So the lights have been out on this space for over a week! That's the longest break I have taken in a long time. I wish I could say I am coming back rested and refreshed, but that is really not the case. I caught yet another bug last week which turned into a sinus infection + nasty cough. It's super fun to fly when you are sneezing and coughing, let me tell you. But the show had to go on as I had a baptism and a work trip planned.
Unfortunately, I did not take many pictures this weekend. I have lost my photo-taking mojo. Big time. Maybe getting a new camera will help, but that won't be happening until Christmas at the earliest (I will probably ask for a new point & shoot camera from Santa, aka my parents). I do have a couple of photos to share, though, courtesy of my iPhone -both of which were taken in the kiddos car seats!
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| Anna all snuggled up in her baptismal gown, sleeping away! |
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| Charlie had gotten SO BIG since I last saw him. He's full of smiles and loves to babble and coo. |
I had a wonderful weekend. It was great to see family and watch my nephews interact with each other. I got lots of quality time with my parents as I shared a hotel room with them. The baptism was great - Anna did not even cry (Charlie SCREAMED through his, so it was like a night and day difference).
On Sunday, I took a train into the city, settled into my hotel, and then met a friend for coffee. That evening, Nilsa was kind enough to invite me to her home. It was great to see another area of Chicago and I enjoyed a delicious home cooked meal and had a great time hanging out with Nilsa, her husband, and her son!! I just really, really click with Nilsa, so it was great to spend time with her in their home.
On Monday, I worked from the Chicago office, and then took a 6 pm flight home.
So yet another whirlwind weekend. This has become the trend in my life lately, and I have finally started to realize that I need to slow down. This is hard for me as I do really love my 'go go go' lifestyle, but given the fact that I have been sick quite a bit over the last 6 weeks, I think it's time for me to listen to my body and ease up.
That means saying no to things I have previously said yes to. It means learning how to say no to things without feeling guilty (still trying to figure this one out) It means letting myself sleep in on a Saturday instead of getting up at 5:45 to run. It means setting aside time on weekends for relaxing, reading, and restoring my battery.
I kind of feel like a broken record. I keep saying I have to slow down, but I have yet to actually incorporate changes into my life. It's time to start making those changes! Before we know it, the holidays will be upon us, bringing a flurry of activities with them, and then CFA studying resumes on January 1st.
So now is the time for me to take a deep breath and slow the heck down...
How have you been lately? Do you tend to over-schedule yourself or are you good about finding a balance?
Anna and Charlie are SO CUTE!!!! When you find yourself constantly sick it's time to stop and take time for Lisa. I know it's hard and you feel guilty but this is really important!! Hugs!! Hope you are feeling better!!
ReplyDeleteHope you are feeling better. All that one the go has to be tough!
ReplyDeleteThose are some pretty cute babies! Getting up at 5:45am on a Saturday? That's craziness! Sounds like you deserve some much needed R&R. I hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteYou better follow your plan to slow down! It's hard but so necessary. Hope you are feeling better today! I,too, didn't take as many pictures as I planned - camera battery died at the most in-opportune time! Grr!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. We all want to go so fast and get so much done that burnout is inevitable.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely have had a busy few weeks! But you did get to spend time with friends and family and sometimes that is all worth it :)
ReplyDeleteHope you are feeling better soon!
It sounds like your body is really telling you to slow down so I hope you listen to it! :)
ReplyDeleteAnna and Charlie are so adorable!
It's always great to see baby pictures! We were so lucky to see Anna. I can't believe how much Charlie has grown. I can hardly wait to meet him. Your body is yelling at you for more rest! Hope you find some down time. I know how hard it is to make those changes!
ReplyDeleteWhen you become a hermit to study for the CFA, are you going to look back at this time and regret your busy life? Or, if you stopped planning altogether, would you look back and wish you had done more when you had the chance? Just saying - you don't want to run yourself to the ground, but take advantage of *this* time in your life, because you're soon going to have a bunch of limitations put on you! I say that, of course, while also thinking, "take care of yourself, girl, it's no fun being sick!"
ReplyDeleteOh, and we adore you, too ... please come back again!!!!
I feel like I am pretty good at finding balance. I can usually handle one or two super busy weeks (this week has been insanely busy so far) but then need a slow week or weekend to recuperate!
ReplyDeleteI really hope you feel better soon!
Also I'm so glad you're back. I know I talk to you daily but I still really missed your blog posts :)
I'm glad you are back :) I can't believe you got sick again! I have to see that I tend to overschedule and also like being busy with fun things, but the reason why I am maybe not the MOST terrible at it is because I WILL get sick if I don't listen to my body. I remember last year Eric was away for a week for work and I went out every night to do something fun (I should also mention my cable and internet was broken haha). I was home by 10 every night but I was still exhausted at the end of the week and guess what? I got sick!
ReplyDeleteHopefully both of us will learn how to get better at saying no before we get sick haha
Yes, listen to your body and slow down!! It took me a long time to learn to do that, and I am still constantly reminding myself, but it is important and totally worth it!
ReplyDeleteYou have said this many-a-time..but I do hope you are able to take it to heart and slow things down. Need to take a little time for you and the rest your body needs so much!
ReplyDeleteThinking of you, my sister!
Glad to see you back @ blogging! Missed your writing! :)
I can't believe how fast Charlie is growing! He is so so cute! And Anna is so delicate!!! I want to hold them!
I am so glad that you had fun with your family and friends in Chicago. You have been a traveling on the go gal. Being sick is such a horrible feeling. I hope you're on the mend soon!Love you!
ReplyDeleteI have really been working on learning to say no to things as well. It is actually very freeing to say no.
ReplyDeleteI learned in a class the other day that when we get overwhelmed and frustrated it is usually because we didn't set a boundary. Saying no is setting a boundary. Also, I was taught that we should never defend our boundaries (i.e. no, I can't do that because ....). Sometimes it is best to just simply go with "No, I can't." When we try to defend our boundaries, we often get taken advantage of/frustrated.
Not sure if any of this applies to you, but it really spoke to me, and I have been thinking about it ever since we discussed this in my class.
The photos of the babies are adorable! Love them.
ReplyDeleteAnd you know me, I'm a chronic overscheduler as well. And I put way too much pressure on myself for things like cooking, cleaning and playing the part of Donna Reed which is exhausting at times. I am working on pulling back, saying no more and just allowing myself to time to live, to be and relax. It's a slow process but I'm getting there. We can hold each other accountable! <3
Hope you are feeling a little better this morning. xoxo
i command you to stay in your apartment and read and drink coffee and order take out all weekend!! and anna and charlie are so dang adorable!!
ReplyDeleteI hear ya on being busy. My weekends haven't been as busy as yours, but during the week I am constantly going. I don't know how to not fill my weekdays with productivity. I feel like I need to be constantly working and then I relax on the weekends.
ReplyDeleteI think it shows what a good person you are for feeling guilty. Obviously, a lot of guilt would be unhealthy but a little bit is an indication that you care, in my opinion!!!
I am really proud of you for recognizing that you need to slow down. As awesome as it is that you get to do all this traveling for work, you do so much travel on your own too, and you DO need rest!
ReplyDeleteThose pictures kill me. I can almost feel my ovaries aching.
It seems like you have been heading for this for a while. Now it's time to heed your body and take a little rest time!
ReplyDeleteI am really into my "me" time, so I am actually pretty good at saying no. I do like to keep busy, but I prefer not feeling like I am out of control, so I try not to over schedule, because I know it will actually make me feel worse, rather than better.
But it is hard to turn down a good time. But don't worry, your friends will still be around once you have more time.
What cuties! I'm usually pretty good at balancing me time and everything else, but recently things have been getting a bit overwhelming for me!
ReplyDeleteI tend to overschedule myself---and jam pack my schedule (I actually just wrote about THAT today on MY blog)---but then I usually take a week or two to recoop. For me--it works. I need the "busy" time to accomplish stuff--but then I need the down time to recover. For some reason, I'm not good at just balancing it all out over a great span of time. I need to cram---and then chill. HA! Guess that probably makes me weird :)
ReplyDeleteI HOPE YOU ARE FEELING BETTER!!
You are always so impressive to me. I mean you are busy in every part of life. Not just running or just social life or just family or just work - all of it. And you seem to do it well. However, as you noted, you may not be giving yourself enough of that time. I love seeing babies and new little families forming. Hope you're feeling better and getting a little bit of down time when you can.
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