An Update

Ok, so I may have decided to give up on the whole blogging thing...with school consuming most of my life and little free time I really just felt like it would be easy for me to have a break/stop all together. However every now and then I think, Oh I should blog about this or I won't remember this unless I blog about it.

So I thought I would do a little update:)
Since my last blog, at the start of the year, so so much has happened!! I will try and do it in categories so it makes more sense but I'm not going to dot point it like last time.

School to begin with has been STRESSFUL and to be honest I'm finding it hard to cope. The stress and pressure I feel constantly under (from myself and my school) is often too much for me to handle and tears and breakdowns result. However I do enjoy the company from the wonderful girls who go to my school and the majority of my teachers are supportive and encouraging.
I do find it hard to believe that I am almost entering my last year of school and am extremely NERVOUS as it is only going to get harder.

My health has been great with regards to my blasto (now gone). I have not really experienced any of those symptoms at all this year and although I have some restrictions with regards to how much gluten and lactose containing foods I can eat, there is little to complain about.
However I unfortunately had another health scare in August. I was sitting in class, first period and had a sudden onset of stabbing pains on my lower left side, near my hip bone. I could barely stand or walk and the pain was unbearble. My parents were called and collected me immeditaly. I went home with the hope that resting, pain relief and a heat pack would resolve the issue. However by about 2pm I was still in significant pain so my mother took me to our GP. She was quite concerned with the nature and severity of the pain and so sent us to the closest hospital.
I was assessed and taken for an ultrasound and they found what seemed to be a burst ovarian cyst. I was then transferred to the major public hospital as they had a specialised gynaecological team. I was put in an ambulance and made the short 20 minute drive by myself as my mother was not allowed to ride with me.
The hospital did believe it was a burst ovarian cyst and I was admitted over night for monitoring as typically severe pain is experienced initially but lessens over time. However, of course I wasn't typical and to cut a long story short 10 days later and after several admissions I needed surgery to clean out and remove the mess left behind by the cyst which was still causing me pain.
While the pain from the cysts disappeared after the surgery, I had a nasty reaction to the anaesthetic and spent close to 6 hours in recovery as I failed to remember my name or the year, open my eyes or keep my oxygen saturated at an acceptable level.
I don't remember much from the time I spent in recovery and was eventually taken back to my private room later that night. I barely remember anything from that night and only have vague memories from the following day. I was released late the following day but could barely walk, sit up or move.
I had two small cuts, one in my belly button and on my left side but the pain they caused was crippling, I also had terrible pains in my shoulders from the gas that was pumped into my stomach in order for the surgeons to able to have a good look. 1.5 weeks after the surgery I returned to school and did my best to catch up. I no longer have any remaining issues from this and am happy to be healthy again.

As I said in my last post I travelled to Cambodia in June/July and had an amazing time!! I learnt many things from the trip and enjoyed being able to give back and help those who are less fortunate than myself. I won't elaborate that much as I don't have the time but it was definitely a memorable experience.
While I was in Cambodia my brother and my parents went to Japan and in the September/October holidays while my brother went on his school ski trip to Canberra, I went with my parents to Japan, which I loved!!

I also started 'Clean Eating' in April and have more or less continued to eat clean. I hope I have time on the christmas holidays to share with you all some clean recipes which I have been making and loving!!

And lastly I had my semi formal in July which was an enjoyable event although the lead up and finding the perfect dress was also stressful!!

I think I have covered all the major things that have happened!! Hopefully I'll pop in again before the year ends but I won't be promising anything:)

Charlotte;)

Update

Where to begin...so much has happened since I last posted!! I think it will be easiest if I dot point everything I can think off thats happened since last January when I posted last about something other than muffins:) I'll break it up into categories though!!

Health:

• First off, my stomach has been much better!! I still suffer some intolerances to gluten and lactose but can eat some gluten in very small amounts
• I haven't gone back to any of the sports I did prior to becoming ill but I did join my school tennis team last year which was fun
• I also got a gym membership in about October last year and was going to the gym at least twice a week until I badly hurt my ankle just before christmas

School:

• Year 10 was hard and challenging but I enjoyed almost every second of it. Of course there were some friend dramas, late nights due to assignments and study and many tears but I'm over the moon with my report and can truly say the hard work payed off!!

Travel:

• Last year I went on 3 overseas holidays, 1 in April to Japan for 2 weeks with my family which was loads of fun!! I saw, touched and experienced snow for the first time, went sledding and skiing which was definitely an experience;) We also did a lot of shopping which I love and eat some amazing food!!
• I also went to the US in September on a school trip which was unforgettable!! To begin with we went to Orlando, Florida where we did some AMAZING outlet shopping, went to Disney World, Universal Studios, NASA, the Kennedy Space Centre and we also took a trip to the everglades and to Daytona Beach!! We then travelled to Washington DC where we did a fair bit of sight seeing, went to most of the memorials and a few of the Smithsonian Museums!!
• The trip was totally amazing and although I was sad to come home I was definitely happy to see my family again!! I would have to say that DC was my favourite and I just can't believe how absolutely gorgeous it is
• In June/July I went camping for 1 week with my two best Friends, E and L which was one of the best weeks of my life!!
• My family and I also went on a Royal Caribbean cruise in December around New Zealand which was also quite nice
• This year I'm super excited to be going to Cambodia with my school in June/July. We will be working in an orphanage and doing an array of ministry work which I am honestly really looking forward to!!
• I'm also hoping that we go to NY as a family in either April or September this year as I can't get enough of the USA!! Everything over there is just 500 times better than what we have here

Christmas/Summer Holidays:

• I have been enjoying these holidays sooooo much and have done quite a few things
• The first weekend of the holidays, my two besties and I went to a classmates dance concert and then had a sleepover at my house
• I then had a shopping day with one of my besties and then the 2 of us went over to my other besties house for the night and the next day
• My family and I then lest on our cruise and returned 3 days before christmas
• 2 days before christmas I injured my ankle at the gym an was barely able to walk on christmas day;(
• Christmas eve my mum and I decorated and baked for the next day
• On christmas day my brother and I opened our presents from Santa (AKA our parents) I asked for and received Mac and Napoleon makeup which I was super excited about and my broth got a go pro camera. My mothers family came over for breakfast which consisted of croissants, muffins, yoghurt parfaits and bacon and eggs. We ate and then opened presents and chatted and relaxed until just after midday. Everyone left and we then headed over to my aunts to celebrate christmas with my dads family. We had a few nibbles, opened more presents and then enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner. We stayed chatted, ate and just had a great time fore the rest of the afternoon and came home that night. It was a lovely day and I am so happy all of my family live close
• Between christmas and new year, we relaxed and I caught up with my two besties again, we went shopping, we went to IKEA and we also went to the beach which was enjoyable
• My birthday was on New Years day but thats another category
• Last weekend I went to the coast again, this time for my besties belated birthday party which was very enjoyable
• Since then I have been doing some study for my drivers license test and have been packing for my grandmas as my brother and I are staying there for the next week while my parents are going on a hike
• Shortly after they return I am having a birthday party, sitting my driving test and also going to a 3 day science experience at a University which I hope to go to after high school
• I am then going to my aunt and uncles for 5 days while my parents and broth go to a concert/music festival in a small town 8 or so hors away
• After that I have 3 days and then begin year 11

My Birthday:

• I turned Sweet 16 on January 1st and had a little celebration
• I woke up, opened presents from my parents; a Tiffany and Co b

Muffins I have tried and loved!!

WOW!! I haven't blogged in sooooo long!!! I will hopefully have a catch up post coming soon.

Anyway I have a slight addiction to muffins, like I need to take one with me to school for my lunch EVERY day!! I usually make 3-4 batches of different muffins on the odd weekend and freeze them and take one out of the freezer in the morning, put it in my lunch box and by lunch (12:30) it's defrosted and ready to eat.

The first muffin recipe is from Annie's Eats and are Strawberry Banana Muffins. The store I went to did not have fresh or frozen strawberries so instead I used frozen raspberries which we always have in the fridge. They tasted really good and this recipe actually made me 20 muffins.

The next muffin recipe is from Our Best Bites and are Banana-pecan muffins. Instead of using whole wheat flour and plain flour, I used all plain flour. These muffins taste so good however they are a little sweet so next time I make them I will only add 1/2 cup of sugar.

I also LOVE Annie's Eats Raspberry Muffins. The tart raspberries and sweet muffin is such a lovely combination. To make these muffin I used frozen raspberries and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar instead of corse sugar.

I've made quite a few of Annie's Eats muffin recipe's and another I really like are her Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins. I think these muffins are a lovely combination of flavours but a few of my friends thought they were weird so tried them and didn't like them but I love them. Instead of using creamy peanut butter in this recipe I used crunchy peanut butter and thought it gave the muffins a lovely crunch:)

So there are 4 great muffin recipes you should make when you are craving muffins next!!

Charlotte;)

Just Like That

Today was my first day of Year 10!!

I can't believe the holidays are over :(
I had so much fun and did so much but they have seemed to go by so fast, too fast.

I can't believe I'm in Year 10 already, it only feels like yesterday I started Year 8.

I'm looking forward to this school year but I'm scared. The work load was almost to much in year 9 and now its bigger. I put so much pressure on myself and some times it just gets so overwhelming. My parents also want me to achieve good results and I need good results to pursue the medical career I hope for. I want to do well but I also want to have a life and be able to have time to relax. I hope I have a good balance this year.

I hope to achieve well in all of my academic results and I want to get a Red or Blue Academic Badge for each semester.

I know I can do anything I put my mind to and so that's what I'm going to try to do!!

Charlotte;)

Super quick Holiday Update

I've been terrible at blogging this month but I have been soaking up every last second of these holidays!!

Last week I attended a 3 day Science Workshop at one of the University's which was so much fun, we went to lectures and did multiple workshops including testing our blood type, I'm A+!! And an array of other things as well as a social and excursion!! I loved it and found most of it very interesting (except for most of the physics).

I also had my birthday party today!! It was great, I'm going to post pictures and information very soon (I hope). It has been awhile since my birthday but some of my friends had dance summer schools and we were away on some weekends so I had to wait until today but that meant that I had more time to plan everything!! They gave me a Pandora Bracelet, an angel charm, a pyjama shirt, Kimi Doll keyring and one of my friends just got back from America and gave me an apron, oven mitt and spatula from the M&M store!!

Tomorrow I'm going to my Uncle's for the day to play with my cousins N and A!!
Tuesday I'm getting everything ready to go back to school,
And Wednesday I'll be back at school. I got my school laptop on Friday and we also got our school calendar Monday last week and 12 pictures get chosen, one for each month and a photo of my friends and I is the month of March!! How exciting, we were all so happy:)

I hope you all had a great weekend!!

Charlotte;)

Holiday Mish Mash

I've been doing so much since I last posted, I go back to school in 9 days and have been trying to make the most of these last few weeks!!

I've had friends over to watch Greys Anatomy, I've been shopping with my friends about 5 times, I had my primary school friends over for a swim, I've had a few sleepovers, been to a few sleepovers, I've gone to a few markets, we've had family friends over for dinner parties, been to friends houses for dinner parties, visited family, been to the beach to visit friends, I've been doing odd jobs to earn money and catching up on movies and tv shows!! I've also been planning my party that is going to be next week!! And also been doing a lot of relaxing (aka nothing!!)

This weekend we drove down to NSW to visit friends and go and see a show!!

This week I am going to a science experience at the University which I'm looking forward too!!

I also hope to blog about the rest of our cruise before i go back to school!!


But I've loooved these holidays so much and have really just been soaking them all up and making the most of every last second!!

I NEVER want them to end!!

Charlotte;)

Our Cruise {Days 1-3}

So I'm finally starting to post about our cruise!! Christmas and New Year were so busy that I just didn't get a chance to edit photos and then blog.

Anyway, we flew from were we live down to Sydney on the 9th of December and then one of my mothers friends drove us to the terminal where our boat was.

We filled out the necessary forms, had our luggage scanned and then boarded the boat at around 1pm. Our boat was the Ms Zaandam one of Holland America's boats. It was lovely, the boat was very well kept and there were people constantly cleaning especially the stair cases. We found our rooms, my brother and I were in one room and our parents were in the room next door however there was an adjoining door between us, dumped our luggage and went for lunch. My brother and I then went for a swim in the pools and spas and then went to say good bye to Sydney.

We then sailed out of Sydney Harbour at around ?? It was beautiful, here are only a very few of the pictures that I took as we left.

 The Sydney Harbour Bridge, this photo was taken through the window in our room.

 One of Sydney Ferries, this was also taken through our window.

The Sydney Opera House, this was taken up on the top deck of the boat.

Goodbye Sydney, see you in 14 days!!

This was one of the mats in the elevator, each day they were changed to say what day it was!!

And just like that we were off, saying goodbye to Sydney and to our last chance of network coverage!! The did have internet services on the boat however it was expensive and unnecessary for us!!

The next 2 days were then days at sea as we made our way to Noumea, New Caledonia. 

On Saturday the sea was a little rough but we all slept for most of the day. Mum and I also went to trivia and came second. That night was our first formal night in the dinning room, this meant men had to wear suits and women ball gowns or similar.

Sunday was another day at sea but there were so many different activities to do and things to do around the boat that we never felt bored. Sunday we relaxed again but in the afternoon we took part in a Scavenger Hunt. We were given 12 pictures of all different things around the boat and then we had to go and find them and a take a picture of it that was matching the one we were given. For example it had to be taken on the same angle and be zoomed in as much as the one provided.

Here is one that I took. 

This is another picture from Sunday that my mum took of the sunrise through her window.

Charlotte;)

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Yes that's right my birthday is on New Years Day!!

Today I turn 15!! Half way to 30, gosh that sounds so old!!

Last year was definitely the hardest year of my life. Going through an illness was really hard, I'll never forget it and I will never cherish my health as much as I do now. I never realised how truly amazing it is to wake up pain free and to do everything I wanted to do!! Your health is something so small when you have it, it goes unnoticed until its gone and all you want is to be healthy, like you used to be. To go back and be that healthy person you remember!! I had that feeling, that longing to be healthy and over a year of having that feeling I no longer have it!! I feel good, my health is returning, slowly but better than never. I'm eating more, doing more and I have become more. It was a tough year but one that I survived.

I hope this year brings with it happiness, good health, strong friendships, love, hope, good school results and so much more!!

Today my grandparents came over for morning tea, my dad made scones and my Grandma made a cake but she dropped it in our driveway which is made of gravel!! So it ended up going to our chickens!! I opened my presents including, a new gold bracelet, craft and cooking things, Greys Anatomy Season 6 and gift vouchers!!

My mum, dad, brother and I then went out for lunch at my favourite Japanese restaurant and then we went into the city and to the Modern Art Gallery. On the way home we also stopped for ice creams.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon at home relaxing!!

I'm happy to see the end of last year and welcome the beginning of this one!!

Happy New Year!!

Charlotte;)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everybody!!

I hope that whatever you are doing today to celebrate christmas (or anything else) is filled with Joy, Love, Peace and Hope!!

Today I will be spending the morning with my mothers family at my Nanna's and Gar's house for breakfast and then coming back to our house to celebrate with my Dad's family for a late lunch!! I'm so excited:)

Have a wonderful day!!

Charlotte;)

P.S. I'm so sorry I was unable to get any posts of my holiday up before today but I've been so busy baking, decorating the house, shopping and wrapping presents that I haven't had a chance.

I'm back!!

I got back today from my 2 week cruise and I have so many blogs and emails to catch up on!!

I had a wonderful time with beautiful weather and calm seas.

I'm hopefully going to get a few posts up with photos and things we did before Christmas but it just depends!!

Anyway we are about to board our plane back home.

Charlotte;)