Being Mute

So lately I've been pretty much in pain from my shoulder, up... And apparently what I thought was pain from my TMJ problem is actually a lymph node / gland swelling problem...

So I've decided to keep my mouth shut to reduce the pain. I also had to stop my extremely loud car jamming sessions :( loud noises hurt too unfortunately.

This has been the hardest days of my life, because if you get to know me for 5 minutes you'll figure out that I love to talk.

But I've found something peaceful about being mute.

Starting Fresh - 6 Week Challenge #2

I'm back!

For real this time. Seriously. I think I'm going to make a 6 Week Challenge to write every day on here.

So, to celebrate my long-term return, I'm going to make a few changes to my blog.

It's Been A While...

So I definitely have time to blog now with all the shit that's going on.

It's been forever since I last wrote a blog post and I'm hoping it doesn't stay that way, but life happens and only thing we can do is deal with it.

No big changes with me, but I do want to start a 6 week challenge just to get my blog going and refreshed a bit.

Therapists & Psychologists - HIT or MISS?

I've pretty much had very bad experiences with therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc.

I don't need someone to "diagnose" me. Or better said, I don't need anyone labeling me. I am ME. That's all.

And I definitely don't need any pills to make me happy, or more focused.

What I need is someone that can talk and listen enough to help me in my rough patches. And I finally found that person.

Role Models & Baby Steps!

So I feel like I'm finally getting my life in order.

Not only that, but I'm finally meeting the right people to help me get in order.

I met Carmen Amara and I'm super happy I did. If you haven't seen her video, I'll post it at the end of the post :) She does gymnastics conditioning and yoga. I really can't wait to start training with her.

Aside from that, I've been working my butt off at work.

One Step At A Time

So today, I told my boyfriend, Alvaro, that I'm going to make my own MMORPG like World of Warcraft.

And he says, "Okay, I think you're stretching it..."

And I say, "No, I have big goals, and I have small goals to get there. And I'm going to do them all."

It got me thinking about my short-term and long-term goals, and how important it is to have them... For me at least.

Serenity Online

So I got a job to fund my game project, Serenity Online, and I've been extreeeemely busy.

It's good and bad, I guess. I'm not sure which one. I love my job, but I hate the fact that I don't have enough time to code my game more.

I've also been really behind on my blog and my research job and just generally everything.

Bitter-Sweet Summer Time

This post is going to be split between me (Kat) and Alvaro.

I've been having a hard time writing, mainly because of my new job... But I also haven't been able to collect my thoughts and put them into words for some reason...

It's officially summer time, college is over.

I've been meeting a lot of new people lately with my new job, and I've come to realize something... A LOT of us are not doing so well in college, or just not going at all.

Rough Patch & A Tattoo

I've come back from the dead!!!

No, just kidding. In all honesty, it's been a rough week & month in general.

A lot has happened since I wrote my last blog post, and I have so much to catch up on aside from blogging.

I don't want to get into my problems right now though, because I have one big life event I want to talk about: My Tattoo :)

Eight Birthdays in One

So yesterday there was a party at my house, and we were celebrating 8 birthdays! I think my birthday was the only one in March actually, because everyone else is in the month of April.

So to the left is a picture of my mom's cake (it was her 50th birthday), and below are some pictures from the night.

I think this is probably going to replace this week's Wordless Wednesday :P

Kat's Top 6 - Ways to Handle Depression

Aside from showcasing my new baby blue sunny nails (play along with me here, I need something cute and happy in my life haha), I'm going to give you my top 6 ways to handle depression that I use every single day.

It gets to a point where you don't want to let this feeling take control over you anymore. You want control over your feelings and your life... And you need to get out and do something with yourself before you dig yourself a deeper grave.

If you have any other suggestions aside from the ones I'm about to give, please feel free to email me or comment on this blog post :) All help is greatly appreciated during these times.

Happiness Through the Eyes of the Depressed

My boyfriend and a friend were discussing the times they've seen me "depressed" and they were trying to decide which time was the "worst" they've seen me very depressed...

But what really is the "worst"?

I could just be having a bad day and feeling down in the dumps about it. Or my life could be perfectly fine, but I'm just feeling depressed anyways. I really can't decide which one is worse. They're both equally excruciating.

Get UP and OUT

So today was one of those days...

But surprisingly, I've been able to do a lot while feeling depressed.

It's usually "I don't want to get out of bed today, let me just mope here all day and do nothing productive..."

I find myself in this dark hole very often, but I'm handling it better than before, that's for sure.

Wordless Wednesday #1

I found this idea at another blog that I follow [here], and I wanted to give it a try and see how it goes :)

So today I'm just going to post a few pictures that have to do from this past week.

Enjoy! <3

Kat Recommends - Snap Chat

SnapChat: The picture & video texting app that let's you be weird and never regret it. Not to mention, an extremely addicting form of chatting with your friends.

I have not been able to put my phone down or keep my weird faces at bay... You may see some sides of me that no one will ever, ever see again.

Because snapchat doesn't let your friends save the weird pictures you send them ;) hehe

I'm only going to share the ones that are 3 out of 10 on the weirdness scale (10 being the weirdest you will ever see in your entire life).

6 Week Challenge Update - Kitty Edition

So today is just going to be a quick update on this past week :)

I'm also going to share with you the new things I've gotten addicted to, so be warned already... 

I also want to say congratulations to my best friend (see picture on the left of us joking around), for FINALLY getting his number!!! The people involved know what I'm talking about, and I'll fill you guys in at a later date with the whole comical story ;)

For now, I'm going to start the post off with cats...

3 Things About Marriage

Today, I just want to share with you something I read the other day that has been stuck on my mind ever since. I wish I knew exactly who wrote it, but I'll link the page I got it from at least.

It reminds me a lot of the Leo Buscaglia video, and if you haven't seen that, then go to this post [here]. 

Let me know what you guys think of the article :)

Kat's Top 6 - Ways to Be Productive

You have work, or homework, to do... And you've been procrastinating it all weekend.

Then, there you are: The night before, cramming in everything you possibly can into those few hours before it's due. You know you're not sleeping at all until you finish what you have to do. 

Then the next day drags on until you finally reach your bed that night...

Unless you procrastinated something else.

I've been there, and definitely done that many times.

I've finally learned my way out of those habits, and I'm going to share with you what I did to get there :)

I am a SLUT & a 5K Runner!

Yesterday was the first ever Slut Walk Miami at Florida International University... And it was also the opening of registration for the Electric Run in Miami!

I've been pretty excited about both things, especially since I recently talked about the Steubenville Rape case and my current 6 Week Fitness Challenge. 

I'm glad I could be a part of the Slut Walk and I can't wait to run in the Electric Run, my first ever 5K!

Beauty School Drop Out, Go Back to... Where?

Serenity Online was featured in a blog post / article yesterday by my friend, Melisa Borges, over at New Scoops. 

It's really exciting to see someone not only write about Serenity Online, but also support it and also share the same enthusiasm as I feel for this project.

Kat Recommends - Nimble Quest

Today's post is going to be very short and sweet, mainly because this game, Nimble Quest, has been so addicting that I've procrastinated everything else, including my blog posts.

Heed my warning: This game is unbelievably fun, creative, and addictive.

6 Week Challenge Update for Fools

Happy April Fools Day everybody!

I'm not really into this whole pranking thing, so you won't have to worry about that from this post. I've seen some pretty good pranks here and there though from other blogs, my favorite being Nerd Fitness' post.

Any who, here's my weekly update on the 6 Week Challenge and a couple of other things I'd like to talk about :)

Purrrrfect Pictures of Pets

I just realized something today...

You know a lot about me, but you're missing probably the most important piece of information that completes who I am... My pets!

So, for today's post, I'm going to introduce you to all my pets and I'm going to post tons of cute pictures for you to enjoy :)

To our left is Brittany at the dog park getting lots and lots of love from my dear friends.

Kat's Top 6 - Ways to Relax

You're having a bad day.

You're overwhelmed and over-booked with things to do.

It's that time of the month, even the gentlemen reading this, and you just have not been able to deal with anything lately.

Any of these apply to you? Because I had all three just dumped right onto me, all in one day. So I wanted to share with you my top 6 ways to relax that I remind myself of and follow each time I'm feeling stressed.

The Little Things in Blogs

I am so happy with the changes I've made to my blog that I just really want to show them all to you! And it's all thanks to CodeAcademy for increasing my understanding of HTML and CSS, and soon enough, Javascript!

Birthday - Chimp Status

This post is going to be the most important one of all if you have a blog of your own, and I know a lot of you do so I hope I can help you out with this: Email Subscriptions.

Aside from that, I wanted to show you what I got for my birthday (the picture on the left). And I wanted to talk about that for a bit as well for those of you not interested in the blogging aspect of this post.

I also wanted to mention a few ideas I have for the blog that are up and coming... So let's get started! :)

Silver Sneakers

I haven't officially mentioned this to it's full extent, so here's a whole post for it.

My grandma, who's turning 85 years old next month, has started going to the gym! :)

It's super exciting to see this change happen, and I love how willing my grandma is to exercise and change her dieting habits.

We took her shopping this weekend for comfy gym attire and she has her first orientation on monday! :)

Two Sides to Every Story

I'm not sure if any of you have heard of the Steubenville case, it's been all over the news recently...

I just wanted to talk about how there's always two sides to every story, and there's definitely always two exaggerated believers on either side. I want to share my point of view on this.

To our left is the disturbing photo of the Steubenville rape case :/ I linked the most detailed article I found if you'd like to read more on that.

It's My Birthday!

Sooo today is my birthday, and it's been better than I expected :)

I had a job interview in the morning, and it went great... And now I'm at school hanging out with my friends, so this is going to be a really short post.

I really don't know what to write actually, I have so much on my mind right now... And it can actually end up being an extremely long post.

I think I want to start off with a quote: "You get the love you think you deserve."

The Apps I Use - Part 2

This is a continuation of the previous post. I know I'm talking about a lot of apps, but I have always wanted to do this. I have so many people ask me about this app and that app, so why not make a whole post about it? I can write everyday about all the apps I use, like that's how much I rely on these resources. I can also talk about all the websites I go on and use and such, but that will be for another day.

Comment on either post and let me know what apps you use :) I love trying new things!

So here are the rest of the apps I use:

The Apps I Use - Part 1

I know this post seems extremely random, but I think it's pretty important for those of you who have iPhones or just use the internet a lot. I love these type of posts because that's one of the ways I discovered LifeKraze... And you'd be surprised how much a simple application or website can help you personally. I'm basically going to give a list of all the apps I use or ever used and thought was helpful, how I use them, and why. Simple, personal reviews. I'm definitely not getting paid for this, so you can expect true and honest reviews :)

The Wisdom of Why

A lot of things have been going on lately in my life... And the majority of these things have been blessings... Hidden blessings even.

I feel myself growing as a person; in my heart and on the outside to others as well. I don't know how or when or where it started, but I realized what was happening and I am so grateful to have gotten all of these opportunities and situations.

Thank you specifically to LifeKraze and Melita Jaric - The picture on the left is the last memory I have with Melita.

To Do, or Not To Do!

So I have one thing to say about myself: I cannot live my life without a To-Do List.

Everyday, I make a to-do list about everything and anything, and it's been crowding up my iphone notes, my notebooks, my apps. I have like a million To-Do List Apps like Astrid and Todoist. Is it just me or is anyone else like this?

To Your Heart's Content

If you've read my previous posts, you'll know how much LifeKraze has changed me as a person... My attitude, my perspective on things... But most of all, it made me a positive person overall.

Here's what I noticed today though: I'm positive for everyone else, but myself.

I don't know how to be happy. I don't know how to live my life at peace with myself and in my heart. I give advice and comfort others, but I can't find it within myself to do the same for myself...

Music, FitBit, & Junk Food!

So this weekend was definitely fun and tiring <3

Sorry for the lack of posts! As you all know, I was at Ultra Music Festival... And otherwise, I was sleeping off all the jumping and dancing I did.

I'm going to talk a little bit about Ultra, my FitBit stats, and a quick update on my 6 Week Challenge, sooo let's get started!

6 Week Challenge & Ultra Music Festival

It's the first weekend of Ultra Music Festival and I'm suuuper excited!!!

We're heading out today around 4PM so I'm making this post very short and to the point. I'll be writing a little bit about yesterday, and who I'm going to be seeing at Ultra. Basically, I'm going to post the schedule Alvaro and I decided on :)

6 Week Challenge - Calisthenics!

So I know yesterday's post was absolutely horrendous, but this will definitely make up for it... And all it takes is one word: Calisthenics.

Oh, before I forget, let me introduce you to Jose (in the picture to the left), Alvaro's little brother. We've been trying to convince him to do Calisthenics with us because it is just so much FUN! 

Even though I took this picture a while ago, he's probably still wayyy ahead of Alvaro, and most definitely me, in the strength to even lift up into that position.

Muscle ups. Planches. L-Sits. Human Flags. Frog Stands. Levers. We want to do it all. I kid you not when I say this: Try it, you will have so much fun even if you fail!

6 Week Challenge - Update #2 & More!

I'm going to briefly go over yesterday's exercise, and then I'm going to talk about something that's been really bugging me lately.

The reason I've been updating everyday this week for the 6 Week Challenge is so that our workout routine is discussed and perfected. I think after this week I'll change to one or two updates a week until the end of the Challenge.

So a quick review of yesterday and today:

6 Week Challenge - Update #1

So yesterday was definitely a blast... A lot of fun and struggles, and I am so glad I have my boyfriend to share these type of days with him.

I would like to take some time to talk about my boyfriend's teacher actually. She was in a hit-and-run on Friday and passed away yesterday afternoon after being in a coma.
Please like and share the Facebook Page, and there's a website coming soon so look out for it. We're looking to find out who the driver was! Any information helps.

Now, it's time to explain the crazy day we had yesterday!

6 Week Challenge #1: Exercise

Now that it's Spring Break (no school woohoo!) and everything is off my chest (see the last three posts for more on that), it's time for my first 6 Week Challenge!

This challenge is going to be about exercising with my boyfriend. We've been working on an individual workout plan for each other and we're going to start it today!

This post will explain the workouts we planned, along with "before" measurements and the platforms you can follow us on.

Letting It Out, Part 3: The Present

It's been a week since the "incident" where I basically lost my car, my home, and my family.

I'll explain that in this post, but I need to first start with a little bit of background information.

If you haven't read the first two parts of this series of posts, you may find them here:

Part One | Part Two

Thank you all for reading these, it's been very hard for me to let this out and I'm really glad I have help and connected with fellow readers.  

Letting It Out, Part 2: The Memories

This post is a continuation of yesterday's insanity.

I know these posts sound out of order and chaotic and sad, but I have to do it. Thank you to everyone for reading and being nice and non-judgemental.

If you have been judging me, then thank you for having a different point of view.

That's what life is about, isn't it? Experiencing things, developing a perspective, sharing it, and learning of others.

Any who, so let's start with this post...

Letting It Out, Part 1: The Feelings

I don't even know how to start this post...

It's definitely going to be the most painful post in the entire blog, but I know I have to do it eventually. 

And I think it's the right time now.

I've given myself a few days to cool off, and I need to get this all out of my system before I start the challenges.

I can't let these thoughts and feelings get in the way of my goals, and this is the only way I know of letting them out.

I Believe In You

I received a $100 donation on GoFundMe from a fellow LifeKraze user <3

I cannot even begin to explain my gratitude and appreciation to him, and to everyone that has donated and helped me out.

So this is the theme for today's post.

Generous, loving, kind, helpful people and their random acts of kindness and why I want to be exactly like them.

I Challenge You!

In yesterday post, I talked a little bit about the challenges I'm planning to do. I want to add a few more challenges I have thought of and also talk a little bit more about Serenity Online.

I'm going to start off with a few important links that I added on the left sidebar. 

If anyone is interested in following me through my fitness endeavors, there's MyFitnessPal and Fitbit that I added. LifeKraze is also my go-to website for my challenges and such. I also added Instagram since I post a lot of pictures, like the one to the left of my fat cat Seba <3 So go check those links out :)

Anyway, now onto the challenges...

A Little Piece of Me

My first post was all about the blog and my starting point.

This second, but just as important, post is going to be more about me and who I am and what I do and what I love and why. 

If you want to get to know me better, this post is the best place to start.

The Start of Something New

Today marks the day that I have nothing.

I've lost my home, my car, my family, my education... The list goes on.

Today is also the day I start my life. Where better to start than from zero? There's no where else to go but up from this point... Or at least that's how I've been keeping myself sane... 

I'm tired of letting the past haunt me. I want to be able to enjoy my days and live in the present. It's like my favorite prayer says... 

 Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

I try to remind myself of this prayer every time I'm at my lowest point. And honestly, I have never been as low as I am right now.

I'm going to turn it around some how. I'm going to make things happen, make my life better, live my life, find some happiness, just do something... anything. I won't give up.

In this blog, I'll be talking about my life in general, but more importantly, you'll be able to follow me through my 6 week challenges. My first 6 weeks will be about exercise. I've realized that I'm a much happier person (with less stress and anxiety) when I exercise consistently. My boyfriend and I are going to start a 6 week challenge with each other soon, but I'll explain more on that when the time comes.

I'll also be talking about Serenity Online a lot. You can see the whole project and information here at my website [click here]. You may also see the link on the sidebar for future reference. I'm planning to start a gaming company, and Serenity Online will be my first game to start everything off.

As stressed and a bit depressed as I am, I'm super excited about what's to come in my future. I'm done sitting here, waiting for things to happen. I'm excited to start my life, and start it now. And to any of you following my life and my story, thank you and I hope you enjoy the ride. 

Kat <3