Well… hello.
If you’ve noticed things are a little quiet around here lately, first of all, thank you for sticking around.
Secondly… I owe you all a bit of an explanation.
You might have spotted that May came and went without a Wrap-Up post, and honestly, life has just felt a little extra full lately.
Not in a bad way, and nothing dramatic—just one of those seasons where life seems to fill up every spare minute, then cheekily asks if you’d like a little overtime for good measure.
The last few months have felt like a gentle (and sometimes not-so-gentle) spin cycle of work, responsibilities, school runs, family life, and all those little things that come with being a grown-up. Somewhere in the middle of it all, I realised I wasn’t just busy…
My motivation had quietly packed its bags and slipped out the back door.
And honestly, admitting that out loud has been trickier than I expected.
When Your Favourite Hobbies Stop Feeling Fun
One of the biggest signs that something was off was my reading.
Usually, books are my comfort place.
They’re where I disappear when life gets noisy.
Except… I haven’t really been reading.
Partly because my motivation decided to take an extended holiday.
And partly because, in a true act of chaos, I’ve somehow managed to misplace my Kindle.
Yes. My actual Kindle.
Gone. Vanished.
It’s vanished into that mysterious dimension where matching socks and TV remotes go to start new lives.
I’ve searched everywhere I can think of—drawers, bags, the car, under cushions, beside the bed, and even those random places that make absolutely no sense but somehow feel necessary to check.
Nothing.
At this point, I think I’m officially working my way through the five stages of Kindle grief.
Denial: “It’s definitely in the house.”
Anger: “How do you lose an entire Kindle?!”
Bargaining: “If I tidy every room, surely it’ll appear.”
Depression: “My books…”
Acceptance: “Maybe it lives in Narnia now.”
Pixels Have Been Missing Too
Gaming hasn’t really made an appearance either.
Normally, there would be some Sims stories, screenshots, builds, or random gaming adventures making their way onto the blog.
Instead, well…Nothing.
Not because I don’t want to.
I just haven’t had the spark for it.
You know those phases where even the hobbies you usually adore start to feel like just another thing on the to-do list?
That’s exactly where I’ve been lately.
I kept opening games, staring at the screen for five minutes, then closing them again.
The motivation just didn’t want to show up.
The Grey Hair Incident
And then…
The universe decided I needed one last little nudge.
I found my first grey hair.
My first.
Actual.
Grey.
Hair.
Now, logically, I know this means absolutely nothing.
People get grey hair.
It’s normal.
It’s part of life.
But for some reason, it felt like the official notice that my days of pretending to be twenty-one are well and truly over.
That tiny silver strand really looked me in the eye and said:
“Welcome to the next chapter, bestie.”
So naturally, I spent a good ten minutes staring at it in the mirror, questioning every life decision I’ve ever made.
Between losing my Kindle, juggling work and mum life, and now discovering my first grey hair, May seemed determined to keep me firmly grounded.
The Great Heatwave & My AI Experiment
As if May wasn’t already testing my patience, the half-term holiday rolled in—bringing a full-blown heatwave along for the ride.
Now, some people absolutely thrive in hot weather.
I am not one of those people.
The minute the temperature starts to climb, so does my grumpiness.
I become less productive, more sweaty, and infinitely more likely to complain about the weather every five minutes.
So, unsurprisingly, the heatwave did absolutely nothing to help my already questionable motivation levels.
However, while hiding indoors and trying not to melt into a puddle, I found myself wandering down a completely different rabbit hole.
AI image creation.
Yes, yes, I know. It’s controversial.
I can already hear the comments.
But honestly, I had fun with it.
The reality is that not everyone can draw, paint, illustrate, or afford to commission artwork whenever they have an idea lingering around in their head.
Sometimes it’s nice to simply play with prompts and see what gets created.
After a lot of experimenting, tweaking, and laughing at some truly cursed attempts, I ended up with this adorable little caricature-style version of myself and all the things I love.
Tea? Included.
Books? Included.
The Sims? Included.
Baking? Included.
Snacks? Obviously included.
It’s ridiculously cute and honestly made me smile more than I expected.
So if loving my little AI-created mini-me is wrong, I’m more than happy to live with it.
Judge me if you must.
I’ll be over here, sipping tea with my mini-me.
The One Thing That Did Spark Some Joy
IInterestingly, there has been one thing I’ve still found myself excited about.
Theme Night Dinners.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been giving the entire collection a bit of a spruce-up and overhaul.
What started as a simple tidy-up somehow turned into a full-blown renovation project.
You know that feeling when you think, ‘I’ll just update a few things,’ and suddenly you’re knee-deep in redesigning layouts, tweaking wording, creating new sections, reorganising files, and questioning every decision you’ve ever made?
That.
The funny thing is that every time I thought I’d finished, another idea would pop into my head.
A new section for a host guide. A better way to structure playlists. A more detailed activity sheet. An updated printing guide. A different layout for invitations.
A completely unnecessary but very fun extra detail that absolutely nobody asked for except me.
So while reading hasn’t happened, gaming hasn’t happened, and blogging has been a little quieter than I’d like, I’ve somehow spent a surprising amount of time slowly working my way through this Theme Night Dinner overhaul.
It’s definitely been a slower process than I first imagined, but honestly, I’m okay with that.
It’s one of the few creative projects that’s kept me smiling during a month when motivation has been in very short supply.
And when the ideas keep arriving, who am I to argue with them?
I think that’s why I’ve kept coming back to it.
There hasn’t been any pressure.
No deadlines.
No expectations.
Just me, a cup of tea, and a brain that keeps deciding—usually at the most random times—that what I really need to do is redesign a playlist sheet for the twentieth time.
Honestly, there are probably easier hobbies out there.
But somehow, it’s been exactly what I needed.
And when the new ideas finally stop appearing—unlikely, but you never know—I’ll hopefully have a collection of Theme Night Dinners that feels even better than before.
Peering Ahead
I’m trying to find my motivation again.
Slowly. Very slowly.
No huge promises. No dramatic comeback plans.
Just handling things one day at a time.
Unfortunately, June is already shaping up to be a bit chaotic, with two straight weeks of overtime on the horizon—so spare time is about to become a rare and mythical creature around here.
But after that?
School summer holidays aren’t too far away.
Honestly, I’m holding onto that thought like it’s a lifeline.
Longer evenings.
A slightly slower pace.
A family week long holiday to reset.
Maybe finding my Kindle.
Maybe reading again.
Maybe at last opening The Sims and actually playing for more than ten minutes.
And hopefully, getting back into the swing of things around here too.
Something New & Exciting
Now for some happier news.
Today (6th June), something arrived that I’m ridiculously excited about.
A monthly snack subscription box featuring snacks from around the world. And if you know me at all, you’ll know this is basically my dream delivery.
Books? Great.
Snacks? Also great.
International snacks? Even better.
The first box arrived today, and I’m already thinking it could be a really fun thing to share here on the blog.
Taste tests. Favourite finds. Surprising flavours. Things I absolutely would buy again. Things that probably should have stayed in their country of origin.
You know, for the sake of very important research.
So keep an eye out—this might just become a new little series around here.
Final Thoughts
I think sometimes we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to always be productive.
To always create.
To always have something exciting to share.
The truth is, sometimes life just gets busy.
Sometimes motivation quietly disappears.
Sometimes you lose your Kindle to the great unknown.
Sometimes a single grey hair can send you spiralling into a mini existential crisis.
And sometimes, a random snack box from the other side of the world is the thing you end up most excited about all month.
So that’s where I’ve been.
Still here.
Still around.
Just moving at a gentler pace for a little while.
Hopefully, I’ll be back soon sharing books, Sims adventures, theme nights, random life updates, and whatever other gentle chaos finds its way onto Between the Pages & Pixels.
Until then, thank you for being patient.
And if anyone knows where lost Kindles go when they disappear, do let me know.
I’m honestly running out of places to look.
Come Chat
Have you ever completely lost motivation for your hobbies for a while?
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever lost and never found again?
Are you a heatwave lover or a heatwave hater?
And most importantly…
Have you found your first grey hair yet, or am I officially joining a club nobody warned me about?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Between the Pages & Pixels 