The Holiday Season has begun!

HAPPY 1st OF NOVEMBER MY FRIENDS!!!

So with the Trick or Treat and Halloween ending yesterday, seems to be the start of the holiday season for many of us.  I know I try each year to do things ahead of time and try to get a handle on the stress and sometimes mess of the holiday season.  There are foods to prepare, gifts to buys, cards to send, stockings to stuff, family to see, things to decorate and lots and lots of cleaning of dishes and houses to prepare for the "festive" season.

So yesterday I was Poppy the troll from The Trolls movie and it was so much fun.  Being able to put on a costume and feel comfortable in it was a new experience.  In fact I purchased most of my costume on Amazon and I didn't even try anything on until the morning of Halloween.  Because I was pretty confident that it would fit.  Another first, being confident that something was going to fit and look good is a new feeling, a good one, but new and a bit foreign to me.

So here I am in all my Poppy glory, my friend Angie was a gold troll and sprinkled glitter through out our office, it looks like Tinkerbell exploded but very cheery.

So with the holiday season starting (there are only 53 days till Christmas, just a little reminder for you), it also starts the overeating season.  Thanksgiving is filled with goodies that are normally only made once a year and you just feel awful if you don't indulge in these once in a year goodies.  Plus people are baking and bringing all sort of wonderful goodies to share in the festive spirit (I'm a big baker and a huge Pinterest junkie, so I'm very guilty of "making" things).  Yesterday was the start of our holiday season and we have a "Junk Food Day" where everyone brings tons of goodies and we graze the entire day and by the time we get home we are so stuffed it's like a pre-Thanksgiving run.  I was pretty proud of myself, though I did contribute some yummy pumpkin cream cheese swirl muffins, I only had a little taco dip and some tortilla chips.  I didn't even feel the need to have anything else.  I know you are sitting there saying, "Yippee skippy and good for you, do you want a medal or something?"  No, not a medal, but if you would have told me a year ago I would have turned down caramel corn, pumpkin bars, cookies, and cake, I probably would have given you the you're number one salute with my middle finger.  

I'm just saying it is possible, and will power does work, but you have to have a foundation and the determination to stick to your guns.

Halloween lets us start off the holiday season being whatever we wish to be.  Me, I was a troll, not exactly Morticia Adams, but hey, Poppy is happy and likes to scrapbook, so not too much of a stretch for me.  Today is the first day of a new month.  The first day to start a new venture or a new goal.  I'm working on sticking to my workout schedule, due to some severe muscle soreness after bootcamp last week, I missed working out a few days, now I could have worked out but my mind over powered by body and dismissed missing a couple days to workout.  What was I thinking?  I wasn't.  I had let a little of the old me slip back in and take over for 48 hours, I would have been in less pain if I would have worked out but I was in pity mode and even though my quads were killing me, I could have at least walked.  So lesson learned and making oneself a priority is hard.  Especially if you are a mom or someone who takes care of others.  It's hard to get that 30 minutes, but I've come to conclusion that I need that 30 minutes for my own value and my own mental world.

Everyday I face challenges, some big, some so small that they don't really register until I recall my day, but I really have to step back and take a breath and think about what I'm going to do.  And other times I'm my crazy impulsive self and just jump without thinking.  But that's what's life is about.  Taking a leap, taking a stand, and stepping away from the chocolate cake after one bite!  Not easy things to do, but without variety and fun, life wouldn't be FUN!  You only get one life and it's up to you what you do with it, so make it GRAND!

So this is a new month, what are you going to do!  Be BOLD!  Be Spontaneous!  Show your Sparkle!  Give each day all you have and you will never regret the day!  Give of yourself to others, you never know how much a hug, a smile, or even a wave to someone can change their day.  

So start off your holiday season with a positive attitude and just the goal to enjoy the holiday instead of surviving it!

So have a peachy week my friends and enjoy your extra hour this week as we lose it this weekend!