Where has Diane been?
It’s safe to say that I haven’t been my normal self when it comes to my blog. I’ll admit, I lost my rhythm and passion for the blog, and it took the backburner in my mind as I handled all of my daily life changes. I also had some epiphanies in my time off, from posting consistently on here. I want to change things up around here, and make this more like a “diary post” blog, that can be inspirational and informative as well. So let’s delve into where Diane (myself) has been…
On April 5th, 2023…my husband and I closed on our very first home!
I honestly still cannot believe it sometimes, but this new home also feels like it's been so easy to get accustomed to. We have been actively on the job hunt since December 31, 2022, and it was quite an arduous process. I plan on making a whole blog post about the house buying process, as I really do believe it will be beneficial for others to read. There were so many things I learned along the way that are really important when it comes to buying a house, whether by yourself or with a mortgage.
The house that we moved into is a little bit farther than my previous drive to the office I commute to bi-weekly, but I love the house so much that it is worth the drive. Plus, any of my Crime Junkie lovers will know that a 50 min - 1-hour long drive is just enough time to sneak a Crime Junkie podcast episode in. When I get to work from home, it is honestly so nice. I have a designated place to make my coffee, we have room to actually move around in our kitchen, there are rooms we have not even utilized yet… all of it just makes me super thankful that we persevered through the long house-buying process & made it to the finish line.
Our dogs (Zoey and Nori) are absolutely LOVING the land they get to explore & the rooms with unexplored smells. There is a window in our family room that has a window seat, and we added the storage ottoman in front of it (for the time being) for extra room & cushion for my dogs to see out. I love seeing how happy they are in this new home of ours.
People keep telling me that we will fill up the house fast with new furniture, and I hope that is the case because it still feels bare in our house. But Garrett (my husband) is holding me back until we make our first mortgage payment, to buy new patio and house furniture. As much as I want to spend, spend, spend…now is really the time for us to save, save, save and be prepared for the worst.
I got a job promotion at my full-time job, at the beginning of 2023!
After almost 2 years in my previous role, I finally got a promotion and transferred departments within my job. It has been such an amazing change, as I am now part of a great group of people who are extremely supportive, and I feel very utilized in my new role at my full-time job. I am learning new things daily, and it really is a joy to be able to still progress in my full-time job, while also still pursuing my passions and aspirations with Inspired by Diane.
I get to work from home every other week, which is such a nice change of a hybrid mode than my last position in my full-time job. I have more freedoms, but also more trust, and it is just very refreshing to be professionally recognized.
So…is anything going to happen to Inspired by Diane?
The only thing that is going to happen is improvement. I want to make my blog posts more like a diary entry that can be not only informative, but inspirational as well. I still want people to be able to say that they were “inspired by Diane” when it comes to a topic, I have written about in a blog post. I love helping people just because it is who I am — I do not expect anything in return. But when people express gratitude towards me in my efforts towards Inspired by Diane, it makes my heart grow three sizes (even though I am not the Grinch).
I hope to post on my Instagram 2-3 times per week, and also post blog posts bi-weekly. I want to be able to make my blog posts into something I can be proud of, and I don’t believe that rushing content is going to make content that I am proud of. I would love to entertain the idea of making a blog post, essentially an audio form of this digital blog, but I am not sure if many people would be interested in listening. Sometimes I do have major imposter syndrome when thinking about starting a new podcast, as I feel like a small fish in a big. oversaturated ocean that is already thriving with content that can be inspirational to their listeners. Maybe if enough people tell me to go for it, I will give it a try.
There you have it. I hope that gets you up to speed on my life and where I have been lately. I really am going to push myself to post inspirational content again and get back in the groove of posting things that I want to post & inspire others with. And I hope to have you here, reading my next blog post soon <3
