Peace out 2018...Hello 2019

Every year I always like to wrap everything up with some kind of end-of-year post. Even though I didn't write a ton this year, I still like some closure on everything that went down. Some years I write about the highlights (and low lights) and sometimes it's just a summary of what went down.

Last year it was all about how 2017 didn't end up being "My Year" liked I had hoped it would be as my first full year as a Chicagoan. So that was a huge bummer. Well, spoiler alert: 2018 wasn't my year either. However, it wasn't too bad of a year at all. I am well aware that with the many ups, there are always downs. No one constantly just wins, and believe me, I don't expect to. However, I just want to feel like I came out ahead at the end of the year. Last year I definitely didn't, but this year, I do believe I came a little closer. Below I have rounded up the positives and negatives of this year in the more glaring portions of my life.

Running into 2018...

Hi, it's me again. You know, the one who hasn't written in a couple of months, and who barely wrote this year at all. Yeah, that girl. Me. Hiiiiiiii.

A few people have asked why I haven't written much this year and the truth is, there hasn't been much to write about. Last year I wrote a lot about what I was looking forward to in continuing my first full year living in Chicago and all the things I was experiencing for the first time. More or less, things were great. I needed a change in my life, and I made it, but now, now that I am a lot more settled in, things are different. Life isn't new and exciting anymore, it's just regular 'ole life again and it was kind of tough.

My One Year Chicagoversary!

Time certainly flies when you're having fun. Happy Chicagoversary to me!! I can't believe its been exactly one year since I packed up my entire life in New York City and moved to Chicago. On this morning exactly one year ago, I woke up super early and headed out for what would be my last sunrise run as a New Yorker. I ran to the reservoir and saw one of the most beautiful sunrises I've ever seen there as tears rolled down my cheeks. It was a very bittersweet moment and I can still close my eyes and remember it vividly. I can't think of a better way that I would have wanted my last morning to go.

This morning, I felt it only fitting to try and start my second year here on another high note with a sunrise workout. Duh. I had a great bike ride along the lake as the sun rose beautifully. (I know I do these all the time, but this one had more significance.) I seriously feel like it was just a few weeks ago that I landed back home in Chicago and started my new life here. Although it was such a hard decision to make (it took me over a year to actually make it), I absolutely think moving back home was the right one. This was probably my most stress-free and most fun years in a long time, and I'm not going to lie, it was much needed and well-deserved. Of course there have been some struggles along the way as expected, but all in all, I am extremely happy to be back here permanently (for the foreseeable future).

Not 13, but almost 1

This morning, I got a reminder message on my phone: Today would have been my New York anniversary.  On this day thirteen years ago, I moved to NYC and started a new life there. Seems like just yesterday I made that move that forever changed my life. I was actually supposed to be there today running the Brooklyn Half Marathon (and getting my revenge for last year's race), but instead my hamstring and knee still aren't healed so I never booked the flight. Turns out though, I probably wouldn't have been able to race anyway because of my Shingles. I tried putting on a sports bra last night (in hopes of trying to workout this morning in some capacity) and nope, it hurt way too much on my rash. Plus, I still don't have much energy and don't know if 13.1 would have been possible to run today. 

Leaving 2017 Open...

2017 is upon us in a few short hours. "New Year, New Me," right? Ummm, no. That's not really my style at all. I am someone who is constantly working toward goals and I certainly don't need the clock to strike midnight of a new year to light that fire inside me for change or resolve.  I am proud to say that one of my best qualities is that I am a go-getter with a lot of intrinsic motivation for most things. But with that comes the desire to achieve every goal I set for myself almost immediately and done perfectly. That's not always realistic and it can be a real downer when I fall short. Unfortunately, this happened a lot in 2015 and brings me to one of my biggest downfalls: I am too damn hard on myself and can get very demoralized when things don't go the way I planned; especially with something that I worked hard at and/or put a lot of time into. However, while 2015 was such a shit year, I vowed that 2016 wouldn't be a repeat of that. Luckily, it wasn't! I had to make some changes in my mindset and my methods on how I would go forward to have different, better outcomes. With that being said, my one major goal of 2016 was to simply be happy. Instead of my usual objective goals for the year, I decided that in order to re-find my happiness there some were steps I had to take. I wrote out ways I was going to re-discover that joy and happiness I was missing and in the progress towards that, some of my other personal goals may just fall into place.

This Jewish Girl LOVES Christmas Time

Its December!! It's the last month of 2016 and one of the most cheerful and festive months of the year. I am usually only home in Chicago the last week of Chicago for winter break and only get downtown once or twice in that time, but now that I live here, I get to experience the holidays in the city all winter long. Some of the holiday stuff went up mid-November and now that Thanksgiving is over, most of it is up which makes me so excited. For a Jewish girl, there are few things in life that make me more excited than gaudy, bright, sparkly Christmas decorations. I make zero apologies for it. The brighter and tackier, the better. It makes me soooooo happy!!!

My baby is FIVE: Happy Blogiversary

This little blog that I started on a whim on August 27, 2011 turned FIVE YEARS OLD yesterday. It's kind of crazy to think that Someone Will Appreciate has been my little baby for the last five years. When I first started this bad boy, it was because I thought/knew I had important many things to say. In the past five years, I have written about TV shows, movies, music, sports, boys, work, running, workouts, poop, travel, or all the things in between. (Well not "all the things" because my parents read this and can't know ALL the details of my life. They might need to have a little birds and the bees chat with me if that was the case. I kid, I kid. Wait, do I?) But basically, since I'm a habitual over-sharer in real life and in my writing, most of the things that cross my mind, no matter how personal (good or bad), get written on this blog. I know I say it all the time, but this blog has become my outlet. If I need to get something off my chest, I write about it. If I feel I have something really important to say, I write about. If I have a funny (yet appropriate if my mom and dad saw it) story I want to share, boom, I'll write about it. I really do love to write, and this blog has allowed me to do just that. I don't care if five people or 5000 people (I wish) read what I have to say, I feel better when I write it. Plus, I now have a permanent record of what happened in my life and will always be able to go back and read and reflect on it. It's actually pretty freaking cool.

Hooray for Global Running Day

Today is Global Running, the day formerly known as National Running Day. This is a real holiday for all of us runners. Unfortunately, because of my damn hamstring injury (that was only exacerbated by me stupidly trying to run the Brooklyn Half marathon a couple weeks ago), I can't celebrate this holiday by actually going for a run and it's absolutely destroying me (okay, that was super dramatic, but you get it; I'm pretty miserable not being able to run). I was barely able to run before that race and now that my hamstring was made worse (my PT said it was probably a tiny tear or really bad strain), I really can't run at all. In fact, up until about three days ago, it was still painful to even walk. But even though I've been in pain, I've still been dying to get out for a run. The second it started to feel like it had healed a bit (thanks to ultrasound therapy and electric stimulation therapy), I was so ready to go out and give it a test run, so to speak, but controlled myself because I don't want to cause another setback. I have been going for some walks in lieu of running, but they are certainly nothing like the real deal. Ugh, I miss running!

Twelve.

Twelve has always been my lucky number. And today happens to be my twelfth anniversary living in New York City. Can you believe it? Wow.

Since I was born on January 12, I have always used 12 as my go-to number. Because of this, it makes this anniversary a little more special to me. I also know I say this every year, but its crazy to think I have lived in this marvelous city for 12 years. If you would have asked me 12 years ago if I would still be living in New York City in 2016, I would have laughed in your face. Seriously. Well, I guess the joke's on me because I instantly fell in love with New York and made a life for myself here.

Thirty-Four, I need to Soar

I am not gonna lie, but I am glad the year of thirty-three is over.  It really sucked. I'm not sure why so many things didn't go my way, but I am ready to let that shit go. So today, I welcome thirty-four. Well, I welcome it as much as someone who is not a fan of birthdays can welcome it.

For the fifth time that I have celebrated my birthday since beginning this blog, I am writing my annual birthday post. I like to look back at the highlights (these were few and far between this year) and the lowlights (there were a lot more of these which is also why I didn't write all that much this year.) As I always do, I like to start with the lows and end with highs so I can build upon them.

Go(al)ing at it a little differently in 2016

For the last two years I have written a New Year's post about my goals for the upcoming year. I was always super excited to write that post and thrilled at the possibilities ahead of me for the year to come. However, this year is a little different because of where my head is at. I am demoralized. I am jaded. And I am just not that thrilled with where my life is at right now. Of all the goals that I wrote down last year, I really do not think I achieved any of them. And that sucks. To sit back and look at 2015 and not really be happy with much of it really sucks. I would have to say the highlight of the year was this summer when I was off from work and just traveling and enjoying myself with few cares. It was awesome. Why can't life be one giant long summer vacation? Oh yeah, because that's not real life. So with my actual real life, instead of making a bunch of goals this year that are mildly specific and ones that I may not reach, I have one goal for 2016, and that goal is to BE HAPPY.

Blogiversary Numero Cuatro!

Happy fourth anniversary to Someone Will Appreciate!!! Today this little blog of mine turned four and every time I have an anniversary for it, I am kind of shocked and excited. I know that not many people read my blog but I still really enjoy writing. It's a huge outlet for me. I obviously go through periods of writing a bunch and then not having anything really to discuss. I don't want to post just for the sake of posting, so when I do take the time to sit down and write (type), I feel like there is a reason behind it whether its to preserve a memory, act as a form of therapy, share information, or to just tell a funny story.

You know I'm a runner because...

Today is National Running Day! Yes, this is a real holiday for us runners so Happy National Running Day to you and yours. Last year on this day I wrote about all the reasons that I run and what running gives to me but this year I am going to write about all the characteristics that I possess that gives me a away as a runner.

Sometimes I feel weird calling myself a "runner" because I am not very fast or built like a runner at all; however, I get out there and run 5 days a week and compete in races so yes, I am a runner. And believe me, if you saw my closets and drawers (and shoe collection) you would know this all to be true. So how does one know I am a runner? They know I'm a runner because...

3 Cheers for 11 years!

Today marks my 11th Anniversary of me living in New York City. Wooooooot. Seriously, eleven years here. It's amazing to me that I have lived here this long and NYC is the place I now call my home. This is especially crazy when I still get moments, quite often actually, where I have to pinch myself because I feel so lucky and grateful to live here.

I officially became a New Yorker last year when I hit the ten year mark. Even though I caught on pretty quickly on how to survive and succeed here, myself of any of my family members expected me to still be out here after all this time. But, I love this city. The architecture. The food. The opportunities. The pace. The energy. There is just something special about New York. Some people can't handle it, but I think I thrive on it and feed off it. It just suits me. As much as I love Chicago and my family there, New York has a hold on me and a very special place in my heart.

It has to be...33

Thirty-three. Damn. Yeah, you read that right, thirty-freaking-three. Le sigh. Where has the time gone? Seriously, I'm like almost 40. Ugh.

Everyone who knows me well knows that I am not a huge fan of my birthday. I don't like to celebrate it or bring attention to it if I don't have to. It's just another reminder that I am getting older (and am still alone) and no one really likes to be reminded of that. I guess the good thing is that I rarely actually realize how old I am. Seriously, I feel 23 most of the time, which I guess is a great thing  But when the reality hits me that I am indeed TEN years older than that, it can be slightly crushing. Yikes. But I do know there is still plenty of time to do, see, and experience so much.

Go(al)ing for it in 2015

Last year, right at the start of 2014, I made a list of goals I wanted to conquer during the year. By typing them out and putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboards), I was holding myself accountable. I also felt I was very realistic with my goals so it was upsetting that some of them were not reached. But all hope is not lost! There did happen to be some that I was able to accomplish and will keep up with but I did not achieve a majority of them and they are very much still works in progress.

Out of my eight goals, I was only able to really achieve two and a half of them. I was able to complete a five minute plank, I was able to get more involved with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation (CCFA), and I was more conscious of what types of food I was eating (that's why this counts as half), although not consistently. So two out of eight it was. Blah. Better than zero out of eight.

Holiday Happiness

Winter break is just around the corner and I for one, cannot wait. I need a break. I big one. I need to just lay around in my pajamas and not do anything for a few days.  (Or at least have the option to do that since I can't really do that for too long because I get antsy.) It's been a crazy few weeks with the holidays coming and basketball season in full swing now. It's been pretty great though as my team is now 5-0 and hopefully will remain unbeaten going into winter break. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, I have been trying to enjoy holiday time in New York as much as I can with everything else going on. It's one of the best times of the year here. (I feel like I say that about every time of year though.)  I love the changing seasons here and taking advantage of what the city has to offer. When my parents were here for Thanksgiving we obviously watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade which is always super fun. It was both their first times seeing it and I loved watching them watching it. Well, my mom at least since my dad wasn't so into it. It's okay, it totally wasn't his thing but he was a trooper. While they were here, we also looked at the holiday windows a bit and went to see the beginning of the set-up of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. It was a mob-scene even though the tree hadn't even been lit yet, but there were tons of tourists there to see what it was anyway and to ice-skate on the rink. Needless to say, it was C-R-O-W-D-E-D. Not so much my scene. I think in my first year in New York City I went to see the Christmas tree after it was lit and it was so crowded and unenjoyable, I hadn't gone back.

Also, I remember being totally underwhelmed by it as well. Needless to say, I was in no rush to go back. But after going with my parents, I realized I did want to see it again when it was all pretty and lit up. I had let enough time go without going to see it, so the time was now. But how would I do it without having to deal with the crowds?!? Then came my brilliant idea: I would run there. Yes, a destination run to Rockefeller Plaza! I would run there in the morning while its still dark out and get a glimpse of that beautiful tree.

Blogiversary Number Three!!!

Happy third birthday Someone Will Appreciate!! That's right, today is the third anniversary of my lovely little blog. Three years of my crazy, emotional, honest, and funny thoughts on so many different aspects of my life. One would think I'd run out of material....but nope! Sure, my writing goes in ebbs and flows and some moments drive me to write feverishly while others make it seem like I can't get the words right. However, each time I write, I feel better. It's therapeutic and cathartic for me. I love documenting all my thoughts and memories and can't believe its my third year doing so.

As I've done the last two anniversaries, I wanted to pick out my five favorite blog posts of the year (from August to August).  It was really hard picking out only five of my faves which I guess is a good sign. Sure I ran another marathon and went on another awesome trip this year, but there was so much other great stuff going on too that I really enjoyed writing about too. Perhaps you remember these, and perhaps not. Regardless, I hope you take a little trip down memory lane with me; it is my blog-birthday after all.

I run because...

Did you know that today is National Running Day? Yes, it's a real holiday. And yes, it's today! So Happy National Running Day to you and yours!

I celebrated my National Running Day as I usually do: waking up at the crack of dawn to get in my morning run. It completes me. Although it was super humid this morning and I had to cut my run short because of that (humidity is my kryptonite), it still helped jumpstart my day. My morning runs give me the energy I need to head to work with a smile on my face and some pep in my step. I even donned a new pair of running shoes on this morning's run making it even more of an event. Wearing new shoes is always fun, but when they are neon yellow, red, and black, its even more fun. Duh!

I CAN Make it Anywhere!

Well, it's finally happened...I'm officially a New Yorker. Today is the ten year anniversary of my big move to New York City. If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere, right? Well, I've made it suckas. Not that there was ever any doubt in my mind.

But really, this anniversary is a huge deal to me. Huge. Ten years is a long freaking time in a place where I was planning to just stay one year. A place I pretty much came to on a whim. A city where I knew no one and had only been to one time prior. It was a giant leap of faith that I took and sometimes I still have to pinch myself to believe I really did it and have been here ever since. It was one of the wisest decisions of my life and I couldn't be happier with my choice.