15 out of 32: Eating Cleaner

I have been on more diets than I can remember at this point.  Weight wise I'm at a pretty healthy place, I'm five pounds lighter than my goal weight (which is okay since it is still a healthy BMI for me).  I'm focused more on toning than weight loss at this point.  

I have been working on altering my diet though.  Mostly because I have acid reflux.  It has progressively been getting worse, I am seeing a doctor (which I strongly recommend to anyone with any type of digestive issue), but I have noticed that I feel better when I eat certain foods and worse when I eat others.

The foods that I notice I don't typically feel great after eating are: meat, heavy dairy (full fat cheese, sour cream, etc), and white flour (breads, pasta).  So I've been making a conscious effort to cut these foods down to a minimum and focus on eating things that agree more with my stomach like beans, veggies, soy, and fish.

I started off slow by incorporating a meatless monday into my routine.  Now that has expanded to not keeping any of these foods that make me feel lousy and I'm trying to keep eating them period to a minimum.  It's a small start, but when I follow this plan I feel better.

Photo by Danny Boyster 

14 Out of 32: Help Others

I used to volunteer on a regular basis when I was a student.  When I first moved to NYC I would do some one off volunteering with God's Love We Deliver and Transportation Alternatives.  I have been wanting to volunteer on a more regular basis but it challenging for a few reasons.  1. A lot of the organizations I'm interested in helping don't really need volunteers at this point or need people on weekdays when I am working.  2. Time in general it is hard to commit to always being free at a given day or time every week.

I wanted to volunteer about something I was really passionate about and an opportunity presented itself to me.  Sparkpeople is a health and fitness website that I love.  I recently had the opportunity to lead one of the teams.  It is fun setting up fitness challenges, encouraging others, and being willing to share my story.  Vulnerability isn't my strong suit, so this is a good way to push myself.

This wasn't the type of volunteering I had in mind when I set this goal for myself, but this year is all about surprising myself.  

Photo by Oklanica 

13 out of 32: Take a Solo Vacation

I consider myself fairly independent.  I live alone, I was responsible for paying for my own education, and I am typically an initiator rather than a follower when it comes to making social plans.  I have traveled before on my own, but it has usually been day trips or an overnighter.  I've never gone on a full scale vacation by myself.  Actually I moved to New York almost 7 years ago and since then I have not traveled if it didn't involve going to see friends or family.

I wanted to take a trip that was for me and not worry about someone else's agenda.  I chose to go to San Francisco (more on that in an upcoming post).  I had a ball.  I do have friends there and met up with some of them, but I also had a lot of me time to explore.  What have I learned?  My favorite travel companion ever is...ME!

I had the time of my life and I have to start traveling like this more often.  I am learned things that I probably already knew about myself, but this experience just reinforced them.  These self realizations include:

1. I can make friends with anyone.  I'm did Airbnb for the first time and I really enjoyed the host I stayed with.  We met up for coffee most mornings before departing for our separate days.  In the course of one day I managed to strike up a conversation with a guy while waiting in line for the restroom, who proceeded to ask me out (I declined, mostly because at best you get a fling when you are only in town for six days and that's not what this trip is about), befriended patrons at a movie in The Castro Theater (including the man outside the theater with kittens), and chatted with some ex-New Yorkers who invited me to join their table at a coffee shop.

2. I have stamina.  I walked my tail off the whole trip.  Sure I was pooped by the end of the day, but life is too short to not take in as much as you can.

3. I'm game for anything. Not having plans lead to great encounters with people and places that I never would have had if I had made an agenda for myself.

I also learned what great company I can be.  I like to make this joke, that if I wasn't me I'd get tired of hanging out with me all day, which is really a self deprecating thing to think.  After this trip I realize what great company I am. I think a solo trip should be something I do every year now.

12 Out of 32: Empire State Building

Long time no post I know, but things are still on track.  I'm working on a lot of my 32 things at the same time, but I don't believe in posting something till you've finished it.

One thing I did complete was going to the top of the Empire State Building.  I tend to not do touristy things in NYC, but I've always wanted to do this.  From An Affair to Remember to Muppets Take Manhattan, it is a landmark that is featured in so many movies I love.

The view was fantastic and it was really special because I got to experience it with my friend Jim who hadn't gone there before either.  Sharing these experiences with friends make them all the more special.

Photo by Adam Lerner