Well, as you have seen, I have moved to Wordpress! I still have a good year’s worth of posts to go through and tag, but I actually don’t mind it, it’s kind of fun! I’m still figuring out how to customize the page a bit more, but I think I like it so far.

In a previous post I mentioned that there would be some big changes coming up for me…and I think the time has come to announce it.

I GOT A NEW JOB!!!!

Some of you know I’ve been searching for a LONG time…about 6 months. It just took some time to find the right job. It was a struggle because I wanted to blog about how much it sucked and how hard it was, but I was afraid of people from work seeing it (a few read). It was a really frustrating time for me, and stressed me out a lot. But, most of the people from work who read know, and I’m giving my official notice tomorrow, so I don’t care now. I will be working for a small PR firm in Tysons starting in a couple weeks. I’m really excited to finally get into public relations (my major) and take a stab at agency life. I’m a bit nervous though…what if I can’t do it or what if it’s not really what I like or want to do? But, I guess everyone goes through that when they start a new job. I am mostly excited about the opportunity…I can’t wait to actually be DOING something I enjoy. I am sad to be leaving my current job, I have been there since January 2005, so a smidge over 2 years. And, I love the people there and the company…but it was just time to move on.

In other news, the past week or so I have really tried to buckle down and eat healthier. I went to the grocery store last week and spent way too much on healthy food ($220!), but it’s nice to eat at home and know I’m being healthy. It makes me happy to know I’m trying. I loaded up on lots of fruit and veggies, low fat/low calorie yogurt and soup, cottage cheese, whole wheat tortillas, all of that kind of stuff. Even some baked potatoes and 60-calorie broccoli and cheese packs to go on top - yum! I still slip up of course, that said Friday I ate Mexican (On the Border) and Saturday I had a steak and cheese sub and fries (which is all I ate)…but today I’m right back on track. I hope that I can keep it up. OK, so going to the gym has slacked this week with me having a horrible cold/upper respiratory infection (stayed home from work 2 days)…but maybe this week my breathing will be good enough for me to make it back. My friend’s wedding is about 4 months away, and I just went to get the bridesmaid dress yesterday…it’s much easier to take something in, than let it out! Hopefully that will be the case anyway.

I was also blessed to get a good sized tax refund, so my bank account for once has a little cushion. Of course, with the cost of car tax/registration, bridesmaid dress, groceries, and a few other things…it’s slowly been decreasing…but it’s nice to have even an extra $50 or $100 of padding. It definitely makes a difference and makes me feel a little more secure. It’s just hard not to spend it all! I know I should have saved it or put it towards my credit cards…but with that little extra there, it makes it easier for me to pay from my normal funds.

So, I’m looking forward to what the next few months bring…I have some really fun events planned, and I have a feeling there will be lots of positive changes for me!

I know that by publicly making a “resolution” or two, that I’m pretending to everyone that I’m really going to keep up my end (with myself I guess) of the bargain. Everyone can stand to improve in one way or another, whether it’s physically or personally/emotionally. I know there are a ton of things for me. I say them every year practically, and I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to just DO IT. Maybe this year will be it for me. The only thing I think I have successfully done in the past year or so is to eliminate soda from my diet. I still have one occasionally, but I don’t keep it around the house and drink it, or really drink it at work at all - even diet sodas.

I think the important thing is to not overwhelm yourself, and to take baby steps. Just like in What About Bob (a great movie by the way). So I’m going to take a big idea, tone it down, and hope that I get something positive out of it in the end. All of it is going to take willpower and commitment, and it’s really really hard to keep that up.

The overall goal in mind is: Take better care of myself.

1. Eat more fruits and vegetables. OK, so it’s more expensive to buy fresh fruits and vegetables than say, a box of crackers…but overall more nutritional value. And I LIKE fruit, I miss it. I need more of it in my life. I love berries I could live on them. I would much rather eat berries for dessert than chocolate cake.

2. Go out on more dates. So, most of my dates turn out to be blog fodder, and maybe I just need to accept that. But, I also need to expand my mind and broaden my horizons. I’m too picky, I know this. It’s probably largely why I’ve been single for so long. Too picky and too afraid of getting hurt, which is a bad combination. I tend to go for guys that look the same, act the same, and well, are the same. Although over the past year I have kind of gone “outside” of my “typical” mate, still nothing that really clicks. Maybe I need to stop worrying so much about looking for something perfect, and start looking for something that’s ME.

3. Go to the gym once a week. Then twice a week. Then three times a week. Well, this is the number one new year’s resolution, so that’s going to be a bitch to fight through the masses. But, ugh God. I’ve had a gym membership now for over a year, and obviously no good results have come from it. I’ll go once in a week, or three times in a week…then not go at all for another month. I actually don’t even mind going to the gym, it’s just the getting there part that is hard. Once I’m there, it’s fine, I do my thing and it doesn’t kill me. I just need to remember that. And also look to my friends and people I know that have lost 25 or 50 pounds in 6 months to a year. That could be me. I just have to keep telling myself that.

4. Try to save $5 a week. Maybe even $10. I need savings desperately. Living paycheck to paycheck and squeezing out the last $20 the last week is painful. Yeah I know I have bills to pay and an obscene amount of debt. And I can’t help it, I still need to have a life. I can go out and meet friends and not spend money sure, but it costs me in gas and (sometimes) parking and maybe cover charges. That doesn’t help my social life or my bank account. It’s hard to find a balance.

5. Cut down on going out to eat. I say this all the time, but it really will help contribute to number 1, 3 and 4. The amount of money I spend going out to eat is probably more than I expect it to be. I mean, it’s expensive to grocery shop and cook at home too. Eating healthy is expensive, which sucks. But, at least cutting down my one to two times a week Mexican food habit is bound to do something. I just hope I can quench the cravings. It’s also hard because to me, going out to eat is a social thing…it’s what I do. I have dinner dates with friends 2-3 times a week. I go out and grab lunch with people from work. It’s just what I do to wind down. So, maybe I need to find something else to do instead.

6. Swallow my medicine. I suck at taking medicine. I have horrible asthma, and am supposed to take Advair for it. I never do. Granted, my asthma is a lot better now than when I was younger, but I still have problems here and there, and when it gets bad, it sucks. I also am an awful pill taker. It practically makes me gag even to take those little birth control pills. I can’t take pills with water. I mean, what is that?!? Maybe I should start being a grown up and taking my medicine. I’m even going to start getting allergy shots again (already made the appointment) because hopefully that will also help my asthma. Whooo for being able to breathe!

7. Stop worrying and get back on the wagon. The hardest part about all of this stuff is worrying about it and thinking about it constantly, and knowing that if I fuck up, it’s OK and get over it and keep at it. It’s kind of like quitting smoking, or any other bad lifestyle habit…I guess you can say my bad lifestyle habit is not taking care of myself. So maybe now it’s time to step up and get with it. This is the only life and body and chance I’m ever going to get, so what am I sitting around waiting for?

Basically there will be lots of squeezing of my wallet and waistline, and maybe squeezing in a few dates in between. The Big Squeeze of 2007…deep breaths and baby steps…

Don’t stop til you get enough!

As the end of the year rapidly approaches, I find myself thinking…everyone is all about the new year being a time for new beginnings and starting over. But really, you can have a new beginning any time of the year. Just because the lunar cycle or the designated 365 days (or so) in a calendar year are set to recycle, doesn’t mean that anything changes. Monday will still be just another Monday (although a holiday), and the weekend will come and go, and we’ll all still be here. A new mayor for DC will be sworn in, the country will bury another past President, and someone somewhere will be gearing up for a lawsuit.

The past few months I’ve contemplated stopping City Sparkle…I’ve found that my ideas and postings have become fewer and farther between. Sometimes I’m lucky to post once a week, whereas for over a year, I was posting daily. But then I realized that overall, I should go for quality, not quantity. Who cares if I’m not posting on a daily basis anymore? It’s tiring to keep up with fresh snark and witty insight. And sometimes, there just isn’t anything going on or something amazing and new to discover. I considered the fact that maybe a lot of the changes and things I would like to accomplish should be done on my own, and not broadcast over a blog. But, maybe I’m not ready for that yet, and I need the option to blog whenever and whatever I want to.

The downside to saying you’re retiring the blog, or abandoning it, is the fact that there are just some days when you need to get it out there. You have something to say, and you want to say it. I don’t particularly care if someone agrees or disagrees, but I like to look back and say, hey, this is what I thought about this issue. This is how I felt. This is what I did. After all, what is a blog really but an online diary? Sure you may focus on politics, or celebrities, but the point is that you focus on your own opinions (and in some cases feed off of other people’s).

So, here I am…rapidly heading towards 2007 and another year of blogging. I can’t say that things are going to change, or become better or worse, because unfortunately I can’t predict the future. But, I can say that it’s been a good ride, and I’m grateful for the love and support I have (both through and beyond the blogging community). I’m looking forward to what choices I’ll make and what will become of my life over the next year. Because although January 1, 2007 is really going to be no different than December 31, 2006…it still in theory symbolizes a new beginning. And that’s enough for me.

So in about a week 2007 will come crashing in on us, and I found myself thinking the other day…what have I done this year?

I feel like 2006 has gone by in a big blur for me, and nothing really significant has happened. I’m sure that I have grown and changed from a year ago, and I’m sure that good and bad things have happened. It’s just the fact that there was nothing big - no life altering, mind blowing changes have occured for me. I’m not saying that every year of your life has to be amazing, new and different - but I feel like maybe I didn’t take full advantage of the opportunities I have.

To tell the truth, I don’t really like change. I have always adapted well (military brat), and deal with it, but in the end I guess I don’t like it. But, I kind of find myself now thinking…well, I guess I had fun in 2006…but what did I accomplish?

Things I did:
1. Moved to a new place
2. Went on a lot of crappy dates and had really bad/unsatisfying psuedo-relationships and hook ups
3. Opened a savings account
4. Consequently closed savings account by spending $1,600 on a speeding ticket
5. Made some new friends/re-vamped relationships with old friends

Things I could have done (but apparently just didn’t):
1. Lost weight (instead I have gained a little I think)
2. Gone on a “real” vacation (something that involves amazing sights, sounds, food, fun, and friends. Preferably in a beach or resort setting.)
3. Paid off more of debt (to go on that vacation!)
4. Had a real serious relationship (see number 2 in the previous list)
5. Advanced in my career (working on that…)

I know that my debt is a cause of a lot of my issues…no money means not going out as much, not meeting new people, and not cultivating my current relationships. Not losing weight means another year goes by where I started to make a change, but didn’t complete it. Another year where maybe I didn’t do what I wanted to do because I just didn’t feel I could (i.e. go to the beach). Another year where I imagine I could be doing so much better. 2006 was pretty stagnant for me I feel…and I don’t like that feeling.

I guess that was all pretty negative, with more thouhts of things that I didn’t/couldn’t do than I did…maybe 2007 will bring some new things to my plate, and change me for the better.

And you ask me what I want this year And I try to make this kind and clear Just a chance that maybe we’ll find better days Cause I don’t need boxes wrapped in strings And desire and love and empty things Just a chance that maybe we’ll find better days So take these words And sing out loud Cause everyone is forgiven now Cause tonight’s the night the world begins again

So in about a week 2007 will come crashing in on us, and I found myself thinking the other day…what have I done this year?

I feel like 2006 has gone by in a big blur for me, and nothing really significant has happened. I’m sure that I have grown and changed from a year ago, and I’m sure that good and bad things have happened. It’s just the fact that there was nothing big - no life altering, mind blowing changes have occured for me. I’m not saying that every year of your life has to be amazing, new and different - but I feel like maybe I didn’t take full advantage of the opportunities I have.

To tell the truth, I don’t really like change. I have always adapted well (military brat), and deal with it, but in the end I guess I don’t like it. But, I kind of find myself now thinking…well, I guess I had fun in 2006…but what did I accomplish?

Things I did:
1. Moved to a new place
2. Went on a lot of crappy dates and had really bad/unsatisfying psuedo-relationships and hook ups
3. Opened a savings account
4. Consequently closed savings account by spending $1,600 on a speeding ticket
5. Made some new friends/re-vamped relationships with old friends

Things I could have done (but apparently just didn’t):
1. Lost weight (instead I have gained a little I think)
2. Gone on a “real” vacation (something that involves amazing sights, sounds, food, fun, and friends. Preferably in a beach or resort setting.)
3. Paid off more of debt (to go on that vacation!)
4. Had a real serious relationship (see number 2 in the previous list)
5. Advanced in my career (working on that…)

I know that my debt is a cause of a lot of my issues…no money means not going out as much, not meeting new people, and not cultivating my current relationships. Not losing weight means another year goes by where I started to make a change, but didn’t complete it. Another year where maybe I didn’t do what I wanted to do because I just didn’t feel I could (i.e. go to the beach). Another year where I imagine I could be doing so much better. 2006 was pretty stagnant for me I feel…and I don’t like that feeling.

I guess that was all pretty negative, with more thouhts of things that I didn’t/couldn’t do than I did…maybe 2007 will bring some new things to my plate, and change me for the better.

And you ask me what I want this year And I try to make this kind and clear Just a chance that maybe we’ll find better days Cause I don’t need boxes wrapped in strings And desire and love and empty things Just a chance that maybe we’ll find better days So take these words And sing out loud Cause everyone is forgiven now Cause tonight’s the night the world begins again