Happy New Year

 

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The east coast is currently experiencing some Canada-like cold temps this weekend after getting visited by the "bomb cyclone." Welcome to 2018.

D.C. didn't really see too much snow – mostly just wind and generally feeling like a tundra. I will not be leaving the house at all this weekend. But sending good vibes to comrades in New England who got slammed with the snow. I also saw an alert as I was leaving the office the other day that said every state in the country was essentially freezing or near freezing. Crazy, right?

But hopefully this year comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.

When I was with my friends Sunday night to ring in the new year, someone brought up resolutions and I realized that I totally forgot to even think about mine.

I always end up doing the typical: work out more, drink more water, eat healthier.

Since those are the go-to they become pretty mundane for me around March (I'm being generous here!) So, this year I decided to actually not get specific. I'm keeping my resolution broad this time around as an experiment: will I keep at it better than I do when I lay out specific goals?

For 2018, I'm just aiming for general betterment of my life. I know the 2017 baseline that I'm coming from. When I make food, fitness, financial, professional, even social moves this year, I want the voice in my head to say "Okay, but is this better or is it keeping me at the baseline?"

All those little goals end up pointing to that big, overarching goal anyway, right?

<3 Ashley

What is your 2018 promise?

On A New Year

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Hello, and welcome to 2017! 

I for one am incredibly excited to see the turnover in years and celebrated accordingly; my friends and I traveled to NYC to attend a very fun and fabulous Great Gatsby party. You better believe that I went full flapper in my outfit.

The final 10-second countdown to midnight at the party was so full of excitement and relief. I think that we can all agree that overall 2016 has been the not-so-good, very bad year. This year has been marked with international conflict, personal issues (myself included), and far too many Hollywood deaths for a girl to handle. Seriously, who will entertain me now?

While I certainly will not look back at this past year fondly, I will remember everything it taught me. It taught me to be strong in the face of incredibly difficult moments; it taught me how to lean on my friends when I need to; and it taught me how friends come and many times they go. This has certainly been a year that has forced me to grow up in a lot of ways.

I do not know what 2017 will hold for me—hopefully a full time job? But I do have just a few small things that I would like to get out of this year:

• I want to read a lot more. Much of my attention in 2016, especially the second half, was on the computer screen. I received a number of fantastic reads for Christmas that I would love to devote my free time to this year.
• Organize my thoughts and my life better. 2016 was a very forgetful year for me. I frequently found myself in a panic trying to get things done that really should have been done maybe a week earlier. I will see you daily, agenda.
• Multi-task less. Let's face it. We all claim to be great multi-taskers, but at what point can we admit that the products of this multi-tasking are not as great as if we had focused all of our attention on them. I aim to focus my time better so that I am able to do my absolute best.
• Take a breath and think before I speak. Maybe it was just the climate of this last election, but 2016 saw me spouting off at the mouth frequently without much thought or consideration.

Let's see if I can actually stick to this plan and make at least two of these hopes reality.

<3 Ashley

What are some of things you want to accomplish in 2017? 

Off to the Races

Welcome to 2016 and the beginning of my last semester of school EVER. Cue the panic over adulthood, which is coming at me faster than a train. I'm back to work today and tomorrow I begin a new internship in downtown Pittsburgh and my spring classes. Up until this point I never really noticed how quickly time seemed to be passing. Now, it's a different story.

Now I am very aware of the time. I have only four more months as a student. While I understand that I do not necessarily know what I want to do with my life yet, I do need to formulate a plan. I know I will remain in Pittsburgh through the summer while we still have the lease on our apartment. But then...who knows? I would love to stay in Pittsburgh. The city really has captured my heart over the past three and a half years. I have friends who will be continuing school here who have invited me to get an apartment with them. Great, except I need a job. The job search just seems so daunting at this point. Networking, applying, and interviewing are all at the top of my Least Favorite Words list.

These next few months - when I have the free time! - will be devoted to getting a head start on that job hunt. One of my new year resolutions is to get my life in order and be successful in making those first scary steps into adulthood. The trick is to actually trying to get things started. So...here's to trying.

<3 Ashley

What steps are you taking this year? What are your big picture goals?

New Year, New Resolutions

 

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Get ready everybody - tonight we turn the page from 2015 onto 2016. This past year has been a good one for me. I managed to land a summer internship, worked myself hard both semesters by taking the max amount of class credits, and also made being more active a priority. 2015 was possibly the first year that I really did succeed with my resolutions.

With the new year just hours away, I think I have finally settled on some solid resolutions for the next 366 days - it's a leap year! I had not thought about it too much until my mother told me about her plans to go all-organic this year. I liked the sound of this and decided that maybe I could pursue an all-organic diet as well. In order to do this, I'm going to have to do a lot of research and commit more to meal planning during the week. Additionally, considering that this is my senior year and I am coming up on my final semester as a student, I would like to work toward getting a job. The real goal is to have a job for graduation - but that's everyone's goal, right? I do have a lighter schedule this semester though, so the hunt is certainly on!

<3 Ashley

What is your resolution? How do you plan on executing it?

Back in Action

After a three week break from school I am finally back in Pittsburgh. While other schools have breaks extended to the middle of the month, I am happy to be back already. I can only go so long doing nothing before I go a little stir crazy. This semester looks a bit busier than others since I have taken up 18 credits (the max!) and I also start back at work as well. The only thing I'm not particularly excited about is waking up at 8 AM everyday. Everyday except Friday at least!

<3 Ashley

A Year In Review

Is anyone else having difficulty believing that tomorrow is New Year's Eve? How did the year slide by this fast? It seems like yesterday I was eating the last of the Christmas cookies and promising myself that there would be a lot more treadmills in the coming year (at least until the weather got warmer!) As we get ready to look forward to 2015, I'm going to use today's post to look back on 2014. I like reviewing the previous year and use it as a tool to help me decide what my goals for the next year will be.

I am very happy to report that Operation: Healthier Living has been a success. I told myself at the beginning of the year that I would not cut out but rather cut back on the sweets and increase the veggie intake. Check! I also told myself that I would workout more. I have become a runner and even begin my mornings with a little bit of yoga. Check! Both of my 2014 promises have become part of my routine and I don't even have to think about doing them anymore--I just do. I am confident that these will continue on to 2015 so I can put focus on some new goals. More on those tomorrow!

As far as school goes, I told myself that as a college junior it was certainly time to buckle down. I think I have done pretty well. It is still a struggle to not let myself procrastinate--discovering Mad Men on Netflix may prove to do more harm than good. However, I did make some positive moves. I applied for and got into my certificate program! I also got my first campus job and am making the money that I need for grocery shopping. My roommates and I also found and signed the lease for our house for next year. All of these developments excite me and I am looking forward to seeing what happens in 2015 in my life at school!

I also rebranded the blog and dropped the All That Glitters name and opted for the new and wonderful Sunday Brunch! I can't wait to kick off the New Year here and am already planning some posts that you can look forward to in 2015!

<3 Ashley

What do you think looking back on 2014? Successful year?