Blog June Day 4

I'm in a bit of a rush this morning as I have to leave to work early as I am heading up to Grafton HQ to do some book selecting.  I have mentioned previously how much I enjoy book selection so this won't be a chore.  After the book selection, the branch coordinators will have a catch up meeting.  It's good to catch up regularly face to face because sometimes when you are back working at the branches it is hard to sit down and think about where we are all going and if we are on track.

We will be reviewing our strategic plan/action plan this month to ensure we are on track and to make any changes, so it is a good time to meet.

I'm a bit stumped what to write about today.  It's foggy outside and I'm up slighly earlier than usual so perhaps my brain is foggy too.  I have some ideas in the my head but am not sure how to get them out onto the blog.  We all suffer writers block at some stage but I didn't think I'd be suffering it this early on.

Since #blogjune started I have been reading many more blogs then I usually do and I am always interested in learning more about colleagues and friends that I connect with via social media.  Some of these people I have not met face to face so it is nice to catch glimpses of their professional lives and sometimes personal tidbits.

Yesterday, Jo shared her usual breakfast routine.  I liked that Jo did this because it gave me a glimpse of her morning and it is usually that time of the day that I am catching up with her on social media.  Not that I imagine her in her night gown or anything - it just shares a little bit of Jo that I didn't know about.

My morning (during the week) starts at 6.30am (usually a bit earlier as I never let the alarm wake me up).  I drag myself out of bed (especially in winter) and make lunch for my daughter and I.  I keep telling myself I should make it the night before so I have more time to play on the computer in the morning, but no I always leave it till the morning.

Once lunch is ready, I get my cereal ready.  I love cereal and try to mix it up a bit.  I use a big bowl and cram it full.  Don't they say we should have a breakfast made for kings??!!  I follow this with a hot milo.

I head into the computer room (i.e. study) and start my morning catch up.  Emails, facebook, twitter and google reader.  I then do the weather, Coffs Coast Advocate and Queensland Times.  I sometimes sneek a peek at the real estate page because I just like looking at what's on the market around the place.

It's amazing what articles and websites you can pick up on when reading other's facebook, twitter and blog posts.  I usually find I do a lot of professional reading in the morning.  And I hope to find some articles/blog posts that I can share on twitter as well.

At some point - usually around 8am I have to get small one up and ready for school.  She takes after her dad and likes to sleep in, especially now it's winter.  On the weekends it's hard to get her up before 9am so I usually just let her sleep.  Gives me a bit more time to myself as hubby likes to sleep in too.

Getting small one up is fun.  I usually sing a little song - the words escape me at the moment - then sometimes if I'm feeling particularly cruel I put my cold hands on her or tickle her neck or ears until she wakes up.  Because it is winter I try and get her dressed while she is still in bed.  Then she likes for me to carry her out to the lounge room (I know she is getting a bit big for this at 6 but it is her routine) and put her on her favourite spot on the lounge - usually next to our cat, Sabine - and put a blanket over her.

Then I make her breakfast of a nutella sandwich and get the tv on to one of her favourite shows.  At the moment she likes watching Handy Manny.

Then I sneak back to the computer or do the dishes or run around like a mad woman getting ready to leave.

While I enjoy my computer time in the morning, what I'd really love to be doing is a nice brisk morning walk.  Pre child, every morning I would get up early and go for a walk.  It would freshen me up for the day.  I enjoy doing this when I'm away for zone meetings or conferences but would love to do it everyday.  So I'm hoping one day small one learns how to get her own breakfast and get the tv on so I can be out doing an early morning walk.

So that's my morning (and thanks Jo for the idea).  Now it's time to hit facebook, twitter, google reader etc to get my morning started.