60 Magical Minutes and What Brings the Heart to JOY

What To Do With 60 MAGICAL MINUTES!

This coming week-end will be the time to fall back—to have a whole extra hour in the day (how many times have you wished you could have decided when that extra hour appeared??).

I love the fall for a lot reasons, one of them being that extra 60 minutes that gets tossed our way…which got me to thinking of all things one could do in said extra hour.

There are the obvious ones like…

Sleeping in late or taking a nap right in the middle of the day 🙂

This is the tip that Eddie Pierre would give.  He’s a cat.  A nap always seems like a fine idea to him.

But for creative, amazing you I thought it would be fun to explore all the ways those minutes could be spent adding 60 minutes of JOY to a 25 hour day 🙂

So here goes…

1.  making a fall bouquet of found items in your yard
2.  taking a walk or bicycle ride
3.  tell a ghost story to your hubby, grandkids or whomever you can corner
4.  dance to your favorite music, slow and fast
5.  savor a bottle of wine you’ve been saving back for a special occasion
6.  pamper your feet with a hot foot soak and a good massage with lotion
7.  look through old photos (remember the ones we had before digital came along?)
8.  watercolor remembrances of this Fall in your journal— doing your best to match the magical colors of the leaves—which is impossible but the JOY is in having a go at it!
9.  draw a single fallen leaf (or trace it) and paint it in your journal
10. unplug…the phone, the computer, the tv
11. begin a book that’s been tugging at your heart to read
12. call someone you love that you haven’t spoken too in awhile
13. write a letter to your _____ that has already passed and tell them what you’re up to these days…i”m pretty sure they’re listening:)
14. skype or facetime a long distance friend and share a cup of tea together
15. watch some old family videos and marvel at how pretty you were then and didn’t even know it:))
16. find a swing and swing in it
17. head out into the countryside far from the city lights and watch for falling stars
18. make some lists of crazy things you’d like to do
19. pick one and set a date to do it
20. watch a classic movie with home made popcorn
21. paint a petite painting
22. make a pumpkin pie, then eat two slices with lots of whipped creme.  and have a glass of cold milk while you’re at it
23. create a playlist of your favorite upbeat, positive message music
24. hang children’s art in your studio to remind you of the beauty that exists in all art
25. place quotes, letters, photos, and keepsakes in your work area (office and studio) that help you to remember to follow your own North star
26. buy an orchid to spend this winter with 😉
27. take a long bath in scented water with candlelight and spa music
28. work on a vision board
29. bake chocolate chip cookies
30. daydream.  like you did when you were a kid.
31. watch the sunrise.  so simple.  so special.
32. write a love letter to yourself.  take note of the big things, the small things that define  who you are.  write it from the outside looking in. you are a marvelous work of god.
33. plant spring bulbs.  come spring, you’ll have new faces bringing color into your world.
34. call your mother (or if she’s gone, write her a letter)
35. write your significant other a love note.
36. mail 5 postcards from your town to faraway family and friends (my sis Rhonda does this to me and I love it—I discover things about where she lives via her postcards)
37. visit with your neighbor–share the chocolate chip cookies you baked.  This is supposing there are some left to share 😉
38. meditate in a new place (when I was in MA I saw a man at the edge of the beach, sitting back amongst the rocks, quietly meditating.  so wonderful)
39. get a pedicure with a new color
40. eat some gelato (I suggest salted carmel flavor…yummmmm)
41. watch Under the Tuscan Sun….again
42. do something outside of your comfort zone
43. go to a local antique/junk store.  look for things that remind you of your childhood….and smile
44. browse in your local book store…you never know what goodies are out there. (half price books in my area is one of my favorite haunts)
45. go to the zoo or aquarium( if you are lucky enough to have one where you live)
46. go to the flea market…you REALLY never know what you will discover, uncover, that you can’t live without
47. get your hair done and maybe add some wild color.  i’m thinking a streak of purple would be fun 🙂
48. go to the dollar movies.  cheap thrills.  big screen is always better.
49. read the cartoons or a joke book (I have several Scott Adams books, author of the Dilbert cartoons.  Pointy Hair Boss and Catbert my fav’s)
50. watch a funny movie (share some of yours in the comment section)
51. create stations for yourself on Pandora radio. (Spa, Yoga, Pink Martini, John Mayer, Jim Brickman are a few of my fav’s–please share some of yours in the comments below)
52. head for the kids section in the library or bookstore.  the images and stories are always so delightful!
53. buy some colored gel pens and have a field day in your journal
54. go to someplace new, a place you have never been before.  a park.  a cafe.  a new (to you)  street in an old neighborhood
55. meet a friend at an outdoor cafe for coffee and smiles
56. spend the hour in quietness
57. pick out 10 great digital photos and print them out and post them in places sure to make you smile.  your bathroom, refrigerator, taped to your easel, closet—all the unexpected places that you frequent 😉
58. take photos of yourself making goofy faces and mail them to others with the caption “wish you were here!!” (not that I know anyone who does this….)
59. write 60 things you are grateful for
60. this one is yours.  fill in the blank__________________ 😉

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time”  ~Marthe Troly-Curtin

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“Time is a game played beautifully by children.”  ~Heraclitus

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“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.”  ~Lao Tzu

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“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life….And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition.”  ~Steve Jobs

60 Magical Minutes.

How will you spend yours?

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“What Brings the Heart to JOY”
12 x 12in oil on museum quality panel