The husband and I usually spend our weekends knocking items off our to do list. However, this past weekend not a single item was checked off. We took our noses off the grindstone and played and partied!

Our weekend kicked off on Thursday evening, attending a special viewing of The Avengers, courtesy of Acura of Portland (a perk of purchasing our MDX). Since we were among the first to see the movie, many have asked for our review. Two words: Good fun! Lots of humor, and it was pretty easy to follow even though we had only seen Iron Man and Iron Man 2. We topped off the evening with a HUGE slice of Motherlode chocolate cake at Claim Jumpers (we still have some leftover).

Friday evening we watched a DVD at home (Jesse Stone: Stone Cold – gotta love Tom Selleck!) after checking out the $11.99 special at Outback Steak House. Well worth the price, and the beignets were yummilicious! (Yes, that’s a word…)

Saturday wasn’t a complete play day, as the husband attended a class to fulfill his continuing education requirement, but it was pretty low-key. In the evening, I decided we needed to build a fire in the outdoor fire pit and try to view the Super moon. Lots of clouds, some drizzle drops, nice fire, but no moon.

Sunday’s agenda was non-stop. We were out the door by 9:30 a.m., driving an hour to attend the church my brother pastors. After church we drove almost another hour to attend a first birthday party for our great-nephew (on the husband’s side of the family), then drove around the block to visit another great-nephew and great-niece (on my side of the family). We headed back home around 4:30 p.m. You know you’re tired when you pass on the opportunity to grab half-price Frappuccinos at Starbucks on your way home. We were ready for bed when we got home, but since it was only a little after 6, we thought we should try to stay awake until at least 8 p.m.

It’s highly unusual for us to ignore the many tasks that should be done on our days off, but taking time to spend with each other and family is important – and fun! Living with *finesse is about balancing work and play. I guess that means playtime is over – time to get to work!

My balancing work and play finesse level: 
Novice     Advanced beginner     Competent        Proficient        Expert 

What’s your balancing work and play finesse level?

*finesse (skill, flair, grace elegance, poise, assurance)