חַיִּים יָפִים

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not percieve it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
~ Isaiah 43:18-19

BOOK LIST

I'm a VERY slow reader...and I'm picky. If the book doesn't keep my interest, I probably won't finish it. But I would like to share with you my thus-far list of favorite books, as well of a list of the books I plan to read. Which will probably be added to...and will take a LONG time to get through.

Favorites:

1.       Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

2.       Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata

3.       The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages

4.       The Shack by William P. Young

5.       The Help by Kathryn Stockett

6.       Life of Pi by Yann Martel

7.       Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

8.       The Giver by Lois Lowry

9.       Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

10.   The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Plan to read:

1.       The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

2.       Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

3.       The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

4.       Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

5.       Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

6.       The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

7.       The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson

8.       The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid

9.       The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

10.   Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Bittersweet

So I woke up this morning to the realization that I won't be sleeping in this bed in 17 days. I won't have my bedroom, my house, my neighborhood, my city, everything I've grown up in and settled into because it was comfortable. So obviously this realization was very uncomfortable, and in my sleep-induced subconscious state, I gripped my bed, burying my head deeper into my pillow, as though it were going to be taken out from under me.

And yet it's exciting. New bed, new bedroom, new campus, new city. Everything new. I don't necessarily oppose change, but I don't know if I sponsor it either. I think I try my best to just go with the flow and adapt, but I also try not to forget the former state of things before the change. Every big event still has a place in my heart. Whether I choose to acknowledge the bad things and let them define my existence, that's a whole other battle on its own. But made easy by the fact that I don't have to feel guilty or ashamed. Going off to college is not a bad thing. :)

So this bittersweet reality becomes more and more prevalent in my perspective, suffocating the carefree ignorance I allow myself every summer. And though I have most everything done, registered for classes, dorm supplies bought, got laptop, met roommate, (via facebook of course, it's the only way to communicate now don't you know?) I still feel unprepared for the lifestyle change that awaits me, considering I'm very comfortable with being comfortable. And there's future things to think about, like GETTING A JOB, paying off debts, balancing school work and social life.

Responsibility- what a pain in the ass ;) other conclusion of the day: I hate money.

חַיִּים יָפִים

"To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation." ~Yann Martel

Innovation at it's finest

So I'm an avid yogi. Yoga feeds my soul, and I continue my practice to attain 1) better fitness 2) greater meditation 3) to calm my mind and heart in the hectic chaos of life. But something I tried the other day truly blew my mind. And the amazing thing about it is that it's what I've already been doing, but with one small adjustment: weights. It's called Yoga Scuplt, I tried it out at the Corepower Studio on The Hill in Boulder, and it was one of the greatest workouts I have ever gotten. It's your same standard moves: downward facing dog, crescent lunge, warrior 2, plank position, upward facing dog, but all with weights in your hands, plus some moves I hadn't learned in your beginners Yoga 1.

Here's a proffesional synopsis:

SCULPT YOGA
Sculpt yoga includes aerobic steps but yoga techniques. It balances power through practice of kicking side ways and frontier (Kick Boxing methodology, Yoga technique), uses more inner strength and builds the compact muscles to our body. It is good for not so flexible students or beginners to exercise.
Sculpt yoga coordinates our body to balance up the mind, body and soul, able to warm up faster and force out the body heat more efficiently, on a long run it activates our heart to be stronger as it contains Cardiovascular.
It is a low impact aerobics but towards Power Yoga Concept. It adds on more flow for better and more efficient blood circulation. Its repeatability is to encourage a focus mind and body.
There are many benefits of sculpt yoga. It is recommended to all walks of students but especially those keen in weight management, unable to sweat well, unable to sleep well, unable to concentrate, loss of confidence, conscious of appearance in a negative way, beginner to workout world and not so flexible in their body.
Everyone is able to participate in this class as it is fun, able to change a person's lifestyle for the better man and have a positive mind. It also teaches each to respect others, knowing our rights, detoxify overall body, reduce water retention in the body and control our mental to make it balance.

http://zerofitnessdance.com/en/yoga

And here's the link to the amazing Corepower website:

http://www.corepoweryoga.com/

Beautiful words- חַיִּים יָפִים

I've begun a journal of beautiful things, quotes, excerpts, any beautiful things I've heard from movies, books, sermons, the Bible, anything. Every once in a while, I would like to share one with you. The quote of the day will most likely be reflecting my mood or state of mind in the present time. Read it, absorb it, and consider how it applies to your life, and maybe keep it on your mind for the day, as reference. Here's your first dose:

"Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion.What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate."
~Henry David Thoreau


The symbol text in the title means "a beautiful life" in Hebrew, a language I have always wanted to learn
This will be the symbol marking each time from here on out that I give a quote

ALEXA MEADE- perspective

http://www.alexameade.com/

This woman's artwork is true genius. Her technique? She paints the model the same way she would paint them on canvas, to look as though they were painted on canvas, takes a picture, and there you have it. But the key: she always leaves the hair untouched, and obviously if her and her model are in a public place, the surroundings. But often she'll paint the room in which the model resides. I've never seen anything like it before, and it inspires me to think outside the box with any form of art I happen to create.