Today was a different kind of really good day filled with family and friends. I love days like that. I got my green smoothie in, but that was the only thing I did as far as challenges go. Instead, I ditched all of that and went to go see a good friend out in the country. We hung out and talked for hours, while my son played and my daughter nursed. Her husband came home during the last part of our visit and so he and Will played in the yard. Will had the time of his life digging a hole and building a mountain with the dirt from the hole. LOL, I love it! Anyway, today was just all together pampering and renewing.
As if that wasn't enough good and fun stuff for one day, the midwifery bill passed the Licensing Committee in North Carolina (unanimously!!), so now it is off to the Health Committee. That just put me on cloud nine. I cannot wait for the party we're all going to have once it finally makes it through all the hoops and CPM's are legal and licensed in this state.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Day 5
Today has been a wonderful and busy day. I had a green smoothie this morning with plantains, strawberries, carrots, medjool dates and pea tendril microgreens. I weeded in the garden and there is something exceedingly therapeutic about that. Instant gratification at its best. I managed some yoga practice while the kiddos were sleeping -- nothing planned, no videos, just my own practice and it felt divine. Around the house, I got a ton of stuff done including cleaning the oven inside and out, washing all the window treatments in the kitchen/dining room area, starting a new batch of sprouts, cleaned the inside of the windows, dusting around the bench in the kitchen and cooking a batch of chickpeas. My daily pampering mission was to sand down some of the rough areas on my feet. Five minutes of work and now my feet feel like a baby's bottom.
Day 4
In the future, I think I might try doing a weekend recap blog post on Monday. I just don't have a lot of time on the weekend to think about blogging because I'm trying to spend every precious moment with my beautiful family.
Yesterday, I got my green smoothie in, the same kind I made on Saturday. I managed to spread the rest of the mulch in the garden and for my pampering mission, I slept in until after 9:30. Luxury at its finest! I didn't worry too much about the house or the workout. I don't seem to need that as much on the weekend since I tag team with Allen when it comes to the kids.
Yesterday, I got my green smoothie in, the same kind I made on Saturday. I managed to spread the rest of the mulch in the garden and for my pampering mission, I slept in until after 9:30. Luxury at its finest! I didn't worry too much about the house or the workout. I don't seem to need that as much on the weekend since I tag team with Allen when it comes to the kids.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Day 3
Short and sweet today. Busy but fun day!
I had a green smoothie this morning. This one was a little different: plantains, strawberries, carrot, cucumber, microgreens, medjool dates. Yum, yum! I managed to splatter it all over the kitchen while the blender was running, though. Epic! LOL.
Physical pampering -- nice loooong shower and a smooth shave. Felt so good.
I'm not worrying about the extra workout on the weekend. I didn't get to the house challenge, but it's all good. :-)
I had a green smoothie this morning. This one was a little different: plantains, strawberries, carrot, cucumber, microgreens, medjool dates. Yum, yum! I managed to splatter it all over the kitchen while the blender was running, though. Epic! LOL.
Physical pampering -- nice loooong shower and a smooth shave. Felt so good.
I'm not worrying about the extra workout on the weekend. I didn't get to the house challenge, but it's all good. :-)
Friday, June 3, 2011
Day 2
Today has been a busy day! The kids and I went an hour away to meet a friend and her kids for lunch. I made my green smoothie in the morning before we left (same one as yesterday).
I spent another 20 minutes out in the garden working on mulching and that felt good. I've got about half the garden done now.
I did a short relaxing yoga, but it was waaaay too easy for me. If you're brand new to yoga, check it out, but otherwise look elsewhere. Sometimes I forget that I've been doing yoga off and on for about 15 years now, so my idea of easy and someone else's idea of easy could be two different things.
The challenge around the house was to clean off the top of the fridge/freezer and wash the doors of cabinets and any shelves in the kitchen. The cabinets were no big deal since I did them a couple of weeks ago. The top of the fridge/freezer was in desperate need of help.Things are much improved now.
My physical pampering mission for today was clipping my fingernails, filing them, oiling my cuticles and pushing them down. My hands are so busy between housework, gardening, violin, caring for kids, cooking and other things that my nails get to be in pretty sorry shape. I'd been having issues with hangnails the past week, so I knew it was time to pamper my hands. They feel so much better now!
I spent another 20 minutes out in the garden working on mulching and that felt good. I've got about half the garden done now.
I did a short relaxing yoga, but it was waaaay too easy for me. If you're brand new to yoga, check it out, but otherwise look elsewhere. Sometimes I forget that I've been doing yoga off and on for about 15 years now, so my idea of easy and someone else's idea of easy could be two different things.
The challenge around the house was to clean off the top of the fridge/freezer and wash the doors of cabinets and any shelves in the kitchen. The cabinets were no big deal since I did them a couple of weeks ago. The top of the fridge/freezer was in desperate need of help.Things are much improved now.
My physical pampering mission for today was clipping my fingernails, filing them, oiling my cuticles and pushing them down. My hands are so busy between housework, gardening, violin, caring for kids, cooking and other things that my nails get to be in pretty sorry shape. I'd been having issues with hangnails the past week, so I knew it was time to pamper my hands. They feel so much better now!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Day 1
Ahhh, so here I am at day one again. I think this is going to be a much easier way to do this. I had my green smoothie this morning. Try it out if you want to feel energized all day. Really, it makes such a huge difference. Most of us do not get enough greens and this is a wonderful way to sneak in a ton of them quite quickly. I do different smoothies on different days. Today, I combined 1/2 cup frozen sliced plantains, 1 cup frozen whole strawberries (local and organic), 3 pitted medjool dates (as a nutritious sweetener), 1 1/4 cups water and a head of romaine lettuce (yes the entire head). Blend everything but the lettuce until it is smooth, then start adding lettuce one leaf at a time. I put the entire head into my smoothie, but if you're new to green smoothies and like a milder flavor, try adding a little less. Your taste buds will adjust over time and you will be able to add more greens and enjoy them.
For my home challenge, I cleaned out the deep freeze. Doesn't seem pampering to you? Well, to me it does because there is something so renewing about opening up the freezer door and seeing lots of space for good, healthy home cooked food and frozen produce. Throughout the summer, I like to buy from local farmers and then save some things for the winter. Yummy.
When the kids went down for their naps, I headed out to the garden to work on mulching. This is the secret tool that will hopefully help me keep the weeds under control so that we can have a nice yield this year. It was hot out there, but seeing everything come together felt so good.
When Lily got tired and went back to sleep, I did a nice relaxing yoga routine, Crunch: Candlelight Yoga. This was about 45 minutes instead of 10-15, but I splurged today and did it anyway. It was so very relaxing and renewing and incredibly easy, so give it a shot if you can carve out the time.
Following yoga, I gave my feet a nice massage with some ginger and clementine lotion and they are feeling all soft and energized.
What have you done for yourself today?
For my home challenge, I cleaned out the deep freeze. Doesn't seem pampering to you? Well, to me it does because there is something so renewing about opening up the freezer door and seeing lots of space for good, healthy home cooked food and frozen produce. Throughout the summer, I like to buy from local farmers and then save some things for the winter. Yummy.
When the kids went down for their naps, I headed out to the garden to work on mulching. This is the secret tool that will hopefully help me keep the weeds under control so that we can have a nice yield this year. It was hot out there, but seeing everything come together felt so good.
When Lily got tired and went back to sleep, I did a nice relaxing yoga routine, Crunch: Candlelight Yoga. This was about 45 minutes instead of 10-15, but I splurged today and did it anyway. It was so very relaxing and renewing and incredibly easy, so give it a shot if you can carve out the time.
Following yoga, I gave my feet a nice massage with some ginger and clementine lotion and they are feeling all soft and energized.
What have you done for yourself today?
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Starting Over!
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.
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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