Dear Me

Dear 2009 Me,

High five, sistah, you're going to have a hell of a year. No really. You're gunna do fan-flippin'-tastic. And the best part? You fail. A ton. An s-h-*-t load (this is a family blog after all). And the even better part? You pick it all up, dust it all off, and invent LC v2.5, to wild cheers and deafening applause. This year? This will be your year. You will have a meltdown in the wake of your quarterlife. It will be your year of tears, your year of escape, your year of crazy, your year of bad decisions, bad hair, and bad boys. But don't worry because once you get rid of those bangs and that Murray Hill Bro, you'll fly in style. Trust me. I know a thing or two about 2010.

So let's (p)review it, 2009 Me. And let's do it list style:

1. In January, you ski. You fly across the country and ski on the west coast. For the first time. Ever. You get brave and go for some black diamonds, you fall a ton. You try moguls. You still fall a ton. You laugh harder than you ever thought possible while lying on your back staring up at the skiiers on the chairlift above you. You feel the cold snow through your hair and realize that you don't think you'd rather be anywhere else than laughing harder than you ever thought possible while lying on your back staring up at the skiiers on the chairlift above you. You'll realize what it means to have good girlfriends. You start to wonder what you did without their girl-squad-independence and support in the first place. You get up and you ski down the rest of the mountain -- not realizing what a metaphor that is going to be for the rest of the month, the rest of the year...the rest of your life.

You rediscover your journal after 3 years. Good lord, what took you so long? (Oh, and all those super old journal entries from 2005 about how much you missed your college boyfriend while you were studying abroad IN ECUADOR?! Are you kidding me, 2005 Me? Why weren't you out demolishing fried yuca and rice and beans? I'm rolling my eyes at you right now. In fact, we need to have a talk in private when this is all over.)

2. In February, you run. You run with 11 other people, mostly your coworkers at your super corporate law firm job. You are all stuck together in a van, not getting any time to yourself, not showering for 24 hours. Oh, not sleeping either. Just running, eating peanut butter and bananas, and riding in a van. Did I mention you work 5 days a week with these people? And one of them is the head of your department? And you're praying that your brother (who came too) doesn't embarrass the s-h-*-t out of you. But you create a social network of coworkers and find mentors in the women that are stuck in the van with you. You learn about their professional tracks and their life choices, their proudest moments, their gut-wrenching defeats. You feel inspired that they didn't have it so easy either and they want to help make it easier for you. You are humbled.

3. In March you start to feel. Anxious mostly, rolled in with a little bit of confusion. You can't sort out your feelings. For New York, for your current life, for any of those dates that you've been on recently. You will feel that you should be in love. That you're old enough and it's been five years and it's about damn time that you make a commitment to someone instead of some hobby. You want to meet someone exotic, someone far away. You like the idea of moving far away because, hey, it's at least better than New York City in March. Don't give up on New York yet, baby girl, you're right where you should be; even if it takes you some soul-searching and a little disappointment to figure it out.

You start studying for your Foreign Service Exam. You realize that living abroad is really what you want to do. Good for you. Now get to work and nose to the grindstone. Rome/your dream life wasn't built in a day/20 minutes at Starbucks while reading the New York Times.

4. In April, you seek. Advice, counsel, someone to tell you what the eff to do, because you can't stand what you're doing for one more minute. If you weren't already thinking about it, go visit your Aunt out on the west coast. She'll give you some life changing advice and tell you exactly how to live all those dreams you've got up there in your head. But we'll talk more about that in July.

You will be overwhelmed by how supportive and loving your family is during your quest for some answers. They will listen to your incessant questions, put up with your irritability, and soothe your tears. They know that you're on the brink of figuring it out; you just need to figure it out by yourself.

You will rediscover reading in a new way and begin devouring books, as if the supply of information will run out the minute you put it down. Don't worry, there will always be more information, but there won't be as much time with your family and your friends and moments that make you laugh until your sides ache. Put the book down and start living it instead.

5. In May, you celebrate. This is a good month for you, baby girl, and I can't wait to tell you about it. You will freak out about turning 25 (don't worry. You're only 25. Repeat that to yourself for the next 29 days). You will pack your boardshorts and your Billabong triangle bikinis and head to Mexico to ride the waves with 18 other women who will inspire you more than you could ever imagine. You will be told that you are beautiful and lovely and a rockstar and so freakin' brave. You will wonder why no one tells you that back home all the time? You vow to change that.

You will start to wonder if your life is really meant to be 9 hours a day in an office, followed by an hour gym session and an hour of scrolling around on YouTube. You start dreaming about what else life could be and whether or not you actually could live somewhere for a while and not actually have to wear a pantsuit (you can, but more about that in November).

You start your blog as a place where you can wonder and dream. You find that posting to it makes you excited every day. Hold onto that feeling of excitement. That's how you should be feeling every day when you wake up.

6. In June, you test. You take (and pass!) your Foreign Service written exam. Nice job, sistah-friend. You finally feel like you have some direction in your life and are excited about the next steps. It's a long process but you realize that you've made yourself into the kind of girl that doesn't get intimidated when the going gets tough; the kind of girl who knows when to leap and the kind of girl who's not afraid to do it. Leap on, girlfriend. Leap on.

You also test yourself. You start looking for your next challenge and find that traveling by yourself really gets you going. It's what excites you and makes you fiery and giggly and light. Lightheaded, can't eat, can't sleep, dreaming about far away places? That's what we like to call passion in the world of 2010.

7. In July, you climb. You head to Colorado to meet some passionate mountaineers and hike your way up four separate fourteeners. You realize that you love people. You love the outdoors. You love people who love the outdoors. After challenging yourself for a week, being inside your own head, and hauling a backpack up and down serious mountains, you will realize some important things, mostly that you don't have to do anything that you don't absolutely want to do. Really. You don't. Powerful stuff, girl.

You'll climb out of your rut, too. All of the support and love you get from all those awesome people you've met? Inspires you to quit your job, take all of your savings, and jump ship for Asia. For yoga, for exploration, for yourself, for your future. Remember back in April when your aunt told you that you should travel for a while? What was it they were saying about everything working out just the way it is supposed to?

8. In August, you learn. To love. To open up. To stop being so damn scared of yourself and your feelings all the time. You learn to tell people how you feel instead of just hoping that they'll figure it out and if they don't, well, screw 'em. You create an unbelievable network of support. You learn to ask for help; from your friends, from strangers, from people who don't even speak English. You will be surprised at how readily help comes for someone like you who needs it. Don't forget that. Ever.

You get certified. To teach yoga. To take control of your life. To live outside the box, the 9-to-5, the two-weeks-of-vacation a year. You're wondering why no one told you that you could do this in college. Or maybe they did, and you just weren't listening. Try to listen now. To others, to yourself, to that tiny little red beating thing underneath your sweater.

9. In September, you give. You realize that there is life beyond your own and it's in the form of a tiny baby girl named Anna. She is your niece, your soon to be goddaughter (I know. It's exciting!) You have to be there for her as she's growing up, experiencing the same things that you did. Give her little nudges; give her the honor of your attention and a free pass for midnight phone calls. Give her ice cream and hugs when she goes through that first real love heartbreak. Her momma did it for you; time to pay it forward.

You'll find out that you didn't pass the next step of the Foreign Service test, but you decide that it's okay because you're in Thailand, sitting at Bunny Cafe, getting ready to go rock climbing at Crazy Horse Buttresses and then rappel down into a 30 meter cave. It doesn't sting so bad because, well, you're in Thailand. And there aren't many things that can take the sting away like strolling along white sand beaches and diving off of limestone cliffs while gorging yourself on pad thai. I'm just sayin'.

10. In October, you appreciate. New York, your friends, your family. You step off of a plane after three months away from the United States and you almost cry because all of the signs are in English and everyone is smiling at you. You appreciate the cold, brisk New York air, and love that you are familiar with the buildings and streets around you. You will realize that, while traveling is soul opening and life changing, sometimes, every once in a while, you just need to be home.

You start cutting people slack. You give praise like a madwoman and think it feels way better than all that shiz you had been talking back in April. You like making people aware of their individual awesomeness, because someone made you aware of yours and you know how nice it is when someone believes in you. So start believin' girl. And Journey says try not to stop.

11. In November, you change. You move apartments, get rid of your old clothes, purge everything from your old life that you do not absolutely love. You start writing again and you feel energized after every post shows up. You start saying "I feel" and meaning it. You smile. A lot. And it "feels" amazing.

You change your attitude toward the world, too. You believe that everyone deserves a smile because there is no way that you can know everyone's experience. Be welcoming, honest, open, and transparent. People will appreciate that if you are. And well, sometimes a smile even gets you free stuff (I'm looking at you, super sweet barista from Starbucks).

12. In December, you resolve. To make a difference in your life and especially in the life of others. You start looking for new opportunties, to expand your skill set, to think that you actually are a pretty great person, despite the need for every sulky HR Rep in New York who wants to tell you otherwise. You network like a champion. You open doors and close out insecurity. You have opportunities and people are starting to realize your talent. You just had to realize it first.

So keep that chin up, 2009 Me, because this year is so big for discovering yourself. You are a proud, independent woman and you have done such a slammin' job so far. Nope, you still don't have a boyfriend, but you have great network of support. You don't have a job you love, but you have some probono work that you're starting to love. You don't have Christian Louboutins, but you do know how to surf, teach yoga, scuba dive, rock climb, have a conversation with anyone on the planet, and leverage your awesome personality pretty darn well. Cheers to you, babe. Here's to another great year.

xoxoxo,

2010 Me

How I Stay Entertained While Stuck for Hours in the Airport

Oh, hey East Coast snow storm, how ya doin'?

Part of being a traveler is well...traveling. In a plane, train, automobile, scooter (my personal fave) bicycle, on foot (not so great right now). And another part is dealing with all of the possible mishaps that come along with those different forms of transportation (though if you redefine "mishaps" as "adventures" it makes it seem THAT much cooler when you tell the story to all your friends at the bar).

So it goes that this past weekend's east coast storm left me stuck upstate in Rochester (where oddly enough there was no snow) and allowed me to lounge around in woolly socks and 80s inspired cutoff sweatshirts, shoveling cookies and biscotti into my mouth. So, pretty much, heaven.

Unfortunately, my relaxed attitude about two more unavoidable vacation days did not make my flight come in any faster, and was stuck at the airport for a decent three hours before takeoff. To which I said "Give me free WiFi or give me death." And the airport gods heard my prayers, and allowed the web surfing to commence. And all was well in the world.

Should you find yourself in the same predicament this holiday season, here is a list of my absolutely fave-o blogs and website that give me hours upon hours of entertainment and made the wait in the good ol' Rochester airport a bit more bearable:

Athleta Chi

Tales of amazing and athletic women who kick ass on the field/course/slope/track and off? Bookmarked and jaw-dropped. Plus, there's tons of camps, courses, races, and adventures listed on the site that you can check out and use it as a lil' bit o' inspiration to start living your dreams. Like surf camp in Mexico or teaching yoga in Costa Rica. Or whatever.

Holstee

If you haven't noticed that I dedicate multiple posts to the ingeniousness of this website and the cutesy-ness of their shop, then you need to start reading it more. They have successfully mashed pretty products, feel good messages, and a culture of awareness and giving all in one tiny corner of the internet. And they have this cute bib that says "Live Your Dream" that I think should be mandatory present giving for all babies everywhere.

Unicorns for Socialism

Alexandra Franzen writes about how to ask for everything you've ever wanted, promote yourself shamelessly, and reminds us that if we don't care about the things we do, no one else will either. All while wearing sexy-pants stilettos and and dangly earrings.

Man vs. Debt

So, uh, there was this one time...that I spent all this money on long-term travel...and then returned to New York and was forced to live on 3 cents a day and still keep myself clothed and fed. Adam Baker keeps it real for me, gives me fun tips about ways to budget and gave me a great idea for tracking expenses. Like writing them down in a notebook. And that's it. No fancy spreadsheets and data entry tools. Just...writing it down. In a notebook. Weird how easy that is, right?

If You Never Did, You Should

This girl. This girl right here. This girl....is 19. Like, wtf? She has a job, and clients, and writes, and road trips and encourages people to have adventures like skydiving and mountain climbing and do-gooding. And she's fantastic at all of it. When I was 19, my idea of adventure was shooting for an A instead of an A- in English Lit or seeing how many nights straight I could go without sleep. Jodi is the real deal, the future of our one gorgeous and precious world. I'm excited for her and our generation because of people like her.

What are your favorite places to peruse around on the internet-machine when you have boatloads of time and no purpose or destination in particular?

Monday Morning Mantra #1

Guys!

It's time for the first ever Monday Morning Mantra!

Monday Morning Mantra is a new series I've started with the help of my fab yogi and yogini friends at my all-time fave yoga and lifestyle blog on the planet.

So start your week with a little positivity and, this week, a whole lotta love. Head over to Yoganonymous and check out my guest post there on how to spread the love, y'all!

What's your MMM? Not sweating the small stuff? Spending more time in jammies? Well, check mine out and get inspired!

In The Spirit of Things

Because I couldn't be bothered to post while I gorge myself on candy canes and quiche.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and go give someone you love a hug. Right this minute!

My Favorite Things

Cuties catching snowflakes on their tongues?! Yippy skippy, I'm so excited to do this for three months straight!

Raindrops on roses are pretty sweet, but me and Julie (Andrews. If you didn't get the reference, go rent Sound of Music people before you even THINK about continuing to read this!) have some differing opinions on what makes the holidays a special time of the year.

Here are my absolutely fave-o things about the last few days in December that make me giddy like a 5-year-old at Sesame Street on Ice.

Christmas music on every radio station: To which I will blast in the car as I'm driving, and belt out, full-voice, all of the words. With accompanying Christina-Aguilera-like riffs. And then wave at the grandma in the car next to me staring, slack-jawed, at my Honda Civic style car-party.

Italian cookies:

*proceeds to stuff face*

Real clothing, optional: I've spent the last 36 hours in leg warmers and stretch pants and my parents are totally cool with it. I'm not making any promises about tomorrow. Hopefully by Sunday I'll have gotten my act together enough to take a shower.

Cinnamon scented everything: Hand lotion, cookies, car fresheners, candles, cookies, tea, soap...did I say cookies? Good-sweet-jeezus I can't get enough of things that have bits of spiciness in them.

That my parents still hide all the Christmas presents in the closet before they put them under the tree: The youngest person in our house is 18. I'm pretty sure he knows by now that all his Christmas presents are bought at Eastview Mall. It still makes my heart pound when I wake up and a tree that was previously unadorned has bounties of wrapped packages. It's like I've found something that no one else was supposed to know about.

Snow. Real, white, constantly falling snow. Which I'm happy to leave behind after December 26, but when I wake up on Christmas morning I want to look outside and see fields of white, dammit!

What are your favorite things about the holidays? Family time? Pajama pants round the clock?

How To Stay Zen While Traveling (And Not Lose It At Any Flight Attendants)

If I can travel for three months with that lil' midget of a backpack,

I'm sure you can do it for a weekend.

I'm an obnoxiously efficient traveler. I don't ever check a bag (even on a two week trip. To London. Wet weather, sunshine, snow, all packed in one tiny duffel). I can zoom through security, de-booting, de-layering, and downing that last bit of Poland Spring before the security guard tries to wrest a bottle over 3 oz. from my grip, all with a smile on my face and a seriously rare air of calm.

How do I do it?

I don't pack all that much.

It's kind of hard to fight with a security officer over how "gently" he's going through your bag, if you only have two sweaters and a pair of jeans in there. Likewise with the electronics. If your laptop, your iPad, your SLR Camera, and your netbook all have to come out of your carry-on and float down the belt in individual trays, you're going to be like that lady with 12 kids who no one wants to get behind because they each have a Dora the Explorer backpack and THEY DON'T WANT TO PUT IT ON THE BELT, DAMMIT.

So if you aren't sure, leave it behind. And if you have more than a carry-on bag for less than a week, reevaluate. You will always, always, always need less. Aaaaand one more "always" for good measure.

And I sure as **** don't pack my nicest Kiehl's tea tree oil.

Because I did that once. And even though there was definitely less than 3 oz. left in the dang bottle, a power-hungry TSA official in Destin, Florida thought that it was potentially life-threatening to national security and confiscated it. (Or rather, she took it home and used it. I'm 84.6% certain that's what happens to all the nice stuff that fails to make it through airport security). And then I cried. Over 2.8 oz. of Kiehl's tea tree oil.

And then I realized that there was a way to avoid this problem and it started with smaller bottles of luxurious items and evolved into the resignation that, just maybe, I don't need tea tree oil for three days in Florida. If I really needed it, I could buy it wherever I was. Better yet, I could suck it up and live without it. Maybe my skin would be a little less moist and supple, but at least I wouldn't be bawling my eyes out in the airport waiting area because my skin was dry.

I plan to be late.

Probably because I'm always late anyway.

I check in on-line before I leave. I make sure I have the phone number of the airline I'm flying so that, IF anything happens, they can be my first point of contact, even before all those chumps that wait in line at the ticket counter to get reassigned (which I used to be, until I heard that you can do it over the phone from a flight attendant friend of mine. GENIUS!). I check all the train schedules to the airport, and I make it very, VERY clear to my employer what time I need to leave.

I've had enough travel experience to know what time I need to be at the airport and how long, even in the busiest season, it will take me to get through the security line. I tend to get to the gate about 10 minutes before boarding beings (which some people say is too late, to which I say *shrug*), but that doesn't mean I always time it perfectly. The good thing about me is that I lurv to people watch and invent stories for the subjects in my line of vision, and the good thing about airports is that there are tons o' people for me to do that to.

Smile your brains out.

Because if the only thing standing between you and the security line is the 98 people in front of you with strollers and mom-jeans, then you're going to have to leverage some niceness and a little pearly-white flashing. Apologizing profusely and asking if you could jump ahead because your flight is about to leave in like three seconds goes a long way. On the flip side, if someone is in the same plight and you've got ages, let them go ahead, wish them a happy holiday, and hope that someone will do it for you in the future.

Remember that it's not the end of the world.

Missing a flight stinks, but it's not life-ending. There will be another flight, another train, another car that will get you to your destination. And if there isn't? Try not to get all huffy puffy at the flight attendants or counter representatives. They didn't make you late and, truth be told, they really want to help you, but not if you're all "Well, if your SECURITY LINE moved FASTER, I wouldn't have missed the plane." That will get you assistance as quickly as if you stabbed them in the eye with your coffee stirrer. And making someone feel incompetent and bad about themselves because you didn't take the necessary steps to be on time? More life-ending than that flight you just missed.

Take advantage of missed opportunities. Head into a book shop and read a book cover to cover, go find a cutie at the airport/train station bar and start talking to him. You're already stuck in a mass transit hub for the holiday. Why not make the best of it?

If all else fails? Breathe.

You're alive. You have people who love you and can't wait to be around you. You have everything you need. Life's good. Even if it's delayed a little bit.

How do you guys tackle traveling when it's crazy season?

How You Can Help in The Congo

This video comes from one of my favorite consumer websites HOLSTEE. Head over there to see how you can support their mission and get some awesome, eco-friendly, consequence-free, peace-promoting products for you, your baby, your boyfriend, and your best friend.

Giving and awesome presents? Just in time for the holidays.

What are some things you're doing to give back while giving away this holiday season?

A Different Kind of Love Letter

Now that the end of the year is arriving, I'm sure we're all thinking the same thing. No, not how many pieces of figgy pudding you can mow down before you start to cramp. We're all thinking of the elusive, magical, sometimes irritating power of our New Year's Resolutions.

I'm big time into goal setting (I make to a do lists of my to do list. Don't ask. It's neurotic and beautiful all at the same time), I have an ever-growing "Life List" (to be posted on LLB as soon as I type all 900 things that I want to do out in a post), and I'm into nerdy personal challenges (see the sidebar of things that I will be doing in my 26th Year. Yep. Nerdy). Needless to say, New Year's resolutions are so fun for me to dream up, even if I don't complete half of them.

But, what if, instead of resolving to press on and look toward the future, we took a mental jaunt back into 2010 and made a list of all the things that went awesome (so that we can dance around in our underwear about it) and the things that went terrible that we overcame (and we can still dance around in said underwear). What if you received a letter from You v.2011 that told you all of the things that were going to be awesome (and terrible) about this coming year?

I was reading a blog last night about writing a letter to yourself. What would you reassure your past self about? What would you warn them about? What would you keep from them so that they could experience the joy of a wonderful surprise?

What would you tell your future self? What strong times in your life would you remind them of if they were feeling weak or unloved?

Before the end of this year, I'm challenging you all to write a letter to yourself, past or present. Tell yourself a thing or two, be your own biggest cheerleader, advise yourself that bangs are probably not the way to go even though they look cute on Jessica Alba. Apologize for being so hard on yourself v.2009. Remind yourself to let it go and to keep going. Give yourself lots of love and support and reassurance. Because I'm sure you needed it this past year. And I bet you wish you had the letter you are going to write 11 months ago.

I'll be posting my own letter to myself, both past and present. If you are writing a letter to yourself, I'd love to post it here (anonymously or not).

5 Pieces of Advice for New Yoga Teachers

She's so zen she's walking on water. Literally.

Are you a recently certified yoga teacher? Have you ever thought about becoming one? Have you never done yoga but want to know how I felt when confronted with a classful of sexified Australian kitsurfers in teensy Spandex shorts and no shirts? Pop on over to Yoganonymous and read my guest post on tips for newly certified yogi(ni)s.

And while you're at it, peruse around the site and read up on all the awesome yoga related classes, workshops, and free stuff. Yes, I said free. Now get over there!

Our One Wild and Precious Life

Head over to Holstee for some eco-friendly, life-changin' inspiration. Simple. I love.

What will you do with your one wild and precious life?

(Mary Oliver)

You Should Probably Let It Go

I thought I lost my laptop today.

Or rather, I thought I left it in the closet at my office and a gnome had broken in, grabbed it along with the charger and high-tailed it out of there with a gnome-ish smirk on his gnome-y face.

For about thirty minutes in the middle of the New York Public Library I frantically wracked my brain trying to remember if I had left it at my friend's house that morning and if not, why would someone steal my laptop. My chest got all warm and my heart was pounding really hard. Not my laptop. My first big girl purchase after my first few big girl paychecks from my first big girl job. All my pictures from Washington and Asia and Ecuador and New York. All of my writing and my life planning. I couldn't even stay in the library. I just left, so distraught at the fact that I may have lost the one object that I spent more time with than anything else.

And then, as I stepped outside of the Library's front doors, and because I couldn't figure out anything else to do, I just let it go.

Stopped.

Deep breath.

Let. It. Go.

Because there was nothing I could do. It was gone and no amount of me crying or wracking my brain, or feeling sad was going to bring it back. I couldn't make it appear and feeling bad about myself and about the fact that it was gone was only going to force me to dwell into my mistakes of the past.

So I made a conscious decision that I wouldn't dwell. That I would continue living with my eyes and my heart wide open. I hoped that maybe this experience of being sans laptop could bring me some other great opportunity that I wasn't aware of yet. The universe is funny in that way. Bringing you stuff when you least expect it.

Letting go of objects/relationships/people/situations is an on-going process that we all confront regularly. How many times have you had a relationship or a friendship end and you have been a mess afterward? How about when someone has made you feel inadequate or unimportant? Feels shitty, right? Probably should do something about it, right?

I'll admit that often, when I am are confronted by uncomfortable situations like the ones described above, I immediately feel grief or sadness. That's fair. Grief, sadness, disappointment are all part of the healing process and we should all be familiar with them. But perhaps the right reaction isn't to do anything about these feelings. Instead of trying to do, to react, to compensate, to force feelings out of our immediate present state of the moment, maybe not doing, maybe just recognizing how it feels and then moving on is what we really should be considering.

You should probably let some stuff go, too.

Remember that fight you had with your bff? Or the time your mom lectured you about your hair/career/lack of a boyfriend? Or how that jerky guy on the other side of the bar totally was hitting on your ex-girlfriend, three years ago, and oh, you weren't even dating her at the time?

It's about time to let all of that stuff go. It's impossible to carry around all of the guilt and the anger and the blame that we have all experienced at one point or another. The things that we have no control over or can't change? The only thing to do is release it back into the wild, wild world and hope for the best. Eyes wide open. Heart, too.

Oh also, I found my laptop. I forgot that I had stopped by my house to drop it off before work this morning. Whoops.

Have you ever lost something that still pains you? Do you have tips about how to get past a challenging loss?

My Beef (hah!) with the Paleo Lifestyle

Part of Living a Barefoot Life includes eating cleanly, simply, and with regard to how our food choices affect our own bodies and the world around us. I not only advocate for eating as simply as possible (fruits, vegetables, whole sources of protein and real grains) but also being mindful of our consumption process. How do certain foods literally make us feel as we are eating them? Is there a burn in the chest? A rumble in the tummy? How long does it take us to get full? Do we really need to supersize that fry?

Michael Pollan beat me to the punch by saying "Eat food, mostly plants, not too much." Pretty much shoving an entire wedge of processed Kraft cheese in my mouth does not follow those rules. So lately, in an effort to be a little cleaner in my diet and eat like a caveman, I've been following a pretty strict Paleo Diet.

This means...

1. No cheese (*sob*)

2. No beans, lentils, or other legumes (see potatoes below)

3. No potatoes, sweet potatoes, or any foods otherwise unable to be consumed in their natural state (think about eating a raw potato. Gross. And also? Poisonous-ish.)

4. No dairy whatsoever (because hunting-gathering cavemen didn't have time to stop and milk a woolly mammoth)

5. No processed foods or grains including oats, rice, wheat, and other grains (even whole grains) as the caveman was not a crop cultivating group

6. No coffee or non-water/green tea products

7. No refined sugars or even so-called "natural sugars" (other than raw honey, which is hard to find anyway)

8. Lots of lean meat products (including and especially organ meat *shudder*) and wild caught fish

9. Lots of fruits and veggies. In fact, this is the only category where I can go buck wild.

10. Piles of nuts, seeds, and other forms of (raw) legumes that are edible (no peanuts, as they need to be boiled before they are consumed in the form we eat them today).

I know. Just listen for a sec.

Now before the masses revolt and I hear about how food should be enjoyable, not punishment, let me say that I find fruits, vegetables, and fish is enjoyable. I feel full after ever meal and my body is much happier than it has been in the past. I wake up earlier, have energy for my workouts, and feel strong during the workday (I'm not making it up either. I used to think people who spouted that crap in health magazines were full of it. No really, it's true. Stop eating dairy for a while and see how your body reacts). And I feel humbled and grateful that I don't need to eat as much during the day and that my efforts to simplify my lifestyle and my food choices are more sustainable for our current, corn-heavy farming system.

And you know this whole recent trend in the blogosphere to be a minimalist and to purge belongings to rid yourself of tangible shackles so that you can be free to explore yourself and/or the world at a moments notice? It applies to food as well. Food is emotional and comforting, just like belongings are. And if you can separate your attachment to certain foods, you can live a freer life by becoming a friend to the environment and by cutting down on your overall consumption.

That's not to say this works for everyone.

I have played with my diet everyday for the past three years, attempting pescatarianism, then complete vegetarianism, then veganism (for about three days until I realized that I was eating pasta and red sauce for every meal), and even a stint, albeit brief, with raw veganism. I like to see how foods affect my overall wellness. I can tell you that this paleo lifestyle has been the easiest to follow and the most rewarding so far.

It fits the lifestyle of being aware of my surroundings and, honestly? It makes grocery shopping a cinch. When there are only two or three aisles to shop in rather than a whole dang store of things, it cuts my time spent hemming and hawing over what I'm going to want for breakfast this week down to almost none (answer: spinach/egg omelet or a cup of berries). Simple. More time to dance around in my underwear while watching Ke$sha music videos.

So now here's the catch.

I'm a pescatarian. Have been for two years. I don't eat meat for a variety of reasons, most of them due to sustainability and environmental impact. That's not what this post is about. This post is about how I'm finding it frustrating to follow a diet so meat-heavy (albeit one that promotes grass-fed beef, free-range chickens, and wild caught fish) when I don't really have any desire to eat meat. And one can only eat tuna and salmon so many times in a week.

As with anything great, I'm proposing a modification (to myself). Though I will limit the intake, I'm going to add beans and legumes back into the lifestyle in the place of meat. I don't know if this is going to throw off the balance of the diet but with my lack of protein consumption in the first place, I feel a little safer getting a little bean action every now and then in my diet.

Simple living is best, but sometimes it takes a few stops, turns, backpedals, twists, and retracing of steps to get on your correct path.

How about you? What one food can you give up, even for a week, that might make your life a little simpler, as well as take some strain off of your digestive system?

How to Create Your Dream Life. Like, Right Now.

My dream life includes kayaking endlessly down exotic rivers.

And having sexypants shoulder muscles.

The jig is up, you guys.

All you fantastically brilliant writers and bloggers out there (me included) have been outed by the New York Times. Yup. It's over for us. We've been found out.

Maybe some 20-nothing copy boy in the Editorial department was perusing the blogosphere one day and came upon our posts about traveling the world and makin' bank while doing it, or how we all are working on our most perfect, location-independent, lifestyle-design-o-rific lives BEFORE we have mortgages and babies. Or maybe they got all pee-oh'd that Everett Bogue threw up the peace sign to them, bounced out, flew cross-country, and made it big without their dang help. They're jealous. The New York Times is like that, I've heard.

But whoever put them on to our stanky-no-more-jobs-we-hate scent forgot to include how to do it (man, I should be RUNNING the NYT. Seriously, what are they doing over there without me?). So, go ahead and read the article, scratch your head for a few minutes about what it all means, and then come back here with pad and paper ready to learn how to do it.

The only person standing in your way? Is you.

Those people in the article? They are you. They are people that worked in a financial firm or at a non-profit or at a hospital. They are people who REALLY loved to workout, go see live music, travel endlessly on a $4 budget. They are people who, in their spare time, wished there were a network for part-time graphic designers or a forum for beginning yoga teachers or a community of people raising ant farms in urban settings.

If there was ever a time where you CTRL-T'd it over to a new Google page (or Command T for all you sexypants Mac users like myself) and typed in "community for zen masters in Plattsburgh" (or you know, whatever) and have come up with nada? There it is, my friend. There is your niche. Seriously, how many times a day do you do a web search for something that you need info about and all you find is craptastic websites with no information and TONS of links that lead you to flashing red and yellow lights telling you to buy some product you don't want?

Start with your curious mind. There's a lot in there that no one even knows about. Let it out. Who knows what could be your money-maker.

Go slowly. Rome/your fab shoe collection wasn't built in a day/one shopping trip.

I know. This is the one that leads us all to make gutteral sounds reminiscent of our paleolithic ancestors. Because there are all kinds of awesome bloggers and writers and entrepreneurs out there who made it SUPAH big in like forty-five minutes. Example A, B, and C.

Bitches.

(Just kidding. I love them. And read their blogs everyday. They win.)

But there are also those out there who enjoyed a good bit of anonymity before cracking the shell. Example D and E. And there are others who will follow and take a while before they get it right. Be patient and work toward the goal every day.

Write down one idea. Every day.

Read one inspiring article. Every day.

Make one phone call/send one email to someone who knows how to do what you want to do. Every day.

Constant repetition carries conviction. Go slowly, be mindful, keep your eyes on the prize, and you'll get there. Promise.

You gotta fail. No, really. You have to.

Each person that the Times profiled had some sort of terrible failure before they hit it. One dude went $30,000 in debt. Another girl had to twist her freakin' ankle before she found her hit-it-big idea. These people took ENORMOUS risks. They didn't waste $2 on a lottery ticket and, when they didn't win, say "eh, okay. I tried. Back to the cubicle for another four hours of spreadsheet formatting."

They took some chances. And had some failures. Like literally, arms-wide-open, no-safety-net, eyes-bulging-as-the-freight-train-comes-steaming-towards-you failure. And guess what? They are all okay. And you will be to. But if you REALLY want something...if you really, really want it? You have to take a chance, and you have to know how terrible and awful and mind-blowingly bad for it to be for you to ultimately someday know how beautiful it can also be. And that? That's good effing news.

Don't get discouraged.

Have you done the failure part yet? Okay, now, pull on your spurs, get back on your cute lil' pinto and try it again. In order to have big ups, you gotta have big downs. Heck, there was one time in my life that I thought I had found the answer to my life's prayers and started a running blog only to realize that a) I preferred to eat Reese's Pieces in my bed and watch Netflix and b) I didn't really like writing about running all that much. Welp, chalk it up to me discovering a new thing about myself. Now I write about run-ins with Vietnamese customs officers, eating caveman food, and duping Cambodian hotel workers into thinking I'm staying at their swanky joint when in fact I'm just using the pool.

I know if any more people read this blog, but at least I have more fun writing it. And I'm finding an outlet for all my spreadsheet formatting (though if you need some help doing some pivot tables, I might know someone who knows someone).

So stop being jealous of all the people out there who built their dream life. You can make better use of your time by taking that sheet of paper you have been so diligently writing notes on right now and turning it over to start writing out your own dream life. Visualization is power, people. Now get to it!

What is your dream life? Oh, yea? Then what the heck are you waiting for?!

Just To Say We Did It

I'm through with doing things "just to say I did it."

I don't want to travel abroad "just to say I did it."

I don't want to go to the top of the Empire State Building "just to say I did it."

I don't want to dress up in costume and go to see the Rocky Horror Picture show "just to say I did it."

Instead, I want to travel abroad because it challenges me to interact with people from a million different countries, forces me out of my comfort zone, and teaches me how to be a more conscious global citizen.

Instead, I want to go to the top of the Empire State Building so that I can experience one of the great joys that many tourists in New York gets everyday. I want to do it so that I can see the view from very high and get a change in perspective. So that I can remind myself that the view may be nice from the top, but after you reach it, there's no where else to go.

Instead I want to dress up to go see the Rocky Horror Picture Show so that I can educate myself in an American cultural movement. So that I can live in the moment and in a French maid costume. And hey, so that I can have a little fun while I'm not philosophizing in my head all the time.

Change your perspective on the things that you do. The people that you surround yourself with. The way you spend your precious time. Because if you are doing things just so that you can tell everyone else how interesting you are, maybe you should take a second to realize that your opinion of yourself is the most important.

What did you do today because it challenged you, changed you, or put a smile on your dang face?

Be The Most Perfect Version of Yourself

I know. No one is perfect.

The good news is that I'm not asking you to be perfect. I'm simply asking you to be the most perfect version of you.

Have you ever sniped at someone who was being rude or arrogant or condescending? Yea, me too. In fact I did it today. After I hung up the phone, I just stared at it, and wished I could call the person back and apologize for my irritated tone. It was four o'clock. On a Friday. And I was fried. But still, not an excuse not to treat someone respectfully. That was not the most perfect version of me.

The most perfect version of me is defined by the way I would feel about myself ten minutes after the moment in which I am acting questionably. Would I be proud of myself for sniping at someone who was being rude? No. But I would be proud if I breathed deeply, approached the situation mindfully, and pledged my best to help the person on the other end of the phone respectfully.

Because if there's one thing that I know, it's that we all deserve bottomless reserves of respect. And the only way to get it is to give it.

The most perfect version of me is smiling at the man that bumps me as I'm getting on the subway, instead of glaring at him for invading my personal space. I live in New York City. I sacrificed personal space when I decided to live in a four square foot apartment.

The most perfect version of me is saying thank you to the guy that empties my trash can, instead of keeping my eyes focused on the computer screen and simply rolling my chair back so that he can crawl under my desk to get it. It's asking him how his day is going and how his daughter is adjusting in middle school. Because he isn't "the guy that empties my trash." He's Billy and he has six children, a wife, and a really interesting story.

The most perfect version of me gives $50 to my favorite charity instead of blowing $50 on four vodka sodas and waking up hungover before work. Because $50 will allow a school in Cambodia to have puzzles, games and toys for its users, while four vodka sodas leaves me a few pounds heavier and a little more irritated at the lady on the other end of the line.

So instead, I resolve going forward that I will be the most perfect version of myself. Whether that means giving money, or time, or respect, I will be proud of the actions that I undertake. I will look back in ten minutes or in ten years and say "Yea, that's EXACTLY how I should have acted in that situation. I'm glad I did that." It means:

1. Saying hello. Even if you don't know the person to whom you're talking.

2. Holding elevator doors. Literally, it's an extra 30 seconds and how excited do you get when someone holds the doors for you? If you can't spare 30 seconds on your day to hold the elevator doors open, I would recommend that you reevaluate your lifestyle.

3. Donating. Time. Money. Space on your blog or your twitter feed. A helping hand. Advice. An ear. A book. A hug. Give it away because you probably don't need whatever it is that you're holding on to.

4. Cutting people some slack. I'm not on my game all the time. I make mistakes. I take a while to say what I'm thinking. Think about the last time you had a terrible day. You got a flat tire, or your friend was diagnosed with cancer, or your boyfriend broke up with you. I bet you wish someone had cut you a little slack that day. You will never know why someone acts the way they do, so the best we can do is cut them a little bit of slack and hope they'll appreciate your perfect-you ways.

5. Appreciating. Thank you. You're really smart. I love you. That was such a good idea. Tell that story again. Your writing is fantastic. You've changed my life. You're inspired me. You. Are. Inspiring. I promise to tell you that you're awesome (because you are), if you go tell two more people today that you think are awesome how you really feel.

What is the most perfect version of you?

Eating Like the Caveman: Week #1

Okay, it's winter. And that means it's cold. And normally that also means that I sit around in my Snuggie, mowing down entire wedges of cheese while surfing the interwebz for exercise.

But not this year. Nuh uh. Winter 2010/2011 ain't got shiz on me.

Why? Because I'm eating like the caveman.

(Minus the whole meat eating thing. Let's substitute meat with veggie pizza and Riesling.)

Eating like the caveman is a simple process: Caveman scrambles around, surviving off bitty bugs, grass, leaves, berries, and other things to keep him functioning. Despite infrequency of large portions of food, Caveman still has to run around, hunt, build fires, cut down trees to repair the roof, and get busy makin' babies with Cavelady. And every now and then he has to fend off a sabertooth tiger. All of that? It takes a lot of energy. And Caveman? Well, he's really not making it alone on all of these pine needles and schnozberries. He's hungry, yo'.

Or rather, his body is experiencing a "starvation" effect where he is keeping his glucose levels so low (because he hasn't gotten enough carbs) that he is burning fat instead of glucose. Thus, fat loss. Thus, the jacked up appearance he's got that makes all the lay-deez at the mud pit down the road check him out a little harder (but Cavelady ain't havin' that, ya heard? She gon' find him...I digress).

But then, one day, Caveman, after escaping the sabertooth, stumbles upon a woolly mammoth. And it's game on, bitches. Caveman slays the mammoth, brings it home to the squeals of Cavelady and the other Cavevillagers, and they eat like kings. For a day. Until they realize that they have no method of refrigeration and all of the meat spoils after 24 hours and Cave city is living off beetles and schnozberries again.

No, I didn't make this up (though I wish I did. I'd be an effing gazillionaire by now.) It's actually a little-known process called ketosis that is actually the basis of many well-known eating plans like the South Beach Diet and The Atkins Diet. Basically, you trick your body into thinking it's starving (because you eat mostly high-protein, high-healthy fat, low-carb foods) and so your body can only burn fat instead of carbohydrates when it's running away from the sabertooth tiger aka sprinting on the treadmill. The other component of this diet is that you are eating smaller amounts more frequently. I eat all the time anyway, so the only challenge for me is the "smaller amount" portion. Sounds simple, right?

Let's take a look. Here's my 6-day-a-week-diet for the next few months:

8am: 2-egg omlette, 1/2 cup spinach, 1/2 cup tomato

11am: Banana and 12 almonds

2pm: Bigass green salad, some tofu, black beans, garbanzo beans, peppers, carrots, cauliflower, whatever other veggies are on the lunch buffet that day, and a tablespoon of olive oil

5pm: Apple with three tablespoons cottage cheese

8pm: Fish filet, broccoli/pepper/whatever veggie I'm feeling

10pm: Apple or Banana if I'm feeling rumbly before bed

*At some point in the day, I'll also have a protein shake post-workout, but since I am terrible at being consistent about working out at night or in the morning, I won't add it to my daily routine. But it's in there. Somewhere.

So that's me imitating Caveman most days of the week (I'm even running from that sabertooth tiger aka taking spin classes). But Sunday? Ohhhh, Sunday is my off day, in which I kill my woolly mammoth and recklessly mow down pizza and beer and cupcakes and ice cream to great cheers from the Cavevillage aka McCann's Irish Pub in Queens. Because you need to give your body a day to recover it's glucose stores for the week. Otherwise, you'll just look like Skeleton Central and be angry and hungry and craving chocolate chip cookies all the time.

How's it going so far? It's only been three days, but I'm sort of hungry more often, but I do have a few observations:

1. I look forward to every meal. Mostly because I'm hungry, but I notice how my body feels before, during, and after eating. I feel fuller faster, though that full feeling doesn't last as long as it did when I was eating more.

2. I can more easily resist snacks. My job? Is in food and beverage. We have cookies in our office every damn day. There is lasagna and chocolate cake and cheese platters on the (free!) buffet during lunch. I can have bagels and egg sandwiches for breakfast should I choose (also free). But knowing that I went out and bought healthy food AND prepared it AND brought it to work makes me more determined to resist the "free" stuff at work, and only eat what I choose.

3. I don't feel guilty at the end of the day about what I've eaten. Because it's all whole foods. It's sustainable, and organic, and I know exactly where it came from. And it makes me feel a little bit better that my food choices don't weight on my mind when I go to sleep. And if I don't run from the STT, well it's okay, we'll just pretend I was at home stoking the fire and helping Cavelady with the babies.

Despite any positive or negative impact that this eating plan (I don't want to call it a diet because I really hope to make it a sustainable lifestyle), I know that I'll be looking forward to Sunday. And I'm even taking suggestions on what my first Sunday meal should be. New Yorkers, any thoughts? No holds here. I'd even consider Crumbs Cupcakes all day long.

More Wise Words from the Buddha

Instead of saying you'll try, start saying you will.

Instead of thinking "tomorrow", start doing today.

Instead of knowing impossibles, start believing in possibility of the unknown.

And while you're at it...

Have discipline.

Appreciate.

Know no limits.

Be in love. With yourself. With everyone else.

Say what you feel. Not what you think.

Stop regretting.

Stay present.

Ignore grudges.

Take a minute.

Reflect.

Take another minute.

Breathe.

Start believin'.

And don't stop.

Sunday Night Jam

It's cold.

I'm hiding in my bed under thousands of piles of covers and have made a play fort with the 8 sets of pillows that reside on my bed (note to potential boyfriends: there is no place for you to actually sleep in my bed. I hope that's okay).

And I'm rockin' out to some Sunday night jams. My latest musical girl crush is Maya Solovey and I saw her at Pete's Candy Store in Williamsburg a few months ago before I left for Asia. And then I promptly bought her CD, downloaded it to my iPhone and played it non-stop for three months. I jammed to her on overnight buses, played her as the soundtrack to all of the yoga classes that I taught, and sang the lyrics to the below song over and over again as I trekked to the top of Indonesia's second tallest peak. And she's got the animal mukti as the header for her website. Seriously, how can you not be absolutely head over heels for this chickadee? Now go over to her website and give her some interwebz love if you know what's good for you.

Who are you rockin' out to this Sunday night?

On Sending Holiday Cards

Ah! This bear? How freakin' cute is this bear!?

I'm sitting at my kitchen table doing "work" (blogging, stuffing muesli down my gullet, watching YouTube videos of cats doing cat-ish things) while my brother is silently and efficiently writing personal notes, addressing, and stamping Christmas Cards. And when he's done with one, he crosses it off his color-coded Excel spreadsheet of recipients. And then I shovel another handful of muesli into my mouth and promise myself that next weekend I will begin to write my Christmas Cards.

Because honestly? How freakin' cute are these cards? I am going to be so-effing-excited to receive this in the mail so that I can squeal with girlish delight over snowy covered does.

This freaking baby otter? Grooming himself? I'm dying a slow death due to cuteness overload. I won't even talk about how these cards benefit the World Wildlife Fund, because really? A black bear covered in snow no longer needs to be anywhere else but on my bedside table.

Are you sending holiday cards? Do you have some favorites? Can you come over and get my butt in gear so that my holiday cards don't turn into Valentine's Day cards or more likely St. Patrick's Day cards?

Budgeting for Travel: Being a Tourist in My Own City

I was perusing the blogosphere this morning, clicking from blog to blog, when this post about Times Square in my now-home-city caught my eye. The author, Paul Smith (who is rapidly becoming my new fave travel blogger. Read it, y'all. He knows wazzup.) puts together a strong argument for visiting Times Square as a tourist, and if you live in NYC, to go see it. Something about the energy, lights, and lounge chairs in the middle of Broadway (no joke. It exists.) is manic, insane, a little cuckoo, and so very, very New York.

Though I am grounded for the minute in NYC until I can save enough for my next travelventure, here's a list of things that I plan on doing this winter, or have already done and are worth doing again, that lets me feel like a tourist in my own city.

1. Ice skating in Bryant Park. Numero uno? It's free. Numero dos? It's set beneath a teensy little Christmas village that sells homemade organic soaps and tiny knit dog sweaters. Any day that starts with ice skating and ends with shopping for crafts while sipping freshly made hot chocolate is a day worth living.

2. Carriage ride around Central Park. Yup. I'm a tourist. But how many of you out there can actually say you've taken a carriage ride? Do they even offer this anywhere else in the world? Plus, the idea of cuddling with someone under those big velvet blankets while parading around the park is sort of romantical.

3. The Staten Island Ferry from Battery Park. So you know those NYC Water Taxis that are like 30 bones and they drive you around the Hudson River and everyone takes pictures and ooohs and aaaahs at how purdy it is and oh wait did I mention this all costs 30 dollars? Well, an equally awesome view of that same skyline is the one from the deck of the Staten Island Ferry as it leaves Manhattan. Pure, beautiful, unadulterated New York. I loves it because it's awesome but more because it's freeeee-ninety-nine.

4. The Brooklyn Public Library. Sitting atop Grand Army Plaza, the Brooklyn Public Library is architecturally magnificent. It looms at the northwest end of Prospect Park and is just chock-effing-full of books. And lovely reading rooms with big fat comfy chairs. And they don't mind if you bring in coffee and a bagel and sit around all dang day draped over chairs and reading books. And they don't make eyes at you to buy anything because it's a library and not Barnes and Noble (where, incidentally, you cannot get away with lounging around, draped over chairs, and reading books all day without someone making eyes at you to buy something).

5. Idlewild Books. It's a bookstore with (get this) only books geared towards traveling! And they have language classes and book clubs and all kinds of awesomeness. If they had a like button outside their store, I would press it, fo' sheez.

6. New York Pizza Tour. *drool*

7. The rodeo at Madison Square Garden. Sure, you can go see the Knicks, but we live in Manhattan and I do not want to miss my only chance to legally watch men wrestle livestock and small children cling to the back of goats. Plus, sometimes you just need a legit excuse to rock a little flannel, flirt with men in cowboy boots, and drink proper beer in a can. I mean, outside of Williamsburg.

What do you love about your city? What do you do to get out and about when the weather is turning nasty?

20 Things I'm Thankful For

I didn't really have a proper Thanksgiving post (mostly because I was having a contest with myself to see how many pieces of pie I could stuff into my mouth in a 24 hour span). But I've always been intrigued with the idea of a Gratitude Journal.

A Gratitude Journal is where you write down 5 things every single day that you are thankful for. Anything goes, and it can be as big or as little as you like. In honor of me not posting once during Thanksgiving, here are twenty things (or 5 for each day that I sat around consuming pie and watching Law and Order reruns) that I am absolutely, truly grateful for.

1. That my mother still brings me a snack when she picks me up from the airport/train station everytime I come home.

2. Control top stockings. Can't stand when the buggers fall down to my knees at work.

3. $13 mani/pedis that actually last a week (or two, if you're a cheapskate like me).

4. My nieces and nephew. Because remind me that the more energy you have, the more people pay attention to you.

5. Fresh cut flowers. Glamourous.

6. My grandmother who pawns her old 80s sweaters onto me and has no idea that they are the latest fashion trend (please don't tell her, or else she'll start pinching my style!).

7. Sarah V and Alexandra Frazen and Danielle LaPorte and all the other amazing blogesseseses whose posts I read everyday instead of doing my actual job (I mean, uh...).

8. Skin that tans. Even in the winter I look sort of freshly-beached (but I promise I wear sunscreen everyday).

9. My dad because he believes in me.

10. My mom because she lets me wear her clothes when I come home so that I don't have to pack a bag.

11. My brothers because they show me that there are good men somewhere in this world.

12. My sister just because she answers the phone at midnight.

13. My hair. Long. Straight. Brown. Manageable, wet and dry. One less thing to worry about.

14. Long runs in Central Park and that I get to trace the footsteps of running celebrities and the common-man alike.

15. The best girlfriends ever. So I can lie in their beds and read their fashion magazines from different countries and giggle about boys while they make me tea and dumplings and tell me that I'm SOOOOOO much better off without him/that job/those bangs.

16. Gmail. Google. My iPhone. Technology that keeps me on-time, efficient, and well-informed.

17. Bookstores. Or rather, walking through bookstores and running my fingers along all of the books on the shelves.

18. Pumpkin pie. It reminds me of the holidays, which reminds me of family, which reminds me of #4, #6, #9, #10, #11, and #12.

19. Georgetown Hoyas Mens Basketball. Life. Love. Hoyas.

20. High heels. So that I can parade around feeling fierce and not the least bit afraid of anything life throws on the cobblestone path in front of me.

Happy (post) Thanksgiving everyone!

What are you thankful for? Sure, it's been a week since Thanksgiving, but we can be thankful everyday, right?