2013 - Update

Hello 2013! I am here, honest but I have had a bit of a busy start to the year.  Regular Scheduling should resume, but I thought I would start with an update of my absence.

My next OU Psychology course started yesterday,( DD307 : Social Psychology) which looks to be really interesting, and it is my first level 3 course so I am scared to death looking forwards to the increased pressures that go a long with that..... 
However I did realize over the Christmas break that I have exactly half the points needed towards my degree, which is an achievement that I am proud of and will hopefully keep me motivated.  Distance learning is a tough cookie to crack, but in my opinion it is well worth it.

Also I start volunteering this year and as part of that I got to go to the  Us Girls Conference which was amazing and inspirational and also quite fun.

Just Me and Gemma hanging out with a couple of Olympic Athletes...as you do.....!!!

Me and Gemma .... working hard....

This was a completely new experience for me as I was very young when I had my daughter so my only work experience is waitressing.  I was completely out of my comfort zone but surrounded by a lot of very inspirational women and am eager now to get started on UsGirls Chorley and am hopeful that we will be able to put some of the knowledge we gleamed to good use.

After the conference and before I started preparing for the course, I was whisked off to sunny Scotland for a long weekend with "The Hubby" and "The Boys" for a Ski Holiday.  As it turned out we had a good Scottish Holiday with a couple of runs on the mountains. Ironically the kids, who were being looked after at home by Nanny, had more snow that we did. It was the first time I had ever been to Scotland and hopefully it won't be the last as it was absolutely gorgeous. Even the drive up was lovely!

The beautiful Scottish Highlands

It's a bit nippy!

At the bottom of Glencoe Mountain

The Boys on the way back down Glencoe Mountain

I hope you have all had a good start to the new year and I will be trying to turn my attentions to something craft related.

Exam Week

Child Development ( ED209 course at the OU) has been  fascinating, to me anyway, but I am so glad to have a couple of months break before my next module!!!
I am a bit of a freak that actually enjoys writing essays, but really struggle in exams, and two hours into the 3 hour exam on Tuesday my brain just stopped working. I think it went on strike.  However I am very proud of my first essay, and you can tell towards the end that I have lost focus, as the last essay was barely strung together and probably doesn't make much sense to anyone. So I am going to write this piece of advice here partly so that I remember next time I do an exam and also for anyone else sitting exams in the near future.
DO THE ESSAY PLANS FOR ALL QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU WRITE ANYTHING ELSE. 
This way names/studies/information will still be fresh in your head. 

Me looking very stressed before the exam

Anyway, I have a couple of months break so hopefully images like the above won't be a sight in my house until February.  I can take all the mind maps off the wall and hide the books in a dark room.  

Me not stressed out!!

Strangely enough it has been quite nice this week, we have had some nice bright Autumnal days and I think I might deserve to relax a little so I am going to make the most of it while it lasts.

Also now the Exam is done, I will have more crafty posts coming soon! YAY!

Assignments and Threads

I have been quietly beavering away at the moment. I have my first TMA (tutor marked assessment) due in next week which although I have prepared for is not even near written yet. And although I freak out about these every time I actually quite enjoy writing them. I know I'm weird but I have always enjoyed essay writing. I just don't like the fact that someone is going to read and mark them. Unfortunately I don't think they can just take my word for it that I have written an essay that explains all the elements of the argument succinctly and informatively...no I can't see them taking to that one.

However I have still managed to find time to do a bit of cross stitch on my Charity Quilt Block where I have very frustratingly just ran out of the top background colour and NOWHERE in town sells DMC threads!  Oh well - looks like a trip to Hobbycraft is in order...what a shame.
However whiles't searching for my threads I happened across the DMC website where you can sign up to the DMC club...where you can get free charts and tips!!Wahoo. So amongst other things I now have ANOTHER outlet for procrastination!!!

ED209 Child Development

For the past couple of years I have been trying to get a degree in Psychology at The Open University and yesterday I received a parcel ...

They are the books for my next course - Child Development.  Although it is a compulsory course for my degree it is one that I would happily take separately anyway. 
 I didn't expect my books to arrive till at least next week, but I am so glad that they have because I like to get a good head start on these things. It's not because I'm particularly geeky (although I am) it's because life has a tendency of throwing c**p at me whenever I have deadlines. 

I may be weird but I really enjoy learning and have been looking forwards to these arriving for quite a while.  However, with this and my two kids (and husband) to look after, there may not be quite so much crafty time for me for the next couple of months....
I'm sure I'll fit some in though ; )
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Pass

In the midst of moving to the other side of the country I have been studying with the OU for the second year recently towards (hopefully) a degree in Psychology.   Exploring Psychology (DSE212) is the first level 2 course on my agenda and although it has been very interesting it is a lot harder than anything I have done before and after a very unnerving exam a few months ago ..... I passed! Wahoo! Good luck to any other DSE212'ers out there with the results and with the rest of your studies.

Exam

Tomorrow I will complete DSE212 along with hundreds of other stressed out psychology students by sitting a three hour exam!
I have been grouchy and stressed and my husband deserves a medal for putting up with me , giving me simple things like a lie in, cooking for me and generally being supportive (even if it does fall on deaf ears) today I will be completing my 'mind maps' and tomorrow hopefully I will surprise myself by actually knowing some of it!So I would like to say good luck to anyone else out there freaking out about the exam but it will soon be over with!

Revision...

My final assignment for my current course has been submitted!  This would bring a sigh of relief if it weren't for the fact that I have a three hour exam next month : (
I hate exams. Give me an essay to write any day - as much as I bitch and moan about it, I do actually enjoy writing, and psychology is a very interesting subject to write about in my humble opinion.  Exams on the other hand, give me nightmares.  So I will be revising and working on some relaxation techniques for the exam ... oh dear

Report Writing

I have been interested in Psychology for as long as I can remember, I think people are fascinating.  After doing it at A level my original plan was to do a joint degree in psychology and drama and become a drama-therapist.  However my gorgeous man and gorgeous babies came instead so my plans changed a little. For the better - I would not swap the three of them for a lottery double roll over jackpot! But about a year ago I realised that the plans can still be there, just altered a little. So I decided to do a Psychology degree from home with the OU.  It involved a lot of self control doing this kind of thing at home because you don't have anybody to nudge you in the right direction all of the time or to make sure you are actually reading everything, but I sorely missed 'proper' learning and luckily have enjoyed it.  My last assignment was to do my own study (I will point out that we were given a pretty detailed run down of what this study would be, so to call it my own would be a tad optimistic) but I carried out a bit of my own research which is what I would love to do some day and wrote a report on it as if you were doing it for real.  This daunted me quite a lot - I enjoy writing essays and kind of know what I am doing.  But this was a different kettle of fish altogether so I have been nervously checking for the results and had prepared myself for my lowest mark yet to find that it is quite the opposite and is now the highest mark I have got! 88 !!! Squee! Very happy bunny!