I Was Tagged…

An acquaintance from my comm major in college that has now become someone I’d consider a good friend through reconnecting over social media tagged me in a blog post she did! It is sort of like those fun chain letters we used to do back in high school, so I’m going to post my answers to Maggie’s questions she tagged us in on her blog.

1. What is the one item you have to have in your fridge/pantry? 

Black Beans

2. Is there a song that evokes an emotion/memory from you no matter what? (can be a happy, nostalgic, etc)

Phil Collins “In The Air Tonight” because for some reason I think of my parents every time because I remember Dad leaving Mom a message one time when he was on a business trip just to tell her hi.

3. What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment to date? Could be personal or professional.

I would say my most fun accomplishment is moving to DC.  I always had the desire to live in a city and thankfully my life path led me to DC and I’m so thankful for it!

4. Would you rather go the rest of your life without ever watching your favorite show/movie or without reading your favorite book?

I would rather go without a tv show because I love reading so much more.

5. Skydiving or bungee jumping?

I’ve been skydiving and would certainly choose that over bungee jumping.  I just can’t imagine bungee jumping…something about snapping my neck that spooks me.

6. Where is the one place you want to go before you die?

Am I allowed to say Europe? I have so many things I really really really want to do & see that it would be so hard to narrow it down.

7. If you had a book written about you and your life, what would you want the title to be?

Learning to Live

8. What would you want your 15 minutes of fame to be for?

In a dream world I would say completing an Ironman, but in ‘real life’ I would say I would like to have 15 min of fame for an article I write.

9. Is there a hobby or activity you did when you were younger that you’ve given up, but wish could start again?

Can I choose two? Since it’s my blog I’ll say yes so I would pick tennis & spanish.  I took both for years but didn’t keep up with it.

10. What would be the hardest food to give up forever? (Mexican, Italian, cake, etc.)

Gosh, I have so many…in general I would say mexican b/c we eat it like twice a week…but I’d have a really hard time if I had to give up ice cream/desserts.  I dream of them.

11. If you could be amazing at one thing, what would you want it to be?

Being spontaneous. I have to have everything planned and I LOVE planning, but I’m sure everyone around me would like if I was a little more flexible about my plans  =)

Reflecting Back On A Quarter of A Century

I had my 25th birthday recently.  My how life has flown by…. I wish there was a way to slow it down some and enjoy the moments more, but as everyone has come to gather, life seems to speed up and not slow down.  25 years ago my mother woke my Dad up and swore I was coming a month early even though Dr. Marchese had assured her early that day that it was just false contractions.  15 years ago I remember crying because I was going to turn double digits…this was probably caused by my cousin making fun of me and her brother because we were only 1 digit. 13 years ago I loved turning 12 because it was my favorite number. 10 years ago I was getting my permit to drive a car on a rainy, foggy December morning.  6 years ago I thought I had my future all planned out. 1 year ago I moved to DC and started to prepare to marry the man meant for me.  Wow…the memories…from family dogs, to four-wheeling, to driving & wrecking my first car…to boys…to college…to the “real” world.  It’s been amazing and too quick….  I am so happy where I am in life, but I do have brief moments when I wish to experience different times in my life for just one more day…

I know these letters to yourself have been a big fad this year, but I kind of love the idea so here are a few things I would have liked to told myself 10 years ago:

Don’t grow up so quickly or rush things that should wait.

Learn to listen to your gut (it’s normally right, long before your mind & heart realizes).

Pray more. A lot more. And work hard on listening to God’s guidance.

Thoroughly enjoy times with family & friends. They will not always be there, even though at this point you feel life may never change.

Be nicer to your mother.  She’ll become your best friend.

Everyone will tell you to be more spontaneous…maybe let your shield down & try

Study abroad.

Just because something is on sale or is a good deal, doesn’t mean you have to buy it. (Especially talking about clothes!)

Take your time…enjoy your teens to explore sports, hobbies, friends, relationships…you won’t get that M.R.S. degree and get married at 21 so don’t make that your sole focus…focus on growing yourself before you try to focus on others.

Learn from your past, but focus on your future & the positive.

And life may seem extremely tough, but through prayer, faith, & support of others, it will work out the way it’s meant to be.

Thanksgiving Thanks

I remember in grade school when my teachers would ask us to write down 5-10 things we were thankful for and even though I’m no longer a little squirt getting dropped off at Parkway School by my dad, I still want to reflect back on what this year has blessed me with. And man ‘o man, 2011 must have been my year because I have done lots, seen lots, and been blessed beyond belief.

So here’s my top 7 things I’m thankful for: (yes, it’s a top 7 b/c in the marketing world you gotta be different from the top 5s & the top 10s)

1. Marriage/Jonathan- The biggest change in 2011 was of course that I got married. I married a wonderful man who I am so proud of and can’t wait to see where life takes us. We have had our fair share of first year adjustments, but together and with God we continue to grow, and for this I am extremely thankful.
2. Family- After moving 6 hours away from my parents late last year, the short weekends I get to spend with them are amazing. I look forward to my Skype IM from Mom every morning to tell me that she’s up living the retirement dream =) and I appreciate home more than I ever did. I also gained another family this year and I am very thankful for their love, support, and generosity.
3. Exercise- First, God blessed me with a father who loved to workout and who passed that passion down to me. Second, I am so thankful to be able to tie up my tennis shoes and go run through the streets of D.C. and the National Mall at lunch. Third, I am thankful as well that God gave me the ability to set my eyes on a half marathon and complete it!
4. Work- I have been blessed with a wonderful job, and having seen first hand the volatility of these economic times, I am especially thankful for my position. I have a boss that allows me to grow as a person & as an individual and at this time in life I wouldn’t trade it.
5. Friends- After moving to D.C., Jonathan and I were very lucky to find good quality friends. People that you can be yourselves around and with so much going on in everyone’s lives, having good friends is something to be thankful about. Also, thank you so much to those certain friends that have let me ramble when I needed too I certainly needed you.
6. D.C.- I love living near & working in D.C. I love the restaurant options, I love the free museums & concerts, I love being able to walk almost everywhere!, I love the public transportation for everywhere else, I love the cupcakes & the coffeeshops, and so much more. Most of all I love the all the opportunities I have to engage with this city, to learn, to grow, and gather memories that I will look back on for the rest of my life. I love the moments when I’m walking along and I have that moment where I take it all in and it’s perfect. My dad tells me often, and I certainly agree, that I am living the dream.
7. Travel- I do love D.C., but I also love the ability we have to travel places, both near and far.  We’ve been to & done so much, these are the ones I can remember of the top of my head…Middleburg (cute town in VA’s horse country), Alexandria, National Harbor, Williamsburg, Annapolis, Philly, Charlottesville, and we’re going to do a short trip to NYC in December because the BoltBus (conveniently named) cost us $32 a person round-trip =)

So those are my top things I am thankful for this season…I’m sure I’ll look back tomorrow and realize I forgot a few! But everyone enjoy their Thanksgiving and as we head into the Christmas season, remember to show people love…these days are going faster than they used to…so take the opportunities you have to listen, engage, hug, smile…to create a beautiful canvas of life.

So Cute I had To Share

I still follow all these photographers on twitter & their blogs.  I just love it.  I see the weddings they do, but the other things too, and it makes me feel like I know them, which I certainly don’t, but sometimes their post are so cute that it almost makes me tear up, and today it made me wish and hope and pray that I might feel the same way.

So Justin & Mary, I know I will never meet you in person, but thank you for sharing your life with us.  Thank you for giving us a glimpse of wonderful.

Here’s the blog post that Mary posted that brought these thoughts.

And just in case that 4 year anniversary post doesn’t make you fall in love with these people, here’s a video promo that one of my favorite videographer teams (StillMotion-that I’ve followed for years) did of Justin & Mary.  It’s the words of this video that are inspiring =)

Enjoy!

Forks Over Knives–Making Our Own Decisions

We did a free trial of Netflix yesterday just so we could watch the Forks over Knives documentary. In my own opinion, I definitely think it is worth the time to watch it. As individuals our health is the only thing we can come close to controlling and with the eating habits of the western world, it is going to come down to the choices each person makes for him or herself.

And as consumers we have to do our best to be aware and to a degree be critical of who is telling us what.  The United State Department of Agriculture puts out the food pyramid and tells us how much of this and how much of that we should eat, but who are on those panels to create those guidelines…and who might they have ties too? The pharmaceutical companies make”miracle” drugs, but the pharmaceutical company also does not make money on healthy people…hmm…
Science has given us cows that produce more milk, chickens who pop out more eggs & have more meat, but then years later we find out that these additional hormones are negatively affecting the generations that grew up eating & drinking these things everyday… ?
We eat food with numbers, letters, & colors…with high fructose corn syrup & now with aspartame that might give us cancer… doesn’t it scare you?  It makes me wonder…Why does it seem that cancer has now become rampant? Heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S.? Why is it not the same statistics in areas that do not have as much accessibility to fast foods?

Forks Over Knives mainly focuses on data & studies done that supports a whole foods and more of a plant-based diet.  And no, I am not going to become a full vegan after watching the documentary, and I will still drink some milk & eat eggs Saturday morning, but I am going to start tweaking my diet and doing things such as using my steak & chicken as a side or to add flavor instead of eating a large portion as the main course.  I am going to start paying even more attention to what makes up the food I put in my body.  And I am going to become more of a do-it-yourself cook, even if it takes me longer in the kitchen & cost me more at the register, I will be saving money & time in the long run when I am not having to go for sick visits or chemo or surgery.

So yes, I recommend watching Forks Over Knives. Not that you have to agree with all of it, but I think it is one of those documentaries where you will take away bits and pieces that will ultimately make your life even better.

Working Out-It’s Only For You

I had a tough but awesome workout today during lunch.  The last 5 min of my run I was really having to concentrate on breathing, I was sweating profusely, and I had a fleeting moment when I wanted to just stop and walk…but it was the next moments when I pushed through, I challenged myself both mentally & physically,  and I achieved.

That’s the thing about working out, when it comes down to it, it’s only for you.  You are the only one that can overcome the doubts, that can talk yourself through, that can dredge up the motivation.  I workout 5-7 times a week because I love the feeling of being completely in control of the outcome.  I see growth of muscles & my ability to run farther & lift more, but I also feel growth in my mental strength & motivation.  And as a person that love love loves working out, I want everyone I know to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment like I do, but also have come to realize that people feel accomplished in different ways and through different things.

But if I can say to each of you…Find something, at least one thing, that you can do for yourself and no one else.  Only you can pick that hobby or goal and then take some time to strive to achieve it or incorporate it into your life.  The feeling of self-accomplishment is irreplaceable, whether it is completing a half-marathon, finishing a book, or becoming a CEO.

So good luck.  If you need help getting started or thinking up something, then talk to a friend or grab a piece of paper, but make sure in the end, that you are doing something during your day, week, or life for yourself. You will thank yourself.

How Do You Know?

Going through the marriage process and now still being an almost newlywed, I’ve had people ask me, “how do you know?” And just like people before told me, my first answer is (probably to their annoyance) “You just know.” But it’s true. When you are dating someone for sometime and you have no doubts at all when you think about marrying them, then they are most likely your “one.” I say most likely because marriage is about more than the lovey dove feelings, looks, or money. Marriage is about choosing a companion that you enjoy spending time with and think is worth working on a life together with.
The engagement, wedding planning, wedding, and honeymoon are an absolute blast, some of the most wonderful times of your life, but once you come down off that high, that’s when reality sets in. You realize what marriage really is and the those attributes you disliked about each other before are never going to change and will probably at some points get even more annoying. Which is why, if you have any doubts at all before you get married, then take a few minutes, days, months and figure out what you really want and who you really want to be with, because it is easy to get caught up in the ring, details, planning your dream, then wake up one day and it’s all done.
Doubts will pop up after you are married, even if you are two perfect people, but it will be an even worse situation it you have doubts of marriage beforehand. Marriage is tough. Everything from money to hobbies to what the other person eats will come up, so give yourselves a chance and at least try your best to listen to God and follow that instinct and those voices inside that are telling you yes or no.
And side note, not that you should live by what a friend or family member says, but as a gut check, ask someone that is semi-close to you what they think of your relationship.  Even though we never want to listen…people just outside of your two person bubble can see things you may be blinded too, but then again, they may think you are a perfect couple and just be a reassurance
So good luck.  Try your best to listen to God & your gut, then go for it, pray, and work hard for love and happiness.

If I Ran The World

I have absolutely no desire to rule the world, so don’t get any ideas.  But with all that is going on with the housing marketing falling, the debt ceiling raising, the uncertainty of my future and my children’s future…I have taken a look at some things and created a hodgepodge of ideas of my own (& I’m not necessarily saying I’ve done research enough to know if these ideas are even possible, these are just my own opinions based on my little world):

People should live within their means…a BMW would mean a lot more if only people could buy them that had worked hard, saved the money, and could pay for them…rather than giving someone a line of credit where they pay half their paycheck every month to “look cool” (don’t get me wrong, I love BMW’s and we actually have one, but I’m talking about the principle and not the actual item).

Credit cards and loans with little money down have caused the “American Dream” to become bloated and basically unreal…because a bank approves someone for a loan they feel it’s okay to have that much debt on their hands…they don’t comprehend the “what happen’s if x loses his/her job” which brings me back to point number one–living within one’s means.

As for the government…I’m flabbergasted that we are in such a dire situation…if people (aka almost every politician) would quit mouthing off about it being the other party this and the other party that and start representing the people and making decisions based on families/real workers and not the money they get from some corporation in their political race fund, we’d all be better off.  But instead it’s right wing, left wing, no one can make a darn decision and they have screwed over 300 million people.  Way to go guys.  Thank you for messing up my parents’ retirement, my retirement, heck my grandchildren’s retirement… But I digress…

I think that every individual should pay the same tax fee for all monies they bring in, whether it’s wages, capital gains, $2 or $1M.  There should be no tax breaks for poor, rich, small business, big business.  And if I really had it my way I think that we should all pay the same property taxes, income taxes, car taxes, insurance taxes, etc etc.  Make government & laws cut and dry, it’s easier for everyone to understand and there wouldn’t be this debate about some CEO’s secretary paying more in taxes than the CEO.

And if America is SO in debt why in the world are we giving millions and billions to other countries…?!?  Don’t get me wrong, I understand helping out the human race, but let’s look at home first where 23% of the homeless are veterans who served for our country, where the unemployment rate is over 9%.  Yes, we see the children of Africa who are in dire need of food and water, but what about the 17.2 million children in America that live in food insecure households (meaning they went hungry because of the inability to afford enough food).  I honestly believe you need to help those around you before you help others, and that may seem like a selfish statement, but looking at it in the big scheme of things, as a county we should not be going more in debt by helping other countries buy ammunition when we can not even feed our own mouths here.

And a slight side note, if I ran the world I would tell all the soft drink companies they could not produce drinks over 50-100 calories, no more of this CocaCola Classic being 240 calories that people just drink down (even though it’s clearly labeled on the side…).  There is Diet Coke & Coke Zero that can take the place…people’s taste buds will get used to it when it’s the only thing available…  I don’t think we should allow food to be produced that has such outrageous calories…even a Subway sandwich can put you easily at 700 calories for one meal…we see staggering numbers where 1/3 of U.S. adults are obese and around 17% of children (2-19 yrs old) are considered obese.  REALLY?! Stop buying the potato chips, the donuts, the fast food for every meal people… get out and walk…now I realize some people have genetics that cause them to be larger than others but not 1/3 of the population.  We’ve created a world where kids stuff their face with fake juice, potato chips, and play video games all day long or adults drink a Coke (240 cals) & have a Lean Cuisine (550 cals)  for a snack.  That’s a sad world.

America, it’s sad to say it, but if I could, I’d probably pull all my money and stick it under my mattress, buy some gold, buy a little island, a cow, a chicken, some vegetable seeds, a load of books, and take my family with me and be just fine.

Rant: Over Consumption of Smart Phones

My husband does it…every morning…first thing when he wakes up he grabs his iPhone and checks everything from the weather to work email to what everyone else is doing at 7am in the morning.  I have had lots of girl friends say they do the same thing, even if they wake up in the middle of the night they check email or something…my rant is 2 fold…1 what in the world is going on that has to be checked immediately when you wake up…??… and 2 isn’t there some study out there that says checking email and news when you barely are awake causes anxiety??

For me, and even though I may think I’m totally awesome (ha), what goes for me does not go for everyone else in the world…unfortunately…but first thing in the morning I don’t want to know what work email I have waiting for me, I don’t need to know what Rebecca did last night, and I barely even care about the weather…(windows are made for that).  I don’t purposely do it, but once I get home I rarely check any email, I get on facebook maybe once a week, and I’m hardly on my phone at all except for my nightly call to my parents.  I like it like that, it gives me the ability to do more around the house or spend more time with Mr.JBolt.

Maybe the difference between me and say my husband or most of my girl friends is that they thrive off of knowing the latest (friend update, news, weather, etc.) where I’m content to reading though my news feed two or three times a day.  Or maybe the people in my newsfeed are just boring haha (which brings up the point that I’d like to be able to choose who I view in my news feed, ahem Facebook…is there a way?).  If I was a psychologist this would be a fun study though to see the difference…both motivation and how it affects the brain/body.

So that’s my rant for the week…not that it will change anything, because the world right now thrives on their smart phone, but my perspective is out there.  Have a good one.

Half Marathon Completed

On February 9th I made up my mind that I would finally mark off a half marathon.  I had wanted to do one for a few years but just never had the time or maybe the guts (plus I might have been training for a few triathlons in there).  13.1 miles…that’s a long ways to run…but an opportunity came across my desk to run in the Inaugural Run For The Dream 1/2 Marathon in Williamsburg, VA.  I took the offer and ran with it; I could visit a place I had wanted to see PLUS mark off a to-do on my bucket list.

I first contacted a few old friends that had run full & half marathons for some tips and training ideas, then at the beginning of March I really began my training.  I would run 4-5 times a week putting in 3 miles a day at first.  I enjoyed these runs, I could slip away at lunch and troll around DC.  Then too quickly the long runs started…the 6 miler, the 8 miler, the 11 miler…these runs could not be done at lunch; they required me to plan…take water, pack energy chews.  Thankfully my then fiancé, now husband, would hop on his bike and ride along beside me to help keep my mind off the mundane task of running miles and miles and miles.  For me these runs were not too too much of a struggle, even though I do not want to admit it, I think my body is made to do more than my brain thinks it can; but my problem with all these miles was it takes time…a LOT of time.  At at 10-ish min mile I’m putting in hours upon hours running a week, especially on those long run days.  So rather than struggling with the ability to do the runs, I struggled with the whether the time spent running was worth it.  BUT I had a goal, so I complained a little while also rejoicing in the fact that yes, I can run 11 miles!

Jonathan & I headed to Williamsburg last weekend. We spent Friday night chowing down on a Seafood Feast at our hotel, The Williamsburg Lodge, and Saturday we spent exploring the historical sites, laying by the pool, and “carbing it up” on pizza (not sure that was a great idea, ha).  I tried not to think about the fact that at 7:30am Sunday morning the buzz would sound and I would be running to complete my goal of a half marathon.

I got up early on Sunday morning and put on all my cool Salomon gear that the reps had sent me.  I scarfed down my banana and some mini-wheats then walked the mile to race start area.  I felt good.  I knew I could do it.  I was going on a run with my 2,000+ new friends for the next few hours.  It was a great race to be apart of because the weekend celebrated the Armed Forces & the Wounded Warriors.  The marching Fife & Drum Corp and the national anthem almost choked me up.

The race went well.  We wound our way down the main street of Williamsburg, ran by horses, down gravel roads, up a few hills, and finished our race in the stadium at The College of William & Mary.  The race had one hill that made you hate life a little bit and it also had a switchback that went out towards the marsh, which was pretty, and a random man playing the piano provided some comic relief about half way through.  Around mile 6 & 7 my knee hurt, my ankle hurt, and mentally I was struggling because I knew I had only been halfway.  At mile 10 I was home free, I felt great.  At mile 12 I called Jonathan to tell him I was 1 mile out and didn’t even sound like I had been running for the past 2 hours.  The last lap around the track in the stadium was probably one of the hardest parts because approaching the stadium you thought you were done when you crossed into it, only to find you still had one last lap to go…

I crossed the finish line with a time of 2 hours 20 min and 51 seconds.  9 minutes quicker than I thought my best time could be.  It was a great accomplishment.  Jonathan greeted me with my pack of Oreos and I devoured probably half the pack along with the chocolate milk a sponsor provided to replenish carbs & protein.  The “after-party” included sitting in the grass scarfing down a bbq sandwich and sipping on the Michelob ULTRA they provided.

The crazy part to me was that I spent 3 months training for this event and then in a little less than 2 & 1/2 hours it was over.  All of my training was done.  I completed the event.  I did not compete with anyone else, this was for myself, against myself.  It was mind over matter.  And I did it!  It was indeed an awesome thing.

Of course everyone asked me, when’s the next race or when will you do a marathon?  I laughed and said this was my first half marathon and probably my last.  I enjoyed the accomplishment, but I think I’ll stick to my 5k runs at lunch =)