Something In The Water

I haven't had many "lessons" in the past week, due to being locked in the study cave known as my bedroom. Ah, the life of a student. However, I did jot down a few lovely things to pass along.

I started doing a liver cleanse last week in order to start being healthier and all that fun stuff.  My liver cleanse is pretty easy and basically all I need to do is take four pills a day and they are just supposed to magically cleanse me.  Of course with this cleanse came a recommended list of "suggestions" you can do to improve the quality of your cleansing experience.  Myself, being the hardcore go getter that I am, decided to follow that list...which brings us to Life Lesson # 9: Don't ever cut out caffiene the week before you have exams.  I have what is known as a straight up coffee addiction.  I probably drink anywhere from 3-6 cups a day.  You can only imagine how my first few days without it were.  Moral of the story: Never cut out caffiene cold turkey.  Slowly ease yourself off of it and then stop drinking it.  It will probably save you many headaches and grumpy spells.

One of my friends sent me a youtube video last week in attempt to make me laugh, or maybe scar me for life...I haven't actually decided yet.  Anyways this video was titled "How to get a boyfriend in middle school"...enough said.  I was excited to learn some prime tips on how to pick up my future man and boy did this video teach me everything I needed to know.  Life Lesson # 10: If you want to get a boyfriend, walk up to him, wink, and be like "haaaaaaaaaaaay" (make sure you do it in a ghetto black voice too, this is important).  Needless to say the end result of this video was me laying on my bed crying with laugher.  Moral of the story: Don't ever watch a you tube video for dating tips.

This last lesson is something a little more practical to apply on a day to day basis, and I've had a really good last few weeks because of it.  Life Lesson #11: Embrace the little things.  The smiles, the laughs time spent with friends, good food, those text mesages that make you giggle, a beautiful snow fall, a warm drink when you are freezing cold, or a song that makes you get up and dance around the room like you are eight years old again.  Moral of the story:  Don't let the big things get you down.  Enjoy the small things as they come, they make everything else seem so much more worth it.

Good night world!

Ms. Know It All

Second week of January already!  Where does time go?  With it being Winter and all and good old day light savings arriving a few months ago, I feel the need to get something off my chest.  This message is for anyone who is an avid runner, walker, cycler, skipper, or whatever.  I'm a runner myself and feel like this is a Life Lesson I need to pass on to others.  A few times over the last few days I have been driving in the dark.  For those of you who live on the West Coast you know that many of our streets aren't very well lit and despite today, it is usually pouring rain.  Anyhoo, this leads us into Life Lesson #7.  Just because you can see me, doesn't mean I can see you. So I'm driving along when all of the sudden Miss. Runner who is apparently too cool to wear primary colours and insists on wearing all black to blend into the night sky, bolts in front of my car.  Oh hey, don't worry I have x-ray vision and can see all your black clothing in the dark.  Don't worry, I didn't hit her.  Moral of the story: If you are active outside during the hours where darkness falls, remember this: Put on a neon shirt or something.


I'm a student.  A student who is almost done my bachelor's and 100% ready to be done with education and move on with my life.  I hate studying.  It's boring.  But it needs to be done.  Which brings us to Life Lesson # 8:  Procrastination is not your friend.  You might think it's the greatest idea ever to hit up the mall with the girls, frolick down by the ocean with the cute guy you met last Tuesday, or even watch your favourite TV show.  But let me tell you something, it's not.  Moral of the story:  Nike says it best "Just Do It".  Get it over with.  The end result will be worth it and you won't be nearly as stressed when you have effective time management skills.


Now I'm off to apply Life Lesson # 8 to my own life.  Stay beautiful!

Health, Fitness, and Life's Other Adventures

Today has been an interesting day.  This month, I have decided to be a bit healthier.  Not like psycho, "I'm going to never eat a donut again and run a marathon every other day" healthy, but I'm just trying out some new healthy alternatives.  

This brings us to Life Lesson # 4: Chocolate is a girl's best friend.  You know how the second you try and cut sugar out of your system, you want to eat more and more of it all the time?  Well for me, I just need a little fix and I'm good. A friend of mine made these heaven sent peanut butter cups that are very easy to make, delicious, and really not that bad for you (2 points on weight watchers - we did the math).

Moral of the story: When in need of a chocolate fix just mix up these bad boys! 

Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil (slightly melted, but not hot)

1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder 

1/2 cup natural peanut butter 

1/4 cup raw honey

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 

Preparation:

• Prepare a muffin pan with 10 muffin liners.
• Put all ingredients in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times until everything is smooth and nicely combined. (It will be very liquid-y.) Don’t over-mix.
• Pour the liquid fudge into the prepared muffin liners dividing evenly between the ten of them. There will be about a half inch of fudge in each muffin liner.
• Place the muffin pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the fudge has hardened. (Sometimes I use the freezer and it only takes about 10 minutes)
• Remove the muffin liners from the pan and enjoy your delicious, healthy fudge! Store in the refrigerator.

After making a tasty treat for myself, I decided that it would probably be a good idea, as Fergie would say, to "work on my fitness".  I began this by hopping on the treadmill, which brings us to Life Lesson # 5: Just because you stop moving, DOES NOT mean the treadmill does.  You would think it would be a very simple lesson. Nevertheless, I learned that texting while working out probably wasn't as great of an idea as I thought it was. Moral of the story: Leave your phone until you finish your workout to literally prevent yourself from going over the edge. 

My final lesson of the day was rather amusing.  Life Lesson # 6: Don't trust your iPhone.

When driving in Vancouver and relying on my mobile device, I learned that technology does fail us at times. I mean, unless you enjoy going down dark, creepy roads in the middle of the forest which may or may not house serial killers, you would be wise to listen to this advice. My iPhone, much to my dismay, is not always right. Moral of the story: Sometimes, road signs and regular old maps are just the way to go.

Ciao for now!

A New Year

Well so far 2012 has been off to an interesting start and I thought I would share some insights from this first week.


Life Lesson # 1: Speeding has consequences. If you speed you will get a ticket. Tickets cost money. A lot of money. Moral of the story: Drive the speed limit to save your dolla!


Life Lesson # 2: If you feel an overwhelming urge to paint your nails blue because you want to look like you just walked through a snow storm barefoot then keep the following in mind: blue nail polish stains. That's right folks, unless you put a clear base coat under your polish your nails will have a lovely blue tinge to them. Moral of the story: Pine Sol works better at removing this then nail polish remover or acetone. Warning: don't inhale too many fumes...unless you're into that kind of thing.


And last but not least....Life Lesson # 3:  All my single ladies - put your hands up. Being unwed and child free while finishing your education does not mean you fail at life. WHAT?!  You mean single people can be happy and content with living? I don't need to define myself through other people? The horror! (Not to say there is anything wrong with marriage and kids but don't demean people because their choice is not yours). Moral of the story:  Don't settle. Ever. You are worth everything you are waiting for.


Stay tuned for more of 2012's Life Lessons....let the games begin!