I made it back from Ft. Lauderdale Saturday night. I got home around 6:25 p.m., and the family was eating dinner (meaning it was already made!), and then my husband decided to take the three youngest to a movie, so they left around 7 p.m., meaning I got to decompress for a while. This was an excellent re-entry! I started the 1000-piece White Mountain Christmas-themed puzzle that one attendee gave me.
(When people have listened to your podcast for years, they know you well.)
It was a good retreat. We brainstormed our Lists of 100 Dreams, and we figured out goals for the next year, and created a template for an ideal week. My goals are still a work in progress (I have a bit of time before we have to do our annual Best of Both Worlds goal episode…) but I had a few ideas. For instance, I want to go to three professional sports games next year: A Sixers game, Phillies game, and an Eagles game. I may attempt a healthy eating goal, such as eating produce at breakfast, but if I am going to take on a healthy eating goal, it needs to be easy. This is not an area I wish to put a whole lot of thought into.
Other highlights included running along the beach promenade twice, going on a few walks on the beach, and doing beach yoga (though I’m pretty sure I slipped a little on the sand and my ankle isn’t happy about it). It was a lot of fun hanging out with friends old and new. It seems likely that Sarah and I will host a similar retreat next year, though we haven’t figured out the exact details.
I love the beach, and seeing the ocean, though it was then also nice to be driving around in this part of PA yesterday and seeing the amazing colors. The sky was overcast (it finally rained last night for the first time in ages) and so the bright yellows, reds, and oranges just dazzled against that muted backdrop. I wish I could have been out in the leaves more (it was a busy day of driving kids and getting caught up on things) but even just seeing them through the windshield was lovely.
Sounds like a great getaway/retreat! And you came back with a puzzle! Love it! I have been tempted to work on a puzzle. We might be getting to a stage where I could leave it out and not fear the youngest would mess with it. I have a puzzle mat but I kind of messes things up a bit when I roll it up. But it is nice to have to tucked away as we don’t have a ton of counter space.
@Lisa – it was fun! And yep, I managed to cram the puzzle into my carryon – even the box! I started doing them in this house 2 years ago and my little guy has left them alone, but I can also leave them out on the dining room table, which we don’t use for day-to-day eating (maybe they’ll all have to go for Thanksgiving but that’s not for a little bit). Could you use a card table or something? Would you be able to leave that up in a corner?
Any tips for brainstorming a List of 100 Dreams? I have tried to make such a list on a couple of occasions, but I could only think of 17 dreams, and I have since accomplished three of those 17. I guess I am not much of a dreamer. How can we learn to dream bigger?
@Chelsea – good question! A lot of people start with travel dreams because my guess is there are more than 17 places around the world you’d like to visit. Or restaurants you’d like to try? Shows/concerts you’d like to see? Books you’d like to read? Financial goals? People you’d like to visit? Sometimes narrowing the list might help too — things I’d like to do to have a great holiday season – and then just keep going from there.