I've found that with the holidays over, I can officially focus on all the big events taking place this year. I sat down this past weekend to really put some things on my calendar for the year, and I can't believe how much is taking place in 2013 - it sounds like this will not only be my year, but a year to remember for some of my close friends and family as well. This year, my best friend marries her best friend, several other close friends tie the knot, my brother graduates college, and then Rob and I do that cool little thing we call "GETTING MARRIED." There are bridal showers and bachelorette parties to plan and attend, dresses to be worn - and let's not forget, workouts to be completed.
Which is why I am desperately trying not to let the Winter Blues get me down. I struggle big time with seasonal affective disorder - something I'm not quite sure I even really believe in, but I'm positive I suffer from. My motivation goes out the door, and curling up on the couch with Rob, the dogs and my favorite pair of sweatpants for a Lost marathon always seems like a better alternative than braving the cold just for a one hour workout. I usually break up the winter monotony with a trip to Florida, but with all the big wedding plans this year, an extra trip is out of the picture. In an effort to beat the winter depression, I've set myself up with some goals that will hopefully make the worst two months in Ohio slightly more bearable.
I'm going to try two new recipes per month. I've fallen into a rut with my cooking lately, and while I still meal plan and cook almost every night, Rob and I are both getting sick of having the same 7-10 meals all the time. I've recently pinned some wonderful things from Emily Bites and Skinnytaste, and I'm hoping this keeps me on my cooking [and healthy eating] toes during the colder months.
I will not feel guilty when I watch Biggest Loser. Yesterday was my off day from the gym, but I did a little proactive thinking and went running anyway so I could watch the season premiere of Biggest Loser knowing I had done my healthy deed for the day. I always feel inspired when I watch that show, but know I'll never get off the couch after dinner to workout. Healthy eating and feel-good workouts will help me feel like I'm not being left behind by the show - which, in years past, is often how I've felt.
I will stay accountable to my diet and exercise routine. Comfort food and sweats are the peak moments of winter, which doesn't bode well for my healthy lifestyle and big plans of not having arm flab in my wedding dress. Now that we've closed the door on the holidays, I can get back to real life and my regular exercise routine. Rob is trying to lose weight for the wedding as well, which makes it so much easier to stick to our healthy eating plan. Everything is better when you have a partner in crime!
Plan my wedding. I know this sounds like a given, but I am the queen of procrastination and well, that doesn't always fly when you're planning a wedding. Giving myself weekly to-do lists and small goals to accomplish will keep me engaged with my own planning and not let important things fall by the wayside. It's not that I'm not totally excited about getting married - but I work so much better under pressure and if it were up to me, all planning would be done the week before the big day. This week, I'm sending out save the date's - does this mean I can chill until next week?
Engage myself in my friends' weddings. Helping my best friend plan her wedding and assisting friends in any way I can is so much easier, less stressful and often so much more fun than doing my own. Decisions come easier when it's not your centerpiece, flowers and bachelorette party. Helping people by being the voice of logic, reason, or just the person to vent to over crazy vendors and meltdowns is sometimes more help than anything else. Clearly I've missed my calling in wedding planning.
Read more. Television gets boring. So does Pinterest, and Lord knows I'm sick of reading everyone's sob story on Facebook. I've taken a brief hiatus from reading and I miss losing myself in a book. I'm now reading all the Harry Potter books [again], and I find myself wrapped up in them just as much as I did the first time I read them.
Hopefully I can survive the hibernation of winter and wake up in April when we've stopped the below freezing temperatures. Humans should not have to function in anything below 55 degrees, but the least we can do is make things interesting until the sun shines again.
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