:)

Week 2 weigh in went ALOT better than week 1...

I've lost 3lbs!!

So happy with that! Still got a long way to go, though. I must keep focused!

Babysitting has dried up a little bit lately, what with it being half-term now and all. To be honest, I'm glad of it! It's given me a chance to get into studying properly, now the course has got more in-depth. My TMA was submitted a while ago, so I'm still awaiting my feedback from it. I'm hopeful that it's gone well, but there were probably a few mistakes. I forgot to add the self reflection document with it, which would mean that I lose 5 marks, but I emailed it to my tutor and he said it's fine. Phew!

I've had a chat with my dad and we think that it may be sensible for me to cut down m hours at work a little, so that I can have 1 1/2 or 2 days off to study, and so that I can keep up with the babysitting, as I feel that it is incredibly relevant to what I would like to do as a career, and it is all VERY valuable experience that I'm sure any prospective employers would value highly. We have yet to decide what my hours will be cut down to, and I have been monitoring phone call rates to try and work out when the busiest days/times are, but it's so hard to predict- no two days/weeks are the same! I think it may be a better idea to perhaps have a rota system that gets updated week by week, so it's adaptable.

To be quite honest, I'm looking forward to having a bit of time to myself, so that I can go to the gym if I fancy it, or take on a bit more babysitting if I dont have to work that day, and of course being able to study at my own pace. The only downside is that I will be earning a lot less money and, being on a £5 per hour wage, isn't going to be fun!

I'm sure I'll cope, though. Technically, I'm a student, so I'm supposed to be poor, right?

xox

:(

Put on 1lb this week. Probably due to the massive blow out weekend with too much alcohol and crap food!

Determined to hit the gym hard this week! I've just been today, going tomorrow morning, Thursday morning and Friday afternoon! Week 2 weigh-in WILL be better and I WILL lose 8lbs in 2 months!

Weekend Comedown...

Feeling a little fragile this morning! I went to the Kiss Weekender last weekend with a few friends- we stayed in a caravan and had far too much to eat and drink and far too little sleep, although it was a VERY good weekend!

Today will be my Week 1 weigh in, after work when I go to the gym. I'm hoping that I've lost 1lb, or stayed the same. Last week was an excellent week diet-wise, but I had a total blow-out on the weekend, although there was alot of walking/dancing. Fingers crossed I wont have put anything on, otherwise I will be very dissapointed...

As you can probably guess, there hasn't been an awful lot of studying this weekend- in fact, none at all. I did manager to type up my TMA01 on Friday after work and I printed it out on Sunday and let my Dad read it, just to point out any silly mistakes (of which there were a couple!). I wont be able to do anything today study-wise, but I have the day off work tomorrow for a trip to the doctors, so I am aiming to correct the mistakes and send it off (a week early!) then.

Today I am going to look after Gabe (5.45-8pm), and I finish work at 3pm, so I'm going to the gym straight after work, having dinner at the gym; they do an awesome chicken caesar salad! Then I will be off to Emma's for the evening. I do love going there- it's so nice to have a night of babysitting that is kind of relaxing. As Gabe's so grown up now, we tend to do things like homework and just generally chill out, rather than when I go to William and Oliver, where it can be pretty full on at times!

I'll only be going to William and Oliver on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, as they have a Halloween Disco on Thursday night. William announced last week that he wanted to dress up as a chameleon, and Oliver decided he would like to be a mouse! I think Alison has wisely decided to just buy a couple of costumes from Tesco and make them wear those- I dread to think how much preparation would have to go into making a chameleon costume... and a mouse, come to think of it!

My Halloween costume has arrived, and this year I am going all out!

This is my costume! I also have some fake blood, grey face paint and fangs- I'm so excited! I've never really done a serious costume for Halloween before, so I'm looking forward to getting bloodied up. Is that a bit disturbing...? So, that party is coming up next weekend on Saturday night, and on Friday me and my friend Dan are thinking of going out in Ipswich, because Gemma Collins (The Only Way Is Essex) is at a club there for meet and greet. Overall, it will be a busy weekend again, which means that I haven't and probably wont have alot of time for the other half. We usually spend most of our weekends together, but we have both just been so busy, that we haven't in quite a while :( It's our 2nd anniversary on Thursday, so I should get to see him breifly then, but I doubt we'll be able to really celebrate it on the weekend, as christmas is coming and we're both a little short on the cash side of things. I'm trying to get christmas presents now, but I just had to shell out £150 for hotel rooms for my birthday weekend away (1st December), so that hasn't really gone very well so far!

Will update soon on first week weigh-in, studying and babysitting!

xo

Progress Made!

So, in terms of my OU course, I am feeling pretty good! I have been using my half an hour lunch breaks and have been able to write a full draft of TMA01 (due 29th October) with a word count, and to my surprise- I'm pretty dead on with it! About 700 words so far, which I'm sure will grow slightly to fulfil the 750 word limit.

My plans for the rest of the week are to type it up in a better format on Friday afternoon (I finish work at 1pm) and send it off ASAP! I might get my Dad or someone to read through it first, just to make sure I've not overlooked something completely stupid! Then I'm off for the weekend to the Kiss Weekender (as in the Radio station) in a caravan park in Great Yarmouth with some girlfriends (and one incredibly camp boy friend!).

I've also re-started my diet, which I have been on mostly since he beginning of the year (bar about 3 months, up until now). I originally lost about 1 stone, but it took a HELL of a lot of effort, which I think was down to the cotraception I was on at the time (The Injection), but since changing this to a non-hormonal method, I am ready to try again! So far this week, I have managed to stick to 1600 calories a day, and have visited the gym for a good hour each time, on Monday afternoon (between Work and babysitting Gabe), Tuesday and Thursday morning (for which I got up at 6.30!!). It's going well so far, although I am definitely feeling the gym work today! I normally do 30/40 minutes interval training/cardio on the cross trainer or bike, then toning exercises on the leg press, leg curl, chest press, another arm thing that I can't remember the name of (!), sit ups and leg raises.

I'm not trying to be a skinny person, or lose drastic amounts of weight, I would just like to get rid of a few lumps and bumps! My ultimate body-crush at the moment would be Nigella Lawson- I would KILL for that body!

Week one weigh in will be coming up on Monday- fingers crossed for a pound or two! I'm quite eager to lose the 7lbs I gained in the 3 months that I stopped dieting fairly quickly, so we'll see how it goes. Although, I highly doubt that I will be having an angelic few days this weekend!

xox

Waiting, Waiting...

Currently waiting for my hair dye to develop, so I thought I'd give you a quick update on life so far...

After my busy, busy week, I've had a MASSIVE Sunday lie-in (until 10.30), which was amazing and just what I needed! I really started to feel it yesterday, when I went shopping with my mum, and then to my Nan's for some lunch, and then out for tea with my parents. I had SUCH a headache all day! :(

But I feel much better today! I think I was definitely sleep deprived! So, this morning I printed off the transcripts of my OU DVD for the scenes "The Street" and "Material Lives", so that I can find references for TMA01.

Friday was an excellent day for studying! I got the afternoon off from work, which will be continuing for every Friday, so that I can come home at 1pm, have a spot of lunch and study until I die/fall asleep! I made suitable progress on Friday- finished off Week 2 (Ordered Lives), by first watching the DVD and making my own notes or "Observations" and then working through the Learning Companion and making any notes that I have missed, with an overall summary. I then like to type this all up and organise it into a Word Document. I'll then store this in a folder for future reference.

Once that was done, I made a start on attempting an essay plan for TMA01, which I did in note form, taking notes from the Assignment Handbook, and my previous notes from "Material Lives".

I'm thinking that on Monday I can go through the transcripts at lunchtime at work, and highlight certain areas to use in my essay. I then plan on visiting the Gym, for the first time in MONTHS before I go straight off to babysit Gabe.

I haven't talked too much about my love life in this blog, but it is coming up to mine and my boyfriend's (Warren) 2 year Anniversary (25th October), and we're trying to decide what to do... I doubt we'll be able to do anything or maybe even see each other on the actual day, as I have to babysit William and Oliver until 6pm, and then Warren has a meeting to go to from 7.30pm. Perhaps we can go out for a nice meal or something on the Friday night? Not too sure yet- I'm expecting him over in a little while, as we are going to my brother's girlfriend's house with all of her family (who we really get along with) to celebrate her 19th Birthday! It's a  bit strange, but her mum and my mum used to be best friends at High School, and our dad's were pretty close too, but all lost contact as they were growing up, etc. And now they have been reunited again through my brother and Jess!

Well, I guess I'd better get this stuff off my head, and see what's happened!

xox

Busiest week of my life...

I have been meaning to blog all week, but have been SO busy, that I haven't had the chance until today (Thursday, at work)! To save the rambling, here is the schedule of my week as it appears so far...

Monday
Work 9am- 3pm
Leave the house at 5pm to arrive for babysitting Gabriel @ 5.45-8pm
Arrive home at 8.30pm and have some tea.
BED!

Tuesday
Work 9am-3pm
Leave work, straight to William and Oliver's for babysitting until 6pm
Straight to Ipswich for my first OU Tutorial 7pm-9pm
Arrive home at 9.30pm, eat
BED

Wednesday
Work 9am-3pm
Leave work, straight to William and Oliver's for babysitting until 6pm
Home for half an hour
Meet friends for dinner at 7pm
To my friend's house to organise various weekends we have planned away
Home @ 11.30
BED

Thursday
Work 9am-3pm
Leave work, straight to William and Oliver's for babysitting until 6pm
Straight to Gabriel's again to be there for 6.30pm (Yeah, right!) for stint number 2 of babysitting until 8pm
Home @ 8.30
BED

Friday
Work 9am-3pm
HOME! (Hurrah!)
Study for at least an hour
Out with friends for a much needed drink!

Also, I'm hoping to do some studying on the weekend, as I have done exceptionally badly at it this week!
I have some moer babysitting lined up for Saturday night for a lady called Kerry, who has two daughters (around 8 and 12-ish), who normally go to bed quite early and their parents aren't home until 11.30.

Fingers crossed this means that I can start my essay plan for my first TMA, due in 29th October!

So, as you can see, I had my first ever tutorial for the OU this week, which was exciting! I met some really nice people on my course and it was good to be able to put some faces to names I had been chatting to on Facebook. My tutor is really nice and very reassuring, so I already feel that I can talk to him if I get stuck or have a problem, which may come in handy!

The point that I'm at with the module at this point in time is that I am 2 weeks ahead, as we got our study materials way before the course officially started (Saturday just gone), which I am SO SO SO grateful for, given the distinct lack of studying this week! This means that if I start actually writing my assignment next week (which I don't think will take me a weeks worth of study, as it's only 750 words!) I will be on track, and I may even be able to get slightly ahead for week 4!

I am enjoying the course, and am really getting into the mindset of the Social Scientist again, but I am desperate for week 4 to come along, so that I can move from the Learning Companion and get my teeth stuck into the chunk of textbook that the second part of the course uses. I think this is when the bug will really get me, and I won't be able to keep myself away!

Moving away from the OU, I have been doing a HECK of a lot of babysitting this week, and there have been some changes! Gabriel has changed school! Emma told me before I went on holiday, but didn't go into detail about the reasons why, so when I went over there on Monday, she explained further, and it appears she had something of an epiphany with Gabe's education.

She said that she suddenly realised that the primary school he was previously at was far too small for him (only 4 others in his year group!) and that the method of teaching just wasn't suited to Gabe. I must admit, I did have my reservations about the school, as I had noticed that when he had to learn a list of spellings, for example, all the students would have different lists, so they would not only have to learn the spelling of the word, but also the entire list of words. So, in effect, the teacher would say "Right, now we're having our spelling test!" and just leave them to it! This stressed Gabe out no end! He seems such an easy-going child, but things can really stress him out, and this really did!

I have seen his new folder of work that he has compelted since being at the new school (about 1 week) and the difference is incredible! Everything about his writing has changed- the handwriting, the style, the spelling, EVERYTHING! It was like looking at a different child's work! He also seems happier now to take part in his homework (currently a WW2 project) and actually gets quite excited about it. It is definitely plain to see that Emma has made the right decision moving him again, although I don't think it came lightly, as there was no doubt some upheaval and disruption to his life. In his folder, he wrote a paragraph just about his own thoughts, as Emma often gets him to do just as writing practice and he wrote;

"I've moved school again. I wouldn't recommend it. It's hell!"

As humourous as it is, it obviously reflects some kind of inner upset, but when he talks about his new school his face lights up and he beams proudly, showing me his new uniform and A TIE HE CAN TIE HIMSELF!

I'm off to see Gabe again tonight, so I will check in again on him and see how he's been getting on. I expect he'll have some kind of funny anecdote to make me laugh. :)

Post-Holiday Blues

I arrived home from my holiday last night, at around 9pm, after a full day of travelling (1 hour drive, 4 hour flight, 3 1/2 drive, and all the waiting in between). Had a nice lay-in today, as thankfully my Auntie had offered to cover me at work for one extra day, so today I could recuperate a bit. I had to take my mum to the garage to pick up her car this morning, but after returning and a spot of lunch, I have been completing my Online Activities for the DD101 Introducing the Social Sciences. I am up-to-date on those now, which is a good weight off my mind, as the module site opened when I was on holiday, so this is the first chance I've had to take a look at it.

Whilst away, I also received my first tutorial date, which is this coming Tuesday (9th October) from 7-9pm in my local town of Ipswich. It means that I'll have to go from work to babysitting until 6pm, then straight to the tutorial, but I think it will be worth it. So far I know that there will be me and two other ladies attending, which sounds like a good amount of people, as we will all be able to have some one-to-one time with the tutor, but it's still enough for a group situation. I am rather looking forward to it, and have decided not to start TMA1 (Tutor-marked assessment) until after the tutorial. It's not due until the 29th October anyway. PLENTY OF TIME :)

My holiday was a rousing success in terms of fun, tan and laziness. We went to the Canary Island of Lanzarote, where I have been a few times before in my childhood, but not recently. The weather was GORGEOUS, and I have got some pretty impressive tan lines/white bits! The landscape is absolutely stunning- the island is purely volcanic, so no grass ANYWHERE. As you can see below, it looks pretty bleak, but I thought that it was amazing!



We visited the National Park of Timanfaya Volcano, which is one the of the biggest on the island and has been converted into a tourist attraction, with a cafe, bus tour, gift shop and the like. They actually had some pretty interesting things going on, like a room where they have dug a hole into the volcano, and to demonstrate the heat, there are various food stuffs cooking over the hole.

There was also another hole, into which a man came and rested a pitch-fork into with hay on the end. The searing heat from inside the hole promptly caused it to dramatically burst into flames.


I had a quick peek in the gift shop on the way out, to find some goodies for William and Oliver, who had asked me to bring back some photos for them to look at. I found a really cool panoramic photo of Timanfaya, as well as a large postcard and a teeny-weeny cactus that you can grow yourself (pictured) Hopefully they will be pleased with them!

























I have just this minute received an email from my Tutor (I will all him Mr. M for privacy's sake) introducing himself to me, and clarifying the details of Tuesday's tutorial. Definitely excited now!