People on the Quad

Yes, flowers, sunshine & being able to go outside without a jacket are all tell-tale signs of spring, but for me, the true sign of spring's arrival is when people hang out on the Quad once again. And today was that day :)

When I got out of my last class today, there were multiple groups sitting out on the Quad talking, reading & enjoying the beautiful weather. I couldn't help but smile all the way home. 

It's officially spring <3

And Then I Took It Apart

I think the biggest part of getting my "Verona calm" back is letting go. 

I made my puzzle yesterday, had a good time, enjoyed it, but honestly, what am I going to do with a completed puzzle? Put it on a piece of cardboard & take it back to my apartment? Nope. 

I took it apart, so I can put it back together and enjoy it another time. Simple, yet another step towards finding my calm again and loving "la bellezza di fare niente."

La bellezza di fare niente

After watching Eat Pray Love last night, and actually liking in unlike a lot of people, I decided I wanted to try slowing down more today and appreciating one of my last days of break.

During her time in Italy, an Italian tells the main character, Liz, that the problem with Americans is that they don't appreciate "La bellezza di fare niente" aka "The beauty of doing nothing." This was definitely one of my favorite things about being in Italy last year. I call it my "Verona calm" and have been missing it so much lately. I've been trying to find things that helped with that calm in Italy that I can do here too, and it has been helping a lot. Today was dedicated to really trying to live that again. La bellezza di fare niente.

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I saw was a Venice puzzle my mom bought me for Christmas 2 years ago that I had yet to make and thought, "Well, today seems like a good day to make a puzzle." I brought it out and set it on the table where my mom was reading her Nook.

No music. No TV. I hadn't even eaten breakfast yet. But I wanted nothing more than to make my puzzle with my mom.

The completed puzzle.

It was only 300 pieces and didn't really take us very long, but it was so much fun. Simple, technology-less fun.

Even though I was technically "doing something," it was such a simple yet pleasurable way to spend my morning with my mom. My mind was clear, I felt happy, and I got to joke around and bond with my mom. Clarity, happiness, and family. A great start on my journey to finding my "Verona calm" in America.

Venezia, mi manchi...

Yoga Attempt...

Yesterday I had a really great run, and just wasn't feeling super motivated to run today. I had a bunch of energy, however, so I decided to try my hand at a new yoga workout. Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point always talks about how much yoga helps her train for races, so I've been trying to do OnDemand workouts when I can and stretch more when I don't have time for yoga.

Today, I put on Elise Gulan's Yoga Fitness Plus and was surprised by how hard it was. I was feeling really good after my run yesterday (4 miles in 31 minutes!) and how well my half marathon training has been going, but today's workout was way out of my league. Quitting isn't usually part of my vocabulary, and today is the first time I quit in the middle of a workout video. After half an hour of trying to manage my way through all the balancing, warrior poses, chaturangas, etc. I finally had to give up. I spent a majority of the time in child's pose anyway, and I was growing increasingly frustrating. Yoga is supposed to be calming right? My body literally could not bend in to some of the things she was doing, so I vowed to move to an easier video next time and work my way up to this one.

Although I couldn't even do half of what the instructor was doing, it was nice to bring myself back to reality. Just because running is going well, doesn't mean I'm some super athlete who can do anything. It's helpful for me to remember this so I continue to push myself because obviously there is still room to improve :)


Sidenote....
When you humiliate someone, aren't you really doing them a favor since you're making them a more humble person?
Hmm, something to ponder. Opinions are welcome.

Spring Cleaning

Yes, spring cleaning means SPRING finally decided to show its face :)

After sleeping in, enjoying a hearty bowl of oatmeal, and completing my 5k run for half marathon training, I decided to tackle the mess my room had become. I normally have an extremely clean room, but between exams, projects, work, training, and just life in general, my room had become an absolute mess the past few weeks. Shoes everywhere, books & computers covering my desk, and jeans & t-shirts thrown all over my closet. The mess was literally stressing me out.

Not very conducive to productivity...

Disaster zone

Thankfully, I find cleaning and organizing my room very relaxing. After catching up on sleep, it was the first thing I wanted to do over spring break. I turned on some tunes, opened my balcony door for the first time since October, and invited my roommate in to hang out and chat with me. Multi-tasking at its finest.

The top shelf of the closet unloaded on my bed.

Shoe boxes from the closet. The sad thing is I forgot to
take a picture of all the shoes covering the floor.

Even though I know I am blessed with so much, I have been wanting a lot of things lately from new clothes to shoes to even nail polish, although I already have at least 30 colors. Sometimes when I realize just how much I really do have, I get overwhelmed and want to throw it all away and start over. I quickly realize, however, this is a stupid idea and instead decide to focus on what I have, be thankful, and realize I do not actually need anything.

Cleaning and organizing everything only took a few hours, but I felt a sense of calm as if I went on a week long retreat. It's so refreshing to tackle a stress in life in order to appreciate what I have and get somewhat of a fresh start.

Finally organized!

Yes, I arrange my clothes in the order of the rainbow.

Officially ready for spring :)

For this...

so simple so true

Naps!

Anyone who has spent an extensive amount of time, actually probably just a full day, with me knows that I love naps. I'm a power napper. 15 to 20 minutes tops usually. There is nothing better than laying down and doing absolutely nothing for 20 minutes. I can be exhausted, distracted, and feeling like I can't go on, but after a good 20 minutes, I'm up and good as new.

Lately, I've been napping on the chairs in the basement of the Communication library since I pretty much live at Greg Hall. Not always the most comfortable, but when I'm really tired it's as good of a place as any.

Napping before work today.

Napping in a bed or on a comfy couch is obviously ideal, but sometimes circumstances call for different measures. Greg Hall isn't an extraordinary location, but I have been known to nap in some strange situations and would like to share some of my favorites...

After a long, kind of cold day of walking around Martha's Vineyard I chose to bundle up in anything I could find and nap while my family walked up and down the beach. I think it's safe to say I had been somewhat of a grouch before the nap, but woke up fresh & new. Time was well spent.

Martha's Vineyard Summer 2009

During most of college, I have kept my naps mainly to my bed in my dorm room or in my room in the house, but studying in Italy introduced me to a whole new world of napping locations.

After a long run around Verona, I took a long nap on the ledge along the Adige River overlooking Castelvecchio. It began as a brief time of relaxation, soaking up the sun, but turned in to a half an hour nap. Once I finally returned to the apartment, my friends didn't believe me that I actually took a nap out there. Believe me, I did. And it was great.

Sadly our painter friend wasn't there that day.
Maybe I could have made it in the painting if he had been :)

Long vacations full of lots of sightseeing and walking were definitely perks of studying abroad, but long days also meant sometimes extreme times of exhaustion. Some of my favorite nap locations while traveling include every train ride I took, pretty much every park in London (Hyde, Regent, St. James, Green...am I missing any major ones?), on rocks in Galway, in the garden of our hostel in Tuscany, and my personal favorite...within view of the Rialto in Venice. I'm sure there are some I've forgotten, so I'll update this if I think of more.

It's not a train ride if Jessica doesn't fall asleep.
Usually I sleep with my mouth open on trains, but
 figured I'd spare the gory details in photo form.

In St. James's Park in London. Not technically sleeping in this one,
but it's hard to take pictures of yourself napping...

Again not napping in the photo. Believe me, after 4 long days in
Scotland, Nat & I took a good, long nap out here.

This was part of a full day of lounging in Chianti at our hostel.

Venice Spring 2010
Blurry photo, but I did indeed take a nap right here.

The view on the other side of my nap location...

Morals of the story:
- I love naps.
- Naps aren't just for kids. I suggest it to anyone. Need a caffeine fix? Try a quick nap instead!
- I should really look in to laws about sleeping in public for future travels...

Free Pencils

Not only do I have the greatest job of monitoring the media lab, which involves loading paper in the printers, fixing paper jams, and pretty much getting paid to do my homework and hang out with my advertising friends when they come in the lab, but there is another great perk. Free pens & pencils. Yes, simple & a bit silly, but I haven't bought a single new pen or pencil all year :) People leave perfectly good pens and pencils in the lab all the time and I am more than happy to use them.

My stash of found pens & pencils from the year.

Today in French class, I realized one of my pencils was getting low on lead, and then voila, I found a new pencil tonight! It's not mechanical like I usually like , but sometimes it's good to go old school too. 

My new pencil!

Freshly sharpened and everything.