First off I want to thank all of you who had such kind and positive things to say about my first post!  It means the world to me that you guys liked, followed and even mentioned you learned something about me.  Seriously, thank you!

With day light savings happening this week, much of the country (minus Hawaii and Arizona) are still adjusting to extra hour we just got.  If you feel a little more tired, groggy or moody this week, you’re definitely not alone.  They say it takes our bodies a few days to adjust to the extra hour and the effects are similar to slight jet-lag.  Let the countdown begin as we get about a minute less of sunlight everyday from now till about Christmas (shortest day of the year is December 22^nd, just FYI).  Don’t believe me, look it up here. You would naturally think that means more restful sleep since we’re getting less sunlight right?  Wrong! Studies show that for those with sleeping problems (*raises hand*) can take up to a week to get back on schedule.  I can tell you from experience, it’s not fun to wake up early, hours before your alarm and not be able to fall back asleep.  With that being said, I feel like the best remedy to combat this is to get more sun during the day.  I know that sounds great in theory but with our busy schedules it can be hard, if not impossible to leave your desk or office.  I try to take at least one, if not two walks outside during the workday to 1.) break the monotony of sitting/standing at the desk staring at a computer screen and 2.) just enjoy the outdoors, the air, the people walking around and clear the mind of any stress that is bothering me, work or personal.  I’ve been doing this for the last few years and it’s become a daily workday habit.  So what do you do to break up the workday or do you tend to stay in the office all day?  I feel like my walking breaks break up my day into first and second halves (like a basketball or football game) and helps me think about a solution for a problem I’m working on (halftime adjustment, for all you sports fans out there).

Along with the change in time comes the home stretch for what we call the end of the year. Are you guys ready for all the end of year sales, company parties, and family gatherings?  I know I’m not.  It’s a time when you start to reflect on the year that was and look forward to a fresh new start.  What feels like a change in seasons is marked with cold, rainy/snow days.  Speaking of seasons, what is your favorite season of the year?  Mine would probably have to be spring because it’s the leadup to summer and the days start to get longer.  I compare it to the work week as Thursday is usually my favorite day of the week because of that anticipation knowing the next day is Friyayyy (Friday)!  Actually, I take that back because traffic on Thursdays in LA for some reason is absolutely horrendous, coming and going to work.  So yeah, Friday…you win!  I think I have a love/hate relationship with winter.  I love winter because it ushers in Christmas and the New Year (first date of winter is 12/22, sound familiar?).  At the same time, I hate the winter because we get the shortest amount of sunlight which lowers the chance to workout outside because of the conditions.  I also noticed the last 2 years I’ve had to deal with some pretty low moods, specifically in Jan-Feb.  I looked it up and self-diagnosed myself as having SAD (seasonal affective disorder).  I’m not sure if it’s just been the circumstances that were going on in my life at the time or if I legitimately have the disorder but I’m a lot more mindful of it now and have the experience to get through it if it comes up again.  I guess part of me is trying to justify why I feel the way I do by self-diagnosing myself.  With that being said,I look forward to what’s to come in the next few months while still enjoying the somewhat warmer temperatures we’re experiencing now.  But….there’s always a but…but brace yourself Angelenos, El Nino is imminent.

For the QOTP I was searching the internet for seasonal/winter quotes but couldn’t really find one so I went ahead and created one by myself.

QOTP: “It may rain, it may snow, it may even storm but none of it lasts forever.  Once it’s over, brush yourself off and move on with vigor.” -unknown

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you guys in a few days.  Oh yeah, I also wanted to mention if there’s any subject/topic you wanted me to write about please let me know.  Or if you even wanted to do a guest post, please send it over to me and I’ll have my team (just me for now) approve and proofread it.