Nursery Rhymes....and more Nursery Rhymes!!

So for the past week I have been doing lots and lots of training for my new job. I've seen toddler classes, baby classes, 3-4 year old classes, 8 year old classes. I've watched Kids pretend to move through the jungle and be lions, dance around with scarves, watches babies use shaky eggs with different nursery rhymes.... and came to the conclusion that my Nursery Rhyme education is very poor! I dont remember any rhymes!!! This week I am assisting a few classes, and have to learn 4 rhymes to do with the children:
- Miss Polly
- The dingle dangle scarecrow
- Head shoulders knees and toes
- Little miss muffet
So I have been listening to them like crazy in my car trying to learn them! Fun Fun :P lol

Here is a picture of me and my car, and the new seat covers we put over the old grandma looking seat covers ( no offence to my grandma...lol )

must have.....

Soo I gave up on the pink seats.. even though I know they would be awesome.. I feel too bad for ben having to sit in a pink car! lol I'm happy with our grey and black seat covers that our friend lent us. Buuuutt...........I found something I absolutely must have! I'm sorry ben.. but I just must have this on my car!

Automatic vs Manual

So something I noticed about buying cars here:
Dont try to buy an Automatic car in the UK, without fully expecting to get a lecture from every UK citizen you come across about how you should have learned to drive a Manual in the first place.

My reply: Yes I know everyone here in the UK drive Manual, but that is not how it is in Canada. It is not as common. My license does not actually cover me to drive a manual car here in the UK.

Their reply: You really should learn how to drive a Manual

My reply: For me it is enough of a challenge learning how to drive on the other side of the road... never mind adding a manual car to that equation.

must admit... I am getting tired of this conversation....

Finding a cheap Automatic car in the UK has been like finding a needle in a hay stack... or has been described to me by a car dealer as comparative to finding " gold dust". And then... adding  the insurance challenge on top of that. I am considered a new driver here in the UK. My 5 years of driving from home counts for nothing. Not even my no claims proof.. or my entire driving history letter. I have been quoted for insurance ranging from 1600 pounds to 3000 pounds. sometimes nearly 6 times the price of the cars I've been looking at.

Luckily.. i found a car online with low insurance ( low for my situation) and an ok price for a car... but IT WAS A CHALLENGE.
That in my rant about cars and insurance! thanks for reading ;)

After 2 weeks...

So I Arrived in the UK about 2 weeks ago and have accomplished quite alot since i got here! I spent the first week and a half camping with ben's family! which was very fun! It rained a bit.. but mostly the weather wasen't too bad! A couple of days after I got back from camp I had an interview with a "Music and movement" company in the area, and the next day a found out I got the job! yay! This is the website: http://www.musicandmovement.org.uk/
I am very excited to get started! It seems perfect for me actually! The only thing about this job was that it required me to get a car... eeeeek... but I really think the job will be a good fit for me, so I sucked it up and started looking at cars... and today, I bought one! LOL I got a little silver renault clio. Its an old car.. but for the price it was a good deal!
So... other then being quite a bit in debt from buying a car and the INSANE price of insurance... life is on its way to getting started here.

Im going to the insurance company tomorrow to sign papers, and hoping to pick it up on saturday! The outside of the car is in perfect condition.. and the inside too... but I must say the inside is quite old looking! lol I get a kick out of the seat pattern! so today I have been looking at car seat covers! Ben's friend johnny is lending us his until we find something we like! I tried to convince ben to let me get pink ones...or furry polka dot ones but I figured since he will soon be driving it too.. that wasent exactly fair! lol we're thinking of going with yellow or blue ones! lol so yeah.. not much else is new.. I am looking into taking a couple of driving lessons once i have the car to get used to the left side of the road!

Favorite Face Moisturizer

 So for the past year or so I have been in love with the Philosophy skin care line from Sephora, which mainly includes:
-“Purity made simple” cleanser
and
-“Hope in a jar” Moisturizer
but also includes other optional items such as “Eye hope” eye cream, “Help Me” retinol treatment, Micro delivery exfoliating wash, “when hope is not enough “ serum... basically the whole line it pretty darn awesome, and I use at least the cleanser and the moisturizer every day, twice a day!!

BUT... these past 2 weeks i have been experimenting with a new moisturizer called  Josie Maran Organic Argan Oil! Now... I was slightly doubtful about putting oil on my face.. but to be honest, i have never woken up with such soft skin! It absorbs quickly, and doesn't feel greasy or heavy, and when used in the morning, It gives the skin a nice dewy glow! When purchasing items for my move to the UK.. I actually chose the Argan oil, over my “go to” philosophy moisturizer!!  Surprisingly, I have noticed decreased lines around the eyes after using it for only 1-2 weeks. Now... I have normal to dry skin, so it makes sense that an oil would be alright for me to use. BUT Argan oil has healing and anti inflammatory properties, so even though it is an oil, it is good to use for oily skin, and for skin that is prone to breakouts!

After doing some research, Argan oil is all the rage for Anti-Aging, and its not necessary to purchase the more expensive organic brand like Josie Maran.. but for me ... I dont know.... i just trust the line that comes highly recommended from Sephora!
Sooo if you are looking for a new face moisturizer, pick up either Josie Maran Argan oil, or even try one of the cheaper Argan Oil brands from amazon.com!

I always love checking out the Most reviewed products at sephora.com to see which products work best for the majority of people! Right now, the top 3 “most reviewed” skin care products are: Purity cleanser, Hope in a jar moisturizer and Josie Maran Argan oil!  Oohhhhhh yeaaahhh ;)

My new favourite Lip product! :)

So as I mentioned before, I love skin care products and makeup, and I wanted to share one of my new favorite products that I discovered this week! It is Tarte’s LipSurgence Natural Lip tint, in “Enchanted” .

It is sort of like a lip stain and lip balm mixed together! I am not a big fan of how sticky lip glosses can be, or how heavy lipsticks sometimes feel! This “tint” gives a nice natural color, while giving your lips SUPER moisture and a little bit of shine! The Natural line comes in 6 different shades, i also love the color “Lust” and “Moody”!

These lip tints come in 3 versions, Natural, Lustre and Matte, so if you prefer a matte look, or a shimmery look, the Matte or Lustre version might be better for you! They are sort of expensive in canada, $31.. but soo worth it! Pick one up (at sephora), they are amazing!!!!!!!

How I applied for my Youth Mobility UK visa

So i decided to write a post describing the entire process of my UK visa application, in case you or anyone you know is ever interested in applying for a Youth Mobility Visa for the UK.

On July 20th, I decided that I wanted to move to the UK to live and work with my boyfriend. I knew that I was eligible for the Youth Mobility Scheme visa and that if you qualified it was a fairly easy visa to acquire. I am planning on traveling to the UK August 22nd, so I did not have THAT much time research and organize myself... but i did quite a bit of reading online on various blogs and websites like Canucks abroad.

Where to start:
Go to this website first, and read the UK government application info
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/inf28pbsyouthmobility

it instructs you to go and take the point based calculator self assessment test on
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/pointscalculator
which you WILL need to print out and bring with you to the visa application centre.

Next you will need to complete the online application form ( which is the same as the VAF9 form, it just depends which you fill out based on where you are located. I am in the Toronto area, and i completed the online application form, and brought a filled out VAF9 form to my appointment, but they had me remove my VAF9 form from my application, since it was identical to the online  application. )

You apply online from
http://apply.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/iapply.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=formFinder&com.sun.faces.portlet.CLEAR_STATE=true&_nfls=false

Application
It was an easy application, except for the question about number of times you left Canada in the past 10 years. I travel ALOT, and they give you a tiny tiny space to put all your information. According to the many blogs i read, just fit the information you can, and dont worry about the rest, if they want to check on it, they have your passport.
(To be on the super safe side, I would recommend attaching a separate sheet of paper with that information, however it is not necessary)


Once i submitted the application form online and paid my $314.00 application fee, I received email confirmation and a notification to book my appointment at the visa application centre. This is where they take your biometrics (fingerprints) and they collect all of your paperwork to send off to ottawa
https://www.visainfoservices.com/Pages/dest_org.aspx

I completed my online application wednesday the 20th, and took the first appointment  available to me which was monday the 25th. If you are in a rush with your visa, keep checking that website though because random spots seem to open up, when there are cancellations i’m guessing.

Supporting documents
On thursday the 21st, I went to my bank, and got a letter from the bank confirming the level of funds i had in my account ( must be over 1600 pounds...around $2500). I also got got a signed stamped “customer snapshot” of my account, which indicated the level of funds.

I am not sure if the customer snapshot would be enough as evidence, but the signed letter is. The letter must be on the official bank stationary/ letterhead and clearly show:

   1. your name;
   2. your account number;
   3. the date of the letter;
   4. the financial institution’s name and logo;
   5. that funds of at least £1600 are held in your account.


Another supporting document i submitted was a letter from the person I would be staying with once i arrived in the UK. I will be staying with my boyfriends family for a little while, until we can get ourselves on our feet. His aunt sent me a scanned and signed letter stating that this was true, and included her phone numbers and her address. This is not necessary but, i did find on one website that this could help speed up the process!

Biometrics

On monday, I headed into toronto for my appointment get my biometrics. Here is a piece of advice, don’t show up more then 15 minutes early for your appointment, they will likely turn you away since it is a small room and they run behind. From the time of my appointment at 1:45, i waited about 1 hour and a half, until i had my finger prints done. Also, NO electronics are allowed to be used in the room, that includes having your phone out at all, on silent.... texting.. using the internet... not allowed! lol


They took my fingerprint scans, took a photo of me (note: you still need to take in a colored passport sized photo) and I paid my $15 in courier fees. ( they said you would get your application back 1-2 days sooner if you have it couriered back to you, instead of picking it up at the toronto office. After finger prints and face scan, The woman sealed my documents, placed them in the DHL envelope, and told me they would reach ottawa by 9 am tomorrow morning.

The Entire Process

Wednesday July 20th - I filled out my application online, and booked my appointment at the Visa Application centre in toronto

Thursday July 21st- I went to the bank and got a proof of funds letter
Monday July 25th- Appointment at the Visa application centre, left paper work with them to send off
Tuesday July 26th- I got an e-mail by 11 am from the visa centre that they has received my documents

Thursday july 28th- By 11 am i had am e-mail in my inbox saying my Visa had been issued and my documents would be back in my procession in 3 days!

Friday July 29th- My Passport arrived at my house by 4pm in a DHL envelope!

What i submitted
Here is exactly what i submitted, the originals and a photocopy of each:

1. A signed and scanned letter from person I will be staying with in the UK ( not necessary)

2. Appendix 7  Form, pages 1-2. Found on http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/inf28pbsyouthmobility

3. A signed letter from Bank indicating current cash funds, on official bank letter head.

4. Signed and Stamped Customer snapshot of bank account

5. Point Based Calculations self-assessment ,printed off in PDF form from UK Border Agency website

6. Copy of online application form, pages 1-8 ( please note page 7, indicating that the $314.00 application fee has been paid in full)

7. One colored Passport sized photo

8. My Canadian Passport ( YES your passport gets sent with your application, so dont have any travel plans while waiting for your application to come back)

9. Copy of Birth certificate ( not necassary... but good)

10. IF you have your old passports, you must send these too. I did not submit my old passport because it was detroyed and retained by passport canada. If you dont have one either.. just say that in your application form.

You must also submit a PHOTOCOPY of everything in your application packet


And that is the whole experience of my UK youth Mobility visa application! It took me from Wednesday July 20th- Friday 29th to get my Visa Issued and sent back to me! Can't believe it was that quick... Still i would not recommend waiting, it can take 15 business days or longer once your paper work is sent to ottawa, and your passport if gone for that whole time, so save yourself the stress and give yourself a month or 2!

If you have any questions, please just ask! UK here I come…

Got my visa!!!

My Visa got approved!!!! YAYYY
I am so happy, as soon as i got the e-mail saying my visa was issued, i booked my flight! I managed to get a return flight for $750. which is AMAZING! i could'nt even find a one way ticket for that price!
I am heading over there August 22nd, so i will make it there in time for camp! now its just a matter of making some money between now and then to support me having no job for a few weeks or so!

UK bound!

Sooo last week my life went into a completely different direction.... literally! Ben and I decided to stop working on the disney cruise ships, and decided try and make a life for ourselves onland! :) Soooo...last week i was a busy beaver, figuring out how to go about applying for UK visa, actually applying for that visa, and getting all my money and paper work together! We decided to start our land adventure with me applying for a UK visa first, because it seems like it is a much shorter process then Ben applying for a Canadian Visa. Plus... Ben is at still on the ship, so he has no method of doing any visa work at the moment!
Monday i have my appointment/ interview in toronto, and hopefully my visa will arrive shortly after that! I am hoping to make it to the UK by August 22nd, which is when camp starts! ( "Camp" is something Ben's family does every year. They all go to a camp site for a week, live in tents, cook food on the fire.. Ben has never missed a year, and he was literally born there... well his mom went into labour with him there!) it is a very special place for their family and i would love to make it to the UK by then. Fingers crossed my visa gets approved on time!  i will keep you up to date on my UK Visa progress!!

My First Blog

So I have decided to start blog of my travel adventures, of my favourite products, and just my everyday life! Stay tuned for updates once i figure out how this blogging business works! :)