Self Care

Self care is extremely important and not everyone realizes this. I will be the first to raise my hand and say I definitely don’t always take the best care of myself. I truly try, but I am a lover and a giver. Meaning, I love to take care of others and give everyone something to smile about. While being a lover and a giver is great, self care is still something that is needed.

2018 Craziness:

• Duke (our charcoal lab) got hit by a car while with the dog sitter
• Duke ended up having to see the surgeon every 6 weeks for more imaging than any of us has ever had in our life.
• Duke had surgery secondary to the car accident.
• I am planning our wedding.  YAY!
• We sold our downtown town home.
• We lived with friends for over 40 days while we were selling our town home and buying our burbs home.
• We bought a house in the burbs. YAY!
• There have been numerous other things in between all these items of crazy.

While most of the above craziness is exciting it can also be stressful at times. The stress has gotten to me a bit lately, and so I took a step back to see why is it getting to me now and wasn’t before. In between moving and the 101 things going on I really stopped taking time for me. Yes, I did a little bit for me, but it was far and in between. I turned into a robot that was go go go like the energizer bunny. Don’t get me wrong, I am normally the energizer bunny on a daily basis, but one that has taken care of herself and on full, not one running on empty, and this is what I was. It was time to put “me” and self care back into my schedule.

1. Exercise

While I was still exercising in the midst of not taking the best care of myself, I wasn’t giving it my all. I ran across Pure Barre the other week when I did a class through Wedfully one Sunday. The Pure Barre class was beyond hard and the challenge of it put a smile on my face. Yes, you heard that correctly, killing myself in class put a smile on my face. I didn’t leave Pure Barre that day, before getting myself a membership. I knew I had to do more barre classes. If they were helping me get my sweat on and putting a smile on my face, then it is something I need more of.

2. Everyday treat

With everyday treat, I do not mean buy yourself something everyday. I mean everyday treat yourself. Whether it be watching your favorite TV show, having some ice cream, having a glass of wine, reading a chapter in your book, going on an evening walk or even putting on a facemask and putting your feet up.  It definitely is the little things in life. Do not tell me you are too busy for this.  I am still super busy, and somehow always am, but I have made myself set aside time for me to do me, and you need to do the same.

3. Fresh Air

Fresh air is key to happiness as far as I am concerned. I have been making sure I get out of my office at least once a day and stretching my legs outside. There is something about the sun and breeze and even rain that makes life more real.

4. Dance it Out

When all else fails or if you just need to let out some stress, dance it out. Dancing is definitely a part of my self care routine. There are some days when you just need to turn the music up loud and dance. Whether the dancing be at home, walking down the street or even in your car. Do it!

Yes, I am one that dances in the car, so if you see a lady dancing in her car in Denver, it may be me. I find it super helpful to destress on your way home from errands, work, or just a long drive. Put your favorite jams on and go for it. I promise it isn’t going to hurt anything. I also tend to start singing at points. My voice is definitely one you wouldn’t want to hear singing, but I find it to be a super care free, love life thing to do.