Hobby Thursday!

Last week I finally managed to start my new French course.  At the end of the last course, before Christmas I have to admit that I had become a little lazy and with different visits and Christmas themed events, I missed a fair few lessons.  I was therefore especially disappointed when being of sick with a virus a few weeks ago coincided with the first week of the new course followed by a visit from my best friend and her husband the week after.  So last week, I finally bit the bullet and got back in there.

I have to admit that despite being a teacher, I find the whole pupil experience tense still.  I really want to work on my French and get my exams done next year but I hate speaking in front of the class.  It was especially embarrassing last week when faced with a basic French grammar question, my mind went blank.  It also distracts me a little that some (i.e. everyone else there) have a much better accent and quicker recall.  I'm trying to keep in mind that for most of them this is their main foreign language while for me it's my third and I'm learning it through a foreign language - any tough questions are answered in German, not English.  Let's just say that along with my brain training, this has to be doing wonders for my grey matter!

I've also found it tough dragging myself out of the flat for an evening class for two reasons.  One has been the dark and miserable evenings throughout winter but I have to admit that, despite a slight cooling off in the weather this week, Spring is definitely here.  We took a walk along the Werder Lake again this weekend and it always makes be notice the passing of the seasons when we are there.  First there was Autumn and the brown leaves, then Winter with the ice and feeding the ducks and now, everything has thawed again, the crocuses and snowdrops are appearing and the wildlife is everywhere - along with the runners and cyclists.  The second reason to stay in is my wonderful boyfriend.  It's so much nicer, cooking together or watching a film all snuggled up but today he has decided to return to his martial arts class that he hasn't been to for a while, which means we are both spending time doing something we enjoy for ourselves, and this makes us happier when we are together and gives us more to talk about.  So I am renaming the day - Hobby Thursday, looking forward to my French class and a lovely meal with my wonderful man afterwards!

Happy Hobby Thursday!  And a Happy St Patrick's Day!

The Saturday Update

I have to admit I'm a little disappointed this morning.  I knew I hadn't had an excellent week but I didn't think I had gone over my points allowance yet I have put on half a pound!  I'm going to have to be completely strict with myself this week and my big target is to up my exercise level.  Having gained 8 points on the pedometer last week, I haven't made it beyond healthy a single day this week. 

For some reason I was wide awake at 7.30 this morning, I nearly had a fit when I saw the clock but it has made it a good start to the day, a nice relaxing breakfast with Weetabix and strawberries and lots of coffee.  I also have a nice Moroccan salad planned for lunch and I'll also be making some WW desserts for this evening.

It's been a quiet week on the whole but the big news was the arrival of a new Briggs, beautiful little Eleanor - congratulations Kasia and Nigel!

I also made it back to French class this week which was a bit daunting after three months off but I'm glad I'll be getting back into the swing of it and challenging my brain again for one evening per week.

Money Problems...

I've made an interesting discovery over the last month about how German companies like to receive money.  You'd think that they didn't mind as long as they were being paid and that they would make it as easy as possible for their customers to pay but it's not so.

First of all, we took a Saturday evening walk in the rain a few weeks ago to buy stamps at the machine and send some cards back to England.  The grand total to pay was 3.85 Euros.  I thought I would use this great opportunity to lighten my purse and get rid of some coinage.  No sooner had I started slotting the coins in than a little message popped up - you have reached our fifteen coin limit!  We took all the coins out and started again, this time carefully trying to make sure that the largest coins went in first.  Alas, the message appeared again and, no joke, we had reached the grand total of 3.84 Euros with our fifteen coins.  A much more careful third time turned out to be lucky and we finally got our stamps and headed home to dry off and warm up.

Having made this discovery, I thought it was just the Post Office that was a little odd, but this week I had another little adventure.  Normally when I travel by tram, I don't have to use the machines as I have a monthly ticket that I pay through my wage, however, with Hayley and Si's visit this week I had to use them again.  In buying two day tickets, the total reached a little over 12 Euros.  I didn't have many coins (having used most of them in the stamp machine) so I tried to insert two five Euro notes...but no, this time the tram company has decided that you can only use one note per transaction.  Had I not had a 20 Euro note, I would have been a lot more annoyed by this. 

What is it with German companies and limits on what type of money they accept?!

The Saturday Update

Well, as expected I put on over the last fortnight.  However, it was not as bad as expected - just 2.5lb.  This week I managed to make it eight points on the pedometer thanks to Hayley and Si's visit and showing them the sights of Bremen!  And I am well and truly back on track with the Weightwatchers recipes.  It was spicy meatballs with fruity couscous last night and a nice beef Sunday dinner today.  Can't wait!

It was a busy week.  I was finally over my virus and back on work on Tuesday which turned out to be a long day at work with the kids doing exams and then a full staff meeting running on until after five in the afternoon.  Hayley and Si arrived on Thursday and we had a delicious Thai meal in the city that evening.  On Friday we did some sightseeing and shopping in town before heading to Viertel for drinks after dinner in the flat on Friday evening.  Photos to follow soon.

Latest News

Well, since my last up date we are both feeling much better.  Unfortunately the kiss ban was extended a little longer than expected but he is very pleased now that he has his favourite way to shut me up back! - charming! 

I'm back at work, although probably sooner than I should have been.  It's going ok (touch wood).  And this week we are looking forward to a visit from Hayley and Si.  I'm really looking forward to it.  It's been a long two months since we were at home and it will be nice to see some familiar faces again. 

However, this does mean eating out and some heavy drinking before weigh in on Saturday which I'm already dreading after being ill...we'll see.

Save all your kisses for... Sunday

As I mentioned, the last three days have been spent in bed on doctors orders.  We both woke up ill on Thursday and headed to the doctor in search of a sicknote on Friday when we were still no better.  My appointment was as expected - I've got a virus, no work til Tuesday, no housework either just bed rest and ibuprofen.  What I was not expecting was that my boyfriend has tonsillitis and as well as time off, bed rest and antibiotics, the doctor gave him... a kissing ban!  No kissing for at least two days until the medication kicks in so that I don't catch it. 

It's amazing what you take for granted.  It's driving us both mad - we had a few near misses already!  If he didn't make it look so painful, I'd take another week off over a two day kissing ban easily.  Looking forward to tomorrow already!

Shooting

Well this week, I finally completed writing my thirty list (if only it was so easy to complete doing it!)  I also crossed something off the list in that I tried shooting last weekend.  My boyfriends family shoot for sport and on Saturday, he took me out in the snowy garden to have a go with an air rifle. 

I have to admit that being a complete wimp, I didn't especially take to it.  It's heavy and took me a long time to see anything through the eyepiece (I thought I must be going blind at one point).  However, as you can see, with my very first shot I scored a six!  Not bad for a first try.  I should mention that this was my first and only shot as I didn't want anyone to realise what a fluke it was!