Festivals...

I have been catching up on some of the Glastonbury coverage this week and am sad to not to have been there. I love festivals as they offer the perfect blend of relaxation and of course music!! When at festivals you can get up, chat with friends and then spend time in likewise company, appreciating great music and discovering bands you never knew about.I would love to attend Coachella festival sometime in the future!!

I've seen bands from The Red Hot Chillie Peppers to Lightspeed Champion. Some of my highlights have been The Killers headlining, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, The Wombats, The Shins and Razorlight. There is nothing like a field full of people all singing together. I watched U2 on tv the other night and was impressed. I'm not a huge fan of theirs but appreciated their set. Last night was the turn of one of my favourite bands to headline: Coldplay. I saw them live a few years back and they are amazing!! If you ever get the change to see them- go! You wont regret it.

Have you been to a music festival or would you like to?

I'm gonna share some of my favourite Coldplay songs now:

Yellow

Fix You - Brilliant live but quite emotional

Warning Sign

Violet Hill

Swallowed In The Sea

Happy Birthday to me...

Today is the day that as you get older, starts to get less and less fun...it's my birthday. It's possibly the only day which I become less fond of as the years go by. Christmas, Halloween, Pancake Day and all other special occasions may lose some shine but nothing like birthdays.

Don't get me wrong, I love how birthdays bring family and friends together but at some point in the lead up or days past, thoughts of how much you have achieved, people who are no longer in your life and other such thoughts pass. This isn't negative per se just thought provoking. After New Year, I think birthdays are another day which make you evaluate your life. Are you where you want to be? Are you proud of what you've done in you life so far? Are their dreams you need to start pursuing? 

When I think back to New Year and starting this blog I had lots of thoughts which ranged from confusion to disappointment and I wasn't quite sure where I was actually going with this blog. Now I', half way through the year and still blogging I am pleased I started. Through this I have gained some very good friends who last birthday I didn't know. You meet a lot of people through blogging but there are some who you meet and just instantly click with. It's crazy as you just know if you were in the same real world place as these people you'd be great friends. 

On this birthday I've asked myself lots of questions and maybe I will share the answers at some point but for now they're my thoughts. I am just going to enjoy celebrating what I have achieved so far in my 26 years with the great people I have around me when things are good AND bad!!These are the things which help me to my birthday and keep me the very somewhat sane person which I am!!

{Via}

 Make a wish time...

Soulmates...

The subject of soul mates is a popular one and many people have had their say about them. Plato believed that all people were born with four arms, four legs, and a single head made of two faces, but the powerful Zeus feared their power and split them all in half, therefore making them spend their lives searching for their other half to complete themselves.

When I was on holiday I went to see a tarot reader. She was very insightful and talked about a variety of subjects. She was talking about my love life and different factors around it and began to talk about soul mates. She said she believed that everyone has two soul mates:

1- The one we have a connection with in a spirit way.

2- The one which we settle down with and have kids and a life with etc.

There's always been this notion of 'There is one person for everyone' and I think this will always be around. However, I very much disagree with this.

As I have talked about here before, we meet people throughout our lives who make an impact on us. Maybe these people are fleeting soul mates?What about friends- are they not soul mates? Surely soul mates can't simply be defined as the person you settle down with. That in my eyes is one of the loves of your life, again this could change. We all grow older (unfortunately) and change and have different aspirations. This can affect who we spend our time with. If you're lucky you will meet a person who will have the same aspirations as yourself or at least someone who backs you up and wants you to achieve your dreams without feeling this would make them look inferior. 

Personally I believe that we have soul mates, not just in love but also in friendships. Sometimes you meet someone who just 'gets you'. I really don't know how else to put it. The person understands you, questions you, makes you laugh, be more positive and above all else happy. These qualities are qualities of all friends but a soul mate friend just has that extra bit which I can't describe. I suppose it's one of those you will know it when you find it kinda things. 

In love, soul mates are people which everyone aspires to find because if you meet your soul mate you will never be alone again. You will be on a journey with someone who is everything a friend soul mate is and more. The idea of that is just wonderful and the people who give up on finding this and 'settle' make me feel sad because they don't know what they're missing. Or maybe they do but don't think they can ever get it or deserve it?

When looking up ideas and thoughts about soul mates I came across this:

I like this idea but I disagree with the thought that you can't live with your soul mate. Yes some may come and go but some will still and that is very special. In the idea of relationships, yes they can be painful but sometimes the pain is what's needed in order to reach a certain place. 

I like the thought that a soul mate is a person who compliments you and grounds you in a way that no other can. A soul mate is the person who truly knows you and loves everything about you and this can be found in friendships and love relationships. If there is one thing I am sure of, it is that there are more than one type of soul mate for everyone.

What are your thoughts on soul mates?

Race day...

To celebrate turning another year older next week, Miss Twin and our friends went to the races. This has become somewhat of a tradition over the past few years. We all get dressed up, have drinks (before mid-day woo!) and a few bets on the races. I must say, I do get a bit carried away. Miss GG would be able to explain my gambling, she visited Vegas with me haha!! After the day is over we then all troop into town for food, drinks and dancing. It's such a fun day and made even better by having my friends all around me. It makes getting older easier when I realise how fabulous they are.

It was so fun to see all the girls dressed up and the guys all looking smart in their suits. The day itself flew by from the first race. As there is only half an hour between each race you're constantly on the go trying to collect winnings, place another bet, get a drink or stand in incredibly long lines for the loo!! I managed to win on a few races throughout the day which was fun but my accumulators were a no go!! All in all the day was great AND it didn't rain! How lucky?!

Hope you're all having a fabulous weekend!!

Check out FTLOB for some 'Comment Love' today!

Traumatic drive...

I was off to the hairdressers this evening after school and was just coming off a roundabout when my foot felt tickly. So I shook it, then it continued and as I glanced down I saw there was ...... A SPIDER!!! This spider was crawling over my foot! Arrghhh!!! Needless to say I did not act the most calmly, in fact I screamed, swerved and then continued to drive slightly erratic till I could pull over. I even tried to drive without letting my foot touch the ground but that is difficult when you have accelerator, brake and clutch. The white van behind which had been driving far too close dropped way back. I think that was for the best.

I am a bit sad since I have always considered my car a safe haven as I've never had a spider in it before. I have managed to get over my trauma and hopefully I wont have any more surprises at 60mph!!

Have you ever had a nasty surprise while driving?

I have also had a guest post featured over at TexaGerma(Finla)Nadien today. I love this blog, she's hilarious and we both have a love for £1 crap!! haha!!

Check it out:

Like a drowned rat...

Today has been a super busy day, and it ended it what can only be described as a wash out. I have worked really hard lately on the sports development in my school and today I had girls football training starting which I would help teach and key stage 2 boys football session to register and organise. As with all after school clubs it was a rush to see the kids home, catch up with any parent and then register the clubs but it all seemed to go fine. 

Everyone was having fun in their respective clubs and then the rain began to fall, lightly but gradually getting heavier. At this point I advised the girls to get coats on. We carried on and I gave my coat to a child who didn't have one. Then the fun came, the heaviest rain I have seen in ages. After about 10 minutes I decided to head indoors, yes you have to play in all weather but the kids were just soaked through to the bone poor things. I wasn't fairing to well either. Put it this way, I was a source of amusement to the rest of the staff in school when I came in with soaking clothes, rain dripping all over and grass in my hair from trying to show how to header the football.

Needless to say the most appropriate phrase was;  

"You look like a drowned rat." 

{Via}

If that wasn't good enough, on the way home this song came on the radio:

Hahahah!! How funny?!

(Change of) Life Plan...

I met up with a good friend not too long ago and along with our other girlfriends we had a lovely lunch. She was up visiting home and we all took the chance to have a proper catch up. This was especially important to us all as she announced the other week that she is pregnant. Yep, it’s started. My close friends are beginning to have children. 

She is extremely happy about this but freely admits it wasn’t planned and she was freaked out at first. Not because she didn’t want kids but because she just didn’t think she was ready at this point in her life. We all chatted about our own expectations (in the way only girls can) and related back to what we thought we wanted when we were younger.

When I was about 15, I had my life plan mapped out:

-          Married by 20 (with a huge dress- I blame Barbie for that one haha)

-          First child by 22

-          3 kids

-          To stay at home and look after my children

-          Loving husband

-          Be a nursery nurse

It was that simple. As you can tell, I was a very home focused person and very much focused on the idea of raising a family. Things however have not turned out like that, as I grew older my goals in life changed somewhat. I began to realise that yes, while I still want some of the above (I also have a girls baby name picked out haha), I also want more life experiences for myself before I begin to influence those of my own children.

 I have places I want to travel to, things to see and I want to be selfish for a little bit longer. I don’t mean selfish in an awful way, just that I want to do what I want to. When I have kids that will be me saying that everything I do is for another person and I will be happy when that day comes.  I am also very thankful that I am not married as some of the men in my past wouldn’t have been the most reliable husband material!

I still want the kids and the caring husband and the family but I also want to feel like I’ve excelled in my job and travelled some more. In my daily job I feel so happy that I get to influence the life of so many children who don’t exactly come from the happiest of homes and if I can make them smile and have an excitement to learn then I am happy.  I think that has suppressed my want to have kids so young. I have 28 of them every day to look after!

I am so happy for her, as she is happy and I can’t wait to spoil her little one (I’m sure it will be a girl). I am going to continue just changing my mind back and forth one day at a time - I suck at trying to stick to schedules and deadlines anyway ...

{Via)

Are you where you thought you would be when you were younger? Did you follow a life plan or just go with the flow?

Choices, choices...

I spent a whole day shopping at the weekend in my ongoing search for the perfect races dress. It has been ages since I've had the time to spend most a day shopping. I loved it!! However, I have ended up with quite the dilemma...two dresses!!! I had one all sorted and accessorised then stumbled across another in the last shop while helping Miss GG try to find one. So, here are my options which I am yet to decide:

Yes...I like to pose!

My thoughts:

Dress 1- I love how classic and elegant it looks. It has a very Audrey style and fits like a glove which is normally hard to achieve for me! The only thing is that it is black and I was kinda after a colour. I did manage to find some amazing shoes to match this dress though' and also a pretty cream fascinator. I've managed to achieve a nice monochrome look to the outfit.

Dress 2- Beautiful, summery and 50's vibe to it. The neckline is amazing and the colour is pretty. The downside is that it is too big and I would have to start getting the straps altered. It's so girly and cute though but I would need to start looking for some different shoes and a black fascinator. 

I want to share the beautiful shoes I found too:

I have a feeling I will be going for dress 1, but at the advice of Miss Twin I may keep dress 2 anyway!! 

Classic or cute? What would you choose?

It's a special day...

Today is Father's Day. I get along with both my parents but if I had to choose, I would say I'm a lot more like my Dad. I have the same temperament, family look and overall personality. When myself and Miss Twin were born (early) our parents weren't yet prepared with teddies for us so my Dad went out and bought us both a teddy, he didn't have much choice as the one he got was the only one left where there were two of the same. To this day it is still special to me and something which always makes me feel very lucky to have such an awesome Dad! Today myself and Miss Twin are having family time and taking the parents for dinner as a treat as well as having a couple little gifts for him :-)

I just wanted to share today that I love my Dad!

Hope you all have a great day whatever you're up to!

Aha Shake Heartbreak...

Before I begin, I just want to let you know that I have guest blogged over at Poekittens blog today!! You can check it out here.

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing the Kings of Leon. This band is one of my all time favourite bands. I have seen them about 5 times now. My favourite time I saw them was the first time in 2005 when they were touring with their 2nd album. After seeing them I realised that they would be a band that I would love forever, from their skinny jeans and big hair to the heavy bass I just loved everything about them. I blame them for my boys in bands wearing skinny jeans love!

Seeing them this time round was great however it was our seats were like the furthest away that you could have possibly been which wasn't the best since it sold out extremely fast. Also, I have to admit that I like their newer stuff but their old songs are my favourite...luckily we were treated to a few a those gems :-) All in all once the darkness set in the gig was fun. I was angry though at the large number of people who had appeared to only come for two songs then promptly began leaving before the end!! In my view that is disrespectful to them as performers. If you like them stick around for the whole show.

Anyway, here are some of my favourite Kings of Leon tracks:

This doesn't look right...

I didn't feel like going home to do work straight after school today so I popped to the shops to try and find a dress. I am going to the races for my birthday in a couple of weeks and it's ladies day and therefore everyone gets dressed up. I love to get all dolled up but have had no time to go proper shopping as of late. So I took my opportunity. Unfortunately, I realised that I had managed to pick up the dresses which not only looked rubbish on but also seemed to have a roman toga theme. Maybe this is just me, as Miss Faux Fur says, "You see things which no-one else sees." This is after I have taken back boots because I felt like Santa Clause when I wore them with my red coat and choose not to wear a specific top and jacket combo as I claimed I looked like a cave girl. 

Anyway, I don't usually take pictures in fitting rooms but thought I'd share the dresses so you can see how off kilter with fashion I was today...the shame!!

Dress 1: It was too big, too toga like and too yellow. 

Dress 2: Too roman goddess esque and too light.

Dress 3: I have been eyeing this dress up for a while (not in the white obviously- far too pale for that) and so tried it on for the style. I love the front style all ruched and fitted, also the contrast zip is pretty cool however it's still a bit too big. I think I will have to try the internet for a smaller size and the colour I wanted. Chances of being lucky? Not that high.

Maybe on other people they would look stunning but they just didn't suit me one bit. Back to the drawing board. 

Don't you hate it when you have exactly what you want in your mind but just can't get it?

APP time...

It's that time of the year when teachers are torn... we have the countdown till the summer holidays and the weight of assessments to deal with. Personally, I am pretty sorted with my assessments. We had the SAT's last week in my year group and all mine are completed and marked- go me!! Now I am updating APP which is Assessing Pupil Progress. I'm sorry if this bores you but at the moment it's one of the few things on my mind. Not in a stressful way as I am way ahead for once (I have even started on class reports would you believe?!) but it's a lot of work and concentration.

With APP, the idea is to study 6 children at various abilities throughout the year and use these to support assessments and then almost generalise to the other children at their level. Personally I disagree with the idea of it in the way that it is generalised to all children. After all, aren't we taught that children are all individual and no two are alike? Surely this generalisation isn't going to be 100% successful. On the hand I like the specificness of the assessment grids and they are extremely useful to use when planning lessons which are differentiated for all the different abilities in class.

Click on this link and then look at the pdf file if you fancy seeing wheat an 'average' level 2/3 child in my class should be achieving. I know not many of you will be that interested in this (believe me I sometime get bored of it myself) but if you're a teacher then you may have some interest. We than have to have it A3 size and annotate dates to match work in books/whole class discussion/mental maths tests to the different statements and at this point in the year decide on whether the child is low, secure or high in their level.

After all the SAT's, I am now assessing via this to give evidence to support my teacher assessment which I give the kids for the end of the year. Therefore during the whole school moderation, there should be no holes to pick with my levels which in turn leads to a much calmer end of term for me allowing me to focus on topic assessments, sports day co-ordination, class play, teaching and marking. Not much to do then!! I love it really...most of the time!

Anyway I thought I'd share one of the perks of being a teacher...Queens final on a big screen in my classroom:

Then the flip of the coin... my evening:

Any extremes for your job or any great perk?

Lazy Sunday Post...

It seems to have been a while since I posted on a Sunday. Today is one of my lazy days. I was up earlyish and have already made a visit to Sainsburys which was a lot busy than I thought it would be Sunday morning!! But now I am home and ready to have a day in. I've decided to have a bit of a random post for that reason as I do not really feel like concentrating too much.

Trip to Sainsburys

Fun in the sun

Sunday lazing 

Social Stress

Central Park Sunshine 

A favourite song of mine at the moment

Is anyone else having a lazy one? Or are you up to something fun today?

54+19=

Just a quick post today as I am out early for a comedy show and then into town. I am a little skeptical of the comedy show. I am a pretty sarcastic person so I sometimes find comedy a bit dull. I like it when they take the mick out of real life and observations. None of that over the top shouting stuff...yawn!!! So I am hoping it's gonna be good. 

I just wanted to share a gem from one of my students today. I was working through a Maths test with her and she is one of my lower group. The question was 54 + 19= So I told her she could solve it in her head. She begin eagerly counting and then stopped, looked at me and said:

"Miss...I'm stuck now. I don't have 19 fingers..."

I can add 8....

Happy Friday!!

{Image via}

Driving...

I have to start by saying that I love driving. I will quite happily take people places and drive about. Traffic jam? Not to worry, music on and a sing along. Although if I need to get somewhere on time I lose patience very quickly!! I am one of those people you see driving along, singing away to themselves. 

Over at TGN, she has been keeping an eye on the cars around her for a very strange reason which you should check out. 

I have my own list of things which amuse/annoy me while driving:

Lorries

Not lorries in the normal sense, no, I find the lorries which don't have the load part attached to them hilarious. They look like they are toy cars which have been blown up to a giant size. I always get the thought that they will just tip over.

{Via}

 How do they not tip over?

Cyclists

There is a road near me which always seems to have cyclists on. It is known to me and Miss GG as the bike road (creative or what?!). We have been known to text one and other detailing how many bikes we've seen while driving on it before. I am always excited when I clock more that 5!!

 Beep beep!!

People walking along the road

I know they're going somewhere, I just don't know where?! This is particularly strange on motorways. Why would someone walk along the motorway? It's dangerous, busy and cars drive really fast along. Why? Get a bus...please?

{Via}

 Where are you going?

Sunday Drivers

If there is a speed limit stick to it or at least get close!! People who drive at 40mph in a 60mph zone just annoy the life out of me. They can cause just as much of a problem driving slow as they can driving over the limit.

{Via}

Might as well have Gary in front of me I'd drive faster...

Bully drivers

These are the opposite to Sunday drivers. They drive fast but never seem to over take. They believe that if they just drive as close to your backside as possible that you will speed up. Me being the stubborn person that I am, I like to slow down gradually not touching the break so they get more frustrated. I turn back to 'learner driver' if I have to go round a corner and slow down really far away. Serves them right! 

{Via}

 Go faster? No way...

Lane cutters/lack of indicators

Both inspire creative road rage in me. I can not stand people cutting in my lane! How did some people pass their test? Also, indicators...we have them for a reason and therefore they should be used. Don't let me sit at a roundabout when you aren't even going to drive past me!! Grrr!! Unfortunately I take after my dad when driving and have a short fuse. But seriously, just stay out of my lane and show me where you're going to!

{Via}

It's not a racing track...

Back on the er...pole

With all the knee problems that I'm having, I am getting extremely frustrated at my lack of being able to do anything. I don't exercise to stay slim, I do it because I enjoy it therefore not being able to do it since last October has been pretty rubbish. All I want to do is prance about. After numerous visits to Mr Knee Man (I don't know his real title but I have used more colourful words to describe him at various points) and a scan it appears that the damage is low level. What does this mean? Well I'm not that sure as Mr Knee Man can be rather vague. I have seemed to ascertain that I need to build up knee and quad muscle again and that more than likely somewhere in the future I can get back to running and high impact exercise. It seems like it can't be 'fixed' as such just worked around with some well developed muscle!!

So he has given me a list of exercises which are boring squats and leg extensions. I have decided (wrong or right I don't know) to go back to my pole dancing. This is because I reckon it's not too bad on the knee and you use a lot of core and upper body strength. I went to my first lesson in a year today and I absolutely loved being back. It's one of my most enjoyed exercise ever and I always say it's the best exercise I've done to tone up arms and stomach. You just have to not mind a couple of bruises while learning!!! It wasn't long into my lesson that I was attempting my upside down spins and didn't fair too badly... woo!!!

As it was my first time back in a while I decided on the beginners class. This led to my favourite quote of the day from my instructor:

"That girl over there just asked me if you're a professional."

This amused me due to the fact that I haven't done it in so long!! Clearly I'm still not so bad at it. However I'm not so sure whether I should be worried or flattered by this remark! The way I look at it, the weekly lesson along with all the exercises given by my doctor she set my knee up well.Now I have the fun of not being able to walk for pain after my first work out in 7 months.

I'm sure everyone has their one type of exercise that they love more than anything else?

I'm back...

It has been such a long time since blogging. I feel new to it all over again!! My trip was great and I arrived back home last Friday. I unfortunately had jet lag catch up with me so I took another couple of days off to get pulled around. I have to say I have coped better with jet lag this time than ever before....Is that a sign?! I had a stressful start to the holiday with the usual half term illness. I also decided to work on the fight over there. I got loads done but it wasn't fun writing. I will say that my holiday sparked my writing off again. I wrote loads (in fact I carried my notebook around just in case inspiration struck at any time) and have continued that since getting back. How much will make it to my blog? I don't know...it's just nice to be enjoying it!!

My holiday was a lot more relaxed than any other I've been on to NYC. Since I've done most of the main 'touristy' activities I was able to stroll and just take in the city more. Luck would have it that I got to take the city in, in glorious sunshine!!! I got to wear the daisy dukes Texa - wooo!!!!

I ventured to Williamsburg in Brooklyn, lounged in Central Park and wandered along Park Avenue. I was also lucky enough to visit the Met (first time) to view the Alexander McQueen exhibit. I have to say that it was some of the most amazingly beautiful yet dark work I've ever had the pleasure of viewing up close. The rooms were all themed and had noises and holograms everywhere, along with many quotes. The guy was talented and clearly loved the female form. He took pride in making woman look strong and powerful. Check out this link if you want a glimpse of Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.

 

It's getting harder to leave the city each time I go. I know that it could never be a place which I call 'home' but it would definitely be an adventure. The more time you spend in New York, the more you see past the lights and buildings and really see the people who live there. It struck me at one point that the majority of people walk around the city are alone. Whether they're going to work, school, hanging out etc.Even when walking with Miss Faux Fur it was hard to stay together. It was like some magical force field pulling us apart. Friends I met said they have maybe 2 close friends and everyone else is just 'someone they know'. If you know this before going there long term it's fine but I couldn't imagine someone turning up with no knowledge.It's a city which can toughen you up, burn you out but can introduce you to so many unusual and interesting people. Some of whom you feel like you could have a real friendship with, others you need to feel wary of them.

This sounds like I'm being negative towards my (and Rebecca's) favourite city. I'm not. I'm just seeing it in reality. It's like the final scene of The Wizard of Oz- the curtain is lifting and the lies are being exposed. I feel like I have a closer bond with the city now, I've found out a secret which not many people know. It is and always will be a city full of so many memories and hopefully at some point an adventure which will toughen me up and give me things to tell my grandkids about in the future.

I ♥ New York City....still....