Photos - A month later

So I was in Europe over Spring Break... And I took lots of pictures... So now it's time to show you! (Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Athens, Greece. The view of the Acropolis from our hotel room!

Ruins in Corinth, Greece

Wildflowers grew EVERYWHERE!

Hilltop ruins in Mycenae, Greece

The Mediterranean town, Nafplio. Yeah, that's an orange tree.

Nafplio again :)

Me with Rylan (left) and Kessa (right) right beside the Mediterranean sea

Another picture of Nafplio. It was a very charming town... I loved it!

The Epidavros theatre

Athens, the View from Mars Hill.

The Parthenon

ROME! The Pantheon!

In the ruins of the Roman Forum

More ruins

A bike ride along the Appian Way. 

The Appian way

Beautiful Italian countryside 

Inside St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican

More in the Vatican

VENICE!!!!

Canals!

Firenze or Florence. What came to be known as the pajama church. 

Dancing at night on the Ponte Vecchio Bridge

Ponte Vecchio bridge by day

PARIS!

Saint Chapelle

Notre Dame Cathedral

No hunchback...

The Seine :) 

The Eiffel tower!

Hanneke, Maria, Rylan, Natika, Courtney and I at the top of the Eiffel tower. (That's clockwise from the top left)

LONDON!

I will have an actual in-depth account of the trip soon... It's hard to write it all down! 

Europe!

I am sitting in the living room with a suitcase and carry on in front of me. For those that don't know yet, (or the ones that I haven't endlessly squealed to this past week) I am off to Europe for Spring Break on the Comparative Civilizations 12 trip! I've been dreaming about this trip for years. Literally! And now it's finally happening! 

Ok, looks like it's time to head out. 

I shall return with thousands of epic pictures! 

-Kristina 

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley

A few days ago I finished a book entitled 'The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie', a mystery set in 1950s England with an 11-year-old protagonist. Flavia de Luce is her name, and she's a brilliant little girl who is fascinated with Chemistry. Flavia soon stumbles upon a mystery -- as all detectives do in books -- and she quickly becomes involved in figuring it out, without the Police knowing!

I was fascinated by the book! It was elegantly written with many moments of humour. Flavia's sisters Daphne and Ophelia torment her with no end so she finds ways to get back at them. For example, she poison's Ophelia's lipstick so it gives her a rash on her face. Flavia is a little genius, but still a child at heart and sees people and circumstances with innocence yet a profound understanding.

It was an amazing book, the mystery was flawlessly written! The plot itself moved quite quickly which made it an easy read.

Overall, I loved it and I have book #2 already. Something tells me I'm going to be at the bookstore this week...

The Top Five Values I Have Seen In Doctor Who

Doctor Who. British Sci-fi show. 50% Science Fiction, 50% tears. Yes, it's a heartbreaking show about a man, the last of his species - the Timelords. He travels through time and space, wherever he is needed, to help in times of extreme crisis. For over 50 years the show has been running. To this day there have been 13 Doctors (including the War Doctor) and numerous companions. But over all this time and change, there have been some standing ideas and values that weave their way through the series. Here are my top five things that I have seen through the show:

Important Historical Figures featured in Doctor Who

1. History is Like it is for a Reason
First and foremost, Doctor Who is about time travel. With the power to go forwards and backwards in time, the Doctor and his companions are seeing history with every journey. The Doctor makes it very clear that even when they witness the most terrible of times, they must only observe and not try to change or prevent the events of history because they happen for a reason. By changing one day, the rest of time could be drastically different. The Doctor emphasizes seeing and learning from all of time and space, instead of taking matters into one's own hands and meddling with happenings already ordained.

Some of the Companions

2. Living in the Present
The Doctor always encourages his companions to live their lives to the fullest in the moment. He emphasizes leaving hard pasts behind and teaches people to find joy in unpleasant circumstances. Though characters, and even the Doctor himself, go through hard times, they always find hope and the ability to press onwards. In Doctor Who it's about what you can learn NOW and how you can make a difference NOW, because there might not be a later.

The Doctor and his "weapons".
Clockwise from top left
Brandy, a water pistol, a jammie dodger and a spoon

3. The Value of Life
In association with #2, Doctor Who stresses the value of life. The Doctor continuously saves lives whenever possible. As a time traveller and having gone through wars etc. he has seen many many deaths. He is saddened by each one. The Doctor never intentionally kills anyone and he does not arm himself. Life is valued throughout the entire series. Though him and his companions may work towards "eliminating" the imposing monsters and other antagonists, they always strive to put creatures back in their place where they can live without destroying Earth or eating humans. The humans and aliens are all valued.

Rory, the Patient Centurion

4. Loyalty and Companionship
Another great quality Doctor Who presents would be loyalty and the need for companionship. (Shh, I know that's two) The Doctor is extremely loyal to his companions, always willing to risk himself for them, never questioning his safety if they are in danger. The most well-known example of loyalty would have to be the story of Rory and Amy. Long story short, Rory protected Amy for 2000 years. He never left her and faithfully guarded her. :') The Doctor is the epitome of independence, yet through this he proves that everyone needs people around them. Being the last of his kind (Timelord), he is extremely lonely. When he is alone, his pain shows through and gives viewers a glimpse to complete and utter loneliness. It definitely makes you more thankful for the loved ones around you!

An Ood, a friendly alien. 

5. Respect
Most of all, Doctor Who implements respect. It is a science fiction show, there are many aliens. But the Doctor shows that each and every one of them are to be respected. (Even the bad ones) They are still living things, they still have lives, feelings (some of them), and their own races and cultures. Though we may not have aliens in our world (or do we?!) this very important value can still be grasped. Every person, people group and culture deserves our respect. In one of the very first episodes in the 1960s, Susan (the Doctor's granddaughter) is terrified of a species from another planet because they looked odd. They turned out to be very kind, gentle monsters. Over and over it is emphasized that we should not judge by appearance.



 So there you have it, the values I see in Doctor Who. If you already watch the show, do you agree? If you don't watch Doctor Who, are you interested in trying it out?

Reading

I am an avid reader. Ok, that's an understatement. Reading is as much a part of me as eating, sleeping and dancing. For the last two years I have done a reading challenge on one of my favourite websites, Goodreads. In 2013, I read 200 books! And in 2014 I read 145.

Goodreads enables a user to track what they read, rate the books and then also view the statistics (longest book read, number of pages read, etc). It also gives great recommendations based on what you read before. 

Through school I am challenging myself to read a minimum of 100 minutes per day. The student who read the most minutes at the end of a three week period gets a $75 Amazon gift card. I don't have tons of time on my hands but so far, I've done well! It's just about keeping it up. 

I have already read 11 books in 2015... I'll give a quick rundown. 

1. Deluge - Lisa T. Bergren
The fifth and final book in the River of Time series, one I have loved for quite a while now. Being the last book in the story, it both ripped my heart out but gave it the most wonderful conclusion ever. It was one of the most well written out of the entire series, it wrapped up so many loose ends and gave a final taste of all the beloved characters. (I'm trying to say lots without giving anything away XD) For me, I found that it finished off the series, but it gave the imagination a head start on what life for the characters would be like after the books. 

2. A Moveable Feast - Ernest Hemingway
After reading 'The Old Man and the Sea' for English a few months ago, I discovered Hemingway's prose. I was instantly swept away in his writing and wanted more, so I took on a recommendation from my dad, (A huge Hemingway fan) 'A Moveable Feast'. I really enjoyed this one, it was easy to read, easy to understand, and gave a fresh, unpolished yet thoughtful perspective of everyday Paris life in the 1920s. It's basically Hemingway's journal of a few years in Paris. It fascinated me! I find that the novels written way back when are the best ways to learn about that time period. Interestingly enough, Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound and many others of the time are featured in the book as Hemingway knew each of them. 

3. Growing Up Duggar - Jana Duggar
This book popped up on Goodreads as a recommendation. It looked interesting so I picked it up at the library. I didn't enjoy it very much, it was basically just a sketch of how they were brought up. Parts were interesting but I got the feeling that they were sending the "our way is the right way" message which turned me off. 

4. A Wreath of Snow - Liz Curtis Higgs
Liz Curtis Higgs is one of my all-time favourite authors, writing Scottish novels. *Sigh* They're wonderful. Anyway, I started reading this novella at Christmas time but got lost in the busyness of the season and didn't continue. I picked it up again in the New Year and thoroughly enjoyed this short Scottish Christmas story. It was predictable, VERY PREDICTABLE, but enjoyable all the same. It was a story of forgiveness vs. regret and it held the usual Liz Curtis Higgs magic. 

5. Tiger Lily - Jodi Lynn Anderson
Getting this book from the library, I was really excited about it. The story of Peter Pan, from Tiger Lily's side yet told through Tinkerbell's thoughts. It sounds fascinating, right?! Well, unfortunately, I found it empty, lacking meaning and not very well written. There were some beautiful moments, like Tinkerbell musing over the fact that it's possible to learn so much about people without even speaking to them, by watching their reactions and paying attention to their body language. But otherwise, it was a let down. I was disappointed and thought that it could have been better.

6. Everything I Need to Know About Love I Learned From a Little Golden Book - Diane Muldrow
I picked up this little book in the bookstore downtown while browsing. IT IS ADORABLE. You all know the Little Golden Books, those little children's stories we all read. Well, this book compiles illustrations from a lot of them, with the little messages that go along with the stories. It has to be the cutest book I've read in a long time. 

7. Four Blood Moons - John Hagee
Some of you may have heard of the theory that the world will end after the four blood moons of 2014/2015. A friend of mine told me about the theory, I heard about this book so I decided to read it to understand the theory more. Well, John Hagee REALLY wants to get his point across. This book was basically an essay, which isn't a bad thing. It was an interesting book and I got the information I wanted about the Four Blood Moons, but no one knows when the world will end, except God! 

8. Grace - Howell Conant
So, I have an enthralment with old movies and I especially love Grace Kelly. While killing time at the library the other day I stumbled upon a book about her that I hadn't read yet! This one was by one of her photographers who actually moved to Monaco with her after she married Prince Rainier. It gave a glimpse to what kind of person she was behind-the-scenes accompanied with lovely photos. I really enjoyed this one! :)

9. Humans of New York - Brandon Stanton
Another Goodreads recommendation, this book is a compilation of photos taken by a man who spent a year in New York taking portraits of people all over. It's fascinating and the stories that go along with the pictures are everything from hilarious to tear-invoking. It inspired me as well, one day I'd love to just go around taking portraits. 

10. A Bouquet of Love - Janice Thompson
Janice Thompson is another favourite author of mine. This book was #4 in a series about weddings. (#1 about a photographer, #2 about a baker, #3 about a dress designer and now #4 about the flower supplier lady) It's a really cheesy series, but it's enjoyable to read. It's cute and light and Janice Thompson pens some hilarious moments. 

11. Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz 
The first book the in Alex Rider series, I was very skeptical about this book, I wasn't sure I was going to like it but I had agreed to try it. I started the book one night and I was hooked instantly. I couldn't put it down and when I had to put it down I couldn't stop thinking about what could possibly happen next or how the conflict was going to resolve. It was action packed and intense, but really well written. I went through it really fast, I was finished the day after I started it, and now I can't wait to read the others!


That's all I have for now. Have a wonderful weekend! 

Back to the Grind

Christmas is over, holidays are over, it's back to work, school and dance.

I have some pictures from my dearest friend Megan's visit, and some other random photos. :)

 We had an epic photoshoot in the park -- here are the best of the photos.

 

(Sorry Fos, I just had to put this one it, I love it too much XD)

 Lucy saw the pictures and wanted some taken as well, so I took her out on Sunday morning for her own personal photoshoot!

 Also on Sunday we headed up to our friends place on Idabel Lake which is way up past Big White. It's gorgeous! We went cross-country skiing on the frozen lake!

 Moving back in time to New Year's Eve, Megan hijacked my camera and took some very nice pictures!

 Lighting the sparklers to celebrate the new year!

Our lovely New Year's Tree

So there you are! Lots of photos. 

Now it's back to normal life, I'm working lots, dancing lots (Er, I will be) and teaching lots. I'm working on creating audition videos to apply to some international summer dance schools. The first semester of school is coming to a close, high school is almost over... It's a weird thought. Which reminds me... I have something else to show you... But I'll save that for another time!