Thinking Things Through

I have been “unemployed” since October – using that term lightly since I sell Premier Designs Jewelry, freelance write and teach & have been doing 2/3 since October. Putting those three incomes together I make well over what I was brining home from my full-time position, in a LOT less hours.

And I get to stay home with this spunky girl.

Watching her grow, teaching her things and really ENJOYing her & enjoying being her mom. I have always LOVED her, but when I saw her for only about an hour a day – the most stressful hour of her day (dinner/bath), after my own stressful day at work – typically there wasn’t much fun or enjoyment to be had.

Since October and really since graduating last month, I have turned up the job-searching to find a full-time position, because, that stable income and better health insurance would take a lot of [financial] stress of both Mike and I.

I had an interview last week for an 8-5/M-F position, it went well (haven’t heard back yet) and sounds like it would be a good opportunity. My biggest hang up? It’d be at least an hour drive each way & I haven’t worked 5 days a week since BEFORE I had Gianna (compressed work week was the best thing about my old job) and I don’t know that I want to make that commitment again if it’s not the exact right place to be. There’s no way to know, of course, if it would be the exact right place to be unless I got the job.

Working M-F comes with it’s own stresses though – daycare costs, missing time with Gianna/family, going back to that unbalanced feeling I had before.

I don’t know what is right (or even really what I WANT!), clearly I will do whatever I NEED to do for my family, regardless. I have been in such a state of “what’s next?” that it’s starting to blur the lines in mind of what I want, need and what a good option is for everyone.

My belief is that family comes first, work comes second – praying that I can stay true to that….

wordless Wednesday

I do it myself.

Also: where the heck did my baybee goooo?!!

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LeanGreenYOU Bootcamp–Week 1

Also titled: holy shit I am in a bikini on the internet.

(you have been warned)

I am SO excited to work with Jennifer McCay and the other bootcamp participants over the next 6 weeks as we learn how to live a more healthy life as busy moms and lose some weight in the process.

Normally, I am not a internet-video watcher, but this? THIS is amazing! Jennifer has prepared videos of the week’s lessons for participants to watch each week. And to boot, there are documents that I can print out & use all the time for reference and to keep me in check.

The big goal of this week is goal setting (or benchmarks) and focused on eating – especially what to eat & the importance of adding one healthy meal (breakfast) to each day. This.Is.So.Hard.For.Me since I drink coffee for breakfast usually. But you know what? I feel so much better, more awake and more energized when I eat oatmeal (with my coffee, am not totally crazy). It’s not like I didn’t know breakfast was a big deal, but I guess I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was.

I am going to weigh in every week, but really it’s the size of my clothes/how they fit that matter to me.

So. here it is. Thunderthighs & muffintop in all their glory. (please ignore the messy bedroom)

Day 1/Week1 June 12, 2011

Hold me accountable because I am going to need it!

If you are a part of the leangreenYOU bootcamp, I’d LOVE to hear how it’s going for you! the more accountability I can have – the better! I’d love to hear from you regardless, though!

Friday Night Leftovers: Notes on Disney edition

• I hate the week after vacation, it always feels so disorganized.
• We used the Disney Dining Plan on our trip and I can not emphasize enough how AWESOME this was. And what a HUGEEEEE savings it was. We paid for 3 days worth of meals what 1 character breakfast would have cost.
• However, when you are going to use the dining plan – don’t forget to make ALL of your table service reservations WELL BEFORE you leave…. I forgot to do one of ours.
• The good thing about that was we were able to change it over to a quick service meal.
• We will definitely be doing it again.
• We also be staying on property again because that convenience and the experience of it all was GREAT! And cost wise, it was not any more than staying off property.
• I am thankful that I am a picture taker because the pictures we got from the Disney people STUNK! There is not a single one that I will be buying, they were just really awful.
• One word of advice and something I never considered – bring something to entertain your small child while waiting in line. That is SO boring and you know, the whole toddler-patience-the-length-of-a-sneeze thing doesn’t help.
• My movie fanatic wanted NOTHING to do with the DVD player on the airplane. It was interesting trying to keep her entertained. The flight to Italy should be….well….LONG!
• If you can do it, go for a whole week and really spread out your days at the parks – it is so overwhelming (and hot!) that taking a trip back to the hotel to swim/chill/nap is amazing. I wish we would have had the time in our schedules to stay longer than we did.
• Mentally I am already planning when we can go back – probably not until late 2012 at the very very earliest – and what babysitter family members can come with us.
• It was fantastic, but Disney is exhausting by nature. Totally doable and not at all overwhelming, though. The memories we made were AMAZING and worth every minute.

visit our beautiful host, Danifred, to see what everyone else is leftover-ing about this week

Wordless Wednesday

I had to send back my amazing Tamron 18-270 that I rented.

Big sad face and another item added to the “wish I had it” list. but I am SO SO SO thankful I rented it.