Importance of Rest

One of the things I learned in the Managing Your Energy class I took
over a month ago was the importance of resting and recovering. The
teacher mentioned how the difference between good athletes and top-notch
athletes was not how well they played the sport but how quickly they
recovered. How much time they needed to rest.

I’ve always been a Type A. I don’t do that well with resting and
relaxing. I don’t often stop and smell the flowers. I think sleep is
over rated. I believe in go-go-go. So much so that when my friends first
heard I was moving to San Diego (five years ago), they thought I might
go insane and want to come back to New York immediately.

They weren’t totally wrong.

But San Diego did wonders for my state of mind. It taught me to relax.
It showed me the joys of nature and photography and then, of course,
David came. And then I came to Google and life went right back to
go-go-go, busy-busy-busy, and now-now-now. Until I took the class.

In the last month, I’ve been practicing being relaxed. Resting. Doing
nothing and not feeling bad about it. Giving myself permission to lie in
bed a few more minutes. To let go of that to-do list item. To not reply
to that email. To sleep a full eight hours. I feel much better. I still
get a lot done and I forgive myself for the rest.

And amazingly, the world doesn’t seem to come to an end.

Catalyst Four – Life is Going to Work Out



This week’s catalyst
is about “something you remember from your childhood.”



My whole life I was this sad, little girl. I always worried that
something was wrong with me or that I would always be unhappy. I wish I
could tell that little girl now that Life is going to work out for her
and that she should give up constantly thinking that something is wrong.

Daily ATCs – Week 16



And this catches us all the way up. I can’t believe it!

Daily ATCs – Week 15



PotD – Day 97



Backyard today since we’re having a lazy day. Lazy days are the best.

DD – Day 97



Little boy is still fascinated with ants and looks for them everywhere
he goes.

Four Books

I’m still reading. Not as fast and not as much, but I am. And each time
I do, I remember how much I miss it. How much I love getting lost in
another world. Here are a few from the last few weeks:


Ever since I discovered him two years ago,
I immediately knew that I could never go wrong with Murakami and A
Wild Sheep Chase
is no exception. An intriguing, hard to understand
book that leaves you with more questions than answers. I loved it
nonetheless. There’s something about Murakami’s style that just speaks
to me, I guess.

And then I read The
Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes
. This was a Costco find. I always try
to peruse the book aisle at Costco. I take photos of the titles I like
and then check them out at amazon and if they still look good, I check
them out from the library. This was one of those. It took me a while to
get into the story but I did enjoy it quite a bit by the end. I don’t
know if I would recommend it as much as say that it wasn’t a bad read.

Which brings me to the sequels of Twilight.
I read Twilight back in January and I have no idea why I waited this
long to read the sequels, but I am so glad I finally remembered to check
them out. In the last week, I read 1,200 pages and I wish there were
more. Many more. These books are really wonderful. The characters are
well thought out and far from perfect or typical. The story keeps moving
forward constantly. The dialog is far from flat. One can sympathize with
each character in a different way. The writing is smooth and doesn’t get
in the way of the story or the characters.

Reading New
Moon
and Eclipse
made me wish I was writing again. It made me wish I could write such
good stories, so well. It must be an amazing feeling to be able to write
books that people love to read. Books that are page turners. I
absolutely love these books. The fact that they are about vampires,
which is something I would never read about and young adult
novels, which I also don’t read, is just icing on the cake that shows
good books are just good books regardless of subject or targeted age group.

PotD – Day 96



A lot of photos from today cause I just couldn’t resist.

DD – Day 96



Today we took a walk, all three of us. It was extra special.

PotD – Day 95



Couldn’t decide today. Here’s the other one:

DD – Day 95



Love this boy.

PotD – Day 94



Not such a great one today. I was in a rush.