MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Right now it is 11:11, and it is Christmas morning! 
Merry Christmas everyone!

I don't have time to write a proper blog post right now as I am about to leave to visit my grandparents, but I would just like to tell whoever reads this little blog of mine that - regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas or not - I really wish that you have a magnificent day, because you deserve it (not just because you read my blog, but because you are generally awesome as well!) :D

I don't know what my life will be like this time next year - I hope I am managing to take care of my blog at least! Here are pictures of Christmas 2013 vs now:

Wow, I look so young in the first one!! 

(I am also wearing no make-up in the first one, haha)

Maybe soon I will make a blog post on some of the Christmas presents I got. This morning I woke up at around 8:30 (which is early for me, by the way) and I am really happy with some of the awesome books I got :3

Best (Christmas) wishes, 
Lucy xx :)

Building up to Christmas!!!!!

As you may be able tell by the amount of exclamation marks included in the title of this blog post, I am quite hyped for Christmas around now - the title actually resembles a writing assessment I did in Year 6 in which I was told off for adding about 10 exclamation marks in one sentence (oops). 

Anyway, back on topic...
CHRISTMAS IS NEARLY HERE! We broke up from school two days ago and I am really feeling the freedom. For once, I might actually have a week without any assessments in.
I have been working on an English assessment for quite a while and finally I have finished - it was hard work, but I think it will be worth it (or I hope it will at least!). I think in the end I wrote about 12 pages, and I have quite small handwriting. It's not the most anyone in the class had written, but I know I put quite a lot of thought into mine. Comparing poems isn't exactly my forte (I prefer story writing), so I doubt I will get anywhere near the score I got on the short story I wrote last term, but I can always hope. 

Today has been a particularly festive day for me, as I have decided to put up my mini Christmas tree that lives in my room every December-February (I am never bothered to take it down, it may as well be a permanent feature). I think I should just keep the tree up all year round and style it differently every season - for instance, I could have Easter chicks on it in spring and cauldrons and sweets on it in Halloween... it would be a lot easier than taking off all the baubles and packing it back into the box at the end of December, anyway.
Here is a picture of my marvelous creation:

I rather stupidly didn't realise before I finished the tree that it looks like Michael Clifford is trying to eat the baubles... I regret nothing.

I don't actually have a fairy or star to hang on top of the tree, so this year I am using a cute wooden key-ring I got from Evolution :)

I'm trying to think up of a name for her, but I haven't got one just yet.

I always seem to run out of places to hang baubles because I have so many, so this time I decided to take advantage of the extras...

I think this is a massive improvement on my 5SOS poster.

Judging by their faces, I am guessing that this is probably the most beautiful Michael and Luke have ever felt!

I didn't expect this blog post to have two 5SOS appearances, but there you go!

Today was a relaxing day, which was great, as I feel like I haven't had one of those in ages. After school on Friday, I went out with some friends for a meal and got back at 9:15, as we ended up surrounded by tipsy teenagers who were about to go clubbing. Security actually asked for an I.D, as apparently we were not allowed to enter a certain part of the building to find the toilets (what). 

Y'know, maybe I have been wrong all along - maybe I shouldn't be allowed to pee until I'm 18(!!).

So yeah, that was weird. At least I'll know next time not to hang around the building for too long!

(Calling the people we saw on Friday "tipsy teenagers" now feels incredibly odd considering I am a teenager, and I cannot imagine myself in that state! Oh well, I suppose I'll get used to that)

Yesterday was also a busy day, as I went to my grandparents' house for a mini-Christmas dinner before the real one - today I just really needed a lie-in! I am one of those people who stays up late and then sleeps until lunch, annoyingly enough. I really wish I was a morning person!!

What are you most looking forward to in the holidays? I just need sleep and time for me to write - those are my priorities :)

Best wishes, 

Lucy x

Christmas jumpers and The Maze Runner

Hey guys :)

So Christmas is in 2 weeks (WHAT??!) and I'm trying to get into the festive mood (although I am not sure it is socially acceptable for me to hand out Christmas cards yet!!). 
Unfortunately, anyone who knows me will understand how bad I am with Christmas presents - I hardly ever know what to get my family, and I usually just get my friends chocolate. This year is no different, despite the fact that one of my friends told me not to buy her chocolate this year, due to the fact that I bombarded her with Hersheys on her birthday (she loved it really). I'm also quite bad at shopping, as I get sidetracked incredibly easily (this doesn't just go for shopping, but for just about any situation in which I can lose focus!).

However, one achievement I have made recently is that I have bought my VERY FIRST CHRISTMAS JUMPER

*gasp*

Seriously. I have gone 14 years (nearly 15) without ever getting a Christmas jumper, even though I absolutely love both festivity and jumpers... One of the main reasons the idea really came to mind this year is because on Friday, our school have a Christmas jumper day to raise money for charity and I kind of wanted to dress for the occasion. 

Another thing that I've been thinking about recently is The Maze Runner series, which is a really cool apocalyptic style book, which (inevitably) has The Hunger Games mentioned on the cover, because all adventure fiction/apocalyptic style books have that on the cover these days. I can't really complain though - I always end up falling in love with the books anyway!

I saw the film adaptation a while back in the cinema (twice) and I remember it being awesome, though I have to say, the book is so much better! It's not that the movie is bad or anything (it also had Thomas Sangster in it, which is always a good thing!), I just feel like the ending is rushed and so much is left unexplained about the entire plot - the book really answered some questions for me. 

My favourite characters so far are probably Teresa, Thomas and Newt - Teresa for her guts and wits, Thomas for his bravery and impulsiveness, Newt for the sass. Newt always seems to have the answer to every stupid question asked by the other characters, is gloriously sarcastic and often seems to be the only one who's able to think straight. 

I also think that Teresa gets a chance to develop as a character throughout the first book in a way that she doesn't in the film, which is sad, but I suppose the movie did have to be cut to a certain length.

I completely love James Dashner's style of writing - the language is sophisticated, yet casual enough for the teenagers to seem believable.

I am currently starting The Scorch Trials; book 2 in the series, so I'll let you know how I get on with that. 

Also, braces update: I think I might be getting mine off soon(ish). I am not sure how far away "soon" is, because no one ever seems to be able to guarantee anything when it comes to my braces, but I hope to have them off before my birthday (I don't know, I just think that would be cool). I am kinda tired of not being able to smile in photos now! :/

What do you guys usually go for when it comes to Christmas presents? Is there any alternative to chocolate? (is there ever?!)

Speak to you soon, 

Lucy x

Winter Changes

*dusts cobwebs off blog*

Hey guys! 

It's been a while, but I finally have to time to write a blog post. The thing I am post scared of recently is that I will unintentionally give up blogging for a really long time, and I really don't want that to happen.
I am really looking forward to the Christmas holidays, hopefully I will have more time then!

...seriously though, what is it with Christmas recently? It is slowly creeping up on me and I am seriously unprepared! This seems to happen every year, rather annoyingly. 

Another thing that seems to creeping up on me is my 15th birthday - I am not even really sure I want to turn 15 right now, the number seems really daunting to me! Sometimes (and by "sometimes" I mean "most of the time") I still feel like a 10 year old... a freakishly tall 10 year old!

Nevertheless, now we have hit the month of December (once again, why is this all creeping up on me?!) loads of my friends are turning 15. Another thing that creeps me out about being 15 is Taylor Swift's song "15", in which she discovers relationships and betrayal and heartbreak and ALL THAT STUFF. 

Like, seriously, why couldn't the song have been called 16? 
Can't it wait?! 

I can't pretend that I don't have friends who haven't been through relationships and all that stuff... the concept just seems really new to me (even if it shouldn't really!).
Oh well, at least I will be able to (now legally) watch 15 rated movies in the cinema and all that stuff :D

Enough moaning - despite the fact that it is making my skin go CRAZY, I am really looking forward to winter this year. It always gives me the brilliant excuse to bundle up in tons of layers and wear awesomely fluffy jumpers :)

(sidenote: I really DON'T UNDERSTAND people who are walking around this time of year in t-shirts!! What is wrong with them?! They have the perfect excuse to wear jumpers and they don't even take it...) 

Also... ADVENT CALENDARS! They are definitely one of the best parts of the build-up to Christmas -  although you can't really beat decorating the Christmas tree, right? I have a slight obsession with tinsel and sparkly decorations.
I know people who put up their Christmas trees on the 1st of December, but I think that kind of feels like cheating - what happens when Christmas is just around the corner and you have nothing festive to do...?

The same goes for Christmas adverts - why are they on already?
Though the one advert that I do make a special advert to tolerate every year though is the John Lewis advert - they may be really long and, yes, really soppy, but they are also kind of cute. I especially loved Lilly Allen's song in the advert last year! 
One thing that does make me laugh is how people claim to have burst into tears the first time they watched the advert this year - it makes me wonder whether or not that is what the John Lewis staff intended whilst brainstorming for the plot. 
Like, the advert is definitely heart-warming, but it is hardly an emotional roller-coaster, haha!

One thing that has really made me feel all winter-y recently is that on Saturday I went ice-skating with my friends, something I equally love and loathe each year!

Love; because slipping around on the ice is so surreal and I just get to laugh at myself (though I don't need to go ice-skating to do that!).
Loathe; because I simply can't do it and I am kind of worried that the fancy, annoyingly professional skaters will take a break from their graceful leaps and twirls to laugh at me!

This year I went with my roller-blading, athletic friend (who totally didn't make me look terrible at all) and my slightly clumsy friend who had never been ice-skating before... the experience was intriguing to say the least. 
Probably the best part of it all was when my inexperienced friend almost fell over, then grabbed a (vaguely attractive) adolescent-male-stranger's hand to steady herself... *cringe*
Also (as if the whole scenario wasn't bad enough), he then turned to her a gave her a teasing look before skating away... *DOUBLE CRINGE*
We certainly won't be letting her forget about that any time soon!

What is your favourite part of winter? Mine are definitely the tree, the chocolate and the jumpers! 

(yes, I know that's three parts, but I can't pick one, in case you haven't already noticed!)

Speak to you soon (hopefully),

Lucy x