Oh, I Love to Multi-Task

I usually try to spend one night a week with my family ~ even if it is just watching TV ~ as often I am making jewellery of an evening.  So last night I sat on the couch with my youngest son and my husband to watch Packed to the Rafters.  During the adds I put together some bookmarks.  Some of these will be heading to Under The Oak in Ulverstone and the rest will go on my market stall.  Hmmm, wonder if I should put some onto my Made-it store or on Etsy?  Maybe?!

Anyway here are the pictures of the ones I made in front of the TV

Turtle ~ Lapis Lazuli; Heart ~ coral; Seastar ~ Turquoise; Fish ~ Chrysocolla

Coral

Unicorn ~ Yellow jade & Smoky Quartz; Dog ~ Carnelian; Fairy ~ Amethyst; Butterfly ~ Rose Quartz

Hope you like my latest creations

Stay safe and happy
Lee-Anne :)

How lucky can you be!

I must be one of the luckiest people ever!

BEACUSE

1. I have a job I love ~ teaching children
2. My family is wonderful and we care about each other and have lots of fun together (and I mean my extended family)
3. My hobby ~ making jewellery ~ is not only a wonderful creative outlet but has meant that I have met so many gorgeous people at market and through social networking
4. I think I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world!  I look at a stunning view every day! The weather is variable but rarely extremely hot or cold, maybe just an occasional day
5. I don't want for anything!  There is enough food to eat and I love my home

These photos were all taken on the stunning West Coast of Tasmania

HOW LUCKY CAN ONE PERSON BE!

Stay safe and be happy :)

Hot days!

Tasmania is a place where the weather is usually quite mild, however that last two days have been almost 40oC which is very hot for here.  I love the warmer weather but this is almost too warm and all you really want is to stay out of the sun or head to the beach with mountains of sunscreen.

Yesterday (Saturday 25/2) the temperature reached 39oC and we felt like we were melting.  The day started with a Jazzercise class (no air-con in the hall!) and then registration for my youngest son for football (Aussie Rules).  By the time I got home, just after 11 in the morning, it was already hot and it was time for the housework to begin.

My eldest son was at work, no air-con there either, and my youngest son slept  in and then went to the beach with some of his friends.

In the evening we had some friends around for a BBQ which was lovely and by the time we went to bed (just after 11) the temperature had dropped to about 26o.

The danger in Australia with dry hot days with wind is of course bush fires.  In fact, you can almost guarantee a couple of fires.  By lunch time we could see a smoke cloud beginning to cover our city of Hobart and the Tasmanian Fire Service were recommending people in a number of small towns implement their bush fire action plans. Rather scary for those people as it means that their houses were under threat!

Today (Sunday) I had a stall at the Snug Market.  The hall has no insulation and no air-conditioning.  By 10am I was already sweltering as were the other stallholders. It was a very quiet day, although the food cooked and supplied by Honey Child was delicious.  By mid-day the sky had clouded over but the cloud was smoke and many of the stall holders were feeling a little edgy as to where the fires were.  Luckily there were no fires close by but ash was falling from the sky.  By 2pm, the market usually closes at 3pm, we had no shoppers and we decided that the best thing to do was pack up.

From the market I headed to my son's cricket game.  I wasn't looking forward to sitting in the sun watching him, however, it was actually really nice as there was a lovely breeze.  My son's team lost, but it was very close! By 6.45 we had large drops of rain and a few rumbles of thunder but not enough to cool the air down.

This was taken of the hills near our home a few years ago ~ it was very scary how fast this bush fire swept through the mountain range

There is still lots of smoke around but the fires are now contained which means that at the moment they are no threat.  Hopefully they will be under control very soon and the firefighters and volunteers can get some much deserved rest.

I am hoping that it is just a little cooler tomorrow as a class full of young children become quite irritable in the heat.

I hope you have a great week.  Stay happy, healthy and safe until next time :)

Back to Work

Well after not working since before Christmas it has been a bit of a shock to the system returning to work this week.  Last week I spent a few hours getting ready and organising my classroom at school as well as setting up a welcome display.  At home during the last week I had been planning what is actually going to happen for the first few days.  The terms planning will be worked on once I have assessed my class and determined every child's exact needs.

Tuesday and Wednesday this week were professional learning days, very long days when you have been use to doing your own thing.  They were full on but I learnt a lot about the Australian Curriculum which is to be used this year. Wednesday's sessions were particularly full with lots to learn in a very short time.  A lovely morning tea was supplied but as everything there contained refined sugar (there was no fruit or cheese) I didn't have any!  (That was amazing for me as I love sweet things!)  Lunch was also delicious with plenty of food which I could enjoy ~ yummy!  The Australain Curriculum will mean a steep learning curve for me as not only do we need to teach the content, skills and capabilities but we are required to assess and report against it with a whole new reporting system.

Today saw the children arrive in the school.  The day begun with meeting the children, most of whom I had already met in the previous year, and their parents.  I was lucky enough to have an ex-teacher assistant helping in my class today which meant that many of the tasks that didn't involve working directly with the children were completed.

Every year, I forget how exhausting the start is, a new group of children mean they need to learn all about my expectations, 'rules' and routines and of course making informal and formal assessments as to where this group of children are at.  These always take a few weeks to become really well established.  I ended my first day in the classroom with very little voice, luckily as soon as I stopped talking it found its way back.

After school today I had a personal training session with PT on Wheels which was fantastic (as always!) and then home to do some of those duties before picking my son up from cricket training.

Phew!!  Now I am very tired and ready for bed (even though it is on 8.30!) but I know that my mind will not shut down yet, so much to think about and organise for these little people whose education for this year I am responsible for, what a big job I have ahead of me.

I love working with children and am looking forward to the challenge of the year ahead.

Stay safe and be happy until next time :)

2011

2011 saw the beginnings of Lee-Anne's Handmade Jewellery and Craft!

2011 saw me head to markets for the first time

2011 saw my family growing up with my eldest starting year 11, college

2011 saw me continuing my learning journey with new techniques in jewellery making

2011 saw me continuing to try to be the best mother and wife I could be

2011 saw the teacher in me having a wonderful year with another fantastic group of Grade 1 children

2011 saw my youngest child becoming independent in his involvement in a World Challenge to Borneo in 2012

2011  was a wonderful year, full of learning experiences and growth.

What will 2012 bring?

Stay safe and happy until next time    :)

Change?

Hmmm, I am not sure that my blog has stayed as I originally intended.  I think, initially it was going to be just about the jewellery. But as I have become more involved with social networking of all sorts, including reading lots of other people's blog, I have come to think that my blog should be about who I am as well.  In many ways it already is.

The posts I made earlier this year about gratitude gave away some clues, although I think it may be time for you to see more of the real me and not just find out about my jewellery.

Thanks for reading and until next time be happy and safe :)