Baby Steps to a Happy Heart v.2

An ongoing list of steps I'm building to nurture a happy heart...

3.  Get moving...

I go through phases with exercise.  Some weeks I love it, feeling energized and 

renewed after I work up a sweat.  At other times, I feel drained before I even step foot 

in the gym, arguing with my subconscious about why I should NOT have to exercise 

today.  But I keep trying, every single week, I try to get moving.  Even on those days 

when all I want to do is get home from work and curl up into a ball and sleep for just a 

few minutes, I try to get moving.  Because the reality is that exercise is good for me,

 it makes me feel better and keeps my body healthy.  Stretching, running, lifting 

weights, yoga, dancing: it all leads to a stronger, happier version of me.  Three times a 

week, one hour at a time, I go to the gym and spend time strengthening and toning my 

body.  With a full time job and a family depending on me, those three days sometimes 

feel like a big sacrifice.  But it's a commitment that I feel resolved to, knowing the feeling 

I get as soon as those endorphins kick in.  No matter how much I might dread walking

 into that gym, I know how awesome I will feel once I get there.  On the other days of 

the week, I try to get moving at home with my family: bike rides, hiking, frisbee in the 

yard, anything to get us all moving together.  Burning energy in a healthy way keeps us 

all a little more sane, and that is a good thing.

4.  Go outside...

I am a born and raised country girl and feel most at home with my bare feet in the grass 

and the sun on my face.  The love for the great outdoors that Shawn and I share is 

the reason we moved home to our little town on the bayou after Isabelle was born: 

we wanted our babies to have the room to run wild.  We wanted the opportunity to have 

a home with a big open yard, we wanted the space to grow a garden or two or three, 

we wanted to spend time in nature appreciating the beauty that surrounds us.  Most 

days, you'll find this little family outside, reluctantly packing up our things and heading 

into the house only as the sun sets.  Being outdoors is medicine for my soul, lifting my 

mood and filling my heart with positive feelings.  When I am feeling sad or overwhelmed 

or tired or stressed,  I grab my gardening gloves and head outside to my flowers and 

herbs.  I strap Brees on the back of my bike and ride.  I sit on my back porch with a cup

 of tea and a good book.  After an hour or two of fresh air and sunshine, my troubles

 usually don't seem as big as they did before.  Being outdoors, with the birds in my ears 

and the trees blowing their branches in tune with the wind, life seems to take on a 

much more simple, beautiful form.

A few photos from this last weekend with my in-laws in which we moved and played and 

sat outside for hours, making all of our hearts so happy...