Filling Myself Back Up...

Awhile back I wrote about how I was feeling burnt out. Well, I had completed a self-care wheel and had a real slap in the face. I stared at my lopsided circle with defeat...wondering how I could advocate for self-care on the daily and had turned into a complete hypocrite. The nice thing about self-care is that it's never really *too late* to take the reigns back. 

If you've never seen a self-care wheel before, you shade in each piece of the wheel according to how much time you devote to it. Here is my sad and honest creation:

See the green circle? That's the ideal balance of each part of the wheel. See the pink line? That's my "imbalance."

There are many different versions of the wheel. For this simple version I imagined that my 'Personal' piece contained how often I journal (yay blog!), have alone time, snuggle my fur babies, and spend time with Daniel. For my 'Spiritual' piece I considered how often I play music simply for myself and for fun, and with my band (Cover Girls holla!). My 'Emotional' piece involved thinking about how I express myself in a healthy way. Honestly my 'Physical' piece should probably be nonexistent at this point...I gave myself extra points for just getting out of bed and walking to the shower each morning (my FitBit stats are embarrassing). I considered my anxiety and how panicked I have or have not felt lately when filling out my 'Psychological' piece. Not surprisingly, my 'Professional' area took the cake with my wheel; I have been bringing work home with my stress about ever becoming full time and *as you can see from past posts* I have struggled with imposter syndrome. LE SIGH.

Since I had finally graduated after a 3 + year grad program that drained my inner being and Daniel's birthday was right around the corner, I decided to do the inevitable: Plan a trip! I had a real cute idea to leave D clues about where we were going each day. But I am a terrible liar...he figured it out on Day 2 of the clues. 

June 9 we headed out to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for a good ol' weekend-cation! The plan for each of us was to kick back, laugh a lot, and refuel. Favorite moments involved morning coffee on the porch swing, a serene canoe trip through the Arkansas mountains (*it should be noted I am terrible at canoeing and will henceforth stick to kayaking), relaxing bath salts in a clawfoot tub, going to antique shops, sleeping in, and most importantly...spending time with my guy. Needless to say...we can't wait to go back!

Enjoying morning coffee with my sweet girl on our cabin porch.

Beautiful stained glass in the bathroom window.

Before we even unpacked Daniel was already in this clawfoot tub. I NEED ONE.

Delicious Mexican food in the heart of downtown Eureka. 

I 100% hate this picture of me. But that VIEW!

Our first vacation together.

She was such a trooper in the car and on the canoe trip. I accidentally knocked her in the water with my oar. It was very funny and also heartbreaking. Oops.

Just a cutie enjoying a cold beer on a hot deck.

In front of Thorncrown Chapel--a beautiful chapel made of glass in the middle of the woods. Gorgeous and serene.

This is a copper shower. It was amazing.

Loft view of our cabin.

Another view from the loft. Such a beautiful cabin.

I need a porch swing and a peaceful lake in my front yard STAT.

'The Perch' cabin in Eureka Springs. A wonderful experience.

Just a partial view of the wrap-around deck.

The BEST carnitas tacos I have ever eaten.