How to stay 'cool' during the deep freeze.

It can be pretty easy to get bummed out about this chilly, winter weather. Living in Minnesota has taught me a lot about how to deal with winter weather and stay as upbeat as possible. Last winter (and now again) was absolutely brutal. We can't change the winter weather but we can keep our thoughts positive! Here a few tips I've learned to stay positive during the winter months.

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1. Dress Warm
It's beyond just wearing layers, it's starting to think strategically about how you dress. I know that when my feet get cold, I won't be a happy camper - so sometimes I wear an extra pair of socks or pull out my SmartWool. When I'm going to work, I throw my office shoes in my bag and wear my warm, comfy snow boots in my car and into the office. I currently have three types of gloves in bag right now - nice leather gloves, cheap stretchy gloves and the mittens I wore skiing. Leggings make great, warmer tights - you can even find fleece lined. It gives me options depending on where I'm going. Since where I live, cold weather is a given, I took to investing in pieces that keep me very warm and still look stylish. However, when it gets dangerously cold and they start making it a top headline, fashion matters anymore. Bundle up! Everyone is too cold to notice what you wear outside anyway.

2. Have confidence
You are totally capable of handling the cold. When you go outside - don't even think about how cold it is. Act confident and like you've definitely handled worse. Try not to tense up before you even step outside or the cold will hit you right away. Try to focus on other non-weather related things at first and if you start to feel the cold think to yourself "It's not that bad" and suddenly you won't notice how cold you are. It's almost like a meditative practice. It can take some practice, but once you've dealt with enough cold days, you'll get the hang of it.

3. Plan something fun for yourself everyday
Make warmer plans - maybe just schedule something for the summer or book a trip to warmer place. In the meantime, focus on what you can do to make each day great.Are you getting happy hour with a friend, or brunch? Are you dreading to make it to whatever trendy, hard to find parking local you're going. Invite them to your place instead. Get a group of friends together for a game night or watch the Oscars together. You don't have to leave your house and your friends will appreciate the company. You could also crank up your exercise - try a new fitness class. Doesn't hot yoga sound amazing right now?

4. Remember,  people from colder climates get cold too.
Just because someone grew up on the border of Canada, doesn't mean they don't get cold in the winter. The difference, they have experience that builds their confidence. Their blood isn't any different than yours. Just believe you can handle the cold and you will.

How to be a good co-worker

I've been thinking a lot lately about work and work with others. I work with a few co-workers but I have many partners I work with outside the organization. Sometime it can be draining to work with some many people. I've been focusing on the positives lately and I've noticed a few things that have changed how I work with others that has made a world of difference in my outlook at work. I also appreciate these things when others practice them with me!

1. Before asking a question or asking someone to complete a task, ask yourself if you can find the answer or complete the task yourself quicker. If the answer is yes, do it yourself.

2. Before making a task more efficient or cutting corners to save time, ask yourself if this means that someone else will need to work harder. If the answer is yes, take the time to complete the task correctly.

3. Treat everyone with kindness. Remember that everyone is fighting some sort of battle and give them the benefit of the doubt. It's easier to move on than it is to harbor any ill feelings.

Night Glow

This weekend, we went to the Hot Air Affair in Hudson, WI to see the night light of hot air balloons. I have never seen a hot air ballon up close before. They are much bigger than I ever imagined. Watching them get inflated was pretty cool. It's quite surprising how close you can stand to them (you can pretty much be right next to them). They would even let any one volunteer for the crew if you wanted to help out. It was such a cool experience to see so many lit up. Made for a great evening. Aren't they pretty? Maybe next time, I'll get to ride in one. Here's to dreaming!

Up North Weekend

Last weekend, we headed to great Up North of Minnesota to Lutsen for some skiing. It was a pretty chilly weekend for skiing, but it was still a blast. A perfect weekend trip.

Northern Minnesota is absolutely gorgeous! It is so picturesque, especially in the winter. We rented a cabin on Lake Superior and it was beautiful. As for skiing, I have zero photos because it was too cold to take my hands out of my mittens. I don't own a GoPro and that's probably for the best, because the footage would be quite embarrassing.

Here's a pretty image of the lake:

A few things I learned this weekend: 

1. Skiing is fun, but take it easy

Prior to this weekend, I had only skied twice in my life and it was probably 10 years ago. When they say skiing is like riding a bike, I don't think I had quite the experience to just pick it up again. My first time down the hill, I fell pretty hard. So, I spent most of the day on the bunny hill and I still had an absolute blast. I'm glad I took it easy and gained some confidence. Don't let your more experienced friends pressure you, life is just as good on the kiddy slopes. And a lot more safe!!

1a. Rent the helmet. Just do it!

2. There is more than skiing (or snowboarding)

I tried to make the weekend as much about relaxing as anything else. I brought a book, some games, and snacks. I did my research and found a great place for breakfast. For me, it was more fun to make it a great weekend than just about the slopes. After one day of skiing, I took the next day off and I think I made the whole trip more enjoyable. Maybe one day, I'll be more into skiing, but for now, I just want to keep it fun.

All in all, it was a fun weekend! I'm glad I went and I'm excited to go skiing again sometime. Definitely don't want to wait another 10 years!

Make the best

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"Things turn out the best for people who make the best out of how things turn out"

I had a challenging week at work and I saw on my Timehop app that I posted this on Facebook 5 years ago. I can't remember what was going on 5 years ago but somehow it resonated with me again this week. Just a small reminder to keep pushing forward and keeping my positive attitude up.

Cheers to the weekend!

First Time Skiing (in a very long time)

This weekend I will be hitting the slopes and probably falling a lot. I am so excited. I haven't been skiing since my 8th grade ski trip. Oh middle school... Where you combine the awkwardness to every social situation, deciding who to sit next to on the bus, making sure you pack your cool snow pants (not your pink ones with the overall straps) and then trying to learn to ski without being distracted by cute boys or mean girls.

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This time will be less awkward and I'm sure much more fun. However, I still need to figure out what to bring?!?! A weekend of skiing is definitely different than a few hours on the slopes.

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Skis, boots, pools - renting. Done. Phew...

Winter Coat - Columbia, purchased last year on clearance at the outlet mall. Love it!

Hat - I don't usually wear hats, because they never fit

Googles

Gloves

Socks - I've heard wonderful things about smart wool.

Warm leggings and shirt

Layers, so many layers...

A few other things I plan on bringing:

Cinnamon Rolls - I'm going with a group of friends and we rented a cabin. Since breakfast is my favorite thing ever, I plan on making breakfast. Delicious breakfast. I'm making these cinnamon rolls ahead of time, so we can just pop them in the oven one more. I'll also bring bacon and maybe some fruit and yogurt.

Games - Cribbage, Settlers of Catan, Dominion

My Nook currently loaded with The Cuckoo's Calling and The Walled City

Kind Bars - Great energy for when a I need a light but filling snack.

Movies - I'll probably bring Frozen. Only fitting...

Hot chocolate

Wish me luck!! Ski you later!

Welcome 2015

2015 is here. Welcome. We made it together in this journey. Maybe it's not quite what we imagined 20+ years ago, but it is here, ready to be embraced with wide open arms. I'm ready and I know you are too.

I've made a few goals - nothing terribly new - just using the opportunity as a nice, fresh start.

1. Keep a day planner

2. Do more yoga

3. Work towards exercising 5-6 times a week (yoga included)

4. Focus on the positives

5. Save smarter (& more)

6. Cook more 

7. Keep the home cleaner

8. Be less judgmental 

Wish me luck! What are your goals for the year. Good luck to you!

Visiting San Francisco - Alcatraz and Chinatown

Friday was a whirlwind day for us in San Francisco and there is still some of the best stuff left. Where I left off, we were getting ready for our trip over to Alcatraz. Our visit to Alcatraz was the only thing on our agenda that we set in stone before our trip. Needless to say, we were excited.

The whole Alcatraz experience was really incredible. As the island is a National Park, it is very well run

 

^creepy/cool

Tickets to Alcatraz can sell out weeks in advance sometimes so it's best to buy in advance. During the weekends, you're likely not going to be able to walk up to the window and get tickets. Buy early. Also, you can choose between a day tour or a night tour. We chose the night tour because that sounded cooler, but the day tour would be just as interesting and is a few bucks less. For the day tour, a few more parts of Alcatraz are open and you can take your time exploring, just keeping an eye out for the ferries back. The night tour has the same tour of the prison, but they add a few extras. There are presentations and speakers you can listen to about various different talks throughout the night. You also get to see the SF skyline lit up which is just beautiful.

After Alcatraz, we decided to get dinner in Chinatown with our friends. My friend asked around her grad program to see where the best Chinese food in Chinatown is. We came to Hang Ah. It's was a good price and good food. Maybe not the most amazing meal I could have, but I still enjoyed it. Compared to some of the rumors I've heard about overpriced food, this was a really good option if you are set on the Chinatown experience. We were too tired to explore the rest of the area, so we just went back to our place and passed out! I'll share more soon!

Visiting San Francisco - Coit Tower, Lombard Street, and The Wharf

The second day of San Francisco was spent getting the tourist-y stuff out of the way. Also known as the most exhausting day of the trip. If you weren't aware, San Francisco has A LOT OF HILLS. My iPhone told me I walked over 20,000 steps that day. Wild!!

We started the day out at the Ferry Building. I was dying to try Blue Bottle Coffee. However, that line was HUGE and just didn't seem worth it. So we walked over to Peets coffee, I got a latte and was a very happy camper.

After sitting outside for a bit, taking in the beautiful bay breeze, we decided to tackle our first mountain of the day by going to Coit Tower. According to Google Maps, it's about a two block walk. With about a 1000 steps... 

However, the view was totally worth it.

Once you go inside, it's a small admission fee and an 80-year old elevator ride up and the views get even better.

We scaled back down and decided to head over to Lombard Street. Basically, down one hill and up another. To Adventure!!

^Lombard Street (the curvy part) is a street to the right at the top of the hill. 

And it's not really all that exciting. Mostly just a bunch of people all getting photos. Just like me... 

So we decided to walk over to Ghirardelli Square. It's nothing spectacular, but it does have a few chocolate stores and you get a free piece of chocolate just for stopping in. Also, it's really close to the cable car trolleys if that is something you are interested in. 

By now we are hungry and go in search of some seafood! To the Wharf!

We ate at some awful restaurant but we were so hungry, it didn't really matter. Later I bought some sourdough bread from Boudin (amazing) and it became a great snack for the rest of the day.

We wandered around some shops and headed over to Pier 39. It was a lovely day as the weather was perfect. The Wharf is probably not something I would do again, but it was good to cross it off the list.  It touristy isn't your thing, I would definitely just skip it altogether. 

We wandered around getting ready for our visit to Alcatraz!!

I'll post more about Alcatraz later! :)

Visiting San Francisco - Mission District and Alamo Square

Last month I took a trip to San Francisco and it was simply amazing! We went to visit friends who just moved out there and to explore a new city. It was an absolute blast!!



One thing I found especially challenging was figuring out what to do in the city. I felt simply at the loss for picking out the perfect things to do. So many guides felt to touristy or family oriented. I wanted to strike that balance between relaxing and adventurous - it was hard to plan, but I think I found just the right mix. My goal is to share what I did to help you if you are ever visiting San Francisco. By no means is this all you could do or even the best - but it's what I did and I hope you find that helpful.

We flew in to San Francisco on a Thursday and got in around 9am, so we had the day to explore. I'd almost say we got there too early because we hit that awkward time of arriving in the city (taking the BART from SFO) around 10am. We didn't want breakfast, but nothing was open for lunch. Our Airbnb let us drop off our stuff, but check-in couldn't happen for a few more hours. Luckily, we found a nice coffee shop just around the block from our Airbnb and had some chai and pastry while we waited.

We stayed in the Mission District at an amazing Airbnb. We were close to all the action but on a cozier street. So the first day, we decided to just explore the neighborhood. I asked for a few recommendations from our Airbnb host prior to arriving and she was super helpful. We set off to walk down Mission Street and then head back up Valencia.

First stop: Clarion Alley. The Mission is full of amazing street art and this Alley is covered all over with beautiful murals. It really gives you sense of the neighborhood and what people believe in.  I love how the art allows you to feel apart of the conversation around community issues.

Afterwards, we headed down Mission Street for some famous Mission Burritos. There are so many choose from, you could just pick which ever one you want. We went to Taqueria Cancun. So good! Yum. It's a pretty simple menu. Pick your dish, your meat, a few other things and you are set to go. 

Full from lunch, we decided to turn up Valencia street. Mission and Valencia are two streets that run parallel to each other. And boy they are like different worlds. The Mission street was lively and authentic. Valencia was more trendy and upscale. 

On Valencia is where you'll find lots more little boutique stores, coffee shops, and fancy restaurants. We popped into a lot of the shops and explored. It was good fun - but it definitely has to be your thing. For those who love shopping or just looking, this is the place to explore.

We also stopped by Dolares Park, which most of was under construction, and hit up Bi-Rite Creamery. It was perfect!

After exploring, we went back and settled into our home for the next few days. We unpacked, got situated, and decided what was next. We looked at my copious notes I made on One Note and decided to tackle Alamo Square and then hit a grocery store on the way back. 

I was just a little bit nervous, because I knew we'd have to tackle some hills to get there. The Mission is quite flat and easy to navigate, but crossing over to Alamo Square meant hills. Luckily, it really wasn't that bad. It was good practice and kind of fun to walk up the hills. And once we got there, it was just beautiful. The sun was starting to set and it was just perfect. 

Not gonna lie, once you get there - there isn't much to do. I mean, these are real houses that people live in. It had just rained, so we couldn't really picnic (like on Full House, obvi). But it was just so beautiful that once we took our photos, we sat on a bench and took it all in. It felt amazing. 

Afterwards, we headed back toward our place. Stopped a Whole Foods (so stereotypical) to pick up some snacks. We ate at a random burger restaurant - nothing fancy - and then just fell asleep. It was a perfect first day.