Balance

Hello everyone! I hope you had a nice relaxing weekend and that you feel refreshed and ready for the week. We are now less than a month away from Christmas, which means Holiday Parties and lots of food and fun. I have my first Christmas party on Wednesday and I am so excited… it will be the official kick-off to the 2011 Holiday season for me and I can’t wait. I haven’t decided what to wear yet, but I have a feeling it may be something sparkly. I’m leaning towards the bling; it’s like a centripetal force that pulls me in and I just can’t help it. But, no decisions have been made yet. I’ll be sure to share some post-party pics later on in the week.

 I know I will be busy for the next few weeks, so I am trying to set aside some time to relax as well. I don't want to over-do it and end up burnt out after the holidays, so I am making sure to not schedule too much into each day. It's about balance around the holidays. You have to balance work and play, indulging and discipline, as well as where you will spend your time. I have to decide which parties I want to go to, and avoid trying to do it all. To me, it's about quality, not quantity and so I would rather attend a few parties and really enjoy them, instead of running from one to another and not enjoying any of them. The past few years I have tried to do too much, but this year I will try a different approach. I will be realistic and use my time wisely. It's trial and error, but I hope this year I get it right.

Do you ever have one of those mornings where everything and everyone seems to rub you the wrong way? When you keep having to bite your tongue to avoid going off? Well, because it’s Monday, and I tend to be a little grumpy on Mondays, I had one of those mornings today. I am at my desk before 7 AM most days and because I didn’t have a coffee before coming in, I was a little on edge. I made mental notes of everything that happened on my way to work and decided to compile a list of things that really bug me Monday morning before 7 AM and before I have had a coffee and here it is:

S’s ‘You Know What Really Grinds My Gears’ Not To-Do List:

- People who stand in the middle of the escalator and refuse to walk up or move. It’s an escalator, NOT an elevator, so you should just consider them a more efficient version of stairs.

- People who push the elevator button when it is already lit. I really truly don’t understand why people do this, and have to force myself not to ask them what makes them think it will come faster if they keep pushing it. You’d be surprised how many people do this (or maybe you wouldn’t be).

- People who talk on their cell phones in the elevator and then keep repeating themselves when they have lost reception. YOU’VE SAID ‘CAN YOU HEAR ME’ 18 TIMES… NO SHE CAN’T HEAR YOU!

- People who get on the elevator on the 6^th floor to get off on the 7^th. We are all tired and it’s early, but consider it your cardio for the day.

- When you make a pot of coffee in the office and then get stuck on the phone and by the time you go get your coffee the entire pot has been emptied and no one bothered to make a new one.

-People who tell you that you look tired on Monday morning. Listen buddy… I know I look tired because I AM TIRED. No need to let me know I look tired.

-People who talk about their weekend as if you know their friends: “I had the best night Saturday Night! Ali, Brad and I went to this restaurant downtown and we met up with Stu and Marc and you know how crazy it can get when we’re all together”. Umm… I don’t know these people, so no… I don’t know.

As you can see, I was perhaps a little moody this morning, but nonetheless… these are annoying behaviors. They also ALL happened within the first 15 minutes of me arriving at work, and happen EVERY day. I sometimes just have to shake my head and laugh, because if not, I would go nuts.  Please, don’t judge me, it was early Monday morning and I hadn’t yet had my coffee. With the fear of sounding like a bitter and angry person, I have also compiled a list of things that make me smile and here it is:

- Weekends filled with family, jingle jammies, wine and home-cooked comfort food. And spending Friday, Saturday and Sunday night laughing with my sisters.

-Holiday movies

-Wrapping Christmas presents … Especially ones for new babies (it's so little I could die... melts my heart)

-Genuinely nice people. I had a situation this weekend where someone I hardly know did something really nice, simply out of the kindness of his heart. There are still good people in this world. LOVE

-Holiday windows in every store.

-Christmas Trees at the office

-Christmas Trees in restaurants

-Christmas Trees everywhere

To see the good and to appreciate the good, you have to be able to also see the bad, the ups and the downs. Sometimes the cup will be half empty, but other times it will be half full. BUT, you have to be able to laugh it off and move on. It's all about the balance. My morning may not have started out good, but my day has turned around and I am now full of caffeine and in a great mood! I hope you weren’t grumpy like I was this morning, but if you were… Shake it off. It’s the Holidays and that alone is a reason to smile :)

 Have a great day and a great week everyone!

 With love,
S