Friday, February 28, 2014

how healthy eating has taught me discipline

We've all heard about how eating healthy has lots of benefits like improving your mood and energy levels, being less stressed, lowering your chance of many health problems, and so on. But it also teaches us something else that I don't think many of us think about which is discipline.

Let's be honest for a minute here - I don't think choosing to have a healthy lifestyle is an easy thing to do because it's not. It doesn't mean it's impossible, because it's not; it just means it takes a lot of work.

It also takes up a good chunk of your time at first; rest assured it does get easier along the way, but it's still hard work (which in my opinion is a good thing.) You have to learn about what to eat, how to eat, when to eat, etc. There's so much information out there and sometimes you might even get overwhelmed by it all before you even take your first step.

Side note: I do think there are many things that people can do that improve their lifestyle like drinking more water, taking a walk after their meal, chewing more slowly, etc. But overall, maintaining a healthy lifestyle isn't easy which brings me to what I want to talk about today which is discipline.

So how has eating healthier taught me discipline?

I clean up after myself now, which is something I've never been good at. I clean the dishes after I'm done cooking. I go grocery shopping once or twice a week even when I don't feel like it. I take the time to make myself healthy even when I feel like putting instant noodles in the microwave. It also taught me to eat mindfully and enjoy my food, as well as indulging in other foods (like cake and greasy burritos) once in a while because it's good for the soul (and your sanity.)

And by learning to do all these things - it's helped me in other areas of my life too.

I'm better with time management, have better study habits, and procrastinate less. Eating healthy isn't easy and it's something I'm still learning to do and I still struggle with it, but I do think it's worth it.  There are so many benefits to eating healthy, and this is one of them.

This is also why I choose to study holistic nutrition, because every part of your life connects as a whole; it's kind of like a domino effect with each part influencing the rest. And if people choose to improve one aspect of their life, the other parts will follow along.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

molly eats | mission beach cafe

This place is amazing. Great service, great food, great atmosphere. We came here to celebrate my friend's mom's birthday weekend. When we first drove up to the cafe, we saw the amount of people waiting outside and dreaded the wait. The worst part about eating out is probably the wait, especially at popular eateries. But most of the people were waiting had to wait for a table for two to clear up, so we got a table quickly.

I don't drink a lot of coffee and I'm not caffeine dependent, so it's pretty embarrassing when I try to order coffee because I don't understand most of the terms. Latte, mocha, macchiato.. wait what? I order a macchiato and apparently it wasn't what I was expecting, but our server was super nice about it and bought me a latte - turns out that a latte was what I wanted and it was really good.

We ordered dungeness crab benedict, mbc hevos, citrus cured salmon, and braised prather ranch short rib for our main dishes. Everything was so delicious and I was full in a short amount of time. Don't you hate it when you have a bunch of delicious food in front of  you, yet you're too full to eat it all? It happens to me quite a lot. But yeah - everything was super good and had a lot of flavor so I definitely recommend trying this place out if you're ever in the bay. They also have some pastries and pies for dessert, but I didn't have that much of a sweet tooth at the same plus I was super stuffed.

        

Hopefully I'll be back here soon!
What are some of your favorite brunch menu items?


Monday, February 24, 2014

embracing who you are

Last year, I had a really hard time dealing with life because I was an introvert surrounded by extroverts, and I felt like I didn't fit in anywhere. It left me feeling confused and really upset at times, and sometimes it bothered me to the point where I couldn't even enjoy the things I was doing. I never really dealt with wanting to be like everyone else in the past, so it was a really confusing thing for me to struggle with.

2014 is a whole different story, a better story.

I'm starting to accept that I am an introvert, but more importantly, I actually like being an introvert. I like being by myself, and acknowledging that doesn't make me a loser or loner. It just means that I enjoy the time I spend by myself because I get to pick the activity, music, food, and environment. I don't have to worry about pleasing everyone else around me, because I really hate doing that actually.

It doesn't mean I never go out either; I've actually been going out quite a lot these past few weeks, but I'm glad I don't have any social plans for March. I need time to myself to refresh and wind down from everything that's been happening. I do enjoy being around people, but too much social interaction can easily overwhelm me.

That's just who I am, and I like that. I struggled a lot in the past with accepting myself, but with each passing year, I'm learning to love and accept more and more which is something that I notice a lot of people still deal with, and it often leaves them feeling unhappy and unsatisfied with themselves. Learning to love and accept myself is not something I want to struggle with when I'm 40.

It's not that I hate extroverts. In fact, I love people who they are extroverts. I love the energy that they give off, how outgoing and engaging (and quite frankly just lovely people) they are with everyone they talk to, and I admire them a lot. I mean, not all extroverts are like that, but there are some that they are and their personality just really stands out wonderfully.

The point I'm trying to make is to embrace who you are because we're all unique and in our own way and that's pretty amazing.

So love who you are, because some out there thinks it's wonderful, and that someone should be you.

“Isn’t it refreshing to know that what comes perfectly natural for you is your greatest strength? Your power is in your nature. You may not think it’s a big deal that you can spend hours immersed in something that interests you—alone—but the extrovert next door has no idea how you do it.” - Laurie Helgoe

Friday, February 21, 2014

breaks soothe the soul

My blog is two months old today! :') 
Two months may not seem like long to some, but it's amazing that I've managed to keep something going for this long. I normally lose interest by now, but I love filtering my photos to death (thanks Vsco) and sharing it on the Internet. I also love reading what other people put out in the blogosphere from thought provoking posts to inspirational improving the quality of your life posts. So thank you blogsphere for existing and bloggers being here.

      
 #selfiegamestrong | My friend and I went to San Francisco yesterday and it was a good night! (despite not getting to the event on time oops and missing the artists we wanted to see) We waited in line for probably over an hour, but we became acquaintances with the people behind us which made the experience much more enjoyable and the time passed by faster - yay!

I got a small cup of soy mocha this morning, and it didn't help me in waking up at all since I took a three hour nap this afternoon - which was good because I (and my body) needed the sleep! Now I'm feeling a little more refreshed and ready to work. I have a few projects and assignments to get done, and I need to get started on my next module. But I'm actually really excited! Am I getting a productivity high? Maybe..

  
Before going on my nap, I made us a late lunch! It was really yummy and refreshing to have a lot of kale. I miss my veggies. My body tends to yearn for wholesome yummy foods after a night or weekend out. Oh I also made kale chips after my nap! It was all gone in a matter of minutes.

    

Do you have any exciting plans for this weekend? :)

Thursday, February 20, 2014

berry chocolate goodness


I made chocolate covered strawberries yesterday morning for my friend's 22nd birthday. It was such a nice surprise since they turned out beautifully for my first try (after I made a big chocolate mess in the kitchen.) We passed the Godiva store on Monday and my friend wanted some choco covered strawberries so I'd thought I'd give it a try. What's better than homemade chocolate strawberries? Plus the pictures turned out great!

A few things I learned along the way just in case you're ever in the chocolate creation mood.
  • This video helped me get started on the whole process.
  • Quality chocolate is important because a. taste and b. it melts easier.
  • Chocolate clumps up apparently so don't put them in plastic bags for decorating until you're ready.  It helps if you melt it (in a bowl) every so often so it's easier to work with.
  • If you're microwaving the chocolate, do it in small amounts like 10-15 seconds.
    I melted mine in intervals of 25 seconds because I'm lazy.
  • There are lots of ways to decorate strawberries! Use both dark and milk chocolate so you get two colors; you can also mix the two together to get a light brown color (which doesn't look as pretty in my opinion.)
  • You can also use nuts, coconut flakes, etc. for decoration. I totally forgot about this until after they were chilled.
  • Oh yeah, and it creates a mess but it's really fun to work with if you like working with food!

    
So you can see the mess I've created above, which really isn't that bad. My dad woke up just in time to help me get the toothpicks (yay!) I also learned that my friend really likes chocolate covered strawberries so I'll be making things again soon since I have extra chocolate chips left over and making the designs were really fun.

It's a great gift idea, especially if it's around the holiday time and you want to give a small yet personal gift to those around you. Or you can bring it to a party and have people be impressed!
  • Have you made chocolate covered strawberries before? How did they turn out?
  • Any tips for next time?

when everything starts to come together

{Warning: Super long post about everything on my mind.}
It was either this or writing in my journal and unfortunately I can't write as fast as the thoughts come to me and I want to document things like this and look back on it a month or a year from now.

So last week, I wrote about how I was stressing out a lot and not knowing what I want to do with my life. And that was partly true. Part of me, deep down, knows what it is I want to do. That same part of me is scared of failure and rejection, but I'm trying to learn to accept that those two things that are going to happen (quite a lot) if you want to succeed. It doesn't make it any less scary.

I've always dreamed about being apart of a magazine or doing something with art or just being able to do creative work. That's when I'm "in my element" so to speak. And it's weird thinking about it, because it always seem to come back to this. Having the freedom to express myself. It's kind of like this morning when I was making chocolate covered strawberries for my friend's birthday. I loved the whole process - making the food, taking photos of the food, thinking about how I could make the photographs look nicer, just being able to take my time and enjoy the process, etc.

And one of my goals from now on out is to quiet that thought of "What if it's not practical enough" and "What if I can't make a living off of this" because I know that I can and I know that other people have done this. I also know that I'm hard working when it comes to doing things that I really want to do, and I normally give up when I think I won't get anywhere. The funny thing is when I think like that, I really don't get anywhere because I just stop out of fear which brings me back to my word for this year, confidence. (I love how everything keeps going back to that word. It's like it was meant to be.) If anything, I need to be more confident in myself. Because I don't want to end up doing something I don't enjoy just because someone once said to me "Are you sure that's realistic?" or better yet the "getting a real job" conversation.

It's nights like this that keep me sane and going. The nights where it seems to all make sense and that reassuring feeling that I'm exactly where I need to be.
  • I'm currently studying Holistic Nutrition which is honestly perfect for me because I think looking at someone's health and lifestyle as a whole is the way to go (and that's what I believe in.) And that goes along with my story and how I've approach health and trying to become healthier. Ever since I started the program back in October, I've been doubting myself a lot. Thoughts like "What if it's not right for me?", "What if it doesn't work?," "What if I'm just wasting my time and money? Shouldn't I be at a four year like everyone else?," and thoughts like that.
  • I'm also currently taking classes at my community college and I'm really enjoying my Adobe classes. I'm actually really happy that I started this blog, because if I hadn't, I wouldn't be taking those classes. I'm really enjoying Adobe Illustrator right now and I actually want to spend time on it. I'm also thinking about getting two Associate degrees, because why not? I'm almost there anyway. Sure, most people my age are about to get their Bachelor's in one year, but I didn't know (and still not entirely sure) what I want to do with my life.
  • I have a lot of goals this year like writing an ebook, learning to draw whole illustrator in Adobe Indesign, maybe even starting a small online magazine, start running again, joining a yoga club, finding an internship, reading lots of books and articles to build up on my knowledge, etc. There's a lot of things to do out there! What have I been doing all last year?!
  • There are upsides to my situation and I'm starting to learn there are upsides to almost every situation (even when you don't want to admit it.) I save money by living at home (rent and the bills can really add up), I'm taking the time to figure who I am and what it is I'm interested in, and oh! - I don't have (as much) debt as some of my peers. Yeah, I'll have bills and stuff to pay off when I decide to move out (hopefully by the end of next year), but at least I won't have to stress out about the huge amounts of debt most college grads have to deal with (because we all know how well I deal with stress - i.e. not really that well.)
  • I'm also really good at "living within my means" which means that I won't ever spend more than I have; it's kind of something I learned (not entirely voluntary) while growing up. I still remember when I spent all my money I had in middle school on vending machine snacks, because I didn't like waiting in the super long lines. I think that was the only time when I literally had no money left. It's kind of nice sometimes not being materialistic, but at the same time, it kind of sucks because I'm really bad at treating myself even when I've been doing really good with school, life, etc.
Instead of looking at the downsides of the situation (too many classes and deadlines, not enough social interaction and feelings of loneliness, the lack of independence and freedom), I'm trying to focus on the upsides of the situation! (the freedom to explore and try different things, living at home and not having to pay rent, having more time to figure out what I like to do, etc.).

I'm just really excited! I've been so busy lately and it's kind of great (and super exhausting at the same time.) But also really motivating and I'm trying to push myself to think more about why I'm doing this and that, what kind of activities I enjoy doing, what kind of people I would like to meet (I should probably start meeting new people ...sometime soon)/networking, and just do it! That's kind of been my motto for the last few weeks - just do it (thanks Nike, but it's so true. Most of the time, you just have to do it.)

P.S. I am really bad at condensing but really good at rambling on and on.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

update on life / 2.18.2014

So I've been a bit absent from my blog lately because I've been trying to catch up with my courseload and I went to San Francisco last weekend for a music event!

And I'll be in SF again this Thursday night (which is in 32 hours - eep!). It's hard having a social life while balancing school; I don't know how people do it, but I applaud you.

I had a very stressful day today just because there are so many deadlines and midterms coming up (and I won't be going to my Adobe classes on Thursday so I thought I had to met a sooner deadline but my professor gave me more time to work on my stuff yay!) which definitely took some of the stress off.

Tomorrow is going to be another busy day for me, but I'm going to try my best to get as much work done as I can! It's actually going to be my best friend's birthday, but we're celebrating it on Thursday night and during the weekend (so I'll be blogging about that, once I get a chance to.) I plan on making her chocolate dipped strawberries which I'm really excited about because I love getting up early in the morning which means I have to get myself to bed after this post is published.

           
So yeah, just thought I'd check in and let you guys know I'm still alive! (And very much sleep deprived; I actually tripped on the stairs while rushing to class this morning.) My brain is pretty much non-functional at this point which also means I didn't bother to proofread this, not that I normally do anyway. (One of those goals I'll never really get to..)

Anywho, just wanted to stay up until midnight to wish my friend a happy birthday. Hope you've all have a fabulous weekend! Tell me what you did over this past weekend. :) Talk to you soon!

Friday, February 14, 2014

becoming a young adult

What does it mean to become a young adult? Does it mean living on your own, graduating from college, getting a job, taking on more responsibilities, etc.? Apparently there is even a step by step guide out there. I mean those are some really good tips, don't get me wrong. I guess I'm just not ready to becoming a young adult  But no one really is ever fully prepared for anything in life, are they? (Or maybe that's just me.)

This morning, I just feel stress. And lots of it. When I first decided to take so many classes, I thought "well I have to make up for lost time," "if other people can do it, so can I," and "it's really not that much." Turns out, it really is that much. And maybe in the process of signing up for these classes, I knew that in the back of my mind and just didn't want to believe it.

I'm 20 years old and I don't know how to balance my life, deal with stress, or apparently know how to use a ruler.

How do people do it? I'm stressed out to the point where I am stressing out about being stressed out, and I've been trying to calm myself down since last night but it just seems to stress me out even more to think about all this stress. Are you tired of reading the word stress yet? (...stress)

My life is always on one extreme or the other - either I'm doing too much I get burnout or I don't do enough so I get bored. I haven't found my happy medium yet, and that's kind of scary.

I'm scared, and sometimes it's comforting to know that there are other people out there who are scared too. And I'm not alone in this. Because I have no idea what I'm doing with my life, and it's scaring the living crap out of me.

In the end, your life is your own journey and it is what you make of it. Deep down, I probably know what I want to do with my life if I really thought about it. (No, it's not living in a van.) What a scary thought to actually live your dream and to have other people tell me it's not "practical." Well what is practical anyway?

My thoughts are all jumbled, kind of like my life right okay.

So I just wanted to tell you in case you're stressed out, you're not alone and you'll be fine. Everything always turns out to be okay in the end, doesn't it?

Cheers to those of us who don't know what the hell we're doing, especially when it seems like everyone around does us.

P.S. I fixed the stretch/horizontal scroll bar on my page! (That thing was drivig me crazy.)

Thursday, February 13, 2014

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?

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

new year new attitude


Cheers to one of the best days since this year started; I'm really proud of how I handled myself today. I overslept for my psych class this morning and it made me feel horrible. I don't like skipping class unless I have a good reason to; it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So this morning wasn't the greatest, but I managed to get myself to school by noon anyway despite not having another class until 4 PM so I could get work done.

Did I get work done? Yes, a lot of it in fact. I finished reading one of my chapters, designed a handout template (which I've been procrastinating on for months now), and typed a three page informational handout on B vitamins. I finally know all my vitamins and minerals! Which is just an amazing feeling, because it's that one thing I've been avoiding to learn for the longest time because I thought "there's so many vitamins and minerals to learn, how am I going to learn them all?" My solution? Avoid thinking about it, at all costs. But I learned a lot these past two weeks about all these micronutrients.

And the most important thing I learned this year is that you just have to do things, whether you feel "ready" to or not. Avoiding them won't get you any further. It won't make the task at hand disappear. It always gets easier once you get started on said thing. I never had an incident where that wasn't the case. You will never be ready. The perfect time to start will never come. You just have to start. Start somewhere anywhere and keep going. Even when you feel like you aren't making any (or that much) progress because you are which brings me to my next point.

Everyone starts somewhere. People are successful because they kept going and didn't give up, even when they had roadbumps along the way. Becuase everyone has roadbumps. That's something they didn't teach me in high school. But you keep going.

 I don't want to be one of those people who stop because of a bump or two along the way, or even a hundred roadbumps. Have I been reading too many inspirational blog posts lately? Maybe.

Monday, February 10, 2014

breakfast 365 // week three

   
 02.06.2014  / #18  |  02.07.2014  / #19

Chia seeds and almond milk. That's essentially what I had for breakfast for five days in a row, and I'm nowhere sick of it yet. In fact, eating this for another three months sounds like a pretty good idea to me. (The last picture is actually my lunch - thrown in there for some variety).

But don't you think the texture of the chia seed pudding looks nice? I don't think I'll ever get sick of it.

   
02.08.2014 / #20  | 02.09.2014 / #21

Saturday morning:  kale quinoa salad & half a banana; a santorini crepe
- I'm one of those people who will bring their own food to your place and not feel weird about it. Weird looks over a grumpy stomach any day. If I learned anything last year, it's that I need my veggies.
- Afterward, my friends and I went out for crepes (and breakfast). And let me tell you, it was really good. Description: walnuts, pistachios, brown sugar, coconut, cinnamon and mascarpone. It was either this or a sweet and sugary crepe, and I decided this was the best option for me because hello coconut and cinnamon in my crepe? Yes thank you. (Also this place is called Crepevine if you ever want to check it out.)

Sunday morning: a jalapeno cheese bagel from Safeway (I love these and I will never let them go.); strawberry noosa yogurt; Sambazon chocolate almond coconut milk protein smoothie; a glass of water
Super good and pretty filling too. Bagels are the occasional treat for me, because I get an upset stomach if I have too many. Also have you tried noosa yogurt? It's delicious. Another brand I want to try is Siggi's but I'm afraid I'll fall in love with it because it's kind of pricey. Also making a conscious effort to drink a glass of water every morning, especially on the weekends.

Friday, February 7, 2014

rainy fridays


     
Today was full of nostalgia for me. Ever since I started driving, I love when it rains. I love driving in the rain, despite it being slightly more dangerous since I'm not very good at driving. The raindrops on my windshield, the reflection in the puddles, and sound of raindrops; it's just all so calming and nice. It's ironic because I remember hating the rain with all my might when I was in high school, but who really wants to walk all the way across the school within six minutes when it's raining heavily out? Not me.

But today was nice. I woke up later than planned, but I also went to sleep way later than planned. Oops. I'm still keeping up with making my own meals so I don't get a burrito every day at school, but they are ridicously yummy and I'm pretty sure I had four burritos a day last year. I love going to the school library on Fridays because it's so empty and my productivity tends to go up.

Long story short, today was a nice ending to a long week.

How was your week? Any plans for the weekend?

Thursday, February 6, 2014

zumba kicked my butt this morning


     

I almost didn't make it out of bed today. The next bed I'm going to have is going to be close to the ground, preferably a single mattress, because I like to "roll out of bed." If my legs can't touch the floor, I'm probably not getting out of bed. Not even when my alarm clocks rings every five minutes for half an hour.

The good news is - I did get out of bed this morning! The other good news is - it rained last night! I use to hate the rain, but California is in a drought right now and I feel really dry all the time and it just doesn't feel that good. Plus I need my car washed.

I get to the gym and I'm twenty minutes early so I decided to warm and stretch a bit. During the first ten minutes of class, I wasn't really feeling it because everything felt kind of dry (like how it does when you're in Vegas). As we were dancing and moving to each new song, I started getting into the mood and I was having so much fun that I didn't even look at the clock until almost the end of class. 

Our instructor had a lot of energy and even towards the end she looked like she could do another two hours of this. You know when you do something for a really long time and then you start to not really know what you're doing anymore? That was me during the last fifteen minutes of class; my legs were moving, but my movements did not match up with hers. At all. But that's okay! The point of the class for me is to have fun and move, and that's what I did.

Also, I had a Sofritas Chipotle bowl afterward (which is one of my favorite things to eat after exercising.) Actually, I like eating Chipotle whenever. But it's especially good after exercising. Thank you endorphins for always putting me in a good mood.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

update on the new year

So since I made lots of goals for this year and since this year is going by so fast (it's already Februrary 5th). I'd thought I'd check in and see how I'm doing.

HEALTH //

  1. I have been cooking lots and eating a lot of vegetables. And I can't remember the last time I ate out three times in a row, which is great.
  2. Also cooking and just being in the kitchen in general has my new therapy. I even love washing dishes, although I've always loved doing dishes. The thought of cleaning and organizing my dishes just clears my mind, if only I thought the same way about my room.
  3. I didn't want to exercise today, but I did anyway and it was great. But I have been moving around more and I don't hate walking as much anymore.

SCHOOL //

  1. Not behind yet, still organized (somewhat), and still showing up to my classes so I must be doing something right.
  2. As far as being on track goes, I'm doing a pretty good job at it. But I kind of really suck at time management still, and at not being lazy.
  3. I'm having fun with my Adobe classes despite that dreadful five hour gap. I'm also learning a lot for my Psych Human Growth and Development class and I'm really excited to get to the young adult time frame (because that's where I'm at now).

MISC //

  1. I've been watching less Netflix, which is good. But sometimes, I still hear Netflix calling my name and I just have to answer.
  2. My sleeping habits are still undetermined. I have this horrible habit of needing to watch mindless T.V. shows or movies before going to bed, and I'm trying to kill that habit. But I have been getting up earlier, which is also on my "goals" list so I'm pretty happy about that.
Overall, I think I'm doing a pretty good job so far. There's still a lot of room for improvement, but I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far.

How has your year been going so far?

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

where are you headed


Where do you see yourself in five years? That's a question every interviewer I've ever met has asked me. 

And I've been giving it a lot of thought lately. Where exactly would I like to see myself in five two years? Trying to imagine where I would be in five years is a bit unrealistic for me; I don't even know what I'll be doing in five days let alone years.

And instead of just thinking of where I'd like to see myself in two years, I'm also thinking about what I can do now to in order to reach those goals. What kind of skill sets can I build for myself? Where should I be putting most of my time and effort so I can get the best results? It's more about how I'm going to get there, and less of where I see myself. To be completely honest with you, I'm not sure where I'll be or what I'll be like in two years or even a year from now. 

Who I am today isn't what I envisioned a year ago. There are opportunities all around us, and that's the beauty of life. Who are you today doesn't have to be who you are tomorrow. It's never too late to go back to school. It's never too late to start learning how to knit. It's never too late to be the person you want to be. We often think we have to live life a certain way and we get immensely stressed out about it when that doesn't happen; I know that's how I get when I'm not on the same path as my peers.


We're all headed to different places in our life. Some people want kids and others don't. Some are busy traveling the world while others are busy finishing school. Some are still living while their parents and others may be struggling to pay this month's rent. What I've learned is that everyone is different, so don't compare your journey to others. You may be in a completely different ballpark.

It's taken me a while to get use to the idea that I don't have to do what everyone else is doing in order to be "successful," because my views of success may not be the same as the person sitting next to me. And that's okay. That's the other beauty of life. Everyone is on their own path. There isn't just one path in life; it's not a "one size fits all" kind of thing.
 
And realizing this has helped me decide what I'd like the next milestone of my life to be.

- What about you? Are you now where you thought you be would be five years ago?
- Are you happy with where you are now and with the person you've become?
- Aren't you excited for the future despite how nerving racking it may all seem at times?

Sunday, February 2, 2014

breakfast 365 // week two

01.27.2014  / #8 
I've been drinking tea a lot more (yay that was one of my new year resolutions!) Also I love putting coconut flakes on everything because it just makes everything look nicer.

01.28.2014  / #9
Three words: coffee for days. I actually don't drink coffee that much, but I kind of like the taste of coffee now which is really ironic because my first cup of coffee was two-thirds milk and cream at one point (I probably wasn't even drinking coffee at that point.)

01.29.2014  / #10
My friend made cheese blintz for breakfast and it was delicious! The filling was a bit much for my taste, but still good. Apparently it's a Russian dessert. I would definitely recommend trying this! (P.S. It takes a while to make so make sure you have enough time set aside.) Maybe you could make it for Sunday brunch.

01.30.2014  / #11
Overnight oats in mason jars are so convinent because you take it right out of the fridge the next morning without any hassle and it's yummy. So great for those of us who are half dead in the morning.

 
01.31.2014  / #12
Didn't wake up until noon, so Thai food it is! Breakfast is your first meal of the day right? So technically this is my breakfast. It was nice to sleep in until noon. The last time I woke up so early everyday for a week was probably months and months ago, so my body's reaction was "why are you doing this to me time to sleep in!!"

02.01.2014 / #13
 Yummy sandwich for breakfast/lunch because I stayed up too late watching The Bachelor. Oops.

02.02.2014 / #14
Woke up a bit earlier than the last few days, and made oatmeal. I prefer cold oatmeal over hot oatmeal, so my goal is to make overnight oats as much as possible (plus it'll be easier for me in the monrings that way because I normally just stare at things when it's too early for me.)  I'm still adjusting to the taste of nutritional yeast but let's be honest it's kind of gross tasting.

Confession: I was slacking this week with keeping up with my breakfasts (and it's only the second week - yikes).  But I still managed to take pictures of my breakfast every morning, so I'm still doing something right!

 How has your week been?

Saturday, February 1, 2014

happy february!



Can you believe it's already February? It honestly feels like New Years Eve was just yesterday! Is this is life's way of giving me a heads up that this year is going to go by really fast?

If so, it's time to get serious about this year (not that I haven't been taking January seriously), but this is around the time where those new year resolutions and goals start to die down.

My main focuses this year are to build better and healthier habits (to the point where I don't have to think about them anymore because they come naturally) and focus on a few things that I want to become really good at (ex. running).

 
GOALS FOR FEBRUARY // 
 
Organization
  1. Room needs to be clean on Monday and Tuesday (at the very least). Waking up to a clean room clears my mind and I'm always more productive and happy throughout the day.
  2. School; I tend to slack off on days I'm not in school, so I need to make sure I don't do that this year. If it means going to the cafe and library more, that's what I'm going to do. Also need to keep my binder, notebooks, and papers organized.
 Health
  1. Exercise for 30 minutes a day 3 times a week. As much as I would love to work 6 or 7 times a week, I need to get out of my "all or nothing" mindset. I tend to go into my "all or nothing" mindset and when I don't exercise for one day, I stop exercising altogether.
  2. Eat more veggies and start meal planning. Drink more water throughout the day and when waking up in the morning. Also drink more tea (slowly getting better with this.)
  3. Get up and move more. Stop sitting down for long periods of time.
  4. Also sleep earlier! Do this slowly so you don't overwhelm yourself and want to give up. Today's goal is to go to sleep before midnight.
Misc.
  1. Spend 30 minutes everday drawing and doodling (for my Adobe Illutrastor).
  2. Go on at least one day trip somewhere with my friend.
  3. Try 3 new recipes.
  4. Continue blogging.
  5. Proofread. I am really bad with this. I don't proofread 99% of the things I write and I should probably start doing that...
It's a really long list but I'm better at doing things when I list things out (yay organization!)
  • Do you have any goals for February? How was your January?
  • Are you still keeping up with your new year goals if you made them this year?