In today’s post I’m going to share with you why I am treating myself like a queen (*hint-self care), give you the low down on ‘luxury seeds’ and I’ll be throwing in a little magic too (Liz Gilbert ‘magic’ that is…) so be sure to keep reading to the bottom or over on the blog.

Are you glad autumn has arrived?

I am DELIGHTED given it has always been my favourite season.

So I was walking the dog yesterday and the skies were grey and the wind had churned up the ocean and the cobwebs were swept from my brain.

It was wonderful!

To me fall is a season of introspection, of slowing down, of stripping things to the essential just as the leaves are stripped from the trees leaving only the trunk and branches.

Back to basics baby!

 

 

Recently I had several luxurious days after some action packed weeks. If you have been following these posts you will know what I am talking about, but if you are new here the story (in a nutshell) is that back to school time is ROUGH in our household.

For my eldest son Oliver (10 years old and he also has Autism and Fragile x) it takes several weeks for him to settle back into the routine (plus we had guests from the UK visiting, hockey tryouts, Cubs and piano starting up- you know typical Sept. stuff…).

However, I’m happy to report we had zero tantrums from Ollie this past week!

He is eager to get to school each day and the boys are also walking themselves home so there are no more school yard dramas. I realized just how hectic things had been for me when the other day I caught the title of my last Full Flight email to you which read ‘Why I 2x cried this week’ instead of ‘Why I cried 2x this week’.  Oops!

Let’s just say that little mix up was an accurate portrayal of my inner world during these last few weeks!

POWER POSSE GROUP COACHING 

 

It hasn’t been all bad though. Last weekend was chock full of good stuff!

Stuff like;

Having the Power Posse ‘Make It Happen!’ ladies at my place this past Saturday where I led the group through an ‘ideal day meditation’ so we could gain more clarity around what we want to experience in 2017 and beyond, followed by the creation of our vision boards and of course pots of tea and some sweet treats.

 

I loved how one Power Posse gal got really specific with things, determining during the meditation that a new coffeemaker was in her future which she then found in a magazine and added onto her vision board. Awesome!

 

 

 

I was most impressed at how focussed the women were when it came to putting their boards together -they seemed to know exactly what they were looking for and most had finished their boards completely by the end of the afternoon. Mine still has a ways to go however so I might brew a pot of tea, put on some classical music or an inspiring podcast (Elizabeth Gilbert’s Magic Lessons anyone? So good!) and continue creating my board.

…and of course after the identifying of goals / dreams comes the taking action!  (But that is a post for another day.)

 

Birthday Fun

 

So the Power Posse event happened last Saturday and the following day we celebrated my son Will’s 8th birthday. I baked a cake the night before and iced it the morning of the party and the kids bowled a few games at the bowling alley followed by a pizza lunch and of course the cake. Will seemed to have a great birthday and was thrilled that he got the Nerf Blaster he wanted.

 

Fried!

 

Monday morning came and I felt pretty spent but still there was stuff that needed doing- laundry had piled up, the dog needed a walk, there were no groceries in the house, Oliver had a doctor’s appointment that afternoon so I had to take him and Will out of school go to the appointment and then straight to Will’s piano lesson.

There was not much time to decompress.

Luckily I had the foresight not to book any work appointments!

By dinner I was irritable and exhausted and hobbling around due to right heel pain. I had to later apologize to my husband for my ‘beast mode’! I think I was in bed by 8:30pm and likely flat out by 8:31pm  BUT I got one thing right!…

…earlier in the day I had the presence of mind to book a pedicure for the next morning.

 

Extreme Self Care 101

The next day started with a pedicure which was heaven. I took my coffee and my phone and sat and chilled for an hour and a bit. I had a delicious salad for lunch and took it easy in the afternoon too. My mood took a 180 degree turn  – I felt like a million bucks (except for the heel pain). Again I was in bed around 8:30pm and fell asleep immediately.

 

 

The following day I felt reenergized and inspired so after working for the morning I hit the gym. I could not get over how cleansing and soul filling that workout felt (treadmill + weights + stretchs) and that was followed by my favourite Starbucks coffee. The sun was shining, it was a glorious September day and I felt on top of the world…

 

…until I woke up the next day and COULD NOT WALK.

My heel pain post treadmill run was so excruciating I had to use Will’s hockey stick as a crutch!

Thankfully I had planned ahead and the only thing I had going on that day was a massage at the spa. (With the exception of Monday I really cleared the decks this week!). Once I got up and shuffled around the pain subsidized a bit and the massage helped a lot.

In the next few days more good stuff followed,  quiet walks with the dog (albeit with a limp), fun reading as opposed to work reading (which is great but I do a lot of that so nice to switch it up),  watching a new Netflix series with Steve (‘The Last Kingdom’), one on one time with my boy Oliver who, 90% of the time, is so peaceful, happy and in the moment that it is like hanging out with a Zen master!  (Will was at Cubs camp with his Dad)

And so… despite the ongoing heel situation I continue to feel like a million bucks!

Resting, filling up my bucket, giving myself time to BE rather than to DO, pampering myself after a hectic few weeks, just doing stuff I enjoyed, took me from me from a place of no inspiration and no energy, to brimming with ideas and motivated to take action.

 

The Problem

 

Sadly, for a lot of us we don’t really give ourselves this type of care consistently, and I am not just talking about the pedicure and massage but the little daily acts that really count, things like;

• not over scheduling
• going to bed at a decent time
• spending time in nature
• eating nourishing foods
• getting regular exercise
• putting fresh flowers by our bed
• taking the time to have a proper soak in the tub
• giving ourselves space and solitude to just sit and think..

…these activities are FREE yet they make us feel RICH!

 

Act Like the Queen You Are & Plant Those Luxury Seeds!

 

Treating myself like a queen this past week has reminded me of the infinite power of self care and the importance of not waiting until you are totally fried to be kind to yourself.

This means planning ahead, looking at the calendar, ensuring you have some white space on it (clearing the decks particularly after a busy time or large event) and planting a few of what I call ‘luxury seeds‘ on your calendar amidst your work schedule, your kids activities, the medical and dental appointments, volunteering at the school and other obligatory functions…

…and by ‘luxury seeds’ I’m talking about the stuff that brings you JOY; a massage, a walk with a friend, some free time to browse in a book store and drink a nice coffee, space to walk the dog at a leisurely pace, a chat and a glass of wine with a friend after work, consistent exercise, an unhurried shopping trip (window shopping or not), a pedicure, trying out a new class at the gym, evening yoga, playing with your kids, petting your cat or dog, cooking a delicious meal and sitting down to eat it with candlelight …

…you get the picture.

So on that note I hope you are having a restful weekend and that you are feeling filled up, or if not, that at the very least you start planting a few ‘luxury seeds’ of your own now so that you are guaranteed to feel like the queen you are! and keep your bucket filled to the brim in the very near future.

xo

Eliz

 

Reminder- My Gift to YOU!

 

PS

Also just a reminder that awhile back I gifted all my Full Flight insiders only with one free 1 hour coaching session for being part of my Full Flight tribe (thank you!) and I have had a few of you take me up on it which is awesome!- and the feedback has been great.

One Full Flight insider who booked her free coaching session said that she felt ‘at peace’ from just talking with me during the initial 30 minute strategy session.

Love it!

So if you haven’t already taken me up on this offer of one free hour of coaching (plus the initial 30 minute strategy session)  it is yours for the taking!

If you feel called I do hope you will take the leap (it is like a massage for your soul fyi) and remember there is no expiry date- you can book your session this week or next year – it is all good. Just shoot me an email; elizjturner@gmail.com

PPS

Finally I have done several Full Flight & Fierce Facebook ‘Live’ videos that you can find on my Full Flight Facebook business page. Be sure to hop over there an give my page a ‘like’ if you haven’t already done so and that way you won’t miss out on any.   I always try to include useful content that you can immediately apply to your life and my last video was on ‘Dealing with Criticism – aka Handling Haters’.

Find the videos here (you might need to scroll down a bit).