I wrote this post two summers, but thought I would publish it because it recaps what I've been up to the past few years and things I've been thinking about and am still working on.
Fall 2019
Blog friends, it's been insanely too long (and so much has changed since the blogging heyday of the mid-2000s and early 2010s.) My life has changed dramatically in that time period, going from a single gal designing my own line of vintage fabric handbags to working in the entertainment industry to then meeting my husband and becoming a full-time stepmom. All while continuing to pursue creative dreams.In 2015 we moved to New Mexico, which was completely unexpected and made some major life changes including buying an amazing but somewhat dilapidated home in what was a fancy neighborhood in the 1980s. We went to work industriously, while I was working full-time, to start fixing up this home. We cleaned it from top to bottom, planted trees, painted rooms, refurbished the garage concrete floor and epoxied it *which took several weeks), and other projects.
In January 2016 I broke my foot in five places and was non-weight-bearing for over three months and in a cast for almost five months - and that put a big halt to our home reno projects and we have not done any big projects since. It's time to get back to that. We've faced some other pretty heavy-duty challenges since 2016 and spent a lot of time at the VA attending to my veteran husband's healthcare needs. And now we have a teenager with a busy life too.
During that time we've acclimated to this house and routine. I'm glad we didn't make all the changes we originally had in mind right after we moved in. Taking time to get to know the house and us in the house has been a blessing we didn't see at the start. I'm itching now to make some new updates including updating our little main powder room. It's tiny and only needs the walls sanded down and repainted, a new vanity, commode and fixtures. I'd also love to give it a pocket door because having the door open into the tiny room is just a little ridiculous. (Who designed that?!)
In the past few years we had also made cherished associations in our new community. We have been blessed to have amazing friends who are really more like family to us here. Kiddo loves her social circle and school here and has been really happy with the move. We are still getting to know the city in many ways. There is still so much to explore.
We've learned to love Monsoon season (it's raging outside with thunder and lightning right now) and learned to gather all that rainwater effectively to water the trees and plants in our yard -- we're talking hundreds of gallons of water with every storm and they often happen daily during the summer. We have rain barrels to collect water from all the spouts coming off our roof and our vinyl pool cover also collects large amounts of water that we pump off to flowers and trees. On of the biggest storms we had last year took an entire night to pump the water off the pool cover. At full hose strength continuously, you can imagine how much water we were able to put, free of charge, on the yard!
It's been quite a journey. I would say that for me personally, it has been an incredible journey filled with some of the most painful and joyful days of my life. I'm grateful for the woman I've become since our move. She is stronger and wiser and healthier in body, mind and soul. Challenge will do that to a person. One of the things I have not done enough of since moving is writing. I have been a writer since I was a little kid, writing stories and histories and fiction all along. A degree in journalism was the perfect fit for a girl with a wide array of interests she could investigate and write about. So I feel a need to come back to the blog and hope you will find new adventures interesting and inspiring.
This past week, as we've gotten back into school and the routine that accompanies it, I committed to take a few days to get a wild amount of rest. Rest is an amazing thing. I look like a younger, more invigorated version of myself .My brain feels clearer, I am more industrious in smaller amounts of time and my creative juices are boiling over with enthusiasm. I am thinking about home reno projects, decluttering, organizing, refurbishing projects that have been sitting around for a while. I've been selling things I love that I no longer have need for.
I'm letting go of old unnecessary energies and welcoming new abundance. There are new business opportunities lurking and decisions to be made. I'm resolving to begin traveling again and get to know my new state and region better. It's weird to live closer to the middle of the country after living in the far bottom left corner for so long. There is so much more of the country that is closer and easier to see from where we are now. We already have ski passes purchased for this winter.
Life feels refreshed and new and I'm looking forward to new adventures in all areas of life. I hope you'll come along with me and share all the adventures in learning that you are experiencing too.
