I am on a journey to live a life I love and to fill my life with the things that truly bring me joy... my dream job, loving relationships, financial abundance, a healthy mind and body, and a deep spiritual connection with all that is. I am living consciously to create a life filled with all the things I love.

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Monday, June 29, 2009

It's Time to Get Healthy

After a lot of time thinking about how important it is to get healthy, it seems that I've been having all signs pointing to how important it is to become healthy. Many signs and people are all pointing the way. I've gradually started incorporating healthy eating into my life and have been making sure I get plenty of sleep, but what I haven't fully committed to yet is the exercise. I finally did commit by joining the 100 Day Fitness Challenge on youTube, and now it's time to do the work!

As soon as I return from a trip over 4th of July weekend, I plan to start the following health plan:

1. Order organic produce from Urban Organics
2. Learn to make organic vegetarian recipes
3. Start taking yoga classes once a week at a yoga studio
4. Exercise every morning during the week (even a 10 min workout counts!)
5. Go to bed early and get 8 hours of sleep every night

It's not a grand plan, but it's something to get me started. I've cut my food portions, so I haven't felt like I've gained weight, but whenever I eat salt (from restaurant foods), sugar (from desserts), dairy, gluten, white bread, white rice, caffeine or anything else that is not nutritionally rich, my body reacts by making me sluggish, unfocused, and spacey. And that's not what I want! So, within the next month, I'm going to infuse my body with nutritionally dense foods, plenty of water, exercise, and sleep! I've done this before, and after the detox, the results are clearer skin, toned muscles, and more energy!

I finished taking my herbs from Brazil yesterday! After 6 months, I'm finally finished! It's amazing how much has changed in my life in 6 months. A new career direction, a new city, a new life. Now I'm going to supplement all of that with a new health plan.

One more thing I plan on doing during the month of July. I'm going to carve out 10 days to do the Master Cleanse. It's amazing how others can do it... I think it's time I tried it too. I'll let you know how it goes!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Writing Your Goals

I've decided to write my main goals in big writing on a piece of paper and tape it in front of me so that I see it every day. I can't ignore what I see every day, right? And I assume the energy of the messages will eventually affect me at a subconscious level, which will help me attain these goals quicker and faster. I also decided to write them in the present tense, rather than using the future tense. This will help me feel like these things are already a part of my life, which will make these things easier to come into my life.

Instead of listing "What I Want," I wrote "What I Have." I also changed all of the items on the list from "to be..." to "I am..."

I have also written a few of the top goals in the present tense and taped them in front of me. For example, "I wake up early at 6am every day." It seems like a simple technique, but as I read this every day, I will start waking up at 6am naturally, I'm sure. This is one of the techniques I'm using to try and become an early bird.

Try it! And let me know if these techniques have worked for you!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Success Story: Charice Pempengco

Every time I watch Charice sing, it gives me chills. She is so talented and amazing. I first saw her on an Oprah episode about talented kids. Charise was one of them, and she sang for us for the very first time. Her voice was so amazing that I was speechless after I watched her, and I'm sure everyone else was too, including Oprah. She was brought back again on another show where Celine Dion invited her to sing with her the following week.

I just found a video of her on youtube and had to share. I hope you enjoy!

Charice sings "Note to God"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Xd435coD4

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Leading by Connecting People

Seth Godin presents a really great presentation at the TED conference about the tribes we lead. This one is definitely worth watching.



What is the movement you will start?

Friday, June 12, 2009

My First YouTube Knitting Videos

I am so excited because I have finally uploaded a few knitting videos on YouTube. It was an idea I had a while ago, and I finally got around to uploading a few how-to videos on YouTube! I have many, many more videos to come and ideas for all of the ones I want to create this summer to teach people to knit, sew, and crochet. I am planning on throwing in some other fun videos in there of events I attend. I'm pretty excited about getting it all up and running. And most of all, if I ever forget how to do anything, I have my own catalogue of videos to refresh my memory!

So, if you know any knitters, sewers, or crafters out there, please send them the link to my youtube channel to subscribe. I would love to get a whole bunch of subscribers so that I can eventually apply for the youtube partner program. That's my goal. And if you have any ideas of suggestions, please send them my way! Otherwise, happy knitting!

Here is the link to the youtube channel: www.youtube.com/user/flowdesignstudio

You can find all of my knitting tutorials here in the future.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Millionaire Awaken Your Secret - Think and Grow Rich

Here's a video I found on the topic of attracting wealth that I enjoyed and thought you might too. One of my favorite concepts in this clip is about the phrase:

"Money is the shadow of love."

When you do what you love and are expressing from the heart, money is its shadow. When you're involved in doing what you love, money is right there because the shadow is always right there.

Here's another concept that I found to be true in life:

When you spend money it is gone. When you circulate money by giving it away and sharing it, it comes back to you.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Monday, June 8, 2009

Success Story: KahiliCreations

Here's another great success story about someone who created a business on Etsy and was able to make a living that they did not have to return to their day job. I love stories about people who are living their dreams, and especially when there are stories that talk about how they are making it work. Etsy has great stories they share about people in their community that are able to make a living through their handmade crafts.

Read about KahiliCreations, a jewelry business in Hawaii.

Here's a photo of her studio:
Read the story about KahiliCreations here.

Organic Salad

I found an organic vegetarian restaurant by Madison Square Park that I decided to try. Yum, yum, it was tasty. There was a nutty green thing that I had them put on top.


I'll have to experiment at home to see if I can create toppings like that! These are the types of meals I am trying to incorporate more into my diet so that I can become healthier.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Fashion Design Classes

I've started taking classes at F.I.T. this summer to prepare me for my official fashion studies program at Parsons this fall. I'm taking a bunch of classes from sewing, fabrication, sketching, to knitting. Classes began this past weekend, and so far I'm having a lot of fun. Here are some photos I managed to take from my first sewing class.


Since I have already taken a bunch of sewing classes, I found that I am more advanced for this class, but I'm always glad to take classes from different teachers because I always learn something new that I never knew before. Here I am practicing sewing straight lines.


Then, we moved on to sewing squares to practice corners.

And finally, here are some triangles:

Here is a picture of my final straight lines and squares.

This was the first time I used an industrial sewing machine, so there were a few new things to learn that I didn't have to know on a home sewing machine. The industrial machines sew much faster and they have a knee pedal that lifts the pressor foot for efficiency. By the end of the class, my right thigh was a bit tired from moving the pedal to the right over and over again. I guess that's one way to get a workout.

The final result of this class will be a pair of pajama pants! I'm going to go shopping for the fabric within the next couple of weeks. It's funny how I've been intending to make pajama pants for years now. I purchased a pajama pants pattern and some flannel to make pajama pants for my husband but never got around to it. Finally, finally, I am going to make pajama pants. Yey!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

An Outer Makeover

Have you ever noticed that when you go through a transition in your life, you also want a makeover to go with it? Lately, I've been wanting to change my hair, update my wardrobe and get a manicure. Since I've been thinking about this for the past week or two, I figure it's time to put these thoughts into action.

Haircut or Perm?
I've been on the search for a new hair salon in New York. My haircut is long overdue, and since I've managed to grow it out so long, I've been entertaining the idea of getting a perm. It's been at least 15 years since my last one, so maybe it's time to try it again. I think part of my desire to get a perm has grown from the hassle of curling my hair every day. Especially on days when I do not need to see anyone, I definitely let my hair be in it's natural state, which is straight, flat and with slight frizz at the end. This is why I curl it every day. It's not flattering to see my hair without the blowdry, curling, and hairspray, but this process can get lengthy and tiresome.

To make this process easier on myself everyday, I've been debating whether to get a perm or if I should just get a cut with highlights. Shorter hair is easier to take care of, but perms seem even easier. Shower, mousse, air-dry or blow dry. Done. Most asians that I've seen with perms have curls that are usually too small. I'm looking for the large curls that you get from using a curling iron, but want a permanent hair-do. Possible? I'm going to test it out.

I found a Japanese hair salon--I figure they will be familiar with Asian hair--very close to my apartment. They received good reviews on yelp and prices are reasonable, so I'm going to make an appointment. How exciting! Since they're close, if I like them, I can always go back for future hair cuts.

New Wardrobe
There's something about starting a new life, whether it is at a new job, a new chapter in your life, a new city, that seems to warrant a wardrobe makeover. Looking through my closet, I'm beginning to realize the rows of button down shirts and dress pants from my consulting days will not serve me in my new career.

During my last job, the dress was very casual, so I was able to wear jeans to work every day. How nice, huh? But now, if I want to work in the fashion industry, I feel like I should step my game up a little bit. Hmmm, but not sure how to go about finding good fashion on a budget.

As I was pondering this, I think the answer came to me yesterday. I found out about Diane von Furstenberg is having a sample sale that is being held for four days, starting yesterday. I am going to make my way over there sometime today or tomorrow. I'm hoping lots of good stuff my size is still on the racks for me to look through. This is the beauty of living in New York. You have access to the top designers' sample sales. Fun, fun.

Manicure
Getting a mani/pedi is essential at the beginning of the summer, especially when the open-toed shoes start to come out of the closet. I've been postponing this ritual until all the cleaning was done at my home and my nails grow out, but I don't think I'll be able to wait that much longer, unless I want to hide in my close-toed shoes forever. I will probably make a trip sometime this week or weekend.

After this week, it looks like I'll be well on my way to a new me!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Eating Organic

I really believe eating organic food is one of the best things we can do for ourselves. Not only does the food taste great, but fresh organic produce also tends to contain more nutrition than your conventional produce from your supermarket. This means that your body gets more nutrition from the same foods, just by eating organic. I also think that organic foods generally taste better. Especially when it's very fresh, the food just tastes more alive. After eating mostly organic food for a while, it's really hard to go back to conventional produce...the food just doesn't taste as great.

The Cost of Organic
But--yes, there's always a but--we all know that eating organic costs more. Since we've moved to New York, we've seen a rise in our living expenses, which means we need to be more budget conscious with everything else. Also, with the sudden change in my income, finding ways to save money without sacrificing our health and wellness is becoming a key focus of mine.

Maybe Find an Organic Co-op?
I decided to look around in New York to see if I could find an organic co-op. Perhaps that would be a good way to find cheaper organic food. After looking around, I was a bit disappointed by the prices and by the freshness. Since these smaller places do not get as much traffic as Whole Foods, the produce isn't the freshest and the selection is pretty sparse. I'll have to find another way to get my fresh organic veggies.

Organic Produce Delivery
I went online in search of something better AND cheaper. I used to have fresh organic produce delivered straight to my door when I was living in Chicago by Fresh Picks. The produce was delivered in a box of whatever was in season, and the prices were much cheaper than going to the grocery store. It cost about $25 per box and the produce that came inside is very fresh! I was also introduced to a lot of new vegetables that I never saw at the supermarket. These veggies looked very exotic to me, but definitely very nutritious and fresh. Luckily they also provided recipes with the vegetables so that I know how to prepare them.

I assumed New York must have a similar company. After all, everything is available in New York, right? After some research, I found a company that fit the bill. As soon as we finish eating all the organic food in our fridge from Whole Foods, we're going to try ordering from Urban Organic. I'm really excited that we can now get very fresh, straight from the farm produce for $35. There are other sizes, but I think we'll try the original size. This one gives a lot more produce than what we normally buy for twice the price: 15-18 items, 1-3 pieces of each item! Wow. I'm very excited. And it gets delivered, so I don't have to lug groceries back home from the train every week.

Organic Seeds
I also recently discovered an organic seed company. I was looking for an established reputable company that sells organic, non-GMO seeds so that I could order a whole bunch of vegetable seeds for my parents' new garden. I know I'll also be the recipient of some of their harvest when I go visit them and would love if they only had organic fruits and vegetables. I found a company through an ad, but started to get suspicious because some of their seeds were labeled organic and biodynamic, but the majority had no label at all. There was no section on the website that told me about the company's mission to be organic, or anything about certification. They then started to mention in some of their seed descriptions about how resistant to pests their seeds are. Hmm... sounds like some of this might be genetically modified. I didn't want to take the chance.

I started some research to find a company I could trust, that carried certified organic seeds, only carried 100% organic, and has been around for a long time. And I found the perfect company! The company is called Seeds of Change. There are so many seeds, and so many varieties of each vegetable to choose from. How exciting! I was starting to wish I had a garden just so I could plant some seeds myself. I could have the satisfaction of growing my own organic veggies. I ordered a whole bunch of vegetable seeds, some fruit seeds, and some herb seeds for my parents.

Then, I had an idea. Maybe I could plan a mini urban indoor garden for myself. Even though I do not have much space, I could find enough space to plan an herb garden. Maybe I can squeeze in some extra space for some of my favorite veggies. Why not? There are others who have created gardens while living in urban dwellings. I've been thinking about doing it for several years. I think I'll do it this year! I even found a section of the Seeds of Change website on urban gardening. Maybe you'll consider reconnecting with nature by doing a little gardening too. I'll update you in a future post with a photo of my urban garden and fresh box of produce. :) I'm on my way to a healthier, happier summer.
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