Yesterday, by some act of God, a random miracle, or sheer dumb luck, Ted and I both found ourselves with a Sunday off from work. I know, right!?
Yesterday, by the way, was absolutely lovely. It was a touch chilly (but mostly because of the wind) for October 2nd, but the sun was shining, the grass was a rich green, the sky was a vibrant blue, the trees in various phases of transition to red, orange and yellow, and the birds were a-singin’. I think we both really felt like sleeping in (and we both could have used it too!) but we woke up early for 8 a.m. mass and our Sunday morning breakfast at Panera. Sunday morning breakfast at Panera is always a welcome tradition in our household because no matter how crazy it gets we always have at least this half hour together to relax. It’s worth not sleeping in for. We spent the morning running errands and striking up a friendship over the Packers, classic cars, and Palm phones with the chick at Sprint in hopes of gleaming some useful knowledge about discounted plans and details on which phones are really the best. Totally worked. After nearly a year of marriage it was about time for us to finally take the plunge on a family plan and upgrade our old faithfuls.
Our afternoon was booked with a CCM lighting class & staff picnic out in Maineville at the home of one of the head honchos at CCM, and of course, the Packer game. We only planned to stay an hour at the picnic because somehow the thought that the picnic was mandatory is a little off-putting (like it’s going to be that miserable that you have to force people to come), but we ended up staying nearly three hours. We found ourselves in good company with the lighting faculty and their families, and the lighting undergrads and grad students. The home had a lush green backyard that spilled out onto a glistening lake. Since the weather was just gorgeous we all enjoyed a game of croquette out back and filled up on hot apple cider, chips and queso, veggie and fruit trays, lasagna, pasta, pizza, breadsticks, salad, brownies, cupcakes, and of course, good old fashioned conversation. The radio was turned up to broadcast the audio from the Bengals and then the Packers football games. It was so nice to just relax for a change and enjoy conversation, good food, football, croquette, sunlight, and some sweet scenery. After we said our goodbyes we caught the last quarter of the Packer game at a nearby sports bar. All in all, it just felt awesome to have a full day off together where we weren’t moving or packing or cleaning and didn’t really have to do anything. I could just feel my shoulders sinking down to where they actually belong.
This week is also free dance week at Cincinnati Ballet! I’m stocked to try out 3 or 4 classes this week! I really miss dancing and I feel like the less you do it, the more out of practice you are so the harder it gets to stay flexible, keep your balance, and hold your posture. I haven’t taken dance classes for over three years so I feel like I’ve really fallen behind! So far the only two things that have been stopping me from taking classes are money (cause dancing 3 nights a week ain’t cheap, people) and time. When you work all day, multiple jobs, it can be hard to schedule anything else in when all you really want to do is go home and hang out with your husband. But I miss dancing, it’s good to do something just for yourself every now and then, and it’s exercise. So I’m definitely taking advantage of free dance week! Modern dance was this morning and even though it’s probably the form of dance I have the least experience in and therefore feel the most uncomfortable doing, it was a lot of fun and it felt great to be back up on my toes!
What have you done for yourself lately?
