Did you know?

As seen on my beauty blog, http://confidenceb.blogspot.com/

Did you know that elevating your feet for at least ten minutes a day can help reduce your risk of varicose veins?
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Standing, running, or anything that keeps you on your feet puts pressure on your legs and feet, and your brain recognizes this so it sends more blood to those areas to help support the weight. This can cause the blood to build up, and even when you sit or lie down flat to relieve your feet, your heart doesn't always recycle the built up blood because it's harder to pump through that area of your body.

This build up of blood is a cause of varicose veins.

While sitting and lying down flat helps by removing the pressure from your feet, you can do more for your toesies (and, in the long run, your legs) by elevating your feet at a 30-90 degree angle. Something at a slope. Lying flat only removes the pressure; a slant or slope will drain the excess blood from your feet and return it to the rest of your body. You can do this by putting a few pillows under your feet, or sit on the floor with your feet on the couch, or use an Inversion Table (Gaoogle it) or be creative! I recommend elevating your feet for at least 10 minutes a day (you can put pillows under your feet while you watch TV or do your homework or eat lunch) but any amount of time is beneficial. I usually sleep with my feet elevated by pillows, but I know lots of people aren't keen to sleeping with their feet higher than their heads. So just do what works for you!

This isn't a guarantee against varicose, and if you end up getting varicose, please don't sue me for false information. I've been told by medical professionals that it helps, just like diets low in saturated fat may reduce the risk of heart disease; and besides, how could it hurt?

In the end, I believe your feet, legs, heart, and mirror will thank you for it.

Hair cut!

Since my ends were fried from past colorings/bleaching, I decided to have them completely removed. I modeled my hairstyle after Kimberly Caldwell's. I received several compliments and comments that I look older and more mature; I almost feel my age now!

Here's the result:

My Assignment in China

As an update from my last entry, I have been assigned to a school in China. I will be teaching at the Zhongshan Bond Language Institute, located in Zhongshan City, Guangdong, PRC. It was my second preference, but I am very happy and extremely excited. Zhongshan is in the southern region of China, and is close to Hong Kong. It has tropical weather year-round, as it's near the equator.


Last weekend, my family threw a garage sale that benefited the cause: all of the proceeds will go to my tuition toward China. We made about $300! I will continue to have fundraisers until I leave. I'm also working two jobs: one at Forever 21 in the mall and one at Pizza Hut. I enjoy both.

Dad bought me a Chinese for Dummies book and there is a new young woman in my ward who is willing to teach me the basics of Mandarin--or there's always Google Translator. Either way, I have my work cut out for me this summer!

I'm Going to China!

I promise I will get to posting pictures of the wedding and my vacation to the West, but since I'm short on time I thought I would take it to update the family on my latest news: I've been accepted as a teacher for International Language Programs, and I will be spending this autumn in China as a teacher of the English language to children.

There is still paperwork for me to fill out and I need to send in my passport so that I can get my Chinese Visa (sweet!) but I have been officially accepted and I will fly out mid-August and return mid-December. There are 6 cities in China, with nine schools in total, and when I do my paperwork I will submit my preferences. So, at the moment, I do not know exactly where I will be going but I'll let you know when I am assigned to a school.

A quick review of what I will be doing as an ILP teacher: I will be assigned to a school with other college-age, LDS-standards, English-speaking teachers. Five days a week we will teach children between the ages of 4-14 English through immersion classes; this way, I will not need to speak Mandarin in order to teach. (Whew!)
Every evening and weekend the teachers are free to wander and travel and shop as they like. We get a week long vacation, usually to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, the Terracotta Warriors, etc. The fee I pay covers flights there and back; Kung Fu classes, Mandarin classes, and cuisine classes; room and food for the entire semester. I will be living with at least one female teacher in a dorm outside the school. I will have access to the internet and Skype, so I'll do my best to keep in contact and post news and photos on the blog.

I'll keep you updated as things progress.

Until then, 再见! (Goodbye!)