Work Vs. Play

In May I took a class in which we discussed the importance of having a balanced schedule. The teacher shared her ideal schedule with us. She is to WORK one hour a day and PLAY ten hours a day. I am very aware of what this incredible woman does with her time so I immediately judged that she was not practicing what she was preaching. The shock came when she explained that it was very important to determine what the word WORK and PLAY means. For example, anything/everything to do with her business, especially creating a new essential oil blend, was PLAY to her. She indeed was PLAYING ten hours a day as she created her oil blends, taught her students and wrote her books on Energy. She WORKED one hour a day as she tidied her home in the evening.

I realized that:

1. The REAL definition of work is an activity one DOES NOT enjoy!

2. The REAL definition of PLAY is an activity one DOES enjoy!

In the past my children have angrily accused me of playing all the time. I was always feeling defensive because I cleaned the house, made the meals, did the laundry etc, helped with schoolwork and any project that came along, even at 1:00 am. I realize now that my children were accurate in their accusation. I do play all the time because I am able to thoroughly enjoy most of my tasks (thanks Stephanie for pointing out the truth)

I began analyzing my day. I found that I very seldom WORK. My work really only happens about 5 hours a week when I am forced by my family's need to survive, to go to town to shop for groceries.

I enjoy cleaning and organizing my home, therefore it is PLAY!

I enjoy PLAYING on my computer, editing book, playing with photoshop, etc.

I enjoy learning new languages, studying and reading.

I enjoy my church callings, especially teaching classes.

I love learning and practicing everything possible about energy.

I absolutely LOVE learning NEW, EXCITING things!

The things that fall in between WORK and PLAY are making meals and being creative, such as cross stitching. They should be, and in the past have been PLAY, but at this time feel stressful. I have determined I need to fix the problems so that these two activities will return to the PLAY category. I want to change my attitude for shopping and then that will be PLAY too!

It will be a Wonderful Life when I am able to PLAY ALL DAY and NEVER WORK! (See definitions above for WORK and PLAY)

Fresh and Colorful

The world is so full of wonderful opportunities to do really exciting things. Several nights ago I received a very excited late night call from Stephanie. She had found an incredible website created by a very talented lady, The Pioneer Woman, who is/was offering free Photoshop actions. Of course Stephanie doesn't just give a gift and then leave it alone. She took it one step further and challenged me to do something with this gift.

Note: I went to Jennifer's blog and saw all her great pictures. When I talked with her she added her encouragement to Stephanie's challenge. That was the last straw. I had to give it a try.

Here is my first attempt . The picture on the left is the original. The picture on the right has been changed by the Fresh and Colorful Action. Can you see any difference?

Edward Cullen Came to Visit

Yes, you read the title correctly. Much to my delight, I found Edward Cullen on my doorstep one morning this week. He has proceeded to turn our hearts cold each time we see him. He claims to be a vegetarian vampire but ....

On the first day he chose to hang out in the entrance. Amberlyn returned home from school in quite a rush because she needed to visit the little girl's room. When she rounded the corner from the mud room door to go to the restroom she ran directly into our favorite blood sucker. I will never forget her scream of shock.

I made sure I contacted Forrest and let him know we had a visitor. He thought we should invite Bella to join us so that Edward would have someone to fawn over. He moved Edward from the one side of the entrance to the other so that everyone can see him when we open our front door. This was NOT a problem, except that when I came down the stairs, unaware that Edward had taken up a new view. However, never fear! Mae Tae is on guard and keeping the house safe.

I thought that Edward would be most comfortable in the library. He could even browse the shelves and maybe read a good romance novel. I thought he might really relate to Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse or Breaking Dawn.

Tonight Amberlyn was feeling that Edward needed some excitement so she moved him to the bathroom. Her father was the first to be shocked out of his socks when he went to visit the little boy's room. The shouting and laughter would have woken the dead.

Edward obviously felt a little put out because he decided to park outside of Amberlyn's room to get a little rest from all of the excitement. He was in for a REAL shock when Amberlyn opened her door unawares of her visitor and Edward greeted her with his CREEPY smile.

I keep wondering where he is going to turn up next. I walk around the house repeating the words, "Edward is here, Edward is here" so that I won't loose my teeth when I run into him unawares.

Note: Edward's visit is courtesy of Mycal and Stephanie who have had TOO MUCH fun at our expense. They just couldn't resist sending Edward our way.