Thursday, July 28, 2011

Okay, seriously...

I cannot watch another minute of TV! I need to get working on my projects that I've had sitting around the house, because I am just to bored and tired of watching television. I have a greeting card project that I wanted to wait until winter, maybe I should think of starting it earlier or get really serious with my new goal...

I decided that I am going to hold off in paying a coach to help me with the figure competition. I've started to do detail research on my own to figure out what I can start on to loose the initial fat. First is my water intake. Other competitors say to work up to a gallon of water a day! What?! Ummm... I barely get down 32 ounces... I guess I will need to work on that. Next, obviously is diet. I need to eat 5 - 7 meals with a combination of protein, fat, and carbs, with protein being the main source of calories. The meals are what I have the least amount of experience on. I know what I can eat and how much of it to keep weight off, but to loose fast, I don't know the calorie combination. I will need to look more into that and see if I can find some stats in terms of my body fat, height, and weight to what my percentages should be. Next is exercise. It looks from this point, I need to do more sets of exercises, five instead of three, but still at the ten reps. The lifting exercises look like they would take about an hour, which I love, then thirty minutes of cardio afterwards. These figures are just what I have found browsing. I am hoping to get more specific meal plans and exercises within the next couple of weeks. City of Loveland has a rec center called the Chilson Center and as a city employee, I get the pass 1/2 off. I'm going to start with a ten punch card and try the gym out to see if I like it before I get a long term commitment. The gym opens at 5:30 am, so if I am there by 5:30 am and do the exercises I would be done by 7 am and showered by 7:30 am to be at work by 8 am, or earlier. I can be dedicated in the morning, I will need to make a routine out of it. Then I should be doing it six days a week.

This thought process is new for me because, I'm usually not supportive of this type of behavior. I know this isn't lifetime behavior, but necessary to achieve the goal I want. I'm interested to see if I can shift my mind into the intensity that's necessary.

Amber D.

Do you know anything about the above information?! I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Birthdays and Hobbies

Today was Alex's birthday; he turned 25. Now we can get another discount on our car insurance next year!

I really wanted to make this year a special one for him. The last couple of years I've really dropped the ball because of my time management skills and, of course, money. We stayed at home and had a couple of steaks, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob. The steak is always a little too much for me, since we're not big red meat eaters. It still was delicious, because Alex always cooks a good steak!


He mentioned a while ago, since he got the office manager position, that he needed to get the "Worlds Best Boss" mug, so I did just that.

He had been looking at tripods for a while, and so I did some research, and found this little guy. The Benro rated high because it comes with a ball head, becomes very compact for the travelers and scenic goers, and is considered a sturdy aluminum tripod.

Then we had some delicious confetti cake that I made (not from scratch) and decorated, which I got to use the beautiful cake stand that I got from Kimi at my bridal shower!

My job went very well this past week, and I am looking forward to working there for a while. My boss is nice, encouraging, and very helpful. It feels good to be back in the Solid Waste division, and get to learn about the Streets and Storm Drainage divisions as well. It's always a different group of people to work with in those type of divisions, but always wonderful men and women.

Since I've started to get situated in a routine again, I've started to call, research, and look around for a figure competition coach. This has always been a "back-in-the-mind" goal of mine. I figured there's no time like the present for a hobby like this, especially since I already love and know how to do the exercise and weight lifting part.

(For those who don't know what I am talking about, above are figure competitors.)

I have been in contact with a coach that trains a group of ladies, that lives just past Denver. They train three times a week together, and the coach sends out exercise and meal plans for the month to get the ladies prepared for their competition. I really like her and would like to work with her. My main concern is the distance. I couldn't train with them for the two days during the week, so I don't know if it would be worth to pay for the full service but only realistically be participating in a quarter of it. I'm going to talk to her, and maybe see if she recommends anyone closer, or has any ideas for us still to work together. I have a long ways to go. Maybe I can just start on the basics of losing the bulk of the weight and then concentrate on becoming lean and toned... I guess I will discuss this with her. I am super excited about this journey and hope that i can start my journey in the next couple of months!

Amber D.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Job!!

Most might know, and others might not. I officially have a job!!! I received a call on Wednesday, July 13th, from the City of Loveland for the Solid Waste/Streets/Storm Drainage divisions. I will be an administrative specialist. I am excited because I have worked in a solid waste division before and loved it, which helped me become the recycler I am today. I start on July 19th.

I also received another job offer on the 13th for the Good Samaritian Society Community. It was actually before I received the call from the City of Loveland. Since I wanted the City of Loveland job a lot more, I actually called the HR person that was handling my background check and asked about my application and informed her of my situation. She was very understanding and actually called my new boss, who was on vacation, to see if she could speed up the process, so I could get an official answer for the position. The job with the Good Samaritian Society Community was a job I would have liked as well, but it is located in Greeley, which is about 22 miles from where we live and it paid a couple of dollars less than the one in Loveland. I felt lucky to have been in that position after having a lull for about five weeks.

Alex and I find it intersting how everything worked out. We were trying hard to rent a place in Fort Collins, but ended up with this wonderful place in Loveland, which we had come to terms with the fact I might have to commute. Then I get a job in Loveland, about fifteen minutes from where we live. We both thought how horrible it would have been if we both would have had to commute! Life has it's paths.

I realized how much of a process it is for health care workers to start at a hospital! Well, I guess I am assuming it is the same procedure within other hospitals. I've talked about the part-time job with Banner Staffing in Greeley, and I started that process on Wednesday, as my plan was if I hadn't heard anything official from either positions. I had to go to an occupational health clinic within the hospital to start the paperwork. When I was there I had to bring my immunization records, go through my medical history, take part in a TB skin test, take a urine test (for drugs), give a tube of blood, and train on how to use a N95 medical mask. I then have to go back after July 20th to do another TB test. Holy cow! I understand the logic behind the process, it's just intense. Props to the healthcare workers, and I have a lot of friends in that field. How did I not know about this?! Now I do!

Amber D.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Job?!


I feel pretty great today, because I received some awesome news yesterday. The job I had interviewed for on Friday, for the City of Loveland, called and told me that I have made it to the next step, which is the background check. I had asked the HR person if that meant it's just me, or are there other people being considered. They told me that I was the only person at this time. As bad as I want to say I have the job, I don't want to, because I haven't received an official offer. It's an administrative specialist position, which is about the same duties as an administrative assistant; the specialist just allows a higher pay. I had another interview with a different company today, which I had been trying to decided whether or not to interview for, but I decided that I would since I don't have an official offer. A couple of my references actually called to tell me that the company I interviewed for today, have already called them, which is still exciting. I'm still going to try to make the training requirements for the hospital job for some extra hours. Hopefully I will know something about a full time job this week!

Amber D.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Job Hunting... Still

It's been five weeks now since I have made it to Colorado, and I'm still job hunting. Weeks one through three were full of optimism. I had just started job hunting and knew it would take some time. By the beginning of week four, my attitude had taken a slight turn for pessimism. I am a very independent woman and have strong feminist thoughts, so just sitting at home, cleaning, and cooking for Alex does not sit well with my ego, and then not getting any calls for interviews, really had made me feel inadequate. Then Thursday June 30th, I got a call for a job interview for Friday July 1 - FINALLY! I was so excited. It was only part-time, but a foot in the door, and my ego finally felt a little better. I interviewed, and didn't do too well. It was for a Natural Resources Engineering Consulting company. The owners were doing the interviews. The interview was very informal and we just didn't make that connection, I had to giggle, because one of the last questions the wife had asked me, in almost of a desperation to make a connection or to find something in common, was if I had any hobbies. I replied calligraphy writing. She kind of looked at me like, "really?", and said, "Oh, well, that's interesting, because most people move to Colorado for the outdoor experience." So then, with one more attempt from her, she asked me if I liked to go rafting, and that was another cluster. When I left, I knew I didn't get it. You know when you just have that feeling of "that just didn't go well", yeah, mine was pretty strong. After having a little taste of interview, even though it wasn't my best, my optimism went straight back to the top.

Alex and I enjoyed a nice July 4th, and did a little hiking on the Devils Backbone here in Loveland, went and saw Transformers 3, which I thought ended up being a little long, and finished the weekend off being bums in the house with some hot dogs and potato salad. All weekend I kept thinking about all the wonderful phone calls I would get next week for interviews.

Then on Tuesday July 5th, I received a call for an interview with the City of Loveland Solid Waste, Streets, and Storm Drainage Divisions for July 8th! SHAZAM! Then on Thursday July 7th I received two more calls for interviews, one was with Banner Staffing agency on Friday july 8th and the Good Samaritian Community on July 12th.

My two interviews went really well. I feel like I did really well at the Loveland Solid Waste position and connected really well with the people there. Since I have previous solid waste experience I was able to connect with the people of understanding on how picky people are about their trash and recycling. I am hoping that I get a call next week, when they make their decision, that would just be perfect! Then I got offered a position with Banner Staffing agency on the spot. They're basically an agency that hires people to staff shortages at the main hospital in Greeley, which is about 20 miles from Loveland. I accepted the position. It's not a guarantee of hours, but it's something. Training starts on August 4th, which is a few weeks away. My hope is that I get the City of Loveland job and then keep the Banner Staffing job for extra hours. I'm still applying for jobs, because I can't do anything less than 40 hour weeks. I received an email about the possibility of getting an interview with the US Dept of Forest Service, which is Federal. Hopefully I get that call next week!

I'm still cleaning, cooking, doing yard work, lifting weights, and working on my calligraphy, trying to keep busy and staying positive until the next round of interview phone calls.

At least Norman is keeping me company...


When he's not sleeping...

Amber D.