Dear Eating and Losing Weight,

Regardless of how much we has human beings have progressed in the last so many thousands of years, the human body still has many primitive instincts and defenses. We still grow hair all over the place to keep us warm and protect our skin from dirt and whatnot. Women's periods match up if they spend a lot of time together so that "nomadic" families can all settle for a few days while the ladies' bodies take care of business at the same time. If our bodies are suddenly not getting the same amount of food they're used to, they think our society has hit a famine and uses up the fat they have stored all over the place.

So yes, when we practically starve ourselves, we will lose weight. BUT, as soon as we've reached our goal weight and allow ourselves to eat like natural human beings again, our bodies have this huge celebration of "YAY, THE FAMINE'S OVER!!!" They go into panic mode and store as much fat as they possibly can from whatever foods we're eating, just in case the famine comes back. Because our bodies are doing their best to survive, they will only work against us if we work against them by being physical supporters of anorexia. By denying our bodies of the nutrients they need, we are almost literally becoming our own worst enemies. 

Instead of waging war with yourself in the battle for a slimmer figure, realize that your body is your ally. It wants to be healthy! If you feed it as much as it needs, with natural, nutrition-filled foods, coupled with regular exercise, it will happily do its best to comply with your want to lose weight. You may not see the results as quickly as you would with self-abuse and self-neglect, but the benefits of eating well with a healthy lifestyle are far more lasting. Be good to yourself! Be healthy, be happy!

Love, Tanika

P.S. I have a friend, McKenna Gordon, who is the founder of Totally Healthy Recipes. On April 25th, she's inviting one and all to participate in a 30 Day Challenge of living a healthy lifestyle. It's FREE! I'm all ready to go for it and whatnot. If you want to join me, click here. Let's be healthy, people!

Dear Cause and Effect,

If your car has overheating problems, you may choose to borrow your dad's truck to get to work. If the truck suddenly breaks down in the middle of an intersection in Provo, you will hopefully be able to pull into a parking lot to get out of traffic. You will then have to walk the rest of the four blocks to work, in the snow. You will be stopped by that lady who dances with the Pizza sign so she can tell you about her failing marriage. You will show up 12 minutes late to work, drenched. After your shift, you may ask your coworker to give you a ride to your sister's place, which is a lot closer than yours, so you can crash there and deal with the truck situation in the morning. Unfortunately, by the time you CAN deal with it, the lovely University Campus Parking services will have towed your broken down truck half a block away from where you parked it. Once you can get a friend to tow the dead truck back to Pleasant Grove, you will be charged a total of $230 in fees (including a $50 "administration fee" so you can fill out the paperwork) to get it out of the lot, which is a block away from were it broke down in the first place. You will not be buying food, let alone going to Disneyland, any time soon.


Love, Tanika

Dear Those in Both Light and Dark,

John 3
20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought of God.

The opposite of evil is truth. Therefore, when we are doing truth, we cannot be doing evil.



After reading these verses and many others in Sunday school today, the teacher then asked, "So why do people choose to stay in darkness?"

This is my answer.

Darkness is easy. When one turns off a light in a room, it's never painful. Eyes enjoy the rest, for they are not being put to work. If one chooses to apply their eyes in the dark, they will adjust. However, after continuous usage they will grow weak. Meanwhile, those who walk in darkness do not see what they are missing. They can walk along in the dark room just fine until they stumble upon an object they didn't see coming and stub their toe. It hurts, they curse their unidentified stumbling block, and continue on their way.

Suddenly turning on a light in a room full of people who have been sitting in the dark for an extended amount of time often results in an outburst of near-outraged groaning. Those who have adjusted to the darkness will feel a searing pain in their weakened eyes. Many may immediately ask to turn the lights back off. But, given time, they will be able to see the room with clarity. The walkers will see that perhaps that thing they ran into that hurt them so much was, in fact, something they can put to good use.

Being able to truly see, though it may not always be easy, will always be better than remaining blind in the dark.

Love, Tanika

Dear Princess Peach,

Love, Tanika

Dear Santa,

(To the Reader: Don't let your younger children read this forward. ;) I am almost 21 years old. Since I have been able to make sense of putting pen to paper, my mother has insisted that every Christmas I write a letter to Santa. As a child, I took it for face value, entrusting that my parents would get my letter to the North Pole through the special deal all parents have with the postal service. As I grew older and the magic of Old St. Nick faded, I figured Mom would let up on the "Dear Santa" format, and just accept a list of things I wanted/needed that Yule Tide season. But no. Such basic, impersonal writings were rejected, with my mother saying something along the lines of, "Santa wants a REAL letter; not a demanding list." So, continuing on into junior high, and high school, and now my young adult life, I am required to write, text, or in this case, blog, a letter to Santa. Here is this year's rendition.)


Hello there, my jolly old friend! How have things been this year? How's the North Pole? How are those eight crazy reindeer? Most importantly, how's the Mrs. doing? I hope all are well. They deserve to be happy at your busiest time of year.

Anyway, on to the section where I ask kindly, and do not demand, some special gifts from the best gift-giver on the earth. It's taken me a while to think of all the things I desire this year; I've gotten into the habit of buying things for myself, and you know how I am about the whole "asking for things" thing. But, here goes.

For most of my life, I've been content to own basic tennis shoes for days I'll be on my feet, one or two pairs of dress shoes for Sundays and other dressier occasions, and random pairs of flip flops for summer... all the time. This lifestyle is WRONG!!! So. I would deeply appreciate a cute pair of rubber boots for those wet and soggy days we get around here every once in a while. I'd also appreciate money to help fund for other cute boots that I will buy on my own time. I'm way too picky to ask you to guess at what kind I want.

I'd also love to get some cake-building supplies. In particular I'd like an apron (preferably a cute one, but more importantly functional and long enough to cover me) and frosting piping tips. Anything else that has to do with baking and/or cake shaping would be cool, but the aforementioned will suffice. I've found that Michael's has the best variety (of supplies, not aprons), in case your elves have problems building the things themselves.

As my parents know, my organizational means in the basement are... limited. I'm really really grateful for the portable closet Good Friend Aubrey so generously gave me earlier this year, but I'm finding that not all of my clothes are easily hung up. If you could please give me a superdy cheap-o dresser from DI... or... ya know... scrap wood from your shop... that would be great.

Due to the fact that my laptop sometimes has issues downloading the latest versions of programs, I can no longer access the iTunes store. Traditionally, you have been gracious enough to give me an iTunes gift card, but unfortunately I won't be able to use one this year. If you still want to give me some form of funding for entertainment (which I would LOVE, I'm all for getting new music and movies) the best rout would be to give me a gift certificate to FYE. If at all possible, it would be great to figure out how to fix the problem with my computer, but I've already tried multiple things and none have worked, so... no biggie at all if you can't figure it out, either. I love my lappy, and I'm fine with it the way it is.

If we really wanna get splurgy, I'm always up for a starter on laser hair removal. But seeing as how I'm posting this in a blog... let's just talk about that later. :)

That sums me up! Thank you oh, so very much for considering my requests for Christmas this year! As usual, don't worry about getting absolutely everything on the list, just whatever comes easiest for you. The fact that you're still doing this for me is more than I could ask for, so I won't ask for more. I love you, Santa! I hope you stay healthy and happy in all your journeying in the next few weeks. Keep that sleigh up to code!

Love, Tanika

Dear Sanity,

I've written at least one blog a month since I started this thing. Seeing as how it's almost the end of November and I have yet to write anything, in case I don't get around to it within the next few days, this is my blog for the month. I can put you at ease. We won't have to add a little extra "in" to the beginning of your name.

...

Now I feel like a lame, pathetic loser because I haven't written anything worthwhile this month.

Oh. Well, I have time later today... ya know... after calling it a night...

I'll figure out something less disappointing in the morning.

Love, Tanika

Dear E vs. I,

I've been fighting this for a long time. I've always thought of myself as an Extrovert (E). But I am not. I am an Introvert (I). This may come as a surprise to many who have known me pre-college, because I seem so unbelievably outspoken half the time, and decently outgoing whenever else I'm observed. And that was true for most of my life.

However, looking back, I've realized that I seemed to be this way because of my upbringing, particularly in my schooling. I started out in preschool with many of the kids in my neighborhood. I knew almost everyone there beforehand. Then, going into kindergarten, I still had that same base of familiar people; just adding a few more. Because my family has stayed in the same house for almost as long as I can remember, and I never transferred schools or anything like that, I was constantly in a familiar environment. From elementary school, to junior high, to high school, I was never the new kid.

There were times when I had to try to make friends, but it was never a long struggle. If I had shy moments or there were times I felt excluded, I could always go back to that base of people whom I had known for years and trusted. Or, I would be swooped upon by those who were older than me and saw my potential, and I was included. By my senior year, I was completely comfortable and in my element, never needing to stretch myself outside of familiarity more than to include those who came into my world.

Then I graduated, and went to college.

For the first time in my life, I was not the top dog. It was the classic scenario of turning from a big fish in a little pond to a small fish in a comparatively large pond. In the theatre world, I had serious competition. I was not the best at everything. I became extremely intimidated by pretty much anyone who grasped things faster than I did. I lost a lot of my drive and confidence. Suddenly I found myself in large groups of people with next to nothing to say. Making friends was difficult, but it happened. Instead of being a member and leader of an army of comrades, I chose to spend my time with a few close friends, slowly getting to know them on an individual level.

Because I had known myself to be an extrovert for most of my life, it was difficult to come to this conclusion. In the last year or so, I've had people (mostly those whom I have allowed myself to become close to since college) diagnose me as an introvert, and I was almost offended by it. How could such a person who had been known to be so confident, so well-known, so LOUD, be an introvert? According to one particular friend, the best way to tell whether someone is an E or an I (thank you, Myers-Briggs) is to put them in a large crowd of people they don't know. Does this person easily go out of their way to introduce themselves to anyone and everyone in the room, or do they choose to stay aloof, barely speaking unless spoken to, and possibly finding one or two people to get to know?

Considering my background of knowing most of my peers in my childhood, I was rarely surrounded by strangers. I thought, because I made myself the center of attention in many situations, of course I was an E. Even in classroom settings where I didn't know absolutely everyone, I was always one to speak up. However, once I was finally put into multiple scenarios of unfamiliarity, I either became or discovered my Introvert-ness, for lack of a better word.

I am shy. It is difficult for me to put myself out there among people I don't know. Unless I know and am comfortable with all or most members of a party, I have a tendency to keep my conversations between a few people, or, if there is an intimidating element pressing upon me in the situation, I shut down completely. Once you get to know me, then you will discover that I still am that loud and confident person... but just with you.

So there you go, E vs. I. I can now comfortably accept the fact that I'm an introvert. And that's okay.

Love, Tanika