Category: Holidays

2014: The year of focus and personal accomplishments

On By Jenni C.In Fears, Finding meaning, Friends, Holidays, Life, Love, memories, New YearLeave a comment

Today is the first day of 2014. Happy New Year! Wow now what happened to 2013 again? I feel like a lot has happened in the year the last. It was another year of transition. A year of memories. A year of saying goodbye to old friends, and once again saying hello to lifetime friends. It was year of meeting new friends, it was a year that is worth remembering.

Exactly one year ago I would have never imagined that I would be once again living on the east coast. I would have never imagined that I would be permanently living in the an area with freezing cold winter nights, cleaning snow off my car, and wearing layers of winter clothes. Life again has worked out in an unexpected way. In 2013 I learned more about myself. I learned that I am in control of my life, no matter how chaotic it may seem, ultimately I have control. 2013 was a year of personal accomplishments, I ran my first half marathon! I learned to accept my love-hate relationship with running. I laughed a lot in 2013. Life was good. I smiled even in those times when there was little to nothing to smile about. I learned to appreciate me. I took risks, and I fell back in love with me.

I feel like 2013 was the year of me. When I look back over the year I feel like I spent a lot of time alone, yet I hardly ever had times of feeling lonely. I was able to enjoy the things I loved, not do the things I didn’t, and somewhere along the line I feel like I grew into a better version of myself. I hope that growth continues in 2014.

Life changed over the last few months. Adjusting back to the mainland after living on a rock in the middle of the pacific is not easy. I feel like I was thrown a curveball even though I know what is expected from life on the mainland. Yet it still remains slightly difficult some days to get used to. A challenge yes, but a necessary challenge indeed. 2013 you were a year with unexpected surprises, new friends, new home, and new job. Life is always changing, here is another change to overcome.

2014 will be my year of adjustment, always working on me, continuing to grow, learn, and accomplish something that is truly amazing. My personal theme for 2014 will be focus. To focus on all aspects of life a little more. Take in each moment and remember that life moments are always changing so enjoy them while I can. 2014 will be my year! My year to stop saying what I want to do and just do. Go for it. I feel the need for increased motivation, internal fulfillment, and to remember to live a life worth living. Personally I think 2014 will be a big year, and as always the best is yet to come! And finally I am ready.

 

Positive thoughts, positive energy, positive experiences

What does Christmas mean to you?

On By Jenni C.In Christmas, Finding meaning, Hawaii, Holidays, Relocation1 Comment

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is coming to an end in Hawaii, on the east coast Christmas day is now a memory.  So I must end the night by saying a Very Merry Christmas to all.

I hope the day was celebrated and enjoyed by all. I hope we all remember the reason for the celebration of Christmas, and gave a very special shout out to Jesus for the celebration of his birth.  God has blessed us all, so lets celebrate life, blessings, and the spirit of the season for the next 365 days.

I spent Christmas in Hawaii. While I was in Waikiki, I sat at Starbucks for a short period of time. As as looked outside the window, I noticed a garbage can outside the front door of Starbucks. In a span of about 5 minutes I watched two different men look in the garbage in search of  food. One man found a box of Burger King chicken strips and ate what was left in the box. To him that was his Christmas.

I began to think. Today is Christmas, while some people woke up worried about gifts that were under the tree, other people woke up worried about where they were going to get a meal from today. Some kids were excited to get toys, while other kids were excited just to get food, and a warm place to sleep. While some people were complaining about spending time with family, other people were wishing that they had family to spend the day with. This is Christmas.

For everyone who celebrates Christmas it has a different meaning. Whatever your meaning is, lets not forget why it should be celebrated, and what the true meaning is.  Stuff can be bought any day of the year, we do not need to designate a day to give gifts. Lets celebrate Christmas with purpose, celebrate the gift of Jesus, the gift of life.

Hope you enjoyed your day! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Positive thoughts, Positive energy, Positive experiences

Tis the season to eat!

On By Jenni C.In Christmas, fitness, Holidays, Relocation2 Comments

I ate a hot dog today.  I rarely eat hot dogs. Well actually I had a sausage dog that looked like a hot dog from Hanks Haute Dogs, I always drive by that place, today I decided to try it. It was my Christmas gift to myself, extra calories!

Tis’ the season to eat whatever you feel like! Merry Christmas!  From Thanksgiving to New Years day all the delicious holiday foods come out from nowhere. Christmas cookies, Pecan pies, Pumpkin pies, Sweet Potato pies, and the infamous egg nog are constant reminders that you will gain weight during the holiday season. Stop trying to fight it, don’t torture yourself, eat, drink, and be merry! The good part: you can again make that New Year’s resolution that you will run straight to the gym on January 2, 2012, and lose those holiday pounds along with all those other pounds you gained in 2011.

Magazines are filled with ways to keep your waist line slim and trim during the holiday season. Fitness blogs are in full effect with tips to avoid those holiday pounds,  and gyms are getting ready to take advantage of you and your wallet at the start of the new year  as you try to keep your new year’s resolution.However, around January 14th you  suddenly forget what your resolution was and you intentionally forget which direction the gym is in.

Christmas only comes around once a year so eat. Holiday cookies and office parties only happen once a year. Egg nog disappears into far off egg nog land after New Year’s day, making you wait 11 more months until it welcomes itself back into your grocery store.  Do yourself a favor and eat without feeling guilty for Christmas. Just don’t eat make yourself sick, as always be smart when eating.

My Christmas present to myself was probably that sausage hot dog thingy that I ate today oh, and those Christmas cookies that I have been eating for the past two days, wait let me not forget that egg nog latte I had from Starbucks last week. I’ll call it my Christmas splurge. Am I worried I won’t be able to fit into my clothes in 2012? Well no, I will make a new years resolution to go to the gym and lose weight of course! And yes I still work out during the holiday season, maybe that’s why I don’t feel so bad if I eat a cookie.

Just remember during the holiday season, stay active, continue to work out, it helps you de stress from the trauma of mall crowds anyway.  Don’t try to start a diet during the holidays, you may want to wait to the new year for that one. But you can start working out any day of the week. The gym is always open so you don’t have to wait until January. Get a head start on burning those extra calories, then you won’t feel guilty. I would suggest to anyone, do what makes you happy for the holidays. It only comes around once a year, so take a moment to enjoy the season, and enjoy life. No need to worry about those delicious office cookies, they won’t be around next week anyway.

christmas 2007
Image by paparutzi via Flickr

Say hello to another Hawaiian winter

On By Jenni C.In Hawaii, Holidays, Life, Moving, New York, single girl, Weather2 Comments
Cover of "Winter is"
Cover of Winter is

Today was the first day of winter. Well, it doesn’t really feel like winter in Hawaii, but it is a bit chilly. Yes chilly, to tell you the truth I am just cold.  There is daily fall like breezes (tradewinds), daily rain,  and for some reason it is cold and flu season. Really, I have had a cold (or the flu) for the past week. Apparently there is something going around, I wonder where it came from. To have a cold in Hawaii anytime of year is like getting a cold in New York during the middle of July. It is a bit unnatural.  I know colds come from germs, not from the weather itself, but it does suck to have a cold while the sun is shining, you are dressed in summer attire, and the ocean is calling for you to jump in.

I have tried to explain the concept of winter in Hawaii to my mainland friends. They don’t seem to understand. But I think I finally have an understanding of seasons in Hawaii. The season change is just a little less subtle than the mainland. No the weather does not get down to 30 degrees, but when it gets down to 70 degrees that is cold. I have “Hawaiian blood” now. I get yelled at by my friends on the east coast when I tell them that I drive at night with the heat on in my car. Unfortunately my apartment does not have heat, so to stay warm at home I put on a sweater.

Fortunately, I am not the only one who feels the effect of an Hawaiian winter, last week one of my co workers had on a turtleneck. I did not realize that locals owned turtlenecks in Hawaii.  I am disappointed that I left my winter wardrobe in New York, I could wear my turtlenecks and winter boots (ok maybe I wouldn’t go that far). However, it is nice to know that other people are cold, and I am not just a weird east coast girl who does not understand tropical weather.

My Hawaiian winter is rather interesting. I can still go to the beach in the winter. Hopefully I feel better soon so I can go into the ocean.  The sun goes down early, and the mornings are rather chilly. So even though there is beach time, it gets cut down in the winter.

There is no snow on Oahu. I miss snow. I want to wear a nice puffy coat, with  a sweater dress. Well, not really, but it was a cute outfit. I like that I don’t have to run to my car because it is freezing outside. I love that I don’t have to heat up my car before I drive it. It is so nice that my care is ready to drive all winter. No icy windows,  no sliding on the roads. Actually I think I am starting to like my Hawaiian winter more and more. Forget snow. Snow is cold, and messy, pretty to look at though.

I miss Rockefeller center. I miss the coldness of central park in the winter. It is something about the smell of winter in New York that truly makes it feel like winter. Nothing like watching your cold breath come out of your mouth, and shivering as you walk down the street.  Ice Skating in Hawaii is not the same. Who comes to Hawaii to ice skate? I guess I need to make a quick trip to New York to get my winter fix, then return to the island. I was never a fan of freezing cold weather, and now I

hate it even more. The beauty of winter is nice from afar, but to have daily sunshine and 70 degree weather makes Hawaii a nice place to actually spend winter.

 

Positive thoughts, positive energy, positive experiences

Giving Thanks With Purpose

On By Jenni C.In Holidays, LifeLeave a comment

 

Thanksgiving Background
Image via Wikipedia

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to take a moment to write about giving thanks. Sometimes I feel that I forget to say Thank You, and I want to give thanks for something that is very important to me. The gift of life.

In my work I often see a lot of people who are either suicidal, depressed, or see no purpose to life. They have given up on life. They only choose to exist in the world, but feel they are not living. At that point it appears that there is nothing to hold on to, nothing to live for, nothing better than the misery they feel on a daily basis. My job of course is to help them to live. To help them realize hope, find meaning, find the  purpose in living to face another day. Sometimes that is hard. I try, but sometimes it doesn’t always work.

The gift of life is only given once. Once life is gone, you can’t get it back. I remind myself daily that I want to live. I want to do more than just exist in the universe, I want to live a life with purpose. So today I am thankful to be alive. To be healthy, to have the ability to keep going. With life, I am able to feel, I am able to love, I am also able to be hurt. But, I am living. To live is not always easy, it is not supposed to be easy. With each breath of life, comes a new experience, a new learning opportunity. I want to grow.

So as we remember to give Thanks, not only today, but every day let’s be thankful for the moments that we have, for the people that we share them with, and for the life that is worth living.  As I often hear, your best days are yet to come, be ready.

 

Positive energy, Positive thoughts, Positive experiences

Love is in the air, But what does it smell like?

On By Jenni C.In dating, Holidays, Life, men, single girlLeave a comment

Its Valentines Day and love is in the air. Whether you view it as an original Hallmark holiday, or a day to express true love and gratification to your special someone, you cannot help but catch on to the feeling that love is really in the air.

With hearts, flowers, and chocolate, the Valentine’s Day bug is running rampant from city to city. For an entire 24 hours, people use today to tell someone special that they love them. But can’t they do that on any other day? Flowers, jewelry, and love, should be given any day. Don’t just wait for that one day out the year because it is marked on the calendar, to show someone how much you love them.

Now if you are single it becomes a whole different story. Do single people still smell the love that is in the air? I know they sure do see it. I remember one year while I was in NY, I was standing on a subway platform on Valentine’s day and I just knew it was Valentine’s day. I glanced around the platform on both sides, and noticed that the entire station was full of couples, not  one single individual in sight. Just people embraced in hugs, kisses, with balloons and flowers. So what happened to all the single people that day? Did they stay home and hide?  Were they avoiding looks of pity, and “don’t worry it will get better”? If you are single, some  people may even feel sorry for you on Valentine’s day. Tell them don’t be, at least you will not be disappointed if the person you love forgets the one special Hallmark day, or even buys you flowers that look like they will die in the next ten to fifteen minutes.

You ever wonder why some people to refer to Valentine’s day as Singles Awareness Day? What is with that? I was very aware that I was single yesterday, I am very aware that I am single today, and chances are that I will be very much aware when I am single tomorrow. Is Singles Awareness day the consolation prize to not having a significant other on Valentine’s Day? Does that mean that I am supposed to  buy myself flowers, a box of chocolate, and a stuffed teddy bear to show self love? Ummm, I’ll pass and save my money for something I really want.