I seem to have been all over the place this summer. The nature of my work means that summer always sees me touring the far flung corners of the county I live and work in. This year I also seem to have done quite a bit of going further a field to visit family and friends, celebrate birthdays and just catch up. Even when I haven’t been travelling that far from home I seem to have been staying out long beyond my usual bedtime. Dear Heart and I don’t tend to take ‘holidays’ and the last five summers have been dedicated to house renovation, so such a lot of ‘play’ seems odd.
My summer so far:
Dancing in Leamington Spa and Nottingham, climbing Glastonbury Tor and wander round Abbey, 90th birthday party, 18th birthday party, Bloggers meet up, meet up with Dear Heart’s friend from Xbox Live, visits to numerous pubs and bars, midnight bowling, cocktails and cupcakes party, live jam night, lots of BBQs, farewell to house party.
I’m really beginning to appreciate the joys home and of having a routine. The routine bit makes me think about Autumn. I have always enjoyed the ‘return to school’ atmosphere in September. A chance to shape up after the madness of summer. A better time of year for making changes and fresh starts than January. I fear that I am wishing my life away by anticipating the nip of cold in the air in August.
I’m going to work at appreciating summer while it’s still here and really enjoy waking up in my own bed in my own house. I’ll also make more of an effort to keep up and stay in touch the people I’ve been to visit or been out with. Organise some visits for later in the year. Life should be about balance, not contrast. Everything in moderation.
Showing posts with label morning routine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label morning routine. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, June 01, 2009
The ten outfit solution
Much as I love rediscovering all my summer clothes I find myself unable to make my mind up what to wear. I stand by the wardrobe filled with indecision. Should I wear this? Should I pair it with that? Should I save it for later in the week when the weather might be chillier? This is not good on weekdays when I (a) on a tight schedule with no time to day dream/experiment and (b) I’m not that great first thing in the morning so it’s easy to pick an outfit that just doesn’t work.
My solution is a list of ten outfits. I used to have a job with a very long commute and a fairly formal dress code. I had a set of five outfits that I rotated because it meant that I didn’t have to think in the morning. I just checked what day it was and pulled on the designated clothing. I’ve upped this to five outfits for a number of reasons.
Firstly my work is much more variable these days and I want enough different options to be able to accommodate various levels of meeting, contact with the public and days doing desk work. Secondly I don’t want to be worrying if I get behind on the washing. Ten outfits allows me two weeks of rotations including a few warming outfits should the Great British Summer turn out to be less warm than one might hope for. Finally I want some variety. I have some excellent clothes and I want to enjoy wearing them. I love the concept of a summer uniform but I’ve spent years doing that with linen skirts and fitted white t shirts.
Weekends I’m assuming that I’ll either have time to experiment with new combinations or I’ll fall on a default outfit of shorts and vest top.
Let’s see how the organisation of summer wardrobe works out and if it leads to a more organised and merrier me! Maybe I can get organised enought to photograph said outfits over the course of a few weeks.
My solution is a list of ten outfits. I used to have a job with a very long commute and a fairly formal dress code. I had a set of five outfits that I rotated because it meant that I didn’t have to think in the morning. I just checked what day it was and pulled on the designated clothing. I’ve upped this to five outfits for a number of reasons.
Firstly my work is much more variable these days and I want enough different options to be able to accommodate various levels of meeting, contact with the public and days doing desk work. Secondly I don’t want to be worrying if I get behind on the washing. Ten outfits allows me two weeks of rotations including a few warming outfits should the Great British Summer turn out to be less warm than one might hope for. Finally I want some variety. I have some excellent clothes and I want to enjoy wearing them. I love the concept of a summer uniform but I’ve spent years doing that with linen skirts and fitted white t shirts.
Weekends I’m assuming that I’ll either have time to experiment with new combinations or I’ll fall on a default outfit of shorts and vest top.
Let’s see how the organisation of summer wardrobe works out and if it leads to a more organised and merrier me! Maybe I can get organised enought to photograph said outfits over the course of a few weeks.
Monday, January 26, 2009
What’s for breakfast?
I love having a routine. I also love reading about other people’s routines, menu, bag contents and so on. So last week I thoroughly enjoyed reading Gala Darling’s post on how to have a fabulous routine.
My morning routine has actually become even easier with my laptop lunchbox. Mornings for me go something like this:
Alarm rings, get up, stumble down stairs while belting dressing gown, feed cat, put kettle to boil, brush teeth, make pot of tea, open front door for cat, shower, dress, collect handbag from study, throw food into laptop lunchbox while slurping tea, put contact lenses in, bid farewell to Dear Heart, put on shoes, exit house to get bus.
I then do a sudoku puzzle and apply my make up on the bus.
The snag I have hit is over what to eat for Breakfast. I don’t want to stop and eat before leaving the house unless it’s something that I can eat while throwing food into boxes. And quite frankly if it’s that easy to eat I’d rather eat it in a more leisurely fashion when I get to work!
I’ve tried various things over the years: Home made muffins, porridge, home made muesli, a concoction of carrots, lemon juice, honey and oats, watercress/cucumber sandwiches.
I don’t eat very much bread and I’m not very excited about the though of making toast at work every day. It would mean either taking bread to work or keeping a separate loaf at work, plus I’d need the stuff to go on it. I don’t really like cereal very much and find that I never finish a carton of Soya milk on cereal before it goes off. Fruit is fine but there’s not much in season at this time of year plus I think that some carbs or proteins to go with it would be helpful.
Today I had some dried apricots and nuts because I was stuck for ideas.
Maybe I could make up a batch of scrambled tofu and freeze in breakfast sized chunks? Or make up some kind of vegan breakfast muffin? Or make and freeze pancakes? I did find some breakfast idea over at fatfreevegan and like the tofu quiches
What I need are a couple of ideas that I can fall back on even when I’m pushed for time and if that means that I need to make stuff up in advance so be it – it’s all part of having an effective routine. Any suggestions?
My morning routine has actually become even easier with my laptop lunchbox. Mornings for me go something like this:
Alarm rings, get up, stumble down stairs while belting dressing gown, feed cat, put kettle to boil, brush teeth, make pot of tea, open front door for cat, shower, dress, collect handbag from study, throw food into laptop lunchbox while slurping tea, put contact lenses in, bid farewell to Dear Heart, put on shoes, exit house to get bus.
I then do a sudoku puzzle and apply my make up on the bus.
The snag I have hit is over what to eat for Breakfast. I don’t want to stop and eat before leaving the house unless it’s something that I can eat while throwing food into boxes. And quite frankly if it’s that easy to eat I’d rather eat it in a more leisurely fashion when I get to work!
I’ve tried various things over the years: Home made muffins, porridge, home made muesli, a concoction of carrots, lemon juice, honey and oats, watercress/cucumber sandwiches.
I don’t eat very much bread and I’m not very excited about the though of making toast at work every day. It would mean either taking bread to work or keeping a separate loaf at work, plus I’d need the stuff to go on it. I don’t really like cereal very much and find that I never finish a carton of Soya milk on cereal before it goes off. Fruit is fine but there’s not much in season at this time of year plus I think that some carbs or proteins to go with it would be helpful.
Today I had some dried apricots and nuts because I was stuck for ideas.
Maybe I could make up a batch of scrambled tofu and freeze in breakfast sized chunks? Or make up some kind of vegan breakfast muffin? Or make and freeze pancakes? I did find some breakfast idea over at fatfreevegan and like the tofu quiches
What I need are a couple of ideas that I can fall back on even when I’m pushed for time and if that means that I need to make stuff up in advance so be it – it’s all part of having an effective routine. Any suggestions?
Monday, January 28, 2008
Are you getting enough?
Sleep that is. Every time I look at a newspaper or magazine there seems to be an article on sleep. The quality of my sleep seems to go in cycles and it has little to do with how tired I am. Sometimes I go to sleep as soon as I go to bed, sleep deeply all night and wake up just before the alarm. Sometimes I can't get to sleep and have disturbing dreams when I do . Then there are the nights when sleep doesn't leave me feeling at all refreshed (often rather disturbed in fact!).
One thing the articles all go on about is that you need a routine (no long lie-ins at weekends) and you need to start winding down before you go to bed. This weekend I made an effort to get up at 8.30 a.m. on both days. OK so it's not 5.30 a.m. as it is during the week but it's not that much later. I certainly felt tired by about 8pm on each evening and going to bed around ten was not too much of a struggle. I read a few pages as I usually do but couldn't manage more than that because my eyes were closing. I woke up this morning before the alarm feeling refreshed and cheerful.
You need (so one article suggested) 1 hour of sleep for every 2 hours you are awake. I shall keep this little formula in my head over the next few weeks and see how well it applies over time. It worked out fine for this weekend. It's also a useful reminder that tiredness is often about dehydration, low blood sugar and boredom as much as a need for actual sleep.
If anyone does like the idea of getting up at the same time every day (which if you work full time is probably going to be very early) Steve Pavlina wrote this great piece on it. It's true that early rising does give you more time. I got lots done this weekend. I've got a few days off at the end of the week and I intend to get up early and make a good start on the day. Of course it's much easier to get up of bed when Dear Heart has already turned on lights and the radio and crashed his way around the bedroom before departing for work!
One thing the articles all go on about is that you need a routine (no long lie-ins at weekends) and you need to start winding down before you go to bed. This weekend I made an effort to get up at 8.30 a.m. on both days. OK so it's not 5.30 a.m. as it is during the week but it's not that much later. I certainly felt tired by about 8pm on each evening and going to bed around ten was not too much of a struggle. I read a few pages as I usually do but couldn't manage more than that because my eyes were closing. I woke up this morning before the alarm feeling refreshed and cheerful.
You need (so one article suggested) 1 hour of sleep for every 2 hours you are awake. I shall keep this little formula in my head over the next few weeks and see how well it applies over time. It worked out fine for this weekend. It's also a useful reminder that tiredness is often about dehydration, low blood sugar and boredom as much as a need for actual sleep.
If anyone does like the idea of getting up at the same time every day (which if you work full time is probably going to be very early) Steve Pavlina wrote this great piece on it. It's true that early rising does give you more time. I got lots done this weekend. I've got a few days off at the end of the week and I intend to get up early and make a good start on the day. Of course it's much easier to get up of bed when Dear Heart has already turned on lights and the radio and crashed his way around the bedroom before departing for work!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
A marvellous organisational tip
When I had to wear a suit to work it was very easy to get dressed (if rather boring). I had 5 outfits (more or less - the end of the week could be a struggle) and I knew what I would put on everyday.
Lately I've been finding myself standing in front of my wardrobe (a lovely piece of furniture formerly owned by a distant cousin I always called Auntie) and pondering over what to wear. Yes, pondering. Something I don't really have time for at 6.15 a.m.
Then I read a marvellous tip in Easy Living (February edition - must check which nice person suggested this - think they were something to do with handbags). Now every week I plan food for the following week; I work out what we are likely to be eating for dinner and what I will be eating for lunch so that I know what food to buy and can try and make preparation as straightforward as possible. Imagine how much simpler mornings would be if I planned my clothes at the same time. I could ensure that I wasn't selecting items hiding at the bottom of the wash bin far enough in advance to do something about it. I shall see how it goes but I do very much like the sound of this.
Lately I've been finding myself standing in front of my wardrobe (a lovely piece of furniture formerly owned by a distant cousin I always called Auntie) and pondering over what to wear. Yes, pondering. Something I don't really have time for at 6.15 a.m.
Then I read a marvellous tip in Easy Living (February edition - must check which nice person suggested this - think they were something to do with handbags). Now every week I plan food for the following week; I work out what we are likely to be eating for dinner and what I will be eating for lunch so that I know what food to buy and can try and make preparation as straightforward as possible. Imagine how much simpler mornings would be if I planned my clothes at the same time. I could ensure that I wasn't selecting items hiding at the bottom of the wash bin far enough in advance to do something about it. I shall see how it goes but I do very much like the sound of this.
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