Thanksgiving Work Week Day #2: Your Face

I never really understood the "your face" jokes, but it happens to be a relevant and (hopefully) catchy title.

On this lovely second day of a work week that you I really don't want to engage in, I thought I might discuss faces.

I like my face. So I'm comfortable contorting it in weird ways and sharing it with you. You're welcome.

Can I share with you two stories that stick out incredibly in my brain? OK, good.

Story 1
"You're so lucky you don't have to wear make-up!" Dialogue to me when I was in middle-school, by a high-school girl.

Story 2
"Geraldine (name changed to protect identity), don't wear make-up for as long as you can." Dialogue to a pre-pubescent girl by high-school girls. I was in high-school when I heard this.

Let's discuss this, shall we?

Both of these incidents demonstrate that girls are implying make-up is necessary. Newsflash: it's not. Saying something like this to a young girl is basically telling her to enjoy the time she has with her perfect skin because it won't last long, and soon she'll have to cover it up. Especially if she wants boys to like her. (Am I wrong?)

I have a confession to make. I used to think I was above the girls who wore make-up everyday to school. The girls who spent an hour getting ready in the morning, or sprinting to the bathroom upon arrival at their destination, before anyone could see their make-up-less face. Then I realized that I cannot judge people if I want to be an open and loving person. You can wear make-up everyday and I will not judge you or ridicule you. I will tell you your eyeliner is on your cheek, though. :)

Why do we wear make-up? Well, I'm not going into details in one blog post. But girls think that they need make-up. What is wrong with your make-up-less face? Absolutely nothing.

I know, I know, make-up is fun. I totally agree! I like experimenting too, but to me it is an art form. (Come on, have you seen Face-Off?) Personally, applying make-up everyday makes me feel like I am lying to the world about who I am. My skin is not perfect. So what? If anything, my make-up-less face is weeding out the people that will potentially talk to me simply because I don't flaunt "maybe it's Maybelline" eyelashes everyday. Or it's not. That's cool too. I know your other argument, too, because I hear it almost every time I ask someone why they wear make-up. It's about enhancing your good features and hiding your bad ones! It's only a bad feature if you decide it's a bad feature, darling.

This is my personal experience. To you, make-up may be something different. That's OK. All I am proposing is a change in the attitude of needing to simply wanting. Here's a thought-provoker for you: have you ever seen a female newscaster without make-up? What about a male newscaster (excluding cover-up)? Why?

That is all.

For now.

TL;DR: I love your face, jusstttt the wayyy it issssssss *cue music*

Thanksgiving Work Week Day #1

I am bitter, my dear friends, that I have classes Monday through Wednesday night. But I shouldn't be. And neither should you.

Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends and good food! Yes, I agree. But most importantly it is about being grateful for all of who you are, who you are with, and everything you can do.

Here's a light-hearted interview with the Dalai Lama to boost your spirits (because mine definitely needed boosting this morning). He points out what makes us happy. But wait! Being "warm-hearted" (helping others), spending time with friends, and finding our purpose in life sounds awfully familiar... I guess the Dalai Lama doesn't need social psychology to know these things. 

TL;DW (too long; didn't watch): A change in attitude may be all you need to make a dreaded work week a positive one.

P.S. I encourage you to post comments or contact me about the content of my blog. What do you like? What do you want to read more of? There are millions of things in my head and sometimes I don't know which to address first. :)

Mother Nature

Exactly two weeks ago, I was driving home, and I saw an absolutely gorgeous sunset. The clouds were a color that I don't have a word for, but my closest description is pink. Today, two weeks later, I saw a huge, almost-full, orange moon, rising from the horizon. It is times like these that Nature strikes me with her simple beauty. Her beauty is difficult to capture, because part of her mesmerizing quality is her unpredictability.

There are other times, like earlier today, when Nature shows me exactly how powerful she is, and how defenseless we are. My boyfriend and I stared out a window as hail spattered the ground and the wind became so strong that it got scary. We later discovered that a tornado devastated his hometown. I've never seen wreckage due to a natural disaster up close. It was humbling. It could have been my hometown. It could have been yours.

I believe Mother Nature is telling us to pay attention to her. Almost like an elderly grandmother who scolds her children when they forget to water her plants when she's away.

Mother Nature does not scold the child who performed the wrong. She scolds us all. Her power is tremendous, and we are fools to not respect her.

Here's one of my favorite parts in one of my favorite movies:
In WALL-E, the captain of the Axiom waters the plant that he does not completely understand. Then he says something along the lines of, "There you go, little buddy. All you needed was someone to take care of you." And with this comes his eureka moment. Mother Nature needs us to take care of her.

This post does not do justice to everything I think about when I consider our relationship with the Earth. I'm just going to let it sit here though, as a reminder to myself that something needs to be done. Meanwhile, my prayers go to those affected by today's tornado.

TL;DR: Don't forget to water your grandmother's plants.

Your 1 Minute Guide to Happiness

So I'm reading about happiness in my social psychology book, and what do I find? Three things that you have control over that will make you happier.

1. Engage in positive social relationships.

2. Flow. Get lost doing what you love!

3. Help others.

:)

OK, so they seem pretty obvious, but there is one other thing that seems to "obviously" make us happy. Things. We think that having things makes us happy. Research shows that this is not true, and actually the opposite. Focusing on money and material possessions makes us less attuned to the moment. What a shame.

On the other hand, research shows that having healthy social interactions, practicing your passions, and performing random acts of kindness make us happier! (The social thing is actually correlational, but you get my point. And if you'd like me to explain further, just ask and I will be happy to.)

And if you'd like an interesting video on happiness, here is the lovely Dan Gilbert:

TL;DR: Happiness=awesome friends, hobbies, and helping!

P.S. I have been fiddling with the format of my page. Just trying what I feel works best. :)

The Human Community

Greetings fellow Earthlings.

I was talking to myself yesterday, and I came up with a question for you. Why are we called the human "race"? Is this like the arms race, or the space race? Who are we racing? Why are we racing each other?

I suppose there's a possibility that way back when, there was an urgent need to have babies, to survive, blah blah blah, so maybe it felt like a race against death, others, who knows (?). There you go, my budding sociologist friends. I'll leave that for you to research.

But honestly, let's think about this. Humans like their communities. We are social beings and generally like to keep friends and family around. We surround ourselves with people who have similar interests and views and hobbies. And we hate everyone else. Wait, no, that's just us bitter folk. But we do tend to not understand other groups and communities. This is very sad, dear Internet friend, for understanding leads to communication, respect, and fellowship. (Things that I believe our world is lacking. What a great word. Lacking.)

I would like to advocate that we should all be friends and stop racing each other! Yeah, I know. Not realistic. Think of your community. Maybe it's a school or campus, workplace or neighborhood. Maybe it's your circle of friends. You don't always like everyone, do you? But do you seek them out to make their lives unpleasant? If you're mean and stupid, then I suppose the answer is yes. But if you have better things to do than insult and provoke others, then the answer is no. There are parts of your community that you may not enjoy, but you tolerate.

Here is my plea/suggestion/epiphany. Can we start calling ourselves the human community? Yes, competition is beneficial, but having enemies is not. Yes, it's corny-sounding, but the starting point of any kind of change is a change in attitude. Example: If you want to change the way you eat, in order to be successful, you first have to change how you think about food.

So there is my thought for the day. I will try my best to update more frequently. Happy October!


TL;DR: We are all Earthlings, are we not? Let's have a party. Everyone's invited.


P.S. If we get along now, then we're all set for the possibility of aliens attacking us. Just saying.

The Secret to Yummy Smoothies and Juices

Since my embarkment on a life-of-less-processed-foods, I have found several food blogs that

a) totally make me look bad,
b) but I don't mind because they're amazing, and
c) have I ever experienced such delicious, easy-to-make food?

This is one: http://www.choosingraw.com/
This is another: http://www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com/
Here are instructions on making smoothies: http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/how-to-make-smoothies.html

You might notice that they all are based on raw, vegan food. Raw foodists do not cook their food (hence the name "raw"), although I believe there is some allowance to how much they choose to warm it. Vegan food basically means that there are no animal products. So for example, vegans choose not to eat meat or dairy. These are really basic definitions, but I thought I should clear that up for people who are confused by the many food-identities there are. :)

Well, I am not vegan, nor am I a raw foodist, but I do approve of making as much of your diet fresh produce, nuts, seeds, or what is called a plant-based diet. Remember learning how energy flows in an ecosystem? Plants convert sunlight into energy. This is the first level. The sun (how awesome is the sun? pretty darn awesome) drives the entire food chain. My not-so-secret wish is to be able to photosynthesize, but that's another story.

I started experimenting with smoothies and juices a few weeks ago. There was one major, catastrophic smoothie that I made. It had so many nutritious things in it, but it was eye-wateringly, sneeze-worthily, cringe-necessarily bitter. And I thought to myself, WHY CAN'T I DO THIS?!

It was really bad.

And so this is what I learned on my early journey into the world of smoothies and juices.

1. Look up recipes. You don't need to follow them. Just get an idea of what kinds of things taste scrumptious when you mix them together.
2. Purchase nuts and seeds. I realized that having things like hemp seeds, chia seeds, and walnuts available make it easy to add thickness or texture (and nutrients!) to a smoothie.
3. Add a little at a time. This means both how much of something you add, and what you add. The infamous bitter smoothie that I made? I also made 4 giant glasses of it. Whoops. Don't do that. You can always save some for later, but if it's not-so-scrumptious, you're not going to want to.
4. Juice or smoothie? Realize what you're getting out of both. Smoothies will have all of the benefits of the entire fruit or vegetable. Juices leave behind the fibers. If you don't eat it, you can compost what is left after juicing. 
5. Experiment! I can almost guarantee that you will not always make a delicious smoothie. That's OK! After a disastrous attempt, you may become more cautious and thoughtful about what you are combining.
6. Enjoy. What is better than making a mouth-watering concoction? Knowing that it is good for you. :) Smile!

I am proud to say that my juicing and smoothing(?) experiments have been going much more successfully. Today I found some blueberries in the fridge, so I made a smoothie out of raw milk (more on this later), blueberries, vanilla, maple syrup, and chia seeds. YUM! Yesterday I used a few carrots, an apple, some lemon, and a bit of ginger to make some juice. Come on people. If I can do it, so can you!

Seriously good stuff. Background from mi9.com

TL;DR: Smoothies, juices, smoothie, juicy, smooth, juice, smooj. :)

NTSS (a common syndrome, often misdiagnosed)

I know someone who claims she suffers from restless legs syndrome (RLS). According to the Mayo Clinic, RLS has no known causes, although there are suggestions that it may be a result of an imbalance of dopamine in the brain.

Now stay with me here. We're going back to when I was a wee gal. I was a rhythmic gymnast for several years, which meant that I got plenty of exercise. I would regularly feel a need to stretch. The only way I can describe how it feels is little blue monsters reaching through my skin and teasingly tugging at my muscles.

Maybe little green monsters. See? He's stretching and he's happy. (And "rawr" means I love you in dinosaur.) Also, not my illustration, unfortunately.

When I quit (about four years ago), I experienced this to a greater extent. Because I stopped exercising and stretching so much, I figured that it was my regular need to stretch syndrome (NTSS). In fact, I experienced NTSS last night. It was such a strong episode, that I actually started grabbing at my toes to relieve it. Finally, I made the connection to RLS. Who knew I had been misdiagnosing myself my whole life?

But wait! Doesn't exercise spark dopamine production? The very thing that RLS seems to be the result of? The Mayo Clinic suggests regular exercise and stretching. That's what I prescribed myself when I was experiencing NTSS! I have contacted WebMD to feature NTSS as a common name for RLS, but no word back yet.

In the meantime, those of you who thought you were experiencing NTSS, maybe you're really experiencing RLS! You can go stretch and exercise now, and then your little blue/green monsters may leave you alone for a day or two. Unfortunately, in order to keep them from their nasty habit of making you want to move your legs, you might want to consider daily exercise and stretches. I'm sure they will want to run around you in circles as you treat your NTSS. Go make them happy!

TL;DR: Do you have restless legs? You may be experiencing restless legs syndrome. Maybe they're restless because you haven't been moving them.

P.S. No, I haven't contacted WebMD.

P.P.S. I realize that RLS may actually be a symptom of something else that may actually be a serious problem. MY problem is that everyone has become so unaware of their bodies that they don't know when their body is telling them to go and MOVE something more than their fingers on a keyboard.

P.P.S. Happy September!