My lovely Sunday

So much for sticking to my New Year's goal of blogging every day. Work has really picked up and I'm pretty much brain dead by the end of the day. I've been conserving all of my brain power for my job. Now I'm finally starting to catch my breath.

This morning, I could feel the familiar Sunday dread creeping in. I've reverted back to high school in a way. In high school I was never fond of Sundays because that meant doing homework and the inevitable return to school on Monday. This sour feeling subsided when I was in college because, well, it was college and everyday felt like the weekend. Damn, I miss those days. Now the dread is back and I have to learn to deal with it. It's not good to start my week with this feeling. So when I started feeling blue this morning, I made an effort to do something about it.

First, I took care of some laundry and dishes that needed doing. It felt nice to do something productive. Around lunch time I got my butt dressed (no makeup though ha!) and made the decision to get brunch by myself. I needed some "me" time and it provided the opportunity to do some reading for work. I grabbed my "homework" and headed out.

On such a nice springy day, I knew exactly where I wanted to go--Chez Lulu, an adorable little French restaurant in English Village. I got a table outside in the sunshine. I ordered a coffee and the plat du jour, eggs florentine with stone-ground grits and homemade applesauce. Before my food arrived, my server brought me bread and olive oil. I tore off a piece of the bread and dipped in the oil. For some reason it tasted so good, as if I hadn't had olive oil in years. Maybe it was just good quality olive oil. But I began to feel better about my day.

The eggs florentine was ehh not so good, but the rest of the food was delicious. I settled into my book and occasionally watched passers-by and eavesdropped on neighboring tables' conversations. Two middle-aged couples were discussing movies and TV shows they rented through Netflix. They were going to see a movie after brunch. They left and a couple took their table. Their conversation was quite interesting because they were planning a trip to Mexico and Central America. Mind you, a four-week-long trip. As I listened to the fascinating details I wondered what their professions were to allow them to take such time off of work. They also mentioned taking a detour to wine country in Oregon and Washington and something about moving to Colorado. I also thought I heard a wedding being mentioned. All in all, I was pretty jealous. Planning a trip is the existence of my being. I am never happier than when I have a trip to look forward to. It made it hard to focus on my book.

I so enjoyed my brunch. The sun felt nice though it did leave me sleepy. Next I headed to Whole Foods to grab some grub for the week. A trip to Whole Foods is always a treat. I began to feel like this might turn out to be a nice Sunday after all. After depositing my groceries at home, I wanted to get back outside. I drove to Jemison Trail to go for a walk. I worried that I was cutting it close to sunset, but I made it just in time. The walk was just what I needed. I listened to my pod, admired all of the beautiful homes in Mountain Brook and soaked up the fresh air. I loved seeing lots of people out doing the same thing. And I spotted a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, my dream dog. The dread I felt this morning had disappeared. This walk in the woods saved my Sunday.