After the new years people begin to tire of the chilly winter weather and begin to yearn for the warmth of the summer. In an attempt to escape the frigid many start to plan vacations and holidays to sunny somewheres in hopes that they can bring some snowless sun to their lives. If you’ve found your self surfing the net for a vacation destination you may have more to worry about than just traveling expenses. For women, a vacation putting a bathing suit on, something that hasn’t happened for a few month. You have a vacation planned in two month and the thought of a bathing suit send you running for a box of tissues and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. If this sound like you there is only one thing to do. Put down the spoon, back away from soap net and get your body ready for some fun in the sun.

Start Today: Does this sound familiar to you? “If I start exercising in three weeks and I follow a strict diet and stay at the gym two hours, only take stairs, and forgo ice cream until I get on the plane I’ll definitely look great in that bathing suit.” If it does, your not alone. For some reason, we tend to rationalize putting off dieting and exercising by making future commitments to weight loss plans. It’s nice to have a plan, but life isn’t always privy to your plans, nor does it care if it correlates with them. When it comes to starting your diet and exercise regime there is no better time than the present. Starting well in advance will give you a little leeway should you find you falter.

Get Rid of Your Sweats: You may not have to get rid of them but at least put them aside for awhile. Sweat pants are marvelous for winter comfort but thats not only because they are warm, it’s because they are much more forgive to your winter weight than those slim fitting jeans. Sweat pants have a tendency to let you forget that you put an extra layer on over the past few months and therefore you are less likely to feel the need to exercise. Try to wear your jeans and pants as long as possible so you really have a grasp one what you need to do to get ready for that bathing suit.

Count Calories: You’ve heard it before, some may argue, but I tell you, counting calories is a good weight to take responsibility for what you eat. Many nutritionist suggest keeping a food log and writing down exactly what you eat to help monitor your daily intake caloric intake. While that can help it doesn’t necessarily take into account how much you eat and how many calories you’ve consumed. Keep a journal and list the amount of calories and fat that you consume each day. This will give you a tangible record of what you eat making your more responsible for each meal.

Don’t Take the Easy Way Out: Don’t take the elevator, walk up the escalator, always choose the stairs, and walk the extra block instead of moving your car. In today’s day it’s easy to take the easy way out. Every office has an elevator, there is a parking garage closer to your next destination, and you can take your car down the road to the supermarket. Instead of choosing a convenient way of getting somewhere, choose the way that will help you burn more calories. On nice days walk or ride your bike to work if it’s possible. After lunch choose the stairs instead of hoping on the elevator with co workers. While none of these things are big calorie busters alone, together they can help you burn off that bagel you ate for breakfast or the soda you had with lunch.

At the heart of Namibia lies the largest city, Windhoek which doubles as the capital city of Namibia founded in 1840s. Central Namibia is on the Khomas Highlands (at 1700m above sea level) on which the German-influenced capital, Windhoek is found.As the largest city in Namibia, Windhoek is home to several businesses, organization headquarters, and education institutions and of course a large population. Some of the Namibia People living in the vibrant city include the Owambo, Kavango, Herero, Damara and Nama, San and Europeans.The city has very friendly weather with warm days and cool nights all through the year. With temperatures at 20ºC in the summer and 5-18ºC in the winter months of June to August, Windhoek has semi arid climate that suits tourism activities.Traveling to Windhoek is by road, train and flights. Windhoek has two airports but Hosea Kutoka airport is the main airport in Namibia handling flights from South Africa and other destinations on South African Airways or Air Namibia which is the national carrier. Tours around the city are on 4X4 and led by expert tour guides often lasting about 3 hours.Windhoek offers a range of activities and tourist attractions providing something interesting for every Namibian traveler. Much of the city streets are a blend of old German architecture and modern buildings. For your historical tours in Namibia, there are four museums in Windhoek.The Alte Feste is the national museum is the oldest building form 1890 housing some important memorabilia and photos of the early colonial times.Other interesting surviving buildings include the Trans-Namib Railway Museums, the National Art Gallery, St George’s Cathedral, St. Mary’s Cathedral and many others. Visiting each of these sights on Namibia day tours makes a very insightful trip into the history and growth of Namibia as an independent state.All Namibia safaris begin in Windhoek with tours to the beautiful Daan Viljoen Game Park west of the city. Some of the sights here include gemsbok, kudu, mountain Zebra, springboks, warthog and over 200 birds. The Zoo Park is yet another fascination for day tours in Namibia with rare sight of the elephant fossils from the Stone Age 5000 years ago.Post Street Mall is an open air market providing a variety of African crafts, souvenirs and gifts. It is a good place to start off your shopping expeditions in Windhoek. Penduka Craft Village in Katutura is a non-profit project for rural women across the country. Support the women by buying one or two items there.Windhoek has plenty to offer for holiday accommodation from Luxury Windhoek Hotels to budget Guesthouse and self catering accommodation. Modern luxury facilities are available from Kalahari Sands Hotel, Heinitzburg Hotel and Windhoek Country Club Hotel. Olive Grove Guesthouse from the city centre with up market accommodation and facilities like Health spa, spacious lounge and swimming pool. There are many other Self catering apartments, safari lodges, Bed and Breakfast and private homes for Windhoek Namibia accommodation.Savor the wide array of restaurants such as the ever popular Joe’s Beerhouse and Am Winberg. Get the best African dishes at La Marmaite one of the best local restaurants in Windhoek. Club Thriller is a taste of fine West African music and a few upbeat contemporary rhythms.

I buy a new diary each year in January whilst I’m on holidays. The very first thing I do is put my name and contact details inside the front cover. The second thing I do is to put in all the essential birthdays and anniversaries for the year.And the third thing I do?Draw a pencil mark through my anticipated holiday breaks throughout the year. Go north for two weeks in winter about this time… Take season breaks around here…Right, now I’m ready for the year!I’ve been a fulltime freelance musician/entrepreneur since 1989. I go from project to project writing songs and soundscores on commission (demand). Early on I got myself to a point where I was exhausted from working long hours for short pays! And then something happened – I fell in love with a very dedicated holidayer (also a well respected longtime freelance writer). She wasn’t going to take ‘I’m too busy worrying about my work’ for an answer when it came to taking breaks.Learning to plan and budget for holidays has made my life as a feelancer/entrepreneur more bearable and, surprisingly, more productive. I know when I can work. I know when I can’t. So I mould timelines and schedules around what is known. Focus is a brilliant companion in creative endeavours. Focus and limitations!The alternative to taking an annual holiday is to be hanging in a state of perpetual anxious availability. Everything gets worn down – relationships, energy, finances. By taking some control and framing my year I get to contain my workloads and colleagues’ expectations of me. My health is stronger so I need to spend less on healthcare. My satisfaction is up so I need to spend less money to pleasure myself. Yep. It’s pretty simple really.Yeah, when I was 20 I thought if I appeared to be always available I’d be more respected. Instead I was financially broke and blurry with boundaries, indecisive in my personal relationships just in case a job arose. Not a good look!When I got into the groove of taking holidays things gradually changed. I could pace myself, be relied upon to turn up for the annual holiday with my beloved (albeit neurotically at first) and give clear signals to the people in my life that they too are a priority. And you know what happened? Work increased. Pay increased. Job satisfaction increased because when I got overwhelmed I could take a moment and project myself into the holiday vibe.Creative burn out can happen even in inactivity. Anxiety doesn’t require employment to work overtime!Not used to taking a regular holiday? Planning for travel? Squirreling away a percentage of all you earn to guarantee a break? Uncomfortable admitting to people that you travel and holiday every year and will sacrifice a creative job to do so?!!!!What is this? Martyrdom? Lack of faith that there will be more jobs where that came from? Or possibly addiction?A tip in beginning this weening off the ‘always available’ addiction is to simply state that ‘on this date I’m unavailable.’ If, by ommission it is easier to let people think you are working somewhere else, so be it.Get your diary and pick a time of year where the work load is low, the weather good somewhere else and pencil it in now!How anxious are you now, reading this? Can you do it? Are you already doing it? Cos if you’re lucky you’ll have twenty years or more of running your own businesses/projects. God! That’s a hell of a long time to go without annual restorative work.Have some faith. Have an annual holiday. Travel. Get away from all the things that are raggedy on the edge of your vision; begging to be finished or dealt with. Take off from the regular and its possibly fatiguing effect.And don’t miss the pleasure of being a daggy old tourist who doesn’t have to turn every experience into a creative outcome or a business idea.