Day 326: This morning, Liquid Dub, Liquid DnB, Moustache Smilees, Aunty’s Bracelet and Foyles…

This morning reflects my mood =) grateful! / This is actually the most chilled out track list in the world. Especially the opening remix of Sweetheart of Kairi. Man you just feel like a balloon lifting higher and higher, getting smaller and smaller in the sky listening to this… =) Awesome. Grateful. / And this… well, this is just powerful! 😉 / Today, I discovered you could make moustache smilees! I know! ={O! The conversation went like this: Joanna:  holy shit can’t wait to hear this story :S me:  haha……yea….. Joanna:  okay defo lunch date me:  lol thought so =[p woah hahahah its a sticky tongue motuh with a moustache! new smileee!! Joanna:  Haha i love it =[) =[( ;[P me:  ) oh Joanna:  haha me:  OMG it has a tache!!! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA – Yea. In short? GRATEFUL! / Aunty, thank you so much again for my prayer beads. I will look after them and keep it close to me always =) / Thank you also for offering to bring home some presents for my sister. Really appreciate it =) / I ❤ Foyles. Best. Bookstore. Ever. x

 

Day 283: Late Birthday Pressies from Badger & Tash… and People you wish you knew in real life…

Badger, Tash – thank you so much for your card and presents! They absolutely made my day and couldn’t be more perfect. You know me well. I miss you both dearly. Here’s to all the times we laughed often, talked much and sat long =) With love, k. xxx / This site made me smile today =)

Day 169: Thai Iced Tea, Food… more food, and late Christmas presents from Sue…

Today, I have never been more grateful for food in my life. That… and Thai Iced Tea! / Thanks Sue, for my *special* heart-shaped stickers and cheesy Vegas fleece blanket =p More things to keep me warm and silly! Hurrah! x

Day 155: Christmas morning, booking my flights to Peru, my new OMM 35L rucksack and the fattest turkey I ever did see!

Grateful for Christmas morning and waking up to a tree stuffed full of presents =) / Thanks, Mom and Dad, for my new OMM 25L rucksack. Just what I need! =) / Glad I finally bit the bullet and booked my flights to Peru. AND am even more chuffed I get to spend a few hours in Miami beforehand =D / Mom – thank you very much for dinner. It ain’t Christmas without turkey. And it ain’t proper turkey unless it’s momma’s turkey! This has got to be the biggest, fastest bird I have ever seen. It was SCARY. And we were clearly defeated! NOM!

Day 154: Christmas Eve, Stocking Pressies and The Curran Times!

Grateful for traditions, especially around Christmas time. So tonight I’m grateful for: hearty family dinners to warm us up from the inside; single malt whiskey to keep me pacified and mum throughout a 2-hour, bilingual Noche Buena church service; my sister running around preparing churros, hot chocolate and (skimmed!) milk to leave by the window for “Santa”; the moment the clock strikes midnight so we can all open our stocking presents. / Grateful for my new Charles & Keith aviators; my new corduroy jeggings (radical I know!); my N-rit campack towel and my new yoga gear… Can’t wait til tomorrow! =D / So, so, so glad The Curran Times – our first online family newsletter – is finally done. And so grateful Campaign Monitor was so easy to set up and use! =) / MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! =)

Day 150: Finishing my handover, My Black Diamond Jawbone Jambox and getting a clock that sums up my life…

So glad I finished my handover on time today! The holiday begins… NOW! =D / Thank you, Louis, for our Christmas presents today. This Jambox thing is awesome =) I’m hoping it’s not just conference calls to Sydney I’ll be using this for? =p / Speaking of Sydney… thank you, Tom, for my Christmas present tonight. I cannot believe how accurately this clock sums up my life! Now I’ll always know when it’s time to call home, family and friends; when it’s time to work; when it’s time to pray; and when it’s time to focus on where I am in life, right here, right now. Amazing =) x

Day 149: Getting a surprise Christmas present from Jo at the end of a very long day…

Today was a very long day. Probably the longest day, consecutive amount of hours I’ve had to work yet. I have to admit – starting at 9am in the morning, working through lunch and then continuing to work in the office until 3 minutes to midnight isn’t exactly my cup of tea. And the only reason Jo and I left was because we had to catch the last tube home… Only to continue working for another hour or so from bed… It was a prolonged period of high stress, high frustration and high intensity – a classic example of how soul-destroying this industry / work environment can be. Note: I actually really do love my job. But I will also be the first to admit when I think I have been working too much/too hard and when the work-life balance has been thrown off-kilter somewhat. The way I see it? So long as I’m aware of what’s happening, it’s easy (enough) to remedy =) / So after a day (or few!) like that, what have I got to be grateful for? Easy. Jo – thank you so much for being such a radiant ray of sunshine and keeping upbeat the entire time even when I knew how knackered both of us were. / Thank you for nipping out into the cold to pick us up some Chinese take-out from round the corner. / Thank you for working equally as hard and for sitting next to me the entire time. I couldn’t have asked for better company! / And most of all, thank you for my surprise Christmas presents at quarter to midnight. Just when I thought I had, well, not a lot to be grateful for… I probably could have cried with relief, gratitude and exhaustion by that point! =p This really, really brought a smile to my face and nearly a tear to my eye! Love you x  – “Ahh! You nidded me a scarf!”