FAQ! feeling under the weather...

Ooo boy, that title's a little play-on-words/sounds. But yes. It seems like after every great weekend comes the moments of the sniffles, the muscle aches, the congestion and the head pains. I fear I'm getting sick and while I'm trying to do everything to prevent it (i.e, washing my hands every 20 minutes and wrapping myself into blankets while swallowing three Cold FX pills), I think it's going to catch up to me. I'm just not feeling too good, so I'm not really motivated to do anything near a computer (besides play computer games).

So this will be a short one and I'm sorry for not responding to blogs; once I get back into the swing of things I'll be back full-force in catching up with everyone. Right now I just need some desperate recuperation/me time. But before that happens:

Two things!

1) If you could own only 3 DVDs in your collection, what would they be? (Yup, TV series count, but only 3 seasons? So hard to choose!) If you couldn't tell, I need some suggestions haha.

2) Check out some lovely ladies, if not for their awesomeness and amazing blogs, then for my designs? Haha, I kid. The amazing Andhari, the savvy Sara and the fashionably sweet Jessica have adopted some graphics I made for them, and deserve some checking out for their writing!

And, FAQ!

While I give away some details about myself, there have been some things that I notice you all are curious about. Whether it's books I like, why this blog is called better than coffee, or those silly questions like if you were on a deserted island, what three items would you take with you?, I tell you: ASK AWAY! I'll take any questions asked in this post and answer 'em all in about a week from now. That way, you can learn about me (if you'd like!) and I can learn what movies and TV shows you love haha.

Ask me any question about me, my likes/dislikes, or anything you've ever wondered about me! I'm excited to read the questions!

Now I'm off to sniffle ... mm, exciting Wednesday.
Hope you're having a healthy hump day!

a great escape weekend

I have three hours to waste until my next class, so I thought this was the opportune moment to recap about my relaxing and 'great escape' weekend. I finally got those moments to breathe, drink a little, eat a lot, and have fun with people I love. Definitely one of those weekends I'd love to relive again.

Friday night was spent BBQ-ing it up in 13 degrees Celsius weather (i.e, VERY COLD). We first stopped off at the LCBO to get some drinkies for the night, which meant me getting carded ("Oh, I thought you were younger," said the cashier). Wrapped up in blankets and jackets, with some Dr. McGillycuddy's to keep us warm, we grilled up some burgers and had some yummy times with a bunch of schoolpals. Of course, when you get a bunch of schoolmates together you're bound to talk about school (hate how that happens) but we distracted ourselves with some Foosball tournmanents at the Caribbean place next door. Then, we headed off to a place with $1 pool and found that it was karaoke night -- which meant 50-year olds singing country songs and lyrics about Bismarck. It was such a random and spontaneous night.

The Boy said he couldn't see the pool balls on the other end of the table, confirming my thought that he was drunk ... and which meant that we lost, since he didn't get anything in haha. And to top it off, instead of putting on his own sweater at the end of the night, he put on my cardigan wrap. He looked pretty spiffy, I gotta say!

After we fell asleep at 2:30am, we got woken up by The Boy's dad tapping on the window at 8am. Ahh, tiredness. Fortunately, they let me get some coffee (yay!) before we road tripped it to Toronto. We chilled, got pizza, and waited for my sister to arrive so we could have some fun exploring/bonding times together.

Y'see, my sister's off to the other side of the country in less than two days. I'm so psyched for her, but Vancouver's a long ways' away from me. So we've tried to get together as much as she can given how busy she is. So Saturday was spent trekking it around the great capital of Ontario, shooting some 'artsy' photos in the subway and she took me to this delicious pub called the Yellow Griffin, which specializes in 35 different kinds of burgers (I got the Cubana Libre, which has beef, ham, swiss cheese, pickles, mustard and was YUMMY). I had two burgers in two days -- healthy(?). And I got carded again when I orded a sex on the beach. Probably due to the lack of eyeliner.




I'm definitely gonna miss her. Though she's four years older which meant we were rarely in the same place/school/etc, she's always been someone I can talk to ... now I'm gonna have to rely on Skype! And I'm really hoping to visit during my 'spring break' (which is in February, so not much spring there).

Then Sunday was spent studying and playing The Sims 2, which I think is a fine way to end off the weekend! Though school's going to take over yet again this week, looking back on this weekend makes me happy. And hungry. So there's my simple smile of the week!

What did YOU do this weekend?
Hope it was great & I hope your Monday's been good!

I need to take lamaze classes ...

... I'm forgetting how to breathe properly. Time seems to go by so fast now. It's already hump day, the middle of the week, and I've had little time for reflection on a simple smile or to wish about something on Wednesday. Instead, all I can think about is, "How did it get to Wednesday already?" I'm a big fan of leisure time, and got so much of it during the summer, and it's been really hard to get adjusted to the pace of being at school and riding buses every single day.

Hmm, I suppose my simple smile of the week comes from a fun day on Sunday, catching up with a friend through shopping at H&M (got a couple of really cute fall clothing items!) and then having a pumpkin-fest at Starbucks (wow, you know you're tired when you write Starburst instead), getting a pumpkin spice frappuccino and a cream-cheese pumpkin muffin (seriously delicious).

And my Wednesday wish is for more times like Tuesday night, where me and The Boy managed to temporarily avoid the slaughter of school that has raged upon us [err, yeah] and managed to spend some time, just him and I being close with each other. Those moments of just holding each other remind me to breathe, before the pace of the world catches up with me again.

Basically, I'm really sorry for the lack of updates, both blog-wise and graphics-wise, though I am working hard on some designs! Once I get everything organized and listen to some "Slow Me Down" by Emmy Rossum and "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day, I'm sure I'll be back on track!

And before I head off, the lovely Kimberly from My Wooden Heart gave away an award to each of her readers, and I couldn't resist doing it! So thank you Kimberly!

The Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might not know.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.


So 7 things you might not know about me:
1) I'm in my final year of university, doing a combined Honours major in English and Multimedia.
2) I have a ridiculously bad nail-biting problem. The only way I can resist is by painting my nails. It's more of a nervous habit, wish I knew how to get rid of it (and yup, I've tried those yucky tasting clear liquid-polish you can put on your nails, didn't work).
3) Weddings? I've only attended one in my life. Don't know what it's like to be a flower girl/bridesmaid or anything, and most of what I know about weddings I know from movies.
4) My greatest desire is to travel/learn languages. So far I know two fluently (English & Polish), am learning a third (Hungarian) and want to pick up a fourth (Japanese).
5) My biggest fear is probably heights. Second to that is elevators.
6) I still read Seventeen magazine, even though I'm twenty-one.
7) I have met The All-American Rejects about six times, and got free concert tickets from the lead singer when he asked if I was going to the show that night and I told him it was sold out. Such a lucky day!

I tag anyone who'd like to do this, in case there's something about you you've wanted to share with your readers, but didn't know how quite to fit it into a blog post :)

Hope your week's been a bit more of a breather than mine!

autumn has fall[en]

It's that time of year again; even though my weather forecast calls for warmer days next week, fall is officially arriving in a few days. This meant waiting in a 3-walled phone booth for The Boy yesterday at the bus stop at the mall, to keep myself sheltered from the cooler winds.

Then this situation happened:
17-YEAR OLD BOY WITH GREY & PURPLE SWEATER APPROACHES:
Excuse me, do you know what time it is?
ME: (completely forgetting I have a watch on)
Um ... (looks at the time on the payphone) ... it's 7:34pm.
17-YEAR OLD BOY: Thanks.
By the way, I just wanted to say that you are very beautiful.
ME: (thinking that if this boy knew what age I really was, he would NOT be saying these things) Oh, thank you.
17-YEAR OLD BOY: (smiles)
ME: I'm waiting for my boyfriend, by the way.
17-YEAR OLD BOY: OH, SHIT!
(starts walking away hurriedly back to his friends) THANKS FOR THE INFO!

Ah, at least he had the balls to approach me, right? Haha. But after that came a good time with The Boy, getting a sweater for himself and skinny jeans for me with zipper details on the bottom (trend-follower alert!). Nevertheless, the whole waiting in the cold yesterday got me thinking about the finer and not-so-finer things of fall, comprised in a little list!

1) The Changes
I dyed my hair (which you can kinda see in that picture) to a bronzed brown with a reddish hue, in my excitement for all the changes this fall. This fall brings mine and The Boy's 1 year 1/2 anniversary, which is pretty exciting! The leaves also change, the hours of daylight change. As well, my sister and my niece are moving away in a short time, which is a big change. It's saddening, but I'm really excited for them!



2) The Fairs
In September and October, the southern part of Ontario erupts into 'fair' fever. Every weekend there's a fair in a different location, complete with demolition derbies, elephant ears, carnival rides, and the like. It's usually a tradition for me to go to one of these fairs each year, and we'll hopefully be going next weekend!



3) The Coffee
No more Iced Cappuccino's for this girl; now, it's all about caffeine to warm the body and the soul. Since the weather calls for more indoor activities (though hiking is one of my favourite things to do in the autumn!) it also calls for a lot more coffee dates with friends. And, I tried out the Old Town White Coffee that Adele and Becks got me, and OH MY GOODNESS, it is delicious. I'm trying to ration it out so I can keep the yummy-ness as long as possible.



4) The Fall Fashion
I love jackets and sweaters, and fall means exactly that. Plus adorable shoes and boots. I confess, during the summer I turn into a flip-flop-wearing, shorts-and-a-shirt kind of girl. But the fall means tons of accessories (hats, gloves, big bags for storing school-books into) and a heap of different trends - whether it's animal print, plaid, solid colours, or lovely lace details and sequins.



5) The Holidays
Hallowe'en is on a Saturday this year, so it's technically a holiday haha. Sugar highs and costumes galore! And of course, there's Thanksgiving (which is in October in good ol' Canada) which means tons of turkey, thankfulness, and ... tea? (Alliteration fail!) The latter half of the year is always filled with events!



6) The Scents
Apple cider, warm in your cup. Pumpkin pie, devoured with whipped cream on top. Ginger and cinnamon filling up the kitchen. Everything is so warm, even if the weather is getting cooler. And if you can't get enough of these delicious aromas, there's always scented candles and body sprays to make your day that much more fragrant.



7) The Snuggling
While it's not winter-time, cooler weather provides many opportunities to snuggle together, whether it's in a bed or on a bench waiting for a bus. Hand-holding is no longer a PDA - it's also a necessity to keep your fingers warmer. There's nothing like a little snuggle-time!

What are your favourite things about autumn?
Hope you all have a great weekend!

*Photos are either mine are found through Google, MarthaStewart.com, and Flickr.

a sunsational tag

So many of you were shocked to learn that I'm left-handed! Although my Dad tried to force me to write with my right hand (resulting in random spurts of being ambidextrous) I stuck with my left hand which has caused some problems - such as the can't-find-a-desk scenario which happens a lot in lecture halls. But for the most part, I do things with my right hand - weird, eh? I play right-handed guitar, normally play sports right-handed, and all that jazz. Anyhoos, random time over!

While I definitely want to continue with the Wednesday Wishes I did so often during the summer, truth is that the reality of Europe seems so far away at this point. So while I'll do it once in a while, right now I gotta keep my head rooted in school - unfortunately. But on the plus side, it means I get to do the awesome tag that Archana started on her blog and tagged me in! So here goes:

Your last FB/Twitter update:

So ... any songs recommendations? Haha. I'd definitely suggest "Undisclosed Desires", "I Belong To You (Mon Couer S'ouvre A Ta Voix)" and "Resistance" from Muse's latest album. It's beautiful.

1) Phoebe Buffay: She makes up random songs on her guitar, she's quirky, and she's often misunderstood. Plus, she doesn't know much about her family and up until last year, I hadn't even met a majority of my extended family. Oh, and she has the BESTEST. FRIENDS. EVER. And she knows it's not the kitty's fault that it's stinky.
2) Kaylee Frye: She's the engineer from Firefly and I relate to her character so well. She's spunky, always likes to try out different things, and wants to be both a girly-girl but loves doing what she's doing (taking care of an entire spacecraft haha).
3) Rachel Jensen: This character from Forgetting Sarah Marshall is BASICALLY ME -- except for the whole having a kickass job at a Hawaiian resort and all. But her ex-boyfriend's name and the main-character-whom-she-falls-in-love-with are basically my ex-boyfriend's and now boyfriend's name (haha, anyone who IDMB's this movie will now know their names!). Rachel is the kind of girl who likes to resist change but welcomes adventure. My kind of gal.


1) Japan: I've had an obsession with Japan for the longest time. Mostly due to Pokemon/Sailor Moon and the Final Fantasy video game franchise and Kingdom Hearts which introduced me to Utada Hikaru, who is an amazing singer. I love everything about the culture, the food, the music, and the sakura (cherry blossoms). Can't wait to go there one day!
2) Hungary: Besides being The Boy's homeland, so much about this country is inviting. Spas in every single city, an amazing amount of history and architecture, an entire street in Budapest dedicated to pedestrian shopping, and the Danube runs right through it making for some romantic times on a boat, perhaps?
3) England: Provider of Harry Potter, David Beckham, fish and chips, and many other things. I'd love to travel around London, see what it's like to be on the other side of the road, and see if my imitation of a British accent would fly over there (apparently it's very Cockney). All these countries will be visited by me one day, I promise!

Hit the shuffle on your iPod – list out the 3 songs:
- ‘Little Bit' by Lykke Li
- ‘I Could Say' by Lilly Allen
- ‘Man On The Run' by Dash Berlin

3 daily must-haves:
- Coffee! If you couldn't tell well then, now you know.
- A cuddle with my dog. He makes my days a little bit brighter!
- Talking to The Boy sometime during the day (cheesy, I know).


3 things you're confused about:
- Why Kanye West feels the need to jump up on stage all the time. It's like dude, sit DOWN for once and let the awards show continue without your rude and often pointless interruptions.
- Why people feel the need to listen to their mp3 players at FULL BLAST while on public transportation. A) I'd like to listen to my own music, thanks; and B) often your music taste is so horrible that it gives everyone around you headaches; C) you're going to go deaf soon. Turn it down, por favore.
- Why I'm still hungry ... I ate meatballs for dinner and then had a small bowl of multigrain Tortilla chips with salsa and I'm still hungry. Stoopid time of the month (err, too much TMI?).

Browse your DVD rack or bookshelf – pull 3 out at random:
- The Prestige - an amazing movie, reminds me of The Illusionist but this one has two great-looking guys in it, haha.
- Spirited Away - one of the greatest animated films EVER.
- Mickey Blue Eyes - such a random film, but ya gotta love how Hugh Grant attempts an Italian accent.

3 things you’d wish you’d known (earlier):
- Used books are always the way to go, you save so much money.
- That sometimes that item of clothing that looks GREAT on that girl you saw walking by might look like utter crap on you. Wear something that suits you :)
- That wearing black liquid liner on your upper lid isn't that hard to apply as you once thought, and that period between 18-19 when you just wore black liner on the lower waterline made you look pretty ridiculous.

If you had to date a celebrity, who would it be?:



Nevermind that two of these three are already married. But Tom Welling has amazing eyes/cheekbones (which The Boy also has, score!), Henry Cavill is utterly gorgeous and his bum in the first episode of The Tudors is top-notch, and Matthew Goode has amazing charm and a beautiful accent - plus that picture of his is very inviting. All 3, please!

If you were a celebrity, what would you be?:
Probably a songwriter or a director/actress. Confession: when I was little I pretended I was part of a successful girls' group and drew album covers and also pretended I was an actress. I was a silly child.

If you had to give your blog a face-lift, what would you tweak (layout/content-wise):
Hmms, I'm happy with it design-wise, but maybe content-wise. My blogs are often so random that I'd want to have a bit more structure to it, or be able to update it a little more frequently!

Thanks for the tag Archana! I'll tag anyone who's up for doing it, and more specifically Fab Brunette, Little Tiara and Made You Blush.

Happy hump day everyone! I have to go read some Edgar Allen Poe ... yay, uplifting reading (haha).

high school isn't a musical

I have mixed feelings about school. In elementary school, I learned the basics about writing (which I love) and mathematics (which I'm horrible at). I was also teased daily for being too emotional, a torture which made me feel there was something missing in me.

Then came high school, where I learned to fit in. I became part of the clubs and the plays and it made me realize how much I wanted to be a teacher (and I'm hoping to go to teacher's college). I found amazing friends and learned things through them and my experiences with them. But on top of that, it made me realize how much we don't learn in school itself.

So, you see, these are the steps to discovering who you really are ...
If only there was a class like that!

In English class, teachers attempted to teach us proper grammar and the meaning of symbolism. But they never taught us what a boy TRULY meant when he said "it's not you, it's me."

In Science class, we learned about protons and how electricity works. But they never taught us how to deal with that electric feeling you get when you hold someone's hand for the first time, or why your palms get all sweaty after a few minutes. I wish they taught us about all the hormones that you get between the ages of 14-18.

In Math class, I struggled with angles of elevation and equations. But they never taught us that adding more clothes to your wardrobe means subtracting from your wallet; nor did they ever teach us the benefits of resisting that perfect - and expensive - clothing item. Instead, they made us focus on which train would arrive at the station first (HELLO? they have boards with information on that).

In History class, I learned about the Kings and Queens, and all the downfalls in between. And although they taught us that we can learn from our past, they never taught us that it's worth it to concentrate on the present rather than to dwell on love lost and other mishaps from yesteryear.

In school, there was never a How To Do Laundry course; we learn that from the people around us (or from tons of experimenting at the laundromat).

In school, there was never a How To Be YOU course. We were forced to know what our careers were going to be in grade ten; but they never gave us advice on how to ask someone to prom. We were forced to change in the locker room before gym class; but they never taught us the meaning of self-confidence, or how to be comfortable in our skin instead of hiding from the other girls and changing in a stall.

All that is learned from daily life, from the experiences around you. School teaches you what they think you ought to KNOW; but it never taught me who I'm going to BE. That, unfortunately, you have to learn for yourself; but fortunately, you're never graded on it.

I just thought this bear was cute!

simple smiles & school

Good news outta the way first: my dog is a 4-teeth geezer, but he's doing great! Yesterday we picked him up and he was all drowsy and drugged and while he keeps wanting to pick at his soon-to-dissolve stitches, he's been holding up really well. His teeth are actually white, he'll have no more bad toxic-zone-like breath, and best of all, no more infections. Glad that my Shadow's back! Thanks for all the sweet comments about him and the whole C scenario -- still haven't talked with her, still not planning to anytime soon!

Now for some great news: I got a package today from the amazing Adele and the beautiful Becks (woot for alliteration), and if you haven't visited their blogs, I suggest you do! It was so nice of you two, and while I have Becks' address, I'll need yours too Adele so I can send you both something as well! Blogging friendships are something really amazing ... and they know me so well that they got me coffee!

I cannot wait to try that coffee out!
And that box is adorable -- it's magnetic, and while my Mom won't allow me to put it on our fridge, I'll make use of it now and on my future fridge! Thanks so much, you two!
And now onto the not-so-great news: school is now in full swing. This means that: a) I have kickass Profs that attribute the 18th century to creating the printing press, the newspaper, and basically saying that its responsible for blogging and that if the people in the 18th century had RSS Feeds and Google Reader, that they'd be on cloud nine (seriously, she's that awesome of a Prof); and b) since I have a no-laptop-on-the-first-week-tradition, I need a left-handed desk since I'm left-handed. Well, all those swingy desks are for right-handed people except for one row. That row is usually taken by laptop-users or lazy people so I have to choose an area in the middle where I can use a desk as a left-handed person. Well, today I did that and a girl came and instead of taking the empty seat beside me on the right-hand side, she took the chair with my desk ... which made me sad.

Oh, and school also means spending hundreds of moola on the lovely photo you see (I still have to buy more). And you'll probably notice tons of lovely yellow 'USED' stickers -- always goes for the used, people. It's usually at least $5 cheaper, and in some cases, $30 cheaper, which makes me happy and then I go out and spend this $30 on hair dye, two magazines, and a Crunchie chocolate bar 'cause they are yummy. Yes.

Oh, and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have six hours of class in a row and judging by today, my ass is going to be REALLY numb. Fun times? I promise I won't try to complain that much about school, and I can see myself blogging a lot on Mondays where I'll be having a 3-hour break (or maybe I'll just watch Lord of the Rings instead).

Hope those who have class have settled in just fine and hope you're enjoying a good start to the week! I promise I'll get back into the swing of things in terms of blogging/catching up soon, thanks for being patient and the bestest :)

panic, calm, panic, calm

I need to get one of those "that was easy" buttons from Staples; nothing in my life right now is very easy or simple, but I'd like to convince myself otherwise! Sorry for the lack of updates -- this is going to be a personal release of everything that's gone on in my week from the bad to the good to the oh-so-very-bad, to the meh.

Shadow has been an amazing pup -- except for this week from hell. Our 7-year old used to be calm, loved to sleep, never bugged. All of a sudden, he's been restless, hyperactive, and we really didn't know what to do. After three sleepless nights, my Mom went on about how we'd either have to go to a vet or put him to sleep. That put me into hysterics; he means way too much to me. Finally, we brought him to the vet on Wednesday where they told us he had infections all in his mouth and his teeth were horrible. So he's going in for surgery on Monday - one that's going to cost us over a grand. It's worth it, especially since it breaks my heart to see him in pain. So that's brought on some stress this week.

The Boy constantly amazes me with his love. I've been unloading so much onto him this week, even the most annoying of things. Wednesday was my low point and so I kept calling him, even with silly things like, "I just want to hear your voice." (How cheesy is that, eh?) I called him around 4pm and he went, "I'm sorry Sweetie, but I'm in the middle of something. Can I call you back in 45 minutes?" I obliged and went off to make myself Alphabetti's spaghetti from a can, since my parents were at the vet and I wasn't in the mood to cook (ah, a bad mood).

All of a sudden, 45 minutes later I get a phone call - from The Boy's cell. He asks me to open up my front door and then says he'll call me back. So I open the front door and on my 'welcome' mat there's a piece of paper. On the front it read GUESS WHAT? flip me over -> and on the back it said I LOVE YOU! If you turn around you'll get a big kiss and a tight hug! I actually turned around to look inside my house but he came from the side of my house and leaped to give me a huge hug. I started crying in relief that I was able to see him, have him, hold him. He's really been a rock ... love that Boy.

Oh, and guess what? Remember that toothbrush situation from way back when? As of last week: the toothbrush is at his place. Huzzah! Calm :)

Despite the crappy situation with 'my friend' C, this picture makes me laugh and makes me want their hairstyles. But the situation with C is anything but stylish. Me and her met in our second-last year of high school and used to be really close. Somewhere along the way she changed, and I grew tired of her always feeling superior and making fun of all of our friends. So, I was friends with her mostly through association. I didn't end up going to a bunch of her birthdays over the past few years, either because something got in the way or the cost.

This year, I decided to make an effort to actually come out and be there for her, and see if we could actually have a friendship that wasn't established on being friends with everyone else. She's a girl who loves luxury and things fancy, and decided she'd book a limo and go to a club over an hour away. I decided to invite The Boy and his two friends (also a couple), in hopes that a) the more people the merrier; and b) that the cost of the limo would go down. C estimated that it would cost between $30-$40, which was fine.

So the day came when the limo was booked and all the information was provided - and it was $45 per person for some exquisite stretch SUV limo and $20 cover for the guys for the club - and only free for the girls before 11pm. I told The Boy and his friends and they basically said they weren't expecting it to be that much, it's too much with all the school stuff going on, and that they didn't know C well enough to spend that much on one night out. I completely understood, and let C know right away that it was a bit too much for them right now. BIG. MISTAKE.

We went through a big charade of her not understanding how they couldn't understand that a night out usually costs that much, and then offering to have it be $35 per person for the limo. Still, The Boy and his friends maintained that $35 + $20 = too much, and they didn't think it was worth it {plus, they thought she was a bit r-u-d-e}. On top of that, I told C that I might not be able to make it, depending on how much I'd chip in for my dog's surgery on Monday.

So then C went and offered that it'd be $30 per person just for us four, and no cover. She asked me to text my friends and ask them if that was okay, even though I told her she didn't have to do that and that I couldn't control how my friends reacted. Regardless, I do text them (along with a 'no pressure, honestly, it's just because a lot of people are backing out') and then ten minutes later, get a text message from C basically saying that $30 is ridiculous and out of the question and unfair to everyone else, and to next time, just say no right away instead of 'backing out at the last minute'.

I never replied, she went and told my close friend that I basically ruined her birthday and it's all my fault, and I've maintained that a friendship with her is no longer worth it. The panic of wanting to please her and feeling bad for having three friends drop dissipated into a near calm.

Which brings me school, which started this past Thursday. I only had one class and spent the majority of the day getting free stuff from their 'sidewalk sale' (yay mascara and gum!). But this American Lit class is all-year-long and the Prof nearly put me to sleep in the first lecture, which doesn't seem promising. Regardless, I'm attempting to stay calm this year. It's my final year in university, I have to apply for teacher's colleges soon, and I want to to try to get the best marks possible. So ... it'll be busy, but I'm hoping to stay calm!

My apologies for the rambling this post, just had to get this out! Here's hoping for less-panicky times ahead! Hope you all have a beautiful weekend! But first, I need to ask:

What are ways that you stay calm?

giveaway winners!

Wow, so I'm a little late on this, huh? My sincerest apologies -- it's been a rough week. University classes start tomorrow, there's a friend's birthday drama (more on that later), but on top of that my dog has been sick for the last week. While celebrating the Labour Day weekend was awesome, having sleepless nights with a restless/hyperactive dog isn't as much fun. Fortunately, my dog will be a-okay though (after a very expensive surgery on Monday, but it's worth it for my pup)!

Now, onto the even better news! I wrote down everyone's names for each giveaway and used a handy random number generator to pick the winners. Thanks SO much to everyone who entered and hello to the new followers, too! This was really fun and I wish I could give this book away to everyone -- though if you keep reading, those who entered the second part of the contest might just walk away with something!

The lucky reader who gets to enjoy Time Of My Life is #6:


Congrats Aubrey! You can e-mail me your address at betterthancoffee@gmail.com! Enjoy the read :)

Now, for the design aspect there are two winners who get to beside between a header tweak or an all-over layout makeover is #8 and #11:


Congrats Jessica and Lily G!

But, because I'm feeling a little generous (and also because I need more examples for my multimedia portfolio at school this year), everyone else who entered this part of the giveaway {Meg, Andhari, Adele, Sara, Jenni, josie(bean), and Mindy} can get a layout/header as well! Everyone who won or is interested can e-mail me at betterthancoffee@gmail.com to get something brewing ;) I'm trying to start up a graphics/blog design site for some extra funds towards Europe, but these would all be free and be little experiments that hopefully turn out really nice for your blog! School is starting up for me so I can't do all of them this month, but consider it a free coupon, redeemable anytime up until 2012, haha.

Thanks again to everyone who entered -- my next giveaway will either be at 100 followers or 100 entries, whichever comes first haha. And even though school's starting, I tend to blog more during school so I'll be here more regularly, hopefully!

Hope you've had a great hump day =)

sitting with a nose strip on ...

I'm sitting here with a Biore nose strip on my nose and all I can think about is how much I want to watch The Princess Diaries movie for the scene where Mia gets caught with it on her nose by a boy and then rips it off and says, "Ow." Not that I'd want to recreate that scene or anything. [Clearly I'd be insane if I did -- I'd much rather recreate the whole 'I'm a princess!' scenario.] Being an avid movie watcher though, there's so many scenes I'd love to recreate in everyday life. Pretty much every happy/romantic scene in Serendipity tops the list. And the song n' dance segment in Robin Hood: Men In Tights. Also, I'd love to have just an everyday moment where everyone is in sync and choreographed perfectly to a random song, just like in the movies.

Is there a movie scene you'd love to recreate?

Anyhoos, this Labour Day weekend has been pretty relaxing, and tomorrow it'll be full of more BBQ-ing and fishing at a lake. But in the meantime, I've also been tagged twice! Both of them involve little Q&A sessions, so I'm going to do them in different entries this week. Can't wait to do Archana's, but since I'm a little exhausted, I think I'm better suited for one-worded answers!

I received an award from the amazing Ramblings Of A Fab Brunette! Here’s how this one works: USE ONLY ONE WORD! It’s not as easy as you might think. Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers. Then pass out the award to whoever you would like! - I tag/award Jessica, Andhari, Steph, and anyone else who'd like to do it!

1. Where is your cell phone? dying

2. Your hair? drying

3. Your mother? walking

4. Your father? watching

5. Your favorite food? pizza

6. Your dream last night? Sting(?)

7. Your favorite drink? coffee

8. Your dream/goal? teacher

9. What room are you in? "study"

10. Your hobby? graphics

11. Your fear? heights

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren’t? flexible

15. Muffins? sure!

16. Wish list item? EUROPE

17. Where did you grow up? Ontario

18. Last thing you did? milk

19. What are you wearing? PJ's

20. Your TV? F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

21. Your pets? Shadow!

22. Friends? adore

23. Your life? better

24. Your mood? tired

25. Missing someone? Boy

26. Vehicle? nonexistent

27. Something you’re not wearing? socks

28. Your favorite store? XXI

29. Your favorite color? blue

30. When was the last time you laughed? earlier

31. Last time you cried? Wednesday

32. Your best friend? amazing

33. One place that I go to over and over? school

34. One person who emails me regularly? Facebook(!)

35. Favorite place to eat? sanitary

Wow, that was hard. By sanitary, I mean anyplace that is sanitary ... I could eat anywhere, honestly. And as for the dream about Sting -- I did not understand it at all. Apparently it was a high school reunion with a bunch of people I don't normally hang out with and we were at a Sting concert -- except I only really remember one Sting song ('Desert Rose') so he kept singing it OVER and OVER again. Gotta love bizarre dreams.

If you haven't already, make sure to check out my giveaway, you enter up until Tuesday morning -- by Tuesday night I'll have the winners revealed, yahoo! If you have tomorrow off, enjoy it :) If not, I hope your Monday isn't too shabby!

starry sky weekend

Thanks so much for all the birthday greets! Strange, the last time I updated was August. And now that it's September and everyone's thinking about fall, the warm weather is returning. Strange how life works, isn't it? 'Tis the season to be thinking about all the upcoming holidays, but the air still feels like summer. As for me, I'm dreaming about starry nights.

Image via Tumblr.
I've had a pretty busy last few days, complete with celebrating with friends and watching "Friends" season 4. Tonight, I'm headed off to a BBQ to ring in the Labour Day weekend, which should be fun! We're also going to watch The Unborn - what's with me and horror movies lately?!

And I've been tagged with a bunch of things which I promise I'll do soon. Just wanted to make a quick post to say have a beautiful weekend complete with nights by the fire, nights looking at the stars, and nights with those you love.

Also, if you haven't yet, enter my giveaway -- I decided to extend the deadline to Monday in case there's any others who want to enter! And stop by for Adele's giveaway!

And sorry for being M.I.A, I promise I'll catch up on blogs soon.

Now, I'm going to leave with you something that's sure to get stuck in your head. While at McDonald's at 2am on a Thursday morn (mm, healthy!) my friends were talking about the drive-thru song at Burger King. Well, I gotta say, I prefer this acoustic version. Anyone wanna join me and hit up Wendy's?