January 3, 2010

Good Intentions



I had good, no, great intentions of spending the weekend writing my final book review for 2009. I wanted to begin putting together my year-end summary of the books I read and loved. And those I loathed. I planned to spend several hours on the the couch, huddled beneath a warm quilt, lost in Jacob's story in Water For Elephants. But as it goes, my weekend To Do list was a mile long.

There was laundry. Lots of laundry.

And two hours of ironing. (Thank goodness I can iron and watch a dvd at the same time.)

And three weeks of recycling to dispose of.

And two bathrooms to clean.

And menu planning. (Yes. A New Year's resolution.)

And vacuuming. I love my Annie-Dog, but the hair. Oh, the hair.


But, I made time to do the things I love.

I bought flowers.


When it's cold and gray and gloomy, there's just nothing quite like a bouquet of yellow daisies. They make me smile. Thank you, Pam, for the inspiration.


I picked up my camera and took a stroll around my house. I miss taking pictures and am toying with the idea of getting back into Aminus3.

The sun was shining.

:: Inside







:: And out




I danced to Pink Martini... and James Taylor... and Mary Chapin Carpenter, while baking bread.

I called my mom and wrote to my dad and thought of my girls.

I walked for an hour on the treadmill, laughing as I read through several months' of Pioneer Woman's archives. (That woman is a hilarious writer and one helluva photographer!)

I fed my Annie-dog chicken scraps and a piece of bacon. (Shhh, don't tell Rod.)

I fed my husband stew and homemade bread.




And, I realized this is what's important.

Living in the moment. Finding time to do the things I love. Letting go of the desire to do it all now.

It doesn't all have to be written down Right. This. Minute. Publishers Weekly isn't waiting for my reviews. Bookmarks magazine isn't calling for my opinion on the latest best seller.

But, my family is here. Right now.

Balance.

Simplify.

Laugh.

Relax.



To the New Year.

Cheers.

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:36 PM

    Yesss, Lesley!You've got it!
    love you - Mom

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  2. Yay for you!!! Balance is excellent!!

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  3. Anonymous3:33 PM

    Sounds like a little self-nurturing. ;-)

    Good for you. The pictures are fabulous. The bread looks great. I'm so impressed that you iron.

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  4. Happy New Year!

    That all seems so beautiful and cozy!

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  5. What an absolutely BEAUTIFUL post, Lesley. Yes. You got it right. That sounds like my perfect day.

    Hope 2010 is all this and more...

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  6. And Dad;s simply love letters!
    Love you.

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  7. Cheers and Amen! While I'd like to be more on top of book reviews I just know that there are a lot more important things than getting those reviews written. Wonderful that you got to spend a day doing things that matter!

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  8. What a simply lovely post! And what a perfect day.
    Happy New Year and Happy Reading--
    *smiles*

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  9. Cheers to that! Except for the ironing. Blech! I try to avoid it as much as I can.

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  10. I echo each word your mom said!!!!

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  11. Mom - Yes, I think I do. It helps that I'm only working 26 hrs./week for a little while now. Nice to have my afternoons free again. Love you, too!

    SuziQ - I'm going to work on my physical balance, too. I joined a new health club on Monday and plan to take some Yoga classes. And swim. And lift weights. And get Michelle Obama arms. :)

    Kay - You're my inspiration, lady! Thanks for the nice words about my photos. It was fun to play with my camera again. It's been gathering dust. That bread is wonderful! I have to be careful not to over-indulge even though it's homemade and healthier than the stuff in the stores. The recipe is on my food blog. I think. Yep. Here it is.

    You know, I don't mind ironing one bit. I usually watch a movie as I work. If I don't have anything I want to see, I listen to music. I find ironing very satisfying and soothing. But then, I also like washing dishes. There's something very Zen about those two chores.

    Allie - Thank you. It is pretty cozy in our little home. Happy New Year to you, too.

    Wendy - Your words mean so much to me. Thank you!It was pretty much a perfect day. Even with the ironing. If the snow and winds continue tomorrow, I may get to stay home and do more self-nurturing. Keeping fingers crossed...

    Dad - Clarification. I meant "email." I can't remember the last time I wrote a letter! Sorry! Love you, too.

    Iliana - :) I will probably always write my book reviews (too compulsive to let some slide), but they may be a few weeks or even a month late. Not that anyone is giving me a deadline. :) I'm looking forward to a possible snow day tomorrow so I can do more things that I enjoy. Like reading!

    Kim - Thank you for your kind words. It was a lovely day and I'm looking forward to more in the coming year. Happy New Year to you, too.

    Tara - Thank you! Oh, see my note above to Kay about ironing. I really don't mind it at all. Now don't get me started on cleaning bathrooms. I'd rather dust or vacuum, but those don't really having to be done every week. In my opinion, the bathrooms do.

    Nan - :) You and Kay are my inspiration, you know. Now if I could only keep my desk as free of clutter as yours is!

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  12. Anonymous5:18 PM

    I love these posts, where I can catch a glimpse into your life, and a breath of grounding at the same time. It's the best End of The Year post I've read: getting to what counts. "What is essential is invisible to the eye," and all the other things that St. Exupery said in Le Petit Prince.

    Thanks for always comforting me, Les, when I feel less than peaceful.

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  13. Bellezza - I'm the same when someone posts pictures of the interior of their home. I'm glad you enjoyed my post. I had fun putting it together!

    Are you getting our cold, nasty weather? Do you have school tomorrow? Our schools have been closed for two days, and I'm fairly certain they'll be off until Monday. I may stay home from work tomorrow. We're getting into the negative digits for our high!!

    Wish you were on Facebook!

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  14. What a lovely post! I'm so glad I could inspire you, the flowers really brighten things up, don't they? I'm going to try to be more balanced and in the moment like you!

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  15. I'd say you got everything done that's important!

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  16. Pam - Aw, thanks. I always have fun with my non-book related posts. And can you believe my daisies are still looking beautiful and fresh?! Love 'em! :)

    Lisa - And with a three days off, beginning today, I'm hoping to get the chores out of the way so I can have another fun-filled weekend. So... time to get off the computer!

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  17. Lovely post. I'm smiling now.

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  18. Janet - Aw, thanks. And so far, so good. I've carved out some time in my day to go to the gym and I'm trying to ease up on my obsession to clean house every weekend. Sometimes ya just gotta say no and curl up with a good book. :)

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