LIFE - Mentorship

I have been very fortunate to come across some very influential people in my life. This one individual has known me since my graduate school days and one that I look up to not only professionally but personally. She exuberates all the characteristics I want to have: polite, witty, strong, educated, and great sense of style. This person has heard the complaints, the praises, the tears, and the laughter. She knows my struggles as a young professional and also knows what I've had to deal with in my personal life. To me, she has it all. 

There are all kinds of mentors. There are spiritual mentors, a big brother/big sister type mentor, and even friends or parent's friends who can be mentors. I think mentorship is so valuable. Why can't more people be like this? Why can't there be more people who want to mentor our generation or just be a listening ear? 

It took me a while to find her but the wait was totally worth it. After several months of searching high and low and getting the traditional "I would love to meet with you so I'll let you know when it's a good time" speech I finally fond someone whom I know is busy, whom I know would rather be tending to much more important things, but still makes the time to guide me and steer me in the right direction. Yes, we have our disagreements and no, I don't do everything she says but knowing that I have her here to help me process career decisions has meant the world to me. So to my mentor, THANK YOU! 

LIFE - Ewok graduated

I'm one proud mama! Yesterday, Ewok had his graduation for completing Puppy Level 1 class at our local PetCo. It feels just like yesterday I wrote my blog post about his first class and now he's all done (almost). He technically has one more class to go but since they didn't know when they would be having a graduation ceremony again they let him participate. It was so cute to see all the puppies with their graduation handkerchiefs and doggie treat leis. I can't wait for his graduation photos to come in. But for now these will do. Yay Ewok!!!!

   

  

LUCKY I LIVE HAWAII (LILH) FRIDAY - North Shore drive

One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is take a drive to the north shore of Oahu. It's such a different world out there from what I'm used to in town. I would have to say this is probably on the top of my list about living here. Not just Hawaii in general but Oahu specifically. I have my tall buildings, city life and when I want to get away it's just a short drive to someplace totally different. Life these past few months have been so crazy and hectic that I haven't had a chance to get to the north shore for a few months now. Here are some must do's and some old pictures of my north shore adventures. Enjoy and Happy Aloha Friday!

1.  Stop by the Shrimp trucks. It's a definite MUST DO

2.  Check out the surf spots. Many of the surfing films that are shot here in Hawaii are on the north shore. 

3.  Taste the grilled corn, it's AMAZING!

4.  East Shave Ice

5.  Visit with the turtles

6.  Support the stand up fruit stands on the side of the road

Ok, so a lot of it has to do with food but what mini road trip doesn't include food? These are just a few things that I get to experience on a weekly basis (when I have the time to) because I'm lucky I live Hawaii. What do you do when you visit the north shore? I'd love to hear about them! 

BODY, FOOD, AND EXERCISE - Do's and Don'ts while on your period

The female body is an interesting one. Although we share many of the same structural similarities as our male counterparts, there's one thing that's definitely different than the male body... MENSTRUATION. If you're a male reading this, you may think to yourself "Ok I'm done reading this!" but wait a second, this post could actually be very beneficial for you to understand the life of a woman better and may even give you some brownie points with the women in your lives. Here's a few factoids and suggestions while on your mensie.

PAIN - According to the Huffington Post, 40-70 percent of women have experienced some sort of menstruation pain. Whether it be bloating, um comfortableness, cramps, swollen and tender breasts, or pain in the back, these sores are usually associated to the menstruation cycle.  

EMOTION - The term PMS has been linked to the Premenstrual syndrome (occurring only during the luteal phase). The three most prominent symptoms are irritability  tension, and dysphoria (unhappiness). Common emotional symptoms also include stress, anxiety, insomnia, headache, fatigue, mood swings, and increased emotional sensitivity.

FOOD - Below is a list of do's and don'ts of food to eat while on your period:

Do's                                                        Don'ts
Fruits                                                     Caffeine
GreenVegetables                                  Too much salt
Dark Chocolate                                    Spicy foods
Water                                                     Greasy foods
Beans                                                     Oily foods
Tofu                                                        Sweets
Peanuts                                                 Alcohal
Vitamins
Salmon
Pineapple
Tea
Whole Grains
Yogurt

STYLE - Sunnies

Summer is just around the corner and one thing you definitely will need this summer is a good pair of sunglasses. Here's my round up of different sunglasses and styles.

Cat-Eyed $14 at Urban Outfitters 

Mirrored Sunglasses $9 Urban Outfitters 

Gradient Sunglasses by Ray-Ban $190 at stylebop.com

Over-sized glasses by Gucci

FUN SUNNIES

  Prada

  Michael Kors

  Tory Burch 

   Chanel

FOOD - Shrimp, turkey bacon, and mixed veggie pasta with lemon cream sauce RECIPE

Last night I experimented with a recipe and it turned out way better than expected. Don't you just love when that happens? Here is a super easy and tasty meal to make.


1/2 bag/box pasta
1/2 bunch Asparagus
1/2 bunch Spinach
1/2 carton Mushrooms
1 Tbs Butter
1 clove Garlic (minced)
3 Tbs Lemon juice
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/3 cup Whipping cream
1 cup Chicken broth
1 tsp Corn starch
1/2 pound Shrimp
4 slices of Turkey Bacon

DIRECTIONS:
Cut asparagus, mushrooms, and spinach to bite size pieces.

Cut turkey bacon into little pieces and fry until crispy.
In the same pan, saute shrimp in garlic and butter.
After bacon and shrimp are cooked, place in a small bowl

While bacon is being cooked, boil asparagus and mushrooms. Drain, then boil spinach.

Boil pasta as indicated on bag/box.

Combine broth and corn starch in a small bowl and mix until corn starch is dissolved.
In the same pan you cooked the bacon and shrimp, pour broth mixture, bring to a boil and stir frequently for about 1 min. or until thick.
Remove from heat and stir in cream, juice, salt, and pepper.
Add in bacon, shrimp, asparagus, and mushrooms.
Add in pasta and gently coat sauce, pasta, and vegetables together.
Plate your meal and add the spinach on top.

Serves 2
Prep and Cook time ~1 hr.

LIFE - The people who surround you

Do you have people in your life that make you so nervous you don't know how to act? Whenever you're around them you're afraid of saying the wrong thing or you say things that don't really make sense? What is it about those kinds of people that make us do that to ourselves? Are they not supposed to be in our lives? Or were they purposefully put their to help us to adapt, to grow, to challenge ourselves? So many questions and I don't know if we'll ever find the answers.

Everyone has two selfs. The first self is the self we feel most comfortable with. The one who can look crazy, act crazy, and has no filter. This is the transparent or true self. We usually put this self on when we're alone or around people we feel most comfortable with. Then, there's the other self. This self has feelings of insecurity, shyness, and for the most part reserved. For me, this self comes out when I meet people for the first time, when I'm around surface people, or when I feel like I'm being judged. I don't like when my other self comes out. I wish my true self was the only self I carried around. Sometimes it doesn't even need to be a whole group of people that make me change my self. Sometimes, it only takes one person to bring out my other self. I don't like being fake and yet it feels like when my other self comes out it's not genuine. It's not truly me. When I was younger, boys I liked would do this to me. Now, it's certain people.

They say, as you get older, it's a lot harder to find and keep good friends. I've found this to be true over and over again. There are some friends who are friends for a season, and others who stay in your life even after months of not knowing what each other is up to. Those are my true self friends and those are the people I like to surround myself with. The kind of people that no matter what, no matter how long it's been since you've caught up, they continue to make an effort to stay in your life. Yes, we all get busy and life only gets busier as we get older, true self friends call you or send you a text every so often just to say hello or ask how your week went. I don't regret only having a few true self friends and many other self acquaintances. I actually think that's the way it's supposed to be. Your true self friends are supposed to help bring out your transparent self and your other self acquaintances help you work on your other self.