In the last post, I teased that I pondered stuff while I was on vacation. On Tuesday, when I was thinking about it, they were very clear. Now, not so much LOL. I'll give it a shot anyway. First, some background.
1. I'm not that kind of woman. A thing about Shannon - she always looked lovely in her videos and photos. Fundamentally, she is an attractive lady. She also has a lot of style. Nearly every day, she would post a photo of her outfit which were always very cute. (duh! Influencer - although she didn't ever mention where she got her clothes or accessories.) Her hair is pretty; it's very short and neatly styled. Her makeup is on point; her skin is clear and the makeup is not fussy.
Let's contrast Shannon's vacation look to my vacation look. First, let's talk about hair. I forgot to bring a brush or a comb and that first morning, my hair was starting to tangle pretty significantly. I had to buy a brush so I didn't end up with dreads by the end of the week. Neatly styled hair has pretty much never been a thing for me.
Second, I wore no makeup all week. I like makeup; well, maybe it's more accurate to say that I like the idea of makeup. I'm just not very good at it.
Third, every shirt I took with me on vacation had words or pictures on it, except one. I had a San Diego Padres shirt, a shirt that says Efforting, a Mickey Mouse shirt, and a Jazz shirt, plus a couple of others. I didn't think too much about it until I actually paid attention. All the photos we took also drove home the point. Mom and Lizzie weren't wearing shirts with words or pictures or sports team names. What is the matter with me? I'm a grown-ass woman! What am I doing?!
I pondered my wardrobe choices and realized that although I probably would not ever be a woman who looks "put together", I could do better by being a little more thoughtful when choosing my clothing. I have made a vow not to buy any more t-shirts with words or pictures on them (for now, anyway).
2. Look at the house with an outsider's eye. Mom and Lizzie have moved around furniture and cleared out some spaces to make the house look really nice. It's cozy, clean, and comfortable. It made me think of my own house, and how an outsider might see it. I wasn't very proud of the outsider's view. The dog hair, the dust, the lack of homey touches, the crowded countertops - and that's just downstairs! Don't even get me started on the upstairs spaces!
I pondered on all the cleaning I need to do to make me feel a little more proud, I guess. Cleaning, throwing stuff out, just overall tidying up needs to be done. Mom and Lizzie are coming in August, so I've got a deadline! The real question is this: do I have the discipline and will-power to clean up and throw stuff away?
3. Outdoor space. Mom and Lizzie have a sweet back garden. The front is very nice, too, but the backyard is lovely. Mom and Dad spent a lot of time and energy creating a nice outdoor space. Lizzie and Mom have continued to work on it. Some of my favorite times were just sitting out at the high top table, reading or writing, watching the hummingbirds play in the fountain, looking at the plants, and simply enjoying the outdoors.
I pondered what would make my outdoor space more pleasant. I pretty much let the dogs have the run of the yard, although we did plant a new tree that I really like. My outdoor space is the deck, and what I pondered was what I could do to spruce up the deck and make it more inviting. In the evening, it's pleasant to sit out there, but it's not much to look at. Now I am thinking of some different ideas and checking out Pinterest for inspiration.
1 comment:
Of course you have the discipline and willpower, but you also have a secret weapon: your planner! Just schedule an hour or two on weekends or maybe a quick 1/2 hour after one of your WFH days. Have an idea of what you want to accomplish and then do it. And if you get distracted halfway through, that's okay too!
I'm glad you had a pleasant visit, and I know that knowing you were coming was great motivation for me to get things a little more sparkly.
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