Happy Monday to you all again. These Monday’s come around so fast, don’t they? Right, got your chai?
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that it’s been another week and a half, what with everything that is going on. When isn’t it, Ritu? I hear you ask… yeah, well, you know what my life is like!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that school has been fun. We still have a few children off, for various reasons, not Coronavirus-linked so far, thankfully… And we were busy on Thursday for World Book Day! If you’ve known me for a while, you know I’ll take any excuse to dress up, and I am lucky enough to have a team who are just as bonkers as me! We were the cast of Little Red Riding Hood for this year! The day was spent with classes from the whole of Key Stage one and our Reception classes, going on a carousel tour around each classroom. As teachers, we had a specific story and activity that each class got to experience. I read Aliens Love Underpants – brilliant story! and the children got to design their own pants, and tell me why they were special!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that I ended up with awful knee pain again on Friday. It could be an effect of geting absolutely soaked in a downpour on Thursday… Yes, I had to attend a meeting in my Little Red Riding Hood outfit, at the end of the day, and needed to get to a different school, which was around twenty minutes drive away, through village roads which were waterlogged by the amount of rain that had been falling. The parking was awful, and I had to walk nearly ten minutes in it to get to the school. Shoes soaked, coat dripping, I sat in the room with my coat haning on a radiator, and shoes off, in the hope that they would dry. The way back home was just as bad. The rain hadn’t relented at all. We nearly got splashed big time by a car who didn’t want to take notice of the pedestrian crossing, then as I drove home, a van approaching from the opposite side didn’t pay heed to a huge puddle and spashed me so badly that I lost vision in the car and nearly lost control of my car! But, I arrived home relatively calm… Still, the knee hasn’t stopped hurting since Thursday evening… Roll on April and my appointment…
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that I got a call on Wednesday to arrange an orthodontic appointment for Lil Princess. I’ve been through this rigmarole already, with Lil Man. He hated every minute, and ended up not wanting the braces in the end. Lil Princess, in contrast, has been waiting for the time the dentist said she was ready for hers! We were told that there would be quite a wait, a couple of months, before getting an appointment, but we were squeezed in on a Saturday instead. Two hours. We were seen late, because they were running late, then there was consultation, x-ray, re-x-ray then final consultation. She definitely needs the braces, but needs a sprink in her mouth first, to realign the tom back teeth, then four extracted, possibly a chain to pull some teeth down, before the actual fixed braces are put in! Three appointments have already been booked… I’m exhausted already! And feeling the pain for her.
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that on Sunday, we went to town to get our hair done, me and Lil Princess, celebrating International Women’s Day in our own way… And town was empty. the weather was mild. Was it people deciding to get out of their houses to do family stuff? Or lots of scared people not wanting to go out because of this COVID-19 virus? I’m not sure, but it was lovely getting in and not having to wait at the hairdressers! But, I was disappointed to hear that because people are scared of the virus, they seem to have been avoiding the nail salons… which are not operated by Chinese people, but mainly Vietnamese folk… yet uneducated folk are steering clear… so sad. Suck it up people.
If we were sipping chai together I’d excitedly tell you that, even though I haven’t been able to write much on Book two… I have received over twenty reviews on Amazon and Goodreads for Marriage Unarranged! I am absolutely thrilled to see the words people have written about my book baby!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that this we have moderation which is sitting with other Reception teachers in our Academy to see how the kids are getting on, and whether we are making similar professional judgements on the children… great fun! (that was sarcastically said…)
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say that I am hoping to get my nails done too this week, let’s hope the virus doesn’t shut everything down!
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been!
Happy Monday to you all! The first week back to school has finished. February is done and dusted and March is here with us already! You got your drink ready?
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that it’s been another tiring one for various reasons. First off, we are back at school. Some of the children were still unwell from before the week’s break, so you can see that there are some pretty awful bugs around, coronavirus apart. And as we haven’t had a decent cold snap to kill off some of the bugs, they just keep spreading. As you know, we had our lovely break to London, Canary Wharf, to be precise, last weekend. Well, mid week, Hubby Dearest heard on the news that three companies in Canary Wharf had sent employees home because someone had been away, and was unwell, being tested for the virus. Obviously, it sets off worries. We were there, and in London the whole weekend. But then I think to myself, unless we have been issued with a warning, we should take the relevant precautions and continue with our lives, am I right? Then on Thursday morning, I woke up with a horrible sore throat which developed into a running-like-a-tap-with-an-old-washer nose. I was not well. Not knowing what lurgy I had contracted, I dosed up and soldiered on for the day, leaving early for a rest. The next day, I really couldn’t be off. It was our class photo day. I had to be there! I’m not usually a make up at work person, but I had to add a bit of something to me Rudolph-esque nose as it would have shone like a beacon! Another day of just about getting by, then I dashed home as soon as I had tidied the classroom for a rest.
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I have another new child who started in our class as well. Growler is still settling, but doing better, and the new child is a lovely, smiley one who is quiet, but hopefully he’s happy. Seems to have settled in well, to be honest.
If we were sipping chai together I’d have to mention something that really tugged at the heartstrings this week. One of the children who left our class to move to a different town had been with me since nursery. I was gutted that she left; an EAL child who was blossoming. But I couldn’t kidnap her and keep her… Still, last week, one of the ladies from the school office came to find me in our planning room, and this child’s mother had popped in with a little something for me. I have to admit to a slight moistening of the eyes. It is now framed and on my desk!
If we were sipping chai together I’d remember another funny school moment. Bunchems. Have you heard of them/encountered them? They are little balls with hooks and eyes on them that stick together, that can be built into whatever a child imagines. Now, we have a wonderful child in our class with the most amazingly textured hair. I have never seen anything like it. It is like a natural crimp, but not… but that makes no sense whatsoever! Still, we joked that the Bunchems would stick in his hair, so he tried one out. Yup, it stuck. I commented that we both had hair that Bunchems would like. A moment later, he came over to me with a pair of Bunchems ‘clips’. Placing on one either side of my head, he said, “Here, Mrs Bhathal, I made these for you!” It triggered a whole load of children making ‘clips’ for me, and one of my colleagues… a pretty effect, but it was absolute hell getting them out after!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you I have been trying hard to stick to the Noom plan, and even with my feeling unwell, I still cooked to make sure I was eating well… but that went to pot on the weekend, when I took Lil Princess with me to Covent Garden, in London for a surprise birthday luch held for a cousin sister-in-law of mine. We ended up eating plenty, then took a detour to the market where we left with bags from Ben’s Cookies, Godiva Chocolatier and Venchi… But, it was worth it! A lovely day out, and yummy treats to munch on at home after!
If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that I had an opticians appointment. I was convinced I’d leave with glasses of some sorts, as it has been over ten years since my laser eye surgery, and all the screen work and reading must have taken its toll, but no, I am all good to go still! Just dryness which can be combatted with eyedrops. (Another little side effect of the laser…)
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I haven’t done any writing though, and I feel really bad about it. But I haven’t been well. I just couldn’t make myself. But I am working on Book Two, I promise! But here’s a T-shirt I bought myself that suits the mood…
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that this week it’s WORLD BOOK DAY on Thursday, so there will be a little dressing up happening! Photos to follow!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say that I don’t think there is anything else I have to plan for this week… outside of normal life… for a change! I might just get some writing done!
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been!
Happy Monday to you all! But, where did that week go? I wish I could tell you I spent the whole time relaxing, but that would be a lie, and a very not ‘Ritu’ thing to do. I did manage a Chai though! Where’s yours?
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that aside from picking up a few bits I needed for my classroom, and meeting up with my dear team teach for a coffee (or chai, in my case), I thought of nothing school related whatsoever! I had thought I might pop in to school at some point, then decided against it. Best idea ever!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that there was still a lot going on, all week. We started with dentist appointments on Monday morning, where Lil Princess was over the moon to be told she needs to be referred for braces (strange child!), Lil Man was told off for not brushing his gums properly, and I exited with a huge smile as I got a clean bill, and a ‘well done’ for amazing brushing from the dentist. I know it’s silly, but it makes me happy, being a dentist’s daughter, and all that!
If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that on Monday evening, Lil Princess and I took at trip to Maidstone with my Father-in-law for him to attend his official citizenship ceremony! He’s been in this country for over 45 years, and has residency, but never took up the citizenship as it was easier to travel to and from India on his Indian passport. Still, now he decided to go for it, and we were invited to a very official ceremony, where he had to utter an oath, and got a certificate and photo from some Vice chairman of something, and Brigadeer something or other… and he got jam. I kid you not. That was the gift all new citizens were given. A special pot of Kentish jam! Still, A lovely experience!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that on Tuesday, I embraced my inner writer, and knuckled down to write. I have been pretty good this week, actually. Apart from yesterday, Sunday, where I was too tired, I have written something every day, from 200 to 1500 words. That means book two is coming along very nicely, thank you very much! And I hope to keep the daily writing up too, so you don’t have to wait twenty years for the sequel!
If we were sipping chai together I’d also mention that I was a little tense as I had to get my car serviced and MOT’d before Thursday. I knew the car is fine, but it is always a stress, until you have that little piece of paper in your hand saying the car is safe for another year!
If we were sipping chai together I’d admit that I decided to try another healthy eating kick. I signed up to the two week trial of Noom, which is a system to help change your mindset with regards to lifestyle, exercise and eating. I love getting creative with food, and it was interesting to try and manage my eating on our weekend away! (Oh, and I even managed cake on Lil Princess’s birthday!)
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I won a book as well, from a Twitter giveaway! Always a bonus!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I am now the mother of a twelve year old girl… Yes, Lil Princess had her birthday. We spent it shopping at Bluewater and having lunch, as well as having CAKE in the evening!
If we were sipping chai together I’d be excited to share that we managed our weekend away too! Hubby Dearest booked a beautiful three bedroom apartment at a bargain price in Canary Wharf, so off we trotted! We had dinner at The Big Easy, spent a whole day walking the length and breadth of Oxford Street then dinner in Leicester Square at TGI Friday’s topped off by generally fantastic quality time with the family!
rpt
bsh
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I took the opportunity to take my book baby on a tour of certaim parts of London too! I got some funny looks from my kids and Hubby Dearest, but why not! But what a great way to celebrate the fact that I have sold at least 100 copies of the book in two weeks!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that this week it’s back to school. I’ll try not to get too tired, but also want to squeeze writing time in daily too, as well as a little exercise. I am going to try, anyway!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say that though the immediate family birthdays are now done until May, I am taking Lil Princess to London again on Saturday to attend a surprise lunch for one of my dear cousin sister-in-laws. Her daughters have arranged a special meal… should be fun!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that I also have an eye appointment on Sunday… think it might be time for specs for screen at least now. The lazer surgery has lasted well, over 10 years actually, and it may just be time to embrace age…
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been!
Happy Monday to you all! Boy, am I glad it’s this particular Monday… Finally, half term break is here! Right, where’s that Chai?
If we were sipping chai together I’d repeat the comment above. Boy, am I glad that it is half term! The exhaustion has fully kicked in. I have been falling asleep far too early every night, dragging myself out of bed in the mornings, and the knees… yup, the pains are back. Actually, typing this, I can feel a twinge in my little finger too… Here’s hoping a break from school will help me out a bit.
If we were sipping chai together I’d sigh and say, it won’t be much of a break, but I’ll go into that later!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that the week at school has been the usual craziness, but muted. Why? Because there has been some crazy virus that hit our Reception classes, and instead of 29 children, I have had a varying number, the most being 23, the least 18, all week! There was tonsillitus, sickness bugs, extreme high temperatures, headaches, coughs… what to do? As long as they didn’t give it to us, and use the break to get properly better! But as I said, it has been very quiet. We have had a lot of quality time with the children that were in, so that was lovely, but I do miss seeing their smiling faces! I had a great time this week, roleplaying through storytelling. We were looking at international traditional tales, and were doing Aboriginal dot art. This sparked a bit of atmosphere, where we had a camp fire on the TV, the lights off, and aboriginal music playing in the back ground. We decided to read an Anansi tale, because the artwork in the book was quite apt. And as I went to read the story I decided to change my persona. I was no longer Mrs Bhathal, but Sheila the Storyteller! It was so funny – I was reading in an Aussie accent, then it clicked that Anansi is a Caribbean tale, so whilst reading the narration, I was Aussie, but I had to switch to something more Caribbean for the speaking parts. The other adults in the room were in stitches! And the icing on the cake was one of the children totally soaking in my silliness, and referring to me as Sheila as I asked questions! Because it was enjoyed so much, we decided that Sheila needed to come back on Friday, and this time, thanks to a dear colleague, I even had one of the cork hats! We read There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly first, then Mrs Bhathal disappeared and Sheila turned up with her own book, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Mozzie! And this time the story was told to both Reception classes! It was such a giggle!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that the Blog Tour came to an end on Wednesday, with some wonderful posts by all the hosts, and I have shifted 88 copies of my book in total. Wow! And I have amassed a few reviews on Amazon and Goodreads too! I am humbled by the words people have used to describe my words and story. They really like it! And my dear brother is on call for if anyone approaches me regarding movie rights! (He’s thinking ahead, I think. It’s good to have someone with that much faith in you!) I recieved
If we were sipping chai together I’d excitedly tell you that I have even designed my own media kit to go with the book, and I had them printed out… Check these beauties out!
If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that a while after I had my poetry anthology published, I discovered that you could get book cover lockets made with whichever cover you wanted. This was my little memento for that special day. So it stood to reason that I needed the same for this book of mine… what do you think?
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that a couple of other pretty lovely things happened as well this week. Firstly, I was featured on Instagram with a little quote from me.
If we were sipping chai together I’d try and contain myself before telling you the BIGGIE. I was approached by London radio station, TalkRADIO, to be interviewed by them next month! And, even better, the other person on the show will be Amanda Prowse, one of my favourite authors, and inspirations! I am totally gobsmacked, and I’ll be sure to tell you all when and where you can listen, when I get all the details!
If we were sipping chai together I’d have to mention that other day../ Valentine’s Day too. We had plan. A dinner out on the Friday, or Saturday, but health took that decision out of our hands. Hubby Dearest had the worst cold so we spent the evening on the sofa with our Sonu Singh snuggled up between us! Still, it was a lovely evening, sniffles and all!
If we were sipping chai together I couldn’t forget to mention the storms. Hot on the heels of Storm Ciara from last week, we had Storm Dennis come to visit. He was full of wind and hard rain. And he caused my car service to get delayed too… It meant that the whole weekend was spent inside, which I loved, as I read plenty, and I got back into writing for book two! Hubby Dearest used the time to recuperate, barely leaving the bed, and Lil Princess loved lazing about. Of course Lil Man was bouncing off the walls. He hates being stuck inside! Still, we survived!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that this week will be filled with car services and MOT tests, dentist appointments, Lil Princess’s birthday, and a possible trip away for the weekend! I will try to get a bit of writing in there too!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say that I promise to make time for me as well. I need to get some relaxation in, somehow!
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been!
Happy Monday to you all! I’m quite tempted to swap my chai for something stronger today… in a good way, but let’s not let my BOOK RELEASE totally take over this post, just yet!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that this week that tiredness has not got any better. I have been wanting to leave school earlier and earlier every evening, and falling asleep much sooner than usual… oh, and the knee pains seem to have started up again, mildly, but nevertheless, there, since Saturday… 😢Roll on April and that appointment.
If we were sipping chai together I’d mention my dear class. Well, my little screamer has been a bit calmer this week, or the three days that she was in, anyway. It seems to have helped, having her mum in for a short while, but that is not a long term solution… so lets see what happens this week. I have to get prepared for a new child as well now, as I had one more space, so the Monday after half term, we should be welcoming a new boy. Here’s hoping he fits in with my beauts, beautifully!
If we were sipping chai together I’d have to say that birthdays galore have been celebrated in the family this past week. We started with my Bro-in-law on Monday, then it was Hubby Dearest and Mum-in-law’s on Saturday. We had a big family meal out on Saturday evening, which was really lovely. It’s been a while since we all went out together. And there was cake too. There has to be cake, doesn’t there? I am not complaining at all!
If we were sipping chai together I’d now have to go into that thing that was happening… but first, I’d have to update you on the Cover Wars result. I canvassed for votes, and tried very hard, and we came second! To be honest, it was strange, but every 3-4 votes I got, there would be 10 more for the first place winner… The kids were convinced there was a bot at work! See, they are truly Team Mum! In fact, Lil Man even offered to get a friend of his to hack the site! Er, thanks, but no thanks, son! I would never want to win by cheating! Still, second the best, isn’t that what then say? 😉 The final vote scores for mine was over a thousand votes, so I’m not complaining! Thank you for voting, if you did!
If we were sipping chai together I’d now take a deep breath and say I’M A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!!!!!! Yes, finally, after all these years, my book came out yesterday! The blog tour has been amazing. I have been blown away by the posts, reviews and comments that have been being left so far. I am touched by all your support…. Can’t wait to get my first proper copy in my hand!
If we were sipping chai together I’d jump up and down and tell you that there has even been reviews on Amazon… well, as I type this, one 5-star review there, and at least 4 on Goodreads! I have been contacted by people who had the book delivered onto their kindle, from pre-orders, and they have been sending positive messages about what they have read so far. It is just so overwhelming! I can’t believe that finally, after all this time, you guys are able to read my book!!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that there are a few more days of the blog tour to go, and I just need to keep the book in the eyes of the prospective readers there. The feedback I have had so far is that there NEEDS to be a book two… so I really need to get myself organised to write again!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say that I am definitely going to be crawling to Friday when it is not only Valentine’s day, but also the end of this term, and a week off. Boy, do I need it!!!!
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been!
But I Smile Anyway... 