Week Two Goals

First, a review of last week's goals and my progress.

Daily Goals
I will drink one cup of tea every day. SUCCESSI will use a sinus rinse every day. (Icky but it makes me feel so much better.) SUCCESS
I will sleep for eight hours every night. SUCCESS
I will go for a walk every day. I will not drink soda. SUCCESS
I will not eat candy. SUCCESS

Weekly GoalsI will do yoga three times this week.I will finish reading Looking For Alaska by John Green. SUCCESS
I will watch no more than ten hours of television this week. SUCCESS

I really enjoyed what walking I did do, so I'd like to carry that through as a goal for this second week. Similarly, I was not consistent with my yoga. I'm going to carry that on as well. I barely made it with the ten hours of television - a particularly captivating West Wing storyline took a lot of my attention for a bit. I've definitely grown to love tea! So far I've only enjoyed chamomile, but I'm excited to try more varieties. I feel so much better now that I'm not drinking soda or eating candy - it's definitely making me sleep better, too. 

Now, my goals for week two!

Daily Goals
I will go for a walk every day.
I will drink hot water with lemon every morning.
I will meditate every morning right when I wake up.
I will read for 30 minutes every day.

Weekly Goals
I will do yoga three times this week.
I will try one new food.
I will go vegan with my sister.

This week brings the Vegan Challenge! Stay tuned for details on our contract, progress, and final thoughts! 

Beauty Haul

I've decided to start switching to cleaner beauty products. While I don't have the funds to throw everything away right now and start from scratch (which just seems wasteful...), I'm going to replace items as I run out of them.

As it happens, I ran out of chapstick and eye makeup remover this week. So I trekked to Whole Foods and did some shopping!

I bought Earth Science's chamomile & green tea eye makeup remover. It has a sort of gel-like texture to it, but it's definitely not a gel. There are no artificial colors and it's fragrance and paraben free. Bonus - it was not tested on animals. I actually really love this product. It wipes away all traces of eye makeup easily and doesn't leave my eyes feeling sticky, either. A little of this goes a long way, which is really appreciated as I'm spending a little more than I usually would on drugstore eye makeup remover. But this new product is definitely better for my skin, so it's worth it!

I also bought Soothing Touch's vanilla chai lip balm. The lip balm section was a bit of an adventure...many lip balms at Whole Foods are made with coconut oil. I'm not entirely sure if I'm allergic to that or not so I had to veer away from those. But my roommate has raw virgin coconut oil, so I'll be doing a little test to see if I'm allergic to that or not. Anyway, I settled on the vanilla chai lip balm.  It's vegan, 70% organic, and has a very calming smell. It goes on very smooth and I can already feel a difference in my lips. It stays on for a long time, too, which is really great in the winter.

I'm very excited about my new beauty products and I'm looking forward to replacing more in the future!

Week One Goals

Here it is! The first week of my wellness transformation to a healthier me!

I've decided to set some goals - both daily and weekly. I think this will be the easiest way to break my transition into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Daily Goals
I will drink one cup of tea every day.
I will use a sinus rinse every day. (Icky but it makes me feel so much better.)
I will sleep for eight hours every night.
I will go for a walk every day.
I will not drink soda.
I will not eat candy.

Weekly Goals
I will do yoga three times this week.
I will finish reading Looking For Alaska by John Green.
I will watch no more than ten hours of television this week.


The hope for this week is that I will complete these goals and carry them through next week and beyond.

Here I go!

A New Direction

This blog is going to be headed in a new direction. I want to live a healthier lifestyle and this blog is going to reflect my efforts.

Six months ago, my mother died from cancer. In the months leading up to her death, I became super focused on exercise and counting calories. I was successful in my endeavors. But looking back, that was my way of dealing (or really not dealing) with my grief. When my mother died, all of my good intentions slipped away. In the fall, while struggling with grief, school, and family, I was diagnosed with panic attacks and binge eating disorder. I finally decided that I need a change.

I'm fascinated by the power of whole foods, yoga, and mediation. I'll be making lots of changes in the days/weeks/months/years to come and I am so excited.

Here comes a brand new me.

Disney Princesses Redux

In case you haven't heard, Disney has revamped the look of their princesses. 

For the most part, the differences are minor. There seems to be a lot more glitter/sparkles, and several princesses have this slightly messed-up hair. Which is definitely a different look. Is this supposed to be a statement that princesses are real people too? That's debatable.

I would now like to bring your attention to two of the princesses: Pocahontas and Mulan. #problems

This is the revamped Pocahontas. 

This is the original Pocahontas.

Problems:

1. Her clothes becomes more elaborately decorated.

2. Do I detect blush?

3. The earrings.

These changes are problematic because they contradict Pocahontas's character. This is a woman who preferred to roll around in the grass, talk to animals, and listen to the colors of the wind. It seemed to me like she could have cared less what was dangling from her ears.

This is the revamped Mulan.

This is the original Mulan.

Problems:

1. Is it just me, or do her eyes have a bluish tint?

2. Blush.

3. A completely new outfit.

4. Whitewashing.

Mulan's new look is completely out of character. We only see her dressed in traditional women's attire in the beginning of the movie, and the story clearly depicts how unhappy she is with conforming to society's expectations of her. She is definitely uncomfortable with the clothes, makeup, and hairstyle. She actually spends the majority of the movie in more traditional male attire. Which makes sense seeing as it's difficult to train as a soldier in a tight skirt. But in this new illustration, Mulan has been whitewashed to fit our expectation and standards of beauty. 

Frankly, I'm very disappointed in these changes. I don't know why the princesses needed to be redone. They seemed just fine the way they are. 

On John Boehner's Crusade to End Abortion

Photo Credit

Earlier this week (at March for Life, an anti-abortion protest), House Speaker John Boehner announced his intention to ban abortion permanently.

Here is the first part of his plan: make the Hyde Amendment permanent.

The Hyde Amendment prevents certain federal funding from paying for abortions, with exceptions for incest and rape. It passed in 1976 in response to Roe v. Wade.

First of all, the government has no right to tell a woman what she can and can not do with her body. Her choice in what to do with a pregnancy is exactly that. Her. Choice.

Second, even if legislation is put in place outlawing abortions, do anti-choicers really believe that abortions will disappear? If anything, anti-choice legislation creates an even more dangerous situation for women. If there is no safe space to turn to for an abortion, she will either take matters into her own hands or seek help in an unsafe way.

Please, John Boehner. Come to your senses and back away from women's bodies. They are not yours to legislate.

Women Finally Allowed in Combat

In case you hadn't heard, the Pentagon recently decided to end the ban on women in combat roles.

Photo Credit

THIS IS A BIG DEAL.

Of course, many people are upset about this decision for numerous reasons, including...

• women can't keep up
• women aren't as physically capable
• it's difficult for male soldiers to bond when women soldiers are there
• women are distracting, especially in a sexual way
• the living conditions will be too unhygienic 

Could I personally be able to fight someone in hand-to-hand combat? No. Could I personally handle the psychological toll of war? No. THAT'S WHY I HAVEN'T ENLISTED IN THE MILITARY.

The women who have already enlisted? They can do these things that so many protesters believe they can't. And you know what? Women who want to be in the military will enlist. They're not going to go away just because some ignorant men can't handle the thought of them doing a job as equally well as men. 

I realize that this stigma is going to last for a long time. It's unfortunate, though. How long until I wake up in a world in which a woman's capability isn't questioned solely because she is a woman?