Pressure

Do you ever feel like you are constantly under pressure? I do. Life is packed with constant pressures--pressures to perform, pressure to succeed, pressure to be the best, pressure to get into the best grad-school. I believe that pressure can be a positive catalyst to help motivate and ensure productivity at times but when it is excessive, it can be destructive.

Pressure is something that I've been struggling with this semester. I am under pressure to work, to do my best in school, to impress my colleagues at student publications, to graduate with a job, to be active in my sorority and the list goes on. At what point do you take a break and decide that maybe all of these "things" that you thought were worthwhile may not really matter in the end. How do we prioritize the things we think are most important to us? Why do we spend so much time doing mindless activities?

The last four years of my life have been the most telling and the most difficult years of my life but I am thankful for them because my character has transformed. My identity I once possessed is no longer the case. I am extremely proud of the woman that I am today. While I'm not perfect, I am confident, hard-working, tenacious, loving, and loyal. I can confidently say that I am becoming the woman that I always envisioned I would become. The life that I once found so much meaning in frivolous things is no longer my priority. A life dedicated to purpose and relationships I build with others is my new priority.

They say that it takes time, trials, and experience to grow up and I truly believe that I've been through the best of times and the worst of times--perhaps too many up's and down's for someone my age. Pepperdine has shaped me into the woman that I am not because of the University but because of the experiences and lessons I learned while being there. Being abroad my sophomore year in Lausanne, Switzerland transformed me in ways I never thought possible and I am forever grateful for the friends that guided me along the way. Junior year I learned to live on my own. A transitional phase in my life that brought about true responsibility, my first apartment, and my first real-life internship at Christian Dior.

Now, as a senior, preparing to embark on the next phase of my life, I am searching for answers. God is never too late in providing answers and will never lead you down the wrong path. That is my source of strength right now that I am relying on to get me through these difficult times when the unknown seems to be looming in the distance. However, that distance seems to be getting closer and closer. The pressure and the reality of graduating from College is now setting in and my anxiety is increasing by the day. I am trying my best not to fear for I know at the end of day I am not the one in control.

Inspiring Images...

Book Review: "Start Something That Matters" by Blake Mycoskie

“Start Something That Matters.” It sounds cliché, but it is a goal that many of us aspire to. We all secretly long to have a career with purpose and with meaning. We all want to be successful, while helping others in the process. Blake Mycoskie, a 29-year-old motivated Texan took a risk while on a trip to Argentina in 2006 and started a business that mattered.  It was the alpargata—an Argentine canvas slipper-like shoe that would later morph into TOMS—a fashion forward, for-profit business, that gives each a pair of shoes away to a child in need for every pair of TOMS shoes sold. TOMS proudly donated their millionth pair of shoes to children in need last Sep. 2010.

Mycoskie’s best-selling book, “Start Something That Matters” recounts his journey to launch his for-profit business, TOMS, which stands for “tomorrows shoes” stemming from “Shoes for a Better Tomorrow”. His story proves that it is possible to combine business and philanthropy by donating one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased. His raw account of his journey is just one example of a successful business venture that started with one simple idea.

Chapter one follows his trip to Argentina resulting in an epiphany to create TOMS after discovering the alpargata shoe.  Shortly after, he coincidentally met an American woman in a café who was volunteering with a small group of people on a shoe drive. A light bulb went off and TOMS shoes was created.

It all began with 250 sample shoes stuffed into three duffel bags and an idea that would become a successful business platform and cultural phenomenon in the United States.

Mycoskie’s Venice apartment quickly transformed into his office upon his return from Argentina and within a short time, American Rag picked up the line prompting Booth Moore, a fashion writer for the Los Angeles Times to feature TOMS. The article was a turning point for TOMS—racking in 2,200 orders by the end of that same day.

“That was the good news,” Mycoskie wrote, “The bad news was that we had only about 160 pairs of shoes left sitting in my apartment.”

Soon, Vogue, Time, People, O, Elle and Teen Vogue were featuring TOMS and their retail customer base was expanding beyond American Rag to Nordstrom, Whole Foods and Urban Outfitters.

TOMS sold 10,000 pairs of shoes that first summer in 2006—all out of Mycoskie’s Venice apartment. The company was comprised of three interns picked up off Craigslist and Mr. Mycoskie at that time.

The key to TOMS success, Mycoskie attributes to simplicity and its story. He lays out six simple guidelines to help his readers to “Start (and sustain) Something that Matters” based on the principles TOMS was founded on.

Each Chapter to follow is titled after the six guidelines and provides excellent examples of company’s that have been successful in living out the principle.  The first Chapter is titled, “Find You Story” and the last Chapter, “Giving is Good Business.”

“A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers, and opens doors,” Mycoskie wrote. The heartwarming (and heartbreaking) TOMS story evokes emotions among its customers and enables customers to feel that they are making a difference in the world by purchasing TOMS shoes.

Mycoskie emphasizes using ideas that come from supporters through an anecdote about Pepperdine University’s TOMS Club and its formation of a students barefoot walk on campus to raise awareness of what it feels like to not have shoes.

“We thought it was a terrific idea, and soon TOMS launched an official company program called One Day Without Shoes (ODWS), which takes place every April.” Mycoskie wrote. “We ask our customers and fans to go barefoot for one day—just as the students at Pepperdine did.”

In 2010, more than 250,000 people around the world participated in ODWS—a program that Pepperdine helped to pioneer.

Chapters to follow include “Face your Fears”, “Be Resourceful Without Resources”, “Keep it Simple”, “Build Trust”, and finally “Giving is Good Business”.

Mycoskie uses examples of advertising campaigns and inspirational company’s that model after his business ethics such as Subway’s “Jared”, AT&T partnership with TOMS, Method, Netflix, Chipotle, Charity: Water, Southwest Airlines and his mother Pam’s book “Butter Busters”.

His guidelines are applicable to both personal and business life—emphasizing simplicity over and over again through anecdotes including his own life simplification by moving out of his Venice “bachelor pad” to a 200 square-foot sailboat. By de-cluttering your life, he argues, your mind will de-clutter too.

The book ends with a call to action to his readers to give back. Whether it is by “Starting Something That Matters” or volunteering at a local homeless shelter. Mycoskie’s goal in writing the book was to, “influence other people to go out into the world and have a positive impact” and claims that the success of the book will be measured by the number of people it inspires and the number of letters they receive.

If readers are like me, who feel inspired to purchase a pair of TOMS and “Start Something That Matters” after reading his book, I am guessing that millions of letters have poured into Mycoskie’s houseboat by now.

Mycoskie profoundly stated in the beginning of the book to “Love your work, work for what you love, and change the world—all at the same time.”

After reading this book, I feel inspired to love my work, work for what I love, and to change the world—all at the same time. Well-done Mycoskie. 

My Famous Fondue

I acquired a profound love and appreciation for fondue while studying abroad in Lausanne, Switzerland a few years ago. Cheese fondue is a Swiss meal that is the most incredible, delicious thing you will ever taste. I am a lover of all things cheese and all things bread so put the two together and I am a happy girl. There are various ways to prepare the Swiss delight but I have mastered an amazing recipe that I would like to share with all of you today! It is easy to prepare but takes about an hour to complete. Enjoy!

Key Ingredients: 1 lb Gruyere cheese, .5 lb of Swiss Jarlsberg cheese, garlic, dry white wine, cherry Kirsch alcohol,  corn starch, 1 loaf of fresh French bread and a fondue pot

 

Step 1:Begin by mincing about 10 cloves of garlic and place into fondue pot on the stove

Step 2: Use about 1 lb of aged Gruyere cheese and cube the cheese into small pieces and add into fondue pot

Step 3: Use about .5 lb of Jarlsberg Swiss cheese and cube, then place into fondue pot

Step 4: Turn on burner to medium and wait patiently for cheese to begin melting

Step 5: Add about 1 cup of dry white wine (Chardonnay is the best)

Step 6: Add about 2 cap fulls of cherry Kirsch and stir

Step 7: Let fondue melt entirely for about 40-45 minutes, check every 10 or so minutes and stir in a figure-eight motion to avoid clumping

Step 8: After fondue is entirely melted add about 1 tbsp. of corn starch for thickening

Step 9: Continue melting fondue until it is extremely hot and thin

Step 10: Transfer fondue pot on the stove onto the fondue stand with Sterno beneath and light Sterno

Step 11: Cut fresh French bread however you desire and serve with fondue

Step 12: Break French bread and dip in Swiss cheese fondue and ENJOY!

How to prepare the perfect Thanksgiving meal

the key ingredient for thanksgiving is family and a thankful heart    

 

Key Ingredients: Garlic, Aunt Janes crazy mixed up salt, olive oil, onion, fresh herbs, bread, potatoes, turkey, French green beans, turkey bacon, and broth from turkey legs and thighs 

Stuffing

1.   Sauté olive oil, snipped parsley, garlic, red onion, fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, and thyme) and lots of celery until tender

2.   Add in 2 cups fresh broth made in advance from turkey legs & thighs, garlic, celery, parsley, onion, carrots, and water (prepared in slow cooker overnight)

3.   Melt butter and add in

4.   Add stuffing in pan to bread bowl comprised of four freshly baked bread loaves (2) rosemary olive bread, multi-grain wheat bread, sourdough cracked wheat

5.   Let cool and then mix bread with stuffing with hands 

Turkey

1.   Clean the turkey and remove the neck and giblets from both cavities

2.   Rub olive oil inside and on the skin of the turkey for moisture

3.   Place stuffing in both cavities of turkey and put any left over stuffing in a casserole dish to bake

4.   Place turkey into a turkey bag (Reynolds oven bag) and place corn starch in the bottom of the bag to prevent the bag from exploding in the oven

5.   Cook the turkey at 350 F, stuffed, for 3.5 to 4 hours for a 20-24lb turkey

6.   Place carrots, celery, parsley, garlic, and onion around the turkey inside the bag for flavor 

Potatoes

1.    Peel the potatoes

2.    Boil the potatoes with onion, parsley, and garlic for flavor

3.    Mash the potatoes

4.    Add in cream, cream cheese, Aunt Janes crazy mixed up salt, green onion and French seasoning for flavor

5.    Place in crock pot to warm

Green beans

1. Use French green beans
2. Season with French seasoning salt, Aunt Janes crazy mixed up salt
3. Add in onions, garlic, and two pieces of turkey bacon for flavor
4. Sauté the green beans until tender
5. Simmer green beans until ready to be served 

Gravy

1.   Make the broth ahead of time out of turkey legs & thighs, celery, carrots, onions, garlic, parsley, and crazy mixed up salt

2.   Separate the fat using a fat separator which filters everything but the pure liquid

3.   Add in corn starch for thickening

4.   Mix gravy until there are no lumps left

5.    Simmer and wait to thicken 

The Finished Product

How to avoid an extra helping of guilt this Thanksgiving

It’s that time of year again that we look forward to all year-round. It is the official start to the Holiday season filled with cinnamon-scented pine cones, pumpkin-filled everything, limitless love, uncontrollable laughter and lots of food. First up is Thanksgiving and on Thursday Nov. 24, friends and family will gather around the dinner table to feast on token Thanksgiving foods. The oven-roasted turkey, fresh gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, succulent stuffing, perfectly toasted dinner rolls, and green beans will be placed in the center of the table—and while you are tempted to eat everything in sight — remember that the only thing that you should be stuffing on this Thanksgiving is your turkey, not your stomach.

Thanksgiving foods are dangerously delicious and are supposed to be devoured, but they do not need to inspire guilt. Of course every family has their Thanksgiving traditions that should continue, but there are a number of ways to have a healthier Thanksgiving this season without displeasing your taste buds and ruining family recipes. 

The American Council on Exercise recently reported that an average person consumes 3,000 calories and 229g of fat in one Thanksgiving meal. That is nearly twice the recommended calorie intake for one-whole day suggested by the USDA—an adult over 18 should consume between 1,600 and 3,000 calories per day depending on age, gender and activity level. The figure suggests that if an average person consumes 3,000 calories and 229g of fat in one Thanksgiving meal they then consume a whopping 4,500 for the day’s total. 

In order to avoid consuming 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day, major damage control is in order. Here are ten tips to ensure that your smart choices on Thanksgiving will yield healthy and joyful Holiday season. 

• Do not skip breakfast

Skipping breakfast is the biggest myth of all. It is important to eat breakfast in the morning to jump-start your metabolism and to ensure that you will not overeat later. If you do not eat breakfast and choose to starve all day—you may find yourself shoving unhealthy appetizers down your throat—thoroughly regretting your choices when dinner comes along. 

• Lay off the alcohol

Yes, Thanksgiving is a time to eat, drink and be merry, but it is important to monitor your alcohol intake. One glass of red wine has approximately 85 calories, one glass of seasonal egg nog has approximately 350 and one glass of champagne has approximately 120—a couple of drinks later you are already at 1,000 calories! In order to pace yourself, rotate drinks and sparkling water throughout the day. 

• Use olive oil instead of butter while preparing the feast

Olive oil is the healthier choice because it is a monounsaturated fat and high in antioxidants. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by lowering LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the “good” cholesterol) levels. Studies also link monounsaturated fats to reducing the risk of heart disease, certain cancers and even depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Olive oil is a great substitution for butter when making the stuffing. It is so delicious and healthy. 

• Skip the skin

“For a 6-ounce serving of turkey, taking off the skin saves about 300 calories. It doesn’t make much caloric difference whether you eat white or dark meat — what does save the calories is skipping the skin” according to Madelyn Fernstrom, TODAY’s diet and nutrition editor. Skipping the skin will cut your turkey caloric intake by nearly half. Your body will thank you later.

• Use fresh ingredients

Use fresh herbs, sage, rosemary and thyme for a delicious, low-calorie flavor in your stuffing and make fresh green beans instead of canned green bean casseroles with onion rings and cream soups that are high in sodium and fat. Green beans are low in calories, fat-free, high in vitamins C and K, and high in fiber—don’t dilute their nutrients with heavy sauces and creams. Prepare the green beans along with turkey broth and fresh herbs for a tasty alternative. 

• Use whole wheat products

The starch in white flour products is digested way too fast, which causes insulin levels to spike. Insulin is a hormone, and when it functions improperly, it is linked to a whole array of physical problems. The result of this is a rapid increase in blood sugar levels which can lead to weight gain and diabetes. Whole wheat will make you stay fuller longer and is a much healthier option for your stuffing this Thanksgiving. 

• Separate the fat

Use fresh turkey broth to stir up fresh, fat-free gravy. First separate the fat, which can be made from chicken thighs and legs well ahead of time and then use cornstarch instead of white flour to thicken. Fat-free gravy will save around 656 grams of fat per cup. 

• Don’t eat the crust

Crust is filled with fat and the crust isn’t even the best part anyway. By stopping at the crust, you can save approximately 200 calories. Trust me, your homemade-pumpkin pie will be just as delicious without the crust. 

• Portion control

Compare a tablespoon in serving size to a typical serving spoon — about one-third to one-half cup. By monitoring the volume of food you eat, you can save up to 1,000 calories. You still have the ability to eat what you want but on a much smaller scale. 

• Walk—don’t nap

Initiate the family walk post-meal. You will regret it if you don’t. The last thing your body needs after consuming a horrific number of calories is to head to the couch and give into the tryptophan myth. Skip the tryptophan-induced nap and head out for a quick walk. It aids digestion and speeds up your metabolism. 

It is easy to attend holiday gatherings and think oh, a cookie here, a chocolate there, wash it down with some egg nog, and it’s not a big deal. But, before you know it your pants are too tight because you’ve been sampling one-too many cookies, chocolate and likely splurged on your Thanksgiving meal. It is possible to have a scrumptious Thanksgiving meal this season without the added calories and fat. If you abide by the ten tips listed above, you are one step closer to experiencing a healthy, fun-filled holiday season not drowned in guilt.

View my article online at: http://www.pepperdine-graphic.com/lifearts/how-to-avoid-an-extra-helping-of-guilt-this-thanksgiving/

No better way to say it...

"If you haven't already gathered, or happen to be reading this blog for the first time in your life, I am a melancholy girl through and through. I find beauty in not only the beautiful things in life, but the bittersweet and sad as well. To me, there is something poignantly lovely about the human experience from its splendor to its grief. God created all our emotions, not just the happy ones, and for His good purposes. That's why a good cry can feel so good. And hitting our limits forces us to look outside ourselves for a Savior. It is in the plea, when we're at our end, that we can find that which is truly life-giving. Personally, my moments of deepest grief, deepest pain, have resulted in the most beautiful seasons in my heart. I've met God more intimately in those moments than in all the other pleasant ones combined. What isn't completely lovely about that?"

I found this on another blog that I follow. It truly embodies everything--there is no need to even elaborate but somehow, somewhere, everything I feared 30 seconds ago are no longer relevant. 

My inspiration today

 

"Take a look at those two open hands of yours. They are tools with which to serve, make friends, and reach out for the best in life. Open hands open the way to achievement. Put them to work today." -Frederick Pierce