Workout!

My workout routine has been lacking (to say the least) for the past several months because of work. Today I finally got back to the gym after probably almost a month of not going. I'm saying this all too often, and wondering if I need to cancel my membership and exercise on my own because I am wasting money. I want to try to give it one more shot though.

Regardless, I got up at 5:30 this morning and trekked into the gym. 30 minutes on the arc trainer did me in though. I wasn't so out of breath, but I was tired, and really really HUNGRY. I threw in the towel there. I will walk the dog tonight for another 30 minutes, and try to build up my workout beyond that at the gym this weekend. I have no excuse for not going Saturday and Sunday. Really.

It is what it is though - I got up, when I didn't want to, and I did it. I exercised. And I'm celebrating myself for that right now. It's a small step, but a big accomplishment!

Taking my life back

Today was the day that my boss told the office I was leaving. It was a bit of a wild day. A woman I work with who used to be a boss of mine pulled me in her office and started crying, and told me that I needed to help fill my position and interview candidates before I leave. Ugh.

Regardless, I was in at 8am (a tad early), took a 90 minute lunch, and left at 5pm. And I haven't been more productive in months at home! I came home, had some dinner and sent several emails i've been neglecting to send for my professional association.

Then I walked with the dog, talked with my neighbor friend, did dishes, cleaned up my kitchen, put away several items that belonged in the basement, did two loads of laundry (and folded it!), vacuumed upstairs and down, and dusted the woodwork and furniture upstairs. Tomorrow night, Chris and I are going to tackle the yard. It desperately needs to be weeded.

I'm so excited to have energy back! I feel like I have my life back. It's WONDERFUL. I really hope this continues into my new job, because I really had no idea how much the stress was taking out of me until tonight. I feel like a new person.

Now i'm going to go curl up with my husband, who just got home from a late city council meeting!

Struggling

As happy as I am about my new job, and leaving the stressful situation that has been my job over the last year, i'm finding myself sad. And I can't believe it.

When I started this job almost four years ago, I was escaping a job situation where the work was not what I wanted to be doing, my supervisor wouldn't teach me anything, and I felt I was failing for it. It left me insecure, and when I moved into my current job I was terrified of failing all over again.

The funny part is I really did succeed there. I excelled at my job. I knew it, and they knew it. And now i'm leaving that job to go to another small company, much like the one I left four years ago. And i'm *terrified*. Terrified that i'll fail them, and terrified that they'll fail me. And the job i'm leaving was once my dream job - and now this new job has a lot to live up to. I know I made the right choice, but I sure hope I can move forward into this new experience with my head high and my creativity refreshed.

I've been a bundle of emotions today, as I had to tell the team that reports to me my news, and a few of my friends at work. My boss still hasn't announced it. I guess the guilt is getting to me, too. But I can't help but wish things were different, because I don't WANT to leave. I believe in what that facility is doing for pediatric health. I adore (most of) my coworkers. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the projects I get to work on, and the beyond fascinating topics I get to research and learn about. The surgeries I have watched, the patients whose lives have changed because of the work our facility does, and ultimately because of the message that I helped put out there about our services, that make people aware of all we do.

I need to stop saying "we" i guess. I just can't help wishing it had all turned out differently.

The Big Announcement!

I resigned from my job yesterday.

I've accepted a position at a small (but quickly growing!) design firm as Senior Designer. I'm very excited about the offer, the position, and the location (I heart working in downtown Cincinnati!). I start October 20th.

Once I got it off my chest yesterday with my boss it felt like a year's worth of stress was lifted off of my chest. I felt a little bad for him, because I know i'm leaving him in a really tough position. But I gave him 3.5 weeks of notice, and have already started working on a transition plan.

It hasn't been formally announced yet, and i'm sure that will be another obstacle to get over, but I'm just so relieved to finally have some much-needed change in my life!

On the Horizon

I have some good news on the Horizon. I will share more next week, but it's got me so excited that I could hardly sleep right now.

Such a bag of mixed emotions: i'm nervous, i'm excited, i'm sad, i'm ecstatic, i'm elated, but mostly, i'm relieved.

I'll share more soon, I promise!

A Small Victory

I had a really bad day today at work. This really is becoming the norm, but I really got frustrated with more things that are not changing. Things that I don't feel comfortable discussing here, but sometimes I wish I could vent my thoughts! Regardless, I realize that the source of my food weeknesses and my laziness stem from stress on my job. Chris told me the other night that he thinks that I require quite a bit of "down time." This was just an observation, and not a judgement, but I really think that my job takes so much out of me that it's really changed me in so many different ways. I find myself mostly wanting to stay at home these days, and not be social, and that really isn't me at all.

Regardless, tonight I decided after a particularly bad day that I wasn't going to just retire to bed in front of the television so that I could do something completely mindless. I had a really really good food day today. I had yogurt, granola and blueberries for breakfast, a trader joe's meal and grapes for lunch. An apple and popcorn for an afternoon snack, and a small turkey sandwich and peas for dinner. I did really well. I didn't stress eat. I didn't overload on snacks around the office.

I knew I didn't have the energy to go to the gym, so I decided to FINALLY try the workout dvd I bought a few months ago. I started at the level one workout for 30 minutes. It was awesome. Just what I needed. I got my heart rate going, and I was sweating quite a bit. And you know what? My stress levels are way lower for it. Yay me!

This video recommends 4-5 times of doing this a week for six weeks. I'm going to do my best to keep up with this, and still incorporate a couple of trips to the gym each week. Work does not promise to get any better anytime soon, unfortunately, so the best thing I can do is help myself get my stress levels back down when I return home from work, right?!

What does everyone else do to relieve stress instead of eat or veg out in front of the TV? I could use suggestions to mix it up!

Yes, I'm one of THOSE dog owners!

My dog graduated from his third round of dog training tonight. He really is a different dog than he was just three months ago! This round focused more on "canine good citizen training." Though he didn't pass the test (and we really only think that's because he LOVES the trainer that was constantly throwing him treats and he wouldn't do anything during the test except go and run to her - which was hilarious and frustrating at the same time!).

Anyway, the trainer plays the graduation song, and does the whole cap and gown thing, and of course, I had to capture that!

How cute is my dog?!