Twenty fourteen. How did that happen? While I am not one for resolutions, a new year is the beginning of endless possibilities. To start anew. No time to worry about yesterday. No guilt, just a hope for all things new, creative, lovely, inspiring, simple, meaningful and fun.
Things I would love in 2014:
dates with my yoga mat, road trips, gelato in Italy, more flossing, brunch with girlfriends, happy boys, drinks around a campfire, challenging hikes on snowshoes, quiet moments to dream, the perfect bloody mary, playing a song on my guitar, visits to familiar places and to places I have only dreamed of seeing, homemade gnocchi,parents’ night(s) out, a day at the beach, something inspiring to read, field trips in my gorgeous city, strong arms and a toned tummy.
{The last one is hold over from 2013. If anything, I am consistent.}
Fall and Winter weather and the lack of light bums me out. Now you may laugh since I live in Seattle where it is gloom and doom from November until June. What do I expect? The picture says it all!
For me, it is a bit more than the winter doldrums. I think I may have Seasonal Affective Disorder {referred to as SAD, very appropriately}. Of course, for now, my diagnosis comes from Internet surfing and the very knowledgeable professionals at WebMD and the MayoClinic. Man, disorder sounds bad, doesn’t it?
SAD is described as a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. If you’re like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. For that last few years, at least, come October I hit the wall. This year I expected it and sure enough as soon as the leaves starting changing colors I started to feel down. Just kind of – blah.
Some of the listed symptoms:
Feeling sad, grumpy or moody. {Sorry to say that’s me. Just ask my kids and husband.}
Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. {The big one for me is exercise. I am barely getting in one workout in a week. Totally unlike me!}
Sleep more and feel drowsy during the daytime. {I drank a cup of coffee at 5pm today. I could barely keep my eyes open.}
Eat and crave carbohydrates. {It is ugly.}
Loss of energy. {Even with 9+ hours of sleep I feel like I am running on empty.}
Wow! Don’t you want to hang out with me? I really am fun, I swear.
Do any of you suffer from SAD or know anyone who does? How about Light Therapy and light boxes? Other treatments? I am eager for any and all information. If I could feel better this year and prevent it next year- I am all in.
There have been many chats about hair cuts this week in our house. Big W is unhappy with a cut he got on Monday. It isn’t a bad cut, but it is much shorter than he is used to and he isn’t a fan. At dinner last night I told him that every adult could understand his pain. We have all been there. You know the story. You sit down in the chair, chat with your stylist and then something goes astray. To your horror, you see it happening {the train running off the tracks and hair falling to the floor} and there is nothing you can do about it. While breezing down memory lane with the help of a few photographs, I found much of my hair history falls into two categories. A bad cut OR a bad idea. Either way it has been quite a bumpy ride!
A few highlights: From a young age I wanted long hair. However my mom was in charge of styling decisions, so long hair was out and the pixie was in. It actually was a darling haircut, but not what I wanted. When I finally got a bit of power, I grew it long and a massive amount of bangs. To my own defense, it was the 80’s and everyone was doing it. Still, it was really bad idea. In the early 90’s, I went through a mid-high school crisis. My answer was to cut all my hair off. I walked into the salon with hair down to the small of my back and walked out with a pixie. It was a shocking change. The bad idea came when I was trying to grow out my hair. {If you have ever done this, you know it is long and embarrassing process!} So, I decided to perm it. Bad idea. Who does that??? However, the worst of the worst came in the summer of 2000 {a mere 12 months before my wedding day}! I loved Rene Russo’s hair in The Thomas Crown Affair. Actually, I was obsessed with it! So I took a picture with me and asked for the exact cut. A girl with curly hair, that frizzes at the sign of any moisture, has no business with this style. This was a horrible cut. Oh my gosh. It was so, so bad. Now, looking back, if I don’t laugh about it -I may cry.
Truthfully, I hope you are laughing. I am. How can you not? It is quite an unglamorous hair past. Please tell me you have pictures like these hidden somewhere. Commiserate with me. What is your worst hair story?!?
Isn’t the first step to recovery admitting you have a problem? I have a magazine problem. Their glossy covers call to me. Some wait for me in my mailbox. They are full of inspiration, gorgeous photography and inside scoop. Quite simply, they are 100% pure delight. I just can’t stop myself from subscribing and buying. The problem is -my beloved issues become stacks and stacks of unread material. Somehow I never find uninterrupted time to sit and devour them. However, there is no reason for this and I am putting a stop to it! Unplug. Disconnect. Grab a blanket and snuggle up. Find a cafe. I am going to make the time for my guilty little pleasure. And I am not going to feel guilty about it.
{And for those of you who have made the switch to digital magazines on your iPad or tablet, I commend you. You are doing our planet good. I, however, love to hold magazines in my hands, dog ear the pages and (yes) stack them on my side table. Sorry.}
I loved this article about 100 Ways to Live to 100. It presented a study that shared advice from centenarians. There are 100 ways listed that could, possibly, lengthen your life.
A few on the list, I am happy to say, were naturally given to me. I was born a woman and had a happy childhood.
Some are just not possible. I wasn’t born in Japan and I am not going to win a gold medal, an Oscar, or the Nobel Prize.
Many I have done or I am already doing. For example, I live in a Blue state, I got married and I have a family, I run {but not too much}, I wash my hands, and I love retail therapy.
Here are a few things I think I can add: practice yoga, don’t dread getting older, keep busy, get a mammogram.
Lastly, I will be sure and remember to move to the Aloha State and not play professional football!
I am walking the boys to school this morning. Wow, did we have an amazing summer. My whole life has been tracked by the school calendar. First as a student, then as a teacher, and now as a parent. Most people set goals at the beginning of the calendar year, but my mind is still geared to self-reflect in September. The kids get a fresh start, why shouldn’t I?
Last year marked the first year both of my kids were in school full-time. A year ago I wondered, now what? I didn’t have any specific goals, just an endless number of possibilities. I did learn to shoot pictures in manual mode and fell victim to Pinterest. However, my garage is still a mess, I didn’t read near enough, and my yoga mat is missing. I was extremely scattered and didn’t have much direction. Has that ever happened to you? My year of recovery {I have called it that since Little Man was born} is over. It is time to set and achieve a few personal goals.
I want to push myself and shoot whimsical, creative pictures. With a few editing skills, they can look ethereal and dreamy. The dust on my guitar needs to be blown off and this girl is going to learn to play it! Having received it when I turned 30, I am determined to play a song on my 4oth birthday. {This one scares me a bit!} We are traveling to Italy in the spring and I am eager to remember the langauge. I was never fluent, but I could hold a conversation in Italian while in college. It has been a long time. {Time to buy Rosetta Stone? What is the best way to learn a language later in life?}
When do you set goals for yourself? Do you find it harder as you get older?
I have been working up to writing a recap of my time at the Altitude Design Summit {ALT} in San Francisco. When my friends eagerly asked about my trip, I instantly answered great! Everyone has been so incredibly supportive and interested in how it went. It was great, but it was also overwhelming. The message I received {loud and clear} was ….I am going to need to work harder than ever. No one is going to hand you anything and it won’t happen over night.
Granted, I didn’t think I would receive a folder labeled, “10 Easy Steps to a Wildly Popular and Successful Blog”. However, my trip revealed that the pathway isn’t a clear straight path. There is no right or wrong way. Just my way. While exciting, that is also a bit daunting. As the fun of summer with my kids is in full swing, I have found that carrying the momentum from ALT home has been difficult. I have a ton of ideas, but not a ton of time to execute. Like any new venture it is one step forward and a few steps backward.
Now for the conference itself! Amazing. Cathie Tosach with Bing shared, “Emotion is in the details.” At ALT they take the details very seriously. From the location {The Fairmont. San Francisco} and hosted dinners and parties, to the sponsors booths and goodie bags. The conference speakers and the attendees inspired me to be creative, driven, dedicated and fearless. While I am not all of those things yet, the message is clear.
Good things come to those who {don’t} wait.
You should always have a few good take-aways from any new experience and this trip is no exception:
1. Cocktail parties are a very intimidating place- even for an extrovert! It helps immensely to have girlfriends by your side, even if you just met them an hour before at dinner.
2. Even established bloggers {Jordan Ferney and Victoria Smith} face the challenge of continually creating inspired and original content.
3. A room full of exceptionally talented and motivated women always makes me smile. {And proud to be a girl!}
4. Pretty sure I want a neon sign in my house. {This one is pure awesome!}
5. If I wasn’t at home full time, I am pretty sure I would want to work at Pinterest. Their headquarters is the coolest space ever.
For my husband’s 40th birthday party, I decided to have a little fun with a press-on tattoo. I ordered temporary ink to wear the night of his party. Easily applied with a wet wash cloth {just like the tattoos you put on little kids}, it was a fun way to celebrate his big day. Aaron was completely surprised and not-so-secretly loved it! That makes me smile.
It is a great gift for your significant other on his or her birthday or your anniversary. Also, wouldn’t it be so sweet for a bride and groom to wear one on their wedding day that only their new spouse will see?
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Joy Cho, from Oh Joy! I read her blog every day and I am blown away by her creativity and talent. Not surprisingly, she was warm, kind, and damn right cute! Her blog represents her perfectly.
Joy was hosting an event at the Seattle [Downtown] Anthropologie to celebrate the opening of their one and only, brick-and-mortar Petites Shop. Petite sections are usually miniscule. Anthropologie went all out. Jeans, dresses, tops, jackets! The choices are endless. [This girl has found her home away from home!] Champagne cocktails, shopping, and treats from Ballard’s Hot Cakes made for a great night out.
PS. Petite girls can rule the world!
I didn’t pack along my big girl camera, so the three images above were snapped with my iPhone. The beautiful images below were taken by Phil Chester Photography.
Do you feel like this? I am not sure why but for some reason…I do. There is this inner voice chanting to me…”It’s gonna be awesome!” There is nothing life changing on the horizon for me this year. No milestone events, anniversaries or birthdays. And that’s why I am so darn excited. I feel like nothing is out of the realm of possibility.
I am not making any resolutions, because I feel like they are always attached to some sort of guilt. The world doesn’t need more people feeling guilty. Our world needs happy, fulfilled people loving life and those around them!
Things I would love in 2013: more glitter, long runs, day trips, finished projects, a home full of joy, getaways with my husband, delicious meals, time alone with each of my boys, no homework, a snow day, time to myself, tons of average moments free of worry, a super hot summer, great books, cups of hand-crafted coffee, strong arms and toned tummy [the tummy is a long shot!], patience, abundant creativity….
What things would you love to come your way this year?
