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Friday 31 May 2013

Memories, light the corners of my mind…

Thank you Barbara for that introduction. I cannot believe this is the last day of Blog Every Day in May! I’m really sad to see this challenge go, it’s been great to get to know other bloggers and I’ve ‘met’ some amazing people too. I’ve been back in Birmingham for the last couple of days because sadly my granddad is in hospital. So I’m currently sat on a train to Euston writing this. Thank goodness for my mini laptop! 

Also, I conquered a fear over the last couple of days. You may remember me saying that my biggest fear is needles. I think at the same time I also said that I needed two injections for my trip to Thailand in the summer. Well, that day came yesterday. There was a lot of tears and fears but I GOT MY INJECTIONS! To anyone else this might not be a big deal, but I am so proud of myself and I wanted to share that with you. It took an hour and a half to get through it but I managed, the poor guy must have been so fed up. And it was all with the help of Jenna Marbles (I watched the below video to help me). So snaps for me!



Onto today. A vivid memory. Well, my memory is terrible but I do have a few that stuck out from when I was younger and today I’m going to share one. You may remember me saying that I have family in Chile; I’m half Chilean so all of my mum’s family are over there. We used to go every other Christmas and then for some reason (money) I wasn’t able to go for 10 years. Now I have a job I can save to go every other year again (the off years will be filled with trips to Thailand as my dad is moving out there – I’m so travelled!). I have many memories from the younger years in Chile but the most vivid is when my cousin stabbed me in the foot with a fork. Oh yes, you read that right. We were eating lunch with my family at home and I remember her crawling under the table and stabbing me. Such a delightful child, she was only 5. Thinking about it – maybe that’s where my fear of needles came from? I can’t remember what happened after that but it hurt! So that’s a short but sweet memory for you.


For some reason I’ve become a lot more wordy with my posts so enjoy that essay! Have a lovely last day of May… I’m off out on my favourite ever night tonight – Ultimate Power in Camden. If you ever find yourself in Camden on the last Friday of the month, you know where to go. They play power ballads ALL NIGHT LONG and it’s amazing.




Thursday 30 May 2013

Letting Go...

Letting go. I have thought about this topic long and hard over the past few days. I thought about all the times I have had to let go over the years, and what I had to let go. While seeing what the internet had to offer me I came across this quote;

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Now, this really stirred a feeling inside and I knew what ‘letting go’ means for me. I’ve had a few tough times in relation to teaching recently and it’s been quite hard. I had started with a class from January this year and I instantly fell in love with them. They were hilarious, loving and just had these great personalities. However, the previous teacher had not left them in a good way and they were all over the place. Whenever I sent them off to do work in a lesson some of them actually looked at me as if to say “What? You mean we’re here to work?” It was terrible. I had a handful of key behaviour children and SEN children too. It was a lot to handle. Mix that with the classroom itself being left in a terrible state (no displays, no tray labels, no behaviour chart) and it was a nightmare. I asked for help but I got very little support. I had a TA three days a week but it meant that I was still on my own for two days. The school was great and the girl who started the same day as me is having a great time, but our experiences are completely different. To cut this very long story short, I struggled with the lack of support. I ended up leaving at Easter. Telling my children and parents that I was leaving was genuinely the worst thing ever. The children were in tears, I was in bits, and some parents even cried! It was awful!

What’s your point Sarah? Well my point is thus. I suffered. For a whole term, I suffered. It’s where my anxiety really started to take a hold; I cried all the time, I couldn’t sleep, I was ill. I even felt awful after I left because I was guilty for abandoning them. But as much as I was suffering, I love those kids with all my heart. I am truly grateful for the memories that I have with them. Sometimes I was so fed up with them, but mostly they made me smile. I’ve let go of the guilt, I’ve let go of the sadness, but I will never let go of the memories.

What does ‘letting go’ mean to you?

Wednesday 29 May 2013

“Ah, music" he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!”

Only two days left of the challenge! Today I’m sharing some music that really means something to me. I love each one of these songs for different reasons, which I will do my best to explain. Enjoy!

P!nk - Who Knew
I think I've said it before, but this woman is absolutely amazing. I saw her live a couple of weeks ago and actually cried during this song. It's so beautiful and it makes me think of the people that I have lost in my life.

McFly - The Heart Never Lies
I can't actually describe what exactly this song means to me, but I can tell you that I am in love with it. 

Take That - Never Forget
Take That were my first musical love. I never got to see them live the first time around, but I had a video of one of their shows at my Auntie's house and I'd watch it over and over again. This was the last song on nights out and it was so lovely to just sing it with my friends.

Scissor Sisters - Let's Have a Kiki
I find that blasting this song through my headphones after a bad day is just the one. It instantly cheers me up! And the dance is fabulous. 

Demi Lovato - Give Your Heart a Break
Oh Demi, I feel your pain.






Tuesday 28 May 2013

Only Pictures…

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Battersea Park by Banana Bike

First on my London List is Battersea Park. When I think of Battersea my mind immediately goes to the Dogs Home, but today it was all about the park. And we didn’t just walk around, we got some exercise and rode…

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We also didn’t just ride a normal bike, we had a banana bike. “But what’s a banana bike?” I hear you cry. Well, this is a banana bike…

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It was quite strange at first because you move the seat to steer. And I’m not going to lie, but I have the worst balance so we didn’t quite get on at first. Once you get used to it it’s really fun! The bikes are £10 for an hour and you can ride on the designated paths. We managed two laps of the park in that hour, including ice cream time! Once I’d got my balance I took some lovely pictures of the park for you all. Don’t say I don’t give you anything!

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What a lovely time we had! If you have any ideas to add to my London List, leave me a comment below. I’m always looking for new ideas.




Monday 27 May 2013

The London List

London List

So, there was actually a reason I started this blog. One day I was on a lovely rooftop bar on the Southbank when one of my buddies said to me “Have you been to Borough Market?” I had to admit that no, I hadn't. “How have you been here for 8 months and not have been to Borough Market yet?!” This then spiraled into the realisation that I have barely done anything London-y in my time here.

And so The London List was born.

We made a list of all the things that I need to do before I can call myself a proper Londoner. It has things like Borough Market, Kew Gardens, Dinosaur Mini Golf (yes that is a thing!), The Shard, Tower of London, an open top bus tour, Notting Hill Carnival, and so many more!

So these posts here are to share my experience of becoming a proper Londoner with you. And if you have any suggestions for me, please get in touch! I'm always looking for new things to do.


To My Readers

Hello there you lovely, lovely readers. 


When I started this blog a little over a month ago, I really did not think that I would even get past a week, let alone a month, and still be going strong. Even though we are a small community (at the moment!) I am really thankful to every single one of you that read these ramblings. I'm still new to this and I am genuinely grateful for you for coming back. I really love to see what you're all up to, what you've done recently, and things you've got coming up, and you're all just wonderful. I think it's really lovely that we all can come together and feel comfortable enough to just share with each other. If I've had a bad day, I know you'll be here to listen. If I've had a god day, I know you'll share my joy.

Thank you for commenting. Thank you for coming to see what I've been up to (even though it's not always interesting!). Thank you for baring with me while I find my blogging feet. Thank you for making me feel loved. 

Love, Sarah xxx

The Garden Project – The Beginning

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So we moved to our flat in Tooting last August. That’s 9 months ago. In that time we’ve got the actual flat sorted but the one thing we’ve never done is the garden. Just because of the cold (and many other excuses) we’ve never got around to sorting it out. So today the in-laws came over to tackle this mess with us. Now, my fingers are definitely not green and I am quite possibly the least domesticated person ever but never-the-less I am really excited to get it looking lovely! I’ve nicknamed this The Garden Project and my aim is to do a little series for you as my garden develops.

Hold your breath guys, I’m about to show you what we were working with…

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What a mess right? But we got stuck in and a few hours later after a trip to the dump and a time to Homebase, we had the garden looking pretty presentable. We even found out that we have rhubarb, strawberries, and mint already growing and have added some other little delights too. This is the first day so I’ll keep you updated with the progress of my new garden as it (hopefully) keeps getting lovelier.

Here’s the after…

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Sunday 26 May 2013

Sunday Social: Summer Fun

Two blog posts in one day? I must be crazy! I have actually written another one about my wonderful day of transforming my garden from a jungle into a (more or less) acceptable state. But so I don't overwhelm you with blog generosity I've scheduled it for tomorrow. 

Onto today's Sunday Social, it's all about fun in the glorious summer months. I'm so excited for summer. The weather here in England has been a bit rubbish lately... Bring on the sun! Look how pretty London gets...


1. What is your best summer memory as a kid?
I just remember going to the park a lot as I lived about 2 minutes away.

2. What is your favourite summer drink?
I am always partial to an Orangina when it's hot.

3. What is your favourite summer show?
True Blood! June means a new season and that makes me happy.

4. What is the best outdoor summer activity?
I love a good festival in the summer. Lots of dancing and having great fun with friends.

5. What are your summer vacation essentials?
Sandals, sundresses, sunglasses.

Have a lovely week and see you next Sunday!

Sunday Social



BuzzFeed Love

Now for Day 26 (something I read online) I will be directing your attention to something I found very funny. If you're not a teacher then it may not tickle you so much. In fact I was giggling as soon as I started reading. And so here is...




Saturday 25 May 2013

Someone Once Told Me...

Today we are talking about something that someone once told us. I've thought long and hard about this, I've really found it hard to remember someone telling me something about myself. More recently I had the head teacher of my school tell me (while offering me my new job as a SEN teacher) that I am empathetic, and would suit teaching children with special educational needs and apparently that is a rare thing to find. But I've cast my mind back a lot further than this week for today's challenge...

When I was doing my GCSE's (at 15) I took on an extra subject. I attended Accounting lessons from 7.30-8.30am, twice a week, and my teacher told me that I was not good enough to pass. I'm sorry, but getting up early is not my forte and sometimes I was still half asleep in the lesson. No need for him to basically tell me I'd fail though. The day I got my results I ended up with a C and I was THRILLED! My teacher then came up to me and said "Well done, I knew you could do it!" An absolute lie. I always remember that and have worked my hardest to prove people wrong about my abilities.

Sorry for the lack of picture - I'm having a night in at a friends house so I've stolen their Mac to write this. On an unrelated note, I am not a Mac fan and this is stressing me out!


What has someone once told you that has always stuck with you?




Friday 24 May 2013

Life and Traits

I'm behind a day again! But only a few days to go. So let's get going. I'm (again) going to put two posts together for you all today. 

First what has life taught me that school didn't? Be yourself. People need to like you for you, not the fake you. It's exhausting to be the nice one all the time! Sometimes you just have to let your realness come out and stop the fake. Has it got  me in trouble to speak my mind? Yes! But at least I am being myself. And I am happy with the friends that like me for what I am.

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And now for my three worst traits... I am messy. I have a messy room - clothes over the floor and that. I will tidy up whenever I'm on a break from school and I'll be all happy about it. Then once I'm back at school, and as the weeks go by, I will make my room messy again. I can't help it, it's a vicious circle. I am a procrastinator. I'm sorry, if it can be put off it will be. I am an emotional wreck. I cry at everything, and that's not an exaggeration. I have a scale of 1 - crying; if I'm happy, I'm crying; if I'm sad, I'm crying. 

And there you go. Until tomorrow - ttfn.



Wednesday 22 May 2013

Rant Time

Before we begin… I had my interview today and I got a job! Hooooorah! It’s not exactly the class teacher role I applied for, but I will be a class teacher in the language base in my school. That means that I will be teaching children with special education needs. So exciting!

So there are a lot of things I could rant about. It could be the tube in the mornings (always so busy!), or my iPhone battery (why wont you last more than a day?!). I could also rant about my broken hoover (I just want to be able to hoover the floor without it breaking every 5 minutes) and continuation errors in films/tv (seriously, if I can notice that he was holding that glass in his other hand, surely you can too film people can too). 

Today I want to rant about the unnecessary use of the word lol. Even typing it kind of offended my fingers. Yes, you find something funny, yes you may have ‘laughed out loud’ but please can you not say lol. It’s bad enough when people put it in texts but to SAY it is just too much. For example – “Hey I just spilt my drink” “LOL”. NO! Just laugh! We can see you find it funny by you laughing. And now I’m angry so I will stop there.

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What do you find annoying and makes you want to rant?


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