Spring Cleaning

As winter draws to a close and the birds are singing and flowers are blooming I thought it would be a perfect time to do some spring cleaning.

When I started this blog I didn’t have a direction in which I wanted to go and now looking back I think that was a bad idea. Now my blog is full of not-so-good posts that I am less than happy about.

So today will start as a new day, no more challenges because as they say “quality is better than quantity”. I will not have a set time because that puts pressure on me and then will put me of. But I will still try and post frequently. Now I can find things that I want to talk about and not find some random topic just to get a post out on time. Writing is creative and by forcing myself to do it, it puts a “block” on my creativity. This is supposed to be fun and stress relieving, not something to add to the stress.

Some posts have mysteriously disappeared and probably for the better, but there will be more and they will (hopefully) be a lot better and more enjoyable.

When I think about what I want to blog about nothing really specific comes to mind. Ahh so you see the problem too… but since not knowing what to blog about is a no-no, for me anyway, I think I’ll just keep it to my thoughts, opinions and experiences. I know that does sound like basically anything but in my mind it makes sense and it will work. I also think that I will give all my posts more thought and I will talk about things I care about. I will write about what I want to write about, and hopefully you will enjoy reading what I want to write about. So if all works out it’s a win-win situation.

Today is a new start, after going through and reading every single post I have filtered the good from the bad and now hopefully it is a better page for that. Reading through my recent and old blogs I can see that I lost moment and I forgot the reason why I actually started my blog. I would love a forum where I can truly express myself and that is the main reason I forgot. My blogs can be about a glass of water or an outrageous adventure, if the post does not have heart and passion it will be a bad post.

Hopefully today is a new start for me to care about and enjoy what I write about. I will post when I want to post because writing this post it shows me how I can enjoy writing. The last few blogs I’ve written I forgot that feeling and I think that’s why they are not-so-good.

Spring-cleaning is a good way to start the new season.

Green striped nails with a dash of candy floss

So I was supposed to go out yesterday clubbing with one of my friends, but sadly my mother would not allow me. But before I knew I was not allowed to go I decided to make my nails picture-perfect ready.

I have a special nail polish that glows in UV light so I decided to use it. But I didn’t just want a plain colour I wanted to make it interesting. So I started with a white base coat. At first I wanted to do a checkered pattern so I cut out thin strips of tape and after the white polish was dry I carefully placed the strips. Then after that I applied the blue polish over. I am a very impatient person so it was difficult for me to wait for the blue coat to dry but I did my best. So I started with my thumb and it came out quite nicely but the rest of my fingers did not work so well. The horizontal stripes didn’t work and the blue paint just went under them. So I decided to just paint over the horizontal stripes and it made cute little vertical stripes.

The reason my index finger on this hand is pink is because I messed it up with the blue paint and had to start again. After this point I found out I wasn’t going out anymore so instead of wasting my nice fancy paint I would use my not-so-nice pink nail polish. I wanted to try and do the stripes but then drag them so the white and pink would kind of mesh together. This did not work so instead of taking it off I just mixed the white and pink together on my nail. I was bored and just having fun at this stage so didn’t really care what it looked like. But when I stopped fiddling around with it I saw it looked like candy floss. The texture of the half sticky nail polish also helped to achieve the candy floss look. So I thought it fitted with the blue stripes so have decided to leave it.

My left hand with the vertical stripes and the “candy floss” effect

On my other hand I decided to do something different on each finger, but still using white stripes. On my thumb I decided to carry on with the vertical stripes. But on my index finger I wanted to just do one stripe in the middle which looks quite elegant. On my middle finger I decided to do diagonal stripes but that finger looks weird because the nail is shorter than the others but I couldn’t do much about that. On my ring finger I did one horizontal stripe and one diagonal stripe which are quite different from the others. And on my last finger I couldn’t think of another design so I just did two horizontal stripes. I am quite proud of this had because it is my left hand and I am left handed. And this means that I had to do everything with my right hand which is quite challenging.

My right hand with a different style on each finger

I am not sure which hand looks better so what do you think?

Dares, Bets and Besties

It has been a few weeks since the last time I saw my friends. We have all been very busy studying for exams instead of what my sister is doing during this holiday, which is mainly shopping, movie watching or clubbing. You see we are on holiday but since it is my last school year all I get to do is study, study, study. But yesterday I had a few hours out the house with my amazing friends.

We just went for dinner at our usual spot in Sandton and we spent the night catching up, laughing, and daring my one friend to eat hot sauce. Usually this friend always orders the food that takes the longest which results in her food coming last. So we set a bet: if her food comes last we will all douse our food in tabasco (all excluding her) and eat it, but if her food comes anywhere but last she has to do it. And guess what hers came: second. It wasn’t as funny as was expected but I blame this on her always tasting the different chilli sauces of all different restaurants, as well as my dad’s famous (extremely hot) chilli sauce. So the tabasco pepper sauce was not such a great challenge but we all still had a laugh.

We also had a different bet which I made in order to have a stress-free dinner. This bet was that you weren’t allowed to bring up studying, if you did you would be the kind soul who would treat us to dinner. I was sure no one would like to pay about R600 for speaking about studying so this worked a treat. Our horrible fate of exams was kept out of the conversation all night. So this is a great idea to get people to avoid a topic that you would rather not talk about (tip for the future, free of charge).

 

How to write in Hylian

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Hylian Alphabet – give it a go

I am not one to get hooked into fandoms and fangirl about nerdy series but today I got sucked in.

On one of the many social networking sites I say a picture of the Hylian alphabet. For those of you who don’t know, this alphabet is from The Legend of Zelda games. I have the game The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on Wii and it is fantastic.

I’ve always found different alphabets interesting and would love to know how to write in some sort of code. So today in one of my many attempts to procrastinate, I begun to teach my self Hylian. I’m not going to learn the language cuz frankly I am terrible at those. So I will just write in English using the Hylian alphabet. Some of these letters I find very challenging and are going to need a lot of practice. The most challenging one I find is the humble ‘f’. I know what you’re thinking “why would ‘f’ be the most challenging? Surely it would be ‘q’ or ‘w’ or something like that?” but no, it is the ‘f’. As you can see the ‘f’ has funny little flicks which are hard to get right. The letter in close second is ‘e’. Getting the bottom half to be in proportion is very difficult.

I am not trying to scare you off by discussing all the difficulties of using this alphabet, merely just giving a heads-up. So if you are going to try write like this tell me what the most difficult letters are for you and if you find writing in a “secret language” fun?

My top 3

Matthew Mole with his banjo

Ugly Heart – G.R.L

Ghost – Ella Henderson

Ok today I have decided to talk about music (kind of). Since I cannot think of ANYTHING to write about (it’s quite a problem) I will let you see the inner workings of my soul. Or just my top 3 songs in my iTunes library.

The first one is Ghost by Ella Henderson. I love this song because of the upbeat rhythm and tune. The lyrics are also different. The song is not a typical heartbreak song which is a refreshing twist on the overplayed. It really is a great song and I can listen to it over and over.

The second is Ugly Heart by G.R.L. This song is an empowering song about how a girl does not need a man. He will miss her more than she will miss him. I really like this song and it is also upbeat and happy. It’s sung by an all girl band which just adds to the song

The third would be Take Yours I’ll Take Mine by Matthew Mole. I really like this song firstly because Matthew Mole is a South African artist and I saw him live which was amazing. He is a fantastic singer and his songs are always meaningful. The music video is also great because it is so different. He is playing the banjo around Jo’burg and it is so funny seeing people’s reactions to this.

I recommend all these songs and to definitely watch Matthew Mole’s video.

What music do you enjoy?  I could use with a bigger collection of music. What are your top 3?

Books or Movies?

As Sunday is a very lazy day I watched a movie (while I was supposed to be doing my homework, but oooh well) and this movie was Divergent. Although I watched it before in the cinema I wanted to watch it again, and if you haven’t watched it yet I recommend it.

Also it is a very good book to read. Surprisingly I read it to and I loved it (the surprising part was that i read, not that i loved it). But what I want to discuss is the difference between movies and books. I am not a person who thinks movies ruin books; both are a great and creative medium to escape the normalcy of life. What I think is if you read the book first you ruin the movie, but if you watch the movie first, you ruin the book. It’s so difficult to choose. And although watching a movie is easier and takes less time, I must admit that a book should be read first before the movie.

See I am not an avid reader so I watch a movie then decide to read the book. I am incidentally a “fake fan”. But I still love the books (and the movies) just as much. This happened to me first with The Hunger Games. And I am proud to say that I finished the whole series in a weekend. This happened again with Divergent, although I still have to read Insurgent and Allegiant, which will happen before the release of the next movie (hopefully).

Another book I want to read is The Maze Runner. I have no idea what it’s about, the only reason I want to read it is because Dylan O’Brien is starring in the movie. (I know, it’s not the best reason but it’s getting me to read before the movie). So I have about a month and a half to read in between studying for my exams. How exciting. I’m not exactly sure of the release date in South Africa but I hope it’s at the end of my exams so I won’t have a distraction because it will definitely be one (I’m a very easily distracted person, I’m like Doug from the movie UP!).

If you have read the book, The Maze Runner, what do you think of it? Would you recommend it?

Springtime in Winter

The beautiful spring themed cake

 

One of the beautiful arrangements of flowers

A very springy room

A Toast!

My friend will turn 18 on Monday so she decided to have a lunch party today because sadly we have school on Monday. She only invited a select few from school to her party and the theme was spring. This would be a very good theme if it weren’t winter right now and the weather wasn’t favouring winter coats. However although it was winter, luckily it was a nice sunny day where we could stand sun our backs.

The house was decorated with bunting everywhere all pinks, reds, and whites. There were so many flower arrangements that were all so beautiful (my favourite was the sweet pea bouquet). The food was delicious too. She had springtime salads (all with fruit, which I am a bit skeptical about, but surprisingly wasn’t that bad) and quiches and delicious breads. I took a bit too much that there wasn’t much room for cake. However I managed to squeeze half a slice in.

The cake was beautiful. It was given to the birthday girl from one of her friends which took 8 hours to make! It was a two tiered vanilla cake with meringue icing (which was absolutely amazing). And to top it all off the bottom tier was covered in pink and purple macaroons. It was perfect for the theme and it was a scrumptious cake.

After that cake MORE food came, this time in the form of chocolate, to be more specific, a chocolate fountain. The chocolate was delicious and a strawberry dipped in it was a nice way to finish the afternoon.

Overall I had a wonderful time and I hope that Jemma has a wonderful time being 18!

Hot and Cold

I have recently been having late nights, this comes with the territory of being in the last year of high school. And I needed something to keep me awake while I study for yet another Afrikaans poetry test *sigh*. 

So usually the “go-to” waker uper (great use of the English language, I know) is coffee. But because I am just so original (sarcasm intended) I don’t go for the “go-to” of the art of keeping one awake. This is mainly because I don’t like coffee, but I like the original excuse better. So this led me to testing the “hot and cold method”. I actually don’t know the name, or even if it is a method. But while I was happily procrastinating on Facebook, I came across a post that explains that drinking hot and cold beverages alternatively will keep you awake. Because I had nothing else to lose (and I needed an excuse to have a well deserved break) I went to make myself some tea and get a glass of cold water. The tea I decided to choose was Rooibos, and by looking back now that probably wasn’t the best choice because it does not contain any caffeine, but I suppose that gives it a better indication if it worked or not. Look at me, aren’t i just the little scientist.

So after I had made the almost perfect cup of Rooibos (almost because I added a bit too much sugar) and my glass of water I headed back to my room. The studying soon commenced and surprisingly the method worked. I am now even so awake that I can write this blog (and no – this has nothing to do with how boring the poetry is). I have no idea about the science behind it but I now have a sufficient method to keep myself awake (without killing my taste buds). The only downfall is the ever increasing filling of my bladder, so maybe if you are to try this, get slightly smaller glasses. 

 

Getting to know me

Good evening all (or whatever time of day it might be where you are).

I am currently sitting in the kitchen waiting for my supper to heat up in the oven. I have decided to write another post, not only because I am bored sitting here alone but also I want to prove to my sister how I will NOT fail at blogging.

You see, my sister, Natalie, has this view of me being extremely lazy (she’s a main culprit of being a “they”). The reason she has this very wrong opinion of me is that I can get her to do what I want for me. I know that sounds mean, but doesn’t it come with the “older sibling” title? And if you can get someone to do something for you, why on earth would you do it yourself? Anyway back to the point at hand… My sister thinks I can’t finish anything or keep up with anything I’ve started, so here I am proving her wrong, hah! But this is not the only reason I’m writing it, as that alone is a pretty terrible reason. I wanted to introduce myself, seeing that I so rudely forgot about it the first time.

*ahem* Now as I tuck into my dessert of apple strudel I will truly begin. My Name is Nicola, and although you are all probably dying to know my surname I will not reveal it, I need to keep some sort of mystery between us. My age however, I will give away.

I am 18 years old and am living in a beautiful country that right now is  biting through my jersey as a freezing cold breeze brushes past my ear. This country that I am so fondly referring to, is South Africa.

I was born in Johannesburg on the 16 February 1996, just a small bundle, a mere 3 pounds… Juuust kidding I have absolutely no idea how much I weighed or how heavy 3 pounds is. I should probably ask my mother how fat I was when I was expelled from… just a bit graphic so I’ll change the subject before anyone heaves. I was a happy little only child until one day DUH DUH DUUUUUHH my sister was brought home just four days after I spent my last Christmas being an only child. Obviously I don’t actually remember any of this because I was only 22 months old. Jeez aren’t I specific. But that is how I am going to introduce (for a third time) my little sister. Contrary to what I have just written about her, we are extremely close. It’s quite worrying actually, I think we are a bit too close. It’s funny to see her distress about me leaving her next year, she’s worse than my mom! We obviously do fight but our relationship is quickly healed with a cup of cold Milo, or when we make each other resentfully laugh at a joke but trying to stay mad. Don’t you just hate when that happens, I mean dammit you don’t deserve forgiveness yet! Anyway enough about my family life, let me tell you about me specifically.

I am 18 years old… Wait we covered that already… Gosh it’s so difficult to write about myself when I’ve already listed the easy facts about me. Here I go… I am a shy reserved person and prefer the company of animals to people, except for a lucky few. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats. The two cats are as fat as anything, but that’s what happens when your father is a cat lover with an eager need to shut my whining cat up. The dogs however are skinny little things because of all the energy they expel annoying my mother around the house. Right now I am imagining my little dog shivering outside as he regrets his decision to ask to go and bark outside… Don’t worry I’ll fetch him soon. Another animal I wish for is a horse. I love horse riding and go every Friday, even though the drive is far. Riding for me brings a sense of freedom and a rush of excitement as I soar over a jump. The two horses I usually ride are named National Event and Forest Gump (such a cute name). I won’t bore you with the details of each of their appearance as I can see half of you already dosing.

Back to a subject that maybe you are vaguely interested in, my other hobbies. I enjoy art although since my art teacher changed the lessons from a Saturday to a Friday, I have stopped. And because I am not very good at willing myself to do anything without a set time for it, I have dwindled in dabbling with a paintbrush (don’t you like my alliteration?). Let me explain myself, I do not do art at school because when we got to choose our subjects my art teacher was not overly encouraging for me to start art. Because I was already doubting myself and having three subjects already chosen I decided not to take it. A year or so later I joined my friend who had lessons outside of school (so as not to mix school with pleasure) and started immediately. I enjoyed it so much and wish I could go to art but sadly, horse riding was there first…

I may reveal a few more things about me as I get into the “blogging scene” but for now I think we’ve all heard enough about me. Especially as I glance over at the word count just hitting 900 words. But I did explain in the last entry I was a bit of rambler.

Now I shall go let my shivering dog in, clean up my plates and start this damn English speech I have been putting off…

They Call Me Lazy…

Usually people start blogs giving a short description of themselves and what you can expect from them and their blogs. But I have decided to take a different approach, although I will do the typical thing and explain myself, but all in due time, my friends. Today I thought I would explain the name of my blog, which may seem a bit strange to some people…

They Call Me Lazy… Well they do. They being my sister, my father and occasionally my mother. My  friends will do it too, but not so maliciously. Alright I admit… I am lazy sometimes but what do you expect of a teenager, we’re ALL lazy (yes! a dreaded generalization – don’t you hate those?). (“They” is also more general as the older generations tend to accuse my generation of being lazy).

It all began on a winter’s afternoon (I think). My sister and I were in the kitchen making cupcakes – baking is the best procrastinator- and while my sister was doing most of the baking ( I only like to mix, and if I were given more responsibilities something would have go wrong) I was snapchatting my friend. You see, she is an avid reader and writer and has thought of starting a blog for a long time, which we discussed over a delicious piece of rainbow velvet cake a few weeks earlier. While my sister and I use baking as a procrastinator she used starting a blog and got stuck on her name. Because I am such a great and creative friend (I’m being fake gloaty which I hope you can all tell) she decides to phone me and ask for some advice. She was  thinking of the name Through My Glasses because she wears glasses (obviously) and she wants to show people her world through her eyes. But sadly this name was already taken (such a problem in the 21st century). So we have a lengthly discussion, my sister piping in as she eavesdrops on half the conversation, and finally we conclude at Plain Old Glasses and she excitedly hangs up and starts her blog. She snapchats me she posted and sends me her link. I eagerly look at it and decide I must do all I can to support her. So I make a blog so I can follow her, be her number 1 fan!

Now’s the time to find myself a name – even harder for me because there isn’t really anything discerning about me. In a joking manner she gives me the name They Call Me Lazy, and I like it. Not because I am lazy, which irritates me if someone calls me lazy but because it’s original and it does in someway capture me.

It doesn’t describe me in the obvious way, that I am lazy, but in a more hidden way, in a cryptic kind of way. I have nothing in particular I want to discuss in my blogs, not fashion, not books, just my life in general and in my life in general I don’t do many memorable things, so lazy is the way to show that I’m just an ordinary girl. I will discuss the ins and outs of my life, the interesting and the not-so-interesting topics. This blog, for me, is not something I want to do to get lots of views, I don’t care if I have 5 or 500 views (although the more the merrier), I just want an outlet and an escape from the world and maybe exploring blogging will achieve this. So this will not be the best written (I’m a horrible writer) and there will be many grammatical mistakes (mostly comma splices – which I am told I make often) and I know it takes me long time to get to the point and my writing is veerrryy long winded, but this will be mine. And hopefully this won’t be too boring that I’ll have some people to share the blogging journey with me.

Another thing that I want the name of this blog to do is to show the “they” that I am, in fact, not lazy. I will defy them, I will do the complete opposite and show them how active (for want of a better word) I can be and what a difference I can make. However after saying this I hope it doesn’t backfire and I am just lazy and have nothing to show for my life (which I fear deeply).

So to conclude this very long and drawn-out blog  I welcome the readers that stumble upon my blog and hope that you enjoy reading what I have to offer and that you help me change the way “they” look at us.

 

and just on a side note… if any of you want to visit my friends blog here is the link:  http://plainoldglasses.wordpress.com/