what we do in religion class

Let's just say that, when the teacher's away, the students play... Or, in our case, create extremely (I don't even know what word to insert here) photos of what our future children would look like.

You're welcome for the SEXY.

universally acknowledged truth

This.

(Confession: this post was originally meant to be about random facts... then I started writing about tea... and I was unable to stop. I blame YOU, Jesse. And I'm at school, with no near kettle... sob sob.) Really, there is nothing that tea cannot heal. It's just happy-making. (And whoever said that adding hyphens to make new words is not valid is a LIAR.) 

So, for a lovely Friday... I thought I'd talk about my favourite kinds of tea!

1) Actually, the tea-makes-everything-better fact is a lie. (Sorry.) Tea cannot heal not having tea... because then you don't have any. (Logic: Zia's strong suit, right?) I'm almost out of my Ice Cream Cake type from David's Tea... Heartbreak is imminent.

Honestly, how can you NOT want to drink Ice Cream Cake tea? It's like a calorie-free milkshake with Neapolitan ice cream: there are sweet hints of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate all at once. MMMM.

2) My second choice: pumpkin chai, also from David's Tea. 

It's perfect for a rainy day; sweet and cinnamony and, of course, pumpkin-y. (More hyphenated words, yay!) 

3) Let's face it: we all know that clarity is not my strong suit. That's why I drink this tea!

It tastes like blueberries with a hint of spice. Plus... it turns BRIGHT PINK! How can you not want to drink something that's bright pink? 

4) Okay... so you might be starting to see a theme here. David's Tea= love. Dessert teas= love. Strawberry Shortcake? LOVE. 

This is a wonderful summer-afternoon-in-the-air-conditioning tea; light and fruity and sweet. The sad thing is that I have to go visit one of my friends whenever I want this one, because I don't even own it. (I love you, Sophia!) So I'm a mooch. I admit it. 

5) Love hot chocolate, but not the calories? Try this tea.

It's rich, and chocolate-y (hypens again!)... the perfect treat for a snowy winter day after a hike. (Ok, so I have not tea-sted that theory out yet, but I'm sure it would be! This is actually another one owned only by a friend... love you too, Kori!

Yet another universal realisation:  I could buy it online... my life is complete. (Some people online shop for clothes. I online shop for teas. Cool kid here!) However, while browsing their site, I realised that another of my favourites (English Toffee, it literally tastes like caramel candy!) has been discontinued... and that I couldn't find this one either. (So really, this realisation was pointless.) How could they do this to meeee?

Sob. 

Okay, I'll go sample some different teas later and I will feel better. (Universally awesome, in fact.) 

Happy Friday!(Linking up for High-Five For Friday here!) (And Alpha-Thursday here!) Do you like tea? What are your recommendations? 

party timeeee!

Our basketball team actually won a game today! For the first time in two years! -totally dancing around the room- I'm still not altogether certain it wasn't a dream. However... I suppose that, since my dreams are 

either: 

a) full of blood and gore/crazy chainsaws/wasps and mad chase scenes

b) me turning into a mythical creature (some popular choices are unicorn, vampire and princess)

...this thought can perhaps be discounted. (Although there were plenty of bruises- I'm actually having trouble breathing from all the elbows I recieved in the ribs, nose and general face area... and okay, all the falls I took, this being me- there were no serious injuries. Except to the other team's pride. Because losing to us is seriously humiliating; we're known as the 'lame French school who sucks' plus a few choice curse words.) 

Anyway. WE WON! (Maybe if I write it a few more times, I'll start to believe it?) 

Second of all (and perhaps more importantly) I would just like to say: this is my life.

(And see, this is why I play basketball: so I can eat lots of pie. Mhmm. You know it. I'm sure I'm not the only one here.) 

things i'm thankful for

Looking at the blogs I follow, I was like "Wow! There isn't 50 new posts about Thanksgiving! That's so weird!" Then I realised, "Oh yeah. It's only in Canada." So, for those of you who don't know... tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day! (Or is it today? I can never remember whether it's Sunday or Monday...) Anyway, here is a list of everything I am thankful for on this lovely long weekend.

1. This cranberry galette.

(Because of course the first thing I list would be food, right?) It is SO DELICIOUS. Berries + Fruit + Crust= major YUM.

2. The fact that I have a day off Monday. No work, and no school= a chance to wear whatever clothes I want! (Watch me stay in my pyjamas all day...) 

3. This song. 

Somehow I forgot to put it on my playlist... which is bizarre, because for the past few days I've been listening to it on repeat. Have you heard it? Do you like it? 

4. Coffee mixed with chocolate milk. I did this for the first time yesterday, and I cannot believe I hadn't tried this earlier because it is just SO GOOD. 

5. The fact that my cat doesn't usually look like this.

Before I woke him up with my flash, he was actually sleeping like this. How is that possible? 

Seriously. He looks like a psycho serial killer. I don't think I'd be able to sleep if he looked like this all the time.

6. Pumpkin anything. (I know, more food. What can I say, I have a one-track mind.) Pie, oatmeal, coffee... really, I don't think there's anything it's bad in!

7. PITCH PERFECT!

I went to go see this on Friday with a gaggle of friends and it was SO FUNNY. You know how some trailers make you laugh, then you go see the movie and they used up everything good in the trailer? Well, this one wasn't like that at all; there was still plenty of other hilarious scenes! (And as usual, we were the loud annoying ones. I think it's just fate.) 

8. The fact that I actually HAVE IDEAS FOR BLOG POSTS! After my complaining that nothing exciting was going on, I have actually had fun recently... so yay!

9. My friends. 

Whether we're at the park (because we're children like that, no big deal)...

Being fashion analysts (because that sounds much cooler than plain old 'shopping')...

Or loitering in stores and laughing at their items (yes, this is different than shopping)... We always have a great time. 

10. My followers! I'm really thankful whenever all of you read and comment on my posts... it makes me feel loved. (Awww moment. Okay, maybe I'm just 'aw-ing' to myself... but still.) So thank you. 

What are a few things you're thankful for? (Because it's always nice to think about, even if your Thanksgiving isn't now!) 

the melody of falling leaves

...yeah, after these past few titles I think it's easy enough to tell that I love fall. I love the rich, vibrant reds, oranges and yellows... the crunch of leaves underfoot... the tiny chill in the air.... it's times like these that I feel truly lucky to live in Canada. (Just don't ask me when it's 20 below and my nose is dropping off.) Plus, today is Friday... so that's just a little extra boost. (Really all that means to me right now is that I work for two days straight... but whatever, I still haven't gotten out of the habit of excitement.)

So, to celebrate this lovely day, I decided to put together a playlist! (I'm currently at school, so I can't put up links... I'll do it as soon as I have a computer where Youtube isn't illegal.)

1. Red- Taylor Swift (What better way to start a fall playlist than with a song called Red?)

2. Seven Nation Army- The White Stripes (For some reason the boys at my school are obsessed with the guitar in this song, so listening to them play it, I've loved it for a while without ever knowing what it was called. In case this is your current situation, I'm sharing it!)

3. Black and Blue- Ingrid Michaelson (I sing these lyrics all the time. They just get stuck in my head... but they sound so sarcastic and, well... "Everybody knows that I'm a mess" is pretty accurate.)

4. This Kiss- Carly Rae Jepsen (Some nice pump-up music!)

5. Be Like You- Ed Sheeran (This song manages to sound both cheerful and melancholy at once. It's one of those songs that you're just tempted to sing to someone... or maybe that's just me.)

6. Hardest of Hearts- Florence + The Machine (They are, after Stars, my favourite band... she has such a gorgeous and powerful voice, and all the lyrics are so poetic.)

7. Ribbons- Ingrid Michaelson (I love the lyrics in this song too.. they're so full of imagery.)

8. Relax My Beloved- Alex Clare (This song makes my spine crawl. The combination of his voice and the dubstep-y music... mmmm.)

9. Turn Me Up- Carly Rae Jepsen (Looking at this and the other Carly Rae Jepsen song, I realise they don't fit with the tone of the rest of the playlist... but I like them, so I'll just ignore that fact! I suppose fall does have some 'heart-pumping' moments... like when you're on a Halloween ride and the guy with the chainsaw jumps out, OMG.)

10. Begin Again- Taylor Swift (This song is so sweet and soft... like a lullaby.)

11. Firefly- Ed Sheeran (This song also seems very 'fall' to me. I can just picture the fireflies winking through the dusk, fluttering through the leaves...)

And there we are! This is what I've been listening to lately. Do you like any of these artists? Do you have any suggestions for me? ...and even if you hated it, I'll wish you a happy Friday!

excitement takes many different forms

I wanted excitement... and I got it.

(Are you ready for a thrill? Drum rollllll...) Yesterday, I got to go the dentist!

(I bet that's more exciting than you were expecting!) My teeth now feel all squeaky clean...time to go eat some chocolate! However, I also learnt that I soon have to get my wisdom teeth out... so be prepared for chipmunk cheeks.

I felt bad for the hygienist, though... near the end, my mouth was beginning to foam as much as a mutant squirrel with rabies. I did not know it was possible to have so much spit in my poor little mouth. (Ok, so maybe my mouth isn't that small... some might even say I'm a blabbermouth... but still.)

...WAIT A SECOND. Maybe I contracted rabies on my earlier wilderness hike. (That might explain all the foam!) There was some quite dangerous wildlife...

Oops, wait, that was just us. I meant this little guy.

Who knows, maybe he was a poison arrow frog in disguise. Mud can hide a lot of things.

Also... you might be amazed by this but... I did fall over. (I know, it comes as a shock.)

Plus, there was a mysterious pool of water surrounded by a fence... horror movie material, right there. Perhaps it was a pool of biohazardous waste? Or maybe we'll all turn into dinosaurs? The forest did remind me of Jurassic Park... (That would actually be pretty epic.)

Or maybe I just have a lot of spit. Who knows.

(Also, all photos are courtesy of Claire! Go check out her lovely photography blog.)

falling is only a beginning

Before you ask: this title is irrelevent. (I just wanted to write something vaguely poetic that talked about fall... I don't know if I succeeded but at least I tried.) Actually... well, I guess it applies a little bit... because lately I've been in the mood to DANCE! (You know you're a klutz when dancing= falling...)

Yay for Oppa Gangham Style! (You can tell I'm Canadian from the heavenly cup of Tim Hortons in my hand. Yay x2 for coffee!) Who doesn't like crazy dancing in the middle of the street, right? (Honestly, plus the glasses, I probably looked like an alien... but a gorgeous one, of course.) Of course, it's a little less glamourous when one trips over innocent passersby... but let's not speak of that.

...I'm so bored right now, guys. My life consists basically of school: long discussions about whether or not Henry VIII had a son (the answer is yes, no matter what Physics Boy says), trying not to burn off my nose in Chemistry (because somehow I don't think I'd be as cute with a little stub), writing poetry (watch me drown in a pool of angst) and drooling sleepily (SEXY!). I apologise for the lack of posts, but the truth is that I don't have much to post about.

On the plus side, this means that I'm overdue for some excitement... come on, universe, fulfill my wish....and at least I have lovely friends who can comfort me with their beauty.

Plus, let's face it: no matter how down you feel, it's almost guaranteed that a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate will make you feel a teensy bit better. (The perfect remedy for a Monday.)