And now for some really good news…

So, if you’re regular reader of my blog, you may remember the post I made back in December, about the old, dilapidated home that I often ran by and admired for its historic value, only to discover on one of my runs that it had been torn down without warning. If you don’t remember, or if you never read it, I will summarize it by saying that I likened that house to a weight-loss journey: it was my opinion that, if you don’t take care of yourself, and you don’t change and improve when you get rundown, you will begin to lose value, and you might find yourself “torn down” like that house.

While I certainly think that my weight-loss analogy is valid, that’s not really what I thought of when I first saw that house. The day before that particular run, I had one of the worst days of work I’ve ever had in 25 years being in the corporate world. I actually left my boss’s office in tears, cried all the way to the hockey rink, cried at the hockey rink in the lobby in front of all the hockey families, and I even had an argument with my husband that was stupid and useless, all because I was so upset.  The very next morning, when I ran by that house and saw that it had been torn down, I was overwhelmed by the fact that the home’s owners had let the home fall into such decay that eventually, no one could see value in it. I felt like my life was a lot like that house, and that no one was seeing value in me, and I was afraid that if I didn’t do something to change, I would end up like that house. And that was the day that, after almost 2 years of denying it, I realized I needed to find a new job.

And…guess what? 🙂

I quit my job last Friday!! 😀 But don’t worry, I’m not completely irresponsible. 😉 I start my new job in a couple of weeks, and although I’m nervous, I truly do believe it’s going to be great. A few things I know for sure are that I start with more paid time off than I have now (even after seven years at my current company!), the drive is almost half the distance, and I’ll get a discount on a new car. 😀 That last one kind of gives you a general idea of the kind of company I’ll be working for. 😉 In case you wondered, I develop training, and that’s what I’ll be doing at my new job.  It’s an exciting opportunity, and I’m really blessed that it came along at the time that I was ready to find a new job.

To celebrate my exciting day, I left work early and went to a concert with my sister.

It may not be clear on this blog, but I’m a pretty big country music fan, more so of the 90s and 2000s than current stuff, but definitely a huge fan of Garth Brooks. When he “retired” in the early 2000’s, I promised my sister that if he ever went out on tour again, I take her. We had a blast! He is an amazing entertainer, and his wife’s pretty good too. 😉

The only downside is that it was a late night, and then I had to get up the next morning and run a “half marathon.” At least, that’s what my training plan said. But of course, it’s Michigan, and it’s February, and there aren’t a lot of half marathons around. So, I just got up and ran 13.1 miles. In a snowstorm. :/ I swear, I’m getting really sick of running in snow.

I was really tired when I got up, but I went out anyway. I thought about cutting it short at one point, but I trudged on. Because I am ridiculously stubborn that way. 😉  It was definitely one of my worst runs, but I did it, and that counts for something. Oh, right–it counts for extra  food!! And since we later celebrated JJ’s birthday with my in-laws, including my sister-in-law, whose birthday is one day after his, it was a good day to run 13 miles.

I made that cake on the left myself, including the from-scratch chocolate buttercream frosting. I’ve made frosting about a bazillion times in my life, thanks to my years as a cake decorator, but that was actually my first try at chocolate buttercream. It was damn good, if I do say so myself. 😉

And then, of course, there was the moment of truth on Monday morning, for my usual weekly weigh in.

Boo-ya! Another pound down, AND, even more impressive, I am now the lowest weight I’ve been since the end of last May! Let me tell you, that is a great feeling. What do I attribute that to, you might wonder? Well, there have been several factors in my life that I’ve changed in the last couple of months. I mentioned that I’ve been weighing and measuring everything almost religiously. No more guessing! In addition, there is the obvious fact that I am training for a marathon, and my activity points are really adding up quickly. I earned 61 last week, which was actually to step down week, and 68 the week before that!

Certainly those two factors could be making a difference. But do you know what I think has made just as much of a difference as those two fairly “scientific” things? Lack of stress. I’ve lost weight pretty consistently over the last three or so weeks, and that just happens to coincide with the time that I decided to take this new job. I just feel so much calmer and more relaxed now, and I honestly think that the stress I’ve been under, for the last eight months especially, caused me to hold onto weight. I’m going to continue to weigh and measure, and of course I’m still training for a marathon, so I’m hopeful that these tried-and-true methods will help me lose the last few pounds, but I really do think that the lack of stress is going to help just as much. I’ll let you know! 🙂

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you have a great week of your own!