January Goals Update Week #3

During the workweek, I chugged my 64 oz of water religiously. At my desk, at the gym, at a friend's house, and even out at dinner. I didn't quite make it to 64 ozs. on Saturday, and I honestly felt different. I wasn't nearly as energized, my mouth was parched (despite a blood sugar check and coming in at 140 mg/dl) and I just didn't feel good. Maybe it's in my head, but I think the extra water has helped me. I've eliminated all soda and I really don't miss it. And I'm not missing the cash I was was spending by ordering a soda when I go out to eat and those 2 liters that I was picking up at the grocery store.

I sent my first birthday card this week to my sister-in-law, so here's hoping she loves the design that incorporates my pup, Little Tuck.

And this approaching weekend marks my longer than 8 hour trip to the Big Apple! And I'm so excited! We have plans to see a show on Saturday night and explore the city with some of our seasoned NYC DC-friends.

January, you've been pretty decent to me so far. Thanks for that!

Unclutter My Life in a Week? Can I Have a Month?

I've made a conscious effort this month to really think about what I'm doing and start establishing new behaviors. Like drinking water. And sending people cards on their birthdays.

Another behavior I'm working on is turning my Blackberry off earlier and reading an actual book before I go to bed instead of browsing through the day's tweets, hearing about the world ending on CNN, or stalking Facebook. The first book I've managed to read this month is Unclutter Your Life in One Week by Erin Doland Rooney, the Editor-in-Chief over at Unclutterer.com. The book is a super easy read and focuses on uncluttering in order to lead the most remarkable life. And for some reason, I love that idea. (Confession: I am not as organized as I would like to be. In college, I lived with numerous piles throughout my room that NEVER went away. And I was okay with it. Not anymore.)

Doland breaks down the book by day and focuses on organizing just a small piece of your home or office throughout the week. One day, you might organize your closet;the next day, you'll organize your kitchen. And throughout the week, you do some maintenance cleaning so you don't spend your entire weekend cleaning your house because you've let it become a disaster area.

Alot of Doland's tips are common sense (make sure there isn't any nastiness growing in your fridge- DUH). But she goes a step further by telling you how to organize tasks so you're not wasting a bunch of time (clean out your fridge before you go grocery shopping by throwing away stuff that is bad, inventorying what you have, and then making a meal plan for the next week).

So, I'm not completely organized, YET. But, I did clean out my linen closet and bathroom vanity over the weekend and I've sorted through my scrapbooking supplies and went through some of my older computer files, arranging them in folders by topic. So that's a start.

Here I come, more remarkable life!

Things I Love #3 Cardigans

I love to read fashion blogs. One of my favorites is CollegeFashion.net. Even though I'm not in college (darn), I love to hear what their contributors have to say about the season's cutest boots, winter coats, or even Halloween costumes.

Alot of the time, they talk about finding something that you think defines your personal style. I've watched enough What Not to Wear to know that there are certain things I should wear and things that I should avoid. One of my wardrobe staples has become the cardigan. I frickin' love them!

Seriously, they are awesome. They can be worn over dresses or a button down shirt, or completely buttoned up. They are also one of those pieces that transition from winter to summer really easily (depending on their material). I realize that some people think cardigans are boring (i.e Mister Rogers), but I think they are preppy and cool.

My favorite places right now to pick up my cardigan gems are Ann Taylor (dude, I shop at the outlet, so I'm not even going to link to their site) and NY and Company (they had awesome argyle ones around Christmas-LOVE LOVE LOVE). I love ones that are printed (so chic with a pair of dress pants or a cute skirt!) or that have detailed buttons.

Ah, cardigans. It's the little things, ya know? Do you have a fashion staple? Something you really love to wear?

About friends...

I've always been a good friend, in my opinion. I'm a good listener, overwhelmingly optimistic, and thoughtful. Oftentimes, I'm the "third" person in a best friend friendship. I remember in elementary school being drawn to people that already had best friends. It was pretty crappy because I would end up getting left out occasionally. Despite that, I managed to always try and be the best friend that I could be.

In high school, I mixed with pretty much every group in my high school, besides the uber popular kids. I had friends that were athletes and people I hung out with because we played softball. When I stopped playing softball, the theater kids accepted me with open arms and I made friends with a group of theater girls. I gained another group of friends when I started dating Ross. In college, I had a very tight knit group of friends who became my second family. They continue to be my very best friends, but most of them don't live close enough where we have the opportunity to grab dinner on a weekly basis and scheduling a weekend trip to see them is tough for everyone. My mom and sister also end up in that group of "best friends" and I get to see them alot, but I miss having a group to go out dancing with on a random Saturday night or meet up with for coffee during the week.

I'm not looking for people to replace my girls, for sure. I'm just looking to expand my social circle and make some quality "DC" friends. I've read that alot of people experience this in their twenties, so tell me: What's the best way to make friends in a big city? Have you had success on sites like Meetup.com? Do you have any advice for me?

January Goals Update #2

Is January really halfway over? Where the heck has this month gone?

I'm cruising along quite nicely with my goals. My water intake is still right around 60-64 oz each day. To help keep track of all my drinking, I purchased a fancy Camelback water bottle on Amazon for super cheap. It's 32 oz, so all I have to do is drink two of them a day and I'm golden. It's nonleeching and is also perfect to take to the gym with me.

I also finished my generic birthday card to send to my friends and family this year. All I need to do is get some adhesive to attach the photo to card stock. As you'll recall, I created a Google Calendar with all of the birthdays on there and have set up reminders for two weeks before the birthday to fill out the card and put it in the mail. Over the holidays, Ross and I stocked up on Forever stamps, so I have everything I need to be a birthday card queen.

How are your resolutions and goals coming along?

January Goals Update Week #1

This past week, I did pretty well with my goals. I've managed to get just about 64 oz of water each day. I'm not keeping terribly good records, but I know I'm really close each day, To make sure I'm achieving my goal, I've virtually cut out soda. I didn't even really mean to do this but since I'm spending all of my time drinking water, I don't have much time for soda or tea throughout the day. This is great because I do feel more hydrated, if my numbers are alittle high the water helps, and I'm saving money by not ordering soda when I go out to eat. Win, win, win!

I also created my family birthday calendar this week. I've put everything into my Google calendar and set up reminders for a few weeks before everyone's birthday so that I can get it mailed and they get it before the actual day. I decided to make my own birthday cards since they can get kind of expensive, so I just have to put some finishing touches on the design and then I'm good to go.

How was your first week of 2010? Still keeping up with your goals?

The Christmas Adventure, Part 2

Where we last left off, Ross and I had managed to hike down to Woodbridge to spend a few days with the fams for the holidays. Both of our families live in the same town, which can be difficult if you're not smart, charming, or flexible (Good thing we're all of those things!!!). We arrived on Christmas Eve and spent time enjoying some serious appetizers that Mom and Dad B had whipped up. We also debated on whether to spike the wassail, but decided aganist it since we had to go to church and stuff.

We churched with my fam, then churched with Ross' fam, which is way more church than we have been to all year. Really.

After church, we headed to Ross' family's house where we planned to spend Christmas Eve and do Christmas morning. As my first Christmas Eve away from my parents, it was alittle tough. But I got to be a part of the "hanging our stockings" tradition and even hear the yearly rendition of "The Night Before Christmas," which was really fun. Christmas morning was lovely- presents, breakfast, and the trek back across town to my family's house where my parents had refused to open any gifts until we arrived. My sister had lost her patience a tad (I got a text message that simply said "WHERE ARE YOU GUYS? HURRY UP!", but I told her that it was awesome that Christmas got to be spread out throughout the entire day. I'm an optimist, yo.

After presents, Ross and I helped my family get ready for Christmas dinner. And then, we were successful two places at once- Christmas dinner with both families- because his family came to my family's for dinner! And it rocked. This was year number two for this tradition and I seriously like it. We had awesome food, all of the rents got to chat, and all the siblings got to chat about college and the gifts they received.

I was asleep by 10pm, which was fine since we had a day of traveling ahead of us, to PAto see Ross' grandparents and "do Christmas" with them. We also fit in a ski day with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law while we were there, that went 100% better than last year. (Maybe it was because I didn't set foot on a snowboard? Or that I could almost lift my skis myself? Or that I made it down that mountain more than twice?)

Overall, my vacation was awesome. I blabbed about it for two whole posts, why don't you tell me about your holiday?