Tag Archives: jeff

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?

#30dayspositive

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One of my yoga teachers, who I am sure I’ve talked about before, is doing this thing called 30 Days Positive. You can learn about it here, but it’s basically about losing the negativity and finding positivity in each and every day. Here’s my first eight days.

8/2/2012 – day one: went to Shark Week 25th Anniversary party. Ate a cupcake.


8/3/2012 – day two: found this of nikki and me…guess I have to update this one!

8/4/2012 – day three: beach day for myself, including crosswords and MVY Radio.

8/5/2012 – day four: gluten free blueberry pie.

8/6/2012 – day five: Yesterday I lost my keys, forgot to put butter in my pie, and got a piece of plastic stuck in garbage disposal. Jeff got the plastic out, the pie was delicious, and the Farmer’s Market called to tell me they have my keys. #30dayspositive. Win.

8/7/2012 – day six: laundry = done.


8/8/2012 – day seven: taking time to feed Jeff and I right.

8/9/2012 – day eight: second night of homemade meals, this time, Summer Vegetable Pasta with goat cheese. 

5gts: Birthday edition.

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1. This post from Ms. Mary. She’s the best, and I love that our birthdays are so close together!

2. Jeff got me an Instax camera for my birthday after I lusted after Mary’s.

Now I’ll have my own instant photos!!

3. Birthday bonfire = success. Pictures to come, but I had an excellent time running amok at the beach with twenty of my best friends.

4.Melissa cross stitched this for me. Because she’s simply the best person.

5. My cards, on my memory board:

I said, “remember this moment”

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Paso Robles, 5/27-28, 2012

Fancy dinner. Fancy wine. Laughing friends. A town green, a beautiful town, beautiful country. Photo shoots in the middle of the road. In the middle of nowhere. Coffee in three shades, wine in endless combinations. Tasting room at the top of the world. Olive oil to die for. Dogs, veterans, and “I don’t charge for tastings…how can you charge someone to taste something they’ll never had?” Turkey vultures, orioles, mockingbirds, wrens. Egrets. Checking the map, checking the guide, tours. Heart Castle, two pools, and more laughing. History before your eyes, both man made and natural. No zebra spotting, but oh, how we tried. Mistresses and celebrities, and stairs, and Andy, leading us through the kitchen. And oh, that kitchen. Industrial everything, and someday I want. Snacks in the car, the ocean, the sunshine, wheat in fields, orange birds, the best sandwiches ever, and more wine. Best friends, memories that’ll always be there, omelettes and coffee, always more coffee.

Thanks to Jeff for the photos…more here.

shake it out, shake it out.

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Happy 2012! This year’s first week has gone swimmingly, I’m happy to report. First of, we returned from the east on January 1, just in time to celebrate Jeff and my 5 year anniversary. I had Monday off, and so we spent the day relaxing and I started strong with a New Year’s resolution to be healthier. Step one was to relax more, step two was to exercise, and step three is to spend some more time working out.

And so, Monday I headed to yoga at the nearby yoga studio. It was my first experience with Kundalini Yoga, which I must confess I don’t think it quite my yoga. It’s a bit more meditation than I am used to, which does the opposite of relax me and rather stresses me out.

Nonetheless, I have a Groupon, and the Hatha Yoga classes aren’t at the most convenient times. And so, I have continued to go. Anyways, so I go to yoga on Monday during the day, and again on Tuesday morning. I babysat on Tuesday night, so I skipped Wednesday yoga, and opted for a 3 mile walk with Jeff around West Hollywood, the area we want to move, instead.

Thursday morning I was back at the yoga, and this morning I liked the most of all my yoga days at this new studio. Even though what I am about to say is pretty weird, it was actually fun, freeing, and made me giggle.

For the first ten minutes or so of class, our teacher asked us to wave our hands, torsos, and heads, while sitting cross legged on the floor, to music, as fast and as “crazy” as we could. And all I could think the entire time was of the Florence + the Machine song “Shake it Out.”

2011 was a rough year for a lot of reasons, and I think 2012 is going to be the year of shaking it out. As our yoga teacher yelled, “SHAKE IT OUT! SHAKE OUT YOUR ANGER. WHEN YOU GET TO THE POINT WHEN YOU NEED TO STOP, THAT’S WHEN YOU MUST KEEP GOING.” He sounded one part Wonka, one part Billy Blanks, and strangely, one part my mother. You must keep going. You must finish. You must do this.

And so, this year is about standing the test of time. Of getting healthy. Of shaking it out. Of standing up, and breathing. One day at a time. And, my new motto for the year is to do less, better. I heard it from somewhere (I think Real Simple) and it’s stuck. We get ourselves so busy, so tired, and so run down, we miss out on our actual LIVES. And so, this year, I shall do less. better.

After Thursday morning’s session, I rounded the week off with another long walk on Friday, and a day at the beach on Saturday. Today, Jeff and I biked about 16 miles along the LA River. I still haven’t unpacked, and I’m ok with that. There is sand on the floor from the beach, there are some dishes to be done, and Jeff and I are sitting here plotting an eventual trip to Europe. Life, my friends, is grand.

What are your new year’s resolutions? Or is your resolution not to have one? I’d love to hear from you!