A Little Friday Fun

How do I recharge? If all the housework is done and the living room looks inviting, I turn off all the lights except a very dim one and I listen to an audio book. Turning pages hurts my hands (neuropathy) but this way I can still read! I might throw on an old movie; my favorite is An Affair to Remember. Just knowing I have nothing else to do is relaxing. Oh, and folding towels, but I can't believe I said that!

a long hot soak in the tub can give immediate relief to a body hurting from tension. but it it also sometimes benefits me physically and mentally to grab the digital camera, a bottle of water and just go on a meandering walk with or without the company of my two dogs. and on those long nights when sleep just will not come, a hot cup of tea and a good library book can take you away from worries and stress.

My favorite, inexpensive getaway is always either a book, a magazine ... or Amazon.com and a credit card. : o )

How do I recharge after stressful events? A tea tray set with a beautiful teapot and teacup, something small but delectable to eat, and a really, really good loose leaf tea ..... and solitude.

How do I recharge after stressful events?

Judging from the two days following my daughter's recent wedding -- I have a migraine. I was out for 2 days, but on the third day, I felt seriously better than I had in a couple weeks.

My stress relievers are of two different extreams. Either I run until I can't run any more (then turn around and run home)...usually into the double digit miles. OR... I sit in a bubble bath not moving a muscle and read a book. Lately it's been historical fiction writen about Henry VIII or one of his wives and/or children.

Heather, congrats on finishing the first draft of the book! I can't wait for it to come out next year. As for handling stress, I haven't got that one quite figured out yet... still working on it. Have fun at the beach today!

"How do you recharge after stressful events?"

Long, somewhat grueling bike rides with 130-140BPM music in one ear (other ear is open so I can hear traffic, other people etc.) The music keeps my feet turning the pedals on tempo to a cadence of around 80-95rpm, and that keeps me moving at an average speed I later do not hate myself for. I try to make them 25 miles or more (on a regular basis), and I'm slowly edging that up into the 35+ range. My ultimate goal is to bang out 50 mile rides the way I knock out 25 mile rides now, and to push at 100 miles without killing myself. I can do 100 now, but it takes everything I have and _all day_.

SO when I'm freaking out I just go riding. By mile 15, whatever I was stressing about is forgotten under the need to pay attention to the bike and the road, the freedom and feeling of flight I get from riding fast, and the simple-yet-unrelenting beat in my ear.

The endorphin rushes don't hurt none either.

Of course having just finished a 5-week intensive biology summer course - Monday lab, Tuesday test, Wednesday lab, Thursday test, Friday exam, 5 weeks straight - I am going to use my Xbox as an escape for the next few days. THINGS NEED TO DIE AT MY HAND. Digital things. EVIL things. ;)

For an instant getaway after a stressful day, I spend a very long time in a very hot shower. My family is given strict instructions that I am not to be interrupted unless someone is dying.