My Wonderful "Staycation"

I've made several references to the word "vacation" during my recent blog posts.  December has been a stressful month.  Well, more like Q4 has been a stressful quarter.  Thankfully, though, a relaxing vacation is what I finally got.  

For the price of just 4 vacation days, I hit the jackpot with almost two full weeks off from work.  From the time I walked out of the office on December 23 until the time I walk in on January 5, my work life has gone on temporary shutdown. How great is that?

So where did I go on my vacation?  Here's the best part - nowhere. I had a "staycation", which Urban Dictonary defines as "A vacation that is spent at one's home enjoying all that home and one's home environs have to offer."  And enjoy I did.

After a hectic but fun Christmas holiday, I segued into one of the most productive, relaxing and enjoyable periods of time this year. 

I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but here is some of the fun I had during my staycation:

• Slept almost every day until 10:00
• Had the best dreams just about every night
• Hung with my family and hung with some friends
  
• Ran and walked our dog several times
  
• Cleaned the entire house top to bottom
• Created a full year budget for 2009
• Booked our family's next real vacation in April
• Put away all the Christmas decorations and updated my Christmas binder for next year
• Drank some great vodka - Zyr and Imperia (both Vegas finds)
  
• Watched football, hockey and my new personal finance fave, Dave Ramsey
  
• Watched 5 episodes of Lost (in an effort to catch up before Season 5 starts)
• Finally finished 13 back issues of the Oprah magazine. (I think the weight of these equals the 40 pounds Oprah confessed to gaining in her latest issue)
• Made a personal "vision board" for 2009.  (I know this sounds hokey, but I love this stuff. More on this in a future blog post.)
• Organized all my digital photos for 2008
• Got a new home computer, loaded all my programs and reorganized all my data files
• Sold some furniture on Craigslist we've been meaning to sell all year
• Signed up on Facebook (not really sure why...)
• Made a home cooked meal for my immediate family (I don't like to admit this, but I typically only cook for company).
• Smiled every day

I know this all doesn't sound like it was a fun time but this was one of the best vacations I've had in a while.  And it's not over yet - I still have 3 days left! 

Clearing all the crap off my to do list and decluttering my mind and home goes a very long way in reducing my stress level.  

Just what the doctor ordered. And just how I want to start 2009.