How do you deal?

With stress, that is?

I've learned to anticipate stress during the Fall busy months of my business, but it still pulls the rug out from under me every year. The last few weeks particularly because I'm prepping for my husband and I to go to D.C. on Thursday. For some reason I get very stressed out before I go out of town. Anyone else?

My problem being, that I know I will enjoy the trip WAY MORE if I leave caught up on work. Oh, AND have my house clean. When you add all of these elements together...I'm running around like a crazy person trying to get everything done. Why do I feel the need to have my house clean when I leave? I mean, I know why, I want to come home to it clean. But what is the deal with that? I don't come home to it clean when I leave to run to the store?!

My question is this...what do you do to relieve your stress? I mean little things, like at the end of the day. Read? Watch TV? Get your nails done? Have a stiff drink? And also, how do you deal with the stress of a lot to do? Do you make a list? Start with little things and work up, or start with big things and work down? Just crawl in bed and take a nap? (tempting) My natural response is too shut down when pressure overwhelms me. I fight that because obviously I have too.

It's during times like these that I remember back to being a teenager and wanting nothing more than to be an adult so my life would be awesome! What are we thinking then?

Please don't leave!

I want to apologize for the recent and future lack of posts here on this blog. I love that so many of you obviously check in and comment! I love you!!!! However, my "pay the bills job" as a photographer is getting into it's CRAZY season. Therefore my writing takes a serious backseat. I'm not going to quit posting altogether, but definitely less frequently. So please still check in....I don't want to lose you!

Now think of me as I come into the season of stress, christmas card design, endless hours of back and forth emailing and WAY TOO MUCH TIME in Photoshop. Phew. I'm already tired. I'll be so happy when it's Thanksgiving!! :) (The beauty is that January and February are very slow.... lots of coffee, cozy reading and writing! yay!)

All right Stop, Collaberate and Listen....

I'm sorry about that. My only excuse is that the DJ at Saturdays wedding played that song (?) and I have NOT been able to get it out of my head. I've sang that line to my poor dog about 10 times since Saturday. It's not pretty. (Don't even pretend you didn't know EXACTLY where that line came from peeps!)

Moving on.

I've learned a few things these past 48 DAYS THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN READING. I'd like to share them with you.

1. It's confirmed. I read too much. Yes, I really do. The past few weeks I have had so much time vacant it's unbelievable. Have I filled that vacant time with writing? NO. We'll get to that later.

2. One addiction is cured by replacing it with another. One word. Pinterest.

3. I enjoy other things besides reading. I rediscovered other sides of myself long forgotten.

4. I get a lot more sleep when I don't read. No surprise.

5. Setting unobtainable goals does not help, it is detrimental. It creates, at least for me, a viscous cycle of failure, self loathing, and avoidance. Not good.

6. Linking my ability to read with my writing is just straight up dumb. I can't write without reading. The longer I went without reading, the less I wanted to write. It was like telling a runner, "You can't wear you fancy running shoes until you can run a 10K!". It was a stupid mistake. I shall never make it again.

7. I do have the ability to NOT read if necessary. This surprised me. I am stronger than I realized.

8. I will be reading soon. Maybe tonight, maybe this weekend. But soon.

In the meantime, I will be frying MC's like a pound of bacon.