Christmas is coming...

and I've definitely been in a festive mood over the last couple of days. Maybe it's down to the fact that we've started putting our Christmas decorations up or that I watched a local theatre company's pantomime yesterday afternoon. And it definitely could also be a result of the present wrapping, Christmas card writing and festive music listening I've been doing today. It might even be because of the chilly direction the weather has finally taken; there may have been the teensiest bit of snow last night which would mark the first of the winter here in Manchester. But whatever the cause of this Christmassy feeling, the result is still the same: a sense of contentment and good cheer that not even a pesky cold can dampen :-)

So in honour of my new found Christmas spirit, I thought I'd share a few of my favourite Christmas themed craft and decoration ideas from Pinterest...hope you enjoy!! Oh,and if you're a pinner too, let me know. Or follow me. Or better still, both!!

Source: cache.elizabethannedesigns.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: cache.elizabethannedesigns.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: darlingdoodles.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: creativetryals.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: redheadscraftmorefun.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: carlyrobertson.typepad.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: pughs-news.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

And that's all for now. 'Til next time...

My Christmas To-Do List

Today is November 30th. And that, my friends, means 2 things. Firstly, it's December tomorrow! Can you believe it? I certainly can't; this year has gone by faster than any I've ever known. And secondly, Christmas is only 25 days away!! I'm so excited...even if I am working up to Christmas Eve :-( However, that doesn't mean I'm going to miss out on any of the Christmas spirit. I've already bought most of my Christmas presents, sampled the festive offerings at Starbucks and visited Manchester's Christmas Markets and I've got much more planned besides. And inspired by Amy over at Just a Titch who posted her Holiday To-Do List a couple of weeks back and Elizabeth at E Tells Tales who wrote about her Christmas traditions in her most recent post, I've decided to create my own Christmas To-Do List. And here it is:

• Help decorate my house this weekend...we always do this on the first full weekend in December, it's tradition!
• Enjoy more festive food and drink at Starbucks...I'm especially excited by their "12 days of gifting" promotion :-)
• Make more solo and group trips to the Manchester Christmas Markets and indulge in hot chocolate with whipped cream, delicious freshly made Belgian waffles and maybe even a cheeky mulled wine ;-)
• Bake Christmas goodies...I'll be breaking out my old favourites like gingerbread and chocolate Christmas pudding truffles,as well as trying some new recipes too...so watch this space!
• Wrapping all of my Christmas presents and writing some Christmas cards, preferably with a soundtrack of Christmas favourites or with a Christmas film playing in the background.
• And on the topic of Christmas films, I'll definitely be watching the following this festive season: Elf, Love Actually and The Holiday. I'll also make sure I slip in a little Kiss Kiss Bang Bang...my favourite non-traditional Christmas film bar none :-)
• Attending the candlelight carol service at my family church
• Hopefully spending Christmas Eve with my closest friends, chatting, maybe listening to Christmas tunes and sharing in the Christmas spirit

And there we have it! So all that remains is for me to ask you, what are your Christmas traditions? Have you made a to-do list? Let me know...it'd be great to hear from you!

'Til next time,

Julie

Thursday Thoughts Round 2

So, I was sat here facing a familiar predicament...I wanted to blog but I had NO idea what to write about. Then it hit me...It's Thursday! Now at this point you'll probably be thinking "Well, that's all well and good but what's that go to do with anything?" Well, I'll tell you. As it's Thursday, I can just have a complete ramble, call the resulting post "Thursday Thoughts" and feel absolutely legitimised in doing so :-). So, without further ado, here's what I'm thinking about this Thursday:

• A Christmas or New Year getaway: Yes, you read that correctly! It may only be July but I'm already skipping forward to December! Why? Because my friends and I have decided that, instead of buying each other Christmas presents and going out for a meal as we usually do, we'll save that money and put it towards a short break together instead. We may not have even booked anything yet, but I'm still getting excited and am already dreaming of roaring log fires, meals gathered around an enormous dining table and maybe even crisp white snow.

• A job interview: I have my third job interview of the school year tomorrow, and I'm really excited about the opportunity that this post would present me with, as well as really looking forward to meeting the children I'd be working with. If I was successful, I'd be working as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant rather than a teacher, but having enjoyed the 1 to1 and small group work I've done as a TA in the past, I think the HLTA role is one that would suit me really well :-). Wish me luck guys!!

• All-you-can-eat ice cream and amazing live music: (Fingers crossed) this is where I'll be on July 24th: 

Source: benjerry.co.uk via Julie on Pinterest

It's Ben and Jerry's Sundae in the Park, a fabulous sounding music festival run by Ben and Jerry's! Basically for under £20, you can go and watch some amazing bands and eat as much Ben and Jerry's ice cream as you can stomach! And if that wasn't enough, there'll also be fairground attractions and loads of other fun activities...I can't wait to ice my own cookies! :-) I won't even mind if it rains...I'll just rock my wellies and waterproofs like the best of them! :-)

• The fact that it's Friday tomorrow: It's not as if I've had a hard working week or anything, but the thought of the weekend always makes everything feel a little better :-) I don't think I'm doing anything in particular, but that's beside the point...two days of freedom will hopefully be sheer bliss :-)

And they're my Thursday thoughts! :-) What are you thinking about today?

Till next time...xx

Hello/Goodbye...

I think this picture says it all...don't you?? It's been over 4 months since I've last posted, and that time has been simply filled with "hellos" and "goodbyes". I've met new people and experienced some things for the very first time, whilst saying farewell to others. But throughout all this I've been busy, and that's one of the reasons that my blog break has gone on for quite so long...I knew that before I started blogging again, I wanted to be in a position where I would have time to post regularly and catch up on all my favourite reads. And that time is now. But before I say "Hello" to this new chapter in my blogging adventures, I'd like to bid farewell to the past few months and all it's brought me. So without further ado, here goes:

• Since the start of November, I've said "Hello" to 3 jobs and also "Goodbye" to two of them. One I was quite relieved to see the back of (although I do miss the fabulous staff discount!) but the thought of coming to the end of my contract at the other has filled me with sadness (especially as ill health made it seem even more unfinished...more on that later).
• As a result of the increased demands on my time that my jobs brought me, I said goodbye to quite as much free time and hello to evening and weekend schoolwork.
• Since my blog break began, I've said goodbye 2010 with a fantastic family Christmas and hello 2011 with a house party in Wales along with some of my closest friends.  I've also said goodbye to 26 and my mid-twenties and hello to 27 and my lates (eeeeeeeeeek!) and despite being older and technically wiser, I managed to accompany my first day as a 27 year old with a stinking hangover and churning stomach (which was especially irresponsible considering I was acting in my drama group's panto that day!) As well as my birthday, I've also helped several of my friends and family members welcome their new ages and I've had an absolute ball helping them celebrate :-)
• I said "hello" and "goodbye" to my drama group's pantomime which took place in late January, and apart from the pre-show nerves, and terrible hangover on my first day, I loved every minute of it. And, a few weeks later, I said "hello" to a new show which we'll be putting on in May.
• I said "goodbye" to one driving instructor and "hello" to another. I'll also hopefully be saying goodbye to my "L" plates for good in a few weeks...fingers crossed!!
• My wardrobe has also said hello to a fair few items of clothing, as well as some gorgeous new shoes and accessories. As for goodbyes, there haven't been quite as many...well, what can I say?? I'm a hoarder!

And finally, I said goodbye to my 100% attendance record for this school year. At the back end of last week, the left hand side of my face started feeling painful. Fast forward to Tuesday morning at work, and my colleagues noticed it was swollen. One emergency doctor's appointment later, I've been diagnosed with suspected mumps (the doc was almost 100% sure) and I've been signed off work for up to 3 weeks! The most frustrating thing is that I was due to be finishing one of my jobs this Friday anyway...the spring holiday is coming up and the school I've been working at for 5 months can't afford to keep me on after that because of their limited budget :-( So bang've gone my visions of saying a proper goodbye to the staff, who I've loved working with, and throwing a party for all the children in my groups...and I've said hello to an aching face and hamster cheeks! Plus not to mention the fact that I'm most likely highly contagious , which means no "Ghost the Musical" tonight and probably no friend's hen do on Saturday :-( 

But, I'll stop moaning now, as I want to end the post on a high. Because I'm back, at the right time for me, and I can't wait to get back into blogging again :-)

Till next time...

Julie xx

Has it really been a month...

since my last post?? Well, apparently so...although I can't quite believe it. But then again, when I think about what a whirlwind it's been, maybe I can!

So what's been making me so busy? Well, if you'd noticed my last post you might have a bit of an inkling...remember those two job opportunities that I mentioned? Well, I got them both! During the space of 24 hours, I went from having no job to having two. And I've been working my ass off ever since (well most of the time anyway!!) I'm now employed as a teacher every weekday morning, when I work with groups of 7-11 year olds who are struggling with maths and literacy. And then I also work as a sales assistant 2 evenings a week. So it's been a big change for me, but one which I'm loving so far, even if I am finding it hard to adjust to the fact that my evenings and weekends aren't always my own anymore! I could go on and on about my new teaching opportunity, and suffice to say, I'll probably dedicate a whole post to that pretty soon...but as for now, I think it's time to move on.

Even though work has been a major part of my life over the past month, I have found some time for myself and I can safely say that I've valued every minute of it! Here's some of the things I've got up to:

• Christmas Shopping: I can't believe how quickly Christmas is coming up...it'll be here in less than 5 weeks!! And as of just a week ago I was almost completely unprepared, having bought very few presents...but now, thanks to a lot of online shopping and a couple of afternoon shopping trips, I feel much happier about things. I'm not totally sorted by any means but I'm getting there!
• Sharing in Birthday celebrations with family and friends: October and November are busy months for me in terms of birthdays, and I've really enjoyed catching up with family and friends and celebrating together. I've indulged in a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet for my friend N's birthday and a delicious pub lunch for my Grandad's 91st! I enjoyed an evening of comedy and cocktails (only one...it was a school night!) for my friend E's 27th and made a mad dash across town after work to celebrate my friend D's special day. All were special in very different ways, and I can't wait for the next big event :-)
• Buying tickets: Whilst spending almost 5 hours trying to book concert tickets isn't much fun, I'm so glad that I (and my sisters) did. Because, as a result of our perseverance, stubbornness and downright craziness (on my part at least!), two of my best girl friends and I will be going to see Take That in June next year!! Although I wasn't particularly a fan of them the first time around, since they've got back together I've developed a new found love for them and that coupled with the fact they've got a reputation for putting on incredible live show made me determined to get tickets no matter what!
• Just chilling: Whether it's with a mini bottle of wine and Saturday night TV, or checking Facebook and my favourite blogs in a break from work, I've been loving those precious moments of doing nothing much.

And with that, I'm signing off. Bedtime isn't far away as I've got a 6:45 am alarm call in the morning, and I'm determined that tonight isn't going to be a late one.

Till next time...

My Christmas Weekend

So this is what I got up to over the Christmas weekend:

• Thursday (Christmas Eve)

I was invited round to my friends' house for the evening, and like any good guest didn't want to turn up empty handed. So I decided to bake some gingerbread. I found a recipe, collected all my ingredients and equipment and off I went...fully expecting it to be a quick job. Nearly 2 hours later, I realised that it wasn't! Whilst the end result tasted fab (if I do say so myself!), there's definitely things I'd do differently next time! Firstly, I'd try to be tidier in the kitchen...I got flour absolutely everywhere and left a trail of treacle across the table...oops! Secondly, I'd about halve the quantities in the recipe, as it made way more biscuits than I was expecting! I swear that the dough was magic, as I was cutting out for ages! However, the upside was that I was able to fill a tin with biscuits for home, as well as one for my friends. I definitely think that I'll make a tradition of baking gingerbread at Christmas...by next year, I might even feel confident enough to decorate it!

Once I packed the gingerbread up, I headed over to my friends' house. Most of my other friends dropped by at some point during the evening too and we had fun eating and drinking, playing Pictionary or "pictuary" as my friend M wrote on the board we used (!) and adding our own storyline to "Swan Lake" (don't ask!)! All the guests left by about 11:00 pm to allow N and M to set up their living room for Christmas...it was their son H's first, and he had mountains of presents waiting to be put out!

• Friday (Christmas Day)

After waking up every hour or 2 in the night, I finally got up around 7:00, along with the rest of my family and had great fun emptying my stocking and opening all my presents. As usual I was throroughly spoilt! I got House Season 5, PJs, a scarf, lipglosses and money off my mum and dad, a CKIn2U fragrance set off my brother and bracelets and Thorntons chocolates off my sisters. Off my friends I got the Lady Gaga and Radio 1 Live Lounge CDs, some FCUK smellies, Ice Age 3 on DVD, a bracelet, a wine and chocolate gift set and some sweets! Plus I had a giant stocking and presents and vouchers off family friends! Told you I was spoilt!! My grandad and uncle came round about 11, and we exchanged gifts, then had Christmas dinner. After dinner, we played a couple of board games that my sisters had got and chilled for a couple of hours. The rest of my day was spent eating, watching tv (I saw Doctor Who and cried...I'm such a softie!) and generally soaking up the Christmas atmosphere. It was a lovely day, with not a single argument and the only bad thing was that it went by so quickly!

• Saturday (Boxing Day)

I spent the morning and early afternoon relaxing...trying out some of my new smellies, listening to some of my new CDs and playing games with my family. Then I got a call from one of my friends inviting me to go out for tea with them and some of my other friends. We went to a local pub for food, then back to my friends' N, M and S's house where we sang karaoke and played more Pictionary...it was a lovely chilled out evening, made all the nicer as I hadn't been expecting to go anywhere.

• Sunday

I didn't really do much, as Aunt Flo had just arrived and I wasn't at my best. I listened to more CDs, played more games, watched a couple of episodes of House and browsed the net, whilst contending with belly ache for most of the time :-(

• Monday

My sister Amy and I went to see Sherlock Holmes which was absolutely fantastic!! Maybe I've just not got a very good memory, but I'd say it's definitely one of my films of the year! It had it all...action, comedy, adventure and eye candy!! Plus some of it was filmed in Manchester, so it was fun trying to spot the locations they used! After the cinema, I spent the rest of the day relaxing at home.

As for the next few days, luckily I've still got at least until next Monday off, and whilst I've not got any definite plans, I hope to be doing some shopping, catching up with my best friend J and going to a New Year's Eve party at the very least!

All that remains to say is that that was my weekend...hope you had as good a time as I did and that whether you're working or relaxing this week, have a great one!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I won't be posting tomorrow, so this is just a very short post to say: Merry Christmas everyone!! Hope you all have a fantastic time whatever you do and that peace and happiness are yours this Christmas :-)

Highs and Lows of the Week

So after a few days of posting on a daily basis, I took a little break but now I'm back to share my highs and lows of last week.

Highs

• School Holidays: The schools broke up last Friday and I don't go back to work until at least the 4th of January. As I've not got a full time job yet, it means that I won't have any work to do over the next 2 weeks and can hopefully just sit back, relax and enjoy Christmas!!
• Good company and good food: Last weekend, I spent Saturday and Sunday nights with some of my closest friends. On Saturday evening, I went round to a friend's where a few of us treated ourselves to a Christmas curry takeaway and watched Love Actually, which really got us into the Christmas spirit, even if some parts were sadder than I remember (Emma Thompson's storyline and the part where Andrew Lincoln holds up the signs both made me well up :-( ). Sunday night was even better...about 15 of us got together and went for a Christmas meal at a local pub. There was lots of eating, drinking and conversation, as well as wearing party hats, pulling crackers and blowing party blowers (we were SO mature!) and the evening went by in a flash. We also exchanged Secret Santa gifts...I'm really impatient to see what mine are, but can have a good guess by the shape lol!
• Snow: After being disappointed earlier in the week, the snow finally arrived on Saturday. Although the first snowfall was washed away by heavy rain, we then had more overnight and well into Sunday. I can't remember the last time we had so much snow that actually stuck in Manchester and I loved seeing the children playing out and how pretty everything looked.
• Birthdays: As I mentioned last week, it was my sister Amy's 16th birthday on the 16th of December and I was really happy to be able to celebrate with her.

Lows

• Bad skin: I've never had a perfect complexion by any means, but lately I seem to be getting spots and blemishes on my face that just aren't shifting! I think I'm going to have to be on the lookout for some new skincare products, because the ones I've got don't seem to be doing their job at the moment. Have you got any recommendations for any effective (but affordable!) products I could try?
• Forgetfulness: I went shopping to Primark last Thursday, and it was only when I got to the till that I realised that I'd forgotten my card and I didn't have that much cash on me. As a result, I was only able to buy the essentials I needed, as I also had to buy a Secret Santa present and a hot drink as I was freezing! Not my proudest moment, especially as I felt really embarrassed at the till when the sales assistant had to void items as I couldn't afford them!
• No work=no pay: I know I've already mentioned that I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks off work, but I'm not looking forward to the prospect of at least 2 weeks without pay (as a supply teacher, I only get paid for days I work, not year round). Christmas and driving lessons as well as other more frivolous spending have really eaten into my bank account over the last few months, and I think one of my goals for 2010 will definitely have to be to be more careful with my money and keep a more detailed record of my spending!

So there's my highs and lows for another week! Hope you had a good one too, and that you enjoy the Christmas week ahead! :-)

Christmas Survey

I've noticed a few of these surveys around lately, so I thought it was about time I answered one!I've borrowed this particular one off Stevie at Allow Myself to Introduce...Myself and hope you enjoy!

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate:
Hot chocolate...especially a special hot chocolate from the Manchester Christmas Markets with Baileys or Cointreau in. Although I've never tried egg nog so I suppose I can't make a fair comment!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Both! When I was small, my parents bought me presents which my Mum wrapped and then sent to Santa for him to deliver on Christmas Eve, but I also got some surprises off him which he must have wrapped himself!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Either or both...we have both this year and I don't have a preference either way.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No...but I wouldn't mind using it if there was a hot guy around!

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Usually the first weekend in December, although sometimes it's a little later.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Oh...it's so hard to choose! Mince pies are lovely though, so I think I'll go for those.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
I don't have any particular memories...I just remember always being really excited and waking up at stupid o'clock to open my presents!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I was about 10 or 11, and my mum told me.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Nope...unless I receive one then, then I probably would!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Lights, then tinsel, then baubles and other decorations. We've gathered a really big collection over the years, including some which belonged to my Nana and our first Christmas ornaments. I have a bauble, my brother has a metal plaque, my sister Amy has a baby in a cradle and my other sister has a rocking horse. Decorating the tree is a family effort but my mum, sisters and I do most of it.

11. Snow. Love it or dread it?
Love it...I'm really jealous of the areas of the UK that got lots during yesterday evening and last night; we just got a little dusting! It does look pretty though!

12. Can you ice skate?
Very,very, VERY badly!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift ever?
I actually can't...I've had lots of great gifts over the years! I'd have to say my first TV for my room was pretty high up there, as was a cuddly "Po" teletubby (don't ask!).

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Spending time with family and friends, and seeing people's faces when they open their presents. Plus getting a load of presents for myself of course!! ;-)

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
See number 6...although I also love mini party desserts like mini donuts and chocolate eclairs

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Having my Grandad and Uncle over for Christmas dinner...I love it when we're all together :-)

17. What tops your tree?
A star, although it has been an angel in the past.

18. Do you prefer giving or receiving?
Now, this is where the little angel and devil on my shoulders have a furious row! The angel's saying "Giving's what Christmas is all about" and the devil's shouting back "Don't be so ridiculous! Receiving's far better, you moron!" So, I'm going to have to declare it a draw...both are good in different ways.

19. Candy canes: Yuck or yum?
"Candy Canes?! Are you mocking me??" The real answer is "Yum!"

20. Favorite Christmas show?
I don't know if I have a favourite Christmas show, but I enjoy watching lots of the Christmas specials that are on TV. Favourite films are a different story...I love "Elf", "Love Actually" and "The Holiday".

21. Saddest Christmas song?
Sad as in boo hoo or sad as in just plain bad?? "Do they know it's Christmas" makes me sad because of the video, and "Mad World" (not really a Christmas song, but it was Christmas No. 1) because it's just so depressing!

22. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Top 3 are: "Fairytale of New York", "Santa Baby" and "Last Christmas" but there are loads more that I love too!

So that's my Christmas! Why don't you give the survey a go too!

Tagged: 10 Things

A few days ago, Brittany over at Sweet, Sassy and oh so Classy shared a list of 10 things that made her happy, and tagged all her followers to do the same. So without further ado, here's my list:

1. Spending time with my fantastic family and friends
2. Shopping!!
3. Not having to get up early at the weekend
4. Having a nice class to cover when I'm working
5. The "buzz" I get when an idea or piece of knowledge really clicks with a student
6. My friends N and M's baby H...he's 10 months old and getting cuter every day! :-)
7. Starbucks' flavoured lattes and skinny muffins/cakes
8. Drinking and dancing with my girls on a night out
9. My friends' L and G's wedding a week today... can't wait!
10. 3 weeks of work left till Christmas...that means only 15 working days! (well 14, because I've got the day after the wedding off :-) )

So, how about you? What makes you happy?? Looking forward to reading your lists!