I've resigned twice in my career. I didn't have anything lined up prior to leaving in either occasion. That may be a sign of my lack of forethought, but I promise that both times it was a very rational decision that I had considered for quite some time prior to pulling the trigger.
Most recently, I resigned from a prestigious marketing and public relations agency specializing in foodservice clients. I had been an account executive for just over a year and was promoted to senior account executive just prior to giving my notice.
This was a decision that I deliberated over with my husband. Finally, one morning Sam asked me to walk our dog with him. We went for a long walk, during which Sam said , "I stayed up watching The Pursuit of Happiness and I would live in a BART station bathroom with you." There was a lot more said, but that line was the highlight and the gist was that I was obviously not happy in my current job for a variety of reasons and it was time to figure out what I really wanted to pursue.
That was one of the most intense conversations of my life. Sam and I set out from our apartment with me dead opposed to the thought of leaving my job, and by the time we had arrived back at our gate, I was ready to try something completely new.
And I resigned yesterday.
It was well-received by my supervisor and our agency principal, so I decided to be professional and offer to stay and train my replacement if need be. They seemed very eager to take me up on that, so only time will tell when I'm really out of there.
Today I had a great weigh-in at weight watchers. I mean seriously, the best one since I rejoined the program back in May 2014.
I was 2.2 pounds down.
This is after nearly six months of hovering and slowly gaining.
I cannot tell you the sweet feeling of success that overcame me when I heard her say that.
What's changed since the New Year?
Kaia Fit OC - Let's get real, I haven't been on a really regimented training program since I was meeting with Amanda regularly (in person). The girls at Kaia are AWESOME. They motivate me, accept my current fitness level and support my goals and efforts to improve. I think this has been better because I can't seem to be accountable in online training sessions. That accountability is something I struggle with when I'm not attending weight watchers meetings too.
Weight Watchers - Tracking points works! I know that, and yet I have trouble putting it into action at times. Re-committing to logging everything that goes into my mouth has been a learning process, an adjustment period and now a tool for success.
Holistic Nutrition Center - One thing I've done completely differently this time around in my weight loss journey is get a nutritionist. Kaia had one come in and speak, so I went with her. In the spirit of full-disclosure, it's a little bit too voodoo for Sam, but I think we're both at the point where whatever works is great. I'm changing my eating habits, the way I think about food and the way I tackle this process.
Fat Chance - I think I mentioned that I've been reading a great book that Sam read and then recommended to me. Right now, the author is thoroughly explaining the biochemistry behind obesity and it's been really enlightening. Not that I'm taking anything as an excuse for what's happened to me, but I do think knowledge is empowering and can help me to get this weight off and then KEEP IT OFF. I am less than a quarter of the way in, but as of now I'd recommend this to anyone trying to make a change and be more healthy/fit.
I have been SO waiting for this moment and the videos were even better than my wildest dreams!
During the early stages of the wedding planning, I told Sam I wanted to have a "YouTube-Worthy" First Dance. We found a great instructor (Tayler) at Bella Ballroom and started taking lessons about 3 months prior to the big day.
Tayler choreographed all the moves herself, made videos to teach our fabulous wedding party over the internet, and then held an hour-long lesson with our bridal party two days prior to our wedding to teach all of our bridesmaid and the groomsmen the dance moves. Huge kudos to her, and to our amazing friends, for taking our idea and running with it.
Yesterday I was at the office just after 8 a.m. and didn't leave until just after 7 p.m.
It was a long day. I cannot even begin to describe how nice it was to walk in the door and have Hunter greet me with his warm tongue and sparkling eyes. Even better, Sam had BBQ'ed pork loin and made us a spinach salad.
Sam then gave me 45 minutes to continue to wrap up a few projects from work and then tucked me into bed to start reading Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity and Disease. He read it on the plane during his trip out to Philadelphia and thought it was right up my ally being that I'm so focused on health. While I was reading calmly in bed, he took Hunter down for a short walk and then joined me. It was just what I needed to calm down and unwind after a stressful day at the office.
I received a promotion, officially announced at this evening's office happy hour. Effective immediately I am now a senior account executive, which pretty much means that I'm responsible for all the things I was already doing and I'm expected to begin doing all of the things in the position above my current one.
Pretty standard corporate protocol.
While this should be overall good news, I'm not entirely sure I'm happy about it. Work has been pretty all-encompassing and I've been feeling stressed and more overwhelmed than usual. My anxiety has been so high that it's been coming out in my nervous jittery legs which more than one person has noticed in recent weeks.
While I'm honored to be given more responsibility and accountability, I'm also wary because there are so many personal things I'd like to accomplish this year and I worry this professional life is holding me back.
Yesterday, I stayed home from work with a terrible migraine. This was one of the worst I have had in a long while. I didn't even manage to make a productive staying home day of it, and only accomplished one of my laundry list of to-do items.
On Sunday when I made my meals for the week, I considered taking off my rings and leaving them safely in my bedroom the way Margaux does when she cooks. I ended up deciding not to, because I didn't want to risk losing one of them or having them stolen if I forgot to put them back on.
Unfortunately, at some point during the fried rice, moo shu turkey and red curry, one of the bigger side diamonds next to my center stone fell out of my band. Major bummer.
I was able to call the jeweler yesterday, who said he would fix it right up for me, and I dragged myself to the post office to ship it off. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the stone despite Sam and I looking - I assume it's in the disposal or the trash.
Our jeweler, like many, has a policy that if you take your jewelry in at least once every 12 months to have him check the prongs, all stones that fall out will be replaced. I am hoping that is truly the case, but I should know shortly because the ring is due to arrive prior to 3 p.m. today. Here's to hoping that's not just a marketing gimmick.
My cousin Ali's birthday was January 8, and she wanted to celebrate with a day at Disneyland on the Saturday after her birthday. Her brother and his girlfriend were going to fly down from Santa Clara, and Ali asked me if I wanted to join them. Obviously, I said yes, and Sam and offered to let them stay with us for the weekend vacation rather than get a hotel.
I hadn't been to Disneyland in several years - I think my last visit was in December 2011 with my friend Michelle who was here from Texas. Consequently, several rides had undergone renovations since I'd been on them, and I can honestly say they were all better than before.
Big Thunder Mountain railroad is my all-time favorite ride. It's followed very closely by Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. Within the last year, Big Thunder Mountain has undergone a complete refresh including replaced track, added visual and audio components and overall a higher degree of sensory overload. I don't think there was much of the structure of the ride that was actually changed, but there were significantly (in my opinion) more animatronic decorative aspects to view. In fact, in watching the video below, I realized there were a few things I missed or didn't fully appreciate during the ride.
Space Mountain is always great. The ride broke down briefly just before our Fast Pass time, but we waited for about ten minutes and it opened right up. I would say our total wait time in line was probably less than ten minutes, and most of that was us walking through the ropes to get to the actual line.
The Matterhorn was out of operation this weekend, which was a bit of a bummer. Although, with the wet, drizzly weather, it's unlikely that we'd have enjoyed sitting on damp seats and getting our butts cold and wet.
Pirates of the Caribbean was different from the last time I was on it in that they had toned down much of the movie's influence on the ride. For a while, Davy Jones was projected onto a smoke screen at the very beginning prior to the first drop. I'm very happy to report it's gone and guests are again greeted by the skull and crossbones giving its original message. Bravo to Disney for changing the ride back (mostly) to its original glory.
Ali, Brock and his girlfriend, Gabi, had never seen the Haunted Mansion when it's decorated for The Nightmare Before Christmas. They were really into the attention to detail and the great care taken by the imagineers to completely overhaul the ride. I told them we're lucky they could see it because the decorations go up in September and come down in January, taking the ride offline for several weeks each time.
One ride I was really impressed by was Radiator Springs Racers. Talk about some really talented design and engineering. Apparently the wait time for the ride can exceed four hours, but when we arrived it was just over 60 minutes and we opted to go in the Single Rider line which was less than a ten minute wait. Score! For those of you, like me, who haven't been on it yet, enjoy this awesome video:
The ride I disliked the most was California Screamin' and let me tell you, we rode it enough times for me to be sure. The first time, it was raining and the water was literally pelting me in the face. Ugh. The second time, the forces against my body caused my head to hurt and my stomach to become unsettled. The third time, I opted out and let the kids go instead. I have no interest in riding that again, certainly not when I'm feeling headache coming on from the outset.
We also rode the Tower of Terror, which I enjoyed more than I did the last time I was on it. Now, that's not really saying much because last time I refused to ride it more than once. This time, I was a little more prepared for the general plan, but still, it wasn't my cup of tea. I don't like being so disoriented with the pitch black and the falling, rising and quickly falling again. It really unsettles my stomach.
All in all, it was a great weekend trip to The Happiest Place on Earth, especially given that the weather was a little less than ideal and that kept the lines shorter than they could have been. We definitely enjoyed ourselves and Ali said it was a great way to spend her birthday.
The Menu: Pad Thai, Green Papaya Salad, Chicken Coconut Green Curry, Spicy Basil Shrimp
For my birthday this year, Sam's mom and dad gave me the money for a Sur la Table cooking class. Sam decided he would like to take one with me, so for Christmas I gave him an IOU. We decided to take "Secrets of Thai Cooking"since we loved our 2011 trip to Thailand so much.
We decided to take the class on Monday night, since it was right after we got back from our trip home for the holidays. I wouldn't recommend coming hungry, because we had to cook everything before we ate, and our 6:30 p.m. class was supposed to be over at 8:30 p.m., but that's when we started eating. Sam was about to pass out by the time we finally got to serve ourselves.
Sam was the star pupil! Our instructor brought him up to stir the curry.
All in all, the class wasn't what either Sam or I expected. There were 14 of us, situated into teams of 4, 4, 3 and 3. Each team prepared a portion of the recipe, and then the chef had us take turns preparing the final dish.
For the most part, we just watched other people putting it together and ate dinner super late. It felt like we were basically paying for the recipes, which we did get to take home with us, but we probably could have found them online. The techniques she used, such as how to cook the food in the wok, was pretty much what I remembered from the streets of Thailand.
One of the downsides to the recipes is the ingredients are all, obviously, pretty exotic. While the chef assured us that everything can be found at the 99 Ranch Market, the items come in larger quantities and have a shelf life of roughly three months. So we'd have to make the whole meal more frequently than once a month, and that's unlikely.
Today at my meeting, I reset my Weight Watchers history - no old progress reports hanging around, no past milestones reminding me how much I've gained back, etc. Just a fresh slate for me to write on in 2015.
My dear friend and fellow weight watcher and I then grabbed lunch and took a long walk to discuss our game plan for success in this new year. We both feel the time truly is now to prioritize our fitness and health. Not only did we talk about the things that are holding us back, but how we can eliminate those roadblocks to achieving our goals. As an added bonus, we tracked everything we ate, stayed on our daily points, and crushed our 10,000 daily step goal. Woohoo!
When I got home, I went through my Weight Watcher Notebook, a binder I created that houses all of my favorite WW recipes for easy access and meal-planning. I printed out new recipes that I want to try and replaced things that either didn't go over well, or I was never interested in testing over the past four years. Keeping the recipes up to date is very helpful for me when I'm planning out the things I'm going to eat for the week, and planning ahead of time is something I really need to prioritize. I think it's part of the reason I was so successful last time.
I also printed out all of my Kaia FIT Brik paperwork including the PDF Cookbook, the nutrition guidelines, and a few interesting looking fitness challenges. Truth be told, I am so sore today after yesterday's workout I am finding it challenging to get in and out of cars, chairs and up stairs. I can only imagine how I will feel after a whole week of this!
Speaking of which, tomorrow is my first day back at 5:00 a.m. Kaia Klass, so I need to get my butt to bed. I'm already an hour past my intended bedtime!
I have mixed emotions about New Years Resolutions. They can be very powerful and motivating when they are focused on, and yet, they can also be a list of broken promises to ones self. With that in mind, I have a few for 2015:
Make fitness a priority - this is my go-to resolution, but I am serious about making 2015 the year that I get back into shape and find a healthy balance between my personal and professional health. I have already signed back up for Kaia FIT and will be starting the first BRIK session of 2015 on Monday. Too long have I made emotionally driven choices about my diet and exercise regime, and it's long past time to get down to business.
Be more financially mindful - marrying Sam has brought to light our differing strategies about finances. Let me be completely honest, he is far more financially minded than I am, and he has much better financial self-discipline. I am looking forward to strategizing with him in the coming months so that I, too, can be more financially responsible.
Read more - I love to read for pleasure and to sharpen my skills, but I don't often make time for it the way I should. This year, I'd like to cross a few books off of my "To Read" list.
Write more - Be it professionally or personally, I derive great pleasure from writing. Sam keeps encouraging me to write the next great American novel, which I may pursue at some point in the upcoming months. My goal is to blog, journal, creative and professionally write every day. Sometimes it can be a challenge to come home from drafting copy for clients and emerse myself in my own writing projects, but I am going to make an effort to do so every day, even if it's just a few short sentences.
In closing, I will share this fabulous quote that a friend posted on Facebook last night:
"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.
So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever." - Neil Gaiman
