Thursday, April 7, 2016

Shouldless Days: April (1 of 2)

Remember when I posted about my goals for 2016 and one of the goals was to have a shouldless day each month? I did so well in January and February but fell off the wagon in March as the month was just too busy to fit in a shouldless day. So I have some catching up to do in April and will *try* to squeeze in 2 shouldless days this month! My calendar is much less full and Whole30 ends soon so it should be easier to plan some unplanned days. And yes, I recognize the irony of having to plan to not make plans...

This past Sunday, I had my first shouldless day of April. Here's how I spent it!

I slept in on Sunday and woke up without an alarm which was blissful. While I ate breakfast (sweet potatoes + eggs and 2 mugs of pomegranate oolong tea), I watched an episode of Gilmore Girls. I'm about 1/4 of the way through season 5!


The rest of the morning was spent reading. I finished the book "Commencement" by J. Courtney Sullivan. I've really enjoyed the 2 books I've read by this author so I need to check out more of her books!


By the time I finished the book, it was time for lunch. After eating some leftovers for lunch, I talked on the phone to Mandy. We hadn't talked on the phone for months so were sooo overdue!

Sunday was a beautiful day, so I headed out for a long walk in my neighborhood. There were lots of people out running which made me especially sad that I'm not able to run right now but walking does allow me to take in more of the beauty of my neighborhood. Here are 2 pictures I snapped on my walk.
The Mississippi River + Minneapolis skyline is a beautiful combination
Crossing my favorite bridge in Minneapolis - my condo building is just on the other side of this bridge and I can see this bridge from my balcony
After my walk, Becky Facetimed me and we had a quick catch-up session. We text often, but I am pretty sure I haven't actually talked to her since we saw each other in November which is crazy!  It was fun to see her little guy, Parker, who just turned 11 months last week!


After our quick catch-up session, I headed to yoga sculpt for an intense, calorie-burning class. Sculpt is such a tough class for me but I always feel so good afterwards! I'm glad that I have one workout that doesn't bother my hip too much and is high-intensity.


That evening I started Tisha, which is a book I am reading for the postal book club that I am in. It's one of those books I wouldn't have chosen based on the cover (I'm kind of judgy about covers!) but I am really enjoying it.



After that, it was bedtime!

Have you had a shouldless or commitment-free day recently? If so, what did you do?

16 comments:

Marlys said...

That sounded like a great day! I think it was the last nice day we have had - burr! I am ready for spring to reappear! Isn't it amazing how fast a "shouldless day" passes? One wants to savor each moment.
I haven't had one for awhile and with spring outdoor & indoor work staring at me, it will be awhile!

Nora said...

What a lovely day! Great mix of relaxing + time for yourself and some faraway friends. Can't go wrong with that. I have NO idea when I'll have a should-less day, but I've been switching to AM workouts so my evenings are free, or more free, which is kind of helping me to feel less stressed as the week progresses. I don't know if I can do it all the time (we add time to each move we do this month, so each move is 1 minute per side/round by the last week I'm doing these) BUT it's been a nice change to my routine. Last night D was out with my dad so I treated myself to some Chinese food, watched a movie I had via Netflix, colored and read Joyland.

Anonymous said...

I don't find it strange or ironic to schedule days off at all. How else do you know not to say yes to something else that day? In fact, I think I'm going to go put one on my calendar right now.

Leigh said...

Sounds like a wonderful day :) My work allows us to take every third Friday off, so I am off tomorrow. I'm leaving Amelia in the day home and having a day to myself. I have a massage and physio appointment booked. Other than that, I am just hanging out at home and looking forward to it!

Charbelle said...

I love your views!!! I also appreciate that you make plans, to not make plans, because I have to do the same thing. I will intentionally block off time in order to not have to do anything.

Betsy Enger said...

Sounds like a great day. I recently just started watching gilmore girls too. I'm loving it.....trying very hard not to binge it! :)

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Haha I totally wouldn't pick that book based on the cover either! I feel like ebooks have made me a little better with this since I generally read the description and may never see the cover!
Sounds like a great shouldless day!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

That sounds like the perfect day to me! Although I think should-less is a very subjective term, as my should-less would probably involve no human interaction, as that is often what drains my energy! However, a little human interaction is sometimes just what you need. I have started running more with other people, which I never used to do. I think on one hand it is a bit more work for my brain and is not as much of a recharge. On the other hand, I did the same loop by myself the other day that I normally do with a friend and without him, it seemed so long! So I am trying to get over my need to be alone and suck it up!

That book is really good! My mom's friend recommended it to me a few years ago and I was in dire need for a book. Otherwise I probably would have set it aside for a while. However, I ended up really liking it! I love the history part of it and the fact that she is a strong woman and also the fact that I don't really know much about Alaska, especially at that time in history. You should suggest it to Ray!

Jeanie said...

I don't think I would have picked that book either but hey, if it's good, surprises are always nice!

Your shouldless day sounds good. You know, most of mine are shouldless days and that's not always so good because it's awfully easy to do fun stuff and nothing of substance (or necessary like -- say, going back to the basement for more purging!). But when you have the tight schedule you do, they are sorely needed. Good for you making the commitment to have them!

Abby said...

Too funny! I totally judge books by their covers...Which was nice with my older version of the kindle - because I don't think I could see the cover? But with the Kindle Fire - and it's full color, that certainly impacts my choices!

Speaking of books...I've been a horrrrible reader, but I plan to begin "The Nightingale" this afternoon!

Your "shouldless day" sounds perfect!! And you have earned it with how busy you are!!

I'm so glad you can do yoga scult despite your hip right now. I'd like to try one of these classes. My yoga studio has one - but it's at 12:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays...so basically I'll never be able to make it.

My shouldless days like to involve baking. In addition to a trail run/hike. :)

Gracie said...

We have different skylines, same Ol' Man River.

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I am a little too good at shoudless days. ;) I was happy that I parked myself in front of the tv yesterday afternoon and watched 3 shows that are my guilty pleasures that I hadn't had a chance to watch in a looong time. I also loved Commencement. It's been along time since I read it. Also love Gilmore Girls. I'm not much of a tv show rewatcher but GILMORE girls is one I can.

Stephany said...

I am so judgy about book covers - haha!

Last weekend, I had a mostly plan-free weekend and I took full advantage of it by not doing much. I watched a ton of TV, read a lot, and just had a LOT of downtime. It was the best!

Jenny said...

Oh that sounds like a good day indeed. I ended up doing the thing I was really working hard at not doing on Saturday - backing out of a commitment :( I feel terrible about it and mad at myself for not realising that I had over committed and that I would be burned out.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Glad you got to have a shouldless day this month :-) Whenever I'm home on the weekend and not having dinner guests, it's a shouldless weekend for me. We try to do our cleaning and laundry, etc. during the week and then relax on the weekends.

Amber said...

That sounds like a really awesome day!! I haven't had a shouldless day in a couple of months, but I think towards the end of May when we have my grandma's house to ourselves and are more settled into our new lives / routine I will make sure to schedule some shouldless days in. I do find the summers are harder to do that though because it is so easy to get super busy and filled up with plans in the summer!