My Health

I know many people who know will be surprised, and disgruntled by this post, but honestly I don't care. It's about my belief and perception.

I'm used to being teeny and tiny, a daddy-long-legs insect. I've always wanted to put on just a bit of weight not much. And when I came to university that I surely did. Freshman 15 did wonderful things for me. My issue now is that I have gone past the 15 and I'm no longer a freshman...People look at me and say girl what you talking about, look fabulous, you look great. I am not used to not being completely comfortable in my own skin, so this is tough for me. I've never believed in dieting...I personally think that's crap and your should love your body and take care of it, not starve it. I've always been a fan of physical activity - sports, regular exercise, dance, shopping lol, and eating properly. I know what I have to do, and I know that inertia is the result for my dissatisfaction with myself. So I'm hoping that maybe by having this post here as a public manifesto of my intentions for myself I will do what I have to do. I am now 135 lbs and I believe I was happiest at 125 lbs. So through exercise/physical activity and eating properly I shall get my body the way I am comfortable.

Please, I ask you, when you speak to me, do not say you don't need to lose weight or anything like that. I need encouragement in pursuing my happiness. I know I can count on everyone for that support, and I thank you in advance.

Photo of the Week [21th - 27th]

So I have so been lapsing on my photo of the week..I'm so sorry. The week before I was sooo busy that I couldn't take a picture. But I have one for the week YAY!! I have a to do list for 2010, and some of these things on the list I would like to leave "anonymous" but others can be known. So my picture of the week is from one of the things on the to do list which was have sushi!! It wasn't bad. I probably won't eat it again, or often. I'm not a fish person...maybe if it had pork on it LOL.

Grey Matter

So I sat down and felt like I wanted to or needed to write. A lot has been going on for the past 2 weeks and my mind has been working overtime. I just keep thinking and thinking and thinking. There were just so many t hings going on in my mind that I didn't even know what I was really thinking about. So today I jsut decided to write. Just let my fingers glide over my keyboard and type whatever I wanted. If it doesn't really make sense, I honestly don't care. If I have spelling mistakes, again I really don't care. My fingers were dancing. You should give it a try. One day just type and see where you get. Oh and when I paused I still did not go back and read what I wrote. Ok. I'm going to stop blabbing away right now so you can read my "master piece!" lol. Hope you enjoy.

Move to the rhythm of your soul
of your song
of your heart
beat
pumping blood to the four corners of the world
is my mind running
from thought to thought
like a frog hopping from rock to rock.

No one likes to be used.
No one likes to be unappreciated.
Even if it comes as a complete shock when you get it,
deep down inside we are satisfied.

My fingers dance across the keyboard
as the words formulate in my mind
and resonate on this page.
I am completely unaware of what I am writing,
all I know is I am dancing
even while sitting in a carrel in the library
I am dancing
to this eternal rhythm of my mind working
constantly
methodologically
sporadically
uniquely
similarly to others around me.

Write.
Don't be afraid.
Let go and let that rhythm of words dance with your soul and your fingers
as you create gold.

Quantity v.s. Quality

In class today and the prof presented a very good point. The capitalist society we live in has altered our understanding of happiness to believe that we must buy to be happy. Success in today's world is measured by the QUANTITY of material possessions we have, but the question is should it not be the QUALITY of life we live. Someone may argue with me and say your quality depends on the quantity. I disagree. Some days the simple things, the little things are so refreshing, so revitalizing, so invigorating. Something as simple as putting some bread out for the birds, picking a flower, or taking a walk along the river or on the beach improve our health and quality of life.

So I challenge you and myself to break that capitalist mentality, improve your QUALITY of life, not the quantity. Next time you feel down, don't go shopping, sit outside and take some fresh air, go for a walk, play dress up with what you already have, give thanks for what your have and name everything you can possibly think of. Challenge yourself to explore different things. Explore your world.

Listen

I think it's important to have some time to yourself. Away from everyone, just you and yourself. Listen to your mind, your body, your emotions. Don't dismiss what they have to say. Listen.

Many people don't listen. They believe they know what the other is saying and speak based on that assumption. The more you listen, the less you talk. Take time to listen to yourself, your intuition, your spirit.

One may say that there is too much to be done to do it everyday, especially as a student. Well in that case I say take one day in the week and dub it "Me Day". And on that day you make time to do things you enjoy doing. You take time to be by yourself. You take time to listen to your body, your emotions, your spirit, your mind, your intuition, your aspirations, your dreams, your endeavours. Take time and listen to that music of life that you dance to.

Listen

Perfection vs Excellence

Perfection drives people insanity.
It puts pressure on relationships
and brings out the worse in people.

Some people confuse perfection for excellence.
Excellence is accepting.
Excellence is understanding.
Excellence is what we all should strive for,
not perfection.

We live in a world that is beyond imperfect,
so why should we mere mortals aim for the unattainable?
If there is always the probability,
there is always the error.
Why subject yourself to the error, the disappointment, that 0.001%?

Strive for Excellence, never perfection.
You will love yourself a whole lot more.

Summer's On The Way

I like to do "environmentally friendly" things, and use natural products instead of chemicals. Today was so lovely, bright, warm and slipper friendly that I asked a friend to bring a pair for me to wear at school. Obviously I realised that my feet really weren't ready to be exposed. I didn't rush home to give myself a pedicure. No way! I basked in the sunshine for as long as possible, THEN I went home and gave myself a pedicure lol.

So here is what I did:
* Prepared a scrub which can be used for feet and hands. Brown sugar, olive oil and honey. Mix it up into a paste. Mine is a bit runny, so the next time I will try to make it more pastey, maybe less honey and or oil. Again you know I don't do measurements, I just pour haha. I think Vitamin E or A can be used.
* Soaked my feet with warm/hot water for 10 minutes (perfect time to catch up on some readings)
* Massaged my feet with the sugar scrub and placed each foot in an empty bread bag for ten minutes. So next time your bread is done, keep the bag for your next pedicure ;)
*After that I washed my feet with mild soap and warm water. Ensure you dry between your toes properly. Moisturize immediately. I used Avon Foot Works Berry Merry Moisturizing Foot Cream.
* I then proceeded to take care of my nails by removing the old chipped nail enamel that was present. I lightly pushed back my cuticles, then applied my clear coat, let it dry, colour, colour, and top coat. I ensured the enamel was dry before applying another coat or layer.

Now my feet are ready for tomorrow, when I will have my own slippers on and flaunting their beauty.

My feet dance with the change in season and enjoy the fresh air

Photo of the Week [7th - 13th]

Here is my picture of the week. While walking along a path near the river these little funny creatures popped out of the bushes and looked like they were engaged in an intense game of tag. My lips immediately curled up as I remembered the fun things I did not only "in my youth" but even now.

So the best tagline for this picture is "Don't forget to have some fun"

Manicotti for Dinner

I had a potluck to attend one evening and I decided to try a new pasta dish for the potluck. The pasta had been sitting in the pantry for quite some time after I saw it sitting on the shelf in the supermarket and randomly decided "Hey these look like fun" picked them up and purchased them. As part of my challenge to stay active and keep try and doing new things, I try a manicotti recipe. I am also significantly altering the recipe...so I guess then it means I'm making my own :S (this should be very interesting hahaha).

I'm terrible with giving directions and with measurements but here is my version:

Cheese Sauce
cheese
milk (I cook with evapourated milk because I drink evapourated milk)
mustard
ham
chives

manicotti pasta
pasta sauce

Ok soooo I boiled the manicotti pasta as the directions on the box instruct. Add a pinch of salt to the water for the pasta. While that was boiling I prepared the cheese sauce. For the cheese sauce I put milk, cheese and mustard in a pan on low heat. As the cheese melted, I added the chives and ham. Do not let it boil, and it may burn at the bottom. By that point that manicotti was done. I then filled the manicotti with the cheese sauce and placed them side by side in the dish. After all the filled manicotti were placed in the dish, I poured the pasta sauce all over the top and topped with a bit a cheese. I baked the dish for about 10 mintues at 375 F. You don't want it to be too dry, so keep an eye on it. It may be less time.

Serve hot!

I don't know how many it serves or the calories. You can always try it, give your measurements and the servings too :D

If you want, you can add butter to the cheese sauce, not much. About a tablespoon will do depending on the amount of sauce you're making. And you can also add some pepper (black, white, pepper sauce, whatever floats you boat) in the cheese sauce too. Try it out and let me know :) I think you could also try using chicken or another meat alternative if ham/pork is not your thing.

Positivity

Surround yourself with positivity.

Positive images.
Positive messages.
Positive emotions.
Positive energy.

It may be difficult at times to remain positive, but find the strength to take that deep breath and let go of the negativity as you exhale. Search deep within your soul, your heart, your being to remain focused on your goal, and the big or small picture, whichever is the real deal.

Dance in your mind with your soul and let it come forth along you lips as the bend towards the sky. Dance to the heavens with your soul through the corners of your eyes. Dance and let go. Dance and be free.

Dancing with Money

My dance of death continues as the bank is messing me up. My money/rent/cheque woes continue. It feels like this dance will never end...On the bright side, the weather is warming up, and I went to the gym after months of not going. Bravo me. Dancing with the exercise machines

Remaining Positive

I'm trying hard to just remain positive and not be upset right now. I hate cheques. I really, honestly hate cheques. I never know what's going to happen 6 months down the line when I write a cheque now. So my landlord calls today and tells me my cheque bounced...see what I mean!! But the disgruntling thing is that I know the money was in the bank. So now I have the hassle of going and finding out what is going on...Dancing with money - the dance of death!!

Photo of the Week [March 1 - 6]

As promised, here is my first Picture of the Week!!. All the candidates for picture of the week had the sun in it. I think it might be the coming of summer, subconscious messages of happiness. Take nature by the hand and dance together.

My Journey Continues

So I just got the good news that I will be studying in Thailand next school year. I'm so excited!! I have to do a creative component basically, so I'm going to do a blog specifically for my Thailand journey. I'm so excited!!! I think I said that already, but I can't help it. Uber happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :D yippieeeee