Wellness for Christmas #1 | Series Collaboration Introduction!

Hello World and welcome to the start of a new series-collaboration with my blogging friend, Sophie! We had both mentioned on Instagram that we were looking to "shape up" for the holidays. If we spent the weeks leading up to Christmas making healthy decisions, we could feel better about splurging on December 25th! This little chat got my mental gears going. I then proposed an idea of a collaboration to Sophie, who jumped right on board.

So here is how this is going to work; Sophie and I will update our blogs weekly with a "shape up" post, kind of like a diary entry. I'm calling mine "Wellness for Christmas" and will have each post numbered. The format of the posts and the dates they are publish are up to us, individually. It was agreed that the less pressure we put on each other to meet a deadline, the better we'd be at sticking to our collaboration challenge. You can check out Sophie's introduction post for details on how and why she is taking on this challenge. As for the structure here; I plan to set myself three goals every week. At the start of a new week I will report back on whether or not I have completed the goals, and will share a new set of three goals for the following week. I thought I'd make this challenge a little more interesting for myself by adding a reward and punishment each week. I don't mean dungeon whips and shackles punishment, but perhaps a hard task to complete or an embarrassing "please don't make me do this" objective for myself. So let's get started!!
GOALS THIS WEEK
1. Eat Breakfast Every Morning; I am one of those people who is satisfied with an empty stomach and a coffee in the morning, especially when I'm on my way to work or to an event. I AM A BREAKFAST SKIPPER. And, if you are like me, you are familiar with the looks people give you when you tell them your dirty little secret. "You really should eat breakfast", "Most important meal of the day!" followed by their heroic "I always eat breakfast" tale. I don't want to be one of them, but I want to see what all this fuss is about. The pictures in this post was of my breakfast this morning! Already a little proud of myself, I won't lie!

2.  Drink a Full Glass of Water Before Eating; Not only am I a breakfast skipper, but I'm a water-forgetter. I can go a whole day without food or drink and feel just fine. I'll be thirsty when I actually get a good sip of water, or a bite of food. But until we meet, my body forgets there is such a thing as drinking (except coffee, we will never forget about coffee). I must be dehydrated on some level and am fully aware that one of the most important steps to take when leading a healthy lifestyle is to drink more water! I've decided that if I can remember to eat, I can remember to drink water; if I'm going to put food in my mouth, I'm drinking water first. 

3. Complete Four Sessions of Ballet Beautiful; This is an exercise routine I have been working with off and on for quite some time now. It was created by professional ballerina Mary Helen Bowers after she worked with Natalie Portman for her role in the movie Black Swan. As a former dancer, I am familiar with a lot of the ballet influence in this work out and the low-impact, fast-results of this routine keeps me working to the end. If you'd like to learn more about Ballet Beautiful you can visit the website here.

REWARD & PUNISHMENT
If I can successfully complete all three goals by next series update I will reward myself with an eyebrow product. On my wish list now; Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz or Dip Brow Pomade and Benefit's Gimme Brow. Any suggestions?

If I fail to complete my listed goals, my punishment will be to vlog myself workout out to 80's Richard Simmons. I've found this one, created for older people like; Richard Simmons' mother, Farrah Fawcett's mother, and Dustin Hoffman's father. Nice, slow, and EMBARASSING. I can tell you right now I don't want this! 

I am very excited to get started on this collaboration series. Sophie is such an inspiring partner to work this through with. Now that you know how this game works, feel free to play along with us! What are your three goals for this week?
Much Love,
-Stephanie Eva

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