I don’t know about you, but I’m about done with watching constant news updates in between planning and implementing distance learning.
So I have declared today to be Self-Care Saturday and I’m taking a break from schoolwork and the news. I keep hearing about the importance of looking out for your own mental and physical health during this stay at home quarantine, and that goes right along with what I have realized for years: self-care is not an option.
Here are a few things I’m doing today and tomorrow.
*Baking these vanilla blueberry muffins from Will Cook for Smiles. Blueberries are healthy, right?
*Making my new favorite chicken enchiladas from THIS COOKBOOK.
*When/if people in my home get on my nerves, I will sit outside on my porch or take a walk.
*Declutter a bookshelf (more on that below).
*Write morning pages (more about that process HERE). While I usually try to do this in the morning, it really helps get stuff out of your head any time you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed.
*Make a list of 10 things that went well this week. Gratitude and looking for the good in your world are SO important. I constantly preach that sermon to my students but I also need to preach it to myself.
*Do one of my favorite Physique 57 workouts. (I’m old school and use DVD’s, but you can also stream their workouts from their site HERE.
*Meditate with Headspace. This is kinda pricey, but they are offering a free version during COVID-19 HERE.
*Call or FaceTime a friend I haven’t talked to in a while.
*I know I said I wasn’t going to do any schoolwork, but I am collecting ideas for two things I need right now: social-emotional learning tips and how to keep students motivated during online learning. I would love to hear your suggestions!
Now for the decluttering project. I worked on cleaning off a bookshelf this morning and I now have a big bag of books to drop off at Goodwill. But I also made a list of some of my favorite feel-good fiction books. If you’re looking for a distracting book to read, I hope you will find one here!
All of these books are ones that I have either read fairly recently or am reading now! I would love to hear your book suggestions too.
Elin Hilderbrand is one of my favorite authors. She lives on Nantucket Island and most of her books are set on Nantucket. Of all her books, these are my favorites:
Another popular Nantucket Island novelist is Nancy Thayer. Island House is my favorite.
My daughter introduced me to the novels of Kristy Woodson Harvey. My favorites are the books in her Peachtree Bluff series:
*The Southern Side of Paradise
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, you might like Beatriz Williams’ books. My favorites are her Shuler Sisters novels:
*The Secret Life of Violet Grant
Karen White is one of my new favorite writers. Her novels have a bit of mystery to them and really draw you into the story. Here are some favorites:
More fun historical fiction novels: The Beautiful Strangers, And They Called it Camelot, and Park Avenue Summer.
Other random books I’ve loved:
*American Royals
I am eager to read this book when it’s released:
I hope you take some time for yourself this weekend. We are all working harder than ever (both teachers and parents) and we need to look out for ourselves. If you have some ideas for Self-Care Saturday, please share!