snow daze

The weather outside is frightful, but the tea is so delightful... so as long as you love me so, let it snow!

Okay, I'll obey the sign. We're a little past Christmas songs now, and I am grateful for that every time I turn on the radio... so listen to this instead!

Mumford and Sons are my latest obsession- who have you been listening to recently? Their music goes perfectly with the storm outside...

and with Cookie Dough tea and faux protein cookie dough! 

Are any of you in the depths of a storm right now? If so, I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. 

snow days

Snow day (noun): 

1. a day during which the weather is so bad that the school buses are cancelled and students do not attend school. (What it is not: a day in which there is snow. Our schoolboard always seems to cancel it on the wrong days- today it's just really rainy- but hey, no complaints!)

2. a) a day during which highschool students sleep all day. (Hahaha, I wish.)

b) a day during which highschool students madly scramble to finish all the projects that they have due. (This is more like it! My project for the day was... wrapping presents! Here's before...

And after! Note that I'm only showing the front of the wrapped presents because the bottoms are really lumpy... penguins are probably better at wrapping than I am. I freely admit it.

As for how it went: I cut myself on the tape dispenser. And bled all over the floor. Other than that, great!)

 c) a day during which much procrastination occurs. (Also true. In addition to all this frantic wrapping... I ate chocolate. And drank tea. And read. If anyone can read French, you should check this series out: Le Journal d'Aurélie Laflamme. So funny. As in, don't read it in public because people might mistake your snorts for choking.) Oh, and I listened to this all day:

No, I was not staring at the video... just absorbing the valuable life lessons contained in the lyrics! There may also have been some (amazingly graceful, of course) dancing happening... just a bit. (As a break from the wrapping.) 

So that was my day. How's your Monday going?

things I realise while packing

So it's Friday (YAY!) and I left school early to pack for another university visit (DOUBLE YES!). Of course, this means a blog post (procrastinating can be fun!) because I have to share all this excitement with y'all! (No, I never say that. I just like writing it and pretending that I do.) 

• I have way too many clothes, and I only wear about ten percent.
• Random dance parties= the best thing everrr.
• OMG I don't work again until Tuesday! that's worth a dance party right there by itself, no music necessary!
• ... I'm kind of a loser.
• And (as I trip over my piles of clothes) I will never be a professional dancer (surprise, I know!). 
• I should probably eat less chocolate, because that little dance session made me feel out of breath... time for a blogilates break! 
• Ok I'm back. Kinda sweaty and cat-furry (read the next point) but not yet dead.
• I love my cats, but sometimes they are a pain. (Aka, Amber is currently rubbing himself all over me and trying to step on my keyboard. Not exactly helpful.)
• Why can't he just help me choose shirts? I'm currently putting in ten for two days... logic= not my forte.
• Or eat my chem book so that I don't have to take it with me? (I mean really, you'd think my teacher would realise that picking a future is more important than doing a lab report right now... ok, not really, but I like the thought.)
• Plus I can't find a pencil or an eraser. Hopefully I don't make any mistakes...

This was my dance party song... trust me, it's contagious.

High Five for Friday, dearest listeners! 

OMGALJKEYMFS...aka, chocolate mug cake

This is literally the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten. Plus, it takes five minutes. Plus, it is low calorie! (Well, for chocolate cake, so don't get too excited... but still!) GO MAKE THIS. Right now. I swear you won't regret it!


Look, I don't even like chocolate cake. (Chocolate by itself= love, but usually I find it too dry.) This one is moist and soft and delicious... oh my, now I want another one. (This is why I chose to feature it today for my Favourite Tuesday- I may never eat another chocolate cake again. Scratch that, I might never eat anything else again. I'll just live on this.) 

The original recipe can be found here at Chocolate-Covered Katie's (along with TONS of other amazing and healthy desserts). Here's my personal version!

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon hot chocolate mix (I used a combination of Godiva and dark... On a side note, why do we have all these fancy kinds? We drink hot chocolate only rarely, yet we have six different kinds of fancy mix...must be for the ghosts) 
• 2 teaspoons cocoa
• 3 tablespoons white flour 
• 1/8 tsp salt (or, if you are like me and hate measuring, several shakes)
• 1 tablespoon chocolate chips (because you can never have too much chocolate!)
• 3 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tablespoons applesauce
• 3 tablespoons milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly in your mug, then add wet ingredients. Microwave for approximately 45 seconds, depending on how powerful your microwave is. Then... EAT. 

I would have taken a picture, but I was lost in my chocolate heaven and didn't think of it until I resurfaced. 

And why a mug, you ask? Well, that part isn't necessary. It's just more fun that way!

See, isn't this cute?

Please, tell me you'll make it and let me know what you think!

burning questions of life

...alternatively, Pointless Things I Think About When Home Alone And Am Too Lazy To Actually Look Up.

1. Why is cottage cheese called cottage cheese? It's not like Play-doh or something, so you can't make cottages out of it... Was it originally made in cottages?

And, since it is called that, why is there no packaging that has little pictures of cottages on it? THAT WOULD BE SO CUTE. Marketing industry, you're really missing out on something here.

2. Why would anyone buy this?

I mean really, you'd sound like a sleigh and possibly poke someone in the eye. (Actually scratch that, I'm hoping no one's face is quite that close to your chest...)

3. How is it possible that girls back in the Victorian Era weren't completely overweight? THEY SAT AND ATE CHOCOLATE. How is this fair? Why was I not born then? I could totally drink all that tea! YAY TEA!

4. How do you walk in these things?

Is there some kind of High Heel School I missed out on? I trip over my own feet without any shoes on...

5. Why are bathing suits so expensive? THEY'RE TINY SCRAPS OF FABRIC. And yet they can be more expensive than a nice sundress. Let's all rebel and just go swimming in our clothes! (Or underwear, if you're feeling daring. Or, I suppose, nothing at all... maybe not in broad daylight, though.)


6. (This probably falls under the category of "no one cares but me"...) Why is it that Stars' only Canadian shows are with Metric? I DON'T WANT TO GO SEE METRIC. I just want to see Stars! 


7. Why do none of my friends think that Ninja Cupcake would be an amazing name for a band? Come on, you know it's great. We could all wear adorable shirts like this!

Because everyone knows that cupcakes are wonderful, bands are wonderful, and ninjas are the coolest things ever... so why not combine them?

Are there any burning questions that have been bugging you? Any answers for mine?

excellent eating- strawberry rhubarb cobbler

Dear rhubarb... I hate to tell you, but you're one of the least attractive plants out there. Huge stalks, enormous leaves, no flowers... Strike one, two, three, you should be out- except you make such delicious desserts! (Or really, even just a snack you're quite tasty.) So, when I discovered that you had spread once more... what better to do than make a delicious cobbler?

Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler

Filling

2 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb

3 cups strawberries (I used frozen, but fresh would be wonderful)

1/4 cup honey

1 tbsp vanilla

Crumble

1 cup oats

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

2 scoops protein powder (optional)

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup partially melted butter

1/3 cup honey

1.       Preheat oven to 400.

2.       Combine filling ingredients in pan.

3.       Mix oats, flour and protein powder in medium-sized bowl.

4.       Mix in yogurt, then honey, then butter. (Now that I type it, I realise that this could probably actually all be done at once.)

5.       Put crumble on top of fruit.

6.       Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

And there you have it- a delicious, easy and healthy lunch! (Or breakfast, or whatever.) If you wanted to make it a little more 'desserty', you could add cream or vanilla ice cream. (Or even just more sugar. As you can tell, I like it when the rhubarb is still very tart.)

What's your opinion on rhubarb? Would you try making this?

Oh, and this is also my entry for the wonderful linkup over on Jenny Matlock's blog! (Thank you, dearest rhubarb, for making this possible.)

i promise i won't burn down the house

I think we can all agree that some time alone is essential to avoid going completely insane. In that respect, being home alone is pretty fun. No one to disturb your solitude by complaining about the noise/the mess/the cat/a thousand other unimportant things... heaven. However, in a few short hours, I have also noticed a couple of disadvantages. Here follows a list of my observations...

Pro: ability to sunbathe for several hours without being disturbed/made to feel lazy.

Con: no one to put sunscreen on your back... or to remind you to put on sunscreen at all. (Result? Tomato-face strikes again.)

Pro: no one to complain about the noise of the robotic vacuum.

Con: no one to save you when said vacuum goes berserk and starts chasing you around the room.

Pro: ability to test-drive new and outrageous clothes before deciding if they're appropriate for the outside world.

Con: discovering that the outfit is extremely difficult to remove just when you desperately have to pee.

Pro: ability to blast music and have a wild dance party in the kitchen.

Con: no one to warn you about irate neighbours staring at you through the glass door. (Especially problematic when you remember the crazy outfit.)

Pro: balanced meals? Who needs those when you have chocolate and nuts?

Con: I think we all know the answer to this one. (Hello, treadmill!)

Pro: blessed silence. (A break from screechy guitar music? Yes please.)

Con: the scream when a spider falls on your head seems especially loud.

All things considered, though, I still love being at home alone. Who knows, though- his may change once I actually have to live alone full-time! (In the meantime, if you don't hear anymore from me, assume that I've electrocuted myself with the blender.) What do you think? Does anyone else get this excited about their alone time?