WHERE HAVE I BEEN?
Honestly, I’ve felt a bit uninspired lately in lots of aspects of my life. When I have less on my plate, I’m less inclined to find creative outlets. Most of my days have been filled with kitten cuddles and all the wonderful heat of summer. I have found a job that I’ve been pleased with (more on that below) and I’m so excited for my summer travel I have coming up.
Some of my favorite things
My new Coffee Machine – After about 3 weeks of no soda, I wanted to get myself a treat to help me stick to it. While I have some problems with the longterm effects of pod coffee machines, it has really helped me stop drinking soda and save money day to day. I really enjoy my machine – you can allegedly cold brew but that’s not my style. I only use the hot side. It’s a simple machine which I got on sale for 50% off and I definitely am glad I joined the coffee machine ranks.
The Last Tzars – I’m a sucker for documentaries. That’s not a secret. But this documentary is interesting in its format. The Last Tzars focuses on the Romanov family and features elements of drama as well as documentary style experts. I thought the acting was pretty good and I liked the experts. At only 6 episodes, it’s digestible for a weekend. Overall, a big favorite.
Teaching Online through VIP KID – To be totally honest, I don’t know why it took me so long to apply to teach online. While it took me two tries to find the company which fit my needs and wants, I really am enjoying this job. I teach at home for at most a few hours in a day to overwhelmingly sweet and well behaved kids. The pay is decent – your rate depends on a number of factors but I’m really pleased about my rate. While it does take a little preparation, especially initially, now that I’m in the groove, I find it to be a pretty awesome job.
The Sims – I’m not ashamed. I like the Sims. All my friends are out of town for the summer. While I don’t relish spending more time a day on my computer, what can I say? I’m a huge Sims person. I pop on a podcast and play Sims 3. I specifically didn’t purchase and download Sims 4 just because I prefer the expansions of Sims 3.
Two Updates
Planner
My planners are going great. In the past few months, I’ve really found a stride in Bullet journaling especially. I’ve been back into making myself little doodles for my daily tasks. I’ve been loving my themes. Although I definitely don’t love my cover pages, I have found using the themes I picked in my spreads has been easy and fun. Plus I feel like the last two color stories have been among my favorites.
My Erin Condren really isn’t changing much to be honest. I found a style I like and I mostly just stick to it. But I figured I would share some of my recent spreads including a monthly spread which I started to add in much more memory keeping aspects.
Kitten Update
My kittens, Bowie and Margo, are doing excellent. Seriously, things couldn’t have gone better in terms of their relationship. These two weirdos are best friends. I love seeing them together everyday, playing, cuddling or cleaning each other. They are the sweetest best friends ever.
Bowie is still a momma’s boy. He loves to be picked up and cuddled. He always sleeps next to my head on the bed until the morning when he very enthusiastically wakes me to give him wet food. Bowie is almost always the one to greet me at the door when I step out. He demands my attention no matter how much I’m carrying at the time. He loves Margo and is so cute to her. His favorite toys are pipe cleaners – he loves to fetch.
Margo is a little more complicated. Girlfriend has three moods: ferociously playing, sweetly sleepy, and “you aren’t my real mom.” She is a sassy little girl sometimes. More and more I realize that she loves me. She lately has been sleeping next to me when I work. That being said, she is the most mischievous cat I have ever had. If there is somewhere Margo shouldn’t go, she goes there. If there is something she shouldn’t play with (cat litter, teaching materials, headphones) it doesn’t matter how much I hide it – she will find it. She’s not as bite-y as Bowie but she does sometimes bite my feet before bed. I am so happy to have this little pink babe in my life.
What’s next?
At the end of July, I’ll hit the road for two weeks to see three of my favorite people. First, I’ll be in the South of France seeing Janet and Daniel. Janet and I were really trying to make some sort of meeting work but because we both waited so long to look into tickets to each other’s location, the prices were too high. Luckily, for her and I to meet in France was absolutely doable. As an added bonus, I already had plans to meet my buddy Daniel for a weekend in Provence with his friend group.
Then I’m meeting one of my favorite humans, Alain, in my favorite city, Copenhagen, for a few days. I am so looking forward to being back and showing Alain all the reasons I absolutely love Copenhagen. It’s going to be amazing.
I am having a little bit of anxiety leaving my babies behind for the two weeks. Luckily I have a fantastically responsible student who I was able to hire for this time to check in on the babes. It would be a lot different if it was only Bowie but now that he has Margo, I know they won’t be too lonely. Any cat moms with advice – I would be happy to hear about how you handle the separation!
The Minimalist Abroad 