American History

My throwback today is about learning more American History. So many of the things we learned in American History when we were in grade school or high school are REALLY abbreviated versions of the story. Lately, I’ve put aside reading fiction in favor of reading history books.

I’ve been fascinated by a book called “Duel” by Thomas Flemming about the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. I’m just about to the day of the duel – 294 pages in. The author does a really great job of setting the political scene of the day and diving into the relationship between Burr and Hamilton. It took years and years of friendship, political intrigue and rivalry to get to the dueling field in New Jersey. I cannot recommend this book highly enough – it’s available for Kindle so I’ve been reading it on my phone in spare moments and cannot wait to get to the aftermath of the duel!

I’m also reading a book called “Founding Brothers” by Joseph Ellis – a real live paperback book! This book takes closer looks at particular episodes in history involving George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. The author does an amazing job of diving into the personalities of these history book characters and giving you a better sense of the actual men. The episode I’m currently up to is regarding why Washington DC is our nation’s capital.

After I’m done with these two books, I’m going to dig into biographies of some of our founding fathers. I’ve read the Ron Chernow books on Hamilton and Grant so maybe his book on Washington would be a good next read. But I also want to read “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I think she’s really interesting when I see her interviewed but I’ve never read her!

I’m loving the perspective reading deeper into history is giving me about the ways of the world today. It really is true that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

I’d love your recommendations for books on history – please leave them in the comments!

Uninterrupted Sleep?

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a problem with staying asleep. I go to sleep just fine but wake up about every two hours. For someone used to getting a solid night’s sleep it’s EXHAUSTING! I just don’t feel like I’m actually getting any rest. So curious me started digging into it.

Turns out there are a lot of reasons why a person can have no trouble falling asleep but still have sleep disruptions. Here are some of the top reasons:

  • Stress. Mental stress, worry, and anxiety can make it difficult to relax and fall asleep, as well as stay asleep throughout the night. Racing thoughts or concerns may keep your mind active, making it challenging to achieve restful sleep.
  • Environmental factors. Is the room too hot/cold? Did you consume caffeine? Is there too much light? Too much screen time? All of these kinds of things can cause sleep disruptions – hard to believe right?
  • Medical conditions. Things like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, chronic pain, acid reflux, or hormonal imbalances can interfere with sleep continuity. You’ll probably need to consult with your primary care physician if you think one of these conditions is in play.

Here are some really great links about waking up at 3AM – which seems to be my favorite time to be awake. Maybe it’s my liver (check the first link)? Any way you look at it, 3AM seems to be a popular time to be awake in the middle of the night!

Planting time.

I’m going to the Plant Sale at the Morton Arboretum later this week – which is a sure sign of spring even though it’s a bit on the chilly side this week! I’m looking to replace some shrubs that were eaten to death by rabbits last summer. And we’ll see what else strikes me as good for my yard while I’m there.

I’m really sad that the shrubs got eaten to death. I sprayed them with repellent and put down crystals that were supposed to keep the rabbits away, but nothing seemed to stop them! Last summer I was particularly vigilant with my gardening since the bed was a new addition at the side of my new patio. The plan was for that bed was for flowering plants that would provide perfume to the patio all summer. The shrubs were flowering and I planted lavender around them. At least the lavender survived?

Job hunting is a little bit like my planting plan. I tended my job and it flowered – for me and my team. But my job was “eaten by bunnies” and now I’m looking for a replacement. That hopefully I’ll be able to tend and get to flower again for years to come.

I know – this is a TORTURED analogy. But I am a good gardener and I’m really looking forward to smelling the new flowers later this spring.

New Week, New Thoughts…

I have a new approach to my job search – and Monday is now officially networking day. So far so good – I have a new connection that has hooked me up with a hiring manager this morning! And I have another new connection that I hope will just be a good resource for information on healthcare marketing. We have a lot in common and I’m already enjoying the chat with her.

I’m not a natural networker – but my outplacement coach gave me some tips and pointed me at some training to help. I know it just means putting myself out there but since the layoffs, I have been plagued by my old issues with shyness. I’ve always said I am more outgoing at work than I am in my personal life but lately, my professional persona has also clammed up. Time to brush off the shyness!

On a related note, in January, I responded to a post on my neighborhood Facebook page asking if anyone was interested in starting a crochet group. In February, another woman and I arranged for an in-person meet up where 4 other people came and as of today, we have 36 members in our Crochet/Knitting Friends Facebook group! It’s been an amazing experience for me and I feel like I’ve already made 4 really good friends. We even had an outing to YarnCon in downtown Chicago over the weekend! This has been a real adventure for me – and also helping me with my tendencies toward shyness.

I also had a friend that sent me an email about joy this morning. The gist of the article attached to the email was that too many people forget to feel joy every day. I’ve been trying to be more mindful about gratitude – but joy is certainly related. So now in addition to ending my day thinking about all I have to be grateful for, I’m going to start listing things that brought me joy in the day as well. Postive thoughts cannot help but manifest positive things right?

Layoffs

This week Walgreens was hit by yet another round of layoffs. I was happy to hear that nobody on my old team was impacted – but it’s just another hit. It seems like the news is full of announcements of layoffs – I saw headlines for layoffs at Google and Tesla this week in addition to Walgreens. And locally Oberweiss Dairy declared bankruptcy and will be laying off workers. Maybe I’m just sensitive to the word “layoffs” but it sure seems like there are a lot of them these days.

To all the people impacted – I wish you the best. This is a test of your personal resilience, persistence and character. I’ve lived through it before and always come through with flying colors and while I have good and bad days during this “corporate hiatus,” I know we’ll all get through this as well. Somewhere out there will be a company that can appreciate our skills and experience; it’s just a matter of time until we find each other in the right open roles.

Balance

Nope – not talking about work/life balance. Today let’s talk about our actual balance. I saw a silly reel on Facebook this morning challenging people to put on shoes and socks without losing their balance. I can stand on my left leg for DAYS without losing my balance but my right ankle is still a bit wobbly from a severe sprain in my kickboxing class – so I didn’t get that sock and shoe on my left foot without almost falling over! But it got me to wondering about why people lose their balance as they age – and what we can all do to keep our balance as long as possible.

A study at UCLA showed that many people begin to see changes in their ability to balance around age 50. There are a LOT of contributing factors like blood pressure issues, obesity, circulation issues, inner ear problems, medication side effects, and so on. So there’s no easy answer to the question. But there are things you can do to help keep your balance for as long as possible like these:

  • Excercises that strengthen your lower body like walking or biking.
  • Body weight squats and lunges are also effective at keeping up the strength of your core and lower body.
  • Dance! Anything that sifts your weight from leg to leg will help keep you strong.
  • Yoga flows can be built to help with balance – find a class and give it a try!

Want to know more about age related balance loss and prevention strategies? Click on these links:

HBD to me!

It’s my birthday! So I’m taking a day off from the job hunt and doing what has become a bit of a tradition for me. I sign up for loyalty groups all over the place – it’s a professional hazard when you were used to managing loyalty offers at work. I always liked to see what other companies offered and how they messaged their customers. Nothing like personal research right? So my email box is FULL of birthday offers! I’ll be out today to see how many I can collect. Bear in mind, some offers have spend conditions to get them, but here are the offers I have on my list for today:

  • Starbucks (of course!) – free drink or bakery item. Has to be used today though – anybody else remember when they gave you more time? Like the whole month?
  • Nothing Bundt Cakes – free Bundtlet. They have a Lemon Blueberry cake I’m dying to try!
  • Chili’s – free dessert with the purchase of an entree.
  • Portillo’s – free slice of their AMAZING chocolate cake! (Don’t tell anyone but somehow they sent me 2 codes so you know I’m going back for both slices!)
  • Menchie’s – $5 put in my loyalty account for free frozen yogurt.
  • Anyway’s (local restaurant) – BOGO dinner entree.
  • Olive Garden – free dessert with purchase of an entree.
  • Cheesecake Factory – free slice of cheesecake.
  • Red Robin – free burger.
  • Athleta (clothing) – 20% off purchase.
  • DSW – $5 off purchase.
  • Banana Republic – 30% off purchase.
  • Elements Massage – $10 off any service.
  • J.Jill – $20 off $80 purchase.
  • Aveda – free composition oil.
  • Container Store – 15% off purchase.
  • Hallmark – 20% off purchase.
  • Crumbl – free cookie.
  • Chipotle – free guac (I may have already redeemed this last night with my birthday eve dinner….)
  • Panda Express – free small entree/appetizer or medium side.
  • Lion Brand Yarn – free shipping on my next order (yawn…)
  • Cafe Zupa – free dessert with $5 purchase.
  • Garrett Popcorn – $10 off $50 order or free bag upgrade (instore only)
  • Vera Bradley – 25% off purchase.
  • Culvers – free scoop of frozen custard. (mmmmm……)

Whew! Although quite frankly – I’m disappointed that there aren’t offers from JoAnn or Michael’s on yarn on my list. But it’s still early? LOL! Gotta run – I have a lot of places to go!!!

Tax Day!

It’s April 15th – have you filed your taxes? Or are you one of those last minute filers waiting until to night to get your return submitted?

I sent my taxes in early last month and my refund is already in my checking account. I’ve done the last minute filing thing because of missing information in the past – and hated the panic filing at the last minute. So now I’m firmly in the camp of having taxes finished as soon as I can.

But given the date today, I started wondering why April 15th is tax day. I suppose it makes sense since W2s are required to be issued by the end of January so you have approximately 3 months to get your taxes filed. But here’s a great link with the history of it: https://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/personal-income-taxes/april-15-tax-day.htm#:~:text=Tax%20Day%20was%20moved%20to,refunds%20%5Bsource%3A%20Sung%5D.

New topic (I’m allowed since I’m the writer!)

Did you all have a great time at the eclipse last week? Assuming it was visible wherever you are? I was in the path of totality and for nearly 4 minutes I stood in awe of the 360 degree sunrise/sunset and the visible prominences. I made a real effort to try not to play with my camera and just be present in the moment but did capture these two shots. Please Google better pictures! I had a great week with my family – it was just what I needed to get my head back into the job search.