A Christmas Miracle: A New Blog Post!

Hello dear readers -- (I know there are at least 3 of your out there, because you each expressed your concern that I hadn't written anything in a while). Anyways, what can I say, it was a busy fall!

In summary, I ran my half marathon as promised, and finished with the time of 2:11.27, just at my goal pace of 10 minutes per mile. Even though it was cold and raining by the end of it (and I started hyperventilating at about mile 9), it was an overall good experience and I am tentatively planning to do another one in the fall. I've been asked several times if a spring half marathon is in the cards. NO. I've officially been on a running sabbatical since the day after my half marathon, save for a few "fun" races: The Tir Na Nog Oktoberfest 8k (costumes, running, beer, and friends on a perfect fall afternoon; what could be better?) and the SPCA Santa Paws 5k that I ran with Barkley (surprisingly, he ran the whole time - amazing!). We finished at right around a 10 minute pace; way faster than expected considering Barkley is not normally much of a runner.

Me and Barkley with the "celebrity" Santa

Oh yeah, and I got engaged and bought a Condo too. And took a trip to Albuquerque and Boston, and MOVED, which is official the most exhausting thing ever. So it's been a little busy. Thankfully Christmas is almost here, which means 2 weeks of relaxation by the fire/beach, just as soon as I can get myself packed for a multi-stage trip involving multiple climates.

More to come in the new year, with a goal to write more "quick & dirty" posts instead of long, thoughtful post that take hours to write, which never actually get written because I'm too preoccupied by the idea that they will take too long to write. Hence, less is really more.

With love to you all, and to all a Merry Christmas :)

Kindred Spirits

With school starting back for many folks, and everyone else begrudgingly returning for vacation, I've been thinking it might be time for another goals update.  I really like sharing my goals - I think it helps me stay focused on what I want out of life instead of just letting life pass me by.  And recently I've found a couple kindred literary spirits that have  inspired me in terms of structuring and sharing these goals.  Since these kindred spirits aren't actually personal friends of mine, but rather writers from the larger community, I'd encourage my readers to also take a look at their blogs.

12 Months of Lent, by Danne Dzenawagis, which I found via a post on Lululemon (yes, I am a total yoga groupie), is a blog through which Danne shares her progress on monthly goals (a.k.a, "lents") to focus on areas of her life that she wants to improve and/or enrich. For example, June & July were dedicated to spending every Tuesday with her "Grammy" transcribing her family's history. This month, she is focusing on sticking to a strict budget (no credit card!), and finding ways to save money. 

I love this idea of constantly improving oneself -  not just in big ways, but in small, yet meaningful ways. If only I could come up with an equally catchy title for my blog. Any suggestions? Also inspiring is the regularity with which Danne post to her blog: 1-2 times per week. Yikes, I need to improve. Ah, ha - a goal for September! 

Meanwhile, I am plugging along at my revised goal to read two books per quarter. Since my last update, I've read:

(1) the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay , by Suzanne Collins (amazing!), and

(2) a classic that I missed reading in high school: The Great Gatsby,  by  F. Scott Fitzgerald - good, but not a page turner (sorry literary friends). However, I did find it interesting to read about how life was back in the 1920's in the suburbs of New York. At least I am up to speed on "essential" American reading now (phew!). 

Currently I am reading: 

(3) The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun , by Getchen Rubin (also a blog!).

Although Gretchen's book doesn't really focus on "goal setting", the idea of doing things (that you maybe wouldn't otherwise do) with intention is certainly a focal point to her happiness project. Regardless of how you define happiness (it will most definitely be different for each individual), a key component to that happiness is feeling like you're getting something DONE (ie, reaching goals). So the logic follows that the more [attainable] goals you set for yourself, the happier your will be. It makes a lot of sense. 

I love the idea of blogging, but I am interested in many things, so it has been hard for me to really commit to one subject matter. Today: Goals! Tomorrow: Travel! Next week: DIY projects! But I know all the best blogs have a clear purpose; to Danne and Gretchen, I am thankful for your inspiration. 

Bon Bini na Curacao

Bon Bini  means "welcome" in Papiamentu - the local language in Curacao, which combines elements of Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese French and English. More on that later, but first, a bit about our "bon bini" to Curacao :).

June 30, 2012 - It was pitch black outside when our flight touched down at 8:30 PM at the Curacao International Airport . One of the unfortunate downfalls to visiting the southern Caribbean in the summertime is that the days are actually shorter than they are in North Carolina. Being located so close to the equator means that days are equal length throughout the year, with a standard 12 hours of daylight year round.

Despite our on-time arrival, there was quite a bit of trouble getting the jet bridge out to our aircraft. Apparently the jet bridges were a recent additional to this small Caribbean outpost and the staff was not well initiated with the operation of these new gadgets. After a 30 minute effort to get the jet bridges to operate properly, it was decided that we would deplane the old-fashioned way. And I can't say I was disappointed; there is something timeless about deplaning by stairs. Yes, it can be a bit of a hassle, but it's hard not to feel just a tiny bit important; like someone might snap your photo at anytime. Heck, that's how all the celebrities seems to exit an airplane! A pleasant tropical breeze greeted us as we stepped off the plane into the humid night air. The temperature was a comfortable 80 degrees, and as we walked down the stairs and along the tarmac, it began to sink in that we had arrived in paradise. 

We passed through immigration and customs without much fuss, quickly collected our bags, and were immediately plopped back outside into the fresh air. I was surprised by the low-key group of taxi drivers that greeted us at the curb. In Mexico (along with every Latin American country I've been to), the taxi drivers bombard you with offers for their services and the whole procedure can feel quite overwhelming. This was certainly not the case here; we actually had to look around a bit to locate the taxi stand.  Once we made our intentions know, we quickly secured a driver who quoted us a fair price for the 20 minute ride into town and we were headed off into the night along the quiet road leading away from the airport.

Our route into Willemstad (the capital and only real "city" on the island) took us along narrow paved roads through both industrial and residential areas. We drove along a simple two-lane road that was periodically lit by dim street lights, passed a few roadside eateries here and there, and eventually came upon the Royal Dutch Shell oil refinery perched along the shores of the prominent Sint Anna Bay. The street lights became more frequent, and the buildings taller as we entered into the commercial zone and city center, which was alive with folks out and about enjoying their Saturday evening.

 View of the  Otrobanda neighborhood across Sint Anna Bay in Willemstad, Curacao.

The Journey [to Curacao] is The Destination

June 30, 2012 - Boarding the airplane in Miami, we got our first glimpse of the diversity we would see in Curacao. It was impossible to generalize about our fellow travelers; we were already hearing several different languages being spoken, and skin complexions ranged from pale white northern European to dark African tones. There were a few Americans here and there, but none stood out as novice travelers. In any case, it was a very different group than I had traveled with on my last flight to Cancun :).

Several folks I've chatted with about our trip to Curacao were surprised to learn how easy it is to get there. Indeed, this was a key reason for selecting it among other destinations in the Caribbean.  American Airlines offers twice daily flights seven days a week, and it is a relatively quick three hour plane ride from Miami. Despite the ease of arriving in Curacao, part of its allure (to me at least) was its obscurity in the American psyche; very few Americans have any real perception of where Curacao is, let alone what type of culture exists there. This may change in the coming years as the Curacao turism board looks to grow the tourism business (their efforts were on display in a recent episode of The Bachelorette that was set in Curacao - Youtube "sneak peak" is here if you can't stand a full episode), but for now it remains a unique little island off the coast of Venezuela with a diverse mix of cultural influences and a limited number of American tourist.

Go before everyone finds out about it!

Vacation! But First, A Derecho!

Well, I'm happy to report that our vacation to Curacao was a great success! It was a whirlwind week of fun-in-the-sun in the Caribbean, and I've finally found some time to share a few anecdotes from the trip. There are so many aspects of the the experience that I'd like to blog about, but I'll start with sharing a little excitement from Day 1.

June 29, 2012 - The trip started out with an eventful drive up to D.C. on Friday night due to an unexpected line of summer thunderstorms with hurricane force winds that quickly swept across the midwest and slammed the east coast mid-way through my 4-hour drive. After learning that the storms were approaching, I exited the main highway (I-95), and started up US 1 in hopes of avoiding the worst of the storm traffic. Soon thereafter, the wind picked up and leaves and other small debris started to fly across the road. It began the rain heavily, and the frequency and size of debris increased as well. The placement of the debris was difficult to anticipate and the conditions made for highly unpredictable driving. I decided to pull over, but even that choice brought potential danger as I saw the large pine trees teetering overhead. I eventually opted for a spot with minimal tree cover, tuned the radio to a "calming" classical station and put it on full blast to block out the crazy storm sounds whirling all around my lightweight vehicle. The worst of the storm passed about 10 minutes later, but the effects of the storm continued to be felt along the remainder of my route as downed trees blocked portions of the highway and slowed traffic considerably. Finally, I made it to my destination safely (albeit 2 hours later than I had anticipated), and we were able to catch our 1pm flight the next day without any issue. We later learned that the line of thunderstorms was actually a derecho, and that millions of D.C.-area residents were without power for several days afterwards (in 100-degree heat!). Our escape to 85-degree weather couldn't have been better timed :).

The Hunger Games Spell

I've been reading a lot lately. Well, let me be more specific: I've been reading a lot of young adult fiction lately. Yes, the Hunger Games Trilogy has me under it's spell. I must say, I wasn't expecting this. I heard the hype, but I didn't believe I would like the books this much. The past few young-adult fiction crazes that have captured the attention of my demographic haven't exactly had me spellbound (i.e., The Twilight Saga and Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy). Not since the Harry Potter Series have I been this attached to a group of fictional characters in a book.

But really, it's the escapism aspect that has drawn me in. It is a different type of escapism than the kind I find in most of the books I read. Unlike the scenarios relayed in a funny travelogue or juicy memoir, I can't begin the identify with the situations faced by the characters in The Hunger Games. This means less time for self reflection and more time to get lost in the story. And sometimes this is a good thing.

So I've spent the last couple weeks totally lost in a cloud of the Hunger Games world; sneaking in a chapter  over my lunch break and even steaming a few audio chapters from YouTube played via Bluetooth on my car audio. Yes, it is a getting a bit out of hand. It's all I can do to wait the 5-7 days standard shipping time until the third book, Mockingjay, arriving from Amazon. But no sense rushing things, because after that book is read, I'm sure to feel the heavy loss that comes with finishing a beloved series. What shall I read next? Some have suggested Fifty Shades of Grey. But I am a bit skeptical. Comments?

Meanwhile, a full update on my reading list so far for 2012:
(Note:  it's only JUNE and I've already completed my one book/quarter goal for the year. Guess I'll have to up the ante to TWO books per quarter...Go.Me.)

Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses   By Claire Dederer
A great read for any yogi, but especially for young Moms or for those of us who enjoying hearing Mom stories in hopes of one day 'figuring it all out' before we are faced with the daunting task of being a Mom. I picked up this book on a whim at Target. Well, sorta a whim - the title interested me, so I flipped through a few pages and was intrigued (but didn't buy). On my next trip a week later, I gave in. I love how it's structured: each chapter relates a yoga pose to what was going on in the author's life; gradually telling the story of how she went from a new mom, to nearly loosing her sanity (and marriage), to how she found peace and balance in life through yoga. I gained a new perspective on my yoga practice and it was a refreshingly honest reminder that no one has a perfect life; being happy is learning to focus on the things that matter and to accept things you cannot change.


Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home   By Rhoda Jenzen
Recommended (and mailed) to me by my dear friend Sarah (thanks, Sarah!), this is a memoir about the author's experience of returning to her Mennonite roots after a rocky divorce (her husband ran off with a guy he met on gay.com). It was an interesting book (definitely learned a few things about the Mennonite culture that I wouldn't have known otherwise), and funny at times (although not LOL funny). I sorta felt like the author was a bit huffy about all that had happened to her and her current predicament (unfortunately, the book does not end with a hopeful romance for our heroine).

The Hunger Games  (Book 1)   By Suzanne Collins
The setting for this book is a bit complicated to describe in passing. It is the future (we're not exactly sure when; one assumes +/- 75 years after the 2012 near-apocalypse). The landmass formerly known as the United States is the location (our heroine is from Appalachia - the coal mining district). The Capital (now located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains) has dominated since the time of the near-appocolypse (if you've seen the movie 2012, you'll have a good guess as to why). The Capital now holds yearly "Games" in which a boy and a girl from each of the 12 districts must go and fight to their death. Sounds exciting, right? Well, it is.

Catching Fire  (Book 2)   By Suzanne Collins
Second installment of this highly addictive series. Basically cleaning up the mess that was created by Book 1. These books definitely read as a series. Once you read #1, you might as well just go out and buy #2 and #3, because the endings of #1 and #2 are completely inconclusive.

The Joys of Summertime: Curacao + A Half Marathon

Summertime is upon us! We've had some truly great weather recently, with temperatures generally peaking at or below 80 degrees. Really a blessing compared with years past when it wasn't uncommon to see several days in the 90's during May. I have been taking full advantage; keeping my windows open during the day and enjoying long walks with Barkley in the evening.

Mr. Barkley, out enjoying the nice weather

Meanwhile, my summer calendar is really filling up quick. We've gotten our summer vacation plans squared away - Curacao was the winner from my previous post, so looking forward to that in early July. We'll be staying on the western end of the island, in Westpunt, which is about 40 minutes away from the capital of Willemstad and considered the "quiet" side of the island. Apparently all the best beaches are located here, and it's supposed to have a very "small town" vibe, with only a hand-full of restaurants and limited lodging options, most of which are apartment-style vacation rentals. The place we're staying at, Marazul Dive Resort, was rated #1 on TripAdvisor for places to stay in Curacao. Marazul is a collection of individually owned seaside villas perched atop a small cliff, with stairs leading down to the ocean for easy access to snorkeling and diving. We rented ours through Vacation Rental By Owner (www.vrbo.com) - a website I had seen in passing while looking for a ski condo this past winter, but never really taken seriously. However, I must say I have been quite impressed with our rental experience thus far. I received a response to my initial inquiry from the owner within the hour, along with with a detailed description of the condo and pricing for our stay. I followed up with a phone call the following night, which resulted in a nice chat about the condo and logistics for our arrival. The owner then sent me a detailed "Arriving in Curacao" packet, with helpful information about All Things Curacao; on par with the advice you'd find in a guidebook, but much more personalized. Needless to say, I am a bit excited for our next adventure! 

Marazul Dive Resort (source: http://www.marazuldiveresort.an/)

In other news, I signed up for my first half marathon - the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon on October 7th! The route follows the capital area greenway along the Potomac River near Washington, DC area,  starting at Mt. Vernon Estates in Virginia, and ending at National Harbor, Maryland. I still need to finalize my training plan, but am thinking I'll need to start training in early July after our vacation to Curacao. Not really looking forward to the 7am (6am?) wake-up calls that will be required to "beat the heat" for my long runs in July & August, but I am looking forward to having a goal to train towards, and to push myself to do something new. Unlike the 5k runs I've done in the past, I know I won't be able to "wing-it" for 13.1 miles, so it sounds like I will be spending quite a bit of my time in late summer running in the shade of Umstead Park. BRING IT!

[Source: http://www.runwashington.com]

Goals vs. Reality

Somehow, it's already May (!!!), and that means that we're already 1/3 of the way through 2012. Hard to believe, but it got me thinking about the goals I set for myself back in January. With summer just around the corner, I've come to the realization that my "free" weekends are going to be few and far between for the next few months. I love being busy, but it's made me realize that in order to accomplish all the things I set out to do at the beginning of the year, I'm really going to have to get moving on making my goals a reality. I'm not sure how many of my friends/acquaintances actually read this thing, but part of the reason I'm putting my goals up here is so you guys can hold me accountable; so please - call me out if I start slacking :). I was going to list all my goals, but apparently I am a little long-winded, so I'll start with my Health & Fitness Goals for now.

Goal #1: Yoga 2x per week (1 paid class/1 free class)

Reality: Yoga 1x per week. As much as I'd like to get more yoga into my schedule, I've realized it's just not possible with my other commitments. AND THAT'S O.K.

Goal #2: Running (>30min) or walking/hiking (>1hour) at least 2x per week.

Reality: I'm walking all the time with my dog, so the walking part of this goal is easily achievable. It's the running part that's tricky. I've been getting 1 run/week in fairly consistently, but realize I really need to get 3 runs in per week to be at my desired fitness level.

Plan for achieving my goal: Designate specific days of the week as "run" days. Participate in weekly "run clubs"; make plans to go running with friends (establish an "acountabilibuddy"); bring run gear with me and change at work so I can't get distracted once I get home.

Goal #3: One bike ride per month (>10 miles).

Reality: I've only been on ONE bike ride this year :(. I love a good road ride, but it requires a big time commitment and plans can easily be thrown off by inclement weather or severely limited by the cold short days of winter. I'm starting to think I might have to tame my ambitions and revise my goal to one bike ride per quarter. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to find time for more biking next year.

Goal #4: Compete in at least one event per quarter (running race, triathlon, etc).

Reality: Does the SPCA K9-3K Dog Walk count? Well, in my book it does :). This goal is as much about the community & fundrasing aspect as it is about the exercise & competition aspect. The SPCA K9-3K was an excellent event, and I was happy to be able to bring together a small team of fellow dog lovers to raise money and awareness for the cause. Go Team Barkley! I do want to do a few more races this year, but I haven't found the next event (if you know of any fun races for a good cause, let me know!). One race I do have my eye on is the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for arthritis in December, which was a great event last year.

Sea of Dog Walkers at the SPCA K9-3k in Raleigh

Goal #5: Train & run a half marathon

Reality: I know this will require some dedicated training, but I still think it is a very achievable goal. Currently researching potential races and investigating training plans. Looking to complete this by Nov. 4th (end of daylight savings) at the latest.

Goal #6: Attend 1 yoga workshop per quarter (attend 1 out of town retreat or other all-day event).

Reality: No workshops attended so far, BUT I have been trying out several new styles of yoga, which has helped to improve my practice and exposed me to a new community of yogis in Raleigh. Thanks to Groupon (or was it Living Social?), I tried out a new downtown yoga studio - Vault Yoga - during the month of February (you can read my Yelp review here), and also attended a few Anusara ("heart opening") Yoga classes with the ever-insightful Lila Rasa Brown at Evolve, which were quite different than the Prana Flow classes I had been frequenting for the past year.

I'm only just now starting to appreciate how different the various styles of yoga really are; I used to think that the only type of yoga worth doing was the really athletic type (generally classified as vinyasa flow), but I have since come to appreciate more thoughtfully paced classes that focus on alignment and/or relaxation. My favorite classes are still the sweaty, fast-paced classes that challenge me with new and exciting arm balances and inversions that seem impossible at first, but become achievable through consistent practice.

Plan for achieving my goal: I have already signed up for a 3-hour workshop at Evolve this month, but I don't think additional local workshops will be a priority for me. I've realized that the main things I want to get from this goal is to (1) increase my involvement in the yoga community (2) expand my yoga practice by refining and improving my technique (3) challenge myself by taking my practice outside my comfort zone.

It is easy to get attached to a particular style of yoga or to become comfortable with a certain teacher/yoga studio. I like this feeling of belonging, and that is a big part of the reason I consistently go to the same studio and attend the same classes. However, through this goal, I want to break out of the routine. To grow. To have a story to tell.

So, I'm really focusing on finding an out-of-town retreat where I can do these things. As much as I'd love to fly off to India or Thailand or someplace über exotic like that, it's just not going to be feasible from a budgetary stand point. I've only done some preliminary research, but I'm intrigued by this option: http://www.yogaville.org/. Apparently Yogaville is a nationally recognized Ashram located near Charlottesville, Virginia. YES, an Ashram; like the one Liz went to in Eat. Pray. Love. Y'all know what I'm talking about. Too hippie? I haven't quite decided yet, but it just might be perfect :).

Goal #7: Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.

Reality: This goal alludes me like no other. It should be easy! Why am I so challenged by the concept of going to bed before midnight! It's not even like I have insomnia - I fall asleep just fine. There's just so many other fun things to do at night; like catch up on blogging!

Plan for achieving my goal: A schedule. Yes, a very detailed timeline of events that must happen in order for me to get to bed by midnight. Home by 7:30. Dog walk by 8:30. Dinner by 9:30. Limit computer time to 1 hour. Allow some time to "chill" by watching an episode of House Hunters International. Read a little. Despite my best efforts, I am not having the best success sticking to the schedule. But at least I have plan :). Next week for sure.

Vacation Plotting

Lately I've been spending a lot of time plotting out my next vacation. For me, it is an all-consuming process, but I love it. I love researching the options, learning everything I possibly can about a place, finding the best deals, and selecting the perfect combination of location, hotel and flight to make for an unforgettable vacation.

Of course the first step in this process determining where in the world to go, and there are nearly always constraints involved. Time can be a consideration, but in this case I am planning to take a full week off from work (9 days total, including weekend), so plenty of time to go just about anywhere my budget allows. While not set in stone, I am thinking that the week of July 4th would be the optimal time to take this week off, mainly because July 4th falls on a Wednesday this year and I will already have that day off (thereby saving a vacation day). As I mentioned in a previous post, the places that initially topped my list were the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver/Seattle/Portland), and Northern Europe (Sweden, specifically); partly because I have good friends living in each of those locations and partly because those are two regions I have never visited before. However, a quick search on Kayak.com (my favorite flight search engine) reveals that airfare prices to Europe during the summer months are ridiculously expensive, and totally out of my budget. So, Pacific Northwest? 

Then there is the question who you will be traveling with and what their preferences are. While I like to think of myself as a fairly independent person and savvy traveler, I do not enjoy vacationing by myself.  I've done the solo-vacation a couple times before; back in college, before I owned a digital camera (hence no pictures here). Honestly I'm still surprised my parents agreed to let their 19-year-old daughter spend a week in southern Spain and Portugal, and then again as a 22-year-old traveling around Italy for a week. Don't get me wrong - these were both amazing trips! And because I was by myself I got to do exactly what I wanted each and every day. However, traveling alone gets lonely pretty quickly - especially at meal time. Been there. Done that. Conclusion:  I can be flexible about where/when/how to travel if it means I get to travel with people I care about. 

So I suggested the idea of a Vancouver/Seatte/Portland trip to my boyfriend-come-travel companion and got a lukewarm response - he wanted to go someplace TROPICAL. Okay, I get it...the Pacific Northwest isn't the most glamorous spot for a vacation. And we certainly wouldn't be coming home with a suntan. In contrast, the visual images conjured up by the prospect of a beach vacation are certainly tempting: a  piña colada on a white sand beach, gazing onto turquoise blue waters with the sun shining down overhead. But in July? Won't it be hot? What about the hurricanes? 

July is definitely the off-season for the Caribbean, but as I've learned from my research, that doesn't mean it's a bad time to visit. Temperatures are fairly consistent year-round, so it's only a few degrees warmer during the summer. Hurricanes can be a concern, but July is really only the start of the hurricane season, and any that do form this time of year are more likely to affect islands that fall within "the box". The U.S. and British Virgin Islands are inside the box, along with several other  islands in the Lesser Antilles, so those were quickly eliminated from our list of possibilities. The Dominican Republic and The Bahamas were also crossed off the list since I had visited those islands on previous trips. 

Accessibility has turned out to be a major factor in narrowing down our list of posiblities. Many islands in the Caribbean do not have direct flights from the U.S., which often means an extra day of travel (and added expense) to get to those places. If we were traveling on a larger budget, these remote options would be a very intriguing option. Several interesting places such as Tobago, The Grenadines, St. Vincent and Bonaire were eliminated from the list of possibilities for this reason. 

Still up for consideration: Curaçao, Jamaica and Barbados. Each of these destinations would be interesting in their own right. Now it comes down to deciding how much we value a unique adventure (Curaco) over a relaxing all-inclusive (Jamaica), or if possibly Barbados will win out with better flight connections and the promise of good weather. Lots of factors to consider, which hopefully we'll sort out over the next few weeks. The adventurer in me is routing for Curacao. The lazy vacationer in me is routing for Jamaica. The budget traveling in me is telling me to just run the number and pick the cheapest one. But it's not that simple :). Thankfully I have the community of reviewers on TripAdvisor to provide helpful tips and photos on a level of detail I wasn't aware existed (really an amazing resource for planning any trip). And of course my handy library-issue guide books: Frommer's Caribbean 2011 and Fodor's Caribbean 2012 (I couldn't imagine planning a vacation without one!). 

Willemstad - Capital City of Curacao (Source: Wikipedia)

Montego Bay, Jamaica (Source: Wikipedia)

Chirst Church, Barbados (Source: Wikipedia)

My Recent Obsession: IKEA

Or more specifically, making IKEA products look even more awesome than they do in the store. And wouldn't you know it, there is an entire website dedicated to such an obsession: http://www.ikeahackers.net/. OH YES THEY DID. Unless you're planning to spend your next few weekends attempting to complete ridiculously complicated projects, I suggest you resist the urge to click on the aforementioned link. But when it's cold outside, sometimes you just need a nice, solid, time-consuming projects to sink your time (& money) into. All in the name of HOME IMPROVEMENT. Such were the circumstances that led to my recent projects.

PROJECT #1 - Modern/Organic Curtains for less than $30 
 DIGNITET Curtain Wire & Clips from IKEA +  6' X 9' Canvas Dropcloth from Lowes, for a total cost of 12.99 (wire system) + 4.99 (clips)  + $10.98 (drop cloth) = $28.96; hard to beat for a complete window treatment.

I wanted a clean, simple window covering that was both modern (clean lines) and organic (good texture, natural pallet). I had been admiring various components of this window treatment since spotting them on Pinterest a few weeks back:

• Clip drapery rings that can turn any piece of fabric into "curtains" (available at Target)
• Using a painter's drop cloth as a curtain:  Shabby Love, one of the many DIY blogs I attempt to emulate, has a great  Drop Cloth Shower Curtain Tutorial. 
• Not implemented here, but my original plan was to paint on a yellow chevron pattern, as shown by Kristen F. Davis Designs in her Chevron Curtain DIY post. Although I still love the idea (and already purchased the paint!), I determined that it just didn't fit with the existing design elements in this space.

PROJECT #2 - Sleek, Modern, All-wood bed frame for less than $100
Full/Double FJELLSE Bed Frame ($49.99) & SULTAN LADE wood slats ($30.00) from IKEA + Minwax Walnut Stain from Lowes ($15.77) = $95.76.

I wanted to upgrade my simple metal bed frame to something a little less squeaky (the dang thing squeaked every time I sat down or turned over). My first thought was, "I'll just build a bed!" (how much harder could it be than building a dog bed?). So after a few hours of furious Google searching, the best thing I found was Ana White's step-by-step plan for a "Much More than a Chunky Leg Bed Frame", which really does look fabulous. But one wonders:( 1) how long will it actually take; (2) what is the likelihood that I will screw this up and;  (3) will I actually save money? For me, the answers were: (1) probably much longer than I think; (2) "high"and; (3) probably not much. 

So, I turned to IKEA, which happily offers this cheap, unfinished, all-wood option for the eager do-it-yourselfer (yay, me!). Further inspired by brilliant do-it-yourselfers such as Manhattan Nest's glorious FJELLSE hack: A Whole Mess of Staples, I was ready to turn this simple bed into the bed frame of my dreams. All I needed was a little wood stain....

So after sifting through lots of wood & screws...

And spending an entire weekend attempting to successfully stain a bunch of pine wood (mind you, I live in an apartment, don't have any power tools (e.g., a sander would have been nice!), and it was the middle of February when I attempted this project (i.e., stain does not dry quickly when it is below freezing outside), the finished project finally emerged about four days later than my original estimates:

A few disclaimers:

• Shipping cost to have the frame/slats sent to my house =$20. Less than the gas I would've spent to get  to the store + reduced stress from worrying whether or not it would fit in my car + 4-5 day 'instant' gratification arriving at my door step = worth it, for me.
• Staining a piece of furniture is NOT - *definitively not* - a piece of cake. Actually it is pretty difficult, time consuming and easy to screw up. If you ever hear me talk about doing such a thing in the future, please remind me that it is a BAD IDEA. Alternatively, I suggest getting yourself a nice can of spray paint (in whatever color suits your fancy) and you will save yourself a pile of trouble & time. Slap a layer of polyurethane on top, and you won't even be able to tell it's spray paint! 
• Resist the temptation to put together the various wood pieces until AFTER the staining/painting/spraying phase has been completed. Otherwise, you will inevitably be faced with a bunch of hard to fill-in nooks and crannies (I speak from experiences, as someone who put together both the headboard and footboard before being forced to undo my steps) 
• Consider your choice of slats carefully. I simply bought the cheapest option on offer, which I probably wouldn't have done if I had it to do over. Don't get me wrong, the SULTAN LADE slats are perfectly adequate. A lot of people talk about having issues with the slats falling through, but this hasn't been an issue for me at all (side note: this related video is hilarious!). My issue had to do with the level of firmness afforded by solid wood bed slats, which was a little too firm for my taste. After sleeping on the slats for a week, it isn't soo bad (with the help of a memory foam mattress cover), but I would suggest paying a little more to get the more flexible  SULTAN LURÖY ($50 for Full/Double) or the even more luxurious SULTAN LAXEBY ($120 for Full/Double).

Small Town Arkansas

Over the holidays, I spent five days in Arkansas visiting friends and family; exploring all my old haunts and checking out everything that has changed since my last visit. Each time I visit, I am struck by how "small-town" the place feels; it's the sort of perspective that only really comes from being away for a while. By Arkansas standards, Fayetteville is actually a decent-sized city (as of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 73,580 - the 3rd largest in Arkansas), and when you consider the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area as a whole, the population exceeds 450,00. Despite these statistics, I run into someone I know just about everywhere I go; every other business is owned by a friend, acquaintance, or someone otherwise connected to a friend or family member; everywhere I need to go is less than a 10 minute drive away. You know, Small Town.

But I love it. I love going home to Arkansas, because it is so different than life on the East Coast. I wanted to share a few of the places I visited and the Arkansas-isms I encountered along the way. 

Tokyo Sushi , which apparently has no website (WTF), has been reviewed on a couple predictable sites:

Urban Spoon, Yelp and one less predictable site: Now That's Cookin ,an Arkansas food blog. Apparently this is my Mom's favorite sushi restaurant, so I was mildly shocked when she fought the temptation to introduce my brother and I to the owner (common occurrence on past restaurant visits). We had a small crisis with the parking situation here. In 2010, the city started charging for on-street parking downtown, charging a whopping $0.50 per hour during the day, a whole dollar per hour at night. Local residents are outraged. The rates seem pretty reasonable to me; especially if it means being able to park directly in front of the restaurant. Anyways, we parked. And were promptly greeted by our friendly waiter who offered us FREE edamame, FREE salad and FREE miso soup, which is apparently their "special" every day. Not bad. Sure made up for that $0.50 we had to pay for parking. And the sushi was delicious too!

Mount Sequoyah, a small hill (mountain?) overlooking the historical area of town. Home to the Mount Seqoyah Retreat & Conference Center, along with many beautiful hillside homes with georgous views, it is also the starting point of a series of little-known trails ("The Mt. Sequoyah Woods") that criss-cross their way along the east side of the mountain. Perhaps much of the reason for the trail's anonymity is that their development is recent; according to fayettevillehistory.com and historicwashingtoncounty.org, nearly 70 acres on the east side of the mountain were bought back by The City of Fayetteville and The Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association in 2003 with the purpose of protecting the area from future development and to make it accessible for everyone the community to enjoy. My family has made it a tradition to do a hike here on Chrismas Day the past few years - it's a beautiful, rugged area not more than a 3 miles from downtown, but you would never guess it while on the trail. 

Fayettechill (TM), the new hotness for the sorority/fraternity-type at the University of Arakansas. This is an impressive entrepreneurial effort by a recent U of A grad that appears to be pretty successful. Somehow this guy has convinced all the local outdoor stores to carry his clothing line, with great product placement to boot.  Fayettechill is a catchy brand name, and the founder certainly seems to have some business savy, but he's just selling T-shirts. Is that really sustainable? Seems like it would be tough, but another home-grown retailer has been at it for the past 20 years: Houndstooth Clothing Company. Maybe I should sell T-shirts.

Arsaga's Espresso Cafe  - With 5 locations in Fayetteville, it has been the coffee shop of choice for  Fayettevillians over the past 20 years. Each location has it's own personality, but all have great coffee, friendly service, and a fun artsy vibe created by uniquely designed spaces.  The cafe's success and loyalty of their customers may be part of  the reason that Starbucks didn't enter the local market until 2006. TWO THOUSAND AND SIX! And you thought Starbucks was taking over the world. Not in Fayetteville. To date, Starbucks only has 2 locations in town.

Shine Salon - Owned and operated by a spunky woman named Sunshine, this salon embodies all that I love about Fayetteville. I mean, where else can you find a stylist named Sunshine? The decor is simple and bright, with a funky antique couch and mid-century coffee table rounding off the waiting area. Sunshine is always friendly and talkative, but also refreshingly honest with her cynical comments and witty banter that she offers up to even her newest client. Every time I've been there I gain some kind of helpful info; last time I got a private viewing of the latest  Beyoncé  video and advice on what cell phone to buy! Now that's service.

New Year's Resolutions: A look back at 2011

Happy 2012, folks!

Thanks to all of my loyal blog readers (there seem to be about 8 of you out there) -- really, thanks for reading! And those of you who have stumbled upon these pages via a Google search, I appreciate you stopping by. If this is your first time stopping by, I hope my ramblings don't bore you too much and you'll come back for more. BTW, I highly recommend signing up for the e-mail updates (see right side bar for more info).

As we move into a new year, I wanted to take a minute to revisit my goals for 2011. You can call them resolutions if you wish, but I prefer to think of them as goals - not so much something I hope to change about myself in the coming year, but rather milestones I hope to achieve. This was the first year that I actually wrote down (well, more like typed up) my goals and revisited them periodically throughout the year to check my progress. Many of these goals are simply guidelines by which I strive to live my life - habits I hope to adopt that haven't (or had not) yet become habits. Throughout the rush of daily life, I found it helpful to keep these simple goals in mind, to keep a focus on what really mattered.

I categorized my goals into different pockets of life that I wanted to develop more fully. Each being important and in no particular order, below are a few of my goals for 2011:

Health/ Fitness

• Yoga 2x per week (1 paid class/1 free class) - This goal was met more weeks than not. During the summer months, yoga took a backseat to being outdoors, but I made it to no less than 1 yoga class each week. Love my studio, Evolve Movement, and my wonderfully caring teachers there - definitely recommend giving it a try! Also, props to Lululemon, who recently opened up a new store in North Hills, offering FREE classes every Sunday morning. I'm a huge fan of Lululemon products (especially when they "make too much") - if you haven't checked them out, you need to go to their website today (and no, I'm not getting paid to write that!)

• Running (>30min) or walking/hiking (>1hour) at least 2x per week. - During the summer months, I exceeded this goal nearly every week, walking >1 each week and running 1-2 times per week. However, I've been lagging during the winter months; with fewer hours of daylight and less welcoming weather, my nightly dog walks are often shortened to 30 minutes. I still think this is a very achievable goal, and I'll continue to set this goal for myself in the coming year. I've realized that it is essential to take advantage of my weekends and get outside for at least an hour each day (whether it be running, hiking or walking - usually at Umstead Park, The American Tobacco Trail, North Carolina Museum of Art Park or Harris Lake County Park).  I also want to get my day started earlier (at work closer to 8am instead of 9am) so I can get home early enough for a long walk and still have dinner at a reasonable hour.

• Train for event(s) - This was one of my goals that I shared with a friend earlier this year, and I am grateful that she took the initiative to suggest we run a local 5k race together - The Jingle Bell Walk/Run 5K for Arthritis, which was held December 3rd. Thanks to Kathryn for suggesting this great event, Kevin for running with me, and all my friends and family who donated to the cause! Having an event to train for really helped to keep me on track for my running goal also. I really enjoyed this event and plan to set a goal of training for one event per quarter in 2012. Maybe a triathlon in there somewhere? 

• Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night - This is a tough one for me because I always get a second wind about 10:00pm each night and decide that it is the perfect time to get a million things accomplished. Not good for getting up early and doing all the things stated above. Must learn to *wind down* at 10:00pm instead of getting wound up.

Create - Design - Imagine

• Spend >4 hours per week indulging my creative side. Painting/ making collages/ writing for the sake of writing/ cooking new recipes. - This blog has gone a long way in helping to accomplish this goal, and for that I am thankful. I've also been quite crafty this year in doing home decorating projects. A few photo highlights are provided below, including a hand-crafted doggie bed, refurbishing a couple chairs from thrift stores, and building shelves! I'm also appreciative to the wonderful invention of Pinterest, which provides for hours of creative indulgence. I am happy to say that indulging my creative side has become a habit, and I'll continue to set aside time for this in 2012. 

Homemade Dog Bed

Refurbished Chair - $10 at Thrift Store

• Read one “fun” (travel) book per quarter. - Admittedly (and somewhat shamefully) I've struggled with this goal. I blame it partly on my book selection, partly on my inability to get to bed before 10:00pm, and partly on not making reading for fun a priority. This will be on my goal list again in 2012.  However, thanks to a resurgence of reading in the 4th quarter, I have read 3.5 books for fun in 2011:
• Googled: The End of the World As We Know It, by Ken Auletta - an interesting work of non-fiction,which chronicles Google's evolution over the past 15 years and their impact on the technology industry and Life As We Know It. Critical reading for anyone hoping to understand how Google is changing the world, but I could have done without the last 150 pages, which seemed to drag on a bit. 
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt - Arguably the most famous book about life in Savannah Georgia (and surprisingly a non-fiction work). I picked up this book to read at the beach during our Memorial Day trip to the low country of Hilton Head and didn't finish it until the day after Christmas. Not that it wasn't a good book, but at no point did I get "hooked" on the story line. I appreciated it more for it's references to Savannah history and architecture, especially after making a trip there last February and seeing many of the sights referenced in the book. 
• The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance: A Memoir, by Elna Baker - Recommended to me by a co-worker after a lunchtime discussion about dating as a Mormon, this book kept my attention more than any I had read in a while. As the reviews suggest, it is truly a mix of Sex and the City wit and Eat Pray Love soul searching. This was a book that I stayed up way too late reading and finished in less than a week. 
• The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (in progress) -  Recommended to me by Amazon.com and everyone else I know, it's easy to see why this is the book everyone seemed to be reading on the airplane this holiday season. 

Entrepreneurship

• Start a blog - Check!  Happily blogging since May 2011.

• Sell products online (become more adept at using ebay) - Somehow this fell off the list of priorities. Need to focus on this in 2012. Plan to setup an e-bay account, maybe read some library books about selling online, and try to start by sellling some things I would otherwise give away.

• (Long Term): Maintain a base income ($1000/month) through involvement in business activities unrelated to my primary employment. (consulting, investing, blogging, etc). - Still a long term goal, and I feel like this blog is a start, but still pretty far off from making money. In 2012 I hope to investigate waysto publicize my blog more, bring in more traffic and organize blogging topics to make it more reader friendly.

Travel

• Get out of town at least once per month. This is for my own sanity, really. I've got Wanderlust in the blood, and if I don't get out of town once a month, I pretty much go crazy. Here is a summary of places I've visited this year:

• January - Chile! See all previous blog post :)
• February - Snowshoe, WV & Savannah, GA
• March - Jacksonville, FL
• April - Fayetteville, AR
• May - Hilton Head, SC
• June - Pilot Mountain, NC
• July - Hanging Rock, NC & Fontana Village, NC
• August - Charlottesville, VA
• September - Fayetteville, AR
• October - Austin, TX
• November - Charlottesville, VA & Washington, DC
• December - Fayetteville, AR & Washington, DC

Hoping that 2012 will allow for more opportunities to get out of town! So far, things are looking up with a trip planned to Colorado at the end of this month! 

• Take a trip to a place I’ve never been before (1 week vacation this summer) - I stayed local with my travel this past summer, spending a week at the beach with family in Hilton Head, SC and a 4-day weekend with my boyfriend's family in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Both were places I hadn't been before, although neither was particularly exotic. Sometimes it's nice to explore the beauty close to home, and the remoteness of Fontana Village gave the impression of being in a different time and place even though we were only a few hours drive from home. In 2012, I hope to make a trip to the West Coast (Portland, OR/ Vancouver, BC) or possibly Northern Europe (Sweden) to visit old friends and see a part of the world that I haven't experienced before. 

• Make a point to visit/spend time with Mom & Dad at least every 3 months - Happy to say I saw my parents in January, April, May, June, August, September November, and December this year. Not bad :). Hope to have multiple opportunities to see them so often in 2012.

• Visit friends living in places I haven't visited before. - This year I made trips to see two of my best friends who live in Florida and Texas, respectively. I always enjoy visiting friends who have moved to new places - not only is it great to have a free place to stay, but it really is wonderful to meet all the people in their lives and come to know their daily surroundings - it makes phone conversations so much more meaningful when you can picture the person on the other line pacing around their kitchen or lounging on their couch as you do the same in your own home. 

• NEW FOR 2012: Vegas, baby! - Who's with me?

Home/ Auto

• Purchase new couch by April 2011- Check! Possibly the best purchase I made all year :)

New Couch!

• Continue to invest in items that make my home more comfortable and more “lived in” - This is more of an addiction than a goal these days, so I guess I've successfully made a habit of it! I could say that I'm "done", but I won't. Only that I could probably do to "diversify my investments" a bit :).

• Focus on upgrades for bedroom - Found a  nice desk on Amazon.com, paired nicely with the refurbished chair from the thrift store, added some nice bedding/pillows, topped it off with a matching pair of framed prints I found at the thrift store. voilà! I think I'm done with this project for now.

• Invest in recommended car  maintenance - performed recommended maintenance on my VW Golf until I sold the 10-year-old car in October in favor of a 2011 Mazda 3s, my new pride and joy. Looking forward to regular preventive maintenance instead of anticipating a potential major repair cost (although I loved my Golf, it was time to let it go). 

Zoom-Zoom, my Mazda 3s

Educational

• Spend time each morning reviewing online news articles - I try to peruse any news article that is sent my way. I tend to get 5-10 links/day sent to me via the e-mail list at work, a few more via my Facebook news feed, and daily update e-mails from the Triangle Business Journal (free, with great local news updates, but a little gimmicky). It may not be the most balanced way to get news, but I find I'm usually fairly well informed of all the top stories affecting my industry, region and demographic. I could do to check actual news sites more often - something to focus on in 2012!

• Use Sunday afternoons as a time to catch up on The Economist (read at least 3 articles out of each issue) - I'd say I have about a 50/50 success rate for this one. Some weeks I'll read more than 3 articles, sometimes none. I've found that this is a good thing for me to do during basketball/football games; even though I enjoy sports, I tend to get a little bored if I don't have something else to distract me.

• Research other interest/goals on a more detailed level by utilizing library books - I've done a lot of researching through my blogging activities, and tend to be naturally curious for details/facts about whatever I am working on at the time. However, books do offer a certain level of thoroughness that isn't available through a quick Google search. Need to focus more on this goal in 2012.

•  (Long Term): Become a certified yoga instructor - Still on my list :)