The beauty of working from home is that you can decide to do your nails mid how-to-shrink-you-pores feature. And so I did. And today; if I may say so myself, I am more than a little impressed with myself! Glitter french mani? Check. I KNEW that Deborah Lippmann nailpolish would pay for itself one day.

Breakfast Date...

... at my very favorite local café; VDC@Home. Sometimes you just gotta' start the day right! Happy Tuesday!

Today's Smoothie...

... also inhaled somewhere between kitchen, car and playschool: Soy yoghurt, fresh orange juice, pineapple and melon - with a little coconut-oil and a handful of hempseed thrown in for good measure. YUM!

The Lack Of Blog Updates...

... is purely down to being so busy with work that I don't even have time to think. Or clean my house. Or eat anything remotely cooked from scratch. Or keep up with the Kardashians. Or paint my nails. Or anything. Being a freelance journalist I admit it is a rather luxurious problem always being this busy and always having work to do, but I must admit I am seriously starting to look forward to HOLIDAYS!

My Feature...

... in the latest issue of (Norwegian magazine) Rom 123. I LOVE my job!

A Day In The Life

The drink: Popeye juice - as our favorite green is called forever more. Mummy and Nahla are equally obsessed.

The eyecandy: My office inspiration board. It makes me smile.

The outfit: Casual mama!

My office away from home: The local coffee shop.

The dinner: Asian salmon with garlic, lime and coriander wild rice. YUM.

The outing: A quick dash through the local Tesco. Oh, the glamour!

I NEED Coffee...

Seriously; I am banging my head on the table with writer's block, and I just need need need a venti latte to take the edge of! And to make it worse, I am out of skim milk AND soy milk, so no Nespresso latte to even see me through! Starbucks; here I come!

(Image Credit: Pinterest)

Monday Morning...

... hello new week; let's bring it on!

A Juggling Act

Trying to do a million things at once sometimes look a little bit like this:

1. Drop Nahla off to play-school (this is after getting her dressed, finding her undressed again 4 minutes later because she had decided she wanted to wear her tutu-skirt and heavy knit jumper instead of the outfit I had picked, re-dressed again in said self-chosen outfit, fed, undressed her to go to the bathroom - TWICE, peeled her away from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV and stuffed into the car)

2. Stopped at local deli for a nice coffee - to treat myself in anticipation of a hectic work-day.

3. Got home, switched laptop on, looked at the floods of e-mails ticking in.

4. Mentally re-energized myself with some online shopping (Hello, my-wardrobe.com!)

5. Got stuck in to some phone calls with a plastic surgeon, trying to research a story on why as much as 76 % of Norwegian women want to change something about their bodies.

6. Hung up phone, ready to write. Stuck for intro.

7. Glanced at online papers, realized today was the crucial day in the terrorist trial in Oslo, so had the whole prosecutor-speech on in the background.

8. Made myself a spinach juice.

9. Realized I had forgotten to bring in indoor shoes for Nahla, so had to make a dash to the play-school.

10. Back. Write. Intrigued by courtcase again. Prosecution going for insanity. Can't decide whether I agree or not.

11. Mentally plan dinner and what I need to buy later.

12. Write some more, then get sidetracked by having to re-write another story I was working on.

13. Hang up a machine of washing and watch more court-coverage.

14. Source images for cosmetic surgery story - amused by pictures of women with insanely large boobs. Weird.

15. Heat up tomato soup for lunch, eat it while watching court case.

16. Finish my intro on a story about the dangers of getting a sunburn. Celebrate by eating a chocolate biscuit.

17. Read a funny e-mail from BF and respond.

18. Catch the closing argument in the Oslo Courthouse. Stunned. Insane they say.

19. Force myself to write some more.

20. Re-apply make-up as I have to meet a friend for coffee at 4.

21. Write, write, write. Ups, got an e-mail about further reductions in the Harvey Nichols sale, HAVE to check that...

22. Mess around in Photoshop with illustration images.

23. Lose an image, like just lose it. Hello Apple, where do lost picture-files end up??

24. Ring BF and ask for help, he tells me Apple sucks and that I need a PC. We hang up on unfriendly terms. PC are just so ugly, does he not know me at all??

25. Close laptop, throw on some lipstick, run out the door.

Just another day at the office....