If Time’s Flying, Does That Mean I’m Doing Something Right?

04. February 2013 · 2 comments · Categories: I'm Doing It Right! · Tags: , , ,

What a whirlwind last week was! Was it like that for you, too? January flew by for me, which is a first–usually, I find that month to be painfully slow and seemingly neverending. But here we are, several days into February already!

Since it’s Monday, it’s time to ponder all the things I’m doing right and hope that you’ll jump in and make your own list & link it up!

I suspect it would be easier for me to write a list of all the things I’m doing wrong, and I will resist the urge to summarize them here. Let’s just say life has been so busy lately that I’ve fallen off the wagon with some projects I created to better myself! C25K, anyone? Ahem. Not supposed to list stalled efforts…

Getting back to the business at hand, what I’m doing right is decreasing the time I spend of social media so I have more time for the things I need to be doing–not necessarily fun things, but things that make me feel good once they’re completed. Like mountains of proofreading on my desk at work. I’ve been taking this work home some weekends because it helps me to return to the office on Monday morning having made a dent in the things waiting to be handled. Of course I would rather be tweeting, blogging, and Facebooking (well, not so much that last one), not to mention playing with Jax, but crossing things off my to do list is more beneficial to my mindset at the moment.

Another thing I’m doing right is using my little free time to help others. For example, this morning I proofread a document for a friend, and tonight I’ll be proofreading another friend’s resume. Being able to use my skills to help the people I care about makes me feel talented, helpful, valuable, valued, selfless, and like I am giving back.

Blog stats have been amazing lately. Which is perplexing because I published a mere 10 posts last month. I don’t know what or whom to thank for the uptick in traffic, but yay! January was my best blogging month EVER, since I began in September 2010. One of these days, I will probe Google Analytics and figure out what’s up. Until then, I’m just going to enjoy the bonus traffic!

Getting my taxes done tomorrow night after work is probably a good thing. I mean, I won’t be breaking the law and not having them done, so there’s that!

Obviously I’m grasping at straws now. I promise next week’s post will be more interesting. My goal for the upcoming week is to sprinkle the days with a little more self-care! So in the meantime, do me a favor & liven up this bloghop this week, will ya? Share what you’re up to & I’ll help you celebrate your successes! Promise!




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Where Is the Sun?!

17. January 2013 · 4 comments · Categories: Living better, My happiness project, Thought-provoking Thursday · Tags: , , , , , ,

Bus Stop Early MorningIt’s been gray here for a week, at least. I’ve lost count of the cold, dreary days. I’m trying to use the SAD lamp my parents bought me for Christmas; most days I can squeeze in 15-30 minutes, but not today–and it shows! Today, I feel like it’s never going to be sunny and warm again. I also feel like a shell of myself. Where has my usual confidence disappeared to? I’m writing this post at the beginning of my lunch break after half a day of feeling incompetent and, frankly, kind of dumb. Like everyone else around me is so much smarter than I am, and soon they’ll figure that out.

I guess it could be a case of overload. I am struggling to keep up with all the new things I’m learning at work. I need a few extra hours in the day–every day–to process and organize all this information, as well as all my innovative ideas and suggestions, at my own pace. I do things quickly, to cross them off my list. I’d like to spend more time thinking about the process, making sure I fully understand it. But it doesn’t feel like I have that luxury right now because there is simply too much to be done.

Social media overload is getting me down, too. I’m not one to compare myself to others, usually–I know better and can curb that temptation pretty well; yet this week, when I log into Facebook, I find myself wondering why certain individuals get a whole lot of attention, support, and love and I don’t. (But really, I do! It just isn’t displayed on Facebook!) I feel left out on Twitter because I haven’t had the time to keep up with things there. I missed a G+ chat with my best bloggy friends earlier this week, and I’m still sad about it.

Most days, all of this is a non-issue for me. There’s just something about this week…

It’s gotta be that it hasn’t been sunny here in so long.

Or that last week, I felt like I was on top of the world, with lots of positive feedback and good news, new goals, and socializing. The blog hop was so well-received, which was a surprise and a nice start to the week. Blogging in general was fantastic for the first 2 weeks of 2013, with a few opportunities to make some bucks and a bunch of new subscribers (who will probably unsubscribe after this miserable post!). Last week still had that new year feel to it. I started running. I had some fun nights with friends. But now it’s just boring old mid-January. Blah.

It’s apparent to me that the best place for me to be today isn’t online, but rather in my own head. Days like today, if we use them correctly, help us to re-evaluate where we devote our energy–are we spending too much time online instead of with the people close to us (at least physically)? Are we comparing ourselves to others too much? How can that be changed? What are the other changes we want to make? In my work life, I want to declutter my desk, organize my notes for the new tasks I’ve learned in the past year, and practice skills that I’m not confident about just yet. These are the things I need to find time to do so I feel generally better.

After I finish this work day and the tasks I perform each night at home (dinner, cleaning up, bathing Jax, etc), I’m promising myself a half hour to sit quietly and think about my goals for the next few weeks. Not for the year, as that feels too overwhelming right now. Maybe I’ll write a short list–because I can’t deny my list-making tendencies–of the things bugging me and brainstorm what to do about them.

And then I’ll make a list of the things I am happy about and grateful for, just to balance things out. Topping that list, for sure, are my friends and family. I’m very lucky in that department. In all departments, really.

See? It’s already working. Things are looking up! I just needed to write, stream-of-consciousness style, to remind myself that life is really good, despite the lack of sunshine.

It feels appropriate now to bust out into a rendition of this:

Did you laugh? Me too. Thanks for reading.

 

photo by: h.koppdelaney

Dressing Confidently for Work

11. January 2013 · 2 comments · Categories: Ad-free sponsored, Websites to look at, Working momma · Tags: , ,

I am the proud daughter of a hard-working mom who was once a hard-working single mom, way back when. My mom has always been and always will be my number one role model: ambitious, kind, generous, understanding, and with an amazing ability to balance her work life with taking care of her family.

The other day, I received an email about Spiegel, and it took me right back to my pre-teen years, when I used to sit on my bed and flip through my mom’s Spiegel catalog. I remember one Spiegel outfit in particular that my mom bought and wore to work as an Administrative Assistant at a hotel in the 80s: It was a color-blocked sweater and skirt set, teal on the top half of the sweater and black on the bottom, with a black skirt. Later, I inherited (or stole from her closet) the sweater.

My mom relied on Spiegel back then to enhance her professional image as she climbed the ladder from waitress to Admin Assistant [to a bunch of jobs I can't remember] to HR Service Center Manager for one of the world’s leading specialty chemical companies.

As much as we say image isn’t important (or at least it shouldn’t be), clothes give us the confidence we sometimes need to do our jobs well and to grab the attention we deserve for it.

Looking through catalogs is still something I love to do from time to time, but online shopping is now my preferred method of seeing new styles I can recreate myself. So the other day, I spent a little time on the Spiegel website and found a few outfits I would feel confident (yet also comfortable) wearing at work.

How cute is this one?

 

 

The pants, shoes, bag, and sweater are all from Spiegel; even better, they are all currently on sale. The sweater is $34, as are the pants. The pumps are $59, and the bag is $109. All of the items are versatile enough that I would get a lot of wear from them over the years.

Do you have a favorite outfit, whether you wear it to work or not, that makes you feel confident?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Spiegel, but all opinions are mine.

Yet Another Year-End Review Post (or Not)

31. December 2012 · 4 comments · Categories: Living better, Travels · Tags: , , , ,

Happy New YearIt dawned on me this morning that I simply don’t feel like doing a year-in-review post. So I’m not going to! At least, not in the typical way. I have to admit, the primary reason is that I honestly can’t remember all the things I did this year! And I’m too lazy busy to review this year’s photos to figure it out!

But I will say about this year that I was impressed when WordPress shared my blog stats with me and I saw that I posted 142 times. That’s pretty good, with a post every 2.57 days, if I did the math correctly. I hope to keep that up in 2013, although I fear I’m running out of things to write about!

So you might get a few rambly posts (like this one) here & there. We’ll just call them “stream of consciousness” posts (because that sounds better).

In 2012, like many bloggers I follow I chose a word to inspire me throughout the year: “better.” I wanted to wake up each morning and do better than the day before. I wanted to strive to be better–a better mother, a better wife, a better employee, a better blogger, a better friend…you get the idea. I’m not sure I am sitting here this morning any better at any of those things than I was a year ago today. But the word kept me striving, so there’s that.

In 2013, my word will be “enough.” As in, I’m giving up the pursuit of (near-)perfection and aiming to be a good enough mom, a good enough friend, and so on. I put way too much pressure on myself to be good at everything. And we all know what happens when we pressure ourselves too much! So in 2013, I’m cutting myself some slack.

Enough, to me, also means knowing when enough is enough. Knowing when to back away from things like drama, overbooked schedules, and too many unfulfilling commitments. Hopefully this frees me up for more fun, relaxation, and energy! The twist is that saying no to things will probably help me be a better x, y, and z!

I’m looking forward to some big things in 2013. I’m traveling at least 4 times: Jax will visit Disneyworld for the first time in March, thanks to a super-generous Christmas gift from my mom (to the whole family). That also means his first flight, which has me a little nervous given that he’s already saying he doesn’t want to go in a plane! Then in June, I think I’m going to Las Vegas for a work trip. It’ll be a quick trip, like they always are, but I’ve never been there, so I’m getting excited about it. Who wants to join me? I sure as hell don’t want to wander around that city by myself. In July, my family rented a shore house, so there will be lots of relaxation in the sun and sand. And then in September, I’m traveling to Washington, DC, again for work. And I’ve been there a thousand times, so it’s nothing special at this point, but maybe I’ll take Jax and the husband with me and we’ll see some of the museums we didn’t hit last time.

There is most likely going to be a new car in my new year. (And hopefully a new salary to help out with that! Haha!)

Aside from the excitement of travel & new wheels, I’m sure 2013 has plenty of other goodies in store. I’m looking forward to the new year and seeing how it plays out. This year wasn’t bad to me, but it definitely had its twists–both good and bad. They all do.

Happy new year! Be safe tonight! And don’t feel bad if you’re sound asleep by 12. ;)

 

photo by: Sean Rogers1

Fantasizing About December

29. November 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: My happiness project, Working momma · Tags: , , ,

I am likely about to make you jealous.

Bloggers, ever feel inundated with ideas for posts you don’t have time to write? The ideas are there, buzzing around in my head, but the time isn’t. However, this morning I looked at the calendar hanging on my cubicle at work and noticed lots of scribbles–in other words, days off! Hooray! I counted them, like any busy mom who craves time alone would do.

Just look at all those days off from work! Eight, to be exact–plus the 1 on New Years’ Day. I’m working a total of 13 days in December. I’m working less than I am not working! I love this time of year!

It’s not exactly all peaches and cream, though–all those days off mean I’ll be wayyy behind when I return to work in January. But at least I’ll be well rested (in theory).

Over the break–which includes 11 days off in a row at the end of December–I will send Jax to daycare on a few of the days (& my husband will go to work as usual) so I can accomplish a few things around the house ALONE, including:

  • Undecorating the house from the holidays. Jax can’t be there for this. Too traumatic for the little boy who loves Christmas best.
  • Cleaning & catching up on chores. Every time I get a break from work, I try to give the house a good scrubbing. Sayonara, dust bunnies!
  • Finding homes for all the new STUFF (gifts). We already have so much stuff. Where in the world will all the new stuff go? I typically schedule a Purple Heart pickup or make a Goodwill donation during the week after Christmas. It feels good to declutter by donating.

And I’ll make a point to also indulge myself in some super-duper-mega self-care by:

  • Writing a few blog posts. I’d love to bank a few for when the inspiration or time are lacking later. Like when I’m overworking in January because of all the time off in December! There are many posts in my head just waiting to be written. I miss the days of having posts written and waiting in the Drafts folder to be scheduled for a rainy day.
  • Getting a massage. I’ve been holding on to a gift certificate for over a year now. Yes, a whole year! There’s never the right time to make this happen! But I’m thinking about spending one of the pre-Christmas vacation days finishing up my shopping and then relaxing with a massage. Assuming the thing is still valid….
  • Watching movies. This is something that’s fallen by the wayside in the 3 years of my son’s existence. Well, unless you count Disney movies. But there are a few mostly girly movies I want to see that nobody in my house would ever let me watch in their presence. Like The Notebook. Can you believe I’ve never seen that?! I’m sure it’ll be a total sobfest, but at least I’ll be alone, so who cares! Crying alone is good for the soul, right?!
  • Reading books while taking a bubble bath while drinking wine. Probably in the middle of the afternoon. So what.
  • Catching up with friends. That’s the best part of the holiday season, and I don’t plan to miss out!

So, what’s your December looking like? Wanna grab lunch?

I’m serious. Call me. I’d bet money that after a few days, I’ll be bored & lonely!

 

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