Time to celebrate....

As it's the last day of the year, I thought now would be a good time to take a look back over 2011; or at least the last quarter if it. I'm not usually one to reminisce and I am certainly not the kind of person who makes resolutions but this year is different. A few things have happened over the last few months that I am really excited about so it seems fitting to do a little summary if you will.

The year didn't exactly start off with a bang. It was much like any other. Going to work, worrying about money and the usual rubbish. I was lonely in truth. Yes, I had friends and family but I wasn't overly happy and I think I was just going through the motions of day-to-day life. In September, I made the decision to do more with this blog; to keep a journal of my life and for the most part I managed that. Yes over the past month I have neglected it slightly but there are good reasons for that!

I started my teaching assistant course in October  and started volunteering at the local school every Thursday. It is honestly the best thing I have ever done and although I will be slightly panicked going back to it in the New Year (I have so much to do!) I know I will enjoy it all the more.

In November I started seeing a guy at work. Emelyn asked me out very randomly one day over email. It has been 6 weeks and I couldn't be happier. I got to meet his little girl over Christmas and she is the sweetest thing, next to my nieces of course! I was so worried she wouldn't take to me but it seems she has and I love it. I am actually really happy and we have even talked about moving in together maybe in the summertime.

The year may not have started out particularly exciting but it certainly is ending on a positive. For the first time in a long time the New Year is full of so many possibilities and even though I will turn 30 in 2012 (!) I am so excited to see what it will bring. :) xx 

Merry Christmas....

It's Boxing day night and I am officially tired and full of food! It has been a lovely Christmas. I got to spend most of yesterday with the family, eating Christmas dinner and playing with my nieces. Christmas is so much fun when there are children around. We played silly games on the wii and laughed at Dad trying to fly his new remote controlled helicopter! In the evening I went to see my boyfriend and got more pressies (yes it is official, more on that later!). It was lovely.

I can officially report that my cakes and biscuits went down very well. The biscuits were lovely, especially the cheese ones...not bad considering I have never made biscuits before!

Sorry, no pictures of the biscuits but here are a few of the cakes.

Mobile phone mania....

The text message turned 19 today if you can believe it! In 1992, 22 year old Neil Papworth, an engineer at Vodafone UK sent a Happy Christmas message to an Orbitel phone.

It would be at least another 8 years before texting became commonplace.  Now it seems a mystery as to how we ever coped without any form of mobile technology! 

Growing up, I remember that technology moved so fast. In my lifetime, computers have become faster and smaller, games consoles more advanced to the point where we don't need controllers, TVs are in 3D and my smart phone can do more than my 5 year old laptop! I have 5 different ways of getting onto the internet in my house, all without wires.  It seems crazy that we ever lived without it....almost like my childhood took place in the dark ages! We only had one land-line in the house and if I went shopping with friends at the age of 15 I had to find a payphone. I was so deprived!

On the plus side, I didn't have the extra pressure from mobile technologies and the internet that teenagers must have now. They can't hide anywhere from it.

I had to take my cell phone to be repaired today. The thing would not charge! My whole life is on that phone: emails, phone numbers, photos. It is my link to the world.  I can't imagine not being able to Tweet whenever I want or check my emails while I walk to work. I know these are trivial, unimportant things but they have become quite a big part of my life. It's something that has crept up on me too. As phones become more complex and sophisticated, the more I become hooked. I want to use these gadgets to their full potential! xx

Weekend writers block...

Only 700 words left on my second course essay. This is without doubt the hardest essay I have ever written and that is saying something! Normally I can whip up a half-decent piece of writing in a few days but this course is really challenging. Not that it's a bad thing of course. It just means I am going to have to really plan ahead with the next one. Really think about what's needed before I even start the background reading. It might help to keep up with the reading too and not get behind!

I did manage to dump a lot of stuff yesterday, gradually clearing some of the clutter in my flat! Next weekend the Christmas decorations go up and I have just one pile of paper to send to be recycled and the floor will be as clear as it can be. My kitchen is done, the annoying bar stools that I never use have been dumped and the millions of carrier bags are being recycled so I can finally sweep the floor without having to move crap around! I have even bought some Christmas decorations to go up in the kitchen. Next up, the bathroom and my shoes! :-) xx 

The "Quarter-Life Crisis" and dating excitement.....

I have been sat at my parents house thinking of something to write about. Trawling through various websites for inspiration, I came across an article posted by Candace Sesi on Hello Giggles called the  The Quarter-Life Crisis and I can relate to it so much!

You can read the full article here but I have taken out some bits that are so relevent to my life and how I have been feeling over the past few months:

“The Quarter-Life Crisis”

Author Unknown

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn’t know and may or may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared.

You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while wining the race would be great, right now you’d just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out

This article is so spot-on it's scary! It's so nice to know that I am definitely not the only one out there feeling this way.

Lately I have found myself thinking about my life and how it is turning out. I know I have so much more I want to do and time seems to be getting away from me a little bit. I feel like I have missed opportunities along the way and I also feel a little bit like I should be much more satisfied with my life than I am. I am almost 30 and it has taken practically all of my 20s for me to figure out what I want in life! By now I thought I would be married with children and be happy and settled. I am happy but not nearly as much as I should be.

When I split with my boyfriend of five years two years ago I became more independent, took control of my life, started living alone for the first time....and then got comfortable again. It took another year and a half to get moving on my next project, my teaching course, which I have finally started and am enjoying. Thinking back, I needed that time to adjust and settle myself so in a way I am glad that I took a bit of a step back.

I do think sometimes I am going to be 'left on the shelf' as it were! It's hard being single, not having someone there to share things with and to come home to after a hard day at work. I am starting to miss these things more and more and as I get older sometimes it feels like I am never going to find that special someone. I have been on dates but just haven't felt that connection with anybody. With one guy, I found myself hoping that I would feel something. We got on so well and had lots in common but I couldn't feel attracted to him....it's so frustrating. Am I destined to only fall for men whom I have no future with!!

Having said that, and I don't want to say too much in case I jinx it, I did go on a fantastic date the other night with a fabulous man I met at work! We have known each other for about a year now and recently we've been emailing a lot. Suddenly, he asked me out! I was quite shocked but pleased as he is such a nice guy but I was scared too. I thought it would be another case of, "nice guy...but I just don't like him that way"....how wrong was I??! It was fabulous! That is all I will say for now! :-)

'via Blog this'

Wining and Dining....

I am quite excited for this week....I have a date on Tuesday! I am going to watch the new Twilight film and then I am being taken for a meal at a posh Indian restaurant in town. It's been a while since I was treated to dinner and a movie and it's been even longer since I have met a person who really seems interested in me. 

Here's where I am going. I have never been before.

Anoukaa Menu

Isn't it weird how us girls always seem to want what we can't have. We don't want to know the ones who are interested but we can't get enough of the ones who aren't! It's almost like we live in a dream world where we will eventually win the heart of the man who ignores us and who seems too out of our league. We always hold on to a bit of hope that one day he will realise that what is right in front of him is what he has wanted all along. Or something like that anyway. Of course in reality, we either win his heart and realise the fantasy was better or we get bored and move on to someone who likes us back. In my case, I am bored! It's time I was chased for a change!

I will report back on my date on Wednesday! xx

Organisation is the key....

Finally I have some time to sit and write! These last few weeks have been hectic to say the least but will pretty much be the pattern of my life for the next few months. At least I am now starting to settle down and start using my time a little better. Organisation is key to success! Where have I heard that before?

Anyway, I thought I would go back to basics today, a little journal entry to catch up on what has been going on in my life the past few months. Since starting at the school a few weeks ago I have been so much happier at work. I am getting closer to my goal and doing what I want to do so it's a lot easier to deal with the stuff I have to do...if that makes sense.

The children are great, a proper mixture of characters. I am still finding my feet there so I am not quite sure exactly what my role is but I am really enjoying getting stuck in and doing a bit of everything. My favourite thing so far is working with little groups of children on an activity. I really want to work with individual children, maybe listen to them read or something. It would also help with my relationship with the children. Right now, my course is looking at how relationships between children and adults in schools are so important. It helps a child if they know that the adults in their life respect their learning and their abilities. Also, it helps teach them how to communicate with each other and form their own way of learning.

There is so much to learn and think about it's no wonder it's taken me so long to organise myself. I have taken to writing a log of my time in the school alongside my course notes so I can put all my thoughts down when the school day is over. My head would explode otherwise and I would forget everything! Now my daily work life is fairly well organised, I can look at getting my flat organised and finishing my Christmas pressies. Yes, I do have the time! Only today, I sorted out all the plastic bags I have in my kitchen and cleared a load of space after cleaning my sink and putting away the dishes! I still had time to do some reading before writing this entry. And I will still be in bed by 10.30! Brilliant! I think I might be getting the hang of this! xx