Siblings

NOTE: If you don't have any siblings, I recommend that you leave this post. It'll only make you feel worse about being an only child.

Now, the rest of you: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LUCKY YOU ARE TO HAVE A SIBLING?! I really hope you do. Here are mine.

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Robbie & Gary

I think I've been overly in love with my brothers for about... 14 years or so. It started when I was around 16 years old and they suddenly started treating me like a real person. I used to think of them as polar opposites for some reason (I think that idea was based on the kind of music they liked?) and that I was the link between them that would bring us all together. Kind of a self-centered thought, but it made sense to me at the time. 

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In any case, there were years when I was closer to one of them and then years when I was closer to the other. This went on for awhile until finally coming to the present day where I like to think we're all in a wicked place with one another. I don't know what kind of person I'd be without them and I'm not sure they even know how strongly I feel about us all.

Actually, I think they know. I'm pretty vocal about that kind of stuff.

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What the hell is my point here? I guess it's that I hope you're close with your siblings. And if not close, then I think it's good to have some kind of communication with these people who share so much of your past. I pride myself on not judging people too swiftly, but if I ever come in contact with someone who tells me they have a bad relationship with one of their siblings? Yikes. I almost immediately write them off. Is that wrong? 'Cause I can't stop that feeling.

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It's kind of a (previously unspoken, now public) dream of mine that one day when me and my brothers are all married and old and all of our wives and husbands have passed away, then me, Gary and Robbie can live in a house together again. If that can somehow happen, I'll lose my mind I'll be so happy.

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Anyway, this was a lot of rambling. Can we just consider this post to be a PSA about maybe giving your brother or sister a call to see what's up?

Fitness Beees

This is a safe space, right? 'Cause I have something to tell you.

My boyfriend and I... started a fitness/health joint-Instagram account. Try to reserve your judgement here, okay? I know how it sounds when couples do certain things that make their friends roll their eyes, I really do. I roll my eyes at a lot! Well, I don't actually, but I understand the eye-rolling. We really just wanted to start it 'cause we've been talking about doing it since we started making juices two years ago and it seemed like it might be helpful in even a small way to try and maintain. 

So far we've only posted recipes of what we've been eating that's healthy, but soon I want to start posting short videos of what we do at the gym or maybe other kinds of things that would fall into the category of trying to be a balanced, functional adult. I'm in no way saying that we're even remotely qualified to be telling anyone what's healthy and what's not. If anything, having this account has only encouraged us to do more juices and different kinds of smoothies since it's fun to take photos and share the stuff that you're proud of. And maybe "proud" is a stupid word for it, but personally it makes me feel good. (I don't know why I think I need to justify this so much, to be honest.)

If you've got any interest in following us at all, you can check it out over here. 

Bendy Bridge

If you're not impressed by this, get over yourself.

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Age 29, continuing to kill it.

And if you think it isn't hard to do (in your late twenties), then I implore you to give it a whirl. 

This isn't really a look-what-I-can-do post (well, it IS) but more of a what-can-you-do post? Is there something that you used to be able to do really well and stopped? Maybe you should give it a try again? One day I hope to be able to do the above but have my hands reach/walk all the way down to my feet. I know, I dream big.

In any case, I'll forever keep trying to still be this kid any way I can. 

2015 Resolutions

It's a known fact that I love resolutions, so here are the ones I've made for the new year.

1. Read at least two books a season.

   • Upcoming books for winter include Bob Newhart's book and Tim Allen's book from the nineties. Posts coming soon!

2. Try two things off of Pinterest a month.

   • Why? 'Cause it isn't enough to just pin something and then move on with life. Try those damn pins!

3. Apply to work stuff at least ten times a month.

   • Must remember to write this above my desk at home. 

4. Volunteer at least once a month.

   • So easy to do. Everyone should be doing this one.

5. Do pilates at least five times a month.

   • Oh hell yeah, this is going to happen. I'm going to crush last year's 37%.

6. Juice at least ten times a month.

   • This might be hard to achieve, but I've been getting more variety with the vegetables/fruits I've been using, which has made the whole process much more exciting. Beet juice is way tastier than it sounds, I swear.

7. Stop falling into the Instagram butt trap.

   • Okay, do you know what I mean? Do you ever look at the random photos suggested for you on Instagram? Well, there are a lot of ass photos in my feed. And yeah, once in awhile, they're nice to see. But sometimes, you fall in to the ass trap and peruse these photos for way too long (anything longer than a minute is too long). I'm not a 13 year old boy, so I shouldn't be doing this. It makes me criticize myself for a little while afterward - and that feels awful since I'm a huge fan of my body. Anyway, I need to curb this habit. It helps no one.

That's the list. I highly encourage you to make one as well. They're not stupid. We all could be trying a little harder at something.

(And don't forget to get all this stuff done today, too.)

(UPDATE: To see how these resolutions went, come on over here.)

2014 Resolutions Revisited

I'm a big fan of resolutions. New Years ones. Birthday ones. I think I just love any type of list. And it's extremely hard to keep your New Year's resolutions, yes. But I think the real problem is that we're not making the right resolutions. In order to avoid the cliched and terrible resolutions we've all heard a billion times, I think the secret of making good resolutions is to make ones that don't automatically set you up for failure. Example: Vowing to "Go to yoga more" is a lot less daunting of a resolution than promising to "Go to yoga two times a week." Does that make sense? Another tip? Don't make monthly goals, make seasonal goals. Four seasons sounds a lot roomier and more relaxed than twelve months do in my mind, but maybe that's just me. 

In any case, I try to come up with good resolutions and here are what my 2014 ones were, if you were interested.

1. Check Facebook only once a day and take Sundays off.

   • Did this happen? Not even close. But I definitely went on it way less than in 2013. This is where I learned that I shouldn't be so restrictive since I'll be less successful in the long-run if I have ridiculous expectations.

2. Watch at least three documentaries a month.

   • This resolution might make me sound like a loser who yearns to be cooler by being more into documentaries and that's exactly right. I did it and yet I'm not cooler than you somehow.

3. Read at least two books a season.

   • Did it! Yeah!

4. Try two things off Pinterest a season.

   • Did it! Gonna do it again.

5. Apply for editor jobs at least five times a week.

   • Hahahah, didn't even remember this was on the list. Tip #2: Don't make long resolution lists.

6. Volunteer at least once a month.

   • Did it only for the first seven months. Fuck.

7. Do pilates at least five times a month.

   • Did this every month with the exception of stupid September. Goddam you September.

8. Juice at least four times a week.

   • Nope! Nowhere NEAR that many times. This one was way too lofty. Gotta aim lower for next year.

9. Never Google Kim Kardashian again.

   • COMPLETED! And this one felt good. I used to Google her a lot in 2013 to see her different outfits and pretty face and body and etc., but it was harming me more than helping me so I wanted to stop and I did.

10. Stop reading The Frisky.

    • This was a hard one, but I accomplished it. Maybe it doesn't seem difficult to you to stop reading something, but it was. I used to go on that site maybe twice a day, every day. And then somewhere along the way it became way less about women-centered topics and interesting articles to focussing more on pregnant celebrities and top ten worst dressed lists. I had to stop.

As you can see, I wasn't entirely successful - but the things that did happen? I'm pretty proud of those. I also wrote down every day that I either went to the gym or went to pilates last year and figured out that I went 137 days out of 365. That's 37.5% of an entire year that I was at the gym. Do you know how insane that is considering I hadn't given a fuck about exercise for, oh, say 27 years? 37.5%! I think that's incredible. And obviously I'm not saying that everyone needs to go to a gym, but, like, that's insane for me and makes me crazy happy to accomplish something so (typically speaking) out of character.

I'm still thinking of some new ones for 2015, so when I do there will be a post about that in a few days. This was an especially self-indulgent post AND I'M NOT SORRY!

Jasmine

Twenty years ago today (December 29th, 1994), I met my dog Jasmine. I was nine years old and she was a Christmas gift from my parents. (Quick tip: If your kid wants a dog, wait until he/she is at least eight or nine. The younger they are, the weirder they treat dogs.) I named her Jasmine because I wanted her to be named after royalty (the princess in Aladdin) since my parents named me after the Queen of England. 

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If I wasn't home for dinner, she'd take my place.

She was with our family for almost ten years before she passed away in 2004 and this lady was the love of my life. Everyone who knew anything about me knew that I'd lose it for awhile when she died, and I did. I dropped out of college for a bit, sat in the dark a lot and just felt awful all the time. If that sounds dramatic to you - I'm sorry, but I was upset. Even now, if I'm in a certain kind of mood and I start thinking about her - watch out. 

I don't really even have a point to this post. I just realized what today was and wanted to mention it. If you come to this site to read any of my stuff, you often get a pretty good idea of the things I'm passionate about - so it seemed weirder for me not to mention this day. And if we're friends in real life and you didn't know about Jasmine - well, we definitely aren't as close as you might think 'cause EVERYONE knows about me and Jasmine. Or they should, anyway.

I know that it's probably not emotionally healthy to not completely move on ten years after a pet dies, but I don't know what to tell you. Maybe it's dumb, but sometimes I'll just say her name out loud so I can hear it and think for a split second that she never left. Fuck, I miss her.

Moral of this post? Don't love anyone 'cause they'll leave? Haha. No, but seriously don't.

I know I'm living a pretty lucky life, but I was lucky as hell to have a dog like her. After Jasmine died, my Ma said to me something along the lines of, "Yeah, this is awful. But at least now you don't have to be afraid of death since she'll be right there waiting for you when you pass away." And maybe it's abnormal to hear your grandmother discuss your own demise with you, but it helped me so much to have that thought in the back of my head for all these years. 

Thanks for reading, guys. 

Merry Christmas!

I'm not going to get weepy, but I have the best family in the world. I'm not sure how we got this lucky, but I'm thankful as hell for these creeps.

However you're spending today, I hope it's fantastic!

The Polar Express Book

I can't accurately describe how it feels to look at that book cover above. I'll never be able to because it's too magical to express. I suppose it makes sense that I love it so much since Chris Van Allsburg can create such beautiful things.

If there's one book that I need to make sure your kid grows up with, it's this one. I might feel especially linked to it since it was released the year that I was born - or maybe it's just that image of snow at night. I will never fall out of love with the act of snow falling at night. 

We're all aware of the (somewhat creepy) animated version of the story that was made into a movie with Tom Hanks - but is it a good movie? That's up to you. I'll forever prefer the book. Please don't forget about the book!

(Sidenote: Keep an eye on your pets tonight.)

Happy Birthday, Ma

Usually I don't devote an entire post to someone's birthday - but if you're my grandmother and you're turning 96 years of age? Get real. I gotta let the people know about that.

Look at this woman! She's amazing. The woman cut cane in the cane fields in Trinidad for decades! This woman had thirteen children! What the hell have YOU done?!

In any case, I'm lucky to know this woman and to have her give me so much love throughout my life. She spoils me more than anyone and tells me in private that she loves me more than my mother does. Simply put, she's the best there is. I'll live out the rest of my life trying to be as good as her.

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Stop Motion Animation

I mentioned earlier how much I love the Museum of the Moving Image mainly due to its stop motion animation station on the third floor. This (above) is the most recent animation that I can proudly say is my own creation.