Beating the Blues

Hi there gorgeous gorgeous readers,

How are you all doing? So, in view of Cait's reflection on 2012, I thought it only made sense that I would chat about the year to come and I sort of envisaged a 'how to beat the January Blues' post a la FleurDeVlog's more than inspiring and uplifting video at the beginning of the month. However, as you will now have realised, January has been and gone (how, I am not entirely sure?!) and I am now sitting down to write this post in February! Embarrassing though that is, I still thought it might be worth sharing with you what Cait and I have been doing to beat the blues, mainly because we didn't see these as January specific endeavours - more all part of the bigger personal project that we like to refer to, not so much as New Year's Resolutions (neither of us really buy into those) but as 'being the best versions of ourselves' (self professed cringe alert - insert here!). Self-development aside though, lets be honest, while January might be over, we all know, here in the UK (and elsewhere I am sure!), February can be a pretty drab month - so here are some of the small things that we have been doing, that you might want to try, to get the most out of January 2013 and indeed, the months ahead.

1) Do something that makes you smile everyday. This needn't be life changing, it just needs to be 'face-changing' - sometimes, as frustrating as it may be, we need to endeavour to encourage ourselves to 'turn that frown upside down' - not because that construction worker you strutted past shouted the generic 'cheer up love, it could be worse' (That's not just happened to me has it?!) but because smiling makes you feel better. It really is that simple. So for us - we have been engrossing ourselves in really girly novels (on our really girlie kindles), making time to watch and read our favourite YouTubers and bloggers, and being sure to treat ourselves to some delicious smelling Lush bath bombs - so perhaps we are a little like babies, whose favorite time is often bath time, but nevertheless, I am sure many of you will agree, making that time to unwind and enjoy the smells and sensations and basically, the pampering, is sure to bring a smile. And you'll smell good too - a plus for you and all those around you!

2) So in line with the above, you can probably see that Cait and I firmly and truly believe in the therapeutic value of laughter. So much so in fact that we may occasionally (often?!) irritate those around us with our raucous cackles. Probably also why every few days we invariably dissolve into fits of giggles that no one else really seems to understand. But we feel good for it - happy hormones - tick. Tummy toning through laughter - tick. Silliness aside though, we really believe, not only in the importance but indeed in the necessity of laughing, at least a little, every single day. If you're open to it, people will always make you laugh and smile and they probably won't even have to try for it to just happen. So be silly and be open to other people's silliness. And never, NEVER let a bad start to the day dictate the way the rest of the day must go - its a bad start, not a bad day - unless you make it the latter that is. Its a challenge and somedays you will find this very difficult to do but please do try. Each and every one of our days is, after all, what we make of it.

3) Buy a diary. Now this was something I picked up from FleurdeVlog. I have to confess, I am not convinced that there are a whole tonne of really nice diaries out there this year - I have certainly spent most of January on the hunt for one, but the point is, once you have found the diary that you love - fill it with plans! Obviously not so many that you feel unhinged by the prospect of having to do all these things, but always have something to look forward to. Cait and I use these to plan blog posting dates (which usually involve wagamamas, cupcakes, or ideally, both). When you have things to look forward to, take a flick through your diary and realise what you have to look forward to and if you haven't planned anything recently, well then, populate the pages! Have you caught up with your best friend recently? Have you been to see that new film you have been dying to see (Les Mis - as a matter of fact no I have not. So a plan needs to be made there...). 

4) Exercise more. Hmf, this is a tricky one, mainly because it's a socially necessitated 'New Year's Resolution' that almost everyone subscribes to but very few actually commit to. Now, I must confess that while I appreciate its value, I hate exercise. I find the gym tiresome and repetitive and refused to be one of those people to take out a gym membership on January 1st, only to find my membership card in a dusty corner months late, unused. So, in lieu of committing to 'real' exercise, I am making myself take the stairs at work rather than the lift and I am trying to get the tube to the station 10 mins away (on the days it isn't raining and or I am not carrying tons of stuff...which admittedly isn't often!) from work, rather than the one that is 2 mins away so I get that walk in a few times a week, as well as a stroll at lunchtime; I usually need to get away from my desk by this stage anyway so that kills two birds with one stone!

Cait has demonstrated a little more commitment to our cause here and has decided to try out the '30 Day Shred' which alleges to require a mere 20 minutes of your time and all you need (besides your motivation and inhaler, if you're as unfit as I am...) is a couple of light dumb bells and an exercise matt - far far cheaper than the gym! I know quite a few bloggers swear by this routine and Cait says that she has definitely noticed a difference so I am definitely going to try this to get the happy hormones buzzing around my bod! I have to confess, I haven't yet...but I really will. Honest. 

5) DRINK MORE WATER. This is capitalised mainly because this is a major MAJOR challenge for me - in terms of hydration, I survive on tea and coffee, despite knowing how much better for me fresh (boring!) water would be. So this year, I am going to make a concerted effort to drink more water - I have started by drinking a glass of water every time I make a cuppa and am then hoping that soon, I'll have the water instead of the tea...the point is, being that the body is made up of about 80% water, I guess you please it somewhat when you give it more of the good stuff - so you guys are all already a whole lot better at this than me but if anyone is a sucker for things a little more exciting than the tap, lets try get a little better at hydrating ourselves. Deal? 

6) Do something you haven't done before. Challenge yourself. Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

So in line with all of the above, Caits and I are hoping to blog MORE and procrastinate LESS - we love writing and we are sort of hoping you love reading so watch this space. There are OOTD's, beauty reviews and a LUSH post all waiting in the wings. We hope you will enjoy following Fromtheheart90 in 2013 - lets make this our year. 

Here's to all that sparkles,

Christie

XOXO