Christmas Plans

I'd just like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope you all have an amazing festive season. But yeah, I'd like to thank the people who do read this blog (there are a few of you out there).

I haven't been brilliant with this blog lately, but I'm going to endeavor to write more in advance and schedule them in the new year. In fact, I've already got one scheduled for New Years Day *shock-horror*

This year we're spending Christmas with my family in Tokomaru Bay on the East Cape. Mum and Dad have rented a bach there right by the beach. I hope it'll be nice weather so we can go swimming, kayaking, boogie-boarding and hang out with my family on the beach. We will take some board games just in case the weather is crap.

This is going to be my last post of the year, but in the New Year I'll do my best to keep the blog up to date (except the first few weeks - as I've got two weddings to go to and they're in different places in the country).

Anyways, hope you Northern Hemisphere people don't get too cold and hope fellow Southern Hemisphere people don't get too sunburnt (let's see if I can do it this summer).

Merry Christmas you guys and have an awesome New Year.

http://www.stockvault.net/photo/109800/pohutukawa-tree. By Murray Douglas

First day back teaching

So today I had my first day teaching in almost 3 years. And it went fantastically!

I got the call yesterday so the nerves got me a little bit at first. And yesterday I frantically looked through a pile of teaching stuff that had been stowed away in a wardrobe just in case the teacher hadn't left planning.

Turns out, I shouldn't have worried because the teacher was there when I started! And she had everything planned. Turns out that she was still in the classroom for the majority of the day but was doing testing. There were a few areas that I was unsure about but I think that's mainly because somebody else had planned them and I wasn't sure of how things were done. The kids were fantastic though and didn't have much to worry about in the behaviour area. The behaviour management came back to me almost immediately which was good. On days that I don't teach I've decided to read through some of my texts to refamiliarise myself with the curriculum again.

All in all a great day - the classroom teacher liked me and I have another day lined up next week with a different class. So excited and happy that I left my last job to follow my calling. I absolutely love teaching and hope that this will help me to find a full time position before 2016.

Me teaching a few years back

New Beginnings

I quit my job at Farmers. It just wasn't for me and I wasn't happy - physically and mentally. I just can't deal with idiotic customers and the being on my feet for 8 hours a day.

So I quit. I am now resuming the hunt for a teaching job. Starting Monday, I am going around a number of local schools to put my name down for relieving. I really really want to get my foot back in the door of teaching. After 3 years away it's now or never. I really hope that someone will see my potential as a teacher.

I've given myself until the beginning of 2016 to find a full time teaching job otherwise I'm going to change career - possibly to Human Resources. I only have one paper to complete in order to get a Diploma in Business endorsed in HR. So first semester next year, I plan on completing that by correspondence.

So here's to New Beginnings

http://drinkoid.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/champagne_glasses.jpg

Long haul flights - the only good bit

Long haul flights are generally horrible. You're cramped into seats with very little legroom for way too long and you don't get a lot of sleep. Oh, and you get told to put your window shade down when you don't want to (that seriously irritated me - I like looking out the window!)

The only good thing that I could find was the fact that there were heaps of free tv shows and movies to watch. Movies that I normally wouldn't consider watching but ended up enjoying.

Here's a list of ones that still linger in my mind almost two months after the flight:

The Book Thief - probably one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. The narrator is Death. And the story bases itself around a little girl in Germany in the Second World War who loves to read. An amazing story which made me bawl a bit (much to the astonishment of some surrounding passengers).

The Lego Movie - 'everything is awesome!' For a kids movie, I actually really enjoyed this. The storyline was weird but the animation was really good. It probably helped that I was overtired while watching this and found it hilarious.

The Darjeeling Express - another weird movie. Three American brothers with certain...vices...travel through India on a train. And get in trouble. A lot. Basically it's about their adventures but presented in a really funny way.

The Grand Budapest Hotel - yet another strange movie (maybe excessive tiredness contributed to my selections). The story of the owner of hotel and how he inherited it from it's previous (very strange) owner. Involved some really funny bits but also serious bits (Nazis etc).


I would love to see them again but this time not at altitude. I kept having to get up to let the old lady beside use the loo multiple times and also kept getting distracted by my swelling ankles and sleepiness.

Following my dreams

It took me quite a while to get over my jet-lag after our trip to Europe. I really should have taken more time off work. One day off after flying in on a Sunday morning was not a good idea. After zombieing (new word?) my way through my first few weeks back at work I decided that I'm sick of my job and have begun the hunt for a new one. A new adventure of sorts. My current job is in retail and I really want something else out of life rather than 'helping' some really stuck up women who are so far into debt you can see the nervousness on their faces as to whether or not their credit card will accept.

As some of you know, I trained as  Primary School Teacher and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control I was unable to find a position after I graduated at the end of 2011. It's now been almost 3 years since I graduated and I really want to get back into it. After our trip is paid off I'm thinking that I might try relieving. Especially since our government has decided to introduce a new rule that if you're not fully registered within 6 years you have to retrain. And it takes 2 years of full time teaching to get fully registered. So I've got the rest of this year and next year to try and get a full time position so I can do it in time. But now I'm really nervous. Will schools hire me for relief work? After being out of the profession for almost 3 years?

Maybe I need to get my old textbooks out and start doing a bit of studying. And then quit my current job once I feel I'm in the right head-space and try to follow my dreams. If it doesn't work out the way I planned, then so be it.

I'm back!

Hi guys,

So I'm back from the most amazing holiday of my life. We went to England, Ireland, Scotland and Paris.

I'm finally over my jet-lag (going to the opposite side of the world and back is tiring!) and I'm trying to get back in the routine of things. I do plan on doing some posts of my holiday but that will have to wait until after  1) AJ and I have gone through our pictures and 2) I get up to date on my travel diary.

So things might take a little while to get back to normal (not that it was ever normal to start with) but I fully intend to post about my trip. If I'm feeling it, I might even post something for the 2014 Blogger Challenge. It all depends really.

Back to reality :-(

Update and a promise

So late last year I decided to do the 2014 Blogger Challenge hosted by Gaby at http://anothergirlyblg.blogspot.co.uk .

I've been pretty on to it with posting topics etc. Some topics I like a lot more than others which is evident in my posting on them. Some are a lot more brief than others.

So I have decided that I will use the Blogger Challenge topics as a guideline for future blog posts. I will still try to get them up on time but life has a habit of getting in the way sometimes. Especially with a big holiday coming up with which my only access to the internet will be through my phone when there's free wifi. 

So this is my promise to the lovely people who actually look at this little piece of the internet:
I will continue to blog, but when I can. I will continue to do posts on the 2014 Blogger Challenge, but they might not be on time.

So don't panic if there's a big space of time when I'm not posting - chances are I'm off enjoying myself, adventuring around the world. I'm not going to post where I'm going or when (due to being burgled a few years back while away I'm very conscious about who I tell about these types of thing), but rest assured, there will be a lot of posts when I'm back again. My sister gave me a book to use as a travel diary and I fully intend to use it.

Hair - 2014 Blogger Challenge

I've been on many adventures with my hair. It's very thick, frizzy (occasionally wavy) and I get dandruff.

I've grown it extremely long and chopped it short into a pixie cut.

I've dyed it a couple of times but have never found a colour I'm totally happy with.

It also grows rather fast so it gets expensive to keep one particular haircut.

I've tried so many different products over the years and haven't been able to find any that work well.

My hair seriously has a mind of its own.

I'm actually really looking forward to seeing other posts in this topic to possibly get some ideas to cure my hair woes.

Some bands I like - 2014 Blogger Challenge

So I thought I would post some videos of bands that I like. I've seen all but Within Temptation live and all were amazing. If Within Temptation were to perform in New Zealand, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

Foo Fighters - Walk

Within Temptation - Whole World is Watching ft. Dave Pirner

Nightwish - Storytime

Linkin Park - Iridescent

My Autumn Style (because it's not Spring here!) - Blogger Challenge 2014

Well, the theme for the challenge this time round was 'Spring OOTD'. 
I don't live in the Northern Hemisphere so obviously it's not Spring. So I changed it to Autumn OOTD. 
It hasn't been hugely cold yet, and still muggy here in Auckland. We had the remnants of a tropical cyclone come through yesterday causing havoc (so fun to drive to work in...not)
So bearing in mind that there will start to be a nip in the air before long (it's already been a bit cold at night), I thought I'd share a few outfits that I think are cute coming into the cooler weather.

For this I decided to have a look at what I'd pinned on pinterest. I'm not one to go for one particular look but in general I love polka dots, and love to wear a bit of colour with black.

So without further ado here are a few bits and bobs that I love and think will be awesome for autumn.

Source: http://politicsofmonogramming.tumblr.com/post/68949672296

This dress is beautiful. I love the colour, cut and the lace. Team this with a pair of black tights and some nice ankle boots and you have a winner. You could also wear a nice little black cardi over the top if it was a bit chilly. With dresses like this I'm very conscious of it coming down long enough at the back as I'm quite tall. It'd have to come down at least halfway down my thighs.

Source: http://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/6056101/il_570xN.226187299.jpg

I love tights that are coloured, patterned, or even better, BOTH! Especially when they're teamed up with ankle boots. I would only ever wear patterned tights with a plain skirt though, otherwise it's too much.

Source: http://www.downtownoffprice.com/content/images/thumbs/0006807_wholesale-polka-dot-top-s-m-l-7pcs.jpg

I just HAD to have something with polka dots on my list. I love the look of this and could easily imagine myself wearing this with skinny jeans or some pants. Polka dots are my friend and I can't imagine life without them. Whenever I see something dotty I stop and look at it. I just have to. I can't help it.

2014 blogger challenge - Day in Pictures

So I almost forgot about this topic as I've been sick the past few days. But was feeling alright by lunchtime today but forgot to take any photos on my lunch out with friends. So I'm going to borrow some pictures from the net to show yesterday and lunch today.

How I was feeling all day yesterday

Went to the coffee club for lunch (photo from their website)

Had a bagel with cream cheese for lunch. First thing I'd eaten besides crackers in 24 hours

Food glorious food - 2014 Blogger Challenge

I love food.

There, I said it.

There are very few things I don't eat (that are food, anyways). And I'll try anything once.

So, rather than a list of things I like (I'd be typing for hours and hours and hours), I'll type a list of things I don't like (that I've tried).

Foods I dislike:

1) Liver (I find it tastes gross)
2) Cheesecake (there's something in the texture that just makes me gag)
3) Overly sickly sweet fudge. (Someone else can have that).
4) Extremely spicy things that make my mouth go on fire, drowning out any taste.

So, if you ever invite me over for a meal, chances are, I'll eat what's put in front of me. You just need to adhere to the list above.

Oh, and I'm sure there's other things out there that I don't like...I just haven't tried them yet :D

Natural Nails - 2014 blogger challenge

So this time the topic is nails.

I like my nails. I get so many compliments on them and how nice they are. I can grow them quite long naturally. They're a nice shape naturally and the only thing I have to do to maintain them is cut them every now and then before they get too annoying.
I've only had fake nails once and I HATED them. Kept picking at them and I think they looked way worse than my natural nails.
People are always asking me what I do to keep my nails so nice and the truthful answer is NOTHING. I hardly ever paint them. I only ever paint them for a party or a special event. I don't use any treatments.

My nails a few years back. Haven't changed much since then

Value for money

The fourth topic of the Blogger Challenge is to talk about high end products.

My problem with this topic is that I don't even really know what that is. I go for value for money. If a certain product does what I want better than cheaper options, then I might pay more for it but that's not always the case.

I once splashed out and bought a whole heap of Clarins products which cost me quite a bit of money. I'd much rather spend my money elsewhere. So now, whenever I need a new product I'll do a bit of research first and decide which product will do what I want for the least amount of money. Of course, sometimes this doesn't work out amazingly. But then, you just try a different product until you find one that  you think is perfect for you.

It's the same with clothes. I like to buy clothes that suit me. I'm not worried about brand or anything like that. I'm just worried about if it suits me and what quality it is. Sometimes with clothing, it does mean spending a bit more than you would on cheap clothes from, say, The Warehouse, but it will last longer.

So, all in all, I think it all depends on what YOU want from a product. I just want to be happy, and save money for things I really want (like a holiday).

(Do not claim this photo as my own. From RadioLive website)

Book Review - Wheel of Time series

Now, I know that the third challenge was for a normal book review, but I'm enjoying the Wheel of Time series to much I thought I'd do it on what I've read so far.

All in all, there are 14 books in the series and I'm up to book 8 "The Path of Daggers".

The Wheel of Time is a fantasy series set in a world where the 'Dark One' is trying to take over. The 'Dragon Reborn' is a man who is trying to counter that. He has many people who try to help in various ways. There are his friends Mat and Perrin who are also very influential. There's also some very strong female characters in the form of the Aes Sedai  and Wise Ones (women who can use magic).

The Wheel of Time series is great in that it explores different cultures and the interactions between them. Also, the interactions between the different characters is amazing. They really do seem like real people.

While reading this series you really feel as though you're almost experiencing what's happening - or at least watching from afar. There's always something different going on and there are many different storylines to follow that all interlink in some way.

I try to read one chapter a night but sometimes I find myself reading much more (much to my husband's annoyance - but it's his fault, he introduced me to the series).

If you've never tried reading a fantasy series, then I suggest this one. If you are a woman like me who never read fantasy until her husband recommended it, then I suggest giving it a go. Especially if you choose a book that has strong female characters.

Found my skin type finally

So the second topic for the 2014 Blogger's Challenge is about skincare. So here goes...

Now, I'm no expert on the subject at all.  It was only after talking with one of the cosmeticians at work about midway through last year that I even started a skincare routine.
This lovely cosmetician told me that I had dry skin (after me thinking previously that I has combination).
So now I start my routine (in the mornings) with a milk cleanser, then tone. At the moment for both of these I'm using Clarins, but it's a bit expensive so will try something new once I run out.
After toning I use an under-eye gel for my baggy eyes. It seriously helps with the puffiness and helps to wake me up in the mornings. Again I'm using a Clarins product for this.
Then I use a serum which deeply moisturizes my skin. I also then use a moisturizer. For both serum and moisturizer I use L'Oreal Youth Luminosity brand which is amazing. I even had a comment from a workmate saying my skin was glowing the other day :D

I try to stick to this every day but I'm not very good at routines. I also exfoliate once a week as well as using a face masque.

And there's my skincare post. Not my normal type of post but it's good for me :P

New Years Inspirational quote

"If you want the rainbow you've got to put up with the rain".

This quote inspires me to do so much for 2014.
It says that in order for me to properly enjoy things that I want to do, I have to put the hard yards in first.

To get the most out of my holiday later in the year, I have to put up with work drama and save as much money as possible. Also have to plan ahead. Where exactly in Ireland and the UK do we want to go? How much money will we need to save up?

To get the house and backyard we want, we have to actually get out there and do it.

To be happy with my body and lose weight in some areas I have to put in the effort of exercising (for the record, I currently don't and my body's suffering for it).

I guess these are kind of resolutions in the way. Let's see if I'm successful in living up to this quote

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