Here we go again...

So I am at it again, leaving one job and on to the next.

That is 3 jobs in 2 years…for those of you who have been keeping score.

I am headed back to the company that gave me my first real job out of college. Now going back a bit wiser, a bit more mature, and with a helluva lot more experience.

I can only imagine that some of you are pretty shocked…some of you are probably disappointed, most of you are probably rolling your eyes that I am leaving yet another job, and I bet there are a handful of people out there who are laughing at me for being so indecisive. And believe me I have been through all of those reactions and emotions (and then some!). 

Although I am excited about returning to my former place of employment, don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t an easy decision. I am not going back because it was easy work and my other jobs go too hard or anything like that. 

I know you are looking for the whole story, so here it is!

I left my first job about 2 years ago for an amazing opportunity that was literally handed to me on a silver platter. Being at my first job for two years and not knowing any better I jumped at the opportunity for more money, a better title…. and well that’s about it after those two things I was hooked. I said see you later and headed on for bigger and better things – so I thought. 

The first lesson I learned was that you don’t deserve respect you have to earn it. This isn’t a light bulb moment and don’t think I am some spoiled brat but I had never been in a position where I had to work so hard off the bat. From day 1 I was picking up where someone left off and it was A LOT of work. I put my head down and got to work and for about 3 straight months I pulled 13 hour days, worked on the weekends, had no social life... AND then realized I hadn’t made a single dent in the work load….it was too much for one person. I was overwhelmed all the time, I was constantly in a bad mood and was quick to snap at my new co-workers (and I can’t apologize enough to my friends and family who had to listen to me vent outside of work!), and I was quickly burning out. I asked for help and no help was received. After having a hard look in the mirror I realized that my quality of work was much more important to me than the quantity of the work and I was being stretched too thin. 

When I left though I hadn't realized how much of an impact I had made on this business and it was amazing to hear this from so many co-workers, members, and board directors, I had earned their respect, the respect I had been working so hard for. 

After leaving job #2, I found myself at job #3 in a whole new wheel house that was totally amazing! There was so much to learn, so much to do, and the people I worked with loved to have a good time. Well as the story goes, the rose colored glasses faded after a few months and I began to realize that the role I was in wasn’t where I wanted to be. I didn’t have the skill set needed nor  the environment that encouraged growth and development. The people I worked with made it easy to get through the day but at the end of the day I felt depleted and somewhat useless not being in love with what I was doing day in and day out.

Scared and embarrassed that I found myself yet again in an ugly predicament I consulted the wisest person I know…mi madre; who I think hides her irritation with me with laughter and eye rolls. She explained a few pros and cons to me about leaving yet another job but at the end of the day pointed out that I am at the point in my life where I have the flexibility to move around – to make the changes that I need to make in order to be happy. I’m not married, I don’t have kids (other than Bruce, but he could be fat and happy anywhere) and I have been smart with my savings…these things are huge factors in my decision to quit a job and take a new one.

Both previous jobs have been incredible experiences not only have I grown professionally but I have learned a shit load about myself as well. I have met amazing people – job #2 probably had some of the funniest people I have ever met and I hope to stay in touch with these lovable clowns for years! It also taught me that work is work – I would spend 8 straight hours, 5 days a week working – going from one task to the next. 

This was no joke. 

But it taught me a lot. 

A lot.

Job #3 – was a whirlwind. The people I worked with were a rowdy bunch who loved to joke and have a good time – they were a family! And although I got only a glimpse of it, they have a good thing going. They laugh, cry, argue, and play jokes on each other and it’s great! 

Let’s be honest, I love a good challenge. I am ready for the next phase. I have already pinky-promised my mom that I will be at this job for the next 3+ years so on the job front it better be a smooth ride from here. 

Cheers to the next one!

Makeover!

The blog needed a refresher..more to come on why now was the perfect time.

Check it out, let me know what you love, hate, want changed, or you can't find!

Cheers to makeovers!

That time I only drank juice.

So because I literally jump on pretty much every bandwagon that has ever existed, it was only a matter of time before I tried a Juice Cleanse. I searched around and found one that was (sort of) in my price range and seemed manageable. I ended up with Karmic Fix 
(this is in no way a review, promotion, or blast of Karmic Fix, it’s more of rant from a basic white girl doing a juice cleanse).

So instead of going day by day and telling you how angry I was for 3 straight days every hour on the hour. I will just summarize the 72 hours of my juice cleanse because let's be honest after the first hour of doing a juice cleanse time is a blur.

But first let me introduce the juices, Karmic Fix gives your 6 juices for each day which from what I researched was a lot and to me 6 juices during the day seemed a heck of a lot better than the 3 juices other companies were offering!

7am 

Blueberries, Strawberries, Cherries, Banana, Spinach, Flax, and Chia Seeds  

What a way to start the day, after drinking this I literally thought I could conquer anything. Each day I would wake up, chug this juice down and would head to work, thinking to myself alright this juice cleanse isn't so bad!

10am 

Kale, Celery, Cucumber, Dandelion, Parsley, Cilantro, Ginger, Lemon, Apple 

All right not my favorite. Manageable though but I HATE cilantro and parsley so I knew I wasn’t going to like this one but after not consuming anything all morning but drink #1 I was ready for something!

12pm 

Carrot, Ginger, Turmeric, Pineapple, Orange, Cucumber 

Now this is where I caught on that this was going to be a tough couple of days because I didn’t like this drink either – it had CHUNKS in it. Big chunks of pineapple or carrots or something that when plugging my nose and drinking this juice it was quite disturbing to feel a big chunk of something hit the back of your throat.

3pm 

Kale, Parsley, Celery, Lemon, Habanero Pepper, Apple and Mustard Greens

Every day this drink made me really really angry. See that bolded ingredient – I mean are you kidding me?? So get this…this drink is called Spicy Kick and it does just that! It literally burns the back of your throat, it doesn’t taste great either so you take a big gulp – your throat is on fire you take another big gulp to calm it down and then your throat is on fire again – repeat until your drink is gone and you are searching for water. Out of all the drinks – I drank this one the fastest. I see what you did there Karmic, I see what you did there.

5pm 

Date, Banana, Cacao, Himalayan Salt, Vanilla, Cinnamon, and Hemp Protein

 Holy heaven! Okay not heaven but a sweet relief after the others were painfully disgusting. I actually looked forward to this one. 
I don’t know if there is anyone else out there that gets off of work and after a day of sitting at a desk... in a chair... staring at a computer is totally and completely famished but I am – like "cut off an old lady in line at wawa and not think twice about it" famished. Yeah so this drink is the "drive home drink" that helps me deal with the traffic and the idiot drivers on the road, it actually tastes good and has a sweet chocolately flavor!

Alright side note because I know you are thinking already this doesn't seem that bad or that hard– well let me be the first to say I had to cheat every day! Hear me out I always packed an emergency bag of carrot sticks in case the stomach rumbling got too out of control or if my hanger was out of control for the workplace. 

However, the fix does advise that if you feel you need to eat something do so, fresh veggies, almonds, raw fruit are all encouraged. So when I got home at night and wanted nothing more than a large juicy cheeseburger and French Fries I would cut up some tomato and cucumber and make a salad or have a side of sautéed zucchini and squash; while my boyfriend proceeded to finish off a Bertolli for 2…by himself. So sue me that I couldn’t stick to the ALL juice diet – but talk to me after you do a three day cleanse…if you’re still alive! (currently writing this while on day 3 sorry for the dramatics, let me grab a carrot stick and calm down!)

7pm 
Watermelon, Strawberry, Cucumber, Lime, Triphala Tea

I loved this drink, so after I cheated and had my all veggie dinner this was the perfect dessert – I mean it wasn’t brownie sundae perfect but it was sweet, light, fruity and I would drink this drink really slow or over ice so that I would forget that I was hungry until I went to bed. Which ended up being like 9:45 or 10pm every night because they encourage you to get lots of sleep (OR to stop thinking about how hungry you are!!)

Overall it was the worst three days of my life, just kidding, sort of. 

It was fine, would I do it again, NO. 

Am I glad I did and can check it off my bucket list, YES!

If you’re thinking about doing a juice cleanse, don't. You can find several articles that give you good hard data against doing this that I completely ignored because I am stubborn and pig headed about things.

So if you are like me and MUST do one; 

• I recommend you search around and find the right one for you. 
• I recommend that you read the ingredients in the juices before blowing your entire savings account on a juice cleanse (because that is how expensive they are!) 
• I recommend you do it with a friend, a co-worker or a family member - someone who can commiserate with you so that you aren’t going at it alone!
• The final thing I recommend is to not talk to anyone about it, seriously! Listening to someone talk about a juice cleanse is downright miserable. Remember this is something you wanted to do; you are doing it by choice. No one is forcing you to only consume liquids…you chose to do this. 

Now do you feel stupid? Cause I sure as heck did.

Lastly, remember this isn't an easy way to loose weight, it takes a lot of focus, hard work, and willpower and isn't all that good for your body. So before thinking "hey I really wanna loose five pounds I will do a juice cleanse" remember you are about to deprive your body of what it needs and cause you some serious embarrassment with all the stomach rumbling that will happen!

The only positive is that I got a lot more steps on my Fitbit because I was walking to and from the bathroom peeing SO MUCH!

Cheers to never drinking juice again…well until I make a cranberry vodka