Now you know my ABCs, won't you play along with me??

 Sorry, I know I've been a terrible blogger over the past couple of weeks! Blame my exuberance at being allowed out into the outside world again (no more mumps, hooray!!) coupled with a new found addiction to the CSI Crime City game on Facebook and the time I've spent on the dreaded job applications. Anyway, now I've got my excuses explanation out of the way, I'll get on to the main reason I'm blogging today...the ABCs of me. I've wanted to take part in this meme ever since I first laid eyes on it, and being at a loss with what to blog about today, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to get it done! Here we go...:


Age: 27

Bed Size: Single

Chore You Dislike: Putting away clothes. Not when they're freshly washed and ironed, but if I've been wearing them for a short time, and they're still clean. I just let them pile up until the pile looks like it's about to fall at any time! I also disliked cleaning the oven when I lived away from home.

Dogs: I used to have a border terrier called Tess, but I'm currently dog free. While I loved Tess dearly, I've grown up with cats and think I'm more of a cat person than a dog one.

Essential Start to the Day: A cup of tea and something to eat...I can't go out on an empty stomach!

Favourite Color: Coral in the summer; red in the winter.

Gold or Silver: It completely depends on the outfit. If you'd asked me 10 or even 5 years ago, I would have definitely said silver, but now I'm much more open to gold. Plus, I mix and match them on pretty much a daily basis anyway, as the ring I always wear (my parents bought it me for my 21st) has a gold band and the dial on my watch has a silver toned casing!

Height: 5'5.5/5'6 - I'm average height and I love it! I can wear heels without feeling too tall and find it easy to buy clothes that fit me (lengthwise anyway!)

Instruments: I played recorder whilst I was at primary school and I could also play a few simple tunes on the keyboard. My dream instruments to play would be the drums, saxophone and maybe the piano.

Job Title: Supply Teacher/Nursery Support Worker

Kids: None of my own, but I do work with roughly 15 3-5 year olds five days a week! Those coupled with my friend "The Maternal One's" 2 little boys aged 2 and 6 months are the nearest I've got to having children so far, and to be honest, that suits me fine, for the moment at least. I'm far too selfish right now, that's definite, but I'd love them in the future.

Live: Manchester, England

Mum's Name: Barbara


Nicknames: My friends often call me Jules or Ju, with the odd surname thrown in. My sister Amy also occasionally calls me Julio, which I hate!!

Overnight Hospital Stays: Just the one...1987, when I had my tonsils and adenoids removed, and grommets put in my ears.

Pet Peeves: Incorrect grammar and punctuation, particularly misplaced apostrophes. I once nearly chased a bus down the street so I could cross out some offending apostrophes which were featured on a poster on the bus's side! Fortunately for me, my friend was with me so I saw sense and resisted. :-)


Quote from a Movie: I'm terrible at this! I love so many different films, and I'm struggling to come up with a quote from any of them. This one will have to do:
"It's a matter of professional integrity. No girl wants to marry a doctor who can't tell if a man's dead or not!" (Bonus points if you can tell me the film!)

Righty or Lefty: Righty.

Siblings: I'm the oldest of 4 children and have a 25 year old brother, and 2 sisters who are 17 and 16. We're all still living at home...my poor mum and dad lol!


Time you wake up: If I'm working, any time between 6:45 and 7:30. At weekends, it's normally after 8:30, usually between 9 and 10.


University: Manchester University, for both my undergraduate degree and postgrad. I enjoyed my uni experience, but sometimes wish I'd made more of the student lifestyle!


Vegetables you don't like: Are gherkins a vegetable? If so, then those! And broad beans...I'm not a fan.

What makes you run late: Underestimating how long it takes me to get ready, messing around, public transport, having to wait around for other people...it can be any combination of things!!

X-Rays You've Had: Dental x-rays, one on my knee when I cut it badly at the age of 11 (clearly they don't pick up wood as I had a woodchip embedded in it for months after my original x ray!)...I think that's all.

Yummy Food You Make: Mainly sweet treats...flapjacks, rocky road, parkin, lemon loaf cake...the list could go on! I'd really like to branch out though, and add more savouries to this list.


Zoo Animal Favorite: Elephants, orang utans, giraffes, lions and fish/sea mammals in general. They're all wonderful in different ways.


And they're my ABCs. Now it's over to you! I'd love to see your ABC lists and find out a little bit more about you!  So don't be shy, come on over and feel free to share!!


Till next time...

Thursday Thoughts...

otherwise known as the post where I don't know what to write, so I just have a bit of a ramble! We all write those kinds of posts from time to time, right?? Well, I hope so! :-) And before I ramble any more than is truly necessary, here's a list of my thoughts from today:

• I'm so looking forward to coming out of 'quarantine' tomorrow. It'll have been 10 days since my symptoms became fully apparent and I was diagnosed with suspected mumps, and according to the information I've read, that means I'm no longer contagious!! I've been pain free for a few days, my face is pretty much back to normal and I'm raring to go :-). My plans so far include a driving lesson and a drama group rehearsal, and I may even pop into town for a Starbucks (I've not had one for ages!) and some window shopping.
• Another thing I'm looking forward to doing again is baking. I've not rustled anything up for a while now, firstly because I was busy with work, and then because I was scared of infecting the food with my mumps germs but now I'm raring to go again and already thinking about what I can make. So far I'm thinking along the lines of a buttery Madeira cake, but I'm open to suggestion. Do you have any ideas?
• And another baking related thought...I'm not quite sure how long I'm going to be able to resist buying this:

Yes, it's the Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days book which has recently been released. Now I know that I'm short of cash at the moment, and I've already got more than enough cookery books, but there's no getting through to me. To put it simply, I'm in love. In love with the beautiful photography featured on its pages. In love with some of the amazing sounding recipes that I've heard and read about. And when you add to this the fact that I've had some fabulous results from using the first book, and I know it's only going to be a matter of time. It's just a shame that it's nowhere near my birthday or Christmas!! :-(

• I've realised that I'm in need of a haircut. It might not seem like an essential especially as I only had a trim a few weeks ago, but believe me it is!! If I have to wait another 6-8 weeks, it'll be practically unmanageable :-( And there's no way I'm going to my friends' N and M's wedding in just over 3 weeks with a bird's nest on my head, it's just not happening! And breathe...! :-)
• I'm thinking of holidays and wondering if some friends and I will be able to get away for some sun, sea and sand for a few days at the end of May/beginning of June. I know I might not be in the best position financially, but I could really do with a holiday...it's been far too long.
• Yet at the same time, I've also been thinking about work. After a kind text from the headteacher at the school where I worked until just over a week ago, I've been once again reminded of what a fantastic group of people the staff were and what a happy time I had working there. I'm going to miss them all, and hope I'll be lucky enough to find another school that's as welcoming.
• I just love the nautical look (and have been rocking my own interpretation today). I think it's classic yet chic, sophisticated yet easy to put together and the colour palette is one of my favourites...I'm so glad it comes back every year :-)

And these are my Thursday thoughts. What have you been thinking about today?? Don't be shy...I'd love to hear from you!

Till next time...

Highs and Lows of the Week

(Picture taken from weheartit.com)

As the picture says, Happy Sunday everyone! Hope everyone is having one as restful and enjoyable as mine has been so far! And as it's Sunday, there's really no better time to post a round up of the highs and lows of my week. Now long-time readers might remember that this was a feature of the blog back in the days when I did actually post with some regularity, and I'm really keen to make it a major part of it this time around too. Not only does this lazy blogger not have to think of anything original to blog about on Sunday nights (a bonus for me, especially if my brain's been mashed with school work!!), but I also feel it's a really good exercise in giving thanks for both the big and not-so-big things that contribute to making my life as good as it is (I am lucky, even if I forget that sometimes  a lot). So without further ado, here's what's been making me smile and cry this week:

Lows

• Being diagnosed with suspected mumps: This has been my big all encompassing low of the week. Now, firstly this has meant that I've had a swollen face (mainly on the LHS) and chin, which was quite painful leading up to, and also in the first couple of days after, my diagnosis. Also, as mumps is a highly contagious disease, I've been sat at home since Tuesday afternoon for fear of infecting others which means I've missed out on watching "Ghost the Musical", rehearsal and the pub with my drama buddies on Friday night and my friend's hen do (bachelorette party) last night. And it's not just socialising that I've been barred from this week...mumps has also cheated me of the chance to say a proper goodbye to all the children I've taught and the staff I've worked with at the school I've been doing long term supply at since the start of November. The last point was by far the hardest to deal with...I'd been coming to terms with the end of my contract on Friday for a few weeks. I'd already started to plan a party for the children I'd worked with and was determined to go out on a high. And then on Tuesday afternoon I went to the doctors and never came back...now the school have made it quite clear that I'm more than welcome to drop in when I'm feeling better and believe me I'm going to (I have a mountain of resources to sort out besides anything else!!), but it still won't be quite the same :-(

Highs

• Realising there really is no place like home: Now when you're ill, or even if you're just feeling sorry for yourself, there's nowhere you'd rather be than home, And no-one you'd rather have taking care of you than your mum! Seriously, I don't know what I'd have done if I hadn't been living at home this week. Mum made sure I had food that I was able to eat (even going so far as to cut the crusts off my bread when my jaw was at its most painful) so I didn't go hungry and I was just able to laze around all day, safe in the knowledge that I had no household jobs to be getting on with. And big thanks also go to my sisters for having the great idea for them, my mum and I to have a DVD night last night and to my dad for hugging me and just being there while I had a bit of a cry the other day. And whilst I'm thanking the others, I suppose I can't go without thanking my brother for not being quite as annoying as usual lol!! Seriously, I would have been lost without them this week, so I'm saying a BIG thank you to them all as well as Happy Mother's Day to my fabulous Mum!!
• Having a rest (which really was needed): This time last week I was STRESSED. I had lots of work still to do for school, I had lots of busy evenings coming up in terms of social events and driving lessons and I really wanted a break. Then came my swollen face and the doctor's appointment and bam!! 3 weeks off. A few days of doing pretty much nothing and a few latish get ups and daytime naps later and I'm feeling pretty much back to normal. Just in time for the 2 week spring holidays...woohoo!! :-)
• Fabulous friends: The kind who take time out of their day to text or fb you to see how you are. The kind who listen to you moan without a word except if it's to check if there's anyway they can make your situation better. I've been reminded of how many of those I have over the past few days, and it's lovely, let me tell you.
• Losing weight: Over the past three or four weeks, I've been following a personal training programme on the "Biggest Loser" Wii game. Now, I won't pretend I've been being a saint by any means...I've not been exercising every day and I'm not being overly restrictive with what I've been eating, but I have been upping my activity levels (both in terms of doing the suggested workouts and some extra walking thanks to my afternoon job) so I was quite disappointed when my first couple of weigh ins showed that I hadn't lost any weight and my weight had, in fact, marginally increased. So it was with trepidation that I stepped onto the balance board today, having done no exercise for over a week and I was convinced that I'd be looking at no change at best. Imagine my disbelief when I saw that I had, in fact, lost 1.4 kg!! Considering my appetite hasn't been noticeably decreased by my illness, it came as quite a welcome surprise, but now the flip side is that I'm feeling the pressure not to put the weight back on as soon as I can eat crisps and the like!

And that was the week that was...and here's to the next one!! :-)

Till next time...

Hello/Goodbye...

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

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

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

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

Till next time...

Julie xx

Has it really been a month...

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

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

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

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

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

Till next time...

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...

I hate job hunting!!

It's taking over my life, hence my disappearance from the blogging world over the last couple of weeks or so, yet I still don't seem to be getting anywhere. It really does suck!! Part of my problem is that I really don't know what kind of job I'm looking for. All I know is that I need money and fast, as I've been out of work for two and a half months now. There hasn't really been any supply work at all since the schools went back in September, and even if I really enjoyed being a supply teacher (which I don't), I can't really afford to sit back and just wait for supply bookings to come in any more. So I've been applying for whatever I can find: temporary Christmas sales assistant posts and administration and customer service roles with quick start dates to name just two categories. But so far, no joy.

And as for the long term, well I really don't know. I'm not sure if teaching really is for me...my confidence and faith in my abilities have been shot by a combination of my inability to secure a long term post and some less than pleasurable supply experiences. As a result, I'm reluctant to apply for any teaching posts and am stuck not knowing where my heart really lies. My doubts about teaching are compounded by the fact that I disliked supply teaching a lot of the time; but then again, there were other days when I loved it and felt truly in control of things.

And then as for other posts...well, I have a degree, a postgraduate certificate and quite a substantial work history, and have been told that my CV is strong, but I'm not actually qualified to do much. I suppose I have as much chance of any graduate of getting a generic graduate job which doesn't need a specific degree, but most of those appear to either be recruitment consulting or sales. Both heavily money motivated and requiring lots of sales calls (including cold calling), these really aren't for me. I'd prefer to work in a slightly less pressured environment, where my success isn't measured in material terms, but rather in terms of the positive effect I've been able to have on others. Then I've also looked at graduate training schemes, and the majority of these seem to suffer from 1 or more of these 3 main problems: one, they have a September 2011 start date (so would only be OK if I could secure another job which could support me up until then), two, they're in sectors that don't appeal to me such as accountancy or consultancy and as graduate schemes last for an average of 2 years, it'd be a big commitment to something if I wasn't sure and finally, most of them aren't based in areas local to me, and whilst I appreciate the need to be flexible, the vast majority of my family and friends are based in the Manchester area, so I'd feel uneasy leaving the North West unless it was for my dream job. And that's assuming I'd even be accepted onto them; they're notoriously competitive and only account for a small proportion of the total number of graduate jobs available every year.

Ideally, I'd like to be in a post where I could put my background in education to good use: I'd love to have the opportunity to be a librarian or museum education officer, for example, and then I could combine my qualifications with my interest in books or history, but jobs in those sectors are even scarcer than teaching vacancies, and they often require additional qualifications.

So to sum up, at the moment, I'm well and truly confused and it's hard to shake the feeling that my career is going nowhere. But I'm trying to stay hopeful that something will crop up eventually...adopting that resilient attitude which I claim to possess on my CV!! And I'm going to try and be more organised; dedicating different times to different aspects of my job search and keeping detailed records of what I've applied for and the outcome, as well as researching alternative career options that I haven't really considered yet. It all sounds so good written down here, hopefully I'll feel the benefits in real life too!!

Now I don't know when I'll be posting again, hopefully it will be sooner rather than later but I won't be making any rash promises...I know myself better than that by now!! Suppose it all depends how organised I really can be!! And tell me, do you have any job hunting tips?? Did you know what you wanted to do with your life as a young graduate? And how did you find your dream (or current) job?

Till next time...