Simple Changes To Your Diet

The foods that we love the most are also the ones that can hurt us the most.

Joel Fuhrman, a medical doctor who focuses on human dietary habits and the author of "The End OF Diabetes" warns readers of how our diets can effect everything from our health to how much energy we have. He tells how the modern American diet is full of processed foods that are bad for our body. He also states that eating nutritious food is good for more then just preventing diabetes, and that it can even help with how much energy athletes have.

I decided to see if changing my diet for 1 week would have any visible change in how I felt. In the book it tells of the benefits of substituting things like rice and potato's for greens and beans. Some of the benefits were "a sensation of fullness, Increased nutrients and fibers,  and lower glucose level" (Fuhrman 96). I would also be cutting out any fast food and trying to eat fresh meals that didn't include much processed foods. He says "beans are the best source of fiber"(Fuhrman 97). So I will try to incorporate those into my diet.  For the first 3 days of the week I ate my normal side of  potatoes and rice, and then swapped them out with green beans, spinach, and broccoli for the remaining 4 days.

Example of a starch. The potato

Example of a green. Broccoli

I noticed that I actually did feel fuller faster even though I had consumed fewer calories. I also felt more energized as the day went on compared to when I was eating fast food and the potato's.

What are some foods that you can replace with healthier foods in your life?

Fuhrman, Joel. The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

The Shape of Blog Posts to Come

The Shape of Blog Posts to Come

If you've ever had a conversation with me you probably know I like to listen to music. A lot. Unfortunately, you can't exactly "learn" to listen to music, and no one writes books about how to listen to music, so I can't listen to music and say I'm "learning a skill".

Most people who like to listen to music naturally pick up an instrument, which makes a lot of sense. You take in all these influential ideas, and its only natural to want to replicate that in some way. The only issue is that I'm basically the worst musician ever. And I say this as a guy who likes Royal Trux. I remember in 5th grade I was forced into band and orchestra, and while every other student could manage a little 12 bar song by the end of the first trimester, I could only make a myriad of Dada-esque squeaks and squawks that would make Captain Beefheart proud. At the end of the third trimester I got my worst grade ever in a class - a massive 0 percent.

I didn't really have high hopes for my guitar playing after the whole clarinet thing. After getting my book I figured I could skip the first 20~ page on picking out and buying a guitar seeing as I kinda already had a guitar. I opened to the first page of "Lesson 3 Open Chords and Fingerwork" and tried an A major, which the book considered one of its "Easy Major Chords to Practise". I was capable of mimicking the fingering with ease while making sure to "avoid the fret wires" (26) as the book recommended. When I attempted to "strum slowly with your [my] right hand" (26) I got treated to some Half Japanese level noise. What I'm trying to get at is it sounded like crap.

Hoping it was just that chord I tried C major. Same results. Maybe E major would be better? Nope, not at all. Getting frustrated at this point, I decided to consult "Less 2 First Steps" (where I probably should have started, in retrospect) only to realize I was holding the guitar backwards. With that figured out, I tried my A major again. It sounded better, but better in the same way I'd do better in a fight against a professional boxer than a fully grown tiger.

I took a tuner too it to see if I could figure out the issue. For those who have never played a guitar before (which I assume is like, all of you) here's what strings aren't meant to correspond to what notes.

And this is what I had

 Completely wrong, except for the two E's.

Once I fixed that, I was finally able to get the "good, happy sound" from my major chords the book wanted. At this point I've picked up most of the major chords, all of the minor chords bar F and G, and a solid amount of the 7ths (screw F7 its impossible). I've started to pick up changing chords, which hopefully means I can have a song, or at least a progression by the next time I have to post to here. At least I'm already beating out my clarinet skills.

pic of the bae itself :)



 QOTD: What song should I learn first?



You Don't Need Much Space

      Most people these days think you need a whole field or court to practice your favorite sport. For everyone that plays on a team have you had a teammate that says they don't practice outside of team practice because they don't have time; then they make the excuse that they don't have any room? Your coach responds well you only need a 4x4 area to play in. In the book Why Soccer Matters by Pele he lets us know from his experience you do not need much space to get better and to practice what you love. He says, "These were soccer fundamentals at their most basic: dribbling, shooting, passing the ball back and forth. We didn't have to the city's soccer field most of the time, so we used the space available, which consisted of our tiny yard and the street outside." (Pele 13)

     Pele lived in a small City called Três Corações, Brazil where his dad nicknamed Dondinho taught him everything he needed to know in the small space they had. Pele went on to say on the next page, "Maybe because of the small space we played in-on the streets of Bauru, and in the yards and alleys."(Pele 14) This not only shows that you don't need a large space but that you can play almost anywhere. I take this message from him as if you want to get better you have to show dedication to the sport and be willing to make due with what you have in a certain situation.

Salsa;Go With The Flow

What is dance? It's life! Well, at least to me it is. I've been dancing before I could even walk. Dancing has always been and will always be so important. It's such a healthy, active way to have fun. I mean, I can't even imagine a day in my life where I'm not able to express myself by moving rhythmically to music. Now that I am older dancing has become my only true outlet. I dance to almost every style of dancing and now I am obsessed with Latin American dancing; which so happens to be what my independent book is about.

 Latin Dancing by: Dessi & Orod Ohanians they teach you step by step of many of the styles of Latin Dancing such as Salsa, Lambada, Meringue, etc. (1)
As for now I'm going to get into Salsa."...a melting pot of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances.."(Dessi,10)
Let's get started!


The first part is pretty simple, it's just forward and backward steps, but with hip movements.(Don't worry guys, this part is the same for men too.)
1.) You stand with your feet together.
2.) Take the first step forward with your left foot.
3.) Make sure that your hip follows the direction of the foot.
4.) On the 4th beat make sure your feet come together.
5) Follow the same steps but on the opposite foot.
(19)



You can burn some serious calories if you're doing it correctly :)

Did you have fun? I know I did. It's honestly more enjoyable if you add music some suggestions could be...

• Har-You Percussion Group Welcome to the Party
•  Los Titanes Merecumbe 
• It’s a Man’s World Ray Barrett

Next time I'll try to show you the Merengue

The Millionaire Next Door

What do you think a millionaire looks like? What do you think a millionaire wears, drives or owns? What do you think makes a millionaire a millionaire?



Figure 1.1:
Common perception of a millionaire

If this is what pictured a millionaire looks like then you are 84% COMPLETELY WRONG.

The book The Millionaire Next Door By Thomas J. Stanley, Ph. D. and William D. Danko, Ph. D. reveals the truth about millionaires in the most comprehensive study of affluent individuals in America ever conducted (disk 1 part 5). Their study has taught me that millionaires are often not the people you think they are. In fact, 84% of millionaires are self-made, first generation and reached the top without the help of inherited wealth (disk 1 part 5).

These millionaires had to accumulate their own wealth, Stanley and Danko describe three traits of these millionaires as: Frugal, Frugal and Frugal (disk 1 part 6).  the Webster's dictionary defines Frugal as "behavior characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources" (disk1 part17). This means that millionaires live well below their mean; though they could afford expensive houses, cars and cloths they choose not to spend money on such wasteful extravagance. Amongst many other facts, Stanley and Danko tell us that the average self-made millionaire says that he/she has spent no more than 399 dollars on a suit (disk1 part 10). this is much less than many non-millionaires! Suits can be thousands of dollars!

Though I cannot share all the facts I learned about the spending habits of millionaires I will say that millionaires as a whole do not get to where they are by spending lots of money, they get to where they are by saving money, clipping coupons and being frugal. Contrary to common belief, the average millionaire does not flaunt their wealth around, instead they become rich by being frugal. There is a saying in Texas, "Big hat, no cattle", this means one has a lot of status symbols but little actual wealth (disk1 part 2). The millionaires profiled in this book all have the opposite of this, they are wealthy because they choose not to waste money on unnecessary symbols of status. The first few chapters in this book have made me rethink my view of what a millionaire looks like.

I have begun to understand that contrary to the millionaire pictured in Figure 1.1, most millionaires are just average people, perhaps they even look like this...

 Figure 1.2: An average old lad whom might or might not be a millionaire. He sure has a positive attitude!

 Or maybe this...

Figure 1.3

Or even this....

Figure 1.4

Food for thought:

How has your perception of a millionaire changed?

Citations:

Stanley, Thomas J., and William D. Danko. The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy. Atlanta, Ga.: Longstreet Press, 1996.

Images found from http://buckleysautorepair.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/man-in-car.jpg

                           and http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/01/article-1307970-0A130D94000005DC-915_468x286.jpg



Weight Lifting Men vs. Women

   "Weight Lifting Men vs. Women"

  Have you ever wondered why when you walk into the gym, men and women, boys and girls, are all separated? Why no one from the opposite sex wants to workout near each other? I know I've asked these questions at least once or twice. I always get answers back such as, "Why would I want to workout and only look like that?" A guy once asked me pointing to a rather fit girl working her floor routine for abdominals. Some girls I go to the gym with look at me sideways when I walk into the free weight section. It's like they think I'm going to walk in looking like a girl and walk out looking like a grown man on steroids.

Jan and I at the gym weight lifting,
not looking manly at all.

     In the book "Lift Like A Man, Look Like A Goddess" by Lou Schuler, He says, "A powerfully counterproductive notion rose in tandem. That's the idea that women should use exercises and techniques different from those used by men" (Schuler, x). This is the idea most people have, whether they are strength training or not. but this isn't true as Schuler later tells us that, "You'll realize that men and women should be doing workouts that are more similar than different" (Schuler, x). This statement is one not many base their workouts on and could benefit from doing so. Schuler explains further, "men and women look much different coming out from a similar exercise routine, whether its what's wanted or not, our bodies are not made the same" (Schuler, xI). My Dad and I do similar workouts when we go to the gym together and I have been doubting my knowledge on if men and women do get different results from similar workouts. I know I surely don't want to end up looking like him. Schuler is reassuring in his book, "Lift Like a Man, Look Like A Goddess".


We weight lift and are not bulky,
its in the genetics of a female

Chase, my uncle, weight lifts and is bulky
 because he one, uses more weight and two, has the genetics  for a male

   My dad has been living for the gym for awhile longer than I have, but in our appearance it shows that women can get fast and promising results from lifting like a man. I'll assure you won't end up looking like one as a girl. But as for the guys, don't underestimate any girl lifting near you.  

Hunter, my dad, also weight lifts. We do some of the same routines and we still look much different.

Schuler, Lou, and Cassandra E. Forsythe. The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift like a Man, Look like a Goddess. New York: Avery, 2007. Print.



Confidence, Anxiety, and Stress

     In the book On Top Of Your Game, by Carrie Cheadle who is a Mental Skills Coach and a Certified Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, she takes you on a journey through specific topics that have a significant impact on whether you feel anxiety and doubt or feel resilient and confident when it comes to your sport. Carrie notes that if you really want to improve your mental game and strengthen your mental fitness, you need to decide it is a priority and then dedicate the time to work on it.

     "During my last game there were college coaches watching from the stands and I knew that I had to perform well. I want to play in college so badly that every time the college coaches come to watch I put so much pressure on myself that I play horribly. I know it's my head that gets in my way. It's like I'm not even the same player when they come to watch." (Cheadle 2) The author gives examples of how she meets with players who have come to "get over" their anxiety. She says many of these athletes have begun to lose hope. She also says that,"If competition were a walk in the park, your triumphs wouldn't mean anything." (3) Many athletes struggle with confidence and anxiety and don't understand how to get over it. It is really different for everybody. Stress is an integral art of the human condition, every person in the world struggles with it, but they all have ways of getting through it.

     During my eighth grade season for basketball, I was probably the worst player on the team. It was my first year playing and I had no idea what I was doing. I had worked hard leading up to the season, but my mentality towards basketball was so weak that I would break down during games and I never knew what to do. I now realize that to be more confident, you have to work harder. "You should never be confident in something you don't work hard enough in."(Cheadle 12) If you studied 10 minutes for an exam, you shouldn't be confident in taking the test, or if you've only practiced dribbling with your right hand, you shouldn't be confident in your left. I also have been working on telling myself to stop saying saying "what if". "What if I turn the ball over again?" or "What if I miss all of my shots?" Telling myself all of these things usually results in them happening and until now I haven't really realized that I should just focus on all of the good things I have done in the game. This will probably help me eliminate my thoughts of all the bad things I have done and stop the "What ifs". I really wish I had read something like this book earlier because it would've helped me realize what I was struggling with at the time and what I needed help with back then and (not as much) today. I am still learning a lot from this book and hope to become a more confident player.

     Many players can be beaten by anxiety or nervousness before they even start playing. It is very normal to feel pressure before competition. It is apart of sports. Anxiety isn't bad. It is an emotion that you feel that is designed to get you to act or to prepare for what is coming next. You should never want to erase your anxiety, the goal is to give you tools to manage it. If you never learn how to control your anxiety, you can't ever perform to your potential. I know that whenever I used to get pulled out of the game, I would always think of all the terrible things I did and eventually thinking about them so much would make me repeat them over and over again. She mentions that if you think about all of the good things instead of the bad, that you will boost your confidence and most likely make good decisions throughout the game.

     Pretend you are on a basketball team who has lost five games straight and you guys are about to play an undefeated team. Athlete 1 is checking out the competition during your warm ups and already feels like you guys have lost before the game starts. Athlete 2 focuses on getting mentally and physically prepared and imagines how good it would feel to make this the game that turns around you team's losing streak. Which would you rather have as a teammate? Are you more like Athlete 1 or Athlete 2 and what characteristics do you think someone like them would have as teammates?



Citation: Cheadle, Carrie. On Top Of Your Game. Petaluma: Feed The Athlete, 2013. Print.

Let's Get Sketchy

I've always had a love affair for art. I enjoy seeing other people create art, admire their work, and feel inspired to make my own art as well. I've taken photo 1 as an art class here at Kentridge, but I want to try and expose my mind to different mediums. So, I went to the Kent Library and rented a book called Fantasy Art Drawing Skills by Socar Myles. From there, I began with the basics.

In the book Socar Myles talks about how one way to describe an object or picture is by using a variety of lines. One way is through hatching. Hatching is when parallel lines are placed closely together or far apart, which "create the illusion of shades of gray" (38). Here, I quickly sketched a person doing a backbend, inspired by a photo a got on the web.

Of course there are a few notable differences in the original photo and my sketch. The major difference I want to talk about is how flat my drawing looks, with little lighting. You don't get a sense of drama like you do in the photo.

This is where hatching comes in. It's amazing how just a few pencil marks could make such a dramatic impression on a picture. I decided to draw some parallel lines along the legs and torso. By using this technique, the drawing looks more realistic. Our minds get the idea that if there was a light in the room, it'd be somewhere above the woman as the shading from the legs suggest. In addition, the ribs become more prominent. This replaces the awkward blank space of the torso area in the first photo.

Socar Myles also talks about how broken lines can be used to show movement. She states that the human mind will fill in a lot of the blanks, therefore we don't need to draw everything (39). Since I wanted to try out this technique, I tweaked my drawing again to show movement in the legs. By using broken lines, the woman looks like she had to bring her legs closer towards herself to get into that backbend position.

Although I'm happy with my drawing, this is something I created based off the internet. So I decided to draw something on my own. I quickly sketched out a mythical creature, since this book does focus on fantasy art. I chose to sketch a creature resembling a dragon and a snake, and tried using a pen instead of a pencil to see if it would make a difference.

I tried hatching the area underneath the wings, and behind the curly horn to give the picture some depth. I also tried using this technique in the fire to suggest an intense fire. However, using a pen was difficult for this technique. Using a pen turned out to be difficult when trying to make parallel lines as the lines tended to clump together. I think using a pen to create broken lines is easier than hatching as you only need to draw a few quick lines. In this picture, I applied broken lines to my picture to suggest movement in the wings.

I think with a bit more practice, I can probably use broken lines and hatching to create better drawings. I am wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions for how I can shade while using a pen, and prevent clumping?

Book Citation
Myles, Socar. Fantasy Art Drawing Skills. N.p.: Barron's Educational Series,
     2012. Print.

Photo/Illustration Citation
Person doing a backbend. 7 Feb. 2012. Backbending is the Heart of Yoga. Web. 30
     Nov. 2014. <http://blog.corewalking.com/
     backbending-is-the-heart-of-yoga/>.

Lighting Up The Snow

In The Photographer's Handbook by John Hedgecoe, he provides a guide for photographers who already are familiar with a camera, but want to excel further in their work. Hedgecoe shares techniques and how-to's to all different types of photography. I decided to expand my knowledge and use of texture and natural light by following Hedgecoe's advice.

Hedgecoe says that "lighting is key to texture photography (Hedgecoe 182)." I decided to go outside to use natural lighting, and a snowy, wooden bench as my subject for texture. These are the examples given by Hedgecoe for texture and natural lighting:

After looking at the picture of wood for texture, and a temple for natural lighting, I took these into account as inspiration as I went out for my photoshoot. I took into account the quality lighting and the subtlety of the subject's texture while trying to work with the slightly diffused and directional lighting the sun provided (Hedgecoe 182). I was very pleased with the overall photo after editing the contrast and warmth.

How can you use natural lighting in your photography?


Citation:
Hedgecoe, John. The Photographers Handbook: A Complete Reference Manual of Techniques, Procedures, Equipment and Style. New York: Knopf, 1977. Print.

Hitting

Hitting a baseball is often considered to be the hardest thing to do in all of sports. Although it may look easy, there are many components that make up being a successful hitter in baseball. These components include swing mechanics, bat speed, hand-eye coordination, and a strong mental approach to name a few. According to my book 9 Innings of Hitting, "The main goal for a hitter is to hit the ball hard on the barrel of the bat consistently" (Silva 144). Personally, I think that you can achieve this through good swing mechanics and a strong mental approach.

Something that I notice when I am not hitting well during the season is that I am not totally comfortable and confident when I am at bat. The author of my book, Troy Silva, suggests that if the hitter doesn't feel comfortable in the batters box, he won't feel confident (Silva 214). I agree with this 100 percent.

One thing that Silva feels is important in the hitter's ability to arrive on time (to the ball) and on plane is the hitter's batting setup and stance (Silva 214). Silva suggests that any player's stance should have their feet "shoulder-width apart or wider, and lined up straight" (Silva 235). Another tip that Silva gives is the hand placement. He feels that they should be "around shoulder high" (Silva 242), and that the shoulders "should be as straight as possible toward the pitcher, but a little open or closed probably won't hurt" (Silva 242). As you can see below, I have tried Silva's suggestions by having my feet a little bit more than shoulder-width apart, my hands are at the shoulder high length, and my shoulders are slightly closed/turned.

I found that by making these adjustments with my stance made me feel more comfortable as a hitter. Because I became more comfortable, I was also able to gain confidence in my abilities. Moving on to the actual swing, Silva talks about hip rotation causing "the back foot to 'squish the bug' (or in other terms, the hips and feet rotate in a circle)" (Silva 302). As you can see below, my back foot is 'squishing the bug' and my hips and my back foot are in the motion of rotating in a circle. As for the hands, Silva says that hitters should attack the hands forward which will allow the barrel of the bat to level out behind the ball (Silva 323). Below, you can see that my hands are forward and my bat is at a level angle where it will meet the ball on plane.

I will continue to work on these adjustments that Silva has talked about during my practices this winter in order to prepare myself for the actual baseball season in the spring and summer.

Q: What are some suggestions you have heard from your coaches in regards to hitting mechanics?
Citation: Silva, Troy. 9 Innings of Hitting. Indiana: Dog Ear Publishing, 2013.

Cashew Chicken

I've always had an interest in cooking, and since I figure I would be cooking more for myself and others in the coming future I might as well learn how to now. I decided to start with a simple Chinese cookbook because it has a variety of different recipes and different techniques. After reading about the different foods found in a Chinese kitchen, and the different techniques used in various Chinese dishes, my first job was to cook dinner for the family.

For my first meal I went with something simple with ingredients we already had in the kitchen. I decided I would cook Cashew Chicken for my parents and I. The book describes cashew chicken as "another takeout favorite that requires less time to cook than to wait for delivery." (69) The recipe calls for the chicken to be marinated in soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch. While the chicken was marinating I chopped the onions and green pepper, and then made the sauce which consisted of soy sauce, rice wine, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and chili sauce

After the chicken has marinated, the sauce has been made, and the onion and green pepper has been chopped, it's finally time to stir-fry and put them all together. First, you put in the chicken until the outside is no longer pink but the insides are still uncooked. Once the chicken has reached this point it's time to add in the onion and pepper. After you put the onion and pepper in, stir-fry some more until the onion becomes clear. The final step is to add in the sauce and let it simmer and thicken for about two minutes. Then you can add cashews to your liking, and then your meal is ready.

The chicken can be served over plain white rice, and for this meal I decided I would. My parents both said the chicken was very good, and I was also very satisfied with the meal in general and I look forward to cooking different meals.

Citation:

Kuan, Diana. The Chinese Takeout Cookbook. 2012.

Statistics: To Trust or Not to Trust?

Statistics are widely used throughout today especially in the media. People often use them to support their opinions or explain a fact. However statistics are slippery creatures that are often extremely biased.

So the question is how do we know when to trust a statistic?

Darrel Huff the author of How to Lie With Statistics, whom is also a mathematician writes,
"To be worth much, a report based on sampling must use a representative sample, which is one from which every source of bias has been removed." (Huff 20)

Examples of bias:
-using too small of groups
-favoring one group over another

The definition of bias is prejudice in favor of or against a person, or group compared with another.
Bias is not fair and greatly skews a statistics accuracy.

So consider this statistic

"The average Yaleman, Class of '24. makes $25,111 a year." This is from Time Magazine. (Huff, 13).

Is this statistic biased?


If you answered no, you are wrong. This statistic is extremely biased.

Darrel Huff lists many reasons for the Yale sample being biased.
Here are a few of them

-The statistic is to precise.
          "There is a small likely hood that the average income of any far-flung group is ever going to be known down to the dollar." (Huff 13).

-People lie.
          "Furthermore, this lovely average is undoubtedly calculated from the amounts the Yale men said they earned... Some people when asked their incomes exaggerate out of vanity or optimism. Others minimize." (Huff 14).

- The responses
           "There are bound to many whose addresses are unknown twenty-five years later." (Huff 15).
           "And, those whose addresses are known, many will not respond to the questionnaire."
           "Those who are most likely to reply are those with incomes to brag about, such as the CEOs the executives of big companies, people who have made it in the world." (Huff 17).

Here I have made a chart of the Yale statistic clearly showing how the statistic is biased.

Other pointers on how to tell if a statistic can be trusted...

Don't trust them. Unless you know for sure that the source can be trusted and more often then not the statistic and the source that used it can not be trusted.

Glass Coffee Pot Experiment

I've always been interested in the sciences, especially the scientific process of the experiment that had to occur to create the results.
Lately, I've been noticing that the glass coffee pot that my parents use to make coffee each day has been gaining quite a few stains.

In one of my independent books, Salt, Lemons, Vinegar, and Baking Soda, there is a cleaner solution for glass coffee pots.
 I gathered the necessary ingredients in order to make the solution:
1/2 cup of salt
ice
 lemon slices
 water
and of course the glass coffee pot
 (Zukowski 33).

I then poured all the ingredients into the glass coffee pot and began to stir/swirl all the factors of the solution to lift the coffee stains off of the bottom and side of the coffee pot. The factors used each have their own use in the experiment, in Shea Zukowski words, "the ice and salt will lift coffee stains from the bottom of the pot...The acidity of the lemon juice will help cut through the oily residue left by the coffee" (Zukowski 33).

The experiment worked for the most part. There are just a few stains that are left that have been there for awhile. I would probably need to stir the mixture in the glass coffee pot for longer to get rid of all the stains in the coffee pot. I was also reminded that lemon juice and
paper cuts do not go well together.

What are some of your home made cleaning solutions that your family uses?

Zukowski, Shea. Salt, Lemons, Vinegar, and Baking Soda: Hundreds of Earth-friendly Houshold Projects, Solutions, and Formulas. New York: Metro, 2009. Print.

Soccer Image

I have been playing soccer since the age of 4; over the years I have always focused on the physical and technical part of the sport. But from reading Dan Abrahams Soccer Tough I also look at the psychological aspect of it.

Prior to reading this book I had always reflected on my mistakes, bad memories, and my weaknesses. From reading this book, I learned that I need to be doing the opposite. Abraham strongly suggested to think constantly about your strengths, dwell on the best moments, resonate your best games, and to know your weaknesses and love to try to improve them. (24)

I have been applying this thinking strategy prior to my games. Before my games I will think about my strengths and all the good moments I've had. This has boosted my confidence majorly, and has positively affected my playing as well.

These thoughts of mistakes, achievements, good games, bad games, strengths, and weaknesses all affect the image that each athlete has of themselves. Abraham called this a players "soccer image" (16) "Every soccer player has a soccer image- an image housed in their mind related to how they see themselves as players" (16). This soccer image that players have of themselves is a strong contributor to how they perform day in and day out. So in order to play well an athlete needs to have a positive image of themselves. Abraham states that "A footballer will never perform better than the image he has of himself" (18).

Having this positive and confident mindset has drastically helped me. Now when I go out on the field I don't think about those bad passes I've made, or those shots that I could have saved. I think about the accurate passes and the great saves I have made in the past. And those mental adjustments that I have made have helped me improve physically and technically.

Have you ever had an experience where having a positive mindset worked?

Abrahams, Dan. Soccer Tough: Simple Football Psychology Techniques to Improve 

     Your Game. Birmingham: Bennion Kearny Limited, 2012. Print.

Setting Up Your Bike

Biking has been my life for 10 years now, throughout this time i have make numerous fixes. In the Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills I have learned how to make these adjustments properly. Ed Pavelka, the author, who is a well known high level cyclist says that a routine check up " besides fixing an glitches, it will boost your confidence that you can handle anything that might happen on the big day" (14). I used this and his later advice about cleaning the chain to improve running of the gears and speed. After I do this I was confident about my chain staying on the gear when shifting or on a hard uphill ride.

Latter on he talks about inspecting the tires, "Inspect the tires for sidewall cracks, tread cuts, and baldness" (Pavelka 16). I went and looked at my tires and saw a bit of baldness on the front tire (right). The back tire (left) is not balding because that tire is built differently, it is a street tire. The front tire is a hybrid, built for partially off road. When i change a tire a notice a great increase in the streamline of the bike. The friction is also reduced because of the full tire pressure in the tire. 

Is my feeling of being faster after maintenance psychological or is the bikes speed actually increased?

Pavelka, Ed. Bicycling Magazine's Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills: Your Guide to Riding Faster, Stronger, Longer, and Safer. Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 1998. Print.

Girl eyes and emotion's (Manga drawing)

          When I was little drawing manga was my biggest obsession I never really took classes or tried to learn how to draw because I was a kid at the time so I never really had money to buy books and the internet was not a big thing for me when I was little. Now that I am in high school and I can earn money and all that stuff I decided for this Independent reading project to learn properly again how to draw anime.
          In the book I am reading I am learning how to draw the eyes and how to make it fit on each person and the emotions in different types of eyes. Camilla D'errico says " Whenever I'm creating a new character, I always start with the eyes. you get all the emotions from the eyes; they are the getaway to the character's soul (16). When staring out you need to make a oval shape head and crosshairs going from top to bottom and side to side those crosshairs will give you an idea of were the eye will be at on the face(16). Camilla D'errico also points out that the crosshairs determine which way the head is turned.

When drawing the eyes for the girls Camilla says " Each eye is a simple circle centered on the horizontal line halfway between the side of the face and the central line"(17).

When filling in the highlight of the eyes you should make the highlight(smaller eye portion) 1/4 of the larger eye (17) . and when adding the iris Camilla tell you " draw a half circle staring at the bottom middle of the highlight and going around to the other side. Don't go all the way to the top of the eye"(17).  Its mostly finding you're own person style for the eye (17).

Lastly you are about to finish you take out a black pen and go over the drawing to make it darker and to add some depth into the eyes (17). when filling the details in Camilla points out that " Draw the pupil right in the middle of the iris and fill it in. Then lightly shade in the area between the edge of the iris and yhe pupil, being careful to avoid the highlight(17). And there we have finished and drew how a girl's eye would look like.

Question: How was it like when you first started to draw? What did you feel?
citations: D'Errico, Camilla, and Stephen W. Martin. Pop Manga: How to Draw the Coolest, Cutest Characters, Animals, Mascots, and More. First ed. New York: D'Errico Studios Ltd and Stephen W.martin, 2013. Print.

faking it - lips

Do you ever see those pictures of those models with big perfect lips? You know, the ones that look like they're photo shopped? I've always been interested to learn how to do those perfect big lips or what they call it, "the sexy,juicy pout".  It looks so effortless yet perfect.

At first glance, it looks like just a lip color and some gloss. But in reality, there are many products that you have to use to make that "juicy pout". You have to use lip balm, a lip venom ( something that has a mint-ish flavor that you put on your lips like lip balm or lip gloss to make your lips have a tingling sensation which means your lips are puffing up/getting bigger), lip liner, lip stick/ lip stain, lip gloss, and just in case you make a mistake, concealer. 

Here are the steps to create the "juicy pout" 

After applying lip balm and wiping it off after thirty seconds with a warm washcloth, which exfoliates and conditions the lips at the same time to remove all the dead skin and create a smooth canvas and slathering lip venom all over your lips, waiting for ten minutes then wiping it off, get a lip liner that is the same color or one to two shades darker or lighter to your lip liner and line the outside of your lips. If you want your lips to look a little bigger than usual, line ever so slightly outside your lips. 

 Next fill in the rest of your lips with a lipstick color that is the same or one to two shades darker or lighter than your lip liner. It doesn't have to look perfect, you just have to fill in your lip. You can easily remove and fix the little mistakes with concealer or just a q-tip.

Finally add your gloss. Layer! As Bartolucci says "the secret to beautiful lips is layering sheer over sheer" 

If you want to go that extra mile, you can always dot a shimmery pink, gold, or sliver gloss onto the center of the lower lip. If you don't have a pink, gold, or silver gloss you can always use clear like what I did here in the picture above and just took a small amount of silver eye shadow and dabbed if on the center of my lips. 

I think I would call this a success! Even though it took me like 30 minutes because I had a hard time making it "perfect" this was only my first attempt. I'm sure, if I did this everyday, I would be able to do this in my sleep! Just remember, you don't have to use a bold red like me. I just wanted to look like a "model" from the book. Really, you can use a nude so you can do the "juicy lip" everyday. Also, if can pretty much be worn at any event! Just make sure you pick an appropriate color. 

So my question for you guys is, if you do your make up, do you ever to stuff to your lips or are you like me and honestly don't care and just slather on some lip balm and go?

Citation:

Schweiger, Melissa Sephora: the ultimate guide to makeup, skin, and hair form the beauty authority/by Melissa Schweiger.- 1st ed. New York, NY: Sephora USA, 2008

Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Twist

          Everyone knows the basic chocolate chip cookie, but have you ever added anything to it to make it special? Well the book Crazy About Cookies by Krystina Castella encouraged me to add toffee to the chocolate chip cookie, the recipe is:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- 1 1/2 cup all- purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking power
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
( Castella, page 77)

Toffee Recipe
- 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 sticks of Butter
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
 ( Castella, page 77)

So I wanted to challenge my self and make the toffee, which Castella says I could buy or make it (77). This would be the second time I would be making candy, the first time I did I made Honey Comb, which turned out great. I had to boil all the ingredients for the toffee till it reached 310 degrees Fahrenheit (Light crack stage). Here are 3 pictures of me boiling the ingredients, the toffee when finished, and the toffee after I crushed it:

So after I made and crushed the toffee, I made the cookie dough after pre heating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. When making the cookies I decided to doubled all the ingredients because I wanted to hand them out friends and family, but I realized I only had one egg but I needed two, so I added enough vegetable oil to make the dough the consistency of a cookie dough. Then I just added a cup of crushed toffee to the batter to finish it off. Here are pictures of the pre-cooked dough to the finished cookie:

The cookies surprised me because I didn't expect the toffee to melt, if I were to do this again I would by the toffee to see any difference and buy eggs.

What do you use as a replacement for eggs?

For the next recipe I want to do from my book I want to try and make herb and spice cookies. Which one(s) should I make?

Lavender cookies, rosemary cookies, Fennel cookies, Marigold cookies , Anise cookies, Cardamom cookies, pepper cookies, mint cookies, Caraway cookies, or chai tea cookies.

Let me know!
by Bonnie Lengele

Citation
Castella, Krystina. Crazy about Cookies: 300 Scrumptious Recipes for Every Occasion & Craving. New York: Sterling, 2010. Print.