Try something new today :)

I've always liked Sainsbury's catch phrase 'try something new today' even though I never shop there. Something about that phrase suggests there's an exciting world out there that you need to explore..so go get some! That's what i've been doing lately..trying some new things.

Acting since I left school: I was asked to be the one of the main characters in a performance my church was doing with kids club. I played a troubled young teen who didn't feel worth anything due to events in her life that made her feel that way, until she meets Jesus who isn't what she expected. It was so great to feel the buzz again that always fills me when I am doing acting. I'm definately not gonna stop continuing to carry on that passion of mine!





Cakes: I was watching the tv programme 'cook yourself thin' which attracted me because they had the motto of not dieting but cook healthier. There was this cake recipe that just looked so delish I had to try it out. Also, it included a courgette in the recipe and the woman claimed that you couldn't taste it. Well I found that strange and wanted to find out for myself. So I grabbed my friend maria, we put on our pinnys and got to work. I hadn't baked in ages coz my mum doesn't really have time to bake cakes. I was sooooo pleased! :) they turned out terrific, sweet and presentable..luvly jubbly! annnndddd...she was correct, you couldn't taste the courgette.

Here's the link for the recipe:

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/healthy/cook-yourself-thin/strawberries-and-cream-cupcake-recipe_p_1.html

Dragon fruit: I was in tesco when I came across an odd but pretty looking fruit which I had never seen before. I thought I wonder what that tastes like as I am a person who loves fruit. So I bought it and then realised I had no idea how to prepare it. So it was time to do a bit of research.

This is what I found out - Pitaya or more commonly known as Dragon Fruit is the fruit of Hylocereus cactus species, which only blooms at night with large white fragrant flowers called 'moon flower' or 'queen of the night' which I think sounds beautiful. They are native to Mexico and Central and South America but are also cultivated in Asian countries. To me the fleshy white pulp looked alot like the flesh of a kiwi apart from the colour.

However, although this fruit looked tropical and attractive the taste was totally not! It didn't taste of anything which was a real disappointment. Maybe I got a bad one, I dunno but to me I only could eat one mouthful as it was so tasteless. I was glad I tried it though.

Prayer Diary: I have also started a prayer diary where I not only write down church service notes, verses and pictures God gives me but now I write down the things I pray about to. It was an idea I got from reading the book 'too busy not to pray' by Bill Hybels, which I would recommend to you all. It helps me to slow down, give God the private time He deserves, lets me analyse my life and puts things into perspective. Not only that but I found that since I started to write my prayers down now my prayers aren't just I need, I want..ask ask ask, if you get my drift but now I am reminded to include adoration, confession, thanks as well as asking God for help with things..which is important too!

So yeah if you've got any ideas of what else I could try I'd love to hear it :)

Race for Life!

My excuse for not blogging lately is that I have been really tired preparing for the cancer research race for life which happened on sunday. I had to force myself to really go for it in the last couple of weeks before the run because I wasn't someone who used to enjoy running, I wouldn't even be bothered to run for a bus! lol. Now on the other hand, I am actually considering jogging as a hobby :) Unfortunately, me and my good friend Avril (shown in picture with me) had to cram in preparation in the last couple of weeks as our lives have been very hectic with uni and other issues. Next time we do it, it would be much better to spread out the preparation jogging over a longer period of time..although this may have to be by ourselves as she is situated in Scotland, long way to come for just jogging practise!

Anywhooo, we both finished the 5km,jogging the whole way and to say it was harder than anticipated is an understatement. There was many hills, uneven ground( I tripped once, doh!) and people that were walking when they went to the jogging category who were not moving out the way to help those who actually wanted to jog. This won't matter to you if your not an eastenders fan like us, but Zainab Masood was jogging like a metre away from us! cooool :D We jogged the whole 5km in 42 minutes, which I am very proud of..next time we are aiming for under 40 minutes. My leg muscles are still tight and aching even now! I'm very pleased we decided to do it and we raised well over £100 for the charity. Without wanting to sound too cheesy..we really were RACING FOR LIFE.

R.I.P Grandad Minnie - I miss you but I know your happier where you are now..Thanks to God that he found Jesus before he died of the horrible disease.

Still praying for Uncle Rob, who is still fighting cancer.

End of yr 1 teaching and brooooooom broooooom off I go!

I finally finished my 1st teaching practise last friday and we had a celebratory BBQ, just me, raz, mum, dad, lil, ali barbar and warren which was lovely because luckily it didn't rain..there's nothing nice about soggy burgers! My class gave me a huge hand-made card, box of malteasers and a gerainium which made me feel so happy I felt like I was going to cry.


Here is the final product of all my teaching:


AFTER
BEFORE

It was an experience I will never forget, full of so many different emotions. I definately underestimated how much paperwork there was going to be..I was swamped! I enjoyed teaching year one when they behaved lol It gave me an opportunity to be creative which I liked and I thank God for being with me always. I will miss them, all of their very different characters and maybe some day I may just bump into one of the little treasures, I doubt they will remember me though. My confidence grew and my timing in the lessons improved but as always there will be tons more to learn. On to key stage two...but I'll have my much needed holiday first ;)

Driving Lessons:

On a slightly different note, I started up my driving lessons again and the lesson went on for an hour. I was nervous and I thought I had forgotton everything but as I began driving it fell back into place, not everything but most things which I am grateful for. I need to do my theory test soon.

Whirlpool Galaxy

LOOK WHAT GOD MADE

and right at the heart of the billions of lightyears away whirlpool galaxy is a cross :)

AMAZING

Now every time I look up to the stars I will think to myself it is undescrible how great our God is.

We are not even a tiny speck in this beautiful world that God made but he still sent his own son to die for us, I don't know about you but that makes me feel special and loved and sorry for when I underestimate God's power.

If you haven't watched Louis Giglio's talks..I highly recommend you do! It deffo puts things into perspective.

Paul Klee

This week, at the school I am doing my first experience placement at, it was art week.

We looked at an artist called Paul Klee which I found throughly interesting.

He said 'art is just taking a line for a walk'.

Him saying that made me feel as if it's possible for anyone to produce a great piece of art work. His work is fascinating to look at because it can look like different things for different angles or to a different person. Art like drama is totally down to a person's perspective. The picture above is just one of his lovely pieces of work.

So much to do so little time!

Daffodils bringing sunshine to my campus..I couldn't miss the photo opportunity :)

Sorry about the lack of bloggage lately, I'm afraid it's going to come to you all at once today.

Ramone's Birthday:

Well, I took the day off work so that we could have the whole day to celebrate my boyfriend Ramone's 19th birthday, also we went out the night before to a club in Leceister square called Penthouse so we got back in the very early hours of the morning anyway. I had never been to Penthouse before and when I arrived there I was disappointed with how packed it was. I mean,it was so packed that we were literally touching other people and it was very hard to dance with people keep pushing you out the way to get past. On his actual birthday, 20th March, we first when to TGI Fridays. For those of you who don't know, TGI Fridays is a american style restaurant with very yummy food. For me it was half a rack of ribs, shrimp and fries with a cocktail :p For desert we popped over the road to the Krispy Kreme shop, if you've never had a krispy kreme doughnut..U NEED TO! it's heaven in the shape of a doughnut. We then had to rush home to get our Arsenal shirts on as we were going to watch Arsenal Vs West Ham at the Emirates Stadium. It was a definate adventure trying to get there..to start it off we left our houses late and by the time we reached the station they wasn't letting anyone through because someone had had a heart attack on the train. What to do???!!!?? There was 15 minutes until kick-off and no train..so I did the most sensible thing I could suggest, we got a cab to the stadium. When we got there, I ran like my life depended on it, trying to keep up with Ramone who was getting more eager as he heard the fans singing from inside the stadium. We had to first find out what part of the stadium we were sitting in, and it had to be round the other far side! More running! We got there,missed Arsenal scoring their first goal but we got there which was the main thing :D. Arsenal won 2-0 so we left with smiles on our faces. I was totally knackered but I couldn't go home and lay on the sofa..I had Ramone's 2nd party to go to with his other group of friends. We met his mates in a pub then headed off to O'neills(a pub-club) ...to say it was an eventful day wouldn't cut it.

3 Year Anniversary :

On 24th March, Ramone and me had been going out for 3 years so to celebrate we went out on the 23rd as Ramone was working on the 24th. We went to Alexandra Palace and played 'Pitch and Putt'. We both had never played golf before and it was a throughly enjoyable experience. I would like to go again in the summer when it is better weather as it was raining on and off when we were playing. Ramone won the game, but then again he always wins things like that I must admit lol. We then went out to a restaurant in Knights Bridge, where his older brother use to work. It was like something out of a movie the restaurant, just so special and even more so because of who I was with. He bought me a pair of earrings and a silver trinket box that said 'I love you' on it. I bought him a watch and a pendant with the letter 'R' engraved on the front and on the back '3 years, I love you'. Those presents were just a small symbol of how we feel about each other. I wouldn't change one moment of my time of going out with Ramone or choosing to give my heart to him. I love him and I can't wait to make more memories with him.

School Placement Preparation:

Last week was the first week of my school preparation week for my teaching block.

The topic I will be teaching is 'seaside rescue'. I have so many lesson plans to do, so much to do for my folders and I still haven't finished my assignments due on 19th April. If I didn't know God was with me and this is what he wants me to do at this time, I think I would have 'fallen off the edge' so to speak. I am nervous. I am excited. I am stressed. I am happy. This is one emotional rollercoaster and then I think to myself 'this is life'...one step at a time approach is needed.

Easter:

It was Easter Sunday yesterday. My family gave me a lovely lindt chocolate bunny with carrots and my boyfriend gave me a yummy dairy milk chocolate egg. I fell in love with Jesus all over again. It's easy for Easter, like Christmas to become just full of routine and listen to the same stories forgetting what they are TRUELY talking about. He was PAINFULLY nailed to a cross and slowly died a humilating death FOR ME, taking MINE and everyone else's sins with him so that we could be FREE. HE ROSE AGAIN and is with me NOW, NOTHING can separate us :D I want to feel that amazing freedom everyday and that amazing love completely everyday.

Work hard, Party Harder!

Wednesday 10th March - The UV Party! :)

*My memory in the form of a poem*

The uv party with lots of uv light
my purple painted heart glowing so bright,
Lots of work with dedication
but it was time to change the station,
Dance like I've never danced before
The beat was something we couldn't ignore,
Drunk sports students pinch her bum
Waiting for the opportunity to get some,
One or two drinks but no more
otherwise you would hit the floor,
Giggling with all your friends
all looking stunning in the latest trends,
My camera was at the ready
trying to keep my hand steady,
Getting lost in the midst of time
Going with the song my body was full of mime,
Happy as Larry but it was time to go,
The traffic on the way home was super slow,
The next day in the SU there was no trace,
only the last crumpled cup in that small deserted space.

(by Daisy Minnerthey)