Tips For Staying Healthy During the Holiday Season

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! The holiday season is always a tough time to stick with healthy choices and exercise (at least for me, it is)! I know I devoured a few too many goodies last week during Thanksgiving and want to get back on track before Christmas arrives, so I thought of a few tips and I wanted to share them because they might help you, too!

#1 Plan Ahead and Don't Overdo It

Going into a party or festive gathering can cause a little anxiety, especially when trying to live a healthy lifestyle (which may seem impossible to keep during the holidays)! Sure it's easy to say "oh, this is just ONE party, I'll work it off later.." bur if your schedule looks like mine, I have several Christmas parties to attend this year...and that's before Christmas even arrives! Having a game plan and sticking to it ahead of time will help a lot! If asked to bring a side dish to a party, bring a healthy option. Others will thank you for this, too!

#2  Make Time to Exercise

Yes, the holidays are SUPER busy and our schedules are jam packed. Follow me here for a minute, though....there's 24 hours in a day, right?  Well, taking 30 minutes or even an hour away from those 24 hours is not a whole lot of time. Let's break it down even more - there's 168 hours in a week - setting aside 3 to 5 of those hours for exercise is totally doable. Your body will thank you later, I promise!


#3 Wash Your Hands

Here's where the nurse in me is coming out - hand washing cannot be stressed enough. Its' cold and flu season, people. Wash your hands and do it often! This will definitely help to keep you as healthy as possible this holiday season. Even my 2 year old knows how to wash his hands! Keeping a tiny hand sanitizer in your purse is a great option as well.


#4 Get Some Sleep!

Rest. Rest. Rest. Getting adequate rest is so important and will help your body rejuvenate for another day. Even though it's a busy time of year, making time for adequate sleep (8ish hours a night) will help you stay rested and energized for the day ahead!


#5 Don't Deprive Yourself 

I mean, it IS the holidays after all - if you see a delicious looking dessert or dish you want to try, go ahead and do so. This does not mean eat all the things! I know if I deprive myself too much, then I go overboard later. Just remember to keep in mind tip number one - don't overdo it! Remember to keep things in moderation and you will be ok!

I hope this holiday season is off to a great start for you! Stay safe, happy, and healthy! 

Any tips you would add to this list? Leave it in the comments below! :) 

It's the Tuesdays On The Run Linkup with Erika, Marcia and Patty. 

Three Things Thursday

It's been a week, what's been going on?

 #1 I've been sick.

As in one trip to the doctor and two trips to urgent care, two steroid shots, once antibiotic shot, and SEVERAL prescriptions kind of sick. I somehow came down with bronchitis and had a cough from you know where for three, going on four weeks. I'm FINALLY feeling on the mend, but my left ear is still plugged and my right back hurts from what I think is a bruised rib from so much coughing. I have another appointment with my ENT on Friday to see if she can help with the ear thing. I've never had a sickness drag out this long, but the weather changes from hot to cold and back again and it's miserable!

All of this sickness means my Rock n Roll San Antonio training has taken a serious turn. I did manage to run that 10 miler in the state park a few weekends ago, and that seems to be the highest mileage I'll be able to achieve before running my next half. I'm not going in to for any crazy goals in Texas anyway, I just wanted to run a new race in a new area and experience some Rock n Roll fun outside of the New Orleans/Dallas area!

I did manage to return to Orangetheory this week for a workout on Tuesday and it felt amazing. I'm hoping to go back for a second one this afternoon if my back cooperates.

#2 New Furniture

I. Am. So. Excited!! Back in May, we ordered a new table for our little breakfast area. Our old table was sentimental in Jason's family and was fun to have for a while, but it was definitely time for something new. I fell in LOVE with a table at Ashley Furniture and although I was told there was a production delay, they said I would have the table by the end of June. Well, when I called in June to verify, I was told that production time had been pushed back to AUGUST. Huh?

I asked to speak to the service manager and he was super nice, told me I could cancel my order if I wanted to, but said he thought I should stick it out if I really wanted the table. Well, Jason and I looked around at other furniture stores and couldn't find anything else we liked better...and I didn't really NEED the table right then and there...so I decided to stick it out.

Fast forward to August. I called again to check on dates and guess what? I'm sure you guessed...delivery time had been pushed back to the end of October. I called in October and...yep, it had been pushed back again, this time to November. What in the world?!

So, I spoke with the service manager again and he said that although the date had been moved, he could see that it looked as if 40 tables and 200 chairs were set to be loaded on a truck in Mississippi in November which looked promising. I must have called a million times since then to check on dates, but the dates continued to remain the same!

Which means TODAY...is delivery day! I'm so excited that I'm going to have my new table for the holiday season!!

Stay tuned to instagram for pictures and updates!

#3 Christmas Decor

Speaking of the holiday season, who's ready?! I am!! Well, not yet...but I'm getting there! I always decorate for Christmas on the weekend before Thanksgiving, so that's the plan here for this weekend and I cannot wait! I am leaving out a few fall items (like table decor) for our annual "Friendsgiving" that's usually held the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

It's going to be a great weekend!

So, how about you? When do you decorate for Christmas? I'm not judging...I just love the holiday season in general and this time of year is just the best!

Vlogidays Weekend Edition #5

Week 5 - how have these weekends flown by so fast already?! There's only two weekends left of the holiday season which makes me immensely sad. It's hard to believe Christmas is almost here. I love all of the prepping and planning for the day, but I don't like once the day is actually over. This is my absolute favorite time of year and it's sad to see it come and go by so fast!

This past weekend, we had the chance to spend a little down time at home which was nice. I did attend a few Christmas parties and we had the chance to run a Santa themed 5K which was a blast. After the race, Brayden and I went over to visit the birds and ducks at the lake front and he had a grand old time! These are the kind of moments I cherish and will remember always!

I hope you have a great rest of your week as we gear up for Christmas! Happy vlogidays! :) Thanks for following along in our journey!

Vlogidays Weekend Edition #4

This holiday season is seriously flying by! I can't believe it's only two weeks until Christmas!

Throughout this past weekend, I shared our crazy snow day with you as well as my long run, time spent with family, and our church production of The Grinch! It was another fabulous weekend where we made amazing memories that I know will last forever (and I'm not just saying that...we really had an amazing weekend)!

Thanks for sharing in our holiday weekends this year with us! We hope you're enjoying all the special moments this season has to offer!

If you've missed previous any Vlogidays videos, check them out on the Vlogs Tab located in the header at the top of the homepage!

Vlogidays Weekend Edition #3

Another weekend of this holiday season has come and gone and it was definitely a fun one for us! We visited a local Louisiana Plantation home (Houmas House), went shopping, took Brayden to meet Santa at the mall, and I gave a brief home Christmas decor tour.

Up until this point, I'd never seen a plantation home during the holidays and that's what I was looking forward to the most! It did NOT disappoint!

Checkout this week's vlogidays (weekend edition) above!

I hope you had a great weekend and are enjoying all this holiday season has to offer!

Vlogidays Weekend Edition #2

This past weekend was filled with so much fun that was jammed into just a few short days! We had a blast sharing a "Friendsgiving" event with our friends, having Thanksgiving with our families, going Black Friday shopping, and ending the weekend with a visit to Magical Winter Lights, a light display right outside of Houston Texas!

Join us for my own little weekend version of vlogidays where we share all of our fun and special times with you!

 I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! 

If you missed out on previous vlogiday posts, check them out below! :)

• 2017 Vlogidays Weekend #1 - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Vlogidays Weekend Edition #1

As a return from last year, our holiday season will be shared again with you guys on my YouTube channel in my own little version of "Vlogidays - Weekend Edition"! The fun began this past weekend with several holiday themed festivities, including a few photo sessions and we began the house decorating process!

I had so much fun sharing our holiday season with you guys last year, and I had even more fun re-watching the videos this year and seeing how much Brayden has grown! It's so much fun to look back over the memories and reminisce a little!

Instead of sharing blog recaps of our weekends over the next 2 months, you'll find these video recaps instead. I hope you enjoy! :)

Have a happy Tuesday! If you're in the preparations for Thanksgiving, have fun!! :)

Holiday Weekend #6

Throughout the holiday season, I captured video of our fun adventures, time with friends and family, and most importantly, Brayden's first holidays! We had so much fun sharing with you and I appreciate those who stuck around for it all!

Here's the 6th and final video from New Year's Eve/Day Weekend!

I do plan on bringing my camera with me to Disney in February to capture moments from Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend! Stay tuned for upcoming vlogs to follow in March! Have a great day!! :)

Holiday Weekend #2!

Continuing with our 2016 holiday weekend recaps, in week #2 you'll find a whole lotta rain, Christmas shopping, and time spent with my little guy!

We had a lot of fun this weekend and enjoyed capturing those moments to share with you! 

Check out a recap of the 2nd weekend of our 2016 holiday season below!

 

Have a great one! Stay tuned for weekend #3 and a recap of my first post-baby half marathon! :)