J'étais fatiguée - I was tired

Salut! C'est moi, Tsahia! Life has been lifeing. What hasn't been going on? It's been school, life, aches and pains, and an ending honeymoon with Paris, developing friendships, and continuing to cultivate old friendships. Honestly, the last three weeks, which in retrospect seems like so much time, but not really, has been very difficult for me as I've been having some health challenges. Still, thankfully, all is well. Thank goodness I have good health insurance and live in a country where I can see the doctor without fearing bankruptcy.

A possible publication from Houston! 
While I was in Houston, I was an Innovation Strategist at MD Anderson Cancer Center. The team worked on projects that traversed all sections of the hospital. My work focused on digital health and how to incorporate virtual care at MD Anderson. As part of that work in virtual care, I'm excited to learn that an article may be published on the model of care that we developed. I'm ecstatic about this, so I'll publish more once I get an update.

Dining on Danone's HiPro protein shakes & fitness 
I've been to a few restaurants lately and I've wanted to share some pictures. In the captions, I'll tell you what has been good and what has been so-so. I've been noticing that if you're going for what might be considered fast(er) food, it can be quite saucy. So there was a time I had a Cobb salad and another time when I had a kebab, and both were drowned in sauce. The salad was drowned in Caesar dressing and the kebab was soaked in a ketchup plus mayonnaise mix. I mean, it was OK. However, I don't like my food to be so saucy.

Lately, I have been cooking at home, and I have plans to continue. I've also discovered these Danone HiPRO vanilla protein shakes, which I drink almost every other day at school. Takeout meals in Paris tend to be overly skewed to just salad or bread, and the protein is virtually an afterthought. Also, I've been eating the same meal for lunch at the Monoprix which is a Danone protein shake and sandwich wrap, which costs me $9.10 (not as cheap as you might expect - pas cher). So I have to tell you it is possible to gain weight in Paris. And even though I have lost some weight, which leads me to my next topic...

I started my first day of personal training at Basic-Fit because even though I have lost weight and walk almost 10 to 12,000 steps every day, I don't want to lose the gains I had while in Houston, doing a lot of heavy-weight training. So, I'm super thrilled to be able to continue to do weight training. I enlisted a personal trainer because it has been about four months since I've been in Paris and I've not done much weight training. As you get older, especially if you live in a city where you have to run errands, whether carrying things or sitting a lot in a car, it's essential to ensure you have strong and healthy muscles. You really have to emphasize your core muscles to ensure you have good posture and your back is strong. 

Fashion and Style
I've also been doing some shopping, and I can't wait to share what I have bought. My sister just told me I need to do another OOTD, but to be honest with you, I really have not been dressing up in Paris. I have been going for a plain and natural look because my focus has been going to school. That in itself had been a struggle. But now that I'm feeling better, I want to put together more OOTD's.

Lately, I've been thankful for UNIQLO's clothes because it's been quite hot the last week or two. I realize that almost all of my skirts are midi or ankle length, and I really needed something short so I could get some breeze flowing to my legs and actually get a little sun on them. So, what do you think about my UNIQLO dresses?

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This is my favorite purchase from UNIQLO right now. It's a plain black t-shirt dress that fits so nicely. I'm 5'2 and wearing a size medium. It looks great for a sporty day with sneakers and sunglasses. Also, when the wind blows, the dress does not blow away with the wind! So that's a relief because some dresses can get carried away!

This dress is really nice for the hot weather. It features a slip and bra pads so that you can wear it confidently without a separate bra. But, I wish it came in a shorter version. I don't know why companies are so focused on making midi length dresses and skirts - how are your legs supposed to get sun? Looking at the photo, the dress is longer than I thought. I'll wear it again, however, I might try to tie it at the bottom for a shorter length.