8 Minute Workout

Heyy people,

It's me Lotte. I haven't updated for a while, and I am sorry. About two weeks ago, I went back to Japan, and I had so much fun hanging with old friends, and visiting my school, that I didn't want to go back. :P
Well, back to topic: I was actually planning on writing about cryptography (but I guess that will be next week's topic), which is my new obsession and kind of related to riddles, but yesterday I found out about something so amazing that I just had to write about: The 8 Minute Workout. It is genius! I guess a lot of you have heard about it before because it is pretty famous, but I only heard about it yesterday from a friend of mine. It is simply a workout that focuses on a certain part of your body (such as legs, etc.) and it only takes eight minutes to complete. The reason why I believe it is so genius is because it only takes eight minutes to finish, and who doesn't have an eight minutes free during anytime of their day? Spending these eight minutes on a workout instead of surfing on facebook or reading blogs (*cough*meiji*cough*), would do nothing but good for all of us.
Therefore, I have now decided to try to make this workout a daily routine, and to change the focused body area every now and then (but mainly it's gonna be the abs and the legs). Maybe something you guys should try to?
xx.
☆ Lotte ☆

Riddles

Heyy again :))

I have a new obsession which I'd like to share with you: riddles. Some of them are seriously complicated, and some you get right away, but I like the ones that really makes you think. Here is one of my favorites:

'A lady shoots her husband.
She then holds him underwater for over 5 minutes.
At last, she hangs him.
But five minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together.
How is this possible?'

Can you figure out the answer? (I couldn't.. :p)
Well, think about it, and if you can't figure it out, than you may read the answer..
---------------------
Answer: She 'shot' his picture. Held it under "water" (developer) to develop. Hung it on the line to dry the photograph.
Get it?

It is so clever!
Well, that's all for now. :)
I will see if I find another riddle for next week's upload, or maybe I will upload something totally different.
See ya,
xxxx.
- Lotte

Heyy!~

Last week was my mid-winter break, and so me and my family, as well as my friend and her family went to Andalo, Italy to ski. I had an awesome time, and I hadn't seen my friend since summer so it was great to meet her again. Anyway, now I am back in Sweden, but I got today off school since I was sick all yesterday, and if I went to school today I would probably get half of the class infected with the same virus. :( Still, I am healthy now, and I will most likely be able to go to school tomorrow. ._.

So, today's the first of March, and therefore I decided to upload some cute photos with the themes 'LOVE' & 'Spring' to give us and March a fresh start. ♡

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!~ ♥

Hope you had a good day. :)
I think that Valentine's day is a great idea, because it is a day when people can be nice to each other, and it is a day full of surprises and love. Unfortunately, some people make a big deal of it - and not in a good way. If you are single on Valentine's Day, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be alone, or that you are a failure. So what if you don't have a boyfriend/ girlfriend on this day? Hang out with some friends or family, or go on a vacation and enjoy yourself. Valentine's Day is about being with people you love, but it can be any kind of love, such as family love or just friendly love, etc. So don't get all depressed just because you are single on Valentine's Day. Still, if you are interested in somebody, the 14th is a good day to make a move. So good luck! :)

Make sure to say/do something nice to someone today. :p
xxxx.
- Lotte

Cuteboy

Yesterday was the second Swedish pre-competition/election for the Eurovision Song Contest of the year, and there was a seriously cute competitor called Eric Saade!! Before I go off talking about my new cuteboy, I am just gonna explain the basic set up for these pre-competitions. So, there are four pre-competitions, and then a final one where the two most popular preformances from each pre-competition will compete. One final preformace is chosen to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. :) Yesterday, Eric Saade preformed with a song called 'Manboy' and his performance was the most popular one in the second pre-competition! He is just sooo adorable!~ ♥ Eric is 18 years old, and he is extremely good at singing as well as performing. Unfortunately the lyrics to his song were kinda lame ('Manboy, Manboy. You can call me Manboy!'), but it didn't matter.. :p He is such a HOTTIE.

I am posting a photo of him, but he is soo much hotter 'in action'. ^.^
I actually kinda think that he looks like a better version of Taylor Lautner. What do you think?

Also, he seems like such a sweet guy! :p Last night, watching this I couldn't stop saying 'Awhhhh..~'.
Losol, in conclusion, he is HOT. :)
xxxxx.♥
- Lotte

Desperate Housewives ✔

Hello there! :)

Today, I don't really have anything special to write about, but since I like chocolate, I am going to post a short post today. :) I was planning to write a bit about a new favorite tv-series of mine: Desperate Housewives. Desperate Housewives is a fun tv-series about four women, who on the outside may seem like normal housewives, but on the inside are storing many shocking secrets. Lynette, Bree, Gabrielle and Susan are four women with very special and outstanding characteristics, with different troubles and dilemmas. The series is full of humour, and drama, as well as bits of love and death. I am right now in the middle of season one, and I actually quite enjoy it. I bought the first DVD-box just for the fun of it, but it is actually much better than I thought. There are seven seasons, and there are more to come, so I have a lot to look forward to. ;)

For some very annoying reason, I can't upload photos to my posts, and my blogger is just going bonkers (a favorite word from 'Angus, Thongs & Perfect Snoggings' XD), so yea.. I was gonna upload a photo of the cast, but now I can't. So if you are interested you can do some research yourself... Hihi, have fun.. ^.^

xxxxx.
- Lotte

iPad - A new Phenomenon?

Hey everyone :)

Guess who is updating again while somebody else isn't? :D
Well, today I was planning to write a bit about the iPad. I am pretty sure you all have heard about it, but still. It is so flippin' awesome I just have to write about it. So, yesterday the iPad was released in the States, and you can guess what an enormous success it was! Apple, the company behind this huge phenomenon, are planning on selling 3-4 million iPads this year, and 8 million iPads in 2011. Well, so what is an iPad? Basically, it can be anything you want it to be, because it's multi-touch interaction and it's big screen allows you to watch videos, movies, photos, listen to music, read the newspaper, read books. As I said: It can be anything. It is very portable, and easy to bring with you since it is surprisingly light thinking about it's size (9.7 inches). Unfortunately, it is quite expensive. It costs 499 $, 599 $, 699 $ depending on how many gigabytes you want.



Obviosuly the iPad can be flipped, and the objects on your screen will automatically rotate. On the iPad to the right you can see piles of photos that are different albums, and to see a certain photo album you can just tap on that pile and it will open. If you want to see a photo in full screen, just tap again. Let's say you want to show a photo to a person opposite you, just turn the screen to them, and the photo will adjust by itself so that it becomes rotated properly etc.




This iPad's multi-touch interaction application senses the way you touch the screen.

Looks awesome doesn't it?
If you are interested than you should definitely visit this page.
http://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/
When you get to this page, just click on 'Watch the video', and there is a lot of other information on Apple's homepage.
Enjoy! :)

xxxx.
- Lotte ♥

Minjee owes me tons of chocolate :D

First of all,
For everybody who reads this (ehm.. Minjee? Possibly Lauren?), this blog is driven by Lotte and Meiji, but only Lotte updates. This winter, Lotte and Meiji made a promise that we would update one time each every week. So, every week I go to this blog to see if my so called friend has updated... And Guess who owes me some chocolate when I come to Japan again? XD (Haha, for every time Minjee doesn't update but I do she owes me one chocolate, and vice versa.) I can't wait to go Japan! ;)

So, this weekend I am redecorating my room (well, more precisely: My dad is redoing my room...), and I have been looking forward to this for ages. :)) I am having new wallpapers and a new color scheme and everything. :D It's gonna be so fun to see the before and after pictures. I will update som photos on my next update. SO, this is it for now. I am gonna keep on studying for my french test on Tuesday (I aced the two previous ones except for one 'half-mistake' that took away 0.5 points from my total score XD - YAY ME!!). See you later, and Meiji: Don't start updating now. I want chocolate. :D
xxx.
- Lotte

Merry Christmas and a Happy New 2010! ♥

Hey there!

I know that it has been ages since me and Meiji updated this blog, but we were having a little 'break'. Anyways, no we are planning to start the blog again. :) So, just FYI: I have now moved back to my home country Sweden, whilst Meiji is still in Japan. During this winter break Meiji came with me to Sweden, and we had loads of fun celebrating Christmas, the new year, and just hanging out. Yesterday, Meiji went back to Japan.... ♥ :(

Personally, 2009 was a great year for me for several different reasons. I am not gonna list the

m all here ('cause they are many), but 2009 was simply great! It is a year which I will never forget. Even though you have had a great year, there is always something that could have been better, and the new year gives you a chance to a fresh start, and be a better person. I have been thinking a lot about my new year's resolution, and finally I came up with two main ones which I will focus on: 1. I will try really hard to keep contact with all my friend's in Japan, since they are too precious to loose. 2. I will try to gain better self-confidence. I will keep you updated so that you can see how well my resolutions are going. I really hope that I will be able to fulfill my goals this year! :)

Here are some of the many photos that I took in Sweden this winter. :) Enjoy!

xxxx.

- ♥ Lotte ♥

Tomas Hawk

Hello there! :)
If you know me than you would definitely know that I am very interested in photography, and I do take quite a lot of photos myself. Flickr is, in a t least my opinion, the best photo-sharing website ever. Therefore, I often go to Flickr just to look through and find my favorite photographers and there best photos. I have no find an awesome photographer who I feel like I have to share with you. His name is Tomas Hawk, and he is a real professional. Take a look at the photos below, and notice the amazing bright colors. Enjoy! :)






His photos are absolutely stunning aren't they?? Unfortunately, I couldn't show the photos in a bigger size, and therefore you can't really see the amazing details which only are visible in larger sizes. Still, I think that if you double-click on the photos than you will probably be able to see the original size in another window.
Okay, Have a good day :)
xxx - Lotte

Custom Designed Converse

Heyy people :)
I am a huge fan of Converse, and I am currently looking out for a nice new pair. Since I am going to Hawaii during fall break I will probably by them there. Anyway, if you do not have a Converse shop near you, or if you want a custom designed pair than there is really simple way to fulfill your wishes. If you got to Converse website (Click Here), and you can choose between different colors, prints, laces, and even write your name on the shoes. :)
I has a lot of fun doing a pair, and even though I am not gonna buy them it was a lot of fun.
What do you think about these ones? Fun? Unique? Nothing Special? Hideous?
By the way, notice how it says 'Lollypop' on the back. You can get ANYTHING with less than 13 characters, written on your shoes.

xxx, - Lotte

Purple Beauty

Found a very pretty photo series of Flickr.

I found three photos which all portrayed purple flowers, and I will post them below. :)

I love the shots, and the soft blurriness in the background, which makes the photos seem so.. real. On the second photo you can see raindrops falling down from the flower, and too me it adds a bit of emotion to the photo. I think that the teardrops seem s like tears, and so I find this photo a bit sad.

Anyways, pick your favorite, and tell me which one you prefer. ~~

xx - Lotte

Btw, If you are interested in the photographer, then click on this link: Flickr Photos

There is less deforestation now than 20 years ago!

For the past couple of years, there have been so many controversial debates about deforestation and other causes of Global Warming. Media always say that we have to cut down on the electricity, stop wasting CO2, and decrease the amount of Deforestation. Brazil is one of the countries with the most deforestation, and therefore I am happy to tell you that the amount of trees cut down in Brazil has decreased significantly. :)

It is so great to know that the world finally has decided to do something about these environmental issues!

The diagram above is in Swedish, so I will just briefly explain what it says. The first circle where it says 10 %, shows how much the deforestation in Brazil has decreased since 1985. The second circle, where it says 21 %, shows how much the deforestation in Borneo has decreased since 1985. These statistics are great, but we still have a ling way to go. So keep supporting these kind of green projects. :)

xxx - Lotte

Robert Pattinson <3 <3 <3

You must have heard of him. Robert Pattinson.. :D The hottest human (well not really human but still) on earth..... ~ I am sure you all have seen Twilight, but if not you really have missed something!! The actual books are way better than the movie, but in the books you can't actually see Edward, but in the movies you can. If you know what I mean. :))

Robert Pattinson was born in England, May 13, 1986 ( he is only ten years older than me..... :D ), and has done modelling as well as the role of 'Cedric Diggory' in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I have seen Harry Potter 4, but in that movie I didn't really think he was anything special, but in Twilight.... woah!! That is a completely different story. XD Anyways, I could write an entire book about Robert Pattinson and his beautiful looks but today I am gonna focus on my favorite Edward-parts from Twilight. I linked each scene to the youtube clip, except for my absolute favorite one which you can see directly on here:

1.) Biology Lesson: This is just too cute!!! If a guy smiled like that to me, I would seriously faint... ;o

Credits to Popohat who posted this video on YouTube.

2.) "You Better Hold on tight Spider-monkey...": Hahahaha, this part is so cute... XD I love the word "Spider-Monkey", and I really wish that I could be Bella for this scene so that Rob could hold me instead of Kirsten... ^^

3.) "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb": Nawh, this quote just fits so perfectly to this scenario, and I completely love this part because this is when you know that they will stick together no matter what. ~~~

4.) Prom: lol, I love the part when Edward lifts Bella so that she can stand on his feet dancing... :p It is just too cute, and romantic. Wish that there are 'Edwards' in real life too... <3

5.) "You don't Sleep? No. Never? No, not all.": This smile is so cute :) Whenever I see this scene, I just feel so happy inside.. lol, I guess that is the the "Edward-effect"... XD (sorry, but i couldn't find a YouTube video that showed this part, so therefore I couldn't link it.. :/ )

By the way, I might write about this in another article, but it is definitely worth mentioning if you don't know: Robert Pattinson is an amazing singer!!! Two of his songs (the best ones in my opinion) are featured in the movie; 'Never Think' and 'Let Me Sign'. They are so unique, but still really full with emotions. One other fantastic song, which is not featured in the movie,is "I'll be your lover too". Rob didn't just sing these songs, but he also wrote them, AND played the guitar!! :))

Anyone DOESN'T understand why I completely love this perfect guy???

xxx - Lotte

Blackle - Energy Saving

You want to slow down Global Warming, but don't know what to do?

Don't worry; a new free-search called 'Blackle' may be a solution. Blackle is basically the same thing as Google, but the screen is black instead of white. Some people may think that it wouldn't make a difference if I only use Google/Blackle one minute a day, but it does make a difference if we all try to cut down on the electricity. I am not saying that this will stop Global Warming, 'cause it won't, but maybe it can help us to slow it down at least.

Why not give it a try?

It doesn't take longer time, nor does it have less searching results/information available. There is only one thing that blackle doesn't have but which Google has, and that is 'Image Search'. So, if you are trying to find pictures, then, sure, Google, or Yahoo! might be a good option, but if you are just researching for information for some school project then make sure to give 'Blackle' a shot, ok? This may sound very silly, but as I said before, it will make a difference if everyone are ready to try.

Go Green!!

xxx - Lotte

Summer + Interchange Program

Hello there!

It has been quite a while since I wrote, but since it has been summer vacation we kind of decided to have a vacation from the blog as well. ^^ Anyways: this summer has been fantastic! I spent most of it in Sweden, but also two weeks in Italy, plus two weeks in Japan. In Sweden I just has a fun time with my friends, and with my family, whom I hadn't seen for months! In Sweden I live on the countryside, right next to the beach, and therefore I went swimming and sun-bathing whenever the weather was well. Also, this summer I was doing an interchange program with Italy! The organization which held this program is called CISV (Children's International Summer Villages), and I have been traveling with them before. Their programs are real fun, and they have different options for different ages. There really is something for everyone. To learn more about CISV go to: http://www.cisv.org/

Anyway, so I had this Italian girl named Giulia staying with my family in Sweden for two weeks. During those weeks we went sightseeing, shopping, swimming and we also did a lot of fun games and activities with the other interchange students. After these two weeks, Giulia and the rest of the Italian Delegation went back to Modena, Italy. After a week of resting etc., the entire Swedish Delegation went to Italy where two extremely fun weeks were lying ahead of us; visits in Florence, Bologna, Vignola, Elba, shopping, sightseeing, swimming, Mini camp in the mountains, and playing. :) This summer will be very hard to forget!

xxx - Lotte

Birthdays

Birthdays are always something that I look forward to, and the Birthday party is of course a big part of the day. Yet, it is sometimes really hard to come up with ideas of what you can do to have the best birthday party ever. A day that none of your friends will get forget. Here are some fun ideas of where you may want to have your big party:

- Amusement Park
... This is sure to be a lot of fun, but make sure that you don't invite too many people, because it will get very expensive (and you don't want your guests to pay everything), and it won't be as fun, since some people might want to go on different rides than others, etc.

- Karaoke Bar
... This is sure to be a success with your girlfriends. :) Also, inviting boys to karaoke parties are usually quite fun, since they usually put on some shows. The same thing goes for this though; if you invite too many people, then everyone might not be able to sing as much as they want to.

- At your home
...if you choose to have your party at your home, then you will be able to prepare everything exactly as you want it; what movies you want to see, what food you want to see... and between; it is cheap!

- In a shopping mall/street
...If you and your friends enjoy shopping and being out in town, then this might be the alternative for you! Here you can just go window-shopping, or if you feel like it - buy yourself or your friends treats. If you go shopping, you will also be sure to enjoy yourself, and just have some time as girls. ^^

That was the four best ideas, that I could come up with, but maybe you have something even better?
Well, remember to choose an appropriate amount of people, and a place that you think that you and your friends will like.

Now; Let's get this party started!
xxx, - Lotte

Proverb

Hello! This days, I'm really into proverbs.... So I decided to share some of them with you! I will upload some pictures with proverbs so hope you enjoy!

1. Loving Sky Without Wings

2. Money doesn't grow on trees(Which is true, right?)

3. My life is incomplete without you

4. Time doesn't wait for anyone
5. Love inclines, but leave memories

6. Love does not change, it is people that change

7. I WAS BORN TO LOVE YOU

8. If we are meant to be, we'll meet again
I guess that's all for today! Cya later!
xxx-Meiji

Eurovision Song Contest

If you life in Europe, this is something you probably know about, but if you don't then you might not have heard of it. Therefore, I will educate you a little bit about this musical event, and I will show you the three songs that placed in top three, in this year's contest. One thing that was quite cool about this year's contest, was the fact that the top three songs were all somehow related to Scandinavia.. :)
Anyways; here does the top three come:

1.) Norway, "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak

- The winner of Eurovision Song Contest 2009 is... Norway! Well, first of all, I just have to say "Congrats".. :P
Anyways, this song was a clear winner, since it was 169 points ahead of the country that placed second! This song has become incredibly popular, but I don't really se why everyone loves it so much. Sure, he is very charming, and the atmosphere and the show on the stage are both incredible, but his voice isn't always a 100 %. I think that this song is okay, but there were many other songs that would I like better.

2.) Iceland, "Is it true" by Yohanna



- This song was actually one of my favorites, and I really think it deserved the second place (at least!). Yohanna has a great voice, and she really enhances the song that's already an awesome ballade. The song is also the kind that you don't get tired of very easily, but the kind that you want to listen to over, and over, and over again.
Love it!

3.) Azerbaijan, "Always" by AySel & Arash




- First of all, you might wonder what this song has to do with Scandinavia. Well, Arash, who is singing this song together with AySel, is partly from Sweden and partly from Iran. Anyways, this song just get better and better, the more you listen to it. it is a great party song to dance to, and it is a cool mix between western and eastern Europe, in terms of style.

So, now that you have gotten to listen to the top three; which one did you prefer? I think all three of them are quite good, but I prefer Iceland's song "Is it True". I have on more favorite that didn't place very well (in fact it came last in the finals) which was Finland's song called "Lose Control" sung by Waldo's People.

Have a good day!
xxx - Lotta

Yummy... Cadbury Crunchie

Here comes my second chocolate update, which today is about Cadbury Crunchie an english chocolate.
I went to Australia this spring break, and when there, I tried an amazingly crunchy chocolate. Inside the chocolate cover, it is full of small pieces that taste a little bit like Fudge. It is very hard to describe (especially since it was a while ago, since I tasted it), but it is something you should not miss!

There are many other Cadbury chocolates that are worth trying, and they all have many different flavors (all from creme brulée to boysenberry to cotton candy).

I LOVE IT!
I promise, so will you, after trying it.

xxx - Lotte