Yeah, this is the blog post I promised you last week as an explanation. Sorry for the delay. Love you guys xo
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Riddle me this, darling readers who smell like cookies:
What do stay-at-home moms do when their kids go back to school?
If you said "have wine parties and go shopping", you would be absolutely right. Then, after we recover from the inevitable hangovers, we power through
Then, when the dust (and candy wrappers) finally settle, many of us make plans. Plans for ourselves. Because *Back to School* is a type of New Year, a new beginning when our focus shifts from caring for our kids 24/7 to once again having time for ourselves -- complete with wine parties, celebrations, and resolutions! Oooh yeah.
In all seriousness, darling readers, this renewal couldn't have come at a more perfect time.
You see, over the past year, I lost that ever-so-fragile balance all moms strive to attain. I worked too much, taking on project after project, all the while struggling to maintain my home and care for my family. Next thing I knew, I was doing things I hated and no longer doing the things I loved. I became frazzled. I ignored the warning signals of my body and spiraled deeper into emotional and physical disarray. I started having difficulty doing the simplest things. I was sad and anxious all the time. And if not for my dear Roomie and darling kids, I would've stopped laughing all together.
I tried to hide it, but inside, I was a wreck.
So now, after a year that started with me being scraped out and ended with me being hit repeatedly with the Anxiety Stick, I'm ready for a fresh restart. Only then can I return to basics and fulfill my goal of living a simple, burden-free, family-and-friend-focused life.
Here's my action plan...
1: Cut down on current commitments that have nothing to do with my family and my home. Like choosing to step down from my awesome editor job, after I see the gorgeous inaugural issue of the magazine through to the newsstand. Among other projects.
2: Say 'no' to new outside-the-home projects. Like teaching hula workshops and classes (for now), writing for new blogs, and taking on new jobs.
3: Focus on home projects. The bathrooms are now finished! And now I have to:
a) paint the side door, diningroom, foyer, and side door landing.
b) declutter the house and garage. and the backyard.
c) sell what I can via ebay/amazon/garage-sale/kijiji and put the proceeds toward our mortgage.
4: Spend more time enjoying and playing with my family. Games with my kids and dates with Roomie. Need I say more?
5: Write more. Especially on Life Candy. Really. 3-5 times a week.
Since I started this blog in 2007, I was consistent and dedicated, especially in 2009. Then 2010 hit. I didn't write much over the last year. I couldn't. I was too busy. And it KILLED me.
Now, my writing muscle has totally atrophied. Seriously. Do you know how long it's taken me to write this post?! For-freakin'-ever!!! I started it on Sunday! Ugh!
6: Take part in the blogging community like I did in 2008-2009. My friend Loukia's post on Old School Blogging (on which I commented twice it was so important to me!) brought back how much I miss the days when all we had to do was tell a good story to get visitors and comments, and to make new friends. Blog hops and giveaways were unnecessary to get comments and visits.
So, I'm going to do what I used to do before, what my friend Ali suggest we all do now, I'm going to read blogs and comment on 10-20 of them every day. Time to rekindle some old friendships and make new ones.
6: Care for myself more. Inside and out.
a) get myself down to 118-125 pounds eating and working out primally.
b) get to sleep at 9:30pm -- without my laptop.
c) rest when my body tells me to during the day.
d) continue to make daily skincare and body pampering a priority.
e) enjoy Alone Time and coffee time with friends without guilt.
7: Go out for dinner with my pretend boyfriend Gerard Butler, dazzle him with my beauty and wit, and despite all his begging, refuse to run away with him. It's going to happen, you know.
Thanks to all my family and friends -- especially Roomie, Lam, and Mini -- who've been such a great support through this past year and have been great cheerleaders, so excited for me as I started this new phase in my life. Again, I love you guys!
Congratulations Nenette! I loved this post of yours. So INSPIRING. It's motivating me to hit the restart button on some parts of my life too. Thank you for being an inspiration. Good luck with the changes. You know I'm here to support you all the way. Wish I were where you were. We'd go for some guilt-free coffee right now, then I'd go help you declutter your home and set up the garage sale! That's exactly what I need to do back here too :) Cheers, darling!
ReplyDeleteGood for you Nen. *huge hugs* We'll hold you to the plan as best we can from here. I'm looking forward to reading all these new blog posts. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes, good for you. Getting things in their proper perspective is one of the best ways I can think of to deal with stress.
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