Spring Break 2012

Girl World may not have met this week, but that doesn't mean that the Girl World Philosophy shuts down. This week we challenged ourselves to stay conscious of our goals such as healthy lifestyles, community and positive relationships by doing a few simple activities.

Here were the challenges:

Healthy Lifestyles - spend the week practicing one of your “10 small things” to make your day better physically/emotionally/spiritually...

Positive Relationships - take a picture with someone who makes you feel happy ...

Positive Self-Image -  take a picture of your favorite part about YOU!

Community Awareness– Take a picture in front of your favorite neighborhood spot…

One of the things I am trying to do to live healthier is finding ways to reduce stress. I think Yoga is a great way to do that. Even if you are not great at the varying stretches and techniques that are used in Yoga, the following is easy and only requires lying on the floor and doing a pose called "The Corpse". It's very relaxing, and you can use it to relieve stress, or, like another of my goals, to meditate on being thankful for another day. 

Over Spring Break, I also went home to Milwaukee, and it reminded me of my positive/healthy relationships. My nephew is one person who always makes me feel super happy to be home. He's just a really good kid and nice to everyone all around. Here's a picture!

This picture is from two years ago because I forgot to bring my camera with me when I went home. :(

For positive self-image, I didn't take a favorite picture of me or part of me...but I like me eyes. They can be both a blessing and a curse because I am usually very honest in my experssion. People can tell when I'm upset or sad, but it also means that people can trust me because they can tell that I'm not someone who is lying to them.

Finally for the community part of our Spring Break challenge, I wrote about my favorite place in Uptown, and it is by far Inspiration Kitchen. It used to be called Cafe Too, but they have changed things up just a little bit in terms of their menu and schedule -- but it is still the same by means of its mission which is to help Chicago's homeless get back up on their feet. Their slogan is Dine Well Do Good, and that's exactly how I feel when I go there. :) They have the best goat cheese salad, and Ann, one of the servers there is always super nice.

The address is

4715 N. Sheridan Rd.

Chicago, IL 60640