Rejuvenation

At 5:00 p.m. tomorrow I will officially be on vacation and it couldn't have come at a better time. I need to get away. Events that have taken place over the last few months have just sucked the life out of me. Changes in management, sudden resignations, just a bunch of things that make me go huh??? It's just too much at one time. The 9-5 has turned into a 24-7 and enough is enough.

I'm going to kick off the vacation with a weekend in the country.

Kinda nice, huh? In the past, I've shied away from vacation spots that had the word plantation in the name. Now I see it as more historical than anything else. I'm really looking forward to it. From what I've seen on-line the gardens and the architecture are absolutely beautiful. It's more than a typical country B&B. Maybe because they also serve gourmet dinners and it's very close to one our favorite wineries.

Here's a snapshot of our room:

I think it's the perfect atmosphere for falling in love again ... and again ... and again. Multiples ... nah mean? I have to make some serious preparations for this trip. Not only do I have to make sure that everything will be cool on the homefront but I also have to pack the appropriate "falling in love" apparel. Did I tell you that we have to dress for dinner. Not exactly formal but definitely not casual either.

Anyway, after the weekend I plan on being as productive as possible. I need to do some work on me. I can't let these ten days go to waste.

I'm currently working on a certification for my job and I'm one-third of the way complete. Yay me! I passed the first section with a B+. I'll get quite a bit of studying done during my time off.

Since the vacation ends on my birthday I plan to do a little shopping to pick up a few new fall pieces, new shoes and a coat for the winter. I'm not a huge fan of the shopping but I guess I'll just have to suck it up and do it. After all, I'm only going to be 44 once.

I also plan to watch less television and do more reading. I'm going to finish The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks. This book has been sitting on my shelf for a year and I finally decided to read it last weekend. It's a good romantic story. I also want to re-read The Secret Life of Bees before I see the movie on the 17th.

Most of all I just want to enjoy the freedom of no phonecalls, no emails, no meetings and no spreadsheets for 10 whole days.