And I thought I hated tea!

It's that time of year again - everyone is cooped up inside, everyone is sharing germs, and everyone is sick. It's right about now that I usually get some form of bronchitis-strep-ear infection, and I'm not particularly looking forward to it. I've been trying to fight the worst of it by consuming as much water/soup/tea as my body can handle. What's funny though is that I always thought, "Ew, I hate tea." The smell of it always turned me off completely.

What I have discovered though is that I only actually hate BLACK (English) tea. Why? Still not entirely sure. But I'm very excited to find a new hot beverage -- a girl can only drink so much coffee -- that warms me up and keeps me healthy (zeroooo calories!). For everyone else who thinks they hate tea, here are my Top 5 Must-Try Teas:

1. Hibiscus - a little tart and not at all perfume-tasting, plus great health benefits
   (best cup: Espresso Royale Cafe)
2. Lemon - soothes a sore, swollen throat like nothing else
   (best cup: Lipton brewed at home with 1 tsp of honey)
3. Red Raspberry - fruity, great for an afternoon sip with a snack
   (best cup: Bigelow - which apparently has hibiscus in it!)
4. Passion - herbal infusion of lemongrass, rose hips, mango, passion fruit & (you guess it) hibiscus
   (best cup: Tazo - available at Starbucks)
5. Apple Cinnamon - one of the first teas I drank, kind of like hot liquid dessert - which tastes much better than that sounds
   (best cup: Lipton)

Resolution Non-Update

I didn't check in on any of my resolutions yesterday, nor did I balance my checkbook. I was too busy this weekened hanging out with winos & foodies at the Boston Wine Expo & a party Saturday night at the Boston Wine School. Read more about it on my wino/foodie blog: The Novice Palate.

Chop, chop?

Now that I've figured out interesting things to do with my hair, I'm having the urge to cut it all off. It desperately needs to be a cut (split ends, ew), but I just don't have the money to go see Roger right now. He's the only one I trust to cut it short and not have it be a giant poof ball.

I wish I could donate it to Pantene's Beautiful lengths, but it has bleach/permanent dye in it. That's really sad because I had really hoped to donate. Maybe next time.

Here's what I'm thinking for inspiration:

(Jennifer Nettles, Sugarland)
(Britney - duh, Circus video)

(Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex & the City)

Neighborhood Walks & Adventures in Cooking

Working part-time is really working well for me. My bank account could be a little fatter, but I feel so balanced in my life right now -- for the first time in a really long time. I got out of work today at 2:30 and (finally!) finished reading Dangerous Liasons on the bus home. It's taken me longer to read that book than almost any other (excluding Ayn Rand's Fountainhead).

Since it was a balmy 30 degrees today in Boston and I was home while the sun was still up, I decided to go for a neighborhood walk this afternoon. I went up, over and then around Corey Hill in Brookline.

I made a stop on the way home for some dinner provisions. As part of Resolution #1, I'm trying to get out of my food rut. So each week I'm going to try a new recipe or food item and report on the adventure with pictures. Expect updates around Thursday of each week.

This week's adventure in cooking was KALE. It's a type of wild cabbage. I also decided to try chorizo sausage (hence the stop at Whole Foods) to include in my soup for tonight.

Resolution Update: Fun, what's that?

So in the last week or so I've been trying to make a real effort to get out of my cocoon a little bit. The freezing cold weather and alternating mini-blizzards have made it a lot harder for sure. It's so easy to just stay in, getting cozy with the Wii and a glass of wine. However, I did promise myself to be less of a homebody/party-pooper this year.

Friday I was going to try to see a free movie at the Omni Theater at the Museum of Science after meeting my new coworkers in Cambridge for drinks. And then we were going to go to my friend Kate's for games & dessert. All three plans failed on Friday because the boy decided that I needed a night to just unwind. Apparently work, even though it's only part time, had me wiped out. Plus, it was about 2 degrees before the windchill. Brr!!

But there were definitely highlights this week! Wednesday was world's longest day ever. I got up at 4:45, and was with Maris by 6 am at the Sheraton for GMA's Great American Job Fair. Then after work, we met up with Kate and Dana at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government to hear about "Women Waging Peace." And of course what trip to Harvard Square would be complete without a stop at the Border Cafe?

On Thursday, Jess came over to interview me about co-op experiences. So I turned that into, let's get a bottle of wine & have some delicious snacks. Maris brought this cheese that's similar to brie but much more flavorful (cannot remember the name for the life of me), petite baguettes and some fruit. We all chatted about life in the living room and even had a mini Wii Bowl-a-thon.

This coming week I'm trying to organize a girls night. First, wine tasting at Federal Wine and Spirits downtown. Then movies at the Lucy Parson's Center about resistance to the separation barrier in Israel and Palestine. Lastly, heading to the Fireplace in Brookline for Jazz Night (and hopefully bumping into my client, chef & owner Jim Solomon).

If you're wondering about more adventurous ideas, check out this Google Calendar: Super Fun Things to Do in Boston.

Glamour's 30 by 30 List

I just found the magazine page I ripped out that inspired my 30 by 30 list. It's from Glamour magazine's September 2005 issue.

By 30, you should have:

1. One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you how far you've come.
2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.
   
3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour.
4. A purse, a suitcase and an umbrella you're not ashamed to be seen carrying.
5. A youth you're content to move beyond.
   
6. A past juicy enough that you're looking forward to retelling it in your old age.
   
7. The realization that you are actually going to have an old age -- and some money set aside to help fund it.
8. An email address, a voice mailbox and a bank account -- all of which nobody has access to but you.
   
9. A resume that is not even the slightest bit padded.
10. One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.
11. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.
12. Something ridiculously expensive that bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.
13. The belief that you deserve it.
14. A skin-care regimine, an exercise routine and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don't get better after 30.
    
15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship and all those other facets of life that do get better.

By 30, you should know:

1. How to fall in love without losing yourself.
2. How you feel about having kids.
   
3. How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.
4. When to try harder and when to walk away.
5. How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn't like to happen next.
6. The names of: the secretary of state, your great-grandmother and the best tailor in town.
7. How to live alone, even if you don't like to.
8. How to take control of your own birthday.
9. That you can't change the length of your calves, the width of your hips or the nature of your parents.
10. That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it's over.
    
11. What you would and wouldn't do for money or love.
    
12. That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs or not flossing for very long.
13. Who you can trust, who you can't and why you shouldn't take it personally.
14. Not to apologize for something that isn't your fault.
    
15. Why they say life begins at 30.
    

Resolution Update: Scale Victory #1!!

So, in sticking with Resolution #1 I started this week by making a menu for each day. Then the boy and I headed to the grocery store for a massive healthy-food shopping trip. It was quite the success. I basically chose recipes inspired by Tosca Reno's Eat Clean book mixed with recipes for my new Crock Pot!

This week, following the "just eat a little healthier, eat a little less, and drink more water" plan, I lost 4.2 lbs! Which means I'm only 18.4 away from my goal for graduation on May 1!!

For a little inspiration I wrote a bunch of my favorite quotes on my scale in brightly colored Sharpie.

They say:

• "Don't Stop Believin'" [Journey]
• "It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not." [James Gordon]
• "Don't be afraid of changes. Don't be afraid of your life." [Eclectic Collective Changes]
• "Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." [Nelson Mandela]
• "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal." [Thomas Jefferson]
• "Regret is an appaling waste of energy." [Katherine Mansfield]
• "You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner." [Barbara Sher]
• "Did you ever think that maybe if you're not happy it's because of you?" [SK6ERS]
• "The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occure when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." [M. Scott Peck]

And now off to eat some home-made chicken soup before my first day of work tomorrow!!

Offer letter!

I got an offer letter yesterday for a part-time position at a health policy institute in Cambridge that I interviewed at about 6 weeks ago. I'm really excited. Even though it's not full-time it's definitely got a lot of pros:

• Trying out a new industry that I might really enjoy (health/wellness)
• Trying out actual PR (as opposed to marketing or copywriting)
• Interesting research
• Great networking opportunity (a lot of the top people in the office went to Harvard Business School)
• Pays better than Banana Republic!

My schedule is also going to leave me two open weekdays to find temp/part-time stuff from KNF&T. Plus, I want to see if I can get a few freelancing assignments.

In other news, I had lunch with an old boss of mine today who just happens to be the daughter of my boyfriend's mother's best friend. Go figure. The world is a tiny, tiny place. Which can be superb for networking and disasterous if you start burning bridges.

I'm still fighting a mean cold (that has taken over my ears and lungs... please please don't let it turn into bronchitis again). So I'm going to go back to bed with my tea and maybe the Wii.

Resolution Update: Getting back in the black

So today I have my first successful attempt at working on Resolution #4 - balance my checkbook. I used to do this regularly, back when I opened my first bank account and my mom helped me monitor my finances very closely. With her help, I established a fantastic credit history. I got offers nearly every week to open new cards, usually with 0% intro interest rates. And then I started taking them up on their offers. That was the start of my troubles. I was offered a $5,000 limit on my first card without my mom. To an 19 year-old who had just discovered a passion for shopping (my entire wardrobe used to fit in one suitcase, now I can barely get it in 8 drawers + my closet), it was total freedom. That summer I was also working about 55 hours each week, so I was never worried about paying the card off - there was always enough. But one month I spent $800 - and this was before I had any real bills - so it all went toward eating out, movies, and clothes. That was the first month I didn't pay the card in full. I don't think I ever have since.

By balancing my checkbook each week, I hope to come to terms with my bank account - no matter how depressing it might be right now. At least knowing is much better than not knowing, which leads to overdrawing my account or missing card payments. Tonight I spent about 20 minutes after dinner cross-checking my online statement with my ledger. It was actually pretty painless, and I feel so accomplished! I'm also going to try to pay for more things with cash. Why? Because then I won't pay interest, then I'll see how much it REALLY costs, and it will make balancing the checkbook even EASIER!

Resolve.

Last night was a perfect way to bid farewell to 2008. It was an interesting year, eventful and yet somehow not really. This morning I went back to Hillside Manor to have a delicious three-hour brunch with Kate, Jack, Maris, Adrienne, Ben, Dan, and Ed. It was exactly the right way to start this year - amazing food, strong coffee, and a lot of inspired breakfast-table conversations. I then came home and cleaned my whole room for four hours.

So of course, what January 1st would be complete without a list of resolutions for the year. Here we go:

2009 Resolutions

1. Lose 20 lbs. by graduation (May 1) - that means about 5 lbs each month, totally do-able. How? Eating colorful food (inspired by Tosca Reno's Eat Clean) and of course exercising!
2. Plant a vegetable/herb garden on the deck - this will probably have to wait until Spring. But I'm going to get some books from the library to learn first.
   
3. Improve my impact on the environment - bring my own water bottle, recycle, use more biodegradable products, and try to eat more sustainable foods (see #2).
4. Balance my checkbook! - First step in getting my finances under control and moving in a positive direction. I'm going to make an appointment with myself on my Google calendar to balance it each week.
   
5. Journal everyday - I've stopped writing to myself as much and I need to get back to it.
   
6. Have more adventures - inside and outside the city, get to the lake more. We're going to revive the "Super Fun Things to Do in Boston" gCalendar.
7. Spend more time with my friends - this goes along with #6 clearly and is inspired by my Life To Do list #7 (stop saying "Because I have to.")

Expect weekly Resolution Updates every Sunday this year. (I guess that's resolution #8).