The first job I remember wanting to be was a plumber. My mom is an electrician but I had quite a scare with a bobby pin and a wall outlet (doesn’t everyone do that at least once) so the idea of being shocked as part of my daily to do list was the furthest thing from my mind. A plumber was obviously the next best thing. They still had an amazing set of tools, they could fix anything and they were someone you could always rely on. That was the type of person I wanted to be when I grew up – once I figured out that it also required fixing toilets and clogged drains, I changed my mind pretty quickly.
The next job on my radar was scientist / astronaut / engineer. Having spent many hours watching Star Trek (Next Generation) space was my the unexplored frontier. I worked pretty solidly towards actually becoming an engineer, taking all the advanced classes in school and participating in all the math, science clubs I could find. It wasn’t until my junior year of high school that I learned exactly how much math would be involved if I continued down that path leading me back towards where I belonged – english / journalism and writing.
Today I’m not a scientist, or a plumber, or an engineer, but I think what I loved about all of those things have merged together into a job that didn’t even really exist when I was growing up.
Marketing of course was around, but it was a different world. There was a lot of shouting in hopes that something would stick and inspire that person to do what the brand in question wanted them to do. Thanks to social media advertising and marketing have evolved into a living breathing community, where brands have to at a bare minimum listen to their customers, if not interact and engage with them.
The constant evolution of the internet and how consumers interact using it is a fascinating social experiment that as a marketer I get to witness firsthand. On a daily basis I find myself somewhere between being terrified about the digital identity trail we leave behind and excited about the amount of intuition complex consumer profiling can provide for marketing tools.
What I have done, whether I meant to or not, is find exactly the type of career I always wanted when I was a kid – a career where I get to be resourceful, inventive, and creative, and that is something pretty exciting.
Today’s NaBloPoMo post was inspired by BlogHer’s November writing prompts – check it out and see if you are inspired to get started on your own November writing challenge!
Falling leaves, early evening darkness and the air has turned crisp – it must be the end of daylight savings. While I’m reeling from trying to reset my body to the new time (and hour different is ALOT) I am excited we are enjoying some of the fall weather before winter’s cold breath comes blowing off the mountains.
In celebration of fall, and the start of the holiday season just around the corner, I get to share some of my favorite fall treats on the Hickory Farms Instagram for the next week.
Leave a note in the comments with what your favorite fall traditions are and join me over on the Hickory Farms Instagram for some more fall fun all week long.
Disclaimer: This post was brought to you by Hickory Farms. All opinions, ideas and writing are my own. I was compensated and received a product samples as inspiration for this post.
Back when web 2.0 (aka the internet that is a platform for conversation and communication) was a baby, some super smart, super passionate and super motivated people got together and launched a writing challenge, NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo was a challenge asking writers to dedicate the month of November to writing a NOVEL over the course of a single month.
I’m certain the NaNoWriMo was around before the internet, and blogs, and all the things that make social media possible today, but the internet created accountability and a community supporting writers who wanted to participate.
The challenge itself has changed (for some, I’m sure there are still people still writing novels in the month of November) but the community building and accountability to the challenge has remained the same.
I’ve never participated before, but BlogHer has put together a handy list of writing prompts so I’ve decided this year to give NaBloPoMo an honest try. I can’t promise that I’ll write every day, but I will dedicate myself to posting something new each and every day.
Have you participated in writing challenges before? What tips do you have for making it through the month? Sound off in the comments and help me stay motivated all month long!
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays – it’s a holiday that doesn’t require much, other than a bit of creativity and fun. Now that we’re at that in-between stage of life; after the point where Halloween is all about drinking, but we don’t have kids yet to take trick-or-treating, finding a balance of what I want to do to celebrate can be a bit of a challenge.
When I was growing up my neighborhood would compete for the unofficial title of “scariest house on the street”. It became such a spectacle that supposedly there was a year that the retirement community brought their residents by on a bus to view the houses on our block. My family made Halloween decorating a sport, each year adding more decorations and larger props to the yard. We didn’t decorate much for Christmas, but Halloween, you could pretty much guarantee a full graveyard, haunted forest, or minivan sized spider in the front yard.
This year, we’ll be celebrating the spookiest night of the year a night early, hosting an All Hallows’ Eve dinner with some delicious treats from Hickory Farms. We’ve decked out the dining & living room and are planning to have some of our favorite ghouls and goblins over to enjoy the feast. Continue Reading…
Welcome to My Bliss
