STRESS!

so these past few weeks have been filled with nothing but good news for me. i must have good karma coming my way or something! but really. I got hired on as  full time rather than just part time at the dental office i work at. this is awesome news for me because i am learning a whole bunch of new things! i love working there. also, i recently applied to a volunteer dental clinic in phoenix that does dental work on homeless families. a few days ago i got an email that they were interested in having me at the clinic. i was so excited i just screamed at the top of my lungs. probably because i had doubts that they would even take a glance at my application. but they did and so here am i all smiles. anyways what does this mean for me? a full time student. full time assistant. and now volunteering twice a week. how have i been able to keep my stress levels down so far? exercise. seriously it works wonders. i try to exercise 4-5 times a week in order to keep my stress levels down. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercising increasing endorphins to your brain which results in a happy or "high" state of your mind. Also, fast paced activities such as kickboxing, basketball, tennis, etc. keep your brain focused on only your bodys motions rather than all your worries you walked into the gym with. this gives your brain a mental break. Mayo Clinic also states that exercising improves your sleep which in return improves your stress and anxiety levels. As busy as all of our lives are, you can absolutely fit in at least 20-30 mins of exercise. so do it! cause your brain and body will thank you!

the CASS clinic!

my favorite high intensity workout!

get massages every other week!

and get a good amount of sleep each night!

resolutions

now new year resolutions have always been a bit silly to me because why change something just because its a new year? why not change because you want a new you? this could be in the middle of june or end of october. i guess it has to do with new beginnings but who says that your new beginning has to start at the new year? well it doesn't.. but i decided to join in on this resolution thing anyway. so far i have surprised myself but we will see.

1. limit caffeine. i say limit because who the heck wants to have a slice of pizza with an iced cold water on the side? no one. the answer is no one. so with my pizza i will continue to have a dr. pepper. and i DONT drink diet because diet soda has aspartame in it and thats bad. id rather take the additional calories. im not trying to restrict my caffeine use because i wanna loseee weight, think im fat, or whateverrrrrr its because i want to be healthy and i cant possibly have a happy body and mind when im constantly drenching it in redbull. replacement: green tea and lemon water. (from my last post)

2. wake up early every morning. the worst feeling in the world is waking up at eleven, sometimes even ten, and realizing you have wasted your WHOLE day away! there are so many things you could have been doing! therefore, EVEN on the days i have no school or work i have been waking up around 7:30-8:00 to get my day going. its getting easier to roll out of bed andd i feel so much more energized!

3. be patient. i have tried to do this my whole life. it.just.wont.happen. why? cause i wanna go go go and get it all done now! and people who slowly walk around this world taking their sweet time drive me crazy! dont you have anything to do?!?! no? well, then here, take some of the crap off my list today. the most precious thing in the world is time and i hate when other people cant understand that. now with that off my chest i agree i need to be a bit less pushy and more patient. it will make me happier when i can just let things be. again, this resolution is not a guarantee.


4. get my nails done more often! yeah this is seriously one of my resolutions. because not only do primped hands look better butttt i need to start treating myself more. and im not afraid to say that.

5. stay organized! i purchased a cute little planner that i have been using to help me keep on top of things. it will help me from my procrastination problem. at least i hope.. a more organized jessica may be a less stressed jessica and that is a wonderful thing because i stress too much. and have mental breakdowns. and anxiety attacks. all because my life is too jam packed and BUSY! not that im complaining about the hustle bustle because if my life wasnt this busy i dont know what id possibly do with the time. therefore, staying organized will help elevate the stress and create a calmer me.

bring on 2012! xoxo

well for starters, I am a horrible blogger.. sorry mom and dad. i will try to make it one of my new year resolutions to improve on this! however, recently i have just started back up at school and i am freaking out! freaking out for many of reasons. one of those reasons being that im half way done with my junior year! wait what?!?!?! where does the time go? ohhh.. yeahh... it goes into all those late night study sessions at noble library... or the hours put in at work..... or the mornings i force my butt to go to the gym.....wish i had more time to do things like SHOPPP and EXXPLORE! another reason i am freaking out is that at the end of april i will be a senior! yep, thats right a senior? again, WHAT?! all my real tough classes will be out of the way and i will have room for fun classes like A.M. yoga and pilates with elizabeth and vertebrate zoology lab! so nerdy.. and lastly, i am freaking out, and i mean REALLY freaking out because in six months, only six months, i will be walking... quite possibly crawling.. into the biggest, most important, life determining exam of my life! i am not being dramatic what-so-ever when i say this. I will be taking the DAT. for those who are unaware what that is, it is precisely the dental admissions test. eeeeeeek! doing well on this exam will make my year. more accurately, my life. i dont think i have ever wanted something so bad! 

enough of that. i have continued taking my weekly kickboxing class (which i look forward to every week) and have now added cycling to my weekly classes. if you're not drenched in sweat when you leave the gym you haven't nearly worked hard enough. mtside fitness holds really good boot-camps so im looking forward to the next one starting up so i can join in! another resolution of mine has been to give up energy drinks. this may be a very difficult task for me because flavored redbulls were the best thing to happen to me since coming to college. what would hitting the books be at two a.m. without my strawberry redbull? im not really sure but i will let you know since i am trying to give it up. not making any promises though. as a subsitute for these energy drinks, i brew iced green tea every morning and bring a bottle of lemon water to school with me. green tea has natural caffeine in it which will help wake you up. squeezing half a lemon into your water will stimulate your body and make you feel more energized. so far, i have been pleased with my results from both drinks! if you like green tea and wanna make some yourself at home i bought a iced tea maker at walmart for like 19.99! cheap huh? and it works great! thanks to my momma! 

i think this post is long enough............. xoxo