Dress for Success

I have a lot of clothes I don't wear anymore for one reason or another. Normally I donate to Good Will but I recently saw an ad for "Dress for Success" (www.dressforsuccess.org), a non-profit that helps disadvantaged women prepare for a career. The have drop-off locations all over the country and I found one near me this morning. I felt good all day knowing that someone somewhere might have more confidence going into a job interview or their first day of work.
I feel like donating is on the short end of contributing to our country and I would like to make more time for volunteer work. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Good Luck, Sarah!

Good luck to Sarah as she takes the GMAT this weekend!

Fabulous Weekend, Part II

On Sunday afternoon we went to Lincoln Center to see South Pacific! It was a great revival of a classic show. The theater was perfect - intimate with a cool retractable stage.
Afterwards my cousin Elise, who just graduated from college and is working in NYC, joined us for drinks and dinner. All in all an awesome weekend and it was hard to get back in the swing this week.
Thankfully I had Tuesday off to relax and watch the Inauguration events. What a day! I am so excited for our country.

Fabulous Weekend, Part 1

I spent this past weekend in NY with my family. The trip was a Christmas gift from my parents and it was one of the best gifts I've ever received! We stayed at the NYAC - my brother-in-law Tom and my dad are members. It is a beautiful building overlooking Central Park and it has great facilities, including an awesome gym, bars, and dining rooms. Sarah and I took full advantage of the gym including the indoor track and weight room.
My aunt Kate and cousin Julie joined us and it was so great to see them both. Julie is getting married in May and I am a bridesmaid! The dresses are pretty and I'm not just saying that because Julie's blog is linked to mine ;)
On Saturday afternoon mom's friend and one of my favorite people, Patsy Lucas, met us for lunch and on Saturday night we met Tom's parents at Keene's steak house for a very memorable meal. For those of you who read my blog you'll note that I have not yet started my month of perfect living...
Stay tuned for part II...

A Month of Near-Perfect Livin'

I read about a woman who experimented with a month of near-perfect living. She studied the food pyramid and followed it closely. She got the recommended 60 minutes of exercise five days a week and 8 hours of sleep a night. She even flossed every night, which apparently was a struggle before... The first few days were tough but she stuck it out and at the end of week one she could see physical and mental changes. And at the end of one month of near-perfect living she was able to eliminate a lot of the artificial fixes - multiple cups of coffee and undereye makeup to cover the dark circles - she relied on so heavily before.
I'm thinking about trying my own experiment. I do well on the exercise part but I definitely don't get eight hours of sleep and I rely a lot on the artificial fixes.
Has anyone tried this type of experiment??

Greetings from Inauguration-ville

This place is crazy! National guardsman running everywhere, free concerts with Beyonce (!) and others at the Lincoln Memorial, and a sense of excitement and hope in the air.
I hope everyone has a chance to watch the festivities!

Finally Saturday

It's been a tough week at work. I'm not sure why...I think a combination of no more Christmas, bad weather, lots to do but no motivation.
I LOVE my job and am usually really excited to go in but this week has been a struggle. I'm hoping the weekend will reinvigorate me and I will go back on Monday with a renewed spirit.
Anyone else have the post-Christmas reluctance?

Two-a-day Jan

I've decided to do two-a-day workouts for the month of January. I've done weeks of two-a-days in the past and I've found its a great way to jump start weightloss and to mix in new forms of cardio. I Now that week one is down, I am going to take one day off this weekend to recover.
One of the challenges this week has been dealing with additional hunger. I was not prepared for it and ended up eating a lot of junk food at the office. This weekend I plan to stock up on fruit and other healthy snacks to bring with me to work so I will have something decent to eat.

Happy New Year!

I have always been anti-new year's eve. I'm not sure why...maybe because its such a buildup or because the emphasis is on drinking or on having a date. But even when I've had dates the new year's eve celebration isn't too much fun. This year I turned down party invites with the intention of staying home and preparing for the bedhead brunch I planned to host on new year's day. I love what NYday has to offer...the clean slate, the promise that every new year brings.

Anyway, long story short, I ended up having a great NYeve. My friend Susan came over to help me prepare for the brunch and we spent the evening eating grilled pb and j's (they are really good!) and having a few drinks - jack daniels in honor of my dad.

Susan makes a 'napkin list' every year of goals, resolutions, or random thoughts about the year ahead. This year we each made a 'happiness list' of things that always make us happy - images, etc. that each of us can call on in times of sorrow to remind us of all we have to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for my family, my sister Sarah (and Kerry!) and brothers James and Tom, for my parents, for my good friends, for my colleagues, for my faith, for all that gives me inspiration, for all that keeps me stable, and for all the promise of the coming year.
Happy New Year everyone!!