Yesterday, I successfully completed a Day of Rest. Below are my activities for the record. (I feel this needs a “Captain’s Log: Supplemental” added in somewhere. Yar, but I’m too tired to cleverly weave it in. Maybe next time.) Based off of my previously-posted ideas for fun, I will addendum the actualities.
ACTION: Eat sugary cereal
Here in U.S.A. we have a very sugary cereal named “Cinnamon Toast Crunch”. It’s basically little, wavy, cinnamon & sugar coated, wheat & rice soft-crisps. (And when I say coated, I mean like 5 layers of the powder.) Powerfully sugary stuff. And when drenched in milk, it’s a heaven-delicacy. Yes. That’s what I ate. And it was great. My mouth-tastes went to “mmmmmmm this is the best breakfast ever” really fast and basically stayed in orbit for a good while after. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
ACTION: Take a bath with a bath bomb (the rose-scented one!)
On a whim, I decided 1. my hair was greasy and needed washing to feel better, and, 2. it’s cold outside (and inside the house was chilly) and a hot bath would feel nice. So I did this one. The pink, fizzy, baseball-sized bath bomb was a gift from Co-Writer, and it had bits of actual dried roses in it. It also made my master bedroom suite smell like roses. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
ACTION: Paint my nails (the new teal color Co-Writer bought me)
My HSP smell-tank was full up after the rose bath bomb, and the idea of nail polish smell was repulsive. Nope. Not doing it. MISSION DENIED.
ACTION: Write on a new story or ficcy
This was dodged by fatigue. Since my goal is new words written between Sunday and Friday, I let this one slide with much thankfulness. MISSION DENIED.
ACTION: Come up with a new set of plots (eeeeee, maybe this one is a bad idea…)
Bad idea or not, I did come up with a new plot! The second one I don’t reckon should count, as I’d thought about it before. I got it written down, though. I sent them both to Co-Writer and she liked them. So that’s a win, too. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
ACTION: Read that book about Tolkien & C.S. Lewis
I tried! Honest-to-goodness sat down with the book with my cup of molasses-sweetened black tea, hot, and read-skimmed several pages. Learned some things about Lewis. Learned some things about Tolkien. But the pacing of facts was far too fast for a Day of Rest. And some of the material was anxiety-triggering for me. So, I snapped a picture and called it done. Below is the pic. MISSION HALF-BUTTED. (“Half-Butted” falls between “Mission Accomplished” and “Mission Denied”. My Husband insisted I explain.)
ACTION: Draw with brush markers
I did a very Piet Mondrian-esque-like drawing while Co-Writer and I watched “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”. I’d seen the pilot episode four times, so I drew through the parts that would cause me anxiety. That helped, but I still wanted a Life mint afterwards… Squares can be very relaxing for me to draw out and paint in. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
ACTION: Watercolor
Watercolor takes a lot of prep and intentionality, and after part of the day had passed, I felt I didn’t have the energy for it. I passed on this one. MISSION DENIED.
ACTION: Journal
I count “jounaling” as the action of intentionally being in one of my journals; whether personal-processing writing, story/fiction writing, or coloring/drawing. Because this falls in such a wide range, I can count the plot work I did as ‘journaling”… Booyah. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
ACTION: Make raisin & chocolate-chip scones (only if someone else does the hand mixing)
Welp. No one wanted to do the hand mixing for me. I still want scones, but I’m not willing to waltz into an anxiety moment for ’em! (Can’t stand the sticky stuff on my hands while I incorporate all the ingredients.) I’d like to think I’ll make a batch this week, but no promises. Hmph. Maybe one day I’ll share my scones recipe on here… Maybe. Unsure I have any readers that like to bake. Either way, for yesterday: MISSION DENIED.
ACTION: Sit in the sun
Oh I topped this one. I fell asleep in the sun! It was absolutely glorious! Erm. And I might’ve gotten a bit medium-rare in the face. Thank goodness the Lord has the Earth rotating! Otherwise I would’ve been burnt lobster. I did get a nice helping of Vitamin D. Mmm, warm in the winter. ☀ MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
ACTION: Listen to Spotify (my playlists)
I chose to do what I call “floor time.” It’s an exercise in self-processing that I learned from my new HSP workbook. They encourage doing it while not listening to music, but it was my Day of Rest. Of course I’m going to listen to one of my playlists on Spotify. And probably as loudly as my safety settings go! (Or as loud as my HSP ears can handle.) It was a great time, lying on the floor, listening to music, with my eyes closed, just being, or, staring up at the ceiling. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
ACTION: Catch up on Duck Call Room (my current favorite podcast)
As much as I love my guys, I wasn’t up for the ridiculous banter and stories. I probably will be in a couple of days. I can never go long without the funnies, the gong, Godwin and Uncle Si, John David and Martin. (I have a working theory that John David is a bit HSP, too. I haven’t gotten up the courage to ask him yet, though…) So, never fear: I will get this in soon enough. MISSION DENIED.
ACTION: Stare at the ceiling (a very restful action for me)
Donesky. [Pronounced: “done skii”; meaning: it’s dun been done!] See the Listen to Spotify section. And just so you know, my ceiling is 8ft tall (or 2.44m tall). It’s at a great height to stare at. And it’s a beige off-white. With orange-peel texture. Kinda looks like a reverse lunar surface. Suits this sci-fi writer just fine. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
⭐🌍🌠
That’s all for this report. I open the “Day of Rest” Challenge to anyone who wants to dive in. It’s easy:
- Pick your day of not getting ahead
- Post ideas for how to spend it on your blog
- Post nothing on the day, just remember what all you do
- Post the day after, giving update of what you did, what was good, or anything else you want to share.
- Challenge others to do the same.
Keviana Elliot 