But that's where my Day Off Mojo ended.

Today is Patriot's Day/Marathon Day in Massachusetts, and since I work in an independent school, I got the day off. Yay for me! I started off thinking of all the things I could get done before going on duty at 4:15...grocery shopping, cleaning the house, finishing installing programs on the new computer...the list was endless. But then I thought that it didn't seem like the greatest use of a day off. So I decided to unplan those things. Instead, I planned to sleep in, get to the gym, and get a pedicure. Much better.

The day started off well, since I slept until my body woke up naturally--at 10:30. Yeah, if only I could get 10 hours of sleep every night, I'd be a different woman. I made some oatmeal while watching the season finale of Life Unexpected (which I already miss. It's my new Gilmore Girls). But that's where my day off mojo ended. I convinced myself to get dressed and get to the gym for an Intro to Spinning class, thinking it was the best way to ease into meeting that goal, since I am still SO intimidated by the idea of spinning. I really can't even explain why. So I get there and, of course, the instructor doesn't show. They tell me to wait, because she just finished teaching another class and maybe she just took a quick break. But she still doesn't show. So I was feeling pretty defeated, since I had really worked myself up for this and had planned the rest of my day around going to this class. So I asked the head instructor guy to at least show me how to set up the bike and get started, so he gave me a 5 minute intro to spinning class. Which nearly killed me.

I'm not kidding. After getting to the gym SEVEN times last week, and doing a half hour of cardio on the elliptical on most days, I thought I was getting to be in pretty good shape.

Um, wrong. Wow. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to make it through a whole spinning class. But I do think if I can, it will be an exhilarating workout. And, on the plus side--in only 5 minutes of spinning, I logged nearly 1000 steps on my pedometer. So maybe I'll actually hit 10k if I start spinning.

So I thought about staying and working out, but I really wanted to have enough time to get that pedicure before having to be on duty, so I headed home to shower. I can usually just walk in to my favorite pedicure place, but I decided not to risk it and called to make an appointment, only to find that they didn't have an opening until 3:30, which would not leave me enough time to get back before coming on duty at 4:15. Grrr.

So I was basically left with my to-do list after all, and with only two hours of free time left. I took a bath (with my Eckhart Tolle book), dyed my hair, and cleaned roughly half the house before I had to head to dinner in the dining hall. I will say that after lighting my eucalyptus mint candle and putting on some Norah Jones, the cleaning was much more enjoyable that I would have predicted. And I always feel better starting a week with a clean house. I wish I had gotten to finish, but the rooms where we spend the most time are done, at least.

And tonight I am babysitting for a friend, thanks to Michael being kind enough to be on duty by himself for a few hours. My friend was really excited to get to a movie with her husband, and I was happy to help. But when I got to their apartment, I found myself feeling like I was on vacation again. The kids were both already in bed. What high ceilings they have! And how QUIET it is. I can hear crickets. If I close my eyes, I could be back in Uncertain, TX, in Lakeside Cabin #2.

I meant to bring my Eckhart Tolle book with me, but I forgot to grab it, since I was wrapped up in a mini crisis with one of the girls just before leaving. So I brought just my laptop, and I've actually enjoyed the time to write a bit and might even have a little time left for Danish learning before they get home. I wanted to tell you all about Eckhart Tolle, but I'm not in the right mood anymore, so it'll have to wait.

In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't exercise this weekend. Ironically, though, I logged more steps while shopping than I usually log on a good day with exercise. So. Hmmmm. Yeah, I am definitely leading too sedentary a lifestyle. But, I have hit my goal of 4 times per week for each week in April. I've only hit 10k steps once, but I can usually get to 7k-8k. I'm up to 17 push-ups and 65 sit-ups. And I've read a LOT about meditation and how my body works. So April is going pretty well so far.

And all the stuff I'm reading is making me think maybe I want to do the choices/boundaries/balance month. I haven't gotten to do any meditation this month yet, either, other than reading about it...so I still need to do that at some point.

Alright, I think I'll go try to find a short-ish meditation exercise on you tube...