Mindful Monday: Hostess Neurosis

I recently discovered I have hostess neurosis. Have you heard of it? If not, hostess neurosis, is basically when you lose your mind in any hostess situation.  Are you feelin' me now?

I go crazy when I am in charge of hosting a party or having visitors in our home. Even in preparing for my parents visit this week, I still turned into a total spaz. I want to make sure our house is super clean, make sure they have everything they need, and even though I know ahead of time they are coming, I still stress out.  

At least, if you are my friend or relative, now you know what happens behind the scenes or why I prefer not to host parties! When its my turn at the hostess neurosis anonymous meeting, I will begin with "Hi I'm Lendy and I am an outgoing introvert with hostess neurosis." 

Thanks Gretchen Rubin for enlightening me on yet another thing! Take a listen at at minute 21:26, and if you are guilty of hostess neurosis you will relate. 

This made me laugh....

Now that I have coined the issue of having hostess neurosis. I wanted to share some ways to avoid it:

Done is better than perfect.

Do not ignore your Hostess Neurosis.

Host parties your way. 

Plan ahead.

Host somewhere other than your home. 

Ask for help. 

Make it a small gathering. 

Potluck anyone?!

How about we come to you...

A little wine is okay. 

Are any of you coming with me to the next Hostess Neurosis Anonymous meeting? How about we skip on the gathering because we may fall off the wagon!

Top 8 Podcasts

One of the ways I relax or stay in tune as a stay at home mom is by listening to podcasts. I listen to at least one or two episodes during Luna's nap and while I am taking care of stuff around the house.  Also, as I have mentioned before we do not watch television during the week, therefore, listening to interesting stuff keeps me entertained and informed instead of sitting on the couch. 

Below you will find my top 8 podcasts (in no particular order):

Undisclosed is a follow-up to the infamous Serial podcast. Slate's Parenting Podcast is self-explanatory and offers real parenting stories. Happier with Gretchen Rubin caught my eye because I have read her books, and I like the idea of being happier. The Productivity Show provides tips on how to be more productive in all aspects of your life. 

Sleep with Me is a podcast to help you sleep, and I have listed it on my Friday Favorites as well as mentioned it several times. I am not a Game of Thrones fan, but surprisingly it still puts me to sleep. I use these at night and they help.  Invisibilia as indicated on the podcast is about the invisible forces that control human behavior. They tell real stories interwoven with scientific research. It is super interesting.  Dr. Laura is an old school lady with some honest talk. I was almost afraid of adding her podcast to this list but, I like her so there. Latino USA is geared towards learning about the latin culture, but even if you are not a Latino, they have some great episodes (music & history) you may still want to check it out.