Another Tagathon!

Well, I wanted to blog today but didn't really know what to write about...until I saw this post from Brittany over at Sweet, Sassy and oh so Classy. She's tagged all her followers, so now I'm doing the same...if anyone wants to take part, you're more than welcome!

It's another quiz, but with a big difference...you have to use images to explain your answers! So here goes...

1. Your favourite beverage

While I might be crazy for cocktails, wild about wine, mad about mochas and hot for hot chocolate, my favourite drink has got to be a cup of tea. It's my drink of choice first thing in the morning, and I can drink anything up to 8 cups a day. (Love this cup by the way...I can't believe it has my name on!)

2. Your home town



Ok...before I go any further, time for a confession...I'm not actually from Manchester. Greater Manchester, yes; the city of Manchester itself, no. I was born, and still live, in Salford which is a separate city within the Greater Manchester authority (hope I've not lost anyone yet!) So why have I been lying about my hometown ever since I can remember?? Firstly, it's just easier. Everyone knows about Manchester...well everyone I've ever spoke to anyway. Secondly, I'm more than just a little in love with the place (well, the city centre at least)! There's no denying that Salford has some cool parts, but there's really no contest! I'm a Manchester girl by adoption, if not by virtue of my birth.


3. Your favourite television show
Surprise, surprise...It's House!

4. Your occupation

Super Supply Teacher...that's me! Well on a good day anyway! I'm often more like Sluggish Supply Teacher.

5. Your first car

Aaahhhhhh...the car I owned but never actually drove...an old style grey Nissan Micra.

6. Your favourite dish

This was soooo hard to choose...but my favourite at the mo is probably my mum's chilli with rice. Yum!!

7. Celebrity you've been told you resemble

Now before I go any further, I'll warn you that I don't look like either of these celebrities in any shape or form and think that the people who said that I did most probably need their eyes testing!

That's right...it's Kylie Minogue! I seriously don't understand this at all...but according to one friend I looked really like her in one of her music videos (I think it was "In Your Eyes" but I'm not 100%).

Or alternatively we have...

Karen Carpenter! No, I don't see it either! To be honest, I can't think of any celebrity that I even vaguely resemble...what do you think?

8. Celebrity on your "to-do" list

At the mo, it's definitely Joseph Fiennes...have been loving Flashforward (and him!) lately.

9. Your favourite childhood toy

While I didn't have exactly this doll growing up, I had loads of baby dolls and didn't stop playing with them until I reached the age of about 10 or 11!

10. Any random picture

A bit of an oldie here...this is me and my (not so) little bro cleaning our first family car. I reckon I was about 4 or 5 here, so he would have been 2 or 3.

Anyway, that's all folks! I've had lots of fun finding these pics and hope you enjoy the results!

There are no words...

to describe this so I guess I'll just post the video instead! As you're watching, just bear in mind that these guys are meant to be one of the twelve best acts in this year's competition...

What's-in-my-wardrobe Wednesday - Silver necklaces

Well...technically not real silver, but they are silver coloured! This week I'm going to be sharing some of my favourite pieces of costume jewellery, my silver toned necklaces.

Diamante drop pendant
I can't remember where this necklace is from, or who bought it but it's one I wear quite a lot. I love its simplicity and sparkle, plus it has a really strong chain which means I'm not worried about it breaking.

Diamante tassel pendant
I think this was a present off my friends J and N for my 24th birthday. Although I don't wear this as much as some of my other jewellery, I think it's a very pretty piece and I like the fact it has an adjustable chain so I can wear it long or short depending on the top I've got on.

Filigree heart necklace
This is one of my all time favourite necklaces. It's another Primark bargain, but I think it looks much more expensive, and I've had compliments on it almost every time I've worn it. I love all the intricate detailing on the hearts, and the way they link together. Although it has an adjustable chain, I always try and wear it as short as possible to give a choker/neck plate effect.

Silver/clear multi charm pendant
This was another birthday present, this time off my friends G and L for my 25th. I think the charms give it a really fun and current look, and it also comes with matching earrings if I really want to dress things up!

Pink/Purple charm pendant

This was an end of year present off one of the children in my first ever class as a qualified teacher. In some ways it's quite similar to the previous necklace, it's got charms at the front and comes with matching earrings. However, this pendant has a much shorter chain, so I tend to wear it with a v neck top, so the charms can fit nicely in the v. It's also front fastening which is quite unusual, none of my other necklaces fasten in that way!

Silver heart pendant

I bought this from Primark a couple of years ago when there was a trend for heart shaped pendants, and even though they're not as popular now, I still love wearing mine! As the heart is on a long chain, I usually wear this with tops without much detail on the front, so things don't look too fussy!

And that's it from my wardrobe for this week! Stay tuned for more exciting updates! ;-)

Foolish pride...

that's all that I have left... ("Walk on By" - Jack Sigler/David Brown)

This is kind of how I feel now, and definitely how I felt on Monday night. On Monday, I auditioned for this winter's pantomime at my drama group. Before I get into the story of what happened, just let me fill you in on a little background. Basically, I've been a member of the group for about a year and a half although for the first few months I could only attend Monday rehearsals as I had another commitment on Friday evenings. As a result I didn't audition for last year's pantomime, as I didn't feel that I would be able to commit fully to a principal role if I was offered one. I ended up as a member of the chorus, but then one night by a twist of fate, I was asked to stand in for a principal who wasn't there. This one night turned into one week, then another, then another... I was recieving compliments from others in the group for my portrayal of the character and I secretly felt that the role was becoming my own. There was even discussion between some people in the group as to whether the part should be offered to me, which I was flattered by, even though deep down I knew it wouldn't have been fair on the other actress. Then...said actress returned. Even though I knew it wasn't my role to lose, I was gutted. I returned to the chorus line, able to recite her every line with her and wishing it was me who was going to get a fancy costume instead of the crappy one I would be wearing!

Anyhow, ever since, whenever the topic of a panto has been brought up, others in the group have said things like "You'd better audition for the next one" or asked if I was going to audition, and responded very positively when I said yes. So by the time this year's panto came around, I was feeling pretty damn confident! And that's when things started to go wrong...

Admittedly, I played a part in my own downfall as I decided to audition for the part of the Prince (yeah, I know I'm a girl, but girls heavily outnumber guys at our group, so they were going for a principal boy kind of thing). The acting bit of my audition went ok (I think...), but then they asked me to sing. I should have expected this, as the Prince normally has at least one solo, but it threw me completely! I couldn't think of what to sing, and when I did, my first couple of lines were completely off. It did improve after that, but it still wasn't perfect by a loooooooong way! I left the audition room, but then was called back up after a couple of minutes where I was handed a script and asked if I could think "evil"...they wanted me to audition for the part of the evil queen. They let me take the script away for a few minutes, and I hastily prepared before I was called up for the third and final time. Now in my head I was fantastic...I strutted and I sneered, my every word dripping with venom and I walked away thinking it was in the bag...no one else who was auditioning could do a better job than me!

Then came the long wait...and despite my earlier confidence, my nerves started jangling in the pit of my stomach. Then 2 people were called in, and came out ecstatic...they'd got the parts of the Prince and the Queen (both the parts I'd auditioned for). I was pleased for them, although slightly disappointed for myself but I consoled myself with the fact that there were still some parts that hadn't been assigned. Then another person who was waiting was called...she came out with a part. Not the one she had auditioned for, but a part nevertheless. Then it was my turn, and when I heard the director say "Oh Julie", I knew it wasn't going to be good news. The rest of the words turned into some kind of blur but I did register that they thought I wasn't suitable for the part and could I be in the chorus. I said yes...still numb inside. I left the room, and walked straight out without even stopping to say bye. Then I got angry and upset, and spent the rest of the evening talking it over with my friend E, who also acts and understood what I was going through!

Now I'm calmer, although still upset. Maybe it's someone teaching me a lesson for being so proud and sure of myself, and if so it's worked! It's shook my confidence, as I think maybe I'm not as good an actress as I thought. I never thought I was Oscar worthy or anything, but I reckoned I was ok. As well as the praise I got last year, I also played the lead role in my college play when I was 17 so I assumed I wasn't completely useless! All of this just goes to show why I couldn't pursue acting as a career...rejection would kill me, as I'd take everything personally!

Anyway, roll on 7 o'clock! It's our first rehearsal, so I'll be plastering on the cheesy smile, cringing at the awful script and being determined to be the best damn chorus member they've EVER had!

(Oh yeah, and What's-in-my-wardrobe Wednesday will return next week! I do have pictures and everything, but thought that I should wait until the right day of the week lol!)

I've been tagged!!

Something a bit different for today! Jennee over at Cheap Therapy tagged me so I'm playing along with this!

Here are the rules:
RULE 1- You can only say Guilty or Innocent.

RULE 2- You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks!

RULE 3- Copy and paste this into your notes , delete mine and type in your answers and tag your friends to answer this.

So here goes nothing!:

Have you:
Asked someone to marry you? Innocent

Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Guilty

Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent

Ever told a lie? Guilty

Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have back? Guilty

Kissed a picture? Guilty

Slept in until 5 PM? Innocent

Fallen asleep at work/school? Innocent

Held a snake? Guilty

Been suspended from school? Innocent

Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent

Stolen from a store? Guilty

Been fired from a job? Innocent

Done something you regret? Guilty

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Guilty

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Guilty

Kissed in the rain? Guilty

Sat on a roof top? Innocent

Kissed someone you shouldn't? Guilty

Sang in the shower? Guilty

Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Innocent

Shaved your head? Innocent

Had a boxing membership? Innocent

Made a girlfriend cry? Innocent

Been in a band? Innocent

Shot a gun? Guilty

Donated Blood? Guilty

Eaten alligator meat? Innocent

Eaten cheesecake? Guilty

Still love someone you shouldn't? Guilty

Have/had a tattoo? Guilty

Liked someone, but will never tell who? Innocent

Been too honest? Guilty

Ruined a surprise? Innocent

Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you couldn’t walk afterwards? Guilty

Erased someone in your friends list? Guilty

Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Innocent

Joined a pageant? Innocent

Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty

Had communication with your ex? Guilty

Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent

Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Guilty

I'm tagging...

The Girl of Make Believe

Michelle

Miss Peregrin

Dara Laine

Was going to do 5, but have decided to be a little different lol! Hope you enjoyed, and will be back with another post very soon!

Highs and Lows of the week!

It's been a couple of weeks since I've done one of these posts so I think it's high time that I did another one. Although this week hasn't been that eventful, there's still been things that have made my high list and others that are definitely on my lows! So, without further ado, here goes:

Highs

• Spending time with friends: although this week hasn't been one of wild nights out (more about that later!), I've still managed to see quite a lot of my friends this week. A group of us went to see Disney on Ice on Thursday (cheesy, but great fun!), I had a dvd night with a couple of my closest friends on Friday and went round to a friend's last night to watch tv. Despite the fact that some of the nights weren't particularly eventful, I've still had a good time as I've been with people that I really enjoy spending time with!

• Work: On the whole, I'm still enjoying work (although everyone has their off days now and then) and obviously, I'm also enjoying the money that comes with it. As I get paid on a weekly basis, I know I'm never that far away from a payday and it also makes it easier to manage my money! Another thing I've enjoyed about work this week is the fact that all of it was prebooked, so it made my life a whole lot easier in terms of transport (I haven't had to fight through the rush hour!) and also meant that I didn't need to spend my free time planning lesson activities, as prebooked cover generally means that the usual class teacher will have left work for the children.

• It's October: This might seem like a strange one, it's not as if October's my favourite month or anything but there's a lot about this October that I'm really looking forward to. There's three of my friends' birthdays coming up which means that there'll be three birthday celebrations (yay!) and I'm also going to a Halloween murder mystery party which I'm very excited about! October also means that I'll get my first holiday of the school year... a whole week with nothing to do which will be bliss and it's also when my drama group will start rehearsing for our next show. I haven't seen most of the group members for over a month and I'm really looking forward to spending time with everyone again!

• Cake Wrecks: I discovered this blog the other day and I absolutely LOVE IT! Nothing else to say about this one really except check it out!

Lows

• Noisy classes: Whilst I haven't had any really difficult classes this week, most of them have been really noisy. Now it's not that I expect children to work in silence all the time or anything like that, but when it gets to the point where a class can't hear the instructions I'm giving or are being so noisy that no-one can possibly be able to concentrate, then we have a problem! I've tried using agreed signals (e.g. hands up, clapping a rhythm etc) to signal that I need a class to stop and listen, rewarding the behaviours I want and simply just waiting for silence but none of these strategies seem to be fully effective! I don't want to resort to shouting over the children, so am searching for other things to try as well. Like I said, it's nothing really major but you'd be surpr. ised how much it can wear you down.

• Not going out again this weekend: Although it's true that I have enjoyed this weekend and love spending time with my friends regardless of what we do, I'm longing for a proper night out again! It's been about 4 weeks since the fantastic weekend I blogged about here, and since then the furthest I've got on a weekend is a local pub for a couple of drinks! I've also got a great new top and I'm dying for an excuse to wear it! Fingers crossed for next week!!

• Waiting for buses after work: The sooner I learn to drive the better!! One of the bus routes in my area has recently been changed, and it means that getting to one school in particular has been made a lot more awkward for me. Whilst it's not a million miles away, I don't particularly want to walk back after a long day, but my choice is either that or waiting ages to catch the elusive bus!

So there's my highs and lows for another week. Hope you've all had fabulous weeks, with lots of highs and no real lows to speak of. Till next time...!!

What's-in-my-wardrobe-Wednesday (well nearly!) - If you want to get ahead, get a hat!

Yes, I know it isn't Wednesday, but I honestly didn't have time to write this post yesterday, so here it is, better late than never! As you can probably guess from the title, today I'm going to be sharing pictures of some of my hats. Although I don't wear them as much as some of my other accessories, lots of my hats are among my favourite pieces in my wardrobe and I love the spin they can give to an otherwise ordinary outfit. So, without any further introduction, here's six of the best of them (I was going to do 5, but I found it too hard to choose!):

Straw cowboy hat
I bought this in Majorca a couple of summers ago, and it's great for keeping the sun off on those hot summer days (not that we've seen many of those here lately!)

Cream knitted baker boy hat

This was another Primark buy and I love wearing it in winter with my matching scarf. The only thing is it doesn't cover my ears properly, so I'm always pulling it down as far as I can!

Pale pink knitted beanie
This is really pink, although it looks more cream in the photo! I bought it from Asda to go with my pink scarves and gloves, and I really like the way it looks on. It also has a button detail on one side, which can't be seen on the picture, but I think it makes it look extra cute!

Red beret

I was first attracted by the colour of this hat; it's a really vibrant scarlet red and I liked it even more when I found out it was only 50p in the sale! I also like the fact that you can wear it pulled over to either side or to the back, as it gives the hat a slightly different look each time.

Black sequin beret

I love sequins and I love hats, so when I saw this it was a must have buy! Plus it was a bargain, only costing a few pounds from a cheap clothes shop and I love the way it can easily dress up a simple pair of jeans. As with my other beret, I also like the fact I can wear it at different angles and am sure I'll be wearing it a lot over the next few months, especially as it will fit in with the current sequin trend.

Black and white trilby

Out of all my hats this is probably my favourite. It was half price in the Asda sale, and like my sequinned beret, I really love the way it can dress a casual outfit up as well as make a smart one look more interesting. And it also helped me get a date with a really hot guy once...but that's another story!!

So that's my hats!! Hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for another installment of What's-in-my-wardrobe Wednesday soon!