Eat, Sleep, Be, Repeat

Alright friends. If I'm being completely honest with you, I sat down to write a different post at 12:30 last night and realized that I. just. could. not. The past four nights I've been up until 3am doing work and it's killing me. I'm exhausted. So exhausted in fact that Wednesday night after work when I went to my friend's house, I nearly passed out on her couch. Work ended at 9pm mind you, after starting at 10am. Hooray for long, summer days!

I really can't complain because my jobs are awesome and I'm incredibly lucky to have them, but you guys, I need a break today. I'm currently in MA (at the beach as we speak), and I want to enjoy every minute of the remaining five or so hours I have of this mini-break without being stressed or exhausted. It makes me act like a b**** to people I care about and easily irritated (which is saying something because it doesn't take much to irritate me in the first place.) Anyway, it's finally Friday and I seriously, seriously, challenge you to really take care of yourself this weekend. We all need a little TLC from time to time.

Summer's Coming, Time to Start Running

See what I did there with that little rhyme? I won't lie to you. The fact that we just got 18" of snow infuriates me. Granted, it's made me miss quite a few classes this week (bad weather does have it's ups), but it's also managed to discourage me from anything and everything productive. A lot of people look at spring (which should be here already...) as a time of renewal, but I've never been a huge fan of the season.

I would gladly skip right over spring and just get. to. summer. Although that may just be because where I'm from we don't really have spring, it's more like mud season and unbelievably gross. I've been holding onto the idea that summer is coming soon though, and I'm fully convinced it's all that's going to get me through the next month and a half. Pray for me people. I need all the help I can get!

Where there's summer, there's also swimsuit season...

Some people spend the majority of summer lounging by the pool or on the beach in their teeny bikinis. Totally fine. I have never been one to jump for joy the moment it's time to get into a swimsuit. As a matter of fact, for basically as long as I can remember, going shopping for new suits has been a source of anxiety and a 100% guarantee that I'm going to leave the store absolutely loathing the cruddy dressing room lighting and it's emphasis on every imperfection on my body. Throw in a fight or two with my mom and that's what a typical bathing suit shopping trip looks like for me. It. Sucks.

I'm the girl who every single January comes around is like "I'm totally going to lose 40 pounds by the time June comes!" First of all, I don't need to lose 40 pounds. I would be scary looking. And secondly, now I realize how unhealthy living my life in such a mindset was for me. Or maybe it's just that now that I'm older, I'm more confident in the body I'm stuck in.

Some things never change though...

While I have gotten better when it comes to body image (thank God!), the struggle to stay healthy is always impeccably real throughout the entire year. But more so when summertime is approaching. I'm still planning on running a half marathon by the end of the year, however that's going to be extremely problematic if I don't start running again. So that being said, consider this post a reminder for the upcoming week to take care of you. Being healthy is more important than a number on a scale; trust me, if there's anything I've learned it's that. Here's what I'll be doing this week in order to help me have one of the best summers yet!

this coming week I will...

1. Sub out a smoothie (like this St. Patty's Day one!) for the regular cereal I usually have in the morning (at least three times), and try a new recipe!

2. Go for a 2 mile run three times this week.

3. Do this fun circuit Tuesday and Friday night. I work at a gym, might as well kill two birds with one stone, right?

4. Attend a yoga class.

5. Meditate for five-fifteen minutes every night before bed. Love this app!

6. Strive to maintain a positive mindset.

7. Be happy!

How do you stay healthy?

xoxo

7 Steps to Limiting Stress

With school now back in full swing until May, I find it so incredibly easy to fall off the bandwagon. I swear my stress level dictates my life most days. I'm either too stressed out about school to do anything or so overwhelmed by school that all I want to do is clean, clean, clean. Last year when I was living in a room the size of a shoe box (you think I'm kidding...), I found that if I didn't keep my room clean and my teeny tiny closet organized that my already chaotic life would feel all the more chaotic. Ugh.

So, nowadays, my room is mostly always kept nice and tidy. I have quite a few methods to keep it that way, seeing as time as of late seems to be extremely limited. I love Sundays because it means that I can get everything situated for the week and finally feel like I have a glimpse as to what's ahead.

Limiting stress during the school week has always been a challenge of mine. I'm easily overwhelmed and sometimes it just sends me into this shutdown mode where all I do is watch Netflix and avoid the loads of work piling up on my desk. (And by desk I mean laptop.) Making sure I'm organized at the start of the week has become an incredibly important part of my life.

Check out these tips!

1. Invest in a good planner.

How cute is this planner from May Designs?! Usually monograms are kind of where I draw the line (sorry all you monogram lovers...), but this agenda is just too cute. I've become so reliant on my Kate Spade agenda throughout the school year. I have the black striped one and it's seriously a lifesaver. Between that and my mobile calendar, there's a 99% chance I won't be missing anything important. And thank goodness for that!

2. Write it all down.

Going along with the whole agenda thing, I write everything I have going on in the week down. I'm an avid list-maker; to-do lists, I love you. I make checklists in my planner and jot down my workout too. It helps immensely when it comes to planning out your day!

                                                                                     

3. Coordinate.

It may be the anal side of me, but I have my closet color coordinated. I love how organized it looks and as silly as it sounds, it's inspired me to coordinate more things! My planner is color coordinated by class, so for each of my five classes what needs to be done is highlighted in a different color. I'm not exactly sure why, but it makes it so much easier to remember my assignments for each class. And plus, now when I'm shopping, I have a much better idea of what my closet looks like!

4.  Meditate.

Not many people are aware of this, but I actually take a few minutes to meditate every night. It helps to decompress after a long day. If you're thinking it's silly, no worries! I did too. As a matter of fact, I thought it was incredibly stupid for quite some time. But one night when I was having a hard time falling asleep, I gave it a try out of desperation. Now, going to bed without taking a little bit of time to breathe in, breathe out rarely happens. I legitimately have to be so exhausted that my mind shuts off on it's own and I just pass out. 

   5. Make health a priority.

Lately I've been finding more and more that to keep my stress levels under control I have to be taking good care of myself. I've got the healthy eating down pretty well now, thank goodness. And as for the exercising? I'm getting much better. Not only are the endorphins good for my mood, but by the time I hit the hay at night I'm SO ready to sink into my bed and sleep soundly. And if anything motivates a college student, it's getting to go to bed. 

6. Take a (Coffee) Break.

My best friends are lifesavers when I'm feeling stressed out. My best friends and coffee, that is. And when we're together, it's kind of a given that coffee will be involved. I am in no way shape or form a calm person, it feels like I'm constantly stressing about something. When there's an opportunity for me to get together with my friends for a quick break at Starbucks or even at the library, I take it. Nothing is better than a vent session with the people who know you best!

7. Call Mom.

When all else fails, call your mom. Or whoever was responsible for bringing you up and loving you throughout your awkward years. My mom knows me better than anyone, and I'm so thankful that I feel like I can go to her for anything. She'll let me be crazy and knows when to just give me a hug and let me cry. And Mom hugs really are the best. 

Have a great day ladies!

xoxo