So - if you read my last post, you know that I had... quite the year in 2016. I got married, I bought a house, and had some huge life changes. I also had the really normal experience of feeling self conscious and like a really imperfect human. I gave myself a couple of weeks to feel sad and wonder what was wrong me and then I decided to stop being sad and to be awesome again.
How does one do that? You throw yourself into meaningful habits. Some people might call them resolutions but resolutions always feel really tied to New Years. They also feel like something that expires when the year is over. I had two problems with this - I started at the end of 2016 so it didn't feel like something I was doing just for this new year.... and I wanted these to be lifelong changes.
Family Time
When I felt really disconnected last year, I remembered that even though I sometimes feel lonely, I'm not alone. I have a husband. That's like a built in friend for life that will have to jump through a lot of hoops to not have to put up with me (sucker). I think he kind of likes me too so that's good. We came back from our honeymoon and I wanted to see all of my friends and show off our house and talk about our wedding and honeymoon - but they didn't seem to want to do that. Instead Dan and I spent a lot of time together. We put together our house. We went on hikes and walks. He came with my to visit my parents and cheered me on my races. We continued our mission of drinking every stout in San Diego. One person can't always be the whole world for you but sometimes one person is enough to make a really big difference and I'm happy Dan is my person.
It reminded me that as much as I am a social butterfly that loves hosting parties and spending time with lots of friends - spending quality time with my husband is just as important. I decided that once a week we should at least go on a long walk or hike together. Two weeks in, it's been really fun. In addition to some quality time together (plus dog), we've already checked out two new trails in San Diego. Next week it's supposed to rain so we'll have to find another plan but that's ok. We, of course, still have every day things like dinner and tv shows together but there's something nice about getting out of the house together... especially doing something free. And sometimes we do not free things like go on beer and donut dates.
These two pictures were the same day. #earnedit
Stick to a Regular Fitness Schedule
The second thing I did after our honeymoon was to get back on a workout schedule. I started pretty slowly too. One class one week, two the next... and on and on. I found out a friend and her boyfriend go to my climbing gym so I now had climbing partners and friends to keep my accountable. Dan and I take body pump together every week and I even started grabbing a second class on weekends. I take the dog for more walks than ever. Last week I logged 10 workouts so I think that's a good place to cap it (If you're wondering how I can physically bear doing that much - some days the double workouts were a short yoga class or a walk with the dog).
I feel fantastic. Up until now I'd been feeling... lethargic. I'd get a full nights sleep and still feel tired in the middle of the day. Now I wake up on my own before my alarm and I don't get that afternoon crash. I can't wait to really measure my results at my next couple of races.
Meal Planning
If you're like me, you think of meal planning and you think of 7 really boring copies of the same meal stuffed into various tupperware.
Yea, No.
What I mean by meal planning is looking at my week and figuring out what to cook for dinner each night. I love cooking so that's not the problem. My problem comes with shopping. I have this very human habit of going to a store and buying everything that looks delicious. It all sounds great until I get home and forget about it and then it goes bad. Not only is it bad for money but it's really wasteful.
For a couple weeks last year, I wrote out what I wanted to make each night, what I needed for it, and when I'd go shopping for each meal. This included when we'd eat leftovers. It was super cost effective and had very little waste. It also helped me plan meals around the workout schedule. Like Thursdays - our class is at 6:30. At best, if I start dinner right when we get home, we're eating at 8:30 and usually later. Thursdays are a perfect day for slow cooking.
It also has the added benefit of letting me be creative or reference my many cookbooks and all of Pinterest. A couple of times, I realized I had some awesome protein that I didn't have any ideas for. I got to spend time looking through recipes for something cool to do - something I wouldn't have been to throw together with out a little planning.
I haven't been doing this the last few weeks but I want to get back on the meal planning train very soon.
Take an Annual Trip with my Husband
Not very long into our honeymoon Dan said "We should take a trip like this every year." My response: "You are absolutely right." Up until that honeymoon, we hadn't taken a trip that wasn't for a race, wedding, or family. That's crazy. It was so nice to be away from all our stress and also not have to be anywhere at a certain time.
I'm so excited we already have our trip to Europe planned. It's something we've talked about since we first started dating and we are finally making it a reality. It will definitely be a very different trip than our honeymoon in Mexico but I know it is going to be one awesome adventure.
Read a Book a Week
This is a goal I had in high school and re-visited a couple of years ago. The last two years, I came just a few books short of my goal of 52. So far this year I've read 4 books in 2 weeks so I'm ahead of the game a little bit. I like getting a head start in January because life happens and you just can't always set aside reading time. Although - part of this habit is to make sure reading time is a priority. Sunny day? Go lay in the backyard and read. Rainy day? Go curl up on the couch and read. Sick day? Lay in bed with some tea and Emergen-c.... and read. Waiting for something? Read. Mad? Read. Bored? Read. Hungry? Make a sandwich and read while you eat.
Read.
Me Time
I am definitely the kind of person who stretches myself too thin whenever I can. I hate saying no to things because I hate when people do it to me and I know I always have a great time when I go out. Sometimes though, I just want things a little quieter. I also get the feeling that most people already are deep into the habit of just saying no when they need time for themselves and maybe it's time I did it too.
Finally, at the beginning of this year, I was able to find a little pocket of time that was truly for me. While reading may seem like "me time" I'm usually up against a deadline for book club or the library so sometimes I'm rushing a book in when I'd kind of rather be doing something else. That something else is playing video games. It may seem silly, but it's one of my passions and I hadn't truly been able to play one since 2015. I was a little worried I'd turn on my PS4 and forget what buttons did what but it came back so naturally and being able to really escape to another world was just what I needed. The games I like usually have a good amount of adventure and problem solving (Assassain's Creed, Batman Arkham, God of War) so taking the animus to the French Revolution lately has been so good for my brain.
And Yea All the Stuff From Last Year
I still want to be patient and find balance and go to Mexico and not be a Bridezilla (I think I'm going to NAIL this one) and watch my temper. Resolutions shouldn't be about doing something for a year and then stopping. They should be about making positive changes for life.... then you're not getting older, you're just getting more awesome.
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