Life Lately | Cuteness Overload

Over the past 5 days I've been able to spend lots of quality time with my favorite little people. 

Internet, I give you my nieces and nephew:

Joie turned 7 on Sunday and I flew into Boise to be there for her big day. We partied Frozen style and enjoyed a weekend full of family, fun, and shopping. It was good to spend some quality time with my niece, it's been far too long since our last round of "silly selfies."

Harrison, the newest of the group (and first boy!) was born at the end of September. He was 6 weeks earlier than expected and happened to come during my first bought with bronchitis this year, so between staying away while sick, and traveling, I hadn't been able to officially meet him yet. The timing finally worked out this week and I was able to pop in for an overnight visit! He's still in that "eat, sleep, poop, repeat" phase, so I was able to get lots of sleepy snuggles in, and in-between his snoozes I was able to play puzzles, read books, and sing songs with his big sister, Emerson.

It has been a heart-filling week for sure.

Ch-Cha-Changes

I applied for a new job back in April.
I worked extremely hard to get this new job, perhaps the hardest I've ever worked.

I networked.
I met with a consultant on my resume.
I beefed up my Linked In page.
I researched best interview techniques.
I made follow up calls and emails to HR after applying.

I worked hard.

In June I started this new job. And last week I walked away from it.

I was sure I had landed my dream job. It was in the industry I've come to know and love, with people I thought were on the same page as me, had the same passion as me and were working to better the community with me. The networking opportunities were out of this world with connections to every creative field I could dream of, and the salary was a large step forward.

But it wasn't enough.

I'm a big believer in working hard for what you want, while continually assessing to make sure it's still what's right for you. This job was perfect on paper, but the reality of the situation was less than ideal. I wasn't being treated well,  was fighting an uphill battle with the executives, and was asked to follow guidelines that were not ethically correct.

I gave it 5 months of effort, but when it all boiled down the cons outweighed the pros and everything was pointing toward moving on. So I did.

I got a call on a Friday morning about a family emergency. I took a flight that night to be there for my family. I called HR and told them that the future was unclear and that I needed to think about my options. I ultimately decided to give my two weeks notice that Sunday. My boss responded with a curt "there's no need for you to return. We'll box up your desk." This response from her, coupled with the fact that she never once asked how my family was, told me I'd made the right decision. I was not valued as an individual in that office, and it was killing my soul.

Obviously I have to work. I have bills to pay same as everyone else, but I didn't want to rush into just another office job, so I called the nanny agency I'd worked with in the past. After a brief conversation they suggested a family that needed weekend help. I'd be working Friday - Sunday and making the same amount of money I was making at my office job. Seemed like a good fit, so I met with the family, spent a day going through the scheduled routine and LOVED it!

I don't know how long I'll be a nanny this time around, but it's definitely a welcomed breath of fresh air right now. The hours are good, the parent's are lovely and the kids? Well, just look at those adorable faces...

For now I'm content, and to me, that's all that matters.

Five Amazing Days in NYC

In October I spent five fun-filled days in my favorite city. The trip was originally planned around completing my 4th half marathon with Team in Training, but I was battling bronchitis and wasn't cleared by the doctor to complete the 13.1 miles; however, that didn't stop me from sightseeing and exploring!

Friday - Day 1

Friday started with Pearl (my travel buddy) and I grabbing coffee and a bagel and heading to Brooklyn Bridge Park where we could enjoy our breakfast with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline. Since we were staying in Brooklyn this time, we decided to dedicate our day to exploring this great borough. 

We walked the Brooklyn Bridge (my personal favorite), found delicious pizza for lunch, walked around Brooklyn Heights, and checked out some local street art. We also stopped by the Brooklyn Rock n' Roll marathon expo to get Pearl all checked in and ready for her event the next morning.

That evening we joined the rest of the team for the Inspiration Dinner and then headed back to Brooklyn to turn in early since we had to be up at 5 am the next day for the event. 

Saturday - Day 2

Saturday started off with an early morning at Prospect Park for the Brooklyn Rock n' Roll half marathon. As I stated earlier, I wasn't cleared by doctor for the run, so I spent my time cheering on the sidelines. This was Pearl's first endurance event and I was so proud to be cheering her on! She rocked it!

After the event Pearl was (understandably) tired and needed to recuperate a bit, so I headed out to explore a bit of Manhattan on my own.  I started in the South Street Seaport first, heading to TKTS to get tickets to a Broadway show for Sunday.

The view of One World Trade Center from the streets of the financial district never gets old. It's such a beautiful and prominent structure.

After securing tickets to Les Miz (hello bucketlist!) I spent a couple hours wandering the stacks of Strand Bookstore in Union Square. Whenever I travel my preferred souvenir is a book or two. It's a great way to spend money on something I would mostly likely spend it on anyway and it's fun to look at my bookcase and remember where I picked each title up.  

After choosing two titles, I wandered a few blocks south to visit the Flatiron Building. The sun was just starting to set and the lighting was gorgeous! Next to the building is one of my favorite parks, Madison Square Park, and I sat on a bench people watching for a bit while a jazz band played in the distance. It was movie-quality perfect!

After wandering a bit more, I met up with Pearl to see a movie. We were hoping to see "Steve Jobs" since it was released early in NYC, but all the showings were sold out, so we opted for "Pan" instead. We were pleasantly surprised! The movie was great, and I'll definitely be seeing it again!

Sunday - Day 3

Sunday began as all Sundays should begin... with a mimosa brunch. When Hannah and I traveled to NYC last December/January we stumbled into a great little restaurant called The Harold. When Pearl and I found ourselves wandering 34th street and hungry, I knew we needed to head straight for The Harold, and we were not disappointed.

After pleasantly filling our bellies, Pearl headed for a local pub to watch the Seahawks play (her version of the perfect afternoon) and I headed for the Imperial Theater to see Les Miserables (my version of the perfect afternoon)!

I happened to snag GREAT seats in the third row and cried through the entire production. It was beautiful beyond belief, and honestly words do not do it justice. It is a show that must be seen and demands to be experienced. 

After the show I called my best friend, Richard - the only person I know who would truly understand my reaction to Les Mis - and then wandered around Columbus Circle a bit. I was in a weird emotional state and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do next when an idea popped into my head - why not see a second show?!

I learned about Something Rotten when it was still in pre-production and instantly fell in love with the premise. It's an original musical set in the Renaissance with a modern twist. It's tongue-and-cheek about Shakespeare and this 'new' notion in the theater world of a 'musical.' It's pretty popular, so the chances of me scoring cheap tickets weren't super high, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway. 

So I headed to the theater, got in line, and scored tickets at 7:15 for the 7:30 showtime!  My seats weren't great (I sat in the balcony behind a group of students who wouldn't sit still and talked throughout the whole thing) but it was amazing regardless! I laughed so hard and LOVED it. I actually downloaded the music as soon as the show was over and have been listening to it on repeat ever since.

Pearl was a great friend and waited patiently outside the theater with me to get my Playbill signed. All the actors were so friendly and some even did silly little impromptu song and dances for us. When the actor who played Shakespeare came out I may, or may not, have giggled like a school girl. I asked him if we could take a picture and he said, "hell yeah, selfie it up girl!" *Swoon

Monday - Day 4

Day 4 - otherwise know as THE DAY I SAW JIMMY FALLON!!!

Let me start by saying, yes, he is just as nice and handsome in person as he appears to be on TV. In fact, if it's possible, he's even more handsome in person.

We started the day wandering around Bryant Park a bit enjoying the fall colors. Full discretion (and a bit of TMI): being sick and on meds the entire time we were there was causing my system to be out of whack a bit and I found myself getting motion sick quite easily. After riding the subway for about an hour in from Brooklyn, I needed to find a spot to sit and let my stomach settle. After about 20 minutes I noticed my right thigh was itching, and within another 5 minutes both my right and left legs were quite itchy. I sought out a bathroom in a nearby coffee shop to see what was up with my legs. I was wearing a dress with tights and as I pulled them down I noticed HUGE red welts spanning both legs. My fear was that a bug or spider had bit me, so I shook out my tights (nothing there that I could see), put them back on, ran out to find Pearl, and told her we needed to find a CVS asap.

Long story short, I think the culprit was hives (don't have a clue as to why I had them) and the walking around looking for a CVS seemed to be long enough to have them start to subside. Pearl was so gracious and asked if I was more comfortable heading back to Brooklyn and missing Fallon, but I quickly responded with, "hell no, I'll sit through Fallon with itchy legs, nothing's keeping me from seeing this taping!"

About 30 minutes later the hives seemed to have cleared and it was time to check in for the taping. I was so excited to start the process that my mind was completely off the itching, thank God!

Once you check in there is absolutely NO photography allowed. There are interns and NBC employees walking around and answering questions and often reminding you to not take out your phones. Security is a serious subject in the studio. They were so nice and fun to chat with though, and the whole process was quite fascinating to me. 

My favorite part of the whole experience was having the behind-the-scenes look at the taping of an episode. It's such a well-rehearsed, smooth process and watching the camera men, production crew, hair and makeup, etc. do their thing and rock it was so neat! I had a difficult time remembering to watch Jimmy and his guests because I was more interested in watching the production crew and camera men! 

After the show ends they escort groups of 15 at a time out of the studio, down the elevators and through a back door entrance of the Experience NBC Store. They definitely have that "enjoy the show? Great spend money" process down.

After we each spent a little lot of money in the store, Pearl and I wandered around Rockefeller Center a bit more. It's a beautiful building filled with all kinds of shops and studios.

After our exploring we grabbed an Uber and headed to our dinner reservations at The Writing Room.

My birthday was back in September, but between being ill, crazy busy at work, and making travel plans, I hadn't officially celebrated yet. Pearl and I decided to have my "birthday dinner" in NYC, and after much research I settled on The Writing Room in the Upper Eastside.

Oh man, this restaurant did not disappoint! If you ever find yourself in Manhattan and want a delicious meal with great ambiance and fun servers, check out The Writing Room!

Tuesday - Day 5

Our final day in NYC.

My friend Tam had joined us at our Airbnb the night before. It was fun to catch up with her and hear about her own adventures in the big city. When we woke in the morning the three of us headed to the cute little coffee shop around the corner and said our goodbyes to the city.

As we crossed over the street, I noticed a heart in the concrete that I hadn't seen before. I'm sure we walked passed it every day we were there, but noticing it on our last morning seemed like a sign to me. We took a picture of our feet with it, loaded up our luggage into the Uber car, and headed for JFK.

This second trip to NYC was a great one. It was a completely different experience from my first, and I can't wait to go back and have yet another new experience in what I've come to realize, is my favorite city in the world.

Toes in the Ocean

Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline,
no matter how many times it’s sent away. 

–Sarah Kay

Life Lately | A Rejuvenating Weekend

I have four favorite things. 

These four favorite things are near and dear to my heart, and they give me reason to get out of bed in the morning. These four things are family, the beach, live music, and theatrical productions.

And this past weekend was filled with all four!

My aunt flew into town on Saturday. I picked her up from the airport and we made our way downtown where we met up with my good friend, Heather, and we all found our seats in the Keller Auditorium to watch a Broadway production of Wicked!!

The show was AMAZING! The talent these performers posses just blows my mind! If you haven't seen it, I can't recommend it enough, go see it!!

On Sunday we first headed north to have a nice visit with my grandma and her boyfriend, Martin. Neither of us had seen her for quite some time, so it was great to spend a few hours chatting and catching up. She's so happy, and it's so nice to see.

Doesn't my grandma look awesome?! She's 83 and you'd swear not a day over 60. I'm not at all upset that it's her genes I've inherited.

After our visit Saleen and I headed west toward the coast. We made a quick pit stop at DQ and got our Blizzard on first.  Mmm, tasty!

Ahhh, then we arrived at my happy place.

 

Monday night we attended the sold out Kelly Clarkson concert and danced our socks off! Kelly put on an amazing show and it was a great way to round out the perfect weekend.

Cheers!

What Are You Afraid Of?

I had a good friend call me on my shit last night.

"What are you afraid of?"

He asked me this question in response to a conversation surrounding my desire to run away from Portland. I've had a wild hair and it's been a tough desire to shake. He mentioned that for him to pick up and move would be a huge disruption to life, and take 6-12 months to execute. He listed all the annoyances that come with moving - finding a new place to live, forwarding mail, re-building your tribe, etc. I listened to his list and literally laughed out loud.

The thrill of change is like a drug to me. The seeking of new people to build relationships with (even if they are only for a short time). Searching for new job opportunities, new places to explore, new coffee shops to frequent... this all fills me with a sense of adventure, pride and excitement. After telling him this, his response was,

"So when is it time to grow up and recognize that what has always worked for you in the past, may not work as well for your future?"

If anyone else had asked me this question, I would have answered with a polite, "fuck you." And to be honest, I was tempted to tell him that as well, but something gave me pause. I sat with his question for a moment and heard the truth in it.

The honeymoon stage is always the best part of any relationship or job. But what happens when you pass that stage and remain in the relationship? I honestly don't know. I've never stayed that long.

What am I afraid of? I'm afraid of sticking it out. Afraid of not hearing how amazing I am, because I'm no longer new to team. Afraid of friendships waining because they find new interests and new people to explore them with. Afraid of growing roots. Afraid of people seeing who I really am, and not liking me anymore.

Suddenly the challenge of picking up and moving isn't what's exciting me anymore. The challenge of staying is what's on my mind today. It's not going to be easy, but I have a feeling the outcome will be better this time.

I may just be ready to lean in to the uncomfortable and face this fear head on.

Sometimes You Just Need to Remember