...first published on the Ladies Who Launch blog as a response to the weekly question, which this week is how everyone relieves stress...
Stress relievers for me, or so at first I thought, was eating big chicken burritos, carrot cake, Sunkist, or tall-half-caff-one-pump-vanilla-lattes, but then I remembered that those things all make me really groggy. Even Sunkist, but the orange soda is really more of a reward, not to be confused with a stress reliever (note to self), as it can pretty much put me to sleep with sugar overload.
Here's my stress reliever list:
- Bikini waxing. I'm not crazy, but you go in to a girl you know (preferably at an Aveda-affiliated salon), under a haze of Aveda candles. If the ripping of those strips doesn't whac you out of a stress zone, I don't know what will. I just always feel really great for some reason afterward. However, I am now lasering, but I still get the same affect. Could be from lots of bubbly talk with the esthetician whose main focus is making you beautiful.
- Salsaing to Estoy Como Nunca by Eliades Ochoa in my living room, a cd I found in the give-away pile of my building and just luv. A great remedy on the iPod on a subway ride home as well.
- Vacuuming with my super compact and fun Eureka to Bonnie Raitt's early bluesy album, Takin' My Time.
- Quiet time. Very valuable. If you live with a boy or a girl or a husband, this may need to be negotiated. I find that bribing with good, cream sauce-based dinners is a good bartering chip to be used against “the game” or “the stats” or “highlights” however “quick” they may need to be on (but try to serve on time).
- Cooking creamy dinners. I invented my 3-cheese mac and cheese after a very depressing time at a temp agency office while testing in Word and Excel when I first moved to New York. It was raining and I didn't want the rest of my life existing in Excel, so I had a little breakdown that involved serious cooking when I got home. Now I make Excel work for me. It knows who is boss and can induce states of euphoria when used properly.
- Jogging. The endorphins and oxygen to the brain is really important. And you might as well buy some cute jogging clothes. The last thing I bought were running skirts...
- Yoga. I don't do it all the time yet, but every time I do, I'm much more centered.
- Backgammon. Especially when you beat your live-in boyfriend or girlfriend or husband. Unless you lose because you're watching Men in Trees.
I have to go serve that creamy dinner now, but you get the drift.
