February is here...

Well hello February...

February is typically my favorite month. Mainly because it is the month of my birth and I enjoy celebrating things. It's also the month my Granny Nell, Mom, and Dad were born, so of course it's pretty busy for the most part. Most importantly, Mardi Gras is typically going on until then as well so there are lots of parades and functions to participate in. 

My February has been pretty crazy the last 10 days and it is blowing my mind that the month is almost half over! We are only 14 days from my birthday at the moment and have already celebrated my Granny and my Mom's b'days as well as Mardi Gras. It seems that 2016 is off to a quick start. 

On Sunday of this week I went to Joe Cain Day with my sister and 2 of my cousins. It's a day full of parades and craziness. It was pretty chilly and I was surprised that nobody wanted to go home before we finished parading for the day. We got to downtown Mobile around 10am and paraded until almost 5. We decided to skip the 6pm parade because 1. We were starving and 2. We had more throws than we knew what to do with. We called it a day and trekked back to our car before heading to my cousins house to divvy up the throws. :) 

Monday I met up with my friend Joylyn and we walked a 10k at the track across the street from my house. She had never done more than 3 miles at one time, so when she realized we had finished a 10k she was in shock...and also sore! LOL! I also started back on my supplements that have been helping me with weight loss. They are all natural and I have really benefited from taking them. (I'll post more about that later.)

On Tuesday, AKA Fat Tuesday, we went parading again. This time it was me and Chelsea with 2 of our other cousins. We got there for the 10:30 parade and left around 1:30-ish. We stopped by K's to visit and ended up staying until almost 9pm. (Oops) It was a good visit and I left in a great mood. 

That leads us into today. Today I  started the day working on school stuff, then spent the afternoon with my sister and my friend Kelly. We grabbed lunch around 11:30 and then hit up some shopping until roughly 2. I got some new clothes for the gym and some MUCH needed compression socks. I can't wait to use them after a good workout! 

I'm also apparently a glutton for punishment because I posted the following picture on my facebook and now I'm responsible for 330 squats and 590 sit ups (or crunches as I'm going to do). This is going to make me super sore, but I know it will all be worth it in the end! :) 

I'll keep you posted on my progress...

Jana

January is Over...Now what?

Wow...January is over. That was probably the quickest month ever! Here is a short recap of what I've done:

1. Set goals for the new year.
2. Ran 10 miles of a half marathon in Disney World.
3. Enjoyed time with my college roomie.
4. Went to a Mardi Gras Ball.
5. Joined a gym.
6. Tried something new- solo (yes, I went by MYSELF) mani/pedi with powder manicure instead of polish (LOVE!!!!)
7. Spent time with family.
8. Caught up on everything I was behind on.
9. Made progress towards moving on with my life.
10. Saw a friend off on her new adventure in Colorado.

It's hard to believe that this month is already over. Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was partying it up with my friend Kelly on New Year's Eve and we were setting our goals for the year. I'm proud to say I'm well on my way to accomplishing some of them!

Things in the relationship world are getting better. I've been spending more time with K and we are starting to get to know each other even better than we ever have. He's been sharing things with me and we are starting to develop some sort of "feelings" for each other. I can't say it is anywhere near love, but it's a special bond we share. I have also been working out my feelings with my ex. We finally spoke and got everything out in the open. I'm finally starting to realize that as bad as this breakup has hurt me, it has been a blessing in disguise because I'm finally getting to find Jana again and things that I had long forgotten I enjoyed, I'm finally doing again.

I have found that going to the gym alone and doing things by myself isn't quite as bad as I had anticipated they would be. I still have yet to go to a restaurant and eat alone, but I'm hoping that maybe I'll be brave enough to do that soon. We shall see. :)

Other than that, life has been good to me and I cannot complain in the least. One month down, 11 to go.

Finding my happiness again...
Jana

Day 2: Setting Goals for Happiness

This quote brings me a lot of comfort. At 29 (almost 30) it is a scary feeling to feel like you are "starting over". To go from having everything figured out to being thrust into feelings of inadequacy and fear. I went from knowing (or thinking I knew) what I wanted to being completely confused and feeling out of control. 

Goal setting is one of my favorite things to do because you can set goals for the short term or the long term. For the near future or the distant future. The world becomes your playground with an infinite amount of possibilities. 

The goals I am setting this year are specifically designed to help me reach my ultimate level of happiness. Not only allowing me to be happy, but to allow me to help others be happy as well. And hopefully to find an overall happier sense of being.

Goal 1: Get a gym membership

This seems cliche'. I know, I know, but the reasoning behind this go a lot deeper than the typical "New Year, New Me" nonsense that you see in January. This particular goal is to give me an outlet to work out any stress I may have pent up, to allow me to feel better about myself, and to allow me to spend time with people outside of work or home. My cousin, Loren, mentioned that she wanted to get a gym membership, but would only actually go if someone would agree to go with her. I instantly felt the pull that I should be that person. Being 12 years older than her, I see her more as a little sister than a cousin and I enjoy getting to spend time with her. I'm closer in age to her older sisters, so she and I are not as close as I am with the older ones. I'd like to use this time to get to know her better and spend some major quality time, all the while getting myself into better shape and letting go of all the hurt I have had bottled up. (I've also always been told that the best revenge is to show them what they are missing out on.)

***Goal 1 is underway. I am now a proud black card holder at Planet Fitness***

Goal 2: Try something new once a month

I am a creature of habit. I tend to eat at the same places, go to the same places, and very rarely break routine of any kind. I also tend to not do things if I have to go alone. I don't know what it is about me, but I find comfort being surrounded by other people. Now don't get me wrong, I am open to most things..but not when I have to go alone. However, it's time I take action and stop missing out on things because I feel self conscious about being alone. There are  a lot of people in the same boat and I am no longer going to let that fear keep me from doing new things. I want to try something new once a month, whether it be a restaurant, going to a new store, trying a new food, lipstick, clothing item, etc. One new thing a month will open me up to 12 new things in a year. It's time I embraced it. 

Goal 3: Stop Dwelling in the Past: It only destroys my future

This is more of a personal goal for myself because I tend to harbor feelings inside and I rarely say things. I keep it bottled up and replay it over and over again looking for a new ending or solution. This is not only unhealthy, but it keeps me from trusting people and building new relationships. I have got to let go of the past so I can move on into my future.

Goal 4: Say something nice to someone everyday (and mean it)

My parents always taught me to be nice to people. To compliment them and make them feel good about themselves. It comes naturally to me to talk and make conversation with people, even when I really don't want to. However, sometimes when I feel like there is too much silence I will compliment someone just to make conversation and won't mean it. I hate doing that and I want to make sure when I say something nice it's because I mean it, not to just make conversation. 

Goal 5: It's okay to say "NO" sometimes

I am a very nice person and everyone who knows me would consider me helpful. However, this does not work out to my advantage because sometimes I get taken advantage of because I feel like I can't say no. I'll kill myself trying to do for others and a lot of times I get the short end of the stick. I know I need to work on saying "No" and asserting my authority and meaning it. This is the time to do it. 

These are just a few of the goals I have set for myself. Of course there are many more I'm not ready to share, but I think that this is a good start. What are YOUR goals for the new year? Share with me in the comments. I'd love to have some new ideas. 

Meeting Goals and Taking Names,

Jana

Day 1: Setting Myself Up for Happy

After the eventful night out for New Year's, I left Biloxi and headed home to have lunch with my family. We enjoyed fried porkchops, black-eyed peas, cornbread, collards, and macaroni and cheese. All of the traditional "good luck" foods. I made sure to eat plenty of collards (money) and peas (luck) because I could use an extra dose of those in the new year.

After visiting with the family I ended up in my room watching Pop Up Videos and working on my New Years Resolutions. I know it seems cliche, but making resolutions actually helps me to focus on a task. I change up my goals monthly, but resolutions are something to persist at the entire year through. If you know me personally, you know that I am one of those people who makes lists...for everything! So why should this be any different?

Resolution for the year: 

Yes, you read that correctly. My resolution is to just be happy again. No strings attached, no special diet necessary, no nothing other than just doing whatever it is that will make me completely happy. 

Now don't get me wrong, I've got other GOALS in mind, but only one resolution. And I honestly feel like this resolution is going to take some time to meet. It's time to be selfish and focus on me for a change. It's time for me to regain the confidence and happiness I've lost over the last year. And it's time for me to make myself a priority. It's time I finally find my happy again.

Here's to Searching,

Jana