Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Love Yourself.

So after this two month hiatus, I am back. Hopefully more consistently than I was the last time I said I was back (e.g. the last post I wrote said I intended on writing more and then I didn't write for two months).

For my first post back, I am not going to write much (lazy, I know). Over the last few months I have learned how important it is to do things that make me happy and to be happy with who I am and where I am in life. That way, I can let in wonderful people and things into my life.

I found this online and it struck a cord so I thought I would share it with you. Enjoy and remember, love yourself!


Found on Love or Above.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Elephants.


Hello friends! After this one week, March Break hiatus, I am back and hopefully in full force. My blogging has been sorely lacking lately and I hope to hop back into it. To start again, I am going to write a blog about elephants. That's right, you read correctly! I am sitting in the airport with my sister, on a lay-over and we got bored. We eventually hit the topic of how elephants are better than humans.

I found this shot a while back. I just think it is absolutely beautiful.
There is something peaceful and serene about it.
Photo by Maaike van Oorschot

Here is a list of the characteristics we came up with that make elephants so amazing:

- They are caring animals. Elephants live in herds and they all help to care for each other. There are even stories of elephants that take in another elephant's child or even stray baby animals from other species. They all have each others' backs and work together like one big happy family.


- "An elephant never forgets anything!" I have heard that so many times. I am not 100% sure that it is true but I have heard many times about elephants' amazing memory. I wish I had an amazing memory because I am constantly forgetting little things.

- Elephants are honest about their emotions; if another elephant dies, they actually drink rotting fruit to get drunk and forget about their emotions. Isn't that so sad? Apparently they quite enjoy drinking, even when they are not sad.

- My sister also pointed out that elephants are incredibly environmentally friendly. When they do drink wine (e.g. rotting fruit), they don't bottle it, helping to decrease the amount of waste in today's world.

- Elephants are not self-conscious about the hair on their bodies; all animals are born with hair. They realize this. You don't see them shaving their whole bodies every other day!

Sometimes I feel that this is what I look/feel like...
Photo by Andrew Perry

- Elephants maximize their body use by giving body parts multiple purposes. Okay, so mostly it's their nose. They use their nose/trunk for so many different things and our just sits on our face, breaking and getting stuffy. Not so great.

See? Elephants are pretty cool critters. My sister and I hope to create a list like this for animals once a month. If you have any other cool facts or stories about elephants, please share! Hope you all had a fantastic week!

These orphan baby elephants wear rain coats to ward off pneumonia.
Photo by Michael Nichols

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P.S. We were scared to forget our ideas so we wrote an awesome list on the back of a boarding pass while eating our lunch! We're definitely super nerds. And don't have the memory of an elephant...


Monday, March 5, 2012

Good News On Monday!

So, I've never been a believer of apocalyptical theories. The first one I really remember is the year 2000; everything would shut down, the technology keeping the world in order would stop working, and we would all slowly die of starvation and cold. Oh, and lack of cable television and computers. Unless you had accumulated enough rations for your whole family to survive until they found a way to get everything up again, of course. Duh!

It seems that, for most people, preparing for these events is the same as preparing for the "Zombie Apocalypse"; lock your doors, cover your windows, stock pile as much food as possible, and don't let them smell you! Also, it's like people turn into crazed wild creatures, fighting each other for the last can of chicken noodle soup at the grocery store.

All this leads to the latest apocalyptical craze: 2012. Books were written, movies were made, people freaked out. All because a group of people thousands of years ago made a calendar that stopped in 2012. Now my theory, which is supported by some, is that they just ran out of space.  I mean that things is huge to begin with and they probably figured someone would just make another when the time came or something. Little did they know their population would almost die out.

Mayan Calendar
Museum, Mexico City

Others say that it is not a count of years, but a count of days and that the scientists had it right and we are all doomed. Others say it will just be a period of great change. Others say that we messed up our calendar a bunch of times and that our day counts for our calendar are not accurate; the apocalypse will come, just not in 2012. Who really knows, but...

I am here to spread some good news. On Facebook today, I read something that someone overheard on a news cast or science show or something (not sure which - tried to Google it, no luck). Obviously it is not very reliable source but it still made me laugh. This is what was written: "There have been about 514 Leap Years since Caesar created it in 45BC. Without the extra day every 4 years, today would be July 28, 2013. Also, the Mayan calendar did not account for leap year. So technically the world should have ended 7 months ago." Makes sense, I guess.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the news folks! It's not all over. We are not all doomed! So enjoy your week.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Alright Folks! It's Over!

As you all know (if you ever read my blogs), there have been interesting experiences throughout this term. Mostly, I blogged about our art and our science class. Science was definitely tenser, but the tears came out during Art. I thought I'd share with you some of the final results of these classes.

In art class, we did lots of different projects and it was fun to see what we could do when we had some really good instruction.

We made coil pots out of clay. So much fun! Hope to
have a Clay CafĂ©-y party sometime.

We learned the proportions of the face while drawing a portrait.
It's not modelled off anyone but it was still fun!

A couple weeks ago, we made a balanced plasticine meal.
Looks delicious, right? I made the baked sweet potato.

Here is my groups totem representing our groups
teaching values. Any guesses at meaning?

In science class, we had to raise some mealworms. My group was quite successful; by the end of it, nine out of ten of our wittle babies had made it through their life cycles and become beetles. Wanna see the progress? Check out my group's website!

Mealworms! They were actually kind of cute.  It may sound silly
but they all kind of had their own personality.

Monday, February 27, 2012

It's in!

Alright folks. I ordered a necklace online recently and was so excited to get it. I ordered it off Etsy and was a little worried that I wouldn't get it (it was my first time ordering off this kind of website - here is the link for the store). Anyway, the order came in today. And I was so excited and it is so perfect! I love, love, love it!

This is what was waiting for me! Yay!
Even the box was beautiful. 
I like the little things. It may sound silly but the effort put
into the this box makes me happy!
Ta-da! Ain't it purdy? Love it so much!

Anyway. All of this to say that I am so glad that I got the necklace of that website. My tip to you would be to check out the reviews on the shops, to make sure they are reliable. Happy shopping!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Breathe.

Remembering this is important at this point in the term. This may not be the most appropriate thing for me to post right now because I am so congested that I can't really breathe. So I guess it might actually be a pretty appropriate time for this...

By Yumi Sakugawa
through Intent Blog

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

I Need the Doctor!

So I found out, in my Dr. Who website stalking, that the new series started filming yesterday! Hoorah! With all the stress and work, I could definitely use a few new Doctor episodes. I miss him! In honour of this exciting news, I am posting some cool Dr. Who things I have found online over the past few months. Enjoy!

Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey <3
Poster by Odd Quartet

A birthday cake someone made for my aunt's friend.
I need friends like that!

TARDIS Pumpkin
Unknown Creator - Sent to me by
a friend...

TARDIS Teapot
Created by Rebekka Ferbrache

TARDIS Lunch Bag
Sold on the DoctorWhoGear Site

He really is awesome. I <3 David Tennant for ever!
Found on SodaHead

Bahaha! That is all.
Found on TheDailyMeme

Feel free to share links of other wonderful Doctor Who stuff! Nerd, out!



Monday, February 20, 2012

There's Always Someone...

I love you iTunes. You always know what I want/need music-wise. Oh wait. That's cause I pump you full of music that I love. But tonight, you did really well. I turned you on, and hit play. This is what you gave me:


This song just makes me happy. Enjoy!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Lesson This Week?

This week, this quote keeps popping up everywhere. It's something my mom and aunt have told me my whole life. But in case you don't have a loving member telling you this, here it is:


It's proven to be a useful for me so far! Mom's are always right...

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

In Honour of Valentine's Day.

I'm not always a fan of Valentine's Day; I think sometimes people make too big a deal of it and it becomes a little overly extravagant. I think, on Valentine's Day, you should just do the things you wish you did every day. We shouldn't just love fully one day of the year. We should love whole-heartedly every day.

However, in honour of this special day, I am posting this hilarious "Kids Say the Darndest Things - Marriage Style." I saw this and laughed so hard. Enjoy!


Have a fantastic Valentine's Day, everyone!

Source: Seacoast Weddings Magazine

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Don't Become Numb.

I saw this video and had to share it. I have situations in my life that have made me feel excruciatingly vulnerable and hurt. For a long time, I struggled to feel like I was worthy of great things. Today, I feel happy and grateful, and work hard to open myself to the beauty and joy the world has to offer. I may not be perfect, but I am enough. So are you. Open your hearts to all the possibilities.


We must not become numb. We must let ourselves be seen, love with our whole hearts, and practice gratitude and joy. We are enough.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Pan Am in Real Life?

I don't know if I have mentioned this before on the blog, but I love the TV show Pan Am. Unfortunately, the network has decided to cancel it after this first season. That is pretty much one of my newer biggest pet peeves; TV networks cancelling more than half the new shows after season one. But I digress.

This retro add was feature in TV Guide Magazine.
Isn't cool?

Pan Am is just such a fun, intense show with many intriguing plots playing out. And also, the pilots? Hot! At least the Dean Lowry guy... If you haven't checked out this show yet, catch up on season one; it is worth it even if the show has been cancelled.

Apparently the guy who plays Dean now, Mike Vogel, wasn't originally
in the cast (based on this picture from the creators of the show - found
on the CTV website).

But really, who wouldn't want to be in his plane?
(Picture from ABC online)

Well, guess what? You can fly now with an airline that is a bit more old-fashioned and kind of Pan Am-ish. The stewardesses even wear the little hats! It made me want to become a stewardess. Do you know what airline I am talking about? That's right folks, I am talking about Porter Airlines. It flies out of Toronto City Airport. The only problem with it is that it doesn't go to the West of the country so I cannot visit my sister.

See? Even the little pill box hats!
(Photo by Porter Airlines)

This airline is much less expensive than the others, probably because of the airports it uses. However, the service is fantastic. The staff is extremely friendly and they feed you. For free. Even on short flights. Here are some pictures from my flight at Christmas-time.

They asked if I wanted a something box. I didn't hear what they said
but hey! You wanna give me a free box? Sure!

I open up my box and I found food! These people are my new best
friends. A sandwich, and potato salad, and chocolate? Yum!

Here is my favourite part; they use glass glasses. That means they
wash the glasses and re-use them. That makes me happy!
Helping the environment.

So that is a little taste of my experience with Porter Airline. Give them a shot if you can. You'll love your experience.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Art Class = Love.

So I definitely am loving my art class way more than I expected, not being an artsy person. Today we did a few fun things, all projects you could do in a classroom.

Firstly, we made balanced plasticine meals. This is something that is great to incorporate with health class, for example. Anyway, we had lots of fun! It is so exciting to make itty bitty food and place it in a realistic way. 

Our meal was salmon, carrots, asparagus, baked sweet potato, and a
glass of milk. It was hard to get the right brown for the potato skin!

Then, and this is my favourite part. We learned about the proportions of the face while drawing a portrait. The proportions really help and are so interesting to learn about. You never think about it that way. It was great! I have not drawn anything that realistic looking, ever. And it would be even greater if we learned how to shade. Anyway, so here is a before and after of how I drew faces.

See what I did there? I put it on ugly paper and took a picture with
not-as-good lighting. Kind of like what they do with before
and after pictures in advertising...

New and improved portrait. Now I  know things like, eyes are halfway
down the face, ears go from between the eyebrows and eyes to
the nose. Crazy how those little details make a difference.

So it was quite an exciting evening. There were lots of Oooohs, Aahhhhs, Really!?s, and No way!?s. I love learning things like this. Hopefully we do shading soon!

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P.S. We named and marked our mealworms today in class. And holy smokes, mealworms be crazy! Jasmine was climbing up the walls. I think she was trying to escape.

See? Jasmine. Climbing up the wall. We also have an Aladdin with
a blue mark on his back. Also, don't worry; the nail polish
doesn't hurt them because of their rough exoskeleton.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Happy Friday! On Sunday...

Alright folks! So I kind of missed Friday. However, there have been lots of good things this week so I decided to write a happy post for the week anyway. So time to link up with Amanda! Here are some things that made me happy this week:

- Last weekend, I got to explore a new town with someone and meet lots of new people. It was lots of fun. Quite an adventure!

- On Monday, we got little mealworms for one of our projects. They were cute but unfortunately, most of them are in the pupa stage now and not moving around...

The little white bean-shaped things are the pupas. They don't move.
We were going to race these guys but it might not work out so well.

- Monday night, we made clay coil pots in our art class. It was so much fun. I definitely am not a pro but I enjoyed it and the product wasn't horrible.

I may never be a famous artist but it's not too bad for a first... Right?

- On Wednesday, we had a snow day. It was full of beautiful flakes. And I also went grocery shopping with my friend, Ms. A and we got lots of delicious food. We also enjoyed a wonderful homemade supper and chai lattes.

Mmmmm... Strawberry shortcake and homemade chai latte. Delish!

- On Thursday, my new sweater came in. I ordered it online and thought it would only be delivered Monday. Guess I was lucky! I put on said sweater and was so cozy, I didn't want to change for my evening class. So I didn't but was worried people would really notice. Turns out half my team had the same idea. Yay!

This is the warmest, coziest sweater I think I have ever owned.
I dare you to get one and try to not wear it constantly.

- For our P.D. day Friday, we had an interactive science day and one of the things we did was a dredge sample. I did lots of these in my B.Sc. so it was fun to get back to it. One of the groups at our table had some leeches. So cool!

Apparently these aren't blood sucking leeches. They were kinda cute
and swam around the petrie dish in a wave-y pattern.

- Friday, Ms. A came by again. We went to the mall and I bought bookshelves! We then assembled them and now all my DVDs are in one of them (instead of the boxes which are now housing mealworms).

I will need two or three more of these if I bring all of my DVDs back
from Ontario. And then my mom's shelves will be bear.

- Yesterday, I went to see One for the Money with Ms. A. It's based on a book by Janet Evanovich in the Stephanie Plum series. I think it's the first time I have seen my name used for a main character in a book, movie, or song. It was very cute and definitely makes me want to read the series now.


- After the movie, I bought a mixer at Zellers. That means no more painful potato mashing or cream whipping. Hurrah!

So excited to use this. I almost want to back a whole bunch of stuff... And
make two tons of mashed potatoes... And three bowls of whipped cream...

- Last night, I went to a hot tub party at one of my fellow BEd-ers house. It was so much fun! We ate lots of delicious food, went snow rolling, and then watched Crazy, Stupid, Love. by a warm fire. She also has the cutest little Yorkie puppy so I got some cuddles in.

Isn't she just so cute? This picture doesn't even begin to show how
tiny she actually is. And she smells like puppy. Aww... I want one.

- Today, I decided to try a cool braid that I found on Pinterest. My hair isn't quite long enough yet for it to work out but it's getting there. Keep growing, hair. We're almost there!

Not quite enough to get to the other side but almost!

There were lots of highlights this week. I am such a lucky person to have a life filled with so much love, happiness, and fantastic people. What made you happy this week?

Thursday, February 2, 2012

SNOW!

Alright folks, I just have to say that I love snow! And will sound ridiculous to lots of people but  I was getting so sad that we weren't getting much snow this year.

Well, let's just say that now I feel much better. Yesterday we had a huge snow storm. And by huge, I mean that they even shut down the university. Then I got up this morning and it was snowing again! Not a lot of snow, but snow nonetheless.

As some of you may know, I have to write a Nature Observation Journal for my Elementary Science class. Well, really, I have to draw one. Problem is, I can't really draw. Also, I live in the city so there is only so much nature to observe.

While looking out my window yesterday, I got a genius idea; I will take a sheet of black construction paper and photograph snowflakes to put in my journal! Here are some of the best pictures I got:






Beautiful, right? It is amazing the things that nature creates.