Take good care of myself in June.

All in all, I think that upping my exercise levels and rearranging my life so that I could try out various classes at the gym did me more good than I suspected it would.

Classes I tried this month:
-yoga
-24 Lift
-Everlast Shadowboxing
-Pilates Pulse

I love the yoga so much I can hardly believe that I get credit for doing it. And I can tell I’m getting stronger.

I think it’s calming me down, helping me sleep and helping me put myself and my health first more often.

It was a particularly memorable June because of my participation in the writers’ workshop: new friends & deluges of brilliantly assembled words & the quietness of a room to myself & new challenges! I took a class in poetry translation, which I found fabulous – a bonus on top of the poetry WRITING classes.

I got in fairly frequent exercise, & my eating was generally good. Will weigh myself tomorrow when I get home; I’m guessing I’m up a couple of pounds, but if so no big deal.

I slept well! In fact, this month my body decided to be kind to me; symptoms of hormonal changes have subsided, & I’ve been able to drink black tea once again without suffering insomnia! That’s a great blessing.

To round out the month with family time (with the occasion of a favorite niece’s wedding) has been the icing on my June-cake. And meeting SallyKitt was the cherry on top! :-)

EDIT: How could I forget: I also got to meet JudithKD! Let’s see, I’ll call that the hot fudge, since the June-cake is obviously an ice-cream cake. :-D

Also paying attention to my body and taking a nap when I need it. And not beating myself up when I went a little over my daily calories.

I think I’m getting better at not stressing about things in general. This is good, since my workload is heating up again.

And I haven’t made a single post on this goal… I knew this one would be a difficult challenge for me! It’s just been such a crazy month!

Today a good friend and I went to Soapology today and I got a Lily of the Valley Dead Sea Salt Scrub. So tonight is home spa central as I soak poor blistered feets and scrub all their many troubles away!

What a crazy month it’s been! Even if I haven’t been able to do much specifically for this goal, having it on my list has been critical in reminding me to keep things like this in mind. :)

I got in three running &/or fast walking sessions & one strength training session (I brought my resistance band—very easy to pack) this past week while away from home. The place I’m staying is around the corner from a big park, which is convenient.

And of course writing is happening at the workshop, & helpful critiques & conversations & connections. This group of people is more intentional & purposeful about writing & getting published than other workshops I’ve been part of. They are connected to some great small publishers, & the teachers/facilitators help the students prepare their manuscripts & get them in the door. It’s exactly what I need: a more professional writing community without the competitive pressure & anxiety of a grad program.

Some of my new friends & I are signing & swapping copies of our poetry books instead of buying them from each other. And I am now the proud owner of a personally autographed copy of Martin Espada’s Alabanza – how cool is that!

Adequate sleep was my other June self-care goal. I am sleeping like a rock! Just delicious.

Wow, I am working from home today. I worked for a few hours, then went to an hour-long yoga class, and came home.

The sky didn’t fall in or anything!

Great way to reduce stress.

So is writing a resume for a new job, oddly. Makes me feel like I have options.

Well, Librarian and I are on our own team, I guess. The bug’s been fixed. Hee.

I’ve been exercising 5-6 times a week, and it seems to be helping me not stress out in between. Hmm!

We’re also making lots of plans for the next few months and I’m trying to plan some down times too.

I went running twice & did strength training twice, & I ate reasonably every day. My little reward system, on top of being part of a team here, really helped keep me going!

I have a LOT to do to get ready for my writers’ workshop trip, plus freelance work plus housecleaning/cooking for a small family dinner tomorrow. So the weekend’s a little crazy, but at least I’m coming into it with lots of oxygen & well-being.

Best wishes to my teammates—you all count even if the Robots can’t make 43T treat you as part of the team!

at the fitness and spa center next to the gym sort of near me. They’re reasonable.

For some reason, it’s really difficult to spend the money on this sort of thing.

But I will. I commit to you. I will, this month.

Last night I was sooo sleepy on the drive home, that I went right past the gym and straight to bed. Slept for a couple of hours…really hard. That kind of nap that you wake up from feeling groggy and disoriented. Then slept from 9:30 last night till 6:00 this morning.

Still feel a little off…Probably allergies.

Glad that I’d decided early yesterday to work from home today. I’m going to do this at least once a week for the rest of June. Less commute, less gasoline use, etc.