Project LMB

Privately, I think of myself as kind of lazy. Not at work, of course, where I am nothing but über-productive, helpful, and quick (hello to any potential employers out there). But on my free days, I generally bear an uncanny resemblance to a slug in pajamas. I can and will happily while away an entire day reading or watching a whole TV series on DVD from beginning to end.

Which is why I was really looking forward to these few weeks, the first real time off (I do NOT count the time spent packing) I've had since I went to Paris a year ago. At various busy moments during the past few months, as I pushed projects and ideas onto the back-burner, I thought, "I will work on that when I'm on vacation in Virginia." The problem is, I now have absolutely no recollection of what any of those things were. I find myself at something of a loose end, not quite sure how to spend my days. This leads to a lovely double whammy effect, in that when CM comes home I am grumpy, and I also have nothing to contribute to conversation. Not a great combination. A full day of being horizontal on the couch might be relaxing and rejuvenating in the midst of a crazy work week—in the midst of other days spent exactly the same way, it's demoralizing and guilt-inducing. A week in, and I'm already longing for projects and to-do lists.

The trick is to not get too ambitious—we all know how that turns out. Now is probably not the time for grand self-improvement projects. I am on vacation, after all, and I would like to enjoy it. But it's funny how, with ample time (and much of it by myself), I can actually forget what I enjoy.

I decided to take a look at my Ultimate To-Do List, which has been languishing unchecked of late. First of all, I added a couple things I've been wishing were on the list, and didn't take anything off, so it's now a list of 102 things (16 down, 86 to go). I'll probably add more as I think of them—100 was an arbitrary number anyway. I need to get cracking if I'm going to finish it all by April 22, 2018.

I will definitely cross off #23 this summer. I'm going to work toward #12, #21, #24, #76, and #83, although I'm sure I won't finish them until later. And I see no reason not to cross off #26 and #36—let's do this thing.

It's easy to start thinking productively on a good day. And today was a good day, filled with happiness-improving activities. I made delicious mango smoothies for breakfast. I worked out not once but twice: once on the treadmill, and once with Jillian's latest. I had delicious sushi and girl talk on Rahree's porch. I got excited about the potential schmanciness that infused simple syrups could add to our nightly cocktail hour, and we now have 3 bottles of homemade syrups in our fridge: basil, mint, and ginger. I read several chapters of my book. I had a long gab session on the phone with the Best Friend. And tonight, there will be Vienna Inn deliciousness.

The slug in pajamas is nowhere to be found.