Little Moments

 This list is slightly different to one of my regular seasonal bucket lists because for the next four months I am focusing solely on my goals of saving money, establishing habits, getting healthy and losing weight. There is still a lot I can do to enjoy the season though without compromising those goals, so that is what I am going to include in this list. This season from autumn to Christmas is my absolute favourite. I love the cooler weather, the cosy vibes, the jumpers and boots, the decorations... Simply everything! All of the exciting things happen in this season, from my birthday to Halloween, followed by my most favourite time of year – Christmas! That's why I really want to live in the season and enjoy the moments. So, on my bucket list this year: 1. Attend Ultimate Power Halloween Special – we booked Ultimate Power last year, but after a particularly tricky week for both of us we decided not to go in honour of an early night. I have waited all year for it to come aro

This month I am focusing on building healthy and consistent habits. I've always wanted to read personal development books; it seems like a good thing to do, but in reality I have found them boring to read and given up. While walking Bear to the Common each morning I've been listening to personal development audiobooks instead which are much more bearable and something I hope to keep up with. Each time I listen to a book, I am going to document my biggest thoughts and takeaways from the book, so I can evaluate what I got from it and hopefully apply it to my life, because I could definitely use all the help I can get! I thought Atomic Habits by James Clear was the perfect book to start with, given that my biggest goal of the month is to build healthy habits. Systems can change your world. Focus on systems over goals – I have always been so focussed on setting goals, but actually it’s the consistent habits that are going to help me achieve my goals, not the goal itself. If

Wow, the first week at school has really taken me out! You would think after doing this job for so many years I'd be prepared for the chaos of the start of a new school year, but I always seem to forget. I forget all the big feelings they experience, the wriggles on the carpet, the inability to put up their hand before speaking and the constant feeling of fighting more fires than I’m able to put out. There have been many points in this past week that the thought has crossed my mind that if somebody was to walk into my classroom at this very moment it would look like a complete shitshow, but the reality is that just is the start of a Reception school year. You are mother, father, toilet attendant, replacement teddy bear, negotiator, personal dresser, speech therapist and so many other things before you are a teacher. It’s hard! It gets better, but the start is HARD! I have been times this week I have genuinely felt like I have just been trying to put out fires and I just didn’t

When I decided to leave China, I did so on a whim, feeling very mentally low and completely over the new Covid lifestyle of Beijing. I didn't have a plan but knew that I wanted to focus on finding myself and feeling well again. When I received an e-mail from a little school in a leafy suburb of London offering me an interview, I thought why the hell not? Since I had no plan, when they offered me the job I jumped at it as it gave me some direction while I found my feet. Upon acceptance, I realised I knew very little about the school but wasn't too worried. In many ways I have completely landed on my feet in that the school is very relaxed, the staff are very lovely, the children are very bright, the parents are very sweet and the workload is incredibly small. In terms of lack of pressure and work-life balance, I have never had it better. For the first time in 13 years, I can honestly say I have never brought work home for the entire year. You might be wondering what my probl

My mam has always wanted to do a tour of Buckingham Palace’s State Rooms, but as they only do tours for several weeks of the year and I was working abroad, I’ve never been in the UK at the right time. As my mam was visiting for my birthday, we decided it was a good opportunity to take the tour. I wasn’t overly excited about it, but it was stunning inside and well worth the ticket price of £30. We started off in the courtyard where the carriage for King Charles’ coronation was displayed. It was beautiful, and I loved that the structure was made up of over 100 historic buildings. Cool little fact! We then walked up the grand staircase, which really was very grand, the headset played royal music which gave me all the feels. I love a bit of patriotism! Every room was so grand, with tall ceilings with stunning architecture and carvings, regal panelling and frames and beautiful red and gold décor. My favourite rooms were the throne room, where Charles and Camilla sat for their coronation

Sometimes life can feel so unfair as a woman, even in the 21st century. There used to be this expectation on women that they would get educated, get a job, get married, have children, and live happily ever after. That expectation has changed, and people can live more freely with less judgement now, but the fact still stands the women will always have our body clock ticking over us and applying those expectations. I know that building my family is something I want to do. I think we would be great parents and the thought of creating memories with our children fills me with excitement. I can't wait to create traditions and of course, create the most magical Christmas experiences. But am I ready for a child now? Probably not! There are so many things I still want to do before having children. I want to have my shit together, I want to spend one more summer travelling the USA, I want to own a home, I want a strong friendship group, I want to just spend a few more years being free with

This week marks the first week of the new school year. Having moved to a new year group and the main school building I was feeling a little apprehensive, but excited too. After six weeks off with very few plans I was very ready to get back into routine and fill my days. Having spent one week in Reception I already know that it was 100% the right decision for me to move year groups. For the first time in a long time, I am really enjoying my job and I'm feeling excited about having my own class, my own space and my own rules. When working in China I spent a lot of time in leadership which was so intense and drained every single ounce of energy I had, and working in a large Nursery team that wasn't quite on the same page as me last year didn't fill me with the excitement I had hoped. I am loving being able to implement my own ideas. Is my workload going to be more? It absolutely is! Is it worth it to enjoy my job? Absolutely! The week began with two INSET days, which alw

London is an incredible and vibrant city and I feel so lucky to live here, and love doing it. There is so much I want to you see, do, experience, and eat so this is my ever-growing list of all things I want to do in this beautiful city, from the tiniest activity the biggest events (mostly discovered on Instagram). This list will be ever changing as I discover new things I want to do and I can't wait to document my London life as I explore more of what the city has to offer. Culture (Museums, Buildings, Art)  Tower of London  Houses of Parliament Tour  Westminster Abbey Tour   Buckingham Palace Tour  Kensington Palace  Hampton Court Palace  Windsor Castle  St Paul’s Cathedral & Dome  Royal Observatory Greenwich  Buddhapadipa Temple  Windsor Castle  Natural History Museum  God’s Own Junkyard  Madame Tussaud’s  Science Museum  Mosaic House  House of Dreams  Twist Museum