One of the things I do is to work as part of the team which produces the annual Catholic magazine, FRANKLY (not to be confused with the women’s arty/crafty/fashion magazine Frankie).

FRANKLY is pretty cool; it’s designed to be given as a gift at Christmas Eve Masses or other special events in the life of a parish, school, or other organisation. So it’s sold cheaply in bulk to those guys, but people can order their own copy if they wish.

It’s smart, thought-provoking, inspiring, warm, and with a generous sprinkling of humour. Topics include parenting, relationships, money, culture, and life issues, and there are beautiful photo spreads and interviews with interesting people.

It’s a high-quality production and it takes a ton of work to put together! Work on the 2018 issue (which comes out in the last quarter of 2017), is in full swing at the moment. I’ve been working a few more hours than usual this week as a result and the kids have been great at getting up a little earlier so that I can get them off to school and preschool and into the office close to 9am. I’m re-jigging their afternoon arrangements as well. Soon they’ll all be able to get themselves off to school and back again by various buses, but we’re not quite there yet with the two littlies.

I haven’t found it too hard to get up 30 minutes earlier in the morning myself when my husband always has the coffee ready, has unloaded the dishwasher, and got the kids’ breakfast things on the table. Tomorrow I’m not needed on FRANKLY and will be working from home, probably on a Catholic Weekly column. I’ll enjoy having the house to myself for a few hours.

Today was the feast of Sts Joachim and Anne, so dinner was pizza as a treat for our Joey’s feast day. A couple of slices of pizza with a rocket and beetroot leaf salad (and a glass of red wine for me) is a pretty nice mid-week dinner!