What’s New Wednesday – PLAYWORKEATREPEAT

Hey friends, it’s great to have Shay back for What’s Up Wednesday. The last time I joined the group was September last year. Then everything got the better of me with work and I had to put a stop to my blog.

After a great summer vacation, I’m excited to be back and looking forward to a much better year at work. We have had two staff development days and tomorrow we are meeting the new children entering preschool. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little traumatized after last year, but it’s going to be okay, right?

Anyway, I’m going to stop the nervous chatter and talk a little about January. Thank you very much for stopping by.

January What’s new Wednesday

WHAT WE EAT

One of the best things about staff development days is being able to enjoy a team-cooked lunch. This time we had salads, mini chicken schnitzel burgers and fruit. My insides are already thanking me for all these fresh and healthy choices.

Last night, my husband cooked Veal Hunter with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Tonight he made a chicken stir-fry with vermicelli.

Tomorrow night we’re going out to dinner, and after that I have no idea what we’ll eat on Friday or over the weekend. I think I’m taking a break from meal planning this year. With Steve cooking three nights a week, we just chat about those nights, and the rest of the time I wing it.

WHAT I REMEMBER

I miss the days when my children were little and we all lived under the same roof. Wow, those days have gone by so quickly! There is an eleven-year age gap between my boys, and when they were younger, I often wondered if we had any issues in our heads for waiting so long to have another baby.

It wasn’t always easy having a teenager and a toddler at the same time, and they weren’t always the best of friends back then. Fortunately, everything has changed. Even though my eldest has moved away, they love each other, are in regular contact, and my youngest looks up to his older brother for everything from life advice, world political news, and of course, everything gaming.

WHAT I LIKE

Sitting on the veranda in the warm sun.

WHAT WE DID

We kicked off 2026 by booking a trip to Singapore and Japan. Yeah!

I repainted the living room with a fresh coat of white paint.

During summer vacation, we enjoyed eating at our favorite places and trying new ones.

We tried Jimmy’s Kitchen, a Greek restaurant on the rocks, and I think it was one of our favorite new discoveries. The food at Jimmy’s Kitchen was delicious and walking around Sydney Harbor at night was magical. Seeing the Opera House lit up never gets old.

We enjoyed a little Cousin Connect at our house in January, as most of the cousins ​​were away.

WHAT I DEAR

Sam is leaving for Bali tomorrow for 7 days with his friends. I wouldn’t exactly say I dread it, but I know the worrier in me is going to be…well, worried. I know he will have a great time and he is doing what young people do: having an adventure with his friends. It’s all part of life and I’m really happy that he has this opportunity. But I will be so happy when he comes home.

WHAT I WATCH

I watched The Nanny and now my husband is hooked.

WHAT I LISTEN TO

I’m starting to listen to Lovefly podcasts again to prepare for our Cousin Connect adventure. Did I mention I’m afraid of flying? Probably only about a million times.

WHAT I WEAR

Now that the holidays are over, it’s back to work clothes for me. I have a capsule summer wardrobe of comfy pieces from Uniqlo. It’s usually a black, white, or green t-shirt with linen pants or shorts… and then repeat.

WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND

I have no plans at the moment.

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH

It’s my birthday month and I’m keeping the tradition of doing something special every week for the entire month of February. Just a few spontaneous things I wouldn’t normally do, nothing major. I started this after my work friend, who has her birthday the day before mine, told me all about how she does it. She shared it with me after I complained about getting older.

And there you have it, January is almost over. How was your month of January? I hope it was a good one 😊