Freaky Friday! - Job Update

A haiku for your Friday:

Do you hate your job?

Suck it up, 'cause we all do.

Happy Friday, Friends!

I really don't hate my job....anymore.  I go through spurts of discontent like everyone.  But when I stop to think about it, I have a pretty cushy life here.  I have amazing flexibility with my hours if I ever need to leave early, come in late, or split my day to take a 3-hour break in the middle.  My boss will randomly say, "You've been doing a great job.  Take your boyfriend out to dinner, up to $100 on the company credit card," or "Take the company card and go shopping."  Wonderful little bonuses.  

Yes, the CHRISTMAS bonus situation really pissed me off.  It's not that I was upset because I felt entitled to it, but I really felt like I had earned it.  I guess you have to be here and know everything to understand that.  I'm not a brat.  I don't expect bonuses.  But when you put up with some of the things I deal with, and when you go above and beyond the parameters of your job... I just really felt like it was deserved this year.  But aside from that issue, and aside from having to some of the personal family errands I get roped into...

my job is pretty great.

Most of you know that I had a 3rd interview with VSP last week for a Marketing/Event Coordinator position.  I felt like it was the worst interview I've ever had.  Ever.  I was in tears afterwards, feeling terribly defeated.  To my surprise, I was called for a 4th interview! After much deliberation and consideration, I respectfully declined the interview and decided to keep my current job.  I've been here for 3 years.  I have a great report with my clients, our wholesalers, and our staff here.  Why start over right now for less pay in a position that isn't even permanent?  Plus, I talked to my mortgage lender and he said that I wouldn't be able to secure my home loan if I weren't a permanent employee.  Since the house is priority #1, I had to let it go for now.  Once I'm settled into a house, I'll attempt VSP again.  

In other news...

It's Friday!  This weekend will be WAY more low-key than the last.  We're planning a bike ride (weather permitting) and/or gym sessions, date night tomorrow night, and Netflix movies.  The laundry is done and we have no errands to run, so I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend.  

As far as Fashion Friday is concerned, I've been doing really well at sticking to my NYR of wearing more colorful clothing.  Today I'm wearing basic black leggings and a black tank top, but with my caramel boots and a bright teal shrug sweater and a tan layered necklace.  Yesterday I wore a purple textured pencil skirt with a simple black sweater and plaid heels.  I should be taking better pictures, but this is the best I can do in  our office bathroom...

Have a great weekend, my friends. <3 

If anything new or exciting happens, I'll let you know!

Santa Cruz, San Francisco & Sausalito!

Happy Monday!  Not really.  It's a holiday, and I'm at work while the rest of my family is still at home in bed.  But that's ok.  It's a slow day, which gives me time to brag about my weekend via blogspot.

Friday afternoon, Brandon and I decided to be spontaneous and get away for the weekend.  We haven't had much opportunity to be toooo spontaneous or crazy lately, just because we're trying to save money to buy two houses.  Weekends away together take advance-planning and a couple paychecks of saving extra funds.  But with the overly stressful week we both had, it was time to get away.

Saturday morning we drove down to Santa Cruz and checked out The Mystery Spot.  It was both of our first times there, and it was really interesting.  It wasn't really a mystery, just simple physics, but it was cool to experience the different angles you had to stand at to stay upright.  

After that, we headed to the SC Beach Boardwalk to walk up the pier, shop around, and enjoy the completely amazing 72-degree weather.  It was sunny, it was warm, and I could have stayed there all day.  Who doesn't love the beach?!

We ended the evening by heading up to San Francisco and taking a nice walk downtown.  We tried to see the dueling piano show at Foley's Irish Pub, but we were a little too late and they were already at capacity.  Instead, we found ourselves watching ice skaters fall down at the Union Square ice rink.  That's always entertaining for us.  We know, we're going straight to hell.  But hey, at least we'll be together.

"Eyes wide open (why were they open?)"

I need to work on my tan.  Real bad.

Before we left the hotel.  Yeah, we had a kitchen.

And finally, Sunday morning we drove into Sausalito and spent the day by the water.  Shopping, eating, walking, and enjoying another beautiful day.  Again, I could have sat there all day.  All I need is the sunshine, water, a light breeze, and Brandon.  And that's what I had.  It was perfect.

 

I really wasn't ready to come home.  But after hitting the outlets on the way home as usual, there was really nothing left to do on a Sunday evening.  Thank you for an amazing time, Babe.  I love you, and I can't wait for the next trip =)  You know, when WE cash in all that change that YOU have been putting in MY coin jar?  Hehe, love you mooooar. <3

Change Gon' Come

"A change is gonna come."

Not only is that an amazing Sam Cooke song, but it's my new motto for 2013.  I hate how cliche I am these days with my NYR's and mottos for life, but it's fitting, so I'm gonna roll with it.

If you've been following my FB and blog, you know that I have a great job.  It pays well, it's very flexible, but that I do a lot of "bitch work."  Normally, I don't mind this.  But lately, I've noticed more and more that there's really no room for growth or opportunity here.  I'm only 26, I'm not ready to just be stuck in a job that I'm not completely happy in.  I need something more fulfilling than this.

Some of you may have also picked up on the fact that I just had my second interview for a position at VSP.  I'm being considered for two positions, and I have a third interview for one of them this Thursday.  My second interview yesterday was amazing.  I don't think I've ever had a better interview than that.  Ever. I went in being considered for one position, and came out being considered for two.  Who does that?  

Providing the third interview on Thursday goes well, and I can pass a drug test/background investigation (if you know me at all, you know how funny this is), I can finally give my notice and leave this job behind, moving on to bigger and better things.

Onward and upward, always.

I keep thinking of the scene in the first Sex and the City movie when Charlotte says, "Nobody gets everything they want. ... Of course something bad is gonna happen to me."

Things are just working out too perfectly right now, personally AND professionally.  I guess I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, but trying to stay optimistic at the same time.  Not getting my hopes up has been my biggest challenge.

All I can do now is wait, and plan my outfit.  What am I going to wear?!  

Vanessa, I'm going to be messaging you for approval of my outfit.

Stay tuned for updates.  Thanks for all your love and support <3

Yoga & Boo Boo

See what I did there?

I said Yoga instead of Yogi.  HA!  I kill myself sometimes. 

In 2010, I decided I was going to go to Hot Yoga with a couple friends.  I could lose weight, get flexible again, and find some kind of inner piece after years of being unhappy in my then-relationship but not wanting to admit it.  I tried it, and I loved it, except when someone in class had eaten some kind of curry for lunch.  You sweat that stuff out and it did not smell pretty. 

Believe it or not, you hold a lot of emotion in your joints.  You tense up to hold those emotions in.  That sounds really hippie-ish when I say it out loud, but it's true.  The more you relax and put your mind, body, and soul into what you're doing, the more emotion you release.  

The downside: you really have to be prepared to deal with what comes up.  And I wasn't.

My last session of Hot Yoga was after a particularly rough day at work and in my then-relationship.  I was frustrated and tired, and I really tried to let it all go to do my yoga.  At the end of our class, that particular instructor always sang to us while we laid there.  That day, she sang "Let It Be."  

I cried like a little baby.

That song hit me so hard that day, and I cried so hard that I never went back.  Not only was I embarrassed to be crying at yoga (though, that community of people would never judge you for that), but I really wasn't ready to deal with all the emotions that were surfacing at the time.  I was realizing how much I didn't want to be married (and this was like 2 months after my wedding), how much I missed my family (because my ex-husband ruined my relationship with them), and what it would take to start fresh.  I wasn't in a position to make those changes, so I stopped going.

It's been almost exactly 3 years since that class, and a LOT has changed.

I don't need to recap everything, because if you know me and/or you follow my blog, you already know.  But the main change is: I'm happy.  I'm happy in my job (some days), I'm happy in my relationship (every day), and I'm happy with myself (always).  I've made leaps and bounds of progress as an individual, so with Brandon's support, I've decided to give it another shot.

One of my coworkers gave me a "free class" pass for Veera Yoga in Roseville.  She goes M/W/F every week.  Not only has she lost a ton of weight in her 8 months of yoga, but she's toned, she's happier, and she's been known to do a headstand in the middle of the hallway.  I'd love to be like her when I grow up.  

SO - Tonight.  7:30 pm.  Veera Yoga in the Nugget shopping center at Pleasant Grove and Fairway.  Join me if you like :)  There's an introductory package of 30 days of unlimited yoga for $39.  I'm looking forward to the meditation, the core conditioning, and the SWEAT!!!  I won't be stopping my regular workouts with my boo, but the yoga classes at the gym are awful.  I need more than that in my life.  

I hope one or more of you can join me tonight!!!

Diet vs. Lifestyle Change

Gooooooood morning!

It is day 3 of 2013 (duh) and I am going strong on my favorite New Year's Resolution (NYR): to wear more color.

Today I am wearing black leggings (which I'm not entirely sure are appropriate for my office, but no one has said anything yet), caramel boots, a white cami, and a navy blue silk top that has a purple, yellow and white floral pattern.  It's not obvious in the picture, but that's because I had to doctor the pic to make my face look decent.  It was early and I was tired.  Cut me some slack.  Photoshop is my friend.

I've noticed that many of you made NYR's to work out more, lose weight, reach a "goal weight," etc.  I wanted to share a couple pieces of information that have helped me in the past.  Now, I'm not super skinny.  I have curves, and a little bit of meat still.  My weight has fluctuated a LOT over the years.  And something that has always stuck with me, is this:

Don't diet.  Change your lifestyle.

That was the best advice I've gotten in a long time.  When you think about it, a diet is temporary.  It's meant to be done for a short period of time, and then you go back to your normal ways/old habits.  And that's why you probably have had trouble with your previous weight loss attempts too, right?  

Instead, try to look at it as a change of lifestyle.  Make smaller, less drastic changes that you know you can stick with for a long period of time.  Cut back on your sugar intake.  Increase the amount of fruit and vegetables you eat for lunch and dinner.  Start eating breakfast.  Cut back your fast food to twice a month.  Small changes, but they're much more attainable than, "I want to lose 20 lbs by June."  

Also, setting goals like that are just setting yourself up for failure.  The number on the scale is not important.  I encourage you to not weigh yourself, but instead, measure your inches lost.  Two people can weigh the same amount, but one can be 2 pant sizes smaller by having more muscle and less body fat.  

And please...if you're going to count calories, make sure you're not starving yourself.  A woman of my age, height and body style should be eating roughly 1,500-2,000 calories a day to maintain my weight, with moderate exercise.  You can eat a LOT of food to achieve that amount of calories.  It's all about eating the right foods.

Of course, this is all stuff you already know.  I'm telling you because 1) I'm avoiding my work entirely today, 2) I need a reminder for myself now and then, and 3) why not share what I know with my friends and family?  Or whoever else decides to read this.

I hope you found at least one piece of useful knowledge in here.  If not, google it.

<3 <3

First post of 2013!!  

First, let's do a quick NYE recap:

Of the four people in my house, three of them had Monday off.  I was not one of those people.  I went into work with the impression that we would be closing the office at 2:00 pm, per the exact words of my boss last Friday.  Instead, AT 2:00 pm on Monday, Boss came to my desk and said, "You can leave at 4:00 pm if you want.  Just take off a little early."  

Gee, thanks guy.  I didn't bring a lunch today, nor did I TAKE a lunch today, because I thought we were closing at 2:00.  So actually, I worked my full 8 hours.  You're welcome.  

Monday night I stopped to buy a bouquet of flowers to celebrate Brandon's grandfather's birthday.  He passed away several years ago, but the family still celebrates with a dinner every year.  We ate, I napped, and we headed out to Thunder Valley.  

It was PACKED.  People were dressed up, dressed down, and some barely dressed at all.  I felt like a nun in comparison in my tight red sweater dress and caramel boots.  I guess I just still believe in a LITTLE bit of modesty.  Especially when I'm with my boyfriend's parents, and in public.  We drank, we found a seat on the couch at Falls Bar, and we danced in our seats (so as not to lose them) until the countdown.

3...2...1... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

We kissed, and we danced some more.  Until we realized we were all hungry.  Where else do you go at 1:00 am on New Years for food?  Mel's, of course.  A quick bite, then home and straight to bed to sleep off the moderate amount of alcohol we had consumed.  As we get older, we're finding that we just can't drink the way we used to.  It was NYE and between Brandon and I, we only had 3 drinks.  They were AMF's, mind you.  But still, only 1 1/2 each.  It was enough to get us loose and happy, but not enough to make us feel like crap the next day.  

Overall, a semi-calm, drama-free night.  Now moving right along in 2013, I hope you all reach your goals, fulfill your New Years Resolutions, and find something positive in each and every day.  If you don't, that's your own fault.  Happy New Year, my loves!! <3