Have a lovely weekend everybody!

Well the first week of the school term has come to an end! I have to say the week has just flown! Indeed I feel as though I may have blinked and missed parts of the week. I have sat and contemplated the week for the past few minutes. I have thought about how truly lucky I am to be teaching at such a great school with such a talented staff. I truly am blessed to teach with such a dedicated staff who work so tirelessly for their students. I am in the process of preparing lessons for next week. You might be wondering why I am doing this on a Friday night (after my lovely husband took me out for dinner - that steak was just what I needed) instead of going out afterwards? Well I have a lot of marking to do this weekend, so I felt it best to get as many lessons prepared for the week as possible.

I do hope to get a bit of rest over the weekend. I don't want to work during every waking hour. I do have a 1 1/2 hour personal training session tomorrow morning and I hope to go swimming on Sunday. Aside from that, I might visit the local library and sit and do some marking there.

If I get through a lot of work... there will most definitely be baking and cooking on the menu. Whatever you decide to do, however you choose to spend your weekend - enjoy!

Evening delights

After two days back at work, I am pleased that my efforts to keep my desk decluttered at work and home is working. I know this might seem like a minor observation and one that possibly does not need mentioning, but the one thing that I was always able to do but can't seem to manage at the moment, is maintaining a tidy desk.

I spent a good three days or so in the holidays rearranging and reorganising my workspace at home. I am pleased with how it looks and how there is no clutter on my desk.

I feel that my desk is always indicative of my state of mind.

In any case, my tidy desk is one of my delights...the other was spending 2 1/4 hours at the gym tonight. I worked very hard for that period of time and goodness it does promote clarity of thought. It is amazing how much energy one gains from expending energy lifting weights and power walking. I have now made an arrangement to meet my brother in law and his girlfriend at the gym at 5:30am tomorrow for a session.

My other evening delight is the cup of chamomile tea that I am about to drink, whilst quietly contemplating the day and the rest of the week. Indeed they are evening delights.

So begins another school term

Ahh, term three...that period of time where we farewell the winter and delight in the coming of spring. A time where we hope that our year 12 students have been in hibernation, studying for the trial HSC examinations and will come to flourish in about four weeks time. Hmm... term three, students realise it is the beginning of the downhill slope for the rest of the year. They only have one more academic report to recieve...so one more chance at self improvement before the end of the year... one more semester to develop an intrinsic motivation for practising essay writing and for keeping a journal.

Term three offers me many challenges, but also much hope. It will most certainly be the business end of the year for me, so to speak. I have three year 12 classes and will need to give these students as much energy and time as I can possibly expend. I imagine that I will forever carry the bag of marking around with me. I hope that this term will be productive and fruitful. I feel that I have accomplished more this year than last year. I feel a lot better about my role and my ability to meet the needs of my students and staff. There is no formal debating competition this term (though I have two social debates organised) and so hopefully I will have an opportunity to do what I love most. Programming, designing and redesigning teaching and learning programs. That is my real passion. I love programming. I love sitting there with the syllabus and with a text and creating possibilities to enhance the deep understanding of my students.

My hope that as term three commences, I am filled with enough energy to achieve these goals... Did I mention that we had 11 hours of parent teacher interviews today? So begins another term!

Tea, cupcakes and handbags

I joined a couple of colleagues and attended an Adobe conference about digital media technologies and learning. As someone who is an avid user of technology, I have to confess that I was unimpressed with the conference. There was little interaction and essentially we were 'talked to' for a few hours. Do these organisers think that students would honestly sit there for hours on end quietly and politely. Moreover, would they be prepared to sit there at length and listen to someone talk to them for hours. In any case, on the way home I bought 6 cupcakes. I didn't actually eat any of them on the way home. This is one of my indulgences these holidays. Last week I stocked up on Tea 2 tea and today I thought it was a good idea to buy some cupcakes. Lovely little cupcake store in the gorgeous Queen Victoria Building. The six flavours I bought were: Red Velvet, Chocolate with Vanilla cream topping, Banana, Carrot, Sticky Date and Vanilla with Chocolate cream topping. I made a lovely pot of French Earl Grey tea and Mark and I shared the Sticky Date and Cholcolate with Vanilla cream cupcakes. Talk about taking tea! Was blissful!

Hope that you are having a lovely afternoon. Am in the throws of looking for a lovely handbag for work. It needs to be well made, functional and looks good. It needs to be able to be taken from day to evening. Needs to hold its shape and take a bit of weight. Any ideas?

Have a lovely weekend

What plans do you have for the weekend? The weather in Sydney should be sunny, even though it is still quite cool. I only have a couple of things planned - a personal training session early tomorrow morning, perhaps a movie with my husband tomorrow night and then lunch with my husband's brothers on Sunday, as one of them is visiting from Dubai.

I hope to be able to redesign the home office....so I have been reading a number of inspiring interior design blogs. I found pictures 1 ,2,4 on Flickr and picture 3 from the moleskin website, so I hope they inspire you to enjoy the weekend!

Food Glorious Food

I love cooking! I love to try new things and to experiment with food. Over the last couple of days I have cooked fish. Last night I cooked some delicious salmon fillets with a lovely salt and pepper crust. Tonight I made some wonderful garlic prawns (recipe courtesy of Bill Grainger), blue-eye cod with hollandaise sauce (sauce recipe courtesy of Maggie Beer) and a fresh salad. It was wonderful to have the pots and pans going on the stove top and the dishes in the oven. I loved cooking with some fresh herbs as well, particularly dill.

Today I did a spot of shopping with my wonderful husband and we purchased lots of tea from our favourite tea shop, Tea 2. You can find a link to on the main blog page. We bought Sydney Breakfast, French Earl Grey, Earl Grey and New Zealand Breakfast teas. We love the tins in which they come packaged. We now have all four of them lined up on our bench.

This is an image I found on google images, of my favourite tea blend from T2 - French Earl Grey.

Nostalgia

I spent part of the day in the car, driving across different parts of Sydney to attend a baby shower and to run a couple of errands. During this time I was able to listen to some interesting interviews on the radio. The first one was with a young woman from Texas who is a Guerilla Knitter. She is here in Australia to promote her work. I was very excited to hear the interview because it made me think of Melinda, who has indulged in some Guerilla knitting of her own. This lady from Texas has a display outside the Opera House, so I will have to go and have a look.

The next interview that I listened to, that subsequently continued with listeners sharing their responses, was to think about something that was prevalent in your childhood, that you don't see much of today...and it makes you feel a sense of nostalgia.

Well, all of this got me thinking...a woman from Texas has inspired many people to turn ugly urban areas into warm places. The idea that one has pride in their community is a great lesson here! The other thought that I had was about nostalgia. It is true... I don't see merry-go-rounds anymore, and hardly any swings and slippery dips and climbing castles that we had as children. Hopscotch isn't around and neither are jacks. A sense of melancholy came over me because all of those experiences were so positive and so pivotal in my childhood. All of the games involved others (real and imagined)

I look at how different things are today for young children...their days seem regimented and there appears to be a need to create a tangible outcome from every activity. I look forward to one day having children and to allow them to play and to dream... to create games in the garden, imaginary worlds and all that made my childhood so happy.

This sense of nostalgia has made me think about all that was great about my childhood, society at the time and made me think about how my values haven't really changed all that much. That's why I love reading so many of the blogs by designers and cooks and crafty / arty types. Their ideas, their creations are handmade and have so much character. I love reading about their lives because even though many of them live on the other side of the world, their attention to detail, the finer details - whether it be interior design, cooking, making craft, entertaining, gift wrapping or writing thank you cards, all of it celebrates the finer details that make life enjoyable and valuable.

The final comments of each interview referred to how during times of recession (as the globe is experiencing now) people retreat into their local communities and homes. They take up sewing and knitting etc etc. I think that this is partly to explain for the resurgence in a lot of this, however, I don't believe it is the only reason. I also believe that it is because people want to be connected to others...whether it be friends, family, colleagues, neighbours. Many people enjoy being online and conversing with others across the globe, yet people also like to be connected to others. Now that's nostalgia.

Baby Shower

Today is a close friend's baby shower. It is very exciting as we are all anticipating the birth of her first baby! In order to really celebrate in style we are having 'High Tea' at Gunners' Barracks at Georges Heights. It isn't too far from Mosman and there are fabulous views of Sydney Harbour, looking out across Rose Bay and Middle Cove. I have included some photos from a previous High Tea indulgence at Gunners' for Jen's Shower Tea. Enjoy your day! Happy

Bastille Day to my French friends! I will post a Francaise inspired blog later today! Joyeux Quatorze Juillet!

Monday musings

Today I spent the day making lists of things to do and crossing them off as I accomplished each task. I completed 13 of the 26 tasks on the list which was very satisfying! In any case, I realised that we need a hat and coat stand. So these are some images of coat / hat stands that look good. I have found it a little hard to find them online, but will do a little more research tomorrow and visit some antique stores.

Holidays

The end of semester one holidays are so eagerly anticipated. For one thing, we have just had 22 weeks this semester. One of the longest semesters since the school term became four terms instead of three terms. I think that every teacher I have met along the corridors at work, or chatted to on the phone or through some social networking mechanism, has commented on how dfficult it was to get to the end of term. I believe that across the state tonight, hundreds of teachers will be curled up on the lounge, perhaps with a good book, some knitting or watching something on television. In any case they will breathe a sigh of relief....a collective sigh of relief. For they wont have to race off to work on Monday morning, having spent a good part of the weekend marking papers and rushing to get through the housework in time for work on Monday. It is time to go slow. Time to take stock of goals and dreams. Holidays provide us with the opportunity to rest. To release the tension that builds up - particularly in the last couple of weeks of term.

Today began with my very dedicated soul turning up for a personal training session. I have felt the urge to remain at home, but alas my body and to a greater extent, my Catholic guilt wont ever allow me to cancel or postpone a session.

Following the gruelling 1 1/2 hour session, I went home and got ready to head to Surry Hills with my husband for a beautiful brunch at Lumiere. I think you would love it - a vibrant restaurant / patissierie. It was lovely to sit back and eat a delicious field mushroom and chorizo omelette with a couple of aromatic cups of coffee, whilst reading the paper and watching the world go by.

It was lovely to sit with my husband and discuss articles in the paper and talk about the day ahead. A spot of shopping (to buy a top for the skirt I bought last week) for my wedding outfit was indeed lots of fun. I love shopping local. Wherever possible I shop locally. There are a few fabulous clothing stores (not chains) near my place and I have come to know the owners and staff. The service is second to none. They love their work. They have pride in their stores and their products. It is a real pleasure to shop at these stores. The service is fabulous and I walked away with a gorgeous top, cardigan and an amazing necklace with gorgeous beads. It really made the outfit!

The wedding was wonderful - I had a great time with my husband, watching Glen and Emma exchange vows. Catching up with family and friends is indeed something that gives me much joy.

I have to say the first day of the holidays has more than met my expectations. To be able to sit back and relax on the lounge, after having done so much today, but not feeling rushed, tired or worried that I only have 'one day to go before work' made the day so much more enjoyable.

Happy holidays to my teacher friends and colleagues and to anyone on holidays now! Enjoy the time to rest and rejuvinate your mind, body and spirit.

Winding down...

Winter is a time to hibernate. I am almost certain that it isn't simply plants and animals that hibernate or sleep in Winter. I believe that we need to do the same. Teachers are not very good at hibernating or slowing down. With the approach of a weekend or holidays, many of us see the time to plan lists of things to do. Our lists are often filled with a balance of home chores, marking (particularly if you are an English teacher) and things we'd like to do - like go to the library or do something else for ourselves.

Teachers anticipate the holidays because it is a time without routine. We don't move to the sounds of bells, obediently every fifty minutes. We can choose to be as introverted as we would like. Many people think that I am an extrovert and to be honest, there is part of me that is an extrovert. As I get older I must say that I have become more introverted. I anticipate the times that I have at home, where I don't have to speak (though I do love to converse with my husband) and I can think whilst pottering among my plants or writing in my journal.

For these holidays I have decided to make a list of no more than five things. Total. Five things that I HAVE to do during the holiday break. I anticipate time to relax, to hibernate, to sleep and to be. I am looking forward to being somewhat introspective. I anticipate that a little bit of time out of the rat race, so to speak, will be far more beneficial to me for what I believe will be a huge term three.

The art of tea drinking

The merits of drinking tea have been widely publicised. Ancient writings depict the merits of tea drinking and modern musings also depict the benefits of tannins and antioxidants for the health and wellbeing of the body and soul.

It is amazing how a cup of tea can settle an unsettled stomach while at the same time, warming up the body after a day out in the elements. Tonight, my wonderful husband just made me a cup of green tea. He served it in a lovely porcelain tea cup for me. That lovely attention to detail is one thing that I value about our relationship. He knows that I love my tea in a porcelain cup. I love leaf tea and particular I love the way in which tea is lovingly prepared.

Below I have included some pictures of tea, tea cups and tea pots. All inspiring. All colourful. Enjoy! (All courtesy of the fine people at flickr)