Good Eventide!

Well hello there!

I'm glowing after a great sparring workout that was horrendously hard but just great! Some guy picked me up and pretty much threw me against a wall, but apart from him, I just about whipped everyone's ass. :-D

I've posted off the winners' cushions, I actually found that I had 2 left, so two out of three commentors have cushions slowly making their way to them by pigeon post!

I don't exactly have too much to say, I'm working on an essay about continuity and progression in science education - exactly, facinating stuff, eh? The cat is madly in heat at the moment, and if it goes on much longer I am definitely having her fixed (She's a house-cat so no ranty irresponsible-pet-owner-comments sil vous plait)! The sight of cat bottom in front of me on the desk is proving a tad wearing!

Oh yes, I know, something that I love, love, love and that my Dad e-mailed me the other day:



Be a pig of happiness - go and spread some love!

Half term!

Well I left you all for over half a term, but I am here now. I managed my first lie-in for about 8 weeks this morning, and I am still tired! I think I might just have a little nap before I go out teaching my little dragons.

I've managed to get to the post office today to post out some baker's twine that I sold 4 times over in my folksy shop! I'm thinking about winding it on something other than a dolly peg, since it made posting it a very expensive affair - the package weighed 33g but it still cost £1.28 to post since it was over the thickness of a large letter. :-( Silly Royal Fail. And because of the striking, people probably won't receive them for another 50 years!

I am currently in the process of clearing out the junk room - I mean, we've only been here a year and still haven't unpacked! So look out for plenty more giveaways here on the blog, and if you haven't commented below for the breakfast-face cushion, then don't delay - closing date is Friday!

GIVEAWAY!

I apologise for the light posting, but I am just busy being busy - teaching is starting in earnest and it's all very scary and exciting and boring all at the same time!

Anyway, to celebrate my first ever teaching lesson - which was about science experiments, I have a lovely breakfast face cushion to give away! Now it's not exactly the one in the picture (I am too lazy to get off my bum and take a picture), but it is very very similar except the background is blue.

If you would like a chance to win this fabulous cushion - please comment with a contact e-mail by Friday 23rd.

Calling All Font Whores!

Check out this video, I am particularly giggling over CS's character after being told to use Comic Sans in powerpoint presentations for school! *cringe*

http://www.bitrebels.com/geek/helvetica-vs-ariel/

Nearly there...

I'm nearly starting my PGCE. PANIC! I'm feeling pretty well rested today, getting into a nice routine and feeling lovely and relaxed, only to be dropped into a primary school head-first next week!

I'm just looking at my diary to see what I've done these past 4 weeks and it appears to be: not much. I have been up to my eyes in stuff though - from visiting friends and babies to getting new bike tyres, a couple of days out here and there and a few days delivering leaflets and posters for my new martial arts classes starting on Saturday. I've made room for a couple of days of ER watching - I've managed to watch just over 1 series and I don't think I'll have much time for any more, I've got some t-shirts to print, a barbecue to attend and afternoon tea and then the chaos ensues!

Yesterday I baked some Sophie Dahl bread with Wallace and Gromit flour (strange but true!). Sophie Dahl's cookery book (Sumptuous Delights) is lovely - I read all the life-story bit first, then I browsed the recipes - it's not all cakes and fancy dinners, it's really well done for just day-to-day dishes. She's split the book into seasons, so that you can use seasonal ingredients if you so wish, then each season is broken down into Breakfasts, Lunches and "Suppers" (POSH!). I looked through the summer meals but wasn't too inspired, however the autumn dishes are my favourite - not surprising since autumn is my favourite season! Last night I made the lovely bread, I also made some grilled vegetables with halloumi which is a simple recipe, but it has things that I wouldn't have thought of, like salting the aubergine and then mixing some lemon juice with olive oil before you drizzle it over the veggies. This morning I made a rice cereal thingo, which I suppose is a cross between rice pudding and porridge but neither really... It's just basmati rice cooked in milk with cardamom (YUM!) and cinnamon. I'm trying to encourage hubs to try cooking (for me) so that I don't have to slave away over a hot stove while I'm trying to balance on one leg and write lesson plans!

And with that, I shall leave you... With a picture of the cat!

Bournemouth - 'ave it!

I spent the weekend in Bournemouth with the kickboxing guys. LOVING IT!!!

Changes are afoot on planet Jen and I am 110% enjoying them. I cannot wait to be finished with work. Sometimes I think I might be sad on Monday, but then I think of those lovely, blank, clear 4 weeks that I have and I am relishing the fact that I can actually DO things, rather than just think about them from the confines of my desk.

I feel some slight trepidation that from September onwards a PGCE course plus 9 martial arts classes a week might be a tad overwhelming, but I know that I work well when I don't have time to spit! I'd rather be so busy that I don't have time to think about anything else than sitting staring and doing nothing BUT thinking of all the lovely things I could be doing with my time.

There is also a small part of me that is scared of this teaching malarky, but on the other hand I only have to get my bit of paper, I don't ever have to step into a Physics lab for as long as I live after that if my martial arts takes off.... I explained to my friend Lee that while I do want to teach martial arts 100% of the time and do nothing but that, I am too sensible to give everything up just for that, especially when I'm earning less than £200 a month at the moment! I suppose there must be a leap of faith somewhere, but I am too sensible. Also on the same day that I handed my notice in, my husband was told that there is a second round of redundancies going on in his department at work. Eeeekorama! So perhaps my being too sensible is a good thing at the moment.

Crafty-wise there are a few things in the offing - I've made a phone cover, a jewellery boxy pouch and a cushion in the past few days. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, but of course they are FABULOUS, take it from me ;-)

THE PLAN is coming together nicely - this is my calendar for the next 4 weeks. It includes visiting friends, babysitting, kickboxing, dinners out, clubbing, curtain making and sleeping! I think I will have to block out some time for house sorting/unpacking too - it's only been 9 months since we moved in. What??? With the unpacking/clearing/sorting there will be some crafty giveaways too, so keep your eyes peeled!

Also, alllsooooooo I keep thinking, "Gosh, it'll be good to be ME once I'm out of this job." Not because I necessarily put on a front to do this job, but because I always feel a little bit awkward - the other staff are older than me by a generation, I can't play music, I have to wear clothes other than pyjamas to come to work and no-body really talks here, unless it's about the TV. Of course I can't wear pyjamas to teach, but I have bought a really nice wardrobe from Boden which is almost as nice as slobbing around in pyjamas.