"If you have any idea what's good for you..."

SUPERBOWL 44!!

Fasten your seatbelts because this year's superbowl is going to kick the eyebrows off last year's.

Text by Claire Webber

It all starts at 6:25 EST, when the New Orleans Saints battle the Indianapolis Colts. Here are a few football facts for you to shout out when watching the game and wanting to impress:

Key Players

Drew Brees- Quarterback (guy who throws the football)

Saints

He was the Offensive Player of the Year in 2008, and a very skilled player.

Reggie Bush- Running back (runs with the football)

Saints

He's highly talked about and runs at the speed of light.

Peyton Manning- Quarterback of the Colts, and the love of my life.

Peyton is the best quarterback in the league. There's nothing he likes more than a challenge, and that's exactly what he'll get tonight when facing the Saints.

Matt Stover- Kicker (guy who kicks the ball through in between the yellow sticks)

Colts

He will be the oldest player to have every played in a Superbowl game.

Other Important Colts

Dallas Clark, Joseph Addai, Jeff Saturday, Pierre Garcon and Reggie Wayne.

Things to Shout

"HE COULD! GO! ALL! THE! WAY!!!" (when someone is running with the football)

"FIRST DOWN, YEAH BABY!" (when they make it to the yellow line)

"HOLD 'EM HERE BOYS!" (when the colts are playing defense)

"GO COLTS" (at any point in time)

The Saints are favoured to win tonight, but I strongly believe otherwise. The Saints have never won a superbowl and have a lot of heart and skill going into this game. As a predominantly offensive team, they will be sure to bring a great performance.

The Colts had a nearly perfect season, but go into the game as the underdogs. Their offense is top-notch and their defense will surely be able to match the Saints. With several injured players, the Colts will have to work the field tonight to make up for their losses.

My money is on the Colts and if you have any idea what's good for you- yours will be too.

Regardless of the outcome, Superbowl 44 will be a great game.

Showdown starts: 6:25 EST (7:25 for us Haligonians)

Half-time show: The Who

GO COLTS GO!!!

Love Lists

Introducing Rachel Sanderson, a soon-to-be-contributor, and girl-about-town. If you've been paying attention, you'll know all about Love Lists, and if you haven't, get readin!

Rachel Sanderson loves...

dogs
chocolate
snow
chai tea lattes
canoes
fires
sun, moon and stars
bright nail polish
high heels and a nice black skirt
clean hair
a freshly made bed to nap on
the smell of clean laundry
the warmth of clean laundry
cuddling with friends when there's no space
boardgames
smell of christmas trees
non-matching christmas ornaments
smell of a cooling cookie rack
my mom's homemade food
clean socks.

Love, Love, Love

A little east-coast lovin' from the ever-so-delightful and downright adorable
Claire Marie Webber.

Love Lists

Everyday, we complain about our problems. About essay deadlines or the constant maritime rain, or the inability to find a pair of clean socks. We complain. We hate things. We say FML way too much for it to be cool anymore. But what if- instead of being whiney babies- we thought of the things we loved, instead of hated?

It’s a project that I started about a year ago, called love lists. The sole purpose is to put joy in someone’s heart or a smile on their otherwise grimaced face. Here’s how to do it:

1. Get scribing material
2. Find a friend. Maybe someone who is feeling low. Or someone that you just want to make happy for a minute.
3. Ask them to list 20 things that they love. Note: These 20 things don’t have to be their ultimate favourite things on earth. Just 20 things that make them smile, or that they appreciate. The person isn’t allowed to take a very long time thinking about it. It’s supposed to be very fresh in their minds.
- Example:
Claire loves lemonade, decks, warm hot chocolate when it’s cold outside, the feeling right before it rains, Birkenstocks, etc.
4. Complete the list.
5. Read it back to them
6. Watch the smile spread across their face
7. DONE!

You can keep the list or you can give it to them to remind them of what’s important to them. I’m making a book of all the love lists that I’ve done in the past year.

So start your list making! Make someone’s day. It feels great.

Home Sweet Home

Photograph by Claire Webber

Her beautiful maritime neighbourhood

Smushin' Our Sorrows Away

You've all heard of the Naked Chef.  You're all aware that he is not, in fact, a naked man cooking food, but rather the most scrumptious of brits stripping dishes of pesky gourmet frills and bringing cooking down to the realm of mere mortals.  But have you seen what the man does with ice cream?

A recipe (though some would argue it's more of a fluff piece for the cookbook) born of a childhood love affair with those bowls of frozen paradise, Smush-Ins are a do-it-yourself version of flavoured ice cream.

Click here for the original recipe, or pay close attention to the steps listed below.

The Smushing

1. Start with a bowl of plain ice cream.  Vanilla is a very very good idea, but if you're jonesin' for an extra kick of cocoa goodness, you can use chocolate ice cream, too.  Or strawberry...
   
2. "Smush" the bejesus out of the ice cream by any means possible.  Some people melt their ice cream in the microwave a little, but that's pretty gross.  Just go at it with a spoon for about a minute and you'll get a nice consistency.
3. Choose your base flavour.  Berries are nice if you want to keep it light, peanut butter is great for a full-bodied flavour (just beware of friends [particularly boyfriends!] with anaphylaxis.  That would be bad).  Mix it in well.
4. Add your first 'chunk' flavour- chocolate chips, bananas, caramel chips- but don't stop there.  These little bowls of heaven are certainly not limited to the dessert sphere.  Why not dabble with other food groups?  Sourdough-bread-and-jam ice cream sounds legit...
5. Keep adding and adding until you can add no more, and get creative!  (The creativity factor, however, depends on what you've got in your kitchen...)
6. When you think you're done, through a sauce in there.  Popular choices include fudge or butterscotch, but some of the best are some of the least expected.  Red pepper jelly, anyone?  (This could be a little out there, but jams do go nicely with ice cream.  Nutella, too, obviously).
7. Presto!  You've got yourself your very own ice cream flavour, known by no-one else on this globe, and tasted only by the lucky few you select to share with.  Congratulations.

The Most Important Step:  Drink. Water. You will otherwise perish.

Bust Out The Guacamole, It's Superbowl Sunday!

She's glam, she's posh, she's into football.  Claire Webber brings us her tips for Superbowl Sunday.

1. Pick a team and stick with them.  There's nothing more annoying than when girls cheer for the team that's winning.  You can't change your mind once the coin is flipped.  Pick and stick.
2. If you're only interested in the halftime show, watch the game for five minutes or so before and after Bruce Springsteen takes the stage- nobody will be able to tell!
3. Don't go crazy with delicious Superbowl food in the first five minutes.  There are about three hours of game time, save some food for later.
4. It's the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals playing. The Steelers are favoured to win by 6.5 points, but the Cardinals have a lot of heart going in as the underdogs.  [Quick note: dropping names and stats like these are your best bet for looking/seeming like you know something about football- just make sure you have petty tasks or distractions at your disposal in case you're too believable and someone wants to actually converse]

A Few Key Players To Know

Ben Roethlisberger: QB (Quarterback) for the Steelers.  The Quarterback is the one who throws the ball.  This particular QB is also known as "Big Ben" because he's one of the largest QBs at 6'6".

Troy Polamalu: Safety for the Steelers.  This means the last line of defense.  He is known for his fluffy hair that comes out the back of his helmet.

Kurt Warner: QB for the Cardinals.

Larry Fitzgerald: Wide Receiver for the Cardinals.  The Wide Receiver is the one who runs and catches the ball.  This one has dreadlocks coming out of his helmet and is a huge play-maker.

I'm going with the Steelers because I like Big Ben.  Last time he went to the Superbowl, he didn't do so well, so we're all hoping for better luck this year.  (We meaning the football-loving community who regularly watch the game).

Good luck keeping your facts straight and timing your delivery- if all else fails, just cheer when they score and keep quiet at all other times...  Also worthy of note is that in the States, 16 football fields worth of guacamole are consumed on Superbowl Sunday.

The XLIII Playlist

Turn off your bloody music and turn up the TV.  It's the Superbowl.  Pay attention.

Good House Hunting

All the way from the east coast (Halifax, to be precise) Claire Webber brings us a few tips on house hunting.

1. Find a good landlord (i.e. not a jackass).  You'll find it much easier to live under the supervision of someone who you respect, and even more importantly respects you.  Always be clear about your lifestyle- surprises are usually not welcomed with open arms.
2. Find good roommates (see preceding photograph).  This is outrageously important.  Sometimes living with your best friend isn't as great an idea as you originally thought- a good roommate is someone you live well with, and this doesn't always mean someone you really really like.  Make sure your habits mesh, if not match.
3. Location, location, location (see proceeding photograph).  Make sure you love where you live, and that includes who and what you live close to.