Fresh and Exciting - Clothes and Hair!

As Jessie requested, I'm posting pictures of the new outfit and hairstyle today (and hopefully every day this week). I did think about it yesterday, but the day got away from me before I knew it and I didnt get a chance to take a picture. Sorry!

 

Yes, this was taken on my break at work (i pack my jewelry the night before and put it on when i get to work, it saves like 2 mins and that makes a difference in the morning!). Nice cubicle atmosphere, huh?

Along with the new (to me) outfits and hairstyles every day, I'm also wearing a different combination of jewelry every day. Just like with the black sandals I wore all the time, I was also wearing the same two rings, bracelet, necklace and earrings every day - no matter the outfit. And if you saw the stock of jewelry I have acquired over the years, you would be astounded that I only wore the same pieces all time! 

I know this seems kind of silly, but its a change to break out of a routine and baby steps are still steps!

I'm really proud of myself for working on the website every day too. Its coming along as fast as it can, while maintaining my sanity. There is a lot of freezing up, not saving and formatting mishaps I have been experiencing with the site during the editing phase, but that's probably because I'm not an expert (yet) in web design and creation. Practice makes perfect, and I'm getting in a lot of practice! :)

And now its time to get into the bed and do some reading! Got another book for the Lit Girls book club, Growing Up Amish. Should be pretty interesting! 

Until tomorrow with a new outfit (which at the moment, I'm not sure which shoes and cardigan to wear!?!? Ah!)

Fresh and Exciting Week

Well, I did it! I made it a whole week with eating a new variation of dinner meals, styling my hair differently each day, and not only did I not wear my black sandals everyday, I didn't wear them at all last week! I also got in some painting or reading or working on website each day!! Here is to another week of New and Different! I'm adding in a new outfit I haven't worn in the last month also to my list. While I frequently look at my closet and think, "uh, I have no clothes!" I know this is not true! I just keep forgetting about mixing and matching! Viola, new outfit!! Last week I felt so good about my life, my place, and my overall well being. I want to keep up this momentum and keep my life fresh and exciting. I have learned that with everything in life, there is a trade-off you must be willing to accept and knowing this keeps me going. For every bad thing, there is also a good thing, you just have to watch out for it. And I'm keeping my eyes peeled these days! Now, let's have a great Fresh and Exciting week!!

A Week of New and Different

Why a week of new and different? Because I want, need to change up some things! I have found myself in a rut and no one benefits from that. And its never a bad idea to add a little spice to life, right?

Here is my list of New and Different for the week:

• New and or different dinner (albeit maybe just a slightly different version of past meals) each night
• Styling my hair differently every day (normally, its just swirled around in a bun and done)
• Wearing a different pair of shoes each day (usually I'm found in my black sandals)
• New exercises or treadmill routine
• Painting, reading, working on website for 2-3 hrs each night

While those changes may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, its big for me. I love a good schedule and a plan, but I havent had one for a while. I got stuck in the "get home, eat dinner, lay on the couch and watch TV, go to bed" syndrome. Now, I actually feel energized and ready for the day! With these few changes, I'm looking forward to what else comes with the new and different that I added to my day!

Yesterday I went to the gym for the first time in 2 weeks. At first, I thought to myself, "ok, since its the first time in two weeks, just take it easy, so you may only get 200 calories burned, no big deal." Then I decided, "NO! You ARE going to burn 400 calories in an hour!" And I actually burned 412 calories!!

I like feeling accomplished at the end of my day, and I definitely felt accomplished last night by the time I got into bed. Here is to a fantastic week of New and Different for us all! Change is good and we need to embrace it more!

Good Afternoon! I have fantastic news! Well sort of - yes, in the fact that it makes me happy and no, in the fact that this is the same decision I came to as a 21 year old and have now looped back around to it 11 years later....  I HAVE TO BE A PART OF MY COMMUNITY'S ARTS PROGRAMMING!!! As a volunteer, as an employee, as an employer, as an intern, or as an artist. I just know that this is something I have been passionate about since I was a pre-teen and it hasnt ever left me. It faded for a few years, when I thought I couldnt make a good enough living this way, but I have to find a way to be a part of this again.

With all of the craziness going on with the veto of funding for the Arts Commission and how deeply I have felt about it, even though I'm in GA and its "not my cause anymore and not my business" I just can not help but feel so impacted by this.

Earlier today I sent out these emails. First to all my friends who live in Columbia.

Hey everyone!

As I'm sure you have heard, seen on the news and throughout Facebook and Twitter, Gov Haley vetoed the funding for the Arts Commission (along with other very important SC organizations that need money too!) and there is a rally tonight at the State House grounds for the Arts Commission.

See article below from cnbc.com http://www.cnbc.com/id/48197820 and also see youtube.com search "The Arts - South Carolina" for an amazing video by ShoutFire Brands.

I'm in GA now and couldnt get the afternoon off work to be there for the rally. I want to go, I need to go, but I can't! I'm writing all my Columbia folks to ask to please attend this rally! The representatives needs to see how important the arts programming is to the state. As a former employee of the Arts Commission and a former adolescent who participated in the arts programming of my tiny hometown, I know first hand how dedicated the employees are, what it takes to pull together an arts program and how much they sacrifice to stay on top of the hardships they face everyday to find more money that already isnt there to keep these programs afloat. Please please please, support this cause.

And also if you arent sure what exactly the Arts Commission does, or funds or supports, check out http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/ for more information.

Remember when those Artists in Residence would come to your 2nd grade art class? Yup, thats the Arts Commission.

Remember when your hometown had festivals? Yup, thats the Arts Commission.

Remember when your town hall had art shows because there were no galleries in your small town? Yup, thats the Arts Commission.

Remember when your aunt or uncle or family friend who was an artist needed a grant to fund their next show, or find a place to have an exhibit, or announce an upcoming show, or to get in touch with programs to help them become a part of the Arts Community? Yup, thats the Arts Commission!!!!!

And I'm going to pull on some heart strings now... as I know most of you have children... don't you want to give your children the most diversified, completely rounded, creatively gifted world possible?

See how important arts programming is to our state!? Please please please support this cause!

Thank you!!!

carly

Then after thinking about it, I sent this one to the rest of my address book of friends who live in the state of SC:

Hey there!

I sent this email out earlier today to my friends in Columbia, SC to raise awareness and support for the rally tonight at the State House for the Arts Commission. While the SCAC is located in Columbia, it affects and serves the entire state. And it occured to me that I havent heard of anything else going on in retaliation against this veto outside of Columbia. What is going on in Greenville, Charleston, Gray Court, Laurens?? If there isnt anything being done - be the one to start it! Please!

I know I'm in GA now, but there is nothing right now that I could feel stronger about. And I wish I could be there tonight to support my former employer, but I cant. And it breaks my heart! Please do whatever you can to help this cause!

Wow, two posts in one day!?!?! In light of Gov Haley's veto of the South Carolina Arts Commission (among other vetoes that directly immediately affect not only the residents of SC but the livelihood of the of the state overall) I had to share my opinion on this social media outlet too.

I am actually sad to say that I'm more proud to be a Georgian in the last 10 months than a proud resident of SC for 30 years... thanks Nikki Haley for ruining that for me. I am not the most political person, but I have retweeted dozens of "Protest against Gov Haley's veto of the South Carolina Arts Commission" tweets AND even tweeted her directly. As a former employee of the Arts Commission and former youngster who participated in MANY arts programming events in my small town growing up, I feel very strong about this and wish I could be at the protest this week in SC.

Today starts the second week of the fruit and veggie diet. I was able to keep of 5 of the 6 lbs that I lost during the diet the weekend before last (as last week was the "maintain" week) and I feel okay about that. My goal for weight loss that week was 5 lbs, so technically I made it. :)

I did talk myself into and out of ordering online from Jimmy John's. These grapes didn't fail me. (But I did eat a serving of Triscuits for 120 cals in the place of 400 cal JJ's.) Dinner was pretty good too, roasted zucchini and squash and steamed string beans.

Food talk aside, I think today and this week is going to be a better week all around! While boyfriend goes to a bachelor party on Friday, I'm having dinner and drinks with one of my oldest and dearest friends! (Fingers crossed her hubby can watch their adorable 2 yr old while mommy has some grown up time!) Although that makes me really miss my other friends who live in other states. That's probably the one thing that isn't 100% great about living in Decatur, GA - not being able to pick up the phone, call friends, and meet up somewhere within 30 minutes. The handful of friends we have here are still 30 minutes away and that's not factoring in from which direction they are travelling at what time of the day - as distance is measured by minutes in relation to the area of ATL rather than miles. I only live 15 miles from my office, but yet it can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 90 minutes to get to and from work...But this is what I signed up and I still love it here! There is so much to do in Decatur! Everytime we leave the house, we find somewhere new that we didnt know about before. And I love that!

I didn't post yesterday as it was not my best day. But in retrospect I was just being a spoiled brat. Sometimes we all act like this, it's just that some of us don't realize it and continue with that attitude. And that's the problem. One of the most amazing things I have learned from my boyfriend is to be kind and receptive to others' feelings - no matter what. I was all tied up in my "bad" day, not knowing the turmoil he was going through. And as soon as he started to divulge his truely emotional day, then I realized that I wanted to not only comfort him but needed for him to feel better and worthy of himself as I now him to be, and that meant more to me than stewing in my own bad mood. And thank goodness! There were a few blessings in disguise as the full day unfolded and thats what life is all about. I'm learning better each day to roll with the punches and that is all due to the world that my boyfriend has opened up to me and I'm truly grateful for that. And now I'm finished gushing about him. Back to me. ;)

Yesterday was what I a call a “free day,”  meaning I could do absolutely nothing and not feel guilty about it! Usually, I feel bad if I “waste” my weekend by not getting anything accomplished (ie: laundry, dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing the kitchen, painting, applying to jobs, mani/pedi, catching up on correspondence with out of state friends). And yesterday I didn’t do any of that! Well, I did work on my website (which is sort of like applying to jobs?), but all in all, we did nothing productive and it was awesome! As I mentioned yesterday, we started our day with IHop, then came home and watched Batman – the REAL ORIGINAL Batman! Then both of us, separately, surfed the internet on our iPads, then I started working on the website again. Then before we knew it, it was 5:30pm. So then what? Time to order carry-out online from Chili’s! In the midst of the change to a healthier lifestyle, this is my “maintain” week, so I wanted to indulge myself – as it was Independence Day and that’s the epitome of being a (free) American anyways. I wanted a flippin’ bacon cheeseburger! And that’s what I got! I did only eat half of it and half of the fries, so I didn’t feel terrible about myself. And that was enough to fill me up! Unfortunately, getting on the scale this morning – I had gained back the 2 lbs I lost Tuesday. But hey, it all evens out as this was a maintain week and it was just a bonus that I lost 2 lbs the day before. I’m okay with it. Today’s menu consists of apples and cinnamon oatmeal breakfast, veggie soup lunch and fruit snack. Dinner will be quesadillas made with shredded chicken (the boyfriend is starting that in the crock pot this afternoon), spinach, reduced fat feta cheese, onions, peppers, and cilantro in a wheat tortilla. I don’t think this will be so bad for us? After going to the gym and burning a good 400 calories, I think I’ll be fine. And then next week we are back to the diet or rather the better way of eating – no bread, no cheese, no flour, no sugar.
This is the diet we use.

We actually stray from this some bit – I can’t really eat fruit for dinner or eat veggies for breakfast. And if I ate 8 bananas in one day, I would die! (No, seriously I would, I take Yaz and there is a warning of taking in too much potassium, so I have to be careful of bananas and potatoes.) But the day of fruits and veggies is awesome! And we have even made the Fowl and Tomatoes day work – wrap-less fajitas with fresh salsa (tomato diced, onion, cilantro). Granted we are adding in a little more veggies, but whatever, it’s still better than the alternative! And for weekend breakfasts, we make our own hashbrowns (just shred up a potato, cook it in some olive oil or safflower oil like we have) and then dump in diced veggies like peppers, onions, zucchini. (Can you tell we like peppers in this house!?) All in all its not a bad diet. And if I can think “hold off on the cheese and bread, you can have it next week” then I’m okay to stay on track. Although I have found that I don’t WANT the cheese and bread all that much anymore. And that makes me really happy!! Unfortunately it is pretty costly to do this. To keep a lot of variety during the week, you have to buy a LOT and some of it doesn’t last more than a week so it gets spoiled. But we’ll figure it out and make it work. Now on to work on the website so I can add it to the rest of the social media blitz and get it on my resume and cover letter. And then it will be fingers crossed for actually landing a new job!  

So, today is the day that we, as Americans, celebrate our independence. And fireworks. And overindulgence. And massive sales on EVERYTHING.

In light of this day and all that it entails, my boyfriend and I started our day with a trip to IHop. I was good and had the Simply Fit version of eggs, bacon and pancakes (turkey bacon, egg substitute and pancakes with sugar free syrup), but I did in fact have my first glass of SWEET SOUTHERN tea in two weeks! (God, how I missed you!!!) However, the boyfriend did not take the low cal road - he indulged in the chicken and waffles, "with a side of sausage, please."

As we have included indulgence in our day, now its time for the massive sales on EVERYTHING. And by everything, I mean the projector that my boyfriend has been begging, begging, begging, and BEGGING for, for the last 6 months. Unfortunately, this was my fault. I sent him a picture text of an iPhone with an attachment that turned the lens into a projector and from there, the idea that we NEED a projector was planted. And it has only grown to a weekly plead since then.

Seriously, I would love to have one. As I would love to have a laundry room, an art studio, a walk in closet disguised as a bedroom, a bathroom big enough to turn around in, and a pool. But with having these things as with getting a projector, we need to also not have debt. And that we do. Our goal is to get the credit cards paid off - at least just down to less than $1,000 - and then we can have some security in our expenses and purchases in case there is an emergency. However, its really hard for me to get him to understand this. All he sees are the fancy gadgets that he doesn't have and therefore, must have. We have iPhones, iPads and an AppleTV (yet, no Mac computers, ha). So, really, we have enough gadgets. But no, he's over there sitting on the couch watching tutorials on youtube about projectors.

With this, do I give in to the 500th plea to get a projector and just let it go, or stand strong with our long term financial security and say no and be the bad guy once again? (Please also keep in mind that our living room is only about 20 ft x 20 ft... could we even enjoy a projector?)

Thanks Projector People, thanks. 

In my quest to find a new job, I decided to delve right into the social media abyss with a belief that I will come out the other end with an exciting new job!

In the midst of finding a new job, I'm also finding a new Carly too. One who gets excited by the idea of eating veggies and fruits rather than pizza and cheeseburgers. Crazy as it may seem, zuchini and watermelon are quickly taking over my heart where bread and cheese used to live. And I'm going to run with it as long as I can! And actually do some running on the treadmill too!

While I am already on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, I decided that I needed a website too! The website is to illustrate my educational background in marketing - that I have yet to utilize in my past marketing positions as well as highlight my work experience. I do understand that just submitting a cover letter and resume - no matter how fantastically awesome they may be - is not enough to get a job in this economy. So, in lieu of cold calling and stalking potential employers, this blog and my website (and other social media outlets) are the best way to network and put myself out there and get noticed (aka, get my resume pushed to the TOP of the stack!)

So, onward I move!