Relaxing and Balancing Crazy Lives

As I mentioned in my weekly report, life will be getting busy very, very soon.  The holidays are always big in the Disney parks and in all honesty are one of our busiest seasons.  So, I'm already preparing myself for some longer hours, as well as later hours (I work almost to midnight on New Years Eve!).

Then there's just the craziness of life.  I've been able to buy a house with the help of my parents and they should be breaking ground within the next week and a half to two weeks. Then it should be built in 6!  I'm trying to find a permanent job.  And of course there are always little things like cooking dinner and running errands.

Life's crazy... which I'm guessing goes for a lot of people.

So how do we relax?  There definitely needs to be some balance in our lives and so we need to get a break from everything.  Here are the ways I have come to relax:

1. Stretching- It's good for your muscles, it's good for you mind.  You can get a few minutes or longer just to yourself by going into your favorite spot and working out some of those knots.  With the cooler temperatures I've been thinking about moving my stretching outside so I can keep getting fresh air.
2. Lazy Days- I've been having days were I just sit on the couch and really don't move.  This is my day and I plan on relaxing.  Usually I watch some of my favorite movies, get a nap in, and just completely not care about doing anything.  It really works well when I've already cooked for that day and can just throw in some left overs for dinner.
3. Relaxing Activity- Even if I'm watching TV, I like to be doing something.  So I have different activities that are mind-numbing and relaxing.  I'm either writing something, anything, on my computer or I'm cross-stitching.  These activities even let me feel like I've accomplished something even though I've just been relaxing.  I shared the picture of the cross-stitch I finished before the Disneyland Half Marathon and here's the one I finished yesterday

So that's how I relax... Now balancing everything is easier to write, but a bit trickier to actually carry out.  I'm a HUGE fan of time keepers and I tend to write down things I need to do and by when.  I make sure I'm aware of all of my "to do" items before committing to something.

The biggest help to both relaxing and making sure my life is in balance is that I'm also always getting a decent amount of sleep.  I don't get less than 6 usually, and more around 8 hours.  I'll take naps on my days off and even sometimes when I come home from work.

So that's how I try and keep my busy life to a manageable level of craziness...  Amanda and RunToTheFinish as asked the same question in her blog post here (and it has a giveaway bonus!).