How to Beat Post-Vacation Blues

The Post-Vacation Blues. They are brutal. You enjoyed yourself on your vacation, probably had nice weather, and then the harsh reality of returning to the grind of work can be utterly depressing.

Some ways to beat the blues:

1. Relive the trip through photographs.

I absolutely love taking pictures. I wish I could take a photography class and really learn how to use a fancy camera.

One of the best parts about a vacation is reliving the experience through the photos. I ordered a bunch of prints from Kodak.com and when they arrived I happily organized them in a photo album and also hung a few photos in my cubicle at work.

There’s nothing better on a long, rainy workday than staring at photos of my sunny vacation. 😉

2. Eat food that reminds you of your trip.

After eating some Southwestern and BBQ food in Tucson, I was determined to try a few recipes that reminded me of it.

I found a few recipes I want to try:

• Barbecue Pork Sandwiches

• Pork Chile Verde with Red Chile Salsa

• Green Posole with Chicken

Yum! My mouth is watering at all these recipes. Plus if you’re like me, you probably eat out more on vacation. And it’s food that’s not normally in my diet. So it’s a nice thing to eat familiar, comfort foods are home. Especially if on vacation I wasn’t eat much in the way of veggies…(And no French Fries don’t count!).

3. Start planning your next trip!

Michael and I have a few vacations planned for 2011. The next trip we’re hoping to do is Vegas. It’s been way too long since we’ve played in that playground.

The second trip is this fall: Texas! I’ve never been to Texas (or the South really). I’m looking forward to another adventure.

4. Start a new project!

After reading Julie & Julia on my trip to Tucson I decided that I wanted to try a cooking experiment: French cooking. But since I’m trying to keep those pounds off, I’m determined to figure out “lighter” ways to recreate Julia Child’s recipes. We shall see how I fare.

I’ve picked up some cookbooks by Julia Child from the library and in the next few weeks I will be seeing how I can monkey with them to make them lower in calories. I’m really excited about this!

5. Take a Mini Break

After I got back from Arizona, the one thing I really wanted to do was visit the beach.

It had been awhile since I made a day trip to the Oregon Coast and I after spending a week in the desert the pull to the Coast was even stronger!

Michael and I also booked a one night getaway in a few weeks for Hood River. It will coincide with us picking up our case of wine from Quenett.

6. Continue Regular Fitness and Food Habits

Getting back on track with normal food, routine workouts are important too. It’s nice to take a break from the routine on vacation but it’s crucial not to completely abandon the healthy ways I established before the vacation.

It was a pretty seamless transition for me after vacation. I took one day off and then started back with my workouts. It really helped stave off the blues.

QUESTION: How do you keep the post-vacation blues from plaguing you?