the year so far (according to my iphone)

  

This is my catch-all blog post.  A lot has been happening and I haven't written about much, so today's post is going to be about a myriad of things.  In my last post, I mentioned that I applied to Starbucks, and am now announcing that I've been hired! I had training all last week and officially started working on monday! It's pretty fast paced and will take a little getting used to, but so far I love it and have been having a lot of fun (and a lot of coffee (: yum)!

I visited Atlanta a few weeks ago and had a wonderful time!  I stayed with friends Maureen and Katherine and spent a day with each of them.  I also spent a day with my dear friends from Blueprint Church and a day at the Georgia Justice Project, where I used to work.  My roommates were pregnant when I moved home from Atlanta, and during this trip I got to meet their sweet baby girl!  The time was short, but sweet, and I was able to spend time with everyone I wanted.  And I welcomed the crisp fall air and gorgeous autumn leaves that are so rare here in southern California.

Chattahoochee River

My beautiful friend Katherine

We celebrated Thanksgiving with family at our house.  I spent all morning cooking mushroom thyme gravy, pumpkin alfredo pasta, and basil pesto rolls.  Then the majority of our family members came over for dinner -- fifteen people in all!  After dinner, we have a tradition of going to the movies.  This year, we saw Lincoln, which was very good, but also very long. If you The following morning was spent at breakfast with friends followed by a hike along the beach in Torrey Pines with my family.

There is so much I am thankful for this year!  I am thankful to be cancer free and healthy! I am thankful to have had the love and support of friends and family! I am thankful to have had an amazing doctor and to have had an extremely treatable type of cancer.  I am thankful to have health care.  I am thankful for a new job! And more than anything, I am thankful to have a God who is faithful, even through the darkest of times.

If you remember back to my birthday, I made some resolutions for this year.  I've posted about a few things, but I've been busy with more than those! So here are some of the things I've been doing...

Craft Project #1: baby burp cloths
As I mentioned earlier, I met baby Mia for the first time during my trip to Atlanta.  I wanted to give her parents a gift, so I made them some burp cloths.  They're simple to make, but adorable!  All I did was cut out rectangles of cute cotton cloth and of terry cloth, sew them together, and add some topstitching. Easy as pie! And a nice, simple project to start out with.

The finished product

Documentary #1: No Impact Man
This is the story of a New York family who decides to live as eco-friendly as possible for an entire year.  They abandoned cars, made zero trash, and even turned off the electricity.  It's about minimizing our negative impact and maximizing our positive impact of the earth.  I really enjoyed this documentary and would recommend it to anyone interested in environmentalism.

Documentary #2: One Nation Under God
This film follows four Christian college students as they road trip around the US, meeting new people and asking them their views about God.  While it was interesting to hear what people had to say, there was no real point to the film.  I've heard their second documentary, Beware of Christians, is much better and am going to watch it next.

Book #2: The Gospel of Luke by William Barclay
I recently started reading this Bible commentary along with my regular Bible reading and really enjoyed the added insight it provided.  However, Barclay's writing is outdated and he seems too confident that his view and interpretation of scripture is the right one.  I doubt I will read another one of his commentaries, but will definitely continue reading commentaries on a regular basis.

Book #3: An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor
I really enjoyed this book; this was the second time I read it.  It discusses ways to make every day tasks into spiritual practices, observing the work and glory of God in what may seem at first to be mundane.  If you are looking to lead a more reverent life, I would definitely recommend it.

Book #4: The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The book is exactly like the movie, but it gives a little more background and depth to the characters.  What can I say? It's a classic!

Something New #3: Brussel Sprouts
We never had to eat brussel sprouts as kids.  I heard rumors that they were the worst food known to mankind.  They have a reputation worse than broccoli.  So that's probably how I made it all the way to age 24 without having ever tried them.  Well, we went out to dinner for my mother's birthday to a charming restaurant in Ocean Beach called Bo-Beau.  I was feeling adventurous, so I ordered the crispy brussel sprouts, and oh-my-goodness they were absolutely delicious!  They were drizzled with apple cider and topped with cranberries, hazelnuts, and goat cheese.  Brussel sprouts have overcome their infamy and now are one of my favorite vegetables. Yum!

Something New #4: Green Tea Latte
Now that I work at Starbucks, I have the opportunity to try a lot of new things!  This week, I tried a green tea latte. My coworker told me it's an acquired taste and she was right. I didn't like it too much, but people order them often, so I am determined to give it another try. I'll let you know how it goes the second time around.

Health Change #3: Use All-Natural Toothpaste
As I've mentioned before, I want to eventually switch all of my products to all-natural ones in attempt to be in contact with unnatural chemicals and artificial substances as little as possible.  So I was excited when our grocery store started carrying Tom's natural toothpaste. Unfortunately, after using it a few times, I realized it doesn't leave my mouth feeling clean and minty afterwards.  So I was even more excited when I realized that our grocery store also carries Burt's Bees natural toothpaste.  It seems thick and goopy compared to other toothpastes, but it makes my teeth feel clean and leaves my breath sufficiently minty.

Health Change #4: Use All-Natural Shampoo and Conditioner
I've started using a new type of shampoo and conditioner.  It's called Gud by Burt's Bees. The scent I've tried is called orange petalpalooza and it smells delicious! It's all-natural and makes my hair feel really soft.  I've tried other brands of natural shampoo, but several of them didn't leave my hair feeling clean (like Nature's Gate).  I'll have to see if I still like this shampoo after my hair gets longer, but so far, Burt's Bees has left my hair feeling nice and clean.

I've recently started what I would consider to be my most ambitious resolution: reading the New Testament in 24 days.  I'm about eight days into the task and let me tell you, it is a lot of reading! It's taken me about three hours each day. But it's worth it! Not only am I reading stories I've never read before, but I'm understanding familiar stories in their greater context.  I also am beginning to see the big picture of the Bible as a whole.  I have a lot of questions about things I am reading, but this has made me excited to read my Bible! I'll give you another update on this soon!

I hope all is well with you!
xoxo

Book #1: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Ever since I was in high school, numerous people have told me I would enjoy this book, but I never took the time to read it.  The movie recently came out and, because I wanted to see it, I decided I'd better hurry up and read the book (I used to think it's better to read a book before seeing its movie counterpart, but I've recently changed my mind on the matter).  Anyways, all this is to say, I finally decided to read Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

It's the account of a boy named Charlie's freshman year in high school.  He's somewhat of an outcast, but soon makes friends with a group of rebellious seniors who expose him to all sorts of new experiences.  Most of the story seems to be a pretty accurate example of what a fifteen year old might endure in high school and several parts of the book resonated with my own memories of what high school was like.  However, the main character's internal dialogue and external actions seemed a bit contradictory.  Charlie seems bright-eyed, earnest, and naive, but doesn't hesitate to partake in violence, underage drinking, and use of several different drugs including marijuana and LSD. While I'm sure there are high schoolers who involve themselves in these things, and while I acknowledge the power of peer pressure is sometimes underestimated, I don't find Charlie's combination of innocence and immorality to be founded in reality.

The book deals with several serious issues such as depression, physical and emotional abuse, death of a loved one, suicide, and sexuality.  I think it is extremely important to discuss topics such as these, especially at a time in life when people feel so vulnerable, and I applaud the author for making an effort to acknowledge these issues.  However, the book provides absolutely no suggestions of dealing with these issues in a healthy way; the characters instead turn to the aforementioned unhealthy (and often unlawful) activities.

I saw the movie a few weeks ago with my friend Lamia.  We both really enjoyed it.  I would definitely recommend the movie over the book.  The movie focuses less on Charlie's psychological issues and instead seems to be about a group of misfit kids who don't have to endure high school on their own because they have found each other.  And the film has great music (I'm a sucker for a movie with a great soundtrack).

Overall, I think I enjoyed the book, but would suggest that one should be very intentional in who they recommend it to.  It might provide the gateway to discussion of some difficult topics, but should be paired with materials and discussion addressing healthy ways to find healing.

Health Change #2: Use All-Natural Face Wash

Happy November!!

I had my 3-month check-up on wednesday.  I can't believe it's already been three months since my last doctors appointment!  Everything went well with my check-up, but I am still having some weird things going on with my body.  I asked my doctor about them and she said because of the chemo and birth control (I was on it while I was getting treatment, but am off it now), my hormones are going a little crazy.  So basically, it's like I am going through puberty again... lucky me...

Because of this, I am having a minor case of acne, which brings me to today's health change: use all-natural face wash.  As I said before, my theory about health is that we need to maximize good stuff, minimize bad stuff, and get the right amount of exercise.  In order to do this, I want to make sure that chemicals and unnatural substances come into contact with my body as little as possible.  Not only does this include processed and genetically modified foods, but toiletries and cleaning products as well.  So in attempt to put this into practice and control my teenage-like breakouts, I got a new face wash.  I used to use neutrogena's acne bar, but it's filled with all sorts of chemicals and things I can't pronounce.  But they've recently come out with a new natural line, so I decided to try their new natural purifying facial cleanser, which boasts "No harsh chemical sulfates, parabens, petrochemicals, dyes, or phthalates."  I haven't been using it for too long, but I'll let you know if it successful it is in handling my puberty problems.

My first health change was to make sure I take my all-natural vitamins every day.  Unfortunately, my body now associates taking pills with being sick and having chemo, which it does not like very much at all.  So usually after taking my vitamins, I feel nauseated, and sometimes even have to throw up.  I told my doctor this and she suggested that I switch to gummy vitamins for awhile until my body begins to disassociate pills with sickness.  So now I have a dilemma because I really want to make sure I am getting all the right vitamins and minerals that I need, but I also really want to make sure I am not putting unnecessary chemicals in body too.  Do you think anybody makes all-natural gummy vitamins??

I've been pretty busy lately.  I've been working a couple days a week, and that's going pretty well, but I wish I was able to work more hours.  So I've applied to Starbucks and am really hoping to get a job with them.  Unfortunately, it seems like nobody in the area is hiring, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.  I've also been busy applying to grad school.  I've been studying a lot and finally took the GRE last friday.  And I got better scores than I was expecting!!  Now I just need to finish my personal statement, which is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, wait for my professors to return my recommendation forms, and then submit everything.  Then I get to wait.  They only accept about ten people into the program I want, so please be praying!!  I'm also getting ready for my trip to Atlanta!  I leave on wednesday and I can't wait to see everyone!!

I hope you all are doing well and are enjoying fall!
xoxo

Health Change #1: Take My Vitamins Every Day

In the health and diet section of Barnes and Noble, you can find a book justifying just about any diet you could possibly think of (eating only cottage cheese, low carbs, high carbs, no meat, only meat, only grapefruit, etc.), all of which contradict each other.  I've come to believe that information on most aspects of health is this way -- saturated with conflicting theories.  I have tried to research what caused my cancer, in hope that I might be able to fix whatever was wrong, help my body reach optimum health, and prevent my cancer from ever coming back.  Not too surprisingly, I found numerous books and articles that all say something different.  But pretty much everybody agrees on some extremely basic principles.  Now I know this isn't very scientific, and I don't have any medical studies to back this up, but my super simplified theory which condenses all the things I've heard, read, and learned about cancer (or really any health issue other than things that are genetic) is that it's caused by the perfect storm of a combination of three problems:

1. not enough good stuff
2. too much bad stuff
3. not enough exercise (or sometimes too much exercise)

So the steps I am taking to get myself back to health will all address one of these problems.  I will attempt to fill my body and environment with good things, rid it of all the bad things, and make sure my body is getting the appropriate amount of exercise to keep me healthy.

My first step toward health addresses the first problem.  In order to ensure that my body gets enough of the good stuff it needs, I am going to start taking multivitamins and supplements every single day.  I took a few vitamins and supplements before I got sick, but stopped when I was diagnosed because it was just too much to add to the other fifteen or so pills I was taking every day.  Since I stopped treatment, I've gotten a new vitamin regimen and have been taking it every once in a while, but usually forget.  Now I am going to make it a priority to take them every single day.

The new vitamins I am taking are called Vitalizer by Shaklee.  As I am also trying to put as little bad stuff in my body as possible, it was really important for me to find vitamins that are all-natural instead of synthetic.  I was relieved when I found out about the Shaklee Corporation, which helped pioneer the nutritional supplement industry and has been making all natural supplements for over fifty years.  Their products are 100% guaranteed to have no dyes, artificial sweeteners, or toxic ink, all of which are unnatural and common in multivitamins.  The vitamins I am taking include 80 different nutrients, including all eight B vitamins, all seven omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and 26 different antioxidants.  (I sort of sound like a commercial, don't I? But that's because I really like them!)  Shaklee guarantees that if I take these vitamins every single day for thirty days, I will feel better and healthier.  So check back in a month and I'll let you know if they work.  You can check them out yourself here.

I've also accomplished a little bit of my goal to try 24 new foods this year.  For my birthday, my parents got me the ice cream maker attachment for my kitchenaid stand mixer!  So in anticipation of the impending fall, I christened it by making pumpkin ice cream.  While I have had pumpkin ice cream before, I've never had homemade pumpkin ice cream, so I'm going to count it as trying something new.  You can call it a cop-out if you want, but twenty-four is a big number!  I used the recipe that came with the ice cream maker and, while it tastes delicious, it turned out really rich and rock-hard.  If I make it again, I will definitely used a lighter cream than the suggested heavy whipping cream.  And does anybody know how to make it softer but not melty?  I had to use a steak knife to chip a few pieces off!

I also tried pecan pie for the very first time.  I've never been a fan of pecans and had avoided it in the past, but it was the first rainy day we've had in months and my friend Jared made a homemade pecan pie, so I gave in and decided to try it.  And I actually liked it!  I still don't like pecans and it definitely wouldn't be my first choice, but alas, pecan pie and I are no longer enemies.

xoxo