JOB INTERVIEWS AND BEAUTY PAGENTS

cresting the hill

ON THE HUNT FOR A NEW JOB

I went for a job interview a few days ago - my first since leaving my last job behind me in the dust. It is a very strange feeling polishing up the resume and updating it and looking in the Situations Vacant columns in the newspaper or online (and realizing how few jobs are actually appealing).

IMPOSSIBLY EASY CAT SWEATER

midlife blog cresting the hill
Flit looking stunning (or is that 'stunned'?) in her new cat sweater

CAT SWEATER

As I have mentioned previously, I am incredibly useless when it comes to anything that involves craft. There is an occasional exception to the rule and this is one of them. I present to you the impossibly easy cat sweater!

IT'S MY HALF BIRTHDAY

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THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF BLOGGING

I can't believe it's been six months since I started this blog! I thought I'd be lucky to last six weeks.... and yet here I am celebrating my first half birthday!

HOW SWEET IT IS TO DO NOTHING AT ALL

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A WEEK SINCE LEAVING WORK

Well it's been a week since I finished up my last day at work. There was the lovely goodbye lunch and a thoughtful gift and BEST BIT OF ALL - my final pay cheque which included all my unused leave paid out and placed into my bank account..... a nice little buffer until I find another job.

WHAT DOES YOUR MIDLIFE CRISIS LOOK LIKE?

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A MIDLIFE DISCOVERY

As I got out of my car this afternoon I looked across at my new pushbike sitting in the garage and had to laugh. I think of my lovely new bike as my midlife purchase but it dimmed somewhat in comparison to the bike parked next to it!

APPARENTLY I'VE JOINED A CLUB

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JOINING A CLUB

Without even realizing it, I have joined a club - it turns out that there are a lot of midlife women who are tired of sucking up miserable jobs and have stepped out to take time for themselves.

FEELING VALUED......OR NOT...

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RELIEF AND REGRET

You know that feeling from your younger days when you broke up with a boyfriend and there was the relief but also the regret? Well that's a bit what leaving my job has been like. The kicker is that it feels like my metaphoric boyfriend has replaced me already!

FEELING A BIT CRAZY! I BOUGHT A BIKE!

There comes a time in Midlife where you get to do fun things for yourself. My first playful purchase was a new bicycle.

MY FIRST POST-WORK PURCHASE

It didn't take long for the less-than-employed craziness to take hold now that I have the head space to start thinking about what I'd like to do in the months ahead. We went out shopping last week and before I knew it - we'd bought me a bike to ride around the neighbourhood on - it even has a cute little carry basket for when I pop down to the library or the shops.

MIDLIFE MADNESS - I QUIT MY JOB!

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GLORIOUS UNEMPLOYMENT

Oh my goodness! As of this week I am officially no longer employed.....I'm working half time for a couple of weeks as part of giving in my notice and then by the end of May I will be jobless. Scary but liberating all at the same time!

SOME THOUGHTS ON MOTHERS DAY

midlife blog ~ cresting the hill
My mum and me - a couple of years ago

MOTHERS DAY AND WHAT IT MEANS

Mothers Day brings all kind of feelings my way. I get caught up in waiting for my "kids" to call and reading posts on facebook from friends who have their kids nearby and put up happy snaps. I always seem to want more from the day than what it actually provides.

GROWN UP COLOURING IN

one of my colouring-in efforts

MY SECRET LOVE

I have a secret love - unfortunately it is not anything that is remotely romantic or exciting but it is something that I find relaxing and strangely satisfying.....Yes it's colouring in. I thought I was the only grown-up in the world who loved spending time choosing colours and finishing pictures but it turns out that there are a lot of us out there.

FINDING JOY IN A FRAGILE LIFE

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MISSING OUT ON LIFE

I've spent a lot of my life missing out on the moment because I was always trying to be prepared for what was coming up next. Whether it was a rainy day or an unexpected glitch in the matrix or whatever surprise was in store for me, I wanted to be ready for it.

THIS IS THE GOLDEN AGE - MIDLIFE IS GOOD, RIGHT, AND REAL

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MIDLIFE SWIFT INSPO

I don't think Taylor Swift was referring to midlifers when she wrote State Of Grace, but the lyrics that said:

This is the golden age
Of something good and right and real

rang true to me about this stage of life. It is a golden age - time to take a breath and discover the person I have become, different to who I was and hopefully a better version of my younger self.

DO WE HAVE FRIENDSHIP QUOTAS THAT CHANGE AS WE AGE?

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PONDERING ON FRIENDSHIP

I've been thinking about friendships a bit lately and how many friends I have and how they relate to different aspects of my life. I've also wondered about whether there is a finite number of friendships that I can sustain at any given time.

I'M FIGURING OUT HOW TO BE HAPPY

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WHEN YOU'RE LESS THAN HAPPY

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately because I haven't felt truly happy for a long time. I certainly ave times when I'm happy and that's great, but there are a lot of times when I'm less than happy - not sad but just a bit blah.......as I said, "less than happy".