New Beginnings

October has been a month of new beginnings for a lot of people in my life- some were by choice, and some were not- but no matter how you look at it- change is coming.

I have several friends who have started therapy.  One who is now back on the job market.  I am getting a new boss.  My dad had knee surgery. I am starting with a nutritionist tomorrow.  Another friend who got married over the weekend.

Change is inevitable.

I have a confession- I love the show Iyanla Fix My Life.  There was an episode last season about a woman who gained more than 500 pounds over a couple of years- a six hundred pound woman.  She didn't even get out of bed anymore to go to the bathroom.  Iyanla came to see her and she asked the obvious question- how do you get to this point?  The woman's response really touched me.  "One day, I just couldn't see how to move forward." 

There are so many days that I feel the same way.  I want to lose weight, but the start date for the diet is always tomorrow.  I want to develop a personal brand, but today it is just too much trouble to update my LinkedIn or iron my dress pants for work.  I want to save money, but the French Connection coat on Amazon is so cute.  There is always an excuse and a reason to not move forward.

October is a month for change.  Some changes were good.  Some changes will be hard. But sometimes you just need to find that something to keep you moving forward.

Good luck all!

Observations Since Last Post

I have been busy busy busy and haven't had much of a chance to post lately- so as a quick update, here is what has been going on in October:

1. Fall has had a couple of false starts here in Charlotte.  One day it is crisp and cool, and the next day we are powering up the air conditioner again.  Come on, weather, bring on the coldness!

2. I have been pinning mustard colored pants on Pinterest like crazy.  Unfortunately, there aren't any to be found in stores.  Seems like if something is trending on Pinterest- someone should want to sell it.  Just saying.

3. October has been a stressful month.  It has been super busy at work.  There has been substantial drama.  People just aren't acting right.  What's a girl to do?

4. I received my Frequent Painter apron at Painting with a Twist!  Super excited that I have found such a great, relaxing hobby.

5. Spoke at the NTEA Executive Leadership Conference.  Most tiring day EVER. I flew out to Vegas in the morning, took the red-eye back that night, and then worked all day the next day.  Ain't nobody got time for that.

Alex is eating donut holes right now and going "Mommy. Mommy, Mommy..." so I better get to him!  Have a great day!

October Goals

October is off to such an amazing start!  My house is decorated for Halloween and we have a full month of activities planned at our house to celebrate the season and spend time as a family.  Today is a lazy Sunday at our house- Alex is playing with his "Treat Train", we are hatching an alligator I brought back from New Orleans, and the crockpot is stocked with some delicious pot roast.

Did I mention... FALL IS HERE!!!!  I woke up this morning and it was chilly in my house with the windows open.  YAY!

Here are the fall goals:

Fitness

1. Lose 5 pounds during the month of October.  For my readers- I am starting at 167- which means 162 by the end of the month.  Good news- I am actually in town this month, which means I can control my eating a lot better.  I have the meal plan already in place for the week and healthy lunches.

2. Start a photo-journal of weight loss.  My friend Jennifer has done an amazing job of documenting her weight loss- I want to do the same thing.

3. Interview Jennifer Thruman regarding her weight-loss journey.  My friend Jennifer has undergone an amazing transformation over the last year.  I want to interview her this month for her tips and tricks.

Literary

1. Read two 1,001 Books to Read Prior to Death.  Off to a good start here- I read Alice in Wonderland yesterday.  Apparently it is quite short.  Dracula is next in honor of Halloween.

2. Read the 3D Personal Branding book.  

3. Write outline for nanowrimo book.  I have signed up to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November, through National Novel Writer's Month (NaNoWriMo).  October is official preparation month.

Alex

1. Take Alex on weekend outing.

2. Complete another Shutterfly book.

3. Host a Halloween party.

Professional

1. Take personable professional headshots.  My current headshot looks terrible.  I wouldn't hire me. 

2. Finish digital storytelling class. 

3. Create goal collage.

September Goals Recap

September was NOT a good month for goal attainment.  I had a great month for sure, but in terms of getting to where I wanted to be- not so much.  I have some excuses, but as my boss's boss's boss likes to say - "Losers have excuses, winners have a plan."  Here's to a better October.

Here's the September rundown.

Fitness

1. No fast food during September.  NOPE.

2. Exercise 3 times per week.  I am ashamed to say I didn't exercise ONE TIME the entire month of September.  My Fitbit wasn't even on.  I got a horrible rash from it- so I have been sedentary.  My only savior was that I now have a standing desk at work.

Professional

1. Post one article to LinkedIn and Twitter per week.  I did post a few articles, but it was like two, not one per week.  I believe I am going to cancel my Twitter account and focus my social presence on Facebook and LinkedIn.  I did, however, spend three hours updating my LinkedIn profile- so now it freaking rocks.

2. Design a Research Plan for my department. Nope.  There has been a lot of transition this month since my boss has left the company.  Waiting to see where things shake out.

Literary

1. Read Creative Confidence.  Yep!  This one was good- it got a little slow towards the end, but overall, a great message.  Anyone can be creative, we are built for it, but society has limited its view of what it means to be creative and we need to bring it back!

2. Read one book from the 1,001 List of Books to Read Before you Die. I read two- Lady Chatterley's Lover and The Woman in White. I am now reading a "junk book."  A little light reading on serial killers.  Will be back to the list in October though.

3. Write one blog entry that has to be researched.  Ehhh... depends on your definition of research. My blog has been maintained at least.

Alex

1. Decorate for Halloween.  Yes!  Check out pics in my previous posts!

2. Take Alex to pumpkin farm.  We did it right this year- pumpkins, hayrides and all.  We even have already painted a pumpkin- carving the rest of coming u this weekend!

3. Finish another Shutterfly book.  Sure did! Our New York trip book is in transit and I started a "Birth O' Alex" book.

Learning

1. Take first four weeks of Human Physiology course.  Nope. I dropped the course and started taking digital storytelling which I have found much more engaging.  See more on my digital story soon!

In retrospect- I got 7 of 11 - with some half points for goals that changed directions.

Business Casual: A Woman's Dilemma

I am going to start this post by stating a full confession:  I was not the most appropriately dressed woman at the American Marketing Association today.  I wore jeans, a cardigan, and flats.  I also had to wear my hair in a ponytail because the Louisiana humidity refused me the bliss of a good hair day.

That being said, I have to say I was not the worst dressed.  

I am a big fan of the blog "The Classy Cubicle".  The blog writer states:

"With no clear-cut female equivalent to men’s suit and tie (“the dude uniform”), women’s professional appearances all too often fall into one of two tragic, career-busting categories: sloppy or slutty."

Amen, sister.  I tend to sway towards sloppy.  It's my curse.  I would rather wear an old t-shirt, jeans and flops.  Let's be honest.

But as a woman in the workforce, we do, in fact have an image problem.  The majority of the men at the conference today were wearing button down shirts with either slacks or jeans.  Business casual by any person's standard.  The women in the audience, however, range everywhere to Mad Men-era tweed suits to floral sundresses and sandals.  

Here were some offenders:

I'm not going to harp further on some of the atrocities I experienced today, including the woman who made my mind echo Shirley McClaine in Steel Magnolias (You know, "Her dress looks like two pigs fighting under a blanket"), but I do have to say that if women want to be treated as equals to men in the workplace we, myself included, have to start dressing the part.