R-E-L-A-X

How do cats just lay around all day?!?!?

Recently The Husband and I were watching House Hunters International (we're HGTV addicts) and the featured couple were selling their home in Dallas, TX and moving to Belize. The man said that all he needed for work was a computer and a phone.

At first this seemed ideal to us...then after "the move" the couple explained how they wake up and spend the day by their pool or going into town or snorkeling or some other stress free activity.

The Husband and I looked at each other and said, "we would get so bored!"

After that, I got thinking...I don't think we know how to relax and do nothing! We've been on vacation before (pre-child) and we were still pretty active although sleeping in was nice...which now seems like an indulgence. :)

Even when we go to the gym, I can't sit in the steam room or sauna for more than 10 minutes because I get bored! Ya know...that's just sad! :D

SO!

It's my goal for our family to learn how to R-E-L-A-X (ahhhhhh) and do nothing from time to time.

And in case you need some instruction on how to RELAX, this is what I found on the internet:

Missing your joie de vivre? Knowing the importance of relaxation and knowing how to relax are vital for ensuring your ongoing health and well-being, as well as restoring the passion and joy in your life. Your is your responsibility. Allowing life's stressors to impact your health negatively will end up with you feeling under par in everyday activities and could eventually lead to illness.

Learning how to relax is a key to good life balance and self respect. Restore your faith in the worth of including relaxing as a permanent part of your lifestyle.

How to Relax

Life can be overwhelming and tedious. With a job, children, mortgage and car payments, it can all seem endless and relentless. But instead of working yourself into a frenzy, it may be best to relax. Take a little time to decompress and clear your mind. Only at that point will you be able to really focus on life's challenges and overcome them. Here are some tips on how to relax and decompress!

Instructions

1. 1

   Define your stress. Relaxing is about finding out where the stress lies in your life and being able to walk away from it for a moment. Take a rest. For all of us it's different. This step may cause you to also be blunt with yourself. Sometimes achieving the new promotion is what's putting the greatest stress on you. So, take a pen and paper and physically define your stress. By writing it, you will understand it and be closer to controlling it.

2. 2

   Realize your bliss. All of us have things that make us truly happy. It could be the smile of your loved one or climbing Mt. Everest. Your bliss is something that is such a pleasure, such a joy for you to do, the worries of the world simply fall by the wayside. Ask yourself what your bliss truly is. Then on that same piece of paper where you defined your stress, turn it over and write the things down that you love doing. They may not all be realistic due to time or monetary constraints, but find at least one thing you can do a week that forces you to relax.

3. 3

   Cut off communication. We are so "connected" in this world, many of us are reachable at every moment of the day either via Internet, PDA, cell phone, home and work phones. Being reachable is a source of stress in that it is not allowing you to relax, decompress or get away from the rest of the world. Shut off the cell phone, turn off your PDA, log off the Internet, unplug the phone and simply just be quiet in the moment. This may seem sort of hard. You may find yourself being consistently pulled to those devices that we've all become so accustomed to.