Ban the word someday from your vocabulary

I’m a member of the Procrastinators of Pleasure Club. You probably are too. If you’re not sure, check this out and then come back here. Go ahead, I’ll wait. (hold music playing)

Ok, good your back. So we both agree that we need to revoke our membership in this misguided club, right? What do we do next?

We must ban the word someday from our vocabulary. That’s it, no more saying “someday” I’m going to…fill in the blank…travel the world, dine in that nice restaurant, have a dinner party, open that nice bottle of wine… or anything else that you have been putting off to someday. Someday is not a day of the week.  It doesn’t exist. It will never happen.  Oh and that includes removing all variations of the word such as “sometime”, “one of these days”, or “when I have time” among many other procrastination statements we often say. If you want to be happy you must do the things that bring you joy today.  No more delaying happiness. Are you ready? Yes? Me too!

Next we must identify the things that bring us pleasure which we have been putting off to “someday”. You need to visualize here.  What does your “happy” look like?

You see, we are all searching for happiness and life balance in our lives and that means different things to each of us. However, I believe one thing is common of our pursuit: happiness and life balance is about having the things you long for in the appropriate proportion that is right for you in your life. It looks differently for each of us. For you it might be more time with your family and less time at the office; for him it may be leading a healthy life and spending less time on the couch; for her it could be having stronger friendships and spending less time alone in front of the computer or it might be achieving career success after years of being a student. It is always more of this and less of that, isn’t it? But in the end, balance is always about wanting something that you currently don’t have. Think about it. When you miss out on doing something you wanted to do, like a fun outing with friends, taking a vacation or when you say to yourself “I wish I had time for that”, how do you feel? Unhappy and out of balance, right?

What my happy looks like is finally doing the things that I’ve always said “I’m going to do that someday”. Spending quality time with my family and friends is the most important item on my list but there are a lot of other things, maybe smaller and inconsequential but nonetheless they are desires unfulfilled, that I have been putting off for years. Things like dusting off my cookbooks and drinking the good wine for example.  Yes, they seem trivial.  Please don’t judge.  They really have a much greater purpose and they all tie together.  You’ll see.

Now that we know what we want, the next step is to have a plan on how we will ban the word someday from our vocabulary and never utter it again so we can finally make someday a reality. But let’s not jump ahead so quickly because for a plan to work we need to establish the accountability factor. That’s where you come in, my goEpicurista friends. Sharing my plan with you will help hold me accountable. After all, I can’t back out once I put it out the world, right? Maybe it could work for you too and we can hold each other accountable.

This is what goEpicurista.com is all about. It’s about making “someday” a reality, celebrating life, sharing great food and wine experiences with friends everywhere I go. I hope to inspire you to do the same. I know that I’m not alone in this pursuit. That in different ways everyone wants happiness and balance in their life. If you’ve ever said to yourself “I’m going to do that someday” then I hope you will join me.

MY TOP 9 INITIATIVES TO BAN THE WORD SOMEDAY FROM MY VOCABULARY AND MAKE SOMEDAY A REALITY:

1. RECONNECT WITH FRIENDS:

I have used the “I have no time” excuse for too long and I realized that it’s been years since I have seen many of my good friends. I don’t think I’ve actually said the words “I don’t have time for you, our friendship is over” but that is what my actions implied. It is time for The Friendship RX and never saying the words “we have to get together someday” ever again.

2. DUST OFF MY COOKBOOK COLLECTION:

I am a self-professed cookbook junkie. I see a cookbook, I have to buy it. I love the pictures of food, the stories and the promise of great meals to come. But guess what? Those great meals never come if you don’t actually open the book and use it! My huge cookbook collection has been collecting dust for years because I kept putting it off to “someday when I have time”. I am starting The Cookbook Review Party and inviting friends over. It will accomplish initiatives #1 and #2. I love being efficient that way. The word someday is banned from this conversation.

3. EXPLORE LOCAL RESTAURANTS:

Contrary to popular belief, there are some amazing restaurants in Central Florida that can rival the best in NYC, LA, PDX and beyond. My Must-Eat Bucket List includes the restaurants I have wanted to visit for years. Some have unfortunately closed and I never got a chance to try them. I intend to make my delicious bucket list happen. Plus, guess what? I plan to use this as an “excuse” to get together with friends I haven’t seen in a while. So when I call and say “You want to go check out this restaurant with me?” I hope you will say Yes! Do you have a restaurant bucket list? Please share it and let’s compare notes.

4. DRINK THE GOOD WINE:

My wine coolers are full of fantastic wines patiently waiting for “someday” when that special occasion arrives. No more waiting! Every day is a special occasion for good wine so last night we opened a nice bottle of Iron Horse Champagne for no reason at all. Well, we justified it because we were watching the series finale of a favorite TV show. If you need a reason, that was reason enough and it felt good! Wine tastings with friends are on the agenda each month. Who wants to come over?

5. EAT LOCAL:

I was reminded how great it is to eat local products and know where your food is coming from while in my hometown of Portland Oregon this past summer. It was fantastic and so delicious picking berries at the u-pick farms, backyard gardening at my sister’s house, sampling cheeses and ice cream at the local creamery, visiting the vineyards and micro-breweries, and going to the farmer’s markets where you find local produce and not imports from South America (how can you have grapes from Chile at a farmer’s market in Orlando?). Now I’m embarrassed to admit that other than the Strawberry Festival in Plant City FL and a few so-called farmer’s markets, I have never been to any of the local farms or seen a real farmer’s market in Central Florida. I hear there are some good ones and I’ve always said “I want to go check them out someday”. Now I’m searching for Local Roots and eating local as much as I can. It’s exciting to see places like East End Market in Winter Park FL open up and hear of local Orlando restaurants like K, Luma, Prato, Cress, Ravenous Pig, Cask & Larder, and The Rusty Spoon among others using local product and taking initiatives like #SunshinePlate. It reminds me of home. That is always a good thing.

6. THE MEAL PLAN:

So often I resort to making the same dishes over and over again instead of using my cookbooks. Why? Because I have no time to look at the recipe, make a list of the ingredients and then go shopping. But wait! I’m already going to the store so I just need to think ahead a bit more. This bit of pre-planning also helps introduce new fresh ingredients to your weekly meals and who doesn’t love variety? I was introduced to this really handy and crafty “menu planner” by local DIY blogger The Thinking Closet and it inspired me to do something similar. I will let you know how it turns out.

7. BE A TOURIST IN MY OWN BACK YARD:

I love traveling and exploring new places. In 2012, over 57 million people visited Orlando from all over the world according to Visit Orlando. I’m lucky I get to explore this great city without traveling farwhich is a big savings in airfare, hotel, and car rental. I love spending the day at the theme parks because it feels like an escape, a mini-vacation. When other park goers ask where I’m from, expecting the response to be some far off place, I say “15 minutes down the road”. I know they’re a bit jealous. Yet I rarely go to the parks despite having annual passes because of that whole procrastination thing. Plus Central Florida offers much more than just theme parks. There are so many other attractions I intend to discover. How about you? Have you put off visiting your area attractions to “someday”? You don’t have to wait until you have guests from out of town. Ban the word someday from your vocabulary and go explore your hometown today.

8. SEE THE WORLD:

My love of travel was instilled by my mother, a travel agent and tourism pioneer in the Caribbean. I enjoy learning about different cultures, their people, their food and their traditions. It enriches my life in a special way. Vacation travel is one of the most common pleasures we put off to someday. I want to get out there and see more of our world because sometimes you just need to get out of town. I’m starting in the USA this year with trips to Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Portland. I’ve been to these cities before but it will be fun to rediscover them. There is so much to see. Plus, I see more Florida road trips in my future as I look to “eat local”. I’m multi-tasking again!

9. EAT MORE ICE CREAM:

Most people are saying “eat healthy” this time of year and you may hate me for this initiative but let me explain. I am an ice cream-aholic. I have never met an ice cream flavor I didn’t like. My friends know I NEVER turn down ice cream. For years I have suppressed my ice cream urges because of the whole “eating healthy” thing. But no more. I re-discovered my passion for good, scratch that, GREAT ice cream when I was in Portland. When you eat great ice cream, not the fat-free, non-dairy, low-fat, filled with chemicals kind of ice cream, you truly enjoy the indulgence and savor every bite. I tried unique flavors like Cilantro Strawberry Lime Cheesecake and Pear & Blue Cheese from Salt & Straw and it was pure heaven. Why on earth am I depriving myself of this delicious indulgence? It may require an extra mile or two run in the morning but GREAT ice cream is worth it! I’m on the Ultimate Ice Cream Hunt to find the best ice cream everywhere I go. Do you have any favorites I should try?

There you have it. This is my list that will most definitely ban the word someday from my vocabulary. They say you must visualize your goals to make them a reality and I see myself sharing a recap of these delicious adventures at the end of 2014. Don’t worry you don’t have to wait until then to read about it. I plan to take you with me every step of the way.

Are you wondering why I have nine items on the list instead of ten? Nine appears incomplete in our world of “Top 10” lists. Well, I like to leave myself open to possibilities and recommendations. You may have something fun I may want to add to the list. If you do, please share in the comments below.

Remember it’s important to put pen to paper, so go ahead and write it down if you want to make your someday a reality. What’s on your list? Share it with the world (or at least with me, maybe your pet and your spouse too)

Once you have your list, we can move on to the plan. After many years as an event planner and running large operations, I know for certain that the only way to make something happen is to have a plan. Without it, failure is inevitable. Your plan must be specific and quantifiable. If you want some tips on how to make someday a reality check out My Top Nine Lessons from a Half Marathon

I hope you will join me on my journey to make someday a reality and ban the word someday from your vocabulary with goEpicurista.

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