Good morning, kittens & dawgs! If you’re like me after last month’s exhausting A to Z challenge then you’re ready to take it easy. Here are five ways to do just that, take it easy.
- Give yourself permission to unplug from the Internet for a week or two or longer if needed. A blogging hiatus can do a gal or guy wonders!
- Tackle a much-needed house chore. That seems like an odd way to take it easy but failing to do things around the house mounts when spending the better part of a month engaged in Blogosphere so actually knocking a big project off my to-do is energizing.
- Indulge in your favorite passions. All winter and spring I’ve neglected photography for various reasons some which include preparing for my Art Sketching Through the Alphabet theme but finding myself behind the lens refreshes my mind and when I can’t do this then I like to create photo art with existing photos.
- Visit with a friend. This doesn’t have to be a face-to-face either. Two ways I’m trying to reclaim to stay better connected with long distant friends is regular phone conversations or to write a lengthy letter to keep her in the loop of my life, both of which are refreshing.
- Listening to mewsic. You know mewsic is a big part of my life, as it yours and that’s probably what brought us together in Blogosphere in the first place. Mewsic is soothing and relaxing to the spirit even if it’s an uptempo, get-to-your-feet mewsic. Mewsic empowers the soul!
How do you take it easy?
Speaking of mewsic, let me introduced to you new-to-me band I heard on ReverbNation in February. This group got my attention with their song Ender (#3 on below playlist). Why does this song sound familiar and yet not I haven’t heard it before? Turn up your speakers and perk your ears to Groves!
If you want to learn more about Groves, BestNewBands interviews the group last September.
I’m joining Les from Ink Interrupted for Tuesday Coffee Chat. She’s prompting us to finish this sentence, If I had could go anywhere today…. I would head to the mountains with a cooler filled with cold soft drinks, snacks to munch on, and camera in hand to capture some beautiful scenic shots.
But…this isn’t going to happen until DH gets his visual bearing straightened out. Although his retina is now completely attached he has little depth of field and the vision in that eye makes everything kinda greenish tint. He needs two more surgeries (one to remove the oil bubble from the retina re-attachment procedure & cataract surgery) and then new glasses. Despite these problems, we’re very happy he can see with that eye. Years ago a person would lose their sight because they didn’t have a way to fix it.
That’s a wrap for this morning. I’m hopping over to Stacy’s for Random Tuesday Thoughts and you’re welcome to join me if you want.
Did you vote in yesterday’s 3-Way Take It Easy #BoTB showdown? Please take a moment to listen and weigh in the fun! I hope you’ll hop back tomorrow and link up with me for not-so Wordless Wednesday.
Have a terrific Tuesday!
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I think I need to tag along on your mountain trip. That sounds perfect!! 🙂
April sure was an extra crazy busy month, blogging aside, wasn’t it? Here’s hoping for a little more leisure for the month of May! 🙂 Good advice! I’ll be playing catch-up all month long! Just in time for the kids’ summer break! 😉
Thanks for the introduction to the new mewsic – love it! 🙂
Stacy,
Oh sure, you’re welcome to come with! We’ll have a great time soaking up the mountain air and sunshine. Don’t forget your camera! April was very wild but now it’s over. It’s going to be a challenge to catch up on posts I totally missed. I tried really hard to stay on top of it but there are some, yours being in that mix, that I didn’t get to read all or much of but hope to correct in the coming months. At least, we survived the challenge. I know I gained something new from the experience and am eager to see where this leads me. 😉
April was crazy hectic for me. Monday was just as busy, but Monday afternoon, I unplugged because my nephew is in town for some work training, and I had he and his co-worker over for dinner. I Spent a good part of the afternoon cooking and prepping, but the evening was a lot of fun. Today, I spent most of the day playing catch-up, but not without taking a good 90 minute nap mid-afternoon. I don’t recall being this tired in a long time. Thank goodness I’m back to a reduced blogging schedule!
~Mary
Jingle Jangle Jungle
Mary,
So far every day this week has been nearly as busy as last month. I’m still playing catch up but hopefully today I’ll be on track. *cross fingers* I most certainly need to unplug but when, oh when will I do it? That’s the big question. 😀
Music always helps me to relax. When I totally unplug, it is with a good book and a critter! Hugs.
Annie,
I used to like reading but I haven’t settled down with a book in forever. This is something I need to work back into my life if my brain will allow it. 🙂
But, you do have sketching, when you need to unplug. That is a very good thing. Hugs.
Annie,
I can now add sketching to my list of passions to do while I’m unplugged. When I listed that as point three, I mentally included drawing but photography was on my mind. It would be writing or cooking or anything that brings me joy. The important thing to do is have fun while taking it easy. 🙂
Definitely agree with indulging in your passions. I think too many people don’t get to do this very often and it’s important part of life. Work is good too, but it’s all about balance, right? I hope DH is well soon because a trip to the mountains sounds lovely! We don’t have that here — some big hills, but not what I would consider mountains. That sounds like a lovely day.
Les,
I found when I allow myself to enjoy my passions I am a happier person and that happiness branches out in various forms in my life making my whole world a brighter place. 🙂
Definitely need a little unplugging myself. A to Z Challenge was fun but April was brimming over with stuff, some good, some bad, some sad, some joyful but still brimming over.
My favorite unplugging act is to grab camera and head to the mountains. Nothing like mountain air and the smell of pine trees to renew the soul.
Toni,
That’s the way I feel. A little down time will certainly rejuvenate us both. You sound like me with your idea of getting unplugged – a trip to the mountains with your camera in hand. 🙂 I can’t wait until DH & I can escape for the day. 🙂
Great ideas. I like to take it easy reading or watching a dvd with my cats.
Ellen,
I bet your cats love to cuddle with you while you’re doing either of these, too. 🙂
The mountains are my husband’s favorite retreat too, I’m more of an ocean girl, but either place is refreshing and restorative, far away from people and noise and too much to do! 🙂
Josie,
The ocean is nice but there’s only so much you can see or do but the mountains…that’s a totally different story or at least that’s the way I feel. 🙂 I won’t turn down the ocean and it’s really nice to visit on rare occasions but we don’t make it a priority like many others do unless seeing the ocean involves the coastline of Maine and then I’m so there!
Since I started blogging I don’t think I’ve ever totally unplugged for more than a couple of days. Your suggestions are all good. I try to do a little bit of all of these things on a daily basis. Balancing my days keeps me feeling relaxed and I get a little of everything accomplished on an ongoing basis. I’m a laid back person by nature so taking it easy is usually the way I operate.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Lee,
Really, you haven’t unplugged from blogging for more than a few days? That’s interesting. I try to do a little of everything each day when I do daily blogging but that’s too much for me. Let me clarify that, what I mean is if I compose a post, visit other blogs, leave comments, and respond to comments left on my site is too much. I hope I can figure out how to do this and keep a Mon-Fri presence in Blogosphere which includes daily posting. Perhaps if I can figure out how to better manage my time then these things will flow better for me. You really seem on top of your blogging game and I admire everything you get accomplished. When I grow up, I want to be more like you in Blogosphere. 🙂
Happy Tuesday! Being a nutcase, i am still posting every day, i’ve been in the habit for years and it doesn’t wear off it seems. Still i agree we sometimes need a break, and certainly we have to bring our heads back into the real world.
Your idea of a day in the mountains is a winner! My prayer is your husband’s eye will be back to normal soon, retina trouble is no joke.
Messymimi,
I used to post Monday-Saturday but that wore on me and blogging felt like a chore, instead of something fun. I eliminated posting on Saturday to have the weekend off, then I went to posting Monday-Friday. That schedule worked out well for a time but it got to be too much for me. What works best for me is to share every other day through the week but prior to the A2Z challenge, I was building up to my old routine. Trying to juggle work around the house, exercising, and blogging daily is a handful. I’m not sure if I’ll get back to that pace or not but we’ll see.
Thank you for praying for DH. I can’t wait for his vision to be normal again. We expect he’ll have the other two surgeries early fall. That can’t come soon enough to suit DH because with those two procedures (removing the oil bubble from the retina re-attachment & cataract surgery) then we hope this fixes a lot of the issues he’s having at the moment. You are absolutely right retina trouble isn’t a joke – it’s very serious!
Hi, Cathy!
Just thought I’d pop over and listen to some more of your mewsical finds. By now I have come to trust your taste in mewsic as being a close match to mine. Groves appears to be a SoCal band and I enjoy their breezy recordings and videos that show them heading out to explore scenic spots in their vintage Mustang and other classic vehicles.
Strange as it seems, I rarely use mewsic to relax and unwind. I use it instead to invigorate myself and get motivated for exercising Fitness mewsic with a high BPM rate has become very popular in recent years and I have bought my share of it.
I agree that being out in nature and snapping pictures during your travels is a great way to escape the daily grind and and recharge your batteries. I hope you and DH get to do that soon. I pray that DH’s vision continues to improve and that your hearing (ear blockage) continues to improve as well.
Happy Tuesday, dear friend Cathy!
Tom,
WOW, you don’t listen to mewsic to unwind? That’s the one best thing that helps when I’m tense or stressed. I like to listen to contemporary Christian or classical mewsic to soothe my spirit. It’s funny I don’t like listening to mewsic while I use my elliptical but if I’m doing an exercise video then I like the background mewsic. I guess I’m very strange. 🙂 Thanks for the continued prayers for our health issues that cause a certain degree of impairedness for each of us. I see my ENT doc on Monday. My hearing is still stuffy and there’s little to no pressure in that ear which makes it feel like something is laying on the eardrum. It’s very annoying which addles me when I’m out. Have a good Tuesday afternoon, dear friend!