Ahh, the “joys” of cooking. Depending on your personality, you either love to cook, hate to cook, or cook just because you need to eat. I think the joy of providing a meal for others, increases the likeliness of wanting to cook, but when you are in a situation living by yourself, it might not be as fun. Whatever you cook, you are stuck eating it for 4 meals, unless you decided to make “just enough,” which is never as cost effective. Regardless of your motivation, we all have to eat. . . Read More
Author Archives: MeliM
Your Worse Enemy May Vote FOR You
Jump Out Your Fishbowl is not a political blog, so I’m not going to discuss the presidential candidates here (check out personal blog for rants and raves), but I will discuss our civic duty and things you can do that might certainly be outside your comfort zone this election.
My main agenda in this post is to get YOU to vote (if you planned on skipping this election). I have very strong opinions about who should not be president, but I will save that for my personal blog. Politics and government classes were a long time away so I did some fact checking on Wikipedia (don’t judge) and other sites. Shoutout to my middle school history teachers (MSTM!!). I am of the mindset that if you don’t vote, don’t complain, but this is such an important election this year. I am constantly hearing people say that “my vote doesn’t matter” and that is simply not true. Here’s why:
Not selecting a candidate is not saying “I can’t stand either candidate,” it’s saying “I prefer both candidates about the same.” . . . Read More
Try Something New – Hiking
Hiking – how hard could it be? It’s just walking . . . Famous last words. I recently got into hiking when I moved to a place where there were hills and trails and trees. If you are looking for something to do, this is a great full-body workout, and you get to be outside and enjoy the nice weather. There are several degrees of hiking, so you should start off slow with nicely paved trails and graduate to rugged uphill mountains.
But first things first – get a pair of good hiking shoes. Pictured are my Merrell hiking shoes, which I find to be super comfortable. I would suggest not getting your first pair online, but going into a sports/mountain store and trying them on. Some of the stores have a ramp where you can simulate climbing uphill. Read More . . .
Adaptability
We can’t talk about stretching outside your comfort zone without mentioning adaptability. Just as a person might bundle up when moving from California to Alaska, outside influences require you to make some internal changes. An easy example is generational gaps in the work force. Even though texting has become a perfectly acceptable way to communicate in this day and age, it is not always appropriate. If I text my coworker that is on board with communicating that way, that is great. If I text a coworker that is not a fan of texting, I’m silently demanding that they use my mode of communication. . . . Read More
How to Make Friends
It seems simple enough, but making friends as an adult can be a very daunting task . . . Read More
Think Differently
Sure, jumping out of one’s fishbowl sounds easy enough for an extravert, you may be thinking, but what about an introvert? What if something as simple as going to a new class is completely out of your comfort zone? Be true to who you are. Your fishbowl is going to look a lot different than my fishbowl or your best friend’s fishbowl. It’s not about the level of craziness; it’s about the stretch. If you aren’t stretching, than things will very well stay the same. And sometimes there’s nothing wrong with that, but if you want more, than you need to do something different. Forcing yourself to be slightly uncomfortable is a complete paradigm shift . . . Read More
Try Something New – Ziplining
I am afraid of heights. Well, tangible heights. If I think I actually have a chance of falling, then it bothers me. Airplanes? The odds are pretty slim so I have no problem flying! Weird? Sure, but aren’t all fears irrational?
So, the opportunity to go ziplining presented itself and I thought, what a great way to have fun with friends and try something new. . . Read More
Clean Your Car
Clean your car. What? Yes, it’s really that simple. Life can be overwhelming at times – between work, school, family, and trying to have a personal life, there is sooooooo much to do. In the age of social media and instant gratification, we are never fast enough to keep up with it all. To top it off, our place of relaxation and peace – our home – can also take a beating. When we are mentally exhausted, it’s super easy to toss the clothes on the bed instead of in the hamper or the closet and that one teaspoon you promised yourself you would wash before bed turns into a bowl, then a mug, and then a whole sink of dishes.
When you look at the pile and how big the pile has become, it is so easy to become distracted and not know where to begin. So, what to do? What to do? . . . Read More
Phenomenal Life-Changing Post
The problem with change is that we want dramatic [unrealistic] results. We want to go to the gym on Monday and be 3 sizes down by Friday, or at least in 2 weeks before the beach trip. It is painful to work hard and not see a noticeable change in a matter of weeks or months. Then we become demotivated and give up, never realizing our full potential. Secondly, we don’t really want to change. We say we want to change, but we haven’t actually changed anything. . . Read More