Time to ReCharge

Good morning BlogLand.  We have made it through one of the busiest seasons of a year, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all in a little more than 2 months; no wonder I feel low on energy and high on the need for sleep.  Well, it's time to recharge!



Recharge, I've been quietly rolling this word over and over in my "thinker". A couple of years ago I was having problems with my Honda Civic, it was slow starting and would sputter and complain about it and then one day it didn't start at all, of course it would happen on the coldest day of winter.  Well, as you can guess, it was the battery.  As my Sweetie often does when these things happen, he took care of it for me.  He took the battery out and put in a new one and that little Honda was as good as new.  Don't you wish you could do that when your energy is low? just pop in a new battery and off you go as good as new!   Or plug your battery in for a few hours and whaa-laaa, you're charged up and raring to go for the day. Unfortunately, it isn't that easy but on the other hand there are ways we can recharge ourselves.

These are the things I am doing to recharge myself.  Maybe a few of them will work for you.


Reading time:  Remember in grade school how we had "reading time".  I must confess I didn't like that time, I had rather been playing but it certainly works for me now.  My husband and I have started reading in the evening rather than watching TV, it's more relaxing.  I take my Kindle with me when I know I am going to be somewhere that requires a wait, like the doctors office or when I'm having my car worked on and other places.  My mind cannot relax and recharge if I'm texting or surfing the web on my phone.

Exercise:  I know, it's the big bad word but it does recharge me.  A walk in the evenings or a couple of miles on the treadmill.  My Sweetie and I love to hike but we've let that fall to the wayside the last couple of years, we are making an effort to get out there and enjoy it again.  I get up 30 minutes early on the days I work so I can do Pilates.  It energizes me for the day.

Take a day off:  I am fortunate to work for a company that allows me to work 4/10s.  I have my work week in by the end of Thursday so I can enjoy a 3 day weekend. By Monday I am charged up and ready to go.

Doing something for myself:  Most of us are constantly doing things for others rather than for ourselves. Take an afternoon to do what you enjoy, believe me the family will be happy that you do.   I love going out for coffee and a sweet treat, even if it's just me, myself and I.  As most of you know, I love painting.  In the past I either sold or gave my painted items away and would think I'll make another one for myself, but that didn't happen.  Now, I am enjoying painting the things I want to keep.  It has taken the pressure out of creating and painting.  Before you think I'm being too selfish, I do have a couple of items I will be painting to give away here on my blog.

Eating healthy:  Oh no, another bad phrase!  When we are busy it's hard to eat healthy.  There's a reason some places are called "Fast Food" and why we all have a microwave in our kitchens but honestly eating a healthy diet does contribute to our well-being.  I've learned that over the past couple of years so I'm sticking with it.

Vitamins:  I've been taking them for the past 2 years and I have to admit they have been doing their job.  I take a multi-vitamin and then add a couple of more to the mix.  One is vitamin B12.  They really do help.

Energy Smoothies:  I bought a smoothie mixer at Target a couple of years ago, it whips up a smoothie in no time.   I posted about this a few months ago, I included a photo of the smoothie machine and a some recipes.  You can find that post HERE 
I have found that drinking an energy smoothie mid-morning or mid-afternoon provides a needed "pick me up".

Sleep:  I think this is one of the most important things for recharging.  My schedule can be hectic and for a while I was getting 2 to 4 hours of sleep a night.  I had a hard time going to sleep and when I went to sleep I couldn't stay asleep.  I was bleary eyed and dragging all the time.  It was hard to think and do my work efficiently.  Concerned about this, I began to research online the effects of not having enough sleep and was shocked at what I found.  The lack of sleep can have a devastating affect on the body, mind and emotional well being of a person.  I talked to my doctor about what was going on and we worked out a solution that has worked well for me.  I am better rested and the mental fog I was going through is gone.  

These are just a few of the things I have been incorporating in my life to recharge my battery.  I hope you found a few of them helpful.  Let me know what you are doing to recharge.