favourites

here's a little friday fun! my five favourite cheerful places to look at when I've got free time or need a laugh!

1. #myfriendsaremarried - omg, this is seriously the funniest tumblr. as a single girl with a lot of married friends, this blog is basically constantly reading my mind.

2. ps.heart - this blog is a) incredibly beautiful b) written by two beautiful lovlies and c) my inspiration when I can't find my creativity. check it out!

3. anna akana - I love Anna's thoughts on life. she's smart, funny and a feminist. she's recently exploring making short films and I'm loving all of her twisted creativity.

4. fitsugar - way to make fitness look glam, fun and fabulous! I love reading articles on here. it motivates me and keeps me interested.

5. sexplanations - Dr. Doe, a sexologist that I adore (and pretty much want to be when I grow up!!), explains sex concepts in a clear, frank way - plus she's hilarious and goofy.

share the love - tell me what your favourite cheerful websites are!

visited

As you may have noticed, I haven't posted for a week - I was on vacation visiting my family in BC. I chose not to pre-prepare blog entries because I literally had no time to sit down and plan things out in the week before I left, and I didn't want to just throw together a post for the sake of posting. But I'll be back to regular content on Monday.

This was a really special trip to me because it was the first time I got to meet my nephew + godson Jacob. He is so sweet and I love him so much! I'm already missing him and his cuddles like crazy! Here are a few snaps of my little visit to the tiny, rainy town I come from.

how to get up early to work out

I am SOO not a morning person. At all. Buuut... I much prefer being finished my workout early in the day so that I can have fun in the evening. Getting up before work to work out has proven to be incredibly challenging. So here is how to get up early to fit in a work out in 15 easy steps.

1. set around 500 alarms the night before.

2. tell your roommate to call you at 5:45 am so that you really can't avoid the workout

3. argue with your roommate about why she should get up at the crack of dawn just to make sure that you do.

4. learn to deal with the fact that you're an adult and have to be responsible for your own wake up times.

5. go to bed really, really early. so you can get up at the earliest time of day and feel energized and ready.

6. Lay in bed for 45 minutes wishing you could fall asleep.

7. Watch 3 episodes of Sex and the City since you can't sleep anyways. Start drifting off as you contemplate whether you love or hate Miranda.

8. Wake up to your first of 500 alarms. Turn off all of your alarms because you're sooo going to get out of...

9. Wake up an hour later and realize you totally haven't made it out of bed yet. If you get up now, you can still fit in a 45 minute Zumba video before work.

10. Bargain with yourself for fifteen minutes. If you just get up and go for a light jog for 30 minutes, you can totally have the full-fat latte at Starbucks.

11. Holy crap, now you've only got half an hour. If you really think about it, you can only work out for 20 minutes because you have to get ready for work after and you really don't want to be late.

12. Maybe you can fit in a quick power walk. You did wake up early, after all.

13. Nah. Decide that if you just eat healthy for the day and try to walk a lot while at work, you can skip the work out.

14. Sleep for 15 extra minutes.

15. Have the full-fat latte at Starbucks anyways. Decide you'll start tomorrow because "Thursdays are a better day to start a fitness/diet regimen anyways."

stressed out

This week, I've been experiencing an anxiety flare up.

Which is weird, considering I'm finished school and a lot of my projects are wrapping up. In a lot of ways I have nothing to be stressed about.

I saw this TEDx talk a few days ago, and thought it was soo insightful! the concept of anxiety preparing us to deal with the worst is honestly such a beautiful way of looking at it. what do you think? could you and stress be friends?

fairtrade beauty finds

social justice and human rights are incredibly important to me. one way I've tried to make a difference is via Fairtrade - a trade justice system that ensures farmers get paid fair wages, have safe working conditions and that the environment is respected (look for the green/blue symbol!).

Okay, this picture is a little outdated...

I'm all about Fairtrade coffee, tea, sugar and chocolate, and recently I've been exploring Fairtrade beauty items!

This sugar scrub is seriously incredible. It leaves your skin feeling SO soft and it smells amazing. Within one use, it became one of my favourite beauty products. It's also made in Vancouver, so it's great to be supporting small, local businesses!

This Fairtrade shea butter lip balm from Ten Thousand Villages pretty much instantly heals up your lips. It feels so smooth - and my lips were noticeably better within a few hours.

This Fairtrade foot lotion is my go-to solution in the winter. It'll leave your feet feeling happy even in those sad, dry winter months - and it smells lovely!

So there you have it - my [current] Fairtrade beauty favourites. This is one thing I'm always on the look out for - so if you have any favourites please let me know!!

reward

Kind of embarrassingly, I respond to reward/punishment systems really well.

When I was a student (all of those many days ago), I constantly had to reward myself for successfully studying. If I studied hard for an hour, I could watch a 20-minute episode of Family Guy. If I wrote a page of a research paper, I could watch a few YouTube videos. You know. I'm basically Skinner's pet.

It's kind of the same thing for weight-loss for me - every five pounds, I reward myself with a non-food gift of at least $25. If I work out 6 days a week, I get a little me-time (aka - nail polish, at-home-facial, hair mask, etc). If I eat healthy for 6.5 days a week, I get a cheat-night where I don't have to count calories and it's all guilt free.

Right now I'm working towards this eyeliner from MAC.

How do you motivate yourself to keep it up?

ENFP Confessions #6

I've said it a billion times: I love people. Most of the time I think this is my favourite thing about myself and my greatest strength.

I care about people instantly, and I have a really hard time having acquaintances - I want to be friends with everyone. I love people's stories and I love getting to know people on a deeper level.

While this is a huge benefit to being an ENFP, in a lot of ways it is exhausting and challenging. This became the height of exhausting and challenging in this break up that I'm going through. Being in love was a strange experience.

For me, what set apart loving someone and being in love with someone was an unconditional trust. Obviously, I'm still early in the break up process, but I kind of think that being in love is being bonded with someone for life. At least for this ENFP. Trusting someone on that level pieces them into your identity and soul. It's magnificent and terrifying all at once. And I don't think that just goes away. Maybe Hopefully it changes in time, but I can't imagine it ever going away. Being in love may always be a part of who I am.

This might be an experience shared by all of MBTI, but I think it's a bit of an ENFP thing. Loving people is such an important part of my life, loving people defines me. I can't imagine un-loving anyone. Loving someone is forever... right?

panic attack

have you ever had a panic attack? the fear sets in and suddenly your heart rate is through the roof. as you try to calm down, your palms become sweaty and you can't really concentrate - except, at the same time you're fixating and sliding down the rabbit hole into a panic-stupor. you're overthinking, your muscles feel weird, your stomach starts to hurt and you have a hard time carrying on a conversation.

in my personal experience, at this point things can go one of two ways: you have a panic attack, or you successfully calm yourself.

before you're breathing into a paper bag (does anyone really do this??) and having a major panic attack, there are definitely a few things you can do to calm down - or to help calm down a friend!

for me, the last thing I want to hear is stay calm or relax. obviously, if I could, I would. the biggest thing that works for me is distraction. if I'm with someone else I'll ask them to tell me some story about their life, and if I'm alone I'll try to find something to read or listen to. novelty really helps here.

as obvious as it sounds, deep breathing is your best friend in a panic attack situation. you need to let your nervous system know that the fight or flight panic response is not needed. the best way to do this is by behaving in a calm way: deep breathing, not allowing your thoughts to race (take control! write things down - you won't be able to write as quickly as your thoughts are going) and stretching are all ways to inhibit that fight or flight response.

the deep breathing exercise that works for me has always been inhale for 4 counts, hold for 3 counts, exhale for 5 counts. that will slow everything down (and concentrating on the counts will distract you!)

if you have passed the threshold into the having-a-panic-attack mode, let it run its course. do your best to calm down with deep breathing, and if you're with someone let them know where you're at. it might feel like you're having a heart attack and about to die, but gently remind yourself that you're not going to die and it will eventually die down. be kind to yourself + don't blame yourself. most people will have a panic attack in the course of their lifetime, so you are not alone.

how do you deal with panic attacks?

how to survive a breakup

it's pretty weird how one day, someone is your everything, and the next day you're not really allowed to talk to them. In the span of a 20 minute conversation, everything changes: this person that once consumed your thoughts, future plans and so much of your time is no longer a part of your life. Isn't that weird?

break ups really, really suck. This is not my first rodeo, so I know how to beat get through the break-up blues. Through the first few days, you gotta give yourself time to mourn. Eat, cry, be angry, have bellinis, watch movies, cry some more, eat more, read books, cry even more. Stay in bed for the whole day. I also like to sprinkle cleaning and self-care into the first few days. Cleaning because it's easy to basically burn your whole house down in the process of hating the universe. Self-care because it's easy to basically burn your whole body down in the process of hating the universe. Get some exercise, give yourself a facial, paint your nails. Whatever makes you happy. After those first few days, put on some real pants leggings and face the world. Order the full fat drink at starbucks, spend time with friends and carry on with your life. You'll still be incredibly sad, you'll still be hurting - but you've gotta actively try to love yourself and heal.

there's no real timeline here, but when you're ready, your mind will automatically enter phase 3 of the break up - it doesn't really hurt anymore, you're not plagued by sadness + you're mostly all healed up.

to me the hardest part of a breakup is correcting that mental routine of thinking about your ex-partner. For the past three years, I've only really thought about one person - it's really tough to convince your brain to not think about that person! but like any habit, over time it becomes a lot easier. The other hard part of a break up, for me, is allowing myself to experience the sadness, the hurt and all of the other emotions associated with break ups. I put such a big pressure on myself to "just be okay" because I think that's what others want from me. But this time, I'm trying pretty hard to let myself experience all of the crappy stuff because I really think that's the best way to heal after this kind of hurt.

remember who you are. That's the most important thing. You're worth so much and you deserve the best. 

new things

Okay, I love trying new things. Especially new makeup and beauty products... but sometimes, it can be a little bit intimidating because you don't want to spend eight billion dollars to try a product that turns out to completely suck! [this is why I'm obsessed with getting sample sized products!]

In April, I tried a few new beauty products and I thought I would write about my experience with them here.

scrub your nose in it
okay, as TMI as this may be, I have huge pores. I'm not sure why or how this happened, but when I saw that this scrub reduces pore size, I had to try it out! It was a little bit on the expensive side, but so far I've really liked this product. I actually have noticed a reduction in my pore size and my skin has been so much softer! it also smells amazing. definitely worth trying if you are looking for a new scrub!

they're real
to be honest, I don't know what I think of this product. I'd read on a lot of other blogs that it was awesome, but I've found it to be a bit of a letdown. It works, but it's a bit clumpy and a bit heavy and my makeup remover has a hard time taking it off. I also only wear it when I'm going out in the evening as it always feels like a little much for work - although I'm not sure why.

watts up
I am OBSESSED with this product! it's my first highlighter and it gives just the right amount of sparkle and shine without being too overwhelming. this is my favourite thing to put on if I'm having a blah day and I want to lighten up. it's seriously fantastic.

remotivate

About a year ago, I hit an incredible milestone. I had lost 100 pounds. I didn't use any programs, any diet pills or any juice cleanses. It was just me + myfitnesspal + paying close attention to what I was eating... and, obviously, exercise.

This was a huge accomplishment, and I was incredibly proud. It took me about a year and two months.

When school got out that spring, and I no longer had random gaps in my schedule, it became harder to go to the gym. I was also working more, which meant that I could afford to eat out more often. In addition to that, my anxiety began to grow (for seemingly no reason) and food became a comfort source once again for me. The pounds began to creep back up on me, and by the end of the summer I had put on about 40 pounds. That's TEN pounds a month.

When school started again in September, I committed to taking better care of myself again, but it became harder and harder as much anxiety blew itself completely out of control. Over the 8 months of school that just passed, I gained about 30 pounds. Which means I've gained 70 of that 100 pounds back - and I hate it. I want to get back into it. I'm in a wedding in August and I want to be happy to be in wedding pictures, not ashamed and hiding behind others.

So I've re-started my journey yesterday - it's hard because I'm going through a breakup and I'm broke. But there will always be excuses and I can't let that get in my way! Soooo... I've decided to start another series on my blog! /Weightloss/Workout Wednesdays! And today's post is about my three favourite ways to motivate yourself to work out.

Find a buddy: working out with friends, for me, means that a) I'll actually go to the gym and b) that I get to have fun while working out! I think it's been shown that working out with friends can really improve one's fitness.

Get some great music: I cannot do cardio without music. Right now, my go-to workout music includes Stars Dance (Selena Gomez), Fancy (Iggy Azalea) and Grown Woman (Beyonce).

Use an app: I use myfitnesspal (find me! my username is robineyy). It's an awesome, user-friendly app and website. It also syncs up with a Fitbit or newly a Jawbone Up (and I'm thinking of getting one!). It's great to have an online weight loss community to keep you accountable and it's also great to have as a guide for food and fitness.

So those are my re-motivation tips! What are yours?

currently

a fun list of the things I currently can't get enough of

[watching] Game of Thrones. This season has been incredible!

[reading] Lean In for Graduates. Sheryl Sandberg has some incredibly insightful thoughts.

[listening] to Dreams by Boots + Beyonce. So so so addicted.

[making] a schedule for my blog posts for the month of May! Exciting things coming!

[feeling] a little lost, confused, sad, excited and relieved. Lots of stuff going on. 

[planning] fun things to do when I visit my home town later this month!

this is the plan!

[loving] my amazing coworkers. 

some of my crazy aforementioned coworkers 

chill out!

I am SO excited to introduce a new series on my blog: mental health mondays! Like most of my ideas, this one came to me in the shower - I've been so excited + planning ever since! I'm starting off the series with my favourite ways to beat anxiety in the springtime!

As all y'all know, I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and in general struggle with anxiety during the day-to-day. I think a lot of people deal with anxiety and in a lot of ways our society tells us that we need to perform + be at a standard that isn't really achievable. This creates so much stress and anxiety, and the problem is cyclical: the more anxious we become, the more our performance suffers, so we become even more anxious. We become anxious about controlling our anxiety (or at least I do!) and ensuring that we don't seem anxious. One awesome way to beat this cycle is to [essentially] take a time-out. Doing whatever you love is going to make everything a little bit easier. These are some of my favourite ways to take a time-out during those high anxiety times.

If you have five minutes: When I only have a short period of time to calm the hell down, I pour myself a large glass of water, listen to my favourite song + give myself a temple massage or practice deep breathing. I won't do any work or talk to anyone for the duration of the song and just focus on calming down and taking care of myself. Some mini-me-time.

If you have half an hour: When I have a real break, there are a few different de-stressers I like to hit up. Taking a quick, brisk walk really ups the endorphins and makes me feel better. Sometimes I'll watch a 20-minute episode of a tv show if I really need to be mindless. Other times I'll call one of my besties or my mom and get a quick pep-talk. It's ideal to find something that will distract you from the anxiety, and also get some happy-hormones flowing. Connecting with others, laughing at the Mindy Project + getting exercise are all great and non-time-consuming ways to do this!

If you have a few hours: When I have a free evening or a few free hours (especially if it's been a really high-anxiety day) I will hit up a hot yoga class. Yoga has been scientifically proven to ease anxiety - yoga stimulattes the vagus nerve. Calming down that flight or fight response is what really works to ease anxiety (more info here). If I don't have the $$, I'll practice a few simple positions at home and focus largely on deep-breathing. When I'm at home (in BC), a long walk by the ocean is another chilling-out favourite. Alternatively, if I'm super wiped out, I'll light a candle and watch a movie or read a book. Just taking that down time can really help with the "high anxiety exhaustion." 

Starbucks is always my fave back-up plan on stressful, busy days.

I'm so thrilled to be posting this first mental health monday post! if you have a topic you'd like me to write on for a mental health monday, tell me in the comments below! what are your favourite ways to deal with anxiety? I can't wait to announce more exciting changes for On the Shoreline - coming soon! 

graduation + studenthood

Yep. Finished my degree. Convocation is on June 10th! And it's just starting to set in - a few days ago, I got home from work and turned on the tv. After mindlessly flipping through channels for awhile, I realized that I should probably be more productive. I turned off the tv, and sat down at my desk... only to realize that I have nothing to do. No homework. No readings. No papers.

It feels pretty great. Also a few days ago, I was filling out some kind of form/survey. I got to the question "how much education have you completed?" and for the first time could answer "Bachelors Degree" instead of "some college" (whatever that means).

It does make me think, however, that being a student has been a part of my identity for such a very long time. I've been a student for about 17 years - and I've only been alive for 22! But I'm excited to see what non-student life is like. Once I get past the post-exams-12-hours-of-sleep-per-night phase.

I'll miss this guy!