22 Foxhole East

Suffolksue

Think the UCAS forms have to be in v soon ,My DGD has a couple of offers already, mind you girls are a different species at this age .She hasn’t applied to anywhere within 100 miles Agree shame about the open days ,they’ve all been online .

kerri_gt

Suffolksue said:

Think the UCAS forms have to be in v soon ,My DGD has a couple of offers already, mind you girls are a different species at this age .She hasn’t applied to anywhere within 100 miles Agree shame about the open days ,they’ve all been online .

I applied for London (all relatively close to home) Scotland and Dublin 🤣 
That said neither my UCAS nor my a-levels were academic highlights of mine. I ended up going through clearing but it did make me pull my finger out for my degree.

VintageHistorian

UCAS deadline is 15th January for most universities (Oxbridge being the main exception). 

DS1 could also apply directly through Clearing come August once he sees what his grades are. But obviously there's then no guarantee that he will get his first choice of university! Lots of places are doing online open days and while they're not quite the same as visiting in person, he can still join in with talks through Zoom where he'll get to "meet" a few potential lecturers, and at least get a feel for the course.

f0xh0les

I have just conquered Mt Hotp0int. All those bed sheets did not beat me. The duvets were vanquished! Got some part dry on the line too, but it was a dank day here, so they needed 20 minutes in the dryer each to finish them off. But it is done.

The chocolates should be arriving on Monday, so will wrap and package up with cards and send on to their final destinations on Tuesday. Then it is just the kids and dh to do. Except...

I have just been given my 'draw' for the secret santa, and it is someone I do not really like, I know about 20 people through volunteering, and I can point at 2 of them that I would not even let in my car, let alone my house, and it is one of those people  - they set off my 'axe murderer alarm'  - you know when you find yourself checking where your bag is, and then move it somewhere less obvious, just in case.   So now I am wondering what on earth to gift the woman, I had a few ideas for the ones I work closely with, but I don't even know if this person has kids! No idea of the family size.  No idea what their plans are for Xmas.  Will look for bargains closer to the date for gifting.  Eyes open and not ruling out c/s hunting for something suitable.

Spent far too long this morning working on my lists of things to do, and gift ideas for the kids, and comparing recipes for Xmas puddings, that I have not got much 'off' the lists, and once it is dark the stuff outside cannot be done.  I do love my twinkley lights though!  I am a creature of darkness, I love it.

I have not yet achieved one single NSD, I did my postal survey sending early on this morning, have cleaned a few places, and need to have a wrapping session as dh has been buying stuff and I need to know what he has got already.

kerri_gt

What's the budget for the Secret Santa? You could go generic candle / reed diffuser (not that I don't buy those but I buy them for people i know will appreciate them), or a Pannetone, snuggly throw, stripy jumper and mask or a bag marked SWAG 😉

f0xh0les

  Budget is £5  kerri,  thanks for the suggestions.

f0xh0les

Oh my goodness I am having a fun day so far, even though I was awake half the night with insomnia (peri-menopause) and hot flushes.  Mind was whirring all night long, vivid dreaming when I did get off to sleep, then was woken by errant teenagers wandering around the house.  Then the man next door leaves half an hour before I need to get up, and he cannot shut his door quietly, so I hear a big bang as he knocks it into the wall, and a big bang as he shuts it.    Life in a terrace house.

The fog at 1am was totally werewolf territory. I could not see the end of my road, visibility was about 20 meters.  Awoooooooo!

So when my alarm went off,  I did not have any motivation to get out of bed and pretend to be an elf,  I went downstairs and put the kids' lunchbox bakes into the oven and made a cup of tea, emptied the dryer, put the dryer on, stopped the dryer, put the wet washing in the dryer, and turned the dryer back on (it works better that way!) and went to do the advent calendar presents.  When I came out of my bedroom wearing DH's dressing gown ( I do not put the light on, so grab whichever one is on top on the hook) DS3 was on the landing, so I put the little bags of sweeties in the pocket, and walked along the landing, not knowing DH's dressing gown has a hole in the pocket and I left a trail of sweetie bags behind me, which DS3 found hilarious.   Rumbled! He is nearly 13, he knows, but he goes along with it because he thinks I am funny.  I am funny.  It is official.

Anyway, it feels really odd having 4 kids out of the house!  Took them all to school through the thick thick fog, taught them percussive maintenance - DS2 said 'one of your front lights is not working' so I went to the front of the car and thumped it, and it came on.  He is in awe of my ' HI WAH ' abilities (Hit It With A Hammer!), anyway, did a quick Herr Aldee raid for lunchbox tat for the week, and went off volunteering and we had a really, really good laugh this morning.   Seems the older members of the group signed up for the Secret Santa without knowing what a Secret Santa is. They thought there would be a bran tub, and a lucky dip, so I assume they did not get their message telling them who they were to buy for.  Oops!  Nobody knows when the deadline is either!   You need an organized person to organize things, at some point they are going to realise this.  Honestly, I love my over 70's. They make me scream with laughter every week.

Anyhow!  The chocolates from the Hotel of Chocolate are to arrive today, and a friend from this morning dropped off a can of Guinne$$ to my doorstep for my Xmas pudding in exchange for some of my free stamps. Win-Win.  DH found it totally weird, but was wise enough not to say anything-  If we were not in she said she was going to leave it on the doorstep so the neighbours would think we had a very obliging milkman.  So by the end of tomorrow I am hoping I will have completed my pudding, and sent all the gifts that need sending by post.  Not a small achievement, and a few jobs off the list-of-things-to-do.

Step-Gran has already  called dibs on my m-i-l's gift  - she sends a charity calendar every year that is too small for my needs and step-gran likes the pictures of animals, so m-i-l sends it to me, I send it  straight to step-gran, I say how lovely it is, everybody is happy.  Nobody mentions it not hanging on the wall when they visit.

Today just feels very silly, and long may it continue! It is probably sleep deprivation, but whatever it is, today is rather good fun.

f0xh0les

Oh dear today was not a good day.  Kids actively scuppering their own plans, not being ready, and annoying me to death and back again with their twittery.  

DS2 after refusing to choose any taster sessions for his GCSEs and hiding under his bed (figuratively) finally went to one today after much badgering by his evil mother, and he really enjoyed his little Criminology  A level session.   He went to his careers guidance session, and told them he did not know what he wanted to do, or what he wanted to study, and they told him to go away  as he was wasting their time.  Cheers Careers Guidance Team! 

So I ended up at the weekend, with his silly taster session form, after the date it was supposed to be handed in, and DS2 sulking like a 4 year old, and I went through every single subject asking him to tell me which ones were a definite 'Hell No!' and we took it from there.  So he is going into each after school taster lesson with the attitude - could I stand this for 2 years? -  he can only choose 5 subjects to try out, but at least he has the idea of one subject he found 'surprisingly fun'. Now he just has to get some decent exam results.  He had his last mock exam today. He seems to think they have gone quite well. He may be utterly deluded, but I am not so sure now.

Supper was pesto pasta with (not) meatballs, and a booze-free cranachan. I have £33 left in the budget until Thursday and only the £5 secret santa thing to buy ,

I spent £1 today, I found a bone shaped biscuit mould tin, so all biscuits from now on will be like dog biscuits.  It ruined my NSD but will be much used.

QueenJess

I always think that at that age you should just pick things you think you'll enjoy.  I hadn't a clue what I wanted to do as a career when I picked GCSE's, A-levels or a Uni course.  Not even sure I know now!

trix-a-belle

QueenJess said:

I always think that at that age you should just pick things you think you'll enjoy.  I hadn't a clue what I wanted to do as a career when I picked GCSE's, A-levels or a Uni course.  Not even sure I know now!

Agreed Jess! I did a broad ish but including some core skills spread of a levels (maths, biology, graphics) then a degree I enjoyed with no intention of working in that area. It wasn't until last year (13? years after graduating) that I actually applied for a job that was vaguely associated to my degree. Do something you enjoy and then have a stronger grasp of the transferable skills it gives you and how you can relate those skills to any jobs you apply.

For DS1 avoiding uni decisions would the threat of 'you'll have to pay for it yourself if you decide you want to do it later in life' help?
Are they still all doing 1 meal a week F0xh0les?