It’s Been a While…

Hello, all!  I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on here.  The holidays came and life got busy and I just ran out of time to post.  But, I have been keeping up with the activities.  I’m not going to talk to you about every single activity from December to March, but I will tell you about the ones that apply to me. 

A Turkey Ran Away…

Before Thanksgiving Day.
Said he, “They’ll make a pie out of me
If I should stay.”

This week’s task was making the most of a night in.  Now, if you’ve read that chapter, you know what she means by “a night in,” which is something I don’t think I should be discussing where everyone in the world can read it.   So, we’re going to jump back a little bit and talk about Turkey Day.

Volunteering

I had an opportunity to volunteer yesterday morning at my church.  Friday night, the church hosted Family Night in the sanctuary, where they showed Christmas movies (Frosty, Rudolph, The Grinch-the cartoon one, and Charlie Brown).  Guests could buy “movie food” for really cheap!  That meant they needed volunteers to clean up the sanctuary Saturday morning.  I thought cleaning up would be a great way to help the church and have fun at the same time.  My job was to sweep and swiffer the floors in between the rows.  Not hard at all!  And, we were done in a little over an hour because we had so many volunteers.  I got to meet some cool people who were very nice.  And, I got to help out the church.

Giving Back

As Erin mentions in “How to Sew a Button”, helping out in the community is so refreshing to yourself and to others.

I was able to “give back” to my community by volunteering at a local swim meet as a timer. I wanted to give back in this fashion, as I enjoy swimming in competition, and I am aware that organizing a swim meet takes a lot of people and time to do well. While I was at the meet, I saw people acting as officials, children handing out awards to the competitors, and people creating the “heat/ psyche sheets”. So it really takes a village to do a job well. I also saw some incredibly fast swimmers at this meet, as there were some people who competed in Olympic Trial competitions or in collegiate meets, so that was also fun.

It was a Dark and Stormy Night…

I used to love reading bedtime stories to myself (with a flashlight for reading under the covers), and particularly on nights when it was thundering and lightening. (Apparently, I was never afraid of the thundering and lightening). As a kid, I can remember reading the entire Encyclopedia Brown Series as well as The Babysitters Club series when I was in late elementary/early middle school under the covers with my trusty flashlight, and my, I loved both of those series.

Now that older (and wiser ?)..my bedtime reading consists of a combination of adult nonfiction or young adult books. Right now, I am tackling books by Ken Follett (“The Pillars of the Earth”) or young adult books such as “Whip It” by Shauna Cross. Other books that are on my bedside table includes “Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird’ which was edited by Mary McDonagh Murphy.

Breathe Deep

A few years ago I bought a sugar scrub and the directions said “breathe deeply for best results.” Ever since then I’ve tried to remember that when I get stressed or try to remember a happy time.

The people closest to me say that I am super organized when it comes to the holidays. Shopping, decorating, and cooking all happen on a strict schedule. I do this so I can enjoy the time. I do not like being rushed.  The end of the year at work is so busy. I just want to crash when I get home.  If I want to enjoy the season I have to plan to do so.

Erin’s recipe for scenting your home without using candles is a home run.  The use of cinnamon and citrus fills my home and helps me to refocus and enjoy the evenings after a long day at the office or running errands and reminds me to breathe.

I chop up an orange and a lemon and put in cinnamon, nutmeg, bay leaves, and cloves in a small pot and just refill the water as needed.

Trust me it works!

Getting Rest

From “The Wizard of Oz:”
Tin Man:  Why don’t you try counting sheep?
Lion:  That doesn’t do any good.  I’m afraid of ‘em.

I don’t know about y’all, but counting sheep has never helped me fall asleep.  It obviously didn’t work for the Lion either.   However, Erin’s section on Getting a Good Night’s Sleep in How to Sew a Button has some great tips.  She talks about getting up at the same time every day.  This is actually kind of hard for me because I really want to sleep later on Saturdays.  But I’ve found that if I do sleep later, I’m tired for the entire day.  She also talks about exercising either in the morning or the afternoon so your body has time to cool down before you go to sleep, which makes total sense.  Eating dinner early is another tip in this section of the book.  That doesn’t happen every night, but we really try!  Finally, she says to have a bedtime ritual, whether that’s taking a bath or reading a book.  Just something that relaxes you.  I’ve found that watching a funny TV show relaxes me.