2010

I'm taking the rest of the year off.

There's something very delicious about starting a day off knowing there isn't a single "have-to" in it - only self imposed ones. In other words, I don't even have to vacuum today if I don't want to.

I can do anything I want. That includes shopping for a new Mac, which I am tempted to do. What stops me is not the money or the shops - it's the enormous hassle of data transfer. The person who one day invents a simple 2-step, five minute process for transferring data between an old and a new computer will become an instant billionaire. I know that I always have to set aside two days before every last piece is in place.

So - I shall wait until next year to buy a Mac. It takes me a full year to work myself up to it.

By next year I will be even more retired than I am now - I think.

Lazy

I really like not working. This statement comes after five days off. All right - I only have two stories to write today and one of them is already done. It's no hardship. I could handle three stories a day every day and be pretty idle most of the time.

But you know what I really look forward to? Lunch, followed by a nap. Yup - it's my favourite part of the day. My second favourite part is walking with Abby. And my third favourite is doing mindless things on the computer, reading and otherwise woolgathering (or belly button lint picking depending on whether or not my belly button is exposed, which pretty well relegates that to a summer activity - and I promise - never in public. No one over the age of 16 should be exposing their belly button unless they are on a beach.).

But I digress. Where were we? Oh yes, the parts of the day I really like. I really, really, really like getting into bed at the end of the day with a good book and snuggling under my 800 thread count or flannel sheets (again - this is seasonal and I'll let you figure it out) topped by a fluffy duvet.

Photos

I love photography, a love I semi-discovered in my early twenties when I was married to a semi-professional photographer (and I have nude stills of me to prove it) but that I only really started developing recently. I adore my Lumix that I can slip into a back pocket and take with me everywhere. Nature - I want to photograph nature in all her moods and seasons - just point and shoot and come home and fix what needs to be fixed in PhotoShop (usually contrast levels).

One great advantage of winter is the quality of light - magic hour almost all day long.

Doing Work

Here's my theory about work - get it done first.

Even when I don't want to tackle a chore - especially a really big one - I handle it as quickly as possible. If I don't, it nags at me. It's an incomplete. I can't fully enjoy myself if there's a baby elephant that needs to be washed.

I spent an hour on the phone going over requirements for a web site on Thursday. I had two weeks to do the writing. But I also had five days off - to think about the work and stew about getting it done - and it's a large project.

I did the outline and first draft on Friday morning, which guaranteed peace of mind until today. So, I honed it this morning. Now all it needs is one final read through before it goes to the client tomorrow - far ahead of schedule. That leaves plenty of time for revisions.

And it feels awfully good. Now it's time for play. I wish The King's Speech was playing locally. It's the movie I really want to see.

Icebreaker

I'm not what I would call a "shopper." I don't like browsing through stores, hunting for bargains and picking up things I don't really need. I'm not really "stuff" oriented.

And then there's Boxing Day. It's one of my few shopping days in the year. (outside essential shopping days like Chapter for books - but then that's like shopping for groceries - a dire necessity).

So today I arrived at Valhalla Pure (my favourite store) about five minutes before the doors opened. They opened - I headed straight for the Icebreaker area. And if you have never heard of Icebreaker, I suggest www.icebreaker.com - it's truly the best and most sustainably created outdoor clothing in the world. The pure Merino is as find as silk or as rugged as the toughest synthetic outdoor wear. And no, it wasn't all on sale. Did I care? Not really. I wanted (and bought) the new all Merino fleecy jacket, a heavyweight sweater, a silky under layer, gloves and a hat. I have already put the fleecy, gloves and hat to the test. As expected, they passed with flying colours. This stuff is worth the premium price.

Then it was off to Chapters for their annual 30 percent off hard cover sale - that's 40 percent with my Chapters card. Then I made the fatal mistake of entering Woodgrove. It was mad - just mad. I was thinking new jeans but by the time I'd been there 15 minutes, I had to leave - in fact, I had to leave, go home, have lunch and take an extra long nap.

I'll buy jeans some other time. And sweat pants - I need sweat pants - also, another time. Meanwhile, I have all the necessities a girl could ask for: Icebreaker, good books and dark chocolate. Life is good.

Christmas

What else is there to say really, except Merry Christmas!

I wish for the peace, love and joy that fills much of the world at this time of year, to linger throughout the next twelve months. Imagine how different the world would be!

For me, a single person living alone, with family in Ontario, Christmas Day is really about a day of peace and relaxation. Tomorrow is my big day. The doors to Valhalla Pure open at ten a.m. and I'll be there and I'll be heading straight for the Icebreaker rack! I am going to treat myself to every single thing I want with no holds barred. What fun!

Then it's off to Chapters and then a very fast cruise through Woodgrove Centre, ostensibly to see what is on sale, but in truth to buy more dark chocolate at Bernard Callebaut.

Love and peace to all.

Decisions

Yesterday - and the day before, if the truth be told, I was having second thoughts - maybe even regrets - about telling M there would be no romance in our future. Perhaps I'd made the wrong choice. Perhaps I should have given it more time. After all, we could have spent Christmas together - and wouldn't that be better than spending Christmas alone?

And then I thought back to his kiss and I found myself pulling back. "No!" my mind shouted. "You did not make the wrong decision." And then I had one of those lovely flashes of insight that puts a huge smile on my face. I recalled, in one nanosecond, all the decisions I have made about men in my life - and there are actually an awful lot now that I think of it - all the "no" choices, many of which, in retrospect, I have had second thoughts about, and I realized that I have made the right decision every single time. I have trusted my instincts, relied on my heart, and have made the best choice for me in every case - and that includes in this most recent instant as well.

Now, isn't that enough to make anyone smile? I trust myself to make the right choices in life.

This morning's thought was about happiness. I am happy. Every day my happiness grows. Now - listen to this - I think that making ourselves happy is very possibly the biggest and most important job we have on this planet. I'm not talking about a quick burst of happiness when we buy a new toy; I'm talking about genuine, deep-rooted, heart-felt happiness. When I feel that deep happiness, it permeates every cell of my body, and science knows that our thoughts affect the very structure of our cells. So - if I am happy, I am building happy cells and when those cells become something else (we build an entire new body of cells every seven years), then happiness is being scattered into the world. At the same time, wave lengths of happiness are radiating out from my body and penetrating all the matter and energy in the universe.

Happiness may well be our most potent weapon for peace on earth.

So come on - get happy!