1. A belated birthday card arrives in the post, extending the celebrations slightly :)

2. I'm excited as I make birthday plans with old friends.

3. The teacher at school marks the end of placement with a thank you card and chocolate cake.

1. A delicious smell of bacon drifts down from the sandwich shop at the end of the road as they make the morning butties.

2. As I drive to school in the morning, the 'happy news' on Radio 1 makes me giggle.

3. The rain pours incessantly as I run, invigorated, along the deserted canal path.

1. We're staying at my boyfriend's parents' house and looking after their cat while they're away. While I'm saying goodbye to my boyfriend at the front door as he leaves for work, the sneaky feline quickly escapes between my legs. We spend a frantic minute trying to coax her back indoors because I have to go out soon too and we can't leave her outside all day. She eventually surrenders and we close the door quickly behind her.

2. At the special needs school where I'm currently on placement, the teacher surprises me this afternoon with a birthday party. She sends me on an errand and prepares the table in my absence. There's ice-cream, biscuits and a card, and everyone sings 'happy birthday' when I walk into the room.

3. Even though a couple of old friends fail to get in touch, I receive birthday messages from a handful of quite unexpected people. I comment that I'm beginning to learn more lately about who I am and who my true friends are. (Sorry for the cliche!)

4. We used to go out to eat quite regularly but now it's a once-in-a-while treat. Tonight is a treat night, and I savour every moment of the experience.

1. The uphill slogs on my afternoon running route are more than counterbalanced by the glorious rush of wind as I fly downhill to my finishing point.

2. I devour a selection of tips on frugality, aiming to live more minimally myself.

3. I emerge from the supermarket carrying only one bag after discovering that we need fewer things than we normally do during our weekly shop.

1. I love discovering old films, and the one I watch tonight immediately becomes one of my favourites. One of the central characters lives in a renovated railway carriage filled with quirky collections of nostalgia, and she sings a song about being who you want to be.

2. My little sister hands me a birthday card with her scrawling three-year-old handwriting forming the shape of my name on the envelope.

3. My mum is visiting for the weekend and she treats us to tea and a wonderful couple of hours in her company.

4. I sit in the living room with the curtains open. I notice the lights in my neighbours' houses turning on one by one as the sky slowly darkens.

1. The only other person I encounter as I wander through the churchyard in the morning is a woman walking her dog, and the only sounds I hear are birdsong and crickets in the grass.

2. On one of the hottest days of the year so far I consider abandoning my plan for a late afternoon run. However, I go ahead and end up enjoying the best run I've experienced since I ran the marathon over a month ago. I stick to shaded areas and appreciate my surroundings rather than focusing on my pace and timing.

3. At school, the students order refreshments in the classroom's 'Cafe Francais'. Hearing and using French vocabulary reignites a fascination of foreign languages and a desire to learn again.

1. A friend kindly treats me to an ice lolly on a hot and humid afternoon.

2. My boyfriend surprises me by getting out of work early, so I walk home with him :)

3. We sit in the living room with a cool breeze gently whispering through the open window.