take a load off...

We all need a break from time to time. Even if you can't go away on a real vacation, there are still ways to step outside the normal box of your life for a little R&R.

My favorite "get-away" is the beach, even if it's just the local beach. Being in the beach air, listening to the crash of the surf, and bobbing and floating in the water are very relaxing to me, and really take me away from everything "real," even if just for a little while.

Some other cheap and easy "mini-vacations" are:

1. Go to a park you've never been to for a little picnic. Sit on the grass. Enjoy some shade. Go for a walk.
2. Turn off your cell phone and/or internet for the afternoon (or whole day if you can stand it!).
3. Soak in the tub w a book, some music and a nice drink. Stay there for a long time. I like to nap in the tub!
4. Pretend you're not home :-) Stay in your jammies all day, close the curtains, don't answer the phone or doorbell.
5. Take a day-trip by car. Find an interesting location within 100 mile radius of where you live...go and check out the main street, the parks, museums, have a little lunch or dinner...enjoy someone else's town for the day before returning to your own.
6. Meditate. This is something I'm just learning and starting to practice now, and even though I haven't really gotten it down yet, it still leaves me feeling like I've had a little "mind vacation."

Just getting outside your normal environment or shutting yourself off from the world, even for an hour or an afternoon or a day, can leave you feeling refreshed and ready to return to real life.

What do *you* do when you need a little break??

How to Survive...uhm, ENJOY the First Day Back to Work

• Wake up half-an-hour earlier than normal and take the dog for a morning walk. Tell yourself you'll do this every day because it's good for the both of you. You won't.
• Wear something that makes you feel pretty.
• Treat yourself to store-bought coffee and fancy pastry. It's a splurge but you deserve it. It's The First Day Back to Work.
• Pretend it's The First Day of a New Job. And everything is new and fresh and untainted with past annoyances. Be on your Best Behavior with your "new" boss and colleagues. 
• Get the h*ll out of the building at lunchtime. Those "new" people are annoying you already (jk, New People!). 
• Take ten minutes to meditate. Just...close your eyes and focus on your breath...and try to let everything else slip away. If things sneak in (and they will!), "label" them - "planning," "fretting," "expecting the worst," etc. Be aware of what's interrupting *your* time...and then let it go.
• Spend the afternoon getting excited and happy about The Really Really Good Thing that you've planned for yourself. Yay. 
• Don't stay there a second longer than you have to. 
• Hurry home to Really Really Good Thing. Enjoy IMMENSELY. 
• Have actual dinner, not just ice cream (even with sprinkles, that's not *really* a real meal).
• Be a little productive. Not too much. Don't want to burn yourself out the first day.
• Go to bed early, noting before falling asleep, that you survived. Good for you!

(no pictures today, can you believe it?!?))