So, there are a lot of really exciting things happening in my life right now. I recently moved from one office to another office in our building. Both spaces were/are shared with a co-worker, but the difference is my new office has a door. I am beyond excited about my new door. But what I’m really excited about is the new level of responsibility.

Freed up from some administrative duties, I’ll be doing a lot more client work, which will include media relations for one of our biggest clients. I am SO completely terrified, but so excited. My company believes in me. They are invested in my future and my own development as a person and as a professional.

so, what about when it isn’t a change you want?

Change is great and exciting, but all of the good changes in my life [scary, but still good] got me thinking about how I’ll deal with the really scary, not so exciting, unplanned changes. Nothing like that is happening in my life right now, thank goodness, but who is to say that things couldn’t take a downturn tomorrow? [totally not where I planned on this post going] it’s important to remember the good in our lives and be grateful, because you never know what big, life-altering events can come up.

the real point

What I really wanted to say though, is that it’s how we deal with these things that counts. A blogger I admire got laid off last week. That is definitely not a change of the “more responsibilities,” getting a door,” “moving up in the company” type. Change like that makes us mad. It strips us of the comfort we thought we had. But his ability to see opportunity in such a potentially devastating change is what’s really impressive.

So, while I’m certainly embracing and appreciating the awesome changes happening in my life, I’m not going to forget how to deal with the potentially bad, scary and unplanned changes that I could be facing any day.

what about you?

How do you approach the scary and unexpected? Leave it in the comments, because I’d really like to be armed with some tools!

so. welcome!

I am not sad to say that “Beccawik Bikes” is no more. You’re now looking at That Loud Girl. I am so crazy proud of myself for committing to my new month resolutions! Granted, this is the second time I resolved to redesign the blog, but still, yay me!

I’m really thrilled with how this site came out. I may still have some tweaking to do, but really, I just had to put. It. Down. With these things, I can tend to edit and revise to death. But the point is, it looks rad and that is all thanks to my friend, Mike Higdon, who is responsible for the awesome header up there and all of the portraits you’ll see on this site.

So, have a look around. See what it’s all about. I imagine this site, like myself will always be changing and growing. So hang out and chat with me! I’m super excited to see where this takes me!

oh right, there was a second resolution

Track what I eat all month. That doesn’t mean that I necessarily ate well, but I think it really helped. I resolve to continue that through the month of February.

and in february

• I resolve to eat only one meal out a week. This means only one meal. Not one dinner, and one lunch and once on the weekend. Only one.
• I resolve to post to this blog once per week. There are lots of changes happened right now in my work life that could complicate this goal, but with some planning, I think I can definitely do this. And why wouldn’t I? What, with this awesome new blog and all.
• I also continue to resolve to track what I eat every day. [I think that adding manageable resolutions to my existing and established resolutions is going to work out quite nicely. High five for unplanned progress!]

So, I was all “yay! I’m gonna make my blog all awesome and stuff” and then I basically disappeared off the face of the earth, and it’s now well past January 1 and I don’t have a new blog.  (Liz, you and me can go be a suckfest together.  Srsly.)

Originally, I was really, truly committed to announcing my brand new blog on January 1  and I didn’t write during that time because I figured I would make a nice big splash.  So … that didn’t happen.  I’m still working on it and really do plan to have it done soon.

Which bring me to the point of this post.

I want to talk about New Year’s resolutions.  I hate them.  I never do them.  I am pretty sure I became disillusioned and basically over them when I was about 12 years old.  They set us up to disappoint ourselves.  The worst kind of disappointment.  I’m all “if you want to change you life, change your life!  Don’t wait until January 1 to do so!”  Words to live by, right?  So … why am I not like that?

So, I’m committing to New Month resolutions.  Smaller, more manageable, pocket-sized resolutions.  Yeah, yeah, I want to eat better, work out more and lose weight in 2010.  I want to become a more awesome professional in 2010.  I want to read more in 2010.  I want to be a better girlfriend in 2010.

But those are big scary tasks that make me want to crawl into a hole.

So, Happy New Month!

… even though I’m a week late.  From now on, on the first of the month, I’m going to post two to three smallish and manageable New Month resolutions (because we all know if I put it in the blog, I’m really committed to it).

In January I will:

• Launch my new blog
• Track my weight watchers points every single day this month (This one will be interesting, as I am going home to Vegas to visit the fam and celebrate my birthday and my niece’s birthday.  But.  I’m.  Doing.  It.)

So, have a happy January!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this place I’ve been calling my blog for the last nine months (holee sheet, it’s been that long already?!) and I have this new place that I’ve been collecting all my bloggy thoughts:

see?

I’ve been trying to write down EVERYTHING I think of in terms of this blog.  It’s been kind of fun to just be all over the place with it for now.

I’m working with my friend, Mike, to make it my most awesomest blog ever (which, lets face it, won’t be hard since what you’re reading is my first ever).  But really, it’s been fun putting all our creative juices together.  I don’t really have a lot of creative juices, but EVERY LAST DROP has been going into this.

Anyway, I just wanted to gush about how essited I am to reveal (which will be sometime after the new year)*.

*You see, I work in PR so I am building buzz.  It’s what I DO.

So, after last weeks post and joining 20sb waiting for my 20sb membership approval, I’ve decided this place needs a makeover.  I have NO idea what exactly that’s going to look like, but I know that if I’m going to do this–REALLY do this–then this space needs to be much more than “my last bike ride.”

Don’t get me wrong.

I’m totally still going to ride my bike and write about it (when it get’s warmer).  But … there’s so much more to me.  There’s so much more to the development of the person I’m becoming.  What I need to bring my focus to is what do I want?  What do I want to do? I love my life and the people in it.  I love my job and my family.  But I have become complacent.  I know I’m not the only one.  I’m not the only person who graduates college [two years ago, now], finds a great job [trust me, I know how lucky I am], loves unconditionally and gets comfortable in that.

Hey, so live a comfortable life.  I’m SO lucky.  I know that.  I was brought up in a privileged, caring and compassionate household [that's not without its problems, trust me].  I’ve made good decisions.  I’m no genius and I’m no innovator, but I know I’m smart.

So what?

I love my job.  I love my boy.  So many people try their whole lives to get what I’ve got.  It’s like my own little miracle.  I can stop trying to find the right career.  I’m in it. I can stop looking for Mr. Right.  I have him. I can now focus all of that energy on anything and everything else.

But what?

I don’t know yet.  I’m going to spend some time thinking about who I am and what I do.  Who I want to be and what I want to do.  I’m pretty excited.  And I really hope that some of this will mean as much to some of you,  as the things you have done mean A LOT to me.  But I guess the truth is, it doesn’t really matter because this means a SHITLOAD to me.