Current State of Mind

loving // So many things! Clinical. Friendships. Hockey. Yoga. Work {yes, I said it}. This past month {so this past year} has been off to good start, and if every month is as good, then I think I'm set for a great year!

watching // Well, now that Once Upon A Time is on hiatus, I've had to find other TV to occupy my time {although there hasn't been much free time to do that}. It's no secret that I've been keeping up with the Vancouver Canucks {boo to the shoot-out loss last night}. I saw Hansel and Gretel in theatres this past weekend. And to everyone who is just catching up with Downton Abbey {I watched it online when it came out in the UK}, how do you feel now after the "Sybil" episode!?!?!?

wishing // That eating healthy and exercising wasn't so hard to coordinate. I realized that I need a routine in order to get my health in order, but the difficult part is my life is so void of routine due to the school schedule {I know, excuses, excuses}. 

eating // On that note, I went grocery shopping for chicken and penne over the weekend, and now am anxious to try out a good cheese sauce. Yet another area of my life I wish had more forethought {oh the ever looming meal planning}.

reading // My first choice for my 100 Books reading challenge was the Harry Potter series. I'm excited to read all seven books again! Another series I'll be rereading before November will be The Hunger Games. There are some books that deserve to be read over and over and over.

looking forward to // Reading week. I get to go on a mini-vacation, and just spend time not studying or getting up early. Plus after reading week, I will only have a total of 7 weeks left of third year! Booyah!

kudos to much love, illy for the idea

Happy Tuesday!

P.S. I can't wait for everyone to see what is happening here on the blog on Thursday! Make sure to clear your schedule cause it's exciting stuff!

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No. 220 - Health & Beauty, Part 2

A few weeks ago, I did a blog entry about self-esteem and beauty entitled "A More Beautiful You". I felt as if it was a good beginning point on the journey to find health and beauty . . . or to rephrase . . . to live health and beauty. Today, I want to talk about the practicality of the matter. 

1. Recently, a friend gave me a list of verses that say who we are in Christ. One of them is Ephesians 2:10a which says: "I am God's workmanship." Workmanship means handiwork or artwork.  I think it is important that no matter where you are starting on the journey of living in health and beauty, it is important to start with this attitude.
2. The second attitude, and I have said this many times before, is health is a lifestyle. I am a firm non-believer in dieting. Last year, I gave up sweets for 6 months, and I remember how incorporated into my lifestyle it become. In those moments, I wasn't dieting. I was living healthily (made-up word). 
3. The third step is knowing how much health is integrated into all aspects of life. Physical: You can't have health without BOTH activity and eating choices. Emotional: If you are not being poured into AND pouring out, chances are your emotions are unhealthy. Spiritual: I have definitely touched on this one too, but the source of all health is our Creator. I am coming at this from a nursing perspective in which we care for people holistically.
4. The final thing is that sometimes you just have to do it. Sometimes you just have to cut out a certain part of your life cold turkey (whether it's a food or a negative influence). Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet (awful phrase) and go for a run. Sometimes (not always or often), you just have to have an extreme action in order to kick-off the reaction. However, extremes have potential to be dangerous so prayerfully consider the step before taking it.

Alright, I am coming down off my soapbox now. I felt it was important to touch on this part of life again, because I feel as if it has been surfacing more and more. In my life, I know that this is something that has come under attack lately, and so I imagine, there are others as well. Health is attainable.
And beauty . . . well, beauty is everywhere and in everyone!

♥Silver

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On a fun note, I caught the bouquet in the 

impromptu bouquet toss at the wedding last night. Haha.

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No. 62 - Healthy Eating

Look what my Dad does at the start of the week 

in order to promote healthy snacking! Love it.