I got myself a cupcake book that I had been wanting for a while (on sale!) and couldn’t wait to make some cupcakes. After finally finding cupcake liners and finding out that husband bought lemons to make lemonade with, I decided to try out the lemon blueberry cupcake recipe. It’s super easy and also convenient to substitute ingredients with. Here are the ones I made and the recipe along with my adjustments. Enjoy!

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I’ve been making some new friends lately and it’s nice to have different people around me. For the first time in my life I’m having an increasing amount of Catholic friends from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. It’s really interesting to hear their stories about their walk (or walk away from) Catholicism and their opinions about the religion. I’ve been told about Catholicism from a Protestant perspective so it’s interesting to see what it’s like from their point of view. I’m trying really hard to resist judging and being open, but because I’ve been told so many things about Catholics (not necessarily bad things, just differences between Protestands and Catholics), I find it hard to turn off the predetermined analysis I have in my head.

I’m also trying to be less shy at work and talk to more coworkers. The good thing about speaking with coworkers is that you all work in the same organization so it’s easier to break the ice by talking about something work related. The problem is when you run out of work related topics. I’m trying though. I really don’t want to be one of those people that just stick to the people I’m comfortable with rather than getting to know different people and being more inclusive.

Something interesting happened to me today when husband and I went to an Indian/Nepalese restaurant for dinner. There were a few people in there already, mostly with an Indian background, and they kept staring at us. It’s nothing new since husband and I get the most stares, looks and frowns from people of the same or similar ethnic groups that we are of, but this time it didn’t bother me at all. For the longest time I would get upset that people would look at us as a spectacle or something to judge. But today really showed me how far I’ve come to stop caring what other people think. I’m really happy with my decision to be with him and now I’m even more happy that I’m moving on from letting others prevent me from being happy about it.

P.S. I’m also really happy about the butter chicken I ate. It was REALLY good.

I still remember learning about WW1 & WW2 in grade school and hearing about how so many people gave up their lives for the freedoms we have today. As I grew older I realized how many of our freedoms are being denied to use at an increasing rate. We need to remember what our veterans fought for so that we do not have to go to war ever again. In the recent events of the G20 summit in Toronto, I’ve clearly seen that we are heading to a police state. Our voices are being silenced, free speech is becoming a thing of the past, and conformity is being enforced on us – psychologically, socially and physically.

I still remember learning this poem in elementary school. It is so powerful, so enlightening, and sadly, just as relevant today as it was when it was written. We must not assume that those in power have our best interest at heart. We are the common people and we have rights. Let us not be silent when we see our fellow common people being abused by those in power.

First They Came For The Communists – Martin Niemoller

First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.

It’s been a sad weekend for Toronto. Husband and I had left our home, Toronto, because we knew this would happen. How could anyone NOT know this would happen? I have a few things to say about the protests, the vandalism and the police brutality.

1. It was foolish to have this event in downtown Toronto. Period. Why did all three levels of government think this was a good idea? And why did they think it was justified to spend ONE BILLION DOLLARS from tax-payer’s hard earned money to pay for the security of this event? How big is Canada? They could not find anywhere else to have this? Oh that’s right, they wanted to show our city off. This is not Toronto. It has not been Toronto ever since you erected fences, uprooted trees (because they could be used as weapons – WTF?), brought in police from other cities (who abused their authority for the past week), stopped and hassled Torontonians who were “lingering around”, expected Toronto businesses to halt their work, and expected Torontonians to stay inside all weekend. The governments are responsible for the destruction of Toronto. This was completely predictable and preventable without wasting so much money on security.
2. We live in a democratic society that allows free speech. Protesters come out to get a message across so that they can influence the decisions of G20 members. Why would officials and police expect that protestors would not get pissed that they were forced to protest in a location FAR AWAY from where the leaders were congregated? If I were a protester, I would be pissed. How dare YOU tell ME, a law-abiding Canadian citizen with no violent intention, where I can and cannot go to voice my opinion? And how is it a democratic society with free speech when officials are here to make decisions with enormous weight are not allowed access to the people and vice versa? How can a Canadian citizen tell their prime minister what they think his decisions should be? What we have is NOT democracy.
3. The anarchist group that lashed out on Saturday are an intelligent, calculated, and organized group. They targeted large corporations and police and media property. They hadn’t any intention to hurt anyone, which to my knowledge they didn’t. They are against the G20. They are against exploitation and a non-democratic body who get together in isolated, elite settings to make decisions on behalf the people of the world. They targeted capitalistic greed, social manipulators (the media), and organized terrorists (the police). I don’t support vandalism, but their actions are hardly anything to get upset over. I’m sure Starbucks can afford to replace a few panes of glass. They have enough money in their pockets with the low wages they pay their employees. Additionally, yes they are criminals but so are employees who steal post-it notes from work. A few broken panes of glass and some lit police cars are nothing compared to bombing public places and targeting civilians.
4. The police disgust me.
   - they trap people in and arrest them, even after when they say want to leave peacefully
   - deny individuals with special needs access to proper services
   - charge crowds of unarmed civilians without warning
   - disallow peaceful protests from occuring, arrest peaceful protestors, and attack journalists and other non-violent observers/protestors.

   This is shameful. This is illegal. This is abuse. Nobody polices the police, and this is what happens.