I Resolve.

I'm not one to faithfully make resolutions at the start of each year, but since my sister pointed out my lack of blogging lately, I thought I'd document 15 of the thoughts-turned-resolutions that have been percolating over the last couple of days.

In 2012, I resolve to...
1. Try one new recipe each week.
2. Bake more, even if that means I'm pawning the goods off at work so we don't eat them ourselves :)
3. Make the most of my evenings by working out in the morning as much as possible to get it out of the way.
4. Pick up the phone a little more often (not to check Facebook or Twitter, but to actually dial some numbers and have some old-fashioned conversation)
5. Say what's on my mind before it turns in to something way messier than it ever needed to be (been working on this one all my life it seems).
6. Intentionally carve out time in my day for the gym, rather than allow it to be an afterthought.
7. Continue enriching my skills by taking on personal projects for fun. Working on a little something right now actually...
8. Go to the movies more than twice. Ha!
9. Take advantage of the stunning outdoors in San Francisco, even when it rains.  Cuz that aint gonna change in 2012...
10. Book a few weekend getaways before our calendars fill up, rather than saying we never have time to go away.
11. Get my photos organized and (gasp!) even print a few for albums.
12. Blog more.  Stop shying away from it. Writing is better than worrying!
13. Make real plans for a beachy vacation; don't just daydream about it. :)
14. Get authentically involved in a local charity (not the one that pays my bills!)
15. Choose gratitude in the hard moments. Let go of what doesn't matter to make room for what does.

C is for Cookie

Next week is the first annual cookie bake-off at work and yours truly has offered to bake a bajillion cookies so that I don't have to be one of the "tasters" and eat my weight in sugar, flour and chocolate.  I need a little help deciding what to bake, so I'm taking a poll - cast your vote in the comments section and I might just send some your way ;)
Edited to add: yes, I said post your vote in the comments section... not Twitter, G-chat and texts.  That means no cookies for Jess, Hillary, and Julia :)

1.  Mom's mint brownies that look a little something like this (and always, always get eaten faster than you can say "miss piggy"):

2. White chocolate dipped cranberry cookies (another "Mom" special... can you see I have big shoes to fill?):

3. Chocolate pecan bars (a la guess who?):

4. "Over-the-top" Reese's Peanut Butter cookies (because nothing is better than chunks of PB cups inside a cookie)

(images via www.realmomkitchen.com and www.drinkwaterkitchen.com)

(i'm HUNGRY!)

Photo Dump

While I sit here developing carpel tunnel syndrome from being connected to my computer like an umbilical cord, I thought I'd give a little visual update of life in San Francisco over the last few weeks.

top row:

neighborhood flower shop

cold hands at work (pre-apartment heat)

first rosh hashanah in san francisco

middle row:

exploring the castro

shopping cart adventures at costco

todd's birthday beerfest

HOLY cow smell! 

bottom row:

fabulous lunch at zuni cafe (minus the clams that squirmed their way through my insides)

colorful san francisco

incredible live music at bridge school benefit

The Only Thing Constant is Change

I guess you could say that the past two months have been full of more changes than constants, so it's rather fitting that my blog has undergone a change of its own (How do you like it? Thank you, Danielle Moss!)

In the middle of August, I quit my job of nearly 7 years to relocate to San Francisco.  It was probably one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever made, because the job was more than just, well, a job.  I was doing what I loved to do under some challenging circumstances, but the point is that it was comfortable.  My parents lived 10 minutes down the road, I had friends all around, I was a newlywed, and life was good. Yes, there were moments of severe panic in the six weeks it took to finish things up at work, pack up our first home (and by home I mean two-bedroom rental) and begin the job search in a less-than-thriving economy.  Oh, there were moments. But slowly I began to realize that people - our parents, family and friends - were far more concerned about this change than we were, and all for good reason.  We were the ones making this conscious choice to leap in to the (unemployed) unknown.  We were the ones who had to make it happen for ourselves.  I was determined to turn all of that worrying energy in to positive energy. Afterall, life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

I’m writing this blog post while I sit in a bustling coffee shop on Chestnut Street.  All around me, there are business meetings taking place, freelancers doing “office” work, mommies (and some very pregnant mommies-to-be), and other people.  Ordinary people doing ordinary people things… like grabbing a mid-day cappuccino, catching up with friends and brainstorming big ideas.  The point is, I love this city life, and didn’t realize how much it makes my heart sing until I moved right on in and became one of these people.  After this, I’ll join two of my college friends for happy hour in celebration of it being Tuesday.  Because that’s what ordinary people do… they get together on a random Tuesday to celebrate life in between all the big stuff.

November is one of my favorite months of the year... so aside from my little blog, I think, pray and hope that other, bigger changes are ahead.  Changes that come in the form of employment. :)  For now, I'm enjoying this life and trying to relish in every minute of unemployed bliss.  I know that one day soon I'll regret all the fear, worry and anxiety that could so easily overcome me if I let it, so I'm doing my best to rise above it.   If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it.  Go out and get busy. -Dale Carnegie

I Just Spent 10 Minutes on www.someecards.com

Am Yisrael Chai

"Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world." -Talmud
In the wee hours of this morning, I woke up to go to the bathroom and before I snuck back in to bed, I couldn't help but open up my laptop to get an update on Gilad Shalit's homecoming.  Before we fell asleep, we were just moments away from receiving confirmation that Gilad was reunited with his family.  It was the most incredible feeling to go to bed not knowing what kind of news we would wake up to, but knowing in my heart that thousands of miles away in the Middle East, some sort of miracle was happening.
You see, I had heard and read it all.  Gilad was tortured.  Gilad was starved.  Gilad was brutally, verbally abused.  Gilad hadn't seen the sun in over five years.  Nobody knew what state he would be in physically, emotionally and mentally, when he crossed the border on to Israeli soil after so much time in captivity.  As the anticipation built after the news that he was to return home, so did the skepticism.  But he had become like a son to an entire nation who so desperately wanted to live to witness the end of his plight, and today history was made.


Welcome home, Gilad.  May you live a long, happy and healthy future...

image via www.jewishjournal.com 

Faith

san francisco, we're coming for you.