“Steve filled with emotions expressed this morning, “You are and you remain one of the most beautiful things that have happened to me in my life and I could never thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. I’ll miss you my princess Lisa, I love you. “”

—	Steve Guerdat on Jalisca Solier (via diaryofaworkingstudent)

Quick poll: Have you ever walked into a party, realized that you basically knew no one, and felt totally awkward? We're guessing you answered in the affirmative (we've all been there). Get-togethers—whether it's a business-networking event or your friend's birthday party—can be intimidating. 

MORE: 4 Ways to Own Your Greatness

So we asked Susan RoAne—author of the recently released 25th anniversary edition of How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Making Lasting Connections—in Person and Online—for her tips on how to make those events less daunting and more fun. "In every room, there are people who you want to meet, people who become long-term colleagues, long-term friends, long-term relationships," says RoAne. Here's how to make an impression on every single one of them:

Know the News
Your homework before you head to a party: "Be well read," says RoAne. "Have things to talk about." Current events are automatic chitchat topics. Check out Beyoncé's piece on gender inequality, have something to say about Tina and Amy's performance at the Golden Globes, and know the deets on that interesting new study that just came out. (But do stay away from politics, suggests RoAne.) Peace out, awkward silences!

Be the First One to Smile and Make Eye Contact
Yes, you may be willing to smile back at someone if they make the first move. But you'll meet way more people if you take a pro-active approach. "When someone smiles back at you, that gives you permission to go over to him or her," says RoAne. So find someone who's not currently engaged in a conversation and looks approachable, and look their way. If they grin back at you, that's a green light to head over there and start chatting them up.

Make Your Intro Memorable 
RoAne is a proponent of the "self-introduction." It's a seven- to nine-second greeting that includes your name and—instead of your job title—one reason you're passionate about what you do. RoAne says she once met a man in a coffee shop and asked him what he did, to which he replied, "I help rich people sleep at night." He made his response so intriguing that she wanted to ask a follow-up question. (Turns out he was a financial planner, and they're still friends!) Similarly, if you say something compelling about what you do—rather than just rattling off your title—you'll strike up a much better conversation.

MORE: 12 Ways to Become the Office Superstar 

Pretend the Person You're Talking to is the Only One in the Room
"There is nothing more off-putting and insulting to people than to have someone talking to them and looking around to see who else is in the room," says RoAne. It might sound obvious, but you know you've had someone do this to you—so don't let yourself be guilty of this the next time you go to an event. Same goes for checking your phone mid-conversation.

Open Up About Yourself
"There are some people who will say you should ask people a lot of questions and get them to talk about themselves because that's their favorite subject," says RoAne. "I actually advise against that. If all you're doing is asking questions, that gets tedious, and people may think you're nosy." So ask that person about him or herself and comment on their responses, she says, but also go ahead and share your own stories. Just be sure to keep it upbeat and focus on topics that'll keep the chatter going so that you don't come off as too self-obsessed. You could say that you recently saw The Wolf of Wall Street, for example, or that you just got back from a vacation in Europe. As long as you're giving them room to respond to what you're saying, you're good. 

When did you feel loved today?
When did you feel lonely?




What did I do today that made you feel appreciated?


What did I say that made you feel unnoticed?


What can I do to help you right now?

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/foam-roller-exercises

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/five-minute-workout?cm_mmc=AD_Newsletter-_-1570102-_-01202014-_-TheFatBlasting5MinuteCircuit_ReadMore
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/five-minute-workout?cm_mmc=AD_Newsletter-_-1570102-_-01202014-_-TheFatBlasting5MinuteCircuit_ReadMore

Fresh Start: 5 Things You Should Do Every January

I'm not usually one for New Year's resolutions, but I am always interested in rejuvenating my space, work and life in the New Year. January is a great month for cleaning up problem areas, whether they are physical problem areas in your home, or work and financial issues. Here are a few of our top tips for simple tasks to help get your new year get off to a great start!

1. Declutter your desk or work area and go through important papers. Tax time is coming! Getting all of your important paperwork and documents all sorted and filed is the best way to make this season as painless as possible. Take papers you don't need anymore to get shredded at your local office supply store (or shred at home if you have a portable) to free up even more space.

2. Back up your important computer files and photos. Most of us don't do this enough (myself included). Some experts suggest backing up every week to every month. If you're not caught up with file-saving, load all of your important computer files into the Cloud, an external hard-drive, or even "old-fashioned" CDs. You'll thank yourself later if you ever have an emergency.

3. Throw away old things to make way for new gifts. With the holiday season just finishing up, you probably have some new gifts to make room for in your house. I like to donate or sell things I don't use anymore in January in order to make room for new things in the home — helps to avoid clutter!

4. Check your credit report. This is an important one that we should all be doing every year. With rampant identity theft and the importance placed on the health of your score, it's important to keep track of your credit report. Sign up for a free site like creditkarma.com or freecreditreport.com to check up on your score, or look into year-round credit monitoring.

5. Do a "super-dust," cleaning all blinds, hidden areas, and baseboards behind furniture. In a perfect world, we would have a tiny dusting drone that buzzed around our houses and dusted the areas behind furniture or hidden under tables. Alas, this doesn't exist (at least not yet!), and January is a good month to do a deep clean of areas that probably don't get the best care year-round. Although we'd recommend doing this each quarter, January is a good time to start. Dust and grime builds up in these areas, sometimes complicating cleaning later.

Do you have January tips of your own? Leave them for us in the comment section!

(Image credits: Chris Perez)

YOU HAVE TO DO THE HARD THINGS.

You have to make the call you’re afraid to make.

You have to get up earlier than you want to get up.

You have to give more than you get in return right away.

You have to care more about others than they care about you.

You have to fight when you are already injured, bloody, and sore.

You have to feel unsure and insecure when playing if safe seems smarter.

You have to lead when no one else is following you yet.

You have to invest in yourself even though no one else is.

You have to look like a fool while you’re looking for answers you don’t have.

You have to grind out the details when it’s easier to shrug them off.

You have to deliver results when making excuses is an option.

You have to search for your own explanations even when you’re told to accept the “facts”.

You have to make mistakes and look like an idiot.

You have try and fail and try again.

You have to run faster even though you’re out of breath.

You have to be kind to people who have been cruel to you.

You have to meet deadlines that are unreasonable and deliver results that are unparalleled.

You have to be accountable for your actions even when things go wrong.

You have to keep moving towards where you want to be no matter what’s in front of you.

*********************************************************************************************************

• You have to do the hard things. The things that no one else is doing. The things that scare you. The things that make you wonder how much longer you can hold on.
• Those are the things that define you. Those are the things that make the difference between living a life of mediocrity or outrageous success.
• The hard things are the easiest things to avoid. To excuse away. To pretend like they don’t apply to you.
• The simple truth about how ordinary people accomplish outrageous feats of success is that they do the hard things that smarter, wealthier, more qualified people don’t have the courage — or desperation — to do.
• Do the hard things. You might be surprised at how amazing you really are.

Read more: http://danwaldschmidt.com/2014/01/attitude/hard-things#ixzz2qZinkueD

riding goals

If there is a singular skill that separates the dressage contenders from the "also-rans" it is discipline. 

he ability to stay on goal, to keep emotions in check, to avoid distractions and drama, to understand that the long-game must take precedence over the daily issues.

 

get the creative juices flowing

myneatlittledomesticlife:

Occasionally I’ll find myself in a creative funk, just staring at the blank, white page of my journal, without a clue as to what to fill it with. When I’m feeling most creative, I’ll grab a sheet of paper and jot down ideas to use later when the creative ideas come to a halt. I thought perhaps you’d find some use in one of my lists so here it is. Do with it as you wish. You can pick and choose on the days when a little inspiration is in order, or you can turn it into a 40 day art journal challenge. The choice is yours. 

1.    Choose a lyric from one of your favorite songs and bring it to life on a page. 

2.    Go crazy with masking tape! 

3.    Reduce, Reuse, Recycle- scoop up junk mail, paper bags, paper scraps, fabric scraps, WHATEVER, and use these things to create a background, then go nuts with color.

4.    Journal about something or someone that inspires you. 

5.    Paste a photograph that brings back a good memory to your page and design around it. 

6.    Footprints. 

7.    Turn found objects into stamps. A few good ones would be: an empty toilet paper roll, bubble wrap (if you can resist popping the bubbles!), crumpled paper, the sole of a shoe… The options are endless! 

8.    Pick one word, any word. Include it in your entry. 

9.    Illustrate what change looks like to you.

10.  Silhouette(s). 

11.  Happy vs. sad.

12.  Draw a map of a made up place you’d like to visit/live. 

13.  Go outside, sketch, paint, draw, or doodle whatever you see in front of you. 

14.  Grab a few magazines and cut out your perfect outfit. Journal about where you’d wear it to, how it would make you feel…

15.  Create an abstract painting of the room you’re in. 

16.  Fingerprints.

17.  If you were on death row, what would your last meal be? How would you spend your day? (A bit morbid, but just go with it!)

18.  Practice painting or drawing letters in a new font you’ve never tried before. 

19.  Burned paper. 

20.  Opposite hand. Created a page using your less dominant hand. If you’re ambidextrous, use the hand you use less often. 

21.  Circle madness. 

22.  Don’t think, just do. Just slap some paint down and go to town. 

23.  Playing with patterns.

24.  A special someone. Journal about someone who you love dearly. 

25.  Collage. 

26.  The alphabet. 

27.  Choose a song that reminds you of a dark time and bring it to life on the page. 

28.  Get rid of it. Got something bothering you? Spill it out onto your journal page and leave it there. 

29.  Tea art. Splash it, spill it, drip it, blob it… Create a background using your tea. 

30.  What would you do if you hit the lottery? 

31.  These are a few of my favorite things.

32.  Create a bridge leading from where you are now, and where you want to be. 

33.  Bad habits. 

34.  Create a self portrait. 

35.  A picture is worth a thousand words. 

36.  Pick a quote.

37.   Draw a tree and replace the leaves with random objects/doodles. 

38.  Write down all of the things you dislike about yourself then cover it up with gesso, and write down all of the things you like about yourself.

39.  Design a room that would inspire you just being in it. 

40.  Childhood memories. 

graveyard - fiest

The graveyard, the graveyard all full of light
The only age, the beating heart is empty of life
Dirt and grass, a shadow heart; the moon sails past
Blood as ice is an empty crisis, lonely it lies

Whoa-ah-ah-ah ah-ah, bring 'em all back to life [x4]

Roots and lies, roots and lies, our family tree is old
From there we climb the golden hill, calmly will eternity
I held your heart, a giant wand; all tell of sorrow
And history begins to be blue and brown eyes

Whoa-ah-ah-ah ah-ah, bring 'em all back to life [x8]

5. #5 Best Drink for Hydration: Coconut Water: Vita Coco 100% Pure Coconut Water (1 bottle, 17 fl oz)

90 calories , 0 g fat, 22 g sugars

A 2012 study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that compared to a commercial sports drink, coconut water—a natural source of electrolytes—was equally as effective in hydrating participants after an intense workout. So why choose the coconut water over the sports drink? For one, coconut water is low on the glycemic index, so it won't dramatically affect your blood sugar, while fluid-replacement beverages like Powerade are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, a high-glycemic-index sweetener that can spike blood sugar levels and promote body-fat storage. Second, a 2010 study in the Journal of Cell & Tissue Research found that coconut water helped reduce blood pressure and cholesterol in rats, suggesting that the drink may also promote heart health.

Cinnamon Apple Smoothie

Cinnamon Apple Smoothie

NOTES

Erin recommends you make this smoothie with alcohol-free vanilla extract, but feel free to use regular vanilla extract if that's what you have on hand. She also recommends you use a firm apple like Granny Smith or Empire.

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces coconut water
4 raw almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped apple (about 1 medium apple)
1/2 scoop unsweetened protein powder
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal (ground flaxseed)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients into a blender, and pulse for approximately 10-15 seconds.
2. If you're going to drink it immediately, add three ice cubes to chill it. If you're preparing ahead of time, chill in the fridge overnight.

Vegan Vanilla Milkshake Smoothie

Vegan Vanilla Milkshake Smoothie

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup soft tofu
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1 frozen banana
1/2 tablespoon peanut butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Place everything in a blender and mix until smooth, about one minute. Enjoy!

Blueberry Protein Smoothie

Blueberry Protein Smoothie

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1-2 scoops of vanilla protein powder (I used Perfect Fit Protein Powder by Tone It Up)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
Ice cubes, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend on medium-high for 30 seconds (or until desired consistency); enjoy!

Makes one 16-ounce serving for a total of 217 calories, 5 grams of fat, and 27 grams of protein.

Green Tea Cinnamon Honey Smoothie

Green Tea Cinnamon Honey Smoothie

NOTES

Use two or more green tea bags to brew a cup or two of green tea, depending on how strong you'd like it, then keep the tea chilled in your fridge until ready to use. You can also add greens of your choice, like kale or spinach, to add a few more nutrients to this smoothie without altering the taste.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup green tea, chilled
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon high-quality honey
1/2 banana

DIRECTIONS

1. Add one to two scoops of ice to blender along with all ingredients.
2. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately.
Makes one serving.