Hi all!
So I'm experimenting with a new blog on health,nutrition and the human body. It's called Soulistique. The reason for the name you might ask? Well *soul* because it means Soul, and the word Holistic has been thrown in there too but I put soul and holistic together giving me Soulistic, but then the name Soulistic for a blog was taken so i took off the -ic and put -ique (just like my name Juan-ique) and came up with SOULISTIQUE. It's a little harder to remember but hopefully this explaination will help you remember.
It's just an experiment so I don't know where it's going to end up but please start sharing all your health news and ideas if you'd like. I'm hoping that the sight can become a pool of information on health that everyone can go back to every once in a while for help, ideas and guidance on health.
So here it is: soulistique.blogspot.com
Thanks all!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Spring time means Grill time!
So my friend Emily blogged about what we did on the weekend (because we hung out with them). She did such an awesome job that I'm just going to let you go and check out what we did this weekend by reading her blog because trying to re-right what she wrote would be redundant. Besides, her blogging skills are WAY more advanced than mine.
So check it out!
Love to all!
So check it out!
Love to all!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A little info on Contemplative Psychotherapy
There is an article here about Contemplative Psychotherapy, which is the MA that I (Tristin) will be working towards for the next three years. It is the best description I have come across, and it should answer any questions that people might have (Thanks to Jennifer Patsy for the link).
In a nutshell, Contemplative Psychotherapy is the lovechild of Buddhist philosophy and Western Psychology. It is based on the assumption that we are all sane, brilliant individuals that suffer from a lack of clarity. This viewpoint is in opposition to the prevalent Western assumptions that everyone is broken at the core and inherently evil. When a Contemplative therapist looks at you she sees a shining soul rather than a bleeding heart. Mental health is often just a blink away rather than a million hours of therapy away.
I love the Contemplative approach to psychology for several reasons. One of the reasons is that it jives so well with the LDS belief in the wise soul. While church doctrine states that the natural man is evil and the flesh is subject to temptations of all kinds, the soul within has a desire to do good and--in its natural state--is happy. The less-than-ideal events of life and our failures to be honest with ourselves culminate in a perception of existence that is inaccurate and unhelpful. A person with such a perception is considered ill. The truth is that they simply need some help shedding the layers of garbage to see clearly again.
Granted, there are cases of severe mental illness that can be attributed to genetics and brain chemistry. There are some cases of severe mental illness that (possibly) cannot simply be fixed with a 50-minute conversation. I'm not talking about those cases right now. I'm talking about unhappy people who have complete control over their ability to be happy and need to take responsibility for that control, which is somewhere between 90-99% of humanity.
Hopefully I just cleared up more questions than I created. When I feel the urge I'll post some more about what I'm learning and my own personal thoughts about what it all means.
In a nutshell, Contemplative Psychotherapy is the lovechild of Buddhist philosophy and Western Psychology. It is based on the assumption that we are all sane, brilliant individuals that suffer from a lack of clarity. This viewpoint is in opposition to the prevalent Western assumptions that everyone is broken at the core and inherently evil. When a Contemplative therapist looks at you she sees a shining soul rather than a bleeding heart. Mental health is often just a blink away rather than a million hours of therapy away.
I love the Contemplative approach to psychology for several reasons. One of the reasons is that it jives so well with the LDS belief in the wise soul. While church doctrine states that the natural man is evil and the flesh is subject to temptations of all kinds, the soul within has a desire to do good and--in its natural state--is happy. The less-than-ideal events of life and our failures to be honest with ourselves culminate in a perception of existence that is inaccurate and unhelpful. A person with such a perception is considered ill. The truth is that they simply need some help shedding the layers of garbage to see clearly again.
Granted, there are cases of severe mental illness that can be attributed to genetics and brain chemistry. There are some cases of severe mental illness that (possibly) cannot simply be fixed with a 50-minute conversation. I'm not talking about those cases right now. I'm talking about unhappy people who have complete control over their ability to be happy and need to take responsibility for that control, which is somewhere between 90-99% of humanity.
Hopefully I just cleared up more questions than I created. When I feel the urge I'll post some more about what I'm learning and my own personal thoughts about what it all means.
Cafe Rio Dressing-Yum!
Yesterday Tristin and I went to hang out with some of his old high school friends. Whats really convenient is that among him and his 3 really close friends, all the wives get along really well too so it always works out and we never get bored. and I'm NOT just saying that because they read this (I really mean it girls). So yesterday we had a BBQ to get together for possibly the last time because we then move in less than 6 weeks.
Well our assignment was to make the salad for the BBQ so we though, "what salad is just AMAZING and that everyone will love? CAFE RIO's SALADS!"
Well the salads turned out to be a HUGE success. We made the tortilla's from SCRATCH (WOW-that's definitely NOT like me to make stuff from scratch) as well as the creamy cilantro-lime dressing which was just AMAZING! The famous Cafe Rio dressing is by far best salad dressing I've ever had at any restaurant! I had a few requests for the recipe so I'm going to share it because we could all do with a little bit more salad in our lives, right? And salad is SO much better when you have a yummy dressing on top of it. So here it is............. ENJOY!
Café Rio Dressing
1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet
1 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Cup Buttermilk
2 tomatillos (Green tomato-like vegetables with a husk around them)
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeño (Use the seeds too if you like it spicy. You could substitute a few drops of green tobasco for the jalapeno.)
Blend everything together in a blender and there you have it!
So cut up some lettuce, dice some tomatoes, cook some rice (of your preference. We used Mexican rice) and add black beans and you have a very yummy Cafe Rio salad!
Here's the recipe for the tortillas we made as well. They take a little longer to prepare than the dressing but are OH SO GOOD!
Tortillas
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup warm water (I heat mine up in the microwave for about 30-35 seconds)
And that's all it takes. Now for making them.
Add flour, salt, and e.v.o.o. Mix until it makes little clumps (it makes a big difference if you have a Kitchen Aid over a hand mixer). Slowly add warm water, and mix until dough forms. Break into 2 inch sized balls. Flatten and cook in a skillet on medium to high heat until golden brown. That's it! Super easy, and super quick! It should make about 12 tortillas, but they're pretty small. So if you'd like to make them bigger for burritos or something then just make your dough balls bigger.
Happy salad making everyone!
Well our assignment was to make the salad for the BBQ so we though, "what salad is just AMAZING and that everyone will love? CAFE RIO's SALADS!"
Well the salads turned out to be a HUGE success. We made the tortilla's from SCRATCH (WOW-that's definitely NOT like me to make stuff from scratch) as well as the creamy cilantro-lime dressing which was just AMAZING! The famous Cafe Rio dressing is by far best salad dressing I've ever had at any restaurant! I had a few requests for the recipe so I'm going to share it because we could all do with a little bit more salad in our lives, right? And salad is SO much better when you have a yummy dressing on top of it. So here it is............. ENJOY!
Café Rio Dressing
1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet
1 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Cup Buttermilk
2 tomatillos (Green tomato-like vegetables with a husk around them)
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeño (Use the seeds too if you like it spicy. You could substitute a few drops of green tobasco for the jalapeno.)
Blend everything together in a blender and there you have it!
So cut up some lettuce, dice some tomatoes, cook some rice (of your preference. We used Mexican rice) and add black beans and you have a very yummy Cafe Rio salad!
Here's the recipe for the tortillas we made as well. They take a little longer to prepare than the dressing but are OH SO GOOD!
Tortillas
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup warm water (I heat mine up in the microwave for about 30-35 seconds)
And that's all it takes. Now for making them.
Add flour, salt, and e.v.o.o. Mix until it makes little clumps (it makes a big difference if you have a Kitchen Aid over a hand mixer). Slowly add warm water, and mix until dough forms. Break into 2 inch sized balls. Flatten and cook in a skillet on medium to high heat until golden brown. That's it! Super easy, and super quick! It should make about 12 tortillas, but they're pretty small. So if you'd like to make them bigger for burritos or something then just make your dough balls bigger.
Happy salad making everyone!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Congratulations Conryd and Aly!
(in order: Aly, Tristin surfing, me and lastly Conryd- and OH, how we miss Lake Powell)
Congratulations Conryd and Aly for making it through your first year of marriage! I know, I know, I'm a little late (a week late) but its the thought that counts, right? We are so happy for you guys and I thought I'd quickly blog about it (at 1am). Aly, I love your guts. I couldn't have asked for a cooler sister-in-law....and i want to adopt your first child because your kids are going to be GORGEOUS! Conryd, congratulations for not driving your wife mad with your geekery (yes, that is a made up word). All in all, you two are great and we love you! Thanks for being the perfect hanging out buddies! We'll miss you guys when we leave.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Silly Human
This post is in honor of me and my stuborness/stupidity. It is to remind myself that doing things out of spite is pointless and unproductive (most of the time).
Tuesday this week was a really funny/odd day. why? well it rained (I love rain but I'm very ready for sunshine) and I went to get my snow tires removed to put on my normal ones again. As I get to discount tire the guy helping me says "you need 2 new tires". GREAT! I need to spend MORE money on my car! The price I pay for safety! So the guy gives me a quote and says my 2 tires will be $280. Thats a TON of money for us. But whatever, I'll give them their darn $280 and sulk about it for the rest of the day. Tristin told me that it wasn't a big deal and to just accept it but being me, I decided to pout (to myself) about it. So as I waited 40 minutes for my car I silently fumed. Within those 40 minutes I somehow sold myself to do something stupid because gosh-dang-it I DESERVED it! (FYI: Juanique philosophy 101 says, we human beings are not entitled to anything. As soon as we think the world owes us something, we get infected with a "disease" called pride and selfishness.) Obviously I was having a stupid day. So I told myself that I deserved to indulge in a long lost pleasure called a low fat mocha frappachino......YUM!!
Now I don't do coffee becuase it's a part of our Word of Wisdom to "avoid strong drinks" but Mocha frappachinos are my Kryptonite. So I said to myself, "What the heck. Just do it. You won't regret it," and I guzzled down a whole bottle in 5 minutes. (yes, this IS the most rebelious I get. Pretty lame, I know! The last time I did something out of "spite" I pearce my ears).
I'll tell you now, HOLY COW did I get a headache from the stuff! It was so bad that I had to take Advil for it! I totally regretted drinking it as soon as I was finish. So boys and girls, DONT do coffee! Even if it is Decaf!
But that wasn't all of it. To top things off, When I was trying to make totillas for dinner, the hand mixer broke, my BRAND NEW tortilla press (that I had bought that day), it's handly had COMPLETELY broken off (how that can happen inside a box I do not know) and then it snowed 5 inches the day AFTER I took my snow tires off my car! Oh and my computer totally crashed on Sunday losing almost ALL of my pictures of the past 4 years. HAHAHA.
I'm waiting for someone to jump out at me all of a sudden and yell "APRIL FOOLS" because this April, so far, has been filled with nothing but jokes and bad luck. Our spring so far has brought a couple days of warm weather but then LOTS of rain and LOTS of snow. I'm telling ya, when it rains, it POURS!
.....But life is SO good! It's weeks like these that keep it interesting! I LOVE my life. I think I'll keep it :)
OH, heres a picture of the shirt I colored on Easter at Uncle Dereks house. I was so proud that it turned out as well as it did! I thought my heart would look like a circle but alas, it did not :)
If this shirt could talk, it would say,
Oh Spring, how my heart waiteth for thee!
(haha)
Tuesday this week was a really funny/odd day. why? well it rained (I love rain but I'm very ready for sunshine) and I went to get my snow tires removed to put on my normal ones again. As I get to discount tire the guy helping me says "you need 2 new tires". GREAT! I need to spend MORE money on my car! The price I pay for safety! So the guy gives me a quote and says my 2 tires will be $280. Thats a TON of money for us. But whatever, I'll give them their darn $280 and sulk about it for the rest of the day. Tristin told me that it wasn't a big deal and to just accept it but being me, I decided to pout (to myself) about it. So as I waited 40 minutes for my car I silently fumed. Within those 40 minutes I somehow sold myself to do something stupid because gosh-dang-it I DESERVED it! (FYI: Juanique philosophy 101 says, we human beings are not entitled to anything. As soon as we think the world owes us something, we get infected with a "disease" called pride and selfishness.) Obviously I was having a stupid day. So I told myself that I deserved to indulge in a long lost pleasure called a low fat mocha frappachino......YUM!!
Now I don't do coffee becuase it's a part of our Word of Wisdom to "avoid strong drinks" but Mocha frappachinos are my Kryptonite. So I said to myself, "What the heck. Just do it. You won't regret it," and I guzzled down a whole bottle in 5 minutes. (yes, this IS the most rebelious I get. Pretty lame, I know! The last time I did something out of "spite" I pearce my ears).
I'll tell you now, HOLY COW did I get a headache from the stuff! It was so bad that I had to take Advil for it! I totally regretted drinking it as soon as I was finish. So boys and girls, DONT do coffee! Even if it is Decaf!
But that wasn't all of it. To top things off, When I was trying to make totillas for dinner, the hand mixer broke, my BRAND NEW tortilla press (that I had bought that day), it's handly had COMPLETELY broken off (how that can happen inside a box I do not know) and then it snowed 5 inches the day AFTER I took my snow tires off my car! Oh and my computer totally crashed on Sunday losing almost ALL of my pictures of the past 4 years. HAHAHA.
I'm waiting for someone to jump out at me all of a sudden and yell "APRIL FOOLS" because this April, so far, has been filled with nothing but jokes and bad luck. Our spring so far has brought a couple days of warm weather but then LOTS of rain and LOTS of snow. I'm telling ya, when it rains, it POURS!
.....But life is SO good! It's weeks like these that keep it interesting! I LOVE my life. I think I'll keep it :)
OH, heres a picture of the shirt I colored on Easter at Uncle Dereks house. I was so proud that it turned out as well as it did! I thought my heart would look like a circle but alas, it did not :)
If this shirt could talk, it would say,
Oh Spring, how my heart waiteth for thee!
(haha)
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter!!!!!!
After a week of clouds and rain, this years Easter brought with it, sun, fun and egg hunting (which I proved to be very bad at once again.) I found all my eggs last out of EVERYONE. After hunting for eggs at my in law house, we all went out for big lunch and then over to Tristin's uncles house for more egg hunting, games and tye dying shirts! it was a TON of fun. They probably had to find 300 eggs which took less than 10 minutes because there are over 80 cousins.
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