Yes I did.

I’m going to be a full-time creative career coach when I grow up, which will specifically be on March 22, 2010.

Cue the tears sobs of gladness (did you expect anything else?):

I Quit My Job! from WhenIGrowUpCoach on Vimeo.

Hold On by Kelly Rae Roberts. She knows just what to say.

Y’know when you have a Great Big Plan for months & months & then that plan blows up in your face/falls apart/decides to become a Great Big Mess?

Well, I do. It’s happening today. In case it’s not obvious, things are not going as planned.

I wanted to have exciting news for you guys tomorrow – a juicy, exciting, awesome vlog where I would most certainly cry. And now….well, I know it’ll happen SOON but I just don’t know when. And I know that I’m a life coach & I know that I should (there’s that word!) just roll with the punches & take deep breaths, especially because I know that this Great Big Plan might only be delayed for a week or two. But I don’t wanna roll with punches or be rational or take deep breaths. I wanna yell & throw a tantrum & shout to the skies, “Why is this happening to ME?!” (more…)

It’s amazing how many places you can go without leaving your apartment. Of course, I’m talking about my multiple appearances on the Interwebs this week!

First off is the monthly Spring instillation, which is now a weekly one! That’s right – instead of one long-ass video, or 1 long-ass video cut into smaller pieces, we taped 4 stand-alone segments & are posting a new one each week. How great is that? Click here for the first part of our discussion on support, & don’t forget to comment for your chance to win our weekly giveaway (yup – weekly! How cool are we? Answer: very cool).

Note: this is not my self-portrait, but the button you click on to get to the self-portraits on The Mathematics of Glamour. (more…)

And we’ve only just begun by Chris Piascik

This is another scary post for me, guys. Like Dear Future Me, this was a word doc that I wrote for myself, to tuck away for me as a journal entry while my journals are still packed in a box.  But as I finished, I realized that this could serve as the more authentic posts I’ve been yearning to put here that could possibly bring some of you comfort or inspiration or comraderie or strength. And if there’s a chance I can offer that to you, what kind of selfish twit would I be to keep that to myself? And when you get to the end of the post, I think you’ll see why I felt that I had to post this, in keeping with the intention of putting myself Out There. Enjoy my diary entry (gulp)!

It’s my Me Time now. I haven’t taken an official, scheduled Me Time in probably, oh….too long. I can’t remember the last time it’s been on my calendar. There’s been unofficial Me Time here & there – time for a bath, or reading the paper, or somesuch Me Thing – but nothing that’s been a gift: Here’s 90 minutes. It’s for you.

So here I sit, sideways in the big red patterned chair so I can look right out my window onto the NYC skyline: a green & white Empire State Building, a gold twinkly bridge, the Chrysler Building that shines, well, like the top of the Chrysler Building. I saw a Broadway & Musicals station on Pandora when I was browsing, & I clicked on it. I don’t remember the last time I listened to show tunes when I wasn’t a passenger in my mother’s car. Bernadette Peters is singing “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” & I’m on the verge of tears.

You can do it
All you need it a hand
We can do it
Mama is gonna see to it! (more…)

I have to admit I am so super behind in my Award posts. Back in December I got the Sweet Thing Award from Maggie, & all the way back in November I got the Sugar Doll Award from Melissa!

Since I got the Sugar Doll Award first, I’m posting my response now. It’s 2 months late, but hopefully it still counts!

Here are 10 Things About Me that I haven’t yet shared (since this is similar to my Honest Scrap Award & my Kreativ Blogger Award) :

1. The only time I’ve never had bangs was when I grew them out in 8th grade. This was also the time when I got a perm. A perm + no bangs = no date to the 8th grade dance. And no, you will not see a picture of me from that time. Unless I’m dead. Until then, here’s a cute pic of me with bangs when I was super little. (more…)

Me at my GraduLaunch Party in June, celebrating my new Spark.

Today is my 32nd birthday.

I joke that I’m an old lady, but honestly, I don’t feel it. Yeah, I see the lone gray hair appear when it’s too long between colorings (there’s a bright one now in my bangs!), & there was a point in my life that I was always (proudly!) The Youngest (usually when I was doing shows), but honestly, really, deeply, truly:

I love being 32. I know it, even though it’s just been the case for a few hours. (more…)

Danielle LaPorte of White Hot Truth & Carrie + Danielle created these custom interview questions for me, which is awesome. So not only am I getting interviewed by one of my blidols (that’s a new combo word I made, merging “blogging” and “idols”), but these questions are just for me!

If by some fat chance I’m one of your blidols, or even if you’re just not annoyed by my posts & you have a blog of your own, read THE INTERVIEW RULES at the end of this post if you’d like me to interview you. Karma, people.

THE INTERVIEW

1. What has cooking taught you? Uh……it has taught me that I’m not good at everything that I do, and sometimes convenience matters most. If my current cooking skills were a subject on the $10K Pyramid, they would be Things You Toast and Things You Microwave, with few exceptions. When I come home I’m usually famished and want to eat quickly. If I’m not famished, I still don’t want to spend time cooking. I have other things to do!
2. What do you avoid? Confrontation. I’m much, much better than I used to be, but somewhere between high school and college I went from always, always, always telling someone if I was upset/hurt by them to…..not. As an adult I’m able to recognize when confrontation is going to be fruitful and when it’s….not.
3. What 3 books rocked your world? (more…)

Image taken from the cover of Carol Burnett Sings: Let Me Entertain You.

The phone rang on Friday night at 10p, as expected. The first rehearsal was scheduled to start in 12 1/2 hours. I had arrived home just 20 minutes before, after spending 90 minutes at a 2nd callback for the lead in a musical revival (of sorts). 30 minutes prior to that 2nd callback I spent an hour (& $15) warming up. The night before the 2nd callback I spent 2 1/2 hours learning 2 songs & 2 scenes (& reviewing 2 other scenes) as The Director was not, as we were previously told, ready to cast “the leads” and we would have to come back with the new material, ready to play. The night before that I spent 2 1/2 hours at the 1st callback. The night before that I spent 30 minutes (& $15) warming up prior to a short audition. The night before that I spent an hour preping for said audition, while the week prior to the audition I had 2 voice lessons (& spent $150) to discover what to sing as well as prepping it. That same week I was emailed by The Director as to what I should prepare to put my best foot forward. A few weeks before that The Producer looked me in the face at the production meeting where the show was proposed and said, “We’re looking to do this show for you.”

Which brings us to the ringing of the phone. It was the Director calling – someone I’ve done 2 shows with for the same theater company, someone who I’ve assisted behind the scenes so she can get some help with growing the thater company, someone I’ve come to consider my friend personally.

It was like she read from The Script. Y’know, the one taken from Why Michelle Just Doesn’t Want To Be A Part Of This Business No More. It goes a little something like that call: (more…)

Luke & me at my 30th birthday party, mere hours after we got engaged. I had to wear my ring on my thumb because it was so big.

Today is my 31st birthday. I feel so old & so young at the same time, if that makes sense. For some reason, 30 didn’t feel “old”. Maybe because I like celebrating my birthday more than I dislike getting older. Maybe because I was in a great place in my life, pursuing my coaching certificate, starting this business, and being in the most amazing relationship in my life – a healthy, stable, mutually beneficial one full of love and respect.

One year and two days ago, I got engaged. It wasn’t my birthday, but it was mere hours before my big 30th birthday party, which turned into a birthday/impromptu engagement bash. For those that are reading and don’t know the story, you can read about it on this page of a front-page New York Times Real Estate article (don’t miss our photo on page 1). It was magical, and spectacular, and the most amazing night of my life until my wedding day. If anyone asks me what I’m doing to celebrate my birthday this year, they always follow it up with, “Not like you can ever top last year!”

And that’s part of the reason why I’m keeping things quiet. A day at work, a night having dinner with my husband. A day to reflect on this whirlwind of a year – where I was on January 14, 2008 and where I am today. In one year, I have gotten engaged, planned a wedding, got married, went on my honeymoon, changed my name (almost everywhere, but not quite yet), worked with double the clients I had in the past, paid off $6K in debt, launched whenigrowupcoach.com, launched this blog, continued my day job, continued my coaching classes, wrote a research paper, networked through Twitter, and hired a graphic designer for my logo, business cards, letterhead, etc. (more…)

I couldn’t find any good pics for “wings”, or “fly”, and then I thought of “trapeze” (what? it has to do with flying!) and then I thought of my 101 Things in 1001 Days list (#32 specifically) & now I’m scared. But great pic, huh?

In 2008, I continued classes for my life coach certification, started my coaching practice, got engaged, and got married. 2009 is when I get to spread my wings as a certified life coach and a wife. I think it’s also going to be the year where I grow most as an adult. I don’t mean that in a boring, have-to-go-right-home-after-work-to-watch-60-Minutes-and-eat-fiber sort of way, but in an I-know-what-my-values,-goals,-and-priorities-are-and-I’m-going-to-make-the-decisions-that-will-be-in-alignment-with-them sort of way. I want to gain both focus and discipline, whether it’s saying “no” to a social event because I should write my research paper instead or logging off of Gmail while I post a new blog entry so I don’t get distracted. I want to balance that focus and discipline with fun, though, too. Y’know, easy stuff!

Thanks so much for taking this journey with me this year. I’m looking forward to building both this blog and When I Grow Up next year & hope you’ll stick around. You have no idea how excited I get when a comment approval comes up in my Inbox!

I hope that all of you enjoy the last day of 2008 and have a safe, fun, freakin’ fantastic New Years Eve. I look forward to hearing about all of your challenges & wins (!) in 2009. Feel free to post how you want to spread your wings in 2009 in the comments section of this post. But if you’re too hungover to, I’d understand. (more…)