Networking: Can It Help You Get a Job?

I really don’t have the time or the money to attend trade shows right now… or so I tell myself. After all, I need to focus my time and energy on finding a job, and I shouldn’t be spending money when there isn’t any money coming in. That may sound logical at face value, but the reality is that I am really struggling to find a good architecture job in Chicago. I don’t really know any architects in the city and I think most of the jobs get filled before they ever find their way online. I have been checking the job boards for a long time now… daily. The jobs just aren’t showing up.

In April, I joined my local Toastmasters club and I’m now working my way through Level 3 of my first Pathways program. Turns out one of the elective projects is all about networking. I decided to ramp my networking game into high gear. There were 2 trade shows coming up in the Chicago area that were right in my budget (free), Chicago Build Expo and Design Chicago, so I signed up for both of them. I will have to take the train and spend 2 full days at each, so there is a small expense of money (under $100) and time, so I’ve really got to make this worthwhile.

The first show was the Chicago Build Expo and I checked out all the info about it online. There were 3 large conference stages and 2 smaller workshop stages, all of which were running informative programs all day each day. To make it easier, they had divided the programs into “summits” and there were several that sounded appealing: architecture, sustainability, and BIM/digital construction. I looked at who was presenting and there were actually several presenters from the architecture firms I would be interested in working for. I started planning my schedule, noting which presentations I wanted to attend, what stages they were on, and which presenters I would like to make contact with.

In our Toastmasters officer training in July, I learned that we should always show up at an event with expectations in order to make the most of it. I’ve talked about creating SMART goals before, and these need expectations need to be turned into goals that are just that: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.

• GOAL: Share information with at least 20 individuals per day
  • RESULT: I came home with exactly 40 business cards over the course of 2 days. Of those 40, 27 look to actually be pretty promising.
• COAL: Make at least 5 new contacts each day. For these purposes, I’ll define contacts as someone who I connect with on LinkedIn. They can contribute to my future career in some way, or I can help in their career in some way.
  • RESULT: I have already added 19 new contacts to LinkedIn over the weekend and have more invitations out that I hope to hear back on next week. This far exceeds my goal.
• GOAL: Connect with 5 specific individuals, who are speaking at the event and work at some of my top 10 firms. No, I’m not a stalker, I swear!
  • RESULT: I spoke directly with all 5. Of those, I have connected with 3 on LinkedIn already and have invitations sent to the other 2.
• GOAL: Get 4 interviews out of the contacts made from each show within 6 weeks.
  • RESULT: This remains to be seen. I will cultivate my new network over the next month (and beyond) and hopefully I will end up with a couple interviews out of it. I did connect with 6 people directly in charge of hiring though and 4 of those work in some of my top 10 firms.
• GOAL: Sit in at least 2 informative sessions each day that can help me study for the ARE or that will ultimately help me become a better architect. NOTE: They are giving continuing education credits for some sessions and I can use those hours towards my intern hour requirement.
  • RESULT: I sat in 6 sessions and gained a lot of knowledge to improve my own skills and what qualities I can offer a firm. I have about 6 pages of notes as well.
• GOAL: Get in the habit of getting up and taking the train in and out of the city each day.
  • RESULT: I actually kind of like taking the train. It’s nice to have a little break when you can’t be spending every minute taking care of your to-do list.

I spent some time studying and working my way through the Toastmasters networking unit to prepare myself for the event, stocked up on business cards, and got myself a 10-ride train ticket. I’m usually good at chatting with people, but turning that into a contact and then keeping touch afterwards is not my forte, so I promised myself I would work on a plan the day after, so that I can stay connected to my new contacts in a way that is meaningful to both of us.

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want”

–Zig Ziglar

I ended up setting up a Google streak pipeline on Saturday in order to remind myself to maintain contact with my new contacts. I’ll try and get a quick tutorial created on how I chose to set it up, so you guys can copy the format if it works well. There’s no sense in reinventing the wheel. I got all the new contacts in and set up, along with reminders to connect again in 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, and then every year after that. This will challenge me to continuously find something I can offer my contacts, in order to justify those follow-up emails. While I think it’s fine to occasionally ask my network for help, I think it’s best to offer help at least 80% of the time and only ask 20%.

Since I was setting up the pipeline anyway, it reminded me to put in my other professional contacts, many of whom I now consider friends. In went my former classmates and professors, members of Toastmasters that I’ve newly met in the last year, and several other individuals who are in professions related to architecture. This way, I can also be reminded to stay in contact with the people who are already important fixtures in my life.

I walked to and from the event space, getting some much needed exercise, and waited until I got home to eat, since I intermittent fast anyway that wasn’t a problem. It turns out, walking in Chicago in the summer is actually quite lovely and I really enjoyed myself.

I think over the course of a lifetime, those 27 new individuals will come to be worth much more that the $40 I spent on the train tickets there and back, so I will call this event a success. I am now looking forward to another successful event coming up in 2 weeks. I will take some of the lessons I learned last week and hone my networking skills before then. Hopefully I will find that all of my networking will, in fact, one day soon get me my dream job.

 

2019 Road Trip – Day 9: Cleveland

We started our last day on the road with a great complimentary breakfast at our hotel. The Residence Inn by Marriot in Mentor, OH was a fantastic place to stay and we would have liked to spend more time there.

CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

Our first excursion in the Cleveland area was to visit Ohio’s only National Park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which is about a 30 minute drive south of the city. This National Park offers free admission, so it was right in our budget. We only wanted to spend a couple hours there, so we headed to the Boston Store Visitors Center to ask what we absolutely shouldn’t miss. I recommend doing this first because there are 125 miles of trails and you could easily spend a week or two seeing it all. Our guide told us to focus our energy on the Ledges trail and it was the perfect morning hike for us.

First we went to see the Ledges Overlook. The rock formations were beautiful and the view over the Ohio countryside was fantastic.

Next we doubled back through the parking lot and headed down the trail towards the Ice Box Cave. The cave itself was closed to protect the bats, but the trail took us through an amazing labyrinth of moss covered rock formations that glowed like the Emerald City in Oz when the sun hit them just right. This was an easy hike, but does have quite a few stairs at the end, so be prepared. My knees managed to hold up ok.

WEST SIDE MARKET

By the time we found our way back to the parking lot, we were ready for lunch. In the Cleveland area, one of the coolest places to go for lunch is the West Side Market. We had a great time walking around the market and picking up small bites from various vendors for lunch. I stuck to a Parisian themed lunch of savory crepe and macaroons and enjoyed every bite. We took our epicurean treasures outside to an area of tables across the street. Note that you can park in the market parking lot free for 90 minutes, but after that it is $1/hour. Our market adventure cost us $1 + food.

We left the market stuffed and satisfied and started making our was home. We made a quick stop in Angola, IN for dinner at Applebees along the way, but otherwise drove straight through. It was getting late in the day and we wanted to get home before midnight. We arrived home at 9:30 and were unpacked and in bed by 10:30 after a thoroughly enjoyable vacation.

Our final stats for the 2019 Road Trip:

• Elapsed time: 9 days, 8 nights
• States visited: 6 (Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania)
• Major Cities visited: 2 (Cleveland, Buffalo, Salem, Boston, New York, Allentown, Pittsburgh)
• Miles driven: 2,590
• Steps taken: 85,536 (I had good step days and then days we were mostly in the car where I only got around 4,000. The overall average was 9,504 steps/day… not bad.)
• Attractions/Sites visited: over 20+
• National Park Sites Visited: 7
• State Parks Sites Visited: 5
• Hard Rock Shot Glasses added to collection: 4 (Boston, Connecticut, Bronx NYC, Pittsburgh – we also visited Niagara Falls HRC but we already have a glass from there)
• Budget: $2200 ($2199.47 actually spent)

2019 Road Trip – Day 6: Boston

Today was the most ambitious sight seeing day of our trip… downtown Boston. More specifically, we planned to walk the entire 5-mile (online sources say it’s 2.5, but my step counter said otherwise) Freedom Trail that winds through the city. There is a red brick line that traverses the city, beginning at Boston Common, which takes you past many of the historic sites located throughout the city.

It is a self-guided tour; trail maps and information are available around town, online, or even in app form, so there’s no excuse not to know what you are looking at. There are brass disks along the red line that alert you when you need to look at your guide to see something specific. The rest of the time, you can just follow the line and enjoy strolling through a vibrant city, no GPS required.

BOSTON COMMON

We parked in the garage under Boston Common, a budgeted expense. It was the most convenient place to park to start the trail. Plan to start early because if you want to complete the trail it will likely take you all day. Boston Common is a America’s oldest park, established in 1634, that was once used as a grazing area for residents’ livestock. The 44-acre park includes a lake with beautiful swan boats and lots of fun activities throughout the year.

MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE

The trail begins by taking us through the park and up to the current Massachusetts State House, built in 1798. The sparkling gold dome is gilt in 23k gold and can be seen from locations throughout Boston, capping off a beautiful, impressive building. It sits on the site where John Hancock once lived. The State House is available for tours on weekdays, and they are free, but we opted to save that for something we might do when we returned to the car, admired the exterior, and continued on.

PARK STREET CHURCH

We continue around the park for about a block before coming to the Park Street Church. That’s how the Freedom Trail works; sometimes you walk a few steps to get from one thing to the next and sometimes it’s quite a long stretch, so just be flexible and enjoy the journey. The church was built in 1809 and was the site of the first Sunday school in 1818. The iconic 217-foot-tall steeple used to be the first thing you would see when you approached Boston.

GRANERY BURYING GROUND

As we continue onward, we come to the Granery Burying Ground. Famous residents include Paul Revere, three signers of the Declaration of Independence and Mary (Mother) Goose. As interesting as cemeteries may be to some people, they aren’t particularly to us, so we didn’t take the time to wander among the graves, just observed from the sidewalk and moved along.

KING’S CHAPEL & KING’S HILL BURYING GROUND

With a congregation established in 1686, The quincy marble King’s Chapel building was built in 1754. Paul Revere recast their bell in 1816 and claimed it was, “the sweetest bell I ever made”. The same congregation still uses the church today. You can go inside for free, although they do request a donation, but the inside was jam packed today, so we decided to move along. As much as I may long to tour these structures endlessly inside and out, my fiancé really doesn’t enjoy that. There are key important places coming up that I really want to tour, so I’m choosing to wait for those. If we have time at the end of the day, we can always come back to some of these other spots of interest. There is a graveyard, King’s Hill Burying Ground, attached to the church that seems to entice visitors as well. They seem pretty proud of their residents, but again, we aren’t really big on cemeteries so… moving on.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN STATUE & BOSTON LATIN SCHOOL

Founded in 1935, The Boston Latin School was the oldest school in the US (then known as the colonies) and is still in operation today. The original building no longer stands and the school has moved to another location, but there is a lovely sidewalk hopscotch mosaic depicting the site. There is also a statue of one of it’s more famous students, Benjamin Franklin. Other well-known alumni include Samuel Adams, John Hancock and John Adams.

One of my favorite parts of the location was the Starbucks adjacent to the site. You may have noticed I’m a bit of a coffee nut and I hadn’t had my morning brew yet. Time for a pit stop.

OLD CORNER BOOKSTORE

Coffee in hand, we continue along the red brick road until we come to the famous Chipotle… I mean, the Old Corner Bookstore. The brick structure, constructed in 1712, is one of Boston’s oldest surviving buildings. Continuously used as a commercial site, at one point in it’s history the building was the headquarters for a famous publishing house and attracted a collection of famous authors like Nathaniel Hawthorn, Harriet Beecher-Stowe, Charles Dickens and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Literature, poetry and politics were among the subjects discussed within the upper rooms.

OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE

If you pivot your gaze from the Old Corner Bookstore, you’ll see a brick church. This is the Old South Meeting House. This building, built in 1729, was a meeting location for the Sons of Liberty. On December 16, 1773 they met here and later dumped tea in the Boston Harbor…  better known as The Boston Tea Party. Paul Revere also cast the bell in this tower in 1801. There are 46 remaining Paul Revere bells, many located somewhere in the Boston Area. There is an admission fee to go inside, so again, we tabled that as a possibility for later and walked on.

OLD STATE HOUSE

After walking a few blocks, you come around the back of the Old State House. As soon as I stopped to take a picture, several people stopped and told me, “it looks much better from the front”. They were right.

The front façade of the 1713 building is decorated with statues of both a lion and a unicorn. The Old State House was the epicenter of civic debate in colonial Boston and the Declaration of Independence was first read from the balcony in 1776, a tradition they still continue every year. The original lion and unicorn were destroyed after the first reading; a tradition that doesn’t happen any more.

SITE OF BOSTON MASSACRE

Right out front of the Old State House is a marker for the site of the Boston Massacre, which took place March 5, 1770. On this date a group of men were harassing the British soldier guarding the Custom House 9remember from our day in Salem (that would be where goods were kept that came into port). Other soldiers came to his aid and the crowd of 60+ men grew restless and started throwing snowballs, rocks and other objects at the soldiers. One of the objects hit a soldier in such a way that it discharged his weapon, firing into the crowd. The other soldiers quickly fired into the crowd as well, ultimately killing a total of 5 men, depicted by the 5-pointed star in the center of the marker. The incident was used a propaganda to fuel the patriots’ cause.

FANEUIL HALL

I visited Boston once before with my folks when I was a teenager and I absolutely love Faneuil Hall. It is a beautiful building. Unfortunately, the outside is having some restoration work done and is completely covered in blue sheeting. The site is known for the protests and meetings that were held there prior to the revolution. At this point it really seems that patriots were meeting all over town and arguing to whomever would listen. The National Parks Service maintains the building now, so we added a few more stamps to our passport book. Be sure to go upstairs to the meeting hall and then even further upstairs to the museum. It’s all free, so get in there and poke around. There are a few familiar paintings of George Washington in the building, so make a point to see them as well.

QUINCY MARKET & REPLICA CHEERS BAR

After Faneuil Hall, we veered off the red line for a bit and took in the fun and excitement that is Quincy Market, also Known as Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Quincy market is located just behind Faneuil Hall and is a bustling and busy indoor/outdoor neighborhood market. There are restaurants, stores and little stalls. The North and South hall buildings on either side continue the market-feel.

Our purpose in visiting the market was to see the replica Cheers Bar they’ve recently added. My fiance and I are both fans of the old tv show. We sat in Norm and Cliff’s chairs and had a beer… well, my fiancé had a beer and I had a water. The replica bar is fun for fans of the show and also really touristy. Know that you are going to pay top dollar for your drinks here.

 

HARD ROCK CAFE BOSTON

Since we were all ready in full tourist mode after the Cheers Bar, we stayed off the red line long enough to have lunch at the Hard Rock Café in Boston, across the street from the North Hall. This is probably one of my favorite Hard Rock Cafes that I’ve visited. Their wall of cymbals was really stunning. After fueling up, we were ready to make our was back to the Freedom Trail and continue our walk through history. We only veered off by about a block, so it wasn’t hard to pick back up.

PAUL REVERE HOUSE

Its a bit of a walk before you get to the House of Paul Revere. It’s a cute, modest, little black house built in 1680 and reminded us of the historic homes we saw a coupe days ago in Salem. You can visit the inside, for a fee, but we didn’t stop. The house currently occupies a spot on the edge of Boston’s Little Italy, which is a great neighborhood to stroll through, and not just because of the amazing smells coming out of every building. We saw a lot of people carrying little white pastry boxes with blue writing from Mike’s Pastry. I have since learned that this is THE place to get cannoli. I wish I would have known before our trip because I would definitely have planned a stop. Guess you’ll have to go and eat an extra one for me.

OLD NORTH CHURCH & PAUL REVERE STATUE

After a wonderful walk through the scents of Little Italy, we came to one of the most photographed things in Boston, the statue of Paul Revere. It is well place, at the end of a public park (prado), with the Old North Church steeple rising above it in the distance. I’m sure you remember the story from your history books, or from my Minute Man NP blog post yesterday. On the evening of April 18, 1775 the British soldiers left Boston to visit Concord to look for weapons and military supplies. There were two routes they could have taken; the longer route which included a land crossing or the shorter route over sea. A signal was planned ahead of time to alert the patriots as to how the British were coming, “one if by land, two if by sea”. They chose the sea route and Paul Revere arranged for two lanterns to be hung in the tower of the Old North Church (build in 1723 and the oldest church building in Boston) before mounting his horse and alerting the countryside that, “the regulars are out”. Again, read my post from our visit to Concord if that wording seems off to you. The church used to be free to enter, but the upkeep required from so many tourist visits required them to start charging admission.

COPP’S HILL BURYING GROUND

Up the hill from the church is the third and final cemetery on the Freedom Trail, the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. There are some notable residents, including the man who actually hung the lanterns in the Old North Church tower. Robert Newman is a name our history books never mention. I always believed it Paul Revere who hung the lanterns, but learned on this trip that wasn’t the case. He had other tasks that night and left the lantern display in the hands of Robert Newman.

USS CONSTITUTION, USS CASSIN YOUNG & CHARLESTOWN NAVAL YARD

From the burying ground it is a bit of hike across the river to get to the Charlestown Naval Yard and home of the oldest ship in the US Navy, the 1797 USS Constitution. The wooden ship was nicknamed “old Ironsides” after never losing a battle in the war of 1812 and changing the was the US Navy strategized during battle. The ship was so strong that cannon balls would bounce off it and that allowed the crew to save their ammunition until they got much closer and were able to cause significantly more damage to enemy ships. It is free to board and tour the ship, but you will need a valid ID and will go through security, so leave and pocket knives or other potential weapons at home that day.

The USS Cassin Young sits in striking opposition to the USS Constitution. This grey, all-metal beast fought in World War II. It was really cool to see the difference between these two vessels that fought a little over 100 years apart. And yet in many ways they are the same. Aside from the materials used, technology is the main difference between the two vessels. The USS Cassin Young boasts state of the art typewriters, telegraphs and radios… all the modern conveniences of it’s time. Both of these ships seem outdated by today’s standards and seeing them side-by-side is a great reminder of that.

The museum charges a fee and it was getting late into the afternoon, so we didn’t go in, but they do have a passport book stamp at the entrance, which we added to our book.

BUNKER HILL MONUMENT

After leaving the ship yard, we make our way to the final stop on the Freedom Trail, the Bunker Hill Monument, which appropriately sits atop Bunker Hill. The monument was added to the hill in 1843 and bears a striking resemblance to the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. There is a museum located across the street where you can get a pass to climb the 294 steps to the top. My poor knees weren’t about to do that, so we simply viewed it from the bottom. We did visit the museum to add to our passport stamps though.

So what is the significance of Bunker Hill? After the defeat of the British soldiers on their retreat from Concord, militia men from all over began to assemble in the area and a battle ensued on June 17, 1775. The colonists learned the British were planning to secure the local hills in an effort to control the harbor and secretly took up places on Breed’s Hill and Bunker Hill in the night. The colonists won the first two battles for the hills, but ultimately had to retreat when they ran out of ammunition during the third battle. While the British technically won the battle, they lost more lives than the militia men and it was proven that the undisciplined patriot forces were not going to be quite so easy to defeat. This changed the way the British strategized in future battles and may have helped the colonists ultimately win the war.

BULFINCH PUB (EXTERIOR USED FOR CHEERS TV SHOW)

By the time we finished at Bunker Hill, we had walked 5 miles. The Freedom Trail may be 2.5 miles as the crow flies, but plan to do a lot more walking than that if you want to see anything. My knees had hit their limit and were screaming in pain, and I desperately wanted to just take an Uber back to Beacon Hill, but we decided to walk. The walk wasn’t terrible and eventually we ended up across the street from Boston Common at the old Bulfinch Pub. They used the exterior of this location as the exterior of Cheers Bar in the tv series. I usually try to avoid people in my photos, especially close up, but here it was entirely unavoidable. “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name,” but I didn’t know any of the people in these photos. The area was crowded with tourists, but a cool piece of our television viewing past and we wanted to see it.

We thought about eating dinner in the replica bar they’ve constructed upstairs (in what would have been Melville’s), but there want anywhere to sit. Instead we wandered into the Beacon Hill neighborhood and found a quaint little restaurant (read: expensive) for dinner. After dinner it was back to the car and goodbye to Boston. We headed back to our hotel for one last night before heading home.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE

Today was a lot of walking for my bad knees. According to my Apple Watch, I hit 20,700 steps (about 8-1/2 miles) today. If you have any type of mobility issues, consider investing in the Trolley Tour. Much like the tour in Salem, it allows you to get off and on wherever you would like throughout the day.

2019 Road Trip – Day 3: Salem

Today we devoted a whole day to visiting Salem, Massachusetts There is a lot of history there beyond just the famous witch trials the town is remembered for. Much like it’s neighbor, Boston, Salem has a red line running around throughout the town. Unlike Boston, there is no indicator of where you should stop and look at things, so be prepared ahead of time and know what you want to see. We managed just fine with the research I did prior to our trip. You can also take a trolley tour, but we planned to keep this trip simple and keep our costs low whenever possible. Salem isn’t all that big and it’s easy to walk around if you have the energy and a full day.

SALEM MARITIME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE: THE FRIENDSHIP, CUSTOM HOUSE AND PUBLIC STORES

The first thing we did in Salem was visit the National Park office at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. We purchased a National Parks passport book before our trip and we were really excited to get our first stamp in it. Turns out the office has stamps for many of the sites we were planning to see in Salem.

With the stamping done, we boarded The Friendship, a replica ship modeled after a 1797 East Indiaman. At the time of our visit, they were doing some work and none of the masts were on the ship, so it lacked some of it’s charm. However, it was still interesting to walk through. The boat it is modelled after would make voyages all over the world. It’s hard to imagine being in that small, confined space for months on end. The replica ship is not just a tourist attraction; it is also a sea-worthy coast guard vessel.

The Custom House is celebrating it’s 200-year anniversary this year. It did exactly what you might assume from the name… housed the US customs offices for the port of Salem. It was designed to look impressive and imposing and everything from windows to doors are oversized to accomplish this feat. There was a fireplace in every room… an unnecessary extravagance in that time, but again done to show off the country’s extraordinary wealth. The similarly detailed Public Stores building next door was simply a place for the customs office to store goods until people were able to pay their customs bill. It’s significantly more aesthetically pleasing than our modern storage facilities. It is normally open to the public, but was not at the time of our visit.

There is no admission fee to either board The Friendship or to tour the Custom House and Public Stores. Our National Parks make sure everyone is able to experience these wonderfully upkept historic places without hardship.

THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES

We left the National Park Site and followed the red line through the historic Derby Wharf neighborhood until we came to The House of the Seven Gables, built in 1668 by ship owner, John Turner and later cemented in history in a novel of the same name. I have always been an active reader, but have to confess I’ve never read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel about a cursed family living here. I now have it on my list of things to read. The dark, foreboding look of the house would lend well to such a suspenseful story. You can pay a fee to go inside, but with neither of us knowing the story, we were content just to observe the exterior.

SALEM MARITIME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE: WEST INDIA GOODS STORE, DERBY HOUSE, AND NARBONNE HOUSE

We didn’t follow the red line all the way down to the ferry docks after the House of the Seven Gables. Instead we retraced our steps back to check out the other buildings included in the National Parks Historic Site. The West India Goods Store, Derby House and Narbonne House are all very cool, historic buildings that you can walk up to and around, but cannot venture inside. The grounds behind the Derby House contain a lovely garden that invites visitors to detour from their path and enjoy a moment with nature.

 

The West India Goods Store was build shortly after 1800 by Captain Henry Prince and likely began it’s history as a warehouse for goods from his overseas travels. The Derby House, next door, was built in 1762 as a wedding present for Elias Hasket and Elizabeth Crowninshield Derby and later belonged to Capt. Henry Prince. The Narbonne House was built in 1675 and is a good example of middle class architecture from that time period. Subsequent additions to the property included conveniences like a kitchen and bathroom.

HAWTHORNE HOTEL

We continued to follow the red line and it brought us alongside the Hawthorne Hotel. It is a beautiful Historic Hotel built in the 1920s. Much as I would have loved to poke around inside, I’d planned for us to spend a good chunk of the afternoon wandering around the McIntire Architectural District and my fiancé has a limit to his tolerance for looking at buildings. I figured an interior tour of the hotel might just send him over the edge.

CROW HAVEN CORNER

You may have noticed we’ve made it through most of the morning touring this historic town without even a mention of all things witchy. That is at an end. Our first witchy stop in Salem was the Crow Haven Corner, known for being the oldest witch shop in Salem. They have a small shop and lots of potential activities to participate in, from readings to a witch walk through town. We were content to just browse the shop and leave with a few select crystals to add to our collection.

OLD TOWN HALL

Next we made our way to the Old Town Hall, a federalist-style building dating back to 1816. They have converted the inside of the historic building into an informative exhibit showcasing the history of Salem, it’s more notable events, and it’s prominent citizens; all displayed on lovely fabric panels. It allows you to walk through and learn as much, or as little, about the town as you wish. Admission was only $3/person and the information inside was well worth the cost.

THE BEWITCHED STATUE

The red line will take you past the Bewitched Statue of tv character Samantha Stevens, played by Elizabeth Montgomery. Apparently the 1960s show filmed quite a bit in Salem during their 1970 season and in the early 2000s, TV Land donated the statue to the town. It’s small, displayed in a cute little park, and has apparently become one of the most photographed sites in Salem. I don’t really think it looks much like her, but the red line we’re following goes right past it, so why not stop and rub her nose (apparently common practice) for good luck and snap a quick photo?

THE WITCH HOUSE

After only a couple blocks, we came to the Witch House. This house is the only building still standing in Salem that has any connection to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. One of the judges , Jonathan Corwin, from the trials lived here. Corwin was a wealthy man and the home was considered quite extravagant for it’s time. Of course, you can tour the inside for a reasonable fee if you so desire… they do need to pay for upkeep. We weren’t particularly interested in the interior and just took a look at the exterior before moving on.

ROPES MANSION AND GARDEN

At this point, we left the red line and continued on Essex Street for the architecture portion of our day. The first house we came to (just a few steps beyond the Witch House) was the well-known Ropes Mansion, built in 1768. It is instantly recognizable, as Allison’s home, to fans of  the Disney movie Hocus Pocus. While the house itself is fun for movie fans to see, and a beautiful example of Georgian Colonial architecture, the true magic lies behind the house in the garden, which is open to the public. The house was not open during our visit, but the gardens are not to be missed; tranquil and filled with color, providing lots of spots for photography or relaxation.

MCINTIRE HISTORIC ARCHITECTURAL DISTRICT

The Ropes Mansion is just the beginning of the beautiful McIntire Historic Architectural District. We spent some time wandering through many blocks of this area. Each historic home has a plaque with information about when it was built, for whom, when it was renovated, and other pertinent details. The future architect in me loved the architectural history of the place, but beyond that it was just a lovely neighborhood for a stroll. The buildings are mostly privately owned and lived in, so don’t expect to go inside them, but they have managed to preserve the historical character of the neighborhood extremely well, right down to the brick sidewalks that feel authentic. There is a brochure available to download for more information about some of the more important buildings in the area if you want a more official tour, but we were content just to wander through time and enjoy ourselves.

THE SALEM WITCH TRIAL MEMORIAL & OLD BURYING POINT CEMETERY

After a very late lunch, we continued on to the visitors center, located back in the shopping area of town. Our goal was to regroup, watch a film on the history of Salem (free, runs on the hour on even hours throughout the day) and check my list to see if there were any sights on it we might have overlooked. Turns our we had overlooked quite an important site in the history of the city, the Salem Witch Trial Memorial adjacent to the Old Burying Point Cemetery. The memorial contains 20 stone benches containing the names, dates and methods of execution for those put to death during the infamous witch trials of 1692. The memorial itself is not that old, dating back to only 1992. It has found an appropriate location next to the Old Burying Point Cemetery, since no one knows where the bodies of most of the victims actually lie.

SALEM WITCHCRAFT VICTIMS MEMORIAL

We were on our way back to the hotel when we passed a park with a large memorial in it. We decided to double back and found the Salem Witchcraft Victims Memorial. This memorial was also dedicated in 1992, but includes the information about 5 additional victims who perished in jail awaiting trial. I found it interesting that many of my Facebook friends thought the accused in Salem were burned at the stake. That was not the case, they were mostly hanged or died in jail awaiting trial, with the notable exception of 80+ year-old Mr. Giles Corey, who was “pressed to death”. When he refused to participate in the trials, they put a board on his chest and placed heavy rocks on it. He survived this way for 2 days before becoming a victim to the torture. It’s important to also note here that not all the victims were women either, another common misconception.

 

We really enjoyed our day in Salem. Overall, there is a distinct touristy vibe to the place if you prefer that route and there are many ways you can spend your time and especially your money. There are witch museums, witch dungeons and even pirate museums (Salem is a port after all), but we managed to get a broad feel and understanding of the place, the history, and the people of Salem with only time, prior research, and very little expense. The type of journey you choose to take is entirely up to you.

We walked just over 5-1/2 miles total, about 14,000 steps for me, so if walking that much is difficult, you might want to at least consider the trolley as a justifiable expense. The trolley allows you to get on and off at locations throughout town to explore a little more on your own and does provide you with a knowledgeable tour guide. For most people, 5+ miles is a typical day of walking at a casual pace and shouldn’t be too strenuous.

2019 Road Trip – Day 1: Harrison Lake State Park, Presque Isle State Park, Niagara Falls State Park

It’s that time of year again when we hit the road on a new adventure. This year, we’re road tripping to Massachusetts. We’ll take two days to get there and three days to get back, leaving us with 4 full days in the Boston area.

HARRISON LAKE STATE PARK

We hit the road in Michigan City, IN early this morning, despite a short night sleep and needed a little extra caffeine boost to get us going. If you’ve followed my other road trips, you know that I prefer stretching my legs at points of interest rather than at roadside rest stops. Our first leg stretch of a long travel day was at Harrison Lake State Park, just off the turnpike in Ohio. All state parks in Ohio (and many throughout the US) are free to enter, so they make a great place to get out and take in some natural views while stretching those leg muscles. Harrison Lake SP was a perfect place for just that. We took a little walk, looked at the lake, and got back on the road within 30 minutes.

PRESQUE ISLE STATE PARK

By the time we hit our next leg stretch spot, we were out of Ohio and into Pennsylvania. Presque Isle State Park is it’s own island off the coast of Erie, PA and was an opportunity for us to get up close and personal with Lake Erie. During our 2018 Road Trip, we visited three of the five Great Lakes and we’ll get to the other two on this trip, starting today. Presque Isle SP is also free to enter, but would be quite a lovely place to rent a bike for an afternoon. It was a blustery and chilly day for August, so we drove around the whole park, but didn’t spend a lot of time actually on the beach. Just as well, because we only had 1/2 hour scheduled before we needed to get back on the road in order to stick to our schedule.

NIAGARA FALLS STATE PARK

Our final destination of the evening was Niagara Falls State Park in New York. This has been something I’ve always wanted to see, but my fiancé already saw it 20+ years ago, so I didn’t think it would make it on our agenda. Fortunately, it is almost exactly halfway between our home and Boston, so it was a logical place to spend our first night. We decided to make it just an hour visit this trip and come back for a more extended visit on the Canadian side at another time. The Falls are beautiful and we arrived about an hour before sunset, so the sky had that lovely afternoon glow… perfect for pictures! An hour was enough time to visit both falls and take, according to my fiancé, “a million pictures” at each. Make sure to accompany that previous sentence with an overly emphasized eye roll for the proper effect. Obviously we both enjoy different aspects of our journeys together and that is ok.

HARD ROCK CAFE NIAGARA FALLS

My fiancé collects Hard Rock shot glasses, as you may remember from an earlier post. He already has one from his last visit to Niagara Falls, but we visited the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls anyway because we were starving and he wasn’t in the mood for Indian food, which is in abundance around the Falls.

We finished off the night by finding a cheap Budget Inn outside Buffalo to crash at for the evening. It was cheap, clean and the staff was nice. It wasn’t somewhere I’d make a point to revisit, but it suited it’s purpose and I wouldn’t be sad to find myself spending a night there again on a future road trip.  They also had really strong coffee in the morning, which I greatly appreciate.

 

The 2019 Road Trip: Time to Plan

It’s that time of year again…. when the fiancée gets restless at work and we find ourselves hitting the road for a much needed vacation. Now if I was really motivated, I’d start planning trips ahead of time (knowing he’s going to drop the “I want a vacation” bomb on me with only a week or two to plan) but I haven’t gotten to that point yet. Instead, I find myself once again planning a last minute road trip with only 2-weeks notice. Fortunately I’ve got the planning process down to a science.

One of the reasons I don’t plan ahead is that I never really know where he’s going to want to go. You may ask why he gets to choose and not me? For one thing, he’s the one paying. For another thing, if you’ve been to my bucket list page, you may notice I want to see pretty much everywhere in the world, so it’s very likely that I also want to go see whatever he chooses. This year it happenes to be Salem and Boston, Massachusetts.

You may find the idea of planning a trip like this to be pretty daunting, especially since I’ve been given a very tight budget of $2000 for a 9-day trip! Let me break down my planning process for you.

First… is it doable? I look at the cost of driving (it’s about 1000 miles each way, plus a couple tanks for excursions/detours), the cost of hotels in the area we want to stay (if we have the car, we can stay outside the city and save some cash), the cost of the activities we want to do (in this case whale watching is a big one) and how much it’ll cost us to eat. If he’s giving me a budget of $2000, can we do it? In this case,

• Hotels on the road ($100/night x 3 nights)
• Hotel in Boston area ($150/night x 5 nights)
• Fuel (80 gallons @$3/gal = $240) – my car gets awesome gas mileage
• Tolls (about $80)
• Parking (Salem- $10/day, Boston $30/day)
• Whale watching ($60/person = $120)
• Souvenirs ($50) – my fiancée collects Hard Rock Café shot glasses and we’re planning to pick up 5 of them on this trip!
• Food ($60-70/day x 9 days = $600) – we’ll pack a cooler in the car on driving days so we can eat at nicer restaurants when we’re in towns.

That total comes to about $2200. Our general budget is pretty close to the target and, if we can cut a few costs here and there, we can actual get in right on budget. For now, we’ll leave the budget at $2200. If you’re interested, check out the final road trip stats on Day 9 to find out how we did.

Once the trip is a go, I start planning the driving portion. In this case, we’ll take 2 days to get there and 3 days to get back, leaving us 4 full days in the Boston area. I look at the direct route… 15 hours total. Then I start to look around the middle of that route (thanks Google Maps!)… looks like Niagara Falls is exactly half way for us… sweet! So our first night we’ll have dinner, see the falls, and stay somewhere in that area. On the way back, we’re going to stop at 4 Hard Rock Cafes to expand our shot glass collection (Connecticut, the Bronx, NYC and Pittsburg). We’ll hit the first 3 on driving day 1 and try to make it as far as Hershey, PA before finding a cheap roadside motel. The next day we’ll stop for lunch at the Hard Rock Café in Pittsburg, PA on our way to Cleveland, OH, where we’ll find another cheap hotel. Then the last day will just be driving from Cleveland home, which is only about 5 hours.

Next, I fill in some leg stretch stops. I don’t like rest stops for leg stretching. Sure they’re convenient, but I’d much rather get off the road a short way and see something interesting. We’ve always enjoyed this in the past. Our favorite leg-stretch-spot was Elephant Rocks in Missouri. State parks often offer free admission and wildlife refuge areas are also nice. In this case I’ve added stops to see Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Eagles, and Dinosaur footprints, as well as our tour of Hard Rock Cafe’s. We’ll also be driving through some cool cities like Albany, New Haven and New York City, so there may be opportunities to stop there. I’ve already created my google maps drives with all the stops plotted along the way, and sent links for those to my phone so I’m ready to navigate.

The next step in the planning process is to decide what we’ll do on those 4 days in the Boston area. I make a huge list of everything I can find to do in the area and what the weather is expected to be on the days we’re there. Then I block out our days.

• Day 1: Salem
• Day 2: Whale watching (AM)
• Day 3: Boston
• Day4: play it by ear

That gives me an easy framework to put all the must-do activities into. In our case, we want to take advantage of all the free walking tours and historical sights because we want to save money, but also because there are so many interesting things to do are that are free and we figure they’re worth taking advantage of before we start throwing money at things. Salem has walking tour maps available online, which I downloaded and printed. The same is true for Boston. On my itinerary I added links for information about relevant sites we’ll see on those tours so we can read more about them as we walk. I also checked the hours of things we wanted to stop at to make sure they’ll be open. Then I added all the other items to the 4th day, categorized by location, so we can see how we feel and what we really want to see… but also to allow room for spontaneity. We may find something that wasn’t even on my radar that we feel like exploring and there needs to be time to do that. I call it our “flex day”.

Side note: We noticed we’re visiting a lot of National Park Sites, so we picked up a National Parks Passport Book to start getting our visits stamped. It was only $10 and will be a nice encouragement to continue to visit National Parks in the future.

Finally I start booking the things that need booking. In this case, the Boston area hotel and the whale watching excursion.  Turns out we have a free night we hadn’t redeemed yet and we found a hotel for around $135/night instead of $150. It’s about 1/2 hour drive from everything we want to do, which is convenient enough for our needs. We saved a little over $150 total on that, even with all the outrageous booking fees. Then I looked at the offerings for whale watching tours. The one I’d originally used to budget left from Boston and cost $60/person. There was another that left from Gloucester (closer to our hotel) that only cost $48/person, plus they offered free parking…. yay! When I was buying our ticket, I noticed a place to enter a Groupon code, so I quickly popped over there and got an amazing Groupon for 1/2 price tickets with no blackout dates. I bought the Groupon and used it immediately to buy our tickets. Our whale watching excursion only ended up costing us $48 total… saving us $72 off what we budgeted…double yay!!. We have already saved more than the $200, bringing our budget back under that $2000 mark, and we haven’t even left yet. We did decide to buy a couple pairs of travel binoculars with our “windfall”. They only cost $10/each on Amazon (including delivery within 24-hours), but I think they’ll help make the whale watching experience more rewarding.

Speaking of leaving, that happens tomorrow morning! Today is laundry and packing day. We checked, replaced and topped off all the fluids, bulbs, tires, etc in the car earlier in the week; and we have gotten the house mostly ready to leave (alert the neighbors, clean out the fridge, etc). In the morning we’ll let Alexa know she should listen for unusual noise in the house (did you know she could do that for you?) and take out the trash on our way out the door.

I’m going on an adventure… and you should too!

2018 Road Trip – Day 3: Fayette State Park, Bewabic State Park, Agate Falls, Bond Falls

After a lovely, and quiet, night in the field all by ourselves, we started the day touring the historic village at Fayette State Park.

The Johnson Iron Company was based in Fayette on the shore of Lake Michigan from 1867-1891 and the workers and their families created a town surrounding the company buildings, which is now Fayette Historic State Park. Many of the buildings are well restored and many are furnished, allowing visitors to experience another layer of the history of the region. There is a beautiful view from Slag Beach, which used to serve as a dumping ground for the waste (slag) produced by the company in the iron making process.

We only spent a few hours wandering the historic village, but it would have been easy and interesting to spend a whole day there. Unfortunately we had a long drive to get our next overnight camping spot, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and we didn’t have time linger.

Yesterday we found out that only AT&T phones work in the Upper Peninsula and both our phones quickly ran out of roaming minutes. Since we planned to use them for navigation. We headed into a larger nearby town, Esconaba, and had lunch at a place with Wi-Fi so we could write out all the directions. It was an excruciating process, but ultimately very useful. We also bought a pretty detailed road map in case we somehow got off track. As we travelled down the road, we stopped a few times at planned locations along the way to stretch our legs

Bewabic State Park wasn’t much more than a lake with a park on one side of it. It was a nice place to get out of the car for a few minutes and stretch our legs, but there really wasn’t much to see.

Another roadside stop for leg stretching was Agate Falls State Park. Sometimes what the DNR calls a state park is actually a just a quick roadside scenic site. That’s the case with Agate Falls. Just a quick 5 minute walk from the roadside parking lot and you’re at a lookout over the top of the falls. There weren’t really any good angles to get photos, but the sound of the water was awesome and could be herd right when you got out of the car.

 

Bond Falls Scenic Site was definitely a more substantial area. We spent over an hour traipsing around, up, in and alongside the beautiful falls and a lovely trail that ran next to the river. This was my favorite stop of the day. I absolutely love playing in waterfalls. I also got to play around with the long exposure feature on my iPhone, which is quite satisfying.

We continued driving and were about an hour from Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park when we decided we just didn’t want to drive any more today. We pulled over at a cheap, roadside motel and checked in for the night. We walked across the street and ate a restaurant supper at the only restaurant that was still open in the small “town” after 8pm and then went back to the motel room for hot showers and a good night sleep.

 

2018 Road Trip – Day 2: Petoskey State Park, Mackinac Bridge, Palms Book State Park, Fayette Historic State Park

We left the hotel well rested and continued our trek north. It wasn’t long before we arrived in Petoskey, Michigan.

Petoskey is a very busy town and Petoskey State Park is just outside of town, so it was pretty busy as well. Today was a Friday in July, which probably added to the number of people there. We spent a couple hours searching the beach for the infamous Petoskey Stones.

“A Petoskey stone is a rock and a fossil, often pebble-shaped, that is composed of a fossilized rugose coral, Hexagonaria percarinata. The stones were formed as a result of glaciation, in which sheets of ice plucked stones from the bedrock, grinding off their rough edges and depositing them in the northwestern (and some in the northeastern) portion of Michigan’s lower peninsula.” – Wikipedia

We learned while there that the Petoskey stones are more commonly found in the spring, just after the ice melts. We’ll have to make plans to head back during that time I guess, but we did find a few small ones, pictured above.

After leaving Petoskey, we stopped for some cherries to snack on, since we didn’t plan to have lunch until we crossed the Mackinac Bridge. We thought about stopping and seeing Mackinac Island, but figured since it was a Friday we would save it for after we finished our tour of the Upper Peninsula. It took us a while to make it across the bridge, due to wind and weekend traffic, but we did eventually get a quick roadside lunch before journeying on.

It was a bit of a haul to make it all the way to our first state park in the upper peninsula. We usually like to stop more frequently to stretch our legs and walk a bit, but the sights at Palms Book State Park were worth a bit of leg cramping. This was one of the most unique things I’ve seen in Michigan. The crystal clear water allowed an amazing view of an underwater spring (Kitchi-Iti-Kipi) and all the nature surrounding it.

There is a glass bottom boat that takes you across the spring so you can get the best views of the crystal clear underwater world. If you’re headed here, plan about 1-1.5 hours, depending on the lines for the boat. We were fortunate to get right on, but there were lines waiting when we got back.

You can’t stay overnight in Palms Book State Park, so we continued on to Fayette Historic State Park for the evening. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at Fayette, all of their campsites were full. This is the price we pay for spontaneity. Fortunately, we were prepared to camp rustic (no electric, or even toilets nearby) and they let us camp in their auxiliary field for only $15. This field is usually used for larger groups. It didn’t have facilities, but it did have a fire ring and picnic table, so we had all we needed and we drove down to the bath house in the campground to use the toilets. It was actually quite nice because we had the whole field to ourselves. After setting up camp, we had a nice supper and settled in for a rainy night. We saved the historical village part of the park for tomorrow.

 

 

I Ate the Frog!

Mark Twain once said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” or alternately, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” This is a quote popularized in the book Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy, which provides multiple strategies for procrastinators to get over their procrastination and get things done. I am a procrastinator and this morning I ate the frog… in fact, I ate two of them.

Yesterday I talked about how I was neglecting my SMART Goals in certain areas of my Level 10 Life, including the Health & Fitness and Physical Environment categories, and needing to focus more on those areas. I was specifically struggling with a seemingly simple goal of getting on the treadmill for 10 minutes each day and getting through the additional accumulated clutter in my home due to emptying my storage unit.

This morning I got on the treadmill and walked for 10 minutes before I even allowed myself to have my daily cup of coffee. It felt good to get it done and I checked it off as complete with a little more flourish than normal. It made me happy to see this accomplished. Many of you may be thinking,, “Only 10 minutes walking on a treadmill? That’s nothing. Why don’t you try for more?” Well, I have tried for more…. and failed. I’ve had a gym membership for 5 years, but almost never go. I used the excuse that it took too long to drive to the gym, work out, shower and drive home. It was an easy excuse because my lifestyle at the time didn’t allow for that amount of time to devote to anything for myself, including for my health. So, last fall I bought a treadmill. It was expensive, but I figured after spending that much money on equipment and having it conveniently located in the living room of my home, I would have no more excuses. Yet, I seemed to find them in spades. I didn’t have time at the end of the day; I had to get up too early to drive an hour to school every day; and I didn’t want to walk for an hour every day. Remember, I’ve allowed myself to get used to a very studious, sedentary lifestyle. This is why my writing and reading goals are so much easier to accomplish. So when I devised my fitness goal, I wanted to make sure it was something that would create a habit. It’s not going to make me lose 50 pounds by January, but it will develop the habit of getting on the treadmill every day and walking. The only problem was, even that was challenging me, until I made it a frog that needed eating. Yep, walking for 10 measly minutes on my treadmill is currently one of my frogs. But today, I did it. I felt a lot better about myself than I have in weeks just by eating that darn frog. Tomorrow, I will get up and eat it again… before my coffee. The next, and the next day, and for many days after that, I will get up and eat that 10-minute frog until it doesn’t feel like a frog anymore, but more like a lifestyle. When that happens, I’ll gradually increase my time. For now, getting on it and walking for those 10-minutes is enough.

The second goal was to reduce clutter and I ate that frog after I enjoyed my coffee to wash down the first. I went through 4 drawers of clothes in my bedroom and 2 boxes from the storage unit. I now have a whole garbage bag for Goodwill, a few well organized drawers full of clothes I actually enjoy wearing, and a little more space to get around my dining room. I spent an hour on this project today and didn’t find it to be as difficult as I was imagining in my head. I will put in another hour tomorrow morning and then take a day off. I’ll continue with the 2-days on / 1-day off schedule until I’ve made my way through the whole house. What’s more successful than before? I used to wait until I thought I had time to complete a whole room before I would start and then I would be frustrated by the time I was finished because it always took longer than I anticipated. This time I set a timer instead and focused on smaller areas. I worked on one drawer at a time until the timer went off and then spent a couple minutes over the hour organizing that last drawer. Like with the treadmill, I felt accomplished. I still have a lot of work ahead of me, but by focusing on smaller chunks, it no longer seems so overwhelming.

How are you coming along with your goals? Are you feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start on them? If so, maybe you have to find a way to break them down into smaller pieces so they are manageable and start taking small actions in the right direction. If I can do it, I know any of you can.

I leave you with the fortune cookie from my dinner tonight, which I think is actually quite fitting for this point in my life, maybe in yours as well. Feel free to share with me.

 

Needing to Focus

As I review the first couple weeks of my Level 10 Life, I’m noticing some disturbing trends. It seems that certain habits aren’t getting done at all and others are done every day. Writing this blog is an exercise designed to improve the career segment of life and it has been going well. I’m enjoying the writing process and hopefully you’re enjoying being along on this journey with me. Reading 30 minutes every day is designed to improve my personal development sector and something I generally don’t have a problem accomplishing. But there are other categories, especially 3 of them, where I’ve given myself the simplest habits and still can’t seem to accomplish them.

In the family and friends category, I find myself avoiding my “call or meet a friend once a week” habit despite it’s apparent simplicity. Only, it isn’t simple. You see, as I reflect on why I’m not making those calls, I’m realizing that many of my friends are in very negative places right now and I’m struggling to not feel drained. I am usually the one who reaches out and then I feel emotionally drained after the conversation from being supportive of all the stuff they’re going through and never getting reciprocal support for the things I’m struggling with. While I do want to continue to be there for those friends, I’m considering an amendment to the SMART goal. I’m thinking my goal needs to be to find additional friends who can be mutually supportive to balance out my time with the other friends. On the surface, this feels selfish, but as I look closer, I think it’s probably better for all of us. No one deserves to have a friend who is resentful of the time they give you, and I’ve become that; I’ve become resentful of one-sided relationships that take away all of my energy. In order to be a better friend, I need to stop relying on those relationships for something they aren’t giving and expecting to get something our of them that I’m not. I am not really sire if changing goals is “technically” allowed, but I think this is a good call.

Which brings us to the Health and Fitness category. I’m struggling with 2 of the 3 goals in this category and doing pretty well at the third. The problem is, that this category is one I feel really needs a lot of work right now. I quit smoking 5 years ago, when I started school, and have doubled in size since then. I get out of breath easily, ache all over, and feel like if my body & health don’t get the attention, I might not live long enough to accomplish the things on my bucket list. I’m just now starting to have grandchildren and I want to be around, and actively able, to participate in their lives for quite some time. So for the remainder of this week, I’ll be heavily focused on the 3 SMART goals for that category. I will be getting on the treadmill for at least 10 minutes, 5 days each week. I will be getting to sleep (or at least laying in bed in the quiet dark trying to sleep) by midnight each night. I will continue to restrict my calorie window to no more than 10 hours. The 10-hour calorie window has been going well, but neither of the other 2 have happened a single time in the last 3 weeks and that just cannot go on. For the next couple weeks, these will be my priority and I will “Eat the Frog” by trying to accomplish the treadmill first thing in the morning. We’ll see how it goes.

The third area I’m currently struggling with is the Physical Environment category. This was going quite well initially. You might remember reading about emptying out my storage unit and letting most of it go. The only problem is, I brought home some of the more valuable and unique items with the intention of selling them and they are now cluttering my daily personal space. I need to spend a day photographing and posting these items for sale so they can move on to new homes where they will be useful or bring their new owners joy. Their presence (this overwhelming clutter) has also alerted me to the added items I have laying around the house that are not useful, or beautiful and don’t bring me joy. So after everything is photographed and posted for sale, I need to go through every corner of the house again and purge the clutter. I think once the physical clutter is gone, I will feel much happier in my physical space and hopefully be able to focus better on the other habits I need to work on.

So those are my 3 struggles and how I plan to tackle them in the next few weeks. I hope you will stick around to hold me accountable here and maybe find a couple things you need to work on as well. If you are looking for someone to be accountable to, feel free to share in the comments and I’ll check in periodically to see how you are coming along. I hope we can all help one another get closer to lives we want and deserve!