living my life in smiles

Just officially booked our tix for our sibling bday vacay!! My...

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:06:14 -0700

Just officially booked our tix for our sibling bday vacay!! My first time going to #Hawaii!! #Aloha 🌴🌸☀🍍🍹🏊🏄🎣🐙🐚🐠🐟🐬🐳🐋⛵✈ @starrleene @bryan_85 #saberon #familytime #Ohana #siblings #NOTkuyaNOTate #firstimer #Havaii #Oahu 👭👫 (at larsgabsbffed res)

My Yelp bookmarks. 5 weeks left until I leave the Bay for good...

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:59:16 -0700

My Yelp bookmarks.

5 weeks left until I leave the Bay for good (well officially, for now). Too ambitious? – View on Path.

The fifth grader Pokemon addict in me wants to see this :X –...

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:56:41 -0700

The fifth grader Pokemon addict in me wants to see this :X – View on Path.

“refs you suck!” Lol Warriors fan letting the refs...

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:52:31 -0700

“refs you suck!” Lol Warriors fan letting the refs know what they about their officiating @micksantos88 #dubnation #warriorsground #roaracle at Oracle Arena – Watch on Path.

The Big To Do: 240 Things to Do in San Francisco Before You Die

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:53:01 -0700

The Big To Do: 240 Things to Do in San Francisco Before You Die:

Probably my Bay Area exploration bible as I count down my final months in the Bay ;(

Funemployment (v. life before grad school)

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:54:00 -0700

Wow. I can’t remember the last time I took the time to actually write a personal post. Once work and the application process took over my life, my posts were solely reblogs of things that caught my eye or reflected how I felt or not until I completely fell off the tumblr train.

I feel like I should recap my life since the last time I seriously posted, which would probably be around June, when I finished taking my GRE’s. Just quick short and sweet:

Started volunteering at Mission Neighborhood Health Center weekly in the City (thanks Ate Chie for always housing me!)
Left my old office job to start a new job as a behavioral therapist in August
Continued volunteering with Mabuhay Health Center as co-health screening chair with Vy!
Applied to Family Nurse Practitioner Programs between Sept to Feb
Made monthly trips home to LA (LA county Fair, Oktoberfest, Halloween with bro and sis, family time, sister time, Bantay time….and lots and lots and lots of food :X)
Started dating mcbf in late Oct/early Nov?? Not sure when just hanging out turned into dating lol (Wreck-it Ralph, Jack London, Tree lightings, Warriors game, our random nights after plans fail, “Face”timing haha, Zoolights!)
Eventually starting a relationship with the knuckledhead after he puts up with all my ridiculous stubborn randomness and weirdness
Random adventures and hangouts with new friends and old from SF exploring to hikes to football games to many food outings to holiday and life celebrations - people getting grown up jobs, people getting into prof/grad schools, people having babies, people moving into grown up apartments, people coming to/leaving the Bay (Thank you for keeping me sane this year!)
Switched from my school case (Aug-Dec) to in-home cases for work…was definitely a blessing to work so closely with families in their homes, really feeling like a part of their lives and family and seeing the kids growth in such a short period of time. Was bittersweet because the work was truly unique and fulfilling but the long hours and challenges were exhausting
Finally hearing back from schools after interviewing. Didn’t realize that deciding would be one of the hardest parts…the finality of making such a life decision of what would ultimately push my growth and offer me the best learning experience stressed me as I had difficulty discerning what God wants for me…but I really trust that God will take care of me. I decided to attend Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. I’m terrified of leaving California lol…but I’m trying to be excited about the future experiences that will shape me into the person I hope to become…God-willing.
Made the tough decision to quit my job after about 8 months in…with hopes to take time to work on myself, travel, relax, and spend time with loved ones before I move onto nursing school. It was hard to leave the families I was working with even though I knew they were really understanding, but I realize that I wouldn’t be able to have the time I wanted to work on myself .
Since then I’ve been funemployed with tentative plans to return to my old temp agency

I’m now starting my 3rd week of funemployment, and since, I have:

Travelled some (Spent the wknd in Mt. Shasta with mcbf, spent half a week in LA with my family, went back to LA this past weekend so my fam could meet mcbf)
Started domestication lessons with Edward (made Afritada and seared salmon so far)
Watched a ton of TV (caught up on Glee, New Girl, Mindy Project, Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, started and finished the Newroom)
Just spending time catching up with friends and roomies (bdays, baby showers, catch up lunches/dinners/phone calls/vid chats)

However, while I’ve really enjoyed and loved the feeling of waking up without an agenda, I realize that I need some semblance of structure in my life. I’ve thrown a few things out there in terms of having a short term goals list of things I wanted to accomplish before I leave the Bay and ultimately before I leave for grad school…but realize that without some sort of agenda, I wake up thinking, “what should I do today?” And find myself caught in the black hole that is my apartment lol with my bed and couch and TV. I know I really need to learn how to just be okay with the feeling of enjoying doing nothing because I will never have this time again…but I also don’t want to waste the time I do have to do all the things I want to do still! So I think I need to mix it up with having slow days as well as days where I am working towards my small goals. I don’t want to make my free time so structured that I dread doing things. Even if I just get 2-3 things done a day, I will be happy! Most likely, I’ll be moving back home to LA and leaving the Bay for good in mid June…so I want to make the most of my days here….

So for now, my hopeful list of goals consist of:

Getting active and being healthy! (I realize that these past 6 months are the worst I’ve treated my body in a while…so I want to start eating more healthily and exercising if even just a 30 min run every morning. Edward has been teaching me how to cook!)
Plan travelling: East Coast Trip (April 12-21), Bday trip (Either Hawaii or Miami in July?)
Make a Bay Area eat/see/drink/do adventure list to complete before I move
Nursing scholarships (NHSC, HRSA), prepare for grad school (housing, fin aid, etc)
MHC transition
Learn Tagalog!!! Rosetta stone?? lol…
Work on self/hobbies….guitar, photography, read
Continue reconnecting with loved ones: family, friends (new&old)
Buy myself a new wardrobe
Watch a few TV series in their entirety (Friends…maybe Sex in the City and Scrubs..or other SitComs lol)
Work on my faith

While I listed some broad goals, I realize that a lot of the time I need more specifics to actually get them accomplished. So hopefully, my small plan of looking for places to read indoors and outdoors or cafes to go to maybe in Oakland/Berkeley and surrounding areas will get me out of the apt and into the sun more rather than just staying in my cave of a room telling myself, “oh well…there’s always tomorrow!” Because even though there really is always tomorrow lol, I don’t want to suddenly wake up one day a week before grad school and think, “Where the eff did time go!?”

It’ll be interesting to see how these next months pan out. I really hope to make the most of it!

These past couple months have been up and down…even now I’m both scared and excited for what’s next. But one thing is for sure that I am grateful and thankful for the experiences God has put me through and the people God has placed in my life. My life is Yours!

Hmm..this post turned out much longer than I planned to write. Guess I was due…

Here’s to funemployment!

spiritualinspiration: “As the heavens are higher than the...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:23:30 -0800

spiritualinspiration:

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9, NIV).

Have you been praying and standing on God’s Word for something and you haven’t seen the results yet?

The scripture says in John 11 verse 6, “When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.” One translation says, “He sat down.” Don’t you know that was the opposite response that Lazarus’ family was looking for? “Jesus, don’t sit down when we need You the most.” In other words, “God, don’t sit down when my finances are this low.” “Don’t sit down when my problems are this big.” But in the end, God not only healed Lazarus, He raised him from the dead!

Your mind may be telling you it’s over, it’s too late, it’s never going to happen. No, you’ve got to know there is a reason for the delay. God is planning something greater. You’re thinking of a healing. He is thinking of a resurrection. You may be thinking how can I just survive, but God is thinking how you can thrive. Remember, His ways are higher than your ways, and you can trust that He is going to amaze you with His goodness in every area of your life!

spiritualinspiration: Have a Blessed Day...

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:06:14 -0800

spiritualinspiration:

Have a Blessed Day Everyone!

http://www.facebook.com/naeemcallaway

spiritualinspiration: Precious Lord, today I surrender my...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:59:52 -0800

spiritualinspiration:

Precious Lord, today I surrender my questions, I surrender my past, I surrender my need to have all the answers and choose to trust that You have all the answers. I will wait on Your timing to reveal Your ways to me and choose to press forward into the destiny You have prepared for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Photo

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 19:00:37 -0800

spiritualinspiration: You, however, are not in the flesh but in...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:46:24 -0800

spiritualinspiration:

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. (Romans 8:9)

Are you facing a situation today that seems impossible? Even if you don´t see how things will work out, remember, you are created to overcome. As a child of the Most High God, the Greater One lives on the inside of you. There are seeds of faith planted in your heart, and the way you activate those seeds is by the words of your mouth. Begin to declare, “I am bigger than this problem. I am created to overcome. I am destined to live in victory because the Greater One lives inside of me.”

Friend, when you start speaking like that, all of heaven hears you and gets behind what you are saying. That´s why it´s so important to stir up the fire that God has placed on the inside of you. Don´t just sit back and be passive. That obstacle may look impossible, but God wouldn´t have allowed it in your life if He didn´t already know that you could overcome it! Quit looking at your difficulties as obstacles that are going to hold you back and start looking at them as opportunities that are going to push you forward into the live of victory He has in store for you!

tinyfactss: tinyfacts: The voice of Mickey Mouse and the voice...

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 22:03:43 -0800

tinyfactss:

tinyfacts:

The voice of Mickey Mouse and the voice of Minnie Mouse were actually married in real life! Source

Oh, yeah as some of you may have noticed, I recreated this blog. Follow me here . I will be updating it almost every day with new facts. I also have a facebook here

Photo

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 10:24:58 -0800

Photo

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 10:21:18 -0800

Sure makes the thought of possibly leaving California in the...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:52:43 -0800

Sure makes the thought of possibly leaving California in the near future hard :T.

Just have to see His plan for me…

Photo

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:01:07 -0800

the-absolute-best-posts: This is a great blog to follow,...

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 23:37:04 -0700

the-absolute-best-posts:

This is a great blog to follow, seriously

#ilovebrunch.

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and..."

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:33:03 -0700

“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

- Romans 5:3-5

spiritualinspiration: Have a Blessed Day Everyone

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 08:34:36 -0700

spiritualinspiration:

Have a Blessed Day Everyone

ilovecharts: joshsundquist: Today is my girlfriend’s birthday!...

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 03:43:48 -0700

ilovecharts:

joshsundquist:

Today is my girlfriend’s birthday! I made her this graph-tastic birthday card.

Awwwwwwww

lol thought this was cute