Indulging yourself

The hardest part about working full-time at work and at home is simply finding time for yourself. No matter what anyone tells you it is really hard not to find yourself at the bottom of the totem pole. You have to seriously put effort into making time for yourself, as it won't just happen.

One of the tips in my book is to "indulge yourself." The key to this tip is that your indulgence happens on a regular basis. Going to a spa once a year may be really nice and make you feel good for a while, but it won't get you through each day, week or month. Find something that makes you happy and gets you away from the chaos consistently.

My usual indulgence is reading People magazine cover to cover every Friday night (though lately is has been arriving on Saturday more than the usual Friday delivery). After dinner and perhaps cards with the neighbors I settle into my bed and read. I am a pop culture addict and just love staying up on "what's happening." Even the puzzle of "what six things are different" is a fun weekly splurge.

Last night however, was a bit different. I guess my indulgence was falling asleep on the couch at 8:30pm. We didn't do our normal pizza night, as we had tons of left overs. I ended up making pizza bagels for the kids and a coupe of friends of theirs who were over. Arnie and I made due with what was in the fridge. The kids were playing nicely in the basement and I turned on TLC and What No To Wear. That was enough to scare Arnie away and I found myself alone on the couch. So I grabbed my throw and settled in, before I knew it I was out.

Sarah woke me up a bit before nine and I limped up the stairs, washed off my make-up and went to bed. Perhaps the extra work on my book during my spare time has made me even more tired, or perhaps I just took advantage of the silence and found that my weekly indulgence this week was a bit more sleep :)