halfway review － part 1.

A couple of weeks ago, I promised to post my answers to the questions in Cheryl Richardson's "Week 26 Life Review," a journaling exercise intended to help you pause at the halfway mark of the year and reflect upon the positive changes you've made in your life. OK, so here goes the first five . . .

1. What hidden part of you have you awakened this year?
OK, it may be TMI time, but candidly, I've not quite awakened yet but am working to reawaken my sexuality. My husband and I have been caught up in what I call "the household years," with three jobs, two little kids, a dog with irritable bowel syndrome, a mortgage, two car payments, etc., etc., etc., essentially since we began our family almost ten years ago. And while I'm not saying we're never intimate (we did manage to have a second child and all), I'd be embarrassed to admit exactly how infrequently we're physically close. So over the past few months, I've begun doing what all the experts suggest, but what none of us think is really necessary: I've begun scheduling "playdates" with my man. And it's working － no details, but I do feel like a little faded piece of me is reappearing; I feel more vibrant, more engaged, more connected with my guy . . . and frankly, I think it's helped me be easier and sweeter toward him beyond the bedroom (it's harder to be mean to the man who's doing it for you!). OK, nuff said.

2. What positive changes have you made to your home or office?
We moved into our current home almost four years ago, and to date, the only room never fully organized － OK, not even partially organized － is my home office (and yes, I understand how this is a manifestation of me putting myself behind the rest of my family). This summer, I've finally gotten serious about changing my home office from somewhere full of piles of clutter and dread to someplace I find comfortable and inspiring. And the transformation is almost complete － I intend to finish it up by Labor Day.

3. Are you getting your creative needs met? How?
Yes, I feel I'm meeting my creative needs fairly consistently － mostly through scrapbooking, itunes (creating playlists is my passion!), my blog (ta da!) and putting my office together. I'm loving it all.

4. What changes have you made to better honor your integrity?
The key move I've made this year to be true to myself and my priorities was quitting the part-time office job I'd been at since last November. I thought it would be the best of both working worlds － the freedom of freelancing combined with a consistent paycheck. But for me, it turned into a poor choice for both my professional and personal lives － too much to do for both, not enough time for either, and not close to enough money to make up for the all-around struggle and stress. Suffice to say, I'm a much happier, easier person as a full-time mompreneur.

5. Have you added any small pleasures to your life? If so, then what are they?
Just this summer, I've begun trying to schedule time for two small pleasures I tend to put off until there's no time left for them － reading for pleasure and connecting with nature.

Tomorrow, I'll post my answers to the final five questions . . . stay tuned!!