Life – Page 42

Categories: Life

Project 365: Some Thoughts

So I did it! I finished Project 365!

One year, 365 photos, and the complete satisfaction at finishing.

I won’t lie – Project 365 isn’t easy. It seems easy. All you have to do is take one picture a day! That’s it. That’s all. But it can be a grueling process. Some days were easier than others, especially when I had something special to document, but the other days? The boring days where all I did was wake up, go to work, come home, make dinner, watch TV, and go to bed? Those are the days when finding a special moment to document was much, much more difficult. That’s when I had to really look for the small moments of the day that made me feel good.

A funny expression on my dog’s face.

A sweet treat at work.

A brilliant sunset while taking a walk.

A message on a chocolate wrapper.

A special purchase.

Life is made up of little moments and big moments. And this is what I’ve most learned from taking one photo a day for a year. I lead a quiet life, but it’s a life I really like. My Project 365 album is made up of more little moments than big moments, and there is nothing wrong with that. The big moments are nice, but we truly live in those little moments. That’s where life happens. And, if you wind up trying this photo project for yourself, truly find those little moments in your everyday life. Not every day is going to be big and crazy and magnificent. Sometimes, our days are boring and mundane and filled with the same ole, same ole. But really? That’s okay. The mundane is okay. Of course, growth and change and those crazy fun experiences are important but don’t forget about those small, quiet days. And don’t write them off as days that shouldn’t be documented. Sure, it’s a bit harder to decide what to document on those days, but I love looking back on my Project 365 album and seeing all those little moments I photographed.

I had fun going through all my photos and seeing the breakdown of all the different types of photos I posted. I knew there would be a ton of Dutch because it was easy to take a quick photo of him at the end of the day if I either forgot to take a photo or nothing of terrible interest happened. (And also because he’s so damn cute and people love Dutch-grams!) And also plenty of photos of the food I ate because foooood. Mmmmm! Let’s see how my photos broke down, though, shall we?

Photos of Dutch (including selfies with Dutch, mhm!): 92
Photos of food: 65
Photos of nature (flowers, palm trees, sunrises, etc.): 37
Selfies: 21
Photos with friends (including 3 with bloggers!): 15
Photos of books: 13
Photos of my nephew: 11
Photos of coffee: 8
Photos of work-related stuff (like shots of my cubicle): 8
Screenshots (i.e., phoning it in on the photo-a-day challenge): 7
Photos on vacation: 7
Photos at the pool: 5
And a whole lotta other mish-mash that didn’t fit into solitary categories

I’m really happy and proud that I saw this photo project through to the end. It was really difficult on some days, but once I got through the first few months relatively unscathed, I knew I had to keep going. It’s not as if finding something to photograph every day is intensely difficult. I got into this mode of thinking about my day and planning out when I was going to take a photo. Have book club? Great! Photo opportunity. Going on a walk in a beautiful park? Awesome! Plenty of photo opportunities there. Nephew coming over? Oh, he’s definitely being photographed! Meeting a blogger for the first time? They already knew they would be corralled into being my photo for the day. (And we’re bloggers. We love photos and documentation!)

And then, cool stuff sometimes happened in my day. Like the morning I came into work and my entire cubicle was decorated to celebrate my birthday. Or the time a date brought me a flower. Or the times I’d get the most perfect message on my chocolate wrapper. Little, unexpected moments that make up a year. That’s what this whole project is about. Finding those pockets of happiness and documenting them.

So how did I feel when I woke up on January 1, 2015 and didn’t have to take a single picture of anything if I didn’t want to?

That about sums it up.

JOY. ELATION. HAPPINESS.

ZERO SADNESS.

ZERO.

I woke up and one of my most immediate thoughts was, “I don’t have to take a photo today if I don’t want to! I CAN JUST GO ABOUT MY DAY AND NOT PHOTOGRAPH A SINGLE DAMN THING. THIS IS FREEEEEDOM!”

Look. I understand I decided to take on this project, but Good Lord, I am happy it is over. I am happy I can take a photo when I want to, not because I have to.

If you’re thinking of tackling this insane photo challenge, I definitely encourage you to try it. I have one friend who is doing Project 365 for 2015 based on my doing it, and I hope she has a blast. It is fun and it’s a good way to document your life, especially if it’s something you don’t do often enough and want to get in the habit. It really makes you take a look at your life and celebrate both the big and little moments. They all matter, and I’m so happy I have this little album to look back on, to see what 2014 was like for me and what I found important to document.

Have you completed Project 365? Your thoughts? Or, would you ever consider attempting this photo project?

Categories: Life

The Tampa Bay Project: Dachshund’s Bar & Grill

One of my goals for my Tampa Bay Project is to visit 10 non-chain restaurants in the Tampa Bay area. I mentioned this in the original post, but for someone who has grown up in the area, I am embarrassingly unfamiliar with Tampa’s points of interest. And when it comes to restaurants, I tend to stick to my old favorites (which are usually chains). So, this is a way for me to step a bit outside my comfort zone, try some Tampa area staples, and maybe find a new favorite restaurant.

One such restaurant I visited was Dachshund’s Bar & Grill. My mom had mentioned this restaurant in passing a while back, and I thought it would be fun to go there but pushed it to the back of my mind. Then, as I was trying to find something fun to do this weekend, I saw Dachshund’s was running a Groupon – $12 for $20 worth of food! I was sold.

So we went and it was fabulous. Dachshund’s Bar & Grill is nestled in an unassuming shopping center in the Town n Country area of Tampa. It’s a brand-spankin’-new restaurant that just opened in August. There is a good amount of outdoor seating, which is nice for those who bring their pets. On the inside, dachshund prints line the walls and I could maybe live here. Yes. They are also incredibly dog-friendly, which makes sense with their namesake, but it was nice that Dutch wasn’t an annoyance, but that they loved him being there.

When my mom and I went on Saturday afternoon, we were told we could bring Dutch inside. So we did, but I could tell Dutch is a little too neurotic for that. He wanted to explore! Annnnd then he almost peed on a wall, so I hustled him outside to do his business. After that, we decided to sit outside. Luckily, it was a nice day (low 70s – don’t hate!)

My mom and I both ordered the same thing: the Chicago Shepard, a 1/4 pound Black Angus hot dog served on a poppyseed bun and topped with raw onions, relish, mustard, tomato slices, peppers, and a dash of celery salt. It was delicious! I am not a big fan of hot dogs (well, the animal version, yes. The food version, not so much.), but this place has sold me. I am already thinking about the next time I can go back!

Dutch was also a fan. He ate his fair share of french fries (even stole one off my plate!) and a tiny bite of the wiener. We’ll definitely be back!

Of course, Dachshund’s Bar & Grill isn’t the only Tampa Bay area restaurant I’ve visited since making my list. I’ve visited three other restaurants:

Harvey’s 4th Street Grill – A restaurant located in St. Pete, not too far from me. I went here with my mom a few months ago. It’s small, dark, and folksy. I went simple and ordered a burger and fries. They were good. Not life-changing, but good. I think breakfast would have been a better choice. Live and learn, right?
Datz – This is a Tampa staple, or so I am told. I went for Ladies’ Happy Hour with work friends, and I really, really want to go back! I ordered a sandwich, the Hansel & Gretel, which was ham, swiss cheese, and beer cheese fondue on a pretzel bun. It was good, but I’m not a huge fan of ham and, at the risk of tomatoes being thrown at me, too much cheese on my sandwich. (I would opt for no cheese, in most cases.) But, for those who like ham & cheese? You’d love it.
Nicki’s Omelette & Grill – I went here with some work friends last week. It’s a cute little diner in Tampa, and I was told they make the best breakfast anywhere. I ordered French toast, which was made on their homemade bread, and I will say it was very, very good. I want to try an omelet next time! I’m not very picky with breakfast, so I don’t know if it’s the best I’ve ever had (I’d venture to say I would rather go for Ciccio’s brunch, if I had to make a decision), but it was very good and I want to go back soon!

If I came to visit your city, what is a must-visit restaurant you would recommend and why?

Categories: Life

On August

Highlights of August: attending my first Miami Dolphins football game, supporting my friend as she taught her first-ever spin class (which reminded me how much I dearly love spin), celebrating my one-year “workaversary,” and going on a ghost tour with a bunch of girlfriends. August was good to me. It was fast and busy, but also slow and relaxing. I need a good mixture of busy and relaxing to feel satisfied, and that’s exactly what this month was.

I didn’t make my goal of working out 31 times in August. At the end of the month, I logged 25 workouts. And honestly? I don’t feel bad about that because that’s still very, very good! But I’ve decided not to try to log 30 workouts in September. As much as I loved taking on this challenge for the past two months, I’ve been noticing that my workouts don’t have intention behind them. I’m not working toward any specific goal, simply working out to cross off another day on my list. I want my workouts to be less about logging in the most workouts I can, and more about quality workouts that help me meet specific fitness goals. I’m not sure I’m explaining myself well, but basically, I’ve found myself going for a quick 20-minute walk or doing a simple 15-minute strength workout and calling it good. And while, yes, that is exercise and it does count… I need more intention and more focus with my workouts, and I think the only way to do that is to focus less on quantity and more on quality.

Work-wise, August has been delightfully insane. My workload increased dramatically, I was given two new clients (with more to come!), I celebrated my one-year anniversary and had my review (which went wonderfully!), I got a raise, and I’m now eligible to participate in my company’s work-from-home program. Currently, we’re only allowed to work from home two days a month, but I’m hoping more writers will try this out and it will expand! All in all, it’s been a full year of writing professionally and I’m still so darn happy. I’m very, very grateful.

Ready for some exciting news? I’m going to be an aunt again! My sister-in-law is pregnant and due in March with Baby #2. I honestly didn’t think she would have another baby because she seemed so satisfied as a mom of one, so this was such a pleasant surprise! I’m so excited to have another squishy newborn to hold and spoil and love.

I rejoined OK Cupid this month. I’m trying to be excited about the prospect of dating again – and in most respects, I am – but I’m still dealing with some residual feelings from my crush and I’m trying to psyche myself up for the world of OKC again. I’ve not yet gone on a date (I was chatting with a few guys, but nothing ever evolved), and I had a good friend look over my dating profile, and she, very nicely, told me that my profile gave off feelings of insecurity and being unimpressed with the whole process. (Accurate? Maybe.) I really need to shift my focus. I need to be excited about dating and the adventures that can ensue. More importantly, though, I need to have hope that love is possible for me.

There is this small part of me that has begun to regret waiting until the fall of 2015 to move into my own apartment. I’m getting the itch to be on my own and be fully independent. I mean, I’m turning 27 in a few months. I think it’s time, ya know?! But my mom and I will sign our lease this month and we’ll remain in this apartment for another year. When I do move out, I want to feel completely prepared and that mostly comes down to finances. My bank account will take a major hit from move-in costs alone, not to mention that I need to buy furniture, kitchenware, and other random necessities. I’ve already begun apartment hunting, just to see what’s out there and to get a feel for how much move-in costs will be ($1,500 for the community I looked at this past weekend. Whimper.), so I can start preparing and be ready for this big change come next fall.

September is the month of birthdays: my brother, my nephew, and my future stepdad all celebrate their birthdays this month! It’s also the kickoff to NFL football, which, of course, includes fantasy football and participation in a few “pick ’em” leagues. And it’s the month I’m going to finally meet one of my most beloved blogging friends, Nora. (SO darn excited about that!) My biggest priority for September is going to be getting on track with healthy eating. I’ve not gone off the rails, but I need to tighten things up and get back to drinking lots of water and eating less sugar.

What was the highlight of your month?

Categories: Life

The Tampa Bay Project #4: Take the Ghost Tour of St. Petersburg

On Friday night, I knocked off one of my adventures on my Tampa Bay Project list! I went with five girlfriends from my book club to take in the Ghost Tour of St. Petersburg. Our book club turned four years old this month (though I’ll celebrate two years in the club in October!), and we like to do a fun adventure during our anniversary month to celebrate. I was stoked that the ghost tour was the adventure since it meant I could cross one item off my fun to-do list.

The tour took place in downtown St. Pete, on Beach Drive, and we had a good little group. Along with the six of us, we had about ten other people join the tour. We ended up walking all over the area (and yes, I totally counted it as my workout for the day!). We stopped by a haunted house, the Vinoy, Straub Park, The Pier Hotel, Jannus Live, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Ponce de Leon Hotel, among some other random spots.

The tour guide was quite the character! I’m not sure how one begins leading ghost tours, but she obviously has a passion for storytelling and ghosts! I’ll admit I didn’t listen to all of the stories (I’ll explain why next!), but the ones I did listen to gave me a huge creep factor. Thinking about ghosts and them haunting people is just weird to me, and I’m not sure if I actually believe in ghosts. I like listening to ghost stories (even if they do scare me!), but it always seems so far-fetched that it’s hard for me to fully believe. I guess I would have to actually encounter weird ghost happenings for me to believe!

So the tour was interesting but honestly? I was completely miserable. The reasons why had nothing to do with the tour itself, but other factors. First of all, it was roughly 5 billion degrees outside. And I was wearing skinny jeans. And forgot a hair tie to tie my hair up, so by the end of the night, I swear my entire head was almost damp with sweat. (And isn’t that a wonderful visual? You’re welcome.) On top of that, I also wore the completely wrong shoes for walking around for two hours. I wore sandals because they are, um… cuter. And I know these sandals are not good for walking. (They bug me just walking around the mall for 30 minutes!) So by the end of the night, I had two blisters on my feet and calluses on my heels and balls of my feet. The calluses were the worst, stinging me throughout the entire tour. It wasn’t very fun, but I should have known better!

I’m happy I did the tour, though! It was fun listening to all the different stories, even if the creep factor was a bit too much for me at times. (I get creeped out easily, though, which is why I’m not much for scary things like haunted houses and horror movies!) Afterward, the six of us were more than happy to escape inside a restaurant for gelato, water, and conversation.

And now I have to plan what adventure I want to tackle next! I’m thinking of either a visit to the Florida Aquarium or the Dali Museum. Time will tell.

Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever been on a ghost tour?

Categories: Life

One Year of Writing Professionally

Yesterday, I celebrated my one-year anniversary at my job! It’s kinda blowing my mind that I’ve already been at my job for a year… these past twelve months have flown by in a flash. I still remember how anxious and fearful I was to begin this new career path. Scared out of my mind that I had made the wrong decision and everything was going to be terrible. (I’m quite the optimist, yeah?)

But I have proved myself wrong! Starting this job has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. I love my coworkers. I love my bosses. I love my work. I love that I get to set my own schedule and work independently. Sure, it’s not the most thrilling writing to be doing. (I write SEO website content and most of my clients are home improvement companies. So I write a lot about windows and siding and gutter protection. Thrilling, I tell ya!)

The past twelve months have been such a learning experience for me. I knew it would be, which is both exciting and scary, and I have learned a lot about myself as a writer and as a person.

I will always take criticism – constructive or not – to heart.

So, we go through extensive editing processes with the pages we write. All of our pages must go through a peer editor (and sometimes also a manager’s edits) before it’s sent on to the client. So, I had to grow comfortable with my writing being looked over and scrutinized. The first few times I got edits back from another colleague, it was hard. My pages were all marked up! I had to really calm myself down, read through the critiques, and learn from them. I won’t lie – I still have to physically prepare myself when I get edits back on pages I write, but I’m getting better at seeing the edits for what they are and that they don’t mean I am a horrible writer and have no business in this job. (Yes. This thought pattern happens… often.)

But I can appreciate a great editor.

There are some colleagues who I love/hate getting edits. I love them because they are strong editors who make my pages better and make me think of my writing in a different light… hate them because it’s sometimes hard to read through constructive criticism. But I know this is a part of being a writer. Edits only make me a better writer.

Some days are just not going to be great writing days. Accept it and move on.

There are days when the writing comes easily, and I’m knocking pages off my to-do list left and right. And then there are days when it feels like I forgot how to put words together to form a sentence. Nothing works and it can take me upwards of an hour to write a single 250-word page. As someone who is pretty high-strung and anxiety-prone, I can get myself worked up over these days, worrying that I will never, ever be able to write again and why am I even here I am terrible at this why did they hire me oh my god what if I am fooling everyone?! It’s fun being in my brain sometimes. Good writing days happen. Bad writing days happen. It’s nothing to get in a tizzy about!

It’s okay to not be the best.

I can admit that I am not the best writer on the team. I have some slight perfectionist tendencies, so it can bug me when I’m not the best. But guess what? There will always be someone better. And I don’t have to be the best. It’s not a competition. I just have to be my best. Do what I can to improve my writing and learn from others. At the end of the day, that matters more than being the best.

You don’t have to hate your job.

I hated my previous job. I was micromanaged, talked down to, and I had a boss who made me cry regularly. I was doing work that didn’t make me feel good, I was underpaid, and I was just so ready for something new. I had been told that that kind of work environment was common, and you just had to get used to it. I’m so glad I didn’t listen to that advice because it’s so not true. Not all work environments are like that. You can have supportive bosses. You can have happy work environment. You can love what you do. You don’t have to hate what you do.

What’s one lesson your job has taught you?