A Dinner Out

Hi guys! A week ago, it was my friend's birthday. She was born a day after me so we always end up celebrating together haha :) Anyway, she invited me to an adorable Italian restaurant for dinner and I thought I'd share the few pics I took.

I know it was kind of weird of me to order salmon at this place, but I just wasn't in the mood for pasta that night haha. You should have seen the gigantic bowls they fill up! Besides that, it was really delicious and I had a fun time :) Sorry I didn't get more pictures of my outfit, we were rushed! And I definitely should of worn something more lightweight, it was probably 100 degrees that night, no joke! 

xx,

Maddie 

The Most Important Meal of the Day (maybe)

Good morning! Or good afternoon, evening, night, whenever you’re reading this. I’ll start off by saying I am a morning person. I could wake up every single day at 5:00 am when the sun rises and it probably wouldn’t bother me (actually, it’d kill me if I had to go to school). In the mornings when I wake up early, I feel like I have the most energy. Sometimes I’ll meditate or do yoga, sometimes I’ll write or jot down some ideas.

In the mornings I love to make a great breakfast. It’s something I’ve started doing recently, and it just makes me happier haha! For this post I will show you my oatmeal that I make almost every day. This isn’t what I always eat, but I could save my other meal ideas for another post (if you’d like?) :)

Usually I make regular steel-cut oats, but recently I’ve been loving quick oats. It’s so simple and fast, and a little bit of a change from the texture of regular oatmeal. First I’ll heat up some water in a pot, until little bubbles start to form. The key is to not let the water boil!! If you put the oats in right before the water really gets hot, it will turn into the perfect consistency. Then, when it thickens up after a couple of minutes, I’ll add a splash of coconut milk. Let me hear the “oooohs” and “aahhhs” and YUMS! Really, this makes it so creamy and divine. I also add a dash of cinnamon and stevia extract to sweeten it up a bit.

For toppings, usually I will always go for berries. Strawberries, blueberries...I also love to slice some banana. Mmmmmm making me so hungry even though I ate this a couple hours ago. Sometimes, I’ll heat some frozen blueberries in a little mini pot on the stove while the oatmeal is cooking, and when its done I’ll pour the blueberries over the oatmeal. IT’S AMAAZING. And no matter what topping, I’ll always add some nuts to top it off. This adds extra protein, and yumminess. Walnuts, pecans, or almonds are my go to.

So maybe this inspired you to try somethin’ new! :) I hope you enjoyed, and if you guys want I can do more recipe ideas soon! I really love to experiment with food, so expect some foodie posts in the near future ;)

Xx,

Maddie

Monday Mantra ☮

Happy Monday loves!! :) Whenever I type that out, I think of hugging whoever is reading this. If you're having a rough start to your week, or maybe you want to curl up in bed instead of doing whatever it is you have to do, I want you to think of me giving you a virtual hug. Do it! Now smile :) Mondays are meant to start fresh and start over! Do you feel a little better? Maybe? :) 

I really resonated with this quote when I came across it on Pinterest. This kind of describes how I have been moving the past year. I'll admit, I've been moving a bit slow. Well, I should say i WAS moving a bit slow. I didn't know what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go, who i wanted to see. I was completely lost. I was without motivation to do much. But what I didn't understand was life is going to keep moving. Fast or slow, it's not stopping. On a particularly stressful day for me, my mom sat with me on the couch, and I just cried. It wasn't anything hysterical, I just silently cried in her arms. She told me that I have to stop waiting for life to happen. Just sitting back and doing nothing expecting miracles to happen doesn't work (although there are some exceptions). She also said that you have to start small, like when I told her about how I wanted to get a job or start my blog. In order to climb up the ladder, you have to start at the bottom, and that's what I'm doing now.

Fast forward a couple months later, and I have my camera, a great babysitting job, and I'm feeling more like myself pre-depression. It's been awhile since then, but I'm starting to feel happier. It's amazing how doing what you love can change your whole outlook on life, isn't it? So getting back to the quote, I'm doing things slowly. I'm doing them right and the way I feel comfortable. Soon, I want to expand out of my comfort zone and do bigger things that scare me, and scare me a lot. Have you ever had that feeling where you've accomplished something huge after having such a long fear of it? It feels amazing doesn't it? The way where you feel like you can conquer things so much bigger. I wanna have that feeling more often. 

And one last thing, I don't intend on walking backwards, either. Everything in life happens for a reason, and the struggles I've gone through have put me in the position I'm in today. Trying to fix the past doesn't heal anything because it's already over. It's a hard way of living, to try and focus on the present moment, because nowadays we are always looking ahead or at what someone posted 3 hours ago. But, I've been setting little goals throughout the day to just be quiet and be in the moment. It really helps to center the mind and quiet the loud noises in your head.

Hope this wasn't a rambly post!! Have a great week :)

xx, Maddie

Being Curious... ☯

For the last couple of days I've been in a weird mood. I've been thinking a lot, almost to the point of arguing with myself. Weird right? I just feel like I have to write it out or something...if you don't mind.

I have had conversations going back and forth in my head, like saying "you need to do this" "i'll do it later" or thinking about things in the future which don't need my thoughts yet. That is a problem I'm struggling with. I need to stay in the present moment. For the past, I don't know couple of weeks, I have wanted time to either speed up or slow down. I don't want to get any older at this point, because I have a fear of my future in a year's time. I don't know what I want to do, study, I don't know where I wanna go...and the truth is it doesn't matter. I know it doesn't. But I'm the type of person that likes to know things like this. I know there are people out there who go from being homeless to millionaires in a year's time, or who start little blogs and become internet famous. I have to drill it in my head that not knowing what the future holds is perfectly normal and its okay.

I just...I get anxious. When I think about things like getting a real job, not just babysitting, it scares me into thinking my childhood is over. Am I the only one that thinks this? I hope not. I have really really been trying to experiment with hobbies and things I like to do. I know what i like to do. I like to draw, take pictures, write, blog, create, i love makeup and fashion...And some days I love it more than others. On certain days, sometimes I could care less about makeup. But then on others I'm absolutely obsessed. I guess that's the thing about being human. We go through ups and downs, and maybe being a girl you go through more haha! :)

The thing is, I want to expand my creativity. I think when I went into high school, I was just kind of pushed into a whole new world, and I kind of shut myself out from a LOT. I turned into a completely different person, and I still think I'm not the same. Of course I've changed since 4 years ago, but before high school, I used to laugh at everything and not care about what people think. I used to brush stuff off that didn't matter and I used to be laid back. Nowadays, I'm sort of confused and quiet. Once I get to know people, I can't shut up, but now it's like I can't really start a conversation. When I found the world of blogging, my hopes looked up. I started following a few blogs, and now it's turned into a few hundred. I LOVE reading blogs, any kind really. It's like talking to a friend that you don't even know!

 That's why I started my blog. I started it a year ago, and left it. I do regret not trying last year, but when I look back on it, last year wasn't good. I often have a feeling inside like I'm late on the train or I'm too old to start something, and then I think how stupid is that? I'm so young, my life hasn't even properly started yet, and I'm worried about being too old! 

I have some goals that I want to achieve very soon:

-learn the tricks to good photography

-stop worrying about what others think of me

-journal and write my ideas every single day

-do something that makes me happy every single day

-create friendships with other bloggers

-smile, more often

-add to this list

These are basic, little goals that I need to set for myself. I have more, but that's why I put add to this list. Blogging and writing and creating are things I love to do, and I think it's just hard for me right now because I had fears of who I was and what I'm like. I need to access my creativity that I used to have, and start to really use it every single day, like I used to. I really want my blog to grow and turn into something amazing. Make it a place of uniqueness and a place where others can come to be happy and be let in on my life. I just want that to happen :)

I feel like sometimes I wonder why I started a blog. There are so many thousands of blogs nowadays, that a lot of content is pretty similar. But i have to realize that it's about being yourself and original. That's what gets friendships started and a blog growing. I find that if I get a vibe off of a blog like this isn't really a passion, I don't read it or follow it. Being a reader, you just kind of know when someone isn't for real. And I don't want that to ever happen with my blog. Especially since I'm starting to really put a lot of work and effort into it. Since starting to post regularly on my blog, I've realized what a demanding and long working job blogging is. Really, it's hard to understand if you don't do it, but it's a tough job! I don't really know how to end this post since I feel like I could rant a little more, but I won't haha.

This was a little rant, and I hope it doesn't annoy anyone haha. I felt like I needed to get little blurbs out of my head..if anyone wants to ever talk to me just talk to me through google +, or twitter :)

my twitter is: @maddieeebug

xx, Maddie

My First Youtube Video is UP! ☼

YES. I did it. I FINALLY did it!! :) I posted this on Saturday...it took me a little while but I got it up. I'm a little nervous, but I'm so excited as well. Everything is starting to fall into place with what I want to do.

If you wanna watch it or leave me feedback, please don't be afraid to! I am open for anything. 



Hope it's not too awkward!! :)

Just wanted to quickly post this! 

xx, Maddie