Smoothie Sunday

Okay, so I know it's actually Monday today, but I made this smoothie yesterday (so it still counts)!  Here's the recipe I concocted yesterday morning (the changes I made are at the bottom!):

Fruit Blast Health Smoothie

-about 8 small strawberries

-handful of blueberries

-1 lime, peeled

-1/2 of a medium-sized orange, peeled

-1 medium sized banana, peeled

Blend everything (I used my trusty Magic Bullet) until smooth.

Changes I Made:

-I added the banana afterwards to make the smoothie creamier

-I juiced the lime instead of chopping it and blending it.  This got rid of those little white veiny things in the lime.

ENJOY!

Something to Brighten Your Day

So the weather is miserable here.  Rainy, cold, yucky.  I was just sitting around the house doing not much of anything, so I figured I'd post something to brighten this gloomy day!  This is my dog Molly doing a couple of her tricks!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Okay guys.  Today I'm going to talk to you about a very serious issue.  It originates from a extremely common and sinister electronic device.  It's very well known, but unfortunately few people know the long-term problems they can cause.  Countless lives have been altered by these devices without the knowledge of the user!  This is unacceptable and must be addressed!  What is this mystery device?  I present to you, and some viewers may wish to stop reading at this point:  THE IPHONE!

Okay, so obviously I'm joking!  Well, to a certain extent!  These days, everyone has phones.  Like seriously, everybody.  I got a phone when I was in grade ten and I was mocked about a year prior to that for being the last person in my class without one!  A definite low point was when my friend's nine year old sister got an iphone before I even got a flip phone.

But okay, is this not the worst thing ever? When you're talking to one of your friends or family members and you happen to look at them and see this:

Isn't that annoying?

My sister and I are not a part of the iphone club, instead carrying around our classy Motorola Razrs.  Sometimes when we know people are staring at their phones instead of paying attention to what we're saying, we like to play a little game.  These scenarios go something like this:

Me:  So, a funny thing happened to me on the bus today....
Person on phone:  Oh really?
Me:  Yeah.  I was just sitting there and--
Person on phone: (clearly not paying attention)
Me:  ....then I turned into a werewolf....
Person on phone:  (still not listening)
Me:  ....then I stole an old lady's purse....
Person on phone:  (still dead to the world)
Me:  Do you think that's okay?
Person on phone:  (Finishes text) Oh yeah, totally.

So, yeah.  Even though those conversations are pretty funny for us, it's still pretty annoying to have to compete for peoples' attention.  As if regular phones weren't distracting enough, now there are smart phones that you can text people on, AND check your Facebook on, AND play games on.  These phones are ruining people!  Whether we like it or not, social interaction has taken a downward plunge.  When you're hanging out with friends or family, you should not have to battle for the attention of who you're with, with people who AREN'T EVEN THERE!

So guys, next time you're hanging out with someone, just put your phone away!  Don't be a textoholic :P  I hope this has inspired people to just keep your phone in your pocket.  :)

http://www.fatherroderick.com/2012/07/25/how-to-prevent-your-cellphone-from-distracting-you/

Detox

Okay, so I've been reading all of this interesting stuff on the internet about the benefits of detox.  For those of you who aren't familiar with detoxification, it's basically a time when you try to rid your body of those nasty toxins that lurk in our everyday food.  Detoxes are also supposed to get rid of that "icky" feeling after your diet hasn't been quite up to snuff.

So, I was bored again, like usual.  These crushing times of boredom are usually the times when I get my most random ideas.  So I decided I'd give detox a whirl!  Mine is just a 24-hour detox because experts suggest you start slow if you've never tried one before.

Since last night, all I've eaten/drank is enough water to float a ship, and this weird detox smoothie I found on the internet!  The smoothie is....interesting.  It's refreshing, for sure, but it's also a little weird.  I was limited with my choices of recipes by what I had in my kitchen at the time.  My smoothie was a mixture of apples, carrots, and celery, with a little cinnamon sprinkled in.  Here's why these were chosen:

Apples:  (lots of apples, because yum) help support digestion.
Carrots:  because they help remove toxins from the colon.
Celery:   helps lower blood pressure.
Cinnamon:  boosts your metabolism.

I have a couple of suggestions if anyone wishes to tackle this smoothie.  Although the recipe stated this was a smoothie, I would recommend putting it through a juicer and making it juice instead.  I like the flavour, but the carrots give it a funny texture.  Secondly, make sure you use lots of apples.  If you add too many carrots instead, it overpowers the taste of the apples.  Plus, I love apples!

If anyone has any recipes they like, speak up!  I'm always up for trying new ones!

This isn't the site that I got my recipe from, but I found it and these all look delicious.  Next time I try a detox, I'll definitely be trying some of these!  Oh, and buying a juicer of course!

http://www.biggestloserclub.com.au/food-fitness/recipes/detox-juices.html

I'm almost done my 24 hours, and so far it hasn't been that bad at all.  Except, you know, craving the occasional KitKat bar, or bowl of ice cream!  I'm pretty weak....  :P

T-Shirt Quilt

Alright guys, this is my latest project!  Ever wonder what you're going to do with all of those old sports, event, or concert t-shirts?  I mean, no offence, but you can't wear them forever!  Anyways, I had a TON of shirts that I never wore because they were either really big, or really small, or just plain worn out.  I had two big bags of them stashed under my bed collecting spiders, so something had to be done.

Over the last couple days I have been cutting, pinning, and stitching things to make my very own t-shirt quilt!  My sister found this project on Pinterest (best site EVER) and we decided to give it a try!  I haven't yet got batting and backing for my quilt, but I'm hoping to do that as well!

Here's how to make the t-shirt part of your quilt:

You will need:

• 25 t-shirts with designs (may use t-shirts twice if there are designs on front and back)
• cardboard
• pencil (for tracing)
• rolling cutter/scissors
• sewing machine
• thread (any colour, doesn't matter)
• iron

Steps:

1. Find 25 of your oldest, useless t-shirts.
2. Cut a 13x13 inch square out of cardboard.
3. Trace your cardboard square onto each t-shirt on the design that you would like.
4. Use fabric scissors to cut out each square (I used a fabric roller cutter and it worked good!).
5. Arrange your t-shirts on the floor the way you would like them to look on your quilt.
6. Sew together the rows first.  To do this you flip two squares so the right sides are together.  Pin them together to make it easier!  Then use a sewing machine to sew a straight stitch where the two squares will meet.  Flip open and do the same with the rest of the row.  Repeat this step with each row after that.
7. Flatten the seams using an iron.  If the first row's seams are pressed left, the second row's seams should be pressed right.  Etc.
8. Sew the rows together.  Pin together all of the corners with the corners of the next row.  Add additional pins to make sewing easier.  Then sew together rows 2 and 3, 3 and 4, 4 and 5.
9. Iron to take out the wrinkles and flatten the seams.
10. If wanted:  combine front of quilt with batting and backing for the finished product!  (I haven't made it here yet :P)

Preview

This is a little preview of the book I'm going to write!  Here it is.

"The answer is 'b'", my mind kept telling me.  I knew the answer to the multiple choice question.  We'd covered the material on April 27, two minutes after I glanced up at the clock, bored at 9:36.  Sighing, I circled 'a'.  If I got 100% on every single quiz, test, and exam, people would notice.  It would draw attention to myself.  I can remember every single day of my life.  It's not that my head is full.  It's more like my mind is a filing cabinet, with information neatly tucked away for me to sift through.  People couldn't know about my "gift", if you would even call it a gift.  It was more like a gigantic pain in the butt.  Sure it was handy some days.  For example, I've never had to study a day in my life.  But how would you like to remember absolutely everything about your life?  Even the bad things?

That's not the end of my strange gifts.  Sometimes I have these dreams.  They're never pleasant dreams about family or friends.  It scares me half to death that someday I will dream about them.  I pray that the dreams will stay away.  For they're not peaceful, slumbering, mindless thoughts just thrown together.  My dreams are premonitions.  They alert me beforehand of extremely unfortunate events.

I can remember this face.  I now know that that face belonged to my grandpa, but at the time all he was was a face.  I was so young that there were no words to describe him, but I can see him as clear as day when I think back.  One night when I lay sleeping, helpless, the first dream came.  The world was dark.  A heartbeat shattered the quiet darkness.  Then another, and another.  They became faster and faster and with each beat a picture swam into view.  The shape of a man just standing there.  I watched for a few seconds as the beats grew unbearably loud and fast.  Then they stopped and the man fell.  I woke, screaming in my crib.  The next day my grandpa had a heart attack while he was holding me.  Just like the man in the dream, he would never get up.

My dreams are curses, festering in my head until they come true.

Alone

This is another little something new that I'm trying!  These are song lyrics.  Hope you guys like them!

Alone

Oh, how I long to follow,

The long forgotten path.

The one to reverse heartbreak

Yeah, the one to take me back.

Take me home,

Like you still might want me here.

Take me home, 

Forget all the fights and tears.

Take me back,

My armour's cracked.

Don't leave me here

Alone.

Oh, how I long to follow,

The long forgotten way.

The one to change my choices

Yeah, the one to make me stay.

Take me home,

Like you still might want me here.

Take me home,

Forget all the fights and tears.

I've been wrong,

It's made me strong.

Don't leave me here

Alone.

Oh, how I long to follow, 

The path that ends my roam.

The one that leads me to you

Yeah, the one to bring me home.

Take me home,

Like you still might want me here.

Take me home,

Forget all the fights and tears.

Open your doors,

My heart is yours.

Don't leave me here

Alone.

Let's make it right

And stop the fight

Don't leave me here

Alone.

RANDOM EVENT DAY: July 2 is....

Alright, this is going to be a new feature that I'm going to have called "Random Event Day"!  Basically, this is a post where I'm going to share with you one of those crazy, weird, or random holidays that nobody seems to know about.

The random event for July 2, 2013 is (cue drum role):  "I Forgot" Day!  If you're anything like me, this is a fantastic day.  "I Forgot" Day is, quite simply, a day when it's acceptable to forget things!  Maybe you "forgot" to pick up eggs from the store, or you "forgot" to make supper.  It's all good!  Today is a free pass.

Now, I wouldn't be trying to utilize "I Forgot" Day on any teachers (for students) or employers.  They might not like it too much!  But there you have it!  Happy "I Forgot" Day!


http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/July/iforgotday.htm

Awake

Don't you hate those wickedly long days when you melt into your bed at night, eager for sleep, only to find that you're wide awake?  Or knowing that you have to get up early, but you see every number go by on the clock beside your bed?  I've had many of those nights, mostly because I get my best ideas at night when I'm trying to sleep!  Here's a poem that I wrote one night at 3:30 in the morning.  Hope you like it!

Awake

Contrary to the busy day,

By sleep are voices kept at bay.

Familiar sounds of day heard not

The only noises are my thoughts.

The darkness keeps me blind of sight,

Odd silhouettes thrown by moonlight.

Oh how I long to be like those,

The ones who sleep, the ones who doze.

So long I've wanted to unwind

I can't turn off my busy mind.

I hear a creaking, is it real?

The sound of footsteps, so surreal.

The world's a different place at night.

Strange shadows form a chilling sight.

I'm conscious of each breath I take.

All night I fear I'll be awake.

Seven Steps

Alert the world! I'm finally tanned! Well, not as pasty white as I have been for the entire winter.  Still, it counts!  Here's my seven-step guide to getting tanned!

1.  Go for a short walk.

2.  Get lost in the city during the hottest hours of the day.

3.  Revise your short walk into a very long one.

4.  Find a pool.

5.  Fall asleep beside the pool.

6.  Realize you've wasted all your time and you have no time to swim after all.

7.  Forget to wear sunscreen for the entire day.

There you have it.  My seven step guide!  

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night."

                                                                 -Steve Martin

Sunshine!

Today I woke up before ten! Without an alarm! What is this magic?  Anyways, I feel great!  I went for an hour long walk in the city with my mom. It's a beautiful day outside.  Unfortunately I burnt my nose to a crisp already and I'm now rocking the Rudolph look!  Not good!

I hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy the wonderful weather!  Here's a random couplet I just wrote :)

The sunshine seeps into my room
It shines to help the flowers bloom

Now get outside! You know you want to!  If anyone is reading this at work, sorry for depressing you!

<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com">www.hypersmash.com</a>

Just Like You

This is a poem that I wrote a while back.  I know what you're thinking, "she's not a poet", and you're absolutely right!  But occasionally I attempt it!  Anyways, this poem is about bullies.  Well, not bullies specifically, but the victims who are tortured by them, day after day.

You see, people, girls especially have a huge amount of pressure put on them to act a certain way, look a certain way, be a certain way.  Sometimes they get brainwashed into thinking something is wrong with the way that they are.  As a society we need to rethink what we believe to be true, and start accepting people for who they are.  So, here it is!

JUST LIKE YOU

Our classmates' views that year were new,

All wanted to be just like you.

I'll cut my bangs, I'll dye my hair,

Whatever for a longing stare.

I'll starve myself, I'll never eat,

Obey my diet, never cheat.

I've changed my mind, I'll eat, I will,

But throw it up with just a pill.

I'll smoke, just once, so I'll fit in,

Be sure to hide it from my kin.

I'm sure this seems ridiculous,

It happens to the best of us.

Now that I'm sick I really see,

It's easier just being me.

And now I've changed, I'll start anew,

I'm free of being just like you.

A while back I submitted this poem to a teen magazine called Teen Ink.  I'd appreciate anyone who could click on the link below and rate this poem so I can have a chance of getting it published in their magazine!

http://teenink.com/poetry/sonnet/article/477293/Just-Like-You/

The Curious Case of My Flat Cookies

So yesterday I was pretty bored and I decided that I really wanted to make cookies!  So I found a recipe online for these Skor cookies that sounded to die for, and started mixing together everything.

About halfway through my endeavor, I realized that I had no eggs.  Now, I had two options to get me out of the situation that would have been perfect.

1.  I could walk to the store all the way across town in the 35 degree celsius weather (after I'd just gone for a run in it....note to self: get up early to run.  It will make your life so much easier).
2.  I could phone a friend and ask to borrow a couple eggs.  Unfortunately, everyone I tried to get in contact with was working, or on vacation.

Needless to say, I took neither of these options.  Instead I turned to the internet.  Now, I'm very trusting of the bakers on the internet.  So, when I saw this posting of a person who used a mixture of cornstarch and water instead of eggs, I was like "why not?".

Imagine my discouragement when my cookies came out of the oven looking like this:

The picture doesn't really do it justice, but the cookies are about half of the width of one of my fingernails....not good!  Not to mention they look absolutely nothing like the picture says they should on the recipe.  

I was about ready to toss them in the garbage right then, but of course, I got curious.  A curse, I know.  I had to try them.  As it turned out, they tasted really good!  Shockingly good.  

Sometimes things don't always work out the way we would like them to, but that doesn't mean they won't work out in their own way.  Just because things don't go according to plan, doesn't mean the plan is ruined.  Sometimes something unexpected could happen and surprise you.

But just so you know, cornstarch and water does NOT make a good substitution for eggs!

Don't believe everything you read on the internet!

Hello!

I guess this is my first post!  How exciting!  So, here's the deal.  I made this blog because it's the beginning of summer holidays and I need a project.  You know how it is, when you have hardly anything to do, you rarely accomplish anything.  The purpose of this blog is to (hopefully) kick-start me into action, so I don't just sit around all summer and do nothing!

So, to start off my fantastic blogging experience, here's ten completely random things about myself:

1.  I'm going into grade twelve next year.  Scary, right?  I feel a little old.

2.  I have a parttime job at a golf course, cooking and waitressing.  That's a little frightening as well.           But hey, I haven't burned anything, or broken anything yet.  I call that success.  

3.  I'm a sucker for a good book.  Especially the really long, deep ones.  Name a young adult series, and I can almost guarantee you I've read it.  My favourites have been Harry Potter (obviously), the Hunger Games, and the Mortal Instruments series.   

4.  I think badminton and volleyball are the two best sports ever.  I travel about an hour and a half       almost every weekend to play badminton in the city.  It's a lot of work (especially for my parents who have had to drive me) but it's a great sport.  I'm the setter on my high school volleyball team.  Sometimes juggling both sports is difficult because the seasons seem to cross...a lot.

5.  I'm a little scared of cats (I mean, they're a little creepy, right?).  Maybe it's their claws.  I'm not sure, but I love kittens!  It's just when they get old that they freak me out a little.  

6.  I wrote a novel last year at this time in blog form ( http://17hnak.blogspot.ca/ ).  It was a great experience writing online because I got lots of good feedback that helped me to finish it!

7.  I hate to go running, but I do it anyways.  Mostly because of the feeling of accomplishment I have afterwards.  I'm very stubborn, so once I set myself a goal, I like to stick to it.  But still....running...yuck.

8.  I think chocolate should have a food group of its own.  No further explanation needed there!

9.  Coldplay may just be the best band EVER.  If you haven't listened to any of their music, get on that!  It's usually their songs that I belt out when I'm home alone.....you didn't hear that, though.

10.  I love dogs!  Like, seriously.  Love.  I have a little shih-tzu dog named Molly.  She's almost twelve, but still just as sassy as when we first got her!

So, that's that!  My very first entry!  I already feel like I've accomplished something!

-H