Meet Ellie

"The Half Dome"

Nice to meet you! : )  My name is Ellie and I am very passionate about life.  I love to cook, bake, take walks, work out like ROCKY, rock climb (the indoor one thus far), and anything that has to do with health and lending a hand to someone out there.  I am always wanting to find not just a balance in my life between work, school, my Faith (*update:  my desire is to always live for Christ and glorify Him in ALL I do–my faith isn’t separate from my life–my life is my faith.  So many short comings everywhere, but that’s what is so great about it!  He loves me enough to mold me and shape me.  “He disciplines those whom He loves” And He is love…And discipline my friends, is a scary but beautiful aspect of life!), my loved ones, but even my health whether it be through dietary habits and exercising.  It is my passion to help others see themselves worthy enough to exercise their spirit and body alike.  Of course, this entails the many failed attempts of healthifying recipes as well *ahem*.

To be quite frank, I wasn’t always the outgoing person that I am now.  You see, I was born and raised in Argentina.  Throughout my childhood I had faced various trials of self-worth and just could not see myself pretty enough or good enough for anyone to love–except God, and maybe my family.

I had realized that everything came down to the rampant racism that I had gone through half of my short-lived life, in addition to the constant negativity from others around me.  Not knowing that this was destroying my soul, I continued to hold on to the belief that I was ugly and chubby and unwanted.

A new chapter began in my life as I immigrated here to California.  Some of the emotions I had inside me began to surface ever so slyly during my junior high school years.  I was a happy child most of my life, but hadn’t realized that a little un-mended scar had the potential to make me hate who I was.  This led me to extreme dietary habits and exercise to the point where I had become obsessed with the wrong focus in life (thankfully none of this entailed anorexia or anything like that).  Fortunately I had some very loving friends whom God had used in my life to remind me of who I truly was.  Fortunately, nothing bad had happened after that because I stopped all of that eventually, after many roller coasters.  I had a strong conviction in my heart that this had to stop or it would lead to worse things, and I finally did with His help.  Now, I don’t mean to be a downer with this little story of mine, but I want to be a testimony of how possible it is to be freed from all of this and see everything clearly.  Now I look back and I’m so grateful that it was a just a phase in my life; a big phase that is.  But, I’ve learned so much through it and can see that everything in life is a process.

I acknowledge that this is not always easy for me nor for any woman out there because we live in such a critical culture.  I realize that there are people out there with way more dire circumstances and perhaps this isn’t as relatable.  However, I simply want to encourage others by opening up about my life through healthy choices in every sense of the term, and I hope we can connect through this! (And don’t expect perfection cuz I ain’t)  It is a big step for me to open up about this on my blog, and I look forward to hearing other victors as well!  I truly believe that in order to be transformed it cannot be from the outside-in, but from the inside-out.

More than anything, I want to be the encourager of anyone who needs it through this blog because I know that’s what Christ would do unto you.  I don’t know if He would blog…perhaps…?  But I know He certainly would shower you with His everlasting love that “turns us to repentance”! Because He loved you and me first, and I certainly didn’t take the initiative.  There’s truly no gift in this world that can measure up to Him…So join me in this exciting journey of spiritual and physical health called LA VIDA LOCA!

My FIANCE Greg and I hula-ing at Duke's Restaurant

“It’s about the destination as much as how you get there.” -Someone-

P.S:  Share the love with whatever recipes, ideas, or random thoughts you may have!