Good Sunday afternoon or evening wherever you are, it’s been a while since I’ve done this coffee-sharing-thing. Yeah, I know it’s only been a month but to me, it feels like an eternity since I’ve written anything beside work emails and my personal diary.

Anyway, it’s been a month. Can you believe it? A. Month! A lot has changed yet some things still remained unchanged like my lack of opportunities to hike due to rainy weather. It’s been a strange year indeed but first, let’s get some drinks.

I’ll take a lukewarm water. That’s definitely something that’s changed about me. I haven’t drank coffee or anything caffeinated for the past month. Before, when I drank black coffee, I felt so much jittery afterwards that sometimes I had to march up and down the stairs at work to let some of the caffeine wear off. So I’m sticking with water nowadays.

If we were having drinks, I would tell you I am feeling much better than I was feeling a month ago. Last month, when I took a pause from blogging, I also took a pause from social media. For much of May, I focused nothing but work and when I got home, I focused on my garden – on helping it grow and making sure the weeds were staying away from the strawberries and peppers. In addition to those, I also added a small variety of perennial and low-maintenance flowers.

I have been making attempts to return to Facebook and Instagram during the last week or so but I think it’s time to return to blogging, at least starting on a weekly basis. I’ve missed writing and thoughts are beginning to pile in my head again.

If we were having drinks, I would tell you I recently passed my one-year-anniversary at work and as a reward, I got a generous raise and a great review from my supervisor. I was so needlessly anxious, nervous, and worrying about getting a bad review, not getting a raise, and worse, getting fired because the company let one of my co-worker go shortly after her annual review. So who’s to say I wouldn’t be the next?

Now, I feel so silly for worrying about such a thing.

If we were having drinks, I would tell you I lost 5 pounds during the last month and it’s all thanks to intermittent fasting. The first day was the worst. I kept counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until I could eat and my mind wouldn’t stop thinking about food. It was driving me insane but as the days wore on, I became less and less hungry and I began to feel free because there was one less thought in my head. Even at times, when I heard my stomach rumbling, I just let it rumble because after the rumbling stopped, I knew that’s when the fat-burning begins (at least that’s how I theorized the process).

My clothes are becoming looser and I actually feel great because of the fasting. Maybe it’s because I’m no longer overweight.

If we were having drinks, I would tell you how fast the time flies. I remember I was planning a road trip in March and April and before I know it, road trip time has arrived. My mom and I are leaving for a road trip right in two days and I am so excited. I am excited about getting to play the slot machines in Vegas and taking lots and lots of pictures like of the gigantic Hollywood sign in LA and the amazing sunset at the beach. Oh, and let’s not forget Antelope Canyon. I just hope I will make the most of it while it lasts.

Before I begin packing for my road trip and let you be on your merry way, I would like to show you a few of my favorite pictures I recently took – some landscape and some macros taken with my brand-new phone. Enjoy.