Fall in, Fall out

Thank goodness for Graphics Fairy

Ok, yep, a good blogger always includes some sort of artsy photograph with their nonsense posts, but I am feeling way too lazy to take any right now (and I don't have a stash of them online to glean from either). Well, maybe I can edit later.

It is damn cold here in Northern IN. I've heard it is suppose to hover near 35 deg F tonight (yay!), so house plants are now in the foyer awaiting a move to the sunroom. I didn't bring in my cacti and other sensitive guys down in KY, so I hope they are protected on the porch. I will be really sad if I go home Sunday to suffering flora.

I also need to pick the rest of the tomatoes. I guess summer is truly gone and fleeting fall is soon to pass as well.

I received my end of the year review at work last week. A hard first year in the job and I learned they think I manage time unwisely (yet, I live between two cities, travelled nearly every other week and took on several other state's work...oh well, c'est la vie).

This year I am travelling less and concentrating on my own endeavors (like getting family moved to the right spot). I am going to improve on my photography (like invest in photo editing), write more thoughtful and inspiring posts (ha ha) and figure out a way to juggle selling off some of my clutter. This is just a few of my 41 goals to be published next week.

I stopped at a garage sale today despite the cold and rain. We found a few vintage treasures, but pickings were slim.

OK, I changed my mind...I'm including a sweet, autumn graphic just for your viewing pleasure!

Wtf?! Tuesdays

OK, so we are on Wednesday, but I finally found something to share! I know it is blurry (I used the phone), but how about learning how to raise children at home in your spare time. And look how "children" is in black like you could substitute anything for a series (African violets! Guppies!) Could be the start of a really fun hobby. My only question: um, where do you raise them the rest (majority) of the time? Check out Sir-Thrift-Alot's other atrocities this week. Scary stuff (especially the "Butt Ugly" couch and pee globe-eew!)

1. Cool autumn air and night rain...perfect for sleeping*

2. Seeing many eco-important bats flying around in Alabama (they are battling this disease)

3. Halloween animals (bats, owls, crows, black cats and spiders!) and lovely free graphics!

I don't want to bore anyone with the details, but lately I have been finding it harder and harder to stay focused, content. I have mentioned before how hard the past year has been, so really no need to revamp over and over what I feel is the problem (heavy workload; move to new state; new job; 3 new supervisors, deficiency in B12...). Knowing (or at least thinking) I know why I feel the way I do is fine and dandy, but I have noticed I have found myself in a loop of self-pity of late. This is not helping at all. It is really a major concentration killer and beats motivation right into the proverbial ground.

So, in order to focus on something positive, a personal reminder that not all is "half-empty" in my life, I plan to force some positive focus on contentment in my life. Nothing major, just a short (or long if need be) of simple occurrences or actions in my life that do not cause me trouble, anxiety or sadness. Thanks before Dreaming and Sunday Evenings are great inspirational samples to learning the fine art of making lists based on simple contentment or gratitude. I've had this in mind for some time. Perhaps, if I am diligent, I will find myself thinking more about things that make my life easier, calm and happy and break free of my pity party circle.

*The above list is my start written at 12:30 am and I am not sure why I am not sleeping as the rain is hard and wonderful tonight.

The Time that Wasn't

(Lovely Mary)

It's half over...September that is and summer 2011? Yes, just a memory now. I am still struggling with a very busy work schedule and (more) travel. This time I am heading to Alabama for training. More than likely, sadly, thrifting will not be an option due to time.

Rest assured, however, I have been thrifting. I have so, so many great things I have found and wanted to share with you all, but I just keep missing the linky parties. I am especially excited to participate in Sir Thrift-a-lot's new WTF! Tuesdays party. I actually went to a GW after work this week in hopes I could snap a photo, but I could not find anything weird and/or scary enough to share (if I hadn't been looking I'm sure I would have spotted plenty of scary clowns and creepy dolls!)

Something non-scary ( beautiful actually) I found recently at a flea market in KY is the lovely made-in-Italy Mary. I love her and she fits in perfectly with the gaggle of other Mary's I have collected over the years. The flea markets in Kentucky are fantastic. The selection is great and nearly every little town or city has one. And, the prices are better than the KY thrift stores and even yard sales. It feels a little like cheating because I always know I'll find some yummy vintage tidbit when I visit one. If you find yourself lost in KY, check the flea markets out before the thrift stores-you won't be disappointed!

Lots more fabulous finds at Her Library Adventures.

Cuckoo, cuckoo

Oh, how I have wanted a cuckoo clock for so long! I pined for them on Ebay, looked at newer ones at department stores, looked for years at the thrifts. Finally, my day time has come! I found this large, Made in West Germany beauty a couple of weeks ago at a Louisville thrift. I am taking it to a clock repair shop to help me set it up, but it is all there and in wonderful shape. Cost: $10!

Forty-One Goals

Despite the 100+ heat today in the 'ville, I am thinking about fall. The summer has...no scratch that...THE YEAR has flown. This has been my 40th year. I will be 41 in a month and some change.

It's so easy to let time slip by, giving so much to the "have to" parts of life and ignoring the parts that can make you feel good, happy (or maybe this is just me). I have been in Louisville for one year. I still travel home on the weekends. I still feel like I am caught between two lives.

The apartment I call home in one of the lives is awful. I picked it quick on a weekend trip to Louisville before starting the job. I had no idea about neighborhoods or what I wanted. I figured it was a temporary thing and I hadn't rented since my mid-twenties. The day I signed the lease, I learned I could not have pets, aquariums or nails in the wall. I thought, "Oh, well...family will be down here soon and we'll buy a place." This apartment feels like a cheap hotel.

Well, as stated, a year has come and gone and I had to recently resign another year on the lease due to a very heavy workload and not having the time to look around for something in one of the great neighborhoods I have discovered the past year. Life has taken some crazy turns and my family is still up north (problems with husband's transfer).

The job has gotten familiar now. I am still learning, but I feel comfortable. It is not exactly where I want to be, but it is a good job. I have gained about 20 pounds over the past year, not a happy outcome and I am so sad I can't get into a good percentage of my gorgeous, vintage clothes*. I started this blog (after a hiatus and retirement from an old blog), but have slightly pigeon holed it. I have thrifted. A lot.

What I think I need is a jumpstart. I need to find that woman that was gung ho on a new adventure. The one that worked out three times a week and brought her body back into "normal". The one that loved to write and try new things. The one that had a family to come home to at night.

I cover two states with my job, plus occasionally am assigned to the other two bordering ones. In order to stay focused and be overwhelmed with the work-that-never-stops, we make annual work plans. Additionally, we make weekly work plans with a forecast and accomplishments. At first, I despised these plans. They made me feel micro-managed. However, over time I have grown to like them a little.

And, I think its time I use a little Micro-managing in my own life; I need a little working plan of my own.

So, in the next couple of weeks, by my 41st birthday on Oct. 5, I am going to come up with a list of 41 yearly goals. I am going to attempt to create weekly work plans to help me reach my goals. The ultimate goal: not to be here, on the eve of my 42nd birthday, wondering where my time and energy and life has gone.

*It's not helping that I found the second season of Nip/Tuck at a thrift store a few months ago and the theme seems to be Christian and Shawn turning 40.