Challenge 34: If I Met My Younger Self.

What would you tell yourself? Would you give advice? What advice would that be? Ask about your perception of the world? Give us an idea of who you think you were or who you think you'll be in the future...

dear highschool self,
im only three years out of school and already have so much advice to share with you.
stop worrying about whatever drama is currently going on...
the girls you worry about will cease to matter the second you walk out of those school gates on your last day.
spend even more time with your close friends...
you will miss them more then you can ever imagine when they have all left and moved away.
go to more parties, say yes to everything you are invited to!
dont feel left out being that year younger then all your friends...
you truly arent missing out on anything that amazing and eventually you too will be 18 and free to enjoy everything that entails.
you should probably study a little harder for the HSC...
but then again, you will get into uni anyway and you will absolutely love it once you are there!
STUDY DRAMA...
just do it please please please...
im sure if you do you wont regret it...
if you dont do it, you will definately regret it!
remember that everything happens for a reason...
some friendships arent made to last!
honestly NOTHING that happens is as big of a deal as you will make it out to be in your head...
stay positive, be happy, live in the moment...
LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE AND NEVER REGRET ANYTHING WHICH ONCE MADE YOU SMILE!!!

xx


* this is a blogthis challenge *

you're plastic.

been super busy...
lots going on but nothing i want to share with the world...
so instead a little quote that i have not stopped saying for the past few weeks...

"Did you have an awesome time? Did you drink awesome shooters, listen to awesome music, and then just sit around and soak up each others awesomeness? "

- mean girls.



xx

textbook romance

i heart selfhelp books...
before i started and when i was new to nannying i loved the supernanny books...
when i need to work on looking after my health i love anything by the biggest loser crew (both american and australian)...
whenever im looking for inspiration in any aspect of life i reach for a selfhelp book...
and often then hand them onto other people who i feel could benefit from it (i recently passed on 'and never stop dancing' by gordon livingston,to my dad... great read!)

so when i heard zoe foster (anyone know how to write those e's with the dots on top?), cosmopolitan writer, was releasing her very own selfhelp book, titled textbook romance, i knew i was going to have to read it one day!

im currently just over half way through the book and loving it. zoe's writing is witty, entertaining and at times downright hilarious. (the occasionally useful comments from hamish blake go alright too)...
her advice is straight forward and blunt, no wishy washy crap which i really enjoy about it!

so in my quest to obtain to as much selfhelp as i can get...
im wondering what the best relationship/dating advice you have ever recieved is?
or what advice you've developed yourself through your years of experience?

xx

point and shoot.

i got my point and shoot on this weekend (as directed to by chantelle at fat mum slim)...
this photo pretty much sums up my weekend...
which was spent with AMAZING friends!
tom (who we met on contiki in NZ) came down from the gold coast for the weekend, which made for a great time...
chilling out at my friends place, a few drinks, cooking up a storm, a jam session, pre drinks on res, nightclubs and more.

:)
(do you ever hate being the one who always a camera in your hand? you either end up not being in any photos... or having hundreds of "selfies" with half of the other peoples faces cut out!?!)

xx

that girl.

so here's a long overdue post for you...
the trusty old...
GETTING TO KNOW ME!
i think i've been putting this off because im not quite sure how much information to share or how exactly to tell you all about myself...
but i'm gonna give it a try.

ok so.....
im originally from a small coastal/country town in NSW, Australia...
I lived my first 17 years of life there and loved it (well most of it)!

i absolutely adore my parents (who are still together for anyone wondering, i know how common divorce is these days)...
i have a younger sister (by two years) who is one of my closet friends...
im a very family orientated person, and really enjoy attending extended family events, which due to the distance that seperates us all are far and few between!

growing up my family had a dog named tommy who was a jack russel cross foxy, and he was the best, me and my sister used to play vets and bandage his legs in tissues, or use him as a doll and put him in a crib, or make him jump over skipping ropes...
now my family have an adorable maltese cross shitzu named simba, they got him about 3 months before i moved out and i spent almost every day in that 3 months at home to him so i got pretty attached...
im definately a dog person, cats are just not for me!

i was in a car accident when i was 16, in year 11 of highschool...
it has had a huge impact on my life and definately shaped the person i am today...
its not something i have spoken about or mentioned on my blog before now (which kind of suprises me)...
i was getting a lift to school with a friend early one morning (as i did twice every week) to attend extension english classes...
it was raining and the road was slippery, as i wasnt driving i dont know exactly what happened...
i wont go into huge detail here (perhaps a post i need to write later on)...
but i ended up with a fractured skull...
which meant a week in hospital...
and altough i appeared to heal quickly the effects of the crash werent easily fixed...
and still i struggle at times with certain emotional effects from this incident.

i moved out of home when i was 17...
i had finished high school and was taking a gap year to make some $$$, so i could support myself at uni...
somehow i ended up landing myself a job as a live in nanny in the ACT, Australia...
i couldnt have asked for a better family to move in with...
they really have become like a second family to me...
and the kids are the most precious things ever...
it was a great way to move out of home as i was still living in a family environment, having most meals made for me, and not having to worry about things like paying rent and bills...
when i started working there the kids were aged 2(a girl) and 5(a boy)...
i would look after both of them mornings and afternoons and look after the girl two full days a week...
it was a great job, awkward at times living with a completely random family, but i usually enjoyed myself...
the mum got pregnant not long after i started working there and went on maternity leave a while before i was due to finish working...
and so a new little bubba was born while i was still there, which was great to be a part of with the family...
my contract ended and i moved out at the end of 2008.

i started university in the ACT in 2009 and have just started my second year (i am 19) ...
i live on residence at the uni and love it...
im studying primary education and have wanted to be a teacher for as long as i can remember.

i really love acting...
and whilst i was nannying found i had a little time to pursue this...
so i did some extra work in a couple of short films and even got a paid spot in a TV commercial for charles sturt dental school, which was a great experience...
ive done a couple of workshops with groups such as NIDA and ATYP...
i wish i had more time to devote to acting but with university and work i struggle to find any...
hopefully one day soon i will get back into it.

i work as a jumping castle supervisor and really enjoy it.

i love the beach...
i love food (not always a good thing)...
i love playing netball...
i love to party...
i love the internet and blogging and text messages and emails...
i love reading...
i love the hills and reality tv...

i love astrology...
my housemate and i read our star signs constantly...
i am a taurus and represent pretty much everything about that sign...
im loyal to my friends and family and expect them to be too...
i dont like change, especially when it involves people leaving, or relationships changing...
im stubborn, i do things my way, i say what i want, im blunt...

love it or leave it...


xx

smiles all round.

a blog award...
from the lovely kellyansapansa , whose blog makes me want to get engaged to somebody, anybody just so i can organise a wedding of my own (and jusitfy buying LOTS of wedding magazines)!

ITS A HAPPY AWARD!
so im meant to list ten things that make me happy, but i have done that post before (here), so im going to list ten things that have made me happy in the past week:
getting this award...
buying my cute little cactus...
seeing the movie valentines day (everyone should see it...cute!)...
not having to go to work because of rain...
dressing up as a superhero...
watching the biggest loser: couples...
making healthy vegetarian pizza for me and my roomie...
resolving a conflict with a friend...
buying a second hand textbook (worth $90 got it for $50)...
tom from contiki booking a trip down to visit us next weekend.

now to pass it on, i think i was meant to award to ten people... but i really just want to acknowledge these three people whose blog definately made me happy this past week:
E @ E,Myself and I
siovhan
christine

cactus.

i finally made it to the kingston markets today to get myself a mini cactus that now sits proudly on the desk in my room...

(how cute is this photo? in the polaroid style? how did i do it? poladroid! its awesome... get it here! )

day zero...
#44 buy a little cactus to keep in my room...
DONE!
(wow i cant believe how good it feels every time i can tick something on my list!)
oh and on that subject i can also tick...
#45 finish reading twilight...
yep ive done it, ive finished the whole series, finaly...
now i just want to see the movies, i cant imagine how they are going to portray some of the events on film!

still on the subject of my day zero ( or 101 in 1001 ) list...
im still trying to hit 50 followers and so i have decided that when i do, i will celebrate by knocking off two tasks and holding my first ever giveaway!!!
however im still a way off 50 (current count has me at 36), so if you know anyone that may find my blog interesting (or just wants the chance to enter a giveaway) send them on over :)

xx

back into it.

the holiday is well and truly over...
as is my first week back at university for the year...
my classes are boring!
im taking health and personal development (which is so far kinda boring but i am interested in the subject matter so it may get better), science and technology (for primary teachers), repsonding to individual needs (in the classroom) and Professional Experience (i have a two week prac at a local primary school in april).

well thats the really boring part of uni talked about (or atleast mentioned and kind of rushed over), now onto the interesting stuff...
PARTIES!

oweek just wasnt as great this year...
i wasnt in the mood to be back at uni and that definately had an impact on my attitude towards oweek and how much fun i had...
all i wanted was to be back in new zealand and hanging out with my amazing contiki buddies, i did NOT want to face reality and was dreading the impending start back at classes...
that said, i went to a traffic light party on the monday - you wear red if in a relationship, orange if its complicated or you're not sure, and green if single...
i wore green...
i went to a 'beach party' the wednesday night - terrible theme to have in a bar in a town that is atleast 1.5 hours from the beach, there was meant to be a mechanical surfboard that would have been pretty cool but that got cancelled.
i went to a toga party on the thursday night - which was actually pretty fun (minus some friendship drama which has been going on this past two weeks, but that finally got resolved yesterday.)

then i went home for the weekend so i could talk about contiki non stop and show my parents all my photos from NZ.

then this week i went out 2 nights and had more fun then i had during oweek...
wednesday night was just a usual uni night at the pub we walk to from res...
and thursday night was a theme night held at our uni (also in walking distance, which just makes things so much easier!)...
the theme was superheros and villians...

my plan was to go as mrs incredible but when i went to attach my 'i' logo it didnt work and my face paint mask had to be washed off because it was like melting off my face in the heat...
so i just went as... ummmmmm.... wellllll.... a super person?
haha...
it was a really fun night though...

reminded why i am happy to be here at uni :)

xx

got samples?

i do...
eyeshadow samples...
in absolutely gorgeous colours.

where from?

delala cosmetics!

my FREE samples arrived whilst i was away overseas and were such a pleasant surprise to arrive home to...
the packaging was super cute...
the bright colours instantly caught my eyes...
and after one use i was smitten...
ive used delala eyeshadow every night i have gone out this past week (which has been oweek at uni)...
im still trying to capture just how great they are in a photo...
ive even succesfully tried using the electric blueish colour (tease) as an eyeliner by dipping a cotton bud in water and then dipping in the eyeshadow...
so head on over and check out delala cosmetics NOW!

xx

new zealand

new zealand. is. AMAZING.
i spent 17 days over there on a contiki tour with three of my friends.
we did so many things that i almost cant rememeber them all:
-parasailing

-black water rafting (glow worm caves. you go down 70m underground in a cave and get a black tire tube that you wade through the water on and jump off waterfalls on)
-quad bikes

-jet boat
-zorbing

-white water rafting
-canyon swing (109m high. 60m freefall. 180kph. 200m swing)

i managed to knock quite a few tasks off my day zero list, including:
#4 go white water rafting
#7 go to new zealand
#14 go on a contiki tour
#15 Zorb
#35 spend a weekend without using mobile phone or internet
#58 drive a 4wheeler (quad bike)

we met the greatest people...
you truly do make lifelong friends on contiki...
its unbelieveable how close we all became within the 17 days...
we are all already planning catch ups and talking about doing another contiki tour together.

ofcourse it was contiki so there was plenty of partying to be had...
and pretty much everywhere we went let us dance on the tables and bars, which was always a lot of fun!

new zealand has a policy that if you do something naked its free...
flashing your boobs guarantees free shots...
jumping out of an airplane can be free if you're clothesless...
one guy on our tour actually did his second canyon swing naked except for his shoes and socks & got it free...
its hilarious!

for anyone considering a trip to NZ i say do it and do it now...
you will not regret making a trip over to the land of the long white cloud...
the scenery is breath taking, truly truly amazing...
i recommend visiting Paihia (in the Bay of Islands) it is such a gorgeous little coastal town...
and also Queenstown to get the adrenalin pumping (and if you do go there DO THE CANYON SWING!).

for anyone considering going on a contiki tour it is great...
our tour manager and driver were really nice people who made everything enjoyable and took great care of us all...
the people on contiki (all aged between 18-35) were fantastic to spend 17 days with and altough the group of 50 did end up divded a little, everyone made great friends and everyone got along with one another...
contiki is good if your not sure what you want to see in a country and are willing to stick to a tight schedule but if you have very specific ideas about what you want to see in a country and how long you want to spend there i would suggest setting aside extra travel time perhaps to go back to those places after contiki...
that said i had a blast, i didnt know much about NZ at all before i left and came back wanting to live there!


:)

xx