new years

My Word of the Year: Growth

January 9, 2019 by Alicia 1 Comment

I don’t think I have ever done a word of the year, but I saw a few posts about it recently. I couldn’t pin point my exact goals of the year, but Growth seems to sum it up well.

I drew this little chart after watching a bunch of Youtube videos on Bullet Journaling goals for the new year. I tried bullet journaling last year in the new year and I will say it only really lasted until May/June. I love the creative aspect behind it, but I plan so far ahead that I love my $10 daily planner more for weekly plans and to do lists. So now I’m using my bullet journal for occasional inspiration with drawing or quotes I want to write.

but how cute is this polar bear I drew after watching a Youtube video with Polar Bear theme bullet journal

Anyway back to my word, Growth.

Growth in my yoga practice (aka practicing again, even if not everyday, getting back to consistency)
Growth in my relationship (currently Brian is home and it has been nice carving out more time with each other. Plus it’s wedding year!!)
Growth in my weightlifting (I have my meet in April and I have some new PRs since last year, still hoping to break even more PRs)
Growth in my mindset (aka being more present)
Growth in self care (this goes with mindset a bit, but just taking time to de stress, getting back to monthly massages, because they really made a difference, taking more baths and doing face masks and continuing to eat well)
Growth in my job (it has been a crazy year end, I have learned a lot and I hope I can continue to learn more and make tasks more efficient)
Growth in friendships (if I’m honest, I feel lonely a lot of the time. Many of my friends are in different cities and states. I am excited that a few of my close friends will be coming to my wedding in May and I can’t wait for girl time. Hopefully some weekend summer trips will happen to visit friends too)
Growth in Penn State (if I had to pick a favorite week from last year, it was the Penn State orientation week. It sounds so weird to pick that as a favorite, but I truly felt like I belonged and the first semester was amazing. This second semester there is a lot to figure out still, but I am learning and excited for my classes)
Growth in exploring and getting outdoors (I hope this summer, we have a summer and that I get some more SUP practice at the state park and some more hiking)

Those were some of the things I came up with and I think Growth describes it best for the categories.

Do you make resolutions for the New Year or any goals?

New Year’s 2017 in Sydney Australia

January 1, 2017 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Hey there it’s my first post for the year 2017 and I’m coming at you from Sydney, Australia.

I first visited Sydney when I studied abroad in 2011. Since then and hearing about the amazing New Year celebration, I knew I wanted to return. Firstly I didn’t get to see as much as I would like because tight budget + school. So far we have been here for almost 3 full days and already have walked through a lot of places I had not seen as well as some familiar to me.

I am definitely still feeling the jet lag, especially after waking up at 4am New Year’s Eve and having to stay awake until midnight. That was hard. I then slept until 9:30am this morning (New Year’s Day). Even with the late start and sleeping in, I was just so tired today. Hopefully soon I will get some energy back. Maybe this cupcake I just ate will help…

Back to New Year’s Eve, our first real day of exploring. We mainly slept the first day…by accident. When nap time turns into almost 5 hours of sleep…woops.

We began early New Year’s Eve (I mentioned I was up at 4am, but Brian didn’t get moving until maybe 6am). After making breakfast in our hotel room (we have a little kitchenette which is perfect), we took the train and walked around Darling Harbour. We don’t really have an itinerary, just a list of things we want to see. We ended up hoping on a ferry to Sydney Olympic Park. I had no idea a ferry ran there. I didn’t get the chance to see it last time I was there but really wanted to swim in the olympic pool at some point. Obviously we weren’t prepared for swimming, but the day was gorgeous and the 40 minute ferry ride passed by quickly.

As we got off the ferry, it was 11am and we were getting hungry from all the walking we had already done. I had already hit 10k steps in the first few hours of the day. Buses picked up by the ferry but we looked at the map and thought we could walk. Well…it was a looong walk. It was also New Year’s Eve and by the time we reached the restaurant point it was 11:30 and we wanted food, but there was only 1 place open in the little mall area we reached. So that was the place to go. I got a delicious pesto chicken sandwich. I thought a sandwich would be cold as it was warm out and I wanted cold food, but it was a hot sandwich. Still very delicious. We also drank nearly 2 liters of water between the two of us. We were mostly thirsty I think.

After that we felt much better and energized. We continued walking looking for the tour spot. Well we finally reached the stadium and everywhere just felt so deserted. I don’t think they were giving tours on New Year’s Eve. We were pretty tired after all the walking we did. We really did cover a lot of ground and it was only a small fraction of the park. I was amazed at all the residential area and thinking about how cool it would be to live in an olympic park with all the bike paths, walking and just this feeling of a tiny city.

We decided to take the bus back to the ferry, which was a very good decision. The bus ride was only about $2 and so much faster. Plus it went around parts of the park we didn’t get to and I saw a school and another couple shopping centers. Really everything you needed was in that area and it was cool to see. We definitely plan to go back as we passed the aquatic center where you can pay a fee and lap swim. I love swimming in olympic size pools as it adds a challenge. Swimming 50m doesn’t seem so bad when I can swim for 2 miles, but when you don’t have a wall at the 25m point, it is harder and better practice for an open water swim for sure (hopefully one day).

Ferries were getting crowded as we returned around 3pm to the city. They started to run extra ones to accommodate for new years. We got off at Circular Quay, essentially the center of Sydney downtown, and made our way through the crowds back to our hotel. The point where we planned to watch the fireworks didn’t open until 6pm and yet there was already a line at 4pm. Luckily it was a short line and we went back to the hotel to eat some dinner and headed over around 6:30.

I finally had a chance to read The Magnolia Story while we waited and got over half way through the book before it got dark shortly after 8. Then the first fireworks show was at 9pm, perfect for families and kids. It was a short 5-10 min and then a lot of the families headed home.

The next 3 hours was the longest. I think I took a half hour nap somewhere in there and then was using the flashlight on my phone to read some more, though I could barely keep my eyes open. Finally midnight approached and the crowd grew. Everyone was basically standing to take pictures of the fireworks. There wasn’t really a countdown but we knew when it was close and then the bridge lit up with fireworks. Happy New Year!!

I think the fireworks went on for 10 minutes or so. I loved watching the fireworks and lights on the bridge and seeing the fireworks from Darling Harbour color coordinate. They must have a lot of thought behind these. My new camera captured beautiful clear pictures of the fireworks.

I think the odd thing was that our spot was so quiet. A lot of people simply took pictures and enjoyed the fireworks. A couple people were screaming Happy New Year, but for the most part, the crowd was silent. I was happy with our place. Of course we could have had a better view if we staked out a spot earlier in the day, but we could walk back to our hotel and we were home by 12:30am.

I’m so happy that I was able to make it to Sydney for New Year’s and even better, to have Brian by my side. This is just the start of our adventures traveling and a great way to kick off the new year. Happy New Year 2017!!

The Comparison Trap: Thinking Out Loud #32

January 7, 2016 by Alicia 10 Comments

It’s a New Year. Most of us, if not all, are setting some goals. The fitness industry is booming this month. I mean I even ordered a new sports bra from Fabletics the other day and I just got an email saying my shipment is delayed because they got so many orders. I guess everyone needs a new outfit to kick into gear for the new year. No complaints about that as I always love a new outfit for working out as well. I’m pretty sure my workout attire collection is getting bigger than my actual work clothes, but that’s OK because I live in my workout clothes every chance I get.

One day I was telling my boyfriend how I was so addicted to Instagram, that it has truly changed my life, in a good way. He said that was great, but warned me not to compare. I told him, I choose who I follow. The people that I look up to on Instagram don’t compare themselves, they simply live a healthy lifestyle because it makes them feel good. OK so I may not fully know people’s lives, but at least I choose to follow people who motivate me while I motivate myself to be the best I can be and to not compare to others. This is why Instagram has changed my life for the better. I have grown in my yoga practice from yoga challenges and I follow like-minded people who motivate me daily. As much as I can motivate myself, it is helpful when I see others working out at 5am, because getting out of bed at that hour is still tough.

The other day, I saw a post on Instagram that said, “you should only compare yourself to yourself.”

Everyone is different, we might have similar goals to be healthy and get into shape, but everyone’s “healthy” is different. What works for one person may not work for another. I know that I cannot only do yoga and be in great shape (or what I define to be “great shape” for myself). For me, weight lifting really makes a difference, but I love incorporating yoga into my routine for stretching and for my mind.

Then the other day, scrolling through Facebook, I see another pregnancy announcement. Engagements, weddings, pregnancies…they seem to be everywhere now that I am at that age. Ahhhh, see what I did there? I was just comparing myself because of my age and my friend’s ages. I text my boyfriend that someone else is having a baby. He responds “don’t you feel so far behind the curve.” I respond “yeah, they’re married, have a dog, house and baby on the way.” He told me I answered wrong, pointed out my comparing.

But then I told him the truth, my truth. I don’t know where I want to settle down. I want children, but right now I am enjoying my freedom from having to deal with child care while working. I also want to use this time I have to travel because I know my traveling will be more limited with a baby in tow. I really like just living in an apartment, for now, because 1) I don’t have to pay to get stuff fixed and 2) I can move out without worrying about losing money (with giving 90 days notice). I know I am also very fortunate to not have debt from school or anything, so currently being debt free is probably the best. I moved away from home almost 2 years ago with just the stuff that fit in my car, no furniture, mostly clothes and necessities. My dad and sister brought some other things down to me later, but essentially I have had to work for everything I have in this apartment. I will mention my boyfriend helped a ton, bought most of the furniture we have and if it weren’t for him, my move would not have been possible, but these last 21 months, I have appreciated everything so much more. I also appreciate having less stuff (makes moving in the future easier).

Social media can lead us down the comparison trap, whether comparing things or life events. We could sit here comparing ourselves, but that isn’t really helping anyone, not even you. It often leads to you feeling worse about yourself and that’s never good. So rather than sit there comparing, think about what you have, what you have achieved, and what your goals are. By doing that, perhaps you will realize, the things you are comparing, are not really what you want. I think what everyone really wants is happiness.

Be happy with where you are right now, work towards to your goals, and be happy when you achieve just one step closer to that big goal.

Thoughts on comparison?

New Year’s 2016: MIMM #52

January 4, 2016 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Happy-New-Year-Clip-art-Images Happy first Monday of 2016!! Did you finish setting your goals for the year yet? I am still brainstorming some and I need to write them down so I don’t forget them. I did write down some of my blog goals though. I am participating in The Blogger Project’s blog challenge this month.

I did have a great weekend though. It was really nice that New Year’s Day fell on a Friday this year so that I could enjoy a 3 day weekend. I got some much needed sleeping in time and also got back on track with my workouts.

Thursday evening for New Year’s Eve, Brian met me in the city. I got out of work shortly after 3pm and walked to Reading Terminal to get a donut with Brian, pre dinner appetizer right?! The line was the longest I have ever seen it, but it moves fast and it was delicious!

Then we walked around for a bit until our dinner reservations at 5pm at Le Castagne. Brian loved my pick. I am so glad that I have work lunches that bring me to different restaurants around the city.

After dinner we headed over to the Franklin Museum to see Star Wars in IMAX. I think I have seen bits and pieces of Star Wars but can’t really recall. Brian told me I looked really into it though and I was. It was good that I didn’t have to have complete knowledge of the previous movies to see this one. I enjoyed it.

By the time we took the train home, it was nearly 11pm. It wasn’t long until midnight but I barely made it. I’m pretty sure I might have fallen asleep for 20 minutes or so. Once we watched the countdown, it was off to bed.

New Year’s Day was pretty laid back. Slept until 9am, got up and ate, took a mini nap, had lunch and then headed to the movies. Yes I took a nap after sleeping in. I was really tired apparently, or maybe just lazy for the 1^st day of the year. Brian and I went to see Sisters, which I saw over Christmas and LOVED! I rarely go to see a movie twice while it is in theaters, but this one I wanted Brian to see and I wanted to see it again anyway, it was sooo good! Brian was dying laughing and still laughing in the afternoon and evening thinking about the movie.

We then ran some errands, decided on dinners for the weekend and bought groceries and then headed home to start cooking. We made fajitas for dinner and mixed up some drinks. We were both too tired to mix drinks New Years Eve when we got home at 11pm, so we had drinks New Year’s Day. I made this citrus cocktail. I have found that I love citrus flavors.

I used the Bai bubbles Grapefruit sparkling water as the base of the drink. My first time trying those sparkling waters and it was really good. They will be nice treats in the future as they are a bit pricey.

It was another late evening just staying up and talking, which I enjoyed. We don’t get much time to talk in person so we treasure the time we have together.

Saturday morning I tested out my new waffle iron that Brian’s parents got me. It is small, but the perfect waffle size to me. It took a couple tries, but finally we got a good one. It will definitely take practice to get the timing right.

Then I headed to the gym for a swim. The pool water was really warm which made it hard to swim, because my body just felt so relaxed. I pushed through the first hard 30 laps and then it got a bit better. A few sets later and I was finally at 120 laps which seemed like a good place to stop for the day seeing as I wanted energy for the rest of the day.

Once I got home, Brian ordered Chinese food and we had lunch. Then we headed out to the outlet mall. We were driving and driving and we ended up way past the outlet mall, but then after pulling over and checking the map, we were not too far from another outlet mall so we went there instead. Brian wanted shoes but this outlet mall didn’t have the store he was looking for, instead, I ended up leaving with 4 shirts and a pair of pants… The pants were a little pricey even after the discount, but I didn’t have any navy blue pants or straight leg so at least it is a different style. I also picked 2 old shirts from my closet to get rid of and replace with my 2 new casual shirts.

We had our dinner cooking in the crock pot, so when we got home, we dug into the bbq pulled pork and had dinner while watching 30 Rock on Netflix.

Sunday morning, I made myself a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and then headed out to the gym shortly after 9am. I wanted to get my squats in and increased by another 10 lbs. YAY!! My legs were jell-o by the end of the workout.

I decided Sunday was cleaning day. I worked on taking down the Christmas tree, vacuuming and cleaning up the kitchen. I had overflowing recyclables since Christmas, but our bins have been overflowing since then too. Luckily with a big apartment complex, I realized that one recycling bin at the other end of the parking lot wasn’t being used. It amazes me how lazy some people are. There are 2 garbage bins and 2 recycling bins next to each other at the other end of the lot, but I think because of the way the garbage bin is facing it makes it harder to open the top and so instead the first bin is overflowing… So I finally got some steps in, in the afternoon, carrying multiple loads to the farther recycling and trash bins.

I was really happy that Saturday and Sunday were finally really sunny. Even if the temps were a bit chilly, the weather was decent for this time of year and the last 2 weeks I have hardly seen the sun with all the rain and clouds we have had. It really makes a difference in my mood when it is sunny.

Now it is time to start this new year and back to 5 day work weeks, but working on some vacation planning to look forward to as well.

Did you do anything fun for New Year’s?