Stressed for the Occasion....

A little while back, Kevin and I watched the animated Chicken Little. It's precious, and I love Zach Braff as the voice of Chicken Little. My favorite character, though, was Runt. He's a pig, and he just generally spends the whole movie freaking out.

I guess I relate to Runt a little. Not that I'm constantly running around outwardly freaking out, but I am constantly running around freaking out on the inside.

Lately, with all the issues that I've been having with my back, I've been working on different things to do to relax....

Epsom salt baths...there are a lot of interesting scented blends that you can get from the grocery store or pharmacy. Publix has a nice mint & eucalyptus blend, and I got some nice lavender scented epsom salt from Walgreen's.

Quality time... I just like to spend time with Kevin. Whether it's our little morning chats in bed after the alarm goes off in the morning, or just hanging out in the evening reading, taking the dog for a walk, or watching something funny together, I feel most re-charged when I've had some quality time with my favorite guy.

Unplugging...last weekend, Kevin helped me switch the settings on my iPhone so that whenever I get an email, it doesn't flash on the screen, or show up on my lock screen. It sounds like a small thing, but I had become so obsessed with checking my email as soon as I saw I had a new one. Since I switched my settings, I've just found myself feeling more relaxed. I still keep my phone with me, but it's nice to be free of the distraction of emails coming through at all hours of day and night, and just checking them when I intend to.

Candles...I know it seems cliche to crawl into the tub with lit candles flickering in the background, but there is something about lighting a few candles that just makes me feel like I'm preparing to relax.

Clean slate...I spend plenty of time during the day thinking about all kinds of things, over-thinking all kinds of things. I like to settle into a warm scented bath and just let my mind go blank.

Watching a favorite movie...Pride & Prejudice is one of my favorites, but sometimes I just look for a good comedy. Oddly, I like to see movies I've already seen before. I just like knowing what's going to happen next.

So what do you do to relax? Yoga? Going for a long jog?