Gimme some monaaay

Quick News

-My boyfriend's sister, Maren, is having her baby tomorrow! I'm so excited!
-I'm going to start moving on the 13th (and I shall cease on the 24th)
-Trace is visiting the first weekend of April!
-My work clothes all shrink and I look dumb with my pants not touching the floor.
-This is awesome: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0E004262CCFD6FEC?artistid=1300805&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1

some day the trees will sing

Crap. 

I want to write meaningful things.  I found this website with daily 60-second writing prompts.  I would love to get into doing that but I just don't feel like I can force myself to write.  My words used to be so fluid but these days I just find myself stuck.. or pressured.. or nervous about time (that it takes) and worth (of what I produce).

Writing is so therapeutic.. it can be.  I like to think that it helps me.. and I admit, I love looking back in time to my old writing.  I even enjoy the hideous writings of my tom-boy, boy-crazy, teen-angsty, puberty-confused, misunderstood 14 year old self.  I do.

I would love to start saving up my money for the day someone invents the brain-typewriter.  Or the brain-computer.. where I can think of what I want and then choose to upload it onto a flash-drive.. or print it out onto a small strip of paper like a receipt.  It sounds like I'm just being lazy.. and that's part of it, but my problem is really that I stop myself too often.  I think my brain moves too fast and too unorganized for my hands to keep up.  Damn.

I feel like I know how to make my life fulfilling, but it's hard when you still have to be responsible and so conscious of the things you "have" to get done.. and the things you don't want to do or even think about.  

I've been doing some major soul searching in the past 2 days.. and I don't mean the magical, exciting kind where I strand myself in the woods with just a pen and paper for hours to pour out my raw emotions.  I mean simply and boring-ly I've been thinking hardcore about what is going to make me happy in life.  ..about what is going to help me grow and progress and "bloom" so to speak.  Such a stereotypically stifling life has me by the throat and the heart right now.  

I never thought I'd be the "9-5 type" and guess what, turns out I'm not really.  It's do-able.. and I'm surely grateful to have income.  It just really makes me step back and try to put things into perspective.  

John says that we're going to live to be 100 years old.  He thinks we'll be able to clone the parts of our body that fail in old age, by the time we get to old age, like in that movie The Island (Oh shit, you haven't seen it?  My bad.  Not missing much.)  

I am 25 right now.  I think it took quite a long time for me to get to this point (about 25 years I'd say).  I cannot imagine living for an average of another 75 years doing what I am doing today.  Or even 40 years, more realistically.

Really, we all hope to be a little further along and move up in our jobs.. but I just mean I can't do this 'wake up at 7:15, get to work at 8:30, work work work boring boring boring, lunch at 1pm, boring boring boring work work, leave at 5pm, go home, eat dinner, say hi to my cats, go to sleep, wake up at 7:15a.m. again' thing forever.

I know it sounds hopeless to complain about.. but I know there's more out there for myself.  I know I'm going to find it.  It's just this waiting period.. ugh.

I feel a little better after writing this.  Still tense and stifled and worried.. but at least happy that something positive came of it here.  

By the way, if you're interested

The One-Minute Writer

Listening to: Moving Mountains - 'Pneuma,' 'Foreword'

Heal the World..

I have for sure gotten into being eco-conscious in the past couple weeks.. It's a good thing for the earth but a bad thing for my brain because I know I'm going to drive myself crazy with all the things I can and should and could be doing to save the earth.

I wanted to share a couple thingys with you.

Very Very awesome idea: CupKozy (Photo courtesy of CupKozy.com)
You know those little cardboard things that you get around your hot beverage when you order out? Well, while they are very helpful in preventing you from burning your hand on your coffee, they seem like such a waste of paper. After 15 minutes, your cup is no longer so ridiculously hot, and you don't even need the thing anymore, right? Some tree suffered horribly for the life of that little thing that we throw out without even a thought.

Of course, I'm being dramatic.
In addition, I should add, I drink Starbucks Zen Tazo Tea like a mad-woman.. so I'm not picking on any one cardboard-thingy producer NOR user, in particular.. However, most of the time I have my own travel mug and make my tea from home......

At any rate.. why not save the earth where you can? Buy a cute, handy, reusable CupKozy from Dinah on Etsy.com and next trip to the ole' caffeine drip, you can say "I'll have a large, double mocha, soy, non fat, triple shenanigans, cafelatte with whipped cream BUT, hold the cardboard cozy, please... I've brought my own!"

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Here's another gem I found recently. Ten things you should never buy again

I've already shared this with the majority of my friends and family. I like this list because it tells you the item NOT to buy, then it provides an "alternative" AND a "best option." So you're not left without a product for your need.

It's very interesting but not necessarily as easy to accomplish. A couple of the things on the list, I admit, I tend to buy mindlessly. I guess we just don't realize how harmful one plastic spoon could be.

However, if each of us can change just one product that we use, can you image how much we'd be helping? And furthermore.. wouldn't you feel great for saving the earth that little bit? I know I would.

Good luck.. and thanks for reading!!

Til next time.. Live Swell! (And treat the Earth Swell as well!!)

My new home!

I have so far neglected to mention that I'm moving! Just a few weeks ago, my friend Jess and I signed papers for an apartment.. We are so excited!!!

This is not the first time I've moved.. it's not even the first time I've moved out of my parents house. However, it IS my first APARTMENT! We, being 20-something hip and fun-loving chicks, have yearned, for quite a while, to live closer to Georgia's big cit-tay - the ATL!

I'd like to share some resourceful sites and pages I've been using for random things.

These may be helpful to you, as well, whether you are moving or not!

Craigslist.org - This is a great FREE website for buying, selling, renting, meeting, borrowing, trading, discussing, hiring, being hired, and more!! There is an extensive list of CITIES alone to search through.. So wherever you are, you're pretty much set - Including Internationally. Everyone is looking for some kind of deal here.. You are very likely to get a good one.

I am currently negotiating prices for some bookcases. The one I have now is OVERFLOWING and I have an unhealthy habit of buying books just to see them on my bookcase. (What a thrill!)

Promove.com - We used Promove to find our apartment after a friend suggested it to us. I signed up online and was promptly contacted, by phone, by a nice gentleman. The day we went in, he noted our requirements, gave us probably 100 complexes (each on their own sheet of paper, with all the details, amenities, prices, etc), and helped us narrow them down... "That one's kind of ghetto.. This one's really nice.. This is a great area.."

We went home with about 18 "maybe's" to shuffle through and were instructed to narrow them further. We ended up with 7 that we wanted visit and see with our own eyes.

The best day for Jess and I to start checking out apartments was a Sunday - NOTE: Half of the world's apartment complexes are NOT open on Sundays.. so we settled for the 4 that were advertised to be open on Sundays.

The first complex was okay.. The second one was a little better.. the third one was actually NOT open on Sundays.. and the 4th and last one of the day we just fell in love with. Everything just felt right about this place. We decided to not bother with the last 3 complexes. Overall it was a pretty easy process because of Promove.. OH I forgot to mention that PROMOVE IS FREE! So you really have nothing to lose.

DIY: Painted Doormat - I have NOT done this yet, so I can't give you much info about it.. but you KNOW I will do this.. What is better than a Welcome mat for your new home? Nothing except maybe a HOMEMADE doormat!!! This looks super easy as well.

Return Address Labels - I'm not changing my address officially since my I'm close with my family and can always grab my junk mail when I pass by the house. However, I am thinking about getting some new return address labels!! Much easier than hand-writing your addy for each bill, letter and postcard. Plus you can add your own personality since there's so many designs to choose from. Fun!!
Til next time.. Live Swell!

Altanta Craft Mafia and Joining clubs.

I am excited to share some news.

I applied to be part of something called the Atlanta Craft Mafia.

I'd like to share their "About Us" page with you, because they can explain themselves better than I can!
"The Atlanta Craft Mafia was formed in the fall of 2007 by seven local independent crafters with a strong DIY ethic, a shared love for all things crafty and a belief in the beauty of all things hand-made. The Atlanta Craft Mafia seeks to provide support and resources for other members of the Atlanta crafting community through public events, networking opportunities and collaborative marketing.

The Atlanta Craft Mafia is part of an international extended “familia” known as The Craft Mafia. The first Craft Mafia was founded in Austin in 2003 and serves as the model for all Craft Mafia organizations."

I have just been accepted into the Atlanta Craft Mafia, and although I am not sure what it will be like - since they are brand new and I have not paid my dues because I haven't signed up for Paypal yet - I am VERY excited to meet the lovely ladies who started the Atlanta chapter. I am also very excited to see what kind of events will be happening.

It's a really cool thing to feel like PART of something. I guess it's that age-old thing where being "accepted" into any kind of group makes you feel like the cool kid on the block.

*

There are a lot of ways to get involved with some kind of cause, club or community. I, myself, have been involved in several throughout my life. That includes girl scouts, field hockey and school clubs/publications. There have also been a handful of festivals such as the Atlanta Dogwood Festival (to the left you can see a picture of my friend/co-volunteer Jess and I at Dogwood) that I have volunteered for in my quest for event planning experience. (If you missed it on my 'about me' section at the top right, I would like to work in event planning as a career!) I'd also like to become involved in the 3Day walk for Breast Cancer.. The rewards are two-fold: In addition to all the personal benefits, you're helping OTHER people as well.

I'd highly suggest, to anyone, find your interests and then find the people who are interested in the same thing. You really can't go wrong. You gain knowledge, experience, friends, contacts and more often than not, you have a lot of fun!! I think everyone likes to feel like they are part of something.

Happy joining and good luck!

Til next time.. Live Swell!

Organizing: Finding the way to "do it right."

This is going to be very brief, but I learned something today I just HAVE to share with you.

That book by Donna Smallin that I told you about in the last post, Organizing Plain and Simple; it's got a great paragraph about perfectionists and their clutter and procrastination on page 161. She says, basically, perfectionists have to do it right or not at all. If you have seen my room, you know I have done the latter.

I also found a similar paragraph in an article she wrote for MyLifetime

Donna states, "Believe it or not, perfectionists are some of the biggest procrastinators. You could be one of them if you put things off because (1) you don’t feel you have enough time to do the job right, (2) you don’t have the “perfect” tools for the job, (3) you haven’t yet figured out how to do the job perfectly or (4) all of the above."

Remember I told you I was a perfectionist? This makes me feel so much better about my messes. I am still not going to let them take me over BUT at least I don't have to beat myself up about 'em! I will beat them!!

In addition, check out Donna's website, Unclutter.com. Once you're there, check out the right sidebar, underneath Donna's photo and you can sign up for a free monthly newsletter of her organizing tips.. I just signed up for it today.. so I'll check it out and let you know how awesome it is =]
Another interesting resource is The National Association for Professional Organizers at napo.net. They are, coincidentally, located in Norcross, GA.

Til next time ;)
Live Swell!