turning of that new leaf

i know...it's been over a month. i could say that i've been so busy, but that would be a lie. because honestly, i have been quite the opposite -- and i LOVE IT!!! my days have been filled, that's definitely true. but i'm not stressed to the point that i want to pull my hair out each and every day. and that's a good thing, right?

i began working only 30 hours a week on august 31st which has impacted our family in several ways...

• i finish work at 2pm every day so i get way more time with my little buddy. some days we spend the afternoon at the beach...

• other days when he goes down for his nap, i get to clean our apartment more thoroughly. i also have him keep me company when i go to walmart & costco during the week instead of fighting crowds on busy saturdays.
• brandon & i have more time for date nights. we also don't have to come home so late at night because we can leave earlier! it's oh so awesome to spend that alone time with my love. even a trip to foodland together is exciting to me. we take turns going on that blood pressure tester near the pharmacy and we compare results...hey, it's free!

• for those of you that know me well, it has always been a challenge for me to be "on time" going anywhere...especially work. yes, it's embarrassing. but i must be a great employee if they've kept me this long without meeting a minimum expectation of being prompt every day. ha!! ANYWAY, i am proud to say that i've finally programmed my body to wake up earlier to be at work on time! what an accomplishment, aye? lol.
• i make conscious decisions of what i eat and put into my body every day. not a diet, but a healthy lifestyle change. i've been doing well for the past month or so, and i am slowly losing weight. i do realize that in order to drop pounds faster, i've got to do more physical activity. and that's what mondays are for...goal starting.
• with 10 less hours that i'm getting paid for each week, our budget was cut drastically. a lot more careful spending, and cutting out things that were simply unnecessary.

so i suppose you could say that our lives have been simplified and we are now focusing on the more important things in life. priorities have been altered, disposable income has decreased, family time has increased, and my tan has definitely improved. life is good.