Category Archives: Random Thoughts/Little Things to Tell You

it’s like who am I and why am I here?

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Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that the holidays have been good for you, healthy, full of food, and fun, and family, and friends!

Yesterday, Jeff and I celebrated our 6 Year Anniversary after enjoying First Night in Boston, watching fireworks over the wharf!

Then we bundled up and headed to the airport to head back to Los Angeles after a whirlwind weekend traveling from New Hampshire to New Jersey and back, with a stop in Boston for good measure. We saw most of Jeff’s family and K and T, too, which was a delight! Now we’re back in above-freezing temperatures, ready to tackle 2013 with gusto!

Keeping with tradition, I came up with a few goals this year to follow as life becomes busier (read: wedding planning) and more fun (read: married!) Most of my goals over the years have morphed into mantras: do the best with what you have. relax. breathe. love. do less, do less better.

So far this year, we’re headed to ski in February, my parents are coming to visit, Jeff is running a marathon, we are running a half-marathon together in June, and scattered throughout this year are endless weddings and celebrations of all kinds. I can already feel in my bones that this is going to be a good one.

So, with that in mind, here’s what I have for you as my wishes for 2013:

read more
eat better
be healthy
pay attention to your surroundings
write it down
love, and be loved.

Hope you’ve got big plans for 2013, loves.

2012: I confess, you are the best thing in my life.

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I posted a longer album on FB, but for those of you who do not follow me there, enjoy the year in review in pictures!

xo – J

get over your hill and see what you find there

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Well chickens, it’s Day One of my brief unemployment before heading to my new job. I have big plans, as I always do, for these two days. They generally include not doing anything I don’t want to do. Up today was: running, heading to the Central Library for a book and a tour (by way of Metro), cleaning out my closet, reading, catching up on my shows, and dinner with my lovely ladies I had the pleasure of studying abroad with!

Tomorrow I plan on getting a new clock for the kitchen and new oven mitts, and once again a relaxing afternoon of reading. I know, folks, I live quite the life!

Happy (Almost) Friday, everyone!

i’m hanging on the memories i need most.

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Today marks the last of my fifteen months at my current job. I don’t often talk about where I work on my blog,  but I wanted to write this as a memory of how I was feeling at this ending/new beginning.

I am headed to work on a food website, where I’ll get to write and create content around healthy eating. I am ecstatic, because four years after graduating from college, I will finally be getting paid and be truly doing something I am interested in.

But, as with all endings, I am going to miss my current job, coworkers, environment, company. I will miss the teams I’ve worked for and with, I will miss PR jargon and afternoon coffee runs and PowerPoint presentations. I will miss chatting by the coffee machines about the company softball team, putting on social events for my coworkers, and working to make a change through volunteering our time and goods.

I’ll miss free Corner Bakery cookies because I order through them regularly, and I’ll miss the smiles on people’s faces when I help them fix a presentation, find an office item they’ve been looking for, or simply reschedule a meeting.

I’ll miss all of my people; stories about children and the hilarious things they say at dinner; talks of long distance relationships and time zone hardships; lunches at the trucks while the sun beats down on us; meetings to plan happy hours that involve glitter; red carpet nights, volunteering to be a celebrity escort; chatting about music and recipes and the lastest meme; endless laughs over cube walls, over politics and clients and overheard phone conversations…the list goes on and on.

I look back on how I felt when I left Liz, and my family in Pasadena, and remember that I still see her, and occasionally my old coworkers. I remember the excitement of coming to this job, and I feel it now for the next. I am excited for my future, but I will never, ever, forget these fifteen wonderful months that have graced my career. I will always find a friendly face and a hug at my current job, and I will always know, wherever I go, I have someone watching my back.

Thank you, lovely, lovely people. I will be seeing you real soon.

xo

J

accepting your priorities

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I read a blog post this morning, and it really struck a note with me on what I wanted to tell you guys anyways. Even if you don’t have a family, I think this all applies to work/life balance. Or, in my case, work/passion/life balance.

People often ask me how much sleep I get at night, because I do so much. In the lovely words of Liv Tyler in Empire Records, “My dad always said that there’s 24 usable hours in every day.” However, for me, if you’ve known me any length of time, you know I need eight hours (really nine) of sleep or I am a cranky kid.

Because of this, I have priorities that are maybe different than the average six hour a night person. I can’t stay up late, or I absolutely pay the consequences the next day, and the day after that, and the day…you get the idea.

So what does this mean? If I am sleeping from 11 to 7:30 every day, when do I have time to do anything? First off all, I know my priorities, and accept them as absolute. I am always willing to reassess and negotiate, but they keep me in line when making hard choices. They are as such:

My self. Am I happy? Are my basic needs being met? Into this goes working out, relaxing, and making sure Jeff and I are eating healthy.

Jeff. As my partner-in-crime, I need to make sure that I am spending time with him, keeping my end of the bargain at home (chores, dinner, social commitments, etc.), and making sure that we’re keeping each other in the loop.

My job. Luckily I love where I work, love my coworkers, and love my day to day. My company is committed to me, so I am committed to them, and make sure to put work first as often as possible.

The blog. After making dinner, which I deem most important (and which I sometimes can double for the blog) the next thing I do most nights is edit photos, write posts, check guest posts, schedule social media channels using HootSuite, or submitting photos to FoodGawker, Tastespotting. There is always more I can be doing for Garlic, My Soul, and because it’s so important to me, I make sure to give it the attention it needs to thrive.

Friends, family, and the like. Sometimes I struggle with this one, because the blog is my passion and because it’s so important to me. Have I left work early to do something important to friends? Yes. Have I stayed late at work to finish something and missed a friend’s event? Yes. But usually it’s someone else prioritizing at work (a client, boss, coworker, etc.) For me, telling a friend that blogging is more important than them is hard, but sometimes it needs to be done. I may miss a dinner or a movie or an event, but at the end of the day, the blog is what makes me happy, and so it’s part of the priority of “my self,” too.

This means my day looks something like this: up at 7 or 7:30, work out, get ready for work, work until 6. Home by 6:30 or 7, then make dinner. Jeff and I catch up while we cook usually, and sometimes sneak in an episode of TV while we eat. After dinner, I blog for the next day if it hasn’t been completed over the weekend, trying to get ahead a few days. Then, usually around 10:30-11, I get ready for bed and spend a few minutes reading before heading to bed.

It doesn’t always work this way: there are birthdays, and book clubs, and dinners, and drinks, friends to see, coworkers to celebrate, family visiting, and the like. And I accept those things into my schedule, minding my priorities and saying “no” when I need to. Jeff keeps me in check on my stress levels, making sure I am spending down time and having fun, and I remind myself I am not hard on myself all the time for not spending more time on the blog.

For now, this works for me. It may mean I don’t have as much down time as I like, but it means that I get to work on something I am passionate about every day. And for that, I am absolutely appreciative. And absolutely happy.

How do you prioritize your life? Do you have trouble keeping a balance between self and friends and family? How about a balance between home and work?