Red Plate night tonight

We have one of those big red plates that you could buy from the Warehouse a few years ago. It’s got something like “you’re Outstandamazing!” on it and we use it when someone has done something that should be recognised. It could really do some more outings for smaller achievements, but often I forget to use it.

But tonight there are two worthwhile recipients for it. And just one plate.

Mr 7 brought home his first written report. In our school, Years 0 and 1 have Parent-Teacher interviews twice in the year, Year 2 and up get a midyear interview and a written report.

He got a good one. Oh, it makes mention of the listening thing in passing, but it is a very positive one and shows he’s doing well enough. Made me very proud to glance through it (I have to read it properly later tonight).

And the second recipient?

It’s me!! The exam results came through this morning and I passed both papers (an A+ and a B+…. and I’m only revealing the grades because I have NEVER had a final A+ result in my life before……chuffed???……. oh yeah!!!).  I’m feeling very chuffed with myself and the effort I pulled out toward the end. And I’m laughing too, because it does nothing to dispel the whole “you should NOT cram at the last minute” kind of routine. So my hard cramming for the last 3 months has paid off. Yipppppeeeeee. That’s it: no more study; I get to graduate and can call myself a qualified Legal Executive from here on in.

How to divide the red plate between 2 of us?

Easy….. we’re eating fish and chips on the run tonight because we have final school assembly at 6pm and a hubby to collect from the train station just prior.

Well, at least me and Mr 7 know our efforts are worth the Red Plate!

Brrrrrr!

Cripes it’s chilly – and then some! Still, at least today it isn’t raining as well as being Brass Monkeys cold.

I’ve not been out and about much at all the last few days. Being very good and putting my head in between the cotton-wool-brain inducing material that is Litigation or Estates legal material. Sigh, it’s tough work, I’m telling you! Still, I’m making headway. Or at least that is how I’m feeling. The renewed commitment to getting through the course work rather than sinking into a funk because there is SO MUCH of the course work to get through is paying off.

And the crafting as reward moments are like little beacons. Last night I went to a friend’s church women’s evening and was shown how to make a cute little mini-album. It will be just perfect for a teacher’s gift at the end of the year. Tonight, I might do some cards or work on a couple of uncompleted layouts. I feel like I’ve earned the pleasure of either pretty paper or pretty fabric

But I’m getting crafty in other ways too.

I usually stop in most mornings at an elderly neighbour’s after the school run in the morning. Mainly to check how she is doing, partly as a guaranteed 45 minutes of social interation during the day. She’s been working on a tapestry of a horse and has been struggling with her eyesight as she waits for her second cateract operation. There are big bits where the colours are easily distinguishable, and I guess about a third were there are lots of colour changes and it’s not so easy for her to work on. She is also an absolute beginner when it comes to handcrafts… she started these kind of projects as a result of getting to know me Anyway, in order to help her out, I’ve been working on the harder parts for her. It’s coming together quite nicely with the two of us working almost daily on it. And it’s been a great solution: she gets the continued motivation to keep working on it, I get a 30 minute fix of craftiness along with coffee and company.

Perfect!

No more slacking off

This arrived on my doorstep yesterday morning. It’s their big box.

The contents are the year’s notes for my last two courses: Estates Law and Practice and Litigation Law and Practice. The LLP notes take up slightly more than a big D-ring binder can hold comfortably. I sit and look at the amount of paper in that folder. I am expected to read every. single. page. And remember it for the exam at the end of the year.

The ELP course work looks a lot less daunting, sitting in at half way up the D-ring of it’s folder. By the time my notes get added, that folder will be full.

With my propensity to find things to do other than what I need to be doing, I have scheduled regular time for me to do the work. I chose to do the course via the Open Poly as it meant I could really fit it in and around family life. I think my preferred method for learning involves a fair amount of contact hours – which I don’t have via the Open Poly. Doing the work through this provider means I have to have some self discipline. Not always an area I excel in. This year, I am determined to lift my game and not have a stressed out finale. So, in aid of that, I have my own “Class” of one worked into my weekly schedule.

The first week of term starts this week.

PS – WS: I do see the pretty bling waiting for me…. just need to wait until my next scheduled internet break to put it up 

Mini Update 00001

Hmmmm …. does that mean I have a 5-fugure amount of updates? Probably not – or maybe I do… Depends on how much of the old Verbal D* I end up with I guess!

Ok, so blah blah – you know I was not feeling great leading up to Christmas. I seriously hate being sick and it was no fun seeing all the Christmas spirit passing by. I LOVE getting into the groove – and really resented that I really did not have the energy to make something special happen for the family this year. Still, I got better and I’m sure there is 1001 people out there with real hard-luck stories so it’s time for me to just suck it up and get on with stuff.

In amongst that nonsense, I got an envelope a couple of days before setting off to the Coromandel. Inside was one page…. with exam results.

I passed both exams!!!!!

Yippppeeeeeee!!!!!!!! does not even come close to expressing the total relief and pleasure that I felt to see the two “PASS” indicators beside each subject.

Turns out the one I was totally convinced I had crashed and burned in, I got a pass slightly better than a mere scrape. Only by a couple of percentage points mind you – but something nicer than merely the 51% I had been hoping for in my wildest dreams.

As for the second paper – the one I thought I had actually done pretty well in – Huh! I didn’t do quite as well as I thought I had. Hmmm on that one. Maybe they did what I wished they could do: take the extra marks off that paper and transfer them to the one I was sure was failed! BUT it was a pass nonetheless. I’ll take that.

So four from four to date and next year I’ll be doing the last two papers.

What a difference a change in subject matter makes!

Yes, it has to be said that I am feeling pretty good about today’s Business Law paper. Funnily enough, I probably did less work overall on this than I did for the Property paper! But I definitely felt more confident about the material going in, and was pleased to see the structure of the exam was a little more suited perhaps to me. I managed to answer the necessary questions and answer them by and large well I thought. I even managed to get a head start on the drafting section and again, felt that part went well too.

That is all good because that means if necessary I will only need to retake one paper next year and I think I could manage to do3 papers and still complete in the time frame intended. Happy stuff!!

So to celebrate, I called Hubby and met him briefly. Then as he had a meeting across town, I made my way to the Belgian chocolatier and made a couple of small purchases. The mother of Mr 3′s little girlfriend helped me out this morning by letting me drop him off ultra early and take them both to preschool…. so a little something for her. Then a slightly bigger little something for me! I am really looking forward to after bedtime this evening to sample my wares…. Apparently we kiwis have no idea how to savour these little beauties. I was informed by a colleague that all the kiwis she knew buying belgian chocs were wasting our money becuase we ate them like Cadbury’s. And so we might. But they are still yummy!!

I don’t know what it was, but going in there made me feel all nostalgic for things belgian, so I decided to have lunch at Leuven – the Belgian bar in town. Just seeing all the familiar flemish names made me realise just how much I miss some of my friends back there. I enquired to see if they sold my favourite beer (Rodenbach) – a long shot because it is not a major export. They said they had been selling it, but it wasn’t a big seller so had stopped. Bummer!! I laughed and mentioned that had I known it was being offered, I probably would have managed to make it worthwhile! It’s that nice. The manager was really lovely – told me to check out regional wines and spirits because they sold it. Fantastic!! I think I might have to check that out!

And before picking the Mr’s up from their various care places, I picked up a bottle of Lindaur Fraise and called Hubby to arrange for him to bring home indian.

Yes, tonight I feel like celebrating. That is such a weird combo: strawberry champers, chocs and indian. But it’s all good!

Now……… let me get my hands on that kit that arrived a little earlier this month… ah, yes. Life is Good.

Oh Dear…..

So the first exam is out of the way. For that I am extremely grateful. It was a nightmare! For the first time in a long time of sitting exams I failed to answer 2 questions which means I don’t get any credit for those 20 points. The remaining 40 points in that part I’m not so sure on how well I did – it will be cutting it fine.

Part B was open book and drafting…. I reckon I need at least 30 points from the available 40 in order to scrape a pass. To be hard on myself – cos I really never know until I get the results – that total might be a little hard to come by. On the other hand, what I wrote in that part did flow so maybe just maybe I will get enough from that section.

So it means my result is on a knife edge and I’m really not sure which way it will go. I’m gutted that I didn’t keep a closer eye on the clock and got shaken by a couple of really tough bits right at the beginning. Definitely not good exam technique!

But.

That exam is done and dusted and I’ve done what I’ve done. Worst case, I’ll need to retake that paper next year. Nothing like a bit of pressure!

So pass me some panadol for the wicked headache I now have, bring me the takeaways for tonight’s menu (yes – no cooking for the next couple of nights!), give me a good night’s sleep and I’ll be ready to do the final prep for Business Law tomorrow. I’m feeling a tad more confident on that subject matter so let’s go with that vibe for now. And yes please, good passing vibes for Friday morning are more than gratefully received!!

Laters

Lots of Punches?

Just spotted a clever idea for storing punches….. Take a look here. I still want to get my hands on those scalloped punches.
Hoping to get some crafty stuff done today. Bringing home a pile of *historic* photos and stories makes me want to get a move on some of my heritage pages. I also have a bunch of ideas roaming – as always! – in my head. It seems a wee while since I’ve done some scrapping for me – lots of cards, circle journals and swaps but not too many of my own layouts. Hopefully there is still some creative juices upstairs…. mind you, they might be hibernating. I wish I was!

And if you are blog-hopping or some such today, go take a look at Country Papercrafts. They have a new competition running, along the line of Amazing Race. Sounds like a lot of fun. I’ve decided not to join in on this one. It’s about time: I really do need to knuckle down and catch up on my study. Still, seeing some of the work in the gallery of these ladies, you just know that some really great pages will be produced.

Right, better get downstairs and figure out something yummy and warm to eat for lunch. Kids have a playdate today – always good to occupy the Mr’s on a cold day!

Sneaky Peek Tuesday

So it’s Tuesday and this morning I said good bye to the next in the circle journal cycle. This round I had a “Blue Day Book” – what sort of things make you happy when you’re down.

Talk about good timing just now hey! Just let me say a very quick, very sincere thank you for all the messages of support that have been sent. It is truly appreciated. Grandad is so far doing OK – and I’m still working out the whens and hows of getting down there.

In the meantime, I realised Sunday night that this CJ round was meant to be ready for send off the next morning….. and I wasn’t quite there yet. So I kept it for an extra day and managed to get it finished. I think I liked the result! I ended up using papers out of my stash that I liked at the time but never knew what to do with it. So I’ve ended up cutting out the cute little butterfly, and some of the pink flowers…. and a little bit of doodling here and there. Plus some bling. In the end a happy result.

I also got good news in the form of a returned assignment with 86%. Woooohoooo!! I was late getting it in – and had struggled a bit with whether I had found the correct informtion. By and large, I would say I did!

So while I’m checking out what I need to catch up on, I see I have a couple of envelopes that I need to get in the post. ATC swaps, a pin swap (yikes! I thought I’d posted them ) and I need to get to work on the June FLAB page due this Friday. A BOM page to complete (based on Ngaire’s *Beautiful* theme…. yikes! I haven’t missed one yet so want to get this done…..) Plus, I have a mission to scrap a photo of some good friends – taken just a couple of weeks ago. I have the papers, I have the sketch in my mind’s eye….  Oh yes, another study assignment to complete too.

It’s good to have things to occupy *down* time.

Hmmmm

Well that was a super imaginative title wasn’t it?

I got my first delivery of some Stampin’ Up stamps over the weekend and I’m so itching to play with them. I have plans to get a whole lot more – which will make my friend Keryn very happy as she as just signed up as a demonstrator. I just know I’ll make a pretty decent customer!

We have just finished swimming lessons for this term with Mr 3. Can’t say I’m going to miss them over the next few weeks. Mr 3 has decided to go backwards for a bit. Very frustrating as both me and the teacher know that he can do the stuff he needs to – but he won’t. And tells us so in a seriously LOUD manner. Another term in the same class and then hopefully if nothing else his age will dictate he needs to move on. But without mum in the pool too. I like the sound of that!

The creative urge is on a bit of a backseat at the moment. Trying to get hold of some motivation to complete another round of assignments – and move forward through the course work. Although I’m finding the reading interesting when I get into it, I’m finding I also have serious motivation issues at the moment. Or would that be serious lack of motivation issues??

One thing that should assist – Bones and Heroes finished last night and Prison Break only has a few more weeks to go. Ahhhh winter time! Seriously, I think hibernation should be compulsory.

And back into the week with a not quite Monday…

I can’t help shake the feeling that all is not right. And all it is is that today is not Monday! Queen’s Birthday often gets me like that. This year it’s probably got something to do with a lovely relaxing weekend and waking up with a jolt that is our Tuesdays.

And while we’re at sorting things out….. can anyone tell me why although June 1 might be the official start of winter, actual winter weather needs to coincide?? What a shock to the system! But we managed to get out and about. Sunday we went for a leisurely family “bush walk” through Barton’s Bush. We took the track to the river bank and threw stones into the river. Something very fun about the “splosh” you can make! Mr 5 is impressed with his Dad’s skimming ability. The walk was finished with a good play at the playground and lunch at home. Omelettes, oven fries and cheerios. Yum! Can you tell I needed to get groceries?

Yesterday we went for a drive. It was a bit gloomy round our parts so Hubby thought a drive to the coast might find us some sunshine that the weatherman said we should be having. Yeah right!  We ended up at Titahi Bay – a beach that neither of us has been to for yeeears. Again we enjoyed the “brisk” fresh air. Until we got downwind of the top half of a shark that had been washed up on the beach. Yes, that’s right. Half a shark. Niiiiiice….. not!

We popped into one of those family restaurants for lunch then continued our round about way home. We took the very long scenic route which allowed us to pop up to Newlands and revisit the subdivision where hubby and I built our first house. MAN! That place has just exploded!! Woodridge now has been joined up (finally) and has its own bus stops (finally!). The houses are getting larger, but the sections not quite so fast. The style has changed since we built there 1o or 11 years ago. I’m glad to see a move away from everything having that spray on plaster. There were some nice new designs there – and we still know a few of the old neighbours that have moved into the newer sections of the subdivision. Still, I couldn’t help feel hemmed in. Modern living eh?! I guess our dream is the massive house all on one level of a huge flat section, maybe near some water. In Wellington??! We’ll be looking for a while!!!

Then last night I finished a circle journal that I had to have out by today. I found this one pretty hard. Only because it was a “Self Portrait” topic – having to describe how I saw myself – rather than how others might view me. I’m probably harder on myself than others are, so to begin with it was quite critical. I think in the end it was a good balance of the good and the ugly!

As for the study….. yup. Gotta play catch up today. No House or Boston Legal for me tonight.