Adventures in Austin...

Now that the weather isn't crazy weird (it SNOWED in February here, people), I've been more motivated to get out and about. I was excited about SXSW, but it crept up so quickly and I realized it wasn't so different than Spoleto in Charleston, except tons bigger. Traffic in downtown Austin during SXSW is a nightmare (but I will say the people watching is worth making the drive and hanging out for a bit). You can't get a table at the "good" Whole Foods for lunch (miss my two-for-five-bucks awesome taco bar). But I still think I'm going to spring for a wristband or badge next year - if only for the interactive part of the festival. Even without a wristband, SXSW has gotten me hooked on Foursquare (if you're not familiar, look it up and be my friend) and there's a local access channel on television with 24-hour SXSW coverage, so it feels like you're there (without the crowds).

Other than that, I've shopped, eaten out at some fabulous restaurants (you can't get dim sum like this in Charleston), taken Lulu to a dog park near where people play Frisbee golf (not kidding about that...they're out there almost every day), been to a dog birthday party, backyard barbeque, went to a great local book store, and am planning on attending a local music awards show this weekend.

After living in Charleston in my happy little comfort zone for so long, I have had to motivate myself to get out and about. It's too easy to work all day and come home at night, hit the couch, and watch TV or read so I don't have to interact with strangers. And I do that on most nights. I'm still homesick and I don't think that will ever go away. Sometimes I'm so homesick, it's hard to talk to my mom or my sisters or nieces or my best friend back home because I miss them so much. I've made up my mind to be happy here, but I haven't found "my people" yet. I think the older you are, the harder it is to make friends. But now I have a checklist of events and places to go - even if it's just me and my laptop, I'm definitely going to get out and about more.

And you know that "Keep Austin Weird" slogan? I love that it's weird. I love that there are kite festivals and frisbee golf and a celebration for Eeyore's birthday. Summer is going to be brutal, but I'm going to stop obsessing over my upper arms and wear tank tops. I'm going to get a parasol or sun umbrella. I might even wear hats.

Great big steps...

Many of you are already aware, but I've been away from here for a while and thought I'd get the official announcement out of the way so I can go back to my regular navel-gazing and micro-introspection. I've left my job at Skirt as of last week. A lot of people have gotten in touch (and I love you for it) and want to know why. The best way I can explain is to paraphrase from an email from a friend this week: "Little tiny dreams, Kelly Love, require little tiny thoughts and little tiny steps. Great big dreams require great big thoughts and great big steps."

I accomplished so many of my goals while I was at Skirt and I've made a positive decision to move on. I loved my job and I was really good at it, but sometimes that just isn't enough. I'm taking some time right now to figure out what my next move will be, but I am looking forward to what's ahead. My cell number will remain the same, for those of you who have it. My new email address is kellylovejohnson AT mindspring.com. Please feel free to email me there any time!

Since one of my New Year's Resolutions is to stop being so judgmental...

...I don't really have much to say. Scary, isn't it?

Since I'm no longer judging, I've decided that none of my ex-boyfriends are idiots, losers, or lame. They just weren't right for me.

Same for ex-friends. This one wasn't an insane pothead over-medicated new age freakshow. We just didn't "mesh." That one wasn't an overbearing pushy negative critical mess. She was just trying to help me when I didn't need it. I wasn't at a point in my life where I could "receive her feedback." And that other one. He wasn't a pseudo-intellectual immature needy manipulative starf*cker. He was just one of those people who groove harder on discussing their grandiose plans then actually executing them. Nothing wrong with that.

I really feel like I'm on the road to a New Me in 2008. I made my usual mega-resolution list (more on that here): "Clean Slate in 2008" consists of 108 mega/uber/micro resolutions. I'll share more throughout the month, along with my progress.

But no judgment, people!

Today is a lucky day for those who remain cheerful and optimistic...

I used to have this written on a Post-it taped to my computer screen, but I lost it a long time ago. My friend Jeff used to say it a lot and I think it's from a fortune cookie. I've realized lately how often my thoughts (and statements) are negative and how difficult it is to try and turn them into positives.

For example:
Negative - "I spend 50 f*cking dollars A MONTH on vitamins."
Positive - "I have really expensive pee."

Negative - "I feel old today."
Positive - "I feel things because I am human and alive."

Negative - "I'm creatively drained."
Positive - "You can't fill a well that doesn't need filling."

I'm tired, cranky, hungry, pained, anxious, and bored. But I should be grateful, buoyant, healthy, calm, and inspired. And even on the days when I feel like everything is made of red tape, when it feels like a trip to the grocery store is too haaard, when the treadmill at the gym feels like the wheel in a hamster cage (damn, forgot about those little guys...now I'm having mid-90s web flashbacks), I should be thankful. A lot of things come easy to me and I have to stop complaining about the things that don't (like having a sunny personality). I get to be around people who remind me that positivity comes from within and that a whole hour of yoga is worth the happy baby pose at the end. My family is healthy. I'm healthy. And even if I have already lived half of my life (we can talk about my "mid-life crisis" later), if the second half is going to be anything like the first, it's going to kick ass.

I know how lucky I am. I do.

Learning to love canned salmon...

I'm working the Perricone Prescription this month, which means giving up the chicken, the red meat, and any form of processed food whatsoever. That's the easy part. The thing I worried most about was eating salmon five times a week. Not just any salmon - it has to be wild Alaskan. If you can find it fresh, it's uber expensive. Dr. P recommends canned and I found the brand he mentioned in his book at a local grocery for under $2 a can.
A. It's gross. You have to dump it into a bowl and pick out the skin and bones.
B. It looks and smells like cat food.
C. I was glad I had fresh lemons because I needed them to get the salmon reek off my hands after digging through the mess.
D. Eating it plain? Ew.

So last night I decided to try one of the healthy recipes: little bit of lowfat cream cheese, little bit of eggless mayo, horseradish, green onion, dash of Worchestershire. Mix it up, add crumbled up canned salmon. Spread on low carb whole grain wrap, add fresh blanched asparagus (asparagi?). Roll it up. Eat.

It was tasty and I must have done a pretty good job of bone removal, because the only crunch was from the green onion. I made a second wrap to bring for lunch today, thereby hitting my five times a week salmon goal. Yay, me!

Finally making use of the Bento...

I've mentioned Mr. Bento before, and I bought him in April, but it's taken me this long to work up the energy to put him to work. After seeing myself in recent wedding photos (see previous post), I decided it was time to make grocery shopping for healthy food and actually cooking it part of my regular weekend routine so I can bring lunches to work that include more than packaged cheese sticks, sliced turkey, canned soup, or Kashi bars (because I am apparently one of those few people who can gain weight on eating 1500 calories a day). The secret for me is eating more calories at regular intervals, which usually means six small meals a day. And bento dining is perfect for that.


This is today's Mr. Bento lunch: Salmon with dill and lemon, black-eyed pea and corn salad (also known as "Texas Caviar"), and berries with cottage cheese. I made everything myself - none of it is from the Earthfare deli (though I'm not above cheating with that from time to time). And since Mr. Bento keeps food cold (or hot) for six hours, I didn't even have to try and squeeze him into the tiny fridge at work. The salmon and half the Texas Caviar was lunch; the other half and berries I saved for a late afternoon meal.

Now I can join the Mr. Bento Flickr pool, instead of perusing the photos when I'm hungry and wishing I was the kind of person who makes a healthy, tasty home-cooked lunch every day. Because now I am.