Recharge/Refresh

Many things happened this week left me very close (but not quite) to singing the childhood song "nobody likes me..... everybody hates me..... guess I'll go eat worms..."  So, instead of singing this particular song, yesterday I opted to work on singing a different tune.  I cuddled up on the couch with the dogs and popped in the movie that inspired my writing namesake "GYPSY" (once again, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you do!).

But I'm getting ahead of myself some...  Yesterday, after waking up very early on a Saturday, I decided that I needed to do something out of the ordinary - that I needed to have my own adventure.  I decided to take myself whale watching.  It's been about a year and a half since I've been (the last time I went was when my Mom was visiting) and I woke up yesterday morning thinking it was time to change that.  After debating my choice with myself, and debating it with my parents and one of my brothers via text messages, I dressed in very warm layers and went.  I don't know why I decided yesterday was the day or what even made me decide to have this particular adventure but I'm glad that I did it.  Yes, it was cold and overcast but the wildlife didn't know that (and it made it so the boat was only about half full).  We were able to see otters (even some mommies with their pups hitching a ride on their tummies), seals, Sea Lions, Sea Nettles (wicked looking jellyfish), moon jellies, kelp, a couple of dolphins and approximately 10-12 gray whales (one of the other boats reported that they thought they saw a humpback but we weren't so lucky).

While I've now been whale watching a total of three times, each time was a unique experience.  The first time I went was with both parents, second time was just Mom and I, and the third time I was alone.  The first two times were nice because I had other people to share the experience with but I feel like yesterday's experience was an opportunity for me to prove something to myself -- that it's perfectly okay to say that I need to take a day to do something for me in order to recharge my "inner self battery."  I know that I've said before that this is something I want/need to really start working on.  After my day yesterday, this is something I know I must do for myself...  No longer a "need" to do but it has moved to the "must" do list.

After the boat docked, I walked to the other end of the wharf and went to the little restaurant Mom and I found after we went whale watching and I ate crepes.  I enjoyed one that was made with ham, eggs and cheese and then I had one that was made with lemon and sugar (it's simple but it's FABULOUS!).  Since I was super cold after being out on the water, I also ordered a warm caramel apple cider (tastes just like a liquefied caramel apple!).  Yes, I know that I ate way too many calories but I didn't care!  It was exactly what I wanted so that's what I had.  When the yummy deliciousness was gone, I headed home.

In an effort to warm up when I got home (my toes still felt like ice cubes even though I wore thick socks), I hopped into a nice toasty shower and then put on clothes to just relax in.  That's when the dogs and I curled up on the couch to watch GYPSY.  I think it was really good for me to watch the movie (since it's been some time since I have) because I think I lost some of my connection to the character who inspired my writing name.  I think I might need Mom to send me the cow to remind me how far I've come (it's a reference from the movie if you're confused).  Once the movie ended, I took a much needed nap on the couch.

For some reason, almost every night this week, I was wide away at 3 am, tossed and turned until about 6 am, fell back asleep and my alarm went of at 6:30 am.  I have NO IDEA what caused me to be wide awake at that awful time and then toss and turn but it's something that I really hope doesn't make a repeat performance this upcoming week.  I know that it would be difficult to get through another week of work with as little sleep as I had last week.  Hopefully my personal adventure yesterday and my nap will have refreshed me enough to get through the week ahead of me (it's going to be a busy week).

I am going to make an effort to create more personal adventures in order for me to recharge and continue to work on my quest (if you have any suggestions for adventures, please feel free to comment!).  I wish you the best of luck on your own personal adventures!