Happy New Year, everybody!!!

Whew! Where did the time go? 2012 is over and 2013 is in the works!

I wish I could say that I started the new year with a bang – amazing fresh start and all – but I’m sad to say it wasn’t so. One of the reasons why this blog’s been slow on the updates is because I’ve just spend about 5 weeks trekking round South America which was pretty awesome except for the fact that I sprained my ankle pretty badly in the second week of my trip (bungee jumping in Peru, more on this crazy tale later!). Long story short, I ended up in a Peruvian hospital, sitting in a wheelchair in a very scary hallway that looked like something out of Room 6.

Okay, so in this picture, the hallway had sunlight coming in through the back doors and it looks pretty bright, but trust me, I was surprised at that! It was actually a rainy, grey day and we had gone down the elevator from the main lobby to this corridor to get X-rays of my ankle done… only we ended up waiting outside this door forever for a doctor who didn’t show up. This is a picture S took of me while we were waiting… laughing because you had to laugh at the situation. I was in major pain then and we’d just done a huge trek back from the beginning of the Incan Trail (where I had to concede I was in too much pain to be able to do the hike.. major disappointment there) and ridden the local bus back to Cuzco, which involved hours of driving which jarred my ankle at every bump (and there were lots of bumps!), and then a trek up and down the streets of Cuzco in the light rain in an attempt to find the clinic while my ankle killed me with every step.)

I still wanted to get as much as I could out of South America though, so I ended up aggravating my sprained ankle a lot during the rest of the trip which meant lots of pain, coupled with the frustration of not being able to move as quickly as everyone or being able to work out (those of you who are fitness nuts will understand this!). All this plus the tons of unhealthy eating we did (hey, we had to try everything in South America, including bunuelos, these amazing but totally fattening fried maize-and-cheese balls!) plus three straight days of flights to get home plus jet lag plus the grueling hot weather back in Perth just sent my immune system spiraling into a down low. Within a couple of days of getting home in the new year, I was down with a sore throat, fever, aches and just general all-round exhaustion.

After four or five days of constant sleeping, only waking up to take some meds and supplements  or to cook some yummy, healthy veggie-filled meals, I was finally back on track. But I was still feeling pretty rundown and listless and kind of flat (I’m guessing it’s due to the post-holiday blues plus jet lag plus flu blues) and I hated it and didn’t know what to do to get rid of it.

But today! TODAY! my ankle was feeling way better after getting so much rest at home (thanks to all my constant sleeping!) and a trip to the physio last week who gave me some ankle-strengthening exercises so today I decided to try running a little.

It was my worst.run.ever.

A glorious 4.75km in 53 minutes. Oh, the shame. Usually I’d be almost finishing a 10km run by 53 minutes!!

But I was finally able to run again! After almost five weeks of pain from just walking! And best of all was my ankle didn’t hurt at all!!

And due to the early-morning summer heat and all the hills in my neighborhood, I was sweating like crazy and feeling like I’ve finally managed to do a proper workout in ages. As I walked about the car park a couple of times to cool down, it suddenly hit me. The endorphins plus the achievement of finally being able to run again had brought a smile to my face. This was what I’d needed to finally pick me up and kick off my energy levels again. Just a good old sweaty workout!

This really brings home to me the fact that I’ve become one of those people who go crazy if they can’t work out. Just stir crazy. My poor friends who had to deal with me all through our trip to South America after the Sprained Ankle Incident can attest to that.

And now, it’s a little late in the New Year (but hey what are we talking about? It’s never too late!) I feel ready to tackle all the resolutions and projects I’ve been looking forward to starting in 2013!!

When I was bed-bound during the first few days of spraining my ankle, I had nothing to do but read books. My friend, S, had bought a book we’d both been dying to read for a long time, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, and I devoured that book in a couple of days. And, to take my mind off the pain of my ankle, I began to list the resolutions I wanted to achieve for 2013, as well as break each resolution down into a small number of achievable goals that would help me keep said resolution. By the end of my (very sedentary) stay in beautiful Cuzco, I had all my plans and goals for 2013 set. Well, if I couldn’t make it to the Sacred Valley, at least I managed to get that done while I was in Cuzco!

So here it is… my 2013 Resolutions:

1)      Work on my writing

2)      Be healthy and fit

3)      Work on my blog

4)      Keep organised and tidy (or at least try to!)

5)      Strengthen ties with family

6)      Strengthen ties with friends

7)      Be kind

8)      Be good-natured

9)      Be positive, not negative

10)  Try new things

11)  Be mindful

12)  Stay on top of my finances

An explanation and breakdown of said goals will follow later on!

In the meantime, I’m playing as many happy, energetic songs as I can to keep up the new burst of energy I’m feeling. And I just discovered this awesome song via Peanut Butter Fingers that I’m really loving. I’m planning to make the main lyric one of my mottoes for 2013:

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

As far as quotes go, that one’s a total motivator for me!