Monday, January 7, 2013

First Monday of the First Month

Did anyone else notice? Today was the first Monday of a new month, actually, the first Monday of the new year! For most folks with "real jobs" it probably felt like a Monday, and not just any Monday, but a full fledged Monday-after-a-holiday-Monday...you know what I mean!

I've always been one to want to celebrate the ordinary - turn every day into a party...well, I think Mondays are something to celebrate. Technically the "first day of the week" is Sunday but in our society we count the first day of the "work week" as the first day of the week and count down until the weekend...our self-declared reward for making it through another week!

So just how did I celebrate this first Monday of the new year? I slept in. Sorry. For those who have to punch the clock I know you want to punch me about now (grin). But in self-defense, I didn't sleep well last night, actually wide awake for several hours, so I guess my body made up for it and I slept a couple of hours past my normal wake up time.

But! I did redeem the time and did something "productive" - I took the shrink-wrap off a DVD that I purchased at the 2011 Houston International Quilt Festival and actually exercised along with the DVD! Yep, got those muscles all stretched out and I really think I had more clarity of mind today. Stretching for Quilters will give you a small taste of this 40 minute stretching. I'm not sure where you can purchase this, but if you are handy with a computer I'm sure you can locate it.


That accomplished I then had a "green smoothie" for breakfast. Around September I've started what is called a Paleo lifestyle which is simply eating unprocessed foods as much as possible, avoiding grains (gluten-free) and very very limited, if any, sugar. Actually I'm trying to do more of a "Phase One" diet from Know the Cause  if anyone is interested. My smoothie was full of protein, fruits, and greens and provided good energy for the remainder of my morning.

A while back when I was trying to better organize my time and not feel like I worked all the time I came up with a plan of "taking Mondays off"...sounds wonderful doesn't it? I mean, as a quilter I pretty much work on Saturdays because sometimes that's the only day available for my customers who punch a clock in the real world to drop off or pick up their quilts. So I don't have a "normal" weekend. I pretty much take Sundays off - for worship and fun things for myself (like shopping, working on a personal project, or just taking a Sunday afternoon nap). The idea of a "two day weekend" was very appealing so it just made sense to take Mondays as my day off. Of course, real life doesn't always permit this, but its a good guilt free goal when it does happen!

Today though, I really had planned on working, I'm behind due to the holidays and being sick.. But as the day worn on things just lead away from "clocking in" at the studio. And that's okay...as I totally enjoyed the impromptu time with my kiddos late in the afternoon - all three work retail and today found everyone with a much needed day off to run errands and do whatever it is that they do (grin). While the fellows were in the man cave, Katie and I enjoyed some hot tea. That's my new passion - hot tea....

Right after Christmas I discovered Teavarna  and have entered into the world of brewing loose tea. Nothing is more relaxing that a hot mug sitting on the couch visiting with a loved one.  As you can see from the photo above, Pixxie enjoys the couch time too!

What I'm enjoying at this very moment is the guilt-free, stress-free, worry-free attitude of today. Yes, there were plenty of things I could have/should have done today (I did some laundry, does that count? OH! and the dishes!) but the simple act of relaxing and giving my mind and body more time to heal is going to outweigh any to-do list that didn't get checked off. Tomorrow is a new day. I hope to begin it with some exercise and I do plan on "clocking in" - will share some quilting photos tomorrow...but today...I celebrated the first Monday of the new year with a little stretching, a couple of mugs of hot tea, and family time.

It doesn't get any better than this!




3 comments:

SuzMont said...

Not sure if my comment posted.
Sleeping in should be celebrated. It is like a spa day for your brain.

Karen E. Overton said...

I like that!

Trudi said...

It's good to rest and recharge the body and mind a.ike! Good for you!