Fortunate Fridays {peace of mind edition}

Hey loves,

breakfast this morning <3

Welcome to another edition of Fortunate Fridays. Hope everyone had quite the phenomenal week. Nothing too exciting on my end other than work and working on self-love and personal development. I know I sound like a weirdo. But that's whats going on in my life and I'm not afraid to say it :).

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

1. Meeting new people. My best friend invited me to a get-together with her co-workers last weekend and I had an amazing time. I have to be honest, I didn't feel like doing absolutely anything at all but best friends push us out of our comfort zone when we don't want to be pushed and that's exactly what she did. We drank, danced, socialized, and everything in between. No pictures but I do have great memories. Cant wait to hang out with them again.

random selfie

2. The new addition to my mug collection. I am a sucker for cute mugs and this is one I had been keeping my eye on at Marshall's for about 5 months. I didn't want to buy it because it was a bit pricey for a mug (around $8). To my surprise, I found it on clearance for $3.50.  I was so excited. It was the only one left. I immediately grabbed it and off I went. The crazy thing is that Marshall rarely has the cute things on clearance. When they are gone, they are gone. However, it was my lucky day.

Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?!

3. The resources to buy ingredients and the ability to prep some yummy meals. I love cooking at home. Here are some of the foods I was able to enjoy this week.

4. My sister is okay. I found out recently that she was involved in a car accident the other night. I am so glad she is completely fine! Material things come and go but a life and health are priceless.

5. Running outside. I ran outside twice this week. The first time was crazy hard but yesterday I went for a smooth run and I loved it. Getting easier for sure. Still working on my pace/mph (have a long way to go! my goal is to get back to 9 mph) and prepping for my 10k coming up in June.

6. Bonus: Peace of mind. The other day I had an aha! moment after a sudden scare I had while hanging out with one of my friends. I realized that I have nothing to complain about. Sure, my life is not perfect but I feel like all my "so called issues" are things that I have the power to fix and improve on a personal level. I've gotten to a point where I have realized that my advancement in life is in fact primarily dependent on my faith and then me, myself and I with a bit of help from people that also want to see me succeed. I have no "outside issues" that I cannot control, and for that, I am thankful.

And that's all for now! Thanks for passing by. How was your week? Did you do anything fun last weekend for memorial day?

Love,
Mabelle

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?