Day Zero: 75 Hard

I had been trying to start this blog entry for the last half hour, but I am frankly out of my element at the moment— it’s been two months since I last posted, or baked anything, or remotely done anything creative. I feel rusty. The part of life involving work and chores surely has gotten the best of me as time flew by; and here we are at the fifth month of the year and I just feel like I have nothing to show for it.

I know that I should give myself grace because I did start a new role at my job that entails going into the office now, daily life matters such as working and commuting certainly have curated a routine for me without my conscious intent.

So, two months at that and a (finally) recent short vacation, I’ve come with a plan to regain control of my life, change the routine to be more me-focused.

And to begin, I am committing myself to a health and wellness challenge called 75 Hard. I first knew about this through a friend who suggested we start but I was too intimidated to begin. I’ve been thinking about it and it might just be exactly what I need.

75 Hard is a 75-Day Health and Wellness Challenge with five focuses. I will modify the challenge to keep it realistic and doable for me:

Focus One: Exercise daily - Two 45-minute workouts, one indoor and one outdoor.

My Modification: I will exercise daily but will do a one-hour gym workout, and a 30 minute walk on my lunch time during the work week. On the weekends, I will do an hour gym workout (HIIT/Resistance) + 30 minute indoor cardio.

Focus Two: Read 10 pages of a non-fiction book everyday.

My Modification: I already love reading non-fiction books but rather than just 10 pages, I want to allot 30 minutes of reading time daily.

Focus Three: Diet

My Modification: I want to focus on adding more fiber and protein to my diet, and a lot less refined/added sugar and simple carbohydrates. I have a big sweet tooth and this will definitely be a huge challenge for me! My husband and I cook a lot at home and we also do a weekly meal-prep which will definitely be even more beneficial throughout this journey.

Focus Four: No Alcohol

My Modification: None— truly. I rarely drink alcohol now than when I was younger; and the aftermath of drinking has been so unpleasant for me now.

Focus Five: Drink 1 Gallon of Water of Daily

My Modification: None, but this is also going to be a challenge for me because I honestly admit that I don’t drink enough water in a day. To help, I got a 40oz water jug that I will attempt to fill three times.

The challenge also requires you to share your progress; which I will through my socials daily, and this blog weekly. I am feeling hopeful and motivated that this will jumpstart the change that I am needing and pivot my year out of old habits into new, better ones.

January Recap in Thoughts & Baked Goods

It’s been awhile since my last entry, and a lot has happened since!

Well, if I were to review the first month of 2024— I must say I started the year hopeful but the motivation dwindled quite rapidly through out the month, only with the weight of decisions I had to make for my career. I am starting a new role next month at my job. While working from home for the last year provided me a lot of comfort, it’s time to pursue a role closer to my goal, and I do think I am ready to step out of my comfort zone (quite literally). There’s definitely more to come on that one.

Lessons I learned this month:

  • Listen to your intuition.

  • You navigate your life with each decision you make.

  • Ultimately, your life is up to you— don’t let other people decide what is best for you.

  • Make time for all that you love: whether it be people or hobbies.

On to a lighter note, I have been baking a TON:

My starter has been thriving and I’ve been baking a lot with the discard. My first sourdough loaf turned out better than I imagined, but it was a two-day process! However the taste was spot on, and it definitely motivates me to keep learning the art. With that, I’ve also accumulated a lot of sourdough discard and I’ve made family-approved baked goods: blueberry scones, thumbprint cookies (strawberry and mixed berries), cheese crackers and blueberry bagels. I started baking in 2020 but adding sourdough to my arsenal truly made me even more passionate with this craft.

For the following months, my focus will be:

  • Health - workout schedule, reduce sugar intake, up healthy proteins and fiber, gut health, sleep

  • Website - get micro with the plan for Sundays & Lattes, grow my blog through different socials, create a schedule for entries, revamp the look

  • Routines - with the upcoming new job, I will need to really solidify a morning & evening routine since I will now be back to having a commute

  • Get Organized - Spring is coming and I want to schedule a deep clean of the apartment and closet!

January felt like a test-run where there was a lot more of 2023 that made it through the filter, but also dissipated as the month ended. I’d like to think of the year divided in quarters— January, February & March are the planning stages, setting goals and routines down to a pat.

Wednesday Musings

I took up sourdough making recently, with one of my good friend’s guidance. I’ve always loved baking pastries but I’ve never made bread. It just sounded so daunting- all the waiting and kneading that it comes with.

When my friend started chronicling her sourdough journey— my interest peaked. I love sourdough, a frequent breakfast would be mashed avocado on top of sourdough, sprinkled with Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning and a ton of red pepper flakes. It’s just so good, and also not the same on other bread. While I went off on a tangent about my favorite breakfast, sourdough making had been an epiphany, and quite possibly the only other activity (aside from writing) that has been healing me lately.

If it all sounds dramatic, picture this: An early quiet morning, you see that your starter grew double from last night’s feeding. It’s lively and active, aroma reminiscent of a baked sourdough loaf, texture that is web-like in all the right places, bubbles on top and on the side. It’s progress you can actually see. You now feed it, stirring the starter and knowing that something good will come out of it. It’s a positive experience and you just love the therapy it provides.

I am not sure if most people feel this way about bread-making, but it could be truly any activity that brings you peace and joy. I am feeling melancholic lately, the first few weeks of the year turned out to be a contrary from what I thought it would be. Sometimes you just need that something to spark inspiration, or at the very least, heal you from daily stressors.

I am on my way to change things around though—the motivation is sparse but like feeding a starter, I’m learning to be patient with life’s process and progress. Until then, I will be baking bread.

Vegas Weekend Getaway

A holiday weekend called for a spontaneous vacation to Las Vegas, it has been awhile since Hubby and I went and we had been in need of a serious stress-reliever! While most vacations my husband and I take are always planned out, we let this weekend unravel the way it wanted to. At the very least, we reserved a hotel and we planned an afternoon with our friends who live in Las Vegas; and the activities presented themselves whenever it felt right!

We left Los Angeles early Saturday morning, and it was a little after lunch when we arrived in Las Vegas. On the way, we decided that we wanted to treat ourselves to The Buffet at Wynn. We’ve been to The Buffet once with a couple of our friends and the food selection were delicious. This weekend was a Seafood Special— crab legs, shrimp, mussels; they even had a Louisiana Crab Boil station. My husband loved the meat selection of course, just their prime rib alone was worth the wait.

We stayed at MGM Grand, where we had a nice view of The Sphere. The visuals seem to go on for 24 hours, and the view was even more spectacular at night! MGM Grand definitely is an expansive hotel— while we had to walk around a lot, that also meant there were a lot of restaurants and entertainment to choose from. We decided to watch the David Copperfield show, which was conveniently in the same hotel. It was our first time watching a magic show live; Hubby and I were chosen to be a part of a trick and stand on stage, and it truly was an experience! For a late dinner, we had pot stickers, fried rice and Mongolian Beef at the Grand Wok Noodle Bar.

A view of the Paris Hotel and Planet Hollywood

Sunday was our full day— we had brunch at Sadelle’s Cafe in Bellagio. The interior was beautiful— pastel pink and turquoise walls; the restaurant is right by the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden. We both had the Sadelle’s Vegas Breakfast, the Bloody Mary it came with was refreshing!

Right after brunch, we walked around the conservatory which was intricately decorated for the Lunar New Year. The Bellagio has always been my favorite Las Vegas Hotel, and the conservatory truly is a must-visit.

We also watched the famous Fountains of Bellagio, and made our way to Paris and Planet Hollywood. I feel that when in Vegas, it’s always quintessential to watch the fountain show, admire the Eiffel Tower and visit the shops in PH. For me, the attraction never gets old.

Late Sunday afternoon, we met up with our friends who live in Las Vegas for dinner and bowling at the Red Rock Casino Resort. Our friends suggested dinner at a Thai restaurant- Lotus of Siam, and the dishes were incredibly delicious! The restaurant is also notably upscale and beautiful:

After dinner and two rounds of cosmic bowling at Red Rock Lanes, hubby and I made our way back to the Strip— we booked tickets to see Penn & Teller for another magic show experience to cap the weekend off.

As it always would feel when you have a fun-filled weekend, the time goes by so fast. This weekend truly was exactly what we’ve been needing— a combination of new experiences, delicious food, lovely company and a whole lot of relaxation between. Hubby and I were already talking about our next getaway!

2024

I had planned to relaunch this blog on January 1, 2024 exactly— but one of my New Year’s resolutions is to make it happen. Over the years, I found that I have many plans that I wanted to start “when I am ready” and many things I love doing but had set aside for “when I have free time”.

If anything, all this waiting for the right time had just hindered me in many ways. Somehow, the right time never came. So I have decided that as we speak, I am no longer thinking waiting for things to happen. Instead, I am claiming a life that is authentic to me.

With that said, I am that person who gets excited for the New Year. There’s something about this time of the year that is just brimming with motivation and focus! I love resolutions, creating vision boards, and starting a new planner.

I had been reflecting- this year had been absolutely magical. Top highlights include: Me and my husband recently got married over the summer, honeymooned in Barbados, I started working from home, we celebrated many milestones with our families and friends, I went to a Taylor Swift concert, and also traveled extensively.

2023 also taught me many important lessons on setting boundaries and protecting my peace. Growing means allowing myself to break from unhealthy patterns and unhealthy relationships.

Between now and the New Year, I will be making time to take inventory of 2023— reassessing what I will leave, what I will take to the New Year, what I can make better— and chronicling it all here!