There's no such thing as a bad day

Picture taken by me of a card by Papyrus

I could barely get out of bed this morning. I think I hit snooze about 17 times. I pulled myself out from under my covers and into a shower where the water was either freezing cold or scalding hot. The stockings I bought made my skin look orange and I got into an argument with my boyfriend all before 7AM.

As I walked to the bus stop thinking about what a terrible day I was about to have, I was hit by a powerful thought: there is no such thing as a bad day. I wish I could say that this idea was my own. Instead, I’ll confess that it’s the mindset of a 16-year-old ballerino. I watched the documentary First Position a few months ago (as part of a “documentary club” I have with my friend Caitlin) and this dancer’s girlfriend confessed that he always tells her that he doesn't believe in “bad days”. How can a whole day be bad?

Before we all discount this as immaturity or inexperience, remember that this boy is a ballerina; he’s a ballerina who moved away from his family in South America to dance in NY. With a ballerina’s life comes injuries, blisters, and a whole lot of people telling you you’re not good enough. Oh, and he’s doing this all to make a living so he can help support his family. So, we’ll cross out immaturity and inexperience for now. I’m sure he has plenty of days that the rest of us would label as “bad days”. He just doesn't label them that way.

I want to make it clear that I’m not talking about those days when devastating tragedies affect our lives. Those days are in a separate category. I’m talking about those days we all have, some more frequently than others. Those days when nothing seems to go right and our day follows suit. At the core of those bad days is a person declaring the day as bad. We allow any mishap that could be shrugged off to gain power as it is added to a growing list of all the things that have gone wrong. We gather up those annoyances and frustrations, throw them on our back, and allow ourselves to sink under the stress and wallow in our perception of our “bad day”.

I say bad days stop here. Let’s see negative parts of our days as just that – unfortunate minutia that exist separate from the tone of our whole day. When you hear your self-talk uttering a list of reasons why today is bad, acknowledge it and then move on. Realize that that list exists but that it shouldn't have the power to discount your whole day. Instead, start thinking about why the things on that list aren't so bad and replace that list with one full of gratitude.

Today, as I was thinking of all the ways in which my day was going to continue to be bad, I stopped my thoughts in their tracks. It wasn't easy. But, I started to list all of the things that were great about my day:

-    It was Wednesday! It’s a quick sprint to the weekend from here.

- The skyline on the way to work was especially beautiful today.

- I was going to have a few uninterrupted hours to catch up on things at work during the afternoon.

And so on and so on. Let’s make a concerted effort to end bad days. We only get 365 precious days each year; let’s not waste any.

Love Letter Train Tour

Thanks to a quick Google search of "things to do in Philly", I stumbled upon the Mural Arts Program Love Letter Train Tour. Mural Arts is a public arts program that channels graffiti artists' and community members’ talents into beautiful murals to cover the city's walls. Their work has made Philadelphia known as the "Mural Capital of the World!" 

Scott and I booked tickets to their "Love Letter Train Tour" during our weekend away in Philly. I'm sad to admit that I had lived just 20 minutes outside of Philly for 15 years of my life and never once took the time to stop and appreciate the amazing artwork plastering the buildings on nearly every street. The Love Letter tour shook me out of that trance. The tour takes place on an elevated transit line with stops to get off and peek through the gates to see the artwork of Stephen Powell. He collaborated with the Mural Arts Program to paint a series of 50 murals all surrounding the theme of love. The murals are equal parts quirky, intelligent, beautiful, and fun. Oh, and the FONTS. I didn't know it was possible, but I think I fell head-over-heels in love with his fonts that day.

Definitely definitely book a tour if you find yourself in Philly.

Winter Weekends

The first month of 2013 is coming to a close. Scott has had a break from school, so we took advantage of his slightly lighter workload and packed our month full of mini weekend adventures. We kicked off the month with a quick trip to New York to see Steel Train’s “good-bye (for now)” show. We woke up early, drove from Baltimore to Trenton and then took a train into the city. We spent the day with a good friend exploring parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan and eating our weight in vegan food. In a matter of hours we ate at Champs Diner, an all vegan diner in Brooklyn, drooled over amazing vegan donuts at Dunwell Donut Shop, and visited the popular bakery, Babycakes, in the Lower East Side before eating falafel for dinner. With full stomachs we headed to the Bowery Ballroom and sung and danced our butts off to give Steel Train a warm good-bye.

Next up was a weekend in Philadelphia. Back in October, Scott and I saw the Walkmen in DC (if you haven’t heard of them, go listen to their newest album ‘Heaven’). We got to the venue early to be close to the stage, but unfortunately found ourselves behind the 9:30 club’s new sound system. The sound was projected right over our heads making it impossible to hear the lead singer’s (extremely talented) vocals. Scott surprised me with tickets to their show in Philly for our anniversary and made plans for us to make a weekend of it.

The Walkmen show in Philly was unbelievable; the band was accompanied by horns on a few songs which made their music even more amazing live. The next day we went on the Mural Arts Program Love Letter Train Tour (which deserves its own post! It’s a must-see for anyone visiting Philly!), visited the Mutter Museum with friends, and ended the night with the fanciest of dinners. Scott treated me to dinner at Vedge, a “modern vegetable restaurant” in Philadelphia. The food at this restaurant was so unique and delicious. It was pricey but so worth it; the chef was so talented that I know I could never recreate the menu at home. We each ordered 3 small-ish plates and split them down the middle. We had things like salt roasted gold beets with avocado, smoked tofu, rye, capers, and creamy cucumber. We had no idea what we would get when we ordered each item off the menu, but we were pleased every. single. time. Highly recommend this place. Oh, and the company was pretty wonderful, too.

After two fun weekends going to concerts and exploring east coast cities with our friends, Scott and I had some catching up to do with work. We spent a weekend in Rehoboth Beach, DE working our way through piles of progress notes, log notes, and problem sets, but made sure to fit in time to visit Dogfish Head and walk along the beach and the boards. There are few things I love more than the beach in the winter; we really needed this calm backdrop during a busy, stressful weekend. Driving back home may have been my favorite part though; I love having the uninterrupted time to just be with one another and converse about everything under the sun. We spent most of the ride reminiscing which always leads to an instant happiness boost.

This last weekend in January was full of friends. We stayed in Baltimore and spent a night celebrating the engagement of two good friends with sushi and sangria. On Saturday, my very best friend Heather was in town with her hubby and baby boy! We spent the afternoon showing off Baltimore and catching up. At night, we got dinner and played hilarious games over a few glasses of wine with some new friends. I ended the weekend with a photography class (more on that later!), a lunch date, and a little relaxing.

Here’s to a February that’s just as exciting!

Resolutions

I think the tradition of making New Year’s Resolutions was made for me. Lists and goals are basically my two favorite things.

I stumbled upon my list from last year and loved reading my resolutions from a year ago. The funniest part was that the specific list was written 2 years prior, but I found the resolutions so fitting, I kept them for another year! Some were met, others never started, but I think I learned a few things from reflecting on how I wrote my resolutions.

This year, I wanted to make my resolutions measurable. Instead of resolving to “get healthy” I want to set a goal of exercising at least 2 times per week. Instead of saying that I want to learn more about photography, I resolve to complete a 365 project.

Since I’m in the habit of continually setting goals or mini-resolutions, I also wanted to focus my New Year’s Resolutions on items that would set the tone for the year. What do I want my entire year to center around?

For the last 6 years (or arguably 18…), I’ve had my nose buried in textbooks and have been all-consumed by school. Since graduation, I’ve looked back and looked forward and realized that I want balance to be a continuous goal I strive for. So with the theme of balance in mind, I’ve decided to set New Year’s resolutions that address all of me - the mind, body, and heart (“mind, body, and soul” sounded a bit cliché…not sure that the substitution of heart for soul really shakes things up, but it works for me J).

I’m so excited for a fresh list of intentions and a fresh start. I’m really looking forward to checking back on my list here and seeing how I am doing throughout the year.

• Complete a 365 project – I’ve become enamored with photography and for Christmas I was blessed to receive a DSLR camera! I love that I know so little about photography and that I have so much to learn! This year I want to participate in the 365 project in which you take 1 photo a day for a year. I’ve wanted to do this for years and I feel like this is a perfect time to get started! While the 365 project does not need to have a theme, I love the idea of having my own 365 project revolve around happiness. I’m excited to make it push me to pick up my camera each and every day for the next year.
• Make 50 new recipes – At the end of 2012, I finally started picking up some cookbooks and trying new and different recipes! I so enjoy cooking and baking, so this year I’d like to try at least 50 new recipes.
• Read 12 books – Once I graduated from grad school, I felt like I discovered reading for the first time. I was able to guiltlessly indulge in books and escape through the stories during a tough summer. This year, I’d like to read at least 12 books. 

• Exercise at least 2x weekly – I have fallen way out of the habit of working out and I feel really unfit. Although I would like to see myself exercise much more frequently, I’m resolving to exercise at least twice a week. Wish me luck!
• Learn where my nutrients are coming from – I want to eat more healthfully and part of that involves making sure that my body is getting what it needs. This year I want to learn what foods supply which nutrients, how much my body needs of each, and how my diet is supplying it. I’m starting with this book.

• Find a church community – I resolve to find a church in Baltimore that feels like home. 
• Volunteer – Throughout this year, I want to find a volunteer somewhere often (maybe here or here or here).

2012 in Review

New Year's Eve last year - ringing in 2012!

2012 was good to me. A challenging year, but a year so full of blessings. I turned 24, graduated from graduate school with a master’s degree, moved out of Pittsburgh, spent a summer soaking in time with my nieces and nephew, experienced overwhelming joy as my best friend Heather welcomed her baby boy into this world, I accepted my first job, moved to Baltimore, celebrated 3 wonderful years with Scott, celebrated 3 years of being vegan, helped my mom fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing the Pennsylvania Ballet’s performance of the Nutcracker, and rang in the New Year with the love of my life and good friends. Here’s to 2013! I’m so looking forward to what it has in store!