10 Things Vol. 8

It’s time for another “ten things” post. I stole this idea from my friend Kelly– but it’s basically just an old school blog post where I share the first ten things that come to mind… Ready, set, go!

MY OWN ADVICE // I’m finally taking my own advice on work. Over the years I’ve helped a lot of people with their various small businesses (and even wrote a book). Sometimes I don’t take my own advice though and end up kicking myself down the line for not being smarter about various decisions. This year, thanks in large part to being a mom to a toddler, I was forced into taking my own advice. Namely, I’ve hired a great “team” of people– hiring was always a pain point for me because I can be a little (read a lot) controlling. But I had to otherwise I knew I would drown and it’s been amazing… so much so I think I’ll end up hiring for a position or two in 2023 as well. And I also worked with my management team to figure out what campaigns to say no to. It’s paid off in a big way. It’s allowed me to say yes to bigger campaigns and keep my head above the water. This is the first year where I don’t feel like I’m drowning and I am grateful. It’s a little intimidating to take on the role of a manager and it can be scary to turn down opportunities when you don’t know when the next one will show up, but so far so good.

LETTING GO OF LETTING PEOPLE DOWN // Speaking of saying no, I have been so much better about letting go of the fear of letting people down. I wouldn’t necessarily label myself a people pleaser at first glance, however, I definitely found myself with certain habits that were totally out of fear of letting people down. I have that dreaded issue of feeling like people are always “mad at me” and it’s such a bad insecurity to have! I hate it! I catch myself writing stories in my head about why someone is mad at me, even though it’s totally false. Working on it actively and I’d say the work is paying off. Do you remember that game as a kid where the elephant would shoot like butterflies from its trunk and you’d run around with a net trying to catch all of them? (Please tell me you know what I’m talking about– I have such a distinct visual, haha!) That’s how I felt trying to please and not let down everyone. Butterflies everywhere and me just running around like crazy trying to not let any drop!

I’ve let go of that fear– at least a little bit– and I feel so much less…. harried? Is that the word I’m searching for? Basically I just feel at peace. It’s not that I want to let someone down, but if doing what I need to do (within reason, obviously!) lets someone down, it’s not the end of the world. (A large part of this personal growth was realizing it was okay to let go of some friendships altogether.)

1. WINTER SHOES FOR TODDLERS // Moms, help! What shoes do you put on your toddlers? Jack is growing at an insane rate and he’s blowing through shoes. Right now he has one pair of sneakers that he wears pretty much every day and then we have a couple of “cuter” shoes that we wear on occasion. He definitely has the walking thing down now so that has helped with the shoe choices as he doesn’t lose his balance 🙏🏻 But we need winter shoes! For snow, yes, but mainly for warmth. Any favorite brands or styles I need to look for, especially for a chunkier foot?!
3. APPLE WATCH // After hemming and hawing for a bit, I finally upgraded my Apple Watch. I have one from a few years ago, but once the pandemic hit I had absolutely zero need for it since we were home all the time. I went to charge it a few months ago and it wouldn’t even turn on. I probably should have waited for Cyber Week deals, but I was impatient and wanted to get it ASAP once I decided I definitely wanted one. I was debating between the Oura Ring and the Apple Watch, but leaned Apple Watch because of the notifications. The main reason is that when I’m with Jack, I don’t want to be looking at my phone (and I’m usually at the very least keeping tabs on work emails) and when I’m not with Jack, I want to make sure I get notifications from Mike or the babysitter or daycare no matter what I’m doing.

I also really wanted the accountability for working out. See more below 😉 I got the Starlight Series 8 in the 40mm and so far am really happy.

RUNNING // So I’m mixing up my workouts with running. I LOVE spinning on the  Peloton, but I’ve been working out at the gym more because they have babysitting hours in the morning and I can bring Jack with me (and have time to shower and blow dry my hair there!). I have been doing the 3-12-30 workout– 3 speed at a 12 incline for 30 minutes– and loving it. I spontaneously decided to try one of the Peloton programs for running and I’m….. I can’t believe I’m about to say this…. really enjoying the running 🙈 The classes are so enjoyable and actually make the running fun! I’m definitively not a runner, so this feels crazy to me. I’m not trying to go out and run competitively or run long distances, but I think I want to try to run a 5k or two. I actually signed Mike and me up for a 5k in Tampa on Thanksgiving…. we’ll see how it goes!

1. HANDMAID’S TALE // Whew. Anyone still watching Handmaid’s Tale? I was late to the game, but got really into it a few years ago. I watched a lot of it while I was pregnant, which was a weird kind of torture. And I’m still watching it. I just finished this last season and I am already ready for the next, and final, season. I don’t even enjoy watching the show. It disturbs me and yet I can’t stop? I just need to know what happens at this point. 
3. CHRISTMAS PRESENTS // I have major mom guilt over last year’s Christmas. It was the hardest month so far as a mom. Jack’s first cold, he had two teeth show up early, we were traveling, work was crazy. I didn’t feel like myself and was questioning everything. I totally let all of that taint the “magic” of Christmastime. Even if Jack couldn’t remember it, I just feel guilty. Not that I’m trying to “make up for it” this year, but I am definitely going to step up my game at least, haha. I’m already trying to plan out Christmas presents for Jack…. I know he’ll love this pretend cleaning set and I have a text thread with a couple of my friends to share more ideas. But would love to know your greatest hits for toddlers– trying to think ahead to the next year….
5. HOLIDAY CARDS // I am going to try to wrangle my family in front of a camera for our holiday cards. Honestly I usually have a campaign for holiday cards and that forces me to do it earlier… I do have a couple of options from this summer photo-wise that I like, but ideally I’d love to get a family picture. I was thinking though, do you guys do the whole family or just kids?! 

TAYLOR SWIFT // I’ve been having so much second-hand anxiety from this Taylor Swift concert ticket sale situation. My TikTok For You Page is filled with videos of people trying to score tickets! Absolutely wild…. I have to say, you know I don’t love concerts, but my sister and I did consider trying to go to one of the Taylor concerts together. But we both got overwhelmed before it even started. Now I’m glad we decided to sit it out 🙈 With all this said, I’ve been ROOTING for everyone to get their tickets!! I hope if you want to go that you were able to score a ticket…. sending good vibes your way!

MY “BAD HAIRCUT” HAS ALMOST GROWN OUT // I got my haircut back in September and it was not necessarily a “bad” haircut, but it was 100% not what I asked for. I don’t like a ton of layers and I ended up with (what I’ve since learned) a U-Shaped cut, which is trendy on TikTok. Great for some people…. it just wasn’t me. I went back to the stylist to get it cut again and then went to another stylist to really fix it. She, thankfully, talked me out of going too much shorter and instead took off a little bit of length and blended the layers a bit more so they’d grow in better. It’s been a couple of months and I don’t hate my hair anymore 🤣 I know it’s just hair and I know it grows back…. but I have to admit it affected my mood. I didn’t even want to wear it down for a while because I hated how it looked on me. Now I feel better about it and I’m just working on growing out some of the shorter layers around my face.