There is just something about food that brings a sense of comfort to me. I love that certain foods bring back such fond memories, and that some of the most precious moments are created while being gathered with food and fellowship. I enjoy trying new dishes, flavors, textures, and recipes. When cooking, I always tend to have the same meals that I find myself making over and over again (bulk meals of simple recipes). Choosing my top ten was truly challenging, because let's face it - I LOVE FOOD, but here we are:
1. Pasta
Spaghetti, alfredo, pesto, pasta salad, you name it and I'm there!
2. Mexican rice, beans + queso
I have dreams about this combo. Haha. I seriously can always go for rice and beans!
3. Fried rice
I'm pretty sure I could eat this for every meal.
4. Scalloped potatoes
My mama + sisters make the best scalloped potato casserole and I can never have enough of it.
5. Boiled greens with meat, hot pepper, and rice
Now that I'm writing my list out, this particular food item should actually be at the top and mentioned first! It is truly my ALL TIME FAVORITE + seriously can eat it every day!!!!
6. Avocados
On toast, with eggs, by itself, in guacamole, love it regardless!
7. Bowls
Not necessarily an actual food, but I also love throwing things together in a bowl and call it a meal haha
8. Kimchi
Love fermented foods. Kimchi with rice + kbbq? Yes please!
Hey hey guys -- it's been a hot minute since I've been on this platform! But, wanted to check in and say "HELLO," and that I am well. This month, the month of August, I've decided to take a break from Instagram and slowly starting to ease my way into a social media / technology detox.
This has been something that's been heavy on my heart, and something I have been battling with for MONTHS - and I thought August, my birthday month, would be the best time to do it. Honestly, I told myself that I would take a month break from instagram... but as the month is flying by, I may extend my time longer... and who knows, I may do the same with my facebook also!
(Side story: I grew up not really into television shows or movies (unless it was VeggieTales and Kids Bible Worship songs - MY JAMSSSSSS haha), and electronics. I received my first official phone in my late middle/high school years (barely used it), didn't really utilize social media until mid-college, and kinda was against technology (did not want a TV in my future home) for the longest time! haha.
My parents raised us up on fellowship and serving others, long walks on hiking trails, chasing waterfalls, camping, exploring, song singing, playing outside, arts and crafts, decorating spaces, baking, dancing, playing with my family and with toys, playing sports, and finding joy in being outdoors and with each other - the simplicity of life. And I miss it! I want to live a life that is geared towards intentionality, simplicity, and truly enjoying the life that God has given me, just like how my parents did for me.)
So, why take a social media break?
For one, mindset. I love that social media and technology allows for us to connect with others, be creative, and share our lives. However, I started finding instagram to be very heavy on my heart. I found myself going down a comparative, competitive, insecure, and unhealthy mindset. I started having feelings of jealousy, bitterness, anger, loneliness, stress, anxiousness, and feeling negative about myself all of the time. I felt as if I had to constantly "please" others, "impress" those who followed me, wanted people to like me, and started to compare myself to others' successes and lives. I found myself in a constant battle of buying more stuff to "fit in" and to "stay in trend," but then minimalizing and decluttering because that's the "in" thing too, and y'all, it was a struggle of reflecting, refocusing, and realizing that this is not the life that I wanted to live.
Secondly, time. I started noticing so much of my time being spent posting, commenting, editing photos, working on stories, editing stories, mindlessly scrolling to see what others are up to and what they are doing, etc. The time cycle on social media was endless. I would find myself waking up and scrolling through social media. I would find myself during the day scrolling through social media. I would find myself ending the evening by laying down and scrolling through social media. And every Sunday morning, I would get a screen report that my time on my phone has increased.. and it would be a kick in my gut every time. So much of my precious time has been wasted on social media! Is this the kind of life I wanted to live?
Thirdly, my family. My mom. My dad. My sweet sweet husband. My dearest daughter. My sisters. My one and only brother. My grandma. My cousins. My aunts, my uncles. My closest friends. Was I living a life being swept away by social media and technology that I missed minutes per minutes, hours by hours, and days by days of precious memories, belly-laughing moments, adventure, and being vulnerable in lifting one another up in prayer and encouragements, through hard tear-falling times, and in joyous-hallelujah-rejoicing celebrations? Let this time be a reset for my life, and my relationships with those who surround me. To meet people where they are, to allow the Lord to use me, to change me, to fill me, to strengthen me, to mold me, to transform me, to lift my eyes to Him, to refocus my heart to His truth, to align my life to His promises, and to love on His people.
Lastly, my faith. I am embarrassed to say that I let society, and my social media platforms, and my little "successes" take hold of my heart and my mind (but hey, it's part of my testimony + God's redemptive plan for me). I worked so hard to find community. I worked so hard for others to like me. I worked so hard in trying to "beat" others, and to "fit" in. But no more. No more. My value, my worth, my heart, my mind, my time is to my family, is to my God.
I read an article written by a friend of mine, talking about success. He says, "What is success? Imagine just killing life, fulfilling all your goals, and accomplishing your dreams to only meet the end with none of it really mattering when it comes to salvation and to knowing God. Imagine being debt free, living on a lake house, driving nice cars, and checking off all your bucket list to only find that in judgement seat you're still eternally bound in sin and your life was wasted in succeeding in things that didn't matter at all concerning eternity... I'm not successful because I'm doing what I set out to do, but I'm successful only because I do my best to be in His will and stay faithful and obedient to the many or the few I have been given."
Boy did these words break me - Am I living a life that I seek God in all I do? May the life that I live be in obedience, and according to the will of God. May He increase, may I decrease. May my eyes be fixed on heavenly things. Fall afresh on me, Lord!
...
And with all this said, to make a long story short, I did not like how social media and technology was taking up so much of my time, distracting me from my family, my faith, and my life, and playing a negative role on my mental health. I want my life to cultivate intentionality and simplicity. To enjoy life with my loved ones. A life that is fun, magical, and full of memories. A life that reflects Christ, models for my children how to live, and compliments my husband in his dreams, goals, and passions. Time to spend with my family to play games, to explore nature, to do the things that have been on our bucket lists, to learn a new skills/hobbies, to be present.
As I mentioned in the beginning, this has been something on my heart for the longest of times. It wasn't until April when I felt confirmation from God that this is something that I must, needed, and wanted to do:
1) The instagram break of one of my "inspiration" mamas:
She says, "My fear is that many of you feel the same way and you won’t do anything about it.
Instead, you will continue feeling that jealousy, that competition, that bitterness, that hatred and you won’t take the actions towards making yourself free.
Instead of looking at this break from a place of “I am going to miss out on so much in the next 6 months to a year, I am choosing to look at it from a place of “I am going to gain so much joy from this.”
I love watching movies! Not too into TV shows, but we have been Netflix binging a lot these days (thank you, quarantine life), so I guess that counts? Sharing with y'all some of our current favorite shows + movies:
MOVIES/SHOWS
+ Sherlock
I am a chicken when it comes to anything horror/suspense. But, Sherlock has got me hooked (and yes, I do watch it while hiding behind a blanket and with my husband). I love the action, the investigations, the storyline, and the intelligence of Sherlock!
+ The Office
I started The Office last year and y'all, it is SO funny. Definitely my kind of humor. haha.
+ Kingdom As previous stated, I do not like horror/suspense, but I have a soft spot for zombie-related movies/shows! haha. Is that weird?
+ Friends
I started watching Friends (from the beginning and for the first time) over Winter break. Kinda late to the game, but truly wishing it was back on Netflix so we can finish it all!
+ Frozen II
On replay, all day -- eerday, and I do not mind it AT ALL!
+ pay off ALL debt
+ sell everything and move to a place by the ocean or a place with LOTS of land
+ build a ranch home
+ save for the future
+ give some to my parents
+ buy my husband his dream car
+ buy gifts for my loved ones
+ send out happy mail!!
+ give to those in need
Things that I try to always have in our fridge:
* Milk: Whole Milk for baby girl, Almond Milk for mom and dad
* Coffee creamer
* Coconut water
* OJ
* Ningxia Red
* Fresh eggs (so thankful for our hens!)
* Fruits: strawberries, blueberries, mini oranges, or apples
* Avocados, garlic, lemon/lime
* Sour cream, hummus, jalepenos, salsa
* Leftovers
* Greens: broccoli or green beans, spinach or kale, cabbage, lettuce
* Meat: ground turkey meat or chicken
* Condiments: butter, cream cheese mayo, ketchup, mustard, salad dressing, maple syrup
* Asian Condiments: hoison sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sriracha
I love simple + delicious meals. Honestly, I am more of a baker than a cook. I also am a huge food prep-kinda gal and like to make bulk sizes of meals and eat them throughout the week! haha. Cannot wait for post-quarantine to have friends and family gather + eat for dinners again.
Here are a few of my favorite go to dinner recipes:
1. Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Ingredients:
* Pasta noodles
* Garlic Alfredo pasta sauce
* Minced garlic
* Chicken breast
* optional: broccoli or baby spinach
Growing up I was known for having daily headaches and migraines. I had sensitive skin, eczema, asthma, and was very sensitive to smells, scents, fragrance and perfume. I started my wellness journey through dieting, I adopted a plant-based vegan lifestyle and started noticing a lot of changes to my body. Then, I started learning more about natural + holistic living, one being of herbal remedies and essential oils. In December 2017, we made the switch to living a better lifestyle for ourselves, our families, and the future family that we prayed for and planned to have. December 2017 was the month and year that we started our wellness journey with young living, and let me just say, it has been a GAME CHANGER to our health, our sleep, our energy, our skin, our immune systems, my head tensions, and so much more. It is crazy to know what we willingly but unknowingly surround our bodies in/with until we learn of them. When we know better, we can do better! All this to say, I wanted to share with y'all snippets of our "oily wellness lifestyle collection":
1. Currently love the look of black or dark green detailing / furniture
2. Some days I think about selling everything we have and own, and starting fresh and new again.
3. I'm a homebody.
4. I know every VeggieTale song.
5. I like my rice and noodles on the harder consistency side.
6. Always down for mexican food, or pasta.
7. We made a lifestyle change for our family and started using essential oils in 2017, and now I run a small business with Young Living, geared towards wellness and clean living.
8. I am a recovering hoarder/collector and am embracing a life of minimal and simplicity. Lol.
9. My favorite color is lavender and mint blue.
10. I hate the dark. Literally have the biggest fear looking outside into the darkness, or going from room to room at night. haha.
11. I enjoy baking sweet treats.
12. I love doing dishes, organizing, planning, and cleaning - SO theurapeutic to me.
13. I still have my yugioh and pokemon cards from when I was younger... LOL
14. I love high adventure + the outdoors (camping, cliff jumping, hiking, roller coasters, etc)
15. For the longest time, I thought the card game "Go Fish" was called "Gold Fish."
16. I used to be in AWANAS and could spit truth + scripture like nobody's business.
17. I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was younger and work with sea creatures, and/or at Sea World.
18. When I was younger, I always pretended that our bikes and scooters were horses and unicorns.
19. I spend far too much money at Target and on Amazon lol
20. I am an old soul.
