January 2012
1 post
December 2011
1 post
In other news
In reference to recent musings concerning the direction of my blog I have made a decision. I’ll be posting musing on education, my PhD and all manner of associated issues on Scots Whit?.
November 2011
2 posts
3 tags
Balance
I have written, and deleted, a post on division of labour: specifically in terms of housekeeping/childcare within families where both parents work. Why did I delete it? Well, it came across like a pity party for one.
To give you a bit of background: I work full time in an emotionally draining environment, sometimes I have to bring work home but it’s not the norm; my husband works full time...
1 tag
When life becomes a little overwhelming I run. In a break from my normal routine, I’ve stepped off the treadmill and out into the real world. Scotland isn’t exactly known for it’s stunning weather but I’m finding that this suits me. So far I have run in the cold, the wind and the (torrential) rain. Today I ran in the fog. It felt like the end of the world. I shrugged off...
October 2011
3 posts
I used to write. When I was at school I had notebooks overflowing with teenage angst ridden poetry, sections from novels never completed and cliched short stories. My notebooks went everywhere with me and I would spend hours a day pouring both head and heart onto the paper. I would never claim to be an outstanding writer but I enjoyed it. University changed that for me. Studying literature meant...
Another week, another school holiday. I’m hoping that this time I’ll manage to avoid the lurgy and get to spend time doing fun things with the children. The past few weeks have sped by in a blur of work and little people. In between I am reading and watching trashy American TV.
So, what of the PhD I hear you ask? I received an offer letter a few weeks ago and will begin in January....
September 2011
3 posts
In praise of my children
For the last 3 days (and judging by the way I’m feeling right now there’s more to come) I have been confined to my sick bed. This is strange because I’m never really, seriously ill. Unfortunately this has coincided with the September weekend. The kids and I had plans to do ‘stuff’ during this, the first of the school holidays. Instead they have been looking after...
The waiting game
I’m still waiting to hear back from university regarding my PhD and I’m starting to get nervous. I’m in a state of limbo; finding it difficult to focus on anything in particular while I await a decision. Luckily I have something wonderful to occupy my time.
I always said I didn’t really want a Kindle but, living in a small flat, the pile of books beside my bed, in the...
Times they are a changing
You may have noticed a period of absence on my part. This was deliberate. Rather than life getting in the way, which is so often the case chez moi, I’ve been planning and plotting *insert maniacal giggling* a change in direction. I’m still cooking and baking, now more than ever, but I no longer have the urge to blog about it in detail. However, there is something on the horizon;...
July 2011
3 posts
1 tag
1 tag
Highlights
Thank goodness it’s the weekend. It’s strange; as I’m on holiday the fact that it’s the weekend doesn’t make a difference per se, it’s just nice to have the husband around to help out and give me a little break. The kids are away tonight so we’re going out (and what a fabulous evening it will be). Something that made this week that little bit easier was...
3 tags
Sunny Days
Scotland is having a break from the rain so we’re making the most of it. I’m exhausted, my poor little celtic body isn’t used to this heat. Still, we’ve been slapping on the factor 30 and heading to the outdoor swimming pool and the local park as much as possible.
Brodie and I had a girlie day yesterday; a trip to the cinema to see Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue...
June 2011
2 posts
1 tag
Grinning from ear to ear.
I’m on holiday. The children don’t finish school/nursery until Friday. Yes, that’s right; I have a whole week to myself.
However, I am apparently incapable of sitting on my bottom and doing nothing. I have a certain PhD application to be getting on with but I haven’t even got that far yet. Yesterday flew past in a blur of gyming it (my legs hurt today) and doing the food...
2 tags
Another week
I hear a lot of people criticise the teaching profession; saying we work short hours and have too many holidays. I often wonder if they are right. Even though I work full time, I am still free to take my children to various lessons and classes after school. How many working parents can actually do that? I also don’t have to worry about childcare during the holidays because I am the...
May 2011
2 posts
1 tag
Taking a leaf out of Emma's book
Despite assurances and promises I have continued to neglect my blog. I wondered if this was because nothing of note was happening in my life of late but actually it’s because the majority of things that I want to write about, I can’t. I am generally preoccupied with work related things; things which I either can’t or wont talk about in a public space. Instead I am taking a leaf...
April 2011
4 posts
1 tag
Back to baking
Much as I enjoying baking, I don’t have much confidence in my skills (beyond Mum’s chocolate cake). Every time I flick through Rachel Allen’s Bake I stopped at the Red Velvet Cake but always considered it too complicated. Yesterday I bit the bullet and gave it a go. The cake itself wasn’t half as difficult as I expected; I think the long list of ingredients had scared me...
1 tag
The morning after
There are mornings when you wake up, bleary eyed, after a night with friends and find all sorts of photos on your phone. I guess it could be worse, although I am struggling to work out how I was lying when I took the above photo.
Saturday night: I attended a penthouse party to celebrate the fabulous Eileen turning 30. I presented her with a gift of La Creuset heart shaped ramekins (surely this...
1 tag
Boing!!
It’s amazing the memories evoked by an album.
Once upon a time there was a girl, who moved to a new place and met a boy. They became friends and one day the boy gave the girl some flowers and asked if she wanted to be more than friends. For the next 6 months they were virtually inseparable. Then her dad got another job and she was moving again. Despite only being 13, girl and boy (who was...
1 tag
Love for my husband
I may have neglected to mention that it was my 5th wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. Hubby outdid himself and got me an iPhone. At first I was in awe of the camera which allowed me to take mean and moody photos of myself without having to pose in the bathroom mirror.
However, this evening I discovered something even better; something which appeals to the list-maker buried deep inside...
March 2011
3 posts
1 tag
Maker Faire 2011
Last weekend we took a day trip to Newcastle for Maker Faire 2011, part of the ScienceFest. It was an early start, leaving at 7am, arriving in Newcastle at 10.30 but the kids coped with this admirably and were in good spirits on the train journey. I was impressed with everything the Centre for Life had to offer and would love to take the kids again. Rather than wax lyrical about the various...
1 tag
You must allow me to tell you how ardently I...
I have just read Pride and Prejudice for the first time. I think I’m in love. I have also watched the BBC adaptation starring Colin Firth. I know I’m in love.
1 tag
A new challenge
For a while now my life has consisted of work and children. If I’m brutally honest that is really all there’s been. I go to the gym when I can, I see my friends when I can, I read books when I can but, generally, when I get home from work and the kids are in bed I’m good for nothing but watching TV. I haven’t baked or crafted in a while and I don’t really have the...
February 2011
3 posts
The Bedtime Story
I recently read that this tradition is dying out. As a working mother myself, I understand how difficult it is to find the energy to squeeze out a chapter before the wee ones are tucked up in bed. There are some evenings when I would much rather have dinner/a bath/sleep. I spend a large part of my working day reading aloud to people and it’s nice to feel I can escape from the day job when I...
Cupcake Magic
My brother bought me Cupcake Magic for my birthday but I hadn’t tried any of the recipes due to the loss of my baking mojo. However, yesterday I baked some simple vanilla cupcakes which the kids and I set about decorating with coloured and chocolate butter icing. I was impressed with the cupcakes themselves because, for the first time ever, they came out of the oven with flat tops (perfect...
1 tag
The kindness of others
Thanks to a wonderful friend, the pile of books by my bed has grown considerably.
January 2011
1 post
The books by my bed
I’ve been languishing in the blogging wasteland for a while. I’m just not crafting or baking at the moment. However, I miss regular blogging so I decided to take a little detour. I don’t feel like my blog is really the place to talk about family life in great detail and my work is a no go. These are the two things which take up the majority of my time, especially when faced with...
December 2010
3 posts
50 Books 2010
I’m an English teacher. I’m a bit of a geek. I am an unadulterated bookworm.
I love to read. If there is one thing that is sure to keep me up after bedtime, it’s a good book. The only difficulty I face is that I don’t seem to have much time for reading for pleasure. I read for work: school texts which I have read many times before. I read for uni: mostly journal articles...
2 tags
A short Christmas story
Christmas, in the felinedream household, was lovely and relaxed. We awoke to a mountain of presents under the tree which the kids took their time opening. I received a box of Thorntons chocolates and a shiny new, red ipod nano. Then came the food.
Breakfast was Nigella’s American Style pancakes with maple syrup. I added a touch of vanilla extract to the batter and they went down a treat...
2 tags
Christmas is coming
There’s been a lot of the white stuff lately. I think we’re over the worst of it here but there are occasional flurries. Far from making me feel Christmasy, it’s making me cold and nervous when driving to work.
A couple of weeks ago we had our annual girlie Christmas night. I’ll post pictures of what my Secret Santa gifted me when I actually take some photos but I can...
November 2010
1 post
1 tag
The Christmas Rush
I know I have been neglecting you of late. I offer no excuses; between mid October and the start of January is always a difficult time. Work tends to be busy and the days are short and dark so I tend to get little else done. The kids have been making use of their gym membership and are at classes 3 or 4 times a week. They recently started Basketball and Devin has taken up Trampolining in addition...
October 2010
2 posts
3 tags
October break...
…has come and gone. It’s back to work for me on Monday. In some ways I’m sad because I’ve had a really nice, lazy week. Devin and I have played chess; finished ready Charlie and the Chocolate factory; gutted the living room; and been to the gym a few times. However, I can’t wait to get back to work and get stuck into the texts my classes will be studying in the run up...
2 tags
A what biscuit?
I remember venturing into a Greggs in Leeds many years ago and asking for an empire biscuit. The poor woman behind the counter looked at me as if I was speaking another language. I thought everybody in the history of the world ever had experienced the glory of the empire biscuit. Apparently this is not so. Biscuits have often been my downfall in the kitchen; I just can’t seem to get them...
September 2010
4 posts
1 tag
Recipe adjustment
Despite all the baking, I’m not a particularly confident cook. I find that my sense of taste can let me down at the most crucial moment and I’m left with a dish only I can eat due to an overindulgence in salt/chilli/sugar. This is the reason I tend to follow recipes, pretty much to the letter. However, this weekend saw me tinker with 2 firm favourites.
Dinner on Sunday was, as per...
The day that wasn't
Yesterday was an exciting day for me: a day without children. A wonderful friend had scored us a day in Belfast. This was an exciting prospect for me because it’s been a few years since I last visited my home country. Not so exciting was the 5am start. Still, I managed to get ready and sneak out the front door without waking my husband.
By 6am we three were seated at the back of the bus,...
Metamorphosis
I am turning into my mother.
I love my mum: she is an intelligent, strong, independent woman. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without her love, support and guidance.
3 tags
If music be the food of love
The mere mention of all those music magazines I used to subscribe to many year ago got me thinking about my ever changing music tastes. For the past few years I have bought relatively few CDs, instead relying on our huge iTunes library for all my musical needs. Husband’s taste in music can only be described as wide ranging and since meeting him I have become acquainted with genres I had...
August 2010
8 posts
2 tags
Magazine madness
I love reading. As a teenager I subscribed to a variety of music magazine; Raw, Metal Hammer and eventually Kerrang. Every week I would read these magazines from cover to cover, absorbing a variety of inane details about bands I loved and those I had never heard of. As I grew a bit older and hit my late teens and earlier twenties, reading about the exploits of musicians became less enjoyable. I...
2 tags
And so it begins
The first week back at school after the summer holidays has come to an end. This week always seems so long. I love being back in a routine. I’m sleeping better, the kids are sleeping better and there is a lot less stress around the house. I’ve been coming home every evening, making dinner and collapsing in bed with a book. It feels really good. I know things will get harder; my...
2 tags
Bookish Craft Swap
Now that parcels have been sent and received I can reveal all. I was paired up with the lovely Apryl, who organised the swap. We seemed to have so much in common that I just knew this would be a good swap. And I was not disappointed.
This is what Apryl sent me.
There’s a gorgeous needle book made out of Cath Kidson fabric, a bookmark backed with the same fabric, an exquisite typed card...
1 tag
Bookish craft swap
You may remember that, a while ago, I signed up for Apryl’s Bookish Craft swap. My parcel is now ready to be sent (only a little bit late). Here’s a teaser for you.
2 tags
The end is nigh
One more day of the summer holidays left. I can’t believe it’s over already. Usually I am dying to get back to work because I’m bored but this year has been different. I am looking forward to getting the kids back into the school/nursery routine which usually makes for a calmer home environment, but I’m not clamouring to get back to work. Maybe it’s because I’ve...
1 tag
Nervous Excitement
Today is the day pupils all over Scotland get their exam results. For many this is an important day; they’ll find out if they have the grades for a place at university, on a training course or to continue their studies at Higher level.
Today I am keeping my fingers crossed for the small number of pupils I taught who sat their Standard Grade exams this year. It was an amazing journey.
I...
2 tags
I'm tellin' y'all it's a sabotage.
My brother is getting married next year. I want to look fab at his wedding because I’m sick of having my photo taken with him and looking like a fat wee fangirl meeting this tall, slim rockstar. For the last month I have done nothing but eat. Today I aimed to get back on the clean living band wagon. I intended to sort my diet out, get back to the gym and generally start taking care of...
3 tags
I would go out tonight...
…but I haven’t got a babysitter.
Not strictly true; I would have gone out last night but didn’t have babysitter or energy. Instead I baked. I seem to have got into the habit of baking whenever I’m a little stressed or need a bit of a pick me up. Yesterday I continued my quest for the ultimate ginger cake recipe. This time I picked one from the BBC Good Food website, which...
July 2010
9 posts
And we're back
2 tags
We're away (almost)
We leave in 2 hours. I think I have finished packing. I had to make a mad dash to Tesco to buy Calpol and Nurofen because it looks like Brodie has an ear infection. However, I’m looking forward to the train journey to London. I have many activities for the kids and a book for me should I actually get the opportunity to read. See you next week sometime.
**Note to all burglars: The kids...
3 tags
Madness?
This is me, less than a year after Brodie was born. I was working full time; running a household; and looking after a baby and a 4 year old. I was also studying. I was in the 2nd year of a 4 year postgraduate qualification in Support for Learning. It was a distance learning course where I was required to write two 3,000 word essays a year. I’m not sure I can articulate how difficult the...
3 tags
Raspberry Bakewell Cake
Isn’t it pretty? I stumbled upon this recipe today while searching for dinner inspiration and decided that I had to bake. I must admit, I was a little underwhelmed with my first slice; the raspberries were really tart. However, an idea blossomed and after dinner I had another slice…with ice cream. Perfect.
In other news, I have signed up for a Bookish Craft Swap hosted by Apryl over...