showing kindness to myself

Every morning, as soon as I (finally) climb out of my warm bed, I head to the kitchen and put water on to boil. There isn't much to do while the water is boiling, so I put on my rubber gloves and do all the dishes left in the sink from the night before. This may be the best idea I have ever had. I do the dishes every morning while still half asleep. By the time I start feeling alert, the dishes are nearly clean and my water is about to boil and it feels almost like someone else has done the dishes for me: later on, after I've returned from the office, I come home to a clean kitchen and very little memory of having cleaned it. It feels like a favor I do for myself almost every day. 

Lately I've taken a similar approach to cooking. On an ideal Sunday, I get enough groceries for the week and make one big meal--usually some kind of stew. This will be my lunches for the week (works better for me than sandwiches do) and, if I am very good, my dinners, too. I enjoy my lunches, but my gratitude for dinner is even greater. This evening, for example, I heated up a hearty portion of a Moroccan-spiced chicken and chickpea stew and poured myself a (small) glass of wine and a (large) glass of water. My dinner was tasty, emotionally satisfying, and I have the entire evening ahead of me to write (ahem). It feels almost like someone else cooked for me (and cleaned up) and all I have to do is pour a little more wine, write, and enjoy these homey comforts.

friday and in the office

There is a woman in my office who eats microwavable meals every day. The recycling container is usually filled with discarded Lean Cuisine boxes. She is also sour and looks hostile. I wonder if these are related?

I'll be the best dressed philosopher you ever did see

Apparently reading for new clothes is the way to go - I've made significant progress on my reading list since deciding that I am allowed a new dress at the end of the month for my hard work. How exciting!

It is also exciting to become suddenly aware of an improvement you didn't realize you were making, even if the improvement is relatively insignificant or even trivial-sounding. The fingernails on my thumbs and pointer fingers had had horizontal ridges on them for - I think - years. I'd file them down when applying nail polish but otherwise never thought of them. Yesterday I noticed for the first time that they are gone - those nails are smooth and straight. I hadn't noticed the ridges growing out or the smoothness growing in. How lovely to see evidence of improved health in an unexpected way. Encouraging, too.

until next time

A new post is in the works. Seriously.

Update:

- nearly an entire week behind on my 10 week reading plan. Aieee! I hope to recover some of that this weekend, however,
- I have not been a hermit: lunch with J today. Then a drink with MK. Had a drink with a N on Wednesday and dinner with MJ on Monday. That doesn't even include the lovely time I've had catching up with D or the rescheduled coffee rendezvous with DG. So,
- Need to learn how to balance this healthy social activity with the intense amount of reading I've been doing; but,
- Have still been exercycling and strength training at super-star levels. Hooray! Feels very good (and not enduring belly-bloat during lady-time? very, very cool), even if
- I haven't been cooking nearly as much or as well as I should. Have been relying on my freezer (nearly empty), eating out (spendy!), and sandwiches and yogurt for too many meals in an attempt to save time.

To Do:

- Plan menus again. I don't need my meals to be very exciting right now. I do need them to be nourishing, packed with produce and relatively simple (so I don't waste [or 'waste'] time on food prep as an excuse to read less).

- Pack better lunches so I can stay in the office longer typing up my own notes

- Cut back on cardio (!!?!!!) to 30-45 min/day, 5-6 days/week and do 10-15 min of strength/calisthenics to keep my workout to 1 hour per day (yesterday, for example: 80 minutes exercycle, 20 minutes strength and about 10 minutes stretching. Decadent).

- Plot out my reading/writing/working/cooking/exercising etc. hour-by-hour every morning to keep myself on target (... that would be a little scary. Last resort).

soon: a post on waiting for my "real life" to begin

In addition to reading 260 pages of W.B. on Saturday, this is what I did:
I moved furniture around to give myself a little office (where my bed used to be).

I also gave Cat his chair back (which he already appreciates: he's taken several long naps on it already.)

I am hoping that having a separate space for work will be almost as good as doing work outside of my home - say at a cafe. It is kind of nice to be able to draw open a curtain in the morning simply by sitting up in bed. Not that it's gotten me out of bed any earlier yet.

penny-pincher reports

And hangs her head in shame.

I don't even know how much I spent this past week (mainly because all my receipts are at home and I am at work), but I did not stay within budget. This week's budget was already blown yesterday during another Target shopping spree. Den of vice indeed.

I am happier to report that I didn't fall too far behind in my reading plan for the next two months. I just have a lot of staying up/rising early to do in order to catch up. Staying up is getting slightly easier. Getting out of bed before 8:10? That's a much taller order. I don't know why: I'm usually awake by 6 or 6:15 (before napping with Cat until 7:45). I just can't convince myself to get out of bed. (It's cozy! And there's usually a cat snuggled against my feet! And I'll just stay in bed until I figure out what I'll wear .... zzzzz)

Goals for this week: catch up on reading, find costume for zombie prom, exercycle 5 hours, begin recording my reading notes and get out of bed by 7am every day.