I cannot believe we’re getting into the end of July. I always feel like the summer goes so quickly! This is actually a really big week for me, as my year-long health coaching certification program just started. I’m so excited to see what the year will bring! I know the pre-course materials have already been helpful and eye-opening. A few themes that keep coming up are time management and self-care.

I don’t comment much on the news—I decided early on that I would keep things on the lighter side here—but so many things going on that make my heart hurt. World events that are hard to process and make our own day-to-day stressors seem small can still leave us feeling overwhelmed, especially if you’re like me and tend to throw on a layer of guilt for feeling upset by something that’s not a huge deal in comparison to current events. This is where small ways of practicing self-care come into play. I mean, how can we take care of other people if we don’t take care of ourselves?

*The other night after work, for example, instead of doing some writing work, I cleared my head by cleaning my apartment, reading, and cooking a nice dinner of scallops in white wine.

I served them with some cauliflower rice and assorted veggies.

*The other day I thought I’d get a jump on the day and do laundry while I went to the gym really early. The laundry had other plans for me. When I returned to take the clothes out of the washer and move them to the dryer, the machine has locked and was flashing an error message. The building maintenance staff has to unplug the machine and open the door for me since it was too early for the machine’s maintenance company to come help. All my lacy things totally submerged in cold, soapy water that flooded the laundry room—way to start the day off right. The whole rest of the morning went by in a hectic storm of plan B’s and scraped knees and all manner of hilarious failures.

I finally decided to say “f*** it” and took a yoga break in the middle of the morning. It helped me come back to earth and start over.

*Summer reading-for-pleasure has been a game-changer. Reading about Hemingway makes me want to drink wine. Why not take care of two birds with one stone? I’m really enjoying Lesley M.M. Blume’s Everybody Behaves Badly, which is about the backstory behind The Sun Also Rises.

I’m looking forward to some travel this weekend with family, and of course I’m packing some snacks. You’d better believe these broccoli snacks from Trader Joe’s are making the journey! 

How do you fit in self-care? Any favorite travel snacks you’re loving lately? 

This post has been part of another Running with Spoons Thinking Out Loud link party, where randomness is the name of the game. Thanks to Amanda for hosting.