Staycation 2012 - Power Tuesday
Man! I packed a buncha fun into Tuesday!
I started off the day by deciding to run at a nearby lake and forest preserve. There are a few such pretty parks in the 50 mile radius of where I live, so I decided to explore one on my Staycation. Running at new parks was also one of the many things on my "Get Busy Living" list that helped form my Staycation experience.
I generally aim for covering 4 miles per run, but ran a little farther today because I got a smidge off track. After a quick glance at the park map, I headed out on the trails. I kept taking forks I thought would lead me where I hoped to go and end up. Well, I ended up coming out on a county road, and mistakenly thought I would find another quick entryway back into trails.
Um, nope. At least not for another mile or so.
At one point, I did not quite know where I was, and that was not a fun feeling. Oddly enough, I don't think this would have bothered me so much if I were still inside the park, on the beautiful, shady trails. But I was stuck out on the boring, unshady, country road on a hot, hot day.
But hey! That's all part of the fun of exploring new things, right?
I learned a few things from that run:
I am thankful to report I did not spend the rest of my Staycation with red, itchy blotches. Almost all of them went away after I took a refreshing shower.
My next stop was a local "paint your own pottery" place, and I was excited to be exploring something new, something creative. I must admit at first I was a bit stressed out. So many decisions to make and things to sort out. Select an item to paint. Decide how I want to paint it. Get started, and finish it. And the place was only going to be open for four more hours. Yikes!
[big deep breath]
A wise girl working in the studio offered some helpful comments. "Try not to stress out, and keep it fun. We have lots of tools to help you paint designs, but really, simple seems so underrated ... especially when it comes to first time efforts." I took her thoughtfully stated advice and decided to paint a serving bowl with bright, but simple color blocking. Once I started painting, it was very relaxing. And fun! Added bonus: I met three new people and truly enjoyed visiting with them and hearing about their lives while we painted.
Next I headed to Goodwill to sneak in a little thrift-store shopping about an hour before they closed. Found a couple of tops and a fun dancing dress. Was another beautiful day heading into a beautiful evening, so I decided to enjoy dessert and half-price wine on yet another patio ... this time at an artsy tapas restaurant.
Well, sort of.
When the waitress brought the menu, everything looked so darn good that I decided to enjoy a salad ... and a tapas entree ... and the dessert. With two excellent glasses of Malbec.
And. It. Was. Glorious!
To top it off, a good friend dropped by for a brief visit.
The evening ended with a walk and talk through our historic downtown park with another friend. We eventually settled on the swings and continued chatting there. At some point, I remembered (and relived) how fun it was to swing, kinda high, kinda fast, leaning waaaaay back ... so that it makes the belly tickle on the inside.
Fun stuff.
Cheri
P.S. When was the last time you did something youthful, like swing until your belly tickles? I probably wouldn't have touched the swings had it not been for my friend. He's a very groovy guy, and I really enjoy the way he views and interacts with this world. It's friends like this that helps keep life interesting.
I started off the day by deciding to run at a nearby lake and forest preserve. There are a few such pretty parks in the 50 mile radius of where I live, so I decided to explore one on my Staycation. Running at new parks was also one of the many things on my "Get Busy Living" list that helped form my Staycation experience.
I generally aim for covering 4 miles per run, but ran a little farther today because I got a smidge off track. After a quick glance at the park map, I headed out on the trails. I kept taking forks I thought would lead me where I hoped to go and end up. Well, I ended up coming out on a county road, and mistakenly thought I would find another quick entryway back into trails.
Um, nope. At least not for another mile or so.
At one point, I did not quite know where I was, and that was not a fun feeling. Oddly enough, I don't think this would have bothered me so much if I were still inside the park, on the beautiful, shady trails. But I was stuck out on the boring, unshady, country road on a hot, hot day.
But hey! That's all part of the fun of exploring new things, right?
I learned a few things from that run:
- Swallow my pride and stop the running tracker long enough to look at the GPS map and figure out which fork in the path I should be taking.
- Stick to the wide foottrails. The skinny ones may cause red blotches on lower extremities.
I am thankful to report I did not spend the rest of my Staycation with red, itchy blotches. Almost all of them went away after I took a refreshing shower.
My next stop was a local "paint your own pottery" place, and I was excited to be exploring something new, something creative. I must admit at first I was a bit stressed out. So many decisions to make and things to sort out. Select an item to paint. Decide how I want to paint it. Get started, and finish it. And the place was only going to be open for four more hours. Yikes!
[big deep breath]
A wise girl working in the studio offered some helpful comments. "Try not to stress out, and keep it fun. We have lots of tools to help you paint designs, but really, simple seems so underrated ... especially when it comes to first time efforts." I took her thoughtfully stated advice and decided to paint a serving bowl with bright, but simple color blocking. Once I started painting, it was very relaxing. And fun! Added bonus: I met three new people and truly enjoyed visiting with them and hearing about their lives while we painted.
 |
| Ta da! My fun, vibrant, and festive new serving bowl! |
 |
| Bottoms up! |
Next I headed to Goodwill to sneak in a little thrift-store shopping about an hour before they closed. Found a couple of tops and a fun dancing dress. Was another beautiful day heading into a beautiful evening, so I decided to enjoy dessert and half-price wine on yet another patio ... this time at an artsy tapas restaurant.
Well, sort of.
When the waitress brought the menu, everything looked so darn good that I decided to enjoy a salad ... and a tapas entree ... and the dessert. With two excellent glasses of Malbec.
And. It. Was. Glorious!
To top it off, a good friend dropped by for a brief visit.
 |
| Grilled Watermelon Salad. Malbec. Was too busy enjoying the moment and good friendship to take pics of the tapas entree and dessert.They, too, were a work of art. |
The evening ended with a walk and talk through our historic downtown park with another friend. We eventually settled on the swings and continued chatting there. At some point, I remembered (and relived) how fun it was to swing, kinda high, kinda fast, leaning waaaaay back ... so that it makes the belly tickle on the inside.
Fun stuff.
Cheri
P.S. When was the last time you did something youthful, like swing until your belly tickles? I probably wouldn't have touched the swings had it not been for my friend. He's a very groovy guy, and I really enjoy the way he views and interacts with this world. It's friends like this that helps keep life interesting.
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