This is Summer

Blue skies, warm  hot sunshine and refreshing summer breezes. Loving the beautiful warm mornings; loathing the sultry, sticky nights. The smell of suncream and the cooling relief of aftersun. Getting tan lines, no matter how hard you try to avoid them. Beautifully bronzed shoulders and arms; legs that remain resolutely milk bottle white regardless of how much time you spend in the sun. Eating al fresco at every opportunity. Developing cravings for salad and fresh fruit but also devouring barbecued food and ice cream. Enjoying ice cold soft drinks and delicious rosé spritzers, preferably whilst soaking up the sun. Sitting outside, reading outside, making lists and plans outside, taking long walks...basically finding any excuse to get some vitamin D and loving every minute of it! Maxi dresses and mini dresses; shorts and sleeveless tops. And sandals and sunglasses, always sandals and sunglasses. Painting my toenails and wishing that my fingernails were long enough to do the same to. Buying brighter make up and plucking up the courage to try it out. Wishing that every summer day could be as glorious as the ones we're currently having. Making summer plans and living for the evenings and weekends when I can put them into action. Relishing every moment of this summer, and hoping that it doesn't come to an end any time soon.

This is my summer, what's yours?

'Til next time...
Jules

Snow and pantomimes and cocktails...oh my!!

What a busy weekend it's been! So busy that I'm really glad I booked today off to recover, especially as I've not been feeling 100% today. But along with the busyness, there's also been lots of fun with some of my favourite people so I'm really happy to be reliving the past three days through this post! Let's start off with Friday...

Friday
On Friday, I'd booked a half day at work so finished just after 2. I hurried home grateful that I wouldn't be commuting through the heavy snow that had been forecast for rush hour that evening. I then spent some time visiting some of my favourite websites before having a shower, grabbing some tea and then getting ready to make my way to the first performance of my drama group's pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk. My mum and dad had got tickets for opening night so we all piled into their car and drove carefully through the heavy snow that had been falling for an hour or so. As always, the nerves were jangling and there was an adrenaline rush that could probably be felt by all the cast and crew, but I think it's safe to say that we all had a fantastic time on stage and the audience seemed to love it too! Then the show was over, and we left the warm and bright church hall and stepped into a veritable winter wonderland! The snow clearly hadn't stopped falling for the entire performance, and it lay thickly on each and every surface around us. The drive home was tough, even though we were only driving a very short distance. We were still in the grip of the snowstorm and even the major roads hadn't been treated, meaning the only way to position our car on the road was to look out for the tracks made by other drivers! I honestly can't ever remember driving in conditions like that before and  it was a bit worrying at times, especially when we could see cars skidding in front of us! Luckily we made it home safe and well, and I spent the rest of the evening warm near the fire :-)

Saturday
I had a lazy morning, before acting in my second performance of the weekend. After the show, I went round to the home of my friends The Performer and The Guitarist (both of whom were also involved in the panto), where we met up with a couple of others and then all headed off for a post birthday meal at one of my favourite restaurants: Pacifica Cantonese. Seriously, if you're ever in the Manchester area, I'd highly recommend it, even if you're not normally into Chinese food! The king do ribs and spicy Mongolian beef are to die for! After eating, I'd planned to go to the restaurant's upstairs cocktail bar for a few drinks, but it was booked for a private party so when my friends who'd just planned to have drinks with me had arrived too, we took the short walk to a pub known for its low prices. 2 pitchers of cosmopolitan for £10? Yes please! The night ended with a cold and rainy walk home in high heels...never the best idea! And judging from the blisters I had when I got home, I think my feet would agree with me!

Sunday
The first part of my day was basically the same as Saturday's (a lazy morning followed by the pantomime), then I grabbed a quick Subway sandwich with the Performer and the Guitarist, before the three of us were picked up by the Guitarist's brother and taken to the cinema where we watched Les Miserables. We opted to book in for Gold Class, which whilst being more expensive than your standard cinema experience, meant that we got leather reclining seats, free popcorn and access to our own private bar! Don't mind if I do! And as for the film itself? Well, as a fan of the musical, I was sure I'd love it and it's safe to say it didn't disappoint! I laughed, I cried (at least three times!) and was taken aback by the sheer spectacle on many an occasion. I'll definitely be seeing it again, and if Anne Hathaway doesn't win an Oscar for her role as Fantine, then there simply isn't any justice in the world ;-)!!

Monday
Basically the laziest of lazy days! :-) I watched Murder, She Wrote with a cup of tea, got dressed and took a brief walk before lunch, then spent the rest of the time either on the Internet, watching TV and/or eating! It's been a lovely way to round off my long weekend, although it's really making me not want to have to get up at  5:45 for work tomorrow :-( . Roll on 4 pm on Friday when my week's holiday from work begins!

And that's pretty much it! Hope you've enjoyed my weekend round up. What did you get up to? Was your weekend as busy as mine or much more chilled out? Let me know, it'd be great to hear from you!

'Til next time...

Catching Up

And so there goes another month, seemingly in the blink of an eye. It's been another month of ups and downs for me; if you'd asked me around 10 days ago, I would have said that there had been more lows than highs, but I'm happy to say that, of late, things seem to have evened out a bit more :-)  How about having a look for yourself, as I present my month in a nutshell :

Highs

• Beautiful babies: On Easter Sunday, my friends L and G became parents for the first time and I was lucky enough to be able to visit them and their darling daughter a couple of weeks ago! Baby W is absolutely adorable and I can't wait for all the fun I'll have sharing in her first years of life :-)
• Being a winner: About 10 days ago, I was feeling really down. The weather was awful, I was off work but had nothing to do and I was feeling really isolated from all my friends. In an effort to pass some time, I decided to catch up on some of my favourite blogs and discovered that I had won a giveaway that the amazing Krysten of Why Girls Are Weird was hosting! I was so pleased that I immediately fired off a very excitable email to her in response and am now eagerly awaiting the arrival of my very own bohemian feather necklace from the very talented (and sweet) Hillery over at Clever Plumage. Look out for a reveal/review in the next couple of weeks! :-)
• Getting good news from work: Any regular readers of my blog might know that I'm not always the biggest fan of my job and that difficult customers and the sometimes monotonous nature of my work can sometimes get me down. However, over the last week or so, my experience has been something rather different. I had a really thought provoking meeting with my manager in which I received a lot of positive feedback, and also discovered that I'd qualified for our performance related bonus in the last quarter. As someone who often feels that I struggle in my current role, this was absolutely massive for me and gave me the confidence that I can achieve highly whilst I'm there. In addition, the meeting has also encouraged me to think about how I can make the most of my current skills and past experiences both in this job, and also when making my next career move. I'm inspired! :-)
• A special Saturday night out: Last Saturday evening I was transported back to late 19th Century Paris as three friends and I watched Phantom of the Opera at the beautiful Palace Theatre in Manchester. I don't know if it was the fabulous seats we had (literally only 4 rows from the stage!), the amazing performances or the incredible set and costume design, but I truly felt like I was sharing in the character's lives and experiences, rather than just watching a show. Definitely a must see!!
• 4 well needed days off: Having worked for the last few Saturdays in a row, I recently enjoyed a very much needed 4 day break. I finished work on Friday 4th and didn't have to be back in until Wednesday 9th! It was heaven, and I loved every second of it, especially catching up with some very dear friends over a DVD and Scene It on Sunday afternoon! :-)
• Easter: Extra time off work, lots of chocolate, an excuse to wear a pretty dress...these were just a few of the things I loved about Easter this year :-)

Lows

• My grandad's health: April as a month was one that was punctuated with hospital visits and worries about my Grandad. Although he's now 92, he has remained very mentally active and although much slower at walking than he used to be, he can generally get around with only a little help. However about 6 weeks ago, he had a series of falls over the space of 2 days and was admitted to hospital. The time he spent there was one of small steps forward and big leaps back. He would start having physio and seem to be making progress, but then it would be weekend or he'd pick up a bug, and by the time the physiotherapists were available again, it'd be back to square one :-(  About 10 days ago, he was finally moved to a local nursing home for some rehabilitation, and whilst he's much happier there (the hospital ward wasn't exactly the most cheery and social of places), he's still a long way from being his old self. Fingers crossed for some progress soon.
• Feeling isolated and lonely: Recently, I've had periods of feeling really lonely and isolated from many of my friends. As we're all getting older, more and more people I know have started to settle down and have children. Even one of my best friends who has been (mainly) single since who knows when is now all loved up with her new boyfriend. And whilst I'm happy for them, I've really begun to realise just how lonely I am. Gone are the impromptu nights out in town (granted they did stop a while back!) or even the girlie DVD nights, and in their place is Saturday night TV with the family and maybe the odd drink. Not that that's bad, it's just different and I'm not one that's great at dealing with change :-(
• More changes at work: As of Monday, I'll be on a new team at work as my current team manager is taking on a new role. Granted the rest of my team are moving with me, but I'll still have to settle into  a different team with colleagues I don't know well and a new manager whose leadership style I'll have to adapt to. Plus for some reason neither me nor my old manager can fathom, my change in teams has also completely screwed up my shift patterns. Since I started my job in September last year, my designated weekend day in work has always been a Saturday. Always. Meaning that if I have events on a Sunday, I've always been able to attend without booking a day's holiday. And I bet you know what's coming...my designated weekend day has somehow switched to Sunday. Which means that as things stand I won't be able to attend my friend's wedding, as it's on a Sunday and there are no holiday hours available. Fingers crossed that things get switched back as I've been promised, otherwise there'll be war!!
• Decidedly un-springlike weather: I seriously don't know what's up with this country. At the end of March the weather was absolutely glorious with clear blue skies and temperatures that rivalled any we'd expect to see in June. Since then, it's been simply shocking. We've had the coldest and wettest April since goodness knows when, and so far May isn't shaping up to be much better. Come back March, we miss you!

So there it is, and I hope you've enjoyed catching up with me as much as I've enjoyed catching up with all my favourite bloggers lately! How have the last few weeks been for you? Let me know, as always I'd love  to hear from you!

'Til next time...

What I've been loving this past month

A quick look at my blog tells me it's been exactly a month since my last post. And whilst part of me is kicking myself for not keeping my promises and posting sooner and with more regularity, there's another side which thinks it's especially fitting that I'm blogging today instead, especially as my post is concerned with all the things I've been loving over the last month or so. And here they are...

• Spring flowers...yes, I know it's a blogger cliché (well that's how it appears to me, at least) but I just love the beautiful blooms that are such a special feature of this time of year. From cherry and apple blossom to magnolias and daffodils...be still my beating heart!
• Beautiful spring weather...let's just ignore the fact that the past week has been mostly cold, grey and gloomy, shall we?! Seriously, the end of March in particular was glorious, with unbroken sunshine and temperatures that made it feel more like June. It really got me in a summery mood and made me think of holidays, fun and making plans for the months ahead.
• Soap and Glory "Clean on Me" and Herbal Essences "Tousle me Softly" shampoo and conditioner...three of my favourite products over the last few weeks, reviews will be coming soon!!
• Meeting new people and getting to know others better...whether it's an online acquaintance who I've finally got the opportunity to meet face to face, work colleagues who are becoming more and more like friends every day or saying hello to a friend's beautiful baby daughter for the first time, I've felt privileged to get to know every one :-)
• Lighter evenings and longer days...add the fact that we're getting ever closer to the longest day to the clocks moving forward to signal the start of British Summer Time, and what do you get? Days where it's light well before you reach work and night that doesn't fall until around 8 pm. Catching some daylight while you can is the best cure for the workday blues in my opinion, and I love the fact that I'll be able to get just that little bit more every day :-)
• Wearing dresses...whilst dresses have become a bigger and bigger part of my wardrobe over the past couple of years, it seems that my love of them has reached new heights this spring. They've formed an extensive part of my working wardrobe in recent weeks and every now and then, I find myself mentally adding new dresses to my spring/summer wishlist. Well a girl can dream...! :-)

So those are my loves of the last few weeks, but what about you? What have you been enjoying over the last month? Let me know, I'd love to hear from you! :-)

'Til next time...

Highs and Lows of October so far

After yet another absence from the blogging world, here I am again!! In some ways, it seems like I've done nothing this October; supply work seems to have dried up (for the moment at least) and I've spent the majority of my days staying at home. But when I actually stop and look back on the month so far, it doesn't seem like quite so much of a non-event after all. There have certainly been plenty of highs (and a few lows) that have made this month a memorable one anyway. And, without further ado, here we are:

Highs

• Almost 2 weeks ago now, my friends N and M welcomed their second child into the world :-) He's a boy, his first name begins with J and he's an absolutely adorable addition to their little family!! I've so enjoyed being a part of his older brother H's life and watching him grow up and I can't wait to do it all again with little J!!

• After over a month and a half of (sometimes) serious job hunting and a very definite lack of supply work which saw me becoming very disillusioned and hating the situation I found myself in, there is now the definite possibility of a light at the end of the tunnel. You see, yesterday I found myself in the extremely privileged position of being contacted about not just one job opportunity but two!! I'm not going to go into too much detail at the moment but I'm just so relieved that things seem to be going my way at last. My finances are starting to become a bit of a worry, especially with Christmas and quite a few birthdays coming up, so if I get even one of these jobs (they're both part time), it would be a major load off my mind :-)

• Right at the start of the month I was thrilled to get a part in my drama group's pantomime!! In January, we'll be staging Aladdin and I'll be playing the Spirit of the Ring (insert your own jokes here...the rest of the cast has!!). It's not the part I auditioned for, but I actually prefer this one anyway (there's no solo singing, which I'm very happy about :-) ) And, as long time readers of my blog will know, I was really disappointed not to be successful at last year's panto auditions, so to get any part is just a dream come true!! Initial readthroughs of the script have been a blast, and I'm really looking forward to more rehearsals and getting to spend more time with our amazing cast.

• And continuing on the dramatic theme...I went to the theatre a couple of weeks ago and saw the most amazing performance of "A Streetcar Named Desire". Having never seen or read the play before, or watched the film, I didn't really know what to expect but I was absolutely blown away. All the performances were top notch, and the three hours plus running time simply flew by; definitely an experience not to miss!!

• Spending more time with friends...what with the birth of Baby J, 2 birthdays over the past few days and another one coming up fast and numerous TV/DVD nights, I'm getting to spend some much needed quality time with my friends. And after all the "likes" I got on my new Facebook status regarding my job prospects, I'm once again reminded of just how great they are :-)

• Lovely October weather...be it unseasonably warm, or cold and crisp, there have been some beautiful sunny days which have been just perfect for walking in

• Autumn baking...I've tried out a couple of new recipes, both featuring apples and a subtle taste of spice (just perfect for this autumn weather!!) and I've got more up my sleeve for over the next couple of weeks...I'm thinking Halloween cookies, something involving pumpkin and sticky parkin. Oh, and I'm seriously thinking about starting a baking blog. What do you reckon??

• Up...I was introduced to this film last weekend by one of my girl friends and I'm in love. It's seriously one of the most beautiful, funny and moving films I've ever seen and I'm hooked. Even if it did make me cry more than most other films ever have. Seriously, I was crying like a baby!! But I still love it, and I need a copy in my life, like now!!

Lows

• Receiving some negative (and I feel pretty unwarranted) feedback from a school I worked at...again I don't want to go into detail, but there were two main issues which were raised. One which, in hindsight, I maybe could have handled slightly differently, although I feel like I was very much manipulated by the headteacher and placed in a situation in which it was very difficult for me to act appropriately. And then two, which I completely dispute and feel like it almost amounted to a personal attack, as opposed to a constructive criticism of my teaching.

• Lack of work and money and what feels like endless hours of job hunting: As I mentioned before, this has really got me down over the past few weeks although, fingers crossed, I'll hopefully have some good news on this front soon!! Tomorrow's looking to be a red letter day...I'm making a phone call to one of the possible employers tomorrow morning to find out more details about that job and I have an interview for the other post tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed the outcomes are positive!!

And that's all for now. Hope everyone else is having a good month...I've got so many of your blogs to catch up on!! Till next time...

What a day for a daydream...

I haven't really been daydreaming today, but if I had wanted to it would have been pretty much the perfect day. Warm sunshine, with just a light breeze...the ideal day to sit or lie on the grass and let your mind take flight. And if I had have been dreaming, I might have been spirited away to exotic shores, or imagined myself as an actress starring in the latest hit TV show or film, or simply created my dream guy in my head. I could have gone anywhere I wanted and been whoever I wanted to be. But today I was just me, spending time in my local area...today I was web surfing, and reading and shopping. But tomorrow could be a different story...!! As for you, are you a daydreamer? If so, what's your favourite dream? Feel free to share...I'd love to hear your stories :-)

Till next time...

Highs and Lows of the Week

I've not done one of these for a while, so with that in mind, and also because it's the end of the week, I thought I'd share my highs and lows of the past 7 days. So, without further ado, here they are:

Highs

• Time spent with friends: Most of my evenings this week have been spent in the company of some of my favourite people aka my friends! Whether we've been at the cinema, at a party or just relaxing by watching DVDs and having a chat, I've had a fantastic time and I know their company is something that I really value; basically I'd be lost without them!
• Good films: Over the past week, I've watched some amazing films. There's been Toy Story 3 at the cinema (I cried...proof that I have a soul!!), Stand by Me on the big screen at Spinningfields and Spaceballs and The Goonies on DVD at my friend's house. All very different...but all great. I have a feeling that I'll be adding some more DVDs to my collection once my buying ban is up at the end of the month!!
• The fantastic weather this weekend: If you're a frequent visitor to my blog, you'll know that I've recently been bemoaning the terrible weather we've been having over the last few weeks. Well, the weather fairies must have been listening to me because the last two days have been glorious. Sunny, but not too hot...the perfect weather for sitting outside and reading my book or for going for a leisurely walk. Hopefully it'll last into next week too!!
• A fantastic driving lesson: My last driving lesson was one of those blessed ones where everything just came together. I even managed to get my bay parking right twice in a row!! Now I just need to book my test...hopefully before I have a terrible lesson and lose my confidence!!
• Stress-free shopping: On Friday, one of my closest friends and I had to go shopping to buy a present for our friend's 21st birthday. As her party was that evening, our schedule was pretty tight, and I was half expecting the trip to be fraught with tension, as we rushed from shop to shop to find the perfect gift. But no...it was one of the easiest gift shopping trips I've been on in a while. It turns out that we had similar ideas on what to get, so selecting the gifts was a breeze. And we even had time for a well deserved Starbucks before heading home!!
• The summer holidays: I'm currently half way through my summer holidays, and even though I've been moaning about the weather, I've definitely been enjoying the freedom to stay up late, without having to worry about being up early for work the next day :-)

Now I'm meant to write about my lows, but to be honest, I can't really think of any!! So I'll leave it here for today. Till next time...

Highs and Lows

I've been meaning to post this all day but, despite not working today, have only just got round to it now! So very quickly, as I'm wanting to go to bed shortly, here are my "Highs" and "Lows" of last week:

Highs

• Fantastic weather: The UK got its first taste of summer last week, with glorious sunshine and temperatures in the mid to high 20s (Celsius obviously!!) and it was heavenly!! If only we could have that for 3 months every summer, it would be perfect!!
• Summer clothes: The gorgeous weather meant that I was also able to break out my summer clothing for the first time since last year...summer skirts, brightly coloured dresses, denim shorts and sandals, I didn't realise how much I'd missed you!!
• Free shopping: As you'll probably all know, I love shopping, and I love it even more when my purchases don't actually cost me anything!! A couple of months ago, I got a new mobile phone, and as a free gift I received some HMV vouchers, which I finally spent last week. I bought 4 DVDs, and they didn't cost me a penny! Then, on the same shopping trip, I decided to treat myself to an iced coffee from Starbucks which, you guessed it, was also free courtesy of some coupons they'd sent me earlier in the week! I still have a couple of their vouchers left over, so am hoping to be getting some more free coffee sometime soon!
• Another interview (and some useful feedback): I know I've already blogged about part of this point, but last week I received a letter inviting me to a job interview in a couple of weeks. Yay!! I also had an interview itself last week, and whilst I didn't get the job (boo!!), I did receive some genuinely useful feedback and advice from the school's headteacher, which I can hopefully put to good use next time around!
• Good news from the dentist: I had my first dentist's appointment in over a year last Friday, and was a bit worried about the state of my gums, as on my last visit there had been some concern that I was showing the early signs of gum disease, and I'd hardly been diligent in following the treatment programme my dentist had recommended. Luckily, this time around my gums were fine, even if another problem was discovered (more about that later!)

Lows

• An annoying sore throat: It first reared its ugly head last Wednesday, and then stuck around for Thursday too. It seemed to have disappeared by Friday, but made its presence felt again as soon as I started to sing at rehearsal on Friday night :-( Then the weekend passed with no incident, but guess what happened at Monday's rehearsal...?! Just go away and stay away please!
• The downsides of the heat: Namely, stubbing and cutting my little toe whilst wearing my gladiator sandals on Saturday, having to shave my legs practically every day to get away with the bare legged look and getting an annoying bite/heat lump on my right ankle!
• Not getting the job: It sucked. I had a mini 5 minute meltdown. Nothing else to say about that one really.
• Bad news from the dentist: I need a filling. And my teeth cleaning professionally. And neither of those things come cheap (in my opinion, anyway!)

And that's about all of them! I suppose I could have added in the "low" of someone wearing the same dress as me when I was out on Saturday, but I suppose it was qute funny looking back, and my friends all told me I looked better than she did anyway :-) Thanks guys!!

Till next time...

Well, hello again...

it looks like I'm back!! :-) I'm no longer drowning under endless application forms and personal statements (although I don't know how long this state of affairs will last!) and with just over a week to go until I break up for the school holidays, I can (almost) safely say (because you can never be 100% sure!) that you'll be hearing a lot more from me from here on out!

As it's been quite a while since I last posted, I thought the best way of getting back up to speed was to post a quick list of things that have happened to me since I've been off the radar. So here goes nothing!!

Since I last posted I...

• have got 2 more job interviews!! After having a few interviews over the winter, I hadn't had any since February, so was very excited to get an interview letter last Wednesday. I had my lesson observation on Tuesday, which seemed to go ok and then I've got my interview tomorrow! Eeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkk! Then, yesterday, I received a letter from another school inviting me to an interview in June. Fingers crossed I'll get the job I'm interviewing for tomorrow, but if not, at least I've got the other interview to fall back on :-)
• celebrated my mum's birthday. Happy (belated) Birthday Mum!! Love you lots!! :-)
• discovered that our new kitten Lucy is actually a boy! So it was goodbye Lucy and hello Luca lol!
• have learned never to listen to my friend Sean ever again. We're both members of the same drama group, which is renowned (well, amongst its members anyway!) for its ridiculously literal and cheesy choreography!! So last week, when the director was trying to choreograph a routine, Sean was coming up with some particularly cheesy moves and getting me to join in! Unfortunately, we were right at the front, so the director saw us and thought that we knew what the routine was!! So that meant we were sent off stage to "teach" everyone else! We couldn't get it through to the director that we were only taking the piss, so there we were at the front, jigging around like idiots!! Completely mortifying!!
• watched Iron Man 2 (for the second time!), which has left me ever-so-slightly in love with Tony Stark and wishing I was Pepper Potts...
• added to my baking repertoire by experimenting with Rocky Road...it was pretty divine, even if I do say so myself, and I'm thinking I'll definitely be making it again in the future!!
• have been lusting over these shoes (except the ones I wanted were in a different colourway...cream with red polka dots and bow), but at the same time have also resigned myself to the fact that I'll probably never possess them, as they're limited edition and seem to have completely sold out in my size :-( And what makes this tale of woe even worse is that I had tried a pair on when they very first came out, but decided that they were too frivolous and that they wouldn't go with much in my wardrobe (idiot girl!!) Oh, how I'm kicking myself now!!
• been alternately annoyed by and adoring the British weather: this time last week temperatures were below the average for the time of year, today it got up to a maximum of about 22/23oC with a predicted maximum of 26oC (78oF) for tomorrow...that's 10 degrees above the average for May! Crazy, I tell ya!! Not that I'm complaining about the heat lol :-)

And I think that's about it!! I'm looking forward to a relaxingish weekend after a busy day tomorrow (dentist, job interview, driving lesson, drama) and am hoping to take advantage of the warm weather that's been forecast. Till next time...

Easter Weekend Round Up Part 2: Easter Sunday and Easter Monday

So, just a couple of days late, here's the second part of my Easter Weekend round up (you'll find Part 1 here):

Easter Sunday:

My Easter Sunday was mostly spent:

• being lazy: I'd say this was definitely the most chilled out day of my Easter weekend overall!
• seeing my Grandad: we received a phone call earlyish in the morning to say that my Grandad had been in hospital overnight. He had gone in with dizziness and a very sore throat/difficulty swallowing, but he had had a comfortable night overall and he was discharged around lunch time. My mum, Amy and I went to pick him up and my mum and I also visited him at home later to drop a prescription off for him and to check everything was ok!
• eating easter egg (although not too much!)
• taking advantage of the better than predicted weather to have a leisurely walk
• watching TV/DVDs with Amy: we watched (most of) "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", then stopped to tune into the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who. It was ok, but I struggled to get used to the new Doctor, though admittedly I wasn't giving the episode my full attention!
• surfing the web: Facebook, Blogger, Youtube, checking my emails...you get the idea!

Easter Monday

In the UK, the day after Easter Sunday is also a bank holiday, meaning that lots of people (including me!) get a 4 day Easter weekend. My Monday was mostly spent:

• trying to get rid of some trojans which had infected my netbook: I was cursing myself for running a fake security scan, especially as one of its pop up windows included a spelling mistake! So ironic that this was the one time where I decided not to be prejudiced by my feelings towards grammatical and spelling errors! I tried running an AVG scan which detected the trojans, but it couldn't resolve the problem. I then tried doing a system restore which also failed, so the only way out I could see was to do a factory reset, making sure I backed up all my important documents first. Luckily, this worked, and normal service has since been resumed (so far, so good!)
• sharing Easter lunch with some of my closest friends: good food and company were the main features of my whole weekend, and Monday was no exception. I went over to my friends' N, M and S's house where M had cooked us, plus our other friends E and Ste a 3 course lunch. There was leek and potato soup plus crusty bread to start, roast beef with all the trimmings for mains and massive portions of either cheesecake or chocolate gateau (I chose the gateau) for dessert. All of the food was amazing (thanks M!), and after I 'd finished I was so full it felt like I wouldn't eat for a week! When we weren't eating, we were chatting, laughing and watching each other playing on the Wii (word to the wise...don't buy the Dancing on Ice game, it's awful!)...in short it was a wonderful afternoon.
• meeting up with friends in the pub for a chilled evening of chatting and drinking: this was mainly so we could be introduced to my friend E's new lodger, who'll be staying with her for roughly 3 months (she's German and taking part in an exchange programme with E's employers), but it was also a good opportunity to catch up with lots of other friends, a couple of whom I'd not seen for quite a while (well, a week or two!)
• playing truant from rehearsal (well, kind of!): I normally LOVE going to rehearsal, but must admit I didn't see the point in going to one on a bank holiday, especially as I knew some of my other friends would be in the pub! But at the same time, I have made a commitment to my drama group and would have felt really guilty if I'd just not turned up. So I decided to compromise. I got there for 7:30 sharp, but told the director I could only stay for an hour instead of the usual 2! And it was one of the longest hours of my life; partly because I just kept thinking about the drink and the company I had left behind and also partly because it was the first dance/movement rehearsal. These are always hard work and quite boring, in the early stages at least, so I was heartily relieved when 8:30 came around and I could make my exit!

And that's the rest of my weekend in a nutshell! Hope you had a great one, however you spent it! And what's up next for me? Well, I'm very excited to say that I'm going to be doing my very first guest post over at Kirsty's blog, The Road Less Travelled sometime in the next couple of days! And as for my blog, I already have my next post planned...it'll be a bit more serious in tone than the majority of my other posts, but it centres around a topic that I'm really passionate about, so I'm really looking forward to sharing it with you all! Till next time...

Things I'm loving today...

Well, I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself today, so because I know it's not healthy to wallow in self pity for too long (believe me, I've tried), I've decided to give myself a kick up the backside by making a list of the things I'm loving today. So, drumroll please because, in no particular order, we have:

• The beautiful weather...it's a lovely sunny day today and apparently it even feels quite mild outside! Maybe my prayers from Sunday have been answered!


• The fact I don't start work until 2 pm today and will be done by 6...I know it means that I won't get paid as much, but there is just something so decadent about swanning into work after lunch and and working less than half a day!


• This song:

I went to the first rehearsal for my drama group's new show last night and we started going through a few of the songs. Moon River was one of them. Whilst I've been aware of the song before now, I never realised how beautiful it was until last night. Now I absolutely love it...I've been singing it all day and I get a feeling that my family might be sick of hearing it long before the show kicks off in July!

• The fact that it's been really easy to meet one of my goals:
In Sunday's post, I was bemoaning the fact that most of my goals weren't really happening for me, including the one to put some money in my ISA each month. But today, I took my own advice and set up a standing order which will transfer some money from my current account every month. It was really quick and easy to set up, and is also a perfect solution for me, as now I don't have to physically get to my bank to pay money in! RESULT!

And whadd'ya know? I'm actually feeling a little cheerier already! Maybe I should get back to doing these lists more often...!

Be careful what you wish for...

Picture the scene...it's a Monday night, the day before your return to work after 2 blissfully lazy weeks off. Lacking motivation at the best of times, you're certainly not enthused about the prospect of an early get up the next morning and the distinct possibility that the classes you'll be teaching that will be excitable, to say the least. Then it starts snowing...at first only lightly but then heavier and heavier. You turn to your friend and say "Wouldn't it be great if we were off work tomorrow?", knowing full well that it's not going to happen, as only a light covering of 1-2 inches has been forecast, but thinking that it doesn't hurt to wish for it nevertheless.

Fast forward to the next morning...you look out of your window and realise that your wish might just have come true. There's a thick covering of snow everywhere, more than you've ever seen in your life and you doubt that you'll be going anywhere. You ring the school that you should be working in to find out that they're closed for the day and after trying to get through to your agency on a number of occasions, you finally make contact and are told to take the day off, "snuggle up and watch telly". Your wish has come true...you've got a snow day and you plan to enjoy every minute of it! Which of course you do!

But then fast forward to 2 days later, and you're starting to get just a little bored! You're on your 3rd snow day and have been filling your days with things you'd usually do on a school night meaning that by the time evening comes round there's nothing to do! Travelling is still problematic...the main roads have been cleared and some buses are running, but walking can be quite tricky and it's freezing outside, meaning that you're pretty much stuck inside :-( Not exactly the fun image you had in mind a couple of days earlier!!

So for me it's definitely a case of being careful what I wish for...I can't deny that things still look beautiful and I SO wanted a snow day but this is just a little too much lol! On a happy note, I'm just going to finish off with some pretty pictures to prove that Manchester really did have 8 inches of snow...we never normally have that much, so I suppose it's no wonder that there's been so much disruption!

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall (well, autumn)!

A few years ago, it was a strong possibility that I'd end up living in Florida. That might seem like a pretty random thing to say, so let me explain......
I was engaged to a guy who I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with; a guy whose parents and younger siblings moved to Florida. Whilst it had always been their dream, the speed with which the move took place took everyone by surprise. They went to check property out in August and by November they were gone. They'd flown across the Pond to begin their new life and my (ex) fiance was struggling to hold his old one together. He missed them terribly and it gradually became a foregone conclusion that after we married, we would fly out and join them. Obviously, I was apprehensive...while I felt happy that he would eventually be reunited with his family, I was struggling to come to terms with the fact that I would be saying goodbye to mine. And as someone who'd never lived more than an hour and half away from them, and who'd never gone more than a fortnight without seeing them, it would be hard! Especially as my mum is confined to a wheelchair and travelling to the USA would have been extremely difficult for her. Add to that a range of other issues including the validity of the degree I was studying and the postgrad qualification I was planning to take in Britain before we left, my desire for our future children to be British as well as American and my phobia of thunderstorms and you can begin to see why the situation was not an ideal one.

However, I'm still here. Mine and my ex's relationship wasn't to be, and we parted. Florida wasn't the reason, but looking back, I don't honestly believe it helped matters. Whether we stayed here or moved there, there was always going to be massive compromise on one of our parts. A compromise that I think would have probably been too big to be workable. Anyway, the boy moved to Florida about 9 months after we split and as far as I know he's still there, building his new life. And I'm here in Manchester with mine.

So where's this post going?, you may ask. Bear with me, I'm getting there, believe me! I've already listed a few things that would have made me unhappy if I'd moved and recently I've become much more aware of another. The seasons. Whilst I love the idea of endless warm and sunny days, I've got a lasting relationship with the much more changeable climate and distinct seasons that I've known all my life. Like any relationship it has its ups and downs. I shiver if it's too cold and wilt in our rare too-hot days. I curse those wet and windy days where an umbrella's absolutely no use and groan in despair at some of our pitiful excuses for a summer. But then there are the ups...the ups that more than make up for the downs. I love the brilliant blue skies and dazzling winter sunshine, especially when teamed with that real nip in the air that we so often get on winter days. And I'm not sure how many other places get to experience those oh-so-indecisive spring days, with half the sky inviting blue and the other half stormy grey. Sun, rain, sun, rain...with always the chance of both and a beautiful rainbow as a bonus. And then there's our too few summer days. We don't get them as much, so my theory is we appreciate them all the more. The rare days when the sun is up at 4 and it doesn't disappear till after 10. Those days where there isn't a cloud in the sky. Those days where it's not too hot, but not too cold and the smell of barbecue smoke and the sound of birdsong, lawnmowers and sprinklers is in the air. But most of all I love autumn. Those increasingly crisp mornings and gloriously coloured leaves. And because my words really can't do it justice, here's just a few pictures that will hopefully show what I mean:

Trees in their full glory. This was taken from my front garden.

A gorgeous tree near my house. I love the russet colour.

Close up of a rainbow opposite my house. There was actually a much fainter rainbow next to it but you can't really see it here.

The original rainbow picture...this is the view from my front garden.

Another rainbow pic...I was messing about with the lighting here!

I love the contrast of the sky colours here...the grey at the bottom drifting into the blue at the top.

The sun shining through the trees on an autumn day...you can just see the carpet of leaves underneath it too.

So there it is...I've finally realised I'm a full-on Autumn addict! What's your favourite season/time of year?

Highs and lows of the week

So Sunday's come around again and I can't believe there's only a few hours left of my weekend...it's gone so fast! :-( But nevertheless, here we are which means just one thing... it's time for my weekly round up! It's been a busy, and occasionally stressful week, but I've still found time for some fun, so what better place to tell all than in a list of highs and lows!

Highs

• Working...this has made me happy for three main reasons. Firstly, you'll know from this post that I'd had some problems with my work situation recently. However I'm now pleased to report that they've now been resolved and I've been able to continue working as a supply teacher without worrying I'm doing something illegal! Secondly, in this post I mentioned how nervous I was about my first day back at work since July. Luckily, things weren't half as bad as I thought they might be. There were times when managing behaviour was a bit of a struggle and I'm sure that I didn't always handle things as well as I could have done, but on the whole things went well and I feel happier about the career choice I've made. There were many times over the last two years when I questioned my abilities as a teacher and wondered whether I'd be better off doing something else altogether, but now I feel more confident that I will be able to become a good teacher. I know I'm always going to be on a learning curve and that it's early days yet, but it's nice to feel positive for a change! Finally, work=money! As I haven't worked for over 2 months, I was starting to feel slightly concerned over my financial situation. Luckily, I'm still living at home with my parents so I don't have that many financial commitments but I was worrying nevertheless. Anyway, the one day I thought I'd be working turned into 2, which then turned into 4!! So that means 4 days wages next week :-) Then add to that, the guaranteed day and a half I'll be getting the week after and things are starting to look a little more rosy in the garden! :-)

• The weather...on the whole, it's been another dry and quite sunny week. It makes me feel so much better when I look out and see the sun, and travelling to and from work is much more pleasant when I don't have to battle with an umbrella in the middle of a driving rain shower!

• Spending time with friends...even if we did just stay in watching Strictly Come Dancing (and Legally Blonde...LOVE that film!), it's always nice to see the guys and catch up with them. Oh, and I received an invitation to my friends L & G's wedding in December...it's about 11 weeks and I can't wait!

• Shopping...I went to Next Clearance today and bought 2 gorgeous tops and a pair of pumps that might just help me get over my grey high tops that I posted about here plus a birthday present for my friend J. Promise I'll do a post to show them all off in their full glory very soon! Over the weekend, I picked up some cheap Gallo rose from Netto...think I'll definitely be buying more wine from there in the future!

• Getting my first blog award...many thanks to The Girl of Make Believe for this...you've got a fantastic blog too, and I feel very special to get this :-)

• The possibility of watching a new series episode of House on Sky 3 later tonight...as the new series has been shown on Sky 1 which I don't have, I've been denied my new House fix for months now :-( But this weekend, the people at Sky have created a free weekend pass on Sky 3 which means that Sky 3's showing lots of programmes that those mere mortals of us with Freeview don't usually get the chance to watch. And one of them is House!! :-) I know it's only one episode, but hopefully it'll be enough to tide me over until the new series is released on dvd.

Lows

• Tiredness... I can't believe how tired work made me this week...I'd completely forgotten how much it takes out of me, especially at the start of term! Hopefully I'll get into a routine soon though!

• The Manchester derby result... as a Manchester City fan, I was absolutely GUTTED at the derby result today. Whilst losing 4-3 to Manchester United away from home might not sound like a terrible result (especially as they are the reigning Premier League champions who have had a reasonably good start to the season and we were missing some of our best strikers), the manner of the defeat is what really sticks in my throat. After 90 minutes we were drawing 3-3, and the referee signalled that 4 minutes of additional time would be played. After 94 minutes, we were still drawing 3-3 and the match should have been stopped then and there. But then mysteriously nothing happened. Play continued and deep into the 95th minute, Manchester United scored a late, late winner. So late that 17 seconds later the full time whistle was finally blown and with it, our hopes of a draw were dashed. While Manchester United fans might see me as just a bitter City fan, I am furious about those added 2 minutes which denied us a chance of a draw, and robbed us of our 100% start to the season. As yet, nobody has offered an explanation as to why those 2 extra minutes were added to the match, and I would certainly be interested to hear what the match officials have to say for themselves. So for now, I'll be content with my own theory...that the referee was a secret United fan! ;-)

And that was the week that was! Stay tuned next week for more exciting updates on my life ;-) , some fashion and beauty posts (including my long promised review of my Bourjois bargains), maybe some randomness and anything else that takes my fancy!

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:

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! :-)