Domestic Geek

Between work and being sick, my NaBloPoMo effort for November 2010 is over. Oh, well, maybe next year.

I got an unexpected 5 day break from work. My friend hosted a Christmas knitting party at her house on Saturday, so I switched with a guy at work (I worked Wednesday, he covered my Saturday) so I could attend. We're also abnormally slow at work for November, so late Saturday night I got the call that I didn't have to work on Sunday. Add in my normal days off of Monday-Wednesday and that's 5 days off. I really hope this extended break helps me kick the crud in my lungs. There are so many different germs floating around at work that I'm positive that I've had more than one sickness over the last month. I did sleep a good portion of yesterday. I was up for a few hours, then I was freezing, so I slipped into bed to warm up and woke up several hours later. I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to sleep at a decent hour after that, but I went to sleep fairly early. I'm feeling almost normal today. Still hacking stuff up from the lungs, but much better than I've been. So, we'll see...

The knitting party was a blast. The hostess served potato leek soup, cornbread and sangria. I brought a cheesecake (made with all organic ingredients except the topping) and another guest brought key lime pie (I had never had any). We all worked on Christmas gifts we're knitting, ate and drank. So much fun and just what I needed since I haven't been able to attend any knitting groups lately. Wish I could host one, but I just don't have the seating to have that many people over.

I managed to stab my left hand last night while making guacamole. I was trying to get the pit out and the knife slipped. No more using the knife to get the pit out - I'll have to stick to the spoon. Had to wrap my hand in plastic so I could take a shower. I'm such a klutz.

One thing I realized while watched Hoarders over the last couple of days is I probably have some form of an anxiety disorder. It hasn't manifested as hoarding (yet), but I can definitely relate to a lot of what those people go through. It would certainly explain a lot of the irrational responses to stress triggers I've had over the years.

One thing I have noticed is that switching to a more natural diet has had a great affect on my mental state. Too much refined sugar definitely affects me negatively. Not eating enough causes me to have breakdowns.

Then there is that pesky perfectionism and claustrophobia. Is it any wonder that sometimes I've been such a mess?

The good news is now that I'm more aware of what my problems are, I'm becoming better equipped to deal with them. Admitting you have a problem is always the first step, right?

I'm watching A&E's Hoarders show on Netflix right now. I've seen many tweets and Facebook posts by friends that watch these shows saying they feel like cleaning after watching. I totally feel that way at the moment. It also disturbs me on another level.

I could easily become on of these people. One of the psychotherapists mentioned that hoarding is hereditary. Both my grandmother and my mother were hoarders. It seems that a lot of these people had a big trigger that started the hoarding. I did start hoarding to some extent after my mother passed. I was always trying to fill the void by buying stuff I know I didn't need. I couldn't let some things go that were obviously crap because they had either belonged to my mother or had some memory attached. I would bring home broken stuff from people's trash that I found while out delivering pizzas. I thought I was being thrifty and saving something from a landfill, but I see now that it was not the case at all. Most recently, I started doing it with yarn. I think I finally snapped out of it and I'm better now and am actually purging stuff, but a major life crisis could easily trigger something again.

First off:




Speaking of holidays, apparently my neighbors can't wait for Christmas. Yes, once again they were busy while I was at work and as I turned onto our street I see that their damned outdoor Christmas decorations are up. I can understand wanting to get the lights on the house while the weather is still warm, but the plastic angels and Santas can wait until after Thanksgiving. Seriously. I want to enjoy Fall and Thanksgiving first, you morons, thankyouverymuch. Sadly, they aren't the only ones. A couple of houses down actually have their lights on. Geez, making me sound like Scrooge here, but one. holiday at. a. time. The season would mean so much more if we'd limit our exposure to it. Same goes for elections. I think campagin season should start 6 weeks before the election. That's it.

That said, tomorrow I'm going to dig out my FALL decorations. Scarecrows, pumpkins and turkeys are all that will decorate this house until December.

As Marcus and I were discussing the amazing amount of junk we've accumulated and what the heck we were going to do with it all, I brought up the fact that we haven't moved in 8 years and haven't done the ritual purging one must do when a move occurs. For the first 10 years of our relationship, we moved every year or two. With each successive move, though, the home got bigger and therefore, less stuff had to go. Also, Marcus probably won't admit to it, but we're both packrats (well, he'd admit that I am one - LOL) The result is we've got TOO. MUCH. STUFF.

We had originally only intended to be here a year or two. Then land got unbelievably expensive. Marcus changed jobs. Then the screen printer I worked at went out of business and then I got laid off my my next job. I realized my time on the job I'm currently at (and only planned to be there a year or two) will hit the 4 year mark next month. It's time for a change.

Since the lot rent shot up yet again, we vowed we will not be here 9 years to see yet another one. Things are starting to fall into place that we're pretty sure we can make this happen. Also, I'm sending out resumes. I'm tired of prepress work and really want to go back into design. I got a lot of great experience that makes me a better designer, for sure. It's time to move out of my comfort zone.

OK, back to purging. When it does come time to make the move, I don't want to be purging and packing.