Monday, December 3, 2007

Indulging Your Inner Child, Princess and Glutton

I had a long day today. I'm tired. So you know what I'm doing (besides typing on my keyboard) right now? I'm laying on the couch under a fleece blanket, eating milk duds, watching a Netflix movie and skimming my new Self magazine. Why? Because I can. And it feels soooo gooood.

It's so easy—especially this time of year—to wear yourself down to a nubby little lump of stress and exhaustion. You have to make it a priority to relax and do things that make you happy. Even if those things are completely silly.

You may not even realize what things you can be doing to feel better. You may need to stop and take a moment to reconnect with your childhood, narcissistic or super sweettoothy self.

So take stock: What makes you feel good? What would help wash away a crazy day or a tough break up or the stress of a last-minute Christmas shopping trip?

Here are a few things that work for me:

• Eating French toast and bacon for dinner.
• Picking up sushi take-out. Then eating it at my coffee table.
• Reading magazines from the back cover to the front.
• Laying on the floor in front of my heater, whilst talking to the cats.
• Wearing fuzzy socks and pj bottoms.
• Watching Sex and the City. If anyone can put things into perspective, it's Carrie Bradshaw.
• Making lists and balancing my checkbook.
• Eating ice cream for breakfast.
• Reading a good chic lit book in the bathtub.
• Browsing kitten and puppy videos on youtube. Yes, it sounds ridiculous—but believe me, you can't help but feel a little better after the 4th or 5th one...
• Taking a walk through the neighborhood to enjoy the Christmas lights.
• Going through the closet and putting together new outfits. Playing dress-up never gets old...
• Looking at old vacation pictures.

Take the time to indulge yourself with little things here and there, and the bigger stuff just might feel a bit easier to handle.

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