A little Vitamin C for life.

You guys, I’m so crabby. It’s a -30 windchill in Minnesota today, I’m on day 3 of a Whole30 plus cutting out coffee, and all I want to do is curl back up in bed and hibernate until we leave for Miami in a month.

First world problems, right? The girl who just got back from a week in wine country and leaves in a month for Miami/Puerto Rico is bitching about the cold and about her self-inflicted dietary habits? HA.

It’s been a doozy of a last few days. I’m sleeping terribly…a recurring nightmare I haven’t had for years has started to pop back up, and every time I have it I find myself wide awake in a cold sweat panic for at least a half hour. The cold and wind is sapping me of my will to live just as fast as it’s sapping every last bit of moisture from my cracked lips and desiccated hands. The new year started with unresolved weirdness. Bottom line: I don’t feel like the best version of myself at the moment.

So I’m sitting here, eating an absurdly sweet orange, listening to Mozart, and it’s making me feel marginally less bleh about everything. I tend to put on my sunshine-iest face here, because what’s the point of being a cranky bitch on the internet? But today called for a little moment of honesty. I’m just putting a good face on it all because if I give in to January, ON JANUARY 5TH, I’m going to feel like even more of a loser. So here’s to a little Vitamin C for my attitude…oranges, Mozart, texts with a friend, a lengthy reading list and a mid-day escape to the company gym for a little sweat. Here’s to putting on a happy face, even in the face of eyelash-freezing cold. Most of all, at this point, here’s to “holy shit 26 days til February.” 

Inventory: Early January 2017

As of like 7pm last night...

Making: meal plans with no soy, added sugar, dairy, alcohol, or gluten. Holy shit.

Cooking: chicken for a Whole30 chicken salad…lunch recs, anyone?

Drinking: lemon ginger tea.

Reading: “The Pursuit of Love” by Nancy Mitford – going to power through some of the Listology list all month to get #70 of my 101 in 1001 done!

Wanting: Coffee. Giving it up for a month concurrent with Whole30 is going to do me in.

Looking: forward to a warm weather trip to Miami and Puerto Rico in a month.

Playing: “The Man in the High Castle” on Amazon – I’m newly hooked but can only watch in small doses because it kind of freaks me out a little. Anyone else watching?

Listening: lately, obsessively, to the “Hamilton Mixtape.”

Wishing: for a great year.

Enjoying: Nick as the Bachelor, way more than I thought I was going to.

Waiting: for apologies I’m pretty sure are never coming, and also to be okay with that.

Liking: new podcasts I listen to in the gym: “Terrible Thanks for Asking” by Nora McInerny, and the Betches, because they are just so. vapid.

Wondering: what to do about situations I don’t like.

Hoping: that tomorrow's windchill isn't too terribly brutal (UPDATE: IT WAS. GROSS, MINNESOTA.).

Marveling: at how fun Kelsie’s birthday party is going to be (and at the fact that we have it planned over two months out!).

Needing: a new white button-down – the elbow wore through on my old one and I’m irritated.

Smelling: my vanilla cinnamon candle, my chicken cooking, and my lavender hand lotion.

Wearing: my Morse code necklace from Kelsie and a t-shirt that says “Fa la la la la la vodka,” because I’m a grown-up and also not at all holding on to Christmas for too long.

Following: Whole30 on Instagram for inspiration (like this morning’s sweet potato, pear, egg, avocado and sausage breakfast scramble. So good!).

Noticing: drafts off our chilly 100-year-old apartment windows.

Knowing: that I am being bullheaded, but also that I’m sticking to guns that matter on certain matters.

Thinking: about time management, priorities, and being intentional (also about how the heck to get my stove clean after a tiny olive oil accident this evening). 

Bookmarking: the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, dresses for a wedding in a month, and baby gift ideas.

Giggling: reminiscing about conversations over brunch with David on Monday.

Feeling: weird and curmudgeonly and January’d out already. 

A quick little potpourri post.

--I've made the possibly suicidal decision to do Whole30 AND give up coffee cold-turkey at the same time. Regretting that deeply as the 9am slump hits me hard today...stay tuned for snippets and bits about how that's going, as well as a big old diary-style recap post at the end of the month!

--I walked into work this morning after ten days out of the office and had a letter from the US Senate sitting on my keyboard. It was a thank-you from Al Franken for attending the roundtable he hosted back in November...but it still felt crazy-cool and a couple colleagues have asked about it. Kind of a neat moment to start the week off right.

--The Twin Cities are completely glazed over with a fine layer of ice, which meant that I walked into work without picking my feet up once. Straight up shuffled all the way and still nearly lost my footing...total fail. That said, the way the branches of the trees outside the Xcel sparkled made it all worth it. 

--Kelsie gave me the world's best Christmas gift yesterday at our reunion/happy hour (nearly two months apart! WTF WORLD). It's a bar necklace with a Morse code secret message on it and I am obsessed with mine slash possibly never removing it. 

--"The Bachelor" is back and I watched the whole thing last night while meal-prepping, and I've got to say, I'm crazy-excited for this season. Corinne is batshit crazy, I think Vanessa is fascinating (tri-lingual! Sign me up!), and the way increased number of minority contestants is intriguing...could we be on the fast track to the first minority Bachelorette!?!?...stay tuned! 

Resolutionizing: 2017

Happy 2017, campers!! I hope your New Year’s Eve was as sparkly and debauched as can be. I’m currently nursing blistered feet from homicidal heels and a teeny-weeny hangover from our five-course meal and wine tasting at Spoon and Stable…oops. With the highlights and mistakes of 2016 officially in the books, it’s time for my annual tradition of “resolutionizing:” four small, achievable goals, and one over-arching theme for the year. (See 2016, 2015, and 2014 for reference!) Without further ado:

1.     Write more consistently.

I am, at heart, a writer, and this blog is the biggest outlet in my life for that particular hobby. Maintaining this space, however, especially in light of a jam-packed social calendar, often takes a backseat to my tendency to hit up happy hour or marathon a show on Netflix. I always feel like a better, more productive, more fulfilled person when I’m writing, though, so I plan in 2017 to focus more on regularly putting pen to paper (fingers to keyboard) and exercising the writing muscles.

2.     Take better care of my skin.

27, for me, was the super-fun age at which I started to notice fine lines around my eyes, not to mention the deepening furrow between my eyebrows. Add continual dry skin and the ever-present, when-am-I-going-to-grow-out-of-it acne flare-ups, and clearly I need a better routine. On the list for 2017: a consultation with my dermatologist, religious use of sunscreen and eye cream, and removing my makeup every night, no exceptions…as well as developing a top-to-bottom routine to keep my skin at its healthiest and prettiest.

3.     Procrastinate less.

To my chagrin, I’ve always ascribed to the “Why do today what can be put off til tomorrow?” school of thought. While I’m excellent at making lists, checking off every item has never been my forte…case in point: “clean out trunk of car” has been on the current list since July. While I’ll keep making lists, focusing on actual accomplishment rather than identifying things to do needs to be a focus in 2017…starting with the trunk of the car, and working my way into every avenue of life.

4.     Cook more.

I’ve grown increasingly comfortable in the kitchen in the last couple years, but that hasn’t stopped me from relying heavily on Campbell’s soup, scrambled eggs, or ordering takeout as regular mealtime options. (So much for the 2015 resolution to break up with Bitesquad…EEK.) I plan to make 2017 a year of trying out recipes, eating healthily and deliciously, and hopefully saving money on delivery fees along the way.

And this year’s big theme: be intentional.

While making 2016 my “year of yes” brought me immense joy, it was also exhausting. Along with tons of different experiences, new friends, and memorable adventures, saying yes also led to saving less money, sleeping sporadically and missing out on downtime and relaxation. While 2017 won’t find me saying “no” to everything, I want to be more mindful of what I’m saying yes to, and why saying yes is the best thing for me.

I had an absolutely fantastic 2016, despite the universe in general seeming to melt down around me. In 2017, I want to focus on surrounding myself with the people, activities and priorities that are the best for me…the ones that bring me the most joy, that make me the most thoughtful, effective and motivated person I can be. When I look back on 2016, I see a whirlwind year of fun and adventures, and in 2017 I hope to see the same…but to also see continual, careful consideration of who I am as a person and how my choices and actions shape that. Yes, I want to have the best year ever, but I also want to be the best person possible…and in 2017, I hope living intentionally will bring that desire to fruition.

Here’s to 2017, and to starting the year off intentionally (and right) with leftover champagne for breakfast, wheeeee!!