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[gillysoose]

Loving Quebec. We're staying at Chateau Frontenac which is incredibly massive and very Hogwartsy /realword. This is just the main entrance. Got my Quebec keychain to commemorate the Mini's maiden voyage. Headed home tomorrow...far too soon!

[gillysoose]

[gillysoose]

ALSO!

I made my first attempt at a yoga headstand today and I got it, even managed to hold it for a few breaths and come out of the pose under control. The following attempts weren't as gracefully since I had been doing a lot of arm work before that. But a great foundation to build from. Yay personal goals being met!!

[gillysoose]

Tomorrow morning, this will be my new ride. 2009 Mini Cooper with just over 11k miles on her, yeah that's right. Basically brand new. I'm having the dealer put snow tires on her while I'm gone in Montreal and Quebec for the week and she'll be ready for me when I get back on Saturday. Just in time for the office holiday party at the CEO's house. I love that I get to attend an office party before I even start my first official day of work, ha! I'm considering getting white racing stripe decals for the hood and roof, either that or the checkered flag for the roof. Or for the dash. Can't make up my mind...well I have plenty of time for all that.

Anyway, I didn't plan on getting a new car till February or so. However, when I took my shitty little Cavalier in for inspection I got a call from the mechanic not even an hour later saying the frame was rusting apart in at least a half dozen spots and would never pass inspection. Lovely. I only needed it to last another 2.5 months, but nooooo. And I just put a full tank of gas in the sonofabitch. So this whole process got pushed up to OMGRIGHTTHISMINUTE! I knew i wanted something with great gas mileage since my commute to work is about 40mi one way, but I also wanted something sporty. And then I found this lil beauty at our local dealer, took her for a test drive and it was a match made in heaven. It was either this or a Fiat 500, but I didn't trust the little thing against the bad weather and high cross winds on the hills I have to go through.

I'm honestly just thrilled to have a car that has windows that go down AND back up...I haven't had that for a few years. Ah what a luxury! The cruise control on my Cavalier died a little while back, along with my wiper blade system...all good things to have for a commute in the messy winter weather. Wow that car was a piece of crap. And now I'm upgraded to heated seats! Fuck. Yes.

I've been waiting for good things to happen for a hot minute, it seems like things are finally falling into place.

Now, back to my apricot wheat ale and The Hulk. Priorities. I has them.

[gillysoose]

twerkin around the christmas tree

[gillysoose]

1 Month Catch-Up

I'm still alive, I swear!

The past month has been crazy, and in the best ways possible. The social calendar has been off the charts. Busy almost every night, and really glad because winter is here and that ish can get depressing if I’m stuck indoors.I 'm still keeping active, still running and doing yoga. I get yoga in every day and it's really just started to become a part of my life. I don't even think about it, I just start doing it whenever the mood strikes, which is frequently. Seeing some real gains in my flexibility and strength there. It really helps me maintain my focus and calm, which really came in handy the past 2 weeks.

As always, I have been applying for jobs like a mad woman. I applied for this Executive Assistant position for a local investment firm and managed to get a call the very next day to come in for an interview. Apparently my cover letter caught the CEO's attention when he saw I was willing to come in at 5am and stay till 10pm to get the job done. When I first sat down with him he informed me that they lied in the posting. The job wasn't for an Executive Assistant; they were looking for their new Chief of Staff. The CoS would work with the CEO, attend his meetings, travel with him...on the company jet, which you would arrange the flights on with the company pilot...act on the CEO's behalf when he wasn't in the office, as well as assist the VP. This ain’t no secretary job.

Oh. GULP. Ok, well I can do that too!

So the interview went pretty well from there. He asked a lot of normal questions as well as random ones, like what did the DOW close at yesterday? ("But don't worry because no one ever knows!"...I didn't.) At the end he told me they still had more interviews the following Wednesday and he would be choosing 3 to come in for a 2nd interview. Think about what we talked about, feel free to call anyone in the office and ask them what it's like there, and email him when I knew if this was something I was actually interested and he may consider me to be considered for a 2nd interview.

OOOOkay.

The next day I call the current CoS, who is moving to a different department, and ask her a ton of questions. I wonder, how many people actually take him up on the offer to call someone in the office? Hmm. Anyway everything I hear from her is good and/or expected, no surprises there. Alright, let's do this. I compose my email to the CEO stating my interest, touching on key points we discussed and end it all with: P.S. Yesterday the DJIA closed at 15,900.82, -66.21.

I get a call less than an hour and a half later to come in for my second interview that coming Wednesday. YESSSS!

Alright, now it’s time to go shopping because I DON’T HAVE A SINGLE THING TO WEAR! $500 later I have a good start to an actual professional office wardrobe and the interview dress. I better get this damn job, though I’m still not getting my hopes up like last time. What a disaster that was!

I’m a giant ball of nerves the day of. I wake up 6 hours before my interview and start prepping…more…again. Researching the people I’ll be talking to, the company, what kind of questions they might ask, what questions I’ll ask. Take my time getting ready…still 3 hours to go. Yoga. Yogayogayogayogayoga. Ok, 2 hours, time to drive over. Mom wants dropped off at the mall and I have a half hour to kill still so I hang out in Macy’s with her and try not to lose my mind. I am reassured in my choice of attire by the admiring looks I get from the women and men in the store. Yeah, I look the part. Oh! There’s my alarm, time to go!

I get there 30 min early, 15 min to kill. YouTube in the car. A case of the giggles helps break the tension and I’m ready to roll. I head upstairs to do my thing.

There are 3 women and 1 man (the VP) and I’m fielding questions left and right. Knocking these out of the park by the looks on their faces and the general easy attitude in the room. We’re all laughing, oh thank god! I throw them some curveballs and get some smirks of approval. Yes, I’m interviewing you too! Before we know it an hour and half has rolled by and they excuse themselves from the room, and would I mind waiting here for a few minutes while they chat? Sure, no problem!

I’m alone in a giant conference room. Damn this equipment is fancy. High end furniture. Well, the CEO did tell me they do $1.6 billion (yes, billion with a B) in business out of their office. I mean they have their own jet. Fuck. Don’t get too excited. How long has it been? 5 minutes? 30? Yoga breath. BREATHE. Stop fidgeting. Are their cameras in here? God I hope not. No, it looks clear. Adjust the dress. Breathe. It’s definitely been at least 15 minutes. Is that good? Bad? I hear someone in the hall, is that them? Nope. Breathe.

The door finally clicks open and it’s the CEO and Director of Finances and HR, whom I share a name with. We all laugh about how that could be a potential issue for confusion but I assure them I have a nickname I go by that would be fine to use, she can keep her name since she was there first. Laughs all around.

The CEO starts going on about the results of this psychometric test they had me take. Is this good? Bad? I can’t tell at first. He mentioned early on that he bases a lot on this test. Someone could be perfect on paper and in the interview but if they didn’t score in a certain range on this test he won’t hire them. Is he saying I did or didn’t fit that range? Oh…I did. Hurdle #3 cleared. Whew!

“Like I said before, I want to get this process wrapped up and someone in here as soon as possible. Luckily, I’m in a position to do that. I would like to offer you the position.”

YES! Yesssss! Finally! After 8 months I finally find something. A REAL jobby job. The kind I can make a real career out of. The kind where they are already offering to pay for me to get trained and certified in different financial licensures. The kind where they pay out bonuses from their company profits, which are sssserious. The kind where I get to travel for my job, schmooze with executives, and have a hand in all areas of the business.

“Fake it till you make it.”

I’m not faking it anymore, sweetie.

[gillysoose]

[unearthedcomics]

[gillysoose]

PROTEIN SPICE DOUGHNUTS WITH VANILLA CINNAMON GLAZE

Krispy Kreme, Dunkin’s, Winchell’s… I’m not all that picky when it comes to doughnuts. So long as they’re fresh and full of sugar, I’m a fan. Since Fall weather usually reminds me of cuddling up in front of a fire with warm coffee and doughnuts, I decided to test my hand at the fine art of doughnut making. As usual, I healthified this taste treat! I was actually surprised at how delicious the dough tasted (I licked the bowl clean). They smelled amazing right out of the oven and I could barely wait for them to cool. They were fantastic on their own, but the glaze gave them an extra little kick!

I used a mini-doughnut tin for this recipe (hence the tiny doughnuts in the picture). But I’m sure it would work with a standard size doughnut tin as well! If you don’t have a doughnut tin, these actually come out just fine as muffins as well! =)

Doughnut Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Oat Flour

1/4 Cup Casein Protein Powder (or brown rice or pea protein)

1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Nutmeg

2 TB Coconut Oil

1/2 Cup Buttermilk

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 TB Water

Glaze Ingredients:

3 TB Casein Protein Powder (or brown rice or pea protein)

2 tsp Coconut Sugar

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

3 TB Buttermilk

4 TB Water (or enough to have a thin, but not watery, texture)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease doughnut tin with non-stick spray or oil of choice. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Carefully fold in wet ingredients. Mix until blended completely (there shouldn’t be any lumps). Place mixture in doughnut tin and pop in the oven for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. While the doughnuts are cooling, mix the glaze ingredients together. The texture should be thin but it shouldn’t be so watery that it won’t stick to the doughnuts. Taste the glaze to be sure you’re happy with it, then drizzle it on top of the cooled doughnuts. Enjoy!

More Recipes You Might Enjoy: Peanut Butter Protein Cookies Cinnamon Pumpkin Protein Muffins Healthy Peanut Butter & Banana Cake Banana Spice Protein Muffins

[gillysoose]

Depending on the interviewer, this is a totally legit response.

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[narcolepsyinc]

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Food Geometry [mrlovenstein]

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[doghousediaries]

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[gillysoose]

Keepin It Real

So that yoga day I considered a rest day? Not the rest day. The day after that was definitely the rest day, considering I had been awake over 24hrs. I decided that I should just get some damn sleep and not worry about missing a work out, even though the previous day was a very low impact day. I did go to another yoga class last night to get back into my rhythm. I'm really digging this studio I found. I had the same instructor again, and it seems like her style is pretty mild. I'll do bodyweight routines for Monday and Tuesday, then Wednesday go back to the studio to try out a new instructor. I guess he focuses more on strength postures and helping to fine-tune your technique, little adjustments here and there. So hopefully that class will help me push myself a little bit.

I need to do some serious work on calming my mind during practice. It isn't till I'm about 10min into a session that I realize that I have things racing through my mind at a million miles a minute, constantly. Good lord it's busy in there! And the more I try to focus to calm it, the more I focus on the different thoughts. :/ I'll figure it out eventually. I must be making some itty-bitty progress during the practice though, because I do feel calmer and more relaxed mentally after class. I just need to work on it. I’m also more aware of how much tension I carry in my shoulders; the darn things are always pulled up taught. Working on making sure to release them throughout the day.

Last, but not least…I held crow pose finally! I did it 5 times in a row, holding it for 5 seconds each time! Break through!!! I’m very excited about this and must use ALL THE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!! Another few months and hopefully I’ll be really flying!

[gillysoose]