INSTAGRAM DOWN: APP NOT WORKING AS IT REFUSES TO LOAD PEOPLE’S PICTURES AND PROFILES

~ youareacanvas ~ Leave a comment

October 3, 2018 Instagram was having technical issues and for many users they see empty profiles and a message “cannot refresh feed”. And the web app gives the code  “5xx Server Error”.

On September the 25, 2018 the men behind Instagram who started it eight years ago, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, CEO and CTO stepped down citing on their blog that they would be exploring other creative things some are suspecting that it’s due to conflicts with them and with Facebook which bought Instagram 6 years ago.

Instagram is known to have technical issues and go down but with the recent stepdowns only time will tell if this outage is related or how long the outage will be or how long the app will not work and refuse to load people’s pictures and profiles.

With the Instagram outage I got thinking what would happen if it just went away one day?

How different would life be if we couldn’t scroll feeds anymore?

It got me realizing that anything could happen , perhaps its time to take a break or at least find meaning in life itself and not have to take any pictures of it to share?

This whole outage thing is simply reminding me to be more present in life and think less about social media. I’m actually going to make efforts to unplug more often and leave my phone alone when I am out enjoying.

Nobody’s lives are perfect and fomo is a real thing, what I’ve learned is that people are actually sometimes happier and better to engage with on a phone if you see them in other stories or meet them in real life, they often are checked into their phone and not each other …. suddenly the fomo isn’t so great anymore because who feels like they are missing out when they see a bunch of people on their phones and not speaking to one another. The more I see how rude and ungrateful it makes others look the more I want to be more present in the now.

any suggestions on how I can fix my Instagram addiction?

 

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This Toronto cafe offers a 2$ latte and it’s delicious

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This cheap Toronto late is only 2$IMG_1124.JPG

Nutella cafe in Fort York is just west of the Rogers centre on the Spadina street car route. This hidden gem will get you a fresh pressed coffee (reasons to have fresh pressed coffee) or the choice of a Nutella donut, Nutella danish or an apple pie danish for only 2$ in Canada we call that a toonie. The baristas at this location take pride in creating beautiful designs in the latte which produce a positive effect on the mind and soul and serve the need for any cravings you might have for aesthetic things.IMG_1125.JPG

Nutella is a world famous food brand that globally capitalized on a niche market when they made their hazelnut spread. Nutella recently opened a series of cafes in the last few years and this particular Nutella cafe location is actually unique because it is partnered with urban fresh.

This spot is totally instagramable and you can do groceries, purchase wine or other convenience store products at the same time because it is inside an urban fresh grocery store.IMG_1126.JPG

 

This beautiful waterfall is just an hour from Toronto and it’s absolutely stunning

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September is the perfect month to explore waterfalls as water is at its warmest and attractions are less busy due to many people being back to school.
Websters Falls is not far from Toronto Ontario. Just minutes outside Hamilton Ontario Canada the falls has bridges, nature trails, rustic rock stairs in ruin and a waterfall to explore.

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When looking at the grounds from the path to the right of the driveway take the first path on the right and go up and around the trail to the set of stone bridges.
Two stone bridges cross over a little flowing brook, everything looks like a fairy tale story book scene, this magical setting seems like a great place to propose or take engagement photos. ( fellas you can thank me later) .

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Cross the bridge and look to the left, you will see a fence with gaps to go in and the remains of an old retired trail that once took visitors on guided tours. A decently challenging decent to the bottom awaits you down a rock face, but you will be pleasantly surprised at the trees, rocks and holes to grab on to from the old retired trail. once you make it to the mid point of the hike down follow the clear dirt path and rock stairs remaining from earlier times when the place was more thriving with outdoors enthusiasts with less technology having been available to occupy time. The mid point setting is picturesque and perfect for photo opportunities so make sure your devices are charged. A staircase going to nowhere that looks like it is out of lord of the rings, makes for many possible creative ideas for photoshoots.

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Continue past the stairs and continue the path to the river that flows from the waterfall. The waterfall has several rocks covered in grass you can use to grip with your feet and hop on to. You can go right into the waterfall if you are cautious and balance properly.

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Websters falls is a great place for a family reunion or BBQ celebration with friends as there are several open lands and covered eating areas to cook and eat at and grass to play on or set up games on although I would not recommend the hike down to the waterfall for small children or children who are not used to outdoors climbing.

 

Zara Canada Contest Scam The latest influencer growth tactic

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As if there was not enough shade in the Instagram world from comment pods, buying engagements and likes and following to unfollow the latest greatest way to cheat your way to followers is through the Zara Canada  Contest Scam The latest influencer growth tactic.

In law we call this both passing off and misrepresentation where something or someone looks like and acts the like real deal but is really a scam.

STEP ONE create an account and make it look like a real new accountIMG_1498.PNG

STEP TWO offer gift cards to entice people to follow

STEP THREE offer a code to be given 24-48 hours after a promotion is made for the page on Instagram stories

STEP FOUR gain followers

STEP FIVE check for code and realize that Zara Canada is now someone else such as Amanda Baynes who has great content coming soon who bought her account.

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STEP SIX create other accounts and repeat  steps 1-5

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My biggest wonder is how many people will actually stay following once they check for their code and see it’s a new account they lost my follow already.

I wrote this story to warn other not to fall for the scam and also because Instagram needs to step up their reporting game. They shadow ban legit accounts and withhold people’s likes but do not have any way to report accept its spam and it’s in apropriate they allow no elaboration like Facebook so by the time the check the account in a few months it will look real and won’t be taken down. Who knows how many times this scam has gone on prior to me noticing it yesterday because I see at least two more pop up today.

What do you think about this latest way to get followers have you experienced this before?

The Original Vegan Hypoalergetic Dry Shampoo

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IMG_0120My secret to having great hair is not to wash it every day because shampoo strips hair of all of its natural moisture. Going 2-3 days without washing can cause my second day hair to look really greasy, heavy and weighed down.

The solution is Klorane Dry Shampoo

 

 

. Essential in the gym bag to freshen locks up after a light workout.
. For those early morning meetings, blogger events and girls night out when you have no time to get a full glam on a few spritz into hair and voila a fresh mane that stays shiny and voluminous all day or night.
. Hit the snooze button and catch a few more moments of beauty sleep, tame flyaways or add volume to flat hair when you wake up, this is especially nice when it’s freezing during the winter and you don’t have to get hair wet in the shower.

 

 

Although I am not a vegan when I can make more ethical choices and use plant based products which are not tested on animals I do. The natural botanicals and plant based ingredients in my Klorane Dry Shampoo combined with its effectiveness in combating , loss of volume, greasiness and unruly strands make this my Dry Shampoo of choice.

Klorane USA did a study and the results were as follows

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Plant extracts of common oat seed are high in carbohydrates, lipids and vitamins and are selected for their hydrating, softening and protective properties.
Stinging Nettle root extract helps reduce sebum secretion and absorb oil.
Starch, Silica and Beta Cyclodestrine have highly absorbent qualities that keep hair looking fresh without weighing it down.

 

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How to wear your fragrance to maximize attractiveness

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Viva La Juicy Perfume Review
I discovered this beautiful scent many years ago when it was gifted to me by my mother. I find viva la juicy perfume the perfect everyday scent because it’s so feminine and fun, I am someone who really likes fresh clean gentle scents with a hint of a darker powdery musk and I don’t like strong vanilla overpowering but do like a small hint of it to linger. There are no florals in this scent, I don’t like floral scents because I find them overpowering and too strong, but a hint of spicy orange citrus is present to balance out the sweetness and give the perfume that originality and sweetness.
The bottle is so cute and girly it looks really great in your perfume collection because of the hot pink bow and gold accents. This perfume doesn’t go on too strong and it lasts many hours on the skin and forever if sprayed on leather or fabric materials.

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How to Apply Perfume for Attractiveness
Most women spray on their wrists as a traditional way of wearing scents and others spray all over.
But I’ll let you in on a little secret, the best places to spray perfume are
The top of your head, women are often shorter than men and men like clean hair, putting a dab on the crown ensures that your hair smells good and that scent reaches your object of affections nose.
Behind your knees , women are always crossing our legs putting a dab on the back of the knee ensures a nice scent while we are engaging with others,
Inner arm, humans move their hands when they talk so having a dose on the inner arm insures freshness while you talk.
All of these areas produce lots of heat, this accentuates the scent and permeates it into the air. These tips are just a guide, the worst thing you can do is overdue a scent, probably why I never wear floral scents because it’s easy to go overboard with them, a scent like juicy is so gentle and fresh it could never be too overpowering even with multiple doses.
Disclaimer: I received my Viva La Juicy Juicy Couture fragrance from Influenster for free for testing purposes all reviews and opinions are my very own 

Quick Organic and Downright Delicious

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IMG_9327.JPGWhen the good people over at Influenster asked me if I was in to try the new organic seasoning from Club House  complimentary for testing purposes, of course I was in because I love to cook and I also love making healthy choices like choosing Organic.

The first seasoning I tried was the Kung-Pao seasoning and my first impression is this is some good seasoning because the first ingredient was a quality one, Cane Sugar, Cane Sugar is expensive and of good quality.  I chose to use chicken as my meat and I added Shredded Napa Cabbage, Carrots, Onions and Peppers to my stir fry. Making this dish was easy all I had to do was add water. I love Basmati Rice so I added my Kung-Pao Chicken stir fry over a bed of delicious rice.

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The second seasoning I tried was the new Organic Taco seasoning, again I was impressed with the organic ingredients that I could pronounce. The flavor was tex-mex style and coated the ground beef very nicely, I prefer this taco seasoning to the non-organic it was so aromatic and delicious. I got imported from Mexico Corn Tortillas from No- Frills and topped my tacos with Shredded Tomato, Onion, Salsa Verde and Sour Cream.  Again preparation was very easy just add a cup of water and cook it on medium until all of the liquid becomes sauce.

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Influenster generously sent me these samples to try, all opinions are my own personal opinions

It’s all about Sweater Weather

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IMG_8902It’s all about sweater weather as the cold weather is officially here in Toronto Canada and I will be living in cozy knits from now until April (oh Canadian winters.)

My current favourite sweater was purchased at a recent sale at Urban Planet. I bought one sweater in black for $24.99 and got the second, an orange sweater (my current favorite featured in this post ) for just one cent. Urban Planet always has amazing sales pretty much weekly, you check their website or join the emailing or texting list to get notifications delivered straight to your email or phone.

According to one article from Huffington Post

Orange represents creativity, confidence, joy, sensuality and ambition. It suggests vibrant health and has positive effects on emotional states. Huffington Post suggests you to wear orange when you want to have fun, heighten creativity or heal emotions. Avoid it when you feel restless, dependent, fearful or want to relax.

I definitely feel confident ambitious joyful and sensual in this colour. What’s nice about this sweater, which you can buy in many different colours including this beautiful orange here , is it can be warn long, which looks amazing styled with leather leggings or as I have styled the sweater tucked into these amazing high wasted fringe hemmed jeans also from urban planet here.

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Maple Pecan Pumpkin Muffins

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One of my passions since I was a little girl has always been baking, however as an adult with a busy life I have definitely stopped baking as much as I would like too. Starting my blog has gotten me in touch with the many creative sides of baking. I’m excited to share more recipes with you all. I always like to make recipes my very own and substitute ingredients or ratios to existing recipes or family recipes to make them more unique and personal.

Maple Pecan Pumpkin Muffins
* 1 1/2 cups flour
* 1/2 cup of rolled oats
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 3/4 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 2 tsp cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp cloves
* 2tsp ginger
* 1 tsp nutmeg
* 1 1/4 cups pure pumpkin
* 1 tablespoon maple syrup
* 1/2 cup coconut milk, at room temperature
* 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 4 Tbsp coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup of shredded coconut
* 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Crumble Topping
* 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
* 1/2 cup of rolled oats
* 4 Tbsp flour
* 2 tsp cinnamon
* 3Tbsp of margarine or butter melted
* 1/2 cup of crushed pecans

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups; spray baking cups with cooking spray. For the crumble topping, combine brown sugar, oats, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; add melted butter and toss mixture with a fork until crumbly. Chill until ready to use.
2. Whisk oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Combine pumpkin, coconut milk, maple syrup, eggs, coconut oil, vanilla, sugar and coconut in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture and stir until combined.
3. Fill each baking cup 3/4 full and sprinkle crumble topping and chopped pecans evenly over batter. Bake for about 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean Let muffins cool in pan on a wire rack before removing to serve. Drizzle muffins with maple syrup to taste.