ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!
Granted, I live in a small town where there isn't much to do anyhow, but it helped me realize a lot of things about me:
1. I can read bird books for hours. And I mean HOURS. It even continued into the next day.
2. And I can just read for hours. Outside, in the sun, wind and trees. Barefoot. And not care if I get bit by bugs. Of course watch the hawks fly above me too.
3. Waking up and not knowing what time it is, is kinda weird. I didn't know if it was late or early (since I'm normally an early riser)! But it helped me wake up naturally so I got a good solid amount of sleep.
4. Time doesn't seem to be going by slow or fast. And I don't have to worry about whether time is doing either of those either. In reality, it was amazing how fast time flew when well, I didn't know it was there.
5. My cat was kinda my clock. She does things at certain times of the day that kinda pinned me off.
6. Staying away from my cell phone because I couldn't disable the clock, was freeing. And after I tried so hard to ignore the clock, whenever I read text messages from my friends I never even thought to look at the time or care about it.
7. I ate when I was hungry. I stopped when I was full. I was able to savor EVERY SINGLE BITE because I wasn't rushed and had nothing to distract me.
8. I can get really really bored. Like, to the point where I busted out my cross stitch. That is fairly rare. But not so much that I busted out my GRE terms. I wasn't that bored.
9. It helped me take time to enjoy my run. I wore no watch, so pace and time were not an issue. It helped me take in the scenery, people and all the little things. And it helped me think about the things I love and love to do.
10. It made me imagine. You'd think I get enough of this being out in the desert by myself all the time, but this was different. I was able to go above and beyond...like looking up trips to Australia, New Zealand, Rome and Japan. I mean, why not? I have every trip planned, down to the flights/hotels/transportation/adventures. It was fun.
So, what did I think about this overall?
The next weekend you get that's free of obligations, I advise you to unplug your phones, computers and clocks and take your time doing everything you do. From showering, to cleaning dishes, to sleeping, to eating, to reading, to playing with your pet.
You will feel such a relief about yourself and how you go about things. It brought about a kind of trust that I do things that are good for me mentally and physically. Simply freeing!
~ ~ ~
So what else did I do this weekend? I ate a lot of soup. I made a big pot of vegetable soup I've been having in different ways...well, here's two, but there are more:
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| Just plain and simple...there were crackers for dipping, and hummus |
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| 1/3 block of tempeh cooked and added in for protein! |
Of course there was the obligatory smoothie after my 10.5 mile long run this morning...time not taken.
All read over more bird info...
And, I had to do something that should be fun, but really wasn't looking forward to because it's very hard for me: DRESS SHOPPING. I've got to admit though...bringing a friend made it that much easier. And having a little girl there made me think twice about what I said and did trying on everything. Here's what I came home with:
(Sorry, I can't rotate them in stupid blogger...grr)
And who wants to know how much I spent for them?
Just.under.50.dollars.
Oh yeah, I'm good like that.
Oh, then there were the pants. But to be specific, JEANS. You know how much I hate those things. But these babies, fit like a charm. And with this picture, am not ashamed of my size; not that it's bad or anything, but if you had asked me about this size a year ago, I would have cried on your shoulder...
And because we love you, the support you give me and are always there to remind me how strong I am...Honey and I love you.
P.S. Dramarama in the blog world: The Hunger Diaries. This is f'ing ridiculous. So much information taken out of context and exaggerated. I want this woman FIRED.
19 comments:
The no-time thing sounds awesome. I will have to try it.
I LOVE the first dress. Do you care to share where you got it? I've been looking for something like that for awhile. I guess if I ventured into a mall I'd probably find it :).
That blogging article is interesting. I'd like to see where the author got some of those quotes, because they do seem out of context. However, I do notice a lot of unhealthy behavior on "healthy living blogs." One blogger went out to eat with her family and ordered nothing but a steamed head of broccoli. And I find it hard to believe that no one EVER has a slice of pizza, a handful of potato chips, or a soda. But you never see those things on these blogs. It's pretty deceiving.
I'm so glad that it went so well!! Once I've finished uni it definately sounds like something that I want to try for sure :)
YES come to New Zealand and see more of our beautiful country :)
I would love to do a no clock weekend - I feel like I am so attached to the time - wondering what time it is and setting my alarm. A weekend with no clocks sounds so freeing!
Love the dresses - especially the black and white one!
i pick the first dress. That color would be AMAZING on you. There are days I want to unplug...the only place I get a chance to is at the gym or when I workout. I HATE the phone ringing since I'm on it all day at work...I only text now...I'm a bad person/friend. :( PS. The article lists some incidents at the conference..did people really THROW OUT a ton of food?
Yeah, I want that woman fired too...
The no clock weekend sounds AMAZING. I constantly worry about time, so that's something I'd love to do...I feel like I'd need someone around to keep me from checking the clock though!!
YAY for new jeans that fit!! I've been meaning to go jeans shopping for ages and get some that fit the "new" me better, but I have an expensive jeans addiction and can't quite bring myself to blow the money on a few new pairs yet...
Hope you have a great start to your week love!!
1. I love you.
2. I think you should run without a watch more often - sounds like you enjoyed yourself so much more and were doing it 100% for you!
3. Our mannequins at the store wear a size 6. Just sayin'. ;)
i love deplugging. its one of the most liberating feelings in the world!!
Hello! I stumbled across your comment on I'm an Okie. I really enjoyed reading your About Me section. Such interesting adventures! I look forward to reading more!
I can totally relate to your sizing issue. How sad of a world do we live in when 6 is something to be embarrassed about? :)
What a fascinating experiment! I need to try this.
Love both dresses. I think the top one is my favorite. I bet that color looks great on you!
Oops, I hit enter too early on my last comment. That was me :)
That's such a great experiment, I don't know if I could do it though!
Interesting article. Honestly, I don't really read those blogs anymore because it triggers a lot of ED thoughts and makes me overanalyze everything I do. I understand where the writer is coming from but I do wonder where some of those quotes were taken from?
omg I am OUTRAGED to read that marie claire article! I know that those bloggers aren't purposely trying to advocate under-eating or over-exercising and that some readers might be very impressionable..but to say the things that were said in that article...COME ON! I can't believe that such a biased article would go out and I really hope to hear a response from "The Big 6" <---A term I have never heard! And the quotes from the bloggers seem a little "off" too...I wonder where they got those from!? UGH I can't wait to hear a follow-up...
PS- Cute dresses! I love the waist-lines :)
WOW! That article has left me kinda speechless. I admit I stopped following a few of those blogs but only b/c their lifestyle was so different from my own that I couldn't relate....not b/c I thought they were doing ot promoting anything "wrong". I think this article was a little on the harsh side and really not neccasary. Sheesh!
Other than that, SO glad your "no time" weekend was a hit! You seemed to really get a lot out of it which is awesome.
And I really like the dress with the blue top...lovely! Honey is getting big so fast!!!
I just want to say that you. are. so. cool. for this no clock weekend! I actually thought about you yesterday (Sunday) afternoon when I went for a walk and how much good it would do for me to try something similar. I commend you for doing something so wonderful for your mental health. And the things you learned from it were awesome!--haha, i love that you were not bored enough to bust out GRE terms! Have a good week Melissa!
The concept of your no time challenge is really neat. I don't know if I could do it though! I like knowing what time it is, but at the same time, I can see how it would be so freeing to stay removed from it.
I'm sure my cat would tip me off too! FOOD at 5:55 a.m. on. the. dot.
AGREED about the article.. let's not even go there
And those dresses are TOO CUTE!!!!! YAY! And woohoo for the jeans! I just found some that fit me perfectly too.. nothing like finding jeans that make you feel great!
Love you!
such a great experience with no clocks. i did that once on a 5 day backpacking trip in Colorado and it was awesome! Our leaders would wake us up at like 3 or 4 to start the day but we had no clue :) I should do that again sometime...
Love that first dress and I'm craving some veggie soup!
Nice blog! I like your writing way. I'm doing practice GRE here: masteryourgre.com . I hope it's useful for GRE test takers.
I fear a no clock weekend. I guarantee I would be up until 4 am, and sleep until noon or later. I am such a night owl, things would just get worse, so that readjusting for Monday morning would be bad news. That being said, i can see how freeing it would feel.
And you should never be ashamed of a size 6 jeans. In my mind, that's small. That's healthy. It's all good.
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