Sunday, February 27, 2011

Dance like there's no tomorrow.

The last few days my sister and I have been having mad dance parties in the bathroom while we get ready. The other day we danced for about 30-45 min while we got ready for a date. We tried to take some pictures of us dancing, but they aren't the most flattering. And we took a video. I would thrill you all with it, but my blog doesn't like to upload videos. To bad for you. :)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The importance of a smile :)

Smile: It may change someone else’s Life—Dove Chocolate Promises


One of my favorite things will be when I'm walking to school and as I'm approaching someone they make eye contact and smile at me. Automatically my day is better. I feel happier and I feel like smiling at every person that walks by me. I don't even know why. Is a smile contagious just like laughter? A part of methinks so. If someone smiles at you, you automatically smile back and just smiling makes a person feel better. In my effective living class we watched a movie on "Happiness" It talked about what happiness is and what happiness isn't. Back in theolden days happiness was just a meal on the table, a child reaching adult hood, and a pump that brought water into the house. What is happiness today? How many of us think happiness is derived from a frivolous lifestyle, money, big homes and fancy cars? That's how hollywood portrays happiness, but I always wonder if they are really happy. I think once you have such a lifestyle you become complacent and you aren't happy anymore.Then your neighbor get something better then you so you think "if I get myself one of those then I'll be happy" but they find themselves in the same spot as before. They aren't happy cause they can't find happiness in the little things, the things that really matter. There are some exceptions to the rules. I've seen it before, but I don't think it's that common.

So what is happiness? I think happiness is having a friend with a shoulder to cry on whenever you need. It's walking outside and hearing the birds chirping and feeling the suns warm rays on your skin. Happiness is finding joy in the simple things. People that don't have a lot of wealth but have enough to supply for their familyare generally more happy then those that are very wealthy and those that are dirt poor. (I'm not completely bashing money)

There is so much power in a smile. If we are having a bad day we can turn it upside down with a simple move. And that's choosing to smile. Our happiness depends on how we handle situations We can laugh at the bad things that happen in our day and just appreciate that it could've been much worse. Also I don't know about anyone else but how much more fun do you have being around happy people opposed to grumpy bumps on a log? Let me tell you I've hung out with these 5 girls twice and they are the funniest happiest girls I've met on campus. They laugh so easily and make everything a joke. I haven't laughed so hard and long as I have on these 2 occasions. You can't help but love these girls. How can you not love people that are happy?!

If you have the time you should watch this video. It's kind of long as in about 15 mins worth of your time, But it's humorous and it shows you what just a few kind words can do to someone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

That's really all my thoughts on happiness. It's homemade, it changes people's lives, it can change yours. So SMILE and choose to be happy :)

Monday, February 21, 2011

Miracles do happen.

The title may be a little bit deceiving and giving you a false idea about what an amazing blog post this will be. I mean, it might be a little cool, and it could be a miracle. I will never now, I can only be left to speculate about the what ifs.
The other day I was walking home from school in shoes that have ZERO grip. When I mean zero grip I mean I slip on pavement, tile, hardwood, basically any smooth surface. So I'm crossing the street at one of the busiest intersections of campus (I'm sure you can already guess where this is going) Well one foot slips out from underneath me and I land on one knee to try and catch myself, but my back pack throws me off balance and I tip over onto my side... in the middle of the road. So I lay there for a second, try to pick my pride up off the floor as well as my body and continue walking.As I'm walking I'm approaching adrive way for the parking lot of an apartment complex. In front of the driveway there was a big snow bank, and as I'm just getting ready to walk onto the driveway this car comes whipping out of there. After she passes I was thinking about what if I'd been 2-3 feet ahead and had gotten hit by her. She couldn't see me because of the snow pile so by the time she saw me she probably wouldn't have been able to stop. Then it dawned on me. If I had not crashed back at the intersection it is very likely that car and my body could've met up at the same time. All the sudden I didn't mind so much that I had scraped up my foot and lost my pride. I was still alive. Miracle? Maybe.
This is my scrapped up foot. I think it hurt a lot worse then it actually looks.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Point made.

So a few blog posts ago I talked about girls and their issues with bodies. One point I made was that boys are a contributing factor whether they realize or intend to be. Here is a prime example.
We were at FHE and our FHE brothers had made a chip dip. It was a hamburger, cream cheese and salsa mixture and then they also had shrimp and dip. Madison, isn't the biggest fan of hamburger and hates shrimp, samantha is a vegetarian, and the rest of our room mates didn't come. So I had been the only one eating. One of our FHE brothers observes this and points it out. Another FHE brother, who thinks he is God's gift to woman and the funniest guy ever, says (pointing to Madison) that's because she's anorexic, and she's bulimic (pointing at me). Madison just kind of gasps and sits there, I try to make light of the situation and joke back by being like "Excuse me I need to use your bathroom" And the Samantha- the coolest girl in the whole world- Just looks right at him and in a condoning tone says " That was very inappropriate" James was a little taken a back that someone would actual talk back to him that way, and stuttered out that he was only joking. It was awkward for a few more seconds.

So like I said, boys have no idea what trouble they cause for us girls with our bodies and how we feel about ourselves. You have no idea what is going on in our lives. Any one of us could have a close relative, friend or ourself, that struggles with these issues. It's so inconsiderate, and it's not even slightly funny. I wish I could've been more like samantha and let James know how wrong that was for him to say. Boys can't be blamed entirely, because they generally don't have any idea, because we never tell them how it effects us. Anyway, I don't have much more to say about the topic. Other then boys need to get a clue and be more sensitive.
The end.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Mana from heaven


I had to squish it down a little so it actually fit in my mouth.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Broccoli is a no

I'm sitting in the library at school doing what I do best, procrastinating. I could be finishing up an assignment but where is the fun in that? So instead I decided to blog quick before class.
I learned a lesson today in this library. Never put broccoli in pasta and bring it for lunch. Why did I forget that while broccoli tastes good it doesn't smell good, at all. You think that would turn people off from eating it, yet we still do. Anyway I forgot about the smell and as soon as I opened it on the 3rd floor of the library girls behind me were like "oh my gosh it smells so nasty in here. ewe it smells like broccoli. Should I spray some perfume or will that just make it smell worse?" It was a conversation piece for them for a good 5 min. Also it was during a peek time in the library where all the fun social could be considered "cool kids on campus" were there, which only heightened my embarrassment. So Needless to say I quickly put the lid back on and threw it in my backpack hoping none of them saw that I was the stinky culprit. I'm sure they did though. No one else was eating and they had to wonder where the source of stink was coming from. I feel like I'll never be able to show my face on the 3rd floor again cause if any of those people are there I'll probably here some snarky broccoli comment. Woe is me.
Another lesson I learned this last week is that contact disinfectant and contact solution are entirely different things. One cleans off your contact quickly and can be placed directly into your eye, the other cleans your contact over a number of hours mixed with a little red pill, and CANNOT be placed directly into you eye. Why might you ask? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact it's 3% hydrogen peroxide. My room mate didn't believe me that it hurt so she decided to follow suit a few days later. Such a terrible lesson to learn. I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy.


Saturday, February 5, 2011

Om Namah Shivaya

I'm in this effective living class this year and it's kind of amazing. It helps be re-evaluate my life and what I find important, how I manage stress, how past experiences affect the present, how I can accept myself for who I am, and accept that some things are just out of my control. It's only a month in but I've really enjoyed it. The teacher is kind of a joke, she hardly REALLY teaches. Usually just shows us a video dealing with the topic or has some sort of activity. The real teaching comes once a week when a student is in charge of the 70 minute class period. Anyway, right now I'm reading about managing stress and one of the ways is through meditation. The book suggest repeating this Mantra slowly and one syllable at a time "Om-Na-Mah-Shi-Va-Ya" It means "I honor the divinity that resides within me" I thought this was pretty profound and it went along with what me and my room mate had just finished talking about. Which is Woman, the way they view themselves, the effects a mans view has on woman, and moderation. It was a great discussion. Here are some highlights that whoever is reading might find interesting and helpful. And also excuse the tangent. I hope no one feels offended.
• If a guy breaks up with, don't think it's because YOU weren't perfect enough. That if only you had blonde hair, a cuter laugh, a nicer body, got better grades, or whatever other destructive thoughts that plague us during this time. Really it's just that you weren't perfect together. You should never want to become some guys idea of perfect. Just be perfectly you and a guy will love you for being that.
• Moderation, moderation, moderation. How many times have the prophets given us this wise council? Yes you should exercise, Yes you should try and eat healthy but No you should not take this to the extreme. To exercise doesn't mean go to the gym for 2 hours everyday, it can be as simple as walking to the store instead of driving or doing an activity you like. I've rediscovered a love for dance dance revolution. It's quite the workout and it's so much fun.There are so many FUN forms of exercise you can do that don't just focus on how your body looks. Bike riding, hiking, swimming, yoga, latin dancing all those things can be done with friends and the focus is on the sport not the calories. As for eating, we all know eating McDonalds everyday isn't a good idea, but does that mean we can't have fast food once in awhile? Brownies with ice cream and hot fudge maybe isn't the best for your love handles, but aren't you so satisfied while you are eating it? You probably shouldn't have it all the time, but is it terrible to treat yourself? NO.
• BOYS>>>> I don't think my room mate and I stressed enough about the problems boys cause for girls. Yes we have to be responsible for our own actions. Boys never made us not eat, they never forced us to get a gym pass and go exercise, but they have pointed out celebrities that they think are hot, they talk about their muscles and how bad certain foods are, which makes us feel guilty for watching a 10 hour Jane Austin movie marathon while eating anything withchocolate in it. We notice the way boys look at other girls and then look back at us and the small references they make that probably don't mean much to them but they mean the world to us. I'm not trying to make any boys feel terrible, I'm just saying boys need to be a little bit more aware of how they make girls feel about themselves.
• Another point partially towards men. What you see now is not what you are going to see in 20 years and to think you will is a ridiculous notion. I've heard men say to their girlfriends they had better not gain weight or have stretch marks after having children. How disgusting is that? After the sacrifice a woman makes to have YOUR babies you expect her to be back to her pre-baby self. That is very unrealistic. And I'm sure your girlfriend doesn't ever say to you "I hope after sitting around in your lazy boy chair watching football eating the nacho's I made you never get fat" Not saying girls are more loving but guys think more carnally. It's a fact, but it can be downplayed.
• The media. It's so deceiving. I don't think anyone comprehends and realizes how much work goes into making a celebrity look the way they do. It's amazing what they can air brush, nip tuck, or make bigger. Technology has come such a long way. Perfection doesn't exist in hollywood so stop looking there.
• God made you just the way you are. He loves the way you laugh, the size of your nose, and the freckles on your face. Instead of focusing on having the perfect body how much more joy could we have if we concentrated on becoming perfect like Christ? He would love it if we spent more time working on what's inside of us then on what's on the outside. Honor the divinity which is within you.

I feel hypocritical saying all this cause truth be known I've done, thought, or still do many of the things I said not to do. But writing this post reminds me of what I should be doing, and should be thinking about myself. Hopefully it did that same for someone else out there. :)


Friday, February 4, 2011

Conversations

I love over hearing peoples conversation. This week I over heard a good one and only wish I was walking next to these girls so i could get the full story. It's pretty short, most people might not even find it that funny, but it certainly brought a smile to my face. 2 girls were walking home from a class and i just hear "and then we are going to go to President Clarke's house (the president of BYUI) and we are going to knock on the door and when he answers we are going to make out in front of him..." Now I can only hope that this is a dream the girl was having or something that they thought would be funny because I can't imagine ever in my right mind wanting to do something like that.
Also on the subject of conversation this guy in one my classes asked me if I spelt my name with a C or and S, I said C and he goes onto say. you are the first white girl I've met with the name Chanel. I come from LA and any girl with the name is chanel is black. This has been said to be a few times and is usually followed with I feel like calling you Shananae or Shanique (i have no Idea how to spell these names) But this is interesting to me because I've never met a black girl with the name chanel so where are they all hiding? Apparently they don't come to BYUI or live in cardston. Both of which are not surprising.
Not on the topic of conversation but I've had a great 2 last days after my stressful tuesday night and wednesday morning trying to get those stupid article summaries done. One of my classes got cancelled yesterday (i didn't find out till I had walked in the freezing cold and got to class. Note to self always check my email before class) and then my afternoon class was just an hour tour through the Labor and Delivery section of the hospital. Then today both my teachers weren't there for class. so we watched a 20 minute movie in each and were dismissed. How great. It's was almost like I get a 4 day weekend.
That is all.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

I wish...

• I wish I didn't know how to procrastinate
• I wish I knew how to say no when I really just don't want to do something
• I wish I didn't have 3 article summaries due tomorrow at 9. Tomorrow at 3 would be nice, or maybe never
• I wish dishes did themselves
• I wish my room wasn't freezing cold
• I wish refworks was actually working so I could do my article summaries
• I wish I wasn't addicted to facebook, and bloggin and anything else that keeps me from homework.
• I wish it was 7 oclock instead of midnight
• I wish tomorrow was over
• I wish an easy button really existed like on the staples commercials.
• I wish I was fast asleep, dreaming of sugar plums and getting 100% on my article summaries
• I wish I would've looked at his article summary online before starting mine. 2 hours of my life wouldn't have been wasted.
Okay...no more wishes. I'll just get to work and make my wishes realities.