Curious as to what a typical week day looks like for me? 

I wrote a day in the life post for EADL and there are way to many pics of the random pieces of my day.

For 2010 I decided to do a 365 project.  Photography flew to the top spot for my hobbies during 2009 and so it was the clear winner for a 365 project.  Plus it is something that I can fit into a small 5-10 minute window during the day and on the weekends, when I have more time, I can upload all the photos from the week.  At first I didn't plan on sharing the photos here as posting a photo day was less than likely to happen.  But then my ah-ha moment came to me with doing a weekly post. 

So Sunday Edition will be a snippet of my week.  A glimpse, if you will, into a small little moment of my day.  I do not pretend to even be close to an amateur photographer.  I am a hobbyist for certain.  I get so much pleasure out of snapping photos. I may share a little synopsis of the week sometimes.

Winter is my least favorite season.  While I do enjoy the snow, I really dislike the limited the hours of sunshine and highly dislike being cold.  As it is dark when I get up and dark when I get home and the first couple of weeks of 2010 were Cold, many of the photos were taken inside and sans natural light.  My tripod is my friend right now. 

Volume 1-3 of 2010, January 1st through January 16th

So far I am loving the 365 Project.  It has been a challenge to find the creative energy on some of the more "shut in" work days.  However, there is beauty in the everyday, right?

Happy new year!  It seems to me that there is a serious amount of positive energy going into 2010, do you feel it too?  I just know that there are amazing moments ahead of us.  So it is time to scribble down our resolutions so that we can work towards being the best versions of ourselves.

And as I do love setting resolutions and the subsequent action plans on how I will reach them, here is what I am what I am going to be working on in 2010...

Be healthy and active.

• This is the year that I am going to shed that last 10 pounds.  No if, and, or but. 
• I will train for and run a marathon.  I have wanted to do this for at least six years and this year it is time.
• I will practice yoga on a regular basis.  I always feel amazing after yoga and it is time to make it a regular part of my life.

Declutter.

• Stop the continuous multi-tasking.  I need to declutter and focus on the moment, even the daily activity type of moments.  It will all get done but it doesn't need to be all at the same time.
• Organize my home and clear out the clutter.  It is time to toss, file, and get some baskets. 
• Stop watching mindless crap television programming.  If there isn't anything worthwhile on maybe it is a good time to read a book! :)

Pursue hobbies.

• I will take a photograph everyday... The 365 projects are always such an inspiration and I am really excited to do this project.
• Sew and craft more.
• Cook and bake all kinds of new recipes and then share on Two Cooks One Kitchen.
• Decide what to do about In This Instance.  The first year of this blog I was heavily into wedding planning and the second year I decided to just free form blog on whatever was catching my attention... But now I am feeling as though I want more focus with this blog. 

Love my career.

• It is time to figure out a long-term career plan.  What I want out of my professional life has evolved a lot in the past year.  I want to realign my career plan with one that I will feel good about, enjoy my day, and make a positive impact in some way.
• Be patient and don't sweat the small stuff. 

 This is going to be an awesome year, I just know it. 

{image via ffffound}

2009 was a year filled with challenges and struggles and tears and laughter and wonderful little moments.  While I would like to say that 2009 was a b!$@h of a year and that I am happy to say goodbye and move on to 2010, when I look back at the past 12 months they were filled with love, support, and personal growth and a million lovely little moments.  The hard times where pretty tough; a job that I came home crying from on a regular basis, experiencing lay offs, having my dad undergo a major heart surgery, etc.  But the good times were filled with fun and laughing; playing with our dogs in the snow, celebrating our first wedding anniversary, going on our first camping trip, meeting our newest baby nephews, training for a half marathon together, cooking together in our tiny kitchen, having friends over for dinner, and simply enjoying the day to day rhythm of being a married couple.

So here's to a million little happy moments in 2010 filled with lots of love and laughter.  Happy new year my friends!

Well it has been pure drama at my house the past couple of weeks!  If you follow me on Twitter you may have caught snippets of this "moving! oh well maybe not!" saga.

{image via ffffound!}

First, I received an offer for an opportunity in Indianapolis.  Dan and I have always talked about someday moving to a smaller city and this was with a great company; so sure, we will take the challenge of relocating to a new state with just about 7 business days to do so!  We found a cute little house located on the Monon Trail with a backyard and walking distance to a great little village area so it would be a nice transition.  I was excited to have a fenced in backyard for the dogs and where we could have a rain water catcher for the garden we would plant.  But it was not to be.

The eve of moving day I received an email from a former client about an awesome opportunity here in Chicago.  I really dislike changing my mind after it something like this is decided.  But the factors had changed and it was the type of opportunity that I simply could not turn down.  So after what felt like weeks of deliberating and even considering the fact that I had just mailed our new address to our families that morning... I decided to take the job in Chicago.  Staying here is right for us and this opportunity is right for me. 

Now we are half unpacking back into our apartment and moving a serious amount of our stuff into a storage facility.  Fun, right?  We are only half unpacking because we will be on the hunt for a larger apartment this spring.  Hmmmm... I am hoping that all the drama has died down.  I am ready for this next phase and to get into a new daily rhythm; even if it doesn't come with a move to a new city!

And as a side note; I will no longer have to enter what I did that day into a time tracking system for client billing!!!!  No more .25 entries for me!  (at least for now as who knows about the next 30+ years) (and for those of you who don't work in consulting or a professional services organization - daily time entry is less than fun)

Today I received the kind of news that breaks your heart and makes you sit down.   I grew up in a very small town; they type of place where the X number of kids you graduate with are the same ones you entered kindergarden with and most of you lived within a few miles of each other.  One of our neighbors had a boy in my class and a boy, lets call him John, in my younger brother's class and we were friends.  My brother and "John" were very close friends and played sports (baseball, football, basketball, and track) together from pee wee through state competitions in high school.  Earlier this week "John" passed away in a tragic accident. He was just 27 years old.  His wife is due with their first baby this spring.  I am completely in shock. 

I can't begin to imagine what my friend must be feeling to lose his younger brother.  And did I mention that their mom was just diagnosed with terminal cancer with approximately three to four months left?  What an unbelievably hard time for their family.

It is so sad when someone so young, that had so much more to experience, dies.  It is also so hard when it is someone you know and have known since they were just the littlest of kids.  It is unbelievable.  It breaks your heart.

Life is short, my friends.  Kiss your husbands (or boyfriends or fiances).  Kiss your parents.  Be grateful for this time that we have together.

I am going to be taking a little break from the blog this next week to spend the time focused on simply being with my family.  The only thing I can say is take the time to enjoy Thanksgiving.  This year more than past years it seems that the push to jump straight to Christmas is unbelievably strong (ya think that the retail industry needs a win!?).  But I am looking forward to enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday, enjoying the time with family, and being grateful for the time that we have today and hopefully infront of us.  

Remember how I was going to post recipes and kitchen talk???  And maybe you noticed that stopped in July (well maybe you didn't notice...).  Well that is because Dan and I started a new cooking blog together.  Out of the blue one afternoon in July Dan said that he wants to get "get better" at cooking (he actually is already pretty good) and was going to try one new recipe a week to improve his repitoire (that is my word- not his).  So I was all like- you should blog about it to keep track of what you are doing... And then I got super-excited when it hit me that we should blog together as we have a very similar goal for our cooking... 

And then I spent the past few months trying to decide what the look should be for this new blog and what not... I am still not done but I thought I would share it with you all as given my love for changing blog designs it isn't likely to ever be done.  So......

Two Cooks One Kitchen is our little cooking blog where we are sharing the recipes for what we are cooking up in our tiny little kitchen.  Some are new, some are old family recipes, some are quick and easy for mid-week meals, and some are more involved.  And if you have heard me talking on Twitter about the Mexican Quinoa or Apple Slices or whatnot- those recipes are all posted on here.  So come over and say hi!

I have been trying to get back into practicing yoga (and last night was the first time in years!) and I have one of those  yoga decks with the cards for different poses to help me plan out the poses before I begin (little for me is less zen than trying to decide what pose to do next).  On the card for half locust it has a little mantra that really resonated with me... My approach to life is calm, confident, and focused.

Lately my life has been anything but calm, confident, and focused!  But I need to get myself back to that... first step is focusing.  I have been piling on all sorts of projects and spreading myself thin.  This week I am going to focus on prioritizing myself... and remembering to breathe.

{image1, image 2, image 3}

Phew, 31 was quite the busy year!  I am pretty happy with the progress made on my list of 30 things to do before 31.  Not everything was completed but there was some shifting in interest and priorities as to be expected with the type of things listed.  So over all, not bad!  A little warning, this post is much longer than my usual... I found myself elaborating on them as I reflected on whether I actually did the goal or not!

So what did I do when I was 30 (besides working and bloggin of course)...

1. Finish my MS program - Done and done!  I was beyond happy when I finished my last final this past March.  Working full time and going to grad school in the evenings is tough.  Once school was over everyone was asking me what I would do with all that free time... I say what free time? and marvel that I ever was fitting in two classes during the business that is everyday life.  And yes, I have considered another grad school program because I just might be that nutty.

 2. Try a new recipe at least 4 times a month - This past year was definitely a record for me on how many new recipes we tried.  I used to just always cook the same old things but we are now including at least one new recipe a week and it has been a blast.  Dan has gotten caught up in the fun of cooking new things and we just may have started a cooking blog together... more on this soon.

3. Train for and run a half marathon - Done and done!  This one was so very rewarding.  And turned out to be a great newlywed couple goal.  Dan and I truly enjoyed sharing this goal, logging our miles together, and crossing the finish line together... yup, we made running mushy.

4. Bake the desserts that my husband loves more often... maybe once a month? - I did pretty good with this one.  I would venture to say that I made dessert at least once a month if not more and it was a mix of the old favorites with quite new ones.

5. Join a book club again - I did not do this... I really miss being part of a book club and planned to start one late summer.  But there just hasn't been much time and it has falled in priority for me.  Maybe someday soon.

 6. Rent books from the library (unless they rate on my scale as having literary value and I want them in my collection then I will buy them) - I actually did this... I kind of love book stores and don't love libraries so it was a bit of a shift for me.  We have a pretty large library close where we live now so I hope I keep up the habit of visiting the library rather than spending money on what will surely be clutter in our little apartment.

7. Redesign blog layout - I kind of did this by moving to a new platform and adding things like the template section (which I have plans for adding more to soon!).  I am in progress for a new banner/design... and really should revisit my navigation layout...

8. Fill out the life binder - Yikes! I bought the life binder and I think we filled out one page.  Someday soon... I keep passing off things like this as 'when we are settled homeowners' but really it is the type of thing that we should do now.  Oh well.

9. Make curtains for my bedroom - Hmmm, I kind of scratched this off my list in favor of making other things... but I did sew/make a few things so I am thinking this is a 50% at least as it was a shift in interest.

10. Keep my half of the closet organized - I am doing so much better on this...  still not great but better.

11. Buy a bicycle - Done and done! I still whine to be driven places rather too often (apparently husband doesn't equal chaffeuer) but I am riding my bike places more and more.

12. Host a baby shower - Complete! Not one but two baby showers this past year... and they were sooo much fun to plan.

13. Practice yoga at home weekly, regularly - I didn't to this one.  But I did start doing pilates at home sometimes this summer (like 4 times!)... I have decided that I prefer both pilates and yoga at a studio.

14. Do all 60 hikes in the 60 Hikes in Chicago book - I kind of was a little over-zealous with this one.  that would be more than a hike a week and some of those are in far away suburbs... we did about 10 of them!  I am ok with that.  We will likely do a few more this fall.  And maybe eventually do all of the ones in the book.

15. Drink water in the evening instead of caffeinated soda - Did not do great with this.  In the past two weeks I have stopped drinking soda in the afternoon/evening and I have had so much more energy!  So while last year I was still hanging on to my college days habit I think I am ready to get over it now.

16. Establish a new family tradition- Check! Valentine's day dinner at home is our new tradition.  We had a blast planning and making a special dinner.  It was so low key yet a lovely evening.

A lovely 'marrieds' Valentines evening; even if my little cakes did stick to the pan... 17. Create and have our honeymoon album printed - I did finish it but... I think I might start over... I still haven't had it printed.  I am ok with that.  I want to learn photoshop first.

18. Buy all holiday gifts before Thanksgiving - Done and done!

19. Go to Ravinia with a picnic - I am so very glad that we did this one... it was such a lovely evening and I can't believe it took us so many years of living here to make it to Ravinia.

Not our table... a cute little setup near us20. Go to a movie in the park evening - I am also so very glad that we did this one too.  How can you go wrong with Breakfast at Tiffany's in a park on a gorgeous summer evening with your love...

21. Grow an herb container garden - Done and done!

22. Go on a low-key camping trip - This might have put into effect a second new family tradition... camping for the Fourth of July.  We loved this little summer getaway.

23. Be fiscally frugal and have savings grow to reflect the effort - I have been so careful with my not-necessity spending... but we could still do better...

24. Leave my husband little love notes every now and then to surprise him - hmmm, does one handwritten and a few text messages and emails count?

25. Plan our 2008 Annual Holiday Outing to be a free one in the community (refer to number 23 as to why free) - Done and done!

26. Eat dinner together at the table more often than not each week - We do ok at this... much better than we used to.  I blame the years of not having room for a dining table for the bad habit of eating in front of the tv.   Sometimes I even light a candle now a days!

27. Go on a picnic and hang out long enough to lay on the blanket and look at the stars - Hmmm... we have gone on picnics and looked at stars but not really together... maybe next summer.

28. Reformat my resume to highlight accomplishments - Kind of.  I find resume writing to be something I dislike and put off.  But I do have it up to date and have been trying to improve it all year... so some progress.

29. Start a "Move to X" savings fund - Well, the behind the scenes "X" was intended for San Francisco... unless William Sonoma responds to my little resume this isn't likely.  Especially as I am starting to wonder if I have hit the point in my life where I don't want to move further away from my family.  Recent incidences and future possibilities have changed my outlook on this; six hours might be far enough for now.

30. Add at least 4 earth-friendly living practices - Hmmm, not sure that I really fullfilled this one but I made some positive changes to those that we already do. For new earth-friendly living practices, I have ridden my bicycle to work, started to do more "reusing" for packaging items, take my coffee mug more than not to avoid more paper cups, and have replaced some cleaning products with the 'better for the enviro' brands.

 So... I am going to consider this list done as I am ready to move on to new goals and things to do before I turn 32.

{all photos from my personal collection taken this past year}

So today is my 31st birthday... wow!  I don't feel like I am now a full on thirty-something as that sounds so grown up.  This birthday is starting off pretty great- last night Dan took me to my favorite flower store so I could create my birthday bouquet... it was soooo much fun!  Seriously, I loved it.  Tonight we are going to my my new crush's restaurant Frontera Grill... an "ever-young fiesta" is just what I need to kick off 31!

But enough about me... I have party favors!  (Well, just one really)  I have a yummy giveaway lined up and will post it this afternoon so check back to enter (cupcakes may or may not be involved)!