How Do You Unwind at the End of the Day?
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For the record, this is not my tub. But it will be going on my vision board soon!
In the spirit of Letting Go of Perfection, Loving Life, and no longer holding myself up to an impossible standard, I am repurposing an article that I wrote a few years ago. When I read it, I thought it was a wonderful fit to show you how to just roll with what life throws at you on a day to day basis. And it’s kind of a fun story. I hope you enjoy it.
It is time to unwind.
I left the dirty dishes on the counter, went outside, threw my blanket on the ground and crashed. I am done competing with Martha Stewart today! She's got a bunch of assistants that make her look perfect everyday anyway.
Last Friday night I treated myself to some self care. It was a long week. Honestly it was a huge breakthrough for me to just decide to give myself some pampering and not ask for anyone's permission or approval. I didn't care, I needed it! I met up with a friend for a beautiful energy work session. After that I came home and took the best bubble bath I've had in a long time. Epsom salts and everything. I love the Dr Teals stuff, Detox and Energize is one of my favorites. Thanks to Dr Teals and my massaging bath pillow, I was truly able to unwind.
Then I heard an unfamiliar voice. The bomb was dropped. We have 4 extra teenage boys sleeping over!
Thankfully I was still in a daze from that awesome bath! :)
Does this ever happen to you? The last minute sleepover? Sometimes I wish I could be this spontaneous again. Why is it that when we hit a certain age we think we need 2 weeks to prep for a visit with friends? Be like teenagers and make plans in 20 minutes!
The house finally quieted down around 2 am.
I woke up around 8:00 the next morning.
My Babe made a pot of coffee and we stared into the fridge wondering how we would feed the army that was still snoring upstairs. We thought for sure they would sleep till noon. I'm pretty sure I was on my second sip of coffee when we heard the pounding footsteps above our heads. NO! They are awake!
Thank God there was a Costco size box of Eggos in the deep freezer, because 2 dozen eggs and who knows how many waffles later, the mob of hungry teenage boys were outside playing basketball. :)
That meant it was time for me to get to my list of chores. Which thankfully was not too long. clean up, 3 loads of laundry, and then go buy more food. LOL. The dinner plan for tonight...RIBS! With my new goal of Supreme Domestic Goddess and 4 star home Chef, I couldn't just use store bought bbq sauce. So of course I head to Pinterest. I found a yummy looking recipe with root beer I just had to try. I added the ingredients to my grocery list and off I went.
Two stores later, I get home and tackle some prep for the week. I individually wrap the muffins. Wait, first I cut them in half because we are trying to watch what we eat without actually going on a diet. The muffins go in the freezer for quick lunch packing. I cut up the melon (our new favorite is called Golden Melon). It encourages us to eat the fruit if it's all ready to grab.
Now onto the RIBS!
I forgot to tell you, I didn't actually read the recipe. By this point in my life I should know to read the whole thing. I make the sauce. Well kind of, I didn't have enough ketchup even after I went to 2 grocery stores, so I put a few other ingredients in to make up for the lack of ketchup. I am supposed to put the ribs in a roasting pan with a rack and simmer the ribs in root beer for an hour and a half. Guess what? I don't have such a pan. Or anything that even comes close. So I improvise again. I dunk the ribs in the sauce and grill them the way I know how.
How to BBQ some Amazing Ribs
High heat for half an hour upside down, then move them off the heat and flip them over and cook them on indirect heat for another hour. To finish off my BBQ feast for the family, I made coleslaw, corn on the cob and fresh corn bread. It was so YUMMY. And of course my guys loved it!
After dinner I reflected on my day and decided that it was time to unwind. I could not do another load of dishes. Let it go Angie! And that brings me to now. I am done. Time to crash!
Conclusion:
The moral to this story is, make sure that you are always taking time for a little (or a whole lot) of self care. This is how we unwind from the stress of the world and gives us time to restore our minds and our bodies. We all have something that we do to take care of ourselves. Start scheduling more of that into your life today. Because if you don’t, it will be harder and harder to deal with the curve balls that life throws at you. And more teenage boys will think you are a crazy woman. And not the fun kind! LOL. By the way, since this article was written, I now have a couple of those disposable aluminum roasting pans in the back of the cupboard. You never know when your’e gonna need one and you can’t beat the clean up!