Stephany Writes

Fill-in-the-Blank Friday {2}

2012-02-03T07:50:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday! My weekend will be a bit crazy. Saturday morning, I start a four-week boot camp, then I have a spa date to get my hair color touched up, my hair cut, and my eyebrows waxed. Saturday night, my brother and nephew are coming over and then Sunday is the Superbowl! My mom and I host a small get-together at our place. It’s not much but it’s still fun.

No weigh-in post for this week, instead kept it light for Friday with a “Fill-in-the-Blank Friday” post! (Hosted by Lauren.)

1. If money wasn’t an issue, the first thing I would cross off my life list is traveling. One of my big travel dreams is to visit Germany, since I’m half-German and feel so connected to that country. I’d just like to experience that culture for a week or two! And to travel across Europe, experiencing new cultures, tastes, and sounds. I feel so sheltered in my traveling experiences that it’s one of my big dreams to see the world and step out of my comfort zone.

2. Harlequin romance novels is something I like that other people think is weird. (I have found a few good writers amongst the cheesy ones! But I love the silliness of these stories, sometimes. A nice break from reality.)

3. If my life were a movie right now, the title would be “Surviving the Quarterlife Crisis.” Must write about this soon. It’s been on my “to blog” list for a while but I have never gotten around to it.

4. Three things I am looking forward to this month are the Superbowl, hopefully starting my blog move/redesign, and meeting MELISSA!

5. My favorite song to sing in the shower is nothing. I don’t sing in the shower, but I can belt it out good when I’m alone in the car!

6. If I found out the production of Victoria’s Secret yoga panties was ending this month, I’d go out and buy as much as I could tomorrow.

7. One thing I’ll never grow tired of is Dutch’s excitement every time he sees me. We’re pretty much attached at the hip. He’s never going to die, right?

What is one thing you’ll never grow tired of?

Intentions, the 2.12 edition

2012-02-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

I gave myself four goals for January. One was my big goal for Twelve Changes and the other three were smaller goals to work towards. A recap on how I did:

January Goals - Recapped:

Drink less soda, more water. I’m not where I had hoped to be by the end of January, but I’m in a much better place than I was a month ago. I never buy it at the store to have at home and can only remember two instances (for the entire month) that I had it at work. For me, this is major progress. I would only have it when I went out to eat, although there were quite a few times I would stick with water. I’m not saying I went into this thinking I wouldn’t make it to where I hoped to be, but I knew this would require more than a month to “get”. But I’m moving more steps forward than back and I can’t see myself backsliding now.
Set up an exercise calendar and stick to it. I consider this a major WIN. I’m already doing great with my exercise (a post about this is in the works!) and I think I’m doing well with keeping my workouts varied. Usually, I go for a run three times a week (using Jeff Galloway’s method) and then another 2-3 times a week, I’m at the gym doing some form of cardio (usually the stationary bike), the rowing machine, and then 20 minutes of strength training. I want to keep up an exercise calendar because it’s a good way to see my progress throughout the month and keep me motivated.
Turn off all electronics by 9:30pm. Ehh? I wasn’t all that focused on this goal, to be honest. I have been better lately about getting to bed at a decent hour (read: before 10pm) which happens some nights and doesn’t on other nights. Still, I want to get better at this. Ideally, I want to start my bedtime routine (including quiet time!) at 8:30. I’m taking baby steps to get there.
Set up all doctor appointments. Let’s see, the grand total of doctor appointments I set up this month? A big, fat zero. I had big plans to at least make an appointment with a general physician but that didn’t happen. Right now, my company has been trying to find a new insurance so I’m waiting in limbo until this is decided on.

My February Change: Tracking

I had a few options in mind for my February goal. I wanted to take the easy route, if I’m going to be honest. Stick with budget or getting into a better bedtime groove. But I knew I wanted to focus the beginning part of this year on my health. When I stop and think, put the fears behind me and focus on what I want to get out of 2012, I knew there was only one option: tracking.

One of the biggest cornerstones of healthy living is knowing what you’re putting in your mouth. Tracking every single morsel of food you eat. I don’t think I’ve ever been in the habit of doing this and I can tell the weeks I am consistent with my tracking, I feel more in control, more stable, and my weight drops. When I don’t, I spend my week feeling guilty and filled with thoughts that I will never get to my goal. Isn’t it funny how we do things to ourselves that don’t make us feel good? But feelings of guilt are so normal for me that they feel more comfortable than the good feelings. And therein lies the kicker. Guilt, fear, out of control. Those are terrible feelings. But those are the feelings I am more comfortable with. They are the ones I can wrap my arms around and hug close to my chest, because they have been there for me*.

This month, it’s about tracking what I eat. I have a handy app on my iPhone where I can quickly input my food daily and know where I stand with my daily, weekly, and exercise points. (It even reminds me to track my breakfast lunch, and dinner!) I know I can make this a habit, as long as I stop giving myself leeway when I don’t know the points value of a food or I overindulge at a meal. And I want to start seeing me use less and less of my weekly points because I tend to use them all up, and then start needing to use exercise points (which I don’t like to touch).

Three Smaller Goals

Continue limiting soda. I’m doing much better at this goal, but I’m still not where I want to be. My ideal is to not drink any caffeinated soda and stick to light-colored liquids like Sprite when I do. My focus right now is to get to where I’m only having it when I go out to eat. I want to try to count up how many times I have it during the month and continue knocking down that number every month.
Start making to-do lists. I can be very unmotivated to do much at home. Yes, I’m twenty-four and my mom still does most of the cleaning in our apartment. That’s ridiculous. Every Sunday night, I want to make a to-do list for the week to keep me from being the lazy slob I tend to be.
Budget! Oh, money. I have no concept of what it means to save. Seriously. I need to get smarter about this. My goal for this month is to start using a budgeting spreadsheet (any recs?) and begin to save. I think if I get smarter about knowing where exactly my money is going and stop spending money willy-nilly, I will start feeling much more in control of my finances.

*That paragraph? I didn’t expect to write that. I just got to writing and the words came out. These words. I’ve been struggling to find these words for the longest time, to explain why I have gotten to this place of being overweight and overeating. There’s always a “why” and it isn’t because you just like food. I finally have the answer to the root of the problem. There is a freeing, overwhelming feeling in that. I’m going to go cry now. I have waited so long to find these words.

***

The winner to my giveaway of Night Swim is AMBER! Amber, I have your address and I’ll be sending it off today so be on the lookout for the book!

Everyday Moments: January 2012

2012-02-01T07:35:00.001-05:00

1 - Taking down the Christmas decorations and putting our apartment back to normal

2 - A strong run

3 - A long, refreshing chat with my mom and grandma

4 - Breakfast for dinner. We went hog wild and bought cinnamon rolls to eat with it. I’m not even kidding when I say I was looking forward to those rolls all day.

5 - Waking up from a nightmare to find my mom alive and well. It was so scary and so vivid.

6 - Leaving work at 1pm to start my Orlando vacation! Also, a package in the mail that contained my new Kindle cover. And shopping at Premium Outlets in Orlando and getting some seriously good deals. (What can I say? It was a good day.)

7 - Watching my nephew experience Disney World for the first time.

8 - My mom finishing her second marathon, on a bum knee and fighting the mental battle to quit for a good part of the last half.

9 - Picking up Dutch from the boarder’s after a very long three days without him.

10 - Quiet moments before work, reading a fantastic book.

11 - Selecting a winner for our latest giveaway.

12 - Getting back into the mode of tracking what I eat.

13 - A nap after work

14 - The 49ers winning their playoff game.

15 - Sleepy snuggles and kisses with my favorite boy.

16 - Texts with a blog friend who completely gets me. And makes me feel less crazy.

17 - Joining a new Bible study and feeling so welcomed and accepted.

18 - A great loss on the scale

19 - A warmed-up chocolate chip cookie. Yes, it was 6 points but totally worth each point.

20 - A busy day at work after four very, very slow days.

21 - Sleeping in, a two-hour nap, and a very relaxing night in.

22 - Filing my tax return and finding out I’ll be getting enough to pay off my cruise deposit and pay for my excursions in Jamaica and Grand Cayman. AWESOME!

23 - A relaxing night of catching up on Bible study homework. The TV and laptop didn’t go on at all. It was divine!

24 - Staying in control of my eating, even when I didn’t want to.

25 - A great drop on the scale on a mentally tough week.

26 - Fun dinner with my co-workers.

27 - Babysitting my nephew who was in a super good, super fun mood.

28 - A coffee date with a new friend, buying a new Bible, and finally purchasing my bridesmaid dress for my brother’s wedding.

29 - A lunch date with my grandparents, a long afternoon nap, and #twookclub!

30 - A coworker brewing Columbian coffee when I got into work. I was functioning on 4.5 hours of sleep and needed something strong to get me through the day. It worked!

31 - 9 hours of sleep, speaking up more about scary, personal subjects in Bible study

Everyday Moments is a series I started after reading Kathleen’s posts about tiny moments of happiness that happened each day of the month. I keep a file on my computer and every day, I sit down and think about what made me happy that day. There’s always something to find, even on the worst days. This is my way of finding happiness in the little moments.

I’m giving away a copy of Jessica Keener’s new book, Night Swim. The giveaway ends TONIGHT at midnight so leave a comment on the post to be entered! I’m announcing the winner tomorrow.

January Was About...

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Watching my mom run her second marathon
Dealing with the news that my grandma’s colon cancer had come back for the third time, but that it was treatable and would require no chemotherapy.
Making plans to start a huge move to self-hosted Wordpress
Major, debilitating anxiety at work that had me searching for a therapist because I know the things I’m feeling are not normal and I need someone to talk to about it
Watching the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs, even though they didn’t make it all the way. Still amazing.
Realizing how intricate the mind is and how easily things can go wrong, triggering a downward spiral of depression. (Not mine, but a family member’s that required an ER visit to the psych ward. A scary, scary day.)
Joining a new women’s Bible study.
Getting into a running groove and finally starting to feel like it was all coming just a little bit easier
Rejoining Weight Watchers and rededicating my life to health and wellness. And losing 3 pounds in the process.
Watching my nephew experience Disney World for the first time. Nothing like the most magical place on earth through the eyes of a three-year-old.
Meeting a new friend for coffee
Reading 8 books. This includes two 400+ page books. I don’t know how I did it, but I’m well on track to reading 75 books this year!

Don’t worry. My “Everyday Moments” post will be up tomorrow. I just wanted another way to remember the month by. What can I say? I’m forgetful. And don’t forget! I’m giving a way a copy of Jessica Keener’s book, Night Swim. Go here to read the review and enter! Giveaway ends on Wednesday at midnight.

Book Review: Night Swim by Jessica Keener

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Night Swim
Author: Jessica Keener
Published: 2012
Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Review from Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Sarah Kunitz lives in a posh, suburban world of 1970 Boston. From the outside, her parents’ lifestyle appears enviable – a world defined by cocktail parties, expensive cars, and live-in maids to care for their children – but inside their five-bedroom house, all is not well for the Kunitz family. Coming home from school, Sarah finds her well-dressed, pill-popping mother lying disheveled on their living room couch. At night, to escape their parents’ arguments, Sarah and her oldest brother, Peter, find solace in music, while her two younger brothers retreat to their rooms and imaginary lives. Any vestige of decorum and stability drains away when their mother dies in a car crash one terrible winter day. Soon after, their father, a self-absorbed, bombastic professor begins an affair with a younger colleague. Sarah, aggrieved, dives into two summer romances that lead to unforeseen consequences. In a story that will make you laugh and cry, Night Swim shows how a family, bound by heartache, learns to love again.

My review:

This book started off really slow for me. It took me a while to really dig into the book and feel the flow of Keener’s writing. It felt very disconnected at the start and I didn’t feel like I understood who Sarah was.

But then Sarah’s mother died. And then the story really picked up. This is when the dysfunctional family fell apart. When Sarah started making some really bad decisions that I didn’t quite agree with. When her big brother left home to pursue a music career, when her father began dating someone much younger than him, and when Sarah begins to experience with life itself. I felt that this was the moment I could finally feel her character and who she was.

This wasn’t a fluffy, silly novel. Keener hit readers hard with issues of sex, drugs, and death and how all three affects you, no matter your age. It’s about a girl who has had her entire world turned upside down and is scrambling to figure out where she fits in the mess that remains. The cover of the book itself was stunning and the writing began to tug at my soul as I became more entrenched in Sarah’s life and the decisions she was making.

Ultimately, it was a book with hard themes that were a little difficult to read about at times but a book with raw and honest writing. While it had a clean, albeit predictable ending, it also felt very honest and I ended the book with a tiny smile on my face, knowing Sarah and the Kunitz family were going to be all right.

And the author has also generously agreed to give away one copy of the book to one of my readers! Leave a comment on this post to be entered in the giveaway. Giveaway ends Wednesday, February 1 at midnight and I’ll announce the winner on Thursday.

I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions, unless otherwise stated, are my own.

Weekly Weigh-In {3}

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

This week was mentally tough. I had many, many thoughts of simply skipping my weigh-in. I’ve been on plan for less than 2 weeks and I’m already contemplating these things.

The funny thing is, I was doing great with my eating and exercise. I was in control, I was counting, and I was kicking my soda habit in the face. Yet, a single whisper of skipping weigh-in and letting myself cheat until the new week started kept grabbing hold of my mind and hanging on. At first, thinking about it made me happy. I could eat what I wanted! I could gorge! Woo! And then? Then the guilt set in. The disappointment. The beating myself up. And I realized that staying on plan makes me happier in the long run than cheating.

Not a new concept. But in the past, I could usually shove the guilt part aside and focus on the happy part of my brain. Now, I couldn’t get the fact that this was not how I wanted my mind to think anymore. I didn’t want to focus on “being good until weigh-in day”. I wanted to focus on being healthy just because. I had to keep telling myself, over and over again: “This is not about weigh-in day. This is about a healthy lifestyle.”

And I did it. Even though I didn’t track from Sunday – Wednesday, I still remained on plan. I ate healthy, didn’t overindulge, and kept up my exercise routine. For me, it’s a big step in acknowledging this is my new life. It’s not my life for this week. It’s not my life until I get to my goal weight. It’s my life forever. Some people can’t look that far into the future. They have to just focus one day at a time. For me, I think it’s because I’ve been doing it for so long and making up so many excuses that I have to put my focus not just on the here and now, but also how I want to feel when I go on my cruise in May. By the end of 2012. Five years from now.

I don’t want to still be struggling with my weight five years from now.

I need to remain focused on the fact that this is not something I’m doing for a few months or for some destination. I am doing this for the rest of my life. It can be overwhelming to think in these terms, but I’ve discovered it is motivation for me to keep going.

Starting Weight (1/11/12): 157.0 lbs
Current Weight (1/25/12): 154.2 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 1.0 lbs
Total Weight Lost: 2.8 lbs

Wine and Love, V.11

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Linking up with Nora today for another fun Wine and Love post.

W(h)ining About...

> Football games last weekend. Oh, man. Last weekend was not a good weekend for special teams now, was it? First, a crushing loss in the AFC Championship game where the Ravens kicker missed an incredibly easy field goal that would have tied the game. It sent the idiot Patriots to the playoffs and made my heart absolutely hurt for Kundiff, the kicker, because you know he was sick over missing that field goal. But nothing compared to the 49ers game. As you know, my brother is a HUGE fan of the 49ers. I mean, I think he still owns his child-sized Steve Young jersey from when he was a kid! Watching that game was so stressful with a heart-breaking end. But seriously? I never saw the Niners making it to the NFC Championship game, nor playing as well as they did. (Jim Harbaugh for Coach of the Year? I think so!)

> Work anxiety. I have no explanation for it, other than little things that happen that I let spiral into these big, huge spiraling thoughts that would make absolutely no sense to a normal person. Tomorrow, I’m planning on making an appointment with a doctor and see about getting a referral to a therapist. (Or should I just make an appointment with a doctor and a therapist? I don’t know how these things work...) In any event, the past few weeks have showed me that I desperately need to figure out what is going on and how to fix it.

> Sadness in my family. My family is going through a rough patch right now. I want to protect certain people’s privacy with everything that’s happening, but suffice it to say, January has not been a great month for us. Things seem to be on the track to healing, but any prayers you could shoot our way would be greatly appreciated.

Loving...

> Making big blog plans. I finally made the first step in the big process of moving my blog to self-hosted Wordpress which was contacting Wordpress and All Things Thesis Goddess, Doniree. It’s a big process of securing a domain, moving all my posts (I’m closing in on 500!) over to a new site, as well as buying Thesis and setting that up. It’s all too much for me so I’m happy to hand the reigns over to Doniree and her team. I find her rates to be super reasonable for all she’s going to do for me. If you’re looking for the switch to self-hosted Wordpress, highly recommend checking her out! The whole process won’t start until late February, but I’m so excited to get started!

> Bible study. I’m really, really loving my Bible study. I still have a problem with opening up in the small group portion of the night, but I am loving the Beth Moore videos. She has such a powerful testimony and this absolute joy when she talks about Jesus. This week’s lesson hit me really hard in the best way. Beth Moore has a way of really getting to the heart of the matter and cutting to the core of the Christian faith. She’s an incredible lady.

> Finishing the #twookclub January book. Spoiler alert: I loved this book. It wasn’t getting the best reviews of other people reading it, so I went into it expecting to be bored and annoyed by the female lead character. Instead? I found myself completely captivated by the character’s and ended the book with this utterly happy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I loved the writing, loved the characters, and cannot wait to discuss the novel with #twookclub. (Our chat is this Sunday at 9pm EST for anyone who wants to join in!)

What are you w(h)ining about or loving this week?

Project 365 {039 - 058}

2012-01-25T07:45:00.001-05:00

I need to get better at not waiting weeks before a Project 365 update. Another huge photo post!

{039/365 - Thursday, January 5, 2012} Starbucks to get me through a major marketing plan meeting. We were reviewing three of our plans which is always long and tedious.

{040/365 - Friday, January 6, 2012} My beautiful mama at her marathon race expo. These expos give me the half-marathon itch.

{041/365 - Saturday, January 7, 2012} Cinderella’s castle at Disney World. I must thank the wonders of Instagram and a bird flying at the perfect spot for this photo.

{042/365 - Sunday, January 8, 2012} My rock star mama after her marathon. She looks so hardcore in this photo!

{043/365 - Monday, January 9, 2012} After not seeing him for three days, he was super missed! And super happy to be back with us!

{044/365 - Tuesday, January 10, 2012} This is Tootsie, she works at my office. She took a four-week vacation in December and let me tell you, it was SO good to see her back in the office! (And by work, I mean entertain us with her loud snores as she sleeps away the day!)

{045/365 - Wednesday, January 11, 2012} Back at the place that I need to be.

{046/365 - Thursday, January 12, 2012} Hi. My name is Stephany and I’m obsessed with the forward-facing camera on my iPhone.

{047/365 - Friday, January 13, 2012} If you only knew the percentage of photos of Dutch to other photos I have on my iPhone...

{048/365 - Saturday, January 14, 2012} Saturday stroll in a favorite park.

{049/365 - Sunday, January 15, 2012} Sunday afternoon nap. So cozy!

{050/365 - Monday, January 16, 2012} Fun experiment: me before make-up and after make-up. Verdict? I look really tired without make-up.

{051/365 - Tuesday, January 17, 2012} The new series my Bible study is working through. I am the biggest Beth Moore fangirl so I’m excited!

{052/365 - Wednesday, January 18, 2012} Cannot wait to dig into this book! Expect a review in a few weeks.

{053/365 - Thursday, January 19, 2012} Sometimes, I forget to take a picture until late at night so I force Dutch to pose. This is one of those times.

{054/365 - Friday, January 20, 2012} I love 70 degree days in January.

{055/365 - Saturday, January 21, 2012} Saturday morning walk with Dutch. Such a pretty day!

{056/365 - Sunday, January 22, 2012} Dutch and his blankets. He loves blankets (almost) as much as he loves me!

{057/365 - Monday, January 23, 2012} A Monday evening spent catching up on Bible study homework. (Discovering how badly I need a new Bible while trying to do this study! My version just doesn’t jive.)

{058/365 - Tuesday, January 24, 2012} The stairs in my office building are so steep and slightly creepy that I rarely use them. But they do give a great thigh burn!

50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind, Part 10

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Would you believe it? This is the END of this post series! I started this in July 2010 and slowly worked my way through the questions. They were thought-provoking, deep, and insightful. I’m now on the hunt for more questions like these because they really made me stop and think. You can find the entire list here.

46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

I would be more vocal about my faith. I find it very hard to be as active as I want to be because let’s face it: Christians don’t always lead the greatest example. I know more Christians that do than don’t but all the world cares about are those that are radical and a little nuts. It turns them off to anything involving faith or religion (which I can’t say I blame them for, some Christians even leave me with a bad taste in my mouth!), and makes me a little scared to fully share my faith in the way I want to for fear of the judgment I will inevitably receive. I’m trying to worry less and less about that, but I still care way too much about the opinions of others to fully dive headfirst in sharing about my walk with Jesus.

47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?

I could take this literally and say I noticed it this morning when I took my earbuds out at the end of my run. Hehe. VERY easy to notice my breathing then! But I think there’s a deeper meaning behind the question, as in, when was the last time I was still, silent, and focused on the here and now. I have a tendency to get more focused on what’s happening next that being present and alive in this moment is something I struggle with. I try to do this on my drive to work, to not be thinking of how many days until the weekend or what I’m having for lunch or anything but the present and being happy to be alive and focused on my life at that moment.

48. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?

I love the relationship I have with my mom. She’s always there for me, 100%, but she’s also become my very best friend.

I love my family. Every single one of them, including my 16-year-old twin cousins who are going through an extremely rough time right now and acting out because of it. No matter what, I still think those girls are amazing individuals and I wish I knew how to better show them that.

I love my dog. And my Instagram feed showcases that immensely.

I love football, food, and blogging. I love long emails to my blog BFF, funny Twitter convo’s, and cruising. I love reading, my Kindle, and the fact that I can now borrow books from the library on my Kindle. I love that I have a job to come to, even if some days are harder than others. I love Florida, sunshine, and immediate access to beaches and theme parks. I love a clean house, organizing, and Publix subs. I love crossing out my to-do list, eyeliner, and Post-It notes.

Most of all, I love the opportunities that await me as I get older, more mature, and more certain in myself and my abilities. I love that I’m learning to throw off the cape of self-doubt and uncertainty and plant myself out there for the world. I love myself.

49. In about 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?

I’m pretty sure I will remember what I did yesterday. (I’m writing this on Monday afternoon. I will never forget the crushing defeat of the 49ers loss. My brother was devastated and my heart broke for him.)

But will I remember what I did this past week? No. I won’t. I may remember bits and snippets. A certain scent or song may bring me back to a time when I was a little marketing assistant at a small company, but generally, I won’t remember much. It puts a lot of things into perspective, doesn’t it?

50. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

If this question had been asked a year ago, I know I would have answered it differently. But I can say with absolute certainty that I am making decisions for myself. I am controlling my own destiny, taking the bull by the horns, and all other cliché phrases. There’s something exciting about getting older and understanding yourself more that leads to not ever wanting to go back to that stagnant way of living where life seems out of control and decisions out of your reach. I’m standing up for myself more, making my own decisions, and carving out my own life. I’m going to still make lots of mistakes and still have pitfalls to make my way through. But the fun thing about making your own decisions is the learning process because it’s through that process that you learn the most about yourself and what you crave from life.

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7] [part 8] [part 9]

Annual Blog Review - Your Feedback

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

I want to begin my post by extending a huge thank you to everyone that filled out my blog survey. It’s the first time I’ve done one of these and while I’m not sure if I’ll do one every year, it’s also a good measuring stick to who my readers are and what post topics speak to them more than others. It doesn’t necessarily mean I’m scrapping posts that a vast majority of survey responders don’t like but it does help me see what your likes and dislikes are.

What you like

There were three post topics that stood out as winners: personal thoughts on life and issues, singlehood posts, and healthy living/fitness posts. I think I do a fairly good job at covering all three topics. I try not to blog too much about my singleness because I don’t want to come off as whiny or too “boys are bad business, man.” I think I’ve gotten better at opening up about being single and my low-key dating life, but it was interesting to see how many people wanted to hear more about it! I know being open and honest about my life and my struggles is something I do on a regular basis. Even though I’m not anonymous and I have family and friends who read my blog, my blog is also very therapeutic for me. I have hard time keeping silent on certain subjects and as it turns out, most people like that about my blog!

What you don’t like

Book reviews and faith. Those drew the most dislikes, although they also drew the same number of likes. I know faith posts can be very subjective (and controversial!) so most people stay away from them. Which is fine and I see nothing wrong in that, but it’s not for me. :) As far as book reviews go, they tend to draw the least amount of views or comments. I tend to skip over book reviews of books that aren’t ones I’ve read or highly popular myself, which is why I switched over to a different kind of book review (a three-in-one snapshot type). My Letters to My Future Husband series drew a fair number of dislikes, but it also garnered the fourth-most likes so I’m not sure that’s an accurate measurement. (Which is good, since that’s my favorite series and I would not get rid of it even if everyone hated it. Wheeee!)

On weekly posts

For the most part, no weekly post was the least liked. Some people had their own reasons for not liking certain posts, all reasonings I could understand. Wine and Love got the most likes (yay, Nora!) with Ten on Tuesday, Weekly Weigh-In, and Project 365 all tying for second. I try to keep my blog content fresh and new, not wanting to fill up every day with a meme so just know I will never become a “meme a day” type of blogger, but I also really love Ten on Tuesday and Wine and Love so those posts are here to stay!

On writing about my faith

I was really interested to see what people thought about faith and religion posts. I used to write more about my faith, struggles I was having, and just things I believe in. 2011 I didn’t write much, mainly because I was more consumed with graduation, finding a job, and settling into my new role. It was also a year my faith felt very stagnant and elusive. But I’m finally feeling a burning need to write more about my faith. I’ve thought about opening up a new blog specifically centered on faith posts but it felt very two-faced, as if I was living two different lives. As if writing more about faith would make me lose readers and honestly? I shouldn’t care about that. I find it sad that some people cannot understand where I’m coming from, yet I’m supposed to be non-judgmental and completely okay with where they are coming from. But if there are people who cannot understand my faith (I’m not saying they have to believe as I do, but being able to not judge me harshly for what I believe in), those are people I don’t want to be friends with anyway. That’s a very shallow and close-minded way to live, in my opinion.

Off my soapbox!

I plan on beginning a series of faith-based posts, I’m creatively titling “On Faith”. A mix of posts about things I’m struggling with, things I feel God is trying to teach me, and a general view on what I believe and why I believe it. Nineteen of you had no opinion about me blogging about my faith, many of you not wanting to hurt my feelings but said those post just didn’t interest you. Totally okay! I get it. I generally skip over posts with political rants or design DIYs. To each their own. I’m excited about this series, though, and I had quite a few of you who did want to hear more about my faith and I can’t wait to start sharing again.

Overall...

I’m really glad I did this survey! I was able to get some great feedback on what you guys want to see more of and what you could do without. A few of you also mentioned wanting to know more about my day-to-day life which, I’ll admit, I sometimes forget to talk about because I have all these THOUGHTS I want to express first! But I also noticed this when I wrote my 2011 recap, it was kinda hard to figure out what I did each month since I didn’t document the little things that happened all too well.

I did get one rather harsh comment (from someone who doesn’t even read my blog anymore, go figure) that got me thinking about a lot, mainly about how my writing comes across in certain subjects. I’m sure this will ensue a blog post, because while I don’t like to give fire to anonymous comments, I think it’s an important topic to talk about. It was the only less than positive comment so I’m trying to brush it off, but it also makes me incredibly sad someone would feel this way about me. (Also, Exhibit #858 on Why I Could Never Be a Popular Blogger.)

All in all, great feedback for me to better this blog in 2012. I have big plans on a move to Wordpress, brand-new design, fun giveaways, and some new series ideas to put into action. Cheers to a beautiful and vibrant year!

Five For Friday

2012-01-20T07:21:00.001-05:00

1 - I’ve been chatting with a few friends about meeting up for a fun blogger getaway weekend. Some people are a bit bummed they won’t be able to make it to Bloggers in Sin City this year (I am not. I will be on a cruise instead. Sorry I’m not sorry.) and I have read way too many recaps of bloggers getting together for fun girls’ weekends that I decided 2012, I am organizing a weekend of my own. Right now, nothing is being done but I want to get some sort of email chain going so we can discuss where to go, what to do, etc. I’m thinking sometime later in the year, since I have to save up my time off at work for my cruise and then build it back up when I come back. I know this is way in advance but if you’re interested in a bloggers’ weekend this fall, let me know in the comments or in a email, or just send me a tweet. I am going to make this happen!

2 - I’m very hesitant to talk about my job on here but I will say that things are going good. Not great. Not excellent. But good. I am eternally grateful for my boss taking a chance on a girl fresh out of college, and I’m learning a lot. Mostly about what I want in life. What my skill sets are and what I want to do with myself. Marketing is an interesting field to work in, but it has me pondering what God’s plan for my life really is.

3 - I joined a women’s Bible study at my church this past week. When I heard they were going to be doing a Beth Moore study, it kicked the urge to go into higher gear because I love Beth Moore. She’s an incredible speaker, writer, and all-around woman. It was a huge group, but divided into about 12-13 smaller groups of about 8-10 women. (Did I mention huge?!) But it was also so good for me to be in that environment, surrounded by so many other Christian women.

4 - I’ve had a great response to my blogging survey. I have my reasons for doing so, mainly to see if there are any posts people love more than others and to get a handle on what people think about me talking more about my faith on this blog (since I’m kind of blunt and in-your-face when I do talk about my faith...). I plan on going over the results on Monday but if you haven’t filled it out yet, here’s the link to get to the survey.

5 - This Sunday is the AFC and NFC Championships for NFL Football. I am incredibly nervous for Sunday since my brother’s favorite team, the San Fransisco 49ers, are in the NFC Championship game. This is their first playoff appearance in 9 years and they’ve lots of terrible years of crappy football behind them. Last week was an incredibly stressful week where I actually got a headache from watching the game with my brother. He’s one of the most passionate guys I’ve ever met when it comes to football, especially as it relates to his Niners. (And as a side note, I am rooting for the Ravens, too! The Patriots have become one of the most boring teams to watch. So passionless. So unemotional.) It should be a fun Sunday of football!

Let me know if you’re interested in a blogger getaway weekend this fall! Who are you rooting for this Sunday?

Weekly Weigh-In {2}

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have had many “first weeks” when it comes to committing to a healthier lifestyle. I never feel too confident in my abilities because I can’t seem to let go of all the times I have been on plan for a while, but then I fall off when it all becomes too much. And I know until I can release my past attempts and focus on the here and now, this battle will not be won. It’s something I’m working on.

I had a good week, especially since the weekend was spent in playoff glory where unhealthy food and snacks abounded. But the sweet thing about Weight Watchers is that nothing is off-limits. I can eat whatever I want - as long as I account for it. I saved up my weekly points and used the majority of it on the weekend. And I kept everything within reason. I didn’t overindulge but I didn’t deprive myself. I’m actually quite proud of how in control I managed to stay this week.

My goal for January for “Twelve Changes” is to start drinking more water. Ultimately, I want to eliminate Coke from my diet (not completely, but to drastically reduce it). Some days, this is an incredibly hard change and I struggle so much with giving in to my craving to have a soda. Other days, it’s easy as pie. More and more, I see myself getting into the mindset where my life doesn’t revolve around when I’m going to get my next soda. I have slipped a few times and I’m still usually ordering a soda with my meal when I eat out (but I try to throw it away when my meal is over, if I get something to go). But the truth is? I’m getting better. It’s going to be a long process and I’m making changes to my lifestyle that are going to last for longer than simply January. I can’t say I’m following the plan I set for myself to a tee, but I’m learning and I’m trying my best. Sure, I could do better but that’s what the next two weeks are about. Taking what I learned in the first half of the month and apply it to the second. I plan on exceeding my expectations, thankyouverymuch.

Starting Weight (1/11/12): 157.0 lbs
Current Weight (1/18/12): 155.2 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 1.8 lbs
Total Weight Lost: 1.8 lbs

Tagged

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Back in December, both Erin and Melissa tagged me in a fun meme. I tend to shy away from these types of things but it looked like a fun one so, one month later, I'm finally getting around to posting my own! Since I was tagged twice, I answered a combination of their questions during the question section because answering 22 questions is a little crazy for me.

Here are the rules.
1. You must post these rules.
2. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
4. You have to choose 11 people to tag and link them on the post.
5. No tag backs and you legitimately have to tag 11 people.

11 Facts About Myself.
1. Whenever my family orders pizza, we specifically ask for the pepperoni to be placed under the cheese. It is so much better this way. Seriously. Try it.

2. I really want to adopt another dachshund.

3. I take a bubble bath almost every day.

4. I'm addicted to Bath and Body Works hand sanitizers.

5. I really hate driving. And since I live in an area that is not walkable and has a sketchy bus transit system, it's inevitable I spend a lot of time in the car.

6. I hate cold weather with a passion. And by "cold weather", I mean anything under 60 degrees.

7. I am pretty awful at saving money. It's something I want to work on this year.

8. I took my first cruise in May 2011 and I'm pretty sure I'll be taking one a year from here on out.

9. I have three calendars at my desk at work: a small monthly calendar that sits at one side of my computer, a day calendar (featuring dachshunds!) that sits at the other side of my computer, and a large desk calendar that sits to the right of me where I try to keep up with all our due dates for our many emails, ads, and print runs.

10. The biggest city I've ever visited is Atlanta.

11. Sometimes, I have a terrible time focusing at work.

11 Questions to Answer.
1. Where is one place (city, state, or country) that you are dying to visit?
New York City. So many people tell me I'll hate it (since I'm too low-key for it? Not sure.) but I think you have to visit at least once in your life!

2. What is your bed time?
Ideally? 9:00. But more often than not, it's 10:30 or 11:00. As someone who wakes up around 5:00-5:30 to work out, this is way too late. Whenever I make it to bed before 10:00, I'm ecstatic. (Dear 12-year-old Stephany, yes. This is what adulthood looks like.)

3. What is one resolution or goal you have for 2012?
To achieve a healthy lifestyle. I have lots of goals for 2012, but this one is the biggest one I want to achieve.

4. What's your favorite part of the day?
Probably the evening hours, when my mom and I are relaxing on the couch, eating dinner and watching TV. It's a calm, slow time for us to catch up and wind down from our busy days.

5. Favorite vacation you've taken so far in your life?
My cruise, of course! It was the most fabulous five days of my LIFE. I had such a blast, more fun than I ever imagined. I cannot wait to go again!

6. Favorite board game?
My absolute favorite is probably Trivial Pursuit, but I also love Apples to Apples which is only fun when you play with a big group. I have been itching to host a game night for the sole reason of playing Apples to Apples for hours.

7. When you need a snack, do you reach for something sweet or salty?
Usually, sweet! My sweet tooth is a little out of control, especially in the afternoons. I always make sure to have something chocolate-y on hand to cure my cravings at work.

8. What is your dream job?
My dream is to write and to spread the message of purity and waiting. There. I said it. Whew.

9. What is your favorite animal?
Always and forever, dogs. I have intense love for dogs and all the happiness they bring to my life. Second runner-up are sea lions.

10. What is your favorite part of the holidays?
I'm not sure I could choose just one! I love how busy and crazy it is, the decorations, buying gifts, anticipating what others have bought you, etc. Only 10.5 more months until we get to do it all over again!

11. Who is your hero?
My grandma, no doubt. She has beaten Stage IV colon cancer TWICE (currently battling it for a third time, but will be undergoing special treatment to zap it out, no chemo needed). She has raised six children and is currently raising two teenagers who are... quite special, to put it nicely. She has not had an easy life but is my biggest inspiration for fighting when the going gets tough and enduring challenges with grace. She knows the Bible backwards and forwards and has this amazing, strong love for the Lord that I try to emulate on a daily basis. I think anyone who has ever met her or knows her would say she is their hero as well. She is an amazing, amazing woman.

Here Are My Questions.
1. When was the last time you felt proud of yourself?
2. What is your definition of success? Of failure?
3. What is your favorite day of the year?
4. When you go to the mall, do you go with a specific purchase in mind, or just go to browse?
5. What is the next vacation you're looking forward to?
6. Do you use a planner? Paper or electronic?
7. What is your must-have beauty product?
8. What was the last book you read? What did you think about it?
9. What Internet browser do you use the most?
10. When was the last time you went to the dentist?
11. Which is the bigger time-suck for you: Facebook or Twitter... or something else?

I am tagging: Lauren, Amber, Lisa, San, Amber, Stephanie, Krysten, Cait, Stephanie, Marissa, and Allison

What I’m Reading - the January Edition

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

One of the things I’ve wanted to do more of with this blog are book reviews. I am a book worm by nature and read a lot but I don’t want this blog to become a book review blog. Instead, I’m testing out a different style of reviewing books. Three at a time, short snippets of what the books are about and my overall thoughts. We’ll see how this goes!

Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
5 of 5 stars
Genre: YA lit

I loved this book. It has a silly title and maybe it has a silly premise, but this was one of my favorite books I’ve read in a really long time. Anna was a character I could connect with, even if she was 17. The plot completely drew me in and had me hooked from the get-go. It was about 17-year-old Anna whose father decided she needed to spend her senior year at a boarding school in Paris. She had to leave her entire life, including her “almost boyfriend”, best friend, and job at the movie theater. She arrived knowing nobody, not understanding French, and a complete stranger to Paris. But in the way books do, she immediately found a great group of friends to help her understand the country and have a home in a foreign place. And, of course, there was a boy. His name was St. Clair and what I enjoyed most about his character was that he was not a perfect male specimen. Romance novels have a tendency to place the male hero on a pedestel, perfect and faultless. It’s not reality and always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. St. Clair had an exuberence to life but also a long list of faults that made him even more adorable and most importantly, human. He also had a girlfriend. Throughout the book, you witness the love story between two teenagers who so badly want to be together but circumstances keep that from happening. As Anna begins to fall in love with St. Clair, she also begins to grow up - a lot. She has to discover how to be independent in a strange country and most importantly, true to herself, her beliefs, and her desires. As many of you are aware, I have mad love for romance novels. This one? It is the perfect teenage romance novel. It was witty and heartbreaking and while I expected to enjoy the story, I never expected for it to be such a page turner, something I couldn’t put down and couldn’t stop thinking about when I did. I was happy for the characters when it ended but also so very sad that their story was over and they wouldn’t be a huge part of my everyday life anymore. Completely, wholeheartedly recommend.

What Women Fear: Living in a Faith that Transforms
Author: Angie Smith
4 of 5 stars
Genre: Christian Non-Fiction

I’ll admit I have never read a single blog post that Angie has written, nor knew all too much about her before hearing about this book. But when I heard the title and read the description, I knew I had to read it. Fear and anxiety are something I struggle with on a daily basis and sometimes, it feels like I’m not fully trusting in God or fully a Christian because of this. This book was divided into chapters that delved into different fears we may have: fear of rejection, abandonment, and betrayel, fear of failure, fear of not being significant, fear of God’s plan for my life, fear that God isn’t real, to name a few that really struck a chord with me. Angie Smith has a powerful testimony and she hasn’t lived an easy, blameless life. She has struggled and has dealt with many of the issues talked about in this book. This made her words seem so much more meaningful and not idle chat. She didn’t seem to think any of these fears were silly or that doubting God’s existence made us less Christian. These are legitimate fears that the enemy is hard at work in our lives to make us believe. This book is something I can see myself re-reading, especially certain chapters, because it spoke directly to my heart and made me take a long, hard look at my fear and exactly who is the mastermind behind it all.

Favorite quote: “Here’s the part we need to cling to: If what we are being called to do is in God’s will for us, we truly can’t fail. I know it sounds like I’m making a flippant statement that should be on a poster with a guy hitting a golf ball, but what I mean is that we simply may not have the same meaning as God for the word “failure.” To me, failure means it doesn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. To God, it means I didn’t pick up the brush.” (pg. 68)

Summer of the Midnight Sun
Author: Tracie Peterson
4 of 5 stars
Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

I used to devour Tracie Peterson’s books when I was younger. Once I “graduated” from the YA section, these were the books I tended to stray to the most. She writes historical Christian novels, full of intrigue and excitement. This book was no different. I remembered reading about Jacob and Leah in previous books by the author but they were secondary characters. This books focused mainly on Leah and her estranged relationship with the love of her life, Jayce. After a ten-year separation, they find themselves together again and soon find themselves defending Jayce after he is accused of murder. They also have to contend with Pinkerton agent, Helaina, who is hellbent on getting Jayce to Seattle and seeking justice for his charges. Helaina was one character I didn’t care for in the least and I think the author intended it that way. I was so enamored with Jayce and the blossoming relationship between Leah and Jayce that her intrusion made me quite upset! I was hooked from the first page until the last, which left me hanging and hungry for the second in the series. There’s something about the way Peterson creates characters and plots that draws me in and I’m not sure why I took such a long break from her books.

Have you read any of the above books? If so, what were your thoughts? What is your idea of failure?

Weekly Weigh-In {1}

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have debated a lot about whether or not I want to bring back my weekly weigh-in posts. On the one hand, they are good for me to process what's been happening with my weight loss, get advice and support, and to have a place to document this journey. On the other, it puts a lot of pressure on me to lose good amounts of weight every week. I want to "impress" you guys with my incredible weight loss, which is a very slippery slope.

But I finally decided I'm going to blog about it. Because it's more helpful than not and I saw my weight journey start to fall apart once I stopped blogging regularly my weekly weigh-ins. So they are back. (Yay?)

I know we all have our own ways of losing weight and no way is really better than the other. Whether you count calories, points, or just try to clean up your eating, we have to follow the plan that works best for our bodies and minds. For me, that is Weight Watchers. WW is a plan that works -- when you do it right. When you follow the plan and don't cheat yourself. WW offers more than just a simple weight loss plan, it offers support, community, and a place to measure your growth. I have been to a lot of different WW meetings and leaders and right now, my current Leader is one of my favorites. I think it's so key to have someone with you who's been through the journey and knows what it takes to lose weight and keep it off.

Weight Watchers works for me. I'm not limited in anything I can eat. And while I can get caught up in the "this week is shot. I'll just skip weigh-in and get back on track next week" mentality, I know it's up to ME to make this plan work. It's up to me to take those 8 Healthy Guidelines and make them a part of my everyday lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle is something I want for the rest of my life. There is no timeline on it, no end date. It's something I have to do for the rest of my life and I know I have what it takes to put in the hard work needed to get me to my ultimate goal.

Starting Weight: 157.0 lbs

Annual Blog Review

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

I realized a few weeks ago that I have been remiss in something in regards to Stephany Writes. I absolutely adore this blog and I’m happy with my writing and posts. I’m even more happy about the friendships that have been made, many that have been developing more off blog and Twitterland. I think a lot about blogging and my blog schedule, a lot about how I want to see my blog develop. And in developing a blog, one of the best ways to do that is by surveying readers. Finding out what my readers like and dislike about my blog. What they wish I would write more about. What posts they could care less about. And mostly to make sure the direction I’m heading is the right one for you guys. I know readers will come and go, just as I delete blogs from my Reader that I’ve drifted away from, but I think it’s important to get feedback. Especially on this blog, since I spend so much time and energy on it.

So, without further ado, the survey to fill out is below. It’s anonymous and I want you to be completely honest in your thoughts and feelings. I’m looking forward to what you have to say!

(I also need to give 100% credit to Allison of Lemonade Life for this idea and some parts of the form. She had her own review in December and it’s what prompted me to do my own.)

Marathon Weekend - Marathon Sunday

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday was an early wake-up call. I’m not even sure I can classify it as Sunday morning because it felt more like Saturday night. I slept fitfully but woke up a little more energetic than last year so I was happy. Our alarm went off at 2:15am and from there, my mom and I quietly got ready. The night before, I had laid out all my clothes, taken a shower, and packed up my backpack with all our necessities (hotel key, park pass, Kindle, blanket, food, drinks (which I put in the morning of), flip-flops for when it warmed up, socks and Vaseline for my mom, and the spectating guide of where to go for each checkpoint, to name a few things). I woke my brother up at 2:45 and we were all ready to go by 3:00.

It was only about 54 degrees when we left the hotel and we were all happy, saying how nice the weather was. FAMOUS LAST WORDS! I dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt, big hoodie, skinny jeans, socks, boots, a hat, and mittens. I felt overdressed for the weather but didn’t care. I was warm so I was happy.

Once we arrived at the race site, we had 45 minutes - 1 hour to wait until my mom had to be in her corral. So we parked ourselves on the ground near a tent and didn’t say much, just watched the other runners getting ready and taking pictures. Around 4:15, two of my mom’s co-workers popped bye to say hi. They ran the Goofy Challenge this year (running the half-marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday) and then the three of them left to find their corrals. Pictures were taken, “good luck”’s were exchanged, and then my brother and I headed over to the Mile 4 viewing area which was about a five-minute walk from where we left her.

Mhm, that is a blanket. It was 50 degrees and she was wearing shorts.

It was only about 4:30 then and we had at least an hour to wait until the race started and a good two hours until she would pass us. The viewing area was PACKED but we found a spot and I sat down on the blanket and read on my Kindle for most of the wait time. Unfortunately, the weather started dropping until it was 50 degrees and FREEZING. I don’t know how I handled the low thirties last year because I was so incredibly cold while waiting. This part is the worst of marathon spectating because there’s not much to do, it’s super crowded, and nothing is happening. It’s all very boring.

But soon, the race started! Fireworks go off as each corral is “let loose”. There were about 14,000 people racing the marathon so there were a LOT of people to view. At the Mile 4 marker, you can see the runners taking off but they are on the other side of the street so unless your runner is wearing a blinking Tinkerbell costume (yes, there was), you probably won’t be able to see them. It’s very congested and very difficult to distinguish between the runners. So we patiently waited for the runners to come down the other side. It was very slow going to watch as the leaders ran by and then the other 3- and 4-hour marathoners ran by. I knew my mom would be somewhere in the 6-hour pacings but I enjoyed watching all the other runners, especially the ones who dressed up. There were a couple of dudes dressed in princess dresses, lots of runners dressed as Goofy, and even Papa Smurf - right down to blue body paint. I mean, I don’t think I could run a marathon dressed normal -- there is no way I could do it dressed as a character!

We finally saw my mom pass Mile 4 and she handed us her jacket, gave us both a quick hug, and was off! At that time, she was running a little ahead of her goal pace (she wanted to finish in 6 hours) and was looking strong and happy, so I felt a lot of relief!

We could see the runners on the monorail. So awesome!

From there, my brother and I hopped onto the monorail that would take us to Epcot where we would see Mom pass at Mile 9. It was pure madness finding a spot to view the runners at each stop and this one was no difference. Luckily, all you have to do is park yourself somewhere and once the person in front of you sees their runner, they leave and you get their spot. I was able to get a great photo of my mom as she stopped for a quick break, telling us she was doing terrible (pace-wise). I handed her two Twizzler’s, told her she was awesome, and off she went!

My brother and I then walked over to Mile 12.5 to await her arrival. Last time, we got crazy-lost while trying to find this spot so I asked a volunteer this time around and was given perfect directions. We still had at least 45 minutes until we would see her so we sat on the grass a little farther away from the runners. At this point, my feet were killing me so I was happy to relieve the pressure on my feet. (Although I know my mom’s were hurting MUCH worse!) When we saw her at this mile, she stopped for a bit to switch out her socks and slather Vaseline all over the bottoms of her feet. Last year, she got terrible blood blisters at the bottom of both her feet a little over halfway through the race so we had made this plan in advance.

And now the next time my brother and I would see my mom was at the end so we got into an incredibly long line on the monorail to Epcot. Once at Epcot, my mom texted me that her leg was seriously hurting her and she didn’t know if she had it in her to finish. This wasn’t like my mother at all so I was pretty worried at this point. She decided to keep going until she got pulled out. From there, my brother and I got a little snack at Epcot and had a great viewpoint of the runners closing in on Mile 26. While there, Mom texted me “5.2 until I FINISH” so I knew she was going to finish the race.

Around noon-ish, I found a place to sit and watch the runners come in. It was so neat to see them finishing up, especially when they heard the finish line was right around the corner. And there were quite a few runners who stopped before the finish line to get a frozen margarita. Ha! I found this hilarious. :) Also, my mom got beat by a blind power walker. Now that? That is impressive! It took a while but my brother and I finally saw her come down the path to the finish! She looked happy so I snapped a quick picture and then we headed out of Epcot to go to our meeting location.

And here she is! Two-time marathoner! I think she looks super hard core in this photo!

My mom had pretty bad knee pain during the last half of the race, which made it basically impossible for her to run at all. She’s never had any kind of knee pain so it’s very odd. She pulled her hamstring muscle sometime in November and though she’s been using a heating pad and gotten two sports massages to try to heal it but it’s been a persistent pain that isn’t going away. That bugged her, too. Other than that, she’s doing great! Her legs feel good and while she did get two blisters on her feet, they are nothing compared to last year.

In any event, this is most likely my mom’s last marathon. This one took a LOT out of her mentally, fighting through the urge to quit. Marathons are no joke and she doesn’t think she has it in her to train for another one. Half-marathons are her sweet spot and I think she’s going to focus on those and improving her speed.

In any event, she ran two marathons. That’s an incredible feat for anyone and no matter if it took you 3 hours or 7 hours, it’s still amazing. As is she.

Marathon Weekend–Saturday

2012-01-07T19:48:00.001-05:00

It’s Saturday night and the nerves are starting to set in – for both my mom and me. I always get super nervous when she races.

Today was an early wake-up call for us as we were going to Disney World for the day! The last time I was at Disney was a little over a year ago on my birthday but before that? It had been at least ten years. Crazypants! I think I felt “too mature” for Disney. Luckily, there was this great deal where you spend $99 and get a three-day pass to the park (or spend $128 and get a three-day park hopper pass which allows access to all four Disney parks) so we jumped at the opportunity, since it will allow my brother and I a place to chill while waiting for Mom to finish her race.

Anyway! Today was about Disney – and most especially, experiencing Disney through my nephew’s eyes. Today was his first day at the park ever and being that he’s pretty obsessed with all things Disney (specifically Mickey Mouse and Toy Story), he was in heaven. He was mostly concerned about seeing Mickey but, unfortunately, we never made it over to his meet-and-great area. He did see Pluto, Pinocchio, and Buzz Lightyear. (He was too scared to go up to Pluto and Pinocchio but took a GREAT picture for Buzz!)

We spent about seven hours at the park today and barely covered two of their lands. Disney World is so huge, there’s no way you could do all you want to do in one day there. We did do a few fun things – the carousel, the teacups (which he LOVED!), the Buzz Lightyear ride (My master zapping abilities were impressive. At least to me.), and the Winnie the Pooh ride, to name a few.

As a sidenote, I saw a lady bring her tiny, tiny baby on the teacup ride. The baby couldn’t have been more than two months old – and I think I’m giving him a few weeks on that age. WHY WOULD YOU TAKE A NEWBORN TO DISNEY WORLD… MUCH LESS ON A SPINNING RIDE? I just don’t understand this! Even if you don’t use the spinner, it still goes pretty fast for a BABY. Weird.

We had a fun day, though! It was so neat to experience the park through the eyes of a three-year-old. When we arrived, there was a parade of all the characters coming through and the utter glee and astonishment on his face at seeing them all was priceless.

We arrived back at the hotel around 6:00pm and my nephew was zonked out. My brother and sister-in-law left to pick up a pizza and the rest of the night consists of playoff football, eating, and kicking back. My self-imposed bedtime of 7:00pm is flying out the window so now I’m hoping to make it to bed by at least 10:00pm. That will give me… oh, four hours of anxiety-ridden sleep? Sounds like fun!

I’ll be back for the MARATHON recap tomorrow! I will be tweeting up a storm all morning long so be prepared for the onslaught!

Marathon Weekend–Friday

2012-01-06T23:27:00.001-05:00

Hello, hello, from Orlando!

I have wanted to get better at documenting my life on my blog. When looking back on my blog from the past year for my yearly recap, it was apparent I don’t blog too much about my everyday life – especially as it relates to trips I take. Not that I’m jettisoning off to different exciting locales every other month, but I hope to begin traveling more now that I’m done with school and my life has calmed down a lot.

But that’s not what this post is about! Today, I left work at 1pm so my mom and I could begin our trek to Orlando for marathon weekend!

The trip up wasn’t bad at all. We had stopped before beginning the drive for lunch, gas, and to pick up a package at the apartment. My mom drove (since I’ll be driving home. Something about having tired legs from running 26.2 miles?!) and we arrived a little before 4:00pm.

We checked in, found our room, and relaxed for a little less than an hour. My mom was anxious to get to the expo. While our stay here is pricey (we’re staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge), it’s worth it for a) easy transportation to and from the race site and b) views like this:

We headed down to ESPN’s Wide World of Sports for the race expo. It was smooth sailing there, from picking up her bib to getting her tech tee and swag to strolling around the expo. It wasn’t as crowded and hectic as last year, possibly because we went later in the day? I also forced my mom to buy something. Last year, she didn’t buy anything and you just cannot run a race like Disney and not buy something at the expo. Am I right? She bought a shirt from a ministry called Team 413, a Christian charity that ministers at endurance events. Pretty, pretty cool.

And somehow, my paths crossed with an old friend from my days as an education major in college. Divine intervention that from all the thousands of people who are running this weekend and the hundreds at the expo, our paths our literally cross right in front of each other! We had a ton of education classes together and she was a really close friend of mine in college. We’ve somewhat kept up with each other but it was so neat to see her! She’s running the half tomorrow (go, Kim!).

We left the expo, hopped back on the bus to take us back to our hotel, and then left to hit up Premium Outlets. It’s an outlet mall with a ton of name-brand stores that is an absolute must whenever I visit Orlando. I spent $35 and bought a new cover for my Kindle (I have a case, but it’s not as sturdy as my other one so I wanted something to carry it in) from the Vera Bradley outlet, as well as a scarf and hat from The Loft outlet. I’m not the best at bargain shopping so I was stoked.

(I also saw a fairly popular blogger at the Lululemon outlet but was way too shy to go up to her and introduce myself. We’ve somewhat chatted on Twitter off and on, but I felt really awkward, especially surrounded by all those runner/yogi types in the store. Sigh. Will I ever grow out of my social awkwardness?)

After the mall, my mom and I headed to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. It was packed but the wait wasn’t too bad, especially for a Friday night. And our service & food was delicious. Seriously, my mom and I have such bad luck with service so we’re especially grateful when the waiter actually does his job.

And now, it’s 11:15 and I’m in my jammies, writing this blog post. My plans for being more well-rested for marathon day are flying out the window, I believe. Tomorrow, my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew are coming up here in the morning and we’re all going to spend the day at Disney. I’m pretty excited as it will be my nephew’s first time! And I just love Disney.

I’m off to bed now, hoping to get some good sleep before an insane two days that are ahead of me. Thanks for all your words of encouragement for my mom, they really mean a lot! She still has a lot of nerves (who wouldn’t?) but she also has a lot of excitement, too. I hope I can find time to blog before Sunday but if not, I’ll update on Sunday night!

Have you ever seen a blogger in public but were too shy to approach? I’m not alone in my social awkwardness, am I?

Marathon Weekend

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today, I am working a half-day at work and then it’s off to Orlando for marathon weekend!

Not mine, though. HA! My mom is running her second marathon on Sunday. I hope to find a way to blog throughout the weekend and most definitely will be tweeting up a storm on marathon day!

Last year, I spectated at the Walt Disney World Marathon and it was a blast. I made a lot of mistakes as a first-time marathon spectator but spectating at this marathon is not like spectating at other marathons, nor is it for the faint of heart.

I’ve compiled a list of mistakes I made last year and what I’ll be doing differently this time around. Last year was miserable for me. I want a different experience this year.

MISTAKE #1 - Not getting enough sleep the night before

The first bus that takes runners to the race site leaves at 3:00am. There are other buses that leave later but I read some horror stories from people who waited for the later buses. Getting to the race site is utter chaos and my mom has enough anxiety about making sure she has enough time to get settled once she gets to the race site that we try to make the first one. So it’s an EARLY wake-up call on race day. Last year, we slept in on Saturday and then didn’t get to bed until pretty late. Well, my mom and my brother did. When I was still awake after midnight, I decided it would be harder on my body to get just two hours of sleep than to just stay up so I stayed up. THIS WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA. I was cranky and overly emotional due to my lack of sleep. Also? Really, really really tired.

THIS YEAR, I am going to institute an early wake-up call for both my mom and me on Saturday morning and then? I’m hitting the sack at 7:00pm! I do not do all-nighters. I want to be as well-rested as possible to make it through the following day. (I also didn’t end up sleeping well the following night due to my mom having terrible blood blisters at the bottom of her feet and me freaking out she would have to have her feet cut off and I would have to take care of my crippled mother. Yes. I had nightmares. I never said I was normal.)

MISTAKE #2 - Not buying a ticket to a park or the spectator package

Spectating at a RunDisney event is a vastly different experience than spectating anywhere else. For one, you have to depend on trams and trolleys to get you to specified destinations throughout the course. And for another, unless you buy a special spectating package or a ticket to one of the theme parks, your options for food and drink are severely limited. As in non-existent. The spectating package was expensive but did allow for more access to places around the course and a place to sit down and EAT. If we had a ticket to a park (like Epcot, which was where the runners run through around Mile 9), we could go in there for food and drink and a place to somewhat relax. (After Mile 13, there’s nowhere else to see the runners until the finish. DISLIKE!) We could also hop back ON the bus that would take us back to our hotel where we could either find something to eat there or go out somewhere. But I was nervous about how long it would take us to get there, eat, and come back in time to see my mom finish so we ended up staying at the race site which, in hindsight, was a TERRIBLE idea. But I don’t think I was operating on all cylinders last year...

THIS YEAR... we are all buying park tickets! My brother and sister-in-law are buying annual passes and my mom and I are taking advantage of an awesome “3 days, $99” deal. We can spend 3 days at any Disney park, one of which will be Sunday. (I’m buying the Park Hopper so we won’t be limited in what park we can stop in while we wait during the marathon.) And then we have two more days until May we can come back! I like this idea a whole lot!

MISTAKE #3 - Not having any food or drink to fuel me for the upcoming 9 hours

Oh, this was the biggest mistake of all. Somehow, I didn’t pack anything in my bag so far as nourishment was concerned. I think because I expected my brother and I to head back to the hotel after we saw Mom at Mile 13, I didn’t even think to bring a snack or anything while we waited. And need I remind you we got to the race site a little after 3:00am and didn’t leave until close to 1:00pm? I was a Grumpy Gus, that’s for sure! I do not function well when I’m hungry. The worst part of this marathon is that it’s very hard to find somewhere to eat. (Plus, I was nervous about not seeing my mom finishing so was at the finish line area way earlier than we needed to be.) I’m actually very surprised my brother was still speaking to me after everything I put him through that day. Hehe.

THIS YEAR... I am definitely filling up a backpack with food and drinks to get my brother and I through the first part of this journey. (I’m not sure when my sister-in-law and nephew will be joining us but I imagine not until later in the day.) Then, hopefully, after seeing my mom pass Mile 13, we can stop into a park and get something to eat and relax for a little until we head on over to the finish line to see her finish. Obviously, I am very concerned about eating this time around.

MISTAKE #4 - Not dressing warm enough

It was in the low thirties that day, which is pretty freaking cold for this Florida girl. I wore a pair of jeans, running shoes, a long-sleeved shirt, and a lightweight hoodie. It was not anywhere near warm enough for me. I was basically an icicle from the time I stepped off the bus to the time we got back to the hotel. It never really warmed up enough (especially with the wind) for me to ever feel fully comfortable. I felt really bad for my brother who had on a pair of long shorts and a big hoodie. He doesn’t get cold easily but he was chilled to the bone, too.

THIS YEAR... the weather is looking much nicer. The lows are in the upper 50s and highs in the low 70s. I’m also going to make sure to bundle up and bring some blankets for the morning part (fifty degrees in the middle of the night feels way different than fifty degrees in the afternoon!). But I think the weather is going to play nice this year. And since my mom would prefer to run in the heat than in the cold, she’s especially happy.

MISTAKE #5 - Not having enough communication with my mom

My mom decided against carrying her phone with her for the race. She didn’t want it weighing her down but it also meant my brother and I didn’t have any communication with her. It wasn’t so bad in the beginning since we were able to see her three different times, but it was AWFUL from Mile 13 on, since there were no places to view her (unless we bought park tickets) until the end. For some reason, even though I set up to receive text alerts when she passed certain points, I never got any so I had to keep refreshing the website on my phone to see where she was. There was always a huge lag between updates (like HOURS!) so it put me in a constant state of worry and paranoia something was terribly wrong.

THIS YEAR... my mom is definitely carrying her phone on her. (I even bought her a Spibelt for Christmas since her other belt was more bulky.) I am not going through THAT again. She’s also set up her Facebook and Twitter feeds to update and I’m going to have myself, my brother, and my sister-in-law all set up to receive text alerts. ONE of those ways has to work, right?

Even though this seems to be a major complain-y post, I am so freaking excited to do this all again. I know I’ll be better prepared and she’s better trained. We know what mistakes we made last year and we have learned our lessons from them. Aside from the lack of spectator spots towards the latter half of the course (seriously, Disney, WHY?), it was so much fun to spectate at this marathon. It’s a fun marathon, not one most people run for time, and what better way to inspire a person than to see people FINISHING A MARATHON? I know my mom is going to crush her time she set at last year’s marathon.

She’s entering into a very nervous “can I really do this again?” time right now. So, if you can, leave her some words of encouragement in the comments or reply to her on Twitter (seriously, she’ll LOVE that!). I can’t believe that in three days time, my mom will be a TWO-TIME MARATHONER. That’s crazy to me!

Project 365 {19 - 38}

2012-01-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

I’ve been quite remiss in my Project 365 updates. So, today, is a super picture-heavy post to catch up!

{019/365 - Friday, December 16, 2011} Self-portrait with Dutch and I. He really hates the camera.

{020/365 - Saturday, December 17, 2011} Gingerbread house making with my nephew. He loved the glue stick!

{021/365 - Sunday, December 18, 2011} Christmas cards! And my nephew’s gingerbread house. He loved seeing it on the door!

{022/365 - Monday, December 19, 2011} Dutch. Because he’s cute.

{023/365 - Tuesday, December 20, 2011} Chocolate-covered Oreo. I’m not admitting how many of these I ate in three days.

{024/365 - Wednesday, December 21, 2011} Closer and closer...

{025/365 - Thursday, December 22, 2011} A Santa shirt for the last day in the office until Wednesday!

{026/365 - Friday, December 23, 2011} A grumpy little boy

{027/365 - Saturday, December 24, 2011} Merry Christmas Eve!

{028/365 - Sunday, December 25, 2011} This is what happens when a three-year-old opens presents. Love it!

{029/365 - Monday, December 26, 2011} Snuggles with my main man after a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad date.

{030/365 - Tuesday, December 27, 2011} One of my absolute favorite games to play

{031/365 - Wednesday, December 28, 2011} Self-portrait, sans clunky glasses.

{032/365 - Thursday, December 29, 2011} Treating myself on my “Friday”.

{033/365 - Friday, December 30, 2011} A new desk calendar. It’ll be like having a little piece of Dutch near me every day!

{034/365 - Saturday, December 31, 2011} New Year’s Eve was spent watching episodes of Last Man Standing and playing board games. Quite perfect to me!

{035/365 - Sunday, January 1, 2012} Sleepy sausage

{036/365 - Monday, January 2, 2012} Peanut butter blossoms. Sooooo good.

{037/365 - Tuesday, January 3, 2012} What Women Fear by Angie Smith. This book is insanely good. I’m eating it up.

{038/365 - Wednesday, January 4, 2012} Only the second time this winter the weather has been cold enough to deem a scarf. (39 degrees. Stop laughing.)

January Intentions

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

My word for 2012 is health. While that encompasses more than just my physical health, I want to spend the first few months of 2012 focusing on that. To be honest, even though 2011 was a great year for me, I ended it very disappointed in myself for not being able to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. I was disappointed because I know I can do better. I know I have what it takes to step away from my unhealthy habits but it’s a hard thing to do, to completely change your lifestyle. And since I don’t want to end 2012 on that same disappointing note, I’m taking this year to focus solely on this. Not because I think I need to be skinny to be happy, but because I know I need to be healthy to be happy.

I’m also participating in “12 Changes in 2012” where each month, we focus on one thing in our life we want to change. It can be something big or something small, anything you want. There is no judgment, no condemnation. We’re all in this together and we want to encourage and strengthen everyone else. For my first change, I was originally going to choose to cut out soda from my diet. I know I drink way too much of it and it’s terrible for me, but I think there’s more that needs to happen than just “quitting Coke”. I need to get to a point in my life where food and soda is not my sole reason for happiness. I can actually go into a funk and get very moody if I have a day where I’m not going to drink Coke or the only thing I packed in my lunch are healthy options. (For the record, I know this partly has to do with not finding healthy options that excite me. Hopefully one day they will but right now? Greek yogurt and fruit and salad is very meh to me.)

I do want to limit my soda intake (ideally 1-2 times per week) but more so than that, I want to drink more water and train my mind that soda isn’t the pathway to happiness. I have days when I don’t drink any water at all, which is a terrible thing, especially as it relates to my diet, my skin, and my exercise routine. I know based on your weight and exercise routine, there’s a specific amount of water we should shoot for every day but I don’t want to give myself a number. I just want to begin to drink water more than I drink soda. I want to end my addiction to Coke and the best way for me to do that is slowly work it out of my life.

I know I can hit this goal with no issue - as long as I don’t drink soda at the rate I have been drinking it. And I know I need to stop buying it while grocery shopping or having change on me to get a soda while at work. I know once I start limiting the number of times I have soda a week, the cravings will decrease and my body will start craving water. And I think it will do wonders for my energy levels and skin. And since goals work best if they’re specific and measurable, I’ve broken this change into 4 weeks:

Week 1: Drink only water at work. Sodas at dinner time, if goal is met.

Week 2: Two days a week without any soda at all.

Week 3: Four days a week without any soda at all.

Week 4: Drink soda only twice a week, at most.

(I also want to briefly mention that I do have a little tumbler with a straw that I use at work to drink water. I know this is a popular tip to give anyone who wants to drink more water, so any other tips would be greatly appreciated!)

Along with my “12 Changes” goal (which is a big one!), I also want to set some other intentions for January:

Set up an exercise calendar and stick with it. Although I’m doing awesome at exercising 4-5 times a week, I know I need to amp up the intensity of my workouts to see more results. As such, I think penciling in what I want to do during the week for exercise will be very beneficial to this goal.
Turn all electronics off by 9:30pm. This is a tough goal for me, but I really want to work on shutting off the TV, powering down my laptop, and putting away my iPhone by 9:00 to develop a better bedtime routine and make sure I’m getting to sleep at a decent hour. Ideally, I want to do this by 9:00, but baby steps.
Set up all doctor appointments. Now that I have my insurance cards, I have no need to wait! I need to set up an appointment to get my eyes checked (& order new contacts! I haven’t used contacts solely for a few years now and I think I’m ready for them again!), to see a gynecologist (dun, dun, DUN!), to see the dentist (2008 was my last appointment. Um. Oops?), and to see a general practitioner who can then hopefully set me up to get blood work because I’ve never had blood work done and I want to make sure everything is ok in my body.

So that’s January for me. It’s a brand new month of a brand new year, although I know we can make changes any time of the year, there’s nothing like a fresh start of a new year. I want 2012 to be the year I focus on my health and I think all my goals for January are leading me to that.

Do you have any goals for January? Are you participating in “12 Changes”? What is your big change for this month?

Goals for 2012

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

New Year’s Resolutions get a bad rap, I think. People either hate the word or the feeling of “Hey, new year, new me!” I don’t look at resolutions/goals that way. I have made New Year’s Resolutions for the past few years and it always fills me with such hope and excitement to spend the last part of the last month of the year envisioning what I want out of the coming year. I know I won’t attain each and every one of them but I do know I will try my best each and every month. I also think people don’t set attainable resolutions or stick with them throughout the year, because they get discouraged so easily by doing too much too soon. I’m a big goal-oriented person and I think of resolutions as long-term, yearly goals. And as my good friend, Melissa, pointed out in a comment, it’s not realistic to make every goal you set for yourself. The fun part about making goals/resolutions is trying to achieve them but learning a whole lot about yourself in the process.

Without further ado, here are my 2012 Resolutions (or Goals, if you prefer). I have a lot and they’re all broken into categories. I know I won’t achieve them all, but I’m going to have a grand time trying!

Health and Fitness

> Get to my happy weight (ideally 115 lbs)
> Run an entire 5K in under 36 minutes
> Exercise 4-5 times a week
> End my addiction to soda
> Get up-to-date on all doctor visits
> Give blood at least 3 times
> Run the Turkey Trot 10K in November

Money

> Pay off all credit card debt
> Try as best I can to never keep a balance from month-to-month on my two credit cards
> Pay off my ER visit bill
> Set aside 5% of every paycheck into my savings account

Blog/Social Media

> Switch Stephany Writes to self-hosted Wordpress, with a brand-new design
> Take one break from all media a month, whether it be for a day, a weekend, or a week
> Have a weekend away with special blogging friends

Writing/Reading

> Write and edit a novel
> Read one non-fiction book a month
> Read 75 books

Other

> Fly on an airplane
> Fully immerse myself in the online dating world
> Find my faith again
> Join a book club, Bible study, or some type of social group

Do you set resolutions or goals for the coming year?

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Everyday Moments: December 2011

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

1 - Warmed up chocolate chip cookies

2 - Beginning my Christmas shopping with a shirt for my nephew and a new harness for Dutch

3 - Game night with my mom and brother

4 - gChatting with Katherine and coming up with an awesome idea for 2012: making 12 small changes - 1 a month - to transform my life into something that is healthier and happier for me.

5 - Finishing a really great book and starting another really great book

6 - Spoonfuls of cookie dough

7 - Finally having an easy run that felt fun. After weeks of tough runs, it was much needed.

8 - Getting let out of jury duty by 11:00am. (I was questioned, but not picked for the jury.)

9 - A nice, productive day at home

10 - A full day of Christmas shopping, including meeting up with my brother at Target to start shopping for our mom.

11 - My second day of getting 8 full hours of sleep

12 - Buying my nephew some well-loved books

13 - A busy, but super productive day at work

14 - Turning the TV off by 8:30pm to spend time reading and slowly getting ready for bed.

15 - Baking cookies

16 - Sleeping in until 11, a day of Christmas shopping

17 - Nephew time. It was short and sweet but good God, I love that kid so much, it’s ridiculous. :)

18 - A Christmas get-together with family

19 - The beginning of Holiday Week

20 - A cheesy, predictable Christmas movie

21 - Putting the presents back under the tree

22 - Finishing out my first week managing the media department by myself. And doing a pretty good job at it, if I do say so myself!

23 - A cheesy, predictable romance novel (Are we sensing a theme here?)

24 - Christmas Eve. A day full of anticipation of what is to come on Christmas.

25 - Christmas! Presents, family time, and food. Nothing better.

26 - Buying new froofy pillows to match my new bedspread.

27 - Starting on my 70th book to read this year.

28 - Episodes of Happy Endings. I just started watching this show. It’s so funny!

29 - A really fun day at work where half our morning was spent chit-chatting over chocolate cake in the conference room and part of the afternoon was spent enjoying a delicious Caribbean meal at a restaurant in town.

30 - Having a day off work to catch up on life.

31 - Spending New Year’s Eve with my brother and my mom. Perfect.

2011 Resolutions: A Look Back

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Completed Resolutions

> Graduate from college: Three cheers for a super big, life-list-if-I-made-list-lists goal achieved! The beginning part of my 2011 was crazy, filled with anxiety and worry I wouldn’t graduate on time or somehow my professors would begin to think I hadn’t learned enough to graduate. Luckily, I slipped through the cracks and got my degree!

> Begin working a full-time job, utilizing my degree: I would say this was the biggest goal on my list and I thank God every day that I found a job less than three months after graduating. And that it’s an amazing job with plenty of room for growth and professional development.

> Read 60 books: Check! Last night, I finished my 70th book. Finishing 71 total is a possibility but I exceeded my expectations with this goal.

> Travel: While I didn’t travel all over the world (or even step foot on a plane...), I’m still marking this goal as complete as I left the country for the first time ever. My cruise was the brightest part of my year and I look back on it with such fondness. I also made it up to Orlando a few times this year.

> Join a book club: I’m going to mark this as complete because of #twookclub and #SummerofHarry! Reading through the entire Harry Potter series with fellow bloggers and chatting about it every Thursday night was so much fun and I decided to bring it back in the form of a Twitter book chat. The group is bigger than I ever dreamed and I’ve met so many great people from it. We’ve only had one chat so far but it was amazing and I cannot wait to see what 2012 brings for our book club!

> Pay off all my credit cards: I’m marking this resolution as complete, even though it isn’t 100% complete. I’m still much closer to this goal of being credit card debt-free than I was a year ago. Of the three credit cards I have, one of them will be paid off (and then removed from my account) in January. The other two were paid off... until Christmas.

Resolutions Not Completed

> Run a half-marathon: I’m not sure if a half-marathon will ever be a possibility for me (I have weak ankles...) so while I tried training to run the Irongirl Half-Marathon, it just didn’t happen. (I ran the 5K instead.)

> Complete Project 365: I tried this twice in 2011, both horrific failures. I started this project over on my birthday and doing much better at capturing special everyday moments so I’m hoping I can keep it up this time!

> Get to my goal weight of 115-120 pounds: Not. Even. A. Little. Bit. Close.

> Begin therapy: This wasn’t a possibility due to not having health insurance for 11 months out of the year. But it is a huge goal of mine for 2012!

***

Six completed goals out of ten. Not too shabby, I must say. I think the three biggest goals I wanted to complete were to graduate, get a job, and get to my goal weight. So the fact that I completed two out of those three? That’s pretty amazing.

My 2012 goals will be posted next week, in a slightly different format. I have more goals but since school and a menial job isn’t overtaking my life anymore, I think I can handle more things to shoot for. I really, really love setting goals and setting things in motion to achieve them. I don’t see anything bad in wanting change, although I do want to learn to take appreciation in the here and now. The “When...then” syndrome is something I struggle with (When I’m skinny, then I will be happy...) so I want to take time to slow down and appreciate what is happening in my life in the present, not what I hope will be happening in my life if I achieve a goal.

Do you set New Year’s Resolutions? What are your thoughts on the “When...then” syndrome?

2011: A Year in Review

2011-12-29T07:09:00.001-05:00

January

My mom ran her first marathon. It took her a little over 7 hours but her training hit a major speed bump when she was hit by a car and had to take a few months of all exercise. I was also freezing and hungry and oh-so-tired (pulled an all-nighter the night before due to having to get to the marathon site by 3:30am!)
I began my last semester as an undergrad (and being able to take two English classes made me regret, just a little, not declaring an English major).
I went to my first eye appointment in 18 months to learn my right eye has a pretty bad case of astigmatism, which means contacts are not the best option for me for everyday wear.

February

I watched the Packers win the Superbowl! I was so, so happy for them.
I trained for a half-marathon (that I didn’t end up running. Surprise, surprise.)
My mom and I booked a cruise as my graduation present in May - our first!
I developed shingles which was terrifying. I honestly thought I was dying for a good three days. So. Much. Pain. I don’t wish this on anyone.
I was up to my eyeballs in homework and papers.

March

I made the difficult decision to drop out of the half-marathon I was half-heartedly training for
Had a graduation photoshoot with a lovely school friend
Bought my own domain name
Read my fiction aloud in public for the very first time

April

Set a 5K PR at Irongirl
Went on my first job interview
Crossed everything off my “To Graduate” list
Began to have Friday night Bible studies with my grandparents

May

Graduated from college with my Bachelor’s degree in Communications
Went on a life-changing, soul-affirming Carnival cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel
Applied, applied, applied for jobs

June

Suffered from vacation hangover
Joined a gym
Went on two interviews that led to nothing
Applied, applied, applied for jobs

July

Went on a mini-vacation to Orlando for my mom’s birthday
Was offered a job in the very field I wanted to get into: marketing. (And took it, obvs.)
Went on my first date in... years

August

I started my new job
I began a six-week intense boot camp class at my gym
My blog turned two

September

Performance anxiety was at an all-time high
My brother turned twenty-five and my nephew turned three
I took a social media/blogging break for a week

October

My life was forever changed when I ordered my first iPhone
My work ended one of their giveaways and I was able to be there for the drawing and the conference call when my bosses called the winner. It was incredible.

November

I attempted NaNoWriMo, though I quit after 10 days
Ran two 5K’s. Both were extremely hard but I finished both!
I met Amber!
My mom and I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time ever
We had our first #twookclub chat about The Scent of Rain and Lightning
I turned twenty-four

December

Attended my first jury summons -- and was let go by 11am!
Celebrated Christmas in a small way, just my mom, brother, SIL, and nephew but it was absolutely perfect
Went on a horrible, blog-worthy first date

Looking back, 2011 was a year with ups and downs - months where a lot happened and quiet months of peace. I have changed so much over the past twelve months that I barely remember who that girl was who began 2011. There are parts of her that still exist in my life today, most especially as it relates to my health and anxiety. But honestly? This was a good year for me. I became a college graduate. I went on an amazing cruise. I started my first post-college job. And I began to test the waters of dating. Not the mention, I’ve developed quite a few close relationships with other bloggers.

I’m so excited to see where 2012 will take me. But I know I will need to put in a lot of work to be at the place I want to be this time next year. It’s going to be a bumpy road but I think I’m up for the challenge.

The Top 10 Books I Read in 2011

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of the year, I made a goal to read 60 books this year. (At first, I set the bar at 100 books but didn’t want to rush myself through the books I was reading so I knocked it down.) I have never kept track of how many books I read in a year so it was a measuring tool for me. Turns out, I really like to read. As of right now, I’m at 69 books read and am close to finishing my 70th.

I’m pretty darn impressed with myself.

Sure, not all of them were of high literary quality and the majority of the books I read this year were romance novels, but it’s what I like to read.

I’m still not sure I want to set another book goal this year, because I don’t want to rush myself through books. I want to set some book challenges, though, which is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. One challenge I’m setting for myself is to read one non-fiction book a month. That may be enough for me, or I may want to challenge myself to something else. We shall see.

But by the end of 2011, I will have read 70 books this year. Some of them stand out to me as fantastic reads I wholly recommend. And here is the list:

10. Just Between You and Me by Jenny B. Jones (4 of 5 stars)
A faith-based book about a girl who is still dealing with the drowning death of her mother when she was a teenager and trying to let go of her fears of love and loss. There’s a romance intertwined with the story and I seriously could not put this book down. When I was at work, I was thinking about it. When I was driving home, I was pondering what would happen next. And when I finished it, I found myself melancholy that it was over and these characters were not a daily part of my life anymore. That, for me, is the stamp of a great book.

9. Miss Fortune by Sara Mills (5 of 5 stars)
Another faith-based book, this time set in the 1940’s and a mystery. This tells the story about a woman private detective, still searching for her MIA fiance. She still loves him and knows in her heart he is alive. She teams up with FBI detective Jack who agrees to help her search for her fiance, in exchange for her help on a case. Full of action and adventure and a crazy ending that had me begging for more. (I did end up reading the second book which had another crazy ending, but haven’t heard any mention of a third. The second book was released in 2009, so I find it strange there hasn’t been the third yet when the ending clearly showed there would be one.)

8. Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen (5 of 5 stars)
I reviewed this one on my blog but this book was my introduction to the world of Sarah Dessen and I am hooked. She’s an amazing storyteller and this book had me gripped from the beginning. It’s a story about friendship, but also a story about finding your own way apart from the way people perceive you. Full review here.

7. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (3 of 5 stars)
While I had some issues with this book, overall it was one of my best reads of 2011. Alice Lindgren was an utterly captivating character, someone I could closely identify with. (Well, until she became the First Lady!) I wrote an entire review of the book here.

6. Listen by Rene Gutteride (5 of 5 stars)
A thriller about a small town that gets hit with a website called Listen To Yourself, which puts private conversations between neighbors and families on a website for all to see. It brought up topics of censorship and whether you need to censor yourself in your own home, as well as the idea of how powerful words can be. Thoroughly enjoyed this novel and the twists and turns it took. And I honestly did not see the ending coming!

5. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner (5 of 5 stars)
I followed Jennifer Weiner on Twitter before I ever read a book by her. But I loved this one a lot and I really just love Weiner’s writing style. The main character was so likeable and I was rooting for her through the entire book. You can read my review of this book here.

4. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
OK, cheating with this one but since every single one of these books would be on the list, it wouldn’t leave room for other books. I read this with a bunch of other bloggers for Summer of Harry which was an awesome experience. I had read the first two books when I was in middle school but it was Erin’s insistence that made me try them again. I am so glad I did. These books were amazing. The writing was fantastic and I couldn’t put these books down for anything. I’m pretty sure I’ll be making my way through these books again and again, but I’m still not over Fred’s death. It’s going to be a while.

3. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen (4 of 5 stars)
This was the first book I read in 2011 and I loved it. It’s one of those books people either love or hate, because I’ve seen both sides. I enjoyed the story so much and it gripped me from beginning to end. Another one I reviewed on this blog. Find it here.

2. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen (5 of 5 stars)
I could have sworn I had written a book review about this book but I did not, which is surprising as it was one of my favorite books this year. This is a YA-lit book about a girl named Macy who is still dealing with the unexpected death of her father. She has a boring job at the library and this summer, her boyfriend is going away. She ends up joining up with Wish Catering after meeting the group during an open house her mother had and found family and community. The love story between Macy and Wes was perfect and poignant and I loved every second of this book. It’s definitely one worth a read, and one I will be rereading again and again.

1. The Help by Katherin Stockett (5 of 5 stars)
I tried to write a review for this book after I had finished reading it but just couldn’t. It was one of those books that was so good and impacted me so much that I felt a review could not do it the justice it deserved. I actually watched the movie before reading the book and the movie was so darn fantastic that it made me itch to read the book. The book was even better. While I do think the movie is fantastic and stayed very true to the book itself, nothing compares to the written word in my opinion. I finished this book in late September and I still find myself missing the characters. Skeeter, Abilene, and Minnie are forever a part of my world and this is far and away one of the best books I have ever read.

What were some of your favorite reads this year?

2012: One Word

2011-12-27T07:35:00.001-05:00

Last year in December, I participated, off and on, with some Reverb ‘10 prompts. My favorite prompt was the first one which had me think of a word to describe 2010 and think of another one to describe what I wanted my 2011 to resemble.

For 2011, I chose the word risk. I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and into waters I don’t normally venture to. I’m not sure risk is the right word to describe this year. While I took some risks for sure, I think a better word to describe this year is change. My life has changed drastically over the past twelve months. I can’t even remember what 2010 Stephany was like.

2011 was about growing up and maturing. Graduating from college, securing my first post-college job, growing into my skin a little more. I started to realize that I’m ultimately responsible for my own happiness, but also that it’s OK to be sad and let your emotions get the better of you. I learned that it’s OK to be human.

I began to take notice of my anxiety issues and realize that these things I feel are not normal behavior. I’ve spent the past couple of years telling myself this is just a part of who I am. I’m just a worrywart. I would have to deal with that. But I’m beginning to see and understand that I don’t have to live in this constant cycle of fear. Living without it, or even learning better coping skills when the anxiety attacks hit, is a possibility.

I missed my dad a lot this year. The anger is leaving and in it’s place is a broken heart. I’m sad that he’s missing out on a wonderful relationship we could have had. While the hurt and emotional beatings he gave to me are still in my heart, I can’t help but reminisce on the good times we had. Because when he was in a good mood, it was real good. He was funny and charming and sweet and everything a girl would want out of her father. I miss that. He shattered my heart when he walked out of my life willingly and I think he’s the only one who can pick up the pieces and put it back together.

I began to appreciate myself more this year. I took notice of my strengths and began to realize what I imagined were weaknesses were actually strengths that the world had told me were weaknesses. Being an introvert isn’t a weakness. It’s just who I am.

I also began to question a lot of things. Faith. Family. Career ambitions. How to achieve my best life possible. I discovered I’m not all that interested in leading a life that looks like everyone else’s. I only have one life to live and I want to live it well.

I stalled on my attempts to get to a healthy weight but exercised consistently and tried my hardest to eat well when I could. I started to make healthier decisions, even when they were hard. I may not have gotten to where I wanted to be, but I never gave up. And I won’t.

I’ve been thinking on my word for 2012 for a while now. I had to decide what I wanted out of this upcoming year. I had to visualize December 2012 Stephany: what did she look like? How did she feel? What are the immediate emotions that emanate from my body as I look in on her?

My word for 2012 is health.

Physical health - I want to work on my eating and exercise habits. While I exercise consistently, I know I need to ramp up the intensity and length of my workouts. I tend to play it safe with my workouts, especially lately. Most importantly, I want to learn to eat a more healthy diet. Consistently. I find myself doing well with my eating habits for a few weeks on, a few weeks off. No more.

Emotional health - For the longest time, I have felt this incessant need to be happy. Being sad or depressed or upset has no room in my life, I thought, and would do everything in my power to make sure others around me were happy. By doing this, I shove all my other emotions deep down inside and refuse to deal with them. In 2012, I want to let go of this incessant need. I want to let myself be sad or upset for however long I need to. I want it to be OK to cry. To be OK to feel sad. To be OK to want to throw things across the room.

Mental health - Most specifically, learning to control my anxiety and panic attacks that ensue. It has only been recently that I’ve been able to put a name to this constant cycle of worry I have in my life and while I haven’t gotten an official diagnosis yet, I do know the way I have been living is not normal worrywart behavior. In 2012, I am finally taking care of my mental health by attending therapy. This means I may need to switch some things around to afford it (at the very least, it will require a $50 copay) but I know I need to seek help and stop putting my mental health on hold.

Health. No, it’s not an exciting word like CHALLENGE or RISK. It’s a boring word. But it holds so much meaning and power in my life, because I have never put my health first. I’ve been more concerned with other aspects of my life that it falls to the backburner and shows in the way I have lived the past few years of my life. In 2012, health comes first. Physical, emotional, and mental.

What word would you choose to describe 2011? What word do you want to describe 2012?

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas. Nothing compares to the anticipation this holiday brings me. It was still hard for me to get to sleep on Christmas Eve and I was up probably five times, watching the hours slow-w-w-w-w-ly tick by. But soon, it was 7:30 and time to wake up and open presents!

As always, I was spoiled. Check out the present haul:

A new Vera Bradley hipster (in my most favorite print!) and make-up bag, as well as some make-up from Bare Minerals

New boots! (I was with my mom when she bought these, to make sure they fit and I liked them.) I’m in love. (Now, Florida, PLEASE GET COLD so I can use them!)

From my brother. A Kindle Touch. I’m so in love. (I had the Kindle Keyboard but when this one came out, I started lusting after the new design and touchscreen. I am super spoiled, I know.)

A beautiful new bedding set from my mother! It makes my bed look so much more comfy and inviting, which I’m not sure is a good thing. (But oh! So comfy!)

After my mom and I opened our presents to each other, we took our sweet time cleaning up and preparing for Christmas dinner. This year, we went the easy route and picked up a Honey-Baked Ham yesterday. No cooking required, all we had to do was take it out of the fridge thirty minutes before we wanted to eat. (Although I’m not a fan of ham, I am a fan of how easy that was!)

My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew came over a little after 1:00 and then it was time for more presents. My nephew came over in a bit of a grumpy mood which quickly dissipates once we asked him if he wanted to open presents. (For the record, I think he loved my digital camera. It was so amazing to see his eyes light up when he opened that gift.) We may have gone a little crazy with a variety of games, books, clothes, and toys.

The rest of the day went by smoothly and fun. (Luckily, with this meal, there was no bites from Dutch like there was at Thanksgiving!) I love our new tradition of it just being the five of us for Christmas. We’re not rushing around to get to this house and that or having to deal with any drama that inevitably happens within families.

It was another successful Christmas and while I’m a bit melancholy that my favorite time of the year has passed, I’m also excited to reflect on 2011 and make big plans for 2012. From the way 2011 is wrapping up for me, I have a feeling 2012 is going to be an exceptional one.

How was your Christmas? What was your favorite present this year?

Holiday Week: An Obsession of Mine

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Sooooo... I have a bit of an obsession with Christmas-themed gel window clings, as referenced by the above photo.

Yes, those are my sliding glass doors.

The obsession started about two years ago when I bought my first window clings at Target. From there, I started picking up little packets every time I saw some that I loved. Wal-Mart. Bed, Bath, and Beyond. But mostly Target. The first year, there was just a lone snowman and a Santa with some snowflakes.

Now? I have candy canes and Christmas trees and penguins and presents and stockings and reindeer and gingerbread men. Christmas lights and more snowflakes than I know what to do with.

My mom has snowman and gingerbread ornaments. I have Christmas window clings. It’s definitely a process setting them up and taking them down every year but I love it. I love seeking out new clings, love setting up new scenes, love the look of them as I walk past my apartment. For some, they may seem tacky but for me, they are just another expression of the utter joy and glee that Christmas brings to me.

Do you have any obsessions when it comes to Christmastime? Spill in the comments!

Holiday Week: Confessions

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

Last year, I did my own little holiday confessions. I haven’t done a confessions post in a while so it was definitely time, and after seeing Nora and Lisa post about theirs? Well, I just had to!

1. I have never seen the movie Love Actually. I hear it's one of the best movies to watch at Christmastime?

2. We are having a warm Christmas this year (high of 81 on Christmas Eve and high of 75 on Christmas) and I love it! I am a true Florida girl.

3. When my nephew came over on Saturday, we had to hide all our presents in my closet. It's been four days and I still haven't moved them all back to under the tree.

4. This is the first year that I've actually kept up exercising & (somewhat) healthy eating habits throughout the month of December. And last Saturday, I got on the scale to see I had LOST a pound since the beginning of the month. There's a first time for everything, I guess!

5. I still can't sleep on Christmas Eve night.

6. Two of my must-haves in my stocking are the Snickers nutcrackers and a chocolate orange.

7. I haven't listened to much Christmas music this year. Usually, I'm all over that and I'm not sure why I've been so meh about them this year. Maybe the spring-like temperatures?

8. Not spending a December entrenched in finals and finishing up coursework is very weird. Awesome, but weird.

9. I really, really, really love receiving presents. (What? You're lying if you say you don't as well! If we didn't love receiving gifts, why would we give gifts? Hm...)

10. My dad wasn't much for holidays so it doesn't bother me too much that he's not around for another Christmas. It's more of the little everyday moments that bother me more.

11. The only time our lights stay on all night is on Christmas Eve.

12. Speaking of lights, I've been bad at even turning them on this year. There have been more than a few nights when they don't go on at all. (I *swear* I'm not a Scrooge!)

13. I think the peppermint mocha and/or frappuccino served at Starbucks is nasty. After a while, it just feels like you're drinking toothpaste.

14. My mom has already seen one of the presents (a big one) she's getting. That's what happens when you shop at Target together.

15. I didn’t stay anywhere near my $200 budget for Christmas gifts.

Holiday Week: A Christmas Meme

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

source

1. The Christmas song I can even listen to in June is...
Anything! While it's weird to listen to Christmas music in the summer, I love this time of year so much, I don't mind it. Plus, this year? It barely even feels like Christmas with our hot temperatures! (I’m secretly hoping it will be warm enough on Christmas Eve to go to the beach.)

2. Hot chocolate, egg nog, or mulled wine?
Hot chocolate for sure! Egg nog is way too sweet for my liking and I've never heard of mulled wine. Is it different than regular wine?

3. When do you put your decorations up?
I like to put them up the weekend after Thanksgiving. I would put them up sooner if I could.

4. What are you having for Christmas dinner?
Honestly? No idea. My mom and I will be having my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew over but we're not keen on the idea of cooking another big meal like we did for Thanksgiving. We're thinking of something easy but hearty we could cook in the Crock-Pot but not sure what yet. (Ideas?)

5. What's your favorite Christmas tradition?
I love our tradition of waking up early to open Christmas presents. It's a pretty ordinary one but I love the anticipation Christmas Eve brings! Also, stockings. My mom fills them so full, they have to lay on their side on the table or propped up against presents under the tree. And they are always filled with such goodies!

6. Have you ever gone carol singing?
Never. And I don't think I ever want to. Not my thing!

7. When did you discover the truth about Santa?
"I was three. Christmas came. No Weenie whistle. That's when I stopped believing."*

No, actually, I was in second grade, so around seven/eight. I had suspected but was laughed at by my "friends" when I said I still believed. Kids are cruel.

8. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
It's a process, to say the least. My mom and I always end up having a terrible argument. This year, we have a pre-lit artificial tree. We thought this would make the tree decorating process easier. Welllll... no. Two parts of the tree burned out (we bought the tree LAST YEAR!) so we spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to get it to light. No dice. We tried wrapping tinsel around the tree to make it more festive but we didn't have enough and it looked stupid. So now, we have a tree that lights up in three areas with our mismatched ornaments: some homemade, an insane amount of snowmen (my mom LOVES snowmen), and a small collection of gingerbread men (she now LOVES gingerbread men). It's not pretty, but it's our tree. I'm hoping 2012 is the year we can decorate the tree with no issues. I'm not holding my breath, though. ;)

9. What's the best thing about Christmas?
The presents? I'll admit it: I'm really looking forward to what's under the tree for me! I love giving gifts but come on, receiving is pretty sweet as well. I can't wait to see what others think of the gifts I gave them, as well! I tried hard this year and I think I did a pretty good job picking out presents.

10. All I want for Christmas is...
Other than a Kindle Touch, a new bedspread, or a new some of those delicious Snickers nutcrackers? I would like for my dad to call me and want to restore our relationship. That? That would make this Christmas the best one ever. That would be the best gift anyone could ever give me.

How old were you when you discovered the truth about Santa? Any ideas on what my mom and I should make for Christmas dinner? (We don’t much care about being traditional...)

*Only a quote from the best Christmas movie ever. Yes. Ever.

Holiday Week: Memories

2011-12-19T07:37:00.001-05:00

Last year, I completed my first Holiday Week on my blog. I got the idea from Nora. A week of holiday posts, writing about whatever your heart desires. Beginning my second year with a list of memories from Christmas’s past that fill me with utter joy and glee whenever I reminisce about them.

> Staying up an entire Christmas Eve night/Christmas morning with my brother when we were in middle school. I ended up falling asleep at 10:00am the next morning, but we were so proud of ourselves because we had tried to do this for so many years. The key was to watch loud, action movies. They kept us awake and our minds busy.

> Waking up one Christmas morning to seeing two bikes parked in the kitchen/dining room by our sliding glass doors. Mine was pink with pretty sparkly streamers. I can still remember how surprised and excited I was to see my bike.

> Waking our parents up at 6am to open presents and my dad tiredly saying, rubbing sleep from his eyes, “Happy Christmas and Merry New Year.”

> Going to the mall one evening in December with my brother when we were in high school to buy her Christmas presents. Coming home and stealing away to my room to wrap the presents. Coming out with the wrapped gifts to place them under the twinkling tree. Annnnd forgetting to throw away the bags everything came in so she saw the stores we bought things from. (Talk about a major joy killer!)

> Finding a mysterious large box in my walk-in closet that my brother and I grilled my mom about all throughout December. She insisted it was a gift for my cousin my uncle had asked her to keep. Turns out? It was our very first computer. Best gift ever.

> The anticipation of counting down to Christmas, whether it be in my classroom (we usually made paper links) or with a Christmas countdown at home. Getting to the single-digit days were exciting.

> Dressing up the Christmas tree with mismatched ornaments, many created by my brother and me.

> Creating the most hideous Christmas cookies with as much frosting, sprinkles, and M&M’s as we could.

> Being given the “Toys R Us” catalog and circling all the toys I wanted.

> Waking up on Christmas morning to see the cookies and milk my brother and I left for Santa gone, and a letter written by him in its place.

> Candlelight services at church. They never fail to fill me with Christmas spirit and remind me of the real reason this time is so special.

> Making my first gingerbread house, even if it was put together wrong and a wall began caving in minutes after I finished decorating it.

What’s one holiday memory that you have from your own childhood?

Project 365 {12 - 18}

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

{012/365; Friday, December 9, 2011} Decadent chocolate cake at a holiday party.

{013/365; Saturday, December 10, 2011} Snuggling in bed with my Kindle and Dutch after an incredibly busy day.

{014/365; Sunday, December 11, 2011} Twisted Peppermint candle from Bath and Body Works to get into the Christmas spirit.

{015/365; Monday, December 12, 2011} Would you believe me if I said these were chocolates? Almost too pretty to eat.

{016/365; Tuesday, December 13, 2011} A yummy lunch at Panera Bread. Sadly, I got my chili with cornbread in it. (I don’t like cornbread in my chili. Maybe I’m weird?)

{017/365; Wednesday, December 14, 2011} This spider crossed just a few feet in front of me and all I said was, “Holy Mother of God!” I didn’t scream, didn’t run away, but instead followed him to take a photo. (And then promptly fled from the room!)

{018/365; Thursday, December 15, 2011} Storm clouds

Wine and Love, V.10

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

It’s been a few weeks since I participated in the lovely Nora’s fun blog series, Wine and Love. It’s simple: share what’s making you happy and sad this week. If you post on your own blog, don’t forget to head over to Nora’s and link up!

Filling up my wine glass:

> Being forgetful. I had big plans last night to make homemade chocolate chip cookies to take in to work today. Unfortunately, I forgot chocolate chips and butter. It’s kind of impossible to make cookies (at least MY kind!) without both ingredients. Sorry, coworkers. No cookies for YOU! (I’m also very sad that I was not able to partake in spoonfuls of cookie dough yesterday. I may have been looking forward to that all day.)

> Being a crater face. This week has been a bad week for my face. I broke out in the worst way all around my chin and it has made me feel so self-conscious. I can barely stand to look in the mirror. I have a feeling the break-outs are a combination of stress, not washing my pillowcase enough, not washing my face, and letting Dutch kiss me too much. Whew! So, I’ve started washing my face again religiously (I use Cetaphil and it really works for me!) and Dutch and I have broken up. I want to buy a boatload of pillowcases to switch out every week (since it’s VERY hard to wash my sheets weekly due to having to use a laundry room and the washers/dryers being limited) and as for stress? Other than figuring out ways to better handle the stress I am dealing with, there’s not much else I can do with it. Luckily, the break-outs are calming down and not looking so disgusting anymore. ;)

> Wisdom teeth. Yesterday was the first day in a week that my upper right wisdom tooth hasn’t hurt. I’m twenty-four, I know I need to get them removed, but I’m hoping I can hold off the surgery until later in the summer. (Due to time off issues.) Usually, I just need one dose of Advil and the pain goes away but it’s definitely annoying. I’m hoping I turned a corner, though, and the pain will stay gone!

Filling up my love glass (oh, the cheese!):

> A great review. I had my 3-month review at my job last week, something I was having a lot of anxiety about. (Have you heard about the time I wasn’t told I was doing an awful job in an internship and just let go with no warning, no way to improve? No? See: anxiety.) I found out that I am not on the brink of being fired but that I am well-liked, a valuable team member, and someone they can count on and want to keep around! So be gone, anxiety! I have specific goals to work on, but I know without a doubt, I can go to either of my bosses with help on how to achieve them.

> Christmas shopping. This is, without a doubt, my favorite time of the year. I love seeing houses lit up and Christmas trees and wrapped presents greeting me every time I open the door. And I love buying Christmas presents. I tried to stick to a budget but it just didn’t happen. This is the only time I go a little overboard with presents and it’s just fun to find special gifts for those special people in your lives. (Also, I only buy for my mom, my brother, my sister-in-law, and my nephew.) I’m hoping to be completely finished with my shopping by this weekend, which is incredibly early for me. Heh.

> Vacation time. I have tomorrow off (which I will use for sleeping, catching up on Joy Council writing, and Christmas shopping. SO fun!). Next week, I have Friday off. The following week, I have Monday, Tuesday, and Friday off! How did I get so lucky? Unfortunately, once the third week of January hits, I will have no time to take off until my cruise in late May. So I’m enjoying it while I can!

What are your wines and loves for this week?

Good Days and Bad Days

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Some days, being single is easy. It’s fun and I’m completely happy and content in my oneness. I don’t get sad seeing couples around me or hearing about another friend finding love. I feel at ease with my station in life, patiently awaiting the day it will be my turn.

But then those other days arise. They are the days where being single isn’t fun. It isn’t easy. I am not content. Seeing couples and hearing of friends finding love fills me with sadness and jealousy. My hands feel empty without another’s wrapped around it. My body physically aches to have a man to wrap my arms around, put my lips on, open my heart to. I wonder what I’m doing wrong, why love hasn’t become a possibility for me yet, when will it be my turn?

When those bad days come, and I promise it isn’t often, it makes me sit back and wonder how content I am in my singleness. If I’m truly content, should these thoughts even enter my mind? What do they really say about me?

I realize that I am content in my singleness. I am perfectly fine being alone. I don’t need to be in a relationship to be happy. I always had a strong suspicion I would spend the majority of my twenties single and, deep down, I don’t think the reason I have been single for so long is because there is something wrong with me. Sure, maybe I haven’t reached out for opportunities to meet guys like people think I should, but I’m okay with that for now. Just like everything in life, I am going to have good days and bad days in singleness. Not every day is happiness and sunshine, just like not every day at your job is filled with happiness or that every run you go on will be awesome. It’s only when the bad days outweigh the good days that you should become worried. It’s when you can’t pick yourself up out of the negativity and find the good.

Sometimes, I have bad days. But mostly, I have good days. I have no doubt I will find love someday, as long as I keep my mind and heart open. For now, I’m happy as a single gal.

50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind, Part 9

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?

This is a tough question to even think about but not a tough one to answer. I would spend the day with my mom, my brother, and my nephew. Those three people mean the most to me in the entire world and I would want to spend it recreating memories and soaking in all the time left I had with them. (What a morbid question, though! Geesh!)

42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?

Absolutely not. I have no inclinations for fame and while I don't think I would mind being extremely attractive, I'm fairly happy with my mediocre looks now. Sure, I'm not a beauty and YES, I want to lose weight but I want to do it the hard way. I want to put time and effort, sweat and tears into becoming skinnier, because that's part of the process of healing from the inside out. And honestly? The face that stares back at me every day is mine. She is me. We are one. I wouldn't want a stranger looking back at me, because I'm pretty good friends with the girl I see now.

43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?

It's very simple: being alive is just about breathing and moving through each day. You go through the motions of everyday life, but never fully reach out and grasp all life can be. You don't even have to be depressed or sad, you could be content with your life. But you're not really living. You're not taking risks and challenging yourself and loving every moment you breathe.

Truly living? That's what we aspire to. It's when you finish each day, exhausted but happy because you didn't sit down and let life pass you by. You have taken life by the horns and are throwing yourself out into the Universe. Each day isn't sunshine and rainbows, but you finish each day knowing you did the best job you could to build the best life you can imagine. It's going to bed every night and not dreading what awaits you in the morning. It's waking up and being excited for the "to do" list, even if it's filled with mundane things. You have a pep in your step because you've realized what life is all about and you have captured those moments the rest of us are still wishing on.

44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?

There is a deeply personal answer to each challenge we face, where we have to weigh the risks and rewards. Sometimes, we have to stop thinking so damn much and just start doing. I am a thinker and I weigh the pros and cons on just about every decision I make and it can be as simple as what I want to eat for lunch. When it feels right for you, that’s when you stop thinking. When you know you will be happier you went to that book club or went sky-diving or traveled alone for the first time in your life, you will know it in your heart. And you’ll stop believing in all those cons and risks.

45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?

I am terrified of making mistakes. Terrified. Even though we learn from mistakes, I always feel that making them makes me inferior. As if there is something wrong with me because I tripped up. I’m slowly beginning to realize that making mistakes is part of the growth progress. We have to make mistakes, we have to fall down. It’s the only way we can grow, it’s the only way we can learn. But there’s something scary about making a mistake. I think that’s why I haven’t tried harder to get published, even small articles or short stories. I am terrified of not being good enough.

The truth is? I’m not experienced enough to be “good enough”. I will get rejected and I will have lots of areas in my writing to improve on. Learning the mistakes I’m making in my writing will only make me a better writer, but it’s scary to lay your heart and soul on the line - your passion - and find out just how many mistakes you’re making.

Are you afraid of making mistakes? Tell me, would you reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become attractive and/or famous? Why or why not?

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7] [part 8]

*Questions found here

What’s So Special About January?

2011-12-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

December is typically a month where I go a little crazy. It’s at this time of the year I realize I’m not anywhere near where I promised myself I would be in January and decide to use December as my “free for all” month and start fresh in January. After all, there’s too much temptation in December! January starts a new year and then I can get serious about my health.

But while this year hasn’t been a year where I dropped a bunch of weight and finally started feeling that healthy living is a possibility, I’m refusing to let myself undo the small amount of work I did do. Yes, I’m still unhappy with my body and the way I eat. Yes, I’m having a hard time considering this year a monster success because I’m still struggling with my weight problem. But I know I took measures every single day to live a healthier lifestyle. It may have been as simple as not having dessert at night or drinking water at work, but it was something. I have no doubt in my mind if I hadn’t tried my best to follow a healthy-living regime, I would be at least 40-50 pounds heavier than I am right now. That’s too scary to even contemplate.

This year, I did not run a half-marathon, but I did exercise at least once but more often than not 4-5 times a week.

This year, I did not “cure” my addiction to Coke, but I started drinking water on a regular basis and I learned that I’m not so much as addicted to soda, as it is a comfort and normality for me.

This year, I did not find a healthy living mindset but I did chase after healthy living goals every week. I may have had more downs than ups, but I never gave up trying.

While I am hoping 2012 will be a year I finally grab hold of what healthy living needs to look like for me (with the help of “12 Changes in 2012”!), I don’t want to let any of my healthy goals slide in December. And I’m not talking about treating myself to yummy treats or delicious holiday meals, I’m talking about the other days of the month. They vastly outnumber the days filled with parties, baking, and holidays. Those are the days I need to keep my focus on healthy living. The days when I need to down water like it’s my job and fit in a killer workout and eat healthy, filling meals. The days when I need to ease up on sweets and soda and fatty foods. I’m not looking to use December as a month to drop weight, but as a month to remain focused on my overall goal of a healthy lifestyle.

At the end of the month, I want to be satisfied with myself and the choices I made throughout the month. I don’t want to spend the month in a constant cycle of guilt and disgustingness (yes, that is a word).

I may have not fulfilled my resolution of reaching my goal weight but I have tried my best. And I’m still going to keep trying. As one of my favorite movies once quoted, “Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game*.” I’m not going to let my fear or history of failing keep me from trying. Because one of these days, it’s all going to click.

*That would be A Cinderella Story. And yes, it’s one of my favorite movies. Don’t judge!

Project 365 {7 - 11}

2011-12-09T12:01:00.001-05:00

{007/365; Sunday, December 4, 2011} Mom after finishing her fifth half-marathon

{008/365; Monday, December 5, 2011} Yes, this is what December looks like in Florida. This is a lot warmer than normal, but I’m loving the beach-like weather!

{009/365; Tuesday, December 6, 2011} Self-portrait day

{010/365; Wednesday, December 7, 2011} One of my favorite things, a soft salted pretzel

{011/365; Thursday, December 8, 2011} Love this boy

{001 - 006}

12 Changes in 2012

2011-12-07T07:47:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, I sent out this tweet:

Which prompted Katherine to send me a DM, asking to gChat with me. I immediately accepted, knowing she would either be someone to vent to, or someone to give me advice. I needed both.

The chat? Prompted this:

As Katherine and I were talking about living a healthier lifestyle, she brought up an idea that had been floating through her head for a while now: making one big change a month to our lives for twelve months. At the end of the year, our lives will be drastically different but the process of getting there won’t be so harsh and tough. Little by little, we will chip away at those habits causing us to be less-than-satisfied with our lives to bring about amazing change and transformation.

At first, we thought it would be fun to have twelve people participate. Twelve people. Twelve changes. In 2012. But as we got the word out on Twitter, we found out a whole hell of a lot more than twelve people were interested. At last count, we had 36 (!!) people interested in joining us. Katherine sent out an e-mail about the challenge on Monday morning. There will be a website where we can share our twelve things and a place for us to find community and support. Making changes to your everyday habits and life is hard but I’ve found it to be so much more motivating when there are people behind you, giving you support and offering advice.

If you want to be added to the participant list, let me know! If you leave me a comment or tweet or email, I’ll make sure to forward on the email Katherine sent to give you more information on what this will all entail. I think this is exactly what I need to make 2012 the year I finally stop living a half-life.

I also wanted to take this time to write down my (tentative) twelve changes I want to make in the coming year. I’m sure as the year goes on, this list will change but here’s a rough idea of my “12 Changes in 2012”:

January: Get off my addiction to soda, drinking no more than two a week
February: Eat a healthy, filling breakfast every day
March: Stop snacking on junk and instead find healthier, more filling options
April: Have a normal bedtime routine, starting around 9:00pm
May: Spend the first 10 minutes of my day journaling
June: Have a “no spend” month, using this to catch up on all credit card and medical bills
July: Stop the negative self-talk.
August: Establish a “chore chart” and stick to it weekly
September: Be more present in my everyday life
October: Write fiction for at least 15 minutes a day
November: Have a daily quiet time with God
December: Take action and control over my anxiety

The biggest thing I want to focus on in 2012 is my health so many of my goals are specifically related to this, but “12 Changes in 2012” is about more than just health and fitness goals. It is about focusing in on areas of your life you are not happy with. Discovering the change you want to see happen in 2012 to make for a more happier you. Change is hard and scary and messy, but it is also wonderful and exciting and fulfilling. I know the changes I have listed above will not be easy. Some of them are a bit scary but I know as I look at my life now, I’m not happy with the way I’m living it. And as terrifying as some of these goals are, I know they will bring about needed and necessary change I need to feel more fulfilled in my life.

Are you taking the plunge and joining us for “12 Changes in 2012?” If you haven’t contacted Katherine or me about it yet and want to learn more, please don’t hesitate to send out a tweet to either of us! We’re excited about the venture and can’t wait to see the change that happens in all of our lives!

Ten on Tuesday (Vol. 43)

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

1. What are 3 things that are on your Christmas wishlist?

I posted about my Christmas wish list last week but one item I desperately want to receive this year (that I forgot to list!) is a new comforter set. I have my eyes on this set from Target. I currently have one from IKEA but the comforter is way too big for my full-size bed. Also, my dog isn’t a fan of the comforter. I’m not even kidding. He has protested the change until I finally brought my old comforter up on our bed for him to sleep in. No, he’s not spoiled at all.

Talk about going off on a tangent! OK. Three things on my wish list: a new comforter set, a new cover for my Kindle, and new workout clothes from Target.

2. What’s your favorite Christmas song?

I’m torn between “Little Drummer Boy” by Jars of Clay and “Go Tell It On the Mountain” by Needtobreathe. Two of my favorite bands with beautiful renditions to both songs.

3. Do you have a favorite band or singer that sings it especially awesome?

Whoops. See above.

4. Have you heard about the website Goodreads?

Yes, I most definitely have! It’s one of my favorite sites. I use it constantly to look for new books to read, rate and review books I’m reading, and keep up with #twookclub! We use a Goodreads group to suggest books to read, vote on the next book to read, and just chat about general things. I’m debating whether or not to put up a discussion about the book pick of the month for others to discuss the book in further detail (especially for those who can’t make the monthly chat!). But yes, know of and love Goodreads. If you consider yourself a bookworm, you need to be using this site!

5. What are 3 books you want to read?

Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff, because I’m obsessed with his blog
The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel, because the tagline reads “Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn’t Exist” which is basically the way I’ve been living my faith over the past year
Divergent by Veronica Roth, because of the rave reviews it is getting from everyone

6. Do you hunt deer?

No, I don’t.

7. Have you started Christmas shopping? Are you completely finished?

I have started. I am finished shopping for my brother and my boss. I’m still drawing a blank as to what to get my sister-in-law. I’ve bought my nephew a shirt, but have a few other items to purchase for him. And I haven’t even started on my mom which is always a big process for me. (I like to spoil her since she never was spoiled when she was married to my dad - nor in the years that followed, as a single mom to teenagers.) But I love Christmas shopping so, so much that it doesn’t bother me at all. Not the rush, not the lines, not the busyness. I love it all.

8. Did you shop on Black Friday? What was the best deal you got?

I have never shopped on Black Friday but I think I will one year. Just for the experience. And only for something silly, like a Belgian waffle maker. Because who doesn’t need one of those?!

9. What’s one holiday tradition that your family has?

I think our biggest tradition is waiting until Christmas Day to open presents and stockings. I couldn’t imagine opening presents on Christmas Eve and it’s such a fun, special memory. (Especially staying up late with my brother when we were younger. We always tried so hard to stay awake!) We were finally allowed to get up at 6am, open our stockings, and then wake our parents up to open the present haul. Now, with my brother out of the house, it’s a little more calm. I’m able to sleep through the night (although it’s still a little hard! I’m a five-year-old on Christmas Eve, still!) and my mom and I wake around 7:30-8:00 to open our stockings/presents before waiting for my brother and his family to come over.

10. How many blogs do you read? Do you subscribe/unsubscribe often or do you purge every once in a while?

I follow 84 blogs in Google Reader, but they are all in their own folders so I make sure I read the blogs that I love the most first. I use the “mark all as read” button more than I would like but it’s impossible to keep up with them all. About once a month, I’ll add a few new blogs to my Reader, as well as purging blogs I’m either skimming or not reading at all.

Tell me: What is one holiday tradition your family has?

*Questions found here

NaNoWriMo 2011: Lessons Learned

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

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I’ve attempted NaNoWriMo twice.

The first time was in 2009 and I was in the midst of finals and papers and trying to work a part-time job all at the same time. I made it two days.

The second time was last month. I’m done with school and I knew now was the best time to do it. This year, I made it farther. The first day I wrote 2,000 words but on day two, I decided I wasn’t feeling the story so I switched it. This caused me to fall behind and I never fully caught up. I stopped after ten days.

Two attempts. Two failures, if you want to look at it that way. But I’m choosing to look at NaNoWriMo 2011 as a learning experience. I learned a lot about my writing style, the environment I need to be in to write, and what it will take for me to finish a novel.

Lessons Learned While Attempting NaNoWriMo 2011

1. I have to write fiction daily. Even if it’s just for 10 minutes, writing daily is key. And not just writing anything. I could check-mark my blog posts as my writing for the day but that’s cheating. As much as I love writing for my blog, I also need to hone my fiction writing. I need to set time aside – be it in the early morning or late at night – to give my 100% focus to my story. One thing about NaNoWriMo is that you have to write an average of 1,667 words a day to meet the goal. This means writing every single day or having to catch up on days you miss. It gets you in the habit of writing daily. I’ve fallen a little off the writing every day wagon, but I’ve been doing better the past few days and excited about writing again.

2. I love character-driven romances. I spent most of October shuffling through my memory bank of story ideas, switching through mysteries and YA lit and chick-lit. Through romances and historical novels. To be quite honest and blunt, I don’t much care about writing the next best-seller. Would it be lovely for my novels to have the kind of staying power as the Harry Potter series? Yes, definitely. But I’m not certain that’s my path to take. I find my place in character-driven romances, about people who lead small lives and where love is the centerpiece. I’m not talking about creating fluffy main characters who think they need a man to be happy. Not one bit. That’s not how I live my own life so there’s no way I could write about that. Instead, I want to write about women finding their own path in life, finding their own happiness, and who open their heart and minds to love and romance. That’s the kind of book I want to write.

3. I need a silent, organized workspace in order to write. This wasn’t a big revelation for me, as I preferred silence when studying when I was in college. For the most part, I prefer it more often than not. Sometimes, I like to have the TV on when I clean, but I generally prefer a quiet home when I’m trying to keep my focus. My attention strays too much to the television or the lyrics of the song if I have music on than on what I need to be doing at that moment. Along with silence, comes a clean space. I think most people work better without clutter and it really gives me a fresh, open mind when my environment is organized and neat.

4. Don’t worry so much about quality. Worry more about getting the words down. NaNoWriMo is about quantity, not quality. It’s about the process of writing and not worrying so much about how perfect it is. I want to bring that process into my writing now because I can get bogged down on making sure dialogue flows right or a scene sounds perfect that I miss out on the actual writing of my novel. I want to focus more on putting words down on paper and less on perfection. The editing process is there to smooth out any kinks and delete scenes that don’t work right but I think, for now, I just need to write for quantity.

5. I have a desire and passion for writing. I know the road to being a published author is long and arduous. And it may not ever lead to a place where I can fully sustain myself on my writing. But there’s this thing about having a passion: you will do whatever it takes to fulfill that passion. You will lose sleep, food, and money to chase after your dream. And those people who think you are crazy and insane? They don’t know the sweet fulfillment that comes from being in the midst of chasing - or realizing - their passions.

Did you participate in NaNoWriMo this year? If so, did you finish? What is your biggest passion in life?

Project 365 Saturday: Days 1-6

2011-12-03T13:49:00.001-05:00

At the start of my twenty-fourth (OK, FINE, TWENTY-FIFTH) year, I decided to take on Project 365 again. I’ve failed at it in the past, mainly because it’s a lot to keep up with but now that I have a spiffy iPhone that sometimes takes pictures nicer than my regular point-and-shoot, I think I’ll be able to handle it this go-round. I hope to update my blog every Saturday (or most Saturdays, at least!) with photos from the week(s) so here is the first batch: 1-6!

Day 1 - November 28, 2011: Happy birthday to me! It rained all day which is OK in my book!

Day 2 - November 29, 2011: A sweet picture of my Dutchy-Boy. He seemed to be a little under the weather on Tuesday so he got extra cuddles and snuggles from me.

Day 3 - November 30, 2011: Our home is all decorated for Christmas. Strings of lights and tinsel is strung along our front door, porch blinds, and nestled softly between our shelf of photographs. Our (fake) tree is up and looks beautiful with all our mismatched ornaments and lights. There is nothing like this time of year.

Day 4 - December 1, 2011: Sunrise on a crisp Thursday morning.

Day 5: December 2, 2011: This dessert more than made up for my not-so-yummy meal. Delicious does not even begin to describe it.

Day 6: December 3, 2011: My mom and I with angry faces. My mom is adorable, by the way!

Have you ever attempted or completed Project 365?

December Intentions

2011-12-02T07:26:00.000-05:00

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I stopped doing posts on my monthly goals in September. I’m not sure why, but the posts felt a little forced and fake. I wasn’t fully chasing after the goals I set for myself and I knew I needed a break for a few months. And now since these types of posts are popping up all over the Interwebz and with the desire to bring back these posts, my monthly goal posts are back. (And hopefully better than ever!)

I won’t be recapping the goals I set for myself in September, but starting fresh with intentions for December.

This December, I will...

Drink water daily. I’m pretty good at drinking water on a daily basis and I want to make this more of an everyday habit. I still don’t drink enough water and I still have an addiction to soda, but I’m working on ridding myself from it. It starts by keeping soda out of my environment and make an intentional decision every day to fill up my cup with water and sip on it throughout the day. I know when I drink it regularly, my body starts to crave it.
Keep track of my budget by paying my bills first, keeping my Amazon budget under control, and taking out cash for any other purchases I want. I had a bit of a scary moment last month when I didn’t have enough money in the bank for one of my bills. Luckily, my mom loaned me the money and the bill was taken care of but there was no reason for me not to have money in my account for my bills. I know I need to figure out a better system for keeping track of my money - especially my spending money - so I’m devising a spreadsheet to help me figure out how much I need for bills, to pay my mom (for household bills + cruise saving), and how much is left over for myself. I tend to get click-happy on the Amazon website thanks to be insane appetite for reading which is something I need to keep track of better. December is a tough month for saving, but I’m hoping I can keep myself out of trouble by keeping track of where my money is going. (And only having cash on hand for my purchases!)
Attend my first jury summons. And try not to freak out too much. I always thought I would be excited to get a jury summons in the mail, but I’ve been dreading going to jury duty ever since I found out my date. It’s not that I had doing my civic duty, but it’s not something I want to spend one of my days off doing. (My work doesn’t pay me for it, so I have to take a personal day.) And I’m just nervous about the whole process of it all.
Turn off the computer by 9:00pm. I’m having a terrible time getting to bed at a decent hour lately. And since I’m now doing morning workouts, my alarm usually goes off at 5:15am Monday - Friday so I’m averaging less than 7 hours of sleep a night. (Not good for a girl who needs 8 solid hours.) I’m sleepy at work and that’s never a good thing. I think my problem lies with my laptop and being too caught up with what’s happening on it to shut it off and prepare for bed so I can be asleep at a decent hour. Shutting my computer off at 9:00pm is a step in that direction.
Open my mind and heart for the Joy Council, leaving behind the junk of 2011 and preparing for a kick-ass 2012. I am so excited I was able to join Stratejoy’s Joy Council this year and it’s already showing me things I want to change in 2012, as well as how thrilling 2011 was for me. I want to be able to keep my mind and heart open to be willing to seek changes in 2012 because while 2011 was a great year for me, I want 2012 to be even better.

Everyday Moments: November 2011

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

1 - Writing over 2,000 words during my first day of NaNoWriMo

2 - Running for 20 minutes straight for the first time ever. And it felt... easy?

3 - A lunch outing with co-workers

4 - Wearing boots for this first time this season

5 - A new hairstyle

6 - Rocking a 5K race and a lunch date with my grandparents

7 - A shopping trip at Marshall’s that yielded me two shirts and a sweater for under $25

8 - Making it through a tough BodyPump class where I did EIGHTY-THREE squats during the first half of the squat track. That’s just... no. Not right.

9 - Snuggles and kisses with Dutch

10 - Sleepover with my nephew

11 - Getting a raise at work

12 - Running 2 miles without stopping (!!) and meeting Amber

13 - Watching the SFvNYG game with my brother. He’s a little insane when he watches his Niners, but it’s still so much fun to watch football with him. Also? Watching my nephew have conversations with Dutch. PRICE! LESS!

14 - A quiet lunch at Panera

15 - Locking in my days off for November and December. I had 5 days (+ one “shopping day” my bosses gave to everyone) to use up so starting Thanksgiving week, I will have at least one day off for the next eight weeks.

16 - Feeling skinny

17 - A dark chocolate Dove bar

18 - Coming home from a draining day at work to see my nephew at my place. Love.

19 - Buying an adorable coat and scarf for $25 from Old Navy. (They were having a crazy 75% off outerwear sale. My coat was $15!)

20 - Shopping for the the first Thanksgiving hosting gig for my mom and I

21 - Getting in a good morning workout so I could come home after work and RELAX. It made me happy all day.

22 - Feeling completely settled and happy

23 - Leaving work an hour before quitting time and knowing I have six days all to myself

24 - A drama-free, stress-free Thanksgiving with the people I love the most

25 - Going to the Sea World Christmas Celebration

26 - Buying a dresser from IKEA and my brother coming over that night to help me put it together. (And by help, I mean he did it all by himself with me standing by...)

27 - Our first #twookclub chat. There are some things to change but ultimately a GREAT success!

28 - Turning 24

29 - A relaxing day off, where I took a 3-hour mid-morning nap and caught up on my DVR. Splendid.

30 - A small birthday celebration at work

A Christmas Wish List

2011-11-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

I’ve never done one of these Christmas wish lists posts and to be honest, it feels a little weird. But I’m still posting this because I’ve loved reading what others are wishing for this Christmas. I absolutely love Christmas and creating a wish list is part of that excitement. I mean, what other time of the year do I get to lay out a list of things I’m currently coveting?

Without further ado, here is my list!

1. A new cover for my Kindle
When I got my Kindle this Spring, I bought a hot pink cover to go with it. After 7-8 months with it, it’s getting worn out and I’m a little sick of looking at it. Amazon itself has nice covers, but I’ve had my eyes on a few cute designs from Etsy.

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L - R: ServicePartner Kindle Hardcover Cover ($27); dobeeubags “Plum Antiquity” ($42); dobeeubags “Aviary 2 Sparrows Bark” ($38); ServicePartner “Woodgrain”, personalized ($31)

2. Running capris
I’ve been coveting fitted running capris for a while now and I think I need them in my life since I’m running (ha!) more regularly. The pair below is from Lululemon, the Run: Inspire Crop II. They are $86. I do not believe I need a pair of EIGHTY-SIX dollar pants that I’m just going to sweat in. (Unless, of course, they will cure my ankle pain to help me run longer and faster.) Target offers a similar pair for under $30. I like that option better.

3. A new pair of boots.
I own a pair of Fuggs (fake Uggs). I love my Fuggs. And while Florida has been HOT lately (it was in the 70s for Thanksgiving), one always needs to be prepared. And I need some nice boots to wear to work on those (infrequent) cold days. My favorites from Zappos.com are below.

L-R: Report Footwear “Divan”, Christin Michaels “Marlah”, Madden Girl “Zeda”

4. An umbrella
Umbrellas are those purchases you never think to make until you need it (read: a rainy day). And goodness, what kind of boring Christmas wish list is this? An umbrella? I guess I really am turning into an adult. This one is my favorite:

5. Frames for my diplomas
My wish list is getting very boring. But these are things I NEED and never think to buy for myself. So these are going on the list.

6. Vera Bradley
I have a slight obsession with all things Vera Bradley and really could care less if you think her designs look like something your grandmother would have. Just a few of the things on my wish list:

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L-R: Hipster in Mocha Rouge ($58), Laptop Sleeve in Happy Snails ($38), Pleated Tote in Purple Punch ($60)

7. Amazon Gift Cards
I feel like gift cards are “cheating” for Christmas but seriously, I could put these to so much good use. I use the “1-click” button on Amazon frequently.

What’s on your list this holiday season?

Ten on Tuesday (Vol. 42)

2011-11-29T08:07:00.001-05:00

1. Do you were glasses, contacts, or are you one of those perfect eyed people?

I wear glasses currently. I want to switch to contacts when I go for my next eye appointment (in January) since glasses get in the way when I’m exercising or running but I think I look better with glasses than not, so I’ll probably always wear them for the majority of the time.

2. What is the next item you are going to purchase?

Currently, my brother’s Christmas gift. I don’t think he reads my blog but I won’t mention what it is, just in case. It will be my first Christmas gift purchased and I can mark him off my list. Yay!

3. Have you ever watched Judge Judy or any other real court show?

Yes. I watched them all the time in the summers when I was younger. Whenever I think of those shows, I immediately associate them with my dad and Velveeta with tuna fish. :)

4. How do you feel about fake nails?

They’re not for me but almost every woman in my office has them. I just don’t feel the need for them, personally.

5. What is your favorite sport to watch?

Football. NFL football, especially. I could watch it all day, every day.

6. If you could create your own Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor, what would it be and what would it be named?

Oh, gosh. I am so not original or creative enough to think of a good answer to this question! I do say that “Half-Baked” comes pretty close to perfection.

7. Do you have any scars?

None! Does this make me lucky... or boring? I’ll go with lucky! ;)

8. Does your pet’s name fit them? Is there a more appropriate name?

I think it does. I’m not sure I could come up with a better one, at least off the top of my head.

9. What is your favorite television show theme song?

I think we can all agree that Friends had the best theme song. Anytime I hear it, I get so happy. I also loved the theme song for Growing Pains, which remains as my favorite family sitcom. “As long as we got each other, we got the world spinnin’ right in our hands...”

10. What was your favorite activity on the playground?

It’s a toss-up between the swings and the monkey bars.

On Turning Twenty-Four

2011-11-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Last year, writing my post on my twenty-second year* didn’t feel good. I had to be very honest about my feelings and where I was in life. I wasn’t happy. I felt very stuck and I knew I needed to make some big changes. I wanted 2011 to be a year where I stepped out of my comfort zone and made a conscious effort to be happy. I recently read this quote in a book and there is so much truth in it:

We each make our own happiness. If one is not happy, then one is to blame for it and not a circumstance. Happiness is not something that can be put off for a future time or acquired like a new tie. One either is happy or one is not. (Kissing Adrien)

My twenty-third year was a good one. There were rocky moments and peaks and valleys, just as life is. But there were also really good moments of happiness. Of growth. In last year’s post I wrote that I wanted my life to look completely different than it did a year ago. There were specific avenues I wanted change to happen in.

My health and weight
My job
Being more social
Being more independent
Writing more

I can’t say I achieved all the goals I set for myself but I can firmly say my life has taken a 360 spin from last year and I finally feel like I’m on the right path. I found areas of my life I didn’t like and I changed it. I may have not been completely successful in everything, but I finally took action. I began to choose happiness.

Over the course of this month, I’ve been a little disappointed in myself because 2011 is not the year I finally gained control of my overeating tendencies and the year I finally got to my goal weight. It’s not the year where I found love or developed a close-knit group of girlfriends or became more involved in my church. It’s not the year where I became a freelance writer or even got a head start on that novel I want to write.

But it was a year where I graduated from college, went on a fabulous cruise, grew even closer to my mother, my brother, and fabulous Internet friends, and started my career. A year when I began to make scary changes to my life, but didn’t reach out for opportunities as much as I would have liked. I watched my nephew became a little person who I can have conversations and giggles with. I’ve been able to realize that my happiness is of the utmost importance. And that perhaps what is “expected” of me is something I’m interested in doing. I began to see things in my life that were causing me negativity and make the necessary changes to remove those forces from my life.

My life is a whole lot different now than it was last year. I have a college degree, a great job, and more independence. I am happy with the way this past year unfolded. I can’t say that about a lot of my life, but I’m in a really good place right now. I hope it remains so, but even if it doesn’t, I hope I find ways to choose happiness even when my world is crumbling around me.

But I also want my life next year to look a whole lot different than it does right now. I read in a book (same book as quoted above) of a woman thinking of living the next five years of her life without any changes, just the same old, same old. She didn’t want that. I don’t want that. I want to keep growing, keep changing. I never want to be too comfortable with my life. My main focus over the next year is going to be about my health. It’s been something I’ve said I want to figure out in the past, but I’ve reached a turning point, I believe. I want to stop making excuses and letting the comfortable stay in my life.

Change happens when you allow yourself to be uncomfortable.

Age twenty-four? It’s time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Let’s do this.

*Yeah, yeah. I know it’s technically my twenty-third year, but whatever. That just sounds funny.

Have you signed up to receive a Christmas card from me this year? Do so here!

‘Tis the Season!

2011-11-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Last year, I put a call for addresses to send out Christmas cards. It was the first year I’ve done anything like that and I enjoyed it so much. Christmas is my favorite time of the year but it was a lot of fun (and a lot of work!) to personally write each of you a note and bring holiday cheer to your homes.

So without further ado, here’s the form I need you to fill out! I promise not to stalk you or send out your address to strange people. ;)

(And as much as I love giving Christmas cards, I love getting them, too! Just a hint for those of you sending out cards!)

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 10

2011-11-24T17:36:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! I'm finishing up my "Ten Days of Thanksgiving" series with my final post.

Today, I am thankful for my mom.

I've talked about my mom a lot on my blog. We have a really close relationship and she is honestly one of the best friends I have ever had. Once I graduated from college and started my new job, the last thing on my mind was moving out. In fact, I plan on living with her for a few more years. It's cheaper and we get along. I see no reason in leaving home just yet.

I've already talked up and down how much I admire her as a person. It's a given that I am thankful for her and our great relationship. Today, I want to talk about how thankful I am for one specific, big decision she made. It was a hard decision and took a whole lot of guts, courage, and bravery for her to take this big step.

I am thankful that my mom left my dad.

I was 11 years old and in fifth grade when she sat me down to tell me she would be leaving my father. Since their relationship had been more volatile and unhappy, I wasn't sad. I was relieved. As Dr. Phil likes to say, "Children would rather be from a broken home than in one." In my case, this is 100% true.

My father had (has?) a gambling addiction. He refused to admit he did but would blow his entire paycheck on gambling. He would go to Derby Lane on the weekends (and sometimes on the weekdays) to bet on the dogs. And I guess if he was actually GOOD at it, it wouldn't have caused such a problem. (It still would be one, I think, but extra money could soften the blow, ha!) He was terrible. He almost never won and if he did, since he had an addiction, it never stopped there. He kept trying to get more and more money. My dad would promise my mom the world -- once he won. She was constantly disappointed by him.

If that was the end of his problems, that would be enough. But it wasn't. In addition to a gambling addiction, he also had a drinking and anger problem. He had a short fuse and it didn't take much to set him off. My mom bore the brunt of his anger and she was the victim of physical abuse more times than I care to think about. That's what scared me the most. Imagine being a 7-year-old little girl, huddled underneath your bed with a pillow pressed tightly against your ears to drown out the sounds of their arguing. Of the abuse. I remember silently begging my mom to "just be quiet" but also so, so proud of her for standing up and fighting for herself and for us kids. I felt helpless to do anything. My dad when he was angry was not someone I wanted to be around.

After twelve years of marriage, my mom finally made the bold move to leave her husband. To take her 11-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son and move in with her parents. It had to be the scariest, most uncertain time in her life but she knew she had to leave him. She left him for us, but also for herself. Because he was sucking the soul out of her. She was a shell of the woman she is today. She knew she deserved better than what he was giving her.

Sometimes, we muse about what our life would have been like if my mom had stayed with my dad but those thoughts make me shudder. Things may have gotten better but I seriously doubt that (as my father has spiraled deeper and deeper into trouble in the 13 years since). Things would probably have been bad. Really bad.

My mom made a tough decision that had to have scared her to death. But she did it and persevered. I can only hope if I am in a situation that calls it me to make a tough decision, I can be as strong and courageous as her.

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 9

2011-11-23T08:14:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful my relationship with my brother.

Growing up, my brother and I had a very rocky relationship. We could be best friends one day and mortal enemies the next. We are just 14 months apart so we really know how to get on one another's nerves.

I had a really hard time adjusting when he started dating his now fiance. They began dating during his sophomore year of high school and he started spending a lot of time with her. It was hard for me. My best friend and biggest male role model in my life suddenly had a life apart from my family. I had to adjust to him not being around as much.

Luckily, I adjusted and my brother and I entered into a different phase of the brother-sister relationship. It's a more mature, steady one.

We have had some pretty awful fights over silly things or miscommunications, but we get over them rather quickly and don't let them fester. We share an extreme love for football and comedy movies and sarcasm. He knows exactly what I've been through with my dad and can connect with me on a level nobody else can. We often communicate in movie quotes. I have been known to answer the phone saying, "Brother?" To which he replies, "Brothers don't shake hands. Brothers gotta hug!"*

My brother is one of my favorite people on the planet. I get excited when I know he's coming over and revel in the bonding. He's the best male role model in my life and I honestly couldn't ask for a better one. He's responsible, an incredible father, charming, funny, and tries so hard to be the best man he can be. He's only 25 but so much more of a man than my father ever was. (Or will be.)

I am thankful for our relationship and that we have nurtured it into what it is today. He remains one of my best friends and someone I can go to about any problem. He may not have all the answers, but he's the rock I need when things are shaky.

*If you know where this movie quote comes from, we are soul mates.

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 8

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today, I am thankful for my love of the written word.

This? This is my future bedroom. (via)

I have always loved to read. Some of my fondest memories are of libraries and stacks of books and the girls of The Baby-Sitters Club. There’s nothing I love more than getting completely wrapped up in a story, in a place far away from anywhere I’ve been or anything I’ve experienced.

I have been reading for as long as I can remember. I’ve never been much for the classics or more literary books. Those are nice from time to time, but generally I like the ones that make me laugh, roll my eyes at the cheesiness, and my sappy heart squeeze at my characters finding love. Yes, I will generally choose chick-lit or a romance novel over a literary great.

Maybe I’m not the most well-read bookworm, but I don’t think one is necessarily better than the other. The written word is the written word. Some written words are more fluid and meaningful than others, but they each have their own way of speaking to us. Maybe the classics or biographies speak to you. They don’t do much for me, but romance novels and YA lit do.

I used to be embarrassed about being a bookworm. When I was in school, the readers weren’t the popular ones. And since I desperately yearned to be popular and accepted by the elite crowd (the Unicorns, anyone?), I hid my love for reading for a long time. But as I’ve grown up, I’m starting to realize how silly it is to hide your passions for fear of not being accepted. If I’m not accepted because I love to read (or because of my choice in reading material!), then that’s okay. Those people? They are not the people I need to be around anyway.

Have you ever hid a passion, because of how the crowd would react? What are you thankful for today?

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 7

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today, I am thankful for my iPhone.

My iPhone and I have not been together for very long. Less than three months but I can’t even tell you how much I love it. My cell phone provider is Sprint and I love Sprint. My mom and I have used Sprint since I was a junior in high school (2005) and I don’t think I would ever switch providers. So I knew I was stuck with Android phones and was trying to accept this fact. But there was just something about the iPhone that called to me. I wanted that iPhone.

Imagine my surprise when rumors about the iPhone coming to Sprint began to surface in mid-August. I clung to those rumors. And in October, it happened. The iPhone was available from Sprint. I ordered my phone (also beginning my very own phone plan for the cell phone provider! It’s like I’m a real adult and everything!) and it arrived on a beautiful October day. (Okay, more like a crazy October night since I had to arrange for it to be delivered to a UPS facility and patiently wait until 7:00pm to retrieve it.)

Since then, we have become best friends. I’m a tad bit obsessed with my phone. I try real hard to not let it take over real relationships, but I won’t lie that it’s a great way to pass time and keep myself occupied. Plus, it offers me so much. I can look up anything I want and more often than not, I can think of an app I would like, search for it, and find it quickly.

I know this post may come across as silly, but I don’t really care. I love my iPhone and waited a long time for it!

And for my favorite iPhone apps? Well, I thought you would never ask!

Words With Friends - My username is “stephanywrites”, if we’re not already playing. And we should be.
Hanging With Friends - I will admit to loving HWF more than WWF. There’s something more exciting about it! (Same username as WWF - if we’re not already playing, we need to be.)
Instagram - I love this for the social aspect. And they always make my photos look better than I can on my own.
iMapMyRun - The perfect app for a runner. It works so well for me.
SoundHound - I’ve been able to look up many songs with this app, find them on iTunes directly from the app, and download the song. (Big props to Melissa for recommending this one!)
Things - An expensive app, but has been very helpful in managing my to-do’s and making me feel completely more organized. I downloaded this a few days ago so I’m just discovering how to use it all.
Sally’s Salon - A fun, time-wasting game that I can easily get sucked into.
Google Calendar - I’m realizing this is much easier for me to use than a paper planner. I can add dates either on my laptop or on my phone and it gives me reminders if I request them. I’ve been using this for appointments, bill due dates, and my blog calendar.

What is something silly, completely materialistic that you are thankful for? If you have an iPhone, what are your favorite apps?

Ten Days of Thanksgiving: Day 6

2011-11-18T07:14:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for financial stability.

Growing up, I knew we were poor. My dad gambled away his paycheck and my mom had to make ends meet on her meager daycare teacher wage. Things were tight - always. Every year, when I would receive flyers for Girl Scouts or extracurricular activities, I stuffed them into my backpack, never to be shown to my mom. I knew we couldn’t afford extras like that, so I didn’t even ask. I knew about money problems and stressing over them way before a child should know about such things.

I hated being poor. It was embarrassing and made me feel inferior. I made a promise to myself to never put myself in that boat. I would not get into debt and I would be smart with my finances.

I can’t say I have always followed through with that promise. I was in credit card debt by the time I was 21. My mom and I moved into an apartment that was far above our living means and we struggled with our bills. It got to the point where my mom was getting check advances on a nearly regular basis and I worried on a daily basis where my next meal would come from. These are hard words to write, because it was a dark time for me. It’s embarrassing to think of how we let it get this far, how we dug ourselves into such a deep hole.

We eventually moved, cutting our rent bill almost in half, and allowing us to breathe easier. We were able to pay our bills, we were able to save, and most importantly, my mom was able to quit her second job.

I am on the road to paying off my credit card bills. After the 25th of this month, I will have three payments left on my biggest credit card and, leaving me with just my bank credit card. (Less than $300 to pay that one off.)

Once I started my full-time job, I became more responsible for the bills. (I pay my mom a portion from each paycheck.) I have my own bills to pay each month. And I can pay them. I don’t ever have to worry about not being able to pay my bills. When I get paid, I give my mom her portion and then break down the rest of my money between bills, savings, and entertainment money. It doesn’t leave me a lot left over after everything is paid, but it is enough. Money is not something I have to stress over anymore. (Other than stress of not having a lot of fun money for myself, heh.)

After spending my entire life stressing about money, it feels really, really good to be in this place. I am thankful for a job that leaves me with a good paycheck twice a month. I am thankful for a mother who can and happily does support me so I don’t have to do this all alone. I am thankful that I am not materialistic and the things I’m lusting after are things I need but are also things I’m willing to patiently wait and save up for.

Struggling with money is terrible and frustrating and scary. But you can fight your way out of it and come out on top. My mother and I are proof of that.

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 5

2011-11-17T07:52:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for Dutch.

Dutch and I have a fairly unhealthy obsession with each other, as my mom can attest. I let him kiss me all over my face. He sleeps tucked in right next to me, buried under the covers. When I’m watching TV, he’s always lying right next to me - or ON me. I miss him when I’m away and get excited every night I come home to see him. We cuddle, we kiss, and he knows exactly how to make me feel better when I’m sad.

Dutch is my third dog. My first was Minnie, a dog my parents bought from the SPCA when I was in fourth grade. She was a beagle-terrier mix and will always have a special place in my heart. She died in June 2008 from cancer. Buford was my second dog, an adorable, feisty Yorkshire terrier who was hit by a car and had to be put down due to his injuries a little over a year after we got him. (A family friend couldn’t keep him anymore so we jumped at the opportunity to have him.)

Minnie and Buford’s deaths hit me hard. They were both unexpected and frightening and heart-breaking.

I loved Minnie and Buford tremendously. More than anything.

But I love Dutch in a deeper, crazier, consuming way. When he’s around me, I’m constantly touching him, hugging him, telling him “I love you.” I cannot imagine my life without him. I’ve actually kept myself awake at night, thinking about the day he’s gone.

I realize this post may make me seem like a crazy dog lady, but I’m perfectly okay with it. I am a dog person, through and through. And I don’t think anyone who hasn’t had a dog can understand where I’m coming from. There is something special about dogs. They are loving and loud and affectionate. They fill up your heart with love and joy. They irritate you beyond belief sometimes and the barking can get annoying and sometimes, you have to wake up in the middle of the night to clean up after them. But you put up with it all because of all the happiness they bring you. Because you love them and they love you more than anything in the world.

Dutch has shown me what love is. He has shown me how to love. He greets me every time I come home with a wagging butt and cries and barks of “I’m so happy you’re home! I missed you so much!” (Or at least that’s what I choose to believe he’s saying, heh.) I am thankful for him, today and everyday. He may annoy me with his stubbornness, constant barking, and inability to quit licking my face when I try to talk to him but he’s given me so much love and joy that it doesn’t even matter.

I don’t know what I’ll do with myself when he’s gone but for now, I’ll enjoy the times I have with them and cherish every face lick and loud bark.

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 4

2011-11-16T07:20:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for my ability to exercise.

I’ll admit I am never the one to bound out of bed in the morning to run or even to look forward to working out. I have daily debates in my head whether or not I want to go to the gym after work and have a million excuses why I can skip my workout for the day.

But I lace up my shoes 4-6 times a week and get my body moving, even when my whole mind is protesting against it.

Why?

Because I feel better when I do and worse when I don’t. Because I’m striving to live a healthy life and exercise is a part of that. Because it makes me feel strong and powerful. And because there will be a time in my life when I won’t be able to exercise. I’m hoping this time is far, far in the future but it could happen in an instant.

It was an instant for my mom. It was an instant for Ashley.

On Saturday, while my mom was on a long run for her marathon training, I got a call from her about 90 minutes into her run. She had fallen and her knee was hurting. She needed me to come get her. While her knee is fine, when she fell, she used her arms to break her fall and ended up re-injuring her elbow that she broke last year. It’s just a bruise, nothing major, but she hasn’t been able to run since then or do anything but low-impact exercise (recumbent biking and walking). When she was hit by a car, she couldn’t run for three months. She was in the middle of marathon training at this point so it severely disrupted her training program.

My worst injury to date was a sprained ankle two years ago and I was only out for a week. I couldn’t imagine having to take months off exercising or going from Ironman-fit to barely able to walk. It’s a scary thought and it’s something that could happen. So I need to take this time, when I am healthy and young, to be thankful I can exercise and to stop the complaining.

I am thankful for my body that is strong enough to carry me through weight-lifting classes, spin classes, and runs. I am thankful for healthy lungs and a healthy heart that can keep up with how I push my body. I am thankful for strong legs and arms. I am thankful for the endorphins and happiness a good workout brings me. I am thankful for sweat, racing hearts, and being out of breath. I am thankful for my ability to exercise.

*Inspired by Lisa

Book Review: Shiny Objects by James A. Roberts

2011-11-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

***

Title: Shiny Objects
Author: James A. Roberts
Genre: Nonfiction
Year: 2011
Rating: 2 of 5 stars

***

Review from Goodreads:

In this cross between In Praise of Slowness and The Tipping Point,consumer behavior expert James A. Roberts takes us on a tour of America’s obsession with consumerism—pointing out its symptoms, diagnosing specific problems, and offering a series of groundbreaking solutions. Roberts offers practical, helpful advice for how to correct the materialistic trends in our lives, trends that lock us into a cycle of stress and financial hardship. A new The Paradox of Choice for the modern reader, Roberts’s Shiny Object is far more than a polemic against spending or a critique of capitalism—it’s an exploration of how we can learn to live happier, fuller, more productive lives today.

My review:

I could not get into this book at all. I was really excited about reading it because I loved the concept behind it. I’ve never been a materialistic sort of person. Money was something that was very limited during my childhood and watching my parents struggle with debt and money issues gave me the gumption I needed to make smart money decisions on my own. Materialism is not something that runs in my veins.

The voice of this book was very conversational and easy to understand. The author did a good job of moving the book along with his points and not spending too long on any one subject.

Ultimately, though, I could not connect with the message in this book. It’s one I believe in and hope I am doing my best to cultivate (being less materialistic, that is), but I don’t feel like I learned anything new about what materialism is, what it has done to our country (and around the world), or how to lessen the impact it has. I’m very curious as to who the target audience for this book is, because I felt as if it wasn’t a book targeted for twenty-somethings, though I believe this message is something a lot of twenty-somethings need to hear.

I was expecting a bigger impact from the message in this book, but it fell flat for me.

I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions are my own.

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 3

2011-11-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

I’m spending the next week and a half documenting and reflecting on ten things I am thankful for this year. (Inspired by Lisa.)

Day 1
Day 2

Today, I am thankful for blogging.

When I started this blog, I didn’t have any long-term goals for it. All I wanted was a fresh start and a place to just write. To grow. To explore. To not be afraid of sharing my feelings.

It’s grown into so much more than I could have ever imagined.

Not only have I found a place to talk about what I’m going through with real and honest emotion, I have found people to connect with. Friends who have let me know that I’m not the only one who has gone through something or not the only one who feels that way. I have found connection and support. Some of you have challenged me to set goals and take on things that frighten me. Some of you have been a place for me to vent to. Some of you have helped me on school assignments or offered me advice.

It hasn’t been a one-way street, though. With these friendships, I have become utterly intertwined with your lives. I have hurt when you hurt and celebrated with you celebrated. I have developed some of the closest bonds with bloggers, some of them morphing into weekly e-mail catch-ups. While I have yet to jump into the world of Skype dates (who wants to be my first?), I still relish these relationships.

And 2012 is the year I leap into meeting you amazing people in real life. I’ve spent too long harboring jealousy over blogger meet-ups and worrying what people will think of the “real” me that I want to break out of that cycle.

And I would be remiss in writing this blog post about blogging and meeting blog friends, without mentioning a very special blog friend I met this weekend. I started reading Amber’s blog two or so years ago when she was still in journalism school. We were able to connect over classes and I ate up her posts about entering the professional world. We met at City Walk in Orlando on Saturday night where we proceeded to spend the night talking about blogging, books, language differences, and weather. (Yes, we discussed the weather. No, it wasn’t as boring as it seems.) We didn’t get a whole lot of time together but it was so good to finally meet someone whose life I had been following for years. I was nervous up until right before I saw her and then it was like catching up with a good, old friend. And now? Now I need to meet the rest of you.

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 2

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

I’m following along with Lisa over the next ten days, detailing ten things I am thankful for this year.

Today, I am thankful for my nephew.

Last night, my nephew came over for a sleepover since my mom is watching him today. (His day care is closed because of Veteran’s Day and my brother and sister-in-law needed someone to watch him.)

My nephew is at a great age. He’s developing an insanely funny sense of humor. He’s more independent and communicative. And he is just so much fun to be around. He’s always been fun to be around, but he seems to get even more fun the older he gets.

This morning, I got up and came out into the living room to see him playing. The minute he spotted me, his eyes lit up and a big smile spread across his face. He immediately rushed over to me, gave me a big hug and a kiss. Those moments? They melt my heart.

There’s something about being an aunt that is special. My nephew has two other aunts and they have a closer relationship with him. It used to upset me that I’m probably never going to have a relationship with him like they do. Whenever we’re all together, it’s usually to them he goes to first. But I comfort myself in the fact that we have a different kind of relationship. And I comfort myself in the fact that we will always have a relationship and I will always be that aunt he can come to for a joke, a laugh, a smile.

I always knew I would love being an aunt. I knew I would love seeing my brother as a father. But I never knew how he would become such a force in our life. Or that life before him would seem so plain.

Being an aunt is one of the best gifts my brother has ever “given” me. It’s been such a wild ride and I just can’t wait to see this amazing little person grow up!

Tell me, what is one thing you’re thankful for today?

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 1

2011-11-10T15:20:00.001-05:00

I’ve decided to join Lisa this year in her “Ten Days of Thanksgiving” series. In 2009, I wrote 100 Things I’m Thankful For and seemed to bypass the holiday completely last year so I think this is the perfect way to celebrate my favorite holiday.

Today, I am thankful for my job.

Today is my three-month “anniversary” with my job and it comes to me with a sigh of relief and utter happiness. It’s been a rocky three months, getting used to working full-time and learning the ropes but it has also been a happy three months.

Getting a job as a new graduate is not easy, especially a new graduate with very little related working experience. My marketing internship was what ultimately landed me this job so I can’t stress enough how important internships are as a college student. They can give you invaluable experience. I have many friends from college who are still searching, six months after graduation.

Going to a forty-hour-a-week schedule hasn’t been a difficult adjustment. I was doing more when I was in school, working in the mornings and going to classes in the afternoons. My nights and weekends were filled with writing papers, doing homework, and studying for tests. I do not miss that phase of my life. Not one bit.

There has been a bit of, “So. This is my life now. For the next forty years. OK then.” It’s been an adventure to navigate the professional world. The only time before this one I worked in an office environment was when I worked for a small printing company the summer of 2008. I was the office assistant but there wasn’t a lot for me to do. I basically brought my laptop and played on that the entire time I was there. This has been a different experience.

Even during the rocky moments, even when I questioned if I was the right fit for this position, I am still so happy to be here. I feel blessed with this opportunity.

I am an assistant. It is not the most glamorous job. I do a lot of filing and labeling and data entry. But it’s good. I’m not afraid of hard work. I’m young and inexperienced, I didn’t expect to have a glamorous job.

This place, though? It’s more than just a job. We’re changing lives here and I get to witness this on a first-hand basis. I get to see us raise thousands upon thousands of dollars for charities and call up unsuspecting people, telling them they have just won a prize package worth over $250,000. I couldn’t ask for a better first job.

What is one thing you’re thankful about today?

Ask Me Anything - Round 2

2011-11-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Why did your parents go with a Y at the end of your name? It's unique, & I like it better than the other spellings of the name.

As the story goes, my father wanted to name me Doogabock. I’m really not sure if that’s how you spell that name, but it’s his own creation. Luckily, my mom nixed that awful name and came up with the name Stephanie. Only she wanted me to have a different spelling and went with a “Y” at the end. I hated being “Stephany” for the longest time because it was so different, but I’ve grown to absolutely love it. I totally prefer it to other spellings of my name.

How long have you been blogging? What inspired you to start blogging?

I’ve been blogging since high school, although I’m not sure if you can call Xanga as a blog. Or at least how I did it. I’ve just always loved writing and writing about my life and struggles so I bounced around a lot of blogs in the years prior to this one. Since I have a tough time talking aloud about my feelings, blogging has been a way for me to release my feelings and talk through my problems.

If you could go on a vacation without worrying about paying for it, where would you go?

(OK, anyone who’s been following my blog for the past year, say it with me...) A CRUISE! Of course! I’d love to go on one of those long, European cruises, hitting up dozens of spots and having incredible adventures at each. I really, really enjoy cruising. I had so much fun on my first one and I have a feeling cruising will be a big part of my future. There is so much to do and see while cruising and you really cannot beat waking up after the waves lulled you to sleep, seeing deep blue water on all sides of you. It’s absolutely perfect.

And if I didn’t have to worry about paying for it? I’d bring along some of my closest blogger friends, because I have this dream of going on a cruise with a bunch of bloggers. How fun would that be?!

Have a question you’ve been dying to ask me? Use the form below to ask!

http://www.formspring.me/stephanywrites

Never Have I Ever...

2011-11-07T08:05:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago Kate posted her Never Have I Ever’s and then I saw Tina do a similar post. I loved both posts so much, I decided I need to make one of my own.

Never have I ever... owned a car.

(although I may be able to have my own much sooner than I anticipated. And no car payment to boot! Though the car above - Toyota Rav4 - is one I’ve been lusting after for a while.)

Never have I ever... kissed a boy.

Never have I ever... painted a room.

Never have I ever... participated in Black Friday.

Never have I ever... eaten ribs.

Never have I ever... owned a cat.

(I’m a dog lover by nature, although I’m not against having a cat.)

Never have I ever... run a marathon.

Never have I ever... watched an episode of Seinfeld.

Never have I ever... gone bungee jumping, sky-diving, or parasailing.

Never have I ever... been a Maid-Of-Honor.

Never have I ever... gotten a tattoo.

(Michael Scofield. Be still my heart. I won’t say I’ll never get one, but I’ve never had the urge to get one and can’t see myself getting one anytime soon.)

Never have I ever... flown on a plane.

Never have I ever... been inside of a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.

Never have I ever... been drunk.

Never have I ever... met a celebrity.

Never have I ever... been completely financially independent.

Never have I ever... been to Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago, L.A., or any other big city like those.

(road trip, anyone?)

Never have I ever... climbed a tree.

Never have I ever... cut my own hair.

Never have I ever... played the lottery.

Never have I ever... swam with dolphins.

(But I’ll be able to cross this one off in May!)

Never have I ever... been to a wine tasting.

Never have I ever... smoked a cigarette.

Never have I ever... read anything by Jodi Picoult.

Never have I ever... lived in another state but Florida.

Never have I ever... been in a long-term relationship.

Your turn. What is on your “Never Have I Ever...” list?

Photo credit: car, cats, Wentworth Miller, road, dolphins

Wine and Love, V.9

2011-11-03T08:02:00.001-04:00

Another Wine and Love installment for your Thursday. As always, hosted by the fabulous Nora.

W(h)ining about...

Family drama. I have chosen not to get into the family drama happening in my life right now on my blog. While there is plenty I would like to say, I won’t because I’m not going to be accused of airing our dirty laundry on a public space. But there is drama and a lot of hurt. (And I just really hope my future husband has an awesome extended family.)
Money, money, money. It’s hard being an adult, yo. I knew I would have a lot more on my plate once I got a full-time job so it’s not a shocker that I don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on clothes and make-up and fun stuff. Basically, when I get paid a portion goes to my mom for bills, $70 goes to a savings account for our upcoming cruise (to pay for my portion + excursions), and the rest goes to my own bills. Sometimes, it leaves me with less than $100 to pay around with, sometimes more. But it’s hard, because I really wanted to start saving money but it just isn’t happening. It’s all been a learning process, though, and I think I’m starting to see how to fit everything in. (Plus, only four more payments to my big credit card and then I’ll be DONE with that. That’s an extra $245 a month for moi.)
A tough week, health-wise. This past week has just been tough, health-wise. It takes everything in me to either get up early to go for a run or go to the gym after a long day at work. There are baskets of bite-size candy all around the office and I’m back to wondering why it’s so hard for me to stick to a healthy eating plan while it seems to easy for others. I know I feel better when I eat better, but I’ve been hard-pressed to find many good-for-you meals and treats that fill me with excitement. And I like food a lot, so I need excitement.
Friends who are hurting. One thing I love most about this blog is the friends I have made through it, but I desperately, desperately hate when my friends are hurting and I can’t be there, in person, for them. All I can do is offer them a place to talk and give them as much encouraging words as I can.

Loving...

NaNoWriMo started! My first day went wonderfully, I wrote over 2,000 words. My second day? I decided to scrap the story I was writing and begin a new one. The one I’m writing now is flowing a lot better and just feels a lot better but I’m only at 1,077 words currently. I’m going to use the weekend to play catch-up and I’m aiming to be at 12,000 words by the time Monday rolls around. Eek!
#twookclub. I think I mentioned #twookclub in my last Wine and Love series, but I can’t tell you how excited I am about the group. We’re at over 40 members currently on our Goodreads group and picked the book last weekend (The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard). The response has been overwhelming and amazing.
Running. Running, you say? Under the love category? YES. Yesterday, I ran (very slowly) for 20 minutes straight and I don’t think I’ve ever run for that long without stopping before. It felt surprisingly easy and maybe a little fun? I didn’t focus on the time or how much farther I had to go, I just focused on making it through each song streaming through my ears. Before I knew it, my Couch-to-5K lady was telling me I only had one minute left and I sprinted to the end. It was an awesome feeling and I’m starting to feel more confident about the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.
Getting a new haircut! (Disregard my previous whine about money, ha!) I am overdue for a new haircut and I’m so excited to get my roots touched up and my hair in a style again. It’s been doing nothing for me for the past week so I’ve been wearing it up more often than not. I’ve decided to grow it out again and donate it to Locks of Love. My plan is to keep it long for my brother’s wedding in May and then cut it all off before I leave for my cruise (the following weekend). Here’s what I’m thinking about:

What are you wining and loving this week? Help me choose which picture to take: Mandy, Heidi, or Anne?

Everyday Moments: October 2011

2011-11-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

1 - Being asked to be a bridesmaid in my brother’s wedding.

2 - Sleeping in until 11AM

3 - A really awesome run

4 - Dutch acting like we’d left him at the boarder’s for 12 days instead of 12 hours when we came to pick him up. (Our carpets were getting cleaned so he went to “daycare” for the day.)

5 - Early morning run and seeing the numbers drop on the scale

6 - Ordering an iPhone

7 - Being told to “keep up the good work” by one of my boss’s (the one who scares me the most, at that!)

8 - Taking a 3-hour nap

9 - My brother coming over to watch the 4:00 football game

10 - My first spin class in almost a month

11 - Feeling stronger and fitter when I looked in the mirror

12 - Another solid week of weight loss

13 - A day of eating comfort food while feeling under the weather

14 - Getting my iPhone!

15 - Game night with my mom and brother

16 - Watching my mom PR in her 15K and taking a 2-hour nap before the 1:00 football game started

17 - Making it through spin class, even if I had to take more breaks than usual.

18 - The reveal of the Top 16 on X-Factor

19 - Being in the room as the winner for my work’s latest giveaway was revealed - and being on the conference call when the man found out he had won. Absolutely life changing.

20 - A cold front finally making it’s way in to Florida

21 - Managing the media department by myself for one day. It was the first full day off my boss has taken since she started over a year ago and I hope this means she feels comfortable enough to take more days off!

22 - Sweet moments of laughter with my nephew

23 - Shopping for my “Keep Warm, Look Snazzy Scarf Swap” partner

24 - A lunch date with my mom

25 - Making it an entire day without any soda! (This is major for me.)

26 - Finishing up Week 4 of Couch to 5K with an awesome, awesome run.

27 - Skipping BodyPump and getting a pedicure instead.

28 - A quiet lunch by myself at Panera

29 - Buying Dutch some special Halloween treats

30 - Organizing the first #twookclub chat for November and choosing our first book.

31 - Bite-size Butterfingers. Oh, my heaven.

Ten on Tuesday (Vol. 41)

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

1. What is your favorite month?
November has always and will always be my favorite month. It's the kick-off to the Christmas season and features my two favorite holidays: Thanksgiving and my birthday! Thanksgiving has always been one of my most favorite holidays, although it's going to be a whole lot different this year. But I think the change will be a good one!

2. What is the best candy to get while trick or treating?
Anything with chocolate! I was always a sucker for Three Musketeers when I was little.

3. What kind of pen do you use?
I don't have a specified type or brand I have to use. I don't like gel-ink pens at all, though. I'm really simple when it comes to my pen needs. Give me a plain, ole ballpoint pen and I'm happy.

4. You go to a new Italian restaurant, what is your go-to order?
It depends if I was trying to be healthy or not. Let's go with not, in which case I would order chicken parmesan. That's my favorite thing to order from an Italian restaurant and surprisingly, Olive Garden has the best-tasting chicken parm, in my opinion.

5. If you could choose to have any celebrity’s hair, who’s would you choose?
Kate Walsh. I just love her hair. It's so gorgeous and the color is fantastic. I want her hair.

6. What’s your favorite board game?
Trivial Pursuit. My mom and brother hate it but I almost always pick it when it's my turn to pick. I'm also pretty darn good at it, if I do say so myself!

7. Do you know how to play poker?
Nope.

8. What do you think about Old Navy commercials?
I think they are so cheesy and poorly done. I really can't stand them.

9. What hurts worse- a stubbed toe or a paper cut?
For me, a stubbed toe because ever since I've started getting pedicures, my big toe will hurt like a mother if I stub it. The nail ladies go to town on my cuticles and the area is so tender for weeks afterwards.

10. What’s your favorite kind of pie?
None. I'm not a fan of pie. In fact, I could never eat another slice of pie for the rest of my life and I would be just fine. The same could be said of ice cream. I'm not sure why, but pie and ice cream don't tempt me in the least and I almost never have cravings for either.

*Questions found here

Fighting a “Losing” Battle

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-04:00

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I can get easily caught up in everything I’m doing wrong on my journey to a healthier lifestyle. I can get caught up in the fact I am nowhere near my goal weight I set for myself back in January, or that it’s still a struggle for me to go to the gym after work, or that I’m still not drinking my recommended ounces of water daily. I could go on, but you know what? Why dwell on that? Why beat myself for up for everything I’m not doing when there are things I AM doing right.

I exercise at least four times a week.

Every since I joined a gym, exercise has become a part of my everyday routine. I never thought I would be able to call myself a gym rat, but I totally am. My gym membership doesn’t come cheap, but I get way more out of exercise than I did when I didn’t have a membership. When I didn’t have a membership, I was “running” a few times a week (never longer than 30 minutes), using our apartment gym (consisting of a treadmill, elliptical, and stationary bike), and occasionally using exercise DVDs. I got in my exercise, but my gym membership allows me to do so much more with my workouts. And I now feel as if a 30-minute workout is taking it easy.

I am mindful of my portion sizes.

One of the best things I ever learned from Weight Watchers was measuring out portion sizes. About two years ago, I bought my mom a food scale and I implore anyone who is looking to lead a healthier lifestyle to buy one of these. It makes measuring out correct servings of meat and noodles so much easier. Before I got a food scale, everything was done by eyeballing food and that was never giving me accurate sizes. I measure out just about every single food I eat and believe me, it was a little scary when I saw what a 1 oz cookie really looks like. It’s time-consuming and not always fun, but it’s extremely necessary in my journey to lose weight and be healthy.

I drink less soda.

I’m still not completely off soda, although I want to be! I’ve tried the cold turkey route but I go through bad withdrawals when I do that. I know you just need to get over that hump, but I’ve never been able to. Instead, I’m cutting down on my intake. I do ridiculously well during the week (one can a day) but falter a little on the weekends. But it’s still less than what I was drinking before. On average, I would probably drink about 4-5 sodas a day so dropping down to one a day is a major accomplishment. And I’m also starting to go days without one at all! (This is HUGE for me!) I know I am addicted to drinking soda, so it’s hard, but I’m also learning it’s doable.

I am mindful of what I eat.

Sometimes, I have major slip-ups. (Like a month ago, when I bought a box of Pop-Tarts to eat for breakfast. Not the healthiest of selections but I haven’t had Pop-Tarts since I was a kid!) But more often than not, I look closely at the nutrition facts and ingredients in a food. There are certain foods I don’t even think of buying due to their fat or sugar content. I know what qualifies as healthy and what qualifies as unhealthy. (Which can sometimes be tricky, thanks to questionable packaging.)

I am not giving up.

Through all of this, the ups and downs, the slip-ups and the losses and gains on the scale, I am still doing it. I’m not giving up, I’m not quitting. Even if I “quit” for a week or two, I brush myself up and get back on the horse. I keep going, I keep fighting. It’s been the hardest battle I’ve ever faced, but I will not give up on it. My health is too important to give up on.

What is the hardest battle you’ve had to face?

Fill in the Blank Friday (1)

2011-10-28T06:08:00.001-04:00

First and foremost, for everyone wanting to be involved in #twookclub (hashtag suggested by Tabitha and it’s a keeper!), I’ve created a group on Goodreads as a place to discuss happenings, vote on the monthly book, and just talk in general. It’s a private group for now (and I need a picture. That question mark is bothering me!) so if I haven’t requested for you to join, follow this link to ask! Everyone is welcome! And the poll for November book is up, you have until Sunday to vote.

I’ve decided to participate in Lauren’s Fill-In-the-Blank Friday for the first time! It looks like fun and I’m all about taking it easy on Friday. :) Here we go!

1. When I was a kid I wanted to be an author when I grew up. (Yes! I’ve always known I’ve wanted to write. When I was younger, I had notebooks upon notebooks of story ideas, character notes, and plot outlines.)

2. As an adult, my dream job would be to be able to make a living as a published author. (See what I did there?)

3. When I was younger, I wanted to be like the other girls who seemed to have the perfect lives with no fighting parents, no money issues, no insecurities. (Of course, I know this wasn’t true and I know they had their own issues, but on the outside, their lives seemed magical.)

4. The childhood Halloween costume I remember most was when I was a witch. (Mostly because my mom hated it and it was a hand-me-down that was too long for me and I kept tripping over at school.)

5. My favorite childhood toy was my Barbies, of course!

6. The time I got into the biggest amount of trouble when I was a kid was when I ...I’m not sure. I got in trouble for little things (like the time my brother and I woke up one morning and decided to paint my dad’s speakers with nail polish) but nothing major. I do remember once getting in trouble and my mom taking away my TV privileges, my computer privileges, AND MY BOOKS! That was the worst punishment ever.

7. I get daily inspiration from bloggers and my mom.

Happy Friday, friends! When you were a kid, what time did YOU get into the biggest amount of trouble?

Wine and Love, V.8

2011-10-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hosted by Nora!

Wine-ing about...
This could fall under the love category more than the wine category but my mom and I have been bombarded with fundraisers from work and my own nephew. (Yes, my three-year-old nephew is fundraising for his school.) Through all the fundraisers, we will receive one tin of chocolate-covered pretzels, one tin of Reese’s-like candies, a pack of Auntie Ann’s pretzels, and four tubs of cookie dough. Four. Tubs. Of. Cookie. Dough. I think I may as well kiss any end-of-year weight loss good-bye between that, the holidays, and my birthday.

I’m still not over Miami losing to Denver. I didn’t expect us to win. (At 0-5 before this game, you really stop believing in the W.) But we were up 15-0 with 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter. And yet we somehow managed to let Tim Tebow score two touchdowns, a two-point conversion, and take us into overtime. Which we lost, because Miami doesn’t play past the 4th quarter. (Overtime? Forget it!) Of course, we could have won if Miami could score a friggin touchdown. But they can’t and they lost and Mike Tirico called it the “Tebow game” on Monday Night Football. Right now, I’ll be happy to go 2-14. And that’s just sad.

Loving...

I’m really excited about the response to the Twitter book chat. The book suggestions were fantastic and I had the best time looking up what each and every one was about. I’m still not sure how I’m going to choose just FIVE for everyone to vote on, but keep your eye out for the poll tomorrow! (And you can still put in your suggestions - or second what others have suggested - if you want!)

I know I may be in the minority with this, but I am loving all the holiday decorations up in the stores. Yes, it’s only October but I only get this time for a couple months out of the year and I want as much time to enjoy it as possible. I went into Bath and Body Works on Friday and it was so wonderful to see all the holiday decorations and new holiday scents. Ahhhh! I had this happy little feeling in the pit of my belly the entire time I was there. Nothing compares to the holiday season, in my book.

I went two days without soda this week! This is my longest stretch without soda in a very long time. I am terribly addicted to it but I know how bad it is for me. I know quitting cold turkey doesn’t work for me, so I’ve worked on dropping how much I drink a day. I’ve been able to cut down to one a day over the past two months and now I’m looking at cutting one or two days a week where I don’t have any at all. I want to get to the point where I don’t depend on it, or need it. I think, more than anything, it’s more of a comfort for me than something I crave. (Surprisingly, I didn’t get a caffeine headache until 53 hours in, which is shocking for me, since it’s usually less than 24 hours in that I get them.)

What’s on your wine and love list this week?

Ten on...Wednesday

2011-10-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

1. What is the worst compliment you have ever received?
I get comments a lot on how quiet I am or how young I look. Those can be good and bad. Sometimes, it's hard to go places and people think you're 15 or 16 when you're actually well into your twenties. And whenever I get "complimented" on how quiet I am, it always feels like they say it like it's a bad thing. For a long time, I felt like my quietness was a bad quality to myself but now I know it's not. I love my quiet nature now, although I have my chatty/loud moments!

2. Did you/would you tell everyone the name of your baby before they were born, keep it a secret, or not choose until after they were born?
I would probably tell close family, but I don't think I would tell everyone. I tend to let others' opinions affect me too much so I know if other people hated the name, it would cause me to wonder if it was the right one. Plus, all the "Oh, I used to know a so-and-so and he was a demon child..." remarks would get on my nerves.

3. What is your favorite candle smell?
Anything but vanilla or the super sweet smells that Bath & Body Works is selling now for the holidays.

4. What is the best birthday/Christmas gift you received when you were pregnant or the best birthday/Christmas gift you gave a pregnant person that was really appreciated?
I have no idea. I've never been pregnant nor have I gifted too many pregnant women. The only one that comes to mind is my sister-in-law, which I'm sure were appreciated, but none of the gifts really stand out for me.

5. Who was your favorite teacher?
I think the teacher who impacted me the most was my fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Chapman. She had a fun, laid-back personality but she also knew how to lay down the law. I learned so much from her and she made the year so fun. She's the reason I wanted to go into teaching (even though that career path didn't seem to work out...).

6. What is the best game/activity you have ever played at a baby shower?
The only baby showers I remember going to are my aunt's when my cousin was born (I was younger than 10) and my SIL's for my nephew. At my SIL's, we played a game where everyone was given a pacifier on a necklace when they entered and anytime you saw someone crossing their arms, you could take their pacifier necklace (and any more they had collected). I had an entire competition with another girl who was there, but she won, in the end. Sigh. Such a fun game, though!

7. What was your major in college and did you end up using it in your career?
Journalism and Media Studies, although my diploma says "Communications". I do not plan on using my journalism degree in any form, although I do use the communications/media part of my degree to some extent.

8. What is a beauty product you swear by?
I love Cetaphil for facial cleaner/moisturizer. I used to use it twice a day religiously and made my skin clear up and feel so much better, but I got away from that. And I also use BareEscentuals for my make-up, which I love. It covers nicely and I barely even remember I'm wearing make-up when I have it on.

9. What is the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
Holding a door open for me. It's a simple thing, isn't it? Common courtesy? But so many people don't do this and it drives me nuts. When they do (especially if I'm farther away than needed to keep the door open), it brightens up my day!

10. If you could recommend one new baby necessity, what would it be?
I’m not a mom, but one of my favorite local radio DJ's just became one and she called in to the show one morning and said the best gift she got was someone to clean her house. She left with her baby and when she came back, her house was sparkly clean! So, I'm guessing that! Hehe.

Questions found here.

Twitter Book Chat

2011-10-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

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This past summer, I somehow managed to read through the entire Harry Potter series. It was a big undertaking, but the best part of the entire thing were the weekly chats about the books. There’s something about Harry Potter that begs to be talked about and dissected and through that experience, I developed some great relationships. (And those people are still satisfying my Rupert Grint lust with links to pictures and videos. You guys are my favorites.)

When we finished the series, we were all a little sad not to have these weekly chats. It was fun to meet every week and talk about the book, but we did end up getting a little burned out. We had plans to continue our Twitter book chats but life got busy. So it was pushed aside for a while, until I brought it up again on Twitter last week. Somehow, I’ve volunteered myself to organize this book chat but I’m happy to do so. I’ve been meaning to join a book club for a while now and while I still intend to attend a non-virtual one, this one will work for me for now. (And do I even need to mention how doing this chat with some of my best Internet friends fills me with warm fuzzies? I didn’t think so.)

And this is where you come in!

Through Twitter, I think we’ve decided on the last Sunday in November for our first Twitter book chat. (Ironically, this is also the day before my birthday so I’m hoping I can join. I just don’t know what I’ll be doing then.) But now we need to decide on a time, a book, and a hashtag. I’ve created a poll for the time to see what works best with everyone’s schedules and want your suggestions for a possible book and hashtag (right now, #twitterbookchat could work, but I’m not sure if it’s too long. We could shorten it to #tbc.). I’ll choose 3-5 books from the suggestions, post a poll on Friday, and announce the November book on Monday. Then, you’ll have four weeks to read the book before our chat! (In the future, I hope to do this process a week prior to the month beginning.)

If you’d like to join, you’re more than welcome. Now RSVP needed! :)

For now, leave me book suggestions in the comments and your thoughts on what the hashtag should be. Don’t worry about repeating others’ suggestions, I’ll choose some of the most popular books to vote on.

I’m super excited about this so I can’t wait to see your suggestions!

(And I just realized my last three blog posts have centered around books. If you haven’t noticed, I kinda love to read.)

Book Review: Picture of Lies by C.C. Harrison

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

***

Title: Picture of Lies
Author: C.C. Harrison
Genre: Mystery
Year: 2011
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

***

From Amazon:

Investigative journalist Keegan Thomas has been living a nightmare of guilt and grief since her little girl, Daisy, was kidnapped practically in front of her eyes. When the police investigation stalled, she turned her grief to anger and buried herself in her work searching for missing children, her own included. The result was an award-winning series of articles on unsolved child abductions. Then came the inevitable burnout.

On what is supposed to be a working vacation, Keegan travels to Monument Valley on the Navajo Indian Reservation seeking the whereabouts of people in an old photograph found in her grandfather s belongings after his death.

But the Indians do not welcome this nosy stranger carrying a picture of their old people, some of them dead. While navigating the mysterious ways of the Navajo, Keegan is told one of the children in the photograph was kidnapped by missionaries and taken to a boarding school.

Keegan’s search for the child leads to a web of deception that stretches back two generations, and the truth Keegan learns about her own family is the most shocking betrayal of all. Nothing can prepare her for the danger she encounters when she becomes the target of a powerful U.S. senator who will do anything to stop her from telling what she knows about the Picture of Lies.

My review:

I devoured this book. I read the entire thing in three days. THREE DAYS! I never finish books in three days anymore. It was the perfect mix of mystery and romance. Of humor and seriousness. I’ve read enough mystery books to usually correctly guess who the bad guy will be, or what the ending will look like. But this book was full of twists and turns and surprises. I had no idea what would be happening next and gasped my way through it as mysteries were revealed.

I have to imagine mystery novels are hard to write, even harder to come up with original, strong plotlines but this book delivered on all accounts. The plot was solid and I kept wanting to learn more. And when all was revealed, it was a shock and something I wasn’t expecting.

The character development was good, too. I really enjoyed Harrison’s easy dialogue and way of writing. It all felt effortless and as if I really knew these characters. The romance part of the novel was more of a side story, not the main portion. But it felt more honest that way. Keegan’s main focus was on this mystery and also on finding out what happened to her daughter.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy as much was the ending, but I know it was an honest ending. (I’m just a sucker for everything tying up nicely at the end and not having to cry out, “NO! WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?” when I finish.) I don’t want to give away any part of the book but I can tell there will be a sequel to this one by the way it ended.

All in all, if mystery fiction with a little romance thrown in is your thing, this is a solid book to read. I would definitely, definitely recommend it.

Are you a sucker for an “everything-ties-together-nicely” ending, or do you like ones that surprise you? I would say I’m fifty-fifty on this.

I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions are my own.

Book Review: Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

2011-10-21T07:22:00.001-04:00

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Title: Good in Bed
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Genre: Chick-lit
Year: 2001
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
***

Summary from Goodreads:

For twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie Shapiro. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her friends, her rat terrier, Nifkin, and her job as pop culture reporter for The Philadelphia Examiner. She's even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body.

But the day she opens up a national women's magazine and sees the words "Loving a Larger Woman" above her ex-boyfriend's byline, Cannie is plunged into misery...and the most amazing year of her life. From Philadelphia to Hollywood and back home again, she charts a new course for herself: mourning her losses, facing her past, and figuring out who she is and who she can become.

***

I connected with Cannie from the beginning. She was smart, sassy, vulnerable, and sensitive. I could relate to her from the get-go, especially considering she is dealing with the same father issues I deal with from this very day. This paragraph sealed it for me:

“But oh, when he loved me, when he put his hand on my head, when I leaned my own head against him...there was no feeling in the world that could beat it. I felt important. I felt cherished. And I would do whatever it took, press the bar until my hands bled, to get that feeling again.” (p. 98)

Every emotion I’ve ever experienced with my father leaving me? Right there.

This was the first book of Jennifer Weiner’s that I’ve read and I’m not sure why I stayed away so long. She is a fantastic writer and made me completely fall into the plot and the life of Cannie Shapiro. From reading the introduction, I knew this wasn’t going to be a story of a girl who loses weight, gets the guy, and takes down her ex-boyfriend. Jennifer Weiner set out to make this story something more relatable and real. And I could relate to Cannie in her insecurities about her body, the way she couldn’t seem to fully walk away from an ex-boyfriend who was no good for her, and in her family struggles.

The plot moved along quickly and there were so many twists and turns and surprises that I didn’t expect from a “chick lit” book. Characters were introduced that added so much to the plot and I couldn’t imagine Cannie’s life without. It wasn’t a clean, sweet story of triumph. Not at all. It was messy and gritty and raw. It was real. It made me take a step back and examine my own life. I laughed with Cannie, I cried with Cannie, I felt proud of her when she stood up to her ex-boyfriend, and utterly sad during the most heart-wrenching part of the book.

When you can make me feel a character’s emotions in my own life, then you’ve done your job as an author. I wholly recommend this book and it was such a great example of women’s fiction for an aspiring writer. I’ll leave you with some of my favorite quotes:

“When you’re on a battleground, you don’t have the luxury of time to dwell on the various historical factors and sociopolitical influences that caused the war. You just keep your head down and try to survive it, to shove the pages back in the book, close to the covers and pretend that nothing’s broken, nothing’s wrong.” (p. 106)

“Things happen, you know? That’s my one big lesson from therapy. Things happen, and you can’t make them unhappen. You don’t get do-overs, you can’t roll back the clock, and the only thing you can change, and the only thing it does any good to worry about, is how you let them affect you.” (p. 372)

Taking My Passion Off the Shelf

2011-10-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

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The first time I tried to complete National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo – writing 50,000 words in 30 days) was two years ago. Halfheartedly, I tried it again last year. Both times, I got way behind within the first week and realized I had to let it go. November was notoriously busy with schoolwork, completing assignments and studying for tests before finals week came in December. It was too much to keep up with, between school and work and maintaining my sanity.

But I promised myself I would try again when I was done with school.

Well, I’m done with school. I’ve been done for almost six months now. And I have yet to even begin writing my novel. My biggest dream in life is to make a living as a published novelist, but I keep shelving that dream for other pursuits. Things that I need to do, but don’t fill me up with as much passion as writing does.

I know the easy part will be the writing. The hard part will be the editing, the revising, the rejection. I know there’s a part of me that keeps pushing it aside, because rejection is scary and difficult to swallow. When I took a creative writing class my last semester of college, I had to step way out of my comfort zone and read my fiction aloud. There were writers in my class that already seemed to have a firm foundation in their writing. And they were amazing writers. Intimidating. Inspiring.

Another thing holding me back from writing my novel is the novel itself. What do I want to write about? Do I want to write young-adult literature? And, if so, do I want it to be faith-based or not? What about chick-lit? Can I even write in this style, funny and light, yet also cutting to the core of what women suffer with? (I’m currently reading my first Jennifer Weiner novel, Good in Bed. It is phenomenal and a great, great example of “chick lit”. Anyone who looks down on this genre has seriously never read a good chick lit book.) Do I want to write pure romance novels, Christian fiction, or mysteries?

I know I have a story to tell, I just don’t know which one it is. Each genre fills me with a different kind of passion. I know there are incredible stories of struggles and triumph to be told in each one. Which one do I focus on?

November first is coming up much more quickly than I imagined. And I know I have it in me to complete NaNoWriMo. I just need to put my nose to the grindstone, focus on an idea that fills me with the most passion and excitement, and get to planning.

Have you ever completed NaNoWriMo? Are you doing it this year?

Ten on Tuesday - On Vacations

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

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1. You're packing for a week long vacation, do you pack ahead of time or wait until the last possible minute to pack?

Usually, I get really excited so I make a big packing list a week before. But it's always too early to pack for anything so I wait until usually the night before. I didn't pack anything for my cruise until 10:00 the night before I left, even though I made list after list a month before.

2. Are you a light or heavy packer?

Heavy, heavy, heavy. I packed so many clothes for my cruise that I didn't even touch and always tend to overpack even when I go to Orlando. But I'd much rather pack too much than pack too little.

3. What are your favorite road trip snacks?

I don’t go on enough long road trips to require snacks but if I did, I’m sure they would be the perfect mixture of sweet and salty: M&M’s, chips, pretzels, Twizzlers, etc.

4. Do you take any reading material along?

Always. Of course, I almost always have my Kindle with me anyway. You never know when you’ll get stuck somewhere! Reading material is always a must.

5. Do you prefer to drive or fly to your vacation destination?

I never fly to my vacation destinations, sadly. I want to, but I’ve never had the opportunity. I’ve actually never been on a plane in my life. I need to remedy that SOON!

6. What is your favorite time of year to take your vacation?

Any time! I love taking vacations but I don’t have a specific time of year that’s my favorite. It’s nice to do something around my birthday, but also nice to go away in the Spring/Summer to break up the monotony.

7. Where is your favorite place to vacation?

On a cruise ship. I swear, if you haven’t been on one, YOU NEED TO GO. I find them fairly reasonable (price-wise) for everything you get. And they are just absolutely amazing. I am SO excited to take my second one next May. Being on the cruise ship last May was the best experience of my life.

8. You are vacationing in the mountains, what is your favorite thing to do while there?

I’ve only vacationed once in the mountains and I was twelve, but it was so much fun. My favorite thing would be skiing, of course! I only skiied on the bunny slopes but it was so fun. I really want to go again sometime, even if I stayed on the bunny slopes again.

9. You are at the beach for your vacation, do you like to take it easy on the beach or play all day in the water?

I am definitely more of a fan of taking it easy. I hate salt water and being in the ocean. It’s either freezing or I’m constantly getting thrown over by waves. I don’t like it.

10. While you’re on vacation, do you prefer to eat out every night or cook some of your own meals?

No way am I cooking while on vacation! I don’t understand people who do this. But that’s probably because I hate cooking even when at home. I have never cooked my own meal while on vacation, but I’ve also never vacationed for more than five days. I’m not sure I would eat out every night if I was doing it longer than a week, because that would get expensive!

*Questions found here