after returning home from the archipelago on monday night, i had four days of work left + the chance to work from home. lina was staying in the archipelago the whole week so, i took this opportunity to turn my week into a sort of solitary retreat.
most of the friends/family that we usually hang out with were all out of town, and uppsala itself, is pretty much a deserted city in the summer as the students from the university have all gone home + residents are all on vacation somewhere else, leaving me all on my own, and i decided that all of that gave me the perfect excuse to hunker down at home + really spend some quality time with myself.
it just so happened that the weather wasn’t all that great either – it wasn’t terrible, but, it was no fabulous summer week – making it easy to stay inside and get shit done.
so i did.
i mean, i showered (a few days) and got dressed (into tanks and cozy yoga/harem pants), but i didn’t wear any make-up. i didn’t talk to anybody. except zola. i ate when i got hungry. i napped if i needed it. i let “friends” roll from episode to episode in the background on my tv. i did yoga. i meditated. i drank coffee. i took late night walks. i watched a favorite movie.
and in between all of that, i worked. i worked at the desk. i worked on the sofa. i worked from the kitchen table. and one day, i think it was thursday, i worked from bed the entire day.
i did make it out of the apartment + downtown twice. once to pick up my new glasses (eeeek!) and once to go to the office to finish some things. on the way home i spontaneously bought a sweater and a dress on sale. oops.
back at home, i finished my plans for the upcoming school year. i created some leadership development/setting goals/personal reflection activities + documents for the young people i work with. i got super pumped about the upcoming school year. i emailed people. and i finally, finally, finally spent some time doing some much needed life coaching updates to this website.
i journaled. i created. i got stuck. i got frustrated. i got lonely. i felt inspired. one day, i even felt so insanely connected to myself so i posted a crazy selfie to instagram and wrote an essay about self-confidence and being comfortable in my own skin. pretty much a love fest for myself.
i suppose you could say that the bulk of this week was a love fest for myself.
and then… friday afternoon came. and my vacation officially started!! i set up my auto-answer for my email – how great does it feel to write “i will be out of the office until august 15th.”?!, turned off my cell phone, and packed away my work computer.
now, it’s the weekend, and vacation mode set in pretty much immediately. my love arrived home from the archipelago on friday night, and now we are doing laundry + preparing + packing ‘cuz…..
we leave for the states on tuesday!!!
so, pretty much it’s been an amazing week for me personally. slow, intentional, and productive. productive in the regular productive kind of way, but also productive for my soul. and that makes all the difference.
now, i’m all loved up, having spent a lot of time with me. you know, you should have a little love fest for your self sometime. it’s totally worth it. i promise.
so, lovelies, how was your week?!
xoxo. liz
Any times spent that is ” slow, intentional, and productive” is wonderful time! Excited to see what your travels to the States bring! I’m sure it will be delightful — love the photos of Zola. She looks insanely content. <3
Zola is just the sweetest and coziest cat around. 🙂
What a great cozy week! I’m glad you got to enjoy it.
Thank you! I hope that you’re enjoying some time just the way you want to spend it too. xx
So cool! Hope you´re having a wonderful time in the US!!! I realy like your new glasses!!! <333 xxx
Thank you my dear friend! ❤️
I love the love fest idea. 🙂 And the second to the last paragraph is a great healing quote. Thanks for the great healing push.
Good and healing thoughts to you.
Kate
I wish yous a chance to enjoy a love fest as well some day. Make some time for it… It really is healing and calming. xo