The older I get, the harder it is for me to sleep in.  This morning I slept longer than usual and was up around 8:30am where I gladly poured a cup of coffee and sat outside on the deck with my dad.  I am a big coffee person and like it all from black, to flavored creamer, to iced etc etc.  Anything coffee/tea related and I am a fan.  I enjoy getting up and having slower mornings.  I wanted to take more time this morning to enjoy the outdoors but if we were to be out in the sun today, the morning was the time to do it.  I woke my sister up and we had breakfast together.  I had greek yogurt with granola, peanut butter toast (I was beginning to go through peanut butter withdrawal), and half a banana.  My sister made a nice fresh fruit salad and I quote, “If the food looks pretty, it will definitely taste pretty!” I do admit I am a fan of artistic food and think presentation is an important quality.  We hurried up and finished getting ready to be out the door.  Today we explored Jamestown which was founded in 1607.  They are always in the process of archaeological digs and to me it is all fascinating.  I don’t always know and remember a lot about history, but I love to learn about it and be immersed in it.  We explored the Fort area and talked with a lot of the historians and archaeologists.  It is hard to imagine traveling across the vast ocean to a new and foreign land.  I am drawn to the history of Jamestown as well because of my Native American heritage.  The Powhatan people are not in my lineage but I like to learn about all different tribes.  By this time of the day it was getting too hot and humid to walk around outside much so we packed up and went to lunch at an American Bistro.  Lunch was a little hectic for me today because nothing on the menu sounded great right off the bat and I was pressured to make a decision before I was really ready.  Does anyone else with a disordered history have trouble making decisions when it comes to restaurants?  Usually I don’t have too much of an issue but today it was definitely a struggle.  I really like to take my time, but since we were with company I felt like I shouldn’t make the whole table wait on me.  I settled on a meatball sandwich.  It was alright but not satisfying.  I was really trying to eat intuitively too and I feel like I still was distracted and ended up too full.  I was in a pretty sour mood after that because I want nothing of disordered behaviors to be around during vacation.  I knew a lot of self care would help out though so we returned to our friend’s house, took a short nap, and then went to the rec center where I ran.  When in a crummy mood, I don’t feel like exercising at all, but I know that I will always feel one hundred percent better afterwards and guess what – I did!  My sister and I came back and went to the pool for an hour before dinner.  One of the highlights of my day was sitting on the deck before dinner enjoying a nice glass of Cabernet and having some alone time.  The birds were all out and about and I enjoyed everything from cardinals to woodpeckers to hummingbirds.  Just sitting outside and soaking up all the sounds helped me get back into the practice of mindfulness after a more stressful few hours.  I suggest everyone just sit outside somewhere for a half hour and interact with nature.  It is a very nice opportunity to reset and unwind.  For dinner our hosts made an amazing tortellini salad with shrimp, prosciutto, peas, roasted red pepper, and squash.  Fresh and delicious.  And I was a lot more mindfully present and able to enjoy my food.  Dessert, which I couldn’t pass up, was a lemon pound cake with strawberries and vanilla ice cream on top.  It was a nice ending to the day and by now I have forgotten all about the lunch struggles.  I am happy that I am able to let the things that used to tie me down just pass by.  Instead of thriving off of disorder, I took some time for self care and climbed back on the horse so to speak.  I suggest if you are struggling to try and turn your day around right when it begins to slide in a negative direction.  I would usually allow the whole day to be ruined and I would think that tomorrow would be a fresh start.  No, make your next hour your fresh start because it gets a lot easier to break a cycle if you cut it off as it begins.  A lot of days were wasted telling myself tomorrow is a new day.  Although it wasn’t the best day I really can’t complain because I was able to explore and learn about the history of my country.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring?!