I’m Just Not That Into This.
Have you ever tried to do something that you really, really wanted to do, knowing full well that you probably won’t succeed?
And then failed spectacularly?
Have you ever tried to do that something again, and again, and then a third time, only to have each attempt blow up more spectacularly and tragically than the one before?
Yeah, me too.
It’s not that I’m opposed to the theory of “If once you don’t succeed, try, try again.” It’s just that sometimes, trying again doesn’t accomplish anything. Actually, I take that back: trying again is usually a good thing. But trying for the fourth, fifth or sixth time is usually a sign of a delusional mind. Remember, kids: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results each time.
I’ve been feeling that way about many things these days, but for the purpose of this blog post, I’m talking about one thing in particular.
Blogging.
I’ve tried to keep Lemonade Life afloat for the past… well, for awhile now. I’ve tried redirecting the topics I write about. I’ve tried to be more consistent. I’ve tried being less consistent. I’ve tried commenting. I’ve tried being more controversial. I’ve tried being less controversial. And it just isn’t working.
It’s not you. It’s me.
It’s sad. Because Lemonade Life has been part of my life for six and a half years. That’s exactly one quarter of my life. I was 19 years old when I started this blog. I knew nothing about life. Now I’m 26 years old. And I’m even more confident in saying that I know nothing about life. Despite that, Lemonade Life has seen me through two years of college, graduating college and moving to the East Coast, dating, heartbreak and friendships, my engagement, my wedding, three jobs, weight gain and weight loss, and countless accounts of galavanting around the country and one magical trip across the pond.
I’ve thought about shutting my blog down before. I’ve come close, but always thought, Maybe if I just try a little harder.
No.
Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you think. Sometimes you’re not the right person for the job. Sometimes you’re not at the right point in your life. Sometimes there are other things that get in the way. Sometimes it’s other people, other obligations, other priorities. Sometimes it’s your heart that gets in the way. Sometimes you wish your heart wanted to go in a particular direction, but it just won’t.
Sometimes that’s actually okay.
I thought for a long time that if you wanted something bad enough, you could make it work. If I just tried a little bit harder, I could get there. I’m not good with failure. I’m not good with not getting or doing what I want, when I want. It’s a tragic flaw.
Blogging was always something I wanted to be really good at. And for awhile, I was. I actually got pretty popular for awhile, but my dedication to Lemonade Life has waned over the past… while… and I think it’s time to finally recognize that I can’t keep it up. It’s a stresser in my life. There are a lot of things going on in my life that I just don’t want to share on a public space like a blog, and with my mind preoccupied, things on weight loss, the movies I’m watching, and the places I’m going just feel like… filler. It just doesn’t feel right anymore and right now, my life is all about making Healthy Choices.
So I need to let Lemonade Life go. It’s painful. It’s hard. It makes me sad. But I know it’s the right thing to do. I know it’ll give me the chance to do even better and bigger things.
Don’t be too sad. I won’t be going away completely. You can still find me if you need me. I’ll still be tweeting and hanging out on Facebook. Of course, I’ll continue to write at DiabetesMine (having a job is nice, having a job you love is even nicer), occasionally sharing snippets of my personal journey with the Big D. I’m open to the possibility of guest blogging, so if that’s something you’re into, give me a shout. You can always email me. I’ll still be reading, and commenting, and in general trying to stay part of the community as much as I can.
But I have to let this part go. Maybe I’ll pop back again with another blog later. But for now, I think I’m going to enjoy relaxing, not worrying about an editorial calendar, or scheduling posts, or analyzing my life for a good story, or making sure I have my camera with me “for the blog.”
What I had was a good thing. For awhile. All good things must come to an end, right?
Gone, but hopefully not forgotten…
<3 Allison
Lemonade Life
July 12, 2005 – January 19, 2012
Lessons from the First Week of Logging.
This was my first week of logging my blood sugars, per my 12 Changes in 12 Months resolutions. And you know what I learned?
I suck at logging my blood sugars.
I always thought I was really routine at doing this. Breakfast, lunch, mid-afternoon, dinner, bedtime and maybe one or two other checks in between. But I haven’t been. I test irregularly and erratically, and so I’m left unable to make heads or tales out of any of these numbers. Not only do I not test often enough, I don’t test at the right times. How did I get so lackadaisical about it?
When I was in college, I was terrible at testing my blood sugar. I had no problem with taking my insulin, because I wore an insulin pump on my jeans pocket (which is where it still resides) and my pump was easily accessible. Reaching down and bolusing was not a problem. My meter, on the other hand, was always stuffed in my backpack with notebooks, pens, my wallet, and bunch of other crap I carried around. I often ate lunch on the run, grabbing a Subway sandwich or pita sandwich while walking to my next class. Or sometimes I would just start eating before getting to a table in the Memorial Union, and of course, by the time I realized I hadn’t tested, I was halfway through eating. I would think to myself, “Well, my blood sugar is already going up from the food, so really, what’s the point in checking now? The reading is ruined!”
Wrong! God, it’s amazing the things I convinced myself were true back then.
In any event, I didn’t started really testing again until I started working with a diabetes educator. I had to send him my blood sugar log sheets every couple of weeks. And of course, for that to make any sense, I had to actually, you know, test.
Now, with this newfound commitment I have to logging my blood sugars, I’m also facing the fact that I just don’t test often enough, which is strange because unlike college, where I was bounding from class to study group to a quick lunch to my apartment and back to class again, I’m at home. All day. Everyday. Perks of working from home.
Not only do I not test enough — which really isn’t shocking because I hate testing — but I also don’t test at the right time. Breakfasts? Could be at 8:30 a.m. Or 10:00 a.m. Lunch? Could be 12:15 p.m. Or could be 2:20 p.m. Dinner? Anywhere from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. And bedtime? Let’s not even go there.
It’s difficult to find trends when you only have one or two data points to work with. So while I made a commitment to log my blood sugars during the month of January, I’m making a new commitment to actually testing often and testing at the right times, so that the numbers I’m getting will actually be helpful.
In college, when I found it really difficult to test because my schedule was so varied, I set alarms on my insulin pump to remind me to test. I had one when I woke up and then several times throughout the day. If I hadn’t tested within an hour from when the alarm went off, I would test. My A1c? Dropped to the lowest ever during my junior year. For some reason, even though my schedule is fairly easy, I still have difficulty. Most likely because I don’t have the same kind of benchmarks throughout my day that I used to have. Since I don’t have a commute, sometimes I’ll get up early, but other times I’ll sleep in as late as I can get away with. Lunch is taken whenever I get hungry. There isn’t the same kind of consistency, and so it’s tricky for me to see what’s working. I think I really just need to build my own schedule into my workday, even if it’s artificial.
If anyone has any tips for how to keep a schedule when you, for all intents and purposes, don’t actually have one?
Starting weight: 204.3 lbs
This week: 202.8
Weight change: -1.5
Total weight loss: 1.5 lbs.
{Fill in the Blank Friday} Nineteen.
- The last thing I ate was pizza. And a side salad. Don’t judge.
- The last song I listened to was Nicest Thing by Kate Nash.
- Using the letters in my name I can spell All, Son, Sail, Sill, Nail, Noll, Nil, um… This really hard.
- If I had to dress in one color for the rest of my life I would pick I would think something like black would be good. Black goes with everything, and it’s slimming!
- If you were to look in my bag right now you’d find I have two bags, a purse and a backpack. My backpack has most of my stuff in it right now, including my meter, my wallet, some power cords, a pen and Scotch tape. (Hey, I said no judging).
- When I finish filling in the blanks I’m going to have dinner.
- My all time favorite song to dance to is Oh God, I have no idea. I don’t really have a favorite dance song… Probably something from Madonna.
{Wine and Love} Seventeen.
Chugging the wine because…
… Vacation and the holidays are over. Sadface.
… I’m back on the calorie-counting bandwagon. Which is just not nearly as much fun as being on the “eating whatever the hell I want” bandwagon.
… It’s still winter and it’s supposed to get really cold this weekend. So you know. There’s that.
… A few friends, in real life and online, are going through rough times right now. There’s nothing I can really do about it either, so that’s crappy.
All my loving goes to…
… my husband and I celebrated six months on Monday! Not really. We didn’t exchange presents or anything. We ordered pizza and watched television.
… Vampire Diaries, Once Upon A Time and Gossip Girl are coming back from their hiatus! Walking Dead will be back in a couple of weeks, and in March…. MAD MEN!
… I’m excited to have a few weeks off from traveling before some spring trips get rolling. I love to travel but I like to have long stretches off so I can actually spend time with my friends and hang out in the city!
… That’s about it. Kind of a quiet week.
Holiday Cards: What The Heck Now?
I have a very serious question.
After a lovely December of a packed mailbox, I’m now left with a stack of pretty, festive greeting cards. And absolutely no idea what to do with them! For years, I have just saved them in a box or in a folder, and eventually would toss them out because, well, I never looked at them and they just took up space. I love receiving cards and it’s so nice to get something personal from good friends. Especially since all the words I see from my Internet buddies are text, it was so cool to see everyone’s handwriting. Ya’ll have some nice penmanship!
Struggling to come up with a better option, I queried my friends on Twitter and Facebook and heard a few suggestions.
- Use them in arts and crafts
- Frame the covers I like the most
- Save the ones I like the most and toss the rest
- Create a scrapbook (I’m loving the one I spotted from Erin!)
- Donate them to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children for re-use
I think the one I like the most is donating the cards to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. St. Jude’s Ranch for Children is not affiliated with the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, although both are children’s organization. St. Jude’s Ranch for Children was founded by Father Jack Adam, an Episcopalian priest, and now has three campuses, one in Nevada (just outside Las Vegas) and two in Texas. The organization serves “all abused, abandoned and neglected children and families, creating new chances, new choices and new hope in a safe, homelike environment.”
So how does their program work? The website explains:
Operated by Kids’ Corp., a program for the children at St. Jude’s Ranch to learn entrepreneurship skills, the children participate in making the new cards by removing the front and attaching a new back. The result is a beautiful new card made by the children and volunteers. The benefits are two-fold: customers receive “green” holiday cards for use and the children receive payment for their work and learn the benefits and importance of “going green”.
The only downside to the program is they don’t accept Hallmark, Disney or American Greeting cards, likely because of copyright issues. You just neatly cut off the back flap of the card (where all the writing is) and send the cards off! ou can also purchase packs of 10 of these refurbished cards for $10. Even if you can’t support the organization by donating cards, it’s a great way to support the work the children are doing. I’m considering ordering a pack or two next Christmas!
What do you do with your Christmas cards? Any suggestions that I didn’t list?
Five Things I Learned In Fabulous Las Vegas.
I just returned from a week long trip to Las Vegas. This was my 3rd trip to Las Vegas, but my first time there on vacation. Well, pseudo-vacation. I was a bridesmaid in one of my best friend’s wedding, and so I was “on duty” much of the week, but most of the stuff we did was fun stuff. My first trip was half-vacation, half-business trip. I had a day and a half of work meetings, but a full day “on the ground” checking out the Strip and visiting with my friend. My second trip was three days at the AADE conference in August where I didn’t leave the Luxor or Mandalay Bay (the two are connected through a shopping promenade). I’m not kidding. It was August and it was Vegas and so I didn’t see sunlight for almost 72 hours.
This was so much better.
The Strip is an interesting place. I don’t hate Las Vegas, but I also don’t love it. I’m not big on gambling, but you know, it’s fun to push the buttons and see the machine spin a few times before it takes all your money. The buildings are big and pretty. The interpretations of Ancient Rome, the Italian Renaissance and old world Paris are gorgeous, although the shops are quite ostentatious and a bit intimidating. I have stayed at three of the casinos, first at the Palazzo (love!), then at the Luxor (do not love), and this time at Treasure Island (mixed bag).
I think the fact I’ve lived in / around New York City for almost 5 years makes the adjustment to Vegas prices a little easier. Las Vegas is the only place in the United States that I can think of that is more expensive than NYC, if you can believe that. So if you go to Vegas but are worried about how expensive NYC is, never fear!
Anyway, on this trip, I spent loads of time on the Strip, but also loads of time off the Strip so I learned quite a bit more about the crazy world that is Las Vegas. Enjoy!
Lesson #1: There are other places to gamble and to drink than the Strip.
Yes, it’s true! Most people think that most of the casinos are on the Strip, but actually, they’re everywhere. No, really. Everywhere. Even on the two lane highway ten miles outside of Las Vegas on your way to Arizona. That kind of everywhere. You do not need to stay on the Strip to gamble or drink because the entire town are filled with places to go.
For J’s bachelorette party, the plan was to hit Fremont Street, which is in downtown Las Vegas. Yes, Vegas has an actual downtown. It doesn’t look like much, and certainly can’t compete with the Strip, but it does exist. Fremont is about fifteen minutes from the Strip, and so it’s easy to get to, but you have to drive or take a cab. Not exactly ideal for people who don’t have a DD, because cabs are kind of expensive in Vegas (everything is kind of expensive in Vegas, have I mentioned that?).
{Source}
Fremont Street is kind of adorable. It’s like stepping into another decade. Most of the signs are flashy and neon, but it feels older. Probably why they call it “Old Las Vegas.” Most of the folks you see in the casinos and bars here are the locals. The bars we went to were filled with twentysomethings in jeans and sweatshirts, although a few ladies were decked out in short dresses and high heels. The drink prices were also not outrageously inflated, so if you’re looking for a more reasonable place to hang out and give your wallet a rest, I’d say Fremont is a good place to take a break from the Strip.
{Source}
Lesson #2: There are other places to get married than the Strip. (But don’t worry — Elvis can still pronounce you “husband & wife”)
As I mentioned, I was in Vegas for a wedding. And every time I told someone I was going to Vegas for a wedding, I got this knowing “Ahhhh…” and a nod of the head. Listen, folks, just because Vegas is the elopement capital of the world does not mean everyone gets married at The Little White Wedding Chapel.
My friend J picked a lovely little estate in the southern part of Las Vegas called Griffin Mansion. Like most places in Vegas, it came fairly stocked with everything you needed — caterer, photographer, florist. But it was, you know, a real place to get married. It wasn’t sketchy. It was lovely.
Of course, that doesn’t stop anyone from hiring an Elvis impersonator to come down to perform the ceremony. Which is exactly what my Elvis-loving friend did.
I have to admit, it was pretty awesome.
Lesson #3: There are more things to do on the Strip than gamble, drink and get married. (Or hiring expensive call girls.)
Gambling is fun for all of 10 minutes when you’re broke newlyweds struggling to pay off credit card debt. So, no, we didn’t spend that much time in the casino. Erik spent an evening playing poker, which required just a $50 buy-in to play (sadly, he did not win — but he had fun!). I think altogether we spent about thirty minutes in the casino. I happened to win $30, but then lost $10 of it when I kept going. Sigh.
Anyway, aside from gambling, drinking and getting married, there are many other things to do on the Strip. Not that they’re cheap things.
- Restaurants and Buffets. These things are pricey! But tasty, especially if you find a good buffet with a nice selection. I only went out to eat a handful of times, since I was usually being fed by bridal party activities. Erik and I went to a Mexican restaurant called Isla in Treasure Island, and we went to the buffets at TI and the Bellagio. We also had delicious crepes at Paris Las Vegas, and yummy gelato at the Palazzo and the Bellagio. There are so many restaurants on the Strip! Pretty much something of everything.
Mmmm, crepes…
- Shows and Concerts. I have never been to a concert in Las Vegas, but Erik and I did go to a show on the Strip. I decided that I just had to see a Cirque du Soleil show, and so we bought tickets to see O! at the Bellagio for Friday night. What a wonderful show! It was magical, awe-inspiring, and even a bit humorous with some of their comic relief. The show involved quite a bit of water, so it a bit like a combination of acrobatics, gymnastics and synchronized swimming. But not in a cheesy way. We couldn’t really detect a plot in the show, unlike the Cirque show Wintuk that I saw in NYC a couple years ago, but it was delightful. Highly recommended.
- Gondola ride at the Venetian. Possibly my favorite thing of the trip. It’s hella expensive for 15 minutes. It’s $32 and you risk sharing it with another couple. But for $64 you can guarantee a private boat! It’s really not worth it though. We paid $32 and got a private ride because there were enough boats available. Might be trickier in warmer months. There are two routes, one inside and one outside. We did the indoor one. It was lovely, and I really like how the Venetian is painted and designed. Our gondola driver sang to us twice. People took our picture. It was really fun!
- Fountain shows. Ah, that fountain shows! The Bellagio has the absolute best fountain show on the Strip. Caesar’s Palace has one, and TI also has a pirate show, which we sadly kept missing. The best thing is that they run regularly and are completely free! It’s pretty much the only free entertainment you’ll find on the Strip!
- Shopping. There are tons of shopping opportunities on the Strip, but I have to warn you, these stores are ridiculously expensive. Come with either a fully stocked bank account or pray you win big! The window-shopping is quite fun though, especially since Vegas is so extravagant. It’s kind of fun to pretend to be rich and famous, so long as you don’t feel bad walking out of the store empty-handed.
Lesson #4: There is more to Las Vegas than the Strip.
As previously mentioned, Fremont Street exists, which is in Las Vegas but off the strip. As does Griffin Mansion. We also explored more of the Vegas area by going to the Hoover Dam. Which technically is outside of Vegas but whatever. Metro area-ish, right?
We decided spur of the moment to rent a car and drive to the Hoover Dam, which took about forty minutes to get to. Casinos have rental car companies inside, so it’s easy and you can pick up one just for the day! I wasn’t entirely sure if I wanted to go, because, it’s a dam. They hold back water. I don’t really find them that interesting. But the area around the Hoover Dam is lovely, in that desolate please-don’t-leave-me-here-to-die desert kind of way. So, you know, if you’re into dirt, shrubs and big rocks, it’s perfect.
It was actually a little complicated to get to and we ended up driving past the exit we needed and straight into Arizona. The Hoover Dam is on part of Lake Mead that separates Nevada from Arizona. We turned around and came back, but ended up parking on the Arizona side of the Hoover Dam. So within ten minutes I crossed time zones twice. Kinda cool. Kinda weird. One couple we saw took a photo of themselves kissing over the boundary line of the Pacific and Mountain Time Zones. It was cute and we thought about doing it, but we didn’t have anyone to take our picture.
The dam. Don’t get too close…
The bridge is also an overlook, and a divider between Nevada and Arizona
Desert hills of Arizona
We were at the Hoover Dam until sunset, and it was lovely watching the sky change colors. If you have a free afternoon, I definitely recommend taking a drive out to the Hoover Dam.
Lesson #5: Parking on the Strip is free.
Ha, I don’t really have anything to say about this, other than the fact that this and the fountain shows are the only two free things I can think of when it comes to Vegas. As one friend said, they like to make it easy for you to come to the casinos. But try to get out? Well, let’s just say they don’t make it easy to leave.
Viva Las Vegas!
Starting Over.
You know how they say that if you stop dieting, you’ll immediately gain back all the weight that you lost and then some?
It’s true.
Last Spring, I lost about 15 lbs, on top of 10 lbs I lost the summer before. I was pretty excited. I felt good, I looked pretty good, and I was really happy with the way my photos turned out from my wedding. Unfortunately, as soon as that was over, so was my motivation to keep calorie counting and exercising. Take that and top it with an exile that involved eating out for every single meal for nearly two months, and you’ve got a case of serious calorie consumption. I haven’t gained all the weight back, but I have gained most of it back.
Yes, I feel guilty. Yes, I feel regret for letting all those weeks of hard work go to waste. Yes, I wish I could have looked better at my friend’s own wedding last week. But that’s just not how it worked out.
Although I’m not happy that I have to re-lose the weight I already lost, I’m confident because I have already done it. So there’s that. Silver lining or making lemonade out of lemons or somesuch crap, right? Only this time, I’m not going to think of there being a deadline. I’m not doing this for some event or for the summer bathing suit season or a reunion or anything like that. When I do reach my goal weight, I’m not going to stop. Because that’s how the cycle goes, right? You think you’re done and so you start slacking off. You start giving yourself permission to “cheat” or “go easy.” But that’s not how it works. Even the New York Times says that once you decide to lose weight, you always have to be conscious of what you’re doing. Your body wants to stay at where it is, and it will fight you in changing that. I know my body doesn’t want to lose the weight that it’s gotten used to. That’s why it was so easy to gain all that weight in such a short period of time. Even though many experts say that you can’t lose weight and keep it off, I don’t believe it. I’ve seen it and I know it can be done. But it isn’t easy and I can’t get it into my head that it will someday be over. I can’t think that someday I’ll be able to not think about what I’m eating. I’m sure occasionally I’ll be able to indulge, but these choices have to be thought-out. I have to incorporate things into my life in a healthy way.
I don’t like being overweight. It’s uncomfortable. I don’t feel good. I know that I’m not as healthy as I could be, and I know that I don’t look as good as I could. I’m not doing this for vanity’s sake, but I would be lying if I didn’t say that my appearance wasn’t at least a partial motivation. When I was younger, I never really worried about how I looked as compared to my weight. I never really thought I looked that bad. But now that my weight is creeping up even higher, I really am beginning to see a difference between how I looked then and how I look now. I don’t like the direction I’m heading, and that’s really the only thing that matters to me and it’s really the only thing that should matter to anyone else.
This year is all about Healthy Choices. Healthy choices for me.
Starting weight: 204 lbs.
See you next week!
{Wine and Love} A Wedding Edition
Today, one of my best friends, J, is getting married. J and I met our sophomore year in high school. She was the new girl and I liked making friends with new kids because it meant they weren’t already in a group that didn’t like you. We sat next to each other every English class, and eventually started hanging out outside of school.
A lot of people tell me that they aren’t really close friends from high school, but closer with people from college or beyond. Not me. I’m blessed to still be friends with many people who knew me when. J and I may not have been in the same state much in the last 9 or so years, but she is still one of my closest friends. I love her and I’m so happy for her.
Now we’re here in Las Vegas to celebrate J’s marriage to her fiancé B. I’ve spent tine with B here in Vegas, when they came to visit NYC, and in Portland at my own wedding. He really is a great guy and I’m happy my friend found someone who treats her so well and loves her so much.
Even though this is Wine and Love Thursday, I have nothing to complain about. Instead, I’m raising my wine glass in a toast to love, laughter and a lifetime of happiness (and fair fighting because, you know, it will happen!).
Visiting J at college in California in 2005.
J visiting me in NYC in 2009.
Visiting J in Vegas in 2009.
On my wedding day in 2011.
12 Changes in 2012.
I love symmetry, alliteration, patterns. So of course, when I heard of Stephany and Katherine’s plan of doing 12 Changes in 12 Months in the year 2012, it made me go LOVE! And then it made me go sign up.
And then of course, I had to stop and think about what are the 12 changes I actually want to make.
First, there’s the obvious. The weight. The weight that I managed to shave off in a few months, but has slowly crept back onto my body in the latter half of the year. Boo. So not the intention behind slaving away at the gym for hours (or even at home, thanks to Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred). Getting the weight down is definitely a priority.
Then there’s other things: improving relationships, expanding my mind, broadening my horizons. All the those “really good intentions” that we somehow forget about around January 17. At least, that’s when I seem to forget about them.
The idea behind 12 Changes is that 12 small changes will yield big results if done consistently over a long period of time. Ironically, it was something that was mentioned in my Stratejoy Holiday Council: people often overestimate what they can do in a day, but they underestimate what they can do in a year.
I’m still plugging away at my 101 Things list, which honestly has a lot of resolutions and goals built into it. My hope is that the 12 Changes project will help make some of these bigger goals a reality, by encouraging me to focus on them and incorporate habits into my life that will make them easier (like running a 10K or getting my A1c under 7%).
A lot of folks I’ve seen are talking about their 12 changes in quarters, so they’re only posting 3 at a time. I think this is a great plan, because obviously throughout the year, desires and abilities change and progress in ways that aren’t predictable. Some habits may take longer to develop before you can move on to the next one, whereas other habits might occur naturally without you even realizing. Overall, my resolution this year is to make Healthy Choices. That is my overarching theme and goal for the entire year. My 12 Changes will hopefully yield a healthier person by the end of it. To start off the year, here are 3 changes that I’m choosing to make that I think will make me a healthier person:
- January
Log my blood sugars once a week. This has been a major goal of mine for several years now and it’s something that I just have not developed. I want to start slowly with this goal, so the habit I want to develop is to take 30 minutes every week, on Friday, to sit down with my meter and my insulin pump and log my blood sugars and then analyze them. Color code, look for trends or variables. Later on in the year, I want to increase the frequency of logging, but for right now, once a week is what I’m doing. When I get my CGM, I also plan to download my data once a week to look for trends.
- February
Spend more time with friends. This has been another goal I’ve had for myself the last several years since moving to the East Coast and realizing I have all of 5 friends. I’ve gotten into a bad habit of casually saying to people, “Oh, we should hang out some time!” and then never doing it. That’s terrible. It’s so easy to find things to do in NYC and there’s really no reason why I don’t do more things with more people. My goal is to have at least one friend date a week. Four dates out of 30 days does not seem like that much to me.
(P.S. If you want to have a friend date with me, let me know!)
- March
Spend 30 minutes a day reading. I don’t read enough. And again, it’s one of those things I tell myself every year that I’m going to do more. But I don’t and then I get all sad and mopey when I see all these other people reading 50, 60, 70 books a year and I can barely eke out 10. And I’m a writer for Pete’s sake! Of all the people in the world who should be reading, it’s writers! I am a disgrace to my kind.
Other plans include: digital sabbaticals; regular wake-up calls / bedtimes; date nights with my husband; and regularly saving my money. I thought about incorporating weight loss and calorie counting into my 12 Changes, but honestly, those are more like old habits I want to pick up again. I didn’t really want to waste time when there are other habits I need to start. Regular exercise (4-5 days a week) and calorie counting are starting as soon as we get back from Vegas!
Are you participating in the 12 Changes in 12 Months challenge? I would love to hear from you if you are so I can get to know everyone! I’d also love to know if you make resolutions / goals at the beginning of the year. For the most part, I rely on my 101 Things Challenge to keep me motivated and working towards goals, but I’m looking forward to see what kinds of changes I can make for myself between now and the end of the year.
Do you make resolutions? What do you think of them?
{Ten Things on Tuesday} Forty.
I know memes were one of the things that ya’ll don’t like so much, but I’m currently on vacation in Las Vegas and so my ability to write quality posts is a bit limited right now. I’ll have more real posts soon!
1. What did you get for Christmas?
Let’s see: an iPad and some accessories (for both Erik and I), two journals, a sweater, a CD, a scarf and headband from my parents; Julia Child’s French Cooking from my mother-in-law; a necklace, two cardigans, and leather gloves from Erik.
2. Have you taken down your Christmas decorations?
No, not yet. We didn’t have time before leaving on our vacation. We’re taking them down this weekend.
3. What did you do for New Years Eve?
In the early evening, we had a big retirement party for my uncle. But by the time midnight rolled around, Erik and I were snuggled in bed in our hotel room, where we watched the ball drop with Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark.
4. Do you like accents?
Love! English, Australian and Southern are my favorite. So I pretty much could listen to Caro, Simon and Cara talk all day long. In fact, I’m pretty sure I requested that Caro just keep talking when I met her in NYC a couple years ago.
5. What kind of television do you have?
I have a 40-inch flatscreen Samsung that I bought when I first moved to the East Coast in 2007. It’s the only thing I have left from my first apartment. Everything else has either been sold, donated or thrown away.
6. Did you make any changes at the beginning of 2012?
Not immediately, but I have many things planned for the coming year. More on that later this week!
7. What’s the last book you read and do you recommend it?
The last book I finished reading was The Scent of Rain and Lightening, and no, I don’t recommend it.
8. Do you stay current on celebrity gossip?
I wouldn’t say I stay current on gossip, but I usually have an idea of what’s going on, thanks to the covers of People and what people write on Twitter and Facebook.
9. Do you know the words to Bohemian Rhapsody? Gangstas Paradise? Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
No Bohemian Rhapsody, and I could probably sing along to Gangstas Paradise if I was listening to it. And I could probably remember all the words to Fresh Prince if you have me enough time, if only because it’s not that long of a song
10. What is your favorite education television show?
I wouldn’t say I watch a lot of education TV, actually, but I do like to watch specials on the History channel around Easter and Christmas about the life of Jesus. I find it really interesting to hear what they’re learning about that time in history.
