Friday Favorites

I've seen several blogs with variations of posts regarding what folks are obsessed with this week.

So, partially in an effort to blog more often, and partially to keep track of my madness, I present my first round of Friday Favorites ...  

My New iPhone

For those who missed the tale in April, my phone hit the concrete during an event in Santiago, Chile. Yes, it had s case on. No, it didn't matter that much. 

The thing went instantly dead and I tried reallllllly hard not to have a massive meltdown in the middle of a fencing tournament. 

FIVE days later, the thing revived itself ... Albeit with a screen that was pseudo-readable because it was now tinted green and had a massive black splotch where the wiring short circuited.

But AT&T wanted $800 for an upgrade. 

So I waited for three months to get my pretty new toy which arrived yesterday. 

And I love it. The design. The feel. The very very pretty screen. The fact that everything is bigger and I can actually read text messages without picking the phone up... 

(Ok, I probably could have just adjusted my settings on the last one, but whatever  ...) 

Now I need a case. 

I'd like to be an iPhone purist who goes caseless ... I'd also like to be independently wealthy. 

I've had the Speck card case before and quite loved it ... 

The case holds between three and four cards and can completely replace a wallet if you're just looking to throw your phone in a pocket. 

But I also kind of like the idea of a clear case, a la ... The Luvvitt, 

Clearly less protection. But just look at it ... 

Buy Me Brunch

This one is KK's fault. Several months ago she sent me a link to a shirt she told me I had to buy ... 

And I did. And it's fabulous. Perhaps not quite the language one can wear to work, but it's super soft and we all know that's one of my favorite Nicole-isms. 

And now the rest keep appearing on my FB feed... Including my two new favorites ... 

BuyMeBtunch.com ... Go. Visit. Try not to become addicted. 

Stitch Fix

I'm officially obsessed. Blanchard is to blame for this one, but I broke down in June and created a Stitch Fix account and now I'm on my second box. 

The premise goes like this ... You visit Stitch Fix, answer a gazillion questions and they send you a box with five items of clothing and / or accessories. 

I was more than a little skeptical at first, but it's $20 to have each box sent to you with free shipping and free returns. That's worth it for the pure entertainment value of seeing how someone else would dress you, right? 

If you keep anything in the box, the $20 comes off your total. If you keep all five things, the box is 25% off. Which means that it essentially means you get at least one free item. 

The best part is there's almost nothing in the box that you would have picked out for yourself (pretty much because we're all creatures of habit.) 

And it's almost impossible to get a box and not love at least one item. 

Or, in my case, three in the first box.

Now the second is here and I'm still debating. Might have to post photos and let y'all weigh in ... 

But first, as a sneak peek, I present my new clutch ... Which not only is not black, but is kind of adorable.

30 Days of Being on Time ... Ish

Technically this experiment ended on July 8, so I'm a bit behind on posting my results, but I'm also on a plane with no wifi and some time to kill, so here goes ... 

Full disclosure ... The point of this experiment was to be kinder to my friends who tend to be the most frequent victims of my late tendencies. 

Except the night before this game started I realized that, if I'm going all in, I should included being to the office at or before 8. 

Hands down that was the toughest part of the experiment. 

Being a PR girl means working lots of nights and weekends and being a morning person means I've usually drug the laptop out by 5:30 or 6 as I like working when it's quiet. I also don't know what leaving the office before 6 (or 7 or 8) looks like without a happy hour date. 

All of the stacks up to me not being an 8 a.m. at my desk kind of person. Which only really bothers people who are strict "I'm in at 8, out at 5 and take my 60 minutes for lunch every day, so help me God" folks. 

But I thought I'd try it. 

I sold myself on the idea that perhaps if I was in early I really would get to run during lunch and leave the office at a sane hour. 

Perhaps this experiment would help in the oft-discussed "quest for work life balance."

Right. And perhaps hell will freeze over too. 

What I learned is that there is something to be said for coming in early. I kinda liked it. And I learned that it was doable if I pared down my to-do list and didn't start working at the house first. 

That last part means I'm not sure being in early actually meant I was getting more done at all. It just meant I was getting a comparable amount of work done with more time in an office a setting. Which means little to me, but perhaps it's worth something to someone else. 

The reality was that I still rarely took a normal lunch break and was usually still the last one out for the day. 

Then again, it was June and, with several massive events coming up, the notion of getting out at 5 (or even 6) is laughable at best. Perhaps I should try again on that notion in August when things are less crazy. 

As far as socially, I did ok. 

I got to surprise my friends by being on time frequently, though I wasn't perfect by any stretch. 

And I realized that my biggest issue is having a tendency to want to do "just one more thing" on my way out the door which is always the kiss of death. 

I also have a tendency to make time guesstimates based on highly ideal circumstances rather than reality. 

As in ...

"Oh, it will take me 10 minutes to get there."

Sure. If you don't hit any stoplights and there's no traffic and you get rock star parking.

Otherwise it's 20 and you should just accept that up front. 

I was pleased to find that time itself was my biggest problem rather than the notion others have thrown out in the blogosphere that late people are uncaring assholes who make conscious decisions that other people can wait. 

Quite the contrary. Usually whatever I was trying to cram in was for someone else or I didn't want to appear rude and cut someone off and say "sorry, gotta go or else I'm going to be late."

The question of whether I'll stick with it has yet to be answered as the past few weeks have been spent in the concrete box where there are few appointments or concepts of time beyond "get there before things start" and "music is playing, must run to medals."

But we shall see ... 

The On Time Challenge

"To be early is to be on time.

To be on time is to be late.

To be late is to be dead ... Or at least to run laps."

With the number of times I heard this in high school, you'd think I'd either be the most punctual person ever ... Or at least I'd be hella skinny. 

Clearly neither of these things are true. 

Recently, a friend posted a rant on Facebook about people who are always late. 

And, unfortunately, it rang a wee but true on my end. 

And while I wouldn't say "always," I would say "more often than I like."

So, since spending 30 days doing lunges or squats or planks is all the rage, I decided to make a valiant effort to be on time for 30 days. June 8 - July 7.

My apologies in advance to anyone I make plans with on July 8 when I might appear half a day late just to get back in a good rhythm. 

Kidding. 

Sort of. 

So parameters for this experiment... "On time" refers to anything with a set time of when I'm supposed to be someplace. 

"Time" as defined in relation to catching flights is simply making the plane. I know some of you would like to see me say I'll be at the airport 90 minutes early or some such nonsense. Please. Let's taper off the crazy sauce. 

"Time" is also when I actually have to be somewhere, not when something unrelated to me starts. For example, check-in at SN is at 7 a.m. I don't work check-in. Therefore, no giving me grief about whether I'm hanging out 90 minutes before competition starts. 

It does mean that I won't (hopefully) be sending my breakfast compatriot text messages with how I want my eggs from the elevator because I barely have enough time to shovel food in my face. 

Stay tuned for updates ... Or, if you've also got issues in this area, feel free to join me with this one! (And judge away, but this could benefit a solid 80% of you ...) Muahahaha ... 

The Reading Challenge

The Reading Challenge 

When I was a kid, I used to read like a champ. 

I learned to read at some ridiculous age (like 2) and, by kindergarten, I was packing down novels. 

While kids with coordination played t-ball and such, I would go to the library every summer, check out the max they would let me have (12 I think) and tear through them well before my three weeks were up. 

Then came college. And work. And, whether I want to admit it or not, smart phones. 

All of which meant I went from a rabid reader to maybe a couple books a year. 

Which I became quickly conscious of when I was traveling with a coworker a few weeks ago and she mentioned that she'd just finished her 75th book of the year. 

Curious, I pulled open GoodReads and found my total. 

Four. 

In 50 weeks. 

That's just sad. 

And so ... Since it's time to start working on the resolution list ... No. 1 for 2015 shall be to read 61 books. 

This is probably obscenely ambitious, but gotta shoot for the stars, right? 

Today is Jan. 3 and I'm now one down with 60 to go. 

Perhaps that one was technically started in 2014, but it still counts. 

And, for those wondering, Amy Poehler's Yes Please is absolutely fabulous.