Christmas Time Is Here

It's tough to be away from our family and friends during the holidays. Obviously we miss out on many family traditions and are beginning to create our own, but its the people that cannot be replaced.

For me, this has been a pretty tough December. Work has been non-stop, and I'm quickly burning out on the long hours and relentless workload. I am looking forward to spending some much-needed down time with Sam and Hunter in Northern California.

Sam, by contrast, is having a very slow season. He's working at Kaiser and they are pretty much closed for these next two weeks. He's been filling his time writing papers and taking care of the house, which I can't complain about. In fact, he's got a to do list to take care of before we leave town tomorrow when I get off.

We're really looking forward to having Carina and Justin home for the holidays. Justin will be around until Dec. 26 and Carina arrives on Dec. 27 so we'll be able to focus our undivided attention on each of them while they're in town.

On that note, I'd better put the finishing touches on my packing and get to bed - we have a very long day ahead of us tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Galles

This Thanksgiving we spent the day with our dear friends, the Colbys.  Dan and Sam decided they wanted to deep fry a turkey for the first time so Sam bought a deep fryer and both a turkey and a duck.  We had decided we were going to have spaghetti and meatballs - and apparently duck - for dinner, so Sam and Dan made a traditional Thanksgiving lunch for us all.  

It was totally delicious! Especially Dan's amazing cranberry sauce.  Seriously, it put all previous cranberries to shame.

Even more amazing than the fried turkey was the duck - I think we were all pretty impressed with how that turned out.  And the cranberry deliciousness went extremely well with that, too.  

All in all, it was really nice to spend our first Thanksgiving as "the Galles" with Dan and Tina, who were with us the first time we hosted Thanksgiving at our apartment during Sam's last year of med school. It felt like coming full circle. And now, we both have our little dogs - Hunter and Lando.  It was really, really nice. 

Migraines

There are definitely some less-than-awesome things that I am prone to health-wise.  For one, my asthma makes it pretty imperative that I get my annual flu shot, and even still, I've had a serious bought of walking pneumonia or bronchitis every other year since I was a sophomore in high school. Lucky for me, this is destine to be that year.  :-(

One of the other, far more inconvenient, things I suffer from are chronic migraines.  Starting in college, they tend to be significantly worse around "that time of the month," but I seem to have cluster and migraine headaches regardless of my cycle, and sinus headaches accompany many of my head colds.

It's especially irritating because I have varied  warning that a migraine is coming.  I rarely have an aura, but my neck becomes very stiff and I find myself stretching in from side to side frequently throughout the day without really thinking about it.  As soon as I notice that, I know the migraine will be arriving soon.  Similarly, once I am suffering, my neck is the one thing that sees no relief from my medications.  Even once I've managed the pain in my head, my neck is still.  It's not until my neck begins to feel normal, that I know I'm in the clear.

This morning, I have a particularly intense migraine.  I had my coworkers over last night to celebrate the Giants being in the World Series, and we made tacos and did a potluck.  Of course, with six girls socializing outside of work, we ended up hanging out and drinking margaritas more than watching the game.  But that was okay.  Sam was called in to operate, so I stayed up reading to wait for him.  We finally went to bed around 11:00, and I passed out thanks to the sinus congestion that has been zapping my energy the past couple of days.

Well, around 4:50 a.m., Hunter woke me up pawing at his water dish in our bathroom.  He does that to let me know when he's out of water and thirsty during the night.  Sure enough, as soon as I came to consciousness, I was in pain.  Deep, hemispheric pain that seemed to be radiating all the way down the left side of my extraordinarily stiff neck.  Waves of nausea were washing over me.

I sat up and the pain intensified, making it to the bathroom, bracing myself against the counter as I leaned down to pick up the bowl and then down to put the full bowl on the floor.  I reached into the medicine cabinet to find the Excedrin, my go-to over-the-counter method of relief.  I may have gone back to sleep, but at 5:30, Hunter was scratching on the front door to be taken out to go to the bathroom, and I figured it was well enough that I got up anyway.  My head didn't feel significantly better, which it usually does within half an hour after medicating myself.

Hunter and I headed downstairs and I was aware of the sensitivity I had to the lights on the buildings. When we came back upstairs, I dug into my purse and found my prescription strength migraine medication.  Then I settled in on the couch to wait.  Again, it takes about thirty minutes to kick in.

Around 6:00, Sam came out to find me sitting on the couch with my laptop and he inquired as to why I was up, and not in bed.  We chatted a bit and he proceeded to get on with his day.  Just before he left, he said that I didn't look well and he hoped I was feeling better by this evening.  I doubt that will be the case.  My head feels not quite right - not painful anymore, but not quite right, and my neck is still stiff.  From experience, I know that even if this episode is over, there will be another one on the way.

I'm a Wife!

Two months ago, on August 16, Sam and I tied the knot.

It's odd, because on one hand, nothing has changed between us.  On the other, everything in my life seems just a bit different.

It has taken some getting used to, but I'm finally remembering to use my new last name when I'm on the phone at work.  I still need to switch over my voicemail on my cell phone... something to do this week I suppose.  I did send out a mass email with my new gmail account honoring my name change.  I'm still using my original email too, but I figured it was best to start using the other moving forward.

Sam and I have been having much more serious conversations about finances, and he has some ideas about how I can do a better job of saving money.  At first I rebelled against his advice, but then I realized that he is far more interested in money management than I am, and he's taking the time to research solutions and advise me.

Sam put me on his healthcare at work... so I am now officially a dependent spouse.

I also notice that my family has taken to calling me Mrs. Galle, which is sort of odd because it makes me hyper aware that I no longer share the same last name as they do.

And at the same time, we're still happy to see one another at the end of the work day.  We're still working out the same issues we always have that come with spending time with both sides of the family at the holidays.  So much of our daily lives are the same, and yet the little details seem to change.  I will tell you this, not planning a wedding has been WONDERFUL!

Bridal Wisdom

This meme pretty much sums up how I'm feeling right now... only 10 days to go!

Just a couple more things to knock off the To Do list and I'll be good to go.

And Xanax totally counts and "Something Blue."

Open Bar Wedding

ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!!!

I can't believe how fast the time has gone by!

And having an open bar was the one thing my Dad requested... 

Hey, when you're footing the bill we accommodate you as best we can!

Bridezilla

So, I finally had my first major bridezilla moment.

Sam had asked me to book our string trio a few weeks ago.  I emailed our signed contract and method of payment to the contact person Sam had been working with.  The person responded to me, and I assumed that meant they had gotten the attached contract.

No sir.  It did not.

For the past two weeks, Sam has been mentioning to me that the payment never came through on his credit card.  He had been copied on the email, which I reminded him, and I suggested that he follow up.

Today, Sam heard back from the vendor that they hadn't received our payment information.  Which Sam then texted me.  Oh no, sir.  Think again.  I went back into my emails and forwarded the email I had sent containing the contract and payment again copying Sam and sending it to our contact person.

I wrote a slightly snotty, aggressive email about how I "assumed" that the attachment had been received when the contact responded to my original email but would someone please let me know the payment had been received.

I then called Sam and in a rather terse tone, let him know that he'd been copied on the email and should now follow up and confirm with the contact that it had been received.  It was one of the few times that I have heard Sam recoil on the phone.  I am relatively sure it's the first time I've had a full-blown bridezilla moment because Sam quite literally said, "Okay, I think we're okay," and then got the hell off the phone.

The vendor quickly responded that all was well and he'd missed the attachment.

And it was not my proudest moment, but I am assured that many of us brides lose our sense of sanity at one point of another and it's perfectly normal.  For now, I'm going to try to get the crazy locked down and keep trucking on my To Do lists.

Summer 2014

I love summer, but 2014 is going to be a big one!

This summertime, I am a bride, having the experience of a lifetime, surrounded by my family and friends and overwhelmed with the unconditional love that has been so prevalent during the wedding planning process.  

Our wedding is set for August and so far almost everything we've experienced has been fun - at least to some degree!  We're planning our wedding, one of the sweetest chapters in our love story, and looking toward the future.  Yes, wedding planning has been hard work, but life is full of hard work!  That's what makes us appreciate the fun times!  

Over the past 10 months of our engagement, Sam and I have done a lot of growing up.  We've really begun to make plans for our future together as our own little family unit and I am so excited to see what's in store for us!  

2 Months To Go!

Dance Lessons

Sam and I are taking a few dance lessons before the wedding not only improve our first dance skills, but also as a fun, date night activity.  We started out with the Waltz, but it turns out we are more Tango people... considering that it's a fiery, passionate dance and we're fiery, passionate people, that may not come as a surprise to many of our friends and family.  Also, it turns out that ballroom dancing is not for sissies.

Within 10 minutes of starting our first lesson, the dance instructor said to me, "You're seeming to have trouble following Sam's lead."  She couldn't have hit the nail more squarely on the head with that.

Not only do I feel as though I have two left feet, I cannot seem to get the lead and follow quite right let along the arm positions and constant, lightly applied pressure on his hand.  Granted, this is just our first lesson, but I can't help wondering how much we'll improve (realistically) over the next 11 weeks before the wedding.

I suppose I'll just have to keep practicing and see what happens!

It's Really Happening...

Well, there is no turning back now... I mailed out our wedding invitations this afternoon.

Sam and I spent Saturday night stuffing envelopes and on Sunday we sealed them up and worked on the ceremony details - procession and recession bridal party order, the music we want the string trio to play, who is going to do which readings, etc.  

The little details are killing me now.  There is SO MUCH to keep track of, and so much that needs to be addressed between now and August that can't be completed until after our RSVPs come in.  That is really frustrating to me being that I abhor procrastination and yet I can't get started on things like the seating chart, the place cards, etc. until we know who is coming.

Boys Trip

Sam called me on Monday and told me he was taking off on a six-day trip with friends.  I had known that he had a week off and was planning on trying to coordinate something last minute, but I did expect more notice that I was given.

I also expected that he'd accomplish more than 1.5 of the chores I left for him before heading to work.  C'est la vie.

I don't want anyone to think that I'm a tyrant, I actually really encourage Sam to take trips with his friends and leave me home.  My dad has an annual fishing trip, which has evolved a bit over the years and now is a bit less about roughing it and more about relaxing and being man-pampered.  But still, I remember how much my dad looked forward to those escapes... and how excited he was when he got home.  Absence really does make the heart grow fonder sometimes.

This week I've realized that I am overjoyed to be marrying my best friend in the whole world.  He encourages me to push my limits professionally and personally while supporting me and making sure I know what a great person I am.  He's the first person I want to talk to, and maybe more importantly, he's the person I was to sit quietly with in bed reading books or on the couch watching a movie.

I'm looking forward to picking Sam up from the airport on Saturday.  Especially since he's leaving again next Thursday - Saturday and then again the second week of June for work functions.  Good thing he's marrying an independent woman!  And, once again, I'm thankful for our long-distance days in college.

Cooking Class

I decided to take myself up on something I'd been thinking about for a while... a cooking class.  Sam and I have a lot of baking stuff on our registry and I would like to be able to make a really nice-looking cake to go with all of my awesome entrees (lasagna, stir fry, spaghetti and meatballs, salmon, etc.)

So I went ahead and signed myself up on a weekend he'll be out of town for a conference.  Just a little ME time.... and if I can come even remotely close to pulling off the magnificence that is pictured on the sign up page I will be THRILLED.  Ta-da!

Luscious Layer Cakes

What You Will Learn

Who can resist a decadent cake featuring layers of delicious frosting? Not us, that's for sure! Join our hands-on class as we cover the basics of cake making, from preparing perfect batter to proper layering techniques. Our instructor will show you simple steps for making incredible mousses and frostings from scratch. Plus, we'll share the surprisingly easy secrets for making ombre cakes, one of the culinary world's hottest trends. Prepare to wow friends and family at your next celebration.


What To Expect:

Great cooking isn't about recipes—it's about techniques. In our classes you'll work together with other students in a fun, hands-on environment led by our professional chef instructors.

• Learn fundamental skills for a lifetime of great cooking
• Work side-by-side with other students to prepare each dish
• Interact with classmates and the instructor for a rich learning experience
• Classes are 2 to 2 1/2 hours, unless otherwise noted above, and each student enjoys a generous taste of every dish
• Held in our professional teaching kitchens, each class is led by an experienced chef instructor
• Hands-on classes are limited to 16 participants
• Students receive a 10% discount coupon to use the week after the class

Massage

I am a sucker for a good massage.

Sam used to rub my shoulders for me when we first started dating, and my dad used to rub my back before bed during water polo season when I was tight and uncomfortable.

It wasn't until college and really after graduation when I moved to Orange County that I grew to appreciate a really great massage.  And we had massages at least once a week while we were in Southeast Asia three years ago.

Since I took my high pressure, high stress agency job, I have been meaning to book myself a massage... but like all the stuff I do for myself (ahem, blogging, the gym, etc.) I seem never to be able to find the time to make an appointment.

So I finally called up my former masseuse and was disappointed to hear that he's got a great gig working on the NASCAR circuit.  He did refer me to a colleague and I'm going to see her on Saturday.  I cannot wait.

Even Sam said earlier this week that my shoulders are off-center because I am holding so much tension in my upper body.  He must have taken pity on me because he did rub my shoulders a little bit for me that night.

I just want to be able to relax and actually feel my stress melt out of my body.

Hopefully after Saturday I'll be able to sleep better and feel more like working out!

Video Clips - O.A.R. Concert

As promised here are some of the videos from the O.A.R. concert at The House of Blues, Anaheim on Tuesday night.  Sam wanted to buy tickets so we did, even though it was a weeknight concert and I am so glad that we did.  I think they were the best performers I have ever seen live!

O.A.R. at The House of Blues, Anaheim

Sam decided we needed a date night... and he was right!  So last month we bought tickets to last night's O.A.R. concert at The House of Blues in Anaheim.  Sam and I aren't HUGE live music fans... I mean we love a good concert as much as the next guy, but it's not something we do all the time like some of our friends do.  So this was a step a bit outside of our box, especially because we went on a Tuesday night and didn't have any friends accompany us.  It was really just a really wonderful date night without any work stress or wedding planning drama.

It was really good to get out, not worry about work and do something FUN for a change.  The new songs they played from their upcoming album were FABULOUS!  Absolutely fabulous.  I even bought a few of them I liked them so much!  I will try to upload some videos soon too!

How Amazon's Warehouse Works

http://www.chonday.com/Videos/how-the-amazon-warehouse-works

If you have ever wondered how Amazon.com warehouses work, this is the video for you!

I just subscribed for Prime and I love it!  So easy to order anything I need - trash can liners for our SimplyHuman bathroom trashcan, face moisturizer from Clinique, nail polish from O.P.I. - I seriously love it!

Never Miss Monday

People ask me why I am such a proponent of getting to the gym on Mondays.  Well, because my awesome personal trainer, Amanda, told me once that Monday is the easiest day to get the gym.  It's the beginning of the week, things don't USUALLY pop up, and you get it out of the way while you're still fresh from the weekend.

Obviously you need to go to the gym more than just on Mondays, but I have really made it a point to live by this advice when I am seriously in the swing on working out.  To that end, I had to share this great graphic that I found on Pinterest.

Back to Workouts

The bridal bootcamp has been underway for weeks now, but unfortunately I haven't been as on my game as I should have been... I'm going to blame the long hours at my new job.  

Well, two weeks ago I emailed my personal trainer, the wonderful Amanda, and let her know what my pain points are as far as not having a regular work schedule.  I told her that I'm going to make fitness a much bigger priority and focus on a manageable work life balance.  And she helped me out with some awesome workouts to help get me back into shape.  

First up on the list?  I started getting my act together for spin class on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:45 p.m.  I cannot even begin to give Sam enough credit for how much he's enabled me to focus on myself.  Sam's on a really easy rotation (think reliably short hours) at Kaiser so he's been able to get home to let Hunter out on the nights I head to the gym directly from work.  

Additionally, Amanda has given me some really handy workouts that involve walking the dog - which is a win win for us because it gives us a chance to do something as a family (Sam joins us) and we also get to involve Hunter.  He has been sleeping through the night A LOT better with all this exercise.  

The best news of all is that I've gotten more than 10,000 steps and more than 30 minutes of intense activity for the last five days in a row counting today.  I know it's not going to happen over night, but this is the second week in a row that I've made it to two spin classes.  Let me tell you, my legs are BURNING, which is a good thing because in the simplest of explanations: the muscles in your legs are the largest, most powerful muscles in your body thus they are capable of burning the most energy aka fat.  

I'm also working my upper body so that my arms and shoulders are as sculpted as possible when I don my beautiful strapless wedding dress in less than five months!  I can't believe how quickly the months are ticking down...

I'm not sure if it's partly because of the Lexapro, but I don't have quite the same level of agitation and stress at work these days.  Not to say I'm not committed, but I don't feel the need to push and give my job all 110% of my energy.  And it's been making me really happy to spend some time on myself, improving my fitness and getting back into shape. 

St. Patrick's Day Priorities

St. Patrick's Day Priorities when you're on a wedding countdown...

No green beer, but at least I wore my green Lululemon shirt!

A Trip to the Doctor

My new healthcare kicked in at the beginning of this month and I was running super low on all of my prescriptions so I made a few calls and somehow picked the practice my former doctor's receptionist went to when they parted ways a few years ago.  It was wonderful to reconnect with Stacy, and she actually booked me with a doctor she regards very highly.

I really, really enjoyed Dr. Stults (I even recommended her to my digital and social media marketing mentor).  She was incredibly detailed in the notes she took about my increased anxiety and was more than open to switching me to Lexapro, which tends to have better results with anxiety.  In fact, I have at least two friends who take it and have had great results.

Dr. Stults recommended that I start with a half a pill for the first five days or so while continuing my current anxiety medication (Wellbutrin), then going up to a full pill of both prescriptions for 5-7 days, and then a full Lexapro every day and alternating Wellbutrin before cutting the Wellbutrin altogether.

I'm a bit of an overachiever, so I went with a full pill from the very start... and wow was that interesting.  I immediately noticed that I was having trouble sleeping through the night... and still am.  Falling asleep is no problem, but I seem to be waking up around 1:00 a.m.  Luckily it's not a problem going back to sleep, and I've been able to sleep in just like before I was taking the medication, but it's very strange to continually wake up just after midnight.

I am incredibly thankful I haven't had any increased anxiety, which is one of the side effects most complained about online.  The second night I took it, I did wake up in a complete state of panic thinking that I hadn't sent an email to one of my clients.  Thankfully, I was able to talk myself down and be reasonable... what could I possibly do from my bedroom at 4:35 in the morning, after all?

I'm incredibly hopeful that this will help minimize the stress and pressure I have been feeling since taking my new job in December.  Best case scenario I would like to be able to have a better work life balance!

Cleaning Recap

Why did we wait so long to hire someone to clean our apartment?!?!

Everything looks just as nice as when we first moved in - shiny, bright, white, clean!

And I am finally not stressed about the state of the apartment.

Don't get me wrong, it helps that Sam was out of town this weekend so I was able to tidy some of the piles of clothes up and put away some of our other items.  This definitely takes a load of my plate as far as my responsibilities and tasks!

As an added bonus, Jack and Hunter were ABSOLUTELY smitten with one another.  Which was really great.

Cleaning Service

When Sam started residency, I asked him if we could please hire someone to clean the house once a month.  Of all his wonderful qualities, and believe me there are many, housework is not near the top of Sam's list.  In fact, Sam's version of helping out is usually to rally the troops (aka me) and start the project before melting away into another room where I find him passed out with the dog or reading the newspaper.  

Coupled with Sam's lack of interest in cleaning, he is equally enthused by the idea of paying someone to clean for us.  And I can understand that, my family never had anyone come in to help clean - my mom did it all herself.  But she was also a stay at home mom.  

Second year of residency, the wheels really came off our haphazard cleaning routine.  Sam was on call approximately every 4th night and stayed at the hospital, we had our third roommate shedding all over the house, and I was working my butt off founding a marketing department for a small telecommunications company.  Again, I told Sam I wanted to hire someone to clean the house once a month.  Again, he refused to pay for something we could do ourselves.  

But we didn't do it.  I am mortified to admit that I can't remember the last time I cleaned our bathroom... I mean REALLY cleaned our bathroom.  One time in the last year that does stick out in my mind is when I got so overwhelmed by how bad the bathroom was that I actually started crying when Sam wouldn't help me clean it.  And I don't want you to have the wrong impression, I am a pretty tidy person.  Seriously, you could probably ask any of my former roommates and they would say I am much more of a neat freak than they are.  I am so religious when it comes to dusty and vacuuming every other weekend that I have a calendar event on iCal that goes off.  I'm sure counts for something, but I hate deep cleaning with a passion.  

I digress, anyway, for my birthday in September, I told Sam all I wanted was for someone to come in and clean the apartment.  And he finally agreed.  (Sam's motto about cleaning is that if I leave it long enough he will eventually be bothered enough to do it himself, but his threshold is just much lower than mine... I guess that means the place has gotten pretty bad!)

Sam and I started asking for recommendations from our friends who use house cleaners.  It turns out a lot of the medical students and residents we know use cleaning services, and not just the guys.  We had a couple of friends say they wouldn't recommend who they use, but one of our friends had someone she thought we should try.  Three weeks after she gave me his contact information, I finally got around to making the appointment.  

And he will be here tomorrow morning, bright and early!

I just have to resist the urge to clean the place before he gets here out of guilt!!! 

A Little Life Update

I know I haven't been posting too regularly but I am making an effort to stop sacrificing all of the things I love and enjoy doing in my free time starting in March.

It's been too long since I was at the gym, wrote a blog post, tried a new recipe, etc.

I knew I was signing on for long hours when I took the agency job in December, but I was naive to how long the hours would truly be.  At best, I get to the office at 8:30 a.m. and leave at 5:30 p.m. when my workday is technically over.  The catch, is that there is that things seem to have a nasty habit of popping up between 4:30 - 5:30 just as I'm thinking about winding down.  Or, I start logging my billable time at 4:20 but it takes me 20 - 30 minutes to complete because I make meticulous notes to help my Account Coordinate do the billing.  On top of that, we're supposed to be billable 7 hours a day, which doesn't sound too bad until you think about the time you spend in the bathroom, your lunch break, the miscellaneous time you have waiting for a meeting to start or recapping the topics that were discussed on a call with a client for your billing reports.  So sometimes I have to stay after 5:30 just to try to make my billable hours.

Since taking this job, my TMJ disorder has come roaring back to life and I am not getting the relief from my mouthguard the way I have in the past.  My suspicion is that after 4 years I have probably clenched so much that I need to replace it, and I have an appointment later this month to see my dentist and have new impressions taken.

Then there is the stress level.  I'm going to be seeing a new family medicine doctor next week and I want her to reevaluate my anxiety medication and see if maybe there is something that's a better fit for me.

So things are going to have to change moving forward.

A dear friend of mine (a PR professional who was working at an agency at the time) gave me some very real advice that I pass out as often as possible:

The first three months of a new job are terribly hard because you're just learning the system.  The second three months of a new job are horrible because you start to understand what you really got yourself into, but you're still figuring out your system to be successful.  At six months in, you've started to form your routine and you're beginning to feel like you're able to perform your required duties.

It's funny, in a meeting yesterday I had the mounting feeling of dread that I had so many responsibilities and so many deadlines over the next few days that I began to feel overwhelmed.  And then, an interesting thing happened, the thought occurred to me that I should put all of the pitching deadlines at the bottom of my daily task sheet at the beginning of each month so that I see them all and am reminded to chip away at them little by little.  Wow.  What do you know, I'm starting to come up with my own system for success and I've been there nearly 11 weeks.

Back in January, as I was lamenting the death of my personal life and the onslaught of stress and pressure, my dad told me that it takes roughly one year to become competent at a new job.  He promised me that by Thanksgiving I would feel 180 degrees different than I felt at that moment.

I know he's right, but sometimes I wish the timing of this opportunity had come six months earlier... but then again, I was able to accomplish SO MUCH for our wedding while I was working for my last company that maybe this is all for the best.  I will tell you this much, I LOVE my team and what I do.

I just need to remember that there are less than six months before our wedding, and I am still not in the physical shape I want to be in.  It's tough to leave Hunter alone for another hour and a half and get my workout in on weeknights, but hopefully Sam can help me pick up the slack there because I need to find a routine that gets me moving and commit to making healthy, vegetable laden dinners.

Zero Energy pt. 1

It's not even 9:00 p.m. yet and I am already having trouble keeping my eyes open.

Off to bed!

My thoughts on the NFC Championship Game

I am disappointed that the San Francisco 49ers lost, yes, but I am even more deeply perturbed by the Seattle fans who so blindly support a classless role model who has zero integrity.  

A super bowl ring won't make up for Sherman's lack of integrity.

Well-Timed Feedback Blog

I really think Seth Godin's blog posts are eerily timed to events and situations in my own life.

Over the last week or so, I started feeling like I'm not cut out for agency life - the pace is incredibly fast, the deadlines can be very tight, and there isn't a whole lot of hand holding.  In fact, a lot of the feedback I have been getting is good, but there always seems to be room for improvement.

Well, a couple of days ago I woke up to find this post by Seth:

The feedback you've been waiting for

"You did a great job. This is exactly what I was hoping for. I wouldn't change a thing. You completely nailed it, it's fabulous."

Of course, that's not feedback, really. It's applause.

Applause is great. We all need more of it.

But if you want to improve, you should actively seek feedback. And that feedback, if it's more than just carping, will be constructive. It will clearly and generously lay out ways you can more effectively delight your customers and create a remarkable experience that leads to ever more customers.

If you're afraid of that feedback, it's probably not going to arrive as often as you'd like it to. On the other hand, if you embrace it as the gift it can be, you may decide to go looking for it.

Empty criticism and snark does no one any good. But genuine, useful, insightful feedback is a priceless gift.

Applause is good too.

 Yes, feedback is a good thing and I need to remember that!  If people are taking the time to critique you, they feel like it's worth their time to help you improve and that's great!

Agency Living

I started 2014 with a new job - exciting times, for sure.  But also trying.

This week I worked an 11+ hour day on Monday, a 10+ hour day on Tuesday, and a 9+ hour day today.  I have been trying to keep to a healthy eating schedule (which has been interesting because I am so busy I rarely eat an actual meal at midday) and get to the gym (which has been less than successful) in what little free time I have.   

Last night, I was working on a blog post for my professional blog and I started nodding off around 9:30 sitting on the couch with my laptop.  I'm not joking.  I told Sam, I am incredibly honored to have been hired by this very prestigious agency but at the same time, I am suffering the loss of my personal life and have no work-life balance whatsoever.  Which is probably doubly difficult because in my last job I had the hang of everything, was working from home three days a week and had a very healthy personal life - I know, I was really spoiled.  One thing I do know, I am NOT going to let this get in the way of my health and fitness goals.  I let work consume me when I started at my last company and my eating habits went completely out the window... not so this time around!

Truth be told, it was a rough couple of days from Thursday afternoon to Tuesday morning working on a huge project for a HUGE client with an incredibly tight deadline.  I was wondering if I made a HUGE mistake on Monday night and was so worried that I'm not cut out of this that quitting actually entered my mind.  Talk about craziness!  Everything looked much better by Tuesday morning when I reassured myself that worst case scenario meant I would lose [another] job but more likely than not, the project would end and life would get back to normal.  Luckily, I was right.  

Tonight I am feeling simultaneously very proud and very overwhelmed.  The agency principle came to me today after reviewing my social media posts for our luxury jewelry designer and diamond client and told me they were fantastic... she asked me how much my other team members had revised my first draft and I said they each made one or two changes, which she was very pleased to hear.  She brought a jewelry magazine and several fashion sections from our local newspapers that she wanted me to read and come up with pitches for.  She also said I need to start looking at the big fashion and jewelry magazines on a regular basis so that I get accustomed to the industry's style of writing and colloquial terms.   

It all sounds like a lot of work, especially when I have marketing and SEO books lined up on my nook that I haven't gotten time to read yet.  I suppose this is what I'll start doing for fun... reading magazines when I get home from work.  C'est la vie.  I guess it's better than watching lots of TV but it takes a lot more brainpower too, and (as with all new jobs) I am completely mentally exhausted by the time I get home.  The last thing I want to do is work on "homework" and yet there are some seriously important things I need to read, chiefly all the bios and pitches we've done for the diamond client because I am going to be pitching him to a couple of publications this week.  

Pitching... eek!  As with everything in this job, I am diving right into the deep end and learning to swim on the fly.

Failure

It's very difficult for me to accept failure, especially when its my own.

On Thursday I was given a major project to work on that was due to our client on Monday midmorning.  I felt really good about the direction I was going in, and the other two people on my team seemed to be on the same page as I was - which made me even more confident.

Unfortunately, our agency director did not share our enthusiasm for my work.  She tore apart the action plan I spent hours drafting, had major revisions for one of my press releases and hated the other.

It was quite a blow to my confidence.

To make matters worse, the account director and agency director stayed at the office with me until 7:00 on Friday evening while we reworked the action plan.

It was bad enough that I had to stay late but I felt terrible about making them stay late as well.

I made sure to apologize and thank them profusely for their help and their patience and I'm sure it won't be the end of my career, but it was definitely an experience I hope to avoid in the future.

I ended up spending an hour and a half polishing up the action plan and rewriting the press release over the weekend.  I made sure that was alright with the agency director and she said as long as I made sure to track my time for billing purposes, that was absolutely okay.  Apparently she was going to be headed into the office today to catch up on some of her own projects.

I knew that starting a new job was going to require some additional hours on my behalf, but I forgot how much of a learning curve I was going to face and how resilient I was going to have to be.

Here's to another day, another dollar and another chance to improve.  Wish me luck tomorrow!

2014: Off to a Great Start!

I can hardly believe that 2014 is finally here!  

It's probably not a big surprise that the homestretch of 2013 was a little bit rough for me.  I'm not good with uncertainty and, unfortunately, there were a lot of unforeseen professional changes that happened during the holiday season.  

Even though I knew I at the time that losing my job was probably a blessing, I was surprised how much I was overcome by feelings of failure.  It was really difficult to emotionally divorce myself from all the marketing that my former company was doing, especially because they were either abandoning or seriously neglecting so many of the things I worked so hard to build.  

In the end, I stopped following the company social media pages and focused my attention on my future.

I got up the courage to approach my current employer at a holiday party we both attended.  I had interviewed with her team twice over the summer by my media relations skills are weak and they are a marketing and public relations agency that does a lot of pitching to media sources so they had reservations about bringing me on board.  At the party, the agency founder and agency director were both happy to see me and told me they'd been talking about me recently.  I took the opportunity to let them know I was no longer working with my previous company and that I'd appreciate them passing my name along if they heard of anyone looking for my skill set.  To my pleasant surprise, they expressed an interest in hiring me (again) and I offered to freelance for them a bit so that we could all feel out the situation.

The next day, she called me and asked me if I could start immediately.  We hammered out the details and I was in the office the following Monday.  

Surprisingly, I only freelanced for them three days before they made me an offer to come on board permanently.  I think it was partially my personality (I get along with the other team members very well) and partially my writing skills.  They had me drafting a lot of press releases, e-newsletters and social media posts during my freelance tenure and I think they really liked what they saw.  

So I moved right on into a full-time position with them and today I got handed a big Chinese New Year project to manage on behalf of my team.  To say that I'm thrilled would not do my emotions justice.  

I needed to draft two press releases, and my boss came in at 5 to see if I could have them done tomorrow.  I happily informed her I had already given one to the account director for review, and the other would be on his desk before I left the office.  She seemed very impressed and said, "That's wonderful, I am so glad you joined our team!"

"Me too," I told her. 

And things are going well in my personal life too!  I woke up yesterday and thought, "I'm getting married this year."  It was about a year ago that we picked our wedding date, and now we're just about seven and a half months away from the big day.  It's coming up fast.

Carina and I picked out the bridesmaids dresses over the holiday week while Sam and I were up in NorCal.  Jackie and Carina already have their measurements in, and Lindsay is going to head over to the salon tomorrow to get her measurements taken too.  I just need to follow up with Carrie and Michelle to make sure they remember to get their orders in by Sunday.  

I have the date for my bridal shower (in NorCal) set, we have an appointment to do the menu tasting for our wedding entrees, I have a list of bakeries we need to visit to taste wedding cake and talk pricing, and I am feeling really, really good about everything.

I still need to work on the invitation wording just a bit and then order all the invitations.  And I want to sit down with our florist again so I can work out some of the details with the flowers and decorations.  And then it's pretty much all done except picking out the boys' attire and getting our wedding bands made.  Obviously the little details like seating charts etc. are still to come, but those are things that will happen in July and we're still a LONG way off from then.

The other great thing is that I'm totally 100% recommitted to my fitness goals.  I didn't do so well in 2013, but I realize now that putting all my time and energy into my profession isn't the smartest thing to do because jobs come and go but your happiness and health lasts your whole lifetime and affects your lifestyle.  

So, on that high, high note, let me say that 2014 is going to be my best year yet!