Angelstar Christy

My Journey into the Kitchen: Baby It's Hot! (Part 2)

By Christina Kim - May 04, 2020

Continuing from the last part of my story, here is the sequel to my journey into the kitchen...

If I used to think that cooking was not part of my future vision, there is no doubt baking would never even cross my mind.
It is weird really, considering how I do love pastries, especially muffins and cupcakes or anything really light, but I never really thought I would bake them myself. I guess it could be due to the fact that I never grew up with an oven back at home?
It was probably easier to just get one or two of these pastries from the bakeries out there and growing up in the city just made everything so easily accessible that it did not seem necessary to have to make anything ourselves and that just probably made us lazy.
So, how did I venture into this whole baking business?

I guess it also has to do with my resolution to eating healthier and due to my fussy requirements and restrictions (which seems to be getting more and more stringent) due to health concerns, I have lost trust in most of the food served out there in restaurants. I have always been very sensitive to food, perhaps due to a weak digestive system and immune system at the same time (they are both interconnected and more vitally linked than you thought), I knew I had to take charge myself to care for and enforce my own immunity.
That was how I started cooking and then I am not sure when it started, but possibly because I also found myself developing sensitivities to gluten, I was advised by my doctor to stay away from them. That meant no more muffins anytime I want or anything that could cause disharmony and discomfort to my system.
It was sad but it was important for my digestive system, and even though it was hard, I know it is definitely worth it.

Perhaps I started missing them and then since I was already preparing and making my own meals, I thought, why not learn a little about baking as well?
I do not aim to be professional or artisan baker, but just to make simple cakes and muffins for my own consumption and since initially I did not have an oven (just yet), I went with the simpler recipes of steaming my cakes.

First, I had to learn about the different types of flour which are gluten free, and it was amazing the varieties that exist. I started out with these gluten free flours, with coconut flour being the first (it's a real beast to tame by the way), almond flour and later to some whole grain flours as well. Everyone will tell you that learning to bake is not that hard but when it comes to experimenting or actual hands-on, you will find the reality differs with each individual even if you were to follow the exact recipe.
Therefore, for someone who never even played with the usual flour and dived straight into these gluten free territory, it was way more experimental than you would have thought.
For starters, it was not easy to find a lot of these gluten free recipes, one that used the type of flours of my preference and most online are the conventional ones using whole wheat flour, cake flour, bread flour, etc, all of which are of wheat-based. With time, guess the gluten free trend picked up and soon everyone started jumping on the bandwagon which was fortunate as more and more bakers and aficionados started sharing their recipes.
However, it still requires a lot of experiment and practice to perfect their recipes, for a novice like me and somehow, the more I learn, the more I found myself immersed in this whole new arena called baking.

After much consideration, I decided to get myself an oven, nothing fancy nor enterprise-like but just good enough for a beginner like me.
I opted to get the oven as there is just so much I can steam and there seems to be so much more to play around when it comes to baking in the oven.
It was a great decision because my oven, is worked to exercise its full potential almost every other day or at least once or twice a week.
From muffins, cupcakes (of course I would learn to bake my favourites first!) to cakes and simple breads (not you rising with yeast type yet, I guess I have not been infected with that interest yet though I am starting to consider making real bread too), it is rounds of experimenting with different flavours to the varieties of flour.
To be honest, I consider myself really lucky, not bragging or anything, but I don't think I failed that many times when it comes to baking. I managed to nail most of the recipes and slowly, even started to tweak the recipes and their ingredients to suit my personal tastes and preferences.
(I zoom through their portions and types of ingredients first to see if they are compliant with me anyway).

(Some of my earlier bakes - they turned out beautifully!)

I am proud of a few of my bakes and true to my dietary habits, I am quite a habitual eater as I tend to and like to stick to a few of my regular favourites, not just because they are fail proof, but just the way I am.
(I tend to like to eat the same things over and over again, I do not get bored that soon and it will take a long time until I get over it. I call that loyalty)

Over time, I have also started adopting a paleo and vegan approach in baking, incorporating these principles into my experiments.
It may sound infeasible, but honestly I really prefer these styles which is also already part of my lifestyle, though it may not be for everyone as someone had also commented on my bakes that it probably is more suited to my personal tastes and preferences, and that is indeed true (no offense taken).

I am not that bold to bake for everyone yet, as I still do not think I have mastered the skills yet though if I were to bake for others (soon), I will definitely follow an actual recipe which have been properly tested and tried than forcing upon others my taste preferences.
However, I have boldly baked for my own family twice, the first being just an experiment and the second, was for last Christmas. The first was better than expected but my Christmas bake turned out to be a little drier than I had anticipated.

(My Christmas cake - Pandan Coconut Pistachio Cake which turned out a little cookie-like after refrigerating for three days. It was considered okay since it was made with coconut flour which tends to absorb most of the liquid and makes pastries more dense, therefore given that it was kept in the fridge for three days and even traveled in the car, it was not too bad that it dried up. However, lesson still learnt)

It was a good learning experience though and I learnt to pay more attention to the moisture level in my baking since then, achieving a more moist texture now every single time.

I loved the combination in my Christmas experiment that I even made them into muffins after that and baked them several times.

(My Pandan Coconut Pistachio muffins - I personally loved the cracks on the muffins )

I find baking really an enjoyable activity though my taste tester still remains my closest, the hubby but it was really satisfying to see a nod on the head and an approving smile, not to mention the therapeutic effect of seeing the batter rise slowly in the oven.
*Note: Gluten free baked goods tend not to rise as well as conventional ones but they do rise a little too.

I dare not say I am a professional but I am happy to see my own bakes turning out better and better over time and I am getting bolder to experiment and playing with more varieties of flour. However, do take note that gluten free and grain free flours can be way more expensive than regular flours, and there are also the binding and rising agents to consider when baking with them, so it really takes a bit of time to getting to know and familiarising with the ways the flours work and interact with the ingredients.
Then, there is also the flavours and tastes of each ingredients to consider, along with their effects on the overall final product.
There is just so much to learn and play with that the options and possibilities are just endless.

Baking now seems to be part of my life and muffins from the confectionery? They seem to be far behind in the past, and I doubt I will go back.

Here, a few of my bakes that were more successful :)

(My personal favourite Raspberry Muffins)

(Another variation, Raspberry Almond Muffins - one of the most successful version I made)

(Yes, one of my favourite muffins for sure)

(The time I achieved the oversized version, YAY!)

(Blueberry Muffins)

(Chocolate cake in the baking - for the hubby)

There are still more muffins, cakes and breads that I have made that were not shared in this post, as the photos did not turn out so well due to the lighting (and sometimes I forgot), not because they did not turn out well.

Anyway, be assured that you will get to see more and more of experiments soon, if you would like ;)

*Author's Note:

This is not a sponsored/promotional post, and solely based on author's personal opinions and do not represent the general public.

Experiences vary from one individual to another.
You do not have to agree with me.

Art Direction and Photography Styling by Me.
Photos/Videos all belong to me and are copyrighted.
Please kindly ask for permission if you need to use any of my images.

LIKE my Facebook Page

Follow Me on Twitter @Angelstar

Stalk me on Instagram @AngelstarChristy

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Life Journey

My Journey into the Kitchen: Playing with Fire (Part 1 - The Beginning)

By Christina Kim - May 04, 2020

It was not love at first sight, at least it was definitely not, for me.
In fact, I was repulsive towards you and it took a very long time until I finally got to know you and little did I know, it was the beginning of a budding romance.
I was shy at first, afraid if things would go wrong yet hoping that everything would go right. I stayed on the conservative path and took each step with caution but slowly and surely, you showed me that there was really nothing to be afraid of.
As time goes by, I start to find myself drawn to you more and more, interested to learn more and everything about you and what you have to offer and you have been nothing but astonishing, for with every step, you continue to intrigue me.
You filled my mind, keeping my interest all the time for everything about you is just so new to me. I wanted to know more and more.
Stolen time and sneaking off to spend time with you, to bolder and bigger moves as I got to know you soon ignited more than just a spark...

That was the beginning of my love story and affair, that first taste of COOKING, which began, let's see, five years ago?

Now, where do I start?
From the very beginning, I suppose...

The journey of the pickeater and her food diary was my beginning, when I first started my blog. I remembered sharing photos of my mother's cooking and the food that she would serve us back then, along with other stuffs from my daily life such as my mum's blooming flowers and plants and also things that happen to me every day. I played around with my camera back then (really proud of my little digital camera) which was with me everywhere I went, and even at home, I would be taking photos of all the food and even my mum's preparation process (I started with just the end product, then I just started telling my mum I wanted to snap more photos). My mum was quite a sport then too, she joined in my enthusiasm by plating her food, and even halting everyone from touching their food until I had taken my shots.
Then I took that habit to my workplace as well and everyone around me was just as cool as they all waited for me to take photos (though they were initially bewildered and even laughed at me). Everyone slowly got accustomed to my "quirky" habits by then and I even had a bunch of really cool friends who would basically help to remind each other and others, to not touch the food until I take that photo. I had really great friends and they even went as far as to rearrange so that they will turn out aesthetically pleasing.
Oh, the good old times and how I have missed them as well.

I only took photos of the food I ate, but I never made any of them.
You see, I do not cook, I was not really interested in cooking back then and I have to admit, I don't even step into the kitchen often (yes, call me a brat).
If you told me back then that I would someday cook and perhaps form some sort of a culinary fascination/enthusiasm/attachment, I would probably laugh at your so-called premonition or defiantly tell you it ain't so.
Little did I know that laugh and defiance is going to hit me right back in my face more than a decade later.

That leads me back to the beginning, five years ago when hubby was based in another country and whenever I visited him on my trips, he would prepare our meals. It was fun watching him prepare our meals and then doing our grocery shopping together. Then when I got back home, I was alone and I slowly got sick of going out to buy my food. Furthermore, I even started missing eating at our usual/regular joints and their food (I am one of those who really do not enjoy eating alone when I am outside, especially in a restaurant which is usually filled with either couples or families. It just feels rather depressing, or at least, that was what I thought then)
Yes, I do know there are a lot of people out there who are alone and doing fine sitting by themselves and eating, not giving a care about the world but there are also some people who just don't enjoy it, that is all, like me, and not because there is something wrong with it.
That was before though, today I have also changed my opinion on that and I really do not mind eating alone sometimes (to be frank, I prefer and enjoy doing that too sometimes), so really, I am not criticising nor treading on a sore point when I mentioned that I do not like to eat alone.
Anyway, back to my story, and as I started to miss some of my favourite foods and also getting sick of take outs (one can only do so much take outs), and of course, most importantly, it was for the sake of my health as well.
So, I started making my own meals and going grocery shopping was definitely the precedent to that. After all, where do I get my raw ingredients right?
It was not that hard, besides I had learnt while shopping with my hubby as well (I rarely go to the market when I was a kid) and that was when I learnt about choosing the veggies.
(Of course, it is a no-brainer that you do not pick those wilted ones) but differentiating the juicier/tender ones were initially quite perplexing to me and I just went with my intuition.
Guess what, thankfully, my gut feeling has really never ever failed me (and I really mean never) and somehow, I just got them all right each time though there are times, I guess I just either got lucky or unlucky (when I did not listen to my instinct and just went with the visuals, *slaps self on the forehead). Learning to cook (nope, I did not refer to Youtube for unknown reason, perhaps it did not cross my mind then) and the timing to get the right taste was a fun continuous experiment as I was clearly a novice in the kitchen, with the little pan and spatula in my hand. I was a little afraid of fire and even the knife to be frank, you should have seen the way I cut my stuffs. It seemed like I was avoiding the knife rather than holding onto it, and the stove, I almost contemplated wearing a fireproof suit (just kidding).
I cooked with bare ingredients because frankly, I am a person with very simple and plain tastes and I do not like strong tastes so when I cooked for myself, I just kept it almost bare so that I can enjoy the natural taste of everything.
However, as I slowly learn more and got more interested in the different types of dishes (somehow cravings do come in and I started learning and doing my research on cooking recipes), I learn more about the different types of ingredients, the herbs, the spices, the tastes and flavours and even the role each and every one of them play, even to the level of the balancing effects on the human body. It is just like science, well, it IS science and I make my choices carefully, to avoid wreaking havoc on my hypersensitive digestive and overall immune system.

It became more and more fun, though I just made simple dishes and most of my cooking styles are steaming, stir frying, boiling, or poaching (my preferred styles anyway even when I dine outside) and to be honest, they were the simplest and most importantly, there is no major mess. Also, at the same time, I did not have a lot of kitchen tools to play with either, a trusty mix of regular pan and pot, my rice cooker and also a slow cooker. Yes, that was all I had and I remembered using the rice cooker to steam my stuffs and basically just prepared all that one pot meals before moving on to cooking on the stove.
Soups, stir fry vegetables, salads were probably on rotation most of the time and I think I still basically stuck to the same formula until now, though there are now braising, broiling, grilling, roasting and even baking these days too (yeah, I got myself an oven now, yeayyy, I will talk about that later).
I still make very simple dishes though I think now there are more variety to the dishes I make, such as curry (I do not take spicy food as I cannot, but now, I can since I tweak my own recipes and also for the hubs who love spicy food), herbal soups (from research and sometimes developed my own recipe after understanding the herbs), mixes and pastes, sauces and gravy, etc. Still nothing really complicated as of now, I am really no masterchef, far, far, far away from it, but I am really enjoying and proud of my own journey and evolution.
It was a really fun learning journey and I am still learning.
I look at others' cooking and I get inspired, then find out how they do it. I try to tweak it to my preferences and adjusted or just simply do enough research to develop a simple recipe for myself as honestly, I am really, really, really picky with my food and the tastes.
There is no one like me, well, I think everyone is just different, so no judgment needed.

My food is not totally tasteless either, as it evolves and I still do put salt (had an experience with low sodium issue before and salt/sodium is important in keeping the body at optimum level). The same goes for fat/oil, without which will cause severe damage to our nervous system which is central to everything in our body system.

So, here, a few photos of my food ( I am not going to share that many either, because well, I am still shy and not confident enough).

They are no Michelin-level, like I said, I am no masterchef but so far, no one has gotten ill nor poisoned from trying out my food so I think I am fine.

This is just the beginning as more food posts will make its way back into my blog, only difference is at least now I can tag some as food that I have made with my very own hands, with my spatula, pot and pan.

I am sure most of you are better chefs than me, so this is from a novice and the story of how her journey begins, from someone who has never stepped into the kitchen to someone who can at least make some basic dishes now. To me, it is quite an interesting journey which I continue and my story?
It is not the end yet as there is more to come after this....so stay tune for the Part 2...

*Author's Note:

This is not a sponsored/promotional post, and solely based on author's personal opinions and do not represent the general public.

Experiences vary from one individual to another.
You do not have to agree with me.

Art Direction and Photography Styling by Me.
Photos/Videos all belong to me and are copyrighted.
Please kindly ask for permission if you need to use any of my images.

LIKE my Facebook Page

Follow Me on Twitter @Angelstar

Stalk me on Instagram @AngelstarChristy

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Thoughts

Heal the World

By Christina Kim - April 25, 2020

Traveling seems to be a distant picture these days, in our current situation where the whole world seems to be engulfed in the thick smog of uncertainties as the pandemic continues to plague our lives and everywhere and everyone is just smothered by the orders to stay confined within their homes. There is no foreseeable timeline to the possibility of upcoming travel and while we do spend more time at home and our loved ones, kindling our relationships, it is also inevitable that we do miss that piece of the world outside.
The colour of the bright blue skies adorned with the puffy white pillow clouds embellished with the shimmering and sometimes sparkling bright rays of the golden sun enveloping the curvatures of pride embossed with carpets of green as they dip into the hollow valleys and lands on their feet immersed in the gushing waters in blue and green rolling over the bumps of the rocks or on the vast surface of the mighty ocean.
It is a sight indeed and a majestic one that meets no match.

I have missed traveling and I am sure many (or most) of us do. After all, the world is out there, so beautiful and resplendent that it is just waiting to be admired.
There are so many places in the world and so many on our list that we wish to see in our lifetime and we simply cannot wait to tick them off one by one as they grow and grow on our never-ending list. We are just insatiable of our wanderlust and we are so excited at the prospect of going to one place after another. How disappointed we must have all felt as our dreams are put to a halt at this moment! Even if we are not going to be traveling anytime soon, the thought of this forbiddance is sending us into despair not to mention frustration.
There is nothing we can do as we are helpless against a far more powerful threat (as it seems) at the moment and while we are resisting that urge, we are also holding it in in obedience for the sake of our livelihood, praying for salvation soon to end this dread.
All we can do is admire pictures of our past travel or stalk, scour and devour the sights offered on our screens and pages, thanks to all the enthusiasts and itchy feet owners who just could not stop remising on the better times of the past.
How have we taken the liberty to traipse around the globe for granted for so long!

However, while we are wallowing in our sadness over not being to travel, our Earth, on the contrary is rejoicing over it as it is kept free of our dirty prints and marks all over its surface. Environmental reports are showing the improvement of air quality and also in our waterways. Water is getting cleaner in places like Venice and air pollution index has seen a major dip in China, and there are even more of such significant environmental changes observed around the world. The Earth is taking its time to recover from all the ills we have caused upon it over time and it will continue to take time, as it will not be so soon to undo all that injuries we have inflicted upon and we are looking at major injuries.
It is so easy for us to book a flight which take us to any destination we desire, planning our itinerary and making our way to all the local landmarks with excitement. We look forward to have a bite of that local taste and to bring home a souvenir to remind us of the trip. We snap photos of everything and everywhere we leave our footprints, making sure we left no stone unturned while we are there, or at least, to the best of our ability. We dance with the locals, move around to get to each place of interest before we bid it goodbye, hoping for a next trip and head back to the airport to fly back to our home, sadly and gladly at the same time, while ideas of our next destination start to fill our minds.
How wonderful this picture is now that we can only imagine as we are stuck at home, isn't it? Those memories, the excitement and the happiness we felt which bring us to immediately pull out all those old photos to look at and start blasting our social media with a piece of this memory each and every single day. It is such a wonderful way to keep us feeling good in a time of uncertainty like this.
Alas, how oblivious we have also been of the impact of our favourite wanderlust on our beautiful Mother Earth and how ignorant we have been to her calls all this while!

Every trip we make fills our heart with excitement and joy but it tears a bit of our Earth slowly, ripping at her flesh, heart and soul every single time. She weeps in silence (or perhaps we just ignore the sounds of her cries) as we beam with joy, standing on top of her surface, leaving our footprints which is yet another wound on her body.
How are we hurting Earth, you may ask?
Every little thing we do is an added injury to Mother Earth.
From the carbon emissions from our aircrafts, to the space used to build airports, to the fuel in our rented cars/public transportation and those traveler/tourist specific mobiles to food that we put in our mouths, and those footprints we leave behind, they are not beautiful at all to Mother Earth as we tread on her soil and create more pollution to choke her to death. We destroy bits and bits of her as we grow in population and our prints are just that murderous weapons which grinds her skin and limbs. Flash photography too impose threats to certain plants and animals, and do I need to mention the poses and the things we do to take that wonderful shot for social media, traipsing all over a natural landmark, rubbing the soles of our feet on the ground everywhere? Our feet are protected by our shoes, but Mother Nature is bare skinned, and abrasions and wounds are inflicted on her continuously. We are harmless, or so we think, but just think of that same thing being done multiple, no, millions or even zillions of time, on that same spot of the wound, and do you think there will be any soil left? Imagine yourself having a wound and yet someone were to continuously rub or poke at your wound, will it not hurt?
It is so sad really, that all our joy are at the expense of Mother Earth's misery and as our population grew, so did the magnitude of the damage on her.

Over the years, travel has been affordable that almost everyone is able to travel and that has even amplified the effects on our beautiful planet, whether we realise it or not, though I pick the former. We are definitely aware of it, but we are still indignant to enjoy our lives to the fullest, because we "only live once" and we just have such itchy feet to explore the world for ourselves. However, Mother Earth has also reacted and we can already see and feel the impact of her reaction through the climate changes, the global warming, the extinction of our natural resources and the rise in the toxicity in the very air we breathe. Everything is now more and more damaging to our health these days, if we are not careful. Look at the numbers of diseases and maladies we have faced over the years and in the era we are living now, compared to our ancestors and you will see a major contrast.
We may be more intelligent and advanced in our progress these days, but we are also more prone to infections and contamination than before which we do not even have the answers, take for instance, our current situation and there may be even more in the unknown.
It is a scary thought to think of the problems we have created and bred over time.

Now as we are forced to stay at home and no travelling is allowed, it is actually a healing move for our Mother Earth as she slowly takes in her breaths and recuperates in peace.
The dirty waters are slowly cleaning without our presence and the air is also restoring its composition. Though it is not perfectly complete and there is still so much to recover, it is however, a changing step where we allow them to finally rest without disturbance from our loud presence everywhere.
It may be tragic to us that we do not get to see parts of our world as we please right now, but it is not to our Mother Earth who is slowly putting back parts and pieces of herself into their places, restoring their natural beauty as it once was.

Therefore, as we rest at home, Mother Earth is also, taking a proper rest after centuries, or millenniums since she started her work. We can mope over our restraints but be glad that our Mother Earth is enjoying her liberty at this point, and start thinking of our own actions and impacts to be more aware and cautious in the future.
This is not about telling you not to travel because I cannot stop you nor anyone else, for admittedly, I am also a big fan of seeing the world before I die, but there are also many ways we can look at to limit the impact of our actions on our beautiful planet.
Make responsible tourism part of our itinerary, minimise the toxins we release to the environment, choose wisely and be kind to the living species we see everywhere. Be mindful of the "trails" we leave behind, pick them after us, clean up, and encourage others to do the same.

It is time that each and everyone of us wake up, listen to the calls of Mother Earth and start to do our part to heal the world and make it a better place to live in.
After all, as the King of Pop sang in his lyrics, it is for "You and Me".
Together, we can heal the world.

*Author's Note:

This is not a sponsored/promotional post, and solely based on author's personal opinions and do not represent the general public.

Experiences vary from one individual to another.
You do not have to agree with me.

Art Direction and Photography Styling by Me.
Photos/Videos all belong to me and are copyrighted.
Please kindly ask for permission if you need to use any of my images.

LIKE my Facebook Page

Follow Me on Twitter @Angelstar

Follow my Google+

Stalk me on Instagram @AngelstarChristy

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Thoughts

A Letter to Our Beautiful Earth

By Christina Kim - April 24, 2020

0 Comments

Inspirations

A Daily Dose of Happiness

By Christina Kim - April 20, 2020

"Find a reason to smile"

I always find that reason, each and every single day.
Yes, there are days when things do not go out well and the day does not start off right, and it can be tough to force ourselves to lift the sides of our face in the upward direction but it does not mean it is impossible.
I am just human, and like everyone else, like all of you out there, I have days when I am just down and just cannot help but slip into the pit of emotions but I still try to pull myself out and remind myself that things do not always go well each and every single day, otherwise, why, won't the world be just so dull if there is no other shape but just a flat surface as it is constantly staying in that state and there is no rotation?
If the world does not rotate, we will always have countries looking at darkness and others, will never see the day end. The sea will not have waves, nor will mountains have bends and valleys and the river will not flow and so forth.
The thing is, there is nothing that stays constant and the only constant, is change.

Happiness is something that I have shared in numerous posts yet I will never tire of writing about them because it is just something I and everyone should keep in mind. Nobody wants to be unhappy right?
Happiness is always a choice and you can choose to be filled with happiness or even just be happy for that split second or you could just pick to be drowning in sadness. Nobody can decide that for you or me.
Every day is just bound to be different and it is not something we can control every single time but we can control the way we look at it, receive it and respond to the things that unfold. As I always say, it is always within ourselves to make that choice.
If there is anything we can control, that is our own choice.

Tears, feelings of heaviness, despair, frustration, anger, desolation, along with many not-so good feelings have also made their way into me and there are times I give into these emotions but after a good cry or vent, it is also time to rid ourselves of them and just hold our heads up. If I continue to dwell on them, what will change? Nothing. Will it make me feel better? Definitely not either. So, why keep myself in that state?
I can choose to mope all day or just mellow in misery but it will not change anything for the better. Instead it will make me feel heavy in the chest and sink into a state of oblivion and then unwell. There is really nothing good out of it.

"Things happen for a reason"
Everything, good or bad, always happens for a reason or a purpose, be it seen or unseen, known or unknown to us. That is what I have always believed and will continue to as well. It may seem like my own self-affliction to view things that way but it is indeed true for the reasons always come to surface even though long after the occurrence. It may seem to be a misfortune in the beginning but sometimes it could turn out to be a miracle and vice versa though the way I view it, it is always the former that prevails. Therefore, depending on how you view it, even misfortunes are actually miracles if you believe and besides,
"Behind every cloud, there is always a silver lining" and it has never failed me so far.

Every day can be a good day if we want it or see it that way.
Of course, some would scoff and say that it would be easier said than done, or no hardship had I undergone to be able to say such things easily. I have no right to tell someone who would be constantly hit with hardships in their lives nor convince them otherwise, and this is also not a command that everyone must adhere to. I understand that there are many who cannot nor are given an opportunity to even smile let alone try to be positive when they are hit with endless mishaps and I am not going to even try to say that I understand what they are going through because I truly do not, and my heart and soul go out to them. However, the only thing I can do for them is to keep them close in my prayers that they will find happiness or happiness will somehow present itself to brighten their days.
I am not a happiness coach nor preacher, I am just sharing my own perspectives to share that tiny bit of window for one to look out to and I think we all need that, especially in a time like this where everyone is filled with anxiety, fear, uncertainties and hopelessness as things seem to be grimmer by the moment. There is nothing we could do to change anything in the numbers of cases across the globe and the only thing we do is to continue to comply with the call to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus. Therefore, I take charge of my own life and look for my own ways to grapple the situation towards something I can control, my emotion and perspective.

That is how I find myself my daily dose of happiness, something to look forward to each and every day and they do not have to be something spectacular nor of material. All I need is just one thing (or more) and it could be anything.
If there is one thing I look forward to each and every day more than anything, I would definitely say that it is the rising sun at the break of every single day.
That ray of light, from a tiny flicker to its slow but sure and magnificent reveal of a majestic brightness that burst across the skies as they disperse to make way for the mighty sun is just that lift-me-up.

It provides me much satisfaction to just stare at this wonderful scene every single morning which also at the same time, kept me in awe of its wonders and sometimes, I would just stay fixated to the scene even long after, silently pondering upon its greatness.
I would even be inspired to pen a line or two, be it a poem, or just my thoughts of admiration for the beautiful and mighty scene that just takes place.
This, does not even cost a dime and already put a smile instantly on my face.

I love the sunset just as much, as I have said so myself many times but let us just focus on the break of day for now. After all, we don't need much but just one dose to make ourselves happy and of course, feel free to indulge in more.

It is just that easy to find something to smile about, if we can find a million things to fault with.

I leave you with just one thing today, that scene of sunrise which I captured in a few mornings, and I will continue to share more in my upcoming posts whenever I can.
This will mark the start of my new series, as titled and I look forward to these daily doses as they increase in numbers.

Have you found your daily dose of happiness?
What is yours?

Oh, and today, I even got a bonus, as there was even a rainbow on the other side of the sky!

Here's wishing you to find your rainbow too, every single day.

Happy Day, every single Day everyone!

*Author's Note:

This is not a sponsored/promotional post, and solely based on author's personal opinions and do not represent the general public.

Experiences vary from one individual to another.
You do not have to agree with me.

Art Direction and Photography Styling by Me.
Photos/Videos all belong to me and are copyrighted.
Please kindly ask for permission if you need to use any of my images.

LIKE my Facebook Page

Follow Me on Twitter @Angelstar

Stalk me on Instagram @AngelstarChristy

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Perspectives

Living vs Lifestyle

By Christina Kim - April 17, 2020

One of the most important things that this quarantine period has brought to surface is our way of living. It gives us an opportunity to closely examine and to take a microscopic view of the existing ways of how we have been living until now. With the restrictions imposed during this time, it goes without saying that grocery shopping is not like before. In fact, even stepping outside our houses is already considered a challenge and it is of course crucial not just for the containment of the outbreak but also for our own safety. It would do us good (even without the authoritative order) to stay inside our own homes unless it is absolutely necessary, i.e.: to buy food and groceries or any essentials needed such as medication. Even so, there are still many who failed to comprehend nor comply with such an advice, insisting on going out every single day (as they had been doing all the while on their normal routines) to buy their favourite food even if it is all the way in another district or even to buy their groceries every other day, when they ran out of one carton of milk or their favourite snack. It sounds ridiculous but there is not one or two, but many who are doing the same thing which is frustrating everyone and the authorities, as people are still going out and about as though nothing is happening and that it is just any other day.

Also, when it comes to groceries, many buy amounts of perishable goods in numbers which do not last long, with excuses that they prefer fresh or maybe just to find the reason to justify them going out a few days later and all these just defeat the purpose of the lockdown in the very first place. This brings me to my focal point here, about the way we are doing our groceries.
No, I am not providing a lesson on how to do your grocery shopping, that is up to you.
However, take a look at your grocery basket/cart, are you buying or stocking up on the essentials needed for survival or for a long term vacation. Of course, it is not something that I would like to judge nor would I want to, but just to share my personal perspectives on.

Limitations imposed no longer allow us to have a lot of choices to do anything we want and in fact, I am sure we have noticed that even supermarkets and stores have limited varieties as compared to days before this. The reason is simple, it is all about survival, and when it comes to survival, we should only look at our basic needs and not our desires. This quarantine is only temporary (hopefully) and we should be returning to our lives as soon as this whole issue is resolved and we only need to look at the means to maintain our lives and not enjoying ourselves. Besides, this is really not a time to be partying when there are people dying all around the world, every single waking second. Also, spare a thought for the health workers, do you think they would be looking through the menus to decide what they should have for lunch after their shifts are over? It is just about filling their stomachs, to get them going.
I am not telling you to live like a monk either, or not to buy your favourite food, and stay in a sombre mood. No, it is just a perspective that we can all look at, that when it comes to a time when we need to purely survive, can we differentiate between trying to live or are we still trying to live and maintain a lifestyle?
In fact, it will also make a huge difference in managing our expenses and this is something that most working class people, striving to make a living would understand. They do not have the luxury nor the privilege to enjoy a burger every day or a chocolate fudge several times a week. These are their occasional treats, the once-in-a-blue-moon kind and usually only when a special occasion calls for it. We are again very fortunate to be able to have and enjoy anything we want just with a single craving.

However, this time is also a time of uncertainty and whether we are privileged or not, it is also interesting to look at ourselves and ponder upon this concept. One of the simplest and cliche ways to put this into perspective is to imagine ourselves being stuck in the forest or on an island without any mode of communication.
Do we still strive to maintain a lifestyle, or do we just simply want to find a way to survive until we get out of that isolation?
Sure, there will be some who will still lament their fates and get frustrated as their minds are filled with all their favourite treats and that unfulfilled cravings but imagine being stuck longer than expected, and this, being on an isolated place means an indefinite time of being there where in our current lockdown situation, we are still told of the deadline. Then there is the availability of resources, on an island or in the forest, there is no grocery store nor your favourite pizza joint but only nature and you don't even the faintest idea on where you actually are, let alone know the way to the river or anywhere you can find food.
This is the perfect example to highlight the needs for living as when it boils down to a situation like that, with nothing, after all that whining, we will snap to our senses and realise that we need to, no, we must survive and make it out alive. The will and determination will give rise to strength to keep us going. That is when we know that we need to have the basics to keep ourselves alive which probably only comes down to air, water and food. We will figure out ways to find that source of water which we can drink, and forage for plants and even living beings (sans human of course, but in "Alive" - the book and movie, it shows us otherwise) to satisfy that hunger and to simply keep ourselves alive. Never mind about our skills, when we are forced to, we can and will definitely survive. That is how and what us humans are made of. It is no longer the time to think of things we want when even trying to survive each day is so mind-boggling.
Living is basically being a survivor on one's own, and what we really need, our basic needs, which, when you really come to think of it, is not really that much for it is all about keeping our lives. Staying alive, that is.

So, what we have been doing and the way we have been living has simply evolved into a lifestyle and that is of course, not surprising, given the evolution of life in general as well. It is not that we cannot enjoy all the things we want, in fact, we are truly blessed, privileged even to be able to enjoy everything and anything we want in this modern age but that probably has led us to be complacent and perhaps a little greedy as it seems that the more we have, the more we seem to want and that is the problem for we have lost sight of what is truly important and think that everything is important. We can no longer separate the essentials versus the luxuries and they have overlapped each other, blurring the lines, confusing us even further or perhaps, we have allowed ourselves to continue to be misled by that misty situation simply because we do not want to get out of it for our pure enjoyment.

That is the reason why I see that this quarantine period slowly brings to light that reality and for us to realise that with limited resources, we could actually do without most of the stuffs we used to have especially since we cannot replenish everything right now when they run out. We just do not have the luxury to nor the means to, as everyone is confined to their homes where not even the vendors are allowed to operate unless they fall into the category of essentials such as food and critical functions. Furthermore, there are also many who have been affected as they are not allowed to work where even their basic mode or rather, their source of income is already on the borderline and they are even more savvy with their spending where they can no longer splurge on anything they want anytime.
This is the important realisation that we have built too much on a lifestyle and we have lost sight of truly living.

We do not need that much to live upon, to be honest and all that we think we "need" are actually more of a desire. When it comes down to it, we will realise that we can do without it as well, especially during this time for even if you think you "need" it, you simply cannot get it anyway and you are forced to make do without it and you will realise that even without it, you are still breathing and alive.

Of course we can still live and enjoy a lifestyle, but just take some time to ponder upon this, have we built too much of a lifestyle to really focus on living and do we still remember what truly living means? Are we just too focused on the material needs that we think are important to keep us going and lose sight of what truly matters most?
Besides, air, water, and food, think about love, health and passion and other things or even people close to our hearts.
There are definitely more things more important than that chocolate fudge or brownie you reach out for.

Ask yourself, do you really know the difference between living and lifestyle?

To live is to stay alive and be human and a lifestyle is simply one built of wants and needs and to be perceived as the ability of more as we want to be seen as living a good life, which has gotten us to be sucked into this whole thing in the modern society.

In a time like this, is it important to live or to have a lifestyle?

*Author's Note:

This is not a sponsored/promotional post, and solely based on author's personal opinions and do not represent the general public.

Experiences vary from one individual to another.
You do not have to agree with me.

Art Direction and Photography Styling by Me.
Photos/Videos all belong to me and are copyrighted.
Please kindly ask for permission if you need to use any of my images.

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Follow Me on Twitter @Angelstar

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Check out my Pinterest @Angelstarc

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