Today I am going to be sharing with you how to make a smoothie at home. Recently I have not been going out anywhere due to COVID-19, but that does not mean I cant start my day with a homemade smoothie anymore. Now i’m sure you all aware of how to make a smoothie, but I am about to teach you how to make the BEST morning smoothie.
Before I tell you how to make this smoothie, I would like to share with you why I include this in my routine. I find myself feeling very disheveled if I do not start my day with breakfast. As you all have heard, it is the most important meal of the day because it gets your brain grooving. If I ever start my morning without breakfast I know I am doomed.
So, I usually wake up at around 9:30. I like to start my morning out with working out because if I don’t workout in the morning I usually find myself not working out at all. A smoothie is something I always look foward to after my workout.
Okay enough, enough, I know you’re all thinking GIVE US THE SPECIAL RECIPE.
So, to start off I pour a half cup of coconut milk in my blender. ( and if you arent a fan of milk you can replace that with frozen yogurt, or if you want to be unhealthy a little ice cream)
I then add a handful of kale, pineapple, spinach, and a full banana…. The smoothie instantly blends into a green ish color.
DONT BE FOOLED BY THE COLOR, this smoothie is amazing, and so healthy for you because it includes the greens, yet it still has a sweet flavor from the coconut milk,banana and pineapple.
And as easy as that your smoothie is done.
I said don’t be fooled by the color because I had surpised my sister with a smoothie one day to come home a couple hours later to it still full. I asked, “Um why is that smoothie not drank” she replied, “I cant drink green things, ew!” I said do not judge a book by its cover and before we both knew it she turned out enjoying and drinking that smoothie.
But it sure would’ve been a whole lot better fresh, exactly why I used the old cliche “Dont judge a book by its cover”
We have had plenty of rainy days during this quarinite and let me tell you I USED TO HATE RAINY DAYS… but I have found that hate turning into something much better. I have found myself trying to be happy on the darkest days and that is what is most important to me. I think since I am an older sister, it’s important for me to set a good act so that my sisters can follow in the right footsteps. While I am home I do not want to act sad, or depressed because it is different from school where everyone in my family is around me and looks up to me.
Soooo….
I came up with something cool during the quarantine on any rainy day. Of course, rainy days can be depressing, but not when you stay positive. I have a big family, so us all at home is not so bad. My family has decided that on rainy days we would use them for bonding. My sisters, and I love playing board games, or doing puzzles so we have used those activities as a way to bond.
Yes, I can honestly say we have completed 2 huge puzzles, sounds boring, but when you’re in it together it is a bonding experience.
Another way we have found ourselves family bonding is when we all get together and watch a movie. I really enjoy spending time with my family and it’s definitely different getting all this time because I am usually working or at college.
Quarantine of course is not everyone’s favorite thing, but it is what is saving the world around us. Quarantine is a good way to find yourself and be alone with yourself/ your family.
This semester i found myself struggling with my mental health due to stress, and just personal issues but this time at home is really helping me to get myself together.
How do you make your rainy days/ quarantine happy ?
I am so thankful god gave me siblings because they seriously are my best friends. I have two younger sisters and an older brother and honestly my life would not be the same without them. During this quarantine we have been spending all our time together and as some people may be pulling each others hair out by now, we truly have bonded.
Everyday during this quarantine when I wake up I head downstairs and work out with my sisters. We usually go on a walk or a run and then come back and do a leg workout. and let me tell you, its SO much better than working out alone.
As social distancing is happening to save the lives of everyone around us many people are finding themselves bored, lonely, or feeling the need to go out with friends and I of course miss all my friends but I am so thankful I have my siblings to spend time with during this tough time.
We bake together, cook, clean, workout, decorate ect.
Its like god gave me built in best friends, forever…
Sometimes it really is about the little things in life.
I did not know how to make my sisters birthday special during this quarantine. I knew her day would be less exciting because she was not able to get her license and I thought about how disappointing that was. Instead of a birthday filled with gifts, and parties, I threw Julia a day filled with love, and honestly sometimes that is what matters most.
The day started with balloons, and a home made poster filled with love and inside jokes. As small and simple as that gift was, it brought a smile and a laugh to my sisters Julias face when she woke up on her 17th birthday.
She was pretty bummed about not being able to get her license, and not being able to see her friends or our family members so I knew I had to come up with a plan…
Within a few texts, and phone calls I had about 14 cars beeping outside of my house with posters, and love for Julia.
She had NO IDEA! She ran over to the window when she heard beeping with the best reaction. “… v are all those cars for me”
“OF COURSE THEY ARE JULIA!!!” I responded as I ran outside after her.
It was amazing to see the pure happiness on her face, and it showed how although sometimes things can get “ruined” there is always a way to find the light.
We definitely found the light in Julia’s quarantined birthday.
“Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can’t be done.” Bo Bennett
Start by finding the optimistic view point in a situation. For example COVID-19 is a very negative situation we are going through and it is hard to see the light in this. The positive I have taken from this situation is the beauty in finding myself. I have been using this time and quarantine to find and rekindle things that I enjoy doing. I have taken the time to start studying for my praxis, working out, and actually realized I have a new love for baking. I have taken the positive in being stuck home and turning it into quest to find my true self.
Find a Safe environment. My happy place is my porch. My porch is the place where I feel most relaxed. I usually spend my time here when I am about to do homework, or write. I think it is important to have a place you know makes you feel calm and at peace. It is also important to surround yourself with positive people, and a positive atmosphere. That is a key tip in keeping positive.
Don’t Rush. When I find myself rushing, or overwhelmed I usually end up having a very negative day. In order to stay positive I relax when I feel like I am going to fast. For example, I even find myself at times eating fast and people often say to me “hey its not a race”. I find this funny because they are right! In life sometimes its important to slow down and relax your mind and body.
4. Breathe – Let it out.Sometimes life can get overwhelming and that creates your mind to start to race and become stressed. This usually happens to me when I start stressing about school work, or work, or my future. When I find myself falling into this stressed hole I take a second to breathe. Yes, simply just breathe. I think its important to take a few seconds out of your day to take deep breaths and relax your mind and body.
5. Exercise regularly and eat and sleep well.— Whenever I do not get the correct amount of sleep, or food, I feel very weak and not myself. I feel as if I am not organized and all over the place. Lack of sleep and food causes me to become someone I am not, but the correct amount of sleep food and a little bit of exercise always has my brain grooving. I find I am my best self when I am well rested, and have a set sleep, food and workout schedule. A tip for keeping positive and healthy is starts by having healthy habits.
This pandemic has sure made me discover my hidden talents! Ever since I was in the fifth grade I had a love for teaching, and decorating. Anytime I would come home from school I would set my Fathers office up as my own classroom and play school with my sisters. I of course would be the teacher, and they would be my students. I would print them out worksheets, and draw on the white board as if I was a teacher. I knew since I was younger that being a teacher would one day be my career.
BUT, I also discovered something else I love that I always loved as a child as well!
As this pandemic has taken over our lives I also started doing something else I used to do when I was younger. A talent I realized I can turn into a career, or even my own side business! Like I said, I love decorating. Recently I have been rearranging and decorating my whole house. I started with my sisters room. I turned there rooms into a place where they can feel calm, clean and organized. I have a natural eye for making a room look great and I am just realizing how much I love doing this.
A project I started was my basement, I painted the walls, and now I am reusing old furniture (painting it) and making it all come together. I really love decorating, almost as much as I love teaching! My dad does construction, so I have been telling him I would so be interested in making my own side business out of this. I know I would need to take before and after pictures and start with social media, but I feel very good about myself when I discover something new I am good at !
Have you discovered any talents? Im sure you have !
An article that caught my eye was about the use of social media and the effects on children. I found this article by typing in google “recent study”. (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/technology/kids-smartphones-depression.html). The article was about the assumptions about the negative effects of social media and smartphones on children. The first fact I read in the article was, “It has become common wisdom that too much time spent on smartphones and social media is responsible for a recent spike in anxiety, depression and other mental health problems, especially among teenagers.” This led me to go upstream and check the facts on that claim. I typed on google, “Does social media cause depression” and it led me to an article from Childmind.org. (https://childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/). The article was written by Caroline Miller, so before reading I went and made sure she was a reliable source. I typed on google biography about Caroline Miller, and I found that she is is the editorial director of the Child Mind Institute, and that this article is reliable. She reports in her article that, “Evidence is mounting that there is a link between social media and depression. In several recent studies, teenage, and young adult users who spend the most time on Instagram, Facebook and other platforms were shown to have a substantially (from 13 to 66 percent) higher rate of reported depression than those who spent the least time.” This led me to find the truth in the New York Times article that said, “The latest research, published on Friday by two psychology professors, combs through about 40 studies that have examined the link between social media use and both depression and anxiety among adolescents. That link, according to the professors, is small and inconsistent.” Although, these are two different claims I decided to look into the a study about social media and depression. I went upstream and looked at a journal from Maquarrine univerisity. https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/parental-control-of-time-spent-on-social-media-links-with-preadol.
The journal was about a study and the the purpose of the study was to investigate the connection between parental control and the amount of time their child spends on social media, verses; preadolescents’ time spent browsing social media, and life satisfaction. This study needed to be conducted because the time spent on social media can be linked with dissatisfaction of the own body and mental health.There were 582 total participants in this study, both girls and boys ranging from ages 10-12. One of each child’s parents had access to their social media from different devices.
In order to complete this study parents were asked to record how long their child spent on social media. Then the Preadolescences themselves were asked to record how much time they spent on social media on a weekday against on a weekend day.
Depressive symptoms were measured through 13 statements in a questionnaire and were asked to indicate how true each statement was for them in the past two weeks. Responses were summed for all statements to form a total score, with higher scores indicating more depressive symptoms.
The data collected shows the links between parental control over the time preadolescents spend on social media, pre-adolescents’ social media browsing, preadolescents’ social media appearance comparison frequency, and pre- adolescents’ mental health after controlling for general par- enting styles, parental mental health, and preadolescent gender.
The data shows that the majority of parents reported, have control over the amount of time their child spent on social media; but there was also a negative correlation between parent control over the time their child spent on social media and the preadolescents’ reported time spent browsing social media.
The results of this study also propose that parents which control the time of their child spent on social media may be beneficial. Those findings, however, may be unambiguous to the preadolescent period, when parents still have more influence over their child’s behaviours than in later years.
Going back to my original article from the New York times. Now let’s take a moment to read across The New York Times ….how reliable is this source? By looking at the article, I can see at least that they are reporting results consistent with what the study, and provide links to more information on it in the article. The article holds several links to more information on the study and I also checked out other studies. After going upstream on the original article I was able to find out information I needed to understand this study. The article included reliable sources to back up the information. For example, the World Health Organization provided information about how infants and young children should be exposed to less screen time to eliminate this future problem, and in the other study I found I also found that to be true.
Thus, the original study does not find social media, and phone use linked directly to the anxiousness and depression in young teens, but research suggest that limited screen time can definitely be healthier, and that there is defiantly a link between the two.
I’m sure many of us are stressed with the new lifestyle we are adjusting to due to COVID-19. Our regular lives were shifted so fast due to all the changes this virus has brought upon us. I think in times like this, this is where we have to find the light in the darkness. This virus has stressed my family in many ways. It is not just our jobs and lifestyle we are worried about it is also the stress about our safety and health.
When I was in fifth grade my parents got divorced. Both of my parents ended up with somebody new and moved in with them. My already large family of two sisters, and an older brother grew. My mother has a boyfriend with four kids, and my father has a girlfriend with two. As you can imagine, we are worried about A lot of peoples health here. Unfountaunly my dads girlfriends son has chrones diease which means he does not have an immune system like us due to all the treatment he has to get. With that being said this Virus has been extreamly scary for my family.
Soooo what do we do in times of fear?
We make a plan.
My Dads girlfriend decided to send her son away to stay at a lake house so he would be completly isolated from everyone. I also decided to stop working because I did not want to put my parents, myself, or anyone in my family at risk. Ive realized in a crisis you do things you would not normally do, but it is okay because you have to adjust to the change.
To work on keeping myself healthy I have been trying to workout and focus on myself. I think exercising, and going on walks is a great way to clear your head. After I take a walk or workout I usually sit down and do my homework. That is the time I feel I am most focused. Not working, and getting the opportunity to focus on myself during this pandemic is the blessing I am taking from it.
Although my family is financially stressed, and overall stressed I know we will get through it.
Panicking About Your Kids’ Phones? New Research Says Don’t
“A growing number of academics are challenging assumptions about the negative effects of social media and smartphones on children” (New York Times).
Today I want to do a very interesting fact check. The one that I chose is from The New York Times which suggests a study that a correlation between social media and negative effects on children are not linked. I want to pursue a career in teaching so this study really interested me. I think it’s important to understand what is making kids so anxious.
SOOO lets see what research says about this topic….
The article commented on the idea that social media and smartphones are the reason for a recent spike in anxiety and depression in teens but the latest research,by two psychology professors, combs through about 40 studies that have examined the link between social media use and both depression and anxiety among adolescents. They found that the link, according to the professors, is small and inconsistent.
With that fact being said, I took it too Duck Duck go to find out more about this topic. I found articles from the New York times here as well on this topic. Duck Duck go took me to a site that led me to find more reliable facts on this subject. The facts were a bit confusing. Some researchers like Ms. Odgers argue the evidence doesn’t support the panic over time spent on smartphones. Instead the researchers worry that the focus on keeping children away from screens is making it hard to have more productive conversations about topics like how to make phones more useful for low-income people, who tend to use them more, or how to protect the privacy of teenagers who share their lives online. The article also held the other idea by psychologist Jean Twenge, who argued that a recent rise in suicide and depression among teenagers was linked to the arrival of smartphones. But after contuining reading even futher studies show no direct correlation of the actual smart phone and social media linking to depression.
Now let’s take a moment to read across The New York Times how reliable is this source? By looking at the article, I can see at least that they are reporting results consistent with what the study, and provide links to more information on it in the article. The article holds several links to more information on the study. After going upstream on the original article I was able to find out information I needed to understand this study. The article included reliable sources to back up the information. For example, the World Health Organization provided information about how infants and young children should be exposed to less screen time to eliminate this future problem although research did not find a high correlation, they do suggest less screen time is healthier. .
While going upstream I found information from The World Health Organization that said that, “infants under 1 year old should not be exposed to electronic screens and that children between the ages of 2 and 4 should not have more than one hour of “sedentary screen time” each day.” This is because in some cases eliminating, screen time for children under the age of 5 will result in healthier adults, the organization, a United Nations health agency announced. The article also provided links to go upstream on this topic as well which was very helpful when checking the facts.
In addition, the original article led me to a research review found here, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcpp.13190. The author of this article is Candice L. Odgers, so i decided to go upstream on the author to find out about her research. I concluded that she is very reliable. I typed in on google, “Candice L. Odgers’ ‘ and it took me to an article about him from physcandnuero.duke.edu. I was able to conclude she is a reliable researcher. Her research focuses on how social inequalities and early adversity influence children’s future health and well-being, which is what my original article focused on overall. At this point, I think I’ve gathered enough information to determine what the agreement is on this claim. The journal is reliable as well as the researchers, so we can say with some certainty this article is professional. The original study does not find social media, and phone use linked directly to the anxiousness and depression in young teens, but research suggest that limited screen time can definitely be healthier!
“State Farm claims Shannon Doherty using cancer diagnosis to get a payout”. I found this Headline on the New York post news website. I found this by searching celebrity news 2020. This article can also be found on buzz feed, or the local news but I came across this article and it sparked my interest to find the facts behind Shannon Doherty.
After clicking on this intriguing head line, I was brought to a website called Page six. I was then informed that State Farm on Wednesday claimed actress Shannon Doherty, “is just looking for sympathy, and a payout to get her California home repaired — by announcing her terminal stage 4 cancer diagnosis.” I was soon to find out after seconds of being on the page that the former actress sued State Farm in March 2019 after the insurance giant refused to pay the full amount for repairs on her home, which was damaged in the devastating 2018 California wildfires. According to page six I was also soon to come find out that Doherty, 48, on Tuesday revealed her breast cancer, saying her diagnosis was going to become public this week as part of the lawsuit.
The part of the article I was reading that instantly led me to fact check was whether or not she actually was saying she had cancer for sympathy.
I read that, “Doherty’s attorney, Devin McRae, told The Post it was “appalling” that State Farm would claim that Doherty only revealed her health condition to garner sympathy.”
“Of course cancer and a chronic respiratory ailment are directly relevant to the means and scope of fire and smoke remediation in her home and on her clothes,” McRae said.
I think it’s time for Duck Duck Go….
After heading to Duck Duck go I typed in the search engine the quote that I wanted to find out about. I was sure there were missing pieces to this story. I typed in, “Doherty’s attorney, Devin McRae, told The Post it was “appalling” that State Farm would claim that Doherty only revealed her health condition to garner sympathy.” on Duck Duck go and was overwhelmed with a bunch of articles. A few of the articles I first checked out were not helpful because they did not have any new information in them or the answers to my question. I finally found a helpful article and that was on people.com. This article was from 2016, but it led me to find out that Shannon Doherty used to have cancer and that was a helpful piece of information understanding this story. At first reading the headline I thought Shannon had just come out with cancer for the first time. I read about some stuff Shannon Doherty said in an interview years ago and it led me to really question if she was saying she had cancer for sympathy because she did not view cancer like that in the past. The article says,
“I’ve been given a really interesting opportunity and one that in a way, I kind of feel blessed,” Doherty told ET in an interview. “Cancer has, in a strange way, done some amazing things for me. It’s allowed me to be more me, like much more in touch with who I am, and much more vulnerable and the person that I always was, but I think it got hidden behind a lot of other stuff.” Shannon Doherty said this in an interview which now has me CONFUSED!
……. Time to fact check some more !!
The next thing I typed into Duck.Duck go was “Doherty’s cancer claim 2020”. This was the perfect keywords to search because it brought me to USA today.com where I was instantly thrown helpful information. The title of the article is “Shannen Doherty’s Lawyer Blasts State Farms Symothaty accusation”.
WOW was this not the missing piece of information I was trying to look for ?!?! ..You have got to love DuckDuckGo.
I reached the conclusion that the answer to my question indeed does exist. Shannon Doherty did anncouce her cancer on Tuesday, where I later read to find out she did have cancer in March 2015. Court documents also claim she suffers from a respiratory illness all which stemmed from the California fire in her house.
So yes there is a lawsuit going against State Farm over claims shannon Doherty was forced to pay out of pocket after her house was “severely damaged” in the 2018 Woolsey fire. She said in a “Good Morning America” interview that aired Tuesday that she decided to come forward with her diagnosis to get ahead of legal documents, which mention her cancer, being made public.
The answer to my question is no Shannon Doherty did not do this for sympthantu. She announced in the article I read from an interview With shannon..
“I’d rather people hear it from me,” she said. “I don’t want it to be twisted; I don’t want it to be a court document. I want it to be real and authentic, and I want to control the narrative. I want people to know from me.”
So yes, Shannon Doherty does have cancer, and she does not feel she should have to pay out of pocket for her repairs, BUT her cancer diagnosis has nothing to do with wanting sympathy.
To conclude, my overall goal in this post was to put the situation into context, but something to remember when it comes to celebrity headlines is
DRUM ROLE….
…… THEY ARE DRAMATIC to either to make the celebrity look better or worse.
Vanessa Mannion 