I have vowed to make The Year of the Mouse a blissful, "just sliding into a warm bubble bath" kind of year —- stress-free —- and try to live each day as if it were my last …… because one it will be.

I began to understand more about how stress affects me as an individual ~~~~ and so I came up with my own list of helping to ease the tensions. Here’s a rundown of it:

          1. Go to the gym every morning. This year, I promise I will not waste my time and money for nothing. There’s the right gym equipment for me there and some nutritional advice to help me achieve my physique and sporting goals. I should learn to focus on the feel-good feeling that I get after a day’s workout.

          2. Spend more time with my kids. Time flies. I don’t want to find myself looking back, then amazed at how quickly time went, and realizing I missed something very very special. My husband and I have promised to set aside time for Woo-Jin and Yu-Na ~~~ dinner hour, trips, homework time and a Play Station or Nintendo DS game in the evening.

          3. Reread some great books on my shelf and find new great ones to finish. I never liked Virgil’s Aeneid, Dante’s Divine Comedy and even Beowulf. I’ve read them in college and I thought I don’t need them anymore. Not exactly! I would love to expose and curl up myself to out-of-this-world philosophies again …. and just put the rest of the world at bay. I will shop for new books that could take me to exotic places and fill my eyes with tears and make me laugh so loud. This can really take me out of the turmoil of a stressful situation.

          4. Get the pleasure of Beach Vacations. Beach therapy is how I thought of it the last time I was supine on a lounge chair planted in the sand of Pattaya Islands and Beaches. I was in seventh heaven then! And so for my vacation plans ~~~ they will definitely have a beach element. Next month, my family and I are going to the Philippines. Fortunately, those cool and shady cabanas with easy access to the sand and the sea are already in our itinerary.

          5. Go table-hopping at least twice (or more  he-he-he) a month. Oooh, I just so love new flavors! I would surely indulge myself in search for authentic, too-good-to-be-true or quintessential dishes. There are always new restaurants out there that could bring me the flavors of the wide world home. How I would love to find the best in town ~~~ bite by bite.

          6. Have leisurely strolls with friends…shopping or (just) window-shopping, hiking, bar-hopping, karaoke and a lot more. It’s always fun to go out with friends. We could also find activities or hobbies which are absorbing and enjoyable.

          7. Sleep early and instead of counting the sheep …. I will try to count my blessings. This strategy takes practice but  then I should believe ~~~ it is well worth the effort.

          8. Turn all my melodrama into a mellow-drama. Life isn’t an extravagantly theatrical play in which action and plot predominate. So I have decided to change the channel to a more peaceful station to avoid blowing things out of proportion. No more tears!

          9. Spend more time blogging ~~ Instead of keeping my thoughts just to myself, I will definitely post them. They can be useful to myself as well as to others.

           I guess that’s it! I just hope that each day of the year ahead will bring us all happiness and good cheer. Happy New Year to all!