Twelve Things I’m looking forward to in ‘12

1. The following movies…

I get chills every time they start singing. I cannot wait!
 

 

This one looks comical and I’m not sure about it but I’m still seeing it anyway.

I’ll overlook Kristen Stewart's presence because this movie looks so intense and Charlize Theron looks like such a badass.

2. Books – Insurgent by Veronica Roth (sequel to Divergent). Hooray for dystopic young adult series with alliteration!

                                          


3. Downton Abbey Season 2, which starts on Sunday (I could not be more excited!) I only watched the first season 4 times.

4.. Getting a fantastic teaching job in the same town Zach works in. I really want to be back in the classroom.

5. Reading and going to workshops to improve myself professionally. Pinterest has really given me a lot of ideas!

6. Moving. Into a different house and hopefully closer to where we work. Because right now we’re about 30 minutes from everything. Lame.

7. Visiting my Louisiana family. It’s been too long since I’ve been back and I miss everyone. Hopefully Zach and I will both be able to get down there this summer.

8. Spending more time with friends and family. I tend to keep to myself for the first few months after moving to a new place, just to get my bearings. But I hope to get out more in the coming months and enjoy the relationships that are close by :)

9. Improving my blogging skills. I have a lot of plans and want to put a lot of work into it.

10. Finally having my hair the length I want. I’ve been growing it out for over a year and I’m almost there. I hope to get it cut soon and then I just know I’ll look exactly like this:

                                                      

Which will be super awesome.


11. Getting a bike…and a camera. Not sure which order this will happen in. But I’ve been wanting/needing both for a while. This is similar to the bike I want:



Which I know is totally hipster and not suitable for hardcore biking. I’ve always had this problem with the bikes with the gears and handbrakes. I don’t understand how to work the gears and every time I try to use the hand brakes I end up being thrown forward off the bike. So much easier just to pedal backwards like the good ole days. Plus it keeps the phrase “backpedaling” alive and relevant.

(Sidenote: Does anyone have an opinion about which camera is better, Canon vs. Nikon? Apparently in some circles it’s a very heated discussion. I’m not a professional, just a curious amateur.)


12. I’m excited to learn more and study new things. I’ve made a goal to read a book a week and actually keep track of what I read (I’ve been reading a LOT these past few months and recording none of it, terrible shame) and I’ve also got a gold key membership with Livemocha so I’m hoping to learn at least one language fluently this year.


Anyway, I make resolutions all the time, so I didn’t really want to make “New Year’s Resolutions”. And while some of these are goals that I can actually work toward I just wanted to write a post about things I’m looking forward to because 2011 was a very tough year. Zach and I agreed that 2011 was a year in which exactly only 6 things happened: he went on a road trip to Vegas, we got married, honeymoon in Chicago, he got to work for a Homebrew story, I got to be a nanny, and we learned to make Chicken Tikka Masala. Other than those things and the time we spent with friends and family, 2011 is a year we’d rather erase. So if future generations ever ask me what I did in 2011 I’ll say that was the year I got married and learned to make Chicken Tikka Masala.


Here’s to 2012!

The Post about Idleness, Beauty, and Pinterest (the New FB)

You know the awkward feeling when you haven’t talked to someone in a while, someone you were once close with? And you think, I should call them or facebook them, but you keep putting it off? Good, so it’s not just me.

Is it weird that that’s how I feel about this blog?

Why haven’t I been writing? Simplest answer, lack of motivation/inspiration.

What have I been doing instead? Unfortunately, not much. I did have a cold for a week or so (which turns me into a lazy ball of sniffles) but I think that’s on it’s way out. And um…I really can’t think of anything interesting to report.

You know the saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"? Well the road to me spending the entire weekend laying in bed on the computer getting nothing accomplished is paved with Pinterest and Youtube.

Don't Listen to Yourself

If there's one thing I know about myself it's that I'm a worrier. (Wait, have I mentioned that?) It's also really hard for me to come out of a funk once I fall in. When depressing, or I should say despairing thoughts take hold, I find them difficult to shake loose. Take my job situation for example.

I don't have one.

Having been married for just over 2 months now and having lived in the big city for almost as long, I have been searching, and searching, and searching for work. I'm OCD about checking job search engines. I'm sick of applying, sicker still of seeing my options disappear.

It's not just about the financial strain, though G-d knows it's a factor. It's the not having a purpose for my day part. Or the part about not leaving the house and staying in my pjs all the time. Each day is a repeat of the day before. Each day my confidence takes a hit. Each day brings me closer to the fear of something really bad happening if I don't find something soon. Or worse, I will settle for something that kills my soul but pays the bills. And every offer of "Don't worry, something will turn up, G-d has a plan" starts to sound like some trite solution the Employed offer to the Unemployed when things get uncomfortable. (No offense meant to the dear friends who have been trying to encourage me.)

On top of all this I am alone for most of the day. Zach is working, in a great job which (thankfully) he really enjoys. And I am so, so very happy for him. But that leaves me alone with my darkest thoughts for the majority of my time. So here's another tip. One that I tell myself over and over.


Get out of your own head.


It can be a very dangerous place to be. I, and many others, have been known to dwell there for weeks on end. It's very lonely, very grim, and very frightening. When you give into panicked emotions you are not thinking clearly so best to just get out of there.

People tend to shut others out at times like this. I know I do.

Don't.

Whatever your situation, whatever you are facing, whatever ugly ending is scaring you shitless, don't face it alone. Get out of your head, your house, and have a good conversation with someone. Watch a movie at a friend's. Cook dinner together. Don't give into the feeling that you just want to be left alone or you're not up for it.

Get up for it.

Literally out of bed, out of pjs, out the door. (But replacing pjs with clothes please.)

If nothing else, watch a Disney movie. As a friend once told me, you can't be down when you're watching a Disney movie. After all...

Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come shining through
No matter how your heart is grieving,
If you keep on dreameeming*
The dreams that you wish
Will...come...true....


*new translation courtesy of 2 year old me*