WHOA lansi

francophile, oenophile, logophile, turophile

Tag: January

January in Instagram

It’s February! Hurrah! The last month that is truly cold. We may not get much of a spring, but at least it feels within reach once we hit March. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve already noticed the days getting longer and this month is so short that it feels manageable. 
This post is pretty late for a January recap. We got home from Mexico late Friday night and spent the weekend attempting to get back into the swing of things. Of course, the first day back at work is always a bit nuts, but this month is busy on top of that. So it’s February 4th and we’re going to talk about January, ok? 

1. I had my heart set on New Years Brunch at Wurst even though the boys were super hungover. I never have mimosas but it seemed like a great way to start 2014.
2. Ice cream after skating just feels right sometimes. Especially when it’s salted caramel from Village (don’t question it, just do it).
3. This paleo butter chicken & naan is a game changer. I will definitely be making this again (& again & again).
4. We saw a couple warm days in January. I managed to get in a few lunch runs to prepare for the beach. When the sun shines, this city is simply breathtaking.
5. Two of our good friends got married in Hawaii this fall. They hosted a post elopement party – we danced, ate, & drank the night away with some of our bests.
6. I’ll be hanging out in the massive Bow Building for the next couple months at work. It’s one of the coolest offices in Calgary, if you ask me.
7. We’d been planning this Mexico trip for almost a year and it finally arrived. This was our beach for the week (I know, right?).  N’s rocking a sick tan.
8. The dusty, dirty, rugged streets of La Manzanilla won me over. I love this little Mexican town & already am daydreaming of going back.
9. The view from our villa was spectacular. I couldn’t get enough of it and took a sunset photo almost every night. (Can you blame me? Look at this view!)

That’s it for January. I’m working on some great posts as well as trying to edit my Mexico pictures. I took that take more photos resolution to heart. Prepare yourselves.

New Year

I’ve been kind of putting this post off. Last year, I had it out in December. I was all prepared for 2013. I had my shit together last year, guys. This year, though. This year kind of snuck up on me. One minute, my wonderful boyfriend was down on one knee, asking me to marry him, & the next I swear it was New Years Eve. I swear that’s exactly how it happened.

I’ve said before that I believe in setting goals when you realize they need to be set instead of waiting for something like the New Year to take action. & I still believe that if I need to change something, that change should happen as soon as I realize it. That’s definitely something I try to live by, but like I said last year, it’s nice to look back on last year & decide what to do better this one.

Last year, I attempted to:

I can’t say I was entirely successful with any of these except maybe number three. We really don’t eat grains very often anymore. I’d say we’re usually 80% grain-free, 20% eat whatever we want. It’s a good balance, if you ask me, & something I’d like to continue. I’m still often very hard on myself when we do slip up, but I want to put it in writing: we did well, friends.

I wasn’t entirely unsuccessful with the other goals. There were months where I really did follow our budget better. & overall I think I’ve cut my shopping spending a lot. There were also times when we opted to have friends over instead of going out. I think we made an overall improvement there too. & there were times when I chose to be more appreciative & tolerant. That one is probably the biggest one I need to work on though. I promise to try, N. I promise.

With that in mind, here are my 2014 New Years Resolutions. (drum roll, please).



I think these are four challenging, but very achievable goals for me this year.

I generally try to be more specific with goals, but I made an exception with the first one. I think we’ve got a pretty good handle on our health (of course, as I write this I’m a bit sniffly). We weren’t sick often this year & when I was I could usually pinpoint why. Fitness Friday is still going strong & I’ve been making workouts, in & out of the gym, a priority. I’m not going to a CrossFit box like I would like to be, but I’m still making strides when it comes to my Fitness goals & that’s a good place to be. (I will master a handstand this year. It’s coming!)

This second goal probably seems odd to those who know me or follow my instagram. I do take a lot of photos. But I want to be more conscious of the photos I’m taking & make a better effort to use my DSLR. I’m trying to shoot primarily with my 35 mm lens. I like it so much better than my kit lens. I want to try to take more photos with it & not fall back on my zoom lens just because it’s easier. It’s time to challenge myself a bit with photography.

I’ve blogged way more this year than any other year & I couldn’t be happier about that, but I haven’t been actually, physically writing. Whenever I’ve lived abroad or travelled, I’ve kept a journal & writing in it – the physical act of writing things down – has always been very therapeutic for me. I’d like to get back to that. (& I’m starting today – my journal is currently in my purse!). Instead of mindlessly checking Facebook or Twitter in my downtime, I’d like to get back to writing.

This last one is a big one for me, & I think it’s a good one for this year. Too often I get pessimistic & over dramatic & let things bother me. I forget that this is a choice I make & that I can choose happiness instead. I’ve let myself forget to choose to be happy too often. I’ve let myself get carried away by the negative what-ifs & that’s not the person I want to be. As much as I’d like to be able to control every little aspect of my life, I can’t. There is so much that I cannot control. But, I can control how I react to things. & I can choose to be happy. This is largely inspired by the fact that we’re planning a wedding & wedding planning is notoriously stressful. This essay was another huge inspiration (thank you for that, Natalie. I don’t even know you for real, but thank you). I’m going to make this one happen.

So let’s go, 2014. Bring it on. I’m so ready for all the wonderful things you have in store for me.

Photo by 3haus Photographics

January in Instagram

Follow me on Instagram @whoalansi
 
January seems to have flown by. Maybe I’m just getting older, but time just flies. Will I ever get over this fact? I’m thinking no. I’m pretty excited about this Instagram Recap this month though. It took me no time at all to build this table. I’m getting so much better at this HTML code thing. So proud. On to the recaping.
 
1. M with me on New Years Eve. Always so happy to spend time with her when she’s in town!
2. We celebrated N’s sister’s Birthday on three occasions. This was the first. She was hilariously drunk and almost got kicked out of Ranchman’s. We also found it funny to refer to one another as SIL all evening.
3. Game nights are some of my favourites and we discovered a new awesome game called Quelf.
4. Weekend coffee and record shopping dates. I just love Analog Coffee and record hunts and spending time with N.
5. Skating with N at our local rink. This needs to happen more!
6. Andy Warhol exhibit with my parents. Much smaller than expected, but pretty cool anyway. We hit up UNA Pizza & Wine afterwards. Delicious.
7. Starbucks Ladies at R’s 19th Birthday.
8. More January Birthdays. We hit two that night. I’m a giant when I wear my 5 inch heels.
9. We’ve still been eating mostly paleo (more on the primal side now). I’ve even attempted some gluten free baking lately and it’s turned out lovely. These biscuits are delicious!
 
Happy February, blog friends!
 
 



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