a new place

One thing you don't really see on Instagram or Facebook are the difficulties in life one goes through. Ya, some people do their ranting online which isn't really the best way to deal with it, but others seem to go through life without hardships at all. The truth is we only really see a small part of one's life through our screens, but the heartbreaks, hardships, discontent, hangups, fear, and other negative emotions are all kept away from the social media world and are contained inside our heads and our hearts. I for one can say that my IG feed looks like i'm having the time of my life eating all the food I want, but in reality there's fear, stress, hangups and discontent lingering behind those posts. I get stressed and turn to vices to relieve me from it, but I've come to realize that these things only relieve me temporarily and are not the best ways to deal with it.

After much convincing from my wonderful sister, I gave in to ashtanga yoga and fell in love with it after my first session. It relieves me from any difficulties or heaviness I encounter in my day, and also gives me a really good workout so I end my day feeling lighter than ever. We attend classes at a neighbor's house so it's very convenient, private, and less intimidating for newbies like me who are still learning.

Sorry for the bad quality, it was dark in the place and I didn't want to insist on turning on the lights.
My face is also extra red because I ran before the class (which was a bad idea because it ended up being 50 minutes of cardio!)

I still do my regular workouts at the gym but yoga has become my go to for extra workout, relaxation and peace. I hope that if you're going through any difficulties in your life, big or small, you find a place to release, find peace, and feel content amidst the chaos of life.

she cooks: anniversary lunch

Last Sunday my sisters and I decided to cook lunch for the parents' anniversary. Since my dad couldn't eat several foods (for health purposes), the menu we were able to come up with was Roka Salad, Telefono, and Glazed Salmon. 

We wanted something light to match the heavy pasta, so my sister suggested glazed salmon. She got the recipe from a cook book here at home (I have yet to figure out which one), but it was as simple as making a marinade for the fish and cooking it on a grill after. Just make sure not to overcook the fish!

This Greek salad from Cyma is a favourite of my mom's, so we decided to add this to the menu. Unfortunately we didn't have Parmesan, so we had to work with Gouda cheese for this.

Recipe here.

I don't have a good photo of my Telefono, but I could say that this time around, the pasta turned out much better and everyone enjoyed it. It's really not a difficult dish for cooking newbies!

Recipe here.