Lovely mornings

As I've mentioned before, I love mornings. Though I don't necessarily consider myself a "morning person" per se, it's definitely rewarding to get up bright and early and start the day off right.

Yes, I know, you're sitting there thinking to yourself "why, Ashley, why?" But the better question is, what on God's green Earth is there to do at the crack of dawn anyhow?

Well, let me tell you.

But first, let me just say that for me, it's not so much the act of sleeping that I enjoy as much as the pleasure I take in being comfortable. I've always been one of those people who will lie in bed on the weekends, awake, just to take in the bliss of comfort between the sheets.

Mmm, but I digress.

Hard as it is to drag my booty out of bed and leave the comfort of my sheets on a weekday morning, I've found that certain activities really have a way of kick-starting the day.

Ha, look at that. It rhymed.

For instance, if I know I'm getting up to go to yoga, that means I've got two solid hours before I even have to think about work.

There are so many benefits to getting up early, I thought I'd share a little of that wisdom with y'all.

-Morning workouts and/or yoga. The earlier you plan this, the sooner it's out of the way. That is, if you're not one of those freaks who actually looks forward to working out.

-Brewing coffee at home. Okay, so I have one of those coffee machines that you can preset to brew at a certain time, but I have this thing about keeping unnecessary appliances plugged in when not in use. My mom taught me that...thanks, ma. So getting up early allows me to brew and start enjoying before ever leaving the house - which of course saves me money as I'm not going to Starbucks everyday.

-Blogging: reading, commenting and posting. I like to take this time to sip my home-brewed coffee and catch up on my sports, photography, and travel blogs, check up on what's happening on 20-something bloggers, and of course, read and comment on all y'alls blogs. And it can all be fit in before the work day begins.

-Getting to the office early. Not just for blogging, but to catch up on e-mails that may have come through the night before, get organized, review to-do lists, and get going on some uninterrupted work. It's pretty fabulous when there's not a phone call, e-mail or procrastinating co-worker stopping by every five minutes to disrupt your day.

-Sunrises. Okay, so I'm a sap and love to stop and watch the sunrise. It's honestly the most peaceful part of my day. And couldn't we all use a little more tranquility in our lives?



Of course, take this for what it's worth, because there are some downfalls:

-Lunch hunger pains come a little sooner. When my stomach starts audibly rumbling during the 10:30 staff meeting I only have the 5 a.m. start to blame.

-Early brain shut-down. Come 5 o'clock my work brain is mush and I'm ready for some mind-numbing relaxation....which brings me to my next point.

-Too much time in the evenings to sit in front of the TV and eat garbage. And for someone with very little will-power, finding nighttime motivation can be a bitch.

-Tiredness setting in at 9 p.m. Talk about feeling old!

Regardless, I still think the pros outweigh the cons. You can always down some more caffeine to keep your mind and body alert as needed. And that also helps the mindless munching situation. See, problems solved!

What do you like most about the morning?

Cheers!

-A