“Rainy day” by pshutterbug

Depending on your disposition and tastes, rainy days can be a blessing or a curse. As a commuter, I tend to vacillate between the two. There’s something really nice about curling up with a book or a great movie on a gloomy day, while at times nothing is more a mood killer than stomping around in the damp.

Here are some ideas on how you can make even the most unwelcome rainy day an enjoyable, productive experience.

Cultivate a Rain Gear Collection
One of the gloomiest parts of rainy days is how they can hinder your choice of garb. Nothing is more of a downer than when you can’t wear those new shoes due to the 3 inches of rain water outside your door. However, with a bunch of really excellent rain supplies, rainy days can be transformed into as fun dress-up days as any other day of the week.

Some necessary rain gear includes:
- Tall Galoshes
- Short Rain Booties
- Raincoats and Slickers
- Fun assortments of umbrellas
- Waterproof Satchels (for holding your shoes)
- Rain Bonnets
- Waterproof sports sandals

Also, once you have the proper stuff, you are completely set for some good old fashioned puddle-stomping. You are never too old to play in the rain.

Bust out that Hobby
Trapped in the house due to inclement weather? Don’t consider it a day imprisoned so much as a hobby day. Rainy days are the perfect days for knitting, painting, sewing, writing and any other activity that can be ideally performed indoors. Don’t have a hobby? Then why not take one up? Keep a book around of embroidery stitches that you can take out whenever it rains, and you will be a bitching stitcher in no time.

Clean, Clean, Clean
Rainy days are excellent days to finally tackle those big, annoying cleaning projects you have been postponing, since you will feel absolutely regret-less of any other activities you could be missing out on in the meantime. And it’s a scientific fact that cleaning is easier to do when rain is tapping on your roof and thunder is booming. So pop on your favorite album, turn up the lights, and get cracking against those dust bunnies.

Some good, long cleaning projects include:
- Oil soap wood floors
- Alphabetize your bookshelf
- Clean out cabinets
- Organize your office
- Clean under beds
- Arrange your closet
- Wash your area rugs

Marathons!
Rainy days are the ideal time to host movie or tv show marathons. Next time the weather report calls for heavy rains throughout the day, call up some friends, make a big bowl of popcorn, and pop in that season of Buffy dvd you’ve been dying to watch. Some of my personal favs include:
- Sex and the City
- Twin Peaks
- Lord of the Rings
- Weeds
- Six Feet Under

Make Yummy Things
Been dying to make that recipe for a chocolate souffle, but haven’t had the time? Well, now you do! Rainy days are excellent for baking and cooking all sorts of stuff. You can make a hearty soup and leave it to simmer into deliciousness all day, or bake a delicious batch of cupcakes in your favorite flavor. So you don’t have to trudge out in the nasty weather to get supplies, stock up on the ingredients in anticipation of the next stormy Saturday – trust me, it will come. Keep a big binder of any recipe that catches your eye for when that rain starts falling.

What are your favorite things to do on rainy days?

sleepy king and hello kitty by beckitten

Some mondays are worse then others. But sometimes, you hit one of THOSE Mondays: that day when every nerve in your body is quailing that you have a whole week ahead of you.

Never fear! There are some sure-fire cures to Monday-blues. Here are some of my favs.

Water, water everywhere
Often, being tired or crummy-feeling is the result of being dehydrated. Particularly on Mondays, the habit for grabbing a caffeine-coffee fix is at its strongest – but don’t do it, it’s a trap! Caffeine can often leave you feeling a lot worse than when you started. Instead, reach out for some cool, clean water. Nothing’s better to get your metabolism in motion. You can even spruce it up with some lemon or orange, for a citrus-y burst of flavor.

Can’t live without caffeine? Try some green tea instead. I am a huge fan of Ito-En teas – they are delicious and unsweetened, and the best tea drink I have found since returning from Japan.

Ito-En Teas

Walk it out
Trapped under that early-morning sluggishness? Refresh yourself with a brief walk. Sometimes, mental and physical sluggishness is just a result of too little physical activity. Take ten minutes to take a skip around the block, and return perked up, light-footed, and ready to face the day.

Dress it up
Especially on Mondays, the urge to just crawl into the first clean thing you can find is strong. But sometimes, nothing can get you more revved up to face the day than wearing something fly. Avoid that early-morning indifference by picking out your duds the night before – not only will you have something great to wear the next day, but you will shave precious time off your morning routine by cutting out all the rooting in your closet.

Write it down
Uninspired for week? Take the initiative and make Monday your official “planning” day. Write up lists of all your goals for the week and things you want/need to accomplish. Dig out your calendar and schedule your plans for the week, and make lists of calls your have to make to get those plans happening. Suddenly, your Mondays will transform from being dreaded grind-days, to creative events that get your fabulous week rolling.