Working For?

I got a new job! Yay! It wont really start until mid October, but I’m excited. It’s a pretty awesome job, and I’m very much looking forward to working there, however when they offered me a super low hourly wage, I definitely had to think about it. I talked it over with my mom and with Mr. Gaunt, and we all agreed that for me, the opportunity to do something I really like, be appreciated, and have flexibility in my schedule trumps poor pay. I know a lot of people wouldn’t have accepted the salary, but I’ve always been someone who prioritizes quality of life, personal happiness, free time and creativity over money. It’s why I’m always poor, but also get to do a lot of things I really like, and get to spend a lot of time with my family. This new job also has some opportunities for my personal business, including giving me a ton of free time in the summer to focus on weddings. It will also probably be a job that would work around a pregnancy/babies in the future, and that is very valuable to any mom! I wont be talking about the name of this business on my blog (for privacy and professional reasons) but if you know me in real life feel free to ask, it’s not a secret. (:

In weight loss news, I have been soooo good all week! No slipping up, no feelings of hunger, and lots of moving! Yesterday I hit 9,100 steps on my Pedometer! Today I’m at 7,000 and I accidentally left it at home while I ran a bunch of errands, so I’m at way more. I even made the conscious decision to park at the back of a parking lot and walk further, go me! I have my first weigh in tomorrow, hopefully it goes well.

EASY HEALTHY DINNER OF THE WEEK:

-Whole Grain (or low carb) bow tie pasta

-Olive Oil

-Fresh Zucchini

-Cilantro

-Fresh tomatoes

-Garlic

-Parmesan

-Salt, Pepper, and Red Pepper Flakes

 

 

Mashed Sweet Potatos Made my Week!

My husband made the most amazing mashed sweet potatoes. We added a little cream cheese and maple syrup. They were so good, and have only added to my pretty awesome week!

February has a been a pretty crazy busy month so far. I feel like I check my email 100 times a day. Tonight though, as I was driving home from meeting with a bride, I realized that my life has taken a pleasant turn in a positive direction.

There were a few hard months there. Financially, emotionally, it was getting to me. I told Mr. Gaunt a few weeks ago that I all needed was a few positive things to happen, to keep my spirits up. I really feel like I FEED off of positive reinforcement. I like when things work out, turn out well, when people are happy with me and what I’ve done. I kind of think everyone feels this way, but I know I really strive for this.

I’ve been working really hard on a few projects, and I think I’m finally seeing results. Although our new business is not going to bring in enough money for me to quit my job, it has allowed me to go down to a 32 hour work week. I now spend my Fridays at home working on weddings and future projects, its awesome. Yesterday we also hosted our first Speed Dating, and it went shockingly well! At first I thought it was going to be a total bust, but it turned out great. I might even do another one, or more.

I’ve also booked a number of weddings this month, and I’m feeling more and more comfortable meeting with people and selling our service. I’m on top of my emails and finances, I’m scheduled and prepared, and I feel like it shows. Our website is pulled together, and every day our marketing gets a little more refined. All in all it’s feeling really good, now I’m just excited to actually work these weddings!

This month I also started a book club with some friends on Facebook. This is a really good step for me to socialize with other girls my age, and read…duh.Our first book is “Villages” by John Updike, I’m pretty excited.

I also got two new pairs of jeans at Target and I love them! This alone makes for a good month.

My job is also slightly more interesting these days. It’s not great, but I at least have more freedom and sometimes get to use my brain. I’m also planning to join the Whatcom Young Professionals this next month in hopes to socialize and network with young professionals in Whatcom County.

So I feel good. I feel good about my job, my business, my pants, my plans, my husband, my family, my yard. Everything feels good, which is rare for me, but I’m rolling with it.

I leave you with photos from our Valentines day. Unfortunately I was super busy, but Mr. Gaunt and I did get to have a nice dinner together, he made our traditional heart-shaped pizza. I love him.

Berries and Blues

Its been a rough few days. I absolutely let what others think of me, make me doubt myself. I wouldn’t even say I’m over it. There sometimes feels like an over whelming amount of thing that I need to change about myself, that I don’t even know where to begin. I feel a bit like a loser.

I applied for a fulltime position at my job (a position that I was already doing, and was very much qualified for) but I didn’t get it. I got a stupid letter saying they chose another qualified candidate. It reminded me of Cheer tryouts in 9th grade, getting the letter that just says NOPE, and then letting your brain run wild with all the reasons why you suck. Too fat, too ugly, too opinionated, not happy enough, not smart enough, not unique or interesting….” I suppose I could ask my employer why it is exactly I didn’t get the job, but I feel it would only make things worse to have her confirm what I already know. I’m trying to quickly focus my energy on what my next step is. My job will probably end in the next 3-4 weeks, and I will need to decided what that means for me. I also like to tell myself things like “You don’t want a sit down job anyways” which is true. Sitting in a chair for 10 hours a day 6 days a week has totally made me gain 5 pounds. That’s an uphill battle I don’t think I want to fight. If you sit down for 40+ hours a week you have to eat PERFECT and work out HARD just to maintain your weight! GAH! I do not want to maintain my weight, I want to kick my weight to the curb!

This week we go back to 40 hours a week, so I will get off at 11pm! This is awesome, as now I can bring back my weight lifting in the evenings. When I got off at 1am there was no way in hell I could keep doing that. Now things can be more sane. I can eat healthier and it will all be better. Well I suppose the financial bit wont be better, but whatever.

Speak of financial. We let my brother move in with us at the beginning of Jully. He needed a cheap place to stay and we needed the extra money. He paid us one lump sum to stay here through the end of September. We will use this money to pay off all of our wedding vendors. This is a HUGE deal! I feel really fortunate that all of that will be taken care of.

We also scored MAJOR yesterday at Kinkos with our wedding invitations. For 2 weeks we had been trying to find a time to go get our invitation printed and cut with this one awesome guy who works there. However for many reasons we kept missing him. On Thursday afternoon we went in one more time and he was there, but super busy. He told us to come in really early on Friday morning and that he would have time to work one on one with us.

For our invitations we needed:

-40 full color prints (2 up)

-40 black and white prints (2 up)

-100 sheets cut to size.

When we had originally gone around to get price quotes Kinkos estimated that with the paper and the printing and cutting we were looking at $120. BUT he told us it would be about 1/2 that if we bought our own paper. I think I mentioned before that we ended up buying our paper on Sale at the paper zone about a month ago. For our design I had made digital files and measurements and put them on a USB drive to have printed. So Mr. Gaunt and I got up at 7:30 am yesterday and worked with “Cool Kinkos Man” for about an hour. Shockingly all of my files and sizes were perfect and the process was totally painless. Then the Kinkos guy ended up having to leave in an emergency (his wife ran out of gas in the middle of an intersection!) as he was leaving he told his coworker what to charge and said “I’ll throw in the cuts as a wedding gift” So his co worker rings us up and Mr.Gaunt hands him the coupon we had for 10% off. The guy looks at us and goes “I can’t use this, you didn’t reach the minimum, your total is $3.72″….uhhh….seriously? that’s right, we got all of invites printed and cut for $3.72! Amazing, I know.

I have to work my last Saturday today, then I get me weekends back! I’m going to try to have a good day today and to keep positive! Tomorrow I need to make something yummy with all our Raspberries that are ready!

Crafting Towards October!

I have my first craft fair in October (3 rd from 9-4) and since I have been a total crafting slacker I decided I better get my horse in gear if I want to have anything to even sell! I also put my Etsy shop on vacation almost two months ago so I really need to get that opened again with some new merchandise (you can click on my sold items to see what kind of stuff I was selling).

Yesterday after hearing that I got a new job (YAY YAY YAY) I hit up Joann’s and stocked up on some much needed supplies. I then spent the evening creating a bunch of these tiny banners, perfect for birthdays or holidays or kids rooms. I have about 5 in mid production but this one I finished this morning and even drug it outside to do a little photshoot in the sun!

Moving on, in job news I did in fact get the position with Mr. Gaunts team (but not working directly with him) and I went in yesterday to drug test and sign some paper work. I have to give my current job notice tonight, and who knows whether they will want me to work next week or not, they may be one of those companies that just says “peace out” after you give notice. Which would be fine because New Job wants me to start asap, but no later than the 28th. Im really excited though becuase this new schedule will be amazing, Monday through Friday 6-2:30! That means I dont have to worry about calling out sick every time I need a day or weekend off! Woohoo!

In weight loss I think the week has gone pretty well (except last night taco salad which I attempted to run off at the gym last night) I go in for weigh in tomorrow at 9am, Ill keep you posted!