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As I mentioned yesterday, I am looking forward to April. Warm weather, Easter crafts, plans to see my friends, and a little surprise project in the works had me eager to turn the page on my calendar.
This is definitely going to be a big month for me. After reading some books about being a bridesmaid*, it really hit me that my involvement in two weddings in the next twelve months was going to mean being healthy and as anxiety-free as possible. I'm starting to take my goals more seriously anyway, but having another impetus is always a plus.
I tend to haphazardly declare the beginning of every month as "my month" to make improvements, but the problem is that I make that decision the night before. This time around, I've had my mind set on really starting in April and practiced eating less sugar, eating more fruits and veggies, drinking more water, and exercising this week. Now that it's April 1st, it's time to kick off the training wheels. While I'm still lacking things like a formal list of goals and any sort of meal planning, I can make do with what I have and develop a better laid-out plan over the weekend.
What will this plan entail? The usual. Drink more water. Stay away from sugar completely, or at least as much as possible (more about that next week). Start trying different grains instead of defaulting to pasta. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Recognize when I'm actually hungry and not just bored. Exercise daily. Get back to sleeping when the rest of the world sleeps.
But first, a recap of how March went for me.
Get healthy. Getting there. Though giving up sugar has been hit-or-miss, it has helped me be more aware of what I’m eating on a daily basis. I’ve been trying a lot harder to eat healthy by avoiding sugar as well as fattier foods. I also started taking probiotics every day, and although I haven’t felt much of a difference, I have faith. I’ve been drinking a lot of tea lately, so my water consumption has probably gone up, and I started easing myself back into exercising this past week.
Work on my anxiety. Oh yes, my loves. Including my visit to Melissa’s at the end of last month, I took two – two! – successful, anxiety-free, longer-than-an-hour trips with E in the car with me. I don’t talk about details of my IBS on here much, but for whatever reason my nerves mess with my stomach on car rides to my destination, resulting in at least one pit stop. Having someone else in the car usually amplifies the problem because I become more aware of and worried about it. But these two trips? Not. a. stop. (Okay, one stop on the way to Katie’s, because it was my bladder’s turn to be a whiny bitch.) It doesn’t seem like a big deal and is a little TMI, but honestly the fact that I made these two trips without incident speaks volumes.
Live in the moment. Not really. The month flew by because I was always looking ahead to the next big thing. When I was actually in those moments, I was worried or preoccupied. One of the only times I recall really being present was when it was extremely warm and I dragged a chair outside and read books, skimmed magazines, and just looked up and observed the clouds.
Stay in touch. Yup! I was lucky enough to see quite a few people this month, including all of my (local) dance girls. Anyone I couldn’t see in person this month received Facebook messages, e-mails, and texts so I could stay up-to-date on their lives.
Be me and stop worrying what other people think. Yes and no. For the most part, I was good about this one. But some of my more emotional days were filled with self-conscious worrying about my personality and life choices, particularly how they affected my friendships and my relationship.
March's goals fared better than February's. I (slowly) started eating healthier and cut out some sugar. If you count Guinness cupcakes with Bailey’s frosting as a “meal,” then I tried one new recipe this month, and I made it through two books about how to be a kick-ass bridesmaid. As for applying to jobs, getting my butt to the dentist, and cooking actual meals… those didn’t go so well.
Goals for April: make a written-out plan to improve my life; try two new recipes; schedule that damn dentist’s appointment (seriously! I have multiple cavities that I’m aware of!); apply to jobs; break my "addiction" to sugar and snacking; read at least one book; start replying to blog comments; decide what to do about self-hosting (switch to Wordpress or stick with Blogger).
I have a really good feeling about this month, so I'm ready for it to start. Let's go, April!
*Yes, I actually read books about being a bridesmaid, for a couple of reasons. One, despite being obsessed with weddings, I've never been in or even attended one, so I wanted to get more informed about what a bridesmaid actually does. Two, I like to be prepared in general. Three, yes, I am just that excited about it.
