Sunday, June 10, 2012

Mother's Day Challenge - Day 28 & 29

Dang, missed another day! This challenge got harder and harder as the month went on. But, I tried hard to not lose my commitment.

Today is the first night of Vacation! The Mayor, my friend Indie Mom and her daughter, the Fabulous Ms. B have joined me in a trek to NJ. The Jersey Shore, to be exact. This is where I grew up, and this is where my heart comes back to each summer...this year, I'm sharing it with them.

So today my "me" time was utilitarian! I needed to pack, so C took the Mayor to our Club for some play time. It was nice to be able to pack in...well, almost peace! Between C and The Mayor being gone, and my packing, our dog (who is quite neurotic) was quite disturbed. Max followed me around the house while doing this high pitched whine thing that he does- heeeeeeeeeeee, heeeeeeeeee! Bless his little heart!

One thing I have learned throughout this journey is that when it comes to getting some peace and quiet-some time for me-all I need to do is ask! Wow, when I communicate to C, and let him know what I need, he's been right there to help out. It's really been nice.

Off to bed so we can begin this vaca in the AM!

Friday, June 8, 2012

Mother's Day Challenge - Day 26 & 27

I'm not really doing so well this week keeping up with my blogs.  I'm not stressing it though, this last month, doing this challenge, has been extremely rewarding.  I've really done a good job of keeping focus on what is important.

The last few days have been vacation focus...and I could not be more excited.  Two more sleeps until Jersey.  I'm looking forward to seeing my family and having some down time.

So last night, there was no blog - and it was probably a good thing.  I went out for some Happy Hour fun with some girlfriends.  Well, happy hour was very happy...hubby had to bring me this morning to pick up my car.  Yup...you would think I would know better, but not so much.

Today I wrapped up everything at work and feel like I left everything in a good place.  I have everything I need for myself and The Mayor, and all I have to do is pack tomorrow.  Nice!  Today's "me" time involved one of my favorite past times - wandering around Target!  However, I was wandering with a purpose, but no sense of urgency for a change.  Sometimes, it's really nice to just be able to go with the flow.

For now, I'm going to enjoy the rest of the evening by getting some laundry done and cleaning up from dinner.  It's going to be a good weekend and lead to a good week!

Cheers!

Previous posts on My Mother's Day Challenge:

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Mother's Day Challenge - Day 25

Happy Hump Day! And, only four more sleeps until Vacation. There is so much to be excited about. Since this week has been about getting ready for vaca, it was only fitting that my time was well spent today focused on this very endeavor.

Thanks to C volunteering to take The Mayor to swim lessons, I found a few extra hours that were well used. I stayed at the office an extra hour and finished up a work related blog post that I had been working on. It was great to send that on for review!

On my way home I decided that I needed to spend some "me" time taking care of some *ahem* personal grooming. Not my favorite thing to do, but it's really nice having things 'taken care of' when I know next week will include lots of bathing suit time. I'm sure by now you have figured out what got groomed!

So, in the spirit of over-sharing (hey, why not?!?), I saw a new person tonight. I half expected this since I didn't have an appointment, so it was not a big deal. I go in, lay down and she starts with a little eyebrow shape, and I was pleased with the result. So then it's time to move south, and I'm prepared for the inevitable...or so I thought.

Ok, so to back track, I'm pretty conservative in matters of 'personal grooming' - so my normal MO is a little off the sides and the rest is just fine.

So, back to the moment. In sure you can appreciate my surprise when I suddenly felt warm wax...well, where I had not ever felt warm wax before. After being quite startled at this revelation, I quickly realized there was only one way that wax was coming off. Oh No!! Oh No!! Oh-my-wax!

I'm going to stop there, and focus on the fact that my "me" time tonight got one more item off my to do list, and put me one step closer to vacation! 'nuff said.

Good night.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Mother's Day Challenge - Day 23 & 24

Oops...so there was no day 23 post!  Well, guess what?  I had one of those days where you come home from work, you don't feel like cooking (so we had Chinese food, yummy!), and once we got home I crashed onto the couch and watched The Bachelorette.  To be honest...if felt kind of good.

Tonight, I came home from work and made some dinner.  And I have to be honest, I am really getting into that zone of going home to NJ, because I made Chicken and Rice for dinner.  Doesn't sound special, but it's one of those things that my Mom always made - and I always loved it!  It was good, but I have tried to make it a few times, and it never seems to come out like Mom's.

After dinner, my Men cleaned up the kitchen (man style, which if you don't know what that means...you are probably lucky!), and then we sat and talked about politics, the country and our respective days.

So speaking of my day, I was having one of those weird kind of days where my focus was off, my attention span was incredibly short and it was a good thing that I had a lot of little things to finish up prior to my vacation.  Then, I had an awkward run-in with a homeless man downtown (bless his heart!); and almost twisted my ankle (on my own shoes) when I was trying to end the little run-in.  Well, in order to salvage anything left from the day, my "me" time was simply taking an extra 1/2 hour at lunch to spend it with a friend.  It was good to see her, even better to chat and catch up and I felt much better when I got back to work.  Ahhh, the power of girl time.

I'm feeling really good about being ready for my trip to NJ.  Plans are made, my packing list is coming together in my mind and I got one last swim suit for The Mayor.  If I can keep up with work and finish out this week as planned...this might just be a super fun vacation!

Cheers!

Previous posts on My Mother's Day Challenge:

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Mother's Day Challenge - Day 22

Another weekend come and gone.  The good thing is that this weekend going by so fast means that I'm on my last week of work before vacation.  I can tell you already that it's going to be a crazy week - and I'm going to do my best to keep it productive.  Then it's time to get ready to head to Jersey!!

From Pinterest!
I am really looking forward to this trip.  My oldest niece is graduating from high school, so it's really exciting that I'm able to be there with her.  Another thing that is really going to be great is being close to the ocean.  I'm a believer that the ocean connects to us, recharges us and gives us strength...and right about now, all of those things are more than needed.

Today was an epic "me" time day!  Yeah!!  I started with a massage (much needed after my crazy week), and then moved on to some shopping.  With the exception of my recent jean purchase, it's been quiet a while since I did some shopping - and I was really in the need for some summer clothes.  You know, that stuff you can wear to work and actually feel (and look!) like you put some effort into it.

Well, the next couple of days are going to be a little crazy, so I'm really going to be struggling to get everything done...and get that "me" time in.  After all...I still have 8 days left of my challenge.

So, it's time for bed and I'm really hoping for a good night of sleep.  Good night.

Previous posts on My Mother's Day Challenge:

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Mother's Day Challenge - Day 21

Happy Saturday!  Ahhh, Saturday...the day to clean, organize, and decompress from the week.  It seems like every Saturday goes about the same.  It also seems like Saturday's are the hardest days to get in any "me" time.  The day just goes by so fast.  Today was no different.

Right now is that "me" time.  I have just spent most of the evening playing Lego's with The Mayor - and I loved every minute of it.  I honestly think that playing Lego's is one of my favorite things to do with my son.  Tonight's creation...the people!  We found almost all of the hands, heads and helmets (we were missing two hands, one head and one helmet - not bad!) - and after we lined them all up, I had two new ones for him...and he was thrilled!

The Mayor's Lego Army - All 32 Little Guys!
Now, it's 10:00, and I'm going to finish up some blogging, and watch a bit of something on the DVR and then head off to bed.  Quiet time is quiet time, so I guess I can't complain.  The best part of the day is that my tomorrow "me" time is already on the calendar; and I couldn't be more excited.

G'nite!

Previous posts on My Mother's Day Challenge:

Friday, June 1, 2012

Mother's Day Challenge - Day 20

The last few days I've been out of sorts for the most part.  You see, I try really hard to balance, juggle and keep things together - and for the most part I feel pretty good about the results.  Sometimes though it all just feels like a jumbled mess - even though, it's not really as bad as I make it out in my own mind.  I guess that's just the way I am.

I'm sure every mom out there knows that you can only keep going for so long before you hit a wall!  Let's face it, we all get tired and just need to crash sometimes.  Sometimes though, my body has a different idea of how things are supposed to work - and the wall hits me first.  This past Wednesday was just one of those times.  After starting work as a very normal morning, I suddenly could not see.  Everything didn't go black (thank God!), but everything in front of me turned into a foggy haze.  I went from sending/responding to emails, to not being able to make out a single image or word in front of me - even with my glasses on.  No matter how much I squinted, blinked or stared...there was absolutely no clarity.

Needless to say, that set into motion a series of events that now have me waiting for the results of yesterday's MRI.  Scary, a little...but I've had MRI's before and have always been fortunate enough to get good results.  I'm hoping for the same results this time - and calling this one an unexplained neurological incident.  Right now the worst thing that's going to come out of this will be some family members being a bit annoyed that I didn't immediately call them.  But hey, it would just feel weird to call someone and say, "Hey, I went to the ER, but I'm fine, and we don't know anything. So how are you?"  I did tell my Mom though.

So today's "me" time is extremely non-monumental! Our work day officially ended a few hours ago, but I have stuck around to prioritize my inbox; make my to-do list for Monday and get to a good stopping place for today.  I have set a mind-frame for the weekend that includes spending time with my family, non-stress time and rest.  A little quiet work time sometimes goes a long way.

One thing is for sure - 20 days into this challenge I have learned a lot about the importance of balance and priorities.  It's really easy to get caught up in life...and really, sometimes we are so caught up that we actually miss out.  I hope that maybe one person who has read this has taken away the same.  Please, let me know, I would love to hear!


For today though, TGIF!  Time for Happy Hour!

Previous posts on My Mother's Day Challenge: