When I was a Child - Winter Edition

Winter is quickly slipping away so it's time for another installment of "When I was a Child."  I have been putting this off because it really hasn't felt like winter - no complaints here!  I have experienced plenty of brutal winters in my life, I could use many more like this one....  Anyways, here is what thoughts of winters as a child conjure up...

When I was a Child...

• Christmas was the highlight of winter.  Decorating the tree with ornaments hung from fish hooks, arranging the crib scene (and re-arranging it and re-arranging it, which drove my mom nuts), and gathering around the advent wreath each night are some of my favorite memories.
• The Christmas season was full of baked goods and treats.  I helped put sprinkles on many, many sugar cookies and wrapped what felt like 1,000 caramels in small squares of cellophane.  
• There was always at least one snowday - possibly more!  Those days were spent reading and doing puzzles and bugging my older siblings!
• My older sister and I spent hours upon hours skating in our backyard.  We were so sure one or both of us were going to be the next Nancy Kerrigan (well, until she got clubbed by Tonya Harding someone.)  Besides skating we also went sledding and built forts and snowmen.  
• After playing outdoors for hours, my mom would often treat us to hot cocoa with a couple of mini marshmallows.
• I celebrated many great birthdays  My dad would usually go to work later so my mom and him could wake me up by singing happy birthday.  I got to pick what mom made for dinner (spaghetti pie was a popular choice of mine) and some years she'd get a ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. 

What winter childhood memories do you have?

Living Alone

Last week, the New York Times published an article entitled, "One is the Quirkiest Number:  The Freedoms, and Perils, of Living Alone."  I first saw it when Amy posted the article on facebook.  Her comment about the article intrigued me, so I decided to read it.

It's a fairly quick read so I recommend clicking over if you have 3-5 minutes.  My synopsis of the article is that people who live alone are basically social pariahs.  We talk to our pets, eat weird meals, forget to close the bathroom door, and might forget to put on a skirt when leaving the house. 

I'm disappointed that the NYT chose just a poor representation of those who live alone.  Do I have my quirks?  You bet.  But does that have anything to do with the fact that I live alone?  Not one bit.  

My point is - we are who we are.  And if you aren't yourself around your spouse, that is not a sustainable relationship, in my opinion.  Granted, I know I will have to make concessions/compromises when/if i get married.  But for the most, what you see is what you get.  

I will always value these years that I have spent living alone.  It's made me more independent, more self-sufficient, and more aware of who I am - quirks and all.  Most importantly, it's made me a pickier dater - in a good way.  I know I can do it all on my own - and be very happy.  Before I lived alone, I think I felt more of a sense of desperation about finding a husband, because living alone kind of scared me.  Living alone no longer scares me and I know that whether or not my life includes a husband and marriage, I can and will be happy.

Have you read this article?  What was your reaction?  Do you think living alone breeds quirky behavior? 

Wine & Love

Good Morning & Happy Thursday.  It's been pretty quiet around these parts lately, and it will likely be like this for awhile...  but in an effort to not go a week without blogging, here is my Wine & Love for the week, hosted by the lovely Nora!

Wine:
-  Work stuff continues to stress me out.  I will have to be vague because you never know who is going to stumble upon your blog.  But it hasn't been pleasant lately.  My boss is equally frustrated and isn't sleeping well either.  Misery loves company, I guess, so at least we can vent to each other.
- I feel like I have no free time right now.  I am trying to put in 20 hours of studying a week which means 2 hours 4 nights a week and 6 hours on Sat and Sun.  Which doesn't sound like much, but feels like a lot.  But I keep reminding myself it's temporary...  June will come fast, I'm sure. 
- I might have to go back to Chicago for another work trip.  Usually this would make me happy as I love Chicago but I simply do not have time for a business trip as the CFA studying has taken over my life and I can't afford to lose a couple of days.  I am hoping I can just do a day trip and fly out super early & come back late that day.

Love:
- I got some awesome birthday gifts in the mail this week!  My parents sent me a webber grill!  I can't wait to figure out how to use this (ahem, have my brother show me).  And Nora sent me 2 Paris books!  I'm a total Francophile, so receiving anything related to France makes me grin ear to ear!
- The tilapia lime tacos I made last week turned out great and have been great as leftovers - which I eat in the evening and not at work.  I think we can all agree that regardless of whether you like fish/seafood, reheated seafood is the WORST SMELL EVER.  Unfortunately some of my co-workers do not realize this and continue to heat up things w/ fish/seafood...  I guess that is another wine of mine that creeped into my love for the week!
- I have a quiet weekend ahead of me, which is what I need as March is starting off busy with a wedding in North Dakota and then 2 babies showers the following weekend.  So I am going to savor this quiet, plan-free weekend!

What's your wine/love of the week?

Running...

Greetings and happy Tuesday - I hope you all had a great weekend!  Especially those of you who had Monday off!  The financial markets were closed, but it's not a holiday at my company, so I was one of the few who came into work (seemed like it would be a waste of a vacation day if I had taken it off).  My weekend was both productive and restful - just what I needed.

So I haven't talked much about running on the blog lately.  Honestly, it's been falling pretty low on the list of priorities.  Between recovering from surgery, traveling from work, and trying to keep up with the CFA studying, I don't feel like I have a whole lot of time to run.  I have still been making time for runs, but it's mostly been 3-4 mile runs, so nothing substantial.

I do want to get back to the point where I am running 6-8 miles on the weekend, but I am just not there yet.  I had signed up for a half marathon in March that I wanted to run with Raquelita, but I think I would risk injuring myself if I tried to ramp up my mileage and do a 1/2 in just over 3 weeks...  So I am going to email the race director and see if I can do the 7k instead of the 1/2.  I am bummed that I won't run the distance I intended. but I also have to realize I have a lot on my plate right now and can't do it all.

So for now, my goal is to keep running 3 times/wk and biking 2 times/wk.  My run club resumes on 2/29 and while I will probably only attend 1 weeknight work out and the weekend run, I know it will help me get back on track.  I've learned that, for me, it's just not possible to balance work, studying, and training.  So this will just be a 'running maintenance' phase for me. 

Once this test is behind me, though, running will once again be the focus of my free time.  I know I am doing a fall marathon - I just can not for the life of me decide which one!!  I know I will have to travel for a marathon because I will be at Nora's wedding (so excited!) the weekend of the Twin Cities marathon.  I could do the DC marathon at the end of October or I could run the Raleigh marathon with John's wife.  The issue I am having is that I look at my medical bills and then I feel really guilty spending money on a destination marathon when the money spent on that plane ticket (which likely won't be cheap) could be applied to student loans or my mortgage.  But it's either travel for a marathon or don't run one at all, and I do really want to do a marathon this fall.

So I will continue to mull it over.  I think it's funny that I know which marathon I am doing in 2013 (Chicago) but can not for the life of me make a decision about this fall!  I am usually a very very decisive person so this wavering back and forth is so out of character for me!

Would you consider yourself a decisive person or do you struggle to make decisions?  Also, for all you runners out there, what are you race plans for 2012?  Any fall marathons?

Weekend Whimsy

Confession:  when I am in CFA study mode, I kind of get a little down on the weekend.  Yes, it is nice to have a break from work, but my weekends don't 'feel' like weekends during CFA study season as I spend the bulk of each day studying. 

This study season is going better than last year's did, but it's still challenging.  So to dodge the weekend blues, I'm trying to focus on the small things I can do each weekend to make them a little bit more fun and restorative.  I want to find whimsy in the small things.

This weekend will be brightened by the following...

- Tonight, I am meeting up with Marisa!  She recently moved here from Des Moines and I can't wait to show her my favorite spots!  I might start by introducing her to cucumber margaritas - that's my drink of choice as it's so delicious and refreshing!  I earned a drink because this is my first night off from studying in 8 DAYS!!!  And Marisa got a job!  So we have lots to celebrate!

- Tomorrow night I get to catch up with this lovely lady.  I am so thankful for google video chatting!

Amber & I in Seattle in fall of 2010

 - On Saturday night, I will try out this recipe for fish tacos.  Mmmm...

- Lastly, tomorrow I should finish the first half of the CFA materials.  I am ahead of schedule, which is good because that means I can use the following week to go back and review some of the areas I am struggling with.

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Mid-Month Money Manifesto - Month 2

Month 2:  Goals...  And Adjusting Goals

It's time for another Mid-Month Money Manifesto post.  Last month I talked about what was working.  This month I am talking about my goals.

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 I had this whole post written about my financial goals for the year and how I was prioritizing between paying down student loans and my mortgage while savings for a down payment for the purchase of a home down the road...   Then I got my final medical bill and realized my out-of-pocket obligation for my sinus surgery is nearly twice what I thought it would be.

Gosh, being an adult sucks sometimes.  I am not abandoning my financial goals... They are just getting pushed off to the 2nd half of the year as the goal for the first half of the year is to pay off my medical bills and pay off a credit card that I am carrying a balance on.

So once I have met these goals, I will set goals for the rest of 2012 - most likely in the 2nd half of the year. 

Do you have well-defined financial goals?  In the past, I have set up automatic deposits so that I save a certain amount each year, and in addition to my monthly student loan payments, I always put extra towards paying down the principal, but I haven't really had much more focus than that.  This year I will.  

Valentine's Day, a Year Ago

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  I am one of the few single people that actually enjoys this holiday.  Actually, relationship status aside, there are a lot of Valentine's Day haters out there!  I get that people hate the commercialized aspect, and I think that we should show the people in our lives that we love them every day but I still like that one day is devoted to love. 

This Valentine's Day will be pretty lackluster for me as I the only date I have is a date with my CFA materials, so I am reflecting back on how I spent Valentine's Day last year!  I was in Paris, celebrating my birthday, and had an absolutely wonderful day. 

I went for a run along the Seine...

I enjoyed a delicious world famous hot chocolate at Angelina's (it's to die for)...

And if that wasn't already enough sugar, I also enjoyed a Mont Blanc, which is a meringue topped with chestnut paste.  Like the hot cocoa, it was also divine...

And then I meandered back to my apartment, walking along the Seine, and stopped in at one of the most famous bookstores in the world...

It was a magical day and a trip I will never forget.

I am going to close with the same poem I shared last year as it is one of my favorites and a year later, it still resonates with me.

Love After Love

The time will come when,
with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

~ Derek Walcott

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  Whether you choose to celebrate or boycott this holiday, I hope you have a wonderful day and end the day feeling loved.  I know I will.