Introducing... The Queenstown Chronicles!

FINALLY!

I'm very excited to announce the launch of my new blog "The Queenstown Chronicles"! The blog will have a student-focused goal of blogging the ups and downs of my mediocre graduate student life that is about to begin in September. I'm also trying out blogging on the Wordpress platform, so cheers to learning new things! Lemon Your Life is still alive as of right now, but I hope to focus of my Queenstown Chronicle adventures for the next 365 days.

See you over at the new blog for now :)

xx
Felicia

Earl Me Grey

Do you ever feel as though you're the only one on your wavelength? Think, radio frequency.
Maybe you say something and no one catches on, so you just keep it to yourself, in your head, the next time you think you want to say something out loud.

Do you ever feel as though you're drinking Earl Grey from a tea bag, while everyone else is caught up with the latest loose leaf tea blend named after a cosy Christmas feeling?

Sometimes, I don't even feel as though I'm from this time. I was born in the wrong century. Yet here I am, using a computer and completely dependant on my phone. So, what's the deal, world?

No matter how hard I try to catch on to current things going on around me, it always feels like I'm a little out of step. At this point, it's very hard to think something is NOT wrong with you. I mean, sure in Grade 4 you coloured a shield representing all the things you liked to do with stick figures (who are we kidding, I drew full portraits) of the people with whom you are closest, and the big letters on the bulletin board said, "I AM UNIQUE." But aside from that, doesn't it seem like there is some common binding force that bonds people, and most times, you're just not feeling the bonding force field?

Sometimes, the definition of being "unique" feels more like an imprisonment to a lonely world, rather than a celebration of differences. Sometimes, it can be hard to remember the elementary school lessons on why we should see the things that make us different as good things, not bad things. Even in my twenties, I forget these lessons some days.

But, I like Earl Grey. It's not that I don't like change, it's that I don't feel I need to keep up with the times, to feel good about myself. I operate on a different frequency, and that's okay. It doesn't make me less, or weird, or even how we often use the word, "different." It just makes me, me.

Maybe I was born in the wrong century, or maybe I'm just me.

Maybe I'm on another wavelength, or maybe I'm just me.

Maybe no one understood what I said, but that's just me.

Maybe I didn't feel the binding forcefield of being unique, or maybe... I'm just me.

Maybe I like Earl Grey, and maybe, that's just me.

Earl me grey.


Felicia 
xo

A Somewhat-Non-Revival?

Reviving the writer in you is sometimes hard to do. I took a break because of school, and I just couldn't afford to lose concentration, but there comes a point when I'm always called back to something I enjoy. 

If you're near me during school, you'll hear me repeatedly say, "I hate writing, I hate reading." I mean, how many of us claim to hate the things we're studying? We do them 24/7 and we study them because we enjoy it, but somehow we're still emulating hate all the time for it. Or I am at least. So, here's my confession. 

I don't hate writing. I love writing. I love making a mark on the page. I used to love copying lines because I could practice perfecting my handwriting. I love words. I love these black lines appearing as I type. It's so cool. That is such an understatement... But isn't it? 

Words give you this freedom. You're confined to using 26 letters of the alphabet, yet sometimes we still don't have the words to express a feeling. Other times, we have so many words we can't get them out fast enough. 

I love reading. I thought I hate it because of school, but I don't. I mean, why else did I have the urge to read the other day? I didn't even want to watch Friends, I just wanted to sit in bed and read. HOW RARE IS THAT FEELING NOWADAYS? Too bad I had studying to do though, right? But maybe I was scared. Scared that reading wouldn't pull me in the way it used to. 

Let's look at it. Are we scared of the things we love most? What if one day we just, stop loving those things and they don't interest us anymore? Am I the only one who's scared of this? What if you open a book, and it doesn't hold your attention? This book was a sanctuary to you, it was a whole other world to escape to, and it took your mind off of anything and everything. Through this book you were a hero, you were a villain, you were the princess you were the riddle-solver. You were unrelenting and flawed. 
But you were someone. 

I started this post about words and blogging and writing and reading. But really, it's about change and how change makes us lose the things we love, the things we feel comfortable with. It makes me feel lost, I think. Someone asked me what I'm interested in besides what I study and soccer, since that's what I play, and for a while I couldn't come up with an answer. Do I now know myself anymore? I can't process how I feel about it right now, the turmoil and anxiety this is giving me, so I'll jut leave it there for today. 

Google says that chamomile tea is calming but my stomach says that chamomile and I just aren't friends. So maybe this kind of answer, about change and all those things that make us anxious, maybe this answer we can't Google, or Wikipedia, or Ask.com. Maybe this one, we have to go with our gut feelings. Literally. 

--
Felicia

P.S. When I googled chamomile tea, 4/5 websites that I clicked suggested it was good for calming stomachaches, and 1/5 websites said people allergic to ragweed or something else can sometimes get a stomachache or rash from it since apparently they are distantly related. Just a fun fact. 

Leibster Award Nomination Post

I don't own this photo and I just grabbed it off a blog. Credits to whoever designed/posted it. 

Although this is way past due, fulfilling a nomination is better than letting it disappear into the abyss, right? 

Thanks to Adele over at all-things-adele.blogspot.co.uk for the nomination! 

Since I used to loved doing these Q & A things on Facebook and Piczo and such back in the day, I'm actually quite excited for the excuse to dig into a some nostalgic fun. 

1.) Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because I constantly make metaphors while trying to make sense of and overanalyzing every little thing that occurs in my life. I started blogging to voice these speeches I would give to myself, and to practice my typing skills (just kidding). 

2.) What is your favourite thing about blogging?

Endless ears. Whether no one reads your blog post, or many people read your blog post, it's as though cyber space has ears and just listens to everything you think is important enough to "publish." Plus, how satisfying is that word? Like, hey guys, I just published another blog post. I'm accomplished. Is that an ego boost, or what? 

3.) Sweet food or savoury food?
Sweet. Unless it's bacon. Then I pick bacon. Or candied bacon. Wait, is that sweet or savoury? 

4.) Favourite film?

How do I feel today? Sad? Do I want to go through 2 boxes of tissues? Okay, The Time Travelor's Wife. Am I happy? She's the Man. The Proposal. The Little Mermaid. Guilty pleasure even though I won't sleep for days? The Blacklist. Nope, shoot, that's not a film, that's a series...... 

5.) What do you like to do in your spare time? (besides blogging, haha)

I don't actually blog in my spare time. I blog when I'm procrastinating and when the mood strikes me. What is spare time, anyways? #lifeofastudent

6.) If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be?

My bedroom, because they don't offer direct flights to anywhere else that has my closet, my favourite books and my bed. 

7.) Do you prefer tea or coffee?

... See "About Us" page. 

8.) What is your favourite colour?
Chartreuse. Yep, I'm one of those people. Maybe neon coral? Neon salmon? 

9.) Favourite type of restaurant? (e.g. Italian, Chinese, etc)

I will never say no to a good steak. 

10.) Are you a cosy night in or party all night kind of person?

Around 8-10 pm I'm a cosy (movies and popcorn) night person, but if I make it to 2 am I'll make it all night (early hours pizza is the best pizza). 

Over and out. 

--
Felicia 

Two Minute Tuesday

Before adding anything out of habit, try your coffee natural. #RespectTheBean, as Nabob Coffee says. 

Metaphor: Sometimes we get carried away by how great things sound, we forget what the core values (of our coffee, of our own personal values) are. So before you go adding the milk and sugar and whipped cream, try your coffee black, and appreciate it as coffee, not as a dressed-up drink! 

Thanks Nabob Coffee for inspiring today's blog post idea. 

For more information on Nabob Coffee, visit the link below: 

http://www.nabob.ca/en

Fresh Fruit Friday!

We're starting something new! Since expanding to a lifestyle blog, rather than just metaphors every single post, we're going to be sharing our favourite fresh fruits on Fridays, including recipes and creative ways to include fruit in your daily snacks. 

We love fresh fruit and we've heard that it's better to eat it in the morning, you know, before you go snacking on all the leftover Halloween candy. 

Not that we're professional dietitians or anything. 

But, we do know (think, believe, Wikipedia'd) that fresh fruit has more vitamins than dried fruit, so ditch your dried mangos (who likes those? It feels like chewing on someone's ear...) and grab some fresh fruit before you head out the door. Today, we're loving pomegranate and blackberries! 

We've also seen some cool new (okay it's been around for a while but like, new to us) pomegranate teas. Have you ever opened a tea sachet to see what's inside? But that's not fresh fruit so like, another post for another day. 

Happy Friday! 

The Bitter Tea Memory

You'll never forget that one time you drank bitter tea with a meal, then spent the entire night on the bathroom floor. And ever since then, you could never drink that one bitter flavour tea ever again, because it made you puke your guts.. bad memories.. (Well, the food probably did, but memory by association right?)

One of the things that conjures bad memories for me like the bad tea, and brings back that anxiety is passing a few girls from high school who instigated and were involved in the outrageous cyber and in-person bullying I experienced. Now before you close this post and assume its 'just another awareness-thing-and-personal-story-on-bullying' please know my focus, rather than raising awareness, although important, is to try and connect with you, my readers. (This is a heavy topic that is close to my heart and a very personal experience, which previously, I have only shared with my closest friends. Please respect my story, and my sharing of it, with only good intentions.) 

Unlike my previous posts, I offer no advice in this, except the following which I feel, though obvious, is necessary to say and is easier said than done: I regret that I didn't ask for help from a parent, teacher or someone with authority at the time, but my hope is that you do seek help, even if you think you can handle it yourself. We all have our time to be independent in due course, but this isn't a Superwoman-only problem. 

Back to bad memories. 

So I was 16 years old, "seeing" a guy before dating him, and the milestone was hit: someone returned my LIKE LIKE feelings after all those lonely years. Big deal for a teenage girl, #amiright? 

First, I was attacked online through Facebook messages, by his ex-girlfriend, his ex-rebound-hook-ups, and their friends. Wholly immature (C'mon, girls, grow up!), inappropriate, jealousy-driven, and unnecessary, but by this day and age, the cyber (online) bullying I faced was not as surprising as it should be for something so widely talked about and unaccepted. 

Second, it moved to in-person + online bullying. Blocking them on Facebook could stop the messages, but not their physical presence. Waiting around my locker or classrooms to talk about me and my new boyfriend, purposely trying to get on my nerves. Finding other ways to send messages fabricating stories about issues with him, which of course, scared the wits out of me. And I mean more scared than I am of scary movies. I was terrified of running into them every day. 

For a girl who could speak her mind since fourth grade without a care in the world, I had suddenly lost the words to stand up for myself. 

After two years of enduring this bullying throughout high school, university felt like the biggest relief to be freed of the torment. Bigger and better things, right?! I didn't realize it would follow me, despite the fact these girls were still in high school. Running into them at McDonald's, in the mall, I'd always think, "Yep, just my luck I'm running into them, even now." *sigh* 

Beyond the fact that these girls were originally associated with this boyfriend, even after he and I were no longer together, passing them in the mall or at the grocery store by chance still inflicts the anxiety and fear from over 5 years ago. 

To this day. 

What makes me sad is that even now, talking about it, writing about it, just like bringing up the bad, bitter tea memory, I realize it is an important part of my teenage years that I have not yet overcome. It still bothers me. I can't seem to let go of it yet. My stomach still drops, my heart beat is still too fast, and my chest is too constricted in fear for me to know if I have forgiven them yet. 

Maybe talking about it will help me work through these bad memories, and find it in me to forgive and look past the bullying I endured. Maybe it won't happen for a while. Maybe, sharing my story will help me see that I was the 'bigger person' by not reciprocating. But am I? 

I do know this: The "Mean Girls" world is very, very real. And that's not a good thing. And having the perspective to see the terrifying truth of this in my twenties now, I think it scares me most thinking about how long and how far girls will go to break the heart and soul of those whom they are jealous.

If you haven't experienced this it may sound like I'm making a mountain or of a molehill, something common that every teenage girl goes through. But if you have experienced something similar, you'll know it's a molehill that IS an unavoidable mountain, that constantly impedes on your life, and it shouldn't be common, accepted, or overlooked. 

Metaphor: Bad tea by association leaves you with a bitter taste in your mouth, but one day you will be able to break the association and leave those memories in the past. And enjoy your tea. I believe that one day I will reach the point that I can pass those girls, and though I won't forget, I will not have the same reactions (the tea's bitter taste) as I once did. 

I haven't figured out how, but in the meantime, I'll add a little sugar to my tea and focus on the things that I love and make me feel loved, not worrying about the bitter bullies of the past. 

Felicia 

xx

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We're on Twitter! Tweet and follow us @meta4icallyblog to see what we can squish into 140 characters or less! Oh, and for blog updates, maybe?

"Can I get a coffee-half-hot-chocolate please?"

All of these blog posts have been about tea, and since today is a Monday, it's a coffee day, which constitutes a coffee metaphor. Whether you're living the student life, the working life, or the <insert creative stereotype/> life, Mondays are Mondays and nobody likes Mondays (WARNING: MAJOR ASSUMPTIONS BEING MADE).

Back story: During my very short time as a Tim Horton's employee, I noticed some customers spruced up their coffee orders, asking for a "<insert coffee cup size/> coffee-half-hot-chocolate." Almost all of the time, they omitted adding milk and sugar to their drink. Once I tried this combination, I found my new favourite drink. The machines even have a button for half or a quarter of hot chocolate, french vanilla, or English toffee. It's a thing, people.

Front story (Is that a thing?): Today, I was moping about an ex-boyfriend who seems to be getting over me a lot faster than I'm getting over him. Who's with me in this situation? 

[Cue: melodramatic stereotypical situation. Rainy, cold, windy, lonely day. Piles of school work.]

Here I was, Facebook and Instagram-creeping pictures that showed up on my newsfeed via mutual friends, checking out said ex's pretty new friends, chomping on my bag of "double hit" caramel and butter popcorn. With a big English project to write, I figured coffee was an appropriate post-lunch drink. *crunchcrunch* Instead of adding fancy Classic Syrup from Starbucks, hot chocolate was calling my name.

[Cue: coffee + hot chocolate = a less-mopey attitude]

What's the big deal?

Coffee is synonymous with early mornings, late nights, and breakfast most days. Coffee is waking up and starting a new day. Coffee is your weapon against Mondays.

Hot chocolate is a comfort drink (for me at least, and if you don't like hot chocolate, why are you still reading this?!). Hot chocolate is warm goodness on cold spring days back when you played your heart out on the soccer field, in the pouring rain. Hot chocolate, if you make it from the powder mix and not fondue-style (Italy, anyone? I've tried it there!), leaves a gooey, not-so-melted powder mix at the bottom of your mug once you're done drinking.

Today, with the moping Monday-hating attitude I was in, looked at this leftover chocolate stuff and decided there were 3 options:

1. Soak the mug then wash it. (Add baking soda if there are stains from leaving it unwashed)
2. Get a spoon and eat it. 
3. Add milk and make impromptu chocolate milk. 

The first option was just ignoring this goodness and wasting it. The second was a good idea, but involves scraping against the mug and that's weird unless you're eating cake (No offence, hot-chocolate scrapers), and also feels a little desperate. The third option was making the most out of it and turning the drink into something new. 

[Cue: High School Musical 3's "Something New" song]

Metaphor: Mix the things we rely on to keep us going with the comfort things and turn it around! As much we like to dwell on the old, and creep our exes and mope and hold pity parties for ourselves, sometimes the ways we comfort ourselves on crappy days (hot chocolate in coffee on Mondays), present us with new opportunities. Instead of closing our eyes to these options, turn it into a new drink, a new opportunity. 

Like chocolate milk in the middle of the day. 

And enjoy the caramel and butter popcorn. *chompchomp* I highly recommend it.

And my apologies, lactose-intolerant folks, is there a soy milk substitute? Almond milk?

... HAPPY MONDAY PEOPLE (sad attempt at cheerfulness?)

Felicia 
xx

Tea Time Well Spent

You know how some days you walk in your front door after a long day, and just look forward to sitting on the couch, maybe open up Netflix (I'm just guessing that's what people do, I don't even have a Netflix account), and eat nachos and salsa? Then you're like, wait it's Saturday, I'm supposed to be with people and not in my house, being lonely right now? Isn't that a waste of time? Here are my thoughts.

Sometimes, we just need to be alone.

Spending time with "me, myself and I" (no, not me, you! Just... Okay, just say it out loud and you'll get it) is, sometimes, all the cups of tea we need.

Think of it like this. We spend our whole day around other people (maybe you don't, but just play along). Quite a bit of our time is spent in the eyes of other people. I mean, when we get dressed in the morning, it's great to champion the whole "personal-style-rocks-so-I-don't-care-what-people-think" mentality, but most times, professional and presentable is what stops us from wearing pink leggings and a green shirt. Watermelon, anyone?
But in all seriousness, we do spend a lot of time considering how others view us. So don't you think for one night at least, we deserve to just pull on pajamas that don't match, and watch old seasons of Big Brother? (a shameless addiction of mine, I'll admit).

Cliché? Yes, perhaps. But hey, if that's good enough for you, go, by all means and grab those pjs. (But please, shower or something first and wash off that dirt from the day!)

If not, here's my second way to think of it:
How many of you are particular about the cup you use for tea or coffee? Me too. There's only a certain few I'll drink coffee from, and likewise with tea. And BOY, DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO HAVE YOUR FAVE MUG OR CUP. (That's also called attitude, but I didn't take more than Psychology 1000 so I'm just going to suggest that it exists in my head and not claim fact). Unfortunately, these tea cups are usually pretty small, and today I just *had* to have my tea from the small cup. You'll also remember my very first post about hot tea vs. cold tea. Now, I think I've solved the problem myself. After rummaging through the kitchen cabinets and luckily not breaking anything, I found a personal sized teapot and cup (but I just used the tea pot part) and steeped about two and a half cups worth of tea in this little teapot.

It was the perfect size. 

Not only did my tea stay warm and consistent in steeping taste (is that a thing?), but I was able to indulge in another cup and a half, effectively satisfying all tea cravings for the night, over a few hours. WITHOUT HAVING TO REBOIL WATER. #firstworldproblems, right?
At this point, you're probably thinking, oh my goodness, where is this Felicia's rant going about tea all over again?

So I'll summarize today's metaphor.
Personal tea pot. Solves problems of cold tea, and too hot tea, and lonely tea cup (you). Because instead of boiling water for another tea cup, and waiting for more tea, you just pour it out from the personal teapot.
Self-sufficiency is what I call it. Just don't Oxford Dictionary that.
And while this metaphor is 100% flawed and has many loopholes that I have not yet taken the time to work out, I'm at the point where I don't give a sugar cube. Not because I don't add sugar to my tea and have never actually seen a sugar cube, but because it makes sense in my head and that's all that matters. 
Got the point, yet?

Third and final thought, just incase you're still reading and didn't give up after the first thought:

You are complete, in yourself, and being alone when you think you should be somewhere else does not matter. Sometimes we just need one cup of tea, just a little time to ourselves, before we're ready to just back into the world. Other times, we need a few cups of tea, without worrying about too cold, too hot, and oh-I-have-to-boil-more-now (or what other people think of our watermelon outfits). We all need to take time for ourselves, and if that means finding time for personal teapot time, then that time is time well spent.

Felicia
xx

P.S. I've seen these cute little personal teapots everywhere in grocery stores, so grab one next time there's a sale if you have room in your kitchen, and aren't a hoarder like me. The coolest ones have a tea cup on the bottom, and the teapot sits right on top of the cup.