Tag Archives: challenge

31 days. A recap

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Hello friends and readers that have been following my random rambles this past month. I’m really proud of myself.

I used to always love blogging when I was younger. I had my Xanga and would write about everything that happened in my life. I was even on LiveJournal for a little. But even before online blogging, I loved writing in journals and diaries. I didn’t have very much content, but I liked to write. Sometimes I find old journals from when I was in elementary school and I giggle as I read the random things. But I guess it was my way of keeping memories, whether if it was just a sentence or a long paragraph.

I guess I just like writing about myself. Maybe it’s the Leo in me. But I definitely think I communicate a lot better when I write. In person, words don’t come out of my mouth very well. I stumble and get shy. I’ve always wished I were an eloquent speaker.

I must say, however, that it was hard trying to write about something different everyday, especially when I started this thing without any real motivation or inspiration. I took prompts from Googling “lifestyle blog topics”. I picked and chose topics that seemed easy to write about and I even repeated topics.

There were even days I almost didn’t want to write anything, just because I didn’t know what to write and I didn’t want to make people think they were wasting time. But every time I thought that, I told myself that this is a challenge for myself, not for anyone else. So even if I BSed my way through some days, I at least wrote something.

The top 3 things I felt comfortable writing about were probably OOTDs, food, and of course…entertainment. The whole reason I started this wordpress a few years ago was because of my love for tv shows. But as you can see, I’m trying to expand my horizons.

Even though this is the last day of the challenge, I still plan on blogging more. Not everyday, but at least twice a week. Hopefully because I’m giving myself more time, I’ll put a lot more effort into putting out better content that both you and I can enjoy.

Ultimately, I hope one day I can be a positive influence in someone else’s life.

If you want to check out all my blogs this past month, check it out here.

xoxo,

Adele
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Adele cooks: Tacos

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It’s not Tuesday, but I made tacos. My mom was planning on grilling eggplant so I decided, i’d go to the grocery store and buy steak. I haven’t had steak in a while and since the gril was going to be on, why not kill two birds with one stone.

Now, I’m no master at the grill and i’m definitely not a master at steak. I don’t know how to choose the right cut. I just choose what’s inexpensive. I’m not picky when it comes to meat. It all tastes the same to me. I apologize to all the steak connoisseurs out there.

At first, I was just going to grill a steak. But then I remembered that we had tortillas. You got to utilize what you have right? So the thought came to make steak tacos.

As far as the type of steak I bought, I chose beef chuck steak. It was about 1-inch thick and it was the least expensive. While at the grocery store, I also purchased a bunch of cilantro and pre-diced onions.

When I got home, I [garlic] salted the steak. While I let it sit for a while, I decided I didn’t want to grill outside. It was too hot and I didn’t want my mom to have to wait for me to finish or vice versa. So I ended up searing it in a pan. As I let the steak marinate, I heated and oiled up the pan. When it was hot enough, I seared each side for about 6 minutes and it came out medium rare, which is mostly how I like it!


When it was done, I sliced it up into pieces, placed it in my flour tortillas & topped with the diced onions and chopped cilantro. For some reason I had a tough time chopping cilantro. Hopefully, I’ll be better next time.

And then voila! I was done making dinner. I was too hungry to open up the store bought salsa, but the cilantro and onion gave it some flavor!


Cooking is all about experimenting and using things you have available.

If you think what I wrote sounds good, here are the ingredients I used:

  • beef chuck steak
  • garlic salt to season
  • oil (I would’ve used olive oil, but I only had vegetable oil)
  • diced onions
  • chopped cilantro
  • your choice of salsa

Obviously, you can add your favorite taco seasonings and toppings, but I wanted simplicity. But mostly, it was a last minute craving.

What did you have for dinner today?

xoxo,

Adele
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MTV VMAs: Fifth Harmony

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It’s the night of the MTV Video Music Awards! With so much new music dropping and drama between all the musicians’, one can’t help but wonder if tonight’s show will go smoothly or be a complete trainwreck.

To be honest, I didn’t even know the VMAs were this week until yesterday. Other than Demi Lovato & Fifth Harmony, I had no idea who else was performing or who was set to host/present. And those are the only two performances I watched. #SorryNotSorry.

So naturally, this post will be short and sweet. I just wanted to communicate the feels I got from Fifth Harmony’s performance.

First let me start by saying congratulations to the girls for winning Best Pop Video for “Down”. As a foursome with new music, this was their first award and as a harmonizer I was very proud.

And then came their performance. I laughed in the beginning. I shouldn’t have, but I did. The performance started out with the four of them on stage joined by another hooded member in the center. As soon as “Angel” started, that hooded person was knocked off the stage by the beat. People want to keep talking about the elephant in the room, but obviously they’re tired of it. And people need to get over it. This was their way to end the topic. Camila is doing fine by herself and Fifth Harmony is still holding it down together.

Normani and Lauren slayed their verses in “Angel” before they fell back to join the fallen member and the lights cut off.

The performance continued on with their first single off the latest album, “Down”.  The four appeared in separate boxes and kicked their way out before breaking it down with the chorus.

When Normani started the second verse and dropped into the splits, I was Bebe Rehxa and Hailee Steinfeld as seen in the following:

Then Ally went on with her verse before they all passed their mics off to the dancers to start a dance breakdown. Honestly, the dance was not clean at all. But i’m not a fan because of their dancing, I’m a fan of their voices and their personalities.

After the dance breakdown, Gucci came on stage with his own little back up dancer.

The end was epic as they sang the last chorus. Water started pouring down on them and on the last beat, they dropped the mic. Literally and figuratively.

Check out their performance:

Now I’m off to watch Game of Thrones. Have a great week everybody!

xoxo,

Adele
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My Love/Hate Relationship with the Gym

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Ever since elementary school, I’ve been a bigger girl. First, I felt like I had baby fat & then middle school, I was the chubby girl. I mean, I guess that’s when I started to feel super self conscious because that’s when people I didn’t know started to make fun of me.

Flash forward to now, I’m still a bigger girl. I’m definitely still self conscious, but I’ve embraced me and instead of feeling shitty about myself when people judge me about my weight, i’m mostly annoyed with those people.

Now the gym is great, if you utilize it. I used to have a subscription to LA Fitness. I hardly went and I hated going in there because it made me feel super self conscious. I hardly saw anyone my size & I never felt like I could keep up with the people that were there. It was intimidating. 

Because the gym started to scare me, I tried finding other things to do. I tried walking around Miramar Lake. That got boring. I got into watching YouTube fitness videos. Those were fun, but I soon got tired of that. And I don’t really have room in my new place to dance around.

So then came a new gym membership at Anytime Fitness last October. I was super hesitant because of my experience at LA Fitness and the 1 year commitment I had to make. I have commitment issues. But I did because two of my coworkers had memberships and they enjoyed it there.

The first month or so, I went. Then I went on vacation for a month. They actually had an Anytime Fitness in the Philippines, but I didn’t go because it was nowhere near me and well, I was on vacation.

When I came back from the Philippines, I went a few times, but in March I fell and hit my head. The doctor said no shaking, and I agreed.

Since April, I’ve only been to the gym once. It’s definitely less intimidating, but it’s just so hard to get in that mindset and I get bored easily doing the same thing. I definitely need to change up my routine. Does anyone have suggestions?

xoxo,

Adele

#TBT. That one time at bandcamp…

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That one time at band camp, nothing like American Pie happened – at least to my knowledge. If it did, then damn ya’ll were messy.

I went to band camp for four years of high school. But I wasn’t in band! I was in color guard. For those of you who don’t know what color guard is, it’s those kids who dance around with flags and rifles on the field with the marching band.

After summer practice at the rec center, we finally put together what we learned and joined the marching band for one week before the actual school year started. This is where we got to know everyone on field. We’d learn our marks/coordinates for the field show and learn how to maneuver around the band members. And we finally got to hear the music we were putting our routine to.

It was intense. Here we were practicing for hours in the hot summer time. We’d start off warming up our bodies and do across the floors. I’m glad I had rhythm otherwise across the floors would have been my worst nightmare. Then, we’d start warming up with equipment. 

To be honest, I don’t remember much, but there are two things I do remember:

1. We always had registration and picture taking for our IDs during band camp. Because we were outdoors all the time and in the sun, I always got dark. And in every I.D. picture I was pretty tan. It’s pretty funny.

2. We had a sleepover each year to get to know every one. It was a way for us to bond before the school year started and celebrate getting through a tough week at band camp.

I don’t have any juicy band camp secret, but I just wanted to write this to let you know not to believe everything you see in the movies. 😂

xoxo,

Adele
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What’s cookin’? Pinakbet, a Filipino Dish

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Food is very much part of the Filipino culture. If you go to a Filipino house, you’re going to eat whether you like it or not. Once you step into a filipino home, some of the first words you hear are, “Are you hungry? Come and eat!” If you stay for a few hours, you’ll probably get a meal and a snack.

Most people know about lumpia, which is basically a Filipino eggroll, and pancit, a noodle based dish. But very few people are willing to try other dishes. If you go to a Filipino restaurant, it’s easy to find lumpia and pancit along with the dish, Pinakbet.

I don’t think I liked Pinakbet when I was younger, but as I got older I became more adventurous with the things I ate. It’s now one of my favorite Filipino dishes, so I’m happy to share it with you.

But what exactly is Pinakbet? There’s no English translation for this dish, but it’s basically vegetables cooked in fish sauce accompanied with pork, fried fish, or shrimp. It’s from the northern region of the Philippines and a widely prepared Ilocano dish. It’s one of the dishes that has been passed down from generation to generation. My mom learned from my Apong (grandma) and she makes it so often, that I feel like I would be able to pass it on to my future children.

It’s a fairly easy dish to make. My mom tells me that it’s something her family used to cook all the time because vegetables were easily accessible. They didn’t have a fridge in their home in the bukid (farm or field), so they just harvested vegetables in the field and cooked it for the day for the whole family. If it was anything like now, they were cooking for a huge family.

If you’re looking to make Pinakbet, here’s what you’ll need:

INGREDIENTS

  • Tomato
  • Okra
  • Onions
  • String Beans
  • Sweet chili pepper
  • Kobucha
  • Bittermelon
  • Eggplant
  • Shrimp
  • Chicharon (pork skin/fat)
  • Bagoong (fish sauce)
  • Water


First, prepare the vegetables. Wash and peel the vegetables before slicing them up into small cuts. As for the shrimp, no need to have the peeled. Cook them as they are to get added flavor.

After you prepare the shrimp and vegetables, place it all in a stockpot. Pour the fishsauce according to how salty you like it! I’m not really helpful with measurements, but you can always wing it and do trial and error. Then add water, a little less than how much fishsauce you added. My mom usually goes with one bottle of water. Don’t forget to add the chicharon as well!

Let it cook until the vegetables are shrunken/shriveled – an hour is usually good. That’s where the name Pinakbet comes from. Apparently, that’s the Ilocano translation.

I’m not much of a fan of bittermelon, so I usually put it aside, but my favorite part of the dish is the kobucha. I could eat it all day!

xoxo,

Adele

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OOTD: M-F Basics

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I’m basic AF. Just kidding, but I guess you should be the judge of that. Lately I’ve found a pattern in my every day clothes. I realized that I have the same shirt in 5 different colors, which makes dressing up each week pretty easy. I could sleep in with this routine I have going on!


Jeans are becoming a staple in my everyday outfit, when it used to be leggings. I still throw in the leggings, but my go to are a pair of skinny jeans. I literally only had two pairs of “good” jeans aka not ripped at the thighs, but all of a sudden I ended up with at least four more pairs over the last few months. So now, I’ll go through my jeans first, then my basic leggings (black, navy, wine, purple), then do laundry and repeat. There are some tops that I think look way better with leggings and obviously there are tops I have that don’t go with leggings and are a little too short to cover my behind. It’s all about mixing and matching!

Today’s post is dedicated to my recent finds and going back to basics. As mentioned earlier, I have five colors of the same crew shirt. This find comes from Target and is by Mossimo Supply Co.

Normally, I don’t like to buy plain shirts, but for some reason the striped shirt called out to me first. It was on sale for $5 and then I got the white one (twice) and each time I went to Target, I found myself buying the rest. Each time they were on sale for $5. They also have other styles like v-necks, but I really like the crew shirt with the pocket. It’s soft and comfortable. I can tuck it in or I can let it fly and it’s a nice fit either way. The only thing I dislike is how it easily wrinkles, but thats what irons are for, right?

I believe the regular price is $8.50, but they go on sale like every other week. A few of the colors are currently on clearance at the Target I frequently go to, and some new colors have emerged. $5 is such a good steal!


Then comes the jeans. I always buy Forever 21’s plus size skinny short jeans. They last pretty long and are affordable. They are usually about $12. The dark wash doesn’t usually stain and that’s a plus.

At Target, however, I’ve bought jeans in the past year under $10. They’ve all been on clearance. Denim doesn’t change much, but they do have to make room for the new washes and distressed jeans. Mossimo has been making me happy lately, but I’ve also gotten the Levi Strauss Modern Skinny pair of jeans as well. And of course jeggings from the Walmart are thrown in as well. They’re a little on the tight side, but they are under $10 as well. And that’s what matters to me!


As you can tell, Forever 21 is a fave of mine, but Target also provides with really cute clothes that fit me.

Does anyone else really love the crew shirts at Target that are out now?

xoxo,

Adele

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My Morning Routine: Health and Beauty Essentials

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I like to think of myself as a morning person, at least moreso than a daytime person. Sure, I dread waking up early to get ready for work, but I’d rather get up early for work than wake up later and starting later. I always found that mid shifts wasted your day. But if I’m being honest, my days are usually wasted anyways. It’s my choice & I know it’s not a good one.

Anyways, when my alarm goes off at 5:40 a.m. I get up to snooze it and wait 10 more minutes for my 2nd alarm to go off. By the 2nd alarm, I’m not fully awake, but I’m on the way there. After wasting a few minutes staring at my phone, I start my morning routine wish a shower to wake up.


This is where I’ll start wish washing my face. For the past few years, I’ve been using the St. Ives line of cleasing washes. Sometimes I interchange the facial washes, but I use the Blackhead Clearing Green Tea Scrub the most. Not only do I love drinking green tea, but it’s a great scrub on my face. It smells just like green tea, but it’s scent isn’t strong at all. The exfoliating beads aren’t as strong/prominent in this scrub compared to others so I don’t feel like my face is being scratched off. I don’t have many black heads so it must be working. Also, it’s supposed to calm redness, which I believe is working as well!

After washing my face, I continue on with the typical shower stuff: Shampoo, conditioner, & body soap.

However, to cut my morning routine short, I end my shower with In-Shower Body Lotion by Nivea. I believe there are 3 or 4 different in-shower lotions, but I’ve only tried the hydrating lotion with sea minerals. The scent of this lotion is my favorite. Anyways, what exactly is in-shower lotion? It’s lotion you put in the shower, duh! It helps keep you moisturized even after you rinse it off and dry off after your shower. I don’t have to worry about lotioning up again after I get out of the shower. My skin stays soft all day and I’m definitely glad I found out about this product!

After showering and brushing my teeth, I continue my routine with moisturizing my face. My face gets dry really easily so I make sure to moisturize every morning with Ponds Dry Skin Cream. I’ve been using this for years and it’s always been good to me. Some moisturizers make my face feel and look super oily, but this one doesn’t. To me the scent isn’t strong either & that’s always a plus when you put something on your fave that is forced to smell it. Also, it’s reasonably priced & you can find it in travel size in case you are on the go!

These three products are my go to when cleansing and moisturizing my body. They make me feel fresh, clean, and ready for a new day. What are your go to products to keep your skin moisturized?

xoxo,

Adele

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One food and one food only.

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I like to eat. I mean, look at me. I think I mostly eat when I’m bored and I’m bored a lot.

So when asked if I could live off of only one food, what would I choose? For those of you that know me, you probably know the answer.

Pizza. Why must I love pizza when sometimes it doesn’t love me back? But even though I know it doesn’t love me, I’m willing to take a risk every single time. I mean, come on! Whoever decided to combine dough, tomato sauce, and cheese is a genius. How did this become a love letter to pizza?

I typically like all kinds of pizza.

The crust. Typically, I go for thick crusts. I love bread, so that makes sense. When the crust is flaky and seasoned, it’s the best. Lately, I’ve been into thin crusts for the crisp, but it all depends on what kind of sauce and/or toppings are on the pizza.

The sauce. What’s a pizza without the base sauce? I’m good with the typical tomato sauce or marinara sauce, but my absolute favorite is a garlic based sauce or alfredo sauce. It’s like eating pasta on pizza crust. But not all ingredients match a garlic or alfredo sauce.

The cheese. I don’t really have much to say about cheese. I love most cheese. Bleu cheese is questionable and it’s also questionable on a pizza. However, if you like that, then I won’t judge. Personally, if you mix that parmesan and mozzarella cheese, you get me.

When I order a pizza, my go to pizza will usually be a pepperoni pizza with a thick crust, a thin crust pizza with alfredo or garlic sauce and chicken, spinach, and mushrooms as toppings, or simply a cheese pizza.

If I go with a simple cheese pizza, Costco and Pizza Hut’s Ultimate Cheese Lovers pizza usually hit the spot.

There’s also this one spot in Poway called Bongiorno’s New York Pizzeria that has a pizza called the “White Pie”  which has Spinach, ricotta, garlic and Parmesan cheese. It’s absolutely delicious and addicting.

I always question why there isn’t pizza drive thru’s everywhere. I’d be in one every day. Okay, maybe not every day. But it would be very convenient.

Honestly, I didn’t have much time to write today. So I chose to write about something easy. I hope you guys didn’t mind!

xoxo,

Adele

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Top 5: YouTubers!

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YouTube can get very addicting. Watching awesome vloggers on YouTube can get extremely addicting, especially when they put out content you love and look forward to. Today’s blog? My favorite YouTubers. I’ve always watched people on YouTube, but I’ve only started really subscribing to YT channels over the past year or so. I usually love to watch lifestyle vlogs and dance videos, so the following people totally deliver.

Matt Steffanina

It took me a while to really get into Matt’s YT channel. I would see his videos floating around Facebook and think, “Wow, these dancers are skilled.” Sometimes I wish I were a skilled dancer. I always wonder if I have what it takes to dance, like REALLY dance to choreo. Then I watch Matt’s videos and his choreo inspires me and gets me hype. He comes out with new videos every week to the latest hits and it’s great to see how he and other dancers he works with, interpret music. The fact that he also has vids that break down some of his pieces is great as well, because it empowers me to attempt to learn dance moves and add my own flavor.

Alex Aiono

This 21-year-old has all the girls swooning after him. And I am no exception. The first video I saw of his was the “One Dance/Hasta El Amanecer” mashup/cover. He sung in Spanish and it was smooth AF. I think that’s when his viewership went up. He’s made so many covers that sound way better than the original. You can tell he’s such a talented musician considering he plays his own instruments and produces the music. Lately, he hasn’t been too active on YouTube, but that’s because he got signed to a record label and is making his own music and touring!

Megan Batoon 

I’m not sure how or when I came across Megan’s channel, but it was probably because I saw her doing choreo in another YouTuber’s video. Her channel has a little something for everyone. Aside from awesome dance videos, she does How-To videos, cooking videos, weekly vlogs and one of my favorites, her top 5 fave things of the month. Overall, she just seems super bubbly and upbeat in her videos, you can’t dislike her. If you do dislike her, then I won’t judge you, but I guarantee she’ll make you smile at some point. She’s just her dorky self and that’s so refreshing to see. Some days I find myself watching her older videos that I missed and she just cracks me up.

Dominic “D-Trix” Sandoval

Megan’s older brother! Just kidding, but they always joke about being related. They’re both half filipino and adorable. I’ve been a fan of Dom since his SYTYCD days. He was one of my favorites (I like b-boys 😂) and to this day, he’s still one my favorite dancers. His YouTube channel contains some funny content from parody videos to food challenges to his “Now Add A Dancer” series. He’s also got this one series where he does trick shots. The latest one he’s done was with Oreo cookies and it had me amazed. I just wonder how long it takes for him to film those videos. But aside from all the funny stuff, he has some really sentimental vids that just hit me in the feels, especially knowing who inspired the videos. My absolute fave video will always be this one:

Shay Mitchell

Shay Mitchell did not get her start on YouTube and isn’t technically a famous YouTube star. But she has a channel that I subscribe to and I’m always excited to see what’s next. Shay rose to fame on Pretty Little Liars but she’s one of the few Hollywood celebrities that actually puts out their own content and videos on YouTube. She’s the epitome of a lifestyle vlogger. I’m always looking forward to her “Shaycation” vlogs where she takes us viewers along with her while she’s vacationing in another country or state. However, my absolute favorite videos she posts are the #SendSammy videos. Sammy is her assistant of 3+ years (correct me if I’m wrong) and Shay always sends her off to do random things. It’s hilarious, but you can tell they are having fun and just want to make us laugh. Or else Sammy really does need a raise.

What kind of content do you like to watch on YouTube? Any recommendations on who I should subscribe to?

xoxo,

Adele

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