Rambling Away

I LOVE November. Mostly because it finally starts to get cold (except for today where it's supposed to be 85) and it means comfort food, snuggling under blankets with the family, my hair being cold in the wind when I go outside (one of my favorite feelings in the world), Thanksgiving, and early Christmas shopping.

Christmas Shopping. Those two words surprised me. I can't believe it's already time for this. How in the world did this year fly by so incredibly fast? It feels like every year speeds by two times faster than the last. I don't feel like I get a chance to grasp one year before it's time to start writing a different date. I can definitely say that I do love my winters here. I would prefer them be a little bit colder, but I'll take it over the Texas summers any day. It makes walking all over campus MUCH nicer. That, i will not complain about.

I can't wait for this semester to be over and have a WHOLE month of family. We definitely need our uninterrupted time together and I'm super anxious for these next five weeks to hurry up and be done. Although it's been busy and crazy, this semester has by far been the best semester I've ever had. I absolutely love my major and it has never lost my interest. I'm so glad to finally be focusing on what my career will be in. It's the most exciting part and I'm reveling in it.

Coincidentally, learning so much about bodies and health has greatly strengthened my testimony. I'm probably the only nerd in my classes that sits and thinks about how this relates to religion. I'm not someone who constantly thinks about my faith, but in class, it's definitely at the top of my list. Anatomy and Physiology is where it gets me the most. When I'm looking at diagrams of body systems and listening to my professor talk about every little intricate detail in our bodily functions, I sit there so amazed at how perfectly we were pieced together. To me, it's absolute evidence that we were for sure divinely designed and placed here on earth. Do you have any idea how much there is to just our skin? Or cell production? Or muscle movement? It's unbelievable to me! I can't help but marvel in the beauty of it all.

Human Sexuality is pretty incredible to me too. I've always been interested in it and although class gets to be a little too much for me sometimes, it still intrigues me like crazy. Did you know that pheromones (a subconscious smell that we all emit for our mates to smell) emit our genetic make ups and other people are subconsciously able to smell that and tell whether or we are the correct genetic matches for each other? That is INCREDIBLE!!! Oh my gosh, it gets me all bouncy and excited talking about. Erik can definitely attest to this. I've been driving him crazy with all the stuff I come home talking about.

My classes keep reminding me over and over again how important it is to be healthy (health promotion majors will do that to you). Since we moved and school started, I don't work out nearly as much as I was before we moved. I do however walk a lot way across campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but it still isn't enough. With Erik's and my schedule it's been hard to find the time and motivation to make my way down to the gym. Because I haven't been working out as much, I've lost weight (yay!), but it's because I'm losing muscle (booo!). I need to get back on it and I REALLY need someone to work out with and help me stay motivated. Once I can get back into that mind set, I feel like everything else would fall into place, as well.

I've also talked to Erik about an idea. I've heard of people giving up dessert for a year and I'm highly considering it. One of my favorite things in the world is cake. You really have no idea how much I love cake. Chocolate is a close second and when I have any amount of either, I can't control myself. No matter how much that little voice in my head says "Stop it, Karen. You're going to regret this. Slow down. PUT THE FORK DOWN!", I can't. So I'm considering this extensive sugar/dessert fast to maybe get rid of these cravings and cleanse myself of as much refined sugar as possible.

I've also read a lot about the Paleo diet recently and am considering taking a shot at that. For the most part, it sounds like a very well rounded diet that has a pretty good idea. More and more research is pointing in the direction that this is going and the concept definitely makes sense to me. The whole concept is eating like a Paleolithic (REALLY old Native American) hunter-gatherer would. It cuts out everything processed (which I'm all for, anyway) and focuses mostly on fruits, vegetables, nuts and lean meats. It's very cleansing and avoids processed sugars. I'm still reading about it and I'm not looking at it in regards to weight loss, but just being healthier in general. I'm not a dieter at all and I probably wouldn't stick to this EXACTLY to a T, but the concept is a good one and it totally makes sense to me. We shall see.

I've rambled enough and have to head to class for some super stimulating lecture about sexuality. I was due for a long blog post, so there ya go. I understand if you don't read it. It was more for me, anyway. ;)