We all know what simple pleasures are.  It’s those tiny moments that sporadically occur where we take a deep breath in and savor the moment.  More than likely it will be short lived, but, if you’re like me, you’ll take what you can get even if it’s only for a minute or two.  It’s those tiny moments that give us a break from the chaos and, often times, brings on some new found clarity.  We refocus.  It’s almost like a mini restart to the day.  The world shifts a bit back on track.

Here are a few of my simple pleasures:

1.  Silence – It doesn’t come often in this house, but when it does, I take it in.  I usually stop what I’m doing, lean back in my office chair, close my eyes and take a deep breath.  Breathe in…breathe out.  It only lasts a few minutes, but I take this time to refocus.

2.  Naps - I don’t do this often, maybe a couple times a month, but it’s my escape from the world around me.  When life gets a little too loud, it’s my mental “mute.”

3.  Yard Work – Sounds a bit tedious, but there is nothing like being outside, sun beating down on me, working up a good sweat and making the world around our house beautiful.

4.  Sugar Free Chocolate Mousse – I don’t eat dessert often.  Once in a while I’ll whip up a batch of sugar free chocolate mousse.  One word…amazing!

5.  Walking – Most of us take this for granted, but when your work involves sitting at a desk for hours a day/night, taking a nice long walk is pure bliss.

6.  Tanner – Our dog loves to play and cuddle.  If my day is unusually stressful or chaotic, I’ll walk away for about a half hour and get some good play time with Tanner.  We both love every minute of it and I always spoil him after playtime with treats and a tummy rub.

What’s are your simple pleasures?

Over the last week, I have been forced to face the grim facts of life; the fact that I will have loved ones fall sick & I will have loved ones pass away. It is part of all of our lives. It is one of the ’staple’ things we can expect, taxes & passing away. Even though some of us are sheltered from sickness/death at points in our lives, if we have any friends or loved one, we will eventually have to deal with it.

While being faced with this over the last week, I have started thinking about a conversation I had with my dad when I was really young, about 6 or 7. He said to me, “Do you know why I ALWAYS tell you I love you when I leave or get off the phone?”
I answered, “No.”

He told me, “In life, we never know when the last time you will see a person or talk to a person again. Life changes at the drop of a hat. So, I want to make sure that you know exactly how I feel about you every time I get a chance to say it. That way I know you have NO questions about daddy loving you.” (It may seem weird that I remember that verbatim, but I do. I also remember that I was standing in front of him while he was kneeling.)

The loves in your life, whether they be friends or family, should know how you feel about them. I have always tried to have this on my mind, but I know that I have become weak with it. Sometimes, I feel funny saying I love you and hugging people that aren’t used to me & my big heart, but I think they should know. We all have disagreements or problems from time to time, but would you want to leave someone wondering if you meant what you said or if you even really loved them? I know that I want all of my loved ones to know that I ONLY wanted the best for them & I loved them with every ounce of my heart.

You never know when the last moments for someone are, don’t miss a chance tomake them feel loved.

Go here to check the standings by nation, men, women, or by day.  You can also find out what’s coming up next and what’s going on live, there are some fun facts about the Winter Olympics too, which I thought was interesting.

Here is the Overall Medal Count for the 2010 Winter Olympics to date:

(Click Image to enlarge)

Go USA!

Bring ‘em home!  Bring those medals home!

Once in a very great while I do take a down day.  These down days usually happen once every couple of months. It’s not something I plan ahead of time.  I’ve learned that planning anything is nearly impossible.  Yesterday was one of those down days for me.  It was a last minute decision.  Although I had evening plans, I had every intention of working and doing stuff around the house during the day.  Late Saturday night I made the decision not to.   Sunday was going to be a down day.  This involved a bit of prep work, but, it was going to happen.

Down days, for me, means exactly that.  Unless the world is coming to an end or there is a medical emergency, don’t bother me.  Deadlines, projects, clocks, unfinished housework, the phone, computers, alarm clocks and my list of things to do don’t exist.  There is no such thing as time.  I simply get up, enjoy my morning coffee on the sofa with a magazine, or good conversation with my sweetie, and go from there.

And, that’s exactly what I did yesterday.  I did what I wanted when I wanted.  I took my time doing things.  I cooked an amazing dinner, complete with appetizers and salad,  and loved every moment of it.  I decorated a Valentine’s Day cake because that’s what I wanted to do.  Dinner was enjoyed away from my desk.  I drank a glass of white wine.  In the evening we watched movies that included a couple of chick flicks.  I sat there with a box of tissues crying at the scenes that always get me.  I’m not sure what time we went to bed.  It didn’t matter.

Today, my crazy week begins, but I am refreshed.  Those occasional down days are rejuvenating.  It’s like a breath of fresh air.  I am drinking my coffee at my desk and, more than likely, dinner will be eaten here too.  I’ve looked over my many lists of reminders, things to do and my odds and ends of scattered notes.  I’m catching up on e-mails.  I’m mentally organizing the chaos to come.  I’m ready.

A couple weeks ago I came across one ad that stopped me dead in my tracks.  My mouth fell to the floor.  Gasp!  It doesn’t happen often, but I was speechless.  There in front of me was an extremely pale woman who looked completely emaciated.  Lay this woman down, put blankets on her and she would look as if she was minutes away from death’s door.  I found myself getting extremely angry.  Why on earth would a company put a woman looking like this on an ad!

This isn’t beautiful.  It’s not thin.  It’s disgusting.  It’s emaciation.  My first thought was that she needs to eat.  I’ve seen women like this and most of them survive on a lettuce leaf and half a chick pea.  They aren’t posing for company ads.  They are sitting in group meetings at an eating disorder clinic.  I want to invite this woman to my home, make her a home cooked meal and get her out in the sunlight.

This is a lousy example.  It sickens me that millions of women who look at this ad will turn around and look in the mirror questioning their own bodies.  They will pick out their flaws and probably not eat a decent meal for a few days so maybe they can fit into a size 6 instead of an 8.  These ads are the primary reason why young girls, teens and women have eating disorders.  Women die because they are determined to look like this.  We should be buying clothes that fit our bodies, not starving ourselves to fit into a size 0’s.

It’s reasonable to strive for a healthy body weight to improve overall health.  I do that everyday, however, I live off of more than a small salad and a Tic-Tac.  I will probably never wear a bikini.  I will always have my curves.  I’m okay with that.  I would rather have my curves than to look pale and emaciated.  Ladies, appreciate your bodies.  Love your curves.  Teach your daughters to love and accept their bodies.  Beauty isn’t a pale size 0 body.  Beauty is a woman who looks in the mirror, loves her body the way it is, smacks those freshly glossed lips and says, “Damn, I look good.”

1.  There is no such thing as the perfect Holiday.  If you are aiming for perfection, it’s time to just let go.  You are only setting yourself up for failure as well as putting valuable energy into something pointless.  Something, or a few things, won’t go as planned.  If  you don’t believe me, watch the Griswold’s Family Christmas.

2.  There will always be those less favorable family members present during a Holiday gathering.  There is no way to avoid them.  From the Mother-in-Law who criticizes everything to the Great Aunt who never fails to discuss her bowel movements at the dinner table.  My solution is the ol’ Holiday stand-by…eat, drink and be merry.  Nothing increases tolerance like a glass of happy punch and a few wads of raw cookie dough.

3.  Practice the poker face.  This will come in handy during those awkward moments when you have to unwrap a gift in front of everyone.  You know what I’m talking about.  You peel the paper off and make your way past the 20 layers of decade old tissue paper to find a bright pink sweatshirt with unicorns on it.  You’re Great Aunt meant well, but someone forget to tell her that you did away with your unicorn obsession 25 years ago.

4.  Don’t be afraid to buy gift cards.  You’re Mother-in-Law might sneer and accuse you of being lazy, but ignore her.  Opting for gift cards will ease the stress of trying to buy the perfect gift for your picky 14 year old Nephew or your Uncle Hank who is a hypochondriac and is allergic to every material, fabric and food out there.

5.  Most of all, remember to just go with the flow.  Don’t fight it.  Very little about the Holiday season goes as planned and you will wear yourself trying to fight the laws of nature.  Go with the flow.  Have fun.  Remember that the Holiday season comes just once a year.  You will get through it.  And, in extreme cases, if it gets too bad, grab your happy punch and go hide in the closet for a few minutes.

Sure, my 21 month-old son wears me out once in awhile. I don’t stay up past 10:30 or 11pm usually. I do like to stay home a little more than I used to.

But hey, I went to a rock concert the other night – and I don’t mean Paul McCartney or Coldplay. I still love terribly offensive humor and violent movies. I am always up to date on the latest technology.

Wait, wait. Wait. One observation I’ve always made about people is that the more reasons they give for resisting aging or growing up, the more they are afraid. So I’m going to stop the list I started above and cut this a little short. I have some celebrating to do.

In the midst of talking, she will stop to make sound affects.  She sometimes make the most peculiar faces.  While making her latest speech, she started making a face that I will never forget.  She has learned to make kissing noises, and while trying to get the noise out she scrunched her face as if she licked a lemon.

I am one that could go on and on about my kids and all of the wonderful things that come with them, but I try not to shove it into people’s faces too often. But this particular instance, I had to share. As our baby girl realized this face was funny, she continued to make it and just enjoyed us watching and laughing around her. Laughter is a wonderful tool in life. I am glad my children are so good in helping us use it!

This year we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving with “sistacuzz” and her beautiful family.  It will be a small crowd of about 8.  I am truly blessed to be able to share my Thanksgiving with such wonderful people who, over the years, have become my family.  Through the years we have shared some amazing moments, been through rocky times when life has thrown us curve balls and been there to support each other when life has gotten a little too loud.  I am thankful that they welcomed me into their life.

Thanksgiving  is a time where I reflect on the many blessings in my life.  It’s so easy to get caught up in the stresses, the rush and the daily routines of life.  Sometimes I forget to take a few steps back, breathe and take a good look at all the good things.  This year has been a whirlwind of unexpected changes, especially the past few months.  Last year I never thought that a year from then I would be tackling renovations, a  new home owner, and moving.

Today and tomorrow we are taking a break from renovations and the exhausting task of moving our belongings from this house to the other one.  It’s our time to take those few steps back, breathe easy, reflect and let the dust settle from the usual, everyday routine.  Although the house is a mess from packing and boxes and totes are scattered in the rooms downstairs, it still somewhat resembles what our home used to look like.   The Christmas tree is lit and I’ve got my favorite music playing.  I have my huge cup of spicy black chai tea sitting beside me.  Life is good.  And, for so many reasons, I am blessed.

Most of you are probably rushing around trying to get last minute Thanksgiving preparations done.  If you’re hosting this year’s Thanksgiving dinner I’m sure you’re feeling a bit of stress.  Or, maybe,  you realized you forgot a key ingredient to one of your Thanksgiving recipes and getting a root canal sounds more appealing than rushing to the store.  It happens to all of us, however, step back, take a deep breath in and slowly exhale.  Take a minute.  Take a look around.  There are a lot of things to be thankful for.

And with that, from all of us here at DealTaker, we want to wish you and your family a warm and happy Thanksgiving.