Hey guys, great to be back today for Friday Favorites. I haven’t shared much about what’s been going on in my world since I mostly do travel recaps, so I thought I’d recap some of my favorite things in May.
Before I get into that, here’s a link to my trip recap if you want to know more:
Singapore
Tokyo
Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea
Tokyo Dome Baseball Game
Osaka: Dotonbori Day and Night
Osaka Aquarium
Now on to my favorite things in May
A Day in Manly with Friends
We started May with a trip to Manly with some friends. These lovely ladies love to go on a daily adventure every few months, and this was our first outing. We had a beautiful day, and the weather felt more like spring than fall.
We took the ferry from Circular Quay,
then took a short walk around Manly, enjoying the beautiful beachfront before we found a place for lunch.
We chatted for hours over delicious food and a glass (or three) of wine.
Before we knew it, the sun had set, and it was time to go home.
The next day we were leaving on the 4th of July, and this time we headed south to Thirroul. I love a fun outing to look forward to.
Mother’s Day
It was Mother’s Day on May 10, and I bought two bunches of pink roses — one for me and one for my mother in heaven. After four years of not being able to stand having flowers in the house, this year I was finally ready.
When my mother died, I was overwhelmed with love with the most beautiful flowers from family and friends. I loved every arrangement, and the love that came from each gift was just what I needed. The problem for me is that the flowers wilt and eventually die, and every time I have to throw away the flowers, it breaks my heart. I really struggled with that for a long time.
For the past four years, Mother’s Day has been hard, harder than birthdays and Christmas. My family knows this, so we spend the day together and keep things simple. This year we did just that and had a wonderful day.
I was also pleased with myself that I was able to enjoy these beautiful pink roses on my dining room table for almost two weeks. I’m also looking forward to more bunches, especially in the spring. It feels like I’ve taken a step forward in stride, which is amazing because I love flowers so much.
I Found My Lipstick
In May, I finally gathered all my lipsticks… they were hiding in every handbag I owned.
Cute Lamp
I like different types of lighting around the house and very rarely turn on downlights on the ceiling. I think I only turn it on if I drop something and can’t find it. So when I saw this cute lamp at Kmart, I couldn’t resist it. It sits great on the dining room table, and is refillable. What a find!
Recent Fall Weather
Man, this fall has been so warm, and I’m not complaining. No, sir! I love being able to go out in a light shirt and throw a jumper over my shoulders just in case.
This week it has been raining continuously, mostly continuously. But don’t talk about it and just take the positive side. Most are still warm enough to wear a T-shirt and shorts around the house.
Swim Club Presentation Night
Last Friday was my husband’s swim club presentation night. He couldn’t go because he had to work, so I went on his behalf to collect his two trophies.
This was a great moment for both of us. For Steve, it’s because he loves swimming, is very competitive, and these trophies mean a lot to him. For me, I can’t swim, and I’ve never won a trophy in my life. So I can feel the thrill of winning… without actually doing any winning. It’s a win-win!
Favorite Foods in May
We enjoyed some delicious food outside. Like breakfast at Flower Power Cafe, where I enjoyed scrambled eggs with avocado on sourdough.
Steve and I also shared pancakes. They were too good, and next time I think maybe I won’t share.
There’s never anything wrong with pizza for dinner!
Comfortable meals at home are always a favorite, and we all love a juicy steak with chips and salad. I’m getting better at frying them in medium-rare portions. This one I cooked for two and a half minutes on each side, but next time I’ll try two and a half minutes on one side and two on the other. I would have liked the steak to be a little rarer.
I know my husband, the chef, can make it perfect because he has good technique. But this is a personal challenge, and I myself really want to master it.
Cousins Connect in May
In May, we had Cousin Connect at our place, and it was Mexican night. Yes, mostly Mexican, with nachos, rice and street corn salad. I also made sliders, which aren’t Mexican but are still delicious.
We lost six family members this month, but I’m glad we were still able to catch up even though we all couldn’t be there. Fingers crossed for next month!
And it’s my favorite thing about May. It’s been a great month, except this week when I came down with a really bad flu that kept me home from work most of the week. I went in today for the first time, and now I’m not feeling well, so I’m wondering if it was the best decision. I should have taken a whole week off, but I always felt so guilty for taking time off, even though I had months of sick leave.
This weekend is all about rest so I can recover properly. I hope you have a great weekend, and thank you so much for stopping by 😊
PakarPBN
A Private Blog Network (PBN) is a collection of websites that are controlled by a single individual or organization and used primarily to build backlinks to a “money site” in order to influence its ranking in search engines such as Google. The core idea behind a PBN is based on the importance of backlinks in Google’s ranking algorithm. Since Google views backlinks as signals of authority and trust, some website owners attempt to artificially create these signals through a controlled network of sites.
In a typical PBN setup, the owner acquires expired or aged domains that already have existing authority, backlinks, and history. These domains are rebuilt with new content and hosted separately, often using different IP addresses, hosting providers, themes, and ownership details to make them appear unrelated. Within the content published on these sites, links are strategically placed that point to the main website the owner wants to rank higher. By doing this, the owner attempts to pass link equity (also known as “link juice”) from the PBN sites to the target website.
The purpose of a PBN is to give the impression that the target website is naturally earning links from multiple independent sources. If done effectively, this can temporarily improve keyword rankings, increase organic visibility, and drive more traffic from search results.
