Living the Good Life

Ahh... the best laid plans of mice and men... and I'm a woman, so you can imagine my plans were grandiose for my 10 days off... and well, I accomplished absolutely none of it.

I am however completely relaxed and at ease.  I mean, yes, we cleaned the house, yes we celebrated Christmas, yes we celebrated New Year's Eve (lamely, I'll add)... but overall, we just did whatever our whims inspired us to do:

•   Sean has played on his DS, the computer, the XBox, the Wii, and the new Kinect that Santa brought.  
• Sammie has made a mess in every room, whined about having to clean it up, made crafts, played with her American Girl doll and all the new accessories for it that Santa brought.  
• Steve slept in, fiddled on the computer, made a shelf, installed there home theater system, uninstalled it, re-installed it, and is presently researching a mysterious static source that's cause the whole system to randomly shut off (theories abound).  
• I have watched a lot of mindless TV (CSI marathon, NCIS marathon, Bones mini-marathon, Charlie's Angels marathon, T J Hooker marathon [right about here is where I realized I may have a TV addiction], played computer games (mostly hidden object, but have become obsessed with expert level scores on Roads of Rome, a time management game), cleaned out the pantry, did piles and piles of laundry [that's why I was sitting around watching TV-- and Sammie was totally into Charlie's Angels with me!].

To be honest, I'm totally cool with what I've not done.  Two years ago, my mother in law treated us to a trip to Key West as our Christmas present... and on that trip, I did whatever my heart desired, which was pretty much nothing besides floating in the pool, eating key lime pie, and taking daily naps.  I was completely relaxed when we got home, which my mind and body kept for about 6 weeks until reality hit.  But the last 10 days have given me a bit of an epiphany (little Catholic humor there since today is the feast of Epiphany)... well, perhaps epiphany is a little strong .  I've really just connected the dots.  Apparently, I function best in a low stress environment.  Well DUH... I know, but my point is, I think I finally realized exactly what that means for me, which has kind of led to my 2011 prescription for the Good Life (some might call them resolutions, but I'm not resolving to do anything, rather noting what conditions my body and mind function best in... a low stress environment).

1. keeping the house picked up and out of CHAOS... for me this means going back to FlyLady basics.
2. meal planning, grocery planning and cooking at home. It tastes better and brings us all to the table.  I've even been using my Leann Ely cookbooks.
3. spending time with the family in completely unstructured ways, which may mean saying no to some invites.
4.  worry less about what people think about me.  Seriously... I stress myself out  wondering if I said the wrong thing (I probably did), if my joke was inappropriate (let's face it, that's pretty much how I roll), and whether people love me.  This is not an APB begging for "we love you Alex" messages... though it's great if you do... I'm just not going to worry about it if you don't.  I've got a running list in my head of gentle reminders to ignore, let go, and move on.  And when I say move on... I mean, recognize what is not worth my time and not beat myself up over it.  It is not my job to please the world any more than it is anyone else's job.
5. be the building... 2 years ago, I attended a women's retreat and the AMAZINGLY insightful Paulie Heath spoke about how God is the architect and we are the buildings.  Imagine how a building must feel (if, of course, it was sentient) to be under renovation and not get to see the blue prints.  Well, I am the building... I accept that I am under rennovation and I am open to the changes the architect has planned for me.  My structure is sound and I am ready to be improved, embellished and built to last a life time. Knock down those walls, rewire the power, and make me a wide open space to be used for good!
6. take the time to do what entertains me... whether it's a quiet bubble bath, reading a book, or a crime show marathon.   I am not required to be serious all the time (yea, I know, the idea of me being serious is a bit ludicrous... perhaps, I should say on task and intent).

Okay, that said... let the Good Life begin... or should I say, continue!

Happy New Year... let's make 2011 one we can all say was a great year.