What Random Activities Are You Enjoying These Days?

Soaking in a warm bath with epsom, a bath bomb, bath pillow & bubbles. Drinking a homemade lavender London Fog in a giant clear glass mug. Getting comfy & warm with a Hoodie & fuzzy slippers. Catching up on emails. Listening to tunes on my mp3 player. Watching Bachelor in Paradise!

My four year old and I like to pick handfuls of snowberries that are everywhere in England right now. We toss them on the floor and jump on them to make them pop! It’s a lot of fun watching her try to catch them as they roll. Also on walks with my partner he points out leaves that will make a good crunch for me to jump on which makes me happy every time.

I edit my podcast while buying stationary for my journals and watching Japanese YouTube vlogs.

The fall weather has perfect lately in France, after a mostly cold and rainy summer, and it’s been lovely to finally be able to go for walks with my eleven month old. I had dreamed of taking long walks together, but she hated the stroller for a long time, and soon outgrew the baby carrier. She’s starting to walk and we’ll go to different parks each day. It’s such a joy to have these little outings after a very lonely postpartum period in lockdown far from friends and family.

What podcast? I can never find something I can stick woth

We got a rescue puppy in February, and now that he’s trained off-leash, we take him to some of the off leash trails in our city, and it’s so much fun to watch him play with the other dogs. It’s an activity our teenagers are always up for too, so the whole family is involved. I also enjoy having a quick chat with new people that we pass by.

I love all these ideas! Music is the best mood lifter. When my twins were little and dinner time so stressful, I started listening to a Brazilian jazz playlist while cooking and it was magic. Gilberto Gil, Antonio Jobim, etc. playing on Pandora and I am instantly happy.

We’ve started feeding the crows. We toss out unshelled peanuts in the morning and now we have a regular family of three that waits for us to do it. We’ve watched them figure out how to carry three peanuts at once and problem solve opening them. They squabble and steal from each other and have gotten bolder with us, willing to come closer to us to snatch the peanuts. Watching our little front yard wildlife station is a nice way to start our morning.

My 9 year old just started flute lessons so I’m learning alongside her! It’s fun to learn again!

Today I was outside with the kids and the wind was blowing and out of nowhere we decided to try to run and catch the falling leaves as they twisted and danced and tried to evade our outstretched hands. You could feel the joy in the air and I just couldn’t stop smiling. It’s too easy to miss these ordinary moments and it made me feel alive to be fully present and soak in the goodness.

A guy I started dating got me tennis lessons and I’ve gotten SO into it. I keep saying that no matter what happens, I’m grateful he’s given me a hobby I can keep forever. I’ve made so many new friends and for someone who was never very athletic (and followed in the footsteps of a VERY athletic older brother), I’m actually pretty good!

I found a vegan coconut ice cream the other day and decided to throw some fresh raspberries in it. Then I laid in bed last night and watched a show while eating ice cream + raspberries directly from the pint!!! It was magical. Like a true adult with a childish joy

I’ve been teaching for 7 years and this has been my hardest year yet. lately before the students arrive, I’ve been listening to the soundtrack from ‘sleepless in seattle,’ and it’s really been lifting my spirits. I have a long walk home every day, which I love, and then once I get home, I eat a huge piece of cake. in these apocalyptic times, it definitely is the little things getting me through.

My favorite thing to do these days is “window shop” online. I go to various clothing, shoe and home decor websites and load my cart DOWN! Then I just exit out when I’m done. LOL! It feels like I’ve been shopping without feeling the pinch to my coins. :-)

I’ve been reliving my “youth” through a huge 90’s playlist on Spotify. (search William Murray Nineties Rock Mix… yes, THAT William Murray) It’s really long and goes through all the hits, and even some I didn’t listen to. Catch the right riff and I’m 16 again, dressed in my favorite, softest, thrifted flannel, Gap cords, crazy socks and mary jane Doc Martins sitting in the car with my good friend Mya, singing (or trying to rap if it was the Beastie Boys) at the top of our lungs. It’s such a good feeling and the time flies when I listen. Highly recommend to all the other 90’s children.

Am I the only one who has taken to doing daily pushups after being inspired by the CoJ post sharing beloved habits? I love feeling strong enough to do 6 “real” push-ups now, and am up to 20 more half push-ups! One simple pleasure is feeling the slight muscle fatigue in my upper body each morning as I stretch myself awake. It’s a beautiful reminder of how my decisions are making me a stronger person and I relish the ache!

A trip to the thrift store. Finding good dance music. Just discovered Dua Lipa and her music makes me want to move my body without worrying about the lyrics.Lol

My current daily schedule right now:
Wake up, get ready & leave for work.
Scream-sing Hamilton for my entire 30 minute commute to work.
Work 8+ hours.
Scream-sing Hamilton for my second commute home.
Dinner, family stuff, bed.

These comments have been so uplifting to read, thank you. Feeling worn out, jittery and jaded in Melbourne’s extended lockdown. Thanks for the soothing words and thoughts. I’ve personally enjoyed neighbourhood strolls with a podcast for company, lighting a candle at dinnertime, reading in bed each night, sending fun snail mail and keeping my nails looking super neat xx

I recently joined a meditation and breathing class. I find it so comforting, especially since I haven’t quite been myself since my dad passed away last month. It’s the little things, I guess.

Drinking out of “my” glasses. I have a few old random glasses I picked up thrifting. They’re quirky and even ugly but have a beautiful heft or shape to them that’s not today’s proportion. Satisfying! Akin to writing with a perfect super gloopy ballpoint pen or navy Sharpie. Listening to my kid laugh or talk to someone else when I’m out of sight but in earshot. Listening to my dog drink water. Watching the cat drink out of the faucet. Watching bees on our flowers. Listening to one-hit wonders from my youth which my best friend and I call “aural therapy.”

A fun thing me and my husband started doing was going through the copious amounts of cookbooks we bought when we first married, and then proceeded to never use. We go through them while eating dinner and put a post-it on the ones we find particularly appetizing. Whenever I’m having a particularly hard time with pandemic stress, work stress, or just generally not feeling great, I pick a recipe, get the ingredients and we make dinner together. It’s been a great way to get out of the funk and learn some new recipes!

My favorite moment of the day is after I plop my two littles down with their breakfast and make my cup of coffee. I wait all day to go to sleep again so I can wake up to have that moment another time. Bonus points if they somehow sleep in and I get to have it all alone on the quiet of the porch watching the birds, but I’ll take it anyway I can get it.

On a similar note, I’ve finally felt rested enough to begin my lifelong habit of reading in bed before I go to sleep. Sometimes it’s just a page, sometimes it’s an irresponsible number of them. Even as a very busy parent, I find I get through an impressive number of books that way! I’ve been reading before bed since I learned how to read, and it always feels like home.

As Mark Nepo says: One key to knowing joy is being easily pleased.

Every morning, my husband brings me coffee, lets our giant wolfhound onto the bed and we do the newspaper quiz together while the dog snuggles in like a toddler. My kids are teens now so I’ve missed those early morning cuddles.

We’ve started taking evening “popsicle walks” with the kids. As toddlers are wont to do, usually 2 minutes into a walk they want to be carried. But popsicles are apparently magical and inspire them to stay on their own two feet for way longer than normal. The rule is no carrying until the popsicle is finished. It’s lovely to soak in our new neighborhood in the beautiful dusky hours as a tight knit family of four, just ambling along, popsicles dripping down our arms. (although I learned a hack for that… poke the sticks through baking cups!)