I Don't Do New Year's Resolutions!

Good lord, why in the world would I?  I have enough opportunities for guilt on any given day, let alone making a special occasion of it.  Besides, it feels more like a set-up for failure than a motivator.  That's my opinion, of course, and you are completely free to agree, disagree, or be indifferent with it.  To it.  Whatever the correct grammar is.  (I like my sentences fragmented, thank you very much.) However, I happen to be in the mood for positive changes in regards to my life and artistic endeavors, so I'll float a couple of minimally stressful intentions (slash resolutions).


I will find a workspace in this house and actually set it up to work/play. So far I have used the holidays and settling into a new apartment to put off dealing with this problem, but now that Thanksgiving and Christmas are both over, and my kitchen and living room are pretty much functional rooms, I no longer have an excuse.  I have set up a desk in my husband's office with my printer on it, but I have my laptop here at the kitchen table; I have yet to actually go into the office to try it out there.  Why?  Doesn't matter, I could give you a hundred different reasons, none of them really good enough to explain it.  Time for action.  My work table for my artwork/sewing/felting/etc. is a 5-foot conference table in my bedroom.  At the moment it is covered with boxes, clothing, fabric, a shelf unit, and various other items.  I resolve to have it cleared off and functional by the weekend.  And probably sooner.  Strike while the iron is hot and all that.  


I will go find some inspirational stuff from the web to share here and take inspiration from myself.  


Last but not least, I am going to come out of my turtle shell and post a picture of myself with my profile on Etsy, Facebook, and here.  I am really phobic about having my picture taken, so this has taken me a long time to scrape together enough fortitude to do it, but I think I'm ready.  We'll see, won't we?


Just remember, these are NOT New Year's resolutions.  Hehe.  :-}

Have I mentioned I hate moving?

Seems every time I think I'm going to be able to stay put, something happens that forces me to take stock of our living arrangements and start packing.  Usually it's about the environment: too noisy, too small, lousy/noisy/weird neighbors.  Sometimes it's about how much it costs, either due to a rent increase or our income has decreased.  My husband is a freelance writer, so at times when the markets change, like these days, for instance, the writing assignments can drop off.  This time, it's several of the above factors: we recently got a new neighbor in the other side of the duplex we live in, and we are flat out just NOT compatible.  She's noisy, busy, has many visitors, keeps late hours, and if she has a building project (which seems to happen fairly often), she doesn't really care if we're tired of hearing hammering go on after 9 or 10 at night.  Our landlord doesn't seem inclined to enforce the noise rules in the lease, so...what's a family to do?  In addition, work is low, the rent is very high (it's a grand a month), and not particularly conveniently located.  But the last straw really was the electric fence that the landlord saw fit to put around the perimeter of a small plot of trees he's decided to grow for sale, just to keep the deer out...and failed to put a warning sign on the damn thing.  Hubby and Girlchild were out taking a walk around the grounds last week and she accidently touched the fence...and ZAP.  Surprise, surprise.  I emailed the LL about it and he didn't even have the decency to reply, much less apologize!  I was, and am still, completely dumbfounded at the audacity of his lack of forethought.  We aren't the only folks here with children, either.  One has to wonder whether he'd like a nasty little lawsuit if a child gets hurt on his silly fence; and for that matter, there are MUCH more low-tech, people-friendly ways to keep a few deer from munching on his precious seedlings, not to mention cheaper alternatives.  Evidently LL doesn't have the brains the good lord gave a slug.  Or doesn't give a damn.  

Whichever it is, we are moving.  As luck will have it, we got a chance to rent a place in a brand-new apartment complex that is for low to low-middle income families, and we just heard today that it's 99.9% sure that we have gotten in...with a 3 bedroom townhouse for $400 LESS a month than we are currently paying.  With central air conditioning and plenty of storage and good-sized, well-organized rooms, all new energy efficient appliances, off-street parking, and lots of other amenities.  Needless to say, we are thrilled...and now I have to pack up and get moved in about 3 weeks!  Oy.  

Interesting fact about me: I've moved more than 50 (yes, that's right, 50!) times in my life.  Many of these times were during my childhood, but a good many were during my adulthood too.  I have come to positively despise the whole process of moving.  Even thinking about it gives me a headache.  Makes me tired.  Yet...here we (must)go again.  The one thing that will make it bearable is that it is an improvement from where we are in terms of rent, and oh YEAH, my daughter and son-in-law and grandson are going to be living in the same complex!  Yay!  I don't get to see nearly enough of them as we currently live on opposite sides of the county and have to drive quite a ways to visit.  My little grandson is 17 months old and growing up so fast, and I'm glad I'm going to be able to visit with him more, plus my daughter and I are pretty close.  Plus Girlchild will get to see her mother more this way too.  Everything seems to have fallen right into place, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything keeps on moving along positively.  I won't feel "safe" until we've signed the lease.  

It's late now and I am dropping in my tracks, so I will add more in a couple of days.  

Nightowl zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....