Unexpected Vacation

Day 1 of 24So when Dad says, "I'm going to the Philippines, are you coming?" You try to find a way to say "YES!"I wasn't planning on taking a vacation this year, especially one overseas. Honestly, it didn't really take much to convince me since my brother was going too. I FOMO'd thinking of all the adventures they would have without me, so I gave in.Our family, the 4 of us together, haven't taken a vacation in years. The last time we all went to the Philippines together was for Papa's funeral. BJ and my parents left 2 weeks ago so I can take care of stuff back home and I've already missed so much!I'm on my last plane headed to my final destination, Cebu..... aaaannndddd it's a Gudetama plane!! 🤗🍳

Life Edits

Sometimes it's ok to edit your life.So I picked up a new hobby. I love scrapbooking (not my new hobby, keep reading). I use to spend hours at the craft store picking and choosing cute little scrap pieces of lettering stickers, fancy papers and just little items that I can creatively paste with my pictures on an 8x8 carefully chosen paper. It was a great mental stimulation for me that allowed my creativity to come out. Ain't nobody got time for that anymore (plus all my fave scrapbook stores have closed).One of the things that I always wanted to learn when I scrapbooked was to take better pictures. Back then I owned a 35mm film camera and then when they became affordable, I always had an easy to use digital point and shoot. I never really wanted to admit to anyone, but taking better pictures was always a secret hobby I wanted to pick up. It was just more fun to scrapbook with better, more creative pictures.Anyway... the point of this post.As I learn the ins and outs of my new Sony A7 (I know, fancy right?), I started realizing how photography is about capturing life in the best way possible.... then we edit as we see fit.LIFE is exactly the same way. We should take in life, in the best way possible. The good and bad of it all, the emotions that come with it... that's what life is about. By actually living life, we are able to capture all of it into our souls and the experiences help to mold us into the people we choose to be. Then when we are ready, we edit the parts we want to keep or delete or simply just tweak.Life is beautiful, do your best to experience it in the most amazing way possible, you can always edit it later.

Easy

I know it sounds funny, but I just can't stand the painGirl I'm leaving you tomorrowSeems to me girl, you know I've done all I canYou see I begged, stole and I borrowedThat's why I'm easy

 Sometimes easy is ok. Life can get really complicated and simplicity can make it more bearable. It's the perfect compliment to a hectic lifestyle.One of my favorite yoga instructors always teaches ease and effort. He always explains that when you are putting a lot of effort into a pose, find a way to balance it by adding ease. For example, holding dolphin pose takes a lot of strength and energy around your shoulders and arms, but focused breathing adds lightness to the pose and some how allows it to not hurt as much.Lately my life has felt a little overwhelming. I'm constantly dealing with many moving parts, and trying to balance it all has really been a challenge. I've been surrounding myself with people who I look up to in hopes that their success rubs off on me. Life lately has been focused on building my small little empire so I can make a mark in this world. Goals, right?Where the ease at doeee? The past couple of days I haven't been able to get that out of my mind. I can't help to think about how sometimes it's just easy to be around people who are simply your friends. I appreciate that I have people who I don't have to impress, because no matter how much I can fail in life, they'll still love me regardless. I love that I have people who I can just enjoy their company and we can keep it simple with delicious food, tasty drinks and laughter that makes you cry and your stomach hurt. I'm thankful for the people who support me, but don't feel the need to talk about Sticky's and it's current direction, good or bad. It's really nice to just be in the company of people who keep it easy like Sunday morning.