Hello! I hope everyone had a great Christmas.
I definitely did!! It was so nice. I’ll write a little Christmas recap this week, but I don’t have time this morning. Asher is at early swim practice and I don’t have that long before I need to go pick him up.
Just a few thoughts on the current state of things over here:
- Christmas is so fun. Christmas is also exhausting.
- I’m excited for a little stretch of some “downtime” now, kind of. The kids go back to school next Tuesday. We have some plans between now and then, but nothing earth shattering. I have no intent to touch the Christmas decorations yet. They can just stay up. I just need a little time to….. breathe now.
- My parents and I were musing over our holiday traditions and prep and how everything went. It all went really well, but we also all agreed that it ends up just feeling like a lot– and we don’t even host a huge family gathering!! Brainstorming if maybe some simplification is in order. Not massive simplification, but maybe just like…. not making as many types of cookies. Or limiting how many different appetizers we set out. Etc. Christmas Eve day still managed to end up feeling kind of hectic and a little too rushed- too many loose ends to tie up for my liking. I guess I’d prefer we somehow have everything “done” ahead of time so that Christmas Eve could be spent really just enjoying it all.
- I’m also excited to hopefully embark on a bit of another Body Reset. UGHH all the holiday food is so good, but it also kind of makes me feel….. gross. Sugar. Cheese. Fatty stuff. SODIUM. And I don’t even think I really went overboard eating crap, but I’m just anxious to reset. Also- WORKOUTS!!! They have been nonexistent in this past week or so. Argh. I am just dying to get back to: a) healthy foods b) consistent workouts!! and c) generally a less hectic schedule. I started last night by just walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes, which felt frankly amazing. The weather has been frigid and I’ve done zero walking, intentional movement or workouts, which naturally contributes to me feeling like a big blob, a sloth or some combination of the two.
- Also contemplating the new year!! I have done zero planning/ goal setting or anything of the sort yet. My new planner awaits, still blank. I may also sit down and answer these questions, as a fun end of year reflection exercise.
A couple pics:
In thinking about the new year, I really loved this prompt:
“Be careful what you practice”. That’s good! Am I going to practice healthy habits, healthy thoughts, a healthy lifestyle? Or am I going to practice being crabby, stressed, and eating junk? Practice makes perfect, and I probably don’t want to become perfect at those last three. 😉
Also, I got an Apple Watch for Christmas!! Woohoo!!! I actually didn’t even ask for it, Ivan just got it for me. (I’m so not “techy”. But I am also the kind of person who just doesn’t even know things exist, but once I have them, I love them. lol!)
Seems amazing so far!!! I can see so many uses for it. And, I think it may actually decrease my time on my phone, because I can do things like check a quick text without being tempted to open Facebook and start scrolling, etc.
Finally- proof of my walk last night.
Okay, time to run and get Asher. Have a good one!
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for some warmer weather coming up so hopefully I can get back outside a little more. After my “outdoor every day” goal in November, December has been PATHETIC. Seriously, pathetic. I have barely been outside at all! 😩
GRATEFUL KAE 
I am glad that you guys had a good Christmas, all in all. Ours was very low key since we only had one gathering to go to and we kept the food pretty simple. There was a lot of refereeing of fights over toys since Will wants whatever Paul is playing with and doesn’t understand sharing yet… but such is life when you are 2! I was very happy to get back to work yesterday!
I’m feeling a need for a “reset” as well. We had those 5 days of indulgence in Mexico and then all the holiday snacking. The only thing I avoid are the sweets since nothing is GF. Otherwise I’d feel even more ready for a reset! Plus I have had a really awful flare for 3 weeks now and when my body is flaring, I know I need to take it easy. I see my rheumatologist tomorrow, though, so will get an injection and then I can get back on track! I love the sense of a reset that a new year gives us. I know it is completely arbitrary but it’s a great feeling. I spent Monday night putting all the birthdays/celebrations/school closures in my 2023 W222 planner and that felt so good. Although now I realized I need to add the public school closures since Paul starts kindergarten in Sept!! Which I am honestly very excited about – and he is, too!!
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Ahh, can’t believe you’ll have an elementary schooler already!!! How exciting!! There are always so many things to add on the calendar in the new year. I haven’t added anything yet, and it’s making me a little uncomfortable…well, I do have a few things on my Google Calendar I guess. But I need to sit down and get my new planner operational!
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I’m feeling all of these things too! I really like Laura Tremaine’s podcast about year end questions (or any similar episodes!) to reflect on.
And at some point in 2023 we’ll get together and discuss all of this! 😀
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Yes! Please pass along any other good “end of year” podcast episodes that you run across! I love those too.
And yes to getting together in 2023! I haven’t been that way at all lately, but when I am next, I’ll definitely reach out! 🙂
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You really do need a dog is what I’m hearing. If you want to HAVE to go outside in ridiculous weather and Arctic-level temperatures, get a dog. They LOVE it and you’ll end up outside multiple times a day. 🙂
I’m really not very motivated to do much in this week between Christmas and New Year’s. I’m barely keeping food on the table and the house somewhat clean. Maybe tomorrow I’ll do something on my to do list?
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LOL on the dog. I had that same thought!! Not gonna happen though, at least not while married to this husband. hahaha.
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Oooooh yes, I am in need of a Body Reset, too. I have completely fallen into the “it’s a vacation!” trap of eating anything and everything just because it is there. And I have only done some very light planning for the New Year. Well. There’s still time!
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Definitely. So I was listening to this podcast the other day that was talking about overeating/ maintaining weight during the holidays. And the host said something like, well, if you really think about it, it’s only like 2 meals out of your entire year. (I presume she meant like one meal Christmas Eve, one meal Christmas Day.) She said, if you eat 3 meals x365 days, that’s 1,095. So 3 of 1095= .2% of your meals- hardly going to make a difference.
And while I appreciated the context, I was like… umm…. sorry, but it’s not “just 2 meals”. Cookies and snacks linger around for DAYS. For us, the entire MONTH of December includes various holiday events and foods, not to mention the days directly before and after Christmas, when we are usually also with family and eating “festive foods”, plus then all the leftovers…. So yeah, no. It’s not “just 2 meals”, at least not around here!
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I agree – Christmas is fun, but exhausting. I hit a major wall on Christmas afternoon (which is when all the planning and anticipation is mostly over – which sounds great, but I often crash emotionally and physically) and am wondering what tiny tweaks we can make to provide an even more relaxed vibe.
Honestly, for us, the big issue is kids getting sick. Literally 10 out of the last 11 years someone has been sick at Christmas. We’re not even generally a “sick” family, but it just always, always hits at Christmas and it’s very inconvenient!!!
I have had an Apple Watch for 3 (?) years now and I absolutely love it. If mine broke I would order another one immediately. My favourite functions are tracking workouts and the timer. Seriously, I use my timer every single day!!
I currently have all my push notifications turned off; sometimes I find it helpful (and allows me to spend less time on my phone), but then I found I was getting buzzes for texts when I didn’t have my phone with me so I was getting interrupted more frequently. I vacillate on the that side of things, but my husband LOVES having his e-mails, calendar reminders, and texts pushed through. For texting from it, voice-to-text (IMO) is the way to go. Writing words with your finger is tedious! I think you’ll LOVE having it.
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I am already seeing the Timer being very handy!! And agree that the text buttons are tiny and that is near impossible- I’m learning to use voice to text and it is pretty slick! So far I love the workout tracking, the sleep data, and just being able to ask Siri things (which I could always do from my phone, but for some reason it seems easier on my watch??) I do have text message notifications enabled. My husband is happy because I have a tendency to always miss his calls or texts (I swear my phone can be right next to me and for some reason I don’t hear the vibration! I usually keep it silenced…). It drives him crazy, bc he will sometimes call on his way home from work to check in or have a question about picking something up, etc., and then I don’t answer. So hopefully now with this on my wrist, I will actually know when he is calling or texting me! I like that I can see my Google Tasks and Calendar stuff on my wrist, too. Just seems so convenient!!
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i so agree of the new year reset. After eating crab for just few days I feel gross and want to get back to my routine. So I totally understand what you are feeling. My plan after we get back is no packaged snack at home, only fruits and homemade snacks allowed. Other than that, drink more water is a priority. When traveling I don’t drink as much to avoid visiting public bathrooms. Oh, good idea to reflect and simplify so you can enjoy more! And so true that kids love Christmas, not so much the adults as we need to do everything to make it happen.
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YES on drinking more water. I am pretty bad about that anyway, but I’m really trying to focus on that this week while I flush out all the extra sodium and sweets and stuff I have eaten. I do the same when traveling- especially on car trips, because I don’t want to have to stop all the time to go to the bathroom!
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I am always looking forward to the week between Christmas and New Year’s as a time to rewind and reset. I can get a bit melancholy too, but that’s part of the game.
So excited for you about the Apple Watch. I am loyal to my Garmin (for workout purposes), but the Apple Watch sure looks nice!
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