from snow to sand, baby!

power versus force. i'm sitting here at my kitchen table, watching it snow and attempting to knock "1. blog today" off my "To Do List".

it's not working.

there's nothing on my mind now except packing for mexico.

i've got the suitcases out ... i've got passwords locked and loaded ... i've got kenneling arrangement all made for aunt bea (who upchucked in my car AGAIN today ... if anyone knows the secret to addressing motion sickness in dogs PLEASE LET ME KNOW!) ... now comes my favorite, favorite part.

i lay out everyone's clothes and start putting together outfits and packing them day-by-day. i know on wednesday we're going to XCaret. so nobody needs anything but swimsuits, t-shirts, rockhoppers and sunscreen.

wednesday packed.

next.

a little anal? maybe. but i show up on vacations knowing exactly what everyone is wearing each day. never have we run out of clean clothes. with the exception of JJ, who likes to throw it all together the night before and usually shows up shy some minor items like enough underwear or his tuxedo shirt (which he actually does need).

that's just the way he likes to do it. nothing wrong there. but i have a different approach and i just figured out why i get so juiced by packing specifically for each day. and why i really, really want to knock this off my to do list so i can go get started!

as i'm pulling things together and thinking through what we might be doing ... hanging in the pool ... out on an excursion ... swimming with the dolphins ... burying someone up to their neck in sand ... listening to amazing speakers or just chatting with our friends ... i'm actually already living that day.

i'm visualizing that day.

in detail.

i'm using the power of my imagination to create the ideal vacation, day-by-day.

i'm already experiencing the emotions of being there.

hmmmm ... sounds familiar. isn't that one of the critical elements discussed in "The Secret"?

"visualize your goals in detail. get emotionally involved with how it feels to already have achieved that goal."

admittedly, this is an area i continue to intentionally improve. but seeing that i already know how to do it - that is, i've already mastered it in other areas of my life (vacations!) - gives me access to taking the visualization of my goals to a whole new level.

we vacation. a lot. one of my first "real" employers once told me that "vacations are the reward for working hard. take them. and do something fun."

we got in the habit of going on vacations early in our marriage. with and without the kids.

i love 'em.

i love planning them. getting ready for them. and i consider myself on vacation for days after we return home. as long as there are still clothes smelling of sunblock and salt, i'm still on vacation.

perfect example of The Law of Attraction at work. the minute we complete one vacation i'm already planning for the next one. i expect them. and i daydream about them. i start taking actions immediately ... even if it's just making a file folder titled "next vacation".

well, i just love it when i see real-life examples of the universal laws at work in my life ... especially when i spot it in retrospect.

cool.

ole ~ i'm off to pack!

i'm marking #1 off my list!