With less than a month to go until Christmas, it’s time to get back on track. The gym has seen my tracksuited self again this weekend for the first time in an embarrassingly long time. And it’s hard work! I feel dejected at having to ramp up to fitness again, but know that it’s going to be better in the long run if I take those small steps, rather than really go for it, and burn myself out.

Homecooking is back on the menu! I’ve always thought this was an easy way to get back to health. There’s just something about home-cooked food which makes me feel better, even if there’s cheese and olive oil! At least you can control the amount you put in. And cooking relaxes me too.

Sleep. Ah yes. That would be good. Stress always stops me sleeping well, so i’ll be trying to get some early nights in while I can. At least before the Christmas party circuit starts up. I’m always tempted to stay up during the week, so I can get more stuff done, squeeze more stuff into my day, but sometimes, you just need to recognize when enough is enough.

And dancing? Yep, back on the dancefloor as of this week! Rick and I have slipped a little from our Lindy Hop trials, mainly due to other commitments, work trips etc. But we both miss it, and it’s a great way to spend time together.

I’m hoping that these things combined can get me on the road to feeling good again. And of course, the hanging out with my friends bit too, but with our ‘urban family’ Thanksgiving just around the corner, that’s looking in good shape. Time for me to get started on my special brussel sprout recipe. For all the sprout non-believers out there!

Lastly, I’d like to re-commit to my blog. Sadly, it’s been another thing that’s slipped in the last couple weeks, and I’m not happy about it. So, I need to carve out the time for that too.

So, while I might not be hitting all of my November goals anytime soon, I feel good about getting everything back in good shape. Just in time for an exciting Christmas trip back to the UK with Rick!

Check back here to see if I can keep things on track…

When did i become incapable of spontaneity? I used to be capable of it, pretty sure about that. In fact, I used to be really darn good at it! But recently, anything “off plan”, whether it’s a food item on a menu, a trip somewhere, or even a drink with the girls, has become a chore, another thing on the list, something that requires its own mini plan of how to get there and enjoy it. And that can be fraught with anxiety, much like the type that Gen Y blogger, Rebecca Thorman describes over at Modite. Just like her, i find myself ‘nesting’ my way out of anxiety, staying home or ducking out to avoid the stress related with erm, having fun. Just like her, i’m a highly productive member of the workforce, can be counted on to do the right things by my friends (remember, i always have a plan!), and I’m sure I’m enriching my life by ticking off things on the big, fat to do list. Only, it would be nice if sometimes i could switch off the list making freak in my brain, and just chill out.

The problem came home to roost last night, at mine and Rick’s Lindy Hop class. The class last night was all about improvisation. The art of letting go and doing something off-plan, off-message, off the beat, whatever! Just going with the flow and seeing where your feet, and the music, took you. Well, hands up for guessing who found that a problem? I pride myself on being able to follow choreography well. Not so good when the choreography is non-existent! Even my inherent dancing skills couldn’t save me from my very English reticence and control-freakery terror of not knowing what to do next! In the end, I managed to let go, and even, gasp, enjoy myself. But it was a long road!

I took a good lesson away from dance class last night. And no, it wasn’t just the belly slide move, although that was a good one! It was to try and re-train my brain in the art of thinking off-plan. Even just some of the time. I think it would re-energize my creative juices and enable me to get back to the person i was in my 20s. Without the mini skirts and caked on bronzer. Ahem.

If you’re thinking about spending a couple days here, definitely think about the partaking in the mud bath experience that the town is famous for. I’ve been to Golden Haven before, and it was a lot of fun (if uncontrollable laughter when lowering yourself into a vat of warm, bubbling mud is your idea of fun) and super relaxing. However, this time around, Rick and I are opting for a slightly more aesthetically pleasing spa experience, with a an afternoon at Indian Springs. Forget the thermal mud bath, just look at that pool! I’m a massive fan of the Deco look, so this really appeals to my sense of symmetry and geometric style.

After that stab at health and exercise, I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend being all about relaxing, wine country style. In Calistoga, that might mean renting bikes and cycling to several wineries in the sunshine – Sterling Vineyards being one of the nicest, with a Greek-inspired whitewash villa effect – then dropping by the infamous Fainting Goats at the Old Faithful Geyser, for a bit of kitschy California sightseeing.

Evenings will be all about California cuisine, and a glass of local wine. After my Cakebread experience two weekends ago, i might even become a Chardonnay convert – Sacrilege!!Happy Labor Day!

• Spend quality time with boyfriend (yep, this actually made it onto an actual list – and yes, before you say it, I feel sorry for him too;)
• Go to gym twice, so i can kid myself those two Specialtys cookies last week won’t make it onto my hips
• Go to grocery store, so i can buy some healthy food for the week and not resort to take-out tacos from the hole in the wall on Divisadero Street, near our cottage
• Cook said food in advance for the week, knowing that there won’t be time to cook all the luscious-looking veggies and fish when i actually need to eat them
• Harangue myself for buying the same old things at Whole Foods, that are easy to make, taste good and fairly healthy. I always want to cook new recipes, but just never have the time. Turkey chili and roasted squash it is then
• Call my Mom back in England, for a weekly dose of local gossip, swine flu update, and progress report on my brother finally moving out, aged 29…
• Set up my new laptop, so i can transfer my ridiculous number of photos and have a proper repository for my blog materials
• Research a potential Fall trip to Chicago, only feasible if United points can be used. And we all know how easy and intuitive it is to book flights with miles…
• Wonder aloud for the hundredth time why my herbs (Italian Basil, Thyme and Sage if you’re asking) won’t grow any taller, but be grateful that at least they smell amazing
• Wring my hands in horror at the damage snails have wrought on my baby squash plants, and consider kind ways of torturing them
• Try and train an 11 yr old dog in the basics of obedience
• Walk 11 yr old dog for an extra time during the day, ’cause the sun is shining and i feel like a bad person if i don’t
• Facebook my friends that left me messages three weeks ago
• Finish and order my first Blurb book, of our new cottage, for my Mom back in England
• Buy frames for two prints that are begging to go on a wall, somewhere
• Work out new ways of preventing dog from going upstairs and chewing through baby gate, without damaging the look and feel of our cottage
• Decide on a theme (with boyfriend of course) for each room in cottage, so we can finally make some more progress in the decor dept (note to boyfriend – posters of classic Sci-Fi movies do not a country-style cottage make…)
• Sort through photographs to start planning the photo wall that Anh-Minh inspired me to create
• Visit a new restaurant or new bar (in this case, Press Club for delicious wine, and Lolo for quirky, amazing food), so i can at least kid myself my boundaries extend beyond SPQR and Delfina Pizzeria
• Try and walk past Gap without buying some new floral print item of clothing (oops, failed – take a look: http://tr.im/u7rt)
• See the new Harry Potter movie, because, you know, it has to be done. (Very good by the way. Nice and dark, which always appeals to me)
• Practice Lindy Hop before our two hour, Monday night class

Yep – sounds sooo relaxing doesn’t it?? And the sad thing is, this didn’t even involve hanging out much with my friends, something that definitely needs to be remedied for next weekend (luckily, August is full of good times ahead in that dept, so a little calm before the Margarita storm was actually kinda welcome this weekend).

BUT – the good thing is, it did involve hanging out with my boyfriend a lot, which, as he works every Sunday, was a good deal. It also involved one of the best massages i’ve had in a long time at Uncoiled (try it, and say i referred you – discounts in it for you and me!), and some old-fashioned, zero cost, zero stress, sitting on a chair on my porch, in the sun, and with a very happy dog, just the flowers, butterflies and wind chime for company. Lovely.

View from my back yard

It’s a constant battle of mine to actually switch off completely and relax. I’m not that great at it, and sometimes, it isn’t even that great for me. In fact, sometimes (and as noted with the Lindy Hop trials), it’s actually more therapeutic to engage my brain in something different and challenging, then just lie around, feeling wan and apathetic. But, i would like to feel less pressure to complete all these different personal projects, that can sometimes feel overwhelming. Even a three day trip to Calistoga has required military-style planning, and don’t even get me started on a Christmas trip to the UK. I guess i need to remember that sometimes, a day spent in the sunshine, listening to nothing but peace and quiet, and stroking a very chilled out dog, should be at the very top of my own, personal, to-do list.

What about you? What’s top of the personal de-stress list, and do you have enough of it in your life?