alicadycarter-blog

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On new mottos.

I think it’s nice to have a life motto. Whether or not it is made of words of your own doesn’t matter. What matters is that the words make you feel something every time you read them. What matters is that they kick you in the ass to keep you moving in the direction you want to be moving in. 

My 2016 motto? 

DO NO HARM [but take no shit].

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The 12 Hour Tech Free Rule

I am a big fan of social media. Big. HUGE. But it’s kind of ruining my life. 

When social media and marketing became my livelihood, I didn’t think twice about spending all of my free time glued to either my phone or laptop, consuming all types of media. But since I moved back to a place where all types of activities are endless, my focus has shifted away from constantly updating everyone with what I’m doing to actually enjoying what I’m doing. 

I’ve naturally shifted to turning off my phone or leaving it behind when I go somewhere and it’s an incredibly freeing feeling. Lately, I’ve been working up the courage to turn my phone on airplane mode from 9pm - 9am, a full 12 hours of being social media free. Granted, most of that time I’ll be sleeping, but the idea of going to bed and waking up without checking my phone is becoming a very attractive one. 

I’ll let you know how this goes because there is the chance I will fail and that’s just life. 

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Turmeric Milk - 1 cup almond milk (or whatever milk or milk alternative you prefer) - 1/2 tsp ground turmeric - 1/2 tsp honey - pinch of cinnamon or cinnamon stick for garnish and stirring Heat all ingredients in a small saucepan on medium heat, stirring with a whisk, until combined. Don't boil, you're just heating it up. Pour in your favourite mug and enjoy! You'll get used to the taste once you realize how well your belly is behaving and the incredible quality of sleep you are getting. Trust. Overnight Oats You've seen a million of these recipes, so here's another one. I make the base the same and add whatever toppings I have on hand. Base - 1/2 cup of oats (quick, regular, steel-cut - whatever you have on hand, though you will have to cook the steel cut before hand) - 3/4 to 1 cup of almond milk (or whatever milk or milk alternate you prefer) Topping - 1 tsp chia seeds - 1.5 tsp of almond butter - 1 tsp of raw cacao nibs Combine oats and milk in a jar. Mix. Add any toppings you want, make it pretty and take a picture because you're going to want to show this shit off to your pals. Cover and put in the fridge for the next morning. The idea here is that you can eat this mixture cold or heat it up if you have the extra time. Like I mentioned, with steel-cut oats you'll have to cook them before hand and put the cooked mixture in the bottom of the jar. Then top with whatever! Other toppings include berries, coconut, banana, apples and cinnamon (perfect for a basic white girl in the fall #PSL - I hate those by the way). Xo Ali

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Dakarai Molokomme, a 15-year-old starving child from a small village in Zimbabwe, has just told Madonna, one of the most famous pop stars in the world, to go and f*** herself, the local media are reporting exclusively.

“Yes, it’s true, I told Madonna to go f*** herself. Do you want to know why?” Dakarai asked. “It’s the same thing every time with these snobby rich Americans. Every once in a while they come to show us their support for the so-called eradication of poverty by adopting a child from a starving family, but they actually do more harm than good. Transracial international adoptions are part of the white savior industrial complex,” Dakarai explained.

In further discussions with journalists from the media, the kid stated that “none of the children here actually want to be taken away from their family and friends so they can be displayed as some kind of trophy in the homes of self-righteous singers or actors who want to score some points with the media and Oprah.”

“If they really want to help us, they should get Big Pharma to ship us some anti-retroviral drugs for the AIDS epidemic, or build schools and hospitals. If they don’t want to do that, then they can all go f** themselves!” the child told reporters.

The 15-year-old also stated that he would say the same thing to any one of those American or European “faux humanitarian posers”, except for Bono, whom he said he would also kick in the groin.

“Bono’s efforts to save the African savage from itself prove that the colonial imperative is alive and well,” Dakarai said as he walked with other village children collecting sticks to build a tree fort.

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‘You’ve never made it.

With each success must come a newer, more ambitious goal.

You haven’t crossed the finish line until you’ve died broke, leaving the world a better place than when you found it.’

- Casey Neistat

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Also... YouTube.com/acadycarter

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Do you have a mantra? Not a favourite quote, but a mantra. Something that makes you motivated and full of self-confidence? I often tell myself to ‘Work hard & be nice to people,’ but to be honest, that’s kind of boring. And lately, I’m not about boring. 

Lately, I’m all about self-love and this mantra above is totally on par with the whole ‘you are amazing’ thing. 

Life is hard and is constantly challenging our sanity and faith in other people and this world, but it’s also an incredible privilege. The least we can do is put our all into creating a beautiful life that we are proud of. 

So, please promise me that everyday you will kick your own ass into the being the best ass it can possibly be. 

Okay? Cool.

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It’s spring. IT’S EFFING SPRING IN EDMONTON. Spring is the most underrated season. It’s hated because of its dirtiness, its moodiness going from sunshiny warm to snowy cold in a matter of hours, and the fact that it is blocking us from the most glorious time of year, summer. 

I had no idea just how lovely spring was until I moved to Vancouver several years ago. The thing about YVR is that they have seasons. All 4 of them. And they last for months. You get to soak up each and every day of spring, summer, fall, and winter, thereby allowing you to decide which seasons you actually love/hate.

Now that I am back in Edmonton, I am here to declare I LOVE spring. I love the crisp cool mornings and the sunny afternoons. I love how everyone is truly HAPPY because they are outside enjoying the little things. I love when all the patio furniture and accessories start showing up in stores. 

Yes it’s dirty, yes it’s still -2 at 7 am, and yes summer isn’t quite here yet. But you know? That’s okay. Because before you know it, WINTER will be back and FUCK THAT SHIT! 

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Starbucks iced coffee, Target perforated ‘leather’ slip ons, Essie ‘Fiji’ nail colour. 

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Be Kind to Yourself

Lately I’ve been really frustrated with the way I talk to myself about myself. I know that a large part of any fitness or health journey is improving self-talk and increasing self-love. I really had no idea how hard I was on myself until I said the things I was thinking out loud. 

I am a pretty huge supporter of being kind to others. Not being a bitch. Being strong, opinionated and hard-working, while also being a nice, reasonable person. So why do I have such difficulty being this kind of person to myself? I’m not sure I’ll ever understand how I got to this level of negativity as I’ve always thought I am a pretty positive and interesting person to be around. But I’ve been noticing certain things I say out loud, or moods that I can get in that make me seem like a really sad, angry person. And I’m not. I’m just not.

Once I started noticing this outward negativity, I began searching for the source. The conclusion I came to was that there was so much of it going on in my head that some of it just needed to come out. So, at that moment, I told myself that when I’m standing in the mirror, I am not allowed to keep quiet. If I have to make a comment about my hair, or skin, or love handles, I will say it out loud and I will listen. 

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of course fox news was complaining about youtubers interviewing the president

edwardspoonhands

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well fuck you too, telegraph. fuck you. 

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😫

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This weekend I tried something brand new: cross country skiing! I am incredibly sore but I also had so much fun. I'd like to take on this new sport as a winter activity because stupid winter is long here in Edmonton and you need something to appreciate it. To make you not hate it in March. To make you go 'oh, it's snowing' :)!