Feeling the HEAT and Missing LIFE (A.k.a Beautiful Sunrise)

I need to stop trying to make everything perfect.

Does anyone else have that problem, especially as a teacher?

(crickets)*

Ohhh stop, it AIN'T just me...is it?

Pretty sure I ain't the only one with this problem but that's fine, 

I ain't

scared to let it all hang out....

...but when the HECK am I going to let it go?

Let go of striving for perfection of course!

I needed to look out the window that morning,

(instead of the window to my Google Docs)

and just ENJOY the beautiful sunrise.

What sunrise Lauren?

(The one I am missing in the photo below because I am too worked up,

stressed out,

 or just plain too tired to know what is happening around me.)

Sick.

I'm turning into a tired, old, mare...and it's not even October.

Oh-la-la!

Why Don't We Have A Coffee Appreciation WEEK?!?

Is it just me or do I come up with the most BRILLIANT ideas?

(Especially in the morning...while drinking COFFEE)

So what's your big idea Lauren?

AN OFFICIAL COFFEE 

APPRECIATION WEEK.

Has it been done before?

Not sure. Perhaps. 

Well, most likely but stop killing my creative buss people!

Can this be done?

YES.

(Even if it has already been done it should be celebrated again by THIS guy!)

When will this be done?

During a time of GREAT need and utter importance.... report card writing period?

(Because the world should revolve around teachers, clearly!)

How will this special event take shape?

Wow. Not sure yet, idea is still shaping in my head.

(The me some slack, would ya? Shesssh)

Helloooooo, my handsome little man.

How YA doin'?

Okay-okay.

I may be a little obsessed but facts are facts.

Coffee is delicious.

Coffee is important.

Coffee needs to be celebrated.

Working on the plans in my head, will get back to you with invites.

So...yeah.

NAILED THAT RANDOM THOUGHT. 

What Do the "signs" Say About YOU?

I've discovered something today.

I'm a little obsessed with signs.

No.

I DID NOT know this about myself...but more importantly.

What do you think it means?

No, really.

It's a curious thing looking at all these "signs" and wondering...what? Why Lauren?

I have INTRIGUED myself.

For example, take a look...

Ummm, sure?

Best poster at a PARTY ever!

(Well done Huge, well done!)

Not sure what it means but I knew it was important...right Merve?

This is DEFINITELY a sign for me....a sign that it's time for a COFEE BREAK!

(Even while writing a blog, coffee breaks are necessary!)

Not arguing with that sign - HA!

Love to get this painted on my wall...and then perhaps move the following year.

Right Peter?

Still so confused by this...sigh*

(I mean really, can you write that on the streets of Toronto?

Apparently YES, yes you can.

Get over it Lo, you are getting old! Kids are different these days!)

~COFFEE BREAK TIME in REAL TIME

WHILE WRITING BLOG~

Ahhh another great sign....gotta love the curls.

A sign from my childhood...oh the hours spent in that magical place at the end of 

my street with too many Sherwood brothers and sisters to count.

Double sigh*

Did somebody say COFFEE?

OHHHhhhh ponies...the most precious animals in the world.

Pure magic.

Clearly, from this sign I want to be a farmer.

Subconsciously of course....what?

It's TRUE!

Or maybe I want to be a camp counselor?

A camper?

Really Lauren???

YUP.

It's official.

SEND ME BACK TO CAMP MOM!

(Clearly I want to be a camper all over again, I got all the Jenga Games to prove it!)

Couldn't agree with you more...MY WORLD YO!

Not sure what I like more about THIS sign.

The name?

The man in the chair?

The little, square chair outside?

The old-style curtains?

The fact that it was taken in Istanbul?

Who knows.

One of the few times in my life that I was actually 

HAPPY-SCARED

Butterflies tinkled my tummy the whole time.

Good to be scared like this every once and a while.

Fact.

NOW that is a SIGN!

(Wish I saw more of it...gotta get THAT going again!)

Not sure WHAT I thought when I saw this sign.

Too many emotions - too close to home.

Still processing.

Whoa.

Only in Hanoi would you find a restaurant called Pépé!

(And a fabulous hair place right in the same building)

I am pretty sure THIS describes me best...just wish I knew what it meant.

To SUM up?

What the HECK does that all mean?

(I have no friggin' idea - that's what!)

I will have to ask my better half, what this all means.

Rhiannon, what do you think?

(crickets)

Fair enough.

I can take a hint little sis.

To SUM up.

(Rhiannon's version)

Older sister is off her ROCKER.

The end.

Calling All Interior Decorators~!

WELCOME TO APARTMENT 402 in HANOI~!

(love the number, just love the number 4...weirdo? Yes!)

And I LOVE the doors....two front doors?

AWESOME.

 Helllloooooooo new home.

There is too much light...gonna have to do something about that! 

HAH, NEVER!

Love how much light there is.

(Remember this guy, early morning person)

The view when I wash my dishes.

HELLOOOOOOO stove...we are going to be VERY good friends.

Especially YOU Mr.Oven.

Again, just a great space for working, cooking and more working on the big table.

Sigh*

Too much light.

I feel like this light might need some help...a neck perhaps?

View from the windows....and kinda the same view from balcony.

ROOM!?! 

Oh yeah.

For when I sit down and put my my make-up that will peel off in 2.2 seconds

once outside...yes, it's THAT hot!

WEIRD, old, glass doors....too FUN!

Me dancing.

Typical.

Pretty happy to be in a "home" at last.

Now all I have to do is WAIT for shipment.

So...yeah.

It's A Pooh Calendar Kind-A-Day

So.

Workload is getting heavy.

Lauren is drinking too much coffee.

Alarm is going off earlier and earlier in the mornings.

(Didn't you just do a blog post on balance? Really Lauren, really?)

The results? 

Blog posts are getting less frequent and more silly.

WHAT TO DO?  

Go back to the basics Lauren.

Poo.

What does today's POOH calendar tell us?

A Hot Cup of Mud

The world's most expensive coffee, 

costing hundreds of dollars a pound, 

is civet coffee.

Treasured by gourmets, 

it is gathered from the feces of civets, 

catlike animals.

(You mean this guy? Whoa!)

Civets consume

coffee cherries which them ferment in their stomachs,

then poop out the fermented coffee bean.

The resulting brew is said

to be exceptionally smooth.

Ummm.

Naw.

Not buying it.

(literally not purchasing the items nor 

do I believe these coffee connoisseurs)

So...yeah.

Ms.Wells'sss Work Life Balance (Short Image Version)

HECK NO I do not have work life balance  but who does?

Well, then PASS ALONG THE RECIPE - would ya?

Been looking for it for years.
Sigh*
Never did find it.

First ingredient to finding work/life balance?

Things that WE love vs. Things that WE don't like as much

Hmmmm.

What if I feel equally torn between the two?

Meaning I love work

(which is what most people don't like)

AND

and love doing things that I also love to do outside of work

(Example? Long runs, getting lost often and

ultimately exercising with a fatal twist to each workout - HAH!)

Okay.

Let's take a different approach.

What kinda SKILLS do you got?

Self-discipline is always a tough one for me.

Too many ideas, too many activities to do which

I can't seem to let go.

Maybe laughing about it all (not having balance that is) would be better?

Help me let go?

Be less stressed?

Less pressure?

Can you be searching for that balance, 

trialling-failing-trying again 

WHILE having fun?

(Like stealing Candy from a baby like this guy is doing?)

Hmmm.

Or what if you decide that it's OKAY to be unbalanced for a little while...

...then slowly put your other foot down.

Hmmm.

Is that healthy?

Or is it okay to ask for a helping hand?

When do you ask? Or long should you wait?

Hmmm.

I just don't know.

If I could get instructions step-by-step that would be great.

Impossible yes, but great to imagine none-the-less.

I think work/life balance is a load of b.s. because....

...there is no recipe, no one stop-shop answer.

It's every man/woman for themselves.

Everyone is different.

Everyone therefore has different limits.

Trying to figure out those limits and comparing is exhausting.

It cannot be done.

Your "balance" comes from you which means that 

experimenting,

trial an error,

making mistakes

maybe making those mistakes twice, three times if necessary

are all apart of your finding your recipe for balance.

Slow and steady wins this race, 

not 

those who do nothing to find balance 
or those who do too much.

Sigh*

Definitely striving for my work/life balance to look 

A LOT MORE LIKE THIS.

Nailed it.