Winter Holiday

I had already planned to take a few days off at the start of the new year when my brother asked me if I would like to come to Florida to see his team play in the Outback Bowl.  I absolutely jumped at the chance to meet my new nephew and see my little niece again.

When I opened the store on New Year's Eve, I immediately started making a list of the things I would need to do when I closed!  Everything from "Remember to water plant" to "Change Store Voice Message" was there.  After a pleasantly busy day, it took me about an hour to check off all of my tasks and finally be prepared to walk away for 4 days.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the Washington Post Sunday Style section that evening and saw a blurb on Zoe's canned food drive partnership with ALIVE!  And here I was going to be closed for the next 4 days.  My initial thought was "oh no".  But then I realized that there wasn't anything I could do about it at this point so there wasn't any point in stressing over it.  I extended the food drive a couple of days and acknowledged to myself that the publicity was good.

I don't often have time to sit, think, and do nothing.  I definitely took advantage of those times during my Winter Holiday.  Not to mention the gorgeous mid-70s weather when I arrived in Florida on Sunday afternoon!  And my spirits were definitely lifted by having the opportunity to spend lots of time with my niece and nephew!

From a physical standpoint, I do think the time off was good from a recovery standpoint.  My body did not feel nearly as tired as it had felt.  I can't say that I got the mental relief that I hoped for but quite a bit of that is probably self-induced in thinking about all that was upcoming in the next few months!  It is proof that when you own a business, you never really stop thinking about it!

From feedback from a few others down here, it does sound like the week was fairly quiet from a business standpoint, especially with the colder temperatures that set in at the beginning of the week.

As I helped my brother pack up their cars in preparation to depart on Tuesday morning, I did get to show off some Zoe-wear:  LiaMolly Sparrow Sweater, RedEngine Cayenne Skinny Jeans, Chan Luu Camisole and Chan Luu Wrap Bracelet!