Things I Love. Archives - Page 9 of 10

It’s still January! It’s not too late! Part 1.

January 20, 2011 by Susan Leave a Comment

It is January 20th. *30 days in September, April, June and November…* Okay, so there are 11 more days left to the first month of 2011. It is not too late to type out my new year resolutions to make them valid! Last year I wrote about what my 2010 goals were… before I tell you this year’s goals, Let’s reminisce.

2010 Resolution 1: Be More Positive. Check. I would say, overall, that I did pretty good with that one. I mean, it’s a hard thing to say “yes you did it” or “nope, not at all” when you can’t quantify it. That was probably a bad resolution, should’ve been more specific, some how…

2010 Resolution 2: Stand Up for Myself. Check. Oh boy. Little did I know the night that I wrote my resolutions that 2010 would be the year for Suz’s self empowerment. I kicked ass at this resolution. I got in my first ever yelling fight with someone (other than my sister!) where I stormed out of a hotel room, slamming the door behind me. Only to realize that I forgot my shoes, so I had to go back and knock on the door. All that over the subject of Communication Studies (yeah, I was a proud nerd that night). I stood up for myself when it came to business ventures, and especially business ventures with my family. It was a hard thing to do, and sometimes I felt horrible doing it, but in the end everything worked out and I was much happier because I put myself and my beliefs first.

2010 Resolution 3: Beat Brenda’s Sales Numbers. Fail. This is quantitative and can easily be calculated. And I failed. It was a tough year in the real estate world. Womp Womp.

2010 Resolution 4: Walk Chloe & Maybe Agility. This was kind of a fail as well. I definitely didn’t do the agility with her, but not because I didn’t want to… because I didn’t have the money. 2010 was a rough financial year for me. We had to cut costs where we could, and dog agility wasn’t even on the radar. We did walk around the neighborhood more often, but not enough (in my opinion, and definitely not in Chloe’s opinion I’m sure!) to consider this a successful resolution.

2010 Resolution 5: Go to the gym. Check. I can proudly say, that this one actually happened!! I have been really great about waking up early for trainings on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I lost a bit of weight, gained a lot more muscle than I had before (I was completely unaware at how weak I was before!) and have made it much more of a habit. I had a “dry spell” in there for a while when I was dealing with a ton of knee troubles, but I’m getting past it, and still doing a bit of physical therapy, working the “step,” and maybe a bit of foam rolling. 😉

2010 Resolution 6: Stop Breaking My Teeth. Check. I can honestly say that I did not break a tooth one time *knock on wood* this past year OTHER THAN January 1, when I wrote that blog post. So way to go. I had a lot of close calls, and even think I might have a slight chip on the back of one tooth now (from chloe last week) but it’s not broken, so HA! Success!

2010 Resolution 7: Continue Writing. Check. I guess I did okay with this one. I did write, for a while, then eased out of it a bit. But to be fair, I went through a break up towards the beginning of the year, and got back into the online dating world for a while, and did a bit of writing with that. My great friend in Baltimore “Regan” and I started a blog on online dating. It did okay for a while, we had a group of followers, and I actually received an email from someone last week asking me to write about his Jewish online dating site! But I did meet a great guy (online) and ended up doing a lot of my writing in the form of emails to him while he was over seas. So yeah, I guess I did a decent job at “continuing to write.”

So that was 2010 in a nutshell! I’m so glad that I actually typed out my resolutions last year and knew where there were this year! It was kind of neat to look back at where I was a year ago, and what little I knew about what 2010 would hold. So what about 2011?! I have a few resolutions up my sleeve, but not enough time to write about them now. Let me know if you have any suggestions! Otherwise, stay tuned!

Runs in the Family!

January 12, 2011 by Susan Leave a Comment

I have a slight confession… I adore office supplies. There is just something completely awesome about brand new office supplies. It’s like when you were a kid, the arrival of the required supply list was always bitter sweet. It was terrific because it meant a trip to Office Depot or Roses for a new Trapper Keeper, Lisa Frank pencil box, a fresh composition notebook, and maybe some college ruled loose leaf. But it was also horrible because that meant summer was almost over and waking up at 6:30am to stand at a cold bus stop was just days away.

However at my age, mid-twenties, with no kids, there is no need for new school supplies. And I don’t actually work in an office, so the need for office supplies is slim. I do have a supply list, but that is long and boring and involves home warranties, sign riders and highlighter pens. I want an excuse for something new and pretty, that has that fresh paper smell. (Don’t look at me like I’m crazy, you know you love the fresh paper smell!)

So every winter, at the end of one year and the beginning of another, shortly after folks clean up the decorations, watch the ball drop in Time Square and finish singing “Auld Lang Syne” I have an excuse to go to Target, wander just past the greeting card aisle, and pick out my fresh new yearly planner! This is usually a huge process of opening and closing calendars, some with leather, some with zippers, some spiral while others are bound… The possibilites are endless, and the decision is a big one: this is a 365 day decision. You would hate to pick the wrong one and be stuck carrying it around for the rest of the year, because you know these options will not exist in March, never mind October. (Although you may luck on in June/July… sometimes they have mid-year calendars, but outside of students, who really has a need for that?!)

I was slightly devastated this year when I realized that I have gone electronic. I have a droid, and it syncs with everything google, which is all I use (except for my computers, I will say, they are and always will be Macs.) Anyway, my calendar is color coded and synced with my everything, so I really have no need for a planner this year… Sad face.

Yesterday I went to Target with my mom. Boy did I learn something about the genes I inherited! The poor lady walked back and forth, and back and forth, and actually back and forth again (!!) between the calendar/ diary aisle and the notebook/ binder aisle trying to decide what planner(s) she would purchase for the year. Big, medium, or small? Design or plain? Leather or plastic? Monthly or Monthly/Daily? Spiral or bound? Good Lord, I saw my future. When she finally decided on a BRIGHT green, large, spiral, semi-designed, monthly/daily my heart sank as I began to feel the need for one as well. When I gave into the urge, I then heard the same questions flying through my mind! Decisions decisions.

I’m solid with my decision in buying a planner, I mean, I’ve done it almost every other year of my life. It was a quick decision, and I hope that my gcal does not get jealous. Not that ya’ll should care, but I was playing with my new camera lens, and wanted to show off the planner that made the final cut. Let’s hope it’s a good one and it won’t let me miss any appointments in 2011!

Here’s to a year full of awesome plans, successful business appointments, and wonderful celebrations with terrific friends and family!

Happy Birthday!!

December 23, 2010 by Susan 1 Comment

We all have that person. The one that we think the world of. The one that we tell all of our deepest, darkest, and silliest secrets to. The one that can make you laugh so hard you cry. The one that can make you cry so hard at the sound of the words “good bye” that you find yourself laughing over all the good times recently spent together. The one that never makes you feel out of place, or like a third wheel. The one who will be patient and kind, especially when you are completely terrified on the top of an Alp. The one that it’s okay to dress identical as, at five years old, and at twenty-five years old. The one that you share a garden gnome with (what?! doesn’t everyone do that?!) The one that you have known forever, or maybe just a short amount of time, but it feels like forever. In my case, I’ve known her forever. Actually, since I was born.

We grew up together, with an ocean between us. When we were young we spent our summers together playing dress up and talking about our Prince Charmings. As we got older we found ourselves traveling long distances, running into random adventures, and still… talking about our Prince Charmings, wondering what our futures would hold, what our families would look like, and where we would end up. Last year, we spent months digging through wedding magazines, picking colors, dresses, and details, and planning a bilingual, international wedding. Even at 25 and 27 years old, we had a sleepover last May. I remember laying in her tiny room with a baby book from the 1980s, that had her mom and dad’s handwriting in it, with the name “Kirsten” written in the back of it. We dug through the book picking out possible names of future children. We both knew it was time to call it a night when we giggled so hard we cried over the name Zsa Zsa… (Which we were both pronouncing as “Za-Za”) Crazy, but the name stuck, and for the past 9 months, we have been referring to the bump on my best friends belly as “Zsa Zsa.” Well today, the Twenty-third of December, Two Thousand and Ten… my favorite person in the entire world, and her Prince Charming, finally met their Zsa Zsa.

Happy Birthday to Benjamin Noel. You have two of the best people in the entire world as your parents… you’re a lucky little boy.

You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out.

December 21, 2010 by Susan Leave a Comment

Okay, so you won’t shoot your eye out… but you might become addicted. My roommate has gotten me sucked into this game. Give it your best shot, literally.

Bubble Shooter.


My high score.

Move over Miley.

October 21, 2010 by Susan Leave a Comment

A dear friend and I have a coffee date about once a week. This is not just any normal “Hey let’s meet at starbucks and pay tons of money for coffee” coffee date. This is a “Hey see you on gchat tomorrow morning before work!” We both sit at our desks, in separate cities about 2 hours away from each other, sipping the coffee of our choice, tapping messages back and forth, courtesy of the lovely google chat.

This week, we discussed this:

Now, seriously… his facial expressions, awesome. His cute and charming demeanor, terrific. But they way he wiggles about when Miley sings “Moving my hips like Yeahhhhh,” fabulous. Happy Thursday everyone.