Weekly review: May 16
My thoughts on homemade granola, the sexism behind the term "girl boss" and my latest read.
A couple of weeks ago I had some bloodwork done by my primary care physician to check to make sure I was okay. I’d had some strange symptoms — double pink eye (gross), a recurrent sore throat that migrated from one side of my throat to the other, and intense, extreme fatigue. I’m talking about the kind of fatigue that round the clock caffeine wasn’t helping. The kind that had me taking 3PM naps and trying to keep up with work. I didn’t test positive for anything except Epstein Barr (which 9/10 people carry) and my blood work looked fine so we don’t think it was an active infection. I share this because I am beyond grateful that I have a physician with whom I’ve established care. Not just an OBGYN, but someone who can help with general aches and pains, medication management, and help me triage any issues I’m having. And if she’s not available, someone in her practice can support me. I realize there is privilege in having this — and I want to advocate for having someone you trust to support your medical needs beyond an annual physical.
Let’s get to more of this week’s review:
If you’re a Gen X follower (I’m technically Gen X dressed in millennial garb), I have a playlist that even Mr Cabro appreciates. And he’s a hard one to please on the music front. If you’re into Smashing Pumpkins, The Cranberries, Better
Than Ezra, Collective Soul, Green Day and The Nixon, consider this my summer gift to you.
I frequently sing the praises of the NYT Cooking app. Anything that makes it so that I don’t have to add to cart every single ingredient makes me a dedicated customer. The Instacart integration makes that so easy. This morning, I made my favorite granola recipe (it’s also the hero image for this post). It’s really easy to make and worth the effort. Recommending it to Cabro followers (again).
I have a post brewing for later this week addressing the backlash against prominent women who have come out in support of AI. I’m baffled that we would retaliate against women who have — checks notes — disclosed partnerships and investments in AI. I’m disturbed that we would tear them apart for supporting the very thing they have a financial stake in. We rarely pushback against men who do the same, in fact we call it being a responsible investor to believe in the products you’re promoting. A note here — I’m not talking about advocating for the responsible use of AI. I’m a former product marketing manager for trustworthy AI and am in support of this, no need to what-about that side of AI. I’m here talking about the sexist, anti-woman name calling that is happening to women who support AI. Calling women girl bosses for wanting to help other women with one of the most disruptive technologies our generation has seen is unnecessary and patriarchal. Educated, well-paid women are at risk for being displaced more than any other group. I’m glad someone with a larger voice than mine is speaking out about this. More to come in a longer form essay. My fingertips are hot from typing.
Let’s end on a high note. I am reading this new book by the author of The Help and loving it. I’m 50 pages in (this book is a beast with 500+ pages) but I can’t wait to see how the characters cross paths and where it takes them — and me —as the reader.
Tonight I lead my Building your personal brand workshop (join the waitlist for the next time I offer it). I’m excited to talk about one of my favorite topics for working moms.
If you want to join me for the June workshop: Embracing the B+ week, registration is still going. You’ve been told that anything worth doing is worth doing perfectly. This workshop will challenge that — and give you a framework for getting more out of your career by giving less where it doesn’t count. I just had a mom at a birthday party this weekend talk about how she used this mindset to balance a vacation, hosting a party, and manage a lot of activities with her kids and husband’s career in between it all.
Thank you for reading and supporting The Cabro. If you’re new here, you can also find me on Instagram @_thecabro, where I share daily reflections, working mom tips, and behind-the-scenes content.
I offer private 1:1 mentoring sessions to explore career next steps, building an online brand, and cultivating community on a social media platform with tens of thousands of followers. People often ask how I did it: How I grew my audience. How I navigated career pivots after having children. How I scaled a brand and stayed sane doing it. Now you can ask me.