my new Friday series...

this may be a cop out. haha probably is. however I am starting a youtube series every Fri displaying my favorite youtube creations of the week to make you laugh, cry, or inspire you!

this week I would like to feature an amazing spoken word speaking on religion & Jesus which has touched me! I'm sure you may have all seen it already since it's been a craze but here it is:

Check out his other work!

I wanted to ask for your prayer requests. I am frantically studying for board exams coming up Feb 7th and I am getting very anxious...doubting myself...feeling discouraged etc! 

I need to step my game up and regain my confidence!  I've been studying nonstop in between my clinic rotations, patients, and life and I am started to get very exhausted. 

So any prayers or encouragements would help! 

Source: google.com via Kaela on Pinterest

You may have been wondering...(since some people have asked me)...when are you going to feature your husband that you talk about here and there?! Well I am excited but I will be dedicating my next blog WEEK to him! Yes people. Cheesy but seven whole blogs featuring my love from the first day we met to our wedding day to his favorite recipes and our travel adventures thus far! (Btw he reads my blogs everyday....& he doesn't know this yet..until now? :] )

Why next week?

Well the 19th is our FOUR year anniversary of being together & we also got engaged on our 1 year anniversary! So it seemed like the perfect time. 

Teaser for Monday's blog:

The first day we met :) 

Be blessed. Be inspired & love someone extra hard today. <3 md

happy birthday to the biggest kim chi lover I know!

Muscle contest!!

Happy 21st (+10) birthday to my brother Tony! 

I grew up with three older brothers in California and I was (or am?) my mom's only baby girl! I have three half siblings from my father's previous marriage however I am still the youngest out of all of them!

Tony and I are about 5 1/2 years apart...we are the two youngest. We also have the darkest features (darkest hair, skin, & eyes)...the most artistic...the best cooks (haha)...best dancers (jyeah!)..and well...the MOST stubborn.

Growing up I never thought any of us (4 siblings) looked alike at all but Tony and I were always labeled as "twins" which now I can definitely see. I actually think all four of us have very similar features from my mom and dad equally.

Over the years, Tony and I have shared many hard times that have led us to love and support each other even more. I know he won't place any judgement on me no matter what I open up to him about and vice versa.

We've been able to relate to each other in many ways including our love for music, dancing, art, and food! And from the beginning of my relationship with Ryan, we encountered some adversity for many reasons, and Tony was one to the people to support us immediately. He opened his heart to Ryan and did not place any judgement on me or him which encouraged us a lot. It was priceless.

In my family, I have worked my way the totem pole to gain respect for my ninja culinary skills. However when I was growing up, Tony was the one cooking me eggs and fancy paninis/egg sandwiches after school (yes he also shares the same love for eggs as I do). All my culinary influences are actually not from famous chefs or food network shows, but from family that have influenced me positively! Yes I still love the food channel but now my style of cooking just incorporates the creativity that exudes from the television. 


Recently Tony introduced Ryan and I to his culinary arts and love for Korean food- Kim Chi Fried Rice & that's what I am going to show you in this blog! Tony uses a korean style marinated beef with kim chi however I didn't have that on hand so I improvised and did my own version with chicken!

an egg makes the world go round...

Meet someone who couldn't agree with me more! My roommate throughout some of the biggest changes of my life- Julia!

After coming back from traveling through Europe & taking a whole semester off of Chiropractic school, I was looking for a place to live (last minute)! A mutual friend referred me to Julia who was renting out a room from her condo near our school. She was also a Chiropractic student at the time.

I didn't hesitate and neither did she! For all she knew, I could of been some psycho but she opened her home to me anyways (haha)!

Well turns out, we've been through very similar life experiences. We both love to cook. She actually inspired to explore healthy options. She had a knack for bringing random ingredients together to make an amazing culinary experience...especially her baked goods! :)

We've been through the good & REALLY bad relationships together...our burdens of our past have definitely seen similarities...and overall, we enjoy spending time together..dancing..cooking..doing random things to lift our spirits!


You can always count on Julia to be an uplifting spirit that will help you get through your day, vent about things from boys to classes, and go on random trips to Chicago. 

After getting married, Julia even opened up her home to us while we were in a 1-2 month transition period from our apartment lease ending to moving into our new home!

Julia & I definitely came into each other's lives at the right time...helping each other through life transitions...as well as just being able to be there no matter what! And I got to meet her amazingly talented and beautiful little sister, Erinn who will definitely take over the world of art, fashion, and music one day! :) Click here to HEAR how amazing Erinn is! :)

Among all the exciting things we learned about each other from living together, we realized that we have the same LOVE for eggs prepared in any and every way. One day we even put eggs on pizza!

You might think we're weird. But I think it's absolutely genius. Well...that answers the question to my blog from yesterday.

what makes a BURGER goooood?!

Certainly not McDonald's...or fast food in general. I've never tried this experiment but apparently, the shelf life of a burger at Micky D's is A LONG ((disgustingly)) LONG time without MOLD. I guess it just dries up but no mold whatsoever!

The truth is that most super processed foods (whether fast food or in the grocery stores) do not decompose or grow fungus/mold. That has to make you wonder! Whether its the high sodium content, the high chemical content, etc...what do you think your body does with all that?! 

"Which brings me to my final point about this whole laughable distraction:There is only one species on planet Earth that's stupid enough to think a McDonald's hamburger is food. This species is suffering from skyrocketing rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, dementia and obesity. This species claims to be the most intelligent species on the planet, and yet it behaves in such a moronic way that it feeds its own children poisonous chemicals and such atrocious non-foods that even fungi won't eat it (and fungi will eat cow manure, just FYI)." For the whole article: (click here)

That quote was taken from an article from Natural News about the fascination with McDonald's food. It really is about YOU and not so much about WHY a certain food corporation chooses to poison "our children"...it really starts with YOU.

I will be the first to tell you how super difficult it is to come home late every night and NOT be tempted to go through a drive-thru or pop in a frozen pizza. But instead, I pull out meat, veggies, and whatever else to make a healthy meal...and get to have the satisfaction of eating a very GOOD meal without feeling uber guilty. Don't get me wrong. I love EATING OUT. But Ryan & I try to limit ourselves to places that are super...fake. If you must eat out, there are ALWAYS healthy options or places that actually use...FOOD.


So am I really saying ALL processed foods should be completely eliminated from your diet? Well...yeah. But is that possible? hmm..I guess it could be. 


BUT in my opinion and in my lifestyle, my husband and I probably eat about 85-90% WHOLE foods. There is that 10-15% of the time that we cheat..without the guilt. LIFE IS ABOUT MODERATION. That also means MODERATION IN MODERATION!


Food is social. Food is what brings people together. FOOD is happiness. Being GF already restricts so much for me that sometimes being able to share with GF substitutes with family and friends is more rewarding than the fact that I am eating a processed food.  You have to begin to weigh out your options.


Start looking at labels. If you don't know what something is, you probably shouldn't eat it. There are processed foods that are not as processed with chemicals, preservatives, food dyes, additives, MSG, fillers, etc that can give you the fill to that void without all the harmful additives. 


So let's get back to the title....WHAT MAKES A BURGER GOOOOD?! Well...

Here is a teaser for tomorrow's blog:

Be blessed. Stop drooling. <3 md

what a simple phone call can do...

Have you ever been a really weird funk? Well that was me today...for many reasons that will remain unwritten.

Commuting everyday (even with traffic) has it's potential to be very therapeutic. Turning on "K-love" and staring off into the lights of the highway and cars can have begin to have a peace that flows through you...I enjoy it 85% of the time. Sometimes I just want to get home and that was today.

Walking into my house, I take a deep breath and start to smile as I see how excited my pets are to see me...the peaceful warmth comes over me, and the "funk"just begins to fade.

Then the best part is I get a phone call from my colleague and very good friend, Takiyah. We both had a rough day. She called to share with me a verse that her mother shared with her tonight.

"Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun." (Psalm 37:1-6).

spontaneity.

Nothing a spontaneous surprise trip to Rockford to surprise my family :) 

Woke up. Decided to surprise my family. Got ready in 15 minutes. Out the door & home @ 10:30p tonight! 

Ryan and I are truly blessed...even if we're exhausted from a jam packed weekend. 

thank you to all my readers. you are all amazing.

it's been seven glorious days with over 1000 views already! 

so thank you!

welps. goodnight, good day, and be blessed. <3 md.

Once you meet her, your life will never be the same...

a (wee little bit) of selfishness goes a long way...Let me clarify. I didn't say that if you're SELFISH, you're cool. You are FAR from it. Narcism can only get you so far...actually not far at all. But there are times that you need to stop, breathe, and think about yourself or else you will get no where too.

The things that help me get through my rough times isn't just the love and support I have from all of you but the fact that I have a faith and hope in something so much bigger than all of us. When I am crying...looking up to Him...and asking "Why me?!"...I then get an answer.."Well why not?" 

Not in a "slap in the face" kind of answer but a gentle reminder....
I am still a work in progress. 

Recently I had this ((dramatic)) breakdown to one of my amazing mentors, Dr. Lou Edwards accompanied by an awesome friend and colleague, Sidney. I was in a dark place. I kept saying...

"I've gone through WAY harder things...I've overcome this already...I can't let this circumstance bring back my demons but it is getting the best of me..." I was in a place of utter deep regret, anger, sadness, and on and on. I felt broken...again. 

Then after my crying halted & my eyes had no more tears to cry. Dr. Lou reminded me of the huge battles of the world that many people have accomplished. Nelson Mandela faced adversity to the extreme and was able to walk out of jail...and not only that but he forgave and LOVED. 
He didn't let them change who God intended for him to be.

She acknowledged my suffering...she showed me sympathy but then reminded me

"Miravone...you've faced adversity like this before. Just think...this is just another test to confirm that you have beat it. To solidfy the battle that you've already won and have to continue winning."

That alone was so profound to me. Wow I never thought of it in that way. I found so much clarity...so much more appreciation...for myself especially. I kept blaming myself. I kept asking myself that there must be something I am doing wrong. My self worth was again being questioned..even after 10 years of putting that behind me..it was being re-surfaced...but I owe it to that conversation...the conversation of my life.