Isle of You Live

I know many young men in my age range seem to be under the impression that public affection for someone they are with is not 'cool,' but the closer I get to God the more I realize that he has designed marriage and love to be something beautiful. I saw this video and though I am far from married, it still warmed my heart to see a man and his wife not only in love but giving glory to God for putting them together.

New Color Obsession

I have been looking for a soft but contrasting pink color and I think I found something that will work for me. The name is in the photo: Aprhodite's Pink Nightie. I absolutely love it. When I went into the shop, it was the first color that my eyes noticed. Thank Goodness!

Banana Hair Mask

So I did a banana hair mask as my pre poo before washing my hair Sunday. I actually love this more than I love any other homemade treatment that I have made. It was moderately easy to wash out and it really helped to relax my curls so that I could work all of my products through them. It's definitely worth a try.

Tea Party

I don't know where I should begin. There have been a ton of changes. I will go into detail in the coming months as changes arise on my blog. Let's just say its been a summer of life brainstorming. I am certainly coming into my own to say the least. I couldn't have done it without God and my best friend, tea. Ha. Yes, tea. I have been making a few lifestyle changes. Most importantly, spiritual changes are my primary focus. Second, I am embracing a healthy lifestyle. This includes, working out, keeping soda and fast food out of my diet, and paying special attention to my lifestyle regimens. Tea has been a lifesaver.
Tea serves so many benefits. According to iVillage, here are my favorite health benefits:

1. Tea contains antioxidants. Like the Rust-Oleum paint that keeps your outdoor furniture from rusting, tea's antioxidants protect your body from the ravages of aging and the effects of pollution.  

2. Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Unwanted blood clots formed from cholesterol and blood platelets cause heart attack and stroke. Drinking tea may help keep your arteries smooth and clog-free, the same way a drain keeps your bathroom pipes clear.

3. Tea bolsters your immune defenses. Drinking tea may help your body's immune system fight off infection. When 21 volunteers drank either five cups of tea or coffee each day for four weeks, researchers saw higher immune system activity in the blood of the tea drinkers. 

4. Tea protects against cancer. Thank the polyphenols, the antioxidants found in tea, once again for their cancer-fighting effects. While the overall research is inconclusive, there are enough studies that show the potential protective effects of drinking tea to make adding tea to your list of daily beverages. 

5. Tea is calorie-free. Tea doesn't have any calories, unless you add sweetener or milk. Consuming even 250 fewer calories per day can result in losing one pound per week. If you're looking for a satisfying, calorie-free beverage, tea is a top choice. 

6. Tea increases your metabolism. Lots of people complain about a slow metabolic rate and their inability to lose weight. Green tea has been shown to actually increase metabolic rate so that you can burn 70 to 80 additional calories by drinking just five cups of green tea per day. 

I encourage everyone to make the switch. Before you say its not for you, give it a try at least for a month. I am a huge coffee fan and will never give that up, but this is definitely my new afternoon and evening beverage. It looks like I will be seeing more in my future with autumn and winter approaching.

Summer Passings

This summer has been great so far. I am a good half way through, suffering through only one online course. It can be a little tough to update as I am trying to get things done over here. I figure a recap is a great way to at least keep my blog running in the mean time.
I got a new contributing writing opportunity with FN-Mag which I am excited about. I am working on updating my journalism portfolio so I really can't wait to share that with you. I haven't even shown personal friends. I love to see the progress that I am making. I am embracing the open doors that I find. I can't guarantee that a lot of things and people will be in my life in the next year or two, but I am doing my best to make sure that success is one of them. Enjoy! Feel free to catch me via email.

Summer Lovin'

Care to know what I have been up tot his summer. There isn't much to say but I think photos a little taste. I just got a new iPhone 4S and so I will probably be using that until I can get a new camera. I have a few ideas for this blog I just need to get things in order. Nothing but changes from here on out.

Beautiful Words

To his Coy Mistress

by Andrew Marvell

Had we but world enough, and time,

This coyness, lady, were no crime.

We would sit down and think which way

To walk, and pass our long love's day;

Thou by the Indian Ganges' side

Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide

Of Humber would complain. I would

Love you ten years before the Flood;

And you should, if you please, refuse

Till the conversion of the Jews.

My vegetable love should grow

Vaster than empires, and more slow.

An hundred years should go to praise

Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;

Two hundred to adore each breast,

But thirty thousand to the rest;

An age at least to every part,

And the last age should show your heart.

For, lady, you deserve this state,

Nor would I love at lower rate.

        But at my back I always hear

Time's winged chariot hurrying near;

And yonder all before us lie

Deserts of vast eternity.

Thy beauty shall no more be found,

Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

My echoing song; then worms shall try

That long preserv'd virginity,

And your quaint honour turn to dust,

And into ashes all my lust.

The grave's a fine and private place,

But none I think do there embrace.

        Now therefore, while the youthful hue

Sits on thy skin like morning dew,

And while thy willing soul transpires

At every pore with instant fires,

Now let us sport us while we may;

And now, like am'rous birds of prey,

Rather at once our time devour,

Than languish in his slow-chapp'd power.

Let us roll all our strength, and all

Our sweetness, up into one ball;

And tear our pleasures with rough strife

Thorough the iron gates of life.

Thus, though we cannot make our sun

Stand still, yet we will make him run.