Category Archives: Change

06.18.19
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Atlanta Ambassador Identity Crisis

I’m not originally from Atlanta, but I claimed it as my own, considering my “adult life” began there.

Anyone new to Atlanta was always sent to me–“ask Julie. She’ll give you restaurants to frequent, shops to visit, locations of the best schools, etc.”

Literally, they called me the “Atlanta Ambassador” and I loved it. Everyone got “Atlanta Magazine” the first Christmas, then locally made Atlanta neighborhood coasters, cuff links stamped with ATL…you get the idea. I never thought we’d leave, as my husband’s family and our friend tribe were our stability, and my family was an easy hour flight away.

I didn’t even know where to find Sacramento on the map, so when Nicholas read me an email from his CEO about an opportunity West Coast, I continued my Pinterest board for best new restaurants in Atlanta, and absent-mindedly nodded and smiled in support.

Fast forward 6 months from this seemingly neutral moment, and we’re moved into a townhouse in Sacramento. I mean completely unpacked, flowers and basil planted, security installed, fridge stocked with iced coffee and fruit punch crystal light.

I left a career I loved, the townhouse that we had just finished perfecting, and a chunk of my heart with our family and friends there.  AND, I left my position as the Atlanta Ambassador, of course. 🙂  Talk about some UGLY crying… with an entree-size side of identity crisis.

I didn’t breathe deeply for awhile…maybe weeks…
I unpacked and nested, set up new bill pay, searched for doctors, the best grocery store, a new nail salon, PT for my knee, bought furniture and agonized over a salon that wouldn’t fry my summer blonde.

And then I stopped, let my soul catch up to my body, and realized that a so-called identity crisis is a pretty awesome shot to look at reinvention. I mean, I think I’m pretty rad and am not looking for a do-over, but the next time a neighbor asked me if I did yoga, I thought (well, I used to do yoga…that sounds lovely. Maybe I’ll be a yogi here) and just like that, I “do yoga” 3 times a week in the local park (see sunshine shot below from the perspective of my yoga mat).

I planted the roses I always said I’d have… (the ketchup and mustard variety that are yellow on the outside and red on the inside). I water and chat with them every morning with my iced coffee and folk music before it gets hot and the job applications call me to get busy on my laptop.

Harold, my robin-egg-blue cruiser bike, is my main mode of transportation and if a certain opportunity works out this week, I’ll be able to even ride to work…how liberating is that?

I broke out my pink boxing gloves at a gym around the corner, swapped vodka for mint sun tea and visited the gun range for the first time. I tampered with the idea of wearing primarily camouflage fashion and going by GI-Jules, but my pearls look a little out of place, so that didn’t last long.  🙂

Nothing like the panic of leaving everything I know behind, and finding sheer liberation in the process.

I’m thankful for life’s changes that have given me time to reflect, breathe, reinvent, be intentional, and breathe some more…

09.28.14
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My First Food Show–“Italian Heritage”

I worked my first food show last weekend, and while I was pretty anxious about flying to Toledo, working on a weekend with people I’d never met, and finally meeting my boss and co-workers, it was a fantastic weekend. It was overwhelming, for sure, as most people I met have worked in the food industry forever, and I have so little experience to offer. I kept thinking about my former life as a teacher and how different this all feels, and quickly realized that as long as I can talk to new people and have a sense of personality (and humor) I’d fit in just fine.

It was quite an undertaking—I rep 22 brands of product, and this particular show had a booth for every single brand, offering a variety of their products in whole form and of course, bites to taste. The set was already built when I arrived, under the theme of “Italian Heritage” so each booth was like a little café with a window and fabric-covered awning. We arranged bottles of wine and photos of the Sofo Family in the front, and attempted a fall-themed décor elsewhere, as fall clearly visited Ohio long before the Georgia heat gives up on us for the season.

We set up all day Saturday, Sunday morning, and by 2pm, we were ready to open our doors and push some product. I felt like I had a “I’M NEW!” badge on my shirt, as I tried to talk to customers about the products at my particular booth (Wayne Farms Chicken), and quickly felt confident when the third customer logged in to our portable booth computers and bought 18 cases of chicken fajita. That was followed by case counts more like 80 and even one of 150. I decided to pretend like this was my specialty, and soon found that it worked out quite nicely for everyone involved. After about 4 hours, I started to feel a bit redundant in what I was telling customers about the fried wing versus the ovenable, and then realized it’s no different than teaching the same lesson 7 times in one day.

My favorite moment was when a SOFO salesman from Lima, OH came to my booth with a serious crew of customers to taste the chicken fajita that was on special. They tasted the product, commented to each other that it was too salty and appeared ready to move on. I had flashbacks of making chicken-bacon-cheddar wraps the night before and sent them to a few booths down to try the product in a wrap application.

They walked down, found that the chicken wraps were gone (duh, they were delicious) and continued on down the aisle, dismissing our chicken and looking for the next item to sample. I knew if I could just get them to taste an application with our product, they’d buy it.

I abandoned my station, and went on a hunt for the ingredients I needed to re-create a wrap. I snatched a wrap from the original station, and then just went booth-to-booth, “borrowing” ingredients until I had something similar to what I had made the night before. I hunted down the pack of men, got them to try my creation—and long story short, they not only bought the chicken fajita, (times five stores) but we got all their chicken wing business, too. I know it sounds silly—it’s just chicken– but that was a win for me; as a girl who has only ever taught English, little old me got a chain account to switch two major products to ours.

The weekend was exhausting, and my feet looked like anemic sausages by late Sunday night, but it was an incredible experience, and I found myself feeling so invigorated by the people I met, the food we cooked, and the potential of what may come next with this industry.

In a nut shell, the weekend was one of those moments in life when I felt stretched, out of my comfort zone, and terrified that I was going to screw up, say the wrong thing, or make food that tasted terrible. The reality is, the moments that terrify me most are the ones that provide the most growth, and the hindsight is terribly satisfying.

I only wish Poppi were here to listen, laugh, and give me perspective, but telling Nicholas, Mom, and my sister, Amber, felt pretty good, too.

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I wish I had more photos, but it was such a blur of excitement and tasks, I didn’t even think about taking more pics until it was torn down!

09.07.14
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September Resolutions

I know it’s a little early for New Years resolutions, but my cousin, Jolynn Hodel, posted a new blog tonight; it was her final post about their journey to a new home this past year, and I got to thinking about all the changes you never imagine will happen, and the hindsight that allows you to realize it’s all in a perfect plan.

I lost two great men in my life this year, my grandfather in March and my dad “Poppi” in July. My husband left a 14 year career without a new job secured, and my parents sold the only childhood home I ever lived in. I ended the only “career” I’ve ever known and have two degrees in a file folder that are, at the moment, irrelevant. And if that wasn’t enough change, an age old friendship ended abruptly this summer without explanation.

I’ve written before about change and transition, and at the risk of sounding redundant, I wanted to wrap up the changes like a Christmas present, and take this time to be thankful, press forward, and make some resolutions.

I resolve to have faith, in spite of the the need I have for control.
I resolve to spend time with the people closest to me because tomorrow is never promised.
I resolve to not be complacent in a job just because it’s easy.
I resolve to only maintain the relationships in my life that are positive and good for me.
I resolve to always remember where I came from, and keep calling my grandmothers every week.
I resolve to continue “Sunday gravy,” Italian style, even though very batch of red sauce stings a little.
I resolve to worry less about money, but keep shopping at Aldis.

And I resolve to eat a few more greens and drink less wine. 🙂

I know it’s just September, but a cooler night reminds me again that the seasons start over, and so should we. So here’s to a new season, a few resolutions, and a reminder that the only constant in life is change.