Lifestyle Design | Re-Inventing the 'F- Word'

F-Word of the Day: Fun

The F-Word for Today is Fun!

The F-Word of the day today is ‘Fun’. This afternoon is the last day of my English class for kids at the cultural center. I can’t believe how quickly this year has passed – and how much fun I’ve had with the kids. There are 10 of them who range in age from 6 to 12.

So we’re going to have an end-of-the party, and I’ve got a few errands to still run to get ready for it. I hope they’re going to have a lot of fun too – I’m planning some American games, prizes and some homemade cupcakes for them. And to surprise them, I’ve made Certificates of Completion for them – but those I’m going to mail to their homes next week, along with little thank you notes, because when I was a kid, I loved getting mail. (In fact, I still do! I think I’m the only person I know who loves getting junk mail!)

When I woke up at 6:30 this morning, the sun was already streaming in through the sky-blue curtains in my bedroom. (The bedroom is on the south side of the house and looks down into the courtyard.)

The shadows of what seems like 50 or so baby swallows pass the window every few seconds at they zigzag back and forth through the Mimosa, olive and apple trees like race car drivers at Monte Carlo. Lilly (our family cat and my self-appointed writing muse) was sitting at attention on the wide white windowsill, trying to entice a bird or two to come just a little closer.

She was using that “cat language” cats use for birds who mock them by staying just out of reach – if you’re a dog person and have never heard cats do it, it’s kind of a cross between chattering teeth and chirping and includes a wide open focused stare. Whenever I see a cat doing it, I always imagine they’re saying something like, “Bird…you are getting sleepy… very sleepy… you want to come over here and let me eat you…” (But that could just be me.)

As I got out of bed to start our morning routine, Lilly shot the birds one last look of disdain, before turning her back on them, and with a swish of her tail (to show them just exactly how much they bored her), she jumped down and went into the kitchen with me. (She helps me make coffee by rubbing encouragingly against my legs and meowing at me to remind me to hurry up with it, because she’s hungry.)

My windowsill herb garden is growing nicely, and after watering them, I left the windows opened so I could enjoy the scents of mint, thyme, rosemary and basil.

After feeding Lilly, I woke up the kids, and put breakfast on the table for them: pain chocolat – (like croissants with bits of chocolate in them), chocolate cereal, milk and juice. Breakfast, for the French, (at least here on the French Riviera) not only isn’t the most important meal of the day, it’s barely noticed at all. A cup of coffee, tea or, in the colder months, hot chocolate, and sometimes a croissant – is it, and it’s eaten quickly. For most of us here in France – and especially on the French Riviera, our big meal – and one that people start thinking about in the morning – if not the night before – is lunch.

After making sure the kids weren’t trying to pretend they hadn’t heard me telling them it was time to get moving (they were), I brought a cup of coffee and a croissant on a tray into Alain. We have this little morning routine I treasure – while he sips his coffee, we read interesting bits of news to each other, synchronize our calendars, and talk about our plans for the weekend. I treasure this little routine we have for starting the day together.

For lunch today I’m making Ratatouille – a delicious vegetable dish made of garden tomatoes, fresh zucchini, eggplant, red and yellow peppers, onions and garlic. (I’m planning on adding a recipe of the day to this blog too, so I’ll let you know when that gets done, and I’ll add my Ratatouille recipe for you.) Normally it’s eaten hot, but it’s also delicious cold, and makes a great summer side dish – plus, it’s one of those dishes that the flavors get stronger and it takes even better the next day (that’s if you ever get to keep any leftovers! We don’t usually have many in this house!)

Tony and I went to Toulon’s open air market yesterday, and got all the ingredients for it, along with fresh strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, nectarines and the first cherries of the season. And we stopped at the butcher shop to get a roasted chicken to go along with the ratatouille.

So… The ‘F-Word’ for today is fun. When’s the last time you did something just for the ‘fun’ of it? Part of the point of reinventing the F-Words in your life is to make sure that you’re adding in the things you enjoy – whether that means doing activities, hobbies, visiting special places, having a girl’s night out, or doing something special for yourself or someone you love. Fun adds flavor and spice to life – and it’s something we all need! So don’t forget to add a little fun to your day…

If you live in the U.S., you’ve got a three-day weekend coming up. What are your plans? I’d love to hear what you’re going to do to bring a little fun into your life!

You start each day with a blank canvas – what’s your masterpiece?

Marc Chagall in Chagall Museum, Nice, France

Painting by Marc Chagall in Chagall Museum in Nice, France

One of the things I love about starting each new day… or new writing project… or working with a new client is this: I get to start with a new, blank canvas. And that means I get to let my inner master painter out, and get working on my latest and greatest (so far) masterpiece!

Now before you think I’m an egotistical crazy woman, let me explain…

I love using the painting a masterpiece theme – because in real life? I’m a really bad, horrible painter. (My paintings are so bad that when he looked at one of my seascapes – with his head tilted to the left – turned to me and said, “Mama – someone pulled the plug and all the ocean is going down the drain in your painting.”)
And yes, I still have paints and an easel, and try my hand at painting every winter. (Although I’ve discovered I much prefer taking photos and love being an amateur photographer!)

But the important thing is this: Each one of us has a masterpiece inside of us.

And we are the only ones who can ‘paint’ our masterpiece.

There’s no one else in the world who can do it for us.

Which means, if you don’t do it… If you don’t paint your masterpiece – your life – the way you want it… Then it’s never going to get done. It will remain unfinished forever.

And what’s worse? If you don’t paint your own masterpiece – if you’re not living your life the way you want to – doing the things you want to do, and being the person you are meant to be… then it’s like you’re just going through the motions – living a paint-by-number of someone else’s life…

Today you have the chance to work on your own masterpiece – not the washed out, deeply lined and strictly numbered canvas of someone else’s life. But yours. Your unique, one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Everything you say, every choice you make, everything you do – or don’t do – is being added to your masterpiece right now.

At the end of the day, what’s your masterpiece going to look like?

Who did you used to want to be when you grew up?

What did you used to want to be when you grew up?

"My name is Bond... Cheryl Bond... Um... Antier."

When I was young, I decided I wanted to be a spy when I grew up. I thought it would be terribly exciting, and romantic and fascinating (there’s one of my favorite ‘F-Words)…

To help give myself an edge when I was ready to go apply with the CIA, I studied Morse Code, and the latitude and longitude of all the countries, and even started teaching myself Russian, from tapes I borrowed from the local library. And I also started doing some strength training exercises from the Marines, and reading everything I needed to know to become a locksmith (of course, I was mostly interested in learning how to pick them – something else I taught myself how to do.)

And I wrote marvelous, exciting stories about my life as a spy… (“Bond, Cheryl Bond…)

At 18, I almost joined the army – not only did I want to ‘be all I could be’ – but I thought being a helicopter pilot would be a useful skill for a spy as well. Of course, I changed my mind on that one after a family friend who was a high-ranking officer explained that just because the recruiter promised I’d be flying helicopters, enjoying spa days and having lots of time for dating and going shopping – DIDN’T necessarily mean it – I changed my mind. (Mucking around as a mechanic and getting grease under my nails just WASN’T my idea of fun!)

When I was a little older, I started repo-ing cars – cause I liked the adrenaline rush, and because a spy never knows when they’re going to have to be able to hotwire the nearest get-away car. And after getting formally escorted off an Indian Reservation in Arizona, and being politely told I wasn’t welcome to return, I came up with an idea for not only being able to repo any car for my clients – but having their owners happily cooperating and giving me their keys.

And then, after I had kids, I decided being a spy – when I was an old woman – would still be a good idea. First of all, it’s great cover. Who would expect a nice little gray-haired lady to be Mata Hari? Plus, I figured, being a spy beat being a bag lady in the cold, or spending my final years in a nursing home somewhere, where the most exciting thing that happened was sitting in a rocking chair while I watched my teeth soaking in a glass by the bed. And I created bedtime stories for my boys – full of heros and heroines, brave deeds and evil foes…

No matter what job I’ve ever had – or what business I started and later sold, or walked away from, one thing stayed consistent. Somehow, some way, I always wrote. And eventually, I figured out that writing – is my biggest, and longest-lived passion.

And a little while after that, I learned I could do what I loved – and make enough money to build the kind of lifestyle I wanted.

So what about you? When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? What were you so excited about – so passionate about – that you’d spend all your extra time doing it? What did you love learning about? Trying? Playing with?

Please feel free to leave a comment below, ’cause I’d love to hear about what you wanted to be when you grew up!

What does ‘living your dream lifestyle’ look like to you?

Visiting Ross Castle in Ireland

Last year, we took a trip to Ireland. I’ve always wanted to go. And it was so much more than I was expecting! The people are warm and friendly and welcoming. The country is as green as I’d read about in books and seen in the movies. And we got to see so many amazing places… Dublin, Claire,County Cork, Galway, Kerry – just to name a few. This is one of the amazing shots I got to take at Ross Castle… What I really love about this one is the the reflection.

And that’s what I want you to do today – even if its only for 15 minutes. Reflect on what ‘living the dream lifestyle’ would really mean to you. If there was nothing standing in your way – what would you want? Where would you go? Who would be your friends? Where would you live?

Something else I’ve learned is that this life, this moment – it’s not a ‘dress rehearsal’. We don’t get ‘do-overs’ the way we did when we were kids, playing games with our friends. So if you’re serious about wanting something else – something different… If you really want to live the life you know you were meant to live – what are you waiting for?

F-Word of the Day: Fun

You start each day with a blank canvas – what’s your masterpiece?

Who did you used to want to be when you grew up?

What does ‘living your dream lifestyle’ look like to you?

Tags

Pages