So I started my new job today. It's been a strange process trying to get back to the normal 9-5 lifestyle. Last night I only got 2.5 hours of sleep (ugh!) but this is partly due to the fact that Derek and I just lied in bed talking on and on. It was kinda cute. But I digress...
New job today. Still hasn't set in that I'm done at Panera. Or that I'll be going back to work at Apple Spice tomorrow and the next day (and the next day....). I was super nervous this whole week about starting and yesterday I was a wreck with anxiety. But I had my coffee this morning and got to listen to the Elvis Durin Morning Show (yay!) on my way to work. All the stress was for nothing... Turns out, I'm awesome. I kicked butt at making salads today and they seemed very impressed at how fast I was picking it all up.
It was a little frustrating at times because they would say "Go get a six pan" or "Sanitize the drain sink and then grab a turkey and a ham and drain them"... and my brain would go "HUH?!" I didn't really get training per se. It was more like they told me really fast what I had to do and then I had to do it. And figure it out along the way. Had I not had the Panera experience I would've drowned. But thanks to P-bread, I'm fast and can generally comprehend kitchen speak. It got easier once I got down some key phrases they all like to use. I asked a lot of questions but no one minded and everyone was super nice. I was kinda losing patience at the end though because people started going home and I was still being told to do this and do that... and ended up staying and working for a total of 9 hours. (Oh, that includes a 15 minute lunch break-- which was the only time I sat all day)
I came home exhausted but I'm hoping tomorrow will be better. 1) I'll have had more rest. 2) It won't be a crazy Monday. 3) We'll be more staffed (one girl called out sick today)... and 4) I won't feel so lost this time! Which is a big yay!
I feel pretty good about it. Still lots to learn but already I feel like I have a huge grasp on things and it's only day 1! All in all, good day. Once I finally got to go home at the end of the day. ;)
Last night on my night off I went on a cleaning frenzy. Starting with the bathroom.. I cleaned everywhere. The kitchen and the living room. Even the office and pantry got straightened up. I finally hung up the clothes I had been meaning too. And vacuumed! I was so proud. And the house looks so nice and clean. :) And the best part is that now I want to keep it clean. After breakfast instead of leaving the dishes around or in the sink they went right into the dishwasher. And I've noticed I've been picking up after myself. Or making sure not to throw clothes on the floor but in the hamper or hang them up. I'm psyched. It feels awesome. I hope it lasts, hahaha.
So I found this awesome website with funny/cool pictures. So if you're bored at work-- here you go! :)
http://myfoodlooksfunny.com
For anyone who doesn't know yet... I put in my two weeks notice at Panera and am starting a new job at a catering company called Apple Spice Junction. The hours (from 7am-3pm) are going to work perfect for when I go to grad school in the fall. It's also a Monday- Friday job so I'll have weekends free! And holidays off! And nights to hang out with friends! :D I'm super excited about starting and am counting down the days. (14!) Hehe.
Anyway, that's all that's really new. Adios!
Two days ago I had a sad running day. It was hot, I hadn't eaten much before we went... and I failed. I was pushing myself too hard, trying to do hills at the same time I was increasing my time. It just didn't work. At one point I was pushing and pushing to run fast up and over this hill and when I got to the top, even though I still had a minute to run to make my time, my body just stopped. I felt so discouraged that the rest of the 15 mins, I just walked. I felt like such a failure and it just became so apparent how much of running (or any exercise for the matter) is a mind game.
Today was better, I am glad to be able to say. First off-- it's nice and cool today and the wind felt good while running. I ate beforehand and I didn't try any hills-- just went my normal route and ran 3 mins, 2 walked, etc.
Also, my new secret weapon:
Aren't they sexy? :) Got them for 95 bucks and boy do they make a difference! My feet feel great! Takes a little getting used to but it was definitely worth the money... considering how many miles I'm going to get out of them. w00t!
At the beginning of my time running today I had been vocalizing my fears as far as possibly failing again today. Derek said, "Just do something for 30 mins and end on a good note" So that's what I did! I did my normal R3/W2 routine but at the end decided to push myself and I ran 5 mins! After that 3 min hump, it got easier and felt good. I ended on a good note for the day and the week and now I'm excited to start my 4 mins of running next week! :)
So my new favorite breakfast thing? Fruit smoothies. They're so yummy, refreshing and totally healthy! Plus, so easy to make.
The trick is to use frozen fruit. It's really great because there's no prep involved! No need to slice any fruit beforehand. And it's fairly cheap for a big bag at the grocery store. So last week I got a bag of mixed berries and a bag of mixed tropical fruit (mango, pineapple, kiwi, papaya...) and have been loving it.
Also, if you have any bananas that are getting too ripe you can throw them in your freezer to save for smoothies!
There's no need for ice if the fruit is frozen. From there on-- it's just some frozen fruit, half a cup of milk (I love it with the Vanilla Soy) and bleeeeeeeend! You can also use fruit juice, or yogurt or icecream (although that kills it's healthy factor).
Very yummy indeed!
For months I've been thinking and talking about running. I've read a lot about how running is the simplest way to get healthy, to get in shape and to lose weight. But running never seemed simple to me. I could never understand why anyone would ever want to just go.... run. I always thought it would be boring and figured running without a destination seemed silly. So instead I choose the elliptical or the stationery bikes at the gym. Talk about going nowhere!
I had tried running in high school. I knew a girl who dropped weight like CRAZY and when I asked how she did it-- she said she simply started running. Sounded simple enough so one morning I got up earlier before school-- drank a fruit smoothie and headed out in my neighborhood. Within minutes I was bent over gasping for air, feeling like a failure. My lungs couldn't handle this! I blamed it on "sports asthma" and gave up on the idea.
Come to find out.... six years later... I had taken the completely wrong approach. Of course I couldn't just start running out my front door full speed ahead! Our bodies can't go from sedentary to full motion; they need time to adjust. So, with the help of my boy (who is a runner), I did some research, read up a lot and started running two weeks ago.
Wow! The difference it makes when you pace yourself! Everything I read said to start a successful running program you had to start with a run/walk program. And that's what I did. Starting from scratch most people can run at least 30 seconds without stopping. Since I walk around for 8 hours at work-- I figured I could run for a minute straight. Let me tell you-- going from 30 seconds to 60 seconds seems like such a small addition of time. But at 40 seconds I was dying for 60 to come. Then I would walk for two minutes before running another minute.
But it always got easier. The first day my legs were sooooo sore and my heart felt like it was gonna beat right out of my chest! But the second and third and fourth day only got easier. And it's incredible how much more beneficial running is to any other exercise I've ever done! After running the muscles in my legs were sore... but also in my abs and arms and places I didn't even know I had muscles! Most specifically right behind my ankle. How weird!
What's even weirder is how much I love it! And how I still want to go every time. Today I was scheduled to run 1:30 then walk 2 mins... do this 8 times then at the end try to run for 2 mins. Derek was running alongside me at the end and I was distracted and when I looked down at the clock I realized I had run for 2:30 and the car was in sight so Derek said, "Just run to the car then you can stop". By the time I got to the car it was 2:40 and my curiousity got the best of me.... Could I run for 3 mins straight? 20 more seconds was all it would take. And I did it! When that 3 min mark hit I felt like dying but at the same time I was SO proud! Just earlier that day I had thought it impossible to run for 1.5 mins and then at the end had doubled my time! What a fantastic feeling! I almost cried, haha.
So much of running is a mind game. Now when I go back out to run, three minutes won't seem so impossible since I know I've done it at least once. And in a couple of weeks when I'm running for 10 mins straight (which seems CRAZY right now), it will be cool to look back to this day and remember how proud I was over 3 mins. How cool. :)
I've had this page open all weekend in hopes of posting but I never did get around to it. In fact, I didn't get around to much this weekend. It's been a gloomy last few days. I'm not sure why either, but I think others have been feeling it too-- despite the gorgeous weather. I think that might actually make it worse.
Friday I was invited out to a picnic and although I wanted to go very badly-- I only had about an hour of warning and had already been trying to do a million things that day. I was all set to cancel my current plans to attend when I realized I was just too stressed and on the verge of tears and really not wanting to leave the house. It was just too much in too little time and so I collapsed under my own depressed state. I also in the midst of all the craziness received some bad news.
For the past couple of days I had been attempting to train two new trainees at Panera. It was an experiment to see how possible it was since we are very short staffed and wanting to get people up and running as soon as possible. Well, I had put a lot of effort and time into getting everything ready and thinking up ways to make it all work. Then I had actually put in the four nights of working with two trainees at once. And I was very tired. As one of my trainees put it-- each night I was essentially thinking for three people at once. It was exhausting.
And right as I was trying to collect myself to rush out the door on Friday-- I get the news that one of my trainees quit. It was just heart breaking. And I almost feel stupid because it mattered so much to me but it did. I immediately burst into tears. I felt like a failure of a trainer and all the stress of training and being tired... it just seemed to have gone to waste. From then on it was just a waste of a day... burried in my own self-depricating pathetic state.
Saturday and Sunday were better although I, of course, regretted not going to the picnic on Friday since I knew I had missed the chance to see my friends. And I pretty much sat in front of the tv both days wasting away. I kept looking out the window-- I knew it was gorgeous outside and I knew that if I could just manage to get up I'd be happy but it just didn't happen. So I spent the weekend glued to the tv (although in the process I did discover a pretty cool movie called Under the Tuscan Sky). It's all this vicous cycle of "I'm tired, I want to rest" but then when you rest you just feel more tired and more in need of resting. I also ate a lot of junk which probably added to my inactivity.
But alas! The weekend is over and I did wake up positive this morning. Despite the storm and the rain squelching my plans to go running (I'll have to post about that one of these days...) I am looking forward to the rest of the night. I have plans to cook and clean and hopefully both of those will happen. And even if I do spend the night in front of the tv wasting away-- at least I don't have the added guilt of wasting a nice spring day with friends. Plus, I will get to see them on Wednesday so it all seems a little more bearable.
I'm stealing this idea from my BFF Kara over at LilMissWisecracker.com! She uses 6 words to sum up her day or her week or sometimes seasons of life. I love the idea because it's perfect for days like this one where I want to post but have nothing to say. So here we go! My 6 word memoir of today!
Heating pad induced sleep cures cramps! :)
