Moving on...sort of....

I've moved. Well, the virtual me has moved.
An imminent fresh start for me here in Oman, a new (part time) teaching job and hopefully a revitalised persona as a result! So I thought it the ideal opportunity to refresh and revisit the blogging scene.

New blog = Paintbrushes and Pedicures

A bit more girly, a bit more personal, a bit more me.

All will become clear over there.

Maybe.

X

My recent School Holiday

I think I may have mentioned months back that I would be thinking of going on a trip on my own, just as hubby did with his friends to Everest Base Camp. Well, I actually booked it last Autumn for this spring. It came round pretty quick, I tell you!

I broke up from school on the 28th and was on my way to Kathmandu the night of the 29th. I had booked five days in a monastery and three days in the city. I was back in Oman on the night of the 7th and back in school on the 8th! I'd be lying if I said I hadn't stopped as I did spend a lot of time walking, reading, sitting and thinking!

I wrote a travel diary of sorts...my intention was to transfer it on to the blog. I will do but in a condensed version I think. And it may be a bit disjointed but I'll include some pictures to make up for it! A lot of the musings in the diary are rather contemplative and philosophical, I think I might spare you those. Although good conversation topics I'm sure, I think I need to make head and tail of them first. Maybe they could be a blog post alone.

I met a lovely lady from TAISM on the way out as we were avoiding the bunfight for the bus to the plane! She was meeting a friend and heading to Chitwan National Park in the south-west.

I was sat on the wrong side of the plane to see the Himalayas on landing but nevertheless got a super view of the city. It looked very textured and almost like a model village! On the drive through after being collected the city struck me as being smelly, dirty, polluted, busy but oh, so vibrant and colourful! I loved it already.

We arrived at the monastery after several detours and dubious road manoeuvres. It was behind a large iron gate that opened up into this bustling courtyard. Not what I expected at all. However, it was set up in the 70s to introduce Buddhism to the westerners and so it was already appearing very open and accepting. Little did I know I would be sitting drinking masala tea with the monks discussing Oman in the football!

I had a wander round after a nap and went for tea in the dining room. I was early so waited around at the entrance. whilst I was waiting a couple introduced themselves to me. I must have looked a bit dazed! Aussie Bob has a guesthouse in Cambodia and Chris was his friend who had gone there to stay for a couple of weeks and ended up staying five months!

I spent a lot of time with them during my stay at Kopan and it was really quite refreshing to talk openly and discuss beliefs, philosophies, thoughts and ideas.

The food was amazing! So simple and plentiful. I was veggie for the whole trip and loved it, I never felt hungry. Breakfast was a sweet porridge with Nepali bread and masala tea. Lunch was the main meal (which I didn't discover until a few days in as I just assumed the last meal would be the biggest!) I had missed out on so much! We had rice, a dal bhaat of sorts each day, absolutely gorgeous. This was accompanied by a couple of vegetable dishes and potatoes and bread. Oh, and masala tea! Dinner was usually a noodle soup of sorts with bread, butter, jam or the homemade peanut butter. Oh, and masala tea...!

It was a great experience and was what I had hoped it was. I switched off from school, I thought lots of my family but knew they were ok...so I had the time and mental freedom to slow down.

After the stillness of the monastery I went to stay in the city for three nights. Aussie Lew took me to see the hearing clinic he had set up and also the Prisoners Association of Nepal - this was the home that had been set up for children of prisoners in Nepal. A reality check if ever there was one on this trip. Since I have been back I have been desperate to simplify my life and those of my children. A little education was required for my son when he piped up that he had only two presents from me. I calmly told him about the children and I think he took it on board. As much as any boy approaching his 6th birthday could do. It was a lesson to me if anything and I will continue to remember this children's home to give me a wake-up call very now and then.

Indira, the heroine behind this association. The little boy had only been in two
days and wouldn't let her out of his sight.

The next entry will just be mostly photos from the rest of the trip. Hope you enjoy them. It was a really special few days for me.

I love Oman BUT.....

...STOP BLAMING THE LITTER PROBLEM ON VISITORS!!

Last summer's soundtrack

Way back in the summer you may remember me writing about our super summer road trip with our campervan, Betty. I often look back at my facebook photos from that month and reminisce....

One of the best things I did after that trip was ask my friends and family their favourite song so that i could make a soundtrack! What fun that was. Admittedly, I only finished it in December! But it has been played to death ever since!

So if you are interested then this is the result.

1. 'Dance or Die' - Janelle Monae. We saw her for the first time on the Glastonbury highlights at my parent's house. What sheer energy she has. And so cute!
2. 'Faster' - Janelle Monae
3. 'Tightrope' - Janelle Monae
4. Locked Inside - Janelle Monae. She played these last 4 songs consecutively with such energy.
5. 'I Need a Dollar' - Aloe Blacc. Also played at Glastonbury.
6. 'Down with the Trumpets' - Rizzlekicks. I was in the UK for a week with the kids and this was played constantly on Radio 1. They are also from Brighton so happy to support the local talent!
7. 'Pumped up Kicks' - Foster the People. Again, another one that was played so much but I never got fed up with it. Still love it!
8. 'Magic Bus' - The Who. Of course dedicated to Betty the Bay!
9. 'The A Team' - Ed Sheeran. Favourite song at the time of Bear's Special Friend from her old school.
10. 'Louder' - DJ Fresh and Sian Evans. My sister's choice. It reminded us of when we saw Kosheen at V-Festival 2002. They were just spectacular and highlight of the last great summer pre-kids!
11. 'The Lazy Song' - Bruno Mars. Mr. C's choice!
12. 'Give Me Everything' - Pitbull ft. Nero and Afro Jack. Choice of my old school best friend and her hubby. Apparently he would sing it around the house! Lucky girl!
13. 'When the Saints go Marching in' - Louis Armstrong. From The Other Mr. Mitchell. His Rugby team is Northampton, otherwise known as the Saints. When we made it to their home in Germany last summer it was a sheer relief that we made it to the furthest destination on our trip. It was just lovely, a special weekend. Anyway, many songs were played on the iPod that weekend and this was one of them! Another one was...
14. 'Inkanyezi Nezazi' - Ladysmith Black Mambazo from The Other Mrs. Mitchell. We both adored this song and it will always remind me of her.
15. 'The Fixer' - Pearl Jam. Just one of the best songs! All about men and women and how we solve things differently...how women want to talk about the problem and how men want to just fix the problem! Don't know what Eddie Vedder is talking about. ;-) Pearl Jam were played an awful lot in Betty this trip so they feature a few times!
16. 'Just Breathe' - Pearl Jam. Beautiful.
17. 'Amongst the Waves' - Pearl Jam. Uplifting.
18. 'Supersonic' - Pearl Jam. A great running song. Although I didn't go running. But if I went running this song would have been playing.
19. 'The End' - Pearl Jam. Tears every time.
20. 'Rollerblades' - Eliza Doolittle. Just cute and summery.
21. 'Skinny Genes' - Eliza Doolittle.
22. 'Pack Up' - Eliza Doolittle
23. 'Enter Sandman' - Metallica. This album was a big part of my Sixth Form life and for some reason this song was being played on the radio so often this summer!
24. 'Set Fire to The Rain' - Adele. Another radio favourite.
25. 'Red Red Rose' - Hope and Social. The first band we saw at the Deershed Festival. A great one to sing along to! And we did!
26. 'Marching on Through' - Hope and Social
27. 'You Can Call me Al' - Paul Simon. Although this features a) because the drummer of Hope and Social sang this and b) it's got Betty's name in it! ;-D
28. 'Monkey Man' - Any Winehouse
29. 'Valerie' - Amy Winehouse
30. 'Tears Dry on their Own' - Amy Winehouse. It was at the Deershed Festival that we found  out that Amy had died. Whilst I wasn't mourning her drug-induced death in the slightest, I was sad that such a great voice had gone for good. These were my three favourite songs if hers.
31. 'Last Friday Night' - Katy Perry. Admittedly this was a favourite before the summer but I heard it lots and it reminded me of being at The Duchess' house (new name for Champagne Charlie)
32. 'Delivered' - Admiral Fallow
33. 'Taste the Coast' - Admiral Fallow
34. 'Dead against Smokimg' - Admiral Fallow
35. 'Squealing Pigs' - Admiral Fallow. C-pops' favourite song to sing along to!
36. 'These Barren Years' - Admiral Fallow
37. 'Collision of Worlds' - Brad Paisley and Robbie Williams. Theme tune to Cars2. Just a brilliant afternoon in London.
38. 'Sigh no More' - Mumford & Sons
39. 'Harvest Moon - Neil Young. My Mum's lovely choice, her song of the summer.
40. This is a space for my Dad's selection....
41. 'Rolling in the Deep' - Adele
42. 'Real Gone Kid' - Deacon Blue. Played in the taxi on the way from the camper restorers to the airport. A very quiet taxi journey. :-(

Life is too short...

(Not my work, found it on facebook)

Finally!

Well, that was a hell of a blogging drought! Seriously, I really couldn’t think of a thing to write about that anyone might remotely be interested in. And to be honest my new job has taken over my life. And I knew I did not want to let this blog turn into a position from which to rant about teaching. Many others do that, and do it well I might add. It’s not me. This blog was purely meant as a cathartic release and should remain so for my own sanity. Which is dwindling by the week. Really, March already? Scary. Half way through the school year? Bloody hell….

So anyway, having a chat with my friend who used to blog about her IVF and pregnancy journey has kind of inspired me to get going again.

That reads wrong. Don’t worry/get excited, no major thing like THAT to blog about!

I still need some direction/inspiration though…

I’d love to jot down all the simply hilarious things my school kids say and write…but that would be unprofessional. I won’t write about the girl who quoted Silence of the Lambs whilst eating noodles, or the girl who asked me if I liked Justin Beaver, the Magician…I’ll keep the uncontrollable laughter at home. And I don’t want to write about teaching techniques or tips as that would be completely boring to those not in the teaching profession.

I’ll just blog about how I don’t want to write about teaching…and then write about teaching…(insert rolling eyes smiley!).

Plenty of these going around so I’ll stick this one in that I found.

Anyhoo…in the meantime I’ll talk about what’s on the Mitchell cards in the foreseeable future (not that far in the future, I can’t do that, remember!). Royal Flight Spring Fayre today. Then we’re off to the beach camping again! Trying to squeeze another weekend in before it gets too warm. We have a new camping trailer which is making camping life so much easier so we tend to try and go more often now.