Author: toteunwined

I'm a coffee lover. I cook.I eat.I write. Toronto, Canada.

Day 28 – Focus

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I felt really focused when going on my run this afternoon.

I was concentrated on finishing my run without stopping that I was pacing myself in a way that I didn’t want to stop, even at the traffic lights.

For me, especially, I get really focused when I am exercising or doing some type of work out. It is really hard for me to focus when I am doing something else, even writing. Right now,  I am writing and have the TV on in the background, and answering my phone when I get notifications.

I wonder why that is? When I’m working out I select playlists that I don’t know, because I don’t want to be singing along or trying to understand lyrics while I’m on the treadmill or even doing squats. It might be because I want to do it properly? In running, for example, you have to keep a consistent pace in order to complete the set time. If you run too fast or too slow, you either won’t get to your destination on time, or you might be get too tired too quickly. It really does take a lot of focus and concentration.

Any runners here?

I could be wrong, but that’s how I felt this afternoon, and the first thing I thought of when I saw the word Focus.

 

Day 27 – Team

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I was struggling to come up with something to write today.

I kept thinking about sports, but the only one that I like and follow is Tennis. There are no teams in Tennis. I then started looking through my photos to see if I could find a picture that represented the word Team.

I couldn’t find anything, but while I was scrolling through my camera roll, I started thinking about work and how the word Team is applied in my daily life. While thinking about my job and daily routine, I remembered a project I worked on a couple of months ago.

For a couple of months, I was part of the Newsletter team at work. Everyone in the team was assigned a different task in order to complete the volume for the specific month. We had to write the pieces, get the pictures and the interviews, as well as work on the design of the Newsletter. Once everything was put together, it was ready to be distributed.

Looking back and thinking about all the work that was put into every volume, I don’t think we could have been successful if it wasn’t because of the hard work that every individual put into it. It was true teamwork. And even though sometimes there were extra hours of work put into it, it was definitely an experience that taught me the real meaning of teamwork.

 

Day 25 – Magic

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Describe a day in your life that felt thoroughly magical. When was it? Where and with whom were you? What made it feel that way?

Somehow the word magic or magical always takes my mind to the Harry Potter Saga because it is one of my favorite films ever!

So, there are only many places where the word magical can take me. A moment with my family over Christmas break, December ’15 (I think), Orlando, FL, Universal Studios.

harrypotter
Please, ignore my face. That is what magic looks like! This picture was taken on April, 2019.

I had never been to Universal before then, though all I knew was that I was going there just to go and see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I remember waiting in line for over an hour just to get into the ride, but I didn’t care. Hearing Hedwig’s Theme on replay was definitely priceless. There were tears of joy forming in my eyes. Such a magical moment.

After getting off the ride, we walked around browsing for wands and capes, while discussing moments from the movies and casting air spells with my brother. If magic really exists, then that is the place to go and experience it. 

That moment was truly magical because I was with my parents and brother, who are my life and we were making memories in one of the places I have been living in since I can remember- Diagon Alley and Hogwarts.

Day 24 – Elixir

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My Elixirs are coffee and wine. In case you hadn’t notice by my posts. I probably have many more, but these two are the winners.
I am eating some Middle Eastern food, while I’m typing this and drinking some red wine. This is the kind of stories I share on my Instagram account.
I think that’s about it. Most of them represent each stage of my life.
Coffee-Venezuela
Wine – Spain
Middle Eastern food – Middle East (y’all know who you are)
Writing – Canada
and that concludes who I am.. For those of you who don’t know me.

 

Day 23 – Note

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Dear diary,

I feel like today has been a very long but productive day. I went for a run for the first time in like a month. It was a really cold morning and I felt like coming back to my warm bed. However, I completed a 30 min run and felt amazing after. I was feeling energetic and ready for my workday.

Work, on the other hand, was disastrous. There were so many things happening at the same time and I didn’t know where to start. Instant messages and emails kept coming in almost simultaneously, I thought I was going to go crazy!!!  Aside from that, my calendar was full of back to back meetings, which, fortunately, a couple of them were canceled.

On a good note though, I did finish what I was set up to do today work-wise, had a delicious lunch accompanied by a shot of rum, only to get back to more work emails. I have to admit I was feeling a bit stressed this afternoon, which is something I don’t really suffer from. It could be because different things were being thrown at me from different sources, which is not unusual. Not sure what was different today, to be honest.

Anyways, work was done and I played video games for a while. That helped me relax a little bit and made me forget about work. I cooked dinner and after that, I watched a couple of episodes of RuPaul Drag’s Race on Netflix because, why not? And now, well .. Here I am, writing whatever is popping into my mind.

And even though my day is far from over, I am glad of the ups and downs of today. Those feelings brought to me a sense of normal, which at the end of the day is what we all want, life to get back to normal … unless, of course, this is the new normal. #Quarantinemood

 

Day 22 – Tempo

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This word caught me a little bit off guard.. It doesn’t tell me anything or inspires me to write, really.

I was going through my camera roll on my phone to see if I could find a picture or video that I could use, but I didn’t find anything. All I found were pictures of food, morning coffee, and random memes or recipes I found online. And then it hit me…

Waking up every day and following your morning routine of brushing your teeth, having coffee, and breakfast is something that we all do at our own pace. So, I am substituting the word tempo for pace. It works, right? Whether you take your time to get ready or do everything in a hurry, that is what works for you. Everyone lives their life at a different pace or tempo.

Amid COVID-19 and having to be quarantined at home, the tempo of my routine changed drastically. I would only come home in the evening to have dinner and head straight to bed. Days went by really fast back then and sometimes I didn’t even have time to look myself in the mirror.

Now, I wake up without needing an alarm in the morning. I take my time to go to the bathroom while I ask Google to play the news. I take the time to select which type of coffee I will be drinking, and head to the balcony to spend a good 15-20 minutes under the sun, sipping on my coffee and listening to nature’s morning sounds. I then think about what my breakfast is going to be, which let’s be honest, I have eggs every day, but is nice to actually have the time to think about it.

By the time I’m done eating, I’m ready to start a stress-free day..

Which one do you prefer? Do you enjoy a fast-paced life? or like having the opportunity to take your time in the morning?

 

Day 21 – Instrument

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Am I having a dream or did I write about this yesterday?

If you read yesterday’s post, you would know by now that my instrument of choice is the guitar. Even though I have played other instruments, the guitar for me has been what has challenged me the most.

I’ve been with my Ibanez for a little bit over 10 years. This guitar has traveled the world with me, and not because I played in different countries, but because I have moved around quite a bit. With this guitar, I learned chord transitions and my very first song. I also learned and practiced the pentatonic scales until my fingers could not handle it anymore. How could I forget those? If anyone here plays the guitar, they know what I’m talking about. IMG_8370

If I check the case of my guitar, the pockets are full of music notes, songs I learned how to play and that I probably couldn’t play at the moment. I remember playing and singing at the same time at some point, which is a skill not everyone can master. I also used to have a lot of guitar picks too and I don’t know where they are anymore.

Unfortunately, I stopped playing a while back. There really shouldn’t be any excuses for this, but let’s just say adulthood got in the way.

Fortunately, I have decided to get back into it. Ibanez has a broken string and I have ordered a new set of strings for her. I’m just waiting for them to arrive in the mail. Also, I purchased a new electric guitar that arrived last week (picture on yesterday’s post) and that I have been playing since day one. Aside from the new set of strings, I am also waiting for an electric tuner and about 100 guitar picks that I’m planning to leave all around my house as an incentive for me to get back to my musical days.

 

Day 20 – Music

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Who doesn’t like music?

For starters, the concept of music is too broad. Are we talking about writing music? Playing music? Listening to music?

At least that’s how I see music.

I’ve been involved with music since I was born, almost. My parents were involved in their university choir where they learned how to read and understand musical keys and notes. After they graduated they kept singing with my hometown’s band and they kept doing it even after I was born. I have memories of them in choir practice while I was asleep in their laps. I was probably four or five years old, maybe…

Fast forward a couple of years, I was enrolled in a music school where I learned how to read, write and play music. The first instrument I ever learned how to play was the violin, which I found out later in life, that the violin is one of the most difficult instruments people can play. From there, I started to get interested in more instruments which is where I ended up learning how to play the piano and later on the guitar. At some point I was teaching kids how to play the piano, I was probably 13 or 14 years old.IMG_8338

But aside from knowledge, the environment where I grew up was full of creative individuals. I have aunts who love to sing and play the guitar and uncles too. My godfather is a very well known musician in my hometown. Growing up I used to go to his house every other weekend. His house is full of musical instruments like a piano, a keyboard, guitars and I think there was also a set of drums…

Today, I have all this knowledge in my head that is just waiting for me to turn on the switch and either share it, enjoy it and explore it or just let it off, hiding at the back of my brain..

I think I should probably get to work, no?

 

 

Day 19 – Three

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When I saw the word of the day this morning I couldn’t think of anything to write for the word “three.” I looked around my house to see if I could find something, but nothing really came to mind. And so while I was cleaning my dishes from breakfast, I saw the three very ripe bananas and it felt like they were talking to me.

The funny thing about it was that I wanted to eat one of them yesterday and I thought and said: Nah, maybe I will bake tomorrow and will need, not only two but three bananas. The three bananas, I used to make this recipe tonight.

There really isn’t a reason why I always go back to food on my posts. But I feel like my days at home are revolving around cooking and cleaning my kitchen.

And that’s what happened! I baked banana-oat muffins with choco-chips.

There are only three main ingredients, the rest are just a “filling” IMG_8358

  • 3 smashed bananas
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups oatmeal
  • Vanilla
  • Baking powder
  • Baking Soda
  • Agave syrup

Mix everything in a bowl with a fork and bake at 200C for 12 minutes. You are done!

Other than using three bananas for today’s recipe, there are other things that come in three every day. For example, meals in a day – breakfast, lunch, and dinner or things to use in the shower – Shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner.

I’m sure there are many other things that girls use in the shower, but I think those are the three main ones.

Thoughts?