NaNoWriMo

Nano-whaaaat?  What kind of gibberish is that? Well, it's the National Novel Writing Month. Since when? Well, officially, November is just another month. What makes it different is this organization (NaNoWriMo), who gives you a challenge: write a novel in 30 days. Sounds crazy right?

The idea is that a lot of people have "write a novel" on their bucket list, but never actually do it. What NaNo does it give you that extra push to actually do it! The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. There isn't really a prize, since there are thousands of winners every year, but you get this amazing feeling of accomplishment, and that is the point of NaNo.

Source

I participated two years ago and won, though I wasn't quite following the rules, and haven't had any time since. This year, I'm going to try and do a half-NaNo: 25,000 words in 30 days. What with university, work, and relationships, I'm really super busy, and a half-NaNo will keep me from having ANY spare time. I can't even imagine doing a full 50,000 words this year!

Normally, the rules (guidelines) for NaNo are to write fiction, and something completely new, that you haven't written or started writing yet (outlines and prep is allowed). The thing is, I'm already in the middle of a project and I don't wanna to discard it, so I will be using NaNo as a booster for this story.

Tonight, I will try to pull an all-nighter (I'll start writing at midnight) and pound out a couple thousand words to get a head start (I need to write 833 words a day to reach my goal in 30 days). You'll get a full report of my crazy night tomorrow!
(Don't worry! I'll still blog every day! I'm sure my posts will be much shorter and maybe a little crazy sometimes, but I'll be here!)

PS: Did you know Water for Elephants was written for NaNoWriMo? :)

Boots!

I've been getting a lot of compliments on my shoes lately and I thought I'd share them with you. I got these at Target (!!!) for about $40 and they are super comfortable, they go with anything (except maybe sweats) and they look great!
As you can see, they are already a little scuffed and dirty from the fall dust, but that doesn't make them any less cute!

I still can't believe I got these at Target!What's your favourite item you've found at Target?

90 to 50

I am completely discouraged. German used to be my best a favourite subject, and now I'm almost failing... Last year and this summer, I had a 90-95% average, and I barely needed to study. About a month ago I had my first test of the year and I got 50%. I just got my grade back from last week's test, and I got 68%, which I guess is better, but not nearly good enough.

I'm just.... tired. I studied for hours for those tests. Hours. What happened? How can I crash so hard? It just makes me want to rethink everything. It makes me feel completely and utterly stupid, and it makes me want to quit. Maybe it's because I'm exhausted, sick and upset, but I've been working so hard for the past month to get my grades up and it doesn't seem like it's worth it anymore.

This class only has three tests and a final exam and there's no such thing as make-up tests in university. I have no idea how I could possibly bring my grade up to something decent by the end of the semester.
I don't know what it is, but it seems like this year is not going as planned... None of my grades or classes are anywhere near what I was hoping and I still can't seem to get into the groove of studying.

Anyway, that was my sad little post for today... Maybe this will cheer me up.

Image Source

Beetlejuice

Saturday night, Alex and I went out for Halloween and I had to figure out a very last minute costume... That's when I remembered that I have bought a pair of stripped pants in Germany that looked like Beetlejuice's pants and ding! There was my idea! I would be Beetlejuicette!
I backcombed the heck out of my hair and I'm still kind of afraid to try and un-knot this beehive... (the picture doesn't do it justice). All in all, it was a great night, and I got to wear a free costume!

What did you do/wear for Halloween?

Happy Halloween!

Get to Know Me

I really enjoyed doing the 7 Deadly Sins Link-Up, so I've decided to do another 25 questions about myself!
Question 1: Do you have any pets ? Yes! I have two cats: Midas and Arya
Question 2: Name three things that are physically close to you? Alex, TV remotes and my laptop!
Question 3: What’s the weather like right now ? Cloudy and a little cold.
Questions 4: Do you drive ? If so, have you crashed? Yep! Never crashed, but two very minor fender benders
Question 5: What time did you wake up this morning ? 7:00, 7:30, 8:00... I love my snooze button!
Question 6: When was the last time you showered ? This morning!
Question 7: What was the last movie that you saw ? Thor!! I LOVED it!
Question 8: What does you last text message say? "Almost done"
Question 9: What is your ringtone ? Just the regular iPhone ringtone.
Question 10: Have you ever been to a different country? Several!
Question 11: Do you like sushi? YES!
Question 12: Where do you buy your groceries? I don't... My parents do (at Safeway)! Aren't I lucky?
Question 13: Have you ever taken any medication to help you fall asleep faster? Advil Nighttime... Doesn't work.
Question 14: How many siblings do you have ? Only 1 sister!
Question 15: Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop? Laptop :)
Question 16: How old will you be turning on your next birthday? I will be 20! Seems crazy to think of..
Question 17: Do you wear contacts or glasses ? Neither!
Question 18: Do you colour your hair ? Sometimes. I try not to do it too often, though.
Question 19: Tell me something you are planing to do today: Play Skyrim and sleep!Question 20: When was the last time you cried? Not sure. A week or two ago?
Question 21: What is your perfect pizza topping? Bacon and mushrooms.
Question 22: Which do you prefer, hamburger or cheeseburger ? Cheeseburger! I. Love. Cheese.
Question 23: Have you ever had an all-nighter ? All the time! Us university students live for them!
Question 24: What is your eye colour ? Green-ish? It really depends on what I wear, where I am, etc.
Question 25: Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke? Not really...

Happy Friday!

Sushi Story

I'm really hungry right now, and I found these pictures from about two weeks ago when I went for sushi with Jessica and I thought I would share my love of sushi.

My mom has always had this obsession with foreign cultures, specifically Japanese and Indian. She then started making sushis at home; she bought the sushi plates and everything, and all the rolling tools. I would watch her and eat the sticky rice, but make a face at the idea of eating seaweed and raw fish. Gross right? Right! Not only that, but vegetables?! Yuck.

She "forced" me to try one, with just salmon and I was surprised at how good it was! It had a strange texture that I wasn't used to, but it really wasn't too bad! So for years, she made these special salmon-only sushi for me, while the rest of my family ate the veggie-filled ones, with tuna, or california rolls. I was perfectly content with my little salmon rolls. Eventually, my taste started changing and I became adventurous. (Whaaaaa!) I tried a salmon roll with veggies, then a california roll, and omg, I was hooked.

I've tried a lot of different things, from chicken to octopus and let me tell you, there's nothing better.

Nat is 18!

MY LITTLE SISTER IS 18 TODAY! Happy birthday to my one and only sister! :)
This is what I got her: Lotto tickets and a bottle of coffee liquor (and a crappy "card")!

Now for the embarrassing (and cute) pictures

 

7 Deadly Sins Link-Up!

7 Deadly Sins Link-Up

All you need to do is copy & paste this list, link-up, and have fun finding out others' guilty pleasures.  

seven great things in your life.

1. Having a great family.

2. I love my university!

3. I'll be 20 in just a few months!

4. I managed to avoid getting sick so far!

5. I feel like everything is falling into place.

6. I have a ton of great books to read!

7.  My determination and inspiration for writing is back!

seven things you lack and covet.

1. Better grades.

2. More friends.

3. MONEY!!

4. Motivation to work out.

5. My own house

6. A car
7. More clothes!

seven things that make you angry.

1. Slow drivers.

2. Show-offs.

3. Girls who don't sweat at the gym

4. My own temper. (Ironic, isn't it?)

5.  When I don't know something

6. Being hungry

7.  Being late

seven things that you neglect to do.

1. Work out

2. Put make up on + style my hair

3. Write every day

4. Study

5.  Save up

6. Not be lazy

7. Sleep

seven worldly material desires.

1. Plane tickets!

2.  A car

3.  Books

4.  A great video camera
5. A closet full of clothes
6. My own house/apartment

7.  A small puppy, maybe?

seven guilty pleasures.

1. Gossip Girl

2. Candy and chocolate

3. Candy Crush

4. Sleeping in

5. Dirt Hooker (the drink...)

6. Young Adult Paranormal Romance novels

7. McDonald's

seven things you love about love.

1. Being best friends

2. Inside jokes

3. Always having someone there for you

   4. The butterflies

5. Cuddling

6. The passion

7. When everything reminds you of them

How long will this linky remain open? Til Halloween, you guessed it!  Happy trails!

Hawaiian BBQ Kielbasa

I was reading Kym's blog when I found this interesting recipe and I thought I would try it! So friday night, I made dinner for the family and It worked out great! It was super simple and surprisingly good! My mother was worried it would be to sweet, but she really liked it!
You can find the recipe here!

Yum! The colours look so great and appetizing!!

So You Want to be a Filmmaker?

As some of you know, my goal in life is to break into the film industry. I want to eventually become a film director or screenwriter (or both!), hence the film degree at U of W.

But why? Why do I want to do this you ask? It's simple.
I have always loved watching movies. As a little kid, the Muppets movie got me through a bad flu, and before I could read, every one of my heroes were from films (who wouldn't want to be saved my Hercules and Pegasus, or hang out with Woody and Buzz Lightyear!) Once DVDs came out and we started having all the bonus material, I was obsessed with watching the "behind-the-scenes" features. I loved watching that stuff.

One year, my dad got this huge 12-DVD special extended edition box set of Lord of the Rings (2 DVDs per movie, plus 6 DVDs of special features AKA "making-of"). Lord of the Rings already being one of my favourite movies, I decided to watch the hours and hours of footage, interviews and everything they had from Tolkien's biography to the filming to the film premiere. It was a revelation. Not only was it so incredibly interesting, but it made me go "that's what I want to do."

It definitely made me appreciate the movies more, knowing all these little things about it, although I do admit it did ruin some scenes...

I love making films and telling stories. I love the creativity and the art that comes out of it. I'm no artist; I can't draw or sing or paint, but it's different with filmmaking and that's what I love about it. That's what I want to do for a living.

I'm on Facebook!

I've always been on Facebook, but all my settings are on private. There were a few incidences with a creepy stalker of an ex-boyfriend and other weird people, so I made it that only friends could look at my profile and search me by name.
Then I started this blog and posted my updates on my profile (probably annoying all those people who just really don't care) and I felt kind of bad about it. Not only was I annoying my Facebook friends with my ramblings on their news feed, but others who might want to "friend" me wouldn't be able to find me!
Thus came the Facebook Like page! Daily Emilie is officially on Facebook as of... 30 minutes ago! You can like me on Facebook, or subscribe via email, follow me on bloglovin' or twitter... the possibilities are (almost) endless!

Gluten-Free Brownies!

My mother has been making brownies lately that are so moist, crumbly and chocolatey that you don't even realize they are gluten-free! Alex loves them, and within a few days, they are gone! Being on my gluten-free diet, I thought these would be the perfect example that gluten-free doesn't mean yummy-free! Almost anything can be made gluten-free (even bread!!)
This weekend I decided to try and make some myself and they turned out great!

Here's the recipe:
-1 can (19 oz/540 ml) black beans, drained and rinsed
-3 eggs
-1/3 cup canola oil
-2 tbsp vanilla extract
-1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
-1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. In food processor, purée beans, eggs, oil and vanilla for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cocoa and baking powder. Pour in bean mixture and stir until smooth.
4. Pour batter into prepared baking pan (9-inch square metal baking pan, greased). Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Voila!

International Fall

Fall has definitely arrived here in Winnipeg! The weather is getting chilly, the trees almost bare and the colourful leaves crunch under our feet.

One of my favourite things about fall is being able to wear my leather jacket! I love pairing it with jeans and a colourful shirt, while it's still just warm enough to pull it off. Soon, I'll have to bring out the winter jacket, which will hide everything!

I'd like to think of this specific outfit as international: I bought my leather jacket in Spain a few years ago, the shirt in Germany and the jeans in Canada! Unfortunately, the jacket and shirt were from these little boutiques and so I can't remember where I bought them... Oh well!

And, of course, let's not forget the matching purse! It matches my shirt in colour and my jeans with the brand (Aéropostale)!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our family hosted Thanksgiving this year! We gathered everyone on my dad's side, making about 20 people around the table! Everyone chipped in and brought something, whether it was bread and cheese or pumpkin pie. It was a feast and we have enough leftovers to eat turkey for the next week!

Staying true to my gluten-free diet was no easy feat and I (almost) succeeded! Except for a tiny bit of pie crust and a sip or two of beer, I had no bread, stuffing or anything gluten-y!

Turkey, potatoes, ham, wild rice and mashed sweet potatoes!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Film Premiere

Gabriel Tougas, a Franco-Manitoban made this incredible movie here in Winnipeg about two young francophone students who accidentally stumble upon what could be a huge oil company fraud and investigate it.
Click here to see the official trailer.

Image source

I went to help out on set (for like... 2 hours...) on the first day of production, which was really great to be a part of, even for just one day and I'm in the credits! (yay!) So naturally, I wanted to see the final product! My mother was also a contributor, so we got tickets and went to see it premiere last night!
They had installed a red carpet and background to take pictures, the cast and crew were there, CBC was there was well and it was just really fun to see all these people from the community get together and work on a project like this.

Gabriel Tougas, the director

My reactions:
OMG! The movie was beautifully shot: it made Winnipeg looked incredibly pretty, the actors were really good and the dialogue and story was absolutely fantastic. It's not an easy story to tell, and I thought it was really well done. Each character had its own distinct voice, and the plot was easy to follow and far from boring!

Super belle job, Gabriel! 

CSSG T

Last night when I got home from work, I noticed I had gotten a package by mail. The return address was from the University of Alberta and instantly I knew what was inside. My CSSG t-shirt!!! This summer, I participated in CSSG (Canadian Summer School in Germany). You can read about it here. They sent t-shirts to everyone and I'll admit, I was jumping on and down while opening the envelope!

Voices in my Head

You know when an author says their characters are living in their head, talking to them? They're not crazy. It really is what happens to us when we write. ...Most of us anyway. Some writers really are crazy.
When you're writing a story, especially a lengthy one, you spend so much time ruminating and thinking about the characters that eventually, their a constant in the back of your mind. When you do mindless tasks, you can almost hear them talk. When you dream, sometimes you dream of them, of a scene you're about to write. Maybe at times, you almost catch yourself saying something one of your characters would say.

This is just like any good movie or book, when the story and characters stay with you and days later, you are still thinking about it, maybe even quoting dialogue (Star Wars geeks, you know what I mean with this).

Today at work, I found myself imagining my characters Kylie and Bret talking to each other and bickering. I was coming up with dialogue I couldn't wait to write down. Even when I was busy doing stuff I should be paying attention to (making food.....), I could still hear them in the back of my mind.

So yes, we may be a tad schizophrenic, what with hearing the voices of fictional characters in our heads and all, but how else are we supposed to write and develop great characters? It's not exactly safe to type on a computer when you're driving, or practical in a shower.... It's all in your head!

Liebster

Lauren over at Love is the Point just nominated me for the Liebster Award! This girl is absolutely amazing with her good deeds and everyone should go check her out and subscribe!

Here's how it works. I answer 10 questions from Lauren, then I nominate 10 other bloggers and ask them 10 questions!

1. Silver or gold? Hmm... Maybe silver? I think it's easier to match (and cheaper!)

2. Coffee or tea?  TEA! No doubt about it. I dislike coffee very very much.

3. Chocolate or fruity? 90% of the time fruity!

4. Pastels or bold & bright? I love bold and bright, though I tend to wear pastels.

5. Short or tall? (Could mean you, or your what you look for in a significant other, or both!)I love Alex's tallness and my sister's shortness (so I can bug her with it!)

6. Liquid eyeliner or pencil? Also – black mascara or something else? Pencil, because I don't know how to do liquid, and black mascara

7. Early riser or night owl? I'm a total night owl. Always have, always will!

8. Photographs or paintings? Photographs. I can't draw or paint worth crap, so I find photography more intriguing.

9. Long hair or short? (Again, tell us how you like your own hair, or how you like your significant other’s hair, or both!) I like having medium-length hair. Just below the shoulders. Any longer and it drives my crazy. And short hair on guys. Long hair just seems awkward to me (some can pull it off though!)

10. TV or Movies? Both!! I loooooove watching TV series, just like I love reading book series. And movies? Well considering I want to make a career out of them? I definitely have to love them too!

Now here are my nominees!!

Chloe Jacqueline from CJVZHeartsYou

Ali from Happerly Ever After

Juli from Juli Williams

Tina from Like Ordinary Life

Jena from Recently Roached

Sara from Sara Magdalena

Julie from Silver Lining

Mar from t.o. & fro

Autumn from The Unreal Life

Valerie from Valpo Studio

Here are my questions for you, ladies!

1. Are you a dog or a cat person?

2. What is your dream job (it can be totally invented!)?

3. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

4. What is your most attractive feature?

5. What is the one city you want to see before you die?

6. What was your worst subject in high school?

7. What is your favourite accessory?

8. What is your least favourite colour and why?

9. How would you describe your fashion style?

10. What is one thing you love about blogging?

There ya go! Have fun :)

What a Fail

Photo credit: med-health.net

Friday, I was eating my gluten-free toast, like every morning since I started this gluten-free diet, when I thought: "Hmm... I wonder what's in this stuff!" So I looked at the ingredients and I realized, this bread was NOT gluten-free!!!

My mother had told me the gluten free bread was in the freezer in the basement, so when I went to find it, I found this bag of bread with a barely readable label. I thought it was bread my mom had made, but when I actually did read the label, it wasn't. It was homemade bread she'd bought at the farmer's market.... The gluten-free bread was at the bottom of the freezer!

OOPS..... Turns out I've been gluten THIS WHOLE TIME! At least it's not an irreparable mistake... I'll just finish on November 5 instead!

Strangers and Adventures

Photo credit: (Wikipedia)

Last night I was taking the bus on my way to The Forks (for the non-Winnipeggers, it's a tourist-ish spot) to get ideas for a movie project for class. There was a woman, speaking with a thick Quebec accent, asked the driver what there was to see. She was from Montreal and only there for the day. The driver wasn't quite sure what to say, so without really thinking about it, I stepped up and asked her in French if she wanted me to show her around. She agreed and we were off!

I showed her around, explaining the history when I could, walked to the legislative building and around Osborne Village. We were having a great conversation about this and that and 2 hours went by in the blink of an eye.

The sun had gone down and we were getting hungry, so she bought me dinner for showing her around and finally, we parted ways after I showed her back to her bus stop. 

I wasn't expecting it to last 2-3 hours, but it was fun! It was great to talk with someone new. My good deed for the week :)

Happy Weekend!

Running in Pink

Shirt: Champion // Shorts: Champion // Shoes: New Balance

Running has always been my strong-suit. Going to the gym? Hate it. Winnipeg winters are really harsh (-40 Celsius...) and so running outside is out of the question. My mother still goes out and runs in the freezing cold, but I'm a chicken, so I use the treadmill. I have a free membership at the university, so I might as well use it!

Right now, the clothes I have in my locker are super old. Like, 4 years old, old. But, I don't care. It's sitting at the bottom of my gym bag most of the week anyway (I go Tuesdays and Thursdays during my 2-hour break). I did just buy brand new work out clothes, but I haven't had the chance to use them yet, until Tuesday, when I went for a quick jog outside, nearly getting myself killed by an apparently blind, mini-van driving woman.

I LOVE my new clothes! Super light, very comfortable and cheap! (Yay for Target!) It's been a revelation! I never really had really work out clothes, just whatever shorts and t-shirt I could find lying around in my closet, or whatever my mom would lend me. The pink may be my least favourite colour (it was the only one my size...), but it actually looks pretty good!

I'm really starting to dread winter right about now, but let's not get ahead of ourselves; it's only October 3rd!