It’s been a while. I promised myself to create more content for 2023, but I also find myself getting a bit discouraged because life still overwhelms me. Maybe because a lot of changes have been happening lately like getting engaged, work changes, personal struggles, and the like. So, to keep you on the loop, here are some of my life updates..

…on mundane struggles

Recently, I have been intensely stressed by my physical appearance and how unhealthy I have been for the past couple of months. I gained about 7 kilograms due to stress AND stress-eating. My acne has flared up even though I have been religiously going to my dermatologist for the past 3 months. The flare-up caused me to be so self-conscious and my self-esteem extremely plumeted. I rarely even take photos of myself now because I just do not like what I see in the mirror. See? Not only has it affected me physically, but also mentally and emotionally. I’m just being honest here, it’s been a real struggle and as much as I do not want to focus on these mundane things, these are also the things I live with everyday. I wish I didn’t care that much.

…on getting more healthy and physically active

Look, last year, I told myself I would have the washboard abs I have been dreaming of. I even signed up for a 3-month membership for more or less ₱7500 just to join the classes 5 times because I was so inconsistent and well okay “I got busy” with our cafe. That’s not an excuse, I know. What a waste of money. And because I was being careless about my health, not only physically, but also mentally, I struggled on doing physical activities and I couldn’t handle the stress so I gained weight instead. It sucks, a lot. On the brighter side of things, I have started being a bit more active. I started walking outside more. Believe me when I say, for the past year my life has been just waking up and then sitting in front of my PC for work. I rarely go outside of the house unless it’s something important or if I need to do groceries or work outside to be more productive. Other than that, I have been a complete hermit. So, when 2023 entered the scene, I told myself to stop being a sloth and actually start doing something for my health. I’m far from being healthy, but I’m taking small steps like being more conscious about my calorie intake and eating more fruits and veggies and I try to do home workouts when I can. Aside from that I bought an apple watch to help me track my daily activities as well, so I can be more productive and more mindful of my daily activities. I also bought a badminton racket set because I wanted to have a leisure activity so I can have fun and sweat at the same time. Lol. So far I’ve only been playing with my fiance since I don’t know people who would want to play badminton with me. Sigh, I need more friends. Jk.

I have been using this app called MyFitnessPal for just a couple of days but I kid you not, it’s really good. It’s like a food diary where you jot down what you ate for the whole day and it helps you keep track of your calorie intake to help you with your goals.

…on learning how to cook

I love food but who doesn’t, right? I love eating but if I’m being honest, I am a picky eater. Or maybe, I tend to just stick with food that I know. At family gatherings, I’m usually the dishwasher or the one who prepares the table or the one who mixes up the beverages but never the cook. My sister is our head cook because everybody does love her cooking. Sometimes I really think, why didn’t I learn how to cook when I was younger or even make the effort? I’m just wondering if maybe it’s because there’s a lot to live up to. My family members are such good cooks and I guess I just don’t want to be judged in case my dishes are inedible. So I didn’t try. BUT I’m turning over a new leaf and decided since I’m getting married soon, I don’t want my husband to eat instant noodles every day and besides, my grandparents moved out of the apartment we’re living in so I’m currently living alone with no one to cook meals for me so I have to survive on my own. It actually excites me to be able to make dishes even though I still don’t know the recipes by heart and I just survive by watching cooking videos over and over again. lol. I will make a new post about the dishes I’ve learned to cook next week!!

…on reading and watching more

I decided to read 25 books this year on my 2023 Goodreads challenge even though I failed to finish the challenge last year. Oh, well. I’m staying positive and hoping I would actually do it this year. This month, my target is to read 4 books. Pretty forward, no? I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna finish 4 but eh, if I could just finish one then that’s good already. On the other hand, I’ve finished watching Friends, finally. I’ve also started watching Grey’s Anatomy since last week and now I’m almost on Season 5!!

…on getting married soon

Man, who would’ve thought wedding planning can be this hard? To be completely honest, I’ve thought about having a civil wedding just to remove the stress of planning and spending a lot of money on the wedding. But then I thought that I want to be able to have a good time with our families and friends too and let them witness our wedding so I’m sucking up and planning our dream wedding. Honestly, we are doing a DIY wedding, so we want it to be inexpensive as possible without compromising our wants of course. A friend of mine actually asked me to document everything, so I might actually do a series about our DIY wedding.

I sure do have a lot more to say but I’m pretty much rambling already so I’m just gonna break the topics into separate blog posts soon. I’m glad I had the time to post a blog post. It’s been more than 6 months since I last attempted to post anything here.

It’s good to be back once again.