I was having a “girl night in” with myself the other evening. I watched The Break Up and Friends With Benefits, both of which I’ve seen a million times. Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point. While watching Friends With Benefits, there is always one part in the movie which makes me just about shed a tear. When Justin Timberlake’s character is at the airport having a heartfelt conversation with his father, his father provides some advice basically summed up as such: Life is short and you can’t waste a minute of it. Do whatever it takes. I also love when Woody Harrelson’s character drives Justin T. and his dad across the Hudson River from New Jersey to Manhattan in a speed boat.  Lastly, my heart fills up when Justin’s character pulls out all of the stops with a romantic gesture for Mila Kunis’s character by staging a flash mob. I realize if you have never seen this movie, my explanations don’t make sense, but it’s OK. You get the gist.

These particular movies that make me giddy get me thinking about life in general and how there is this huge world out there and I want to eat it up.

Bold statements…

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Paris in the springtime.

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The promise of a new beginning.

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Dreaming.

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I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I, personally, have been celebrating since December 1st. It’s such a festive time of year.

Merry Christmas Eve.

I wanted to share a few inspiring words/stories from the internet. Happy Reading.

Sophie from Daily Health Boost came across an empowering list and I’m a sucker for lists. The website Personal Excellence posted 101 Ways To Live Your Life To The Fullest.

Tina from Carrots’N'Cake wrote this great post providing life lessons from her pup Murphy.

Emily from Sweat Once A Day completed an Ironman this past summer.

Kris Carr changed her entire life and banished cancer along the way.

This video still gets me every time. Ben from Ben Does Life made a promise to his Grandmother and to himself that he would change his life for the better.

There are moments when I wish a genie would appear and grant the perfect balance to my life making everything wonderfully organized. I have to admit there are those days where I thrive better in the midst of chaos. At this particular time, I haven’t pulled out all the stops but my to-do list is creeping up on my quickly.

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In my work world, things are shaping up nicely. We just came off of two events last week and this week we’re wrapping up everything related to the holiday season.

In my writing world, I’ve been on top of my game. I find that if I do a bulk of the writing for The Gumption Project on the weekends, it helps me stay afloat across two blogs.

In my personal world, I’m checking things off of my Christmas shopping list but need to hunker down and put a final action plan in place.

In my health/fitness world, it seems non-existent. When there is a great deal going on around me and I must wear ten different hats, the first to go is my health/fitness awareness and I don’t feel great about it. This must change immediately and I’m putting this in writing so I’m held accountable. This doesn’t mean that I’ve flown the coop and never work out or I’m throwing back cheeseburgers, it just simply means I’m not scheduling fitness into my daily routine since the work events took over most of my time last week.

I’m sharing my game plan below to keep myself sane through the next few weeks so I can continue to enjoy the holiday season that I vowed I would do since December 1st came upon us. So far, so good. What a pity if I lost sight of all of the festive cheer? That could never happen. I hope to be able to shed some light for those of you that may be experiencing the same hustle and bustle of a schedule.

Home organization: Right now I want to organize my kitchen, my bathroom cabinets, my office files and my wardrobe closets among other things. In order to tackle home organization, I suggest writing out a list with one item to tackle per day over a period of few days or a few weeks.

Health/Fitness: Whenever I find myself feeling lethargic, I know something must be lacking in my health/fitness regime. The first thing I do is go to the market and pick up a supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. Next, I drink a glass of wheatgrass mixed with water in the morning before heading out the door for work. I make breakfast at home and pack a lunch during the week.

Regarding fitness, I sign up for a few races to add on calendar to keep me motivated. I belong to a gym so I also take a look at the class schedule and add these to my date book so they are visible to me as set-in-stone appointments. Before bed, I’ll usually brew myself a cup of herbal tea to sip. It helps me to relax and curbs my appetite so I automatically don’t reach for a snack.

Personal everyday chores or odds and ends: I keep all of my appointments listed in a day-planner as well as my work calendar. I suggest keeping a running list of what needs to be done as well as a deadline date for getting the tasks at hand accomplished. For instance, I usually schedule a laundry date with myself in the morning before work as it almost guarantees the washers/dryers will be empty and I’ll have the place to myself. While I’m waiting for my laundry, I’ll take the time to clean the apartment. I’ll scour the bathroom or the kitchen. I’ll vacuum and dust the living room. This way I’m optimizing my time.

After adding on a few appointments for myself to my weekly schedule and pulling together my lists, I instantly breathe easier. It’s the small actions that make an immediate impact in our lives.

Early yesterday evening I was on my way to a company holiday party. I was sitting on the subway alongside my friend, who also happens to be my co-worker. Today is her birthday. We were discussing our plans for the remainder of the week noticing how busy our schedules have become with all of the festive cheer lingering about.

Lately I seem to continually ask her if she thinks she’ll get engaged soon. Yes, I’m that person. But really, I say it in good fun as it’s not something she has an answer to and of course she wants to be surprised when it does in fact happen. I told her I had a feeling he may propose on her big day. My friend disagreed as she felt her boyfriend would propose over a weekend so they could celebrate together and then with friends and family the following day. Alas, we went to the party and then eventually our separate ways.

Only a few hours later I received a text message that she had gotten engaged. When she arrived home last night the front door was propped open. She thought nothing of it as she didn’t have her key and knew her boyfriend would be aware he had to let her in. Upon opening the door the lights were off. Lit candles and rose petals had taken over the apartment. Her boyfriend was standing nearby and told her he had something for her. She walked over to the counter where there was a grouping of larger candles which read the words “Will You Marry Me?”

This will be a birthday to go down in the books. Romance is in the air. The sweetest part of all (in my opinion) was the fact that her grandmother passed down her engagement ring to my friend. How special to keep it in the family.

Let’s make a toast to romance.

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