Happy Monday!

I'm currently taking a mental break from today! My morning and afternoon has been filled with sorting through the details of moving. From finding a trustworthy moving company, organizing the tons of crap I own, to budgeting the amount it will take to move, I've learned that moving is stressful and EXPENSIVE! I'm kind of over it! Ha! I'm so thankful for the people in my life that are trying to make it easier- thank you, thank you! The anxiety I'm feeling from all of this sucks. I go back and forth between excitement (OMG, I'm starting medical school in 28 days!!!! :)), to nervousness (SO much to do and people I want to see, in what seems like little time), and fear (what if I don't succeed!?!). That's normal right? I'm going to go with yes, it is. I'm slowly checking things off my to-do list which definitely makes me feel better!

Anyway, I must say, the past week was pretty darn awesome! Went to Miami last weekend for my little cousin's graduation. My 3 day trip turned into a 7 day one for a variety of reasons, nonetheless, it was fantastic. When I got home, I got to spend two days with my wonderful mother and my stepdad. And to top off the weekend, two friends (3 if you count the handsome English couch surfer Melinda brought along) and I went to the food market at Thai Temple (such a great experience; if you are in Tampa, I definitely suggest you check it out!). After devouring a ton of delicious Thai food, I headed to the outlet mall to look for a dress for my white coat ceremony (still not luck), and ended the rainy night by watching a comedy show with a friend. All in all, a great week. Excited to spend the next couple weeks spending time with family and friends before I leave! It's truly bittersweet!

On a different note, I wanted to let you know that I decided to claim my blog at Bloglovin'. I use this site to follow the blogs I enjoy reading on a regular basis and figured maybe you would want to check it out too and follow my blog on there! :)

Racquel, Danielle, and Me at Graduation!

Jordan, Me, and Sean at our movie date!

Sean reading to Aayden; doesn't this picture just warm your heart!

Thai Temple in Tampa. Beautiful temple and a beautiful culture! Didn't grab any pictures of the food- whoops!

Stress Eating

Confession: I have an incredibly unhealthy relationship with food. When stressed out, some people go for a run/walk or vent to friends...I do those things sometimes, but mostly, I eat. This is a habit I need to break and one that I've known that I need to break for a REALLY long time. I know what's healthy and what I should eat and what I shouldn't, but when stressed, all I want is wings, a coke, and lots of ice cream (or some other unhealthy combo). When stressed, the last thing I care about is what I'm doing to my body. So bad, especially for someone who knows better! After I've scarfed down the 100 grams of fat, sugar, and the million calories, I feel really upset with my self. It's pretty darn ridiculous.

Anyway, this is changing. When I got into medical school, among other fears, there was one that kept rolling around in my mind. I kept thinking, "Oh Gosh! I'm going to gain an unbelievably large amount of weight and ruin my arteries and heart from this stress eating thing I do." I can't let that happen, I won't let that happen! So, I made the decision to start paying closer attention to my food choices and working out more (at least 3x a week). It's been pretty successful so far. Of course there are weeks where I may only go to the gym once or twice or eat a cupcake, but that's better than when I went weeks without making it to the gym or eating a cupcake once a day everyday (okay, I never did that, but you get my point). It's all about intention (remember that post). I should also note that since I've started being more aware, I haven't been under much stress....until yesterday and today!

With my last day at work fast approaching (tomorrow, in fact!), there has been a lot that I needed to get done to complete transitioning the new staff member. Along with that and other job factors (too boring to discuss here :)), it has caused me an intense amount of stress and anxiety. Yesterday wasn't so bad, but coupled with today, I really just wanted to eat and cry.

By 3:30pm today, I'm ready to pull all my hair out! So, before leaving for the afternoon, I convinced myself that I didn't care, I can have one day to indulge. All I wanted was sushi, a coke, and fried ice cream!  And, I was sure I was going to get it! I took the exit that would lead me to my favorite sushi restaurant and too my surprise, I drove right past it. This is going to sound crazy, but I don't know what made me do it. I was so sure, and as I got closer, I just didn't. I did ask a friend if she wanted to join me, she said no, so maybe that had something to do with it...but, I eat alone at restaurants all the time!

Anyway, I went home, ate baked chicken strips, sautéed (in coconut oil) asparagus, green and red peppers, onions, and tomatoes, and corn.

I also really wanted a dessert so I opted for my banana and peanut butter smoothie: 1 cup almond milk, 1/2 serving of all natural peanut butter, 1 banana, and ice.

And voila, I feel so much better and I don't feel completely gross. I always feel better when I opt for healthier options, but, at the moment I can never think of the gratification I get later, rather, I want instant gratification from crap food. I'm excited that I was able to not give in to my unhealthy desire and I hope it's something I can keep up! For me, it's not about always denying myself ice cream, a cupcake, or wings, it just can't be my go to food when I'm not feeling great! Taking control of one's health is not easy and I understand that there are lots of barriers that can prevent someone from being healthy (contrary to how those fitness gurus make it look), but I do think if you're ready, it's possible. So here's to trying!

Now to conquer my disdain to working out...remember why I started this blog? Well, I've yet to accomplish that goal, but I do intend to do something about it.

If you have any tips on how you handle stress eating, let me know!

xoxo
Rosa

I'm BACK!

Wow. Can't believe I haven't posted since February 14th! Trust me, I had no intention to take a break from this blog, especially for that long! Almost daily, I thought to myself- I should sit down and write a post. But each time I sat to write, my thoughts were so jumbled, I couldn't make sense of them. The last few months have been filled with sad moments and news, but also filled with happy moments and news! I honestly felt like I was in another world for most of it! There is no way that I can explain everything in one blog post and to be honest, I'm not sure if I've decided to share everything! Maybe in time. But, what I do promise, is that I'm back! Woohoo!  For your viewing pleasure, I've posted some pictures of the happier times these past few months! :)

1. Visited my best friends and family in Miami. I ate WAY too much, but no regrets here. We went to a fresh fruit and vegetable market where I had the BEST mango milkshake I have ever had in my life.

I got to babysit this little one for an entire day- loved every minute of it! 

 2. I interviewed for medical school. No big deal. NOT!! There will be an entire blog post dedicated to this.

 3. Celebrated this girl getting hitched! Bachelorette party was so much fun!

 4. Then she got hitched! :) Her husband is from Nigeria and she is from Ghana. Both the traditional and "American" weddings were spectacular! It was truly a weekend full of celebration and love! I am so incredibly happy for them both.

 5. Caught up with old friends!

Renee and I: we were both in the MPH program together and part of the same group that traveled to Niger, West Africa! Hadn't seen her in a couple years!

Colleen, Jason, and I having brunch at the best place in Nashville! Loveless Cafe- I was in food heaven! I also hadn't seen them in a year, but this was my first time visiting them in Nashville- it only took me 5 years!! Had such an amazing time and can't wait to go back! 

Amanda, Colleen and I having dinner at City House in Nashville. Again, one of the best dinners I had had in a long time. Love these girls!

 6. Cooked crab legs for the first time! A friend of mine had never had crab before and I told her if she were to be my friend, that is not okay. On our way home from the beach, I made the impulsive decision to buy 3 pounds of crab to boil. I got back to her place, realized I've never done this before, called my mom and followed her instructions! Came out delicious.

7. Celebrated my best friend's birthday. She turned 27!

8. I got accepted into medical school!! *Insert big cheesy smile here* So, the wonderful people in my life have started the going away celebrations!

Going away dinner with my BRIDGE family! 

Going away lunch with my co-workers! Apparently, I had no desire to look up at the camera. 

 8. Made the decision to pay more attention to my food choices and eat healthier. More on that to come.

My first green smoothie! 3/4 cup almond milk, 1/4 cup skim milk, 1 banana, 1/2 cup of spinach, 1 cup Kale. I won't lie, I was so scared to take my first sip because I was sure it was going to be gross and I would have to inhale it down to handle it. Not the case. It was delicious and I savored every sip! 

9. Supported my great friend Linda as she finished her first 5K!!! Woohoo!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Today is a day to spread love to those in your life!! :) I can honestly say that I am blessed to have a life full of loving family and friends, whom I care for deeply and truly appreciate! Take a second to let people in your life know you care. I hope you all have a wonderful day, filled with love and joy! Happy Valentines Day!

And, I'm sure there are many people who don't celebrate the day, like the day, or just want to ignore it. And you know what, that's fine too! But, I still hope that you have a good day!

Intentions 2013

Lately, I have been thinking about what goals I want to achieve this year and in the future. At the new year, I thought about setting resolutions, but who am I kidding, resolutions never actually workout; at least, they typically don't for me. Last week, while perusing through The Everygirl (one of my favorite sites that I read fairly regularly), I came across one of their features, "Living Well: Ditching Traditional New Years Resolutions." The post was by Jess Lively, another blogger whose blog I also visit pretty frequently. Basically, the point of the post was to introduce the process of living a life with intention. 

What is an intention? How is it different from a resolution? Well, as the post describes, resolutions are so quantitative. I will work out 5 times a week, for 60 minutes, and I will loose 40 pounds in 6 months. Because the goal is so specific, not only is it prone to failure, if/when you don't stick to it, you feel a sense of defeat, which causes a loss in motivation and eventually failure in succeeding with that resolution.

So, the idea behind intentions is to create goals that require an ongoing effort. Life is constantly changing and moving forward, but not necessarily in one, strict direction. So why set goals that are so rigid. Rather, set no specific time limit to achieve the goal, set goals that are flexible and attainable over time. So that when you stray from the intention one day (or in my case 2 or 3), you don't completely feel down on myself. You simply say, that's okay, tomorrow I will pick up where I left off. As you work to accomplish these intentions- there may be setbacks, but you've got to keep going.

Jess Lively's posts gives a few things to remember:
1. You will stumble
2. There will be deviations
3. Incremental progress is still progress: my favorite and something we should all try to remember.

So with that, I stop here. I've been thinking about what my intentions for 2013 and after will be. I have a few things and I will definitely share it with you soon!

For now, share with me your intentions!

Rosa

...Connecting the Dots....

Man, I've been radio silent for over a month...sorry! Truth be told, I've been feeling a bit down lately. I've gotten no interviews and 4 medical school rejections- which I've taken a little harder than I thought I would. I thought I prepared myself for it- but I guess you really can't be prepared for that! Needless to say, I've been in this melancholy mood for about a week and a half.

Anyway, I need to get over that. It gets old after a while! So, I woke up this morning with a bit of a better attitude and decided that I wanted some motivation to get my day going! So, I found Mr. Steve Jobs. I'm sure everyone has seen this video at least once...I, on the other hand, have watched it like 6 times over the years. I find some of his words so motivating and I felt like it was just what I needed on this Monday morning. So below are some of Mr. Jobs' quotes I will carry with me today!

"You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards." : How true is this! You really can't and I fall guilty to trying to make my own dots and connect them. I have to remember, that they can only be connected looking backwards. And as I look back, they truly do connect. Some of my past decisions, at the time, seemed to not have made sense. Half the time, I was like "Oh God, please let this be the right decision." Now looking back, there is a lot I wouldn't do differently. I've had some AMAZING experiences and opportunities, I've discovered who I am and where my passion lies and I've met some of the greatest people on this planet. So, I need to trust that as I move forward, the dots will connect.

"I've been rejected, but I'm still in love": So what, I've been rejected from 4 schools, but I'm still in love with medicine, healthcare, and service. Currently, I am still waiting to hear from 12 more schools and I only need one acceptance! And even if it turns out to be 12 more rejections- yes,  I will be sad, but that doesn't mean my life is over. I simply have to remember my passion and keep moving forward. And as Mr. Jobs says, I will "keep looking and don't settle."

"Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick, but don't lose faith": I got nothing to say about this except..."ain't that the truth"

So, if you too need a little Monday motivation, take 15 minutes and watch.

Happy Monday everyone!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! I can't believe 2012 is over. And, though scared to say it out loud, on paper (online?), I have a good feeling about 2013!!

The last two months of the year, I made the effort to spend time with my family and friends. The beginning of November, I realized that the past year and a half to 2 years have been so focused on my MCAT and medical school struggles, that I hadn't made the effort to really spend time with those closest to me in my life, at least, without the MCAT occupying my mind. I wanted the last two months of the year to be about just spending time with them and I'm so glad I did! It couldn't have been better and more relaxing. I spent time with my mom and stepdad, had lots of family time with my lovely, lovely cousins, saw a couple cousins I hadn't seen in years (amazed at how much they have grown and missed being around them so much), caught up with friends I hadn't seen in over a year or more, connected with one of my brothers, and just had fun! There are still people I can't wait to see and I'm going to try hard to make that happen in 2013!

Looking back over the past year, though there were no major life changes, I learned so much about myself. I learned how determined I am to achieve certain goals in my life and how much hard work it's going to take to get there, how to let certain things go and to just go with it because there are multiple paths that will lead me to where I am meant to be, how to let a certain someone go (and it didn't take getting under another guy for that to happen, by the way, bad advice to give someone who is trying to let go of another she cares deeply about!), and put aside the struggles I faced, I have such a blessed life!!

There is so much to look forward to this year and though it may not all go according to plan and I may be faced with barriers, challenges, and unhappy times, I'm ready to jump in! With the support of family and friends, I can just feel it- this year is going to be good. :)

I hope everyone has an incredible 2013!!!