As I stated in my last post here, I am really only working on 3 goals this year: positivity, eating healthier, and taking more photos.

SOOoooo here’s how it’s going so far

1.  Positivity  

OOooh my goodness, talk about setting myself up for failure.  First of all, I did not get enough sleep New Years eve, SO I woke up very grumpy.  It’s really, really hard to be positive when I am completely grumpy.  The more I tried to be positive, the more grumpy I got.  So yeah, day 1 and I was ready to completely bag it.  After the first day I realized it was a lot easier for me to be positive when I’m not trying so hard, so I kinda let it go.

As my week went on and I let up a little on the “I must be positive” thing, I started noticing 2 different things that really that helped me have the ability to think more positively.  The first being the small amount of time I spent before bed reading my bible and in prayer.  I’m still working on consistency in this area, but even when I’m not able to read a whole chapter, I at least make the effort to read a verse.  I noticed when I at least make a heartfelt effort to meet with God, he meets me halfway.  It’s nice to be able to come to God with complete honesty about how I feel and just lay my heart out to Him and just put everything in His hands and kind of say “here, you handle it.”.  And what’s even better is that God can be 100% completely trusted with everything you give to Him.

The second thing that helped me be more positive was a little unexpected.  Yoga.  I discovered “Yoga with Adrien” on Youtube and even after just 1 day I felt a difference, mainly because of the breathing techniques.  It’s funny, because especially at work I notice I tend to hold my breath when I get stressed or I take really short breaths, which doesn’t help anxiety.  But since I’ve been more mindful of my stress these days, being able to take note and then take a deep breath in and let out my breath slowly and just let go of the stress, even for a second, really helps.

2.  Healthy Eating

I am actually doing really good in this department!  Like I said in my last post, I don’t want to go too crazy with a healthy diet, because I know myself and I will burn out quickly from even trying.  So I’m only incorporating a new recipe once a week.  I have a couple healthy recipes that I cook with already, so I’m just trying to find more recipes to include in my arsenal.  Here are links to my favorite healthy (or at least not completely unhealthy) go-to recipes.

~ Doritos Taco Salad from Emily Bites

She has quite a few yummy recipes, but this one I think is my favorite so far :)  (Side note: I use my own no sodium taco seasoning: 1 Tb chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/8 tsp ceyenne pepper)

~ Tomato Basil Pasta found on Pinterest

Not a healthy additive, but I also brown ground sausage to include in this recipe, and sometimes I add spinach too.

~ Cauliflower Chowder from Damn Delicious

This is especially nice in winter. This is another site that has lots of really yummy recipes.

~ Paleo Nachos from Paleo Grubs

Very yummy!

And here are the new recipes I’m trying out.  The first one I’m making tonight. :)

~ Greek Marinated Chicken from Budget Bytes

I am using chicken breasts instead of thighs though, and will make a small side salad and steamed broccoli to go with it.  I’m getting hungry already!

~ Sweet Potato Sloppy Joes from Paleo Newbie

Looks delicious!

So there’s my healthy food follow-up.  You can also follow my “Health Recipes” board on Pinterest here.

3.  Photos

Ummm…..yeah…..about that.  Guess I should go charge my camera.  :)

So there it is, my January so far!  The rest of the day will involve cleaning our house, taking Kahlua (our dog) out to play and pick up the back yard (yuck!).  Then my hubby and I will go see Star Wars (it’s pretty amazing we haven’t seen it yet!), and then of course we will come back and I will make the Greek Marinated Chicken.  You know, since you all were just dying to know what I’ll be doing the rest of the day, haha ;)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!