my healthy new year

it seems everyone has resolutions to improve health...lose weight.  tone up.  look better.  mine are along the same lines, but instead, i want to feel better.  at the beginning of last year, i felt awful.  i was 2 surgeries down, 1 radioactive treatment to go, and a whole lot of hypothyroid thrown in for good measure.  i was bloated, i was losing my hair, i was cold, i was cranky, i was exhausted.  post-radiaoactive treatment, i cleaned up my act.  i was put on thyroid medication, i adjusted my eating habits to help give me energy and not weigh me down, i started training for a half-marathon.  the end of the year was a complete 180* from the beginning.

i knew i wanted this healthy feeling to continue.  so i set a few january goals for myself.  i have several, and writing them all down in one place is going to seem a bit lofty.  but taking it one. day. at. a. time. is beneficial and by making little baby steps, it can add up to a whole bunch of great change.  and i'm hopeful that by documenting it all on paper, i'm more committed and held accountable.

my goals for this month...

• to oil pull every morning for 20 minutes, adding a drop of essential oil for additional benefit, in hopes of improved dental health
• to reduce the kids' overall sugar intake, hopefully leading to better moods around here
• to complete a full whole30 program.  all 30 days.  no cheats.  no excuses.  no dairy, sugar, grains, alcohol, soy, or processed.  no amaretto creamer in my morning coffee.  i've recruited michael and 7 friends to do it with me.  i did 2 whole30s last year, but never was 100% committed or stuck with it the entire 30 days.  this time, it's real.
• drink 75 ounces of water a day, adding essential oils in for benefit, and no coffee after noon
• go to bed by 9:30 during the week
• not watch television during the week
• relax in 1 detox bath per week- epson salts, baking soda, essential oils and the hottest water you can stand
• challenge myself with 1 hot vinyasa yoga class/week, and exercise 3 times/week
• take a photo class during this month (started december 29th)
• blog 3 times/week to catch up, and finally print my 2013 blog book

whew.  does that leave time for being a mom and a wife and a friend and a full-time slp?  it's all about balance and asking for help.  so far, it's been a week and i'm managing pretty well.  bedtime hasn't been 9:30 yet, but it's not past 10:30.  some days, i don't intake my full amount of water i'd like, but i'm not drinking anything else more than 1 cup of joe in the morning and the occasional sparkling water or kombucha.  the exercise 3 times/week thing hasn't happened yet, but i did teach spin and yoga it up.  i'm taking a photography class, and enjoying the challenge.  my consistent items so far are whole30 and oil pulling.  and i'm going to keep rocking it.  cheers to the next 23 days.  but who's counting??