Loving… my new role at work. It has been quite the change to shift from a writer to a manager this month. After 8 years of working on deadlines and writing taking up the majority of my tasks, I’ve relished having different tasks to accomplish and settling into my role as a manager. At the beginning of the month, I spent a whole day engaged in hour-long conversations with each person on my team (I have five people), which was exhausting but also really exciting. There is so much potential on my team, and I’m really looking forward to helping each of my team members grow. There is a lot I have to learn about how to be an effective manager, but I’d like to think I’m well on my way to that.
Loathing… new job jitters. I really didn’t expect to go through the rigamarole of new job jitters, considering I’m not at a new company but whoa, did they hit this month! While I am still as busy as I was when I was a writer, I’m busy in an entirely new way, in a way that makes me look back at the end of each day and wonder if I accomplished anything. I know I did, but it’s hard to measure my accomplishments the way I could when I was writing full-time. I’ve also had these random anxiety spirals that I’m going to get fired at any moment, which is fun! Now that I don’t have any writing tasks to show proof of my value to my company, I’m all “do I provide any value at all anymore?!” which is just DUMB all around because hello, I was promoted because I provide a ton of value! It’s so silly, but that’s how my brain works.
Watching… The Olympics! Well, I watched the first week of the Olympics and then I lost interest. I’m not sure why. I think I just wanted to do something else with my evenings than watch Olympics coverage. But I did get to see Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim win gold medals, and I really enjoyed the men’s snowboard half-pipe. There were some truly astonishing tricks!
I’m also still working my way through Brooklyn 99 (halfway through season 6!) and Younger (nearly finished with season 3).
Listening to… Mall Talk. It’s a podcast all about the mall, nostalgic memories of the mall, and the stores we shop in. While I don’t spend a lot of time in malls these days, this podcast has brought back so many memories for me! The mall was just the place to be when we were young, wasn’t it? I’m diving into the archives of this podcast and enjoying it a lot!
Grateful for… a benign mole. When I went for my skin check earlier this month, my dermatologist found a mole on my lower back that was a little worrisome to her so she took a sample to biopsy. Thankfully, it came back benign and all is okay! I think that I’ve had to get a mole biopsied every single time I’ve had a skin check (my back is very mole-y) so this is standard procedure for me, but I’m always relieved when nothing worrisome comes back. And this is just another reminder of how important regular skin checks are!
Anticipating… a four-day weekend next week. My mom and stepdad are going away and asked me to watch the puppers for a few nights, which I am so excited to do! The two of them haven’t gone away since they got Lucy, so it will be my first time with both dogs and I can’t wait to spend copious amounts of time snuggling them and getting covered in dog kisses. I always sleep over at their house when I’m dog sitting since it’s easier than bringing the dogs to my place (my girls would be MOST unhappy!) and I just decided to give myself a little work reprieve while I was at it. Why not?! I don’t have anything planned for this weekend, but I’m sure I’ll find plenty of ways to fill up my time.
Researching… sit/stand desks, still. I am definitely going to buy one, and probably soon! I have my eye on this desk from Amazon, which has nearly 8,000 reviews. It’s only $240, too, which feels so cheap for a sit/stand desk (why did I think these desks were thousands of dollars?!) Plus, I think I could sell my current desk for a pretty good price to offset the cost of the desk.
Planning… our Niagara Falls vacation! I love the planning phase of a vacation, and I am having a blast developing our itinerary. Our tentative plans at this moment involve flying into Buffalo on a Wednesday and driving right over the border to Canada. We’ll spend three days at Niagara Falls (probably longer than we need, but we love slow-paced vacations where we only do a few things during the day and have low-key evenings), one day in Toronto, and one day in Buffalo before flying home on a Tuesday. If you have any recommendations for restaurants or things to do in any of those locations, I’m all ears!
Thinking about… Ukraine. The photos and videos coming out about what’s going on there are horrifying and scary. I feel so helpless when I watch the news and see what these people are going through. The uncertainty of what’s to come has to be terrifying. Jessica Yellin posted this really sobering clip of a subway station in Ukraine being used by citizens as a bomb shelter. Her caption was really poignant: “You’re going to hear a lot about Putin, Biden, sanctions, world oil prices and more. Let’s also remember the lived reality for Ukrainians. Yesterday was work, school and life. Today, bombs, checkpoints, and praying for safety seeking shelter underground in the subway.”
Wishing… that our cool weather had stuck around for just a bit longer. Ugh. It’s now officially “too hot to take a walk in the middle of the day” weather. We’re regularly seeing temps in the mid-80s, which would be a nice cool down in September or October but in February, it just feels wrong. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted, right? And I know many of you are wishing for sunshine and warm weather, so I shouldn’t complain too much.
Buying… a floor lamp! I was at Target last weekend and was shocked to find that the floor lamp that I’ve had my eye on and has been out of stock for months was back in stock! Whaaaat. I had an alert set up on my Target app, but it never let me know. Unfortunately, when I put the lamp together and placed it in a corner of my living room, I… kinda hated it. It’s a little too short and doesn’t give off as much light as I’d hoped. I’m going to return it and get this one instead. I’m hoping it meets my needs better!
Feeling… relieved after a period of my blog being down last night. I think I was just trying to access it during a time when GoDaddy was renewing my domain, but it threw me for a loop! I was furiously looking up my domain registration on Google and logging into HostGator (where my blog is hosted) to figure out what was going on. And then I decided to just step away from it for the night and believe it would all work itself out. Of course, I also started spiraling a bit, wondering if this was it for my blog. It was all going to be gone forever. I tried to tell myself it wasn’t a big deal, I could start a new blog if the worst came to worst… or maybe I would just stop blogging entirely. Maybe this was a sign. But the palpable relief I felt when I pulled up my blog and everything was working fine was the actual sign that this blog means the world to me. I’m so glad it’s up and running again. Whew.
What are you currently loving and loathing?
Yay for a benign mole! So, weird question, but do they ever come back? I got my first mole removed earlier this year, and the derm mentioned that it might grow back, but I didn’t believe him??? And now, it seems like there is definitely a darkly pigmented area of skin peering through the scar.
So glad you are enjoying your new managerial role!
All of the moles that have gotten biopsied are on my back so I don’t even know! This mole was definitely weirder as it was super, super itchy as it healed! I’ve never had that happen with a mole. I didn’t know they could grow back either! That’s kinda weird, haha.
Whose gender reveal cupcakes were those?!
New jobs and change at work can bring on anxiety, especially for those of us prone to anxiety. Just keep reminding yourself that they approached you about this promotion, it was something you asked for! And if it ends up not being the right fit for you, you can always go back to writing I imagine? But it sounds like you are off to a great start!
I didn’t watch much of the olympics because of the time change and my early bedtime. But I enjoyed what I was able to watch! I’m glad the next 2 olympics will be in Europe so there will be a bit less of a time zone change?
Yay for a 4-day weekend without anything planned. Those are my favorite kind of weekends!
My dear friend Mikaela is having another baby! She’s due at the end of March with another girl, and we’re all very, very excited. 🙂
There is so much to get used to with my new role, and I guess I didn’t expect to go through all the rigamarole of anxiety that I usually feel when I’m at a new job since I’m with the same company. But everything feels very different and I need to remember that it will take time to adjust!
I love all the photos in this post!
I am so glad you are loving your new job. You are an excellent manager, and will only get better! I totally get the jitters! I just got off a call about my maybe new role and I was like – how will you measure my accomplishments if I am not doing xyz anymore? Your worth is visible, Stephany <3 You bring a lot to the table.
I am so glad the mole was benign.
I just cannot wrap my head around Ukraine. Just why why why. It makes me so upset and sad.
My blog used to go down a lot and I would be so upset! It would be horrible to lose all that work!
Hmm. Loving… being lazy in the mornings instead of running. Not loving people who change their mind on decisions over and over.
I want to hear more about this new role! I am going to try my hardest to be a good manager and I think that’s all I can ask for myself. If it ends up not being the right fit, that’s okay! I think it will be, at the end of the day, and I just need to give myself time to settle in and enjoy the process.
I love all the photos of the cute animals! So much cuteness in your life! Yay for a benign mole! I have some problematic moles, but the dermatologist is never really as worried as I am about them, so I’m always excited to read about non-problematic moles.
I just spent an hour outside digging shoveling and putting down ice melt, so I must admit I’m feeling a little bitter about how warm it looks there. I just keep telling myself that in a few months I too will be able to go outside without putting on many layers and worrying about slip and falls. But, then again, you live in FLORIDA and I suppose that is its own sort of crazy.
My dermatologist really hemmed and hawed about getting this mole biopsied and I wanted to say to her, “Just do it!” Ha… I’m glad she decided to biopsy it for my peace of mind.
“But, then again, you live in FLORIDA and I suppose that is its own sort of crazy.” Truer words have never been spoken! It’s pretty wacky to be a liberal in Florida, I’ll tell you that.
That lipstick is fabulous on you! Red is definitely your colour for lips!
So happy your mole was benign. Being mole-y is worrisome, at times – I have a few that I need to watch as well.
GORGEOUS photos of that pathway and mmmm….cupcakes!
Thank you! I do love a nice bold lip color. I didn’t wear lipstick for such a long time during the pandemic and it’s nice to bring back the bold lip.
Omg you’ll be so close to meeeee! Buffalo is actually really cool, if you’re planning to spend any time there. I haven’t been to Niagara Falls for ages but would love to check it out again. I always forget how close it is!
We’re going to spend a day in Buffalo! If you have any recs, I’m all ears. 🙂
So many good things here! I bet you are an AWESOME manager. Seriously. They are lucky to have you!!
A sister for Olive – right? Michaela’s her mommy? Puppy sitting. A benign mole. And trip planning. I don’t know what to say about Ukraine at this point but… wow. You forget sometimes how much evil there can be in the world, and it just makes me ever more grateful for people like you – and others in our little blogosphere. <3
Yes, Mikaela is Olive’s mom so little Olive is getting a baby sister! Some really good news for my dear friend after a long period of darkness. <3
I am always grateful for your perspective! Thank you, friend.
Oh, yay! Such bright news in such a challenging time. I cannot wait to hear about Olive The Big Sister! 🙂 Keep spreading the light, my friend. <3
Hey friend, don’t be alarmed about the comment galore that is about to happen… as I catch up on your blog. As you know, I had fallen off the bandwagon there for a little bit (thanks again for reaching out on IG, that was so kind). Especially the news out of Ukraine really got me down.
I am so happy to hear that you’re settling into your new role at work but hello imposter syndrome! I know these feelings that you’re having all too well (and I am not even in a manager position, but am just constantly wondering if I am doing a good enough job, even if I get feedback and it’s always very good). It’s the weirdest thing to have these doubting thoughts about yourself. I hope your mind will quiet down about that.
Glad to hear that the mole was benign. I have a lot of moles too but funnily never got one biopsied, I’ve always been told that they look fine. I must be really lucky.
Imposter syndrome is real! I totally understand those feelings of doubt, even when there is evidence to the contrary. It’s a tough thing, but I think it helps that we recognize it for what it is.