work – Page 3 – Sweat & Sparkle

I Choose Happiness

I came across this quote this morning, and I smiled because I felt like I really needed to see it right now:

I don’t want to ever lose sight of all of the positive things in my life for which I am actually very grateful, though I may not say it enough. Nothing that hate-filled people do or say will stop me from appreciating my sidekick, my best buddy, my husband, or all the ways he makes me smile and laugh and feel like the most loved and cherished woman in the world.

I adore our home and our yard, and how we have created and beautifully built all of it together.

I am grateful for the relationship we both have with my older stepson after so many jealous attempts to destroy that bond. We tried so hard to protect him for so many years; now we are helping him heal from deep wounds inflicted by people he should have been able to trust.

Yesterday I received some exciting news at work, and it’s not written in stone just yet, but there are some changes coming down the wire that definitely work in my favor. Let’s just say for now that it is evident my co-workers and supervisors value my hard work. After previously working for a company that basically took my skills and work ethic for granted, it is amazing to be appreciated and given credit for my effort.

Negative people will always be negative. They have nothing else to do and don’t know how else to be. They have nothing positive in their lives except the fake image they fabricate and thrust upon others. Is it any wonder they are reduced to siphoning light and love and happiness from our lives?

I won’t lower myself to being like them. I am better than that. The people I love deserve better than that from me. Whatever others choose, I choose happiness, growth, love, peace, laughter.

Spa Night

I finished a major project at work yesterday morning, so as a reward before diving into the next one, I took a short shopping break. I was definitely in a “I need break” mood, because I ended up picking up a deep conditioning hair mask, a face mask, and a new shampoo to try. (Can you tell I have very long hair?)

I walked with a co-worker during my lunch later that afternoon. Our building is huge, and the hallways are like long, wide roads, so we meet up to walk in the air-conditioning and even have some stairs to pump up our workout.

Later, I was glad we had walked, because I discovered a discrepancy in a report and had to tear files apart to fix it. It took a while, but I found it and fixed it, then closed everything down and finally headed home much later than usual.

Thankfully, my husband had already started dinner, and I walked through the front door to some darn good, tempting smells coming from the kitchen. He loves to cook, so who am I to stand in his way, right?

After dinner, I should have worked out. But every cell in my body loudly protested and stood their ground with resolved conviction. I figured, well, I walked earlier today, so why not have a spa evening?

I spread on a face mask, then fired up a hot, steamy shower, and cracked open the new shampoo, the deep conditioner, body scrub, you name it. I even lit a scented candle. I guess my husband was either curious what on earth I was doing, or drawn to the flickering, candle-lit bathroom, because soon I heard, “Do you have room for one more?”

Come back, it’s not about to get explicit in here, ha ha. It was just nice to melt away the day’s tension, unwind, feel his arms around me, laugh, and make plans for our next date night under the soothing steam. I am so happy I have him to come home to.

I still have a ton to do at work, but I am going to do my best to not work late tomorrow (date night). Oh, and for the record, the deep conditioner is great, and my hair is very soft and fluffy today 🙂 Maybe I will write a review about it!

Sizzling Fajitas

I was swamped at work yesterday, and I left much later than I had expected. Traffic was, of course, slower than my liking, and it took forever to get home. I was only home a few minutes when my cat started sneezing, and I called the vet, turned around, went right back out the door, and went to the pharmacy to pick up the antihistamines the vet said I could give to him.

When I got home the second time, it was oh-so-tempting to toss my work clothes into the hamper, put on comfy pajamas, and snuggle up with my husband. But I had promised myself I would work out when I got home, so I grit my teeth, wiggled into workout clothes, and hopped onto my exercise bike.

One of my favorite Peloton instructors is Cody Rigsby, because he is just so silly and goofy and funny. You never know what is going to come out of his mouth next, or what dance move he’s going to throw down, defying gravity by not falling right off his bike.

So I chose one of his classes, and I am glad I did. I randomly picked one that seemed like it had good music. It was a good workout, and Cody said something that made me laugh but also stayed in my head. When we were getting ready to increase the intensity of the ride, he described how, at a restaurant, when the server walks by with that sizzling plate of fajitas, everyone turns and looks and wonders who is getting those flashy fajitas. The fajitas capture everyone’s attention. He encouraged us to be the sizzling fajitas, not the complimentary tortilla chips, ha ha.

There you have it: immortal words of boundless inspiration and infinite wisdom, straight from Cody! Be the sizzling fajitas today, ladies and gentlemen. I am glad I chose to be sizzling fajitas last night instead of tortilla chips! Time to sizzle again today. What about you? 🙂

Memorial Day Weekend

The body works in mysterious ways. I struggled so much this past week with adjusting to working in the office again that I skipped my workout pretty much every evening. I more than made up for it with manual labor and yard work, though, because when I weighed in Saturday morning, I somehow lost a little over 3 pounds.

I was braced for a gain, so I was shocked. A loss? This week?

I won’t overthink it. Might be water loss, even though I drank so much water while I was working outside that I was practically floating. Who knows? I am just going to accept it and be happy about it.

This weekend has flown by. It didn’t even slow down. I am trying not to think too much about it and just enjoy the holiday and time with my husband and stepdaughter. We have had a fun weekend. I am not ready for it to be winding down yet.

Shell-Shocked

It’s not that I hate change, exactly. I just hate change that is completely out of my hands, beyond my control, and not what I wanted to happen.

I have been working from home since March 2020. At first I couldn’t stand it. I like to separate work from home, and it didn’t help that my old company sent us home with absolutely nothing. My work laptop had to stay in the office. It was absurd. They expected us to continue operating as if nothing had changed, but gave us nothing with which to do it.

When I left that job (thankfully) and started the one I am at now, they gave me everything I need to work from home, and I bought a desk and set up a comfy spot just for me to work during the day, that I could walk out of and leave work behind. My cat took to spending the day in that room with me, sometimes sprawling out on the desk and purring as he watched me type and scribble away.

My resistance to working from home quickly turned to acceptance and then love. I could stroll from my desk to the kitchen to get some water, pausing to watch birds at the birdfeeder. I could spend my lunch rocking on the front porch with a book. I could just enjoy the sleepy, hazy sun spilling through a window and appreciate the beauty of our home in a way I never had before.

Late last week, my supervisor dropped a bomb: we were all being called back to the office, as of Monday morning. I fought it, requested an exception, wanted to threaten to break kneecaps, but it didn’t take long to realize I was fighting a losing battle. It was back to an office, like it or not. (I didn’t).

So here we are with that I-don’t-like-change thing. It’s been a long week, adjusting to getting up early again, commuting, being away from home all day long. The first day, all I did was text my husband how much I missed him, that I love him, and that I wanted to come home. He said it was odd to come home for lunch without me there.

I haven’t worked out much this week. I feel shell-shocked, at the risk of sounding overly dramatic, but it was a huge change that popped out of nowhere, and I had to make it work with little notice. I will give myself a free pass this week to adjust to this, but next week, no more excuses. It’s called life. I need to just deal with it.

While change is in the air, though, I decided to update my blog a little bit, make it a little brighter. I love stained glass, but the old background looked a bit like a human sacrifice was imminent. I find this one to be a bit brighter and more cheerful.

I am excited for this weekend. I earned it this week! I will do some planning this weekend to make sure that next week is more successful, as far as diet and exercise go, than this past one.

Happy Friday!