I just love...: June 2012

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

I just love... being optimistic!

Being only 19 years old, I have not have lived a whole lot of life, but from what I have lived, I've learned several things. One of the biggest things I've learned is that there are a lot of people you'll run into that are just not fun to be around. Some people are just so depressing and no matter how hard you try to have fun with them, you just can't. That's something you can't change about people. You can certainly try, but you can't force someone to be a certain way. To have a positive aura about life, you need to surround yourself with people who see the glass as half full, not half empty. Better yet, you should be the person who is full of optimism.

Become a person that people want to be around. In everything you do, choose happiness even if it's hard to find something positive in a situation, find it. After doing that for awhile, it will come natural that you see the positive in everything. When something frustrating happens, take a breath and just force a smile on your face and eventually it'll become real. If you do your best to have a positive attitude about everything, people are going to genuinely want to be around you because your mood will either make them feel better or it will rub off off on them.

I have found that this actually works. When something upsetting happens in my life, I just force a smile on my face. Mostly it's because I don't want to get a million "What's wrooonnnggg?"'s from people who don't really care and just want to get in the middle of my business, but it's also for me. Forcing myself to smile and be happy eventually turns into myself being happy. I am naturally a very cheery and positive person and I can guarantee that if you ever see me, I'll have a big old smile on my face, but you can't be happy all the time. Life is full of speed bumps and problems that will cause you to be down for a little bit. However, if you force yourself to smile and find an activity to take your mind away from what's causing you to be upset, your happiness will always come back, I promise.

Always being positive just makes every day easier. It makes it easier to do little tasks when you are happy rather than when you are mad, upset or frustrated. It really does pays off to try to be happy. What is the point of staying mad at something if it's something that you can't control? There isn't a point so just take a breath and realize that in the end it's all going to be okay and if it's not okay, it's not the end. :) You just need to keep pushing through with a smile on your face and everything will work out.

Just remember to always be positive and to not let little things get you down. When you are constantly positive, other positive people will want to be around you and it'll just be one huge party of optimism. And those my friends, are the best types of parties. :)

♥ Elizabeth

~To see Elizabeth's bio along with our other blog girls, check out our website at: http://www.wix.com/ijustlove00/justlove

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

I just love... Working Out!!

Exercise is good for you in so many ways. It makes you a happier person, helps you lose weight, lowers your risk of diseases, helps you age well, gives you more energy, it can help you sleep better, and can help put the spark back in your sex life, ladies. I worked out regularly with swimming from age five to 18 and after that went to basic training, so I have been pretty active. When I got pregnant I just stopped working out, gained a lot of weight, and it didn't feel right. So last August I decided to make a life style change for me and my daughter. I now workout six days a week and have changed my eating habits. I have lost a total of 55 pounds since after I gave birth, I am 20 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight, and I have never felt better!

When I first started last August I wasn't motivated but I pushed through the phase of being un-motivated and now it is just routine in my day. I mix up my workouts so I am not doing the same thing every day. I workout for an hour and a half a day. Monday, Wednesday, Friday I do an hour of spinning and then a half hour of light lifting to keep my arms toned. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday I either do an hour of spinning followed by 30 minutes of another cardio, such as stair stepping, Zumba followed by another cardio, or 20 minutes of spinning followed by 40 minutes of running followed by twenty more minutes on the bike. I add in an ab workout and a little walk with my little girl some nights.

As for eating Monday through Saturday I eat four smaller meals a day and two snacks a day. I don't go out of my way to find the healthiest thing I can find to eat, I eat regular food like lasagna, pastas, and my favorite pizza. I just eat in smaller portions. Many people think they will just eat one meal a day and lose weight. Well that doesn't work because it slows down your metabolism and turn into fat. So if your skipping out on breakfast you should really rethink it. You don't have to eat a large breakfast, a bowl of oatmeal or a banana will do. Sunday is my day to relax and spoil myself. :) I eat whatever I want within reason and just enjoy my day off! I don't think I could do it without my Sundays, it is essential. :)

You have to understand that I worked into all of this. It has taken me almost a year to get where I am now. My advice for someone that is just starting is to ease into it and start by working out every other day. If you're hungry eat, you don't have to starve yourself! Just don't overeat. Any kind of working out you add into your life is more than you were doing before! If I can do it you can do it too :)

♥ Anna

~To see Anna's bio along with our other blog girls, check out our website at: http://www.wix.com/ijustlove00/justlove

Thursday, June 14, 2012

I just love.... Being Beautiful Me!

{“Beauty [byoo-tee] –noun, plural –ties. 1. The quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.) a meaningful design or pattern, or something else, (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest). 2. A beautiful person, esp. a woman.” (dictionary.com) This is the definition of beauty in the dictionary. It is broad and up for interpretation, letting people decide for themselves what beauty really is. But, do we decide or do we subscribe to media’s interpretation of beauty?

Women and girls both face a great force of pressure to be perfect. They must obtain the perfect weight, the perfect hair, and the perfect make up, and if it is not possible to do so, drastic measures must be taken, such as surgery to remove unwanted curves or implant what one does not have. The female gender is constantly bombarded with the accepted definition of beauty: bone thin models with air brushed skin show up everywhere from magazines to bill board ads. All of the advertisements seem to whisper, You are not good enough, and you need to be improved, in every woman and girls’ ears. “This focus on beauty and desirability effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate (Jean Kilbourne, Media activist).” One would think that the distress of weight and perceived perfection lie in the minds of teenagers and women, but studies conducted by Marika Tiggermann and Levina Clark in 2006 called: “Appearance Culture in Nine- to 12 Year-Old Girls: Media and Peer Influence on Body Dissatisfaction” reflect that almost fifty percent of all pre-teen girls believe they need to be thinner, and take on diets or consider starting one. Meaning that the age group that is being attacked is getting younger and younger.

On a magazine rack, we are showered with advertisements that offer quick fixes to our body weight woes. But the truth is that 90 to 95 percent of all dieters regain the weight they lost. So, where does that leave us? Insecure and feeling inadequate about how we look. There have been magazines in other countries who have used a woman who fits the criteria of an average woman, the publication received letters and letters of readers who were overjoyed at seeing a woman who wasn't bone thin on the cover. It was the advertisers, however who had the worries. The way they see it, when women begin to see how their normality is acceptable, they will no longer feel the need to buy into an expensive diet or a ridiculous number of beauty products who always leave the user feeling as if they have still fallen short of perfection. They were losing money, so the magazine replaced the average woman, yet again with a rail-thin model on its next issue. Research has shown time and time again, the negative effect of the media on women and girls. The constant demonstration of skinny, young, and air brushed models has been proven to have a connection to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.

The fact of the matter is that the accepted vision of beauty is unattainable by the majority of women. The use of photo-shop and air-brushing is everywhere to create the perfect woman. Media activist, Jean Kilbourne states, “Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight.” Here are the numbers found in a teen magazine in 2003: 35 percent of girls 6 to 12years old have been on at least one diet, 50 to 70 percent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight, and overall research reveals that 90 percent of women are dissatisfied with the way they look in some way. Scary, no?

♥ Emily

~To see Emily's bio along with our other blog girls, check out our website at: http://www.wix.com/ijustlove00/justlove

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

I Just Love.... Role Models!

I typed this into Google the other day:

“define: role model”

And I got this “role model-A person looked to by others as an example to be imitated.”

(I love Google btw!!!)

This really got me thinking...and kind of gave me chills. This is the sole reason behind me wanting to start a blog/website with Lizzie. How many younger girls, to girls in their mid 20s (I’m 24) have a person or people in their life that live their lives as an example to be imitated?

I can honestly think of 2 people in my world, right now, that I personally know that fit this description. I think of tv, and internet, and ‘famous’ people right now, and the so called ‘role models’ of today, are not examples to be imitated. We live in a world now where woman are famous for drinking, drugs, and having sex with random people. This is entertainment now. I must admit, I get a little caught up in these drama filled shows, but I feel I am mature enough to decipher the two. I don’t look at these girls to want to BE them. I am embarrassed for them and usually can’t believe what I see a lot of times. As a mom of a girl, it makes me sad to think of what will be ‘popular’ when she is in Junior High and High School. I pray everyday that I am a role model to her. I want to be the woman she looks up to. The woman she can say is her role model and that I live my life as an example to be imitated.

Who are your role models? What are they doing in their life that you feel is worth imitating?

♥ Daneryl

~To see Daneryl's bio along with our other blog girls, check out our website at: http://www.wix.com/ijustlove00/justlove

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

I just love... Relieving Stress!

When you are busy with family, friends, working, and school, it is sometimes hard to just find some time for yourself. So, I am going to challenge you this week to just set aside at least an hour for yourself to relieve some stress, and simply spoil yourself.

Go out and get a nice pedicure, as I did last week. There is nothing like relaxing your feet in warm bubbly water, and getting them all cleaned up and pretty! If you are repulsed by feet and are totally turned off by the idea of someone touching them, like one of my best friends, I have a different challenge for you. Run yourself a nice hot bubble bath. Light some candles around your tub, and play some soft, soothing music. Relax, as you just feel the stress flow right out of your body.

Women are busy, busy, busy these days, and I know that it is very easy to get caught up in life and everything going on, but always remember to find a little bit of time for yourself! Finding a little bit of time for yourself will not only make you a happier person, but it will also take away a lot of stress by providing you with a mini escape from the craziness that goes on in life. So, have a great week, girlfriends, and enjoy that time set aside for yourself!

♥ Holley

~To see Holley's bio along with our other blog girls, check out our website at: http://www.wix.com/ijustlove00/justlove