Wondering where I’ve been?

Disconnected.

I needed a break from the internet. So I went totally screen free for over a day. It was embarrassingly difficult to stay off the computer. Other than Lucy and Adam the internet is the only source of human interaction I usually get from day to day. It was also hard to resist watching Glee with Adam once he got home. But we did it. And here’s the awesome thing…I got more done around the house in that one day than I usually get done in a week. And we had a chance to play cards, relax, and just talk with each other. I plan on doing it more often. In fact, screen-free days are part of my 101 in 1001 to-do list. I highly recommend periodic screen-free days for everyone. It’s incredibly rejuvenating.

Also, I got Lucy’s Halloween costume finished and it’s adorable. I promise, pictures are in the works!

I’ve come to some decisions regarding my life and some things I’ve been thinking about. And here’s what I’ve decided:

I need to simplify my life. It’s time to:

1. Identify what’s most important to [me].
2. Eliminate everything else. {from Zen Habits}

And I’m starting by dropping out of Body After Baby. Samantha put together a really great program for support and accountability (and prizes too!) but right now I want to focus on

1. Time with my family.
2. My writing.
3. Time for art {and crafts}.
4. My blogs.

That means I’m also closing Coffee {for now}. Anyone who is currently a client, or has already contacted me about a project needn’t worry. They’ll still be taken care of. But at least until NaNoWriMo is over I won’t be taking any new clients. I may still post pre-made graphics as well as freebies. And I’ve got some neat ideas for some Christmas products that I’ll get to if I have time.

I love blogging far too much to shut down my sites. But you may notice that posting seems slightly more sporadic. I still aim to post every day {or close to every day}. But I’ve been wanting to post more often on my other blog and find that it’s difficult to post daily here and still have time to write high quality content there. So on days I post there I may or may not post here. If you need your “Holly fix” and I haven’t posted on Domestic Dork then check out my other site {but, as way of warning, the other site is much snarkier}.

I’m feeling really good about these decisions. I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I’m really looking forward to NaNoWriMo, especially now that I know I won’t have Body After Baby and Coffee pulling my attention away from my writing. Thank you for your advice and support. I love you guys. Really, I do. I would write for my blogs even if I had zero readers because, well…I love to hear {or read} myself talk. But you make it a million times more fun, and you make it more challenging because I’m determined to give you worthwhile content. So, again, thank you.

I’m sick of stuff.

I live in a 4 bedroom townhouse. 2 of those rooms are devoted almost solely to storage, as is the main area of the basement.

That. is. ridiculous.

3 people do not need this much space, or stuff. And most of it is mine. I’m tired of it all. I’m tired of not knowing what I have and where things are. I’m tired of holding onto things I never ever use because I cared about them at one time or because I think I might use them someday.

I want to simplify, radically.

So that’s what I’m going to do. I am going to be selling, donating, gifting, and throwing away as much of my stuff as possible {and maybe even doing some blog giveaways}. If I’m not using these things they should go to someone who will. You can follow my efforts on Twitter under the hashtag #projectpurge {and feel free to join in}! And I’ll try to post updates here on Domestic Dork as well.

This is going to be all kinds of awesome.

And all kinds of hard.

*gulp*

Am I crazy?

Probably. But at least I’ll know I wasn’t driven crazy by having too much stuff!

Allrighty, folks! I'm back to blogging. I do ask for your patience with the current design (I know...March is SO last month, right?). I've got my brand-spankin' new design done but have some serious troubleshooting to do with the CSS code. And if that makes no sense to you just pretend it does and move on.

Baby Lu is growing like the proverbial weed. It's exciting because she's developing even more personality and accomplishing new things like rolling over. And by "rolling over" I mean she did, one time, and has shown no signs of doing it again any time soon. But it's also heartbreaking. I would ask why babies have to grow so fast...but I understand natural selection well enough that I already know the answer to that.

Bear re-evaluated his academic plans and has discovered that it may not take quite as long as we thought before he can begin "real" med school. The current plan is to take the MCAT this summer. I'm excited. The sooner he can start applying to med school, the sooner he can get in. And the sooner he gets in, the sooner we move out of Medicine Hat. Sorry to my fellow...fellow...Hatians? No. That won't work, too close to Haitians. Sorry to my fellow Hatters. But I'd go mad if I had to stay here forever. (Did you see that? Did you see what I did there? Tee-hee!)

Now, might I take a moment to comment on Twitter? I tried to do the whole "Twitter thing." I signed up for an account and everything. My inner Luddite and my inner Geek had all kinds of arguments about Twitter. My inner Luddite rambling on about the invasion of technology into our personal lives, the shallowing of relationships brought on by techno-exhibitionism, and the inanity of it all while my inner Geek just kept yelling something about it being new, shiny, and fun, FUN, FUN! In the end my inner Luddite won. Inner Geek will have to be happy with Facebook (off which she really ought to wean herself) and Blogger. And so I present the following video. That is exactly what I'm talking about.