FFF - Kony Style

FUN FACT FRIDAY

I am sure that many of you have seen this video this week -

When I watched it 

1. I cried because this is something I think about a lot  

and

2. I questioned it. 

I shared it but after sharing it, I immediately regretted doing that simply because I hadn't done my research. One thing I've learned in my lifetime is that you can never take anything at face value. There is always another side and I have learned to question everything I see. So what did I do? I did more research and this is what I've found - 

This article, Huffington Post, was the best rebuttal I saw. It gives a personal account for the happenings in Uganda and the story seems to have some validity. 

All to often, I see something that upsets me because I know it's wrong and my solution is to throw money at it. It's like, if I donate money, it'll make me feel better about what's going on in the world but I don't take the time to do research to really see where my money is going. 

On the other hand, there is also always someone who wants to complain about something. So you can have the nicest, purest, most authentic intentions and someone will find something wrong with it. So how can you decide if a charity is worth your money? It really has to ring true to you. 

So what can I take away from the Kony video? 

1. This is really happening in Africa. And it's not just in Uganda. One of the reasons that the movie, Blood Diamond, made such an impact on me was the fact that children are being kidnapped by militia groups for different purposes. Some are rebel forces, some are for the trade of diamonds, and it keeps going. Women are being brutalized and raped. So, is this video bad? No. I think that we, as Americans, should be informed about what's going on in the world. 

2. Should we be careful in how we want to help? Yes. Sometimes, we want to place American ideals on the rest of the world and we have to remember that what we want and think is normal is not always right for another country. By helping, what I would like to do is make sure that we are helping people get clean water, healthy food, empowering people by teaching them a trade that can be used to support the family, help them get an education, etc. 

I think that it's important for me to be aware that people need help all over the world, and that I need to always consider there are two, maybe three, maybe four sides to a story before making an assumption and then listen to my heart because it will tell me what's right and guide me where I need to go. 

Internacionallllllllllll............

Ever since I was young, I have always been so fascinated with languages and other cultures. I remember in 6th grade, I took Spanish and just fell in love with the Latin culture. I took some beginner German in college, became fascinated with Africa in another college and majored in Spanish at my last college :). So I thought today I would pick top 10 places I'd like to visit in my lifetime.



10. Germany

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I have some relatives (my uncle John) who is German, one of my dad's friend's is German and a couple of people in my Yoga Teacher Training are German. I think they're history is so interesting and I love the language. I took 2 semesters of German, so basically, I know how to say "My cats name is Leggett". Very important to know when traveling. The German food I've had is delicious, the country seems like it'd be beautiful and I love the language - so it's on my list 

9. France

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I don't really mean Paris, although I'd like to go, I mean more like the French Country Side. When I watch House Hunters International and they have people buying homes in rural France, it always looks so quaint and beautiful. I imagine that the food is amazing. 

8. New Zealand

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The fact that most of the reasons I want to go to these places is because I saw something on tv might be sad, BUT, where else am I going to see these places, so forgive me if everything starts with, "I saw this on ________". 

So, I saw this on America's Next Top Model - don't judge - and NZ looked GORGEOUS. Then, a friend in yoga teacher training just went to New Zealand and to hear her describe it sounded amazing. I know not a thing about this country. So I can't really say why I want to go there other than it looks real perty... 

7. Greece

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One of my FB friends visited Greece, Santorini specifically, so that peaked my interest and then of course, Mamma Mia with Meryl Streep :)

Enough said. 

6. Chile

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My major in college was Spanish and we studied South America. The entire continent is fascinating to me, but Chile specifically withe variety if terrain is very appealing. There are mountains, beaches, and a desert in spite if it being a little bitty country (at least in width). 

5. Italia (if only I could say it so you can hear my Italian accent)

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ahhh, it reminds me of Vegas. just kidding

I've been to Milan, Genoa and Rome. Love, love and love. So, now I'd like to go to Venice, Naples, Sicily, and any other town I'm leaving out because Italy just seems like the most awesome place on earth ever. 

now we're going to get into the good ones. 

4. India

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I love the music, Bollywood, philosophy, lots of things about India. Every time I tell someone I want to go to India, they look at me weird and tell me how crowded and dirty it is. And maybe I'll go there and not like it. But I'm still drawn to it and still want to go. It just seems like such a wonderful place rich in history. I'm not looking to have a tropical vacation in Cozumel, I want to explore a different culture than my own. 

3. Indonesia

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I know this is started to look like Eat, Pray, Love but I think there is a reason people are attracted to these countries! I want to visit Indonesia for very similar reasons to wanting to visit India. 

2. Africa

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I can't really narrow down a spot. I have been to Tunisia, but what I will say is that Northern Africa isn't as interesting to me as central and south Africa. Obviously, I'm going to Rwanda in August, so I get to appease this a little bit. But I'd also like to go to Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Africa, Uganda, Ghana, etc etc etc. I hope I'll be able to do that. 

and finally....

drum roll.....

1. MACHU PICCHU

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What is most attractive to me about Peru/MP is the history. It's ancient and I've heard that there is an amazing energy up there that no one could ever imagine without being there to feel/see it. It's been a desire I've had for a very long time so I hope at some point in my life, I'll be able to do it. 

Where would you like to visit? 

Namaste y'all!

WILW - Nieces and Nephews Edition

Thanks Jamie!!

We always eat dinner at my in laws on Sunday nights, but this time, we went to my brother and sister in laws. The fun thing was that all the babies were there, and of course, I took some pics. One thing I will say is that taking pics of babies is hard when you have an iPhone. They come out a little blurry, so maybe next time, I'll bring my camera. 

I LLLLOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEE

Nathan

I love his little striped outfit

His eyes are blurry - whoops - but so cute

Jaden

I need more pics of him - he's so cute! 

Baby Kate

I mean, how cute is she? 

Trying out her walking legs - she's very close

What are you loving today? 

Ayurveda & learning to eat right

One thing that we covered briefly in yoga in Ayurveda. Based on the wiki definition I just gave you, Ayuveda

"...is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine..."

image source

I have so much to learn about it and basically have been reviewing it for about 2 days, but what's interesting about it is the information in regards to how we eat. Basically, what it says, is that each of us have a Dosha that has certain characteristics. Based on the characteristics of your dosha, certain things can put your dosha "out of balance", like certain foods and things like that. 

One thing that I thought was interesting that I found online is the concept of tastes and what each taste does. From the link above, it describes the tastes like this - 

Taste		Primary Actions		Common Sources
Sweet		Builds tissues, calms nerves		Fruit, grains, natural sugars, milk
Sour		Cleanses tissues, increases absorption of minerals		Sour fruits, yogurt, fermented foods
Salty		Improves taste to food, lubricates tissues, stimulates digestion		Natural salts, sea vegetables
Bitter		Detoxifies and lightens tissues		Dark leafy greens, herbs and spices
Pungent		Stimulates digestion and metabolism		Chili peppers, garlic, herbs and spices
Astringent		Absorbs water, tightens tissues, dries fats		Legumes, raw fruits and vegetables, herbs

I thought this was interesting because for me, i crave sweets A LOT. And I always feel bad about it. But my dosha type is one of excitement and sometimes worry/anxiousness so it makes sense that I crave sweets that calm nerves. Also, I have lots of issues with digestion and upset tummy - so that makes sense that I crave salty foods and I straight up love garlic. 

I guess what I take away from this is that, my body actually really does know what it wants. I just don't know how to interpret it. So instead of feeling guilty about always wanting something sweet, I can think to myself, oh hey, I'm obviously wanting something calming - maybe I can eat some dark chocolate or drink a calming tea instead of downing a snickers bar and feeling guilty about it. 

I ordered a book online, 

Amazon

I'm very excited about reading it!!! 

Namaste y'all :)

Pinterest Recipe

So I tried a new Pinterest recipe

fun little blog

I was a little nervous with the ingredients - 

Green Smoothie —

1 cup baby spinach

1 cup kale

1 pear

1 ½ cup of orange juice

1 frozen banana.

1. I forgot about the banana completely 

2. I wanted some kind of consistency and depth, so I actually added a tsp of greek yogurt and honey - had I remembered the banana, I don't think I would've needed that stuff

I was like, oh crap, is this going to be like nasty green crap going down my throat? But actually, it was pretty good! I think had I put the banana in, it would've been delish. It's 11:13 am now and I'm just getting hungry, so it lasted longer than I thought. 

This is the left over cup - 

mmmmmmmmmmmm

Namaste Y'all (this is going to be my new signature - I know I am silly) 

Yoga Teacher Training - Final Weekend

This was our final weekend for Yoga Teacher Training. It was bittersweet because

1 - I am tired and sometimes, a whole weekend is a lot
2 - I'll finally be able to teach yoga!

BUT

I'm so sad that I won't get to speed a weekend at a time with these ladies. 

These are honestly some of the nicest, most supportive, loving ladies I have ever met. Everyone has such an open mind and was so thoughtful of each other. Each person holds a special place in my heart and I'm so happy to have met them!

What's next on the agenda is 

1 - the exam

2 - 9 more hours of assistant teaching

3 - 12 hours of observed teaching

and then I can apply for my certification from Yoga Alliance

The fun past is that there are going to many workshops for us to continue learning and to at some point - way way way way way way way way way in the future - reach our 500 hour teacher training. 

that's me in the purple-ish gray shirt middle right :)

This training has given me so much more than I ever even imagined and it is totally not the same as just getting a personal training certification. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity and I hope I can some day be even a teeny bit as loving as Karen, our Yoga Guru!

Namaste!