Word.

I love words. When I was studying for the GRE I joined an obscure word of the day group and everyday a new word and its corresponding definition would appear in my inbox. My goal was to use that word at least five times that day in conversation. Words like "myriad," "chicanery," and "regardless" invoke special memories for me and make me smile. Others remind me only of the tedium of standardized testing. Regardless, the power of words is indisputable.

The picture I have included with this post was taken at a little diner in Astoria, OR last summer. My friend, Jen, and I had stopped there for lunch. The diner was not your typical greasy spoon. It was eccentric and artsy and completely Astoria. This sign was hanging in the restroom. I loved the way the owners chose to address the vandalism by stringing a few short words together. The message is upfront and informative and ends with a dig at the person who stole the print. What a great way to respond to the crime!

As a grant writer, words are what I do. I am learning that certain words "buzz" for certain markets. When I write for some of the more rural communities in Indiana, my writing is laced with words like "tradition" and "values." On the other hand, when I write for communities with a strong academic base, I tend to use words like "innovation" and "change-makers." By tailoring my language to my audience, I am better able to convey my message and establish report.

So imagine my excitement when I came across an article about the power of words while perusing one of my LinkedIn groups. While the research behind the article as well as the purpose of the article is pure marketing, I can see so many other uses for this research.

Here are the words:

1. You

2. Results

3. Health

4. Guarantee

5. Discover

6. Love

7. Proven

8. Safety

9. Save

10. New

The words are, for the most part, short and sweet. They are words that the average adult will not only recognize but understand. Perhaps their simplicity is the reason for their success?

Now, instead of simply using these words for marketing purposes, how interesting would it be to apply these words to interpersonal relationships? When talking with coworkers, friends, the lady at the grocery store, try to use some of these "power" words. That will be my experiment for the week.

I may end up sounding like a maniac, or I may just end up becoming a more convincing individual. I'll let you know. Either way, I GUARANTEE YOU will LOVE the RESULTS.

Hidden Treasures

Part of my plan to reclaim me was to get to know Indianapolis a little better. After all, I have lived in Indy for about four years and really haven't taken the time to explore.

Here is what I have learned so far...

Indianapolis does art - well. From the Indianapolis Museum of Art to the little galleries on Mass Ave, art is all around Indianapolis. This year a dear friend of mine gave me a membership to the IMA and I have been truly enjoying the perks of being a member. I visited the Warhol exhibit, toured Madeleine Albright's pin collection (twice), took advantage of a Winter Night's movie, and have already planned several more visits for the coming months. I also have been enjoying art by local artists, displayed in restaurants such as the Mass Ave Wine Shoppe, Agio, and Henry's on East. Finally, I visited the Indiana Art Fair and the Indiana State Museum last weekend where I had fun browsing works by local folk artists. Being the daughter of a potter, I couldn't help but buy a fun ceramic sippy cup in vibrant shades of green, orange, and blue.

Indianapolis, it seems, has a burgeoning arts community and I cannot wait to see more!

Ballet? In Indy? Did you know we have a school for ballet? Last week I took advantage of an opportunity planned by Indy Hub and hosted at the Indianapolis School of Ballet. This event was an opportunity for the community to become better acquainted with one of Indianapolis' hidden gems - and to see special performances by many of the school's third and fourth year students. Many of the performances came from Sleeping Beauty - a beautiful ballet - and some were originals. The students are very talented and the artistic director, Victoria Lyras, is incredibly passionate about her students, her school, and her art. The school has a Spring performance of Coppelia at the Scottish Rite Cathedral Theater in May and I am working on keeping my calendar clear so I don't miss it!

You'll never go hungry. I've already mentioned a few great places to eat in Indianapolis - of which there are many - but what I am most excited about discovering this week is Green BEAN Delivery. Fresh, organic produce delivered to your home every week or every other week for a very reasonable price! Top that off with the ability to add groceries from local farms and vendors (like Scholar's Inn Bakehouse, Traders Point Creamery, and Farm to Kitchen Foods) and you can do a week (or two) worth of grocery shopping - with healthy and local foods - without having to drive all over town to find them.

I always suspected Indianapolis had a lot of potential as a little city. I've defended it to friends who want to make it seem like less than it is. Thank you, Indianapolis, for living up to your potential this week.

How Routine is YOUR Routine?

Sometimes life is like one big balancing act. Looking for a balance between work, school, and personal time has led me to decide that I need to establish a daily routine. As this is the first time in my adult life that I have had the opportunity to have some sort of routine,I'm struggling. So I'm looking for tips. An old high school friend, Andy, shared an interesting page with me:

Daily Routines is a website, which shares how writers, artists, and other interesting people organize their days. What I love about this site is the posts vary from interview excerpts to short articles about a person, to personal anecdotes. Surprisingly, Stephen King's post about his morning routine was my favorite - probably because it sounded most like something I could manage. I've copied and pasted it below, so enjoy!

“There are certain things I do if I sit down to write,” he said. “I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. There’s a certain time I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning,” he explained. “I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places. The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.

“It’s not any different than a bedtime routine,” he continued. “Do you go to bed a different way every night? Is there a certain side you sleep on? I mean I brush my teeth, I wash my hands. Why would anybody wash their hands before they go to bed? I don’t know. And the pillows are supposed to be pointed a certain way. The open side of the pillowcase is supposed to be pointed in toward the other side of the bed. I don’t know why.”

~Stephen King (taken from Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King, by Lisa Rogak

Surprisingly, Mr King's routine is organized, ritualized, and structured - and not crazy. All are criteria that I am striving for in my own daily routine.

Now how to accomplish that...

I found a nice blog post with tips on establishing a routine. Here are the tips:

The key steps to establishing routines are to:

1. Focus on them. Keep your routine as your foremost goal for one month, focusing on nothing else. Having too many habits at once spreads your focus too thin, and makes success less likely.
2. Make them rewarding. I’ve written about establishing a calming routine, and that’s what I’m doing with these two routines. In the morning, I have running, coffee, reading, writing, and showering as part of my calming routine. In the evening, I quietly prepare for the next day, review my day, shower and read. They’re both very satisfying routines.
3. Log your progress. Reporting your progress every day on the Zen Habits forum is a great way to log progress, but you could also do it in a journal or some other type of log, or put up stars on a calendar. The key is to keep track of it and see how well you’ve done over the course of a month.

So here are my daily goals:

To work by 8 a.m.

Out of work by 4 p.m.

1-2 hours of homework

45 minutes - 1 hour of exercise

45 minutes - 1 hour walking Humphrey (can split between multiple times - the bulk being an afternoon walk)

Cook dinner

Update social media (blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc)

Catch up on current events

Time to read, watch TV, stare at a wall, etc - dedicated Holly zone-out time

Two days a week I have classes - so nights are dedicated to them.

So, with all of my ideas on how I would spend my day, and my ability to multitask like a maniac, I still can't figure out how to get everything accomplished and not lose out on a solid night's sleep.

My progress towards establishing a routine will become part of these posts. Hopefully, things will go well.

Thanks for reading. Any tips or ideas you might have, would be greatly appreciated! Have an amazing weekend!

Old Friends and New Adventures

Gen, Caro, and Court were three of the first people I met when I started college - and they certainly were my first college friends. These were the girls that really helped define my college experience and some of my fondest memories of Lawrence University include them.

Eleven years, six post-secondary degree programs, four continents, and two marriages later, we no longer live within 20 feet of each other, but we have always managed to stay in touch. So last September when Matt, Court's amazing husband, reached out to Caro, Gen, and me with the idea to surprise Court for her 30th birthday with a girls' weekend in Chicago, we checked our schedules and turned our weekend over to Matt's logistical genius.

The agenda was fairly simple, surprise Court on her doorstep on Friday night and then venture into Chicago to spend the rest of the weekend catching up and hanging out. So Friday night, Gen, Caro, and I convened at a Starbucks in Naperville and then headed to Court's. Per Matt's instructions, we stood hidden while we buzzed Court's apartment, traipsed up the stairs, knocked on Court's door, and SURPRISE!! After lots of hugging and creative swearing (good work, Court) - we dove into our weekend. Over a dinner of incredible homemade chili, Gen, Caro, Court and I started to refine our plans for the weekend. Matt had booked us a hotel on the Mag Mile and had made dinner reservations for a Saturday seating at Vermilion (more about this later). The rest of the time was open and ours to fill with whatever we chose.

What I think was so amazing about the weekend is that we chose to spend most of our time simply spending time together and while the conversations have changed as we have gotten older, our rapport has not. Over a bottle of 2006 Gamache Reserve Malbec, Gen, Court and I talked late into Friday night - catching up on personal lives, school, jobs, and travels. Saturday morning we slept late and then, after some consideration, headed to XOCO to meet Caro for brunch. Over ahogada, wood-roasted chicken pozole, and woodland mushroom tortas, conversation picked back up - with a familiarity as sweet as the Mexican chocolate we were sipping.

After brunch, Court went to rehearsal for the Chicago Civic Orchestra, Caro went back to the hotel to take a nap in an effort to overcome her med school-induced flu, and Gen and I went to the movies. Once Court was done with rehearsal, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. As we got dressed for dinner, we snacked on herb-crusted artisan cheese and gluten-free crackers and listened to the newest album by Andy Hackbarth, one of our neighbors in college. Decked out in skirts, dresses, and Chicago winter-appropriate footwear, we headed to dinner at Vermilion - a restaurant that serves contemporary Indian and Latin American fusion cuisine. Five courses and two bottles of dry red wine later we were all sitting on one side of the table, laughing and talking like we had so many times at Lawrence. The night ended at The Purple Pig for a more wine and talking.

From beginning to end, this weekend was absolutely perfect. And while I am so proud of myself for managing to keep our surprise plans a secret (everyone knows I am terrible at secret-keeping), what I love most is by making a goal to reclaim myself, I am also beginning to reclaim old friendships. I realized throughout this amazing weekend that even though time passes and people move, with a little effort and maintenance, friendships can last. The venue was different and the food and wine were certainly better, but the four girls from 301 Sage are still around - our friendship strong and intact.