Things that make you go "hmm"?

I read a few things this week that were very discouraging...

1) A Glamour article about a woman who faked having breast cancer...in 3 different states. What kind of person does that? How messed up must you be to FAKE having breast cancer and let people shave your head for you and plan fundraisers to pay your cancer treatment bills?

2) Skinny Bitch - this trendy new book that came out a few months ago that talks about all of the bad food you shouldn't put into your body. I agree with most of it and I was enjoying reading it until I got to the section on slaughterhouses and "humane" killing of animals, which I've discovered is not so humane after all. Looks like I won't be eating meat for a longgg time! I encourage you to read this book, it will completely make you re-think everything you put in your mouth.


On a brighter note, I read something encouraging...

1) A 73 year-old man made his college basketball team and is living out his dream. Instead of playing under scholarship in college, he joined the AirForce instead. After realizing he "still had it", he contacted the coaches and joined the Roane State Raiders.

Watch the "old school baller":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvkmqbgUU_E

Rylee's Halloween costume...

Yoda or Princess Leia??

True Colors

I've seen one of my friends "true colors" these past few weeks. Unfortunately, the colors aren't pretty. This person claimed that they were a true friend and would never turn their back on me. Guess what - they lied.

I wish people weren't so angry and disappointed with their own lives to say downright mean and hurtful things about other people. It's offensive and I hope this person realizes that she can't be happy in life until she makes herself happy. Talking behind my back to my friends is probably not the smartest idea either, genius.

Oh well, you can put glitter and bows on a trash bag, but at the end of the day, it's still trash. And that's how I feel about her.

Next Steps

Thinking about possible externship sites, aka, anywhere in the world I want to go practice audiology for a year.

Possible ideas:
1) Miami
2) Las Vegas
3) Nashville
4) Charlotte

Any other suggestions? I'll keep you all updated :)

celestial seasonings

So I was making detox tea for my sick self (from Amanda's fabulous supply), and I came across this little quote on the back of the box. I found it very refreshing and cute so I thought I would share :)

"I must live a little each day, greet the sun as it rises and revel in its setting, swim naked, sip coffee, and wine by the shore, generate new ideas, admire myself, talk to animals, mediate, laugh, risk adventures. I must try to be soft, not hard; fluid not rigid; tender, not cold; find rather than seek. I have been embraced by the sea, tested by its elements, emptied of anxiety, cleansed with fresh thought In the process, I have recovered myself."

The Worst...

1) The worst stall to pick in a public restroom...

The middle one. The center stall has more bacteria than those on either end.

2) The worst place to sit on an airplane...

The rear. Avoid this section if you're prone to airsickness. The farther from the center you are, the more up-and-down movement you experience. Because the tail of the plane tends to be longer than the front, that's the bumpiest of all. The smoothest option is sitting as close to the wing as you can.

3) The worst place to store medicine...

The medicine cabinet. It's not uncommon for the temp in a steamy bathroom to reach 100F--well above the recommended storage temperatures for many common drugs. To stay out of the red zone, store your meds in a cool, dry place, such as the pantry.

4) The worst place to set your handbag/purse...

The kitchen counter. Your fancy handbag is a major tote for microbes: Research swabs showed up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch on purse bottoms--and a third of the bags tested positive for fecal bacteria! A woman's carryall gets parked in some nasty spots: on the floor of the bus, beneath the restaurant table--even on the floor of a public bathroom. Put your bag in a drawer or on a chair, --anywhere except where food is prepared or eaten.

5) The worst place to use headphones/earbuds...

On an airplane, train, or subway. Sure, music's a better traveling companion than your seatmate's cell phone conversation. But studies show that if you listen through a headset in a noisy environment, you probably crank the volume too high. Harvard researchers found that in reasonably quiet surroundings, volunteers tended to keep the volume at an ear-friendly level. But when the researchers added background noise--the loud rumble of an airplane cabin--80% boosted the volume as high as 89 decibels, a level that risks long-term hearing damage. If you must have music, consider noise-canceling headphones--only 20% of listeners in the study who used a set got close to the danger zone.
As an audiology student, this is my personal favorite - because it's true! iPods can cause noise damage to your ear, but hey, I guess it secures my future right? :)

6) The worst spot for your television...

Wherever you eat. Studies show that distraction is your waistline's enemy--it can keep you from noticing how much you're eating. The best place for your television: up or down a flight of stairs, so you have to "work" to get a snack--you'll be much less likely to munch.

Best Advice

“If you’re ever angry or frustrated by a situation you have two basic choices - either change the situation or change the way you think about it.”

"Don't let classes get in the way of your education"

"Work smarter, not harder"

"If you want to be a beacon, you have to let your light shine"

Left Brain/Right Brain??

Are you right-brained or left-brained?

Look at the picture and SAY the COLOR, not the word.

Your right brain will try to say the color while your left brain will read the word!

Can you do it in less than a minute?

If you can complete this test easily then the right side of your brain is dominant.
If you find it hard, you’re a left brainer.


http://www.fireworkspop.com/colortest.htm

If you are right-brained then you exhibit the following creative attributes:
uses feeling, imagination, symbols and images, present and future, philosophy & religion, believes, appreciates, spatial perception, function fantasy…the list goes on..

If you are left-brained then you have these not so creative attributes:
uses logic, detail oriented, facts rule, words and language, math and science, order/pattern perception, reality based, forms strategies, practical ,safe.. and again many more.

I don't get older, I get better

My 24th birthday just passed - and every year my birthday makes me re-evaluate my life. The monotony of daily living sometimes makes me forget who I am and what my ultimate goals are, but at least once a year it's nice to regroup and refocus my life.

I have a few personal goals for this next year:

- Giving. One of the best ways to enhance your life or find purpose is to give to others. I am definitely not made of money but it's nice to give what I can, when I can.

- Filling your "bank account". I was once reading one of Joel Osteen's books and he talked about filling "bank accounts" of the people in your lives, meaning, you should always deposit positive and truly good things into other people. Constantly "withdrawing" from someone will drain them, as well as drain the relationship you might have with that person. It's important to make as many positive deposits into others as you can...you never know when you'll need the withdrawal.

- Being happy with where I'm at. I think this is probably the hardest one. I have a difficult time just enjoying the moment, but this year I'd like to change that. I'm usually so focused on where I'm going that I don't enjoy the ride. This year is all about the ride..fast, slow...at least I'm going.


Things I learned at 23:

- Never EVER take people for granted. This is an easy one, yet so easily forgotten. The people in your life, good or bad, are there for a reason. They are there to build you up or challenge your faith in yourself. Either way, be grateful for them.

- Being a good friend is far more important than I ever thought.

- Growing up isn't that bad - embrace it!

Don't tiptoe

"All around you,
people will be tiptoeing through life,
just to arrive at death safely

But dear children, do not tiptoe.
Run, hop, skip, or dance,
just don't tiptoe"

Passion & Purpose

I was inspired by another church sermon this weekend. The whole focus of the message was adding passion to your purpose to achieve great power (passion + purpose = power). You need to be passionate about the things that matter to you. If you lack passion and still have great purpose, all you'll end up with is wasted potential.

We also talked about how to determine what you are passionate about in your life. Using this REAL idea, you can figure out where your soul lies.

R = risk
You risk for those things you care about. If you didn't care, you wouldn't risk.
E = expense
You will spend money or use your resources for your passion, without question.
A = articulate
You will always speak up for your purpose. You won't back down.
L = learn
You'll take time to learn and expand your knowledge on something that is important to you.

Think about it sometime. I'll guarantee that you'll figure out your "passions" aren't what you claim they are.

The Fox and the Hedgehog

I learned a new concept today...which I think everyone can learn a little bit from.

The story of the fox and the hedgehog:

Greek poet Archiolus wrote:

"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing".

This aphorism reflects the difference between the fox, with lots of resources at its command, and the hedgehog, with only a single, but highly effective, defense against them. The fox tries with futile effort to plot every possible way to get to the hedgehog. But no matter what offensive maneuver the fox tries, all the hedgehog needs to do is curl up into a ball and defend itself with spines.

In life, you can be a fox - or a hedgehog. You can try all the "slick" maneuvers you have at your disposal, or you can find the one thing that saves you everytime. Keep your eye on the proverbial ball, and you will survive.

My heart's broken too..

"Oh baby I lied
Got feelings for you I can’t hide
So sad but it’s true
I lost my mind when I lost you

Don’t look at me that way
It’s hard but I can’t let you stay
We both know where it
I have to let you go
It’s over we both know
And sorry won’t fix us this time

Words won’t help to
Heal what hurts you
I did what I had to do
So don’t start crying
I’ll start crying
My hearts broken too"

Sharing is Caring...

Random Thoughts of the Day:

• David Archuleta – I haven’t even liked American Idol this season but when this kid sings, it melts my heart. He’s the only person I can say that I’ve ever voted for just because I want everyone to have the opportunity to hear his beautiful voice. I usually just watch the show because of Simon’s cruel, but accurate judgment of the other contestants. But when I’m home, I always watch something else until it’s David’s turn – he’s just fabulous. I just want to shrink him and put him into my iPod.
• Almay eyeshadow combination sets are one of the best things ever invented. Especially for girls like me who have no real make-up sense – the set gives you three colors and explains how to put them on so you don’t look like a complete idiot. I have every set. And I’m in love.
• Vegas was amazing - took a helicopter tour over the Strip and the Grand Canyon. I think that if audiology doesn’t work out for me, I could become a helicopter pilot. It seems so easy (I’m sure its not obviously..) but I think I could do it and imagine all the places you could go with your free time! I would probably fly my helicopter everywhere – even to the grocery store. Anyone wanna take up flying with me?
• My own stupidity: So today I got an email from one of my professors asking students to volunteer to moderate speaker sessions at our conference in Charlotte next week. Now let’s talk about how smart I am…
  
  I emailed her back giving her the three options I would like to volunteer for, assuming (yes..ASSuming) that she would choose one for me. But no, she chose all 3! So now I am stuck doing all three and I couldn’t even ask her to not to do all of them because she already emailed the speakers with my information. Blahh..
  
  
  
  Enough for the night – hope you enjoyed wasting time reading my ramblings :)

2 days until...

Things I've Learned To Appreciate...

Here's a list of some things I've had a new appreciation for lately...

1) thank you notes
- sometimes it just takes one person to say a genuine thank you to brighten my whole day. It works the other way too - saying thank you isn't hard and can mean so much

2) red lights
- without them, I wouldn't have time to send text messages or eat cereal in the morning on the way to work

3) time
- time waits for no one, and it's really got a headstart on me. but I've been trying to make the best of my days by appreciating my life and all that I've had the opportunity to do

4) John Mayer lyrics
- seriously, try listening sometime

5) my health
- one of my best friends is fighting cancer...again. the girl cannot catch a break yet still has the best attitude of anyone i've ever met. I don't know how she does it - and I admire her more than she will ever know

6) reality tv
- yep, I know. How can someone appreciate reality tv? Well, I do. It's the one thing lately that can keep my mind occupied longer than 5 minutes and sometimes its nice to realize that maybe you're not really as crazy as you think

7) Barnes & Noble
- sometimes walking into B&N makes me feel like I'm entering a different world - a utopian society if you will: adults and children of all ages and races coexisting peacefully. the last time i went there was just to take a break from life and i realized that almost everyone else there was doing the same thing. while i was there reading, i took notice of almost everyone around me. and then i noticed that i wasn't the only one scouting the crowd. maybe we all need a barnes and noble therapy session now and again. maybe no one really goes there to read at all - but just to feel a bit more human

And thanks to a website Amy sent me, I have found this beautiful quote to share today:
"You have friends and family that love you. Learn how to be thankful.Think of all the things you have to be happy about. Relax, calm down, take things slower. No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears. We cannot change the past, but we can enjoy today, and look to the future. But if we are prepared to take credit for the past and accept that everything that happened in our life, good and bad, has made us the person we are - the battle is half won."

Karma is our judge

"If more people believed in the law of karma, we would never need a police force or peace treaties. But without an inner conviction that nobody can escape the consequences of their actions, even if we employ many types of external means in order to enforce the law, we will never be able to build a peaceful society. Modern societies use very sophisticated equipment to monitor and identify criminals. But the more complicated and fascinating our equipment is, the more sophisticated and determined the criminals become. If human society is to improve, it is not enough to enforce external laws. We need to have recourse to our inner judge."
-the Dalai Lama

Purple Cows...

I was recently having a conversation with Henry and he explained to me this wonderful concept of the purple cow. The story is as follows:

Two men are driving down the road and for hours and hours they see no animals. Finally, the passenger sees a cow and points it out by saying "Look! A cow!!". The driver is all excited and it inspires him to drive further. A few more miles down the road they see another cow. Still exciting! But not as exciting as the first one. After the second cow, they continue to see cows every few miles and then every mile and then they just start passing fields of cows. Eventually, the cows aren't exciting anymore.

A few hours later, the men are still driving. All of a sudden, the passenger says "Loook!! A PURPLE cow!". The driver is so excited because it's a new colored cow and who ever really sees a purple cow! The old cows are completely forgotten and this new purple cow has taken over his mind and made him so excited.
********************************************************************************
Ok...so I know this story is a little silly. But I think it has some very important life lessons. ALWAYS LOOK FOR THE PURPLE COW! Whether it's in relationships, careers, or just life in general. You can't be a regular cow forever...eventually you lose your flair. Those people who are successful in life are those who are always looking for that purple cow. That "cow" that will make people think about something differently or inspire them to do great things.

Thought I'd share - and keep your eyes open for that purple cow :)

Jodie's Wedding Weekend!

I spent this past weekend in Orlando with some of my DPhiE sisters for the wedding of Miss Jodie Okun. Cammie (Cameisha May) and I drove up together and made it just in time for the welcome reception on Friday night. I'm pretty sure our favorite part of the trip was changing into our dresses in the Disney parking lot. Kind of inappropriate, but we didn't miss the reception! The welcome reception was the the Disney Beach Club in Ariel's Grotto. The food was amazinggg and Jodie looked so beautiful! She had what I refer to as her "pre-wedding" dress, which was this gorgeous white beaded gown. It was so nice to see how happy her and Steve were and it made me so thankful I got to go up there and celebrate her wedding weekend with her!

Friday night we hit up Pleasure Island at Downtown Disney. We started off at this cool little Irish bar and ended up at Mannequins dance club (which was kind of lame, but we made it fun!) The whole wedding group hung out at the Irish place and then the bride and groom split at midnight so they wouldn't see each other until the next day. Here's the last picture I have of them before they got hitched!

Saturday, Cammie and I spent the day with JP (Cam's boy toy). He moved up there a few weeks ago and I haven't seen him in ages so it was great catching up with him. Then we went back to get ready for the wedding, met up with Vanessa and went to the wedding!

The wedding was at Disney's Wedding Pavilion (you know, my dream wedding destination). It was perfect weather and such an amazing ceremony. Some of it was in Hebrew so it was a bit hard to follow but a beautiful ceremony nonetheless. Jodie looked BEAUTIFUL and so happy! And watching Steve's face as she walked down the aisle just made me so happy for the two of them. Afterwards, we waited outside for the bride and groom. From my understanding, we had to wait because after a Jewish wedding, the bride and groom spend some special alone time together, which is called "Yichud" in Hebrew. I think that's a really sweet tradition and I'm not sure what the history is behind it but I bet it's nice after such a crazy day/week/year, to just relax and enjoy the company of the person you'll be spending every day with for the rest of your life.

After waiting for a bit, they came out of the wedding pavilion and into the row of wedding go-ers who were all blowing bubbles and popping confetti! Our little group (mostly Glenn), tried to start the wave but we weren't that successful. After the bride and groom got into their car, we all boarded buses and headed to Epcot for the cocktail hour and wedding reception.

Right as we arrived at Epcot and were walking to the cocktail hour area, the fireworks started going off over the lake at Epcot. It was perfect timing and just made the night even that more special. We had our own special area for the cocktail part, so we ate and drank and watched fireworks :)

The actual reception was inside of the American Adventure lobby at Epcot. I've been in there millions of times but seeing the lobby all done up for the reception was just awesome. My table (Table 11) was the best. I'm a little biased of course, but it was a bunch of sorority girls and firefighters so of course we had a good time and I met some wonderful people!

I haven't been to many weddings, but all in all, the wedding weekend was just amazing! Jodie and Steve are both perfect for each other and it's nice to see two people who are so in love. I'm so thankful they invited me to be part of their celebration (or mitzvah!) and I wish them a long, happy, healthy, fulfilling life! Mazel-Tov!!

I can be your hero baby..

It's been a long time since someone has asked me who my heroes are. This morning at church, the pastor posed that question. And to be honest, I didn't really know what I would say if someone asked me to name my heroes.

Isn't it sad that almost 100% of children, when asked who their hero is, name a celebrity or sports star? What about their parents, or the other wonderful people in the world who get no credit for what they're doing for humanity. Most celebrities make a big "splash", but make no real difference. They would rather BE served, than to actually serve others.

Today I learned two things:
1) Real heroes stand alone for what is right.
2) Real heroes make sacrifices for others.


And I got to thinking, when's the last time I did either one of those? What have I stood alone for? What have I done that would even qualify me for hero status?

And secondly, I know that I make sacrifices. But when it comes right down to it, most of those sacrifices are for me. I believe most people only make sacrifices for themselves. They might work an 80 hour week, but it's usually for career growth (for themselves) or for financial gain.

I think that as adults, we decide who we want to become. We can't blame who we are on past mistakes or the way we were raised. Every morning you choose to be the person you are. I'm glad I heard this message today and I think everyone can learn a little bit from it. What I learned is that I need to be a hero for someone else. I have the mental and physical resources, so why not?

So I decided today to join my church in sponsoring a child as part of WorldVision. It's $35 a month, but I figured if I cut out buying one lunch out a week, that'll easily pay for it. If you're searching for something to do that's completely selfless and inspiring, visit the worldvision website at http://www.worldvision.org/. There are SO many children that need sponsors.

It's also a legitimate humanitarian effort. Anthony Evans, an AMAZING Christian artist, who visits our church to sing with our worship team every couple months, became a part of this mission three years ago after a ton of research. He also went to visit the child he sponsored over in Zimbabwe and told the story during the service. It was completely inspiring :) Check out his music at http://www.anthony-evans.com/.

Stay tuned for an update once I get all the information from WorldVision.


"It's not the size of the sacrifice that matters. What matters is the heart that you put into it."

Countdown to Vegas!

24 days until...


- getting a much needed break from grad school & clinic

- explaining to the passengers on the plane next to us why Allie's head is between her legs during take-off

- waking up at 5am to go find Allie at the roulette tables

- keeping Kristina from getting married before she leaves Vegas

- having a midget leprechaun serve us green beer on St. Patricks Day

- finally getting to see Hoover Dam & maybe the Grand Canyon

- crossing off a few more places in my "1000 places to see before you die" book

- having my whole family together all in the same place :)

Very excited!!

Happy Valentine's Day...

"Inside and Out: Each of us is physically unique..."

Yesterday I went to see the Bodies exhibit in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. I planned on going when the exhibit was in Miami but never seemed to get around to it – so when the exhibit re-emerged down at Riverfront, I made sure to go.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect – but having a genuine appreciation for the human body and science, I was excited for the opportunity to see anatomy on its finest and most accurate display.

One of the exhibits that struck me the most was a human body with every single artery and vein preserved - no bones, ligaments, skin, nothing - just vessels. Apparently, the bodies are put into some kind of chemical that dissolves everything except the veins and arteries. The time and effort it must have taken the people who preserve the bodies (preservationists?) is inconceivable. I surely don’t have that kind of patience, so I give kudos to whoever put that one together!

The only part of the whole exhibit that bothered me a little bit was a human body that was just skin - no bones, muscles, or anything...just skin. I don't know why that creeped me out the most, but oh well. Michelle warned me ahead of time that after the exhibit I probably wouldn't want to eat meat for awhile. But Amy, Diane and I ate some chicken nachos at Ugly Tuna right after and it didn't seem to bother any of us.


**************************************************************************


On another note, I went to Benihana's for the first time on Friday night for Diane's birthday. It was reallllly fun and we had an awesome time! Here's a pic of our group and one of the food!

Great Minds Think Alike...

Well, at least my mind anyway...

So...I decided to create a blog site, and little did I realize - I had actually started a blog last year in January. So here's my blog page, started over a year ago, with my second posting :) I think I put the initial posting up just so my page wasn't totally blank. But now after re-reading it, I decided to keep it because it's a great piece of writing - and oh so true!

I've been quite the "blog stalker" lately and I find myself reading complete strangers blogs and finding humor and insight in many of them. So I decided with all that's been going on in my life and what will occur over the next few years, I should probably try to keep track of it somehow.

Now let's clear something up - I have no TIME to write blogs. But it's actually kind of fun and I think it'll be a great way to keep my friends and family up on all my latest shenanigans. As if facebook & myspace weren't enough, let's add another way to know my every move!

For the few of you who haven't seen a picture of the new puppy yet - here she is. Her name is Rylee, she's 9 months old, and absolutely the love of my life.

All in all, I hope whoever reads this blog enjoys my postings.

Oh, one final thought: If Hillary wins the presidency, I'm moving out of the country. No, seriously...

Good night :)