Fortunate Fridays!

Hey Everyone!

Sorry Ive been MIA for a couple of days. As mentioned in my previous post-- I am back at work and my schedule got a little busy. Last night I actually spent the night at one of my good friend's apartment. She was going through some stuff and needed someone to talk to so, I didnt mind keeping her company. We got to share a lot of things and bond a lot more than before. I am definitely grateful for those people I can call real friends. Her apartment is actually about 30 minutes closer to my job than my apartment is so that actually worked out perfect and I got to work 20 minutes earlier this morning (cant remember the last time that happened!).

Today was a good and productive day but best of all today is FRIDAY! So, without further 'ado this is what I feel fortunate for this week:

1. The people that have crossed my path and have added tremendous value to life. They say you meet people for a reason, a season or a lifetime. This week I got to thinking about the people that have come in to my life and have added VALUE. Weather they're still in my life or not; their passage was significant in so many levels and for that I feel so fortunate. 

Examples: From someone whom taught me how to invest in the stock market (which is something I ALWAYS wanted to do and now I am obsessed), to the person whom helped me with my resume when I was looking for a job a year ago (and did such an amazing job that I was getting calls left a right from different employers!), to my friend whom was constantly running races and working out (and had such an amazing body) and whom sparked my interest in doing the same and now I love it, to the friends that are consistently pushing me to get better and whom lead by example. And many, many other people that have crossed my path. I am fortunate to have met them all and cant wait to see what other people God has in store for me.

2. My commitment to working out and remaining consistent with my fitness during this past year. I have to admit---to get started with working out and eating healthy may be super difficult (at first) but eventually comes a time where it does become easier and you look forward to working out and eating clean food that taste good. I am not saying it becomes 'super easy' but the satisfaction that you get when you start seeing results makes it all worth it and motivates you that much more.

3. My (crazy) family. Ive spent the past 20 something new years eves with my immediate and extended family and although we're not perfect-- we are very close and sure know how to stick together. We always have a blast  party when we meet up and this past December 31st was no exception! Random fact: Ive never spent new years or Christmas away from family in my entire life! I am sure that may change one day when I have a family of my own and children but for now, is all I know and I enjoy it.

4. My dad for teaching me how to manage my money from a very young age and for always reminding me of the importance of good finances. He has taught me so much to last me a lifetime and all of that is simply priceless!

5. The random (and SUPER WARM) winter jacket I found in the back of my closet when I was organizing stuff this past week. NYC has been insane with freezing temperatures lately and I was constantly freezing with my "professional" yet non-warm pea coat. When I found this other jacket and realized how warm it is (apparently I had forgotten) I felt like I hit the lotto. Dont you love finding useful stuff you forgot you even had?! 

6. Super Bonus Fortunate: My new followers! I gained some new followers this past week and that always puts a HUGE smile on my face. Thanks for following my blog. Is greatly appreciated. :) If you are new here (or have been here before) and you like what you see please follow my RSS feed or add yourself to the Google profile list to the right.

Now I am finally at home relaxing and sipping on some chai tea (I am still trying to perfect the recipe):

...And I leave you with a few pics of my eats today:

Lunch was a 6 inch subway sandwich with grilled chicken (had to buy lunch since I slept over at my friend's and couldn't pack lunch from home). This was good (no seasoning needed!):

As a snack, I had one of these granola bars which I found at TJ maxx. Have you seen these? They are soooo good, natural and gluten free!

Dinner-- Turkey burger tossed with lettuce and spinach. I added some raisins and seasoned with EVOO and Vinaigrette:

Had a small sweet potato on the side:

QUESTION: How was your week? What did you feel fortunate for this past week?

Back @ Work... and the Longest Trader Joes line in History!

Hey all!

So today should probably declared as "back to reality day" for the majority of us. Back to the work routine. I can def get used to the good life of not having to work for weeks at the time but until that day becomes a reality for me off to work I went!.My alarm went off at the set time but I woke up nearly 30 mins later (insert: PANIC). I got ready as quickly as I possibly could and ran out of my apartment like a bat out of hell. Here is today's work ensemble:

(Sweater is from H&M and was a xmass gift from my sister. Bracelet I already had but matched the sweater perfectly. Sorry about the somewhat blurry pic!)

My breakfast consisted of PB&J on an English muffin, cafe with soy milk (no sugar) and a side of pineapple:

During my lunch I walked to a local Barnes and noble (about 1 mile away from my office) to work on some new years resolutions (if you are committed to something you will find the time!). I got a decaf w/ vanilla soy milk (which I asked for AFTER my order because is cheaper that way) and got to work for about 30-40 minutes before it was time to head back to the office. Mid afternoon I still had some of the decaf leftover and was feeling a tad hungry (had a turkey sandwich and some chips for lunch that held me over for a couple of hours) so I had a snack:

**That Kashi flavor is delicious, btw!

After work I immediately made my way to trader Joes. The place was PACKED (as usual). Trader Joes and I def have a love/hate relationship. I LOVE the food but HATE the crowds and the lines. ugh! Anyways, I managed to do my quick shopping and get out of there on time to find this chaos going on outside:

One of the longest TJ lines I have ever seen!!! I guess people are serious about their new years resolutions! ha! Hope this lasts more than a week for most of those people. The line was seriously long as heck! I apologize for the blurriness but I was feeling a little crazy taking a random pic in the middle of the chaos. I suddenly felt lucky (and glad) that I was able to make it in and out of there before this craziness started. (If this was TJs I can online imagine how packed most gyms were today!).

And this was what I got:

So anyways, managed to get home despite the FREEZING NYC temperatures. Turned on ALL my heaters immediately and then proceeded to make a quick dinner because I was starving!

Baked sweet potato w/ chicken on the side (chicken was made by my mother for new years and I brought some leftovers back to my apartment. Is regular chicken breast with some sauce--everything was delish!).

Now I am lounging here (banana bread in hand lol) ready to get back to reading my book which is getting interesting. Hope you all had a great first work day of 2013!! (Or second day if you worked yesterday).

PS: Random non-health related note---I was super happy today that the fiscal cliff issue (most of it) was resolved last night and now the markets can get back to normal. If you read my blog you know I am into finance and I follow the markets so I was super happy to see the s&p500 and other indexes soar! 

QUESTION: Do you shop at TJs? Does your local trader joes ever get super crowded? (the one I go to is in downtown Manhattan and is ALWAYS insanely packed!)

Adriana Lima is Hot and a Awesome Quote

So this post is a little late. Meant to post this morning but ran out of time. Lets start with the food part. Yesterday my lunch was simple yet amazing. I am running out of groceries so couldn’t bring food from home so I decided to go to one of my favorite lunch spots: Hale and Hearty. I went for a chicken avocado salad over mixed greens. Asked for EVOO and vinaigrette on the side (I rarely ever have any other kind of dressing). It was so good. I was a little scared I wouldn’t be fully satisfied but surprisingly I was! I also completed yesterdays Elf4Health challenge by having the salad so: done and done!

Later on during the day I snacked on an apple and a granola bar before my finance exam at 7:30.

I don’t want to go over the exam too much. I am glad is over. Let’s just say the professor told us one thing and the exam was the complete opposite. In other words, he claimed there wouldn’t be too many calculations (mostly conceptual) but guess what, most of the exam was calculations. I knew better so I did have all my formulas ready on the sheet he allows us to bring to the exams. The challenging part was figuring out which formula to use for what and my head was spinning at one point. Most of the class needed an extra 30 minutes to finish—so you can imagine how we all fell!. The professor was nice enough to stay extra time but I think we were all wondering WTH throughout the test. When I walked out of the exam one of my classmates approached me and asked me whether I thought it was difficult. That made me feel a gazillion times better because I knew I wasn’t the only one that felt that way! So, we’ll see what happens. Praying for a major curve and 100% on my final—is not over till is over.

In other news...Today’s Elf4Health challenge is sharing one of your favorite snacks. Here is one of mine:

 

I love the kashi dark chocolate coconut bar. I pair it up with tea and its so good and satisfying—specially in mid-afternoon when most of us needs a recharge.

Sometimes during the day I also snack on apples which I bring from home. I add lemon so that they don’t turn brown and munching on them during the day helps me control cravings.

So, if you are a girl you are probably well aware that last night was the Victoria Secret fashion show. I got home about 30 minutes in to it so I couldn’t see much besides a little bit of Rhianna’s performance. I was specially intrigued by Adriana Lima’s body after having a baby. She is my favorite VS Angel and I think she is absolutely gorgeous. Her body looks like a normal human being with curves and it was a breath of fresh air to see someone looking normal and not skeletical in that runway. Go Adriana!

I stole this pic from a Self or Shape magazine facebook post :) Hence the caption.

Finally, I want to share a quote I saw today on facebook by Clare @ Fitting it All in which I loved and just had to share with you guys:

I love Brian Tracy and I actually have one of his books. He is so inspirational with his words! Quite the motivator!

This is all for now. Have a good evening everyone!

Tell me, Did you see the Victoria Secret fashion show last night? What are your thoughts?