Mojo

Something is missing. I have to get it back.
Where the 'ell is my mojo??
I've realized a few things lately. It is soo easy to get caught up in being-a-mom and waiting-for-adoption-news that you forget to concentrate on yourself a bit! Yes I know.. this is one of the normal 'mom' issues in life. I just never considered myself to be 'that' type of mom. Nothing wrong with 'that' type of mom.. I just always felt I was a bit more self-centered than that and would not fall into the trap. ;)
Soo.. I've been working on completing some of the projects that I've been thinking about for.. well.. for up to 3 years in some cases!! Yes! I have selected paint colors and am going to do a little painting. The taupe-y wall color that is on almost every wall in our house - is starting to kill my will to live.
And my wardrobe? Omg.. it's turning into {dum dum duuuummmm}.. the MOM wardrobe. Jeans and long-sleeve t's. Or a sweater. Sigh.
Color! I need COLOR! I'm finding that I am aesthetically-deprived right now. And considering that I am an artist.. well, that is just seriously pathetic.
I am on a quest my friends!! Time to break out of that winter, blah, mom-mode.. and have some fun. :)) {yes, yes, being a mom is fun.. but it isn't 100% of who we are, now is it?}

To celebrate my quest-for-mojo.. here are a few of my favorite things - no particular category. Products that I love and activities that have lost themselves in the depths of my priority list. Time for them to re-surface.
Feel free to share your favs! Maybe I'll find something exciting to add to my list. :)

• Lush - fresh handmade cosmetics. www.lush.com: Love, love, love their products. My get-away these days is a big glass of vino and a hot bubble bath. Lush makes THE BEST bath products I have found. Try them! They smell so yummy that I put off using them as long as possible just to enjoy the scent in my bathroom! And - bonus - they are all about being 'green'. Word of caution: some bath products contain glitter. Read the fine print or be prepared to shine.
  
• Racquetball. Time to get off my butt and do something fun. Something fun that is actually healthy and doesn't include cocktail hour or staring into my computer monitor. I haven't played in ~15 years, so it should be interesting to see if I still find this to be fun, or just simply painful. I am signing myself and DH up for semi-private lessons. Whether he likes it or not. We can cry about the soreness while sharing a martini. Uh oh, there's that cocktail again..
  
• Wine-Tasting. Yikes.. thought that I wasn't including cocktails... But wine-tasting is also educational and social, so we will allow it to be included.
• Hiking. We've been hiking - Maya loves it. We need to explore some new places and spend more time outdoors this summer. I'm considering a hike with a woman-only 'adventure' company in June (if we aren't in India). It's one of their lesser-adventurous hikes, so it might not kill me. And they mentioned 'cocktails with a view' upon completion! ..see? It isn't just me. :)
  
• Sephora. I love bath products and cosmetics.. and they almost always have great sample pack giveaways. For some reason, I like shopping them online more than in-person.
  
• Michaels. One opened near our home recently, and I have discovered many uses for them. Love their frames - finally I have some of my photography actually hanging in my home! Scary.
• Audible.com. No time to read? Listen to an audio-book while you are working/cleaning/gardening/trying to fall asleep at night. They now have an audible.com for kids. Could come in handy when traveling.
• Date night. A serious lack of {trusted} babysitters has led us to date-night-deprivation. We need our comedy-club outings! We need to visit new restaurants! Heck, we need to visit any restaurant that doesn't have balloons hanging from the ceiling and a decibel level just short of 'airplane liftoff'. I'd love to see some fine-china and have a waiter who is wearing a tie rather than a big button advertising a giant wedge of 3,000 calorie chocolate cake or a cartoon character.
  

So, we'll see if I stick to my resolutions! At least it will give me something to think about, so I don't obsess too much over this pending adoption. ..and btw, we have to re-do a bunch of our paperwork b/c it has almost been a year since it has been completed. Blaaah. Background checks, etc.. all over again. Sigh.
We want to adopt again in the future, but criminy.. I need a break. I feel like I've been 'paper pregnant' for 4 years!!! Count the time spent researching adoption agencies prior to starting the first process, and I have. Phew. I need to put my feet up for awhile!