a nicer way to start the day

the days are hot and long, with the kids on holidays and no place we need to be but home. We have everything we need right here and there are enough of us that we don't really crave extra company, but after about week or so of not really doing anything,  there is a need to do something different. I suppose you could say I'm a creature of habit...my morning routine is: get up, put on the kettle, brush my teeth, make the tea, put on a load of washing, drink the tea, make the beds, have some cereal with my little friends, peg out the washing, oh, I could go another cup of tea and maybe some toast...what shall we do today? Oh right, It's nearly lunchtime.
but this morning, after putting on the washing, I thought "how about something different today?". I took jodi's cue and decided to hit the beach at 8am...ambitious, I know, with four kids, but we were out the door by 8.30, swimming ten minutes later and back home at 10. It's the perfect time of day, before the crowds arrive and before it gets too hot. I used to do that all the time when I was a kid, there is something so refreshing about starting the day with a swim in the ocean. We are so lucky to live so close.
with this new year there come some new resolutions. I'm not really a new year's resolution type of person, but this year feels a little different. I have heard so many people say that 2013 wasn't a good year for them, and I have to admit, I was pretty happy to see the end of it. It was year of so much uncertainty and anguish for me, some of which still lingers, but I can feel it slipping away. This year I turn 40, and that to me seems like a bit of a turning point. Time to start looking after myself a little better. We live a fairly simple and healthy lifestyle already, but there is always room for improvement. Drink more water, eat less sugar and stretch! I don't want wake up when I'm 60 and think "hey, I wish I'd been doing more exercise all those years".
it seems like a good time to break some old habits.