Embark and simplify

One of the things I love about my "real" job as a medical/technical editor is that sometimes I get involved with a really complex project. I love doing research for my work (it's like a big puzzle to me) and following different paths to see where they go; and there's something about my brain that loves making connections between the varied things I find on those paths. For editing, this comes in handy because it allows me to notice subtle inconsistencies in a document and I can point this out to the authors. Sometimes it's an easy fix, and sometimes its the first pull on a thread that unravels the whole sweater. But I digress...

In my "i-wish-it-was-my-real" job, which now includes this fledgling blog, I also find myself following different paths on my walks through the blog world, taking every fork in the road and discovering some really fun things along the way. Things I'd probably never see or find otherwise. This morning I discovered (via the blog rich inner life) a concept that you choose just one word to inspire your whole year. That piqued my curiosity, so I followed the link to the list of words to consider for 2009. And there it was, er, there they were: my two words for 2009—embark and simplify.

I wanted to pick just one word to focus on, but these two words really sum up the year that I have in front of me. I chose simplify for obvious reasons. My daily life has been taken over by clutter, and my passion for doing things to the nth-degree (my friends don't call me "supersize" for nuthin') means that my life can sometimes get a little crazy. Part of my clutter problem is due to the fact that we've been in the process of a major remodel on our house for over a year now, and we currently have next to zero storage space. The kitchen is done and two bedrooms are partially done, but otherwise we live in a state of constant construction; we're doing the bulk of the work ourselves (my husband and I are pretty handy that way), so projects are done as we have time/money for them. Between a wedding last July, our work schedules, and having all of our resources poured into our new 30x50 workshop (and future barn), little has been left at the end of the day for the house. 2009 is going to change all of that.

And that's where my friend "embark" comes in.

This is the year where I will start on so many new things: finishing the house, starting on some landscaping, getting my letterpress studio really up and running, and perhaps some other big life events.

Last weekend we started a project to finish the built-in shelving units in my office/studio/guest room. It's still sitting in the middle of the living room now, but it will hopefully go into its new home tonight. Next week is going to be busy for me with "real" work, and after that my husband leaves for 2 weeks in Australia for work (dirty rat). I'm planning on spending the two weeks he's gone to start the work on these two little words, and I hope to keep up the momentum.

So, here is an overview of tasks for each of my words. I'm writing this here so the world is my witness. I hate failing (especially when people know what I'm up to), so this should be incentive to get all of this done in 2009. Gulp.

Simplify:
1. Organize my office/studio; a place for everything, and everything in its place
2. Organize my piles of magazines, clippings, and internet links; record here the things I want to keep, and get rid of everything else
3. Organize and clean out the workshop (half of which is currently filled with boxes of stuff that we can't unpack yet) and hold the mother of all yard sales this spring
4. Simplify the consumable objects in my life—I really don't need 12 different hand lotions or 9 kinds of salad dressing or lipstick in 15 colors (um, I never even wear lipstick)

Embark:
on the house:
1. Tile the floor in the two bedrooms
2. Suck it up and tear down the existing bathroom to expand it (i.e., embark upon possibly weeks without our one and only bathroom!)
3. Convert the garage to our master suite
4. Landscape the backyard and two side yards
5. Fence our property so I can (finally) move my horse up here
6. Tile the rest of the house
7. Paint
8. Take care of all the other details that need to be done

on my studio:
1. Create at least 6 new notecards and 3 new sets of wedding stationery
2. Keep this blog going with a goal of at least 4 posts a week (probably a lofty goal considering the house projects, but I will try my best!)

on my life:
1. Wear dresses and jewelry more (I saw this on another blogger's list of resolutions and liked it. My husband will love it)
2. Take more time to see the sights around me via hiking/camping/biking/rafting with my husband

And now I shall begin.