So it's been a little over two months since I've started my new job. With the new job came some new adjustments; ones that I don't like and ones that I do. I wanted to take some time out of my busy day to review them for you. We will start with the cons first.
CONS:
- Losing the belly fat that I had spent so much time losing months before has become harder. Because I spend most of my day sedentary, my body has formed a new shape. Not only have I continued to work on my glutes, which I just discovered grew an inch and a half since the last time I measured, my waist has expanded as well. Which seems weird to me. And even though I work out, I am seeing the slowest results ever. During my time at the desk as I research this topic, I came along this Lifehacker article (this is one out of hundreds I found) that talked about the dangers of sitting all day. I saw results so quickly when I worked in retail that I didn't realize how much standing up and walking around attributed to my quick results. Now I do & I've been trying to find other ways to incorporate fitness into my job. I thought about buying a balance ball to sit on but I didn't find too many positive articles about that so I've moved on to the mini stair stepper under the desk. Somehow I'm also going to have to move around at work more often, even though I'm just the receptionist. Since I get an hour lunch break, I sometimes walk to the grocery store to get out into the fresh air. And because I don't want fitness to devour my life and free time, I'm thinking about taking 5 am seriously and working out then. I've been avoiding that idea but it's kind of necessary at this point.
- We miss Mike. We don't have any days off together. He hadn't taken vacation in over two years so he's been requesting off here and there to use it up but what happens when it runs out? Apparently he can't switch with someone on Sundays, which would be great for us. Saturdays are a no for his job. Luckily we are all home when he gets home but by then it's bed time pretty much. Sat night to Sunday brunch time is our only real time together as a family. I hope he gets a new, better job in the future or at least eventually get Sundays off.
- Because I make a few dollars more than my old job, we no longer get help through the government for anything. I have no problem coming out in saying that. We struggled at times at our old place, with my old job, that we had to turn for help sometimes with food. We no longer get that help and will now live paycheck to paycheck again. This is a pro and a con in a way. All I've ever really known was to be "poor". I've lived a pretty good life in this state so I don't necessarily think money really has anything to do with happiness but at times, it has a lot to do with stress relief. We live a simplistic life, probably most in part because of our finances, and I am grateful for that. Now that we don't get any help, we will now have to pay with our own money for groceries. Still broke, still making it. Our diet has slowly changed from a lot of processed food to better foods and I am crossing my fingers that we can still make it work on $50/$60 a week (new challenge).
PROS:
- I get to do things on the weekend if I want. Like how I just ran the Blacklight Run with friends last weekend, as shown above. You can see more at my Instagram if you're on there but I'm sure you didn't miss it. It was a B L A S T. It made me so happy to be there and I look forward to future fun runs.
- I have my son back. When I worked in retail, my baby would have to leave every weekend to stay with family so I could make my measly, shitty paycheck. Sometimes he would have to stay at my family's house during the week as well because I would have to work late & so would Mike. It was just terrible. I would cry a lot because I barely got to see him as much as I'd like to. Especially when he started school. Just thinking about it makes my eyes teary. Fortunately, that doesn't happen anymore. 2 years of that bullshit is done. My son is with me every weekend (unless it's a rare time where he decides to stay with family) and every single night I pick him up after work. It's my favorite thing about changing jobs.
- My priorities in life have shifted dramatically. All my internet reading is done during the day so that when I get off, my brain is shut down from work and technology. I barely open my computer when I get home. We stop by the grocery store, I do the laundry, tidy up, help X with his homework and hope everything is done within the two hours that Mike is suppose to be home so that we can all spend time together. And if it's not done, I don't fret about it. Life is too short to stress about things not being perfect and I know that for sure now. I can feel it in my bones. My family is my focus. While their focus might not be me, I hope they know how much I put into things just so I can be "mentally and physically" with them, even if they are playing video games or watching a movie.
- My health. I've spent a good part of these two months shifting my health. And I really hope to goodness that I'm able to stay as great as I feel now even paycheck to paycheck. Speaking of health, I now have health insurance. But because I'm still broke as a joke, I qualified for insurance through the government. To get similar insurance through my job, I would have had to pay $55 a WEEK instead of less than 30 a MONTH. I am so grateful for that. It felt so nice to see a doctor recently. I regret not choosing the PPO plan instead of the HMO but I'll do that next year. And as we incorporate Paleo into our life, my health has been gradually getting better. My family is full of ups and downs, regarding health which is why we've chosen to eat as primal as possible. We're not hardcore but it has helped us SO MUCH to step away from processed foods. I can tell a difference in myself (since I take it the most seriously) and I'm starting to see a slow change in everyone else.
- Oh and I secretly have time to catch up on my shows either during lunch or when the little guy goes to bed. I'm addicted to Archer.
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