(Villas in Cannes can often be rented for less than the cost of a hotel… and they offer many of the same amenities!)

I love long weekends – and here in France, Monday was a day off for us.  So Alain and I ’seized the day’ and took his dad with us, and we went for a long drive, a leisurely lunch, and then spent the afternoon in Cannes.

The 2010 Cannes Film festival has just ended, and, like most locals, we stayed far away from the city until the festivities were over. Which is not to say Cannes was dead today.  Quite the opposite.

Along La Croisette (the main street that runs parallel to the Med), the white tents were being taken down and all sorts of interesting-looking things were being loaded into discreet white trucks with canvas sides.  By the way, in case you’ve ever wondered, in Provencal, (the old language from the south of France), ‘La Croisette’ means ‘the little submarine’ – and not ‘the cross’, which is what many people think.

The streets of Cannes were full of people – students on class trips, buses of Russian, German and Italian tourists, and of course, the locals, venturing out to walk their dogs and enjoy the beautiful day.

Parking was difficult, but not impossible.

The beaches were crowded, but there was still room for a few beach towels and Cannes’ signature blue and white beach umbrellas.

And the restaurants were crowded, but good seats were still available for enjoying good food, good wine, good company – and a little amazing people watching!

So all in all, it was a good day to visit Cannes – and a fabulous day to take a drive along the French Riviera – and I had an absolutely fantastic day with two of my favorite handsome and charming Frenchmen.

Which is just one of the advantages of owning your own business and building your own ‘dream’ lifestyle.  It means you get to ’seize the day’ every now and then, and do the kind of things you’ve always dreamed of doing.

And, since you’re dreaming anyway, why not dream big?  If you were going to create your ‘ideal dream lifestyle’ – what does that look like to you?  Where would you live?  What does your house look like?  Do you travel? Get to enjoy your own hobbies? Fall in love all over again with your soulmate?  Live on your own and enjoy the freedom that comes with that? (Serious suggestion here – if you haven’t already created a map or vision board of where you want to end up – why not?  After all, as the Cheshire Cat said to Alice, “It doesn’t matter where you end up if you don’t know where you want to go…”

We may not be able to ’seize the day’ every single day… But for me, I want to squeeze every last drop of out of life that I possibly can – and as often as I can!  One of my favorite sayings – and the way I try to live my life goes something like this:

My life will NOT be a journey to the grave, where I arrive demurely, quietly and in an attractive and well-preserved body. I plan to come SKIDDING IN SIDEWAYS at the last possible minute, body totally used up and worn out – where you can see what my life meant, because it’s mapped out in the laugh lines on my face and the gray hairs on my head… ! I plan on having a chocolate eclair in one hand, a glass of 2006 Jean-Jacques Vincent & Fils Pouilly Fuisse wine in the other, hollering *WOO HOO! What a RIDE – Let’s DO IT AGAIN!

In fact, if I can’t be a good example, then I’m willing to settle for being a ‘horrible warning’ of someone who lived life on her own terms, and did her best to squeeze every drop of love, passion and excitement from each day!  After all, as Bette Davis used to say, “Old age ain’t no place for sissies!” And since I’ve decided I’ve still got thirty years or so until I reach old age, I’m going to have a hell of a lot of fun getting the ‘horrible warning’ stage!