I had a pretty good weekend. At least, after I started feeling better.
You see, spring has already started making it's way here in Texas, and while spring is typically my favorite time of year, I always forget how bad my allergies get this time of year. I have horrible pollen allergies, and get sick from them every year in February/March. This year was no exception.
I started feeling sick last Friday, while sitting in LAX airport waiting for my flight home to board. It was that slight tingling sensation in my sinuses that first got me worries.
By Monday, I was a sniffling, nasal-y mess. Calling out sick was out of the question, however, as I had a client photo shoot that day that required my attendance, particularly since the owner of the restaurant we were shooting for would be present. I figured I'd just pop a Zirtec and be done with it.
By Tuesday, I was actually feeling better, and thought maybe I'd beat my allergies, just once.
Except by Wednesday I was feeling AWFUL. And it didn't help that my new office I'd moved into that week is apparently in the coldest part of our floor space, as it's not close to any windows that could potentially let in sunlight. So I continued to feel worse, and by Friday night I was feeling (and looking) pretty bad.
My timing couldn't of been any worse, as not only did I have a ton of work to catch up on from being out of the office for four days, but I also had a baby sprinkle to host on Saturday afternoon, which left very little time to get any real rest.
By Friday night, I had pretty much given up the notion of feeling better anytime soon. I'd had to say late for work, which didn't help my healing process, and pretty much went home, drank some tea, and went to bed.
I woke up feeling slightly better on Saturday, but had many errands to run before getting my house set up for the shower, so I hustled through everything, trying my best to ignore my sore throat, runny nose, and throbbing ear ache.
By noon I was in full set-up mode for the shower. I drank a Red Bull Edition (new to the market and one of my clients...I highly recommend you try!) and that actually seemed to help me a lot.
The good news is, the shower went off without a hitch, and by Saturday evening, I was feeling a heck of a lot better! And I finally went over to my dad's house and visited awhile, which I'd been wanting to do but haven't had time to do lately.
Today was pretty much a day of rest. Sam and I went to church this morning (always a highlight), then got my car washed (finally), had lunch with my sister-in-law, and went grocery shopping. A pretty domestic day, but a great opportunity to relax.
Hoping this will be a good week at work! I've got a lot on my plate, but at least I won't be sick while trying to get everything done.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Full Circle
It's really funny how things come around full-circle.
A couple of Fridays ago, I met up with some girlfriends from work for drinks. We went across the freeway from our offices to this little tapas bar in Uptown Park. Never been there before, but decided to try something new. And, well, who really needs an excuse to drink sangria?
So after finding to find parking for about 10 minutes, I finally walk in and am greeted by our waiter. He says to me "I know you from somewhere."
I look at him a little closer, and don't catch the resemblance right away.
"Well, I get that a lot!" I say, which is true. People are always telling me I look like someone they know - their cousin's best friend, or neighbor from the down street where they grew up. Things like that.
I take a closer at him and ask about his resume. Maybe I'd worked with him in the past?
He starts listing off various restaurants where he's worked. And that's when it hit me. I take a closer look into his eyes and knew right away.
"Is your name Eddie?" I ask, although I already knew the answer.
"Yes!" he says, "you used to work at Carino's, right?"
"Yeah! Like 10 years ago!" I say, causing a little embarrassment for us both. Ten years went by really fast.
And no wonder I didn't recognize him. He was nearly bald and about 30 pounds heavier than in 2003. Kind of ironic for the token hot waiter at that time.
We chitchatted a little bit after that. Mostly about how he was my first trainer when I started at Carino's so long ago, at the tender age of 18, having just graduated from high school a few months prior to my start. It was my first gig waiting tables, and I was determined to be great at it. And make lots more money than I did working at Papa John's!
Eddie was also the first trainer I worked with behind the bar, at the age of 19. I couldn't legally purchase alcohol, but I could serve it. That never did make sense to me.
Which leads me to my whole point. If I'd never worked with Eddie, I never would've ended up where I am today, working at a food & beverage marketing agency, telling major restaurants how to run their bars and train their staff and promote their programs. And it was really weird to see him at some one-off tapas bar in the Galleria, nearly 10 years after we worked together, still waiting tables.
I guess I just always expected the people I worked with at that entry-level waiting job to move on to bigger and better things like I did, but that's not always the way things work.
I told him that if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be where I am today. And I sincerely mean that. I wish I could go back and thank all of the people in my life who have helped me get where I am today. Because without their support and patience and training, I wouldn't be as successful as I am, and for that I am forever grateful!
A couple of Fridays ago, I met up with some girlfriends from work for drinks. We went across the freeway from our offices to this little tapas bar in Uptown Park. Never been there before, but decided to try something new. And, well, who really needs an excuse to drink sangria?
So after finding to find parking for about 10 minutes, I finally walk in and am greeted by our waiter. He says to me "I know you from somewhere."
I look at him a little closer, and don't catch the resemblance right away.
"Well, I get that a lot!" I say, which is true. People are always telling me I look like someone they know - their cousin's best friend, or neighbor from the down street where they grew up. Things like that.
I take a closer at him and ask about his resume. Maybe I'd worked with him in the past?
He starts listing off various restaurants where he's worked. And that's when it hit me. I take a closer look into his eyes and knew right away.
"Is your name Eddie?" I ask, although I already knew the answer.
"Yes!" he says, "you used to work at Carino's, right?"
"Yeah! Like 10 years ago!" I say, causing a little embarrassment for us both. Ten years went by really fast.
And no wonder I didn't recognize him. He was nearly bald and about 30 pounds heavier than in 2003. Kind of ironic for the token hot waiter at that time.
We chitchatted a little bit after that. Mostly about how he was my first trainer when I started at Carino's so long ago, at the tender age of 18, having just graduated from high school a few months prior to my start. It was my first gig waiting tables, and I was determined to be great at it. And make lots more money than I did working at Papa John's!
Eddie was also the first trainer I worked with behind the bar, at the age of 19. I couldn't legally purchase alcohol, but I could serve it. That never did make sense to me.
Which leads me to my whole point. If I'd never worked with Eddie, I never would've ended up where I am today, working at a food & beverage marketing agency, telling major restaurants how to run their bars and train their staff and promote their programs. And it was really weird to see him at some one-off tapas bar in the Galleria, nearly 10 years after we worked together, still waiting tables.
I guess I just always expected the people I worked with at that entry-level waiting job to move on to bigger and better things like I did, but that's not always the way things work.
I told him that if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be where I am today. And I sincerely mean that. I wish I could go back and thank all of the people in my life who have helped me get where I am today. Because without their support and patience and training, I wouldn't be as successful as I am, and for that I am forever grateful!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
I'm Baaaaacccckkkk
SOOOOOOO as you can see, I totally slacked off with keeping up the whole blog thing during the latter part of 2012. In fact, I think my last post was sometime in June or July. Pretty pathetic for someone who loves to write as much as I do.
I say this all the time, but I really am going to try to do a better job with keeping up my blog. I'm really tempted to just scrap it all together and start over, but my pride just won't let me do that, at least until I turn 30, and then I can start anew.
2012 turned out to be a huge year of growth for me, particularly concerning my job. I have made leaps and bounds this past year at work, even earning a promotion in November for all of my hard work, but it hasn't been easy, and the hard work is not over yet. Not that I haven't enjoyed myself along the way, I have, but as with any really challenging experience, I've had my fair share of ups and downs.
I'm really hoping to take my career to the next level this year and step up to the plate and show everyone what I'm all about! I'd say my biggest challenge on the job is maintaining my confidence and recognizing that though I may not be the most experienced person on the team, I still have a lot to contribute and need to do a better job of recognizing that I am a valuable asset to the team. I never really struggled with work confidence in the past, but ever since I got laid off from my previous job, I've started doubting myself and my abilities and I have to stop doing that. I know that I am very smart and very capable. Sometimes it just takes time to build confidence, and that often comes along with knowledge about what I'm doing. So, I've made it my resolution (one of them, at least) to step up my game this year at work and become an MVP at work.
But enough about that, I feel like I should recap 2012 before diving any more into 2013. Here is a recap of the top moments of my year:
1. Sam and I built our very first home together. Holla!
2. FINALLY bought a new car for myself. It was an extremely stressful process, one that took months to navigate and lots of lying cars salesman to deal with, but we finally made it happen and I got my dream car. Couldn't be happier with it!
3. Went to our very first Texans game! How sad is it that I've lived in Houston since the Texans were created and I've NEVER been to a Texans game?! Thank God for good friends who were generous enough to share their tickets with us.
4. As mentioned previously, got a promotion at work!
5. Visited family and friends in Pennsylvania & Marlyand, including a cousin I haven't seen in roughly 7 years. Felt so good to see everyone!
There were definitely more great things that happened in 2012, but these are the top 5 that stick out in my mind. I took some time to revisit the Resolutions I made in December of 2011 to see how I did over the last year. Here's a brief recap of each Resolution:
Become financially healthy
- Meehhh, Sam and I kinda got financially healthier, but we're definitely not where I'd like us to be. In fact, I'm currently working on putting together a budget for us for 2013.
Sign up for my first 5k - Nope, didn't happen.
Tap into my creativity - Okay, I think I've gotten better about this. I still haven't been scrapbooking as much as I'd like to, but my creativity has gotten better over the last year. We'll consider this an ongoing goal.
Blog more - Yeah that totally didn't happen as much as I would've liked. Although in my defense, it has been difficult to blog since my lap top is ancient and moves at the pace of snail stuck in molasses, but I did finally get my office desktop computer set up this weekend, so I really don't have any excuses now.
Go to Las Vegas - Uhhhh nope. Next.
Get a promotion at work
- YES! Here's one I actually accomplished.
Budoir Photoshoot - YES! Did this one in October. Sorry, probly won't be posting any of these photos!
Buy a house - Or build, but another YES!
Buy a new car - YES!
Start horseback riding again - Nooooo. Just didn't have it in the funds this year. And to be honest, it isn't likely this will happen in 2013 either. But, stranger things have happened.
Work on my writing - No, not nearly as much as I wanted to!
Get in shape - Periodically, yes. I was doing exceptionally well August-October, and then kinda fell off the wagon. Hoping to jump back on the wagon starting this week.
So, overall, I'll give myself a strong D. I almost accomplished half of what I aimed for (and that's looking on the bright side). Not saying much, but the good news is, there's always 2013 to do better! I'm still working on my resolutions for the year, but will post soon about what those will be.
I say this all the time, but I really am going to try to do a better job with keeping up my blog. I'm really tempted to just scrap it all together and start over, but my pride just won't let me do that, at least until I turn 30, and then I can start anew.
2012 turned out to be a huge year of growth for me, particularly concerning my job. I have made leaps and bounds this past year at work, even earning a promotion in November for all of my hard work, but it hasn't been easy, and the hard work is not over yet. Not that I haven't enjoyed myself along the way, I have, but as with any really challenging experience, I've had my fair share of ups and downs.
I'm really hoping to take my career to the next level this year and step up to the plate and show everyone what I'm all about! I'd say my biggest challenge on the job is maintaining my confidence and recognizing that though I may not be the most experienced person on the team, I still have a lot to contribute and need to do a better job of recognizing that I am a valuable asset to the team. I never really struggled with work confidence in the past, but ever since I got laid off from my previous job, I've started doubting myself and my abilities and I have to stop doing that. I know that I am very smart and very capable. Sometimes it just takes time to build confidence, and that often comes along with knowledge about what I'm doing. So, I've made it my resolution (one of them, at least) to step up my game this year at work and become an MVP at work.
But enough about that, I feel like I should recap 2012 before diving any more into 2013. Here is a recap of the top moments of my year:
1. Sam and I built our very first home together. Holla!
2. FINALLY bought a new car for myself. It was an extremely stressful process, one that took months to navigate and lots of lying cars salesman to deal with, but we finally made it happen and I got my dream car. Couldn't be happier with it!
3. Went to our very first Texans game! How sad is it that I've lived in Houston since the Texans were created and I've NEVER been to a Texans game?! Thank God for good friends who were generous enough to share their tickets with us.
5. Visited family and friends in Pennsylvania & Marlyand, including a cousin I haven't seen in roughly 7 years. Felt so good to see everyone!
There were definitely more great things that happened in 2012, but these are the top 5 that stick out in my mind. I took some time to revisit the Resolutions I made in December of 2011 to see how I did over the last year. Here's a brief recap of each Resolution:
So, overall, I'll give myself a strong D. I almost accomplished half of what I aimed for (and that's looking on the bright side). Not saying much, but the good news is, there's always 2013 to do better! I'm still working on my resolutions for the year, but will post soon about what those will be.
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