Going Back To My Roots

When I was little I grew up on country music. That's what I would hear in every car ride; that's what I would hear jamming in our tiny living room; that's what I would hear all around me. I can still remember the times I would jam Dixie Chicks in the front yard and dance my heart out. I can still remember the time I put a sad Shania Twain song on while solemnly looking out the living room window when my first grade crush moved away to Florida. It was around middle school that my view on country music started to change. My 6th grade math teacher would allow us to take turns choosing songs to listen to while we were working. To follow everyone else, I would choose the mainstream music of the time such as Akon's 'Lonely' or Gwen Stefani's 'Dirty Escape'. I couldn't tell you the amount of times I heard "Anything but country music" continuously as I grew older. If someone was asked what kind of music they listen to, I would hear the same reply: "I listen to pretty much everything. Except country." Why is country music seen in such a negative light? Why is it considered an embarrassing thing to like country music?

 I can't tell you that I'm exactly innocent from that judgement either. My view on country music changed so drastically that I would look at people as if they were crazy when they told me that they loved country music. My mind would put the automatic "red-neck" impression on that person after becoming aware of the fact that they liked country music. It wasn't until recently that my societal altered view on country music was at last put to rest. A few months ago I was in a car ride with my family, and my sister decided to put on Brad Paisley's 'Letter to Me'. Listening to this beautiful song made me remember all the things that made me love country music when I was younger. Country music has some of the most beautiful lyrics. Country music has some of the most uplifting songs. That 'twang' that I used to find annoying, I now love all over again. I'm going back to my roots. And for some reason it feels as though I've found a part of myself that I didn't even know I had lost.

I'm going to end this post with a few country songs that I just can't get enough of. Try giving them a listen and maybe you'll see why I love this genre all over again. They are all so different but all so great!

Workout Journal (Week 1)

Hey guys! So I decided to try to get back into working out again. I had a whole routine during the summer for a good two to three months, but when the fall semester started for school and I also got a part time job, I couldn't find the motivation to keep working out. :( I've been feeling really sluggish lately and really miss the amazing feeling I got after a good workout, so I decided that I NEED to find time in my schedule somewhere for it.

With my last workout routine, I focused mainly on building muscle with our home gym machine. I told myself that all I needed was to tone up, but the reality was that I just didn't want to do cardio. Despite the fact that so many articles I read stated that I needed to incorporate both weight training and cardio in order to see results, I ignored them and told myself that I didn't need it. I had a specific weight training days for my arms, legs, and chest and a quite extensive ab routine. This time I decided I need to just suck it up and do cardio; in fact, my routine will focus mainly on cardio rather than weight training this time, as you will see from my day to day breakdown. 

Starting back up again was not easy. Taking such a long break from working out changed my excited attitude I developed toward working out back to the dreaded attitude I had before. I didn't expect much on the first day. If you're trying to get back into a workout routine or even just START working out in general, don't get unmotivated. You may say to yourself, "What the hell are these workout freaks talking about when they say they feel amazing after a workout?! I feel like complete, utter shit. How could anyone enjoy this?" It may feel as though you didn't do much and you may think that you're far away from reaching a strong and steady routine, but trust me when I say that it gets easier! Just give your body some time to ease into it, and eventually you'll be able to see what these 'workout freaks' are talking about.

I am honestly at awe with how fast I progressed with my cardio! Here is a breakdown of my week:

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
60 Seated Bench Presses	60 Seated Bench Presses	60 Seated Bench Presses
60 Triceps Pushdowns	60 Triceps Pushdowns	60 Triceps Pushdowns
60 Leg Extensions	60 Leg Extensions	60 Leg Extensions
200 Jumping Jacks	300 Jumping Jacks	800 Jumping Jacks

As you can see, I didn't increase my weight training exercises. Because I want my routine to focus mainly on cardio, I tried to avoid overworking myself with the weights and then becoming too exhausted to have a good cardio workout. This week may not seem so amazing to some people, but knowing myself and just how much I absolutely despise cardio, I can't help but feel proud of my progress. I felt extremely exhausted after doing 200 jumping jacks my first day, and to see that number multiply by four on my last day and knowing that I didn't even feel as exhausted as I did on the first, I know I'm on the road to getting somewhere. Now I did not do those hundreds of jumping jacks all in a row. Like I said, you have to let your body ease into it. On Day 1 and Day 2 I did reps of 20 jumping jacks, and by Day 3 I increased the reps to 25 jumping jacks. I feel as though this is the best way to build endurance and also allow your body to do the most it can do without wearing itself out.  

Once Upon A Time

Oh, how she believed she had it all,

when everything she had was far from that.

It was what she thought was the best it could get

in a world where she was told fairy tales couldn't exist.

She was told that the sparks and the fireworks weren't real

in this world that was known as "reality".

She reminded herself to not waste time on dreams,

for "Time spent on dreams is time wasted."

Then once upon a time, a boy came into her life,

and everything stated to change.

She didn't understand his familiarity,

until she realized he was the prince from her dreams.

With him she felt her cheeks kissed by roses,

and the warmth of the sun tickled her skin.

The Prince of the Rising Sun opened her eyes to the world

in all its shining, shimmering, splendid.

With rain drop kisses and moonlight dances,

you would never guess that their love was forbidden.

It was them against them all, well; they all could have that world,

for a whole new world they would create together.

So the clock struck midnight and the moon shined bright above,

painting shades of blue upon both their faces.

In that moment time had stopped, or perhaps time had just started,

because at last he was hers and she was his.

So my Prince, it is because of you that I believe in true wonder;

for three years now you have proven it true.

I have loved every moment since the first, till the last,

because, love, my happily ever after is with you.

♡ Three Year Anniversary ♡

October 2nd marked my three year anniversary with my Thai-ty Whities! I couldn't have imagined spending this day any better than the way we did. It wasn't anything extraordinary, but I think that's what made it so amazing. We weren't trying too hard to do something extravagant just because we felt like we had to. We woke up this morning and decided to ditch our plans of giving each other our presents at the restaurant and rather gave it to each other then and there, straight out of bed.

Thai got me a natural opal necklace with a sterling silver chain. I still can't believe how beautiful it is, and the picture honestly doesn't do it justice. In real life it is so stunning, shining multiple green, blue, pink, and yellow hues. It makes me feel as though I have my own little rainbow to carry around with me. It's the perfect size, too, because I have been wanting a small dainty necklace to wear; something that's not too flashy and would go with any outfit. I honestly don't want to take it off. ♡

This was my present to him! He had been telling me that he's wanted a watch for quite some time. I think it looks really nice, and it has a lot of cool features as well! He loves it and says he never wants to take it off.

For dinner we decided to go to Pappasito's Cantina, and it was absolutely delicious! I used to go to

this restaurant with my family a lot when I was little. The only thing I'd have to say that I didn't like so much was how loud it was in there! I understand that restaurants usually have that mumbling/chatter noise from all the conversations happening at once, but this place felt like everyone was screaming at each other! It's quite a popular place, and they rarely see a slow night. This day wasn't even considered a busy night, so I'm glad our anniversary did not fall on a weekend! Because I felt very fabulous, I'm going to post a mirror selfie~

I can't wait for the many more anniversaries to come. ♡