Delectable Eats on a Pauper Budget

Being a student who can only work a certain (minuscule) number of hours per week, I've gotten quite creative with my dinner options. For the most part I like to try and keep my meals healthy, but still hearty and filling; This is my favourite recipe for lunch or dinner and if you shop in China Town, like I do, it'll cost you less than $5 to make!
Even better is the fact that if you make a huge batch of this, you can refrigerate and eat it for up to 4 days after! Give it a try, I'm sure you won't be disappointed :)

Ingredients:
- 1 can of mixed beans rinsed & drained
- Any assortment of chopped veggies (tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, green beans, broccoli, onions, spinach, corn, asparagus...)
- Couscous or 1 can of Tuna (both are optional, but it definitely helps add some "oomph")

Dressing Ingredients:
- 1-2 Tbsp. Olive oil (depending on size of salad)
- Freshly squeezed juice from 1-2 lemons or limes (store bought is fine too)
- As many crushed garlic cloves as you fancy (I usually use between 2-4 depending on size)
- Dill (season to taste, usually about 1-2 Tbsp.)
- Pepper (season to taste)

1. Mix everything together in a big ol' bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes (the lemon, garlic and dill will increase in potency during this time so don't go TOO nuts on the garlic right off the bat).
2. Dig in; Bon Appetit!

The leftovers can be refrigerated and consumed for up to 4 days after initially making.
How do you like that!? An uber healthy meal that costs less than $5 to make, keeps for almost an entire work week and doesn't require any cooking time!

25+

April 25th- 25+
Sunshine through the window, dancing on sleeping faces;
Vertebrae by Vertebrae we remove ourselves from our tightly-knit cocoons.
Percolate, Rejuvenate, Initiate;
Peace, Poise, Practice, Energize.
Revitalized.
Beads of water wash away yesterdays remains,
Starting anew;
Fresh & Pure.
Beams of light penetrate our white-washed covers,
Absorbed, received and Appreciated.
Colour;
Sunshine;
The heat & humidity embraces our beings.
The breath of Earth rushes past our silhouettes;
Get's tangled in my hair & sends chills down my neck.
Good People,
Good Vibes,
Tranquility.
The heavens turn dark & the Sun is over-run;
Clashes and Crashes; the breath is no longer so kind.
One by One they begin to fall,
Miniature atom bombs of substance crashing to the ground.
Refuge,
Tenderness & Shelter;
The rains have come.

Some Sensimillia Street 4/20 Humour

We all have pain

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you don't let show

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

If there is a load you have to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load
If you just call me

So just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Lean on me when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
Till I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Lean on me...

PAH!

School's Out!
Sunny Skies,
Groovin Vybes;
Rekorderlig in Hand,
Celebration is the Plan
Perfection!

The "Forever Home"

I went back to Ottawa this past weekend to "celebrate"... more like, visit my family for Easter.
It struck me that although my Mom's house will forever be my "forever home", it's just not the same as when I once lived there.

So what do I mean by "forever home"?

Well, I mean it in the sense that wherever one's parents happen to be living (especially if it's the house you grew up in), you will always be welcome to visit, lounge about, eat whatever and generally make yourself at home as you would normally do in your own house or apartment.
It's especially surreal for me because despite my encouragement to revamp my old bedroom, my Mom has kept it exactly as I left it when I had initially moved to Toronto. Granted, she's taken over a tiny corner for her "grow-op" as so many of my friends like to call it (in actuality it's her seedling habitat), but for the most part, nothing has changed.

This brings back memories of good times spent in that house; in that room, where all my things (and me) used to live. However, dawning on the 2 year anniversary since I left Ottawa and my Mom's house, it just doesn't seem the same as it did before... it's hard to explain...

I can remember during my 1st year of living in Toronto, whenever I'd go back to Ottawa for a weekend my Mom would yell at me to "clean my bathroom" (meaning the bathroom in the basement where my bedroom is)
or to "scoop the kitty litter" (referring to the one used byher two cats)... It was different this time... It was like I had actually, truly, really left and that she'd acknowledged it and accepted that the state of the basement was no longer my responsibility... I don't live there anymore and haven't for the past 2 years. It was strange...

It made me want to help out around the house even more than I had when I lived there. It's just my Mom, my slobby 17 year old brother (God love him) and 4 forever shedding animals that live there now- It's alot of work for one person and I realized that my Mom harassing me to clean certain things in the past was not because she actually thought it was my responsibility to clean it, but rather that it was just too much for one person to do.

It's strange and surreal and scary for me to analyze the current status of my life and pinpoint the monumental changes that have taken place in the past 2 years. Ottawa will forever be my "forever home"; it's where I was born, raised and spent the first 21 years of my life. It's where my parents, my Grandfather and my family pets live- but in the same breath, Toronto is my home as well. My new home...
I don't know, it just felt different to me this time and it was strange. But I guess we've all got to grow up and move on at some point.

Wise Words to Remember & Live By

Baz Luhrmann- "Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)"

One down; Four to go

One-by-One,
Like Dominoes I overcome;
Knock one hurdle down only to face another-
Slowly progressing towards the pure light at the end.
Slow motion,
I hear it crash; a Burden lifted-
One-by-One,
Like Dominoes I overcome;
I will prevail-
I will not fail;
Step aside and let me continue this path,
Each step one closer to the last.

Screwed by the System.. or just by Myself?

So I'm just a tad bitter this morning, reason being that I'm screwed and stuck with a total of $285 in traffic fines that I most definitely cannot afford at this time... at any time! A total of 3 tickets: one for not having proper ownership documentation, one for still carrying my expired insurance card and one for the blatantly illegal left-turn that I made only to come face to face with an officer who promptly directed me to pull over.

Now to be fair, I will agree that I deserved these tickets; it was my own carelessness and disregard for not ensuring that I had appropriate documentation before deciding to take a drive to High Park on March 14th. To add salt to the wound, turns out I DID have the proper insurance card on me but it was just tucked away in a corner of my wallet that I failed to check.

As for the illegal left-turn (which is what spurred my getting pulled over) well that was Karma biting me in the ass for being so brazen and choosing to disregard not only the giant "No Left Turn" signs but the honking streetcar behind me as well. Serves me right I spose... I won't dispute that.

Reason I'm bitter is that I DO have the proper documentation to get my "failure to present ownership and insurance" charges wiped; however, the court has very sly and confusing protocol for ensuring most people can't get to the courthouse in time to present these papers.

#1: You have to wait 10 days after receiving a ticket to allow for submitting and processing within their system.
#2: You only have 15 days in which to present these papers (so really only a total of 5 days because you can't do anything during the first 10)
#3: You can only present documentation on Thursdays between the hours of 1:30pm and 3:30pm!

That's it!!! A measly 2 hour time frame, ONCE a week! So needless to say, I just missed my 15 days grace by TWO days because I had to wait for Thursday to come back around. Damn system...

I spose, and I WILL, take this issue to trial. If nothing, at least it buys me a few more months in which I won't have to pay and I may possibly get the charges reduced if the Judge so chooses.

But the moral of the story is:
If you know that what you're about to do is wrong or illegal; don't do it because Karma will come back and bite you in the ass for it!

Put it all on pause for a moment

Breathe-
Breathe in deep,
Release.
And again-
Release.
Feel the frustration subside,
There is a light at the end of this tunnel-
Breathe.
Remove the negativity
It can become a toxin;
A toxin to not only your entity but others as well-
Breathe.
It will be okay,
It will be alright;
Positive affirmations now-
Breathe.
Will yourself to see the light,
Feel it's warmth on your skin;
Make you smile again-
Breathe.
It will be okay,
It will be alright.
You will be alright-
Breathe.