the weekend + committing to...

the image above (by rodney smith, via oh joy!) is decidedly summery and not-wintry, but i love it anyway: the gorgeous color of the model's dress, the blue water, the joyfulness of the entire scene.

i've been feeling pretty joyful myself lately. and i know i sound like i'm beating you over the head with a two-by-four, but really: it's amazing the difference being in a good mental place has made in every aspect of my life. i'm probably jinxing it by saying this, but i've been waking up every day feeling so much happier. i've been wanting to exercise and talk to people on the phone and write and travel and apply for jobs clean and get my life in order again. things aren't perfect, but they're getting there.

you guys, seriously: if you're in a toxic environment (personal or professional) and you can leave it, do. doing that was the best thing that's happened to me in a long while and, looking back, i wish i would have just up and quit a lot earlier. being miserable is not worth it, it's just not. and if any of you are going through something similar and need a sounding board, feel free to email me or tweet me -- i'm happy to talk about it with you. i'm no therapist, just someone who went through something difficult and can probably relate.

aaaaaannd now i'm climbing off my soapbox. back to our regularly scheduled programming:

how were your weekends? mine was quiet, but really good. i slept in, cleaned, baked two batches of gingerbread (one cream-cheese frosted, one plain), went running for the first time in quite awhile, did pilates, watched movies, hung out with friends, and generally relaxed. a good few days, indeed.

and now here we are, back at monday, and i'm ready to share with you my little commitments for the week. i hope you'll share yours with me, too.

+ go running on tuesday and thursday, and exercise in some form every day.
+ make a(nother) batch of split-pea soup. so simple and delicious.
+ finish up the planning of and start the execution of a fun creative project i'm working on with a dear friend. (eee! yay! more on it soon.)
+ complete a couple of freelance assignments i'm working on.
+ get my apartment all cleaned up before i leave for my trip north on friday -- the worst thing ever is coming home to a dirty house, isn't it?
+ continue to feel the positivity.

see you back in this space tomorrow, friends! xoxo