Make New Friends, But Keep The Old...My Non-New Year's Resolutions

I remember singing that song at Girl Scouts when I was in the 5th grade.

Make new friends, but keep the old
One is silve and the other's gold

As this new year starts and many of us are making our new year's resolutions or avoiding them :), I've been kind of caught up with the opposite thought.  I want to make sure that I keep doing the things that have worked well for me and helped me this past year. 

Here's my Top Ten, I mean Top Five List (you will see why when you get to #5) that I hope can help you too!

1.  Go to bed earlier!  Seriously- some nights my hubby and I were happy to crash and fall sound asleep as early as 9:30.  9:30!!!  We're such old people. LOL  Even if you can't do this every night, every little bit of extra sleep has helped me and my moods A LOT!  Try it.

2.  Get the kids to bed earlier!  I read a great article by a doctor that was approached by a friend.  The friend's child was 7 and was still having EXTREME tantrums.  The family thought the child could be ADHD or bipolar.  Instead, the doctor said to get the child to bed no later than 6:30 for 2 weeks, and to send them to their room whenever a tantrum was developing.  I'm not saying there's no such thing as a chemical imbalance (trust me, I take 90 mgs a day of meds) but a lack of sleep can throw off your balance too.  We've been getting Sophia to bed closer to 6:30 and are happy her tantrums have been fewer and less intense.

3. Get enough fiber.  I take 3 yummy gummies a day, along with a diet of vegetables and whole grains.  When I get blocked up (lovely, I know- but I HAVE to share what's helping...) OK, so when you get blocked up toxins get released into the body which really messes with all sorts of stuff.  For me it's my mood and how I feel overall.  I missed my fiber gummies 3 days in a row and was already starting to get super depressed again.  I wasn't absorbing nutrients anymore; I was getting the toxins and it was affecting me for the worse.  Fiber has helped me & I'm definitely going to keep it up!

4. Walk EVERYDAY!  A simple 30 minute walk is almost always do-able.  Even if you don't sweat a drip it will do wonders for you.  Again, I don't know completely why, but the days I have my walk, even in my living room :) watching a fun or suspenseful show on Netflix, I just feel better. Some days I don't feel like walking but I still do it.  I know I will regret it if I don't! :)  Plus if there's one thing every counselor I ever saw said it was this, so I'm doing it and loving it (most days. LOL)

5. Commit to less.  Like this blog, it felt daunting to write it because I wanted it to be brilliant.  Than I told myself, it doesn't have to be brilliant.  It just has to be something.  Get your hands wet.  Jump in and get the fun started.  And it doesn't have to be a Top Ten list.  It could be a list of 4 things or 2!  Do less, Eva! :)

So see if some of these simple ideas help you and do less this year!  You might find it does more for you.  :)  Happy 2013!  Please follow me and Like my post!  I would love to have more reader-friends to share stories & helpful tips with.

Luv, Eva