back to basics

Winter is good for lazy weekends. Because we were due for a night of freezing rain last night, I made sure to get my errands done yesterday morning. And even though the sun has made an appearance this afternoon to deal with some of the ice out there, I’ve chosen to stick close to home.

I’m not sure why I feel the need to always be doing something, or why it’s become so difficult as an adult to simply sit still for any length of time. But because we had some nasty weather last night, I suppose you could say I planned on not doing much today other than reading, spending time with my pet, and doing some cooking. When it comes down to it, this is likely the perfect day for me, but it wouldn’t be if I was feeling guilty about “not getting anything done.”

I’m really working on not feeling so guilty over giving myself some time to just be. I want to live a comfortable life, but I have no desire to be the workaholic I once was. But, there are still a few lingering habits that I’m working on undoing. The thing is, I wasn’t happy as a workaholic, I always felt that something was missing from life. For me, I wasn’t living life when I was working around the clock, I was avoiding life. As corny as it may sound, sometimes sitting back and watching the world unfold around you can make you feel more a part of the world than a cubicle ever could.

My Christmas holiday is officially over. The weather made travel a little tricky, and I ended up coming back home sooner than I expected (thanks to the upcoming weather this weekend), but it was great to see my family. It’s easy to get caught up in the commotion and pressure of the holidays, but after all was said and done, I realized that all I cared about was being able to spend time with my family. Does it really get any more basic than that?

My niece started crawling last week. We all enjoyed watching her crawl after my cat (though my cat didn’t appreciate it nearly as much!), as well as anything else that caught her attention. The gift baskets were well-received…I breathed a BIG sigh of relief after that!

Now that Christmas has passed, it’s time to start enjoying the new gifts…I have some exciting new kitchen supplies that I can’t wait to get my hands on!

Recent studies have shown that plug-in type air fresheners can cause cancer in pets. Like many pet owners, I consider my cat to be family, and the thought that the air freshener I purchased could be harmful to her health is not easy to swallow. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that a plug-in air freshener doesn’t go along with how I’m trying to live, anyway.

Since it’s holiday season now, I brought out my favorite natural air freshener/humidifier. It’s simply an old saucepan that I fill with water and heat over a low flame. To the pot, I add a cinnamon stick or two, a couple of cloves, and orange peel. The simmering water adds steam to the dry air in my home, and the orange spice perfumes the air with a scent that is associated with the holiday season.