getting into the swing of september
Hi! The september banner is up! And I’m only a day behind! So it goes, right?
Not gonna beat myself up over that. I have been sweltering in the hot, hot, hot temps we are experiencing here in southern NH. I’m not complaining about the heat, oh no… because soon enough autumn will be upon us. I will take the heat. But eesh, it’s sticky here. Perfect weather though for enjoying our sugar baby watermelons! (see banner above).
Sometimes it’s the simple things, like having a post-work snack and getting watermelon juice all over your lips and chin and hands and arms on a hot day. Makes me happy.
And tomorrow is the Friday before the Labor Day long weekend. Weeeee!
Hurricane Earl is making his way up the East Coast as I write this. I wonder what if anything the weather will be like here? Supposed to reach New England some time Friday night into early Saturday morning. If it ends up raining I will be okay with that—we really need the rain.
So, yeah, September for me is about getting back to basics as I move myself forward. What does this mean for me? Here’s the short list:
• SLEEP. SLEEP. SLEEP. As in, lots of it. At normal bedtime hours. Without lying in bed tossing and turning and fretting. Without waking up every two hours wondering why it is that I am having trouble sleeping. I have been trying really hard to get a grip on my sleep issues over the past few weeks which is why I haven’t been posting as often. I used to stay up waaaaaaay too late in front of the computer writing and reading and procrastinating going to bed. No more! It’s not good for me. So I have to work on new routines so I have time to write that is not late at night. Gets my mind too worked up. I am committed to getting more sleep at night for my own physical and mental well-being.
• RUN. RUN. RUN. As in, lots of it. I have been running regularly again, and I feel so much better. Now to just keep it up and work in some longer distances and a steep hill here or there. While I’m not interested in doing a half-marathon anymore (too much anxiety), I do want to challenge myself physically. It would be great if the heat would dial itself back just a smidge so I could run outside again. Me and the treadmill have a tenuous relationship at best.
• EAT. EAT. EAT. As in, lots of the good foods. The slow foods. The nourishing foods. I have been incorporating more wild salmon into my diet and whole grains. More fruits like organic pears, gala apples, calimyrna figs, watermelon, and tomatillos. I stopped eating canned soup for lunch because I was convinced my body is a BPA nightmare. So now lunches are homemade soups and sandwiches. Way more time-consuming to prep, but totally worth it. I find I am fuller longer, too.
• DRINK. DRINK. DRINK. As in, lots of water. Way more water than I usually do. I have this really cool glass water bottle that my Mom gave me that I use at work to drink from. It helps to feel like I’m drinking water out of glass instead of a paper cup. Over time I realized that I was drinking too much wine and beer out of sheer boredom and to relieve stress after work. Now it’s water. Don’t get me wrong, I loooove me a good glass of wine. But less. Everything in balance.
• READ. READ. READ. As in, digging into the huge piles of books that have been slowly taking over my nightstand and desk and living room. I want to make more time for reading and relaxing. Some books are silly fun fiction like Susan Wiggs. Some are references on topics like conception and pregnancy (eek!). Some are non-fiction stories of adventure. Some are young adult fiction novels which I am particularly fond of like Laurie Halse Anderson. I want to make my way through them all.
• BE PRESENT. BE PRESENT. BE PRESENT. As in, being in the moment. Enjoying each day. Letting myself feel what I need to feel, good or bad. Practicing mindfulness and gratitude.
These are the things I am working on as I get back to basics and move forward. How about you? How are you doing? What are your plans for September?
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 8:14 pm and is filed under The Daily Balance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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[...] Back in September I wrote out this goal list for myself. But I wasn’t in the right place at all mentally to commit to it. It took me about 3 months of wading through the muck in my mind along with trial and error to figure out how to balance work and life demands and prioritize being good to myself. [...]