A few months ago, when my sister was making the switch-over from paper books to an e-reader, she let me take a look at her library to see if I wanted any books before she donated them. Most of the items I felt apathetic about (except the "how-to" books, I'm ALL ABOUT THOSE.) A few books I took because I figured I would at least read them before donating them myself. One book that fit this criteria for me was Marley and Me. However, the book exceeded my expectations and so did the movie. It will legit make you bawl. I think the book is even sadder, however it's not a tragedy exactly. Ninety percent of the book/movie is straight comedy, detailing instances of a dog so bad, you'd think it was made up. The "make you cry" segments, sadly are just a part of life, dealing with aging pets and *spoiler* the eventual loss of them.
I thought Jennifer Aniston was perfect casting for Jenny (and not because they share the same name!) Just looking at the pictures of Jenny Grogan in the insert of the book, it was a really good pick. I was kind of enh when I first heard it was Owen Wilson. (Well "re-heard." Reminded myself I guess. I vaguely remembered he was in the movie from all the tabloid gossip I read circa 2007 but had forgotten.) Turns out he did an alright job in the end. The Marleys did a good job (apparently there were 22!) although I thought a lot of them looked too different to be the same dog.
I'm a dork and while reading the book, I kept dreaming of the show, Dexter. It's also set in Florida and when the Grogans originally lived in their shoddy neighbourhood, it's shown in a horrible light. I'm pretty sure there were multiple murders and robberies on their street. They did make mention in the movie of the huge event of their neighbour girl being stabbed and John going to her aid, but I liked imagining it all gritty and Dexter style. When they moved to Boca, I would picture my grandparent's house in Florida because they live in a gated community and although it's no Boca Raton, to me it's a pleasant idea of Florida.
I also took this gem out from the library but ended up not watching it. I think I made the right call.
Once upon a time, I had my own "Marley" - a clearance puppy (although she was nearly full grown by the time we got her) that we not only threatened to give away to a farm, but actually did.
Scanner technology was crappy 15 years ago
Her name was Emily and we had purchased her from the Classifieds in the newspaper. She wasn't scared of thunderstorms so much as being left alone. She chewed through all of my dad's new woodwork that he had just put up, my sister's toe shoes and all sort of other things. We had her less than 2 months and didn't have the patience for the expenses she racked up. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do that I think, but my dad is the type who jokes about me not being able to come over anymore because I'm such a slob. Watching Marley and Me reminded me of Emily so much. I think if we had kept her, our lives would have been just like that. The scenes that reminded me most of Emily were when Jennifer Aniston was walking Marley. Yep! Been there.
The dog we got right after Emily is my current dog, Skippy. He's mostly well-behaved (although a little cranky in his old age) but he's what my boyfriend calls "high maintenance." He's definitely a prissy little thing, has a preference for pillows, needs to be carried up and down the stairs (but that's only because he's blind) and always has to wear his kerchief.
He's also definitely a solo type dog. He didn't really like my hamster and he doesn't like my niece and nephew or my sister's dog, Freddie. I think it's partially because of his disabilities though and he can't see or hear them come up behind him and it scares the crap out of him.
The reason that I bring up Skippy though is because reading Marley and Me and watching the movie, it reminds me that Skippy is not going to last forever and it makes me so sad. He's 14, deaf and blind and limping a lot. His deterioration is a lot like Marley's in the book and seeing it so plainly in print made me sad, even when Marley still had years of living yet to do. Because you always know what's at the end. I guess I'm a bit in denial because I haven't had to deal with death very much, and I find myself making really immature wishes (like wishing Skippy could be a vampire or something equally impossible) but I guess I'll cope with it when it comes.
Wow, downer post! But to sum things up, Marley and Me - thumbs up. Having pets - thumbs up. Them having a shorter lifespan than humans- thumbs down.
I guess that's all for me! What did you all think of Marley and Me? Have you ever had Marley type pets? Talk soon!
I've been feeling meh about everything. Maybe worse than meh. To be honest, I'm sooo not excited about writing this entry right now, but I try not to leave the blog for more than a week, no matter how I'm feeling. It's gray outside, I feel run down and sick and everyone around me is cranky too. I'm also in full hibernation mode. The other day, I slept all night, then took a "nap" at 2pm. That lasted 11 hours. It was legit a nap too, because I went back to bed "for real" a few hours later. It's 7pm right now and I just woke up. I slept all last night too! It wasn't even like I suffered from insomnia last night. I just really like to be all snuggled in bed and not doing anything. Plus, this might be emotional, bi-polar Suzy, but I keep crying at the drop of a hat. I cried in the mall food court the other day and on the bus. I look really pulled together! Woot!
But let's focus on the positive. I finally went out and took some pics at the thrift shop for Treasure Tuesday (well not so much AT the shop - it was swarming with employees and customers for the holidays, but at least I got out, bought some things and have some material for upcoming Tuesdays) so I can cross that off my list! Also, Modcloth has been going crazy with the sales. I don't know if that makes me happy or sad. They had a "find Winston" promotion, where a coupon code was your reward, Stylish Surprises and an early Black Friday sale! In the course of just over a week! Having no money personally, I had to have my parents sponsor me for early Christmas gifts (also purchased my mom's Christmas gift in the Black Friday sale) and I'm really hoping they don't mind too much! I'm hoping the next sale can wait to drop after I get paid.
The book I'm pulling my facts from this week is called "100 People Who Made History - Meet the People Who Shaped the Modern World" by Ben Gilliland (with Philip Parker as a consultant.) I got it from the library and I'm almost certain it's a children's book, but I learned quite a bit from it and it's perfect for pulling random facts.
The book is really cute and has a lot of pictures (so it makes for a quick read.) It is also really good to put a face to people you might have only heard about. Look at these lovely page lay-outs!
Nelson Mandela's great grandfather, Ngubengcuka ruled as king of the South African tribe called the Thembu people. LEGO
were not the first block toys. Wood block toys were invented in 1840.
Interlocking blocks came next in the 1860s. In 1882, Friedrich Richter
invented his wooden Anchor Blocks and in 1908, BRIO launched their line
of interconnecting wooden trains. LEGO the company was founded in 1934, but the toy as we know it today came along in 1958.
Thomas Edison was almost completely deaf by the time he was 12.
The Greek philosopher Democritus (460-370 BCE) suggested that everything
was made up of atoms which means "indivisible" in Greek.
Suffragette colors were purple (for dignity), white (for purity) and green (for hope.)
Charles Darwin wanted to be a doctor, but hated the sight of blood. He
instead decided to study Natural Theology, which is the study of how God
designed life on Earth. But we know how that turned out for him. Queen Victoria's 42 grandchildren occupied the thrones of most of Europe, earning her the title, "the grandmother of Europe."
*Note - several of these facts were pulled verbatim from the book, as it was already written as a "factoid," and didn't give much information to re-write it. Of course, I could have wiki'd, things to get more information, but I already alluded to how lazy I am today. Also, I wouldn't have exactly been learning these facts from the book. So credit goes to Ben Gilliland for some of these facts.
I'm thinking I need to start writing a monthly list of goals on this blog. I had a journal where I had kept track of all my financial things and books I wanted to read and new habits I wanted to start, but it's kind of gone by the wayside as I've gotten busier and busier with blogging.
This has basically become my new form of writing a journal. And that's totally cool with me! Except all my bad habits have crept back, I have no long or short term goals and my finances are out of control (says the girl who just blew almost $200 on Modcloth the other day, oops!) I don't want to aim for much - just a quickie list of goals once a month, posted publicly so I'm held accountable. Sounds good? Okay, let's go!
1) Whiten my teeth with at-home whitening solution. This sounds terrible, but they are so stained from drinking diet Coke, I've been using some PicMonkey magic in my pics so they don't look as bad. If all works out okay, I will have some real before and after shots for you.
2) Take the stairs at my apartment whenever I'm not carrying a load of bags (I often have groceries or overnight bags.) I figure if I do this, I may not need any other exercise - I live on the 16th floor of my building!
3) Clean my house. Maybe I'll update later with some pics. Because it's so scary, it's worth documenting.
4) Buy one thing from Etsy, one really unique thing instead of always running to Modcloth as my go-to.
5) Visit actual vintage and thrift shops for Treasure Tuesday to take pics!
6) Carry camera in purse to photograph life's little adventures. I do have the camera in my purse all the time, but it never comes out, haha.
7) Start cooking things using my oven and my stove. I'm terrified of fire/heat and this will be a big one if I accomplish this goal!
8) Eat less pizza. I literally ate it 4 times this week. I ate it right before composing this entry.
9) Keep applying in banner swaps, but invest in one big time ad-space that will hopefully drive traffic to the site!
10) Renew library card so I can have books for Factoid Friday FOR FREE!!!!
I very much need to do that last one. My book supply for Factoid Friday is running a little dry. I have an eBay auction I won that's coming soon that's loaded with books and I'm getting a bunch for Christmas, but I won't be getting both these batches for a little while. So for now, I will be reviewing a book that's mostly devoid of facts but that still makes for some decent reading!
The book I'm featuring this week is called "The Modern Girl's Guide to Sticky Situations" by Jane Buckingham. It solves many etiquette questions on how to handle who picks up the tab, how to deal with divorced parents come your wedding day, how to give a tasteful recommendation to a sub-par co-worker, plus other love, fashion, parental, hostess, financial, cooking, work and real world advice.
Things I Learned From This Book
With all the beauty products out there, what is a girl to splurge on and what to scrimp on? According to the book, scrimp on mascara (since it is thrown out so frequently), sunscreen, false eyelashes, nail polish and lip gloss. Hit the department stores for foundation (they will help you find the right shade),powder/eyeshadow/blush, fragrance and eye cream.
Although flowers seem like a good gift to
bring a hostess, skip them. She'll have to stop prepping snacks and run
to look for a vase and cut and prepare them.
If
you do get flowers (for yourself of course!) and they keep dying, here
is a little trick to keep them alive - add either a little salt,
vinegar, sugar, baking soda, aspirin or Sprite to water (but not all of
the above at once!) If they start to wilt, spritz a little hairspray on
them to perk them up.
Spiders can be deterred by little slivers of eucalyptus-scented soap or by rubbing alcohol on household surfaces.
If you have a clogged drain but don't want to pour toxic ickiness down it, try this home remedy - pour 1 cup baking soda down the drain, then chase it with 1 cup of vinegar. Then plug the drain so that the force of the gas goes down rather than coming back up. Let it sit covered for 5 minutes, then pour a gallon of boiling water down. Ta da! Now I have something else to use that baking soda for, besides my brand new, sparkling smile!
Not having a credit card myself, I don't know how credit works. But according to this book, it says to build credit, it's good to actually have low balances on a few cards rather than a large balance on one (but not too many credit cards - don't open an account at every store!) It also says to use your oldest credit card every few months to maintain that you have a long-standing credit history.
If you over-salt your food, adding more liquid or solid food should help. If it's really bad, try this old chef's trick: adding a pinch of sugar or a teaspoon of vinegar.
Bad haircut solutions - first of all, prevention! If you are sitting in the chair, you should have ultimate control. Speak up! This happened to me and it was sad. The girl seemed straight out of high school and I explained to her since my hair was naturally curly, she shouldn't go too short or it would look really, really wonky. She lobbed a bunch off and then kept going around my head making it shorter and shorter, but kept assuring me she was leaving me with some length. It was bad. See below for yourself. The book suggests dry shampoo, bobby pins, flat ironing, pre-natal vitamins (so it grows faster) and pulling your hair back (if your hair is long enough for that to be an option for you.) I swear by all of these! I've gone back to my regular hairdresser, my Aunt Susie and luckily, all has been fine since.
If you have nowhere to store ice for a party, store it (along with your drinks or whatever needs cooling) in your washing machine.
If a leaky faucet is torturing you with it's drip, drip, drip noise, a temporary solution is to hang a string so the water runs down the string rather than dripping. It's definitely a temporary solution though - leaky faucets waste 20 gallons of water daily!
If you send an e-mail you immediately wish you hadn't, some programs
like Outlook and Gmail have an unsend/recall feature (did anyone else
not know about this???) There is also an e-mail program called
didtheyreadit.com where you can sign up and see if your e-mail has
indeed been read and the damage has been done. I checked the website out
and you can get 10 messages free a month (or 500 messages a month for
$24.99/3 months.) I would hope nobody would be sending more
than 10 regretful e-mails per month anyways!
Anyhoo, lots of cool tips. This book kind of reminded me of the website Lifehacker so if you like that website, you will probably like this book too.
It Happened Today in History
In 1939, the first animal (a rabbit) born via artificial insemination is exhibited to the world.
In 1848, the first medical school for women opens. It later merges with the Boston University School of Medicine.
The Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 kills between 60-90 thousand people. I actually have this book (don't mind it pictured next to the pretty shoes, it was a "haul" photo!) so I'm sure sometime in the future Factoid Friday will be all about disasters like this.
In 1896, National Geographic publishes it's first topless, indigenous woman.
In 1800, John Adams is the first president to live in the White House (then called the Executive Mansion.)
Today is also World Vegan Day! In honour of that, I'm posting what appears to be a delicious looking recipe. I neither cook or eat healthy so I can't be entirely sure.
Ingredients
3 pounds (48 ounces) mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
vegetable oil, as needed
breadcrumbs, as needed
dash parsley
salt and pepper, to taste - See more at:
http://www.vegweb.com/recipes/spectacular-simple-stuffed-mushrooms#sthash.fZWKU7Uw.dpuf
3 pounds (48 ounces) mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
vegetable oil, as needed
breadcrumbs, as needed
dash parsley
salt and pepper, to taste - See more at:
http://www.vegweb.com/recipes/spectacular-simple-stuffed-mushrooms#sthash.fZWKU7Uw.dpuf
3 pounds (48 ounces) mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
vegetable oil, as needed
breadcrumbs, as needed
dash parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Clean mushrooms and pull out stems, but save for later. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and lightly oil a cookie sheet.
2. Place mushrooms on prepared sheet. Use a food processor to chop onion, mushroom stems, and garlic.
3. Take that mixture and brown in an oiled frying pan. When done, remove from heat and cool.
4. Stir in vegan breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper. Fill mushrooms (not overfilled past the top) with stuffing, spray lightly with vegetable oil.
5. Put in oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned lightly on top.
I borrowed this recipe from VegWeb and they have lots of other delicious happening over there!
That's all for me! I covered a lot today! Phew! Have you set any goals for this month? How was your Hallowe'en? What new things have you been learning? And please tell me I'm not the only one who has ever had that horrible of a haircut!!! Talk soon!
3 pounds (48 ounces) mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
vegetable oil, as needed
breadcrumbs, as needed
dash parsley
salt and pepper, to taste - See more at:
http://www.vegweb.com/recipes/spectacular-simple-stuffed-mushrooms#sthash.fZWKU7Uw.dpuf
Blogging is never ending work. Whether it's taking photographs, editing those photographs, researching future posts, writing the actual blog post, promoting, networking, picking products for wishlists, etc., etc., it seems like I'm never running out of things to do. Which is why my discovery of Stumble Upon couldn't have come at a worse time. I found it originally because the Independent Fashion Bloggers site, the place that is guiding me through the initial steps of all this blogging business, suggested submitting my very best blog entries to Stumble Upon to get more blog traffic. Well that indeed worked, but my productivity has also gone out the window. It's seriously addictive. Between that and Etsy (oh God, Etsy) I'm getting absolutely nothing done.
I decided however that maybe I could post some of the links where I learned stuff and start incorporating them into Factoid Friday. In between some of the silly pointless stuff, Stumble Upon is a wealth of knowledge (depending of course on what you choose as your interests.) I've linked some of my favourite articles at the bottom of the post for you to check out!
The book I'm pulling my facts from this week is called "Let's Bring Back" by Lesley M.M. Blume. It's a book recalling things that have gone out of style that never should have gone out of style - because they are totally rad! They talk about historical trends that were popular from Roman times, through the Renaissance, to Victorian, 1950s through the 1980s. Basically if it's gone out of fashion but practical or nostalgic people would still be into it, it's listed in this book.
A Cocktail Edition is also available from PlasticLand as well as a Language Edition being available from Modcloth. If you are interested in learning more about the series, visit Lesley M.M. Blume's official site.
Things I Learned From This Book
In the first half of the 19th century, something called a "courting candle" was used. When a man came to visit a lady he was attempting to woo, the parents would leave a candle burning in the room with them. When it burned low, it was time for him to run along. Greta Garbo was as low-maintenance as they come in the beauty department. Her bathroom toiletries consisted of a toothbrush, a comb missing several teeth and half a bar of Lux soap, according to biographer Diana McLellan. If I could wake up looking like that, that's all I'd need too!
I mentioned in an earlier blog post that fans held many secret meanings but so did flowers! What kind of flower and where it was worn said volumes in Victorian times. If you received a flower from a fellow and placed it by your heart, it meant true love; by the waist indicated interest but not commitment; in the hair signaled a rejection. But men could communicate by what flowers they gave as well. Red roses indicated love, white roses indicated not looking for love and yellow roses indicated jealousy. There are also some that just make me laugh such as carnations (disdain), violets ("modest worth") and scarlet geranium (stupidity.) Who knew flowers could be so fun?
Victorians loved to play parlour games, some which resembled the modern day "20 Questions," Brainteasers, charades and musical chairs. Other games included having one person smile and then having them try to get others to smile by any means possible. That sounds pretty tame, but one game involved bobbing for raisins. That were on fire. With your mouth. Let's not bring that game back, okay?
In a speakeasy, if the lights flashed on and off 3 times, the cops had arrived and it was time to skeedaddle.
In the 1960s, color themed menus were all the rage. What might you be served? A sample menu from the time listed "a smoked salmon starter, a cold rose-tinted cherry soup, roast beef with a hot puree of beets, sliced tomato salad, a centerpiece of radishes and raspberry sherbet topped with ripe strawberries."
Half doors are called Dutch doors (hey, that's news to me!)
In 1938, an Archbishop from Iowa, Francis J. L. Beckman warned that swing music is "a degenerated musical system... turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people." Luckily people ignore him, swing perseveres and music continues to evolve, much to the dismay of religious leaders.
On this day in 1962, Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment for sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government.
In 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales is believed to have died. His cause of death is unknown and the date is not verified either - his tombstone wasn't erected until 100 years after his death!
Katy Perry blows out her birthday candles today. She's a 1984 baby - just like me!
Vincent Price died this day in 1993. So Wikipedia says. Thanks to The Simpsons, I still don't know if he's dead or alive.
And my last "it happened today" piece of news is that it's the birthday of 7 year old conjoined twins, Krista and Tatiana Hogan. Read their amazing story here.
Some of my favourite links from Stumble Upon (aka, internet crack) this week are:
Hi there! Welcome to another edition of Factoid Friday! A depressing
thing about Factoid Friday is that it's one of my favourite days to
write (I'm pretty sure since my blog started, I only missed writing on a
Friday once, and it was my anniversary that day. I thought I would pay
attention to my boy!) whereas every other day is hit or miss. Movie
Monday doesn't have a single entry yet! To be honest, I hardly ever
watch movies. I was kind of hoping this blog would motivate me to watch
more. I'm just always stuck on the computer! And when I do sit down to
watch the TV, it's to watch Dexter or other one hour HBO style shows.
There's no room in my life for movies. I'm sorry Movie Monday.
But
back to why Factoid Friday is depressing. It's my favourite day to
write and appears to be the least popular. According to Google Analytics
(my favourite thing ever) it has the lowest views, the highest
bounce rate and is most often the last page viewed before people exit my
site. People just aren't digging Factoid Friday. I questioned whether I
should revamp my format and give Factoid Friday the ax, but then I'd be
like every other blog (and I'd be sad.) Plus, you must be true to your
heart!
The sad thing about this video is I
didn't just upload it for this entry to be cheeky. It's been in my head
all week. Like what is up with that?
Anyways, the book
I'm pulling facts from this week is called Does Anything Eat Wasps? by
New Scientist. To be completely honest, this wasn't a random fact kind
of book at all. More of a scientific break down of a bunch of weird
questions. While reading it, sooo much stuff was way over my head. It's
very physics and chemistry based and throws out many of those terms and a
lot of math. I can see my brother enjoying it because he was a physics
major in university and teaches it to high school students in China. Me
on the other hand? I took chemistry 5 times in high school and never did
get my credit. Anything that needs an entire paragraph to explain
what's going on probably isn't for me. Just spit random facts at me!!!
Things I Learned From This Book
In
a study of cats and mortality rates regarding falling from buildings
ranging from 2 stories to 32, the survival rate was 90%. The most deaths happen at the seventh floor with the survival rate increasing
as the floors go higher. This is because the cats are able to twist to
land on their feet and relax on the way down. Often, they break their
jaw instead.
Seawater appears
blue because it is a very good absorber of all wavelengths of light,
except for the shorter blue wavelengths (sounds like a good explanation
to me, but I wish I understood anything about light or the colour wheel
or anything like that.)
The seasons are not equal.
Spring lasts for 92 days, 19 hours. Summer clocks in at 93 days, 15
hours. Autumn places third with 89 days and 20 hours. And the most hated
season (for me at least. Christmas and my birthday is the only thing
that makes it survivable) is also the shortest. It has 89 days, 0 hours.
Members of the Solanaceae family of plants which include potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, eggplants, and nightshade can be toxic. You know how your mom always told you keep them in a dark cupboard? She's serious! People have died from solanine poisoning, which occurs when they eat potatoes that have turned green (which indicates toxic alkaloids) or that have sprouted. If you see a potato that has green on it, toss the entire thing. It can't be salvaged. A lethal dose is about 1 milligram of glycoalkaloids per pound you weigh. For most people, this would mean you would have to eat roughly 5 pounds of skanky potatoes. But I wouldn't put it past some people!
It's entire possible for baby snails to grow out of shells used for escargot. The reason for this is because the shell that the escargot is placed in might not even have been it's original shell. It might have been cooked and then placed in a nicer, more decorative type shell. So if for some reason, you hung onto that shell, you might have baby snails slugging around several weeks after your buttery feast.
One of the questions in the book asked how long you could live on beer alone. There is no clear answer (sorry frat boys!) but interestingly, the closest thing to proof was an experiment John Clephane, a physician to the English fleet conducted during the Seven's Year War (1756-1763.) Three ships set sail. One was given beer while two "control" ships were given the usual allowance of spirits. After a long voyage with much bad weather, the two control ships had 112 and 62 men needing medical attention afterwards. The beer ship? Only 13. A clear winner.
If you need to escape lava quickly and have time to build an escape device, a surfboard with holes punctured in it and a water tank sprouting a leak would be the best device. The steam will create a barrier and you will surf off into safety (legit, the book gave this advice!)
Monosodium glutamate was discovered in 1908, from the seaweed kombu. From then until 1956 it was used in this but it's extraction was very slow and expensive. Glutamate is also naturally occurring in protein containing foods such as meat and cheese. Chinese food has a bad rap for having a lot of MSG but it's everywhere. It's in pizzas, soups, chips and gravies (I know this mostly because it gives me belly troubles. But boy is it delicious!) MSG intensifies the "fifth" taste in food, which is known as umani in Japanese - things that taste savory, meaty or broth like fall in this category.
So does anything eat wasps? A bunch of things do actually! Dragonflies, birds, skunks, bears, bats, weasels, wolverines, rats, mice and last but not least honey badgers. Because honey badger don't give a sh*t.
It Happened Today
In 1929, JC Penney opened a store Milford, Delaware, making it a nationwide chain with stores in all 48 States.
Saturday Night Live debuted in 1975!!! I can't believe it's been going strong for so long.
Polaroid filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. I'm totally betting they've made a full recovery. Everytime I've been asked to take a group photo lately, it's been with a Polaroid camera. I'm bewildered everytime and the person always has to give me pointers on framing and warn me not to mess up the photo... because each print costs something like a dollar each.
On Wikipedia (which I'll admit, I pull a lot of my "daily" facts from. It's easier than sourcing from different places!) it said it was National Coming Out Day (although it's observed in more than one country so it's sort of an international event.) See video above! You must be true to your heart! I know I'm cheesy but you gotta love days that support showing who you really are, right?
And this isn't the exact day (I usually only do things that fall exactly on the date I'm posting) but I read in my mom's Woman's World magazine that Wizard of Oz started production this week. I looked it up and it started production on October 13th, 1938. That's close enough right? Plus, it's one of my favourite movies! I starred in a play in 6th grade where I was scarecrow. My sister was also scarecrow and we alternated (instead of having understudies.) I have t-shirts, stickers, books... actually not a ton of merchandise, but I like it. And I do have these rad Hello Kitty dolls.
I've also been told more than once I look like Judy Garland. I don't really see it but I still think it's a nice compliment. Maybe during her post Wizard of Oz days? Anyways, here's my best impression of Judy Garland.
Hey there! Sorry I haven't been too active with the writing. I recently discovered this great place called Independent Fashion Bloggers through an FAQ on Keiko Lynn's site and it's proved to be super valuable to me. I've spent a better part of this week just browsing the archives and learning about the techie and back end portions of how to run a blog. I've been fiddling around with SEO (search engine optimization) which I didn't even know existed before stumbling across this site. I just assumed you showed up in Google searches! Without even trying. It's been really eye-opening and a bit of a headache to bring my blog up to speed. I'm not even 10% there yet. Thank heavens I have so few entries and I discovered this when I did!
That's the great part about this blogging stuff. I doubt I will ever get to the point of being famous or making money off my blog but already, I'm learning basic photography, photo editing, modeling, make-up, HTML, graphic design (okay REALLY basic for that one) and brushing up on my writing and networking skills. I feel no matter where I end up with this, I will take something I can use in the future! And who doesn't love that? Plus, whenever I plug in the HTML code for an ad banner or change the size of a picture and it ends up being RIGHT, I feel like Homer in this video. I AM SO SMART!
Yesterday, I went shopping with my sister at Somerset Mall Stateside. It's such a beautiful mall. An expensive mall though. She was on a quest for a certain pair of Lululemon pants, a pair she sort of already has, but wanted the longer version of (she's a bit of a shopaholic like myself. It must run in the family!) I really wish I could hit this mall when I have more money than $5. They have so many lovely stores... Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Kate Spade, Ferragamo, Sephora... I could go on. Nearly every store in there is high end. It's the type of mall I don't even like to window shop at for any length of time - falling in love with things is just too painful. I saw this BCBG dress on a mannequin and seeing the price online makes me glad I didn't stop to try it on. That's all my extra spending money for a month! YIKES!
However, my sister is awesome and an enabler. In exchange for a small amount of Canadian currency (definitely not equal value. I got the better deal on this one) she purchased me a book and a purse. But I need these for blogging, right?
This was an extra 50% off the sale price! So I got it for $10. However, even the regular sale price is a pretty good price. It seems well made, it's a perfect pinky brown colour, so it can go with lots of outfits and I love the inside lining! Available at Urban Outfitters.
I also purchased this book (or my sister did?) I bought it mostly because I'm still kind of derpy when it comes to taking photographs. There are just a lot of things that you would think would be no brainers that I just don't know. This is my first venture into photography and I've never taken into consideration poses, backgrounds and certain editing methods. Everything is laid out nicely in this book so it's perfect if you are starting out like me! Available at Urban Outfitters
Anyways, today is supposed to be Factoid Friday, but I thought I'd bring you up to speed on what I've been doing lately (which isn't a whole lot but I did get out of the house, woot!) The book I'm pulling facts from this week is a Bathroom Reader. I'm a big fan of these books and read any copy I get my hands on. However, I've made the mistake in the past of passing on my copies of Bathroom Reader books once I've finished reading them. WHERE WILL I GET MY FACTS FROM??? I foresee a trip to the library in my future. I also need to stop buying books. I give away my Bathroom Reader books because I don't have room for them but then I keep buying new books to take their place.
Facts I Learned From This Book
15% of American women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day.
The phrase "tying the knot" comes from the ancient Irish tradition of handfasting, in which the bride and groom have their hands tied together by a priest during their wedding ceremony.
What are the chances that you will like the person your friend sets you up with? About 17%.
60% of American brides participate in the selection of their engagement ring.
Photo from an expired eBay auction so I can't give proper credit but I really do like it!
Pheromones are powerful things. Cockroaches will try to mate with a glass rod doused with female pheromones and human men under the "influence" of pheromones found plain women to be more attractive and beautiful but pheromone free women to be less so. Interestingly, when women were asked to smell unwashed t-shirts of different men, they preferred those of men whose immune systems were different than their own. This is likely because together, they would make a super baby with a powerful immune system. Yay for science!
The first welfare plan was actually paying for orphaned girls' dowries. It was implemented in Italy during the Renaissance.
It's said that Jerome Bonaparte (brother to Napoleon) and his American wife Elizabeth Patterson were the first honeymooners in Niagara Falls in 1803.
Bimbala Das, a 30 year old Indian woman, married a cobra in 2006. The snake couldn't be coaxed from his underground home however, so a gold snake statue stood in as a fill-in.
In 1228, Scottish women won the right to propose marriage.
Who had the longest wedding engagement ever? A couple named Octavio Guillen and Adrian Martinez. They married when they were both 82 in 1969. They first got engaged in 1902.
In 1770, Britain passed a law that anyone who wore lipstick and other make-up "to lure men or trick them into marriage" could be tried as witches!
Casanova introduced the concept of the lottery to France in 1757.
In colonial America, if a man went to visit an unmarried woman and needed to sleep over for some reason, a practice called bundling was used. A wooden partition was put in the middle of the bed to separate the two, or they sometimes were sewn into sacks or straight up tied to the bed. No funny business going to happen here!
In Victorian times, how you held your fan and the method of your fanning signaled how you feeling at the time. In front of your face with your left hand for instance meant, "Leave me alone."
When Pierre Perignon first discovered champagne, he reportedly called out to his fellow monks, "Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!"
What are the chances that a first date will telephone if it's been more than 24 hours? About 12.5%.
Next time you wonder why gay people are fighting so hard for marriage rights, take this into consideration - there are 1, 138 Federal US benefits tied directly to marriage, including Social Security, inheritance rights, child custody and immigration status to name a few.
The average buyer spends just over $77 on Valentine's Day gifts.
35% of middle aged women would prefer to date younger men.
In the 1800s, many commoners didn't even get a day off work for their wedding!
20% of marriages around the world are between first cousins.
17% of newlyweds say they consummated their relationship on their first date.
Phew! Lots of facts about love. There were lots more funny ones about people trying to marry themselves and their car but I thought that was pretty good for now.
As for things happening today, not too much going on. I discovered that today in 1582 is when we switched to the Gregorian calendar. It's also Susan Sarandon's birthday! I've liked her ever since watching Little Women. I still watch that movie way too much. If you ever get a chance, pick up the copy of her on BUST. She's quite an intelligent and well spoken lady.
It's also World Animal Day so hug some kitties! But not just that. It's a day to mindful of all animals, so instead of squashing that spider, put him outside.
Today is also the beginning of World Space Week. I don't know a lot about space, but it's an excuse to rent Hubble again, right? Listen to Leonardo DiCaprio's schmexy voice, muhahah.
It's funny, I was dreading writing this entry all week. Because I had fallen out of the swing of writing a little bit, it was taking awhile to get back into it. I needed this song by Metric to pump me up. Perhaps if I didn't write you know, A NOVEL each time I wrote a blog, maybe I wouldn't dread it so much. Oh well! Until next time!
