When it comes to summer, I'm the queen of getting iced tea combinations from Starbucks; my wallet protests. Last summer I decided to make my own "Tazo passion iced tea lemonade" and it was delicious... until my sister drank the whole pitcher. This summer, I've picked up the habit again, but with almost every tea in the cupboard. I love drinking tea, but it gets difficult in the summer because there's only so much heat my body can really handle. Iced teas have become my holy grail drink. There are a ton of benefits especially if you're trying to lose weight. Everyone knows the benefits of teas, especially green tea...
Reduces risk of cancer
Prevents heart disease and stroke by helping to lower cholesterol (it can even speed up your recovery after a heart attack)
Contains antioxidants that fights aging
Burns fat and boosts metabolism
Reduces the risk of arthritis
Promotes healthy bones
Improves ratio of good and bad cholesterol
Prevents obesity by stopping the movement of glucose in fat cells (healthy eating and exercise is required to completely prevent obesity)
Improves lipid and glucose metabolism, prevents sharp increases in blood sugar level and balances your metabolism rate
Boosts your memory and decreases the likelihood of developing Alzheimers or Parkinson's
Helps prevent liver failure and high blood pressure
Kills bacteria that can cause food poisoning
Boosts your immune system
Prevents and treats colds and flus
Reduces the severity of asthma
Relieves stress, anxiety, and allergies
More information on the benefits of green tea can be found here.
Also, drinking tea is a great way of keeping your body hydrated. If you're like me, water gets a little bland after the second glass and a lemon wedge or tea can really help keep things interesting. It's way better than Crystal Light which contains aspartame which is a carcinogen.
Iced tea has way less sugar than juice and can help kill some cravings if you're trying to eat clean. Next month is June, and I know a lot of people are trying to tone up and drop a few pounds.
If you're looking to make your own cool tasty tea, here's the super easy way how.
(1) Pick a tea
If you're looking to mimic your favourite Starbucks iced tea, they use Tazo brand tea and you can usually purchase a box from Starbucks, Wal-Mart, or your local grocery store. Or you can try your favourite hot tea.
I find there are some teas that I love hot and hate iced and vice versa, so you may have to try a couple before you find one that you really love. My favourite green tea is from Teaopia, called cactus fig, and it isn't my favourite hot, but I absolutely love it cold. My favourite hot tea is vanilla roobios and I hate it iced. It's a process of trial and error.
(2) Brew the tea
Pretend you're brewing tea like usual. Add hot water and dunk the tea around for two minutes or so. Add less water than you usually would. Between half to three quarters of a mug should suffice.
The tea is going to be really strong when you brew it because there is such little water. But that's because it will be diluted once you ice it.
If your tea is loose, use an infuser or a tea maker that you can get from DAVID's TEA, Teavana, or any other specialty tea store. If you do use a tea maker, keep in mind to not fill it completely.
(3)Pour over ice
Remove the tea bag from the mug and pour your tea into a glass full of ice. The ice will melt really quickly and you may have to stop pouring for a little to wait for the ice to melt and make room. You can then choose whether you want your tea infamously "shaken not stirred" or not. Personally, I like to pretend I'm James Bond and shake it up. A lidded cup is obviously recommended for this, but you can also place a plate overtop and work it out. Add a lemon wedge if you'd like to add more taste, and you're done!
If you want to turn your iced tea into an iced tea lemonade, add lemonade. Super easy, and cheap!
Hope this inspires you guys to keep cool this summer. I know making iced tea sounded really daunting to me until I finally tried it. It really takes five minutes and tastes great. Not to mention that the cost of each tea box is comparable to the price of the Starbucks drink. And I don't have to go out and get dressed to drink my favourite iced teas.
Also, I kindly ask you to ignore my dysfunctional chipped black nails in that last picture.
If you want more ways to spice up - or rather, sweeten up - your water, try adding cucumbers, raspberries, strawberries, lemons, limes, or any of your other favourite fruits to infuse your water with your favourite flavours.
Sometimes I'm really embarrassed to call myself a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
Not because of the team, obviously we're doing something right if we've made the playoffs.
But for those of you running around on social media or otherwise claiming that "THIS IS OUR YEAR! WE'RE GOING TO WIN THE CUP!" Please stop. Because no, we aren't.
You cannot go from being the laughing stock of the NHL one season to the best in the league the next season. It is not possible. Leafs fans have a reputation of having too much faith in our boys in blue and I lose respect for Leafs fans who think like that.
I'm not being a pessimist, I'm being realistic. Most Leafs fans are far too optimistic.
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” - William Arthur Ward
We're facing the Bruins. I do not under any circumstances expect the Leafs to beat the Bruins. It would be nice if we did, and I would be so excited to make the second round, but I don't want to watch the Leafs getting pummelled every game. It's embarrassing and we're better than that.
Changes and improvements need to be made before the Leafs should even think about the Stanley Cup (i.e. who is leading in ice time...) but making the playoffs is definitely commendable and we should be proud of our team and the progress they have made.
Every hockey fan has certain problems with other hockey fans too though. I have serious issues with two types of fans, one of which, I'm sure everyone will agree with; (1) bandwagoners and what I like to call (2) the archival fan.
Obviously almost every other hockey fan has a grudge against most Blackhawk fans simply because they're Blackhawks fans and obviously take loads of risks in the casinos as well...
I have more respect for people who are fans of teams like the Avs or the Panthers because they are loyal to their teams and understand the league. Watching your team grow and improve is part of the fun of hockey (trust me, I know, I'm a Leafs fan) and the competitive thrill associated with the sport diminishes as soon as your team runs defeated for the majority of the season.
The second kind of fan that really irritates me is the "archival fan" who values the history of hockey over the current events; sometimes they are stuck in the past too.
"Yeah, the Leafs made the playoffs, but they haven't for the past nine years."
Okay, yeah thanks for the history lesson, but it's 2013 and we're in the playoffs just like your team, so obviously we're exhibiting some sort of high calibre hockey. I can go on about how many Stanley Cups we've won in the past (unless you're a Habs fan, which is another matter) in comparison to your "superior" team. But I usually get a response that sounds like "Yeah well that's years ago."
So does that make nine years ago pretty recent? If you want to start waving facts about hockey history and statistics in my face as a way of belittling my team, go for it. We can do it all day. But if that's the only chirp you have against my team, it's unoriginal and I've heard it before.
I'm not trying to say my team is better than yours, and I think it's pretty rude to try to take away my right to be excited about my team's accomplishment. I do not understand why you need to be bitter about the Leafs' improvement if you don't feel threatened by them and they're such a piece of crap team who "hasn't made the playoffs in nine years."
Unless I'm bluntly putting down your team, I don't see why you should attack mine especially when they're participating in the playoffs.
I guess I'm just trying to say that I'm sick of being stereotyped as an overconfident Leafs fan and being attacked for it.
Just enjoy the damn hockey guys. It's literally a game.
Hopefully tomorrow Reimer doesn't get shot at again like it's hunting season...
Also, I thoroughly enjoy this completely related Tumblr
They weren't kidding when they said that these years would fly by. It feels like it was yesterday I was roaming the school aimlessly, trying to find Tim Hortons which was literally right behind me. It was terrifying going to university as a commuter because the people in your classes have all been living together for a while now and you just feel really lonely for a little bit.
The point is, first year is about making friends that you'll spend the next four years and potentially the rest of your life with. I do think it's incredibly important to get to know yourself during these years as well. I don't mean for this to come off as super self-righteous or anything, but I think that the relationship that we should value the most should be the one with ourselves. You won't have to put up with the stuff your stupid ex boyfriend did five years from now; you can dump him.
Try dumping yourself.
Yeah, not that easy.
You shouldn't base who you are around a relationship or any materialistic item. You should hold true to your values and morals no matter what. If you aren't bettering yourself, you're wasting a day. We should all try working towards self-actualization because there's nothing better than the best you.
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” - Dr. Seuss
So why not be the most you that you can... you?
Before this turns into a pretentious self-help article, I'm going to share some things I'd like to accomplish within the next year. They say writing things down makes you more likely to do things, so here we go. Plus, if I come back a year from now with nothing done, y'all are gonna judge me. I don't take failure very well...
Start saving for a car. Public transit is so time consuming.
Work out and eat better! Seriously, I live at home... this shouldn't be as much of an issue.
Read books that I have been meaning to read since summer 2012
Volunteer more. And if anyone would like to join me, please feel free.
Find a job I love, even if it's in the retail sector.
Watch more hockey games with friends. This sounds so dumb but it's one of my absolute favourite things to do with my time.
Cook more meals at home. I guess this goes hand in hand with working out and eating better, but honestly, I can only live off of macaroni and cheese for so long.
Watch TV shows. I'm sick of feeling left out when people talk about their favourite TV shows that I don't watch. All I follow right now is Bates Motel and Teen Mom 2... I want to catch up on The Following and Sons of Anarchy. If anyone has any suggestions, comment please!
Join a varsity team. Considering I lack any athletic ability, it will probably be cheerleading or the dance team. Either way, I want to get involved with the athletics at my school.
Become involved in the field I want to pursue. I'm three years away from graduation, but I'd still like to start working in the media field, even if it's volunteering or an internship.
Spend time with the people I love. Because as much as I want to focus on myself, I wouldn't be where I am without the people who love and support me.
Do the readings. Even if it's for one class, I'd like to do the readings. Just once.
Stop drinking coffee and drink more water. I only drink it on occasion, but it's not good for you, and I'd like to cut it out of my diet completely. In terms of drinking water, it's really so good for you (and you feel better too), and I find adding lemon to it helps with cravings.
Go to Church. I am Roman Catholic, and I don't attend Church very often at all. It may not make sense to others, but I would like to start going to Church more frequently.
Write. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I write a blog, what more do I need? Writing poems used to be one of my favourite pastimes, and I'd love to take that up again.
And maybe I'll get a fish or something.
Anyway, there's that.
Wrote this jamming to this lovely 8track. If you're still cramming for exams, you might enjoy this playlist as well. It's uplifting and easy to dance to. What's not to love?
Here's to an amazing summer ladies and gents. Always set goals for yourself, even if it's only to wake up when your alarm goes off tomorrow morning.
Maybe I'll wear sweats less by next year. And be a supermodel instead. Probably not. A girl can dream.
As a post-secondary student, you have to endure certain things, like exams and final projects.
Everyone knows that final exams make you weirder than you already are. Literally, as if you aren't weird enough already as a student...
No one questions your odd diet which is largely based off of Ramen noodles, macaroni and cheese (bonus points if it's of a microwavable variety), peanut butter/nutella, cookies, chips, and other snack-like foods that require little to no preparation.
The fact that you can sleep until the middle of the day is completely acceptable and your enthusiasm for naps is completely understandable.
Any odd drinking habits you may possess are socially acceptable because you have to suffer the whips and scorns of post-secondary life.
Your coffee consumption probably rivals that of a 40-something businessman.
Sweatpants are no longer a comfortable alternative but a semester-long commitment.
My hairdresser even commented on the fact that my hair completely lacks style. When she asked if I wanted a side bang, I responded "I can't deal with that, it would be in my face and I love my bun too much." She then responded by acknowledging the fact that many of her clients who are students love their buns too, and if they have bangs, they end up cutting them themselves when they start to grow out because they get in their face. I said it's best that I don't lie to myself.
I had always heard in high school that guys like college/university girls because they wear less make up. It's not that they suddenly become more confident in their appearance and don't feel a need for it... it's because they want that extra ten minutes of sleep.
Once final exams roll around, you're up literally all night studying (or on Facebook, whichever) and stressing over the heavily weighted test you're going to write in the next 96-12 hours, depending on how badly you procrastinate.
Losing your yellow highlighter is overwhelmingly upsetting and even though it may appear to be hopeless around 2:00 a.m., you keep going for at least another hour so you can say you put in some effort.
The most stressful part about exams, personally, is talking to your friends before the exam and they start putting all their knowledge on blast and you don't remember reading any of it anywhere. Then you begin to panic even more, and once you get the exam you can then judge if all the stress and energy drinks were warranted or not.
The only thing less frustrating than not studying enough for an exam, is studying too much. You end up looking back on the experience of all the stressful studying and the only thought you can muster is "I could have been sleeping..."
You missed your favourite TV shows, the big hockey game, your friend's birthday, a changing season, and the potential start of WWIII because of your exams that may or may not be your impending doom.
Although being a dysfunctional wreck is somewhat acceptable during your enrolment, summer break provides the opportunity for students to pretend/try to be normal human beings.
Except you're still stressed from all the tuition and student debt that you owe, and will owe in the future as a new semester approaches. In order to compensate, you get a job (maybe two) and then you work your butt off all summer to pay for the ability to eat crappy food, live in the same sweatpants for weeks at a time, and suffer sleep deprivation all while earning your degree/diploma that "promises" hope for the future when you're no longer employed at a minimum wage job.
They told you all throughout high school that it would be rough, and this is exactly what they meant.
In this stressful time I want to wish everyone luck on their exams and final projects, and I also want to remind you that although your post-secondary institution may be some awkward combination of heaven and hell, you're incredibly fortunate to have the ability to pursue higher education... even though it may not always feel like it.
I usually get one of two reactions when I say that I like country music.
(1) Oh my gosh! So do I! Have you heard... etc.
(2) Ew, why?
It's usually the latter.
Sometimes people express a slight interest, but otherwise, I usually get a look of disgust and confusion.
I really am not picky with music. My iTunes is a little frightening when it changes from The Amity Affliction to Justin Timberlake to Pink Floyd and then Swedish House Mafia, and Azealia Banks. This isn't to say that I like all genres equally, I don't believe anyone does. But I am open to all sorts of music and I dabble in as many genres as I can.
I predominantly like country music however, and although I haven't listened to it for a very long time, I seriously enjoy it. Listening to country music was a bit of a taboo thing in my house, especially with my step-dad blasting twangy old country in his car... it was a bit of a turn off for me.
I dated a guy for the better part of a year who liked country music and I was closed minded towards it. He had this issue with me touching the radio so I had to listen to it whenever we were in the car. There were three songs I remember actually enjoying and recognizing after a little bit. They were Let It Rain by David Nail, Over You by Miranda Lambert, and Carried Away by Chad Brownlee. I really don't know why, but those were the ones.
Later on, him and I switched iPods for a bit to try to give each others' music a chance and a few songs started to grow on me. I definitely became more open to country music but I wasn't really a fan yet.
Here I am now, with Florida Georgia Line on repeat and cranking Eli Young Band in the car. I also saw Eric Church earlier this year.
Obviously if you don't like country music, you have no idea who any of these people are... but you should.
There are tons of reasons to like country music... It's an excuse to wear plaid, and who isn't your friend at a country bar? Seriously, country music is all about the love. You won't find anything with the lyrics "... your boyfriend is a douchebag, and everybody knows..." (side note: I love that song, don't hate), the closest thing to that would probably be "... he's no good, girl, no good for you... " Even still, it's about having your girl's back and wanting better for her, not simply bashing the guy.
And no, I do not consider Taylor Swift country. Speak Now was kind of pushing it, but Red is most definitely not.
If you search country music on YouTube you'll find other great playlists, those are just ten of my favourite country songs; some of which are actually my original favourites from when I first started listening to it.
I wish I could say that I have a simple Starbucks order, but everyone's is a little bit particular. Mine, however, is so complex, that if I don't tell the barista to mark the cup first, I'll have to repeat myself.
I feel like a pretentious jerk whenever I order, and they always look at me inquisitively until I go off on a brief tangent describing a combination of milk and syrup.
"Extra hot no foam two pump sugar free hazelnut soy steamer"
I really wish I were kidding.
Every word in that order is important. If you miss one, I probably won't drink it. It makes me feel really high maintenance and ridiculous, but it's what I like to drink, embarrassingly enough. It really isn't mumbo jumbo I'm saying to sound like some sort of coffee connoisseur who is superior to every other hipster on the street.
In normal English, all I want is really hot flavoured soy milk. Seriously.
I don't like to drink coffee unless I'm having a rough morning, but I love hot drinks in the winter. Especially when it's as tasty as Starbucks.
A question that I get a lot is "How did you find out that you like that?"
Well, my mom likes to drink vanilla steamers. It's simply warm vanilla milk. Sounds pretty cozy, right?
One day I ordered one for my mom, but they really messed it up and made a hazelnut soy steamer instead of a 2% vanilla steamer. Wrong milk, and wrong flavour syrup. Mistakes happen.
She hated the hazelnut steamer and I loved it, so the next time I went I ordered it again, except with fewer pumps since I like the taste of soy milk and didn't want the hazelnut to be as dominant. I also opted for sugar free hazelnut syrup instead since soy milk already has a lot of sugar in it and I don't need to be making that worse. They taste the same anyway, may as well cut out what you can.
Hence, two pump sugar free hazelnut soy steamer.
I ask for it to be "extra hot" because I find it gets too cold too quickly and I can't drink it. I also hate the foam at the top.
Extra hot no foam.
When you break it down, it all makes sense and is pretty reasonable I think. Maybe I'm just trying to convince myself of that.
It's yummy and helps me fill me up, especially if I'm on the go. A lot of people I know don't like it, but they don't have to drink it. And it isn't like Starbucks doesn't have options.
I hope one day we can all live in a world where people aren't judged by what they order at Starbucks.
I'd like to end this post off with the fact that I really miss pumpkin spice lattes. That's all.
Seriously, maybe I'm just a bum and I hate dressing nicely for school, but there's something about dressing up for school that I really don't understand.
Personally, I default to sweats or yoga pants in the morning when I'm getting ready for school. But then I see girls who look like they were just blasted out of Pretty Little Liars, and I just cannot help but wonder if they are actually trying to make me feel badly about rocking my Roots sweat pants on a regular basis...
Especially when I was in high school, girls who came to school decked out in their nicest jeans and chiffon shirts really confused me. What I found most mind boggling was when they wore heels. (Why would you do that to yourself?)
My high school required students to wear a uniform which wasn't the most comfortable outfit in the world, and so on the few days during the school year when we were permitted to wear our own clothes, I usually opted for something comfier. Maybe jeans if I felt really fancy for whatever reason.
I'm not against dressing nicely, I just struggle to understand the logic behind dressing up for one day when you're only going to see the same people you see every day. There's no one to impress and they'll see you on your bad day later that month, so why try so hard?
You're at school to learn and I find it pretty hard to concentrate if I'm being constrained by my leather jacket and my feet kill from the three inch boots I decided to wear that day.
Once I got to university, there were still people who wanted to look fierce every time they came to class. I found that even more confusing considering you're only at school for maybe three hours to sit in your lecture, and then go home.
If I had it my way, I would roll out of bed, go to class, and go back to bed. But that's not how it works so I'd like to be presentable.
There is a happy medium between homeless and a Kardashian, and I feel like we should all try to put ourselves somewhere in the middle.
I don't want to go to school and feel like I just lost Project Runway when picking out my outfit that morning. In no way am I saying you shouldn't take pride in your appearance, I'm just saying some people need to chill. You don't need to be dressed to the nines like you're ready for the bar.
Some people do have presentations, and I understand you may look nicer on a certain day because of that. However, on other days, if I feel uncomfortable just by looking at you, you're doing it wrong.
Maybe I don't take enough pride in my appearance, or maybe I'm just lazy, probably the latter. I just think it's okay to chill out for school. Save your fancy swag for a night out or something, rock sweats like it's your day job, because if you're a student like I am, then it probably is.
The only potential problem would be casual Fridays...
SnapChat is either your favourite app or your worst enemy... depending on how fast your friend can screenshot or how much alcohol you've consumed in one night.
Personally, I love the app. It's an excuse for me to shamelessly take selfies and practice my "ugly face" that people like Beyonce do so well.
It makes me smile more often than not to get a quick message from a friend with a caption about their day, or maybe a joke. They probably made a stupid face at their phone and I'll publicly humiliate myself to return the favour.
Used in this innocent nature of sending quick messages with a goofy face and maybe a doodle, SnapChat is exactly that; innocent. However the app was actually designed in order to send nudes pictures to other people without them being able to save or post them anywhere. This is why the app deletes the pictures once they have been opened and only allows you to look at them for a short, allotted amount of time.
For each picture, you can adjust the time that the picture is displayed from one to ten seconds in order to control a person's ability to take a screen shot of the picture. Obviously this app is not always successful in preventing the receiver from saving the picture you sent them; it is only the app that is deleting the picture.
There are also other interesting legal matters surrounding SnapChat, such as Reggie Brown who claims to be co-founder of SnapChat along with Bobby Murphy and Brown's best friend (or maybe not anymore) from college, Evan Spiegel. Awkward, right? Things like that happen when you develop an app worth around $70 million.
If you've ever watched The Social Network, you can appreciate why friendships start to deteriorate over these sorts of things.
For a more in depth explanation of Brown's lawsuit against SnapChat, and Murphy and Spiegel, TechCrunch offers a great breakdown.
SnapChat also plans on adding some advertising to their app which can present some prospective problems if you're being encouraged to "Meet Hot Singles In Your Area!" on your sexting app...
I don't think that it comes as a surprise to anyone that they don't advertise the app as a tool to sext, but rather as a tool of good fun.
I don't want to sound like your mother and lecture you about being careful what you send people or post online, because you have probably heard it before. But I will leave you with this Forbes article on why you should try to avoid sending pictures of yourself scantily clad or less.
On this lazy Friday night in, I decided to indulge in a cinematic experience. Being St. Patricks Day weekend, I considered something with my favourite hunk of Irish man candy, Gerard Butler. Then what I actually realized was that the only real movies that I knew of him were chick flicks, with the exception of The Phantom of the Opera (2004), but then again I don't see any males overly enthused by Emmy Rossum's rendition of "Think of Me." As much as I love Andrew Lloyd Weber, I was hoping to watch something a little lighter. And then I came across a list of ultimate chick flicks on IMDb by someone by the username of Geekzrus.
This list consisted of 150 chick flicks ranging from Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! to Eat Pray Love. If you would like to take a skim through the complete list, you can view it here.
I'm proud to say that I have only actually seen about 50% of the movies on this list as I'm not an overly adventurous person when it comes to movies. If I didn't see it in theatres, I probably won't ever. But I wanted to watch something I hadn't seen too many times before or something I had intended on seeing before, but never got around to.
And so obviously I pass The Notebook, and Pretty Woman, along with many other movies of the same stereotype.
"I'll never let go Jack!"
Anyway... I settled on a movie from the list. It was a TV movie from ABC Family starring Hilary Duff called Beauty and the Briefcase (2010); it was light to say the least.
I chose this movie because of a demented loyalty I have to Hilary Duff which stems from Lizzie McGuire and dragging my father through multiple concerts. I do admire Duff for her ability to remain sane in the industry and I respect her for marrying a hockey player.
However, watching this movie was slightly disappointing for my eight-year-old self. Her acting was poor and the storyline was worse. Lane Daniels (Duff) is hired by Cosmopolitan magazine to work in the business world (where Lane and her equally desperate boss believe all the quality men are) and find a "man in a suit" who meets all the criteria on her checklist of her ideal guy; she also affectionately refers to her perfect man as her "magic man." After completely unrealistic events, she lands a job for a finance company and goes on a date with almost every man in the office. Throughout all this I was really confused about how there were only twenty and thirty-something year olds working in a New York corporate office...
What really frustrated me about this movie was how desperate and superficial Lane made women appear. Her checklist included items such as; sexy accent, witty on a whim, travels to exotic places, spontaneous, etc. If you've ever seen The Ugly Truth, you understand the kind of neurotic behaviour to which I'm referring.
I would like to emphasize that this movie was distributed by ABC Family. This was slightly concerning when Lane vaguely described chocolate sex scenes with one of her prospective magic men. There were also adverts for various ABC Family TV shows places throughout the movie. It's all a little concerning.
This is nothing personally against Hilary Duff, I understand she's matured and grown up; she can talk about sex if she wants to, and she can definitely play a more promiscuous character if she would like. These blips of sexual innuendo and encounters were slightly unsettling and I didn't think they were all too appropriate for the movie or it's intended audience. Hate to sound so parental.
"It'll be the climax of my story!" "I'm pretty sure I heard the climax last night."
Another viewer expressed their concern as well: "I was also a little concerned about the sexual references (i.e. painting each others bodies with chocolate and then 'burning it off' after one date, talk of climaxing etc.). Surely that's a bit much for a younger audience?" Other reviews are available here if you're interested in the movie, which I don't overly recommend. The only thing I truly appreciated about this movie was the only glimmer of realism at the end when Lane and her magic man are kissing in a horse drawn carriage and her Prince Charming pulls away for a moment to say, "I can't feel my arm." This made me go back to the list of chick flicks and think about how realistic any of these movies are... So I went through this list of chick flicks and made my pick of five relatively recent chick flicks that I find painfully unrealistic. Obviously, to be fair, I excluded the chick flicks that have an element of fantasy to them such as The Time Travellers Wife or Charlie St. Cloud. (5) The Back-Up Plan (2010) For any of you who have not seen this Jennifer Lopez chick flick, it's just like all the others. That's not to say that it's bad, but it generally follows the same kind of plot line. Girl meets boy, bad timing, not being wholly honest, boy loves girl anyway, etc.
And no I did not just ruin the ending for you, because you knew that was what was going to happen anyway.
My first issue with this movie is how the pair meet, they hail the same cab and get into an argument. That would usually be an awkward and hostile encounter, not the kind of verbal flirty punching they were doing.
Then, of course, fate intervenes and they meet again. You can probably see where this is going.
Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) is experiencing the "forever alone" phase of her life that most of the protagonists in chick flicks experience. In order to satisfy her maternal instinct, she officially gives up on the dating world and undergoes artificial insemination. She then becomes pregnant with twins.
But wouldn't you know it, Stan (Zoe's love interest) is ready to take over the father role even though he's gone back to school to better himself, he is willing to give everything to support Zoe, make her happy, and start a family with her.
Zoe ends up starting a fight over practically nothing and lives up to the stereotype of a crazy lady with a baby, then realizes that everything is okay once a stroller is delivered. Then she pours her heart out to Stan while she's in labor... Of course.
I swear movies have no concept of time. I just want to say, that if I were in this bizarre situation and this guy was all in to be the father of my children before my baby belly even starts to show, I'd be weirded right out. That's moving way, way, way too fast.
Also, Zoe gives up little to none for Stan. It's assumed that the man should bend over backwards for you and there shouldn't be any sacrifice on the woman's end. Unrealistic.
This being said, I do enjoy this movie and it's comical moments.
(4) The Last Song (2010)
Everyone has their opinions on Miley Cyrus, but it is very hard for any sappy girl to deny themselves of an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks - especially when Liam Hemsworth is co-starring.
I don't know about any other girls, but last time I was overtly rude and smug towards a guy on the beach, he wasn't exactly chasing after me. Even when I'm nice to guys it doesn't always happen.
Another thing that bothered me was the fact that Miley Cyrus got to keep her awful accent in the movie, and Liam Hemsworth had to cover his sultry Australian voice. Really, really frustrating.
Anyway, after an extravagant date swimming in the aquarium tanks, they fall in love. Certain things drag them apart (trying not to completely spoil the movie), and then they find their way back to each other in the end and it's super romantic... Don't pretend you didn't already know the ending.
The extent to which Will (Liam Hemsworth) is willing to go to prove his love for Ronnie, and to win her over, is ridiculous and no one should transfer these standards into real life or you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Personally, I enjoyed the book much more than the movie.
(3) Monster-In-Law (2005)
Another Jennifer Lopez movie, because who can get enough of that booty?
Monster-In-Law really is one of my all time favourite movies, but partly because of how ridiculous it is.
Again Charlotte (Jennifer Lopez) is in that spiralling "forever alone" phase where she feels like there is no man who is right for her. Then she meets Kevin (Michael Vartan).
There's a contrast of rags and riches in this movie, since Kevin is a doctor and Charlotte is a dog walker/temp, and this only adds to the fantasy of this chick flick.
I quickly want to express that every time I see Jennifer Lopez standing on the beach asking Michael Vartan to prove to her how he's different, then turns around and asks what the colour of her eyes are. Vartan's character continues to describe her eyes similarly to a lengthy Michael Ondaatje poem.
Maybe I'm just awkward, but I would get really uncomfortable if someone did that to me. But of course, Charlotte totally loves it.
Of course the time span of the relationship is elapsed because that's not the focus of the movie, however it is noted that they are not together for a very long time before getting engaged.
Kevin's mother, Viola (Jane Fonda), is having somewhat of a midlife crisis and is holding a grudge against women of a younger demographic. She tries to sabotage her son's relationship and pressure Charlotte into calling off the engagement. Viola even goes so far as to adding nuts to Charlotte's food, and Charlotte is allergic to nuts. Hence the play on words, Monster-In-Law.
I understand that in-laws don't always particularly get along, however this takes it to an extreme. Plus Charlotte and Viola's reconciliation is a little too abrupt; they are incredibly open to forgive and forget which I find a bit odd.
Again, I love this movie, but when you sit back and take it for what it is, super unrealistic.
(2) P.S. I Love You (2007)
This movie is unrealistic for obvious reasons, but it did sucker a tear or two out of me.
It is an incredibly sweet movie and the concept of receiving notes from your deceased husband is grimly romantic. However, once again, we run into the concept of false expectations; this could not happen anywhere but in a movie.
I understand the idea of loving someone until death to you part and being utterly dedicated to another person, but seriously, this stuff never happens.
I don't mean to sound like a cynic or a pessimist, but it really is the truth. Things like this don't happen every day (if even at all) and it's completely unrealistic.
Again, I really did enjoy this movie, and it is definitely a tear jerker, but you shouldn't interpret it too literally because that kind of strong and passionate love exists without these kinds of gimmicks.
(1) The Notebook (2004) I can already feel the flack from picking this movie as unrealistic. I know it's an all-time favourite for most people, but really sit down and think about the story...
Here we are presented with a rich girl (Allie, played by Rachel McAdams) and a poor boy (Noah, played by Ryan Gosling) who hangs from a ferris wheel to get a date with a girl who hasn't said more than a few words to him.
Seriously, this isn't just me here. If you're logical, you understand where I'm coming from and how completely irrational that is.
Anyway, they turn into this really cute couple and then when Allie's parents don't approve they are separated. (This doesn't sound familiar at all Mr. Sparks)
They are later reunited when Allie sees the picture of Noah's house in the newspaper - let's just assume that renovating the house just how Allie had described it to him is relatively realistic. At this point in time Allie is engaged but the two are still madly in love...
"It wasn't over, it still isn't over"
And they engage in an iconic make out session in the middle of the rain after Allie learns of all the letters Noah had been writing her. Allie ends up leaving her fiancé, and they live happily ever after... at least until they are old and Allie develops Alzheimer's. But Noah reads to Allie and she remembers and it's all so awfully romantic.
Seriously, I'm not trying to bash any of these movies. I really enjoy most of them and are some of my favourite chick flicks.
I just want to encourage you to take these movies with a grain of salt and recognize that it's a movie. Just like when you're watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre and reminding yourself that "it's just a movie" so you aren't paranoid when you go to sleep at night. You should watch these movies with the same kind of attitude.
You should really be critical of these movies rather than swooning over these movies. Understand that they're works of fiction and you shouldn't let these themes and concepts try to manifest themselves in your life, otherwise you will be that crazy girl with a set of criteria when you meet a guy.
Real life isn't a movie, and what really frustrates me about chick flicks, is that they try to pretend that these situations are plausible when they usually aren't.
Romantic and elaborate things can happen in real life, I'm not refuting that. They just should not be expected, and chick flicks develop these common themes of (1) the guy giving up something significant for you, (2) a sense of fate or destiny, and (3) an unexpected romance.
I'm guilty of watching chick flicks, but I think it's really important to try to maintain a sense of reality while watching them. And don't take it out on your boyfriend, because he may not write you letters everyday, but he still loves you, and that's not fair. This isn't to say that you shouldn't have standards for your man, but a realistic set.
And on that note, I'll leave you with this public service announcement that can apply to chick flicks for all y'all crazies.
Feel free to leave your comments on the subject, do you agree or disagree? Or just let me know what your favourite chick flick is.
It's a strange topic, I'm aware. But I have developed an addiction to the salty goodness that is popcorn. I'm also guilty of eating when I'm bored, and popcorn seems to be the perfect snack food when you're catching up on your guilty pleasure MTV series (for me, it's Teen Mom), or the nightly marathon to watch all the episodes in your new television show of interest (thank God for Netflix), or maybe you're watching a movie just to pass the time. Perhaps you're writing that essay you should have started last week, but now it's due in eight hours and you're a stress eater. Or maybe you just have a craving. I have met seldom people who do not enjoy popcorn, and even if you don't enjoy the starchy snack regularly, you cannot deny that there is nothing better than feeling the butter sink into your butt as an ignorant 12-year-old kicks the back of your seat and you enjoy the latest overrated Nicholas Sparks movie. Just a scenario... you could also be going on an adventure with hobbits or curling up into the fetal position while watching a horror movie. Whatever your vice, popcorn is a delicacy of the cinema; its own sort of crème de la crème if you will. Especially when you're in a dark theatre, you probably catch yourself mindlessly clawing at the bag of popcorn that has found a comfy spot in your lap. Your lips probably get dry and chapped, but you can't will yourself to stop. Once you finally regain your self control, you set the precious stuff down under your chair (so you won't kick it over and waste any of the beastly portion that you probably won't finish anyway), and wipe the buttery residue onto your pants. If you're anything like me, you refuse to loosen your clutch on the stuff; you bring the popcorn home with you. The first time, I felt like everyone was judging me, and they probably were. "Wow, seriously? This girl is bringing her popcorn home with her? She needs to relax." Yeah, I probably don't need this popcorn, but I want to enjoy every possible bit of that overpriced salty stuff. Movie theatre popcorn is, undeniably, the ideal popcorn that unfortunately, Orville Redenbaucher will never live up to. However, it is a great snack food, and I'm guilty of bringing a bag to school and eating some of the stuff in class. And again, if you have the same habit as me of bringing the popcorn home, you may also be shocked by how many times you still can't finish the damn stuff. It's really amazing how addictive it is, and also how endless it is too. I wish ice cream was that way too... but it isn't. Then, you wake up the next morning with a bag of - what once was delicious popcorn - stale popcorn. You probably have a few kernels in your teeth too. Fantastic. Some tips and tricks for next time you decide to indulge in some of the salt covered stuff:
If you're trying to be healthy, buy some kernels from your local grocery store. They should be sold in individual packages without any salt or butter. Put your desired amount in a pot on medium-low heat. Cover the pot and shake it around on the element until you hear it pop, once the popping starts to maintain a constant rate and is no longer sporadic, turn the heat down to low and keep shaking. Once the popping starts to slow down, remove the pot from the heat and continue to shake it until the popping stops. You don't want to burn your popcorn. Then you can eat popcorn plain without any fatty dressings. If you want more flavour you can add your own amount of butter or salt, or you can add some peanut butter for protein. It's delicious, trust me. For a specific recipe for make-at-home popcorn, check out this recipe. If you're going to the movies, bring some chap stick with you to help avoid some of the problems mentioned earlier on. Also, try to restrain yourself and not eat your popcorn until the movie actually starts. I always find myself sick of my popcorn just after the movie starts which is quite ironic. If you "just have one," it will never be "just one" and that's how you get sucked into it. (Also, I hate to sound like your mother, but go to the bathroom before the movie. We both know you got that drink to help wash everything down, and it will hit you right before the climax. Do you really want to miss that?) If you have a sweet tooth, you can make caramel popcorn by melting about a 1/2 cup of butter with 1 cup of brown sugar in a saucepan on low heat. Prepare the popcorn by following the first tip provided then mix the caramel sauce in by shaking it up in a covered pot. Some of you may call me crazy, but next time you find yourself with some leftover stale popcorn, try putting it in a watery base soup like chicken noodle or minestrone. It adds an extra crunch and because of the bland taste, it will work with all soups. I wouldn't recommend it with a thicker soup, like a chowder or butternut squash soup because it doesn't soften the popcorn properly.
Sean Lowe, The Bachelor star, showing off his athletic frame, to say the least.
Two posts in one day. I'm really neglecting my ethics essay.
But The Bachelor finale is on, so it's not like I would be working on it anyway.
I figured while I sat here eating microwave macaroni and cheese and lusting over the lush of Thailand, I may as well express my feelings about the show.
I'm not usually the jealous type, but if the guy I was having a "relationship" with was openly dating other girls at the same time. I would go absolutely ballistic. And if I had to live with them, I would go mental.
They really don't spend that much time together between all the different girls he's seeing. I don't understand how you "fall in love with someone" after a few dates. However the exotic settings probably play a part.
I'm pretty sure I'd be pretty smitten too if I were going on extravagant dates all over the world with some hunky guy. But some of us aren't that lucky.
It really bothers me how they have so many "deep talks" about their emotions and what they want out of life on these dates. They're so "happy and excited" and they all "want the same things". Then the bachelor, whoever the stud muffin may be, will go pick out a hefty rock and propose to the "woman of his dreams" shortly after breaking up with the other woman he loves. How sweet.
(I'm using a lot of these terms loosely)
I don't follow the show, but I'll watch it if there is nothing else on. I solely watch the finale to mock it and follow along some of the tweets on my timeline. I also made a bet with my step-dad about who he would choose.
Watching Catherine and Lindsay meet Sean's family and each of the girls having an uncomfortably in-depth conversation with his parents made me feel, well... uncomfortable. If you watch the show, you know what I'm talking about. If not, imagine explaining to your respective girlfriend/boyfriend's parents how much you love their son/daughter and how amazing they are etc. It's not natural, or maybe I'm just socially awkward.
What I really want to emphasize here is that only three out of the twenty four couples that resulted from The Bachelor or The Bachelorette are still together. If you want to read more in depth about that statistic, you can read Wet Paint's article here.
That isn't a promising number of around 12%, and these beautiful people probably have a better chance of finding the love of their life like everyone else does. Once you take away the glamour of the setting, the creative dates, and the "romantic idea" of possibly being "the one," these people just don't mesh in reality. They mesh in ABC's romantic fantasy land. Too bad they have to live in reality.
I believe in love and romance, don't get me wrong, but The Bachelor takes it to another - slightly ridiculous - level.
I just don't understand why they can't just go get a Big Mac and fall in love. These women should learn to appreciate the little things, you're just setting them up for disappointment when you can't take them out on gondola rides anymore. It just isn't realistic.
Remember what they say Sean. Happy wife, happy life.
On a side note, one pet peeve is the fact that this is the second time writing this blog post. It got deleted by a computer glitch and I'm super unenthused.
The pet peeve I'm going to be talking about today really grinds my gears and sparks an urge to go off on this tangent on a regular basis. If you take things personally, you should redirect yourself to this website as it may be more appropriate for you.
Back to the point, I want to explain something about myself first before we delve into this topic. I characterize myself as a night owl. I stay up until around 2:30 a.m. on a regular basis. This is not because I can't fall asleep earlier, it is because I don't want to and I would rather exercise my privilege of having an Internet connection.
Before continuing, I would like to present a definition kindly provided by Google...
in·som·ni·a
/inˈsämnēə/
Noun
Habitual sleeplessness; inability to sleep.
Synonyms
sleeplessness - wakefulness - vigilance
I really want to emphasize the word habitual in this definition. Meaning that this inability to sleep happens regularly. And insomniacs by this definition, regularly experience an inability to sleep. This means that insomniacs lay in bed each night at the same time with their phone off, and eyes shut - no distractions - and cannot fall asleep. Because of this, many insomniacs take up hobbies or interests to help exhaust themselves and pass the time until their body finally is able to fall asleep.
For example, in the 1959 television show, The Twilight Zone, there is an episode titled The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street. In this episode, the residents of Maple St. begin to question each other after an unidentified flying object is spotted going over the street, as well as many other unusual occurrences. The street is convinced that one of their peers is an alien, as ridiculous as it seems. At one point in the episode, a woman states that when she stays up late at night, she sees one of the characters, Les Goodman, staring up at the sky "as if he is looking for something." This quickly puts Goodman's name in question and he defends it by explaining that he is an insomniac and enjoys stargazing to help him leisurely pass the time until he is able to sleep. [If you are interested in watching this episode - or the part mentioned which starts around 11 minutes in - you can stream it here. It's a great episode, and I highly recommend the show in general - it is incredibly smart. This episode in particular speaks greatly of society's need to place blame and find an explanation for things they do not understand.]
Being the night owl that I am (like many others my age), I usually start to see Facebook statuses and tweets at around 1:00 a.m. that look something like this... "OMGGG GO AWAY INSOMNIA" (real tweet from someone I follow on March 8, 2013). However, @MensHumor may be more accurate with their diagnosis from Dec. 12, 2011; "I don't have insomnia... I have internet connection." Our bodies develop a schedule by which they sleep. This means that if you don't usually fall asleep until 2:30 a.m., like myself, chances are that going to sleep at 11:00 p.m. in order to be well rested for your 8:00 a.m. exam the next morning are unlikely. Obviously you will struggle to fall asleep because your body is not used to sleeping so early and has adjusted to your late night Netflix-watching habits. It's like trying to tell yourself to be hungry for a Thanksgiving dinner after you've already eaten (without purging yourself). It isn't possible and your body's sleep schedule works the same way. I'm not saying that only insomniacs struggle sleeping. On Friday night/Saturday morning, I didn't fall asleep until 4:00 a.m. and then woke up at 6:30 a.m. After that, I didn't fall asleep again until 10:00 a.m. Needless to say it was a rough night. If this happened to me on a nightly basis, I would - without a doubt - be an insomniac. Which is why the word habitual was so important in the definition of insomnia. This doesn't happen to me nightly. I'm not an insomniac, and if I wanted to sleep earlier, I could adjust my sleep schedule to do so. That is the prime difference between staying up late and being an insomniac. We need to keep in mind that it is a medical condition and a sleeping disorder. It should not be taken lightly. To say that you're depressed after one bad day is a little extreme, just as saying that you suffer from insomnia after one night is a little extreme. Next time you're not able to sleep, do something to help exhaust your body so you can fall asleep. I can almost promise you that tweeting about it while you lay in bed will not help the situation. If you need help thinking of something you could do, searching your couch for the next morning's coffee money might be a good idea - you're probably going to have a rough one. But it happens. Deal with it.
I don't think I'm alone when I say that Disney classics generate a warm and nostalgic feeling when you dust off the old VCRs in the 21st century and wander back into your childhood.
It's almost magical how these movies take you back to the innocent state of mind in which you existed when you initially watched these movies.
Disney came out with Tangled in 2010, and clearly I hadn't seen it until last night when my sister and I decided to order some pizza and get cozy on the couch.
There were many things I noticed about this movie...
Firstly, I want to address the odd and slightly uncomfortable attraction I have toward Flynn Rider... I don't understand it...
Second, I'm in love with this movie. There is a certain je ne sais quoi about Disney classics that give it a whimsical feeling. Tangled definitely brought that magic back. That authenticity cannot be reproduced easily and they did an amazing job of executing that, and it is crucial, especially when producing a fairy tale like Rapunzel.
Thirdly, I felt single as f*ck watching this movie. Flynn Rider would go to the end of the world and back for Rapunzel. They only knew each other for a day, or two, if even, and they were madly in love.
...excuse me...
I was so weirded out by how much faith they put in each other, and how much they cared about each other. It made me wonder if the other Disney movies I had watched as a child would make any sense in that aspect if I had seen them for the first time after two decades of being alive, and not to mention logical.
In The Little Mermaid, Ariel sees Eric on a ship for a full sixty seconds. And then she loves him and she's willing to give up everything she knows to be with him even though he may or may not express an interest in her.
Fellas, when girls are chasing after you like a dog and it's tail, you can blame this movie.
But I don't think that guys would appreciate the frying pan much either...
I am totally prepared to blame Disney for my unrealistic standards. And I'm sure other movies have a similar effect.
(2) Brew the tea
Remove the tea bag from the mug and pour your tea into a glass full of ice. The ice will melt really quickly and you may have to stop pouring for a little to wait for the ice to melt and make room. You can then choose whether you want your tea infamously "shaken not stirred" or not. Personally, I like to pretend I'm James Bond and shake it up. A lidded cup is obviously recommended for this, but you can also place a plate overtop and work it out. Add a lemon wedge if you'd like to add more taste, and you're done!
