Went to a running store for the first time and finally got evaluated and fitted for new running shoes. They recommended a pair of Brooks, a pair of Sauconys and a pair of Hokas. I went with the Hokas but choosing between them felt like when your eye doctor asks you 1 or 2 because they all felt similar on. Only time will tell if they’ll work out, but I really hope they do because they were expensive and it’s only a 2 week trial period for store credit. I’ve been wearing my true size all along but was told to try wearing half a size up to allow for swelling, being a long distance runner. I ran back on the track again for the first time today and it felt great. I really miss running laps on a track. I also want to find new running trails this year as well.

Also got some new cute stuff from Popflex lately since they finally started making cuter stuff and in lighter colors again. All the active wear lately has been making more basic boring neutrals and mature colors which was safe on my wallet but sad for my mental health since new workout clothes always makes me happy and renew my motivation to want to kick it in the gym. It’s funny because before they came out with their new ballet skirts and buttercream color and soft girly pink tones, I was trying to cycle through all my current gym clothes and put together fun outfits. I was having fun looking cute for the gym and it helped me get back into the habit of doing weights in the morning with a walk afterwards to get my steps in, and Pilates at night after work. I’m hoping to continue this habit but I also want to try and finish my Pilates earlier to get to bed earlier. I’m still working on trying to build in rest days and this is something I really have to work on, since it probably isn’t healthy for me to be GOGOGOGOing at full speed all the time and may have been a contributor to the culmination of my stress this week. I need to schedule time for my body to rest so it doesn’t become a regular occurrence and turn into me being such a mess with my hormones spiking. Maybe this was my body telling me it’s exhausted. I need to learn to listen.

Also here’s a little photo dump of 2024 so far. I’m still trying to blog more but I don’t always want to really make a whole thing of one day so here’s a mix of everything so far.

Tried some new food places and found a cute new restaurant in Flushing that serves Hong Kong style comfort food and I really loved it. All the food was pretty simple but sometimes that’s all you need to hit the spot. Tried out a new hotpot place with a ferris wheel gimmick which was really cute but being out of the way and limited menu, it was a one and done. Took my dad out for dinner since my mom left him for 3 weeks to go to Vietnam by herself and found a new ramen spot combined with a seafood boil restaurant. The ramen was ok but the seafood boil was really good with generous helpings. Also went to a Chinese BBQ for Valentine's that was really cute too with some Instagrammable gimmicks. I might go back and take my parents because they would love that shit.

Also tried my hand at making my own deco phone case and it didn’t turn out half bad. I actually love it but discovered it’s hard for me to use because we’re at the age where phones charge wirelessly now so I have to take the case off at night to charge it by my bedside. So I might just use it for special occasions like on vacations when I just bring wires to charge. It was fun learning how to pipe icing and picking out all the cute little deco pieces. I wish I knew how to do this back when I was always switching out my obnoxious phone cases. I find it so crazy how nowadays I just use a simple silicone case and slap a sticker on it.

I’ve also been putting together outfits again for work and doing fit checks for fun. I do miss this although it does take an extra few minutes that I could be using to get to work sooner so I don’t have to run across the parking lot so fast to clock in. I’ll never change even though I say I want to be better, lol. The security guard stopped me this week though and said something cute but funny to me. He asked me if I saw the Barbie movie (which duh, I said yes) and said that every time I walk into work, he thinks I look like something out of the movie with my outfits. Speaking of work, we celebrated Galentine’s which is probably my favorite thing now to celebrate at work. It was so much fun this year having everyone make little Valentine’s for each other and giving them out. And our cute little spread of food made me so happy. I love that everyone got into it and dressed up! It’s really the little things that make life bearable at the moment, lol.

Oh yeah, my childhood best friend had her bridal shower last month and I was so happy to finally see her again. I haven’t seen her in ages, probably before covid and I miss her so much. Her wedding’s next month and fingers crossed, I can make it there.

We finally had some snow this winter, and I was home to experience it with Banh Mi. I hate snow truly but I enjoyed that he got to experience it for the first time since it didn’t snow last year. Although interestingly enough, he’s a little like his mom and not fond of the snow. I got Dario to agree to do a dumb reel trend with me during that snow day and it was a lot of fun too.

I’m still sad I didn’t get to experience Chinese New Year and Sweethearts Nite in Disneyland but my friends Nicole and Matt were so sweet and sent me the cutest care package ever of the exclusive cookies and goodies from the parks! I’m not usually a cookie fiend but they were so good! Something about that Disney infused magic. Everything always tastes better Mickey shaped and it’s so true. I can’t wait for the Halloween races in September to be back there again finally. It all comes back to running. I missed it and I’m happy to be jumping back into it feeling ready. The burnout from it was rough and I’m looking forward to looking forward to runs again instead of dreading it like I was during marathon training. 2024 was feeling a bit rough this week but I’m really determined to pull myself out of this off week and get myself back. That bad bitch is coming back.