Category: Life

Some Ways to Relax

People these days are always so busy getting to dance class or going to a meeting and they rarely make time for themselves. They stress out and get headaches and none of that kind of stuff is ever fun, right? Here are some ways to relax that I’ve found helpful.

1. Get out and exercise. Going for a run or a walk around the park can help you clear your head. I’ve found playing sports to also help me relax because it helps me think about others things and have fun.

2. Go to a spa and get your nails done. For the ladies, this is always something super relaxing. Most spas offer massages and massages help soothe tired muscles and rejuvenate the skin. Plus, you get to show off your fancy fingers to your friends after you get them done. Haha. For the guys, they can also go to the spa and the people there will offer massages and feet treatment.

3. Sleep. Taking a nap or getting a good night’s sleep can do amazing things for your mind and body. Sleeping is a good way to give your brain some time to rest and start fresh.

4. Draw or paint. A lot of artsy people relax by doodling or painting a picture. By showing your creative side, you are expressing your feelings and emotions.

5. Spend time with your family and friends. Hanging out with the people you love is another way to relax. Talk about your day or whatever is stressing you out and most of the time, this can help you relax.

6. Watch a movie. Just like many of the other ideas above, watching a movie can clear your head. You can go into a different world for at least an hour and a half and come out a relaxed, happy person. (I guess you could come out of the movie with a different feeling but that depends on the movie.

Make sure to make time for relaxation. It’s important to make time for yourself and let your body rest. You’re not limited to just these few things so do what works for you, whenever and wherever. Enjoy! 🙂

January 18, 2015
Friends

Friends are a super important part of your life. They support you, appreciate you, care for you, make you laugh and they can even make you cry. These people that you share your life with are so special and you should do your best to keep a strong and healthy relationship with them. Here are a few quotes that I believe define friendship:

F- Friendship is the union of spirits, a marriage of hearts, and the bond of thereof virtue. -Unknown

R- Respect you. Friends are happy with who you are and respect you for the person you are and who you want to become.

I- In life, we never lose friends, we just learn who the true ones are. -Unknown

E- Everyone hears what you have to say. Friends listen to what you have to say. Best friends listen to what you don’t say! -Anonymous

N- Nouwen (Richard Nouwen) once said, “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving us advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen to rather share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.”

D- Distance could not tear us apart. We are best friends, connected by the heart.

I hope you enjoyed these few little quotes about friendship. These would be wonderful to share with your friends and something sweet to share and bring a little more happiness to their day. Have a wonderful week! 🙂

January 4, 2015
What I’d Like to See in the New Year

2015 is four days away! This year has gone by so quickly. People are working on New Year’s Resolutions and getting ready for the new year ahead. I have my resolutions for 2015 just like everyone else and I also have some things I’d like to see in the new year.

There are so many wonderful and brilliant movies coming out these days and there are so many that I would like to see in 2015.

– Mockingjay Part 2: This movie will be the last movie of The Hunger Games trilogy. The books were great and the movies have been even better so I can’t wait to see how it all ends on the big screen.

–Frozen 2: Frozen took the world by storm when it first debuted and there have been rumors that Frozen 2 is in the making. I liked the movie Frozen, and it would be cute to see how the story in Arendelle continues.

– “The Lost Hero”: “The Lost Hero” was a book by Rick Riordan and it was a combination of Percy Jackson and his crew and a new guy named Jason and his friends. It featured Roman gods and new adventures and just like “The Lightning Thief”, “The Lost Hero” would be an awesome movie.

Also, there are some world problems and beyond our planet things that I hope will be resolved or discovered in the new year.

– The Ebola outbreak has been devastating and not only for the victims and their families but for the entire planet. I hope that a cure will be discovered, the disease will be eradicated, and the world can begin to heal.

– I would love to see all children happy and healthy throughout the world. All children deserve a family, love, care, knowledge, and support. I would hope that child poverty would also become less of a problem.

– If another planet like Earth was found, that would be one of the highlights of 2015. I’ve always been fascinated with extraterrestrial life and the possibility of a planet like Earth somewhere out there.

I am an intermediate-becoming advanced piano player and there is a long list of songs I would love to learn to play and perform.

– “Let it Go” from Frozen: This song is a very pretty song and I have been given the notes for “Let it Go” and I would like to have it mastered in the new year.

– “Someone Like You” by Adele: The instrumentals for this song are really interesting and it seems like a fun challenge.

– Classical Sheet Music: There are a large number of wonderful songs written by the masters of the piano like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven and learning to play their songs.

Sports are a huge part of my life and since I missed half of the year for an injury, I would like to accomplish these things for the upcoming year.

– For tennis, I would like to be ranked in the top 20’s or 30’s for the 16’s division in my state. It will be my first year in this division and I will be on the younger end but I enjoy a challenge and plan to work hard for my competitive season and high school season.

– For volleyball, I plan to work even harder than last year to get a whole lot better than I was before I was injured. I want my all-round playing skills to improve and same with my leadership skills.

– For dance, I would like to continue with my tap, jazz, and maybe ballet lessons. I hope to become more flexible and get my needle and get my middle splits and left splits back.

Academics are additionally important and I have many things I’d like to achieve for the new year.

– Get an A in my Advanced Algebra 2 class. I was really, really close to getting an A in that class last semester and I know that by eliminating my silly mistakes and by working even harder, I can get that A.

– Always start on homework and projects the day they are assigned. I did a good job of this during the first semester, but I really want to break the habit of holding off on a map or an essay until the moment. This will make my life so much less stressful if I do everything the day it is assigned or break up the work evenly for a project.

– Have a 4.5 GPA or above at the end of the school year. As previously mentioned, I ended the first semester with a 4.5 GPA and I felt pretty good about that. I enjoy a challenge, so I hope to get my GPA even higher.

Have a safe and wonderful new year! I hope you plan to do many great things in 2015. Make every day count and best wishes!

December 28, 2014
Gift Ideas for Family Members

The holiday season has arrived! So that means it’s probably time to go Christmas shopping, right? Shopping for gifts can be somewhat difficult and tough if you don’t know what to get someone. You want it to be useful and meaningful and just the right price. It can get really complicated and stressful. Here are a few gift ideas for your family members that will warm their spirits on Christmas morning and for the years ahead:

1. Something handmade (Ex. blankets, food, a scarf, artwork, etc.) Family members love when a gift comes directly from you. It was made by you and for whoever gets it. Handmade gifts have a lot of meaning and are very fun to make. My sister and I made fleece blankets that you tie for our aunt and uncle and grandpa, and they were so much fun to make and the blankets will be really useful and warm for them to use.

This isn’t one of the blankets my sister and I made, but this is the idea of the fleece blanket.

2. Clothing. Clothing is always a good gift idea for family members. It’s always handy to get extra clothes. Additionally, it’s nice to get new stuff and show off your new shirt or pants or shoes.

3. Something your family members enjoy. If your uncle is a big Broncos fan, or if your cousin loves “The Fast and Furious”, get them a gift revolving around one of their favorite things. They might like a cool jersey with their favorite player’s number, or a newly-released movie, or the next book in their favorite series.

4. Jewelry. This leans more towards the girls and women in your family, but a pretty necklace or a cute pair of diamond earrings can make a girl feel even more special when she opens her gift. Jewelry can be worn for a long time and shows how you really feel about your family members.

But in the end, it’s never about the gifts. The best thing you can give your family members is your love, care, and attention. You spend time together to make memories and have a good time and you want your family to know how much you love and care for them. Keep these things in mind this holiday season. Stay warm and Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays everyone!

December 21, 2014
A Few Things To Do on a Road Trip

This past Thanksgiving weekend, my family and I traveled 400 miles by car from Colorado to New Mexico. It can be hard to find something to do and stay entertained. Here are a few things to do on a road trip.

1. Take a nap. Sleeping in the car can be uncomfortable but it is very good for you. It can definitely help pass time and when you arrive at your destination, you’ll feel rested.

2. Watch movies. Prepare movies that you can watch to make the trip feel shorter. For this, you will need a car DVD player or an iPad or tablet that you can watch movies on.

3. Play a game, like the obstacle game. To play the obstacle game, you need to two people, your imaginations, some paper, and two different colored writing utensils. The objective is to stop your opponent from beating you to your goal. To do this, you create obstacles for them to overcome and they do the same for you. You can’t kill off their character and you can’t repeat an obstacle or way of escaping an obstacle. After that, anything else is fair game. This is a wonderful way to pass the time and in the end, you have pretty funny story to share.

4. Read a book. Reading a book is always an awesome way to eat up time, especially on a long road trip. Make sure you have several books handy, in case you finish the one you’re reading or you just want to read a different one. Just make sure you don’t get carsick!

5. Spend time talking to your friends or family in the car. Talk to them about all kinds of things. Just make sure to keep your mind off of the long journey ahead. By doing this, you don’t focus on the long amount of time you still have left in the car. Spending time in the car on a long road trip is a good time for family bonding so make the most of it!

To sum things up, here are a few things you can do on a road trip. These are just a few things off the tip of the iceberg, so explore with many other ideas to entertain yourself for the time-consuming journey. Have a safe trip and have fun!

November 30, 2014
Patience

Patience is something very important that I’ve had to learn to use and work with for about the past four months since I was put in my boot after fracturing a pesky little bone under my big toe. It can be a tough thing to understand but in the long run, hopefully the results are good. Here’s a compilation of quotes and my own comments on what patience is.

P- “Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” -John Quincy Adams

A- “Always remember: Your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come.” -Anonymous

T- “Two of the hardest tests in life: The patience to wait for the right moment and the courage to accept that you’ve waited for nothing.” -Unknown

I- “If our greatest hungers were to be granted as easily as our bodily needs, we certainly would never be able to achieve the noble feelings of friendship and love. Patience will make the banquet of life ever so much more resplendent.” -Anne Austin

E- Endurance under thorny circumstances and good-natured tolerance of difficulties define patience.

N- Never give up. July 1st was the day I had to put my big black boot on and it’s almost November. I’ll admit that sometimes I’ve wanted to take the boot off and go back to what I was doing or even just give up and become hopeless. All of this for a ridiculously tiny fracture?!? I do get frustrated and annoyed with it sometimes. From all of this I’ve learned that these things take time and I have to stay positive and trust that my sesamoid bone will eventually heal fully and correctly. I have to never give up.

C- C.S. Lewis once said, “Faith is the art of holding on to things in spite of your changing moods and circumstances.”

E- Everything. Patience is everything. If a person cannot learn to wait and let life take them on their destined path, then they cannot do anything at all.

October 26, 2014
Family, Mountains, Pancakes, Oh My!
There are some things that you never forget in life, like long road trips, time with family in the mountains, and eating brunch at a restaurant where the pancakes are very big. This past weekend, my family traveled about four hundred miles to Farmington, New Mexico. We spent time with our aunt and uncle and grandpa. From our trip, I learned many things about family and traveling.
- When you have something as big as a pair of crutches, DON’T FORGET THEM! On Sunday, about ten minutes out of Farmington, my mom got ten texts and several calls from my aunt saying that we forgot my crutches. Haha. That was an exciting beginning of our road trip home. So we found a place to turn around and met my uncle at a Dairy Queen in Aztec (which is a town very close to the state border). I got my crutches back and life was good again. Moral of the story is, before you get ready to go back home, double-check and even triple check to make sure you have everything you brought.
- When visiting family, it’s always good to go and do something fun together. All seven of us (me, my sister, mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and grandpa) went to Hesperus, Colorado to eat breakfast at the Kennebec Café. Yummy! Later on, we drove up the bumpy La Plata Mountains trail. We all did some exploring and there was a lot of picture-taking. Doing this kind of stuff is really good bonding time and you can get some really great pictures.
- I’m sick of pancakes. When we went to the Kennebec Café for breakfast, the pancakes were HUGE! They tasted amazing but I think I’m going to take a break from pancakes for a while.
  So done with pancakes…
- When traveling by car over a long distance, keep yourself entertained. It’s truly not that fun to just stare out the window for eight straight hours and you can only take naps so many times. My sister and I learned that staying entertained helps the ride seem shorter most of the time. You can do this by watching movies, playing on an iPad, listening to music, talking, and so on.
- Any family time is good family time. Getting the chance to make memories and have fun with your family is worth it. Even if you aren’t doing the most exciting thing ever, you are still bonding with your family.
To wrap things up, we all had so much fun this past weekend and the ride home was safe. As a family we made a bunch of great memories. Happy Birthday Dad and Jan! (Today is their birthday.) I can’t wait to go and visit again! And did I mention the pancakes were huge?!
August 10, 2014
In the Boot…
About a week ago, I finally went to a sports/foot specializing doctor for my foot. It had been hurting since last fall after I hurt it in dance class. Anyway, the doctor checked out my foot and took some x-rays. After all of the examining, he looked at the x-rays and found a thin fracture on one of my sesamoid bones. (The sesamoid bone is imbedded in the tendons under your big toe.) So the first step in healing the bone was to put my foot in the boot. Dun…dun…dun… Being the athletic, active person I am, it’s been painful and hard to have to sit on the sidelines. But, it has also been a wonderful learning experience. Here are a few things I’ve learned so far from being in a boot.
- You see a whole new side of the activities/sports you participate in. I’m a dancer and I also play volleyball and tennis so I’ve watched a lot of sports over this past week so far. You learn to see the strategy from off the court and you can see how other players play and how they hit certain shots.
- Appreciate being healthy. Be as active as possible when you aren’t sick or injured and take advantage of all of your energy and abilities. When you’re healthy there is so much you can do to improve your health and your game!
- Follow the doctor’s orders. This one is something I already knew when I first had to start wearing my boot but this really emphasized this point. Following what the doctor says will make it more possible for the fracture to heal correctly and fully.
- Be patient. I’m in this boot for a whole month (which feels like a decade) and I could possibly be out of sports for two-four months but I’ve learned that it’s going to take time and I’ll just have to wait. It’s better to be out for four months than forever.
This experience in the boot has been very different and challenging. It has also really taught me to appreciate being healthy and understand patience. Now I’ll have to wait for my full recovery and I’ll be back out on the courts soon! 🙂

My boot 🙂
July 13, 2014
Welcome to a Few of My Favorite Things!

Welcome to “A Few of My Favorite Things”! I will discuss a few of my favorite things on this blog. This includes tennis, volleyball, dance, photography, modeling, books, art, dogs, and so on. I will post blogs every Sunday, so check back every Sunday for a new blog!

I really look forward to sharing my life experiences, stories, tips, ideas, poems, and much more with you guys.

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at my blog. I hope you find it helpful, inspiring, funny, and enjoyable to read. Enjoy!

June 7, 2014