New Year, Giant Post

It’s been awhile – a LONG while since I’ve put up a “meaty” blog post. I know. I’m a horrible person. This is LARGELY due to the fact that I haven’t been able to blog with the big move (that is never going to be over).

-NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS: 1. Lose weight (preferably 60lbs) 2. Save money 3. Clean and do laundry regularly 4. Be more organized 5. Cook more
-CRAFTS: I finally have my craft room J Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do much in there, but it exists! I’ve been watching countless videos on YouTube about various techniques and projects that I can make. A few of the projects I’m hoping to take on include:

1.       Project Life: So, there’s a kit available online, but due to money restrictions at the moment, I won’t be ordering it. Basically Project Life has you document every day in your life for the entire year. You can then look back and see exactly how your year was spent. Unfortunately, I haven’t done much this year yet, lol. I have been taking a picture a day and documenting them on ShutterCal.com (which is a pretty cool website). I’m hoping to eventually set up a digital book online and get it printed at the end of the year. I haven’t decided if I’m going to go with the Project Life digital scrapbook, or create my own on a different website. Luckily, being familiar with graphic design is helping me out in this case.

2.       Card-Making: I want to start making cards. Not for specific occasions, but for various ones. Birthday cards, holidays, etc. I’ve seen a lot of layouts online, so I’m hoping that I can begin creating a collection of these and perhaps selling some in the future. I’m also going to start making gift-tags to sell, as well.

3.       Other Projects: There are other projects I’m interested in doing. I’ve already created a toilet paper roll mini album (I’ll post a video soon), and I started a chipboard mini album. I’ve definitely noticed online that I prefer the mini albums to full 12x12 scrapbook pages. Mind you, I haven’t actually put any pictures into these, I’ve just designed them. I’m hoping to make some as gifts. I’m also going to be trying to come up with some other things to make as gifts. Any ideas?

-APARTMENT: So, our new place is definitely consuming a lot of my time. Let’s just say, that there’s still things at our old place that need to be moved to our new place. Oh, and the old place needs to be cleaned and painted back to its’ original colors. Not a big deal, we can do it in a weekend. We just need to find the time. However, the most annoying thing is the fact that our boxspring didn’t fit into our new place, so we had to buy an entirely new bed that doesn’t need a box spring. We haven’t put it together yet, but you just have to love Ikea for having cheap things in a pinch. Other than that, the apartment is great. We’re not 100% settled in. There’s still some unpacking to do, and cleaning. But it’s definitely “home”. Next thing on the list is to purchase a dryer.

-GRAD SCHOOL: @#@!#! UGH. This already starts up again tonight. I literally think we maybe had 2 weeks off. It sucks. How come we can’t just be on the normal university schedule? They haven’t started classes yet. Luckily, our new place is 5 minutes away from my grad school class, so I’ll be able to stop home and change into comfortable clothes after work.

-TV: There’s a lot of catching up to do with TV lately. Current shows that I’m watching (I say “Current” because I don’t even know which ones are on hiatus): The Bachelor, Pretty Little Liars, Greek, Modern Family, Glory Daze,….brainfart….

-BOOKS: Okay. I never met my goal of 50 books last year due to the insanity that became my life. I don’t even remember the last time that I was able to sit down and read a book. So, I’m going to be realistic. I’m going to make my 2011 goal 15, and then up it by 5 each time I reach a goal. There is a silver-lining. My co-workers want to start a book club, so I should have my first book done by the end of the month because I don’t want to look like the idiot who had no time to finish their book. I also have a few books that I’ve started and never finished. I will also try and get those done by the end of the month. $$$ is a little tight for us now, so I definitely have more time to read at home.

-SPEAKING OF TIGHT MONEY: Does anyone know of any legit work-from-home jobs? I’m considering taking up one (part-time) to earn some extra cash on the side for us to save. I’ve been looking into online tutoring and mystery shopping. I’m trying to avoid being an at-home call center if possible. I hate talking on the phone, as it is.

Okay. This is definitely a meaty post. I feel so much better now.