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A few weeks ago I bought a book that's called "Immortal Words". It's a collection of famous quotes from the centuries and, truly, it is the most useful and fascinating thing I think that I have ever bought. It tells you the quote but also tells you a little of the history behind the quote. =)
I love all the quotes in it, and I really don't think I can pick one. However, in English class we studied a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It goes like this:
"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God chose,
I shall but love thee better after death"
I really have no idea why this poem jumped out at me in class and then again in this book. But there is just something about it that is so beautifully mesmerizing and exquisite.

apologies…

okay, so, as the title suggests, i really am sorry for the lack of updates here recently. i could say that i have been REALLY busy and just didnt have the time. that would be trully true to an extent… im just a lazy person who only wants to do politics and english and sleep. but, right now, im finding it hard to finish an english essay that is due for tomorrow. d'oh.

today, on the way to a pumpkinfest in castle ward, i had a little revelation. and, it just hit me out of the blue. life is a type of lottery and all you have to do is buy a ticket so that you might win something. you might not win anything for a long time, and when you do it might be something really tiny…but atleast it will be a victory which you will savour in this bleak depressing time. although i do love winter.

well, so that is my little wisdom of the day. or a rant of the day, depending on what view you take. see you next time. =)

trouble in paradise...

well, you may or may not know that AS and A level results came out on the 19th of august. and, yes that does seem ages ago and you might wonder why im talking about it now.
well, to be totally honest, after i got my results i was depressed and disappointed for a while. i got 2 A's and 3 B's. and, yes, that doesnt seem so bad. in fact they are pretty decent results. BUT, after doing pretty well in GCSE's its a bit of a downer. now i have to rethink one or two of my uni choices and, to be honest, im scared and a little confused by it all. =(
wish me luck.

pet loves

okay, so today i am ranting about my pet-loves. you know, like pet-hates except thats a little pessimistic for me, so pet-loves it is. =) where do i begin then?

ah, the awesomeness that is coffee. its just so... awesome. i dont think that i can fully describe my love of coffee in words. =D

well, my addiction to the jonas brothers has re-emerged. that kinda includes everything from their music to camp rock to JONAS (their tv show). this is a link to one of my favorite parts - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf_ZYQ3CSUc&NR=1. im partially in love with a mr zac efron aswell, but not too much that it could be classified an addiction. em, i think i should basically say that i love anything disney. =D i mean who wouldnt?! its just SO cheesy that you smile ALL the time!! =P

okay, lets roll with this tv theme. i love dr who. (who doesnt?) i loved christopher eccles, cried when he got replaced by david tennant. then i was IN LOVE with david tennant and cried when he got replaced by matt smith. but know i love matt smith. its a never ending cycle. =P

oh, and QI. i mean - really funny information AND the legend that is stephen fry. need i say anymore?

okay, well i think this should be the last thing on the list. i could rant about this for AGES so i need to limit myself! i love traveling. and, yes, im only 17 but i think im pretty well-travelled for a 17 year old. south of ireland, france, spain, italy, belarus, greece and turkey. and thats just the places i remember. i could mention yalta and the black sea and the dead sea but thats when i was tiny.

the end. =)

p.s. i love my friends, my family, music, 3oh!3, vampire weekend, mozart, katy perry, debussy, notebooks, paper in general, making lists and notes, dvds as a whole and politics. and thats SO not everything.

fo' serious?! =P

so, im back from belarus. and it was SOOOOOO much fun!

to be honest, i had one big issue before i left. i was scared that i would really understand the language. and, yes, i was born there and i do speak it fluently. but, after hearing english 24/7 for the past 8 years my russian brain kinda takes a wee nap. and, it doesnt want to function (and tell me the right words) sometimes. BUT the good news is the minute i spent my first day surrounded in russian my russian brain fully woke up and had a wee party! =D

there is only one bit of major news... i managed to get into hospital. YAY. not. i was feeling a little sick, and my head was spinning. we came home and mum told me to go lie down. my temperature climbed to 38.2 degrees, and after that my granny told mum to call the doctor out. the lady that came felt my tummy, and it was REALLY sorry on my right side, so i was taken in with suspected appendicitis. honestly, it really freaked me out and i had a little crying fit. BUT the good news is that after a surgeon and 3 other doctors felt my tummy i was sent home with a diagnosis of sun stroke and food poisoning. but they think that i might have tummy ulcers. to be honest, it was scary BUT i had my awesome family with me for support and after i was released i had SOOOOO much fun.

i think my 2 fave things were the plot. (a plot is a wee place in a country with a house and land for apple trees, potatoes, blueberries, black and red currents, watermelons, kiwis, pears and tones other fruit and veg. and everything is truly fresh and truly scrumptious). and i loved minsk - the capital of belarus. its really big and built up but really belarussiany at the same time. =)

so, i loved my holiday and it was awesome to see my grandparents. and if anyone is thinking of going east - go to belarus. its rudy marvelous.

flaws.

okay, so FLAWS. everyone has them - and nobody is perfect. (apart from jesus).

i have TONNES of flaws. honestly. i dont like the way my face goes red all the time, i dont like my tummy (its wierd), my toes need some growth hormones and my thighs are like tree trunks. there are probably WAAY more stuff that i forgot to mention, but you get my drift.

i think that having flaws is realistic, and human, and, well, real. if you dont have flaws - if you have freckle-less and pimple-less skin and a tiny stick thin body - you just arent human! like, seriously, were you made in china or something?! OR, a better question might be - is your boyfriend called ken cause you are just as plastic as barbie. or more if you had a boob job. *shudder*

plus, being a bit different is really AWESOME! i mean, who WANTS to be just like everyone else and who the heck wants to be a clone?!?!?!! like, WHO?

i think you gotta love your flaws - they just make you you. if you just accept yourself and love yourself for who you are, you are an awesome person. and i love you for it! and everyone else will too.

so, go be awesome, and remember, YOUR FLAWS AND FLAWLESS. <3

L.B.P

so, today, i am ranting about low blood pressure.
firstly, it sucks. i mean, it really REALLY sucks.
i first found out that i have low blood pressure when i passed out in church. for the second time. the first time, i was 12 and it was the easter service, the church was packed and i wasnt well already... so we did nothing about it. but, the SECOND time, it was in church again... and i was sitting beside mum, and i felt really sick, and dizzy and my ears felt all muffled. and then the next thing i remember was waking up under the pew on the floor. mum said i was convulsing a bit - and i was upset that i freaked her out. but it really was NOT a good time for anyone. after that, we went to the GP and he told me i had low blood pressure. YAY! not.
its not something that plays a MAJOR part in my life - i mean i cant sit up too fast, and i have to be careful after i give blood - but apart from that its okay-ish. but today really pissed me off. i was doing my usual jog/fast walk thing and i felt my self going. i mean really going - muffled hearing, heart feeling funny and i couldnt breathe fully. (i think that the laryngitis doesnt help because i keep wheezing now-a-days). i had to sit down for a while, and i stupidly left my mobile at home... =(
i am not a happy wee bunny today. =O

but, on the upside i am ADDICTED to this guy > http://www.youtube.com/user/ShaneDawsonTV. truly, madly, deeply addicted. the videos just make me laugh SOOOO much, and they pick me up after a sucky day. <3

awesome-ness

yes, yes, the photo is back to front or whatever way it is.
its just a wee photo - of a page from a little notebook of mine - which makes me smile. and today has been a day when i need a wee smile. even for a minute.
=)

happiness =)

i though that in this lovely post i might do some pondering. and, yes... i am fully aware of all the dangers of said action: like a sore head and extremely frazzled emotions and/or nerves.

so, i think the topic of choice, now, would be happiness. because, to be honest it been an issue of hot debate in my head for a wee while.
realistically, and personally, i think that happiness is something that you find for yourself. its not something that can be given, or bought, or made. i mean, yes - if chocolate cake makes you happy then go make a cake. or buy one. =P i mean, you cant create a happiness if its not there - you cant forge a happy state of mind or a happy situation.
i suppose i have to explain what i mean by find, right? well - i believe that there are two types of happy people in the world; those who are just happy ALL the time and those who have to find that happy feeling (not ALL the time, just occasionally).
i suppose finding happiness is kinda hard. you have the things that make you happy for a short while - like the chocolate cake mentioned above, or a good movie (speed racer and dirty dancing being my favorites). then you have the things that give you a longer high - running (works a treat), spending time with family (long walks) and friends (boy spotting and hmv =D) and a really good holiday (greece and turkey being my current hot-spots). BUT what can really, truly, madly, deeply, make you ecstatic with endorphins which create that lovely trippy feeling of pure happiness?!

after all this "pondering" (cough talking crap cough cough =P) i think i believe that this will remain a mystery for a little while longer. well, at least it will to me. =D

p.s. yes, that is a picture of me trying to eat a flag. i love it. its from st. pats day with some of the people that i love with all my heart. that day was like a cuddly hug to my inside. =D

Doctor Who - Matt Smith Shower Scene

isnt he just fit?! i know he looke like a young frankenstein, but still, ya would. twice. =P

laryngitis

okay, well, as i already told you that i was going to the doctor to get some antibiotics for a sore throat and cold/flu like symptoms... well, i turns out i have blooming LARYNGITIS. FML. =(

i got antibiotics, and its the third day of them now... and, realistically, you would think they would have worked by now, right? well, they havent. so, i am in bed, not talking, not eating and basically not doing anything. AND ITS KILLING ME!!!!! i had to re-schedule my flute lesson, and i might even have to change my work experience as well. oh FML. like seriously.

the only thing keeping me alive is dirty dancing, glee re-runs and doctor who. =D

okay, well, i officially give up. i am totally dying of the cold - personally i think that it is actually a flu, but im not a doctor. =S im going to see one tomorrow, and i think he will give me some antibiotics to make me better. its defo the thing that mum had - i have all the same symptoms that she had; sore head, ache-y limbs, bunged up nose and a ripping throat. =(
away from the subject of my aweful state, today was a surprisingly good day... i had my first driving lesson today. and it was bloody brilliant. my teachers name is collum vaughn, and he is the guy that taught my mum. he is really nice, and really funny. he picked me up at 3pm, at my house. and then he drove up the road a little bit and we did the cockpit drill - DSSSM; and that stands for doors, seatbelt, steering wheel, signaling and mirrors. after that we did some gently stopping and starting - which was actually kinda scary. but what he made me do after that was even scarier - he made me drive through killough. as in through the whole village. and then out the main road, and round rossglass. it was bloody scary. i can change gears, and i can kinda drive - but im too much in the ditch. BUT there was one wee moment when we bumped into tractor and he had to take over the pedals - but apart from that i was driving solo. =D

thinking is a dangerous business

okay, well, there is some minor news. EXAMS ARE FINISHED!!!!!!! it just feels way good to have no more pressures and no more crap to learn. YAY! although... i am beginning to think that i am suicidal. because i have next years reading materials for english AND i have about 20 law books to read for uni. meh. AND i have LNAT past papers. gosh, i really am a geek.

second, i was pondering the idea of l'avenir. and, yes, i had to say it in french. it just sounds so much more better in a foreign language. its just sort of scary. i mean, this time, two years from now, ill be at uni (hopefully), doing a degree that i adore (i hope) and i hope ill be happy. but, that aint the scary part. the scary part is that ill be away from my family, my second family a.k.a my friends. ill be in a different country (maybe), but ill most definitely be out of my comfort zone. AAAAARGHHH!!!!!! =O honestly, if i think about this too much i start to hyperventilate.

well, that picture really describes what i am like at the moment. it has been an interesting few weeks to say the least. maths has been killing me slowly, politics paper one destroyed my soul and made me want to run out of the exam hall screaming for my mummy. =S politics paper two was hard, but fair... so i just have english and maths to look forward to. YAY!!!! =(

GivesMeHope.com (GMH) - Like FMyLife, but for optimists!.

GivesMeHope.com (GMH) - Like FMyLife, but for optimists!.

firstly, this is the cutest website ever. honestly, is really is FML for optimists! =)

secondly --- life is LEGENDARY right now. well, minus the whole exams thing. =(
but, the weather is lovely... revision is going alright... i have an awesome family and even awesomer friends. what more could i ask for?!?

i was thinking last night that, this time next year i will be sitting my LAST EVER exams at down high school. i would have finished my LAST EVER day at down high school... and that thought is flipping scary. but then i remembered a quote from Albert Einstein - "I never think of the future. It comes soon enough." and then i told myself to wise up and go have a cuppa. XP

Happy Birthday to you

HOW AWESOME IS THIS?!?!?! HAA!! =D

tan lines... =S

okay, so, after the FIRST BLOG i did some revision for these wee tests called A-Levels. i have a maths module on monday, so its mega-cramming at the mo.
but... i got distracted by the LOVELY weather. (and, no, that is not sarcasm). the sun was shinning, the birds were singing...well, you get the picture. so instead revising... like the normal person... i decided to do a spot of sunbathing in the garden. twas absolutely scrupmtious.. BUT... after only TWO HOURS i got stupid tan lines. they arent too obvious, but they are there. meh. =S

p.s. i though you might like to see the absolutely beaut view outside my window. =D

FIRST BLOG

okay, this feels kinda wierd. well, as you might see from the title this is my first blog!

i suppose i better tell you something about my self. my name is dasha and im a girl. i love cookies, and cupcakes, and jelly beans. and my friends and family mean everything to me.

well, currently i am admiring the sun... cause its pretty. and it makes me feel happy. =D im just after a long walk and i have blisters on my feet. that is honestly the last time i wear converse for a walk... even though i am a converse junkie. =P