five years

five years ago i was at a bbq in prospect park.  we had hung out all day to secure a picnic table so that we could grill, drink beers, and listen to bob dylan at the bandshell.  i had a date with a guy scheduled for the following weekend, and i was thinking about canceling because he didn't even live in the city yet.  my friend maggie said i should just go.  so i did.  and five years ago today i went on a first date with some guy who later became my boyfriend.  while maintaining a healthy relationship for that long is a big deal, it made me think about all of the things i've gone through over the past five years and how important they were in getting me to this place.

1. i used to live with two of my best friends.  it was the most fun i have ever had living with roommates and i think the three of us understand each other in a way that no one else will truly understand us.  when i moved out (all the way to the first floor!) they stayed upstairs and poof! i got to feel like i lived in a college dorm again.  running down the hallway in pajama pants and a pint of ice cream. knocking on each other's doors. gathering for game of thrones viewing parties.  they just moved into their own apartments at the beginning of the summer and it was really hard for me--much harder than when i moved downstairs.  for the first time since i graduated from college i felt like: ok, time to live how most adult humans live.

2. the year before mike and i started dating i got a new job and i loved it. then i liked it a lot.  then the structure of the job--i went from working in one location to working in another while still part of the same company--and i liked it ok.  this past year though...yikes.  i was so unhappy and stressed. i didn't even realize that i was depressed until i began describing how i felt to friends.  i was browsing through my journal and realized that i had decided to make a change as early as october of last year.  flash forward and i am now getting ready to work at my dream school.  over the course of five years i've come full circle and i know that, work wise, i am finally in the right place.

3. i finally went back to school and worked my butt off to get my masters while also teaching full time. the last semester was emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting but now i feel like all of that time and energy was worth it.

4. i went from not being sure if i should go on a date with someone, to hanging out with him occasionally, to being his girlfriend, to living with him.  who knew that someday he would become my favorite person.

cheers to five years of getting to hang out with this guy:

rain delay

my summer is winding down and i am starting to see the end of what had previously seemed neverending.  i went a little stir crazy right before i went to vegas and i felt like it was time to return to work and get back on a schedule.  then i had vegas, followed by florida, followed by a week of working in my classroom and carrying out plans i had made weeks before.  to top all of this off, there was an issue with my clearance to work.  it wasn't anything major, but it made me feel really uncertain. i felt 90% sure the problem would be resolved, but the 10% that didn't really had a field day with my emotions.  i'm fairly certain that everyone waiting in the terminal at grand central friday evening thought i was going to a funeral or breaking up with my boyfriend--that is the caliber of red nosed sobbing that was happening.
i woke up this morning to total gloom outside--and a phone call telling me i had been cleared for work! i cannot describe the relief i felt.  i had so many plans today, including a yoga class that would help me cross off one of 101 in 1001, but i decided to just take the day to relax and be thankful.  i did some laundry, read my book, and caught up on some television.  it is 1:00 and i am still in my pajamas and i don't care.  tomorrow will be beautiful and i'll go out and do things, but for today i'm just appreciating my last few weeks of laziness.

101 in 1001

there is little i love more than making to-do lists and getting organized and setting goals for myself.  unfortunately, i do not always feel the same excitement about working towards those goals.  i have a tendency to give myself too much to accomplish, or i forget about them as time goes on.  i saw a 101 in 1001 list on design darling, and was immediately inspired to create my own.  the list is large enough to allow for both large and small to-dos, but it doesn't end on december 31st  like a new year's resolution, so you have plenty of time to accomplish what you want to.  i just started, but i like the fact that i can focus on one or two goals at a time.  the ones in italics are ones that i am currently working on.

May 5, 2016

Go to London
2.     Go to the top of the Empire State building
3.     Go to the Liberty Science Center
4.     Go on a road trip
5.     Visit a state I’ve never been to Michigan! Completed October 2013
6.     Rent a beach/lake house/cabin with friends
7.     Visit the New York Public Library in Bryant Park
8.     Take the Roosevelt Island tram
9.     Do a Brooklyn Brewery tour (with Dad!) Completed September 2013
10.  Take a circle line cruise
11.   Go to Brooklyn Boulders
12.  Go to Museum of Moving Image
13.   Go camping in a tent or cabin
14.   Go ice skating
15.   Go for a hike
16.  See a Broadway show by going to tkts
17.   Take a trapeze class
18.  Sneak into a second movie for a “double feature”
19.  Go to Shake Shack
20. Visit Erica in Baltimore
21.  Ride my bike into Manhattan
22. Go to a trivia night
23.  Go to brunch in Manhattan
24.  Go home for a random weekend just to hang out with my parents
25.  Go to a hockey game

26. Take a yoga class Completed August 2013
27.  Run a 10k
28. Take a pilates reformer class
29. Go to a personal trainer Completed first session August 2013
30.  Comfortably wear a two piece
31.   Run at least two 5k races and improve my time
32.  Run more than 5 miles
33.  Find a general practitioner
34.  Go to the gym 2x per week for three months straight
35.  Try meditation
36.  Go to a SoulCycle class
37.  Get 8 hours of sleep every night for a week
38.  Take a vitamin daily for one month
39.  Give up soda for one month
40.   Drink 64 ounces of water every day for a week Completed August 2013
41.   Fit into one or both of the modcloth dresses I purchased two years ago
42.   Wash my face, apply eye cream, serum and moisturizer every night for two weeks Completed August 2013
43.  Do a pull-up
44.  Book an appointment at Great Jones Spa Completed November 2013
45.  Keep track of miles I run (jog) and run 500 by the time my 1001 expires


46.  Do a “30 day” challenge
47.  Do a photo-an-hour challenge (once per month) for 6 months
48.  Perfect Mom’s sauce recipe—meaning, make it like her!
49.  Make a dish from things purchased at the farmer’s market
50.  Try one new recipe a month
51.   Roast red peppers with Aunt Anita
52.  Watch all of the AFI top 100 movies released since 1960
53.  Start and maintain a blog with at least three posts per week
54.    Read 25 books per year (15/25 so far in 2013)
55.  Read 10 “classic” books
56.  Watch Battlestar Galactica
57.  Watch Six Feet Under
58.  Perfect a signature cocktail
59.  Visit a braid bar
60. Try acupuncture
61.  Participate in a multi-course tasting menu
62. Read 5 books on my shelf that I have never read (1/5)
63.  Get my makeup done professionally and then buy one of the products used
64.  Carve a jack-o-lantern
65.  Read the Sunday New York Times for one month
66. Use my point and shoot camera more
67.  Create a photo book with digital photos
68. Donate money to 3 friends who are collecting for charity (2/3)
69. Review 20 restaurants or bars on yelp-positive and negative!
70.  Write in my journal 2x per week for 2 consecutive months
71.   Write daily intentions for one month
72.  Get fresh flowers for our apartment every week for a month
73.  Wear jewelry to work every day for a month
74.  Develop a makeup routine and wear it to work for a month
75.  Complete the stocking of our “bar cart”
76.  Get a matching pajama set

77.  Host a game night
78.  Host a dinner party
79.  Send 50 handwritten notes
80. Reconnect with Kellee
81.  Go on a romantic picnic with Mike—with picnic basket, wine glasses, etc
82. Send out Christmas cards one year
83.  Create an address book on my computer
84.  Host a girls only slumber party
85.  Send someone a care/surprise package
86. Send 5 postcards from vacation
87.  Get a new library card
88. Put $100 from each paycheck into savings
89. Track my spending for one month
90. Develop a monthly budget
91.  Fix up backyard
92. Upgrade to iPhone 5 Completed November 2013
93.  Pay off my American Express bill
94.  Get black boots stretched
95.  Get gold bracelet fixed
96. Subscribe to HGTV and Glamour
97.  Back up photos, music and important documents onto an external hard drive
98. Put $10 in savings for every goal completed
99. Get a new Social Security Card
100.  Get a New York License
101.  Pay my monthly student loan bill for 6 months even though I don't owe right now