Welcome Home Taylor

Two Week Boost

Today I'm starting a two-week boost! What is a two-week boost you ask? Well, I want to get my butt in gear for eating a little healthier and working out a little bit more. The goal of this is not to lose weight or to be more physically attractive; I only want to feel better. I don't eat outrageously unhealthy (no fast food, no red meat, I don't overindulge), however, I do know that I don't eat enough fruits and veggies. So my main goal is to begin to incorporate those into my diet more. I've talked about my hip problems a while ago on here, but for those of you that don't know, I have a sore hip. There's nothing terribly wrong with it, but if I don't make a point to exercise it often, then I'm left in pain. A lot of pain. I fell off workout wagon a while back, but the past month I've been making a point to practice more pilates, which helps it a lot and I so I obviously want to continue with that.

My two-week plan will look like this:

• Alternate days for strength training and cardio (ex: Monday strength training 15-20 minutes; Tuesday run/jog 20-30 minutes; Wednesday strength training 15-20, so on and so forth). Sunday will be resting days.
• Incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet. Make a point to have at least 2 of each a day.
• Start my day off with a healthy breakfast. I am already a breakfast fanatic, but I tend to lean more toward cereals, which are usually high in sugar. I'm making a point to eat whole grains and protein.
• Enjoy it! Which is the most important goal.
  

See? Nothing too crazy or absurd. If one day I become a health nut and an exercise junkie (nothing wrong with either of those things, in my opinion) then I will do it slowly. Right now, I enjoy my life and want to continue to live it the same way while making a point to be slightly healthier. I'm hoping that this two-week boost will encourage me and help to motivate me to do these things continuously.

Does this sound like fun to you? If you'd like to join in, comment below and follow me along on Instagram (@welcome_home)

 

photo by Glen Carrie via Unsplash.

Flying with Anxiety

Recently, we went to California for a wedding. And I was terrified. When I say that I was terrified, I don't mean a deer-in-the-headlights, I mean that I shook; my stomach twisted and turned; my eyes stayed wide-open at night as my mind raced and my mouth watered in a rotten way. I spent four months in agony. Whenever I wasn't thinking about work, school, this blog, or the few things that kept my head above water in other parts of my life, I was thinking about this flight.

I can't tell you where my terror came from, but come it did. And it enveloped me whole. The anxiety came in waves and at times I could breath and at others I seemed to drown in it. I knew that I had to go through with it though and after months of struggling with this horror, I was finally able to find a few things that helped.

I'm not sure what changed, but all of a sudden, I was able to think of things other than flying. I was able relax a teeny bit and when I thought I flying, I didn't get the sudden urge to run away from my fear, but I had a calm feeling in the pit of my stomach. A few things had helped me during my flight (along with some prescription medication) and I wanted to share them with some people that may struggle with the same thing. I'm not sure if these will work for other people, but I hope that they do because they sure helped me.

1. Take a math-related distraction with you such as Sudoku or a small workbook of math problems. I was once taught that math helped to force the mind to think of something else by using separate parts of the brain. I can honestly say that this was my saving grace when things got rough. Even though my medication helped, I was still really anxious and while we were taking off, I just focused on Sudoku and it calmed my entire mind.

2. Bring music or your favorite t.v. show. I still own an old iPod (you know, pre-Wifi) and so I was able to watch some episodes of The Office during take-off, which helped. Focusing on things that are funny always help ease my anxiety so I made sure to fill up on those. I also brought some movies to watch on my laptop during the flight.

3. If you can, go with someone who understands your anxiety. Seriously. I pretty much hit the jackpot with David because he is the most patient and loving man I have ever met. During the three months when I was a wreck, David was always by my side to comfort and calm me. He is my breathing safety blanket and so I was extremely fortunate to have him not only on the plane with me, by all the time before that when I spent nights wide awake in fear or minutes that felt like hours because of anxiety.

I know these tips are few and there is a lot of really great advice out there that may help you out. I wanted to share a bit of my personal life on here that I don't normally talk about. Anxiety is a thing that people either completely understand or it makes people look at you like you're insane. I would love to share more about my anxiety and my sixteen year journey (yep, I've been dealing with it since I started having panic attacks at the age of six) with you if you'd like to hear it. I've become more aware over the years the amount of people that share this struggle, and I'd like to add my own story to the mix. Maybe it will help others and maybe you will just be able to understand me more. If you have any tips for flying, leave them in the comments below!

p.s. packing essentials for a carry on.

My Workout Regimine

Let me just start off by saying this: I did not start a regular workout routine with the intentions to lose weight. I was happy and still am happy with my weight (which, has not changed since starting this regimine). I started working out for a few reasons that were unrelated to weight and so if weight-loss is your goal in working out, then I don't think that these tips will really apply to you. However, if your goal is to feel better, both inside and out, and gain confidence and learn how to live a healthier life, then I think that this routine will work wonderfully with your life like it has mine!

For the past 3 or 4 years, I've had really horrible hip pain in my left hip. I'm not sure what is was that triggered it, but I do know that it was not from an injury. After going to the doctor's a few times and getting x-rays and having a long discussion with my doctor about my pain, what causes it, what makes it work, and what makes it better, he determined that physical therapy would be the best way to improve my health (pleast note: I was given advice after a thourough examination of my pain and got the okay from my doctor to do this. If you are having pain of any sort, then you should always consult with your doctor before starting anything to determine what is best for your lifestyle and health.) I really didn't want to go to physical therapy mostly because I didn't have enough time. I work full-time and go to school full-time and on top of that, I run this blog, so it's hard for me to fit in any other things in that crazy schedule. I have worked out regularly in the past and really enjoy it so I kind of already knew what I liked doing and what I really didn't like doing and I started with yoga.

I fit in the exercise that I could and have started with doing about a half hour of a yoga video three times a week before heading off to work for the day. I really enjoy Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown and Denise Austin: Pilates. They both have two videos in each; JM's are 1/2 hour long and DA's are 20 minutes long (I do her's on mornings I'm running late). I also really, really like Tony Horton's P90X3 yoga workout (and all the other P90X3 workouts as well). Those are obviously really pricey if you plan on buying the DVD's, so I would say those are for the much more serious than the just-starting-out crew. This has really been working out for me very well. I also have been using the app, Pacer, to track my steps. I try to reach 10,000 steps a day (it's really hard!) and that keeps me motivated after workouts while I'm at the office and on days when I don't workout, I know I'm still getting adequate exercise. I have plans to reward myself with a Fitbit Zip to help keep even better track of my steps and because I hate having to carry my phone with me EVERYWHERE (sometimes I just wanna go for a walk without having the opportunity of communication with anyone).

The results have been wonderful and I am happier than I ever could have imagined. No, not because I've lost weight or have a ripped six-pack (ha!). First off, my hip feels FANTASTIC! The pain was getting to the point when after I walked 20 feet I'd be in pain and limping. Now, I very rarely have any pain at all and on the days I do, it doesn't last long at all and is very minimal. It's such a wonderfully free feeling! I've also found confidence in myself that I never had before. I wasn't necessarily unhappy with my body, but like anyone else in this world I have some insecurities. There were times in my life that I would cry when I looked in the mirror (that was some time ago though). When I first started this regimine, I was at a point when I had accepted my body and had felt alright about it. Now, I embrace it. I see how strong my body is and what it's capable of and it makes me so proud. In fact, it brings tears to my eyes seeing how much I've grown in self-esteem just typing this out. I even bought a bathing suit! I definitely have plans to continue this and grow my abilities in yoga and pilates, which I have found to really enjoy. I used to run a lot, but cut that out for the time being while I strengthen my hip muscles by walking and other exercises.

I hope this has helped you with anything that you're looking for in a workout! There are so many different types of working out and healthy living, but this is where I have found my happiness and my love. I would really enjoy hearing any tips that you may have though because I'm always open to wonderful ideas!

xoxo

thoughts on taking time

If any of you read Naomi's blog, then you may have seen her post some words regarding this article. After I read it I was both happy and ashamed because the article hit me right where it hurts. My whole life, I've always been in a rush. It's always go, go, go and if I ever stop I have a gut-wrenching feeling of anxiety. I struggled with anxiety for most of my life and I think I made it a habit to always be going because if I ever stopped I worried. I always felt that if I wasn't doing something, I must be just wasting away.

It took a yoga class for me to realize just how bad it's become. At the end of class we had about 5 or 10 minutes of meditation at the end: I felt as if I was going to explode. There was NO WAY that I could just lay still for that long when I could be showering after my long workout or going grocery shopping or vacuuming my living room or anything else but this. After a few minutes though, I realized, "Hey, this isn't so bad." It turned out to be great. Stopping for those few minutes made me realize how healthy calmness could be for a human. Before I had seen it as almost a weakness for me and within only a few moments, I had realized that this is a necessity, not just an indulgment people take.

In the article, Rachel talks a lot about enjoying her life with her children and how her youngest taught her how to do so. I don't have any kids yet (or anytime soon), but I do have a wonderful man in my life who happens to be both loving, patient, and at times painfully slow. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm known to push my way out of an embrace because, and sadly these are my own words, "it's not productive." After I read Rachel's words, I felt like it was exactly what I needed to make me realize that being busy doesn't mean that you're living life. I would love to see -- and say for that matter -- these words daily: "I will not say, "We don't have time for this." Because that's basically saying, "We don't have time to live." I think from now on, I will try to live those words and remind myself that cramming as many things as possible into one day isn't necessarily the best way to go about your life.

I've been practicing these thoughts of mine for a few days now and it's been such a relief. David and I even sat on the porch for a full 15 minutes of doing absolutely nothing and I was able to enjoy it. This is what life really is. ahhhh.

thoughts on homemade

Growing up, I didn't live on a farm where everything was fresh. Nor did a live in a house where my mom made us breakfast, lunch, and dinner all the time. My siblings and I grew up in a house with a single mom who worked two jobs to provide for us and make us happy. I don't have many memories of her cooking extravagant meals in the kitchen when we were younger and she never taught me how to bake bread from scratch. She taught us how to work hard, to laugh even harder, and how dirt never hurt anyone so you mine as well play in it. I never blame her for us not having memories of homemade food. All of our cakes came from boxes and we usually had hamburgers or chicken for dinner and there's nothing wrong with that cause some people don't like to cook. And sometimes there are people who come home exhausted and all they want is to read their kids a story. And they also hate to cook on top of that.

I'm not sure when my sister started baking, but like most things my big sister does, I soon followed her steps. Our love for baking grew from there and we always worked good as team usually baking cupcakes and mixing up homemade frostings. She moved out after a couple years of college and left me the only baker in the house. I started to expand my repotoire then, baking cookies, cakes, breads. Then I started collecting cookbooks about a year or two ago (I now have an entire bookshelf dedicated to them) and it grew even more. I know have dreams of from-scratch butter and insist on making everyone a birthday cake.

So, if you ask me, I don't think homemade baking and cooking is for everyone. Just like skydiving isn't for everyone. It's not a necessity of life nor should you be looked down on for not baking from-scratch. I do it because I love it and sometimes I feel a little less guilty when I reach for my third cookie since, you know, they're made with love and all.

Is there anything that you have a growing passion for?

xoxo