What Ana Does

I'm not saying I'm in any way responsible for Brandi Carlile's growing fame, but I will say I called it years ago. See, in my 20s and early 30s I worked for AOL Music (I know, I'm a dinosaur) and we worked with artists and record labels and it was fun -- but not the party I'm sure you're imagining right now. Occasionally, along with the BIG NAMES we needed to keep the website viable, the record labels would send over emerging artists they wanted us to meet and get behind. Sometimes we did and sometimes we didn't. I remember the day Brandi Carlile came into our conference room. The label guys would all meet then the emerging artist would trail behind and introduce themselves. They usually had a box of CDs for us. I remember about a half-dozen artists we met this way. Brandi stood against the wall of our conference room with twins Phil and Tim who play guitar and introduced herself. I remember being mesmerized by her voice and the shy way she held hers...

We're coming up on my One Year Quit-viersary , the day I stopped working full-time. Yup, it's almost been a full year since I hit the bricks and did something completely ill-advised. September 23 was my last day at work. The reasons I left were serious: I was tired of the type of work, after 15 years I was not challenged and there was no foreseeable career path or advancement. Most importantly, I decided to commit myself to "righting the ship" -- to point my career back towards what I'm passionate about. Ultimately, the experiment was a success. Last month I got a full-time job offer in my ideal field. Huzzah! Just, unfortunately, I had to turn it down because ... I'm moving to Paris. So, yeah .... Financially, this has been a good wake-up call. I was definitely buying way too much, and not watching my spending. But on the upside, I was contributing to my family's monthly budget. And once that stopped, well, it's taking me some time to get used t...

This week, I'm a yoga teacher. Which is bananas because I've never taught yoga, nor am I certified to do so. But my sister is coaching soccer at a nearby summer camp and needed to occupy the kids for a few hours this week. And I've been taking yoga for 20+ years , soooo I'm "mostly" qualified. The cool thing is, teaching yoga has been on my goals list for years. But getting certified is pricey and a huge time commitment. And never being in front of a class before, it's hard to know if it's worth the effort. This was a good experience to help me decide if this is something to look into as my next possible career. But this week just reminds me of my current mantra: That's just who I am this week, folks. A summer camp yoga teacher. Who know, next week, I could be an art dealer! Related posts: My deep thoughts about yoga More on Staying Home

I'm finding lately that every week is a little different. I can't seem to get myself into a daily or even weekly routine and, for awhile, it was frustrating. I think this was one of those assumptions I had of staying home: I'll have it all organized and scheduled. But that just can't be a reality of not heading into an office everyday. At least not for me, when I have so many different interests I'm indulging right now. So, I've adopted this attitude ... which is a Fall Out Boy lyric. Focusing on house work, or sewing projects, or garden, or writing, or job hunting, or travel ... etc. Just depends on who I am that week.  :) Related Posts:  What I'm Digging posts It's a Rebuilding Year My Favorite Influencers 

Ever since quitting my job, I've been restructuring my life. It's taken time (a lot of time) to figure out how a day without going into an office works. How to focus on what exactly I need to do on my computer (ie. job hunting and writing) instead of going down a twitter or blog wormhole and getting nothing done. And balancing that time with the small everyday household tasks (laundry, dishes, dishes and dishes) with the larger stuff I want to accomplish. My To-Do lists (minor and major) are miles long. It's all so overwhelming and I find myself at a standstill; where do I even begin? I've tried some strategies to get myself on a daily schedule or even a weekly one but they don't last more than a few days. My weeks differ so much. We travel, Dave travels, I was sick, the girls are home from school, the weather isn't cooperating, etc. I'm finding that each week is so much different than the last, and that's really unexpected. I figured a schedul...

It's been a while since I've posted which is unusual for me so here's the catch-up on a few things. San Diego Convention Center I just spent last weekend in San Diego for the cabi convention. I recently became a stylist selling cabi at home shows and I'm not going to talk about it much on this blog but ... just know I'm testing the theory of stepping far out of your comfort zone to make a real big change in your life. We'll just see how it goes. The basement is complete as I've posted before except for a rather longish task list that includes painting the second coat in the bathroom, trim painting and touch up, and tackling the finish on the pine cabinets. But, as I'm told is common, I'm burnt out on these home projects. Especially over winter break when the girls were home. So burnt out. But I may be feeling the itch to get my paintbrush out soon and get this list done. The stay at home experiment has been rather eye-opening and inter...

Darn you Pinterest for making me feel like I can just up and leave my job. I was already thinking about this, but then my Pinterest board just kept sending me these mantras and I was subconsciously influenced. Where are the motivational mantras about being financial prudent? See my Words of Wisdom Pinterest board . But, warning, it might make you do something crazy.

So ... I did something crazy ... I put in my notice and am leaving my current day job. Pinterest Told Me To Do It I know. What am I thinking!?!?! But there are a thousand reasons swirling in my head that have to do with home and family and career and I'm 40(!) and all sorts of things ... but the one thing I've learned from past jobs is NOT to stick around after you're get just done with it. I did at AOL and regretted it because my relationships with those coworkers suffered. It's just ... I want to pursue my original career path and over the last decade I've moved so far away from it (and really, it's the only thing I'm good at) that it's going to take a concentrated effort to kick back in to it. So, never fear, I'm not planning on being out of work too long. Just enough to decompress, clean out my house and build up what I need for the next gig. My head is saying "HOW CAN YOU QUIT?" because I'm not a good quitter. But t...

So, the powers that be at my workplace have decided to no longer allow us worker to open/close the blinds in our office. I came in this morning and found the strings to adjust the blinds hidden away. And the blinds completely down. Sure, I can turn them open/closed but there will forever be lines obstructing my views. My Obstructed View I heard it's to help manage temperatures in the building, but really, doesn't this seem a little petty? How will I spy on my squirrel neighbor? The Squirrel's Next out My Window

Recently, I got a linkedin update from an old coworker of mine. He did a crazy career 180 -- going from music business executive in NYC to a social worker in LA. Not overnight, obviously, he'd quit and gone back to school for this new career years ago, but you get the idea. When I moved out to Illinois, I thought about going back to school to pursue a completely different career path. I was feeling burnt out with what I've been doing for years. And the move would provide a fresh start. But, I didn't. I kept coming up with excuses. The hassle of the schedule. The financial repercussions. The kids, oh what would happen to the kids?! And, the biggest, I wasn't really sure what I'd want to pursue anyway. What am I more passionate about -- career-wise? But seeing this guy do it (and he's older than me and has younger kids), even just from the very very very outside, has started that string of thought again. Is there a second career path out there that I'd...