Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream

These cupcakes are one of my favourites for summer. I love the light lemony taste and the surprise of fresh strawberries in the cake. I have posted the recipe here. I made these for a BBQ for Victoria Day weekend and I loved the photos and had to share. 

It turned out to be a gorgeous weekend for the long weekend. They were calling for rain but it never came! I wanted something fresh and bright for the BBQ since the weather was starting to warm up, I wanted a desert that reflected that.  Plus the lemon syrup from this recipe did double duty in Sangria (recipe to come)! 

My roommate (and friends) seriously thought I was crazy, bringing my cupcakes (and props) outside to take photos in the grass. I would think they were used to my "cupcake photo shoots" by now but I guess leaving the kitchen was just too much for them to handle. Lol.  I love how the photos turned out and am so glad I didn't listen to their teasing. Do your friends bug you for taking blog photos? 

3 Everyday Things that Make Me Feel Grown-up

Most days I still feel like a child. Its hard to believe that I in my fourth year of University. Sometimes though I get this fleeting feeling like "wow" I am actually grown up and at the same time I feel like I am just playing dress-up.  This feeling comes at random times, usually when I am doing everyday things. Things that I do on a regular (or semi-regular basis) but every once and a while it hits me that I am growing up and becoming an adult. They are:  1. Answering Emails. 

The more formal the email the older I feel. This also true to emails that are about scheduling things or that have multiple exchanges.
2. Wearing Heels. 

I feel SO tall and SO old. You could also add in when I am dressed business casual. 
3. Voluntarily Eating a Salad. 

No one is forcing me. Yet, once again I have picked a salad off the menu. SO grown up!
What makes you feel grown up? 

Mondays

Mondays. Everyone hates them. They are even worse coming off a great weekend. I managed to escape home this weekend for a quick one night visit which was very much needed. I was felling incredibly homesick since coming back from the holidays. I always seem to get very homesick after the holidays. It always feels too soon to go back to school. This year with the ice storm I really felt like I had been robbed time at home since we were without power for four days.  My short trip home was the perfect mini vacation from the stress of school. 

These past couple of weeks have been really stressful for me. It seemed like everything was happening all at once. I had major conference to plan, midterms to study for, internship applications due. I felt like I was being pulled in about 100 different directions and being a perfectionist I wanted to give everything 100% which I soon learned was just not possible.  

Usually, I can prioritize. I know what needs to get done first. What is most important and what can fall to the back burner until I can catch my breath for a minute. These last few weeks it seemed like everything was important and would impact my life in different various ways. With the conference date nearing that took precedence which meant that when midterms starting rolling around I had less time to cram in more information. Then a job application would be due and those deadlines are hard and fast. You cannot miss it. Writing cover letters already is a bit of chore plus the pressure of getting a good internship was looming overhead. One decision would affect right now, the next could affect the future. Some (like getting good grades) affect both. Unfortunately, it seemed like the thing to fall to the back burner was my relationships and my me time. Both I have learnt are extremely important. I felt that I was too busy to call my mom, take a minute to stop and actually eat or grab that extra hour of sleep. Which only lead to me getting sick and being forced to slow down.

Everyone always tells me to enjoy being a student while I can. Savor these last few semesters. Enjoy it. But part of me cannot wait to graduate. To hopefully reclaim some of my evenings and weekends (is this wishful thinking?). I am tired of studying seemingly useless facts and regurgitating information in multiple choice format. Clearly, I am tired of studying. Luckily it seems like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. My last midterm is this Friday, the conference is over and hopefully I will hear back about some internships shortly. Today, I just need to get through Monday.

I meant to post this earlier today but Monday just seemed to get away from me. Being on campus for 13 hours didn't help. 

Currently Reading: Lean In

Okay, so I know I am WAY behind the curve on this one, but I finally got around to reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.  I found the book to be easy to read and there was a lot that I could relate to. While there were parts in the book that I found contradicting or I wasn't sure of, overall it gave me a lot to think about and it opened my eyes to some ways I am holding myself back. I think that this book is an important book for all young women to read. It really opens your eyes and gives you something to think about. As someone who will be entering the work force in a couple of years I found it helpful, especially the parts about holding yourself back because you might have a family one day. It gave a great perspective on the work/life balance and the importance of finding a mentor that fits for you not just because you think they would be a great mentor. While working at my internship this past summer, I got to attend a Women in Entrepreneurship Discussion. I really enjoyed getting to hear from female entrepreneurs about what it meant to be a woman in business and what they felt needed to change. There were a lot of really great take home messages from that talk which mirrored a lot of what Sandberg writes about in her book. I think that by talking about these issues we can shed some light on them and begin to make change. I would love to see these ideas be taught/discussed in all business schools. While I believe it is important for women to read books like Lean In, I think it is equally as important for men to read them as well.

Have you read Lean In? What are your thoughts on it? 

Akriah Robinson told 150 wedding guests that her husband doesn't complete her which probably shocked many of her guests -  I however could not agree with her more.  I know that society has lead us to believe that the person we marry completes us but it is not something I have ever really agreed with. It all started when my first year roommate told me that her boyfriend completed her. I just looked at her and said okay. At the time I was happily single and I couldn't help but think to myself "does that mean I am an incomplete person?". Can a person not be complete without someone else? This idea did not sit right with me. I was happy with who I was, a single girl, I felt complete and fulfilled. I never thought of myself as needing someone to complete me. There are many important things in my life and many relationships with people who I value all of which have helped to shape me into the person that I am today. I am a unique individual. I will always be a unique individual and who can stand on my own. I don't need anyone to "complete me". I have always felt that you cannot be completely happy in a relationship until you are happy alone. Wanting to find that perfect person to complete you is a lot of pressure on that other person. I believe girls should be able to trust in themselves and that they should have a network of more then just one person who they can lean on when times get tough. I am currently in a relationship,  which I am committed to and I value but I refuse to say that my boyfriend completes me.  Personally, I do not feel like one person can complete another, I believe that in order to be truly happy in our relationships with others and in life that we need to be able to rely on ourselves and be okay with who we are as individuals. I am not in a relationship with my boyfriend because he completes me but because he brings joy into my life, he supports me and I know that I can always trust him. I completely agree with Akriah when she says "Our lives are much bigger then each other".  You should go read her speech if you haven't yet!

Jaclyn

Lately

These past few weeks have been crazy! Tons of school work and saying goodbye to class mates for the summer. Here is what I have been loving lately.

Chocolate covered Strawberries

This list of 50 Things First Year Taught Me (fairly accurate and makes me miss first year)

Some delicious tea from David's Tea

A new pair of kitten heels from Aldo Shoes (they are on sale too). 

Board game nights with friends

What have you been loving lately? 

Jaclyn 

Third Year Thoughts

Wow. Its hard to believe that third year is coming to an end. I just handed in my final assignment today and I have 2 exams left this week before I am done. Craziness! This year has flown by. I have no idea where the time went and I am not sure if I am ready for it to end. I have enjoyed this year so much. It has been an amazing experience and one I know I will remember for the rest of my life.

I started my business program this year and it was such a change from science. I am loving it but I am also excited to continue with science again next year. This year has been an amazing learning experience. Having time now to breath and reflect on this past year has made me realize just how much I have learned, changed and grown. I feel like my way of thinking has changed and developed. I can now make a decision when a decision needs to be made. I am no longer scared of presentations. I like standing up in front of people and talking. Its fun, different and challenging.

 I loved the fast pace of the program and I loved all the amazing and wonderful people I met. My year would not have been the same without my amazing classmates. We spent many late nights together stressing and laughing. The number of inside jokes we have grew daily and continues to grow. They have become my second family and the class would not have been the same without each and everyone one of them. While it has only been a year I feel like we have grown up together. We have been through a lot. A lot of stress and a lot of wonderful times. It feels like graduation all over again.

This year was tough academically and there were a lot of tears but I am sad to see it come to an end. It is an experience I will never forget and one that I am glad I pushed myself to do it. I am excited for summer and the possibilities that it holds. I can safely say that this year has taught me a lot both inside and outside of the classroom. It I feel has prepared me most for what lies ahead. It was an unforgettable year and I think it rivals first year for best year yet.
Jaclyn

Identity Crisis

I have been having a serious case of The Blahs lately. I am tired of this wintery weather. I am ready for spring! Seriously getting dressed in the mornings is getting harder and harder. I don't want to wear boots any more or thick wool sweaters. I want to wear cute flats and light cardigans. I want to wear my trench coat. I am tired of mittens. Seriously is it spring yet? I open my closet and I just hate all of my clothes. I don't want to wear any of it. I go shopping I don't see anything in the stores that I am just dying to purchase. I change my outfit more times then I care to say. I think I am having a style identity crisis. Its driving me nuts. I seriously envy all of the bloggers who live in warm weather climates or who seem to be able to layer in their sleep. I pull out a shirt and it looks foreign to me. Did I seriously buy this? Did I actually wear this? I need a serious style intervention. Someone please. How do I find my style identity again?   
Jaclyn

Once again...

I have been bitten by the blogging bug. The random need I seem to get everyone few months to blog. It lasts for about 3 to 6 blog posts and then I am usually "cured" for a few more months until the bug strikes again. Life gets busy and the creativity runs out and I no longer feel guilty for not updating (not that I really have any readers anymore) and the blog falls by the wayside. Oh well, that's life for you. It seems to strike every so often, usually around the holidays and back to school. And hey, what do you know I head back to school for my second year of university.

I am getting really excited for my second year. Its my first year really on my own, out of rez and in a home. I honestly cannot wait. It seems as though all my friends are back already and I am dying to get back to school. Strange I know. I am enjoying school and I am actually *gasp* loving learning. I love that I get to study what I'm ACTUALLY interested in.

So much in my life has changed since I started this blog five years ago, I almost feel like I need to reintroduce myself. I know its hard to believe! I find it entertaining to go back to some of my older posts and see what I wrote all those years ago. How my interests have changed (or stayed the same in many cases). I am still that Gilmore Girl loving (although slightly less obsessed), nerdy girl that I was when this thing started. I still read blogs on a daily basis although the blogs I read have changed quite a bit. Though there are still some that I have been reading since the start. Many of my favourites have stopped blogging or I have out grown them. I am hoping that this blogging bug will stick around a bit longer this time.

Love,

Belle

The Weight Issue

I have recently had discussions with many of my close friends about the pressures of being thin and having a positive self image. So many of my friends are suffering from eating disorders and it pains me to watch. They are all gorgeous girls and the least of their worries should be about the number on the scale. I feel like so many girls suffer from a negative self image and the centre of that is their weight and their eating habits. Its an issue that is discussed over and over. Yet so many girls are haunted by this demon. Who is it that we are trying to be super skinny for? Our friends? Our families? Boys? Ourselves? What is the ideal body weight?

I personally have never suffered from problems with my weight or have felt any pressure to be thin. That's not to say I don't have my "fat" days or the days when I am like wow I should probably eat some fruit or something seeing as I can't remember the last time I had an apple. But for the most part I have always been content with my body. When my one friend told me that she was recently suffering from issues with how she looked and wasn't eating I was shocked. I have know her for a number of years and she has always been around the same weight and has always been skinny.

Dear Friend*,

You are a beautiful person inside and out. You are a wonderful, caring, thoughtful person and an amazing friend. You are unique and special in your own way and have made my life better and more positive for so many reasons. Even if you can't believe it yourself know that I believe that you are gorgeous just the way you are right now. I do not need to you change in anyway. I love you just the way you are. Do not let anyone make you feel bad about yourself. They are not worth your time or energy. You place so much emphasis on what you feel is "bad" but forget all the good. If you need it I can come up with a list of reasons of what makes you beautiful and special. I believe in you and I want you to get better. I am here for you.

I love you,

belle

*I have a lot of this to many of my friends who are suffering from eating disorders and thought I would share it here with you all.

First Year

The past few weeks have been crazy. With midterms left and right I never left the study room on the floor and then midterms ended and less then favourable results from those midterms started to come back. Then panic sunk in finals are only 2 weeks away and I am in no way shape or form ready for them. Nor am I ready to leave this place in 5 short weeks. This past year has flown by and I worry that I did not get everything that I wanted to out of it and I worry that somewhere along the line I began to lose the person I was when I started here. What happened to the girl who was involved in everything and who was constantly busy, always on the move. The girl so strong in her values and morals, who knew what she wanted from life. Where did that girl go? First year university is an eye opener. You move away from home and are completely on your own away from your parents for the first time. You learn so much about yourself. For the most part I am happy with the person I am becoming but there are things from my past that I feel are slipping away which I would like to hold onto. I miss being the girl who got the grades, who had it all. When did I lose that? I feel like meeting all these new people being away from my family and friends I somehow started to mould myself into this new person who I am not sure I am 100% comfortable being.

Things did not work out with the boy across the hall. People warn you about floorcest for a reason. I should have known better and yet I do not regret putting myself out there. Perhaps we really could of had something. Who knows. I have met so many amazing new people and hopefully some life long friends. I would not change one thing about my first year experience, expect perhaps being more involved in clubs within the university. But these are things that I can work on next year, not all is lost. My floor is an amazing group of people and changing even one person would make it completely different. I have 5 weeks left here and its not too late to pull up my socks and get the grades I know I am capable of. To have fun at the last few parties of the year and to just hang out, watch movies and laugh with my floormates. I am sad that this year is coming to an end, it is one I wish would last longer. This chapter of my life is just starting but man the pages turning fast.

February

I am currently curled up in my bed in my dorm room. Our portable heater is going and I have a cup of tea beside me. My roommate is playing the sound of music soundtrack and I am about ready to curl up and fall asleep. I wish I could just sleep through the rest of February. I have serious issues with this month. Not only is it non stop snowing and freezing outside, I knew from the start that it would not be a good month. February first I was waiting for the bus when a car came and splashed all of us who were waiting with gross brown cold slushy water. Which by the way tasted very salty. I have been in a fight with on of my friend on my floor for about a week now and we are not talking. Gotta love living in close quarters with everyone. (It also doesn't help when everyone is sick.) Then to make things even better my cell phone decided to die on me yesterday so I am currently phone-less for an unknown period of time which is just so excellent. I never realized just how dependent I am on my cell phone. However I hate walking around campus at night without one. With Valentines Day coming up, lately I have been seeing couples EVERYWHERE. Seriously. They are just popping up all over the place. Its a rather depressing time to be single.

Heres to hoping that February gets better... fast.

Belle

Hey Everyone,

Summer is basically over. I have no idea where it went and a small part of me wants it to come back. It went way to fast. However I move in to Rez tomorrow at university and I am extremely excited, scared, nervous, sad, but mostly excited. I cannot wait for the most part. I want to meet new people make new friend. Yet I also want time to go slower, I am not 100% prepared to leave home yet. I still don't know where I stand with this blog. I don't want to delete it because I still have the urge to write a post here and there. However I do feel less pressure to post and there is basically no guilt when I don't post which is nice. It is no longer a chore. I went to New York City with my family last week and being there I wanted to blog about it and it helped to inspire me to get back to posting here again. I don't know if this feeling is going to last and if it does how long. I am not promising anything right now. I am hoping to do a post about New York soon but I know that with moving and university and all it will be tough. I would love to start doing outfit posts but to be honest with you all I am extremely lazy. I don't have a tripod and I don't have anyone to take photos for me. Half the time after I wear an outfit and go out somewhere and think wow this would have been a good place to take a photo I either a) don't have my camera on me or b) think of this after the fact when I get home and see the other photos that I took that day.

Well thats all for now.

belle

Fear

We all have our fears. For some its height, spiders, public speaking or even death. Me, I fear failure.

Failure its a part of life and yet its probably one of my greatest fears. I cannot stand the thought of failing. No matter how hard you try, how hard you work, failure is sometimes inevitable. I can't stand the feeling of knowing that my best just isn't good enough. It is almost impossible for me to put into words how I feel, I am struggling just typing this. It goes further then just failing a test or even a quiz in school but being a failure. Not succceeding in life, and reaching my goals. Perhaps I put too much pressure on myself. I feel like a big part of this for me is not knowing what the future holds. I feel like I talk about this a lot, but its just that I would love to know where I am going to be in the next 5 or even 10 years. Perhaps its not about failure but about making the right choices and knowing that I have done the right thing and have gotten to where I need to be. I wish that I had a crystal ball to know my future, I do not need to know exactly what has happened, more I just need to know that I am going to be okay. I want to reach my goals. I want to make something out of my life. I feel like this internal struggle to become something is eating away at me. For the most part I just want to be happy. I want to have met the goals that I am setting for myself. I feel like not meeting these goals would make me a failure. Perhaps its not about failing but being a failure in the eyes of others. I do not really know. Its confusing. Life is confusing. I wish I had the answers but I don't. No one really does. I am not going to sit here and act like I know what is going to happen. Your guess is as good as mine. I feel like just being myself here has become hard and thats not why I started this blog. I wanted to be able to be myself, but then it turned into this whole other thing and somehow, someway, somewhere I lost who I am. I hate that. I hate that I let that happen. I want to get back to me, this right here. This strange, random, fun loving girl. I may no longer be 16, but 18 is just as great. I just want to let go open up and be me again. I hope that I can. I hope that I can put the cares behind me, the fears and the failures and work forward and move on.

Belle

Getting Older...

Wow! It's hard to believe that summer is almost over. For me it means that in about four weeks I will be moving away from home to go to school. Granted I'm not moving that far. Only about 3 hours away but still its far enough for me. I am very close to my family and I know that I am going to miss them. I am very excited to start school though. I really can't wait to see what September has in store for me. I can barely contain my excitement. Today was a tough day. One of my best friends is leaving in a couple of days for school. She's leaving the country and her school starts earlier then mine. Meaning that tonight we all said good bye to her and had one last hang out session before she leaves. It still doesn't seem real. I can't believe that my little group of friends is being broken up. Its hard. I hope that I will be able to keep in touch with them while we are all off doing our own things in different parts of the world. After spending four years together being practically inseparable its strange to think that we will not be going to class together again next year. I know that everyone feels this way as they are about to start university and I know its time to let go of my high school years as strange as that is. The other day I said I'm going to hang out with my high school friends and I felt incredibly old. Have you ever noticed that you always feel younger then you are. When I was in grade nine the grade twelves seems so old and it was hard for me to picture myself as one of them. Now that time as come and gone and I still in some ways feel like I am in grade nine. When I think of university students I think of people much older then myself and yet here I am about to start university. I am no longer a high school student but a university one. I feel like just when I've come to accept what I am its already over. Getting used to being in grade twelve and then before you know it I was graduating and the year was over. It flew by. It was an amazing year full of good times with friends and classmates. Getting to know my teachers better and being able to focus on subjects that I am really interested in. Grade 12 for me was probably my best year of high school and the one that I most enjoyed. I have no regrets about the past year and I would do everything exactly the same if given the chance. I did everything I wanted to do. I got involved in everything that I wanted to be involved in. That made the difference for me I think. Being able to do everything I loved and accomplish the goals I set for myself at the end of last year. Showing not only myself but everyone else that I could do it and that I was a known figure in the school. It was important to me and while I was often stressed out and looking back I don't really know how I survived. I am glad I did everything that I did because I am a stronger person for it. This past year was one that I will never forget. It was full of great memories and I was able to strengthen my friendships with those who meant the most to me. I know who my real friends are and I am happy with the person that I am. I know who I am. I may not know what I want to do in life right at this very moment or what the future holds or what I will be doing this time next year but I am okay with that because right now I like who I am. It took me a long time to get to this place, but I am happy with who I am. For now thats more then enough.

Love,

Belle

Body Image

Heyy Everyone,

The other day I was on Teen Vogue, and they had a survey about body image, which I decided to take and it got me thinking. The survey asked questions about what you thought about your body and celbs bodys, that sort of thing.

I personally feel that I have a postive body image. I may not like everything about my body, 100% of the time, but for the most part I am okay with my body. I personally feel like you wouldn't be able to find someone who likes every single thing about their body all the time. We all have those days where we hate certain parts of our body.

The media is constantly discussing stars and their weight. They can never win, they gain weight and they are fat, they lose weight and they have an eating disorder, there is never a happy medium. The survey asked what we thought was the best body type, and beside healthy they had Leighton Meester in brackets. I would personally consider her to be on the skinny side. I think that our perception of what is a normal healthy body weight has been affected by the media.

To me stars such as Selina Gomez and Taylor Swift have positive body images. They do not talk badly about their bodies and focus their attention on other more important issues. I hate how the media constantly looks at stars and their weight. Weight to me is just a number. What matters is how you feel about yourself. For me clothes allow me to feel good about myself. When I feel good in what I am wearing my confidence goes way up. It doesn't matter what the number on the scale is.

I find that many of these Teen magazines are very hypocritical. They have articles on the dangers of eating disorders and on have a positive body image. Yet you turn the page and their is a work out plan and a diet waiting for you to try. They are sending girls mixed messages about what they should care about. Don't get me wrong it is important to be healthy. To eat and exercise regularity. But why does exercising have to be running on a track or lifting weights. Why can it not be walking the dog or dancing? We seem to forget that their are other ways of being active. Eating healthy doesn't have to mean cutting out the foods you love. Yet we think diet and automatically its low carb, no sugar and no sweets. Why does eating healthy have to be considered a diet. Diet gives a negative image. Eating healthy doesn't mean cutting things out or eating less. To me at least it means eating more fruits and vegetables and eating fast food less often.

I think as girls we are hardest on ourselves and on each other. Why does it matter what size I wear. Or what size my friends wear? I think that we need to be less harsh on each other and recognize that everyone is beautiful in their own way. I have seen girls buy clothes a size too small for the fear of going up a size and in hopes of fitting into it later on. Why do we do that. What is this fear of buying clothes that fit. Why does it matter what the number on the tag says. When did the number become more important then the way we feel in the clothes.

We realize that their are body image issues among teen girls. Yet we do nothing to change it. Magazines do a feature on it and yet they still put work out routines in the same issue. Its something that I don't think is going to change unless we change. Girls need to realize that they are worth more then just the numbers, the number of their weight and the number on the tag. We need to stop judging other girls and realize the beauty in everyone. If everyone takes a stand things will begin to change.

Belle.

New Beginnings and a Tag of sorts

Hey Everyone,

Its that time of year again... exam time! It is hard to believe that I am in my last year of high school. Writing what will be my last set of high school exams. Onto bigger and better things. It has yet to hit me that I am almost done high school and that I will be leaving my beloved school of 6 years ( I started there in grade 7). I will miss all of my amazing teachers most of which are more then just teachers, but also mentors and friends. They are people I knew that I could go to with any problem, no matter how big or small. They would always be ready and willing to help me. My classmates, some of whom I've known since grade 7 others, more recently. We have become a pretty tight knit group. Not all necessarily best friends but people who I feel comfortable talking to now and again. I will miss the simple everyday things. The routines that I have gotten so used to.

It is weird to think that I will not be going back next year. I will not don my uniform again in September, nor will I be walking those now familiar halls, greeting familiar faces. The one thing that I love about my school and I know I will miss dearly is the community. It is a small school which makes it possible for me to know so many people, not only in my grade but in younger grades. I have been able to make some really great friends with people in grades younger then myself, because we see each other so often in the hallways or at lunch. Teachers who I have never had a class with know me by name, by the simple fact that the school is so small. It has been both a blessing and a curse. I mean rumors spread extremely fast, and everyone knows everything about everyone, but other then that it has been nice. I know that I am rambling on, but the knowledge that high school is done has just begun to hit as I write this. Wow. Hard to believe. I thought it would hit sooner. I totally pegged myself as the one who would be crying about the last day of classes, the last assembly the last whatever. But I didn't. I am sad to leave but ready to move on. I know that next year will bring new challenges, new friends and amazing times. I am excited about the next chapter of my life.

Tess had a great Tag on her blog. I wasn't tagged, but I didn't let that stop me from doing it. Haha. ( I will do anything not to study for exams... including updating my usually unloved blog). I feel like I just invited myself to someones house for dinner. Breaking the rules... oh well. This is me being a rebel. Haha. The questions were just to good to pass up. So here we go. Feel free to rebel with me :) I think the way it works is I answer her questions then make up some of my own, for others to do.

1. For those nights when you eat ice cream out of the carton, you are watching what guilty pleasure TV show?

Generally I always eat ice cream out of the carton. I even write my name on it, so as to keep others (namely my brother) from helping themselves to my ice cream. Usually I grab it when I'm studying. Or when I'm watching a great chick flick and painting my nails. Really anytime is perfect for eating ice cream.

2. If you could have any animal in the zoo as my pet, what would you choose?

Probably a giraffe. They are so cool. Although I don't know how that would fit in the house. More practical (if possible) would be a penguin.

3. What would your daemon be (for you Philip Pullman fans) or what would your patronus be (calling all Potterheads)?
hummm... which animal am I most like. This is tough. I want to say something like a gazelle because they are fast and graceful. I am not fast and I can be kinda clumsy, thats probably not what it would be. One can dream right?
4. What was your favorite childrens book?
The Very Bad Rabbit. It had an orange cover, and I would want it read to me every night for my bedtime story. To the point where I had it memorized but I still wanted to hear it every night.
5. What is the most overrated movie you have ever watched?

This is a tough one. I feel like any of those comedies that people are like OMG that was the funniest movie I have ever seen in my life, then you go and watch it and you don't even laugh.

6. What book character would you like to befriend?

Well a book character that I would like to date is Wes from The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen but I realize that is not the question being asked.

Befriend. So many. I always think books are better when I feel like I could be friends with the character.

7. What is your favorite type of cake?

The more chocolate the better.

8. What song to you sing along to in your car when no one is with you?

Pretty much everything, and horribly too might I add. I never know all the words, so its generally me laughing at my self for screwing up the lyrics.

Okay here are some of my questions! I'm not going to tag anyone but leave me a comment if you did do my questions, I would be interested to read your answers.

1. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live and why?

2. If you could switch places with anyone for a day (dead or alive, real or imaginary) who would it be?

3. If you had to eat one food everyday for the rest of your life what would it be?

4 . If you had to pick a season to live in for one year which would it be? Fall, Winter, Spring, or Summer?

5. What is your go to movie when you are feeling down?

6. If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of the year what would it be?

I hope that everyone has an amazing rest of the weekend.

Good luck with exams if you have any!

Belle

Ecuador 2010

Hey Everyone,
This past March I was lucky enough to get to travel with Me to We to Ecuador to help build a Kitchen and Dining Hall in their first 10 by 10 community.

I have always wanted to travel the world and experience for myself the culture of other countries as well as the experience of going and seeing where the money goes to from the charities that I support.

While in Ecuador I learned some very important life changing lessons, that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. We worked with a community to aid them in the building of their Kitchen and Dining Hall for the school. The Kitchen and Dining Hall are very important to the entire community as many of the women come out to cook meals for the school children and are currently cooking in unventilated kitchens with wood stoves, which as you can imagine is not ideal for these women as the kitchen's become filled with smoke. Many of these women carry young children and babies on their back as they are cooking. This is causing many respiratory problems within the community. As well the dining hall contains a hand washing station that will greatly improve hygiene in the community. Many of the children currently eat with their hands, after playing outside all day. By building the kitchen and dining hall Free the Children hopes to teach these communities about the importance of hygiene and nutrition.

We worked closely with the community in what is called a Minga helping to build the dining hall. A Minga is when the community comes together to work together for the good of the community. Everyday there would be a small Minga of around 15 community members to help with the building of the Kitchen, along with us. We worked hard and were able to accomplish a lot in our week with the community.

While in Ecuador we met an amazing and inspiration woman named Maria. Maria was the first indigenous woman to attend university. Many of the girls only attend school to grade seven so her completion of university was a major accomplishment. She was also the youngest president of her community. She works closely with communities and women in order to develop alternative income projects for many of these women.

We were able to visit a womens group where these women sell their knitted goods in order to bring income into their households and help to create a better future for their children. Meeting the womens group showed me how important women are to their families and the running of their households in this culture. They work in the fields, take care of the family chores and children as well as try to earn money for their families. Many of the women in the women's group were well educated for women in Ecuador and it showed me first hand the importance of education and how education for girls can help to break the cycle of poverty.

One of the most important things that I took away from this experience was the importance of community. Everyone was always willing to help each other out and lend a helping hand. They did not expect anything in return. Their values are centered around family and community which is something I believe we are lacking.

This trip for me was only the beginning. On the trip we talked a lot about finding our passion and goal setting. I have set goals for myself for the next three years. We also talked about traveling with intent and what that meant to us. To me it means traveling with open eyes and an open heart. It means experiencing the culture and taking the experiences back with me. I would love in the future to travel and volunteer in other countries. It is one of my dreams to go to Kenya and volunteer with the Mully Children's Family. Free the Children is an amazing organization that was started by Craig Kilburger when he was only 12 years old after he read an article in the newspaper about a 12 year old boy who was killed by the carpet mafia for speaking out against Child Labour.

One thing that I encourage everyone to do, is to Give their 10. Free the Children has a 10 by 10 challenge and the idea behind it is quite simple. We can all do small things everyday to help change the world. Together we can make a difference. Go to giveyourten.com and pledge 10 things that you can do on a daily basis to make the world a better place. Then share your 10 with 10 people and $10 will be donated in your name. The community that I went and visited was a result of the 10 by 10 Challenge.

Here are my ten:

1. Drink water from a re-useable water bottle / mug

2. Turn off the lights

3. Hug, hug, hug

4. Volunteer somewhere new

5. Re-connect with an old friend

6. Read about a new social issue

7. Unplug unused appliances and chargers

8. Shop for vintage clothes

9. Carry a reusable bag

10. Travel somewhere new

Love,
Belle

02/02/10

Hey Everyone,

I can't believe how time flies. I can remember ringing in the New Year like it was yesterday, and now its February and things are piling up, and I just want to curl up and sleep away winter. Spring needs to come faster. It has been a stressful couple of weeks what with play, work and the amount of school work that has been piling up. Trying to work through the mountains of homework seems like a never ending task, hand in one thing get assigned three more. I have broken down more times then I can count. It feels like the weeks all run into each other and that weekends no longer exist, its just one big long week, Monday to Monday. I go from my school uniform to pjs and back again, with a work outfit here or there, and sometimes pjs are replaced with track pants. I miss my clothes and getting dressed.

All that being said, I have still manged to find some time for TV and reading blogs. I'm actually writing a post on mine which is shocking in itself. I am hoping to start outfit posts soon, but as stated above, there really haven't been any. I can't remember the last time I really put effort into getting dressed, and my decision wasn't which school sweater should I wear today, or which over sized t-shirt is more comfortable to sleep in.

I have become OBSESSED with Vampire Diaries. I am loving Stefan and Damon. I like the fact that for the most part the vampires ACT like vampires and while Stefan and Elaina are soul mates they have their ups and downs. Plus the cliffhangers keep me coming back. I hear GLEE is amazing and I am hoping to watch it this summer, when I have more time.

Lately I have been looking at dresses for Prom. I know that I want a long dress with a low back and most likely a jewel tone colour. I really like this one that Taylor Swift is wearing:

(image via instyle.com)

Sorry for the randomness of this post. It was completely all over the place, however I feel like it is a jumping off point, because as of now at least I am writing and sharing some thoughts. Which is all I can ask of myself at this point in time.

Thank you for sticking with me,

Belle

Good Bye Plain Jayne

Hello Everyone,

Today when I logged onto blogger to actually see if I could *gasp* work on a post. I noticed that Plain Jayne announced her last post forever, and that her blog is no longer online. I was actually pretty upset to hear the news as I loved that blog quite dearly, and read it often. While I posted comments often I never spoke with the author directly, and could think of no other way to contact her then this. I am sorry to see her blog go, it was a regular read of mine for over a year now, and has inspired me in many ways. Plain Jayne you will be missed.

I will have an outfit post soon. I have been pretty busy with school (I know excuses! I am sorry!) and I am a bit sick, so I think I will go and curl up with my tea and watch some bad TV... Teen Mom anyone? Haha I love that show, my guilty pleasure among other things.

I will try to post something with substance soon... Don't give up hope yet.

Love
Belle