day 31: resolution

from gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge: "Resolution you wish you'd stuck with. (You know, there's always next year...)"

i didn't set a bunch of resolutions for 2009. i've never really believed in them, but set a few for 2008. of course, i don't remember what they were, and i didn't follow through with any. so, for 2009, i decided to just be better: a better employee, a better friend, a better activist, a better daughter, a better whatever

there are things i would like to change about myself, but i'm mostly happy with who i am as a person. it took me years to realize that who i am is not a bad person, and people will actually like me for being me. so i don't want to mess too much with the awesome. instead, i am going to continue to just be better: a better student, a better blogger, a better adventurer....

a better me

*little J took this photo of me (sans flash) last week

day 29: laugh

from gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge: "What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?"

i've laughed a lot this year so it's hard to pick the biggest/best of the year. instead i present the most recent: resulting from my cousin's crazy antics. he's three, adorable and HILARIOUS! my sister and i were dying

 

posing for his brother, photographer #2

playing the trumpet (lol it's a plastic one for kids) and busting out the marching band moves

jumping on the trampoline, a second before he gave me the best crazy face ever

day 27: social web moment

from gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge: "Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?"

my social web moment would probably have to be getting into blogging in the first place. i've had personal online journals since high school (anyone remember open diary? lol), but this is the first time i've had a public documentation of life happenings. i started my first blog to note my weight loss progress. i know my friends didn't really care that i updated them weekly, but i still felt a little silly. a couple months ago, i started this blog to capture everything else. switching journals is a way in which i define the stages of my life. i moved from open diary (3 journals for junior/senior year of high school) to livejournal (college/first two years post grad). now i'm here. over the last year, i increasingly believed that my livejournal no longer fit me, caught in this weird post grad/emerging adulthood "phase". plus i started writing in an actual journal again. all those deeply personal complicated thoughts had a new home so i didn't need to post them online. this blog is a bit undefined (hence desultory) because i'm always thinking of 1000 things at the same time. this is a way for me to organize (or just release into the ether) all the surface level thoughts fighting to be discussed. bonus if others enjoy what i send out to the interwebs :)

day 23: web tool

from gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge: "It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience."

seesmic :D it's super handy and clean. plus it's useful for a couple applications. i use it for twitter since i can view several feeds at once in a simple, organized browser page. plus it live updates automatically (my favorite feature). i was using tweetgrid, but it wasn't very convenient. seesmic is a million times better; i can't believe i didn't find it sooner :)

so did you guys find any good tools on the interwebs?

ps: follow me on twitter for no other reason than i'm awesome :p

day 21: project

from gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge: "What did you start this year that you're proud of?"

i think this is the easiest prompt to write yet. absolutely, hands down starting weight watchers. my personal project of the year has been losing weight. my mom had been trying to talk me into weight watchers for awhile, but i never felt much motivation. i've always gained weight slowly so i didn't think i had much cause for concern... then i visited my new gynecologist in april. that day i realized i was approximately four lbs away from my scary weight, the number that, in my head, screamed FAT. i was especially glad that my doctor didn't bring it up. i'd had doctor's in the past "talk" to me about it. not a lecture, more a disapproving "you know you should work on this" comment. i ignored them... creeping up on my fattie number freaked me out enough that i joined weight watchers the second i got to work. the ideal weight for someone my height and age was around 70 - 90 lbs less than where i started. as of last week, i've dropped over 30 lbs since joining. my overall progress has been wonderful, and i can't wait to set an official goal weight with my meeting leader. having gotten this far, i truly believe i can "finish" my project at a weight that makes me exceedingly happy :)

day 18: shop

from gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge: "Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?"

spent the most money? probably the coach outlets. i've fallen in love with coach and now own four pieces. im slowly introducing bright colors into my accessories so one of my recent purchases is a bright pink zipped wallet. it's so cute :D

close second? old navy - in store and online. how else am i supposed to afford coach? just kidding. i love old navy. the clothes fit me well, the quality is decent and they're reasonably priced. unfortunately, this doesn't make the part of me that pays the credit card bills very happy

disregarding the recession, has this been a good shopping year for you, internets?

day 17: best word or phrase

from gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge: "A word that encapsulates your year. '2009 was _____.' "

overall, i think 2009 was full of awesome. this year wasn't the all out ass-kicking year that i was hoping it would be, but i still enjoyed it for the most part. you've seen some of the high (and low) lights of the last couple months. my year's been kinda like that: truly fantastic moments interspersed with horribly crappy ones. regardless, i'm not going to dwell on the negative. my 25th year of existence continues to be more good than bad, and i plan to make 2010 even better

how would you capture your year in words?

3 days of best things...

more from gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge...


best change to the place you live: the place i live

i moved about 10 min from my old place (1b/1ba, $1040/mo) to a small townhouse (3b/2.5ba, $1455/mo). as much as i loved living alone, the rent was too much to handle. i oscillate on a regular basis between liking and hating the new place. the only constant is the extra cash i have each month makes me happy... for about 6.2 seconds because there's always a bill to pay :p

best rush: king's dominion in july with the girls

that's the dominator (view from the eiffel tower); it was awesome! we left with headaches, but the day was super fun

best tea: chai latte

i love tea. i have cinnamon apple spice herbal tea at the office, which is yummy. i like darjeeling, english breakfast and earl grey. but black chai + milk + 2 packets of splenda = a very happy michelle. throw in a book, and i've got saturday afternoon covered :)

now it's your turn. what are some of your bests?

catching up

time to get back to  gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge :)

best night out: every single one

every night out has been fun for it's own reasons. cathing up with JP over delicious sushi. watching AF & JO's fireworks display on july 4th. dinners with N & JL. wandering around downtown baltimore with EM & MM... any night with my friends is going to be awesome :)

best moment of peace: the poconos with P (the ex)

best challenge: the loyola experience

i was pushed to my patience and self doubt limits, and managed to bounce back. thanks to my awesome friends and family for reminding me that i am not an idiot. i will finish this degree, no matter how long it takes me

best album: pomplamoose videosongs

if you don't know pomplamoose, you seriously need to go to their youtube page. they are so talented

best place: my bed

it's super comfy and cute. i didn't like it at first (the bed i really wanted was discontinued), but it grew on me.... and now it's calling my name :)

good night, bloggy friends

day 4: best book

from gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge: "What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?"

i didn't do much reading for fun this year, but i was able to read a couple good books. seeing (jose saramago) was the most interesting. i love the way saramago unfolds stories, placing the reader as an observer. the story always seems to be in motion, even at the beginning and end of the book. seeing is the follow up to blindness, one of my favorite books. both are highly intriguing critiques on humanity/society :)


my other book of the year, part of my favorite book series, is if you give a cat a cupcake :) i realize this is a children's book, but i love it. kid's books have the simplest lessons that can still matter way past the age of seven. who doesnt need sprinkles with their cupcakes? these are important facts to remember, everyone :p if you give a mouse a cookie is definitely on my "baby's first book" list

what about you? did you read anything of note this year?

day 3: best article

from gwen bell's best of 2009 challenge: "What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year."

umm... nothing? everything? i'm terrible when it comes to articles. N and i read so much over the course of any week that it's hard to keep it all straight. plus we mostly share with each other. it's all politics and did you see what gaga was wearing? and psychology news. he sent me an awesome blog post yesterday (he also sent me facebook responses to a clip of the post that make me want to shake some people and hug others) so i'll share it with you: Drag Queens and a Few Bricks. reading that reminded me why i took up the cause, why my support matters and why i never give up hope. in case you hadn't figured it out, im a flame dame (that other f-word is not in my vocabulary and im classier than a hag). i donate to the HRC, i vote for equal rights and i promote the "gay agenda" as much as possible... that particular item was the most recent in a long line of fantastic articles/postings that have made me think about myself, my life and my purpose over 2009

what's (re)inspired you this year?

sidenote: mouse = dead. me = still hating the apartment

days 1 & 2

best trip: M & A's wedding in georgia

i went as N's plus one to the wedding of people i'd never met :) the drive was great. the island was adorable. the wedding was beautiful and intimate. A's friends and family are crazy awesome. we had breakfast with M & A every morning and went walking around town a couple times. we got much needed massages. plus we're the same person so it wasn't annoying when we took a break to do some work lol... plus i managed to drink A LOT and still dropped 1.6 lbs that week

best restaurant experience: my 25th birthday at Houlihan's

i decided that i was not going to let this birthday slip by unannounced. 25 is a big deal, and i was going to kick it's ass. so i organized a birthday dinner with my closest in town friends (if only HB couldve come too) for the night of my birth, which conveniently fell on a friday this year. the service was crap (damn that automatic gratuity), but the food was still delicious. plus my dinner was free because im on houlihan's mailing list. even with our sour server, that night was awesome. i love my friends

best of 2009

in an attempt to blog more regularly (and be more interesting :p), im participating in the best of 2009 blog challenge hosted by gwen bell. my goal is to write every day (or at least blog on every topic) starting...

now :)