Changing Habits

I'm sitting on my bed in my new bedroom drinking coffee and trying to put into words my thoughts on habits.  I have many.  Some good, some bad, some in between.  What I'm trying to figure out now is how do I change those "bad" ones and create new "good" ones?

1.  Blogging.  I love reading blogs.  And I don't necessarily care if anyone reads mine, but I'd like to have one to regularly (or semi-regularly) update just to get it out into the world.  I've heard from a few people that the best way to do it is to sit down and write three or four, but then slowly release them.  It doesn't sound that exciting to me.  I want to write topically - things I'm thinking of at that moment.  

2.  Exercise.  UGH!  This non-existent habit has a lot to do with motivation.  I feel awesome after I do it - but it's getting to start that is so difficult.  Getting on the bike, putting on my tennis shoes, or popping in the 30-day Shred.  Maybe this has less to do with habit and more to do with routine.  If I make it part of my daily or weekly routine, does that make it easier?

3.  Budgeting.  I'm a worry-wart.  Money = 93.7% of all my worries.  And that pisses me off!  I have a very fortunate life, awesome friends, an amazing boyfriend, and a JOB (which I am very thankful for).  But I am always worried about money and savings and if I have enough to make it through - but make it through what?  The day?  The week?  The month?  The year?  That part I'm not sure.  If I were more strict about budgeting - I would hope that half of that worry would go away.  (It will never ALL go away - that's because I'm a worry-wart.)

Here I am blogging about these things (which takes care of #1), but now I have to take action.  Onward and upward.

Feeling GREAT!

It's been a GLORIOUS Wednesday in Portland...and it's not even 3 o'clock yet.

I got off my butt this morning and went for a 7 mile bike ride down the Springwater Corridor.  Nothing toooooo long - but it felt so great to get moving.  I was back at home by noon and made myself a delicious iced coffee.

Decided to make some mexican for dinner so I bought ingredients to make Jalapeno poppers (and with fat free cream cheese - they'll be decently healthy too!)  Shrimp tacos will also be on the menu.

I'll probably keep moving forward on my crafting project tonight - but gotta enjoy the sunshine while I can!

Yay for Spring in Portland. :)

My New Hobby

I've come up with this new hobby since the beginning of the year.  I'm talking about my very own VODKA INFUSIONS!  It all started when my fellow and I didn't want to pay for the $24.95 pepper vodka at the liquor store - and decided to make our own.  Thus, the birth of a new hobby.

We use Vodka Monopolowa from Austria.  The only reason we've gone with this one is because our favorite Bloody Mary place uses it - so we trusted it.  So far so good.

The first infusion - involving habeneros - turned out BRILLIANTLY.  It was so easy and the end result was so much better than any pepper vodka we could buy at the liquor store.If you're unfamiliar with the steps to infusing vodka - let me share.

1. Cut up what you're using to infuse.
2. Place in mason jar (with a tight sealing lid).
3. Add vodka.
4. Put in cupboard for a few days.
5. Strain.
6. Enjoy!

Seriously...so easy!  We enjoyed it in Bloody Marys - with homemade mix of course!

Since that first infusion, we've also infused Vanilla, another batch of Habenero, and Pineapple.  All of which have been ridiculously good.  On deck are Cranberry/Pomegranate, Grapefruit, and Garlic.  I know, garlic sounds weird - but we're thinking it would be delicious in Bloody Marys too!

Couch to 5k!

I now have something to blog about. Regularly.

Yesterday I started Week One of the Couch to 5k Running program. Not that I ever intend to be a "runner," but this seemed to be a program that I could do and STICK WITH. Even though it's only March, the weather is becoming nicer and with this free podcast - the price is right for me!

Let me tell you a little bit about it. Couch to 5k (or C25K from here on out) was developed by a guy in his 40's who wanted to start running again. He created this 9-week interval program to help people who don't run at all to train and run for a straight 30 minutes.

Some people may think, "Running for 30 minutes? That's easy!" Well sure, I can imagine it's easy if you do any sort of regular work out or are in any sort of shape at all. I. am. not. But I'm doing something about it. And instead of paying $50 a month in a gym membership that I'd only use 5 of 6 times per month - this fits my budget much better.

Three times a week (or more if I'm inspired) I will be "running" this program. Writing this blog will hopefully help me stay accountable.

Woot.

Jobless Still

Not a lot of progress in the job search.  I keep telling myself I am doing the best I can though.  The most frustrating part about all of it is I never hear back from anyone.  It's totally understandable when these companies are getting hundreds of applicants to say that due to the high volume they are unable to respond to anyone.

But when you actually go in for an interview and then they still don't contact you...now that is frustrating.  That has happened to me twice.  And I've followed up with both of them.

Note to employers:  I'd much rather hear you tell me I didn't get the job rather than just waiting thinking I have a possibility.  

I have set up a makeshift desk that looks out into our front yard and across the street.  I have been getting up unusually early lately and will sit here dinking around on my computer.  I've even had the pleasure of seeing the sun come up - well, only because it's rising at 7:30...thank you winter.

Today is Sunday and there is a Mennonite church located across the street.  I've been watching people parking and walking into the church.  I love people watching.  The service starts at 10:30 and they usually ring a bell around noon.  

Here I go again.

I've had some big changes since my trip across the country.  And have now decided it's time to blog again!  It will at least help me pass the time when I'm not doing the usual job hunting.  Here are a few of the highlights from the past couple of months:

July 2008 - I returned from my trip across the country.  It, to say the least, changed my life.  It really was a wonderful experience.  Who knew that I would like Louisiana and Mississippi so much?  Looks like I'll just have to do some more traveling down there.

August 2008 - I don't know what happened to August.  It went by very quickly.

September 2008 - Semi-got my act together.  Made some decisions, like moving to Portland, OR.  Met some ladies who became my roommates on Craigslist...really should have been more scary, but I lucked out big time!

October 2008 - MOVED TO PORTLAND.  And started/semi-continued the job search.  It is a daunting task.  I apply and apply and apply.  Rarely do I hear anything back.  But I know I'm trying the best I can.  When the time is right, the job will reveal itself.  To look on the bright side, at least I am getting a lot of practice writing cover letters and fine-tuning my resume.

November 2008 - OBAMA.  Probably one of the greatest nights I've had in Portland was spent dancing in the streets after Senator Barack Obama was elected President.  My roommates and I were watching the national coverage on ABC (the only channel we get) and all of us were taken by surprise when at 8:00 pm PST the anchors announced Obama's election.  It took us all a second to register what happened, but then we got up and did our very own "Obama-dance."  After his acceptance speech (which by the way brought us all to tears), we went out to SE 37th and Hawthorne Ave and created "Crosswalk Parties."  It was a great night to be in any metropolitan area.  And I'm glad I got to celebrate with fellow supporters.

That basically brings us up to speed.  I'm feeling a little more motivated to post more - but we'll see if that becomes a reality.  ;)

San Antonio, TX!

    Mary and I made it.  999.6 miles from the driveway of where we stayed in Phoenix to the driveway we arrived at in San Antonio.  But we made it, with only a few stops for gas.  It was the only drive that we've done with any driving occurring after dark.  And Texas is kind of bizarre - they have a daytime speed limit of 80 and a night time speed limit of 65.  We guessed it's because of animals and making sure you don't hit a deer going 80 mph.

    In San Antonio we are staying with Mary's brother, Peter.  Yesterday he took us to the San Antonio Riverwalk.  You walk along the San Antonio river underneath all of the streets - I have pictures - it'll make more sense when you see it.  You can also take a little boat tour along the river, and we did that too.  Last night we went to the most amazing adventure ever - the Alamo Drafthouse.

    Get this:  it's a movie theatre and a restaurant...all in one.  You buy your admission to the movie and in front of your seat is a little table with a menu and a piece of paper to write down your order.  Then they come around and deliver your food during the movie.  It sounds like it would be distracting - but here's the best part.  You can order beer and beverages with your orders!  It was fantastic getting to watch Get Smart with a pint.  Washington has got to adopt this type of entertainment.

    Today we are going to Sea World.  I'm excited.  I've never been.  There will be lots of pictures there I'm sure.  I'll try to get some up tomorrow.