The Spa Day

Sooooo, this morning started out like any other weekday morning, more or less, except I decided today was going to be THE day to stop the sugar. I need a break. I’m tired, I’m cranky, I’ve got pimples. I don’t feel as good as know I can and I know what’s wrong. So, I’m fixing it.

Anyway. Back to the day.

I ate my usual favorite breakfast, oatmeal custard with chopped pears while Susanne drank her smoothie and had some toast. We did some Yoga together which devolved into a tickle fest. It was a good start to the morning.

I dropped Susanne at school and came home to run on the treadmill. I use these great MP3 programs with hip music and a fabulous coach from a website. I was just feeling blah, so I started out walking and then, don’t you know it, by the last half of the hour I was running and feeling super! Blowing out the cobwebs!

After that fabulous session on the treadmill, I spent another 45 minutes practicing Yin Yoga, a style of Yoga where you hold the poses for a long period of time to really let the body open. It requires patience and definitely encourages mindfulness and it felt so darn good today….

I still didn’t realize I was having a spa day.

I came upstairs and had lunch. A gardenburger smothered in avocado and salsa with a side salad and mineral water with a lime twist. I topped that off with two squares of 73% Chocolove Dark Chocolate which is my absolute favorite (and, has never counted during my breaks from sugar because I can’t be out of control with it. It’s too strong. How’s that for justification?). I don’t know what Chocolove does to their chocolate, but it is, hands-down the best chocolate I’ve ever had that is good for everyday kind-of consumption.

Then, feeling like I was on a roll, I decided to take a nice, hot bath! It’s been a long time. And I love baths. I hopped in the bath and soaked for a bit… then I gave myself a foot massage. THIS is when it occurred to me, “Huh. I seem to be having a bit of a spa day here, don’t I? How EXCITING!” After the foot massage, I moved on to a nice scalp massage while I washed my hair. While my conditioner was, well… conditioning, I hopped out of the tub and made up some olive oil/sugar/essential oil body scrub. As the water was draining from the tub, I scrubbed down, getting all the offending dry spots super well- elbows, heels, knees and thighs. With the last little bit of yummy smelling oil, I gave myself a nice neck massage before I rinsed off and got all wrapped up in a towel.

After I got ready, I decided to sit down and read my new book for a bit. Ahhhh… do Mommies ever get enough sleep?

When I woke up, I wondered, “Why don’t I take a few minutes to do something special more often?” It certainly doesn’t have to be a whole day like today. I know when I go pick up Susanne today, I will be so much more present to her because I feel relaxed and taken care of. It’s totally win-win, no??

Do you have little rituals that you do on a regular basis to pamper your inner princess? Or, what would you like to do??