Sitting on the Floor for Quality Time

Okay, I know. I said I'd write daily....but it sure is difficult! I've been busy with my "happiest place on earth" experiment as well as the upcoming launch of our new design of the Page in Progress Box (more on that later).
The experiment I said I would enter into in my last entry was an exercise in patience. Not with my family, but with myself. I tested the theory that I could be happier doing the things that nurture your soul, like getting on the floor and playing with the kids, rather than thinking about work 7 days a week.
The first weekend I attempted this was an emotional bust. I watched movies with my family, spent extra time in the kitchen making meals, and did everything BUT worry about work. But all it did was sit on my shoulder like a big balloon that said "don't forget to call so-and-so on Monday," and "must call Mr. X to get that report back." I felt guilty. I felt guilty that I was putting off important things, and guiltier still that I was thinking about those things while I was with my children.
The next weekend I compartmentalized instead. I actually scheduled the catch-up-with-work time into the weekend and this worked pretty well. In this way, I didn't have to feel bad because I knew I was going to get to work eventually that weekend, and I arranged for the rest of the family to be doing things that didn't require my presence. Alas, I still had to watch the clock and be aware of when I was going to switch gears. So I wouldn't chalk it up to ultimate contentedness.
However, this past three-day weekend I finally figured it out! For our 10th wedding anniversary we took the kids into NYC for three days. This was something I was just waiting for the kids to be old enough to appreciate and I had been planning it for months. I did absolutely no work and I paid 100% attention to each member of my family. We took our time and listened. We talked about everything from school to the extinction of the dinosaurs. And I found a Sanrio store! (I was raised on Hello Kitty.) When we returned, I was revitalized!
What I have learned from this three-weekend experiment is that yes, if once in a while you can extract from your brain the tedium of day-to-day tasks and responsibilities and focus on relationships and laughter, you really can be at your happiest. But in order to do it fully (at least for those easily distracted, like myself), you really need to remove yourself physically from the things that you are avoiding. Then, no matter where you are, if you are with your friends or family you are at the "Happiest Place on Earth!"

The Happiest Place on Earth

So last week I was watching the aforementioned favorite show, The Colbert Report, and on this particular program, Stephen's special guest was a reporter who traveled all over the globe to find the country that is literally the happiest in the world.
While I'm sure there was no lab involved, I am also quite sure that Eric Weiner, author of The Geography of Bliss, used some of the usual benchmarks to determine which popluation, on the whole, was the most content /least stressed. The funny thing is that his results were the opposite of what you might think. When most of us think of a stress-free vacation-like attitude, we picture warm climates, crashing waves, lots of skin, and a fruity alcoholic beverage in the hand. But as crazy as this may seem, the writer actually discovered that the happiest people were those in Iceland and Denmark, cold dark places. ..Other discoveries: Some money will make you happy, but getting more money will not make you happier.
This may seem surprising to you, but really, it makes a whole bunch of sense to me. First, these people are all bundled up under coats. There's no bodies to check out, or fashions to critique, so my guess is that there's much less superficiality going on. Second, and this is what I hear, there is a lot of imbibing going on. Not that they are alcoholics, but they have a binge mentality. Drink like fish on the weekends, then on the straight and narrow through the week. My guess is that on the weekends, they really let it all hang out. No judgements, no tension, just a whole lot of fun. And since they get all of the "shenanigans" out of the way, and I'm guessing forming lots of friendships based on unconditional love, distractions are at a minimum as they progress through a very productive week.
I'd love to try this. That is, not take up drinking as a weekend hobby, but come Friday night really stop the overwhelming, ever-lengthening to-do list, hang out in my PJs till noon, play on the floor with my kids, and make plans to chill out with friends or luxuriate in the lack of a plan with my husband. Come Monday, that list will still be there, but perhaps I can approach it with a fresh attitude, rather than see it as the list I looked at every 15 minutes over the course of the weekend. Because really, what would happen? My guess is nothing. Perhaps I'll even be able to get to those obligations at a faster pace with a better attitude. And how many times have I heard "sorry this is late, Mary, but..." or "sorry I didn't return your call sooner..." Why shouldn't I be one of these people? There's a weekend coming up. In preparation for doing nothing but focusing on relationships and fun, I'm going to cross a few more things off my list than usual before Friday night rolls around. Wish me luck!

My Two New Favorite Men

I have a new favorite television hour. The Comedy Channel double delight of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report (pronounced Colbere Repoire for those not in the know) with Stephen Colbert have in one fell swoop solved an enormous stress-trigger issue for me. Why I didn't give it a try years ago when these shows first premiered is beyond me, and I guess just a symptom of not wanting to step outside my comfort zone to try something new. But really, what these gorgeous men have done for me is really quite something!
One of my biggest stresses is not at all something obvious and on the surface, like too much to do, an annoying relative, or bad work environment. Rather, as is with most people, it is under the surface and is therefore very hard to pinpoint when asked what's wrong. These kinds of stresses don't give us bad hair days or leave us hiding under a desk, but they eat away at our attitude and our health. For me, it is our socio-economic environment. There is so much wrong with the world, so much strife, tragedy, crime, health risk, etc., it is very difficult for me to swallow.
One way I have come to deal with it is by not opening the newspaper or watching the news.
This approach to sanity works pretty well. You'd be surprised how not in the dark you can still be even when closing your eyes and covering your ears. Let's face it, people talk, the Internet is turned on 24/7, and the news stares you in the face while on line for your groceries, too.
Admittedly, this isn't a very functional way to co-exist in society and you do run the risk of getting caught not knowing something important when it really counts. But behold! My new BF's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have come to my rescue!
Now, I know it is comedy, but you'd be surprised just how up-to-the minute their reporting is, and from right here out of New York City! What they do for me is spoon-feed the headlines of the day and week and instead of letting it sucker punch you with "here's more dramatic bad news" as the anchors of nightly network news may be apt to add drama to, these boys have a real knack for not letting me take it too seriously. Theirs is a light-hearted approach that empowers their watchers to feel above the riff-raff of what goes on in our government rather than feel helpless and victimized by it. Plus, they really make you laugh out loud!
You can catch the repeats three times per day, so whether you're around during the day, watching primetime, or are a late-niter, you'll be able to experience the pleasure of catching up on the world while having a lot of fun. Try it!

Can you really Stop the Crop Flop?

Why "The Crop Flop" Blog? The answer is many fold.
First, as this shall be first and foremost my thoughts for fellow scrappers who may have linked here from the Cropperware website, "Stop Crop Flop" was the ad campaign that launched the Cropperware company. It means (to the non-scrapping public), "Prevent your unadhered page elements from flopping around loosely in an envelope" and "Stop stressing about scrapbooking, we'll help you!"
Second, as is the goal of the Page in Progress Box product and of me in life, keeping up with the world and preventing the all-too-familiar feelings and symptoms of stress at bay will be a common theme that hopefully we can explore together. Don't you just hate that by the time Friday comes all you can think about is going to sleep at 7:30 pm?
Finally, I'd like to push the envelope a little bit further by not just finding the secret to living a stress-free life, but by really carving out for ourselves guilt-free "me" time. Not the "I'm taking a bubble bath" me time, or the "I'm going out to dinner with my girlfriends" monthly night off. I mean some real, everyday, pockets of doing your favorite thing--say scrapbooking, writing, talking, volunteering, or whatever it is that makes you feel complete--but without the awful feeling that something or someone is losing out because of it.
I'll try to write daily. And please, feel free to post your comments and suggestions relevant to the topic. I'm sure there are plenty of us that can reap the benefits of your wisdom!