Life

Well, sorry I haven't blogged on here in a while, things have been a bit crazy with school and everything. The rest of Easter break was so fabulous. I got a lot of work done on my assignments and managed to squeeze in quite a bit of actual work hours between Hannah's and Barista's. (Although this weekend is my last official weekend at Hannah's.)

School is going well, my first papers all came back relatively well and I am feeling really good about my second assignments (although, I must add that the amount of research involved in these assignments is unbelievable!! I seriously spend SO many hours researching journals and stuff - it would blow your mind. It's all very interesting, but really time consuming.) So, that's where I have been......

Last week I was on placements at the nursing home again. I got to do quite a bit of independent work, which was super cool. I am really loving the residents there so that's been fun. We started work on our care plans last week so that was interesting. (Essentially we have to interview a resident and create this whole medical record for them and a care plan about all the various things we will do to improve their quality of life etc.....It's really interesting. Again, really time consuming.) We still have one more week to work on it, so all is well.

This week we are all frantically studying for our big science mid-term that will be up on Friday.....I cannot believe that we only have four weeks of classes left! It's amazing. So, after our classes finish we have a study week and then a week of final exams and that wraps up first semester!!!!

Running has been off and on these days. I hurt my ankle/foot last week and took a week off, so this is my first week back. I'm taking it easy and not going too far, but it's going well. I find myself getting caught up in study and it's just so hard to pull myself away and go for a run. I'm working on it, but right now I'm a little obsessive about studying still......I did good over Easter to take breaks, but now I'm feeling the crunch of all I haven't studied and feeling the need to really crack down.

Surprisingly I have lost a little weight even with the decrease in mileage so I don't know what's up with that. I tend to be hovering around 134 now so that's kind of weird, but I'll take it......It certainly is no reflection of all the wine and chocolate I have consumed in the past week! ha.....

Well, that is essentially a quick overview of the past few weeks. I am working to get back on track with my eating (I haven't been eating as much as I should or well-balanced meals - yeah, popcorn doesn't really count! ha) I am working on that and starting to cook more for myself again. It's hard to cook when it's just you and you are so busy - so much easier to just have toast or something when you are studying.....NOT a habit I want to continue.....Back to the veggies and beans for me - here I come.....Last night I made a huge pot of chili and tonight I'm making a lentil quiche so that should give me some variety this week.

All the best to all of you, and I hope you are well!

"Make the most of every present moment!" ~ Namaste

Love covers all...

Family may not always come in the form of flesh and blood...Sometimes those that love us the most are close friends who take us for who we are in this present moment and embrace every aspect of our life...I am so grateful for the many friends that I hold dear to my heart, who are as close to me as my own flesh and blood could ever be. I love you so much, and pray blessings on each of you this holiday season.

This was my first holiday alone in NZ and while I did not do much - other than work - it was a good one. I did have a really wonderful reflective run on Easter Sunday and that was the highlight of my week. It was the farthest that I have run to date - a FULL 8 miles - and it was just a special run since my entire focus was solely on the gift of God's love through His sacrifice as well as through His beautiful creation...just a great time of peace.

And yes, I'm blonde again!!

My yoga meditations have also been really peaceful and reflective this week as well. Coming to terms with some stressful moments and just letting them float by...My mindfulness practice is definitely paying off.

I was really struggling at work with my "perfectionist" tendencies since the big corporate office has these demands and expectations of us each week. It was hard for me to just work and relax and have fun when so much is being expected of us as employees and our value as an employee is rated based on whether or not we meet these expectations. I finally came to a realization that this is not healthy for my life. If I cannot seperate my feelings of worth from their expectations than it's just not good for me to be in that sort of business and it puts too much stress on my life...so, I quit. (It was only 6.5 hours a week anyway, and just not worth the stress.) I will work for the rest of the month there, but then take a step back and try to find a better balance. I will pick up extra hours at the cafe so it will all equal out in the end, but it will just be healthier for me. (This was a big step for me, so I'm proud that I did it, and I know that my life will be happier for it.)

My new Easter Break haircut!

My running was a little more spaced out this week, but I still got in several great runs....Still hoovering at 135 and I think that's a really healthy place for me. I have no real desire to drop any more weight, just to keep running and being content in that...

I had some family news today that really kind of threw me for a loop, so I didn't run today, I took a "mental health day" and just did some therapeutic things for myself - like got a coffee, got my hair cut/colored, made homemade pizza, talked to Travis on the phone for over an hour etc...=) Life is always so much better when you can talk to the ones you love and know that they are there loving you in return. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband and some awesome friends out there too!

My mantra of healing this week:

"Today I embrace the healing love of Christ and just let it flow to every wounded part of me in this present moment." ~ Namaste