Let's Play Ketchup!

Let’s catch up a bit here. I’m obviously terrible about the weekly, let alone daily, posting that I had intended to be doing. I can’t feel terrible about it, since I’ve been out there living, to busy to write it all down. But now’s the time, to get it out on paper, reflect a bit myself, and share a piece of my life with you.
Where to start?
Italian is over, I finished the class with a 4.0 and am eagerly awaiting the next quarter (which I’ve discovered has been pushed back a bit). I guess I’ll be going back to Rosetta Stone for a bit and also, back to SCYPN, whose meetings coincide with Italian section meetings.
Ah, SCYPN. A truly interesting catch-all of young professionals here in Snohomish County. I’ve somewhat stepped back from my position on the AC, given the time constraints and the fact that I have a job (hello! young professional here!) and all the meetings now take place somewhere between 9-5. Anyway, I’ve been working to coordinate the SCYPN members with volunteer groups and non-for-profits here locally to give SCYPN more of a back-bone and also to keep people in contact whether or not we have a speaker/network event going on. I feel like this is a multi-tasking purpose in that A) committing to the volunteer portion of SCYPN requires much more leadership than just dropping in at the networking events, B) we’re giving back and building up the community in which we’re all working and C) we get more visibility for our group and the groups we’re volunteering with.
Right now, the big push is to get a continued relationship with Cocoon House here in Everett. I’ve personally started working with Cocoon House and am helping with the auction coming up in October. I’m very excited about this group. I went to what they call “Butterfly Graduation” a few weekends back and was really inspired by the product of all the work that Cocoon House does. You can read about the graduation here: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100614/NEWS01/706149955/0/news01
Other than that, my goal right now is to be a “better person.” Better in so many different ways. A big one: being a better friend. Which for me right now, means making friends; and then being a friend. This is something that doesn’t come naturally for me and is something that I find to be quite the challenge. I’m great at talking to people in groups and meeting people, but not great at keeping up with their lives, staying in touch, etc. Kindness: Seeing the good in people, not pointing out flaws (which I do to myself also), etc. I’ve never been great at this, and its so easy to just stop trying when I have a husband and son at home, two people who love me, no questions asked. I find myself thinking that is enough. And while they are great, I don’t think that really is enough. Everyone needs friends.
Other aspects of being a “better person” include making more time for my family, seems ironic following what I just said, but its true. Coming home from work and cleaning the house, or watching tv, is not family time. While it might count for something, it too, is not enough.
The final aspect of the whole thing is being healthy; working out, eating better, sleeping through the night…
To accomplish all this, I’ve made a point of reconnecting with old friends, and reaching out and allowing myself to make new friends. I’ve also spent a significant amount of time researching the parks department and various activities for me and the fam to do together (which won’t spend every last cent that we’ve got!)
Here’s what I’ve got going on. We’ve started taking Mackenzie to the swimming pool. Again, this is playing double duty since it is a bit of a workout, and its great family time. Plus, let me tell you, if you spend two hours in the pool with a three year old, you will definitely sleep through the night!
I also signed Mackenzie up for SOCCER!! Yay! I’m a little jealous because Nick will be the one going with him, but still very cool.
I’m also set up to do water aerobics, yoga (two different classes actually), along with my lunch break workouts at the gym.
So, I’m getting there…but, as always, it’s a work in progress!
Stay tuned! I’ve got another post in the works, which will be “My son, the tomato” (don’t act like you’re not excited!!)