Raynor has a new job!!!

Well finally! Something we have been hoping would happen for years. Raynor finally has a new job! I can't even begin to express how uplifting this is for us. The poor guy has been trying to make this happen forever, and I am so proud of him for not giving up.
Yesterday, Raynor had an interview with Les Schwab. My dad has worked for Les Schwab for over 3o years and the company has really taken care of him. Raynor has been trying to get in for over a year now, but with the bad economy there hasn't been much avaiblible and even when there is there are just so many other qualified people.
Saturday afternoon the assistant manager of the Orenco store called Raynor and said they wanted to meet with him. So Raynor got a nice outfit together and found someone to watch Alexxa and headed out to the interview yesterday. He was really nervous, and I was feeling for him all day while I was at work. We talked about it together and decided that no matter what the outcome, whats meant to be will have its way and we would be ok with it. Well, today the assistant manager called and offered him a job!! Its a 40 hour position and the benefits the company offers are amazing! He doesn't have to pay for health insurance for himself, or his family. Its all covered by the company! That is amazing! Pretty much unheard of. Not to mention the retirement benefits are amazing and there is plenty of potential to move up. Although advancing in the company could mean at some point we would have to relocate, we will cross that bridge when we get there. This job is what we need for right now.
Finally it feels like we can start moving ahead in life. We will be able to start making progress on our debts, and hopefully someday we will be able to live off one income. For right now though, we are finally taking a step forward and we are in a better position than we were yesterday.

Me and the Gym

I am going to be totally honest here. I hate working out. I always have. And I think it is because I am a bit of a princess. I don't like to get dirty, and I don't like to sweat...eewww. And working out involves all of that.
I am the first to whine and complain about my body. I hate what I see in the mirror and yet I don't do anything about it. And as bad as this sounds I would much rather just not eat than sweat at the gym for an hour. Thats not to say that I don't enjoy food. Late night eating is one of my biggest problems.
I've always had a fast metabolism. Up until a couple years ago I could lose 10 pound by simply living on cottage cheese and raw veggies for a few weeks. But I have come to learn that your body goes through changes as you get older (like getting pregnant and having babies) and your metabolism slows down. Gone are the days when I could just stave myself and shead inches.
Ever since Alexxa has been born I have been hating my body. Not only am I packing around some extra pounds, I have had to accept the fact that my body is now that of a woman and not a teenager. I now have hips and, well I have out grown some of my favorite tops if you know what I mean. But I have decided that I am going to embrace my new womanly body and not hate it.
So earlier this week, I put on a pair of sweats, dug my sneakers out of my closet, and threw my hair up! I grabbed my iPhone and headphones and set off for the gym! I told myself that I wasn't going to overdue it. My goal was 10 minutes on the eliptical and that was it. The first few minutes were hard, I admit but after I got into it I felt ok about it. Before I knew it my 10 minutes were up and I pushed myself 2 more minutes! I came home feeling great about myself. I went again tonight and went for 15 minutes. My goal is to do this at least 5 days a week and eventually work myself up to 30 minutes cardio and eventually add some weights. For now though, I am starting out slow. Wish me luck!