Todayz Life

The brand called ME

2012-02-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

This year has been a year of lifealtering changes and challenges. As of August 2011 I was suddenly married,Toronto was my new home and I began a new and interesting career in publicrelations. The transition from single to married life has been a smooth andeasy transition. Living in Toronto has been an interesting and exciting change;the biggest change being commuting on the subway and trying to find my wayaround a big city. My career, however, has been the most dramatic change. Suddenly,I am a student again, vying for internship positions and hoping for a jobopportunity in the end. Enter the eternal question: How am I going to standout? Why will someone want to invest in “Me Inc.”?

“No matter what you’redoing today, there are four things you’ve got to measure yourself against.First, you’ve got to be a great teammate and supportive colleague. Second,you’ve got to be an exceptional expert at something that has real value. Third,you’ve got to be a broad-gauged visionary – a leader, a teacher, a farsighted‘imagineer.’ Fourth, you’ve got to be a businessperson – you’ve got to beobsessed with pragmatic outcomes.” – Tom Peters, Fast Company

In amongst trying to live ahealthy life and maintaining a great marriage, I am attempting to begin asuccessful career in PR.

As I entertain this question ofmy brand, I have to think about what makes me different or unique. All of myclassmates will have a post-graduate certificate in corporate communicationsand public relations come June. Some may possess many similar traits to those Ipossess but I think it is my own unique combination of those traits that allows“Me Inc.” to stand out.

So as I look to Tom Peters’ quoteon measuring oneself, I know I can rise to the challenge.

I have been a “teammate” all mylife. Whether it was in sports, as a friend and now a wife, I understand theimportance of commitment and dedication to a common goal.

Am I an expert at anything? It isdifficult to call myself an expert because I truly believe that I can’t be anexpert at this point in my life. Expertise comes from experience, time,practice and mistakes. But maybe this perspective is what I have of “realvalue.” I know that I will always have to learn and to improve. I look forwardto this.

I hope to always be a leader anda teacher throughout my life. I think teaching is in my blood. I enjoy helpingothers and if I can, providing advice. Maybe this blog is a bit of that.

I have never thought of myself asa businessperson because the last thing I am is cutthroat. Although I lovecompetition, I would much rather the best for the whole than the best for afew. Beyond the concept of the cutthroat businessperson, business is aboutresults and I am results driven. My life has been about setting and meetinggoals. Whether it is getting a degree, making a team, landing a teaching job orgoing back to school, I always see it through to the end.

As I reflect upon this jumbleideas of that comprise ME, I realize I am forever that girl on the court,practicing my jump shot and cheering on my teammates. I thrive in a team environmentand work hard to constantly improve my personal skills.

Priorities, priorities, priorities!

2012-02-07T15:52:00.000-08:00

Sticking to a healthy lifestyle is not easy. It is all aboutfinding things you love to do that are good for you. I have a gym membershipbut somehow, some way, I always find excuses (I like to call them priorities)as to why I can’t make it there today, tomorrow or the next day. I tend toalways have other “responsibilities” that take precedence. “I have anassignment due tomorrow,” “I have readings I must complete,” “I need to touchup my resume,” “I haven’t called my mom in a few days,” “I need to catch upon... Teen Mom.” Really? Okay, so I can make excuses upon excuses, but thetruth is the gym is not very exciting. Running on a treadmill doesn’t take meanywhere interesting. I need exercise to be fun!

Sports have always been an important part of my life. Iplayed competitive basketball and soccer for many years and loved it. I evenloved practicing. Getting exercise was secondary to the excitement of thesport. It just was part of my life. Now, with less time to commit, I find myexercise comes into my life when I challenge myself to accomplish new things. Hereare a few challenges I set for myself:

· Running a 10 km race – I signed up for theRunning Room at a beginners level and soon moved on to complete a 10 km race. Ireally recommend the Running Room. It sets a time and place for you to run witha group. This group dynamic is so important because you socialize while settingand accomplishing goals together. Running the race at the end of a sessionencourages you to continue and meet your next goal.

Snowboarding – I have skied pretty much my wholelife but this year I decided to take up a new challenge, snowboarding. I took a lesson at Blue Mountain and one dayand about two dozen spills later, I made it down the bunny slope. I can’t waitto hone this new skill.

Volleyball – I haven’t played volleyball sinceelementary school but I joined an indoor beach volleyball league this winter.It has been so much fun. I enjoy going, and don’t even think of it as exercise.

Interior design – So I know that this challengehas nothing to do with exercise but I think picking up new hobbies is soimportant to developing who you are. I took an interior design course in colourtheory last year. It was so interesting and enjoyable.

There are so many activities to get involved in! I thinkthis is why I love PR so much. Its fast-pace is never boring and you can workin just about any industry, delving into interests you already have ordiscovering new ones you would have never realized.

A healthy life is a quest for a full life. Trying to keepactive and not being afraid to discover and try new things is important todeveloping you. Never be afraid to fail. Always be willing to learn.Challenging yourself will develop aspects of you, you didn’t know you had.

2012-02-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

For those of you trying to eat healthy and introduce more vegetables into your diet, check out this recipe by Rachel Ray. It is her “Veg-Head Three-Bean Chili Recipe.” I have made it a few times before and really enjoyed it. It might be a great Superbowl Sunday alternative. Enjoy!

The simple road to healthy eating

2012-02-01T13:35:00.001-08:00

Want to start eating healthy but can’t commit to a dietoverhaul? Commit to a few SIMPLE changes. I admit, I love the IDEA oftransforming my eating habits but, like many people, I fall short in theprocess, usually after day one. But after I started following Leslie Beck’sHealthy Eating Jump-Start program in the Globe and Mail, I realized a fewsimple changes can make a difference and are easy to implement.

One of Beck’s tips is to “drink a large glass of waterbefore each meal.” She says it will prevent overeating and help you meet dailywater needs. This is a simple trick that we can easily remember to put intopractice. Then, drink more water while eating. By the way, if you are like meand enjoy your coffee in the morning and during the day, Beck says thesepleasures count toward your daily water intake. BONUS! I think I can definitelylive with this.

So my husband and I have said numerous times that we aregoing to eat more vegetables for dinner and cut down on the pasta. So far ithasn’t worked. Coming from Italian families, pasta is a way of life. Beck saysto “increase vegetable intake with at least four servings.” She mentionsoptions for adding vegetables to your lunch like adding “a handful of babycarrots or strips of red and green peppers to your brown-bag lunch.” These area great option for a snack during the day. I would also opt to add some hummusto those veggies. The trick, I think, is to provide variety to your vegetablediet and add small amounts in whenever you can. What I need is some recipeideas for vegetables so I can enjoy them a bit more. Any good suggestions? Letme know.

Here are a few more tips from Beck:

· Keep a food diary for the next seven days.

· Boost fibre at breakfast. I have really beeninto Kashi cereal. It has 8g of fibre per bowl.

· Practice eating slowly.

· Use a smaller plate. The trick here is not to gofor seconds.

· Snack on fruit.

· Drink a cup of green tea.

· Eat a leafy green vegetable.

· Plan next week’s meals in advance.

· Pass on the salt.

· Eat one vegetarian meal a day.

· Add ground flaxseed to your diet.

· Eat an orange vegetable.

· Ban sugary drinks. My brother made the decisionwhen we were teenagers to ask my mom to stop buying pop. I have to say, I don’tmiss it at all.

· Track your calories.

· Eat an afternoon snack.

· Don’t eat after 8 p.m.

· Go for whole grains. This is so true! Not onlyare they better for you, but they fill you for longer periods of time.

· Treat yourself.

· Review your new healthy eating habits.

I love these tips because they don’t disrupt your entirelife and they are easy to follow. Check out full details of all these tips on the Globe and Mail websiteand let me know how you are fairing in the quest for a healthier diet. I thinkI am going to try using a smaller plate tonight.

A bit about me

2012-02-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

I want it all; health, fitness, career, house, money for eventualretirement and free time for hobbies. Sound unreasonable? Isn’t this what weall envision for our lives? I believe it’s attainable but takes a lot ofplanning and a lot more hard work. I’m a 20something, almost 30something, jumpinginto a new career in PR and trying to fit everything else in between. This is Todayz Life.