fireflys-glow-journey

[fireflys-glow-journey]

I just really want a partner who goes to museums with me, uses horrible shakespearean pickup lines, is passionate about books, stays updated in global politics, has an extensive knowledge of the impressionist movement, and wears lots and lots of sweaters. is that too much to ask for?

[fireflys-glow-journey]

1/22/2020 5:07 p.m.

I was sick yesterday and skipped my workout. This morning it was difficult to get out of bed. Establishing habits is hard work. I’m learning to stay strong.

[fireflys-glow-journey]

It’s the End of the Second Week (Part 2)

Hello again little lights! Here’s part 2 of my summary and thoughts from week 1 of my new semester (week 2 of my little journey).

Overall, I had a really good week! I was really proud of myself for sticking to my exercise routine and getting up on time every morning.

Things I noticed:

Most of the flexibility I lost was in my hips and hamstrings. If you have any advice for me (other than stretches that I already do) let me know!

Taking the time to do a half an hour of thorough stretching on Thursday was really nice and helped me feel relaxed throughout the day

On the flip side, a super lengthy workout on Thursday wore me out and made me cranky later on in the day, so I know to take a nap before I head out to class. 

Ab workouts and arm workouts are my least favorite thing

Treating myself with a smoothie (not often, but once in a while) makes me feel so much better than treating myself with Starbucks (unless it’s a Refresher)

Starting off my day every morning with a cup of tea, a protein bar, and filling my water bottle before I do my morning workouts and shower is the best way for me to wake up in the morning. I’ve had trouble before starting off and waking up in the morning because it’s so cold, and the tea is the perfect way to help me wake up and keep me warm. I also don’t often eat breakfast because I feel nauseous, but a protein bar is the perfect amount of food in the morning.

I’ve gotten a lot better at getting to bed around 10:30 or 11pm, which helps me get enough rest for the next day.

All in all, it was a good week. I know that some of these things may seem like no-brainers to some of you, but I’m just glad I’m finally learning a routine that works for me!! I hope you have a good day and a good weekend. Keep on glowing, little lights! 

xx Firefly

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For 365/366 Somethings 2020. # “something pure and bright” # “filled with hope…” #daisyyellowart #365somethings #365somethings2020 #366somethings2020 #artjournal #artjournaling #visualjournal #visualjournaling #collage #acrylicpaint #scrapedacrylicpaint #artjournalpage #artjournals #artistsoninstagram #visualjournals #foundtext #foundwords — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/30nEw5b

[fireflys-glow-journey]

It’s the End of the Second Week (Part 1)

Today is Friday, January 17th. I’m currently waiting to start my shift at work, and so I decided to sit down and pop out this update. I made it through my first week of my last semester of college! I know that’s not saying a lot, especially since this is my eighth semester and I know the ins and outs of learning a new class schedule and adapting to new classes pretty well. But I’m extremely proud of myself for one reason: I stuck to my fitness schedule almost perfectly.

Monday: 2 classes, finished for the day by 12:30pm. Fitness schedule: stretch/yoga in the morning, full body workout in the afternoon. Monday is a good day, because I only have my two morning classes and then the rest of the day is mine with no work, research, or extra-curricular commitments! Because I have so much free time, I decided to make Monday’s one of the days where I work out in the gym. My sister was free, so she joined me! I won’t hesitate to admit that I used to hate going to the gym, especially on busy days, but honestly, I had a good time today! Because I hadn’t seriously worked out in a long time, I was really just getting used to the machines again and taking inventory of what my body can and can’t handle. First, I noticed that I’ve lost a ton of the flexibility I had from dance and soccer. Second, I realized that I couldn’t do as intense cardio as I used to be able to. But I didn’t feel too upset about this, because I knew that Monday was just the beginning of a semester of getting it all back!

Tuesday: 3 classes, research, and a club meeting. Busy from 9:45am to 8pm. Fitness schedule: yoga and arms in the morning. Tuesday’s are my busiest days of the week, so I decided to make this day a less intense one. I do a simple 10-minute yoga routine in the morning, followed by a 7-minute arm workout. It’s not terribly intense, but because I am restarting a regular fitness routine, I did feel a little burning in my muscles throughout the arm workout. 

Wednesday: same class schedule as Monday, work in the evenings from 4-8pm. Fitness schedule: stretching and yoga in the morning. Wednesday’s and Sunday’s are the least intense days. I like to call them my “rest” days, even though I am still doing some light exercise. The stretching routine I follow differs based on the day. For days where I only have yoga or a lighter routine, I use a 20-minute full body stretch video. Otherwise, I use a video that’s about 10 minutes long to help me warm up before the rest of my workout. 

Thursday: two afternoon classes, research. Fitness schedule: stretching and working out at the gym for a couple of hours. Thursday’s are my second-busiest days, but the nice thing is that I don’t have any commitments until 1:30! I get up at the same time every morning: 8am. This allows me to rest well and establish routine/habits as well as gives me plenty of time to go to the gym (and then some). Because my university has a large rec center, I decided to leave a half hour after I woke up to have time to work out, stretch, and explore the rec center a bit. It has four floors and many nooks and crannies with fitness machines here and there. On the third floor, there’s an atrium track with an area to the side where you can do weight exercises or take a mat and do yoga and stuff. I decided to take a mat and do my 20 minute stretch routine. Afterwards, I got myself a fruit smoothie with protein and went home!

Friday: same schedule as Monday and Wednesday, but work from 2-5pm. Since I only had a little time in the morning, I decided to do my stretch routine and arms. Shortly after showering, though, I realized that I was supposed to do abs instead of arms! I made a mental note in my head to do an ab routine on Sunday, when I usually only did stretching and yoga, and get back to my planned schedule next week.

I’ll make a part two since this is so long! Thank you for reading and keep glowing, little lights!

xx Firefly

[fireflys-glow-journey]

I’ll stay for me. For me. For me.

[fireflys-glow-journey]

day 6/100

messy bed from homework in bed 😬 had my art critique today and it went well. also have an interview to be a writing center tutor! i’m gonna be writing essays all weekend!

[fireflys-glow-journey]

[fireflys-glow-journey]

Adulting Posts

Adulting 101: The post that started it all! Discount cards, xmas lights, and general food advice.

Adulting 102: Cacti, electric bills, and some inexpensive cleaning advice.

Adulting 103: Peeing after sex, chalkboard paint, and why you need scented trash bags in your life.

Adulting 104: Electric bill budgets, lint drawers, and why mixed greens are more trouble than they’re worth.

Adulting 105: Paper bills, Yankee Candles, and where to purchase postage stamps.

Adulting 106: Scented tampons, dishwasher pods, and why you should live next to a fire department.

Adulting 107: Command hooks, inexpensive bathroom decor, and why organic cucumbers are overrated. 

Adulting 108: An Adulting post dedicated entirely to apartment hunting!

Adulting 109: Cleaning your shower head, condiments, and why you should never buy Dollar Store paper towels.

Adulting 110: Food hygiene, Airborne, and automatic payment advice.

[fireflys-glow-journey]

The First Week

Hello everyone!

This week has been interesting so far. I had no clean towels in my apartment and my schedule was making it hard for me to get my laundry done quickly, which meant I skipped showering for two days. Doesn’t seem like much, but I sure felt icky by the end... 

Eating healthy has been difficult. I have little to no money currently, and my job is good for only a certain amount of groceries. I can frequently be found eating ramen on my couch. I’ve been drinking more water, which is good! Last night and all day so far today I have felt dizzy and tired, which I am attributing to dehydration and lack of sleep. My body is so used to sleeping late and staying up late at night that it’s hard for me to fall asleep until around midnight, and I’ve been having to get up around 7 or 8 in the morning. 

I haven’t gone to the gym yet, and likely won’t for the rest of the week. I hate to make an assumption, however I have training tomorrow morning and brunch plans for Saturday morning. Perhaps I’ll make a go of it in the evenings to take a walk outside at least, to get my blood pumping. 

As for productivity in academics, my semester doesn’t start until Monday. Three of my four courses are up online, along with their syllabuses and textbook requirements. Since freshman year, I’ve made it a goal to write down every assignment on the syllabus in my planner to the end of the semester before it even starts. Even if the assignments change, it’s good to get a feel of the potential workload and what a typical week will look like for each class. My final class hasn’t put up their syllabus or textbooks yet, which admittedly has caused me a little anxiety. I like to know things in advance and prepare for them. I don’t like surprises much! 

I hope all of you little lights have been well in the past few days. I’m spending my time mostly at work today and tomorrow, but please send a message if you’d like! I’d love to get to know you all and learn about my dear followers.

Until next time, Firefly xx

[fireflys-glow-journey]

day 6/100

messy bed from homework in bed 😬 had my art critique today and it went well. also have an interview to be a writing center tutor! i’m gonna be writing essays all weekend!

[fireflys-glow-journey]

Feb 9, 2019 — I visited a cozy local cafe in town and got a pack of macarons (rose is my favorite flavor!) and had to take a book photo based on the lovely pastries ♡

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“With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?”

- Oscar Wilde

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Some desk details - I’ve finally finished decorating it to encourage me to want to spend more time there and actually do my work! Ft my new runes and the mug that seems to be at my desk more than me

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being surrounded with winter garden, living alone in the big cottage with a lot of art works and books, wearing long fur coat and gloves, drinking mulled wine, baking bread with herbs, walking with dog and being a strange, but friendly person for your neighbors

[fireflys-glow-journey]

Study Tips

Ensure you’re taking regular breaks from studying. I’d recommend either 5-minute breaks every 30 minutes or 10 minute breaks every hour.

Another way to take break is to switch subjects often, every hour or two, perhaps. 

Drink plenty of water while you study. You may default to caffeine-filled drinks like energy drinks and coffee. While these are good in moderation, water keeps you truly hydrated and alert.

If you like to listen to music while you study, like me, try to keep it to songs you either already know or instrumental music (classical, lo-fi, movie scores, etc.). I find that when I listen to newer music when I study, I pay more attention to the lyrics than my coursework. The YouTube channel “Ambition” has a lot of cute lo-fi playlists I like to listen to when studying. Rain or storm noises work wonders as well.

Figure out what type of study environment works best for you, and do this as quickly as possible. Cafes, libraries, your dorm room, and common areas in class buildings are all pretty normal study spaces, but each of these don’t always work for everyone. I never studied well in my dorm room/apartment bedroom because I associated those places with leisure activities like watching Netflix, reading, hanging out with friends, and sleeping. But libraries and my favorite local cafe proved to be great study/work spots. It takes a bit of time, but it’s worth it in the end to figure out what works best for you, rather than forcing yourself to study in one place and not put it much effort.

Ensure you still make time for fun activities. I like to crochet, read, and play video games. I try to do one or all of these things every day, but it’s important to limit yourself and not spend too much time focusing on these rather than your school work. An hour or so of free time a day is not a bad thing! I like to use the time in my 10-minute breaks to refill my water bottle, check my group chat messages, and do a little bit of crocheting or reading, depending on where I am and what I have with me.

Create a to-do list of what needs to be done, and a to-do list of what you want to try to get done. You can create a list of things you want to do as well, if you have time to do those things! No task is too small, and if things seem overwhelming, break things down into smaller tasks or steps. Complete the days on the needs list first, then the try list, then move on to the want list. Needs will be things like more pressing homework, assignments, or important emails you need to respond to. Tries will be errands to run, chores like laundry or cleaning (depending on the severity, these can be needs), or less-pressing homework assignments. Wants are things like video games, reading, and things like going to the bookstore, library, etc. Creating lists has always helped me stay organized and think about ways to manage my time to get as much done as I can.

Studying with someone close to me always helps with my accountability. If you do this, make sure this is someone who won’t distract you. My partner and I study together often. I show her the list of things I need to get done and she asks me how things are going. I do the same if she makes a list. 

These are just the first things I could think of. If you have any more, feel free to add them to the list or in the replies! Keep on glowing!

xx Firefly

(above photo is not mine)

[fireflys-glow-journey]

My Dream Self

(following the template of Alivia D’Andrea’s Glow-Up Journal video)

What does she eat? Drinks lots of water, protein, greens, fruits & vegetables, healthy grains, eggs, little/no junk food, green teas/tea in general

What is her physique like? healthy, working out to become stronger and more flexible. Connection with body and connection to body and mind.

What habits does she have?  Wakes up early, does yoga in the morning, takes walks regularly, journals daily, maintains clean hygiene and space, responsible, productive, doesn’t procrastinate, positive thinking

Who surrounds her? partner, family, healthy friends and roommates, pets, people who are full of positivity and love, those who encourage habits and goals

How does she feel when she looks in the mirror? confident, happy, comfortable, loved, satisfied

What is she doing? meditating, yoga, reading, being with friends/family, planning for the future, listening to music, eating healthy, working out

How is her work ethic? She communicates promptly and puts work into what she does. She makes an effort and is friendly with coworkers and customers.

How does she respond to those around her? With kindness, empathy, compassion, firmness, strength, and light.

What does her fashion style look like? Comfy, cozy, warmer tones, 90′s-inspired, boho, connected with nature

What are her overall feelings about life? Optimistic, comfortable, confident, happy, cherishing every minute, making plans.

This is who I hope to be in the future. Some of it involves money, which is in short supply as a college student, but I’m working to make my journey as accessible and inexpensive as I can, not only for myself, but for others who may take inspiration from my journey.

Keep on glowing, little lights <3

xx Firefly