SPRING SELF CARE LIST

Make a goal to complete by summer

You would think that during weeks of quarantine I wouldn’t have an issue finding time to read but if I’m honest I haven’t found the motivation in a long time. I don’t know why but I wonder if it doesn’t have to do with the way I view reading. Typically, reading is my escape. A quiet place after eight hours of 1800 voices enclosed in a building. Now I have all the silence I could ask for so maybe it doesn’t feel the same?

So, my goal is to complete at least half of the Anne of Green Gables series by the end of summer. Rereading the series is part of my resolutions for 2020 and could easily be done if I could find the motivation so maybe by setting myself a task I will actually complete it?

Do something physical outside

Luckily, I was able to complete this trip before the National Parks and Trails were closed to the public. Kristi, Meg and I took a quick girls’ trip to Atlanta for Meg’s birthday and thoroughly enjoyed the Sweetwater Creek State Park. It was the perfect mix of nature and history. There are a variety of trail options which can take you by Civil War ruins or to a variety of natural wonders including a waterfall. We chose the longest option which was about 5 miles and allowed for the viewing of most of the sites in the area. I love hiking that can be done in workout clothes with a cute backpack and while there were definitely areas of this trail that were straight up a mountain and down precarious steps, it was still very doable for a fun little adventure. (Please note: As much as I enjoy hiking, I refused to do one of those trails that require those ski pole thingys and the boots that give you cankles. If it requires specialized equipment, I ain’t doing it!)

Add flowers to your home

Technically, I’m double dipping with this one from the March bucket list, but under the current situation I think my fake yard Violets will have to do until I can figure something else out.

Update: They are called Purple Spiderwort…what a disappointing name!

Go out for dessert only

This is a challenge I wish was more difficult since the quarantine, however, I and my friends have had the opportunity to cruise through a variety of eating establishments to sample their sweets. Snow cones, ice cream, cakes cookies. I swear I’ve eaten more desserts in the last month than I have in the last year!

Clean up your digital life

Isn’t it so easy to hoard digital items? Pinterest has to be the worst contender in my life because I can save everything I find funny and fascinating in a very tiny foot print which is why I have 71 pins on raccoons alone. I’m also pretty bad about saving a bunch of crap on my desktop until I get overwhelmed so I clean up and I have to say that now is about that moment of needing to clean so I sat down to clean up my computer, Google Drive and Pinterest.

It takes FOREVER to do something so mundane as dragging and dropping but it is so satisfying when completed. I also decided to clean up this blog. For those who have been around since the beginning, you’ll remember that we used to have a page on Lifestyle and Fashion and Fitness and Food, however, we found that people weren’t being alerted to the new posts on those pages so we stopped using them. I decided to move those old posts to the blog section for easier access and searchability. Now, these topics can be found by tags just like the rest of the blog. Check them out if you never read those pages. Meg did some awesome recipes!

Visit a famer’s market

When I made this part of the list it seemed like an awesome springtime activity, however, being that we are all basically trapped in doors it isn’t really doable. Also, the Hattiesburg Farmers’ Market traditionally only occurs on Thursdays from 3-6 which is during work and workouts so I wouldn’t be able to make this one work until the summer anyways.

Take a nap in the sun

I used to do this every Sunday on my parents’ back deck. I even had a padded little mat and pillow, however, one day I saw a snake on the deck and that did it for me. What if it slithered across me while I slept?!?! So, I’m compromising with myself and settling for lounging about in the sun…fully cognizant of any creepy crawlies. Mother and I have enjoyed many an afternoon sitting on the deck with the boys running around like crazy and there is just something to be said for the warmth of sunshine on a breezy day. However, my pale as a ghost skin may disagree when I look like a lobster.

Spring clean

I feel like “cleaning” has been a part of every bucket list since January but maybe that’s a good thing. I get great joy in going through my cabinets and lining everything up to look like a Pinterest board but with generic products, of course but I’m not great at keeping everything perfect. I’m very much a creative person so I have the tendency to understand organized chaos…for a while.

Listen to a new podcast

I’ve added a few new podcasts to my line up including “Heart of Dating” which is a Christian podcast for singles that covers those topics we face but are often not discussed in the church. I like that she has guests from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and I appreciate their honesty on subjects that are often tied up in insecurity or uncertainty. It’s nice to know that others question or struggle with similar doubts and issues and that there are answers. Plus, it’s nice to be poured into as a Christian single from resources geared to my lifestyle and moral beliefs.

Find the vitamins and supplements suited to you

This is an area where I really fail as an adult. I hate taking vitamins and pills. In fact, I couldn’t swallow pills until I was in college and had to take adult Tylenol for my intense headaches into my twenties. Random fact, adult Tylenol originally came in spearmint flavor which is not necessarily the best flavor to drink when you already feel pukey but after all those years my brain still associates that smell and taste with pain relief and spearmint flavored things bring me comfort when I have a really bad headache. Like I even have pillow spray. Ha!

All this to say, I’m not great at remembering to take the pills I force myself to buy and while I have the best intentions I typically take them for a few weeks and then forget or promise myself I’ll take them at night or whatever but I am making myself be diligent for the next month. My regimen will include a multivitamin (Gummy, of course!), calcium, a supplement for hair and nails and fiber. All of these things are what I know I need at minimum as a thirty something woman who doesn’t do milk and has terrible nails and hair.

I can’t believe the spring is over and summer has begun! This year has flown by even though the days seem not to change at all. I look forward to finding a creative way to tackle the summer bucket list and hope that as restrictions loosen I will get to experience what I thought seemed so easy in the fall of 2019. If you’re interested (or bored) I’m including the bucket list below.