Me in Matera, Italy

Friday 8 April 2011

Extraordinary Indulgence, Kindness or Care

Work has been excessively busy for some time now and when that is added to the demands at home, it's hard to actually feel any sense of balance.  Well balance or no balance, I'm taking the "just do it" approach to fit in some activities I enjoy.  Waiting until things slow down or calm down really isn't working for me.

Today was a really nice day.  My daughter and I went to the spa for pedicures and lunch using gift certificates which made it even better.  We then had a few errands to run and I needed to take my Mom for an appointment after that.

It feels really good to get a pedicure.  I just love going to the spa or for a massage.  I need to do more of this, not necessarily going out but even just taking time and making the effort to pamper myself.  Pampering is defined as to treat or gratify with excessive indulgence, kindness or care.  I think that the "excessive" part has negative connotations and in my own personal definition, I will substitute in "extraordinary".  Isn't it a lovely thought to do something extraordinary for yourself for no defined reason. 

I have a basic weekly plan that I try to follow to keep my life somewhat organized and get things done.  I'm going to incorporate "Pampering" into this because if I don't have a plan, it just won't end up happening.  Life's just too busy and it's pretty easy to put off  or not even think of doing extraordinary things for myself.  I'm also going to incorporate this into my budget, not that it will always involve spending a lot of money but I would like to have some money available for this so I can do it without feeling guilty, again because it is part of the plan.

I already have an idea for a pampering activity.  I really enjoy going to live shows or plays so I'm going to do some research, choose one and plan a night out.  Ordinarily I wouldn't spend money on a play or if I did, I would feel really guilty for wasting that money as I would definitely categorize a play as an extraordinary indulgence.  I still do these things on occasion but don't fully enjoy them because they aren't well planned, organized and/or didn't have money allocated for it.  Now I will plan them, budget for them and of course, blog about them.  What fun!

2 comments:

  1. i've decided to just stop and do something for me, also. :) i got a pedi a few weeks ago. next week i'm scheduled for another one. i think i'm just going to go and have one every pay period now until it's too cold to do it again.

    and i'm proud of you for making yourself have a night out. hubb's and i started date night last year with i joined FL. once a week, even if it's just a trip to the store, we do something with just us, no kids. and once a month we go out. either out with friends from work, or to a movie, or the comedy club. something to get out from under *life* and reconnect. it's really important! once a month, i try to go out with the girls, too. even if it's just apps after work. ANYTHING, to have some alone time. i did feel guilty about it. and hubb's STILL will afterwards say something like, "well, we really can't afford that because we spent X on Y instead." But it's cheaper than a divorce would be when we got too overwhelmed with day to day stuff and stayed disconnected long enough to actually not be connectable again. *shrug*

    anyway, i'm really glad for you Cleo!

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  2. Thanks Mel. I love the date night idea and your comment about it being cheaper than divorce actually made me laugh out loud. Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate the feedback.

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