Howdy gals.Sorry I have not been visiting but Lj is glitchy for me at times and I gave it up for awhile. Hope everyone is healthy, happy and enjoying life!

For those of you who saw the cryptic Facebook post...

Yes. I lost my pants. I lost my huge Bridget Jones-style granny panties today at work when they just fell down around my ankles. I was wearing a skirt. I'm not SURE if anyone saw or not. Fortunately I was able to waddle to my office rather quickly.

31 pounds down. Maybe I need to invest in a smaller size of smallclothes.

Okay so I've been gone for a bit, and it requires some back story, it isn't exactly about the Action Figures side of this community...although maybe it is, because an Action Figure can do whatever she puts her mind to, and this is definitely a story of patience and willpower winning out over lame odds, the lame odds in this case being the economy: 

I've been wanting to work in the arts since I was in high school.  I studied Art History and English in college and I received my master's in Art History in May of 2009.  I'd been planning on getting my Ph.D., but my graduate program was a hot bed of stupidity and inefficiency, so I ended up stopping at my Master's (this was not entirely voluntary, but in hindsight I am glad I stopped when I did).  Graduating with a Master's in humanities during the peak of the recession didn't make it easy to find jobs.  I had an internship at a high-profile museum in NYC right after graduate school, but the first thing they told us when we started was: "Normally we hire our interns, but not anymore, the recession has really destroyed our funding!"  So I moved back to North Carolina and took a high-end retail job while hunting for art jobs on the side.  This was August 2009. 

Cut to April 2011, I am still in the retail job, the art jobs aren't coming despite my searching, and I am miserable.  I quit my retail job (I was lucky enough to have the financial support of my parents and my boyfriend) and went gung-ho for the art thing.  This is the reason why I was able to go to all those boot camps, and interval training classes--I was unemployed, but I still had my gym membership, so I figured I might as well get myself into shape while I had the time!  So I went to the gym a lot.  I applied to tons of jobs, I volunteered, I worked on my blog, I worked part-time for a local artist who is having a Big Year (museum shows, NYC gallery, HBO documentary, the works).  I interviewed at a few museums.  But no full-time art job panned out.  I was at my wit's end.  I wasn't limiting myself geographically either--I was willing to go wherever someone had a job for me. 

Recently I expanded my search to include social media jobs, because I figured why not.  A few weeks ago I ended up getting a job doing Community Management and Social Media for a local website that aggregates information for the development and software communities.  After my first day I knew I hated it.  The social side was fine, but the company culture and structure just were not for me.  I was 100% miserable and spent the first week of work not eating or sleeping because I was so freaked out over what I had done to myself.  I went back to the drawing board in terms of the job search, which was so frustrating.  The positive to this was that all the stress and eating and sleeping caused me to drop a few pounds--trying to look on the bright side!

BUT, I still I had a light at the end of the tunnel!  I'd been talking with a local arts organization before taking the Community Management job, and after my first week of work I contacted them again.  They were still interested in talking to me and I interviewed with the organization on Halloween (my favorite holiday, a good sign!)  This past Monday they called me and told me that I had gotten the position!  So my job-hunting saga finally has a happy ending:  I GOT MY ART JOB!!! I couldn't be happier.

I'll be starting with the arts organization sometime in December (start date isn't exact yet) and am getting ready to tell my current job I am leaving.  I've only been there a few weeks, but it is probably best to cut ties quickly since staying wouldn't really benefit either of us.  The new job will also be better for my gym schedule--a silly thing to think about, but you have to make it a priority!--my current position has KILLED my time at the gym.  The commute is long and the hours are as well, and I definitely haven't been working out as much as I'd like.  Luckily I've been keeping an eye on my food intake, so it hasn't had a sabotaging effect on me just yet.  But still, the holidays, they are coming!   I'll be happy to get back to the gym more regularly with this new job--a job in my field of choice, which is much closer to my home, and with much better hours. 

Since Action Figures is about achieving goals I figured I'd share this with y'all.  This has been a goal of mine for a long time, and I've really been in a major funk these last two and a half years.  Action Figures actually came into my life at a perfect time: I couldn't control my job situation so I was focusing hugely on something I could control, which was my health and my fitness and my body.  It was wonderful to have a support community during that time.  I'm someone who--for better or for worse--partially defines herself by what she does, and I am thrilled to be lucky enough to have the opportunity to do something I really believe in. 

So thanks for reading this really long post.  I am so excited to be sharing this with people!  Now time for me to get back to focusing on my health goals for the rest of the year!  I hope that y'all are having a wonderful November! 

So I want a metal bikini for my 40th birthday..

And as of today, I've lost 29 pounds...

Hey ladies!

Challenge update!  How are you progressing with your goals?

Personally I have stuck to my dietary goals but the gym is still a problem when I have to work.  Trying to come up with a solution for that....
The t-shirt guy is going to show me a sample tomorrow so I should have pics for you son.  The price will probably be $18-20 but the more we order the cheaper it gets. As in if my first order is 20 shirts they will instead be around $16 each.


So how are we all doing? 

I think last week I mentioned that I won a free personal training session from my gym.  Well, I got my personal training session on Monday, and it was quite invigorating.

The personal trainer started by measuring my body fat, which is nicht gut.  It is like, 29.5% and makes me cringe a bit, but at least that gives me something to work towards.  He says he doesn't pay attention to BMI (body mass index) and that many doctors are moving away from it because it doesn't take things like muscle mass into consideration.  The trainer then put me through my paces: lots of high-energy cross training cardio stuff, arms, legs, and then a lot of core.  He said my legs are in great shape (all those squats from boot camp ungh), my arms are pretty good they just need some toning, and my core is a mess (blergh).  I loved having someone watching me to make sure I didn't cheat--even accidentally.  I didn't realize I was doing little things like compensating during tricep pulls by using my shoulders or dropping my posture during certain leg exercises.  I guess our body tries to protect us from pain even if we don't want it to!

The sales pitch wasn't awful--I'm only barely employed right now so I can't afford training, but once I am employed I think I should be able to afford one to two sessions a month.  The trainer said that that's all I'll need to bump myself to the next level--all the interval training and boot camp and body combat and regular cardio sessions and classes are paying off, and that's good to hear!  I'm hoping to get a job soon, for obvious reasons, and so that I can start doing personal training once or twice a month.

Oh and, even better, I usually go to boot camp on Monday evenings and the personal training session got out right before boot camp.  The trainer told me to go to boot camp and oh, I was lagging during it, but I'm glad I attended.  I was mega-sore yesterday but at least I know I did not waste a minute at the gym! 

I hope everyone is making strides with their end of the year goals! 

Zipped up a pair of tall boots today, and they went on easily over my calves. It's been a long time since I've put on boots without leaving at least an inch unzipped to accommodate the flab.

What little victories keep you motivated?

Hey Action Figures,

Traditionally, every New Years we come up with resolutions that we plan to keep to better ourselves in some way. I did some research and the statistics were interesting, if unsuprising:

Of the people who make resolutions, these are the percentages of people who keep them
- past the first week: 75%
- past 2 weeks: 71%
- after one month: 64%
- after 6 months: 46%

So far I have managed to go without a single french fry in almost two years. Soda as well with the exception of gingerale when nauseous.  It will be two years this January and these are the only resolutions I have managed to keep in my entire life. (sorry nail-biting, maybe this year?)

For most people though, Gym membership and weight-loss are the number one resolutions but believe it or not, 80% of people who get gym memberships in January, quit within a month or two.

Studies have shown however that announcing your resolution is a way to keep it.  You are more likely to keep a resolution if the people around you know about it.  Which is where my new idea comes from.

We are approaching the time of cookies and cakes, candy corn and candy canes and turkey, ham, pie and potatoes and all sorts of calorie-laden evil. No matter your religion, nationality, or lack there of, this time of year isnt great for your waistline.  We have 95 days until New Years and I figure the best way to get through it is together, supporting each other in our countdown-to-New-Years resolutions.  If we have achieved something by the big day, then a slightly bigger resolution cant be that bad can it? 

So heres the Challenge:

Layout an overall goal, manageable and realistic within our short timeframe, but something that when the time comes you will actually notice. 

Pick one (or two, or all three!): Health (I want to lower my blood pressure...) Weight/Toning (I'd like to loose this much weight/I'd like to tone up my biceps...) or Athleticism (I want to be able to run such a distance in this timeframe...)

Make a plan, this involves setting a few minor resolutions for the holiday season (I'm not going to drink soda/veggies will outnumber my carbs 3-1/I will go to the gym 4 times a week...)

Keep us updated!  I will post a Challenge post every Wednesday where we can update each other on how our personal resolutions are going, any slipups, any requests for help and support, any offerings of help and support, any sucesses and general questions.  Obviously you can post about anything at any time so if you need Challenge help or have Challenge news and want to post it separately you can.

Now we are all at different levels so make your goal about you.  That little push that will definetly help you through the holidays, difficulty isnt the key, change is.

In this post make a comment with your personal challenge and any initial questions you have.  I'm placing mine behind a cut in this post.  We will see new years day how close we got!

Also I wanted to let you know that my mother and I are working on getting us an Action Figures website, independent of LJ and wanted to know if you would still be interested in t-shirts.  The gentleman who makes the shirts my company uses for work offered to give me a deal on athletic shirts. Feedback!!!!

( My Action Figure Challenge )
Thanks Ladies and good luck!  I look forward to hearing from you!

I mentioned this guy in a comment on here somewhere- he's from from Scifiction.com and he has links to wellness and health on his site as well as his 'testimony'. Well I told him in a comment in his guestbook that I was going to do it, and told him about our group. Very nicely after that he posted a link to Action Figures on his site. If you go to it, scroll down the the bottom. His name is Owen Cotter and he just also sent me a friend request on FB. I thought I would let yall know, I posted on his page and thanked him!