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. 

Happy Thanksgiving

It's the day before Thanksgiving and that means tomorrow officially kicks off the holiday season! (Even though some have already decorated for Christmas - myself included...whoops.) With all the hustle and bustle this time of year can bring, I'm realizing a few very important things.

I want to just hit the pause button on today...
Truly immerse myself in this special time with my family...
Slow down and enjoy the moment...
Savor the memories this magical time of year brings...
Be thankful...truly thankful...for all of the blessings that surround me...

We say all of these things year after year, but do we truly live them out? I'm making it a mission to do just that this year, because these moments can slip by so quickly. This really is a magical time of year and it always seems to go by so very fast.

Thankfulness is another mission I am trying to live out this holiday season. I know this phrase is so overused but it's a very, very true one - we are so blessed and really have SO much to be thankful for.

Do you have a roof over your head? You're blessed. Do you have a mode of transportation? You're blessed. Do you have running water and food to eat? You're blessed.

A couple  of years ago, a church in North Carolina shared a video about thankfulness and it totally put things into perspective for me.

Take a watch and see what you think!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and truly take time to savor the moments as they pass by! Happy Thanksgiving!!

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!

Relay for Life Weekend

Happy Monday!

As y'all know, I'm a big Relay for Life fan and am a part of our local Relay for Life Event Leadership Team. Well, we had an event leadership conference this past weekend, so that's where I spent my Friday evening and most of Saturday!

It all began at a dinner on Friday night, honoring the top fundraisers, events, and teams in the state. I was invited because our Lake Charles relay was the top #7 in the state as far as dollars raised!

We had a great dinner and enjoyed networking with others!

On Saturday morning, we needed breakfast and coffee...so I might have convinced my travel buddy to ride along to the nearest Target with me.
#1 - I needed to check out their Chip & Joanna section...ours is kinda small.
#2 - I NEEDED to check out their dollar spot because it's WAY bigger and less picked over than ours!
#3 - There's a Starbucks inside of their Target - ours doesn't have this luxury.
Hello - we accomplished 3 goals at once...enough for me!

Although I didn't purchase any Chip and Joanna items, I did rack up at the dollar spot - Brayden's stocking is done!

Oh yes, and Starbucks...there's that!

We even arrived in plenty of time before the event began!

One of the highlights of the conference was a "branding" class. They made these boards to show the difference in "service" you receive from various companies (Disney World was up there too). On the airlines section, someone decided to make their own "Southwest" section and started placing sticky notes on the blank wall! I might have followed along as Southwest is my airline of choice....although I do fly United and Delta when Southwest isn't available.

On Sunday morning before church, I hit the roads for my long run. I tried to time it so I would finish before Jason had to leave for church, but that didn't quite work out. It was time for him to leave around the time I hit 8 miles. Since Brayden was awake at that point, I got out the jogging stroller and together, we finished the final 2 miles.

It was nice and cool although I was slightly overdressed.  In all, it was a good run and seemed to go by pretty fast!

Sunday morning smiles!

This outfit cracked me up! I'm just loving the tie!

After lunch, we realized it was close to 2 p.m. which meant buy one get one free holiday drinks at Starbucks! Our restaurant connected to the Starbucks parking lot, so it was a no brainer! We had about 10 minutes to spare, so we waited around, then drove through the drive thru!

I might have also ordered a snowman cookie! It was yummy, too!
 

We sat in the car with our drinks because Brayden was asleep at this point for his nap. In all, it was a fun little surprise mini-date! Sometimes, you gotta take them when you can!

Last but not least....LOOK at these PJ's! Aren't they precious!? I saw them and was instantly in love!

Well, that's it for my weekend!

I hope you all had a great one, too! :) Have a great week!

Fitness Friday–12/19

It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these, but that’s how crazy this month has been. To say I’ve slacked off with my workouts during the holiday season is oh so true…BUT, I made a sincere effort this week to keep up with my training. The Louisiana Half and Rock N Roll NOLA will be here before we know it and that fact makes me really nervous!

Currently training for:
Louisiana Half Marathon
Rock ‘n’ Roll NOLA Half Marathon
Glass Slipper Challenge


Saturday –  6  mile run with Heather, followed by 2 miles back home with Madalynn
Sunday – Rest Day 
Monday –  4 mile run
Tuesday –  3 miles with Jason
Wednesday – Rest Day
Thursday – Quick workout in the morning before work 
Friday – 3 miles after today’s Christmas party

The rest of my week looked a little like this:

Christmas party at church…and these two goofballs served as my helpers! :)

Aren’t these adorable? One of my girls saw these on Pinterest and made them! Super cute, huh?

Christmas sushi and gift exchange with my running friends last night! :)

It was actually chilly enough for a fire last night! I loved it!

Today, we work 1/2 day, then have our work Christmas party afterwards. Tonight, I’m attending a Big Band style Christmas concert put on by a family friend – can’t wait!

If you’re a runDisney fan, check out this giveaway happening right now! It ends on Sunday night at midnight so don’t miss out! :)

How do you keep active during the holidays? Any tips or tricks for fitting in a workout between parties and events?