Lesson planning and all that jazz

Huzzah,

I have just finished my first ever lesson plan. At least, think I have.

I've never really been shown how to do one so I've produced a chart with the 6 lessons on it and filled in what to do in the lesson (including timings) and the another column for homework. Then I've put or columns on the end for the dates that each form will reach each lesson - go me!

I've produced a OneNote Notebook (my new favourite toy!)with all the info I need for each commedia character ad now I've got a couple of handouts to produce along with updating the mark scheme and I'm done. I want to finish this becuse then I will actually have achieved what I set out to do today and will have one less thing to stress about - yey! Only a load of Health & Safety paperwork to produce and I'm away!?!

I've also been listening to the Soundtrack of Cabaret as tomorrow I'm going to one the singing teachers houses to find an audition song for in a fortnights time. Yup, I'm joining a Drama/Muscial society down here.....scary!!

Also got a bit further with the Australia planning (rang STA to find out about the best time to book flights and was also given some ideas about a couple of other things to see!) and the wood for the benches was delivered to school - woop woop :)

Cooking and planning

It's half term at the mo. Hence I am sat in bed (having just realised the clocks have gone back so not feeling so guilty as I did!) at 1:30pm on a Sunday, deciding what to do and making plans.

First, I plan to work my way through the various cookbooks I own - what's the point in them being there if you don't utilise them? So I started last night with Hugarian Chicken with Red Peppers, very nice :)

Plans are a big thing at the moment. I've now been in the same place for over 2 years (ahhhhh!!!) which is starting to freak me out a little. However, God doesn't seem to be telling me that it's time to move on yet so I'm trying to be grown-up and make some plans for the future.

It is tricky to be grown-up when you work with teenagers and then come home to a flat of teenagers. In fact, Thursday (Oct 22nd) was the first time since......errr....the Easter Holidays (!?!) that I've spent more than 3 days without the lovely beings :) Still this issue is being addressed (I have assurances, despite setbacks!) so hopefully by, ooo I dunno, the summer, I may have somewhere to live without them.

The money situation is still interesting. I know this may not seem the case as I'm planning to go to Australia next summer (more on that later) but this will involve much sacrificing and scrimping, but I want something to aim towards so that is definitely big enough! I also found out that at another girl's school, not a million miles away from here, the same job pays a wage of £12,000 MORE than me, that's roughly a 40% pay difference...hmmm...... However, I don't think it includes accomodation - except I could actually afford to rent on that. Quite frustrating really.

So yeah, Australia. I have quite a few friends over there and I've not seen one of the in about 8 years so I figured it's about time I went over and explored the place. 4 weeks at the beginning of the summer holidays (back in time for Lee Abbey) should be enough to get a good taste and say hi to folks. I know of a few things I definitely want to do. Now I'm trying to work out the best way to travel between them all. Train seems to be the best way so far. Cheaper than flying and I get to see the landscape whilst passing through - fabulous! I'm makig an attempt to use OneNote to organise everything. The kids at school use it a lot so I though I'd give it a shot. Is proving very handy actually!

Qatar airways seems to be the way to fly (at least the cheapest) I would love to stop over in Fiji or somewhere, but as I'm not sure how that works timewise that may be saved for another occasion!

Well, off to do some more research!

J&J Wedding

Jo's Wedding

I am seriously slack at keeping this going!

I've been thinking a lot over the last few weeks, which also involved a couple pf weeks of feeling pretty low and blue, and realised that one of the things I no longer did regularly anynore was to blog. So I now take the Brownie Guide oath to come back to this and to stop being distracted by the likes of Twitter and facebook until after I have blogged.....at least until the next big social networking craze comes along...there, perfect.

Jo and John's wedding was truly one of the most beautiful days of my life :) It was chilled out and yet just as fairy tale like as it should have been. Everyone looked amazing and my mouth hurt by the end of the day due to smiling so much! It was fun being up there for the days beforehand and making the table centres, meeting John's family, running errands etc. The only bad thing that all that meant was that I came crashing down (emotionally speaking) in the 4 days afterwards which didn't bode well for work! The school nurse was lovely and made me tea and let me hide in a bed for 1/2 hour though which was wonderful :)

Actually the Monday wasn't too bad as, just as I reached the M4, Vicky rang to say I'd left my keys there and decided to come down and bring them to me. So we had an evening of Chinese and 'Keeping Mum' and she got to drive a TINY car down here and back!

So, here are some piccies from the event:

Home and recovering!

I'm back! and in one piece (including some strange stomach thing and jet lag!) I counted yesterday as a non-day to get myself back together and here I am :)

Peru was absolutely amazing. The girl's worked so well and, I believe, had one of the most worthwhile experiences of their whole lives.

The first week we spent a day in Lima, also we had to wait for 10 - count them! - bags that IBERIA failed to get on the plane - FROM HEATHROW!!!!! (we had a connection in Madrid) the day before.


and then a few day acclimatising (which wasn't long enough for some - including me!) at a lodge outside Huaraz that belongs to a guy called Alex - for truly chilling out in stunning surrounding you can't beat this place:



Then we headed off on the Santa Cruz Trek - except we did it backwards to avoid folowing another couple of wilderness groups - amongst others! It took us about 4 days and was one of the most awesome, and testing, things I have ever experiences. The views were stunning, the headaches were mean but ultimately it was definitely worth it.

Then for some recovery (and our tree planting!) we went to the Llanganuco Lodge, which is run by Alex's brother Charlie. There is a lake up there with a folk story attatched to it and the views over the valley are breathtaking.

The tree planting day was hot and sunny - until the afternoon when the wind decided to have a little fun!

The next 5 days were spent on project. A previous group had laid the foundation and underfloor pipework for the toilet block. It was our job to finish the plumbing and cement it in, purchase and install the sinks and toilets, dig a pit for the 1,000 gallon septic tank and for the pipes leading away from the toilets and also to dismantle on of the end buildings so the bricks could be used to for the new block......piece of cake!

On our last evening there the family of the cook at the lodge came over and prepared a feast for us. It consisted of Cuy (Guniea Pig), Chicken and Potatoes all cooked in a chilli sauce - absolutely gorgeous. First proper meat we'd had in over a week and a half! They bought the Cuy live and killed them there so we could watch the process. I was actually fascinated until one of them started squeaking when they took it out of the bag, then I found sudden interest in the piece of rock I had been trying to remove with the pick-axe and left them to it!

After project we started our Cultural/R&R phase.

First we headed to Chiclayo where our hostel had a lovely guy yelling "Mas, mas, mas" outside the window every 3 mins or so for (and no, I do not exargerate) 18 hours a day! We never worked out why he was yelling that but it added to the local colour!?!

We visited the Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán (Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipan), which contained all the artefacts found at the burial outside Laymbayeque. It also has a reconstruction of the burial site an loads of info on the Sipan - really well presented, layed out and lit (!) displays and my Spanish improved no end as there was no English translation!

We also spent a couple of afternoon's pottering around the famous market in Chiclayo. The plays was a riot of smells, colour and people wanting to sell you everythig from machetes to pet birds! Did my first bit of bartering on a present for one of the John's (quite chuffed as I really don't like doing it) and enjoyed the coffe/cocoa stalls as well as the interesting objects , herbs and othe things in 'shaman alley'.


Next we headed over to Chachapoyas - a much smaller town but with lots to visit - including the brilliant Kuelap Ruins. This place rivals Macchu Picchu in it's size, volume of stone and preservation. But the pleasure of this one is that not many people go there and most of it is still fairly overgrown with jungle - so you get to feel like an explorer (all those Famous Five books when I was younger!). There are around 140 round building, mostly houses, plus about 4 square buildings. Some have been cleared and one of them has been reconstructed so you can see what it would have looked like. The views, again!, are stunning - the Chachapoyans must have been able to observe for mile from up there

There was also a friendly (if elusive) pack of Llama/Alpaca up there :)


The following day we did the Gocta Waterfall hike. This had been meant to be an overnight thing but we discovered that it could be easily done in one day and would give us an extra day elsewhere! It was great fun hiking through the jungle, saw loads of butterflies, plants and even a Cock o' the Rock (bird with bright orange head and body and black wings) - very exciting! The waterfall was immense - the tallest double waterfall in the world. It was the dry season when we visited but it was still pretty cool.


We then set of to get to Tarrapoto. Although this involved a rather lengthy wait in Pedro Ruiz (a village in the back of beyond!) waiting for bus that never showed up! We had fab fun with some local kids and eventually the bus guy said for an extra 30s/. he could get us a collectivo/combi to go to Tarrapoto. 5 1/2 hours in a very small minibus - good times!

Tarrapoto was much more humid than the other places we had been and just as hot. We had 3 days of water filled fun! On the first afternoon we visited the Ahuashiyacu waterfall and got to swim a little and soak in the atmosphere of being in waterfool pool in the jungle! We also had fun getting there and back as we decided to take the motor-taxi's that seem to be everywhere there. They are basically motobikes with a carriage for 3 attatched (although they also have ones with pick-up style backs on!). Sooo much fun!
The next day we went white water rafting on one of the tributaries of the Amamzon. So good - until a particularly strong current took me (and the dry bag containing my camera) under the raft for 20s before I struggled out and then promptly had to resue 2 oars and one of the girl's shoes. After that I considered my camera out of action until I could get home and dry it out properly. It was a fabulous afternoon though!

For our final day in Tarapoto we headed to Moyobamba and the Thermal Baths which are kept at a steady 42'c - just hot enough so that you get too hot and bored at the same time! Had a good meal in the evening although a coupld of the girsl started to get sick - the others went out for some Karoke fun (apparently not that fun!) whilst I headed back to the hostel with the sickies for an early night. We were staying in the Hostel "July". July is the nam of the owner and in the lonely planet she is described as an 'Imelda Marcos type' - which is her to a tea. Gregarious and very protective of us she was one the best characters we met out there and fought everyone to see that we got the best deal for everything!

Headed back to Lima the next day (a 12-hour delay for me & Alice who stayed in Tarapoto so she could get some hospital treatment for dehydration) and retuned to the hostel we started in. Found a fab craft market and got to do some more bartering for gifts etc. Also not feeling brilliant but well enough to pootle on.

Next day was our last and consisted of trips to the market and supermarket for lasy minute puchases (the supermarket did a roaring trade in Pisco and Inca Kola that day!) and then on to the airport for out flight.

Reached the UK to find that only 2 of our bags were missing - some kind of miracle! - and they would be delivered to the homes anyway. After a mix-up with coach we were home by 10:15 where some exctied parents met some tired young women and Pan the cat was there to see me.

Crawled into bed feeling fairly ill and shivery at 2am - spent Sunday trying to convince myself that I wasn't going mad and snoozing on and off between waking up with hallucinations and trying to do laundry etc.

Jet lag is fimrly here but I woke up at 10:30am this morning - If I can hold on 'til tonight and not go to sleep I may get it licked before I'm due at camp on Saturday!

...Now....where did I put my Malaria tablets.........

I'm off..

SO, a quick dashed off post before I wander out of the door with my rucksack.

All the girls are here and in one piece - currently going through their rucksacks, making sure they haven't any extraneous items....phones for example!

I'm quite nervous about thus trip - more so than any other time I've been away, but then, I've never had resposibility for 11 teenagers before! Still theyr're all highly excited and it seems to be catching.

I'm looking forward to a truly amazing experience, some wonderful sights of God's earth and getting to know a new country and it's people :)

So au revoir and take care, :)

4 days to go!!!!

Very exciting!!!

Finally have ALL my kit (including camera type things...mmmm shiny!) so can now attempt to fit it all in my rucksack.

However first I have lots of sewingy bits to do for Pride & Prejudice to do tomorrow. The girls have produced some amazing work in both the costume and tech departments. Have some very reluctant Y10's (although 2 or 3 of them I'd keep) and some lovely younger newbies who are fab. Anyone need regency dresses? I've made 8 in the last week. We have also ventured into the world of front fall breeches and regency period army jackets - which are pretty swish if you ask me.

Also need to bake brownies and make a key lime pie/cheesecake for the BBQ soiree at Sheila's tomorrow. Much as I enjoy my tech's it will be nice to talk to some adult's for a bit :)

The packing begins

I am busily trying to sort all my kit out on the dining room table (that is, it was our dining table in Ann Road - now it sits in my living room looking forlorn and over-dressed) and I may need to open the other 'leaf'. SLightly worrying as I'm not sure how it's all going to fit in with only 1 'leaf' and the middle bit.

I also had a fabulous epiphany moment and have realised (I REALLY hope) where my fleece is. Safely locked in the sports hall PA cupboard, I mean, where else would it be?

anyhoo, enough with the procrastinations. The GAPS have gone out and I have the flat to myself.

.."Oh joy, oh rapture unforseen, for now the sky is all serene....."

1 more to go

Hurrah! It's done. Junior School production went very well last night, even managed to redo the video credits thing so it was clearer (although I could read the previous version without my astigmatism being fixed, but, there you go!). It was all a bit teary when they firls were saying thank you and goodbye to Ade which made it all the sweeter :) Ade is the head of music down there and is one of the first people I had a 'proper' conversation with when I started at the school. She is one of the most warm, patient and open people you could ever hope to meet and she will be missed greatly. Hmmm that sounded like an Obit - but no fear she is off to carry on her singing so is definitely alive and kicking!

Just got the de-rig to do today and then it's throwing myself into P&P and preparing for Peru, try saying that after a few!

2 weeks to go

2 weeks today I shall be packing to go to Peru - how very exciting (and, if I'm honest, a little scary!) I have lost my fleece in the last week which is not very helpful (and probably involves having tobuy a new one :() and asking people if they have seen your fleece when the weather is like it is at the moment does produce some choice responses!

Finally finished lighting the Junior school production this afternoon. I say finally. We had actually finished on Tuesday - before the technicl rehearsal. ANd you'd have thought that the day after the dress and the afternoon before the first performance was not the best time to change L.E.D's. However, there you go! The battens do look brighter and better then the, frankly naff, Par's we had inside the giant turban but the macro effects that come with them are nowhere near as good [/rant]

Trying to get my head around the show up here which is on on the last full day of term. We're doing Pride & Prejudice (partly my suggestion!) although finding a decent script has been a nightmare. Found a decent strating point and then had to cut it down whilst stil holding parts for 28 people! The show is on in 2 weeks - tomorrow we start production, all good fun!

Both of my sisters are getting married this year! (see below post) both to guys called John, who drive Audi's, their Dad's names begin with A, they both trained as Engineer's, they both have large famlies and they both come from up North......... Now what do I do if I meet someone called John? Produce a questionnare or run in the oposite direction.....very tricky....

SO this will be my 3rd and 4th times as bridesmaid. Although hopefully the dresses will be more comfortable to sit down in this time!

The dreaded SF has hit school. Various folks in and out today but nobody seems particularly peturbed by it. I just hope if any the Peru Crew get it it'll be long gone before we head off!

Sims3 is proving good, once you get into it. However I'll still be playing my Sims 2 as you can't really play all the characters and half the time you don't know who they are - and then they die! (Although you can control whether they age and whether the story progresses). SPeaking of which I have an hour of chill time before I head off down the road again......