Bleeding Love

MY MINDFUL YEAR - SEPTEMBER
I donated blood.

The Jewish holidays always have me thinking about the good I could be doing in the world. And this year, I decided to do a very tangible good deed, donate some blood.

It was super easy to sign up to give. I had given before so I was already in the system. I just logged on to the New York Blood Center's website, chose a date, time, and location, and boom. Done. Good deed booked.

I wasn't nervous as I'd given in the past and remembered the process: first paperwork, then pin prick on the finger to check iron levels, then blood pressure test, then give a pint blood. And then the best part: cookies and juice.

It only took about an hour from the time I entered the facility to the time I departed with a neat blue bandage. And luckily, there was a blood drive right in my neighborhood so I only had 2 blocks to walk home where I binge watched Downton Abbey and drank some tea.

I'm type A+, a very common blood type, so it's likely my donation will be put to good use soon. I think about some of the people I love who have had to receive blood transfusions: my dad, my grandmother, my friend's son. And it makes me feel proud to be able to help someone else's dad, grandmother, or baby.

So if you can, donate some blood. It's a small time commitment. It costs zero dollars. One donation can save up to 3 lives. And you will feel fantastic afterwards. But not right afterwards. Usually after I give blood I feel queasy and sore. But after that, there's no better feeling than knowing I made a difference.

Thrift Shop

MY MINDFUL YEAR - AUGUST
In August, I consigned clothes for the first time.

Instead of lugging a big bag to Good Will, I decided to try ThredUp, an online consignment shop. They make it super easy - a bag got mailed to my home, I filled it up and mailed it back. Super easy and also free.

It took over a month for them to process my items, hence the lateness of my August mindfulness project. But in the end, I received a little chunk of change and got rid of a bunch of outdated items in my wardrobe. Any items they're not able resell, they simply donate. I feel good knowing most of my things could live another life with another owner.

Plus my closet is a lot less jam packed with things I don't even wear.

Somewhere That's Green

Upon our return from Australia, our winter was a hectic one. We didn't take any days off from work and plowed through the cold weather. Instead of planning another big vacation, we planned 2 small ones over Memorial Day and Labor Day.

MEMORIAL DAY GETAWAY

We booked a long weekend at the Mirror Lake Inn. We arrived on a perfectly cool Adirondack afternoon and went for a walk around the lake. We topped off the evening with a fantastic dinner at Taste Bistro.

The next day looked gloomy but we managed to get a few miles of hiking in during the morning. When the skies turned grey, we turned around and headed to the gym at our inn. It was actually pretty nice getting a run in with a view of the misty lake without suffering the mist itself! Then we spent the afternoon at Big Slide Brewery and had dinner at The View.

For a true day of relaxing, we took an entire morning to luxuriate in the spa complete with a eucalyptus steam room, whirlpools, and a hot stone massage. We did a bit of exploring in the afternoon with a walk around Main Street and a trip to the Lake Placid Olympic Museum. We topped off the night with an amazing meal with fantastic cocktails at Liquids and Solids.

Our final day was spent hiking up and down Cascade Mountain followed by an evening at an outdoor rooftop bar enjoying the view.

When we departed, it looked like the skies were about to open up at any moment. But we still had enough time to check out the ski jumping arena before it started to pour. Our drive back was long and rainy but we were so relaxed and calm.

LABOR DAY GETAWAY

We padded the long weekend with a few days on each side for a trip to Vermont and New Hampshire.

We stayed at the Rabbit Hill Inn which was absolutely wonderful. The breakfasts were amazing and we enjoyed in-room massages, 2 dinners at the inn, and many afternoons of post-hiking sweets while working on the incredible wooden puzzles they kept in the common room.

Aside from our time at the inn, we dined at Hen of the Wood and The Thompson House Eatery, explored the town of Littleton in New Hampshire, and had a great time at Shilling Beer Co.

A trip to the mountains wouldn't be complete without some time spent outdoors of course. We went for a relaxing kayak trip down the Clyde River and a bald eagle flew overhead at a particular magical moment. We also went on a bunch of hikes: from our inn to the Connecticut River, Spruce Mountain, Flume Gorge, and Mount Pemigewasset.

Being surrounded by greenery was glorious.