Save Your Mother (Her name is Earth)

20 Things I Want You To Know

I copied this concept from my cousin LifeCandy, who she, in turn, copied from someone else. I, too, have opted to take the chicken-shit way out and post my grievances via blog. Most of the time, I say what I feel when I feel it....and most of the time, I immediately feel guilty or get in trouble. But I have at least 20 people that I to want to give a strong talking to...let alone a kick in the penis or punch in the ovary.

So here, 20 things I hate about you... oh sorry, I want you to know. Hate is such a strong word.

1. Most days, I want to kick your face in. Your opinion is not the only one that matters. Most times, the things your say are very mean and hurtful. You'd lose your top if I spoke to you that way.

2. I wish that you and I had a better relationship. It's not always about you, you know! (it's about me)

3. I strongly dislike that you're such a princess. It really gets on my nerves.

4. I know you think you're all hot shit... but you have a small penis. And questionable fashion sense.

5. I like you, I think you're nice, but you don't need to call him every hour. He does have other things to do you know....

6. When you drink, you get so obnoxious, loud and super embarrassing. Or maybe I'm just not drunk enough.

7. I wish things could've been different, but frankly, you're too young and Fran's awesome.

8. Sometimes, you're incessant eye rolling makes me want to rip your eyes from their sockets, throw them on the ground and step on them.

9. Cooking is not my main thing. I don't even get to cook creatively for myself anymore. There's more to me than this shit. Thanks.

10. Your attitude makes me want to throw raw proteins at your face, but that would be a waste.

11. Your boyfriend is an ass and I could break him in a minute. If he only knew he's messing with the wrong family.

12. I honestly think you're really stupid.

13. I'm completely disgusted by you.

14. You know what, you negative Nancy, be thankful of everything you have and stop complaining! You're giving me a headache!

15. Your treatment of Fran was uncalled for and inexcusable. You're lucky I haven't seen you since then. P.S. You're a douche.

16. You have no idea what you gave up. But thanks for cheating on me. I found someone who knows my worth.

17. Why are you hating on me? What? If you have a problem with me, let it out. Trust me. I don't like you most of the time either!!

18. You deserve so much more than you're allowing yourself to receive!

19. I secretly think that you and I could possibly be really good friends... but I don't want to seem like a stalker to find out.

20. You are such a beautiful person, inside and out. And I kinda want to be your twin... but me... and sexier.

So, there we are there. It took a while. I read through it several times, and I know it sounds depressing, negative and angry... and I really wanted to revise it and add some more positive points, but I feel better about this. Like a pressure releasing my chest.

P.S. I'm not all that angry and negative. We've all got days.

She is DEFINITELY Sasha Fierce!!

Can I just say...DAMN!!?!?!

Beyonce is a force to be reckoned with. Beautiful, talented... FRICKIN' sexy!!! She has always been someone I've looked to for "Get-Off-Your-Ass-And-Workout" motivation. Have you seen her body??? Hot damn!

That's it!! I'm going to start working out again! I will look like Beyonce!! Ok, no, I won't. But I am going to work out and start taking care of myself better so my outsides match my insides... bloody with guts! Ok...sorry. What I really meant was that I want to look just as fierce on the outside as I feel on the inside.

That will require consistent exercising dates with the Guildford Rec. Center, less laying around, more healthier meals. It'll be difficult, but honestly, I could as half as good as Beyonce, it'll be worth it!!

*I think we need to retire the word fierce.

P.S. - I think Kanye has a bit of something stuck in his throat. I think it might be his huge...umm...ahem...ahem...ego.

OMG! He totally slipped my mind...

Can I just say that Ryan Gosling is delicious? I've always thought so, ever since his Breaker High days. I didn't get to watch him on The New Mickey Mouse Club, we didn't have that show in Canada.... or maybe I didn't know that we did.... or maybe we just didn't have it in Winnipeg.

Anyway, then he's in The Notebook... SWOONING FOREVER!! Full on obsession. Then it died down... and life went on.

Finally, a month or two ago, after I watched The Notebook for a good old fashioned cry-fest, I google and youtube Ryan... just to see what this homegrown hottie is doing these days. I come across several of his performances on the MMC and this....

I cannot believe how talented this mother f*cker is!! He sings, he acts, he plays instruments, he can dance, he's GORGEOUS! I love him. He's my dream guy! But, I was with someone who was kinda the same. Played instruments, he danced, made his own music, had full on vinyl records!! No one has vinyl records these days...that I knew of. Anyway, I swooned, loved that he was so musically inclined and so creative, thought I was "esthetically pleasing" (come on, who says that?).... but he was dating two other girls besides me at the same time and thought that I should be ok with that and understand. I know it probably has to do with the person himself and should have nothing to do with the person's interests, but for me, that's/there's the connection.

I love my Mr. Fitness freak, who eats healthy and exercises regularly (and because I cook for a living and happen to value butter and salt, our arguments revolve around quality of food and I love to eat...everything), but does everything in his power to make sure that I'm happy and well taken care of. Mr. Fitness couldn't play an instrument to save his life, could possibly sing really well if he practiced, and I would rather not see him dance. But he belongs to me and its all good.

But if I could have Ryan Gosling too, that would be even more all good-er.

The New Kid on the Block

It's not what you think! Although, I wish I could say that they were coming to town, again, and that they were going to perform privately for me and some friends, again. Ok, the last one didn't happen.

I'm actually referring to this new cupcakery called Big City Cupcakes. Cool place. Very minimal decor. I don't know if its intentional, maybe because they've just opened and they haven't really gotten around to it. I don't know. It's nice though, it's good that the main focus are the cupcakes. Obviously. Cupcake store.

So, I had previously posted about the other cupcakery, Cupcakes, but I realized that I didn't actually talk about the quality of the cupcake. I thought should take this opportunity to do a comparison. Neato.

Alright! So my girlfriend and I tried out the new cupcake joint, which is located on Howe and Nelson, if any one is interested, today after work. Of course, my eyes were hungrier than my stomach and I went all out. I bought 6 cupcakes. Dammit. No! 7 cupcakes! I had to leave with a cupcake to eat right then!

From the top, left to right...

• Strawberry cheesecake cupcake, vanilla cake, filled with cheesecake, strawberry buttercream
• Coconut cupcake, vanilla cake, some kind of hardened icing (maybe a poured fondant-I don't know), with shredded coconut
• Truffle cupcake, chocolate cake, filled with ganache, iced with ganache and chocolate flakes
• Chocolate covered strawberry cupcake, chocolate cake, strawberry buttercream, I don't know if it's filled. It's too pretty to eat. I'll get over it soon.
• Chocolate-coconut cupcake, chocolate cake, that same hardened icing, shredded coconut, and chocolate swirlies on top.
• New York Cheesecake cupcake, chocolate cake, filled with cheesecake, cream cheese icing.

They are really good. But here's the real BUTT.

Too sweet, some weren't really moist and fluffy, the icing had kinda gritty mouthfeel... what else. Some of the Big City Cupcakes that I did try weren't balanced, in sweetness I mean. For example, the coconut cupcake with the chocolate drizzles on top. The icing on top was hard, too sweet and also had sweetened coconut shreds on top. The cake inside was dry... it was sweet at all but the icing overpowered everything. I couldn't even enjoy the ganache filling.

The other joint, Cupcakes, I find their cupcakes to be moist and balanced. AND reasonably priced. The other place is kinda pricey, but they do use quality ingredients and I'm sure it takes some time and labour to fill cupcakes.

I don't know maybe I'm biased and I haven't tried all that Big City has to offer. I'll keep you posted.

Lessons Learned

So... tis' been an eventful first half of the year. Lots of things have happened and I am VERY surprised at all the lessons that have come my way. Here are some of my special nuggets....

** that sounds like I'm referring to "special poops". YAH! I said poops. Like you've never said it before?

• I can't drink alcohol like I used to - My girlfriends and I started drinking at 5 pm and continued until 12ish. Tequila and rum. Oh man.
• Staying up late is hard and believe me, I've tried. I was ready to sleep at 10:30 pm!
• My recovery rate is most definitely not what it used to be - the next morning, I had a bitch of a headache! That's right! I said bitch! I felt like I had a vice on my head! And it did not help that I had allergies, because every time I sneezed, the vice tightened.
• I like to eat and I like sweets. Just thought I'd put that out there. You know, for whenever.
• I love "love". I know. It's hokey. But it's real. I rejoice in love. Not just within the love that you share with your special someone, but with everyone. (I wouldn't normally share this with anyone, being all vulnerable and shit, but the only person who would reads this is my cousin and she knows me already.)
• There truly is no place like home and I'm realizing this more and more as I get a little older. A little. I love being at home and being with myself. And I'm also realizing that I need to move out. I need my own space where I can do as I damn well please and, for real, I need to move to Vancouver!! 3 hours of travel time to and from Surrey to the job. But I do get to nap.
• I need to sing... all the time! True story. It needs to be done if I want to keep my sanity. Singing makes me happy, releases tensions, and helps to pass the time when I working on tedious projects. I usually sing Miss Saigon in its entirety. Did I ever mention that I love musicals?
• Surround yourself with positive, like-minded people. Here's another true story. I consider myself a pretty positive, happy, sun-shiny (day) person. I am a people person and pleaser. I am trusting and trustworthy. Or at least I was. I work in an industry that is tough, selfish and... just plain tough. From what I've learned, in order to get any where, you not only need to work hard, but also have a sense of ruthlessness. This it doesn't matter what other people think of me or how I hurt them, as long as I'm doing well, it's all good kind of attitude.... I can't get with. I've tried, been trying, but I get this uneasy feeling in my chest, I can't breathe and I feel utterly guilty. And stupid.
• I absolutely need to be more selective about the company I keep! I thought I learned this back in high school, but apparently, I forgot. Meh.

Oh man, that a bit of a rant. Ok. The end.

RECAP!! A summarization of the last few days...

So, several deaths this week.  Such a shame! Really.

- Farrah Fawcet 

I feel badly for this lady. Ass cancer!! I can't even begin to imagine how painful it must've been for her to even endure one BM! And her poor soon to be husband. I read that they had been together for quite a while, but she would never agree to marry him, not matter how many times he asked... Until the end. So apparently she finally agreed to marry him, but I don't know if they were able to go ahead with it before she died.  My girlfriend said that she probably knew that she had a few hours left, that why she agreed to it.  Oh, so mean.

- Ed McMahon

I didn't really follow much of this man's life.  It's just a shame that he's gone.  He'll never announce anything again.

- Michael Jackson

 When I first heard that Michael Jackson had died, I couldn't wrap my head around it.  I was like, "No.  It's not true.  He'll probably come back in a week's time and put out a new record."  Nope.  Wrong.  I was truly saddened by this news.  The first thing I thought of was the Dirty Diana video.  It was one of my favorites.  The power, style, creativity... everything that he exudes on stage is absolutely mesmerizing to me.  And the video had smoke.  He was so cool.  I loved the Michael of the 80's and 90's.  Oh wait, not the Michael of the entire 90's.  All the way up to before he decided to marry Lisa Marie.  I heart MJ.  

Here is one of my many favorite jams from the Jacksons... especially love that little Mike hits all those awesome falsettos with such ease.  Never Can Say Goodbye.  So fitting.

Sweet....

I friggin' love cupcakes!!  They're an addiction!  I'll eat any kind of cupcake...except those from Safeway.  Can't do it.  Lard and gritty icing forever.  No thanks.  

I usually hit up my usual cupcake dealer, Cupcakes (www.originalcupcakes.com), and I am super thankful that they opened up another location on Thurlow.  That way, I don't have to walk all the way down to Denman just to get my fix.  I think that's why I've gained some extra padding.  You know, because I don't eat any other type of sweets or pastries.  Right.

What I usually do when I buy cupcakes and have to share, I choose favorite flavors and new ones that we haven't tried or that just come out seasonally, and I cut them in half.  That way, I get to have all of them and still practice sharing.  Gold Star, ME!!

Anyway, I love cupcakes.  They also offer tasty cakes, but I don't know.  It's not the same.  I know they use the same cake batter, icing and flavorings, but I think it's because it's not as cute as cupcakes are.  

It's my birthday soon... I hope I get a giant cupcake for my special day.  Awesome.

Still breathing...

Hey all... A.K.A. Ate Candy...

I know I haven't checked in for a long minute, but I wanted to let everyone know that I'm still alive, just been busy with life.  

As of late, I've been trying to get my living space/friendships & relationships/LIFE organized and prioritized so that I can plan my next move and take a step forward.  It has NOT been easy.  But in all honesty, I'm actually enjoying the process.  I'm learning more about myself, differentiating my needs compared to my wants... which, btw, I find somewhat difficult because I want everything!  True story.

So, wish me luck, I'm doing my best... and on the plus side... I've finally done my nails.  Last time I did that was February!  

Here's a little piece of pie to send you on your way.  Dance like no one is watching.  It's funner! Goodnight!

Riding the Sugar Overload roller coaster...

So today was my nephew's birthday party, he turned 1!  He's such a cutie!  And the Food!  I didn't make a mistake there... Food deserves a capital "F".  So fab!! She had quite the spread!  Bbq'd shrimp, pork skewers, short ribs, wings, spinach... loads of food.  Brownies, tuxedo cake, cotton candy and the dessert that I made.  It's become a bit of a thing.  Last year, for her eldest son's, Mateo, birthday, I made a traditional tiramisu trifle, sans the custard and made a giant coconut chocolate cupcake.  So this year, for Micah's shin-dig, I made a coconut-mango trifle.  Layers of coconut cake, slices of fresh mangoes, and coconut pastry cream with whipped cream and toasted coconut on top.  It was jammin!  Not too sweet and fresh. I love the coconut-mango combo.  

Needless to say, I ate too much and now I'm suffering from a sugar headache.

that's all.

Oh, and if anyone wants the recipe for the coconut-mango trifle... let me know.

I wish life was a musical...

I love musicals.  Awesomeness in the form of catchy songs and intricate dance routines.  From the first time I watched the making of Miss Saigon, the 1983 original with Lea Salonga as its Kim, I've wanted to be in musicals.  I can sing...at least I think I can sing....NO!!  For the love of Rob Pattinson, YES!  I can sing and I've always believed , of course with the right training, I will sing in a musical... but I won't dance.  I want to... but I find it somewhat difficult to carry myself...

...without falling.

My love of music started when I was a wee one.  I grew up in a musical family.  I had relatives that sang in the church choirs, played instruments, sang songs on the minus one... karaoke forever.  Then I discovered musicals.  At the age of 8 or 9 years old, I was able to sing Miss Saigon in it's entirety!  I didn't understand the weight of the words I was singing but I would sing it! "They are not nice they're mostly noise. They swear like men, they screw like boys..."

Yah.  I would get a nice pinch on the arm for singing that.  

But I was hooked.  The singing and dancing, fancy costumes.  I especially love the way people would go back to their normal activities after the number was over...like nothing happened.  I wish life was like that.  Like at the end of the "America" number in West Side Story, where at the end of the song yelled "OLE!", final pose... laughed (like.."Oh. Whatever.") and went off to their war council.  Awesome.

I take it somewhat seriously when i get to singing the showtunes.  I get into character...singing at the tops of my lungs.  That's right the pinnacle of my lungs.  The tops.

This clip is pretty much sums it up.  

Random thoughts today...

Just to warn all you out there (only one, Ate Candy/"Nenette"), this might be a bit of a rant...

 - Why are people still ragging on Monday?  It's a new day that we get to start fresh, do things differently than the day before.  Just because it's Monday, it doesn't give you an excuse to be a jerk. Jerk!  AND, I happen to be in a cheery mood most of the time and it's NOT because I want to annoy you.  Only on Mondays... and bank-hold days.  Jerk...

 - I am really out of the loop when it comes to technology.  Yah, I have a Facebook account, email, Twitter, I shop online...yadda yadda yadda... but seriously, that's as far as it goes.  Fran and I bought this brand new Macbook, with all these awesome new features that I barely have time to learn how to use them because I'm busy stalking Rob Pattinson online!  I'm not actually stalking him...that's too creepy.  I'm just googling pictures of him and saving them on my computer and having his face greet me when I turn on the comp, and when I walk away for a while...screensaver.  That's far less creepy.  Really.

 - Part 2 of above:  I have a Blackberry too.  Please note, I'm not trying to brag at all.  I actually don't understand why I have these things when I can't use it to their max potential because a) I don't know how and b) I'm somewhat lazy.  Like today, I updated my Facecrack status to "I strongly dislike how Twitter works on the Blackberry only when it wants to..." And I got two responses... one talking about apps and one talking about which apps I should use....WTF guys!  I had no idea that these things existed.

 - Francois is back home from visiting our family in San Diego, California.  He brought me back shoes. Such a sweetheart.

 - I also thought about what it would be like to kiss Rob Pattinson like Kristen Stewart was able to during filming...let's face it, if she wanted to NOW, I'm sure Rob wouldn't have any hesitations!  Neither would I, Rob, neither would I.  And don't worry, I already asked Fran for permission.  But I think he was being sarcastic.  You'll see Fran!!

No point, what-so-ever...

So...hey!  I'm Zandra and this is my blog.

As much as I want to say, "Ok...the end." I can't really, can I? There has to be a point, doesn't there?  Well, to tell you the truth, there is absolutely no point to this blog.  I'm not talking about strictly being green, fitness (I might talk about lack of fitness..), or healthy eating (again, lack there of).  This blog is about nothing... and whatever.  It's like the Jerry Seinfeld show..."George: It's a show about nothing! ... Jerry: You might just have something here".  Or maybe I don't.  I haven't decided.  

What I do know is that this blog will serve as a receptacle for my mind trash.  Some days, I'll talk about food, friends, family, rants, raves and maybe... Robert Pattinson!!  I'm just going to be honest with you.... there'll be A LOT regarding the last subject. 

I'm not an exceptional writer, I might not even have a lot to say on certain days... but I like to talk, I'm nice, people like me and I have friends. 

Thanks

z

PS... here's a little fun.  I love this clip.  It's completely random.