By |

Hi guys!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday so far. Sundays are one of my most favorite days of the week because it’s the day when you rest and prepare for the week ahead. I decided to resume delivering my blog posts on Sundays for a couple of reasons: 1) I’d like to think of my posts as being a nice addition to your Sunday routine. You know, like you settle into your comfy chair in your comfy clothes with that warm mug of coffee/tea/matcha/whatever and catch up with your BFF Air.  2) There aren’t too many blogs that post on Sundays. There’s probably a reason for that, oh well we will see.

This week in NYC it has felt like fall came early and this has left me with mixed feelings. I’m a fall baby and it’s definitely my favorite season, but I also really love summer and am struggling to believe that it’s already nearing an end. I was able to go on vacation this summer and visit my parents and Texas and my sister in San Francisco, which was incredible. While I love Texas, it’s a little too toasty for me, so in these breezy fall-like temperatures I’ve been dreaming of the perfect San Francisco weather. One of my favorite bloggers did a really cute scrapbook post of her summer adventures, and I was inspired to do the same!  So here is my San Francisco scrapbook.

319 Coffee 

The first thing we did after my sister picked me up was go to the 3-19 Coffee Shop pop up. 3-19 is owned and operated by some of our best friends, but what they’re doing is super cool! There’s a huge focus on how coffee brings people together, and also how each coffee bean has its own unique journey and story (just like people!). They utilize coffee and art to connect people in different communities, which I think is just the coolest thing ever; and even cooler than that, they’re forming relationships with the farmers to make sure that what they’re doing is helping and not hurting those that are making the coffee possible. If you’re in the bay area, do yourself a favor and stop by their pop up cafe at The Laundry in the Mission District. If you’re sadly not in the bay area like me, check out their website and do some online ordering! You will be oh so glad that you did.  
hourglasses with colorful sand on top of a coffee machine

319 coffee t-shirt and merchandise blue thermos on top of chalkboard with colorful writing barista in front of coffee menu 319 coffee logo on clothes pins man in front of colorful coffee tins

 

 

The Ferry Building (mainly Mariposa Bakery)

My sister is the best ever and took me to this incredible bakery for lunch in the Ferry Building called Mariposa Bakery. Since going gluten free, I’ve really enjoyed finding gluten free bakeries wherever I’m traveling and comparing all the treats. I must say that this Mariposa immediately shot high up on my list after trying their gluten free bread. I unfortunately didn’t capture a picture of the sandwich I ordered because I ate it basically immediately, but this has to be some of the best gluten free bread I’ve ever eaten. I also couldn’t resist ordering a chocolate chunk cookie and a cinnamon roll, both of which were absolutely amazing. I am in love, in love, in love, and will most definitely be back.


Mariposa Bakery sign in the ferry building in San Francisco, CA bakery window spread with cinnamon rolls and butterfly sugar cookies Miscellaneous Tia duties 

The best part of the entire trip hands down was being able to spend time with my niece and new nephew! It’s absolutely insane how quickly time passes and I can’t believe how big they both are already. I’m biased obviously, but I think they’re both already so much cooler than me and being an aunt is probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. Love it!

Let me know what some of your favorite things to do in the Bay are down below in the comments!

By |

There are a ton of articles and journals on the internet about how multi-tasking is a myth, or how it should really be called “A,” “B,” or “C.” No matter what you call it or how you approach it, there are numerous situations in everyday life that require you to do multiple things at once. If you’re on the quest to live the multi-hyphenate life like I am, then those numerous situations can seem to multiply exponentially in what seems like seconds!  BUT. Do not fear! I am here to share with you how I manage the millions (only slightly exaggerating) of things I have to get done on a day-to-day basis. There honestly aren’t that many steps (I’m sharing two!) but implementing the process takes some time and practice.

1. Actively maintain a calendar/planner

I am freaking obsessed with planners man. I love those things. I attribute this passion for planners to the good ‘ol GCISD school district that required us to keep planners from kindergarten through high school. Many of my friends/peers fell off the planner wagon when we no longer had to have our parents sign them, or whatever, but keeping a planner is an invaluable life skill! Especially when you’re trying to be a master task-juggler! It is way too easy to get caught up and confused about dates and tasks when it’s all just swimming in your head! Give that information a place to live! I maintain a couple of different calendars/planners (this may or may not work for you, stick with one if that’s how your mind works): one master calendar and then my content calendar. My content calendar is this beautiful, fun, giant, bound planner that has a lot of room for scribbling notes and ideas. I love physically writing things down when it comes to any and all things creative because it acts as a first step in my creation process. I use iCal to maintain my master calendar because it makes it easy to quickly check dates and things on my phone and have them sync through all my other devices. I keep everything here from work to personal to side hustle events. I check this calendar multiple times throughout the day but especially at the beginning of each day and night so I can mentally prepare for what I have ahead and know what’s going on.

2. Make lists

Plural lists! The notes section in my iPhone is my best friend and I am constantly packing it full with different kinds of lists. When you feel yourself starting to drown in the pile of things you need to get done, it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed and not know where to begin. First off, take a breath girl!! It’s so important to take a step back and put things in perspective. When I start to feel myself spinning off into a panic attack, I take some time to write out exactly what it is that needs to get done in a step by step list. I keep a general life list that has things like, “buy Pontes litter” or “do your laundry,” and then separate lists for more specific pursuits. For example, for blogging I might have a list like “draft blog post. complete e-course on branding. finish content calendar for august.” To me, there is nothing more satisfying than writing out a large to-do list and being able to check off items! Something I’ve started doing recently after my OkReal circle (shout out to you guys! Love you!) is taking a look at all of my lists and picking 3 action steps for each day. These action steps are the three things that I make it my business to complete that day.  When you’re juggling a ton of things at once, learning how to prioritize is absolutely key. I’ve been keeping my action steps in one note together and dating them so I can see what I have been accomplishing and the trajectory of my productivity in current pursuits. So for example, my action steps would look something like this:

7/17/17

1. Find out about how much vacation time you have at work.

2. Ask Admissions about applying to the Teacher’s College Neuroscience Masters program

3. Complete first section of Impression Table for Lab

I like the idea of picking 3 action steps because it can be far less intimidating than staring down your entire list at once, thus making it easier to just go for it and start tackling your tasks! It’s just 3 things right? It also helps to focus you which I think is really important when feeling overwhelmed with things to get done.

And that’s it! Let me know if you found this helpful in the comments below and share some of the ways you stay organized and juggling.

By |

Hi, hey, hi, hey, hi 😉

It has been a long while since I have written a blog post. Life has gotten pretty crazy and been moving pretty quickly so I have found myself neglecting this outlet. HOWEVER. ICYMI: I posted a video on my YouTube channel (that I made to accompany this blog right here) giving you a quick run down of where I’m at. If you haven’t watched it yet, go do that real quick, it’s less than 3 minutes and I’ll be waiting for you here when you get back. boop.

So there you have it. I’m in this. I’m committed. From here on out, this will be sort of like my online-virtual-very public diary tracking my life from this point forward. This is what I wanted this blog to be in the first place but I’ve gotten a little distracted over the years. Wow, I can’t believe I’ve had this blog for multiple years.

I’m hoping I have some real OG’s (real OG’s comment below!!) who were here when this was BlackSheepBeauty and also hopefully have some newbz who are here to observe a life that is up in the air, but either way, I wanted us all to be on the same page. This post is just a starting point to tell you exactly where I’m at in this moment and sort of what’s going on. It’s like a little blip that let’s you see what is currently up in the air. I’m hoping to do an update post like this fairly frequently?  I’m thinking monthly? We will see.

SO. To set the scene of what is currently Up in the Air…

What am I doing for work?
I work for NYU in their orthopaedic surgery department as a medical transcriptionist. This was a kiiiiller job to get in preparation for PA school and I have made a lot of wonderful connections with doctors and learned so so much. To be honest though, this job has caused me a lot of anxiety from the start. I had a little bit of a rocky start with my assignments in the beginning, my schedule is still very variable and changes frequently, and, probably most importantly, anyone who works in healthcare knows that it’s just pretty darn stressful in general! It was also rough to have docs ask how PA application process was going and having them follow along with you on a journey filled with rejection. ANYWAYS. The hours for this job are for the most part 8-4 or 8-5 M-F with some time for me to go to my half hour PT sessions for my faulty shoulder. (This is great because I know so many of the therapists!)

What am I doing on the side?

  1. Volunteering at an SMBI lab for  Columbia. This is a killer opportunity because I have zero lab experience and this lab specifically is the one I would like to be a part of for my Clinical Psych PhD. It’s remote and on my own time but with an expected input of time of around 10 hours a week.
  2. Voice Over training! Oh my goodness y’all I just started and I am so obsessed. I did an evaluation in March and fell in love then but was waiting to have enough money to pursue my training. So that time never really came, so I just went for it!! I am having so much fun and am determined to be a cartoon character some day. But the whole money thing…yeah. that brings me to the next item.
  3. Babysitting. I have to babysit in order to afford my training. I’m on a monthly payment plan for my lessons which really adds up to about 4-5 babysitting sessions per month. It depends on the length of sessions but that’s like one night of babysitting a week. It’s not too too bad though and when you have little kids, there is time to be productive after they go to sleep.
  4. Trying to be creative!! Managing this blog and the YouTube channel AND also trying to get some music stuff in. Have you heard my most recent project M.Y.M.? No? You’re missin’ outtttt it’s a banger 😉What am I working towards?

    Wow. Such a general statement. I am working towards so much. BUT. for this month’s update in particular I am working on :
    -finding a way for me to get a Masters degree. Whether it’s reapplying to the Psychology in Education program or applying to the Neuroscience in education program OR applying to another Neuroscience program I found in Queens. I have some options, which is always a huge bonus.

    – being healthier and feeling better about myself and my body. I’ve been working out 5 days a week and watching what I eat for the past month now and so far I love the results I’m getting. I have no idea how I ever stopped working out sheesh.

    That’s it for now!  I’m so excited to embark on this journey and am curious to see where I land. I have some ideas, but who knows, it’s all Up in the Air.