Tag Archives: Planning

Self Care Sunday Isn’t What It Sounds Like

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Yesterday was Self Care Sunday in my world. That doesn’t mean I sat on the couch and ate chocolate while watching a Golden Girls marathon. Although, a day with Dorothy, Rose, Sophia and that endearing hussie Blanche would be hard to resist. 

Instead, it means that I spent the day doing things that will make my life better or even easier in the coming workweek and then spent some time writing, reading and doing quiet activities that bring me joy. 

I slept in and caught part of the CBS Sunday Morning Show, an important one as they honored longtime host Charles Osgood who passed away this week at the age of 91.

Charles … yes, we were on a first name basis – Charles was my absolute favorite television news personality of my lifetime. Cultured and witty, never crass or cruel, he had a voice that made me feel like I was sitting down with an old friend. He looked for the good, the interesting and the untold stories in the world and I have missed him every Sunday since his retirement. 

Next up were two chores that I simply haven’t had time or energy to deal with lately – clean the bathroom and Scout’s litter box. These are not difficult chores but they do require mental preparation that I sometimes can’t pull off during a busy workweek. 

I let Robot Bob do some vacuuming. Scout likes to oversee this process and it freed my time to do a little straightening in other areas. Clean sheets and clothes washed, dried and returned to where they belong is a gratifying feeling, especially when you slide into a freshly made bed!

Afterward was some light exercise. I’m still babying my knee a bit but it felt good to move and stretch. I also feel better about myself after any kind of exercise. A walk in the woods is always best but anything will do on a rainy day. 

Then it was back to the kitchen to do some meal prep. There’s nothing worse than coming home after a long workday to remember you still haven’t won the lottery and there still isn’t a personal chef waiting anxiously to learn if you prefer broccoli or asparagus tonight. Oh, the disappointment! 

So I roasted veggies, made some fish and experimented with overnight oats. I don’t like oats but am trying to learn to like them in the interest of being a healthier me. This has been an ongoing struggle for most of my adult life. We shall soon see if I cracked the case this time!

I also worked on my budget and gathered items for tax preparation. 

See where I’m headed with this? Self care is many things. For some it’s a Tuesday night massage, lots of moisturizer and sleeping in. For me, it’s often a morning in the woods, a day in an antique mall or a road trip to a destination unknown. However, it can also be lots of unattractive things batched together over a few hours to make the next few days more pleasant. 

It was about 4:30 when I finally sat down to read.

Was the house perfect? It was not. No indeedy, I didn’t dust but I did vacuum the dead stink bugs out of the window sill where they collect in the living room. Having that done made my heart happy and mind relax just a little more than normal. 

While in the kitchen, I was able to keep an eye on the dozens of birds flitting about the feeder. I put a bird feeder in the line of sight of my kitchen window last year and it has brought me great joy. It’s on a metal shepherds hook at this time but I would like to eventually have something taller and more permanent placed in that location to make it harder for the wandering cats in the neighborhood to grab one of my visitors like it’s dining at the Ponderosa buffet. 

But that’s a project for another day’s list. 

Instead, I kicked back on the couch with a book and my journal, with Pandora on my favorite oldies station and rain hitting the windows. Later I switched gears to PBS to watch All Creatures Great And Small, the very best show on tv these days. 

This, my friends, was a perfect day of self care because that’s how I choose to view it. The work had to be done anyway. I couldn’t go another day without emptying Scout’s litter genie. I needed to cook some food and wanted clean clothes ready to go for the week. Yes, it was work but I chose to view it differently. I chose to view it as a form of preparation to make my week better, to make myself feel better. And I still had time to relax and kick up my feet with a snack and to do the fun things I looked forward to enjoying. 

Self Care Sunday. I should do this more often!

Someday

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Of all the paths you take in this life, make sure a few of them are country roads. I had to pass this one up but I’ll return another day – just to see where it goes.

Today isn’t the day, of course. It’s Monday and the workweek begins again.

Do you have a someday list? What’s on it? Travel? Hobbies? Books? Trying a new restaurant? Exploring a road like this? I’m always looking ahead to the next bit of free time – large chunks and small can be used to accomplish goals and try new things if you plan.

I have spent more time lately flying by the seat of my pants but my someday list is never far from thought. I hope you keep yours close too.

For now, though, go conquer this day!

Rained Out

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Last night’s plan was to walk the bike path in Athens with my cousin. Unfortunately, another round of thunderstorms rumbled through the region, dumping buckets of water as colorful lightening streaked across the angry sky.

In short, we didn’t walk. Instead, we put on our walking clothes and went out for Mexican. We had a terrific dinner and a relaxing time catching up. Then we went to the neighborhood big box store “to walk.” This is code for “we looked at plants and hair care products.”

Don’t judge.

The bad news is that today’s plan to show you pictures from the bike path fell through.

It just goes to show that we can plan all we like but there are plenty of obstacles to cause us to slow down or change course – for better or worse.

Did I need the exercise? You betcha. Did I need chips and salsa? Not really.

All the same, it was great fun catching up with another single gal and having someone to laugh with. We should do that more often.

I regret nothing.

Meanwhile, here are pretty flowers to brighten your day.

Happy Thursday, friends. Enjoy!!

I Ran Away From Home

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blog IMG_6123_edited.jpgI ran away from home last Wednesday. With a week of vacation and no desire to be home but no place in particular to be, I did something that this overplanner wouldn’t normally do. I drove away without a real plan.

I had some maps, my phone, some supplies ( in case I couldn’t find a hotel) and my passport in case I went rogue and headed for the border. The plan was to pick up the National Road in Ohio and drive as far west as I wanted. The journey was the destination. That meant no hotel reservations, no goals and no stress.

It was amazing. 

I followed the National Road to Terra Haute, antiquing along the way, eating mostly in mom and pop restaurants, and stopping to rest wherever I got tired. The weather was beautiful the first day, horrible on day two and mediocre the rest so this wasn’t a great picture trip. But I did get a few photos I’ll eventually share here with some thoughts on special places along the way.

I’ve never done a vacation like this where I had nowhere to be and all week to get there but would absolutely do it again. In fact, it seems like something everyone should try at least once.

There are so many things that make me want to go back. Main Street America, with all its idiosyncrasies, is fascinating and I have several small research projects to answer questions from the road.  Also, I was driving the modern National Road and would love to go hunting for some of the old alignments just to see what’s what. In Indiana, the road has been expanded to four lanes most of the way and I suspect there’s a lot of interesting stuff to see off the beaten path.

Stay tuned. I want to tell you about a cool old diner, a Model T Museum, my favorite antique stores (guys, there are more antique stores than you can count out there) and several other nifty sights from along the way. Look for more soon!

Recommitting To Myself

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new years 2019I’m not a huge fan of the New Year’s Resolution. Maybe it’s because I believe every day is a perfect time to commit to doing something that’s necessary or good. Maybe it’s because I see how quickly most people fail with their resolutions. It takes at least a month of commitment to form a new habit. Sadly it takes one bad decision and about five minutes to revert back to our old ways. Then discouragement sets in and before we know it, we’re waiting for next January 1 to repeat the process.

Last spring, my beautiful friend Sarah introduced me to the Whole 30. It’s designed to help kick a sugar addiction and it’s an elimination diet to help folks with health issues figure out their allergies or other food related problems. For me, it became more of a lifestyle to stave off sugar cravings, lose weight, have increased energy and greater mental focus. I even found that food was causing some mild Rosacea like symptoms.

I quickly learned that I am happier when I eat whole foods and avoid heavily processed stuff. 

It’s a real commitment to be a Whole 30 Pescaterian. It’s a lot of cooking and most convenience food is off the table because it’s packed with sugar and all sorts of nasties you can’t pronounce and probably shouldn’t digest. For most Whole 30’ers, the prospect of eating in a restaurant is enough to incite panic. In other words, it’s a commitment and a challenge. And unlike most diets, if you make a mistake today, you don’t just pick up and go on tomorrow. You go back to day one with every slip up. So if your goal is to just get through the thirty days, it’s stressful when you’re new or when you’re trying to eat on the go.

Like I said, I have achieved a place of lifestyle where I try to stick with it as much as possible but am not bound so tightly by the rules of being on a thirty day round. This healthier diet gave me more energy for hiking, working out and going on adventures. After a few months of being really strict, I gave myself a season of leniency – more or less to see what my tendencies are, what my weaknesses are and what I do if given some leeway.

Turns out, my weaknesses and natural tendencies are appalling.

So today I start a new Whole 30 round and recommit to some of the lifestyle choices that made me so happy last year – drink lots of water, fuel my body with good food, get outdoors when possible, hike a lot, read good books, listen to amazing music, write daily, and surround myself with people and things that make me happy.

I’m also doing a reset on my budget. The holidays and poor self control on this last road trip tell me that I simply cannot be trusted with food, money or anything else. Ha, ha… ahem.

So, I’m not making a resolution. Instead, I’m making conscious decisions to recommit to what’s good for me and to what’s really important.

If you are among the many today who are committing to a resolution, here’s my advice – PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!!! Write out your strategies, write down what you’re doing, study your choices and reward yourself for good performance.

If your goal is to cut spending so you can pay off a credit card, you would need to make a budget, write down every penny you spend, study your spending habits and chart your progress as the credit card balance decreases. Then periodically reward yourself with something special but not necessarily something that costs money. Maybe you invite a friend over for coffee or take a long, hot bubble bath. If you have kiddos, plan a picnic at a local park.

You get the idea.

Whatever you do, remember that the thing you want – the slimmer body, the fatter bank account, the life without cigarettes, or whatever it is – you can work toward every day of the year. You don’t need a calendar or a silly annual tradition to make it happen. You WILL need some elbow grease and a commitment to make it reality.

I have my plan together and I have a goal to be good to myself. And really, my friends, what’s better than committing to being kind to yourself?

Best wishes with your resolutions or goals or whatever it is you call them. Go forth and conquer every day this year! Let’s make 2019 our best year yet!