Positivity and Creating Your Reality

You can see beauty in the world if you just open your eyes to it.


Jillian Michaels was featured on Self's 5 on 5... check out the interview!

I love how she says that you should make sure to notice the positive things in life... yes, there might be that one total jerk that cut you off on the road - but try to focus on the people around you doing good.  Sometimes it's far too easy to let yourself focus and dwell on the negatives... when you find this happening, step back and look around for something to be thankful for :)


Speaking of being Thankful, for Thanksgiving this year I went back to Miami with Mike to see his familia.  This was a big trip because we drove from Miami up to Melbourne for Thanksgiving Day where I met his Nana for the first time - she's a fabulous lady!

The women with Nana

The men with Nana

Nana lives in Melbourne, FL on a Golf Course - but unlike a lot of Golf Courses here in Texas, this one had a jogging/biking path that went along beside parts of the course so I got to experience BEAUTIFUL scenery!

And the weather was perfect - mid 70's the entire stay!  Couldn't have asked for anything better.. so a few 3-4 mile runs were made in the mornings to offset the incredible Thanksgiving food that was *devoured*

Round I:

Salad, shrimp, mussels, fruit and vegetable soup

Round II:

you have to try everything... Turkey, croissant, mashed potatoes, grilled maple salmon, honey carrots, brown rice & stuffing

Round III:

I took a tiny sliver of about 5 different types of cake so that I could determine which one was best -- Carrot Cake was the clear winner.  There are no pictures of said dessert because it was too good to wait for my camera to turn on... 

Group Shot: with Mike's Family for Thanksgiving

I *loved* wearing this dark blue satin dress for the event!

ELIZA J Three-Quarter Sleeve V-Neck Dress

I scooped it up from Ideeli.com on Sale a few weeks before and the fit was perfect!  

After Thanksgiving dinner we went on a walk and later just watched Sports and Movies on the TV.


The next morning (Black Friday) we were up early for some breakfast to fuel us for our day of shopping!

I started the day of HEALTHY with an egg white veggie omelette & side of steamed broccoli

We went to a local cafe called Perkins and our server must have read my blog before and known just how much I love coffee... 

Because next thing I know there are FOUR pots in front of me!!!!

I created a barricade between Mike's dad and myself (he was the excellent photographer behind the above photo)..

No one really needs to socialize with me until after my first cup!

Speaking of being a morning person... I just am not.  I don't know if any of you have seen the new commercial that's out for 5 hr energy but Mike laughs everytime he sees the guy and says that's exactly me!  Except I don't love 5 hr energy shots.. I just love me some coffee. 

Now if I only had a better way to get my coffee in the mornings...

Oh, right, speaking of.. flipping through channels yesterday I came across an Oldie but Goodie - 

And Xzibit had an espresso machine installed in the center counsel of some girl's car!!!

HELLO WONDERFUL IDEA.

And because my boyfriend's day revolves around deciding where he's going to eat his next meal, by the time all our Black Friday shopping was completed at the Outlet Malls he'd already scoped out our next venue.

We had dinner at Cracker Barrel - not too shabby!

Mike and Abillo (his Cuban grandfather) even tried the home made Apple Cider.

Other highlights from the Thanksgiving trip included our first attempt really Mountain Biking!

We went to Oleta State Park and rented Mountain Bikes there... OMG the trails were so hard!  There were huge roots and rocks and drop offs everywhere!  I seriously should've had knee pads, elbow pads... I most likely should've been put inside a gigantic protective bubble!  

But I survived and tried something new... with only a small battle wound, it looked as if a baby tiger clawed my calf... then tried to bully me to the ground.  

The scenery was gorgeous though and the park was really awesome - next time I'd just stay on much simpler trails since I was a complete beginner!

Mike going over a ramp in the park

View from the Miami Beach Condo ---- Goodbye Miami!!! Until Next Time :)

Questions for the Day:

Do you try to focus your days on Positive Thoughts and not to Dwell too long on Negative Things?

What was your *favorite* thing you ate over Thanksgiving?

Mine was most likely Mike's mother's home made Ropa Vieja!!

How do you feel about Coffee?  Are you a morning person?

Ever tried Mountain Biking? Tips for beginners like me?