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The Year that was 2012...

12/28/2012

When it gets around December time, I am not only thinking about Christmas, and shopping, and decorating; I am also thinking about the year. The year that just happened. The year that is about to end. The year that will never be again. My boyfriend always tells me that I think too much, and he's right. But when it comes to this, I think it's a good thing! It's good to reflect back and think about all the grand things that happened to you in the wonderful year! Think about how much has happened to you, and how much you've changed. Remember the people that you've lost this year, and just think how lucky you are to be granted another year on this earth. Because if you don't do any of this, then your life is going to pass you by! At the end of the year I also like to make plans for the following year, but I will do that in another post. This post, I am going to reflect on the year that was 2012.

*I got to experience for the first time, celebrating a one year anniversary with someone. I got to experience so much love, laughter, and happiness this year with the love of my life. I have learned so much about love, relationships, and putting someone else's needs above your own.

*I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Cleveland Ohio, two times!

The first time in January, to watch my brother's band play at the House of Blues.

The second, for a family vacation which I wrote about here.

*I had 5 different jobs in the year 2012. Each one of them has taught me something about myself. Mostly, it's taught me how strong I am, and that I can do ANYTHING. Above, my desk at my Health Insurance Job.
Left, my staple gun and wood at my Pallet-making Job.
My other jobs were; a Cashier at a Chinese restaurant, a bartender at a bar and grill, a supervisor at a haunted house, and now, I've found a job that makes me happy; a waitress at Firehouse Bar and Grille.

*I got to experience my little sister, my best friend in the world, graduate from high school, and watch her experience being a 'grown up' for the first time.

Here's an article I wrote about that.

Above; one of her Senior Pictures I took.

*I Went to Pennsylvania on a once-in-a-lifetime amaaazing camping vacation. I met and got to know my boyfriend's friends, we went white-water rafting, hiked, and went to the Pittsburgh Zoo! It was definitely a highlight of 2012.

Here's the article I wrote about it.

*I had another great year at the Factory of Terror! It was my first year as a Supervisor, and it went very good! So I will be returning to The Factory next year again as a Supervisor.

*Discovered fully my passion and talent for upcycling/reconstructing clothing, tye dying, making record bowls, making t-shirt pillows, and started selling them online and at craft shows!

*Joined the band Delusional Design as the lead singer/keyboardist. It was SUCH a blast, and such a great experience to be a part of the band. We played shows at Artistic Alley, Buzzbin, and the Carriage House. We even got to open for the band Eye Empire! Even though we are temporarily on a break, we are hoping to start back up again soon!

*Went to Kalahari, America's largest indoor water park, twice! This place is amaaazing, and was such a blast!

*On October 5th 2012, the world lost a great man. My great uncle Jack. He was my favorite relative I had. Ever since I was little, he was such a great uncle to me and my brothers and sister. He was so funny all the time, and always called us Muffin. His passing was very hard for everyone in my family; he had meant something so personal to all of us. I love him so much, and he will be greatly missed.

*And of course, starting my own blog! Something I had wanted to do for a long time, and 2012 was the year that it finally happened! Thank you to all of you who have been reading and supporting this website!

The Hair of 2012

*So there, in one page, was the year of 2012. How was your 2012?! What were you blessed to experience? Who were you blessed to get to know? Comment, and share the thankfulness!*

Peace Love and 2012
Jess <3

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Flu Survival Guide!

12/26/2012

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Three days before Christmas, I got ridiculously sick. I am feeling a LOT better today, but I was the sickest I have been in as long as I can remember (I think the last time I felt that terrible was over 3 years ago when I was living in China, and I got food poisoning, which led to dehydration, which led to me in the hospital passing out and getting a shot in my butt!)! I guess I had the flu. My throat was really swollen and painful, I had a cough, I had a very bad fever, and I just layed in bed crying nonstop for hours, because every single muscle in my body was hurting SO bad! Luckily, I have a wonderful boyfriend that took great care of me, so that made it a lot better! So here is my Flu Survival Guide;

1. If your lucky enough (like me), have someone rub your body with coconut oil (I am in the process of writing a post about the wonderful healing power of coconut oil, so this will be explained better there). Heat up 100% extra virgin coconut oil, and rub it onto your head, face, neck, tummy, and back. When coconut oil is warmed before being rubbed onto your body, it absorbs better into your skin.

2. Take a bath
Use not too hot, but comfortable water, and sprinkle in a bunch of Epsom Salts. Epsom salts are magical at healing sore muscles. Soak. I stayed in my bath until the water got cold, because when I was in there, my body wasn't even sore! It just felt sooo wonderful, I wanted to stay in there as long as I could!

3. Drink lots of Orange Juice, hot tea, and Apple Cider Vinegar (1-2 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar, honey to taste, mixed in a mug with hot water. Drink it as a tea. This drink is very good for preventative care also).

4. Sleep a lot.

5. Take your Vitamin C, and Echinacea pills. I also was eating a lot of Ibuprofen. I don't usually like eating pain pills, but when I'm in so much pain that I'm crying, I'll take them.

Me and my love were talking about my sickness, and we figured out that one of the reasons that I got so sick, was because lately I have been slacking on taking care of myself; not eating healthy (a downfall to working at a bar/grille), and too much alcohol consumption (pointing you back to the bar/grille!). So we decided that we are going to start taking better care of ourselves! Here are the goals I have set for myself to get me back on track:

1. Do yoga 5 times a week, instead of just whenever I feel like it.
2. Drink at least 5 glasses of water a day.
3. Drink my ACV (apple cider vinegar) drink every day.
4. Stop eating so much deep-fried food at work.
5. Cut down my alcohol intake to only two times a month.
6. Eat 2 Tbs of coconut oil a day.
7. Eat wholesome, nutritional, healing foods;
    a. Salads (with grilled chicken, oil and vinegar).
    b. Whole wheat ferena (with raw sugar, soy milk, and coconut oil).
    c. Eggs.
    d. Stir fried vegetables.
    e. Fruit smoothies.
    f. Oatmeal.
    g. Tempeh salad sandwiches.
    h. Tuna salad sandwiches.
    i. Cheeseless, homemade pizza (with olive oil and spices for the sauce, and tomatoes
        and onions as topping).
    j. Homemade curry.
    k. Homemade tuna pasta sauce over whole wheat pasta.

Peace Love and Health
Jess <3

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2013!!!

12/18/2012

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Chinese New Year 2008

I love love LOVE the New Year! I love making plans and goals, and dreaming what will come about in the Year that no one has ever experienced before!
I absolutely adore making lists, and setting goals. I think they are absolutely necessary for a happy, fulfilled, and rewarding life. Here's my thoughts on making goals for yourself, from an earlier article I wrote: "...life is so busy, and if we never stop and take time to think about our lives, and what we want, the next thing we know, we're 50 and completely unhappy with our life! We need to take time RIGHT NOW to sit down, and think about this."
That is from a post on setting goals for yourself. Read that article here, before continuing.
So with that all said, I sat down and wrote my goals for the coming year. Let these inspire you to sit down and think about your life, what you want to accomplish, and write down YOUR goals for the coming year! When you do this, you will find that you feel much more accomplished, relaxed, happier, and at peace with your life.
These goals can be anything that you want. As long as you REALLY want it! Choose goals that you really really want to see happen in your life. It dosen't matter if they are difficult to achieve, as long as you really want it, and are willing to work for it! Make your goals clear, specific goals. Example: 'Get in Shape,' is a very non-specific, unclear goal, that you will most likely never accomplish. 'Lose 10 pounds by April, then lose another 10 by June, etc,' is a very specific, clear goal that you can measure how close you are getting to accomplish, and can take specific steps to reach.
Your goals can be personal growth goals, fun goals, or goals to change the world!

My Life Goals for the Year 2013!

1. Go on a cruise to the Bahamas.
2. Go to China.
3. Go to India.
4. Go to Kentucky for the annual Abbey Road on the River Beatles Tribute Week.
5. See my brother's band; Train of Love play at least two times.
6. Get 10,000 page views a month on My Peace Love Life.
7. Get back into modeling.
8. Sell my artwork and crafts.

So, after you have figured out what you want to accomplish, you need to figure out HOW you are going to accomplish these things! To do this, you are going to have to look at each goal individually, and figure out what things you need to do in order to accomplish that particular goal. Make these clear, specific steps that you need to take in order to reach that goal. So here's the steps I need to take to reach my goals for 2013.

1. Go on a cruise to the Bahamas.
    A. Buy Cruise Tickets.*
    B. Buy plane tickets.
        a. Have $450.
    C. Print Boarding Passes.
    D. Print Luggage Tags.
2. Go to China.
    A. Apply for Chinese tourist Visa.
    B. Send in Passport for Visa.
    C. Buy plane ticket.
        a. Have $2,000
3. Go to India.
    A. Apply for Indian tourist Visa
    B. Send in Passport for Visa.
    C. Buy plane ticket.
        a. Have $1,700
    D. Get Vaccinations
4. Go to Kentucky for the annual Abbey Road on the River Beatles Tribute Weekend.
    A. Have $100 *
6. Get 10,000 page views a month on My Peace Love Life.
    A. Write at least two posts a week.
    B. Meet with Lou Man about his Business Plan.*
    C. Advertise.
7. Get back into modeling.
    A. Talk to Randy.
    B. Talk to Chrissy.*
8. Sell my artwork and crafts.
    A. Put stuff in Andrea's shop.*
    B. Talk to Quonset Hut.

So there is one way you can do your list. Then when you accomplish something, check it off (I put stars by mine). It feels so good, and so accomplished when you start checking off things that you've done!
Remember, the first step to getting something done, is realizing you want to do it. Imagine all you can accomplish, all the people you can help, and what a great life you can have, if you just sit down and figure out what it is!

Here are some of the things I've accomplished, just because I figured out that I wanted to do it, and I worked for it!
*Learned Mandarin Chinese
*Traveled to 14 countries
*Taught English
*Tutored Mandarin Chinese
*Modeled

So let's do it! Let's be healthier, happier, more helpful people! Write your 2013 goals TODAY! :D

What are your Goals for the New Year? How do you plan on accomplishing them? Comment and let me know!*

Peace Love and 2013
Jess <3

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