5 year plan

Thrilling thirty

/ SallyJBrz / Leave a comment

It’s here.

And it’s even better than I expected.

30 brought me a huge birthday card from my officemates, calling out their 30 favorite things about me (everything from “she always shares her time, even when she’s busy” to “she found my underwear!” to “she keeps AOL in business”). It gave me brownies and cookies and people to enjoy them with. It meant I was walking through Davis Square after live music, dinner, and a movie – with my awesome dad – as the clock chimed into my new decade. It fed me breakfast at my childhood kitchen table with my family old and new (HI WES) around me. It saw me cheering over birthday cake with my family at our lake house, keeping warm by the fire and playing on the beach, then sipping the night away at a new speakeasy-themed bar in ManchVegas.

In a way, my life isn’t that different from when I started this blog in 2010. I still live with my awesome roommate Katie. I am weeks away from hitting my 5th year with my awesome job. I still love Boston, and peanut butter, and running on the bike path. But I’ve learned a lot, seen a lot, taken risks and hit my stride.

I can already tell – thirty is going to be my best year yet. The dress rehearsal is over, the stage is set – now it’s my time to shine and show the world what I can do. Including even running for Senate if I feel like it (5 more years until the Presidency is mine, baby!)!

Stay tuned to see what happens next!

The final countdown

/ SallyJBrz / 2 Comments

On Saturday, I turn 30.

As a young woman, 30 can feel like a wall you have no choice but to climb. Society tells us that at 30, you should be…

  • well-read
  • married
  • settled (whatever that means)
  • excelling at your career
  • thinking about having babies (that mythical crocodile clock is ticking, yo)
  • great at managing your finances, nutrition, scented candles for each season, etc.
  • svelte and polished

But… what about happy?

Because while I think I’m on track for some of the items on that list, what I am bringing with me as I cross the threshold into 30 is much more intangible. It’s the knowledge that I’m mortal, the wisdom that it’s ok to try and fail (at hobbies, love, political campaigns – whatever!). It’s knowing who my true friends are and what’s worth my tears (which doesn’t mean I don’t get upset when my dress rips or my cookies burn in my dastardly oven – it just means I also know that those things don’t really matter). It’s adventures and wishes and bruises and “league champion” t-shirts and shoes that are so comfortable, I don’t care who knows that they’re Crocs.

I – and many of my peers – spent my late 20s thinking that life was something we could win at, as though there would be a medal waiting for us at the end. But what in the world would the “end” be? And who would be by our side to celebrate? And was it all worth busting our butts for?

I hope that my 30s bring more adventures.  More opportunities to prove myself and have the world open up to me.  More spicy food and late nights and late mornings recovering.  More love – from the people I know now and those I haven’t even met yet who will change my life.

Because this isn’t the end – this is barely the beginning.

So now I’m going to eat up every bite of this last week of being 30 – and then, going to dive headfirst into whatever’s next!

For more mid-year reflections on turning 30, read this!

Victory over adulthood

/ SallyJBrz / Leave a comment

I did it!

With the help of Katie and Nate and encouragement from Mom, I cooked my first chicken!

It was easy to make, in theory – take out the bag inside, rub with olive oil and spices (that you should prepare beforehand so you don’t have to touch anything after you start dealing with the chicken), cook at 375 degrees for 15- 20 minutes per pound until the inside is 190 degrees (a conservative estimate, since some websites say 165).  But in reality, the mess and the hassle of chopping up a full chicken – as well as the actual uncertainty about when it would be done – made it not entirely worthwhile. I’ll probably go back to tofu and salmon for my dinner staples.

Still, I’m glad I got to have this hilarious cooking adventure with my awesome friends, I got to cross this off my life list, and I am one step closer to eventually being able to cook Thanksgiving dinner for my family someday!

Plus, it went great with this holiday favorite, which I’ll tell you all about later this week: