3 Cheers for 2009!

2008 was quite a year, wasn’t it?  So many challenging things occurred around the world and here at home, but we made it through.  Some of us just barely, but we ARE here to live again another day.

Personally, 2008 was a pretty good year for me.

• I started on a serious weight loss journey that involved trying the South Beach Diet, medically supervised fasting, Medifast, and finally Weight Watchers.  I lost a lot of weight, but more than that, I gained a whole new perspective about how I wanted to live my life.  I decided I wanted to live in a healthier, happier way.
• I graduated with my Masters in Educational Leadership in May.
• I bought a beach cruiser and rediscovered how much I love riding my bike.  It doesn’t really matter what the destination is; it just makes me feel happy to feel the rush of wind as I pedal as fast as I can, or slowly cruise by.  I love looking at life and the things around me at a bit of a slower pace than normal.  It’s like I’m taking time to breathe when I’m on my bike.
• I went to CTLB’s wedding in Connecticut in August, and I was able to travel all over Massachusetts (Cape Cod, Boston, etc).  It was a trip I had been looking forward to for at least a year and half, and it was awesome.  I can’t wait to go back to  visit CTLB and her new hubby at their new place in Southie (South Boston).
• I made sure that my life had more balance.  I left work at work, which was HUGE for me.  Never before in my life have I had the sense that work is just work (although I love it), but that there is so much more to life than your profession.  I am still working towards figuring out how to define myself past what I do, but I know that will come in time.
• I started cooking for myself. All the time.  Delicious, healthy dinners.  And along the way, I discovered that I not only enjoy cooking, but that I’m really good at it.  I can’t wait to try out a bunch of new recipes (at least 1 a week) in 2009.  (I’ll be writing about those on Bella on the Beach, if you want to check them out).
• I started reading again in earnest, once I no longer had grad school books to read.  I’ve borrowed a ton of books from the library since May, and truly, it has been one of my greatest pleasures.  I even started a book club with some friends, something I had always wanted to do.  I really like the discussions we’ve had about the book choices.  Plus, it’s a great excuse to get a wonderful group of ladies together for an afternoon.
• I organized my life.  Top to bottom.  Floor to ceiling.  I feel in control, at ease, and happy.

Even with all of the positive things that happened to me in 2008, I am really looking forward to 2009 even more.  I have a terrific feeling about this upcoming year.  For myself personally, I think it’s going to be MY year, filled with many new triumphs and discoveries, capped off in October with my 20th high school reunion.  But thinking in a more global sense, 2009 means change.  Change in political leadership in our country, change in our perspective about how we should live our lives, and change in the way we deal with nations and people around the globe.

Tonight, New Year’s Eve, I am a bit sad that I don’t have that traditional “date,” but I know all good things will come in time.  HE is out there, I just have to wait and not settle for the Mr. Maybes of the world who might distract me from HIM.

As we welcome 2009 tomorrow, what is the thing you’re most looking forward to?

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2008: A retrospective

At the beginning of 2008, I posted what I called New ME Resolutions. These were commitments I was going to make to myself, in lieu of making New Year’s Resolutions.  I thought it might be fun to  take a look at each one and see how I did and whether they’re as important to me now as they were then.

1. Get more sleep. This continues to be a struggle for me, although I made great strides in 2008.  My goal was to get to bed my 11PM each night.  I didn’t always make my goal, but I did get a lot closer than I was in the past.  This will continue to be a goal in 2009.
2. Get into a nightly ritual. This involved cooking dinner, washing/putting away the dinner dishes, making my lunch for the next day, washing my face, brushing my teeth, and reading something for pleasure (not for school!!) before finally closing the light at night.  I did great on this goal, most nights.  There were of  course some nights that I was so exhausted that I went to bed without washing my face, or when I fell asleep on the couch, but overall, I did really well on this one.
3. Make exercise an almost daily activity. I had wanted to start Couch to 5K and get to the gym every other day.  This didn’t always happen, but I did make exercise more of a priority.  I bought a bike and found out how much I loved riding it.  I also made going to the gym a much more frequent habit.  I even entered a Turkey Trot.  I still have a ways to go with this goal, but it’s still a priority.
4. Quit smoking. I attempted to quit, signed up for smoking cessation classes through Kaiser with BFF, and stopped smoking for 3 entire days, which was huge for me.   But I picked it back up again, and for now, I’m not going to try to quit.  I know I should, but I’m simply not ready yet.  I have cut way back on smoking, and can go for much longer periods without a cigarette, which is a real improvement.
5. Cook dinner every weeknight. I did really well on this goal.  I didn’t cook every weeknight, but I did it more often than not, and found out how much I enjoy planning, preparing, and cooking for myself.  This will be a goal moving into 2009.
6. Continue to lose weight. I did really well on this goal in 2008.  I’ve changed my entire mindset, lost 4 pants sizes, and feel so much better about myself.  This is my main focus in life right now, and I write about this journey in my weight loss blog almost every day.  Check it out.
7. Live a balanced life. This meant that I need to find a way to balance work, school, and family/friends.  Once grad school ended in May, I did a fabulous job on this goal.  I’m really pleased to say that work is only one aspect of my life now.
8. Explore spirituality. This goal wasn’t a priority for me at all. I’ve decided to live a good life by being a good person, and doing good things for others, which is my version of The Golden Rule.
9. Leave work at work. This was really difficult for me from Jan.-June, but once the new school year started in August, I was amazing with this goal.  I decided to stay after school for 2 hours everyday to keep up with paper work, and vowed not to bring grading home at night or on the weekends.  I’ve succeed completely, except for 2 weekends, during grading periods, which is perfectly fine with me.
10. LIVE life. I definitely accomplished this goal.  I spent so much more time with family and friends in 2008, and started some fun traditions, like Sister Day (where my sis and I get together, just the two of us and hang out).  I hope to do even more LIVING in 2009.

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Seven Pounds (a review of sorts)

Yesterday my sister and I went to see Seven Pounds, the new movie starring Will Smith.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this movie, because the reviews had been mixed.  My local paper gave it 3 out of 4 stars, which is pretty good.  Many other papers, including the SF Chronicle and the NY Times didn’t give it favorable reviews.  But my sister and I love Will Smith, and were intrigued by all of the mystery surrounding the movie, so we decided to risk the $10 and go see it.

It’s really difficult to give much of a review of this movie without giving too much away.  Part of the experience of seeing this film is uncovering just what it’s about.  As I sat in the theatre and watched it, I had moments where I knew exactly what was going on.  And then I had other, more frequent moments, where I felt like I knew nothing.  Toward the middle of the movie, things started to fall into place, and I guessed much of what was going to happen, but I don’t think many could have guessed exactly what was going to happen by the end.

In my humble opinion, this movie is worth your money.  It’s about atonement, doing the right thing, and what being “a good man”/person is all about.  It is one of Will Smith’s most subtly acted, yet strongest performances to date.  Rosario Dawson shows that she’s more than just eye candy.  I liked the disjointed scenes and camera work that Gabriele Muccino uses.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I loved the soundtrack to this movie because it was unobtrusive and light.  So many times in movies the music overtakes the scene, but no so in this film.  One of the best songs to appear in the movie isn’t included in the soundtrack, which is a shame.  It’s Nick Drake’s “One of These Things First.”  Here’s a listen, for those interested:

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Holiday Cheer Abounds

It’s been a fun few days in Bellaland.  Lots of present giving and receiving, great food, good times, and a moment or two to realize how lucky I am.  Truly, very lucky.

I have amazing family and friends who love me and are always there to offer support, encouragement, and a kick in the ass, if necessary.  My life would be nothing without them. And as cliched as that sounds, that really is the best gift of all.

I’m looking forward to going to my great uncle’s house for dinner with all of the extended family – there are going to be over 50 of us there this year, and it will be so much fun to catch up with all those relatives I haven’t seen in a couple of years.

The rest of this week and the next is spread out before me, and I can’t wait to see what I make of it.  It’s so nice to have 2 weeks off with nothing in particular planned.  This way, it gives me the chance to do some things I’ve been wanting to do, but without a strict schedule.  Freedom!

Merry Christmas to All!!

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New Music Discovery – My First Earthquake

Don’t you love it when you discover new music?  Last night as I was online, I found My First Earthquake.  They’re a local San Francisco band, and I’m loving their 80s pop sound.  Their music is so upbeat and fun, and I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to hear them perform live at one of my favorite SF venues sometime soon.

This video was filmed in SF, and shows a few of the beautiful houses The City is famous for.

Enjoy!

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Simple Pleasures

I’ve been thinking a lot about the simple pleasures in life.  Relishing the little things in life that make it special or fill it with joy.

I just finished teaching my classes about Transcendentalism, which is one of my favorite units of the year.  I like teaching the students about philosophy, because most of them haven’t read any before this unit.  Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were masters in reminding us how to live a simple life, unfettered by materialism.

Yesterday was a day filled with simple pleasures for me, and although none were as profound as those espoused by Emerson or Thoreau, they still made me happy.

Comfy yoga pants. Ideally, I would’ve gone to a yoga class yesterday, but I guess I did the next best thing.  Last night I lounged in my new yoga pants that my sister gave me for Christmas. They’re soft, comfortable, and oh so cozy.  I love taking off my more restrictive clothing and putting these pants on.  They’re symbolic of relaxing to me.

Uggs boots. Along the lines of soft, warm, and comfortable, these boots are perfect for the wintry weather we’ve been having lately.  Again, these were a Christmas present from my parents.  Even though I asked for some knock-off brand, they splurged and bought me the real thing, and I couldn’t be more grateful.  It’s so nice to go out in the rainy, cold weather and know that my feet are completely warm and dry.  Cuz when your feet feel good, everything feels good, right?

Fresh, clean, high thread count sheets. I’m on a roll with these warm, cozy Christmas gifts, right?  My parents also gave me a new set of 620 thread count sheets for Christmas (don’t I have a generous family?).  I washed them yesterday and made my bed with them.  All day I was looking forward to climbing into bed and sleeping in these luxurious sheets.  Nothing is better.  Well, ok, maybe having someone to share the sheets with would be nice, but hey, I’m making the best of my singledom.

{If you’re wondering why I’m talking so much about Christmas presents and it’s only the 23rd, that’s because my family celebrated our “Christmas Eve” on Sunday night.  My sister and her husband thought they would stay home on the 24th and get things ready for Santa’s visit to my nieces.  It was nice to extend the holiday this way.  Oh, and in case you’re thinking, “You shouldn’t open presents until Christmas Day.”  We don’t do it that way in my family.  Well, of course we did when we were little and Santa brought the presents, but once we got older, we always opened them on Christmas Eve.  Late at night, after we returned from Midnight Mass.  It is a wonderful tradition that we continue today, minus the Midnight Mass part, most of the time}.

Listening to Christmas music. I know quite a few people who are so inundated with Christmas tunes that they can’t stand to listen to another song, but I am not one of these people.  I love Christmas music, and I think my playlist is awesome.  I have a nice mix of old standbys and newer, lounge music.  My favorite of the moment is Michael Buble singing Grown Up Christmas List.

What are your favorite simple pleasures?

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Break Time!

The past two weeks have been really busy for me.  I’m always busy at school, but the two weeks before break were CRAZY.

It just so happened that I had a journalism deadline AND a yearbook deadline within days of each other.  I’m really strict with my students about meeting the deadlines, no matter what.  In this case, “no matter what” meant staying in my room for the past two weeks, staying at school until 6:30 last Friday (Dec. 12), and going a little nuts when we ran into some technical difficulties.  But, I’m happy to report that both the newspaper and the yearbook deadline were met.  We got rave reviews on the paper, which always makes us feel good.

Couple these deadlines with the fact that I had a set of essays and 2 sets of research papers (think essays, but longer) to grade.  I was determined that I was going to grade these papers before I left for Christmas Break – no matter what.  There’s that phrase again.  This time “no matter what” meant staying up until 2:30AM on Thursday night, waking up at 5AM to continue grading, and still not finishing.  So, I stayed on Friday evening until 5;30 to get them done.  I may have been the last car in the parking lot (teachers clear out early when we have a long break like that), but I am so proud of myself for completely finishing all of the work I wanted to.

Which means I have two weeks off and ABSOLUTELY NO GRADING OR SCHOOL WORK OF ANY KIND TO DO!  (Ok, sorry for the ALL CAPS, but unless you teach high school English, I don’t think you can imagine the feeling of elation I have right now).

So, what am I going to do with myself?

• Read books. For pleasure!  Books like Sundays at Tiffany’s, Pledged: The Secret Lives of Sororities, and A Lion Among Men.  Looking at those titles, I know they sound like quite an eclectic mix, and they are.  Recent books I’ve checked out of the library.  I’m a voracious reader even when life is hectic, but especially when I have some time on my hands.  To see more books that I’ve been reading, you can click on my Good Reads Shelf to the right.
• Catch up on the stacks of magazines that are threatening to overtake my living room. That might be overstating it a bit, since the mags are all neatly placed in a magazine rack, but when I see 4 months worth of Vogue, Vanity Fair, Self, Real Simple, Prevention, and Women’s Health in front of me, I know it’s time to do some light reading.
• Workout or “be active” everyday. Today’s activity was cleaning the house from top to bottom (electric broom and mop the kitchen and bathroom floors, empty the dishwasher, do two loads of laundry, change sheets, clean the bathroom, and vacuum the whole place).  Whew!  I know I probably didn’t burn too many calories, but I did all of that in under 3 hours, and I am sort of sore as I sit here tonight writing this.  It’s been cold and rainy here, so I’m afraid that most of my working out will have to take me to the gym, but that’s ok.  It gives me a chance to catch up on my elliptical and treadmill time.  I am going to start Couch to 5K and see how it goes.  I have a few other activities planned for the new year, but I’ll discuss that more on my weight loss blog.
• Go to the movies. I love movies, but don’t find myself going to many lately.  I think part of it is that my schedule is so busy that I have to pick and choose which movies I have time to see.  There are two movies that I think look very interesting that I’m definitely making time for this vacation: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Seven Pounds.  Seven Pounds hasn’t gotten great reviews, but it intrigues me, and I think it’ll be worth $10 to find out what it’s about.
• Spend time with family and friends. There are so many people I can’t wait to see and spend time with.  I’m sure I’ll post about all the fun ahead.
• Go through my cookbooks. I have lots of healthy cookbooks that I’ve bought or been given in recent years, yet I find myself making my tried and true recipes more often than not.  I want to go through these cookbooks and mark several new recipes to try out in the new year.  I’m hoping to make at least one new recipe a week, just to keep things interesting.

So, there you have it.  Some rough plans for how I want to spend my Christmas Break.  I look forward to this 2-week vacation every year, and yet it always seems to fly by without very much getting accomplished.  I’m hoping that this year, I’ll make it a vacation to remember.

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Back to the Drawing Board

I’m sure that when you read this post about Mr. Done, you thought I was fooling myself.  Or that I was naiive.  Or that I wasn’t paying enough attention to recent history to make better choices.

And you would’ve been right.

You see, Mr. Maybe aka Mr. Done never did take me out on that date.  He called the morning of the date (last Saturday), to tell me that he had woken up with a bad sore throat, a stuffy nose, and a bad cold.  To say I was disappointed is putting it mildly.  To say that I took it well is giving me too much credit.  I was mad that we weren’t going to go out, an emotion that I chose to display as coldness on the phone call.  I told him in a very icy tone that I hoped he felt better, by which I meant, “are you seriously cancelling on me?”  When he said, “maybe we can reschedule for next weekend?,” I responded with another cold, “ya, maybe.  We’ll see.”

I think I was trying to come off as indifferent about the whole thing, and it must have worked.  Mr. Maybe/Mr. Done hasn’t called me.  At all.

Not after I felt guilty about how cold I had been and called him on Tuesday, under the guise of seeing if he felt better.  Not on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.  And not today.

Which leads me now being angry.  At him and at myself.  At him because he’s obviously still a flake who really isn’t ready for anything serious, regardless of his text message about wanting a LTR.  And at me because I gave in to this longing I have to be with someone, even though I knew in my heart that Mr. Maybe/Mr. Done wasn’t the right person for me.

Yes, he and I had fun together.  Yes he “got” me.  And yes, he has a good job and is intelligent.  But while each of those things sounds good on paper, none of them add up to Mr. Maybe/Mr. Done being the right guy for me.  He reminded me this week (in his loud absence) that when he and I were dating the first time, I was always waiting for him.  Waiting for his call, waiting for his attention, waiting for him to show as much interest in me, in us, as I had.  And I’m done waiting for him.

So, I’m back to square one.  Single.  Not that I wasn’t before last week, but I did have this tiny hope that this New Year’s Eve I’d be on a date, beginning a relationship that would be the stuff the dreams are made of.  That all this time spent by myself would have been worth it, because I was finally with someone who really did love me for me.

I don’t want to give the idea that I’m feeling self pity, because I’m not.  Yes, I was rather depressed this past week, but then I realized that I didn’t want to give Mr. Done this much power over my emotions.  He didn’t deserve it.  Plus, I still have so much work to do on myself, with my weight loss, and I think that it might have to be done alone.  Which is not to say that I’m not open to meeting someone while I’m still in the process of losing weight, because I am.  But I’m also ok with being on my own for the duration.

What scares me is the thought that I might be on my own forever.  I’m evolved and self-confident enough to know that if I am single forever, I can lead a happy, fulfilling life.  But there is a huge part of me that knows that I want to be with someone to share my life with.  I want to have a loving, normal, happy relationship with a man who loves me and can’t wait to spend time with me.  I know that I’m still “young” at 37, and that there’s no age limit on finding love and happiness.  I just have to keep my impatience at bay and fill my life with other things that make me happy.

Because you never know who is waiting, just around the corner.

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Book Club, Holiday-style

Friday night my book club got together to discuss our most recent read – Twilight.  We finally gave in to the hype and decided to find out what all the fuss was about.  So many of my female students are ga-ga over this book, and told me how much I would LOVE it.  While I had my doubts, I didn’t want to miss out on reading what has become the Harry Potter of the teenage-girl set.

I read the book thinking that I might not like it.  Anytime anything is overly hyped, I tend to have my doubts.  And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  I didn’t LOVE  the book, but it did capture my attention.  Plus, as many of my book club members pointed out, it did make me think back to my own high school days and how I felt when I had a huge crush on one boy or another.  I do admit that I got a bit tired of the “he’s a vampire and could kill me if he doesn’t control himself” theme that ran throughout.  In fact, at many points I wanted to scream out, “just bite Bella and make her a vampire, already!!!” I thought the plot was inventive and didn’t fall into many of the vampire legend traps that it easily could have.  I thought Meyer was imaginative in the way she described what happened to Edward and his “family” when they were in the sun.  Most of the book club members liked that it was an easy read, and we all decided we were probably going to read the subsequent books.

The book club usually meets at my house, but we decided to go to The Fairmont this time, to revive a tradition we started last year, even before we had created this book club.  A group of my friends met at The Fairmont Hotel’s lobby and had drinks and appetizers.  We chatted, laughed, and once the swing band started playing, danced.  Afterward we looked at Christmas in the Park.  It was a lovely evening.  So this year, we met at the Fairmont again, had some great wine and food, discussed the book, talked about what had been going on in our lives, and also talked about books that we loved.  We didn’t make it out to Christmas in the Park, but since we all live close, we will have plenty of opportunities to see it before the season ends.

One thing we didn’t decide on yet was what book we’re going to read for our next discussion.  Many of us threw out some suggestions, but we all decided we needed to do some research before deciding on a final book to read.  Do you have any suggestions for a good book club book?  Please leave them in the comments, if you do.

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Holiday Cheer

This weekend I decided that it was time to decorate my house for Christmas.  Over the past couple of years I’ve grinched-out, not really doing much for the holidays, in terms of decorating around the home.

This year, I’ve been really in the spirit of the season, much earlier than usual.  I think it might have something to do with all of that online shopping I did last Friday.  🙂

I pulled out my holiday decorations, but didn’t find too much that I could work with.  Yes, I had some great ornaments, but I’d decided that I wasn’t going to go through the hassle of putting up a tree.  (Hey, I’m in the spirit, but not enough so to get pine needles all over the place).

Plus, I had these trees, that I bought on sale last year after Christmas:

In this picture you’ll also see the hurricane and candle I found yesterday at Michael’s, but I’ll get to that in a minute.  Aren’t these trees beautiful?  I took this picture with my iPhone, so the quality isn’t great, but I think you get the idea.

Once I started looking at the few decorations I had to work with, I asked my mom to come over to help me figure out how I should display things.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that my mom should be an interior decorator – she has impecible taste, and has taught me a lot of decorating ideas that I am so thankful for.

After surveying items I had placed around the room, she gave me her stamp of approval, but said that I should probably hit a few stores to get some items with a bit more color.  For some reason, all of the stuff I had was silver and gold – no red or green anywhere to be found (except for the trees).

So, I hit this great marketplace near my house that has lots of stores to fit my holiday decorating needs, including Cost Plus and Michael’s.

At Cost Plus, I found these adorable reindeer: They have little mosaic-like tiles of metallic material on them that glimmer when the candlelight hits them.

I didn’t see anything else I really liked at Cost Plus, which was surprising.  So, I headed to Michael’s to see if I could find a few more items.  Now, some people absolutely adore Michael’s.  I am not one of of those people.  Call me a snob, but I’ve always thought of it as cheesy, trite, and a bit too bargain basement for my taste.  Plus, I’m not all that crafty – creative, yes, but not very crafty.  But, boy was I wrong!  I found so many great things, and everything was at least 50% off; some of the items were 60% off or more. I got a set of 12 red and 12 green votive candles, a bunch of berries on stems to put in my Pottery Barn vases, and a red hurricane and two white pillar candles to go inside it (the 2nd one just in case the 1st doesn’t last too long).

After the marketplace, I went to Safeway to buy some poinsettieas, because my local nursery was already closed, and I didn’t want to wait.  Have I mentioned how impatient I can be?  I bought 1 variegated poinsettiea for inside the house and 2 small red ones for outside in my windowbox.

I think it all looks beautiful, and I’m definitely in the holiday spirit. In fact, last night I put on my Christmas music playlist and enjoyed a glass of red wine, while just taking it all in.

This morning my dad dropped by to put the lights up outside my house – something I’ve never done before, but makes such a difference!  I couldn’t wait for it to get dark today so I could turn the lights on and admire them.

One thing I’m sure of is that decorating for the holidays really does have a positive effect on me.  I’ve felt really happy and lighthearted all weekend.  There really is something to this holiday spirit thing!

Here are the rest of my pictures, enjoy!

The outside of the house, all aglow

The windowbox with the new poinsettieas

Living room wall, with candles lit

Close-up of candles

The variegated poinsettiea

My "mantle"/entertainment center

Pottery Barn vases with "berries" from Michael's

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