Christmas 2017

Christmas is such a great time of the year. You get presents and eat food, but the main thing is having fun with your family. Even if your family isn't close it gives you a chance to get together or if your family lives away, it's a time to come together and enjoy the company. I find Christmas a hard thing to describe. It's like a bottle of joy that explodes once a year. Do I love it or not, well of course I do. But apart from the family time, there's the stress of cooking dinner and wrapping presents. With being 16 I have it easy as I only have to do the little jobs unlike my parents, they really do make Christmas a fantastic time. The tree; the crackers; the mince pies; the lights; the food and gifts, it's a lot (in a good way). The tree is a hard task to put up especially when it's a fake one so you have to find the right blanches for each layer. This year has been a bit different as we remember a loved one, however with us knowing He is in heaven we raise a toast. I believe even though they are not here, which is upsetting, we can still make more happy memories. Today we had the presents in the morning and a Christmas meal in the afternoon. The best part of the day was playing a board game which ended in laughs. I would just like to say I hope you all had a great Christmas day and enjoy the year with the days we have left.

The truth

When setting this up, I didn't think people would read it and not many do, probably because I haven't told anyone about it lol. But I feel like, you may think why am I talking about this (the truth). Well, first blogging could be done by anyone, you don't have to be smart. No one really knows the truth about the person behind the computer unless you know them personally. See, that's the thing you can lie as much as you want on things like this because it's written from one point of view. I was thinking about my truth behind blogging about why I do it, well I enjoy it. Maybe because I like to express my feeling and I talk a lot. I guess this is a bit like talking because am thinking about the words in my head before writing them down. Like my mind puts the words together and my hands type them down to make a sentence which makes a paragraph. I feel like in some ways it's helping my English because English is definitely not my strong point. The truth for other people may be that blogging is easy and with ads you get paid. But really there isn't a real truth because there are people out there who just talk crap to become popular. I don't want you to think am doing this post for you to like me, I am doing this for people to get their head around something. Not everything in the media is true. Maybe I should put that as my title but am not because all this I am talking about kind of links. You see magazines with these skinny bodies which aren't real, they're fake. They use photoshop to make something seem better than it is. Blogging isn't a bad thing, it's just a hard thing to take in. It's like when you see a Pinterest about a skin hack that gets  rid of spots, you're like shall I do it or not because if it doesn't work it could make my skin worse. Like blogs, shall I read it or not because it might just make me more worried or anxious in life depending on the post. There are some great bloggers out there that might inspire you. But from this post I want you to think. Are you being truthful to yourself?

Homemade coleslaw

I know not everyone likes coleslaw, but I love it. The thing is I am awkward. I love certain coleslaw because they definitely don't taste the same, there is no questioning about it. I really love the one my grandma sometimes buys from her local shop. But then I thought why don't I try and make it myself. So I did.

Ingredients

1 green cabbage

2 large carrots

2 red onions

1 cup of best-quality mayonnaise

Method

First cut all 3 vegetables into finely shredded pieces and mix together.

Second, add the mayonnaise and combine.

No joke, that's it TWO steps!
Enjoy.

Newcastle

I had such a nice time. In the October week off I went on holiday to a

beautiful campsite with my friend. I went with her family and stayed in a static caravan. The campsite had a little bar and arcade. I was so happy when they invited me. We went to villages and shopping centre's which gave me a chance to do early Christmas present shopping and spend my birthday money. I bought some fantastic things and spent a lot more than I thought I would. As you can see it was very successful. I loved the holiday, we had a right laugh on the car journeys and had some fun moments. Like playing pool and spending countless money on 2p machines. I would definitely go again.

What's in my school bag?

At the moment my school bag is this beautiful thing from Lanzarote, that I bought while on holiday. I have to say I do like this bag, but the reason I say "at the moment" is because with how many school books I have, my bags always ended up braking. Last year, I had a Zara one, but it unfortunately had thin straps a bit like this one, however it's so nice that I got it anyway.  I am not the best at keeping my bags in great condition, but I try my best lol. I think it's worse at school as well because you use it for most of the year. Obviously I get the crumbs at the bottom of my bag but who doesn't?

School Planner: This is a great thing, it may not look the way I want it to because I would definitely have some colour in there. But it's so handy, you can write in all your homework and make sure you know when to do it by.

Pencil case: In here we have some colourful pens that are great for any lesson. I normally use them for English when analysing. But mostly revision, so it stands out.

Notebooks: I love these little notebooks they're just the right size to fit in my pencil case. They're great to write things down at the moment I use mine for music so that if I get any ideas within the day for my composition, I can write them down before forgetting. These were from Tesco and you may have seen them in my equipment post.

Chewy: Always needed just in case I have a tuna sandwich

Hair brush: I keep this in my bag all the time cause with having long hair it can easily get tangled, especially when windy.

Hair grips & bobbles: These are usually at the bottom of my bag somewhere for hair emergencies.

Body spray: For those sweaty days in summer and the times you need to freshen up.

Keys: Obliviously my house keys to get in after school.

And that's about it. Depending on the days depends on what other books I take. Like when I have English I take my poetry book because that's what we're studying at the moment. Then I normally take my phone as well, even though we not meant to go on it.

Fair

Today I enjoyed going to a local fun fair. The lights. The smells. The atmosphere. I liked going, even for a couple of hours, just to take it in. I went with a few of my friends and took enough money to buy some sweets and go on a couple of rides. One downfall for me is that am not very good with rides, especially when they go upside down. They make me feel sick. However, I still went on a few just made sure I ate afterwards lol. Even though fun fair's aren't my cup of tea, I didn't mind going along and having a laugh with my friends. 

Equipment

One thing I like about school is that, at the start of the year, you can buy as much equipment as you want without anyone complaining about money. At school there are three things that are required, and teachers even check to see if you have them. Pen. Pencil. Ruler. Normally I  just buy packs because they're easily lost lol. But the best part is choosing the colourful pens or notebooks. There's always that moment in the shop where you are looking for the right set for you. There is always too many to choose from. This year I had a clever idea that I would go on the weekend and get all the offers. I got some good bargains. Including some gel pens also two little notebooks great for jotting things down.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Ingredients

65g of cocoa powder
200g of caster sugar
250g of plain flour
2 eggs
100ml of sunflower oil
1 teaspoon of  baking powder 
A pinch of salt

Method

Step one:
Preheat your oven to 180 C / gas mark 4. 
And line your baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Step two:
In a mixing bowl, mix together cocoa powder, caster sugar and sunflower oil. Then beat in the eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture. Once mixed, roll the dough into equal balls.

Step three:
Cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes till crisp. Then let them cool before enjoying them.

That's it! This recipe is really easy and doesn't take long. It's great for the family or just a snack. I like mine hot with chocolate sauce or cold with ice cream, depending on the weather. I hope you like it.

Great days out

I love going out with friends, especially in the summer holidays. You can do a lot of different things as it's great weather and you have a full six weeks. Even though I have been on holiday I still have enough time to go out. This week I have enjoyed going on walks with my dog and just going to town to shop or look around. However, my most favourite things to do are Nando's, Starbucks and cinema. Nando's is mouth watering. It's spicy, but not too hot as I get a medium (if you have been, you know what I mean) and the sides are to die for. My friend and I have this amazing plan every time we go, we get 2 sides, each but share them. Then Starbucks , don't even get me started, the cold drinks are the best. It cools you right down. Thankfully, there has been quite a few films showing at the cinemas that look amazing, this resulted in quite a few trips to the cinema lol.

Trips to the beach

I don't know what's better than a good day out with the family (as long as there's no arguments lol). The beach is a place everyone can have fun, no matter what. "What if it rains" you say, well, there's the cute cafes to wait inside of until it dies down. I think the beach is the type of place where you don't even need money. Just park your car and walk along the water's edge. Obviously with money you can treat yourself with an ice cream or fish and chips. We went with Bailey this week as he enjoys running in the sand. Apart from the usual seaside actives, we also enjoyed a little train journey with great views. The train was a weird experience for Bailey but I think he liked it. It's nearly September and we go back to school so I think it's the best time to go, it's not too hot or cold, but you know that as it is Britain we're talking about. I don't mind the British weather to be fair, it just makes it more exciting to go aboard. The beach is fine, hot or cold really as you just wear a jacket, obliviously it's better warm because if you go in the sea you won't be cold when you get out.

Walks

I don't think I have mentioned much about Bailey, my dog. He is a cute apricot Cockapoo and will be a year old in December. I love him so much, he's cheeky but loves a cuddle ha ha. Walks with him vary from country to city. My family and I enjoy going to the riverside and walking in the fields as well. My parents don't mind taking Bailey off the lead, but am not as confident as I am scared he won't come back. I took him on the field close to mine and took him off his lead. He had a good run around with some other dogs, but after a while, when I needed to go, it took me like 5 minutes just to get him back. The longest walk I have done with him is 5.5 miles to the town. I enjoyed it as I went with a close friend so we had a chance to talk and catch up. We had to stop a couple of times as Bailey got tired but I don't mind. Even though we got the bus back it was still lots of excise, it just wasn't fair to walk home as he was shattered.

Lanzarote

Holiday...what do you think when you hear that word? Sun, sand and sea. You don't think about the sweaty stuff and the people, you just think about enjoying it. The Canary Islands. I have never been before. I was so excited. The plane journey was 4 hours long but felt like 10 however, once we were there it didn't matter, everything just swept us away. The clear sea, the heat, the pool, the experience. It was amazing! We went out for tea and had a lot of different meals including puddings. Also, we went on trips to see the volcanoes and camels. We spent most days exploring the island as much as possible. Some days we would spend the morning in and the night out. The beaches were beautiful with warm sand. It was great just to get away and relax.

My Saturday Job

So, as you know I did work experience at a hairdressers in the second week. I'm so happy because they offered me a Saturday job. This will hopefully help me get a bit more experience for the future.  My first job! I feel like there's a lot to learn and remember (definitely more than I expected) but with a bit of practice, you never know, I might be good at it. Work experience, I have to say, went very well, I believe I did my best and that's all I could do. I am still not sure what I want to do in life, but let's see what happens. With it being the six weeks holidays, really there's nothing to worry about until I go back to school with my GCSEs coming up. I think this Saturday job is just what I need as I have free time and I get an extra bit of money ha ha. There are a lot of people my age that can't find a job, with being 15, so really I am lucky I know the people and they like me.

Autumn clothes out in summer

One thing at the moment that's getting on my nerves is the fact that shops bring out Autumn clothes in July. Why the hell do they do this? The fact that it's still summer, some people, e.g. me may still need some summer clothes. I know you're thinking "you've left it a bit late" but I went to Primark for a few more things for my holiday. The reason I went was that I saw something last week, but didn't have enough money for it so I thought I could get it another day. So when I went again in the same week and you would expect it to still be there. However, as you can tell, it wasn't. See I know British weather isn't the best, but jumpers in July is just weird. I guess you could argue that the jumpers are thin, but they definitely wouldn't suit Spanish weather. Obviously this is something to learn from, so next year I will make sure to go shopping earlier in the year. The thing is when you walk into a shop and you're there to buy what you need then you find it's not there, it is so annoying!

Work experience

Last week was my first week of work experience and this week is my second. I chose to help in a nursery the first week and a hair dressers the second. See from not knowing what I want to do in life I decided to go with two totally different places. Hopefully these experiences will help in the future, as am not use too working, especially 9:30-5 pm. I advise if you haven't already done work experience to choose something that will keep you busy and that you enjoy. I think work experience is a hard thing to organise because most places only take over 16 year olds and you do the placements in year 10. I am glad I did nursery as it helped me take care of others also they were so CUTE! Apart from that I enjoyed it way more then being at school lol. We did painting, glitter and nursery rhymes ect. These photos are just to show what they got me as a thank you.
Which I think is so nice of them.