Merry Christmas Y’all! I hope you are doing well in your part of the world. Texas is having the warmest winter on record this year and it hasn’t frozen over as we expected. Not sure if I like it or not but that’s okay. I have wanted to write this post for a while now but just wasn’t settled enough to do it. I have been resting and recovering from the year we just had. Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year and has aways been for me, but this year is a little different but I’m so thankful. My neighborhood has an annual Christmas decor competition, and the winner is usually the most decked out house. As much as I love admiring decor, if it needs a ladder, drills or nails, I’d rather not be the one doing any of that. After donating my old tree to a family that I felt would better appreciate it, I went a non-traditional route and got a spiral Christmas tree, and I absolutely love it.

It’s the holidays! I know but nevertheless, I’m still doing my best to keep my routine going and not just letting it ALL go…because it may be too hard to kickstart it in the new year. LOL! Here are some of the things I’ve been doing to maintain and improve on during the holiday period.

Staying Hydrated. Being home and not on the go coupled with having so many drink options, it’s easy to forget to hydrate my body because I don’t feel or get thirsty. But making a mental note to drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water every day has been my goal.

Rejuvenate your skin. Waking up and dashing to work or getting home and barely making it through my exercise class doesn’t give any room to really cleanse and pamper my skin as I should. But now that we’re home, dry brushing, Epsom salt soaks, sugar scrubs and pampering my skin is necessary for it to retain its youth and elasticity.

Apply detox foot pads while you sleep. A lot of people have said that detox foot pads are a hoax or that they’re fake. Well, I have used detox foot pads for almost a decade, and they WORK! My sleep is better, I feel refreshed, and my energy levels are up. I feel like people should try good brand names for great results…Try it and thank me later.

Get unlimited at-home facials. It doesn’t matter if you’re a guy or a gal. Now is the time to slow down and really take care of your face. Everyone has a routine or regimen that they follow and now is the time to slow down and follow it instead of just barely wiping your makeup off before jumping into bed. Cleanse, exfoliate, scrub, hydrate, moisturize and spot treat. Remember, your face tells a lot about you before you open your mouth.

Rest. This is when you have earned the right to be a couch potato…and a happy one at best. Rest, relax and give your brain some timeout to just do nothing. Watching garbage TV aka Real housewives are my go-to because I need only two braincells to be entertained when I watch reality TV.

Cut back on excessive stimulants. Your liver will thank you for it. I sat with a doctor friend of mine who intimated me on the rise of health issues because of stimulants; be it drinks or medication. Moderation is the key but if you have to binge during the festivities, have your cleanse or detox lined up afterwards. In Hollywood, people have parties and then have detox sessions afterwards where they get IVs with vitamin supplements to cleanse or repair whatever damage they may have caused internally. I know this sounds extreme but that should tell you something about stimulants and toxins and what they do to our internal organs.

Folks, it’s so good to write again. I hope you get to rest, reflect and enjoy your families this season. From my family to yours, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and an amazing new year ahead. Until I come your way again, I remain

Periwinkle Starr