SCHOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this class this semester. I feel that although Mrs. Chism is an online teacher, and I've never gotten the pleasure to talk to her person to person, I think she is better teacher than some of mine that I have in person, which is a huge accomplishment in my opinion. I was very scared to take an online class, seeing as this is my first, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up. Mrs. Chism has taught me so much, and I feel that I have improved throughout the duration of the course. She made it very understandable, and made it very organized and easy to keep up. I enjoyed writing our own experiences with our own topics. It made it much more pleasurable to be able to pick our own topics. Even with the blogs, I enjoyed writing them because they were my interests. I do wish that I could keep up with my blogs more, and not completely dread them. Writing "The Week in the Life of Me," was easy, and I liked writing it, but when it came to writing an article about news, I was stuck. I do not keep up with news very well, or things that are happening today, so I had to reach out and find something. Then I realized, there is news out there that interests me. I just had to find it. Once, I began writing about news that interested young girls such as myself, I could spit them out fast. I just had to get past that boring first blog post, and move on. I feel that the blog posts were just right for the length, and I loved being able to link information that pertained to the article, even videos. I feel that the blog posts made a slight difference in my writing skills, and made a huge difference in the way I viewed the world. I feel that my writing skills have always been acceptable, so I feel this was just practicing them the correct way. I do think that by having to look up credible sources for a topic to write my blog about, I learned much about different topics that were occurring in society. I think that I will continue to blog if I do have the time. I may not blog twice a week because sometimes, interesting things don't happen, but I do enjoy having followers and writing about things I love. I think this semester went amazing, and I am so glad that I decided to take this class online with Mrs. Chism. I can't believe the semester is almost up. It makes me so excited knowing that I only have ONE year left until graduation, but for now, I will just await my trip to Florida:)

“What do I wear in bed? Why, Chanel No. 5, of course."

     This semester, I have recently been hooked on the show, "Smash." It is a show about the musical/Broadway industry. The show has been mainly about Marilyn Monroe, because that is the current Broadway show they are producing. I am not sure if they show will move on with different musicals, but because the show has alot about Ms. Monroe, it sparked my interest. See more about "Smash," here. I am obsessed with Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn. Something about their time era, and their sparkling classy dresses just really makes me wish I was a movie star then. I've learned much about Marilyn, and it got me wanting to watch her old movies, and learn more about her personality, and what kind of life she had growing up. Actress Marilyn Monroe was born as Ms. Norma Jean Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. Marilyn overcame a difficult childhood to become one of the world's biggest and most enduring sex symbols. At only 36 years old, Marilyn died of a drug overdose on August 5th, 1962. Marilyn never knew her father, and her mother Gladys, developed psychiatric problems and was eventually placed in a mental institution. While Marilyn was growing up, she spent a lot of time in foster care and in orphanages. In 1973, a family friend and her husband, Grace and Doc Goddard, took care of her for a few years. When Doc's job forced them to transfer to the East Coast, they could not afford to take Marilyn with them. Marilyn was facing more life in foster care. The only way out was to be married. She married her boyfriend Jimmy Dougherty on June 19, 1942. Dougherty was sent to South Pacific to be a merchant marine, so that left Monroe working at a munitions factory in Burbank. She eventually was discovered by a photographer, and by the time her husband returned, Marilyn had a successful career as a model. Their marriage declined as Marilyn began to focus on her career. They divorced in 1946; the same year she signed her first movie contract. Since Marilyn was becoming an upcoming star, she needed a fancier name and image. She began calling herself Marilyn Monroe, and dyed her hair blond. In her personal life, she has a long line of unsuccessful marriages and relationships. Her marriage to baseball player Joe DiMaggio in 1954 only lasted 9 months.  Soon after, she was wed to a playwright, Arthur Miller from 1956-1961. The television show "Smash," focused on Marilyn's life while she was married to Joe Dimaggio. There were also rumors that she was involved with President John F. Kennedy and his brother around the time of her death. See a video of her singing to "Mr. President," here. At only 36 years of age, Marilyn Monroe died on August 5th, 1962, at her Los Angeles home. An empty bottle of sleeping pills were found by her bed. There has been speculation that she may have been murdered, but it was officially ruled as a drug overdose. Marilyn was a beautiful woman, and is known for being a real woman at size 16 some say. There is controversy with Marilyn's real size, because some say she was British size 16, while some say she was a 12.Don't get me wrong, Marilyn's waist was teeny tiny, I think she gets her reputation from her bust, and hips. Either way, Marilyn gives myself and other curvy women hope, because she looked absolutely gorgeous with her hour glass shape. See more on Marilyn's size here. I've also posted a couple more links to videos for you to watch if you are as excited about this post as I am. I hope you enjoy! They're very neat to watch!

Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend (My favorite song!)
Memoir of Marilyn Monroe
Interview of Marilyn

 

A Week in the Life of Me.

     This week has flown by. I can only hope for the next week and the next week to do the same, so that I will soon be in SWEET, SWEET Florida. I can smell the salty water, and white sandy beach, it is getting so close. I wish we could stay an entire month. My family and I are concerned because we are going to a new location this year for vacation: Siesta Key, FL. Siesta Key was rated the #1 beach in the annual Top 10 Beach List in America produced by coastal expert, Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, Dr. Beach. Siesta Beach in Sarasota claims that it has the finest and whitest sand in the world. The beautiful blue-colored water is clean and sparkling. They have a beach park that is complete with showers and bathrooms, snack bars, grills, picnic tables, shade trees, and a large parking area. Siesta Beach is also a smokeless beach. I am so excited. The reason why we are so worried is because we have never been to this side of Florida, and we are nervous about the ocean life. I am going to be researching if sharks are worse where we are going, and how the jellyfish count is. Needless to say, I am still stinking happy that it is only two weeks away. I am mostly excited that I will be out of school, and going to Florida is the cherry on top. Last weekend was my pinning ceremony, and cupcake event, and it turned out lovely. It was so much fun and refreshing, knowing that it is near the end! After going to my pinning ceremony, my boyfriend and I went fishing, and we forgot to wear bug spray. Now, I am covered in mosquito bites. They are the itchiest things, and I can't help but scratch them! Hopefully they go away before bikini time. Yesterday, we surprisingly didn't have class all day! This is the first time ever that class was just canceled "just because." So, I took the day with my mom and sister to finish up my Florida wardrobe. I bought three pairs of Nike shorts, two Nike tshirts, like 6 tank tops, and a pair of jean shorts! I think I am finished with shopping. :S I have spent too much money. All I really need is a swim suit, now, and it has been stressful looking for one. This weekend I am celebrating my bride's bachelorette party at a winery! I am going to drink my stresses away the classy way:) Wish me luck, and I'll tell you all about it next week! Stay Tuned:)

Raspberry Ketones: Fat Burner?

According to Dr. Oz, Raspberry Ketones could be the secret to burning fat! I saw this on pinterest, and just had to do some research. Once I did, I became engaged in figuring out if this really works! I found reviews of people who are taking them, and they claim that they have lost at least two pounds a week! See this video here. Raspberry ketones are a compound present in red raspberries and is on the USDA's list of ingredients that are generally recognized as safe. As Dr. Oz stated, it would take 90 pounds of fresh berries to get the equal amount of a ketone one dose supplement. I will start the with the good reasearch first. Raspberry ketones work by regulating the body's unleash of norepinephrine, that causes a rise in body metabolism that leads to weight loss. Though, any supplements aren't a replacement for healthy diet and excercise, when used together, the raspberry ketones can be found useful in losing weight. Raspberry supplements are high in antioxidants that are sensible for health. The only downside is that there has only been tests on mice, so many people feel that it is not enough.  Other microbiologist disagree with the raspberry ketone "miracle drug." See this debate here. Despite the debate, I feel that if Dr. Oz agrees with the natural supplement, then why shouldn't I? So, I jumped on the Raspberry Ketone diet and bought them the other night with my mom. We bought a 2 pack of raspberry ketone, and it came in today!! I will start the supplement tomorrow and I am so excited! See what I bought here.   I will keep everyone updated with the results!!!

A Week in the Life of Me.

This week has flown by pretty darn fast. Last Friday, I celebrated my dad's birthday. He decided he wanted to have a casual night with his family and go to pizza hut. It was yummy, seeing as I really have not eaten bad in a while. We got him a Galaxy Note phone, which is so big and cool! I think I want one now. I am just not sure that I can ever give up my iPhone. I also got him a grill light for cool summer nights when we want to grill steaks, and drink Coronaritas. On Saturday, I went to the Azalea Festival near my home. I go every year, and I absolutely love the area. The house are old fashioned, and decorated beautifully with flowers this time of year. The festival is held outside, and it has tons of craft booths, that are fun to look at. The best part of any festival though, is the food. Yes, I know I've been ranting about my diet, and getting skinny, but I can't pass up fair food. No one can. And I am never off on Saturday's to do fun things, so don't judge me. I know this past weekend was horrible. :) After going to the parade and eating everything in site, we went back home to rest and get ready to go back that night for the candlelight walk. My boyfriend and I decided to take the jeep since it was warming up, and we brought some chairs so we could watch his family sing gospel on a front porch of one of the really pretty houses. After watching them sing for a little while, we decided to take a little walk down the candlelit paths. It was so nice, and romantic. We then decided to go back home, and watch a movie. It was a great night. On Sunday, I worked and got ready for the week of school! The work week has pretty much consisted of studying for my perio test, going to baseball games, and dieting. Oh, and running. I need to run. I hate running. My sister started this new thing with Austin, my nephew where they run every day. She started with having him run half a mile, so I decided I would run with them too! My sister left me and Austin in the dust. Austin and I suck. I have asthma so I have always had problems breathing while doing any exercise activity. That's why I never run, but if I am determined to lose some of my hips and get in shape, I am going to have to start. I was out of breath, the other day, so it only has to get better. I am going to start running every, whatever I can, it has to help. On another note, my pinning ceremony is this weekend, so tonight, myself and Lindsey Mercer(another blogger), and Char are going to decorate the centerpieces for the tables. I am excited!!! And tomorrow, I am going to be making 50 cupcakes, that I have talked about in previous posts. Only THREE more weeks of school, folk. GET EXCITED. It is almost over. AND THREE WEEKS UNTIL I'M BASKING IN THE FLORIDA SUN!!!! Ahhhh. Three weeks and counting. Stay Tuned:)

Looking Great in a Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.

As I have shared in my past posts, I have been on a great diet for a few weeks now, and I really love it. I prepared the diet last summer as well, and lost ten pounds, and was feeling extra energized. What I love most about the diet is that is realistic in preparing, and time management. It is also realistic tasting foods. The meals are very easy to prepare, and filling. Each day is planned for you in one week, and each day is 1200 calories. I found the diet last summer online off of the Good Housekeeping website. Some day meal plans include; oatmeal with blueberries, and yogurt for breakfast, turkey pita with veggies and honey mustard dressing, with cottage cheese, and fruit(I usually do pineapple or peaches). It is very good! Then, for dinner, you could have grilled chicken with asparagus and a sweet potato. This diet promotes energy from the diet, and allows less stress on your digestive system. This diet is a great tool to losing weight, as long as you are also making sure you are taking a multivitamin and drinking plenty of water each day. See this diet plan here. I have a gym membership 30 minutes away at a great gym, but I don't always have time to drive up there, stay for a couple of hours, and then drive home. I usually have too much homework to do, or I get out class to late to drive to Cape. So, in an adamant search of finding a good workout DVD to try on the days that I couldn't make it, I ran across Jillian Micheals' 30 day Shred. There were at least 3,000 reviews and the rating was still 4-5. So, I knew I needed to spend the time to read the reviews to see if it were worth it. People praised the DVD, saying how much sculpting it did to their body only in 30 minutes a day, and how they feel so much better only even after a week. I knew it sounded too good to be true, but for 7 bucks, why not give it a shot? I ordered the DVD. The DVD came with three levels of hardness. I started on level one, and even had a hard time getting through every single circuit. Although the cardio is only jumping jacks, it sure does kick your butt. I can feel a difference in my legs, and my problem zone, love handles. I haven't been doing the workout DVD long, but I feel that I should be able to handle 30 minutes a day, so I try to push myself. I am trying so hard to at least improve before wearing a bikini in Florida in one month, so hopefully this works! See this DVD here. I noticed that since starting this diet and workout plan, even when I am not strictly on the diet, I still find myself making better choices of whole wheat English muffins or sandwich things, with turkey(not ham), and a variety of veggies. My breakfast would also usually consist of a fiber bar, and a banana. So, if you aren't looking to follow the diet strictly, that's okay. The diet will still guide you and teach you to make the right choices for eating healthier, and steering your overall intake in the right direction. Planning your meals ahead of time, creates healthier meals, and gives you time to think about the nutrient density in your food. There are many benefits of planning your meals, including saving money, and being stress free, when time comes around to pack lunches. See the benefits of meal planning here.   This link is a free site that can help you and your family plan a healthier and timely meal.

A Week in the Life of Me.

This week has been the slowest week EVER. We had a test at the beginning of the week, and all at once millions of things got piled on us, and everything was due today. Thankfully, and surprisingly I finished every single last bit of it! I did get nominated for the Outstanding First Year Award, which I am so happy about! I may or may not receive the actual award, but I am proud of myself for being part of the four that were nominated! I have been busy planning my pinning ceremony and we have the centerpieces in the process of making, and I think it will be very pretty! Another dental hygiene girl and I are making 100 cupcakes for the event, and we are hoping to make them very yummy, and gourmet. She is going to be making double chocolate cupcakes with snickers crumbles on top, and red velvet cupcakes with chopped nuts! I am going to be making white cupcakes with a fluffy butter cream frosting and hot pink sugar crystals. I made those for my friend's birthday a couple weeks back and they were absolutely delicious. They were very light, and melted in your mouth. I am also going to be making a strawberry cupcake with home made strawberry icing, with pureed strawberries in the icing. I can't wait to try one! I hope everyone likes them as much as I think I will. This weekend is the Azalea Festival, so Saturday I am going to go to my nephew's baseball game, and then we are all going to go to the festival. It is so fun! It has a craft fair that is very nice to look at, as well as great carnival food. Sunday, I work again, and am ready because I need to rack up on money, since this Summer I am not able to receive financial aid. I really think it is dumb that you have to have a limit on your loans. It is not like I have free money coming my way, just loans to get through school. It is not an option for me not to go to school in the summer because if I don't take the summer classes, then I drop out of the dental hygiene program which is not an option for me. I've put too much time into this already to give up because of financial problems. My mom is not very happy with MSSU right now. It is hard to get a hold of anyone, and sometimes they don't even get back with you. I feel like this school is very hard to receive financial aid for, compared to SEMO. It is really frustrating because how do they expect students to get through school. Thank goodness I have a small nest egg and great family to help me through the summer. Once Again, I've been counting down the days until my vacation. 29 days and counting... Stay Tuned:)

The Problem with Doers.

I am a doer. Maybe it's a problem sometimes, but most of the time I really love that I am able to take things by the horns and get them done. If there weren't people that are doers, nothing would get done. It might be thought of, but it would not get done. I have no problems with thinkers UNTIL they start to criticize what the doer is actually taking their time out to do. Doers are the people who get things done. They recognize the most efficient and correct process, and do not hope for change. Doers usually do not like change because it disrupts the norms. Thinkers are the people who are open to new ideas, and are constantly trying to change things, or make them better. The problems with thinkers is that they do not understand the processes required to bring their thoughts to the board, and get it started. Take this quiz here, to see if you are a doer, or a thinker. I find that doers are usually the ones that are go-getters. If a project comes about, the doer is the one to immediately start the project and begins to think about ways to properly complete the project. The thing you must remember is that you really can do anything you set your mind to. This means that even against all odds; dedication, persistence, and time will support your success. All you would have to do is try hard enough for long enough. See this article here about the differences of thinkers and doers. I do believe that there needs to be thinkers and doers in life. It creates a well balanced workplace, class environment, and life. Sometimes, it may be challenging but it can also be a great opportunity. See more on how thinkers and doers work here. Sometimes doers do have personal issues with always having to get things done. Most women seem to be doers. They try to be super women, when obviously we are not. Sometimes I find myself in dilemmas with taking too much on, and not having any time. I need to learn how to balance  more, or just say no. If I can learn to just say no to new tasks and projects, I may free myself of stress, which would be awesome. By allowing others to try the tasks on their own, if I can just step back and let them try, I could be creating new doers every day, and it will allow them to shine in their own way.

A Week in the Life of Me.

This week has been pretty great, overall. There still was some drama, and stress at school, but I have to learn to just "get over it." Last weekend, I was allowed to be off for the entire Easter weekend, which was nice. On Easter Sunday, I woke up to a very nice Easter basket left by the Easter bunny himself. I gots tons of my favorite candy (that I don't need, but love), and The Muppets movie!!! I absolutely loved the movie! It was so funny, and cute. After the easter basket egg-travaganza, I went to church, which was so calming. I feel like I never get to go to church since I work every weekend, so it was nice to use spirituality to help ease my stressing mind. Once church was over, my family and I came back to start an Easter egg hunt for my nephews. It was Briley's first time Easter egg hunting, and Austin is getting so clever with age, that it was a piece of cake for him. I love hiding the Easter eggs in the hardest spots for Austin. It's fun to see how smart he really is. The rest of the week has been a blur. I did have my last skill evaluation over instrumentation yesterday, and I only missed 4, and passed! It was a relief. I have been busy with planning events. I am busy planning my best friend's bachlorette party. We are planning on spending the day at the winery, and then going to dinner that night. I can't wait! It'll be nice to get away with the girls.  I actually ordered my bride's wedding cake yesterday, because she hasn't had time. It is going to be a white buttercream cake, with white cake on the bottom, chocolate with chocolate filling in the middle, and white on the top. It will be a white cake with shells, and starfish as decoration. It is really pretty, especially for a beach wedding. I'll post it here! Only 7 weeks until her wedding! I can't believe it is so close! Only 5 weeks until my vacation in Siesta Key! I am counting down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds. I can't wait to get away for a week with NO Dental Hygiene Program (Thank Goodness). I need a BREAK.  The rest of the weekend, I am prepared to work and make money, so I can go scuba diving, or parasailing while I am on vacation. I hope everyone has had a more exciting week than I! Stay Tuned! :)

Stress.

Since, this week I have been particularly irked and stressed about every single thing, I am going to help others in this same predicament, and myself on ways to prevent this, and calm yourself. Everyone knows the age old, take deep breaths, meditation, but do we really ever do it? I challenge you to try. Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. Stress is okay is small doses, but once you start feeling overwhelmed, it seems to consume you. See causes, symptoms, and signs of stress here. Some various ways to de-stress are getting up 15-20 minutes earlier than you usually do in the morning. Many people's stress comes from waking up too late, not having enough time to get ready, not feeling confidant about yourself because you aren't ready, and just be late, in general. By waking up early, this may give you the time to stretch, enjoy that cup of coffee, and take your time to get ready. Getting your things ready the night before would also help. Pick your clothes out ahead of time, have them ironed and ready to go by morning. Pack your belonging you will be taking with you. This will all increase the amount of time you have to yourself in the morning. Make friends with non-worriers. No one can put you in a bad mood faster than a friend that worries, complains, argues, and just brings you down. Personally, I am a very sensitive person, so any wrong thing said by someone else can put me in a horrible, and hurt mood. Only worry about today. The yesterday's and tomorrow's will take care of themselves. Worrying about them only gives you more of a headache, and I definitely don't need that. Literally, don't sweat the small stuff. If you take everything with a grain of salt, you will be well on your way to a happier peaceful mind. Just pick your battles. If it isn't worth fighting over, don't. Think "will this truly matter a year from now?" Good Housekeeping has six ways to reduce stress in your life, they are fun, and alot easier than you think. Some include: 1. Smooching spontaneously, 2. Taking the cuddle cure, 3. Lashing out less, 4. Putting the kettle on, 5. Loosening your electronic leash, and 6. Reflecting on what you value. See more on this article here. Others suggest that having physical activity can reduce your stress, also. Participating in cardio, releases endorphins in your body. Endorphins make you happy. :) Taking Vitamin C and Calcium supplements along with you daily vitamin can also keep you stress free, and allow your body to be balanced. Last, but not least, SMILE MORE. I learned that just by saying "money" can cause your mouth to end in a smile position after saying it. I know it sounds silly, but I tried it, and it works. See where I learned this here. Most of all, Don't Worry, Be Happy. :)

A Week in the Life of Me.

Here lately, I've been very stressed. I've been trying to find ways to relieve my stress from school, so that I am not taking it out on everyone else around me at home. I hate having this constant headache, and shortness of breath all because of silly reasons. I've been thinking about taking up yoga as well, since I have started eating healthier and working out everyday. I feel that it might give me some time for me, and let me calm my mind and thoughts. I also was hoping to read "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff," in hopes of it teaching me to let things roll off my shoulders, and just relax. I borrowed "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Women," on my kindle, because I could borrow it for free, and if I like it, I may buy the original "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: and it's all small stuff." I am writing my blog outside in hopes that will calm me down, and ease my headache and trouble breathing. It seems to be working. Hopefully all the stress from the drama at school with subside, and I can return back to my happy self.:) On a happier note, I have been trying to save up a little nest egg of money for summer when we go to that beautiful place called Siesta Key, FL. Ahhhhhh. I cannot wait to be basking in the beach sun, listening to the waves roar, and feeling the fluffy, warm, cottony sand beneath my toes. Only 6 weeks to go. I worked all last weekend, and made a little money. On Saturday, we were not very busy because of the final four basketball game I was unaware of. Kansas and Kentucky ended up being in the championship game, and Kansas is my boyfriend's favorite team. So, on Monday we met up with friends, watched the game, ate taco dip, and drank wine. It was nice to get away in my own world with my friends. The following day, it was one of my best friend's birthdays, so we met up with them again, cooked out, played corn hole, saw some very beautiful black lab puppies that we almost bought, and celebrated. It was nice to not spend my evening studying, cooped up in my room. Last night, we dyed Easter eggs, in preparation for my favorite: Egg Salad. Yummy. This time of the year is the only time we ever have it, so I am very excited. The best lunch is a egg salad sandwich with salty Lay's potato chips, though this year I may have to tweak it since I am trying to be healthier, and lose weight. I was supposed to working tomorrow, but luckily was able to give it away so I can spend the Easter weekend with my family. On Sunday, we are going to church. I am so excited! I feel like I never get to go to church on Sundays anymore because I am always working. I feel that going to church and being spiritual could aid in my stress problem. After church, I am going to hide Easter eggs for my nephews, It's a tradition. When I was small, I used to love hunting Easter eggs, because my family filled them with change and dollar bills! The golden egg always had the dollar bill in it. I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter! If any of my readers think of any remedies for being stress-free, let me know! I could use it.

I'd Rather Marry for Money.

        I'm sure everyone has heard of the recent $640 million dollar lotto coming up. People are scurrying  to gas stations to buy a ticket or 50. I am almost positive that there are a few of you also that are guilty of buying a ticket in hopes to win the lottery riches. Don't worry, even I, who never partakes in a single scratch off ticket, was tempted to buy a lottery ticket for this big win. BUT is winning the lottery all its cracked up to be? It seems like it, but there are many downsides to becoming a rich lotto winner. It is probably a good idea to inform you of why you probably don't want to win the lottery, even though you think you do. In this link, there are some scary, but true stories of lotto winners that show that winning the lottery is not always a good thing. What you think is the American Dream, might actually be the American Nightmare. Some downsides could include; poverty- after spending all the money on drugs and hookers, poverty- after excessive gambling, losing friends, being looked down on for the winnings, ending up in debt for failing to manage the money properly, ending up murdered, and attempting suicide. There is a story of Abraham Shakespeare who wont the $31 million jackpot in Florida in 2006. He disappeared in 2009, and his body was found in early 2010 under a concrete slab. Does that sound fun to you? No. See more stories of lottery riches winners gone bad here. Another bad thing about winner lottery money, is the taxes you have to pay out. You only end up getting about half of what you win, once the taxes are taken out. See how this works here. My brother in law won $1000 dollars from a scratch off ticket, and had to claim the taxes at the end of the year. They ended up not getting as much money back, which stank. But with every horror story, there is always a silver lining for somewhere else. The Wests and the Chaney's won previously before and still living a normal (more rich, of course) life. Since depositing their checks, they have bought new houses, some toys, and traveled to Europe, and Hawaii. Unlike many lottery winners, there is one place they haven't gone: the deep end. The wife still admits to clipping coupons, and still working a 30 hour a week job. Read this story here. This article gives you an idea that even though, the family kept it together after winning, they did go through some of the downfalls as discussed above. Although, the downsides, sound bad, I'm sure I didn't persuade to not win the lottery. I still want to win the lottery, just with better money control. We're all human. It's understandable. :)

A Week in the Life of Me.

Well, it was back to school for me this week, and I was not happy about going back. A week was just not long enough. This week did go pretty fast for me, because I had a test to study for, and a paper to write. Although, it wasn't such a fun week, it still did go fast. BUT let's not talk about my boring week at school with retarded teachers this week. Let's focus more on how I really do like this class, and writing these blogs. I am thankful that I had a week off last week, because after so long, my brain runs out of ideas for blogs! My spring break was cram packed with relaxation, cleaning, and shopping. Thank goodness. The week before spring break, I had to work, so I honestly didn't start my spring break until Monday. I was planning on working out all week and eating healthy, but my dad had taken a week of vacation all week, too, so my diet was filled with pizza inn, Crackle Barrel breakfast, Popeye's chicken, THE WORKS. I couldn't resist, right? Right. On Monday, I spent the day relaxing, and beginning to deep clean my room. I was in the mood, which is the only time I will clean it. Ever. I managed to dejunk my whole room. I also made it to the gym that day!!!! The reason why I am so adamant about my diet and exercise is because I am determined to have a bikini body by the time we go to Siesta Key. If I do this Good Housekeeping: 7 day Smart Diet, I can easily lose 10 lbs in one month if I stay strict to my diet. I also just ordered a Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred workout DVD for the days that I can't make it up to the gym, but since I've seen all the awesome reviews it has gotten, I am now going to be doing it for 30 days straight, like the video says. Anyway, on Tuesday, I worked on my research paper that was due that Friday for my nutrition class. I know what you're thinking, What kind of teacher gives you a nutrition paper due on SPRING BREAK?! I know, I'm thinking exactly that. So, once I finished that I was ready to go shopping with my sister the next day! We drove up to St. Louis to do some shopping, and we ate at Red Robin, yummmmmm. And yummmm it was. I have never eaten there and it was so neat! I would definitely go back. Once, Thursday rolled around, I finished cleaning my room, and relaxed. That weekend, my boyfriend and I went to Indiana for a beagle trial (It is a hobby/sport he does. He owns many beagles, and runs them for competition, on how well they run a rabbit). We drove to Evansville, In on Friday, ordered pizza, and enjoyed just relaxing in the hotel room. On Saturday, we went to the beagle trial ALL day long, and didn't get to eat dinner until like 10 o'clock! Then Sunday, we did some more shopping! :) (The only reason I went of course.) All in All, I had a wonderful break, and I hope you did too!!! Stay Tuned for my life next week!:)

Diet Dangers.

     With the new upcoming technology, America is finding ways to make everything a little more convenient. Most fast food restaurants are open late, or 24 hours, which makes late night eating easier than ever. Once cupcake vendor in Beverly Hills is so popular, that her customers are demanding longer business hours, but her staff is too short. Her solution to this problem is a cupcake vending machine! Sounds cool, right? The vending machine is baby pink, and very eye appealing. It contains fresh boxed cupcakes, and a robot arm picks it up, and dispenses it to you. The cupcakes are running four dollars a box, while the instore price is $3.25 for a cupcake without the box. This makes it easy for people to stop by and get a cupcake after dinner, or late at night, which is the worst time to binge eat, on empty calories. See an article about the cupcake vendor here. Why is eating late at night unhealth, you ask? See why here. Americans spend $21 billion on food and drinks from vending machines. While, most of the vending snacks are unhealthy to eat, there are some that are nutritional and good for you. The average American works about eight to ten hours a day and, according to food-services giant Aramark about 15% of workers don't even have time to take a lunch break. For them, the vending machine is a straight shot down the hall, and the snacks inside it are usually fattening and not so healthy--that is until recently.

    In January 2005, the National Automatic Merchandising Association started a million-dollar campaign called "Balanced for Life." It highlights the need for a balanced diet and fitness, and starting January 2006, will focus on nutrition in the workplace--where vending sales are highest. According to NAMA, a large part of the campaign is to encourage vending and snack food leaders to develop healthier choices, which, so far, seems to be working. Already, calorie-conscious consumers can find nutrition bars and baked Lays, or Cheetos.  These programs give consumers more variety when it comes to choosing snacks and beverages, while keeping items like the number one selling Snickers bar. See which vending machine snacks are healthy and not healthy. By reading health articles shown here, you can become aware of what you are putting into your body, and start making better decisions for your health.

A Week in the Life of Me.

LACEY MADE CHEERLEADING!!!! Go us!!! Our hard work actually paid off! I'm so happy for her. She called me shortly after I wrote my blog last week, squealing and being so happy. :) It will be the time of her life! After she found out she made the squad, she went to a cheerleading sleepover directly after! See? Complete and absolute fun. The rest of Friday, I relaxed at home in preparation for my weekend full of work. Saturday, I went into work, and made $130 dollars, and didn't get out of there until 11 pm, and then woke up and worked Sunday all day until 4:30, and made $64. I guess all in all, it was a great money making weekend. I need to save my money, so I will have enough for when we go to Florida for vacation and for my best friend's wedding! I also love having money pre-summer, so I can buy all sorts of cute bathing suits and summer clothes. Ahh. Can't wait. Monday of this week, was pretty great for me. I managed to get all homework that I wanted to get done, and watch The Voice with my love. It was a perfect night. I love The Voice WAY better than American Idol. It's better voices, with better celebrities, and lots of fun, too. I have a television show for every day of the week! I love never having a dull moment on the television. Although, sometimes I can't watch television for weeks at a time because of tests or homework, my favorite thing to do is watch multiple shows in one sitting. :) The rest of the week flew by with studying and tons of homework it seems like. This week has felt amazing outside, too. Usually that happens when I have to be stuck inside of the computer typing or studying, but next week is Spring Break, and I hope to utilize EVERY minute of it. I stll do have two research papers I have to write, but hopefully it won't take too long, and I will still be able to enjoy my break. I actually have a to do list for my week of spring break, but it consists of mostly non school related tasks, such as deep cleaning my room, and finish painting it, planning decorations for my dental hygiene pinning ceremony, planning my bride's bachelorette party, and having lunch with the girls. Next Week sounds perfect! I can't wait to be done with this wretched week, and live next week. :) Stay Tuned!

Make KONY Famous. KONY 2012.

If you haven't noticed the video that went viral recently, you should watch it! It will really touch your heart, and get you thinking. I don't know all of the information, and I'm not saying send your money immediately to this cause because you never know where that money is going BUT the video is very touching to watch, and interesting. Watch it here. The video is 30 minutes, but well worth it to watch. I promise, you won't regret watching it! This video is about The Invisible Children. Invisible Children uses film, creativity and social action to end the use of child soldiers in Joseph Kony's rebel war and restore LRA-affected communities in central Africa to peace and prosperity. My sorority also did a charity a couple years back to help donate to the Invisible Children donation fund. It was fun to be able to help a greater cause, and help others desperately in need. In the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers traveled to Africa in search of a story. What started out as a film making adventure became much more when Jason, Laren, and Bobby stumbled upon Africa’s longest-running war--a conflict where children were both the weapons and the victims. They produced the documentary Invisible Children: Rough Cut in 2005. At first they just showed it to their friends and family, but it wasn’t long before millions of people had seen the documentary and knew about the “invisible children.” See this information and the Invisible Children website here. Many people disagree with this sudden uproar, and have criticized Invisible Children for many reasons. See this article here. It was a very touching video, and they those children should be helped and Kony SHOULD be stopped. So, please watch this video, and share. Help make Kony famous.  

A Week in the Life of Me.

This week has been pretty relaxed for me! To start off, I do want to tell you how practicing with Lacey for cheerleading tryouts went this week! It was so fun! I saw so much improvement in her with each and every day! Today was her tryouts, so we are both really nervous, and we aren't sure if she made it yet, but we should know in an hour or so. Cross your fingers! I also judged High School Cheerleading tryouts today, and it was so exciting to be on the other side with my previous coach. I miss it so much, but the tryouts went great, and there were a lot of girls that were absolutely amazing! Miss Heuring left us a Thank you note, and some money, which was really sweet, but the money was not necessary! I would do it for free over and over again! As far as the rest of the week went, there wasn't much to talk about this week. On Saturday of last weekend, I spent the day with my best friend/bride. It was so nice to get to spend time with her, and laugh, and just talk. I was also able to play with my god son Teagan. I love him, and he loves me, or just thinks I'm funny. :) We actually got a little bit done. We printed out her invitations and tried to order her cake and flowers, but they were closed. I was originally supposed to be staying the night with her and Teagan, because her fiance was out of the town that week. We had this planned weeks in advance, and I requested off work, but when I got there her fiance called and said he was on his way home, so I ended up leaving early with nothing else to do on a Saturday night, but overall the day was awesome, and refreshing to spend time with my bestest friend. On Sunday I worked, and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were all kind of a blur. I came home from class, picked Lacey up, practiced cheer until seven o clock, and then did homework! I hope all of our hard work pays off! I did, however, start my diet, and workout routine this week! I'm really excited about it, and I 've been really good on my diet ALL week! I can already tell a difference in the way I feel! I am so excited to see how it turns out! I am ready to get in shape and be ready for bikini season!!! I am not too happy I have to work all weekend, but I do need the money, so work here I come! Stay Tuned! :)

"Auntie Em! Auntie Em!"

     A swarm of tornadoes ripped through the U.S. midsection on Friday, tearing homes apart, killing four people, and leaving many families distressed in the state of Indiana. Read this article here. It was a sad story to hear, not being too far from the area, and leaving me in fear of the spring to come.  Last spring, the tornado warnings, and tornadoes were frequent, leaving Joplin in despair. Here in Scott County, MO, we came close to many tornadoes ripping through the area as well. I found myself last spring, watching the weather channel, and taking cover in my bath tub many times. There was a day that my family and I were driving, when one storm decided to hit. The skies turned dark, and the wind levels rose. A power line dropped down in front of us. It was those moments when I realized how afraid of tornadoes and storms I really was. I found myself crying on my eight year old nephew's shoulder, and him comforting me. I really hope that I do not have to experience another spring like the last. After that spring, I started wondering why tornadoes have been frequenting the mid area of the United States, and why they are most commonly occuring in the United State more than any other country. The United States recieves more than 1,200 tornadoes annually, four times the amount seen in Europe. Most tornadoes in the United States occur in "Tornado Alley", an area including the states of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa. Central Tornado Alley experiences the most activity, with about five tornadoes per latitude-longitude radius (a circle about 50 miles (80 km) wide) per year. See an article about this here.  I feel that with the weather changes, "Tornado Alley," has shifted, which could be a cause of the tornadoes recently occuring in Missouri. I remember watching Wizard of Oz when I was smaller, and never realized the amount they damage they really can cause. After last spring, I watched many videos of tornadoes, because I became interested in what they look like, and how they sound, so that I could be aware, and know if one were to occur. See videos of a tornados that stupid people stayed around and taped here. There are many type of tornadoes. They come in various sizes and can form in different locations. They are graded on a level scale called the Fujita scale, which tells how dangerous they are. Being aware of the levels of tornadoes are an imporant precaution to stay in the know and be safe. See a Fujita chart scale here. Hopefully with more knowledge of tornadoes, and having a safe place to take shelter in, will ease my fear a litte, but I think I will always be deathly afraid of Mr. Twister.

A Week In The Life of Me.

     This week has been pretty busy for me with the usual boring things, such as exams, homework, and paper writing. This past weekend was awesome, and I was able to relax all weekend. On Friday, I went out for my best friend's 21st birthday again. I got her this really pretty present consisting of two champagne glasses, with the stems dipped in chalkboard paint, and a 101 champagne cocktail recipe book. I got the idea of the chalkboard paint from pinterest, which is my number one love. It is where I find most of my creative ideas, where I plan my imaginary wedding, and where I pretend that I own all things expensive. She loved her present, and her shot pages that I worked very hard on last week. It was a fun night, a little dramatic, but that's one of the downsides of going out to bars and drinking in a college town. On Saturday, my boyfriend and I woke up and went to eat Ryan's breakfast, which is our favorite thing to do, but is not executed very often since I am usually working, or he is at a beagle trial. The rest of the day was peaceful, and relaxing with my family, doing absolutely NOTHING. Sometimes that feels GREAT! On Sunday, I relaxed as well, but soon started to dread the night for when I had to begin studying for my radiology exam. The usual study habits took place. Boring, Boring, Boring. BUT I am glad I took the time to study, because I ended up making a 97% on my test. Thank Goodness. The rest of the week is very muddy because it consisted of me, locked in my room, studying. Last night, though, I did decide before I started studying that I would take a break to watch One Tree Hill. If you any of you watch it, you know why I HAD to take the break for this week. My mom brought be Chick Fil A, and a Starbuck's Chai Tea home, and we were just getting ready to watch, when we realized the t.v. was unplugged from the storm the night before. When the DVR is unplugged, nothing records. My excitement changed to defeatment. We called my sister immediately to see if it recorded on her television, and it had! So we trekked to her house to watch OTH, and take my break from studying. IT WAS INTENSE. I highly recommend everyone to watch one tree hill from season one. I love it so much, and am so sad to see it end in the 9th season. It had a great run. I took my Perio test today, and now I am trying to get these blogs finished, so I can relax without a computer or book in sight, tonight. I was supposed to be helping my boyfriend's sister practice for Cheerleading tryouts, but she called and said she couldn't come today, which makes me sad. I think I was more excited for practicing than she was. I used to be a cheerleader, 7th grade- my Senior year, and I loved it so. I was a choreographer of our state routines, and I wish I could go back. It was the best. Up above is an oldie of my lovely squad when I was a cheerleader (Im the second one from the right on the top), and I want nothing less for my boyfriend's sister. :) I REALLY want to be a cheerleading coach one day. It would be my dream come true, but until then, my former cheer coach did ask me to judge HIGHSCHOOL cheer tryouts! This is a big deal! I cannot wait. I am judging them next Friday. It will be the best thing ever, and I will have so much to tell about, so Stay Tuned!!! :)

Til' Death Do Us Part: Unless You Have Alzheimer's?

      Recently religious broadcaster Pat Roberston, caused an uproar after telling his "700 Club" viewers that divorcing a spouse is justifiable if your spouse is battling Alzheimer's disease because the disease is a "kind of death."  See a video about this comment here. See the definition and symptoms of Alzheimer's here.

      This statement caused much controversy. From my view point, I think one has the right to divorce who ever they would like. I personally don't believe in divorce, seeing as I come from parents that have been together for 30+ years, but I do understand there are circumstances you can't help, but in the eyes of many Christian beliefs, divorce is unacceptable. This Christian broadcaster did not have the place to cause such a controversial topic, especially while depicting a Christian television show. The controversy erupted when Robertson advised a call-in viewer that a male friend could see another woman after his wife began suffering from the memory deteriorating disease. See this article here. Divorce is uncommon among couples where one partner is suffering from Alzheimer's, said Beth Kallmyer, director of constituent services for the Alzheimer's Association, which provides resources to sufferers and their families. "We don't hear a lot of people saying 'I'm going to get divorced,'" she told The Associated Press. 

     Watching my grandmother battle Alzheimer's, I understand there are very difficult incidences that make it almost impossible to watch, but wanting to leave is never an option for me. If anything, it makes me wish I could be there for her everyday to help her get ready, and deal with day to day life. It makes me fear for my life, when I grow older. I know It would break my heart, if my spouse left me in a such a hard time of sickness. Isn't that what marriage is about? For better, for worse, in sickness and in health? Not "I'll love you until times get tough." I feel like this man does not need to be coaching anyone, seeing as couples in today's society are already so eager to be married and divorced in less than six months. 

     Pat Robertson also goes on to say, that this is a topic we should be discussing with our spouses. Alzheimer's is scary enough as it is to have to think about if you would want your husband to divorce you in the process. I understand it is very hard for the family, and sometimes I believe I wouldn't want my family around to experience it first hand, but the bigger part of me would want someone to believe in me, and provide support. Maybe it's selfish, but maybe, just maybe, I am believing that love is stronger, than the hardships we will come to face. 

    

A Week in the Life of Me.

       This week has been pretty relaxing! It all started on Friday, when my boyfriend and I took a trip to that little diner I was talking about with the all you can eat fish fry. When we first got there, we were unsure of where to park because the diner is located at a little airport 30 minutes away. We eventually parked and walked in doubtfully. When we reached the diner, it was exactly as expected. There were heart decorations hanging from the wall, and a few waitresses here and there writing orders on paper tabs. The diner was lined with a panoramic view of the landing strip with the planes taking off. It was so fun! We both ordered the all you can eat fish fry, with coleslaw, french fries, and hush puppies. When I first took a bite into the french fry, I almost melted! The french fry was thick, warm, and savory, with a buttery flavor. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back tomorrow again! The fried fish was served hot, and was easily filling! We didn't even get another basket of fish because we were so full! I honestly can't wait to go back.
     I worked all Saturday, and Sunday, and made some serious bank. On Saturday I made $270 dollars, and Sunday I made $120. I was so ecstatic. Then, on President's Day on Sunday, my dad decided to take us out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's, and it was fun to get away and relax. Afterwards, we looked at car lots, our favorite pastime, and I suggested and paid for dessert at Olive Garden after. It was yummy.
    This week has been about procrastination, and happiness. Procrastination is like a sugar high. It feels good for a long time, until you crash and you realize how much homework is due tomorrow, and then you kick it into high gear. That's how I roll. :) Today is my sugar crash. I haven't done much of nothing these past three days, and then all of the sudden, everything was dropped on me. Two teachers of mine popped an assignment on us that is due tomorrow, and I completely forgot about my English paper being due on MONDAY. Ahh. Plus I have to make TWO shot pages for my friend's 21st birthday that is due by Friday. Too many things to do in too little time. I also was expecting a relaxing weekend since I requested off work, but we also had another test date changed, so now I have to study over the weekend. This is not going to be fun.
   On the upside, we are currently trying to book our condo in Siesta Key, FL and it had been a fun but stressful ride looking for the RIGHT condo. Finally, we found one decently priced, and a whole lot of fun. It just really makes me happy to pretend that I am in Siesta Key right now, while I am looking at the pictures. It makes me giddy inside. Only 85 days until we are out of school, and only 86 days until my vacation. I'm not counting down or anything. :)

The Better to Eat You with, My Dear.

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. 

If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” 

- Albert Einstein

     This doesn't seem to be the case anymore with modern mothers. Parents are beginning to forbid fairy tales from their children's life, claiming they are too scary, such as Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White, and are teaching their daughters the wrong values, such as Cinderella. See this article here. A new study showed that 1 in 5 parents don’t allow their children to watch classic Disney fairy tale cartoons like Snow White, Seven Dwarfs and Mermaid or the modern approach of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. I think this is silly and so does J.K. Rowling. She says,“I really feel that we're not giving children enough credit for distinguishing what's right and what's wrong. I, for one, devoured fairy tales as a little girl. I certainly didn't believe that kissing frogs would lead me to a prince, or that eating a mysterious apple would poison me, or that with the magical "Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo" I would get a beautiful dress and a pumpkin carriage. I also don't believe that looking in a mirror and saying "Candyman, Candyman, Candyman" will make some awful serial killer come after me. I believe that many children recognize Harry Potter for what it is, fantasy literature. I'm sure there will always be some that take it too far, but that's the case with everything. I believe it's much better to engage in dialog with children to explain the difference between fantasy and reality. Then they are better equipped to deal with people who might have taken it too far.” Many mothers also think that Cinderella is teaching their daughters that their goal in life is to clean the house, and do the chores as stated in the above article. With the new modern independent woman society growing, fairy tale Cinderella is slowing dying in many parents books.
      Being a child who lived on fairy tales growing up, I think it is cruel to cut out such magical stories. I understand that they aren't real, and not every thing is going to be happily ever after, but it is such a neat belief to have when your a child, before life gets too hard. I do understand that some parents are worried about nightmares with certain fairy tales, but to ban all of them, especially Cinderella, is just mean. It's nice to have another world, where a true love's kiss can fix everything, because we all know, we have to grow up some time, and it just isn't going to be as magical. I do think cutting out fairy tales is a little overboard. If they wanted to introduce them at a later age, I believe that would be better. I think that the parents should discuss the meanings of the stories with their children instead of just making the source disappear. I feel like the parents are just wanting to avoid the difficult conversation and questions with their child. See someone who agrees with me here. Give children a choice to live happily ever after, at least in their dreams. After all, A dream IS a wish your heart makes. ;)

A Week in the Life of Me.

     This week started out pretty well for me, considering Joplin had a snow day on Monday, and where I am from, we had absolutely NO snow at all. This gave me a feeling of happiness when I woke up to the "no school" text message, and I also began wishing Benton, MO would accumulate snow, too, so that we would have yet another snow day. I used my day off to sleep in, watch My Fair Wedding with David Tutera ( I am obsessed with weddings), and shop for my boyfriend's valentines day gift.

      I thought of the most FUN idea ever for his valentine's gift! I decided that since my boyfriend and I used Sunday to go to lunch, and go watch "The Vow", it would be a fun idea to make him a basket with a few favorite movies, a western for him, and The Lady and Tramp, for me. Lady and the Tramp gave me the idea to ditch the basket and use a  pasta colander instead, and fill it with spaghetti noodles, garlic bread, spaghetti sauce, and a long candle for a romantic candlelight dinner. This is the best idea I have ever had! 

     Since I had a test to study for on Tuesday, we decided to celebrate our Valentine's day on Wednesday. While I was at school, on Wednesday, Allen (my boyfriend) texted me with this GREAT idea he thought he had. He said specifically, "Babe, I was thinking, and since we have been to pretty much every restaurant in Cape, and literally have done everything, I thought maybe going to get some food and cooking at my house together and watching a movie would be fun, since we've never done that. What do you think?" What do I think?! I think he's going to RUIN my perfectly great idea. So I told a little bit of a fib. I told him I already made a reservation. He was a little upset that I didn't tell him about the plans, partially because now his hopes of his valentine's day attire being sweatpants were crushed, I'm sure. He eventually came over, opened my present and was very  much surprised! Mission accomplished. My Valentine's Day was perfect. I aced my test, had a perfect valentine who brought me roses, and watched Lady and the Tramp. 

     Now, I am searching for Beach Vacation Rentals in Siesta Key Beach, FL. My family and I are thinking of going there for our vacation this year, and I am trying to stay on top of things. Looking at all of these beautiful beaches and wonderful houses, really makes me sick of school. It makes me wish summer was here pronto. We've only ever been to St. Augustine, Fl on the east side of Florida, but this year, we are trying something new on the west side, with bluer water, whiter sand, and gorgeous sunsets. Ahhhh. I cannot wait, but for the time being I am excited about other things, such as, judging high school cheer tryouts for my old school! I am going to have so much  fun. I am also helping my boyfriend's sister practice, because she is trying out for middle school. I love coaching girls on cheerleading. That is the one thing that makes me regret not being a teacher, so that I could have been a cheerleading coach. I do  love what I am doing now, but I do still want to be a teacher. Tomorrow, I am going to an all you can eat fish fry at this little diner, I've never been to before! I'll let you know how amazing it is! Stay Tuned! :)

Someone Needs to Whip these Kids into Shape!

   
      Here recently, My family and I have run into a few comments made by my cousin about their dad, my dad's brother. She is 16 and has made numerous status updates with vulgar language, and depressing comments. My dad finally had the last straw when he ran across a post bashing her own father. Using the "F word", and other curse words, she ranted about how much she HATES her dad. She continued to say that he over reacts and to "F all the BS." But in the not nice version of the words.
     It seems to me, my family is not the only one that has had  multiple dealings with stupid adolescents, that take advantage of Social Networking pages. I came across this video of a father retaliating against his daughter who recently posted a rebelling post against her parents, using foul language, and saying some indecent things. See this interesting video here! He is super angry. I would be too. I think it is so silly for kids to get on Facebook, or any other social networking site, and voice personal things that should NOT be public, and sometimes not even true. This is called defamation. Defamation is the act of making false statements in a public or private manner, about a person's business practices, character, financial status, morals, or reputation. There are two types of defamation, which you are probably more familiar with. Oral defamation is considered slander whereas printed or written defamation is called libel. See the legal aspects of defamation here.
   There was another case a few years back where a child posted a status about a fellow teacher "being a fat ass who should stop eating fast food, and is a douche bag." This student's status eventually got back to the school officials, and they suspended him for cyber-bullying. His mother rose against them, saying that it was unlawful to suspend him for free speech, so the school backed down to keep from a lawsuit. UCLA supported the mother. See more about this story here. I agree with the mother, the child should not be suspended, since we do have the right to speech, but it was inappropriate for the child to voice his hurtful opinion publicly about a human being for all to see. I feel that the child should receive some form of punishment, even if the parent has to do it.
   As I said above, the father took his daughter's punishment into his own hands, and while it may have been a little much, I think the dad did a good job getting across to his child. Sometimes, children like that need that discipline. If they didn't need the discipline, they wouldn't have expressed their unwanted feelings about her parents for everyone to see in the first place.
    I think preteens, teens, and even sometimes adults need to watch what they say online, because it reflects you with every cuss word you say. If they can't do that, then Facebook should be banned.
   
   

A Week in the Life of Me.

     This week has been pretty great! This past weekend I went wedding dress shopping with my very best friend, and it was the time of my life! I think I had more fun than the bride! I found all types of wedding dresses I fell in love with, and it made me realize how much I can not wait to get married, but it also made me realize how expensive a wedding is!!! I think it is a great idea that my boyfriend and I want to wait until we are both out of school to get engaged. There is no possible way we could afford it any other way! My best friend found the dress, eventually and it will be gorgeous on her at her Florida wedding. Her wedding will be June 7th on the beach, and I am going down there for the weekend to stay and soak up a little bit of sun in Florida. I cannot wait to be standing beside her during a gorgeous sunset on the beach:) It will be absolutely beautiful. I better start working out and tanning now!!! On top of that, her mother is letting me ride down to Florida with her and stay with her! I am so grateful for her and her family.
     On Tuesday, myself and the dental hygiene gals took off for Jefferson City to go to our Missouri Dental Hygiene Association Lobby Day at the Capitol. The ride there was a blast, singing, and dancing to all kinds of music. I haven't had that many laughs in a while!:) We have become so close in only a semester and a half, and this trip definitely contributed to that. I love those girls so much, and I am so happy that we all mesh so well together in our lab group. It's funny how different, but alike we are. We also stopped at the mall in St. Louis to do a little shopping, which made the day even better! Once we got to Jeff City we all changed out of our sweats and into our heels and went to this little restaurant called Prison Brews. The place had prison bars inside, and was very themed and fun. We took a car service to get there which was nice, and I am so glad we did because one of the 2nd year dental hygiene girls drove, and got her window busted out in the parking lot!!! It was so unexpected and surprising.
     The next day, we trekked to the capitol, and found that it was absolutely gorgeous, and rustic. I would LOVE to be married in a beautiful place such as that.
     This weekend, I'll be working ALL weekend, but I'm not complaining, because I really need the money! It will most likely be a busy weekend, since Valentine's Day is on Tuesday. I was so excited for Valentine's Day until I found out we were having a test the next day, which means once again, I'll be spending the night studying with no valentine at hand. Stupid Cupid.

A Spoonful of Sugar Might Make the Medicine Go Down, BUT...

                A spoonful of sugar might make the medicine go down, but it also makes your blood pressure and cholesterol go up, along with your risk for liver failure, obesity, heart disease and diabetes says Christopher Wanjek from LiveScience. Not to mention, it does a number on your teeth.

                Researchers are now thinking that sugar is so toxic to the human body that it should be regulated, alongside with alcohol and tobacco (Read this article here). That means having an age limit on when you can buy sugary drinks, such as your favorite Dr. Pepper Soda. This means that they will be taxing processed food containing any types of added sugars, and having a tighter watch on the businesses that purchase vending machines and the contents inside of them. Not only are they watching our snack intake, they are proposing zone ordinances limiting the number of fast food joints in neighborhoods, according to “A Spoonful of Bad Health” Health Blog. A lot of the proposals sound silly, right? Putting an age limit on sodas? I mean can sugar REALLY be all that bad?

YES.

              

             Americans are consuming on average more than 600 calories a day in sugar alone. Many are saying that the sugar is not just empty calories with no nutrients, but a contribution to America’s obesity, and very toxic to our bodies. There are so many ways that sugar is ruining your health! Some of these include causing anxiety, hyperactivity, and arthritis. It can also cause premature aging, weakening of your eyesight, and can even cause depression.  Read more about the 146 different ways that sugar is affecting your body here. Not only does sugar have harmful effects on your body, it plays a very harmful role in tooth decay! As with our bodies, we consume sugar to get energy, so do bacteria in the mouth, and as an end result, the bacteria produces acid, and can harm the teeth, by causing tooth decay.

                Don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly in favor of ALL of the new proposals of regulating sugar, such as taxing, and the whole age limit idea. It just does not seem realistic. I love my candy bars, and especially my Mike N Ikes. I also think that sugar alone is not contributing to obesity. I believe that it is all factors such as diet and exercise that affects obesity, BUT it would be nice to have a drive toward being healthier. I do think that the age limit is a little unbelievable, but the idea overall sounds great! I think that children should not be drinking a ton of soda. I think they should stick toward water, and sugar free juices. I am a big advocate for water. It’s all I drink. Soda is an addiction and I can see their point of view when they are putting it in the same category as alcohol and tobacco. Personally, I am to a degree toward their proposal of regulating sugars alongside alcohol and tobacco, but I still need some persuading, and maybe more realistic proposals.

A Week in the Life of Me.

         This past weekend was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING being able to relax, with no work, and no homework. When Monday started, the stress began. I had another test this week to study my life away for. So Monday night consisted of doing small things, such as making a study guide, and doing discussion boards for my other classes. When Tuesday, and Wednesday night came around I spent my time in my room, in the quiet, reading, and understanding the material. Studying was going great last night until I realized that I didn’t pay my credit card bill, so I got online to pay it. I don’t know what I was thinking when I thought my due date was the 4^th of every month, but I was oh so wrong. It was still the first when I paid it, but it was past five, so the posting date was showing up as the 2^nd of February, which meant one word to me: LATE. This completely scattered my brain wondering and thinking  about what would happen if I had a late payment! So I called Discover Card Customer Care, and the representative told me that if I was late, then I would have a thirty five dollar late charge, my APR would rise, and it would mess with credit. Failure was going through my head, because I really pride myself on paying my credit card bill every month in full and on time, until the lady proposed an alternative. She said that she could cancel my payment, and as long I reached a Sears Dept. Store before closing, I could pay it there and it would still be considered being paid on the first! This was such a relief, but I had to physically drive thirty minutes to Cape to pay with cash. This was not only a waste of drive, but a waste of valuable studying time, but well worth not having all those penalties. 

      After all that drama, I didn’t think I would do very well on my test because, number one, I had to take time out to pay my discover card, and number two, I was trying a new study method, where I don’t memorize, and I just understand. I know this sounds silly because it is what I should be doing for all of my tests, but it’s just so hard to pull things out of my brain when I try and just understand it. The test ended up seeming very easy to me, and I ended up getting an 82% on a Radiology exam!!! I am relieved. 

     Today was beautiful outside, so my day was just absolutely amazing. I came home, watched Young and the Restless (my all time favorite show I watch with my momma) and ate a very yummy salad. I think I am on a salad kick here lately since it is getting warmer outside.  After lunch I had to put the final touches on a shot page for my best friend’s 21^st birthday, so I finished that up, and then went on a very relaxing walk uptown with my mom, and my baby Tinker. The rest of my weekend will be pretty cram packed with writing a paper, attending my friend’s shot night on Friday, wedding dress shopping with my BESTEST friend on Saturday and having to get up at 5:30 to do so, and working on Sunday, followed by a family super bowl party consisted of finishing my paper, and practicing the exploring technique for my skill evaluation on Monday. So, I will let you know how my weekend went next week, along with information about my very exciting MDHA Dental Hygiene Lobby Day trip to Jefferson City next Tuesday and Wednesday! Stay Tuned! :)

Apple- DO SOMETHING!

Recently, on January 2, 2012, around 300 Wuhan workers fled to the top of a factory building in order to get their way. They threatened their employers with mass suicide of jumping off the tall building over low wages. The workers were employed through Foxconn Technology Park in Wuhan in the Hubei province. This company was a manufacturing partner to Apple, Sony, and Microsoft. The employees had asked their bosses for a raise, but their employers told them to quit or keep their jobs at their normal salary pay. According to Huffington Post, Foxconn factories in China have been the scene of several suicides by workers in the past, including 14 in 2010 alone at its Shenzhen plant, after complaints of low pay and poor conditions. 

The Labor conditions that are happening in companies such as the Foxconn Technology Park should NOT be happening. According to a 2010 company report, Foxconn said it promotes "employee respect, an atmosphere of trust, and personal dignity,” but apparently not. I feel that if Foxconn is not going to keep an eye on the labor laws and follow them, then the sub-companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Sony should enforce them, or get out. There are so many holes found in the system, its nuts. I could not imagine having to work in any of the conditions they do, such as starting to work at FoxConn at age 13, living in a three room apartment with 20 other employees, or having 84 hours of overtime a month, according to statistics at ProPublica. Labor Laws should be enforced by the companies the laborers work for.

            40 percent of the world’s consumer electronics are manufactured by FoxConn. If the companies aren’t going to step up to help the employees in need of higher wages and better working conditions, then maybe America should. Wuhan workers go on strike to get themselves better wages, and even threaten to create a mass suicide. Would it be so hard for America to strike the companies involved? If the population took the initiative to help those in need, we could put a dent in the Tech companies in no time, with the amount that FoxConn is manufacturing. I know that life without technology seems unbearable, but is it worth the lives of others? Is it worth letting other human beings work 34 continuous hours on electronics for the more fortunate? I think not.

            I feel that most of America, such as the companies that work for FoxConn only care about the money aspect. It’s much cheaper to pay FoxConn to manufacture their products because FoxConn works their employees too hard, and for very little pay, even if the employee has a college education. They aren’t thinking of the personal conditions the workers are going through. They are just sitting in their office enjoying the money that Low Wage FoxConn workers are making for them. Some disagree and think that Apple and other companies aren’t to blame, such as an article from The Loop, but I say they are. 

A Week in the Life of Me.

               As I have said before, I am in the distance dental hygiene program. I really do have to take each minute at a time to get through my weeks, but I seem to be making it okay. Since this was the second week, we were done going over our syllabus, which is always a sad day, and on to learning new material. My week started slow, but I knew as the days went on, the activity was going to progress.

                I had clinic on Monday where we continued to practice probing and exploring into our partners gingival, which is scary, and kind of hard. Probing has been easy for me because I am basically just jabbing a blunted instrument into my partner’s gums, but when it comes to exploring and feeling for calculus, I’m a bit dumb founded. It just is not making sense to me to put a curved pointed tip into the gums and keep it in there. I did it fine on our Frank (which is a dummy with teeth and gums to practice on), but actually going into healthy gums is difficult! Not only do I just have the stress of not being able to do it, we have a skill evaluation next week which is a make or break it test. I cannot fail, or I’m out. On top of that, I studied Monday night for a Radiology quiz which I had no idea how to study for, nor a desire.

                When Tuesday rolled around, I did not do so hot on the quiz because to me, radiology is boring. I will have to learn to like it though if I’m going to keep up this program business. I spent ANOTHER night on Tuesday studying for the upcoming Periodontics test we were going to have on Thursday, and then ANOTHER night studying for it again on Wednesday night. Wednesday night studying was a little tricky because it was my nephew’s one year old birthday, and I REALLY wanted to go eat pizza, and watch him dig into a very messy strawberry cake. So, of course personal life is ranked higher than school, and I did. It was fun being sociable, since the last two nights, I really wasn’t. If I have a test coming up, I have to lock myself in my room, make a huge pot of coffee to concentrate and talk to myself about the material, so I retain it. Weird, I know. Anyway, I went over and hoped that Briley would make a mess out of the cake. He didn’t, though, at all. He touched it and got disgusted, and then he tasted it, and was disgusted. Obviously sprinkles and strawberry cake was a very bad idea, so I left disappointed to go and lock myself in my room again to study. I ended up getting a 94% on my test! Woot! I guess pizza and cake were a good judgment call after all.

                 Now it’s Friday, my week has been long and stressful, and after sitting in a very long nutrition class today, I drove home, and decided I needed to relax. I made myself a big ol’ salad, packed with mushrooms, bright red tomatoes, sliced pickles, olives, cucumbers, carrots, and balsamic vinegar dressing. Yum. And to top it off, a glass or two of Moscato wine in a very pretty glass, I might add, because pretty glasses are what makes wine so fun to drink. Now, I promise I am not an alcoholic, and drink alcohol at 11:30 am every day, but today I felt it was needed. After eating such a healthy lunch, I decided to counteract it with a nice chunk of chocolate cake, with extra chocolate icing, and another glass of wine. BEST LUNCH EVER. Then I drifted off into a nice long nap. Now I’m writing this blog, and trying to get ready for the weekend of festivities with no work, thank goodness, and Briley’s birthday party, and more relaxing, before another week of crap starts ALL over again on Monday. :)