Boston Goes Boom!

So you know me, and you know one of my favorite mental releases is baking.  Luckily, the 4th just happened, so of course I got to try a new treat!  I ended up having to do be a bit mobile on the execution as our bbq kept transferring spots and things got a little hectic.  Either way, it still tasted delicioso and was healthy at the same time!  It was a simple angle food cake in a cake pan with a cool whip topping and fresh raspberries/blueberries.  Oh my gosh I want a piece right now...

Oh, and I love America!!!  THANK YOU SO SO MUCH TO ALL OF THE INCREDIBLY BRAVE MEN & WOMEN WHO SERVE OUR GREAT COUNTRY, AND TO THE AMAZING FAMILIES THAT SUPPORT THEM DAY IN AND DAY OUT!!!  Coming from a family where military service is standard for a majority of the men, I have been always had a great appreciation for the sacrifices it calls people to make and, consequently, they will always hold a special place in my heart.  :)  THANK YOU FOR KEEPING ME SAFE AND FOR KEEPING ME FREE!!


Here are some videos from the festivities in Boston down along the Charles River.  They had an awesome fireworks show (though not quite as stellar as Thunder Over Louisville is ;) ) and I loved that they had Martina McBride there belting out her song 'Independence Day' while accompanied by the Boston Pops.  Boston was a fantastic city to be in on the 4th of July and it was so cool to see Memorial Drive, the road that parallels the Charles River, packed with people from all walks and backgrounds of life all out celebrating something we all have in common: our freedom in this great country.

Boston thinks they're smart, even when it comes to packing fireworks to make them look like atoms :)  OK, I'll agree, that's stupid cool :)

I want the ones that are going off @ :17 and :26 for my wedding reception :)

I LOVE THE USA!!

Happy As A Kid: So Much Better!

I was reading in the Book of Mormon today in Mosiah 3 and there was one verse that struck me as I read it.  It says:

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child down submit to his father.

It made me think of my pursuit of happiness and my purpose of this blog in helping me improve my life on a daily basis...  

It's so ironic and even slightly comical to me that as we get older and experience more of the world, we come to believe that we know more about how everything works and therefore how to control it.  In my 23 years on this Earth, however, it seems that somewhere along the way I forgot how to really be happy.    In trying to find my way back to a higher norm of daily happiness and not just satisfaction I've been led back to my Christian faith and letting my relationship with God help guide me back there.  I love this scripture and the fact that it resonated with me because children are so naturally happy!  

I think of my sister Veronica and her kids and they are so filled to the brim with joy that when you're around them you can't help but smile!  Seriously, try looking at them and not smiling, even just once!!

Aww lil' K! :)

OK, you get the point, these kids are cheesers and they are a great evidence that kids are naturally happy people.  It's so awesome that even though we, meaning adults, often think that we're the ones teaching them that it really does go both ways and they help show us a few things we can improve on.  

It's interesting, I was reading a study published in the journal Child Indicators Research that talked about children with different levels of hope and how they differed in self esteem, life satisfaction and family cohesion.   The study, conducted on ~300 middle-school children, found positive correlations between a child's level of hope and their internal levels of self esteem, life satisfaction and family cohesion.   I found one hypothesis of explanation for this to be particularly interesting as it suggested that children with high hope are less influenced by counterproductive negative emotions.  

This is so inspiring to me because I've found that harnessing my emotions and ridding my mind of negative thoughts right as they begin to creep into my mind helps me keep my mental focus on positive things and being happy!  

So, all in all, here's to the awe-inspiring example of children and how amazing they can be at teaching us a thing or two!  :)  If you want to be happier today (and who doesn't!?) then YOU try taking a pointer from a kid and focusing on the positive!!  Control your thoughts and you can control your destiny!!

Sow a thought, and you reap an action;

Sow an act, and you reap a habit;

Sow a habit, and you reap a character;

Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

-R.W. Emerson

Community Health Events: Much Better!!

I love love loove events that encourage the community to be more active, and in my current practicum position @ Healthworks I've been able to promote numerous activities which focus on just that- getting people to get up and move it!  Most of these events are free classes which we normally have in the club but move outside for anyone to join in on!  (Think Zumba, kickboxing, etc...)

Our latest venture was an Urban Rebounding class at Copley Square, a beautiful community grass area across from one of my favorite buildings in Boston, the Boston Public Library.  Here are some pictures from the event, the weather was much more uncooperative than we wanted!!  Definitely wet from not just sweat but the rain!  Oh well, it felt kinda nice since it was a little warm!

I love these kinds of events so much because they model engaging, positive health behaviors to the community.  This is Public Health in ACTION!  This is AWESOME!!

This little boy was sooo cute!!!

Maria is awesome!!  Lovee her energy level, totally contagious!

Healthworks Marketing Department +1 Secret Weapon

This was one of the pictures we used for the promo materials.  Recognize those Thunder Thighs??! ;) 

'Key'p Yo Mind Balanced

So my friend Shaun had a birthday a little while ago, and in a semi-selfish move I thought I'd do both him and I a favor by making him a Key Lime Pie to celebrate.  Not only do I get to benefit from baking by getting time to myself and the chance to try out a new recipe, but he gets to enjoy it as well by scarfing it down after work.  :)  Yay mental health and yummies in my tummy!

Shaun and I @ the lovely Papas 

Shaun may or may not look like the guy from this photo here: 

So the pie was a suppper easy one to make, here's everything you need!  I used Emeril Lagasse's recipe found here.  Seriously it's probably a two step pie, mix and chill... you can't ask for anything easier!

I may or may not have been rocking out to some sweet Usher while the pie was chillin in the fridge... 

Finished pie!  Yummyyy!!

Till next time, biotch.  Deuces.

Judging Books. Or People...

Generally speaking, I'd like to think I'm a pretty non-judgmental person.  Unless it's one of the Real Housewives, a new flavor of M&Ms or some ridiculous fool posting a video of themselves on the internet that should only end up being ridiculed on Tosh.O (see post below ;) ), and rightfully so, I'd like to think of my mind as a judgment-free zone for people!  No need to worry about what I'm going to think of you, I see failure as a learning opportunity and success as a stepping stone towards something even better.  Yada yada yada. :)

Yes ladies, I judge you :)  As does everyone else in America for how insanely...bright (hahahaha!!) you all are :)

But in all seriousness, I really do try to keep an open mind about all things, including people.  This weekend, however, I realized that I'm not quite so awesome at that gig as I thought I was, and in the process I ended up learning a really good lesson about not judging people simply by their outward appearance.  In keeping with the purpose of this blog, trying to improve some aspect of my life every day so I don't just end up years down the road in the same position I started in, and continuing on the topics of mental and emotional health (things I think everyone can work on improving) I just wanted to put in a little plug for self-analyzation and looking for ways in which we might not be as perfect at something as we think we are.

Simple Case Study:  I went to a bbq this weekend (love these!!) where I didn't know anyone except those I came with.  After visually scanning the crowd I initially found it difficult to find someone to go chat with outside of the group I'd arrived with because no one seemed to look like me.  Isn't it funny how we can be comfortable with some complete strangers more than others, simply because they look more like us than others might??  Anyways, I finally grew a proverbial pair and got out of my bubble and started talking to people.

Um, can I just say we had some great conversations that night?!  In keeping with one of my favorite things about Boston, I had more refreshingly intellectual conversations that night than I've had in a while, and it was really great to experience that, as well as have total strangers teach me a lesson or two about judging.

So even when you might think you're totally great at something, there's no way you're perfect at it, and sometimes it just takes being thrown a curve ball for you to realize where your weaknesses are.  So while I might not judge people for what they say, I guess I didn't realize that sometimes I was judging them before they'd even had a chance to say anything at all.

Don't I seem great?  Haha

Anyways, one way or another, if you think you're not judgmental too, chances are there's some way you are.  :)  The trick is to figure out how and fix it.  And remember, it's not enough recognize your flaw, you have to actually change it if you want to change yourself. :)

80 Views or Bust!!

OK yo, if this isn't determination to meet a goal (facing the possibility of complete embarrassment online), then I don't know what is!  :)  All in the name of enjoying life and reaching my goals!  (I'll take either 80 views or a recording contract after this one haha!)  Alright people, we've got a mark to hit, so gi

Remember, positive thinking, people!!  Do like yo mama told you: If you can't say somethin nice don't say nothin' at all!! :) 'preciate it!!

If you want to see if I can reach my goal leave a comment so everyone can see how many people have seen !  #80 gets a sweet sweet prize!! :)

Bawstahn Flava

So I took Emily to swimming yesterday, as usual, and while I was sitting by the pool waiting for her class to finish I witnessed the following conversation between one of the instructors and this darling little girl in the 5-year old swimmers class.  I'll go ahead and say you're welcome ;)

Swim Instructor 1: OK kids, today we're gonna swim FAST!!  Mike's gonna show you how fast he can, or can't, swim, then you guys are gonna work on swimming fast, too!

Swim Instructor 2 (aka Mike): I can swim fast...
Swim Instructor 1: Haha prove it.  Alright kids, here he goes!  3...2...1...go!

**Mike swims down and back, semi-fast**

Swim Instructor 2 (aka Mike):  (breathing heavily) How fast was I, guys?!
Little Girl: Wicked fast!!!


Oh my gosh, I loved it and couldn't stop laughing for like 5 min.  It was wicked cute ;)