Well, the holidays are almost over.

Last weekend I went on my first camping trip in eight years with my boyfriend. We left Friday afternoon and came home on the Sunday; I slept in a swag for the first time and loved it – it was set up in just a few minutes and was much warmer and comfier than the tents I’ve slept in on previous camping trips. BF and I spent a lot of time debating between a swag and a tent and we eventually decided on the swag because we liked the fact it would be easy to set up on an overnighter – we definitely made the right choice. The weather wasn’t so good because it drizzled during portions of the second day but we didn’t let it spoil our fun. We had a campfire both nights which was nice. BF cooked damper on the second night. He also caught five fish while we were away but they were all carp. No luck with catching any callop, which was what he was aiming for. We had planned to stay another night, however the weather wasn’t on our side, so we decided to head for home.

This week has been slow so far. We are taking things slowly and just relaxing before school heads back. Next term is going to be busy, however there are only another 9 weeks before the summer holidays. I am looking forward to it already

…Well, at least for a short post.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 or so weeks since I last posted on my blog. It has been a very busy term and I’ve had a lot of other things happening in my life. It’s the first day of the term 3 holidays and I had to head into work today. Tomorrow I will be delivering photos to the Kidman Art Show, where I am entering three photographs in the “Through My Lens” section. I am back at work again on Wednesday; on Thursday I am going to a bookshop and on the weekend I’m going camping.

I have a lot less planned for next week but I want to try to take it easy in preparation for term 4, which is sure to be a busy, busy term.

I have a new camera – a Canon 1000D SLR, which I am still learning to use. It is a big step up from the previous cameras that I’ve had but I have managed to get a few good shots already, including the banner picture above.

Here are some photos from the last ten weeks:

Well, we’re halfway through the holidays and I have had a few busy weeks. Holidays have been great so far and we have had lots of rain

I came down with a respiratory infection in the last week of school and I ended up taking a day off (although I should have taken more time off, in hindsight) to help me recover. The last day was great, as usual

During the first week, my mum and I went for a holiday up to the Flinders Ranges (pictures to come). We stayed at Hawker and did a day trip in the area around Wilpena Pound, including a trip through Brachina Gorge (very pretty), lunch at the Blinman Hotel and lots of stopping to take photos. They have just had rain up there so it was very green. We also had the most amazing luck and saw several wedge-tailed eagles.

The weekend following our return was quiet. I went to my friend K’s place for a party on Saturday, which was fun. On Sunday I just relaxed.

Yesterday I went with two of my friends from work down to Wooldriges, an educational superstore at Edwardstown. I found some great resources for the upcoming term. Wehad lunch afterward, which was fantastic – I was even persuaded to try something different from my usual. The dessert – Aero Mousse Cake – was delicious.

The rest of the week is fairly busy. I’m going out with K tomorrow, to the zoo on Thursday and then will probably relax over the weekend ready for next term.

One week to go until holidays. We’ve been very busy at work with report writing. We have changed semester and I have 2 new classes, however I have kept my English class, which I am very happy about. I have also been attempting to get my writing group going so that they can attempt NaNoWriMo this year.

I have been trying to work on SR. I downloaded an app that lets me work on my novels on my phone so I can get some done whenever I have a spare moment.

I have finally finished uploading all of my photos from my visit to Tasmania – here is the link to the slideshow. Looking back, it was a wonderful holiday – very scenic. I think we picked the right time of year to go, as the autumn colours were stunning. I’d like to go back again around the same time next year for a longer period of time. The only think I found really disappointing was the lack of snow – apparently it snowed two days after we left!

Last weekend I went to the Adelaide Zoo, using my membership card for the first time. The weather was nice and the animals were fairly active. I managed to see the giraffes being fed and the Macaw free-flight. I also went to the new Envirodome – they have smaller creatures in there and my favourites were the chameleons and the sea horses.  The new panda exhibit was looking great. I went around the zoo twice and then afterward went shopping in the city. It’s so nice having the zoo so close to the CBD – I had an excellent day. I am thinking of repeating it next weekend, weather permitting. I also want to go to the SA Museum and the Art Gallery – I used to visit often when I was a uni student and now I haven’t been there in a long time.

Work has been very busy – we are coming to the end of another assessment period. Exams are next week, followed by report writing. 3 weeks to go until the holidays!

I have been doing a little bit of writing. I have managed to put a couple of my stories onto my phone so I can read it like an ebook – I also have the ability to write in a notebook on my phone, which I can then email. So, whenever I have a bit of spare time, I am now either reading or working on either SR, CR or J. This will also come in handy when NaNoWriMo comes around this year!

There are some great books out at the moment – I have been reading the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz (I read Stormbreaker when it first came out but hadn’t caught up on the others). I’ve also just read The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima and thought it was fantastic – I’ve just started reading the sequel.

I read Don’t Judge A Girl By Her Cover by Ally Carter today. It was awesome – I didn’t think it’d be out here in Australia for months and was all set to buy it online and then there it was!  It doesn’t come out in the US until June 9 so you can bet that I was plenty surprised. I’m not going to spoil it but I will say that it was awesome!!! and I am now going to have to find time to reread all three. I’ll have to see if the booksellers have released Shannon Hale’s new book The Actor and the Housewife early here too

I am rearranging things at home which has kept me busy. Work has been pretty busy as usual. I have also been getting some writing done… mainly on SR but also on another novel I have been working on since I was in High School (that is in the process of splitting itself into a trilogy). That particular one is fantasy and very close to my heart.

I still have to finish uploading my Tasmania photos to Flickr. Once that’s done I will be able to upload the newest photos I’ve taken.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks here. The days are flying by at work and I am as busy as ever. I am involved in 2 research projects which are keeping me busy, teaching 2 subjects I haven’t taught before in addition to dealing with teenagers all day. I have to admit, they do make me laugh sometimes. I wore a new hat the other day and although I received a few compliments from the kids, the comment I got most often was “What is that on your head?”

I saw Phantom of the Opera, which was awesome – it was a very large stage show and I was seated well back but the view was good and the large screens made up for not being so close to the stage. We had all of the main performers too, which I was ecstatic about – and I finally got to see Anthony Warlow as the Phantom. I would love to buy an Australian Cast recording and a DVD… Tonight is the last night. Next they go to Taipei.

I read a book today, which touched my heart: If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I picked it up a few weeks ago and have been meaning to read it but never had the time. Today I started it and pretty much couldn’t put it down. It is beautifully written and the story will haunt me for a long time to come. I recommend it.

I have been doing a little work on SR and it is getting there slowly. I’m hoping to get some more done tomorrow and then spend a full day writing on the June long weekend.

~Jewel

Had a great weekend – saw Phantom of the Opera yesterday and bought myself an iPhone, which I am writing this from now. It is a lot of fun but I am still learning to use it.

I’ll write more tonight.

Just a brief update… more to come.

Tasmania was absolutely fantastic. We arrived back on the Sunday night and it was straight back to work on Monday. The week passed quickly and last weekend I didn’t post because I was relaxing, attempting to sort through all 1495 of my Tassie photos and also attending the raceday at Morphettville Racecourse to see Takeover Target win. Photos here soon.

This week I read Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce, which was fantastic. I am also becoming quite addicted to Masterchef on Channel 10…

~ Jewel