WEEKLY HEALTHY LIVING CHECK-IN FEBRUARY 8TH, 2020

**This past week has gone pretty well... I feel I'm finally getting back into the "flow" of things since the New year began... Getting back on track, and finding some "balance" with things this week. Got off track a little on Sunday when the hubby surprised me with some "Super-bowl" food, but, I kept a calm head, tracked everything, stayed on plan and track with my activity through the week, and it totally paid off today!

**Today I did my usual so far, and got up early to go workout first thing... They were calling for "SNOW" TODAY which I didn't think we would get since it hardly ever snows here but....!! YAY, it arrived!!. .....Finally get to see if after a LONG time! So I''m excited about that today (Naturally being raised in the North for half my life)... and not doing much today.. .I only wish that it would come on "MONDAYS" when I have stuff to do, so that i could just stay home and relax! lolol!~

**Because of the weather and the cold today, I won't be doing much else, and it was a pain to try to get back to my house through that crazy traffic after my workout this morning.. Right now, just relaxing in my rocking chair in front of my fireplace~ Don't plan to do much today except some light errands around the house~

HERE'S OUR SNOW!...ENJOY THE WEEKEND~

The first week of February had some brutal downs for me. So I'm ready to put it behind me. I think winter does play a role in how I feel. But this winter, despite some very dark lows, I'm also pretty motivated to be more active and start taking care of myself more. Tonight or tomorrow, I'm going to begin a month-long fitness challenge for flexibility and core strength, and I'll start the couch to 5k running program. I'm pretty excited! I'm slowly starting to be more optimistic about certain things. On Valentine's day, I'm probably gonna practice some self care since I won't have class that day. We're also supposed to get snow that weekend . I miss snow. But yeah right now I'm pretty well. Need to do homework, overcoming procrastination is something I really need to work on. I want to be able to trust in my talents without worrying about whether I'm being cocky or not. I'd also love to not fear constructive criticism and feedback from my peers in particular. Some people are blunt and it's hard not to take critique about my art personally. But that's another challenge to crush this month! I'm so ready! Let's do this.

**Hey everyone! How Have you been doing this past week?

I have had a rollercoaster of emotions this week. I have felt stressed, overwhelmed, relieved, sad, proud, disappointed, hopeful... hard to pinpoint if this was a good or bad week for me. Just a lot to process lately.

**How do feel the "First" week of February has gone for you so far? What things have you started to work on, or what goals have you started to plan or set in motion for yourself this month?

This week was midterms for my graduate program. I am a first year and I'm still adjusting to being back in school. Although my main focus was on studying, writing, presentations, and research, I have made sure to not forget about the goals I have for myself. For example, I have been trying to be kinder to myself when I get overwhelmed. It has been so easy for me to put myself down when I'm stressed by saying I'm not good enough, strong enough or smart enough to handle the current workload. But I have been working on erasing that thought and replacing it with I am doing the best I can in this circumstance. I am trying, I am learning, and I will get through this. I have also been trying to go easier on myself physically. Give myself breaks and reward my progress so I don't get burntout.

**How are feeling Physically, emotionally or mentally so far this month? For those that are experiencing the "Winter" months do you feel that the weather plays a part in the way you feel or how things are going day to day?

I am trying to stay hopeful. I have made progress in the last few months. Have to keep believing that it will get easier moving forward as long as I continue to work on myself and get through each day. That can be ttiring sometimes but it helps to compare how I am doing now to how I was doing in November.

**How many of you celebrate 'VALENTINE'S DAY" (which is less than a week away)? What do you normally do? What will plan to do "this year"?

I don't plan to do anything. This will be the first valentine's day without my partner beside me. He left me on New year's eve and I'm still processing it. Best to not focus too much on the holiday and instead worry on my progress and keep pushing through.

**What have been your "Highlights" Or "Struggles" over this past week?

Struggles was balancing a lot of major deadlines in a small amount of time. It was difficult to balance the workload to ensure I gave everything enough effort while still taking care of me. Highlight was getting my stats midterm back. Not an amazing grade, but it was the best one I've recieved on an exam with this professor.

**What are your weekend Plans?

Still have more work to do for finals week. Have a paper due that I need to be working on but I am trying not to let procrastination take over or let stress worry me too much. I also carved out time to meet with friends tomorrow for brunch so that will be my reward for a stressful week and a busy weekend.

**What would "YOU" like to talk about or share with us?! WE want to hear from "YOU"~

I'm not sure. I joined the community to read tips on healthy living while I try to turn my life around.

Right now, healthy living for me means getting enough sleep. I have been doing better this week, not perfect, but better, until the weekend. But I am off to bed now, up tomorrow to babysit Grandbaby for a bit, and will get to bed early tomorrow to be ready for the week.

Hey Ocean !

The past few weeks have been pretty hard to handle. My motivation has been really low and Ive had several breakdowns, which led to more breakdowns when I saw that I couldnt count on my friends. Work has also been really slow so Im hoping that it can get busier soon so I dont have that much time to think.

Im hoping to get back to working out this week, it usually helps me to have a workout routine, and hopefully that way my motivation can come back!

And wow that snow looks amazing! I really miss the snow, I hope you can enjoy some nice walks in the snow, if thats your thing and if its not too freezing!

Take care x

Hey everyone! How Have you been doing this past week?

This week has been good, been trying to keep busy.

How do feel the "First" week of February has gone for you so far? What things have you started to work on, or what goals have you started to plan or set in motion for yourself this month?

This week has go by fast. I've been working on healing my body and mind. I'm trying to walk outside at least 10mins every day.

How are feeling Physically, emotionally or mentally so far this month? For those that are experiencing the "Winter" months do you feel that the weather plays a part in the way you feel or how things are going day to day?

I've been feeling drained I do think the weather plays a part. It's hard to do things when it's snowing.

How many of you celebrate 'VALENTINE'S DAY" (which is less than a week away)? What do you normally do? What will plan to do "this year"?

I never really did much. Alway just did pizza and a movie. This year we are doing a really cheesy romantic night. I'm looking forward to it

What have been your "Highlights" Or "Struggles" over this past week?

A highlight is I finally got dignosed and now have to learn to live with it.

What are your weekend Plans?

My weekend plans are to have dinner with my girls and spend time with my boyfriend. Just rest and relax after that/

@PoliteOcean

**Feeling pretty anxious this week.

**The first week of February was okay. Sort of flatlined. I dont have any concrete goals for this month.. It might help me to try to sit with that thought for some time to figure out what I really need

**Physically; I am tired. Mentally; I am in a fog. Emotionally; I am anxious. I think winter does play into this a lot. Last weekend was nice and I was able to go for a couple bike rides and I think having it get cold again after that made it even more noticable how much I miss going outside. I keep trying to embrace to cold by doing indoor hobbies I enjoy but I just feel out of whack.

**I don't really do anything for Valentine's day. The date has other symbolism for me so that is usually the focus over the valentine's stuff.

**Kinda feeling on the struggle bus this week. My anxiety has been pretty constant at a low grade then ramps up every now and then. I've been really irritable and having trouble expressing myself. Therapy (both individual and family) has been challenging and exhausting work this week. A highlight this week would be going to the library and finding some books by a buddhist author who's podcasts I've been listening to.

**This weekend I visited a friend an hour away, went to yoga, did some shopping, talked to a friend on the phone. Today (Sunday) I'm doing some cooking and might go look for some magnets to use on my vision board.

**I don't if my mood is influcenced by food or supplmenets lately. I've been in a serious funk and really craving sugar.

My first week of February was very, very stressful! I had a really difficult time, and I'm certain that a lot of it was because I wasn't taking good care of my health!

I do find that my mood changes based on the weather-- I went to college in a redwood forest (which is a rainforest!) and I had to take vitamins to keep my energy, since I was getting so little Vitamin D!

This year I'm doing Valentine's day with my absolutely wonderful boyfriend (we've almost been dating a year!) and it's gonna be so fun! He loves Lord of the Rings, so I'm going to cook some LoTR-themed food and take him to a nice park for a picnic and a hike and an all-around fun day! I really hope he likes everything, it's gonna be a surprise!

This week I had a lot more struggles than highlights-- but one of my highlights was maintaining a 7cups streak for a really long while! I bungled it, but that's okay! I plan to have a streak this time around! I also have been slowly, very, very slowly, recovering from my holiday laziness and acclimating back into a healthy routine!