How I got here

While the date stamp on the first post is 7/5/09, the impetus for my life cleanse actually happened a few months ago. My "sabbatical" was not technically planned, but clearly needed more than I realized at the time.

A sabbatical is described as any extended period of leave from one's customary work, esp. for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc. Mine was forced on me due to an agency consolidation that closed an office of 50 people, me included. While it was sad to leave a group of people that I truly enjoyed working with and had come to care for over the past five years, it is only after a month's time that I can say the forced change was very much needed.

All work is stressful, but as a type-A personality who put work before many other things, after 5 years of a particularly demanding account the stress was bleeding over into all aspects of my life. My generally witty (some might say sarcastic) personality had tipped over to the bitchy side. My eating habits had turned from nibbling on the lovely calorie-laden treats delivered to the office to full-on inhaling, and my days of having a cocktail were becoming more the norm than I cared to admit. The outpouring of support that we received from the media community once the news hit is something that I will always appreciate and hold dear. However, in typical fashion, the support corresponded to quite a beverage binge during the month of May!

Thus, I began my sabbatical on the 29th of May feeling heavy in every sense of the word.