Getting all pretty for Thanksgiving! I am giving thanks for everything I have in my life, everyday. I feel like sometimes it's easy to lose sight of all this, mostly because things happen that get you angry and upset. I have been feeling this way the past few days, but I am back on track and making myself well aware to the Thanksgiving of life, not just on this one Thursday every year during the month of November.
I am very happy & grateful for everything.......Thank you to everyone that always supports me in my life, you know who you are : )
In case you can't get a sense from what you have read so far since the inception of my blog, I am a very big coffee connoisseur, addict, enthusiast, coffee snob and any other synonym you can think of that describes an obsession for coffee! I must give credit, and even some blame for my mother being the catalyst of this?!?! Nah, I think there are worse addictions out there! Speaking of which, on a similar topic that subsequently follows what I previously wrote about controversial studies that are conducted and even taken back time & time again......Coffee has been praised for health benefits then disproved like a pendulum over & over that NOW "the word on the street" is that it is now encouraged AGAIN for its health benefits! Here is something new to add to it- according to studies it has also been "proven" to help burn up your metabolism more when you combine it with exercise. Let's see how long this overrated, ever changing verdict of coffee will last! I wanted to bring to light the topic of coffee literally & figuratively because I have been told so many time that coffee is so bad for you.....Even if the latest study is not true about it having health benefits & promoting weight loss combined with exercise, I find it hard to believe it so detrimental to your health if you lay off drinking it with sugar and putting a lot of milk/cream in it. As for people saying the "culprit" is the caffeine, well then I guess everyone has a caffeine addiction starting as a young child considering chocolate & soda also have caffeine in it! Please read the latest article on the benefits of coffee here: http://nypost.com/2016/08/14/a-cup-of-coffee-a-day-keeps-the-heart-doctor-away-study/?utm_content=bufferb4e61&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer I would love to know what you think. I know the New York Post isn't the most reliable source to go to, but this is one of many articles written about this that the NY Post is basically reiterating.
Anyway, I am sailing away from my point of this entry: I have literally & figuratively woke up & smelled and even (tasted) the coffee! I have been a sleep all of these past SIX years! I think I was in a coma and finally just came out of it! Somewhere after graduating with my M.S. in education until a year ago I realized what the f**k have I been doing with my life??!!! I am finally awake and alert and I am trying to create a whole new chapter of my life and remembering why I worked so arduously & assiduously on both of my degrees! It was not meant to work in a very unhealthy, toxic, dead end environment...for the past 6.5 years since I graduated with my M.S in education. All details and circumstances will remain anonymous.
Life without coffee, is no life at all!!!!
Good afternoon. My long overdue blog entry is to inform you about the benefits of walking. I had no idea that walking was this beneficial not only to your physical health & well being, but other factors such as your mind and generating creating ideas. I always knew that walking for an extended period of time on a daily basis has rewards but I did not know to the extent until now. Living here in New York City and not having a car and walking everywhere & taking public transportation, I did not feel guilty and like a couch potato if I took a few hiatuses here & there from the gym. Between walking several miles everyday, and taking endless steps into subway stations and stairways up and down all day from where I worked I felt great & in shape and knew it was the perfect supplement for the gym. For me, I enjoy walking so much and I walk very fast & sometimes on my down time when I am just enjoying and exploring the city like I have mentioned in my previous posts, it gets me thinking and I generate new ideas. I had no idea that from this personal experience there was an article that validated everything I have just mentioned in a nutshell. This is the article and I encourage all of you to read it so everyone else could know how including walking into your daily routine does wonders for you & you do not have to feel guilty if you miss going to the gym: http://www.prevention.com/fitness/benefits-walking-every-day?utm_source=GOOGLE_PLUS_PAGE&utm_medium=Social&utm_term=652198528&utm_campaign=Prevention
I want to start spreading the word so everyone else can be informed of this. Normally, most studies are either bogus, and/or studies that are published by different authors regarding the same topics 9 times out of 10 contradict each other, but in this case I know that it is true since I exemplify everything written in this article. I'm sorry if I sound cynical, but it is true. So please, click on the link and take a look!
Happy Friday!!!!
This morning I would like you to be reminded of priceless gifts that money cannot buy:
1. Health
2. Love
3. Happiness
I do not think most people, especially the workaholics that live here in NYC realize that no amount of financial success can buy you either of these three gifts. the old cliche, "money can't buy you love," a.k.a. The Beatles song is true: There are people that I know personally and generally speaking who are financially secure all the way to the point of more than enough $ to last them a lifetime, but yet they are empty and feel a void in their heart that money cannot fill. There is a reason for that. The reason being is that we are human beings and we crave love and support from people such as family, friends, romantic partners, pets and so on which in turn makes us feel happy. We are not machines working in a factory or the Tin Man who is missing his heart. Last but not least is our health. This to me is the #1 HUGE gift money can never buy. If you do not feel healthy, even as little as having no energy to get out of bed and feeling good, then you cannot live any kind of life, never mind a fulfilling one. I do not only mean physical but also mental. Your mental state of being encompasses your whole core inside & out. I just want to remind you in case you have fallen off the path and take all of this for granted!
XOXO
Dara
Have you ever felt like you can relate to being compared to an inanimate object such as a cell phone when it is so low on battery that if it does not get hooked to a charger it will immediately shut off? I think all of us can relate to it. Well, that is how I have been feeling for the past couple of months. I have not just felt tired like I needed sleep, but so depleted of energy that I physically felt like a shell of myself. Prior to this, I have always been so abundant with energy which I am grateful for: I wake up every morning looking forward to starting my day and walking outside as well as going to the gym. I feel like sharing this with you because it is important to take care of your mental state of being. Your mental state governs your physical state as well. This is hard to keep in check when you feel stressed and run down like I have the past several weeks. I have felt so drained that I was not able to go to the gym and take all of the fitness classes I always have attended several days a week. Going to the gym for me is beyond filling a physical need, it also satiates my mind and gives me clarity; almost like a therapy session. It is true when they say you feel the endorphin rush. Well, I want to end this blog entry on a positive note: After taking care of my personal needs that contributed to my run down state, I now feel rejuvenated and ready to take on the world! I think positive every day and feel grateful for my state of health. Health is wealth. You are nothing without your health.
I strongly advise people who do not exercise to start! Exercise is so important for a million different reasons. I know might be hard in the beginning to get into a routine, but after a while it becomes second nature and your life will change for you physically and mentally. Not only does it do wonders for you physically and keep you well, but mentally it gives you a peace of mind and clarity I cannot even begin to describe.
All ready to reunite with the gym!!!
I have had the pleasure today of teaching grades 2nd through 4th on a lesson based on earth science. This allowed me to incorporate my ELA skills and science all in one. I went to different classrooms through out the day and the teacher left me instructions to read them a chapter in their science text book about plants and animals. More specifically, the text read like a textbook and ELA type story all in one. They learned about photosynthesis, decomposers, the life cycle and so on. I had the students sit at the carpet and take down notes as I was reading it. Along the way the key words were highlighted in the text and I would stop to ask them to put it in their own words what each highlighted word meant and then I would write the definition on the board. I thought this particular lesson today was very unique and I enjoyed it a great deal.
I had to stop and take a picture today of this beautiful mural that the students created. It reminds me of an exhibit you would see at a museum, I was awestruck at how creative elementary students can be. These pictures of me also represent my love for reading.
