30 Days to Better

Get out

Photo taken by Jessica Smith
I'm bringing back the hand jive, and telling Rock & Roll Mama all about its merits.

There is nothing like a great little meeting with the friends to pull you out of your irritable husband-hating, at-the-dog-yelling, near-tears,  crabbycakes mood.

Today's suggestion for improving your self-esteem and pulling yourself out of the rut of depression, irritablity, or just plain blahness is to get out.  Move.

Get out of the house.

Get some sunshine (slather on some SPF, too)

Meet a pal, and chat. 

I promise, it will improve your mood and lift your spirits.  You will feel better about yourself and the world around you. 

Sometimes it's the simple things. 

Mind+Body

As much as it irks me to say this, the adage is true, exercise DOES make you feel better about yourself.

Marc got me a Wii Fit this weekend and while I'm massively ashamed to admit my Wii Fit Age, you'll never get it out of me, I actually did some of the exercises and after spending a day very sore, I feel stronger.  I have increased me workouts a lot this past week, from nothing to something, and it makes me feel stronger.  I stand taller.  I breathe deeper.  I am more confident. 

I challenge you to spend the next week incorporating exercise into your days.  Some lunges here, a few push-ups there, it'll make you feel pretty bad-ass.

What makes me feel proud

1.  Feeding my family healthy foods.
2. Taking the dog and the kid for a walk together and NOT losing my shit and NOT yelling at either of them.
3. Realizing I've gotten through another week and I'm happier because of it.
4. Being just as happy and content off of medication as I was on medication.
5. Exercise. I've returned. 30- Day Shred, Treadmill, walks, etc....
6. Eating vegetables and fruits at each meal.
7. Taking time to notice the blossoms.
8. Having time enough to notice the blossoms.
9. Looking forward to several adult social occasions in my future.
10.  Finally, finally, starting to make a dent in my pile of to give away, emails to answer, laundry to fold, etc ...

What makes you proud today?

Time for Mom

I went to the Spa last night. 

...

(please don't hate on me now or throw things at me, I did it for research purposes, maybe, not really though)

I had a gift card from some friends left over from my birthday and I happened to hear on the Twittervine that it was Spa Week.

Never one to pass up discounted spa pricing I booked some serious pampering and told Marc to be home early. 

I really could have just spent three hours (GLORIOUS!) sleeping in my car and I would have been just as mentally relaxed and revived albeit, more kinked and stiff necked.  I opted for the warm robed, heated table option of a local spa. 

One pedicure, facial and body scrub later I feel like a new lady, I swear, and not just because you would be hard pressed to find any dead skin cells or blackheads on this bod for at least one more day. 

I returned home feeling better about myself, sexier, calmer, cleaner and overall better prepared to baby-wrangle. 

I wish I could afford a spa visit once a month but for now I'll have to settle for once or twice a year.  It DOES make a difference.  If you feel better about your appearance or state of mind, you feel healthier, happier and more prepared for the day. 

Let's try this once more

March was supposed to be the month of 30 Days to Better Self Esteem, but, you know, life has a way of getting in the way of blogging. 

I think this is an important topic and it has many facets to explore.

April will be 30 Days to Better Self Esteem month, again!!

I have been trying to post lengthy insightful writings on this subject and when I wasn't able to pull together enough time to do so, thus, in April I will post smaller bits here to get a discussion going or just to document my own thoughts on this subject.

One of the biggest lessons for me is maintaining my positive self image when I'm unable to get to all my obligations.  When one thing gets tossed to the wind I hear that voice telling me Oh Shit! You're already off track, might as well toss it all to the wind and just eat junk, buy some fat clothes, hate myself, give up, etc, etc, etc .... 

But, you know, I have a kid to take care of and that means I have to take care of myself in order to do my job.  I have to maintain some positive.  I'm going to be exploring more of this notion here in the weeks to come.

Welcome to April!  How are you feeling about yourself today?