THE FINISH LINE IS NEAR...FOCUS!

First of, a pat on the back for myself for dragging myself to the doctor for a full checkup. Gotta make sure I'm in good health. Yay! 

Second, another pat for myself for ordering a backpack! After looking at a dozen of them I decided to go with this one, the Gregory J38.

Image from REI.com

I was pretty much sold when I read that it comes in different sizes, as it should be just like a pair of jeans or sweater because you WEAR it. But also this bag is designed with both functionality and comfort in mind. For a tiny girl like me, I cannot waste my energy carrying a bulky, over-sized backpack, so hopefully this one will be just small enough to carry, but large enough to fit all of my necessities. It'll be here next week so we shall see!

With that said though there is still a LONG list of stuff waiting for me to do, and every time I look at that list I panic a little. But I just gotta keep telling myself to stay focused and concentrate on the next thing.What's that saying? Rome was not build overnight? Pyramids are not build over night? I'm the worst with quote, but you get the gist.

On a separate note a few days ago when I was digging up my old passport photos, I found one of my old journals. And in one of the entries I wrote a bucket list, on which I realized I already accomplished two of those things! I've only written that list two years ago, so I felt pretty proud and surprised that I had already accomplished two of those goals. What's even better? I'm about to cross off two more.

If you haven't written out your dreams and goals yet, I highly recommend you to get to it!

Time is ticking! Pressure is ON. Trip preparations.

People say the hardest part about traveling is getting yourself out the door and boy are they right! Hours of skimming through travel blogs and watching videos is making my head spin.

Which backpack should I buy?
Which health insurance should I get?
Is there a better way to fly there?
How long should I stay?
How much money would I need for that location?

And now with just about an month under my belt I barely have anything planned except my departing flight! I've purchased guide books, I've bookmarked a dozen travel blogs, but I am definitely feeling overwhelmed! There is so much to do, so many places to go, and SO many opinions on which routes are the best to take. I feel just a bit like a deer caught in the headlights.

However when stressful situations like this happen to me I just gotta keep reminding myself that I need to take small steps. One foot in front of another. Step, step, step. 

A few days ago I decided I know! I'll go get a backpack first. So on my day off I went to REI, went into the backpack section and just randomly started grabbing backpacks to try on. Turns out, a 60L backpack, which is  what many people going on this type of trip get, is WAAAY too big for me. Not only because I'm super short, but I just don't see myself needing THAT much stuff. Of course it helps that my shirts are half the size of an average person, but I think I'm a pretty minimal person compared to most travelers. Yes I'd like to brag that I'm a pretty low maintenance person, but partially it's because I'm lazy. I hate carrying heavy things, and I hate carrying useless things, so for this trip I'm thinking maybe a 40L backpack or 35L if I dare.

Now the next step is to wait for my new shiny credit card to purchase all these things with. NO I'm not going into debt for this trip! It's just that this card comes highly recommended for travelers since it doesn't charge international exchange fees, and let's you build points in exchange for miles. ;) 

From here on then it will be more planning.

Oh, and if anyone is on the same boat as me, here are some sites that I've found tremendously helpful so far (and I will keep adding):

Nomadic Matt
Legal Nomads
Her Packing List 
Wandering Earl 

I really appreciate these guys sharing their experiences by the way, and I really enjoy reading all of them. They're all super helpful for anyone that is looking to travel, and their stories are just inspirational!

Hoorah! Hopefully I'll have more planned the next time I write.

5 Minute Magic Routine by OonShuAn

What's your magic routine?

My Month Long Gluten Free Experience

UPDATE (4/17)- Definitely noticing some differences! I have not had ONE single bloating incidence like the ones I use to have, nor have I had a stomache since! Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself...

So last month after taking a trip to San Francisco and experiencing a great deal of bloating from my  dining experiences, a friend suggested perhaps I may be gluten sensitive. I never thought about it, and thought of "gluten free" as another one of those fad diets for losing weight. But I wasn't feeling too swell after our dinners on several occasions even when I didn't eat that much, so I thought maybe my friend was up to something.

I quickly did some research on Celiac's disease (which is the name of the disease if you are extremely sensitive to gluten), and found out one can determine if they are sensitive to gluten by avoiding it for a whole month, and then ingesting it again to see if they get any symptoms. My symptoms were bloating and digestive problems. It has been a month now, so what's the verdict?

I don't think I'm extremely sensitive to gluten, but I think it definitely makes a difference in my health. Since not eating gluten, my instances of bloating have noticeably decreased, and my head feels clearer, and even my skin seems clearer, although I  still have breakouts. So maybe I'm not 100% sensitive to gluten, but I definitely feel better without it.

Thanks to Google and an app called "GF Search Free", it's pretty easy to spot gluten ingredients. What makes it hard for me  though is when friends make me food that aren't gluten free. I can't seem to turn down cupcakes and pastries. But with time I think I can learn to.

The good news is though, since I don't have Celiac's disease I don't think I have to avoid gluten 100%. I do like how my body feels without it though, so if there is a gluten free option I will take it. And there are so many options! Did you know there are gluten free bread, pasta, cakes, and even brownie mixes? Neither did I, but now that I do I'll definitely try them all. Most of them are quite tasty, except the bread that I tried to make.

Umm...is that cake or bread? Gluten-free bread fail.

Stuff I love

Finding Your Own North Star 
Tackling Rejection
Danielle Laporte
Marie Forleo
Meditation for Beginners

Colorado

I recently had the opportunity to travel down to Colorado. Those few short days that I got to spend away from NYC, away from the noise and the rush, were one of the best things I've done for myself in awhile. Just being in a quieter and slower surrounding helped my body slow down and recharge, and all the new things I saw stirred my curiosity and fascination once again. Now I feel more enthusiastic about doing new things, and more inspired to keep things interesting at home. That's why I love to travel! 

Below are some pictures of my time in Colorado:

Green all around.

Blue also all around.

People watching at the famous Red Rock Amphitheater.

Feel like I'm in an old Italian painting.

Gagh, so beautiful I can't take it.

The drive to Boulder with the Rockies in the background.

The beautiful Shiba Inu that shared the back seat with me.

More snow cap mountains.

Oh my darling Clementine (Cake)!

Last week was Chinese New Year, and I decided to bring home a little something this year. I wanted to bring dessert, but the problem is my parents don't like anything too sweet. Asian parents I tell you. They are the only two people in the world that I know that do not like chocolate (BIZARRE, I know.) So I thought whatever I make, it has to be something flavorful but not too sweet. That's when I remembered while watching Walter Mitty, one of the characters made a clementine cake.

Clementine cake! It's actually quite perfect for the occasion since clementines are considered to be good luck in Chinese culture. So I quickly googled a recipe (here) and turns out it only requires five ingredients! That's right, FIVE.

• 6-7 small clementines (think golf-balls)
• 6 eggs
• 2 1/4 cup of almond meal (I heard you can also use almond flour if you can't find almond meal but I have not tried it)
• 1/2 cup of sugar (half of what was called in the original recipe)
• 1 tsp of baking powder

Be warned you DO need about 3.5 hours to make this. Two-thirds of that time though is just boiling the clementines (which you don't even have to be there for.) Just make sure you set a timer!

So let's get to work. How does one make a clementine cake?

1.  Rinse the clementines and place them in a pot of water (skin and all) and wait for it to boil. Once boiling, reduce to low heat and simmer for 2 hours.

2. When the clementines are almost done, mix together almond meal, sugar, eggs, and baking powder.

3. Once clementines are done, drain and rinse them gently in cool water.
Be careful, they are hot and delicate!

4. Once cooled, rip the clementines in half and remove any seeds. Place them in a bowl and mash with a fork or hand. You may also use a food processor but I found it quite easy to do with hands.

5. Finally, mix all the ingredients together into a cake pan (greased with butter for easy removal later).

6. Lastly, bake in oven at 375 deg. Fahrenheit or 190 deg. Celsius for 40 minutes, or until knife or toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Once that's the case, cover the cake with foil and bake for another 20 minutes. The foil will help prevent the cake from burning. The result should have a nice brown, golden color on top.

Soft, flavorful, and delicious!

Asian parents approved.