fight on

I've heard it said that everyone is either beginning a hard time in their life, in the middle of a hard time or just coming out of a hard time.  I think that's a persepective that we often lose when others hurt us or wrong us.  We forget that they too are suffering, that they too are lonely, depressed, hurting - facing a trial in life.

I have a friend who went through a hard time a year or two ago and I can't tell you why he had to go through it.  What I can tell you is that because he went through this trial in his life, he is now able to help me (and who knows how many others) face a similar trial in my life and for that I am so thankful. 

So often in life, when I am wronged, hurt or facing a trial, my first reaction is that of anger, sadness or fear.  There is a time and a place for these emotions but they aren't what we should aspire to.  In every situation life throws at us, we should aspire after joy, peace, patience, kindness, compassion, gentleness, grace and above all those - love.  How different the world would be if instead of fighting over power, money, people, land, etc., we fought for goodness. If everyday we woke up and approached the new day thankful for our struggles, thankful for the moments that grew us, showed us who we are, who are friends are.

And so today, I'm challenging myself (and you!) to live a day, a week, a month, a year, a lifetime, filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, compassion, gentleness and grace.   

 

fight on, friends, fight on.

a 'thank you' of sorts...

"One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful"

- Sigmund Freud

Without going into too many personal details, I'll preface this post by saying that the past few weeks haven't been the easiest ever.  I'm also sure the next couple weeks will only come with their own set of struggles attached.  With that being said, this isn't a "pity me" post or a post to make you worry about my well being.   

Why? 

Because I am certain there are so many beautiful things coming out of this season of my life.

and I am certain that there is a reason for everything.

I can't even begin to express how thankful I am for the friends I have made at Mansfield.  Our band director has this saying that goes something like this: "when you start to feel like you don't have any strength left, look to your right, and look to your left, and borrow some from those on either side of you".  This past week I found myself looking to my left and looking to my right, but instead found myself completely surrounded by so many caring people. Friends willing to listen, comfort, give advice and just be there.  To all of you, I thank you so much.  You have no idea how much you all mean to me and how much I appreciate your continuing support. You all inspire me to be a better friend and I'm sure that years from now, when I look back on this time, your love and support will be part of what strikes me as most beautiful.  

Kiss Nail Dress Review

After receiving my Holiday Vox Box courtesy of Influenster, I was most excited to try the Kiss Nail Dress strips.

For those of you who have never heard of Kiss Nail Dress, you can check them out here.  Each pack has 28 strips in it and there are so many neat designs to pick from.  The picture to the left shows the design that I received.

All you have to do is remove any nail polish you have on already, clean your finger nails and apply the nail sticker.  The nail dress stickers were very easy to apply and the best part - you don't have to wait for them to dry!   The only difficulty I had was getting the stickers to fit exactly to my nail but I think this could have been resolved if I had somebody help me apply the stickers.  

Removing the Nail Dress was quick and easy; all I had to do was peel them off.  

I would definitely recommend Kiss Nail  to anybody looking to try something new with their nails or for a special occasion.  I know I will be picking some up for my recital this Spring!

The Finished Product:

Although I was given these products courtesy of Influenster for testing purposes, all of these opinions are my own.

Influenster Holiday Vox Box

A couple weeks ago, I received the HolidayVoxBox pictured below courtesy of  Influenster for testing purposes.  I would encourage you to try out these amazing products for yourself...you won't be disappointed. In the next few days I'll be leaving some individual review posts on each product.

My 2012 Holiday Vox Box:

1. Goody Quikstyle Hair Brush

2. Kiss Nail Dress

3. EBOOST Natural Energy

4. Quaker Real Medleys Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal

5. NYC Liquid Lipshine

6. Coupon code for SoleSociety

Have you tried any of these products? If so, what did you think?

end of day 3 update {primal journey}

Today concludes the third day of primal/paleo living.  I've tried a bunch of really good recipes the past three days, so I thought I'd share them with you.  My family is not living the primal lifestyle and they even loved these recipes!

Breakfast:

Broccoli, Spinach, Mushroom and Mozzerella Omelet 

 Avocado 

 Chicken Bacon

 Lunch:

Cilantro Lime Avocado Chicken Salad

(recipe can be found here, I just cut up the avocado instead of serving the salad on top of one)

Yesterday's Dinner:

Salmon with Avocado Mango Salsa

(recipe can be found here)

Tonight's Dinner:

Ribs from Jesse's Barbecue

Spinach Salad with Kale Avocado Pesto as Dressing

My family had been raving about these ribs so I decided it was time to try some.  They were delicious!  Jesse's Barbecue smokes their meats for 10 hours so they often sell out at night so get there early!  If you live in Southeastern, PA, make the trip to Jesse's, you won't be disappointed! 

i'm bringing primal back...

You could probably tell by the lack of primal/paleo posts lately that I haven't been very primal.  I'd say it's been a good month and a half since I've been strictly following a paleo lifestyle. 

 It became increasingly more difficult to stick with as the semester went on.  On the weekends, the only food available in our lower dining hall is pizza, pasta, hoagies -  grains, grains and more grains.   The local farmer's market ended in October so we lost our cheap vegetable supply and grass fed beef.  The semester became busier and more stressful.

I could give you a thousand more excuses, but the truth is, it's just sometimes easier to grab the bag of Cheeto's instead of cooking.  I miss everything about the Paleo/Primal lifestyle and now that I'm finally home on break, I'm determined to be primal again. I'll be documenting my experience again on this blog and hopefully once the spring semester starts 6 weeks from now, I'll be able to better stick with a primal/paleo lifestyle.

DAY 1:

Breakfast - scrambled eggs and bacon

Lunch - Homemade Kale Chips & Paleo Banana Bread 

Dinner - Venison Stir Fry & Scallop Stir Fry

I ended up making two different stir fry's because my little brother doesn't like scallops.  I followed the guide lines set by this article on Mark's Daily Apple.  I used venison, carrots, and onions in my picky little brother's stir fry.  In the other, I used scallops, kale, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, garlic and green pepper.  I also used a little bit of soy sauce and olive oil.  Day 1 went so well...I can't wait to be back in the swing of the primal lifestyle.  

elegy {wordless wednesday}

Mansfield's Concert Wind Ensemble performed this piece on tour last month and I think it's too beautiful not to share.  Enjoy your Wednesday!