Talk, talk & more talk

Happy Holidays, readers!!! We had a lovely, busy holiday with family and friends galore, but now we are happy to have had a weekend to relax and spend time just the 4 of us (those goofy pups ;)  ).  It's been a relaxing weekend just in time for us to throw a NYE party and then hopefully to be followed by another relaxing weekend after.
Oh the holidays, another Christmas come & gone.  The holidays can be stressful and crazy, but hopefully at the end they are fun and a great time to catch up with people we don't see very often.  I spent a lot of this season working, while family was at my house.  That can make for a crazy holiday fo sho.  Lots of wine and good beer drinking to combat any stress....& the occasional run here and there too.
I spent a lot of this holiday observing...mainly observing how people talk.  How they talk about themselves, others, situations etc.  My main observation...why all the negativity?!?! When did we all start being so damn pessimistic about everyone and everything?  I think it's easy to join in with the Debbie-downer crowd and then it's easier not to notice, but having tried to remove myself from the gossip-ring it's amazing how every conversation has a negative-air about it.  Now this is not to generalize, certainly everyone I talked to over the holidays did not have a negative-tone, but I will say the majority of people did have at least one downer comment.  And the winner for most negativity directed at is.......themselves!!

Adriana Lima, obvi

That would be correct.  The most horribly depressing comments were always someone referring to themselves.  "I feel huge." "I wish I could be as organized as you." "I just can't ever seem to get it together."  When did we all start talking about ourselves like we don't matter?  I heard a lot of self-destructive talk especially surrounding the Victoria's Secret fashion show.  What's the point of even talking bad about yourself with something like that?  I'm not a Victoria's Secret model, nor will I ever be, so what's the point in comparing myself to a 5'11" thin, beautiful chick with big boobs.  Come on! My 5'4" frame is just as it should be, therefore me & Adriana Lima are not comparing apples to apples.

I'm no Adriana Lima, but I'll take it!

Negativity is contagious, we hear one person saying something and bam next thing you know everyone is agreeing.  The other thing about negative comments is the more we say them, the sooner they become a reality.  If you say you are fat enough times, soon you are going to believe it.  That's just a fact, honey.

Talking about oneself in a negative tone spills into talking about others in a negative-light.  It's also true that if you tear someone down enough your faults don't seem as noticeable.

My moral of the story today is...if you don't have anything nice to say....spin it into something positive about yourself.  I'll bet you'll feel better than if you highlight all your or someone else's faults.  So talk about yourself in a positive light, it's not arrogant or overconfident, it's a fact that you should love who you are.  I'm not perfect and guess what?  I'll bet Adriana Lima isn't perfect either. Embrace the imperfections and the perfections.

Settle.

The last 2 months have been full of change for us and our families.  New house, new furniture, engagements, job changes...the list goes on and on.  Now it's time to try and settle in....

Colin & I are settling into the new house and slowly things are feeling like home.  The Christmas tree and decorations certainly help!  Well, and the fact that we are finally done buying furniture.  The house looks great, if I do say so myself!
I've got my routine and schedule down pat, which my type A-self loves.  Finally found an amazing yoga studio, some great spin classes, and loving our new running routes along the water.  But with all the settling down there is always some stress to go around and it's always beneficial to take a look around and say am I happy?

Stress and change can mask who you truly are and keep you from focusing on what's really important....your happiness.  I've taken some time for self-reflection over the past few weeks as I noticed I haven't been myself the past couple months.  I made excuses saying that it was the move, or financial stress or any other excuse I could come up with.  But when I really got honest with myself I was able to target the lifestyle changes I needed to make.  While I can't publicly share all of it yet (don't worry Colin & the pups are all good), my lifestyle adjustments made me think that the holidays are a great time for everyone to have some self-reflection.  It's easy to get in the routine and just get used to the usual, but use this stressful holiday season to give yourself the gift of happiness, and make some changes that are going to lead to a better you in 2015 (cliche I know, but so necessary)!

Happy Holiday season, everyone, and look forward to some blogging coming up with some new announcements!  But for now just enjoy the pics of the new house!