13 in 13 and Currently 2014

So I'm being a bit 'cheeky' as they might say here in Jolly Ol' England and linking up twice. I have been wanting to link up with the 13 in 13 for the past week, but life kinda got in the way... and I will also be linking up with Farley for her January currently.

I'm unfortunately the type of person that always has the TV on in the background. Lucky for me though, Sherlock has just been on and I missed it soooo much.
Netflix has been a saviour for this break. I've nearly finished watching 4 seasons (I know I am useless) of 'The League' (hilarious) and Season 7 of The Office.
I'm thinking that it is nearly Thursday and I have done a total of 0 hours of planning these past two weeks. Whoops!
Like every other person I want more time and money would not go amiss. It's not necessarily that I am greedy, it's just that it costs A LOT of money to fly from London to LA and I'm really missing the friends and family. Time would be great so that I could maybe do that planning I had mentioned.
I am needing motivation...please refer to previous...
The only thing I could think of for tradition is 3 King's Day. My father is Puerto Rican and my sister and I were lucky enough to celebrate 3 King's Day on January 6th. We would put grass and water under our beds, to feed to camels on their journey, and in return we would get a present. After the excitement of Christmas, this holiday was greatly anticipated and it was also extra special as we were the only children we knew that celebrated.

So here is my attempt:

1

2013 started off with me turning 30. I don't mind being 30, I just have a hard time believing I'm a 'responsible' adult.

2

I finished my first year of teaching year 3 and finally (after 3 years) qualified 'officially' as a teacher here in England. Although I had been teaching, I was considered an unqualified instructor and had to do my time with the English school system. I loved my class and was really sad to say goodbye to them. 

On our last field trip, children dressed up as WWII evacuees and got to experience what life was like.

3

I attempted to become more cultured this year and got a National Trust pass for the year, aka, an 'old person membership'. This meant we could go to different stately homes an parks in the UK for the year. During spring break we went to Warwickshire and ventured into Stratford-upon-Avon. We even went to the Globe theatre and saw Hamlet. 

It has been a great way to learn more about English history as well. We took a trip to Sutton Hoo, where huge Anglo-Saxon burial mounds were discovered.

A few weeks ago we went to Felbrigg Hall and were able to take part in a 'Christmas during Wartime'. It was great to see the volunteers dressed up and how the war effected Christmas.

4

So for the 15 or so people that may have come across my blog, you may know the biggest event of 2013 was my wedding! I literally had the best day EVER! I was married in a medieval barn, had a BBQ dinner, and a ukulele band play for us.

5

A week after we were married the hubby was having to furiously finish off his masters dissertation. (He passed!) We had a small delay and went on honeymoon to Sri Lanka at the end of August. It was an amazing place, full of colour, delicious food, kind people and relaxation. 

6

Since the jam-packed summer of festivities, coming back to school was HARD! I was luck enough to be moved up to Year 4, which meant I was able to see my lovelies from the previous year again. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the same children and feel like I know them and their abilities. My class is a mixture of children I taught last year and some from the other class and it's been nice getting to know these other children better this year.

8

This year I was made the head of Religious Education (RE) for our school. It has been really interesting teaching RE, especially as I was raised on the California public school system. The thinking here in England is that children should be exposed to different religions, which will lead to acceptance and understanding. I have an itsy bitsy understanding of Christianity, but Sikhism, Hinduism and other world views are completely new to me. I have really enjoyed learning as I teach and the children really love learning about these unique religions. *According to the 2011 census, the area I teach/live in was the 'ungodliest' area of England, meaning we had the least amount of people that identified as having a religion.

7

In October, the hubby and I, as well as our close friends, decided to take a mini-break to Berlin. I have been before, but the husband and friends hadn't. It is such an amazing city and the history is incredible. 

Was so excited to see an original version of Settlers of Catan

8

As I mentioned before, my husband was busy finishing his masters this year, between working full time, being head of maths and the wedding. He found out he passed at the end of November! Hurray, he now is really qualified as a teacher.

9

So I'll be honest, I am really struggling to think of 13 things, hence why I was so delayed in joining the linky. My last for the 13 of 13 (which in my case, is actually 9) will be to mention the ridiculousness of Christmas shopping this year. I actually decided to get a bit of a head start and ordered items online...in fact all my Christmas shopping was done online. I was done by the 2nd week of December! That Amazon app for my phone is both a blessing and the devil, two clicks and I have ordered something.

If you've managed to stick around this long, well done!

Cheers!