MONDAY
A whole month since I last went to placement, a whole month into summer, and another steady start to the week! On Monday I began reading Animal Farm, which I have written an essay on before while at university, but never actually read... not surprising if you know me. (Side note: I still managed to get a mark of 65, so don't start on me please). In all seriousness though, I do regret not reading it because I am very much enjoying it! I only read through about ten pages of it on Monday because I was making some notes alongside to inform the way that I'm going to teach it come September. It's very well written but I fear that it's language is a little bit too sophisticated for twelve year olds... so I've been providing definitions for difficult terms and thinking of fun activities to make it more accessible - I'll let you know how it goes when I actually come to teach out!
I'm trying to get a head start with all of the topics I'll be teaching so I can enthuse myself about them ahead of the lessons, I've found that no lesson is ever going to be successful if you can't at least fake enthusiasm - and luckily, Communism and a satirical novel about farm animals isn't something i have to fake being enthralled in, so it turns out! So I spent most of the morning going through this with a fine-tooth comb, before Mum got back from Lidl (as I have already said, sponsorship would be greatly appreciated) and I could have my lunch!
Smashed avo on toast with cracked black pepper, a poached egg and some smoked bacon - I know, here I am saying I'm enthralled by Communism, having eaten a Tory style brunch. Sorry, but it was delicious. I've actually attempted to re-plant my avocado pip as a bit of a summer project, so we'll see if anything comes of that... I'll keep you posted.
Gardening
I've mentioned in an earlier post that I've recently taken to gardening, so it'll come as no surprise that I spent Monday afternoon clearing another of the borders in our garden. Annoyingly I deleted my "before" picture by accident, but if you look at the image below, the soil was covered in leafs, bugs and stones until I came along with my gardening gloves and hoe! (Google it, it's not what you think, I promise). So I think I did a pretty good job! Secretly i quite want my own little vegetable patch, but i know that this new, green-fingered me probably won't last... so I'll hold off on fulfilling that dream for now. I've just found that gardening makes time pass by so quickly, keeps me moving (even if it is just a little bit) and makes me feel like I've really accomplished something - if you're bored, try it. Also, it's good if you're lonely too! I don't usually like being on my own but it's something I've had to get used to this summer because all of my friends have been away on holiday, my family have been at work and I'm newly single, so no more trips down to London for me! When I'm gardening though, I don't really feel like I'm on my own, I guess I just don't have time to think about it? All I know is, I enjoy it, and you probably would too if you gave it a go.
TUESDAY
On Tuesday I went into Doncaster on the train with my mum for a day of shopping, and my GOD was it a day - we were there for over FIVE hours! If you know me, you'll be aware that I pretty much despise clothes shopping, and so does my mum actually, but we forced ourselves to stick it out so at least one of us had something new to wear for my graduation later this month. Unsurprisingly, it was my mum who ended up with not one but two new outfits, while I was left with nothing - she's more resilient than I am. I did however get a few new school supplies and a new day-time dress and denim jacket, so every cloud! I've taken a few photographs of some of my purchases, so I'll leave them below and some details of where you can find them just in case you're after some pastel highlighters or fake earrings!!
These were from Claire's Accessories! I love my hoops but wanted to mix it up a little, and I've seen quite a few people wearing earrings similar to these, so I had to buy them! I own a lot of black clothing at the minute and they go nicely with those sort of outfits, less so with some of my animal prints though... they're just another accessory option which is always handy to have!
The chocolate facemask came free with my purchase from Claire's, while the other two tissue masks were from Boots. Both were quite affordable and super moisturising, but I'd say I prefer the Garnier mask for one simple reason - it actually fits my face! No matter what the brand, the full face tissue masks just don't work for me! They ride too far up my forehead and don't account for the fact that I have a naturally upturned lip (I fell on a step when I was little and cut my frenulum, which stopped it from pulling my upper lip down - I'm talking about the frenulum in your mouth by the way, NOT the one on the penis) so the part of the mask desgined to rest just beneath your nose actually runs across my lip - and it tastes horrible! With the eye mask above, I just don't have this problem, so wearing it was a lot more enjoyable.Plus, I often feel that the bags under my eyes are what need a little TLC, so this mask targets them perfectly!
I have no idea what these are for, but I will find a purpose for them. Cute little 3D cactus stickers are too up my street for me to walk away from, so thank you The Works! I assume they're designed to be used in a scrapbook maybe or for some other crafting activity, but I think I'll actually use them in my classroom come September (I have a bit of a cactus theme going on).
Back to the pamper/"self-care" theme... you know I can't go into Lush without buying a bath bomb! This Lucky Cat was around £4.00 and it absolutely covered the bottom of my bath in glitter, so be warned about that. It smelled amazing though and made my skin silky smooth, I'd really recommend if you don't mind hosing down your tub after!
I needed some highlighters for September and saw these in Tesco, I couldn't decide between the pastel or the luminous so went for both (I got my last PGCE bursary this month so I figured it was time to go wild). Tesco have some really nice stationery stock in actually, and they do cute lunchbox designs, so if you're looking for school or work supplies, check them out! Stationery shopping has always been my favourite part of the summer holidays, I always loved starting September with a brand new pencil case and folders, and that's something that still excites me, so I'm probably in the right career!
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday was a write-off because I had a driving lesson from 3pm to 5pm, so spent most of my morning worrying about that. When I actually got out there on the road I surprised myself at how well I did, so felt very pleased with myself when I arrived back home (though my legs were a little shakey!) I'm still not totally convinced that I really want to learn to drive, but I'm getting a lot of encouragement (some would call it being forced into it) from my family, so I'm giving it a proper go this time - I'll keep you updated!
THURSDAY
On Thursday I did more reading for September and sent off for my new DBS form, so that was quite productive! Then in the evening Emily C picked me up and we drove to York to meet up with Emily S for some tea. Both had been away on holiday so it was a well overdue catch up and some much needed girl time. We went to Lendal Cellars, a bar in York by the river that's underground, so very reminiscent of my favourite Revolution Bar in America Sqaure, London. We had deep chats while enjoying our pub grub (I opted for the chicken burger and to drink, a Pepsi Max) and then Emily C and I took the long route home to continue the chats. When I got back, it was time for bed!
SATURDAY
Saturday was Festival Day in the village, our annual summer event where local families gather on the village green for some Stars Hollow style fun. There's a pet contest, an egg throwing contest, a fancy dress contest... basically there are lots of contests, as I'm sure you're gathering! I didn't actually get any photographs this year, my dad was on photography duty so he snapped a lot instead, so I don't have any to share with you! Just know that I spent Saturday afternoon on The Green and then went home for a pizza. After that, I dolled myself up a little, ready to meet Emily for yet another catch up!
We went to The Green Room, a coffee shop and cafe by day, but a bistro by night! It was a pleasant evening so we sat out on the decking there and indulged in a couple of gins to begin with. I was surprised at the selection of alcoholic drinks on offer to be honest, I expected wines and beers, but as well as that there were flavoured gins, other spirits like vodka and rum, prosecco, and so on and so forth! It was a little quiet, but Saturday was an anomaly with it being Festival Day, most people from the village had been day drinking in the pub and so there they remained - I imagine that it's usually busier? I guess I'll have to go back to see! Regardless though, we settled in and felt pretty comfortable once we had picked our table!
Please note the paper straws, with the theme of the festival that day being Green Planet, I was happy to see them! Also note the lovely Emily, who I did meet up with just a couple of days prior, but who you can never get enough of! We caught up once again and discussed our plans for the coming year, we're both doing another year at home so will be able to meet more frequently, which will be really nice. Em has been my friend since college, we discussed how despite only meeting through mutual friends, we're now closer with each other than we are with those friends! We're just quite similar, we enjoy the same things and always seem to be on the same page, there are no mixed messages with Em, she likes going out and having fun, and so do I! So we always have a good time, no matter what we're doing. After a couple of gins we decided to get a bottle of wine and started with a white, it was £15.00 which is a little pricey, but when you consider that's just £7.50 for two glasses, it doesn't seem quite so steep. You'll see below that I made a bit of a photo shoot out of it... you have to take every opportunity to get for a good Insta!
You can also see that the decking area doesn't have much going on, I think it would've been nice to have a candle on the table, maybe some hanging baskets out there too? There were some fairy lights but they weren't turned on... The Green Room is fairly new so I think they're still finding their feet, I definitely support it and would return again, especially because we were given complimentary nibbles! I know that pubs and bars do this to make your mouth dry so you end up ordering more drinks, but I still think it's a nice touch and despite having had a pizza and chips, you can bet that I helped myself to handful after handful (I have no will power).
Pesto covered cracker things, ready salted crisps, coloured tortillas, and cashew nuts, peanuts and pistachio nuts - and yes, we did eat them all and then had more! It was soon after this point that Freya, the owner's niece and my old school-friend, arrived (having had a few Kraken and cokes already!) We ordered another bottle of wine, a red this time, and sat outside until half past nine, drinking, talking and laughing. It was such a good night and I'm so grateful to now have somewhere in Rawcliffe that I can take friends!
I then walked home in the rain and took this charming selfie - I don't think I realised quite how tipsy I was until that walk home to be honest!
SUNDAY
To round off the week I did some more reading of Animal Farm and began to create some resources for displays in my classroom. September is fast approaching and there's so much to do before I'm ready to begin my career! I honestly can't believe I'm saying that you know, this time last year I had only just moved out of student housing, and now I'm beginning my career... At just twenty-two years old, I will have a career !?
As much as my life at the minute does seem to lack purpose (I go out drinking or lounge about in my pyjamas, there really isn't much in between, as I'm sure you can tell if you've been following this post-placement series) I feel so grateful to be able to have this down time, because I know that come September, I'll be a very busy woman! Anyway, speaking of the readers of these posts, I just wanted to say thank you to you all. I've been writing a lot this month and everything I publish seems to receive more views than the post that came before it, I'm re-building my audience and it means the world to me that so many of my friends are following me through the summer! It's with a heavy heart that I have decided to end this series here, I've really enjoyed documented my month post-placement, it's been a great way to get back into blogging. I feel now though that I'm ready to write about the specifics in my life, rather than document my week day-by-day. I I hope you'll stay tuned for future posts to come, and thank you very much for all of your support thus far! Until the next one, Jess x