Fortunate Fridays {In love with the city and my job} Edition

Hey Everyone,

 

How was your week? I have quite the busy—yet super exciting—weekend ahead of me. Although I am in DC and 4th of July is likely amazing here, I actually had previous plans to go visit a friend of mine up in Syracuse, NY. I am super excited to see her and spend time with her and her fiancé. They have a lake house and I hear is beautiful!

 

So basically, I am leaving DC today as early as possible, getting to NYC and then driving out to Syracuse early Friday morning. I’ll make sure to take tons of photos and will let you guys know how it goes!

 

This week was filled with tons of things to feel fortunate for. So, here is the run down:

1. Had such a great time last weekend touring Washington and visiting all of the "tourist" attractions. It was so freaking hot but regardless we had an amazing time:

*also got to try a delicious mexican restaurant I had been eyeing since I got here. No pictures (sorry) but the food was delicious. 

2. Keeping up with my fitness!!! The heat here is out of this world (or maybe this past winter was so horrible I forgot hot hot it can get). It's been 90+ degrees for most of the days. However, I've managed to run most days with occasional walking breaks. All the sweating is actually doing wonders for my skin! I noticed a nicer complexion the past couple of days:

3. Free "treats" at work. so basically every last Friday of the month they have "cake day" and there is also such thing as pizza day once a month. What makes this so cool is that the company doesn't get mass-produced treats from Cosco or BJs. They actually go out of their ways to find local vendors!!!! And we get to vote on the "best tasting" stuff. This week'a favorite were definitely these cake balls:

Forgot who made them but apparently it was a 12 year old girl from the area who is starting her own business. How cool is that?! I'll try to see if she has a website and share it with you all. 

4. Staying on budget (at least with food and workouts). So working out is pretty much free considering I run around the city. In terms of Food, I stocked up on some basic staples when I got here and so I have been throwing random things together:

*(Egg and avocado on sprotted whole wheat bread)

*Trader Joe's enchilada with a side of avocado.

5. Last but not least: my strong faith which simple continues to grow. A lot of amazing things going on in my life and the stuff that bother me from time  to time, I pray about. Peace is a wonderful feeling and I don't take anything for granted :)

Cheers to an amazing summer and beyond!

"Meme of the week" (or message of the week) goes out to a friend of mine whom posted this on Facebook:

What are your plans for 4th of July weekend?? 

*Ps: pardon any issues with formatting. Had to write the post using blogger app on my phone.

Blast from the 90s!

This week felt good.

With the juggling of life as an "adult"; engrossed in graduate school, a full time job and following my passions I had been guilty of not keeping in touch or spending quality time with my real friends--the ones that I have been around as far as I can remember (ie: elementary school through high school). Dont get me wrong-- I have met amazing people after college whom I also value and consider REAL lifetime friends that will be around forever (Hi Lejla! :) but this post is dedicated to my "friends from the 90s" whom I had the pleasure of spontaneously meeting up with this past week. I am still missing a couple of people but I am motivated to reach out to them and spend some quality time catching up.

I have been through times in my life when I've come to realize that at the end of the day, family, friends, loved ones are the people that will always be there for you and those are the relationships that we should all nurture and maintain. I am talking about the people that will see you no different whether you are homeless or a billionaire. The ones that, even if you loose touch or stop speaking for months or even years, you're still able to pick up right where you left off and it feels like time never went by. Im about to get mushy for about half a second but I just want to point out that REAL FRIENDS and loved ones are perfectly described in one of my favorite bible verses/poems: 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Wouldn't you agree? :)

So, as I was saying. My meet ups started this past Thursday when I met up for amazing sushi at one of my favorite sushi spots on the West Side of Manhattan: Nomado. Let me just rant for a second about how delicious their sushi is. And you better believe I've had my fare share of raw fish rolled up in rice! I dont know what they do to their sushi (I am not sure I want to know) but is so delicious. So anyways, back to regular programming--- I met up with my friend Guildia and we had an amazing time:

We had some serious girl-talk catching up on boys, work, careers, traveling, school, our upcoming birthdays, fitness, and personal finances (she calls me her financial adviser and makes it a point to tell everyone every chance she gets lol. Gotta' love her). I met Guildia in the 5th grade and went all the way through high school together! She was one of the very first people I met when I moved to NYC from the Dominican Republic back in 1993 and we've kept each other in our lives ever since. In college we kinda' went our separate ways as we attended two different state schools. However, we kept in touch and I actually talk to her through text almost every single day. I'd say that's the friend I am able to keep in contact with the most. Gotta' love technology. We also formed a "Virtual fitness group" where we motivate each other to wake up and run every other day. She recruited about 5 other girls and we're all doing great but that's a topic for another post!


Moving over to friday; after I was done with an exhausting day at work the last thing I wanted to do was go home and be bored to death (I have to note that is super rare for me to feel that way considering that I am a MAYOR homebody and any chance I get I am usually at home. relaxing.period.) Anyways, I decided to take advantage of my "random urge" to go out and ended up making plans with another good ol' friend. 

This is Yosie. Ive known her since 1995!! We met in junior high school and then parted ways after that (went to different high schools and colleges). I have to give Yosi credit that she still in my life this day. I remember in high school I went through a phase of not calling anyone much left keep in touch. However, she was one of those friends that would always call to check up on me and see what Ive been up to. As time went on, I got better but I'll never forget that she's pretty much responsible for keeping our friendship alive and strong.

Finally, this past Saturday (last night) I reunited with Dr. Christina Lopez. I have known her since 1997. We met in high school and have been very close friends ever since! I think a mayor reason why we have such a strong bond is that fact that we also went away to college to universitites that were VERY close to each other. I was constantly at her dorm and at one point I had more friends at her school then I had at my own! We kinda' transitioned in to adulthood together considering we were there for each other during those years where you go from high school-to college- to the real world (and everything that comes with each one of those phases!). We have memories to last us a lifetime and everytime we get together there is never a dull moment! Theres also never a moment when we dont recall one of our past college experiences and start just laughing about the good old days and all the fun times. 

 

 Below is us outside of the lounge at the end of the night. The other gals are Christina's younger and older sister. Ive known them for as long as I've known Christina. One of them is married (the baby) and the other one is married with a baby! We were chatting about how I was there for her (older) sister's 21st birthday. Time really does fly!

 

Christina has a PHd in education and is the only one of my friends with a doctorate degree. I am very proud of her as I remember how incredibly difficult and overwhelming those doctorate school years were for her but she did it!!! I always give her props for that.

So there you have it! It feel GREAT to catch up with good friends specially when you dont get to see them on the regular. Phone calls and texting are okay and texting usually makes our lives easier but there's nothing like actually being in the presense of the people that means so much to you!

I have a few more people on my catching-up/re-bonding radar and im looking forward to making it happen.

Cheers to an amazing upcoming week!

Tell me, how often do you catch up/see YOUR close friends?

Hungover on a Wednesday

Random side note: this is post number 275^th! Ive always had an affinity with the number 5 or multiples of 5. Just thought u should know ;)

So, Hello blog world!

This morning I woke up feeling like I had spent the last week drinking and wondering whether it was Saturday or Sunday. When my alarm went off I was immediately smacked in the face with the cruel reality that it is only Wednesday and I have a job so off I went to get ready.

Why the hangover status? Well, last night I went to dinner with a really good friend of mine. Lets call him Mr. R; Hi R! J. We went to one of my favorite places:

It is a tex-mex/Mexican spot with affordable food and super strong drinks. I ended up drinking 1.5 cups of something they like to call “the white flower” which is a mix of white wine sangria and some sort of alcohol that may or may not include tequila. I had to share the 2^nd half of my 2^nd drink with my friend because it was just too much. For food I had a “Mexican chicken wrap” which was amazing. I also had a salad on the side. I love Mexican food no matter how you slice it! I got caught up in the conversation and drinks and forgot to take a picture. Sorry!

My friend and I talked about everything under the sun (as usual) and then somehow managed to walk out of the place without falling on our way to the door. Fun times for sure! That’s one thing I really enjoy about our friendship—we can chat about anything, act silly and then pretend we are normal after all that. Haha

(Random note: my friend found my blog by mistake last year and this is one of his infamous comments about it: “You are very photogenic”  (huh? What is that supposed to mean? Lol)

Anyways, I managed to make it home around 12 ish. Thankfully my favorite bus driver was on shift and dropped me off right on the corner of my apartment (not an official bus stop). He is always super nice. I hope he didn’t notice my drunken status when I suddenly got up and asked if he minded leaving me “at the corner”. He jokingly (or half joking?) offered to drop me off in front of my building. That would have been pretty hilarious.  

Yesterday was day 2 of my “30 day shred” Jillian workout DVD series. I have to say the first day was rough but I am getting used to the workouts and once again loving her exercises. You know you are doing something right when you actually see results on your body. I was also super excited to know she’s back on the biggest loser. I am such a big fan of hers now!

So the last couple of days I’ve been having overnight oats (inspired by my Greek yogurt expiration date of 12/31). I had an empty peanut butter jar which I used yesterday. No jar for today so I used a regular container for this morning’s breakfast.

Today:

 

Either way, soo good! I added raisins and cinnamon to the mixture. I also had my café w/ soy milk. Can’t go wrong with the Greeks for breakfast.

…And here’s today’s work outfit/accessories:

H&M cardigan, express skirt, NY&C bracelet, regular black shoes/print stockings.



Happy Hump Day!

Question: Have you ever been to a Blockheads? Do you like Mexican food?