Insta model

I'd be an Insta model but I can't. Ha ha!

Social media has definitely influenced fashion and how we see ourselves. Before all of these trends started, I was already enjoying my fair share of fashion.

I never saw myself as a model (and still do not). I always enjoyed dressing nicely for what I could afford. Motherhood also influenced my fashion sense. Let’s say that for first 8 years, I discovered the wonders of going from exercise clothes to lounge wear most days of the week. We always dressed up on weekends but most of the week, our family enjoys feeling comfortable.

Going to work full-time changed my fashion sense. Dressing up to teach preschool music is different than getting dressed for a church job. When God blessed me with a job in academia, my fashion sense gained a whole new level of freedom.

No matter how many variables I deal with, I find it important to know who I am when it comes to choosing the clothes I wear. Here are a few lessons I've learned along the way:

I need help - one of the best things I did was to ask a friend who is a fashion designer to help me with my clothing choices. She looked at all of my pieces and gave me some great advice I follow until this day. Good advice on style is very helpful and needed. I needed a real person to tell me about the styles that actually would work for me. Her eye to detail helped me realized what I was missing in my closet as well.

I pay attention - I’m not a big trend setter but I do pay attention to trends. If I see something I like, I often get it from a thrift store. I also watch trends for a long time. I learned that everything goes on sale. If I wait long enough, I'll get what I want for a great price. Because I'm not paid to be a model I get to wait a while until I adopt a certain trend.

I know my worth - Confidence is the best accessory I'll ever possess. My worth and value do not come from the clothes I wear. I don't measure my worth by outward things. Knowing my worth makes this entire fashion journey make sense to me. I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker. She is in her 70s and she told me that she feels it is important for children to have a healthy sense of self-worth and confidence. Sure, an adult can pick it up later, but if you learn it as a child, great.

Folks, this is the best fashion post you'll get from me. I could be more specific and write about clothes, trends, prices, etc. I prefer to tell you about the things I treasure the most. My need for help is one of them. The knowledge that confidence is the best accessory is another good lesson. One can fake having confidence during a photoshoot. It is important to live well from the inside out and know that the way God sees you is the most relevant thing you'll ever realize. 

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95 days till 2017!

95 days and we are in 2017. We have work to do people! The key is to start where you are! Read "September is the new January" for inspiration. 

 I'm trying not to be discouraged when I look at my goals but to be inspired to reach them. Here's the thing about goal setting: just because I wrote it down, it doesn't mean that it will magically happen. It does mean that I have margin and guidelines for the year. 

One of my goals was to run an out of town half-marathon and the race is coming up this weekend. I trained, I set my goal and Sunday I will race after that goal (literally). I appreciate your prayers for a successful race and trip. 

Others goals have not been easy to do. I often think of ignoring them but that would not be fair to the person who wrote those goals last year (moi). I choose instead to keep pursuing them for 95 days and then I'll see what I can get accomplished.
One of my real life, goal setting inspirations, is my friend Jennifer. She's a working wife and mother of a little one who just finished her second Ironman Triathlon. Instead of thinking of her as someone who has supernatural abilities, I think of her as a wife, mother and professional who has a busy schedule but takes her goals seriously. I also admire her thankful heart. Recently she shared her thanksgiving for her family and the many people who support her so she can reach such a big goal. It does take a village! I'm thankful for Jennifer being one of my real life goal achieving examples.

So here is what I am working with:

Fitness Goals - I successfully trained for my Fall Half-Marathon and I'm on track to reach my PR goal. This upcoming race will also be my base race for the rest of the season. My ultimate goal is to PR the Chevron Houston Marathon in January. I have lots of racing to do and I plan on learning strategy that way. 

Family Goals - family schedules are quite fluid throughout the year. The first 6 months of this year was very intense. Okay, the first 8 months! Things are different now which means I have room to be on top of my family goal of scheduling dates with my husband. We've been dating when we can but the plan is to get a firm date each week. Another one of my goals is to "give everyone 100% attention: no looking at screens unless working." I've been convicted about this because I'm teaching through my actions. So far, so good. 

Business Goals - this one has moved slowly but not really. I've invited God into my business goals and I've been getting exactly what I can handle in this are. For that, I'm really happy. 

Faith Goals - I've been super late with my Bible in a Year plan but the great thing is that I haven't neglected Bible reading at all. During the summer I focused on Colossians and in the Spring, when things got busier for me, I read less in quantity. I still think I can catch up. Stay tuned! I also set the goal of (Biblical) Fasting more often. I'm glad my church has Fasts on Wednesdays, which is a great reminder of my goal. It's also nice to do it as a church. 

Other Goals - Most of my "other" goals were accomplished. I don't know why, it just was easier somehow to get those done. They were also travel related, which is nice.

I also would like to remind us that the holidays are near. As of today, we have:

89 days till Christmas
58 days till Thanksgiving

We don't celebrate Halloween but if you do, get on the ball! The goal is not to let these holidays catch you unprepared. How am I preparing? I've been cleaning closets and making room for the extra things we pick up at the end of the year. This is making me very happy!

Time is going to pass by my friend. Wisdom is found when you decide how to spend it towards reaching your goals. Have a blessed day!

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Dia das Bruxas (Halloween) nos Estates

Todo ano é a mesma coisa: as lojas ficam todas enfeitadas e o povo todo animado pro Halloween. Este feriado é de origem pagã. Em vez de entrar na onda, nós resolvemos colocar enfasis na celebração da estação de outono e o dia de ações de graça. A gente leva as crianças pros "campos de abóbora."

 A gente fala muito sobre a importância da gratidão ao Senhor e as pessoas.

 E a gente aproveita pra tirar aquela foto maneira de natal, se as crianças deixarem é claro.

 Ok Cintia, mas o que isso tem haver com o Halloween que é hoje? A gente explica pros nossos filhos que o Halloween não tem nada haver com Deus. Nós dizemos pras crianças que somos cristãos e não comemoramos essa data. Ensinamos que eles podem se fantasiar o ano todo (o que é a alegria da criança americana), e não precisa esperar uma data pra fazer isso.

Uma senhora que conheço disse que é importante dizer pra criança que Jesus não é pão duro (então precisamos dar doce de qualidade) e que ele não é contra alegria (então precisamos deixar as crianças se divertirem). Muitas igrejas ajudam a comunidade com isso. Elas inventaram um evento que se chama "Hallelujah Night" (noite do Aleluia). É um evento pra comunidade toda com brincadeiras, doces e onde eles falam de Jesus pra comunidade. Lá na igreja a comunidade toda aparece e muita gente aceita a Jesus ou recebe oração.

Esse ano meus filhos me lembraram muito da minha infância no Brasil. Minha família não comemorava São Cosme e Damião. Meus pais sempre explicavam o porquê e sempre compravam doce pra gente. Quando as pessoas nos ofereciam doce na rua a gente nunca aceitava. Meus filhos perguntaram quando eles iam de porta em porta pedir doce. Meu marido e eu explicamos que a gente não fazia isso. Acho que com o tempo eles vão entender.

Tenho não julgar os meus amigos cristãos que comemoram o Halloween. Conheço muito crente que adora, que põe fantasia e cai na forra. Sei que não sou responsável pela alma deles, e pra falar a verdade, eles não me pedem opinião então a oração é a melhor coisa que posso fazer.

Até eu ter filho eu não sabia o que eu ia fazer com a tal da fantasia. No contexto cultural, a fantasia pra criança é parte da infância aqui. Daí chega em Outubro, a criança está cansada de fazer isso, a mídia e os pais que põe aquele ânimo pra comprar fantasias novas e ir buscar doce.

Outra coisa que tenho pensado é que além de não ser pão duro e de não ser contra festas, Jesus tem o domínio próprio. Nessa terra de abundância, muito doce é dado, consumido e jogado fora. A doença que mais mata aqui não é cancer, mas são doenças cardíacas. Desde criança, a mensagem que se dá é: pode se esbaldar criança, "descança, come, bebe e folga"! (Lucas 12:15-21). Eu acho importante ensinar o domínio próprio através do meu exemplo e através dessas épocas do ano que se dá muito doce. Não desisto por conta de cansaço ou lágrimas. Acho injusto deixar criança comer 3,000 calorias de doces sem ensinar o domínio próprio.

Eu acho que não estou aqui pra acusar o mundo porque o mundo já tem um acusador. Eu estou aqui pra representar o meu Senhor Jesus. Minha oração é pra que eu seja luz nesse mundo, especialmente nos dias que eles comemoram a escuridão. 

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Babies in Costume

Today is Halloween. I'm seeing some babies in costume which has been really cute. Apparently in my niece's daycare, some kids have been dressing up the whole month, lol! They have a party today, I gotta post the photos later. I think she was going to be a princess but they ended up choosing an angel costume, she looks really cute.

We've spent a lot of the week around my niece and nephew, that was a lot of fun. We live so far away that we do treasure the little time we spend with them, especially now while little babies.

Our time away has been great. To be honest, we've done so much I almost forgot I was pregnant. Being away from home is much different, there's no routine on the road, so we're doing the best we can.

My eating has been good. I haven't been overwhelmingly hungry but I still do eat often. I haven't really exercised this week although I wanted to do that. I'm getting as much rest as I can. Back to normal on Monday.

So, this is week 13, next week I will be officially out of the first trimester, can you believe it? This trimester is supposed to go by fast cause you find out you're pregnant by half of it :) Thank God I'm still feeling great. My goal is to keep exercising, keep lifting weights and eating the best I can. It's really funny that I haven't craved sweets (or anything else by this matter). I guess that was my personal stereotype on pregnancy. It's been a great time. I'm looking forward to having more peace and joy as the months go by. I'm also looking forward to painting the baby's room and making it nice and cozy way before the last trimester. By then I'll probably saying: come on baby!!!

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