Hahaha. Oh, dear.

Besides the negative feeling Every. Time. I. Turn. On. The. TV. or radio, we've got negative feelings swirling around the office again, big-time. Last week our much-loved Finance Manager resigned, and I just heard that our also-loved HR person is threatening to leave. Those events happened after a "town hall" meeting where our dear but bereft General Manager tried to tell us that yes, we've been in a funk, but the time to get out of the funk is NOW.

Guess what? No one's gotten out of the funk. Nice try, mister.

Meanwhile, the suits from the Motherland are here this week. I haven't received my 2016 bonus. (Maybe I've been enrolled in the Jelly of the Month club?) My manager (who also hasn't) said she "has a gut feeling" that something's afoot. She advised resume revisions for the both of us.

Just lovely.

Worse, though, is the ABSENCE of any interesting-looking jobs on the job boards. I use Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and have daily email alerts set up with more than one service... and just don't see anything that makes my heart flutter. One or two things, maybe, but I'm afraid to apply to them because they're located downtown, and I really really really don't want to add that interstate commute back to my life. That's the main thing. Remember I said? The reason I think God put me HERE, is the location. I am hesitant to give that up, even if it means not leaving this terrible, terrible company. That's crazy! But it's my truth right now. I don't know which companies in Cobb County (northwest Cobb if I'm being picky, which I am) would actually hire a writer.

And part of me doesn't even want to be in Marketing anymore, which makes this a career-change job search, which is a lot harder. Especially when you don't know what you're changing TO. hahahahahaha. Oh, dear.

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In other news, the Whole Life Challenge is going so well so far. Giving up bread and cheese hasn't been as hard as I thought. I mean, it's hard, yes, but there are enough good things we can eat, like bacon, salsa, avocados, even rice to an extent, that I don't feel totally deprived. And I just LOVE that there's no COUNTING of calories burned, or calories eaten. Just eat, if you're hungry. Approved foods. It's such a relief to not have to count out how many nuts/quinoa crackers/tablespoons of something. Of course, you're not supposed to go overboard, but it's just not that hard.

I posted this on the challenge, but want to record here that I already feel much less bloated and, well, fat. I was really feeling FAT after Christmas. I'm feeling less so now. Yesterday I wore some pants I have been relying on as comfortable ("fat pants"), and now they feel too loose. I weighed myself today and it appears I've lost 2 pounds in this first week, but of course "weight loss is just a nice side effect" on this plan - it isn't supposed to be about that. ;) (It totally IS about that.) My knees hurt less, when I get out of bed or go up and down stairs.

Today I did a Core/Abs workout (only 10 minutes, as required), and man, it got my heart rate up, too! Felt good, and I'm going to feel SORE tomorrow, I can already tell. That's what I want.

Please nobody comment on the word "fat." It's just a word, it's in my head, I know I'm not actually FAT but, you know. The negative voices in my head have used that word. I'm working on "healthy" and "better" and "toned" and "marvelous." :)

Dinners this week include:
- Grilled chicken wings, which were delicious but my house STILL smells like smoke. I'm surprised the smoke alarm didn't go off Sunday night. With celery and carrots, and spanish rice from a packet for Shawn and the kids.

- Turkey Chili. Family staple. Yum, yum. No saltines.

- Tilapia. Think I'm going to use this recipe, though I don't have tomatoes or green onions. Maybe heat up some rolls for the rest of them.

- Smoked sausage (chicken sausage for me), mac and cheese (not for me), and salad or broccoli. Easy night.

- Some type of baked chicken breast. I can't remember what I wrote down at home. Maybe chicken parm? So I'd make one without cheese, for me. See? This diet isn't that hard, even with a family to feed.