Have a completely different life by this time next year

I was saying recently that my nightime routine is not what it once was with the 2.5 hours of cooking, making sure the kids have their bathes, dishes, permission slips, checking homework etc.

But for the last two nights I did put in that time. I cooked and washed dishes while my son did another chore instead of the dishes. I have an interview tomorrow. Well it’s not formally an interview since it’s for an internship. Anyway I’m treating it as such and I steamed a pair of black pants, my trench coat, and printed resume, employment histoyr, got a folder etc.

What made me kind of mad…well maybe mad is too strong…I ran into some friends at a part in Clinton Hill—a STRANGE coincidence and I talket to them for an hour, which put me an hour behind with my nap. I got up at 5 and went to get my boots from the cobblers, went to the grocery store for the food I wanted to cook tonight. Came home and cooked, washed the dishes, steamed my stuff etc. So essentially i wworked from 5 pm until now 10 pm cooking, washing dishes and getting ready for my interview tomorrow.

The beauty of all of this is that I don’t HAVE to do this every night. I do have the nights I work, but on the nights I’m off. I can have them do everthing from soup to nuts while I stay in my room and read.

It’s not that I mind working the 2.5 or even 5.5 hours a night as long as it’s not every night for 10 years like I recently went through…

but that is over now!

I’ve been reading this book about productivity and I’ve been thinking about what I want to produce. One day I’ll write those Rom Novs—20 of them in 7 years, but not now. That time period between 1997-2012 was enough to establish the goal. I’ll do it, just not now. Right now I want to produce something else. Just not sure what it is right now. Maybe clean shelves, painted, decorated walls….

I remember feeling a sense of freedom when I started working there because it was the first time in years I was able to go around without babies.

And the lifestyle that I had outside of work was great. Walking from there to the village, going to the library for Sex and the City DVDs, watching them while eating Tofutti. Those are some good memories.

1) Growing Savings Account

2) Kids room redecorated

3) Living room redecorated

4) Growing Roth IRA

5) Thrift/Discount Shopping established as a regular habit—at least once a week.

6) Look great when I visit C in April/Aug/Nov

There’s only been one time that a new job changed my life for the better…

I almost said my first job, but I don’t remember being like “yeah, I have money now!” Tho I did spend it all on clothes, I don’t remember feeling much different. I remember my job being a burden, but one I would never give up because I wanted it/the money (tho I was careless with it).

My first job out of college, now THAT made a difference as I was SCARED that I wouldn’t be able to find one and I think I found that one within a month! Other than that every single job I’ve gotten after that didn’t change a thing in my life…Accept bring unhappiness to the point where I never thought about the $ I was earning.

I have to admit tho, aside from the yelling I could have liked W, could have created a niche there, only deep down I want to work for a big company with alot of people.

Yesterday started out as a bad day. No it started the night before when I was up until 3 am looking at fashion merchandising programs that are anywhere from $58-$350 a credit. Now that (a fashion merchandising degree) would make my life totally different from Fall of 2012. However, putting out this expense means I’d be working full time and away from the kids sooner rather than later. I don’t want that right now even though I think I should. Afterall we need to move and I feel that we can’t because I’m not working full-time. So I got that trapped panicky feeling AGAIN!

Finally I got hold of myself and revisted an old idea. I started to research room dividers. The main reason I want to move is to give the siblings seperate rooms. I looked up temporary walls which I believe will be just as expesive as moving. Then somehow I remembered another old idea—a curtain divider. While looking at the curttain room divider ideas, I began to look at wall art and I found the photo I’ve attached above.

When I saw the black and white on the burgandy, I fell in love. I looked at he directions and they were simple and not too expensive. Even I could do it! If it wasn’t 10 or 11 pm I would have gone right out of the door to start the project right then and there. But alss it wsa late, so i had to wait. I spent the next five or so hours researching all kinds of wall art from framed placemats to wall decals.

Around 4 am I tried to go to sleep but it was difficult. I was so excited. Finally I was going to do something about beautifying my current space instead of hanging on to that idea that we would move and that’s when I would have a beautiful home. I woke up at 8 and was out of the door within a half hour. I went and got the paint at a hardware store just a few blocks away. And following my husband’s directions I got some tape and a few plastic drop cloths.

At 10 am I held a paint brush in my hand for the FIRST time in my life (other than for water colors when I was 10!). And I painted! While the first coat dried, I walked and took a bus to a brand new craft store and brought the wooden canvass stretchors, a craft staple gun and staples. After that I took the train back to get the free transfer. I got off right near a fabric store. I was disappointed that they had no bold black and white print, so I settled for an orange themed fabric with some burgundy accents.

I got home and ate breakfast at 1:30 pm! My husband ironed the material, put together the frame and togther we stretched the fabric over the frame and he stapled. By then the first coat of paint was dry, so I put on another coat.

An expert could tell a neophyte painted the wall, but who cares I love it! After years of feeling HELPLESS and TRAPPED. The solution to having to move, seperating the growing siblings when there is no money to move (unless I give up being a stay-at-home momepart-time worker) has been right there: redecorating.

I knew this, but felt I couldn’t do it. As it turns out, I can! I’ll post a picture when we hang the wall art tomorrow.