March 2011 - Mom Off Track

It’s All About Happy

March 31, 2011 By barb

Good Morning Everyone!

The sun is shining, the birds are singing and today happens to be my birthday. Happy Birthday to me! It also happens to be the first day of my starting Gretchen Rubin’s, The Happiness Project. Last night some of the amazing women from Mom It Forward got together for a virtual book club chat led by Angie Lee and inspired me to read it. I am just a few pages in and have already found so many things resonating with me.

The words of the writer Colette had haunted me for years: “What a wonderful life I have had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.” I didn’t want to look back, at the end of my life or after some great catastrophe, and think, “How happy I used to be then, if only I’d realized it.”

Kristen does a great roundup on her blog each week of her Happiness Project progress and has inspired me to do the same here. I haven’t picked a day in each week that I will post about it, but I will, I promise. I am going to start now.

Happiness Project #1 Started on my 39th birthday!

One of the things I can tell you makes me happy is how much travel and spa writing I am getting the chance to do. Last night I found an invitation in my inbox to attend a fun event in NYC all expenses paid the end of April. YAY! I am trying to think how I can take Connor along to see the Big Apple as one of my big goals over the last three years we have him home is to spend more time traveling with him.

Spa Week is coming up! Which makes me VERY happy. I have an appointment almost every day, April 11-17th to write about a new spa experience. The really cool thing about Spa Week is that you can get a ton of treatments for $50. Which is a super cheap treat for yourself in the spa world. I am going to do things I have never done, like botox and spray tans. I remember the first time my sister in law got a spray tan, she was completely orange. So, I am hoping that has changed in the past 10 years. Fingers crossed.

The last thing on my happiness project today? I am breaking my own rules and actually running a giveaway for the first time in a very long time. It’s going to be super simple and I really hope you play along.

Prize:

One $50 Spa Week Gift Card that is redeemable year around, and it never expires. It can be used during Spa Week as well.

How to enter:

There is one thing I am always dying to know when I get a massage: Should I get completely naked? I undress down to my granny panties. TMI? Probably, but if you want to win you have to tell me your naked truth!

Leave a comment telling me if you get completely naked for a massage or just how disrobed you get.

That’s it. No other hoops to jump through. For you guys and gals that love extra entries I will give you more options.

Extra Entries: You must leave a separate comment for each entry and extra entry-it’s how I count how many entries you have.

1. Browse the $50 spa week directory (enter your zip code on the left hand side) and tell me what treatment looks the most enticing. There are a lot of different things to do besides the standard mani/pedi.

2. Tweet something like: Do you get naked for spa treatments? @chaotic_barb & @spaweek want to know: http://bit.ly/gjXXJn

3. Like Spa Week on Facebook

4. Like Mom Off Track on Facebook

Rules: Open to US Residents 18 and older. It’s your responsibility to make sure spa’s in your area are participating by checking the Spa Week site. Giveaway ends April 7th, 2011 at 7pm MST. Either random.org or The Winner Is Plug In will be used to determine the winner. Read the full Terms and Conditions here.

And the winner is….

Congrats KIA! Email on the way!

Filed Under: giveaways, happiness project Tagged With: giveaway, happiness project, spa

Amazing Example of a Hero

March 28, 2011 By barb Leave a Comment

Last week an area about 15 miles south of our house broke into a wildfire. We have plenty of friends that live in what is known as The Pinery that were evacuated and so we anxiously watched the news for information on the firefighters progress to get the Franktown Fire under control.

I hardly ever watch the news. I find that most of it leaves me sad, depressed and scared. So when this video started to air I anxiously turned to twitter to contact a friend who works at 9News

@MistyMontano please tell me they are not going to show anymore of this horse

MistyMontano: @chaotic_barb my heart can’t take any more of it, but Sky9 is staying over that home #franktownfire

and they did and since everything that happens on the news seems bad I closed my eyes but I am glad I didn’t turn it off. What unfolded was some of the most amazing live footage I have seen in a long time. I think all of Colorado had their eyes glued and their breath held as this firefighter rushed in.

It is an example of everyday heroics. The goodness of mankind and just something you have to watch. Yes, it is 8 minutes long but it is so worth every second.

It’s people like that I inspire to be like. Able to jump in when all hope seemed lost and save the day. Letting go of any fear and doing the right thing. He needs a cape. He really does.

Filed Under: Inspiring Tagged With: hero, news, video

The Photo That Inspired It All…

March 27, 2011 By barb 23 Comments

It’s been time for a blog change for a while. My kids are teenagers, my writing focus has changed, and the old blog, Elementary Spirits, just didn’t feel right anymore. I have been mulling over the change for quite a few months but nothing seemed to feel right. I am a big believer that if you feel like you are swimming up stream, you need to let go and accept what comes at you. It always works out the way it is supposed to, and usually at the most unexpected moments.

And that is exactly what happened.

I was visiting Disney World as part of the Traveling Mom network. I took the afternoon off to hang out by myself. The guilty pleasure of doing what I want, when I wanted. I wandered around Animal Kingdom and decided to take a spin on Expedition Everest, the big-daddy coaster in that park.

And at the very top, right before you think your stomach is going to drop, this is what I saw-

It became obvious we weren’t going to drop over the mountain. Instead, we were yanked backwards. And I thought…

What a perfect metaphor for my life.

In that instance I knew.

I knew what my new direction online was going to be.

It is the same as the direction of my life- always changing tracks last minute cause the path ahead is uncertain, and sometimes scary.

But if you accept that you can’t always control the road ahead, the ride is so much more exciting.

Filed Under: and chaos ensues Tagged With: disney, inspiration, my thoughts, travel

Fun on Park City’s Main Street

March 27, 2011 By barb Leave a Comment

Guest posted originally on Snowmamas.com

The slopes aren’t the only place to have a blast at Park City Mountain Resort. For me, the shops surrounding historic Main Street are a full day’s adventure. There are lots of options in this adorable area lined with stores and restaurants. (An insider tip: For easy and free parking near Main Street, your best bet may be Suede Alley or China Bridge.)

park-city-main-street (park-city-main-street)
Photo: Sarah Sampsel