Uh-oh. Sounds like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays!

Yesterday, this girl definitely had a bad case of the Mondays. After a low key, enjoyable Super Bowl/Puppy Bowl/Glee Sunday, I was faced with a ridiculous task list at work. Some of the items on the list were normal, day to day tasks, but there was definitely more than a fair share of stress inducing items. From the moment I clocked in, I felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It was difficult for me to keep a positive mindset throughout the day, and there may or may not have been a frustrating experience with our copier (I bet we’ve all had moments where we wished we could remake that scene from Office Space). It’s like Murphy wasn’t on my side. The only thing that slightly comforted me (in a weird way) was the fact that one of my managers was also approaching one of our projects with a similar sense of trepidation. At least we’re on the same team!

The only thing that got me through the day was knowing that after work, I had a date with yoga and wine. As luck may have it (or not), I found it really difficult to get in the right frame of mind for my yoga practice. I’m not sure if it was because it was a class with a new instructor, if I was rusty from a lack of yoga, or if my mind was too caught up with work, but regardless the reason, the first half of the class was difficult for me. I was physically and mentally drained, but once I was able to close off my mind and focus on the practice, I felt so much better. I was able to lay on the mat and release all the negative energy that had been keeping me stressed all day.

I got home and was greeted with a wonderful surprise. J had taken note of my stressful day at work and had dinner ready for me! I sat in the kitchen with a glass (or two) of wine while he finished getting everything ready.

Spaghetti isn’t normally a dish I’d order at a restaurant. I can sometimes be picky about how I like it prepared, but J gets it right each and every time!

The pasta was paired with french bread (toasted and topped with butter and Garlic Gold Parmesan Nuggets) and an unpictured salad.

Of course, we can’t forget about the wine!

Dinner was followed up with a date with my favorite Monday night shows – How I Met Your Mother, Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars. We were accompanied by a piece of S’mores Brownies that I had made over the weekend (inspired by Jessica)

Monday definitely had a rough start but shaped out to be an alright night. Hoping that things get better in the long run!

*hoping that this post made sense. Ecto deleted my original draft, so my mind is just a blur atm =P

 

I guess Roxy won’t be a trust fund puppy after all!

So, I didn’t win the $380 million Mega Millions jackpot. But all is good, because I wasn’t expecting to. Like most Americans, I don’t typically pay attention to the lotto unless the jackpots are large. I had no intention of buying a ticket until someone came around at work, collecting money and I figured I’d give it a shot. Plus, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was having their quarterly open house (woohoo free seasonal coffee), so I just took the $5 I’d normally spend on my weekly coffee and put it towards my share.

Later on, Justin & I were at the grocery store, when we noticed the rather LONG line of people waiting to purchase a lotto ticket. J expressed interest in buying a ticket, and he owed me $5, so I bought another $5 ticket. I joked that if we won, our kids could be trust fund babies, and I’m pretty sure J wasn’t amused by that 😉 However, he did let out a chuckle when I corrected myself and said that Roxy could be a trust fund puppy.

8pm came and went, and I got the winning numbers from a friend. Truth be told, I didn’t even look at all my numbers. I gave my tickets a cursory glance, saw that I didn’t get the mega ball number, and set the ticket aside (although, I suppose I’ll scan them to see if I could even get $5 back). Worst case scenario – I’m out of $10 that probably wouldn’t have been spent productively anyways.

$380 million dollars is definitely not anything to joke about. I’m not even sure what I’d do with out, once I got the typical debt payoffs/travelling/charity donations out of the way. And honestly? I would be ok with even just a million dollars (post tax)! I’m only 28 years old and still have a long life ahead of me, so I wouldn’t retire with just a million dollars. And I really don’t want to retire. I think I’d be too bored at this point in my life.

However, I could take active steps towards fulfilling a lot of goals. I could:

• Donate directly to organizations/charities near and dear to my heart.
• TRAVEL – specifically SE Asia and the Americas.
• Quit my job and really pursue a career that is mentally, emotionally and financially fulfilling for me
• Pay off debts, specifically my student loans, so that I could…
• Apply to grad school!!! Grad school has always been on my radar, but the cost of tuition has always been daunting to me. USC is high on my list of grad school options, simply because I’ve always loved the campus and they have a program specifically geared to my career of choice. Plus, I’ve always wanted to change my USC status from Legacy to Alumni =P
• Get a second puppy! I love Roxy to bits, but I’d love for her to have a constant playmate. But owning a dog definitely isn’t cheap, and we spent quite a bit on her last year.
• Finish renovations on our “new to us” condo. If I had extra cash, I’d pay the mortgage off completely.
• Hmm. Maybe I do want the entire $380 million, or at least a large amount of that. Then BF could quit his job, and we could finally move out of SD! We’re only here b/c he owns property in SD and he has a stable job in a field he really enjoys (and is specific to a few cities around the nation). If I had my way, I’d be living in NYC or Chicago (or even near my parents in LA!)

Yikes. Now I’m getting ahead of myself. If anything, I appreciate how the lotto allows me to dream (and I dream BIG). Once someone else wins the jackpot, and I’m brought back down to reality, I realize what is really important to me. All of my dreams are feasible, eventually. But then I stop to prioritize them, and brainstorm how to achieve them NOW. There’s an item in particular on the wish list above that I’m trying to strive towards this year, and I’m absolutely certain that once I achieve it, everything else will fall into place =)

 

Happy 2011!

So far, 2011 has been full of laughter, love and cherished time spent with family and friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year, and I know that this is a sign of wonderful things to come!

My NYE was great. It was crazy, it was fun and 100% hectic (someone stole our cabs at the hotel, so we had to figure out who was good to drive and then deal with parking). Overall, it was worth it and the night culminated our group of friends ringing in the new year on a rooftop in Gaslamp.

Somehow, we managed to wake up early and drive home to spend New year’s morning with my mom (it was her birthday!) Then, we went to an amazing party at the W hotel in LA in honor of my BFF’s BF’s dirty 30 (did you get that?!)

I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I just have a really GREAT feeling about the upcoming year. For the first time in a long while, I’ve entered the new year surrounded by pure positive energy, and I’m just going to embrace it!

As for eating and spending, I was a bit indulgent. However, I don’t feel horrible about it at all! Carne Asada fries, a few drinks and korean bbq*? It’s all good. It was worth it because I was able to reconnect and celebrate with friends I wasn’t able to see for most of 2010. I’m giving myself a pass for the holiday, and I’m working on creating healthier habits for the new year.

I definitely don’t feel guilty about spending money on Korean bbq because 1. it’s delicious and 2. it’s sooooo much cheaper in LA than it is in SD!