Whoop whoop, fruit salad, alone

1. I dismiss the group of people standing outside the doors as smokers having a break and stride into the shopping centre. As I step through the sliding doors, a loud WHOOP WHOOP alarm sends me scuttling back outside. Someone comments that it is a practice emergency evacuation, the second in two weeks, but when I go around to my car there is a fire engine standing outside the other doors. I am glad that I wasn't caught by the evactuation half-way through shopping, wasting my morning. This way, I can just shop when I pick Aiden up from childcare instead.

2. Orange and kiwi fruit salad for breakfast.

3. The first day of term three. I can finally get stuck into my urgent work with no interruptions.

Muffins, gym, extension

1. Baking banana raspberry choc-chip muffins with the kids.

2. Going to the gym and keeping my heart-rate up.

3. Another client just gave me an unasked-for extension. The juggling just got a little easier.

Baskets, work, pasta

1. Last day of term one and a week until Easter: the kids both come home with little cardboard baskets they made at school/preschool, full of little chocolate eggs. Which they promptly eat. 2. Worked hard today and feel I got quite a bit done. 3. Home-made elegant lunch of tagiatelle ribbons with bacon, mushrooms and garlicy cream.

Erotic romance, lemon rice, hail

1. A new freelance job - editing an erotic romance novel. Much more fun than academic texts. 2. I make lemon rice and the kids have three helpings each. 3. Interesting weather: a cool morning, warm afternoon, sudden dark clouds, hail, back to clear.

Bark, chat, work

1. The satisfying CRUNCH of a thick piece of bark under my foot.

2. A friend comes over for tea and a chat, and her kids and my kids play together beautifully as usual.

3. Earned some freelancing money today.

Vegetables, finished, mulch

1. The raised garden beds are finished and the soil was wheelbarrowed down the driveway and shovelled in by Mr Wonderful, so today I took 4-year-old Aiden to the nursery and we chose 10 punnets of vegetables to plant out the moment it stops pouring rain: tomatoes, green peas, snow peas, zucchini, button squash, chives, sage, sweet corn, cucumber, and ... can't remember no. 10.

2. I completed a 50 hour (spread over 4 weeks) freelance project today. With my limited time, this meant evenings and weekends. It was a relief and a triumph to get it done in time - in fact a day early - so that I can do some other things I was hoping to have time for in the next couple of days before I get stuck into the next one. In fact, tomorrow I am taking some of my reading to a cafe and sitting with a hot chocolate and a view of the hills. Luxury. I can only take on one major freelance job a month (as well as my other work), and since doing my little bit of advertising I have got enough enquiries to keep me busy.

3. I remembered the tenth vegetable ... butternut pumpkin. And I also got some mulch to put between the two raised beds so I don't get sticky clay-covered shoes every time I attend to my new seedlings.

Roast lamb, a freelance job, engagement present

1. Roast lamb. Tender meat, crunchy skin. All my secret herbs and spices that I disclose to no-one. Mmmmm.

2. A freelance job! I have my ongoing independent contractor work, but this is only my second freelance job since I started by own business 4 months ago. And it is a fantasy romance novel - my absolute favourite. We are negotiating the price now. She probably can't afford what my time is worth, but tell you a secret ... I'll probably do it anyway!

3. We went shopping to get my brother-in-law and his fiancee an engagment present and chose some lovely light-blue towels. Traditional perhaps, but nice. They were in a gift box: 2 towels, 2 hand towels, 2 face washers. And they even turned out to be on sale, which we didn't know until we got to the check-out. My husband is now worried that we didn't spend enough! But it's only the engagement, we'll get something big for the wedding.