Author: jplatt27

vacation state of mind

Posted on by jplatt27

This weekend Mike and I went to Charlottesville, VA to visit our friends Jess and Peter.  We left Saturday morning for a nice drive, stopping for Bethesda Bagel on our way out of town.

When we arrived, Jess had lunch waiting for us.  We sat down to a hearty lunch of chorizo, spinach, and cannellini bean stew with french bread.  What a nice welcome.

{Afton Mountain Vineyards, the mountains, the fresh air, amazing!}

Right after lunch we headed out for some wine tasting at two of Peter and Jess’ favorite wineries in the area: Pollak Vineyards and Afton Mountain Vineyards. Luckily Peter and Jess are veteran wine-tasters and brought snacks for the car ride in between–I was feeling the wine after the first round and started housing Chex-mix. I don’t know what it is, when I drink a lot I can. not. stop. eating.

We went back to their house for some down time before heading out to dinner.  We had dinner on the Downtown Mall before going to see Michael Jackson tribute band, Who’s Bad.  It was such a fun night–so different than anything we usually do.

On Sunday morning we relaxed before heading to brunch.  And when I say relax, I mean I really relaxed. I laid in bed reading Gone Girl all morning.  It was so amazing.

My state of mind was so different than a usual Sunday morning.  I was completely relaxed, the only thing on my agenda was to read my book. I didn’t have any of that gotta-do-this, should-do-that anxiety that usually plagues me on weekends. Nope, just lay here and read.  I think it’s because we were on vacation.  Vacation mindset is so different than normal life mindset.  Just relax, hang around, no expectations or pressure to produce anything, to do anything other than enjoy yourself.

Now that I’ve had a taste of this vacation mindset, I’m inspired to incorporate this mindset into my normal life. It’s certainly going to be a challenge.  Just this morning I woke up feeling like I should be doing x, y, or z even though it’s President’s Day and I’m off today.  I’ll have to continue to remind myself that I will get things done and that relaxing, when done fully, is so worth it, so enjoyable.

Am I the only one that has this problem?  

 

 

 

how I prepare for an interview

Posted on by jplatt27

Some of my favorite people are applying for jobs!

Here’s how I prepare for interviews:

I create a handwritten sheet that looks like the picture above.  Writing it by hand helps to solidify the information in your head in a way that typing doesn’t. I recommend handwriting it.

It has three sections:

  1. why Joanna, 
  2. why the job/company, and
  3. questions.

In the first section, why Joanna, I list qualities, skills, and experiences I have that make me a good candidate and that I want to remember to highlight in my interview. You can include projects you’ve worked on in the past, successes from previous positions, or just qualities of you as a worker/person.

In the second section, why the job/company/organization, I list things about the job that interest me, reasons why I’d want to work for that particular company, why you applied, etc.

And last but not least, the questions section.  Here I come up with 3-5 really good questions, ones that show I know enough to ask a good question but also are things I’m curious about. You should always ask questions at the end of the interview, and have questions prepared ahead of time just in case you get caught up and can’t think of one in the moment. Asking good questions shows your interest in the position. The answers to these questions can give you clues about the working environment, how they problem solve, how the organization handles certain situations.  You can use the questions to get information you can use to compare and contrast your current job or previous positions, etc.  One tip for creating your questions: make sure they’re not too leading–you don’t want the interviewer to think you will or will not take the job based on how they answer.

After I fill out my worksheet, I review it a little bit but truthfully I hardly have to reference it in the interview because I spent time thinking about it, writing it, and looking at it.

How do you prepare for interviews?

thought a day

Posted on by jplatt27

Mike got me a thought-a-day journal for Christmas. It’s a five year journal and for 5 years you write one thought a day.  When you get back to the beginning, you write year two’s thoughts under year one and so on. Wow, it’s crazy to think we could’ve filled two of these in the time we’ve been together.

I love the idea of this.  It’s neat to think about all that will change in the next five years–we’ll have new jobs, a baby or two, be living in a new place.  Think about the people we’ll meet, the places we’ll go, the things will do.  I know I’ll treasure this gift even after it’s all filled up.

How it’s going

You’d think this would be easy.  It’s a simple journal–you only have to write one or two thoughts per day! You don’t have to get into the nitty-gritty and spend 45 mins scribbling all the details of your day.  It’s meant to be quick and painless.

Here’s where I’m struggling:

I usually wait until right before bed to write my thought, at which point my thought is usually “I’m so tired.”  I don’t want an entire journal filled with “I’m so tired today.” Maybe writing down thoughts throughout the day would help and then I could choose a thought. Another option would be to write a thought first thing when I wake up the next morning.

It’s also kind of hard to choose one thought.  One thought that sums up the day.

I realize I’m probably over-thinking it (as I do with a LOT of things). I think I need to just enjoy it. Write if I want. Don’t put pressure if I don’t have a thought or I forget.

How quickly I forgot what I’ve learned about journaling…

adjusting to my name change

Posted on by jplatt27

I started this post last summer but never got around to finishing it.

It was so hard for me to change my name when I got married. Though I knew I wanted to change my name, it was an interesting transition filled with emotions.

First, I cried at the Social Security Office.

Then I didn’t want to tell my dad that I didn’t even keep my maiden name as my middle name. Like I “dropped” it?  Ouch. That sounds harsh.

There was one point where I was meeting someone new for the first time and my maiden name just rolled right off my tongue and I had to correct myself and say “no, that’s actually not my name.”

And then going the other way, I was in Florida with LEM last January and the woman in Talbots asked me for my email address and I quickly blurted out joanna.platt@gmail.com. That’s NOT my email address, I don’t even know where that came from!

And then I was picking up a book at the library held under my last name and I went and started looking at N. 

But now, just a short year later, I’m totally Joanna Platt. I’m very comfortable with my new name. I own it.

I am Joanna Platt.

Wow, even typing that it seems like such a bold statement.  But that’s who I am.

It doesn’t sting anymore when I see my new name in my dad’s handwriting, it’s not uncomfortable when I look on Facebook and I don’t have the same last name as my little sisters. I confidently sign my name and introduce myself.

I think the transition comes from time and also from being more comfortable with myself, who I am, and who I’m becoming.

As I think about next steps in life, start a business, and dream about what the future holds, I am Joanna Platt.

Still the girl I’ve always been but new in many ways.

 

 

mike’s unemployment

Posted on by jplatt27

“I know that some day soon I’ll be greeting you with a kiss as you walk in the door after work. I am so looking forward to that day as I know you are too.  In the meantime, know that I love you and am just as proud of you as I’ve always been.” —note from me to Mike, 3/3/11

In November of 2010, Mike’s boss lost the election and with it, Mike and his colleagues lost their jobs.

Our wedding was just 6 months away.

This was not completely unexpected.  There are elections every two years for Congress and this particular election cycle was going to be a tough one for Democrats.  But, Mike’s boss had been in office for longer than we’d been alive at that point, winning 13 consecutive terms.

They packed up the office, finished the term working from makeshift cubes in House cafeteria, and on January 3, 2011, Mike was officially unemployed.

There’s nothing like filing for unemployment to tell you welcome to the real world.

Of course this was a difficult time for Mike.  He wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do next and staying on the Hill wasn’t a promising option as Democrat staffer jobs were few and far between. He was very diligent about applying for jobs and recording everything to collect unemployment.  But he got kind of down.

This was hard for me too. I did my best to support him, to be encouraging but also allowing him to feel down. I knew he wasn’t happy about not having a job and was doing his best to find something quickly, he didn’t need me to add to that.  I tried to be strong.  But this really sucked.

Finally, I think I said that to him. This really sucks. And it was pretty freeing for both of us.  Admitting this to each other felt good.  It allowed us to be a little vulnerable with each other. And brought us together as a team. It helped us move forward.

 

 

10 years

Posted on by jplatt27

Yesterday marked 10 years together!

We Mike remembered our old anniversary yesterday morning and we hugged and wished each other a happy anniversary.

Then around lunch time Mike texted:

Today is our 10 year anniversary!

Wow!  I didn’t even realize.  It stopped me in my tracks and reminded me how grateful I am for our relationship.

We didn’t do much, anything really, to celebrate the day. We just acknowledged it as special.

And I came home to these flowers on the coffee table.

Simple, sweet, wonderful.

a tip for men: 3 words

Posted on by jplatt27

A lot of times when we’re complaining about something, we don’t want a solution.  We don’t want to figure it out. Sometimes we do, sure.

But most times, we want to hear a simple phrase. Just three simple words will stop us in our complaining tracks.

Here they are:

Wow, that sucks.

Yep, that’s it.

Wow, that sucks.

 

Ladies–feel free to send this post to your SO.

Guys–try it and report back.

 

can’t sleep? my two favorite tricks

Posted on by jplatt27

Not being able to sleep is so frustrating. I know because I’ve been there and because Mike is frequently waking me up with his tossing and turning, huffing and puffing. He can’t sleep when I’m snoring. 😉

Here are my two favorite fall-asleep-fast tricks:

  1. Try to keep your eyes open for as long as possible. Literally, just stare at the wall, trying to keep your eyes open as long as you can.
  2. Switch yourself around so your pillow and head are at the end of the bed where your feet normally are.

I’m telling you, these work.

I will also tell you that if you go in thinking these won’t work, you highly decrease the chances that they will. So trust me.

[two questions] chit chat

Posted on by jplatt27

What are the most used words or phrases in your home?

Thank you–I noticed about a year ago how often we say thank you to each other.  It’s not something conscious but I like that we do this. Some may argue that we overdo it on the thank you’s but we think it’s just right.

I love you

Look. at. that. This one is common while we’re cooking.  I didn’t realize how often I would say this until we were cooking one night and Mike was like “go ahead, say it.” “Say what?” I asked.  “Look at that.”  Now every time I say it, I notice. I say it pretty much every step of the way while we’re cooking something new.

Good idea by you This phrase comes out when someone chooses a good restaurant or recipe, a plan that works out, etc.

How do you talk to each other?

Usually pretty nicely. (see above).

We also have this weird language we’ve developed over the years full of words that we’ve made up or begun to overuse. For example, we sometimes call Chipotle by a different name that I can’t really share here because I don’t know how it would be spelled.  It starts with Shh and rhymes with Chipotle.

 

So, what about you? Common phrases you use with your significant other?

self awareness, spouse awareness: two things that make marriage easier

Posted on by jplatt27

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference or keep the peace.  In a marriage, and in life, a little self awareness can go a long way. Same goes for spouse awareness.

For example, I know that I get really grumpy when I’m hungry.  Seriously, I think I start growling before my stomach does.  It’s taken a few hungry tifs for me to realize that this could all be prevented if I just make sure I eat a little something (even if that means I don’t save my appetite). This prevents me from snapping at my husband unneccessarily just because I’m hungry.

Likewise, I know that when we’re going somewhere and planning to leave at a certain time, Mike wants to leave at that time.  After a few grumpy car rides, I realized that I should make more of an effort to get out the door on time.

What are some small things you do to keep the peace or prevent fights?