It's Tough Being Popular

This blog title is just for amusement.  But it does have some truth to it.  As I've mentioned in past blog posts, I have really changed and 'come into myself' since I started dating my boyfriend.  It kept progressing and I just feel so much more like 'me' now!  It is amazing!

The thing is, I lost a lot of my 'friends' when my ex and I broke up.  That was over a year ago but still.  Some of these people, I had been friends with for years!  And yes, they ditched me for my ex.  I've learned that they weren't good friends anyway but it is still hard to have 90% of the people you hung out with just stop talking to you.

So, in my last year of college, I made so many more friends.  People in my class, of course.  A couple of them who seem like friends that I will stay in touch with.  But then my boyfriend and I have made new friends, together!  And it is just incredible!  I am so happy with the friends that I have made.  It is exciting because they invite both of us to places and events - not just him and then I tag along (which happened with my ex ... Maybe I should have noticed the clues then!).  But they invite both of us!  Not just one of us!  I love being included in it.

The other thing is, people like me more.  This may seem a bit odd but I'm always trying to make a good impression and I want everyone to like me and I get super worried (anxious) about this.  But I don't have to put in that much effort.  I can just be myself (the quirky girl that I am) and people generally like me!  With my ex and his friends, it was always hard to make conversation with people, it was always awkward and forced.  Now it all seems so natural!

It is kind of cool now.  I'm always invited to a few parties every weekend.  People are texting me on Friday night being like 'hey are you coming to x event tonight, I'm going, you should come!' and things like that.  I love feeling like I am part of things!  Next weekend, we (my boyfriend and I of course) are invited to the beach, camping, a couple clubs/parties, and a friends place for a get together.  I have never had to decide between so many things before!

It is just making me so happy, to have such great new friends who I can bond with, to have such an amazing boyfriend, and to just really be me!

Door Knobs ... and Canadian Tire

Seriously ... I am unhandy.  I wish I could do those everyday tasks that everyone can do so flawlessly.  But it just boggles my mind.

As you may know, I just moved into my new place about a month ago.  Anyway, there wasn't a lock on the door which I kind of like to have.  I was away last weekend, just shut my door, and I came back and the cat had gotten into my room while I was away.  And I have a hamster in my room.  That is NOT what I want to happen!  (By the way, the hamster is still alive!)  For that (and many other privacy issues), I want a lock on my door.

I went to Canadian Tire today and purchased a door knob lock thing and some screwdrivers (I got a big package ... they would have come in handy previously so I might as well have some!).  Brought them home.  I took the door knob off and tried to put the new one on.  It didn't work.  And I can't very well make a bigger hole.  I'm only renting the place!

So I brought the purchased door knob back and returned it.  I also brought the door knob that was on my door into the store and asked them for help.  The salesperson showed me the right door knob lock thing to get so I got it.

I got home and tried to put it on and guess what ... it didn't work!!!!!!  Now I'm kind of annoyed because it takes 30-40 minutes to get to Canadian Tire and then another 30-40 minutes to get back.  And it was a waste of time.  I showed the guy my door knob and everything and he still couldn't help me.

Now what do I do?  I have to wait for tomorrow to take it back.  I'm going to look like an idiot returning a second door knob.  I hope that the same person isn't at exchanges and returns!  This means another hour to hour and a half wasted.  Ugh!  I am NOT asking for a lock though.  They obviously won't be much help.

Also, I'm not going to Canadian Tire again!  I have honestly never really shopped there before.  But when I show the person my door knob and everything and he still can't help me!  That just proves what an idiot he is.  He could have gotten someone else to help me or something if he didn't know!  But no he just wants to give me wrong information.  Drives me crazy!

I might take a chance with Home Hardware tomorrow.  We'll see.  I have one that is close to my house so that's better than nothing.  At least I'll get more exercise tomorrow!

How Do You Stand Up To A Friend?

My friend, lets call him John, is sharing an apartment with his friend Tom.  John kind of "takes care" of the house.  Initiates rules (buy your own food, clean up after yourself, etc.), looks after Internet, etc.  Likely because John has lived on his own for a number of years and Tom has just started living on his own (please note, John is 21 and Tom is 24 I believe).

Tom does not really understand personal space.  Yes, they are friends, but John does not want or need to hear about Tom's entire day.  When Tom gets home from work, he will just wander into John's room and talk about his day while John is in the middle of something.  Tom seems to think this is okay.  John doesn't really like it (I wouldn't either so I can see where he's coming from).  Tom is also always wanting to hang out with John.  Asking him to see a movie, go out for dinner, stuff like that.  He doesn't seem to understand that John has a life and work he needs to do.

Tom also expects John to drive him around everywhere.  John has his own car, Tom doesn't (he uses the bus).  Is John expected to drive Tom around everywhere?  I definitely don't think so!  Tom doesn't pay gas, insurance, or for repairs.  So why should John have to pick up Tom for work?  Tom seems to think this is reasonable.

Tom is getting paid more than John right now.  But he spends his money on eating out, girls, alcohol, etc.  Which is fine.  But he doesn't pay John back for things.  Tom eats John's food?  John doesn't get anything in return, even though he bought it.  John got the Internet, but does Tom ever pay him back for it?  Nope.

Now, John is coming to me about this.  I'm frustrated with Tom (I know them both but I know John a lot better).  John isn't great with confrontation.  He is annoyed with Tom but hasn't made many attempts to fix this.  He has asked for Internet money a couple of times, but Tom just says he doesn't have money.  (Good excuse?  No!  He shouldn't be using Internet if he can't pay for it.)

I don't know what advice to give to John.  I say, just confront Tom.  But he can't just outright do that.  He doesn't know the words.  And doesn't know how to not sound like a jerk for it.  I'm kind of just venting for this.  I don't understand how Tom can think this is all okay.  I guess I could use some advice for John?

Potluck Suggestions

How many times have you been invited to a potluck?  I know a lot of people can't cook or bake and getting invited to a potluck is not what you want to do!  You get people saying they will bring the fanciest items ... you probably haven't heard of them!  To be honest, I love cooking and baking, but I have some suggestions for those of you who don't!

1. Mini sandwiches
It's something everyone will enjoy!  Get some bread, meat, cheese, lettuce, etc. and put together a nice platter of mini sandwiches!  My advice is to have three or four types of sandwiches.  The ones I would recommend are: a) egg salad b) ham and cheese c) roast beef d) tuna.  Almost everyone will be able to find something out of those four.  You can mix it up with white bread or whole wheat bread.  Add butter or mayo or lettuce or mustard to some of them.  And always put it on a nice platter and decorate the platter with lettuce and/or carrots.

2. Fruit and veggie platter
It is pretty simple to purchase some fruits and veggies and do a platter of each.  Remember to get dipping sauce!  To be honest, I'm not a fan of dipping sauce, but most people are!  Suggestions for fruits are to get FOUR of them.  My ideas: grapes, some sort of melon, strawberries, and another fruit such as apples, oranges, plums, peaches, kiwis, pineapples.  If you are not serving right away, either don't cut up all the fruit or dip the cut up fruit in lemon juice diluted in water.  This will help them not turn brown.  As for veggies, four of those is good as well.  My ideas: carrots, celery, peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, or radishes.

3. Lasagna
This involves a bit of cooking but it is not too difficult!  It is a very basic lasagna recipe though.  You will need to purchase 1 can of spaghetti sauce (I would recommend a kind with beef already in it, such as Ragu with beef), a block of cheese, and precooked lasagna noodles.
To Prepare:
Heat oven to 350 degrees Celsius
Grate all the cheese (If you have two different types of cheese, do half and half!)
In a lasagna tray, put the ingredients in it in this order
- grease the tray (with butter or something like PAM)
- spaghetti sauce
Then rotate through these three ingredients in the following order
- noodles
- sauce
- cheese
Make sure cheese is the top layer
Cover with tinfoil and cook on 350 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes - 1 hour (check on it every 15 minutes though if it's your first time!)
It is surprisingly easy.  If you want to make twice as much, just get twice the amount of ingredients!
Store in the fridge if you are not serving right away.  And make sure you can warm it up before you serve it!

4. Salad
There are tons of basic salads you can do.  Caesar salad, garden salad.  Those are the two easiest one I can think of.  If you don't know how to make a salad, there are tons of recipes for it online!  It depends what type you want.  But Caesar and garden are always good.  There are fancier salads (like Jelly salad or marshmallow salad) that usually go over well but they are more complicated to make.

5. Potato Skins
This is another one where you will need to warm it up beforehand.
All you need is: Potatoes (one potato will make two potato skins), cheese (a couple different types is good, grated), Parmesan cheese, bacon, a tomato, onions, salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 450degrees Celsius.  Clean the potatoes or make sure they are clean!  Poke holes (with a fork) in each of the potatoes.  I would say poke it about six times throughout the potato.  Put it in the microwave for five minutes.  Wait for it to cool a little bit, then cut them in half with a sharp knife.  Use a spoon and dig out the insides so you have a hole in the middle.
In the whole, you will put a layer of cheese, some bacon (cut up into small pieces), onions (if you'd like, not everyone likes onions), and tomatoes.  Sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.  Then add another layer of cheese (it will melt a lot ... feel free to let the cheese go out of the middle and spread around the top of the potato).  The more toppings, the better it will taste!  Then put them in the over at 450 degrees Celsius for 5 - 10 minutes (Check on them at 5 minutes and keep an eye on them after).  It will be done when the cheese is melted.
They can be stored for two to three days in the fridge!

Have fun at your potluck!

Who Is Important To You?

Most people have friends, family, and/or acquaintances.  You care about some of them, of course.  Great.

Now think more deeply.  How many would you consider true friends?  Probably not quite as many.  If you have Facebook - how many of those are real friends?  If you're like me, I have almost 200 Facebook friends.  I've known them all at some point, yes.  But I've grown apart from most of them and wouldn't consider them real friends.

When I think about the number of real friends I can, it is kind of frightening.  The people who I talk to regularly and care about the most - probably only two people.  My boyfriend and my sister.  I talk to them at least every other day (well communicate - I don't live in the same city as either of them so there is plenty of emailing and texting going on).  But it is really only those two who I talk to a lot.

I have two high school friends who I keep in contact with quite a bit.  But sometimes we will stop talking for months at a time.  And they often break plans.  So even though they are friends, they aren't really 'best friends' if you think about it.  I met someone else about six months ago.  We started talking almost nonstop.  She was awesome!  But the, things happen, we drift apart.  And I haven't talked to her much in the past month.

I think it is really important to treasure who you have.  Even if there aren't many people who you consider very good friends.  Make sure they know it!  Make sure they know that they mean a lot to you!

Make sure that you know who is really important to you.

May 2011's Best Songs

1. Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
The Black Eyed Peas never fail to come out with a good song, do they?  I love the lyrics.  They are meaningful.  Even though my music tastes have definitely changed, I will always be a Black Eyed Peas fan.  I love how the sound and beat switches it up to keep the song interesting.

2. Chromeo ft. La Roux - Hot Mess
The first time I heard this song, I wasn't really a fan.  But then it got really catchy.  Now I have to move to it every time!  It has a unique sound to it.

3. Tom Novy feat. Michael Marshall - Your Body
Definitely one of those "get up and dance" songs!  Great for partying, clubbing, dancing, and having a great time.  Every time this song comes on my playlist, I'm dancing around the room like a maniac.  The lyrics are awesome too.  There are some different remixes of this song around but my personal favourite is the Alex Kenji remix.

4. Kristina Maria - Let's Play
I heard this song numerous times and always thought "wow".  I finally was able to look it up and have now been listening to it nonstop.  Her voice is amazing.  The lyrics are seductive.  And the music is amazing.  I love the chorus.  Again, this isn't really the type of music I have been listening to lately but this song is just too catchy!

5. Studio Apartment feat. Rae - Your Words
I just close my eyes and move to this song.  I love the music in this song.  It seriously makes my skin tingle.  Oddly enough, I can't listen to this song on repeat.  There are plenty of remixes of this song too.  I love the ones that make it more into a house song.  Either way, the song is incredible.