Monday, January 26, 2009

Blog love, and some goals

Today's one of those Mondays where I'm embarrassingly behind on the work that pays (some of) the bills and loathe to admit that my workday to-do list isn't nearly as interesting as wedding blogs or today's White House Press Briefing. So in lieu of a fun wedding post, I'm going to take care of some blog housekeeping. I've gotten fun blog shout-outs from two lovely bloggers in the past couple of months: ABCD and Kate. I've neglected to return either compliment, so consider this my amends.

First up, Amy gifted me with a Uber Amazing Blog Award. Thanks, Amy! Besides being our extremely talented invitation designer, Amy is completely delightful to work with and has a fantastic design sensibility that really comes through on her blog. I love seeing someone else appreciate the aesthetic of modern and rustic coming together, and (unlike me) know how to articulate it. Her blog is a daily stop for me.


Next, Kate gifted me with a trifecta of frothy blog awards: Simply Lovely, Truly Beautiful, and Happy New Year, fitting for a fab new friend who is as fun and charming in real life as she is on her blog. Kate oozes wit and sass in exactly the ways I adore, and I can't wait to see how her March wedding comes together, or how that next round of drinks materializes... Thanks, Kate!

As part of that New Year award, I'm supposed to list "Things That'll Rock My Socks off in 2009." Now many of these are obvious - getting married, being an aunt again, etc. But since I never really stated any resolutions for this year, I'm going to use this one to set out a few goals instead. Because goal-meeting = socks rocked, right?

1. Eat more seasonally, with more planning. Some of you know I'm a fairly conscious eater anyway - I try my best to practice what I preach about eating as much locally-grown, humanely treated, organic food as possible, and I love to cook with fresh ingredients. But I know that I can do better, particularly when it comes to eating seasonally. For example, while enjoying some to-die-for heirloom tomatoes in my salad the other day, I heard the voice of Barbara Kingsolver in my ear and knew that January and tomatoes - even heirlooms - come with a price. I'd like to rely more on the farmer's market and less on produce sections, and doing so means adjusting my expectations of variety and making the time to shop smarter. I'd love to become a weekly meal-planner, rather than visiting the market a few times a week. What would it take for me to get there?

2. Shape up and find peace, without obsessing. Like many of us, I am absolutely my own worst critic. I'm more of a health person than a fitness person, but have accepted the role the gym can and should play in my life, particularly with the wedding approaching. While I've been enjoying the results of my amped-up efforts, I'm not sure if that inner critic of mine will ever be silenced. Will I reach a goal? Is there a goal? I'd like to put on The Dress and feel amazing, but regardless of how much working out I do between now and then, will my head ever really let me feel amazing, no matter what others say? I'm not sure, and the more I try and figure out the mind/body balance, the more my only answer is "work harder." I recognize the disconnect there. So... how do I find the peace?

3. Re-focus my career. This is a biggie. For someone who used to be inspired left and right (okay, mostly left) and could've chosen any of several career paths, I'm now sitting inside of one that doesn't excite or challenge me, doesn't utilize my biggest strengths, and leaves me bored and disconnected from communities and positive change. Not fixing this problem has been a decision of logistics more than anything, but when I think seriously about this situation, the fact that I'm wasting time and perpetuating my professional unhappiness is unavoidable. More than that: what are the effects of this situation on other parts of my life? How could everything be enhanced and improved by that big fix? Besides all the big things going on this year, in 2009 I need to take charge of my career again and be proactive about the change I want to see. It's the directive I'd advise to anyone else, and not doing it myself is beyond hypocritical.

Can I tackle these biggies in 2009?

I'll be back soon with something more fun than resolutions, promise. :-)

1 comment:

Confessions of a Northern Belle said...

I've awarded you with the Honest Scrap award - check out my blog for more details!