Saturday Morning Run, Food and I want an IPAD2

Good morning sunshines!

Is a "confusing" morning here in NYC. One second it looks like it may rain and the next the sun is shining bright and high. So, not sure what to expect. I'm so happy is the weekend.

This morning I rolled out of bed at 8:30 am. Texted my "virtual running companion" but got no response. Either way, I pretended I did and got ready to run. Was out the door before 9 and completed the following:

-2 mile jog

-2 miles walk/run

-.85 miles walk/cool down

In total:

Post my workout I made myself some breakfast:

Eggs, avocado on whole wheat flax bread + my cafe w/ almond milk. Delish.

In other news, a couple of months ago  I entered to win a giveaway on A Journey To Thin and won!!! (yeyy) the prize was sponsored by ZINIO and consisted of a free digital subscription to the magazine of my choice. I LOVE magazines (more like obsessed) and so I was so excited for this giveaway. I had been eyeing Women's Running magazine for quite so time and so that was my first choice for my prize. Shortly thereafter, I received my subscription which I have been reading on my Kindle Fire App. The latest issue is the July issue (pic below) which I have not started reading yet but looking forward to doing so. So far I love the magazine and the Zinio app which is very easy to use and works in pretty much any devise (even your cell phone! although not sure is a good idea to use up that much memory for a magazine).

So anyways, even though its been okay reading the magazine on my Kindle Fire, I have also read it on my sister's IPAD2 and the difference and "reading quality" in terms of visuals, etc is quite significant. I am referring to the regular size IPAD (not the mini). The difference is so noticeable (in my personal opinion) that now I want to invest in an IPAD2. Considering I already have the kindle, getting an IPAD mini wouldnt make any sense to me because it would be the same size as to what I already have. I would LOVE to get the regular size IPAD2 with the "retina display" I dont know what the heck that means but it sounds cool.

So, putting this out there. I would love to get an IPAD2+ retina display+ wifi+ cellular. Is that too much to ask?. If I dont meet a sugar daddy soon I may have to get it myself ha!


Look at this beauty!!

Anyways, time to get this Saturday's show on the road. Hope ya'll have an amazing day!!!

PS: Sad to say goodbye to GoogleReader as of 07/01. I just transferred all my blogs to FEEDLY this morning. It was so easy to use! Thanks to Clare at Fitting It All In for the heads up!

Q: Do you own an IPAD? Whats your favorite thing about it?

*I was not compensated in any way for anything mentioned on this post. I did win a giveaway sponsored by Zinio and the opinions are true and my own.

Double Celebration on Christmas 2012 + What ive been up to

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had an amazing holiday! Better late than never--Here is my Christmas recap!
First of all, I spent a couple of days at my parents house and ate pretty much everything in sight from desserts to pastelitos (latin dish) you name it I probably had it. Lets blame it on the spirit of Christmas and lets just say I am getting myself back on track because I have come to the conclusion that I simply love eating healthy and being active. I may steer off the health wagon from time to time but I love getting back on track. And I am only human!

Anyways, enough of that. I want to share that in addition to celebrating the holidays with family and friends we also celebrated my parents 30th anniversary! I am so blessed to have parents that love each other dearly and have been able to grow with each other over 30 years while raising two very respectable young ladies. They set a great example and I look forward to finding that one person to grow old with. How amazing is that! They got married on 12/25/82. Here is a family pic from Christmas night:

And yes I am still in my 20s! lol they had me AFTER they got married in case anyone out there is calculating. Ha! My family partied until 6 am and by that I mean lots of dancing and drinking. I called it a night morning at around 3-4am on Christmas day and snuck away to one of the rooms at my parents house to pass out. I was still snacking at that time! It was time to sleep. My family continued the celebration...

So what have I've been up to this week? Lets just say I am fully enjoying and loving my time off from work. This morning I woke up around 9 ish and talked myself in to going for a 4 mile jog which turned out to be a 4 miler walk/jog combination because it was cold, raining and extremelly windy from time to time. Nonetheless, I was proud of myself for getting my workout in. 

 

 Post workout I did a 15 minute ab session while I waited for breakfast to be ready. And this was breakfast--

2 slices sprouted whole wheat bread and 2 boiled eggs plus my new discovery: Chai Tea!! (I know I am late to the party but I love it!)

I was still a little hungry after that so I had 1/2 gala apple with 1 tablespoon Peanut Butter Dream (Cinnamon & Raisin flavor) Yum!:
 

Today I met up with a friend of mine downtown which was supposed to be followed by a trip to Trader Joes which has gotten postponed until further notice because it is freezing outside!!! the wind is making it a million times worse so I opted to come home instead and made myself a delicious dinner--

3/4 cup whole wheat pasta with chicken, peppers and onions plus a side of steamed veggies. I also had 1/2 whole wheat Naan from trader joes w/ a little bit of butter added:

 Still so much to do during this break! Is crazy how much you can get done when you dont have to worry about being somewhere from 9-5. Would love to work from home one day! Preferably my own business. :)

Oh! Before I forget--- Yesterdays Elf4Health challenge was:

Wednesday

Look at yourself in the mirror & find THREE things you love about yourself. 
Show us what they are! 

Here are the three things I came up with:
1. My Smile :) <--you can see a glance of it in the pic above 
2.  My body shape---I like to think I am well proportioned whether I am chubby or skinny and I like that.
3. My legs

Bonus: Non-Physical things I love about myself:
1. My good heart
2. My intelligence
3. My Kindness

How is everyones week going? My absolute favorite day of the year is fast approaching (12/31) any exciting plans? I usually spend it with family (yes, another huge party just like on Christmas eve).

Thanks for reading :)

Fortunate Fridays

Hey everyone! So I got to thinking today and I want to start a new section on the blog called "Fortunate Fridays". I am a strong believer that we should all be thankful for everything that we have and we should feel fortunate. Although it may be hard sometimes I want focus on the positive and on the good things I have (which are many) and not so much on the things are that are on the way (I know that anything I feel I may be "lacking" will come in due time and hence, I want to work on letting go and just letting things come when they are supposed to). I think we can all agree that is healthy and amazing to focus on what we do have and not what we dont. I feel that fridays would be a perfect day to share what I felt fortunate for during the week.

So, here are the  Five things I feel fortunate for today:

1. The fact that I work indoors in a heated building where I can sit down and comfortably do my work. I don't know how street vendors and other people that stand outside do their work happily in these freezing temperatures! Thanking The Lord for the heat today!! (This was actually my post on facebook and instagram today).

2. Being able to walk normally and that my legs are strong and capable of walking, jogging and running  at any time. (Today I witnessed a lady whom had trouble walking and it made me feel grateful for my legs. I was thinking that regardless of her disability she must also feel grateful because she is able to move around independently and with nobody's help!)

3. The extra money I have sometimes for guilty pleasures that put a smile on my face. Today during my lunch I walked to the Barnes and Noble and wholefoods thats a mile away from my job and walked out with this:

I read somewhere that if something makes you feel happy you dont need a "why". The simple feeling is enough.

4. The ability to bite in to an apple with ease and being able to enjoy it! I know this is random but I am sure not everyone is fortunate enough to enjoy this simple pleasure for various reasons. I ate a delicios apple today and I was grateful!

5. My past experiences; specially with the opposite sex. I've learned so much and finally realized my worth and stopped putting myself in situation that were not good for me. I am thankful because those experiences made me the person I am today--- Someone open to real love and happily in love :)

Tonight I made myself a quick dinner since I was starving! I call it egg stir fry on a whole wheat trader joes tortilla. Added some organic ketchup.

What do you feel fortunate for today?

Thanksgiving Turkey Trut + WHY I'M THANKFUL

So thanksgiving 2012 has arrived! I want to make this a quick but strong post because I have to get ready and go help my mom with some of the food prep. First and foremost: I did it! I woke up this morning at 8:30 am (on my day off from work!!!) put on my workout clothes and headed out the door to complete the 5K Turkey Trot sponsored by A Journey To Thin. I ended up doing more than a 5K (a little bit over 4 miles) because once I was done I was too winded to stop so I had to walk until my heart rate calmed down. It was a combination of walk/run. I would say I ran/jogged approx 2.5 of those miles and sped walked the rest:

I enjoyed some very nice views during my run. I love, love, love the fall:

My plan had been to have oatmeal for breakfast post run. However, once I was done my body was craving something "salty" or something not as sweet as oatmeal so I decided to make some eggs florentine on a whole wheat tortilla plus my coffee with almond milk. I added dash seasoning and part skim mozarella. It was definitely satisfying.

So anyways, without further 'ado here is why I am thankful today and everysingle day:

1. The presence of God in my life: Living alone has brought me a lot closer to God in many levels. Ive never been the type to go to church every single sunday (still working on that!) but I do feel that I have a very siginificant relationship with the one above. I am raised Roman Catholic and I do follow the belives of the bible but, beyond that---I am really appreciative of the relationship I am developing with God in a spiritual sense and the feeling of peace and gratefulness that comes with that, which cannot be expressed in words. Is very strong and I am thankful for that. I can only hope that it continues to grow.

2. My family: They are healthy, amazing people whom are always there for me. No matter what happens in my life I know for a fact that I will always have a rock in them. No matter how moody I may get or how mean I can be sometimes (I do recognize that) they are ALWAYS there for me with no grudges and no bad feelings, just with an open and welcoming heart. I am also thankful that they are healthy and strong and I can enjoy them for many years to come, if God allows: Mom, Dad and Marlenne: Love ya! Also-- My extended family who's so much fun and always walk around with a positive attitude about life no matter what is going on. Never a dull moment :) Love them too!

3. My Health: Growing up Ive always been a very healthy person (I rarely ever catch a cold, my immune system is super strong, Ive always been generally healthy). I am so appreciative for this and I do make a concious effort everyday to treat my body with respect by staying active and eating healthy although we all slip from time to time. I consider myself a billionaire because I have my health and that's something money cannot buy.

4. My Job: Although I am not currently in the career I want to be in (God knows this!) I am grateful to have a steady paycheck while I organize myself and embark in the journey I am supposed to be on. I know that sooner or later I will be doing something I absolutely LOVE for a living. In the meantime, I am thankful that I can keep my life organized and structured by being employed. I have also mentioned before how much I LOVE working downtown. Everytime I pass the New York Stock Exchange on my way to work I am reminded that dreams do come true in God's perfect time. :)

5. My Apartment: This time last year I was still living with my parents. Although I used to get super frustrated about it from time to time it got to a point where I became grateful to have a roof over my head, food and my family around me. I stopped nagging about what I didnt have and began to see what I DID have. A couple of months later I got the call for my apartment which I was waiting on for soooo long. The call finally came and In January 2012 I moved in to my own place and I LOVE THIS PLACE. I am so incredibly thankful for it. My words cannot even begin to express it. I feel at peace, happy, I am at a good place in my life and I recognize this everyday. It is true what they say: feeling thankful and grateful for what you have does bring more abundance in to your life.

6. Food: enough said? LOL...What I mean is that I am thankful that I can eat healthy and that I have food available for me when I am hungry or when I need nourishment or pretty much 24/7. I recognize that a lot of people around the world dont have this blessing of having food in their table when needed and have to go through a lot to get  a warm plate of food. I pray for those who need it and I can only pray that I am presented with enough abundance and the opportunity to help those who need it the most in the near future and that I have the resources to help.

7. Friends: Where do I begin with this?! I have amazing friends. TRUE friends that I can always count on and even if we stop talking for months or even years the minute we reunite again is like time never passed!!! What an amazing feeling to know that you have people that love you and that you love and that no matter what happens they will always be part of your life! People that if you need to vent about something, complain about something, get excited and happy about something or if you just want to relax-- they are there. You all know who you are and for you I am thankful <3. :) It is true what they say that people come in to your life for a Season, a Reason or a Lifetime. I am grateful for ALL the friends regardless of which "category" they may fall under :).

Edited to add--

8. My Car: I may not have a 2013 Mercedes Benz but I LOVE my car as it takes me where I need to go and rarely gives me any issues. Also, I am thankful because today was the first time I was able to fill it up with gas since the whole Sandy fiasco! I am thankful to have a set of wheels to take my around and I am reminded of this every time I turn on my ignition!

...So this turned out to be a longer post than what I had planned. Thanks for reading. Now off I go to get ready for some food prep with mom. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

What are YOU thankful for today?