Christmas 2009

2010 Goals

For me 2009 could be summed up in one word: survival. Now it's time to thrive! So I've been defining my goals for 2010. Here's what I'll be working on:

1) Get a healthy gut

• stick to 1500-1600 calories a day
• limit flour, sugar and alcohol consumption
• shoot for 25 grams of fiber a day
• take supplements as recommended by naturopath
• drink 8 glasses of water a day
• meditate on affirmations for 5 minutes a day

2) Run a 5k in under 30 minutes

• quit smoking
• jog 3 - 4 days a week following beginning and intermediate training plans
• do yoga 2 - 3 times a week

3) Find freelance work to increase income

• finalize resume
• finalize online presence
• finalize budget
• attend 1 networking event a week (cocktail hour, class, one-on-one lunch)

4) Start dating a totally awesome man (*this is a would be nice to have)

• pay for Match.com profile and make it awesome
  
• talk to one hot guy a week

Image courtesy of Billy Alexander.

Chillaxin

The truth is that I've been pretty stressed and bitter lately. (By lately I mean for the last year.)

I'm embarrassed to admit that I often take it out on my best friend and it's really yucky. (Sorry J.)

Despite my crankiness, he still seems to want to hang out with me and we've been talking a lot about letting stuff go and what that means. I really didn't get it, but I think after today I it's starting to make since.

When I started handselling for Insatiable I knew there would be a learning curve, but I never expected the lesson I got today. My handselling career has been a bit of a roller coaster with days of really strong sales and days of little to no sales. Tonight while I was selling I started thinking about what makes the difference between the good days and the bad ones and a trend started to emerge.

Now that we're expected to make sales numbers I often get stressed out when it doesn't look like I'm going to make it and it occured to me that when I start to stress my sales go down. Additionally, I realized that when I am relaxed and approach the sale session with curiousity I tend to do better. So I tried it tonight. I relaxed and had fun with it and sold 7 bottles.

I just started doing yoga again in the mornings a few days a week before work and after tonight I think I finally get what they mean when they say take your yoga with you. In yoga you have to relax and breath to properly move into the poses. If you tense up it makes it harder to practice.

The trick is remembering to continue to apply this so I can stop stressing and lashing out at my friends and coworkers.

Image courteousy of Tenzin Senge

House Wine = Fine

I've been hearing a lot about House Wine red blend from Magnificent Wine out of Washington and at Safeway it's on sale for $9.98. I love the label! But I was honestly, not a huge fan of the wine. It smelled nice like red raspberries and tasted a little like sour cherries. I found it to have a smooth, flat finish.

However, their wines have been well received by Wine Spectator, so I'm curious to find out what you think. Have you tried it?

The Firefighter

I talked to the firefighter for the first time in almost a month. It was nice, and awkward and annoying. I thought I was totally over that guy, but it apparently I'm not exactly. Darn it! The good news is that I was the one to end the call for the first time in the history of our conversations.

Buy Yourself Lilies

I only remember three occasions when I have really appreciated it when a man bought me flowers:

1) When my friend Matt spontaneously purchase a long stemmed rose from a flower stand in the farmers market in Stockholm and gave it to me because I'd never seen such a thing before.
2) When my dad bought me flowers as a "congrats on your new office" present.
3) When my ex-husband bought me a dozen red roses for my college graduation gift.

But, it didn't occur to me until recently that I could buy myself flowers.

I started out by just buying whatever was on sale, but tonight when I was at the grocery store, the smell of the lilies (my favorite flower) was so inviting that I had to see how much they were. I splurged and bought a bunch for $3.99. It was the best decision I made all day. They're gorgeous to look at and I keep getting wafts of fragrance from the kitchen. I love it!

Image courtesy of Dan Shirley.

Tagged. You're it!

What's your current obsession?
Keeping up with my RSS feed, tweets and Facebook friends.

What keeps you going when days are hard?
Chocolate, Mr. T. and my mom.

What are you wearing today?
I just realized that my sweater matches my cell phone exactly!

Why is today special?
I get to see my friend Serina and my mom is coming to visit in two days.

What would you like to learn to do?
Surf.

What's for dinner today?
Chips and salsa. It’s Cinco de Mayo!

What's the last thing you bought?
Groceries.

What's your favorite weather?
Sunny between 70 and 80 degrees.

What's your most challenging goal right now? To develop a more sunny disposition.

What do you think about the person who tagged you?
I think she’s fantastic! I learn something new about her every time I interact with her and I really need to make a trip to visit her later this month because I’ve flaked out on her a couple of times recently!

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
On a beautiful beach in a charming village with great hiking trails, wonderful people, fabulous shops and delicious cafes.

Favorite vacation spot?
Laguna beach – technically I’ve only been there for work, but it always feels like I would be really well recuperated if I went there for vacation.

What would you like to have in your hands right now?
Mr. T. I just can’t get enough of that little rascal.

What would you like to get rid of?
The cloud of my divorce and the weight I’ve gained over the last few months.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
It’s a tough decision I’d either go to Spain to visit my friend Anna or Salt Lake to visit my friend Adara and her new baby or Durango to visit my friend Paige or Florida to visit my friend Erinn.

What's your favorite thing about the city you live in?
The library.

If you had $150 now what would you spend it on?
My mom’s birthday!

If and when you buy a magazine at the airport, what do you buy?
I typically only travel for work now so I often feel inspired to buy business magazines like Fast Company or Inc. But sometimes I can’t help myself and I buy Psychology Today or O!Describe your personal style. Feels frumpy these days.

Who's art show would you want tickets to?
Oh my! I’m so out of the art world I’m embarrassed.

What are three live shows that you have seen?
Michael W. Smith, Tom Petty, TV on the Radio.

RULE 1 Respond and rework. Answer the questions; replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention. (Oops! I didn’t read this rule until I was done and I couldn’t think of anything to change.)

RULE 2 Tag 7 other people you would love to learn more about. (This is easier to do on Facebook.) Here are two:

Stateside
Bubble Essence