How to: Stretch Your Shoes with Ice

We all know the feeling of having to throw away your favourite pair of shoes because they’ve suddenly gotten tighter or smaller… until now. This is a simple and affordable way to stretch your shoes up a half, or a full size!

You will need:

–       2 plastic sandwich baggies

–       Water

–       A freezer

–       Shoes (leather or fake leather work best, but any material will do)

Step 1: Fill the sandwich baggie, about one quarter full, with water. Seal the bags tight, the last thing we want is flooded shoes.

Step 2: Place the baggies in each shoe, making sure the water in the baggie reaches the front of the toe and the sides of the shoe.

Step 3: Put your water-filled shoe in the freezer, and wait until the water freezes. This process should take about two hours. Make sure you notify someone that there are shoes in the freezer, just in case!

Step 4: After the water is frozen, remove the shoes from the freezer and let them thaw for a good twenty minutes. Slide the baggies out and wipe down any left over water in the shoe (this shouldn’t cause any damage to the inside of the shoe).

Step 5: Try on your new and improve shoes! They should feel snug and comfortable.

Final Project Ideas

Project Pitch #1

My first final project idea is to create a bucket list for each city, including about 5 tasks to do in every place we visit. When completing the tasks, I’ll both take pictures or film doing it, and put them together at the end. I’ll make the tasks realistic, but at the same time, ambitious. I came up with this idea because I want to make the most of this trip. I sometimes have trouble opening my mind up to new things, and I think a bucket list will really test myself and my adventurous side, while still being sensible.

Project Pitch #2

My second pitch is to create a blog about the best spots in each city. This blog would include everything from shopping, eating, site seeing, entertainment, accommodations, etc. I would take pictures, write reviews and critiques, film “vlogs” and more to put together a travel guide-blog for other people to read or watch. I don’t want to go to Italy to eat McDonalds (but being totally honest, I probably will once or twice) so I want to discover small cafes, boutiques, street music and kiosks and share them with other people that are traveling to Europe.

Before #1

 

Before #2

 

After

crop, text, select/move, and brightness/contrast were used.

Before

Crop, text, clone stamp, and brightness/contrast were used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After

Never Let Me Go Review

Never Let Me Go is an unusual science fiction novel by Kazuo Ishiguro that is about a society that creates clones for organ donation to the non-clones, or “originals”. It begins with Tommy, Kathy and Ruth growing up and going to Hailsham, in England, which is a boarding school where the kids are not taught regular life skills or school subjects. Eventually Tommy and Ruth become “donors” and Kathy becomes a “carer”. Ruth later dies after her last donation, and Kathy and Tommy rekindle their relationship.

This book is intense, but a very good read. It’s filled with suspense and interesting settings and characters that make you want to read on and on. The strange themes and relationships make this book fascinating but relatable, even to a high school student like myself! It was very well written by Kazuo Ishiguro and it was not too heavy to read.

Siddhartha Review

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is the story of finding self-peace and over coming obstacles to reach satisfaction. Siddhartha goes through life figuring out what he truly wants by becoming a Samana, learning from the “exalted one”, traveling on his own meeting new friends and lovers, and wanting to discover Nirvana. Siddhartha’s morals are tested and it takes time for him to come to the realization of what he needs for total self-satisfaction.This book is a slow read, and the feeling of waiting for something big to happen is constant. Some parts in the story, that are insignificant, carry on for too long . Hesse continually questions life and what is important in life. It could be interesting if you are into the cycle of life and death, Buddhism, and world religion. Siddhartha will get you asking questions about your life, but it is a book I would only read once.

Premier editing video

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