Anticipation

I've had a week filled with positive thinking, good vibes, and excitement. Nothing really big has happened, nothing too fabulous, but I found myself feeling uplifted by the smallest things - the little things that make life nice.

One contributing factor to my overall lightheartedness is, I'm sure, the wonderfulness that is November. This particular November, in addition to including my birthday, as usual, also brings with it a number of getaway(s). There have been no vacations or even weekend trips this year, for a number of reasons. Now, however, they seem to be coming back-to-back.

• Last week, our family spent the night at a hotel not too far away, for "Sleep Cheap" - A charity event sponsored by several hotels in the area, where for a small fee, local residents can stay and enjoy their facilities, with all of the proceeds going to a good cause.
• This coming up weekend, hubby is taking me away for a "surprise" getaway, just the two of us. Destination is unknown - I just pack my bags, get in the car, and see where he takes me. He made arrangements for the kids for the weekend, so it's just he and I, with both the time and opportunity to reconnect.
• Immediately following this weekend getaway, the whole family is going away on a vacation. It's an all-inclusive "dude ranch"-type resort, and we're really looking forward to it. The "no electronics - including cell phones" mandate has been communicated to each person in my family, and everyone's on board with this. It's time to reconnect as a family, as well - and this will be the perfect time and place to do it.

So I've had a bit of a "pep-in-my-step" for a couple of weeks, now. Looking for the good, rather than the bad. Trying to focus on the positive and let things go. Trying to prevent myself from getting stressed, but rather, feeling very zen about things.

So far, I've been successful - between a focus on how I WANT things to be, and the anticipation of so many exciting things happening at once, things are really looking up.

Transformation

2012 has been a year of transformation for me. I've transformed by body, my thoughts, my relationships, my behaviours - my life.

This is not to say that I was A, and am now C, so my job is done. More that I was A, then I was B, and am now C, and will continue on my journey in the hopes that I will one day be Z.

I need to zero in on things and focus a bit, though. I've got too many balls in the air - too many areas of my life that I'm working on, to the point where my "self-improvements" have begun resembling something along the lines of "jack of all trades - master of none".

I'm working on several things right now, including, but not limited to:

• My 100 Thing Challenge - for myself, the house, and the whole family
• P.I.N.K. Method Challenge
• Transforming My Marriage, Without Words
• The Secret - Living with Gratitude - The Laws of Attaction
• Recipe Card Cleaning System
• Maintaining a Minimalist Vision During the Holidays
• Living Simply and Frugally

All of these are things that merit my attention - my undivided attention. I felt immediately connected and committed to each of them when they crossed my path, and I believe that staying true to them will allow me to more closely resemble the person I dream of being.

The reality is that I can't do it all at once - I need to prioritize. It's so hard to prioritize between things that you LOVE, though! Which one is less important than the other? Is my emotional well-being more or less important than my physical one? Where to my relationships stand on the priority scale? Some of these involve the participation of others in the family... Does that mean that I should start with ones ONLY requiring me - so I can check them off my list and move on? Or does that mean that I should START with those, since it may take more time to gain their cooperation and implement?

So many questions to ponder and decisions to make as I continue my transformation, and steer my journey into the new year :)