TORONTO GIRL CHRONICLES

Why are Wednesdays so stressful? they are the pinnacle of the week. Either shit goes down from here or it goes up. Its a lot of preassure!!!

My sister sent me these few tips on dealing with stress:

Ways to put a smile on your face:

* Play with a puppy.

* Picture your favorite place in the world.

* Have an orgasm!

* Call your sister.

What are your tips for for dealing with stress? Do share....serenity now...*breathe*

I love Toronto because it makes me dream. Go out there and enjoy the weather! Who knows what you might find.

These are some of the things I found while walking around Yorkville on a lazy afternoon.

You know how I am always saying save your money, cook your own meals? well, its harder than it sounds isn't it? so I guess I am going to practice what I preach and do as I say. Eating out is ...out, but it doesn't mean deliciousness is out of my life as well. You see, I have friends, and these friends can cook and I have bugged them and bugged them until they gave me their yummy-licious budget friendly recipes.

First up,  T's bean burger recipe. She is a vegetarian cooking goddess and makes these delicious bean burgers. I made them a couple of weeks ago for my meat loving bf and he had seconds, so they're not so bad. They are amazing!!!

Here are the ingredients:



1 Can of Black Beans ( I enjoy Eden's Organics Black Beans)
1/2 Cup of Bread Crumbs ( I like Mr. Pita's because it contains no eggs)
1/2 Cup of Onion chopped to perfection
1 Garlic Clove Crushed
1 tbs of Dried Bay Leaves/ Cuming/ Black Pepper/ Coriander/ Sea Salt (depending on what you like or have around)
1tbs of Canola oil (I use the spray type so its about a 2 second spray)


Instructions:



1) Rinse beans and drain while you chop onion, crush garlic and mix spicies.



2) Mix all ingredients together and mash them up. You can mash them with your bare hands, but I have a food processor so I use mine because I am lazy.



3) Now that  the mixture is ready, roll mixture into a ball and flatten to form a patty. Heat a little bit of oil and place the pattys on the pan until they are browned.



4) Bon Appetite! I like to eat them with a bit of avocado. 2 pattys will leave a regular person satisfied.

Do you have any other delicious and ridiculously easy recipes you'd like to share? e-mail me at torontogirlchronicles@gmail.com or post a comment!

Last night Kathryn Bigelow became the first ever woman to pick up the coveted Best Director Oscar for The Hurt Locker. I haven't had a chance to check that movie out, but now I have to.
Congratulations!!!

So my Monday notes are supposed to be a bit of a pep-talk to get you all inspired into kicking some ass this week. Here's my confession, they are more of a pep-talk to myself as well. Because the truth is, whether you are at the beginning of your journey or towards the middle or towards the end, it is never easy pursing what you love. Yes, you do it out of love, which is what keeps you going, but also because of this you put everything on the line. You work long hours, you study hard, you sacrifice sleep, family time, you name it. You know what you want so you go and get it.

Well, today happens to be Women's Day, and I would like to acknowledge all the women that have given me pep-talks before, and the women that have led by examples.  These have taught me about kindness, perseverance, hard work and  pusuing your dreams. We all have women in our lifes that have accomplished something that has inspired us, whether they raised 5 kids, or got a Phd,  so go out there and celebrate these great great women! and in the process celebrate yourself, yes you. You great woman you.

xoxo

Toronto Girl

P.S - Who inspires you? what inspires you about them? What makes a woman a great woman?

Dear Toronto Girls,

We are taking a break to focus 100% on school and will be back on Monday. We are also upgrading our look and working on many many surprises so check us out Monday March 8, 2010.

x0x0

Toronto Girl

Mistakes. We are not robots, we are humans, I'm human. As much as I hate to admit it...I make mistakes. Unfortunately, sooner or later they all come back to bite me in the ass. What can I say, I've never been a "learn-from-other's-mistakes" type of gal. Always need to have my way and fall on my ass.

I've heard that making mistakes and getting yourself back up is what builds character. Well, I've got some character. And I could sit here and list all of my mistakes but the more a think about it the more I fail to see them as mistakes (okay some of them). I say this because (and I guess this is the building I've learned how to recognize good people and keep them in my life, how to save money, that great things cost a great deal of effort and that yellow is not the best colour on my complexion. But all jokes aside, I think the most important thing that I've learned from my mistakes is to smarten up and pay attention. We are bound to repeat our mistakes when we just brush them off and not learn from them. So the sooner you learn they more you grow and the more room you make to make new mistakes and grow some more.