Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Calgon, Take Me Away...for a Half Day?


If you’re anything like me, the days of snow piled up outside your graying front door, the unreturned voice and emails piling up (along with the laundry), the rise in snarkiness at home and work, the remnants of the holiday spirit now fading, not to mention “little” things like, ahem Egypt, are starting to become, well…a.little.too.much. So much so that you find yourself recalling that ridiculous 80s commercial about Calgon whisking you away to a happy place and thinking, “why the hell not?” I’m not sure if they even produce that product anymore (ok, or what it is) and I’m too damn lazy to Google it (see above), so humor me, will ya, and check out some of the stress management techniques I’ve been using below to remind me just how good I have it. Because I do – I really do. It’s just sometimes you need that itty bitty reminder – and these top 10 strategies help me get to that place:

1. Wine: enough said
2. Five minutes of daily meditation: before anyone is up and it’s just little ol’ you, perusing a favorite quote, writing in your Mom journal, blogging, etc.
3. Phone call with a dear friend: to vent, to laugh, to cry – whatever you need
4. Social media break: Facebook drama, blog updates or catch Sportsgal33’s Bachelor tweets…that will crack a smile or two!
5. Yoga: Namaste
6. McDonalds: because you deserve a break today. And pizza, soda, Sour Patch Kids, chocolate and licorice. No reason really – besides to fill your emotional void with food. Don’t judge – it works. I don’t care if I’m a “lady of substance…” – at least I went to bed with a grin on my face.
7. Dance party: even if it is to Yo Gabba Gabba
8. Feng shui: clean up, clean out, clean space.
9. News diet: ignore the Snotorious B.I.G, the predator down the street, the car accident on I70 or what celebrity is in rehab today. According to the media, the world is imploding on itself anyway, so you might as well enjoy going down with it doing something more exciting than cruising TV channels or CNN.
10. Keeping perspective: remember the Four Agreements, delight in your child’s smile and keep on keepin’ on.

Because really, we don’t want Calgon to take us away from this place that all in all, just ain’t that bad. Ok, maybe for a half-day...you know, just to ease the pain once in awhile when it becomes a smidge too much…

Bonus: if you're rollin' in the dough and the thought of dropping a cool $100 or so on a massage will actually help you sleep better than not, I recommend jaunting over to Bijin in Prairie Village. Thanks to two lovely lady friends, I recently indulged in a Swedish massage that, at the time, felt life-changing. Think lavender, fluffy bathrobes, calming music, warm steam showers and relaxed shoulders...plus sesame lotion you just want to tuck in your purse and run off with. Magical!

1 comment:

MerciBlahBlah said...

Aren't the BEST dance parties the ones you have with Yo Gabba Gabba? I love this post and can whole-heartedly understand and agree with everything you said!

merci,
Shannan