The cover image isn’t my artwork (I wish I knew who drew it so I could give them credit) but it captured what I have been feeling for the past few weeks. I was talking to my mom last night about how life rarely goes as we plan and for once it wasn’t because the military decided to make changes for us again. When we were starting our move out here, I had planned to just do as have been doing- being a blogger and a housewife but now that we are out here and I’m seeing all the options available to us, I don’t want just that.
I’ve mentioned my goals for this year in a previous post and I think I am making decent strides in them. I have been writing a lot and staying consistent with it. I found a program (Dabble Writer) that tracks how much I have written so far and I am on track to hit 200,000 words written this year. I haven’t really focused on any of my stories yet this year but I will be returning to that when things settle back down. I have made a lot of progress in my reading goal though. Between reading physical books and the books I listen to through Audible, I have finished 5 books so far in the month of January. I may be hitting that goal sooner than I expected.
For my professional goals, I am working hard on them. I am still working on stuff for the podcast. I am really hoping to launch it this month but I am also not trying to rush it because it is a lot more work than I initially thought just to get it started. Right now the main thing that I am struggling with is finding music for the show and setting up the podcasting program. I have my topics researched, some scripts written out, and whatnot. Once I figure out the last little bit, all I will have to do is record and launch! It’s so close to happening that its a little nerve wracking but nothing I can’t handle. I haven’t started anything with the jewelry or candle business stuff. My focus is on other things right now.
As for getting a part time job, well that didn’t happen. I mean it did but I did quit it 3 days in because the guy was truly psycho. And instead of doing what I was planning on doing, I let myself be guided in a new direction. While applying for jobs, I had reached out to a nanny agency about a job they had posted. Pre-Jeremy and marriage, I was a nanny for several years. I went through their screening process and was approved to join the agency and to start interviewing with families. Funny enough though, I never met with the family I had originally contacted the agency about. It was an option but when the agency was telling me about the different families they were looking to place nannies with, I instantly knew there was one family I wanted to work with. The family lives one exit down from us, the mom is nurse, and the baby is 6 months old. Upon meeting the family, I was smittened. Baby Z is just the cutest little baby ever. He held onto my hand for most of the interview and just smiled at me. The biggest thing about this job though is that it is full time hours. So I am getting used to working long days again after being a housewife for so many years. But I love my new job. I can’t wait to see Baby Z grow up and start learning new things.
For my personal goals, I haven’t made as much progress. I am doing well with my weight loss. I am so close to 100 pounds down that it is frustrating me. I am planning on doing a photo shoot to commemorate that milestone once I hit it. In the bariatric groups I’m in that is something a lot of people have done and it looks like fun. I haven’t started learning how to run yet but I am walking a lot more than I use to. Also haven’t written in my journal since we were traveling out here but I will start making that more of a priority. I’m also having a hard time finding someone to study the Quran with. I have reached out to local mosque but they haven’t been returning my emails. I am going to have to find another way to find someone to study with. I know I can do it alone but I study better when I can discuss the passages with someone and I really want to learn more about the faith and culture. I’m not giving up. I will do this.
Elsewhere in my life, things are still kind of crazy. Jeremy has been away from home for the better part of two weeks now. He is running a training session that is prepping a boat in case of deployment. I could have that completely wrong because I don’t always understand what it is that he does. I’m really proud of him because he is the head guy in charge of this operation. I love that he is finally being recognized for his hard work and gets a chance to use his skills for bigger projects. During the week he has to stay on the ship with his Marines but he can come home on the weekends.
As if I don’t have enough on my plate, I have added a new project to my very full plate. Last year I found a 5 inch binder at an estate sale that the wife had put together. It is absolutely filled with random recipes, crafts, cleaning hacks, and whatnot that she has clipped from magazines, printed off of facebook, or copied from books. I have been trying to organize it and have realized to make it make sense, I am going to have to rewrite the various bits of paper she gathered. She had pasted pieces of papers with bread recipes to the same piece of paper that had a craft about melting peppermints to make decorations. I want to try these recipes and crafts but it will take time to go through all of them. There are hundreds of recipes in the binder alone. Once this is organized into something easier to use, I know it will be of great use to me and maybe others who want to try a new recipe or cleaning hack.
Life is always changing and evolving but it’s never dull. I’m excited to see how things roll out of the next few weeks. Between all my projects (the ones mentioned here and my secret ones haven’t mentioned yet), I am definitely keeping busy. I’m not overdoing it or at least I tell myself that.
Paranormal Housewife 