end of year resolutions

Today is Thanksgiving and I am once again saying thanks for a healthy and overall happy year.  I have gone through a lot this year starting at a new store, moving to the Bronx with Dan, getting a new puppy, and turning 30.  I also had a bout with diverticulitis which was no fun at all but I've moved past that now.

Around this time every year I get anxious about starting the new year and begin giving myself "new years resolutions" which are actually just random decisions.  A part of me thinks that if I turn them into resolutions it might legitimize them more, thus giving them a chance to survive.

I've landed on 2 end-of-year resolutions:

1.  Keep my apartment clean and company ready at ALL TIMES.

This is much easier said than done but I am finding inspiration from the blog, reading my tea leaves.  Erin Boyle lives in a 250 square foot apartment and has hundreds of tips up her sleeve to keep her apartment clean and clutter free.

2.  Less is more.

I've been reevaluating my belongings and what's really important.  For Christmas I told Dan that what I really want is to get my jacket zipper fixed so I can use it again rather than getting a new one.  Dan gave me a fleece zipup last year for Xmas and Mookie ate the middle of the zipper towards the end of winter so I haven't been able to use it. While Dan thinks this is the worst gift request ever, it's what I want!

he looks peaceful but he's really just pretending to sleep so he can eat my things when i turn my back

I am going to slowly start purging my life of unnecessary things which I only kinda-like.  The other day I brought about 12 bottles of nailpolish to work and all of the girls took them home.  Sharing!  Now I am left with only bottles that I love.  It's a small start, but it's a step in the right direction.

 

2014 goals

So I just finished reading a book titled "The Mole People."  The book is comprised of short chapters detailing the lives of the New York City homeless as told from the author's investigative perspective.

My main take away from the book is that the homeless community is just that.  A community.  Like us above ground dwellers, most "mole people" see life underground as a place they feel safe and have a group that they call their own.  A lot of people who try living above ground actually end up living back in the tunnels because it's not so judgy down there.  They have leaders, communal jobs, and don't care/ask what happened in people's pasts.  They just focus on one day at a time.  

I read an article about an apartment fire that happened earlier this week in midtown.  A woman was out on her balcony with her husband and baby to avoid smoke inhalation and was tweeting things like "Big fire in our building.  Hubby, son, and me seem safe on the balcony."

...tweeting?!?... during a life-threatening fire???????  

What has the world come to?  I deleted my work email from my phone, have been taking semi-real lunches, and trying to leave work on time every day in an attempt to do some actual life things.  Trying not be glued to my phone has definitely been a challenge especially since I use it so much for work, but I have to say that I am feeling better about it each day.  

For 2014, I want to get back to the basics and focus on foundation:

- spend more time with the people I love 
- get off my phone/computer and be present... be awake
- not worry about other people and spend more time focusing on myself and my happiness

Happy new year, everyone!
MK

random injuries are no fun

I have had a history of odd illnesses (tendinitis/carpal tunnel, shingles, random saliva gland removal) and 2013 wouldn't be the same without a debilitating injury!

Inflamed/slipped disc/pinched nerves happen randomly and are very painful.  They cause you to not be able to walk, cry in front of your district manager, have to wear flat shoes all the time, and take a hiatus from practicing viola instead of playing more because you have a concert coming up.

I've been seeing a great chiropractor 3 times a week and haven't felt better!  I am resistantly taking this as a wake up call that I am getting older.  I started working out before all of this happened (which, Dan thinks caused my injury), purchasing an exercise ball, resistance band, and free weights.  I was really excited about getting in amazing shape for my Puerto Rico adventure in May and be in overall better shape.  Unfortunately, my exercise has sadly been toned down to stretching/physical therapy style exercises.

I'm also on a new diet:  low carb, low fruit, low sugar, low red meat, low dairy.

At first I was extremely depressed about this whole thing, but it's actually been ok so far.  I've been paying much more attention to my eating habits and making sure that I'm eating fish, chicken, and lots of veggies.  I don't know how this happened but at some point, I stopped eating veggies and didn't notice.

Revamped 2013 goals- be healthy.  be smart about being healthy.  eat vegetables.  stretch a lot.

And for your viewing entertainment, here is Sangria, being the best kitty in the world:

welcome, March!

The month of February definitely flew by and I woke up feeling good that today was the first day of March.  Since my last post about a better work/life balance, I have been thinking about health in general.  I am not an unhealthy person but living in New York City definitely changes a person.  I rarely cook anymore and making food to bring for lunch seems like an awful chore.  When you live and work next to a plethora of immediate food options, sleeping that extra 15-20 minutes seems worth it.

The last week or so I've tried to make food instead of eating out all the time to be a bit healthier and save some money.  In addition I've been working out!  ...Only for 2 days, but I plan on keeping it up!  Yesterday I had time in the morning to do some yoga and make myself a delicious fruit smoothie.  This afternoon I went for a run.  Running felt tortuous as I'm still getting over a cold and cannot breathe through my nose; however, I'm glad that I forced myself to go.  After I got home I was sad to discover that I probably only ran 1.5 miles and that felt extra hard.  I know that once I get over the initial pain and crying it will be worth it.

I am excited to keep on with some healthier habits to make them part of my routine instead of just occasional random things that I pat myself on the back for.  Here are a few meals I've made recently and been very happy with.

Hope everyone had a great first day of March, too!

less work, more life

For the last few years, my focus has solely on work.  Since I've come back to Club Monaco, I've been trying to get myself to where I need to be to take over the store for the time if and when Brandee leaves.  I've been working long hours (not a new/good thing) and really trying to better myself as a store manager.  Things are going very well for me at work and I think that things can only go up from where I am right now.

HOWEVER, I have been thinking...

I think I'm going to stop doing what I'm doing.  I mean, I'm still going to focus on doing my job well and working hard when I'm there, but I am going to have a better work/life balance.  I am constantly tired and borderline sick all of the time.  I want the main part of my life to be about music, friends, spending time with Dan, making food...  doing the things that I love, which I realized (this week) requires me to work less, stress less.  It's not that I don't want to be promoted because I do; however, I've never felt content just being where I am for any given time, but I'd like to start.  Right now.  There was a time where I loved work and wanted to work all of the time.  This is no longer the case so I'm going to start prioritizing my life to put my outside-of-work-happiness first.

To begin my new major life decision, I had a really good practice session last night followed by making some super yummy sweet potato, red lentil, curry soup.

I read my book, fell asleep watching tv with Dan by my side, and woke up this morning in my sunny, Brooklyn bedroom with Sangria curled up next to my head.  

This is the life that I want.  This is the life I will have.

2012 reading list

In 2011 I decided that I didn't read enough.  I got held up reading things I didn't like (I have this awful mental block where I can't start another book until I finish the current one.  This is usually an arduous process and usually leads to me throwing some sort of tantrum) and in the fall I got a tv which, after not having cable for years, became the thing I looked forward to doing every day (letting my brain turn to mush while watching Grey's Anatomy and the entire series of Felicity).

I gave myself a goal to read 15 books in 2012.  I ended up reading 28!  I'm so impressed with myself.

Books 2012

1. Wind Up Bird Chronicles- H. Murakami

2. Little Women- L.M. Alcott 

3. Norwegian Wood- H. Murakami

4. After the Quake- H. Murakami

5. After Dark- H. Murakami

6. A Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao- J. Diaz

7.  The Broom of the System- D.F. Wallace

8.  Identical Strangers- E. Schein & P. Bernstein

9.  The Art of Eating In- C. Erway

10.  Blindness- J. Saramago

11.  A Wild Sheep Chase- H. Murakami

12.  Room- E. Donoghue

13.  Wild- C. Strayed 

14.  1Q84- H. Murakami

15.  Lolita- V. Nabokov

16.  Everything Beautiful Came After- S. Van Booey

17.  The Perks of Being a Wallflower- S. Chbosky

18.  Stranger Than Fiction- C. Palahniuk

19.  The Time Traveler's Wife- A. Niffenegger

20.  Dog On It- S. Quinn

21.  Thereby Hangs a Tail- S. Quinn

22. To Fetch a Thief- S. Quinn

23.  The Dog Who Knew Too Much- S. Quinn

24.  A Fistful of Collars- S. Quinn

25.  A Cat Was Involved- S. Quinn

26.  The Humbling- P. Roth

27.  American Pastoral- P. Roth

28.  The Psychopath Test- J. Ronson

If you can't tell, I really like Murakami.  The world that his characters live in is surreal and incredibly imaginative.  I also really liked Quinn's books.  You will like them too if you like books told from an animal's perspective.  Also, I finally read Lolita.  It confused the hell out of me.  Feeling bad for a pedofile is something I didn't think would ever happen.  

I liked so many of the books I read and would really recommend most of them.  Except Little Women.  I really hated Little Women.  

Since my commute to work is at least an hour I have plenty of time to read on the train.  After I surpassed my original goal of 15 books, I wanted to double my goal and read 30 books before the end of the year; however, sometime in early December I didn't have a free hand to hold my book, so I started listening to an episode of "This American Life" and was reminded of how much I love Ira Glass.  He's such an amazing journalist and I find his voice to be very soothing during underground rush hour traffic.  Listening to his voice drowns out my own thoughts of kicking someone for leaning against the pole so noone else can use it.  Consequently, the last 2-3 weeks has been spent catching up on TAL episodes that I've missed over the last year or so and not reading Franny and Zoey of which I am 2/3 of the way through.

Happy New Year everyone!  

My new goal is 20 books and to catch up to current TAL episodes- I'm 6 months behind...

xoxo

MK

(not) running for gifts

I have been extremely delinquent in my running. Thus far I have 8 tally marks on my "Running For Gifts" sheet. The horror!!! It's been 31 days and I've gone a total of 6 times. I'm sure that you're thinking, "If you've only run 6 times, how do you have 8 tallies?" Well. Matt gave me one for doing the dishes and one for doing a P90X video. This averages to 2 times a week which is not terrible, but not accurate since I haven't run in a week and a half.

I have come to two conclusions:

1. I really dislike running with my whole being. When I am done I feel exhausted, extremely sweaty, and my left knee aches for the rest of the day. I did the extremely difficult P90X ab ribber video and realized that the thought of doing that video twice in a row was much more appealing than going outside and running halfway over the Williamsburg bridge and back.

2. I need to set a deadline and make a plan to accomplish my goal. Matt did say that I could use a P90X video in place of a run. I think that I can have my 50 runs by July 23rd. That means I have to run 3 times a week, and I can expedite the process by throwing in some P90X videos every once in awhile. Or, if I really don't want to run I can still make my goal by doing a video.

*Here's the fine print rule I've given myself about the videos: I have to do them in order. There is a whole calendar with P90X because the concept is muscle confusion- i.e. you do different exercises each day to eliminate the plateau effect from a set routine. If I skip a run I have to do the videos in order. The first one is an hour and a half of chest and back exercises. This will make running much more tempting seeing as the run only takes me 25 minutes door to door.

Extra incentive to get this done by July 23rd- I'm leaving for California the last weekend of July. By that time I'll be super fit, swim suit ready, and geared up for my gift from Matt! :)