Tag Archives: New Years

Reflecting Back On 2014 (or How I Did With My Goals)

Posted on December 31, 2014 | 1 comment

I can’t believe that 2014 is ending! It really seems like it was just a month or two ago that I was posting my goals for this year.

I just want to take some time and reflect on my year and the goals that I had set out for myself.

I really felt like 2014 was a rebuilding year for me and my family. While 2013 did have some great moments, there were also a lot of sad and stressful ones. I think of 2013 as the year that Ross and Krystle got married, that my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and my family lost two dogs. While we did technically adopt Tucker right before New Year’s Eve last year, I think of 2014 as the year he joined our family.

In 2014, so many positives happened for my family. Adopting Tucker was a big one, but the biggest was my mom being declared cancer-free. Knowing that she is ok (even though we all knew that she would be in the beginning) really has taken so much stress out of my life. I know that there are still some stressful times ahead with making sure that she stays cancer-free (and now I have annual mammograms to worry about too), but knowing that it’s all good right now just makes me so happy.

This was also a rebuilding year for me as far as my health goes. I have finally connected with a workout in a way that I had hoped for. And very recently I’ve been getting my food in a better place too. This isn’t to say that I don’t have days where I seriously struggle, but I’m taking more and more steps in the right direction.

So let’s take a look back at my goals from last year and see how I did with them.

My first goal was to continue to do 5Ks. I did 3 this year. And while that is much less than the year prior, I’m ok with that. I don’t love doing 5Ks as much as I want to, but the few races that I did do are ones that I look forward to a lot. I also got a new PR which I am very excited about!

My next goal was to make spin a regular habit. This did not happen. I stopped going to SoulCycle a while ago because I have replaced it with Orangetheory. I’m planning on going back next year every so often to spin, but I really wanted to focus on Orangetheory during the second half of this year. But since I did make exercise a regular habit, I’m declaring this goal as a partial success.

Next on my list was to track my food/exercise better. I’m still using MyFitnessPal to track my food every day. I’m much happier tracking it when I’m making smart choices. And as far as tracking my exercise, I think I’m doing pretty great at that too. It makes it easy to track my exercise in MyFitnessPal when Orangetheory tells me exactly how many calories I’m burning in each workout.

The next goal I had set was to get into an improv class. I failed to do this goal. I had every intention of getting started at UCB this year. I even purchased the book that all students are required to read. But I think the lack of stability with my job got to me. When I thought I knew when a class would fit into my schedule I would lose my job and everything changed. I’m feeling pretty stable with my current day job, but I’m still looking for something else to help me make enough each month. Once that stability is set, I think I can look into class again.

Next was pay down my debt and not add more. While I did pay down some of the debt, it was impossible to not add more this year. With some expenses having to be put on a credit card, there was no way to not add to it. But when I did have those expenses, I tried to pay off exactly what I spent by the time the bill came around.

Then I had the goal of going on another vacation. While I did go to visit my parents, those don’t seem to feel like vacations to me. They seem like getting to have family time. That’s probably because I’m either visiting them at the house I grew up in or I’m at their place in Tahoe. But I did get to go on a fabulous trip to New York with my sister-in-law this past spring. That trip was amazing and we are planning to try to go to New York again in the coming year.

My final goal for 2014 was to continue blogging. While some days are tough to come up with a topic to write about, I have maintained posting a new post Monday-Friday every week of this year. That’s a lot of posts!

All in all, even though I didn’t complete all of my goals, I think that I did a great job in trying to do them all. I’ll post my goals for 2015 tomorrow.

I hope that you all have an amazing New Year’s Eve tonight! If you chose to drink, please don’t drive. Take a taxi/Uber/Lyft to get home. Or you can call AAA for a Tipsy Tow.

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Family, Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Health, Tough Stuff, Travel, Weight Loss, Work

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Starting The Year Off Right (or Spinning Away)

Posted on January 3, 2014 | Comments Off on Starting The Year Off Right (or Spinning Away)

I was very lucky to have New Year’s Day off from work. Again, nobody wants to be making phone calls on a holiday. So I tried to make the most of my day.

I did sleep in pretty late. I had gotten home just around 1am but I stayed up a bit later trying to get some work done while I felt awake.

I knew that I wanted to go to spin class on New Year’s Day, I just wasn’t sure exactly when I wanted to go. There were some special classes that day that were 90 minutes long (double the length of a normal class), but I didn’t think my body would be up for that.

Fortunately, Patrick was teaching one of the regular length classes in the early afternoon. That gave me time to get some food in my stomach and relax before sweating out all the fun I had the night before.

The class was great and exactly what I needed. I got in a great workout and according to my heart rate monitor, I burned more calories in this spin class than I had in any previous class! Part of that may be due to the fact that during the weights portion of class, I got heavier weights than I’ve ever used. But I’d also like to think that is has something to do with me getting fitter, stronger, and able to push myself harder.

I left the class super sweaty, but I look at the sweat marks on my clothes as something to be proud of. I don’t even mind walking back to my car in my sweaty clothes without covering up. If people think I look weird all sweaty, who cares? I did an amazing workout.

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I got home and ended up taking a nap after class. I was still pretty tired from the day before and the class wiped me out. The rest of the day was spent hanging out at home and reading a book, which helped to make the day a perfect day off from my day job.

But I did do some of my goals for 2014. I got in my spin class and I tracked every single calorie that I consumed that day. I was under my calorie goal and made lots of good choices for the day. It’s tougher for me to plan my meals when I don’t do spin class first thing in the morning, but I’m proud of the job that I did with my food choices that day.

I’m definitely off to a good start this year.

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Posted in Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Weight Loss

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New Year’s Eve Fun (or Making Sure 2014 Is A Lucky Year)

Posted on January 2, 2014 | 1 comment

I had a pretty low-key New Year’s Eve. I started off my day by working at my day job. Our typical shift on Tuesdays is from noon-8:30pm, but since nobody wants to be making calls in the evening on New Year’s Eve, our shift was changed to be 9am-1pm.

After work, I headed home to take a nap. I needed it so I could stay up until midnight (I woke up at 5am that morning). I spent the rest of my afternoon relaxing and getting random chores done.

Then I headed out to Marie and Chris‘s house. They were hosting a relaxing hangout for New Year’s Eve, and that sounded perfect to me!

I spent most of my evening just catching up with friends. Some of the people at the party I hadn’t seen for almost a year (since I missed the Halloween party this year).

There was also a fire in a fire pit in the backyard. Besides just being cool, many of us decided to spend New Year’s Eve making sure that 2014 would be a better year than 2013. So one of the people at the party brought paper for everyone to write their wishes for 2014 on. And as we finished them we put them in the fire so the ashes would rise up and the Universe would see our wishes.

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I don’t know if New Year’s wishes are the same as birthday wishes, but just in case I jinx myself, I’m not going to share them. But you can pretty much figure out what I want based on my goals for this year.

We also put cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices in the fire. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger are supposed to be good luck spices. And besides giving us good luck for 2014, the spices made the fire look amazing!

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Yes, we were all being safe around the fire.

As it got closer to midnight, the party headed inside to watch the NYC ball drop on tv (even though in reality it happened 3 hours earlier). We all got some champagne and celebrated the end of one year and the beginning of another.

And I did get a New Year’s kiss (on the cheek) from a friend of mine.

Since Marie and Chris live about 30 minutes (in no traffic) away from me, I wanted to head home pretty soon after midnight. The bars close at 2am and I knew that I didn’t want to be on the road when that happened. I left about 12:30am and got home safely and quickly.

Overall, it was the perfect New Year’s Eve party. Relaxing, fun, and surrounded by so many friends. I know that this will be the start of an amazing year for me.

 

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2014 Goals (or Hoping To Get More Goals Done This Year)

Posted on January 1, 2014 | 4 comments

So last year, I didn’t accomplish as many of my goals as I would have liked. That’s ok. I picked some goals that were very big stretches for me and while trying to do them I learned a lot.

I’ve thought a lot about my goals for this year. And for some of them, I’d also like to explain why they are worded the way that they are worded.

Continue To Do 5Ks

One of the things that I’d like to do in 2014 is to keep doing my 5Ks. I did 9 last year and that was amazing. But the reason I don’t have a number that I’d like to do this year is because last year, I picked some races that I really didn’t care to do just to see how many I could do in a year. And the races aren’t that cheap. For a while, I thought that it would be cool to make a goal to be 10 5Ks in 2014 (that way I would have raced 31 miles and I’m turning 31 this year). But I don’t want to have that pressure on me. I want to do the races that I want to do and that’s that (plus, each race entry fee adds up!).

Make Spin A More Regular Habit

While I do go to spin pretty regularly, it’s not as regular as I would like. I pretty much go every week, but I still don’t have set days/times that I know I will go. And if I don’t schedule my classes ahead of time, sometimes I’ll schedule other things in the times that I should be going. So I need to sit down with my schedule and SoulCycle’s schedule and pick out the classes that will become my regular ones.

Track My Food/Exercise Better

I’ve been using MyFitnessPal for a couple of years now. It’s easy to track my food on there. But sometimes when I’m eating foods I’m not happy about or overeat, I stop tracking my food for the day. I need to own up to everything I eat whether I’m within my calorie limit or have gone many times over. And tracking my exercise is much easier now that I have my heart rate monitor. I just need to remember to wear it all the time or pack it in my bag if I’m working out after work.

Get Into An Improv Class

Meant to do this last year and didn’t. I’m not going to keep putting it off. Currently looking at the schedule and figuring out which class I can take.

Pay Down My Debt And Not Add More

I know that I can’t stop using my credit card completely. There are some charges, like Netflix, that are charged every month. But I can stop frivolous spending. I need to work on using cash for most of my needs.

Go On Another Vacation

I loved having time off of work and getting out of LA. I need to do that again to help keep me sane. There is a trip in the works right now and hopefully all the plans will fall into place. But if that one falls through, I’m going to try to plan another getaway from LA at some point.

Keep Blogging

I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.

That’s my goal list for this year. I’m optimistic that it can all be done. And if it doesn’t I know that I’m going to try as hard as possible to do each one.

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Posted in Celebrations, Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff, Travel

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Looking Back At 2013 (or Where Did The Year Go?)

Posted on December 31, 2013 | Comments Off on Looking Back At 2013 (or Where Did The Year Go?)

I can’t believe it’s the last day of 2013! As the title says, where did the year go? I know that when I was little my mom joked how time moved faster the older you got, but this is ridiculous!

2013 was a year of highs and lows. I wanted to look back today at the year starting with my goals that I posted a year ago.

My goals that I had for 2013 were to continue on my weight loss journey, continue paying down my debt, do 5 5Ks, do my first 10K, find alternative income, take an improv class, and keep blogging.

I did continue on my weight loss journey. I’m not as far as I would like to be, but I’m going in the right direction. While I did pay down my debt, I also spent on that credit card which didn’t allow me to pay off as much as I could have (I need to work on that). I did 9 5Ks this year. But I didn’t do a 10K. And I don’t know if I ever will do one. But coming to that realization was a big step for me. I looked for alternative income and haven’t found it yet. But I’m getting closer to finding what else I can do that fits into my schedule. And sadly I didn’t get around to taking that improv class. But I was looking at the schedule for 2014 and I’m trying to decide which day the class would be best for me. And as you all know, I’ve been blogging 5 days a week every week (and plan to continue that).

While I didn’t accomplish all the goals I had, the lessons I learned about those goals and what I really want was much more important to me.

This past year had some amazing highs and some very low lows.

The big lows for me include my mom finding out that she has breast cancer. But she is over 1/2 done with this second chemo and is doing amazing. We have high hopes that she will be declared cancer free at the end of treatment and this will just be a memory for us. Also, the losses of Dante and Chaucer were very tough for me. I don’t know anyone who could go through losing 2 dogs in 6 days without having a breakdown. While I still am very sad about these losses, I’m able to share what happened without crying now.

One of the highs for my family was my brother’s wedding in September. It was a great event and the first family vacation my immediate family has gone on in a long time. And for me, a huge high was discovering SoulCycle and how much I love the class! I never thought I could love a workout like this and since it is low-impact, it is good for my hips.

It’s tough sometimes to focus on the positives that 2013 had since it is ending with a lot of sadness. But I know that 2014 will be a better year and I look forward to all the great things that are in store for me!

Tomorrow, I’ll share my goals for 2014!

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Posted in Family, Fitness, Fun Stuff, Health, Saving, Tough Stuff, Weight Loss

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Ringing In The New Year (or Starting 2013 On A Great Note)

Posted on January 2, 2013 | 1 comment

I’m not a huge fan of going out for New Years Eve. You spend way to much for the cover at a bar, drinks are extremely expensive, and it’s horribly crowded. But it’s not fun staying at home alone either.

So in November, I was out to lunch with my friend Rayshell and she decided to throw a party for New Years Eve! Yay!

I had a great time celebrating with everyone. Most of the people there were either single or their significant other wasn’t able to be there, so I didn’t feel like the only single person in the room.

The evening started off fun and we all picked out our hats.

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Rayshell’s boyfriend is from Australia, and he’s back there spending time with his family, so Rayshell sent him this picture to let him know what he was missing out on.

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The party had a ton of great people and great food. But I was pretty good for the evening. I mainly had veggies (without the dip). Over the course of 7 hours at the party, I had 3 drinks and then the rest was water. And the only splurges that I really had was this spinach pastry thing I ate after midnight to get something in my stomach so I wasn’t hungry when I drove home and a taste of the red velvet cake that was brought (I only ate a little of it, the frosting was too sweet).

I’m glad that I was able to stay away from the chips and dips and all the other tempting goodies. I drank a bit more than I planned, but I also drank way more water than expected too. So I think it balances out.

I love how I started 2013 surrounded by friends, both new and old, and having a ton of fun. I hope that this is a sign of what is to come this year!

And thank you so much Rayshell for throwing an awesome party! I had the best time!

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2012 In Review (or Looking Back Is Fun!)

Posted on December 31, 2012 | Comments Off on 2012 In Review (or Looking Back Is Fun!)

I can’t believe that this year is over! It seems like as I get older, the years go so much faster.

So as I prepare to have an awesome 2013, I’m looking back at some of my favorite memories of the past year (and some of the blog posts about those memories).

Favorite acting moment: joining the union. I had been SAG-eligible for a couple of years, but I had been putting off joining because then I couldn’t book non-union work anymore. When the union merger looked like it would happen, I finally joined (mainly to save a lot of money). I’m so glad that I did it and I don’t even miss the non-union bookings I used to get.

Favorite class(es): I took 2 different but both amazing acting classes this year. I took Marci Liroff’s Audition Class and Porter Kelly’s Commercial Class. They were both amazing in their own ways so I have to mention them both. I learned so much and feel like I’m going into 2013 as a much more prepared actor.

Biggest Laugh of 2012: the giant wine pours at Aria V. My friend Kate and I couldn’t believe the size of the “tastings”. And I might have had the biggest laugh of my life when I realized in the car ride home that they never asked for our Living Social deal and didn’t charge us for a thing!

Best (Almost) Additions To My Family: Technically, neither of these people are in my family yet, but I found out in 2012 that I’m going to be gaining a sister-in-law plus my cousin will be having another baby! I’m so excited! I will officially have a sister-in-law in September and my cousin’s baby should be here at the end of the spring, beginning of the summer.

Best Day Job Moment: when I got my current day job and was finally able to leave my old day job. At my old day job, I wasn’t treated so nicely. I was penalized for doing well at my job. I had personal items stolen from there, and was laughed at when I wanted them back. But in May, I was finally able to get out of there, and I’ve never looked back!

Best Social Events: There were a lot of fun events that I went to in 2012, but the ones that I seem to always tell stories from are my girls night out adventure to The Magic Castle and my friends Marie and Chris getting married. All the events I’m going to in 2013 have a lot to live up to!

Best Overall Moment of 2012: starting this blog! My friend Heather had encouraged me a while back to start a blog, and I never seemed to know when to start it or what to write about. But I did start it and now I can’t imagine not writing here! I’m hoping to be improving the blog next year (self hosting so I can add some more fun stuff is at the top of my list). If I’ve been able to get this far in half a year, I can’t wait to see what another year brings!

And on an unrelated note, if you are going out tonight to celebrate, please don’t drive drunk. It’s a stupid risk to take with your own life (and the lives of others on the road). I was in a drunk driving accident when I was 6, and even though I wasn’t injured, I still think about why the woman who hit us decided to drive drunk. If you do drink and feel even a bit unsafe driving, call AAA for a Tipsy Tow. It’s free to everyone (even non-AAA) members and they will take you and your car up to 7 miles home.

Have a wonderful New Years and I’m excited to have you all continue this journey with me!

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(My favorite pictures of my from 2012)

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff, Work

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