I love to read and most of the time I either read on my phone through iBook, iPad or I’ll read an actual book. I always like to keep a few books on my nightstand to read if I just don’t want to use my phone or iPad. Here are 5 books that I like to have on my nightstand, 5 of them I have not read fully, and 1 I have fully read (Strong looks better Naked by Khloe Kardashian) which I wrote about in yesterday’s blog post but love to keep it near my bed incase I want to reread it again for motivation.
The recipe box by Viola Shipman
You are a badass by Jen Sincero
Girl, wash your face by Rachel Hollis
Kind is the new classy by Candace Cameron Bure
The subtle art of not giving a fuck! by Mark Manson
A while back I was kinda obsessed with Khloe Kardashian and got her book “Strong looks better naked,” and loved it. It inspired and motivated me to work out, work on my health, my body and to just put myself first. I remember I was on my fitness and healthy lifestyle journey for a good few months after reading that book and then I fell off the wagon. Since then I haven’t really picked up the book again, or maybe I did once after that but only read a few chapters only. I think I will pick it up again and reread it to see if it will again give me that motivation that inspiration to get myself back on track since I have been so off since this whole coronavirus started.
If you know me personally, then you know I’m a sucker for romance books, but for some reason I decided that I want to read Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I first heard about it from one of my favorite shows Gilmore Girls, on the Year in the life. I got curious about it and decided to get it and read it knowing I probably won’t be into it and will lose interest early on. Shockingly, I actually really liked it, I give her so much prop for doing what she did. I don’t think, no wait I know for sure that I can never in life hike for 3 months straight all alone and with no experience what so ever to find myself. I have thought about from time to time when I’m having a hard time figuring life out, how I would love to escape myself for a week or so to think about life and figure out what I want to do, what I want to achieve, but I always pictured myself just going out of the city, or state, and going to a hotel or resort of some sort, never ever have I imagined myself hiking all alone on the pacific crest trail. I am almost done with the book, and I want to watch the movie version too. Have you read the book? What are your thoughts?
We all have those days where we are feeling so overwhelmed, stressed and just tired after a long day at work or even just at home. Especially right now, I know so many people who are stressed, and just having such a hard time with everything going on; so I wanted to share a few things that you can do at home to unwind and a few things that we can do to unwind once life goes back to “normal.”
At home:
Take a bath: I know not everyone loves to take a bath and if you don’t then take a nice long hot shower. Bath especially with a bath bomb, or epson salt helps me relax so much.
Have a glass of wine: I’m not big on drinking alcohol but I do love to have a glass of wine here and there to relax me at nights.
Disconnect from technology and read a book. We use our technology’s so much and it’s good to disconnect from them especially after a long day and just cuddle up on the couch or our bed and read a book.
Have a hot cup of tea. I love to have a hot cup of tea preferably a mint or chamomile tea while reading my book.
Watch a movie: I love to relax and watch a show, movie or even YouTube, especially something with comedy… laughter is the best medicine after all!
Bake: I don’t know about me but for me baking is so relaxing, I love to bake, and if you do too, try it!
Go for a walk: exercise will surely help put you in a better mood.
Outside of the house (once everything goes back to normal)
Gym: go exercise at the gym!
Gym spa: go to the steam room, or even the jacuzzi at your gym and relax!
Massage: get a massage…nothing more relaxing than a massage right?
Girls night: nothing like a little girls night out to help you relieve some of the day stress.
What are some of your favorite ways to unwind after a long day?
Boy this year is just flying on by isn’t it? It’s hard to believe it’s already March 1st, but it is and it is time to write my monthly goals for March. But first, let me look back on my February goals; I was able to complete all my goals except for one. I did not lose 6 to 9 pounds like I had hoped to lose but that’s ok!
Here are my monthly goals for March:
Upload 5 blog posts.
Read 1 book.
Be more social on social media and interact with fellow bloggers.
January is now here and it’s the perfect time to start incorporating healthy habits into our daily routine. I didn’t fully start my healthy journey till tomorrow (Monday) mainly because I was still on vacation and didn’t have to go back to work yet and used that as an excuse. Now that I am back to work tomorrow and back to my every day routine, I want to start adding more healthy habits into my life and I wanted to share some with you in hopes you would like to join me.
Stretch when you first wake up. I don’t know about you but I never stretch in the mornings which is so bad and I know it will help me Aton since I have a lot of back pain. So starting tomorrow morning, I will be adding a few minutes of stretching into my morning routine.
Drink a glass of cold water first thing in the morning. I used to hate doing this only because believe it or not I would want to throw up if I drank water before tea or coffee in the morning. However, the past few weeks, I have been slowly trying to train my body into accepting water first and its been helping.
Get some fresh air. Life can keep us so busy and stressed and it is so important to take a few minutes to walk out and get some fresh air. You can clear your head and hey even get a few steps in.
Stay active. I never knew how important it was to stay active until the past few months honestly. I am now so aware of how much being active is good for our bodies, for our health, and for our mental health. I spent a few days being lazy and not doing much and I cannot begin to tell you how much that affected my mood, and my energy. I felt so horrible until I forced myself to get up and get moving and get outside for some fresh air.
Enjoy a few minutes of quiet time in the evenings. For me I love to drink a book and drink a chamomile tea to help me relax and get ready for bed.
Get enough sleep! I try to aim for a minimum of 6 to 9 hours of sleep a night, which I must admit the 6 hours usually happens during the weekdays and anything over 7 hours usually only happens on the weekends.
I would love to know some of your healthy habits that you do daily.
Happy August! Can you believe it’s already August? Where has the time gone seriously? The months are just flying on by in a blink of an eye! Yesterday was my birthday and my first goal was to reach 275 by my birthday but then changed my goal to 265 to 270. I sadly didn’t reach my second goal but I did reach my first one, I weighed myself yesterday morning and was 274.4. Woohoo! At least I was lower then I wanted my first goal to be!
As for my challenge I put myself on, I’m actually doing really good. I have been sticking to it all since I started it almost 2 weeks ago! I’ve been working out every single day even the days I’m extremely tired and or lazy; I try to just do something for 30 minutes rather then just laying my ass in bed!
The first week I had so much energy and this week I have just been so tired and lazy but I force myself to go! I feel like if I skip a day, I’ll just give up on my challenge slowly! For example like today, I went to Disneyland with the little girl I nanny for and we all know Disneyland is exhausting but I forced myself to go to the gym afterwards at 9:30pm (straight from work to the gym) and worked out for 45 minutes! I’m beyond exhausted right now and it’s already 11:30 pm but I wanted to write this down since it is the 1st of the month!
I’m really hoping I can fully stick to this challenge of working out everyday, reading everyday, fasting and drinking a lot more water daily the rest of the month like I challenged myself to do. I also am really hoping that I’ll be 265 or less by the end of August…fingers crossed!
“Make new year’s goals. The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.” – Warren McLaren
Happy New Year!!! I cannot believe that 2018 is over; it went by so so so quick. 2018 was an ok year for me, it wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the worst either; however, I am hoping to make 2019 my best year yet!
Every year I make new year resolutions and I never ever stick to it; well this year I really want to make goals rather than resolutions and I am going to try my hardest to stick to it and reach my goals.
Here are some of my goals for 2019:
Live a healthier lifestyle by drinking more water, exercising at least 3 to 4 times a week, and eating healthier.
Try to control and get rid of my OCD as much as possible; my OCD has gotten so bad in the last year with making sure everything is locked and that my alarms are on, etc. It is really really affecting me and I want to change it once and for all.m
Care less about what people think. I am so sensitive, emotional and such a people pleaser and I hate it…
Read at least one book a month, I have so many books that I have bought and haven’t read yet so my goal is to read more and hopefully blog about it.
Stop Procrastinating.
Practice photography and become more comfortable with manual setting rather than automatic.
Become more confident.
Be more positive.
Save more money and to stop spending on stuff that we don’t really need.
Cook and bake more (especially healthy options) and share here on the blog.
Be more in the moment especially with my husband; for example, putting our phones away at least for an hour or so and spending quality time together.
Be more active on social media and blogging by commenting on other’s posts and interacting with others more.
