TMI & moments to treasure

Thanks everyone for the get-better-soon-wishes! My coughs are getting better (only one really bad one per hour) and after taking grad photos today (and even one 'couple' photo, I can't wait to get the proofs in 4-6 weeks!) me and The Boy had time to spare before my next class so we wandered around campus and took pictures. It is so beautiful outside, even if the sunshine doesn't last as long as I'd like it to.

So here comes two TMI stories (to make up for not having one last week) -- one is a lot more tamer than the other one, it's just a "OMG-Nikolett-you-have-a-dirty-mind" moment ... those happen a lot.

First, picture!

Tame Story: So we were sitting on a bench in the above picture -- my class happens to be in the building right behind us covered with vines and leaves. I decided to check the time, and my cell phone was in my bag on the ground at The Boy's feet. I decided to crouch down in front of him as he sat, using one of his knees as my support as I reached into my bag.

At that moment, a friend of The Boy's and her boyfriend were walking by hand-in-hand, on the way to the same class. We said our hello's and chatted for a bit, while I was still crouching in front of The Boy. Then suddenly out of nowhere I remarked, "Wow, I just realized how wrong this position looks like from the back." The rest of them starting cracking up while The Boy said, "Naw, you'd never do something like that in public, would you?" Ah, me and my dirty mind ...

The Real Deal TMI: The Boy was telling me about his tenants and how he went to visit one of their apartments. It seemed like a regular story until he asked, "How do you get rid of your toilet paper once you do the #2?" And I went, "In the toilet. Duh. Doesn't everyone?" That's when The Boy cringed and sadly shook his head.

Then he said: "I went to his bathroom to see if everything was in working order and then in the garbage can, all I see is ... folded toilet paper ... smothered ... with poop. I almost threw up." And hearing that almost made me throw up too! Blerrrrgh. Why ... why would you do that?! Hope you weren't eating just now :)

More pictures!

By the way, as some of you on twitter might now, I was on a mission to find a poncho and a sombrero. Well, I found a sombrero today for $3 and some false eyelashes for myself  ... I can't wait to dress up this Saturday for Halloween! Oh, and I've never worn false eyelashes so inquiring minds want to know: how do you take them off? Please and thank you!

Hope you're all having a great Thursday, and I'm glad to be back and (almost 100%) ready for action!

making phlegm sound sexy...

You all are the bestest (let's pretend that's a word for the moment). All your beautiful comments on the last post really helped to lift up my spirits. Unfortunately, my body's now let me down.

I've been sick all weekend, with no signs of stopping. I've been coughing up a storm and no amount of Buckley's seems to be helping (in fact, I think I've gotten an allergic reaction from it since I have bumps all over my skin now). I should buy Cold FX or whatever it's called but I can't even bring myself to get out of the house. My mom bought me a ton of 'suck-on-this-and-it'll-relieve-you-for-a-bit' thingies, so that's good. And she made me this remedy out of onion syrup, which is surprisingly sweet.

Basically, I've been like this:

I'm determined to get better by tomorrow since I have a paper due then (that I'm trying to write now ... err, that's working well!), plus I'd really like to enjoy the rest of the week in preparation for Halloween festivities! Oh, and my graduation photos are scheduled for Thursday (even though I don't graduate until next May) and I don't want to look ill in them! Or cough on the photographer ... maybe I can make phlegm sound sexy?

Even though I'm sick, I have lots of blogs to catch up on, which I'll hopefully get to during my 'paper-writing breaks'. For now, though, I want to share a video that also lifted up my spirits:

That's my simple smile of the week (it's so adorable)! And I'll be sharing my recipe of the week soon, since I've made a lot of meals this weekend. Hope you're all having a healthy Monday!

trampled.

I've felt pretty trampled this week, so I apologize for the non-cheery-self that will come out in this post. There's been a build-up of all kinds of emotions, deadlines, and random e-mails [from an old ex-friend who happens to be a neighbour who somehow found my e-mail address and asked in a long paragraph why I blocked her on facebook ... seriously].The only fix has been working out and trying to stay focused but I feel a bit defeated.

So, for a bit of positivity, the recipe of the week is provided by a girl who loves to make cupcakes, but this time specialized in double chocolate chip muffins. Mmm, delish. And I promise that one of these days I'll post my own recipe/creation!

I want to be here again (taken in Poland).

And for a simple smile, 1) reading all your reactions to last year's costume and your Halloween costume ideas made me smile; and 2) the wonderful Notes From the Tooth Fairy tagged me in a musical tag that I couldn't resist doing! Thanks so much -- this is the perfect way to find new songs to listen to, methinks! :) The rule is to tag 3 people and to fill out an artist/song, and it must be in English (I think this was the hardest part for me since I listen to a lot of songs in different languages).

Here goes!

* Personal:

Top 40s at the moment:
- "Fight For This Love" by Cheryl Cole [insanely catchy!]
- "Undisclosed Desires" by Muse [hot, hot, hot]
- "Vanilla Twilight" by Owl City [cute song]

3 songs that represent your feeling at the moment:
- "Misguided Ghosts" by Paramore [all about traveling through life]
- "Face Up" by Lights [about looking up when you're facing defeat]
- "Me Muero" by Utada [promise it's in English! all about lazy days]

Song(s) that gives you spirits when you are down:
- Seriously, almost anything by Lights. I love her lyrics.
- "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira ['cause it brings back good memories heehee]
- "Shadowfeet" and "Seeds" by Brooke Fraser [had to steal your answer, Kym, I love that song]

The second part you should be spontaneous,scroll slowly and make sure you read each entry one by one before continuing to the next question.

* Spontaneous

Wedding:
- "Canon" by Pachelbel
- "Won't Stop" by OneRepublic
- Anything by Michael Buble, haha.

SEXY !!!:
- "Sexy Chick" by David Guetta ft Akon [I like the beat, hehe.]
- "Dance Inside" by The All-American Rejects [lyric-wise.]
- "Love With A Stranger" by Marie Digby [whoa.]

I HATE MY EX,HE IS A REAL JERK !:
- "Caught Out There" by Kelis [the 'I hate you so much right now' song.]
- "I Could Say" by Lily Allen more accurately describes how I feel about my ex, though.

R&B Nite:
- Anything by Aaliyah. She makes my R&B nites special.
- "Be On You" by Flo Rida (ft. Neyo) [this song makes me laugh.]
- "Beautiful" by Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrel Williams [such a cute song.]

Diamond:
- "Diamonds Are A Girls' Best Friend" from Moulin Rouge?
- Seriously, that's all I can think of LOL.

Eccentric:
- "You Owe Me An IOU" by Hot Hot Heat [such a random song, these guys are awesome.]
- Anything by Prozzak. Yes.

British:
- "Stop" by Spice Girls [yes I still love this song.]
- "Untouchable" by Girls Aloud
- Anything by Muse :)

Adorable:
- "Your Song" by Kate Walsh [this song gives me lovey-dovey chills.]
- "Toothpaste Kisses" by The Maccabees [same with this one.]

I tag Jessica, Manju, and Margarita. Enjoy!

Hope you're having a happier, less busy week :)

i've got the urge

No, not to herbal! But to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas. As I was thinking about a title for this blog all that came into my head was I'm Jack, the pumpkin king! and it reminded me of the love I have for that movie.

Speaking of media-related things (wow, worst segway ever) Nicole asked me what my favourite TV shows and movies are. For TV shows, I used to love Smallville until they changed it to Friday nights. But I will always love FRIENDS, Supernatural, Firefly, Castle, and my guilty pleasures: The Hills, Gossip Girl, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager (I can't help it!). And for movies, well that could take all day but here are a few favourites: Serendipity, A Knight's Tale, Runaway Jury, Spirited Away, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Kate & Leopold, and Pirates of the Caribbean, just to name a few! What are yours?

And, speaking of Halloween (two paragraphs) ago, to the left you can see my costume from last year! I forced The Boy to be a school nerd while I was a 'sexy' schoolgirl who pouts a lot (I stole his glasses for that particular shot). It was fun wearing pigtails again and that whole vest-tie-pink-kilt outfit was awesome, methinks! My favourite accessory on the boy was a set of orange post-its that he kept in the chest pocket that had a mathematical equation on it. What a nerd :P

But, I kind of owe him this year. So as we browsed through costumes yesterday, I tried to keep my mouth shut and see what he wanted to be. What did he choose, you might be wondering?

A MEXICAN. He found a costume with a sombrero, poncho, and two pistols and decided he wanted to be that (but find his own accessories so it'd be cheaper). And to make it into a "couples' costume"? Well, I'm the Mexican Senorita named Rita. More on that later!

Now, I have to ask (even if you don't celebration Halloween):

What is the ultimate costume you would choose to dress up in?

Halloween's (or Hallowe'en, or Hallow's Eve) is not for another two weeks, but just thought I'd ask! Today, apparently, is Happy Sweetest Day (celebrated mostly around the Great Lakes and northeast United States, according to Wikipedia) which is pretty much like Valentine's Day. So odd ... I wish you lots of sweetness? And I wish LiLu a happy belated birthday!

And a few more pictures from last year:

Yup, we're dorks. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! :)

drinking from a cup half-full

It's hard, sometimes, to keep a positive mindset about things. When you have to force yourself to wake up at 7am to take a one-hour bus ride to a one-hour session about the rest of your life (aka, information about teacher's college), it could leave one to just bury herself in her blankets, refusing to come out. Still, I tried to be a soopa trooper (as The Boy called me on the phone) and decided to go out to this Q&A session about the teacher's college I hope to go to next year. It's so hard for me to take steps forward in life -- but that's the only place to go: forward. I ended up learning lots, and although the application process is going to be uber hard, I'm going to try my best. That's all you can do, right? Try your best(est)?

So, to help myself be a cup-half-full kind of girl, I went to the university bookstore with my amazing friend and we got ourselves some necessities:

I got myself a mug with Shakespearean love quotes on it! There was also one there with Shakespearean insults, and on the web I've found a naughty Shakespeare pillow which had me laughing for hours on end. My obsession with Shakespeare started this summer with my course, and now continues with this mug that will inspire me with such quotes as, "O Spirit of Love, how quick and fresh art thou!" I also got myself an album to put in all the photos I've printed out, while my friend got herself a Thyme plant and a moleskine for her sketches. Altogether, successful purchases, I'd say!

And now I really have to go to the washroom but I'm in the secret lab for Multimedia and I happen to have lost my electronic key and instead rely on sneaking in with other people and can't bear to leave my stuff here and hope to get in. BUT I REALLY HAVE TO PEE! ... errr, TMI Thursday? LOL. I promise I'll have a better story next week.

Then this weekend, me and The Boy are planning to go to the local Halloween costume rental store to find our perfect duo look. Last year we were a school-girl and a school-nerd [I'll show pictures next post if you'd like!], and we've gotta top that this year. And ideas [besides salt & pepper, electric plug & socket, please]? Thanks in advance!

And thanks again to Diamonds In The Rough for having me on their amazing blog -- and hello, new readers! :)

Have a beautiful Thursday ... hope your weather is a lot better than the dreariness in my city! I'm off to catch up on my Google Reader ... unless my bladder explodes!

still all smiles?

The long weekend's come and gone, bringing to mind how many things I have due in the next couple of weeks (which makes me think: aaaaarrrgghhhhhh!!!!!).

But I'm still smiling and extremely grateful for so many things in life -- The Boy, the family (no matter how crazy they are), and a guest spot onnnn: Diamond in the Rough!

The gracious and awesome Nicole asked me if I'd like to write a little somethin' somethin' and have a little spotlight on me, which made me blush :)




So if you'd like to check out those two posts:
-- Go here to "meet me" once again!
-- And click here for my thoughts on what we didn't learn in school. It was hard to write at first, but there's a surprising amount that we never learn in school.
-- And make sure to check out their site for more fantastic bloggers! Thanks for making me a guest!

Proper update soon, hope you've all been well :)

bonjour! 'tis moi

You all asked some very random questions, and I loved 'em all! So here goes with a warning that I will probably ramble as I have a tendency to do, woot woot! I'm going to answer them in reverse order :)

How tall are you? I feel like you're somewhere around 5'7 - 5'9? You seem so tall! - Jessica
Ah, you are correct! I'm about 5'8, 5'8 1/2 ... and fortunately The Boy is taller than me! Although, the first time we met, I was wearing heeled winter boots and he was afraid I'd be taller than him (which would have been catastrophic, haha). But yes, I'm taller than most of my friends which ... usually means I crouch in pictures. I'm a croucher *ashamed*

And I tried so hard to come up with a picture with a group of friends in which I'm not crouching; it turned out to be nearly impossible, so instead I leave you with a picture of me and Sulley from "Monsters, Inc" to help you figure out what height I am? Or at least make you remember how awesome "Monsters, Inc" is!

What made you come up with the blog name "Better Than Coffee"? - Jenna
Hm, it took a little while, I gotta admit. Then, randomly, Sarah McLachlan popped up on my Windows Media Player (yeah, I don't have iTunes) with "Ice Cream." I love that song for its lyrics: your love is better than ice cream and your love is better than chocolate. But I realized those weren't my go-tos -- it was coffee. Et voila! Of course, there's lots of things better than coffee, too.  

What is your favourite Shakespearean quote and why? - becks
I have quite a few, and they go through cycles. But the latest one is "Love sought is good, but given unsought is better" from "Twelfth Night". Mostly because I can relate to it so well -- the way I found The Boy was not because I was searching for love; I found him without meaning to.

I also love "You cankerblossom!" from "A Midsummer's Night Dream" 'cause I think that's an awesome insult (and am looking for the perfect situation to use it hee-hee).

When you cross-dressed for the Shakespeare play, if the thought of being a guy crossed your mind, what's the first thing you'd do?- becks
If I woke up one day and realized I was an actual guy, I'm not gonna lie ... I would look straight at the package. And then I think it'd be amazing that I wouldn't have to dress up, wear make-up, or any of the sorts. But I much prefer being a girl, as does the boyfriend haha.

What's your star sign? - Archana
I am a Virgo! Which apparently means I'm a perfectionist (with some things), loyal (I try to be), and have common sense (erm, sometimes). They also love coffee (this may or may not be true).

If you could only eat one thing for breakfast for the rest of your life, what would it be? no cheating.... dont say coffee - Sarah
Oh, Sarah, you know me too well :) I'd probably say toast with herb & garlic cream cheese; and, if allowed, a second piece of toast with Nutella chocolate spread. Might not be the healthiest of breakfasts, but it sure is yummy, easy to make, and filling.

Do you like pudding? - Manju
Loving all these questions about food, I gotta say! And yes, pudding is yummy in my tummy. Especially French Vanilla pudding.

Why do you have so many Filipino friends? Because of this, can you speak tagalog?- Kym
Ah, these questions made me laugh out loud! I definitely didn't do it on purpose ... one of my oldest friends (known her since I was 7!) is Filipino. Then, in grade ten I met another awesome gal who also happens to be Filipino (or Filipina). Towards the end of grade ten/start of grade eleven, I made friends with another amazing girl who is half-Filipino half-Sri Lankan. And a lot of my high school was full of Filipinos. So, I guess it was destiny haha.

As for the second part - I know my share of Tagalog. I have this gem for my friends' parents: Kumusta (though for some reason I always add a 'ka' at the end). Then there's Mahal Kita (I love you), and I know how to say yes/no, Salamat Po, and then my ultimate favourite: Ang baho ng kili-kili mo**.

Surrounded by Filipinos a few years ago and I like it that way haha.
And yes, I am crouching {tiger, hidden dragon}.

Thanks so much for all your questions! I'd love to another one of thse segments sometime soon in case there's anything else you wanted to know! ** It means "your armpits stink!"

Hope you all have an amazing weekend!

And Canadians, enjoy Thanksgiving! :)

TMI Thursday: Carbs, Carbs, Carbs

Welcome to the Phi Phi Islands, located in Thailand ... and this picture is now located on my wall. I found it at the poster sale at my university and it automatically brought me calm, relaxation, and daydreams about going to a beautiful place with crystal clear waters. I also figured it'd be a good thing to look at after a disturbing nightmare or a story. So, if you find the story below too disturbing, just scroll back up and enjoy the picture!

I've decided to take up Lilu's hysterical idea of TMI Thursdays ... since I figure I've experienced my share of TMI. Most of them seem to happen on the city bus, and this one was no different ...

There was a rather heavy woman sitting behind me on the bus, yapping away on her cell phone. Now, even though I listen to my mp3 player, my earphones are pretty crappy so I can normally hear everything around me. Her conversation was impossible to ignore as she was pretty much SHOUTING everything.

All I could hear was: "Well you know, Brandon's a STICK, Jessica's a STICK, it seems like me and my husband are the only fatso's in the house. So I'm on this diet, right? But apples have carbs! Bananas have potassium and carbs. I can't believe apples have carbs. And I can't eat too many carbs. CARBS, CARBS, CARBS."

If I heard carbs one more time I swore I would wheel around and tell her if she wanted to lose weight, she should pay attention to exercising, not just carbs. But the one-sided conversation (on my end) continued:

"At McDonald's, I found this great alternative. The spicy Thai chicken salad, it's actually really good. Of course, I kinda cheat and fatten it up with all the sauce and dressing I put on it. But y'know!"

At this point, I didn't even know what to think until she threw out this little gem:

"It's so weird though, because it's so hard to poop nowadays. Like, I'm eating less junk and less carbs, and the poo gets so hard and I literally sit on the toilet for 45 minutes sometimes just trying to crank something out! You know those clamps you use for barbeques to flip burgers? I might need those to reach for the poop to pull it out!"

I nearly gagged. At this point, other people around me were staring at this woman, as if to shout with their eyes, "DO YOU NOT KNOW YOU'RE ON A BUS?!" Thankfully, her conversation ended a few minutes afterwards (maybe her friend was as disturbed as everyone else was) and she looked around at her fellow passengers, apparently oblivious that she just told the whole bus about her bowel problems.

Ahh, Phi Phi Islands ...

Oh by the way, I got kickass new earphones yesterday so now I can drown any more horrifying stories out while on the bus. Thank the Lord. So yes, hope you enjoyed this first edition of TMI Thursdays, tee-hee.

Oh, and if you wanted to ask me a question, you have a last chance today either in the comments today or at this post to ask me something you've always wanted to know! I'ma answer 'em tomorrow! 

Hope you all have a good Thursday :)

stop & smell the flowers

Yesterday afternoon, my dog reminded me to stop and smell the flowers.

{not my dog, but still so adorable!}

The ground was all soggy with mud, but I made sure that Shadow had enough time to peruse around our neighbourhood. That was when he noticed a bushel of flowers on the edge of the park. He stopped and literally smelled those flowers for a good thirty seconds. I almost wished I had bent down beside him and smelled the flowers with him. But having that thirty seconds of quiet reflection reminded me that it's good not to be on the go all the time.

A few minutes later, he paused and looked at the little kids playing on the jungle gym -- the next generation of kids, in my mind. Just ten years before, me and my childhood friends had dominated the area, playing with sticks-as-swords as my guy friend pretended to be Cloud Strife, his little brother played Vincent, and I was Aeris or Tifa (and sometimes both simultaneously) as we played Final Fantasy VII in real-life (we were cool, okay? Oh, and click that link to get an idea of what we pretended to be heehee). 

It made me miss the simpler times; yet, it also made me realize how complex we make things nowadays. Sometimes all it takes is a simple 'hello, how have things been?' phone call or e-mail to someone you haven't seen in a while, instead of just wondering why you haven't talked in so long. Sometimes, you just have to give a hug or a simple gesture to cheer up someone's day. Sometimes all it takes is to be given a simple compliment to know that you are loved. So, stop and smell the flowers every now and then :) Trust me, it's pretty therapeutic. 

So, here are some awards that definitely made me feel loved! The lovely and fashionable Kristen and Megan from Bon Bon Rose awarded me with the Honest Scrap award! I did this a little while ago right here, so you can check out my ten pieces of honesty! I award this to Jessica and Archana!

Next, Nicole {who is a sweetheart!} awarded me with:

The Superior Scribbler Award, which is so cute! You can find out more about it from here. I award these fellow superior scribblers:

Becks, Manju, Margarita, Andhari, Mayra {get well soon!}, Sarah, East Coast Ecstasy, Girl With The Golden Touch, and Lilu! You are all very superior haha :)

My step to trying to take a step back and relax was writing my first poem in about a month; usually I take an 8-month hiatus when school starts, but was suddenly inspired. Me happy, haha.

Well, now I have a three-hour break to catch up on school readings (ah, what a luxuriously laid-back Monday), followed by class, a meeting with a Prof to talk about a Multimedia thesis in which me and my friend want to send a camera into space (more on that later!) followed by graphics design at night.

Hope you're all having an a-okay start to the week!

And make sure to stop & smell the flowers every once in a while,

or perhaps to crunch the leaves that litter the ground.

simple smiles on a sunday

Holy macaroni it's already October! And I've decided to do my simple smile a day early; this weekend has done a lot to cheer me up even though it's been a weekend of goodbyes. My sister landed in Vancouver with my niece all safe and sound, and I'm thrilled for 'em! And, my cold has been reduced to sniffles only once an hour, so I'm doing better (though still wrapped up in blankets most of the time). The Boy gave me the nickname of Snuffles because of my oh-so-attractive breathing.

This weekend was full of catching up with friends I haven't seen all month, plus a sleepover and fun-movie-watching times with The Boy, and I loved it all!

Earlier on Friday, I met up with Ash and KC (as you can see by our little chalk figures) at a bubble tea place downtown. With a dine-in special where you get a $1 meal with your bubble tea, it's amazing [I got onion rings while they both got fish balls].

Plus as we walked in, we noticed they replaced one wall with a floor-to-ceiling chalkboard which we abused! [I'm holding love in one hand, plus bubble tea in the other haha. Btw -- drawing skills: I haz none.]

My mango banana bubble tea reminded me of banana-flavoured penicilin that I used to love as a kid (before I was diagnosed as allergic to it, oops!). It was awesome catching up with them! This outing reminded me of Kym's question for my FAQ post (ask me a question if you haven't already!), which I'll answer this week!

Love these girls!

After that, KC left and us two girls headed off on a road trip to Mississauga, complete with Muse/Lights CD accompaniment. We got a tad lost a bunch of times, which was howls. And oh my goodness, we witnessed three almost-car-accidents. When you see an advanced green turn yellow, sure, turn. But if it's gone and you still think, "YAY I'M GONNA BE TURNING!" be prepared for some serious honkage. So many people decided to keep turning when it was our turn to go forwards and ... yeah, lots of near clippage. Gave me a heart attack even though it didn't happen to us!

The mall we went to was huuuuuge, and I did a little bit of damage on my wallet (it was for necessities, I promise!). I got a 'beauty insider' card from Sephora from this beautiful purchase on the left. I couldn't resist having an eyeshadow primer +6 eyeshadows. So pretty!

Westlife's "Seasons In The Sun" just showed up on my shuffle. RANDOM!
We had joy, we had fun ...

After that, we braved a rainstorm and drove back to our city, where my gal-pal dropped me off at The Boy's house for some yummy pizza and other relaxing times. He wanted to make sure I didn't get any more sick so he pretty much wrapped me up in five blankets, while he slept with three tiny sheets. I wouldn't be surprised if he got sick now! Still love waking up next to him :) The next morning we ate more cold pizza (healthy diet, heehee) and watched "District 9" which I'd seriously recommend. Not what I expected; being shot as a documentary, you really get the impression that it could happen, and by the end of it, I was like "WTF  HUMANS, YOU'RE SO INSENSITIVE" ... erm, yes. Go watch it!

I noticed I haven't done a recipe of the week in a while, and have decided to point you in the direction of the adorable Olivia Rae, who did a spotlight on pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Those sound delicious, and the perfect treat for autumn.

Now it's time to catch up on some blogs and then do homework ... ah, gotta love stay-at-home Sundays.

What have you all been up to this weekend?
Hope you've all had a great weekend so far! :)