The past few months have been a whirlwind around here, between scattering Mom's ashes in Hilton Head, being active with the local midwifery issues and discovering Will's food sensitivities (artificial colors, flavors, etc), I totally derailed in my efforts to pamper myself. Sure, there was the token nail polish change, sleeping in, or work in the garden, but nothing consistent or truly nurturing on a regular basis. At one point, I got so burned out that we basically did nothing for an entire week to recharge.
It's time to redesign my life a little, to prioritize and make time to focus on myself again. I am going to start this thing over from day one and see how I do. I'll re-evaluate as I go and play it by ear. Some of my posts might be kind of short, if it means the difference between getting a little rest that day and not. I'm sure that's not the end of the world for any of you, as you all have busy schedules just like I do and you are looking for quick ideas and thoughts. Perhaps some of you will be inspired to join me in my renewed efforts.
Our giveaway for Burt's Bees hand cream is still on when we reach 100 likes on facebook. So, invite your friends and I will draw a name for that prize once we reach that magical number.
I need some inspiration and creativity to get me going on this journey, so I've decided to participate in some fun challenges that will have me feeling great quickly. First, I'm participating in a Green Smoothie Breakfast Challenge. Even though I drink green smoothies on most mornings, there are the days when my morning gets harried and I get tied up in taking care of everyone else and don't get to make a smoothie for myself. That's when I end up eating cold leftovers from the fridge for breakfast. Not very appetizing and I really do notice a difference in my energy level and mood. I just want to make sure that I really take the time for myself and even learn to think ahead. I've heard that some mamas make their smoothie the night before if they know the morning schedule will be cramped. I've never done that, but I'm curious to see whether or not the smoothie still tastes good in the morning.
The second challenge I'm participating in is a month-long challenge with some friends to get our homes cleaner, more clutter free and peaceful. We have different tasks we're going to do each day in our homes, as well as some personal reflection tasks. I hope to share some of those things with you. It may sound like this is actually work and not pampering, but one of the things that makes the biggest difference in my mood and energy level is the state of my house. We live in a small home, so any amount of clutter or mess really feels suffocating. I'm hoping that these challenges will transform my home into someplace that is more fun to be and less work for me -- at least by the end of the month. The pampering piece of all of this is in how it makes me feel to walk into a room that is clean, clutter free, peaceful and relaxing.
The other things I'm working on don't have anything to do with a group activity, though I'd love it if some of you would join me. One of the biggest things that feels spiritually renewing to me in the warmer months is gardening. So, I would like to commit to spending 15-20 minutes per day in my garden for the month of June (excluding rainy days). There's something about planting flowers, watching vegetables grow and getting my hands into the soil that just makes me feel like a million bucks.
I love to run when I can, but I would like to add a stress-relieving workout to the middle of my day when the kids are napping. It doesn't have to be more than 10-20 minutes or so -- just long enough to release some of the tension from chasing the littles all morning, homeschooling, making meals, cleaning, etc.
Finally, I would like to do a beauty pampering mission each day. This could be something that takes just 5 minutes, or something that takes an hour, just depending on the day.
This might all sound like a lot, but I'm not aiming to spend hours and hours on anything. Everything together should take me about 90 minutes on an average day. Considering how much time I spend pampering everyone else, I think this will be time well spent and perhaps make me feel more renewed and productive the rest of the day.
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