I know many people think Diet Coke isn’t healthy (and they may or may not be correct) but a girl’s gotta have a few vices, right? In any case, I think it’s great that Diet Coke will donate to women’s heart health programs. Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of women?
Wow, I can’t believe January is over already! I feel like it just flew by…and that we had WAY too much snow and ice (and are getting more today, supposedly…)
I wanted to take a moment to consider how my yearly/monthly goals are going and see if I want to tweak anything.
How am I doing so far? Let’s recap:
January plans recap: Specific monthly goals:
1. Read one book about teaching. I planned to read two books this month—both of Ed Kreitman’s. They are on the shorter side—Teaching from the Balance Point, and Teaching with an Open Heart. I haven’t finished Teaching with an Open Heart yet, but I’ll just push that back a few days. So, half-check.
2. Try new restaurants. This was no problem! I tried a ton…probably too many. Check, check, check!
3. Cook three new recipes per month—Check!
4. Read one “classic” novel per month. War and Peace, CHECK! This took much longer than I anticipated—I spent almost three weeks reading War and Peace…but I can now say I have read it, and if I find anybody else who has read it, we can discuss it.
5. Read one “non-fiction” novel per month. Almost done—reading Free for All: Fixing School Lunch in America by Janet Poppendieck. So…almost check.
What else have I accomplished from my 2011 goals thus far? (by category)
Career:
Was on Fox2 News Morning Show with Chamber Project St. Louis! Didn’t plan this, but definitely a good thing.
Chamber Music Concerts—January 9 with Chamber Project—success! (check)
Parents as Partners Online (continues into February) through the Suzuki Association of America—I have some catching up to do on this, but I’ve watched quite a few videos. I wanted to catch up more today but the sound on my computer wasn’t working…I probably need to restart, but I got REALLY lazy. Yes, that IS super lazy!
Relationships:
Be nicer to Chris—I know this isn’t a very specific goal, but I know what I mean. I am working on it.
Do something with a friend each week—saw Black Swan, went to Sweet Art, went to Circus Flora, trip to Phoenix, toured Taliesin West, went to Good Pie, went to Sandrina’s—CHECK!
Fun: Nothing from this list yet.
Uncategorized but no less important:
I gave away MORE than 11 items of clothing that I do not wear. So that counts from the bedroom. Check!
Health/fitness:
Phoenix R n R half marathon Rocked it! CHECK!
Bikram Yoga Phoenix (ugh, now I am wanting MORE bikram yoga, which means I will probably go again here sometime soon…maybe leading up to my next half-marathon)
Spinning Class (ongoing to April)—have gone every week I’m in town. Enjoying it! Check!
Yoga for Runners Workshop—didn’t go due to bad weather. Oh well.
Continue to eat healthfully—7 f/v daily—I tried! Much easier at home than when traveling. I’d say I reached this goal 1/2 to 2/3 of the days. Half-check!
Weight loss—not exactly…staying pretty much the same.
That pretty much sums up the goals so far. I’m enjoying focusing more on my reading and branching out a bit with that. I’m also doing well with my running and other fitness goals. I’ve also made efforts to be social and get out of the house even while it is very cold.
Things I am NOT doing well at (yet): Quit biting my fingernails and fingers! Did better for a few days then got stressed and started up again…oops. It’s hard! (not a valid excuse). And weight loss…
What about the Happiness Project? Well, I’m keeping up on the ideas. I would say I am following it as I am working towards improving my own happiness! I just haven’t mentioned it as much in the blog as I thought I might…so I guess this is a half check?
Specific February Plans/Goals:
Books: one classic, one related to teaching violin or children, one non-fiction—Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurian, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (plus finish reading list from January!)
New Restaurants: ?
Social: ?
Recipes (at least three): I have some ideas of things I want to try–
Continue attending spinning class
Start using Groupon from Urban Breath Yoga—it’s for five classes, let’s try to get at least three in this month (it’s a busy month.)
Frosty Five race on February 12 (5 mile race)
Creative “date night” with Chris?
Get rid of 11 things from ONE room—kitchen?
Will attend Mark O’Connor workshop, continue Parents as Partners Online (figure out sound situation on my computer!)
NEW Goal for February: No new clothes this month. Exception: may purchase new running shoes. NOTHING ELSE for the whole month.
I am pleased with my year so far, and feel like I’m doing well with my plans. I do want to focus more on my diet and try to lose a bit more weight though—that will be a priority this month.
How are your resolutions going?
Today is the beginning of what looks to be a pretty nasty storm. We’re starting with some freezing rain, adding in a little sleet, a “mixed bag” if you will, followed by a foot or so of snow.
The impending ice storm reminds me of the Great Ice Storm of 2002, which took place when I lived in Charlotte, NC. I lost power for five days and had to sleep on a variety of friend’s couches. Of course, I was grateful to have friends to stay with—other (I presume less friendly and less polite?) people were not as lucky as I was. Trees covered in ice, power lines downed (do you drive over them or not? I stupidly chose YES a few times…how is it I am still alive?), branches littering and blocking the streets…it was pretty awesome!
I can’t find my own pictures from the storm (this was before digital cameras and I didn’t even own my own computer yet) so I will instead share some I found online:
(note to reader: most of those photos are not of Charlotte…and I’m pretty sure that cow one is shopped)
The night of the ice storm I went over to a friend’s house for an “ice storm” party like you would expect from a group of 20-somethings. We had beer and snacks, crashed on the couches at some point, and during the night kept being awakened by snaps, crackles, and ultimately a BOOM that was likely a nearby breaker blowing. When we awoke there was no electricity, in fact…1.3 million people were without power. Luckily it wasn’t that cold outside—I was able to leave my cats in my apartment, and the place never got below 50 degrees. I stayed with a few different people (I kept moving around as new friends regained power as to not inconvenience too many people), and finally my power came back on. I remember that was a great day…
from http://www.charlotteuptown.info/CharlotteHistory.html (perhaps the best part is that this website references wikipedia!)
In December 2002, Charlotte (and much of central North Carolina) was hit by a massive ice storm (which some dubbed, "Hugo on Ice") that knocked out power to over 1.3 million Duke Energy customers. According to a Duke Energy representative: "This ice storm surpasses the damage from Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which had 696,000 outages." During an abnormally cold December, many were without power for more than two weeks. Much of the damage was caused by Bradford pear trees which, still having leaves on December 4, split apart under the weight of the ice.
Suffice it to say that I most certainly hope we don’t lose power (they are certainly threatening it) and if we do, I hope not for long. People here in St. Louis keep referencing the Ice Storm of 2006 (I refuse to use the word Great in front of it as I did not personally experience this). I believe Chris lived downtown at the time and I recall he mentioned this, but he didn’t lose power, unlike 500,000 customers. Living downtown certainly has its advantages!
(I do not live downtown now.)
I’m feeling old and whiny tonight. I’m tired, I am still annoyed at this morning’s classes, and I have some aches and pains.
My wrist still hurts and now I have a bit of a blister on the bottom of my foot from today’s run.
Foot: I’m thinking either I need to retire my blue Mizuno shoes OR switch to a different sock. I have been wearing cotton (the horrors!) socks, and I noticed today’s pair was a bit stretched out as well, but I couldn’t do anything about it as I was changing at the gym. I have a few pairs of synthetic socks, but I’m not a huge fan of any I have as they seem to slide around. Maybe I should keep trying. Suggestions? As far as the shoes go, I have another pair. I also plan to take my old shoes back to the running store and make sure my shoe is still the best one for me—my feet were pretty sore by the end of the half-marathon, but that’s probably normal, right?
Wrist: I don’t know why it’s bothering me now…I haven’t been playing {violin} enough to cause problems.
I have a history of problems with this wrist, starting back in, oh, 1991? And on and off, ever since, particularly freshman year of college and while I was in the Charlotte Symphony. I’ve been diagnosed with bursitis, tendonitis, and general overuse. Violin playing (for me, and many others) is fraught with injuries. My right wrist is my biggest weakness, though by no means my only trouble zone.
However, I haven’t had any real problems with this wrist in several years, so I hadn’t thought about it until the other week when I woke up with pain in my wrist. I thought maybe I had slept on it funny, so I ignored it for a few days. I don’t know what caused it, but I do know what I should do.
Rest. I’ll just have to be extra careful for a few weeks, at least. That probably means no burpees. OH NO! (burpees are a torturous move incorporating an up-down, push-up, and a jump. Mike loves them. That is, he loves making me do them. I can’t speak for his own workout regime.) Stupid weak wrists. I’ve also slept in my wrist brace for two nights, and I’ll continue that again tonight and probably for a few more days or longer.
Lucky I “just” teach now, and don’t have to play violin for a living. 
Small victories, right?
While driving to work today, I was thinking about different kinds of friends.
In a somewhat unparticular order, but a little bit particular:
Work friends: this is different than colleagues. Colleagues refers to everybody, work friends are those people you always chitchat with at work, but would be unlikely to hang out with anywhere else. This idea can extend further, for instance, coffee shop friends and gym friends, though perhaps to a lesser degree, as you might spend less time in those places (unless you are like me, and spend many hours per week at the gym!)
Old friends: Friends from previous times in your life. I generally keep in touch with these people via Facebook, as I have moved quite a few times in my life. Many old friends might be great friends if we lived in the same city, others are from a time and place in the past and would not be so close even if the distance didn’t exist.
Old friends are slightly different than College friends, though there is a fair degree of overlap. It just depends on when we met.
Lunch friends: Often these are work friends who you are trying to become better friends with. You meet for lunch, or perhaps coffee, OUTSIDE of work. (For me, most people start as work friends—when you work in a million different places, you meet a lot of people!)
Occasional friends: People who are busy but when you get together you have a great time. Maybe you only see them a couple times a year…and neither of you makes enough effort to get together more often. Perhaps you were good friends at one time, perhaps you were only lunch friends or work friends.
Good friends: These are people that you see weekly, or at least try to. You share quite a bit about yourself. You meet for drinks or dinner, or have them over to your place. You know when they go on vacation, you might even take care of their pet.
Best friends: People that you can call any time, for any reason. That you don’t have to clean your house for. Because you are no longer trying to impress or fake it for them, you are simply you and they are your friend despite that.
Parting thoughts: the older I get, the harder it is to make new friends. After I first moved to St. Louis, I would be exhausted from trying to get to know people and let them get to know me. It really is a lot of effort! I figure we’ll end up moving again as soon as I have a few really good friends.
That’s sad, isn’t it? I didn’t mean it to be. Just thinking out loud here! GOOD DAY!
(unrelated, but delightful!)
A “happiness project” is an approach to changing your life. First is the preparation stage, when you identify what brings you joy, satisfaction, and engagement, and also what brings you guilt, anger, boredom, and remorse. Second is the making of resolutions, when you identify the concrete actions that will boost your happiness. Then comes the interesting part: keeping your resolutions.
I already have my “2011 goals” post to refer to—but part of that post is to create my own happiness project. Let’s get started!
Okay, so, what brings me joy, satisfaction, and engagement?
(in no particular order, brainstorming!)
clean clothes, a clean house
a fresh pile of books to read, reading those books
my cat
planning a vacation, going on a vacation
calendars, making lists, checking things off lists
relaxed time with friends
rehearsals that make me feel like my education was worthwhile, being asked for new gigs
teaching students who practice, who enjoy and love music
moving money from checking to savings
trying new restaurants
working out with my trainer, my spinning class, new workout clothes, following my workout schedule
a fresh pot of coffee
cooking new foods, baking new goodies
Next, what brings me guilt, anger, boredom, and remorse?
staying up too late, wasting time
too full trashcans
forgetting to bring something to read
procrastinating
buying stuff I don’t really need
spending more money than I should
eating junk food, eating too much fatty foods
not preparing for classes enough
forgetting to return phone calls in a timely manner
snapping at Chris
not being “friendly enough” at parties or other events
not practicing enough
using too much paper
having to cancel or reschedule appointments
being afraid to drive in the snow
getting sick
biting my fingernails, picking at my cuticles
So, do most of the things on my 2011 goals/resolutions post follow these guidelines?
I think they do! I guess I know myself pretty well.