The rainbow ark of gratitude returns

When you creep into church late, a rainbow, bright outfit is probably not the best attire in which to be subtle.  And in case the people in front of you didn't notice your rather clumsy entrance, they'll certainly notice you when your voice is louder than most of the congregation in your vacinity behind them!

Even though it was noticeably cooler today (thank the Lord- I was SO grateful to be able to sleep last night. I was having weird pulsing pains behind my left eye, I think due to lack of sleep!), I still wanted to embrace the summer vibe so it was time to get out one of my favourite (and Vix's favourite!) charity-shopped items- the M&S madras-check dress and to try and wear it with yet more different items.  Today I tucked and folded the bodice into the skirt to wear it as a skirt and teamed with a Select top I have had since the summer of 2000 when I lived the summer in Dalston, Hackney London- hard to see here but it has rainbow beads sewn to the top and a rather lurid Fat Face cardie oh and one of my trusty wired headbands!

(Click here on the rainbow label to see the other times I've worn it...)
I am grateful for many things this week:

1.  For the good night's sleep I enjoyed last night.
2. For the sermon today, reminding me of the Great commission- and knowing that God said, "Surely I am with you until the very end of time. Yes, he's here, even now when I am typing reports! Am getting there...
3.  For cake and tea! I went round to get some cakes from the COOP (got 5 donuts, a whole carrot cake and 5 triple chocolate Thorntons cakes all for £3.20 in total!) and we invited our friend round for tea and cake as a break from our reports. I used my lovely silver cake stand,we drank tea and sat round the table and had a jolly catch-up!
3. For the friendships we have: we went to a friend's engagement and house-warming last night. I am often quite shy around this particular friend and his friends but last night I was really at ease and had lots of lovely chats with great people.
4. For my teaching ob going so well!
5. For companionship.  CBC and I are united in report misery.  Somehow makes it better listening to Bill Evans jazz, hearing the ostinato typing of your partner in crime opposite you!
6. For the sunshine this week- though sleep has been a little lacking, smiles have not been!
7. For your continual friendship, support and empathy! I will never take it for granted.
8.  For managing to catch trains
9. For the Staff winning the pupils v staff netball match on Friday! Got to ensure their continual humility ;-)
10.  For my sister getting a place on the PGCE course she wanted. She needs a bit of encouragement that she is good!!!

What I am not grateful for is my age-old misconception that Father's day is on the 18th June!  Why oh why do I think EVERY year that it is on the 18th!!!! Cue frantic making of card for Dad and grovelling messages and posting!

xxx




Linking up to

What I wore to church with Carolyn at Perspective

Creative Mondays with Claire Justine

Patti's Visible Monday

Found your khaki?

I'm having issues uploading the Inspiration Monday picture, it's too big a file and Blogger is saying no- so you could go to the Two birds direct to have a look except it doesn't seem to be loading there either.   Basically, it's Rachel Bilson wearing a khaki coloured jacket with tatty jeans, a white top and a quilted bag with a pink scarf tied round it.  It looks a little like what I'm wearing if you have a reeeeeeally vivid imagination!  Check out Megan- she IS Rachel Bilson to a tee and Nora also looks amazing- who would've thought she'd had a baby in that tummy some weeks ago!
 I have NO recollection of when or where I bought these trousers (aside from M&S at some point)- tis most bizarre! I think I've committed the cardinal outfit sin here of wearing 2 slightly differing shades of the same colour in matching them with this khaki cord jacket (M&S via Oxfam).  I paired it with this contrastingly girly white blouse  (H&M via Age concern).  The shoes are Clarks originals. (Bag is from Hazel's giveaway with Cath Kidston soldiers scarf).

My second day of school has been quite positive on the whole.  Teaching 2 of the new reception classes for music was positive, not least because I knew a lot of them and they really helped to carry the new children who have never experience my music classes! There are a couple of live wires in there and I can definitely already see some character clashes in these 4-5 year olds!  Three very bossy children ended up sitting next to each other and they weren't standing any of each other's nonsense!

I was also not standing any nonsense with Year 6 in the afternoon- the two classes are notoriously difficult- due to a boy to girl ratio and I was teaching them a Ghanaian round, Nanuma- I had one or two moments of possible difficulties with them but somehow managed to keep the majority of the class positive, trying hard and getting annoyed with any who didn't- their singing was impressively good on the whole and they were interested in what they were learning so this bodes well for the term.  I actually put the levels linked to the different objectives/key skills and somehow, seeing the words Level 4 and Level 5 served as a real impetus for them to do well- it was really nice to point out particular children who were singing well and pointing to the targets and seeing their smile and how it spurred the rest of them on!  Usually I don't put levels down! Somehow with  Boy-heavy classes, this works! I feel glad that we started the term on mostly a positive note so I wont dread their lessons!

Edited, after reading Heather's post (check out her outfit- great!)   I thought this would make you laugh (or despair, whichever).   A particular 5 year old was found with 2 pencil sharpeners in the playground.  When asked where the 2 pencil sharpeners he had in the playground came from he replied that they had 'fallen from the sky'. Then when given 5 mins to sit, he said 'they came from the rocket', 5 mins later 'I brought them from home'. Finally after the teacher said she'd check with his mum, he said he'd taken them from the writing table! Ahrgh! Such an imagination at 5!

I've got an absolute glut of plums at the moment- how many plums should one eat before one should stop?