When I Was Your Age, Christmas Came AFTER Thanksgiving

Is it just me or did the holidays start making their presence known around Columbus Day? We may only be in the first half of November, but I suddenly feel like the year is over. Did you know there are only seven weekends left in 2017?! Of those 7, I will be out of town for two and all but one is already full of plans. Is your blood pressure picking up? No, just me?

Too soon, too soon.

The big picture is helpful, but sometimes we have to break it down. This time of year is intense. From events to time with family and friends, there is a lot of pressure. We get questions we may don't have answers for and feelings of sadness for all that we didn't accomplish over the past twelve months. It's easy to let the year's accomplishments and happy memories fade away when you're the only single at every party or on day four of family time. Not to mention the exhaustion of having so much on your plate (and also on your real plate - hello Turkey coma) and "being on" for prolonged periods.

If all else fails, you can find me here. Nothing soothes me like Dendur.

This year, I'm going in with a plan. What will this look like? Being mindful of my caffeine intake (not to mention what I'm eating in general), making time for myself, sweat sessions ("endorphins make you happy"), reading each day, and staying on a good sleep schedule. Will I be able to stick to this? For the most part yes, though the sleep schedule is definitely going to be a challenge and will probably fall by the wayside when I'm at the two weddings I have in December. Still, by taking the time to think about what allows me to be at my best, I can go into these next seven weeks prepared and knowing how to adjust and what to look assess if I start to feel rundown. Now, while I may not be ready for Christmas music (and to be honest I never am unless we're talking about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra), I have more than one Hallmark Channel Christmas movie waiting for me. 

How do you get through the holidays? Any book recs for my daily reading time?