Fortunate Fridays { Pre-memorial day weekend edition}

Hello ladies and gents!

Hope everyone had a great week. We have a long weekend ahead of us! Any exciting plans? Mine include but are not limited to-- catching up on reading, Zumba with my best friend, dinner with another one of my very close friends and hanging out with family.

How about you? If you have any super exciting traveling plans let me know. I'll be living vicariously through you. ha!

Here is the recap of some of my fortunate moments for this past week:

1. Being able to run a 5K with my dad. If you missed that post, check it out here.

2. Spontaneous quality time with my sister on a random weekday- this was awesome. We shared a delicious treat while catching up on life. (post coming up later on today)

3. Two of my favorite magazines came in the mail (plus, my daily Wall Street Journal, always grateful for that).

4. Journaling- I had forgotten how cathartic writing can be and how healing it is to just write away about our fears, emotions, the good, the bad, and everything in between. I took some time this week to get back to some old school writing (journal and pen) and felt a gazillion times better after that "session". Thinking about incorporating more consistent journaling time in to my life going forward.

5. Change your thinking change your life- I've been a fan of Brian Tracy's books for the past 8-9 years, every since I graduated from undergrad. His motivational messages are a true gift. I recently came across one of his books which I haven't read yet and immediately picked it up. I just started reading it but so far I'm really enjoying it. In a nutshell, the book emphasizes the realization that no matter what happens, we always have the choice of training our minds to have a positive outlook on things (also, understanding the power of the mind in completely changing our lives).

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...And that's all folks. It was a good week. Although things are not necessarily "perfect" I cannot complain. I have a lot of things to look forward to and looking forward to a fun filled weekend, even if its simply in the company of family, friends, the gym, and books.

Tell me, what is your favorite Brian Tracy book or motivational book in general? (would love to add it to my reading list.)

Love,
Mabelle

Fortunate Friday {May first Edition}

Hello everyone!

How was your week? Mine was great and busy with zero complaints. Week came with its challenges because obviously that is life, however, nothing I couldn't handle.

I may not be very consistent with my daily posts (*embarrassed*) but at least I can keep up with these Fortunate Friday posts. I was thinking to myself "I don't even know what I am thankful for this week. nothing really exciting happened". And then, as I opened my mind to the question, it started shooting at me several things that definitely deserve a shout out in today's post. With that said, here what I feel fortunate for this week:

1. My health- This is more than a given. Health is wealth and such an incredible blessing that sometimes we take for granted or 'forget about'. No matter what may be going on in our lives-- personal issues, life drama, work drama, and the list goes on; we should be thankful that we are able to get out of bed each morning and tackle the day and whatever it may bring. We should be thankful that we are able to open our eyes, move, breathe, and care for ourselves. That's kind of a big deal.

2. The strong instinct/reassurance that everything will be more than okay- My life is not perfect but I do my best to remain optimistic in the face of challenges. One of my favorite mantras is "this too shall pass". Something inside of me tells me that whatever is not going "my way" at this point in my life is only meant for my good in the long term. If I can weather the storm I can look forward to the sun.

3. My sister and my best friend-- not much to say about this other than they are both such incredible support systems and people I can count on no matter what.

My sister and I (circa 2013- ish)

My bestie and I in New Orleans (circa ~2011 ish)

4. My home- also known as my sanctuary, my office, my space away from the hectic world. A true blessing.

5. My faith, which keeps me sane-- I cant tell you how many times a day my brain goes completely ballistic worrying about this or that or the other-- fear, uncertainty, regret, sadness-- things that try to attack me from time to time. Thankfully holding on to my faith keeps me away from that and reassures me I will be more than okay (see #2).

6. Bonus: a very consistent month when it comes to fitness-- Check this out:

I worked out pretty much every single scheduled day this month. A combination of the gym, Zumba classes and strengthen training with my dear Jillian Michaels. Looking forward to keeping this up in May. Shout out to my Ipad that keeps me entertained at the gym :).

Tip: A visual calendar to keep track of daily workouts is an awesome motivational tool.

...and that's all folks! Thanks for reading. Have a phenomenal weekend.

Love,
Mabelle

Fortunate Fridays

Hey everyone!! Ugh! another busy week. Although it was a short week (thank god) I barely had time to come on the blog (as usual). However, cant miss Fortunate Fridays, can I?! So here goes...this week I feel fortunate for:

1. My sister and the fact that she loves to run and is motivating me to sign up for several races! I have a goal in terms of the number of races I want to run this year and I have several super fun ones on my radar which I will be signing up for within the next week. So excited! 

2. Jillian Michaels DVDs! I swear her workouts WORK! I feel so much stronger and although she kicks your butt she gives you results. Plus- I cant mention enough how much I love the fact that the workouts are only 20-3 minutes. Amazing.

3. The text message I got from one of my friends today thanking me because she was able to raise her credit score significantly, save on her 401k, get out of debt and started investing. About a year and a half ago I wrote up a financial plan for her and she followed it to the T!!! I always tell her that it was her focus and hard work that has gotten her to this point. My plan may have been a blue print but it was all up to HER because SHE wanted to improve her life. Either way, that text made my day and made me feel incredibly grateful that I was able to help her. The greatest satisfaction is simply to see her reach her goals and I cant wait to see how much further she goes.

4. Living in America! Okay this is going to sound random but I LOVE this country and I feel incredibly blessed to live here. So many opportunities to do some many things I probably would have never been able to do had I never moved here. I feel really, REALLY blessed. 

5. On that same "I Love America Note" I feel fortunate for the Stock Market and for being able to participate in it. This is another random fact about me-- I LOVE investing. Is one of the things that I am super passionate about. I follow market news, listen to podcasts, read the books, etc. etc. Such an exciting world. If you arent in to stuff like that you may think I am crazy. But everyone has a passion or two, right?! I may share more about this stuff on the blog. What do you think? Would you be interested? I dont see enough females excited about the market and I feel that this is a skill everyone should have! Is often known as a "mans world" but it should not be! I would love to change that.

6. BONUS FORTUNATE: Cant forget the blogger award I got this week!! I get so happy when people find my blog and enjoy my posts. Thank you!! I am still finalizing my list of 11 bloggers I will nominate so, cant wait to share it with others.

Okay this is it for today! Its been snowing in NYC but I want to see if I can run tomorrow. With my work schedule I can usually only run on weekends. When he weather gets better I hope to be able to run outside more often.

Cheers to the weekend!!!

Question: Any plans for the weekend? anything great happened this week that you are feeling grateful/fortunate for?

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?

Central Park run and a Great Weekend!

Hey Everyone! Just wanted to share a recap on my weekend!

So I have to admit this weekend turned out to be a great one. Saturday morning I woke up early enough and motivated to go for a run around my neighboorhood. The weather was perfect for running!! A little foggy but around 50+ degrees. I dont know what is going on or why is so hot in December but I'll take it for now.

On saturday night I went to sleep over at my mom's house. I actually just went to visit her because she was feeling sick but I ended up sleeping over for the night. In the morning my sister woke me up and asked whether I wanted to go for a run with her and her friends at central park. I somehow got super excited and managed to wake up super early on a sunday morning!

So, let me just share that whenever I go to my moms house I often encounter a whole lot of junk food that I dont have at my apartment. So, lets just say I "indulged" a little bit too much saturday night. I was also super stressed about a presentation I had today (which went amazing bythe way!!!) and so I snacked more than normal. Going for a run on sunday morning was PERFECT!!! Also, despite being a New Yorker Ive never ran in Central Park before so this was a first and I loved every minute of it!!! Here are some pics of my sister and I:

 

 

The Scenery was amazing! it was also kind of a rainy morning so it was just perfect:

 

 

 

We ran a little bit over 4 miles:

 



While at my moms house I also got to see her xmass tree. Loved it! I have yet to put up mine. Waiting on my boyfriend whom I havent been able to see because of exams and school stuff going on. I am hoping to put up my tree soon.

When I got home sunday night I proceeded to prepare for my presentation (that took place today) and did some meal preping for the week involving chicken:

 

 

 

I leave you with a nice message I found today and which I believe to be very true:

 

 

 

Tell me, how was your weekend? :)