Motivation for the week

What a difference an productive/enjoyable/relaxing weekend makes. I feel so much more motivated to kick of the week on a good note rather than fall into the Monday blues, both at work and from a personal perspective.

The crisp Saturday morning shined bright and was the perfect send-off for the local farmers' market. We put in our winter meat CSA order, bought some farm-fresh eggs and vegetables, and marvelled at the beautiful, colourful ears of corn.

Last year in California, the weather pretty much sustained farmers' markets all year round. It's a very different story in Illinois, and while it makes the winter sadder for me, at least I have next summer to look forward to. 

A few more errands in the morning was followed up an hour of training at the local Wushu school. I'm finally feeling like my body is getting back into the groove and the tiny, little muscles all along the shoulders, hips, legs and ankles are finally co-operating with me again. 

As a reward for training so hard, I baked Tim Tams! Not really. Well, I did back Tim Tams but not as a reward, but for a bake sale at M's work. They turned out to be a lot of effort, and are nowhere near as attractive as the commercially available ones, but I like to think they're even better because they're made with love (and certainly not because you can't buy them here in the USA without spending a fortune).

Sunday kicked off with a circuit morning workout which is always more fun when M decides to join me in the apartment gym, followed by the chore that is house-cleaning. Lunch and shopping with new friends at the outlet stores to stock up on clothes for the 'cooler ' months (puffy jackets seem de rigour for winter) followed by more baking capped the weekend. 

All that, plus fitting in some yoga and Rosetta Stone Portuguese lessons means I feel accomplished, but rested. Not a bad mindset heading into the work week. 

Time for a few work calls, then a sweaty workout, and more work calls. Monday, you're going to be awesome. 

Plan B is always more fun than Plan A

Plan B is more fun than Plan A, simply because it holds the promise of so many what-ifs. I like my Plan B. While it's always been incredibly fluid, ranging from opening a bakery/cafe/bookshop, playing video games, to becoming a personal trainer, I think I've finally settled on a winner. Travel the world, house sitting and looking after people's beloved pets if I ever get sick of my Plan A. Not that it really gives a reliable income and certainly results in a nomadic life, my Plan B can be decidedly whimsical.

That said, my Plan A is doing me well so far. A lucky chain of events mean that I'm now living in Berkeley, California with days full of sunshine and laughter, with an amazing man by my side, traveling the US and UK for work (which is hard work, but has its undeniable perks), and am most importantly healthy. All-in-all a pretty wonderful deal (which I need to remember when I'm feeling frustrated and down).

Berkeley has been un-characteristically cloudy over the last few days; after almost a week straight of bright sunshine and warm spring temperatures, Saturday morning is overcast and just a little bit chilly. Still, it's the weekend and I refuse to be grumpy at the weather. Baking banana bread and filling the apartment with the most gloriously tantalisingly cinnamon smell lifts the spirits like nothing else. Well, almost nothing else. Eating the fresh-out-of-the-oven banana bread with a cup of strong coffee is probably even better. Mind you, the baking and eating happened late Friday afternoon so I may have gotten my weekend started a little early.

After a training session last night, all the tiny little muscles in my hips and legs are aching. You may think I did a super-intense workout, but no, I did a Tai Chi class. 75 minutes of Tai Chi is no joke, both mentally and physically. I suppose this all means I need to train more.

Now, a relaxing weekend awaits, a few more days of work then a well-deserved holiday.