Happy Valentine's Day to those who celebrate it. ;) I know there are those who don't, and who don't like it, especially the commercialism of it. I don't like these aspects:
- that restaurants are so stupid-busy on the day, and the weekends surrounding
- that there's pressure to celebrate it, no matter what (like, nowadays you're supposed to go big on SELF-LOVE if you're not IN love, and I mean... just stop)
- that people are lonely
- that I feel like I'll never live up to how I'm "supposed" to celebrate it
Ugh. But I do love and appreciate:
- many opportunities for chocolate
- sweet words from my husband, who is a GEM and I'm keeping him
- spa gift cards from the same, because he is a master gift-giver, noticing when I complain of aches and pains
Today, we are celebrating with volleyball practice (Kate) and the weekly cornhole game (Shawn)! I have a cookie cake ready and waiting for us at 9:00pm when we all see each other again, minus Alex of course, who's having his first Valentine's Day away from home. We will get to see him this weekend when he pops home for a quick visit (with Ashling). ;) It's her birthday on Thursday.
And it's Kate's birthday tomorrow -- 15 on the 15th! Hard to believe. We can't really celebrate tomorrow, since it's a school/work day. But she has the week off next week, so she's (we're) hosting a few of her high school friends for brunch on Monday. A Pancake Bar, I believe, is the plan. She has such creative ideas [read: gets them from social media], like making a photo backdrop with 9 heart-shaped balloons, if only I will move two framed art pieces from that one wall in the living room, lol. I hope I don't stifle her with my skepticism. I took a half day so I can help her cook and prepare, and then I fully expect to be hidden away in my room for the bulk of the party, because you know teen girls don't want Mom there watching them! (Will I feel under-appreciated? Yes.)
Since my last post, work has calmed down somewhat, now that January is over. I'm finding a little groove, I hope, but I still don't fathom how anyone expects a company with 1500 retail customers (in the US) to "do marketing" with one person on the marketing staff. Make it make sense.
Still, some little victories:
- I got the 2023 product catalog finished and published
- I created, with the help of a freelancer, the Spring Invitation, coupon and mini-poster
- I have successfully called and conducted some meetings
- I got the 15 swimsuits to FL for the fashion show
- I got two new salespeople trained
- I got the swimwear sales sheet to the sales team
- I wrote the online descriptions for the new products when the ecommerce team refused to take that task over (!! rude!)
- I have shipped out a ton of FedExes to various people who need them (so much shipping gah), and ordered more FedEx supplies
- I have ordered business cards and nametags for people, and an important document from Global; printed and delivered
- I have processed invoices for payment
I want to remember all of that for posterity. It kicked my butt.
Moving on! I'm trying again with managing my diet. I bought V8 so it's Serious. This time I'm using MyNetDiary, the free version, to track calories, because food is the hardest part for me but I don't want to give up carbs or sugar completely. I need to eat what I eat, just be mindful of how much. So far it's going well (2 days in). If I need extra help, I plan to pay for the Premium version for a month or two. At the moment I'm in the "LET'S DO THIS" honeymoon phase. I bought new snacks and lots of vegetables. I'm mad at diet culture but still want to feel better in clothes, lose 10 pounds, for my health and to prevent other issues, etc etc blah blah.
Right after the Valentine's chocolates and birthday cake, lol. Love to you, my bloggy friends!
