#NoDistractionsChallenge

As I'm typing this, I'm listening to my course on control commands for Linux OS. I recently took up some small courses to improve my knowledge of IT and just to basically do something on the side. I have always been interested in Internet Technology. I figured why not give it a try. I'm working on Course 3 of 5 and so far so good. It feels really good to be improving myself. But that's not what this blog is about.

I recently been feeling the need to get away from Social Media. I remember it being such a great place to express my individuality and creativity. But as technology grows and times change when a new generation takes over... There's just been too much... chaos. There's no original ideas, there's just the same things over and over. People express themselves through others expressions. Its very... disconnecting. I, for one, thought that I would never get tired of being able to share and express myself. But its becoming more of job than being something of a hobby. It takes the fun right out of it. So I figured, lets just a take a break from it. Take a break from Social Media. My problem is, I still had access to it.

Fast forward to this past month, which has been a difficult one on a personal note. I stumbled upon the "No Distractions Challenge" video. Since now of days everyone is so distracted and dependent on our phones, why not get rid of what is distracting you on there. The challenge is that you clean up your phone, get rid of the Social Media accounts that you often check every damn second, turn off the annoying notifications, and declutter your phone life. I never felt so inspired to gain more time and gain back my life. So I cleaned up my phone.

I'm going on week 2 without Social Media apps and I realized all the notifications and even text messages that corresponded to what I posted are no longer a problem. I've had more time to breathe and enjoy the moments of my life. I have never felt so good. I still have to deal with the twitchy fingers though of checking an app.... which thankfully are not there. It feels less stressful. I definitely recommend anyone to try it and see how you feel after. 

That's all for now.

~ J

April 2019 vs April 2018

Happy Easter Sunday!

This time last year, my husband and I made one of the biggest decisions of our lives. We were moving out-of-state. Again. 

We first made this decision on our owns once upon of time. I was just 22 years old...I lived in California my whole life, born and raised and I made the decision to leave that all behind. We spent 11 years in the Pacific Northwest. I doubt that was even our intention but it was our reality. We explored the cities, the attractions, and the food. Eventually it became all too familiar, all the same. I think we both were secretly hoping for some kind of major change. 

We got that, when my husband's workplace decided not to renew their contract with the building they were using to house all the employees they had. It was so sudden when we heard the news... nothing was concrete and all we knew was that the job that my husband enjoyed would be laying off employees with the downsize of office space. Some how good news became of this bad news, as there were opportunities for my husband to stay with the company by landing a job in a different area... different State even.

After much debate and discussion, we both knew we needed change. On April 19, 2018, My husband and I drove to his work place and he accepted a position for Arizona. And when I returned to work, I went through the process of a transfer. 

So much time has passed and so much has changed within our lives but one thing remains, moving to Arizona was a grand choice for us.

Until next time,

~ Jennifer

Our Decluttering Journey, Part I

Well hello, after my last post about moving... Let's just say, time slipped away. Everything kicked into high gear after little bit of packing here in and there. My husband and I had such clashing schedules most the time, so getting errands done was slow going with just one person doing some of the packing and cleaning. But on the days we were both off, we were on it!

I must admit, I am a little ashamed of how messy our place had become over the years. When we both work so much it felt like we were on this ongoing spring cleaning as I most often referred to it. Throughout the years, I would constantly come home, try to make a vision, start on declutter, take a break....and then everything all went to shit again. Its like I couldn't get it under control. At least no by myself. And again with us working so much, my husband and I were just never in the right mind to clean. We would go home and rest and wind down....Repeat our day the next.

Finding your underlying problem always helps you to start your journey so here is mine...
When I moved up to Washington State, I barely had anything to my name. All that fit in a 4-Door Sedan rental came with me for the roadtrip up. I literally only had a few storage tubs of clothes, a suitcase, and a few knick knacks. My husband and I started with nothing. It was a our first place together...Not even a bed, or couch, or TV, or Dining Table.

Now the way I'm being so vague, we are at no way hoarders at all. We just didn't put things in the right place, as there was no rhyme or reason. It was overwhelming and frustrating at time but it continued on...Up until we learned about our move. Every cleaning project prior didn't have a clear goal. But here it was on a platter, no going back. Learning about our upcoming moved forced us into reality that we needed to get our shit together!!!

And thus, the decluttering began...
THE GREAT DECLUTTERING PURGE OF 2018.

Sorting through everything , one pile at a time really helped us to realize firstly "WTF were we thinking?!!" and secondly, why did we ever keep these things in our lives if its useless. Taking a few tips from the book I read from Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,  we started our decluttering with clothes. Should be easy enough right, since we barely wore half of our wardrobe. We decluttered quite a lot. Some I was afraid to let go because of the "What If" factor but then something in me set in that I should think about the now. What will work for me now. Material items can always be repurchased. Better yet, something better might come along!

We worked our way into the dreaded Paper category. Paper was just one of those hidden nuisance that you don't realize is cluttering up your space. But damn was it everywhere and what for! With technology now a days, everything has a file --so going paperless has always been the best options and my husband and I DO use paperless billing, Yet here I was collecting paper bills from the past. I didn't even know what for! And receipts.... my goodness the receipts. Our first shredding day ended with 3 shred bags...every day that we decluttered our shred became less and less until my husband and I had just one binder of important documents and small accordion file for a little bit of more documents. Going paperless and getting rid of papers in your household is one of the best options you can make yourself if you are on a decluttering journey.

Of course, you can figure out the rest, getting rid of books and magazines we no longer read, getting rid of things that serve no purpose anymore. My husband did such an amazing job getting rid of some of his items and I hope to do a little more myself. Since we began our packing process and started to run out of time, a lot of my items are coming a long for the ride. So my decluttering journey must continue on even though I felt I got rid of a lot. There is always still much work to do.

Its happening....

No use in beating around the bush so,
I'll just drag this out....

For a long time now my husband and I had at the goal of moving. Ideally it was moving into a new place. We've definitely outgrown our First Apartment here in Washington State. But we've also outgrown exploring here. I know there is still hidden gems everywhere but for the most part we've seen a great chunk of it over the past 11 years. YES ELEVEN YEARS!!! Even talking to some of my coworkers that have come and gone, I couldn't believe how long they have lived here and haven't even set foot in Seattle!! That's literally a short drive away.

So fast forward to January, when we got the brief news of my husband's company closing locations down and having small job openings for the mass amount of people who work in that building. We became worried. In January, my husband had just hit his one year mark with the company. What would that mean for a seasoned worker...Would my husband even have a chance to stay with the company? Over the months we got little bits of more information. How the moves will go? When to apply for the lateral move? When you will find out if you got a position?

Fast forward to April, my husband landed two job offers and after much deliberation he accepted the offer for the promotion.

WE ARE MOVING TO AZ!!!

I cannot believe it. I am so proud of him and super excited for our next journey.

This will be our first major move together. When I first moved up here, it was just a rental car packed with my belongings (I didn't have much). And over the years we've accumulated more things than we needed. We will definitely be doing some major cleaning, selling, and donating. This is the only beginning!!!

Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018!

Here we are again, another new year but its no new me (I don't care for that sh*t) NOPE,  its the same me. I still have no idea where all the time went. I vividly remember being at this same state of mind and seeing the same situations at work as last year. I remember feeling a little bit more empowered though and this beginning of the year I feel a little bit more reserved, a little bit less of myself.

2017 could only be summed up by two words: BUSY and EXHAUSTED. I was consistently busy at work, I often described my day as busy, my work schedule? BUSY. Everything was just busy, busy, busy. My mental state? EXHAUSTED. Physically? EXHAUSTED. I was overrun and overworked. I spent more time at my job than enjoying some time away. I was in a never ending cycle of eat, sleep, work, repeat. I felt like I never had any free time. And when I did have free time it was filled with errands and chores. Things that I didn't quite enjoy but things that I just had to get done otherwise it would pile up on my TO DO list. I very seldom got to travel, there wasn't any time to explore new places. Even my husband was busy with his job. It was definitely a year of work.

Last year had a lot of downs but it definitely had a lot of ups. I found myself being able to focus on improving my skills through experience at work. I got to learn new areas, meet new people, and even train new associates a bit more that I've had in awhile. On the days when I would finish errands early, I got enjoy a little down time, catching up on reading some favorite books. And when my husband got his new schedule at work, I found a lot more days where I was able to spend evenings with him, cooking our favorite dishes, watching our favorite shows, and having more movies nights in 😊😊😊 Those little moments always outweighed any bad days I came across.

At the end of the year in 2017, (even though I had a strong sense of it in my mind the past months) I made the ultimate decision that I needed a few changes in my life. Like the people I let into my life, my lifestyle, my career, my well being....pretty much a lot of things in my Life that I would like to see improve. So slowly, I began to implement some changes. I began to declutter and donate more. I began to save and spend less. I began to cook more instead of eating out. Small steps but a big impact that helped me change habits or improve upon them.

With a lot of that being said, 2017 was alright.
                    I've let that year go
and its time to bring on the greatness in 2018!!!

2017 Resolutions.

So I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it here but growing up, my family was very typical and standard during the holidays. For Thanksgiving we would all gather and watch the Macy’s Day Parade even though we were not fans, it was “tradition!”. During Christmas it was that exciting time of writing to Santa about all the things we hoped to find under the Christmas tree. On New Years’ Eve we would all be sure to jump at midnight with money in our hands in hopes it would promote good fortune (but thinking back now I’m wondering if this was just a Filipino Tradition). On New Years’ Day it was time to talk about and set our resolutions for the new year. Fast Forward to present day and…I’m pretty sure I might be the only one in my family that still follows these (rather silly) traditions. But for me, setting some goals (okay maybe like 10-15 goals in a detailed list) has somehow always made me feel pretty damn good and motivated. Though the question is… after all these years, have I been able to even complete all of them during the year. The answer is simple: No.

I’ve never been an over achiever and until this day I still seem to try and give myself way more than I can handle. Not quite sure why I do so, but I do. And naturally its taken me years to get to the point that I am at today. My 2017 Resolutions!!! (Lets all clap because this time I think they are quite do-able within the year J). This year I’ve decided to try three main goals. YES, just THREE. Seems easy enough right? I once watched a video about trying to get goals completed and how she (the lady in the video of course) said that she likes to give herself three tasks to complete in day because then she feels its easy to accomplish and by doing so each day you will get a lot done. So I tried it. AND BY GOLLY, it worked for me. SO here I am, looking to complete three main goals this year at which I hope will better myself in the long run. So without further ado, here they go….

MY 2017 NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS/GOALS:
1) Change My Mindset
2) Live Simple
3) Get sh*t done!!! JJJ

Clean.

So here it is, 2:16pm on a Tuesday late afternoon.
I'm sitting here at home on my day off.

And just like every other day off I plan my day accordingly...I make plans and I break the plans. Instead of waking up early and following through with errands...I sleep in and end up waking up naturally. Wishing I woke up at a decent hour in the morning. I do some mundane errands around the apartment, Like washing the dishes, doing the laundry, and clearing the expired foods in the cabinets. Never mind that its the holidays and I really should be on task for any last minute stocking stuffers, gifts, and prepping Christmas cards to be sent out. But the past months has been filled with work. Working a lot and working odds hours that has made the rest of this year exhausting. I never feel rested for a new day and I never feel I've accomplished much because of that exhaustion and not feeling up to doing the things that I want to do.

I haven't been sleeping well at all. I have all these ideas and goals that haven't been put to light, just sitting at the back of my brain, playing over and over in my mind as I try to sleep at night. A few months back I decided to get a journal to document why I can't sleep. And I know for a fact that only I am to blame because I allow myself to give up when I'm too tired or when something feels to complicated. So then projects of mine get started but they are never finished, and so they just sit. Sit for months just like the material things that I have come to accumulate over the years. The things that I have purchased in hopes to make myself happy, only its just temporary. And so they sit. Collecting dust, never seeing the light of day again.

These past months I've been trying to change that. Trying to get back on track. I'm the type of person that has to rely on things to motivate me, whether its watching someone on YouTube clean up their space, or looking at photos on Pinterest to give myself ideas where to start. All the elusiveness probably has you wondering, where the heck am I going with this? I basically felt myself drowning in chaos. Whether its at home, in thoughts, or at work. I've come to find that I'm letting myself get to a point where I don't care. In most cases, that is a wonderful idea. In my case, I've been needing to do major clean up. Because like I've said...I've let things go but I've let things pile. I've let material things clutter up my closet, my workspace, my kitchen....But I'm in the process of getting this clean.

I want to live simple.

The older I get, the more I am realizing there are so many things I don't need, I have never needed, and that I wasted money on buying (especially since I haven't used quite a bit of things). I started reading the book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I had heard wonderful things about when I was searching of ways to start cleaning or how to declutter. Though I'm not quite doing it the way the book suggests, I've recently started to clean areas of my life and starting to think in ways that I should have a long time ago.

In conclusion, I wanted to document my journey through the KonMari method of cleaning. So I hope that in my sharing this, it will help you as well if you are trying to declutter your surroundings and Life. And with that being said, my journey will be in full gear for the new year. So I hope for greater opportunities and less clutter.

xo, J.

Changes, Everything Changes.

I had a blog post about 2013 and I realized that half of the year was one of the worst times in my Life. However, by the 2nd half of 2013 things were definitely starting to look up! I was able to find a better stable job, in turn of making better pay for the benefit of my husband and I. I was much happier than I had been from my previous job. And good things began to surround me. I was thankful and still am for the positive changes in my Life. I left all negativity that I could.

2014, I wanted to start fresh again. Set goals and accomplish them like most people strive for. After my birthday in January, my husband and I bought a new car. I went on a whim by joining the Y (gotta exercise somehow and someway!). And I've also made small changes like renaming my blog/Instagram from rarebliss to elloladyjane (^_-) We're getting on track and I'm really excited for the challenges this year brings us. I've decided I don't want to be brought down by negative energy. What are you up to this year?

"Every day may not be good but there's always something good in every day. "

Ja Mata Ne!
- Jennifer

Toothaches & Dental Woes.

We've all gotten through January 2013, Yay! But February continues on with my "dental woes" as I'd like to call it. In January, my birthday came and went... And that's when everything started...
I noticed my gums were becoming more and more sensitive, which in this case my husband and I began to look for a Dentist. Now let's back track a bit... Adult life = adult responsibilities. I never really had to worry about making any type of health appointments. When I was covered under my parents plans, they made the appointments, when I got my own health plan at 21 years, well I ended up moving up to Washington State to be with my husband. And when we were apart of Military coverage well, it was easy and not needed. This past year, I had decided to withdraw from dual coverage and primarily moved to my husband's health plan (since it's way better!).
Fast forward to a couple week ago, I was in desperate need of a check-up, and finally after a recommendation my husband booked a time slot with our new dentist. Tuesday the 21st was my visit to be exact! I was quite nervous even though I prefer the dentist over a hospital visit. It went pretty well, they were very nice, and I went home with my prescription.
A week later, gum pain and toothaches. It gotten pretty bad that I could barely talk. So I went back for an emergency visit. Got two new prescriptions. And the next couple days up until now has been a challenge. Pain wise.
I must say, I've never felt much pain as I had within the past 2 weeks than I've had felt in my life. Not to mention I haven't taken as much medication ever as well. I could barely concentrate on anything aside from the discomfort and aches that I feel. I could hardly talk or even get through a shift at work without having to just leave or go into a "zone". It's been a little depressing.
So remember kids and adults, wisdom teeth are not your friend. But a Dentist is! Don't forget to get your check-ups!! I'm awaiting my follow up for next week. I sure wish it were sooner.
P. S. Sorry for the poor blogging/writing. I'm still not 100% focused:-P

Updates & Blog FaceLift

I'm so excited to say that I have stuck with a majority of my new years resolutions. And I had quite a lot!!! I mean, A LOT!!!! That I even made a video on my YouTube channel in hopes to encourage other people. New Years resolutions has been a tradition of some sort for my family during new years and I've always felt the need to be consistent with keeping my word. So that's what I do.

One of the biggest out of the bunch (and maybe I'll edit this later to list my resolutions) was to weed out the Social Networking. As much help as Social Networking can do for everyone these days it's also the opposite, it's one of the biggest problems. Especially with the younger generations. I think with that said they can usually speak for themselves but in case anyone out there can't quite wrap their minds around what the Cons of Social Network Sites are, here are a few words to help: Bullying. Addiction. Predators. (But I'll save my opinions on them for another day...)

It's insane. Many things can be misconstrued over the Internet and I for one have learned my lesson and am over it. The only ones I keep around are those that help my main interest in life which are a gallery or two for my photography, for my film/vlogging, and for my enjoyment of writing and sharing. I've happily nixed Myspace, Facebook, Livestream long ago but most recently I've been able to stop using Twitter and Tumblr.

Life is good:D

...Oh yes, and how do you like my new layout??

"A Year Ago, Today in iPhone Photos"

Date: 10 March 2010
Weather: Warm, Sunny
Last Year I Had: Lighter/Shorter hair, thinner eyebrows, and experimented with eyeshadows.
Also: my husband was away a lot with the Army and our cat (at the time) Pinnochio developed allergies from something in our apartment:/



Today: 10 March 2011
Weather: Rainy & Windy
This Year: I have darker/longer hair, grew out my eyebrows, new obsession with nail polish art.
Also: my husband has since separated from the Army and is starting a new job. Our cat, Chunk turns 1 year old in April. We no longer own, Pinnochio, he went to a new home that he could happily live allergy free:)

My...how things change swiftly!!!