Chantal DeHaine

So today is a pretty special day, not only because it's my 100th post, but because it's an extra day. we only get this day every four years and thus I'm determined to make it productive! As you will know we have leap days because the total time for the earth to rotate the sun is 365.24 days and therefore to keep the calender in sync with the movements of the planets, a leap day is added. #spaceandallthat (Although technically it's 24 hours and eleven minutes added to each year - because its .242 of a day and not .25) However, there are such things as the leap months and leap seconds; but you'll have to research those yourself.. What have you done today to make it extra special? So yeah, I guess I just wanted to say Happy Leap Year! Hope the next four years are PHENOMENAL!! :D And as for it being my 100th post - cheers to the next 100! Stay Excellent - Chantal DeHaine

Graham was your average oldie, although he denied that description quite profusely. He wore grandpa flat caps and knitted woollen scarfs, indoors. He would sit down and moan; about his bones or not having the gravy he liked with his favourite roast, little things really but they mattered to Graham. He thrived on reading his beloved newspaper with his pipe hanging out from between his lips, as he smoked the four Tobacco leaves his wife permitted him each day. It was the only time was allowed to relax. His wife kept him rather busy, always preparing for the next day; this put Graham on the edge a little and made him feel somewhat apprehensive. He couldn’t help it, whatever he did there was something he hated about prepping for a day he wasn’t living in presently. Graham had an excessively high opinion of his day and thought it to be the perfect mix of helping his wife and selfishly doing all the things he wanted to do; like watching a movie at four in the afternoon (while hi...

‘Calm’ was how Samantha always described herself, she had no business in being stressed or agitated. Calm was just how she rolled. Not many people completely ace the question of describing themselves, but Samantha hit it straight on the head. She knew everything that was due to happen on a daily basis, accepted it when it didn’t happen and carried on, she had a very classic British attitude to everything. Samantha was your perfect collected person. She was happy doing anything really as long as it got her out the house, she didn’t work much, but when she did it was from the desk in her dining room. She worked freelance and wouldn’t change it for anything. Fresh air was what she craved and she loved being outside; never was the weather her excuse. She would climb all the trees on dry days and jump into puddles on wet days. Children loved her and would chase her round the park to see all the exciting things she did. But at the end of any long day, she loved nothing bett...

“LETS PARTYYYYYY” is something that is quite often heard coming out of Gwen’s mouth, for she loves a party. She is your regular, brand new, old-fashioned, revved up, full throttle party girl – of epic proportions. There’s not a party that goes by that Gwen isn’t present at, whether she has been invited or not! Which can sometimes put her in the centre of any trouble that occurs. But let’s face it, a party isn’t really a party unless there’s some drama, not that Gwen takes it upon herself to start it, most of the time… However before the parties start, Gwen is your average 9-5 worker. Yes, she’s excitable but still very hard working and is an asset to her job. Although work is work and not much can be said that would give you any more of an idea of her as a person. She loves that feeling of waking up in the morning just knowing that after today she can relax, it’s that whole ‘waheyyy last day’ feeling. So she gets up early, ready for the day and extremely ready for the part...

Lucy is a lady of leisure and always loves spending time with her pals, even waiting for her friends gives her chills due to the excitement. She’s always been one to thrive in a social setting and can’t deny herself the true pleasure of enjoying her time. She loves volunteering and considers it a job of hers, helping out a community is thought to be a chore to many of the people she knows; but not to Lucy. Lucy is dedicated and not only does she find the time flies when she is volunteering but she finds herself actually missing it when she’s not there. Being down to earth is a hard feat when you’re used to flying high, but Lucy manages. And she doesn’t just care for herself, no, like she does whilst volunteering, she forgets about herself for a while and likes to build people up and bring them higher too. It can be hard to learn to fly, and really easy to fall, but that is not the aim. It shouldn’t be for anyone. Everyone should learn to fly, be built up by anyone and ever...

Nash has always taken note of every situation and is a great observer, he notices the smallest of things and therefore always seems to find himself in the middle. Which, when it comes to arguments isn’t the most pleasant of things, but when he’s in the middle of a queue, well its better than being at the back. He is always willing to plan things but isn’t very good when it comes to actually carrying them out; his excuses are always the same, “I’ve got a really busy schedule”, “oops, I’m double booked”; which I’m sure you can agree is very annoying. Nash’s humour hit an all-time high with sarcasm a few years back, which has given him a great persona as a dry comedian. Nothing is funnier than a guy, who is always stuck in the middle, trying to sarcastically explain why all of the things that have happened to him are so irrevocably funny. If he was asked “why?” he would always reply “why not?” with a giggle. Decisions were not his cup of tea and he surrounded himself with ...

Aaron is the kind of guy who is constantly content, with whatever he is doing. Whether it be making his lunch or leaving two minutes before he supposed to be somewhere, it’s like he hasn’t a care in the world. He does however make sure everyone knows it, he is impulsively drawn to people he doesn’t know, just so he can tell them he has no worries. Not the best feature to have but he makes it work, it’s his favourite thing to do. Only when you watch him for a good hour or so would you realise that actually under all the satisfaction he eludes, there are moments where he looks as if his face is going to fracture under the pressure of his enlightened state. He revels in his ability to make people feel welcome, he’s a friendly guy and has never found it hard to express his delight in finding new friends. His girlfriend has always welcomed new people too, in fact it’s rare to find their flat empty – it’s their own social setting. They’ve been together since they were children; ...

Cecelia was always the first to do everything; first to start a diet, first to start a new regime, first to get a job. You name it, she did it first and although this was sometimes seen as a good thing, most of the time people resented her for it. She always found it hard making new friends, but everyone she met was in two minds about her, much like Marmite they either loved her or they hated her. Some would see her as a new beginning, no one could be more motivating than Cecelia, but for others this was her worst attribute. They found her controlling – probably because she wanted what was best for them. As a child she could always be found at her favourite place, ‘Mission Control’ she called it. But others would see it as the roundabout island, it was where she would ‘watch the chaos’ as she put it. From any angle she could see dozens of cars beeping and indicating and swerving to miss each other as they travelled to where ever they were going. She felt calm as she watched an...

The Blackberry bath bomb This has to be one of my favourite bath bombs, not just because I love the colour it turns my bath or the enthralling smell, but also because it only has nine ingredients. Which, for someone who has recently become much more aware of the chemicals she's exposing her body to, is a great relief. List of ingredients; - Sodium Bicarbonate - Citric Acid - Perfume - Bergamot Oil - Frankincense Oil - Hexyl Cinnamal - Lilial - Colour 42053 - Colour 17200 The moment before you drop the ballistic into the water is, in my opinion, the best part. You're waiting to see the burst of life this bath bomb is given and it's a thrilling wait that I always struggle with. The Bath bomb sinks at first but is quick to pop back up to the surface, so that you can see its explosion in great detail. You can instantly see the change in the colour of the bath water and it's fair to say no one could be disappointed; especially when the...

He was a boy, She was a girl, He loved her,  She fell in love with him, They lived happily ever after. Although the pronouns may change and there are an endless variety of factors that could affect their story, ultimately it comes down to these things. And that's the beauty of love, no matter the minor things that happen along the way, three things will definitely happen in every love story till the end of time.  They meet, They fall in love, They live happily ever after. No matter how long 'ever after' seems to be. However long our love story is, whether it be five minutes; you meet, you feel the spark and forever after you're left with the memory, or whether it's eighty years and you die in each others arms. Everyone gets a love story.  Stay Excellent - Chantal DeHaine

I can understand why people might find it hard to make decisions. I mean there could be a lot riding on the choice you make, and obviously some decisions are more important than others. That's life!    Reasons you wouldn't want to make a decision;    - to keep everyone else happy by letting them choose   - to avoid conflict   - to make sure your date is going to enjoy themselves   But on occasion, making the decision is a lot easier than letting others decide!    Reasons to make the decision;    - you get what you like!   - you have a hand at doing the organising   - if no one else makes the decision, you can   - it shows confidence   Making decisions are not that hard, as many people will know, you decide which option you are most in favour of and voice your opinion.   When I was little, I never made any decisions; my favourite sayings we...

So, I volunteer at Rainbows (which is Girlguiding, for those of you who don't know) and today we had some visitors. Firefighters!! And yes, they are firefighters, not firemen. We found out a lot of interesting things; It takes around 8 weeks to train, We learnt how to use the hose - all the girls got to have a go. We learnt that the average shift is ten hours That they attend more car accidents than house fires And that they are no longer taught, in training, to do the famous fireman's lift!! It was thoroughly interesting, so I'd like to thank the four guys that visited us; they were really great with the girls and had great senses of humour! Thankyou London Fire Brigade for everything that you do! Stay Excellent - Chantal DeHaine

For this experiment I decided to use Betty Crocker's Chocolate Cookie Mix, it's super simple and you only have to add water. The generic instructions; Pour the mixture into a bowl and add 30ml of water (2 tablespoons), Mix, Put on a baking tray, Cook, However I always find that 30ml is never enough, so add more if you find there are still a few crumbs have a little freestyle boogie by their self. Then it's time to get your hands dirty and start moulding your cookies. (You should also grease the tray) Now here's the experimental part, I had the ingenious idea of putting other sweet things inside the cookies - I know this has been done before and don't claim to be the original genius. :P Yes, I did put a cube of jelly inside some cookie mix XD. Although I have know idea why I thought it would work, because I tried to put jam in the middle of the bread I made in Year 4 and it went horribly wrong and just sort of exploded. But we...

What the hell is that?, I hear you ask... Maybe it's a snail killer, or a disguised handheld stabber, nope - it's an orange peeler XD And I don't know how I peeled oranges before, but I was definitely doing it wrong! The little piece of plastic has to be one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, that certainly hasn't been given the credit it should have... Simple to wear and comfortable too, you need one of these in your kitchen. It's literally the perfect size So the way it works; you put your finger through the shell and let your index finger rest on its neck. You then get your orange and the sharp triangle on the underside, of the snail-shaped orange peeler, runs along and cuts the skin and easily allows you to peel as you desire. It's so elementary. No more digging your nails into the segments, or pulling off the skin centimetre by centimetre.. It also makes peeling oranges really fun!  Imagine all...

What can you do in a day? Whatever you do; don't you just love having a productive day, it's so endearing to know that you achieved multiple things that you've had to get done on one simple. Especially when they take less time that you thought they would. For example, today I; - Went to the gym, - Washed my hair, - Visited school to sort out something for my product (I study Product design) - I went to the vets to pick up a standard treatment for my Cat - I picked up some groceries from Sainsbury's - I popped into town to buy a friends birthday present And got back by 3 O'clock, Then; - I wrapped the presents - And a friend came over - I've had dinner - Had a lovely chat with my Mum And now I'm writing this blog, so I think overall it's fair to say I've had a thoroughly packed day. It's put me in a great mood as well - I feel like I've gained something. Although I still haven't done my homework... Hope you get a lo...