Amen, FlyLady Kelly

In one of the bazillion emails I received today from my friends over at FlyLady.net, the sage words of advice below were found. While I'm not hosting Thanksgiving this year (or any, thus far), she was talking directly to me because that's how I generally operate whenever I host an event at my house. Check it out and see if she's talking to you. If so, heed her words: she may just be an angel sent to save your sanity.

Dear Friends:

It is time for another Holiday Reality Check!! During this time of
year when we are all running around trying to make this the most
perfect and best Holiday ever, we lose a sense of reality and start
drowning in perfectionism! Even when we promise ourselves it won't
happen this year!

The subject of today's Holiday Reality Check is about Thanksgiving
Dinner. Now there may be some of you that don't prepare a
Thanksgiving meal but trust me you can still relate to this subject
even if you are not celebrating Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Dinner..... ahhh the Turkey will be golden and juicy, we
will obsess about it being just right! The stuffing will be perfectly
cooked, not soggy or overdone. The mashed potatoes will be creamy and
light, no lumps allowed. Our tables will be set with our best dishes
and oh wait, candles... yes candles. Mental note: have to go buy
candles. If the dining room is flanked in candlelight then no one
will notice the stain on the carpet or the crack in the wall. Hmmm
maybe I should paint that wall. It is only one wall with a crack, so
maybe if I paint that wall in a complimentary color, I won't have to
paint all the walls. OH! If I paint the wall a soft cream, I could
get a new valance for the window. Ay yi yi the window, it really
needs to be cleaned. I guess I need to clean that first. STOP!!!
HALT!! Put the brakes on! Ok, what you just read was how a SHE mind
thinks. We start off thinking about what we want for our dinner and
then somewhere we take a left turn and just keep on going. Before you
know it, it will be the night before your grand dinner and you will be
on a ladder painting the dining room!!! You will be standing on a
ladder with hungry kids, a husband that is shaking his head wondering
why this has to be done now and then it will hit you!! OH NO! The
turkey is still in the freezer!

DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!!

Let me give it to you straight right here and now! There are three
more days before Thanksgiving, the only thing you need to focus on now
is making sure you have all of the groceries you need and getting your
home ready as in company ready NOT REDECORATING!! If you have not
done it by now, it is time to let it go and focus on what is truly
important. Gathering your loved ones around you and enjoying the
holiday together with good food and good company. Look around you...
if you think that you are not ready for your guests to come and visit
your home on Thursday then go to www.FlyLady.net , go to the table of
contents and click on the link for Crisis Cleaning. Check your
pantry, freezer and refrigerator BEFORE you go to the grocery store.
Do not try and mentally challenge yourself into a brain freeze trying
to remember if you have cornstarch at home. Write down what you need
to complete your shopping and get it done before Wednesday. Do not
attempt to go to the grocery store Wednesday night before Thanksgiving
and get caught in the crowds with all those people that will certainly
have lost their sense of humor and holiday cheer.

Do not look forward to a perfect day, look forward to a FLYing
Thanksgiving!

Love,
Kelly