It sure is nice to feel the warmth of the sun again. After the record breaking snowfall in southern Ontario, I welcomed the sun rays from Bull City with open arms. It was an incredible treat to stay in my family friend's home which resembles a homy, yet exotic resort. The sunny day was not wasted as I spent the entire day out in the sun reading, floating in the pool, or making amusing attempts to play volleyball. All in all, it was a much needed change from the hustle and bustle that has exhausted me during this spring break. In May 1886, popular soft-drink Coca Cola was invented. Now, I do not condone drinking pop really. I never have liked it, the carbonation and the acidity burns my throat to the point where it is just not enjoyable. However, since it is the birthday of the drink.. I figured I would just suck it up. Literally.
My Coke of choice was Vanilla Coke- any one who knows me will know its a 95% chance I will love something if vanilla scent or taste is involved.
Honestly, I have to admit I enjoyed this treat immensely. It was the perfect alternative to my usual iced tea or pink lemonade for a thirst quencher when I'm poolside.
I don't think this will become a habit of mine, but today.. I set aside my previous judgements about the unhealthy drink and appreciated it in a different way.
I feel sometimes in life, you just have to set aside your thoughts to make room for new ones.
Just a little food for thought.
All for now,
Aimee OC
PH of 2.5.. Yum.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
A Picture is Worth 1000 Words.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Happy Photography Day! I do not have too much background knowledge on the art of photography, however I do enjoy having photographs to peruse from time to time whether they are my own or famous iconic photos in history. Below, I have taken a good 15 minutes researching to find some interesting photos to share with you. Some are my personal favorites, some I just found amusing, and some were major moments in history that should always be remembered.
All for now,
Aimee OC
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| My personal favorite. |
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| Lunch atop a NY skyscraper |
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| A recreation of above. |
Nothing Gold can Stay;
Saturday, March 26, 2011
One thing I was seriously looking forward to at the start of this holiday was to read. I have 4 titles that I am forced to read during the break, and I was hoping to delve into a few more if time allowed. I finished my first novel yesterday morning, and started Keesny's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" yesterday afternoon. I am only about a quarter way through, and the first thing I noticed was how graphic and gruesome the sounds of the said, "cuckoo'a nest" was. What I have come to find now that I have stayed a measly ONE NIGHT at my Nana and Papa's house, is that more and more this house is starting to resemble a psych ward all on its own. I couldn't tell you if it's the hard hearing that is causing all of the yelling, or maybe the freezing cold house temperature is causing tempers to boil over... It is a mad house here.
Little by little, I see my dream of curling up in the sun on a lounger getting closer and closer.
Yesterday, was the birthday of the pancake. My aunt, who has joked about considering food and eating her two main purposes in life, was all for indulging in home-made crepes with ice cream centers and butterscotch drizzle made from scratch. My mouth is still watering..
And today, being Robert Frost's birthday I leave any readers of this blog with a quote from one of my favorite poems that surely will be recognized:
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Take from this poem what you will, as I believe there is no set analysis for any poem. Each person may interpret an underlying message differently than the person beside them, and therefore should embrace their thoughts and feelings.
All for now,
Aimee OC
On Top of the World.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
What better way to begin the visit in Toronto than getting delayed by a freak snow storm and ending up waiting for almost 2 hours for a taxi?
Today made up entirely for yesterday's havoc however. To celebrate the birthday of the Cable Car (est. 1958) today my mother and I solely depended on Toronto's streetcar for transportation. I am a near virgin in the area of public transit, and heading downtown Toronto felt like an entirely different ball-game than busing to the Orchard Park Mall in Kelowna. It was however, a success! We did not get lost once, and other than sitting behind an absolutely repulsive man who smelled of alcohol and pee and insisted on picking things out of his hair and eating them... it was an enjoyable ride.
We made it to the Eaton Centre and walked through enough slush and snow to completely soak my poor choice of footwear. It was all worth it though, as I got to purchase a new pair of boots (a steal at $15!) and a lavish pair of high heels for prom :) I am so easy to please.
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| Love! |
The tour of Ryerson was adequate. We would have loved to go inside a few buildings instead of standing like a herd of sheep on street corners in the freezing weather. However, it was amazing that I was able to actually see the university, and get a pretty good picture of how life would be like living there. And that picture is rather nice, if I must say.
To conclude this little post, the best suited holiday March 24 has to offer would be Family Day. In about 5 minutes, I will be off to a little corner restaurant called the Eggplant with my aunt and two cousins. After dinner, my uncle will be home from work and we will probably sit around the fire and drink orange pekoe tea like we did last night. And I am perfectly okay with that, in fact.. I love it.
All for now,
Aimee OC
Let the fun begin
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Day one of my family's spring break extravaganza began yesterday. On our 6 hour drive to Seattle, we took in sights of agriculture, birds and flowers..which I'm going to say count for Bird Day, National Flower Day, and Agriculture day. I make up the rules in this challenge of mine as I go if you haven't noticed already..
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| The beach- area where I will be staying in Toronto. Unfortunately, with the anticipation of snowfall tomorrow. |
This 'vacay' of sorts is going to be an interesting one.
One for lots of reading (5 books to be exact.)
One for some shopping.
One for a little bit of self discovery (Ryerson??)
One for reconnecting with extended family.
And finally, one for relaxation.. Hopefully.
Toronto bound tomorrow at 8 am.. yay.
All for now,
Aimee OC
a fling with spring;;
Monday, March 21, 2011
The first official day of spring: March 20.
What better way to celebrate than a walk on the beach with an extremely vivacious puppy dog? The feeling of the sun against my face was the perfect awakening from dark and dreary winter and the beginning of happier days. And of course, finishing the day by spending time with people I love was the cherry on top of a great day.
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| Hola la primavera :) All for now, Aimee OC |
A Season of Change?
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Confession: I have been lazy. Which explains why I did not document the last couple of days' celebrations.
Thursday (the 17th) was St. Patrick's Day, however I chose to drizzle some maple syrup on my Red River hot cereal and celebrate Maple Syrup Day.. even though I am quite Irish.
Friday (the 18th) I began the day thinking I would muster up something that I could forgive my parents for in honor of Forgive Mom and Dad day. This was definitely not the case, because I was holding nothing against my folks that would ever need "forgiving." I went back to the drawing board-www.holidaysforeveryday.com- for some inspiration. Supreme Sacrifice Day stuck out like a sore thumb to me, but I had no idea why. That was when I abandoned my blog once again, and checked my e-mail.
With the opening of one e-mail, I felt time stand still. I have been accepted into Ryerson University's Journalism program, a school that I have been lusting after for almost 5 years.
This week has been like stepping through the looking glass. I had an article published in the local paper on Tuesday, literally aced a math test (a dream come true), and gotten accepted to the university of my dreams. It feels as though everything is finally coming together, and all this hard work is actually paying off.
Which brings me to my point, yes I did have a point in all of this:
My own mother is someone who made a Supreme Sacrifice in her life. Now I am making amends on her behalf by going after my dreams and aspirations, instead of letting rejection get the best of me and giving up. If Ryerson had accepted my mom for their acting program, I would not exist. She would not have gone to the Yukon looking for work, met my father, and settled down to raise a family. It is this sacrifice she made that I am so thankful for.
Today, being National Act Happy Day...
I don't even need to go out of my way to celebrate. I am truly happy with the cards that life has dealt me.
So I guess I'll eat some chicken for Poultry Day.
All for now,
Aimee OC
A Little Slice of Italy
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The problem with this love is that I cannot cook it for myself (with the exceptions of Kraft Dinner, lipton chicken noodle soup, and Sidekicks pasta dishes). My challenge for National Pasta Day is to cook pasta- all by myself.
You may write this off as "not a big deal" or "not very difficult." What I have to say to you is, "Talk to the raw muffins, dozens of singed cookies (Pilsbury included), destroyed taco and mixed green salads. They will tell you that for me to make something on my own and not royally screw it up is a BIG deal.
1:42 - The preparation begins. I went to my fridge, realized we had no Ragu sauce.. First bump in the road.
1:44- Decide to figure that out later and choose the pasta shape now. Linguine looked a little complicated, being thicker and wider than Spaghetti. Macaroni was too similar to KD. I decided to take on the bow-ties, they're cutest and I had the perfect little amount left that I thought would be just fine.
1:48- Fill up a pot with water, turn on stove, and salt it. I heard on a cooking show once that salting your water makes the noodles taste better, and the water boil faster. So I did it. Not sure how much you're supposed to do...
1:49- Stare at the pot on the stove.
1:51- Realize that I don't know how to make pasta sauce. Therefore, I will just butter and cheese my bow ties.
1:52- The water is boiling! Dump the small handful of bow ties into the scalding hot water.
1:53- Realize I am probably going to need more pasta...
1:53(still)- Pasta is just cooking away.. I am officially losing interest.
1:55- Apparently there was too much water, as the pot is officially boiling over all over my stove. Shit.
1:57- I assemble my other key tools and ingredients: Strainer, bowl, fork, butter, and grated parmesan cheese. I'm also becoming very impatient because real pasta takes heck of a lot longer than the instant stuff.
2:01- I figure they are done now.. So I strain them, and pour them into my bowl. This is where I proceed to experimentally adding in butter and cheese until I think it looks like a decent ratio (plain and simply unhealthy).
2:02- EAT! According to my boy, they are supposed to be "al dente" tender, but chewy. Mine are just all around crunchy. I swear, you can hear the crunches!
All in all.. I give myself a pat on the back for effort. As far as taste goes, I thought it was pretty good. Could have had some minor adjustments such as being more thoroughly cooked.. but I commend myself for trying! Operation bow tie was a partial success!
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| WOO HOO! |
Some other holidays for those who are interested:
All for now,
Aimee OC
The Food Days Begin..
Monday, March 14, 2011
This one is going to be quick, since I have lots of sleep to catch up on (thanks, daylight savings). Today was a great day, with only two classes. Mind you, I did have a math test in one.. but it went really well. It is really sad how much I dislike school these days...
Anyhow, I had breakfast with my boy, a nice and chatty lunch with two great girlfriends, and went to candlelight pilates/yoga fusion and broke a sweat. It was great.
I remained in my "zen" until I came home and remembered that I still had one task to do: Eat chips.
I thought this was going to be a walk in the park, but it turns out I remember why I stick to my sweet tooth. Chips are greasy, crunchy, and make me feel disgusting. In the right mood, they're alright. But when you're all "zenned out" and feel like guzzling green tea... they're gross.
End of story.
PS. Hope you enjoyed National Potato Chip Day more than I did :)
All for now,
Aimee OC
Under My Umbrella-ella-ella
Sunday, March 13, 2011
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| I♥Cats |
This superstition dates back to the days when umbrellas were used for more than sun protection than shelter from rain. To open an umbrella inside acted as an insult to the sun gods (Ra in particular). Once the god was insulted, he/she would inflict his anger upon the entire house, including everyone in it. This was the part that freaked me out. What if I opened my umbrella in the house thinking, "Ooh! Look at me, I'm celebrating again!" only to find out later that Ra is raging spiritually around my house and causing havoc? I know this sounds ridiculous.. But I am a curiously superstitious person.
So this is what I did.
I opened the umbrella outside first with my front door open. Then once I gained my strength, I hopped into the door frame, pausing for about ten seconds. Then I closed the umbrella halfway.. and shimmied into the house, where I opened it fully again. With a little shriek, I jumped outside again and threw the umbrella on the lawn as if it was a hot potato.
Now that I am typing this out, I realize how silly it all sounds. I swear, at the time it made sense.
PS: Happy Birthday Uncle Sam!
181 years of frightening people with your iconic propaganda poster. Yay.
Wee Bit o' Spring Cleaning
It is March 13. On this day I find myself one hour sleep deprived because of daylight savings time, and a just a little bit more organized because of National Organize Your Work Office Day yesterday.
I don't have a work office. Just a cramped staff room at the Gap with a gross microwave and a creaky chair that squeaks even when you just contemplate moving. The closest thing to an office I have would be my desk, more appropriately called my storage unit for random junk and school things. My desk started out with the best intentions, a drawer neatly organized with writing utensils, my books stacked up according to size (which is semi-intact below), and was 90% junk-free. I can admit, I took this clean space for granted, and little by little took advantage of it. Yesterday morning, the picture below was EXACTLY what it looked like. After a little work, and a lot of purging... It is spic and span, and what I'd consider a workable space.
I am aware that this will sound cliché, but I do quite honestly think that everyone should invest a little time into some sort of spring cleaning. Even though it snowed last week, and still gets below zero at night.. I can see the sun at the end of the tunnel. It is that time of year, clean up one aspect of your life! As sad as it is to throw away some things.. You will guaranteed feel a little more fresh, and liberated. Even if it is just your old knick-knacks on your desk.
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| My own work office.. Before. If you think this is a little messy.. You should see my bed. Stay tuned for Opening an Umbrella Indoors Day! All for now, Aimee OC |
March 9/10 (It's a 2 in 1 Folks!)
Friday, March 11, 2011
March 10:
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| Fun fact: Hollywood created the cathodes in the head and neck of the monster. Shelley's Version was also not green. |
Yesterday was in a word... unproductive. Especially since I did not even get around to celebrating Mario Day. I did however, start my Frankenstein's Birthday celebration (which is today!) by reading a little bit further and researching for almost an hour. It blows my mind how Hollywood gave people like myself a perception of Frankenstein that once compared to the literary masterpiece... is completely different! Also, Mary Shelley was an incredible girl! Eighteen years old.. and the author of a novel still read in Literature classes today? Not to mention how bold she was to elope with her hubby Mr. Percy Shelley at that age. Craziness.
Anyways, I decided in order to fully celebrate scary ol' Frankie's birthday, I am going to rent the Hollywood movie this weekend and enjoy it in all its inaccurate glory!
March 11 (Today!):
Today will be my belated celebration of Mario day, which will be indescribably exciting because I will enjoy it by playing one of my favorite video games of all time: Super Mario 64.. may the power of Nintendo 64 last forever.
Additionally to make amends for my mix-up.. I honored "Worship of Tools Day" by saying "God bless you" to each and every one of my makeup brushes this morning, the only tools in my life :)
The funny part is, I'm actually not kidding.
Bang Clang? Whoops.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
March 9 marks the importance of Barbie's birthday, Panic day, Employee appreciation day, and Bang Clang day.
Last night before I went to bed, I had full intentions of banging pots and pans to make banging and clanging noises. It wasn't until about 10 minutes ago did I realize that I completely forgot about this oh, so important task.
However, I do feel like my March 9 can relate to one of these holidays, in one way or another.
Panic day began to set foot in my life yesterday actually, but we'll say it was today just for argument's sake. It all began with me deciding I would make a calendar with all my deadlines in it for university stuff. Once the investigating began.. I came across a startling and honestly, heart-stopping message: "Congratulations. Based on your academic excellence, we have decided to offer you a whopping $12 G's for your university education at Carelton University." Okay. They didn't exactly say it like that, but that's how I retained it.
For over 24 hours now, I have felt a little quiver of panic in my entire body, as if it were whispering "What are you going to do now! You almost writed this uni off, now they're offering you two years of education! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"
This is where my lying begins: I'm not 100% sure if I can classify it as 'panic'. It is a combination of so many emotions including FEAR, anxiety, excitement, pride, worry, sadness, longing, dreaming, wishing, hoping, HAPPINESS. I know people who have graduated know the feeling I am talking about. I feel inarticulate trying to describe it with petty adjectives that obviously don't do it justice.
I am going to leave off with two major points:
- Holy guacamole. I panicked like none other today. (Kind of)
- Tomorrow I promise I will celebrate Mario day in a way better fashion, and I certainly won't forget it.
All for now,
Aimee OC
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| absolutely gorgeous. |
To the Ladies.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
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| Alexis Bledel as Rosie the Riveter --> My favorite example of wartime propoganda Quick side note: I didn't realize that there were monthly holidays too.. just thought I would say Happy Caffeine Awareness Month to all my readers who have ever given me a hard time about drinking too much coffee! Ha! |
Misnomer?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Helloo there :)
In celebration of Find Out What Your Name Means Day, I decided to find out what my name means (creative right?)
Thanks to my friend Sheena Cater who turned 18 today (where is the time going?), I managed to skip out on my own research.
Apparently, Aimee is:
- The English form of the Old French name Amée which means beloved
- A form of the Latin word Amata which means loved
- Also a feminine form of the saint Amatus
- In french, the verb "aimer" means to like! Yes, I did remember something from the 3 years of French I did other than Bonjour and Pain au chocolat s'il vous plaît
I also decided to look for some other famous Aimees...
- Aimee Mann the American singer-songwriter
- Aimee Osbourne (need I say more?)
- Aimee Sweet the glamour model and pornographic actress.. awesome.
| so many Aimee's... too little time. |
Aaaand some songs! Yay! Wrong spelling.. but I was still excited.
Switchfoot- Amy
Elton John- Amy
Pure Prairie League- Amy * my personal favorite, because my Daddy showed it to me!
For anyone reading this that is officially tired of the word "Aimee" I invite you to look up your own name.
You may be surprised by what you find. Do I think I was misnamed? No.
In the least narcissistic way possible, I can truthfully say that I agree with my name's meaning. I do believe there are some people out there that love me, my family for starters.
All for now,
Aimee OC
Being a Nuisance 101
Sunday, March 6, 2011
To kick off the 118 days of lavish celebration:
I chose to partake in Read Aloud Day.
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| mmmmm :) |
My reading of choice was Mary Shelley's Frankenstein mixed in with a little Cosmopolitan magazine.
Needless to say, once the cheesecake suspiciously disappeared.. I finished the day by eating a package of Oreo Cakesters in honor of the Oreo's birthday.. which are just not the same as the regular Oreos :(
Will tomorrow be National Be Heard Day? Or Find Out What Your Name Means Day?
Considering reading aloud didn't go so well.. I think I will find myself googling my name tomorrow.
All for now,
Aimee OC