Best and Worst of 2011

Hey everyone, I am going to be doing a best and worst list of 2011 -- it will include products, foods, moments and anything else I can think of.

Best Skincare/Makeup products of 2011

• Skin79 Super+ Triple Functions BB creams (hot pink, VIP gold)
• Vichy Purete Thermale 3-in-1 Calming Cleansing Solution
• Rimmel Lash Acclerator serum
• Avene Cleanance Anti-Shine regulating Emulsion
• Shiseido Senka Mineral UV Gel SPF50 PA+++

Worst Skincare/Makeup products of 2011

• Maybelline The Falsies Mascara
• Ardell LashTite
• ELF essentials eye primer

Best Food of 2011

• Making home-made Ravioli with my boyfriend (even though it took us like 4 hours)
• Discovering the many uses of Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP) for vegetarian meals
• All Bran
• Goji berries
• Home-made tomato bread
• making crepes for the first time

Worst Food of 2011

• My 2nd attempt at a sprouted rice salad- blegh, raisins are a no-go
• getting a hair in my dessert at 93 Harbord during winterlicious
• getting a hair in my dessert at my cousin's place (what's with all the hair, peeps?)
• Carob chips (Or anything with Whey in it... it makes me swell up like nobody's business!)

Best moments of 2011

• Realizing that Nursing is my calling in life
• Receiving a watercolour painting from a patient 
• Curling up with Gerald after a bad day... and pretty much all other times I see him
• Being done exams and papers for the term
• The feeling I get after a good session of yoga

Worst moments of 2011

• My bag being stolen from TGH
• Being frustrated with various people for various reasons
• Dealing with many people re: yearbook stuff over the summer
• The odd time here and there when I would feel sad about missing my dad and remembering patients that have passed

Hmm.. I don't really know how else to sum up the year. It had its ups and downs, and I learned much from 2011 about myself and of what I would like to do with my life. I made new friends and I think I've matured even more, if that was possible (It's official: I am now an 80-year old woman trapped in a 24-year old body). I've definitely had to deal with more pressure this year, but I think I still need to learn how to deal with it more effectively without taking it out on others. That will be my goal for this year.

As my 2012 resolution, I will try to control my anger better. That, I think, would do the world some good. 

Loving the holidays and craftiness

I like holidays.

a) I don't have school/work
b) I can sleep in
c) I can eat lots of goodies
d) I can make lots of goodies using my mom's expensive kitchen equipment
e) I usually get a lot of craft-time in

Craft time! I love craft time. I remember spending hours upon hours in my youth doing any craft possible that would require a lot of skill and time to challenge myself. I started out with paper-mache/newspaper stuff, and small sewing projects, then when a cousin had introduced me to Sculpey/Fimo polymer modeling clay it was game over -- I made Pokemon figurines, very convincing Lord of the Rings props, fridge magnets, etc... Let's just say after the Sculpey thing, I identified myself as a "sculptor".

For my brother's wedding, he asked me if I would be able to make a Wall-E and EVE cake topper like one he had seen on Etsy. I said "of course!" because it was just another way I could challenge myself and make something cool that they would be able to keep as a lovely keepsake from their wedding (aside from photos and the bill, of course... haha). So I was working on it tonight, starting with drawing out sketches, pouring over screen captures, re-watching the movie, and drawing out stencils for the shapes needed... and I realize how much I loved doing this "creative work", and how much I've missed it since being so busy with school at University. It makes me plan, think, troubleshoot and solve in a non-stressful kind of way. I'm always expecting more from myself in this respect because I know I can make some pretty good things, I'm not going to lie. I don't mean to sound pompous or like I'm bragging, but when it comes to imitating something, I'm pretty good at making clay replicas.

Anyway, so I'm about 30% done Wall-E's parts (there are a lot of details in his little robot character). Yay! I  have a picture but it's on my camera and I can't be bothered to upload it right now... (I've used about 1/2 of a yellow block just for the outer shell of Wall-E's body). I was at Michael's craft store today buying more Sculpey because I was out of the colours I needed, and I was kind of shocked at how expensive this stuff is! I still have the metallic Sculpey my cousin gave me like when I was 12 (eep 12 years ago!) so I don't have to buy this stuff that often, but man, at up to $4 each, that's insane! I decided to cop out and buy some "Craftsmart" brand of polymer clay for $2.29 each, and I have to say, it's not bad. I like that it is softer than Sculpey III, which makes it easier to handle and less hard on the hands (muscles get tired!), and while the colour range is somewhat limited, the colours are vibrant and nice. I also like that the Craftsmart polymer clay is very smooth in texture -- I found that certain Metallic Sculpey III colours were kind of flakey and wouldn't hold together well. I haven't baked it yet, so that's an entirely different story that I'll have to update on later.

I always feel good about myself when I can use my talents to help someone... what better way than to help my brother with his wedding?! There's a little more pressure than usual (self-imposed) just because it IS for my brother's wedding and there will be photos of the cake, most likely, and then any flaws will be photographed and preserved forever... O_o... gotta make it pretty darn well near perfect.

Gadgets and fasting

I picked up my new laptop yesterday! I quite like it. I'm probably most impressed with the keyboard, as it is one of those chiclet keyboards, so it's got a really nice tactile feel to it, and I don't feel like my fingers are pressing other keys, like with the regular laptop keyboard. The battery life is AMAZING on this thing, and I was able to transfer most of my stuff and re-install most of the important programs... I need to uninstall Office 2010 and install 2007 because I don't have the serial key for 2010. Boo! Oh well. The one teensy drawback on this machine is that it doesn't come with an optical drive -- so in order to install Office 2007, I need to buy a portable optical drive. >.< Then again, this is like the one time I'll be needing it, so I guess I can't complain...

As the title of this post suggests, yes, fasting! I don't normally engage in this, but I was feeling kind of bloated for the last week likely from the combination of eating badly (I was eating a lot of refined/processed stuff and carb-laden stuff) and not exercising because I had papers to write. So yesterday I did a fast for most of the day, drinking only fresh-pressed carrot juice from my Breville Juicer. I had dinner with my mom and she made fish and veggies, so it was perfect. I'm actually finding that I'm really enjoying fish, and prefer it over beef, pork, or chicken. Fish actually is easier to digest than beef, pork, and chicken too, so it's better for you.

DONE DONE DONE!!!

I finished all the essays that needed to be completed and stood between me and freedom -- my main motivating factor that allowed me to punch out an entire essay in 1 night? My computer is ready for pick up and I want to get it tomorrow. Hahahaha.

So I'm officially freed from the shackles that U of T had over my life.. for a little while anyway. YAY!

Not My Cup of Tea

Not My Cup of Tea

LOL...

This Sandwich is dedicated to you, dad

I do love sandwiches dearly... there's something about them that brings about fond childhood memories. My dad would always make my lunch as a child, and I actually remember having the same kind of sandwich for 4 years until I finally grew tired of it (Mock chicken loaf and margarine, in case you're wondering). Whenever my mom made my sandwiches for a change, you could taste the love in them (or maybe it was mayonnaise...) and how she carefully layered each condiment into the sandwich (Not that my dad didn't make them with love... he was just busy making 4 lunches in the morning). I think that since my father passed away, I have missed the sandwiches that he used to make, and I would like to make this post dedicated to him.

New Computer

I just bought a new computer today! My Dell Inspiron 1525 has been giving me problems lately, and I feel like it's slowly threatening to blow up and stop working sometime soon. I bought this computer in Aug 2008, which wasn't that long ago... but already it's had to be serviced because of some malfunctioning fans, and reformatted a good 3 times (and has given me the blue screen of death a few times since then). So.. it's time.

Of course, whenever I need tech help, I turn to my brothers, who claim "Looking at computers makes [them] happy". One of my brothers recommended the ASUS U31SD-XA1, on sale for $599.99 at NCIX (sale ends today).

 Here are the specs:

• Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• Display: 13.3-inch LED-backlit HD display (1366 x 768)
• Processor: 2nd generation Intel Core i3-2310M processor (2.1GHz)
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 520M 1GB GDDR3 VRAM
• WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n (@ 2.4GHz)
• LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
• Memory: 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, 2 x SODIMM Sockets (up to 8GB)
• Storage: 500GB 5400RPM hard drive
• Camera: 0.3 megapixel
• Speakers: Stereo speakers with EAX 5.0 sound
• Microphone: Digital Array Microphone
• Card Reader: 3-in-1 card reader (MMC/SD/MS)
• Input / Output:1 x Mic-in, 1 x Headphone-out, 1 x VGA port/Mini D-Sub 15-pin for external monitor, 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x USB 3.0 port, 1 x Gigabit LAN, 1 x HDMI
• Battery: 8 cell
• Dimensions: 12.9 x 9.2 x1–inches (W x D x H)
• Weight: 4lbs (with 8 cell battery)
• Color: Silver

What I'm really excited about is the battery life -- it's supposed to last about 10 hours! I can't even disconnect my current Dell for more than 2 minutes without it dying, so anything will be better than what I currently have. The processor will be faster than mine (which means games will run nicely...) and it'll have a bigger HD.

I don't think this laptop comes with an optical drive, but that's ok, whatever, I barely even use mine. I only really need it if I had to re-install Windows or something, so I'll probably get an external cd rom for when I REALLY need it.

So.. yes. That will be exciting. I am hoping it will be ready for pick up by Friday or at the latest, Monday... then I can start transferring files and stuff so my computer is school-ready by January.

UGGHHH WHY AM I STILL IN SCHOOL

Every so often I revisit a question that plagues my existence: why did I go back to school when I'd already earned a BSc? I love Kinesiology and deeply valued my learning experience at the University of Waterloo, so why did I continue to pursue a BScN at the a href="http://utoronto.ca">University of Toronto? The question usually comes up around exam time.

I'm going to use this time to reflect (UGH Nursing papers! what have you done to meeee?) on why I chose nursing in the first place and what it means to me. This will only speak to my reasons for going into nursing and are probably not generalizable to my peers, so keep that in mind. I will first recap on a particular memory that makes me laugh now everytime I think about it.

Aaaahhhh....

[music] Kevin Lien - Daphne loves Durby cover, Starving to be safe [drink] hot chocolate [mood] relaxed

So I wrote my 50% final -- I think it went fine, considering all things (i.e. my lack of motivation to study). I found the multiple choice quite easy, and majority of the short answer fine. I even felt that I did fine with the quantitative and qualitative research critiques -- the only question is how the TAs will feel when they're marking! haha. No seriously. Sometimes they are inconsistent (lack of internal consistency affecting reliability of grading???) , so it can be frustrating at times. But I feel like I was writing the whole time, so that usually means something.

I made the most amazing sandwich when I got home -- well, actually, I saw this comic first (http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-sandwich-makes-you-its-bitch-in-11.html), which made me crave a sandwich. I went to fridge, lo and behold, I have no sandwich ingredients. So, I went to the grocery store. Anyway, I was inspired to make this sandwich from the food blogs of Choosing Raw and a recipe I recall from Natalia Rose's book (Raw Food Detox Diet). Instead of meat, it utilizes sliced Portabello mushrooms that have been marinated in some kind of seasoning and then cooked to soften. I topped it with swiss cheese, slices of tomato, lettuce, and mayonnaise on the bread, and it was heaven! Here's my recipe:

Portabello Sandwich
 same recipe can be used to make Portabello burgers -- simply use whole mushrooms instead of sliced.

Ahaha

I don't even care anymore that's how relaxed I am. I think I'll be regretting this tmrw morning

Studying procrastination

So I have a final tomorrow for NUR430, also known as nursing research, and I've been studying here and there but mostly spent my day focusing on anything but studying! What I've done today:

• bought a makeup eyeshadow palette and primer from coastal scents (88 warm palette, shadow worx)

• bought eyelash glue from onedollareyelashes.com

• spent much time reading and watching food blogs

• taken a nap ...

As you can see I'm quite distracted! But... time to crack down I guess...

Now on my phone!

I just downloaded the blogger app to my Android smartphone :) I have the Samsung Google nexus s with wind mobile.

Now I can blog more!! Yaaayyyy

Yoga at Midnight

[drink] jasmine tea + stevia [feeling] relaxed

I am constantly amazed at how Yoga (when done properly) makes me feel. A friend introduced me to Hot Yoga at Moksha Yoga in 2006, and I loved it, but it was far too expensive for me to afford to go on a regular basis, so I thought I'd just download some yoga videos and do it myself at home. Well you can guess how well that turned out: the yoga videos still are sitting in the DVD cases at home. Now that I am more aware of the different styles of yoga that suit me and the kind of teachers I like, and also the different ways to access yoga, I am much more of a believer in it.

O.M.G.

Editing layouts in Blogger is a major pain! I had to really comb through the HTML coding in the layout (which is INSANE, btw) and try to find the specific bits I was looking for and trying to replace. But as you noticed, the layout matches my mainpage layout, so I'm pleased. Of course, this also means I've spent like 6 hours doing this and have not accomplished any work tonight. >.< Well that's not entirely true. While at the NUS Holiday party, my fellow Yearbook Co-editor and I decided on the theme and even came up with possible ideas for the cover layout. Talk about power hour! And we exchanged great dining places for Vegetarian/Vegan palettes.

Speaking of Vegetarian -- I have a great recipe to share, perhaps it falls under "Nutrition"? I dunno. I don't even really know what I'm planning on doing with that heading... I'll figure it out later. But anyway, I made a Veggie burger with:

• Finely chopped up Cremini mushrooms and onion (and cooked)
• Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
• 1 egg (to bind it)
• salt, seasonings/spices, a little soy sauce

I have to say -- AMAZINGLY delicious. I used Bob's Red Mill brand of TVP and it was really reasonably priced at ~$3 for a big bag that will last a long time. It really does have the texture of meat and it takes on whatever flavours you throw into it. I used soy sauce, dried basil, oregano, pepper, and salt to flavour mine and it was perfect. I formed the patties using a small plastic container (small Philly cream cheese container) and pan fried them with a little virgin coconut oil. SO AMAZING. It really does have the "mouth feel" of ground beef, it's ridiculous. (I also tweeted about it!)

The best part is that so little ingredients actually went into making them that I have lots left over and will likely make it again tomorrow. I used about 1/2 cup of TVP to make 3 perfectly sized patties (when mixed in with cooked minced mushrooms and onion) and it comes out to probably less than 200 Calories for all 3 patties (80 Calories per 1/4 cup of TVP), and get this: 24 g of protein for 1/2 cup of TVP! AMAZING! I will try throwing some of this into the next lasagna I make for my boyfriend and we'll see if he can spot the difference... haha.

love. music.

[music] Kim Hyun Joong - Yes, I will [mood] happy, funk [drink] green tea

I have been downloading Korean pop-star's Kim Hyun Joong's new music -- I absolutely looooooovvveeee him. He's delicious eye-candy ^_~ He is gorgeous and from what I've seen on him in various tv appearances (on YouTube) he's so candid and funny. If only he had a twin in Canada T-T. Funny enough, there is a Surgical resident at my placement hospital that looks so much like him... and he, too, is eye candy :( Boooo... oh well. Looks aren't everything, I suppose. But tell me: would you be able to resist this face and smile?

I have been doing YogaDownload.com yoga videos for the last 2 weeks, and I'm loving it. I think I've found my "thing", at least for the time being. It relaxes me, stretches me out, and it's still challenging, so I feel like I'm getting a good workout in. It may not be cardiovascularly challenging in the way that the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) or the Canadian Council of Sports Medicine (CCSM) recommend (they say at least 30 mins of moderate intensity 3-5x/week), BUT... it's better than doing nothing. And, I walk a lot (and I walk fast) so I'm going to say that counts. Occasionally I will bust a groove when I'm listening to music :)

My healthy eating is still going. I eat salads pretty much every day about 1-2 times per day. I include things like freshly minced mint, julienned carrots, diced tomatoes and peppers, and either: a hard-boiled egg, cut up cheese or ham. It's pretty good, in my opinion. Snacks usually include baby carrots and celery sticks with my homemade hummus or cottage cheese, yogurt, or cut up apple.

Otherwise, life is stable. No complaints here.

Things...

I took a ride on the new TTC today! It's so bright and shiny. I was only on it for like 5 minutes, but it was glorious.

I've come to realizations about certain people in my life... and it's made me really think and be critical about who I surround myself with. I want to be happy and not constantly griping about others. So, I made the conscious decision to stop associating myself with people who do not agree with this paradigm. All in all, I think it is working out well. I believe there is a mutual understanding too, so it's not just me.

I am back on the healthy eating bandwagon. This past week I've been kind of bad -- I ran out of groceries and then just started eating bread with peanut butter :S oops. The good news is that my mom brought me some stuff, AND I went grocery shopping today for salad and stuff to make hummus with, so it's all good. I made White Kidney Bean and Lentil Hummus today and I'm going to have it with baby carrots and broccoli florets tomorrow, along with a mixed greens salad with red pepper, tomato, avocado, and deli turkey. :) I am excited. A note on Hummus-making: add liquids slowly. I made the mistake of adding in a lot more water than I needed for blending the beans and ended up making a very watery bean soup, so I had to add in the lentils to thicken it up. The recipe I used (my own):

White Kidney Bean & Lentil Hummus
- 1 can white kidney beans (drained & rinsed)
- 1 can lentils (drained & rinsed)
- juice of 1 lemon
- a couple of TBSP of plain, non-fat yogurt (about 4 Tbsp... 1/4 of a cup)
- water (I added maybe about 1/4 of a cup or something.. too much)
- salt/pepper to taste
- garlic powder to taste

I blended up the first 6 ingredients in the blender first (I used the Magic Bullet Blender), and then added the garlic powder after. I used the Club House Garlic Powder which has a shaker top, so I didn't really measure how much I put in... I just put in a few sprinkles, blended, tasted, and added more until I was happy with it. *shrug* I'm very much a "go with the flow" kind of cook.

Anyway, I love this hummus. I like to add yogurt because it adds a creamy tartness.

For the most part I've been watching what I eat -- I've been a little careless in the last week, but starting from now on, I'm watching it like a hawk again. Today I made a good choice for dinner -- I had a Greek Salad from Jack Astor's. It had feta, romaine, red onion, olives, cucumber, and grilled chicken, and it was really good. One of the better restaurant salads I've had (comparable to what I make at home... BTW did I mention I'm a salad snob? I hold Salads in very high regard and make them beautifully at home).

Anyway. It's been a long day. May update tomorrow.

Rice scrub and toner

I felt like doing a DIY beauty thing today, so I decided to try making a scrub made of ground up white rice and using the leftover water as a toner. Why rice? Well a few of my fellow beauty bloggers and youtube gurus made videos stating the beauty benefits of rice, and how rice farmers apparently had very soft and fair hands, so I'm giving it a shot! It didn't cost me anything since I already have a tonne of rice in my home (I'm Chinese after all!)

I made a small batch of this, since it doesn't have any preservatives, it is likely to go bad within a few days to a week.

What you'll need:

- about 1/4-1/3 cup of rice
- about 1/2 cup of water
- a blender

1. I put the rice into a bowl and added the water. I stirred it around for a bit and let it sit for a few minutes while I went to put on a face mask (Queen Helene Mint Julep).

2. I transferred everything to the blender and pulsed it to get a coarse gritty mixture.

3. I separated the grit and cloudy water

4. I stored most of the grit and most of the cloudy water (together) in the fridge -- it needs to be stored with the grit to prevent the rice from drying out in the fridge, and needs to be refrigerated to prevent bacteria growth. (It will last a few days to a week in the frige)

5. After I rinsed off my mask, I took a spoonful of the grit in my hands and gently scrubbed my face with it. Be careful not to apply too much pressure as they can be kind of rough. If you want less abrasion, put it in the blender longer. WARNING: this step is kind of messy, so do it over the sink!

6. Rinse!

7. Pat your face dry, and then dip a cotton ball or pad into the cloudy rice water to use as a toner.

8. I added 2 big blobs of Fruit of the Earth 100% natural Aloe Vera Gel as a moisturizer right after.


My thoughts:

I felt like this scrub was gentle, but it was very effective in helping to smooth out some rough spots I had without being too much. The rice toner helped to remove every last bit of residue and also add a bit of moisture back to my skin so it doesn't feel super dry. My skin feels smoother, softer, and looks a bit brighter. I will continue to use this toner for a week and the scrub 1-2x/week and update later.

Who would've thought...

I feel like since my blogging hiatus, my life has gone crazy and to hell. Ugh. Sometimes I wonder where the "real me" has gone. I was (relatively) carefree, satisfied with myself, and confident in my abilities. Now I constantly find myself worrying, feeling inadequate, and wondering if I am incompetent.

Is this the feeling of true humility? Feeling good at nothing? I used to be totally ok with being non-social, and I still am, but for some reason it bothers me more, like I should be more social.

I don't know. and I'm still sad over the grading that U of T gives :( I'm just glad that I'll have a break from Bloomberg for 2 months as of next Tuesday afternoon.

DIY...

I read a lot of beauty blogs, and many of the bloggers swear by "Do It Yourself (DIY)" types of things. I'm all for mother nature, but I think this just further emphasizes the point that everybody's skin/body is different, and that what may work for one person, may not work for another.

I have tried many of the famous DIYs:
- aspirin mask
- yogurt mask
- green tea - sugar scrub
- turmeric mask

Personally, I have only found the turmeric mask useful. Whenever I use the yogurt mask, my face breaks out even more, in place that I don't usually breakout. I am also lactose intolerant, so I'm wondering if maybe my skin also is "allergic" to milk... The aspirin mask did NOTHING for me, if anything made my pores worse. Green tea and sugar? Also did nothing.

I use the turmeric mask when I'm facing a breakout -- and I'm talking underground, cystic, painful breakouts. In a ceramic dish or bowl I mix up some plain turmeric powder with a little bit of water -- just enough to make a paste that will spread easily without being too watery. I just spot treat whatever areas I need to, leave it on for about 30 mins, then rinse.

VERY IMPORTANT: DO NOT do this in your bathroom sink! It will stain anything white yellow permanently. I do this at my kitchen sink since it's metal. I also do not recommend rinsing this mask off with bare hands. I wear latex-free gloves to rinse this off, and it stains them pretty thoroughly. When you rinse, you'll find your skin is tinted yellow, but it should lessen when you use a toner, and then when you wash your face the next morning (HINT: do this mask/spot treatment at night before you go to bed).

I find this mask especially helpful in reducing pain/severity of a pimple, or at least helping it to turn faster. It's worked for me, but hey, it might not work for you. I just decided to try it because I had turmeric lying around and I figured I had nothing to lose! Give it a shot :)

Almost there...

Out of the 10 months of the first year Nursing program at U of T, we're at month 8. We're almost there!

It's been an incredible challenge, but I know I made the right choice. There's been laughter, tears, anger, joy... it's an emotional roller coaster of a profession. But I love it.

I have an exam tomorrow, getting a mani-pedi with one of my friends, then my last 2 days of clinical, and then we get a week off! Glorious freedom! I can almost taste it. I'm heading off to Montreal for a few days, then I'm going to be home for like 4 days. During one of those days I will make a point of coming downtown to my place to pack up some of the non-essential stuff, like my juicer, one of my desks and chairs, and some clothes. I'm moving to another place in 2 weeks, so I kind of need to get a move on this stuff.

I found out two of my friends got accepted to this nursing program for 2011, and I'm excited for them to come! I had a mostly enjoyable experience, so I'm hoping they will too. And, I know that as a member of NUS, we have a lot of great ideas for helping make the incoming students feel more prepared and more supported than we have.

My plans for the summer aren't finalized yet... I have hopes of volunteering a few days a week, reading, working out, slacking... it'll be a lot like last year's summer! But, I feel like I need it. I haven't been feeling up to par this year, I'm not sure what it is. I'm so tired and exhausted all the time, and it's not like me at all. I want the summer to be my recuperation time, so that I can come back in September all charged up and ready to go. Sure, I'd love to have the work experience that some of my friends are getting at Sick Kids and doing research opportunities in the summer, but I feel like I can build on my existing knowledge in the summer. I just need a schedule.

What else... Oh! My 1 year anniversary with my boyfriend is coming up soon (hence the trip to Montreal). We'll be official on April 23. :)

I find it hard to believe sometimes how much time has passed; I feel like just yesterday I graduated high school, and entered UW, thinking "5 years will be such a long time in undergrad". UW passed by in a blur, and I miss it terribly. Now, I'm 24, no longer 18, and I'm almost done my 2nd degree. By the time I graduate, I'll be 25, and on my way to being a RN. I can't believe it. Before you know it I'll be 40 and with kids. lol. Ohh children... not looking forward to it.. but as I've learned today, child bearing may decrease risk of ovarian cancer, so I'll take it.

uggghhhh

I've totally been indulging and not working out enough. >.< I'm waiting til reading week when I can juice 2x/day and then I'll bring my juicer back downtown with me cuz I really want to do it daily. Cuz I'll have it for breakfast and maybe part of lunch (dunno how the friends are going to react to it...) but yeah. I want to. I know I'll be going through lots of veggies when I do that, but hey, if I do that 2x/day, and then eat a good solid meal at dinner, it should be fine. Each juice might total to about $4.

working out

I own the Turbo Jam workouts on DVD, but I wanted to put them on my iPod Shuffle so I could do them anywhere. I downloaded the 20-minute Turbo and Cardio Party workouts and then converted them from avi format to mp3, and voila, insta workout! I'm familiar enough with these workouts that I can do them with cues and music and I don't necessarily need the video. I tried it out today, and it worked out great. I have a separate list on my iPod for "Turbo Jam" -- Chalene Johnson, if you ever read any of these, you are awesome! Consider doing iPod friendly tracks!

Exercise and stuff...

Ha. This has been nonexistent for the last week or so. My life has been totally chaotic lately and a structured exercise regimen just isn't in the cards for me just yet! However, I have decided to try Chalene Johnson's Turbo Fire, which is an amped up version of Turbo Jam. I love the original Turbo Jam, but I don't really have space to do it here :( I do miss having a 10'x12' room for $425/mo. lol! Oh good ol' Waterloo... I miss it so. If UW had a Nursing Program, I would've done it there. Chances are, it would've been less stupid and artsy-fartsy. Or at least I hope it would. Perhaps it's best that there isn't one, so that my memories of UW remain pristine. lol.

I am feeling much better these days, energy-wise. I started taking Multivitamins on Thursday night (Rexall brand One Daily for Women), along with D-Drops (Liquid VitaminD3; 1000 IU), silica supplement (for hair, skin, nails), and Calcium supplements. My energy is so much better, my mental focus is better; honestly, I could not have made it through this weekend of studying without them. This just goes to show: You could be eating healthy, and thinking that you're eating everything you should. But, if you don't feel right, you're missing something. I was eating a balanced diet; I had fruits, veg, meat, dairy/dairy alternatives, grains... I was clearly missing *something* whatever that was. I have an inkling that it might be Vitamin D or B (1,2,6, or 12). So... yeah. I just felt wrong before. Thank goodness for self-medicating.

p.s. I am not a doctor and I do not endorse taking all OTC meds for anything without a doctor's ok. Personally I feel that taking Multivitamins is not something a doctor needs to clear, but if you are on other prescription medications, please do check with your doc. You'd be surprised about how carefully some medications need to be dosed around simple things like multi-vitamins, or calcium supplements, or even your meals.

moving?

I'm in a bit of a pickle. I love where I live right now in the heart of Downtown Toronto, but my roommate is moving out likely by the end of April, and probably going to sublet. I've been looking for other places to live that are cheaper than my current monthly rent ($720 + internet/cable), possibly from May-August and thereafter. I was actually really interested in looking for a bachelor apartment, but I doubt they exist for less than $900/mo.

Anyway, I'm on the lookout and I found one place that is really close to school, $600/mo (for May-August anyway, not sure if it's that price normally). It's a bedroom in a 2-bdr basement apartment, but meh, whatever, right? I don't really use my gym facilities as much as I should anyway, so maybe it's a good idea. In any case I'd be saving $120/mo, or $1,440 per year... I could buy a new laptop with that! From the pictures it looks nice enough (much like a place I used to live in Waterloo), so it'll probably work out well. Guess I better dust off the plastic furniture and inflatable mattress again...

Honestly....

Merry Christmas. And Happy New Year. Oops. Whatever.

I have some really... special people in my class for nursing. Some are good special, like my friends... and then some are special special.

During my Pharmacology class today:
"... what does Transdermal mean?"

Well now. That's like asking "what does transexual mean?" If you know what trans-sexual translates to, then Trans-Dermal should be pretty self-explanatory too. Though, perhaps I am being a slight bit judgmental in that not everyone would know that "derm" would refer to skin... but on the other hand, we did learn about the epidermis, and dermis layers... Grrr...

*prof presents list of red-flag drugs*
"Can you read them out to us?"
prof: why?
"so... we know what they sound like"

So.... what you're saying is that you can't read?


I had a bunch of other really good ones from last term... but I'm trying to leave the past in the past. My friend's new year's resolution is to forgive and let things go. Perhaps I should do the same.


On a completely unrelated note, I am going back to Waterloo this Saturday for a going away party for one of my Kin friends. I miss Waterloo, actually. I was talking to one of my nursing friends yesterday who is native to Kitchener, and we were remarking about how wonderfully versatile that city has become. For me, Kitchener/Waterloo will always have a soft spot in my heart because of the great 5 years I had there. I'm really excited to go back, even if only for a short while :)