Best city in the world - Melbourne, Australia

We'd talked for months, even before we knew Mum was sick, about going somewhere in the July school hols, after my intense 6 months at university without a break. Nothing was actually booked though as when Mum got sick, we knew no time frames for doing anything and I wasn't leaving the city.

But then, Mum died a lot quicker than any of us imagined and we found ourselves booking a trip a couple of weeks before the July hols. It was a trip to my favourite city in the world - to Melbourne, Australia. The place that i dearly, dearly love - the one that 15 years on from living there, I still think, why did we return back to NZ...

It does not matter how many times I go, there is always some thing new to see, The feel of the place. The vibrancy. The food. The art. The alleyways. The volume of people to tiny little Auckland. The incredible bookshops. The Museums. The just walking and walking and walking. The neighbourhoods.

Um... Aldi, Readings, Muji, Uniqlo ( ha!!!). Big W for books..............

We hired a bike down at the Docklands and zipped around for a few hours - a rather neat way of seeing a part of the city I was not really that familiar with - standing under the Bolte Bridge is something else!

We met with an old mate of mine on a rooftop bar on the Friday night - fabulous fun, then went into the wrong restaurant and never clicked until we looked at the menu... quite funny.

The rest of the weekend was just spent exploring - not really leaving the city proper as there is so much to see... waiting for the eldest to arrive.

We left two teens behind as Australia is not cool enough for them it seems ... the only kids I know who turn down a trip to Oz (well they inform me they aren't really interested in their own country either anymore... they are pretty well travelled really...!). I find that bizarre overall, but hey, it is a lot cheaper travelling with 3 than 5...

Here's the city... photo overload....

We then spent a few days over in Tasmania too - it was so fabulous as well.

I've actually had the husband mutter a few times this week... "maybe we should move back...."

crafting finally

It has been virtually months of doing very little and basically next to zero crafting.  I would have thought I would have knitted, but my go to thing this year has been letter writing instead - lots and lots and lots of long letters written and I guess this has replaced the knitting up till we were finally on our first break on June 30 (and a month later I still feel like I'm on holiday, even though university has been back a week..... I need find my motivation somewhere...)

I started and finished this adorable Lizzie Kate cross stitch in the past 3 weeks.  I'll cycle up to university today and drop it into (a new to me) framers after my one Monday lecture.

This is so true !!!

Now this is my Beeswax scarf which I started on January 4 this year... Knit in gorgeous Zealana Heron, which is partially possum. I am hoping to get this off my needles later this week. I'm not doing it as long as the pattern suggests as I am a shortie.... I'd love to knit the mittens and the hat one day too - actually Amy is doing a KAL with the hat at the moment...

During the hols I started and finished a Rattan Shawl. This was perfect travelling knitting too. I used Zealana Cozie from the stash and love it too.

 And started and finished in under a week,  I give you my Nurmilintu. I used the absolutely beautiful Happygoknitty Kashgar (although I discovered two ties in it, - husband had wound it for me - which resulted in two un-do rows and when there were lots of yarn overs - argh!) - a mix of 50% silk and 50% merino - it is just beautiful to knit and so, so soft and warm. I love the little picot edge (a new skill for me!). It is a fabulous one skein project.

 And I'm now starting Posie's "Summer Storm" cross stitch. It is knit on 32 count french linen which is incredibly soft and thin, so took a bit to get used to!

I'm taking all the little things in life on - i remember mum saying to me to just do what you want in life - if you want to go on a trip, go! Want the book? Buy it! Want the wool? Buy it! Life is too short! (...but don't go into debt... ha - not me!).

I am rather hoping that this semester is a bit more study/life balanced!!! But I also really need to start doing some work....

Have a happy week everyone. xo

I'm still here....

My sister-in-law in Switzerland asked me last night when I was going to blog again... well here I am.
My last blog post was March 8 and I wrote...

March 19 - PE essay 1500 words
March 26 - health essay 1500 words
April 2 - Peerwise - 5 science videos up for others to critique (involves an hour of work a night)
April 6 - Technology assignment
April 6 - education issues essay 2500 words
April 8 - Peerwise 2nd part
April 12 - Maori essay 1500 words
April 19 - 4 maths games sourced with lesson plans and in a maths kete (to sew)
April 30 60% assignment for Literacy (essay 2000 words)
may 6 - Peerwise finished
May 11 tech assignment 2 due
May 16 - 60% science test
May 25 - maths essay

Life WAS and IS MENTAL. I can't under-estimate what I've been through since that post! We were doing 7 courses/papers in semester one - a normal uni workload (well at least in New Zealand and I think Australia too) is 4 courses/papers per semester. Then we had our school practicum's on top... we've had multiple people drop out - the course is basically incompatible with any other thing in your life ... I did not cook, nor do the grocery shopping, nor take much notice of my family really (thank goodness for teens who are pretty self sufficient and independent!) for centuries. It took me a few weeks longer than most to hit the daily crying mode..... 

But then, if I thought that was crazy, things got crazier from a phone call from my Mum on Easter Sunday (April 1) morning. She rang to say (after multiple trips to the doctor and then me telling her on the Saturday to get to the emergency weekend doctor), that she had cancer. It took a couple of weeks to have a confirmation of pancreatic cancer. The FUCKED one. I won't apologise for my language as that truly is what it is. The one where you find out what it is, is too late. 
Queue more spinning from me - my parents live only 26km from me, but if anyone knows Auckland traffic, it can be pure hell. I was doing round trips of 50 km, but those trips could take anything from 1-3 hours to drive.
It was horrible - time (of which we all need to give to people), but time I struggled to get from 8am - 5pm lectures, then sitting in traffic for visits which weren't really that long; then the GUILT of not being able to physically do this more than 2-3 times a week due to said uni workload (weeknights were a nightmare - taking 1.5 hours one way; still having to come back and attempt to write assignments while crying/having no brain nor a clue what the heck i was trying to do while taking the diagnosis on!).......
Family flying in and out from the UK and Switzerland. Trying to work around family politics (yeah.. fun... NOT) - trying to figure in chemo (i basically wagged uni and then caught up) - it was only 2 sessions in the end.
But really, it all only lasted a 6 pathetic, short weeks, before mum passed away on May 23. Not unexpected BUT TRULY TOO FAST and faster than what anyone ever expected. We knew she didn't have years; or more than likely even until her birthday in September, but not this fast. Not going into hospital just to get fluids back up and for this to happen suddenly.
I had a maths assignment due 2 days after and a huge 50% assignment due a week after - there was no way I getting extensions due to an upcoming 5 week (some of it full control) practicum, so just did them... i really don't know how, 8 weeks on, I managed anything really! (and to get A+ grades for both...).

It all seems just a blur really, and also still not real... family have all gone back (actually my sister left without me even knowing....!) and life carries on with a massive, massive gap. You realise all the things you should of, could have done, talked about, visited more, the guilt, oh the guilt around uni and doing what I could... April was the most intense month of semester one which is when everything happened...

This is my dear mum....

More later....

Where I'm at in life....

Due at university -----

next week - shapes maths game sourced with lesson plans and justification and kits made for myself and another student
March 19 - PE essay 1500 words
March 26 - health essay 1500 words
April 2 - Peerwise - 5 science videos up for others to critique (involves an hour of work a night)
April 6 - Technology assignment
April 6 - education issues essay 2500 words
April 8 - Peerwise 2nd part
April 12 - Maori essay 1500 words
April 19 - 4 maths games sourced with lesson plans and in a maths kete (to sew)
April 30 60% assignment for Literacy (essay 2000 words)
may 6 - Peerwise finished
May 11 tech assignment 2 due
May 16 - 60% science test
May 25 - maths essay

Why nobody hears from me anymore. This is INSANE - we were told it would be and it is ! We are doing more than a normal university degree - 160 points/credits this year (normal is 120).

ON TOP OF THIS - we have nightly readings of 2-4 per paper for the next day; we have Tuesdays in school of which there are another 4 assessments to do not in the above list; we have a practicum folder to keep; we have an e-portfoilio to keep up to date; we have to trail 3 kids at school and report on them extensively; we have to run a lunchtime club and keep extensive plans/outcomes/photos etc; we have 4 little on-line science tests every week


............................................................................................................................

Not sure where sleep goes, but that is my life! I'm not knitting; I'm not going out; I'm not seeing anyone but people at uni; sick of making lunches for myself daily; I am saving lots of money by being too busy to even do the supermarket shopping; I'm doing laundry and nothing else in the house basically; I'm exhausted ! People have already dropped out!

I will tell you though - I AM LOVING IT, but is ***IS*** insane.....

Pretty Chuffed

This afternoon I received an e-mail from the Head of Faculty for Education at Massey University nominating me to submit some of my work from 2017 (i was the top Educational Psychology student in my course) -

From someone higher up in the university she got this e-mail -

Kia ora koutou,

Please would you encourage your top students to consider making a submission.

Last year Christabelle Mason was an awardee from Education, and Massey as a whole did exceptionally well .

https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=7D4E8752-A4AE-47A1-86EA-F50D6ADD1873

and sent this to me -

Hi Kim, how are you? Hope you started the year off well!!

Kim, I’d like to nominate you to apply for the international undergraduate awards. I nominated Christabelle from last year and she won, so  when applications were invited on Friday, I immediately thought of you. I really would like you to consider it as you get consistently high marks and your work is excellent. If you’re interested, the information is below: I can also put you in tou ch with last year’s winner if you’d like to talk more about it – just let me know –OK?

Go for it, girl!!

Cheers, Teresa

The Undergraduate Awards 2018- Education

Have a piece of coursework that you’re proud of?

Sad to see it sitting on a shelf gathering dust?

Submit to The Undergraduate Awards to earn international recognition for your work!

The Undergraduate Awards is the world’s largest academic awards programme that aims to celebrate top undergraduate coursework and foster interdisciplinary collaboration between students and recent graduates.

WHY should I apply?

• Earn international recognition for work you’ve already done!
• Receive access to the exclusive UA Alumni Portal
• Win a trip to the UA Global Summit in Dublin, Ireland
  Get your work profiled in The Undergraduate Journal 2018

Submitting is free and easy, just follow these steps to #awardyourwork!

Interested, but not ready to submit just yet? Not a problem! Just register online to reserve your place in the competition

I'm rather pleased with myself! And my placement at school is going extremely well too. A couple more days there and i'm back at university with assignment, after assignment, after assignment - that's why one goes to uni - ha ha! Bit daunting though....

snippets

We have had such an incredibly humid day at 100% - hideous being in a classroom with only windows to open, no fans or cooling system. And poor kids having to do running beep tests.

Loving my classroom - taught maths today and it was a-okay. There's a whole lot of kiwis out there my age who think they are rubbish at maths, inclusive of me....

It's crazy the amount of beginning of the year testing students do.

I got an A- for my first university assignment - yippee skippee.

One of the teens cut his long hair off - that's big to me!

I used the clothes drier 3 times over the weekend - we've had astronomical amounts of rain and since I threw out our indoor drying racks due to age/going rusty etc, there was little choice. I struggle with drying clothes in a drier at the best of times!

I've written and posted long 10 letters in the last week - it's #lettermo month. I love my snail mail and am hoping for a bunch of new penfriends.

I did a mail order of postage stamps the other day - a first for me. it keeps more mail coming through my letter box.

The knitting situation is s-l-o-w. I'm so tired after school! Tt's too hot you know.

The eldest quit his movie job. He has another job which is far more lucrative and does not involve clearing up after lazy people who leave their popcorn pottles and other rubbish scattered all over the floor in the movie theatre.

I've started watching "The Returned" on netflix. I watch so little tv. This is one episode per night, as it is *freaking* me out.....

The vege garden has gone vrooompf due to the high humidity and rainfall.

The youngest is still going to the gym.

The middle one will receive an award at the NCEA Scholars assembly next week. He *hates* getting awards.

The new school year started and I didn't take one photo of any kid on the first day of the school year. Two weeks in, I still haven't taken one...

We've had a record low on the visa bill this past month. I'm sticking pretty well to the not buying stuff I don't need. A few treats here and there, but it's fab saving money when we can, for a rainy day. I keep on patting myself on the back for this.

I saw Maurice Gee's "Under the Mountain" in theatre over the weekend. A masterpiece like the book. I jumped in my seat more than once....

I'm loving reading to students again. The class are well and truly sucked in by Maurice Gee's "The Fat Man"  (the real teacher's choice and it's a goodie).

I've taken to adding my home library to the android app "My Library". What a wonderful tool this is. I've spent quite a bit of time looking for 3 particular books for school this past week, which i swear I have... *somewhere* - possibly up in the attic which is over 45 degrees c. I'm hoping this app makes my book hunting and buying (found quite a few multiple copies of books...) a lot easier.

Well off to write up my observation notes from today.

A giveaway ....and the weeks carry on...

I've finished 2 weeks of uni - all good so far. I did have a hiccup with a presentation last week, but just need to get over it and think of it as a wee blip.... I'm at a school for 2 weeks from Monday tagging a teacher - I'm so excited!

We've had another good dump of rain! The vege garden is loving the wet, warm weather and has gone a bit crazy - I love it!

Today I made a rope mat! I'm rather thrilled with it! It was a free class held at the Maritime Museum here in Auckland (which by the way is an excellent museum, with the most brilliant exhibition on knots). I was the slowcoach in the class, as I twisted the mat a bit back and had to un-do and start again... I was miles behind the rest, but I got there in the end! I'd love to make more - it's easy once you get going past the first round or two! This used about 20 metres of rope.

Two teens are currently cooking us dinner - the middle one and a mate. I'm impressed with that too - taking themselves off to the supermarket and then cooking without even being asked! (mine's on the left). They've even made the pasta from scratch!

It was delicious!

The city had lights light up the harbour bridge last week for a few nights - it was a dancing light show along with music (via our cellphones) and was rather neat. We viewed it from Mt Eden late at night.

I've a book to give away. This is real chick lit - a quick light read. I read it once in a few hours last weekend and won't read it again.... leave me a comment and I'll draw a winner next weekend. Open worldwide.