The Random Post of December

(Please note: I will add pictures when I get around to uploading/editing them)

Hello everyone,

So, I'm officially 16 now. I wanted to do so much on my birthday for this blog but accomplished none of it because I was so busy.

That week, I spent 4 days straight baking with my mom for Christmas for at least 10 hours a day so when my birthday came, it was the first day that we weren't baking and I was utterly exhausted. My parents give me a midnight gift every year and this year I got: Harry Potter postage stamps, and Hungry Hungry Hippos. That game is a game my mom promised she would replace when she sold it when I was 6 years old...only ten years late mom ha-ha. She wont admit it but she sold it because I woke her up from a nap one day playing it and all of a sudden it was "Too loud and too big!" and "The box is broken!" and she said "I promise we'll buy a smaller version of it after I sell this one. Okay?" Yeah...the game now is way bigger and louder than it was back then so... Anyway, it was pretty funny and my parents and I played it last night.

The day of my birthday was very special. I woke up, went to school before it started to see some friends and then left as it begun and went to get some birthday Freebies with my mom! We went to Shoppers, Starbucks, and the Bay. Before the Bay, we went to Nadege (a yummy bakery) and got some Macarons and my favourite, an almond croissant! Then while we were up there, we went to Chapters to pick up a gift for my dad and my mom got a Christmas gift for me. For lunch we got a Borrito and then visited Vovo.

We went home for a two hour nap and when we got up, my mom gave me another gift. I got the Taylor by Taylor Swift perfume box set and a Lancome lip gloss that I've wanted for a long time.

My friend Jessica came over later and gave me the most incredible birthday card ever. She even made a PlayBill of our "up coming" musical about our many years of friendship! The different scene names sound hilarious and maybe I'll take a picture for you another time. She gave me the new Katy Perry perfume, Killer Queen, boxset and were going to go watch a Second City show! We went out for dinner at one of my favourite restaurants out in Brampton and we saw the most beautiful lighting ever. Oh I almost forgot! Before we left for that, my parents gave me a...ZOOM LENS! 70-300MM WITH IS AND USM! I am totally in love with it!

My party was the the Saturday after and it was busy but fun and I got lots of money to order things I wanted online (Hooray for SensEpil Flash & Go!) And then, there was an ice storm...

Almost all our family and friends lost power and we housed a couple of them while that was happening. All the way until Christmas! (Which was yet another lonely Christmas read Confessions of a Lonely Child for more) I had a great Christmas though. Lots of great stuff including a lens hood for my new lens. Loving my paint by numbers and Rainbow Loom along with lots more. Santa got me a pink hair dryer (because ours is 20 years old and it's funny because I was going to buy that for myself!) and an ice cream maker!!! (Funny side note: I asked my dad if we could get an ice cream maker three days before that and he told me "You know what...we'll just buy ice cream..." and he didn't tell my mom (who would then tell Santa) and so Santa got me that with no hints whatsoever!)

Santa has a tradition now of giving me kitchen appliances... two years ago, I got my waffle maker, last year I got a cake pop maker, and this year I got an ice cream maker. Love it! My stockings were so fun this year too.

On boxing day I went out to buy a speedlite (aka flash) for my camera because it was $120 DOLLARS CHEAPER! Canon Speedlite 430EX II is my new baby. It took me less than 8 minutes to get it which is great. My photography has improved immensely already. Totally in love. I'll do a Camera Bag tour when my new camera bag comes in the mail.

On the 23rd, I almost forgot, I got my G1!

My holidays were great and I hope yours were too.

Wish it. Dream it. Do it.

WE Day 2013

This is a post that was supposed to be written and published around the second week of September. This post is dedicated to my dear friend, Molina.

Hi friends!

I'm pretending it's September and so should you for just this one post... I got an incredible opportunity to attend WE day 2013. WE day is this big motivational concert-esque event where people all over that specific City/State/Provence, in this case Toronto, who have made a difference in the world/their community/their school come to hear really touching stories about people who have made a difference on Earth and listen to some amazing artists who have donated a lot of their time and money to charities. My favourites this year were The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Darren Criss who was the host. All my pictures are on a camera that I don't know where it is at the moment so I'm sorry that this is a picture-less post :(

Side note: I'm an idiot for not writing this sooner because I've lost the immense motivation that I had right after attending...stupid stupid stupid.

At first, I was sitting way up high behind the stage at the ACC for when JB came on but I still enjoyed it! My mom has a friend, named Claudia, who works at the ACC and she was able to move me down to the floor after their performance. Some of the stories I heard were so touching and sad and inspirational. I couldn't help but cry. It's horrible knowing there are people out there living in such horrible circumstances around the world. And to hear that bullying is still happening is just a disgrace!

Half way through the event, Claudia united me with her daughter, Molina, and bought me lunch (Cheese Pizza from Pizza Pizza at arenas/concert venues are just so much better! Seriously my favourite!) I sat with Molina and her friend for the rest of the event super close to the stage as I continued to hear inspirational and motivational stories from some incredible people. Darren Criss kept entering and exiting right where we were sitting and I screamed his name very very loudly and he looked at me and we both smiled and waved at each other...It was great!

If you get the honour of going to WE day, please take that opportunity. You wont regret it! You will come out feeling thankful, motivated, and inspired.

Here's a video from some YouTubers I watched named MuggleSam. They went to WE day too! Check it out:



Wish it. Dream it. Do it.

The Jar

Hi guys!

This week has been interesting... Today is another special occasion so I get sugar! My mom has noticed my lack of motivation and how discouraged I have been lately so she has come up with a way to motivate me.

It's called the Workout Jar.

There are seven rules to the Workout Jar. Here's an instagram of my first dollar in it from last night!

I know it's hard to see but I have this nice vase that I place money into every time I workout. But there are rules.

Rules of the Workout Jar:

1. You Must Workout Once a Day (however, you are aiming for twice a day)

2. Every Workout is Worth One Dollar!

3. If you miss a day (aka. one workout) you must make up for it another time.

4. When you make up for it, that workout is only worth fifty cents!

5. Having sugar on a non-sugar day results in one workout.

6. That one workout, if done the same day, is worth 50 cents.

7. If that one workout is made up for on a different day, it is only worth 25 cents.

Notes: 

A sugar day is one of the following: A special occasion (Party, birthday, holiday, celebration), or a bad day (like a really bad day. A day that is so bad, you cry) [Note* you probably shouldn't be eating away your feelings. Limit yourself. You don't have these days often]

Your workouts may be "blown off" (aka rule 3 does not apply) for the following reasons: You are too sick to do it, it is your birthday, it is a holiday and you don't have time to workout[If you have time, you better do it], you are having a bad day.

DO NOT MAKE EXCUSES NOT TO, YOU ARE ONLY COSTING YOURSELF MONEY AND RESULTS!

My mom is so kind to be willing to do this for me to help me out. Half my earnings will go towards my concert savings and the other half to spend and/or save.

How do you motivate yourself to workout?

Wish it. Dream it. Do it.

Confessions of a Lonely Child.

Hello all!

So...I assume most, if not all, of you have siblings. And you may or may not get along. If you get along, I am weeping on the inside. If you don't, I am weeping on the inside.

Please though, do not EVER tell an only child they are lucky. We are messed up people for the most part. We are almost like a different race. You will never understand the hardships of being one and I guarantee you that if your siblings were not there, you would feel the same as me or worse.

I wrote an essay on this topic for school this week and I'd like to share it with you.

This is for all the siblings out there. Be grateful. Be loving. Be kind. After all, you are more related to them than anyone else on this planet. There is a relationship there that I will never experience. Now, I obviously can't speak for every only child out there, but this is my experience:

The “Lonely” Child

           

            “Don’t get offended or anything,” a friend began to tell me. “But when I was younger, I used to think they were called lonely children!”
“They should be called that!” I expressed. “That’s exactly what we are.”
              Throughout my whole life, I have always marvelled at siblings and for every time I uttered the words “I wish I had a sibling,” people would always tell me how lucky I am for being an only child. But they don’t understand. Sure, there were times when my parents asked if I wanted a sibling and I’d answer “NO!” as quickly as I possibly could. But there were also times when I’d sit in my room crying miserably because I could really use an older sibling to talk to. I yearned for someone to laugh with about how ridiculous my mom looks when she brushes out her hair, to share family memories with, to be asked to “look like you love each other” when taking a photo, to share half my cookie with, to hug and snuggle when I’m feeling exceptionally lovey. I wanted to cheer for my older brother at his baseball game or hand a bouquet of roses to my little sister after her first dance recital; I wanted someone to love. And I still do.

 When I see siblings smiling in pictures together as teenagers, I cry. When I see them together in my school, I cry. When they tell me how much they wished they could be an only child, I cry. They don’t understand. I guess the saying’s true: you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone…

Let’s go back to the beginning. My dad is an only child and my mom has a brother who she’s now great friends with. I have no first cousins. All my second cousins are at least 45 years old. I have five third cousins, three of which live in Montreal and I don’t get along with. Out of the two remaining, one is a girl, Callie, who is eight months older than me and the other a boy, Jake, who is two years younger. Growing up, my mom would try to have us spend as much time together as possible by driving to Hamilton every weekend for years to visit those two cousins. At some point, we went every other weekend until slowly, we only got to see each other a few times a year. I was closer with Jake when we were little, but now Callie and I are BCFF’s (best cousin friends forever, like Sophia Grace and Rosie from Ellen). They are the only kids in my family that I get to see. I got along great with other kids growing up, but now I have an issue.

Lonely children have the advantage of learning advanced social skills from a young age because we are constantly only surrounded by adults. We are used to talking to adults who talk to us like we’re real people not just kids... We’ve known how to entertain ourselves for long periods of time from before we were potty trained; something our sibling friends still don’t seem to know how to do most of the time. Because I was the first and only child in the family, everyone adored me. My mom tried as hard as she could to stop “Only Child Syndrome (OCS)” early on by doing to me what I did to her. “Did you like it when mommy bit you?” “No.” “Mommy didn’t like it when you bit her either! Erica, you have to think of others. Before you do something, think about if you’d like it done to you. Okay?” “Okay mama, sorry.” And that stuck in my head to my detriment. I put everyone before me. Their happiness mattered most. I wouldn’t like to be told that I was being mean, so I didn’t say it to people when they were being mean to me. That led to depression. When that got too much, my parents sat me down and fixed their mistake. They told me “yes you have to think of others but you are the most important person. You have to be true to you and speak up for yourself.” I still put others before me but if I don’t like something, everyone around me knows it. And it better change. Fast.

The holidays are the absolute worst for me. It used to be okay when I was younger because my cousins would come to celebrate with me. I’d have people to talk to and have fun with. Now, they’re spent with people over the age of 44 who are too tired or too busy to do anything with me. They’re also my family so they like to criticize me whether they know they’re doing it or not. I’d rather not spend Christmas Eve crying so I go to my room and play Sims 2 until midnight because that’s when we open presents. I have a quick break for dinner at nine and dessert at 10:45pm, but other than that, my Sims and their huge families are living it up at their Christmas Eve celebration. Yes you heard me right, I sit alone in my room making sure my Sims have a good time on Christmas Eve because I’m not. The holidays are hours upon boring hours of eternal loneliness that I am forced to endure by myself with my boring practically non-existent family. Do you love your siblings yet?

Let’s fast forward. Have you ever heard the saying “friends come and go but family is forever?” What if you don’t have any family? Who would I call in the middle of the night in case of an emergency? Who will be there to morn with me at my parent’s funeral? Who will I have to reminisce about family memories with when my parents are gone? No one can now anyway, and the only people who have a more distorted vision of your childhood, other than yourself, are your parents.  So even they can’t reminisce with you sometimes. Who will be there for me no matter what when my parents are gone? Once they’re gone, they’re gone. I will be walking this Earth alone.

I will have to support my parents alone. All the pressure is put on me. If I mess up, my parents can’t hope that at least one of us ends up all right. I need to make them proud because I’m all they’ve got and all they will ever have. I have to be extra careful around my friends so I don’t lose them. I will never be a true aunt. My children will never have an aunt or uncle on my side. There’s something special about siblings cheering you on oppose to your parents, aunts, or even friends to me. I will never feel the joy of having my older brother being proud of me or my little sister pointing to my graduating photo and exclaiming “That’s my sister! She got a full scholarship to her university!” to all her friends at school. I will have no cute sibling moments on the red carpet when I’m a famous actress. Basically, I have no one but myself and my parents and for now that’s fine, but it won’t last forever.

Only children have a stigma. We’re all rude, selfish, self-absorbed, ignorant, greedy, needy, clingy, indecisive, inconsiderate, antisocial, and many other things along those lines. Now, most of those are true in some way or another but whenever you tell people you’re an only child, they give you a sceptical look and make rude comments like “You don’t seem like an only child.” Or “That makes a lot of sense.”

            Can I share a secret with you? I have a million friends that other people just can’t see.

They are all celebrities or fictional characters. They are my imaginary friends and I still talk to them on a daily basis. They’re not all with me at once. That gets too complicated. Depending on which celebrity I’m especially into at the time, they come and hang out with me whenever I want. Sometimes they’re my parents, sometimes they’re my siblings, sometimes they’re my friend.  Most only children, (if they will actually admit it) have imaginary friends.  People often ask if I’ve ever had imaginary friends and I just laugh because I still do and my imaginary friends have imaginary friends!

As I aforementioned, I used to socialize really well but now it’s a problem. I cannot be around people for particularly long stretches of time. I’m talking about even as little as two hours in some cases. I crave the solitude because I’m not used to doing things with other people. In fact, I tend to choose to be by myself whenever I can. Either that or do something with my mom. This is because most teenagers do not have the maturity level that I am used to socializing with. Growing up, I’d rather hangout with my mom’s friends than my mom’s friend’s kids, who were my own age or a bit older or younger. I’d always complain to my mom, “You’re so lucky! You get to hang out with them! I get to hang out with their kids…” I realized this maturity level thing early on, and kids are crazy. I would secretly refer to myself as the 30 year old in an 8 year olds body because I longed for that kind of socializing. As you get older in your childhood, adults tend to not want to hang out with you as much and I was forced to hang out with immature people who I wanted nothing to do with.  Now that I’m a teen, they like to talk to me again but it was a rough few years without them… However I do have friends that I like to hang out with for long periods of time. In fact, despite our self-centeredness, only children are extremely loyal! I value the relationships I have with my friends and if we’re close, I will do anything and everything for you because I am so thankful that I have someone I’d rather spend my time with than being alone. Despite the very few, select group of friends I have, I’m worried about how all this loneliness will affect me as I age. Only time will tell.

I grew up with false knowledge that my parents are my equals and I still pay the price by getting in trouble whenever I act upon that false knowledge. "You are not my mother!" Is a typical thing my mom will yell at me. I also find myself attracted to older people in all aspects of my life. My closest friends are all older than me and I seem to have crushes on boys who are at least three or four years older than me. That's just the way it is. Because I was socialized and still am socialized with such an older crowd, I seek for that in my relationships. I get along better with the teachers than the students for goodness sake! This makes school incredibly hard, I'm lucky I have as late of a birthday as I do; everyone is basically a year older than me.

I know for a fact that I will have a family consisting of a minimum of two or four kids and I will mom-blog my heart out when the time comes because I would never wish being an only child on even my worst enemy. I can’t wait to experience siblings through my children. I have a whole plan to make them love each other already.

This is one of my favourite songs from Glee sung by my girl Lea Michele/Rachel Berry. She understands.
Do you love your siblings yet? I would love to hear your thoughts so please share. Again, this is just a little glimpse at what I feel and go through as a lonely child. I hope you have a better respect for your brothers and/or sisters now. Give them a big hug for me and tell them you love them because I will never be able to do that. Ever.

The Woman Who Started It All: Love Is In The Mix

Hey everyone!

Today was very exciting because I got to meet a lovely lady who basically started my love for children, multiples, and large families. I watched her kids grow up as I grew up myself. I was barely eight when I started watching and I would lay in bed after every episode and think "Oh...how I wish I was one of her kids! How cool would it be to meet her? One day..." I cried when the show came to an official end...a lot...and today, I got to meet the mom behind it all.

If you've guessed the show I'm talking about is Jon & Kate Plus 8 and Kate Plus 8, then you'll know the lady who I met was none other than Kate Gosselin

She was so lovely! She's a very nice woman but little eight year old me wished to see her short hair again. Over the summer they had the front cover of People Magazine and as soon as I saw it, my mom bought it for me and I saw the beautiful, grown-up faces of little sweethearts my heart swelled for as I watched in awe of the amazing family.

She was at Indigo at Yorkdale promoting her book, Love is in the Mix. I've already got my eye on a couple recipes.

So she signed the book for me!

And I brought her gifts for her kids and got to chat with her.

I'll tell you the gist of our conversation. 

I went up to her smiling face and told her I had home-made hair bows for the girls and that I couldn't forget about the boys and brought them some cars. She told me how thoughtful and amazing I am. I pointed out that there was a letter in the bags for her to read later. She told me she would and pointed out the Giraffe on the boys gift bag and how adorable it was. While she began signing, I told her I started watching the show when I was eight. She then said "Yeah...and then it ended!" "I know...and I cried...a lot" "Me too..." I told her she was a big part of my childhood. I asked her how she was and when she was done signing, the lady took a picture of us (shown way above) and then I was on my way. I thanked her and said how nice it was to meet her and she thanked me. And then I left to go home with a sense of utter joy because, other than a Baby Story on TLC, her family sparked my love for children. So thank you Kate Gosselin, for everything.

Oh, in case you were wondering, check this out:

(No...I haven't had these photos saved on my computer since I was eight years old...Also, No copyright intended)

Now look at this: 

(Photos from here and here)

It was amazing and I think I will be watching some Jon and Kate later... I miss my Hannie and the whole crew.

So, Gosselin Family, if you're reading this, I hope you enjoyed the hair bows Cara, Mady, Alexis, Hannah, and Leah. And Aaden, Collin, and Joel, I hope you enjoy my favourite toy cars and I really do hope you write me back. It would literally make my year.

And so, the secret prevails once again. It only took about seven years but it happened. It would be awesome to meet her kids one day too but she's the one who brought them here.

Wish it. Dream it. Do it, guys. I'm tellin' ya!

Big thank you to Kate. Follow her on Twitter and check out her Blog

THIS IS YOUR OFFICIAL WARNING and Motivation Monday!

Okay... Hi guys. I'm not the happiest right now. Why? My mom suggested I do something...Something so hard that I have FAILED every time I tried to do it since Grade 8 Grad and am scared to fail again....

If you know me well, you've probably already guessed it... I'm doing the unspeakable again... Something I specifically said I wasn't going to do in my FIRST post... If you haven't guessed what it is by now, I'm about to tell you the answer.

Images from here and here 

Can you hear me running to the bedroom with a TV show, chips, chocolate, pop, ice cream, and a bag of cookies in my hands?

Let me clarify: No EXCESS sugar October... What does that even mean? It means no pop, no candy, no chocolate, no ice cream, no Starbucks, no fast food, no cookies, no chips... you get the point.
End date: October 31, 2013
Why this again? My mom looked at me today "How much did you lose in that month before grade 8 grad?" I told her 10 pounds. "And you didn't workout, right?" "Right..." "...Tomorrow's October...Let's do it." "Okay, I've said this for the past year and EVERY TIME I START, you go and get fast food and eat ice cream in front of me." "I promise I won't this time!" "If you aren't, then I will. I need your help and support through this. It's not easy and you eating sugar is not helping me. You need to help me, okay?" "I promise!"

...So we're trying again... I really hope I don't fail, guys. I really want this to work... So if I'm crabby within the next month, this is my official warning to you. Shay Carl of the ShayTards is doing something called "Shaytober" and I'm doing my own spin.

Here's the motivation for the week:

I hope you're right, little yellow sign. I hope you're right.

Wish it. Dream it. Do it.

Motivation Monday!!

...I was sick last week and slacked. I went to the cottage over the weekend and ate junk food... I sprained my wrist and can't do some Pilates moves that I have to do. I have A LOT of homework this week...

But, a one hour workout is 4% of your day. Zumba (which is what I will be doing this week) is 20 minutes. A tabata workout is 4 minutes...I think I have time for that and I must remind myself of this every time I am overwhelmed with the lack of time and all the work.

Although I fell off, I must get back up on that horse. And so I shall.

P.S. I don't know what it is but this song has gotten me to focus on my homework recently during this time of need. Do you remember this song? LOVING IT


I hope you're all motivated too! Wish it. Dream it. JUST DO IT, ERICA!

Motivation Monday

Hello again friends,

On most Monday's, I'll post a motivational photo to help me (and maybe you) keep on track for the week and remind myself about my goal. Here's the first one.

Thank you to everyone who's heard me speak about weight loss 500000000x in the past five years. Thank you for supporting me now like you did the last time and the first time and all the times in between. Thank you for everything.


P.S. A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE AMAZING NICHOLAS JERRY JONAS TODAY! He's now 21! Where did time go, Nick? Here are some pictures of me throughout the years celebrating Nick's birthday.
2013 age 15

 2012 age 14

 2011 age 13

2010: age 12

...Can I just say...Thank god for ageing...(Please note that I was sick with a cold this year...)

Wish it. Dream it. DO IT!

Wall Workouts

Hi everyone! I'm going to share my wall workouts with you.

What is a "Wall Workout?" I've come up with the idea of sticking a piece of paper to specific walls of my house. On those pieces of paper, there is a different workout to do and every time (I use those words loosely, by the way) I see it, I have to do it.

Right now, they aren't fancy background designs. I made it in a word document. I just needed to post them ASAP. Maybe I'll dazzle them up another time but for now, they do the trick.

Here's the first one:

I'm placing this in the bathroom and doing it before taking a shower or if I feel like it the other times. I'm  pretty sure I used "halve" right. If not, let me know. I love getting grammar or spelling lessons.

Next:

Not sure where I'll be posting this yet honestly. Maybe the kitchen...or a bedroom.

I'm referring to this video right here
I'm posting this paper in my office. I will do it in the afternoon and/or night only.

What's Tabata? It's this four minute workout containing 8 intervals. Each interval is 20 seconds followed by a ten second rest before the next one. During those 20 seconds you must push yourself as hard as you can while having proper form to get the best results. I found a Tabata Timer App for my phone that I'm going to use. It's called Simplytabata. These are my options and I'll share some links that inspired these moves.
Option 1. Option 2. Option 3. Option 3. Option 4. 

I guess this is what I get when I screen shot my page...Sorry for the quality guys! If you want a good copy, contact me. As you can see, this is my arm workout. I've had to give them names because my mom forgot what they were called when teaching me. You may laugh if you feel the need. My personal favourite is 8. This will go in my living room because that's where the weights are stored. I will be using 3lbs. The point is to tone not bulk. The heavier your weights, the more bulk. But this is just what I'm doing.

If you don't understand one of my instructions, feel free to comment for me to explain better or request a video!

Wish me luck! And good luck to you too if you're going to try to do these with me!

Wish it. Dream it. Do it.

Tiff 2013!

Hello again!

So, as some of you may or may not know, it's that time of year again! TIFF IS HERE! As I post this, it's actually the second last day of Tiff (Toronto International Film Festival) running from the 5th to the 15th (correct me if I'm wrong). Last year was my first experience with Tiff because I wanted to see Darren Criss and Emma Watson. I was successful at seeing both but I only got one autograph (Emma Watson's if you're curious). This year, there were more people I'd like to see. My celebrity list included: Daniel Radcliffe, Jason Bateman, Zac Efron (Spoiler Alert: I didn't see him but my best friend did!), Amy Poehler, and Jennifer Garner. Sandra Bullock and Reese Witherherspoon would have been nice too but the locations weren't worth it and I was tired after the past two days I had.


Tiff day 1: September 6th, 2013.

Name of Celebrities: Daniel Radcliffe, Zac Efron, Jason Bateman
Movie: "Horns", "Parkland", "Bad Words"
Location: "Bloor Hot Docs Theatre", "Roy Thompson Hall", "Ryerson"
Time: 6pm, 9:30pm, 9pm

Daniel Radcliffe was the first on the list. He is in THREE movies at the festival this year and if I wasn't successful there, I had two more times to try. I got there at 3:30pm. We waited...and waited...and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, the volunteers set up the barricades and we were escorted to the front because we were there the longest. And then we waited...And waited...and waited. I had my clipboard in hand and I was ready to go when he finally came out!

LOOK AT HIS BLUE EYES! This was my second time seeing him live but this time I was up close and personal!

This is the only photo I have of me and him together BUT IT'S A PICTURE OF US TOGETHER NONETHELESS! Shout out to my mom for coming with me and taking the photos! Bless her soul.

I consider meeting a celebrity as talking to them and they respond. So I met Daniel Radcliffe. This was our conversation: (I will be in Yellow and he will be in Blue)
"Thank you so much, Daniel! ...Daniel, there's a girl behind me who gave me her book for you to sign, do you think you could sign that for her?"
 "Yeah of course! ...Here you go!"
"Thank you so much!" *Silence* "I think you're phenomenal!" He was totally taken aback. He stuttered slightly. "I think you're absolutely brilliant."
"Uh....Well...Er...Thank you! You're really too kind! Thank you so much!"
"It's true!"
"Well thank you!"
And there you go. The conversation between Daniel (cough cough, Harry Freaking Potter, cough cough) Radcliffe and I.
While I was waiting, I was asked to be interviewed by Yahoo! Canada. You can watch the video here:

With that being said and done, they asked me a lot more questions but it's still pretty darn awesome! Here's a picture of me proudly holding my Daniel Radcliffe autograph!

So, after Daniel, my mom and I went to check out the crowd at Zac Efron...Long story short, it was too crowded to even try. So we decided to find out who was at the Ryerson and try there. Jason Bateman was there at the same time as Zac Efron's movie and when we arrived and saw NO ONE there, we decided to set up our seats and wait.

I love this profile of him! Rock it mom!

He skipped about five people asking for a picture with him and came to sign my autograph. While he was signing, I met him too! Conversation between Jason and I:
"Hi Jason!"
"Hi there!" *Signs autograph quickly*
"Thank you so much Jason!"
"You're very welcome!" *Smiles and moves to the next one*
After that, my mom and I went home to rest for the day ahead of us.

Day 2: September 7, 2013
Celebrity List: Amy Poehler, Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Jared Leto, Matthew McConaughey, and JENNIFER GARNER!
Movie: "You Are Here" and "Dallas Buyers Club"
Times: 3pm and 10pm

First up was Amy Poehler. I woke up to grey clouds and rain. Heavy rain. But that didn't deter me at all! The jeans were on, my thick hoodie was on, and my raincoat overtop. When we got there, it was already busy. We got there at 12... We decided to set up in the best place at the Ryerson.  We quickly made friends with about four people. All of them super nice and we shared banana bread with them while we waited. The barricades weren't up yet though and when we went to notify the TIFF people, they said someone would be on it right away...But then it was 2...and then 2:15...So, we set it up ourselves. And just as Amy came, the sun came out.

Can you hear/feel my excitement as one of my favourite comedic actresses walks down?

Amy Poehler is a SUPER cool lady. Fun fact: She was married to my favourite male comedic actor Will Arnet! She was all smiles, as you can tell, and actually very beautiful in person. It was incredible getting her autograph. She didn't take pictures with anyone. She was really cool though! Zach's wife went into labour and Owen...well apparently he was nowhere to be seen.

It started to rain again and instead of camping out at the Princess of Wales theatre, my mom and I got McDonalds and went home to watch TV and rest until 6:30pm when we'd go to see Jennifer Garner.

We got to Princess of Wales and found a really nice lady in what I call "The Safe Zone" (by that I mean the barricades say "Tiff" on them) and she let me stand there when she folded up her chair. While in line, I met a really nice girl who is also a HUGE Jonas Fan, like me! My mom and her's talked while we did and I also started talking to this Scottish lady and other lady who was there too. All of us chatted until it was time and the street closed and the sky was black.

The Tiff organizer at that location would announce who was coming. Jared Leto was first. My mom was CRAZY excited!

After Jared was Matthew McConaughey.

This is him signing my autograph!

"PLEASE SIGN MY DAUGHTER'S AUTOGRAPH!" I heard my mom scream and he did.

"Hi Matthew!"

"Hi!" he smiled while he signed. When he was done, he looked around for who to give the clipboard to.

"That's mine!" I smiled.

"Oh, here you go!"

"Thank you so much!" We looked in each other's eyes as we smiled.

"You're welcome," and then he moved on. And so, I met Matthew McConaughey. JUST AS HE WAS SIGNING AN AUTOGRAPH FOR ME, MY GIRL CAME OUT! 

I instantly started screaming for her. She walked over; ten people away, eight people away, six people away, five people away. My mom and I screaming as loud as we can with the help of our new friends. 

"JENNIFER! JENNIFER! JENNIFER! JENNIFER!" We chanted. Her face smiling the whole time. She's gorgeous. Beyond gorgeous. She is another one of my inspirations. I have a lot, but she is for sure one of them. Just when I thought she'd come down more, her "people" stepped in front.

"I think you should go that way!" she instructed her. She happily turned the other way.

"NOO!!" Everyone screamed. We continued to chant her name, but it was useless. She signed everyone's autograph...ON THE OTHER SIDE! Matthew was too close to us. She was who I wanted. My heart sunk, but not deep. I saw her. She was five people away from and I think we even smiled at each other. She was gorgeous. Her family is lovely, her kids have normal names, she's very talented, she's a normal person. And that's why I love her. She is always out and about with Violet, Seraphina, and Sam. I mean look at her cuties!

I litterally just spent an hour looking through photos of her kids.... Back to Tiff

She was stunning! My mom and I headed to the exit of the theatre to try to catch her there. While we waited, we were approached by two guys who were making a documentary about Tiff that they are trying to get into Tiff next year and they asked to interview us individually! Their questions were super hard! My goodness! I'll keep you updated on that when I get more news! We waited from 10pm-1am to try to get Jenn's autograph. Also while we waited, Jason Bateman randomly walked by. 

It was so late that they decided not to sign any autographs but here are some pictures we tried to take (horrible quality sorry.)

Sigh, she's gorgeous! I wasn't sad or that disappointed because I got to see her live in person and witness her beauty and sweetness for myself. My heart swells for her as an actress, person, and mother. Until we meet, Jennifer Garner. (JENNIFER, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, PLEASE TRY TO CONTACT ME. LEAVE A COMMENT, OR SEARCH EricaJonas6 and you'll find me! Also: big fan, big fan!)

It's not Tiff without one disappointment (and it's usually the one you wanted the most). Everything happens for a reason. Who knows, maybe I'll co-star with her one day! Maybe I didn't get Jennifer's because the universe wanted me to get Taylor Swift's and if I had gotten Jennifer's, I wouldn't have gotten Taylor's.

Day 3: September 9, 2013

Celebrity List: Taylor Swift, Mila Kunis, and others.

Movies: "One Chance," and "Third Person"

Times: 8pm, 9pm.

So Monday. I wasn't sure if I was going to Taylor Swift in the evening but when my mom picked me up from school, we decided to try the Winter Garden Theatre and see what it was like. There was a spot. We unloaded and I met two lovely ladies Rachel and Hayley. 

(Credit to Hayley for letting me post that picture and shout out to my mom again! Nice face, maybe you should join part 7 of The New Erica Project too!)

We called our family friends and they jumped on the subway to meet us.

And so we waited and waited and waited and waited and waited. While we waited, Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) came out! Then, the Tiff people came up with the great idea to move the barricades and it was ALL MAN FOR THEMSELVES! That's not fair! I waited 5 hours to see Taylor Swift. I had a perfect spot to stand as you can see. But no. "Okay go!" was what the Tiff lady said and we all ran for our lives. So the people in the back got to the front. I was still in the front luckily but barely.... It was so crowded and hectic that my mom couldn't get any good pictures of TSwizzle. But she arrived and it was worse than a concert.

These were the best I could get BUT LOOK AT THIS!

(This photo is orriginally from Getty Images...Do you know how much it would cost to get the HD version of this picture? After talking to someone and explaining that I AM IN THE PHOTO, the lowest they could do was $100...I AM IN THE FREAKING PICTURE, GETTY IMAGES! GOSH!)

I did get Taylor's autograph though and I got to talk to her! So I met Taylor Swift! 

She came my way and I shoved my clipboard out there for her sign. After she did, someone shoved a binder in front of my face. I crouched down to look at her and said:

"Taylor, I love you so much!"

"Awww! Thank you! How are you doing?"

"Great! How are you?"

"Good!" and then she moved onto the next fan.

Right after Taylor Swift left, about 70% of the people did too. Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) attended the premier too but just walked into the theatre because it wasn't his movie. And we waited for Mila Kunis.

First, Adrian Brody came out. We took really attractive picture's of him (insert sarcasm here) but they're photo's nonetheless.

I got his autograph! And then Mila came.

"Hi Mila!"
"Hello!"
"I like your earrings!"
"Aw! Well, thank you!"
"Thank you Mila!"
"No problem!" 

So I met Mila Kunis too!

I couldn't decide which photo I liked better of Ana and I holding Mila Kunis' autograph so I posted both.

We went home and then for the rest of the week I had what my friend and I call "celebrity withdrawal" because the rest of my days were so boring and I had nothing to look forward to. After all that excitement, life is really boring and I'm more motivated to follow my dreams than ever!

I think it's really good and important for me to go to these events. It shows me a glimpse of what being famous is really like to make sure this is what I truly want in my life. To see the media and the fans and the way things are run. As I aforementioned, I'm more motivated now to follow my dreams. I have never been more sure of anything in my whole life and I'm excited to meet with someone who might be taking my headshots tomorrow. This is where I'm meant to be. I know it.

Until next year, Toronto International Film Festival. Until next year.

Wish it. Dream it. Do it.

(*Note: I put my blog name on photo's so that they might not get stolen. If you want a photo for yourself without the tag, please contact me.)