Record Highs to Record Lows

What is wrong with this winter? We hit record highs not more than 3 weeks ago and Tuesday night (3 nights ago) we tied for a record low set back a few years ago at -18! The sad thing, that was just air temp, wind chill was -40. But then again, that is normal North Dakota winter weather. We were spoiled recently with highs in the 30’s and sometimes 40’s. I’m not sure how to react, my body on the other hand has decided to give in and want to stay in bed. My head feels like it’s going to explode and I’m sitting at work trying to focus on new designs to push out. Not amusing. I feel like I’m dying. I’m such a baby – It’s just a head cold I hope, with a random splattering of icky deep chesty coughs. Uffda. Thank goodness it’s Friday. I don’t think I could make it another day in the shape I’m in. 5 o’clock cannot come soon enough. Here’s to another week gone and 1 week closer to summer. Winter is my favorite, but right now I’m so sick of the ups and downs I just want either all ups or all downs!

Winter Sleep Deprivation

Living in the lovely state of North Dakota can take it’s toll even on the hardiest of the bunch. The sudden changes in temperature, this year especially, has not been kind. Going from 40 and sunny to -8 and cloudy over night is harsh. Even though the days are slowly starting to get longer and I’ve seen the sun a little more, this last week has been especially brutal on my body for some reason. I’ve been in bed before 9:30 every night since Monday and I’ve still had a difficult time getting up for work at 6:30/7. Not sure what’s going on. So I’ve talked to a few others and did a little research and here’s what I’ve come up:

SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder

(http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195)

Some of my friends have actually went in and had their iron levels tested because they thought they were just anemic and needed to up their vitamins and iron intake. Which never hurts in this area, as long as you talk to your doctor first of course. They weren’t anemic though; they just had signs of this SAD. Feeling heavy and tired all the time, oversleeping, and craving carbs (nothing tastes better in the winter than a big pan of lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs with some cheesy garlic bread… mmmmm….). 

I’ve come to the conclusion after talking to my chiropractor that I just need to listen to my body for a few weeks and sleep when I can, take more vitamin C, B12 and maybe add a little more iron in my diet. I prefer the natural methods to deal with things, and my chiropractor is licensed and has sent me to a “real” doctor before when I needed that instead, so I trust her whole heartedly. I know a lot of people who think those kind of doctors are a little off, but I’ve found it not only cheaper, but more relaxing and I usually feel better faster!

Those photo lights I hear help too. Some special light in them that makes your body feel like it's absorbing sunlight and in return your mood lifts and in most cases your energy will lift too. I may have to look into getting one of those for my desk at work. Especially since I sit in an office with no windows all year long, it definitely wouldn't hurt.

Coming Out Even

Yes, I know gambling is a horrible thing to do when you’re broke and I have to real excuse for why I went other than I was bored and really wanted to get out of town. That and my wonderful crazy boyfriend spotted me a few bucks to gamble with, so technically I didn’t spend a dime. 

Friday night we went to Applebee’s because we both had gift cards and had probably the best food I’ve ever had at an Applebee’s. Bourbon chicken and shrimp and he had the parmesan steak and shrimp. Of course since it was Friday night they had the $5 mucho drinks so I had a nice strawberry long island with my chicken. I'm such a light weight. It was almost funny, just almost.

Then we decided to spend his overtime earnings from his last paycheck and go hit the casino the next day. So we get up, have lunch, since we slept till about 11 and headed out to Shooting Star. We arrive around 3pm and start off with our usual slots, nothing more than penny slots and nothing betting more than $0.50. My wonderful huskies at $.50 a spin paid out after 3 spins with a bonus round and free spins racking me up to about double what I put in, then I cash out. My boy, not so lucky, he’s down already so we move on…We hit about 20 different machines that night coming out ahead and then we hit the last machine of the night and we both go home with a pocket full of pennies. Not a promising start to the weekend. Oh well, you don’t gamble unless you have the money to lose anyway. So you’d think we’d stop – but we try our luck again on Sunday. I do much better Saturday nights and my boy here does amazing on Sundays. So I bring the money I had left from earlier and spend and he’s brought a little extra and hit a small jackpot, a gong bonus winning that small jackpot and we go home better than we came. Finally. But not getting home until after 2am both Saturday and Sunday nights and each having to work at 730 on Monday morning certainly takes its toll. It’s Tuesday afternoon and of course I’ve made it to work both days this week and I’ve been slightly productive and not as crabby as some would assume. 

Now we’re done gambling until next month. Hopefully we’ll hit another big break.

Food Addictions

I’m sure this is nothing to joke about, but I think I’ve developed a food addiction between Thanksgiving and yesterday. I’m not sure there’s a day that’s gone by where there hasn’t been holiday sweets, random dishes or even candy laying about for me to indulge in. My New Years resolution is not going very well with extra fudge being left on the break room table right next to the chips and dip along with the veggie tray and the really healthy veggie dip. If I eat a piece of celery and a piece of broccoli does it counteract the piece of fudge and plate of chips and dip? Negative calories plus calories equals a calorie free intake, right? Thanks, I thought so too.

Potlucks in Place of Catering

I really shouldn’t complain, I enjoy a casual business attire work place, fun people for the most part and a pretty awesome boss most days. But on days like today I wonder why other companies are able to put on this elaborate company Christmas party and I’m here enjoying a potluck. Potlucks to me were always a church thing. Every holiday, every major event for somebody in the congregation we’d have a potluck. For a corporate Christmas party, however, I don't think we should have to bring our own food. And yes, It’s January 5^th and we’re having it now. We had our other one with the coworkers across the way 2 weeks ago. So now we get to indulge ourselves once again starting from 11am and ending at 5pm when we all leave for the night with gut bombs and sugar headaches. Oh how I love the holidays.

On a better note, the food really is amazing. We have some of the best chefs in the state working for us. Every other day of the year they’re under cover and you’d never expect the random guy down to hall to bring in a jaw dropping pheasant and wild rice soup, or the lady across the room to bring in a dessert that you could sit and eat all day. A potluck has its perks. Leftovers for the rest of the week, granted we don’t completely pig out like some starving animals who haven’t eaten for days.

It’s also amazing what you learn about people when you leave food on the table in the break room. In our company any food left in the middle of either two tables in the break room is fair game. People bring cupcakes, donuts, cakes, popcorn and every other kind of snack you can think of and it sits there. Staring at you as you walk by. Whispering out to you. It’s horrible. I love cake decorating and since I took a few classes I went through a phase where I was baking a cake a week. I don’t need that much cake in my home so I’d bring it to work and put it on a table. Cake and coffee is one of the best breakfast staples in this company. The Midwestern nice statement stands true here – not a soul will take the last piece of cake. I have left for lunch some days and there’s been one piece of cake left only to come back to half of that one piece of cake left. Then when I go to take the cake carrier home there’s been half of the half of apiece left! Do people really feel bad for taking the last piece? It’s not a big deal. It’s cake. It’s not like it’s an emergency supply of sugar.. Nobody’s going to drop dead if they come in to get a piece and it’s all gone. It amazes me. However, when I put apple crisp in there and if I don’t get any when I put it down, I won’t get any at all. I’ll be lucky to get a lick out of the pan. Not sure what the difference is. Maybe it’s the “healthiness” of apples. Haha!

Sugar Coma is Wearing Off

The great thing, and the worst thing, about the holidays is all the food. We go big in my family and do an insane amount of Christmas baking. So much so that when my birthday rolls around on Dec. 28^th I don’t even want a fun fancy cake. I’m perfectly happy with an angel food cake with some cool whip and strawberries. Not too sweet and the perfect way to end any meal, in my opinion.

To finish off the holiday spirit of things for the year, we’re having a small corporate potluck tomorrow at work. I was a genius and decided to do a dessert tray like I’ve done for the past 4 years I’ve been here. So it’s expected of me to actually bring good desserts and not skimp on the tray. Now that almost all the holiday treats are gone I’m going to have to bake up a few again just for this, which means we’ll be bringing the sugar rush back for the month of January. Not helping my working out and eating better goal already and I’m only 4 days into the New Year! Oh no!

On a better note to the resolutions of the year, I did start Insanity. If you haven’t heard of Insanity I’m sure you’ve heard of P90X – it’s a program along the same line, built by the same people, just minus any equipment. My butt is being constantly kicked. Not only am I sore during the workout, but the 3 flights of stairs up and down from my apartment to my car are killing me, along with the big flight of stairs I have to walk up to get to my office. I’m fairly certain my legs are going to give out one day as I’m walking down the stairs at work and I’m going to end up in a tangled pretzel and won’t be able to move for weeks. Other than the insane side effects of constant muscular agony, I enjoy the workout. I actually feel as though I’m going to get in shape, granted I stick with it for the full 90 days. Woo Hoo! I’m only on day 3. I’ll keep you posted, unless I end up in a pretzel at the bottom of the stairs somewhere.

Trading in the Familiar and Settling for the Unfamiliar

Lost a coworker yesterday. She’s not dead, don’t worry. She decided that enough was enough and took a job with less stress, less driving distance and less responsibility. I’m proud of her for doing what so many of us can’t. If you don’t like something, change it. The most recent news articles about happiness have been a bit different from last years. They tell you to say no to a promotion if you don’t want to take in the responsibilities of a newfound job. That little extra change isn’t always worth the headaches that come with new responsibilities. Trust me.

The sad thing is the lady that left had been working with me for over 3 years now so we’ve become pretty good friends and we work together great. It’s hard to get a small group of designers trained in so that they all produce the same “feel” of the company. Hopefully the next person will make an effort to fit in instead of trying to stand out like a sore thumb. I’m not usually very good with new people invading my space, so this should be an interesting month.

With that being said – we now are in the process of interviewing potential candidates. The process, though not my problem, is quite interesting. Since we worked in the same room but different departments, I get all the perks of watching these candidates come in and take the design test and laugh, under my breath of course, at the struggles they have with it. I don’t get a say in anything, but it’s still fun to watch. Makes my days go by a little faster and my time spent at work a little more worthwhile. After watching a few of them it amazes me even more that they claim to have an education and experience! Don’t these people do any research on the company? I don’t want to disclose too much information as we’re still in the process, but it’s rather comical to watch the expression of horror as they are sat down at the desk with instructions on what they are to complete within an hour. It completes my day.

Sometimes You Have to Open the Door Yourself

Just because you shut one door and wandered around aimlessly looking for something bigger and better only to stumble across more closed doors doesn’t mean those doors aren’t unlocked.

Of course, it also doesn’t mean they aren’t locked. Dead bolted. Chained. Rigged. Sometimes it just plain sucks. Try as hard as you may, not even a budge. I’ve been attempting to find myself some freelance/contract work to help make ends meet. It’s amazing how many people out there deem themselves graphic designers without even the slightest bit of education. Granted I’ve a higher degree than most, I’m still considered under qualified for the jobs I'd love. I went to a 4 year school to obtain my B.S. in graphic communications, took two years and decided to go cram my M.S. into 12 months of insane insomnia mixed with adrenaline rushes of work and trying to make ends meet so I could keep my apartment. Yet, even after that and a few years of experience under my belt, I get nothing but rejection letters. I’ve tried taking the MS off my resume in hopes that maybe I was really over qualified and they didn’t want to have to pay me too much, but that got me ignored, not even a letter saying sorry, you’re not good enough for us.

Pretty soon I’m just going to kick the bloody door in and take whatever I want. Although, all I want is a decent job so I can quit worrying and stop living paycheck to paycheck. Not sure I can just strut in and take that, but it’s fun to daydream.

The Door to the New Year

 January - The coldest month of the year for most of us in the northern hemisphere. According to many, January 1^st is the coldest day of the year for us, and the warmest day of the year for those in the southern hemisphere. It’s also one of the most depressing months out of the year. The month when everyone realizes they overspent for the holidays; Their tax return, granted they get even a penny, will end up paying off their credit cards and the debt from the previous month or two of shopping and “saving money” on deals and bargains. At least that’s where most of my return will be going this year. Last year I was lucky enough to use it to pay off one of my many student loans and put a little something away for the There goes my plan of starting my New Year off financially sound.

Since my financial situation varies from paycheck to paycheck I need to find something else to shoot for this New Year. After a lot of overly ambitious thoughts, I’ve come up with a few things. Starting January 1 we’ll keep track of how long this lasts.

Exercise more – when I don’t exercise like I should already, exercising more might actually stand a chance. Motivation – I can’t afford new clothes so the ones I have need to fit better!

Eat right - After a year of taking cake classes and practicing decorating cakes, I’m getting sick of frosting. I never thought the day would come, homemade butter cream frosting is amazing, but I feel like I’ve reached my limit. Motivation – see the reasoning from the first goal.

Do something for myself every month. I think this is a goal everyone, no matter your age, should set. With the stresses of today’s world bearing down on you everywhere you go we need to remember to take time for ourselves. Whether it be a day where you stay home and relax, head out and take on nature or get a pedicure, do something you enjoy. Pick a date to do it on so you have something to look forward to, especially in these early months where holidays for us minion workers are scarce.

Welcome to my life. I’ve survived it for a few years, so I give props to anyone else who can make it through this world and still find time for themselves and not take the little things in life for granted. Because after all is said and done, at the end of the day it really is the little things that make this life worth living.