exciting news! // college edition

Happy National Pancake Day!
I don't actually know how to make pancakes, ...so I made toast instead.
It's basically the same thing, right? Kind of? Well, anywhooo, my friend bought this ricotta cheese spread from Trader Joe's which I tried the last time I was over at her place and it was so good I just had to get a tub of it on Sunday.

Onto the exciting news I wanted to share with you all, it turns out that I'm graduating with not one, but two associate degrees! One is in Liberal Natural Sciences and the second one in Social Sciences (or Liberal Arts Behavioral Science if I can't get a class sub'd.) Which is really great considering that I legitimately wanted to quit college altogether last year due to the high amount of stress I was putting on myself. (...some things don't ever change.)

The counselor that helped me out today was so nice and it was just really refreshing and lovely. I've met a fair share of counselors who haven't been that helpful and were actually kind of intimidating, and while I'm sure that wasn't their intention, I wouldn't really want to go see them again.

It hasn't actually sunk in for me yet, but there are some serious upsides to this:

• All the work I'm putting into this semester is going to pay off (because having six classes, an online program, and trying to maintain good health isn't easy). And the best part is it's already March!!! which basically feels like I'm halfway through. :)
•  I actually went back to college this semester - I know I said I would do it, but saying you'll do something and actually doing it are two very different things. So I'm really proud of myself, like extremely proud, because I was such an emotional wreck last year.
• I'm going to let myself relax this summer, and also eat a lot of cake because my friend promised she would buy me a cake after this is all over. (I will literally be more than happy to devour all that cake by myself.)

This means that after May, I'm done with community college.

That also means I can start finding a job after that's all done!
Also really excited to work on my fitness goals and ebook this summer.

How is your week going?

run molly run

March is here, and I'm excited yay! Can you believe it?! I remember just saying happy new years to you guys just a while ago, and it's already the third month of the year?!

February was a really wonderful month full of good vibes and energy which was nice because it was also a really stressful month of having lots of coursework and social outgoings.

So for March, I'm going to focus on two things this month (besides focusing on my coursework) and those two things are:

1. Run twenty miles in the month of March
2. Read the vegetables and fruits sections in my The Encycylopedia of Healing Foods

I've been trying to get back into running for a while now, and it's harder than it seems! Mostly due to a lack of time and also because I can't find my exercise clothes (has it really been that long since I last exercised?) So my goal for March is to start small, but just start. The hardest part of doing anything is starting, so that's what I'm going to do this month.

I've had this book for a few months now, and it's time to get serious about reading this thing (also because I've been really enjoying eating a plant based diet). Not to mention there's lots of vegetables I haven't tried yet like artichokes, beets, dandelion, etc.

February goals that were a success (or almost a success) //

1. Maintained a fairly clean room for almost the entire month of February; then again, I was barely ever home, so I didn't really have the opportunity to mess it up.
2. My focus on school was on point. I stayed up on nights that I went out so I could work on my coursework and projects a little before heading to bed.
3. I actually ate more veggies! Can I get a high five? This has been a goal for mine for how long? Also started meal prepping and drinking more tea wooohooo. (I'm on a roll here.)
4. I also continued blogging; there were times when I didn't want to, not because I didn't find it fun, but because I wanted to be lazy and just not do it. But when I'm lazy in one area of my life, it starts to affect all the other areas in my life so I tried to be as not lazy as possible which turned out great in the end. (x)

How did your February go? 

Are you excited for March?! Any plans?

my reserve bucketlist

Inspired by this post. Her blog is one of my recent favorites; I stayed up until 3 am reading her blog last night. (Oops.) I can't even begin to tell you how many things are on my bucketlist especially all the places I want to visit and more importantly the foods I want to eat. But I've accomplished a few things that I'm really proud of in my life so far, so I'd thought I'd share my list with you (because this is a really awesome idea.)

1. Volunteered 300 + hours in high school.

2. Read 97 books in my senior year of high school.

3. Stopped letting weight dictate my life and was introduced to self-love.

4. Ran a half marathon. Actually trained for that half marathon.

5. Found the courage to ask for help and went to therapy. (How I learned to drive on the freeway.)

6. Drove all the way to Half Moon Bay without crashing into anything.

7. Finished off strong in my spring semester of 2013 when I legimately considered dropping out of college in the middle of the semester.

8. Took a semester off from college. (Scariest time of my life because I ended up doubting myself every five seconds, but I made it out alive.)

9. Actually learning to use the Adobe programs, as in actually taking classes. Which translate to me not being the lazy bum I am.

10. Started off 2014 by watching the sunrise with my best friend.

11. Got into the EDM scene and saw many amazing DJS, all of whom I now love dearly, including but not limited to Gareth Emergy, Cosmic Gate, Doctor P, New World Punx (Ferry and Markus), Madeon, etc.

12. Introduced one of my friends into the EDM scene.

13. Taking a holistic nutrition program to get my certificate.

14. Started a blog. That I've actually done a decent job with keeping which is way further than anything I've attempted in the past. Big accomplishment in my books.

15. Learning how to give myself a break instead of constantly criticizing myself. (Something I thought I would never attempt to do; sometimes, I think I actually like being angry at myself or something.)
16. Went snorkeling without a life jacket on. The undersea life is so amazing - it's a must try! (Even if you're afraid of the ocean, because the view is well worth it.)
17. Learned to cook meat without killing myself.
18. Also learned how to make quiche on the first try.
19. Came into really close contact with a sea turtle once while snorkeling. Cutest animal ever.
20. My ongoing 365 breakfast project.

20 things since I'm 20 years old (...or possibly beause I've run out of things to list.) I can't believe I'm already/only 20 years old; it feels like such a young age, yet I feel so old. Wow, time really does pass by quickly. Speaking of which, it's already past midnight so I should be heading off to bed now. Don't want to stay up until 3 am again, ... like I have for the past two nights.

What are some things on your reverse bucketlist?

sunday funday recap 1.26.2014 / sunny and foggy weather in half moon bay

What does traveling mean to you? I always thought of traveling in terms of going across the world. But traveling doesn't mean you have to go all the way across the world to experience something wonderful. It could be in your own backyard.

My friend and I decided to take a day trip to Half Moon Bay yesterday, which is really amazing considering that we managed to wake up early and I'm terrified of driving on highways (let alone a mountain with sharp turns.) I decided that adventure was more important than being afraid and staying in my comfort zone, so I took the chance, built some courage, and shortly after we were on our way to Half Moon Bay.

Warning: This post will be a series of photo dumps. There were over 1,000 photos taken on my camera and I actually had to delete some to make more room. I hope you'll enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them! Also this is a super lengthy post so thank you for taking time out of your day to read and look at my blog!

We spent the late morning walking around downtown Half Moon Bay (really cute town). There's a yarn shop called fengari fiber arts (shown in the picture above) and you should definitely check it out if you're ever in the area! There's also a lot of other local shops like the wine & cheese shop, a few bookstores, a good amount of eateries, a painting gallery, etc. It was a lot of fun just walking and looking around; we didn't buy anything, but there were a lot of things that would make a great gift for others!

    

 We met this really cute corgi named Buzz outside the local coffee shop and the owners were nice enough to let me take pictures of him! Isn't he adorable?!

I used to be really shy about taking pictures (I still am, but I am actively working on this). Yesterday, I decided to take as many pictures as my heart desired and not worry about the occasional stranger staring at me, and it turned out to be a lot of fun! After a while, I even forgot about other people looking at me while taking pictures. It also helped that my friend was with me and carrying a camera around as well. 

When I was thinking about what I wanted to accomplish this year, one of the things I wanted to focus on was doing my own thing and not worry about what other people might think about it. If we are always within our comfort zones, then we aren't being challenged. Your boundaries aren't being pushed, you don't get that much of an opportunity to learn more about yourself and what you can accomplish, and you end up limiting yourself. So this year, I am trying to push myself out of my comfort zone even if it makes me uncomfortable (because that's the point.)

We headed to Venice Beach after grabbing lunch at Sushi Main Street. It was really foggy and windy when we first got there, but it started clearing up a bit. My parents never really took me to the beach that much when I was younger, so when I was growing up, I didn't enjoy being in the sand (partly due to laziness). But now I love it. I love the sound of the ocean waves, how the sun feels on your skin while laying down on your beach towel, the shiny little grains of sand, and just looking out to the horizon and seeing the waves.

 

It was an afternoon well spent and we didn't end up leaving until 5 pm when it started getting more foggy and dark. I loved the drive back; the sky had tints of pink and purple, mix that in that in with the silhouettes of pine trees, and you get an amazingly beautiful view on the highway.

   

We took some pictures on the way back home and they turned out beautifully for phone image quality.

Overall, it was a really nice day trip to Half Moon Bay. I'm really glad we did it; I realized that freeway and highway driving isn't that scary and the view is worth it. Also, everyone we met yesterday was really nice and friendly (not that people around here aren't nice but they normally don't take the time out of their day to say hello or good morning to you).

 I'm starting to work on my Photoshop and editing skills again (since I'll be taking Intro to Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Indesign classes this semester). My friend helped me learn the basics of Indesign so I can make collages, so you can see more photos at once. I also love spending time seeing which photos go well together and moving them around to see what looks better. Although, ocassionally I'll just settle for something because too many hours have passed me by. I also learned how to make a gradient text! Let me know if you would like a tutorial on that. :) Thanks for reading and I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

• Do you have a favorite place to get away for the weekend?
• What is your favorite way to relax and destress from life?

confidence / my word for 2014

I've decided to participate in this challenge hosted by ohdeardrea and other bloggers. 

I've given this a lot of thought, about what I want to accomplish in 2014. There are a lot of things I would like to accomplish in 2014 and there were a lot of words I thought of before this one. But this word isn't so much about what I want to accomplish, but more so what I should and need to accomplish. The word I've chosen as my "word for 2014" is confidence which is something I lack in almost every aspect of my life.

Somewhere along in the way in my life, I lost my confidence and the ability to stand up for myself. At some point in my life, I decided it would be okay if I let other people push their beliefs onto me even if I didn't agree with them because I was afraid of what others might think of me. And I knew it what was happening when it was happening, but I was afraid to speak up for myself so I just kept letting it go until eventually all my confidence was gone. But while I was working today, I realized that this is something I desperately need to work on especially since I'm in my twenties now. I need to learn to stand up for myself and live my life the way I want to and not second doubt myself just because everyone else is doubting me. Other people aren't me; they don't know what I want, but I know what I want and no one will be as sorry as me if I don't live my life the way I want to live it.

(How awesome is it that I found that quote in under 30 seconds while trying to look for it. I didn't think I was actually going to find it. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. Also my first time using Picmonkey - thought I'd try it out.)

This year is the year I'm going to go after what I want, because like the quote says no one will be as sorry as you if you don't get it. Everyone will always have opinions on what you're doing, but that doesn't mean they're right about it. And it doesn't mean you have to believe everything they say either. It's great to have advice, but in the end, it's your own opinion that matters the most. If I want something, I'm going to put all my effort into it and achieve it. I need to be confident and believe in myself, and believe that I can achieve whatever it is that I want to achieve.

I will make 2014 count by speaking up when I don't agree with something, when someone is saying something intentionally offensive to me, putting my health first because that is what's most important to me even if others don't agree, among many other things. I will make 2014 count by accomplishing my goals which include getting my AA degree, quitting my job, moving if I decide that's what I want to do, running a half-marathon or maybe even my first marathon!, going on a road trip, asking for help if I need it, but most of all, I will make 2014 count by believing in myself and finding my confidence again because I know that deep down, it's still in there somewhere. (I did not intend on this post being so long, oops!)

 To end with this, here is a picture of me snorkeling in Hawaii last August when I didn't care about what other people thought about my body and it felt amazing and liberating. The first time I went snorkeling back in middle school sucked because I was too self-conscious to actually enjoy it and I ended up having a horrible time with a lot of saltwater in my mouth. (P.S. Snorkeling is awesome and you should definitely try it sometime if you haven't yet! It gets even more amazing when you take off that life jacket.)

• If you're also participating in this, what is your word for 2014? And what are your goals relating to that word?
• Or even if you aren't, what would be your word for 2014?