New Beginnings

Okay, I know you've all been on the edge of your seats since yesterday (that is, if you didn't see my Facebook comments about it), when I teased you with multiple mentions of my glamorous new job and wonderful career move. Well, maybe I didn't make it sound that exciting yesterday, but it's going to be. I just know it.

Let's start from the beginning. Things have been happening at work over the last couple months that have made me realize it's time for a change. I had been craving new job opportunities for a while actually, and the craziness at work gave me the push I needed to seek out those opportunities. I won't go into much detail, except to say that while May and June were hectic/stressful/terrifying months for me work wise, July is already shaping up to be a heckuva lot better.

I know you're all thinking, Get on with it already. Where is this supposedly glamorous new job? So without further ado, here is the moment you've been waiting for, the moment I reveal the heretofore top-secret location of my new job. Drum roll, please... Hobby Lobby! No, I won't be selling scrapbook paper, greenery, fabric, and picture frames. I have accepted a copywriter position at their corporate offices.

I anticipate that when people ask me what I do now, I'll have just as much difficulty accurately describing my position as I do when I tell people I'm an editor. Most people think I read all day. That, my friends, is false. Some days I don't get to read at all. I also answer e-mails and phone calls, attend a boatload of meetings, write the promotional copy for the back cover of books, and lots more. The woman who conducted my second interview at HL led me to believe I would perform a variety of different tasks in my role as copywriter as well.

So while I'd love to gush about all the cool stuff I'll be doing, I'm not yet sure exactly what cool stuff I'll be doing. The only thing I do know is that I'll get to write up some of HL's project sheets. Once again, not easy to describe, so if you're that interested, Google "Hobby Lobby project sheets" to get an idea. But in a nutshell, I'll be writing info about and instructions for creating the crafts and projects HL's craft team puts together.

I have high hopes that I'll now really start decorating my house, what with all the ideas I'll be writing about...and the sweet employee discount I'll get. Holla!

I start this new chapter of my life on July 16, after ending my current chapter July 13. I already know saying good-bye to my coworkers and job as an editor will be bittersweet, but this is the right time for a change, and I couldn't be more excited.

Where, Oh Where Has My Willpower Gone?

My willpower seems to have vanished. Or maybe it's just buried in my closet, under the new clothes I shouldn't have bought this month. But let's face it; June just wasn't the month for me to forgo retail therapy. Most of the month was spent job searching, updating my resume, interviewing, and stressing about the three previous things. (Good news: I found a job! But more on that later.) So I should have actually revised my June goal when I found out I'd be conducting such fast-and-furious job searches, because shopping is my go-to stress reliever. And I did plenty of it last month.

I admitted halfway through the month that I bought a shirt that tells the world who my [fantasy] husband is. If you don't know by now that I'm talking about Serge Ibaka, Mr. Gorgeous himself, you're dead to me. Apparently this purchase was destined to be the start of many June shirt purchases---I bought six more shirts throughout the next two weeks.

I was a smart shopper, though, because four of those shirts came from Tarjay and cost me just six bucks each. They're simple V-neck shirts with a pocket (but not nerdy), and I got one in teal, pink, gray, and kelly green. They're versatile, comfortable, and were a steal. I couldn't in good conscience pass them up.
The other two shirts were from Old Navy and were just a couple items in a string of impulse buys on a shopping outing with the bestie.

Jennifer needed to go to the mall last Wednesday evening, so we decided to make a day of it. We went to the mall and did lots of damage while having too much fun to care. Along with a very nautical tank top and a deep green tee, I came home with a new pair of sunglasses, some fabulous pink nail polish, Wild Citrus Sunflower products from Bath & Body Works (semi-annual sale, ya know), and a new gay BFF---his words, not mine.

Jennifer and I met Dylan at Lush, and we bonded over the cookies I had just bought at the Nestle Toll House store. Hands on his hips, rose-pink faux hawk prominently displayed on his cocked head, he sassily told me I wasn't allowed in the store without offering him some of my cookies. I told him that if he gave me a discount on bath bombs and lotion bars, he could have 'em. He rejected my offer, I told him I was keepin' my cookies then, and a beautiful 30-minute friendship was born. I spent that half hour laughing off the calories I was consuming as I devoured my lemon crinkle cookie and chocolate chip walnut deliciousness.

These shopping trips helped me survive the month, as did my procurement of a job (but again, more on that later), so I'm okay with my failure. On to the next one, I say. Actually, I think that was Jay-Z, but whatev.

And the next one happens to be running three times a week. Seeing as how I've written seven posts [note: that's only a slight exaggeration] about "sticking with the whole running thing this time," I should probably just give it up now and start writing my admission of failure for your reading enjoyment in August. But I refuse. I haven't met my last two monthly goals, so it's high time I started putting more effort into achieving one.
I actually think I'll look forward to meeting July's goal because after I start my new job (guys, I'm serious--more on that later), I won't be able to go to the Tuesday and Wednesday aerobics classes I now attend. I'll need to do something to fight off those pesky calories in all the cookies I eat. Since I can't visit Dylan at Lush every day (that's a lotta gas...and I don't know his schedule), then running it is!

I'll keep you posted.

And also stay tuned for news about my career move!