April Currently

This is my first time linking up with Farley for her "Currently" linky party.

Listening: It's been raining since yesterday. I like the sound of the rain, but only when I'm indoors. There's just something nice and comforting about being inside when it's all gloomy and wet outside.

Loving: I am not a summer person. I hate humidity. It makes me feel so uncomfortable, so this cooler weather we have had for the past two days has been wonderful. It's going to get hot again next week, but luckily for me, I will not be here...

Thinking: I leave for Japan in 4 days! Oh my gosh! I am very excited because I have wanted to go to Japan since I studied it in year 7! I also get to go to Disneysea which is another thing I have been wanting to do since forever! (well not forever, but you get my point. I have always wanted to go to Disneyland/sea).

Wanting: I need to get some ink (don't we all?). However I don't want to walk in the rain. I'm hoping the rain will stop for a few hours so I can get some ink without getting soaked.

Needing: My bag is packed, I just need to print out the accommodation vouchers and flight itineraries and to do that, I need ink.

EGGS-plain: I started this blog to share what I have been doing and blog about interesting ideas. So I figured; tales = stories and Miss D = me, so Tales From Miss D. It's kind of a dopey name and I get embarrassed telling people what my blog is called, but at the same time I like it.

I will be away for 3 weeks, so I won't be updating this blog again until the start of May. I'm going to try and be a good blogger and post more frequently :)

Have a happy and safe Easter!

Five for Friday!

Linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five For Friday!

School - Friday was the last day of Term 3. I am now on holidays for 2 weeks! :D My plans? scootering, swimming, days out and resource making. I am keen to get back out on the scooter as it's been ages since we've been able to do it. Next term I officially start my contract! woo hoo!

TV - We got the TV we wanted! Now our lounge room has a brand new, 50', 3D, smart TV. It's awesome. I love it, especially watching movies in 3D. We watched the Lego Movie and it looked pretty cool especially when there was lots of movement. Of course watching that movie got the Everything is Awesome song stuck in my head, which lead to random outbursts of "everything is awesome!" over the past few days.

There are also other neat features with the TV, like the ability to go online, download apps or even tweet from the TV.

Resources - I've been pretty productive with my TPT store lately. I've made a few new things as well as made different designs for some of my most popular products. This morning I revamped my 2D Shapes pack because I felt like it should be more colourful. It wasn't ugly or anything, I just decided that rainbow paper would make it even better! (did I ever mention I was a perfectionist?). Click on the picture to see it in my store :)

Text Type and Purpose - This week one of the focus points of my reading groups was talking about the text type and author's purpose. I introduced the three types; Informative, Imaginative and Persuasive. We then talked about how we know which type it is, e.g. whether it was giving us facts, about a made up person or telling us why something is good. These three types then link to the author's purpose; inform, entertain or persuade. To help with these concepts I created a few posters.

Comprehension - In my reading groups we are also using the Super Six Comprehension strategies. We do a lot of discussion, which is great but then I want the students to be writing/recording ideas so the classroom teacher has a way to see what we have been doing. So to cater for this, I am using my Super Six Journal Prompts!

These are great because I simply need to print off one or two copies of a page, cut out the strips and then the students glue the prompt at the top of their page. They then complete the activity. So now when the teacher looks back in their book they will be able to easily see what the activity was :)

That wraps up my Five for Friday. Will work on the next part of my Comprehension series sometime in the first week of the holidays.

Enjoy your weekend!

Five for Friday!

Once again I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five For Friday! I love this linky party!

Work. This week I received some awesome work related news, for the rest of the year I will be working as a support teacher on Year 3 and 4. I am super excited to start this new job as I have been enjoying working on the older grades this year. Will be a great opportunity to build up even more experience.

Birthday Celebrations. It was my mum's 60th birthday on Tuesday. After work, we went out for dinner and then on Wednesday we went out for lunch and shopping. We had the most delicious lunch from Salsa's. I love their chicken burritos and Mexi-crinkles. It was nice spending some time with my mum as well, I do miss her now that I've moved out.

Surprise blender! I came home from work on Thursday to be greeted with a blender from the boyfriend's parents! (lol, this probably sounds funny, but I was actually excited about it). We have been meaning to get one for a while now so we can make smoothies/milkshakes. This weekend I am going to make some Orero and Tim Tam shakes. It's pretty easy to do; one cup of milk, some ice cubes and 2 biscuits. No more trips down to the coffee shop and spending ridiculous amounts on these things :D Of course, now that we have this appliance, we're on to the next one; a bigger TV! Furnishing this apartment is fun.

Wanderlust. Sometimes I miss the travel lifestyle. We have been looking up some things to do for the end of the year/school holidays next year. So far the one trip that looks very appealing is a 2 week Japan and other Asian countries trip. I would absolutely love to go to Japan. I studied Japanese in high school so getting to experience the culture would be awesome. However at the moment it's all just plans, nothing is actually booked or set. I really want to go to Disneyworld Japan though...

Free Travel Fridays. Loving the fact that my travel to work on a Friday will be free from now on. Using an Opal card means that when I travel for 4 days, the rest of the week is FREE! Brings a whole new meaning to TGIF!


Enjoy your weekend!

Five for Friday!

Eek! I haven't updated my blog for a while! I haven't forgotten about it, I just haven't had a proper internet connection since moving into the apartment. We got the modem in the mail, but it does not connect to the internet. I'm assuming it is something to do with the cabling in the building, so on Monday a technician is coming out to have a look and hopefully get it working. I have missed being able to read up on bloglovin, add products to my TPT store and browse pinterest!

I'm currently using my cellular connection on my iPad and the blogger app, let's hope this shows up properly. If it's a big mess, I shall fix it up once I am on my laptop :)

The apartment! We are all moved in now and it's complete after multiple trips to Ikea and various furniture shops. I love the way we have it set up and I cannot wait to post pictures of it. I get excited when people come over and I get to show them around. 

I have an office! I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but the apartment has a study in it, so it has become my office. We found an awesome high back dining chair for $49 and are using that as the chair for the desk in there. It's super comfy and will be perfect for when I'm working on lesson prep or TPT stuff. Loving that I have a dedicated room for work and that I can simply close the door if things look a bit messy :P

Back to school. This week was the first week of Term 3. I was lucky enough to work 3 out of the 4 school days. I was on Kindy support, which is always fun. I have work next week too, covering a different class each day. I am so thankful that I have been getting steady work since returning from holidays.

Opal Card. In Sydney they've finally introduced electronic ticketing. It is so much better than having to buy paper tickets. It has definitely made my trips to work easier and cheaper. I'm surprised not many people have gotten themselves a card yet. The best part? $2.50 Sundays. Last week, we took advantage of it and caught the ferry to the city and then the ferry to Manly. ALL FOR $2.50. On any other day it would have cost $28. Bargain!

Not sure where we are going this Sunday, but will definitely be doing something. At that price it's a bit silly not to.

Swimming. We have a gym and pool at our complex. This morning we went for a swim. I haven't been to a pool in years. I think the last time I went to a pool was when I was in primary school! It was fun, I did a few laps, not that I can swim very well. I stuck with the frog style stroke. I have no idea what the technical name is, but it gave me a nice work out on my arms and legs. There is also a spa next to the pool, it was a nice way to relax after my swim. 

Hopefully the internet will be up and running next week. Will be back to my regular posts about lessons and resources.

Have a great weekend!

Five for Friday!

I enjoyed writing this last week, so I have decided to participate again this week!

I went to The Voice with my friends. Not to sing (I can't), but to be a part of the audience. We got a great spot, right by the stage. Watched the show and managed to see my cat hat on camera.

We have an apartment! Let me repeat WE HAVE AN APARTMENT! I am thrilled! It is my 'dream' apartment and we got it on our very first application! The area is beautiful. We move in next week :) I'm so happy this was an easy process because I didn't want to deal with this while being at work. I have my boyfriend to thank for that, he did all the hard work and organisation.

Shopping for homewares. The day after we were approved, we went shopping for homewares. I find this exciting. I mean, we did this before in Manchester, but this has more of a permanent feeling. Over there we knew we would have to throw everything out when we returned. We were pretty successful with our purchases as a lot of stores were having a homeware sale. The best purchase was the entire kitchen set (as in everything you need for cooking) for $29. It was one of those magical Target purchases where the item scans at a very, very low price compared to what it should sell for. Now the only things we need to buy are bed frame, fridge, washing machine and bar stools. I can't wait to get our apartment set up. Perhaps the pictures will be part of an upcoming Five For Friday :)

I revamped the logo and banner for my TPT store. The one I had before just made me cringe! I'm happy with the way the new set turned out. I made it to coordinate with my blog.

Mini cold. I call it mini because I don't have all the symptoms. Mainly a sore throat and a sniffly nose. I haven't been sick in over a year now, so this has hit me harder than it normally would. I'm guessing I picked it up at work last week as I was coughed on quite a few times by the kinders. I have found taking panadol before I sleep reduces the sore throat and makes it easier to have an uninterrupted sleep. Have also been eating plenty of fruit and drinking lots of water. I find it interesting that I spent time in the UK and Europe in minus temperatures and snow, but never managed to get sick, yet within a few weeks of being back here I catch a mini cold. Can't wait to stop sounding so nasally!

That's about it from me, will be very busy over the next few days with all the packing and unpacking. I'm so excited!

 Have a great weekend :D

Five for Friday!

This is my first Five for Friday! Click on the picture to check out other blogs in the link up :)

Monday was my 26th Birthday! I feel old, haha. I know this is going to sound strange but I still think of myself at a 22 year old. I can't believe I am actually 26 now!

I did not get called in for work, I was kind of relieved. I mean, I would have gone in if I was called, but I was looking forward to going out for lunch with my boyfriend. I was treated to Nando's and Churros. All very delicious. This was the 3rd time in 2 weeks that I have been to Nando's. I think I may have a slight addiction, but when the food is this good, can you really blame me?

I worked 4 out of the 5 days this week. I am thrilled! I really didn't expect to pick up so much work straight away. I thought I would have to wait a while. Had a pretty good week. Year 5, Kindy support, Year 1 and then Kindy support. I also got to cover a year 3 class for a few hours and had a bunch of my kiddos from 2012. They're a lot bigger now and spent a lot of the time asking me "Do you remember that time we..." as well as if I can be their teacher again next year. Awwww!

My boyfriend and I have been in a fight with the real estate back in Manchester. We still have not received our deposit back! Their first excuse was that we had apparently stolen a glass table, two dining chairs, a bedside chest and a leather bed from the apartment. Let me just remind you that I live in Australia. For us to have 'stolen' anything, we would have had to have taken it on the plane. The silliest part of this was that some of the furniture in question could be seen in the check out report photos! The chairs and bed we were given were not the same as the ones listed in the inventory. So we had to point this out and they came back and apologised.

Problem solved, right? wrong!

Then they accused us of paying short on a rental payment as well as owing money for extending our contract for two days. So we fired back with receipts to prove that we had paid the required amounts on time. We also corrected them about the date that we had left. They refused to believe us and so we sent the same argument and proof again. Then they started to ignore us, so I wrote a rather firm email which basically sent the proof for a third time and wrote that we would be seeking LEGAL action if they could not resolve this. This time they replied instantly and all their issues with us had just magically disappeared!

Problem solved, right? WRONG!

Minutes after sending us the email confirming that we would get our full deposit back, they sent a new email claiming the landlord had just rang them and wanted us to pay for a blind that didn't close properly and a tiny dent on the back of the door.

By this point we were not really in the mood to play nice about it after being jerked around already. So we fired off an email pointing out that the blind doesn't close properly because of the skirting board and not because it was broken. We also pointed out that the dent was already there and probably caused by moving in furniture, which we did not do as the place was fully furnished. Also, as these two things would be considered 'natural wear and tear' we are not liable for it as wear and tear is not covered by tenants. They took ages to reply but claimed the landlord agreed with us (funny that) and that we just need to provide the banking details.

The problem? they sent it in the middle of the night and now the person dealing with it has conveniently gone away for a week, so we have to wait till they come back. Only I don't think we are settling for that and will be trying to find someone else to return the money asap. I don't think we are being too ridiculous here. They've done everything they can to delay returning the money and their excuses are not valid and inaccurate. Is it really that hard to maintain accurate records?!

Phew! I will be jumping for joy when the money is safely in my account and I never have to see or deal with this company again! I never imagined it would be this difficult.

This week I found out that I get to go and watch the taping of The Voice. I went to one back in Manchester, so it will be interesting to see how it's done over here. I find it interesting seeing how a TV show is filmed and produced.

I am on school holidays now for 2 weeks! It's kind of become a bit of a joke that I just came back from holidays to go back on holidays :P I think this is going to be one the busiest school holidays ever because we will probably still be fighting with the Manchester Real Estate as well as trying to find an apartment over here in Sydney. Busy, busy, busy!

Have a great weekend!