I love this post by fellow blogger Joy the Baker. She is in the midst of a grown-up girl’s solo vacation. She took the bull by the horns and didn’t wait for the perfect time - or the perfect guy - to go ahead and take a trip by herself.

Dear Future Joy,

Once upon a time, probably a good handful of years ago, you took yourself on vacation.

This was at a time before you had kids or a husband.  When you would treat yourself to the expensive shampoo and conditioner.  When you were convinced that only super rich people get to own houses.  When you couldn’t exactly afford to take yourself away on a fancy vacation… but you did anyway.

So simple. And so good.

www.joythebaker.com

If you are/going to be in the Los Angeles area next week, please join us the Petite Ermitage Hotel for a Welcome 2010 party. 

While all are invited, you must register.

You did it.  You got through the holidays!

Well, I know New Year’s Eve is still around the corner, but hey, one down (Chanukah/Christmas), one to go, right?

For some of you, it might have been the first holiday season you spent without your significant other; for others it may be the first holiday you’ve enjoyed since your significant other.  If that’s the case, give yourself a nice, fat, pat on the back.

Either way, I’m sure the season brought about a shift.  December tends to do that to us.   As another year draws to a close, we reflect, project and make mental Excel sheets highlighting the plans we’ve made and broken; the tasks and milestones we’ve either accomplished or abandoned.

Please, please, please remember not to be too hard on yourself during this process; drawing a big fat line under what you didn’t get done this year isn’t going to help, unless you also focus on the progress you’ve made.  Noting even the smallest  accomplishment will help you move on to the larger ones.

I hope that wherever you are in your process, you are looking forward to 2010.   I’m working on my resolutions for the new year, and I’m not bothering to include anything that has to do with my weight or martial status….

Instead of a Must-Read list, the Huffington Post has switched it up on us and offered a Do Not Read If You Want to Stay Balanced list.  According to them, there are a few books (some classics) that you should not pick up off the shelves during those first, dateless weeks post-breakup.

I read most of their suggestions in high school, except of course for Love in the Time of Cholera, He’s Just Not That Into You and Julia Powell’s latest, Cleaving, which were only recently published.  I can tell you that no book can make you feel tons better (I can only speak for myself, but the post-breakup marathon reading sessions didn’t do too much for my “endorphins”), but reading the wrong ones can make you feel infinitely WORSE.  Which is not the goal at this time in your life.

Check out the Huffington Post’s list of What Not To Read.

“Wow, this is good.”

That’s the first thought that popped into my head as I read Penelope Trunk’s blog about feeling lost (There’s No Magic Pill for Being Lost).  In actuality, the blog entry is much bigger than that; it’s about that sinking feeling you get when your personal life has unraveled, your career path is unsteady and you’re looking around wondering, “how did I get here?”

If you’re not familiar with Penelope Trunk or her blog, I say get thee there now.  She’s smart.  She’s launching start-ups.  She’s a mom.  And most importantly, she is very brave.  She’s what used to be called an “overshare-er,” but is now referred to as “transparent.”  Call it whatever you want, but she has artfully done what people always warn you not to, but secretly wish you would, so that there is at least someone addressing what we are all thinking and feeling.

***

“When I was in the mental ward, it was mostly girls in their teens with messed up track records and eating disorders. But my roommate was from Kellogg, a top-ten business school.

I thought it was insane that she was there. She was so smart. She was going to be great at work. Her only problem was that her fiancée had just broken off their engagement. I thought she would be fine—there are so many other men to be had. But before I could ask her to explain, she tried to electrocute herself in the bathtub, with a blow-drier, and she was moved to the high-security ward.

That has been on my mind as my relationship with the farmer has unraveled.”

Read the rest of There’s No Magic Pill For Being Lost.