I hope you all have a beautiful day, whether its your Christmas or not.
❤
Category Archives: festive
On Running…
photo courtesy of The Color Run dot Com
Have I told you that I signed up for a 5k? No?
I’ve never been able to run. In grade school I was that girl who finished twenty minutes after everyone else’s 8 minute run with my steady walk. I cheated around the corners of the track and fields we had to lap, I decided that one lap really meant to, I didn’t give a shit about stupid health exams. They ask you to run once a year and record your time. Like that means anything in the grand scheme of healthiness.
But anyway. I still can’t run. And the 5k I’m doing is in a month from today. I realized yesterday that it’s been a month (!!!!) since I attempted my Couch to 5k program.
The 5k I signed up for is called The Color Run. (Because Gala was talking about it, really). It looks amazing. And the only reason I signed up really is because at every kilometer people on the sidelines throw colored talc-like powder at you. And you end up all sweaty… but colorful at the same time. And I’ve always wanted to do a 5k. It seemed like the perfect motivation.
Obviously it hasn’t been the perfect motivation.
Because my sneakers started to hurt, I needed to wait until I had the money to buy running sneakers (and be properly fitted and run on a treadmill while a girl videotaped my legs running), and running is hard, man. And then I got a cold. I can run for about 30 seconds at a time. In intervals between that and walking, I Can do about twenty minutes. Something tells me that won’t get me very far.
So I figured out what 3 miles is near my house (if you didn’t know, a 5k is 3.1 miles). I plan to walk around the blog every day I can, timing myself and aiming to go faster and faster. If I do it in under an hour, that’s 20 minute miles, out of shape me walking very fast. (While my out of shape friend Karen, who agreed to get all rainbow-y with me is aiming for a 35 minute 5k. I am practically running this thing ALONE).
So I’m still not a runner. I’m not even really a fast walker. I’m a girl with a cold whose throat is too dry to allow her to finish sentences who weighs too much to really run who has a month left to “train” to get colored talc powder thrown at her.
I’m hoping it’s not one of those 95+ degree days like the ones we were having last week. But otherwise, I’m still pretty damn excited.
I’ll update you in a month, assuming I survive this endeavor.
xo.
Ten Ways To Make Your Work Day Brighter
(credit)
Coming back from a three day weekend you might need a little something to uplift you and ease you back into the work mode. I wrote this on a previous blog two years ago and dug it up to share today.
Ten Ways to Make Your Work Day Brighter
Wear perfume you really love.
Write anonymous notes to your co-workers.
Put extra special love and yumminess into your bagged lunch.
Wash your face on one of your breaks. Exfoliate and tone, or use a face mask during your lunch.
Suck on chocolate covered altoids.
Make a list of your favourite customers / co-workers / people.
Pin up an inspiring picture, or a photograph of someone you love by your work space.
Match your nail polish to your shirt every day.
Take a “smoke break” and stretch your muscles or do a few yoga poses.
Bake something at home and bring it in to share with everyone.
How To Be Your Own Valentine
Valentine’s Day is for suckers, right? It’s the sickly sweet Hallmark holiday that people roll their eyes at yet celebrate anyway. Or they ignore it. Or they broadcast their hate.
If we strip down all of the consumerism we are left with a day mid February that could be or mean anything you can it to.
Last year I wrote How To Survive Valentine’s Day Alone but this year I’m changing the focus just a tiny bit. I’m changing it to yourself and taking the focus off the “alone” part. Because there’s nothing wrong with being alone. And no one can love you if you don’t love yourself first.
I think Valentine’s Day should be a day for love — your love for yourself or someone else. But right now let’s focus on you.
* buy yourself a house plant
* make the time to do something for yourself. Take a nap. Get a pedicure. Anything that will take you away from stress and the real world for a few moments.
* make yourself chocolates. Better yet, double the batch and make some for someone else, too.
* go back to your elementary school days and make yourself a Valentine out of red construction paper and doilies. The gaudier the better.
* take a moment to think about what you can do for yourself each day to make every day a little better
* go through your things and throw out /sell/ give away/ donate 100 items that you own
* paint your bathroom a shade of pink
* call someone and tell them you love them. Giving love away is a way to make it come back to you.
* don’t stress about the holiday, or lack there of.
* make a list of all of the things you love about yourself. start with physical traits and just keep on going until you don’t have any more paper
* don’t complain today. to yourself or anyone else. The negativity is bringing you down
* eat that festive treat
How do you spend your Valentine’s Days?
Let’s Resolve for Something Different
We’re always making and breaking resolutions, yearly, monthly and daily. We pledge to change ourselves and then by the end of the hour we’ve forgotten our commitments. It’s okay, really. As long as you aren’t too hard on yourself for not checking off everything on your ways-to-perfection list, goals are really better to make than to just ignore. Why? Because it’s something to strive for. Having goals keeps us growing. Working toward achieving dreams makes it so we aren’t as likely to become complacent. We want change. And we are going to set those goals to get there. Even if we don’t take action, it’s important to recognise this need.
If you’re sick of the usual lose weight, save money, pay off credit cards, etc. etc. goals that come around this time of year, here are some more creative goals and resolutions you may want to consider:
pick a word for 2012, write it down somewhere and see how that word manifests itself into your life
ride your bicycle to work on sunny days
learn how to change a tire or the oil in your car
take part in Meatless Mondays and become a vegetarian for 52 days out of the year
write in a journal every single day
make five new friends from five different cities with five different occupations
stop complaining
give up sugar
start a spending fast
give yourself a facial every Sunday
start a food diary
say Yes more often
take a self defense class
don’t buy any gifts in 2012, be creative and do it all yourself, bake, create and make old things new
read x amount of books
What are your resolutions?
Merry Christmas 2011
Merry Christmas from the house of Melanie Kristy to yours. ❤
Last Minute Gift Ideas
So it’s just before Christmas and you’re hoping to avoid the insanity at the mall. So far you’ve done pretty good, you ordered presents on Etsy and books from Amazon. You bought your friends gifts from bloggers’ websites. But now, there’s an unexpected person showing to a party, a Yankee swap you didn’t know about etc. etc.
What do you do?
You get creative. You use your mind. You re-gift something beautiful.
Here are some other quick suggestions:
* Holiday scratch tickets. Gift the give of surprise, suspense and possibly a lot of money!
* Cookies, bread etc. etc. in a jar. Make your own with suggestions here and here.
* Tea, coffee, with cookies and chocolate, made into a beautiful basket.
* An orange in the bottom of an old fashioned stocking, someone’s bound to appreciate the old tradition.
* Give a book that really meant something to you
(weheartit)
* Or how about an IOU for a shared experience? Fondue and a movie? Ice skating over cranberry bogs? A train ride to see millions of lights?
* After Christmas every year my mom spends a small amount of money to buy TONS of left over Christmas stuff. It’s usually at least 75% off and she gets candles, decorations, holiday soaps, plates, whatever it is that she really likes. In our basement it’s like we have a mini gift shop with stacks of cards, recycled bags and last year’s (or the year before that, or before that) goodies. This makes it easy the next year to make beautiful baskets or leave something special for our mail person (although, to be honest, our mail person is terrible this year, so she probably isn’t getting any festive candles or anything else).
What are your favorite last minute gifts?
Almost Christmas
It’s almost Christmas and I haven’t blogged in ages. Hm, what else is new? I’m wearing a festive t-shirt, gingerbread man earrings I got snowman socks today. The presents are almost all purchased, almost all wrapped and the packages are going out tomorrow. I’ve been reading tons of blog posts on gift ideas and DIY things and baked items so I’m not going to jump on that band wagon. I’m not even going to link you anywhere. I’m just going to provide you with pretty pictures to look at for your day. It’s Monday, after all, and we all need a little break from over thinking.
xo
MelanieKristy
ps, photo credit 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14
NaNo Wednesday, The End & November Review
So we’ve reached the end of November so much quicker than the other months this year, I swear!
Last week I reached my 50,000 word goal. I’ve spent the past few days mostly not writing but brainstorming and figuring out where to go now. The story’s not finished, but the scenes have been thought up. I’m just one step closer.
While I’ve completed NaNoWriMo one time previous in 2004 when I was in college and just barely working, I’ve learned something this year that’s really big for me. I do have the time to write a novel, even if I’m working 40+ hours weekly. And I can find the energy to do so.
I’ve learned that waking up an hour before I need to (on mornings where I don’t open) is incredibly beneficial. I can get over a thousand words on the page. I can make myself breakfast. Once I’m finished writing I’m actually hungry. After my work day I feel like I’m semi accomplished. I can relax. But I don’t have to. While I’d like to continue to do this, but maybe work out in the mornings, this is a work in progress. I can’t beat the urge to keep sleeping so easily. But I won’t give up.
As far as my November goals, go…
I did not work out as much as I planned, nor did I reach my weight loss goal.
I managed to cook two new recipes, instead of four
I really skimped on blogging this month. All of my writing energy went toward my novel, so my deepest apologies!
I really skimped on blogging this month. All of my writing energy went toward my novel, so my deepest apologies!
I can’t even remember any other goals for right now. So I probably didn’t accomplish them. Oops!
xo
Things to be Thankful For & Happy Thanksgiving
Most of my friends on Facebook have been posting daily lists of what they’re grateful for and I love reading those posts every day. I love seeing that people are taking time out of their days to recognize what’s good in their lives. That’s what Things I Love Thursday was about, and that’s what today, Thanksgiving (in America) is about. It stemmed with the pilgrims giving thanks to the Native Americans right down the street from where I live.
And you can be jaded and angry with how the English treated the Native Americans. I don’t blame you. It’s a shitty thing to do to take over someone’s land, accidentally give them hundreds of diseases and kill most of them.
However, right now in 2011 that’s not what Thanksgiving is about anymore. And it feels a lot better to shift the focus and appreciate what you do have in your life.
Ashley Lorelle said it best when she said, “Remember this as a time to be thankful for what you have, not a time to lust after the things you want.”
So here’s my list. I’m grateful for:
my family taking the day off today to cook and eat dinner tonight
tissues. they’ve gotten me through the past week
the fact that I have a job and I’m not one of the hundreds unemployed
friends with the same political views as me, because that’s the only time I talk about it (I’m not up for that political debate)
late trips to book stores
trying new Indian food
all the free coupons I have in my e-mail/ mail because of my birthday
finding an exfoliator that actually makes my arms feel normal
pumpkin pies
British accents
that I have the time to write a 50,000 word novel in November
the fact that I have working legs and eyes that see
my parents
I have a means of transportation
the home that I live in
and the opportunities I have
And lastly, I’m thankful for all of you guys, my readers who clink on my posts through Facebook and Twitter, who have me in your Google feeds and who comment on my posts. You all make me feel like I’m not just talking to myself.
What are you grateful for today?
Melanie.Kristy 