So, a month? Is that too long for an unexplained, unplanned blog break? I worry that it is, but hopefully it’s not. I’m so sorry, dear internets, for being away for so long.
How to begin to explain where I’ve been? I’d love to show you photos, but I can’t, for reasons I’ll explain later…
*We have turned our apartment upside down. It started with “Hey, let’s re-paint the bedroom!” And once we had done that, we thought, “Hey, let’s get rid of some of this junk!” Which then turned into, “Hey, let’s get rid of some of this furniture and find some new stuff!” So for the past month, people, (a month!) we’ve been repainting, de-junking, furniture shopping, and spring cleaning. Every night, every weekend, has been spent either elbow-deep in junk or out and about looking for the perfect bed. Or couch. Or ottoman. Or table. Finally, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We have gotten rid of a TON of junk…a futon, a bookshelf, our kitchen table and chairs, blankets, clothes, games, books, doodads…we are having a tag sale with some friends on June 9th, so it all should be gone by then. We still have a few bits of stuff hanging around, but we’re working on it. There’s a lot more room here in our tiny place now, and it’s so much more inviting to us. Though I’m still looking for the camera USB cable.
*Work has been super-hectic, with lots of new business and not enough employees. Everyone is loaded with tasks and stretched super-thin, but I think that will smooth out soon enough. We are hiring new people and the summer rush should be over soon. Sometimes I’m at work late, and other times I get home so fried that all I want to do is sit on the couch and stare out into space. But I’m learning to manage it all now, finally. I can’t believe it is taking me this long to adjust to working full time. It’s been 6 months already! But I try to remember what my friend Lindsay says: “It will never be easy, Crystal, to work full time and have a well-kept home.” There is just not enough time in my day to commute, work, cook fabulous meals, sew, knit, write letters, blog, clean, pack lunches…I’m beginning to come to terms with that, I think. My little apartment will never be as perfect as my home was when I was growing up, when my mom stayed home to take care of us and make our lunches and bake us cakes and keep everything clean and wonderful. Not if I want to work, too. And that’s okay.
*I’ve started freelance writing for the local Onion, writing little blurbs about restaurants. Believe it or not, I worry about this a lot — something that should be simple and quick turns into an evening-long affair. I want to visit the place several times. I want to find great hidden details. I want to write the perfect blurb. You know me…if good is great then perfection is better. 🙂
So now I’m making a new plan for my time. We all know how good I am at sticking to plans, but let’s give it a shot nonetheless.
1. I will not buy junk. I will buy only what I love, what makes me happy, and, in the case of clothes, what will easily match with black or gray. (I’m horrible at matching.)
2. I will realize that many of the amazing bloggers out there with fabulous crafts and fabulous food may not work full-time, may have more time on their hands for crafts and cooking. I will not compare myself to them.
3. I will not restrict my blogging to just food and crafts. This will be simply a place for me, my thoughts, my life. Though that may include food and crafts.
4. I will not torture myself over making “blog-worthy” food or new recipes every day. I’ve been inspired by Molly’s post here, about eating simply and enjoying it more.
5. I will not feel defeated when my house is not spotless, when we don’t have perfectly packed lunches, or when we go out for dinner because we’re just too tired to cook.
6. I will not agonize over every article or blog post I write.
7. I will just be.
Let’s see if that works.
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