The last first day .

So tomorrow will be my last first day at high school ever. Its unbelievable. Today, when I went into school to check that my schedule was right, one of my friends pointed out that we are year 13's now, it still doesn't seem real.

So, this year I will be taking biology, classics, english, history and maths. I'm just glad that I don't need to take three science again, because its a lot to keep up with, and every teacher thinks that
a) You only take their class.
b)You have no life outside school.
c)You are able to study their subject for 10 hours a day.

We also are going on a camp to Pounawea on Wednesday, which will be awesome because its right beside a beach and the teachers will practically ignore us. Our menu is finalised and today I went shopping to buy food. I can't wait and I promise to take lots of photos, For those of you who haven't been to the Catlin's coast in New Zealand, it is one of the most beautiful places ever, in fact I think you should all go at least once in your life, it is truly amazing.

Also my little brother and sister think that I am a smurf for no reason. I'm not even blue. Apparently its because I'm ginger.

Have an awesome day :)

results

So NZQA finally posted our NCEA results, and to be honest I am quite disappointed with mine. I passed, but got no endorsement, I will not be taking level three physics or chemistry. Instead I'll be doing classics and general science. I definitely will not be pursuing a career in paediatrics, because to do that you need physics and chem, so the issues I had with deciding have been obliterated.

In other news, we are finally organised for our year 13 camp (have I mentioned it before now?). This school camp will be way different to any others we have been on because

a) We get to sort out our own food :)

 b)We get to decide where and when we sleep

and
C)We will we left alone by teachers 95% of the time

So this camp is basically a holiday with school friends, even though half of them cant come any more well still have a blast. I promise to take a bazillion pictures ,because we are going to Pounawea, which is absolutely beautiful in summer. We leave on the 30th of this month and return on the 1st of February (My Aunty and baby cousins birthdays !!!), I personally can not wait.

Have an amazing day :)

Making dream catchers

 Here are some of my recent dream catchers. Enjoy :)                                

 

And this is (a very bad picture of) my first attempt at making a big dream catcher

 

 

Have an amazing day :)

Les Miserables book review.

So I finally finished reading Les Miserables. To be honest I read it really slowly, because, as always, when I read a good book I get too emotionally attached to at least one of the characters. This time I completely fell in love with the story of Jean Valjean and how incredibly, beautifully, tragic his life was.

 I think that this novel would be quite fun to study in depth, as it is incredibly beautifully written (I imagine it would be even more beautiful in French) and is said to be one of the longest books ever (959 (According to Kindle) or 1488 (according to wikipedia) pages and it took me a total of (approximately) 17 hours to read).

Les Miserable, originally published in French in 1862 and written by Victor Hugo is an amazing novel that highlights what life was to the poorer people of France (Mainly Paris) in the early nineteenth century, while following the life of an ex-convict by the name of Jean Valjean, who was arrested for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving sister and her children.

The novel is filled with wonderful literary context and amazing quotes my favorites include:

• "'One would say, to see all these snow-flakes fall, that there was a plague of white butterflies in heaven' "
• "Diamonds are found only in the dark places of the earth; truths are found only in the depths of thought."
•  "Who could have bound the lamb to the wolf, and, what was still more incomprehensible, have attached the wolf to the lamb?"
• " To breathe Paris preserves the soul"

Les Miserables has recently been re-made as a film (although there has been a musical version for years), and I actually want to see it, because, Hugo's novel being as absolutely amazing as it was, would be quite easily interpereted into a film, and with actors such as Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter it must a great movie. Personally I believe that the book is ALWAYS better, but if the book was that wondrous, the movie will still be really great.

I would recommend this novel to avid readers, of at least fifteen years of age, because of a) The length, b)The literary context that is fairly complex and c)It has a fair amount of old English/ direct translations which take a lot of persistence.

I absolutely loved this Les Miserables and would give it a  score of 9/10!

Have an amazing day:)

Happy new year!!

So we have finally made it to the end of 2012. Its been a crazy year, and i cant wait for all of the fun times that will come this year.

 I've decided to just to what I enjoy doing, and am now considering psychology for a career, rather than pediatrics, which would allow me to continue with my love of English and literature more so than any other option (Les Miserables book review is coming, but I have been busy and it is 959 pages long). I am also planing on spending a lot more time with friends (I'm a little antisocial at times) and will be studying more too (Year thirteens get a study period).

I hope you all had a great 2012 and wish you all the best for 2013 :)

My amazing (gluten free) pavlova recipe

I thought that I'd share my Pavlova recipe with you. For those who don't know a pav is a kiwi (not Australian) desert typically served at Christmas time. the outside is crispy and sweet, while the inside is marshmallowy. Topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries (which are cheap because they're in season) this is the perfect desert for summer. My recipie has been adapted to be gluten free, as my little sister has acute celiacs disease, meaning that she cant eat any gluten or food produced on factories that produece gluten products (think potato chips and breakfast foods)

I was told that when you make your pave you are not supposed to open the oven at all or make loud noises. This is probably an old wives tale, but no one wants a colapsed pavlova.

You will need:
- eggs
- sugar
- vannilla
-cornflour
- cake mixer or electric wisk and a large bowl
- an oven pre heated to 110 *C
- cookie sheet
- whiped cream (no substatutions)
-stawberries
-chocolate

Seperate four eggs, putting the whites only into the bowl. Wisk with electric wisk or cake mixer with wisk attatchment untill the whites until they form soft peeks the gradually add the sugar (while still beating). Add 1 tsp of vanilla and the same of cornflour. Beat for another 5-10 minutes.
Spread mixtre in a medium sized circle on a cookie sheet. Bake for an hour, then leave it in the oven (which is off) for 90 minutes, cover in cream, strawberries (sliced) and greated chocolate.

enjoy :)

The end of the world

The Mayan calender

So today the world is supposed to end, that in my opinion is just a complete misinterpretation of the Mayan prophecy. In China survival pods have been built, and conspiracies theorise that under Denver airport a giant bunker has been created (see video here ), but is it all just in vain? Here are some reasons why I believe that we will still be living the same way that we are today when we wake up tomorrow:

1) The Mayans did not add an extra day on leap years, making the world end a while ago.

2) There have hundreds thousands  of similar prophecies. Tell me, at the start of the year 2000 did   your toaster and Walkman enslave you? They played your Spice Girls cassette tape and burnt your   toast? That's what I thought.

3) The Mayans did not predict that they would die out, but can predict when we will. Is it just me or is that a bit dodgy?

4) Here's a nerdy one :). Even if the word does not exist as a planet, it will always exist, even just as dust particles floating around in space.

5) The calender just shows the end of a cycle and the start of a new one, rather than the death and destruction shown in movies. For all we know this could be a good change.

6) Finally how did the Mayans know what to put on the calender? I have no idea at all. maybe the just wanted to freak us all out? Who knows?

I honestly think that this entire event is just as big of a hoax as Y2K, and will enjoy watching everyone freak out.

Have a great doomsday, Christmas and New Year.