Writing from the Soul

I was recently wandering the aisles of TJ Maxx during one of my many holiday shopping trips. I love stores like that, because you never know what you might find. So there I was wandering around, enjoying the holiday music, luckily it was before the holiday rush so it wasn't too crowded, on my present shopping mission. I was sorting through some piles when I came across this notebook. 

Love what the outside says...I create the inside

When I read the cover it made me feel warm and happy inside. I put the book in the "maybe" part of my shopping cart. I told myself, you don't need another notebook. What will you even use it for? When it was time to pay, I couldn't seem to put the notebook back on the self, so it came home with me. 

I love my notebook.  When I was younger I used to write in a diary, not sure why I stopped, but this reminded me of that. One night I wasn't able to sleep, too much rolling around in my head I guess. I took out my notebook and just started writing. I wrote down things I didn't even know I was worrying about or feeling. My thoughts jumped around from work, dating, health, goals, you name it...It felt great to get them all out. I wasn't worried about spelling or proper grammar, I just wrote what I was feeling. Once I was done I put the book away, shut my light, and went right to sleep. 

I have continued to write in that back almost every night. It's like I am writing my fears and worries away. I am releasing them and can move on. Who knew a simple notebook that caught my eye in TJ Maxx would come to make such a big difference for me. 

Fun and Relaxing

Usually I am on the go, always doing something or planning something, but this weekend I tried to do things a little different. First, not making plans, just seeing where the weekend took me. Second, relax. 

Last night I followed through my first plan and when something fun came up I went with it. My friend text me to come over and hang out for a little to catch up. You know how it goes things get busy and next thing you know it's been way too long since you have seen anyone but family and coworkers. I decided it was time for a visit and wouldn't be out too late. It turned into the 2 of us sitting in her living room laughing and talking about everything and anything. How her husband and son didn't wake up with all the giggling is a mystery to me. I didn't leave her house until after 3:00 a.m. I can't even tell you the last time I saw 3:00 a.m. unless it was to get up and use the bathroom in the middle of the night. 

This pretty much sums up my friendships, no words needed, but lots of laughs

I came home and got ready for bed and even turned off my alarm clock for Sunday morning. I slept better than I have in weeks and didn't wake up until after 10 am! I spent the morning puttering around my condo. Had a yummy breakfast, went to the store across town to return shoes, and then came home and proceeded to follow through with my relaxing plan. I finally got to catch up on shows that I love, like Nashville. Yup this Jersey girl loves herself some country music and drama. My cats were snuggled and scattered all over my condo. 

Nashville on ABC. Love this show. Music, drama, and hot outfits

For the rest of the afternoon I sat happily in condo, completely relaxed. Absorbed in my tv show drama and the peacefulness of my space. Now I know why people recommend a rest day; it's healthy for the mind, body, and soul. I feel like it has completely rejuvenated me and I am ready for the week ahead. 

Chelsea relaxing on the floor next to me

Abby didn't take a selfie. She was laying on me all day.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

When Migraines Attack!

I figure since I have shared some major success stories on here it is only fair I share the weak moments as well. My Friday night boardwalk success left me giddy and excited. I thought if I can get through that and stay on track I can conquer anything. Turns out a 1.5 day migraine can conquer me. It started late Saturday and I couldn't seem to shake it, even after I took my prescription medicine. As I laid on the couch trying to focus through the pain all I could think about food. I'm not sure if everyone gets weird cravings when they get a migraine, but I know I do. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, I knew I was losing the battle when I got up and hit my pantry. 2 Pure Protein bars later (I didn't even know I still had any) and complete exhaustion I finally fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning feeling like I got hit by a big truck. I was hung over without the fun party from the night before. I decided to just roll with it and laid in bed most of the morning. I finally got up and made a good healthy breakfast and plopped on the couch. I still wasn't feeling like myself so I slept on and off during the day. Anyone who knows me, knows this is not normal behavior for me. By the time I woke up late afternoon I was starving and all I wanted was protein! I ate leftover cheesey burger pie, eggs, and more cheesey burger pie. My guess is I never fully kicked the first migraine and it was lingering in the background. 

Chelsea kept me company on the couch all day

When I woke up this morning I was still woozy but determined. The scale and my pants reminded me of my food choices and quantity eaten. I'm hoping that it's water weight showing on the scale and will be gone ASAP! I did my normal routine, packed my gym bag, had my healthy delicious breakfast and went on with my day hoping it would be better. I straightened out some things that were lingering on my mind and needed to be taken care of, and got a lot of work done.

I made it to the gym after work and enjoyed 40 min on the treadmill, I made my delicious salmon and zucchini dinner (detail about this coming soon), and had some extra veggies to snack on as I watched old episodes of Nashville. Time to relax and unwind. Nothing makes things worse than stress and tense muscles.

Baked salmon and sauteed zucchini over a bed of lettuce

I'm not sure what triggered my migraine the other day, it's been a while since I had one, could have been anything from stress, not enough water intake, not sleeping great the last few weeks, being around smokers, or even the new birth control pill I'm taking. I may never figure it out, but what I do know is that sometimes our bodies rebel on us and have something else in mind. My plan is to not let it bring me down for too long or worse get down on myself, because nothing good ever comes from doing that. Smile and move forward. Oh and hope I sleep through the entire night tonight!