For once in my life I don't have anything to say. I know, this is a unique phenomenon. But it has happened!
Work is going well. I am settling in and doing the job I was trained to do the first weeks of July. But in the midst of that, my manager (who is the person assigned to mentor me during the next phase of my training which begins in August) has started to pull me aside to observe her as she works. So I'm still receiving lots of knowledge daily. And yes, I start the next phase of training in early August. I will be driving up to the main headquarters of my company (about 55 miles one way) for classroom training for about 6 days in August. And then I will be set to do that job and get my feet under me for that aspect of my job. Eventually I will go back for even more training as I learn more and more. So things are progressing nicely with that. I will say though, I LOVED the 6 months that I didn't work.....well other than the fact that I was constantly stressed about the lack of income! But yeah, not working was a WONDERFUL experience otherwise.
My weight loss efforts are well....stagnant. Ok, maybe not stagnant. I may be slowly starting to drop on the scales......I mean, maybe. The scales are not linear, so I don't want to say they are going down ...yet. I AM down a bit from where I was about a month ago....but when I say a bit I mean a bit....I"m still in the same 'decade' of numbers on the scale. So within a 10 pound range....which fluctuates (frustratingly so). I am watching what I eat and trying to make sure that I'm not going crazy, but not being super strict with myself. Exercise is almost non existent. I am on my feet a whole lot more at this job and the first weeks (after training) when I was on my feet all day long were tough as my legs ached and my feet were so sore. I did buy new shoes, which helped. However, my plantar fascitis is really kicking my behind lately, so any heavy exercise is just not happening. I do however walk the dog every day for about 25 minutes....so at least there is that. I did just see something this morning about an exercise class. I have kept my eye on this small exercise studio near me for a while....she leads classes that are good for flexibility and mobility....but I haven't wanted to go in to a full flexibility class as a beginner......but just this morning I saw that she is now offering this class for beginners! So I may try it! It actually starts the week when I start training for the next aspect of my job, which will have me off my feet a bit more so that should ease up the foot pain....I hope!
I decided to start a memory quilt. This is my own creation......but what I am doing is that I am making 12 inch blocks. Each block is totally unique and highlights one aspect of Jason and I during the last 10 years (we will hit the 10 year mark in our relationship in November...in some ways it feels like a lifetime, but in other ways it seems like it was yesterday that we had our first day 10 years ago). What kind of unique quilt blocks you may be asking? Well I have a quilt block that depicts the New River Gorge since we have vacationed there a few times. I have a quilt block done for my cat...hey she is our furr baby.....and of course I also have one for our goofy newfie dog. I am embroidering anything important on it. Like the New River Gorge ones I embroidered the dates we went. The dog has her name and her birthday as does the cats. Those are the three that I have completed..... I am working on one to indicate hiking......it's just a normal block with a base fabric that has things that depict hiking like signs and trees, etc....and I plan on embroidering at least the words Hiking and Nature. I'm toying with embroidering the names of some of our favorite places to hike/favorite trails. But I have plans for lots of blocks, for the bird, for our first date (we went and got ice cream sundaes), other vacations, our house, our apartment, bike rides, etc Each block is unique...I am not carrying any one theme of color through the quilt. Each block is being created with whatever colors and design that my creative juices say to do at that time. I am trying to carry at least one piece of fabric from each block into another square...also to keep my fabric costs lower. But that's not something I am worried about. The center of the quilt will be a larger (the plan right now is 24x24) block which will be a double wedding ring pattern....on which of course I will embroider the location and date of our wedding. It is a perfect choice because hello "double wedding ring" but also because that quilt uses lots of small pieces of fabric to create the rings. So my plan is to create those rings using all the various fabrics from the blocks that I create......so a hodge podge of colors possibly, but symbolic in the craziness of life that combines to bring two people together into one life. Ok, that was totally sappy wasn't it? But anyway, that's my current project.
So that pretty much sums it up. I'm just trying to settle back into a routine of work....and a routine of working in an office (I worked from home for 5 years before this, so leaving the house every day is no longer familiar!).
