New-tines.

I'm a sucker for a good routine. I'm not a big planner, but I've come to expect certain things out of my days. Mondays I come into work early, get a jumpstart on the week. Tuesdays I have my writing group at night, so I tend to have cereal or a muffin for dinner. Mike comes on Wednesdays, and lately we've been going bowling or playing tennis when we can. Thursdays are my free days, usually to hang out with Meg when she's off. Mike comes home again on Fridays and the weekends begin. For the most part, weekends are without routines, though I love my coffee shop visits and lazy Sunday nights of cooking and watching movies.

Last night I got to Central Square a little too early for my writing group, so I stopped off in Goodwill in search of a sweater. I found one, made out of cashmere, that's a little too big on me. I bought it anyway. I also bought these shoes without trying them on. Turned out they were ten bucks, which would have been a dealbreaker had I known beforehand. Alas, I assumed secondhand shoes would be cheaper. Lesson learned. But I do like them, and aside from some squeaking earlier, they're not giving me any problems.

Lately my leisure time has been spent knitting. I can't quite explain it, but there's just something about creating something. To spend hours and concentration on something, coming out on the other end with something tangible; it's a great feeling. I suppose it's similar to my process of writing, except knitting is a little more instant gratification. These days knitting has taken the place of my old writing and reading time, except this time I'm not worrying about it. I tend to go through phases of great productivity and absolutely none at all, and I'm taking this ebb in stride and countering it with a different form of creation.

My newest routine is taking a lunch break at work. At my job before this, most of us powered through lunch, which I usually used as an excuse to run errands on Fridays or leave the office a little earlier. My new work routine feels healthier, and I come out of the morning actually feeling refreshed rather than overwhelmed by the remaining four and a half hours. And for the days when I do feel overwhelmed, there's a stash of Reese's PB cup left over from Halloween that's been very kind to me.