New Year's Resolutions

Every beginning of every year people make outrageous resolutions for the New Year and very rarely stick with them all year long.  I have learned over the past few years to only have 3 New Year's resolutions in order for you to stick to them.  Last year, my #1 resolution was to stop dying my hair myself.  Ever since I was 14, I started dying my hair every couple of months.  One month I would have platinum blonde hair, the next it would be dark brown.  I was nonsensical about my hair and was never truly satisfied with it.  In order to stop this never-ending cycle of constantly damaging my hair, I decided that my New Year's Resolution was to no longer dye my own hair and to only get it done minimum every 3 months.  I am proud to say that I successfully did not dye my own hair and that I only dyed my hair 2 times last year!  For anyone that knows me they know that is quite an impressive thing.  I am now confident that once I set my mind on something, I know I can accomplish it with time and effort.  Nowadays, I am terrified at the thought of dying my own hair and I can officially say I kicked that bad habit.  With my new found confidence, I wanted to share my 3 resolutions for this year.

1. Become a vegetarian
-Becoming a vegetarian can be very difficult for some and a breeze for others.  Most people I know that have tried it have failed because they quit eating meat cold turkey.  (No pun intended)  So I decided to cut things out little by little until I am a full-blown vegetarian.  For the past month I have cut out all cow and pig meats.  To my surprise it has been a fairly easy change and I have only had a craving for a cheeseburger a few times.  Once I am 100% satisfied without those two meat sources I will cut out turkey and chicken.  I know that chicken will probably be the hardest meat to cut out because I do eat it so frequently and that is why I am taking baby steps to insure that I will be successful.  At this moment, I am shooting for being completely vegetarian by summer time.

2. Growing out my hair

-I am continuing on the hair resolution this year because I have always wanted long, lustrous locks like Blake Lively and Amanda Seyfried.  Since I have always been dying and frying my hair I have never been able to accomplish it.  Now that I have overcome my addiction to hair dying, I am confident I can have my own dazzling hair like those beautiful ladies.  In order to hopefully speed up this process, I have been taking a daily hair vitamin and doing weekly hair masks.  My hair masks mostly consist of coconut oil because it has nutrients that help hair grow and it keeps it moisturized.  Another trick I use when I wash my hair is to only shampoo your scalp and condition your ends.  By only shampooing your scalp, you are clearing the hair follicles of any debris that has clogged them and preventing hair from growing.  You only want to condition your ends because that part of your hair is fragile and can break off, which prevents hair from growing as well.  If you are shampooing all your hair, you are stripping the moisture from your ends and drying them out.  When you condition all your hair, you are clogging the hair follicle that you just cleaned out.  That it is why it is best to shampoo only your scalp and condition your ends.

3. Maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle
- Yes, I know that about 95% of the population has this resolution and most of them do not keep it.  I personally believe that they do not keep it because they only say that they "want to lose weight" and do not set specific goals.  That is why I haven't kept that resolution each year, but it is time for it to actually stick this time.  That is why I devised a simple plan to help me get there.  Instead of just being broad, I decided to make individual goals to help me achieve the big picture.  Some of my simple goals are:

1. Work out 3 times a week

2. Hike 1 day a week

3. Start cooking more and learning new vegetarian recipes 

Those are a few of the things I am going to start doing in order to be successful at my New Year's resolution.  I feel that you can be successful if you make small goals that lead to the main goal instead of overwhelming yourself with one BIG goal and being intimidated by it.  

 

I am going into this new year with newly discovered confidence that I will be able to achieve my resolutions.  I know a year from now I will be able to look back and feel accomplished. 

Thanks for reading. 

Throwback Thursday: Road Trip Pt. 2

My first day in Washington I decided to drive around the whole Olympic Peninsula.  My first stop was to see the coast.

After spending an hour at the beach I drove to Forks, Washington.  Yes, I love Twilight.  

They had Bella's car in the welcome center. 

I only drove through Forks, but I did drive by a couple places from the original Twilight movie. 

After I went to Forks I drove through the Olympic National Forest and stumbled upon a waterfall with my name! 

Here are a couple pictures from Olympic National Park.

The next day I went on a 5 mile hike in the Olympic National Forest. 

After spending two days in Olympic National Forest, it was time to go to Seattle!  Riding a ferry in Washington was a really cool experience! 

I made a stop to see Christian Grey.  

I came across a gallery for Sea Shepherd.  It is their only gallery in the world and I spent an hour talking to the owner of the gallery.  I really stand behind everything Sea Shepherd does and I learned a great deal from the owner.  

http://www.seashepherd.org

I went to the top of the Space Needle!  It was so high off the ground that you can see everything!

I fell in love with Seattle.  

The day before I had to head back home I drove 3 hours to get to a ferry to take me to San Juan Island.  There is a beach on San Juan Island that is known for killer whales hanging out right by the shore. I went in the hopes of seeing some.  Unfortunately, I did not.  

I did however see these guys.

Ever since I left Washington I can't stop thinking about it.  I know it is where I belong.  I officially left my heart in Washington. 

Thanks for reading!

Currently Reading: Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Wild by Cheryl Strayed 

One day a woman came into my work with a book.  I discreetly looked at the cover while she was holding it in her hand and saw a lone, old hiking boot with a red shoe lace.  Intrigued, I asked her what the book was about and she said she didn't really know yet and that she had just purchased it.  She let me read the back cover while she shopped around and as I read it a light in my brain switched on.  This book was very similar to what I was going to be doing, which was going on a solo adventure from Southern California up to Oregon and Washington.  Unlike me, the author actually did her adventure on foot!  I thanked the woman for letting me look at it and as soon as she left I immediately grabbed my wallet and headed to the Barnes and Noble, in the mall where I work at, to buy it.  Unfortunately, I completely procrastinated on reading it until a few weeks ago and I have no idea why I did, I am hooked.

Here is a brief description from the author's website:

"At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her."

http://www.cherylstrayed.com/wild_108676.htm

This book is very inspiring and I highly recommend it if you want something to elevate your spirits and outlook on life.  I personally believe that this story would make a great movie and I hope that one day it is adapted into one.  Cheryl Strayed has two other books published and I plan on reading them soon.  I love her vulnerable honesty and how candid she is.

This is the trail she hiked on!  Could you imagine?  She is one tough woman.  As outdoorsy as I am, I don't believe I would be able to accomplish this.  

Thanks for reading! 

Throwback Thursday: Road Trip Pt. 1

For my first Throwback Thursday post, I wanted to share part of my road trip I went on in August of 2013.  It was a life-changing solo trip up to Oregon and Washington for two weeks.  Yes, I went by myself!  It seems crazy but it actually was very inspiring and relaxing.  I wanted to just be alone in nature and see everything for myself.  Many of my family and friends were worried about me going solo but I knew it was what I needed.  I haven't taken a real vacation since I was about 16 and I was certain I needed a break from life.  I have always thought Oregon and Washington were beautiful and it was inevitable that one day I would want to see it for myself.  It wasn't until one day of aimlessly going through the Travel section on Pinterest that I knew that the time was now.  A month later I set off on my journey.  I didn't plan my trip at all, I just went where the wind blew.  I didn't book any hotels in advance, I would just find a place and stay there for the night.  It wasn't scary at all, it actually was very exciting not knowing where you were going to sleep that night. It was also liberating going from place to place instead of just sticking around one place for an allotted amount of days.  It was very satisfying living day by day instead of having everything controlled and planned out.  So here is the first half of my trip in Oregon.  

My first hike in Oregon was Toketee Falls.  It was a rather short hike, but it was spectacular. 

The view you see right before the waterfall. 

Toketee Falls.  

As I was heading to the hotel I wanted to stay at outside of Portland, Siri decided to take me on a random gravel road up the side of a mountain.  I think Siri was out to get me on this trip.

The view from the top of the random road.

The next day I woke up early to drive around a rainy Downtown Portland and check out this famous used bookstore.  

It was like heaven!  It was hard to narrow down what I wanted but I settled on two books.  

1. Adulting How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown

2. Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel 

I also bought a few souvenirs since there weren't that many shops that sold Portland items.  It was so fun walking around Downtown Portland in the rain and enjoying everything it has to offer.  

In the afternoon I decided to go to the Oregon Coast for a couple hours before it got dark.  

I only spent about an hour at the coast since it took me 3 hours to get there!  But it was definitely worth the drive.  Being from Southern California, our beaches are very flat and boring.  This beach was amazing.  

The next day I woke up ready to go on a 6 mile hike.  I was hoping to see some wildlife, but unfortunately no one came out to say hi.  I did however hike to 3 different waterfalls on the same trail.  All these waterfalls were from the same river, you hiked to the top and work your way down to see each waterfall.  This hiking trail is off the Columbia River Highway and it is one of many hiking trails.  Off this highway there are about a dozen different waterfalls which makes it easy to see them all in one day. 

This water was really amazing because the trail took you underneath the waterfall.  

This last waterfall was at the bottom of all these waterfalls.  

My last day in Oregon I spent just driving around seeing the sights and I came across this really cool meadow.  

There is a little trail that takes you through the woods to this little lake. 

On my way back to my hotel I decided to take a detour to see Mt. Hood.  Unfortunately it was a cloudy day and it was hidden behind some clouds. 

This was the last day of my time in Oregon and it was an amazing experience.  All the people I encountered were so nice and friendly.  I never felt like I made a mistake traveling alone and I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 days in Oregon.  Next Throwback Thursday I will show you guys the other half of my road trip in Washington.  

Thanks for reading!