Projects I want to do in 2013

So...

As we know, I am very sporadic when I find a project that sparks my interest. So, I am trying to be slightly more organised and focused.

I want to make/do the following projects.

A baby mobile for my placement supervisor at school who is due a baby in April. I want to get the children to help me with it, so I have to do it in secret.

My boyfriend is moving house soon and I have a few things I want to do to make his new house more of a home. One of these is a version of a mural from Kirstie Allsopp's Vintage Home (amazing TV series and a book I got for Christmas).

Basically, you paint an image on the wall (or use pieces of wallpaper) and then you make shelves and mount them so that they are part of the branches. In Kirstie's version, the tree was made from vintage wallpaper and the shelves had wood on the front so they looked like part of a real tree, they also had a lip on the front so the things couldn't come off. The image here puts the shelves on a slant to match the branches. 

I also want to make a felt rug. Again, inspired by Kirstie Allsop. This rug is by Selena Rose and is made from magenta felt and then the shapes are punched out. I want to make a rug using circular punches to create an outline of a design. 

I also want to make some pretty candle holders from re-purposed bottles. I love bottles. I keep ones that are interesting shapes and colours and things like that. But have never known what to do with them... well, now I do! 

Take a clean, empty bottle and spray paint it in a basic colour (white, pale blue etc) let it dry properly, then tape off the parts you want to keep that colour (you could make stripes or images or spots) and then spray with another, contrasting colour. Remove the tape and voila! Stick a candle in the neck of the bottle and you're sorted. You could also use jam jars and put tea-lights inside, if doing this, don't do a base layer, tape off parts first and just use one colour. 

See how excited I am already?! 

2012 Survey stolen from Lau

2012 in survey form

This is borrowed from a friend, I enjoyed reading hers so much that I thought I'd pinch it. 

1. What did you do in 2012 that you had never done before?

This is a hard question, since I feel like a different person this year I sort of feel like I've done a lot of things I had done before, but with a new outlook on life. How's that?!

2. Did you keep your new years resolutions and will you make more for next year?

I don't even remember my new years resolutions, so I would guess I didn't keep them. I might make some for next year but I don't have much faith in myself that I will keep them!

3. How will you be spending your new years eve?

At my parent's house with my mum, dad and brother and my boyfriend, probably playing board games and drinking gin, apart from my brother who is t-total. 

4. Did anyone close to you die?

A close friend of mine died in March after a fight with an aggressive form of cancer. She fought hard and died peacefully in her sleep at home, but she is very much missed. 

5. What countries did you visit?

England, Scotland and I live in Wales. 

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

I would like to spend more time with my boyfriend, friends and family. 

7. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory and why?

There are lots of dates from the year which will stay with me, the date my youngest nephew was born, the start of my new relationship, the date my divorce was finalised, the date my friend died, lots of things for lots of different reasons. 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I made a dress, from scratch. Doesn't sound much but it is the first project I've ever completed on a sewing machine, I wanted to give up several times but I didn't, and I wore it out, it stayed in one piece and has even survived being through the washing machine!

9. What was your biggest failure?

Everything I've done this year I have learnt from. So I'm not counting anything as a failure. 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nope, I'm actually recovering. 

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Probably petrol to drive back and forth to see my boyfriend, friends and family. 

12. Where did most of your money go?

Petrol, vets bills for my rabbit when she needed an operation, craft stuff. 

13. What song will always remind you of 2012?

FUN. We are young. 

14. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Walking, reading, all the things I ought to do instead of sitting in front of the telly when I get home. 

15. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Sitting in front of the telly instead of going out and doing things. And moping. I wish I'd done less moping. 

16. What was you favourite TV programme?

Pointless. My mother and I love Pointless.

17. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

No. 

18. What was the best book you read?

Jodi Picoult Sing You Home. 

19. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Quite enjoying Fascinating Aida at the moment, because middle aged women swearing in song is awesome. 

20. What was your favorite film of this year?

Muppets. 

21. What did you do on your birthday?

I was on a canal boat somewhere on the Monmouth and Brecon canal with my family and boyfriend. 

22. What kept you sane?

Mostly Paul, and my family. And tea. And crafting. 

23. Who did you miss?

Paul, as he's a long way away a lot of the time. 

24. Who was the best new person that you met?

Ceri, my class teacher on placement, she's the nicest, most fun and supportive person I've come across through college and she's having a baby in April. Which is very exciting. 

25. Tell us a valuable life lesson that you learned in 2012?

S**t happens. Life sucks sometimes, but then it gets better. If bad things didn't happen you wouldn't be able to appreciate the good.The good is a million times better when you've been through the bad stuff. 

2012 has been a year where I've done quite a bit of growing up. Last Christmas my mother told me to quit feeling sorry for myself and try to get better. It felt like a bit of a slap in the face at the time, but she was SO right. Since then I've had ups and downs but I'm definitely in a much better place than I was then. I am looking forward to 2013, I'm sure that not everything will go to plan, but that's part of the fun. 

Jumper Sleeve Hot Water Bottle Cover

You can make a lovely hot water bottle cover using the sleeve of an old jumper. 

You'll need: An old jumper, some scissors, needle and thread, a hot water bottle. 

All you need to do is cut off the sleeve at the should and then measure the sleeve against your hot water bottle and cut it so that it's a little bit longer than your hot water bottle. 

Next, turn your jumper sleeve inside out and sew up the shoulder end, not the cuff. I hand sewed it but you could easily machine it for a more professional finish. 

Then turn it the right way out and put your hot water bottle inside, the cuff will fold over or gather in around the neck of the hot water bottle. 

et voila! a lovely cosy hot water bottle cover in a few minutes! 

Helloooooo

Hi, 

My one-eared bunny Daisy is hopping around the living room at the moment. She just lay down and stretched out so is clearly nice and chilled at the moment (after going mental and trying to eat EVERYTHING - including my shoes). 

I just put some spot on stuff on her for fleas and the like and it has really shown how fluffy she is because it's flattened the fur at her neck and the rest of her fur is really fluffy in comparison. 

I have just got some Mod Podge, which crafting people absolutely rave about and I have to admit, it's pretty good. I've been using good old PVA or silicone adhesive for everything up to now, but I think Mod Podge might just become my 'go-to glue'. 

I have bought our tickets for the Hedna's night in March so i ought to get making my next dress, since I don't think I can get away with wearing the same one again... ideas or suggestions for a pattern?

And some congratulations are in order for my best friend's sister who is expecting her second baby in May next year. Congratulations Rose and Jack. 

General Update

I have an incredibly tidy kitchen. My mother came and helped me tidy my kitchen after a new boiler was put in a few weeks ago. I've been moaning about it because it's bigger than the old one, but, with the mummy treatment my kitchen is INCREDIBLE and sooooooooooo tidy and sensible. It's lovely.

I also made a PROFIT at a craft fair yesterday which I was very pleased with as I've not made an actual profit in a while. I was in between two lovely people too, Bex on my one side and a new friend called Gwenllian (isn't that an amazing name?) who makes soaps! And the smell was just incredible! I got some peppermint soap from her and it is just divine!

Also yesterday at the craft fair I held several different babies. The youngest was 4 week old Annabel. It was awesome. The best part was the 5 or 6 month old who was wearing an AWESOME outfit (beret and all!) who was absolutely fascinated by my chest and my hair (NOT my chest hair). Her mum turned round and goes "she likes boobs and hair... so she loves you!"

Today, in my tidy kitchen I baked coconut cookies. which was fun and they are lovely.

Hedna's Vintage Night!

Well... Saturday night was THE night! We had our hair done by Sarah at Rose Tinted Vintage in Bedford and used roughly one can of hair spray each to maintain the lovely styles until the evening. 

Dressed and with make-up and eyelashes applied (and before the alcohol)

Tristram in his swanky suit, gangster hat and violin case 

 Traff doing his stern 1940s man face and Laura gazing adoringly up at her man. 

 The Boys

 The girls!

At The Stables we danced and drank and talked and listened to amazing music and generally had a smashing time! It was great, everyone there was dressed up and appropriately in the swing of things and we had a lovely time. We were taught to dance the Foxtrot and Quickstep and I waddled around the floor with at least three different partners, reciting what the dance teacher was saying even while not doing it: step, together, step, rock, rock, rock, forward, side back. 

Outside there were deckchairs and a vintage car which we of course posed on! 

This is me and Paul and the car. 

These are the hair grips I took out of my hair at the end of the night. My hair did incredibly well and stayed in almost to the end. It would have stayed curled as well if I hadn't washed and brushed it out. 

So much better than a normal night out clubbing. It was sociable, we could all talk to each other and hear ourselves think. There were plenty of places to sit and everyone was in the spirit. 

Marvellous! What ho!

Dress Progress

The dress is nearly finished! I just need to hem it and make small adjustments here and there so that it fits my ample curves better! 

Bodice and skirt joined

Bodice and skirt joined together

the seam of the skirt and bodice, with pleats/gathering. 

Me in the dress!

Back of the dress

Back of the dress 

Needs some adjustment around the neckline

Hanging up on the door!

Dress Progress

This is the dress so far. 

My sewing machine is slightly broken and only sews backwards (feeding from back to front) and has no reverse function. So it's not the neatest job ever. I just need to sew the bodice to the skirt and put the zip in. 

This is the dress laid out with the skirt placed below the bodice, ready to sew together. 

Close up of the bodice. 

The amount of black cotton I had left on my reel when I'd finished sewing the skirt seams! 

I now need to get some more black cotton and a zip. I'm also thinking of making some little fabric flowers from this fabric to put round the neckline! 

Comparisons

So... I'm registered with two agencies who supply support staff to nurseries and schools.

Today I worked a morning shift at a nursery in the Rhondda. This nursery is a community nursery connected to a primary school and caters for up to 27 children, they are open from 7.30am-6pm and run in an open plan room with separate kitchen, office, sleep and toilet/nappy change room. The staff who I met today are lovely and very welcoming. I felt instantly a part of the team and felt that my presence was valued as more than just an extra body in the room. While I was at the nursery I observed really great interaction between the staff, parents/carers and the children, they all seemed to genuinely like each other. The children were all calm and happy, they were all content to spend time with me, a new face, which shows how secure they felt in their environment. Only one of the children cried when her mother left and she was only 15 months old. The other children happily went off to play as soon as they walked through the door. There were barely any tears or tantrums the whole time I was there. The children had free access to various toys, activities and books around the room and all the staff were vigilant, engaged and cheerful. There were lots of opportunities for 'free-play' but also the option for the children to engage in more structured activities with the adults like painting and singing. Nappies were changed when needed, the children had access to beakers of water all the time, the adults never refused a child a toy or activity, they simply warned the children to be careful, told them to sit properly on chairs or not to eat chalk. When the weather cleared and the children were told we could go outside they were asked to tidy up, all the children did this without argument, they all got ready and were happy to line up by the door and wait for the adults to open the door. All the children seemed very independent and mature for their age, children were encouraged to be mobile for themselves. Babies crawled and were helped and encouraged to cruise and walk. Toddlers and older children were encouraged to get things out and put them away for themselves. All the children were able to express what they wanted clearly, whether they were talking or not, and obviously knew the adults would respond quickly to their needs. All the children were feeding themselves, some with a little support but most completely independently (except the babies). The children happily sat together at a table and ate their food. When the children were told it was time to sleep they all came and lay down on their beds, and were patted to sleep with two self soothing completely. The babies had slept earlier in the day and were engaged with another staff member in play in a different part of the room. All the toys, equipment and books were in good condition and stored in labeled boxes. The labels are photos of the items as well as wording and all the boxes are at child height to enable the children to get out their own toys.

Although this nursery is not the wealthiest, with a daily fee of £36 (including meals), nor does it have the most modern up to date facilities, it is a brilliant nursery. In my opinion. The children are clearly happy. Which is the clearest indication of a good nursery.

The nursery I went to on my baby placement is another story. In a beautiful converted house with large gardens and a number of rooms where the children are divided by age and ability this nursery is very expensive. At £50 a day (including meals), it is one of the more expensive nurseries around. I did not enjoy this nursery placement. With a bigger space there was obviously room for more children. I was in with the babies and toddlers. The staff all seemed to be more concerned with appearance than the actual experience for the children. If a visit was scheduled or the manager was in and popping in to different rooms the staff ensured that the rooms were kept tidy, limiting the children to specific toys rather than giving them a choice. I was not impressed by the state of the toys and resources within the rooms. All the books were damaged in some way, some ripped beyond recognition and others ripped so that the pop-ups or lift-the-flap parts were unusable. Many of the toys were missing parts or were broken. Although they were not dangerous (no sharp edges or anything) they weren't really fit for purpose. Many of the children cried when they were dropped off at nursery and some cried when being collected too. If I were being very emotive and biased, I'd say they were crying tears of relief. Not something I think children should experience, children should be collected from nursery pleased to see their carer and excited to share the experiences of the day, not so emotionally strained that they burst into tears on seeing their parent. All messy activities were based in a separate room (the wet room) and therefore had to be scheduled in and planned, children could not draw or paint when they wanted to, it had to be part of a planned activity. One particular child took a staff member's pen and scribbled on the back of the day charts (and was told off for this), rather than being given crayons and paper to draw, which she clearly wanted to, the pen was put out of her reach. Free choice was limited and children were only allowed to play with the toys which were set out for them. Children were frustrated and bored, meaning that they got irritated with one another and there was lots of hair pulling, biting and screaming. Young babies were left to sit on the floor propped against cushions or in Bumbo seats while staff filled in paperwork, rather than being helped to sit independently, roll or crawl. Babies were left to cry and described as being 'whingy' and 'moany'. At least one staff member expressed amazement when I got a baby to stop crying and go to sleep by holding and rocking him. This nursery seemed much more about ideas and rules than about practicalities. The rule was that you don't mollycoddle the babies, which the staff took to mean you don't hold them unless it is practically necessary (to take them to another room or move them etc), rather than understanding that babies sometimes need some contact and interaction. No wonder they were screaming if they were being ignored, they were bored, or scared or uncomfortable or any number of other things! Nappies were done at scheduled times even if the nappy was dry, unless a staff member noticed that a child was soiled. Sometimes, if a child was soiled or wet they were left until the next nappy or 'until the activity is finished'. The staff were negative about each other, about the children and about the parents. No wonder the children were unhappy, there was such a negative atmosphere in this nursery, I felt uncomfortable as an adult in this environment.

I would never like to be in the position where I have to send my child to a nursery, but if I had to choose, I would definitely choose a nursery where the children were happy and relaxed, not one which looked the best from the outside. Appearances can be deceptive and it's easy to put on an act for the 15 minutes parents are looking round but you can't make the children act; if a child is unhappy they will cry, if a child is relaxed and happy they will be engaged and curious. You can't disguise that.

Random Craft Activities

I clearly have too much time on my hands because I have finished making my Christmas presents for the year, except the extra ones for my boyfriend. So I decided I would carry on with my dress for Laura's party since it's not long away!

With all the pattern pieces pinned on, laid out ready to cut.  

  

I also (for part of my boyfriend's Christmas present) needed to do some very tiny knitting, so I came upon the idea of 'micro-knitting'. I made needles from two bits of thickish gauge wire which I curled round at the end to stop the knitting slipping off the other end. I used embroidery floss split into individual threads so very thin 'yarn'. Very fiddly and a bit frustrating, I don't think I'll be branching out into knitting tiny mouse sized jumpers any time soon but it did the trick for what I wanted! 

I'm making a dress!

For Laura's birthday, we're going to a vintage night club! It's 40s, so we have to dress authentically. 

I'm having my hair done at Rose Tinted Vintage in Bedford on the day and I am making a dress. I have a pattern for a '47 dress and I'm making the one with sleeves and a back (rather than the halter neck) which is the one in flowery fabric on the front of the pattern. 

Underneath the pattern is my fabric! It's navy blue with a flower print and it is GORGEOUS! I have enough to make the dress and also something else... I fancy making a hair accessory to match but not sure what... suggestions welcome!

I'm going to take progress pictures, I have just over a month to make the dress... so we'll see how it goes! 

Christmas Preparations

I've been thinking about Christmas for a while.
Now that it's September, I think it is acceptable to give voice to my ponderings. 
So here we are. 

I make Christmas presents for my friends and family every year. Partly because I'm creative and enjoy it, partly because I put a lot more thought and effort into making things than if I went out and bought presents and finally because I can't afford to buy as many nice things as I'd like to and, this way, all my friends and family get something that I am proud to give them. 

This year I have been planning since about July, because I like to be organised. And I started gathering materials and formalising my plans in August. I think I actually started making on the 30th of August, nearly September... nearly not Christmas obsessed. 

I make Christmas decorations with the year and person's name on. So I have to be organised because there are a few to make! This year I'm using resin, so I have to be even more organised since each batch takes up to 3 days to cure (done in three layers, each layer takes 24 hours to cure). My 2012 decorations are my favourite so far. I'm very proud of them. 

I've also started making Christmas decorations to sell at craft fairs, since I have a few booked in coming up to Christmas. I've made some little glittery teddy bears:

I've also made some hanging plaques, with little Christmassy pictures inside and space for me to engrave a message on the bottom. These are the last of those I will be making, at least for a while since I have trashed the mould and it is no longer usable (the problem with resin is that it does weaken the moulds). 

I have also made a few other bits and pieces. 

  These are fimo modelling clay and will be hanging tree decorations, they just need some ribbon through the top. 

 This is a wireworked ring I made today. I'm practising my close work. 

This is a resin cupcake. It has multi-coloured sequins in it and the 'cake case' is painted white with acrylic paints. Since I took this photo, I have drilled a hole sideways through the cherry and will be threading some ribbon so that it can be hung. I think it's lovely. And... no calories! 

Apostrophes

This is a silly pet hate but... APOSTROPHES.

An apostrophe signifies when something belongs to someone or when words have been contracted: do not to don't etc.

If in doubt, don't use an apostrophe. I'd rather not see one at all than see pointless ones.

If you don't know whether something needs an apostrophe or not... do not use words which would need them.

It is just annoying to see signs, facebook statuses, sentences in books/magazines etc, which have stupid apostrophes in them. Just because there's an s or two, doesn't mean you need millions of apostrophes.

Rant over. :-)

This is a blog that I have owed Laura for AAAAGES

Hi Laura!

This is a blog! I do know how to use my fingers, I know how to apply my fingers to the keyboard in order to form words which will form a blog. I know I've been rubbish at keeping up with this!

I've been doing things!

I've been in school completing my placement with Year 2 and doing my first ever display:

Y Gemau Olympaidd Llundain 2012 

The Olympic Games London 2012. 

Oh yes, me and a staple gun had a fun afternoon! I'm very proud. 

I've been making sock things: 

Sock Lion for Vincent's 2nd birthday, sock Tapir for Kyla (she loves Tapirs) and sock monkey for Chloe, with his arms crossed... 

I've been here, there and everywhere visiting family and Paul. 

I went shopping for an outfit for my cousin's wedding and bought a lovely dress at the outlet place near bridgend. I say I bought it, mummy bought it. 

I did a workshop in Bedford which was good, I've got two more workshops booked more locally. I have a craft fair on Saturday... I'm starting my nursery placement on the 23rd. My cousin's wedding is on the 30th of July and Stef's wedding is at the end of August. Lots of things! See! 

My new leaf!

Hi!

I am embracing independence. I have been living on my own since my ex and I split up last June and during this time I have been swinging between hating living alone and loving it. My mum and I spent a week sorting out the front garden into a beautiful space - thanks mummy!- and I have had a couple of BIG clear-outs but I still haven't been quite content with my living space. Having now determined that I intend to stay in this house, I am keeping it tidy and enjoying the independence I have which means I can change things if and when I want to. Kirstie Allsopp is also one of my idols and I am taking a leaf out of her book (literally as I got one of her books for Christmas) and surrounding myself with lovely things, either things I have made or others have. I prefer homemade or handmade but I am working on a budget, so some of it has to be cheaper options. The first room which is prettied is my bedroom. So I thought I'd put some pictures up on here and explain what everything is. :)

My bed, with two little lavender scented pillows which I got from the Glamorgan Federation Women's Institute Craft Spectacular last November, made by a friend of mine Elaine. 

My bed, with some new bedsheets from Asda! Not very expensive but oh so cute! 

My bed is from Ikea and has four big drawers underneath and the headboard is also from Ikea and has little cubby holes on both sides which are great for storing books and make up and all sorts of things! Unfortunately it's also a great place for my cats to hide! I put the bed and headboard together myself as they were new after the break-up, I was very proud of myself and it hasn't fallen apart so far!

I think that the silhouette of birds and trees and leaves are really cute and they're neutral colours (greens and browns) which means they don't clash with other things in my room! I also have some bedsheets which are pink and purple with embroidered flowers on. 

The pillows have really cute detail of the birds on both sides, which means people like me who turn the pillow over half way through the night get the pattern whichever way up it is! The curtains I made myself last year, with thermal blackout lining, the pattern is little multi-coloured buttons in lots of different shapes and sizes. I made them with a sewing machine which only sews backwards so it was quite an achievement and they do the job. The curtain rail has clips on so there was no faffing with curtain tape and hooks, this also means I can change the curtains really easily as I only have to  sew a rectangle of fabric and clip them on! Fabulous! 

Headboard. Above my headboard I have a card board. I love greetings cards and there's a gorgeous little shop in Cardiff which sells so many different cards, including rude ones! There is also a guy who designs cards and sells them often at Roath Arts and Crafts Bazaar, he is an incredibly talented artist and has a great sense of humour. His website is: http://www.slightlywobbly.co.uk/ and he also does mugs and commissions! 

This is the wall facing my bed and has a photograph I took of some blue pansies in a friend's garden last summer, I think they look like Alice in Wonderland flowers and they are cheerful. The other picture is of a painting which was done at a life drawing class last summer. The model is yours truly and that picture really makes me feel proud of myself, not because I have the best body in the world but because I had the courage to do the modelling sessions, getting naked in front of a room full of artists is not easy but it made me feel so empowered. Having that painting there reminds me of that feeling. In between the pictures is a little wire heart which I got at a Christmas craft market last year because I thought it was cute. 

This is a close up of the pattern on the duvet cover

These are some bits on my headboard, my Disney calendar, Keep Calm and Have A Cuppa coaster which my mum and dad got me for Christmas. My phone, couldn't live without it. A lovely wooden box that my brother got me for Christmas, he has amazing taste. On top of the box are two tiny teddies. Bert is the turquoise one and is a limited edition bear, the other doesn't have a name yet, but she's pink and would attach to a mobile phone except I'm too worried she'd get dirty. In front of the box are: a black crystal cat from Swarovski, a brooch I made, some pearl earrings, a hair grip, a ring which was my mother's but I have 'borrowed' it from her. There's also a ladybird on a leaf which Laura also has one of, we made them a couple of summers ago from Fimo. There's a Penguin from Madagascar because I love penguins, a treasure chest I made from fimo and beads, a ballerina mouse which I've had for years and years, a resin dome with sequins in, a pen (as always), a lipbalm and a tin of skin balm from Nature's Little Helpers.

Nature's Little Helpers are a lovely company who raise bees and sell honey and wax and also natural skincare products made from wax and honey. They sell their goods at various craft fairs including the Roath Arts and Crafts Bazaar, their website is: http://www.natureslittlehelpers.co.uk/ and they do really interesting talks, we've had them at Aber-Valley W.I. twice, once a talk on bees and once about how they make their skincare products. Both really good!

I have also been trying not to throw things away when they break or are no longer usable. I had a top which was white/cream and I got some resin pigment on it which won't wash out so left a dark blue stain on the bottom of it, instead of throwing it out I thought I'd try dying it a darker colour. I have been wanting to use dye for a while but haven't really had the need, so this was a good opportunity. If it didn't work, I wouldn't have lost anything really. So I bought some dark green Dylon dye and followed the really easy instructions. This is the result:

I'm really pleased as it means I can now wear this top which I wasn't able to with the stain on the bottom. The stain is still there but so much less visible, dying this top has given it a new lease of life! 

Well, that's a long blog! Maybe next time I'll ramble about my living room! 

The Idiocy of me.

Hello!

I have been told by my family that I ought to post some of the stupid things I think, say and do. So here goes.

Yesterday I hit myself in the head with the phone, sort of by accident. I was on the phone to my parents and the line was crackling, I went to hit the phone with my other hand to see if that would help but forgot to move my other hand so just ended up hitting myself in the head. It didn't help the crackling.

While in Cheddar on holiday with my friend Charlene, I had to be told that Buffalo are mammals and therefore produce milk, which is then made into cheese... like Buffalo Mozzarella. I thought that Buffalo Mozzarella referred to the size of the mozzarella, so buffalo mozzarella is big, cow mozzarella is small. Makes perfect sense to me. This conversation then led me on to thinking about the fact that I also thought Buffalo were always male, like a Bull, so I thought there was another name for the female - maybe a Cuffalo.

I only recently (in 2012) realised that food labels have a 'sell by' date and not a 'cell by' date. I don't know what I thought a 'cell by' date was... maybe that after a certain date all the cells in the food just went crazy.

I used to think that the voice overs in lifts were real people who stood behind the panel in the lift and spoke relating to which buttons lit up. I never thought this was an issue, but I did think that the job must be really boring.

And finally (until there are more), Internal logic is about the way you think inside your head. Not (as I thought) the way logic works inside your house. Logic doesn't change depending on where you are, I thought there could be internal logic, inside your house and external logic outside... which might affect how logic worked. I think I understand logic as being a force, like gravity, which works differently in different environments... gravity has less of an effect on the moon... logic might be different outside, right?

I'm training to work with children... scared for the future? Me too...

xx

Rant

I haven't blogged in ages. And this isn't going to be a particularly interesting one.

A few weeks ago I decided to try and reduce my medication (anti-depressants) so went to the doctor to discuss it, reduced the dose and felt like rubbish for a few weeks. So I've gone back up onto the full dose. It hasn't kicked in yet.

So, here's a rant, because I'm feeling like ranting.

Grammar and punctuation:

Parentheses are to indicate a side note, you don't need to put a space between the bracket and the next word... ( e.g. ) that makes you look stupid. Would you put a space between your last word and a full stop? No, because you would look like an idiot.

Should've is 'should have' not 'should of' so don't say it as two separate words when you mean should've.
Off of isn't interchangeable with from.

When you use Word and right click for a synonym please understand that not all synonyms actually mean the same thing as the original word. For example: according to Word, Familiar is synonymous with recognisable, well-known, common, known, memorable, household, proverbial. These words don't all mean the same thing. If you don't know what a word means, you look stupid by inserting into an essay to make you look more intelligent than you are. "I am familiar with the sonnets of Shakespeare" is not the same as "I am memorable with the sonnets of Shakespeare." You'd be better off using a common word and looking unimaginative than using a word which doesn't make sense and looking like a complete idiot.

Etc stands for et cetera which is Latin for 'and so on', therefore it doesn't shorten to ECT.
Word and other computer software is very clever at flagging up spelling errors. Don't assume that it is always right: if you write colour and are from Britain... it's right, but Word may flag it up because Americans don't use a u in colour. Don't just accept everything that Word suggests as a correction. Think about it. And don't assume that if Word doesn't flag up a word it is automatically correct. If you write form but meant from, it won't flag it up, because form and from are both real words! If you write 'a letter arrived form London' instead of 'a letter from London arrived', you look silly. Proofreading doesn't take long and will stop you looking like a fool. If you are a teacher you need to make sure there aren't silly errors in your presentations. If you are teaching and your handouts include spelling mistakes like partnets instead of parents and chidlern instead of children, these should have been flagged up by your word processor... and you should have corrected them. If they weren't flagged up you should update your word processor, if they were and you ignored it or (worse still) checked it and thought you were right... should you be teaching?

An and a. 'A apple' isn't right in writing or in spoken word. 'An hotel' is. 'An historical context' is right. 'An hospital' is right. This is because historically 'h' wasn't pronounced, just like the k in knight, and so needed an an before it. It is generally accepted that h is a pronounced consonant now so you can use a or an.

Ellipses come in threes. Ellipses are dots used for emphasis, pauses etc. They only come in threes. You can use more than one set of them...... but they have to be in threes. So don't use four, or five, or seven.

Parenthesis, Ellipsis, Hypothesis are singular. An hypothesis is one educated guess. A parenthesis is one bracket. Parentheses, ellipses and hypotheses are plural. You cannot make an hypotheses. That is like saying you are making a guesses.

A verb is a doing word: running, jumping, flying, spelling.
A noun is a thing or an object: Paris, table, book, word, letter.
An adjective is a word which describes a noun: big table, thick book, long word, lovely letter.
An adverb is a word which describes a verb: quickly running, badly jumping, swiftly flying, competently spelling.
And these are what we have been learning with Year 2 at school. These children are 6 and 7 years old and seem to have a better grasp of the concept than many adults.

I know that we don't have to use most of these things every day and that, actually, if we get it wrong no one is really going to pick us up on it, but wouldn't it be nice to try to use our language properly?

Thank you, and yes, thank you is two separate words. Not one.

Still going...

On the 6th I went on a mini lunchtime roadtrip to KFC with the girls from college. I was well behaved and had one of the lowest calorie things on the menu!

7th: Slept till 4pm, (which ok, isn't that unusual...) but it's the first time this year I've done it! Then I went over and watched Limitless for the first time, which is an awesome film!

8th: Today I cooked a really nice recipe: Sausage and Apple Toad in the Hole. Doesn't look like the nicest thing ever, because I overfilled the pudding tray, but trust me, it was lovely!

I'm alive!

So, I said I was going to try new things. We'll treat this as a New Year's resolution for 2012.

1st January - paid the £6 (£6!!!!) toll for the Severn Bridge, that in itself is not a new thing, but going through a manned booth is. I don't like face to face contact with strangers so tend to opt for using self-service checkouts and automated machines, hence the coin bins on the toll bridge. Today I went through a manned booth and the lady was nice and I wished her a happy new year.
2nd January - Planned my meals for the week and went shopping (obviously I'm no stranger to shopping but I don't generally plan what I'm eating or buying, tend to just go with the flow. Today, however, I had a list and (another first) bought raw beetroot and a bag of red lentils. oooh, get me! Also did the first day of my new diet.
3rd January - First day back in my nursery placement after Christmas holidays! We had a new starter who was a bit upset when his mum left, but I comforted him and he settled quickly. So maybe that was a first too!
4th January - I ate a lovely meal which I cooked today for the first time. I had grilled aubergine slices with ratatuoille. Sticking to my diet.
5th January - Tried two new recipes today. Aromatic Lamb Flatbreads:
Doesn't look exactly like it did in the recipe book, but it tasted delicious. It was also supposed to have pine nuts on top but I couldn't get any! Will definitely try this recipe again!
The second recipe I've tried today is Squash, Beetroot and Goat's Cheese Roast. I haven't eaten it yet, as it's my tea, but so far it looks delicious!

And we're up to date. Over the next few days I am planning to join a class at the gym (for the first time at this gym and the first time in a loooooong time), try some crafts from my new book: Kirsty Allsop Craft, and make a totally natural facemask! Will try to remember to take and upload pictures!

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