2019!!

Whoa, it's been a while (that's my line like all the time).

In January we went on our trip to Europe. We went to Scotland (Edinbugh, Castle Douglas, Gretna Green, Kirkcudbright), Portugal (Sintra, Palmela, Lisbon) and also England (London). A lot of places to see in just two ish weeks! We checked out all sorts of attractions like the Edinburgh Castle, London Dungeon, Shakespeares Globe, Madame Tussauds, the Lisbon Story Centre, National Palace of Pena and Quinta De Regeilara. Sooo many places and a lot of steps to add onto my fitbit. :)

It was a fun trip and I'm finding it a bit challenging to get back into the swing of things at home, but I think I'm up to speed now. The jet lag helped for the first few days, as I got up really early and went to bed really early. Now it's back to the old bad habits of staying up late and waking up later. Must stop.

I wrote this entire post out the other day but it never saved :( It must have been because I left the window open for a few hours, so I probably wasn't logged in anymore. To sum it up, I've been working on content for my channels and am working towards making it a routine. I've got a long way to go, but I'm glad I'm getting things going!

This weekend was packed!

Thursday - I went to Dagu Rice Noodle with some friends to catch up. We had a good chat about games, streaming, our goals, YouTube, and about upcomng esport events! It was a really interesting conversation, and it looks like we might have formed a new group for Thursday hangouts!

Friday - We went to the famjam's for dinner, played with Tofu and then I cleaned the house, watched some YouTube, and finished up my other post. I was pretty motivated to clean because I had made plans with a friend to come over the next day to do a work together. I also cleaned my makeup brushes!

Saturday - My friend was pretty exhausted, so they didn't come over to work together, but we went to sing karaoke and have dinner with another friend. I had pink eye last week, so I couldn't make it to my friend's birthday party, so this was my way of making it up to her. We sang for just over an hour, which is much shorter than we're used to, but we were able to sing quite a bit of songs! Afterwards, I made a little cheese, cracker, and guac platter for myself after researching food delivery places. I really wanted some honey lemon tea for my throat because it was getting a bit stuffy, but it was already a bit too late to order from places, and I didn't feel like spending over $10. I did some reading before going to bed, and that really helped me feel relaxed.

Today I went for the brunch buffet at Espresso Cafe with my friend, and we ate quite a bit of food. I woke up early to make a reservation just in case, and I definitely realized it was a good idea after we got there, it was so busy! I remember going there for brunch around the time it first started doing that, and it was not busy at all, they're definitely picking up! We caught up a lot because we hadn't seen each other in a few months, and then we went to the mall. My friend had an appointment to go to, and so we walked around trying to find the Chi Keratin Mist for my hair while she waited to go to her appointment. I'm hoping this mist will help make my hair stronger, it's been a bit damaged lately after using weird shampoos on it last month, and I was looking for a hair product that would work on not just damp hair, but dry hair as well inbetween washes. My friend went to her appointment and then I went home and did some tidying, some reading, and got my stuff ready.

Throughout the weekend, I managed to get out of bed early/at a reasonable time, so my body is slowly working it's way to being morning adaptive again!

Holidays!

I didn't have a chance to blog last weekend, so much was going on! There were a few holiday parties which were pretty exciting (CEO's mansion, meeting up with my coworkers, going karaoke and holding our own party).

Also ate a lot of chocolate this week.

Dec 24 - Had Shawarma for our Christmas Eve dinner. It was really good!! Also played some Smash Bros Ultimate as we were able to get a deal from Best Buy ($30 off online or a gift card in-store) - Also spent the evening trying to choose a Christmas movie to watch fully haha

Dec 25 - Spent Christmas morning opening our gifts for each other, and finishing up the Christmas Chronicles movie. Had a bagel sandwich for lunch and then had Christmas dinner with my family. It was good, lots of fried chicken/shrimp with sugar cane, soup and a lot more stuff!

Dec 26 - Spent most of the day at home doing some work and hanging out. Went to Cross Iron for an hour and then went home.

Dec 27 - I volunteered for a fundraiser. Had my favourite fried rice for dinner from Noodle World. So good, and a jackfruit shake!

Dec 28 - I went to try this new noodle place in town with my friend. It was so delicious and they even had free second servings of noodles available! Definitely want to go there again. It was a bit pricey, but the bonus noodles and the size of the bowl really is worth it! After meeting with my friend, I went to the mall to go do some errands and looked through a of stores and makeup wipes! Haha.

Dec 29 - Went to Cross Iron again to grab a microfibre towel that was on sale for $10 and got a spray bottle. Checked out some deals and also got some sugar cane juice... it was nice to be reunited with a drink I would have like everyday when I was little and visiting my cousins! Did some more work later as well and video editing.

Today we went to Best Buy and McDonald's and then cleaned the house and did some chores. I'm just waiting for my pizza to finish reheating for dinner and then I'm going to do some editing and some journaling. Will also watch a few youtube videos too!

Not sure what we're doing for NYE... hmm!

R & R

This weekend was quite productive and a ton of fun!

Thursday - I had the day off so I went to run some errands downtown and eat lunch with a friend at Point Sushi. Played the new Super Smash Bros Ultimate game with a friend and the boif too.

Friday - I decided to stay in most of the day and just relax. I ordered some food from Taste of Korea - spicy tofu stew and some fried chicken with sides. Also got a Lemon Ade drink (fizzy lemon drink with lemon pieces) and it was really tasty! Watched a bunch of vlogmas videos and did some video editing (I think?).

Saturday - Went to the boif's work holiday party. It was really cool, a smaller group of people but some good conversations and we got to watch an improv group. The party was at the founder's house, which was so amazing and big. It didn't even feel like we were at someone's house, I felt like we were at a hotel! I dolled up and wore my favourite velvet dress. :) I'm now pondering about what to wear for the other holiday parties we'll be attending!

Today we slept in for a bit. We went to Espresso Cafe to have some cajun chicken sandwiches. They were only $9.95 for happy hour and they were delicious! We also had an iced chai and a turmeric chai latte. Afterwards, we went to peek on the kitties at Regal Cat Cafe, and then went home. I was so sleepy so I took a nap for about an hour after trying to watch some youtube videos. Went to the famjam's for dinner and to play with Tofu, and now I'm just editing my vlogs for vlogmas. I'm also having some Christmas Eve Stash Tea. Also posted an IG post!

It's going to be quite the busy week! Lots of video editing to be done, prepping for the holidays/parties, going out with friends, and appointments galore!

I missed a weekend of blogging!

Whoops! I missed a weekend of blogging.

Last weekend we went to Original Joe's for dinner and we also went to the mall to get the boif a new phone and so that I could get a hot water bottle.

This weekend:

Friday - Went to greta and craft. I had poke for dinner using my credit from DoorDash, which was really nice. I decided to try a spinach base (Hawaiian style) instead of a rice base. Felt healthier, but it was still quite a meal!

Saturday - Went to the holiday expo and I got a moonstick necklace for only $10! The boif got a Legend of Zelda music box, which we almost thought was a Game of Thrones music box, because the notes that played at the beginning of the first few cranks was very similar to it's theme song. We went to the famjam's for dinner and played with Tofu for a bit, and then just had a chill evening working/relaxing. I started watching The Princess Switch, not really sure I'm into the movie that much, I also watched a few YouTube videos.

Today we had leftover pizza for dinner and went to see Bohemian Rhapsody. It was a great movie. We're just chilling at home for the evening. I'm going to do some journaling and then maybe game or watch some YouTube.

It's been snowing more and getting colder outside, which is making me actually want to stay indoors more. With that, I need to keep myself busy, so I'm doing vlogmas again and so I'll be editing lots.

I also still need to work on my website, it's really bad right now. I'll go do that and make sure to work on my creativity this week! I just need to start doing things, and then I become super passionate at it.

More of myself again

The beginning of this week marks the time I decided to go see a naturopath.

On Monday I was feeling pretty weird. I was very sore and in a lot of discomfort and I was a bit anxious. I wanted to go see my doctor but everytime I called them, I couldn't get through. I Googled medical offices around me and there weren't a lot of good reviews for the closest one, so I decided to try a naturopath clinic.

I'm really happy I did. I got IV therarpy and some supplements and the day of I felt on and off, but the next few days were amazing. I'm a bit mellow now but I still feel pretty good. I also have a new meal plan and sleep/wake up plan that I am trying to implement as much as possible, along with exercise. I actually haven't used the light therapy box yet but I think I might use it soon just to get more light.

Friday - I got acupuncture for the first time. I had thought my benefits covered it but it was actually my HSA... oops. I don't have anything left in it, so I paid for it out of pocket and I think I'll wait a week or so to book another appointment because it is almost a $100. I felt pretty sore after the treatment, but it does take a few appointments to feel better from it. I still don't really like the sensation of the needles, even though they are thin and I can't feel them after a few seconds. T_T But I'm glad I tried it, it made me feel a tiny bit better afterwards. We had Subway for dinner and watched some Sabrina and relaxed.

Saturday - We went to New Horizon Mall for a little bit to check out what's inside. A lot of spaces still for lease, but there were a few stores open as well. I think it'll be really cool if a Daiso opens up there or even a grocery store. We also went to Cross Iron Mills to buy a gift for our friends' baby's 1st birthday. Us and a group of friends got her a drum set with piano and a xylophone. We also went to Costco to grab some groceries and then went to the famjam's for dinner and played with Tofu. Afterwards, we watched some Netflix.

Today we went to the baby's birthday brunch and then went to see Grindewald. Interesting party and also interesting film. The baby was quite intrigued by her new toys! I also got a foam roller to help me massage my body and stretch. We went to Blaze Pizza to pick up dinner and then continued the movie we were watching on Netflix and started another one. Just having some tea right now and I'm going to go plan what I'm going to do tomorrow.

Definitely need to go to the gym and exercise a bit more after all the carbs and stuff I had this week. Totally had a cheat meal weekend... lol. I need to go back to my plan.

Lethargy D:

So this week was quite the week. I felt lethargic almost the entire week but felt much better on Friday and on Saturday. Today I was ok but felt lethargy and really hot. I decided to do something about it, though!

I was pretty good about trying to walk outside almost everyday after work. It helped a bit with the winter blues when I increased my exposure to daylight/fluorescent lighting on my digital devices and when I went into stores. I think I might be feeling this way also because I was just sick the week before, so my body is feeling strange and confused.

Weekend recap:

Friday - Went to the famjam's for dinner and played with Tofu for a bit. Cutie pie kept licking my fingers lol after I washed my hands. Went back home for a bit to wind down and then also went to The Rec Room for some fun and games! We have over 1000 points now, but still saving up since we didn't know what we wanted to redeem as a prize. There were a few things that also didn't cost many points, like small writing tools, etc... but ah not too sure about getting those! We then went home and relaxed after.

Saturday - I refreshed my purple locks and I decided to dedicate this day to having some hitori time with some shopping during the Sephora VIB sale in the mall. I got quite a few things to restock on like eyeliner and concealer, and then I also bought some perfume that has the Clean at Sephora seal on it (no harsh chemicals, etc.) so that it's as natural as possible and doesn't irritate me. I also got a silicon face mask applicator... looks pretty handy to apply face masks and also remove them with the brush head (it's a dual brush). Afterward, I met up with my friend from Bumble and we had dinner at Seed and Salt to catch up and just chat about what's going on in our lives. It was a good chat and afterward my friend dropped me off at the grocery store so I could pick up some Vitamin D. Afterwards, I went home and we had friends over, so hung out with them for a bit and then we headed to Sole for some good ol' karaoke. It was fun!

Today we slept in for a bit longer since we were pretty exhausted. Watched some Insatiable on Netflix for a bit as I was really looking forward to watching something light-hearted. We then went to Jinya Ramen for a late lunch and then got some latte at Espresso Cafe. It was really nice getting some daylight this weekend. I then started getting the winter blues again after we went home and I felt super sleepy so I took a nap for a few hours and then went outside for a walk. During my walk I reflected on my week and how I felt, and what I was grateful for and my game plan to get out of this rut. I decided to go to the gym afterwards and that made me feel a bit better and then I did some meal prep and made a salad and ate oranges/icecream/had tea. I also wrote in my journal and now this blog, and planned out my week. I'm going to try light therapy and continue taking my vitamins. I also realized that I really, really need to go outside during the day and so I'm going to try to wake up earlier each day so I can go do that and get some fresh air. I'm going to try sneaking in some gym time too in the mornings. I feel weird after work sometimes to do stuff, the beginning of my week is usually focused on meeting deadlines for video editing after work, so I already feel like the night is shorter and get the winter blues. I am hoping that by changing up my daylight exposure that it wil really help me feel better and not get the winter blues anymore.

I know that this didn't happen in previous years, because I had always had a chance to go outside during the daylight through a lunch break, or running errands during the day for work. Since working remotely, I haven't done that since the evenings started becoming longer. I can't imagine how other people who don't really get to see the sun for the majority of day would feel. I just know that right now it feels terrible and so after a week of it, I have enough energy to do something about it.

Last week was also focused on getting as much sleep as possible, because I thought that's what was messing me up... so trying to get up earlier will be a bit of a challenge, but I'm up for it! :)

Ewwww

So I have been sick for about a week. That cold I was feeling came on full force last Thursday. Awful!

Couldn't do shit. Also trained for my new job. I was very surprised that I made it through a week. I don't know if I retained anything, but I did it!

Last weekend I didn't really do anything except for lay in bed for most of it. And take meds and try to get better.

I still have a cough right now, but I did do some stuff as soon as this weekend rolled around!

Friday - We got a Blaze Pizza to share. It was the first day I had been outside, other than to go to the famjam's. Felt good. I didn't feel insanely cold when we went outside. Watched a ton of Netflix.

Saturday - Went for a walk around the neighborhood, looked at some natural meds and also got a baba gannouj sandwich from the Mediterranean place down the street. Finally some veggies! Stayed inside after and just watched some Extra Life streams on Twitch and played some SC6.

Today we went and checked out the new library. It was really cool! There were a ton of people there since it's opening weekend. We also went to Tubby Dog and I didn't like my not-dog at all... I used to love their veggie dogs so much years ago, but it was not what I thought it was today :( Their turkey dog was pretty good though! We also checked out Societe Coffee Lounge for their shakai matcha line. Got a matcha pina smoothie, and a matcha rose latte with a matcha doughnut to share. Pretty good matcha but not that sweet at all and the rose was very strong. The pina smoothie had some pineapple chunks which I happily devoured!

Went and ran an errand at Co-Op as well and then walked around the neighborhood a little bit when we got home. The daylight savings time ending has got me all feeling weird. It feels late but it's early.

I'm going to try to get back to normal activities this week like editing my videos and vlogging and going out for a walk after work. It's so dark now though because I'm done work much later now. T_T