30 before 30: An Update

So do you remember my 30 before 30 list that I posted a few months back? Well, whether the answer's yes or no, I thought that now that I've started blogging again, it would be a perfect time to update you a little on my progress. So, just over four and a half months in, here's how I'm doing so far:

7.  Have a ruthless clear out of my wardrobes and drawers - I've made a start on this, having cleared out one chest of drawers so far and am going to be doing the rest over the summer, so I can make room for all the piles of clothes I've got mounting up, plus potentially a few new buys too.

9.  Read at least 24 new books (2 per month) - whilst this goal may now prove to be overly ambitious, unless I get a major spurt on for the rest of the year, I have read 3 new books since my 29th (Unsuitable Men by Pippa Wright, The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey and Death by Honeymoon by Jaden Skye) and have almost finished The Great Gatsby too. Over the past couple of weeks, I've definitely been getting the urge to read more too, so it'll be interesting to see how close I can get to my original target.

10. Bake at least twice a month - I'm pretty sure I haven't achieved this goal every month, although I haven't really been keeping track as well as I should, but know that I definitely did hit the target in May, as I made Nanaimo bars, chocolate chip cookies and gingerbread over the space of 2 weekends. Hopefully I can stay in the baking habit for the rest of the year now!

11. Try 10 new recipes - I'm on 2 so far; the Nanaimo bars and the chocolate chip cookies I made last month were both things I'd tried for the first time. Look out for the recipes soon!

21. Watch at least 10 new (to me) films (to include at least 1 Tarantino) - I think I'm definitely well on track with this one! :-) At the cinema, I've seen Django Unchained (so I can say I've watched a Tarantino too!), Lincoln, Les Miserables and Iron Man 3 and I know for a fact that there's a few more films that I definitely want to try and catch in the weeks and months ahead too. Add to that the films I've watched on DVD/Netflix (I definitely remember Taken and most of Star Trek), and I think I may even have to set a higher target!

24. Start taking part in quizzes again - I've been part of a quiz team on 2 occasions since I created my list, both times on charity quiz nights with work and I've really enjoyed it. My next step is definitely to find a quiz night that I can start taking part in with (some of) my friends.

And that's pretty much it so far. Well, apart from one other goal which was really my number one priority for the year, and is something that I'm over the moon to have achieved, especially so early on in the year. I am so pleased to say that I've been able to tick the following goal off my list:

1. Get a new job!! - I am so happy about the fact I've achieved this, I really can't quite put it into words! Whilst I'm still in my old job at the moment, come September I'll be taking up my new post as graduate library assistant at one of Manchester's universities. Taking the leap to work in libraries is something that I have been considering for years, off and on, and I am thrilled that I'll finally have the opportunity to make my dream a reality. Whilst I'll only be employed on a year's fixed term contract, the job offer was too good a prospect to dismiss and I'm so looking forward to what the new chapter (sorry - but that pun was totally intended! ;-) ) of my working life may hold.

Sorry, but I couldn't resist saving the best for last! And now that really is all for now, but I'd be thrilled to hear from any of you, as always. Anything big happening in your life at the mo? Any goals that you've recently made/met, be they big or small? If so, just let me know!

'Til next time...

A work in progress...

Just a quick post tonight which will hopefully explain two things. Firstly, the current state of my blog and secondly, as well as most excitingly,my plans for its future. With regards to the former, despite the fact that I have had a great deal of free time on my hands over the last few weeks as a result of being forced to leave my former job earlier than expected and then being offered a new one in quick succession, I have found that I have had very little to blog about. Whilst having a few weeks of unexpected holiday sounds lovely, the reality is that I have often been bored and done very little worth writing about. And as much as I enjoy blogging (which I truly do), it's hard to find the motivation to write a post when you're not in the right frame of mind yourself. Not to mention the fact that any post I did write in such a mood wouldn't probably be worth sharing with anyone!

But that's enough of the past and present; now let's look to the future. Over the past few days I've done some thinking and have realised that I really want to keep my blog going over the next few months and beyond. However, given my recent track record, I've realised that the only way to do this is to get organised and I know that this will be especially important when I'm working full time. My plan is to draft each week's posts (3 or 4 minimum) a little in advance and then I won't be faced with staring blankly at the computer screen when it's time to blog. I'm not, however, intending to schedule my posts as, for me, one of the main attractions of blogging is the fact that I can share my thoughts and feelings on current issues to a potentially worldwide audience. If something moves me on a particular day, I want the freedom to write about it there and then, not when my posting schedule dictates. And as for content...well that's been something else that I've been giving some thought to. I'm intending to keep some old favourites going... my "Highs and Lows" will still be a regular feature and "What's in my Wardrobe Wednesday" and baking posts will also be making a re-appearance. I also have plans for new features...I'm thinking about reviews, beauty posts and even more fashion as well as general randomness, memes and discussion of much deeper issues too!

So please bear with me just a little bit longer...the new and improved Julie's Jottings will be with you very soon :-)

Till next time...

Highs and Lows of Last Week (and a look ahead!)

What a surprise! Yet another post that's later than promised (although only by a couple of days this time!) So, making a long overdue appearance, here are my highs and lows of the past week (well the ones I can remember anyway!)

Highs

The power of Facebook: Early on last week, I posted a status on Facebook asking for recipe inspiration, as I don't want my repertoire to consist solely of gingerbread lol! Within a couple of hours of updating, I got the first suggestions and since then have had quite a few ranging from banana bread to peanut butter cookies, and even a couple of full length recipes for chocolate chip cookies! I wasn't even sure if anyone would respond, so was very pleasantly surprised! Look out for some baking posts coming up soon!

Nights in with friends: Quite a big part of last weekend for me was spent with friends watching DVDs and Youtube clips, chatting and eating...so much so that that was what I was doing on Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night! For someone who used to be out most Saturday nights at the very least, it's coming as a bit of a shock to realise that I actually love staying in! Not that I'd want to do that every weekend, but sometimes you just can't beat it!

Your expectations being exceeded: On Monday last week, I did not want to go to rehearsals for my drama group's latest show. Why? Because I was embarassed. The Friday before had been our auditions, and I planned to sing Moon River as a solo audition piece, as well as singing a group number with my friends. I'd been practicing Moon River all week and, while not exactly confident, wasn't totally dreading my solo either. Then came my turn to be called up. The backing track started, the accompanist counted me in, I opened my mouth to sing and...completely the wrong note came out. So I started again, but again the note was wrong. Then I tried to sing acapella, but still couldn't find the right key! Not wanting to prolong the agony any longer, I ended my audition then and there, feeling absolutely mortified! Although the group audition went ok and restored my shattered pride a little, I was convinced that I wouldn't get offered any solos. But, lo and behold...I did! I've got the first verse of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" all to myself, and my friends and I are also going to be doing "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago, which I'm ridiculously excited about, if apprehensive at the same time (I'm not a dancer by any means!)

Flashforward's back: After 3 months, Flashforward was back with a bang (and a double episode!) After thinking that I wouldn't even be able to remember where the story was up to, I was amazed at how quickly I got back into it. I just hope that there's going to be a second series, as I've heard rumours that there won't be due to poor ratings in the US. Fingers crossed it's not true!

And now for the lows...

Lows

Tiredness: After just a couple of full days of work last week, I was ready to drop! I'm not sure if it was more the fact that I find it difficult to get to bed any time before 11 or that I can never get into a proper routine, due to the variability of my work situation! Plus the fact that the clocks went forward really didn't help, as Iwas deprived of a whole hour's sleep! On the plus side, the Easter holidays are coming up very, very soon!!


No town hall tour for me (or Amy): On Sunday afternoon, Amy and I headed to Manchester to have a Town Hall tour. We met up with our tour group at the visitors' centre and were very excited when the guide said that there were no events taking place there that day and that he'd have carte blanche to take us wherever he wanted. But as we walked over to the town hall, things started to go a little awry. We looked up and saw a man standing on the town hall roof. "Was he meant to be there?", we wondered. Then we saw a few police officers standing around and realised that, no, he definitely wasn't! Our guide stopped us in front of the main entrance, only for us to be moved on by the police. So he attempted to begin our tour again, only for us to be moved even further down a couple of minutes later. So finally, we went right round to the third, and final, street entrance and were just getting ready to go inside when...a town hall employee came over and told our guide that we couldn't go inside, as the police were sending teams inside the building to try to get the man down and there was to be no access to anyone else. So that was the end of that! We went back to the visitor centre, got a refund and made our way home. On a happier note, I found out the next day that the man had made his way down safely, and I suppose that's more important than anything else!

And finally, as it's the end of the month, here's a list of things I'm looking forward to in April:

• The Easter Holidays: The schools in my area break up tomorrow, most of them for 2 weeks, so I'm looking forward to 2 weeks with no early get ups, lots of chocolate and as much relaxation as possible!
• An Easter Saturday meal with my family at our favourite pub/restaurant.
• My theory test: While this isn't exactly something I can't wait for, I am keen to get it out of the way! It's in just over a week (8th April), and I'll have to do a fair bit of revision before then, as whilst lots of the answers are just common sense, there's some facts that you just need to learn too!
• The Primary Education Show: This'll be my third Primary Education fair, and it's something I really look forward to. As a supply teacher, it's often difficult to get hold of resources and undertake professional development, so I love taking the opportunity to go round the stalls and take part in seminars/workshops.
• Dancing on Ice Live Tour: This is another event that's becoming a tradition for me. It'll be the fourth time for me, and the third for Amy, who I'm going with. It's always a great show and I'm especially looking forward to it this time, as Amy and I have got floor seats, and we're on the second row from the front!!
• Iron Man 2: Whilst being really annoyed that the UK DVD release date for Sherlock Holmes has been put back to 17th May, I'm much more happy that Iron Man 2 is being released over here on 30th April, a full week before its US release. Although I'm not going to see it in April, I'll definitely be watching it in its first weekend...I just can't wait any longer for my RDJ fix!!

And that's it from me...expect many more posts now the schools are breaking up!

Is it really going to be March tomorrow?

I honestly can't believe it...2 full months into 2010 already! February, in particular, has absolutely raced by for me...working full time did for the first half of the month, and then I had a week off which of course was a guarantee that that time would just fly! Then back to work, and here we are! Anyway, enough of my ramblings about the fleeting nature of time(!), and back to the real focus of this post...a look back at February, a look forward to March and an update on where I'm at with my 2010 goals.

Looking back

So, in a nutshell, my February has been all about:

Teaching...I taught full time for the first two weeks of the month, plus a little bit this week and I also had a interview/lesson observation at one school plus an additional lesson observation at a second. My interview at the second school isn't until Wednesday, so I technically can't include it here!

• Treating myself...Whether it's been shopping for clothes, watching a certain film for the 4th time, grabbing a coffee or just enjoying a cheeky glass of wine on an otherwise quiet night in, February's been a month for indulging myself a little! Bad for my bank balance maybe...but good for my soul, as long as I don't make too much of a habit of it! Maybe I should start looking for treats that don't cost a penny, like the fab time Amy and I had exploring Manchester.

• Friends and family...As always, the most important people in my life have been a common thread linking the best parts of this month together. From fantastic nights full of WKD, homemade gingerbread and cheesy dancing or cocktails and karaoke at the start of the month, to theatre going, beer drinking, "intelligent" conversation and multiple toasting in the middle and DVD nights and play watching at the end...my friends have been there for it all, and I know that these times wouldn't be the same without them. And as for my family...my week off enabled me to get in a whole lot of sister (and Mum) time, be it shopping with all the girls, or going to town with Amy. Then there's the weekends...spending Saturday lunch with my grandad and uncle, as well as the rest of my family has been a tradition for as long as I can remember, and I wouldn't be without it. And recently, we've started adding a couple of new parts to the tradition...after lunch, we'll sit down and play cards or (our current favourite) dominoes. What started as a little fun has now turned into some serious rivalry with all of us vying to be the winner! Yesterday, I did pretty well...I won 2 of the 4 games, and am hoping to keep hold of my crown for next week!

Looking forward

Next month, I'm looking forward to:

• Starting rehearsals for my new show...After having a month off, my drama group starts rehearsals for our new show tomorrow and I can't wait! It'll be great to see everyone again and I'm really looking forward to making a start on learning our new songs.

• The days getting longer and the nights getting shorter...As someone who has had seemingly months of leaving for work before sunrise and arriving home after sunset, I am so looking forward to that little extra bit of daylight which March will bring!

• The end of winter and the beginning of spring...In a similar vein, I'm now heartily sick of the particularly cold weather that much of this winter has brought with it and I'm really hoping that March will herald the start of spring and bring warmer temperatures and sunny days, instead of the ever present threat of snow that I associate with this winter.

• More good times with family and friends...Although there are no definite plans as yet, I'm sure that March will mean more opportunities for fun with my favourite people. There are a couple of friends' birthdays coming up, so I'm sure I'll end up going out for those, if nothing else! Plus it's Mother's Day here in the UK in a couple of weeks so I'm looking forward to celebrating with my mum then too.

Goals Update

So, back at the beginning of January, I posted my Goals List for 2010. Having had a look through it, I'm shocked at how many of the goals have just fallen by the wayside or, even worse, have never really got started. I really need to make a bigger effort next month methinks. Nevertheless, for your consideration, here is my Goals Update for January and February:

• Pass my driving theory and practical tests...this is a work in progress. My driving instructor has given me some really positive feedback of late, and I've now booked my theory test...the date is the 8th of April, so wish me luck! If all goes well, then it'll be all systems go for booking my practical...eek!
• Get a long term/permanent job...again, a work in progress. I'm still applying for jobs on a regular(ish) basis and have had one unsuccessful interview since the start of the new year, with another interview scheduled for next week.
• Be a better friend...now this started off quite well, and I made specially sure that I was in touch with my best friend J every week during January. But now things have tailed off, and as awful as it sounds, I often forget to stay in touch! To be fair, I don't ignore people and always reply if they get in touch with me, but I need that extra kick up the backside to motivate me to make the first move!
• Be a better sister/daughter...again this is something I've not seen much progress with...I have my appreciative moments and times when I really take time out to listen to my family like I should, but also my selfish moments and little strops where I act more like 2 than 26!
• Run the Race for Life and better last year's time...I've not signed up for this yet, but I fully intend to and this year, I definitely won't be walking it!
• Adopt a healthier lifestyle...Unfortunately, this hasn't really took off so far this year. Whilst I haven't put any weight on, I haven't lost any either and this is down to the fact that I'm still not always making the healthiest snack choices and that I'm struggling with finding an exercise I like enough to fit around work. Hopefully when I sign up for Race for Life, it'll be a good motivator as I'll want to get in shape!
• Read at least 2 books a month from beginning to end...I met this in January (I read "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and "The Return of Sherlock Holmes") but have failed this month...I'm only just over half way through my first book! I am enjoying it, but just can't seem to find the time lately!
• Grow my nails...Epic fail! Nothing much else I can say!
• Overcome my fear of thunder and lightning...A bit of a weird one this, I haven't sought any professional help and I guess I'm just waiting to see how I deal with the next stormy day we get.
• Put at least £50 in my ISA each month...Another fail! Probably because I'm not used to putting money in it so I just forget about it! I should maybe set up a standing order, then I've got no excuse!
• Keep a careful track of my finances and set myself a budget...And another one! I'm finding it quite hard to manage my money at the minute, although in my defence, it's very hard to set myself a budget when I never know exactly how much money I've got coming in each month! Definitely something I need to work on!
• Develop my cookery skills...Does making gingerbread count? That's the only thing I've made this year, and as it's a recipe I'd already tried last year, I can't say I've met my goal! Like some of the other goals, I need to set aside time to work on this!
• Cleanse, tone and moisturise every morning...On the whole, this has been a success and I'd say I'm managing at least 6 mornings out of 7!
• Let go of my baggage from the past...This is another slightly strange one, as I think the only way of measuring how successful I'd been would be to be in a situation that I'd found difficult in the past because of my baggage, and obviously this isn't something that I can really manufacture. Also I'm not really sure how to go about it, as I don't want to spend loads of time needlessly raking over the past, as it's never really helped me before!

And that's it from me! Hope everyone has a great March, and I'll hopefully be back soon with normal(ish) service resumed!

Busy, busy, busy!

That's what the last couple of days have been like, and probably what the rest of my week will be like too! Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons this week, I'm volunteering at a children's holiday club where I'm doing drama and puppet sketches as well as helping to supervise a group of children. I've been involved with the club for the past few years, and enjoy being creative and working with the children, although, as it's a church run group, I sometimes find some of the religious songs a bit much! (I was raised a Christian, but would describe myself as an agnostic now)

Yesterday was an especially busy (and long!) day for me as I had to be up at 6:00 so I could get ready and make my way to the train station to catch my train to Leeds for the course I was attending. Luckily the train was on time and my journey was very straightforward. The course itself was absolutely fantastic. It covered "behaviour for learning" and "managing pupil behaviour" and it gave me lots of useful ideas which I'm definitely going to put into practice when I go back to work next month. Plus lunch was provided, which always makes for a good day lol! The only bad thing about the whole experience was getting caught in a heavy rain shower whilst waiting for a taxi to take me back to the station after the course had finished!

I'm just going to finish off with a random thing that happened today. Sometime while I was at the holiday club this afternoon, a massive branch fell off a tree on the pavement outside my house! The stem of the branch got impaled on our next door neighbour's railings and the leafy part fell on to our neighbour's car which she parks on our drive. My dad phoned the local council for them to come and remove it, because it was too heavy to do manually but despite the fact they said it was on their "Urgent" list it still hasn't been removed yet! My sisters also took some pictures of the tree (our neighbour is away) ...they might come in handy for insurance purposes in case the car turns out to be damaged. I'll leave you with just a couple:

Am I getting really old...??

because it's not even quarter to ten and I'm yawning my head off! I'm seriously debating signing out in a minute and going to bed, which would usually be unheard of for at least another hour, even when I'm in work. Although I have got a very early start tomorrow, as I'm heading to Leeds for an all day behaviour management course and I need to catch the 7:36 train (eek)!

Night night! :-)

Weekend Plans

So the weekend's come round again, and I'm definitely glad of it! It looks like it could be quite an eventful one for me; this is the run down of my plans so far:

Friday Night

I'm not going to rehearsal tonight, as I'm helping out at a local youth club instead. I used to volunteer there on a regular basis, and when I gave up to concentrate on my drama group I said that they could call on me if ever they were short staffed. Well, tonight they are! I'm not sure if 'm doing anything afterwards, but it will probably be a quiet night whatever happens.

Saturday

In the morning, I'll be going to my Grandad's with family as usual, but it will be a little out of the ordinary as it will be his Father's Day lunch. My mum will rustle up something extra special to eat and we'll take his gifts down to him. When I come home, I'll most probably be doing ANOTHER job application and relaxing if I get any time left over!

There are some vague plans for going out in Manchester on Saturday night, but nothing's been decided yet, and after last week's disappointment, I don't really want to get my hopes up too high! If we do go out, I doubt it will be too much of a crazy one because of the events of the next afternoon...

Sunday

It's Father's Day, so we'll give my Dad his presents and cards and generally make a bit of a fuss of him! I'll probably relax up until the big event of the day (for me, anyway!)...the Race for Life 5K! I'm sure about many of the details yet, but I know it starts at 2:30 and we need to be there an hour before. I'm really excited about it, it's meant to be a great atmosphere, and will post all the details afterwards!

In the evening, we'll have a Father's Day meal with my dad, and that's where my plans end! Hopefully I'll have a nice chilled out end to the weekend, when I can recharge ready for the week ahead :-)

What are everyone else's plans for the weekend? Hope you all have a great time whatever you're doing, and will post again soon!

Weekend part one...

So it's the weekend...and the sun is shining! :-) I don't know about anyone else, but it always adds that extra something to my day!

Anyway, I was meaning to post my weekend plans yesterday, but I didn't get time, so here they are now...hopefully better late than never!

Friday Night

Went to my drama society rehearsal then on to the pub with friends. I arrived home to be greeted by a power cut (!) but luckily the power came back on not long after so I could see what I was doing!

Saturday

Went to my Grandad's for lunch (my family's Saturday tradition) and then Father's Day shopping with my sisters. We managed to get sorted pretty quickly, except I somehow forgot to buy my dad's card from me, and unfortunately didn't realise till I got home :-( Looks like I 'll be taking another shopping trip sometime before next Sunday!

Saturday Night

Hopefully, I'm going into Manchester with some friends for a mini pub crawl. We did something similar on a night out a few weeks back and had an amazing time, so I'm really looking forward to maybe doing it again. Will post more details later if it goes ahead.

Sunday

I've got no real plans for Sunday yet...I know I've got some job applications that need doing, so I'll probably spend some time doing those and I've also got my fingers crossed for nice weather so I might be able to get out in the garden or have a walk without getting rained on! I'm aiming for a really relaxing day, before having to get up for the possibility of an early morning call on Monday :-(

Hope everyone else has a fabulous weekend, whatever you're doing! :-)