This one goes out to the ones I love

How was everyone’s week of gluttony – the week where we stand up for everything America stands for by lying around and getting FAT on Thanksgiving comfort food?! So haute.

This past week, there were a LOT of posts on Facebook (as I’m sure everyone saw) about what people were thankful for… also a lot of quotes and comments about being thankful all year round instead of just one day, blah, blah, blah.

I know I’m very grateful for the gifts (and amazing talent ) I’ve been given. I frequently talk with my sister, friends, mom and dad about how lucky I feel. I really, really do. But I think because of the reason, season and time, we all give a few more thoughts during Thanksgiving week about what we’re especially grateful for.

I jokingly posted on the interwebs that I was thankful for spandex. Just to cut through the seriousness. But if we’re being serious (for serious, seriously), for me more this year than usual, I’m thankful for “each other.” Or more specifically, my friends and family. As cliche as that sounds, let me explain…

This is a lesson you learn even more so when you move away from home and relocate to a new city: Your 16 circles of people become two circles of people. The people who love you and take interest in your life, are those who call to randomly chat and check in (rather than just checking Facebook) and go out of their way to spend time with you because they love and appreciate your friendship just as much as you do theirs. Two way friendships stick around and one way friendships disappear. You stop taking advantage of the time you spend with those you love (because they are oh.so.missed), and your schedule becomes less spread super thin and more focused on those who just make you feel loved when you’re in their presence. This is what life is about.

It’s not easy to move away from all your life-long friends and family and sometimes sit in your house by yourself when it’s your nature to be social, to see everything your friends are doing at home and wishing with every bone in your being that you could cab to their house and go together, to explore new neighborhoods and lunch spots alone, or to not have a group to plan a camping trip with. I realized more so than ever that my personal relationships are more important to me than anything else in my life. I’m growing and learning and changing and having SOO much fun in a new city, exploring a new side to Jeanna. But I just don’t like being away from the people I love. I don’t at all.

But this is another lesson you learn when you move away from home: You work really hard in a new city to make your “family” – your home away from home – which might be 5 people instead of 30. Five very, very special people. In my new city, I’m surrounded by new friends, new people I’m quickly beginning to love, and a small circle of people who are becoming my family and my home away from home. And now, when I’m home in Seattle, I miss them and the fun they’re having. I want to take a cab to their house and go together. They’re my people to explore new neighborhoods and lunch spots as we navigate a big city together. As we miss our “homes” but choose to make a new home together.

What I learned this year is that I’ll never be able to stay in one spot anymore and not miss someone – this is what happens when you can call two places home… or three… or four.

But, I can go everywhere and find people who will love me, and love everyone back just as much, or even more, regardless of my location.

That’s what I’m thankful for.

Currently Feeling: Annoyed my flight is delayed two hours (again!). Damn you, SFO fog!
Currently Anticipating: Sleeping in my own bed tonight and cuddling Miss Stella!
Currently Loving: My new Kindle Touch! (I totes bought it, even though I totes didn’t need it. Whoopsie. But, I love it so much better than the keyboard one!)

Only thing separating me from cool is two straps of Velcro

//via *jbird* on Flickr

Today is my three month “Move to San Francisco” anniversary.

Moosfversary?!

I swear I’ll stop acting like a 16-year-old girl in love for the first time, counting every anniversary. “Happy eighth-month anniversary baby! Heart, heart, XOXO, heart heart heart. What!? You didn’t get me a dozen red roses for our eighth anniversary?! I hate you. We’re broken up. Until tomorrow.”

P.S. Girls are crazy.

Anyway, the significance of this three-month date is that I didn’t start feeling like myself, literally, until this week. You see, I’ve been posting a lot of fun, happy updates (because I am happy and having fun), but I want to share with you the hard part of my journey too. Less sugar coating, more reality, if you will.

There’s something about moving away to an unfamiliar place, away from all your friends and family, uprooting everything you’ve known for years, that just shakes you to your core. A good shake – not like a death, divorce or layoff might shake you, but challenging still. I knew that it was going to be a bit of a battle, but I didn’t know I’d be walking around feeling like half of Jeanna for three months.

See – a lot of your environment, including the people around you, defines who you are. How you spend your time is a big one – the people you go to dinner with, the fitness studios where you choose to push your body to its limits, the grocery and drug store employees you see every week, the work environment you spend eight hours a day (or more) in. Take that all away – take away all the people and places you’re familiar with – and it makes you feel like a part of how you define(d) yourself is stripped away.

Molly of Stratejoy wrote a great blog post this week (funny timing, I tell yah), about her struggles with moving away from Seattle also (to San Diego) this past month. She wrote about how she’s homesick and misses the creature comforts from her familiar city, and how she wants to “stop procrastinating on some healthy and creative habits … and let go of some unhealthy crutches.” You can just click through to read, but Molly’s struggles with taking part in passive leisure (things that feel “nice” but require little thought, ability, or skill such as watching TV or surfing the net, ie: FACEBOOK) rather than active leisure (things that require you to engage, learn and create such as sports, creative pursuits, cooking for pleasure, learning a new hobby) are SO ME in the last three months.

While I’ve been having lots of fun getting to know my new city the last three months, I haven’t pursued my yoga practice since here, which has really bothered me. I’ve been overindulging (in adult beverages and rich food) with visitors and new friends. I’m not as connected or comfortable in the tech and social media scene in San Francisco as I was in Seattle. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed about how to get places, or where to go for certain necessities, and the need to research everything feels like a chore. I’ve slept late and sometimes barely interacted with people for an entire day (or showered for two) since I work from home. Not to mention the whole move has felt surreal, and sometimes I still can’t believe I actually left Seattle, and think maybe I’m just on an extended vacation. All in all, I’ve just generally felt disconnected from the hot-yoga-doing, healthy-recipe-trying, happy-hour-going, new-hobby-trying, business-networking-social-butterfly girl I knew so well in Seattle (and was really getting to love).

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But Jeanna’s getting her groove back. And it didn’t take a hot black man to do so (although that would have been nice too).

I started my week, feeling like I’m finally fully settled into the swing of my new life, and my new environment is starting to define a new Jeanna, whose new skin I’m increasingly more comfortable in.

I love working from home and making my own schedule, but still visiting an office a couple days a week for coworker interaction. I also feel really lucky that working from home (WFH) allows me to make my food fresh every day from scratch, so I’m eating more “clean” than ever before, avoiding unhealthy lunches out and fast food. I’m learning my neighborhood too – the little specialty mart that sells amazing organic fruit and my favorite handmade tamales, the new salon I walk to for haircuts and colors, the coffee shop that sells addicting breakfast burritos, the park with an amazing view of the entire Bay that I love to walk through, the secret places to park, and the fitness center across the street from me that has the best Balletone class. I’m back to feeling healthy, eating right, and scheduling workouts into my day, which is a big part of me feeling like the best part of me that I can be. And I’m even getting to know the bus schedule, how to pronounce the street names, and my way around the city when driving (without Google Maps).

I’ve also finally completed all those little annoying idiosyncrasies of moving that have been on one long to-do list for the last three months, preventing me from feeling truly settled in – getting a new license, hooking up Internet and TV, getting an extra key made, buying a parking pass, meter card, bus pass, and one of those entirely too large plastic boxes you have to stick on your car window with two pieces of Velcro, so you can drive through the fast lane across the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge (so many bridges here) without stopping in long lines of cars to pay your toll.

Except one of my new friends got in my car yesterday and said, “You MOUNTED your FasTrak?! Only the dorks MOUNT it.”

San Francisco Jeanna – getting her groove back, but still so far away from being “San Francisco cool.”

Currently Feeling: A little weirded out that a friend of mine now has a dog that shares my name (albeit spelled differently). Not everyday that that happens. (Isn’t the double thats always so awkward! Couldn’t figure out my way around that one).
Currently Anticipating: A trip to Napa tomorrow to see one of my Seattle BFFs who will be there on a family vacation! Wahoo 80 degrees and wine tasting (again)! P.S. Two blogs on my Napa trip coming soon.
Currently Obsessed With: Kahlua Keurig singles.

Looking back and forward on my year of total happiness

Wednesday night I went to dinner with an old college roommate. We ordered two crepes, split a bottle of red wine, and discussed our upcoming New Years Eve plans. At sometime during the night I said, “2010 has been the best year of my life,” and she responded with – “Really?!”

Yes, really.

I have said more times than I can remember this year – I am SO happy right now. Happy with where I’m at with my life, happy with who’s in it (and who isn’t). Happy with my career, my apartment, my friends. If I could pick one word to sum up this year for me – it’s simply been, Happy. I could only hope 2011 lives up to the year I’ve had in 2010.

Below are just a few of the reasons that have made 2010 “my best year yet.” In no particular order, this year I…

• Made regular workouts a part of my life all year, for the first time ever. This included starting Sassy Fit boot camp, which I did for six months, and then starting my yoga practice! (Which began with a 30-day hot yoga challenge in June). Me + yoga = LOVE.
• Gave up consumerism for 30 days (as part of my 30-day yoga challenge).
• Paid of a ton of parking tickets that prevented me from buying tabs, bought new tabs to replace the previous ones that were expired for two years AND paid off my car loan. Booyah. What up responsibility.
• Took a bacon cooking class (where I learned to make a Bacon Explosion!)
• Traveled to New York, San Francisco twice and Miami (where we partied at a bar with the Jersey Shore cast. I was at a bar with Snookie in 2010. Enough said).
• Spent many fun cabin weekends with friends, including Chelan multiple times over the spring and summer, and Leavenworth for Oktoberfest.
• Booked my first trip to Hawaii!
• Co-hosted (with other Power Team members) at least a dozen Girl Power Hour networking events for women, which allowed me to meet tons of empowering, smart girls and be a leader in my community!
• Found $100 bill on the ground on Halloween night (dressed as Cruella DeVille).
• Bought an ice cream making machine and learned how to make ice cream for the first time!
• Started a “Good Friends and a Glass of Wine” dining group, where I met with four girl friends of mine once a month to try a rotating selection of some of Seattle’s most critically acclaimed and talked about restaurants. We met 10 out of the 12 months in 2010 – pretty great record, and lots of great food! We ate at Spring Hill, Root Table, Lark, Union, Mistral Kitchen, anchovies & olives, Spinasse, Osteria La Spiga and more.
• Coached a kickball team with friends.
• Took a long blog break, transferred my blog from Blogger to WordPress and redesigned my blog. Took another long blog break, redesigned my blog again. Discovered that part of my happiness IS blogging, and I feel weird when I leave it behind. Completed NaBloPoMo (without missing a single post!) to gain my blog mojo back.
• Crossed a few fun things off my Bucket List, including riding my bike to work (and walking to work most of the summer!), going to Teatro Zinzanni for the first time, meeting a blog friend in real life, planting an herb and veggie garden – and making recipes with my homegrown plants, cooking my first turkey and buying satin sheets for my bed (for ME, no one else).
• Spent a LOT, a lot, a lot of time with girl friends – made a ton of new friends (Hi loves, if you’re reading!), and became closer to my roommate and some of my best friends, who mean the world to me.
• Had my first career-related speaking gig on a panel at the Social Fresh conference in Portland, OR.
• Attended BlogHer and BlogHer Food for the first time (excellent, nerdy blogging conferences – right up my alley).
• Said goodbye to my trusty Sidekick (my friends called me Sidekick Sally for years) and bought an iPhone 4! Also was able to purchase a Kindle this year – something I’ve had on my “want” list for at least 2-3 years – and have read so many great books. I’m hoping to pull together a list of my top books of 2010, for those interested.
• Hosted a Girls Thanksgiving, and cooked my first turkey (and sweet potato pie).
• Repaired my own vacuum after it broke! lol. Pretty proud of myself for that one – I’m an independent woman!
• Moved offices from downtown to Pioneer Square.
• Threw a big, successful party – without a hitch – for work with more than 150 people in the Seattle tech community in attendance! Then received a raise a week later, and a new part time contract work for an awesome company two months after that! My career kicked major ass in 2010. I can’t believe I can say that I’m exactly where I want to be at 29, and love, love my job and industry every day. For THAT, I consider myself extremely lucky.
• Made giant steps toward a BIG life change that I’ve wanted to do, and have talked about, for years. 2011 looks like it could be my year!

As far as looking forward to 2011, I decided to not make a “New Years Resolution” for this year. Rather, I scrolled through my Bucket List and marked a number of them that I want to cross off, work on, or know I’m already on my way to completing in 2011. Some of them are a bit ridiculous, some trivial, some large – but all are realistic. It’s a hefty list this year with lots to work toward, but what is life but without high goals!

My Bucket List items I’m going to try to complete in 2011 are:

• Live in another city for at least one year
• Keep a savings account – with a balance – for more than one year 
• Swim with dolphins (Planned for Hawaii.)
• Get my teeth whitened, professionally 
• Teach myself to video edit (My job might depend on it. Kidding. But no, really.)
• Visit Bali and wear flowers around my neck 
• Take a yoga retreat (Just so happens I’m planning a yoga retreat to Bali for August 2011. Two birds. One stone.)
• Buy a Mini Cooper (Currently on wait-lists for a black one.)
• Own a license plate with my name on it (As silly as this is, figured might look all right on new Mini.)
• Take a shower by candlelight
• Give up fast food for a year (Eh – why not. Thought I’d try this, starting January 1st. This could be considered a mini resolution, I suppose.)
  
• Make a cookbook of my grandmother’s recipes before she passes 
• Go to dim sum for breakfast
• Dine in the dark at San Francisco’s Opaque restaurant
• Feel great in a T-shirt again (My tummy is my trouble area, and it’s been a long time since I could just wear jeans and a T-shirt and feel comfortable. I’d really like to change this.)
• Make a wine corkboard from bottles of wine I’ve actually drank myself (Been saving for nearly two years – almost there!)
• Go to Toastmasters and kick my anxiety with public speaking (This is a must. must.)
• Wine taste in Napa Valley

Happy  New Years everyone!

Currently Feeling: Phew exhausted! This took all night.
Currently Anticipating: Getting my hair did and all fancy for the big NYE party I have planned tomorrow with a super fun group of friends from my neighborhood. Happy NYE!
Currently Loving: A cute new consignment shop in my neighborhood that has brand new designer jeans – tags on – for $70 and less! Pshhh. I’m totally not sharing the name.

Since I’ve been gone…

I’ve been fluttering around this town (and others) in a state of independence, slowly spinning and spinning into a place where independence starts to feel like a whole, and dependence starts as an itch, slowly creeping into my brain here and there.

I danced under the streetlamps and in front of a fan on high, trying desperately to beat the heat – to beats from a main stage, rock music filling the streets of Seattle.

I learned to hail cabs in New York City, danced until my feet hurt, spent 1 a.m. in Times Square trying to find myself on the jumbo screen, walked the spirals up Frank Loyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum, sat under a tree by myself in Central Park and secretly stole pictures of couples lying on blankets kissing cause it was all too damn cute and reminded me of a place I was once at.

I picnicked and barbecued at the beach, watched the sun set, and found a new love for hippie reggae beats, which now follows me in headphones to work every week as I walk underneath the shadows of buildings downtown, discovering that there really is no better way to start your day than with a walk in sunshine and no better way to end it than in a bathing suit, people watching at the park.

I rocked a review, scored a raise, and successfully pulled together a conference and a local tech event that I planned all by myself – all while floating rivers and roasting marshmallows over a campfire on the weekends. I’ve let go of summer traditions in the past, and created my own traditions that include just me this time, and some with new friends.

I grilled salmon, churned strawberry frozen yogurt made from scratch, and picked tomatoes and basil from my garden in large quantities. I indulged in quail, rabbit with plum sauce, pork belly buns, watermelon gazpacho, German chocolate cake, and a few birthday cakes too. I enjoyed too many dinners with girls, happy hours on patios, and wine tasting that I care to admit.

I had a closure dinner with an ex, talking over months gone past as if nothing had ever changed, except one very important detail.

I’m independent now.

And underneath it all, I’m healing and the itch of dependence - of someone and something that makes me smile, laugh and want to hold hands and spend all my time with – is starting to take shape again.

And I might have even found someone I want it to take shape with.

Currently Feeling: So strange this week – tired, out of it. Is it the full moon?
Currently Anticipating: A bevy of trips coming up (and possibly a BIG one). Stay tuned for details.
Currently Reading: Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger.

STORE UNDER REFIRGERATION

This weekend, I…

…Bought one of those skirts that can be found in droves at Nordstrom and every other store. Basically, you throw them over a tucked in T-shirt or blouse, and wear it with leggings and boots. I’m in love and want to head back and buy 14 more of them.

…Hit up the newish Blush Lounge for happy hour with some girls. The entire place was a bit dead, but their $3 and $4 Asian fusion appetizers are totally worth a trip.

…Discovered my new favorite martini at Tini Bigs – a mixture of vanilla moonshine, grapefruit juice, mint and white wine. Not too sweet, basically heaven.

…Shook my booty for at least two hours at a very popular bar with the early 20-somethings. My current motto of 2010 is “bringing it back to 24.” So that was every bit of a success.

…Read about 200 pages of Stolen Lives. I’m absolutely mesmerized by it. Highly recommend.

…Went to the new Wink Cupcakes on Queen Anne for a mini red velvet (my latest obsession) before heading to West Seattle for a coworker’s baby shower, featuring cupcakes from The Sugar Rush Baking Company. (A cupcake company I’ve yet to try, so I had to eat six mini ones to get a full idea of their tastiness. Duh). Followed by another trip to Wink with my parents the next day for another red velvet (I had to let them try it.) By the way, I DID skip the Cupcake Convention that was actually happening downtown on Saturday. Mostly because I couldn’t find a cupcake partner. It’s raining cupcakes in Seattle. I think I might be cutoff from them for awhile.

…Discovered avocado fries! That’s right – fried avocados. Totally fatty. Pretty tasty. You can find em at my new favorite bar, The Shelter in Ballard.

…Finally tried Cougar Gold. I’ve heard about this dang cheese for years now. For those of you not in the know – it’s a cheese made by students at a creamery on Washington State University’s campus (where my sis’ goes to school). It’s pretty good. But it comes in a large can like the biggest can of tuna you’ve ever seen. Cheese in a can? Even better when it’s imprinted with “STORE UNDER REFIRGERATION.”

…Made a pseudo plan for the triathlon I’m planning on completing this year. The parents of a friend of mine built a house on Beaver Lake, which has a triathlon in August. I think we’re planning to gather a group to compete together then have a party afterward at their house. Time to start training.

…Hit up Greenlake to burn off all the food & alcohol calories I accumulated this weekend – spring is officially here, and while it’s still a bit chilly, the bright pink Magnolia trees and sunshine were enough to make me smile and declare the weekend a total freakin’ success.

Currently Feeling: Ready for the work week – only five more days until I leave for sunny and warm Miami
Currently Anticipating: Back on the fitness wagon tomorrow with Sassy Fit. I love me some boot camp.
Currently Needing: A good savings plan to get me to Thailand in October with my best friends.