Jonahgirl's BodyBlog

Job Loss, Financial Peace, and Thankfulness

Jonahgirl — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:30:00 +0000

As some of you read last week I lost my job of six years, the job that brought me to Alabama. Not only was I let go but so was my husband. I did feel is was harsh to let both of us go but besides that I am very thankful not to be working there anymore…more than thankful. I can’t stop smiling.

I had planned to leave after the first of the year once I found another job. I had already gotten many ducks in a row to prepare for leaving knowing they would likely outsource the I.T. department which would have been my suggestion. I even talked to a few companies about their services.
Now I not only don’t have to work there. I have a three month severance package with insurance that will allow me to freelance (web design), learn a few new skills, brush up on some old ones (Flash development) and relax a bit.

Tuesday our house goes up for sale. We have been working on it since June and it is almost ready. This weekend will be a thorough cleaning, some packing, and careful staging. I really love this house but 4 bedrooms and 3 baths is a big house for 2 people. We live in a few rooms and rarely go in the other rooms. Thankfully we sold our home in South Florida at the height of the real estate boom and bought in Alabama before the post hurricane boom. We have a good bit of equity in the house.

I have been asked "How are you going to make it?" meaning financially. We went through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. It was a 12 week program on well, finances. First rule is have a $1000 emergency fund, second rule, 3-6 months of salary in savings, third, get out of debt. We already had the first, paid off credit cards (third) and were working on number 2. With the freelance money we will likely meet number 2 by the time our severance pay runs out.

I doubt if we will stay in Alabama. Although I would like to go back to South Florida that will only happen if a really good job happens. Atlanta looks like the best option right now.

On the diet and workout front I am almost back to normal. Workouts are back on track after missing a few last week. Diet is getting there. I didn’t go on a binge but the opposite. I was so focused on finishing up last week I wasn’t eating and lost six pounds. I am eating again but I haven’t quite gotten back into a routine yet.

Lost Job Part 3

Jonahgirl — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:29:39 +0000

Well, this had to be the longest week ever. At 3pm yesterday my final box was loaded in the car. I dropped my keys off and left.
I’ve lost six pounds this week from not eating much. Not so much to do with worry or fear but working non stop to tie up all the loose ends.
Today will be the first workout since Tuesday and I am really looking forward to it.

Lost Job Part 2

Jonahgirl — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:53:01 +0000

As I wrote a couple of days ago I lost my job unexpectantly along with my husband. New details have surfaced about the decision making process. I was chosen because of a lie told by another trying to save his job. He told them I had a job waiting for me in South Florida. I found out when a board member asked when I was moving. He was surprised to find out there was no job waiting for me…and that the "job" was a freelance job I have had for over a year.

It is obvious they did not think the decision of eliminating the I.T. position beyond the salary savings. So far no one has asked for any network info, passwords, etc…should be interesting when things start going wrong.

When they told me I was going to be "let go" they said I could continue to work during my 3 months of severance if I wanted…..yeah like I was going to do that.

Tomorrow morning I will load my car up and take my stuff home.

Although I haven’t been all that upset (compared to my co-workers who are livid) I haven’t been eating much and I’ve missed a couple of workouts just trying to get thing organized for my exit. I’ve lost four pounds so far. Time to get back on track…

Lost My Job Yesterday

Jonahgirl — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:06:58 +0000

I knew the business was financially in pretty deep trouble. I didn’t think they would cut any more staff until after the new year. At 4pm yesterday I had a appointment with the head boss along with my husband (we work for the same company). I suspected that either our salaries were going to be cut again or one of us was going to be let go. I was shocked that it was both of us.

As my husband sat there totally stunned the Type A personality in me started belting out questions. What is the severance package? Does it include health care? When is it effective? After it was all over I was pretty okay with it all. I will get paid through Feb. 15th. I have freelance work as well so I will still have money coming in. Luckily, we have no debt other than the house and cars so we can definitely make it for a while without having the take the first job that comes along.

Now my husband is taking it personally and as the king of the pessimists he kept me up almost all night freaking out. He has calmed down a little today.

Both of us will finish out the work week. I agreed to be "on call" for emergency tech support for a couple of weeks but I would handle most from home and would continue to do the website until the end of the severance period after that they would have to contract me to maintain it.

I didn’t get much packing done today as I had a steady stream of fellow employees coming by after the news broke.

Haven’t felt much like eating but I did work out today and feel loads better since I am running on a total lack of sleep.

Ripped That Sucker Clean Off

Jonahgirl — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:03:33 +0000

2am…It started at 2am…the LOUD chirping about every 30 seconds from the smoke detector right outside my bedroom. Why did it picked 2am to tell me it needs a new battery? It must have had a death wish.
Experience has told me that this particular model will do one of two things. It will chirp for about ten minutes and stop as kind of a first warning or it will drive you to acts of violence. Apparently the few minutes of chirping must have happened while I was at work. After about 20 minutes I had two choices:
1) get up, turn on the lights, get a step stool, remove the cover, remove the battery, hit the reset button, replace the battery, replace the cover, and go back to bed.
2) rip the sucker from the wall, put it between two towels in the linen closet, and go back to bed.
Guess what I did.

Day 3 P90X Plus/Insanity Mix Up

Jonahgirl — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:05:45 +0000

Today was Total Body Plus. I was still sore from Thursday so I am sure I just made it worse. LOL. Enjoyed the workout and the change of pace from the regular p90x workouts. I really, really like the push up stands. Now that I have used them I will be dragging to the gym when I do my workouts there rather than at home. I can go much deeper and keep good form.

P90X Plus Day 2

Jonahgirl — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:24:31 +0000

Yesterday I woke up sore from Day 1 and loving every minute of it. As I am mixing p90x and Insanity yesterday was Plyo Cardio Circuit. After three weeks of the max level insanity workouts this one felt "easy" but still pushed me to get in every rep.

I am still sore today and still loving it. Total Body Plus later today with abs core plus and cardio abs.

P90X Plus / Insanity Mix Day 1

Jonahgirl — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:52:08 +0000

Gave myself a rest day yesterday (unplanned but welcomed). Today was Day 1 of a blend of p90 plus and Insanity. I will be replacing all non weight days with Insanity Cardio. Today was Upper Body Plus and Abs Core Plus. Most of the sets are timed which means lower weights due to the number of reps i.e. 40 reps on Bicep Everything (2 x for each, in, out, supination, hammer - repeat for 1:30 min). Concentrating on form- quality over quanity.

I haven’t really lifted in three week as I finished up the 60 days of Insanity so it felt good to slow down and move deliberately versus the all out go go go of Insanity.

60 Days of Insanity - Done!

Jonahgirl — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:20:55 +0000

Yes, it is over. I have to say I really loved this program. One thing you can say about it is it was never boring. Each workout pushed you to "Dig Deeper". Since I am a Type A personality I pushed and pushed to make sure I could make it through each workout without taking breaks. I did the final Fit Test and was very happy with my progress. For those who haven’t done Insanity the following list probably won’t make sense. The Fit Test is done five times in the 60 Days beginning with Day 1 so each exercise has five numbers - one for each time. Each exercise is max reps in one minute.

Switch Kicks 67/117/118/126/127 - nearly twice as many!

Power Jacks 49/52/55/57/59

Power Knees 70/80/84/92/94

Power Jumps 30/35/43/45/47

Globe Jumps (sets) 7/9/10/10/11 - each set is four moving jump squats

Suicide Jumps 10/12/14/15/16 - the hardest one for me

Jack Push Ups 24/25/30/32/36

Low Plank Obliques 57/70/80/81/88

The first 40 days I was also doing p90x at the same time…Insane yes. Once I finished the round of p90x I took a break and concentrated on the last three weeks of Insanity which was wise because the second level is killer (in a good way).

The results….I did increase my cardio endurance dramatically which amazes me considering I have asthma. I leaned down in both my upper thighs, my lower back, and in my abs. The core and ab work in this program is great. I can feel the tight muscles under that remaining thin pesky layer of bf covering my six pack that I know is there.

Posting progress pics next.

Do You Use Lipo6?

Jonahgirl — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:37:55 +0000

I ordered a sample of Lipo6 from bb.com. I’ve always been leery of fat burners due to my petite size. I figured they might be too much. I took it last week around 7am and actually felt fine all day. I headed to workout around 4pm. After strapping on my heart rate monitor I noticed my resting heart rate was about 20bpm (86) higher than normal (66). I did my scheduled Insanity Workout of Max Interval Plyo and noticed my heart rate was way up there in the 160s for most of the workout. I ususally stay in the low 150’s or high 140’s on this one.

By 8pm my resting heart rate was back to normal. Is this what to expect from a fat burner? Obviously with a raised heart rate I burned more calories not only during my workout but the rest of the day.

Have any of you had any issues with this product?