Working freelance has its advantages, and I used to think one of them was that I could work anywhere. It's actually a blessing and a curse. Sometimes not having a space of my own makes me feel so unofficial that I don't get much work completed.
I remedied that by setting up my office...in our closet. It's a big closet, I had an extra table, problem solved. Plus, the kids always forget I'm back there so it's also become a great hiding place.
Added Vegetables
I love bacon, but I don't think bacon or any other meats like me anymore. I am not going full vegetarian, but I have worked to add more veggies and eat less meat lately, and it's been nice. There's a balance because I can't carb load to take the place of meat or I feel sick, but I have a lot more green on my plate than before, and I'm feeling a bit more energetic. Giving up sugar, unfortunately, is not a battle I've yet won.
Learned to Sleep, for Like Two Weeks
You guys, I was doing so well. I was clocking anywhere from 7-8 hours a night by going to bed at a relatively decent hour and just setting my alarm. I have the twins to thank for this because they wake up at the butt crack of down demanding breakfast and company and a pony, and I just wanted to beat them out of bed in the mornings so I could have at least four minutes of quiet before the demands started. I knew what time I had to get up and I got twitchy if I stayed up so late I screwed myself out of at least seven hours of sleep.
D then too off for ten days. That was great, but it ruined my sleep cycle because we party hard with kombucha and movies on loan from the library. I stayed up so late and then took naps and now I'm starting all over again.
Minimized
My minimizing project is never going to be fully over, but we made major progress this month. I wish I had taken before and after pictures, but I never remember to do that. I would say we threw away or donated about 20 percent of the items that were left after the first big purge, and it feels great. The next step is to organize what we have and control the flow of items into the house.
Became a Newbie
Flow Magazine put out the incredible A Book That Takes Its Time, and I vowed to purchase any book they produced forever after I finished it. I found out last month that 50 Ways to Draw Your Ordinary, Beautiful Life was out, and because I experimented with lettering and drawing in the first book they published, I bought this one.
I can't draw, and I live in a house of extremely artistic people, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying this book. Drawing is so far out of my comfort zone that it requires all my focus and concentration, and that offers me pauses in my day to just zero in on one thing. I also wish I'd taken an art class in high school because drawing is helping me with spatial learning and geometry in a way math class never did.
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| I drew coffee, my early morning love. |
Lived in the Hot, Sweaty Moment
Our air conditioner died in May, and apparently so did everyone else's because no one came to fix it for ten days. The experience was not as bad as it sounds, and despite being slightly uncomfortable and out money to replace the unit, we were pretty awesome about the whole thing, especially considering our dishwasher was also broken and we had just replaced our washing machine, which went out the week all six of us caught a stomach virus and puked on everything. Yeah, we were awesome.
I practiced being mindful and living in the moment instead of wishing away the days until the AC was back on. We had a lot of fun finding places to haunt during the hottest times of the day and finding creative ways to cook dinner without having to use the oven.
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| We might have eaten out a lot when it got over 80 degrees in the house. |
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| Wal-Mart loves it when we come to explore. |
Preparing for D's School
D is attempting two graduate level courses this summer so, if all goes well, he will be finished with this college thing by fall. It's awesome, but it means the next 60 days are going to be stressful for him. D is an internalizer, so he copes with stress quietly until he just carries the outward appearance of death across his face and I finally pry his brain open and figure out what is wrong.
We're trying to avoid that fate by setting up regular sit down check ins where he has to answer a series of questions about his current stress level while looking me in the eyes and not twitching. We're also going to give him whatever time he needs to study until he's comfortable with the material. It's going to be nuts because summer courses are fast and furious, but we're ready for the ride.
June Plans
- Work my way through a 28 day meditation book
- Complete projects around our house, which we moved into ten years ago this summer
- Simply write without submitting so I focus on the quality of my work and not the stress of if any of it will find a home. Submissions can start in July.
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