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!)

Hello 2013 and Hello January

Hey everyone! Hope you all had an amazing and safe new years eve celebration last night and that you're all hitting the ground running with this amazing year that has been numbered 2013. Something I didn't share yesterday on my post is that I actually spent a few hours of the morning at my local Barnes and Noble writing out a 2013 "action  plan". I was inspired by a Facebook post by an acquaintance that I really admire and he encouraged an action plan broken down in to quarterly, monthly and weekly goals. I am not quite finished yet but is looking good and is serving as a source of inspiration for me. I also completed my own "Happiness Concept Map" which I came across on this blog post. Erica is great and I actually derived my 2013 action plan from the concept map. I encourage you all to check it out. I first heard about the post on Clare's Blog.

I want to completely finish the action plan with set deadlines by the end of the week. Wish me luck! I have several things I want to accomplish by the end of January but here are a few of the "fun" stuff:

1.. Read an entire book of choice. This month's book:

I bought this book while vacationing in London back in 2011 (actually during my layover between London and Paris). I was going through a serious transition in my life and the book was absolutely perfect for the occasion.  I only ended up reading a couple of chapters because of my vacationing and then other stuff took focus when I came back but I cant wait to finish it. 

2. Get started on my new Jillian Michaels DVD. 30 day shred was amazing so I am excited about this one:

3. Look at the NY Road Runners schedule and map out a few races for the year or next 6 months. My sister got me a membership for Christmas (gotta love her!) so I cant wait to put it t use.

So now I leave you with a couple of photos from last nights celebration. Cheers to an amazing 2013!

Side note: I felt so amazing wearing that blue dress last night! I have never been "naturally skinny". I am one of those people that has to work for it and make a conscious effort each day to maintain a healthy life style and stay active. My hard work in 2012 paid off!!! It all started with getting rid of about 175 pounds (in terms of getting rid of a loser I was dating) which was just causing me to eat and be anxious. That was around February of 2012 and then I decided to take complete control of myself and my life-- began to race (Spartan), did a 5K, a 10K, remained constant with the Jillian Michael 30 day shred and other workouts. Ate healthy most of the time and come December I felt AMAZING and that how I felt last night. Sacrifices do pay off :)

Question: How was your new years eve? Are you making any plans for January or for the year? Thanks for reading!

A Year of Blessings...

Hey all! I wasnt planning on posting anything today but just figured I checked in real quick and share some of the things I am thankful for in 2012.

· First of all-- Strengthened my relationship with God

· Remained blessed with good health and the health of my loved ones!

· Moved in to my apartment (and now people can't get me out of it lol)

· Found a love for running and the best person to do it with: My sister

· Figured out my life passions

· Got in shape

· Made new friends and strengthened old friendships

· Traveled to Seattle & Vancouver and had an amazing road trip with two of my best friends

· Learned incredibly valuable lessons about love and life and openned my heart to real love

· Learned to value myself as a person and FINALLY understood the true meaning of not settling for less

Happy New year!

 

And as we jump in to 2013. Remember...

:) Cheers!

Question: What are your plans for tonight?

Picture source: Pinterest

FORTUNATE FRIDAYS

Hello Again my friends. As promised, every Friday, this is what I am fortunate for this week:

1.  The world didn't end and we're still here alive and well looking forward to all the wonderful things 2013 has in store.

2.  The semester is over and I finally have free time to figure out my life.

3. A job/job title that allows me to [fairly] easily use my vacation time and where I am not forced to work on special holidays. My request for taking next week off was approved and I couldn't be more excited! (I know a lot of people that have no choice when it comes to working on Christmas eve/day, New Years Eve and day, thanksgiving, etc because their jobs require it. Especially those people that work at retail stores and places that don't want to close specially during the holiday season. I have a lot of respect for those people. I don't know how they do it!)

4. Real friends. There was a time in my life when I would put more focus on the people I was dating or people I was interested in rather than my own friends. I am finally learning to put focus on the people whom are there for me during the ups and downs and are there regardless of whether or not I have a boyfriend. True friends are fixed valuable assets (this is finance Mabel talking) and we should treat it as such! It is an amazing feeling to know that you can call up these people at anytime to go have brunch, lunch, dinner or just to talk and hang out. I am attending get-togethers for two very good friends of mine this weekend. One is tonight and another tomorrow night. Excited. What is life without good friends?

5. My body-- This amazing machine that does so much for me on a daily basis and is able to withstand so much! I love the way I was able to run an entire 6.4 miles this past Sunday and my body has shown me once again how strong it is-- everything works in unison to achieve greatness.

6. Bonus Fortunate-- My hair. After so many years of trying to hide its natural beauty because of cultural standards (my culture strongly favors straight hair) I finally decided to work with my hair rather than hide it in pony tails or salon blown outs. Going against my natural hair is #1 damaging and #2 expensive. I have worn it down (and curly) almost every day this week since Tuesday and I couldn't be happier. More on that on a future post!  <-- learning to love myself.

Below is a picture of me at work today…Happy Friday!

What are feeling fortunate for this week? Any plans for the weekend?

MY VERY FIRST 10K!!

So this past Sunday I had the privilege of joining my sister and her wonderful friends with the purpose of running a race. But not just any race…my first 10K ever!! I still remember the first time I ever ran a race in my entire life. It was a 5K and I think it was back during the spring of 2010 when one of my best friends and I went to visit her sister in Charlotte North Carolina. While most people you visit across the country surprise you with a night out in the town at a club or some big party she actually surprised us with the fact that she signed us up for a 5K! and not only that, we actually did some dirk-bike racing and that turned out to be one of the best get away of my life.

But....back to the purpose of this post. The 10k was at Roosevelt island (a tiny little piece of land between Queens and NYC) and it was called…brace yourselves!...the Hot Chocolate Run! When my sis first sent me the email about a couple of months ago I think I just read the title and signed up immediately. During the signing up process they asked whether I’d like to run the 5K or the 10K. I actually hesitated for a while and even texted my sister to see what she thought. I have to admit---I was doubting myself on whether I could actually run ~6.4 miles. I know this might seem like nothing to a lot of people that constantly run or that have completed multiple ½ marathons or marathons and beyond. However, for me this was quite a big deal. Ive learned to absolutely love running this year but I am used to 3-4 milers. Nothing more than that. Well, until this past Sunday, that is! This past Sunday was actually a few firsts:

1. First time on the Roosevelt Island Tram
2. First time on Roosevelt Island 
3. First 10K ever

Here are some fun photos of the event--

The Tram Experience:

 

On the Island. Pre and Post race:

 

The cool mug and enjoying the delicious Hot Chocolate at the Finish Line:

....AND HERE IS MY TIME/ MILES PER MINUTE:

The verdict?! I loved it! And even better; I ran the entire time! I was so proud of myself and of this huge personal fitness milestone. I also got a super cool mug which I will surely treasure along with great memories. I think it was so cool they actually emailed us the results the same night of the race!! How awesome.

What did I learn? What was I reminded of? That I pretty much can do anything and that is true what they say--- “mind over matter”. There was a couple of times I wanted to take a break and walk but the amazing podcasts I was listening to (TD Jakes-- "Stay on Track" part II) plus fun Christmas music helped me pulled through the finish line with a big smile on my face!

I do have to share that the next day my body was aching and I could barely get up from my bed. Lol. I somehow manage to get up and get ready for work but I think my body was in total shock for about 16 hours. Makes me appreciate all this body does for me and every piece of it: from my head to my toes. What an amazing machine the body is!

In other news---last night was my very last final of the semester. So happy to share that fall 2012 has finally come to an end!!! Now I have some decisions to make about my future and life in general but I am super excited nonetheless. I know that as long as I do what I need to do God will guide me on the right direction. I leave you with this super cool picture I found while browsing Facebook this morning. I love being optimistic about everything in life and this made me smile:

Tell me, Do you remember your first race? Is there anything you learned about yourself or life in general before, during and/or after the race?

Barnes and Noble, Homemade Banana-almond Smoothie Recipe

I cannot write my regular post without first acknowledging and addressing the tragedy that happened in CT yesterday. I cannot even imagine the amount of sadness and sorrow the parents of those poor angels are going through. How can someone be that cruel and out of their minds (to say the least because there are no words) to shoot little innocent children and their teachers?! I think the worse part of this whole thing after loosing so many innocent lives is the fact that this monster was able to kill himself and not suffer the consequences of his actions. There is a God up in heaven who always has the last word and I hope that this person is paying one way or another. Also, that gun control laws are revised and changed drastically. It sucks that it had to take such a insane tragedy for drastic changes to be made. Rest in Peace to those little angels.

Hey everyone!

Just making a quick pit stop to share that I've spent the entire day at my local Barnes and Noble and its made for quite a productive day. I was reminded of the following FACT:

I am far more productive and more focused at a local Barnes and Noble, Starbucks or even local library in comparison to staying in my apartment.

I LOVE being at my place. However, I also need to understand that there is a place and a time for everything. The main issue with staying indoors when I REALLY need to focus: too many distractions (food, television, phone) and no one around me to "keep me accountable". Although the people at Barnes and Noble are perfect strangers; I feel that they somehow keep me 'accountable' as all I really feel like doing is focusing on the stuff in front of me rather than wondering around and loosing focus. So, thank goodness for places that allow me to sip on overpriced coffee yet offer me a desk and chair where I can practically sit the whole day, if I wish.

I just got back in to my apartment pretty much starving to say the least (all I ate was my breakfast from this morning, coffee and a snack I took with me). I couldnt really make a big meal because Im actually going to go eat at my parents house. So, the simplest thing to make to hold me over until then, a delicious and satisfying- VERY SIMPLE almond milk-banana smoothie:

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, frozen if available
1 cup almond milk
Drops of Vanilla Stevia, to taste (I use NuNaturals brand)
1/3 cup quick oats
Cinnamon to taste

**Blend all ingredients until smooth, ENJOY!

How's your Saturday going so far? Any smoothie recipes you'd like to share?

:)