Monday Musings

Aren't you glad it isn't a typical Monday? Or is it, for you? Working a nurses' schedule always makes me a little more attuned to the fact that not everyone enjoys three day holiday weekends, set hours at work, and a 'regular" life.  So maybe it is a typical Monday for you, and if so, I hope it's starting with a giant cup of coffee and optimism to handle the week ahead! I worked this weekend but have today off, and I'm very much looking forward to a day to rest, catch up on homework, and pack for our trip to North Carolina.

I've been looking forward to this trip for SO long.  We planned it months ago when we found out Scott's sister was pregnant with Easton, and we have been so excited for getting to meet and hold our first nephew.  As the trip approaches, I've been making all the mental to-do lists that come with going on a long vacation.  I'll be gone for two full weeks, and Scott will join me for the second week down at the beach.  I've been planning out times to clean the house, what to pack for myself, what to pack for Doc (is this what it's like to have a child?!), things to bring for the ultimate girls' weekend with my childhood best friend (face mask, nail polish, a stack of unread magazines, and other essentials), and what kind of food/coffee items to bring to the beach house.  I'm looking forward to running at the beach, taking Doc to Fort Fisher, drinking Port City Java coffee, and reading books for fun! I also have to do schoolwork and grade papers for the class I TA for, but at least this can be done beachside instead of in my living room!

I mentioned in my last post that I've been listening to a podcast lately called Happier with Gretchen Rubin (of The Happiness Project) and her sister, Elizabeth Rubin.  I've been practicing a lot of habits that I hear about on this podcast lately, and I think just being in the mindset of living life with healthier habits has been helpful.  One of their challenges to try at home is the "one minute rule."  This rule is simply that if you identify a task that could be completed in a minute or less, you should just do it right then instead of putting it off for later.  I've adopted this recently and have actually found that it does make me feel much lighter and less burdened by these small tasks.  I actually do more of a "five minute rule" so that I can include tasks like putting dishes away or clearing off the kitchen counter.  I've also been trying to declutter. I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up months ago, but it never really stuck with me.  I liked her method, but I liked it for her, and not for me.  I don't think there's a "one size fits all" for decluttering and cleanliness, and for me, the KonMari method didn't allow me the space for sentimental objects that I hold onto.  I'm a sentimental person and keep little trinkets and things that people have given me because it reminds me of them when I see those things.  In any case, Happier has given me some helpful habits that work better for my lifestyle.  One thing I've started doing that wasn't necessarily recommended by the show but that just grew out of my desire to not hold onto things that I don't need is my interaction with junk mail.  I used to let it build up on our counter so that I could go through it at a later time for good deals on groceries, coupons, etc.  But then I never went through them and ended up throwing it all away.  So now, I save myself some time and just throw away junk mail before it even has time to sit on the counter.  Scott isn't quite there with me on this one yet, so sometimes I come home from work and see junk mail on the counter that I immediately deposit in the trash can.  It's so freeing and has cleared up a lot of counter space for us.

I thought I was getting sick this weekend and spent all of Saturday at work with boxes of tissues, honey, and hot tea.  I took an Allegra on Saturday night and woke up feeling like a totally different person yesterday.  I still went to work armed with natural cold remedies (I don't take medication, except my Albuterol inhaler when I need it!), tissues, and bags and bags of tea, but thankfully didn't have to use any of it! Scott and I prayed on Saturday night for my health because I knew I had been burning the candle at both ends with school, work, and preparing to go out of town, and I'm thankful that the Lord answered this prayer for good health this week!

When I came home from work last night, there were friends packed into our tiny kitchen with all the fixings for a good Labor Day cookout.  We ate wrinkly hot dogs (specifically cooked this way for one of my friends who loves them slightly charred), hamburgers, and lemon merengue pie.  Doc jumped up on the counter and had his own illegal lemon merengue pie slice.  Scott bought 18 pounds of ground beef.  Corey & Mary brought over my favorite beer, Two Lucy's Blackberry wheat.  And it was just so fun.  I had been thinking that I wouldn't be able to participate in anything fun this week because of work and school and sickness, but it was so good to just laugh and spend time with people around our kitchen table.

Today, I woke up at 6 and was ready for the day.  I don't know why I was up so early when it was my day to sleep in, but Doc was upset because it was clearly his day to sleep in.  He usually cries at our bedroom door anytime between 5AM-7AM, and I usually wake up to let him out and then sleep on the couch with him until we get up for real.  Today I woke him up, and he's been sleeping at my feet ever since I disturbed his previous slumber.  I'm powering through homework so I can hopefully go apple picking at my favorite orchard today, and tonight I will pack and clean and study pharmacology.  Two work days until NC.  Two work days until the beach and the sand and my family and my snuggly baby nephew.  I am SO excited and thankful for this trip.

Lots of love,
C.