My Zia Grace told me once (as I was getting my hair done) that you are in charge of your own fate. If something doesn’t happen for you, go your way, gets you down, made you sad, its because of you and you alone. I know pretty harsh to say right? My aunt is a very blunt (but honest women). 

She believes that if something doesn’t happen for you then you didn’t exhaust all outlets to try and make it happen. Did you fight? Some people would probably say yes ( I know because I was one of those people), but when I really thought about it… I let other things get to me and in away discourage me from striving for what I want. I let it stop me before I got there. 

If something is getting you down, you have to stop for a second and remember NO ONE allows it to get to you BUT you. YOUR the one in charge of how it effect you, and how you are going to react. I know a lot of the time life throws you these curve balls, some hit you out of nowhere and your not really sure what to do in that moment, but if you can find the strength to just pull through it and get up for one more round it’s more then anyone can ever ask for. You owe it to yourself to get up and fight, get up for that next round. BECAUSE like Stallone said in the newest Rocky movie “Life will BEAT you to your knees and KEEP you there permanently if YOU LET IT.”

You are in control of who you become, where you go, and where you end up. Everyone you surround yourself with are just people to in away shape the person you are. EVEN from the worst experience there is always something to learn. 

I’m never regretful because in the experiences I have had, it only made me a little wiser, a lot stronger, and gave me the strength to push forward. 

In 2011 I was grateful for a lot of things regardless if they were good or bad.

FINALLY after almost 5 years of headaches “crazy” was held accountable for their actions. As hard as it was to sit there and have everything in my hand to prove that this wasn’t just in our heads and still be told “it wasn’t good enough” or have people not being very thorough at their jobs finally a light was shined on my family. Everyone said grin and bear it, you will get through it give someone an inch of rope they will take enough to hang them self and that’s exactly what happen. We were fortunate to have an officer who took his job seriously, one who was pretty sharp and investigated the situation didn’t just shove it to the side. Someone who took all the facts from both sides and put the pieces together. Without him doing his job none of that would have happened. He lifted the weight of the world off my families chest. He did more for us then he thinks and we thank our lucky stars that he was working that night, because if he wasn’t, I’m not so confident we would have had things turn out the way they did. We hope that those around us also follow in our footsteps and know that if you stand together as one you will be stronger. 

I am also thankful for having another year with my grandmother, she is the glue that holds my family together. She is one of the strongest women (next to my Zia Grace, and my mom) that I know. She thinks and does for everyone else but herself. She is kind and wise. She has given me advice without even realizing it and those are things that I will cherish forever (well that and the yummy chocolate cookie recipe she gave me). You don’t realize how precious your grandparents are until they are gone. They are full of stories from another time, another way of life in some cases and its fascinating (well at least for me) to hear about when they were my age, what they learned, and maybe get a heads up for what I’m up against later on in life. 

I am thankful that my family is healthy, and as strong as they were the previous year. Everyone is growing up so fast, and starting their own journey’s with the people they are choosing to spend their life with. Good luck to Michael & Tania, Anthony & Ida with your wedding preparations. I’m sure that chapter of life isn’t going to be easy, but I’m sure you guys can push through it. You have come this far right? REMEMBER like Zia Grace says “love is blind and marriage is an eye opener.”! HAHA good luck! 

I am thankful for my job, its one that will allow me to brush up on my media skills in various ways and prepare me for when I venture off with my own business. Thank you to Marija for believing me enough to suggest me for the job and thank you to Kirsten for hiring me on the team.

I am also thankful for my relationship. It’s one that regardless of where I was, or who I was with was in the back of my mind because deep down I knew he was the one I was suppose to be with. NO matter who came into my life and how I felt about them, it wasn’t as complete and satisfying as I feel now. I feel that the time apart (as hard and sucky as it was), happened for a reason and allowed us to grow as 2 different people and find ourself and what we were worth. It made us realize what we truly wanted and like the saying goes if it is meant to be it will happen. BELIEVE ME I’m living it. I’m excited to see what my life holds with him as we venture off on this new path together. Regardless of what terms we were on he was always the one beside me in his own way picking me up when I fell, he secretly watched over me, and the day he realized that his life wouldn’t be complete with out me was the day I said… okay now its time. I love you with all my heart but you know that, and you’ve known that for the last 11 years. You are my best friend, my boyfriend, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you and make little monkey babies (hahaha)! 

I’ve decided this year that I’m going to write again, NOT about MMA sorry folks, just about my life experience almost like an online memoir about my year. I’m  not sure where it’s going to go or what I’m going to write or vlog about. ALL I know it will be 100% true. Maybe some of it you can relate too, or know someone who had a similar experience, but I would love for you to take it with me. 

Some of you have been reading my stuff since I was in college (in 2006), reading about my MMA reports, my training, and my struggles with diet and weight. I was shocked the people I was able to reach, some I even inspired. It made me think about what a powerful tool this internet thing is. 

So please connect with me:

Twitter: @christinasears

Email: searstina@hotmail.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christina-Sears/122124297839302

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LadyJag85?feature=mhee

Feel free to comment about anything I post let me know what you think, give me the thumbs up or down, post video responses etc… I wanna hear from you, I want your feedback and most of all I want your story. I wanna know what YOUR deal is!!!

Christina Sears

Ashley & I picking Apples

So a few weekend’s ago, Ashley and I decided to hit up  apple orchard to pick our own apples, bring them home and make some home made candy apples with them. We picked out the cutest little bags to put them in and were totally stoked to do this. So we made our first batch and it seemed like they all turned out… until the candy started to run off of them. The bottom of the pans we used were full of candy and the apples became bare. 

It was pretty disappointing considering we felt that we followed the instructions to the exact detail. 

Attempt 1

A week later I decide I’m going to try and make them again. I use the second kit we had bought and followed the instructions. The candy looked just about done when i left it for a second. I KNOW I KNOW your NOT suppose to leave it for ANY seconds I realize that NOW. I walked into my kitchen and the candy was bubbling black (like a witches cauldron) there was smoke EVERYWHERE. I threw the pot outside on the back porch while I tried to get the smoke out so the alarm wouldn’t go off (unlike normal people I was making them at like 12:30am). 

I grabbed the pot from outside and dumped it into the sink (another bad idea) because I didn’t have warm water going I had cold water going and it hardened the candy IN THE SINK. PLUS I thought I had ruined the pot, it was such a bad experience. 

Burnt Candy

I was so upset I headed to Sobey’s to grab what i needed to make these bad boys from scratch. Some sugar, corn syrup and food colouring and I was on my way to try it for a 3rd time. 

The third time I dyed the apples purple (well the candy). I cooked the candy long enough (so I thought) and began to coat the apples. They turned out amazing, it seemed as though the candy was sticking and they were going to turn out amazing.

So I left them over night on the table, but when I went to go check on them the candy AGAIN melted off. I was so discouraged and upset, I thought FOR SURE I had it perfect and then to see these amazing purple apples go to waste made me so angry. 

I gave it a few days after that to re-think my steps and so I started reading up on Candy Apples online.

4th attempt

The issue wasn’t with how I was making them it was because I didn’t have a candy thermometer to let me know when the candy had reached 300 degrees which means it was ready. SO I had to always ball park it. I did watch a video on youtube and the guy showed how you can tell if the candy is finished IF you do not have that thermometer to check. He showed that if you dip your spoon with the candy coating into a  glass of water and it hardens right away (rock hard) it is ready. So I did that, and stirred my candy, and tested it a few times. 20 minutes or more went by and I still felt like I wasn’t doing it right or that it wasn’t cooked enough. Until eventually I dipped some of the candy into the water and it coiled and hardened instantly.

I then took the candy off the burner and let it sit for a second before I started rolling my apples. 

I had bought 5 golden delicious and 5 granny smith (which are my favorite) and started dipping them in the candy. RIGHT away I noticed they instantly took form and hardened as the air hit them. The trick after that was coating ALL the apples before the candy went hard in the pot. 

You actually DON’t Need to put them in the fridge because within 5 minutes after dipping they should harden like a sucker, and they aren’t sticky. Its like a sheet of glass coating your apple. 

Honestly, they were one of the hardest things I had to make, and I wasted a lot of money on ingredients and apples just trying to get it right BUT I GOT IT RIGHT. 

If your going to make them, make sure you try and get your hands on a candy thermometer, because it is tough to try and ball park it (especially when you’ve never worked with candy syrup before). 

If you don’t have one the way you can tell your candy is on the right track is if it starts to bubble thick, and not like water, plus always be checking it when you dip your spoon in the water and see if the candy hardens or coils at the bottom of the glass like a web and hardens there. 

Cute bags from Dollarama

The best apples to use are the bigger ones, like your golden delicious, granny smiths, etc… 

I used a “from scratch” recipe from the foodnetwork:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/candy-apples-recipe2/index.html

Last Attempt AND IT WORKED!

That “from scratch” recipe will make you 10 apples (if you use the bigger ones). 

With the food colouring, get creative, I bought neon food colouring from Sobey’s that was pretty wicked. It gave me some vibrant colours to work with.

SO what did I learn from this experience? I learned NEVER to leave candy simmering on a hot stove, because at any second it can take a turn for the worst (almost like if you leave oil on a hot stove.) I learned that it takes patience’s for this candy to reach the perfect temperature and you have to be willing to wait for it to get there and not rush the process. AND I learned that if you try, and try again eventually you can learn from your mistakes and make something perfect if you are determined enough!!!

Let me hear about your Candy Apple experience (good or bad)! Please place a comment in the box below! I would love to hear your story!!!!

-christina

WATCH OUR APPLE ORCHARD AND 1ST ATTEMPT AT CANDY APPLES HERE:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150322663445563

Catching up on some of my news, I was reading a post by CHCH News about a little boy who’s dog passed away over the Thanksgiving weekend. Apparently he was out walking his one year old dog which is a chiwawa by the way, when they walked by this 37 year old women (who is remaining nameless). I guess the dog got excited and was kind of nipping at her. MIND you a chiwawa IS not a big dog, she claims the dog “attacked her.” She ended up grabbing the leash and flinging the little dog, which snapped his neck killing him. 

Pretty crazy stuff don’t you think? The women is apparently being charged for animal cruelty but when I heard the story my jaw dropped.

If it were a bigger dog, like a german shepherd or a retriever and THAT dog was being sort of nippy at you then yeah i’d be a bit more scared but seriously a chiwawa? COME ON LADY!

People driving by stopped and gave their statements to police which is awesome because at least someone saw it. The family has had a huge out poor of people who feel super sorry for what happen and want to help. SOME have even offered to buy a new dog. 

I have a cat, which I’m not much of a cat person, BUT if anyone tried to be mean to him or did anything to him, I’d be all over the butt like white on rice let me tell you.

Some people don’t believe having pets in the house, others a pet is a member of the family. They are there when you come home, they give you a sense of comfort when your stressed out. 

I’m still in shocked a women would rip a leash out of a kids hand and fling a dog that probably didn’t weigh anymore then 6 pounds at least. (IF THAT)!

What would you do if you saw that happen? 

I’m not sure what I would do, I’d probably lose it on the women, not going to lie. Some kids across the street from my house were toying with a street cat and it bothered me A LOT. I’m not down with people treating animals like that. 

DID YOU MISS THE STORY?

HERE ARE THE LINKS TO CHCH NEWS:

FIRST ARTICLE:

http://www.chch.com/index.php/home/item/5560-boy-loses-best-friend-at-hand-of-angry-woman 

SECOND ARTICLE:

http://www.chch.com/index.php/home/item/5584-outpouring-of-sympathy-for-boy-whose-dog-was-killed 

- CHRISTINA

If you own a Blackberry smart phone I bet you were one of the people today wondering why you were unable to use your internet browser, You weren’t getting email or app updates, and probably most importantly you weren’t receiving any of your BBM messages. 

I know I woke up this morning to read online that some how an overload in Europe has effected a backlog of data which is why a lot of us Blackberry users were unable to use these features.

ARTICLE I READ THIS MORNING:

http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/blackberry-outages-spread-to-canada-us

My Facebook feed was full of people losing it because their Blackberry wasn’t performing, some not even realizing it had to do with the Rim networks and not their service provider. I personally wasn’t too affected by the little delay and glitches of Rim working on the problem and I was honestly shocked at the amount of people who were.

I mean, I guess if your in a career where you need those updated emails right on the spot then you could be effected, and if your an app user and really need those updates i can see how not getting them would get annoying too, and obviously not being able to stay connected via Twitter or Facebook and most importantly BBM probably left some people not really knowing what to do with themselves. 

It amazed me how addicted people can get to their smart phone, people saying that they would rather switch to a iPhone or Android because of this “bullshit”, it was SOOOOO mind boggling. 

I mean I’m not going to lie, I love the fact that I can share random pictures via social networks. I love getting my horoscope every morning (from an app I downloaded). I love being able to brows movie times and make plans while I’m at work. I love being able to send endless pictures,video and sound notes through BBM and stay connected with the messenger function. I love receiving my emails when I get them wherever I am. BUT today if someone didn’t tell me there was a glitch in the server I probably would have never bothered to notice. 

I mean you can still use your phone to call out and receive calls, people can still text message you so its not completely THE END OF THE WORLD.

These days days phones are starting to become more and more like pocket size computers. Like a computer you have at home you will sometimes run into glitches that need to be fixed. You either restart your computer (as you would pull your battery from your smart phone), OR you wait for the provider you are with to get its stuff together and get back up and running. 

I get its frustrating to have a device and not have it work right. BUT I haven’t heard many issues with Blackberry in a VERY long time. The article I read even said there hasn’t been an issue like this in forever. Where other phones you hear about issues all the time.. Yeah iPhone is a nice phone? But I hear about them being hacked all the time? WHY keep your life in your phone when you can’t even 100% trust it will be secure. 

ALL I’m saying is, if you were irritated because you actually had to call someone, or TEXT them instead of using bbm, or bummed out because you couldn’t update your twitter or facebook status with some dramatic spell you were going through and you felt like it took forever for this to even work right again, YOUR seriously addicted to your phone and maybe need to detox from it a little bit. 

I still love my Blackberry regardless of the issues its had the last few days (and today), I wouldn’t trade it in for an android or an iphone because its everything I need. I still managed to stay connected with my normal stuff, I texted instead of BBM, I called instead of trying to message and even better I got together with people to catch up instead of reading it on facebook?

Social networks, and smart phones have really really impacted todays society. It seems some people can’t even function without creeping someone’s facebook or tweeting their lives. Most people don’t read the actual news anymore, they know more about who’s had what done to their face in hollywood then how the elections went. Its sad wen you know the jingle to a mcdonald’s commercial but you stumble on your national anthem.

Or you can name every high end name brand but you can’t recite how many provinces we have in Canada. 

I think being able to connect to anyone at any time is great and it totally has its pros and cons… but not enough people are using it to educate themselves. THEY don’t realize its more then just being able to creep facebook status and info, your phone is like a hand held book to any information about any subject at the tips of your fingers. It’s more then just texting and what not. 

After the issues with Blackberry you want to switch phones? WELL I’m sure that phone will have its own issues nothing’s perfect and companies work very hard to provide the best services for their customers. I don’t care what’s happened with Blackberry, I love the phone and wouldn’t trade it in for the world. 

-Christina

I mean on facebook I would post random blackberry pictures of things I felt were funny, strange, interesting etc… I tweeted the randomness I came across but never really blogged about anything. 

However there are a few things I have read and came across that I’ve had thoughts about enough to blog about but never got around to it. Really just feeling no one would read it. 

So… I’m going to try and keep up with some of the blogs about things that most interest me, and Please please if your reading this feel free to post your comments in the box below. I always try and connect with the people who take the time to also share their opinion.

Niagara Falls Ontario

The first thing I think I want to talk about is Niagara Falls!

Anyone that knows me knows that Niagara is my favorite area to be in. I would choose Niagara over Toronto anytime of the week. 

Any of my friends that come to visit out of country I try and show them the hidden gems of the Niagara area. A lot of people (poor souls) waste their money and time on Clifton Hill. You know I read in an article that is one of the most useless attractions? Literally its one of the top 5 places NOT to go to when you visit a place. Pretty crazy eh? I guess if you live near the area (like myself) if your going to the falls it gives you something to do. HOWEVER if you’re visiting from another country I WOULDN’T waste my precious time taking that in when there is so much more you could be doing. Niagara Falls is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. 

SO why waste your time with arcades, wax museums, and haunted houses when it has NOTHING to do with the falls?

In the last 2 years, I have tried to hit the “Niagara Falls” attractions, you know that actually have to do with the falls. SO FAR behind the falls, the 4D video, and maid of the mist are the top ones I have for you. I heart the Jet Boat ride is pretty intense and if your a hiker you definitely have to check out the Niagara Glen. 

The Niagara Glen is the gorge that separates the Canadian and USA border. Literally your standing there admiring the breath taking scene in front of you and your standing not to far from the USA. My phone actually sent me a text saying I was in roaming (and I was still on Canadian Soil) my network must have just bounced off one of their towers. 

Niagara Glenn Hiking

There are amazing boulders, trees, look out points, and safe spots you can get somewhat close to the water to get some good pictures. 

If your a history person, Niagara on the Lake has so much history and two war forts you can visit. I’ve been to Fort George and Fort Mississauga (both pretty interesting). 

Niagara Falls in the winter time is also an amazing site. Because of the mist that comes up from the Canadian falls it makes huge sheets of ice that freeze over on the guard rails, trees, buildings, etc.. It’s pretty crazy looking but simply just as breath taking. If your there in the winter it is MUCH colder near the falls (just a heads up). 

When you are in the falls there are guard rails set up along the edge of the falls, A LOT of caution signs about NEVER going behind them, standing on them, sitting on them, etc… BUT every time I go I see so many people being completely stupid and disregarding the warning signs. MOST of them adults (never mind the unattended children). 

This past year (in August) a Japanese exchange student was visiting the falls with a friend, and next thing she knew she was heading over the falls into what I can only imagine is a horrifying death. 

WHY?

Well because she disregarded the signs and decided to stratal the guard rail and when she went to climb back over she slipped.

If you haven’t heard or read the story here is a quick video:

I feel bad for her friend who had to witness the fall and then probably had to explain to her parents what happened, NOT only that she probably has a few of the last moments caught on her digital camera (maybe even the fall) something she probably WILL never be able to get out of her mind. 

BUT things like that is 100% preventible, ALLL you have to do is pay attention to the warning signs. THEY are there to keep you safe, you want a CLOSER picture of the falls spend the 14 bucks and hitch a ride on the maid of the mist, your pictures will be incredible.

Journey Behind the Falls

HELL hit up the behind the falls too.. you get right up close and personal there too. 

THERE is NO NEED for anyone to be hanging over the edge like that. 

Niagara Falls is a beautiful place to be, and see (especially the Canadian Side) but its also a place that will kill you if you don’t use your head. 

Christina

TWITTER: @christinasears

Here a few retarded people who SOME how got mixed up in a Falls mess:

The first video I found is of a man, in the winter time who I guess climbed over the guardrail onto the ice (which I can only assume is thick), but in some cases could have been thin and flimsy  and he’s dancing along close to the edge. He’s just so lucky that he didn’t slip because I can also assume because of the amount of water, the mist and the wind that is around that area it would have been THAT easy for him to slip in.

Second Video is of a man who willingly seemed to just throw himself in there, however he ended up surviving. Can you imagine wanting to KILL yourself, thinking “yeah… throwing myself over that thing will sure do it” and then LIVING? NOT only that you throw yourself over in the winter time, and the water is so cold. I’m sure a GUN might have been better (or you could have had the same result… living). 

Third video show’s a man just jumping in to his death and a poor reporter who was doing his stand up for another story caught it in the background. That is so unreal, what would come over someone to jump in and go over like that is beyond me.

Fourth video, these people are just plain retarded. To put a friend in a barrel with a mac/webcam to video tape is plunge…. like? WHAT happen to putting soap in a fountain, at least no one potentially can die from it… HARMLESS FUN!

AND this guy… LIKE HOW do you get there in the first place??? SERIOUSLY?

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