Happy Monday

Oh dear! Another week of the universe being a huge meanie. This time it was the loss of a job (that I was ready for really, a management restructure thing) but the loss of those work-friends has really hit me hard. People that you grow to know so well without actually being close enough to hang out for coffee. I remember details about people's lives, ask after their kids, their parents; and to suddenly not know how J's final exams went or whether A got on OK with her braces has really made me very sad. Plus, I am now officially on a very low income until something else comes bounding around the corner so there may just be a series of 'interesting ways to serve beans on toast' coming up.

The good thing about the tough weeks is that focussing on the happy stuff is a challenge and I do like a good challenge. It is really important though. Most of the time you don't have that much control over the things that happen in your life but, without meaning to sound like a self-help book, you do have control over the way you deal with them and move on. Looking for the moments of joy stops the moments of darkness, crippling self doubt, betrayal and loss from being overwhelming (yep, that has been my week).

Things that made me happy this week:

:: I finally watch "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; heartstring-tugging, hilarious and poignant. Just magical. Visually beautiful too. Just go see it.

:: This amazing chocolate pudding that a friend brought over for dinner. I haven't even edited this picture- just look at the gorgeous natural ooze.

:: Gorgeous Natural Ooze- three words that should never be put together. I am not going to apologise though because I am still giggling.

:: A serious indulgence of my not so inner wine-nerd when I was taken on a fantastic wine-tasting tour of a nearby winery. The winemaker is one of those experimental, passionate, uber-talented ones and it was such a good experience; trying new wines out of barrels and discussing differences in the winemaking approach. Plus, I actually understood 95% of what he was talking about. Perhaps just as well because I have an exam in a few weeks.

:: My exceptionally clever boy got accepted into the Masters program he wanted. It is so wonderful to see him so enthusiastic about something again and with so much drive and purpose.

:: The young staffy (Staffordshire Terrier) Ted and I have been meeting on our morning walk. He is about six months old and one of those puppies that beam exuberance. I love watching him chase his lead and barrel about without any style or grace. I laugh and laugh. He has really cool parents too.

:: The parma the size of my head (actually probably bigger) that The Bookworm cooked for dinner on my job-loss day. Even with my expandable stomach I couldn't eat it all (fantastic lunch the next day too), it was so ridiculous that it snapped me out of my blue funk. If you follow me on Instagram you may have already seen this- that is a 26cm diameter frying pan there my friends. Still smirking.

For the non-Aussies, Parma is a Melbourne institution. Even the posh pubs will usually have a parma on the menu. Short for parmigiana (because we shorten the name on everything in Australia), a traditional Italian dish. In Australia it is a fried schnitzel topped with thick tomato sauce (pasta sauce really), ham and cheese and then grilled so the cheese melts. Totally healthy.

:: Listening to the rain on the roof as I fell asleep on Friday night. One of my favourite sounds and feelings in the world- safe, warm, sleepy, and so thankful that I am one of the lucky ones with a roof over my head.

Happy Monday lovely ones. Keep your fingers crossed I have a good'un this week please :)

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