Friday Five - 5/30/14

This week's 5 are on the way...
but first, a follow up on last week's 5.  The triple cheeseburger from McDonalds...nothing special.  Oh well.  Now I can go back to healthier options :-)

And now...the new 5 for the week.











1. The Birthday Girls

Today is the birthday of two of my oldest and dearest friends.  They were co-matrons of honor in my wedding and we've been friends for about 18 years now...shit.  18 years (heck...this picture is 15 years old - how has all that time gone by already?  I still feel like that 15 year old girl most of the time...).  We've been through a lot and I love them like sisters.  Happy Birthday, Meg & Jen!

2. The Birthday Girls

Today is also the birthday of my beloved Alpha Gamma Delta.  And it's a big one - 110 years from the day our 11 founders - Marguerite Shepard, Estelle Shephard Beswick, Georgia Dickover, Jennie Titus Smith Morris, Ethel Brown Distin, Grace Mosher Harter, Edith MacConnell, Hickok, Mary Louise Snyder, Georgia Otis Chapman, Flora Knight Mayer, and (my favorite) Emily Helen Butterfield  sat in a room at Syracuse University and officially adopted our constitution and bylaws.  Alpha Gam was a huge part of my college experience and I am proud to live her purpose every day!

3. Employer Recognition
I'm a very un-confident person.  Especially in my job.  I'm always positive that whenever I'm called into someone's office or when someone says "hey do you have a few minutes to talk?" that I'm going to be scolded or fired or escorted off the premises.  When people do call me into their office or ask if I have time to talk, I always have a small panic attack because I know it's not going to be good.  Of course, it's always fine.  But that doesn't assuage my fears for the next time.  I'm still waiting for the day when they realize I don't actually do anything...I was happy I had gotten a promotion a few weeks before my maternity leave, because I was certain I would come back to no job due to them realizing I wasn't as valuable as they had once believed.  It's also been a pretty rough couple of weeks at work.  Many of our employees are leaving the company (high level managers, not just anyone) including my boss and my former boss - both of whom I am very close to.  Having those people who know what I do and my value to the company leave is SCARY.  What if their replacements don't like me?  Or see through me and finally discover I do not belong here?  I need a Xanax to deal with the anxiety...for real.  I have no reason to think any of this.  I do work hard.  I get shit done quickly and well and I know what I'm doing.  But regardless, I can't shake the fear.  Because of all that, it's nice to get some recognition and reiteration that my hard work doesn't go unnoticed - even by those who I don't work as closely with, and by my new bosses.  I got that recognition and validation this week in the form of a huge promotion.  It was so unexpected, but so awesome.  I'm still sad - I'm going to miss my friends - but it does give me some major peace of mind that I'll be OK without them.

4. Derek

Today also marks the return of Derek on Netflix.  The first season of this show was amazing - I can't wait for the second.  I've been catching quick clips on Ricky Gervais' facebook page and I know the second season will not disappoint.  Cue a weekend of binge watching (hopefully Chad can get Sunday off work so we can)!

5. The Return of SYTYCD

There's only been one episode so far this season, but it's looking like another great one!  I love this show.  I'm not a dancer, but I love dance.  One of my favorite things about this show is discovering new music, too.  My playlist grows exponentially each season when I hear new songs or different versions of songs I'd never heard before.  I think we grabbed 1 or 2 new songs in the season premiere alone (including Wake Me Up by Madilyn Bailey).  It's also nice having a favorite show that my dear husband doesn't make fun of me for liking (we have a lot of similar television tastes, but we also have a lot of different television tastes) - surprisingly, he likes this show just as much as I do - I love discussing different dances (we often disagree on what's good or not, but that's the beauty of the competition I guess) and who should win or go home.  I'm excited for another season of that :-)