The Life Edit: Big update and unrelated giveaway
The Life Edit: Big update and unrelated giveaway
Happy Friday!
The weekend is upon us. The cat is out of the bag IRL. It’s been a crazy, very stressful summer, but I’m excited to report that I got a new job!
I don’t post much about my professional life, mostly because this is the internet and people can be crazy. (You all seem very nice, by the way.) But I’ve spent 98% of my career in the public sector and am now hopping over to the nonprofit world! It’s also a leap forward in my overall career trajectory, so that’s exciting, too.
I’ll be able to post a few more details once I actually get started. Right now, I’m wrapping up things at my current job. It’s a bittersweet time. Leaving a place after ten years (TEN. YEARS.) is a surreal thing to do. Things are slowly starting to feel final and like this is all actually happening. Farewell lunches. Multiple emails with the subject heading ‘nooooo.’ I thought the two weeks’ notice period would drag, but time is whipping by.
It seemed wise not to take any downtime between jobs, so I’m finishing Job A on a Friday and starting Job B on a Monday. Does anyone actually relax while taking a week off before a new job? That sounds like a week to spend worrying about what the new job will be like. Might as well just jump in. After a decade with the same agency, it can be a little daunting to think of starting fresh.
Not only do I have a new job, but my husband does, too, albeit with the same employer. He’s in a different department after having been in the same area for 16 years. Apparently, we’re loyal employees over here. This is now being termed ‘the lost summer’ as school starts in exactly one month, and we’ve done nothing but stress ourselves out since May. These changes are all for the best, and if we have to sacrifice Summer ‘23 to the cause, well, fine.
There’s always those last few weeks for squeezing in some summer fun, although I’m not going to lie, I won’t miss the daily day camp run. From the golf club to the ballet studio to the nature parks, my Kroger Fuel Points and I have traversed a mighty swathe of the county for the sheer enrichment opportunity of it all.
All that to say, I’m happy to see the beginning of the end of the Summer of Stress. Other personal/family things have been going on alongside the big career shakeups. And yet, here I am in your inbox with unprecedented consistency!
That’s a weird segue, but in case you haven’t seen, I’m running a giveaway on Instagram! You have until Sunday evening at 7 p.m. EDT to enter to win a $25 gift card to BibiBop Asian Grill. Substack subscribers automatically receive an extra entry, so the odds are in your favor. I had never tried BibiBop, as the location closest to us is always swarmed with UD students, and was thrilled to be asked to join the media preview party. I really enjoyed my meal and the various options for building a bowl. The restaurant is 100% gluten free - I’m not GF, but I know many of you are. It’s also vegetarian/vegan friendly.
Let me tie these weird threads together by saying that I started eating clean to lose my last stubborn pandemic pounds, but have continued because it’s made a tremendous impact on my mental health. I’ve really struggled with depression/anxiety in the past and haven’t been able to stay consistent on the blog and Instagram because of that. Combined with daily exercise, the clean eating/Mediterranean diet has really worked to manage those symptoms where a lot of other options have failed. Without a doubt, I would not have felt confident enough to take a leap forward in my career if I wasn’t feeling the best health of my adult life.
Not that a vegan bowl will get you a new job necessarily. But I’m glad to have a nice lunch option nearby that supports a clean diet. Anyhow. Go win the gift card.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend! It looks like we’ll be getting rain, which should hopefully finish reviving my transplanted zinnias.
