Quick Catch Up

Here we are a week into the new year and I'm just sluggishly making my way back to blogging. Did you think I'd gotten stuck in a snow bank? It was a distinct possibility. I have to veer off the beaten path out there to find the compost pile, and I do sometimes suddenly find myself knee-deep. Roll on April!

The boys and I had to drop the Captain off in the capital this week. He's gone to Ontario for 10 weeks on course. This, obviously, is no fun at all. But if all goes to plan, this should be the last long separation for us for a while. Unless he gets deployed again, which is always a possibility. But finally, after more than 7 years of him being gone at least 6 months out of the year, he may actually be able to settle into a more "normal" 9 to 5 kind of schedule for a while. Hallelujah to that!!

While in the big city, I made sure to stop at the HUGE Value Village and grab myself a few sweaters and a really nice shirt. I swear, I could've spent the Captain's next 6 months of pay in there. There was a lovely classic Marks and Spencer grey wool coat with satin detail that stopped me in my tracks. I have so many coats, I couldn't fit another one into my closet, but at $25, I was sorely tempted to cram this one in there anyway. They had a massive array of adorable skirts in my size, but I have a closet full of barely-worn skirts and they're so easy to make, it'd be ridiculous for me to buy more. Still, the variety alone was tempting. I managed to get out of there without bankrupting us though, and the kids were thrilled with the books and toys they got to choose. Man, I love thrifting!

The rest of my week has been spent working on my New Year's resolution to keep it simple. I'm thinking a monthly check-in will keep me honest throughout the year, but it was definitely a good idea to move from having one specific resolution to just having a more generalized idea in mind of what I want my life to look like.

One thing that struck me this week is how many sources of low-grade irritation there are in my day-to-day existence. I'm talking about things that aren't urgent, but are constantly annoying, like the clutter on the microwave, the curtain rod in the living room that's been down since Rosemary's Baby swung Tarzan-style on it, and the various unfinished home improvement jobs. So this week, I turned off the computer and started getting to work just dealing with those things--no big crazy everything-must-get-done-or-I'm-a-failure ultimatums. Just looking at what needs to be fixed and working on it one thing at a time and seeing where it takes me. I tell you, you would not believe how much you can get done with no computer to distract you! The basement is clean! The kitchen is tidy! And it's amazing how much of a weight that is off my mind! Keeping it simple is improving my life already!!

Now, if I could just get into the habit of keeping it simple on the treadmill and around the leftover holiday baking...