We’re halfway through the year! April feels like it was forever ago and I can’t believe Fourth of July holidays are happening this week.

This is a resting point to stop, reflect on the highlights, and check in on my goals for the rest of the year.

What’s up with work

When I spun up Technically, Marketing last fall, I anticipated that I’d need to do a lot of thought leadership and content creation upfront to build my network and secure my first contracts.

What happened in real life is work found me faster than I planned, and I’ve been in the weeds with projects all year. This past quarter I drove three launches, participated in market research, and checked out some new products in alpha / beta testing phases.

I even got a few steps deep interviewing for a role marketing tech to startups, but I had to remove myself when the position switched from remote to in-person mid-cycle.

Right now I’m extremely grateful to be booked out, but I’m also itching for some opportunities to revisit my original thesis. Once I get caught up and settled in, I’d love to open up a few blocks for office hours and give my newsletter subscribers some attention.

Fresh paint

At home, we’ve been catching up on long overdue house projects. While we’re continuing to postpone the big dream renovation, we decided to make some cosmetic improvements to the front rooms of the house. These spaces are part of the original footprint and won’t get gutted when we do the addition, so it’s not a total waste to decouple the work and do it now.

With the help of some local pros, we:

• Patched the roof
• Fixed chewed-through electrical wiring
• Installed an ethernet port to improve our internet coverage
• Replaced overhead fan-lights in both bathrooms
• Treated a mildewy bathroom ceiling with bleach
• Switched out some sconces
• Set in a new medicine cabinet
• Changed out a ceiling fan
• Stood up a headboard
• Had crown molding and picture rail installed
• Filled wood in busted doors
• Changed out some hardware, and
• Gave everything a fresh coat of paint

The reign of boring beige continues but hey no more bumps of paint on the ceiling!

Almost exactly the same blue as before in the TV room / office.

New spa-like shade and repaired doors in the main bedroom.

An unexpected pop of retro yellow on the door in the back bath.

The worst of the work is done but we’re not back to normal. Half our stuff is boxed up, art leaning against the walls, furniture upside down while we prepare to kick off an interior design project with a friend. Hopefully the house will feel much more comfortable and inviting by the end of next quarter!

Next on the list? Finally getting that new fence for the backyard.

Art every day

In May, I successfully completed The Artist’s Way with a group of creatives I met through the Old Girls Club Slack.

At some point I’d like to write more about the book and my experience, but for now I’ll just say: the program was transformative despite the complicated source material.

While I was working through the book, I took up watercolor. This quarter I completed a 5-week watercolor class at the local art museum, and I’ve been painting every day for the past 6 weeks.

I have never thought of myself as an artist. Before this year, I hadn’t so much as sketched a doodle since my freshman year of college. It’s wild how quickly this new hobby has overtaken my life. I’m curious to see where this goes!

Left: One of my first painting attempts from 1 April. Right: Two new paintings from this weekend, 12 weeks later.

Meatsuit maintenance

While art has proven an effective remedy for my existential depression, I’m desperately missing the physical activity I need to combat brain fog.

Hoping an adjustment to my diet might boost my focus, and inspired by a recommendation from a fellow watercolor student, I signed up for a fancy new nutrition app. I learned my body has a hard time processing fats, and I’ve been diligently observing how meals are scored in the AI-enabled food diary. But so far the app-approved handfuls of berries and cashews haven’t made a noticeable difference.

We hike the mountain every Sunday, and I get out to the yoga studio 2-3 times per week, but it’s not enough. And when I get behind on work, that 3-mile walk I had planned for the morning is the first thing to go out the window.

Something’s gotta change this quarter because I feel like shit even when my sleep is great and my mood is good. Bodies are machines and brains don’t run on willpower!

Celebrations

We kicked April off strong with a service to baptize both the nieces at a Catholic church in our community. As a culturally Baptist family, we were totally out of our element at the sacrament but it was super-fun to witness and celebrate with grandparents and godparents.

This time of year is always busy with Easter and birthday dinners. We’ve enjoyed cookbook clubs and wedding showers, cookouts and bonfires.

However, I am dreading this upcoming Independence Day, which is a holiday I used to enjoy more than Christmas. All I want to do is float in the pool, eat two hot dogs with heaps of relish, and protest authoritarianism while I’m still free to do so. You know, patriotic things.

Watching / reading

Right now we’re halfway through Season 4 of The Bear which just dropped.

I love The Bear. It’s enthralling to watch people work in an environment with impossibly high standards. The attention to detail. The unapologetic elegance!

I crave the passion and problem-solving of it all. Sure, restaurant hours are a nightmare and the kitchen is a pressure cooker, but these characters are creating experiences of excellence.

A lot of us are working under pressure in fast-paced environments but what we’re shipping is the digital equivalent of wet cardboard. Every second counts. How are you spending your precious seconds today? Can you beat your best time or surprise yourself with something you’re extra proud to share?

Recently enjoyed and worth recommending:

• Andor (obviously)
• The Studio—a TV show for movie people
• Dying for Sex
• Sinners
• One of Them Days
• How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis

This year the gardenias started blooming on 23 May and the last two flowers have started turning yellow as of this morning.