My 2011 Christmas List

You will probably laugh at me (I know my parents did), but these are the things that I would like for Christmas :)

The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Any jewelry from Kate Spade
A Mac computer
Shoes (From Brash at Payless, rain boots, converse, army/riding boots, or any other type of shoe)
Fashion scarves (I have been looking for a nice white/cream/oatmeal coloured one, and I like anything that is crocheted or has lace on it)
Mac makeup (they have come out with holiday stuff, but the permanent stuff is nice too/lipstick, eyeshadow, lipgloss..)
Any kind of makeup from Sephora
Any kind of makeup from Shoppers
Nice makeup brushes
Benefit Creaseless Creme Shadow Liners
Anything kind of body products for Bath And Body Works
Nail polish (OPI, China Glaze, Sally Hanson) *I really like darker colours, and I really need a white and black
A Cross
Coach Poppy Perfume (there is a Coach store in Mapleview mall)
Avril Lavigne's Black Star Perfume
Avril Lavigne's Wild Rose
An Iphone
Ipod Touch case
New headphones (preferably ear buds)
Clear nail polish rack (can be bought off of ebay)
Itunes gift card
The Book Of Awesome
The Hunger Games hard cover books
Anything pertaining to The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and True Blood
Anything from Sunrise Records
Frames for both of my signed posters (dollar store?)
CANDLES!
Air freshener
An ear cuff (etsy has amazing ones)
A tattoo
A Clarisonic Mia
Movies (anything that looks good, I like watching them together after) (The new Harry Potter movies, anything from Pixar... the usual)
Anything from Green Earth
That elephant from Stokes (anything from Stokes, really)
Any other Wii games that look good
A hedgehog

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

Read If You Dare..

Above image found here using Google Image search

In honor of the scariest (and the most revealing apparently..) holiday of the year, I thought that I would start off my Halloween posts with one that might be a little helpful for some of you if you are like myself and are still trying to figure out what to do on this festive night. I don't think that it is any surprise to you that I love movies, so I thought that I would give a few quick recommendations that you could watch with your hubby/wife, offspring, acquaintances or hell, by your self for argument sake. Without further adieu, I leave you with..



My Top Ten Halloween (or scary) Flicks of 2011

1) Halloween Town[1,2,3 (feel free to boo the last one, because I sure have..)]: Ok.. I know, I know; "but Madi, it's played on the FAMILY CHANNEL! I don't want to watching a KIDS movie!" If this (or something similar) was your inner dialog as you read number one, then you obviously have never seen this movie before (or you are just deranged, your call). Yes, it is technically for 'smaller children', and no, it technically is not scary, but none the less it is a great movie to watch while decorating your house, carving pumpkins, sending me candy... the usual.

2) Shutter Island: For the record, I went in thinking that I was going to completely HATE this movie souly because Di-crap-rio was the star, but was I wrong! There are very few movies out there that I have seen (and actually enjoyed) where it was so scary I had to cover my eyes because I could not bare to watch; this was one of them. I also loved the ending, a nice unexpected touch I'd say.

3) The Others: I think that this is the best movie that Nicole Kidman has ever done. Not only is the acting outstanding, but the storyline just gets under my skin. Creepy kids with a weird condition, normal (or so it seems) mum, dead father, oodles of housekeepers who can't seem to keep to themselves, a mute, mysterious moving furniture.. all happening in one dusty, dark mansion. Do not even get me started on the ending either. Nice.

4) Red Eye: This movie is more for those thrill seekers out there who like drama and suspense opposed to things jumping out or anything supernatural. It incorporates some very popular fears; traveling alone, someone making you do something that you don't want to do, planes, someone putting your family in danger, strangers (and sharp ball point pens). Plus one of the stars is Cillian Murphy (um.. HELLO).

5) The Ring: A classic horror flick. The supernatural, a PMSing ghost, a dirty old well, and televisions. Doesn't that sound good?

6) Sleepy Hallow: A young Johnny Depp and a headless horseman. Must I say more?

7) Constantine: Amazing story and SUPER CRAZY special effects (the scene with the man made out of bugs still sticks with me). It is absolutely phenomenal, and I have never seen anything remotely similar. This definitely is a must see!

8) Coraline: Yeah, Yeah, another 'kids' movie. Just trust me, ok?

9) Signs: AMAZING. I love the scene when he sticks a knife under the door and you can see the reflection of the alien on the other side. Super duper good!

10) Shaun Of The Dead: Just watch it, you wont regret it. "As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team... I don't know what he's talking about."

I hope that you all enjoyed that. Please feel free to post any of your favourite movies (scary, or not) in a comment on this post and I will talk you all very shortly!

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

Why I have Abandond You (again).

Above Image From Here (found using google images)
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Wow..ok, so I have clearly neglected this blog for way to long. How could you guys let this happen (as if it's all your fault)?! I could give you all a million and one reasons why my post have been minimal (or non-existent.. same difference), which is exactly what I plan to do...

(not quite) A Million And One Reasons Why I Have Been Absent:

-School: I have finally started my twelfth year in public education which has been eating up most of my time.
-This blog may have slightly slipped my mind (just a little bit).
-I am currently and have been since school started looking for a part-time job. Anyone hiring?
-Filming and trying to make my way up to partner-hood on the U to the Tube.
-I totally forgot I had a blog...
-My laptop broke and am now waiting patently (yeah, right) to hear back from them.
-I have finally figured out what I want to do with the rest of my life (fo' realz this time guys).
-Out of sight, out of mind. (note to self: MAKE THIS MY NEW HOMEPAGE).
-Halloween? (totally a legitimate reason..)

Anyway, you all WILL be hearing (or reading) from (about?) me (or my life [or lack of one]?) very soon. Also, please.. if I let this blog slip my mind again, someone write me a nasty letter telling me how much of a no-good teenager I am and how your life is not complete without my totally awesome blog posts. While we are at it, if you would like me to blog about something specific (a product I've tried, something for me to rant about.. whatever tickles your fancy) please let me know in a comment on THIS post. Thank-yeah so much lovelies!

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

Day Two: Your Favourite Movie

This is, yet again, something that I have a very hard time answering. Here are a few off of the top of my head:






-Harry Potter (obviously all of them)
-Anything by Pixar (Wall.e, Up, Despicable Me..)
-The Others (one of the creepiest movies I have ever seen)
-Van Helsing
-Constantine
-Spider Man
-Music and Lyrics
-IRobot
-Pirates Of The Caribbean
-Flight Plan
-The Little Mermaid
-Back To The Future
-Narnia
-Red Eye
-Practical Magic
-The Mummy

As you guys could probably guess, I could go on for days about amazing movies that I have seen, but these were just the few that stood out to me in our movie drawer under the television. Are any of these movies your favourites? If not, which ones are? Do you have any recommendations for me? Thanks a bunch for reading!

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

Day One: Your Favourite Song.

Hmm.. ok, so this is a SUPER hard question to answer, I cannot just pick one. Here is my list of the songs that I know for sure our part of my favourites, but favourites change VERY often.




-"Anything But Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne
-"Nobodies Home" by Avril Lavigne
-"This Is How You Remind Me" by Nickelback
-"Hero" by Nickelback
-"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen
-"Down Down Down" by Charlie Simpson
-"American Pie" by Don Mclean
-"Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Arowsmith
-"Revolution" by The Beatles
-"If I Had You" by Adam Lambert

I'm sure that I forgot some great songs on that list, but these are honestly the ones that I could sit and listen to on repeat for hours at a time. Some of the music included are songs that I heard constantly growing up, so maybe that has something to do with it. Do you guys like these songs? What kind of music did you all grow up around? Is that the same type of music that you like now? What song could you never get tired of? Let me know in a comment down below. Thanks a bundle of reading and I hope that it inspired you to get out of your comfort zone and fine some new awesome music!

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

The Apocalypse... Maybe?

--->Screen Shots of The Vlog That Is Going Up On My YouTube Channel In The Next Few Days





Ok, so judging by the title of this post you all are probably expecting this to be a book review, or at least SOMETHING to do with zombies (seeing as I have a bit of an undead obsession..). If you were indeed looking for something like that, then I'm sorry, but you are not going to find it here today. Last night (Wednesday, August 24th 2011) we had a HUGE storm in Ontario, Canada. Originally it was supposed to rain pretty much all day, but it would only start to spit for ten minutes or so and then pretty much clear skies. The wind wasn't too bad during the day, the air was pretty muggy but it wasn't terribly hot, and as I said before, hardly any rain... until 8:30pm that is.
I was watching an episode of "Wire In The Blood" with my parents when the rain started. I honestly really didn't bother to look out of the window to see how bad it actually was.. now I wish I had. After leaving the room because I just couldn't take the disturbing show (if you have seen this British television series, then you know exactly what I am talking about), I came out into the living room and heard the thunder. One look out of the window was all it took.. for me to get my camera. I know, I know, I should have been worrying about the weather, making sure all of the windows were closed, doing other responsible and smart things.. but, I guess that just comes with being a YouTuber; when something big or exciting happens, the first thing that you think about is how to get a good shot of it. My parents then came out as well and we all just stood and stared (well, and I filmed) at the seen happening before our eyes. There was crazy thunder and lightning, horizontal rain, bits of trees and debris on the roads, cars idling on the side of what was a busy road an hour ago with their lights on because they couldn't continue driving, trees being whipped back and forth (I whip my leaves back and forth). Our power went out also instantly. Seeing as it was 9:30 at night when the power went out, I was scrambling in my pajamas trying to find my jeans in case we had to go into the hallway of my apartment building. This all lasted for around 90 minutes. We lit some candles, listened to News Talk 1010 CFRB on my dad's hand-crank radio and watched the storm as I vlogged. A little after 11:00pm, the power finally came back on. I don't think I have ever texted so many people so quickly and at one time in my life. As far as I know, everyone that is in my life is ok. Even still, today (Thursday, August 25th 2011) at 1:05pm, there are still crazy winds and it looks like it might start to rain soon. Is it bad that one of the first things that popped into my head about how it might be the apocalypse (jokingly obviously, I'm not THAT dramatic) was how I will be so angry if I die before I get to go to Fan Expo on Saturday or to see Avril Lavigne in October?
If you were in the area of Ontario that had the storm as well, please let me know where you were and how bad it was down below in a comment. Did you have crazy winds and sideways rain too? Did you hear about anything big happening like a tree falling or being struck by lightning? Did you loose your power, and if so, for how long? Did you go to your basement? Where would you have gone if it got even worse?
I figured I would add in a little extra something for you guys to talk about in the comments on this post even if you weren't caught in this storm or any other bad storm...

If You Could Only Take Five (5) Items (And Your Family/Pets Were Safe), What Would You Take With You While Evacuating? (At Least One Item Has To Be A Selfish Item Or Something You Want To Bring Just Because You Like It, Not Because You Need It).

I would take...

1)and 2) Mine and my brother's stuffed animals from when we were children (two stuffed animals, so I guess this counts for two items).
3) One of my favourite pictures of myself and my brother.
4) My Cell phone (not because I don't want to have to replace it or because I cannot go anywhere without it, because it has everyone's numbers in it which are hard to get back and because I can text people that we know to see if they are ok and call 911 if we have to).
5) My laptop/camera (I can't decide between the two of them).

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

The Accent Tag

Helpful Hint: Click on the title to this blog post to see my Canadian version of 'The Accent Tag' on YouTube!

Hello world! A few days ago I decided to film 'the accent tag' which I posted on my YouTube channel this morning. For this specific tag, there are 31 words to read off and 10 questions to answers afterwords. I thought that it was very unique and would be a great way for my subscribers to get to know my 'Canadian ways'. I think that it would be awesome if we could all do this tag and share it with the whole class, because, let's face it, we are all nosy-parkers in one way or another. I will put all of the information down below that you need to know about it in order to do your own version. Also, if you are not a YouTube-er and would still like to to do this tag, I would highly recommended ditching all of those worried and curious thoughts and grab a camera (digital is fine, but this particular video was filmed on my netbook's webcam)and just do it already! If you were maybe thinking of starting to make some videos, then this tag is a great accuse to do so, it would also make a great first video on your channel because, as I said before, it would allow your audience to get to know you a little better. Adding a YouTube video to one of your blog posts would also just spice some things up and keeping everyone interested. Thanks a million for watching/reading and I cannot wait to see what you all have to say regarding this tag!

Everything that you need to read off/answer:

The Words:
Aunt, Roof, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught, Naturally, Aluminum, Envelope

The Questions:
1. What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
2. What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
3. What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
4. What do you call gym shoes?
5. What do you say to address a group of people?
6. What do you call the kind of spider (or spider-like creature) that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
7. What do you call your grandparents?
8. What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
9. What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
10. What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

If you do end up doing this tag video, please do not hesitate to leave a comment on this post with the link, I would love to watch it. Also, if talking to a camera still gives you the jitters, then please feel free to answer the question part of this tag in a blog post and let me know also in a comment.

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

Things I Forgot That I Owned

Have you ever cleaned your bedroom, emptied out your school bag or rummaged through some the old boxes that you have in your basement or attic and found a bunch of cool stuff that you forgot that you actually had? This post is dedicated to all of those pack-rats out there (*cough* myself included) who have experienced this lovely sensation before. I give you all: the random things that I have found in my bedroom that I had absolutely no idea that I still had. I hope that you enjoy and maybe have a little giggle at my expense (its ok, you know that you want to).

Example 1:

The dream catcher.
I honestly had no idea that I had this. I don't even remember buying it...








Example 2:

A Leather (?) Braided Bracelet With Beads.
Ok, so I remember getting this like a billion years ago and some store at some beach (don't you just love the specifics?). I'm glad that I found it though, because I like it more now that I probably did then.






Example 3:

Two Mighty Max(s) and a Polly Pocket.
Does anyone else remember when these were really popular? I have always loved Polly Pockets (and for the record, I still proudly do), and the Mighty Max(s) were my brother's from when he was little. After he grew up, they were passed down to me, because they didn't really make too many male Polly Pockets, kind of like Ken dolls..



Example 4:

The Christmas Ornament.
This, my friends, is what happens when a polar bear and a pine tree, well.. you know. I really like this Christmas ornament. Ok.. so I did remember that I had this kicking around somewhere, but it was still nice to find it..






Example 5:

The Legend Of Zelda for Nintendo 64.
So how much of a geek do you guys think that I am now? Maybe I just became a little cooler (I'd say so)? Again, this was my brother's, but it was also a huge part of my childhood. I wish I still had our old Nintendo 64. I miss those days...






Example 6:

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Cards.
Ok, so I know for sure that I am not the only one on this planet who knows what these babies are. Again, this is a huge part of my childhood shown in one (well, two) pictures. I would love to get my hands on some more, and covers while I'm at it. Go ahead, challenge me bro.. see what happens.



I would love to read about the differerent things that you guys might have found in the weirdest places. What was the coolest thing? Did it evoke any good memories? Let me know in a comment.

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

For-Now-Favourites

Okie dokie.. so this is yet again another segment that I would like to include on this blog. On these posts I will include a list of all of the things (movies, television shows, music, books, food..) that I have been loving recently in my life. I hope that you all enjoy!

1) Lost (television show)
To be completely honest I never really thought that I would really get into this show let alone it becoming on of my favourites. The acting is awesome, the scenery is breath-taking, the writing is brilliant and the storyline is original. This is definitely a must-see!

2) Prison Break (television show)
This show took a bit of getting into in order to actually enjoy it. After watching the first few episodes (by few I mean like 10 or so) I wasn't totally convinced that this was 'the show' for me, but I did know that I was definitely curious enough to finish watching the first season. I am currently on the last disc, and I cannot get enough. A lot of the characters are the kind of people that you love to hate; sick slime balls who actually belong in jail, but the character development throughout the whole thing is amazing. I love how when you watch it, you just cannot stop; you absolutely HAVE to watch five more without question.

3) Lost Girl (television show)
Alright, I cheated. This is not that much of a recent love, but it still HAS to be mentioned in this post. All I can say is AMAZING! I cannot wait to meet the cast at Fan Expo in Toronto on Saturday! Who else is going?

4) The Mortal Instruments (Novel Series) (Specifically 'City Of Bones' and 'City Of Ashes'.. because those are the only ones that I have read ^.^)
I cannot possibly describe to you all how much I love these books, but they still do not trump 'The Hunger Games' or 'Harry Potter' in my book (haha, book.. get it?). Please let me know if you would be interested in seeing a review on these bad boys.

5) My IPod Touch (electronic)
I received this for my 17th birthday from my parents (in July) and I have been having a ball with it since. My favourite apps would include Hot Gems, the camera, Facebook, Twitter and Hangman.

6) Anything zombie-ish (books mostly)
Must I say more?

7) Katy Perry (sp?) (singer)

8) Maroon 5 (band)

9) Anything acoustic (music)

10) Filming/anything to do with YouTube (electronics)
Yes, I realise that I have not uploaded anything in awhile, but I am working on some things, I promise :)

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

Random Thoughts

Things that are currently annoying the heck out of me:

-When people are online on their facebook chat but don't respond to you when you try to talk to them
-When you are on your iPod touch and you go to read a new comment on your booksie account and you accidentally press 'delete' instead of 'read' and there is no way to recover it
-When you google something that you can't seem to find the answer that you are looking for because no one else has asked it yet
What is currently pushing at your buttons?

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

Improvised Makeup: Fool's Gold

Here is the direct link to the video on my YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1sK3KWq4OI

Picture time :)

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

A Tea in Tasty? (Overview)

Alrighty, so I love tea. I would say that I would drink an average of three to four cups of lovely tea goodness a week happily. Maybe it is because I'm British which automatically makes me awesome.. who knows. Anyway, I was trying to think on another post series that I would like to write about; something that maybe has something to do with beauty and something that I love and would thoroughly enjoy sharing with you. Coincidentally enough, when I came up with this I was sitting here, on my couch, sipping a cup of cinnamon and apple spice tea. Talk about planting the idea seed. So here is how it is going to go; I've made a list of all of the different types/flavors of tea that I am going to review for you throughout several different posts. In these posts I will discuss the flavor described on the package and whether I agree with it or not, whether I would happily drink this tea again, how long it takes to brew, any noted beauty properties that this particular tea might have, the package design and an overall rating. Please let me know if there is a specific type or flavor of tea that you would like to read my two-sense about and I would be more than happy to add it to my quickly growing list. So without further or due, here is the original list:
-Cinnamon Apple Spice
-Peppermint
-Green
-Madagascar Vanilla
-Wild Berry Zinger
-English Toffee
stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

Inspired by..

Today I decided that I wanted to repaint my finger nails because the colour that I was wearing (Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear in 270 Lacey Lilac) was looking a little worse for wear. I was looking around my bedroom and something caught my eye; my peacock feathers. I have four of them sitting up straight and tall in a matching blueish green vase on top of my dresser. I love them not only because they are a great shape, but the colour are exquisite. I have found myself trying to replicate the beautiful feather into makeup tutorials for my videos and I do have some more complicated nail designs in mind for when I have a little more practice. I looked through my nail polish and was surprised at how many different blues and blueish greens that I own. I also have wanted to try to come up with something that follows the ever popular colour blocking trend, but with nothing too too crazy that could be off putting. These nails seemed to be the answer to all of my questions. To be completely honest, I would have put up a proper tutorial of these babies on my Youtube channel, but they are so easy to do that it seemed kind of pointless.. maybe I'll make one later if I feel differently in the future. I love these nails, and I am pretty happy with myself that I came up with these (those I am sure that I am not the first one to do so). They incorporate all of my favourite colours while still looking cohesive and follows with the bright summer/colour blocking trends. Please let me know what you all think of these, and if you try them out I would love to see a picture of the end result or even just a quick word about them in the comments. I personally would wear these nails anywhere, but it really depends on your personal style and where you might be going (maybe you work in an office where these wouldn't be appropriate?).

So here is the scoop: I first took the darkest blue colour (Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear nail colour in 250 Blue It) and painted my thumb nail. I then took the next colour down in shade (OPI's NLT14 Austin-tatous Turquoise from the Texas collection) and painted my index finger nail. Next was my middle finger with which I took the next greenest (?) colour (China Glaze's 721 Custom Kicks). On my ring finger I painted the lime green shade (Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri 29 Lickety-Split Lime). Lastly, I painted my pinky finger's nail in a gold (Sally Hansen's 2701-03 Mesh Frost).

stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

Hair Thoughout The Ages

1. Super short, when I was really little.
2. Muuuushroom cut.
3. Still pretty short, with bangs.
4. Red streak :)
5. This was the only picture that I could find, but I had just gotten ride of head lice in this picture, so it is super super short and kind of spiky.
6. Long, super blonde and full bangs.
7. Same length, same cut, different colour.. obviously.
8. shoulder length, longer bangs, and its red. People thought that this was my natural colour. I tried a few different shades, but I didn't take pictures of them.
9. Same length, same cut but back to blonde.
10. Longer with grown out bangs.
11. No more bangs, two toned hair.
12. Super blonde, two toned is still there, but you can't really see it. It was starting to fade.
13. The bangs are back!
14. Semi grown out bangs and trying to get back to my natural blondish goldenish colour.

I hope that you enjoyed this post, I thought that it might be interesting to see. I do change my hair style a lot, and I do pay for it in split ends and dry bits, but I think that it is worth it in the long run. I have done stuff with it that I will never do again, but I have also found out in the process what actually looks good on me and suits me.
stay strong and keep chugging along, -Madeleine

Food For Thought

I have many found memories as a little girl at my grandparents' farm up north. I can recall chasing down the barn cats for a snuggle, parading through many acres of fields, itchy bug bites, streaking my hair while sitting on the porch, pretending to be an explorer, fairy princess or x-men with my cousins outside, and my grandmother's garden. I had never seen such a huge, beautiful garden.. and I still haven't. She had trees everywhere, with lavender, tulips, poppies, chives and big, round hydrangeas. Off on the very edge of the lot, she had planted vegetables and berries. The nine of us (my brother and I, and our seven cousins) would always make a point of moseying over there anytime we became a little peckish. My grandparents are good cooks and so are the rest of the adults that would have been up with us, so it is not like we were going hungry and were forced to eat some strange things outside, we chose to. I have a distinct memory of me and a few of my cousins shoving Gooseberries in our mouths. We would purposely look for the green, unripened ones because they were, and still are, the best tasting.
As my grandparents became older, they realized that it really was time to let go of their beautiful farm and down grade into a town house. We all miss it, and there are some moments where I feel as if I would do close to anything to go back to those warm, sunny, summer days.
My father went grocery shopping a few days ago and brought back some summer goodies; strawberries, nectarines and gooseberries! When I laid eyes on those bitter, green gems I knew I could not wait for him to put them away in the refrigerator. I was taken back to those wonderful lazy days; when I learned how to ride my bike and got gravel in my knee, when we would go to the beach religiously and collect beach glass, when we would spend our mornings building things with Lego blocks and our afternoons reading outside or playing scrabble, when I had all of the time in the world with my family and nothing honestly mattered that much. All of this came rushing back as soon as the green berry exploded the bitter taste in my mouth. Its amazing what something as simple as a berry can remind you of.
Is there a certain food that reminds you of your childhood, or of a strong memory (good/bad)? Let me know in a comment, I would love to hear (or should I say read?) about it.
Some food for thought: