Simple Steps

Hello! Remember me? Sorry for the blog hiatus - I don't really have a good excuse other than a busy work week and nothing too exciting to talk about. But like my sister said, that hasn't stopped me before!

So a few years ago for New Year's I bought a book at Barnes and Noble to help me come up with some good resolutions. It was called Simple Steps and it gave steps to improving your health, weight, home, and spirit.

I read the first few chapters, but kind of let it fall by the wayside after a while. I picked the book up again Saturday afternoon and got motivated to try it again. So here are the first few steps:

1. Water - Drink 8 glasses of water a day.
This is kind of a no-brainer, right? We all know that we're supposed to drink 8 glasses of water a day, but how many of us actually do it? I pat myself on the back for drinking 2 glasses of water! So I've been trying to increase my water intake based on some of the benefits I read about in the book. Did you know drinking water and being hydrated makes your skin glow? That's reason enough for me!

2. Walking - Walk for 20 minutes a day.
Again, this kind of makes you go..."Well, duh!" But even though I know I should, I can't honestly say I do this every day. So for the past 2 days, I've roped Lucy into this step with me and we've gone on a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood. It's not hard to do at all, and it's actually a lot of fun!

3. Organize - Organize one drawer, closet, or cabinet a week.
The book talks about how de-cluttering is related to de-stressing. You know that calm and accomplished feeling you get after you've organized a cluttered mess? That's the idea here. So this weekend I tackled our junk basket that we keep on our kitchen counter. It had everything in it from craft projects, sunglasses, birthday cards, spare change, and all sorts of random stuff. I took everything out and only put back what needed to be in there. I even found $50 in the process! Sweet!

4. Money - Save $2 a day.
The goal behind this step is to have a rainy day fund. Whether you want to save it up for an end of year shopping spree, invest it, or give it to someone in need, the idea is just to save $2 a day and control your impulse spending. Instead of buying that diet coke (that I don't need!), put it in the rainy day jar.

So these are the simple steps I'm striving for this week. After 2 days I'm already feeling great! Hydrated, refreshed, organized, and with a little rainy day fund to boot. I love taking steps toward self-improvement!

On a totally separate note, I went to see my amazing beautiful lovely and talented cousin Grace dance at her recital Friday night. She did such a great job! I know I'm partial, but I think she is the best dancer up there! I couldn't be more proud! I'm also proud of my friends daughters and nieces - Ella, Layla, and Mackenzie! All the girls did so great!