Weight for it

2018 has been a transformative year for my mind, body, and soul.

For the first time in my life, I have invested in myself.  I have prioritized my health and I have finally learned how to properly nourish and care for my body.

In the past, my relationship with food and alcohol was unhealthy.  I would binge eat and drink whenever I was happy or sad and everything in between.  I never thought about the consequences on my health.  I thought I was invincible.  

Eventually, my poor diet choices caught up to me.  In May 2018, I was at my heaviest weight ever, my energy was low, and I was desperate to change myself.  On a whim, I signed up for a 6 week fitness challenge with Fight Fitness and I had no idea what to expect.

Little did I know that I made one of the best decisions in my life.  Fight Fitness provided me with coaches, group training, nutrition plans, accountability, and so much more.  During the fitness challenge, I shed pounds of fat, gained muscle, and learned about nutrition.  After 6 weeks, I lost a total of 6.4% of body fat, 14.4 pounds, and went down 2 dress sizes.  I accomplished more than I could even fathom.

There were many moments when I wanted to give up.  It was an emotional battle trying to let go of my bad habits.  It really does take 21 days to develop a habit.  Once I passed the 3-week hump, it was smooth sailing from there.  My energy increased, my optimism was back in full force, and my perspective towards fitness shifted for the better.

"You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit" - Aristotle

I am ready to see what's in store for 2019!

Strangers

I am starting to realize that God has blessed me with the ability to talk to strangers very easily. Although, I can be somewhat introverted at times, I somehow thrive in situations that might seem awkward or scary for other people.

I love it when I don't know anything about a person. Conversations start to flow and walls are broken down. It’s so easy for me to share stories without holding back.

If only it was this easy to spread the gospel.

Imagine a world where we all used our strengths for His Kingdom. There would be endless possibilities. Numerous lives being saved. Overflowing acts of service and kindness. An abundance of love and joy.

Let's make an impact while we still can.

Post-Worthy

Hello world,

It's me, entering the blog world again. Not for the sake of having readers and followers, but for the sake of self-reflection and reliving memories.

Lately, I've been on Instagram, posting pictures from my life that seem worth posting, but who am I kidding? Most of my pictures are of food, my dog, and my boyfriend -- All important in my life, but they don't even come remotely close to what really matters in my life: GOD.

I feel like I should be posting pictures that display His magnificent creations like glorious sunsets, starry nights, and majestic mountains, but I'm not. I'm going to make it a habit to capture the beauty that God has created so that the world may know it belongs to Him.

I'm 24 now. I'm over my 22-yr-old-crisis from my last post and I'm currently finding ways of bettering myself. As a Christian, I've failed many times, but the awesome thing about God is that He forgives and His love is unchanging. I want to live a life that honours Him. I want to have a different perspective that sees from His eyes. I want a heart that is compassionate and moved by others. I want the people that I love to know His name.

I cannot do these things by my own strength, but I will pray for these things and for change to happen in my life and those close to me.

It's tough accepting that there are things that I cannot do or change in my own control, but it's an act of trusting in God and His will. With God, anything is possible, but He knows what's best for us.

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Matthew 6:25

Post-Birthday

I'm 22. I haven't graduated from university. I don't have a full-time job. I live with my parents. Am I considered a loser?

I love to sing and I love to be artsy-fartsy. Yet I work in the financial services industry. What am I doing?

Life seems to get progressively more complicated as I get older. I wish I could just skip the next 30+ years and enjoy retirement because I feel a little overwhelmed with decision-making at the moment. What am I supposed to study when I go back to school (whenever that is)? I wish I had a life manual that could tell me exactly what to do. It'd be awesome if I could just flip through the pages and know everything in advance.

I guess you could say that God is my life manual. But, He's so hard to read. How does he know everything about me, when I don't even know who I am?

¹¹For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Comforting words, but He doesn't stop speaking there.

¹²Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.

Until just recently, I've never read past verse 11. In my opinion, verse 13 sounds like a challenge to me, but it's a lot harder than it sounds. Sometimes, I feel like I'm spiritually blind/deaf because I've never seen nor heard God. I think I'm finally understanding that it's because I've never sought God with all of my heart.

I'm the type to protect myself when it comes to relationships. It's hard for me to give my whole heart to someone because I'm afraid of getting hurt. But, I think it's time for me to change. To break free of my fear. God is good and I know that He will never harm me.

My goal this year is to seek Him with my all of my heart and to love without holding back.

Dolce Far Niente

I can't believe my last blog post was when it was still snowing in February. I missed two entire seasons... TWO. I can barely remember Spring, so I can't even give you guys a recap.

Summer's still fresh in my memory, but it wasn't really extraordinary. I mean, there were definitely some fun moments, but most of my summer was mundane and full of routines. From May to August, I juggled 3 jobs: Mexx, Starbucks and Home Trust Company. I worked 9-5 Monday-Friday at Home Trust and then I closed at Mexx and Starbucks in the evenings, usually over the weekends. I missed many birthdays and dinners because of work... I basically had no social life.

To all of you that think I'm a huge flopper:
I'm sorry for not being a good friend; for not making myself available for you guys; for choosing work over something that was important to you.

I was trying really hard in the first half of summer to pay off my debt from school, credit cards, and irresponsible spending habits, but I got a little carried away. My dad influenced me a lot with my decisions because he encouraged me to focus on working and making money. And here I am, still working 3 jobs and trying to get out of 2 of them. To tell you the truth, I'm scared to quit because I'm scared of my dad. But I need to, in order to find rest and strength, to find beauty in the simple things of life, and most importantly, to spend more time with my other dad... you know, God.















Dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing.

Love-Hate

When I was younger, Winter used to be my favourite season because:

1) It made me look forward to Christmas,
2) It made me look forward to my birthday,
3) Snow days meant NO SCHOOL!
4) I loved making snow angels and snowmen : )
5) Snow made everything look pretty.

However, over the years, I've come to dislike snow and Winter altogether. What had once looked beautiful to me, now looks bleak and depressing. When did this change in perception occur?

I remember taking this photo in the Winter of 2006-07. It was the beginning of the first snow storm of that year, and for some reason, I wanted to capture the moment. I can't imagine taking selfies outside in the snow at this moment in time. I can't stand the cold anymore and besides, my dad took my camera to Panama City.

I cannot express how jealous I am of my parents right now. They're basking in the sun, enjoying 30^o+ weather with their closest friends. I wish I could be doing that right now, but unfortunately, I have midterms to write. Sigh.


School is just awesome, isn't it?
(I'm being sarcastic)

Anyway, there's so much that I don't like about Winter, it's not even funny. I don't know how it's possible to love something so much and then downright hate it afterwards. Where is the love?

I can't wait until Summer.

Stressed backwards is Desserts

I just binged on brownies.
Yes, brownies.

Ah, they were moist and chocolatey -- but not too sweet -- made with real milk chocolate chunks for some extra texture. Drool.

Why must I have a sweet tooth?



So that I can enjoy these suckers. Mmm.

Lately, I've been in the baking mood. Maybe it's because of Valentine's Day or because it's Reading Week and I have nothing else to do than to indulge and satisfy my cravings. It's probably the latter.



I baked these for my Valentine. I wish I could've iced the cupcakes much better. I need to start making my own icing. I guess I'll start next time, and I always tell myself that.

Anyway, I've realized that Valentine's causes unnecessary stress for men. It's just another day. No need to whip out your wallet and buy Tiffany & Co's or LV bags for your girlfriend. There are 364 other days to do that (lol). I think I'd be even happier if I received flowers, chocolates, or anything else on a random day like March 2nd, rather than having expectations to receive something on February 14th because it's a so-called holiday.



But, then again, flowers are always nice : )