Let it snow, let it snow, let it ICECREAM!

No, I have not been diagnosed with ADD...

I just wanted to get your attention for a great money saving, tongue-tingling surprise that you can make if it happens to be snowing enough to collect some (make sure it's the white stuff).

That's right...you can have your snow and eat it too!

Here's a simple recipe for homemade icecream with some simple ingredients!

Enjoy the winter weather, summertime will be here before you know it!

You are neither big nor small...

"You are the universe, expressing itself as a human for a little while..."

Eckhart Tolle

Recognizing Depression to Avoid It or to get Help!

Have you ever felt depressed?  You aren't alone.  I'd guess that everyone feels this way at least once in their life, more likely than not, it's something that has occurred on multiple occasions.  It's completely natural, but what is good to do is recognize when we are depressed in order to be able to help ourselves out of depression.  So here are some signs of depression to look for:

1.  Trouble giving or receiving compliments
2.  Difficulty talking
3.  Difficulty making decisions
4.  Changes in sleeping patterns
5.  Changes in eating patterns
6.  Low energy
7.  Restlessness or irritability
8.  Watching excess TV or playing videogames
9.  Avoiding social situations
10.  Not being able to feel amused
11.  Feeling nothing at all
12.  Driving too fast or too slow
13.  Thoughts of death or suicide**
14.  Working all the time
15.  Going out every night
16.  Excessive drinking and/or drug use
17.  Inability to concentrate
18.  Ignoring bills and mail
19.  Colors appear dull

Now, granted, just because you demonstrate some of these signs doesn't mean you need to seek a therapist, but obviously some of these signs are MUCH more serious than others.**Please seek help immediately if you or someone you know is feeling or talking about feeling this sign...THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH GETTING HELP OUT OF YOUR DEPRESSION!  It is a completely natural thing to become depressed occasionally and we all have different things, activities, people, and motivations that help us to get back to normal.  With the winter months, please keep an eye out for these signs in yourself and others!  Take care of yourselves!

For more information on these signs and the original article, click here!

Quote On Connection...

“Admit it. You aren’t like them. You’re not even close. You may occasionally dress yourself up as one of them, watch the same mindless television shows as they do, maybe even eat the same fast food sometimes. But it seems that the more you try to fit in, the more you feel like an outsider, watching the “normal people” as they go about their automatic existences. 

For every time you say club passwords like “Have a nice day” and “Weather’s awful today, eh?”, you yearn inside to say forbidden things like “Tell me something that makes you cry” or “What do you think deja vu is for?”. 

Face it, you even want to talk to that girl in the elevator. But what if that girl in the elevator (and the balding man who walks past your cubicle at work) are thinking the same thing? 

Who knows what you might learn from taking a chance on conversation with a stranger? 

Everyone carries a piece of the puzzle. Nobody comes into your life by mere coincidence. Trust your instincts. Do the unexpected. FIND THE OTHERS…” 

-Timothy Leary

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Observed)

I must admit, I get a little anxious when people go off about how white people don't know anything about treachery that other races have faced.  I will admit wholeheartedly that I can't possibly sympathize, not having literally been treated as a black person because I am not, but that I can empathize...I can empathize with the best of them.  I have found it hurtful to read that "white people" this or that, and also that "black people/asian people/indian people/hispanic people this and that."  Because grouping people says a few things: 1) I don't respect that there are individuals that are different within this group, and 2) You (other group) are different than me and therefore cannot relate to me on any level.

Having said that, there are many things that I cannot and will not ever understand.  I was born into a family that embraced every person for being a good human being and reprimanded and frowned upon any behavior that did otherwise.  I grew up the only white child in an all black pre-school and I only recognize this as an adult looking at pictures...as a child, unless you are told, there's no reason to even notice this.  To this day I am appalled and speak out against hatred toward ANY people and I tend to feel extremely offended when I am then lumped into a group of "white people that don't get it."  I don't get what it is like to be black.  I get what it is like to defend humanity.  I get what it is like to question a story because someone says "...black kids were doing such and such" and I say "does it matter that they were black?  What do you REALLY mean to say?"  I get what it is to tell someone that they don't understand immigration, why it occurs, how it occurs, and what it is to be in their position, so they need to research and communicate with all sides instead of repeating everything you're told from one perspective.

White people who hadn't experienced slavery or being black also were beaten and jailed during the tumultuous time of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in defense of their friends and family members and just plain human dignity.  They did so against the will of other family members and "friends" who disagreed with their position to uphold human rights and dignity.  So please, be kind and careful when you say "you don't understand" and remember that none of us really understand.  We're all doing our best to make positive changes and being told that "we don't get it" really isn't a very encouraging way to instigate more positive change.

Let's work together.  Find the similarities.  Work for one another instead of against.  Exude the legacy of MLK and ALL of his goals and dreams and aspirations.  Change has occurred and will continue to do so by peaceful means.

And now, an article that, despite it's separation of races to explain a point, allows me to appreciate the history and detail that really explain to the reader what MLK did and why it's so important not to make the celebration of his life about "just one speech."

See the treasure that you are!

After watching the video "What Guys Look For In Girls," 

the young woman in THIS video came up with a response...

So real.  So awesome.  For everyone.

(If you start from 1:55, you'll miss the background but you'll get the straight positive message - but I suggest watching the whole thing to get where it comes from, to recognize and be able to make changes to the things that we do/say in our society to encourage the upholding of the video she is responding to...so that videos like hers will no longer be necessary, because we'll already know and feel and be exactly what she reminds us to be: The 'God-damn treasure' that we are.)

A++ Coaching

If you ever played on a sports team, especially at a competitive level in college or beyond, you probably had some rules in place to keep everyone in good shape physically, mentally, and emotionally for games.  Some people probably followed the rules, and some people probably ignored them.  I recall one or two times when my own team made those people who disobeyed the rules responsible for their actions and made it known to the team!  The point of these rules is not only being in control of oneself, but also making a group effort, working together, and a feeling of solidarity (even if that meant you could not drink on St. Patty's Day because you had a game to play; Gatorade-pong anyone?)

I recently saw this set of rules put forth by the Texas coach Charlie Strong for his football team.  There are a billion and five critics of his "expectations" most of them stating that "he has no chance of making the changes he hopes to make" and/or that they "have nothing to do with what those athletes are there for."  But as a college athlete, myself, I think they are really great rules for EVERYONE to follow...in fact, if you aren't following these rules, you might want to reconsider the way you are experiencing your education/work environment/parenting/fellow human beings.

And, by the way, Texas is a university team, not a pro team...so the fact that they are Division I is great and all, but to all the nay-sayers regarding Strong's goals, and means of achieving them, out there...most college athletes will "go pro" in something other than the sport that they play, so it's actually RIDICULOUSLY important for athletes to not only be good athletically, but also to get something out of their free or discounted education...you know, on the off-chance that they don't become the starting QB for the next superbowl team, they never start a game on their college team because they weren't the only individual recruited for their position, or they tear their ACL in practice and can't ever get back to 100%.

It's never a bad idea to be a good person

...in case the Monday Night Spotlight doesn't work out.

Without further ado...The "Expectations" of Coach Strong

Life is what you make it!

Who said science can't be fun??

Life is all about what you make it!

In case you missed the reference:

(Ohhhhh 80s...)

Count Your Blessings

I realized yesterday, that the phrase "count your blessings" is not to say that the number truly matters, but more that you should really focus on the blessings instead of the negatives, downfalls and curses in life.  If we focus on ONE thing that we are missing, it tends to devalue the hundreds of wonderful things that we are given!

Do not dwell on one thing that went wrong.  Instead, see, with amazement, everything great that happened.  It's hard to do.  Having a hard time doing just that is what brought me to this realization!  So, try to remember to value all of the GOOD things instead of favoring the focus on the bad... enjoy all of the good things and let the bad 'roll right off your shoulders!'

Seeing Hope In the Hardest Places

Loved this blog post on seeing hope in the hardest of places: a pediatric oncology (children's cancer) center.  It's a great reminder that everything depends on perspective.  We can see the negative or the positive in any situation, and it's much more joyful to choose to find the good things and the small improvements that are worth celebrating (the "little victories" if you will).  It's the most upbeat, positive, hopeful thing I could ask to read about such a tough topic!

Thanks to all of the parents, nurses, doctors, staff, friends, and families of these little people fighting hard against something so difficult!  Keep smiling and fighting right along with them and keep hoping along with the author of the article.

We believe in hope <3

Aerie: The Real You Is Sexy Campaign

To all you girls out there who, like me, only think that men fall for the Victoria's Secret ads (the trick to make  you think that you will magically look like the photoshopped models in their ads and the modellicious beauties on the runway if you wear what they wear).

I personally look at those ads and am realistic enough to know I will NOT look like them and therefore should NOT buy anything in the ads, knowing the contrast will be stark.  Men (and women) often see them and envision what's shown as perfection: no rolls, no stretch marks, no circles, no wrinkles, symmetrical, insane curves and fitting the golden ratio...

And it's funny because they're all retouched, reminding us that perfection just isn't natural.

We are imperfect beings, and THAT is perfect!

What IS natural, though, are the beauties in the new Aerie undergarments campaign and I dig the slogan "No more retouching our girls and no more supermodels...because we think THE REAL YOU IS SEXY."  BAM...WINNERS AT LIFE, HANDS DOWN.  Thank you, Aerie for finding and accepting women for what we are and promoting THAT to men and women everywhere- GORGEOUS as our natural selves.  

Here are some feminine underwear pics that I don't mind sharing!

Music Speaks All Languages

My little gaelic heart is soaring with this Irish Gaelic version of "Cups."

PLUS, anything done in unison in a large group of people working together really just gives me goosebumps.  I was recently informed that "dancing in groups (ie electric slide, cha cha slide, etc) is unique to the US mentality" (but that it's still somehow cool for outsiders to witness) I have found that group activities that aim to reach a unified goal is fairly standard throughout the world.  Enjoy this pop song with a traditional lilt. <3

Just DANCE!

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!

Get up, dance & ENJOY EVERY MOMENT!

*I hope I'm just like her when I get to this age*

A TRUE HAPPY song :-D

So yesterday I challenged you to find your "happy song" and shared mine.

Today I discovered a brand new one, and it is the ultimate...

It's called (you guessed it) "Happy" by Pharrell!  

ENJOY!

Love You Forever - The Original Tune, from the Author

If you're anything like me, you've not only seen the book Love You Forever, but you could likely repeat it word for word as a child, and maybe even as an adult.  I actually bought my own copy a year or two ago when I was looking for bilingual Dr. Seuss books and came across it in the children's section.  I needed to have my own copy.  That copy on the shelf, is now my copy on MY shelf.

The story never gave me a creepy vibe as it did for this author, but instead always made me sad and extremely happy and loved and a plethora of other conflicting emotions, really, and I never knew why.    The previously linked article explains the author's inspiration for the story, a song that he began to sing to himself in his head when he and his wife suffered the loss of life in their two stillborn children.  While it is a sad topic, that of losing anyone, much less a child, it is also a brilliant expression of love and gratitude and strength to share this inner song with others in a way that touches all of our emotions.

I always read the lines as a poem, with rhythm but without a melody.  I can't remember if my parents sang it, just that we often read it.  Now, I'm happy to share the ORIGINAL melody, which really captures a lot of the emotions I've always felt when I read this story.  Music is powerful.  Enjoy!

"I love you forever, 

I'll like you for always, 

as long as I'm living, 

my baby you'll be."