Adaption of the Chocolate Loaf

I hate to be cynical; but it always seems like when you're looking for something you can't find it. But then when you're not, every door is open to you. When I became vegan for a few months, I could hardly find anything that would fill the sweet hole beyond fruit and Alpro Soya yogurt. The choices were very limited and I was hard-pressed to get a good baking recipe - even on sites that specialised in vegan baking.

Recently, I was searching for fitness tips and stumbled across 2 vegan baking recipes on FitSugar. The vegan no-bake brownies that I made (and that are listed under the 'recipe' section) were very nice. They lacked the gooey fudge texture of normal egg crammed, butter filled brownies but nonetheless calm the angry cravings of a sugar-deprived stomach. Essentially, they tasted vegan. 

The bet recipe I tried was sold to me as: "Zucchini bread that tastes like brownies". I had to give it a go. And, it was delightful. Even the raw batter tasted like real brownies. It was so chocolatey and fudge-like that I could instantly tell it would be a winner. When it was baking, it smelled divine and when I took it out I could finally say that I'd made something vegan that tasted 'normal'. It has quite a crumbly texture but it's not at all dry: a lovely treat for a Saturday evening! 

I had initially intended to make these into muffins by the mixture was incredibly sticky and formed a ball which I didn't want to break up. Beside, for the first try, which is always my mistake, I ought to stick to the original recipe. 

However, I did make a slight change. I am not a particular fan of dried cranberries so I substituted half of the required quantity for glacé cherries which are one of my favourite baking ingredients!!

(Vegan) Chocolate and 'Cranberry' Zucchini Loaf 

(Taken from www.fitsugar.com) 

NOTE ON THE RECIPE: This is an American recipe and so measurements are in cups. If you have cup measures then I always find that American recipes are a lot easier because they save you the hassle of measuring ingredients with scales. However, I have written the equivalent measure in grams alongside the initial measure for ease of access. 

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C

1. Grate 225g courgette (zucchini) thinly and place in a bowl. Place to one side
2. In a separate bowl, mix 120g wholemeal flour, 60g cocoa powder (unsweetened), 1 tsp and 1/4 of baking powder, a pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp mixed spice. Place this to one side
3. In a large bowl, Mash 1 ripe banana and stir in 110g caster sugar, 125ml canola oil and 1 tsp vanilla extract
4. Pour the shredded courgette into the above mixture and stir until combined
5. Stir in all of the dry ingredients
6. Add to the bowl 60g of dried cranberries or glace cherries
7. Line a small loaf tin with baking parchment, pour in the batter and bake for 45 minutes (The cake should be soft to the touch and cooked on top. Insert a skewer into the middle to ensure it is fully cooked)

mmmm...appetizing!!! 

The Happy Place

When people say 'find your happy place' they usually refer to 2 things. Occasionally it's used as a joke - a wind up for an aggravated person. But more often than not, it refers to a state of mind. A place of complete serenity where worries and stress no longer jar your every thought.

So it never really occurred to me that you might actually be able to find your happy place ... And go to visit. 

The other day I read a post on a blog I follow called Absolutely Lucy. It was all about how she remained happy and about finding your happy place. She said a 'happy place' is a place that you've been to which holds some fundamental importance for you. Your 'happy place' could be a park, a beach, a house. Anything that makes you happy and holds happy memories. It's so simple and I don't know why it never occurred to me before. 

I was having a bit of a dip earlier on last week when I happened to read Lucy's post. I began to wonder about my happy place because I needed to get there. It's hard to start to think of somewhere happy when you're not in the mood. But I still tried. 

Lucy's happy place was an island off Malta called Comino. I went there with my family some years back too so I retraced the holiday through my mind, remembering the beautiful turquoise of sea and the spare rocky expanse. We had literally just been dropped off the boat on a baron land in the sea. I remember worrying that the boat would not come back to collect us and that we were sold our death in the package of a 'pleasant day trip to a popular tourist island'. 

It was a good holiday, but this wasn't my happy place. I went through the catalogue of my other recent holidays. This year we went to Borneo - it was my childhood dream come true and, even though it ticked off number 1 of my bucket list, this still wasn't my happy place. Not because I was ungrateful or because I didn't have an amazing time but because the time we spent on the island was so jam packed that there wasn't a lot of thinking time. 

Thinking time. Where had I had a lot pf that recently? Then I found it. My happy place. An island near Bali: Lombok.

We've been there 2 years in a row now to the same hotel. It's an absolutely beautiful place. It's set right on the beach with its own infinity pool that looks out onto the sun setting behind the mountains of Bali. The water is clear and pickled with colourful tropical fish. When you walk the length of the beach: a walk that takes a leisurely 15 minutes, you get to a bend where large boulders block your entrance. The waves crash over these boulders as though trying to break them and there are fish that stick themselves to the rocks and advance with each breaking wave. 

This year, we sat atop these rocks and meditated: a method that James had learnt from his recent trip to Cambodia. We sat and tried to clear our minds. We thought of nothing and listened. There were no people on this stretch of the beach. It was ours. 

Thinking about this place; remembering the warmth of the sun, the stillness of the sound, the erratic push of the sea, the sticky smell of salt, puts a smile on my face. This was the place that immediately took me away from my low spell and gave me drive and motivation. I clung onto a menory that I loved. Something that I wanted to repeat. 

I remember visiting those rocks a couple of times over the weeks and coming with pen and paper. I wrote poems, I wrote feelings, I wrote prose. It worked wonders for my creativity. 

In the light of reflecting upon that holiday, I now have a new determination. Something I've wanted to do for ages was travel, especially travelling solo. Lombok is my happy place, but I wonder how many more happy places there are out there. It is my plan to start out to find my happiest place on earth! Perhaps a bi ambitious, yes, but there's no time for ambition like when you're alive! 

Super test of the imagination!

Recently, I've been very involved in writing. I've always loved creative writing and stories have made my life, from the nights that mum read us bedtime stories to writing my own to my 'boyfriend' in year 3 on Valentine's day.

As I went through my teenage years, I lost my love of writing. Reading was a chore and I tried to focus myself on attaining more superficial goals, acting and being amazingly brilliant at something that no one else was.

It failed miserably and I began to feel useless ... until A-level English when I got a considerably high mark in my creative writing coursework. From then on I poured all my energy into harnessing my creative writing talent. Writing, like every hobby, is like family; no matter how much you love them, there are always those days when they get a little bit annoying.

So, whilst studying I was on a bit of a break from writing. I did it casually and sporadically knowing that one day I would get back into it.

As summer rolled in, I begun to have more free time and so more opportunity to focus on what I wanted to do, not what anyone else wanted or required of me. I wrote a short novella (my third). I was happy with it once I began writing but the conclusion and overall development let me down.

I realised that there was no point just trying to churn out stories to say that I'd done it. If I was ever going to write a full length novel, I was going to do it properly. And that's when I enrolled on a 3 day creative writing course outlining the basics of novel-writing.

Before I took the course, I had always been quite stubborn. I didn't want to read books about other people telling you how to write books. I didn't want to read about how to write. I just wanted to write.

But, the course was actually a really productive and inspiring thing for me and I thoroughly recommend anyone to take it if you are interested. There was so much 'homework' that really got your creativity flowing and kept my imagination ticking over - but don't let that dissuade you.

I started to search for my own tasks to do in my spare time. And here's where I hit a dead end.

For all the vast expanse of the internet, it seems inconceivable that you are unable to find something that you are looking for. The internet is a compilation of a billion thoughts from more than a million people's minds and yet I couldn't find the one thing that was at the forefront of mine: writing prompts. 

Maybe it's because I lack the vocabulary to explain to Google the contents of my mind, but I searched for days looking for suitable material. Everything was either aimed at primary school children or seemed a little too 'basic'.

I did however, find some gems, but there wasn't enough to supplement my daily challenge of completing a writing prompt. So I've come up with my own and I thought that it would be interesting to share them with you. Let me know how you get on if you decide to give them a try. I'll be trying them over the next few weeks.

It's probably worth saying that this list is nowhere near complete and I rustled it up within the past 20 minutes but I'll (hopefully) be adding to it as time goes on.

Here's my 'Super Test of the Imagination' 

1. What does 'sondungurous' mean?
2. Your favourite food has just died: write a tribute for publication in a regional magazine
3. Design and describe a flag that symbolises yourself
4. Describe the taste of water
5. Where did the duck-billed platypus come from? 
6. Describe the concept of heavy
7. When is a leaf not a leaf? 
8. Explain 3 alternative uses for mashed potato
9. Explain to an alien the concept of 'right' without using the word 'left' 
10. Design and describe a new item of clothing which embodies the words: 'empty', 'eighteen' and 'egg'. What is this item of clothing used for?
11. How many elephants would it take to butter a piece of toast? Why? 
12. Your friend tells you: 'I have come from an apocalyptic time to tell you that the world will be taken over ... by robotic sausages." And you reply ... (Write for 10 minutes) 

There you go! So that's 12 prompts to get you (and me) started!

Why I won't be doing the #icebucketchallenge

It seems that you can not get awy from the hype and awareness raised by ALS in their 'Ice Bucket Challenge'. It's all over every news feed and it's a great way of seeing people unite together in something that is both fun and charitable. 

My brothers were both nominated and made some very entertaining videos. It's all good fun and part of me would like to try to match their standard, however, I feel that I have to stick to my guns. 

Yesterday, my brother nominated me for the 'Ice Bucket Challenge' and, as you've probably gathered, I will not be taking part. 

Now, I don't want to be a fun sponge or hypocritical, but I thought that it would be important to talk about what bothers me about pouring a bucket of cold water on your head. 

I want to start by saying that I think that ALS holds a good objective: the facilitation of people affected by the motor neurone disease. I know that some ethical issues regarding animal testing have been raised about the charity but what I want to talk about today is the awareness campaign itself. 

Perhaps it's because I am currently in Dubai, a city that pours so much money and energy into the desalination of water. This is a process that is costly, damaging to the oceans that surround the UAE and has an impact on green house gas emissions. 

With this knowledge and perhaps even without it, it is so important to realise how fortunate we are. For every one of us that has access to clean running water, so many people don't. 

It is, looking at the scene from a large, a huge waste of water. It's hard to imagine what it might be like not to have water but, if you are able to, imagine that you are starving. Imagine that you have not had enough food to eat for the last week and have no idea when the next meal will come. You are dependent upon rain that does not arrive and soil that is far beyond infertile. And then you see a picture of people in neighbouring countries, throwing vast amount of spaghetti bolognese around in a global food fightand stuffing their trousers with as many slices of bread that can fit, then nominating others to do it too. 

This situation isn't the same but it's very similar. 

Yes, it's true that the water will evaporate into its natural cycle and that we aren't technically throwing away water but the toll that it takes on the environment to give us back drinkable water comes at a large cost. 

So, I suppose what I'm saying is just that we should all remember that we are fortunate to have water and try to conserve it. 

BUT, please remember that I don't frown upon people who have completed the ice bucket challenge. If we were all like me, this would be some awareness campaign and ALS would have fundraised considerably less. 

I am aware of how much water I waste daily on showers and washing up and whatever else. And so I'm not saying that I don't. But in the ways that we can, I believe that we should make a difference and change our habits because, if not us, then who? 

It has been fun to watch the challenges and I think everyone should be proud but, from my personal standpoint, I wanted to stick with an opinion that I am passionate about. The world needs opinions and it depends on all of us to be different. 

I will be accepting the donation part of the challenge, however, in doing what I can for a charity that does remarkable work for people all around the world and that is WaterAid. 

So, I nominate everyone reading, sharing and liking this post to take time to think about the water that they use today. I also nominate you to do something good for charity and to stand up for what you believe in. 

What's the deal with veggie cakes? (+ recipe)

The carrot cake is never questioned. It has been around since the medieval age and it seems to resonate with people: it is deemed acceptable to put this orange vegetable into our cake batter and top it with cream cheese frosting.

It was initially used as a sweetener, for lack of cheap and good access to the more common staple of any cake: sugar.

When I told my mum that I was going to be making courgette cake, she turned up her nose. It had never struck me that courgettes in a cake might be weird, but I found a recipe on the BBC that I thought I wanted to try. If a website publishes it, I guess it's normal.

But, actually, putting vegetables in cake is the norm a few of the reasons being that they sweeten the cake (as we saw with the carrot situation), they create moisture in the cake and are cheaper/ more easily resourced.

I've seen countless recipes for beetroot brownies and vegetables are a particular favourite for bulking out 'healthy' cakes.

So, today I've made a courgette traybake with orange (which I have yet to taste!) I have taken and adapted this recipe from BBC Good Food's courgette muffin recipe. 

Cuts into 8 large rectangles
PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 200 DEGREES C

1) Peel 180g of courgette and grate

2) Place in a large bowl

3) Add the juice of 1 satsuma and stir

4) Melt 75g butter and add to the mixture

5) Add one egg and stir (NB. make sure that the butter has sufficiently cooled to avoid creating scrambled egg)

6) Add 300g plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp of mixed spice and 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

7) Stir until all combined

8) Now add the juice of 2 more satsumas

9) Stir in 100g caster sugar and a generous handful of golden raisins

10) Now place in a shallow square tin and bake for 25 minutes

11) Once removed from the oven, leave to cool for 10 mins then turn out onto a wire rack

12) Slice into 8 and consume!

 

Parasite

As Liberia declares a state of emergency, for me, the Ebola outbreak is just the scariest thing in the news right now. It's like an apocalypse but real.

Humans are the only species in the animal kingdom capable of massacre and incredible destruction. We chop rainforests down, we take ocean predators and stick them in cages, we shoot down our own neighbours. 

And yet, we're so defenseless. We're like the bullies of the world making ourselves big and mighty and powerful because, actually, we're so fragile and scared. 

I remember my English teacher at college telling me once that she'd read that society only worked because everyone was afraid of death. 

Ebola could wipe us out. All it would take would be a handful of infected people to travel round the world and spread the contamination. 

It's scary because mortality from Ebola is 90%, our medical knowledge doesn't span the length of finding us a cure and, in the end, we're just these tiny little people on a place called Earth. We're just a species. A species like the Dodo, that have no back up for extinction. 

Resourcefulness doesn't make us immortal. It's those moments when you watch the news or read the paper that make you think: there's nothing to stop this all caving in. 

Barbie Girl

Surprisingly, we don't have barbecues nearly enough since Dubai has the most perfect weather for them. We, in fact, have them less than we used to in England - only about 3 times a year. Much of the barbecues we go to are ones that we are invited to by friends. And, off we went, yesterday.

To be honest, I don't know why we don't do barbecues more. They are just perfect for every occasion. You can eat as much or as little as you want and can pair every taste with a selection of spices, side dishes and salads. 

Yesterday was a 1st birthday party. A first for me and all! 

The food was kept simple, but there's nothing wrong with simple when the flavor is there! The burgers were chunky and homemade grilled on the barbecue and topped with jack cheese. I then added lettuce, tomato and avocado to a sesame seed bun. Then summer berries to finish. 

A dessert that was also on offer was an ice-cream straight from Texas: birthday cake ice-cream! It was, actually, delicious but it wasn't enough on the cake front with my eyes lingering over a Micky Mouse cupcake stand.  

Carrot Soup Recipe

Soup most probably isn't something that you want to be eating on a boiling hot summers day but, for me, it beats a salad. Personally, all that a few lettuce leaves, tomatoes and cucumber says to me is: "WHERE are my carbs?!?!" This usually ends with me going on a bread rampage afterwards which almost defeats the purpose of having not having a sandwich.

Soup, however, does it for me. There's something about a load of blended vegetables that makes refraining from a ham sandwich a good thing.

So I've decided to share with you my FAVOURITE carrot soup recipe. It's my favourite for a number of reasons but namely it's super-duper easy, tasty and makes for great snacking. 

"Slap-dash" Carrot Soup
To serve 4

1) Peel and slice 4 carrots

2) Boil 600ml of water and, once boiled, pour into a jug

3) Dissolve one vegetable stock cube in the boiled water

4) Then, place the carrots in a deep pan with the vegetable stock and boil on a medium heat until the carrots are soft (15-20 minutes)

5) With a hand blender (or a sieve should work just as well) purée the carrots until you have a smooth orange paste

6) Now, top this purée up with boiled water until you have the amount of soup that you want (perhaps another 300ml of water)

7) Add finely chopped coriander, a pinch of salt and pepper and blitz once more (or, if you don't have a hand blender, simply stir)

8) Then, serve!

Simples! And it tastes absolutely lovely.

*

Run, run, run away Baby!

There was something so special about being back at a school sporting event at an athletics club. Seeing colours. Children screaming, ice cream vans, sun glasses and the relay. Everything about it brought back sweet sweet memories. 

As a child, I told myself that I hated sports day. It was partially true. I hated sport but yet I loved the day as a whole. No school, tanning, eating outside and a general sense of happiness. What could be better? It was like a holiday, in the temperamental English weather of a field just at the back of our school. 

I relished in the idea that I would be part of one of the activities, every year. I was disgustingly below average at everything but half decent at running. As much as I hated it, I knew that I couldn't have a sports day without joining in. I replaced injured or reluctant classmates (and never managed to live up to their expectations) and I was buzzing. I was secretly waiting for my Usain Bolt moment. When I suddenly, after no training at all, flew across the track in record time. I thought it every time. And every time I was disappointed. 

On my last sports day, in Dubai, I felt like life as I knew it was over. No more days of boosting school morale in an attempt to promote sport. None of that. Just adult life. End of story. 

Now, I don't feel like I ever get an opportunity to go back onto the athletics track. There is no need. There aren't hundreds of children anticipating their run and waiting to pick positions for sports. Just me. 

As my cousin flew round the track on her relay run, I was on the verge of needing a pee. I knew that feeling. The baton handover. When it was all up to you, and I would always need a wee. 

And then when she won, that was the proud icing on the top moment which requires such pre-planning and effort. She sat in the 1st spot, smiling. A winner. But she would have been that to me anyway, even if she hasn't won. (I, finally, understand all this parental pride!) 

I wished that I could go back to those days, however uncomfortable and embarrassing they were. I have a feeling, in another 'Olympic super-athlete moment' that I might actually be good at the hurdles. There are days when I see a nice field in the sun and just want to run and run and run and run and run. That's got to count for something. 

I'll try it. 

I'm pretty surprised with myself at the moment - wanting to do running, missing sports day, watching tennis: who am I? 

How to start your own blog!

On my quest to complete as much of my summer list as possible, I feel that I have given myself a head-start but putting this pointer was an ideal thing to get you all creative and productive this summer.

Number 20 of my '50 Things to do this Summer' was "Start a blog". I already have one but if you don't and you enjoy reading mine or think that you could do a better job, then let's start now!

I suppose that I could say that I write this post by popular demand. I have had a few of my friends come to me in recent days telling me that they like what I write and fancy having a go. I absolutely LOVE the fact that I can be an inspiration in this way but I'm not too good with straight advice. So I've had a little think and here's the product of my thoughts.

I'd like to give you my top tips for starting your very own blog!

Here you are: The 10 P's of blogging! (Not quite sure I chose the letter 'P' but it just happened on it's own)

Top tip no. 1: PASSION
  It wouldn't make sense to continually stab at something you know you don't like doing and neglect your strengths and talents. Needless to say, passion ought to be the reason for you to start blogging.

  But when I talk about passion, it doesn't necessarily have to be a passion for a particular subject but rather a passion for writing or having your voice heard. Mine lies with writing which is why I can nearly always find the motivation to do posts.

  So, have a think about what you're going to write but remember, don't chose something that you think other people want you to write about. Write about what you want. If you're bored with what you write, it'll show. So, keep it "you" and not only will you enjoy it more, but you'll get more people hooked!

Top tip no. 2: PRIDE
  As with above, you need to have pride about what you write. But the word "pride" stretches to further crevices than gaining a humongous ego!

  When I refer to pride, I mean it in the sense of having self-confidence and not being afraid. Before Turning Old Pages became what it is today, I had another blog in which I attempted to do what this blog has done. But after publishing 2 posts, I deleted it because I wasn't confident enough. I felt too embarrassed and didn't think people would like what I wrote. I didn't want to publish the things I'd written on Facebook because I was scared.

  I thought that I had failed and that I would never do it. But, I ran Blogger up again some months later and began what has become my biggest achievement yet!

  *N.B. The only thing I would say on this point is that I never publish anything on my blog that I am slightly nervous about.
  I've had episodes where I've re-read what I've written, shivered and felt flushed. Then after I've clicked the publish button, I've felt cautious and taken the post down.
  My Point: If you don't feel comfortable about publishing something, think once, think twice and think three hundred times. No-one is forcing you to publish anything. It's all up to you!*

Top tip no. 3: PACK IN A PUNCH
  Of course, this point really depends on the way you write. But you don't, necessarily, have to be a good writer if you want to write.

  What you need is to be quirky and have a good enthusiastic manner about how you write. On the other hand, writing as comically as Karl Pilkington simply because that's who you are, also sells.

  The main point is just to make it punchy. Re-read what you write. Do you laugh? Are you amused? Do you want to read on? Does it flow? 

  These are the things to think about when you start.

Top tip no. 4: PLANNING
  Now, sometimes my best posts are those where I haven't planned anything at all. I think of a sentence and let the flow grip me. Personally, when I plan a post I can't write it - which is why I'm not all that brilliant at article writing.

  It's probably worth thinking about what writer you are. If you need to plan, do it. If you don't, then lucky you!

Top tip no. 5: PEOPLE
  It's quite important to think of who your audience might be. That way you can tailor what you write to suit your audience, allowing them to get more enjoyment out of what you write!

  The great thing about Pages on Facebook, is that it lets you know who your main readers are, so if you're not sure, it'll let you know!

Top tip no. 6: PUNCTUALITY
  This isn't so much about teachers standing in the corridor telling you how late you are to their lesson but more about deciding when you are going to post. Deciding that makes you more aware about keeping going with your 'little' project and also lets readers know when to expect posts. If they've missed one, they can track back and realise that there are some unread gems waiting for them on your blog.

  I'm not very good at this. I post sporadically, and you can always tell when I'm on holiday from the surge of posts that hit Facebook and Blogger. But if there is one thing I would like to get better at, it's the reliability of my posts.

Top tip no. 7: PICTURES
  Now I am, like you perhaps are, a MASSIVE reader! I love books and my head spins everyday with words, words, words. One of my favourite games is scrabble and I got out - ALL. THE. TIME. - with a device upon which I can write my thoughts.

  It's unfortunate that I have a brain like a wrung sponge when it comes to remembering!

  But not everyone is so keen on words. Other people prefer pictures. At the start of this year, I tried my hardest to include a photo with every post that I do. I often put pictures up that I've taken myself but I taking other from the internet should work just as well. But after a year at uni, the last thing I want to be doing with my free time is referencing pictures!!!

  Pictures in your blog make it more likely for what you write to appeal to everyone and it catches their eye. I know I often just scroll through news articles to look at the pictures - perhaps the reason why the Daily Mail has caught me as a reader!

Top tip no. 8: PROFESSIONALISM/ PLATFORM
  When I set up my blog, Blogger was the first thing that came up in Google. So I just picked it and started my blog. It wasn't until I looked at other people's blogs that I realised that there were potentially better platforms for blogging.

  Have a think about how you want your blog to look like. This is purely for aesthetic purposes. Of course, it's what you write that really matters!

Top tip no. 9: PUBLISHING
  For me, this pointer is THE most important thing after you've sourced the creative aspect of your blog: how are you going to publish it? 

  When I set up my Facebook page and linked my Twitter account to my blog, I suddenly began to get ALOT more readers and it boosted my confidence alot. It gave me the opportunity to see that I wasn't taking a stab in the dark but allowed me to produce things that other people seemed to like based on likes and people engaging with my posts.

  Social media is an amazing tool to use for anyone, whether a business or a simple blog. Get yourself out there on the internet and you can almost expect success!

Top tip no. 10: PATIENCE
  Sometimes it's easy to get disheartened when you don't get the number of readers that you expected. But every new day presents a new opportunity to get more readers. Keep writing, publish yourself all over social media and remain patient! :D

Off you GO! GOOD LUCK!!

My weekend in pictures #1

6 - 11th June 2014 --- BASINGSTOKE, 60TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT

This weekend has been one of the best that I've had in a long while. I've been so busy these past few weeks making sure that I get out of my room at uni and spending time with my friends. It's been absolutely fantastic and I've enjoyed every moment of it.

So I'm starting what (again) I hope will be a regular-ish feature - MY WEEKEND IN PICTURES. Take One!

Pre-river foot selfie ...

... with minor injuries

What a waste!

Free time is good and, no matter who you are, it seems to be all you ever want. Just time to do nothing. But when, as students, we're handed nearly 4 months of absolutely free time, suddenly we're itching to do something. 

And, if like me, you haven't got any Spanish au pairing trips sorted or aren't working as an activity instructor in Timbuktu or some far reaches of the globe, you're probably feeling like summer is going to be an unproductive period of over-eating and lazing about.

I know not everything is about having something to put on your CV, it's about doing things that you enjoy and actually want to do. But it seems that everyone is stretching for brownie points - things to make them stand out, as though we're all 'candidates' in a brawl over jobs rather than simply being 'people' where the world is what we make of it, not what it makes of us.

But, yes, to be fair, I do feel like 4 months of nothing is going to be a HUGE waste of my time and, if you're in the same boat, then I hope that we can help each other out.

IT'S LIST TIME (again) !!! And I'm going to be joining in so by the end of my summer, I'll fill you in on how well I did.

Here's my list of:

'50 things that can make your summer better/ more productive so that you don't feel like a tree-hugging sloth' 

1. Find some work experience
  Might sound boring but if you have a passion or curiosity then you can't lose. Many companies offer places for as little as 1 or 2 days! And ... if you get it out of the way in early summer then you've done good and don't have to feel guilty about lounging around the house all day for the rest of your holidays!

2. Head to the theatre and indulge in a good ol' play or, even a musical
3. Plan a local trip or a day in the city and soak up all the culture
4. Volunteer your time once a week to a charity/ shelter

5. See if you can get work as a summer temp
  They may even take you on afterwards!

6. Deepen your faith
7. Meet up with family and friends that you haven't seen for ages, take loads of pictures and have an AWESOME time (how about camping in the New Forest? Or in your back garden? Barbecues or a simple trip to the ice rink)
8. Try curing one of your fears
9. Do a movie marathon
10. Develop or find a new hobby
11. Attempt to create a business with your own innovative idea

12. Do a charity challenge
  There are plenty of things going on in summer - such as the Race for Life and various marathons. Get involved with one of these and get sponsored or make up your own challenge. I'm currently on my own challenge of going vegan for an entire month - I've had multiple slip ups so I'm now aiming for 50 days of complete meat free (a little hard when you have to stay with carnivorous family and friends!) You of course, don't have to go so extreme. How about trying to give up meat for a fortnight? Then donate the money you've saved to charity. For my challenge, I'm aiming to convert the amount of meat I eat in those 50 days in lb (pounds) to £ (pounds) - and double it if I succeed - in a project I've called ©"Pounds to Pounds". This is one of those things that you can do on your own without anyone sponsoring you and makes you feel super-good about yourself, proud that you're helping others as well as healthy!

13. Start taking driving lessons
14. Learn a language
15. Give your room a revamp -- how about jars filled with multicoloured or fresh pinecones? A fresh coat of paint? A cluster of assorted candles?
16. Begin your #100daysofhappiness
17. Soak up the sun with a load of picnics, beach trips and outdoor games with your friends
18. Have a wardrobe clear out and donate all the clothes to a local charity shop
19. Pick an actor and watch all the films they've been in - Every. Single. One. 

20. Start a blog!
  Need I say more? Blogging has been such an important tool for me in terms of communication, developing who I am and giving me something to do. What's more, I now have an entire archive of everything that I have every written and published which will live on the internet long after I'm gone. If you, haven't started, then have a go (I think I've proved that nothing you write has to have any direction AT ALL) and if you've started and 'failed', picked yourself up and try again!

21. Get baking and come up with some new creations ---> chocolate and chilli fudge brownies anyone?

22. Make a list of all your skills and everything they've taught you
  When I was looking for my job, I was in desperate need of revamping my CV and I started with writing out my 'skills set'. It had 3 columns: 1) What the activity was 2) What I did 3) What it taught me or what skills I demonstrated ... and the result was something like this;

e.g. ACTIVITY: Journalism work experience at "..." --- TASKS: designing my own version of the magazine --- SKILLS: creativity, IT usage, negotiation

It helped me oodles and I reckon that it was super useful in getting me my job. Plus, it was such a great exercise to pinpoint the things that I had learnt and where - such a great morale booster!

23. Become a dog walker for a neighbour 
24. Start saving for something worthwhile ...
25. ... or blow all your money on some concert tickets (you only live once)
26. Designate a whole day to go without a TV, laptop/ computer, internet, music, phone and any other electric devices
27. Begin writing a novel
28. Make proper lemonade and sip reading your favourite book under a tree
29. Go out for a day with nothing but the things that you can fit in your trouser or cardigan pockets or carry in your hands ... OR ... with as little as possible

30. Read an entire series of books or pick up some classics and get through them
  As my 19th birthday dawned on me and the words of the late Stephen Sutton rang in my ears, I knew that there were just somethings that I HAD to do whilst I was still, technically, a child. One of them was to complete the entire Harry Potter series (something that I had never even thought of when I was younger). But if, unlike me, you've already done that and read every other book series that's going, how about picking up some of the classics and giving them a read. I know what you're thinking, "aw Laura, is that the only alternative?" Well, I know not everyone has a passion for Shakespeare (unfortunately - me included). When I was told to read classics,  picked up Jane Austen and fell in love. But there's so many more. How about Frankenstein, or The Great Gatsby (I know that they're on my list for summer) ? Or, you could even try reading a book of a film that's out at the cinema and see if you can finish the book and make it to the cinema in time to see the film (or maybe try to finish it before it comes out on DVD).

31. Host a tea party with your friends
32. Make an exercise routine and stick to it (for a month, at least)
33. Watch an entire box set 
34. Get rid of your anxiety by writing your worries down on a piece of paper, folding it into a bottle and sending it out to sea
35. Make a scrapbook of your favourite memories
36. Get hooked on a new genre of music or a new artist that hardly anyone has ever heard of

37. Head out to the selection of free festivals and carnivals available throughout the country
  Check out the link, here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/free-uk-festivals
Money Saving Expert have got it all sorted. Simply select your preferred region and get scribbling the dates down in your diary!

38. Make a birthday cake for one of your friends or a member of your family
39. Get active
40. Buy dinner for a homeless person
41. Get your body to your ideal size/ weight
42. Set yourself a budget and see how far you can get on public transport with it
  Got a spare tenner in your wallet? See how far you can go on the train! Can you go further on the bus? Wherever you end up, get out and have a look around - seize the day and get home when it's dark

43. Read a collection of children's books
44. Go to a book signing, find someone famous or attend a celebrity event to get a glimpse of the stars
45. Plan and execute a 3 course meal for yourself or your family

46. Spend a day being a child again
  Take yourself back to your youth and spend a day being a child again. Buy an inflatable swimming pool and spend all day in it. Chase your dog up and down the fields. Play hide and seek. Spend hours drawing. Take silly pictures on your camera. Make rice crispie cakes. The possibilities are endless!

47. Start a diary
48. Spend a day detoxing your body - drinking green tea, eat plenty of fruit and veg, guzzling water and meditating

49. Re-work the way you view yourself
  Write down a couple of your favourite qualities about yourself. Ask your friends to describe you. Write down your greatest achievements and display them.

50. Write your bucket list

*UPDATE (from my friend, James): GO KAYAKING!*

Life, if anything, is all about experiences and what you can get out of the time you have here. It's true, going to different countries and working or volunteering do give you the most FANTABULOUS experiences, but just because you've missed out this year doesn't mean you have to spend your summer missing out. 

The Remainder of Eden

It was such a shame that I had chosen the morning of the most beautiful day to snooze until 11. The sun was absolutely gorgeous. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the air, though not warm, still meant that you didn't have to bundle up in millions of layers and bind a scarf round your neck endless times.

This day happened also to be the day I'd reserved for completing all the weeks homework. It couldn't have been more ill-planned. Nevertheless, it was still perfect to combine some of my favourite things with some of my less favourite. 

I took my freshly prepared picnic and homework on my bike out to the common. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

I'm a solitary person by nature anyway. It seems sad that sitting in the park on a bench on your own, pleases me. But it does and that's what I did.

I absolutely love days like this; when everyone comes out. People unite. Families walk together. One of the happiest sights I saw today was a father cycling on a purpose made 2 man bike with his wheelchair bound son at the front. A day out, doesn't get much better than that!

Picnic: chicken mayo sandwich, apple doughnut and mini trifle

Lovers in the corner :D

Catching up on some reading whilst I enjoy the sun!

Pinecone

 

Set up camp for watching the sun set!