Bon Voyage!

My school runs on a quarter system. The school year begins right after Labor Day and graduation rolls around in early June. But in between point A and point B, we take a 6-week hiatus from classes for what they call our "holiday break." That's right, from Thanksgiving through New Years, I find myself heading back home for turkey and staying until the clock strikes 2008.

A typical break means retreating to my quiet, northeast Ohio town and working at as a seasonal employer with a group of like-minded friends (6 weeks of work certainly pumps up the weakening bank account before returning to school), but being my last official holiday break, I decided to mix things up. This break, work is not on my list of things to do. Taking its place? A cruise through the Bahamas with 7 of my closest friends!

We planned the trip months ago, and the countdown has finally headed into the single digits; on Monday morning, we will forgo our college-town meeting ground for Miami, Florida where we will board Royal Caribbean for a 4-night cruise! Our close-knit group (consisting of my three roommates, my boyfriend, and his three buddies) have been friends for the last few years, and from the moment this idea was conceived, we have been constantly planning and impatiently waiting its arrival.

Managing winter weight gain is definitely the buzz word these days, but while others at Thanksgiving are worried about the months of sweet-treated, fat-laden landmines that lay ahead, I have an added concern--fitting into that bathing suit that has been purposely shoved to the bottom of my drawer for months. To remain sane, I opt to enjoy all the best holiday fixings, but vow to be the gym's best friend until I leave. To help keep things interesting while I tone what can be toned, I create different, personalized workouts, courtesy of Women's Health. By constantly mixing things up, I keep my mind and body interested, intense, and into it (very important when you're looking to shape up fast). Bored with your usual routine? Mix it up with a new workout of your own!

But this trip has also come with extra, unforeseen, benefits. Traditionally, I am the night owl of Christmas. For weeks before the big day, I open up shop in our kitchen and stay up long into the wee hours cooking, baking, sprinkling, and chocolate-covering. In between buzzers, I write out Christmas cards and finish wrapping presents. I've been doing it since middle school--making way too many baked goods on way too little sleep--and I always look forward to every single moment of it. But while mapping out my December calendar, a week-long trip right before my usual peak-season created some unwelcome stress. I imagined myself returning from an incredible trip, only to face all of my Christmas chores left untackled. So this week as I headed out to the gym, I made extra pit stops along the way. Before I knew it, the boxes left to be checked were drastically outnumbered by those already marked. And all without a single ounce of holiday-harbored stress!

Lesson learned? Productivity breeds more productivity, just as sitting on the couch breeds more sitting on the couch. By getting up and tackling one goal (quality time with the gym) I was motivated to tackle others (like getting all of my Christmas shopping done). And that stress I was expecting upon my return from paradise? Gone! By managing my lengthy list of things to do, I have left myself a small, palpable group to tackle the week before Christmas!