resolute.

So since it's a new year, here is my token resolution post.

I've decided that this year is the year of taking care of myself. Hopefully it will start a running trend for all the years that follow.

Something happened when I turned 26. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I feel like 26 tossed me into the land of woman-dom. I'm a woman now, and women need to take care of themselves so they don't turn into leathered looking frizz balls earlier than they must.

One of the steps in taking care of myself involved becoming an independent consultant for a company called Arbonne. The company is comparable to Avon and Mary Kay only in that the products can't be found in stores and are only sold through folks like myself. In every other regard Arbonne surpasses those other companies. Arbonne is an all natural botanical skin care and beauty line. I decided to become a consultant because I tried the products and experienced the many benefits and positive effects  personally and wanted to share those experiences with others. Since becoming a consultant I've hosted three small events and have absolutely loved every minute of it. An event consists of foot soaks and optional facials and getting to pamper people is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do. In becoming a consultant I was aiming to try and be more conscious of taking care of my skin and consequently stumbled upon a new passion.

Another step in taking care of myself involves this trendy little clean eating thing. I've always pretty much eaten whatever I want whenever I want. My weight fluctuates quite a bit but I've never considered myself to be overweight. Well, except back in my chunkier elementary and middle school

days. I suppose it carried into freshman year of high school, and then again freshman year of college, but for the most part my BMI has been in the "healthy" level for my height. I'm not suggesting that I'm fat right now by any means. But I am suggesting that I need to start being more conscious of what I'm putting into my body. You can be thin as a rail and have a cholesterol level through the roof. I got a slow cooker for Christmas and I fully intend to start making delicious dishes that are good for my body and my tasty budz.

Third step includes getting physical. I've always been relatively active, I mean I run marathons occasionally and stuff. But I've never been very disciplined in my active life. Those of you who know me well know that I've never trained properly for a marathon. It's kind of my thing. But this year I want to qualify for the Boston marathon and you can't qualify for Boston without training. I also have a good friend who is egging me on to do a half iron man with her. We'll see about that last one. I have another friend who has made a resolution to buy a Groupon for a different fitness activity every month and I intend to join her in that. This month we bought a yoga groupon. I've never been much into yoga but I went to a candlelight flow sesh this evening and it was pretty magical. Seriously does wonders for your mental state and the sweating just wouldn't quit. I left feeling like a whole new lady.

My last step in taking care of myself involves doing at least one thing I love to do daily. It's just too easy to get caught up in the busyness of it all. Today I worked on a puzzle for a little bit. And I wrote a letter. Two things I adore. I also spent some time with a new friend who made me laugh until I almost peed my pants, another thing I love to do. The laughing, not the peed pants.

So friends, there it is. The resolution to take care of myself. You should all do the same.

And if you ever want me to host an Arbonne event with you and all your friends, you know where to find me!!