Chihuahua, It's Cold Outside

It is a cloudy, rainy, wintry day and although I enjoy any reason to cuddle and drink coffee while wrapped in a blanket with cozy house socks comforting my rice paddy feet, Miss Harley does not like chilly weather whatsoever.  She is wondering when Spring is going to arrive!  Her little Chihuahua body is in need of sunshine!

Keep on Keepin on.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. 
January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

Image via here

Martin Luther King Jr. was always a historical figure that intrigued me and one that I respect greatly.  I don't know if growing up in a mostly white community made me a little more aware and interested in the history of racism since I'm only partially white, or if the gravity of Martin Luther King Jr.'s power and influence is something that has to and needs to be respected by all.  I have grown to think it's a little bit of both.

Regardless of your personal beliefs of this day, I think people need a reminder of the atrocities the human race is capable of committing.  We are not a perfect race and we need to reflect on history and overcome hate.  We need to learn from our mistakes and our ancestors' mistakes.  I think especially today with the nation and world so divided with war, religion, money, power, POLITICS, we definitely need a reminder that we need to overcome hate in various levels of society. 

Today and everyday, try to reflect on the moments of hate you have experienced, both projected and received.  Do you regret the unnecessary hateful words you spoke?  Did you take the time to apologize?  How did you react to a random act of kindness/hate?  Did someone you trust do something hateful to you?  Learn from all these moments and focus on trying to grow and improve yourself.  Every moment, every encounter, every challenge is a lesson.  It's our individual choice to learn from those lessons or deny ourselves growth.

I leave you with the beautiful and wise words of the unforgettable Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation.  The foundation of such a method is love."  -Martin Luther Kind, Jr.

Keep on Keepin on.

A Little Treat: Rice Cake w/Peanut Butter & Apple

I am naturally a BIG SWEETS lover.  I'd be dandy just eating sweets, mostly dark chocolate, all day long if it was good for me.  Unfortunately, it is not as good for me as I like to sometimes justify in my mind.  Also, I pretty much like food in general and love to eat...constantly.  I crave and think about eating something literally ever hour on the hour.

When I first moved out on my own and started college, this hunger situation got the best of me.  I'm only 5ft. 1in. tall and in my early 20's I jumped from a cute 115lbs to a sizable 155lbs.  The last couple of years I've dropped the weight naturally and healthy and have become more mature about my eating habits and lifestyle; and you could say I'm on the fence of being labled a health nut...who likes to indulge on dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate almost daily.  I've found many substitutions for my sweet tooth and cravings that I will share often on  this blog.  I think talking about eating healthy and making mature, honest decisions about our health needs to be discussed more often rather than fad, bad, quick diets. 

My afternoon snack yesterday consisted of an organic whole wheat rice cake with organic creamy peanut butter and an organic pink lady apple.  It was scrumptious...and FILLING.  Those rice cakes sure fill you up!  This 3:30 pm snack definitely held me over through my barre3 workout until dinner so it's definitely a go-to snack for me.  It's quick, easy, filling, and guilt free!  Well, as long as you're pretty easy with the peanut butter. 

What's your go-to snack?  What ways do you curb your cravings without cheating yourself?

Keep on keepin on.

Top 5 of 2011

As the New Year has quickly come upon us once again, I feel like I’m lagging in the resolution department.  It seems that everyone has made their promises to themselves of what they would like to accomplish in this 2012, and they are also full swing into making the promises come to fruition.  I, on the other hand, am still trying to figure out what I’d like to accomplish this year. 

2011 was filled with so much change, happiness and struggles…as I’m sure you feel the same for your year as well.  I debated back and forth on what kind of New Year post I wanted to share with you all and didn’t want it to be a long list of what happened in 2011.  At the same time, I didn’t share much of the last half of 2011 and I still need to get everyone caught up all the happenings that you’ve missed.

So, trying to be short, I will mention some of the highlights of this past year that really meant a lot to me.

1. Sparky and I began our 2011 by making our relationship legal!  We are actually about to celebrate our 1^st wedding anniversary and are still so stupid in love that I wonder what I did to deserve such happiness in love.  Our first year of marriage has flown by so quickly and we are looking forward to what the second year will bring us.
2. Sparky and I went on our honeymoon in July.  Yes, I know it was 7 months after we were married, but it was definitely on purpose.  We experienced Sparky’s first overseas trip and he’s already begging to return.  We started our 10 day trip in Rome and then traveled to Paris for the Tour de France.  It was definitely a great experience for the both of us and we cannot wait to get our butts back to Italy!
3. I changed jobs.  Yes, you all have not heard much about this and this has been the reason for my absence.  I got a great job offer shortly after returning from our honeymoon and it has definitely taken up a majority of my time.  It all happened so quickly and has just been a non-stop whirlwind ever since July.  I have forced myself to get back to more “me” time because one thing I’ve learned over the last few years is that EVERYONE needs to focus on what truly makes them happy and make time for it.  I still have to work on this every day.
4. I’ve really grown so passionate about my barre3 workouts.  I need to have my workouts throughout the week to give me my balance, calm, and “me” time.  It’s definitely one of my loves in life and I am so grateful that I’ve found it.
5. I finally got Sparky to replace our shower head.  OMG!  The difference a shower head can make on your body and mind.  Do not waste time.  It is a necessity in life. GET A GOOD SHOWER HEAD.  Just sayin. 

So those are my top 5 highlights for 2011.  Have you made your resolution/goals for 2012?  Do you feel behind as well?  I'm still working on some goals for 2012 and will share soon…I promise.  I might get to it by the time 2013 rolls around…which will probably happen sooner than we think!  

In the mean time, enjoy this cute little photo from our Honeymoon!

Keep on Keepin on.