Day 27/28: Blues Be Gone

I'm baaaaaccccck :)

Battin' down the hatchets ladies and gents, I'm back and full speed ahead! I am feeling SO much better tonight than I have in several days. Battling a severe head cold wasn't fun, but I needed the rest and relaxation from my busy lifestyle, though it did seem to go by rather quickly. Now that I'm slowly breathing better and coughing less, I can get back to business. Weight loss business that is. I'm happy to report that I did stay on track as far as eating healthy. However, I was unable to do any form of exercise. Head cold + getting too hot/sweating = coughing fits for Dana. But, once I'm 110% healthy, I will start back on my daily fitness routine.

As you can see, I have combined Saturday and Sunday's blog post. Though this won't happen again, as long as I'm not deathly ill, I will keep these days separate. But, this weekend, I've had an epiphany. Over the past few days when I've been lounging around and trying to get better, I've noticed 'the blues' trying to settle in. And I'm talking soulful B.B. King kind of blues. Maybe it was the fact I wasn't able to enjoy the beautiful sunshine or company of others. Maybe it could have been caused by the fact that I re-watched the very last Harry Potter movie and had this longing to run off to Hogwarts. Or even the fact Valentine's Day is a few days off. Whatever the cause, something was definitely off. I guess being cooped up in an apartment all day got the best of me. But, with even the smallest ounce of the blues that I experienced, I immediately thought of ways to pass the time and give myself a little positive boost. I started out on Facebook, which led me to Twitter. Once the statuses and tweets didn't seem to occupy my time correctly, I moved to Pinterest, and then just happened to StumbleUpon for awhile, which was a really good idea on my part. Ultimately, after sifting through creative poems, beautiful photography and oddities of sorts, I found the one reason I 'stumble'--well-written and published articles. This one stuck out to me because it hit home.

Titled "25 Ways to Beat the Blues", this article lists a variety of helpful hints and knowledge on how to turn that frown, upside down. Though I found this article on Oprah.com, it was originally published in the January 2001 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. So if those winter blues are starting to get the best of you, fight them off with these 25 suggestions.

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Cures-for-Sadness-Learn-Something-New/1

XoXo,
DJH