Friday 29 July 2011

My School Essentials!

MY SCHOOL ESSENTIALS!

These 12 items are going to have permanent fixtures in my school bag when the new term starts. They're everything you need to survive inside and outside the classroom!

1. Notebook - I love having a notebook because I can work on my coursework at home and take it into school to be marked, in some of my classes we weren't allowed to take our exercise books home or we had to use paper so this was the perfect alternative to keep everything organised. My favourite notebook is my Oxford notebook, I got my first one in the sale for £2 and since then I've been HOOKED. You can really tell the difference between the paper quality compared to one you could get from a pound store. Plus the Oxford ones come with handy revision and note-taking tips at the front!

2. Wallet folder - These are way easier to carry around than the thick cardboard ones and they hold quite a lot of sheets. I used to keep any reminders, letters home or homework done on a separate sheet in my folder and I never lost a thing.

3. School diary - Without one of these you'll be missing important dates. I use them to record any homework, and I also write on the day it's due in that it's due so when I have a look the night before I can think to myself, 'Did I do it?'. I always noticed that if I didn't record my homework I would end up forgetting to do it or having to ask someone from my class the night before. They're also very good for spreading out your homework, if you've got a project due in a month you can space out sessions where you can pencil in, 'work on project now'.

4. Umbrella - If you live in England you will DEFINITELY need an umbrella in your bag. I used to get caught in the rain all the time until I put my umbrella in my bag. They're not very heavy and you'll be patting yourself on the back if there's a sudden downpour and you realise you packed your umbrella! If you don't have an umbrella you can pack a rain coat instead, they're also very light and can be folded up so they take up less space.

5. Thermos Flask - Perfect for summer or winter, the one I have keeps hot things hot and cold things cold. When it's snowing outside and everyone's shivering in the canteen you can snuggle up with your flask of hot chocolate whilst you wait for the bell to ring.

6. Travel card/money - If you live a distance from your school you'll need a travel pass or money. I always carry money in my school bag just in case of an emergency. Luckily my school was a 10 minute walk away so I didn't need to use transport, however when I start Year 12 later this year I'll have to use the bus.

7. Moisturizing balm - It's good to carry one that can be used anywhere on your body. It sucks when you get to school and realise you have dry and chapped lips doesn't it? Or perhaps you have dry hands, it's always good to be prepared.

8. iPod/MP3 - Some classes might allow you to listen to your music whilst you work, so you should always be prepared. It's also useful for long travel journeys, though remember to keep an ear free if you're walking somewhere alone, just in case someone is following you.

9. USB - Perfect for backing up your files and taking your essays into school for printing. You can buy ones with cute designs and patterns from eBay for reasonable prices.

10. Sticky notes - You can use these to mark important pages in your textbooks or even to stick into your school diary for something important. That way you won't have to waste a whole page of your A4 Notebook if you have to write something down for someone else.

11. Highlighters - Highlight important dates and information, I have no idea where I would have been without these when I was revising for my Health and Social Care exam, there was so much information to go through so it was easier highlighting the key words and sentences for future reference. 

12. Pencil case - To keep all of your stationary organised. In my pencil case I keep around 3 pens, 1 is my special pen that I always use and then 2 others in case someone else needs one. I also carry around 3 pencils and sometimes 2 sharpeners as some pencils won't sharpen on certain sharpeners. 1 rubber, ruler and compass!

What are you guys carrying in your school bags?
-EG

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Having a ponder...

PONDERING LIFE

It's been a very long past few days, my Mothers birthday was on Tuesday and I've been organising everything since last Saturday! As usual nothing went to plan and I ended up realising I'd forgotten to buy butter on the Monday night, which was when I was supposed to be baking the cake, so on Tuesday it was VERY hectic! But nonetheless full of lots of joy and laughter, the past few weeks have reminded me how important it is to spend time with your family and show your love for one another. Thinking back to some tough times in my life I don't know how I would have coped were I alone or unloved...

On Tuesday I got the sudden urge to write my Christmas list, note that this is the stuff I'm buying for others, not what I'm asking for. I always prefer to give something to others rather than receive, it makes me happy to see my family and friends happy. And sometimes I think if I had to choose between Christmas dinner and presents I'd choose the dinner because the presents don't give you the same festive feeling or joy when everyone is sat round the table pulling crackers and watching the old Christmas movies for the 100th time, ha ha! I'm completely stuck on whether to buy what I think my Mother would like, or what she's been mentioning a lot. For example, she's been saying she means to get new earphones and a cardigan so I figured if I get her those I'll know that it was something she really needed, whereas if I get her what I think she'll like she'll still want the earphones and cardigan. One thing I am getting her is a cookbook with 250 different healthy meal recipes at affordable prices which we can share and help each other to cook.

Thankfully I have months until Christmas but I would like to start buying things now, I think if I'm ever out and I have money and I spot something I think someone will like I'll just get it and that way I won't have to panic on Christmas Eve when I haven't gotten anything for anyone.

Tomorrow, or today for me as it's almost 2am, I'm going to try and put up 2 new blog posts that I've been meaning to do for a while, I'm looking forward to doing them! Have you guys started on your Christmas planning yet, or do you still have birthdays to focus on? The next birthday in my family is mine so there's nothing I can do except for write a birthday list, that should be fun!

Take care and stay safe.
-EG

Saturday 23 July 2011

My Favourite...TV Shows!

FAVE TV SHOWS!

Lately I've been watching television a lot, my next door neighbour kindly gave me £100 to buy a prom dress and told me to spend what I had left on whatever I wanted. After buying my prom dress and everything else I needed I had around £40 left over, then I saw a small flatscreen television in the sale for £80, so my mum helped me make up the rest of the money and we went to get it! So now I finally have a television in my room and can get back to watching Sky!

Here are my top 10 shows!
- Vampire Diaries
- Spongebob Squarepants
- Teen Wolf
- Pretty Little Liars
- Keeping Up With the Kardashians
- 90210
- Teen Mom
- Britain & Irelands Next Top Model
- Jerry Springer
- The Apprentice

I think I've got a pretty good mix in there and there always seems to be something on whenever I decide to watch television! What are your favourite shows?
-EG

Wednesday 13 July 2011

UPDATE: What's Going On?

WHAT'S GOING ON?
You know those moments where you stop for a second and realise, 'Wait is that what day it is? Where did all this time go?', basically I just had one of those. It's sort of a blur and I don't remember doing anything big but somehow the time has flown by...
Anyway I'm back to my normal determined self which is great because I hate being sad and depressed and I have some new blog posts and a tag coming soon!

-EG

Monday 4 July 2011

30 Day Health Kick!

30 DAY HEALTH KICK CHALLENGE!

Hey everyone!
Alright so a while back me and my family began a health kick and started being more healthy. It was going alright but it wasn't exactly exciting because we felt like we couldn't eat anything exciting! Food is so much harder to eat when it tastes gross right? Last week me and my mum ate some takeout food and I can honestly say I've never felt so ill in my entire life, I was so ugh! I felt sick, bloated and heavy (isn't that weird, it's hard to explain but I just felt huge). And my mum concluded it must have been because I'd eaten greasy food when my body had gotten used to not having it.

So I decided that I enjoy having my body not used to eating junk, but I seriously feel like I'm slacking! So I'm beginning a 30 day health kick challenge where I only eat natural and healthy foods. I decided to begin this on Saturday 9th July because my prom is on the 8th and I can confirm that there will be junk food there! I'm excited to begin this challenge because if I complete it not only will be I feel like I can achieve anything but I'm going to feel so much healthier! I'm also going to be doing 1 hour of exercise each day!

I'm also going to go shopping on Wednesday and buy lots of new healthy foods, and I may even film my own recipes I come up with for you to watch! Each day I will post a progress report on how I feel and what I did and ate during the day. I want to prove to myself that having a healthy lifestyle really can do wonders.

My inspiration? I read an article about Miranda Kerr's healthy lifestyle, and I figured if a woman who's just had a baby can do it, why can't I? A young 16 year old teenager. I also thought if I get healthy while I'm younger it will be easily when I'm older. I'm happy with my actual body, I just want to tone my legs and arms a bit.

Saturday is the day everything changes!
-EG

Simple Face Mask!

YOGURT & SUGAR!

Natural yogurt is great for lots of things, in this post I'm going to tell you how to use it on your face.

This face mask is extremely simple, the 2 ingredients are probably hanging out somewhere in your home (hopefully the yogurt's in the fridge) or if they aren't you can just pop to any supermarket and pick them up. You'll be needing natural yogurt (unflavoured) and sugar.
When I make this I like to put it into an egg cup, it's the perfect size and doesn't waste any space.

HOW TO MAKE IT
- Get your egg cup and add in around 1 1/2 teaspoons of the natural yoghurt (you can change this depending on how much you want or how long you want to use it for).
- Add a teaspoon of sugar to your yogurt (again you can change this depending on whether you want to exfoliate or just have the plain mask).
- Mix the sugar and yoghurt and apply generously to your face.

You can leave the mask to dry on your face (though make sure you don't laugh) or you can wash it off before it gets hard. If you don't want to make a mess don't move your face when the yogurt's dry or it will start to flake off everywhere, ew!

When you wash the mask off your face should feel fresh, if you use it regularly you may notice your skin looks more toned and healthy!

I love this mask because it's really easy to make and very very cheap!

Happy Summer!
-EG

P.s. To any American readers Happy 4th July to you! :)