Well what have I been up to? Good news is that Mark has had holidays as well and we have been enjoying each other's company, not one single argument! It's been lovely reading and cooking, walking slowly up the street and browsing in the shops. Visiting friends, catching up with family, not rushing!
I did some of the awkward things as well such as pay the bills and clean out the wardrobe. I found better credit card rates and scrubbed the bathroom. Bought a bunch of flowers for myself each week and enjoyed the views from my windows.
I finally saw the film 'no country for old men' and the very wonderful 'the squid and the whale.' The cockies came and stole my kid's science experiments from my window sill and Mark went for a helicopter ride organised by my dad, lucky thing!
Scary Scary man from No Country for Old Men.
I think this is my new favourite film! Click on the picture for a review...
And of course we went down the coast for a few days, it rained the whole time but we drove around looking at all the surrounding towns such as Hyams beach, Huskisson and Calalla Beach. We relaxed and enjoyed the silence and warm house. Eventually we will be able to go down there when we can swim and enjoy the sun, I'm sure!
Do teachers have too many holidays? It's something I've often thought about. Teachers don't honestly like talking about it, and I'd be crazy to ever say we actually have too much... but I can tell you a few things about what I think... well..
By the time I went on holidays this term I can honestly say that if I heard even one more "Miss Richards!" I would come close to losing my sanity. It was by all means time for a break!
And the work does come home... I have spent a few days attending to marking and planning. I would be more than pleased to actually do this at work, if work was actually well equipped with decent facilities. I wont go on and on about it, but not much looks different in a classroom from when I was at school as a student, and the world has leaped forward since then!
I also see the holidays as a substitute for higher pay and time-in-lieu. I was back at camp in the last week in Term 1, and it really is quite an ordeal for a teacher. It's 72 hours straight of supervision, at times tiring and stressful. It's not exactly a business class flight and 5 star hotel!
So yes, in the most part, I think teachers need the holiday!
It's been a great break! After this there are some photos of the zoo when Mark and I visited recently...
Let's start with something Australian, shall we?
Who does this remind you of?!
Dinner time!
We all gotta eat somehow!
We both got to meet the elephants, which was the highlight of my day.
Another happy couple we met!
I HEART: Chai, my new gumboots, the fact that cheap candles work just as well as the expensive ones, celebrating one year with Mark, tulips, puddles, lounges and blankets, Tani and Cesar's wedding!
I DON'T HEART: Those silly printed hoodies that look like vomit, naughty cockatoos, umbrellas with holes in them, dry skin, overbitten nails.
Hope to hear your own news soon! x
