Staycation = Simplicity

While I am still a little worked up about the whole Panera Bread (#PluckEZChicken) thing, I have truly tried to be “on vacation” this week and give myself a break. (My Panera Bread post is here – and a follow up from Dairy Carrie is here, plus a spot-on blog post from a veterinarian about Panera’s misleading advertising campaign is well worth the read here.) It’s all part of my plan to do a better job of utilizing my vacation days and really “unplug” from work once in awhile. (I wrote about it months ago in this blog post, too.)

I can’t tell you how many people have asked me, “Where are you going? Anywhere fun?” when I told them I am taking a week off from work. Apparently I had to burst everyone’s bubble, as basically I stayed home this week. And you know what? It’s been amazing, relaxing and peaceful – plus has allowed me to enjoy some of the simple pleasures of day-to-day life. (Full disclosure: we’re saving for a trip to the Florida Keys in March 2014 so there is actually a reason we didn’t plan a big vacation this summer. Well worth it, my friends. I would much rather spend money to get out of Minnesota in March than in the summer months.)

So what, exactly, have I enjoyed so far?

1) Going for a run whenever my little heart desires. Okay, so it’s more like a jog – but “running” sounds so much more impressive. I’m not fast, but it works for me. And not having to schedule a run in between office hours, piano lessons, swimming, making dinner and everything else that gets in the way was heaven for me.

2) A golf date with Teacher Man! While Joe was busy with an art class, the hubby and I snuck away for 9 holes of golf on a truly gorgeous morning. My golf game rocked through about hole #6, and then got progressively iffy – but who cares?

3) Reading a book. And a fiction book, set in one of my favorite places on earth (Paris), at that!

4) Playing piano. The first “big purchase” I made after getting a real job out of college was a piano, which says a lot about how important music is to me. I must always have access to a piano along with time to play it occasionally.

5) Enjoying a sidecar cocktail with Teacher Man on our deck to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary this week!

6) Joe and Earl the Pug are close buddies, no doubt about it. And there is nothing Earl loves more at night than cuddling with our 9-year-old – and vice versa for sure.

Simple things all came together to make me happy this staycation week – and it’s not even over yet! Have you ever taken a “staycation”? If so, I’d love to hear what you enjoyed about it!