University

It has been a long time since my last post and I have been pretty busy!
After moving house and starting my course I feel I am still not quite on top of things. I am writing this from the library at university where I am gathering sources for my essay due in next week. Although feeling ok about it, I am not sure I have left enough time! I am sure everyone is saying that whatever stage they are at though.
The course is going well so far and I am enjoying it. We are doing Maths, English, Science and Professional Studies before we go on our first School Experience and it has been an intense period of phonics, addition, subtraction and lesson planning to say the least. Having had a taster of what we can expect to be teaching at school, we will be going in on 2nd November for a 6 week block where we will develop to teaching 60% in the last week. We all feel a bit like we are being thrown in at the deep end. Tomorrow and Friday we are back in school to complete our preliminary days where we have been collecting info on the school policies as well as getting to know the children and teachers. I feel quite lucky as this week we are going to the cinema to see Monsters vs Aliens as a class outing!
Apart from being busy at uni, I have been to a bead fair and stocked up on supplies and will be having a jewellery party at my flat on 19th November. Feel free to drop by anytime during the evening. It is a relaxed event so you will be able to try on jewellery, look at buying gifts and have a nice evening chatting and relaxing. Hope to see you then.

What's been going on?

Hi everyone,
I thought I would give you a quick update on what I have been doing lately as I know I haven't really done any proper blog posts to give you any clues.
Since coming back from my holiday in July, I have left my job, been working in a school and bought a flat! It has been pretty hectic.
The reason I have left my job is because i will start a Primary PGCE (Teacher Training) on 21st September and I have been volunteering in a primary school for a week so far in preparation for that. This course is something I have been wanting to do for a long time now and I can't wait.
I have another week left in the school where I have been doing observations of the teaching methods and strategies before starting at the University of Winchester.
It has also been our friend's wedding at St Mary's Church in Portsea and it was beautiful I will put up some pictures in time.
We get the keys to our very own flat next Friday so I will be packing all our things away this weekend and our current flat is getting very small as the boxes pile up. We are very excited!
What have you all been up to?

French Holiday Part Two

It seems so long ago now but our holiday in France is still fresh in our minds, reminding us to relax as times get busier for us.

We stayed with friends in a village, Castelfranc, close to Cahors, on the river Lot. Despite our journey being long and tiring we eventually arrived - and I mean eventually! after being given wrong directions - to the welcome of a home cooked meal.

We relaxed into the evening and slept well before taking the hire car to Cahors. Cahors in a lovely lively city with lots to do, we were lucky enough to catch some live jazz as we sat with our coffees outside.

We then went on the 'beach' on the riverside. We sat and enjoyed the sunshine which by this time was quite warm and pleasant.

The weather got hotter throughout the day as we joined some friends playing Petanque and drinking beer before a dip in the pool when unfortunately the clouds came over and the sun disappeared! But it just made our appetite grow and we dined on Cassoulet for hours!

Over the week of our stay we swam in Lac Vert at Catus, a very green refreshing lake.We swam in the Lot and fished in the Vert that passed by the house. We didn't catch very much, a few fish and one lonely crayfish, not enough for dinner. We took a boat trip down river to an island in the river for a picnic and fishing. We enjoyed delicious pizza in a nearby town and took punting trips downstream.

Overall we had a great stay in a beautiful place with lovely people.

Questionnaire - Buying For Yourself

Hi everyone,
Hope you all had a great weekend, ours was busy visiting family in sunny Kent.
On Friday my colleagues and I had a lunch out as this is my last week at work!! I am starting a Primary PGCE at the University of Winchester in September. I am excited and apprehensive at the same time - it has been a long time since I have done any studying!
I will tell you more about that in another post - this post is meant for other things - a questionnaire for you all to complete, please :)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDR5R3lpU0ZjNWJqWFhJLXpBbkladkE6MA.. You can find the spread sheet here and it is quite simple with not many questions. I would really appreciate your answers so I hope you will take the time to complete it for me.
Everyone who completes the questionnaire will receive an entry into a prize draw to win an item of jewellery from my collection.
Thank you in advance.

Wedding Gift Guide

Now I have reached my mid 20's, the theme of the summer seems to be - weddings! A few of our friends are now getting married and it has reached the all important time to choose the gift.
I have compiled a small wedding gift guide that details a few gift ideas for either the bride or groom and a few gifts for both. Most people, will buy a gift for the couple together but I know from personal experience that sometimes you may want to buy one of the couple an extra gift as well.
When I got married two years ago, one thing that sticks out in my mind from before the wedding was choosing our wedding album. My husband was quite clear in what he wanted – a massive album that had it’s own box. We searched high and low to find one we both liked and in the end we didn’t find one until about a year after the wedding and suffice to say, the photos are still not stuck in! On my search I did find this website http://www.centralcrafts.com/ that sells beautiful photo albums and a range of guest books.
One in particular that I like is this one pictured that is £54.00 for the 33x40cm size that holds up to 450 4x6 photos (the product code is 04424 if anyone is interested!).
Another gift idea for a loved up bride would be a keepsake box and I have found the perfect one for keeping all your secret things hidden away.
This cute box is available on Dancing Wired's Etsy shop priced at $23.95 and as they say - it would make an ideal wedding gift.

A great idea as a gift for the groom (or even a bride!) is a pocket watch, to ensure they make it to the church on time. I found this one at Tempus Fugit's Etsy shop and love the detail on the outside.

The blue on the dial is gorgeous and deep, it seems like an ideal man's watch, but I still want it for myself.

A little extra gift for the bride and groom would be some gorgeous pampering treats - Lush have so many luxurious and fun bathtime treats, including massage bars, bath bombs, shower jelly and lots more to pamper yourselves with. Of course you could always treat them to some luscious candles to help them unwind after the big day, Yankee Candles have some amazing smells.

These are my limited ideas on gifts for the happy couple - have you any more ideas?