PhD Mum

After my partner proposed last spring, I had this idea that I wanted to have beer mats for my save the dates. I went on to a well-known wedding website and saw the sort of thing I wanted. I got a quote for £1,800.  Erm….no thanks. So. I made some myself. In 4 easy (but relatively time consuming) steps. Figure 1: my beer mat save the dates Now, obviously, the final results (See Figure 1) were not as professional as if I had paid £1,800 to get them done. BUT, I have about £1,700 still in my pocket now and they have that “home-made” charm about them. Which leaves me feeling a little bit smug. Each mat had the same design on the front and our names, the date, and the wedding website on the back (we are having a paperless wedding invite so the website is key). The front of the mat required two stamps, the back required one. I designed these using publisher. Here is what I ordered and the prices are guestimates from memory: 3 x Stamps (wi...

It seems so surreal to be able to write about my viva - in which I had to defend my research. It means I have actually done a PhD (!), and survived the process! (I have no idea how long it will take before this sinks in). I had previously read the experience of others and doubted if I would ever make it to this point. I'm sure this is a common feeling to all PhDers - especially those with a toddler hanging off you - at so many points along the journey. Whilst it's all fresh in my mind, I thought I would write about my viva, so that if you are prepping for yours, you can read this and hopefully feel a bit more "ready"!  Pre-viva prep I had about 8 weeks between submitting the thesis and my viva. I didn't look at my thesis until 3 weeks before. This gave me a much needed break and time to think about other stuff. From t-minus 3 weeks, I read through each chapter and made notes - I made a summary of each one, looked for new research, thought about potential ...