Take that Mental Rest Day. Or Week.

Hey y'all! I'm just getting home from work and wanted to be sure I got this out tonight, especially since I didn't post one last week.

Which is an excellent lead-in to what I'm going to talk about today.

Last week I took a much-needed and much-valued vacation down in Florida. It was four wonderful days of doing absolutely nothing; no work, no working out, no studying, no writing or reading...nothing. I literally laid around, sleeping and watching television, while my wonderful boyfriend brought me food and encouraged my laziness. It was heaven.

Yeah, I took my laptop with me, with the intention of using it for nothing more than watching Modern Family DVDs or playing Sims. But I didn't even do that. Never even took it out of the bag.

I already know I'm not the only one that has a lot on their plate; I'm a single mother (divorced), I work two jobs, I write books, I'm currently studying and honing my skills in copywriting, and I still do massage therapy whenever it's requested of me. This is all among whatever else may come up (including having a son that plays AAU basketball, so that means practices three times a week and games that take up a good chunk of the weekend). So time to just sit around doing nothing is at a premium. Heck, I have to take a day off if I wanna sleep in...I work six days a week, my only off day being Sunday, and I get up then to go to church. I know there are people who probably have more to deal with but heck, this is my batch and it's enough.

So needless to say, I needed a little break. As we all do from time to time. My mind and body needed rest and I took it. At the last minute I had put the outline for the novel I'm currently working on into my laptop bag, but that was an unnecessary and wasted formality; as I mentioned, I never used my laptop at all. The bag stayed in the same spot against the wall the entire time I was there.

I had already planned to not do much the day after I got there, anyway; I was going to sleep in and just relax. But I figured after that, I would at least go to the hotel gym and get a workout in. An hour a day, tops. But nope. I couldn't make myself get up and it didn't take long for me to give up trying to make myself get up. It's not like I get many vacations like that so I was going to take full advantage of it. And I did.

After four luxurious days of lounging, it was time to come back home and get back to the regularly scheduled program. And while it would have been nice to have a couple more days down there, I felt grateful and refreshed and rejuvenated, and anxious to get back to my studies and my writing. I could come at things that I had been kind of stumped on with a clear and renewed mind. That time away from it just made me all the more excited to get back to it, when it came time to. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that.

So many people are stuck on this go-go-go, gotta stay moving, I'll sleep when I'm dead mentality (don't even get me started on that). And while it's certainly great to stay productive, we all need to rest sometimes. We need to give our minds and our bodies a break. Some people don't need as long a break as others; mine was four days...some people might only need one. Or even just a few hours. But it's necessary. We can only rely on coffee and Red Bull and 5 Hour Energy (or in my case, Crunk Juice) for so long before even those things become ineffective. Eventually, your body will take the rest it needs on its own.

I know what I'm talking about with this. Back when I was in massage therapy school, I got to where I was doing so much and not getting enough rest that it eventually caught up to me...I was working a full-time job, going to school at night and on the weekends, working in the massage clinic every possible day that I could (I was determined to be the first one in my class to finish all my required hours), not to mention still writing. And of course, I had my son and whatever else that was going on at the time. And when I tell you I eventually crashed, I mean it. My body just shut down and I went into this coma-like sleep for two days. So I certainly learned my lesson about trying to do too much; when I need rest, I take it.

I hope you do, too. You don't have be a total bum about it like I was last week, but allow yourself to chill out sometimes; it's good for you.


Now, I have a presentation to work on...I appreciate you!

#loveandbooks

Some Like 'em Thick. Yes, Really.

Hey y'all! It's been a great week; been getting a lot of things done and trying to make some moves. Being productive is awesome. :)

So anyway...the other day when I was at my night job, a lady I was helping at the front desk asked me if I was a writer after she saw my handwriting. When I said yes, she asked what I wrote, and when I replied that I wrote fiction novels, she asked for the names of them.

Here comes the automatic smirk.

The first book I put out was in 2008 and the title is one that always brings chuckles, confusion, or questions (or a mix of all three). And the first question they almost always ask is "What in the world...what does that mean??"

Some Like 'em Thick.

Most people think it's some kind of sexual reference. It's not, but I get it. Especially since the cover is a picture of a red-lipped woman pushing a bunch of peppermints into her mouth. My mother considers this risqué.

The picture was one I chose after looking through literally hundreds of photos, and I figured it would draw attention (and it does). But the title is nothing sexual at all. It doesn't have anything to do with a certain part of the male anatomy, which is most people's guess.

The 'thick' is referring to woman's physiques.

I actually thought of the title before I thought of anything else. I don't remember what was doing or if anything in particular triggered it, but I remember it just popping into my head and thinking, "Hmm...that would make a great book title." Then the storyline just formed all on it's own after that.

The book centers around three women; Oasis, a sharp-tongued vegan who secretly considers lipo...Salvatrice, an insecure divorcee who has not been able to lose all the weight she gained during her marriage despite all the diets and weight loss gadgets she's tried...and Irie, the eccentric who is liable to say (and eat) anything and is afraid of spending the rest of her life alone.

The story deals with their various struggles stemming from their weight and how their issues are really self-inflicted and all in their heads. They're just fine the way they are, even if they do have cellulite or a little jiggle in their thighs. Self-esteem was their issue, not their weight.

It was pretty easy to relate to this seeing as how I had this very issue up until a few years ago. Heck, if I'm honest, I still have my moments. My body is far from perfect but the men seem to like the thickness...but more importantly, I like the thickness. Meat on my bones is a must; I have absolutely no desire to be skinny.

So yeah, that's where the title came from. And just like I figured it would, it got people talking. Mission accomplished.

So for all the folks that need to get their minds out of the gutter...LOL


I've got to get off of here so I can at least try to get to bed at a decent hour, for once. Until next week...

#loveandbooks