Las Vegas 2013!

Two weeks ago I met my best friend and cousin in Las Vegas for a short but fun-filled girls weekend. It was the most fun I've had in awhile! We did a lot of laughing, eating, some gambling, and generally treated ourselves well. Plus, it looked like this in Vegas:

which was a huge improvement over Chicago. Highlights of the trip included visiting Fremont Street, winning (and then losing) $30 at the roulette table, foot massages, and In N Out Burger. We did a lot of other stuff, too, but you know the old adage: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. 

 

Here we are at M&M World

 

Hard Rock Cafe--lots of Elvis memorabilia

 

Getting pretty for a night out

 

With The Man

Dressy

Here are a few more dresses I love from various celebrity events. 

Naomi Watts

People's Choice Awards

 

Jennifer Lawrence

 Film Critics Association Awards

 

Taylor Swift

People's Choice Awards

 

Lucy Liu

Golden Globes

 

Shaun Robinson

Golden Globes

 

Julianne Hough

Art of Elysium event

 

Gabrielle Union

BET Awards

 

Maria Menouous

Golden Globes

 

Michelle Dockery

Golden Globes

Katharine McPhee

Golden Globes 

Golden Globes 2013

I was not able to watch this year's Golden Globes Awards, but devoured the fashion photos the next morning. Surprisingly, many made my list this year.

Heidi Klum

 

Amy Adams

 

Carla Gugino

 

Amy Poehler

Jennifer Lawrence

 

Kate Hudson

 

Naomi Watts

LOVE!

 

Salma Hayak

  

Helen Mirren

LOVE!

Grumpy Pants

I rarely have one of those days that are all wrong: where nothing goes right, I get stressy, and I am over the day even though it might only be 9:36am. Yesterday I had one of those days.

The details aren't really important, but I kept messing up: names, meeting dates, payments, you name it. I was in a failure-fog and couldn't find my way out. At one point my boss told me I needed to "really get things straight" after she corrected me for the third time. Ugh. The worst part is that I knew that stuff, but it was all coming out of my mouth and fingertips wrong.

I took a walk at lunch and that helped make me feel better, but then I royally screwed up a meeting in the afternoon, and even though it all ended up fine, it made me feel like a loser. So I came home yesterday and drank half a bottle of wine and watched Dexter, which made me feel a lot better. I may mess up, but there's no way I'm going to be arrested as a serial killer.

Anyway, in the spirit of this blog, I should focus on the good things and not the bad:

1. I'm going to Vegas this weekend!
2. I just ate a delicious piece of dark chocolate
3. Tomorrow I'm meeting friends that I haven't seen in a long time downtown for drinks
4. The high temperatures will be in the 40s this week

Hoping your bad days are few and far between.

2013 Resolutions

New year, and new resolutions! Some are the same as years past (I will see twleve movies in theater this year!) and some are new. I have changed some resolutions to either make them more managable for myself, based on last year's results, or increased the amount as a challenge. This is what I'll hold myself accountable for this year.

Resolutions

1. Be good to my body
A. Go to the gym once a week
B. Stretch once a week
C. Drink a glass of green tea once a week

2. Be more mindful
A. Write in my journal once a week
B. Meditate twice a month

3. See one movie a month in theater

4. Buy once piece of clothing per month

5. Read three books a month; amended to add the following caveats: must read 5 non-fiction books; 3 books from the following genres: graphic novels, science fiction, and horror; and 2 biographies

6. Keep track of my finances via Excel; amended to add the following caveat: must record where I bought items, and not just the cost of the item

Monthly Goals: Do More in Chicago

1. January: Go iceskating
2. February: Visit Adler Planetarium
3. March: Go to the St. Patrick's Day Parade
4. April: Take a city tour
5. May: Go to the Green City Market
6. June: Have a drink at a rooftop bar
7. July: Eat at The Taste
8. August: Go to the Air and Water Show
9. September: Walk on the SkyDeck of the Willis (Sears) Tower
10. October: Tour Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House
11. November: Eat a Chicago Dog at Portillo's
12. December: Go to Zoo Lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo

These are mostly things I've never done before, and is my no means an exhaustive account, but at least this should get me out and do more in this fun city.

Yearly Goals

1. Save $100 a month
2. Be more creative
(This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately, but it is hard to quantify (write one poem a week! paint one picture a month!). So, I put in on my yearly goals to remind myself to do, but at the end of the year probably will not have any way to quantify).
3. Travel internationally

2012: Year in Review

The end of my third year of blogging about my resolutions! For a reminder and scorecard of my 2012 resolutions, see below:

Resolutions

1. Be good to my body
A. Go to the gym once a week: 41/52 (79%)
B. Stretch once a week: 29/52 (56%)
C. Drink a glass of green tea once a week: 15/52 (29%)

2. Be more mindful
A. Write in my journal once a week: 52/52 (100%!)
B. Meditate once a week: 17/52 (33%)
C. Only spend one hour on the internet every weekday, at home: 72/365 (20%)

3. See one movie a month in theater: 10/12 (83%)

4. Buy one piece of clothing per month: 36/12 (300%!)

5. Read two books per month: 47/24 (196%!). Of these books, I would particularly recommend The Paradox of Choice, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Bossypants, and any of the Alexander McCall Smith books

6. Keep track of my finances via Excel spreadsheet: pretty good overall

Goals

1. Take a proper vacation: of at least three days, stay in a hotel, travel via plane: accomplished! I went to Puerto Rico in April, and had a fun time

2. Volunteer at a museum or the library: fail. However, I did start volunteering with a sustainability group on campus in November, though I did only make it to one meeting. Here's hoping that effort is increased in 2013.

3. Save $50 a month: accomplished! I saved a total of $1,870 in 2012, which averages to $156 per month.

4. Learn new things: such as, new knitting pattern, how to change my blog interface, etc.: This did not go quite to plan, but I think that's because it wasn't specific enough. I did, however, learn more about blog interface, and made myself this lovely new blog!