Fortunate Fridays {Short and Sweet Recap edition}

Hello my loves,

I am back from the Dominican Republic! My flight got in at around 7:00 pm last night. I had the most phenomenal vacation I've had in such a long time. I forgot how amazing all inclusive resorts are. Specially when you are surrounded with good friends and people that enjoy having a good time. The hotel was truly beautiful and I cannot wait to give you all a recap of everything.

I wanted to submit this short and sweet post since I am back but I'll provide you guys with a more elaborate post regarding my vacation and my friend's wedding probably by this weekend. So, please stay tuned for that.

Without further 'ado, here is what I feel fortunate for this week:

1. The amazing Delta employee in the re-booking kiosk whom helped me out and was able to get me in to the plane I almost missed: lets just say that thanks to a crazy accident on my way to JFK I almost missed my flight on my way to DR. Thankfully, things worked out and so thankful for my dad whom took the time out of his day to drive me to the airport.

2. A smooth flight going to DR and back: As much as I love traveling, I am always scared of planes but all I do is pray and let go of any fears. Thank God the flights were great aside from very minimal turbelance.

3. Meeting new people and hitting it off right away: For the wedding I stayed with two ladies I didn't know very well (friends with the girl whom was getting married). However, we hung out like we've known each other for years and got along incredibly well. I can honestly say I made some cool new friends.

4. Being able to enjoy delicious foods and drinks for 4 full days: not one dollar came out of my pocket.

5. Seeing one of my best friends get married to the love of her life: that was truly priceless and a blessing to be there to witness it all.

This past week was so great that I could probably go on and on with this list but I'll stop right here. Also, I don't want to give everything away just yet :). Anyways, now I am back to reality but truly refreshed and energized. I have tons of work to do but I am not complaining one bit. Looking forward to it. That's what happens when you have a nice break.

How was your week? What is one thing that happened you feel grateful for?

Love,
Mabelle

Fortunate Fridays {A mother's Love} Edition

Good day my loves!

Another Friday is upon us. Here I am to share the awesome things that happened this week, which I feel fortunate for.

As I've  previously mentioned, nobody's life is perfect but these posts give me the opportunity to remember to count my blessings and be grateful for the good things that happen in my life. And guess what, we can always decide that our lives are "perfect" based on our own definition of the word.

One thing is for sure, being grateful always brings positivism in to my life one way or another. So, I recommend you try it, even if its for one day, and see how you feel.

This week I feel fortunate for:

#1 My mothers health-- My mom had some issues with her arm this week and we were worried because she was in a lot of pain and in tears for days. Thankfully she was examined and she is okay other than having a 'frozen shoulder' (bursitis) which is currently being treated. I love my mom so much it made me sad to see her in so much pain. However, I am INCREDIBLY grateful and feel very fortunate that this is something that is being treated and she'll be back to her normal self in no time.

#2 A flexible schedule which I allowed me to accompany my mom to doctor's appointments- This is self explanatory but my flexible schedule came in at the absolute perfect time as I was able to help my mom through all her appointments as well as some chores around the house.

#3 My car- I may drive a 1997 Lexus but is my car and it takes me where I need to go safely and with no issues. That is all I need. I bought my car in a lump sum back in 2006 and its been one of the best investments I've ever made. I may "upgrade" at some point in the future but I am forever grateful for my wheels.

#4 The spontaneous decision to go pamper myself and get a manicure (its been a while)- I cant remember the last time I had my nails done. Today I went to the mall to get some pants for this weekend and wasnt able to find the pants. I was a bit bummed out but then came accross the nail spot and said to myself "why not?". I picked some "chocolate" flavor by Etsy and loved the color. Has to be one of my all time faves. Hope I am able to find it again next time I feel like having chocolate nails ;). Just because I felt like treating myself. Thankful for the ability to do so. The best $12 bucks I've spent in a while (including tip).

#5 My Love for cooking- I love making healthy and delicious meals for myself and whomever guest comes to my house. I find so much joy in preparing foods. I'd say my favorite meals to make are breakfast and then dinner. Lunch I usually grab something quick (still yummy, just quick because Im in the middle of the workday). Below is an example of a couple of things I had for dinner this week. If you follow me on Twitter I share a lot of the foods I make on there.

And that's all ladies and gents. Thank you for reading. Hope you ALL have a fabulous weekend.

Tell me, what is your favorite go-to dinner dish?

Love,

Mabelle

Fortunate Fridays {Friendships Edition}

Hello ladies and gents, happy Friday! We have reached yet another weekend (yeyy). How was your week? Mine was busy. Got tons of work done but also spent quality time with people that mean a lot to me, which is always good.

[breakfast this morning: Yummy oatmeal with yummy toppings + my cafe. ive been on an oatmeal kick lately. Have you noticed?]

This week I felt fortunate for {including but not limited to the following}:

1. Meeting new people and getting to know them {even if I don't know if I'll ever see them again}: I attended an event on Monday in downtown Manhattan where I got to me multiple people from different parts of the U.S. Most of us took time to chat and got to know each other- a little bit about our backgrounds and common interests. It was cool to have a nice conversation with 'complete strangers'. Lets see when life decides to reunite us again. 

2. Spontaneous plans with one of my best friends; meeting for coffee and having awesome conversation: After my event on Monday I called up a former co-worker and we met up for an awesome chat. I talk about that in Tuesday's post. 

3. The good company of a friend on a random weekday night and catching up over a glass of champagne: Friendships are awesome, aren't they? Apparently this was friendship week because another one of my friends visited me and we had a great time catching up. Needless to say the bottle was pretty much done by the end of our chat (YOLO?)

*Not to go off a tangent here but while listening to the news on the radio the other day I listened to a segment by Dr. Oz where he talked briefly about the benefits of friendships for people still searching for "the one". He said something that stuck with me:

4. My part-time gig working with kids, and my awesome manager: After grad school ended I've found myself with extra time to do extra work and I am currently working with children part time (In addition to my full time job) which I love. My current manager definitely takes the prize for the best I've had pretty much ever. 

5. The ability to read so many amazing books which are helping me with my career, most of which I've borrowed from the library. I have been reading so much lately and I am so grateful for the Library (which I consider one of my happy places). Besides borrowing actual books I absolutely love their ebook feature. I can hear about pretty much any book, look it up and it'll be in my Ipad within minutes. I'm loving it. 

6. Bonus: Remaining consistent with my workouts. I have several posts to write about this one but pretty much since the year started I have been following a plan I set for myself-- to make a conscious effort to work out and eat healthy as consistently as possible (remember what I said about the power of writing things down?). So far I feel fabulous and I've passed the "21 day mark" which means this is becoming a habit. I am at the point where I feel uncomfortable if I don't work out on my set days or don't have veggies and fruit in my fridge. So much more to come on this. Please stay tuned!

Infamous gym selfie

And that's all folks. Great week with great people and looking forward to a nice weekend. Ive heard we're suppose to have a warmer weekend here in NYC so i hope that's the case. Dont wanna jinx it.

Tell me, have you read any great books lately that you would recommend? let me know!

Fortunate Fridays {Graduated- and now life begins again, Edition}

Hey Everyone,

So first of all my apologies for a "mix-up" of post this morning. No one probably noticed it but in case you did... please disregard :)

Moving on to fortunate Fridays. As you may know, the highlight of my week was commencement and everything else that happened this week was kinda' of a blurr to be quite honest. So, I had to look deep inside my brain for memories of this week that made me smile and feel fortunate. I came up with some as usual. So here you have it:

1. This past Sunday's episode of Super Soul Sunday! If you haven't seen the episode I highly recommend it! The topic is "Happiness" and the guest is Harvard professor Shawn Achor. I believe part two is coming up this Sunday so, I recommend you watch it/DVR it or whatever you need to do. You wont regret it! And who doesn't love Oprah's super soul Sunday series?!

2. Things that make me happy and bring my life joy. This can include anything from watching CNBC in the morning and catching up on stock market news (yes, I am a business news obsessed weirdo and I admit it) all the way to a nice run on a beautiful day or simply blogging! I read somewhere that if something makes you happy your duty is to enjoy the feeling. No explanation or reason necessary!

3. The realization that writing down goals DOES WORK. If you are obsessed with personal development books or motivational literature (like I am) you may notice that a consistent theme is the importance of writing down your goals. I have been thinking about the goals I wrote down about 8 years ago and how the majority of them have in fact come true. Whatever hasn't come true yet I am 100% sure is on the works and it all has to do with timing. As I have said several times on here, God's timing is perfect. I will be doing some cleaning at my apartment with the goal of finding that one notebook where I wrote several goals some years ago. Will share more on this on an upcoming post. {fingers crossed I find the notebook!}. So, write those goals down. Be ridiculous. Dream BIG. Anything is possible.

4. The fact that my grandmother has been able to attend every single commencement I have been part of {at least here in the US} from high school, to undergrad, to masters degrees and hopefully beyond. Thank you grandma!

5. The support of my love ones {and the one up above} through this journey and those whom have been there from the beginning.

6. The fact that I never gave up despite the many times that I seriously considered it

7. Having something lined up for the summer in a field I love

8. The feeling of peace and excitement despite the fact that a younger Mabel would be super terrified and fearful. Today, I am looking forward to what's to come with upmost optimism

9. Friendships!!! I may not have a million friends but I do have several that are quite amazing and are a "constant" in my life. Many things in life may come and go but when you build strong friendships, you can be sure that they can serve as a rock for your life. Just make sure those relationships are positive and move you forward rather than bring you down.

10. Last but not least-- Progress! I started eating healthy and working out consistently again about a month ago and I am truly feeling the difference. Not only in my body but in my OVERALL well being. Is not about a diet, is not about starving, is not about working out until we are exhausted. Is about adoption a healthy lifestyle, feeling AMAZING, and knowing that taking care of our bodies brings positive results: mentally, physically, and emotionally. I believe I started to see progress when I tried on my graduation dress this past week. #bestfeelingever

Silly Pic:

...Also loving that my hair is growing beautifully. God knows how long ive been waiting to grow my hair! God is good. Yeyy! Isnt it all connected?!

Meme of the week is dedicated to one of my favorite authors, Maya Angelou. I know I posted one of her quotes yesterday but that women was truly amazing and left such an incredible legacy, specially for women. I would like to conclude this week with another one of my favorite sayings:

Tell me what are YOU feeling good about this week?

Fortunate Fridays {Gym and School Edition}

Hey Everyone!!

So I "survived" my first week of "unemployment" and LOVED. IT. Caught up on sleep, went to the gym, and spent a whole lot of time at school and finishing up final projects and presentations. I cant say I loved the latter much but I am happy that school is almost over so god willing this will all be a distant memory in the very near future.

I am not done with final projects until next week and still working on this as I write this so I'll be brief on this one. So, without further 'ado here is what I feel fortunate for this week {including but not limited to}:

1. Catching up on serious sleep and feeling refreshed!

2. More time to prep and enjoy yummy foods:

3. Working out almost every day this week. One of the workouts included my sister :) We went for a quick run mid-day and it was amazing:

4. Getting an A on my consulting project presentation & paper (and I am praying this also means an A in the class ;)...I truly had an amazing team for this project. Couldn't have done it without them. Here are some pics I took pre-presentation:

5. Also, doing great and completing a presentation for my Business Policy course. Now all we have to worry about is finishing the paper.

6. Spontaneous trip to Walmart. Minus the fact that I spent two much money; I am absolutely loving the new rugs I got for my kitchen {Sorry I cant seem to be able to rotate these pics :(}

 

7. Learning everyday to stay in the present (practice makes perfect!)

8. Getting myself flowers :)

9. Having a peaceful heart, a peaceful mind, and looking forward to what's to come!

And this week's favorite quote comes courtesy of "Oprah for Starbucks":

 

"The only courage you ever need is the courage to live the life you want".

-Oprah Winfrey

Thanks for reading :) What are you feeling good about this week?

Fortunate Fridays!

Hello! As write this I am relaxing on my couch seeing the snow fall down through my window. Candles on and everything! I am watching an episode of What Not to Wear from my DVR collection (my fave show!). Needless to say I am feeling pretty relaxed right now after such a long week! Thankfully, the 'crazy' snow-storm they had warned us about hasnt been so bad. After the whole Sandy fiasco we now have a tendency to freak out (which doesnt hurt because is better to be safe than sorry) but I am happy to announce that so far so good. Lets see what happens during the night and tomorrow.

So, here I am like every Friday. And these are the things I am feeling fortunate for this week (in no particular order).

1. A job that embraces and celebrates different cultures. One of the days this past week my company celebrated "Chinese New Year" and brought in several traditional Chinese goodies for us to have. Most of it was pastries and sweet stuff. Sounds like I need to take a trip to china ;). I opted for this item. I have no idea what is called. I asked my chinese co-worker and he didnt even know! But It was good!!:

It tasted like chocolate angel cake and I was able to split it up in two and eat it as a snack during the day. Anyone know the name of it or seen it before?


2. The freedom of choice and to pursue my dreams! We had a guest speaker in my entrepreneurship course this past week and she was sooooooooooo inspiring. As she told us her story of how she came about her business and how she made the jump from an engineering career in to soap-making I almost started to cry. My favorite phrases from what she told us were: "what do I have to loose? If things didnt work out I could always go back to my carrer" "what If I loose some of my saving? I could make it back!". She was literally glowing and you could see that she was pursuing her dreams and somehow that shined right through her. Nedless to say, she made me realized that I have the freedom to get up one day and just decide to "go for it" whatever it may be. How amazing is that?! Freedom of choice! We only have one life to live!!! You can check out her business here. the name of her business is Kalliste Organics. I plan to make a post on her products soon :)

3. The fact that I SOMEHOW ended up with the perfect combination of courses this semester. After spending a week going crazy and stressed out; I ended up choosing the entrepreneurship course to compliment finance. I couldn't be happier with this combination. Praise the lord! Lesson learned: probably not a good idea to wait until the last minute to register. I feel really lucky everything worked out as it did.

4.  Learning 4 new things I didnt know before (These facts are pretty random and you probably wont care about any of this but I am sharing anyways. Sharing knowledge cant hurt, right?): 
-Someone made me aware of the wonderful world of S.E.O (search engine optimization)
-That you are allowed to claim the student loans that you take out on your taxes (I was under the impression you could only claim student loan interest).
-That anyone can invest on preferred stocks (not only for high wealth individuals)
-That January has always been a good month for the stock market, historically speaking (the recent rallies are apparently nothing new).

5. Being able to enjoy my mom's bread pudding today as a after-lunch snack. Ate it with some green tea. Sooo good. Everything in moderation of course! 
New goal: will learn her recipe and make a "healthier" version of this substituting certain ingredients.

 

By the way, below is what I had for dinner this evening (RIGHT AFTER FINISHING JILLIAN'S Ripped In 30: Day 6, week 2! Looking forward to a delicious dinner is always a great motivation to work out!)

Shrimp quesadilla made w/ a whole wheat tortilla, shrimp and 1/4 cup melted part skim mozzarella. So good! Plus, had a left over piece of sweet potato and baked it it in to chips: 

 

And last but not least---In honor of Fortunate Fridays, this was my YOGI Green tea message today:

 

Couldn't agree more!!! Have an amazing weekend everyone and stay safe!

Share with me something new you learned this week!

Fortunate Fridays!

Real quick fortunate Fridays today because I am running late to a friend’s birthday dinner so here goes. This week I feel fortunate for:

1. Real friends with whom I can be myself and whom love me and appreciate me for who I am.

2. Learning new things from people around me--- this week one of my co-workers taught me something interesting that I didn't know and I am not sure I would have learned any other way. Some kind of random information that you cannot find in books (no time to elaborate right now but it was quite enlightening)

3. The express bus! For $5.50 the bus leaves me right in front of my apartment complex! I don't use it often because of the price (a regular ride on the regular train/bus is $2.25) but when I need it it can be quite the life saver!.

4. Finding bargains on something I needed (I found a shoe organizer at the clearance rank of TJ Maxx this week for $3.00!!! It was something that I was looking to buy for a while and for $3 I couldnt pass it up!

5. The weekend! thank god is Friday. I have so much stuff planned (with friends and personal) and I cant wait to get this weekend on the road!

Happy Friday!

Question: What are YOU feeling fortunate for this week?

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

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?