Today's plan

The plan for today: clean the apartment, do some work, shower, go meet Andy in town!

I'm so excited about this weekend! Andy hasn't been to Stockholm since August so should be fun! We don't have any plans really, we'll probably stay in town for lunch and maybe some shopping today and tomorrow night we're going for dinner and drinks. <3

Hungover

It was nice to have a night out yesterday! But I feel like crap today :( We went to Vapiano for dinner and then Scandic Malmen for some drinks. I think I had about 3 glasses of wine too much! God....how will I ever recover?

Today was supposed to be a day of studying but so far I've done nothing. Need to start working! And should probably go to the gym too. I just want to sleep! :(

After work with Frida :)

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Back to grey

It's been so sunny and nice out the past two days! Today, I woke up to this. It's still weirdly bright tho, so it's fine. Anything but waking up to total darkness!


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Sunny

It's a sunny day out today! I've just been for a walk with Mikaela.



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Home spa

I decided to do some home-spaing tonight. Just had a bath and used a lavender bath bomb. I love those things! Best thing is to let the skin dry naturally after, that way you get an oily layer on the skin which makes it smooth.

After the bath I put these amazing socks on! I got them from my sisters boyfriend for Xmas. They've got some sort of gel in them that makes the feet so smooth! They're really amazing!






Lol, and yes I've got a pair of amazing leopard pajamas on too!

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Just a random post about nothing

For some reason I'm not as efficiant during weekends as I am during weekdays. No matter how hard I try to get up early, a part of me thinks "It's weekend! I shouldn't have to get up early", which is fair enough really! Today I've started studying for my history exam which is in a month. I have to start early since I've got other courses to do at the same time. It's a lot of work but it's interesting reading!

I kind of feel like doing something today but I've also realized that Andy's coming for a visit Thurs-Sun (yayyy!) next week. This means I'll lose half a weeks study time. So I'll have to keep busy until then! Mikaela's coming home tonight too so maybe we'll just have a couple of glasses of wine later.

I feel so much better today by the way! I had a good night's sleep and woke up to a sunny day! Not that I've been out much, I just went to the supermarket. But still, there's just something about sunshine!

My plan for tomorrow is more history studies, some actual work-work and maye start reading in my new ethics coursebooks. Oh, and a visit to the gym I think! I've been really good this week, it'll be the fourth time! I guess I'll have to go a few times in the beginning of next week too as Andy is coming and I don't want to be going to the gym then. I can't wait for him to come by the way!!

Meltdown

A total frickin meltdown is what I've had today! I woke up and started the day by arguing with Andy about....well basically nothing. I then had a hard time getting out of bed, once I did, I couldn't get anything done during the whole day! I just sat here resenting and hating my boring life that consists of nothing but uni work and work-work right now.

I have been expecting this tho. I know exactly what I've done wrong this week and I even blogged about it in the beginning of the week: I-S-O-L-A-T-I-O-N. It drives me crazy! All I've done this week is work, mostly from home. I went to uni two days but didn't really socialize with people as I was sitting in the library. Mikaela's been at her parents. It was a recipy for disaster to begin with! I've sometimes felt this way when I've been working the night shift at the hotel for a solid week. Because of the hours you rarely see your friends and family which just makes you depressed!

I eventually managed to drag myself to the gym where I reluctantly ran 5k. After that I went to my mum's for dinner and stayed there for a while.Then I went back home and skyped with Andy, we resolved our issues and I feel so much better now! From now on, I will still spend loads of time studying and working, but I will also make sure to take some time off so I can hang out with friends and family.

I'm really looking forward to Mikaela coming back tomorrow! I'm just not as healthy and as awesome when she's not here!

My second home

Still at uni. Had a seminar 1-4 and decided to stay and work-work after.


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Have I mentioned I've got the best boyfriend in the world?!

Kings of Leon, and on my actual birthday!!! :D


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Grading

I've been thinking several times today that I should write a blog post. Then I realize that I have absolutely nothing to write about at the moment. My life is dull! I don't mind it though, I'm happy being boring Ana for a while!

Today I finished my paper and met the deadline with two hours to spare! Yayyyy! After that I went to the gym and then did some actual work-work. This new job I've got, grading papers and other student work online, is actually really fun! But it is challenging too. The syllabuses (or syllabi, I just googled to make sure but both are accepted, lol yes I'm a grammar nerd) are so hard to interpret! Here's an example of the requirements of each grade:

E- the wrtten text should be relatively varied, clear and relatively structured.
C- the written text should be varied, clear, and structured.
A- the written text should be varied, nuanced, clear and structured.

This is just a part of the syllabus for English 6, I won't bore you with the whole thing. Can you see my point though? The difference between an E and a C is the that the word relatively dissapears, the difference between a C and an A is that the word nuanced is added. Then there are also the grades D and B in the middle. To get a D the student has to meet the requirements of an E and most of the requirements of a C. To get a B the student has to meet the requirements of a C and most of the requirements of an A.
So, for a new teacher, this is hard! There is so much room for interpretation in the syllabus, I guess that's why all teachers grade differently. I do feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it though, the more papers/student work I grade the easier it will get! Can't wait to be awesome at this!

Isolation

I'm glad I went to uni today even if I didn't get a chance to meet up with Mia, at least it meant I got to see some people! Being a student can sometimes be lonely. Like this week I only have a seminar on Thursday and that's it! I've got a deadline on Wednesday so I'm meant to be writing an essay.
Since Mikaela isn't home this week I'm spending most of my time alone. I already started talking to myself today so I know that by Wednesday I'll be a total basket case in need of some human contact!

Normally I would go out and meet friends but I've realized that my life is a lot different now than it was before I moved to England. There are two reasons for this; first of all -money. I'm still suffering financially from my autumn term in London but should be back on my feet next week when the student money comes. But even after that I should be saving as much as I can for the summer. I have no idea when I'll find a job in England so obviously I will need money. The second reason my life is a bit more boring now is that I don't have a lot of free time. Not like before. I'm doing a full term at uni, plus three courses plus a part time job this term. Also I'm trying to work out as much as possible.

It's weird because my life sounds so boring but at the same timme I'm so happy with it! There's just a certain feeling about getting things done and being efficient! Like this day has been the most amazing day ever! I spent 8 hours at uni, came home, went to the gym, had dinner and I'm even finding time to blog now!

Music

I barely listened to any music on the train/underground when I lived in England. I felt like I always had something to read so never listened to music. Now that I'm back here the trip to uni or home is me-time and not study time. I had forgotten how music makes the commute go faster, everything is a bit more amazing with music in your ears :)




Btw Mia had problems with her back today so I've been at uni by myself. I got so much done it's crazy. Almost finished my essay that's due Friday and also did about an hour of grading work. I'm hoping I'll still have energy for the gym when I get back!

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Study date

I've been so lazy this weekend! Feel bad. But then again I guess I should be allowed a weekend off every now and then.

I'm on my way to uni now, I've got a study date with Mia :) We started uni the same time 6 years ago. The teaching programme is 4.5 years but we've both taken a bit longer to finish for different reasons. I took some time off to work and Mia went to Korea to study. Hopefully we'll both get out degrees this summer! Fingers crossed!


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Hangovers suck...

I haven't really been out at all since I moved back home but yesterday I went to Frida and Zakarias' place for his 31st birthday party. It was a really good night! I didn't get home until about 4 am.

The downside of going to a party is the hangover the day after. I'm not really crazy hungover today but I'm tired and just can't seem to get anything done. I haven't even been to the gym like I was going to. I've done a little over an hours work and will try to do a couple more just to get something done.

Mikaela is cat sitting at her parents house for a week. Yesterday when she left I was cleaning the apartment but as soon as I finished that I just spent the rest of the day watching TV and napping on the sofa. I get lazy when I'm alone! It's been so good to have her here cause I think it makes us both work harder. Sometimes I'll sit and do uni work at night while she has online courses and Spanish lessons to do.

I need to make sure I keep working as hard as I have been next week! I'm meeting Mia at Uni for a day of studyng tomorrow so that's good. Then I'm off Tuesday and Wednesday but I've got an essay deadline on Wednesday so need to do some writing.

Oh yeah, Happy Valentine's day!!

Andy and I celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday when I was there. We had such a nice day! We went for a walk in Ashridge woods during the day, we saw some deer and also a pig-deer as we decided to label it, lol! After some googeling we are pretty sure it was a baby wild hog that we saw, apparently there are wild hogs in those woods.

In the evening we went out for dinner in this Italian restaurant and then out for a few drinks. It was such a nice day!



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A whole day of uni

Today I've had uni from 11-15.30. Decided to stay here to do some more uni work. I've missed Stockholm uni! :)


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Busy day!

What a day I've had today! I slept way too little and got up at 6, had teacher training until two, then went to my new work place to learn the online system for grading, came home about 6.30 and did some uni work, now I'm going to the gym, then having dinner and hopefully I'll still manage to get an early night after that! Guess it's time to get used to the type of life I'm going to have this semester =)

Goodbye

The worst part of being in a long distance relationship is having to say goodbye so often. I just came home after spending five nights in England. It is so great to visit Andy and I guess I should be grateful that we can actually see each other so often. It's just so hard to have to say goodbye each time. :(

Back to normal life

Last time I blogged I was freaking out over things.  had just got back to Stockholm and everything felt weird!

Now, everything's alright! In fact, things are better than alright! Uni's going well, teacher training is going well, I've started working out and even the living situation with Mikaela is working so much better than I thought!

I'm doing my first course of the term at uni and it involves some teacher training. So, last week I held a couple of lessons and I've got a couple more this week. The teacher was ill last Thursday so I actually got to cover for him, and get paid! Sometimes teaching in front of him freaks me out, it is such a stressful situation to have someone observe and evaluate you as you teach. But now that I got to do it on my own I was fine! I was more than fine, I loved it! So I'm no longer freaking out about teaching that much.

The extra courses I'm doing this term haven't started yet. I've got one exam in March, an essay due in June and another essay that I haven't received guidelines for yet. Me graduating in the summer depends on me being able to finish all these extra courses before that. Hopefully it can be done! I'm pretty sure it can.

I had chosen not to work this semester but I just got a part time job offer that was too amazing to turn down. It's correcting English assignments online one day a week. The best thing about it is that it can be done from anywhere! They might also need someone to teach lessons sometimes so it's a really good way to make extra money, and also a good way to get some teaching experience!
Also, the school where I'm doing my teacher training asked me if I could work as a substitute teacher when they need people. They called me this morning but I'm in England now so couldn't do it.

And then there's the living situation. I'm used to having my own space and I thought it would be a challenge to live with a friend in such a small apartment but it's been fine! Mikaela works every day and sometimes doesn't come home until late. And I will be traveling to England so she'll get her alone time too. If anything it's actually been really good having her there! It's nice to have that little time every night when you get to vent and talk to someone about your day! I think it'll be great living with her :)

When I got back from England I bought a gym card and started working out again. I've been running and doing other stuff at the gym three days a week and I just love it! It's the first time I've ever felt that I can't wait to get to the gym! Another good thing about living with Mikaela is that she's very healthy, which makes me eat healthier too.

I feel like everything I'm doing right now (trying to get my degree, working to make extra money, saving money by living with Mikaela etc) is preparation for the move to England and I think that's why I'm happy with things. Even being away from Andy isn't that bad cos I know I'll get to live there soon. So, all in all, I'm very happy with my live right now!