Pick yourself up, dust yoursef off....

Time to get back on track.

Thanks for your patience Squirrel Jam fans. April was a difficult month for me and my family. My husband was hospitalized for 6 days and my father passed away, among other challenges. I was in survival mode for awhile, just trying to meet my most basic obligations and stay sane.

Under these circumstances I was forced to prioritize my time differently. Taking care of family, work and our business were tops, and things like working out and cooking at home took a back seat. I found that while I was stressed and strapped for time it helped to have a few ground rules in order to stay healthy myself--I didn't have time to get sick!

My ground rules included:

1) Make the healthiest food choices I could, even though I would be eating more prepared foods than usual. I opted for ready-to-steam bags of veggies, bags of salad mix, cottage cheese, protein shakes, and other quick, relatively healthy foods.

2) I stuck with my 1 sweet treat per week rule. Just because I was sad didn't mean I could get treats every day!

3) It was okay if I missed a workout when I needed sleep or was spending time in the hospital. I was not allowed to beat myself up when I couldn't workout, either. However, if I had a relatively open day exercise proved to be a great stress relief!

4) I took extra vitamins (C, D, zinc), napped when I could (even at the hospital), and tried to stay hydrated.

5) I swallowed my pride and asked for help from my fabulous family and friends when I needed it (thanks gang!)

Now that April has passed and my stress is ebbing I have made a new rule for myself: GET BACK ON TRACK...ASAP! Start working out consistently, resume meal planning and cooking at home, and start posting on my blog again!

The best way I know to honor the memory of my father is to pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.

Here's to a new day...